On learning our story, however, he regarded us with grave
suspicions, and refused water to Victor, who had already landed with
buckets, telling him that the captain would have to bring his papers
ashore and report. The mate's report would not be taken. Thus in a
moment was transformed the friend in need to _governor of an island_.
This amused me greatly, and I sent back word to my veritable Sancho
Panza that in my many voyages to islands my mate had attended to the
customs reports; at which his Excellency chafed considerably, giving the
gunnels of his trousers a fitful tug up now and then as he paced the
beach, waiting my compliance with the rules of the island. The governor,
I perceived, was suspicious of smugglers and wreckers, apparently
understanding their ways, if, indeed, even he were not a reformed
pirate himself.
However, to humour the punctiliousness of his Excellency, now that he
was governor of an island, I placed my papers in my hat, and, leaping
into the surf, waded ashore, where I was received as by a monarch.
The document I presented was the original _Passe Especial_, the one with
the big seal on it, written in Portuguese; had it been in Choctaw the
governor would have read it with the same facility that he did this,
which he stared at knowingly and said, "all right, take all the water
you want; it is free.
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