"Did you get it?" "Got it." "Maybe next time you'll dry your clothes where animals cannot reach." "Boars don't usually come to the base of the tree house." "How was I supposed to know?" "Well, you could have left it, Crusoe." "You have other shirts." "True." "But it's not like I can go out and buy another one, is it?" "Besides, I like this one." "It is a very nice shirt." "Thank you." "Shall we go now?" "Or has a monkey stolen your favorite pair of trousers?" " You know what else I had?" " What?" "A lovely pair of slippers." "I miss those." "They went down with the ship." "It was truly a tragic day." "You know what else I miss?" "Soap." "What I wouldn't give..." "You're not on holiday." "Put your backs into it." "We could use some help." "And you could use a good lashing." "It's Atkins and the mutineers." "They're cutting timber to repair their ship." "We should stay out of this area for a while." "When do you think they'll finish repairing the ship?" "I think it will be a while, but when they do, we'll make their ship ours." "It is not the best of ideas, perhaps." "I agree, but unfortunately for us ships don't grow on trees." "Not usually, anyways." "Ripped By mstoll" "It's not the best-looking boat in the world, but if we fix her up she'll float." "How did it get up there?" "A flood, perhaps?" "Possibly." "Or a hurricane could have put it up there." "Lucky for us this one had a soft landing." "All that work I did trying to build my own, and look at this." "A gift in a tree." "Yes, the boat that you built." "And what a fine seaworthy creation that was." "It wasn't that bad." "It was a good boat." "Until it got into the water." "Well, it's not as easy as it looks." "And we need all the help we can get with the strange currents and tides around this place." "Eventually, this could sail us away from here." "But the boat is in the tree." "How are you going to get it down without breaking it?" "Easy." "We set up a system of bamboo poles and a pulley." "And the boat will float gently down." "Steady." "Steady." "It feels like..." "It feels..." "And the boat will just glide down gently." "No problem." "You're hilarious." "At least it's on the ground now." "A few more poles, easy." "You finished?" "No." "Well, it's not my fault the bloody rope broke." "It was quite funny, though." "Remind me to laugh later." "Doesn't look like we did any more damage than was already here." "Hello." "He must have been sailing by when the storm struck." "Let's hope we don't suffer the same fate." "Hey." "What is it?" "The way to England." "It's a compass." "A working compass." "It can take us to England?" "No." "But it can show us which direction we're going." "With this we can find ourselves a friendly port." "And from there we can get a ship, then we can head back to England." "Come on." "Let's take this back to the tree house and fix it there." "All this time on the island," "I thought we'd never escape." "But now we have a boat and a compass." "It's meant to be." "We will need a sail." "We have plenty of sails." "The roof of the tree house is made of sails, remember?" "And a mast." "That's easy enough." "Don't worry." "It's just that there's much to do to fix it, Crusoe." "But it can be fixed." "Listen, this used to be a work of fine craftsmanship, and we can't duplicate that." "But we can patch it up." "How?" "We'll soften saplings with steam and we'll bend them to shape to reframe it." "We'll sheath it with sail canvas and we'll seal it with tree resin and beeswax." "We can do it all here in the workshop." "You are sure it will work?" "Of course I'm sure." "And we'll check it in the water to see if it floats just to make sure she's all right." "You keep calling the boat "she."" "Why?" "I don't know, really." "I suppose if I had to guess I'd say, because they can be beautiful and graceful." "And they can take you around the world if you treat them well." "You are sure about all this?" "We fix this boat, we get off the island." "Trust me." "So, what is it like in England?" "Same as anywhere, really." "Just different buildings, different faces, different customs." "Are they good people like you?" "I'm not all good." "But you are decent." "And you are honest." "And you saved my life." "True." "In that case, no." "They're not all like me." "Some are better, some are worse." "Some you can trust, some you can't." "Some seem trustworthy