He
was, indeed, very happy at Cadiz, and shrank from the thought of
leaving it.
Stephen Boldero soon became restless, and at his urgent request Juan
Mendez appointed him second mate on board one of his ships sailing
for the West Indies, his intention being to make his escape if an
opportunity offered; but if not, he preferred a life of activity
to wandering aimlessly about the streets of Cadiz. He was greatly
grieved to part from Geoffrey, and promised that, should he ever
reach England, he would at once journey down to Hedingham, and
report his safety to his father and mother.
"You will do very well here, Master Geoffrey," he said. "You are
quite at home with all the Spaniards, and it will not be very long
before you speak the language so well that, except for your name,
none would take you for a foreigner. You have found work to do, and
are really better off here than you would be starving and fighting
in Holland. Besides," he said with a sly wink, "there are other
attractions for you. Juan Mendez treats you as a son, and the
senorita knows that she owes everything to you. You might do worse
than settle here for life. Like enough you will see me back again
in six months' time, for if I see no chance of slipping off and
reaching one of the islands held by the buccaneers, I shall perforce
return in the ship I go out in.
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