and is against
us in this matter. Whether He means to keep this wealth for worthier men
than us, or whether it is His will to hide this great city in the secret
place of His presence from the strife of tongues, and so to spare them
from sinful man's covetousness, and England from that sin and luxury
which I have seen gold beget among the Spaniards, I know not, sir; for
who knoweth the counsels of the Lord? But I have long had a voice within
which saith, 'Salvation Yeo, thou shalt never behold the Golden City
which is on earth, where heathens worship sun and moon and the hosts of
heaven; be content, therefore, to see that Golden City which is above,
where is neither sun nor moon, but the Lord God and the Lamb are the
light thereof."

There was a simple majesty about old Yeo when he broke forth in
utterances like these, which made his comrades, and even Amyas and Cary,
look on him as Mussulmans look on madmen, as possessed of mysterious
knowledge and flashes of inspiration; and Brimblecombe, whose pious soul
looked up to the old hero with a reverence which had overcome all his
Churchman's prejudices against Anabaptists, answered gently,--

"Amen! amen! my masters all: and it has been on my mind, too, this long
time, that there is a providence against our going east; for see how
this two years past, whenever we have pushed eastward, we have fallen
into trouble, and lost good men; and whenever we went Westward-ho, we
have prospered; and do prosper to this day."

"And what is more, gentlemen," said Yeo, "if, as Scripture says, dreams
are from the Lord, I verily believe mine last night came from Him; for
as I lay by the fire, sirs, I heard my little maid's voice calling of
me, as plain as ever I heard in my life; and the very same words, sirs,
which she learned from me and my good comrade William Penberthy to say,
'Westward-ho! jolly mariners all!' a bit of an ungodly song, my masters,
which we sang in our wild days; but she stood and called it as plain as
ever mortal ears heard, and called again till I answered, 'Coming! my
maid, coming!' and after that the dear chuck called no more--God grant I
find her yet!--and so I woke."

Cary had long since given up laughing at Yeo about the "little maid;"
and Amyas answered,--

"So let it be, Yeo, if the rest agree: but what shall we do to the
westward?"

"Do?" said Cary; "there's plenty to do; for there's plenty of gold,
and plenty of Spaniards, too, they say, on the other sid