When  the  ship  finally  began  to  move  slowly  out  of
the  little  bay,  the   Indians  were  in  great  distress.     They


g6  Discoverers  and  Explorers

ran  along  the  coast  to  keep  the  vessel  in  sight,  following  the
shores  of  the  bay  to  the  ocean  ;  at  last  they  went  to  the
top  of  a  hill  that  they  might  watch  the  white  sails  far
out  at  sea.  As  night  came  on,  the  sorrowful  Indians  built
a  great  fire  on  the  shore,  whose  red  light  Drake  and  his
sailors  could  see  long  after  they  had  lost  sight  of  land.
Interesting  as  is  the  account,  it  is  not  a  part  of  our
purpose  to  tell  how  Drake  sailed  on  around  the  world.
When  the  bold  navigator  reached  England  after  nearly
three  years'  absence,  he  was  received  with  the  greatest
joy.  Never  before  had  so  wonderful  a  voyage  been  made
by  an  English  vessel;  never  had  one  come  home  so
loaded  with  Spanish  treasures.
Drake  was  the  hero  of  the  day.  So  pleased  was  Queen
Elizabeth,  that  she  honored  him  in  many  ways.  She  took
dinner  on  board  of  the  Golden  Hind ;  and  on  the  deck  she
caused  plain  Francis  Drake  to  become  Sir  Francis  Drake,
dubbing  him  a  knight  with  his  own  sword.  The  queen
even  mightily  offended  the  Spanish  minister  at  her  court
by  wearing  in  her  royal  hair  some  of  the  splendid  jewels
taken  from  the  treasure  ships  of  Spain.
