But I told them I knew not what mercy to show them; for as for myself, I had resolved to quit the island with all my men, and had taken passage with the captain to go to England; and as for the captain, he could not carry them to England other than as prisoners in irons, to be tried for mutiny and running away with the ship; the consequence of which, they must needs know, would be the gallows; so that I could not tell what was best for them, unless they had a mind to take their fate in the island.
Les dije que no creía que debía tener ninguna clemencia con ellos pero que había decidido abandonar la isla con todos mis hombres y embarcarme con el capitán rumbo a Inglaterra. Como el capitán no podía llevarlos a Inglaterra si no era encadenados como prisioneros para ser enjuiciados por el motín y el hurto del barco, tan pronto llegasen allí, serían condenados a la horca, como bien sabían.