By the terms of the capitulation of Loja Boabdil had agreed to surrender his claims to the throne on the capture of Guadix, and to retire to that city with the title of Duke. The sovereigns now demanded the fulfilment of this promise; but the outlook had changed since the days when the young Sultan had been merely doubtful “King of the Albaycin,” and knew not if the next week would find him in exile. Lord of the whole of Granada, the prospect of the Duchy of Guadix was not alluring to his ambitions; nor, had he wished to surrender, was he in a position to do so. Raised to the throne by all the martial element in the kingdom, that had not bowed the knee before the Cross, his very life depended on his popularity with the fierce warriors of the Alpujarras and the rest of the Moorish soldiery, who for one reason or another were pledged to maintain the city’s independence. [Illustration: BOABDIL, LAST KING OF GRANADA FROM ALTAMIRA’S “HISTORIA DE ESPAÑOLA” ] Thus it was that the Christian demands were met by defiance, and the sovereigns provided with an excuse for prosecuting the war to its bitter end. The Moorish messengers had found them in Seville, whither they had gone in April, 1490, to celebrate the betrothal of their daughter Isabel with Don Alfonso, the heir to the Portuguese throne; but, this concluded, Ferdinand collected an army and, crossing the Sierra Elvira, proceeded to ravage the plains of Granada. Within sight of the city he knighted his son Prince John, on whom so many hopes were centred, that in this last act of the crusade, inheritance of his race, the boy of twelve might receive initiation into a great future. Boabdil, in the meanwhile, had not waited to be attacked; and his generals, taking the offensive, endeavoured to recapture some of the smaller fortresses that had fallen into Christian hands, besides stirring up revolt in the larger towns which had lately surrendered, such as Guadix and Baeza. Both efforts met with a measure of success; for many of the Moors, who had faithfully served “El Zagal” throughout his struggles with his nephew, were so disgusted at seeing his banner in the Christian camp, and at witnessing the soft complacency of Cid Haya, that they turned willingly from their old allegiance to the Prince who offered them deliverance from a foreign yoke. Their patriotism came too late. The hour had passed when rebellion could do more than temporarily retard the waning Crescent; and the punishment of failure was meted out by Ferdinand and his generals with no unsparing hand. Yet this severity had its semblance of mercy. The inhabitants of the town in question might choose between exile with their movable property, or a full judicial inquiry into their conduct. Who were guilty? The citizens looked at one another and knew that few would be able to prove complete innocence before a hostile judgment seat, with racial hatred holding the balance; and their decision was not long in forming.