CHAPTER XXIX

    How the men of Chile plotted to murder the Marquis, and how one of them named Francisco de Herencia gave notice of it at confession¹. Of the great heedlessness of the Marquis, and of what further happened until those of Chile went out to kill him.

HAPPY should I be if I could get through some part of my story without having to relate mournful things and cruel deaths, but we cannot make the pen shun² or turn back from the work we have commenced; for my writing is not to please the living, but to be a faithful witness of what happened, for future ages. Now I have to tell the story of the death of the Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, a fate in no way fitted for a man of such great merits—and who had served his royal master so long in those Indies, and who in his own person had discovered so great, rich, and prosperous a country as Peru is; where such great riches of gold and silver, unequalled in any other part of the world, have been found. But there was the death of the Adelantado Don Diego de Almagro, which he could have prevented if he had so willed.[55]

[97]

The festival of St. John being past, Juan de Herrada conversed³ in secret with Don Diego. He spoke⁴ of the arrival of Vaca de Castro, and declared that he came out from Spain suborned with money sent by the Marquis. Even if that were not so, he suspected that the Marquis wanted to kill them; so that, to deliver himself from the one and the other, he resolved to anticipate and murder the Marquis first, and thus avenge⁵ the death of the Adelantado Don Diego de Almagro. Don Diego was very young—a virtuous⁶ youth and one of great pretensions⁷ and ambition, considering that he came of such humble⁸ parentage. He had a heart capable of undertaking⁹ any great deed, but he was so boyish that he was not adapted for personally ruling over people, nor to command a troop. He replied to Herrada that before deciding upon anything he should consider well what there was to be done. On the same day many of those belonging to his party consulted together, and the upshot was that they would murder the Marquis in any way they could. The captain Cristóbal de Sotelo was opposed to this decision, saying that nothing should be done until the arrival of the Judge. He argued that although it was publicly announced that he was coming with nothing beyond his commission, he might secretly have other more extensive powers. Should he not do rightful justice, but lean to the side of the Marquis, they might both be killed. Owing to what Sotelo said, they put off, for the time being, doing that on which they had resolved.

After the consultation¹⁰ one of those who were present named Francisco de Herencia, told it all, at confession, to a priest named Henao. This priest saw that it would be a great evil to the kingdom and its inhabitants if the Marquis should die in that manner, that God and his Majesty¹¹ would be ill served, that terrible disorder¹² would ensue among the Spaniards, and that a still worse civil war would be the consequence. He determined¹³ to avert¹⁴ these evils by appris[98]ing the Marquis, who was going that evening to sup at the house of his brother Francisco Martín de Alcántara, with his children. Before he went there he, with Antonio Picado, his secretary, called at the house of Doctor Juan Blázquez, his lieutenant¹⁵. Pizarro desired him to be watchful¹⁶, as there was a report that the men of Chile were intending to rise, and even talked of killing¹⁷ him. He added that those persons must be brought to book, and that occasion should be taken for administering justice. The doctor replied that while the wand of justice was in his hands the Marquis might sleep in peace, and not imagine that any one would move to do him a disservice. After this the Marquis went to the house of his brother. Soon afterwards the secretary, Antonio Picado, came to the room with blanched¹⁸ features, bringing a man who would not come forward, as he did not wish to be recognized. Stepping up to the Marquis, Picado asked him to get up, as that man was the priest Henao, and came to warn him that the men of Chile intended to murder him. The Marquis got up, and went across to Henao and heard from him all that he had to tell. He replied that someone, in the hope that his warning would obtain for him a present of a horse or other reward, had related the story, but that it was all Indian gossip. The priest protested, saying that he stood by what he had done, and declared that he could not be so remiss¹⁹ as to be mistaken in so momentous²⁰ a matter. The Marquis returned to the table very pensive²¹, and did not eat any more. After a short time he returned to his house, and Antonio Picado went to his, to dance with a girl friend he had there. This was wrong, for if he had given notice of what had passed, and of the suspicion there was, to the friends of the Marquis, it might have been that the murder would have been prevented. Yet if it was a Divine judgment²², as we must believe, no human effort could have averted²³ it.

[99]

The Marquis lay down on his bed, thinking over what Henao had told him. On that night the Licentiate Caravajal got word of the plots of the men of Chile, and sent for Juan de Herrada, telling him that he must be on his guard not to do anything which would cause more trouble. Herrada answered, with dissimulation²⁴, that nothing was contemplated²⁵ that would be injurious to the Marquis, for they awaited the arrival of the Judge, believing that he would administer justice. The Licentiate, though Juan de Herrada had justified²⁶ himself, sent to advise the Marquis that he had better go out well accompanied, and cherish that distrust of the men of Chile that their doings merited.

1 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

2 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

3 conversed   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 )

参考例句：

• I conversed with her on a certain problem. 我与她讨论某一问题。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She was cheerful and polite, and conversed with me pleasantly. 她十分高兴，也很客气，而且愉快地同我交谈。 来自辞典例句

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

6 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

7 pretensions   

自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力

参考例句：

• The play mocks the pretensions of the new middle class. 这出戏讽刺了新中产阶级的装模作样。
• The city has unrealistic pretensions to world-class status. 这个城市不切实际地标榜自己为国际都市。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

10 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

11 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

12 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

15 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

16 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

17 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

18 blanched   

v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮

参考例句：

• The girl blanched with fear when she saw the bear coming. 那女孩见熊（向她）走来，吓得脸都白了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Their faces blanched in terror. 他们的脸因恐惧而吓得发白。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 remiss   

adj.不小心的，马虎

参考例句：

• It was remiss of him to forget her birthday.他竟忘了她的生日，实在是糊涂。
• I would be remiss if I did not do something about it.如果我对此不做点儿什么就是不负责任。

20 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

21 pensive   

a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的

参考例句：

• He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。
• He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。

22 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

23 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

24 dissimulation   

n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂

参考例句：

• A habit of dissimulation is a hindrance, and a poorness to him. 在他这样的一个人，一种掩饰的习惯是一种阻挠，一个弱点。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Still we have our limits beyond which we call dissimulation treachery. 不过我们仍然有自己的限度，超过这个界限，就是虚伪与背信弃义。 来自辞典例句

25 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

26 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。