he dispute, Pizarro's brothers--for there were two in
the camp--entered the tent. De Soto, addressing the three, said:

"I am the champion of Attahuallapa. I accuse Francisco Pizarro of
being his murderer." Then throwing his glove upon the floor, he
continued:

"I invite any man who is disposed to deny that Francisco Pizarro is a
coward and an assassin, to take it up."

The glove remained untouched. De Soto turned upon his heel
contemptuously, and left the tent, resolved, it is said, no longer to
have any connection whatever with such perfidious wretches. He
immediately resigned his commission as lieutenant-general and
announced his determination to return to Spain. But alas, for human
frailty and inconsistency, he was to take with him the five hundred
thousand dollars of treasure of which the Peruvians had been
ruthlessly despoiled. Perhaps he reasoned with himself,

"What can I do with it. The Inca is dead. It would not be wise to
throw it into the streets, and I surely am not bound to contribute it
to the already enormous wealth of Pizarro."

Another source of embarrassment arose. Reinforcements to the number of
two hundred men had just arrived at Caxamarca, under Almagro. They
had been sent forward from Panama, commissioned by the king of Spain
to join the enterprise. The whole number of Spanish soldiers,
assembled in the heart of the Peruvian empire, now amounted to about
five hundred. Mountain ridges rose between them and the sea-coast, in
whose almost impassable defiles a few hundred resolute men might
arrest the advance of an army. The Peruvians had a standing force of
fifty thousand soldiers. The whole population of the country was
roused to the highest pitch of indignation. They were everywhere
grasping their arms. Nothing but the most consummate prudence could
rescue the Spaniards from their perilous position. The danger was
imminent, that they would be utterly exterminated.

For De Soto, under these circumstances, to abandon his comrades, and
retire from the field, would seem an act of cowardice. He had no
confidence in the ability of the Pizarros to rescue the Spaniards. He
therefore judged that duty to his king and his countrymen demanded of
him that he should remain in Peru, until he could leave the army in a
safe condition.

Pizarro did not venture to resent the reproaches and defiance of De
Soto, but immediately prepared to avail himself of his military
abilities, in a march of several hundred