intention of sending him to Spain for trial, but a conspiracy to effect
his release, in which was our old friend De Candia, caused a change in
his purposes. Almagro was tried on charges which were easily trumped
up, was found guilty, of course, and in spite of his protestations and
piteous appeals for life, he was strangled to death at night in his
prison on the 8th of July, 1538, in the sixty-fifth year of his life.
His head was then struck from his shoulders and both were exhibited in
the great square at Cuzco. Vainglorious, ignorant, incompetent, yet
cheerful, generous, frank, kindly and open-hearted, and badly treated
by Pizarro and his brothers, he possibly deserved a better fate.

The Pizarro brothers affected to be overcome by the stern necessity
which compelled poor Almagro's execution. As Francisco had done when
he had killed Atahualpa, these two put on mourning and insisted upon
being pall-bearers, and exhibited every outward manifestation of deep
and abiding grief.

Almagro left a son, Diego, by an Indian woman, to whom he had not been
married. This young man {105} was under the guardianship of Pizarro at
Lima. The sword of Damocles hung over his head for a while, but he was
spared eventually and, the rebellion of Almagro having been cut down,
the revolt of the Inca crushed, peace appeared once more to dwell in
the land.

VIII. The Mean End of the Great Conquistador

But fate had not finished with the Pizarros as yet. Hernando was sent
back to Spain to explain the situation, and Gonzalo despatched to
Quito, of which province he was made governor. He had instructions to
explore the country eastward to see if he could find another Peru. He
made a marvelous march to the head-waters of the Amazon River, where he
was deserted by one of his commanders, Orellana, who built a
brigantine, sailed down the whole length of the Amazon, finally
reaching Europe, while Gonzalo and those few of his wretched followers
who survived the terrible hardships of that march, struggled back to
Quito.

Francisco, the Marquis, was thus left alone in Peru. The position of
the men of Chili was precarious. Although outwardly things were
peaceful, yet they felt that at any time Pizarro might institute war
against them. They got the young Almagro away from him, and a score of
men under Juan de Rada, a stout-hearted veteran, mercenary soldier,
determined to put the Marquis to death and proclaim the young Almagro
as Lord an