Almagro’s expedition to Chile having proved a failure, the adventurer returned to establish his claim to Cuzco. He was met by Pizarro’s brother, Hernando, his old enemy, and was defeated near Cuzco, imprisoned and put to death by the Conqueror’s orders. To his son he bequeathed the province of New Toledo. But Pizarro saw in the death of his old comrade an opportunity to unite the two provinces under one government, and he refused to recognize the claim of the younger Almagro, which so incensed the veteran followers of Pizarro’s latest victim that they swore a terrible vengeance on the usurping governor. Driven to desperation by the apparent hopelessness of their cause, and eager to avenge the death of their beloved leader—for Almagro had been the idol of his soldiers, whose devotion he held by unfailing kindness and generosity—“those of Chile,” as they were contemptuously called by Pizarro’s men, were ready to commit any crime that would rid them of the domination of the hated Conqueror. Under the leadership of Juan de Rada, who, on the death of the senior Almagro, constituted himself the guardian and champion of the son, affectionately known among Almagro’s men as _El Mozo_, the conspirators laid their plans against the life of the governor with consummate skill and daring. Pizarro was warned of their purpose, which had been revealed in the confessional; but he paid no heed to danger, and was entertaining a number of friends at breakfast when the fatal hour arrived. Whatever may be said of Pizarro’s character, he was no coward, and when the assassins rushed into his house with the shout “Long live the King! Death to the tyrant!” they were met by the Conqueror, who, not having time to buckle on his armor, threw his _capa_, or cloak, over his shoulder and faced his enemies, sword in hand. After a brave resistance, he sank down with a fatal wound in the throat. Wetting his finger in his own blood, he traced a cross on the floor, and was bending to kiss the sacred symbol, when the _coup de grâce_ put an end to his life. Thus, in the last moment, the heart of the Crusader triumphed over the instincts of the gold-seeker!