_ 151 _ the merchants in the country. This he did, detailing all the Javanese and Indian traders together with the slaves that each one possessed. These numbered 3,500. Item 7: I went to the house of Otemetearaja, Captain of the Javanese, whom the Commander had ordered to be beheaded, with his son, son-in-law and nephew. I told him that there might be a possibility of escaping decapitation and being made prisoner in the fortress instead, but he had not shown friendship towards the Commander by ordering his slaves to help him. Item 8: He replied that he had very few slaves and those that he had he needed for household duties. I told him that his reply was not good enough for a man such as Your Majesty’s Commander-in-Chief, and it was not asking much for someone owning ten slaves to help the Commander with his money. He denied having any slaves but I showed him the paper with the names and he was completely taken aback. Nevertheless, he still maintained that he did not have many slaves. Item 9: I answered that the person who had given me the list had no vested interest in the matter, nor did him know them all and it could be that he had lied here and there, so we told him in confidence we would accept 500
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