Less difficult means difficult enough! And as yet we had met
no one nor anything that remotely favored golden-roofed
Cipango, or famous, rich Quinsai, or Zaiton of the marble
bridges. Jerez climbed a tall tree and coming down reported
forest and mountain, and naught else. Our companions
watched with interest his climbing. "Do you go
up trees in heaven?"
This morning we had bathed in a pool below the little
waterfall. Diego Colon by now was used to us so, but the
Cuba men displayed excitement. They had not yet in mind
separated us from our clothes. Now we were separated and
were found in all our members like them, only the color differing.
Color and the short beards of Luis Torres and Juan
Lepe. They wished to touch and examine our clothes
lying upon the bank, but here Diego Colon interfered.
They were full of magic. Something terrible might happen!
When Luis and I came forth from water and dried
ourselves with handfuls of the warm grass, they asked:
"Do they do so in heaven?" The stronger, more intelligent
of the two, added, "It is not so different!"
I said to Luis as we took path after breakfast, "It is
borne in upon me that only from ourselves, Admiral to
ship boy, can we keep up this heaven ballad! Clothes,
beads and hawk bells, cannon, harquebus, trumpet and
banner, ship and sails, royal letters and blessing of the Pope
--nothing will do it long unless we do it ourselves!"
"Agreed!" quoth Luis.
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