Upon this I
called Friday in, and bade him lie close, for these were not the
people we looked for, and that we might not know yet whether they
were friends or enemies. In the next place I went in to fetch my
perspective glass to see what I could make of them; and having
taken the ladder out, I climbed up to the top of the hill, as I
used to do when I was apprehensive of anything, and to take my view
the plainer without being discovered. I had scarce set my foot
upon the hill when my eye plainly discovered a ship lying at
anchor, at about two leagues and a half distance from me, SSE., but
not above a league and a half from the shore. By my observation it
appeared plainly to be an English ship, and the boat appeared to be
an English long-boat.
I cannot express the confusion I was in, though the joy of seeing a
ship, and one that I had reason to believe was manned by my own
countrymen, and consequently friends, was such as I cannot
describe; but yet I had some secret doubts hung about me - I cannot
tell from whence they came - bidding me keep upon my guard. In the
first place, it occurred to me to consider what business an English
ship could have in that part of the world, since it was not the way
to or from any part of the world where the English had any traffic;
and I knew there had been no storms to drive them in there in
distress; and that if they were really English it was most probable
that they were here upon no good design; and that I had better
continue as I was than fall into the hands of thieves and
murderers.
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