m; Ochoa did the same;
but seeing they were not French, the sentinel retreated. Ochoa closed
with him, and with his drawn sword gave him a cut over the head, but did
not hurt him much, as the sentinel fended off the blow with his sword;
and the Master of the Camp, coming up at that moment, gave him a thrust,
from which he fell backward, making a loud outcry. The Master of the
Camp, putting his sword to his breast, threatened him with instant death
unless he kept silence. They tied him thereupon, and took him to the
General, who, hearing the noise, thought the Master of the Camp was
being killed, and meeting with the Sergeant-major, Francisco de Recalde,
Diego de Maya, and Andres Lopez Patino, with their standards and
soldiers, without being able to restrain himself, he cried out,
"Santiago! Upon them! Help of God, victory! The French are destroyed.
The Master of the Camp is in their fort, and has taken it." Upon which,
all rushed forward in the path without order, the General remaining
behind, repeating what he had said many times; himself believing it to
be certain that the Master of the Camp had taken with him a considerable
force, and had captured the fort.

So great was the joy of the soldiers, and such their speed, that they
soon came up with the Master of the Camp and Ochoa, who was hastening to
receive the reward of carrying the good news to the General of the
capture of the sentinel. But the Master of the Camp, seeing the spirit
which animated the soldiery, killed the sentinel, and cried out with a
loud voice to those who were pressing forward, "Comrades! do as I do.
God is with us;" and turned running toward the fort, and, meeting two
Frenchmen on the way, he killed one of them, and Andres Lopez Patino the
other. Those in the environs of the fort, seeing this tragedy enacted,
set up loud outcries; and in order to know the cause of the alarm, one
of the French within opened the postern of the principal gate, which he
had no sooner done than it was observed by the Master of the Camp; and,
throwing himself upon him, he killed him and entered the gate, followed
by the most active of his followers.

The French, awakened by the clamor, some dressed, others in their
night-clothes, rushed to the doors of their houses to see what had
happened; but they were all killed, except sixty of the more wary, who
escaped by leaping the walls.

Immediately the standards of the Sergeant-major and of Diego Mayo were
brought in, a