By his advice, put off the deliverance of his comrades for at least half a year. The case was thus. He had been with us now about a month, during which time I had let him see in what manner I had provided for my support. He saw what stock of corn and rice I had laid up, which, tho’ it was more than sufficient for myself, it was not sufficient, without good husbandry, for my family now it was increased to four. But much less would it be sufficient if his countrymen, who were, as he said, sixteen still alive, should come over. Least of all would it be sufficient to victual our vessel, if we should build one, for a voyage to any of the Christian colonies of America. So he told me he thought it would be more advisable to let him and the other two dig and cultivate some more land, as much as I could spare seed to sow, and we should wait another harvest, that we might have a supply of corn for his countrymen when they should come. For want might be a temptation to them to disagree.
"You know," said he, "the children of Israel, tho’ they rejoiced at first for their being delivered out of Egypt, yet rebelled even against God himself when they came to want bread in the wilderness."
His caution was so seasonable, and his advice so good, I could not but be very well pleased with his proposal, as well as I was satisfied with his fidelity. So we fell to digging all four of us, as well as the wooden tools we were furnished with permitted. In about a month's time we had got as much land cured and trimmed up as we sowed two and twenty bushels of barley on and sixteen jars of rice. In short, all the seed we had to spare. Nor, indeed, did we leave ourselves barley sufficient for our own food for the six months we had to expect our crop.
It is worth mentioning that for these months the moon still rose and I still let the beast run free on those three nights it shone full in the sky. On the first night, which was a good week before Olegario had ask'd me to delay our voyage, the Spaniard was much concern’d that I was to wander into the woods for the night. He, too, had heard the same stories of this island as Friday had once told me, and could not picture an older gentlemen, as I now was, going unarmed into the woods where savage creatures hunted. Indeed, he asked such things several times as to how I had survived so long in such an awful place. It pleas'd me when Friday told him the same almost true story that I had once told to my man, that I was, in a word, the master of the beast, and went to set it free for the few nights necessary to keep it docile. Walla-kay, when ask'd, confirmed this as well, and said in his sage way that he believed the beast would never harm me. Thus did we three keep my nature as a secret from Olegario, altho' I believe in the end he did suspect the truth.
Having now number being sufficient to put us out of fear of the savages, we went all over the island, whenever we found occasion. Altho' none of us would go to the south west corner, where the dark church still stood, except for Walla-kay, who still kept his faith in his god and would sometimes go there to pray, and would berate my man Friday, his son, for not joining him. This did cause a rift tween them, tho' not, I believed, one of great consequence. I confess this faith did make me suspicious and Walla-kay never did earn my trust as well as had Friday.
As we had our escape, or deliverance, upon our thoughts, it was impossible to have the means of it out of mine. For this purpose I mark'd out several trees which I thought fit for our work, and I set Friday and his father to cutting them down, tho' I may note I did not choose any tree which had been mark'd by the savages at one time, even if those marks had been removed. Then I caused the Spaniard, to whom I imparted my thoughts on that affair, to oversee and direct their work. I showed them with what pains I had hewed a large tree into single planks, and I caused them to do the like, till they had made about a dozen large planks of good oak, near two feet broad, thirty-five feet long, and from two inches to four inches thick. What prodigious labour it took up any one may imagine.
At the same time, I contrived to increase my little flock of tame goats as much as I could. For this purpose, I made Friday and Olegario go out one day, and myself with Friday the next day (for we took our turns), and by this means we got about twenty young kids to breed up with the rest. Whenever we shot the dam, we saved the kids and added them to our flock. But, above all, the season for curing the grapes coming on, I caused such a prodigious quantity to be hung up in the sun I believe we could have fill’d sixty or eighty barrels. These, with our bread, was a great part of our food and was very good living too, I assure you, for it is exceeding nourishing.
It was now harvest, and our crop in good order. It was not the most plentiful increase I had seen in the island, but it was enough to answer our end. From twenty-two bushels of barley we brought in and thresh'd out above two hundred and twenty bushels, and the like in proportion of the rice.
When we had thus housed and secured our magazine of corn, we fell to work to make more wicker-ware in which we kept it. Olegario was very handy and dexterous at this part, and often blamed me that I did not make some things for defence of this kind of work. Indeed, in the final weeks of our harvest he had grown very sullen and angry, and did not sleep well.