the advancing foe, through the shower of blinding missiles, against the line of bristling lances, amidst the whirling swords and clubs, until not a rider but felt his arm droop and his body grow faint with loss of blood. Sandoval himself had a number of wounds. “For God’s sake make haste and retire,” he cried to his foot-soldiers, “or we shall all be lost!”
Finally the passage was clear, and they fell back along the causeway, still fighting, and now exposed to the canoe sallies. On reaching his quarters, Alvarado turned two cannon against the swarm which sought to scale the camp, and this with the fusillade procured a much needed respite.27 It was time, for the increasing darkness would soon have added fresh dangers to the retreat. Sandoval had already hurried away with a solitary companion to seek the camp of Cortés and calm his fears.28 With a similar object Andrés de Tápia had been sent with three horsemen from Fort Xoloc to Alvarado’s camp, where he arrived with some scars from marauding stragglers. Not wishing to discourage the soldiers, he reduced the losses of his party to quite a small number, and made light of the matter.