At _San Miguel_, which was situated on the high-road along the Pacific, the Viceroy erected his standard, and in a few weeks he found himself at the head of a force of about five hundred men; but meanwhile Pizarro had not been idle. Being convinced that his only chance of ultimate safety lay in his present success, he did not tamely watch the Viceroy’s movements. Having left a strong garrison at _Lima_, he sent forward six hundred men to _Truxillo_, whither he himself repaired. Thence he marched to _San Miguel_, at which place the Viceroy would gladly have met him had he not been compelled to yield to the wishes of his adherents, who clamoured to be led into the upper country, where they might hope to be reinforced by the commander of _Popayan_. Pizarro arrived at _San Miguel_ to find the enemy gone, and he lost not a moment in pursuing him. He reached the skirts of a mountain chain into which the Viceroy had entered only a few hours before. It was late in the evening, but Pizarro sent forward his lieutenant Carbajal with some light troops to overtake him. Carbajal overtook the slumbering enemy enveloped amongst the mountains at midnight. But one of his men had incautiously sounded a trumpet, and the Viceroy and his followers thus aroused poured a volley into the ranks of their pursuers, who were thrown into confusion and forced to retreat. Pizarro, greatly disconcerted at this miscarriage, again sent Carbajal forward in pursuit of the Viceroy to retrieve his mistake. But the latter had profited by the delay, and it was many days before he was again overtaken. His baggage, however, fell into the hands of his pursuer. He and his men had to snatch such sleep as they could with their arms at hand and their steeds saddled beside them. At length they reached the desert of _Paltos_, a quagmire intersected by numerous streams, and which offered the most difficult passage for the weary and half-starved horses. Nor did Pizarro and his men suffer less than the Viceroy whom they were pursuing. It was a repetition of his trials on the expedition to the _Amazons_.