Day after day they labored,transferring all their goods and provisions to the land,--tools, andhorses, and mules, clothing, and simple furniture. Most of them joinedwith pleasure in this toil, but others grew restless as they transferredall their possessions to land, and sometimes the women especially wouldclimb to high places and gaze longingly towards Spain.One morning a surprise came to Luis. Every night it was their custom tohave a great fire on the beach, and to meet and sing chants around it. Onenight Luis had personally put out the blaze of the fire, as it was morewindy than usual, and went to sleep in his tent. Soon after midnight hewas awakened by a glare of a great light upon his tent's thin walls, andhastily springing up, he saw their largest caravel on fire. Rushing out togive the alarm, he saw a similar flame kindled in the second vessel, andthen, after some delay, in the third. Then he saw a dark boat pullinghastily towards the shore, and going down to the beach he met their mosttrusty captain, who told him that the ships had been burnt by order of thearchbishop, in order that their return might be hopeless, and that theirstay on the island might be forever.There was some lamentation among the emigrants when they saw theirretreat thus cut off, but Luis when once established on shore did notshare it; to be near Juanita was enough for him, though he rarely saw her.
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