Now, whilst he rated me as above (the seamen standing by), the mad maroon awoke from sleep, and, sitting up, began to stare fixedly on him. This put my brother out, so that he stumbled in his speech, and broke off to ask me what the man was. So I gave him an account of all that had fallen out. When I had ended, he ordered the man to be bound; which immediately was performed, he offering but little obstruction. Hereupon we went all to the longboat, the madman, who now began to mutter and rave after his manner, being haled along by two seamen, and I borne by two others, for I could not walk. Nay, though they carried me gently, I suffered much pain.
On coming to the launch, they took out water-jars which they had brought ashore, and put into her myself and the crazy man, who ceased not to call down curses on us in his mad religious jargon. On this account, the seamen had much fun out of the poor antic, jeering and mocking him; but, however, this was displeasing to the Captain, and suddenly he turns on one of them, crying:
“Be done with this, you yokel fool! You’re like some silly schoolboy teasing a village idiot! Be done with it! Be done with it!”
I liked this well; but the chidden seaman liked it not at all. He glared at the Captain; who glared back at him. Thereupon, sinking his head, the man looked round upon his fellows, but got no sort of encouragement from them; for they held silent, looking this way and that. So he thought it convenient to hold his peace.
I was rowed with the crazy man to the ship. He was laid bound in the forecastle. Surgeon Burke took charge of me; and, having looked at my hurt ankle, he told me I must lay up for at least a fortnight.
CHAPTER XII.
THE WARNING SEA.
We parted from the Isle of Juan Fernandez after two days, which we stayed to fill our water, cut firewood, and drive goats.
My confined state was very irksome to me, after the freedom I had enjoyed on board and the daily fare of new and strange experiences. However, I employed the time pleasantly enough in learning the Spanish language, as much as I could of it, by means of an old torn copy of Don Quixote and a Spanish dictionary, which I chanced to find in a corner; and, indeed, got much diversion from that merry and sorrowful tale.
Sometimes my brother came to me; though he stayed not long. And Surgeon Burke stood my friend throughout; coming to chat with me often, and giving me news of anything remarkable that might have happened in the interim. Notably, he told me, that my brother had questioned the mad maroon (at a time when he was in his right mind) of the Haunted Island; but, that, on learning we were thither bound, such huge terror seized on the poor man, that, rather than carry him to the island, he besought the Captain on his knees to cause him to be shot, or thrown into the sea, and was immediately after transported with a violent raving crazy-fit; that on the morrow he was not to be found anywhere in the ship. ’Twas supposed he had made a shift to loosen the cords that bound his limbs, and, having got up on deck, had jumped overboard and drowned himself in the sea.
“Either this, also, was part of his madness,” said Burke, “or else there’s something monstrous terrible on the Haunted Island!”