niola, as the latter was man of the
Sovereigns of Spain. All his people would follow Guacanagari. He saw
Christendom here in the west, and a great feudal society, acknowledging
Castile for overlord, and Alexander the Sixth as its spiritual ruler.

Guacanagari may have seen friends in the gods, and especially in this
their cacique, who with others that they would bring, would be drawn
into Guarico and made one and whole with the people of the heron. But
he never saw Guacanagari displanted--never saw Europe armed and warlike,
hungry and thirsty.

The _Nina_ and La Navidad bade with tears each the other farewell. It
was the second of January, fourteen hundred and ninety-three. We had
mass under the palm trees, by the cross, above the fort. Fray Ignatio
blessed the going, blessed the staying. We embraced, we loved one
another, we parted. The _Nina_ was so small a ship, even there just
before us on the blue water! So soon, so soon, the wind blowing from the
land, she was smaller yet, smaller, smaller, a cock boat, a chip, gone!

Thirty-eight white men watched her from the hill above the fort, and
of the thirty-eight Juan Lepe was the only one who saw the Admiral come
again.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE butio of this town had been absent for some reason in the great wood
those days of the shipwreck and the building of La Navidad. Now he was
again here, and I consorted with him and chiefly from him learned their
language. The Admiral had taken Diego Colon to Spain, and to Spain was
gone too Luis Torres, swearing that he would come again. To Spain was
gone Sancho, but Beltran the cook stayed with us. Pedro and Fernando
also.

Time passed. With the ending of January the heat increased. The butio
knew all manner of simples; he was doctor and priest together. He had
a very simple magic. He himself did not expect it to reach the Great
Spirit, but it might affect the innumerable _zemes_ or under and
under-under spirits. These barbarians, using other words for them, had
letter-notion of gnome, sylph, undine and salamander. All things lived
and took offense or became propitious. Effort consisted in making them
propitious. If the effort was too great one of them killed you. Then
you went to the shadowy caves. There was a paradise, too, beautiful and
easy. But the Great Spirit could not be hurt and had no wish to hurt any
one else, whether _zemes_ or men. To live with the Great Spirit, that
was really the Heron wish, though the little