Page 126 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

126 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST

chants’ Hope to anchor some distance away from the other
ships towards the entrance of the roadstead. The bait,
if it were such, was readily swallowed. Before Downton
realized what was happening the Merchants’ Hope was
heavily engaged by three of the enemy’s smaller ships and
by a great number of frigates. The onslaught was so de­
termined that it looked for a time very much as if the vessel
would be captured. The first volley from the Portuguese
'
ships brought down the Merchants’ Hope’s main top and
slew a number of her crew. Following this came a des­
perate attempt to board her, made with a reckless courage
which [belied the popular English conception of the
Lusitanian of that time.
The fight waxed hot as English and Portuguese contested
hand to hand on the bloodstained deck. Overwhelming
odds must in the end have prevailed if at the nick of time
Downton had not come up with his ships and created a
welcome diversion. The Portuguese now began to give
way. Seeing their movement the English renewed the
fight with increased zest. Soon the bulk of the attacking
party were flying over the sides in a helterskelter rush
for their boats. Their flight was their undoing.
The English ships, getting to a nicety the range, plied
the fugitives with shot large and small until many of the
•• !
frigates were destroyed and the water was reddened with
the blood of the unfortunate victims. Altogether between
three hundred and four hundred fell in the fight, the num­
ber including scions of some of the noblest houses in Portu­
gal. On the English side the casualties were small, being
confined almost entirely to the crew of the Merchants’
Hope.
The blow was a heavy one, but Don Jeronimo declined