concede that he was right. Knowing that he must accept 

 their pronouncements because of Spanish naval law, the 

 admiral assembled the ship's passengers and crew on deck 

 and publicly washed his hands in a basin of water, a sym- 

 bolic protest that he would not be responsible for the con- 

 sequences of the pilots' decision. 



About a week later, in the dark of night, the admiral 

 was suddenly awakened by a shout from the watch. A 

 frightened ship's boy reported to him that there were reefs 

 in all directions. He hurried on deck and gave quick orders 

 to haul down the sails and cast over the anchors. Before 

 the galleon's speed could be checked, however, she was in 

 the midst of the reefs; and before she could lose momen- 

 tum, the sharp coral was grating and tearing at her sides. 



There was pandemonium on board as both passengers 

 and crew rushed topsides. The anchors had caught by now, 

 and the Nuestra Seiiora hung poised, her starboard side 

 bumping and scraping against the rocks as the ocean waves 

 rolled in from the sea. Otherwise she lay quiet. The admiral 

 surveyed the situation in despair, hoping that the anchor 

 lines would hold until daybreak, when it would be possible 

 to see the surroundings and determine what should be 

 done. 



But the sea gave them no peace. One by one the heavy 

 hawsers which held the anchors snapped as they sawed 

 against the rough coral on tlie bottom. The longboats were 

 put overboard and manned to hold the ship off the rocks. 

 At dawn the admiral directed the oarsmen to tow the gal- 

 leon along a path of open water which showed ahead 

 through the reefs. Unfortunately, when the crew attempted 

 to raise the anchors which still held the ship, they dis- 

 covered that they were caught fast in the coral on the bot- 

 tom. The admiral gave orders to cut the cables wliich held 

 the anchors and to abandon them. 



As the ship moved slowly among the reefs in the wake 



236 Sea Diver 



