Juan Mendez had no difficulty in satisfying the officer as to his
identity, he being well known to several traders in the town. His
story of the attack upon his ship by Barbary pirates, its capture,
and his own escape and that of his daughter by the aid of two
Christian captives, excited great interest as soon as it became
known in the town; for it was rare, indeed, that a captive ever
succeeded in making his escape from the hands of the Moors. It
had already been arranged that, in telling his story, the trader
should make as little as possible of his companions' share in the
business, so that public attention should not be attracted towards
them. He himself with Dolores at once disembarked, but his companions
did not come ashore until after nightfall.
Stephen Boldero took a Spanish name, but Geoffrey retained his
own, as the story that he was travelling as servant with Mr. Burke,
a well known Irish gentleman who had accompanied the Armada, was
sufficient to account for his nationality. Under the plea that he
was anxious to return to Cadiz as soon as possible, Senor Mendez
arranged for horses and mules to start the next morning. He had
sent out two trunks of clothes to the ship an hour after he landed,
and the two Englishmen therefore escaped all observation, as they
wandered about for an hour or two after landing, and did not go
to the inn where Mendez was staying until it was time to retire to
bed.
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