It was astonishing how quickly Donna Isabel
and her son, Pedro de Castro, appeared to have forgotten the obligation
they were under to us for having rescued them from the desert island
upon which they had been marooned. Both now spoke as if we were
indebted to them for having put us in the way of enriching ourselves
with the gold obtained from the Islands of Armenio, and Donna Isabel
declared that the treasure really belonged to her, since she had
possessed the secret which led to its discovery. I was so disgusted by
the ingratitude of these Spaniards that I could hardly bring myself to
speak of the matter with patience.
Hartog now proposed that we should make for Sumatra, and as this
proposal appeared to promise a way out of, our difficulties, I had
nothing to say against it.
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands, having Malacca on the north,
Borneo on the east, Java on the south-east, and the Indian Ocean on the
west. It is eight hundred miles long and about one hundred and fifty
broad, and it possesses a fine harbour capable of containing any number
of the largest ships. Here we arrived without mishap, within three
weeks after setting our course for this port, and cast anchor in a
sheltered spot close to the shore.
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