s peculiar duty as one of those who had most promoted that
disastrous enterprise.

King Ferdinand listened to the advice of the marques. He knew the
importance of Ronda, which was considered one of the keys to the kingdom
of Granada, and he was disposed to punish the inhabitants for the
aid they had rendered to the garrison of Coin. The siege of Malaga
therefore, was abandoned for the present, and preparations made for a
rapid and secret move against the city of Ronda.

CHAPTER XXX.

SIEGE OF RONDA.

The bold Hamet el Zegri, the alcayde of Ronda, had returned sullenly to
his stronghold after the surrender of Coin. He had fleshed his sword
in battle with the Christians, but his thirst for vengeance was still
unsatisfied. Hamet gloried in the strength of his fortress and the valor
of his people. A fierce and warlike populace was at his command; his
signal-fires could summon all the warriors of the Serrania; his Gomeres
almost subsisted on the spoils of Andalusia; and in the rock on which
his fortress was built were hopeless dungeons filled with Christian
captives carried off by these war-hawks of the mountains.

Ronda was considered as impregnable. It was situated in the heart of
wild and rugged mountains, and perched upon an isolated rock crested by
a strong citadel, with triple walls and towers. A deep ravine, or rather
a perpendicular chasm of the rocks, of frightful depth, surrounded three
parts of the city; through this flowed the Rio Verde, or Green River.
There were two suburbs to the city, fortified by walls and towers, and
almost inaccessible from the natural asperity of the rocks. Around
this rugged city were deep rich valleys, sheltered by the mountains,
refreshed by constant streams, abounding with grain and the most
delicious fruits, and yielding verdant meadows, in which was reared a
renowned breed of horses, the best in the whole kingdom for a foray.

Hamet el Zegri had scarcely returned to Ronda when he received
intelligence that the Christian army was marching to the siege of
Malaga, and orders from El Zagal to send troops to his assistance.
Hamet sent a part of his garrison for that purpose; in the mean time he
meditated an expedition to which he was stimulated by pride and revenge.
All Andalusia was now drained of its troops; there was an opportunity,
therefore, for an inroad by which he might wipe out the disgrace of
his defeat at the battle of Lopera. Apprehending no danger to his
mountai