came very intimate with
our general, who, however, never again intrusted him with any military
command, but employed him in matters which suited his talents.
Subsequently he appointed him auditor of the army accounts, which Avila
had previously filled, and whom Cortes had despatched, as his attorney,
to St. Domingo, as will subsequently be seen.

Before I close this chapter, I have to observe that Cortes desired
Sandoval, on his arrival at Vera Cruz, to send him the two smiths of
that town, with all their apparatus, a quantity of iron, besides the two
heavy iron chains which were already finished; and likewise a supply of
sails, some rigging, pitch, and a compass; all of which Cortes required
for the brigantines which he intended building to navigate the lake of
Mexico.

CHAPTER XCVII.

_How we entertained and amused Motecusuma during his confinement,
and granted him permission to visit his temple._

Our general was a man who thought of everything, and strove as much as
possible to enliven the monarch in his confinement, that he might not
feel the weight of his misfortune too deeply. Cortes, therefore, every
morning after we had said prayers, visited the monarch with four of our
principal officers, to inquire after his health and after his wants, and
otherwise to amuse him in every way; in which they succeeded so well
that Motecusuma one day himself declared his confinement was not irksome
to him, as our gods had given us the power to take him prisoner, and
Huitzilopochtli had allowed it.

Sometimes also Motecusuma played at a certain game with Cortes, which
the Mexicans call the game of _totoloc_: it is played with small round
glossy balls, which here were made of gold, and are pitched at a certain
mark, also of the same metal: five throws finished the game, and the
stakes were for valuable gold trinkets and jewels. I still remember once
when Motecusuma and Cortes were playing at this game, Alvarado scoring
for Cortes, and a distinguished cazique (his nephew) for the monarch,
that Alvarado continually scored one too many for Cortes. This was
observed by Motecusuma, who said, with a pleasing smile, that he was not
exactly pleased when _Tonatio_ (so they termed Alvarado) marked the game
for Cortes, for he was guilty of _Ixoxol_ in scoring, which means that
he scored falsely, by continually marking one more than he ought.

Cortes, and we others who happened to be on duty at the time in the
apartment