The Rose Demon

the first watch when he heard that mysterious voice again.

    ‘Nothing to the north, nothing to the south! You must sail ever west! Look for the light!’

    Matthias stared round: on the far side of the foredeck a young sail-maker, Diego Yemodes, was squatting, stitching a piece of canvas, but he never looked up.

    ‘Nothing to the north! Nothing to the south! Ever west! Look for the light! Tell Columbus to look for the light!’

    ‘Is everything all right?’

    Matthias jumped and turned round. Columbus was standing at the top of the steps staring at him curiously.

    ‘Why did you vote against changing direction, Englishman?’

    ‘I don’t know,’ Matthias lied, holding the Captain General’s gaze. ‘I still think it was a mistake to change.’

    Columbus nodded and looked up at the night sky.

    ‘I believe you are right.’ He turned and went down the steps.

    Matthias heard one of the bombards fire, followed by the slap of feet on the deck. Lanterns were lit, signals flashed to the Niña and Pinta . The Santa Maria , sails straining under the wind, changed tack at the shouts of the Captain General, back on the original course, due west.

    Matthias forgot about his own anxieties. He felt the ship twist and turn. He heard something bump against the side, and looked over. It was a piece of wood, a branch or trunk. It swirled by so fast Matthias couldn’t determine. He went back to his watch. He stared so hard his eyes hurt and then he glimpsed it, a light like that of a wax candle, being moved up and down. He blinked and stared again. He was sure he had seen it. No star, no figment of his imagination or trick of the ocean. Again the light, up and down as if someone were signalling him through the darkness. He left his post and ran down to the deck, hammering on the door of Columbus’ cabin. The Captain General came bustling out. He took one look at Matthias’ face and went like a monkey up the steps, standing on the bowsprit, holding on to the ropes.

    ‘You saw something?’

    ‘Dead ahead,’ Matthias replied. ‘Nothing to the north, nothing to the south! Ever west!’

    ‘You are mis-- No, I see it!’

    Columbus jumped down. He was soon joined on the forecastle by other officers. The rest of the crew were aroused and from across the water came the boom of a bombard. The Pinta , too, had seen the light. All three ships now closed up. Sails were furled, strict orders given to hold their position. The whole crew, as if participating in a holy vigil, waited for dawn. Prayers were offered, the Salve Regina sung: throughout the night the three ships backed and filled under reduced canvas off this unknown shore. Columbus was like a man possessed. The men were impatient, urging Columbus to move closer but, when dawn broke, the Captain General’s caution was vindicated. They could see a white shoreline, trees rising up, surf seething along a coral rock which stretched like fangs up out of the sea; these would have torn their ships to shreds if they had tried to sail directly to shore.

    Once daybreak had come, the three ships tacked along the coastline looking for a place to anchor. At last they found a bay and slipped in easily. The leadsmen sang out the depths until the signal was given to drop anchor. The men clustered on the deck and stared in wonderment: white sands, wooded hills, even the breeze had lost its salty, tangy taste and now wafted the sweeter smells of fruits and vegetation towards them. Figures were seen slipping in and out of the treeline.

    ‘Savages,’ Navarette, one of the most keen-sighted, reported from where he stood, halfway up the main mast. ‘Naked as babies, they are.’

    All three ships’ boats were lowered. Columbus, now dressed in gilded armour, a great cloak round his shoulders and carrying the royal standard of Castile, clambered into his; the Pinzons, carrying the banners of the expedition, a green cross with the initials of the two sovereigns on either side, joined him. Matthias was also chosen to go and he climbed gingerly into the boat.

    They reached the shoreline in a matter of minutes. Matthias felt strange to be on dry land again, a sensation not helped by the shimmering, white sands, the glare of the sun and the strange, exotic smells which swept down from the dark green forest which fringed the beach. He helped Baldini pull the boat further up out of the water. Columbus and a number of officers were already planting the standards of Spain into the hot