to repair the bridges and deepen the canals, and get in a fresh supply of arms; and, to be short, the three days expired, but no Quauhtemoctzin made his appearance. His courtiers continually cautioned him not to put any trust in Cortes, and supported their arguments by reminding him of his uncle Motecusuma's miserable end; they assured him that Cortes would exterminate the whole of the Mexican nobility, and they advised him to excuse himself for not meeting Cortes, under the pretence of ill health. They faithfully promised him to march out to a man against the teules, and they despaired not of gaining a decisive victory over us some day or other, for this had been promised them by their gods.
When the three days had passed by and Quauhtemoctzin did not make his appearance, we concluded that we had been imposed upon by the Mexicans, who, however, did not leave us much time to vex ourselves about it, for all of a sudden they renewed the attack upon us with their accustomed fierceness, so that we were scarcely able to maintain our ground. The same befell the divisions of Alvarado and Sandoval, and it was as if the war had only just commenced.