Diego Pinzón

“ Diego climbed up with difficulty, and stood with pale face and beating heart by the side of the captain of the Pinta. Martin Alonzo eyed him in silence for a few moments, and the crew waited breathlessly for what was to follow. In that brief space Diego understood that the whole crew looked upon him as a sort of spy, and that his cousin regarded him as a coward [70] who could be frightened into telling aught he might know. ”

“ Not quite dreaming, nor yet wide awake. Something had passed him with a stealthy step and crouching body, and, dark as the night was, he could distinguish a human form; and, indeed, what other living thing was there on board the vessel? Dislike is sometimes keener than even love, and it was this that led Diego to the quick conclusion that the crouching figure, moving so softly and cautiously aft, was that of Juan Cacheco. And it seemed to his strained eyes that there was a gleam of a knife-blade once when a lantern swung around the foremast. ”

“ Diego had no answer to that. He could only scream his rage and defiance. But they would know, they would know. He struggled furiously; but Juan only laughed with all the ugliness of passion.
“You can’t get up; you’ve got to listen to me.”
“Jail-bird!”
Diego knew very well that there was nothing hurt as much as that.
“You are a thief, too,” said Juan. “Martin Alonzo said so and you could not deny it.”
[116]
“Never a jail-bird,” answered Diego, as if the punishment made the crime.
“You are worse,” said Juan; “you are ungrateful. I saved your life.”
“I saved yours. We’re quits.” ”

“ He looked very handsome and winsome as he stood there in his young pride, and Martin Alonzo thought so. He cast an approving glance at Garcia Fernandez and Francisco Martin, and sprang up from his chair.
“Embrace me, boy!” he cried, rapturously; for he dearly loved a brave action and a lofty spirit. “Thou art a true Pinzon, and I am proud of thee. There, Diego,” he went on, “if I discover not Zipangu, at least I have discovered thy mother’s son, and that will be some recompense. Now, go for’ard, and ever count me friend. ”

“ They hoped, and it so happened, that the Niña’s boats would push off first. Then Diego and Juan, with shining eyes, stole closer to where the Pinta’s men were, and Diego called softy:
“Rodrigo! Rodrigo de Triana!”
“Holy St. Martin! who calls?” cried Rodrigo, the sound of something familiar in the tone turning his blood chill.
“Juan Cacheco and Diego Pinzon,” said Diego, and therewith stepped out of the thicket and stood revealed.
There was at first a disposition to flight on the part of the men ”

“ All the remainder of that day the fleet sailed on for Ferro, and all the time that he was not eating or working, Diego leaned on the rail and moodily watched the island of Gomera fade into distance.
Juan was as gay as Diego was dull, and received the congratulations of Miguel and a few of the other sailors in very good spirits. At first he was inclined to be offensive to Diego, not by any direct affront to him, but by a little too much ostentation in his high spirits; but later he was more quiet, and seemed to have dismissed Diego from his mind. ”

“ There was a set smile on his face, and he said nothing for a full minute.
“Now we shall hear something startling, depend upon that,” said Juan, in Diego’s ear.
“It is an egg he has been sitting on for some time,” said Diego, “and I am curious to see what will be hatched.”
“My men,” said Martin Alonzo, raising his powerful voice, “come nearer. I have something to say to you.”
There was no need of a second invitation; for the men crowded as near as they could, and listened while they clung to any available thing; for the vessel was tossing like a cork. ”

“ It is on this island, according to more than one, that gold is found, and that powerful and warlike people live.”
“Do you trust this report, Diego?” demanded Martin Alonzo, eagerly.
“I do, because I have questioned the men carefully. I have more faith in it than in the admiral’s Babeque, anyhow.”
“And it is to the southeast?”
“To the southeast,” answered Diego.
“Diego,” whispered Martin Alonzo, “I will trust you. Keep your counsel still. I think the time has come when I can show that proud upstart that he is not supreme. Diego, I shall leave him to find his own gold, and I will go find mine. ”

“ His merry humor and constant flow of spirits had long ago made him a prime favorite with the men, while his knowledge of the Indian language made him of importance. It was to him that all questions relative to the nature of Bohio were always addressed, and now that the Pinta had broken loose from the fleet, Martin Alonzo had given him permission to answer all questions freely.
It may not be amiss to say that Miguel was the only one of the crew who had not taken kindly to Diego; and his aloofness was due as much to his jealousy of Juan’s liking of Diego as to his own sullen temper. ”

