Vasco Nunez de Balboa Part 9

The Spaniards, like the Indians, were weak and famishing, having labored all day without either food or drink; but no sooner had they made land in safety than the indomitable Balboa set out in search of the Indian town. It was at a little distance from the sh.o.r.e, and was not reached until midnight. The inhabitants had been informed of their coming and made a stout defence; but were soon routed by the Spaniards and driven into the forest at the point of the sword.

Groping within the bohios, or Indian huts, the victors found an abundant supply of provisions, with which they appeased their raging appet.i.tes, and also a large number of beautiful pearls, besides a quant.i.ty of gold.

As some of the pearls were contained in sh.e.l.ls freshly taken from the water, Balboa concluded that the seat of the pearl fishery was not far distant, and was very anxious to obtain possession of the cacique, believing that he could inform him in the matter. Having captured a son of Tumaco, he loaded him with gifts, such as a shirt made in Castile, and other trifles valued by the savages, and sent him in search of his father. The chief had sought refuge in a wild den among the rocks, deep in the forest; but he was very much impressed by the beautiful presents brought by his son, and consented to emerge from his retreat. When he appeared before Balboa he had with him six hundred pieces of gold, and pearls to the number of two hundred and forty. The gold was wrought into ornaments, and the pearls, though most of them large and perfect in shape, had been injured by fire, with which the Indians had opened the sh.e.l.ls.

All this treasure Tumaco presented to Balboa, and when he saw with what joy it was received, and understood that the pearls were especially appreciated, he sent a party of his divers to search for more. Thirty naked Indians, accustomed all their lives to dive for pearls, went down the coast in a canoe, accompanied by six Spaniards as witnesses; but the sea was so rough that they dared not fish in deep water, where the large pearl-oysters lay. The storm, however, had caused a great number of oysters to be washed ash.o.r.e, and there they collected more than ninety ounces of small though perfect pearls, which were freely given to the Spaniards. The best of these, with specimens of the oysters from which they were taken, were set apart by the conscientious Balboa, as an acceptable gift to his sovereign.

More precious than pearls, however highly they were valued by the explorer, was certain information conveyed to Balboa by Tumaco, confirming the rumors that had reached him in the interior, respecting a vast country to the southward, which abounded in gold and gems. This was Peru, subsequently to be subjugated by Francisco Pizarro, then a humble follower of Balboa, and with him on this occasion. In order to impress the Spaniards with the high state of that country's civilization, Tumaco described as well as he could the beasts of burden used by the inhabitants of the distant empire. He moulded in clay, it is said, a figure of the animal known as the _llama_, which the Spaniards, as they had never seen or heard of it before, supposed might be a deer or a tapir--the latter being the largest animal they had found in South America.

But, great and glowing as were Balboa's hopes respecting that wonderful country to the southward, he was obliged to confess himself unable to explore it at that season and with the small force at his command. He made an experimental voyage along the coast for several leagues, cautiously feeling his way through an inundated forest on the border of the gulf, but dared not venture out at sea, where the wild winds roared and the waves beat incessantly upon the sh.o.r.es of distant islands.

Pointing to one of these islands about five or six leagues distant, Tumaco told Balboa that its waters produced the largest and finest of pearls, such as the Spaniards had never seen, for size and beauty; but he could not take him to it then, much as he desired to please him. The two chiefs, the Indian and the Spaniard, were then in the former's war-canoe, hewn from the trunk of an immense forest tree, and paddled by a crew of sixty Indians. The paddlers themselves were stark naked, but the heads of the oars they used were inlaid with pearls. Of this circ.u.mstance, says a contemporary chronicler, "Balboa caused a record to be made by the notary, for the sake, no doubt, of establishing the credit of what he himself should write to the sovereign (no less needy and covetous than the discoverers themselves) concerning the opulence of the new country."

Several weeks were consumed by Balboa in exploring the country adjacent to San Miguel, and on a day in the first week of November, Tumaco took him and his companions in his war-canoe to the uppermost end of the great bay. With them also was the still faithful Chiapes, who considered himself in some sort as Balboa's sponsor, and who, when the time for parting came, is said to have shed tears, so deeply was he affected. He gladly a.s.sumed the care of the Spanish sick and wounded, and took them with him to his village in the mountains, while Balboa, with his able-bodied veterans, essayed to return by another route across the isthmus. The territory at the head of the bay was controlled by Cacique Techoan, who vied with the other chiefs in bestowing gold and pearls upon the Spaniards, and who furnished them with burden-bearers and provisions for the journey.

