2 CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 



than a Imndreii' dollars ;' m^ tlieii I concluded to 

 make my voyage^ and, ^ee; v/liere all .those interesting 

 things took place'; bV^n thotrgh'tlie events narrated 

 occurred more than two hundred years ago. That 

 doesn't matter ; the world has always had boys in it, 

 and, I fancy, they have always been pretty much the 

 same. That is, they liked good, hearty adventure, 

 liked to be out of doors, and wanted to see a bit of 

 the world. 



Well, to cut short a story that otherwise might 

 be made very long, I finally found myself aboard a 

 small schooner, bound for the islands of Barbados and 

 Trinidad. The master of the vessel was an old friend 

 of mine. Captain Larcom, who in his youth used to 

 sail from Salem to the East Indies, when our com- 

 mercial marine was more flourishing than it is at the 

 present. He had amassed a little fortune through 

 his long years at sea, and was virtually on the retired 

 list ; but he now and then took a sea trip, just to keep 

 his hand in, as he expressed it. 



He and I used to play checkers together during 

 the long winter evenings at home, and in the inter- 

 vals of the game we would discuss his voyages and 

 adventures. I at last ventured to tell him of my 

 strong desire to visit Crusoe's island, and he was 

 much interested. 



" But, you know," he said, " it will be a long and 

 expensive voyage, away round the Horn to the coast 

 of Chili, and the island of Juan Fernandez ; it will 

 take a lot of time and money." 



" Yes," I replied rather dubiously ; " but I don't 



