oper place each time it was required, then remove it again, and so
on, until the whole of us with our baggage and cannon had passed the
several openings. The transport of our heavy guns was intrusted to 250
Tlascallans and fifty of our men. Sandoval, Lugo, Ordas, and Tapia,
formed the vanguard; these were to clear the streets of the enemy, and
for that purpose were reinforced by eight or ten of Narvaez's officers,
whose names I will not mention, and 100 of our strongest and most nimble
young soldiers. Cortes himself was to take his station, supported by
Oli, Avila, Bernardino de Tapia, besides other officers and fifty
soldiers, between the baggage, our Indian female servants and the
prisoners, in order to render assistance wherever it was most required.
The rear-guard was to be commanded by Leon and Alvarado, consisting of
the main body of the cavalry, 100 foot, and the greater part of
Narvaez's troops. Dona Marina and Dona Luisa, with the prisoners, were
to be guarded by 300 Tlascallans and thirty Spaniards.

After these arrangements had been made, and night was fast approaching,
Cortes ordered his chamberlain Christobal de Guzman to see that all the
gold, silver, and other valuable matters were brought together in one
apartment. The royal treasurers, Alonso Avila and Gonzalo Mexia, were
then desired to deduct the emperor's portion, and load eight of our
wounded horses and eighty Tlascallans with it. The greater part of the
treasure consisted of broad bars of gold, with which the horses and men
were as heavily laden as possible.

Cortes then called his private secretary Pedro Hernandez, and the other
royal secretaries, and spoke to them as follows: "Put down in writing
and bear witness that I have done all which lay in my power to save this
treasure, which is valued at 700,000 pesos. You see it is impossible to
load any more of it on the Indian porters and the eight horses; I will,
therefore, allow the soldiers to take as much away with them as they can
conveniently carry, that this treasure may not fall into the hands of
these Mexican dogs."

As soon as Narvaez's men and many of our old soldiers heard this, they
stowed away as much as they could. For myself, whose failing had never
been to covet gold, I took four chalchihuis stones out of a small box,
and secreted them between my cuirass. Cortes soon after gave this box in
safe keeping to his steward, and I do think he would have demanded the
said four chalchihuis s