Chapter 19

Benjamin started toward Palos. The sun was just starting to make its existence known by turning the night sky a little brighter in the east. As he rode he tried to figure how he could get on board the ship without being detected. Suddenly a thought came to him. He smiled. He just might be able to pull it off.

He road through Palos to the docks. It was not hard finding the Santa Maria with all of the hustle and bustle of the crew preparing the ship for the voyage. Two other ships were tied close to her and it appeared that they were preparing to sail also. Benjamin found a place to tie the horse; someone would claim it. He had released the Cardinal's horse just outside of town. He put on the priests cap and walked to the dock. He hid his fear and forced himself to walk as if he was supposed to be in the garb of a priest and that he had an appointment from the King.

He showed the letter from the king to a sailor and the man jabbered something to him that he didn't understand and pointed to a man directing the outfitting of the ship by screaming orders from the deck. The man's demeanor was imposing. He leaned over the railing of the ship and everyone caught his attention and his wrath. Benjamin walked up the gangplank to the deck and looked around. He had to jump out of the way of two men carrying kegs onto the ship.

He walked over to the Admiral and tapped him on the shoulder. Admiral Columbus spun around and glared at the priest. Benjamin handed him the letter. Admiral Columbus started to say something to him and Benjamin held up his hands to stop Columbus from saying anymore.

He pointed to his ears with the index finger of both hands to signify that his was deaf. Then he pointed to his open mouth to show the admiral that he was a mute also. The admiral threw up his hands and started to yell at the ship's rigging. Benjamin didn't understand the words but he knew what the man was saying would have burned the ears of a pious person. Columbus grabbed a sailor that was walking past them and said something to him. The sailor nodded and motioned for Benjamin to follow him. He took him to a very small cabin.

Columbus started to rant, " Father Alonzo Chocero-a deaf-mute? What good is a deaf-mute priest on this mission? I guess this is the King's way of telling me what he thinks of this voyage. Thank God for Isabella. She should be King instead of Queen."

In the late afternoon the first mate came to the cabin, and after much pointing and gesturing let Benjamin know that the admiral wanted the three ships blessed before they sailed. Benjamin had seen enough church rituals in England to bluff his way through most of them and he made a show of blessing all three ships.

On the evening tide all three ships set out on their voyage to find the western route to India and the Orient. Benjamin made a show of kneeling at the bow of the ship and praying for a safe voyage. The date was August 2, 1492. A fierce storm hit two days out of port and there was minor damage to two of the ships and Admiral Columbus decided to put in at Gomera in the Canary Islands for outfitting and repair. Benjamin knew that he would be in danger in Gomera. The Canary Islands were Spanish and he was sure that the Catholic clergy would come on board out of curiosity. He was sure to be found out.

When the ships docked at Gomera, Benjamin went to the first mate. After much gesturing and hand signals, he finally found out that the repairs would only take a day or so. He quickly left the ship after making the first mate understand that he wanted to go to the church and pray. The first mate was pleased to have the deaf-mute priest out from under his feet. He hid out of sight and watched the ships. As he suspected, two priests came to the ship and after waiting for two hours in the hot sun, left to try and find him at the church.

When preparations started to get under way, he scrambled back on the ship and blessed them all again. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the Canary Islands slip out of sight.

He sat in his cabin and tried to think out his situation. He definitely must try to avoid detection. If he were sent back to Spain he would be executed within hours. He wondered if there was someway he could get back to England. After weighing all of the facts that he knew about his mission to Spain, he decided that England was out also. By now his father would either be in jail or dead. The King would have confiscated his land and wealth and he knew that a rope would await him in England. His only option was to jump ship the next time they docked. If the crazy Admiral did find the passage to India, he would jump ship there.

Benjamin spent his first few days trying to sight land from the ship's bow. He tried to act out his deception and patted the sailors on the back and blessed them with the sign of the cross. After about two weeks he hit on the idea of making rosaries for the crew out of beans and rope. This would keep the sailors away from him. They had taken to kidding him and playing jokes on him.

He got some rope from the ship's stores and pulled the fibers apart and twisted the fibers to make twine. By boring a hole through the beans he could thread the beans on the twine and with knots make a passable rosary. The ship's carpenter was a devout man and made wooden crosses for the rosaries. By the first week in September, every man on the ships had a rosary and all accepted Benjamin as a priest.

As the Voyage progressed without any sight of land, the grumbling of the crew got louder. The Admiral had several meetings with the crew. After each meeting, and after much screaming and shaking of fists, the ship would continue on their westward journey. Benjamin would seek out the most vocal of the crew, knowing that they were the troublemakers, and silently pray with them. This would calm them down for a day or so. This greatly increased his stature with Admiral Columbus.

