As there was no room for our chests, it was agreed that we each should
have a bundle on board, selecting those things which we most required
and most valued. This proposal, which was made by the captain, put me
in mind of the diamond, which had scarcely once entered my thoughts
since I had been on the island. When I took it out of my chest, I
thought that I might as well make it more convenient to carry, as there
was no saying what might be the result of our new expedition; so, when
the other men were all busy about their own effects, or asleep, I first
took the precaution to roll it up in a covering of pitch, so that, if
taken from me or lost, it might not be known to be a diamond, and then I
sewed it up in a piece of leather, which I cut from an old glove,
putting a strong leather lanyard to it, so that I might wear it round my
neck. Having done this without any one taking notice, and having
nothing else to do, I took some fine twine and worked it over, like the
mousing of a stay, in a way peculiar to sailors, so that, when finished,
it was very much in the shape of a miniature buoy to an anchor, and
reminded me of a _fend-off_ or fender, such as they use to prevent any
injury to the sides of a vessel when coming in contact with another.
Having finished my work, I put the leather lanyard round my neck, inside
of my shirt, so that my diamond was concealed from sight; I then put up
my remaining pieces-of-eight--which were nearly 500, the best of my
clothes, (for during my stay at Rio I had very much increased my stock,)
and I hardly need say that the old Bible was not left behind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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