_ 44 _ Captain-in-Chief who went aboard his skiff with ten men, and in his ship’s boat was his nephew Dom Antonio with seventy nobles and men of rank from his flag-ship, and many others who were with the other Captains were their friends and relatives. When they were all embarked the chaplain made the usual confession and gave absolution, and by this time it was clear daylight, and they made for the shore. The Captain-in-Chief never liked to land before daylight, saying that the sight of our men made our enemies afraid. When they reached the shore many Moors arrived, on foot and horse, to prevent them landing. Then the berços on the boats began their work and the shore was soon emptied save for the many Moors felled by the shots, and our men disembarked at their pleasure. The Captain-inChief ordered Afonso Lopes and João da Nova to scour the outskirts of the town and Francisco de Tavora and Manuel Telles to enter through the centre, and Dom Antonio and Antonio do Campo to enter from the side of the town towards the mountains. In each company there were more than a hundred well-armed men, and the masters and pilots and seamen remained in the boats with the gunners, who were well prepared, and the boats remained afloat for whatever
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