re made as if they likewise would have to share a
similar fate with Villafana. Our general, however, was desirous of
saving their names from dishonour; to which may be added, that this was
not exactly the time to go to the utmost severity of the law.

From that moment our general had a body guard, consisting of the captain
Antonio de Quinones, a native of Zamora, and twelve trustworthy men, who
were to be near his person both night and day. In the same way he
likewise requested the rest of us in whom he could place confidence to
watch over the safety of his person. He never, however, evinced any
animosity in his subsequent behaviour towards the other conspirators,
though he took care to be particularly upon his guard against them.[19]

After this miserable affair was ended, notice was given that the
prisoners we had made in our expedition round the lake were to be
brought in to be marked within the space of two days. In order not to
waste many words on the subject, for the third time I will merely state
that our men were even more shamefully cheated on this occasion than on
the former. First the emperor's fifths were deducted, then those of
Cortes, and after him our chief officers committed their piracies. If,
therefore, any of us had an Indian female who was handsome or strong of
limb, we certainly took her to be marked with the iron, but stole her
away the night following, and took care not to show her again until some
considerable time had elapsed; so that numbers of our slaves were never
marked at all, and yet we employed them as our naborias.

CHAPTER CXLVII.

_How Cortes issues orders to the inhabitants of all the townships in
the neighbourhood of Tezcuco which were allied with us, to furnish
us with arrows and copper points for the same, and what further took
place at our head-quarters._

Our brigantines were now so far advanced towards completion, that they
had merely to be rigged. For each brigantine a number of spare oars had
been made in case of need. The canal in which these vessels were to be
launched, and through which they were to be conveyed into the lake, was
now also sufficiently deep and wide to swim these vessels.[20] Cortes
now, therefore, began to make active preparations for the siege of
Mexico. He issued orders to all the townships which lay in the vicinity
of Tezcuco, and were in alliance with us, for each of them to furnish
him with 8000 copper points for our arrows,