Good
harbor though it is, I am sorely disappointed, as I had hoped it was the
entrance to the strait, the strait that seems a phantom flying before us
as we go, drawing us onward to we know not what." The sadness of the
captain's voice troubled Juan.
"Master," he asked earnestly, "what is the strait? I hear of it often,
yet no one can tell me what it is, or where it lies."
"Because no one knows," answered the captain, rising. "I am needed on
deck, but I will send old Tomas to tell you its strange story."
"The secret of the strait," said old Tomas, as he seated himself beside
Juan, "has led many men to gallant deeds and also many a man to a
gallant death. Always, since as a lad I first went to sea, the merchants
of many lands have been seeking a safe and speedy way of reaching the
Indies, where are found such foods, spices, and jewels as one sees
nowhere else in the world.
"My father and grandfather used to travel with caravans overland to and
from India. There are several routes, each controlled by some one of the
great Italian cities, but all have somewhere to cross the desert, where
the trains are often robbed by wild tribes.
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