In which the narrator, having narrowly escaped captivity, attempts a desperate journey along the African coast seeking rescue or refuge, encountering strange peoples and beasts that evoke both fear and fascination. Fortunate in acquiring the aid of a kindly Portuguese captain, he finds himself transplanted to a new life in the Brazils, where he begins to cultivate land and grapple with the restless impulses of youth amid the sober realities of plantation living.