"Ah! ha!" exclaimed Diego Mendez, not at all displeased at his protégé's readiness. "My friends, methinks the lad hath had the best of it; and we were wise not to provoke him to register a vow to keep his useful new acquaintances to himself."
"If he did," muttered Rodrigo, "there would but need to draw a long and doleful face to make him break it. For no oath's sake would he ever be got to cut off a John Baptist's head."
"I'll cut off thine, though," grumbled Juan de Alba, "if thou keepest not those bamboo points to thyself, instead of using them to pierce mine eyes. Thou art a clumsy carpenter, in very deed, as ever I saw."
"And I rejoice that thou shouldst have to say so," retorted the other. "The fingers of Rodrigo de Escobar scorn this servile work."
"Do they also scorn to peel bananas?" asked the Adelantado, coming up with a great ripe bunch at an opportune moment to stop a squabble from growing into a quarrel. He had enough to do to keep the peace among his gang of noble workmen.
[CHAPTER XIII.]
FOR LIFE OR DEATH.
For some few days the work of building progressed merrily enough. The seemingly ubiquitous Montoro Diego, with his beautiful voice, his bright eyes, and his untiring activity, inspired the whole party with a portion of his own spirit; and his grateful native friend, the mother of his small patient, proved of the greatest comfort to the new colonists by keeping them plentifully supplied with fruit, fish, birds, and food cooked after the native fashion, but very acceptable to men who had lived hardly too long to be fastidious. Besides, they were very desirous of sparing as much as possible their own small remaining stores of biscuit, cheese, wine, oil, and vinegar, of which the Admiral could only leave so small a quantity for the civilized provision of the colony.
At the outset of the new undertaking, others besides the mother of the child had shown most hospitable alacrity in bringing gifts for the white strangers' larder; but by degrees these gifts ceased, and at last, whilst all the others of the Spaniards still looked gay enough, Montoro's face began to grow very grave. He still had many good things brought to him, but he noticed that they began to be brought with an air of secresy, and at last the poor creature proved her gratitude by giving him signs as plainly as she dared, that Quibian, the Cacique of Veragua, was not altogether so friendly as he seemed.