_ 46 _ Suleiman had at his command in the Red Sea a low-ranking sea captain of enormous courage and good fortune, called Zafar. He was so talented that the Sultan even considered him preferable to Alequi-lubi. In 1551, this commodore with five galleys ran into Luis Figueira in the Strait with five very much weaker foists, which tried to retire. However, the flagship was boarded and despite the fact that Figueira fought like a raging lion, he was killed by a musket shot and his foist captured with few soldiers surviving. The captain of another foist, Gaspar Nunes, greatly saddened at not being able to save his chief or die with him, went to Massawa, dumped the small pieces of artillery overboard and, with no desire to return to Goa, travelled into the interior of Abyssinia with his men, where they all remained and died in the wars against the Galos (Abyssinians) and Turks. Still unaware of Aleque-lubi's defeat, the lucky Zafar left Suez in August with two galleys, one brigantine and the galliot of the unfortunate Luis Figueira. He went in search of booty to the point of Diu, where he captured four merchant ships with 150,000 cruzados, which he ordered to proceed to Mocha escorted by the brigantine, while he continued his operations as a pirate. Baltasar Lobato's
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