i think today will be the day, my friends. we've been in the inshore currents since yesterday. three crowns to the first one to sight the coast. god preserve us all. someone speaks from under a crude canvas shelter.
don't worry, there'll be food for all ashore. africa's full of meat and drink.
how many made it?
two parties of ten men each.  one to the north and one to the south.  bring back what you can.  game, fruit, anything.  and send someone back as soon as you find fresh water. any trouble, discharge three shots.
have the carpenter start immediately on a cross, a big one.  father diogo wants a place of worship by this time tomorrow. we'll look for a spot later. we've all got a lot of praying to do. and where's dias.  tell him i want to see him.
you men are deserters. you will die tomorrow. he speaks again to the sailor.
chain them on the raft for tonight, and watch them.  francisco steps forward, outraged.
do you think so?
you're right.  but then how can we punish them? we can't lock them up.
oh dear.  dom paulo turns to the priest.
what do you think, father? the priest throws open his arms noncommittally.
so i was right the first time?
what's proper justice? *
i'll decide.  no i won't.  we'll all decide.  most of the people that matter are here.  we'll have a vote.  who agrees with salgado.  and me.  that they should die? a lot of hands go up. hector hesitates, his instincts are not for killing. but the force of the majority weighs on him. he starts to raise his hand. at that moment, as he scans the crowd, he meets the eyes of the deserter whose death they are voting on. for a moment they communicate. hector is thrown. he drops his hand, only to find in the next instant the stern gaze of salgado on him. he hesitates again, then starts to raise his hand. then the eyes of the deserter find him once more. this comic pantomime goes on while a solid majority of the crowd firmly raise their hands.
 and those against death.
you can't vote.
can he?
very well.  da cunha?
the cross the carpenter is working on.  tell him to turn it into a scaffold.  have it erected along the beach, away from the women.  the executions will be at sunrise tomorrow. tell father diogo.
take them to the raft.
everyone in agreement with hanging? * or should we shoot them.  or what?
very well.  now.  who's going to conduct the executions.  should we pick someone, or have a volunteer.  dom paulo looks over the faces of the men. he stops at hector.
hector?
thank you, alvarez. sunrise tomorrow. send the priest to them tonight.
no, they might want to be friendly.  they'll have food too.  get one of our african slaves.  we must try and talk to them.  if they think we're timid we're dead.
well.  it's eggs for supper tonight.  for everyone.  *
how many are sick?
how wise of you to think of that now. any deaths?
how many eggs did you have?
i had four. i don't feel well now.
let's not think about it.  what * have you got? *
organize some men to gather all * the nails they can find. we have to keep control of that particular currency. dom paulo rummages in a box of cheap rosaries, selects a couple, and then retires to his tent. the others work on at the table. hector drifts off down to the beach.
right.  you four as well.
tell him that we want to trade with him, to buy food.  and we want him to guide us out of here.  we have a long way to travel.  to where the white men have their big ships.  the slave speaks to the king. the king listens and talks back for a long time. then the slave translates again.
tell him i want to give him these.  dom paulo steps forward to the king. an officer brings * a wrapped cloth. dom paulo opens it, letting the king see the pieces of broken copper inside. *
 and tell him that i want to make him a very special gift as one king to another.  various officers raise their eyebrows at this.
of these precious things, which my fathers and forefathers have worn for many long years before.
i shouldn't do this, but it is such a special occasion, and he is such a great and worthy king.  this is translated. the king refuses to accept the * rosary. instead he is pointing to a couple of chunky and valuable-looking rings on dom paulo's fingers which he has forgotten to remove.
thank you, thank you.
can't you be more accurate? hector comes to the meeting. he sits down on a box near the table and watches and listens, his expression changing with the shifts in mood of the others. this * is hector the social animal, our hector with his pockets * full of stolen nails and his tent full of stashes of food.
we just want you to be as accurate as we know you can be, dias. after all, the ship did manage to find that rock with admirable precision.
i've discussed it with father diogo.  i don't see how a hundred of us can carry seventy sick.
we need food as well.  ten cows.  to take with us.  then the king can have the music.
you're staying with them? father diogo hastens to correct this misunderstanding.
we won't forget you, or what you are doing for these poor people.
yes, of course.
god protect you.  it breaks my * heart to leave you all here, but i don't know what else i can do. they shake hands.
we're leaving the cross with you.
it's too heavy to carry.  and who knows.  it might make some impression on the heathens. hector comes out of the hut, solemn-faced. *