The life
of the captive monarch is usually short; and Atahuallpa might
have learned the truth of this, when he thought of Huascar
Bitterly did he now lament the absence of Hernando Pizarro, for,
strange as it may seem, the haughty spirit of this cavalier had
been touched by the condition of the royal prisoner, and he had
treated him with a deference which won for him the peculiar
regard and confidence of the Indian. Yet the latter lost no time
in endeavouring to efface the general's suspicions, and to
establish his own innocence. "Am I not," said he to Pizarro, "a
poor captive in your hands? How could I harbour the designs you
impute to me, when I should be the first victim of the outbreak?
And you little know my people, if you think that such a movement
would be made without my orders; when the very birds in my
dominions," said he, with somewhat of an hyper bole, "would
scarcely venture to fly contrary to my will." *21
[Footnote 21: "Pues si Yo no lo quiero, ni las Aves bolaran en mi
Tierra.' Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 2 cap. 7.]
But these protestations of innocence had little effect on the
troops; among whom the story of a general rising of the natives
continued to gain credit every hour. A large force, it was said,
was already gathered at Guamachucho, not a hundred miles from the
camp, and their assault might be hourly expected. The treasure
which the Spaniards had acquired afforded a tempting prize, and
their own alarm was increased by the apprehension of losing it.
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