(Continuing from Part 31)
For several days after discovering the footprint, I remained inside my shelter.
I had seen only one mark in the sand, yet it had filled me with fear.
Before that day, I had believed that I was the only human being on the island.
Now I could no longer be certain.
I imagined strangers walking through the woods, discovering my fields, and approaching my home while I slept.
Every unfamiliar sound frightened me.
At night, I listened carefully for footsteps or voices.
Sometimes the wind moved the branches outside my fence, and I imagined that someone was trying to enter.
I knew that my fears might be unreasonable, but I could not easily control them.
After several days, I began thinking more calmly.
Perhaps the footprint had been my own.
I had walked along that shore before, and I might have forgotten exactly where I had stepped.
The more I considered this possibility, the more reasonable it seemed.
I had seen no boat, no people, and no other signs of visitors.
Why should I believe that strangers had come to the island simply because I had found one footprint?
I began to feel ashamed of my fear.
I told myself that I had survived storms, illness, and many other dangers.
Surely I should not be terrified by a mark in the sand.
At last, I decided to return to the beach and examine it again.
I took my gun and prepared carefully.
I watched the surrounding country as I walked.
Every few minutes, I stopped and listened.
The journey seemed much longer than before.
When I reached the place, I found the footprint still visible.
I stood beside it and placed my own foot nearby.
Immediately, I saw something that destroyed my comforting explanation.
The footprint was much larger than mine.
It could not have been made by my foot.
I examined it carefully.
The shape was different, and the size was unmistakable.
I felt the same terror that had seized me when I first discovered it.
I turned away and hurried home.
This time, I no longer tried to persuade myself that I had imagined the danger.
Someone else had certainly walked upon the island.
But who?
I still had no answer.
I began considering what I should do if strangers returned.
My first thought was to destroy everything that might reveal my presence.
I considered pulling down my fences and hiding my cultivated fields.
I even thought about killing my goats so that their cries would not attract attention.
For a time, fear made these ideas seem reasonable.
But then I realized how foolish they were.
I had spent years building my home and producing food.
If I destroyed everything, I might make my own survival impossible.
I needed a better plan.
I decided that my first duty was to strengthen my shelter.
The fence around my home was already strong, but I wanted another line of protection.
I began building a second wall outside the first.
I placed heavy wooden posts close together and filled the spaces between them.
I used earth, timber, and other materials to make the barrier thick and difficult to cross.
The work was exhausting.
I had to cut trees, carry heavy pieces of wood, and dig holes for the posts.
But fear gave me energy.
I worked harder than I had for a long time.
I also thought about how I might defend myself if several men approached.
I possessed several guns rescued from the ship.
Until now, I had used them mainly for hunting.
I decided to arrange them so that I could fire from behind my wall.
I made small openings through which the guns could point outward.
I placed the weapons where I could reach them quickly.
My shelter began to resemble a small fortress.
I hoped that I would never need to use it for fighting.
But I wanted to be prepared.
Next, I considered the trees around my home.
When I first built my shelter, the surrounding ground had been fairly open.
A stranger walking nearby might notice the fence or the entrance.
I decided to make the place more difficult to see.
I cut branches from trees that I knew could grow after being planted.
Then I placed them in the ground outside my walls.
I arranged them closely together.
Over time, I hoped they would form a thick screen of living trees.
If they grew well, my home would be almost invisible from a distance.
I also stopped cutting unnecessary paths through the surrounding woods.
I did not want strangers to discover a clear route leading directly to my shelter.
Whenever I walked outside, I tried to avoid leaving obvious tracks.
I became especially careful about making fires.
Smoke could rise above the trees and reveal my position.
I decided to avoid large outdoor fires whenever possible.
I cooked inside my protected area and tried not to produce more smoke than necessary.
My goats presented another difficulty.
I had several enclosures, and some were far from my main home.
If strangers found the animals, they might realize that someone had been raising them.
I worried that they might follow the fences or paths until they discovered me.
I decided to divide the herd into smaller groups and keep them in different places.
This would also protect my food supply.
If one group were stolen or destroyed, I might still have the others.
I began searching for suitable hidden valleys where I could build additional pens.
I wanted places surrounded by trees and difficult to see from the coast.
As I worked, I continued thinking about the mysterious visitor.
Perhaps the person had come from the mainland in a canoe.
Perhaps several people had landed briefly and then departed.
I did not know whether they would return.
I also wondered whether they had seen any signs of my presence.
The uncertainty troubled me greatly.
Sometimes I climbed a hill and watched the sea for boats.
At other times, I remained hidden inside my enclosure for hours.
I began to understand how much my life had changed.
Before discovering the footprint, I had complained about being alone.
Now I feared that I might meet another human being.
I had once imagined that visitors would bring rescue and happiness.
But I could no longer assume that strangers would be friendly.
I continued reading the Bible and praying for protection.
These habits helped me remain calm.
I reminded myself that I had survived many dangers through patience and careful work.
Perhaps I could survive this new danger as well.
As the weeks passed, my defenses became stronger.
The new wall rose around my shelter.
The planted branches began to grow.
My guns were ready, and my supplies were stored safely.
I still did not know who had made the footprint.
But I was determined that if strangers returned, they would not easily discover my home.
I had spent years learning how to survive alone.
Now I was learning how to remain hidden.