In spite of these difficulties, during the month of November, men rammed a length of gauze down Jack's throat into his stomach and then poured water down it until his abdomen swelled up, and it felt as if gunpowder were burning inside of him, filling his guts with smoke and fire. Edmund de Ath was tied to a table and thongs tightened round various parts of his body until the skin burst under the pressure.

But Moseh went into the torture-chamber and came out half an hour later looking rather all right-fine, in fact-so unruffled, really, that it made Jack want to share some pain with him, when he sauntered over and joined Jack and Edmund de Ath under the patchy shade of the vines. "I confessed," he announced.

"To being a heretick!?"

"To having money," Moseh said.

"I didn't know that you'd been accused accused of that." of that."

"But when you are in the hands of the Holy Office you never never know. You just have to figure it out, through silent meditation, and give them the confession that they know. You just have to figure it out, through silent meditation, and give them the confession that they want want. I've been ever so slow. But finally it came to me the other day-"

"Through silent meditation?"

"No, I'm afraid it was a bit more mundane. Diego de Fonseca came to my cell and asked me for a loan."

"Hmmm-I knew he was meagerly compensated, but that he is begging from his own prisoners comes as news to me," said Edmund de Ath.

"The alguaciles alguaciles brought you straight to this prison from Acapulco-you never had to brought you straight to this prison from Acapulco-you never had to buy buy anything in Mexico City," Jack said. " anything in Mexico City," Jack said. "We came here once or twice selling quicksilver to the owners of mines. Food is cheap enough, which explains why there are so many Vagabonds in the suburbs. But the scarcity of all other goods, and the over-supply of silver, make this an expensive place to be respectable." came here once or twice selling quicksilver to the owners of mines. Food is cheap enough, which explains why there are so many Vagabonds in the suburbs. But the scarcity of all other goods, and the over-supply of silver, make this an expensive place to be respectable."

Moseh nodded. "I talked to many old Jews in New Amsterdam and Curacao who told me that in the old days the Inquisition supported itself by confiscating goods from Jews. But here in Mexico they did their job so well that they've run out of Jews-they've been reduced to stealing the occasional burro from some mestizo who took the Lord's name in vain. So finally I had what you might call a little Enlightenment of my own, and I understood what the Inquisitor really wanted. I confessed to nothing except having a lot of silver, and offered to make due penance for this crime on the morning of the auto da fe auto da fe. With that my ordeal-our ordeal-was over and done with." ordeal-was over and done with."

Mexico City DECEMBER 1701.

NOT SHOWING UP FOR AN auto da fe auto da fe was regarded as a Bad Idea everywhere in the Spanish Empire, and especially in Mexico City. Every sc.r.a.p of land in the town was owned by the Church, and the Holy Surveyors of Rome had (or so Jack phant'sied) come out here and planted Trinitarian transits on the land that had been miraculously reclaimed from Lake Texcoco and hung holy plumb-bobs made of saints' skulls and stretched cords of spun angels' hair, driven crucifixes into the ground at strategickal Vertices, and platted the land into quadrilaterals, each one b.u.t.ted snugly against the next; angels might slip through the interstices, but never Indians nor Vagabonds. These parcels had been entrusted to various religious Orders, viz. Carmelites, Jesuits, Dominicans, Augustinians, Benedictines, was regarded as a Bad Idea everywhere in the Spanish Empire, and especially in Mexico City. Every sc.r.a.p of land in the town was owned by the Church, and the Holy Surveyors of Rome had (or so Jack phant'sied) come out here and planted Trinitarian transits on the land that had been miraculously reclaimed from Lake Texcoco and hung holy plumb-bobs made of saints' skulls and stretched cords of spun angels' hair, driven crucifixes into the ground at strategickal Vertices, and platted the land into quadrilaterals, each one b.u.t.ted snugly against the next; angels might slip through the interstices, but never Indians nor Vagabonds. These parcels had been entrusted to various religious Orders, viz. Carmelites, Jesuits, Dominicans, Augustinians, Benedictines, et cetera et cetera, each of which had lost no time in erecting a high stone wall around its property-line to shield it from the intrigues and supposed heresies of the neighboring Orders. This accomplished, they had got to work filling in the middle with churches, chapels, and dormitories. The buildings sank into the soft ground almost as quickly as they were built, which made the place seem much beyond its true age of about a hundred and eighty years. At any rate there was no place to live in Mexico City that was not controlled by one Order or another, and consequently no way not to show up for an auto da fe auto da fe without its being noticed by someone who'd be apt to take it the wrong way. without its being noticed by someone who'd be apt to take it the wrong way.

In spite of-or on second thought, maybe because because of-their tendency to live cloistered behind high walls, the men and women of these diverse Orders loved nothing better than to dress up in peculiar clothing and parade through the streets of the city, bearing religious effigies or fragments of saints' anatomies. When Jack had been abroad in this city as a free man, these never-ending processions had been an absolute menace, and an impediment to commerce. Sometimes one procession would collide with another at a street-corner and monks would come to blows over which Order had precedence. An of-their tendency to live cloistered behind high walls, the men and women of these diverse Orders loved nothing better than to dress up in peculiar clothing and parade through the streets of the city, bearing religious effigies or fragments of saints' anatomies. When Jack had been abroad in this city as a free man, these never-ending processions had been an absolute menace, and an impediment to commerce. Sometimes one procession would collide with another at a street-corner and monks would come to blows over which Order had precedence. An auto da fe auto da fe was one of the few occasions significant enough to get every single nun from the city's twenty-two convents and every friar from its twenty-nine monasteries all processing at one time, in more or less the same direction. So all of them were present. was one of the few occasions significant enough to get every single nun from the city's twenty-two convents and every friar from its twenty-nine monasteries all processing at one time, in more or less the same direction. So all of them were present.

