Now...."
She checked, and smiled a little crooked smile. "Such a man is best
forgotten."
And upon that she passed at once to speak of other things. The
friendship, which it was her great gift to command in all she met,
grew steadily between those two in the little time remaining, until
the event befell that marred what was promising to be the
pleasantest stage of his lordship's voyage.
The marplot was the mad-dog Spanish Admiral, whom they encountered
on the second day out, when halfway across the Gulf of Gonaves.
The Captain of the Royal Mary was not disposed to be intimidated
even when Don Miguel opened fire on him. Observing the Spaniard's
plentiful seaboard towering high above the water and offering him
so splendid a mark, the Englishman was moved to scorn. If this
Don who flew the banner of Castile wanted a fight, the Royal Mary
was just the ship to oblige him. It may be that he was justified
of his gallant confidence, and that he would that day have put an
end to the wild career of Don Miguel de Espinosa, but that a
lucky shot from the Milagrosa got among some powder stored in his
forecastle, and blew up half his ship almost before the fight had
started.
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