ons that neither side gave quarter.
Boabdil was the weaker in men. Fearing defeat in consequence, he sent a
messenger to Don Fadrique de Toledo, the Christian commander on the
border, asking for assistance. Don Fadrique had been instructed by
Ferdinand to give what aid he could to the young king, the vassal of
Spain, and responded to Boabdil's request by marching with a body of
troops to the vicinity of Granada. No sooner had Boabdil seen their
advancing banners than he sallied forth with a squadron to meet them. El
Zagal, who was equally on the alert, sallied forth at the same time, and
drew up his troops in battle array.

The wary Don Fadrique, in doubt as to the meaning of this double movement,
and fearing treachery, halted at a safe distance, and drew off for the
night to a secure situation. Early the next morning a Moorish cavalier
approached the sentinels and asked for an audience with Don Fadrique, as
an envoy from El Zagal. The Christian troops, he said on behalf of the old
king, had come to aid his nephew, but he was ready to offer them an
alliance on better terms than those of Boabdil. Don Fadrique listened
courteously to the envoy, but for better assurance, determined to send a
representative to El Zagal himself, under protection of a flag. For this
purpose he selected Don Juan de Vera, one of the most intrepid and
discreet of his cavaliers, who had in years before been sent by King
Ferdinand on a mission to the Alhambra.

Don Juan, on reaching the palace, was well received by the old king,
holding an interview with him which extended so far into the night that it
was too late to return to camp, and he was lodged in a sumptuous apartment
of the Alhambra. In the morning he was approached by one of the Moorish
courtiers, a man given to jest and satire, who invited him to take part in
a ceremony in the palace mosque. This invitation, given in jest, was
received by the punctilious Catholic knight in earnest, and he replied,
with stern displeasure,--

[Illustration: KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.]

KING CHARLES'S WELL, ALHAMBRA.

"The servants of Queen Isabella of Castile, who bear on their armor the
cross of St. Iago, never enter the temples of Mohammed, except to level
them to the earth and trample on them."

This discourteous reply was repeated by the courtier to a renegade, who,
having newly adopted the Moorish faith, was eager to show his devotion to
the Moslem cree