is as it was written? We could
not escape it! You cannot be a Crusoe without a canoe coming to your
island, without cannibals appearing one day or another! Here we have
been for only three months, and there they are already! Assuredly,
neither Defoe, nor De Wyss exaggerated matters! You can make yourself a
Crusoe, if you like!"

Worthy Tartlet, folks do not make themselves Crusoes, they become
Crusoes, and you are not sure that you are wise in comparing your
position with that of the heroes of the two English and Swiss romances!

The precautions taken by Godfrey as soon as he returned to Will Tree
were as follows. The fire burning among the roots of the sequoia was
extinguished, and the embers scattered broadcast, so as to leave no
trace; cocks, hens, and chickens were already in their house for the
night, and the entrance was hidden with shrubs and twigs as much as
possible; the other animals, the goats, agoutis, and sheep, were driven
on to the prairie, but it was unlucky that there was no stable to shut
them up in; all the instruments and tools were taken into the tree.
Nothing was left outside that could indicate the presence or the passage
of human beings.

Then the door was closely shut, after Godfrey and Tartlet had gone in.
The door made of the sequoia bark was indistinguishable from the bark of
the trunk, and might perhaps escape the eyes of the savages, who would
not look at it very closely. It was the same with the two windows, in
which the lower boards were shut. Then all light was extinguished in the
dwelling, and our friends remained in total darkness. How long that
night was! Godfrey and Tartlet heard the slightest sounds outside. The
creaking of a dry branch, even a puff of wind, made them start. They
thought they heard some one walking under the trees. It seemed that they
were prowling round Will Tree. Then Godfrey climbed up to one of the
windows, opened one of the boards, and anxiously peered into the gloom.

Nothing!

However, Godfrey at last heard footsteps on the ground. His ear could
not deceive him this time. He still looked, but could only see one of
the goats come for shelter beneath the trees.

Had any of the savages happened to discover the house hidden in the
enormous sequoia, Godfrey had made up his mind what to do: he would drag
up Tartlet with him by the chimney inside, and take refuge in the higher
branches, where he would be better able to resist. With guns and
revolvers in his