"How about this?" "The next time a hog runs uphill, we just wait for it to come back down?" "Lazy, lazy man." "I've built hog-traps." "Why are we even doing this?" "Crusoe." "Look at this spear." "Isn't it exactly the same" "As the cannibals that brought me here." "So they were here more than once." "Yes, I suspect more than often." "Until you drove them away." "This man must've escaped and they hunted him down." "Why didn't they eat him?" "There is a ritual." "It is not enough" "He must die their way" "There must be a place of" "They roam the islands, consuming souls in the form of human flesh." "They fear no one and everyone fears them." "Except for you, Crusoe." "Because I drove them away?" "This is where he ran away from." "The power of a man lingers in his bones." "They deserve more than this." "I didn't drive them away." "Well, they did not come back." "This was a recent fire." "Do you not think they'll have learned by now, Crusoe?" "They are mad, not stupid." "From now on, we stay away from this part of the island." "Now who's mad?" "I'm not spending the rest of my days cowering in the tree house!" "We have to be careful with fires." "No smoke in daylight." "Friday!" "Nothing's changed." "We have guns, they don't." "We have traps near the beach and a home we can defend." "Oh, you do not know them, Crusoe." "You resist them once, they come back twice as fierce!" "These are men without race, tribe or family." "Long pig has taken over." "Long pig?" "Human flesh." "Live off it as they do, before too long your mind is destroyed." "Stay close to me." "Keep near to the path." "So they're more of a gang than a tribe." "I do not expect you to understand." "Oh, but I do." "London was a jungle." "Your politics or religion made you fair game." "Come on, say: "God save the king"!" "Come on, Robinson!" "So I understand about gangs." "I do indeed." "Let's set the other ones." "It would work better with pigeons." "I know, but we ate them all." "So if anybody uses this path, the parrot will fly free and head for the food at the tree house." "Meet me halfway on this, Friday." "I don't know what else I can do." "Nothing." "You're being a good friend." "I'm trying to understand." "It must have been a terrifying experience for you." "It was, but I'm still alive." "i suppose you can say that as a young boy" "I consumed my grandfather." "I'm sorry?" "And my grandfather's father." "I'm sorry, no." "That went over my head wider than a Spanish cannonball." "What?" "Heh!" "Heh!" "I told you that one day I'll explain this to you." "Well, today's the day." "Yes, but explain what?" "You know my people practise a form of cannibalism." "Yes, you enjoy reminding me, especially when we're low on goat meat." "Ha!" "ha!" "But we have never tasted the flesh of man." "Only bones, only family." "Well, that's perfectly acceptable." "We do not see human flesh as food." "You would call it a symbolic act." "We keep the dried bones of our dead, and we grind them to dust." "Adding that dust to what we eat gives us the strength of our ancestors." "Ground-up bones?" "Hmm, it's one way." "Do you burn your dead?" "Only when there's plague." "So you do not keep their ashes?" "Not in the kitchen." "I can even do this without looking." "I don't think anybody could do it without" "Watch me." "If you get one now, it's gonna be purely by accident." "That's it." "OK, now!" "In my mind, I see with eyes in my head." "And I think:" "If I'm that fish... which way will I go?" "See?" "Crusoe!" "I told you." "We should take our weapons, and go to the other end of the island." "Or we could take their boat." "You cannot be serious." "If we stay on this island, they can still find us." "If we take their boat," "Crusoe, it is suicide." "It's providence!" "Imagine the look on the leader's face." "He will be furious." "You like the idea then." "Hey!" "Hey, come here!" "Come here." "Wouldn't you know it!" "Susanna's Bay!" "Fat Crab Beach." "What?" "Fat Crab Beach?" "No guards posted." "It looks that way." "Let's go!" "Why do you call it "Fat Crab Beach"?" "Why do you call it" "Because it's a place of great beauty, and "Fat Crab Beach" just doesn't do it for me." "So much for stealth." "Ha!" "I could've let him bite you." "That would've been quieter." "Let's get off this island." "Crusoe!" "They brought captives." "Do you think" "Leave them?" "Oh, we cannot." "Let's get on with it." "Why are they stopping?" "For banana leaves." "To use for steam in the cooking fire." "To wrap a body that they do not eat." "They use a powder to preserve the meat." "Powder?" "Saltpetre?" "Saltpetre's a preservative." "I think it's fairly explosive as well." "They'll be heading toward the hog wallows." "Where the hog traps are." "Mm-hmm." "We need to get ahead of them." "Friday!" "Here, here.Stop. Rest." "I could not get the other one." "It's all right.It's not your fault." "Did you see the leader?" "He recognized me." "Can you hear me?" "We'll have you out of here in a second." "You!" "Santana!" "Of all the stinking ship-rats!" "Let us give him back!" "Santos Santana." "I spit on your name!" "Please let me kill him!" "Not yet." "But he abandoned us!" "He laughed in our faces as he sailed away." "He left us here to rot." "He does not deserve to live." "We just risked our lives trying to save his." "Let's at least hear his story." "Then can I kill him?" "That depends." "What's he saying?" "He's praying to your god, asking him to bless us and to let our souls pass into your heaven." "Take my life if you must." "That will only be justice." "But in the name our Saviour,I ask one thing from you." "And what is that?" "Let me go back and rescue the other captive." "You?" "He's an islander like you." "Much