Of course Vagabonds always found a way to exist. Around here they seemed to dwell outside the walls, which was where important people liked them to stay. Not ten years earlier, they had gathered in the zocalo zocalo in sufficient numbers to burn the Viceroy's palace down. Since that event, Count Montezuma had tended to get a little jumpy whenever rabble gathered near his dwelling in large numbers; his rebuilt palace had high walls with plenty of loop-holes for broadcasting grapeshot into any inconvenient crowds. The Vagabonds, in sufficient numbers to burn the Viceroy's palace down. Since that event, Count Montezuma had tended to get a little jumpy whenever rabble gathered near his dwelling in large numbers; his rebuilt palace had high walls with plenty of loop-holes for broadcasting grapeshot into any inconvenient crowds. The Vagabonds, criollos, criollos, the mountain-dwelling Indian the mountain-dwelling Indian peons, peons, the the desperadoes desperadoes from the mining-country up north, these were only permitted to gather in the City on certain occasions, and an from the mining-country up north, these were only permitted to gather in the City on certain occasions, and an auto da fe auto da fe was one of them. Of course they had no formal place in the procession of processions that wound its way through the streets to the was one of them. Of course they had no formal place in the procession of processions that wound its way through the streets to the zocalo zocalo, but cheerfully insinuated themselves among and between the nuns and monks, the three-or four-hundred-strong staff of the Cathedral, the asesors, fiscals, alquaciles, asesors, fiscals, alquaciles, and and familiares familiares of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, and diverse priests, friars, nuns, of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, and diverse priests, friars, nuns, oidors oidors, and fiscals fiscals who happened to be pa.s.sing through en route to or from Manila or Lima. Despite the now well-known fact that the new French King of Spain had snubbed the who happened to be pa.s.sing through en route to or from Manila or Lima. Despite the now well-known fact that the new French King of Spain had snubbed the auto da fe auto da fe of Madrid, all of the King's representatives in Mexico City turned out: the Viceroy and all his household and courtiers, the various ranks and hierarchies of civil servants, the officers of foot and of horse in their ostrich plumes and polished helmets, and as many of the garrison's soldiers as could be spared from guarding the five gates and innumerable walls of this City. of Madrid, all of the King's representatives in Mexico City turned out: the Viceroy and all his household and courtiers, the various ranks and hierarchies of civil servants, the officers of foot and of horse in their ostrich plumes and polished helmets, and as many of the garrison's soldiers as could be spared from guarding the five gates and innumerable walls of this City.

Jack and Moseh had made it their business to know about the men who ran the Mint, and so as they and the other prisoners were marched out into the zocalo zocalo and made to stand in ranks before the grandstands that had been erected there, Jack was able to pick them out easily. The and made to stand in ranks before the grandstands that had been erected there, Jack was able to pick them out easily. The Apartador, Apartador, the head of the Mint, was a Spanish count who had bought the office from the previous King for a hundred thousand pieces of eight, which was a bargain. He was there with his wife and daughter, all wearing the finest clothing Jack had seen since his last trip to Shahjahanabad (Jack, as a king, had been obliged to show up for the annual ceremony at which the Great Mogul sat crosslegged on one pan of an enormous scale, and silver and gold were heaped up on the opposite pan by his diverse the head of the Mint, was a Spanish count who had bought the office from the previous King for a hundred thousand pieces of eight, which was a bargain. He was there with his wife and daughter, all wearing the finest clothing Jack had seen since his last trip to Shahjahanabad (Jack, as a king, had been obliged to show up for the annual ceremony at which the Great Mogul sat crosslegged on one pan of an enormous scale, and silver and gold were heaped up on the opposite pan by his diverse omerahs, omerahs, king, courtiers, and foreign emissaries until the jewel-covered crossbar finally went into motion and became level, leaving the Mogul suspended on his pan, balanced by his annual revenue, and modestly accepting the applause and gun-salutes of his subjects; on that occasion, Jack had done his part by heaving a big sack of coins onto the pan-taxes collected by Surendranath in the few wretched bazaars of Jack's domain-at least half of which had been pieces of eight minted decades earlier under the direction of some predecessor of this Count who was now peering down at Jack from the highest bench of the grandstand). Arrayed below him and his family were those Treasurers not currently on duty (Moseh had estimated these earned fifty to sixty thousand pieces of eight annually), the a.s.sayers and Founders (some fifteen thousand annually), and farther down, in humble but still very good clothing, a plethora of Cutters, Clerks, Under-clerks, king, courtiers, and foreign emissaries until the jewel-covered crossbar finally went into motion and became level, leaving the Mogul suspended on his pan, balanced by his annual revenue, and modestly accepting the applause and gun-salutes of his subjects; on that occasion, Jack had done his part by heaving a big sack of coins onto the pan-taxes collected by Surendranath in the few wretched bazaars of Jack's domain-at least half of which had been pieces of eight minted decades earlier under the direction of some predecessor of this Count who was now peering down at Jack from the highest bench of the grandstand). Arrayed below him and his family were those Treasurers not currently on duty (Moseh had estimated these earned fifty to sixty thousand pieces of eight annually), the a.s.sayers and Founders (some fifteen thousand annually), and farther down, in humble but still very good clothing, a plethora of Cutters, Clerks, Under-clerks, Alcaldes, Alcaldes, and various ranks of Guards; close to the very bottom, numerous Foremen and and various ranks of Guards; close to the very bottom, numerous Foremen and Brazajereros Brazajereros who stoked the fires, and finally the brawny young who stoked the fires, and finally the brawny young criollo criollo men who actually struck metal with metal and turned disks of silver into pieces of eight: the Coiners. men who actually struck metal with metal and turned disks of silver into pieces of eight: the Coiners.

