Page:Vol 1 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/504

384 but a royal mandate, and would hold the country for the king, as was the duty of a loyal subject, and to this he and his followers were prepared to pledge their lives. Still, he was ready to meet Narvaez, each accompanied by ten attendants, in order that their respective claims might peradventure be happily adjusted. It was supposed by the captains of Cortés, who had influenced the proposal, that the result would be a division of territory, and to this they were willing to agree.

Duero had been requested by Narvaez to persuade Velazquez de Leon to visit their camp, in the hope that a personal meeting might win him to their cause.

Velazquez' disregard of the former summons from the enemy had confirmed the faith of Cortés in his loyalty, and since a visit to the camp of Narvaez might lead to important information, he advised him to go; at the same time intimating that his heavy ornaments might have a happy effect on that gold-thirsty crew. With a view to temporize he was authorized to offer himself as mediator between the two generals, and with a supply of gold for bribes he went over to the camp of Narvaez. There he met a most cordial reception. Gently the commander remonstrated at his adherence to a traitor who had so deeply injured his relatives. "He is no traitor," replied Velazquez