The captive Inca finding he had no chance of escape, offered a ransom, which was to be so great a quantity of gold, that it would fill the apartment in which he was confined, as high as he could reach. This chamber was twenty-two feet in length, and sixteen in breadth, and a line was drawn around the walls, to indicate the height to which the treasure was to rise; and Pizarro, acceding to this proposal, the Inca immediately dispatched emissaries to Cuzco, to procure the ransom; with these messengers two Spanish officers were sent, to see that the gold in the treasury of Cuzco was sufficient to answer the demand, as some doubts had been shown by the Europeans on that subject. On their route, they met the captive Inca Huascar, escorted by a party of Atahualpa's troops; conferring with Huascar, they discovered that he possessed treasures to a much greater amount; but as they were concealed, he alone knew where they were; he informed the officers, that if Pizarro would reinstate him in his dignity, he would give three times as much gold as his brother, and promised to swear allegiance to the Spanish king. Soto and Barco, the two officers, told him it was out of their power to return to Caxamarca, as they were ordered to go to Cuzco, but that they would faithfully relate all that had passed to the general, when they had executed their mission; this they did, but in the interval, the whole conference had been detailed to Atahualpa, who foreseeing, that if Pizarro once got possession of the enormous treasures of Huascar, he should become of no importance, ordered his emissaries to kill his unfortunate brother; and as his will was a law, the order was speedily carried into execution. Whilst these events were passing, Almagro arrived from Panama, with a large reinforcement, to the great joy of the Spaniards; the treasure from Cuzco also arrived, and consisted of golden utensils and ornaments, used in the temples of the Sun; these, excepting a few which were reserved as curiosities, were melted down; a fifth was set aside for the king; 100,000 dollars were distributed to the followers of Almagro; and the remainder, amounting to 1,528,500 dollars, an enormous sum in those times, was divided among Pizarro and his troops, each horseman receiving 8000 dollars, and each foot-soldier 4000.