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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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