if he played false.41
A cross had been erected at the ford,42 probably during the first march to Cempoala, and here the army knelt in all humility to do reverence. Father Olmedo then gave the men the general absolution, and appealed to heaven to bless the efforts now to be made in behalf of their faith and the king, closing with the soul-stirring assurance that victory should be theirs. The men, one and all, felt no doubt that
they were about to fight not only for their own rights, but for God and their sovereign; and if the robber could feel encouraged in his lawless pursuit after kneeling at the shrine of St Demas, surely these heroes of a hundred fights were stronger for their religious faith. Therefore it was with renewed confidence that the men buckled tighter their escaupiles, and pike in hand, their main reliance, they resumed the march with quickened steps, leaving the baggage and horses in the care of Marina and the carriers. The horsemen stationed in the field were not encountered, thanks to Duero who was one of them.