_ 156 _ Item 19: I arrived in Cochin after escaping from the wreck of the “Flor de la Mar”(A) on a plank and having lost what was left of the pittance that Your Majesty had given me. I endured hunger and thirst before being rescued and brought to Cochin in the “Trindade”. I had helped to build fortresses in Goa and Malacca, so I was hoping to have a rest as there was no fortress to build in Cochin, but, instead, the Commander clapped me in irons. When I asked him the reason for this, he replied that he had returned from Malacca without ships, provisions or money. Moreover, he was afraid because I knew all his secrets. Although he had treated me well up till then, he had the right to change his mind, but he promised that when the fleet came from Portugal, he would remove my shackles. The squadron of fourteen ships took five more months to arrive. Be advised, Your Highness, that men like me are not won over to a cause by beingput in chains. Item 20: Men like me are won over by rewards. Those in chains are only fit to mill an alqueire of rice but if Your Highness wants flour, I can give him ten slaves much more efficient than I am. If Your Highness would like me to be your interpreter you will have to do me favours so that I (A) Flor de la Mar.
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