The Other Officers Who Were
Present Interfered To Prevent Mischief, And Advised Both Velasquez And
Olmedo To Retire.
Velasquez accordingly mounted his excellent grey mare,
in his helmet and coat of mail, with his gold chain about
His shoulders,
and took leave of Narvaez, who returned his salute with apparent coldness.
The young captain was again very violent in his abuse; on which Velasquez
swore by his beard, that he should see in a few days what stuff he was
made of. Then, taking a hasty leave of the bystanders, he put spurs to his
good grey mare and was soon out of sight, as he had some hint or suspicion
that Narvaez might send after him, and even saw some horsemen following him
apparently for that purpose, but he was too well mounted for their pursuit.
In about two hours after Velasquez had left our camp to visit Narvaez, the
drum beat to arms, and our little army set forwards on our march for
Chempoalla. We killed two wild hogs on our way, which our soldiers
considered as a good omen of our ultimate success. We halted for the night
on the side of a rivulet, having the ground for a bed, stones for our
pillows, and heaven for our canopy, and arrived next day at the place
where the city of Vera Cruz is now built, which was then an Indian village
in a grove of trees. Being mid-day and the weather extremely sultry, we
stopped here for rest and refreshment, being much fatigued by the weight
of our lances and armour. While here, a report was brought from one of our
out-posts that some horsemen were in sight, who turned out to be Velasquez
and Olmedo, who were received by Cortes, and all of us with much joy, and
we all came round them to hear the news. Velasquez told Cortes in what
manner he had executed his commission and distributed the presents among
the officers of Narvaez. Then our merry Father Olmedo gave an account by
what finesse he had persuaded Narvaez to read our letter; how he had made
the foolish braggart Salvatierra believe they were cousins, and of the
ridiculous bravadoes he uttered, as how he would kill Cortes and all of us
in revenge for the loss of his horse; then how he had prevailed on Narvaez
to turn out his troops in review, merely to laugh at him; and in all these
stories he mimicked Narvaez and Salvatierra most admirably, so that we
laughed and enjoyed ourselves as if going to a wedding-feast, though we
well knew that on the morrow we must conquer or die, having to attack
five times our number. Such is the fortune of war! After the heat of the
day was over, we proceeded on our march, and halted for the night at a
river about a league from Chempoalla, where there is now a bridge and a
dairy farm.
After the departure of Father Olmedo and Velasquez from the quarters of
Narvaez, some of his officers gave him warning of the secret practices
going on, and advised him to be on his guard, as Cortes had many friends
in his army.
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