on the poop of our ship, looking carefully after our swords, which lay
naked in the master's cabin, which they too seemed to have their eyes
upon. They seemed likewise to notice the place where I and Mr Glascock
had laid our swords, and anxiously waiting for the place being clear.
They even beckoned several times for me to come down upon the spar-deck,
which I refused, lest they might have taken that opportunity to seize
our weapons, which would have enabled them to do much more mischief than
they afterwards did.

[Footnote 280: These men were probably tawny Moors, or Arabs of pure
descent; whereas many of the Mahometans along the eastern shore of
Africa; and in its islands, are of mixed blood, partly negro,--E.]

Our master, Philip de Grove, came soon afterwards on the spar-deck, and
asking for their pilot, took him down into his cabin to shew him his
plat or chart, which he examined very attentively; but on leaving the
others to go with the master, he spoke something to them in the Moors
language which we did not understand, but which we afterwards supposed
was warning them to be on their guard to assault us as soon as he gave
the signal. It was reported that the pilot had a concealed knife, for
which he was searched; but he very adroitly contrived to shift it, and
therewith stabbed our master in the belly, and then cried out. This
probably was the signal for the rest, for they immediately began the
attack on our people on the spar-deck. The general, with Messrs Glascock
and Tindal, and one or two more, happened to be there at the time, and
had the good fortune to kill four or five of the _white_ rogues, and
made such havoc among the rest that at length they slew near forty of
them, and brought the rest under subjection. A little before this, our
master had proposed to the general to buy from them some _garavances,_
or pease, the ordinary food of the country, if they had any for sale,
and then to set them at liberty with their boats and goods. To this the
general had agreed, and the master, as before mentioned, had called the
Moorish pilot, to see if he had any skill in charts. But as they had
treacherously attacked us, we certainly could do no otherwise now than
slay them in our own defence. Five or six of them, however, leapt
overboard, and recovered a _pangaia_ by their astonishing swiftness in
swimming, and escaped on shore, as they swam to windward faster than our
pinnace could row.

In this skirmish only thr