ur country desolate:
give us men to meet him in the advance, and let shame light upon our
heads if we be found wanting in the battle!"

The two brothers were sent forth with a large force of horse and foot;
El Zagal intended, should they be successful, to issue forth with
his whole force, and by a decisive victory repair the losses he had
suffered. When the people saw the well-known standards of the brothers
going forth to battle, there was a feeble shout, but the alcaydes passed
on with stern countenances, for they knew the same voices would curse
them were they to return unfortunate. They cast a farewell look upon
fair Granada and upon the beautiful fields of their infancy, as if
for these they were willing to lay down their lives, but not for an
ungrateful people.

The army of Ferdinand had arrived within two leagues of Granada, at the
bridge of Pinos, a pass famous in the wars of the Moors and Christians
for many a bloody conflict. It was the pass by which the Castilian
monarchs generally made their inroads, and was capable of great defence
from the ruggedness of the country and the difficulty of the bridge. The
king, with the main body of the army, had attained the brow of a hill,
when they beheld the advance guard, under the marques of Cadiz and the
master of Santiago, furiously attacked by the enemy in the vicinity of
the bridge. The Moors rushed to the assault with their usual shouts, but
with more than usual ferocity. There was a hard struggle at the bridge;
both parties knew the importance of that pass.

The king particularly noted the prowess of two Moorish cavaliers,
alike in arms and devices, and whom by their bearing and attendance he
perceived to be commanders of the enemy. They were the two brothers,
the alcaydes of Illora and Moclin. Wherever they turned they carried
confusion and death into the ranks of the Christians, but they fought
with desperation rather than valor. The count de Cabra and his brother
Don Martin de Cordova pressed forward with eagerness against them, but,
having advanced too precipitately, were surrounded by the foe and in
imminent danger. A young Christian knight, seeing their peril, hastened
with his followers to their relief. The king recognized him for Don Juan
de Aragon, count of Ribargoza, his own nephew, for he was illegitimate
son of the duke of Villahermosa, illegitimate brother of King Ferdinand.
The splendid armor of Don Juan and the sumptuous caparison of his steed
re