t the men who had served all along with Cortez stood firm. They
had still every confidence in their leader. It was not his fault
that they had been brought to this pass, but by the misconduct of
others, during his absence. At any rate, as they pointed out to
their comrades, the only chance of escape was unity and obedience.

Cortez himself was, as always in a moment of great danger, calm and
collected. The thought of having to leave the city, to abandon all
the treasures they had taken, was even more painful to him than to
the soldiers. It was not the loss of his own share of the booty,
but of that of the emperor, that he regretted; for he felt that
this, together with the downfall of all his plans, and the loss of
the kingdom he had already counted won, would bring upon him the
displeasure of his emperor, would give strength to his enemies at
court, and would probably ensure his being recalled in disgrace.

Nevertheless, he saw that retreat was necessary, for the position
could not be maintained. Every day the defenses became weaker, the
men more exhausted by fighting, and there would soon be no longer a
morsel of bread to serve out to them. A retreat must therefore be
made.

The question was, which route should be chosen? In any case, one of
the narrow dikes connecting the island city with the shore must be
traversed; and on these causeways the Spaniards would fight under
great disadvantage. Finally, he settled upon that leading to
Tlacopan, which was much the shortest, being only two miles in
length.

For some days a large party of men had been at work constructing
movable towers, similar to those used, centuries before, in sieges.
They moved on rollers, and were to be dragged by the Tlascalan
allies. From their summits the soldiers could shoot down upon the
housetops, from which they had been hitherto so annoyed. The towers
were also provided with bridges, which could be let down on to the
roofs, and so enable the soldiers to meet their opponents hand to
hand.

When the structures were completed, the Spaniards again took the
offensive. The gates were opened, and the three towers, dragged by
the Tlascalans, moved out. The Mexicans, astonished at the sight of
these machines, from whose summits a heavy fire of musketry were
kept up, fell back for a time. The towers were moved up close to
the terraces, and the soldiers, after partly clearing them by their
fire, lowered the light bridges and, crossing, engaged in