Chapter XXVIII.Whetheror not the admiral ever learned of the loss and subsequent return of Diego and Juan cannot be known. Certain it is that he made no mention of their adventure in his account of the voyage, rendered to the queen upon his return to Spain.At the time he was not told by any one in authority or with the knowledge to relate the facts as they were; for he did not go aboard thePinta, but gave his orders from his deck, when the vessels were near enough for that, or had Martin Alonzo visit him when they had need to communicate.The next day after the return of the boys the order was given to set sail, and the two vessels started to coast around the island. They did not go farther than the eastern end of the island, however, and then the admiral got the notion of wishing to visit one of the Carib islands, in order to see some of those fierce savages; and perhaps he would have gone on that voyage, as he did on a subsequent one, if a fair wind forhome had not sprung up, and caused the sailors to be so home-sick that they begged him most piteously to turn towards the east.At first the wind kept favorable, but not for long, and now they began to experience as much difficulty in returning across the ocean as they had had ease in coming. And by and by, when they began to have hopes of reaching Spain before many days, violent storms arose, and nearly made an end of the crazy little craft.ThePintawas even worse off than theNiña, for her foremast was weak and could not stand any strain. The worst storm came on about the middle of February, and it was with great difficulty that the admiral could keep the two vessels together. For a time Martin Alonzo did as well as he could to keep company with theNiña; but the storm was so violent that it seemed to him that it was no more than the barest chance that either vessel would live, and so he determined to disregard the signals of the admiral and once more part company. Indeed, it was a measure of real safety; and he had no thought then of doing what presently suggested itself to him, which was to take it for granted that theNiñahad been unable to survive the storm, and to make good his way home and announce himself as the discoverer.He believed that theNiñacould not have weathered a storm that had nearly wrecked thePinta, and so he sailed before the still raging storm, and after many days was able to make the port of Bayonne, in the Bay of Biscay. From there he despatched a letter to his sovereigns, announcing his discovery of the eastern coast of Asia, and assuming that the admiral was drowned.Then, the storm having abated, he sailed for Palos, pleasing himself with the thought of how he would be received by his friends. ThePintareached the bar of Saltes at the mouth of the little river, and the men all crowded on deck to see the land they had left so sorrowfully a few months before, and were returning to so triumphant.Diego pointed out to Juan the convent of La Rabida, standing on its eminence, where it could plainly be seen, and from which he had so many times looked down on the little river he was now sailing up, after such strange adventures. He wondered how he would be received there. There was certainly to be one nugget of gold to make a cross for the breviary of Fray Bartolomeo, and Alfonso, his old friend, should have another.And Juan was to go with him wherever hewent, and it was always to be share and share alike with them. Juan had agreed to that with a full heart; for the approach to Spain recalled to him the things he had been able so long to put away from him, and it was pleasant to hear Diego’s hearty voice telling him that he had been his brother, and always should be.“And,” said Diego, with a joyous laugh, “we will fight it out as soon as I have taken as great a risk for you as you did for me off Haiti.”The sail up the river is not a long one, with the tide favorable, and it was a short time after entering it that they came in sight of the town. Martin Alonzo paced the poop, filled with the thought of the triumph that was to be his.“Brother,” said Francisco Martin, his face quite pale, “what vessel is that riding in the river?”Martin Alonzo looked and looked again, and a change came over his face such as one looks for on the face of the dying.“TheNiña,” was all he said.Yes, it was true. After passing through many adventures, theNiñahad reached Palos just one day in advance of thePinta; and asthePintadrew nearer the town, the noise of the rejoicing over the admiral could be distinctly heard.*****It is a sad thing to say, but it is true, alas! that Martin Alonzo Pinzon was hurt to his death by the ending to his voyage. Most of all that wounded him was the feeling that he had dishonored himself. He would not sail up to the town, but took a small boat ashore, and went stealthily to his house, bitterly contrasting such a home-coming with the one he had anticipated, and yet finding in his heart that his punishment was just.He had already been ill, but not seriously. Now he went to his house to take to his bed; and when a letter arrived not many days after from his sovereigns, reproaching him for his conduct, he groaned aloud, and turned his face to the wall. A few days later he died.The part which Diego and Juan took was very much brighter than this. They had nothing wherewith to reproach themselves, and they enjoyed to the full the rôle of hero which was forced upon them.At