Next day, Sandoval joined with the garrison of Villa Rica, to the number of about seventy men, with whom came the five Spaniards who had deserted from Narvaez, who were very graciously received by Cortes. Sandoval reported that he had sent two of his soldiers, a little time before into the quarters of Narvaez, who went disguised like Indians, having each a load of fruit for sale, and their complexions so completely resembled the natives that they were never suspected. They went immediately to the quarters of the braggart Salvatierra, who gave them a string of yellow beads for their fruit, and sent them to cut grass for his horse on the banks of a small rivulet. They brought home the last load of grass in the evening, and having fed the horse, they remained about the place till night, listening to the conversation of Salvatierra, whom they heard observing to some of his companions, how luckily they had come at the present moment to deprive the traitor Cortes of the 700,000 crowns which he had obtained from Montezuma. When it was dark, our disguised soldiers got privately out of the house, and took away Salvatierras horse with the saddle and bridle, and meeting another horse by the way, which happened to be lame, they brought it along with them. Cortes laughed heartily at this exploit; and we learned afterwards that Salvatierra gave much amusement to the soldiers of Narvaez, by his absurd behaviour on discovering the trick which had been played upon him. It was now resolved in a general consultation of our little army, to send a letter in all our names to Narvaez, by the hands of Father Olmedo, of which the following is the purport: "We had rejoiced on hearing of the arrival of so noble a person with so fine an army, by which we expected great advantages to have been derived to our holy religion and to the service of our sovereign; but on the contrary he had reviled us as traitors, and had occasioned the whole country to revolt. Our general had already offered to resign to him whatever provinces or territories he might be inclined to occupy, but nothing would serve him except treating our general and us as rebels, who had proved ourselves by our actions faithful subjects to the emperor. If he came by the authority of a commission from his majesty, we demanded to see the original within three days, for which purpose we had advanced to this place, and were ready to obey it in all humility and reverence: but, if he had no such authority, we required him to return immediately to Cuba, and not to make any attempt to throw the country which we had conquered into confusion; as otherwise we should deem it our bounden duty to send him as a prisoner to his majesty, to be dealt with according to his royal pleasure. We declared that he was answerable for all the lamentable consequences which might follow from his unlawful conduct; and that we had sent this letter by its present conveyance, since no royal notary could undertake to deliver our