He lives in Quinsai."
"Ay. His splendid, capital city. Buildings all wonderful,
and gardens like Mahound's paradise!"
"But if it is Cipango?"
"Ay. It may be Cipango. We have no angel here to tell
us which. I would one would fly down and take us by the
hand! Being men, we must make guesses."
Beautiful to us, splendid to us, was this coast of Cuba!
We sailed by headlands and deep, narrow-necked bays, river
mouths and hanging forests and bold cliffs. We sailed west
and still headland followed headland, and still the lookout
cried, "It stretched forever like the main!"
We came to a river where ships might ride. Sounding,
we found deep water, entered river mouth and dropped
anchor, then went ashore in the boats. Palms and their
water doubles, and in the grove a small abandoned village.
We had seen the people flee before us, and they were no
more nor other kind of people than had showed in Concepcion
or Fernandina. Yet were they a little wealthier. We
found parrots on their perches, and two dogs, small and
wolf-like that never barked. In one hut lay a harpoon
tipped with bone, and a net for fishing. In another we
found a wrought block of wood which Fray Ignatio pronounced
their idol.
We went back to our ships, and leaving river, sailed on
in a bright blue sea. The next day we doubled a cape and
found a great haven, but silent and sailless, with no maritime
city thronging the shore.
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