The Wanderers | Page 3

of the mountains, well watered by several streams, which
descended from the heights above. A mere nominal rent was asked, and
he had the privilege of paying for it by instalments whenever he should
have obtained the means of doing so. Considering this a great
advantage, he had sanguine hopes of success. He at once commenced a
cacao plantation, of which some already existed in the island. It is a tree
somewhat resembling the English cherry-tree, and is about fifteen feet
in height, flourishing best in new soil near the margin of a river. It
requires, however, shelter from strong sunshine or violent winds. For
this purpose "plantain" or coral-bean trees are planted between every
second row; and these, quickly shooting up above the cacao-trees,
afford the most luxuriant appearance to a plantation, their long bare
stems being contrasted strongly with the rich green of the cacao below.
Nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove plantations were also formed; indeed, the
utmost pains were taken to make the ground productive.
Some progress had been made in the work before the arrival of Uncle
Paul and our cousin Arthur. They had been delayed longer than we had
expected, and we were for some time anxiously looking out for them.
We were consequently delighted when at length they appeared. Marian
threw her arms round Arthur's neck, and gave him the welcome of a
sister, for she loved him dearly.
Uncle Paul complimented our father on the energy he had displayed,
and expressed his wonder that so much had been done.
"My success is mainly owing to the way in which I treat those whom I
employ," he answered. "The natives especially flock here in numbers,
and are more ready to labour for me than for anybody else in the
neighbourhood."
With the assistance of Uncle Paul and Arthur, still greater progress was
made. They also established a house of business in Port Royal, of
which Uncle Paul took the chief management, while Arthur and I
assisted. We exported numerous articles, and among other produce we
shipped a considerable quantity of timber; for magnificent trees, fit for
shipbuilding and other purposes, grew in the island--the red cedar and

several species of palms being especially magnificent. Altogether, our
house was looked upon as the most flourishing in the island, and, as
might have been expected, we somewhat excited the jealousy of several
of the native merchants. Our father, however, cared nothing for this,
and dared the Spaniards to do their worst.
Necessity made Uncle Paul, Arthur, and me live, during the weekdays,
in the town, but we returned home every Saturday, where we received
an affectionate welcome from my mother and Marian. It was,
consequently, not remarked in the town that we did not attend mass;
and as our house was at some distance from any church, we had a
sufficient excuse for not going to one on the Sunday. We were aware,
however, that the Inquisition existed in the island, though we could not
ascertain who were the persons immediately connected with it. There
were, we observed, in proportion to the population, a very large number
of priests and friars, some of whom were constantly visiting the houses
in the town and neighbourhood; but as we left our lodging at an early
hour every day for the counting-house, and seldom returned till late in
the evening, we had not hitherto been interfered with.
One Saturday evening we were returning homeward, when we overtook
a friar ambling along on his mule. We saluted him in the customary
fashion, and were passing on, when he stopped Uncle Paul by asking a
question which took some time to answer. The friar then, urging on his
beast, kept pace with us. Arthur and I had dropped a little behind, so
that we could only partly hear what was said, but enough of the
conversation reached us to let us know that the friar was talking about
religious matters, and was apparently endeavouring to draw out our
uncle's opinions. He was always frank and truthful, so we knew that he
would find it a difficult task to parry the friar's questions.
"I feel almost certain that the friar knew we should pass this way, and
came on purpose to fall in with us," observed Arthur. "I wish that Uncle
Paul had galloped on without answering him. I don't like the tone of his
voice, though he smiles, and speaks so softly."
"Nor do I," I replied. "I only hope that he won't come and talk with us."

"If he does, we must give him short answers, and say that the matter is
too deep for us," observed Arthur. "We may perhaps puzzle him
slightly, and at the worst make him suppose that we are very ill
informed on religious matters; but we must