I and my comrades thus keeping a sharp look-out, we heard all at once
the noise of several canoes, which were advancing directly towards us;
but we gave the enemy so rough a reception with our slings and lances,
that they durst not venture to land; and while one of our men had
hastened to inform Cortes of what was going forward in this quarter, a
second and still more numerous squadron of canoes arrived, and attacked
us most vigorously with lances, stones, and arrows, wounding two of our
men; but we defended ourselves with no less vigour: and, as it was an
uncommon dark night, these canoes again joined the great body of the
fleet, which had repaired to some other small harbour or deeper canal,
where the whole of them disembarked. These troops, who, it seemed, were
not very willing to fight at night-time, joined those which
Quauhtemoctzin had sent by land, and both together formed an army of
above 15,000 men.

I must here mention a circumstance, which, however, I hope the reader
will not construe into vanity on my part.

When one of the men belonging to my small detachment brought Cortes
intelligence that a number of Mexican canoes had approached the spot
where we were stationed, he, with ten of the cavalry, was just coming
towards us. As they approached us with the utmost silence, I and Gonzalo
Sanchez cried out to them, "Who goes there? How? can't you open your
mouths?" and then slung three or four stones at them. But Cortes, who
immediately recognized us by our voices, remarked to Alderete, father
Melgarejo, and our quartermaster Christobal de Oli, who accompanied him,
"I am in no fear with regard to this quarter; for here are posted two
men who came with me when I first arrived in this country, and to whom I
would intrust a more important command than this!" He then came up and
spoke to us himself, and observed that our position was one of great
danger, and that, in case of need, we were instantly to send for
assistance. Our general had scarcely left us when we heard him driving a
soldier back to his post, which he had deserted. It was one of those who
came with Narvaez.

There is likewise another circumstance which I must not forget to
mention. In the battle of the previous day, our musketeers had spent all
their powder, and the crossbow-men their arrows; Cortes, therefore,
during the night-time, ordered us to collect all the arrows we could
find, and to furnish them with fresh feathers and points, of which we
h