reely visited the ship with fruit, flowers, and
meats, and the English sailors spent hours ashore, wandering in the
near forests or fraternizing with the natives on the beach. The
Spaniards imagined their own midnight extermination was being planned,
and therefore was the chieftain compelled to sleep within reach of a
Spanish sword, and his subjects were given to understand that the first
sound of tumult in the darkness would end Ayatlan's life. The
commandant apparently forgot that the great admiral had sacked towns
three times the size of San Joseph with a less capable force than the
crew of the _Golden Boar_.

Truth to tell, Captain Drake had never once contemplated any attack on
San Joseph; he valued the place at less than a scratch on an
Englishman's skin. His stay in the harbour was dictated solely by a
desire to glean information concerning the Orinoco and the land of gold
that he sought. The delta of the great river lay, the nearest land, to
the south of the island; the natives professed to know much of the
river and the tribes dwelling on its banks, and they exchanged
mysterious nods and signs one with another when "El Dorado" was
mentioned.

Presents were liberally bestowed, and promises were scattered
broadcast. Dan Pengelly and the two Johnsons, often accompanied by
Master Jeffreys and Morgan, spent hours at the doors of native huts,
eagerly questioning the Indians, or listening to long, jumbled stories,
eked out in a jargon of Spanish and Indian. Almost invariably they
came away as wise as they went. The natives either knew nothing of
real significance or would not disclose their secrets.

The adventurers grew impatient. They were in no mood to spend day
after day idling off a dirty Spanish-Indian settlement. Their thoughts
aye fled southwards, and they wanted to spread sail and follow their
thoughts. Dan's papers had been read and re-read until many knew them
by heart. But they obviously contained little, save rumours and vague
indications of locality. What the eager adventurers wanted were
definite directions as to route and distances, and also a native guide
along the lower reaches of the river. At length both appeared to be
forthcoming.

Ayatlan came aboard early one morning and asked for the captain.
Ushered into the cabin, where a council was being held, he bowed
himself down to the floor, then squatted on a mat and began his story
without further prelude.

"My white brother, who h