CHAPTER LII

    How the captain Alonso de Alvarado, on getting the news of Pero Alvarez Holguin, sent another messenger to Vaca de Castro urging him to come to where the camp was with all possible speed.

IT was very fortunate for Vaca de Castro that he should have found so much loyalty¹ in the Realm; and that now that Don Diego had usurped² the government of the provinces, his Majesty³ the King our Lord should have had vassals⁴ of a kind who would not countenance⁵ so weighty an offence, nor allow any one to occupy the Realm against his royal pleasure.

Although his Majesty has pronounced the battle that was fought at Chupas to have been just, I will not, in my book, term Don Diego and his followers⁶ traitors⁷, for two reasons; as to which, if they are not evident, I submit to correction by those wise and learned men who understand these things better than I do. I say then, that the principal reason is that Vaca de Castro brought no mandate⁸ or commission to fight a battle. The second is that Don Diego and his followers would have supported Vaca de Castro if the latter had not joined with Pero Alvarez; and further, because the object of the Chile party, at first, was to avenge⁹ the death of the Adelantado by murdering[179] the Marquis,[97] and if the King should not think fit to pardon them, to retire into the most remote interior. It may be true that they committed a great mistake in that, at the time that they murdered the Marquis, they took the wands of Office from the Alcaldes of Lima, and gave them to men of their own choice: an ill-judged action.

But to return to our subject. Alonso de Alvarado had collected all the men within his reach, and had sent his messengers to Vaca de Castro; but when he knew that Pero Alvarez Holguin, with the people of Cuzco and Plata were approaching him, he decided¹⁰ not to go to Quito, where he supposed that he would find Vaca de Castro, but went on with his troops towards the province of Guaylas instead, first sending another messenger to Vaca de Castro. This message was to urge him to join in with the men he had collected, without letting more time elapse. For, praise be to God, things had made such a good beginning, that he and Pero Alvarez had now got together as many as 500 men, to help secure obedience¹¹ to the will of his Majesty. He asked Vaca de Castro not to delay much in coming, lest Don Diego, who had retired¹² towards Cuzco, should there increase his resources. He wrote other things in his letter too. As soon as Alonso de Alvarado had despatched the messenger, he ordered those who were with him to get ready to march to Guaylas. So they started at once and proceeded until they arrived at a habitation called Yungay, one day's journey from the camp of Pero Alvarez. Thence they wrote very gracious letters, and some of the one camp visited those of the other. Here they stayed, waiting for news of the Governor Vaca de Castro: where we will leave them for the present, and tell of what Don Diego de Almagro did.

1 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

2 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

3 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！

4 vassals   

n.奴仆( vassal的名词复数 )；（封建时代）诸侯；从属者；下属

参考例句：

• He was indeed at this time having the Central Office cleared of all but his vassals. 的确，他这时正在对中央事务所进行全面清洗（他的亲信除外）。 来自辞典例句
• The lowly vassals suffering all humiliates in both physical and mental aspects. 地位低下的奴仆，他们在身体上和精神上受尽屈辱。 来自互联网

5 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 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。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。