s to protect themselves from the scorching
rays of the fierce, tropical sun. Natives came down to the shore,
bringing their beautiful featherwork cloaks and golden ornaments.
Cortes had brought presents for the great King--the Khan as he
thought--and these he sent with a message that he had come from the
King of Spain and greatly desired an audience with the Great Khan.
The Indians were greatly surprised to hear that there was another King
in the world as powerful as their Montezuma, who was more god than
king, who ate from dishes of gold, on whose face none dared look, in
whose presence none dared speak without leave.

To impress the messengers of the King, Cortes ordered his soldiers
to go through some of their military exercises on the wet sands. The
bold and rapid movement of the troops, the glancing of the weapons,
and the shrill cry of the trumpet filled the spectators with
astonishment; but when they heard the thunder of the cannon and
witnessed the volumes of smoke and flame issuing from these terrible
engines, the rushing of the balls as they hissed through the trees
of the neighbouring forest shivering their branches, they were filled
with consternation.

To the intense surprise of the Spaniards, these messengers sketched
the whole scene on canvas with their pencils, not forgetting the
Spanish ships or "water-houses" as they called them, with their dark
hulls and snow-white sails reflected in the water as they swung lazily
at anchor.

Then they returned to the King and related the strange doings of the
white strangers who had landed on their shores; they showed him their
picture-writing, and Montezuma, king of the great Mexican empire which
stretched from sea to sea, was "sore troubled." He refused to see the
Spaniards--the distance of his capital was too great, since the
journey was beset with difficulties. But the presents he sent were
so gorgeous, so wonderful, that Cortes resolved to see for himself
the city which produced such wealth, whatever its ruler might decree.
Here was a plate of gold as large as a coach wheel representing the
sun, one in silver even larger, representing the moon; there were
numbers of golden toys representing dogs, lions, tigers, apes, ducks,
and wonderful plumes of green feathers.

The man who had sailed across two thousand leagues of ocean held lightly
the idea of a short land journey, however difficult, and Cortes began
his preparations for the march to Mexico. He built th