el listened to
with secret delight, for to turn back was the very thing he so ardently
desired himself; however, in order to save appearances, and that it
might seem as if his determination of marching back to Guacasualco was
upon the advice and at the request of the troops themselves, he called a
council of war, for which he selected those only whom he well knew would
be of the same opinion with himself. I, with twenty of the men, just at
that moment returned from a short excursion to some cacao plantations in
the neighbourhood to try if we could not capture a few of the natives,
and we had the good luck to bring in three females and two men
prisoners. When I arrived in Rangel's quarters, he took me aside; he
spoke a good deal about the terrible wounds on his head, and assured me
that the greater part of the troops had advised him to relinquish the
expedition and return to Cortes in Mexico.

I declared myself against this step without any hesitation; and, as we
had known each other for four years, even before we left Cuba, I said
boldly to him, "How, Senor; you have advanced up to Cimatan, and now
wish to return? What will Cortes think of this, and what will your
enemies say? How they will always throw in your teeth that you were
neither able to gain any advantage over the Zapotecs nor to subdue the
inhabitants of this province, although you had among your troops some of
the most experienced of the Conquistadores, of those who settled in
Guacasualco! Here not your honour alone is at stake but ours also;
wherefore I, with a number of my companions, have determined further to
explore these swamps and mountains, and to force our way into Cimatan,
the principal township of the province. My horse you may give to some
other soldier who is expert in handling the lance, it is of no use to me
in this country, for, on account of the bad state of the ground, the
cavalry are always obliged to remain behind the rest of the troops."

As Rangel was a great talker, and a man who soon fell into a passion, he
jumped up from his seat, immediately ordered all the troops to assemble
around him, and cried out to them, "The die is cast! by heavens! (for he
could scarcely say two words together without swearing.) We must march
forward! I am now convinced of the policy of so doing, since Bernal
Diaz del Castillo has explained to me what our duty is. He is perfectly
right in what he says."

Many of the men were certainly anything but pleased