"But Gonsalvez had enough courage for all: and on the ninth morning he
and Tristram set sail, with their crews as near mutiny as might be.
Me they left to rule Porto Santo. 'And if we never come back,' said
Gonsalvez, 'you will tell the Prince that _something_ lies yonder
which we would have found, but our men murdered us on the way--'"

"My dear brother Bartholomew," Gonsalvez broke in, "you are wearying
Master d'Arfet, who has no wish to hear about me." And taking up the
tale he went on: "We sailed, Sir, after six hours into as thick a fog
as I have met even on these seas, and anon into a noise of breakers
which seemed to be all about us. So I prayed to the Mother of Heaven
and kept the lead busy, and always found deep water: and more by God's
guidance than our management we missed the Desertas, where a tall bare
rock sprang out of the fog so close on our larboard quarter that the
men cried out it was a giant in black armour rising out of the waves.
So we left it and the noises behind, and by-and-by I shifted the helm
and steered towards the east of the bank, which seemed to me not so
thick thereabouts: and so the fog rolled up and we saw red cliffs and
a low black cape, which I named the Cape of St. Lawrence. And beyond
this, where all appeared to be marshland, we came to a forest shore
with trees growing to the water's edge and filling the chasms between
the cliffs. We were now creeping along the south of the island, and in
clearer weather, but saw no good landing until Morales shouted aft to
me that we were opening the Gulf of Cedars. Now I, perceiving some
recess in the cliffs which seemed likely to give a fair landing, let
him have his way: for albeit we could never win it out of him in
words, I knew that the Englishman must have given him some particular
description of the place, from the confidence he had always used in
speaking of it. So now we had cast anchor, and were well on our way
shoreward in the boat before I could be certain what manner of trees
clothed this Gulf: but Morales never showed doubt or hesitancy; and
being landed, led us straight up the beach and above the tide-mark to
the foot of a low cliff, where was a small pebbled mound and a plain
cross of wood. And kneeling beside them I prayed for the souls' rest
of that lamentable pair, and so took seizin of the island in the names
of our King John, Prince Henry, and the Order of Christ. That, Sir, is
the story, and I will not weary you by telling