e of the galleon, and then, cutting the ropes, cast
the fierce commander adrift at the mercy of wind and wave. They watched
him as the boat was seen to rise at times on the crest of a huge wave,
and saw that he shook at them threateningly his disarmed hand. At last
they lost sight of him, and gathered together once more to consider
their own plans and what to do with the treasure of the galleon.

"Jose, who seemed to be above the lust for gold which sprang up in the
hearts of the other sailors, assumed the command, and bade the men
prepare to return to Spain. He thought it best to throw himself and his
crew on the mercy of the King, and, delivering up the treasure, to tell
of the cruelties of Don Luego. With some reluctance the seamen agreed,
and so they took their course homeward. Three days afterwards a sailor
on the look-out descried several Spanish caracks to leeward, to which
they signalled, and having joined company sailed on together. All the
vessels carried bombards and cannons, yet within a week the whole of
them, save one, had struck their colours, and nailed to the mast of each
was the flag of the capturing enemy, who belonged to the sahibs' nation.
The single vessel not taken was the galleon which Jose commanded, and
after it, as it fled through the waves with every stitch of canvas
spread, went one of the Feringhee ships.

"It was a long stern chase, for the enemy was determined to capture the
galleon, yet so well were the vessels matched in speed that they swept
on without any perceptible difference being made in the distance which
separated them. Through all their course nothing seemed to hinder the
relentless pursuit of the treasure-ship. Many times Jose cried out to
his men to turn the vessel about to grapple with the other for the
mastery, but they would not obey, for the Spaniards knew too well how
the Feringhees could fight. A violent storm came on in which both ships
were partly disabled, but still they went on as best they could before a
driving wind, until they were carried from west to east and then driven
north into a sea which none of them had seen before.

"Then the Spanish galleon began to slacken and the English ship to draw
nearer and nearer by degrees, until one stormy evening the towering
crests of the volcanic range which runs through Formosa were visible,
although the sailors knew not what the land was named. Jose called upon
his men to run the vessel towards it, and as the pursuers dr