ad been slightly wounded,
for which reason he lay by all day intending to nurse himself. Serrano,
who could do no business without his help, rated him soundly, and
told him that though his master Magellan was dead, he was still a
slave, and that he would find that such was the case, and would get
a good flogging into the bargain, if he did not exert himself and do
what was required of him more zealously. This speech much incensed
the slave against our people: but he concealed his anger and in
a few days he went to the chief of Subuth, and told him that the
avarice of the Spaniards was insatiable: that they had determined,
as soon as they should have defeated the king of Mauthan, to turn
round upon him, and take him away as a prisoner; and that the only
course for him [the chief of Subuth] to adopt was to anticipate
treachery by treachery. The savage believed this, and secretly came
to an understanding with the king of Mauthan, and made arrangements
with him for common action against our people. Admiral Serrano,
and twenty-seven of the principal officers and men, were invited to
a solemn banquet. These, quite unsuspectingly, for the natives had
carefully dissembled their intentions, went on shore without any
precautions, to take their dinner with the chief. While they were
at table, some armed men, who had been concealed close by, ran in
and slew them. A great outcry was made: it was reported in our ships
that our men were killed, and that the whole island was hostile to
us; our men saw, from on board the ships, that the handsome cross,
which they had set up in a tree, was torn down by the natives and cut
up into fragments. When the Spaniards, who had remained on board,
heard of the slaughter of our men, they feared further treachery:
so they weighed anchor and began to set sail without delay. Soon
afterwards Serrano was brought to the coast a prisoner; he entreated
them to deliver him from so miserable a captivity, saying that he
had got leave to be ransomed, if his men would agree to it. Although
our men thought it was disgraceful to leave their commander behind
in this way, their fear of the treachery of the islanders was so
great, that they put out to sea, leaving Serrano on the shore in vain
lamenting and beseeching his comrades to rescue him. The Spaniards,
having lost their commander and several of their comrades, sailed on
sad and anxious, not merely on account of the loss they had suffered,
but also because thei