ny other nation may pass
through our waters."

"I can assure you," Ned said, "that there was no object, either of
conquest or of trade, on the part of our admiral in visiting these
seas. When he rounded the Cape his object was to discover, if
possible, a passage round the northern coast of America back to
England. But when we went north we found the cold was great, and
that the land stretched away so that it would join with Asia to the
north. Being convinced, then, that no passage could be obtained in
that way, he sailed for England round the Cape of Good Hope,
fearing the dangers of a passage round the Horn, by which he lost
on our passage out two of his ships, and was well-nigh wrecked
himself. He only abode in the islands of the South Seas for a few
days, to get provisions and water, and then sailed straight for
home."

Assured by this explanation, the viceroy now begged the boys to sit
down, and he and his council listened with admiration and
astonishment to the records of the expedition, and especially to
the passage across America of two of the young men before him. The
depredations which had been committed upon the Spaniards excited no
indignation among the Portuguese; for these nations were rivals,
and although they did not put their contentions to the test of the
sword, each was glad enough to hear of any misfortune befalling the
other.

The viceroy now assured the young men that he was proud to welcome
the members of so gallant a crew as that of the great English
navigator.

"England and Portugal," he said, "did not clash, and were always
natural allies."

He trusted they would always remain so, and in the meantime he
should be glad to treat the boys with all honor, and to forward
them home by the first ship which might be sailing.

Apartments were now assigned to them in the palace, and here they
were delighted to find a stock of clothes suited for them.

For the next fortnight they passed a pleasant time at Goa. They
were the objects of much attention on the part of the Portuguese,
and all vied in the attempt to make their stay pleasant to them.
They found that the town of Goa occupied but a small space, and
that it was strongly fortified, and the Portuguese made no attempt
to conceal their very high estimate of the fighting power of the
natives. One young officer, who was specially told off to accompany
the lads, and who spoke Spanish fluently, was particularly frank in
his description of the st