Page:The Mastering of Mexico.djvu/340

300 along the causeway, we suffered loss of men, and whatever points we forced by day the Mexicans returned to by night and captured, we agreed to take up a position in a small plaza where several idol towers rose together, and where we should have some room for our quarters. Here we were miserably off, and had nothing to protect us from the rain. Still we could carry out our object of demolishing the buildings, from the tops of which we received most injury, and of filling in the canals with the stones and woodwork from the houses. Whenever we now took entrenchment or bridge we guarded it night and day, each company watching by turns;—the first watch, which numbered more than forty soldiers from even-time until midnight, the second from midnight till a couple of hours before daylight, and the third from that time till full daylight. On nights when we expected some sudden attack we all kept watch together.

And we had every reason to be on our guard, for Guatemoc had formed the idea of falling some day or night upon our encampment on the causeway, saying that when he had defeated us on our causeway, he could promptly master Sandoval and Cortes on the other two. It was not long before Guatemoc carried out his plan and sent great hosts to storm us at midnight, and a couple of hours after still another host, and with daylight a third, and at one