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Chapter 39

Chapter 39

 

Friday signed to me that there had been four prisoners altogether and that he had been the fourth one to be killed and eaten. I saw that even now he still wanted to eat human flesh so once again I expressed my disgust at the thought. I gestured to him that I would kill him if he ate human flesh again. Then I asked him to collect all the human remains on the beach and burn them in a big fire.


After that we returned to the cave and I supplied Friday with clothes. I gave him trousers, a short jacket and a cap made out of hare skin. At first he was uncomfortable but then he got used to his new appearance.


The following day I brought him to my fortification. I made a little tent for him between the two fences surrounding my place. I took all his weapons away, barred the door and hid all the ladders during the night, so he could not come inside.


After a while I realized that this wasn’t necessary at all, because Friday was a very faithful and honest man. He was like a child to me and I was like a father to him. On many occasions later he showed me he would sacrifice his life to save mine.


I was very happy to have Friday around and I began teaching him everything he needed to know to serve me well. I particularly wanted to teach him to speak to me and understand my words. He was a diligent student and quickly improved. This made me so happy that I did not care about leaving the island anymore. His presence was a great delight to me.