“ His rapid, abrupt manner of speaking gave little opportunity for an answer; and the friar saw that it was a poor time to be there on such an errand; but he was so convinced that Diego would be unmanageable without a chastisement and warning from his cousin that he spoke out clearly and to the point:
“The humanities come on well enough, and no one can do better than he when he will; but I have come to tell thee, Martin Alonzo, that he needs a strong hand to correct him, or he will never arrive at grace.”
“My time is short,” said Martin Alonzo, gruffly. ”

“ Well, neither the Santa Maria nor the Niña can sail long in the teeth of this gale, and will be obliged to turn back.”
“So Rodrigo de Triana says,” answered Diego.
“He says well. Now, go, Diego,” and he turned and walked to where his brother, Francisco Martin, paced the unsteady poop of the Pinta.
It is singular how the very air seems to be charged with expectation when a plot of any sort is brewing. ”

“ Angry at what he believed was Diego’s obstinacy, and angry that he should meet with a check before the crew. If he had doubted his ability to make Diego speak he would not have essayed it so publicly; but, since he had essayed it, he was determined to succeed; for Martin Alonzo was [71] a man who at all times would have his own way, and who was used to being supreme and undisputed when at sea on his own vessel.
Diego was well satisfied that nothing on the score of relationship would stand between him and the wrath of his cousin should he refuse to speak and tell what he knew. ”

“ Ah, lads! you lay your heads down to-night poor men; but if the tale be not a false one—and you see it has been true so far—you shall not go to bed again without gold under your pillows.”
With that the men all fell to shaking hands with each other, and could hardly be got to take [147] in the sails, for the excitement they were in. And it chanced that in the general jubilee of congratulation, Diego, whose spirits were as easily exalted as any one’s, had gone about dancing and shaking hands like one beside himself, as indeed he was, and had at last caught the hand of Juan before he knew it. ”

“ Martin Alonzo laughed in his beard, and Diego [28] felt that his doom was sealed. He saw the friar go out of the house, and he saw the hasty preparations of the women of the household to get him an outfit; he listened to their words of comfort and hope, and to his cousin’s gruff assurance that he would not be taking the voyage himself, if he thought there was danger in it; and all the while his mind was only on the words he had spoken in mischief to the young convict.
“He is very young to die!” ”

“ Eh, boy?”
“I know naught about it,” answered Diego, without making any effort to conceal the repugnance [36] he had for the man, whom he did not think of as a fellow-voyager, but only as a convict.
“Hah!” ejaculated the man, showing by his sudden change of tone and by his scowl that he comprehended Diego’s feeling towards him. “‘Tis the cockerel that crowed so bravely on the quay and changed his tone so soon after. We’ll clip your comb before this voyage is half done, my little bird, or my name is not Miguel de la Vega.” ”

“ Although a stiff gale was blowing, it was not a cold one, but rather laden with heat, as if it had come from a warm region, and the men were lying about the deck, clad in only shirts and trousers.
“Why,” said Diego, “there is nothing new to tell you. I have told you all I know twenty times over.”
“Then tell us for the twenty-first time,” said Rodrigo.
“How well that worthy Rodrigo calculates!” said Diego, paternally. “He can add one to twenty and know the result. It is because he has taken to counting maravedis lately, no doubt.” ”

“ In that case it will be your crime as much as that of the man who does the act. To refuse to divulge what you know is generous and brave, it may be; but it is the madness of generosity and bravery.”
Diego could not but be affected by the argument; but he had his side to present, too. He looked resentfully at his cousin and said:
“I put myself in my cousin Captain Martin Alonzo’s way yesterday to warn him, and he thrust me aside with a blow.” ”

“ Well, he did not even think of lying. A lie is the coward’s refuge, and he was not a coward.
He was pale, he trembled, and his voice was unsteady; but when he looked up at his cousin his eye did not quail.
“I had naught to do with it, and I have naught to say,” were his words.
Martin Alonzo’s face grew gray with sudden wrath. He was in no mood then to credit Diego with the courage he had before denied him. He only knew, or believed, that his vessel had been put in jeopardy by some miscreant, and that the boy before him knew who it was and refused to divulge his knowledge. ”

