lieved watch on his
ships, but there has been no one to relieve him, or to lift the burden
from his mind. The eyes of a nation are upon him, watchful and jealous
eyes that will not forgive him any failure; and to earn their approval he
has taken this voyage of five months, during which he has only been able
to forget his troubles in the brief hours of slumber. Strange uncharted
seas, treacherous winds and currents, drenching surges have all done
their part in bringing him to this pass; and his body, now starved on
rotten biscuits, now glutted with unfamiliar fruits, has been preyed upon
by the tortured mind as the mind itself has been shaken and loosened by
the weakness of the body. He lies there in his cabin in a deep stupor;
memory, sight, and all sensation completely gone from him; dead but for
the heart that beats on faintly, and the breath that comes and goes
through the parted lips. Nino, de la Cosa, and the others come and look
at him, shake their heads, and go away again. There is nothing to be
done; perhaps they will get him back to Isabella in time to bury him
there; perhaps not.

And meanwhile they are back again in calm and safe waters, and coasting a
familiar shore; and the faithful little Nina, shaking out her wings in
the sunny breezes, trips under the guidance of unfamiliar hands towards
her moorings in the Bay of Isabella. It is a sad company that she
carries; for in the cabin, deaf and blind and unconscious, there lies the
heart and guiding spirit of the New World. He does not hear the talking
of the waters past the Nina's timbers, does not hear the stamping on the
deck and shortening of sail and unstopping of cables and getting out of
gear; does not hear the splash of the anchor, nor the screams of birds
that rise circling from the shore. Does not hear the greetings and the
news; does not see bending over him a kind, helpful, and well-beloved
face. He sees and hears and knows nothing; and in that state of rest and
absence from the body they carry him, still living and breathing, ashore.

CHAPTER II

THE CONQUEST OF ESPANOLA

We must now go back to the time when Columbus, having made what
arrangements he could for the safety of Espanola, left it under the
charge of his brother James. Ojeda had duly marched into the interior
and taken over the command of Fort St. Thomas, thus setting free
Margarite, according to his instructions, to lead an expedition for
purposes of reconnoitre and