their horses and arms, and even stripped them of their clothes. Ninno
was dressed in an old doublet and breeches, without stockings, having
only a pair of miserable pack-thread sandals, and had walked all the way
with a stick in his hand. The viceroy received him very graciously,
praising his loyalty, and told him that he appeared more nobly in his
rags than if clothed in the most costly attire.

When Balthasar de Loyasa had procured the safe conduct from the viceroy
for his employers, he set out without loss of time for the army of
Gonzalo Pizarro. As his departure and the nature of his dispatches were
soon known in Lima, it was universally believed there that the troops
under Pizarro would soon disperse of their own accord, leaving the
viceroy in peaceable and absolute command of the whole colony, upon
which he would assuredly put the ordinances in force with the utmost
rigour to the utter ruin of every one: For this reason, several of the
inhabitants, and some even of the soldiers belonging to the viceroy,
came to the resolution of following Loyasa and taking his dispatches
from him. Loyasa left Lima in the evening of a Saturday, in the month of
September 1545, accompanied by Captain Ferdinand de Zavallos. They were
mounted on mules, without any attendants, and had no baggage to delay
their journey. Next night, twenty-five persons set out from Lima on
horseback in pursuit of them, determined to use every possible
expedition to get up with Loyasa that they might take away his
dispatches. The chiefs in this enterprize were, Don Balthasar de Castro,
son of the Conde de la Gomera, Lorenzo Mexia, Rodrigo de Salazar, Diego
de Carvajal usually called the gallant, Francisco de Escovedo, Jerom de
Carvajal, and Pedro Martin de Cecilia, with eighteen others in their
company. Using every effort to expedite their journey, they got up with
Loyasa and Zavallos about forty leagues from Lima, and found them asleep
in a _tambo_ of palace of the Incas. Taking from them the letters and