Seated near all of the Mint people were the three merchants who supplied them with most of their business. Technically any miner who came into the city with silver could have it minted, but in practice most miners sold their pigs to these few merchants who had made it their business to act as middle-men, and make sure that the Minters were duly wined, dined, coddled, and bribed at all times. They were not easy to pick out in the midst of their enormous and well-dressed families, but finally Jack caught sight of one of them looking right back at him through a spygla.s.s. The fellow recognized Jack in the same instant, took the gla.s.s away from his eye, and made a remark to a younger man seated next to him. For to the churchmen of Mexico City, Jack and Moseh and Edmund de Ath might be foreign hereticks, but to anyone connected to the Mint they were the men who had the quicksilver, and who could modulate the flow of pieces of eight by putting more or less of it on the market.

They did not look the part of quicksilver magnates today. All three of them were wearing dunce-caps, and large sack-like yellow over-garments with giant red Xs on them, called sanbenitos. sanbenitos. If these had been decorated with pictures of angels, devils, and flames, it would have signified that their wearers were to be burnt at the stake outside the city gates at the end of the day. The red X, on the other hand, meant only that the wearer was a Blasphemer in Recovery who would have to wear this garment whenever he ventured out of doors for the next several years. Jack had never been the sort to care about clothing, but he knew that the decorations he wore today were of high import not only to himself but to everyone connected with the Mint-which meant everyone in Mexico City, except for the hapless Inquisition, which was run out of Rome and had no way to dip its fingers into the running river of silver except by arresting and shaking down the likes of Jack and Moseh. At any rate, the fact that he and his comrades were wearing red Xs was probably influencing a market somewhere even at this very moment. And given that all news eventually reached Amsterdam, Jack now devoted half an hour or so to a little phant'sy about a blue-eyed woman sitting in a coffee-house along the Damplatz, hearing this bit of news, and connecting it to a certain Vagabond she had run around with when she was young. If these had been decorated with pictures of angels, devils, and flames, it would have signified that their wearers were to be burnt at the stake outside the city gates at the end of the day. The red X, on the other hand, meant only that the wearer was a Blasphemer in Recovery who would have to wear this garment whenever he ventured out of doors for the next several years. Jack had never been the sort to care about clothing, but he knew that the decorations he wore today were of high import not only to himself but to everyone connected with the Mint-which meant everyone in Mexico City, except for the hapless Inquisition, which was run out of Rome and had no way to dip its fingers into the running river of silver except by arresting and shaking down the likes of Jack and Moseh. At any rate, the fact that he and his comrades were wearing red Xs was probably influencing a market somewhere even at this very moment. And given that all news eventually reached Amsterdam, Jack now devoted half an hour or so to a little phant'sy about a blue-eyed woman sitting in a coffee-house along the Damplatz, hearing this bit of news, and connecting it to a certain Vagabond she had run around with when she was young.

He knew that his sons must be somewhere inside the city, or else his sanbenito sanbenito would be decorated with pictures of flames. It took a full hour for his eyes to find them, which was not so terribly long since the would be decorated with pictures of flames. It took a full hour for his eyes to find them, which was not so terribly long since the auto da fe auto da fe was an all-day event. The stands filled one end of the was an all-day event. The stands filled one end of the zocalo zocalo (they had been a-building for two months) and everyone in them was gleaming and glorious to some degree, whether it was the Archbishop who reigned over the ceremony from the highest and most central altar, or the coiners' wives in their best dresses. But there was an undeniable tendency for the costumes to become more drab as they got farther from the Archbishop, so the transition to the common folk standing on the pavement in their undyed homespun stuff was almost seamless. Beyond that point they only got plainer and browner as they spread around the edges of the (they had been a-building for two months) and everyone in them was gleaming and glorious to some degree, whether it was the Archbishop who reigned over the ceremony from the highest and most central altar, or the coiners' wives in their best dresses. But there was an undeniable tendency for the costumes to become more drab as they got farther from the Archbishop, so the transition to the common folk standing on the pavement in their undyed homespun stuff was almost seamless. Beyond that point they only got plainer and browner as they spread around the edges of the zocalo, zocalo, to the point where they almost faded away into the rough-hewn stone walls. In such a place Jack finally saw three men, two brown and one black, holding the reins of some burros. Their faces were shaded under the vast brims of their to the point where they almost faded away into the rough-hewn stone walls. In such a place Jack finally saw three men, two brown and one black, holding the reins of some burros. Their faces were shaded under the vast brims of their sombreros sombreros. But Jack could have recognized them from the burros alone. Those animals were still crusted with the yellow dust of the high country and the sweat of traveling through it, and each of them had smallish saddlebags sewn of the heaviest ox-hide and scored in countless places from brushes with cactus-thorns. Those were the saddlebags used to bring silver down to the mints. This morning they were hanging limp on the burros' flanks. Their contents had been transferred to the vaults of the Inquisition, where they rested safe among piles of doc.u.ments listing every heresy that had ever been committed or imagined in the New World.

