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XXXV
A DISCOVERY
Robinson could not forget his boat. It seemed a companion. "It may
be the means of my escape from this place," he thought. He took frequent
journeys across the island to where his little boat lay in the cove.
He would start out in the morning and walk over to the west side of
the island, take his boat and have a pleasant little sail. He always
returned home before dark, for to tell the truth, Robinson was a
coward. He was as timid as a hare. He was afraid of everything and
spent many nights without sleep because of fear.
It was while on one of his visits to his boat that Robinson made a
discovery that changed his whole life. It happened one day, about
noon, when he was going toward his boat that he, with great surprise,
saw the print of a man's naked foot on the shore in the sand. He stood
like one rooted to the ground. He could not move, so great was his
surprise and fear. He listened, looked around, but could hear and see
nothing. He went up to a little hill to look further, but nothing was
in sight. There was but the one footprint. There was no doubt about
it, there it was, foot, toes, heel and every part of a foot. Robinson
tried to think how it might have gotten there, but he could not. It
was a mystery. He was greatly afraid and started at once for his
shelter. He ran like one pursued. At every little way he would look
behind to see if anyone was following him.
Never a frightened rabbit ran to his hiding place with more terror
than Robinson ran to his cave. He did not sleep that night for fear
and remained in his shelter for three days, never venturing out. But
his food was growing short and his goats needed to be milked. He
finally with a thousand wild fancies forced himself to go about his
duties.
But he could not get the footprint out of his mind. He spent many sad
and fearful days thinking about it. "How could it have gotten there?
Whose was it? Was the owner savage or not? What did he want on the
island?" were some of the questions that haunted him.
"Perhaps," he thought one day, "I just imagined I saw a footprint,
or perhaps it was one of my own that I have made when going to sail
my boat." He took courage at this and began to go about the island
again. But he went in great fear, always looking behind him. He was
always ready to run at the first sign of danger. He had made himself
a large, strong, new bow and plenty of arrows. He carried these in
a quiver he had made from his cloth. He fashioned too a sharp-pointed,
lance-like weapon which he hurled with a kind of sling. In his belt
he carried some new sharpened stone knives. He had found a better kind
of rock out of which to make his knives. It resembled glass and could
be brought to a fine, keen edge.
Armed thus, he began to have more confidence. He had a strong desire
to see the footprint again and make up his mind about it. He wished
to measure it. In this way he could tell certainly whether it was a
chance print of his own foot or not. So, after a few days, he again
ventured across the island. Alas, on measuring the print it was much
larger than his own! There could no longer be any doubt that it
belonged to someone else.
Again great fear fell on poor Robinson. He shook with cold and fright.
He resolved to make himself more secure against attack.
He cut and carried willow stakes and set them in a thick hedge around
in front of his shelter. This was outside the first and enclosed it.
In a season or two these had grown to such a height as to shut out
all view of his home from sight to one coming to it from the front.
His flock of goats gave him many troubled thoughts. His goats were
his greatest treasure. From them he obtained without trouble his meat,
his milk and butter.
"What if they were discovered and killed or carried away?" He resolved
to divide his herd into three parts and secrete these in separate
fenced pastures in different parts of the island. His herd of goats
now numbered twenty-five. He made thorough search about the island
for the most secluded and best hidden spots where he could fence in
a pasture.
One day as he was exploring on the west side of the island to find
another open space for a goat field, he thought he spied away out to
sea a boat. He looked long and anxiously and yet he was not sure that
it was a boat he saw. But how easy, thought Robinson, for the people
of the mainland, which must be at no great distance to the westward,
to come across to this side of the island in fair weather. He thought
too, how fortunate he was to have been cast on the east side of the
island. For there he had his shelter in the very safest part.
As he was coming down from a hill where he had gone to get a better
view of the sea he made another discovery. About him everywhere at
the foot of the hill were bones of all kinds. Near by too, were charcoal
and ashes. There could be no mistake, the place was visited by human
beings. These were very likely savages. Everything showed that they
came for the purpose of feasting and not for plundering. It was very
likely that they neither sought anything on the island nor expected
it.
[Illustration: WATCHING FOR SAVAGES]
This thought greatly relieved Robinson. He returned home in a very
thankful and composed state of mind. He had now been on the island
almost eighteen years and had not been discovered. Yet, no doubt, the
island had been visited many times by the savages since he had been
there.
In a short time his fear of discovery wore off and he began to live
just as he did before his discovery.
He took, however, greater precaution against surprise. He always
carried his bow and arrows, his lance and knives. He was also very
careful about making a great smoke from his fire. He burned a great
quantity of wood in a pit and made charcoal. With this material he
had a fine fire with a very little smoke. Every day also he went to
the top of the hill back of his shelter in order to discover if possible
the approach of savages.
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Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
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