rather puzzling reasons, that it would be necessary to kill the
individual, who was a person of importance, and that Antonio Perez
would approve of it; on this I remarked that it was not an affair
to be trusted to a muleteer, but to persons of a better stamp. Then
Diego Martinez added, that the person to be killed often came to
the house, and that, if we could put any thing in his food or
drink, we must do so; because that was the best, surest, and most
secret means. It was resolved to have recourse to this method, and
with all dispatch.

"'During these transactions, I had occasion to go to Murcia. Before
my departure, I spoke of it to Martinez, who told me I should find,
in Murcia, certain herbs well adapted to our purpose; and he gave
me a list of those which I was to procure. In fact, I sought them
out and sent them to Martinez, who had provided himself with an
apothecary, whom he had sent for from Molina in Aragon. It was in
my house that the apothecary, assisted by Martinez, distilled the
juice of those herbs. In order to make an experiment of it
afterwards, they made a cock swallow some, but no effect followed;
and what they had thus prepared, was found to be good for nothing.
The apothecary was then paid for his trouble, and sent away.

"'A few days after, Martinez told me he had in his possession a
certain liquid fit to be given to drink, adding that Antonio Perez,
the secretary, would trust nobody but me, and that, during a repast
which our master was to give in the country, I should only have to
pour out some of this water for Escovedo, who would be among the
guests, and for whom the preceding experiments had already been
tried. I answered, that unless my master himself gave me the order,
I would not have a hand in poisoning any body. Then the secretary,
Anthony Perez, called me one evening in the country, and told me
how important it was for him that the secretary Escovedo should
die; that I must not fail to give him the beverage in question on
the day of the dinner: and that I was to contrive the execution of
it with Martinez; adding, moreover, good promises and offers of
protection in whatever might concern me.

"'I went away very contented, and consulted with Martinez as to the
measures to be taken. The arrangement for the dinne