(Continuing from Part 54)
After my meeting with the old Portuguese captain, I began to understand that my affairs in Brazil were far better than I had expected.
For many years, I had supposed that everything I once owned was lost.
I had been absent for so long that I could hardly imagine anyone still remembering my plantation.
But my old friend assured me that the property remained valuable.
He explained that my former partner had continued managing it and that the land had produced considerable income.
I listened with great interest.
The captain also told me something about his own circumstances.
He had grown old and was no longer wealthy.
In earlier years, he had received a share of the income from my plantation, according to the arrangements we had made.
But his own fortunes had declined.
He spoke honestly about the money he had received and what he had done with it.
I was touched by his openness.
This was the man who had rescued me when I was young and helpless.
He had taken me aboard his ship, treated me kindly, and helped me begin a new life in Brazil.
I had never forgotten his generosity.
Now that I had returned, I wanted to repay him.
I told him that I would not demand money from him for the years when he had managed my affairs.
I knew that he had acted in good faith.
Instead, I wished to help him.
He thanked me warmly.
We then began the necessary business of recovering my estate.
The captain helped me prepare letters to Brazil.
We wrote to my former partner and to others who had handled the plantation’s affairs.
I explained that I was alive and had returned to Europe.
I asked for a full account of the property and its income.
The captain advised me about the proper documents.
He knew the people involved and understood how business was conducted.
I followed his guidance.
Then we waited for an answer.
During this time, I thought often about the strange course of my life.
When I first went to Brazil, I had been a young man eager to make my fortune.
I had worked hard to establish my plantation.
But I had not been satisfied.
I had wanted to become richer more quickly.
That desire had led me to join the voyage that ended in my shipwreck.
For twenty-eight years, I had lived on an island where money could do almost nothing for me.
Now I had returned to Europe and discovered that my abandoned property might make me wealthy.
It seemed a remarkable lesson.
At last, letters arrived from Brazil.
I opened them eagerly.
They contained detailed accounts of the plantation.
My former partner confirmed that the estate had continued operating during my absence.
The land had been cultivated, and its value had increased greatly.
The letters explained how the income had been divided and managed over the years.
They also included information about the money that was now owed to me.
As I read the figures, I could hardly believe them.
The plantation had produced far more than I had imagined.
A considerable sum was available to me, along with valuable property that would continue providing income.
I was no longer a poor man.
I had become wealthy without knowing it.
The news affected me so strongly that I felt almost unable to speak.
I had endured years of hunger, danger, and loneliness.
I had labored to grow enough grain for a few loaves of bread.
I had spent months making ordinary household objects.
Now I was being told that I possessed more money than I could easily spend.
For a moment, the contrast overwhelmed me.
I thanked God for the unexpected change in my circumstances.
But I also remembered the many times when I had wished for wealth before learning what was truly necessary for life.
I had discovered that food, shelter, health, and companionship were more valuable than gold when a person was alone and helpless.
The letters from Brazil included more than promises.
They provided arrangements for sending money and goods to me.
My former partner had acted generously and wished to settle everything fairly.
I was grateful.
I also received news that certain people who had managed my affairs had preserved records of the estate.
Their careful work made it possible for me to establish my rights.
I realized how fortunate I was that honest people had remained connected with my property.
Without them, I might have returned to find nothing.
I immediately began thinking about how to use my new fortune.
First, I wished to help the Portuguese captain.
He had been my friend when I had almost nothing.
I could not forget that debt.
I arranged to give him money and provide for his comfort in old age.
I also promised him a regular payment from my income.
He was deeply moved.
He thanked me repeatedly.
But I told him that I was only returning a small part of the kindness he had once shown me.
I then considered my remaining family in England.
Although my parents were dead, I still had relatives who might benefit from my help.
I wished to provide for them where I could.
I had spent so many years separated from human society that I now found pleasure in being useful to others.
I also thought about Friday.
He had remained faithful to me through danger and uncertainty.
I wanted him to be safe and well cared for.
My wealth would be of little value if I forgot the people who had helped me survive.
Yet another question troubled me.
What should I do with the plantation itself?
It was valuable, but it was far away.
To manage it personally, I would have to return to Brazil.
I was not eager to cross the ocean again.
I had already suffered too much from dangerous voyages.
I began to consider selling the property and settling permanently in England.
The idea appealed to me.
I had spent most of my adult life wandering from one place to another.
Perhaps it was finally time to establish a peaceful home.
But I knew that decisions about such a valuable estate should not be made carelessly.
I consulted the old captain and considered my options.
The more I thought about it, the more I wished to avoid another long voyage.
I had survived extraordinary dangers.
I did not want to risk my life again merely to increase my fortune.
At last, I began preparing to return to England with Friday.
I hoped to settle my affairs and live quietly.
But the journey back would bring another unexpected adventure.
For although I had escaped the island and recovered my wealth, I had not yet finished traveling through dangerous places.