the
sentinel was killed at his post, and seventy of the Moors made their
way into the streets before an alarm was given. The guards rushed to
the walls to stop the hostile throng that was still pouring in. A sharp
conflict, hand to hand and man to man, took place on the battlements,
and many on both sides fell. The Moors, whether wounded or slain, were
thrown headlong without the walls, the scaling-ladders were overturned,
and those who were mounting were dashed upon the rocks, and from thence
tumbled upon the plain. Thus in a little while the ramparts were cleared
by Christian prowess, led on by that valiant knight Don Alonzo Ponce,
the uncle, and that brave esquire Pedro Pineda, nephew, of the marques
of Cadiz.

The walls being cleared, these two kindred cavaliers now hastened with
their forces in pursuit of the seventy Moors who had gained an entrance
into the town. The main party of the garrison being engaged at a
distance resisting the feigned attack of the Moorish king, this fierce
band of infidels had ranged the streets almost without opposition, and
were making their way to the gates to throw them open to the army.* They
were chosen men from among the Moorish forces, several of them gallant
knights of the proudest families of Granada. Their footsteps through
the city were in a manner printed in blood, and they were tracked by the
bodies of those they had killed and wounded. They had attained the gate;
most of the guard had fallen beneath their scimetars; a moment more and
Alhama would have been thrown open to the enemy.

* Zurita, lib. 20, c. 43.

Just at this juncture Don Alonzo Ponce and Pedro de Pineda reached the
spot with their forces. The Moors had the enemy in front and rear; they
placed themselves back to back, with their banner in the centre. In
this way they fought with desperate and deadly determination, making a
rampart around them with the slain. More Christian troops arrived and
hemmed them in, but still they fought, without asking for quarter. As
their number decreased they serried their circle still closer, defending
their banner from assault, and the last Moor died at his post grasping
the standard of the Prophet. This standard was displayed from the walls,
and the turbaned heads of the Moors were thrown down to the besiegers.*

* Pedro de Pineda received the honor of knighthood from the hand
of King Ferdinand for his valor on this occasion (Alonzo Ponce was
already knight.)