But ere we went out to the reef there were some things that passed which I must write down. First, we anchored off Porto de la Plata, which, as I have writ, was so named from the boat that went ashore full of plate from the wreck fifty years--or now more--before, and which is now the port of St. Jago de los Cavalleros; and here we purchased a tender which it was our intention to use, so that there might be two searchings made for the lost ship. Also we meant to have some canoes, or periagas, so that they could go where neither the ship nor the tender could go themselves, and thereby we did intend to scour all the water round about the reef.
But, Lord! who would not have been discouraged by all the merriment that our return caused--who, I say, but Phips? For those who lived at Porto did openly make mock of us, jeering at us for our coming back, and calling of us the mad Englishmen; while, if it may be believed, people did even come over from St. Jago, which is inland, to see us and our silly ship, as they called it. Now, the people here were of all kinds--there were Spaniards and Portugees, and also some French who had by now gotten all that part of the isle to the west of Monte Christo on the N. and Cape Mongon on the S., though no legal settlement until later, as well as Creoles and mulattoes, and many more. And with one accord all laughed at us, saying, "There is no plate, be sure, or we would have had it long ago."
Yet still Phips, and with him all of us, believed it was there.
But now there came and sought us out the great monstrous negro diver, Juan, who, after finding through me that Phips bore him no ill-will for his last fleering farewell of us, said that he had somewhat to tell us if we would hearken to him. So I gave him an appointment to see the Captain the next day, and a promise that he should be safe from any harm; and so he came out in his periaga to where we lay a league off shore. And he brought along with him the queerest of old men that ever I did set eyes on--an old shrivelled-up Portugee who looked as though he was an hundred, half-blind, and with a kind of shaking palsy all over him.
Then, when I took them into the cabin where Phips was, he, being ever of a jocund vein, called out:
"And good morning to you, Signor Juan, and how do you do? You see you were no true prophet, since here we are come back again."
The hideous negro made a shambling bow, and hoped his honour was well, and then in a jargon of Spanish and English, very hard for me to understand, and not to be faithfully written down, he said:
"Masser Phips, I bery sorry I larf at you when you went away. But I never tink, no never, that you come back again. But since you come, I tell you many tings I have founder outer. Sir, this old Signor, he know much, he berry old"--and here the brute opened and shut his great hands nine times, very quick--"he have see ninety summers."
"Has he, indeed?" says the Captain, "that seems a long while to me who have seen but thirty-six as yet. And what has the Signor seen in all that time?"
"He see many tings. He see the boaty come ashore with the silver plate--beautiful plate, many candlestickies, bagges of pieces, salivers and lumpes. All gone now!"