The commander of the barge took advantage of the opportunity, and served supper to all hands.
One of the darkest nights I ever experienced in my whole career at sea followed. The moon was at the full, but a mass of clouds, black as ink, obscured her and the evening star.
We soon composed ourselves to sleep. The sturdy men at the paddles evidently slept while they worked. No galley slaves toiled more unceasingly than did this volunteer crew of Sargassons, intent only on my formal admission to all the sacred rights of this strange people.
A perfect knowledge of the route over which we traveled was shown by the commander. He steered the craft with a large oar, which he shifted from one side to the other, as was necessary, on occasions exerting great strength where a sharp turn was to be made. Not a light was in sight.
Even my practiced eyes could not distinguish the sod line that formed the banks of the canal, and I fully appreciated the difficulty of the pilot’s work.
As dawn came, we were awakened by the singing of birds. We rose and looked about us. The men were still laboring at the paddles with swaying bodies, all moving in unison, their heads resting on their arms, and their faces, with tightly closed eyes, turned from the glare of the rising sun. The air was very balmy, and the sky was as blue as it is in Andalusia in early Spring.
Fidette and I stood up and gazed upon the scene. Larks and mocking birds could be heard on all sides, singing cheerily. Only a short distance ahead we beheld the open water of the Inland Sea, at the further side of which we had been informed was moored the floating palace of the Chief Kantoon. I had no trouble in getting my bearings. The rising sun clearly indicated the east, and on consulting the small compass that I always carried, I found that the needle had suddenly swung four points from due north, and now pointed directly to the northwest. Some new magic influence had evidently affected the needle! I recalled the fact that Columbus, in his journeys, had experienced a somewhat similar deviation in the mid-Atlantic, although he only skirted the outer edge of the Sargasson continent.
The silence of this vast Inland Sea was depressing. Although we were in the mid-Atlantic, the far-stretching blanket of sod that lay upon the bosom of the deep, repressed its energy to such a degree that the ordinary swell of the ocean was barely noticeable. Literally, it was a tideless sea. I had expected that the Sargassons would paddle boldly out into the centre of this large lake, but the commander carefully kept near the sod bank that outlined it.
It was high noon when we approached the huge ark where dwelt the Chief Kantoon. We were expected, and the gangway of the ship was neatly trimmed with sea-grass matting of brilliant hues.
We soon rowed alongside, and, with some trepidation, I took Fidette’s hand and assisted her up the steps. We were received on deck by a young priest in full vestments, while a choir of boys sang what was evidently a hymn of welcome. Not a word of reception was spoken. After bowing low, we were immediately taken to a cabin, in the centre of which was a table laden with fruit, and upon which, to my amazement, stood a flagon of orange-hued wine, evidently of native manufacture. I had not had the opportunity to dampen my palate with anything of the kind for so many months that, when an attendant poured me out a cup of the pale yellow fluid, I accepted it and drank without hesitation. Fidette did the same.