As Jonathan decided this would be another holiday, he spent a portion of it cooking and serving them meals and trying to entertain them in between. They weren’t much used to leisure and had no idle pastimes, so he taught them the game of checkers. He marked out a board on the table and cut up several waxy-white carrots for pieces, dipping half of them in white paint to distinguish them; one of the few uses he found for the stuff as he told them: "to discriminate objects, not to smother everything."
They toyed with the game a little while, not much interested, except Simon, and so Jonathan told them he would show them a far better game, called "chess", in a few days, as soon as Paul could carve out the pieces. After an early dinner, he set up a little library in their common room and read passages out loud from several books, often breaking off at the most interesting parts and skipping to some new excerpt, to tease them and make them all the more eager to want to read for themselves.
By now they were perfectly at ease with handling and looking upon the black letters of these books. The three who had travelled with him were so enthused that they quickly won over the sympathies of their companions without Jonathan having to say a word. But the fact was, that although they’d been told many times to detest whatever was dark, the prejudice didn’t sunk in, because no objects had been presented to them in that state. The Church wasted its breath in this cause. Innocent minds couldn’t be taught to hate an indistinct notion, for no distinct reason. Only their curiosity was roused, and when the object was finally shown to them by Jonathan, they saw that it was fair.
The following months Jonathan worked hard to put every detail of his community in good order. They built fences and sheds, diverted a part of the creek to irrigate their field and further down built a dam that made a pool large enough to bathe in.
Their harvest was good and the traps were yielding a steady supply of meat. They built a smokehouse and Jonathan showed them how to preserve the food. By winter they’d laid up a good supply. Sarah and Eve were by this time pregnant, and so Paul carved out two rocking cradles, along with rattles and other toys, while Mary sewed tiny clothes for these unseen hopes.
That winter they spent most of their time indoors. Jonathan continued his morning lectures, and in the afternoons he worked on a book, with illustrations, on survival. Simon kept the calendar and the journal, recording what they did, the weather, including even lecture notes. Eve transcribed the wet Shakespeare, Paul carved, and Peter, Sarah and Mary dabbled in many projects, as their fancy dictated.
They all developed a habit of reading. As there was no dictionary they’d interrupt Jonathan for each strange word. He didn't mind this. He spent all his time in the workshop with them, retiring to his cabin only to sleep. He’d now brought down all his papers and books. But he didn’t continue his history. He’d sometimes shuffle through the papers and changed words here and there. But he didn’t lengthen it. He was rethinking its purpose and his mind was bent on all the new developments rather than old.
Spring came and then spring planting. This year the garden was made twice as large as the last. Jonathan announced his plan of leaving them for awhile and they were surprised to hear that he’d be taking no one and no new bibles with him.
"The women need their husbands here," he said, "and I fear there may be some changes out there and perhaps danger. I’ll see what’s going on in town and come back with the news."
In the early summer the two young wives gave birth to two healthy babies, a boy and a girl, within a week of each other. Simon convinced Eve to name their boy Robin, shortened from Robinson, the hero of his favorite story. The girl was named Naomi, a name chosen from the one bible Jonathan had brought back and which he sometimes read to them, as it seemed to make a great impression.
Before he left Jonathan went up to the spring each evening with a hammer and chisel. Over many days he carved out a cross on the rock face behind the pool and inscribed under it the name of the old priest, ‘Terence’, along with the dates of his birth and death, as near as he could guess. He remembered his promise and fulfilled the vow before a trip from which he might never return.
This time he equipped himself in the same way he’d done twenty years earlier, in the prime of his woodsman days. Though in his late fifties he still felt a vigor in his veins. Indeed, he felt stronger now than when he’d founded his colony two years earlier. He carried his hunting knife, as always, strapped tightly to his wide belt. Concealed under his shirt was an ammunition belt, fully stocked, and his one pistol in a holster. He took along a single burro to carry some camping gear and several days food. He also took along field glasses, a compass, his commissions and his staff.
With the last of the white paint he dipped and whitened every object in his baggage. His followers didn’t use it anymore. They’d never brought enough to cover much and soon gave up trying. The women had even made shawls and skirts from the patterned sheets Mary had brought back, delighting in their colors. The men now wore pants of gray canvass. No part of them was white except for the ointment they still used, and they didn't mind this change of custom.
On the eve of his departure, after seeing that everything was in good order, Jonathan had to broach an uneasy topic at the dinner table.
"I might be absent for several months," he began, "and if I don’t return by winter, it’ll be up to you to elect someone to go to town and find out what news there is of me. Until I come back I expect you to continue on with all our plans of improvement. You’ll have to use your best judgement and vote together and do what you can."
Confused by this announcement the others broke in with all sorts of questions, especially why he had to go at all. He realized that they weren’t quite ready to go on independently of him. Their practice in this lifestyle was still too new.
"I'll take every precaution I can to remain safe," he told them. "Just remember to do the same for yourselves. You have three rifles here and if any strangers approach, remember to keep them at a distance until you find out their intentions."
He ended by telling them, "the sky can’t change these days without the world changing below it. It has changed a great deal, as you all know, and I intend to go out and see the new things it’s brought with it."
The sky had changed a great deal. Throughout the preceding year there were not ten days in which the clouds dispersed somewhat, letting in moments of sunlight. Now the cloud cover broke at least once a week, revealing great swaths of blue. The foliage too responded all the better to this change. Even the rains were different, with shorter but heavier downpours. This swelled their little creek and patches of green grass began to grow. Jonathan had some carefully transplanted in a fenced plot so that the animals couldn’t eat it. "This is a sure sign," he said, "the earth is returning to its natural state."
