_ 78 _ other captains. Mirocem understood what he meant to do, but he dared not fight the Portuguese without Meliquias and gave orders for the galleys to fire their artillery at our skiffs, which were trying to raise our anchors. One of the first shells hit Dom Lourenco’s skiff and the men could not finish their work as a result. For this reason, and also because night was falling, Dom Lourenco gave up and decided to leave the fighting for the following day. After the wounded men had been treated, he sought the advice of his captains and it was agreed that they should, send Baltasar, son of Gaspar the interpreter ashore. He would pretend he was going to obtain some refreshments to try and find out whether the local people were on good terms with Mirocem or not; and to try to discover what his intentions were, Baltasar left at once and learnt from the Tanadar and some Arabs who were friendly towards Dom Lourenco, that Mirocem was ready to fight him as soon as Meliquias arrived. Mirocem was waiting for his powerful fleet and they therefore advised Dom Lourenco that if he wished to fight he should do it on the following day, before Meliquias arrived, for then he would have a very difficult task. When Dom Lourenco was told all this, he and the other captains decided to fight, showing great courage. It was agreed
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