h away.

When fairly satisfied of this, he struck his camp, and marched inland
over the mountains. The natives carried one boat. In due time they
saw a vast stretch of water below them, and knew that the lake lay in
their path.

On the shores of the lake the white men had decided to part from their
native companions. Villages clustered here and there on the margin of
the waters, and the appearance of a large company would spread alarm,
and send reports through the land that might betray them all. The
leave-taking was pathetic enough. The poor Indians looked like so many
helpless children. They begged the white men to stay with them, and
settle in the mountains between the lake and the sea. The country was
rich, and food and water plentiful. They would be faithful children to
their white fathers, if the latter would but stay to guide, protect,
and counsel them.

But neither Englishmen nor Spaniards had any desire to rule as petty
chiefs in a Central American forest; their thoughts and hopes took
higher flights than that. Adieus were said; the Europeans took to
their boat, with but one Indian as a scout and possible interpreter,
and pulled out from the shore, the mass of natives rushing after them
into the water, weeping and lamenting.

The passage of the lake was safely accomplished; the course of a river
flowing into it was followed as far as it was navigable. Then the
party camped whilst the Indian went to the hilltops in the east, and
surveyed the land that sloped away to the coast. He was away about
forty hours.

On his return with a favourable report the camp was struck and the boat
burned. Then, carefully covering up their tracks, the fugitives set
out for the Atlantic coast. It was hardly possible that any report of
their escape would have reached so far, and the authorities would never
look for them on the eastern ocean.

When the outskirts of San Juan were reached, Hernando went on as
advance guard. The next day they all entered the town as a party of
shipwrecked sailors. The Englishmen had been rechristened with Spanish
names for the nonce, and they wisely left the talking to their Spanish
companions. They were received without suspicion.

Chapter L.

HOME.

The Englishmen were doomed to idle about in San Juan for some weeks,
and during that time the little money they had found on the _Santa
Maria_ melted away. Vessels did not enter the little port very often.
The Portuguese