Now the Marquis was guided by the counsels of his secretary Antonio Picado, who was not a man of constancy or prudence. It would have been well to lead the Marquis towards a policy of conciliation, which would have attracted friends; but Picado did just the reverse. He said many ugly things of the men of Chile, and it was through his scheming that the farm was taken from the lad Don Diego and given over to Francisco Martín. To insult the men of Chile, Picado one day put on embroidered clothes enriched with many gold figs,[46] and went in that garb to the quarters of young Diego. There he made his horse plunge and caper about to the bodily danger of those present, as if with intent to knock them over. Those of Chile felt hurt and insulted when they saw this, deploring that their misfortunes and ill-luck were such that Picado could come thus and triumph over them. From that time their suspicions grew, and they were in dread lest the Marquis should kill or banish them, so they sought for arms to defend themselves. The Marquis was informed of this, and he was counselled by his friends to keep people about him to guard his person, that he might not be murdered on a sudden. But he would not take their advice; on the contrary, he went out of his house every day alone. He went to a place where a mill was being built, where the men of Chile might have killed him many times, if they had cared to station themselves there. FOOTNOTES: [45] Almagro's son. [46] Others say a cap with a gold medal having a silver fig embossed upon it, and a motto--"For the men of Chile." CHAPTER XXVI _Of what happened to the President Vaca de Castro, after he left the city of Panamá to go to Peru._