The interior of their hiding-place was finished off according to the description they had read of Crusoe's cave, with props in the center to keep it from falling in upon them, and shelves on the left hand side of the entrance, upon which were stowed a variety of useful things. Against the walls were arranged the heavier articles, such as bits of cable, scraps of iron, lead, and copper, pieces of canvas, a small grind-stone, a hatchet or two, several pairs of oars, some carpenter's tools, and two or three boxes containing wheat and rice, which were to be planted as soon as they reached their island. Opposite the entrance, reposing upon a comfortable bed of straw, was a ferocious looking bull-dog, which had come to Sam in much the same way that Crusoe's dog came to him; not from a wreck, of course, but from a schooner which was discharging her cargo at Mr. Newcombe's wharf. Sam had often seen and admired the animal, and believing that he was just the dog they wanted to hunt goats with, he had scraped an acquaintance with him by throwing him pieces of bread and meat, when none of the crew of the vessel happened to be looking at him. In a short time he and the dog became excellent friends, and one day, by exhibiting a tempting piece of beef, he induced the animal to jump overboard and follow him under the wharf, where he was captured and put into the cave, to remain until his master was ready to start on his voyage.
Upon the walls, at the right hand of the entrance, hung five single-barrel shot-guns, each of which had cost the would-be Crusoes two dollars and a half. Below them hung their powder-horns, shot-bags and hunting knives. A flour barrel, turned bottom up, answered the purpose of a table, and upon it, protected from the damp and dirt by a piece of canvas, was the dilapidated copy of Robinson Crusoe, which was to Sam and his friends what the chart and compass are to the mariner.
The members of the Crusoe band had chosen the names of their favorite heroes; and when holding their meetings in the cave, they dropped their true names, and answered only to their assumed ones. Sam, of course, was Robinson Crusoe. He was the leader of the band while they remained on shore, and he was to be the captain of the vessel during the voyage, and the governor of the island when they found it. The names of the others were Jack Spaniard, Friday, Will Atkins, and Xury. (Sam did not know how to pronounce this last name correctly. He always called it Exury.)