reted his
commission as giving him the right to supersede the Admiral himself. The
unhappy colony, which had no doubt been enjoying some brief period of
peace under the wise direction of Bartholomew, was again thrown into
confusion by the doings of Aguado. He arrested this person, imprisoned
that; ordered that things should be done this way, which had formerly
been done that way; and if they had formerly been done that way, then he
ordered that they should be done this way--in short he committed every
mistake possible for a man in his situation armed with a little brief
authority. He did not hesitate to let it be known that he was there to
examine the conduct of the Admiral himself; and we may be quite sure that
every one in the colony who had a grievance or an ill tale to carry,
carried it to Aguado. His whole attitude was one of enmity and
disloyalty to the Admiral who had so handsomely recommended him to the
notice of the Sovereigns; and so undisguised was his attitude that even
the Indians began to lodge their complaints and to see a chance by which
they might escape from the intolerable burden of the gold tribute.

It was at this point that Columbus returned and found Aguado ruling in
the place of Bartholomew, who had wisely made no protest against his own
deposition, but was quietly waiting for the Admiral to return. Columbus
might surely have been forgiven if he had betrayed extreme anger and
annoyance at the doings of Aguado; and it is entirely to his credit that
he concealed such natural wrath as he may have felt, and greeted Aguado
with extreme courtesy and ceremony as a representative of the Sovereigns.
He made no protest, but decided to return himself to Spain and confront
the jealousy and ill-fame that were accumulating against him.

Just as the ships were all ready to sail, one of the hurricanes which
occur periodically in the West Indies burst upon the island, lashing the
sea into a wall of advancing foam that destroyed everything before it.
Among other things it destroyed three out of the four ships, dashing them
on the beach and reducing them to complete wreckage. The only one that
held to her anchor and, although much battered and damaged, rode out the
gale, was the Nina, that staunch little friend that had remained faithful
to the Admiral through so many dangers and trials. There was nothing for
it but to build a new ship out of the fragments of the wrecks, and to
make the journey home with two