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Ashamed, perhaps, of his share in the transaction, and unwilling to face the taunts of the captive, Montezuma refused to see him, and he was surrendered to Cortés, who, regardless of royalty, applied the fetters as the surest means against escape. This seizure scattered the conspirators and their schemes to the winds, and the demoralization was completed by the arrest of several of the more important personages, such as the king of Tlacopan and the lords of Iztapalapan and Coyuhuacan, who were also shackled. Thus we see that Montezuma's captivity did not greatly affect his power, since he could so readily place under restraint the confederate kings, in their own provinces; and it was not wholly unwelcome to him to find his misfortune shared by other prominent men, since this made his disgrace less conspicuous.