Vasco, who could make good use of anything eatable at any time, and who even now was wondering if Juan had dinner nearly ready, could not restrain an exclamation at this statement. "How could they live on that sort of stuff?" he asked.
"I don't know, myself," replied Harlan, "but we are told that the skins were first sliced, then dipped in water, and afterward beaten between stones. The morsel would then be broiled, cut into bits, and deliberately chewed, with plenty of cold water to wash it down.
"In addition to the danger of starvation, the pirates were in constant fear of ambuscades. The Spaniards, who knew of their approach, sent out parties of soldiers to meet them and hinder their march, though the defenders of Panama knew very well that they would lose a pitched battle. Consequently they confined themselves to attacks from the cover of the dense forests, and in this way many a buccaneer was killed."
"Weren't the Englishmen able to find anything to eat while on the way?" asked Enrique.
"Very little indeed," replied Harlan, "until the ninth day, when they came to the outskirts of this city. What they saw there was very pleasing to these hungry men. On the broad, level land the other side of that bridge we just crossed were great herds of cattle."
"I'll wager they made a rush for them," said Vasco.
"They did, you may be sure," continued Harlan, "and so hungry were the men that they would hardly stop even to cook the meat.
"Their hunger satisfied, Morgan and his men moved on, and very soon caught a glimpse of the roofs and towers of the city. Then what a shout went up! The pirates, tired as they were, tossed their caps in the air and rushed forward with cheers. Drums were also beaten, and the invaders acted like crazy men at the thought of securing the rich treasure that lay in the city before them.
"Many of them wished to charge on the city and capture it at once, but their leader gave wiser counsel, and the pirates went into camp for the night, intending to move forward early in the morning."
"I should think the pirates would have been afraid to attack the city," said Vasco, "for there must have been many Spanish soldiers on guard there."
Probably Vasco had a higher opinion of Spanish bravery than did Harlan, but the young American gave no hint of his real thought. He simply said: "The pirates were the most desperate men on earth, and in their position it was win or die, for they could expect no quarter, and could not retreat over the path by which they had come.