I had already a small flock in one such spot, as I have told you. But now I wished to have another.
In looking for the right kind of place, I went all over the island. I even went far out on a rocky point beyond the place where I kept my canoe.
As I was standing on a rock and looking out to sea, I thought I saw a boat in the distance. I was only a little speck on the water, and it seemed to rise and fall with the waves. It could not be a rock.
I looked at it till my eyes could look no more. I had saved a spyglass out of the ship; but, as luck would have it, I had left it at home. How I wished for it then!
Whether I really saw a boat or not, I do not know. But as I walked back along the shore, I made up my mind never to go out again without my spyglass.
I walked slowly along, thinking of what I had seen. All at once I came upon that which made my heart stand still.
On the sandy, sloping beach of a pleasant little harbor I saw not only one footprint, but hundreds of them.
I stood still, afraid to move.
But the footprints were not all. The beach at one place was covered with bones and bits of flesh, as in a slaughter house. Some of the bones were quite fresh; some had been charred with fire.
"Here the savages have been holding a feast," I said to myself.
A little farther on I saw that a pit had been dug in the sand, and here they had had their fire. The ashes were still warm.
I wondered what kind of a feast these wild men had been having. There were savages on the mainland who were said to kill and eat the captives whom they took in war. Cannibals, they were called.
Could this have been a feast of cannibals? And were these the bones and flesh of human beings?
I trembled as I thought of it.
I turned and ran from the place as fast as I could.
I ran until I could go no farther. My breath came fast. I sank down upon the ground.
When I had rested a little while, I looked around and found that I was not very far from my castle. All around me was peaceful and still. I was surely safe from harm.
With tears in my eyes I knelt down and gave thanks to God. I thanked him that he had kept me alive and safe through so many years. I thanked him that I had been cast on the side of the island which was never visited by savages. I thanked him for all the comforts and blessings that were mine.
Then I arose and went home to my castle.
As I sat before my door that evening, I thought the whole matter over, and felt much easier in my mind.
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