"Years passed by and Columbus went to Portugal. He still had one great desire in his heart. You know what that was. "He lost no time in speaking to the King of Portugal. The king listened to the plan. He thought it was a wise one. But he did not offer to send Columbus on a voyage of discovery. O, no! He preferred to send some of his own sailors. If the plan succeeded, he thought he would gain more by so doing. "He sent the Italian away. Then he took the maps and charts Columbus had made and showed them to the wisest men of the country. He thought: 'I will make use of what Columbus knows, but he shall get no reward.' "He was not honest. That is what I think. Don't you agree with me?" "Of course we do," both children exclaimed. "Some ships were fitted out and sailed into the west. They had not gone far, however, before the sailors became afraid and turned back. The king of Portugal did not try again." "I am glad he didn't," said Lucy. "It served him right," cried Joe. "We must not leave Columbus," Uncle Sam went on. "The brave sailor left Portugal, but he was not discouraged. He kept thinking, thinking where he should try next. After a while, he thought of Spain. He knew that country was eager for wealth and new lands. He would go there. He started for the Spanish court. His little son went with him. "The journey through the country was very tiresome. They went slowly, for the roads were rough. The little boy sat in front of his father on the horse's back. "At last, one evening, they stopped to rest at a convent. Columbus told the good monks of the plan that was so dear to him. He showed them his charts of the world. "They were much interested. They said: 'Our king and queen must see your charts. We believe they will give you the money to fit out the ships that you need. It will be a great thing for our country if you find a short way to India.' "Columbus felt happy when he heard the monks' words. He left his little son in their care and went on his way to the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. "The king and queen listened kindly, but they could see no way of giving money to Columbus. A war was going on at this very time and they needed all their money to carry it on. "Columbus stayed in Spain for seven long years. He tried to get some of the rich men of the country to listen to his plans and furnish money. It was all in vain. "At last, just as he was leaving the country, some messengers came to him. They said: 'Queen Isabella wishes to talk with you once more. She would like to help you.' "How gladly Columbus turned back! He found the queen had such faith in him that she was even willing to sell her beautiful jewels, if necessary, for the sake of giving him money. "He set to work at once to get a fleet ready. Three ships were chosen. Their bows and sterns were built high up out of the water. They were very different from the ships of to-day. Provisions to last a whole year were stowed away in them.