Historical Tales, Vol. III | Page 9

Velasquez had made a bad choice.
Cortez had disdained his fetters and his prisons, and would soon
disdain his control. His hope to win gain and glory by the aid of this
young adventurer was likely to prove a mere Will-o'-the-wisp.
[Illustration: LANDING-PLACE OF CORTEZ, VERA CRUZ.]
LANDING-PLACE OF CORTEZ, VERA CRUZ.
The very appointment seemed to change the whole character of the new
admiral. He became a different man. His high spirits now changed to a
tireless energy. He spent his money freely in fitting out the fleet, and

even mortgaged his estate to raise more, and borrowed all he could. He
worked incessantly, and inspired his companions and followers to
active and enthusiastic toil. He was so popular in the island that several
hundred recruits soon flocked to his banner, and six ships, some of
them of large size, were rapidly got ready and stocked with provisions
and military stores.
Yet at the last moment it seemed as if all the labor and cost of Cortez
would go for naught. Velasquez grew suspicious of him, and decided to
rob him of his command and trust the fleet to safer hands. But he was
not dealing with a man who could be played with in this fast and loose
fashion. The secret was whispered to Cortez, and he decided to sail at
once, though he was still short of men, of vessels, and of supplies. That
night he took on board all the meat in the town, weighed anchor, and
got ready to set sail.
At day-dawn the news came to Velasquez that the fleet was about to
depart. In a panic he sprang from his bed, threw on his clothes,
mounted his horse, and rode in all haste to the beach. Cortez entered a
boat and rowed near enough to the shore to speak with him.
"And is this the way you leave me?" cried the angry governor; "a
courteous leave-taking, truly."
"Pardon me," said Cortez; "time presses, and there are some things that
should be done before they are even thought of. Has your excellency
any commands?"
His excellency would have commanded him to come on shore, if it had
been of any use. As it was he had little to say, and with a polite wave of
the hand Cortez returned to his ships. Soon only their vanishing hulls
were to be seen.
The fleet stopped for supplies at Macaca and at Trinidad. At the last
place many men, and several cavaliers who were to prove his ablest
officers, joined him. While there, letters came from Velasquez to the
governor of Trinidad, ordering him ta arrest Cortez, and hold the fleet
for a new admiral who was to command it. The governor looked at

Cortez and his men and concluded that he had better let them alone.
They were too strong for him to deal with.
So once more the bold adventurers escaped from Velasquez and his
schemes and sailed in triumph away, this time for Havana. Here, also,
the governor of the place had received orders to arrest Cortez, and here,
also, he did not dare attempt it. Velasquez also wrote to Cortez, asking
him to wait till he could see him. Hernando Cortez was hardly the fool
to pay any heed to such a letter as that. The lion was hardly likely to
trust himself to the fox. He sent him a very polite and mild answer,
saying that he would not lose sight of the interests of his excellency,
and that he and the fleet, "God willing, would set sail the next
morning."
Finally, on the 18th of February, 1519, the fleet lost sight of Cuba at
Cape San Antonio, on the western end of the island. It consisted in all
of eleven vessels, most of them small, and had on board six hundred
and sixty-three soldiers and sailors. A few of these were armed with
cross-bows and only thirteen with muskets, while the horses numbered
only sixteen. In addition there were ten heavy guns and four lighter
ones, with a good supply of ammunition.
Such was the fleet and such the force with which Hernando Cortez set
sail to conquer a powerful and warlike nation. Fortunately the
expedition had one of the world's great commanders at its head, or the
enterprise would have ended in failure instead of leading, as it did, to a
wonderful success.

BALBOA AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC.
It was a splendid road to fortune which Columbus opened to the
adventurers of Spain, and hundreds of them soon took that promising
path. Among these was one Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a man poor in
gold or land, but rich in courage and ambition, and weary enough of
trying to live at home like a gentleman with the means