Chapter XIX.Ifthe boys were easily reconciled to the loss of the gold which they had at first sought with such avidity, the same was not the case with Martin Alonzo; although even he cared less for the loss of the gold than for what he considered an affront to him.But he had promised his men that they should carry away as much gold as they could procure, and he held himself responsible to them for the fulfilment of his promises. And then, he thought to himself, “comes this upstart Italian, who could never have sailed an inch this way but for me, and puts me down with his talk of their majesties. As if I were not a better subject of them than he!”That was not especially to the point, but it was sufficient to the angry sailor who was jealous at the bottom, and did not ask for any good reasons for disliking the admiral. However, Martin Alonzo was not a man to brood for naught. He could not nurse a wrong, real or fancied, without coming to a conclusion which should lead to action.During the few days that the vessels remained at the island, which the natives called Guanahani, but which the admiral renamed San Salvador, Martin Alonzo did nothing overt, though he was not in the least active in any of the plans made by the admiral. One thing he did do; he called Diego to him.“Diego,” said he, “it seems to me that the time has come when you should prove the truth of the encomiums of the good Fray Bartolomeo.”“As to what?” demanded Diego, with some surprise; for the good fray was very far from his thoughts at that moment.“He said you had a gift of language,” said Martin Alonzo.Diego had been so often mocked at by his cousin because of his alleged gift that he looked curiously at him to see if behind his gloomy face was any sign of mirth. As there was not, he answered quite soberly:“Perhaps he praised me too highly, good cousin.”“I hope not,” said Martin Alonzo, knitting his brows; “for I have a use, now, for such a gift.”“And may I ask what that use may be?” asked Diego, seeing his cousin pause.“Yes, you may ask and know; for I look to you to practise it. Diego, I wish you to put yourself to it to learn the language of this people. Will it be a difficult task? You should know, having studied other languages.”“I think it will be an easy task,” answered Diego; “for I have already begun to learn some words, and I can say more than you would believe, considering I have studied but three days.”“That is well—that is as it should be. Keep your counsel, Diego, and say nothing of what you are doing to any soul.”“Juan already knows I am studying. But, cousin, I hear that the admiral intends to set sail as soon as the boats return from coasting the island; and if that be so I shall not have time to learn much.”“That will not matter; for we shall carry away a few of the men to learn to act as interpreters. The admiral has so informed us. That is, if the men will go, and I do not doubt they will.”“May I know with what especial object I am to study?” asked Diego, whose curiosity was roused, as much by the sullen manner of his cousin as by anything else.“No, you may not,” answered Martin Alonzo, curtly. Then, as Diego turned abashed, he asked,“Do the men understand why they may not traffic for gold?”“Yes.”“And do they know how the gold was taken from you and Juan?”“Ay, they do, and have been angry because of it, grumbling greatly that you promised them as much gold as they could carry. However,” and Diego laughed, “it has not made a great deal of difference; for it would seem as if Juan and I had stripped the island of its gold.”“It is true that not much more has been found; but, Diego, there must be more where that came from, and I wish you to learn as soon as you can where it did come from. That is a part of your task. And be secret.”“Learn where the gold came from!” repeated Diego to himself with a short laugh when he had left his cousin. “That is well said; but, worthy Martin Alonzo, do you not know that every man on the fleet is striving his utmost to learn the same thing? A pretty secret that!” and Diego laughed.Nevertheless, he prosecuted his studies, which he had taken up from sheer love of learning languages, having truly the gift the good fray credited him with, and, with a definite object in view now, he strove harder than ever; Juan, meanwhile, admiring his extraordinary facility in learningwithout making the least effort to learn, himself.It was as Martin Alonzo had said. The admiral did not remain long at so unimportant an island, but, having partly explored its coast and finding it uninteresting, returned to the ships and set sail, taking seven of the natives with him, three of them going on thePinta, as Martin Alonzo had supposed would happen.All the talk of the fleet was, as Diego had said, of gold and where it could be found; and the admiral, by dint of signs and such words as he had been able to pick up, had gathered in a vague way that the source of the gold was to the south of Guanahani; and so he made his way thitherward, stopping at various islands on the way, but never with any success in finding more gold than had been had in Guanahani.All of the islands were as charming as they very well could be, each one seeming more beautiful than the last; but as they held no gold in store for the greedy voyagers, they gave but little pleasure to any one but the admiral, who had always an enthusiastic description of each to jot in