Pizarro would gladly have seen his little army strengthened by
reinforcements, however small the amount; and on that account
postponed his departure for several weeks. But no reinforcement
arrived; and, as he received no further tidings from his
associates, he judged that longer delay would, probably, be
attended with evils greater than those to be encountered on the
march; that discontents would inevitably spring up in a life of
inaction, and the strength and spirits of the soldier sink under
the enervating influence of a tropical climate. Yet the force at
his command, amounting to less than two hundred soldiers in all,
after reserving fifty for the protection of the new settlement,
seemed but a small one for the conquest of an empire. He might,
indeed, instead of marching against the Inca, take a southerly
direction towards the rich capital of Cuzco. But this would only
be to postpone the hour of reckoning. For in what quarter of the
empire could he hope to set his foot, where the arm of its master
would not reach him? By such a course, moreover, he would show
his own distrust of himself. He would shake that opinion of his
invincible prowess, which he had hitherto endeavoured to impress
on the natives, and which constituted a great secret of his
strength; which, in short, held sterner sway over the mind than
the display of numbers and mere physical force. Worse than all,
such a course would impair the confidence of his troops in
themselves and their reliance on himself.
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