ainst
larger stick and turning the first with such skill, vigor and
persistence that presently arose heat, a spark, fire. But they seemed
to need or wish no watch fire. They lay, naked and careless,
innocent--fearless, as though the whole land were their castle. Luis
tried to find out how they felt about dangers. We pieced together. "None
here! And the Great Lizard takes care!" That was the Cuban. Diego Colon
said, "The Great Turtle takes care!"

Luis Torres laughed. "Fray Ignatio should hear that!"

"It is on the road," I said and went to sleep.

The second day's going proved less difficult than the first. Less
difficult means difficult enough! And as yet we had met no one nor
anything that remotely favored golden-roofed Cipango, or famous, rich
Quinsai, or Zaiton of the marble bridges. Jerez climbed a tall tree
and coming down reported forest and mountain, and naught else. Our
companions watched with interest his climbing. "Do you go up trees in
heaven?"

This morning we had bathed in a pool below the little waterfall. Diego
Colon by now was used to us so, but the Cuba men displayed excitement.
They had not yet in mind separated us from our clothes. Now we were
separated and were found in all our members like them, only the color
differing. Color and the short beards of Luis Torres and Juan Lepe. They
wished to touch and examine our clothes lying upon the bank, but here
Diego Colon interfered. They were full of magic. Something terrible
might happen! When Luis and I came forth from water and dried ourselves
with handfuls of the warm grass, they asked: "Do they do so in heaven?"
The stronger, more intelligent of the two, added, "It is not so
different!"

I said to Luis as we took path after breakfast, "It is borne in upon
me that only from ourselves, Admiral to ship boy, can we keep up this
heaven ballad! Clothes, beads and hawk bells, cannon, harquebus,
trumpet and banner, ship and sails, royal letters and blessing of the
Pope--nothing will do it long unless we do it ourselves!"

"Agreed!" quoth Luis. "But gods and angels are beginning to slip and
slide, back there by the ships! We have the less temptation here."

He began to speak of a sailor and a brown girl upon whom he had stumbled
in a close wood a little way from shore. She thought Tomaso Pasamonte
was a god wooing her and was half-frightened, half-fain. "And two hours
later I saw Don Pedro Gutierrez--"

"Ay," said Juan Lepe. "The same story! The oldes