_ 91 _ merchandise was brought to him the next day he would then hand over the others. While we were at anchor on Tuesday morning, a Moor from Tunis, whom we were able to understand, approached our ships. He told us that he was in a difficult situation. Everything he possessed had been taken from him and he was afraid that more harm would befall him. The natives of the country accused him of being a Christian who had come to Calicut by order of the King of Portugal. For that reason, he preferred to join us than remain ashore, where every day he expected them to kill him. At about ten o'clock, seven boats arrived crowded with people. Three of them brought some bolts of striped cloth on their benches, from those that we had left on land and they implied that this was all that was left of our merchandise. These three came alongside our ships, while another four remained out at sea, some distance away, and they never approached but stayed at a respectable distance from the ship. They told us to put their men in our boat and they would leave our merchandise in it in exchange for their men. When we had seen through this trick, the captain-major told them to leave, that he did not want the merchandise
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