them an immortal
soul within him,--where are they now? Gone, like the spray!" And he
swept his hands abroad with a wild and solemn gesture. "And their blood
is upon my head!"

Both Sir Richard and Amyas began to suspect that the man's brain was not
altogether sound.

"God forbid, my man," said the knight, kindly.

"Thirteen men I persuaded to join in Bideford town, beside William
Penberthy of Marazion, my good comrade. And what if it be said to me at
the day of judgment, 'Salvation Yeo, where are those fourteen whom thou
didst tempt to their deaths by covetousness and lust of gold?' Not that
I was alone in my sin, if the truth must be told. For all the way out
Mr. Oxenham was making loud speech, after his pleasant way, that he
would make all their fortunes, and take them to such a Paradise, that
they should have no lust to come home again. And I--God knows why--for
every one boast of his would make two, even to lying and empty fables,
and anything to keep up the men's hearts. For I had really persuaded
myself that we should all find treasures beyond Solomon his temple,
and Mr. Oxenham would surely show us how to conquer some golden city or
discover some island all made of precious stones. And one day, as the
captain and I were talking after our fashion, I said, 'And you shall be
our king, captain.' To which he, 'If I be, I shall not be long without
a queen, and that no Indian one either.' And after that he often jested
about the Spanish ladies, saying that none could show us the way to
their hearts better than he. Which speeches I took no count of then,
sirs: but after I minded them, whether I would or not. Well, sirs, we
came to the shore of New Spain, near to the old place--that's Nombre
de Dios; and there Mr. Oxenham went ashore into the woods with a boat's
crew, to find the negroes who helped us three years before. Those are
the Cimaroons, gentles, negro slaves who have fled from those devils
incarnate, their Spanish masters, and live wild, like the beasts
that perish; men of great stature, sirs, and fierce as wolves in
the onslaught, but poor jabbering mazed fellows if they be but a bit
dismayed: and have many Indian women with them, who take to these
negroes a deal better than to their own kin, which breeds war enough, as
you may guess.

"Well, sirs, after three days the captain comes back, looking heavy
enough, and says, 'We played our trick once too often, when we played
it once. There is no chance of stopp