"cheek"--that they would have nothing to do with him. This man really
is crazy, they said. This poor Genoese sailor comes here without a thing
except his very odd ideas, and almost "wants the earth" as a reward.
This is not exactly what they said, but it is what they meant.

His few friends begged him to be more modest. Do not ask so much, they
said, or you will get nothing. But Columbus was determined. I have
worked and waited all these years, he replied. I know just what I can
do and just how much I can do for the king and queen of Spain. They must
pay me what I ask and promise what I say, or I will go somewhere else.
Go, then! said the queen and her advisers. And Columbus turned his back
on what seemed almost his last hope, mounted his mule and rode away.

Then something else happened. As Columbus rode off to find the French
king, sick and tired of all his long and useless labor at the Spanish
court, his few firm friends there saw that, unless they did something
right away, all the glory and all the gain of this enterprise Columbus
had taught them to believe in would be lost to Spain. So two of them,
whose names were Santangel and Quintanilla, rushed into the queen's
room and begged her, if she wished to become the greatest queen in
Christendom, to call back this wandering sailor, agree to his terms and
profit by his labors.

What if he does ask a great deal? they said. He has spent his life
thinking his plan out; no wonder he feels that he ought to have a good
share of what he finds. What he asks is really small compared with what
Spain will gain. The war with the Moors has cost you ever so much; your
money-chests are empty; Columbus will fill them up. The people of Cathay
are heathen; Columbus will help you make them Christian men. The Indies
and Cathay are full of gold and jewels; Columbus will bring you home