The Canaries were seen by the look-out two hours before dusk. Rodney set all possible sail on the Santa Perpetua so as to get her in the shelter of the cliffs before night. They watched for the sight of any Spanish ships, but the seas were deserted.
“Luck is with me,” Rodney boasted. “We are in need of water and I should have been sorry to pass the islands without calling there.”
He was speaking to Lizbeth and Master Gadstone who were both standing beside him on the quarter-deck.
“The Spaniards must find them as convenient as we do,” Master Gadstone remarked.
“That is true enough,” Rodney answered. “I expected to see half a dozen galleons as we came over the horizon. Maybe our Spanish guest was praying for the sight of a red and yellow pennant,” he added a little unkindly.
Lizbeth sta
