rdered
him, he called Affonso Goterres, another stripling of the Infant's
household and the men of his ship, who were in all twenty-one, and said
to them, Brothers and friends, it seems to me to be shame to turn back
to our Lord's presence, with so little service done; just as we have
received the lest strict orders to do more than this, so much more ought
we to try it with the greater zeal. And how noble an action would it be,
if we who came here only to take a cargo of such wretched merchandise as
these sea wolves, should be the first to bring a native prisoner before
the presence of our Lord. In reason we ought to find some hereabout, for
it is certain there are people, and that they traffic with camels and
other beasts, who bear their merchandise; and the traffic of these men
must be chiefly towards the sea and back again; and since they have yet
no knowledge of us, they will be scattered and off their guard, so that
we can seize them; with all which our Lord the Infant will be not a
little content, as he will thus have knowledge of who and what sort of
people are the dwellers in this land. Then what shall be our reward, you
know well enough from the great expense and trouble our Prince has been
at, in past years, only to this one end.

The crew shouted a hearty "Do as you please; we will follow," and in the
night following Antam Gonsalvez set aside nine men, who seemed to him
most fit, and went up from the shore about three miles, till they came
on a path, which they followed, thinking that by this they might come up
with some man or woman, whom they might catch. And going on nine miles
farther they came upon a track of some forty or fifty men and boys, as
they thought, who had been coming the opposite way to that our men were
going. Now the heat was very great and by reason of that, as well as of
the trouble they had been at, the long tramp they had on foot and the
failure of water, Antam Gonsalvez saw the weariness of his men, that it
was very great. So let us turn back and follow after these men, said he,
and turning back toward the sea, they came upon a man stark naked,
walking after and driving a camel, with two spears in his hand, and of
our men, as they rushed on after him, there was not one who kept any
remembrance of his great weariness. As for the native, though he was
quite alone, and saw so many coming down upon him, he stood on his
defence, as if wishing to show that he could use those weapons of his,