ier return by the regular treasure trail. But with the help of
the Maroons, who knew the furtive byways to a foot, the thing might yet
be done. Ranse thought the game not worth the candle and retired from
the partnership, much to Drake's delight.

A good preliminary stroke was made by raiding Cartagena. Here Drake
found a frigate deserted by its crew, who had gone ashore to see fair
play in a duel fought about a seaman's mistress. The old man left in
charge confessed that a Seville ship was round the point. Drake cut her
out at once, in spite of being fired at from the shore. Next, in came
two more Spanish sail to warn Cartagena that 'Captain Drake has been at
Nombre de Dios and taken it, and if a blest bullet hadn't hit him in the
leg he would have sacked it too.'

Cartagena, however, was up in arms already; so Drake put all his
prisoners ashore unhurt and retired to reconsider his position, leaving
Diego, a negro fugitive from Nombre de Dios, to muster the Maroons for a
raid overland to Panama. Then Drake, who sank the _Swan_ and burnt his
prizes because he had only men enough for the _Pascha_ and the pinnaces,
disappeared into a new secret harbor. But his troubles were only
beginning; for word came that the Maroons said that nothing could be
done inland till the rains were over, five months hence. This meant a
long wait; however, what with making supply depots and picking up prizes
here and there, the wet time might pass off well enough.

One day Oxenham's crew nearly mutinied over the shortness of provisions.
'Have ye not as much as I,' Drake called to them, 'and has God's
Providence ever failed us yet?' Within an hour a Spanish vessel hove in
sight, making such very heavy weather of it that boarding her was out of
the question. But 'We spent not two hours in attendance till it pleased
God to send us a reasonable calm, so that we might use our guns and
approach her at pleasure. We found her laden with victuals, which we
received as sent of God's great mercy.' Then 'Yellow Jack' broke out,
and the men began to fall sick and die. The company consisted of
seventy-three men; and twenty-eight of these perished of the fever,
among them the surgeon himself and Drake's own brother.

But on the 3d of February, 1573, Drake was ready for the dash on Panama.
Leaving behind about twenty-five men to guard the base, he began the
overland march with a company of fifty, all told, of whom thirty-one
were picked Maroons. The fourth