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Again there was sunny silence, then in at the door came the tall, muscular, gray-eyed, silver-haired man whom I had met the day King Boabdil surrendered Granada. He made reverence to the Queen and the King and to the Archbishop. It was the Queen who spoke to him and that gently. "Master Christopherus, we have had a thousand businesses, and so our matter here has waited and waited.
He drew Cuba and Paria approaching each the other until there was space between like the space from the horn of Spain to the horn of Africa. "Rich India now, now, now gold on the wharves, canoes of pearls, not cotton and cassava, is what we want in Spain! So the King says, 'Very good, you shall have the ships, and the Queen, 'Christ have you in his keeping, Master Christopherus! So we go.
Alonso de Ojeda, who by now was no more than half his friend, returned to Spain and there proposed to the Sovereigns a voyage of his own to that Southern Continent that never had the Admiral chance to return to! The Sovereigns now were giving such consent to this one and to that one, breaking their pact with Christopherus Columbus.
They would put Juan Lepe among these last, but here was Juan Lepe, one only left of that thirty-eight. The boat approached. I saw the bared head, higher than any other, the white hair, the blue-gray eyes, the strong nose and lips, the whole majestic air of the man, as of a great one chosen. Master Christopherus Don Cristoval el Almirante!
But the letter that counted most to Christopherus Columbus was one to himself from the Queen. Juan Lepe found him with it in his hand. From the wrist yet hung the chain. Tears were running down his cheeks. "You see you see!" he said. "I thank thee, Christ, who taketh care of us all!" They came and took away his chains. But he claimed them from the corregidor and kept them to his death.
All was because they had chained the Admiral! Don Alonso de Villejo, the Captain taking Christopherus Columbus to Spain, called to him Juan Lepe. "Witness you, Doctor, I would have taken away the irons so soon as we were out of harbor! I would have done it on my own responsibility. But he would not have it!" "Yes, I witness. In chains in Hispaniola, he will come to Spain in chains."
In his face and carriage was nothing broken. He kept color. The Queen's glance went after him, "What will you do now, Master Christopherus?" He answered, "My lady, your Highness, I shall take horse to-morrow for France." The King said, "France? King Charles buys ever low, not high!" The Sovereigns and the great churchmen and the less great went away together. After them flowed the high attendance.
If one wished the Viceroy and his brothers ill, it was found to be heady wine; if the other way round, it seemed thin, chilly and bitter. Here at Concepcion were Admiral's friends. After an hour he came again among us, behind him Carvajal. Now, this man, Christopherus Columbus, always appeared most highly and nobly Man, most everlasting and universal, in great personal trouble and danger.
When we raised our sails that dragon canoe cried out and marveled. But the cacique with the coronal asked intelligent questions. The Admiral showed him the way of it, mast and spar and sail cloth, and how we made the wind our rower. He listened, and at the last he gave Christopherus Columbus for that instruction the gold disk from his breast.
He should listen now, take good advice, that was clearly what the captain of the Pinta thought! Undoubtedly Master Christopherus dreamed true to a certain point, but after that was not so followable! As for Cristoforo Colombo, Italian shipmaster, he had, it was true, old sea wisdom. But Martin Pinzon thought Martin Pinzon was as good there!
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