The ceremony was all in Latin. Sunstroke probably would have slain them all if it hadn't been December. About four hours into it, Jack noticed that Moseh was humming to himself, which was the one thing Jack would never have expected. He was tempted to bend his head close to Moseh's, but given that he was wearing a dunce-cap three feet high, the movement would have been about as subtle as dancing a tarantella on the Lord's Table. So he stood straight, along with everyone else in Mexico. To his other side Edmund de Ath was muttering some Latin phrases of his own, but rather than closing his eyes and bowing his head, he seemed to be staring straight forward into a phalanx of wealthy nuns seated below and to the left hand of the Archbishop. Jack had nothing but time, and so he looked at each nun in turn until finally he recognized Elizabeth de Obregon staring right back at him.

The auto da fe auto da fe continued there until shortly after sundown and then devolved: the nuns and monks marched away in color-coded processions and the poor people staged a bread-riot. Which seemed like an interesting story, but Jack wanted no part of it. He and Moseh and Edmund de Ath made rendezvous with Jimmy and Danny and Tomba, and out of the city they went. continued there until shortly after sundown and then devolved: the nuns and monks marched away in color-coded processions and the poor people staged a bread-riot. Which seemed like an interesting story, but Jack wanted no part of it. He and Moseh and Edmund de Ath made rendezvous with Jimmy and Danny and Tomba, and out of the city they went.

When finally it was safe to talk out loud, Jack said to Moseh, "Never was a Jew so happy during an auto da fe auto da fe-have you been chewing those Peruvian Peruvian leaves that the Spaniards are so fond of?" leaves that the Spaniards are so fond of?"

"No, I was watching the sun swing low over the mountains and pondering matters astrologickal astrologickal. First: This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Northern Hemisphere and the longest in the Hemisphere and the longest in the Southern, Southern, which is good for us at both ends. which is good for us at both ends. Here Here it made the ceremonies an hour or two shorter than they might have been, and much cooler. Down it made the ceremonies an hour or two shorter than they might have been, and much cooler. Down Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego way, the weather's as balmy as it ever gets, and the days exceptionally long. If van Hoek knows what he's doing-which I think he does-he'll be venturing into the Straits of Magellan about now. Which brings me to my Second observation, namely: a new year is about to begin. It is the second year of the Eighteenth Century, and van Hoek will celebrate it (G.o.d Willing) by rounding Cape Horn, and I will celebrate it by trading this cursed way, the weather's as balmy as it ever gets, and the days exceptionally long. If van Hoek knows what he's doing-which I think he does-he'll be venturing into the Straits of Magellan about now. Which brings me to my Second observation, namely: a new year is about to begin. It is the second year of the Eighteenth Century, and van Hoek will celebrate it (G.o.d Willing) by rounding Cape Horn, and I will celebrate it by trading this cursed sanbenito sanbenito for a for a poncho poncho and this dunce-cap for a and this dunce-cap for a sombrero sombrero and riding north, beyond the reach of the Inquisition. It is the Century of the Enlightenment-I can feel it!" and riding north, beyond the reach of the Inquisition. It is the Century of the Enlightenment-I can feel it!"

"You have have been chewing leaves from Peru," Jack concluded. been chewing leaves from Peru," Jack concluded.

THAT NIGHT THEY LODGED at an inn where they had to suspend their boots and stirrups from the ceiling in order to prevent them from being carried away and eaten by rats. They paid an outrageous price and departed before dawn, and after getting clear of certain foetid suburbs where Vagabonds dwelt, they began the first leg of their journey north: traveling through the high Valley of Mexico. This was quite a bit more interesting to Edmund de Ath than to the others, who had seen it before. The Belgian was silent as they trudged over marshy plains gouged with the remains of failed flood-control projects, and splotched here and there with weirdly colored mineral springs. From cocoa and vanilla plantations rose gaudy churches and monasteries thrown up by Spaniards who had made ludicrous amounts of money, and in some cases half torn down by the thieves and Vagabonds who infested this country far in excess of Europe. at an inn where they had to suspend their boots and stirrups from the ceiling in order to prevent them from being carried away and eaten by rats. They paid an outrageous price and departed before dawn, and after getting clear of certain foetid suburbs where Vagabonds dwelt, they began the first leg of their journey north: traveling through the high Valley of Mexico. This was quite a bit more interesting to Edmund de Ath than to the others, who had seen it before. The Belgian was silent as they trudged over marshy plains gouged with the remains of failed flood-control projects, and splotched here and there with weirdly colored mineral springs. From cocoa and vanilla plantations rose gaudy churches and monasteries thrown up by Spaniards who had made ludicrous amounts of money, and in some cases half torn down by the thieves and Vagabonds who infested this country far in excess of Europe.

Moseh's ineffable Leadership Qualities had caused a whole retinue of sanbenito sanbenito-and-dunce-cap-wearing crypto-Jews to fall in step behind them. They paraded through inexplicable concentrations of Negroes and Filipinos and over foamy puddles of congealed lava, past sugar-works smoking and steaming. At riverbanks they struck complicated bargains with Indians, naked except for loincloths and lines of tattooed dots on their faces, and were towed across on balsas balsas made of planks lashed across bundles of air-filled calabashes, while other Indians back-carried the burros across fords. They steered clear of settlements or else rode through them as directly as possible, for now that they were out of the city, most of the townspeople were made of planks lashed across bundles of air-filled calabashes, while other Indians back-carried the burros across fords. They steered clear of settlements or else rode through them as directly as possible, for now that they were out of the city, most of the townspeople were criollos criollos (mixed-blood, born here) who bore a mad hostility towards Europeans. They'd have drawn much unwanted attention, and (mixed-blood, born here) who bore a mad hostility towards Europeans. They'd have drawn much unwanted attention, and criollo criollo boys would have been darting out and chucking stones at them, even if they boys would have been darting out and chucking stones at them, even if they hadn't hadn't been wearing been wearing sanbenitos sanbenitos.

