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That was all shoreward, while out to sea, a couple of miles or so away, smart and business-like, with her tall spars and carefully squared yards and rigging, cobweb-like in texture at that distance, lay at anchor in the open road-stead HMS Nautilus waiting to gather "blackberries" at the first opportunity, and toward which smart little vessel the cutter was being steadily propelled.
He can do the business himself; a barrel of shot or a sling suffices to settle the matter." They had lowered a hook, and been clever enough to grapple the rope of the floating buoy. Our captain was beside himself with envy of their prize. Its road-stead, however, is very unsafe, and, being exposed to the north-easterly storms, is perfectly useless during the winter.
And rugged Carpathus far away welcomed them; and thence they were to cross to Crete, which rises in the sea above other islands. And Talos, the man of bronze, as he broke off rocks from the hard cliff, stayed them from fastening hawsers to the shore, when they came to the road-stead of Dicte's haven.
He tried to set forth these elementary considerations before the sergeant of the guard set over him and some twenty other such deserters, who had been condemned summarily to be shot. It was in the quadrangle of the fort at the back of the batteries which command the road-stead of Valparaiso. The officer who had identified him had gone on without listening to his protestations.
We now put to sea, without helm, tackle, or compass. Four of us continually labored at the oars; the employment of the fifth was baling out the water that leaked through the canvas. We struggled hard the first night to get out of the reach of our old masters; but when the day broke, we were still within sight of their ships in the haven and road-stead.
There was nothing to require our attention, as our ships were lying as still and motionless, but for the drift, as if riding at anchor in a road-stead; so we talked together until the steward announced dinner, and after that adjourned to the after-deck with a box of cigars and a bottle of wine, where we resumed our conversation.
The wind changing northerly, they were constrained to put into a port called Del Principe, which he only viewed from without, in a road-stead protected by a great number of islands, about a musket-shot asunder, and he called this place Mar de Nuestra Sennora, or Our Lady's Sea. The channels between the islands were deep, and the shores beautifully adorned with trees and green herbage.
We anchored in a fine bay on the N.W. side of Mayo, in eight fathoms on a good sandy bottom; but weighed next day and went to another island called St Jago, about five leagues E. by S. from Mayo. At the westermost point of this island, we saw a good road-stead, having a small town by the waterside, close to which was a fort or battery.
Farther on they came to another, a league and a half from the land, and there being a good road-stead opposite, Grijalva brought the ships to anchor, and went on shore in his boat at a place where some smoke was seen.
When our ships were all loaded, we drew out to sea in waiting for a western wind to carry us to England. But while at sea a great leak broke out in the Lion, on which we bore away for the island of Lançerota, between which and Fuertaventura we came to anchor in a safe road-stead, whence we landed 70 chests of sugar upon the island of Lançerota, with a dozen or sixteen of our men.
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