Up to this time Pizarro had displayed little of that signal ability, that marvellous determination and readiness of resource which carried through one of the most remarkable undertakings of any age. Soldier of fortune and petty farmer were the only distinctions he could boast. No talents of a higher order than those exhibited by the other captains in Darien had as yet appeared, except perhaps a cooler cruelty in his treatment of the natives, and a more selfish heartlessness in his intercourse with his comrades. He was made of admirable stuff for an executioner, brave, obedient, merciless, remorseless; and as he had not manifested sufficient ambition to excite the jealousy even of Pedrarias he had been a useful tool of the governor. Great deeds do not always spring from greatness of soul. It may have been merely owing to the decline of physical powers with advancing age that Pizarro's mind was led to serious reflection on what at various times he had heard of the region southward of the Isthmus, of what Panciaco had said, and the Pearl Islanders, and Tumaco, and last of all of what Andagoya had reported concerning Birú. It was known what Cortés had done in the north; might not the same feat be accomplished in the south? * * * * * [Sidenote: ORGANIZATION OF AN EXPEDITION.] Whencesoever sprang the purpose, on the return of Andagoya unsuccessful from Birú, Pizarro determined if possible to undertake an expedition in that direction. Notwithstanding a long career of successful robbery he had little to venture, except that worthless article his life. Two requirements were necessary, money and the consent of the governor, both of which might be obtained through Fernando de Luque, acting vicar of Panamá, and formerly school-master of the cathedral of Darien. Father Luque, or Loco as he was later called for this folly, had influence with Pedrarias, and the proceeds of his piety thus far amounted to twenty thousand castellanos. He joined with himself a comrade, Diego de Almagro, and winning over the priest and the governor by a promise of one fourth each, the company was complete. Almagro was a few years older than Pizarro, and with an origin perhaps as low, for he was likewise a foundling. Ill-favored by nature, the loss of an eye but increased a sinister expression that had played from infancy over his features. It is but faint praise to say of him that his impulses were nobler than those of Pizarro. Though fiery he was frank, and abhorred treachery; nor could he nurse a wrong more easily than his colleague. Pizarro was to command the expedition; Almagro to take charge of the ships; the vicar, besides his money, was to contribute his prayers, while the governor was to have an eye watchful for himself.