All in all it seemed advisable to get clear of settled areas as quickly as possible, so Jack, Moseh, Jimmy, Danny, and Tomba payed very little attention to all of the Roadside Attractions that so fascinated Edmund de Ath, and bent all efforts to putting miles between them and the City. Only food was worth slowing down for, as when a miniature deer appeared at the edge of a copse or they happened upon a large tree whose branches were crowded with turkeys. Then sudden loud noises, clouds of smoke, and roadside butchery.

"Your ransom cost us a fortune," Danny remarked, "but as luck would have it, we have several several."

"Have you been making new deals during our absence," Moseh said nervously, "or only making deliveries on the old?"

"We sold all the mercury for sixpence a ton," Jimmy answered sharply, "and spent that on whiskey and prost.i.tutes."

Silence, then, for a mile or two. Then Moseh tried again, patiently: "As I am still part owner of the quicksilver, I am ent.i.tled to know how much has been delivered, delivered, how much how much committed, committed, and how much and how much held back. held back."

"Before we we came on the scene, the King of Spain's men were gouging the mine-owners to the tune of three hundred pieces of eight per hundred-weight of quicksilver," Danny reminded him, "and when we began selling it for came on the scene, the King of Spain's men were gouging the mine-owners to the tune of three hundred pieces of eight per hundred-weight of quicksilver," Danny reminded him, "and when we began selling it for two two hundred, the Spaniards dropped the price to hundred, the Spaniards dropped the price to one one hundred, which is nearer its natural market-price. At the time you and Dad were arrested by that Inquisition, we were takin' a breather from sellin' of it, waitin' for the price to stiffen up a bit." hundred, which is nearer its natural market-price. At the time you and Dad were arrested by that Inquisition, we were takin' a breather from sellin' of it, waitin' for the price to stiffen up a bit."

Jimmy continued, "When Danny and Tomba and I came back from the Cape of Currents with a mule-train of quicksilver, and learned you'd been arrested, the price was still no higher than a hundred twenty-five, and so we contented ourselves making good on the deliveries you'd arranged, Moseh, and hidin' the proceeds in various locations 'tween here and Vera Cruz. But lately we've had nothin' to occupy ourselves, and the price has crept up to one-sixty-"

"Near two hundred in Zacatecas," Tomba put in.

"And so we've been strikin' some deals of our own, if that's all right with you."

"It is perfect," Moseh said. Three sombreros sombreros swiveled in his direction, looking for sarcasm, but Moseh was sincere: "Without delay, I want to liquidate my a.s.sets." swiveled in his direction, looking for sarcasm, but Moseh was sincere: "Without delay, I want to liquidate my a.s.sets."

"Or since we are speaking of quicksilver, solidify solidify 'em," Jack said. 'em," Jack said.

"Very well, I want to take my share of the Plan, in the form of silver, or better yet gold, and strike out for the north with them. them." He looked back over his shoulder at the crowd of red Xs shuffling along in their wake. "Lately these Spaniards have conquered a new territory up beyond the p.i.s.sant ditch known as the Rio Grande, which they style New Mexico New Mexico. It can't possibly be worse than Old Old. Word has it that six hundred cavalry are garrisoned in that territory, and each one is paid five hundred pieces of eight a year, but most of that ends up in the coffers of the governor, who sells those soldiers food and other necessaries at outrageous prices. That is upwards of three hundred thousand pieces of eight a year! I am going to go up and sell them victuals at a fair price, and while I'm at it, I'm going to convert every Indian I see to Judaism."

"Er, if half of what they say of those Comanches is true," said Danny, "'tweren't wise to go up to 'em and prate about religion religion."

"Or any any subject," said Tomba. subject," said Tomba.

"Truth be told, 'tweren't wise to go up to 'em at all, all," said Jimmy.

"That is enough!" Jack said. "Moseh has cashed out of one Plan to invest in another, and naturally the new one needs a little refinement...he'll have plenty of time to make improvements on the ride north."

AFTER A FEW DAYS they rode up out of the Valley and into mountains that were much less inhabited. Other than pockets of wretched Indians who'd been chased up out of the lowlands by the Spaniards, the only folk who lived up here were miners. The mines were old, deep, and famous, and surrounded by adobe houses and churches. Most of the workers were forced labor, and most were Indians. In many ways the landscape was like that of the Harz Mountains, with schlock-heaps all over the place, and large outdoor furnaces where the ore was refined, and mounds of earth in long rows where quicksilver was being used to extract silver from lower-grade ore. To Jack it was a toss-up as to whether the Harz with its icy wind and leaden skies was a bleaker landscape than this sunburnt place where nothing grew except cactus. Moseh's ruminations were bleaker yet: "They've been turning the land inside out for almost two hundred years, and here are the bones and guts strewn about...I'm reminded of the Expulsion in 1492. Spanish Jews fled to Portugal. They rode down roads strewn with the bodies of the ones who'd gone before them-friends and relatives who'd been waylaid by bandits and eviscerated, on a rumor that they swallowed gold and diamonds to smuggle them out of the country. These Spaniards are giving a like treatment to this country, and getting the Indians who used to own it to do the dirty work for them." they rode up out of the Valley and into mountains that were much less inhabited. Other than pockets of wretched Indians who'd been chased up out of the lowlands by the Spaniards, the only folk who lived up here were miners. The mines were old, deep, and famous, and surrounded by adobe houses and churches. Most of the workers were forced labor, and most were Indians. In many ways the landscape was like that of the Harz Mountains, with schlock-heaps all over the place, and large outdoor furnaces where the ore was refined, and mounds of earth in long rows where quicksilver was being used to extract silver from lower-grade ore. To Jack it was a toss-up as to whether the Harz with its icy wind and leaden skies was a bleaker landscape than this sunburnt place where nothing grew except cactus. Moseh's ruminations were bleaker yet: "They've been turning the land inside out for almost two hundred years, and here are the bones and guts strewn about...I'm reminded of the Expulsion in 1492. Spanish Jews fled to Portugal. They rode down roads strewn with the bodies of the ones who'd gone before them-friends and relatives who'd been waylaid by bandits and eviscerated, on a rumor that they swallowed gold and diamonds to smuggle them out of the country. These Spaniards are giving a like treatment to this country, and getting the Indians who used to own it to do the dirty work for them."

