Meanwhile Columbus, bowed down by the weight of his troubles, appeared from time to time at the Court, which continued to turn a deaf ear to his complaints. He did not plead for grace but for justice. With the royal contract in his hands, he implored the fulfilment of the promise made to him that he should be the vice-sovereign of the newly discovered regions. He was convinced that on his last voyage he had found the coast of the mainland. His former supposition that this land was a part of India, if not entirely removed, was greatly weakened. He now conjectured that between the mainland and India there might be a great ocean separating one from the other. He further thought it possible that in the region of the Isthmus of Darien there might be a strait through which a passage could be found into this ocean and thence to the Indies. It seemed to him a matter of the highest importance to ascertain whether there was such a passage. If so, how much easier and more direct it would be to sail for the Indies in that direction than by the passage discovered by the Portuguese around Africa! Great as was the injury done to him by the King, his desire to benefit the world by fresh discoveries was still greater, greater even than his indignation at being superseded and refused his rights. He magnanimously resolved to forget all that had been done to him and in his old age to risk once more the dangers and hardships of a new voyage. He announced his purpose to the Court, which was only too delighted at the opportunity of ridding itself of his troublesome presence. The sight of this deserving and greatly maligned man was a daily reproach to the King and Queen and they were only too glad to be free from it. Hence they willingly accepted his offer. They also cherished a belief that his voyage might have fortunate results for them. The order to fit out an expedition was promptly issued. What an apology for a fleet! Four wretched little vessels, the largest of which was not half as large as an ordinary freight vessel, constituted all the material entrusted to him for so great an undertaking. With this little fleet he must navigate a far-distant unknown ocean and find a way to those East Indies from which he had promised to bring rich treasures. What a wretched outfit for the accomplishment of so vast an undertaking! Any other man would have abandoned such a seemingly impossible project, but Columbus thought of his first voyage and had no hesitation in trusting his life this time to vessels as weak as those were with which he first crossed the ocean between Europe and the West Indies. He went on board courageously, accompanied by his brother Bartolomeo and his thirteen-year-old second son, Ferdinand, who afterward wrote the history of his life.