ry on a small piece of
rising ground.

When the Moors charged, they were well received. In spite of all their
strength, one army being held ready to take another's place, as men grew
tired, the Portuguese held their own. Henry had a horse killed under
him; Cabral, his Master of Horse, fell at his side with five and twenty
of his men; the cowardice of one regiment, who fled to the ships, almost
ruined the defence; but when night fell, the Moorish columns fell
sullenly back and left the Infant one more chance of flight and safety.
It was the only hope, and even this was lost through the desertion of a
traitor. Martin Vieyra, the apostate priest, once Henry's chaplain, now
gave up to the enemy's generals the whole plan of escape.

After a long debate, it was determined, not to massacre the Christian
army, but to take sureties from them that Ceuta should be restored with
all the Moorish captives in the Prince's hands. These terms were
accepted, for it was soon known that escape was hopeless.

But next morning a large party of Moors, with more than the ordinary
Moslem treachery, made a last fierce attempt to surprise the camp. For
eight hours, eight separate attacks went on; when all had failed, the
retreating Berbers tried to set fire to the woodwork of the
entrenchments. With the greatest trouble, Henry saved his timbers, and
under cover of night fortified a new and smaller camp close to the
shore. Food and water had both run short, and the besiegers, who were
now become the besieged, had to kill their horses and cook them, with
saddles for fuel. They were saved from a fatal drought by a lucky shower
of rain, but their ruin was only a matter of time, for it was hopeless
to try an embarkation under the walls of the city with all the hosts of
Morocco waiting for the first chance of a successful storm; but the
losses of the native kings and chiefs had been so great that they were
ready to sign a written truce and to keep their cut-throats to the terms
of it.

On the 15th of October, Don Henry, for the Portuguese, agreed that
Ceuta, with all the Moorish prisoners kept in guard by Menezes, should
be given up and that no further attack should be made by the King of
Portugal on any side of Barbary for one hundred years. The arms and
baggage of the crusaders were to be surrendered at once: directly this
was done they were to embark, with none of the honours of war, and to
sail back at once to Europe. Don Ferdinand was left wit