ny of his most trusted companions had escaped.
Sandoval, Alvarado, Olid, Ordaz and Avila were safe; and so, to his
great joy, was Marina. She had, with a daughter of a Tlascalan
chief, been placed under the escort of a party of Tlascalan
warriors, in the van of the column, and had passed unharmed through
the dangers of the night.

The loss of the Spaniards in their retreat is variously estimated;
but the balance of authority, among contemporary writers, places it
at four hundred and fifty Spaniards, and four thousand Tlascalans.
This, with the loss sustained in the previous conflicts, reduced
the Spaniards to about a third, and the Tlascalans to a fifth of
the force which had entered the capital. The greater part of the
soldiers of Narvaez had been killed. They had formed the rear
guard, and had not only borne the brunt of the battle, but had
suffered from the effect of their cupidity. Of the cavalry but
twenty-three remained mounted, all the artillery had been lost, and
every musket thrown away in the flight.

Velasquez de Leon had fallen in the early part of the retreat,
bravely defending the rear; and several others among the leaders
had also fallen, together with all the prisoners whom they had
brought out from the capital.

The remains of the army straggled on into the town of Tlacopan, but
Cortez would allow of no halt there. At any moment the exultant
Aztecs from the capital might arrive and, in a battle in the
streets, the Spaniards would stand no chance, whatever, with their
foes. He therefore hurried the soldiers through and, when outside,
endeavored to form them into some sort of order.

It was necessary to give them a few hours of repose, and he led
them towards an eminence, crowned by a temple, which commanded the
plain. It was held by a party of natives; and the troops,
dispirited and exhausted, refused at first to advance against them;
but the influence of Cortez, backed by the example of his officers,
had its usual effect. The column moved forward against the temple,
and the natives, after a few discharges of missiles, abandoned the
place.

It was a large building, affording ample shelter for the Spaniards
and their allies. Provisions were found there, and a large supply
of fuel intended for the service of the temple. Here, lighting
great fires, they dried their clothing, bound up their wounds and,
after partaking of food, threw themselves down to sleep.

Fortunate it was for the Spaniards that