That Techoan was not entirely disinterested was shown conclusively by his guiding them to the abode of a cacique whom he represented as a rich and powerful lord, but an insufferable tyrant. This tyrant was known as the "Croesus of the mountains" (or its equivalent in the Indian language), and, as may be believed by those acquainted with the character of Balboa, the latter was not unwilling to seek him out and make his acquaintance. But Ponca (for that was his name) was not anxious to meet the Spaniards, especially when he learned that they were coming in company with his deadly enemy, and fled farther into the mountains, taking with him, it was thought, the bulk of his treasure. He left behind, however, some three thousand pieces of gold, which the Indian allies discovered and took to Balboa, who used every exertion to entrap him and force him to disclose the hiding-place of his vast wealth. He caught him at last; but when questioned as to his gold, Ponca answered that all he had the Spaniards already possessed, and that it had been left him by his ancestors. More than this he would not disclose, even when the cruel Spaniards put him to the torture, and, provoked by his obstinacy, in the heat of their pa.s.sion, gave him and three companions to the dogs, who finished the revolting business by tearing them to pieces.

In extenuation of their cruelty the Spaniards afterwards described Ponca as a monster of depravity, with deformed limbs, a frightful countenance, and a sanguinary nature. The guilt of his death, said one of their countrymen, "rests more with the Indians than the Castilians; yet _they_ were not the judges of Ponca!" They a.s.sumed, however, that any Indian who refused to reveal the hiding-place of treasures which they desired to possess was deserving of death, believing, as they did, that there was nothing of greater worth in the world than gold, or its equivalent in material wealth. Thus cheaply did they hold the lives of the Indians, reckoning their immortal souls as of less worth than perishable gold. In this respect Balboa was no better than his comrades, and in truth set them an example which they were not slow in following.

The senseless avarice of the Spaniards wrought its own retribution on this journey, for they had laden their carriers with gold to a greater extent than with provisions, and this was done notwithstanding their route lay through a sterile wilderness yielding no supplies. The consequence was that they soon began to feel the effects of famine, some of them, as well as many Indian carriers, sinking by the wayside to rise no more. Rumors preceding the Spaniards informed the natives that they desired, above all other things, gold and like treasure, and thus gold was invariably brought as a peace offering, to the neglect of provisions, so that the soldiers (says the historian who perused Balboa's journal) "yet wanted nourishment and pursued their melancholy way, cursing the riches which burdened but could not feed them."

Still they clung desperately to those riches, stained as they were with the blood of innocent Indians, and when Balboa learned that a short distance off the main route he was pursuing there lived a powerful cacique named Tubanama, who had, according to report, vast stores of gold, he made a forced march and by a night attack fell upon and surprised him, with all his family. When threatened that unless he gave up his gold he should be tortured and thrown to the dogs, or bound hand and foot and cast into the river, he approached Balboa and, pointing to his naked sword, exclaimed: "Who that hath not lost his senses would think of prevailing against that weapon, which can cleave a man at a stroke? Who would not rather caress than oppose such men as thou? Kill me not, I implore thee, and I will bring thee all the gold I possess, and as much more as can be procured!"

XIV

A RIVAL IN THE FIELD

1514

Cacique Tubanama was warlike as well as wealthy, but he had been completely cowed by Balboa's display of force and weapons, so that he readily complied with the Spaniard's demands. Sending his men into the forest, he remained as a hostage with his captor, while they ransacked his storehouses for gold. So successful were they that within three days gold was brought in to the amount of six thousand crowns; but even then Balboa professed himself dissatisfied and declared there must be much more concealed in the province. As Tubanama positively declared to the contrary, he finally gave the cacique his freedom, but when he departed for the coast took with him, it is said, his eighty wives and eldest son.

