(Continuing from Part 49)
After we had overcome the first group of rebellious sailors, I began thinking about how to recover the ship.
The captain was free, but his vessel remained in the hands of the mutineers.
If they discovered that their companions had been captured, they might sail away.
Then all our efforts would have been wasted.
I told the captain that we must act carefully.
Our first task was to make certain that the boat on the beach could not be used against us.
The tide had fallen, leaving it partly on the sand.
We removed its sails and took away the oars.
We also damaged it enough to prevent anyone from launching it quickly.
This gave us some protection.
If the prisoners escaped, they would not easily return to the ship.
But we had another problem.
The sailors aboard the vessel would soon wonder why their boat had not returned.
They might send another boat to investigate.
I asked the captain what he thought would happen.
He said that the men aboard would probably wait for a time.
Then they might fire a gun as a signal.
If there was no answer, they would send more men ashore.
I decided that we should prepare for this possibility.
Meanwhile, we needed to deal with the prisoners.
Some had been deeply involved in the rebellion.
Others had followed the leaders because they were afraid.
The captain knew which men were most dangerous.
I told him that we should separate them.
Those who could not be trusted would remain securely tied.
The others might be useful if they sincerely wished to return to their duty.
I spoke to the men who had surrendered.
I explained that their captain had been restored to freedom.
If they continued their rebellion, they might face severe punishment.
But if they helped us recover the ship, the captain might show mercy.
Several immediately promised to obey him.
They said that they regretted what they had done.
I did not fully trust their words.
I knew that frightened men sometimes made promises they did not intend to keep.
Nevertheless, the captain believed that some were honest.
I agreed to give them a chance, while keeping their weapons under our control.
We moved the most dangerous prisoners to a secure place.
My cave was especially useful for this purpose.
Its entrance was difficult to discover, and anyone confined there would find escape almost impossible.
I had once feared that I might need the cave to hide from enemies.
Now it served as a prison.
I left the captives with food and water.
I warned them that their safety depended upon remaining quiet and obedient.
Then I returned to the captain.
We waited and watched the ship.
After some time, we heard a gun fired from the vessel.
It was a signal.
The sailors aboard wanted their boat to return.
We did not answer.
A little later, another gun sounded.
Still we remained silent.
I watched through my telescope.
The men on the ship seemed increasingly concerned.
At last, I saw them preparing another boat.
I told the captain that our prediction had been correct.
The ship was sending men ashore to discover what had happened.
We counted ten men entering the boat.
They were armed.
I recognized that this new group might be more difficult to overcome than the first.
They would already suspect that something was wrong.
The boat approached the shore.
The men called out to their missing companions.
No one answered.
They rowed closer and examined the first boat, which was still lying on the sand.
When they saw that it had been damaged, they appeared alarmed.
Some wanted to return immediately to the ship.
Others insisted that they must search for their friends.
After arguing, they decided to land.
Several men stepped ashore.
The others remained in the boat.
This division gave me an idea.
If we could draw the men on shore farther inland, we might separate them from their companions.
Then we could capture them without fighting everyone at once.
I explained my plan to the captain.
He agreed that it was worth attempting.
I sent Friday and one of the captain’s loyal men into the woods.
I instructed them to move to a distant place and call out loudly.
When the sailors followed the sound, Friday and his companion were to move farther away.
They must not allow themselves to be caught.
Their task was simply to lead the rebels away from the beach.
Friday understood immediately.
He had become very skilled at moving quietly through the woods.
I trusted him to carry out the plan.
Soon we heard a loud shout from among the trees.
The sailors on the beach stopped and listened.
They believed that their missing companions were calling to them.
Several answered.
Friday called again from farther away.
The sailors began moving toward the sound.
I watched as they entered the woods.
They were walking directly into the trap we had prepared.
Friday and his companion continued calling at intervals.
Each time, the sailors hurried toward them.
But the voices always seemed to come from a little farther away.
Gradually, the men were led deep into the island.
They did not know the paths.
They could not see their guides.
They became tired and confused.
Meanwhile, I remained near the shore with the captain.
We watched the men who had stayed behind.
Our opportunity had come.
I told the captain that we must now prevent the remaining sailors from escaping.
We moved quietly toward the boat.
The men guarding it were not expecting an attack.
They were looking inland, listening for news of their companions.
We approached under cover.
Then we rushed forward.
The sailors were taken by surprise.
One tried to resist, but the captain quickly overcame him.
The others surrendered.
We seized the boat.
This was an important victory.
We now controlled both boats that had come from the ship.
The rebels who had entered the woods would have no easy way to return to their vessel.
I felt that our position had become much stronger.
But we still had to capture the men who had followed Friday.
And beyond them lay the greatest challenge of all.
The ship itself remained under the command of the rebels.
I looked out across the water.
The vessel was still anchored where we had first seen it.
I could almost imagine myself standing on its deck, preparing to sail for England.
Yet I knew that we had not won it.
We had only taken the first steps.
I turned to the captain.
“Now,” I said, “we must finish what we have begun.”