avaliers chanced to fall from his
horse. This sudden division into two parts of what they had looked upon
as one creature so astonished the Indians that they fell back, and left
a way open for the Spaniards to regain their vessels. Here a council of
war was held, and once again Almagro proposed to go back for more men
while Pizarro waited in some safe spot. But the latter commander had
grown rather weary of the part always assigned to him, and replied that
it was all very well for Almagro, who passed his time sailing pleasantly
to and fro, or living in plenty at Panama, but that for those who
remained behind to starve in a poisonous climate it was quite another
matter. Almagro retorted angrily that he was quite willing to be the one
to stay if Pizarro declined, and the quarrel would soon have become
serious had not Ruiz interposed. Almagro's plan was adopted, and the
little island of Gallo, which they had lately passed, was chosen as
Pizarro's headquarters.

This decision caused great discontent among the men, who complained that
they were being dragged to this obscure spot to die of hunger, and many
of them wrote to their friends bewailing their deplorable condition, but
Almagro did his best to seize all these letters, and only one escaped
him. This was concealed in a ball of cotton sent as a present to the
wife of the Governor; it was signed by several of the soldiers, and
begged that a ship might be sent to rescue them from this dismal place
before they all perished, and it warned others from joining the
expedition. This letter fell into the Governor's hands, and caused great
dismay in Panama. Almagro's men looked sufficiently haggard and dejected
to make it generally believed that the few ill-fated survivors were
being detained against their will by Pizarro, to end their days on his
desolate island. The Governor was so enraged at the number of lives
which this unsuccessful expedition had cost the colony, that he utterly
refused the applications of Almagro and De Luque for further help, and
sent off two ships, under a cavalier named Tafur, to bring back every
Spaniard from Gallo.

[Illustration: Amazement of the Indians at seeing a cavalier fall from
his horse]

Meanwhile Pizarro and his men were suffering great misery from the
inclement weather, for the rainy season had set in, and for lack of
proper food, such crabs and shell-fish as they could pick up along the
shore being all that they had. Therefore the arriv