It was not so much an object to kill, with the Anahuacans, ordinarily, as it was to capture. Prisoners of war were reserved for sacrifice to the gods; and in order that greater numbers might be secured, incentives were held out to the soldiers to encourage the taking of them. They did not engage in the barbarous practice of scalping a fallen foe, but made a warrior's standing and promotion depend on the number of prisoners taken by him in battle, and any violation of his rights, by depriving him of his due as a captor, was severely punished--in extreme cases by death. For this reason their battles were attended with comparatively little loss of life. The losses of the allies were mostly in prisoners, the number of their killed being quite small. Maxtla's losses, on the contrary, were chiefly in killed, for the reason that the Tezcucans, on this occasion, fought a fight of extermination. At least one fifth of the defeated army was left in the hands of the victors. The victorious allies bivouacked for the night on the field of battle. The wounded were cared for and the dead disposed of, while the prisoners were put under a strong guard and sent to the rear. When order was brought out of confusion, and the missing warriors reported, Euetzin was found to be among them. This was a heavy blow to the prince and Ixtlilchoatl; for, of all the army, he was the man whom they would have had join them in rejoicing over their victory. His ominous absence robbed it of much of the joy their triumph would otherwise have brought them. They knew only too well the doom that awaited him if in Maxtla's hands; if not liberated, his fate was sealed. A council of war was held; and, as the tzin stood high in the esteem of all the princes, it was decided to push Maxtla to the wall, and, if possible, save the young cacique from the terrible fate of a prisoner of war. Ixtlilchoatl accordingly issued orders for the army to march at dawn the next morning, for the purpose of again engaging the enemy in battle. CHAPTER XXXI. Tzin Euet was a prisoner, and very severely wounded. Eagerness to engage the enemy, and the impetuosity with which he led his warriors to the support of the allies, brought him, quickly, into the thickest of the fray. He fought as men only fight who realize the importance of a complete victory, which, in this instance, depended on the tenacity of the right wing of the army in holding the foe in check and calling for the engagement of his whole force by pressing him vigorously, which was according to Ixtlilchoatl's plan of defense, and of which Euetzin was fully advised.