“ Speak, Diego!”
“Look, cousin!” said Diego, softly, and drew several of the rings from his pocket and gave them to Martin Alonzo.
“Gold!” said Martin Alonzo, in a tone that might fairly be called an adoring one.
“I have twenty if I have one, and Juan has as many,” said Diego.
“Ha, ha!” cried Martin Alonzo, rubbing his hands gleefully, “did I not say you should have it? Come! we must to the admiral with this.”
“Why,” said Diego, “let us get more ourselves, first.”
“Tut!” said Martin Alonzo, and laughed like a man drunk with expectation, “be not so grudging, boy ”

“ But Diego, who had seen him often, could not feel as they did, and thought him one of the noblest and most dignified of men.
He retired to the cabin, taking his pilot with him, and followed by Martin Alonzo, Francisco Martin, who was pilot of the Pinta, and by Garcia Fernandez. There must have been a serious consultation between them; for they all looked grave when they came out. When the admiral had returned to his vessel, Martin Alonzo had all hands called aft, and they went readily enough; for they were hot to hear what had been decided. ”

“ Martin Alonzo became serious at once, and turned involuntarily towards where Ferro lay.
“Did he say so, boy? Ah, did he say so? Thank you, boy, thank you! We will see to that. Ay, thank you!”
“You will not let it be known that it was I told you, will you?” asked Juan.
“No, no, of course not. The men must not know even that the caravels are there. Now go make friends with Diego. You will like him; for he is a good lad, though with a hot temper.”
“Nothing but a fight will satisfy him,” said Juan. ”

“ In short, they came to the house of Martin Alonzo Pinzon and went in.
Martin Alonzo was evidently saying his last farewells at that moment, and was in great haste to be away.
“Good-day, Fray Bartolomeo!” he said, in his abrupt fashion. “Whom have you here? It is my cousin’s son, Diego? Good-day to thee, lad! I suppose thou hast come to bid me a last farewell like these women. As if I were never to return! Well, adios, if you will. Is he a likely lad, Fray Bartolomeo? How come on the humanities?” ”

“ Martin Alonzo bent a singular look upon him and turned to the friar.
“He hath a quick wit and a turn for languages, you say?”
“Both.”
“But to-day he hath purloined a melon, flouted one of the brothers, broken the bounds, seduced his comrades into evil, and perhaps hath done other things not yet known.”
“Oh,” whined Diego, immediately cast down, “if you cannot be satisfied with what is known!”
“And,” went on Martin Alonzo, “you say he hath been a sore trouble in the past and that [26] you have felt yourself unequal to the task of fittingly punishing him.” ”

“ I thank my cousin, Martin Alonzo, that he fixed on me for the church. I would not go the voyage with him—no, not for ten thousand ducats of gold.”
“Ducats of gold!” said Alfonso, doubtfully. [12] “I should think twice, like Fray Antonio, before I would refuse that.”
“Gold or silver,” said Diego, scornfully, “what would they profit you and you never returned home to spend them?”
“Let us go back,” said one of the timid ones, to whom the mention of Fray Antonio had brought up visions of a scourge vigorously applied.
“Go back!” said Diego. “Not I. As well be hung for an old sheep as a young lamb. ”

“ Don’t you know how we sometimes say old when we wish to use a term of endearment?”
Fray Bartolomeo smiled on the other side of his face, but turned a grim eye on Diego.
“Gracias for thy affectionate remembrance of me, even with the thought of the scourge in thy mind; but it must not blind us to the fact that thou didst purloin a choice melon from the garden, having previously flouted Fray Antonio, and having subsequently seduced thy fellows, and done many things which thou shouldst not have done.” ”

“ Finding their lives to be in no danger whatever, the boys made all the preparations for flight that they very well could. Diego, on the plea of seeing where the gold was procured, was taken, in different directions, from the village to the rivers where the gold lay in grains and tiny nuggets [237] at the bottom. He was glad to see the gold, but what he cared most for was the acquaintance he and Juan gained of the surrounding country. Moreover, he asked questions of different persons until he had learned that the sea lay about equidistant from them on either side of the island. ”