s; no one but the captain and his officers. Stores have to be
carried from port to port, and treasure fetched from places farther
down the coast. It is then, at night, that our hour will come. We
must watch for it, prepare for it, and use it without hesitation. Are
you with me in the matter?"

"Heart and soul! Heart and soul!"

A boatswain's step was heard, and nothing more was said.

Chapter XLVIII.

THE REVOLT OF THE SLAVES.

The _Santa Maria_ returned to Panama. The governor had no further need
of her for a while, so she lay anchored about two cables' length from
the quay. The slaves remained aboard, still chained to their benches.
The chain that went around their waists was attached to another piece
fastened to a ring in the seat itself. This attached piece was just
long enough to allow a man to rise and stand upright, but it gave him
no chance to take a step in any direction. The galley arrived in
harbour in the late afternoon, and pulled in alongside the quay wall.
For a couple of hours there was plenty of bustle and confusion aboard;
much coming and going of soldiers, sailors, and servitors. Hernando
looked eagerly up to the bulwarks many times, as though expecting
something; and on more than one occasion he moved his oar three times
quickly up and down, just touching the water each time. A sailor ran
along the top of the bulwarks, holding to the rigging. The fellow gave
a quick glance down, and something dropped into the Spaniard's lap. A
minute or two later he was back again; something was dropped this time
also. The short twilight had just commenced. A little afterwards the
boatswain's whistle sounded, the oars moved, and the galley was rowed
out to her berthing station.

The journey that day had been a long one; the unfortunate slaves were
half dead with fatigue. The anchor chains rattled, and the great
sweeps were drawn in. Lanterns flashed along the boatswains' bridge;
cakes, water, and a little fruit were handed down to be eaten and
drunken in the dark.

"The saints be praised!" ejaculated Hernando when the last lantern
disappeared; "they will not trouble to fetter us to-night. I have
prayed all day that they might not. They trust to our fatigue and the
guns of the fort. To-morrow we shall probably be chained hand and foot
at the oncoming of night. We often get this freedom the first night in
harbour, especially if we come in late and wearied. This is our
chance, and my