y should escape. Yet Drake had already
proved that they bore no hatred to white men, as such, for he had been
in touch with them during the previous year, and had found them quite
disposed to be friendly when once it had been satisfactorily
demonstrated that the English were not Spaniards and were, like
themselves, the enemies of the Dons. The great thing, of course, was to
get into touch with the savages and to establish friendly relations with
them before they should find and attack the English.

A sharp look-out was therefore maintained on board the _Nonsuch_
throughout the hours of darkness, but the night passed uneventfully,
except for the frequent recurrence of certain mysterious sounds
emanating from the woods, which Dyer privately informed George were
produced by monkeys or a prowling jaguar, and which, innocent enough in
themselves, were yet sufficiently uncommon to keep the watch broad awake
and on the alert; and at length the dawn of a new day came stealing to
them over the tree-tops, and, with it, the dissipation of their
apprehensions.

As soon as it was light enough to see, the crew, refreshed by a whole
night's rest, went to breakfast; immediately after which they turned to,
under the supervision of Basset and the boatswain, to make every
necessary preparation for the boat attack upon Nombre de Dios, while
George and Dyer, armed to the teeth, were put ashore and went in quest
of the Cimarrones.

The young captain caused himself and the pilot to be landed upon the
western extremity of the small sandy beach which, fringed with coconut
palms, half encircled the creek, and bidding their small boat's crew
push off a spear's cast from the shore and there hold themselves in
readiness to dash in to the rescue, if necessary, upon hearing the blast
of the captain's whistle, proceeded to walk slowly round the cove,
carefully examining the surface of the sand, as they went, in quest of
footprints to serve as a guide, while Dyer at frequent intervals raised
his hands trumpet-wise to his mouth and gave utterance to a peculiar,
penetrating wailing cry which the pilot asserted was a call used by the
Cimarrones to summon their comrades.

When they had traversed about two-thirds of the length of the beach
certain marks were discovered in the fine, yielding sand, which, they
decided, were prints of naked feet, several days old, and, carefully
following these, they at length discovered a narrow but tolerably well
defi