Read "Papillon" by Henri Charrière online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
The boat was ready. Of the nineteen of us, ten were to go in the first lot. I was called. Dega said crisply, "No, he goes on the last trip."
I was astonished at the way the bagnards talked. There seemed to be no discipline; they didn't give a damn for the guards. Dega came over and we started talking. He knew all about my escape. He had heard it from some men I'd known in Saint-Laurent who had come to the islands. He didn't say he was sorry for me; that would have been beneath him. What he did say was, "You deserved to succeed, my boy. But you'll make it next time! " He didn't say "Chin up. " He knew I didn't need it.