the convent, in particular, where Diego went with Juan the very first thing, they were made so much of that it is a wonder they werenot ruined. The other boys followed them about like dumb cattle after a leader; and when either, but especially Diego, opened his lips, you would have thought some of the gold of Haiti was about to fall from them, so eagerly did his old schoolmates watch them.As for the nuggets, Diego and Juan were not niggards with them, and would have melted them away in the warmth of their generosity in a very short time, had not Vicente Yanez Pinzon, the brother next to Martin Alonzo, and the captain of theNiña, taken him aside and talked with him.Well, he had already been generous enough, so he permitted his cousin to take his money and put it in a safe place. And, indeed, some of the property bought with that money can be seen to this day, still owned by a Pinzon, too, in the little town of Moguer, about a league from Palos.After that? Well, after that Diego and Juan made many a voyage to the newly discovered countries, and lived to learn what Christoval Colon never did learn—that they had actually discovered a new continent, and not Asia at all.“DIEGO RELATES HIS ADVENTURES TO THE CONVENT BOYS.”And they were with Vicente Yanez Pinzon when he and that Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, made the voyage together—an account of which voyage being widely read over Europe was the means of gaining for Vespucci the unmerited honor of having been the first to reach the continent, whereby his name is to this day attached to the country discovered.THE END.
Chapter XXVIII.Whetheror not the admiral ever learned of the loss and subsequent return of Diego and Juan cannot be known. Certain it is that he made no mention of their adventure in his account of the voyage, rendered to the queen upon his return to Spain.At the time he was not told by any one in authority or with the knowledge to relate the facts as they were; for he did not go aboard thePinta, but gave his orders from his deck, when the vessels were near enough for that, or had Martin Alonzo visit him when they had need to communicate.The next day after the return of the boys the order was given to set sail, and the two vessels started to coast around the island. They did not go farther than the eastern end of the island, however, and then the admiral got the notion of wishing to visit one of the Carib islands, in order to see some of those fierce savages; and perhaps he would have gone on that voyage, as he did on a subsequent one, if a fair wind forhome had not sprung up, and caused the sailors to be so home-sick that they begged him most piteously to turn towards the east.At first the wind kept favorable, but not for long, and now they began to experience as much difficulty in returning across the ocean as they had had ease in coming. And by and by, when they began to have hopes of reaching Spain before many days, violent storms arose, and nearly made an end of the crazy little craft.ThePintawas even worse off than theNiña, for her foremast was weak and could not stand any strain. The worst storm came on about the middle of February, and it was with great difficulty that the admiral could keep the two vessels together. For a time Martin Alonzo did as well as he could to keep company with theNiña; but the storm was so violent that it seemed to him that it was no more than the barest chance that either vessel would live, and so he determined to disregard the signals of the admiral and once more part company. Indeed, it was a measure of real safety; and he had no thought then of doing what presently suggested itself to him, which was to take it for granted that theNiñahad been unable to survive the storm, and to make good his way home and announce himself as the discoverer.He believed that theNiñacould not have weathered a storm that had nearly wrecked thePinta, and so he sailed before the still raging storm, and after many days was able to make the port of Bayonne, in the Bay of Biscay. From there he despatched a letter to his sovereigns, announcing his discovery of the eastern coast of Asia, and assuming that the admiral was drowned.Then, the storm having abated, he sailed for Palos, pleasing himself with the thought of how he would be received by his friends. ThePintareached the bar of Saltes at the mouth of the little river, and the men all crowded on deck to see the land they had left so sorrowfully a few months before, and were returning to so triumphant.Diego pointed out to Juan the convent of La Rabida, standing on its eminence, where it could plainly be seen, and from which he had so many times looked down on the little river he was now sailing up, after such strange adventures. He wondered how he would be received there. There was certainly to be one nugget of gold to make a cross for the breviary of Fray Bartolomeo, and Alfonso, his old friend, should have another.And Juan was to go with him wherever hewent, and it was always to be share and share alike with them. Juan had agreed to that with a full heart; for the approach to Spain recalled to him the things he had been able so long to put away from him, and it was pleasant to hear Diego’s hearty voice telling him that he had been his brother, and always should be.