and whence? Where is your ship? I thought that all Drake's squadron had left six months ago."
"Our ship, Señor, has lain this three years rotting on the coast near Cape Codera."
"Ah! we heard of that bold adventure—but we thought you all lost in the interior."
"You did? Can you tell me, then, where the Senor Governor of La Guayra may be now?"
"The Señor Don Guzman de Soto," said the commandant, in a somewhat constrained tone, "is said to be at present in Spain, having thrown up his office in consequence of domestic matters, of which I have not the honor of knowing anything."
Amyas longed to ask more: but he knew that the well-bred Spaniard would tell him nothing which concerned another man's wife; and went on.
"What befell us after, I tell you frankly."
And Amyas told his story, from the landing at Guayra to the passage down the Magdalena. The commandant lifted up his hands.
"Were it not forbidden to me as a Catholic, most invincible Señor, I should say that the Divine protection has indeed"
"Ah," said one of the friars, "that you could be brought, Señors, to render thanks for your miraculous preservation to her to whom alone it is due, Mary, the fount of mercies!"
"We have done well enough without her as yet," said Amyas, bluntly.
"The Lord raised up Nebuchadnezzar of old to punish the sins of the Jewish Church; and He has raised up these men to punish ours!" said Fray Gerundio.
"But Nebuchadnezzar fell, and so may they," growled the other to himself. Jack overheard him.
"I say, my Lord Bishop," called he from the other end of the table. "It is our English custom to let our guests be as rude as they like; but, perhaps your Lordship will hint to these two friars, that if they wish to keep whole skins, they will keep civil tongues."
"Be silent, asses! mules!" shouted the bishop, whose spirits were improving over the wine; "who are you, that you cannot eat dirt as well as your betters?"
"Well spoken, my Lord. Here's the health of our saintly and venerable guest," said Cary: while the commandant whispered to Amyas, "Fat old tyrant! I hope you have found his money—for I am sure he has some on board, and I should be loath that you lost the advantage of it."
"I shall have to say a few words to you about that money this morning, Commandant: by the by, they had better be said now. My Lord Bishop, do you know that had we not taken this ship when we did, you had lost not merely money, as you have now, but life itself?"
