s delay,
or what could possibly have detained him. Five days passed away without
our obtaining the least tidings of him, and we already began to fear
that he had been shipwrecked off the Jardines,[9] which lie from thirty
to thirty-six miles from the Havannah, near the Pinos isles, where the
sea is very shallow: we therefore determined to send out our three
smaller vessels in quest of her; but what with the fitting-out of these
vessels, added to the manifold opinions and advices, two more days
elapsed, and Cortes still remained behind. All manner of artifices were
now had recourse to, as to whom the command should be given, until some
certainty was gained respecting the fate of Cortes, in which Diego de
Ordas, in his capacity of steward over the household of Velasquez, and
secret observer of our movements, was most active.

The following misfortune had befallen Cortes. When his vessel, which was
of considerable tonnage, had arrived off the Pinos isles on the shallows
of the Jardines, there was not sufficient depth of water to carry her,
and she consequently got aground. The ship had now to be unladen, which
was an easy matter, on account of the nearness of the shore. As soon as
she was set afloat again and brought into deeper water she was reloaded
and pursued her voyage to the Havannah. The joy among the officers and
soldiers was very great as soon as she became visible in the horizon, to
those excepted who had prized themselves with the command, to whose
machinations, however, there was now an end. We accompanied Cortes to
the house of Pedro Barba, Velasquez's lieutenant at Trinidad, where
quarters had been got ready for his reception. He immediately hoisted
his standard in front of his dwelling, and by public proclamation
invited the inhabitants to join the expedition.

It was here that Francisco de Montejo first joined us, of whom I shall
often have to speak in the course of this history: subsequent to the
conquest of Mexico he became adelantado and governor of Yucatan and the
Honduras. Here we were also joined by Diego de Soto of Toro, namely, who
afterwards was Cortes's steward in Mexico; further, Angula and Garci
Caro, Sebastian Rodriguez, Pacheco, Gutierras, Royas (this is not he
commonly called the wealthy); also by a young fellow of the name of
Santaclara; the two brothers, Martinez del Frexenal and Juan de
Najara--not the deaf one of the tennis-court at Mexico: all of whom were
men of rank and quality. There