_ 198 _ he gave Afonso de Albuquerque time to advance further. Such was his zeal that he caught up with the Sheikh. The latter faced him, thinking that because of his ability as a soldier he would be able to kill Afonso de Albuquerque, but he was killed by him instead, as a result of which many of his men died as well, among them the eight men who had followed him. Meanwhile the commander-inchief had disembarked, in spite of the Arabs who fought hard to prevent it. Men were wounded on both sides and some of the Arabs were killed, because when they saw the commander-in-chief ashore they realized they could do nothing to stop him and retreated to the fortress, where some of our men pursued them. Tristan da Cunha, accompanied by his eldest son Nuno da Cunha and other noblemen and captains went on calmly, without rushing. The Arabs who had fled from them reached the fortress when our men had just killed Abraham and his soldiers. Finding their path obstructed by the Portuguese they went round them and joined the remainder of the Sheikh's men at the gates. There they fought bravely against our forces to prevent them from entering the fortress; its gates were shut and only a little door remained open. In this combat many Arabs died and about 25 to 30 of them managed to enter the fortress, closing the door behind them to prevent
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