Great quant.i.ties of virgin gold having been discovered in the mountain streams, he resolved to return, and found a settlement in that region, but the condition of his command at that time forced him to resume his homeward march without delay. Most of his men were now so exhausted that, like Balboa himself, who was ill of a fever, they had to be borne in hammocks on the Indians' shoulders. In this manner marching, and in such sorry state that by a concerted effort the caciques might have destroyed them utterly, the Spaniards approached the province of Comogre, where they found themselves among friends and on familiar ground. The old chief was dead, they were told, but in his place ruled the young cacique who had first informed Balboa of the South Sea and Peru. He received him hospitably, as before, and made him a present of all the gold he and his subjects had collected since they parted, in return for which Balboa gave him a shirt and a soldier's cloak. As he had embraced Christianity, young Comogre considered himself vastly superior to the pagans about him, and when clad in the garments of the Christians, he a.s.sumed the airs of a king and compelled his naked subjects to do him homage.

At this, or a point previously reached on their journey, the Spaniards were rejoined by the wounded and invalids who had been left with Chiapes. Though but a handful of soldiers, they had travelled in safety through the forests and defiles of the mountains, such was the terror with which the deeds of Balboa had inspired the natives. One of the provinces they had pa.s.sed through was governed by a minor cacique named Bonouvama, who not only detained, but entertained them most hospitably with everything his territory afforded. When they left his town he placed himself at their head, and on arriving in the presence of Balboa, said to him: "Lo, we are here! Receive, O valiant man, thy companions safe and uninjured, even as when they entered my bohio. May He who gives us the fruits of the earth, and who creates the thunder and the lightning, preserve thee and them, my lord!"

Balboa was deeply affected by the cacique's speech and meritorious actions. He graciously replied that they should arrange a perpetual friendship and alliance, as he hoped to do with all the caciques of Darien, and after bestowing upon him some beads, toys, and a Spanish shirt, sent him back to his province greatly rejoicing. Although, as we have too often seen, he acted with great cruelty towards some of the caciques, to those who approached him in a pacific spirit he was ever friendly and benign. That he grew to understand the nature of the Indians is shown by his success in converting them from enemies to friends, and by the alliances which he cemented with more than a score of native caciques in the course of his wonderful journey. There never was a Spaniard among his contemporaries, excepting perhaps De Soto, who had such success with the aborigines. Columbus and Cortes, Pizarro and Velasquez (who conquered Cuba), and all others who came in their train, lamentably failed in their dealings with the Indians. Balboa's success with his men was no less than with the Indians he encountered, for he had a faculty for winning their affections and holding them, which no other commander of his time displayed. Pizarro approached him in this respect; but Pizarro received his initial training under Balboa himself.

Bidding Comogre farewell, Balboa led his men through the province belonging to Ponca, where he was met by four Castilians, who informed him that a ship and a caravel well laden with supplies had arrived at Darien during his absence, and that he was awaited there with great anxiety. Hastening thence to Coyba, the territory of his father-in-law, he embarked at the port of Careta for Antigua del Darien, where he arrived the following day, which was January 19, 1514, after an absence of four months and twenty days. Every week, nearly every day, that had pa.s.sed since his departure had been filled with exciting incident, and, moreover, he had returned to report to his fellow-citizens of Antigua one of the greatest discoveries of the age. No wonder, then, that the entire population sallied forth to greet him at the gates of the town, and that they rent the air with shouts of joy and welcome.

Lamentations were mingled with the acclamations, for some who had gone out with him had found, instead of gold, only a grave in the forest.

Some who returned were suffering from fevers and wounds received in conflicts with the Indians; but notwithstanding, it was declared that the expedition of Balboa to the sh.o.r.es of the great Southern Sea was the most successful of any that had ever been made in America. And when the plunder was displayed: gold by the thousand pieces, pearls by the hundred, brought in by scores and scores of captives who would serve in the future as slaves, the transports of the people knew no bounds. He was hailed as "Conqueror of the Mountains, Pacificator of the Isthmus, and Discoverer of the Austral Sea." Bringing with him more than forty thousand ounces of gold, innumerable cotton robes, and eight hundred Indians of service--possessor, in short, of all the secrets of the land, and full of auspicious hopes for the future--he was considered by the colonists of Darien as a being privileged by Heaven and fortune.

Congratulating themselves on possessing such a chief, the Antiguans conceived themselves invincible and happy under his guidance and government.

