Chapter 25, Robinson Meets Friday.
Many months passed before fate answered my questions.
I had not been out long one morning before I discovered the canoes.
The natives were back.
They were camping in the same place as they had done a couple of years ago.
Again, I hid and watched them from a distance.
They had two prisoners with them.
These poor men were tied up with vine ropes and looked scared to death.
I knew then there was no hope of making friends with these scary men.
There were at least thirty of them.
They were making a lot of strange noises.
One very large man knocked down one of the prisoners with his bare hands.
After watching his companion get hit, the second man took the chance of his life and sped away.
He ran faster than any man I had ever seen run before.
Before I knew what was happening, he turned and ran toward me.
My heart almost stopped still in my chest.
This is it, I imagined.
They're going to find me now, and then they're going to hurt me.
Two other men chased the prisoner.
They all came closer and closer to me.
In a split second, I made up my mind to help the poor man.
I crouched in the bushes and waited until just the right moment.
The prisoner ran by me, then I stepped out and tripped one of the men chasing him.
The second man tried to grab me, but I managed to knock him out cold.
The prisoner turned around and saw me there.
Don't worry, I said, knowing he probably didn't understand me.
I'm going to help you.
The man hesitated for a minute, and then he ran back to me.
Help me tie them up so they can't hurt you anymore.
At first he didn't understand, but then I cut his wrists free of the vines and pointed to the two men.
We tied them up using the same kind of vine ropes.
They would not be moving for a very long time.
"'Come on,' I said.
"'We need to get out of here.'
I brought the man to my cave.
When we could finally rest, I gave him some food and water.
He was very hungry and thirsty."
What's your name?
I asked.
He answered me in his language.
I'm going to call you Friday, I said, because that's the day I rescued you.
The man smiled at me and nodded.
I pointed at my chest.
My name is Robinson.
Robinson Crusoe.
Before he could help himself, Friday let out a great big yawn.
I laughed out loud.
You must be very tired.
I showed him the straw sleeping mat I kept in the cave and said, Here, why don't you take a nap?
Friday smiled at me.
He knew exactly what I meant.
He walked over to the mat and fell right asleep.
I just sat there and watched him for a while.
Even though I knew he didn't understand me and I didn't understand him.
It was wonderful to have someone to talk to.
Friday was a very tall man.
He had long dark hair that fell right down his back.
He was dressed in skins as well, but didn't wear quite as many as I did.
The next day I came back to my cooking cave to find Friday still there.
In fact, over the next few days I was very surprised to find that he didn't want to go home at all.
Far more than two months, we worked hard, side by side.
We got along well, even if we didn't speak the same language.