_ 114 _ It did not seem prudent for our men to scale the walls on any other part of the city, as well as on the agreed location for our men were few as I said, and they did not have many ladders. If they attacked various parts of the walls, they would not be able to concentrate a sufficiently large number of people, which was needed if our men were to go down the walls into the city without fear. Therefore, the attack had to be concentrated in one single location. After this had been agreed they all decided to take confession. During this night or the night before, an Abyssinian Christian ran away from the city he had been captured by the Arabs when he had gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and he had then been brought to Aden. From him the governor learnt that Matthew, the Prester's Ambassador, was a man in whom the Prester's mother had great trust, and whom she had sent as an ambassador to many parts; he was not the Sultan's spy, as our men in India had claimed. This Abyssinian fugitive also gave him a great deal of information about the Prester and his domains. However, as he had been held captive, he could tell him nothing of the enemy's plans; but he did say that if our men fought well, they would certainly capture the city. This was indeed true, because Mira Mergena distrusted his men,
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