ing the secret search for evidence such as would convict. In the mean time, as the days went by, to the now-awakening inhabitants the atmosphere of the city seemed thick with treason. Certain illegible lines in the scroll of their destiny, on exposure to the constant light, began to show color, and soon the characters could be all too easily read. The weaker of the wicked ones trembled, and hastened to save their lives by turning informers.
Among the first of these was the infamous Pedro de Aguilar,[1] who after confession and communion on palm-Sunday and the next day, the 8th of April, asked the Dominican friars Cristóbal de la Cruz and Andrés Ubilla to take his statement to the audiencia. He did not, however, produce it in writing until the 23d of May. The marquis had gone to pass holy week at the Dominican convent of Santiago, where he heard from Baltasar de Aguilar on the evening of April 10th what had occurred. He then demanded the keys of the convent, locked its gates, and together with Bernardino de Bocanegra visited the city to see if all was quiet. After satisfying himself on this point he went to his own palace, to hold a consultation with his brothers; these steps betokened a troubled spirit. On Saturday Baltasar de Aguilar and Agustin de Villanueva visited the marquis and opened his eyes to his perilous position. Upon one of the fol-
- ↑ The marquis' enemies learned the facts from Baltasar de Aguilar Cervantes, the man chosen by the conspirators for maestre de campo. He had near relatives among the former, and was advised to secure his property without delay, and then inform the government of all he knew of the plot, and the names of the parties implicated, himself included: 'y es verdad, por lo que ví, que fué llevalle como por los cabellos, y así fué y hizo su denunciacion.' Peralta, Not. Hist., 201. This same authority, p. 207, says that Agustin de Villanueva Cervantes, who had been at the head of the marquis' enemies, managed to obtain an interview with him on the pretence of joining the plot. Before doing this, however, he obtained leave of the audiencia under its seal, with written instructions. Then he partook of the communion and went to the marquis' house, kissed his hand, and tendered his services. The marquis talked freely about the conspiracy, and the conversation was reported to the audiencia. It is unlikely that the marquis placed any confidence in Villanueva, and yet it is possible that he endeavored to draw him out. This man Villanueva figured later at an important event in Vera Cruz, which will be duly related.
