the son of the Marquis. Gonzalo Pizarro amused himself by making the two boys have running and jumping matches, until a rivalry was created between the young competitors.
Then came the rout of Sacsahuana on April 8, 1548, when the elder Garcilasso took the opportunity of galloping over to the royalist side on his favourite horse 'Salinillas,' which had been returned to him by Gonzalo. The interment of the headless body of Gonzalo Pizarro in the church of La Merced quickly followed. Then there were some years of peace, and young Garcilasso eagerly gathered knowledge as his age increased. He listened, with the deepest interest, when his mother's relations came to their house and conversed on the majesty and grandeur of the Incas, their government and laws. Soon he began to ask questions, and was told of the mythical origin of his ancestors, of the settling of the city, and the deeds of Manco Ccapac. On other occasions he listened to the conversations of the Spanish conquerors, when they fought their battles over again with his father. He also had opportunities of examining the quipus of his father's vassals when they came to pay their tribute at Christmas or St. John's. Comparing the tribute with the knots, he soon came to understand their system of accounts by quipus.
Another civil war was impending. The President of the Audiencia, Pedro de la Gasca, so undeservedly praised by Prescott, had left the country seething with discontent, and in a most
