I
understood many portions which I read, and the questions which I put to
Jackson puzzled him not a little, and very often he acknowledged that he
could not answer them. As I afterwards discovered, this arose from his
own imperfect knowledge of the nature of the Christian religion, which,
according to his statement to me, might be considered to have been
comprised in the following sentence: "If you do good on earth, you will
go to heaven and be happy; if you do ill, you will go to hell and be
tormented. Christ came down from heaven to teach us what to do, and how
to follow his example; and all that we read in the Bible we must
believe." This may be considered as the creed imparted to me at that
time. I believe that Jackson, like many others, knew no better, and
candidly told me what he himself had been taught to believe.

But the season for the return of the birds arrived, and our stock of
provender was getting low. I was therefore soon obliged to leave my
books, and work hard for Jackson and myself. As soon as the young birds
were old enough, I set to my task. And now I found how valuable were
the knives which I had obtained from the seaman's chest; indeed, in many
points I could work much faster. By tying the neck and sleeves of a
duck frock, I made a bag, which enabled me to carry the birds more
conveniently, and in greater quantities at a time; and with the knives I
could skin and prepare a bird in one quarter of the time. With my
fishing-lines also, I could hang up more to dry at one time, so that,
though without assistance, I had more birds cured in the same time than
when Jackson and I were both employed in the labour. The whole affair,
however, occupied me from morning to evening for more than three weeks,
by which time the major portion of my provender was piled up at the back
of the cabin. I did not, however, lose what I had gained in reading, as
Jackson would not let me go away in the morning, or retire to my bed in
the evening, without my reading to him a portion of the Bible: indeed he
appeared to be quite uncomfortable if I did not do so.

At last, the work was ended, and then I felt a strong desire return to
hear that portion of Jackson's history connected with my father and
mother, and I told him so. He did not appear to be, pleased with my
communication, or at all willing to proceed; but as I pressed him hard
and showed some symptoms of resolution and rebellion, he reluctantly
resumed his