like you, in fact." "I will gladly sacrifice my own life." "A man like you doesn't sacrifice anything for anyone." "What can I say to you?" "I am changed." "I do not think so." "What happened to you?" "I was on the ship,returning home to Spain." "But the sea got into our drinking water, and we had to stop on one of the islands for a fresh supply." "I was separated from the party and taken." "There you are." "He's mad." "He has been drinking sea water!" "I wish that I was mad." "And then I wouldn't be haunted by the horrors that I've witnessed." "This man and I were bound together." "He speaks English and many other tongues." "He helped me to have hope and to find once again my god." "Do not trust him." "I don't." "Not an inch." "Please help me." "Lend me a musket and powder and a good knife, so that I might go and free my redeemer." "Now he wants a gun!" "Believe me, please.I will do you no harm." "Because if you do," "I will kill you before you even touch him." "We must be quick." "They will soon start preparing him." "For slaughter!" "That should be Santana." "A few more adjustments and we can reset it." "You don't believe him?" "No." "What should we do about it?" "I really think we should kill him." "I can't kill a man in cold blood, Friday." "And before you ask, no." "No, what?" "I don't think you should either." "We have to do something, though." "I was going to suggest that we should give him a head start." "Just to be fair." "What if he's telling the truth?" "You heard what he said." "And you've been through what he went through." "Educate me on this, Friday." "Wouldn't that change a man?" "Crusoe, you were born with a good heart, but Santos Santana would've tortured and killed us for that gold!" "And now he's a saint?" "I do not see it." "We left that poor soul to die." "What if Santana can make a better job of rescue than we did?" "Have you no memory of what he tried to do to you?" "You have told me stories about your life before the island." "You trust far too easily, Crusoe." "Remember what that has done for you in the past." "It's true." "My father told me, to earn honour you must offer your trustand expect the same in return." "It was a time I did not believe it possible to be betrayed by family." "It does look as though the ship's been ceased and the crew arrested." "What about the cargo?" "Forget it, Robin." "You'll have to stand the loss and that's all there is to it." "At least you don't have a Spanish rope around your neck." "No, but you said the crew would be safe." "Only if the letters of mark are respected by the enemy." "They often aren't." "Can we make up the loss on the other ships?" "I... don't think you've quite understood, Robin." "This is your ship we're talking about." "But we're a syndicate." "We share the losses." "He's right." "I remember this." "Once ship, one share, allocated at the discretion of the fund manager." "Who is..." "Mr. Samuel Tuffley." "So I lose everything and they lose nothing?" "What kind of a syndicate is that?" "It's all very clear in the contract." "Not to me it wasn't." "Why didn't you warn me?" "Had I been engaged to advise you, I would." "But I was engaged by Mr. Tuffley." "I spoke to my father." "What does he think of his son's business manner?" "I think he knew what was going on." "What?" "That doesn't make any sense." "He said I was welcome to return to his home at any time." "Well, maybe you should,'cause I've been wiped out." "We'll go to the law." "I don't care if he's my brother." "The law's on his side." "You told me once that trusting a Spaniard is like trusting a snake." "On behalf of my countrymen, I forgive you." "And by the way, from the latest news I heard," "I am no longer your Spanish enemy, though that may have changed again." "Your English politics are so very hard to follow." "For a moment there, you almost had me convinced." "I wasn't lying." "I'm doing this to save a true friend." "I pity any soul you call a friend." "Turn around, both of you!" "My ship is 2 days away from here by canoe." "It sails in 3." "If I succeed with this, you'll be on it." "How does that make you feel?" "I'd be more inclined to believe you, if I wasn't standing at the point of my own gun." "You know that golden canon you were so willing to kill for?" "We found it and we threw it off a cliff." "I can show you the spot." "You could dive for it." "I'll hold your coat." "He's going to steal the cannibals' boat!" "It is still here." "Perhaps he was telling the truth." "Santana!" "It's me." "Why did you stop me?" "I stopped you from committing suicide." "If I'm going to save my friend," "I have to kill those man-eaters." "Not with those odds." "You would've only ended up dead yourself." "There are 3 paths leading to the beach where the cannibals landed." "Once we have the captive, we'll take one of these back to the boat." "Those not killed will surely follow." "But that is where Crusoe is very clever." "I have man-traps rigged on all the paths." "There is only one way that this will work, though." "Those that fight alongside each other have to trust each other." "I give you my solemn word as a gentleman, if you give me yours." "What about that of your man?" "He does not belong to me." "His word is his own to give." "I will give you my word... that if you break this truce, I will eat you myself." "I apologize for calling you Crusoe's man." "I understand that you are as much a brother to him as Baillom is to me." "What kind of trick is this?" "What trick is this?" "Crusoe." "What?" "Do not believe him." "Do not." "This man..." "Friday!" "What did you say to him?" "Nothing that you did not hear." "Keep your head forward." "Do not move." "Just listen." "Who are you?" "I