the journal he was keeping for his sovereigns.It was the 12th of October when the fleet dropped anchor off Guanahani, and it was not until the 28th of the same month that it camein sight of Cuba, which gave the first promise of being the land they were in search of; for it was great in extent, and was marked with lofty mountains.At first the admiral was convinced that he had reached Zipangu, but afterwards, owing to something which Diego gathered from the Indians on thePinta, Martin Alonzo gained the belief that it was not an island, but the mainland; and, at once, both admiral and Martin Alonzo jumped to the conclusion that it was Cathay, and on this supposition they made a landing.The Indians told of gold in great quantities to be found in a certain part of Cuba; but although every effort was made to find it, it was always without success. The truth was that the Indians knew but little of the island, and what they told was always immediately magnified and distorted by the admiral, who saw everything by the light of his faith that he had discovered the eastern coast of Asia.In the meantime Diego had gained a considerable knowledge of the language of the Indians, and was profiting by it to question the natives of Cuba; for, although the language was not the same there, it was enough like that of Guanahani to enable him to communicate in it with the Cubans.Every day, Martin Alonzo eagerly questioned him on his progress in knowledge of where gold was to be found, and as often would express his disappointment that there was nothing more definite to tell, saying that the admiral had as much knowledge of the matter as he had.“Well,” said Diego, “and why should he not have?”“Boy, boy,” said Martin Alonzo, one day, “I depend on you. I will not brook the authority of that upstart foreigner. I tell you I depend on you. Now ask, pry, discover.”Then one day, after having had an interview with the admiral, he called Diego, and said, almost angrily:“Here is more that you have not discovered for me that the admiral knows. Now that we have spent two weeks exploring and coasting this country of Cuba, some one tells him that on the island of Babeque, which lies to the northeast, there is plenty of gold and precious stones. What have you to say to that?”Well, it was only natural that Diego, having been badgered so much, had exerted himself to learn something that was not known to anybody else, and he had supposed he had accomplished it, when Martin Alonzo came with this piece of news. At the first word, he fancied that hehad been forestalled again; but when his cousin had concluded, he plucked up his spirits and answered:“I have nothing to say to that; but I have something else to say, and that is that to the southeast, not far from here, there lies an island which the Indians call Bohio, though I think that is not its name, but only a sort of description. It is on this island, according to more than one, that gold is found, and that powerful and warlike people live.”“Do you trust this report, Diego?” demanded Martin Alonzo, eagerly.“I do, because I have questioned the men carefully. I have more faith in it than in the admiral’s Babeque, anyhow.”“And it is to the southeast?”“To the southeast,” answered Diego.“Diego,” whispered Martin Alonzo, “I will trust you. Keep your counsel still. I think the time has come when I can show that proud upstart that he is not supreme. Diego, I shall leave him to find his own gold, and I will go find mine. Ah, I shall not prevent free dealing in it, should ever we come upon it. Quiet, boy, and you shall be satisfied for the gold he took from you.”
Chapter XIX.Ifthe boys were easily reconciled to the loss of the gold which they had at first sought with such avidity, the same was not the case with Martin Alonzo; although even he cared less for the loss of the gold than for what he considered an affront to him.But he had promised his men that they should carry away as much gold as they could procure, and he held himself responsible to them for the fulfilment of his promises. And then, he thought to himself, “comes this upstart Italian, who could never have sailed an inch this way but for me, and puts me down with his talk of their majesties. As if I were not a better subject of them than he!”That was not especially to the point, but it was sufficient to the angry sailor who was jealous at the bottom, and did not ask for any good reasons for disliking the admiral. However, Martin Alonzo was not a man to brood for naught. He could not nurse a wrong, real or fancied, without coming to a conclusion which should lead to action.During the few days that the vessels remained at the island, which the natives called Guanahani, but which the admiral renamed San Salvador, Martin Alonzo did nothing overt, though he was not in the least active in any of the plans made by the admiral. One thing he did do; he called Diego to him.“Diego,” said he, “it seems to me that the time has come when you should prove the truth of the encomiums of the good Fray Bartolomeo.”“As to what?” demanded Diego, with some surprise; for the good fray was very far from his thoughts at that moment.“He said you had a gift of language,” said Martin Alonzo.Diego had been so often mocked at by his cousin because of his alleged gift that he looked curiously at him to see if behind his gloomy face was any sign of mirth. As there was not, he answered quite soberly:“Perhaps he praised me too highly, good cousin.”