"They compared the constant prosperity the colony had enjoyed, the splendid prospects before them, the certainty of success attending his expeditions, with the unfortunate enterprises of Ojeda, of Nicuesa, and even of Columbus, who could never gain a firm footing on the American continent; and this glory was yet enhanced when the virtues and talents of him who had obtained it were taken into consideration.... Among all these eulogiums none were so hearty as those which were given to his care and affection for his companions. Affecting no military discipline, but behaving more like their equal than their chief, he visited the sick and wounded individually, and condoled with them as a brother; when any one sank on the road from fatigue, he was himself, instead of deserting, the first to raise and encourage him. He would often go out with his cross-bow in search of game to appease the hunger of those who were unable to seek food for themselves; he himself would carry it to them, and by this care and kindness he so gained their hearts that they would follow him willingly whithersoever he chose. The remembrance of these excellent qualities survived for many years; and the historian Oviedo, who cannot be charged with lavishing his praises on the conquerors of Terra Firma, wrote, in 1548, that in conciliating the love of the soldier, no captain of the Indies had hitherto done better than, if any had done so well as, Vasco Nuez de Balboa in Darien."

The rich spoils, including the forty thousand ounces of gold and the pearls, were fairly divided between the soldiers and the settlers, as the latter had held possession of Antigua as a base of supplies and operations while the former were actively engaged in the field, and had thus contributed their share towards the success of the expedition. The "king's fifth" was religiously set apart, in the first place, and soon an opportunity offered for sending it to Spain, in charge of a soldier who had accompanied him when the South Sea was discovered, Pedro de Arbolancha. As he was an intimate friend of Balboa, who had proven himself a trusty companion in the midst of great vicissitudes he was despatched as an envoy to the court, not only with letters to the king containing a full account of the great discovery, but in charge of the sovereign's fifth and a donative of the largest and most precious pearls.

If he could have set out immediately after the return of the expedition, all might have gone well with Balboa's schemes of conquest and government; but his ship was delayed until the first part of March, and in the meanwhile events were shaping in Spain which imperilled not only the fortunes, but the life of the great leader. Balboa's former messengers, Caicedo and Colmenares, had arrived in Spain during his absence from Antigua, bearing to the king the tidings communicated by the cacique Comogre, and a request for reinforcements to the extent of a thousand men. Their testimony as to Balboa's unswerving loyalty to the crown, and the vast significance of the intelligence they brought respecting the existence of an ocean beyond the mountains, turned the tide of sentiment at court in his favor, and excited the swelling ambition of King Ferdinand. The sovereign had already listened favorably to the complaints of Enciso and other enemies of Balboa, and had issued an order for his arrest, even going to the extent of threatening to imprison his friend Zamudio on account of the zeal he displayed in his defence. But the more recent information placed him in a new light. The enormity of his offence was lessened by the great service he had rendered the crown. He was no longer regarded as a fugitive from justice, an absconding debtor, who had seized the government of Darien by force and caused the death of its real proprietor Nicuesa. He had made for himself a new name, and around his head already shone the halo of the great discoverer.

But again, the sovereign was involved in a complication which arose from the conflicting accounts from Darien. That there was dissension there, that the colony was threatened with extinction through the quarrels of unscrupulous men, he was well a.s.sured. The leader of those men, he had also been a.s.sured, was none other than Vasco Nuez de Balboa.

Accompanying the reports of dissension in the colony had come, as well, most convincing proofs of its prospective value to the crown in the richness of its resources. "And as the adventurers who went to America dreamed of nothing but gold--as gold was the object of their pursuit--as it was gold which they took forcibly from the Indians--and gold alone by which the latter purchased their friendship--gold which resounded in their letters and despatches to court--and gold which at court was become the sole subject of conversation and desire--the Darien, which appeared so rich in this coveted metal, lost its first name of New Andalusia, and was commonly called, and even named in the despatches, the 'Golden Castile.'"

Though it was mainly owing to Balboa's efforts that the isthmus won its new appellation, Golden Castile, and though he had in a measure retrieved himself, yet the king was unwilling to intrust him with its government. Casting about for some one to represent the crown with dignity and credit, he selected a cavalier who had served with distinction in the wars against the Moors, Don Pedro Arias de Avila, more commonly known as Pedrarias. He was an elderly man, who had won a reputation in his youth as a jouster in the tournaments, and who, beneath a chivalrous and courtly demeanor, concealed a nature narrow, mean, and warped by prejudice. He had certainly no qualifications for the office of governor; but he possessed the patronage of the powerful Bishop Fonseca, who then ruled the colonial affairs of Spain, and that sufficed to land him in the executive chair at Darien.

He sailed from Spain about the middle of April, 1514, and entering the Gulf of Uraba the last of June, cast anchor before the town of Antigua del Darien. His fleet was composed of five large vessels, and contained a gallant company, with everything needed for conquest and colonization.

