e ship's stores of cloth and calico, and Hartog begged
from me three of the rubies which I had found in the Valley of
Serpents, which he presented to her, and which she wore sewn on to a
black velvet cap.

Donna Isabel openly expressed her desire to amass treasure in order to
follow up Montbar and take her revenge upon him for having marooned her
and her people upon a desert island. This desire for revenge obsessed
her. Her Spanish blood burned to repay the insults and indignities
which Montbar had heaped upon her, and she looked forward with pleasure
to the tortures which she promised herself she would inflict upon
Montbar when once she held him in her power.

In order to obtain means to make war upon her enemy, Donna Isabel
persuaded Hartog to embark upon a fresh adventure, which promised to
provide the necessary funds to equip a frigate equal to that owned by
Montbar, so that she might engage him upon equal terms.

The story that Donna Isabel had to tell was one confided to her by her
late husband, Captain Barreto, which she had kept locked in her memory
ever since, waiting for some such opportunity as the present, when the
information she possessed might be turned to account. The story was,
briefly, as follows:

A long time ago a Spanish vessel sailed from Manila for Mexico, and
east of Japan had by a violent storm been driven toward a small but
high-rising island.

When the crew went ashore, the island proved to be a country, strange
and unknown to anyone; the people being of handsome stature, white
skinned, and of good proportions, very affable, and amiably disposed.
On their arrival in Mexico, the sailors related many marvels about the
wealth of this island, giving their hearers to understand that, so to
say, gold and silver were almost to be picked up at discretion on the
shore, while the kettles and other cooking utensils of the natives were
made of these metals. These islands were named the Islands of Armenio,
after an Armenian merchant who was on board the ship. Donna Isabel
professed to have received from her late husband the true bearings of
these islands, which she confided to Hartog, and a course was set
accordingly.

Pedro de Castro, Donna Isabel's son, had now been forgiven his
treachery toward us in stealing our vessel, since Hartog considered his
punishment in having been marooned upon a desert island commensurate
with his offence. He was, therefore, permitted to join us in the cabin,
and was