“And,” said Diego, with a joyous laugh, “we will fight it out as soon as I have taken as great a risk for you as you did for me off Haiti.”The sail up the river is not a long one, with the tide favorable, and it was a short time after entering it that they came in sight of the town. Martin Alonzo paced the poop, filled with the thought of the triumph that was to be his.“Brother,” said Francisco Martin, his face quite pale, “what vessel is that riding in the river?”Martin Alonzo looked and looked again, and a change came over his face such as one looks for on the face of the dying.“TheNiña,” was all he said.Yes, it was true. After passing through many adventures, theNiñahad reached Palos just one day in advance of thePinta; and asthePintadrew nearer the town, the noise of the rejoicing over the admiral could be distinctly heard.*****It is a sad thing to say, but it is true, alas! that Martin Alonzo Pinzon was hurt to his death by the ending to his voyage. Most of all that wounded him was the feeling that he had dishonored himself. He would not sail up to the town, but took a small boat ashore, and went stealthily to his house, bitterly contrasting such a home-coming with the one he had anticipated, and yet finding in his heart that his punishment was just.He had already been ill, but not seriously. Now he went to his house to take to his bed; and when a letter arrived not many days after from his sovereigns, reproaching him for his conduct, he groaned aloud, and turned his face to the wall. A few days later he died.The part which Diego and Juan took was very much brighter than this. They had nothing wherewith to reproach themselves, and they enjoyed to the full the rôle of hero which was forced upon them.At the convent, in particular, where Diego went with Juan the very first thing, they were made so much of that it is a wonder they werenot ruined. The other boys followed them about like dumb cattle after a leader; and when either, but especially Diego, opened his lips, you would have thought some of the gold of Haiti was about to fall from them, so eagerly did his old schoolmates watch them.As for the nuggets, Diego and Juan were not niggards with them, and would have melted them away in the warmth of their generosity in a very short time, had not Vicente Yanez Pinzon, the brother next to Martin Alonzo, and the captain of theNiña, taken him aside and talked with him.Well, he had already been generous enough, so he permitted his cousin to take his money and put it in a safe place. And, indeed, some of the property bought with that money can be seen to this day, still owned by a Pinzon, too, in the little town of Moguer, about a league from Palos.After that? Well, after that Diego and Juan made many a voyage to the newly discovered countries, and lived to learn what Christoval Colon never did learn—that they had actually discovered a new continent, and not Asia at all.“DIEGO RELATES HIS ADVENTURES TO THE CONVENT BOYS.”And they were with Vicente Yanez Pinzon when he and that Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, made the voyage together—an account of which voyage being widely read over Europe was the means of gaining for Vespucci the unmerited honor of having been the first to reach the continent, whereby his name is to this day attached to the country discovered.THE END.
Whetheror not the admiral ever learned of the loss and subsequent return of Diego and Juan cannot be known. Certain it is that he made no mention of their adventure in his account of the voyage, rendered to the queen upon his return to Spain.
At the time he was not told by any one in authority or with the knowledge to relate the facts as they were; for he did not go aboard thePinta, but gave his orders from his deck, when the vessels were near enough for that, or had Martin Alonzo visit him when they had need to communicate.
The next day after the return of the boys the order was given to set sail, and the two vessels started to coast around the island. They did not go farther than the eastern end of the island, however, and then the admiral got the notion of wishing to visit one of the Carib islands, in order to see some of those fierce savages; and perhaps he would have gone on that voyage, as he did on a subsequent one, if a fair wind forhome had not sprung up, and caused the sailors to be so home-sick that they begged him most piteously to turn towards the east.
At first the wind kept favorable, but not for long, and now they began to experience as much difficulty in returning across the ocean as they had had ease in coming. And by and by, when they began to have hopes of reaching Spain before many days, violent storms arose, and nearly made an end of the crazy little craft.
ThePintawas even worse off than theNiña, for her foremast was weak and could not stand any strain. The worst storm came on about the middle of February, and it was with great difficulty that the admiral could keep the two vessels together. For a time Martin Alonzo did as well as he could to keep company with theNiña; but the storm was so violent that it seemed to him that it was no more than the barest chance that either vessel would live, and so he determined to disregard the signals of the admiral and once more part company. Indeed, it was a measure of real safety; and he had no thought then of doing what presently suggested itself to him, which was to take it for granted that theNiñahad been unable to survive the storm, and to make good his way home and announce himself as the discoverer.