have come to rescue you." "Thank the gods!" "Shh!" "Face front!" "Do not let anyone hear." "Where are you from?" "Who are you?" "Father." "It is your son." "Am I" " Am I dead already?" "No, Father." "You are still alive." "We knew" " We knew you were taken." "I thought" " I thought you were dead!" "I was saved." "Don't leave me without... looking at you." "If I die without" "You will not die." "I thought you were gone." "I will come back for you." "No!" "Get far away from here and save yourself." "Go." "Go!" "I am going, but I will be back." "Any signs?" "No." "What made him do that?" "It's not like him." "I don't know, but he was their prisoner like me." "I know what he went through." "He's scared." "He did not run away." "You know your man." "He's not my man, Santana." "He's my friend." "As good as any I've ever had." "And I've been fortunate in my friends." "There are guards at the city gates and patrols on the Thames." "I need to be able to come and go." "Why?" "To ride out to the west country and bring in new stock, or face even greater ruin." "The west country." "Is that the reason?" "It's where my weavers are." "It is also where the Duke of Monmouth is raising an army and they've closed the gates to stop anyone from London joining him." "I'm not joining his rebellion." "I hope not, Robin." "I hope not." "I'm not out to make anyone my enemy." "So what can I do?" "I need a pass to leave the city." "I think we can arrange that." "Crusoe!" "Where have you been?" "Holding cages." "You entered their camp?" "Alone?" "I wanted to see if what he said was true." "About the cages?" "About Baillom." "You know this man?" "Baillom is my father." "He thought I was dead." "They think I am dead." "Because I left home one morning and never returned." "Just like you." "Yes, but at least we'll be able to reunite you with your father." "They have no pistols." "But each man is a very fierce warrior and he's not afraid to die." "Then our pistols will be happy to oblige." "And my arrows." "A pistol is good for one shot at close range." "After that, we fight." "Crusoe, if we come out of this alive," "I give you my solemn word that I will do everything in my power to get you back to England." "I believe this may belong to you." "Thank you." "If I show myself, I can draw them away." "In my day, no man could run as fast as me in the Spanish army." "And there's a bunch of fellows who can really run." "Saltpetre." "They have lit their fires." "The ceremony of sacrifice has begun." "What tribe are these people?" "No tribe." "They are the scourge." "Limbs of Satan." "If you are insane and you lose your soul," "It does not matter who you are." "Anyone can join them." "Anyone?" "As long as you can hold your own with their savagery." "There was a Frenchman amongst them once." "But he's gone now." "When they cannot find prey, they turn on each other." "This way." "Stop!" "When I give the signal..." "Close your eyes." "Remember me?" "Yes." "Yes, I know you remember me." "I shot a couple of your mates." "And then I smacked one of them in the nose" "With the butt of my rifle." "Yes, that's right." "It's Crusoe." "Robinson Crusoe." "NOW!" "I told you I'd be back!" "I was waiting." "Santana!" "I'm all right." "It's nothing." "I'm all right." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'm OK." "Sure?" "You came back to rescue me?" "I couldn't leave you with those savages." "They'll be coming for us." "And you are too wounded" "To make it to the canoe before they catch us." "I'm sorry." "It's my fault." "No, don't say that." "I must reach my ship, before it sails without us." "Look, if I can draw them out," "The 3 of you can take the canoe." "Baillom, can you navigate to Santana's ship?" "Yeah, I can." "Good, then do it." "Friday, I think you should go with them." "You can trust my father to bring back Santana's ship to rescue us." "Nothing will stop him." "But you?" "You will not survive a day" "Without me to watch your back." "OK, let's hurry." "We'll get them to follow us." "Let them run past you," "Then head down to the beach and take the boat." "I'll return for you, Crusoe," "Or I'll die in the attempt." "You have my word." "I have no doubt." "Die if you must." "But first you make sure my father is safe." "If I gave you my solemn word," "Will that mean anything?" "I think now it will." "Nothing will persuade you to leave with us?" "No, father." "You were more selfish once." "When I was young." "And now you have changed." "You know more about yourself when there is only one other person to share your world with." "He has been a good teacher to you." "Science, English, white man's medicine." "The world is so much bigger than we ever knew." "It doesn't matter where you go in it, never forget who you are." "I have learned a lot from Crusoe." "He has been a good friend." "However far you roam, you'll always be in my heart." "You were never lost to me." "The next time I see you two, it better be on the prow of a two-masted ship." "It's Susannah's Bay." "OK, we go." "Let's go." "We don't have long." "Santana!" "Santana." "Are you all right?" "Are you OK?" "Santana." "Are you all right?" "I like that one." "No, Crusoe!" "He is mine!" "It is gone!" "I have wanted this for a very, very long time." "They'll be coming back." "I have a good feeling about this." "This time it will happen." "How about you?" "I'm a happy man." "My father lives and he knows I am alive." "This looks good." "I need building up." "I don't want Susannah thinking I'm getting scrawny." "Hmm." "There's plenty more." "No signs of any cannibals?" "No." "No signs." "You've taken count of every last one?" "Oh yes, yes." "Well, nearly." "Nearly?" "As soon as we finish this." "No, no."