Accidents > Life and most surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner, who lived eight and twenty years in an uninhabited island on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river Oroonoque

276 ROBINSON CRUSOE.
Dutch trade very confiderably. We were not long
preparing for this voyage, which we made no lefs
fuccefsful than the laft, touching at Borneo, and fe-
veral other places which I do not perfectly remem¬
ber, and returning home in about five months time.
We foon fold our fpices, which were chiefly cloves,
and fome nutmegs, to the Perfian merchants, who
carried them away for the gulph; and, in Ihcrt,
making five to one advantage, we were loaded with
money.
Not long after my friend and I had made up our
accounts, to our entire fatisfa&ion, there came in a
Dutch coafter from Batavia, of about two hundred
tons. The crew of this veflel pretended themfelves
ib fickly, that there were not hands fufiicient to un¬
dertake a voyage, and the captain having given out
that lie intended to go to Europe, public notice was
given that the fhip was to be fold. No fooner did
this come to our ears, but we bought the fliip, paid
the mafter, and took poflefiion. We would alfo
have very willingly entertained fome of the men :
But they having received their fhare of booty, were
not to be found, being altogether fled to Agra, the
great city of the Mogul’s reiidence ; and from thence
were to travel to Surat, and fo by fea to the Perfian
Gulph. And indeed they had reafon to fly in this
manner : For the truth of it was, the pretended cap¬
tain was the gunner only,' and not the commander :
That having been on a trading voyage, they were
attacked on fliore by the Malayans, who killed three
men and the captain : After whole death the other
eleven men run away with the fliip to the Bay of
Bengal, and left the mate and other five men more
on fliore ; but of this affair we ftiall have occalionto
fpeak at more length hereafter.
^lovvever they came by the fliip, we thought we
bought it honeftly ; neither did we fufpedt any thing
or the matter ; when the man fhewed us a bill of
fide ■