Balboa had asked the king for only a thousand soldiers, but Pedrarias sailed with a company of two thousand, some of them cavaliers of distinction, many wealthy hidalgos, and all well provided with arms, equipment, and money. They had heard the exaggerated reports from Darien, of gold that was caught in nets, which might be obtained almost without effort from the waters of every mountain stream, and were eager to join the fortunate adventurers under Balboa.

The king himself thought so well of the venture that he had expended upon the armada more than fifty thousand ducats, and had sent out with Pedrarias a number of friars, over whom was placed his favorite preacher Juan de Quevedo. He was consecrated as bishop of Antigua del Darien, which was elevated to the dignity of a metropolitan city, as capital of the Golden Castile. While the sovereign provided for the spiritual interests of the colony in this manner, at the same time he ordained that no lawyers should be permitted to practise there, as experience had shown they were detrimental to the welfare of new settlements. In spite of this inhibition, however, one lawyer went out to Darien as alcalde mayor, or chief judge, where he fully justified the king's apprehensions regarding men of his profession. His name was Gaspar de Espinosa, and though he knew little of the law, he knew enough to make a deal of mischief in the colony, and eventually became a tool in the hands of Pedrarias, by which he effected the downfall of his enemies, among whom he soon reckoned Vasco Nuez de Balboa.

The fleet swarmed with cavaliers and men of distinction, but there was only one lady of importance aboard the flag-ship, the wife of Governor Pedrarias, Doa Isabel de Bobadilla, a distant relative of royalty and formerly a favorite at Queen Isabella's court. So attached was she to the crusty old cavalier, her husband, that, notwithstanding she was mother of several children, she chose to abandon them all and accompany the governor to his capital in the wilderness. Needless to say, she was a lady of grace and refinement, and deserved better of fate than to be wedded to a sanguinary monster such as Pedrarias soon proved himself to be. She has left no record of her sorrows; but they must have been great, since the crimes she was compelled to witness were frequent, and revolting even to the hardened soldiery of Darien.

XV

PEDRARIAS, THE SCOURGE OF DARIEN

1515

At the time of the fleet's arrival at Darien, the town of Antigua consisted of about two hundred huts thatched with straw, with five hundred white men and fifteen hundred Indians composing its population.

It was badly situated, in a deep valley between high hills which cut off the salutary sea-breeze, but the soil was rich, and, owing to the exertions and example of Balboa, gardens of fruits and vegetables were already numerous and well tilled.

Since his return from the sea beyond the mountains, Balboa had devoted himself a.s.siduously to the improvement of the colony: erecting huts for dwellings, extending the area of cultivated ground, and devising means for inspiriting the lonely inhabitants of this isolated post in the wilderness. The demands upon his time were constant and pressing, for he was looked up to as the savior of the colony, while the simple natives regarded him almost as a father, and came to him for advice on all occasions. Having heard nothing from Spain since the sailing of Arbolancha, the arrival of Pedrarias and his fleet took him by surprise; but it did not destroy his balance. If he had but known that, at that very time, his messenger was being received at court, and that the old king, charmed by the story of discovery, the pearls and the gold, already repented of the slight he had put upon him, Balboa might have a.s.sembled his veterans and prevented the landing of Pedrarias. They were only one-fourth the number of the new arrivals, but every man was a seasoned soldier, and there would have been little doubt as to the result of an encounter.

But fate played Vasco Nuez false again, for Arbolancha had pa.s.sed Pedrarias on the ocean and arrived in Spain too late to change the decision of the king, who then regretted that he had not rewarded Balboa with the governorship of Darien. He was the governor, in fact, elected to office by the votes of his adoring comrades; but Pedrarias came with royal authority, and Balboa bowed to the decree of the king.

There was doubt in the mind of Pedrarias as to the nature of his reception by Balboa; for he knew himself as a usurper, who had come out to reap the rewards of another, so he sent an envoy to announce his arrival and ascertain the sentiment ash.o.r.e. This emissary, says the old chroniclers, expected to find the governor of the Golden Castile seated, of course, on a golden throne and lording it over a horde of captive slaves. What, then, was his astonishment to find the redoubtable Vasco Nuez de Balboa, Conqueror of the Mountains, and Pacificator of the Indians, overseeing a group of natives who were engaged in thatching his humble hut with straw! He wore no robe of state, but merely a cotton shirt over one of linen, cotton _pantolones_, or wide trousers, and hempen sandals, called _alpargatas_, on his feet.