until you try..." "Like who?" "My brother-in-law, Samuel Tuffley." "To look at him you'd think he was a decent man." "He's got good clothes, good manners." "We had no reason to doubt him." "The money you put in goes to rent a fleet, hire the crews and equip them for a year's adventure." "That already sounds expensive." "Well, the crews come cheap." "We pay them in shares on their return." "Fifty percent goes to them, and the rest in pure profit to us." "Trading in what?" "That's at each captain's discretion." "Half the art's in choosing good men and letting them do what they do." "I heard you live above your warehouse." "Until we can afford something better." "A warehouse?" "Despite having that big loan from Blackthorn to prop you up." "Nobody knows about that." "Everyone knows." "Do you think he'd miss a few more thousand?" "The man's too busy buying up half of London to build his museum." "That's his affair." "Jeremiah Blackthorn doesn't care for money at all." "I do." "And so should you." "My sister grew up in a fine house." "Well, when I saw the ship, I fired my gun." "And although they were too far away to hear it, they saw the smoke." "I told them that I was an Englishman, and that I had made my escape out of slavery." "They very kindly asked me to come on board and they took me in." "I was once more delivered from the most miserable conditions of all life, and what to do next with myself I was now to consider." "More story, please." "More story?" "Tomorrow." "No wonder she won't sleep." "On the heels of every story rides a critic." "Did you hear from my brother?" "I did." "And I'm not sure if it's a good time for us to be investing in a scheme." "A young man once said to me that with the money he got from his stock, he'd buy a horse..." "And ride out and buy straight from the weaver?" "You should never trust anything young men say." "Hmm." "Be careful who you trust." "Now we just wait for the high tide to come in, and we sail her out to sea." "What about the mast?" "I have another idea for that." "Friday?" "Can you give me a hand, please?" "Will this be strong enough?" "Of course." "These spars have held the sails together in the strongest of winds." "You need to make sure that it is safe." "In case we're in a storm." "We're not taking her around the world together." "We're just going to the nearest friendly port." "Doesn't have to last a lifetime." "Yes, but it needs to last long enough to get us to safety." "What was that?" "Backed into the fire." "You shouldn't do that." "Good advice." "What's the matter?" "It's just that you cannot hurry these things." "I know that." "But the tides are in our favor right now." "And that's what's going to get us off the island and me back to my family." "Hmm." "Where's the compass?" "It's in the fire!" "I am sorry, Crusoe." "I did not..." "It's fine, it's not your fault." "Can you fix it?" "No." "No, the needle's melted." "It's..." "No." "Well, that is it, then." "We cannot leave." "No, it's all right." "Everything's going to be all right because that is not the only compass on the island." "Another compass?" "Where?" "Crusoe, wait!" "I think we should rethink this plan." "It'll be fine." "You know what Atkins is like, Crusoe." "He's watching for you." "He wants you dead." "They have a compass, we need it and they won't miss it." "Will they not need a compass to go home, too?" "No, they have other equipment." "Quite frankly, I'm not enormously concerned with their welfare right now." "Well, if they catch us, Crusoe, they're going to kill us very, very slowly." "Well, then we'll just have to make sure we don't get caught." "Lift it." "Lift!" "Get out of the way!" "Put your back into it." "Give the men their rations, Mr. McCain." "Come on, let's move." "Come on." "He's mapping the reefs, he's charting the currents and the tides." "Aye, aye, Captain." "See what the hell it's about." "We have to go before they find us." "I'm not leaving without that compass." "It will not do any of us any good if we are dead." "Friday, you worry too much." "Keep looking." "Crusoe, I did not find the compass." "Let us go." "I'm not leaving without it." "Perhaps I did not mention the killing us slowly part." "We have to be careful, because every second we spend here places us in more danger." "What's your problem?" "Why won't you concentrate on this?" "Someone has to think of our