Таємничий острів

           "Letusleavethesegoodpeopletodowhattheylike,anddon’tthinkanythingmoreaboutthem!"

           "Come,Pencroft,"saidNeb,"don’tmakeyourselfoutsobadasallthat!Supposeoneoftheseunfortunatemenwereherebeforeyou,withingoodrangeofyourguns,youwouldnotfire."

           "IwouldfireonhimasIwouldonamaddog,Neb,"repliedPencroftcoldly.

           "Pencroft,"saidtheengineer,"youhavealwaysshownmuchdeferencetomyadvice;willyou,inthismatter,yieldtome?"

           "Iwilldoasyouplease,CaptainHarding,"answeredthesailor,whowasnotatallconvinced.

           "Verywell,wait,andwewillnotattackthemunlessweareattackedfirst."

           Thustheirbehaviortowardsthepirateswasagreedupon,althoughPencroftaugurednothinggoodfromit.Theywerenottoattackthem,butweretobeontheirguard.Afterall,theislandwaslargeandfertile.Ifanysentimentofhonestyyetremainedinthebottomoftheirhearts,thesewretchesmightperhapsbereclaimed.Wasitnottheirinterestinthesituationinwhichtheyfoundthemselvestobeginanewlife?Atanyrate,forhumanity’ssakealone,itwouldberighttowait.Thecolonistswouldnolongerasbefore,beabletogoandcomewithoutfear.Hithertotheyhadonlywildbeaststoguardagainst,andnowsixconvictsoftheworstdescription,perhaps,wereroamingovertheirisland.Itwasserious,certainly,andtolessbravemen,itwouldhavebeensecuritylost!Nomatter!Atpresent,thecolonistshadreasonontheirsideagainstPencroft