By the time Drake came to the halfway house,[3] the gold was hidden in
the woods, and the Spaniards fleeing for their lives; though an old
chronicle declares "the general" went from house to house assuring the
Spanish ladies they were safe. The Spaniards of Tierra Firme were
simply paralyzed with fright at the apparition of pirates in the centre
of the kingdom. Then scouts brought word of double danger: on the
Atlantic side, Spanish frigates were searching for Drake's ships; from
the Pacific, two hundred horsemen were advancing in hot pursuit.
Between the two--was he trapped?--Not he! Overland went a scout to the
ships--Drake's own gold toothpick as token--bidding them keep offshore;
he would find means to come out to them. Then he retreated over the
trail at lightning pace, sleeping only in ambush, eating in snatches,
coming out on the coast far distant from Nombre de Dios and Spanish
frigates. Binding driftwood into a raft, Drake hoisted sail of flour
sacks. Saying good-by to the Indian, the freebooter noticed Pedro's
eyes wander to the gold-embossed Turkish cimeter in his own hand, and
at once presented scabbard and blade to the astonished savage.
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