Pizarro, having reached Caxamalia with his followers, sent messengers, inviting Atahualpa to visit him in his quarters, which he readily promised.  On the return of these messengers, they gave such a description of the wealth which they had seen, as determined Pizarro to seize upon the Peruvian monarch, in order that he might more easily come at the riches of his kingdom.

The next day the Inca approached Caxamalia, without suspicion of Pizarro’s treachery; but, as he drew near the Spanish quarters, Vincent Valverde, chaplain to the expedition, advanced with a crucifix in one hand and a breviary in the other, and, in a long discourse, attempted to convert him to the Roman Catholic faith.

This the monarch declined, avowing his resolution to adhere to the worship of the sun; at the same time wished to know where the priest had learned these extraordinary things he had related.  “In this book!” answered Valverde, reaching out his breviary.

The Inca opened it eagerly, and turning over the leaves, raised it to his ear, “This,” said he, “is silent, it tells me nothing;” and threw it with disdain to the ground.

The enraged monk, running towards his countrymen, cried out, “To arms, Christians! to arms! the word of God is insulted—­avenge the profanation of these impious dogs!”

Pizarro immediately gave the signal of assault, which ended in the destruction of four thousand Peruvians, without the loss of a single Spaniard.  The plunder was rich beyond any idea which even the conquerors had yet formed concerning the wealth of Peru.  The Inca, who was taken prisoner, quickly discovered that the ruling passion of the Spaniards was the desire of gold; he offered therefore to recover his liberty by a splendid ransom.

[Illustration]

The apartment in which he was confined was twenty-two feet long, by sixteen in breadth; this he undertook to fill with vessels of gold as high as he could reach.

Pizarro closed with the proposal, and a line was drawn upon the walls of the chamber, to mark the stipulated height to which the treasure was to rise.

During this confinement, Atahualpa had attached himself with peculiar affection to Ferdinand Pizarro, and Hernando Soto; who, as they were persons of birth and education, superior to the rough adventurers with whom they served, were accustomed to behave with more decency and kindness to the captive monarch.

Soothed with this respect, he delighted in their society; but in the presence of the governor he was always uneasy and overawed, and this dread soon became mingled with contempt.

Among all the European arts, what he admired most was that of reading and writing, and he long deliberated with himself whether it was a natural or an acquired talent.  In order to determine this, he desired one of the soldiers, who guarded him, to write the name of God on the nail of his thumb.  This he showed successively to several Spaniards, asking its meaning, and to his amazement, they all, without hesitation returned the same answer.  At length Francisco Pizarro entered, and on presenting it to him, he blushed, and with some confusion was obliged to acknowledge that he could not read.