“I hope not,” said Martin Alonzo, knitting his brows; “for I have a use, now, for such a gift.”“And may I ask what that use may be?” asked Diego, seeing his cousin pause.“Yes, you may ask and know; for I look to you to practise it. Diego, I wish you to put yourself to it to learn the language of this people. Will it be a difficult task? You should know, having studied other languages.”“I think it will be an easy task,” answered Diego; “for I have already begun to learn some words, and I can say more than you would believe, considering I have studied but three days.”“That is well—that is as it should be. Keep your counsel, Diego, and say nothing of what you are doing to any soul.”“Juan already knows I am studying. But, cousin, I hear that the admiral intends to set sail as soon as the boats return from coasting the island; and if that be so I shall not have time to learn much.”“That will not matter; for we shall carry away a few of the men to learn to act as interpreters. The admiral has so informed us. That is, if the men will go, and I do not doubt they will.”“May I know with what especial object I am to study?” asked Diego, whose curiosity was roused, as much by the sullen manner of his cousin as by anything else.“No, you may not,” answered Martin Alonzo, curtly. Then, as Diego turned abashed, he asked,“Do the men understand why they may not traffic for gold?”“Yes.”“And do they know how the gold was taken from you and Juan?”“Ay, they do, and have been angry because of it, grumbling greatly that you promised them as much gold as they could carry. However,” and Diego laughed, “it has not made a great deal of difference; for it would seem as if Juan and I had stripped the island of its gold.”“It is true that not much more has been found; but, Diego, there must be more where that came from, and I wish you to learn as soon as you can where it did come from. That is a part of your task. And be secret.”“Learn where the gold came from!” repeated Diego to himself with a short laugh when he had left his cousin. “That is well said; but, worthy Martin Alonzo, do you not know that every man on the fleet is striving his utmost to learn the same thing? A pretty secret that!” and Diego laughed.Nevertheless, he prosecuted his studies, which he had taken up from sheer love of learning languages, having truly the gift the good fray credited him with, and, with a definite object in view now, he strove harder than ever; Juan, meanwhile, admiring his extraordinary facility in learningwithout making the least effort to learn, himself.It was as Martin Alonzo had said. The admiral did not remain long at so unimportant an island, but, having partly explored its coast and finding it uninteresting, returned to the ships and set sail, taking seven of the natives with him, three of them going on thePinta, as Martin Alonzo had supposed would happen.All the talk of the fleet was, as Diego had said, of gold and where it could be found; and the admiral, by dint of signs and such words as he had been able to pick up, had gathered in a vague way that the source of the gold was to the south of Guanahani; and so he made his way thitherward, stopping at various islands on the way, but never with any success in finding more gold than had been had in Guanahani.All of the islands were as charming as they very well could be, each one seeming more beautiful than the last; but as they held no gold in store for the greedy voyagers, they gave but little pleasure to any one but the admiral, who had always an enthusiastic description of each to jot in the journal he was keeping for his sovereigns.It was the 12th of October when the fleet dropped anchor off Guanahani, and it was not until the 28th of the same month that it camein sight of Cuba, which gave the first promise of being the land they were in search of; for it was great in extent, and was marked with lofty mountains.At first the admiral was convinced that he had reached Zipangu, but afterwards, owing to something which Diego gathered from the Indians on thePinta, Martin Alonzo gained the belief that it was not an island, but the mainland; and, at once, both admiral and Martin Alonzo jumped to the conclusion that it was Cathay, and on this supposition they made a landing.The Indians told of gold in great quantities to be found in a certain part of Cuba; but although every effort was made to find it, it was always without success. The truth was that the Indians knew but little of the island, and what they told was always immediately magnified and distorted by the admiral, who saw everything by the light of his faith that he had discovered the eastern coast of Asia.In the meantime Diego had gained a considerable knowledge of the language of the Indians, and was profiting by it to question the natives of Cuba; for, although the language was not the same there, it was enough like that of Guanahani to enable him to communicate in it with the Cubans.Every day, Martin Alonzo eagerly questioned him on his progress in knowledge of where gold was to be found, and as often would express his disappointment that there was nothing more definite to tell, saying that the admiral had as much knowledge of the matter as he had.“Well,” said Diego, “and why should he not have?”