On September 12, 1492 a lookout sighted land and the three ships made for it. After sailing along the coast, they found a suitable anchorage and sent boats ashore to search for water and fresh fruit or vegetables, if available. Several times the crew saw native peoples, but could never talk to or capture any of them. After the ships had replenished their water supplies, the ships followed the coastline for a few days before anchoring off of a large island. Benjamin would find out later in his travels that the Island was what is now called Grand Bahama Island.

Admiral Columbus sent an expedition ashore to try and talk to the native people and possibly convince them to go back to Spain with him. Benjamin got into the boat. No one asked him to get out of the boat and he and the sailors rowed to shore. The sailors made him stay on the beach while they went into the brush to find water and the natives.

He sat on the beach and waited. He knew that the voyage had found a new land. This was not the India he had seen in paintings. These people were very backward and had no gold or trade goods. They wouldn't even talk to the sailors. He knew that the ships would sail back to Spain soon to tell about the new lands. If he went back with them, he would be executed. He had his purse with the gold coins; there was no reason to go back to the ship. If there were people living on this island, there must be food here.

He rubbed his chin. His beard had not grown since they left Spain, and he wondered if this new land had something to do with that. He got up and started to run down the beach. When he couldn't see the boat that they had come ashore in, he ducked into the brush and ran until he collapsed on the ground exhausted. He heard the sailors calling several times and he knew that they were searching for him. He walked deeper into the brush. Several times he heard a movement in the brush and he knew that he was being followed. Just before evening, the calls of the sailors stopped. Benjamin tried to get some sleep but the bugs kept him awake most of the night. When he did fall asleep, he would have a nightmare with Ahgur being the main player in his dream.

In the morning he climbed a high hill. He could make out the ships in the distance. Often he would see a sailor climb into the rigging and search the shoreline. He knew that they were searching for him. In the evening all three ships sailed out to sea. Benjamin knew that he had gotten off of the ship at the right time. They were probably heading back to Spain now. Again, later in life, he would find out that the ships had sailed from Grand Bahama Island to Cuba, then to Hispanola and then to Spain. The Santa Maria would never make it back to Spain; she was lost off of Hispanola, although the crew was saved.

After the ships were out of sight, he went down to the beach. He decided to sleep on the beach that night, as the bugs were eating him alive in the brush. The gentle breezes coming off of the ocean did a lot to keep the bugs away from him and he got some sleep before his first nightmare of the night.

He awoke in the morning with his stomach growling. He hadn't had anything to eat in about thirty-six hours. He had to find a native village and convince them to sell him some food. Maybe he could convince them to let him live with them and possibly buy a house in this new land.

After walking for several hours, he smelled smoke. He traveled in the direction that the smoke was coming from and found the village just before noon. He hid in the brush, trying to ascertain if the natives were hostile or not. All he had was his dagger. It was no match against the weaponry of a soldier.

He surveyed the village for a long time. The village consisted of rudimentary huts made of local materials. He could find no houses such as in England or Spain. These were backward people. He could not find their army. There did not appear to be even one soldier guarding the village. Since he didn't see any weapons in the village, he decided to walk in and try to buy some food and water.

He walked out of the bush with his hands in front of him to show that he meant no harm to them. As he neared the village, a woman spotted him and screamed. She started to scream out a warning to the village in words that he could not understand. The people of the village ran into the brush and disappeared. The village was deserted. He cautiously made his way forward. He looked into the huts and saw that his observations were correct; these people had only the basic necessities.

Some fish were cooking on a fire and he found that they were ready to eat. He sat down and ate all of the fish. He found some water and drank some and decided to sit down and try and coax the villagers out of the brush.

After several minutes, he heard a sound behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt a terrible pain in his back and his guts. He looked down and saw the point of a wooden lance sticking out from his stomach. He tried to stand but fell forward on his hands and knees. They pain was the worst pain that he had ever felt. He found it hard to even think.

The warrior that had sunk his lance into Benjamin's back let out a cry and rushed forward and pulled the lance back out of his back. The pain of the lance being pulled out of him was a hundred times worse that when it had entered his back and stomach. He stayed on his hands and knees waiting for death to overtake him. The warrior was jumping up and down and calling out to the other villagers.

Slowly the pain started to subside. Within a couple of minutes the pain was gone and he could stand. Benjamin lifted the cassock to look at the wound. There was no sign of a wound. The skin had healed instantly. His pain was gone and he felt as if he had never been wounded. He then knew that the curse that Ahgur had put on him was working. The warrior dropped the lance and ran into the brush. Benjamin never saw a native again on that island.

Chapter 20