Eighteen ships in harbor, and
fifteen, they said, going to Spain, and around and upon them
all bustle of preparation. One saw in fancy Bobadilla and
Roldan and Gwarionex and the much gold, including that
piece of virgin ore weighing five thousand castellanos. Fifteen
ships preparing for Spain, and San Domingo, of which
the Adelantado had laid first stone, and a strange, green,
sunset sky. And the _Consolacion_, the _Margarita_, the Juana
and the _San Sebastian_ away to the west, to the sound of
music, for the Admiral cried to our musicians, "Play, play
in God's name!"
Night passed. Morning broke. So light was the wind
that the shore went by slowly. There gathered an impatience.
"If we must to Jamaica, what use in following every curve
of Hispaniola that is forbid us?" At noon the wind almost
wholly failed, then after three hours of this rose with a
pouncing suddenness to a good breeze. We rounded a point
thronged with palms. Before us a similar point, and between
the two that bent gently each to the other, slept a
deep and narrow bight. "Enter here," said the Admiral.
We anchored. There was again a strange sunset, green
and gold in the lower west, but above an arc of clouds
dressed in saffron and red. And now we could hear, though
from very far off, a deep and low murmur, and whether it
was the forest or the sea or both we did not know.
Pages:
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369