Continuing his journey, Don Diego arrived at Cuzco, where he met with a grand reception, and he and all his men were lodged in the city. A few days afterwards, Diego Méndez came to the town of Plata, where he treacherously captured Antón Alvarez, a resident of the place, and seized all the gold and silver there was in the mines of Porco and in that region; and with all these spoils he took the road to Cuzco. When he drew near, the Governor went out to welcome him, and was very delighted because he brought such a good supply of money to pay the soldiers with. All the men that could be collected were thus brought together, and Cristóbal de Sotelo managed everything extremely well. They were so well supplied with all there was in the land that many had enough and to spare, while none went short. The captains had tables set up in their houses, where the soldiers usually took their meals. But Don Diego and all his followers knew full well that they could retain neither lives nor estates unless they could successfully defend them. After Holguin had passed beyond Jauja many lost heart, and some would have been glad not to be in Cuzco; others, however, with Don Diego, wanted to strengthen their forces in such wise that their enemies would not be able to triumph over them. They, therefore, determined to prepare themselves and make ready a stock of arms. They collected a vast quantity of copper, and Pedro de Candía offered to cast several heavy pieces of artillery. He gave out that he wished to serve Don Diego in that war, although afterwards he seemed to favour the other side. The first moulds he made for the new cannon were very large, but they got him to have them made smaller. It was now known that Vaca de Castro had joined Pero Alvarez at Guaraz, so they set to work with all possible speed and no little industry. Some brought the copper, others made the charcoal, others prepared the furnaces, and in a short time they had turned out six large and well-made cannon. This, too, notwithstanding that Pero de Candía's castings proved failures three or four times--designedly as it seemed to all, because he repented of having said that he knew how to make them. The excuse he gave was that the metal cooled too quickly, and that the bellows would not work properly.