“Boy, boy,” said Martin Alonzo, one day, “I depend on you. I will not brook the authority of that upstart foreigner. I tell you I depend on you. Now ask, pry, discover.”Then one day, after having had an interview with the admiral, he called Diego, and said, almost angrily:“Here is more that you have not discovered for me that the admiral knows. Now that we have spent two weeks exploring and coasting this country of Cuba, some one tells him that on the island of Babeque, which lies to the northeast, there is plenty of gold and precious stones. What have you to say to that?”Well, it was only natural that Diego, having been badgered so much, had exerted himself to learn something that was not known to anybody else, and he had supposed he had accomplished it, when Martin Alonzo came with this piece of news. At the first word, he fancied that hehad been forestalled again; but when his cousin had concluded, he plucked up his spirits and answered:“I have nothing to say to that; but I have something else to say, and that is that to the southeast, not far from here, there lies an island which the Indians call Bohio, though I think that is not its name, but only a sort of description. It is on this island, according to more than one, that gold is found, and that powerful and warlike people live.”“Do you trust this report, Diego?” demanded Martin Alonzo, eagerly.“I do, because I have questioned the men carefully. I have more faith in it than in the admiral’s Babeque, anyhow.”“And it is to the southeast?”“To the southeast,” answered Diego.“Diego,” whispered Martin Alonzo, “I will trust you. Keep your counsel still. I think the time has come when I can show that proud upstart that he is not supreme. Diego, I shall leave him to find his own gold, and I will go find mine. Ah, I shall not prevent free dealing in it, should ever we come upon it. Quiet, boy, and you shall be satisfied for the gold he took from you.”
Ifthe boys were easily reconciled to the loss of the gold which they had at first sought with such avidity, the same was not the case with Martin Alonzo; although even he cared less for the loss of the gold than for what he considered an affront to him.
But he had promised his men that they should carry away as much gold as they could procure, and he held himself responsible to them for the fulfilment of his promises. And then, he thought to himself, “comes this upstart Italian, who could never have sailed an inch this way but for me, and puts me down with his talk of their majesties. As if I were not a better subject of them than he!”
That was not especially to the point, but it was sufficient to the angry sailor who was jealous at the bottom, and did not ask for any good reasons for disliking the admiral. However, Martin Alonzo was not a man to brood for naught. He could not nurse a wrong, real or fancied, without coming to a conclusion which should lead to action.
During the few days that the vessels remained at the island, which the natives called Guanahani, but which the admiral renamed San Salvador, Martin Alonzo did nothing overt, though he was not in the least active in any of the plans made by the admiral. One thing he did do; he called Diego to him.
“Diego,” said he, “it seems to me that the time has come when you should prove the truth of the encomiums of the good Fray Bartolomeo.”
“As to what?” demanded Diego, with some surprise; for the good fray was very far from his thoughts at that moment.
“He said you had a gift of language,” said Martin Alonzo.
Diego had been so often mocked at by his cousin because of his alleged gift that he looked curiously at him to see if behind his gloomy face was any sign of mirth. As there was not, he answered quite soberly:
“Perhaps he praised me too highly, good cousin.”
“I hope not,” said Martin Alonzo, knitting his brows; “for I have a use, now, for such a gift.”
“And may I ask what that use may be?” asked Diego, seeing his cousin pause.
“Yes, you may ask and know; for I look to you to practise it. Diego, I wish you to put yourself to it to learn the language of this people. Will it be a difficult task? You should know, having studied other languages.”
“I think it will be an easy task,” answered Diego; “for I have already begun to learn some words, and I can say more than you would believe, considering I have studied but three days.”
“That is well—that is as it should be. Keep your counsel, Diego, and say nothing of what you are doing to any soul.”
“Juan already knows I am studying. But, cousin, I hear that the admiral intends to set sail as soon as the boats return from coasting the island; and if that be so I shall not have time to learn much.”
“That will not matter; for we shall carry away a few of the men to learn to act as interpreters. The admiral has so informed us. That is, if the men will go, and I do not doubt they will.”
“May I know with what especial object I am to study?” asked Diego, whose curiosity was roused, as much by the sullen manner of his cousin as by anything else.
“No, you may not,” answered Martin Alonzo, curtly. Then, as Diego turned abashed, he asked,“Do the men understand why they may not traffic for gold?”
“Yes.”
“And do they know how the gold was taken from you and Juan?”
“Ay, they do, and have been angry because of it, grumbling greatly that you promised them as much gold as they could carry. However,” and Diego laughed, “it has not made a great deal of difference; for it would seem as if Juan and I had stripped the island of its gold.”
