So, after some days, I took Friday to work again by way of discourse, and told him I would give him a boat to go back to his own nation; and, accordingly, I carried him to my frigate, which lay on the other side of the island, and having cleared it of water (for I always kept it sunk in water), I brought it out, showed it him, and we both went into it.

I found he was a most dexterous fellow at managing it, and would make it go almost as swift again as I could.

So when he was in, I said to him, "Well, now, Friday, shall we go to your nation ?" He looked very dull at my saying so; which it seems was because he thought the boat was too small to go so far.

I then told him I had a bigger; so the next day I went to the place where the first boat lay which I had made, but which I could not get into the water.

He said that was big enough; but then, as I had taken no care of it, and it had lain two or three and twenty years there, the sun had so split and dried it, that it was rotten.