_ 132 _ coming towards them, they fled towards the wells among them were two captains on horseback. At this point the barges arrived, and the rest of our force began to disembark, without the commander-in-chief’s knowledge. The latter, thinking that he still only had the men who had landed with him, continued to pursue the enemy with his followers. During this pursuit our men killed 15 Arabs, although most of them were hit by arrows, because while they fled the enemy kept turning back. With the commander-in-chief still going after them they reached the wells, which are situated in a valley which adjoins the town and surrounded by trenches. From the side of the town the wells are only accessible through a single entrance. Each well is connected to the next by a little path, like those separating rectangles in a walt marsh, because the area is very muddy. There were many Arabs within this space, who faced the commander-in-chief defiantly so that there followed a fierce battle between them and our men. During this time the commander-in- chief sent Nuno Vaz to fetch some firebrands from the pinnace, so as to set fire to the town, which consisted of straw houses, Nuno Vaz carried out. the order, and as he returned with the firebrands, accompanied by a man called Gaspar Machado and four others, he
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