“And for what does her Majesty, the Queen, wish me to return?” asked the Admiral.
“I do not know,” responded Don Tomaso. “I have not been accustomed to ask the King and the Queen their reasons; but I know that Luis de St. Angel went straight to her Majesty, Queen Isabella, and told her plainly that she was throwing away the greatest honor and glory that ever awaited any sovereign and any country in not granting you the terms to which you were justly entitled, and that you must be brought back to Santa Fé by force, if necessary. He was reinforced by that stern tutor of Prince Juan, Father de Deza. After a short conference with the Queen, St. Angel and De Quintanilla ran to me and said:
“‘Go you and fetch Christobal Colon back, and tell him all shall be as he wishes. We send you, knowing you to be a daring fellow, and not to be overawed by Christobal Colon, as most men are.’ So here I am, carrying back the Admiral of the Ocean Seas, the Viceroy and Captain-General of all the lands you discover, and your son, Don Diego, grandee of the first rank in Spain.”
Diego listened, almost dazed by Don Tomaso’s words. Presently the Admiral spoke as the horses kept up their sharp trot through the pass, growing darker every moment.
“Where are your ten men-at-arms, Don Tomaso?”
“I have no men-at-arms,” answered Don Tomaso, coolly, “but I have a good harquebus; if you ask for my order, this shall be my order.”
At that Don Tomaso drew his harquebus and leveled it straight at the Admiral, who laughed again and put it aside.
“I wish you were a seaman, Don Tomaso,” he said. “I should make you my first lieutenant.”
After riding for nearly an hour in the darkness they saw the lights of Santa Fé, and soon they were clattering through the streets. The Admiral was about to take the way to his lodgings when the Daredevil Knight again laid his hand upon the bridle.