of Providence over me, and the great hopes I had of being effectually
and speedily delivered; for I had an invincible impression upon my
thoughts, that my deliverance was at hand, and that I should not be
another year in this place. However, I went on with my husbandry,
digging, planting, and fencing, as usual; I gathered and cured my
grapes, and did every necessary thing, as before.

The rainy season was in the mean time upon me, when I kept more within
doors than at other times; so I had stowed our now vessel as secure as
we could, bringing her up into the creek, where, as I said in the
beginning, I landed my rafts from the ship; and haling her up to the
shore, at high water mark, I made my man Friday dig a little dock, just
big enough for her to float in; and then, when the tide was out, we made
a strong dam cross the end of it, to keep the water out; and so she lay
dry, as to the tide, from the sea; and to keep the rain off, we laid a
great many boughs of trees so thick, that she was as well thatched as a
house; and thus we waited for the months of November and December, in
which I designed to make my adventure.

When the settled season began to come in, as the thought of my design
returned with the fair weather, I was preparing daily for the voyage;
and the first thing I did was to lay up a certain quantity of provision,
being the store for the voyage; and intended, in a week or a fortnight's
time, to open the dock, and launch out our boat. I was busy one morning
upon something of this kind, when I called to Friday, and bid him go to
the sea-shore, and see if he could find a turtle or tortoise, a thing
which we generally got once a week, for the sake of the eggs, as well as
the flesh. Friday had not been long gone, when he came running back, and
flew over my outward wall, or fence, like one that felt not the ground,
or the steps he set his feet on; and before I had time to speak to him,