so sick from fever that he could not raise his hand or his head to give
an order to his men.

For five long months Columbus lay in his stone house on the plaza or
square of Isabella a very sick man. His brother Bartholomew had come
across from Spain with three supply ships, bringing provisions for the
colony. So Bartholomew took charge of affairs for a while.

And while Columbus lay so sick, some of the leading men in the colony
seized the ships in which Bartholomew Columbus had come to his brother's
aid, and sailing back to Spain they told the king and queen all sorts
of bad stories about Columbus. They were Spaniards. Columbus was an
Italian. They were jealous of him because he was higher placed and had
more to say than they had. They were angry to think that when he had
promised to bring them to the gorgeous cities and the glittering gold
mines of Cathay he had only landed them on islands which were the homes
of naked savages, and made them work dreadfully hard for what little
gold they could find. He had promised them power; they went home poorer
than when they came away. So they were "mad" at Columbus--just as boys
and girls are sometimes "mad" at one another; and they told the worst
stories they could think of about him, and called him all sorts of hard
names, and said the king and queen of Spain ought to look out for "their
great Admiral," or he would get the best of them and keep for himself
the most of whatever he could find in the new lands.

At last Columbus began to grow better. And when he knew what his enemies
had done he was very much troubled for fear they should get the king and
queen to refuse him any further aid. So, just as soon as he was able, on
the tenth of March, 1496, he sailed home to Spain.