Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 2.djvu/48

 service of Your Cæsarean Majesty more than in favouring and aiding Your vassals. In the emergency in which these Calcans appealed to me, I was unable to do for them what I wished, and I told them I could not, as at this season I had wished to send for the brigantines and had prepared, for this purpose, all the people of the province of Tascaltecal, from whence they had to be brought in pieces, and I was obliged to send horsemen and foot soldiers for them. I told them, however, that as they already knew that the natives of Guajocingo, Churultecal, and Guacachula, were all vassals of Your Majesty and our friends, they should go to them and pray them in my name to give them aid and succour, as they lived very near to their country, and to obtain from them a garrison with whom they might be safe till I could aid them. For the present, I said, I was unable to give them any other assistance.

Although they were not as well satisfied as if I had given them some Spaniards, they thanked me, and begged me to give them a letter of mine to ensure greater success; because between the people of Calco and those two provinces owing to their being of different parties, there had always existed some differences. While occupied in making these arrangements, certain messengers unexpectedly arrived from the said provinces of Guajocingo and Guacachula, who, in the Calcans' presence, told how the chiefs of those provinces had not seen or heard of me since I left the province of Tascaltecal, but, nevertheless, had always kept their watchmen on the hills and mountains which border their country and overlook Mexico and Temixtitan, in order that, if they saw many smokes, which are the signals of war, they might come to help me with their vassals and people; and, as they had recently seen more smoke than ever, they had come to know how I was and if I needed anything, so as to send me some warriors. I thanked them very much, and