"Hush, my child," said the mother, sternly. "He will hear and punish
you. If it is our fate, we must bend to it."



Chapter III

"The Secret of the Strait"



Cabrillo

One afternoon in September, in the year 1542, two broad, clumsy ships,
each with the flag of Spain flying above her many sails, were beating
their way up the coast of southern California. All day the vessels had
been wallowing in the choppy seas, driven about by contrary winds. At
last the prow of the leading ship was turned toward shore, where there
seemed to be an opening that might lead to a good harbor. At the bow of
the ship stood the master of the expedition, the tanned, keen-faced
captain, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He was earnestly watching the land
before him, which was still some distance away.

"Come hither, Juan," he called to a sturdy lad, about sixteen, who, with
an Indian boy, brought from Mexico as interpreter, was also eagerly
looking landward. "Your eyes should be better than mine. Think you there
is a harbor beyond that point?"

"It surely seems so to me, sir," answered the boy; "and Pepe, whose