safety first." "Look at this." "It's right in front of you." "I have never seen a compass before today." "I am not familiar with these things." "I don't give a damn." "You remind Captain Taylor I have his wife and daughter in the stockade." "It's Atkins." "Come on." "Are you mad?" "What are you doing here?" "I just had to borrow this." "Of course when I say "borrow" I mean take and never give back but..." "Get in there." "Come on." "Come on." "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" "Atkins is looking for you everywhere." "Look, we're getting off the island." "We found ourself a boat." "All we need is this compass." "What's going to happen with me?" "I'll send for help when I return." "You have my word." "They'll come and arrest the mutineers and put you and the crew back in charge." "Are you taking him with you?" "Yes, I am." "Of course." "You need money when you get back." "He should fetch a good price." "I will take that as a compliment." "He's not my slave." "He's my equal." "My better in many ways and my friend." "You'll show him the same respect that you show me." "My apologies." "I assumed that..." "Appearances can be deceptive, can't they?" "But then you know that, don't you?" "You're a strange one." "What kind of a man are you?" "I'm my own man." "What kind of man are you?" "More of a man than some." "Did I mention the killing us slowly part?" "What?" "When you were younger did you ever have a word book?" "A dictionary?" "Yes." "Why?" "Look up the word "trouble"" "and you will see Olivia's big picture right next to it." "Of that, I have no doubt." "You have to go now." "They've stopped work on the ship." "Do you have a plan on getting out of here?" "Yes, of course." "The same way we came in." "Friday gets in the barrel, and I push him out." "Right." "That barrel?" "Over there?" "Stay behind the tents." "Go quickly." "Don't get caught." "You!" "Atkins, help!" "Crusoe." "The other way." "Turn around." "Get him, come back here." "Come on!" "Wait a minute!" "Wait!" "We can't lead them back to the tree house." "We'll lose them in the jungle." "You four, split up." "Go around." "Take the side path, try and cut them off." "Nash, come with me." "What are you doing?" "Slowing them down." "And slowing us down, too." "Come on." "Now, you're not going to slow me down, are you?" "No, it's feeling much better already." "What a relief." "We have to get back before the high tide." "There is plenty of time." "Yes, plenty of time, and we'd have much more time if we weren't running around the jungle." "They've circled round us." "This way." "We're surrounded." "They must have slipped past us." "Oh, really?" "I thought maybe they grew wings and flew away." "Idiot." "Shall we keep looking?" "I'm needed back at the camp." "I want this whole area patrolled." "And when you find him bring him back to me." "And the slave?" "What about him?" "Shall we kill him?" "No!" "Keep him alive." "Good, strong arms, healthy teeth." "He'll fetch a good price." "Let's go." "Okay, come on." " Aye, aye." " All right." "I think they're gone." "If you think that Atkins is angry now, what will he be like when he finds out that you've taken his compass?" "Don't you mean when he finds out we've taken his compass?" "Oh, no, no, no, no, Crusoe." "This was your plan, not mine." "I told you that this was too big of a risk to take." "I wouldn't have had to take a risk if you wouldn't have broke..." "Never mind." "We have the compass." "That's the end of it." "Okay, we can't go back the way we came in." "We have to find another way out." "What if we take the wrong direction?" "We do not know this part of the island." "It's okay." "We'll figure it out." "We have this." "Atkins said I would fetch a good price." "Ignore him." "He's uneducated and coarse." "Yes, but in England, they will still see me in that way." "Well, yes, there is a certain attitude." "But it's their problem, not yours." "In my experience, when everyone else has a problem they soon make it your problem." "Some people treat you badly regardless of the color of your skin." "How did they treat you?" "I've had my share of bad luck." "It seems to me that people with money have the best of luck." "How does money make them lucky?" "It means they can pay to have a problem fixed." "And they certainly don't end up with a debt they can't repay." "I'm not going back to