Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/461

435 DEATH OF ALONSO DE AGUILAR. 435 raw, inexperienced levies. It was in vain, that ciiapter VII. Alonso de Aguilar reminded them, that their wily enemy was still unconquered ; or that he endeav- oured to force them into the ranks again, and restore order. No one heeded his call, or thought of any thing beyond the present moment, and of securing as much booty to himself as he could carry. The Moors, in the mean while, finding them- fj^^'s'^^;"' selves no longer pursued, were aware of the occu- ^^''^'^ pation of the Christians, whom they not improbably had purposely decoyed into the snare. They resolved to return to the scene of action, and sur- prise their incautious enemy. Stealthily advan- cing, therefore, under the shadows of night, now falling thick around, they poured through the rocky defiles of the inclosure upon the astonished Span- iards. An unlucky explosion, at this crisis, of a cask of powder, into which a spark had acciden- tally fallen, threw a broad glare over the scene, and revealed for a moment the situation of the hostile parties ; — the Spaniards in the utmost disorder, many of them without arms, and staggering under the weight of their fatal booty ; while their ene- mies were seen gliding like so many demons of darkness through every crevice and avenue of the inclosure, in the act of springing on their devoted victims. This appalling spectacle, vanishing almost as soon as seen, and followed by the hideous yells and war-cries of the assailants, struck a panic into the hearts of the soldiers, who fled, scarcely offer- ing any resistance. The darkness of the night