"Children's Books - Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe" - читать интересную книгу автора (Children's Books)

gun with two bullets; and the third (for we had three pieces) I loaded
with five smaller bullets. I took the best aim I could with the
first piece to have him shot into the head, but he lay so with his leg
raised a little above his nose, that the slugs hit his leg about the
knee, and broke the bone. He started up growling at first, but finding
his leg broke, fell down again, and then got up upon three legs and
gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard. I was a little surprised
that I had not hit him on the head. However, I took up the second
piece immediately, and, though he began to move off, fired again,
and shot him into the head, and had the pleasure to him drop, and make
but little noise, but lay struggling for life. Then Xury took heart,
and would have me let him go on shore. "Well, go," said I; so the
boy jumped into the water, and taking a little gun in one hand, swam
to shore with the other hand, and coming close to the creature, put
the muzzle of the piece to his ear, and shot him into the head
again, which despatched him quite.
This was game indeed to us, but this was no food; and I was very
sorry to lose three charges of powder and shot upon a creature that
was good for nothing to us. However, Xury said he would have some of
him; so he comes on board, and asked me to give him the hatchet.
"For what, Xury?" said I. "Me cut off his head," said he. However,
Xury could not cut off his head, but he cut off a foot, and brought it
with him, and it was a monstrous great one.
I bethought myself, however, that perhaps the skin of him might
one way or other be of some value to us; and I resolved to take off
his skin if I could. So Xury and I went to work with him; but Xury was
much the better workman at it, for I knew very ill how to do it.
Indeed, it took us both the whole day, but at last we got off the hide
of him, and spreading it on the top of our cabin, the sun
effectually dried it in two days' time, and it afterwards served me to
lie upon.
After this stop we made on to the southward continually for ten or
twelve days, living very sparing on our provisions, which began to
abate very much, and going no oftener into the shore than we were
obliged to for fresh water. My design in this was to make the river
Gambia or Senegal - that is to say, anywhere about the Cape de Verde -
where I was in hopes to meet with some European ship; and if I did
not, I knew not what course I had to take, but to seek out for the
lands, or perish there among the negroes. I knew that all the ships
from Europe, which sailed either to the coast of Guinea or to
Brazil, or to the East Indies, made this cape, or those islands; and
in a word, I put the whole of my fortune upon this single point,
either that I must meet with some ship, or must perish.
When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I
have said, I began to see that the land was inhabited; and in two or
three places, as we sailed by, we saw people stand upon the shore to
look at us; we could also perceive they were quite black, and stark
naked. I was once inclined to have gone on shore to them; but Xury was
my better counsellor, and said to me. "No go, no go." However, I
hauled in nearer the shore that I might talk to them, and I found they