“It is true that not much more has been found; but, Diego, there must be more where that came from, and I wish you to learn as soon as you can where it did come from. That is a part of your task. And be secret.”
“Learn where the gold came from!” repeated Diego to himself with a short laugh when he had left his cousin. “That is well said; but, worthy Martin Alonzo, do you not know that every man on the fleet is striving his utmost to learn the same thing? A pretty secret that!” and Diego laughed.
Nevertheless, he prosecuted his studies, which he had taken up from sheer love of learning languages, having truly the gift the good fray credited him with, and, with a definite object in view now, he strove harder than ever; Juan, meanwhile, admiring his extraordinary facility in learningwithout making the least effort to learn, himself.
It was as Martin Alonzo had said. The admiral did not remain long at so unimportant an island, but, having partly explored its coast and finding it uninteresting, returned to the ships and set sail, taking seven of the natives with him, three of them going on thePinta, as Martin Alonzo had supposed would happen.
All the talk of the fleet was, as Diego had said, of gold and where it could be found; and the admiral, by dint of signs and such words as he had been able to pick up, had gathered in a vague way that the source of the gold was to the south of Guanahani; and so he made his way thitherward, stopping at various islands on the way, but never with any success in finding more gold than had been had in Guanahani.
All of the islands were as charming as they very well could be, each one seeming more beautiful than the last; but as they held no gold in store for the greedy voyagers, they gave but little pleasure to any one but the admiral, who had always an enthusiastic description of each to jot in the journal he was keeping for his sovereigns.
It was the 12th of October when the fleet dropped anchor off Guanahani, and it was not until the 28th of the same month that it camein sight of Cuba, which gave the first promise of being the land they were in search of; for it was great in extent, and was marked with lofty mountains.
At first the admiral was convinced that he had reached Zipangu, but afterwards, owing to something which Diego gathered from the Indians on thePinta, Martin Alonzo gained the belief that it was not an island, but the mainland; and, at once, both admiral and Martin Alonzo jumped to the conclusion that it was Cathay, and on this supposition they made a landing.
The Indians told of gold in great quantities to be found in a certain part of Cuba; but although every effort was made to find it, it was always without success. The truth was that the Indians knew but little of the island, and what they told was always immediately magnified and distorted by the admiral, who saw everything by the light of his faith that he had discovered the eastern coast of Asia.
In the meantime Diego had gained a considerable knowledge of the language of the Indians, and was profiting by it to question the natives of Cuba; for, although the language was not the same there, it was enough like that of Guanahani to enable him to communicate in it with the Cubans.
Every day, Martin Alonzo eagerly questioned him on his progress in knowledge of where gold was to be found, and as often would express his disappointment that there was nothing more definite to tell, saying that the admiral had as much knowledge of the matter as he had.
“Well,” said Diego, “and why should he not have?”
“Boy, boy,” said Martin Alonzo, one day, “I depend on you. I will not brook the authority of that upstart foreigner. I tell you I depend on you. Now ask, pry, discover.”
Then one day, after having had an interview with the admiral, he called Diego, and said, almost angrily:
“Here is more that you have not discovered for me that the admiral knows. Now that we have spent two weeks exploring and coasting this country of Cuba, some one tells him that on the island of Babeque, which lies to the northeast, there is plenty of gold and precious stones. What have you to say to that?”
Well, it was only natural that Diego, having been badgered so much, had exerted himself to learn something that was not known to anybody else, and he had supposed he had accomplished it, when Martin Alonzo came with this piece of news. At the first word, he fancied that hehad been forestalled again; but when his cousin had concluded, he plucked up his spirits and answered:
“I have nothing to say to that; but I have something else to say, and that is that to the southeast, not far from here, there lies an island which the Indians call Bohio, though I think that is not its name, but only a sort of description. It is on this island, according to more than one, that gold is found, and that powerful and warlike people live.”
“Do you trust this report, Diego?” demanded Martin Alonzo, eagerly.
“I do, because I have questioned the men carefully. I have more faith in it than in the admiral’s Babeque, anyhow.”
“And it is to the southeast?”
“To the southeast,” answered Diego.
“Diego,” whispered Martin Alonzo, “I will trust you. Keep your counsel still. I think the time has come when I can show that proud upstart that he is not supreme. Diego, I shall leave him to find his own gold, and I will go find mine. Ah, I shall not prevent free dealing in it, should ever we come upon it. Quiet, boy, and you shall be satisfied for the gold he took from you.”