Mr. Blackthorn." "I'm not a man to take advantage." "Which is probably why you're not rich." "Ouch." "I wouldn't have you any other way." "Have you thought about the dowry money?" "I swore to your father that I'd never touch it." "It's nearly 4,000 pounds." "I know." "Robin, I'm not saying spend it." "But we've got to invest it somewhere." "I don't want to put it at risk." "I think we can trust my own brother." "And that, gentlemen, makes you equal partners in your Caribbean adventure." "Worth drinking to, I'd say." "Not in my building." "And these are the letters of mark for your captains." "What are they?" "It's just paperwork." "Rather important paperwork." "Without letters of mark to protect them, your crews will be tried as pirates if they were to be captured." "Pirates?" "Instead of privateers." "It means the difference between a fair trial and a hanging." "But we're not pirates, we're traders." "Privateering is a trade." "Stealing from the king's enemies on the high seas isn't piracy." "It's..." "A legal version of it." "Be careful." "What?" "I said be careful." "Never daydream on a steep hill." "Old family proverb." "Oh, really?" "That's a very specific proverb." "We like to keep things simple." "Wait." "We should head down this way instead." "Or maybe we should go this way in the proper direction." "We'll go down there and we get far enough over." "But, Crusoe, that is the long way round." "Maybe it is, but that's the way I'm going." "Fine." "Then I'll meet you there." "What's going on, Friday?" "Anybody would think you didn't want to get off this island with me." "Yes, and they would be right." "I am going down that way." "If you want to stay on the path I cannot stop you." "But I am going this way." "Friday!" "Friday!" "Hang on, mate." "Hang on." "Friday?" "Friday, you all right?" "You hurt?" "What is it?" "What is it?" "Oh, it's my shoulder." "I think it's dislocated." "Can you move your legs?" "I can move my feet." "You're lucky." "This tree landed on a rock." "It's raised at this end." "Otherwise it would have crushed your legs." "I cannot move anything else, Crusoe." "Okay." "Okay." "We're going to get you out." "Hold on." "Try and move this." "When I say so, put this rock in between the gap." "Okay?" "Okay." "You'll do it a few more times after that, and we'll get you out." "Okay, ready?" "And..." "Come on!" "Can I wedge the rock in now?" "I'm getting you out." "How, Crusoe?" "You going to make a saw out of leaves and a coconut?" "Maybe I could." "The mutineers." "The mutineers were cutting down trees." "They'll have a saw." "I'll borrow it." "When I say borrow..." "Saw now, Crusoe, joke later." "I'll be as quick as I can." "Friday." "Yes." "Don't go anywhere." "Okay?" "I will try." "Where's the bloody saw?" "Where'd this water come from?" "From the crevices." "I think it is flooding." "It's sea water." "This cave is tidal." "We're at sea level down here." "Oh, Crusoe, I told you we could cut across to the beach." "Unfortunately you were right." "This must be the high tide line." "That means the tide is coming." "It'll carry the boat away." "You must go save it, Crusoe." "We're both getting on that boat and leaving this island." "Did they not have a smaller axe?" "No." "It's all they left." "It's very inconsiderate of them." "Yes." "Crusoe." "You must go save the boat." "This will not work." "It will." "You should go now." "I'll have you out soon." "Not soon enough." "I'm going as fast as I can." "Crusoe, just go!" "Back when you said you wouldn't come with me, back when my compass broke..." "It was an accident." "I give you my word." "What is it, then?" "Why don't you want to come back to England with me?" "Because I know what it will be like." "I know the kind of people that are sold into slavery." "And they usually look like me, not you." "I'll help you, we can help each other." "Crusoe, you have a life in England." "You have a home, you have a family." "I cannot help you there." "Friday." "You're my friend." "You're probably the best friend I've ever had." "Did you think I was going to let you just fend for yourself when you got to England?" "I do not know." "If it wasn't for you I never..." "I never would have survived." "We're just leaving one island and we're going to another." "That's it." "And when we get there it will be my turn to help you survive." "My family needs me." "I haven't seen