_ 50 _ brother-in-law. He promptly ordered a red flag to be raised alongside the white flag, as a sign of war. He told the interpreter that such was the reply he had for him, and that the Portuguese commander could choose whichever of the two flags he wanted. When Simão da Cunha, received the reply, seeing the resolve of Ras Bardardin and with his captains urging him to accept war, and not to engage in further negotiations, he began to put his men ashore where they met no resistence and took up positions for an assault. He ordered trenches, ditches and tunnels to be dug all around, and he positioned some pieces of artillery where they would be able to bombard the fort. He built shelters for the captains and soldiers and began to set to work and bombard the fort every day. Ras Bardardin didn’t stir himself until the first shots were fired; when he saw we were attacking he ordered the white flag to be taken down and the red one to be left, to demonstrate to our men how little he was worried by the prospect of war, although he did not plan to do anything more than defend himself and maintain what he held, because any damage that was done to the walls was soon patched up and repaired so quickly that it could scarcely be noticed.
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