learning. The junta decided against the proposals, and reported its
decision to the King and Queen. The monarchs, true to their somewhat
hedging methods when there was anything to be gained by hedging, informed
Columbus that at present they were too much occupied with the war to
grant his requests; but that, when the preoccupations and expenses of the
campaign were a thing of the past, they might again turn their attention
to his very interesting suggestion.

It was at this point that the patience of Columbus broke down. Too many
promises had been made to him, and hope had been held out to him too
often for him to believe any more in it. Spain, he decided, was useless;
he would try France; at least he would be no worse off there. But he had
first of all to settle his affairs as well as possible. Diego, now a
growing boy nearly eleven years old, had been staying with Beatriz at
Cordova, and going to school there; Christopher would take him back to
his aunt's at Huelva before he went away. He set out with a heavy heart,
but with purpose and determination unimpaired.




CHAPTER X

OUR LADY OF LA RABIDA

It is a long road from Santa Fe to Huelva, a long journey to make on
foot, and the company of a sad heart and a little talking boy, prone to
sudden weariness and the asking of innumerable difficult questions, would
not make it very much shorter. Every step that Christopher took carried
him farther away from the glittering scene where his hopes had once been