them in over six years." "And for all I know, they could be..." "The one thing I know is that you and I are getting out of this cave." "Even if it's the last thing I do." "I owe you my life, Crusoe." "Today, my debt has been repaid." "As I forfeit my life to you" "I free you to go and save the boat." "Your life is worth more than some boat." "You said you needed me to help you to get back to England." "Well, this is how I can help you." "By letting you go." "I'll think of something." "Give my death some meaning." "Go, save yourself." "Save the boat and get off this island." "Hey, tell stories about me." "And do not forget to tell them how handsome I am." "That part, you must get right." "Go." "I'm not going." "Can you keep your head up?" "Yes, but not for long." "If I had equipment from the tree house I could move this easily." "Go and get them." "And while you're at it, save the boat." "It'll take too long." "By the time I got back it'd be too late." "If I get you out of here, will you come back with me to England?" "Crusoe, I cannot get out." "Then you might as well agree." "Will you?" "Okay, okay, if I get out of this" "I will come with you to England." "I have an idea." "Remember, do not think about the target." "Think about anything else." "Oh, so close." "No, that was not close." "Yes, I think you'll find it was." "I think you will find no." "You just need a little bit more practice, Crusoe." "It is not supposed to be easy." "Of course it is." "What's the point of making tools if it doesn't make the job easier?" "Otherwise, why bother?" "Why don't you tell that to the bow and the arrow?" "I think it's these arrows." "I don't think they're straight." "The aim's off." "Here, let me try." "Well, the arrow seems fine to me." "I win." "Again." "Okay, I think I said..." "You said best two out of three." "What about best three out of five?" "And when I win that one, it's going to be best six out of 10?" "Listen, if I can hit this with my gun, then we're even." "Okay." "I mean, I had to deal with a moving target." "Yes, of course." "Well, I did." "Look, the coconut's swinging all over the place." "Yes, I'm sure it is, Crusoe." "How'd you do that?" "I told you." "Practice." "I think I'm going to have to start cheating." "Or practicing some more." "Friday." "Friday." "Friday!" "I got the other end tied to a counter weight." "When I release it, it should lift this off." "Good." "I do not like the taste of sea water." "You all right?" "My shoulder hurts, but I am alive, thanks to you." "We may still be able to save the boat." "At least we still have the compass." "Yeah, you're right, I suppose." "I will get you to England somehow." "And you'll come with me, no matter what prejudice we have to overcome." "England is a fine place, a fine and wonderful place." "When I think of all that's best about her, sometimes, I forget the things that drove me to leave." "One by one, we see our freedoms disappear." "Our city's charter is taken away." "That's right." " Our movements are restricted." " Yeah!" "And we are barred from holding public office." "Yes!" "And what exactly is our crime?" "Nothing!" "We have a cavalier king, who looks at us and sees only the sons and grandsons of those men who executed his father." "Yes." "King James II moves to build a divided kingdom." "And who's to stop him?" "What's going on?" "A new rebellion by the sound of it." "The Duke of Monmouth is raising an army against the king." "Monmouth!" "Monmouth!" "Monmouth!" "The Monmouth rebellion, eh?" "Well, the sooner he tries it the sooner the army can cut him down." "What does this mean?" "Where?" "You put a mark behind his name." "Robinson Crusoe." "I would like to be informed if he is arrested." "If you want him protected, why do you give me his name?" "How's your shoulder?" "Oh, Crusoe, it is very..." "Crusoe!" "That's for not wanting to come with me." "I agreed I would come..." "Yes, but before that you didn't." "How is it?" "Much better." "Thank you." "So?" "Are we just going to stand here and stare at the boat until it disappears completely?" "Yes." "Yes, we are." "Fair enough." "Fair enough." "We will think of something, Crusoe." "There's always another plan." "You're right." "We've always got the mutineer's ship." "No, Crusoe." "I meant another plan that will not get us killed." "But where would be the fun in that?" "Ripped By mstoll"