But many misfortunes happened to Pizarro before he saw the coast of Peru. The way was new and strange, and he did not know how far off Peru was, and he landed many times along the coast in hope of finding a path that would lead to the great empire, but found instead only marshes and deserts and tangled underbrush, where his men were bitten by poisonous serpents, and where they suffered from hunger and thirst and disease; and years passed, and all that he knew of the coveted land he heard from some Indians dwelling along the coast, who wore heavy golden ornaments, and said that a great and rich country lay back from the sea, governed by a mighty ruler. But this news only made Pizarro more eager than ever to carry out his plan. Almagro had come from Panama with men and provisions, or long before the whole party would have died of hunger and disease, and then Pizarro sent him back for more men, feeling sure, from a visit that he had paid to an Indian village near the coast, that he was near Peru; but the Governor of Panama refused to let Almagro return, and instead sent an order for Pizarro and his party to come back, as he would no longer allow them to risk money and life in an undertaking that promised nothing but failure. It was three years since Pizarro had first sailed from Panama. Many of his men had died, while the rest had suffered cruelly from hunger and exposure, and when they heard that the governor had ordered them to return home they were very willing to do so, and were glad enough to give up the idea of conquering Peru. But Pizarro himself would not give up. He was angry and indignant that the governor should command him to give up his plan at the very moment that success seemed certain, and he said that he would stay in spite of the governor's orders. Then he drew a line in the sand and stepped across it, and said that all the men who were willing to stay with him and go on to Peru should step across the line, too. At first no one moved; the danger seemed so great and the thought of home so pleasant; but at last, Luiz, the pilot, who had always trusted in Pizarro's luck, stepped across the line, and others followed until thirteen were standing by Pizarro's side. They were few in number, but their hearts were brave, and the bold leader knew that their courage was equal to his own.