army was mustering at Quito, and that thirty thousand Caribs, of whom
the Spaniards had a peculiar horror, were on their way to join it. Both
Atahuallpa and his general Challcuchima denied all knowledge of any
rising, but their protestations of innocence did them little good. The
soldiers clamoured against the unhappy Inca, and Pizarro, taking
advantage of the temporary absence of some of the cavaliers who would
have defended him, ordered him to be brought to instant trial. The
evidence of Indian witnesses, as interpreted by Felipillo, sealed his
doom, and in spite of the efforts of a few Spaniards he was found guilty
by the majority on the charge, among other things, of having
assassinated his brother Huascar and raised up insurrection against the
Spaniards, and was sentenced to be burnt alive. When Atahuallpa was told
of his approaching fate his courage gave way for a moment. 'What have I
or my children done,' he said to Pizarro, 'that I should meet such a
doom? And from your hands, too!--you who have met with nothing but
friendship and kindness from my people, with whom I have shared my
treasures, who have received nothing but benefits from my hands.' Then
in most piteous tones he begged that his life might be spared, offering
to answer for the safety of every Spaniard, and promising to pay double
the ransom he had already given. But it was all of no avail. He was not,
however, burnt to death; for at the last moment, on his consenting to
abjure his own religion and be baptized, he was executed in the usual
Spanish manner--by strangulation.

A day or two after, the other cavaliers returned, and found Pizarro
making a show of great sorrow for what had happened. They reproached and
blamed him, saying that there was no truth in the story of
treachery--all was quiet, and the people showed nothing but goodwill.
Then Pizarro accused his treasurer and Father Valverde of having
deceived him in the matter and brought about the catastrophe; and they
in their turn exculpated themselves, and upbraided Pizarro as the only
one responsible for the deed, and the quarrel was fierce between them.
Meanwhile, the death of the Inca, whose power over his people had been
so great, caused the breaking-up of all the ancient institutions. The
Indians broke out into great excesses; villages were burnt and temples
plundered; gold and silver acquired a new importance in their eyes, and
were eagerly seized and hidden in caves and forests; the rem