h to creep along. The
pass was commanded by two remarkable stone forts; but luckily these were
deserted. Had an enemy occupied them, the Spaniards would have been
lost; but Atahualpa was letting them walk into his trap, confident of
crushing them there at his ease. At the top of the pass Hernando and his
men were sent for, and came up. A messenger from Atahualpa now arrived
with a present of llamas; and at about the same time Pizarro's Indian
spy returned, and reiterated that Atahualpa meant treachery. The
Peruvian messenger plausibly explained the suspicious movements related
by the spy. His explanation was far from satisfactory; but Pizarro was
too wise to show his distrust. Nothing but a confident front could save
them now.

The Spaniards suffered much from cold in crossing that lofty upland; and
even the descent on the east side of the Cordillera was full of
difficulty. On the seventh day they came in sight of Caxamarca in its
pretty oval valley,--a pocket of the great range. Off to one side was
the camp of the Inca war-captain and his army, covering a great area. On
the 15th of November, 1532, the Spaniards entered the town. It was
absolutely deserted,--a serious and dangerous omen. Pizarro halted in
the great square or common, and sent De Soto and Hernando Pizarro with
thirty-five cavalry to Atahualpa's camp to ask an interview. They found
the Indian surrounded by a luxury which startled them; and the
overwhelming number of warriors impressed them no less. To their request
Atahualpa replied that to-day he was keeping a sacred fast (itself a
highly suspicious fact), but to-morrow he would visit the Spaniards in
the town. "Take the houses on the square," he said, "and enter no
others. They are for the use of all. When I come, I will give orders
what shall be done."

The Peruvians, who had never seen a horse before, were astounded at
these mounted strangers, and doubly charmed when De Soto, who was a
gallant horseman, displayed his prowess,--not for vanity; it was a
matter of very serious importance to impress these outnumbering
barbarians with the dangerous abilities of the strangers.

The events of the next day deserve special attention, as they and their
direct consequences have been the basis of the unjust charge that
Pizarro was a cruel man. The _real_ facts are his full justification.

On the morning of November 16, after an anxious night, the Spaniards
were up with the first gray dawn. It was plain now tha