He believed that theNiñacould not have weathered a storm that had nearly wrecked thePinta, and so he sailed before the still raging storm, and after many days was able to make the port of Bayonne, in the Bay of Biscay. From there he despatched a letter to his sovereigns, announcing his discovery of the eastern coast of Asia, and assuming that the admiral was drowned.
Then, the storm having abated, he sailed for Palos, pleasing himself with the thought of how he would be received by his friends. ThePintareached the bar of Saltes at the mouth of the little river, and the men all crowded on deck to see the land they had left so sorrowfully a few months before, and were returning to so triumphant.
Diego pointed out to Juan the convent of La Rabida, standing on its eminence, where it could plainly be seen, and from which he had so many times looked down on the little river he was now sailing up, after such strange adventures. He wondered how he would be received there. There was certainly to be one nugget of gold to make a cross for the breviary of Fray Bartolomeo, and Alfonso, his old friend, should have another.
And Juan was to go with him wherever hewent, and it was always to be share and share alike with them. Juan had agreed to that with a full heart; for the approach to Spain recalled to him the things he had been able so long to put away from him, and it was pleasant to hear Diego’s hearty voice telling him that he had been his brother, and always should be.
“And,” said Diego, with a joyous laugh, “we will fight it out as soon as I have taken as great a risk for you as you did for me off Haiti.”
The sail up the river is not a long one, with the tide favorable, and it was a short time after entering it that they came in sight of the town. Martin Alonzo paced the poop, filled with the thought of the triumph that was to be his.
“Brother,” said Francisco Martin, his face quite pale, “what vessel is that riding in the river?”
Martin Alonzo looked and looked again, and a change came over his face such as one looks for on the face of the dying.
“TheNiña,” was all he said.
Yes, it was true. After passing through many adventures, theNiñahad reached Palos just one day in advance of thePinta; and asthePintadrew nearer the town, the noise of the rejoicing over the admiral could be distinctly heard.
It is a sad thing to say, but it is true, alas! that Martin Alonzo Pinzon was hurt to his death by the ending to his voyage. Most of all that wounded him was the feeling that he had dishonored himself. He would not sail up to the town, but took a small boat ashore, and went stealthily to his house, bitterly contrasting such a home-coming with the one he had anticipated, and yet finding in his heart that his punishment was just.
He had already been ill, but not seriously. Now he went to his house to take to his bed; and when a letter arrived not many days after from his sovereigns, reproaching him for his conduct, he groaned aloud, and turned his face to the wall. A few days later he died.
The part which Diego and Juan took was very much brighter than this. They had nothing wherewith to reproach themselves, and they enjoyed to the full the rôle of hero which was forced upon them.
At the convent, in particular, where Diego went with Juan the very first thing, they were made so much of that it is a wonder they werenot ruined. The other boys followed them about like dumb cattle after a leader; and when either, but especially Diego, opened his lips, you would have thought some of the gold of Haiti was about to fall from them, so eagerly did his old schoolmates watch them.
As for the nuggets, Diego and Juan were not niggards with them, and would have melted them away in the warmth of their generosity in a very short time, had not Vicente Yanez Pinzon, the brother next to Martin Alonzo, and the captain of theNiña, taken him aside and talked with him.
Well, he had already been generous enough, so he permitted his cousin to take his money and put it in a safe place. And, indeed, some of the property bought with that money can be seen to this day, still owned by a Pinzon, too, in the little town of Moguer, about a league from Palos.
After that? Well, after that Diego and Juan made many a voyage to the newly discovered countries, and lived to learn what Christoval Colon never did learn—that they had actually discovered a new continent, and not Asia at all.
“DIEGO RELATES HIS ADVENTURES TO THE CONVENT BOYS.”
“DIEGO RELATES HIS ADVENTURES TO THE CONVENT BOYS.”
“DIEGO RELATES HIS ADVENTURES TO THE CONVENT BOYS.”
And they were with Vicente Yanez Pinzon when he and that Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, made the voyage together—an account of which voyage being widely read over Europe was the means of gaining for Vespucci the unmerited honor of having been the first to reach the continent, whereby his name is to this day attached to the country discovered.
THE END.