"The coca coca has worn off, I see-this might be a good time to think harder about your new Plan," said Jack. has worn off, I see-this might be a good time to think harder about your new Plan," said Jack.

As they worked north into Guanajuato, the mines became newer, shallower, more slapdash-typically these were owned by individual prospectors. More and more, the workers were free men. But this country had been settled long enough that some towns had been built, churches erected, and families moved in. It was in one of those towns-which a generation earlier had marked the absolute northern boundary of civilization-that they paused for a day to make a grand reckoning.

Starting from that night in the Gulf of Cadiz when they'd sacked the ex-Viceroy's treasure-brig, Moseh had kept, in his mind, a ledger-book of all that the Cabal had gained and lost. At certain times, as when they'd fallen into the hands of Queen Kottakkal, whole pages had been torn out and thrown away. Some of the Cabal had died, others had joined in late, some had taken their shares out in intangibles, such as Gabriel Goto, who only wanted to see j.a.pan. Some of the Cabal's value was in Minerva, Minerva, which, G.o.d willing, would continue generating revenues, other was in the quicksilver-h.o.a.rd that they'd brought across the Pacific. This had been split into two batches, one for New Spain and one for Peru; the former had already been liquidated, the latter might have been sold for greater or lesser amounts of money that, now, might or might not be on the bottom of the Straits of Magellan. Whatever the current Bottom Line might be, part was owed to Queen Kottakkal and part to Electress Sophie of Hanover. But Moseh worked through all of these complications, committing it to paper so that Jack could show it to van Hoek later, and patiently explaining the difficult bits until Jack agreed. which, G.o.d willing, would continue generating revenues, other was in the quicksilver-h.o.a.rd that they'd brought across the Pacific. This had been split into two batches, one for New Spain and one for Peru; the former had already been liquidated, the latter might have been sold for greater or lesser amounts of money that, now, might or might not be on the bottom of the Straits of Magellan. Whatever the current Bottom Line might be, part was owed to Queen Kottakkal and part to Electress Sophie of Hanover. But Moseh worked through all of these complications, committing it to paper so that Jack could show it to van Hoek later, and patiently explaining the difficult bits until Jack agreed.

This reckoning stretched over three days, and in the end Moseh was reduced to bringing in a sack of dried beans and making piles of them on the table, shoving them from place to place to demonstrate to Jack where the money had gone. A great many beans ended up on the floor, representing what they'd simply lost lost. But when Moseh was finished, an impressive pile of beans still remained on the table, and when Moseh told him that each bean amounted to a hundred pieces of eight, Jack had to admit that the Plan Moseh had proposed to him long ago in Algiers had been a pretty good one after all.

Jimmy and Danny and Tomba meanwhile ventured out into certain desolate places and recovered enough silver pigs to pay Moseh what was due him. Lacking banks, they had deposited their a.s.sets in holes in the ground, carefully hidden.

On the fifth of January 1702, then, Moseh and a score of others donned their sanbenitos sanbenitos and dunce-caps and formed a mule-train on the edge of this little adobe town, and set out for New Mexico. Jack rode with them until they were well out of sight of the bell-tower beside the town's church. There, every man except Jack stripped off his and dunce-caps and formed a mule-train on the edge of this little adobe town, and set out for New Mexico. Jack rode with them until they were well out of sight of the bell-tower beside the town's church. There, every man except Jack stripped off his sanbenito sanbenito and his cap, and they made a bonfire of them by the roadside. Jack shook every man's hand, but he embraced Moseh, and with tears washing the dust from his face, issued several ludicrous promises, e.g., that after he'd bought himself an earldom in England he'd come out to New Mexico for a social call. The parting lasted for a long time, which only made it worse when Moseh finally climbed astride his mule and hauled on one rein and got it pointed north. Jack stood there for an hour or so, making sure the and his cap, and they made a bonfire of them by the roadside. Jack shook every man's hand, but he embraced Moseh, and with tears washing the dust from his face, issued several ludicrous promises, e.g., that after he'd bought himself an earldom in England he'd come out to New Mexico for a social call. The parting lasted for a long time, which only made it worse when Moseh finally climbed astride his mule and hauled on one rein and got it pointed north. Jack stood there for an hour or so, making sure the sanbenitos sanbenitos were thoroughly burnt to ashes, and watching the dust-trail of the mule-train swirl up into a blue sky: ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and... were thoroughly burnt to ashes, and watching the dust-trail of the mule-train swirl up into a blue sky: ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and...

"Quicksilver to silver," he said, turning towards the town. "Then Jack to London."

"AS FAR AS I I CAN DISCERN, CAN DISCERN, all that remains here is to collect the final remnants of what was cached around Cabo Corrientes, make certain deliveries, and get the pigs down to Vera Cruz, where we'll await all that remains here is to collect the final remnants of what was cached around Cabo Corrientes, make certain deliveries, and get the pigs down to Vera Cruz, where we'll await Minerva, Minerva," said Edmund de Ath that evening, as they sat in front of the cantina cantina availing themselves of the liquor of the availing themselves of the liquor of the maguey maguey.

