_ 457 _ interior and the foist left for Qishm, where Dom Alvaro was not to be found as he had departed for India, for which they also left. On the way, they came across a Malabari parau, which was sailing to the Strait laden with pepper. It was so well equipped that it defended itself against our foists without their being able to board it, until they disengaged when some of our men were wounded, then each continued its journey. Having arrived in Qishm, Dom Alvaro was visited at sea by the king in person with a fine gift of provisions, and he begged him to consent to redress the insult inflicted upon him by the Turks, purely on account of the friendship that he had for the Portuguese and because of the services he had rendered to the governors of India. Besides, the castle would be quite easy to destroy, because it was very weak and the only garrison it had consisted of seventy Fartakans on soldier’s pay, with a Turkish captain. To this Dom Alvaro replied that he would help him without delay, because his father had sent him there for no other reason, and after disembarking with all his men and viewing the castle, he gave orders for positions to be set up in which he put only small-calibre guns, because the ships
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