That day they drew near the coast, and on the next, about four o’clock, when the afternoon sun was at its richest, they caught the far-off gleam of the blue Atlantic.
VIII
SUNRISE OFF THE BAR OF SALTES
THE sight of the monastery and the thought of seeing his little brother and the good Prior and Fray Piña filled the heart of Diego with joy. He had an imaginative mind, and he lived over in thought and spoke to Don Felipe of the extraordinary change that had taken place in his fortunes since the day, nearly eight years before, when his father, a poor and unhonored and unsuccessful applicant at the courts of kings, jeered at and disbelieved, and Diego, himself a little ragged and barefooted boy, had stopped at La Rabida to ask for a dole of bread. Now, he was returning as Don Diego, a page-in-waiting to the heir to the thrones of Arragon and Castile; his father returning as Admiral of the Ocean Seas and Viceroy and Captain-General of all lands to the westward, a title far transcending that of any grandee of Spain and second only to the title of royalty, the arrival of this great man breathlessly awaited not only by kings and queens, but by the whole Spanish people. No more amazing picture of the vicissitudes of fortune had ever been presented to the human mind.
The party pushed on rapidly to the monastery and drew up before the courtyard within half an hour. There, all was placid; no hint of the return of the Admiral’s caravel or that of Captain Martin Alonzo Pinzon had reached the neighborhood of Palos. Diego, looking about the silent old stone building, the orchard, and the fish-pond basking in the afternoon glow, and the monks at their business of work or prayer, felt that a thunderbolt was to fall among them.
The Prior, Juan Perez, came out at once when he heard the clattering of the horses’ hoofs. One glance at Diego’s radiant face and De Quintanilla’s look of triumph aroused a strong hope in the Prior’s heart. The Daredevil Knight flung himself off his horse and, courteously greeting the Prior, drew him aside and told in a whisper the news they had heard, and that they had come to await the arrival of the caravel at Palos, which might be expected at any moment. Juan Perez, a man of deep and sincere piety as well as of strong understanding, fell on his knees in the courtyard and gave loud and fervent thanks to God for the news that had been brought. When he arose he sent for Fray Piña, who came quickly; and to him the great event was confided. Diego and Don Felipe were glad to see their old instructor once more, and actually had the grace to thank him for his strictness and sternness. They had learned some courtly ways from being at court.
Alonzo de Quintanilla, a prudent man, seizing Juan Perez by the arm, said:
“But no word of this must get abroad in Palos; it would excite the people too much. I bear letters to the families of the three Pinzon brothers telling them of the safe arrival of Captain Martin Alonzo Pinzon at Bayonne; but that is to be kept secret for the present. I shall not go to the houses of the Pinzons to give their families the joyful news until nightfall, so that I may not be recognized and thereby the whole coast be aroused and excited.”