"It is not so easy as you make it sound," Jimmy growled.

"On the contrary, I think it is much too difficult for a man of my limited capacities," said de Ath. "Here, I'll be an impediment. In Vera Cruz, on the other hand, there is much I could be doing to smooth the way for us, when Minerva, Minerva, G.o.d willing, arrives." G.o.d willing, arrives."

"Get thee to Vera Cruz, then," Jack suggested.

"I am interested to see the place," said de Ath. "Properly it is called New New Vera Cruz. The old city was burnt to the ground, almost twenty years ago, by the notorious and terrible outlaw called El Desamparado..." Vera Cruz. The old city was burnt to the ground, almost twenty years ago, by the notorious and terrible outlaw called El Desamparado..."

"I have already heard the story," Jack said.

WINDING UPMINERVA'S affairs in New Spain took several months. Jack, Jimmy, Danny, and Tomba moved north to a frontier town in Zacatecas where no one cared if Jack failed to wear his affairs in New Spain took several months. Jack, Jimmy, Danny, and Tomba moved north to a frontier town in Zacatecas where no one cared if Jack failed to wear his sanbenito sanbenito-or if they did, they were too scared to say anything, because this was a town of desperadoes, desperadoes, and every man went armed all the time. When Jack had lived in Europe, he had enjoyed and even profited from being a and every man went armed all the time. When Jack had lived in Europe, he had enjoyed and even profited from being a picaroon picaroon in a world of Lords, Ladies, and Chamber of Commerce members. But he found living in a whole in a world of Lords, Ladies, and Chamber of Commerce members. But he found living in a whole society society of picaroons to be tiresome if not downright dangerous. So he did not linger in that border-town long, but went west over the Sierra Madre Occidental with a mule-train to recover the last of the goods they'd cached around Cabo Corrientes: a ton of quicksilver, and all of van Hoek's books-which he had left in the mountains so that they would not be seized and burnt by the Inquisition when of picaroons to be tiresome if not downright dangerous. So he did not linger in that border-town long, but went west over the Sierra Madre Occidental with a mule-train to recover the last of the goods they'd cached around Cabo Corrientes: a ton of quicksilver, and all of van Hoek's books-which he had left in the mountains so that they would not be seized and burnt by the Inquisition when Minerva Minerva called at Acapulco or Lima. called at Acapulco or Lima.

The trip back to Zacatecas was exceptionally dangerous because no fewer than three groups of desperadoes desperadoes were waiting to waylay them in the pa.s.ses. But Jimmy and Danny, as the result of their journey halfway around the world, and their exploits with the warrior-caste of Malabar, had become expert in travel through hostile mountains. And Tomba, a man who'd escaped from a sugar-plantation in Jamaica and covered a lot of ground since then, in places that were not friendly to black Vagabonds, had developed a kind of guile and subtility that Jack thought of as Oriental. There was nothing he could tell those three boys except to remind 'em, now and then, that this was not Hindoostan, and so they were only allotted one life apiece. This was cheerfully ignored, or else taken as proof that, at the age of forty-one, Jack had become a fretful old man, and toothless in more than one way. were waiting to waylay them in the pa.s.ses. But Jimmy and Danny, as the result of their journey halfway around the world, and their exploits with the warrior-caste of Malabar, had become expert in travel through hostile mountains. And Tomba, a man who'd escaped from a sugar-plantation in Jamaica and covered a lot of ground since then, in places that were not friendly to black Vagabonds, had developed a kind of guile and subtility that Jack thought of as Oriental. There was nothing he could tell those three boys except to remind 'em, now and then, that this was not Hindoostan, and so they were only allotted one life apiece. This was cheerfully ignored, or else taken as proof that, at the age of forty-one, Jack had become a fretful old man, and toothless in more than one way.

Their trail back over the mountains was traced out by several set-piece battles in which the brigands found their ambushes ambushed, and many a desperado desperado's head was struck off by a ringing katana katana. They came back to discover that they were developing a legend, which Jack had come to believe was a good thing to leave behind leave behind but a bad thing to but a bad thing to have have.

A letter was waiting in the saloon that they used as their headquarters; the innkeeper said it had been brought up from the south by a courier, and that it was addressed to either Moseh or Jack. Since Moseh and Edmund had gone away, the only person in this town capable of reading it was the parish priest. But the priest would turn Jack in to the Inquisition if Jack revealed his ident.i.ty, for Jack hadn't been wearing his sanbenito sanbenito or attending Ma.s.s. Jack tossed the letter for safe-keeping into the caulked trunk that contained van Hoek's books, and re-sealed it. or attending Ma.s.s. Jack tossed the letter for safe-keeping into the caulked trunk that contained van Hoek's books, and re-sealed it.

Now their a.s.sets consisted of a ton of quicksilver (which needed to be delivered to various mine-heads and exchanged for pigs of silver) and several tons of pigs distributed among a dozen buried caches. All of it had to be moved to Vera Cruz. Yet it would be folly to concentrate it in one gigantic wagon-train, and so the caches had to be dug up and moved one at a time, leap-frogging one another as they converged on Vera Cruz. It was a complicated business that really demanded the skills of a Moseh or a Vrej Esphahnian, and it sorely taxed Jack, who preferred things simpler. More than once he woke up in the middle of the night wondering whether they'd left a cache behind in the mountains.

