And then the bold runaway quite lost his brave heart and fell upon his knees and begged with tears that the captain would not treat him so cruelly, quite forgetting that he himself had often done things just as cruel, and the captain, moved by the wretched man's tears and prayers, or perhaps because there was no desert island in sight, or even a passing ship that might be hailed to take the runaway back, said that he might finish the voyage with them. Balboa thanked the captain and promised good behavior, but in his heart he was very angry because of the threat to put him on a desert island, and determined to be revenged on the captain if possible. [Illustration: BALBOA IN SEARCH OF THE UNKNOWN SEA.] Before very long his chance came. A terrible storm came up and the vessel was dashed to pieces upon a strange coast. Encisco, the captain, felt very glad now that he had kept Balboa on the ship, for, although the country was unknown to the captain and his crew, it was not unknown to Balboa. He had been there before, and said that he knew of an Indian village not far away, where they could find food and shelter. Encisco was very glad to hear this, and they all started off under the leadership of Balboa to find the river Darien, on which the Indian village stood. They had been wrecked on the coast of Darien, and although neither Encisco nor any of his men had ever been there before, yet other Spaniards had, and had treated the natives cruelly and unjustly, as was their usual way of dealing with them. So when Encisco and his followers tried to march through this strange country they found it very hard work, as the natives attacked them at all times, day and night, killing some, wounding others, and keeping them all from getting food. But Balboa was a skilful leader and knew how to deal with Indians, and after a time they reached the village, though weary and foot-sore and almost starved. Balboa's boldness made him very much admired by some of the shipwrecked sailors, and soon a large party of them, attracted by his stories of bravery and adventure, declared that they would much rather have him for a captain than Encisco. This was just what Balboa wanted, and as his party grew larger and larger, and Encisco's friends fewer and fewer, Balboa at last declared that Encisco should no longer govern the little colony, as he himself was much more fit to be governor. Most of the party agreed to this, and so Balboa became governor, and a very cruel, bloody tyrant he proved. All the Indians around feared and hated him, and even his own men could not love him, and only respected his courage.