ng them because of their
interest at court, yet they had reason to fear he would be revenged of the
rest under colour of just punishment, on which account Roldan and his
friends in Hispaniola had not trusted his offers, and it had succeeded
well with them, as they had found favour at court, whereas the admiral had
been sent home in irons. They even pretended that the arrival of the
caravel with news from Mendez was a mere phantom produced by magic, in
which the admiral was an adept; as it was not likely, had it been in
reality a caravel, that the people belonging to it would have had no
farther discourse with those about the admiral, neither would it have so
soon vanished; and it was more probable, if it had been a real caravel,
that the admiral would have gone on board of it with his son and brother.
By these and other similar persuasions, they confirmed their adherents in
their rebellion, and at length brought them to resolve upon repairing to
the ships to secure the admiral and to take all they found there by force.

Continuing obstinate in their wickedness, the mutineers came to a town
then named _Maima_, in the neighbourhood of the ships, at which place the
Christians afterwards built a town called Seville. Upon learning this
audacious procedure and their design to attack him, the admiral sent his
brother against them, with orders to endeavour in the first place to
persuade them to submission by fair words, but so attended that he might
be able to oppose them by force if they attempted to attack him. For this
purpose the lieutenant landed with fifty men well armed, and advanced to a
hill about a bow-shot from the town in which the rebels had taken up their
quarters, whence he sent the two messengers who had been with them before,
requiring the captain of the mutineers to enter into a conference for
ending all disputes. But they being equal in numbers to the party under
the lieutenant, and almost all seamen, persuaded themselves that those who
were come out against them were weak men and would not fight, and would
not therefore permit the messengers to talk with them. They brandished
their naked swords and spears calling out tumultuously, Kill! kill! and
fell upon the lieutenants party immediately. Six of them had bound
themselves by oath to stick close by each other, and to direct their
united efforts against the lieutenant alone, being confident of an easy
victory if they succeeded in killing him. But it pleased God