He looked up from his work as the messenger approached, and, seeing that he was a stranger, saluted him with courtly dignity. Without manifesting emotion of any sort, he received the message, to which he replied: "Convey to Don Pedrarias de Avila my congratulations on his safe arrival, of which I am rejoiced to hear, and say also that I am ready, with my companions, to receive and to serve him who cometh in the name of the king."

The news soon spread that a new governor had arrived, and, hastily arming themselves, some of Balboa's comrades began to a.s.semble around their chieftain, imploring him not to allow his authority to be usurped, even by an emissary from the king. Their leader seemed absorbed in his work, to which he had returned after the departure of the envoy; but his thoughts were busy over the problem with which he was so suddenly confronted. Though outwardly calm, he was deeply disturbed by the action of the sovereign he had so loyally served, upon whom he had thrust inestimable blessings--who thus requited all he had done with insult and rebuke. But finally, in answer to the clamors of his friends, he slowly said: "Nay, nay, my comrades. Though doubtless we are strong enough to repel Pedrarias and his carpet knights, who come to harvest with their swords the crops we have planted with ours, and watered with our blood, yet will we not oppose him, for he comes with authority from our sovereign. And, I understand, there is with him fair Mistress Bobadilla, erstwhile a companion of our late queen, who is now with G.o.d in glory.

So it behooves us, caballeros, to receive them gallantly, as if, indeed, we were glad to do so, and to place at their disposal the best we have--which, G.o.d knows, is poor enough."

Thus saying, Balboa strode within his house, and when he emerged again he had on his complete suit of armor; but his good sword was in its scabbard, and in his hand only the wand of office. Likewise unarmed were his battle-scarred followers, though clad in armor which was no longer bright and shining, but rusty, dented, and battered by blows from many a weapon wielded by arm of savage foe. These veterans suffered in appearance by contrast with the foppish cavaliers who landed from the fleet, nearly two thousand in number, brave in their glistening armor and confident from their numerical superiority. When they saw them, however, they smiled significantly, being well a.s.sured that they could defeat them in open encounter, and by no means afraid to essay it.

"They are our guests and our brothers, remember," remarked Balboa, as the veterans seemed disposed to murmur at his lack of precaution. "They come as we once came, hopeful, and expectant of wealth. Think, then, of the disappointment in store for them, and not of their arrogance. And, too, forget not the governor's lady. Ah, here they come! We must be at the boats to greet them, comrades. Into line! March!" The bugle sounded, the drum beat, and the veterans went to meet Pedrarias at the sh.o.r.e.

As the boat touched ground a plank was thrown out and across it walked Pedrarias, followed by his wife, the bishop, and the alcalde, behind them a train of cavaliers who formed a body-guard and led the way to the town, preceded by the veterans of Darien. Balboa doffed his helmet, and extended a hand to a.s.sist Doa Isabel ash.o.r.e, as he said: "Thy servants greet and welcome thee, lady. To serve thee we are here; but we regret we have so little to offer one who deserves so much." And to the governor: "Don Pedrarias de Avila, thou art welcome, coming in the king's name, whose hand I kiss, whose orders I shall ever obey."

Doa Isabel was a tall and stately woman, scarcely past her prime, and still retaining some of the beauty for which she was famous when at Isabella's court. She was not insensible to the gallant bearing of the handsome cavalier Balboa, whose straight and stalwart frame was in decided contrast to her husband's misshapen body, and his frank countenance grateful to her gaze, after long acquaintance with the sinister face of Pedrarias. That she smiled graciously on Balboa at the end of his speech, and perhaps showed pleasure at his flattery, was not to be wondered at; but old Pedrarias noted these things with a twinge of ign.o.ble jealousy, and frowned at his host instead of smiling.

"Where is the palace?" he growled at Balboa, as they approached his straw-thatched hut and halted at the door. "This is not a fit habitation for my wife to dwell in, let alone a domicile for the executive."

"That I freely grant, your excellency, and it vexes me that it be so,"

replied his host, with a smile and deprecatory wave of the hand. "But such as it is, I trust you and your n.o.ble lady will accept and avail of it, until we can erect a better, which we will do without delay."