The one or two broad simple concerns of Jack's early life, like the light and dark portions of a wootz wootz-ingot, had been hammered out and folded over, hammered out and folded over, so many times that they had become involved and inter-tangled into a swirl of swirls, something too intricate to follow, or to be given the name of "pattern" or "design." It registered on the mind as a blunt impression that could be talked about only by smearing it into some gray word like "complicated." But he would tell Jimmy and Danny and Tomba that it was complicated, and they would not have the faintest understanding of what he meant. Jack could only pray that its complexity gave it the strength and keenness of a watered-steel blade. Much later he might be able to discern whether there was beauty in it, too.

For a month it did not seem as if the goods were making progress at all, but then Jack could no longer deny that they were spending less time in high deserts and more on roads. In moving the silver they spent spent part of it but part of it but lost lost none. This seemed implausible to Jack until he considered how wretched was their opposition. They hadn't gone most of the way around the world without acquiring a certain kind of wisdom, and if having silver made them a target, it also gave them the option to buy their way out of certain problems. Really the only persons Jack was afraid of were the Indians who controlled the river-crossings; these had a distant look in their eyes that somehow reminded Jack of Gabriel Goto when he reminisced about j.a.pan. Their treatment by the Spaniards had left them with nothing to lose. Attempted bribery only made them angrier. none. This seemed implausible to Jack until he considered how wretched was their opposition. They hadn't gone most of the way around the world without acquiring a certain kind of wisdom, and if having silver made them a target, it also gave them the option to buy their way out of certain problems. Really the only persons Jack was afraid of were the Indians who controlled the river-crossings; these had a distant look in their eyes that somehow reminded Jack of Gabriel Goto when he reminisced about j.a.pan. Their treatment by the Spaniards had left them with nothing to lose. Attempted bribery only made them angrier.

But by the end of April all of their silver was cached in eight different holes in the ground within half a day's journey of Vera Cruz, and Jack, Danny, Jimmy, and Tomba were ensconced in a house that Edmund de Ath had rented out there, waiting.

"WHERE ARE MY d.a.m.nED BOOKS?" demanded Otto van Hoek, bending over demanded Otto van Hoek, bending over Minerva Minerva's rail to peer down into the bark.

"They tumbled into a river only a few miles short of Vera Cruz," Jack said nonchalantly, "so I'd estimate they are bobbing in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere-didn't you spy 'em on your way in?"

These were all the words they could exchange before they were drowned out by cheering and jeering from Minerva Minerva's sailors, who had all come abovedecks to watch the bark approach and to see how many of the "dry" group had survived the year and a half in New Spain. They seemed generally happy and surprised, which Jack looked on as indicating that no one in the "wet" contingent had ever expected to see a live Shaftoe again. For his part Jack felt almost like a mother hen counting her chicks as he recognized one familiar face after another, and only a few new ones. Minerva Minerva herself had never looked better. Jack guessed from this that they'd made a good profit in Peru and that any damages suffered rounding Cape Horn had already been made good in some Caribbean port. If so, it showed excellent foresight on van Hoek's part, because Vera Cruz was both wretched and expensive, and, in sum, probably the most unfavorable place imaginable to fit out a ship for the Atlantic crossing. herself had never looked better. Jack guessed from this that they'd made a good profit in Peru and that any damages suffered rounding Cape Horn had already been made good in some Caribbean port. If so, it showed excellent foresight on van Hoek's part, because Vera Cruz was both wretched and expensive, and, in sum, probably the most unfavorable place imaginable to fit out a ship for the Atlantic crossing.

"Let us load her up and be done with New Spain," Jack said when he had climbed aboard and been duly pounded on the back or embraced by every member of the complement. "Also, I would like to carry on Jeronimo's tradition, as long as we are here..."

"Which tradition is that?" asked Vrej Esphahnian, looking every inch the successful merchant.

"That of burning down Vera Cruz at every opportunity."

"We'll be several months sieving the Gulf for the Captain's books," said Dappa when laughter had died down. He was the only man aboard who had not aged several years, and he still had more teeth in his head than any four sailors.

"I was only jesting. We've the books, and a letter as well," Jack said.

"A letter from whom?" asked Vrej.

"I've no idea," Jack returned. "Edmund de Ath might have read it to me, I suppose, but..."

"You don't trust him! That is very wise," said van Hoek.

"On the contrary-in the Prison of the Inquisition I had no choice but to trust him with my life, and he extended me the same consideration. He is odd, but harmless."

"Then why didn't you have him read the letter?"

"Because I know you you will will never never trust him." trust him."

"Is he still in Vera Cruz?" Vrej inquired.

"As you have probably learned, the Spanish treasure-fleet is ma.s.sing in Havana Bay, getting ready to bring thirty million pieces of eight to Cadiz," Jack said. "Several galleons weighed anchor in this harbor four days ago, and went thither to join that Fleet. Edmund de Ath took pa.s.sage on one of those ships-I've already paid him his commission as cargador. cargador."

"Notwithstanding your affection for the man-" Dappa began.

"I didn't say say anything about anything about affection, affection," Jack said.

"Very well-I'm happy he will be going home on some other ship."

"We have no time to waste," van Hoek said. "If we can embark at the same time as the Treasure-Fleet, we'll have a much easier voyage. Every pirate in the Caribbean will be hunting for Spanish galleons."

"Yes, they will, won't they?" Jack mused.

"We will be looked on as a Dutch privateer," van Hoek predicted.

"Or a heavily armed sugar-barge headed back to London or Amsterdam," Dappa put in.

"In any event, no boca-neer in his right mind will trifle with us us when thirty million pieces of eight are afloat in the same waters." when thirty million pieces of eight are afloat in the same waters."