t his life
thinking his plan out; no wonder he feels that he ought to have a good
share of what he finds. What he asks is really small compared with what
Spain will gain. The war with the Moors has cost you ever so much; your
money-chests are empty; Columbus will fill them up. The people of Cathay
are heathen; Columbus will help you make them Christian men. The Indies
and Cathay are full of gold and jewels; Columbus will bring you home
shiploads of treasures. Spain has conquered the Moors; Columbus will
help you conquer Cathay.

In fact, they talked to Queen Isabella so strongly and so earnestly,
that she, too, became excited over this chance for glory and riches that
she had almost lost, Quick! send for Columbus. Call him back! she said.
I agree to his terms. If King Ferdinand cannot or will not take the
risk, I, the queen, will do it all. Quick! do not let the man get into
France. After him. Bring him back!

And without delay a royal messenger, mounted on a swift horse, was sent
at full gallop to bring Columbus back.

All this time poor Columbus felt bad enough. Everything had gone wrong.
Now he must go away into a new land and do it all over again. Kings and
queens, he felt, were not to be depended upon, and he remembered a
place in the Bible where it said: "Put not your trust in princes." Sad,
solitary and heavy-hearted, he jogged slowly along toward the mountains,
wondering what the king of France would say to him, and whether it was
really worth trying.

Just as he was riding across the little bridge called the Bridge of
Pinos, some six miles from Granada, he heard the quick hoof-beats of a
horse behind him. It was a great spot for robbers, and Columbus felt of
the little money he had in his traveling pouch, and wondered whether he
must lose it all. The hoof-beats came nearer. Then a voice hailed him.
Turn back, turn back! the messenger cried out. The queen bids you return
to Granada. She grants you all you ask.

Columbus hesitated. Ought he to trust this promise, he wondered. Put not
your trust in princes, the verse in the Bible had said. If I go back I
may only be put off and worried as I have been before. And yet, perhaps
she means what she says. At any rate, I will go back and try once more.

So, on the little Bridge of Pinos, he turned his mule around and rode
back to Granada. And, sure enough, when he saw Queen Isabella she
agreed to all that he asked. If he found Cathay, Columbus was to be
made admir