_ 73 _ in India. It seemed to the governor not right to commit them to the city, and he was better informed than anyone. On hearing this all the others presents were shocked because they thought that the governor had consulted the two captains on the matter to hear their opinions and to take account of them. Most of them, seeing how the matter was resolving, went with the opinion of the two. But others were more bitter, and went against this, giving reasons why it was necessary to fight. It would be a shameful thing, and the Portuquese would lose all credit, by not fighting this powerful fleet, with all the might of the Sultan, but even more so when they knew how few there were in the city. The Arabs would know very well how many men had embarked in the governor's armada, which exceeded three thousand, and they would not guess how many had died on the way, nor who was missing or was sick. Seeing that we were not going to fight they would believe it was from fear. In this way everything the Portuguese had attained up till then might be lost, and they would not be taken into account anymore. What was so necessary was that the fortresses in India should be safeguarded, but the Arabs could soon encircle them, having lost their fear that they would be defended. It
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