_ 102 _ sails. As a result, our men thought that it was Mirocem looking for them, and the Council members gathered to decide what should be done. Some said they should sail with the turn of the tide, so that the enemy might not be able to reach them by the coast for if they reached us, they were certain to finish us off, as we had few men left, many of them wounded. Pero Barreto vehemently opposed this opinion, saying that he was very surprised that Knights such as they, who had always had so much success against their enemies should now be afraid of them; they had every reason to think little of their opponents, for the recent disaster was attributable to bad luck rather than to any lack of bravery on our side nor to any remarkable valour on the enemy side, Pero Barreto told them to do whatever they liked, but that he would not change course. Besides, even if they sailed into the open sea the enemy would pursue them. During these discussions the three ships, drew much nearer, and they were able to see red crosses on their sails, thereby realizing they were Portuguese vessels. These belonged to Afonso Lopes da Costa, Manuel Teles and Antonio do Campo who had run away from Ormuz and the commander-in-chief, Afonso de Albuquerque.
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