Whilst the ship of the captain-major was being careened there arrived a man,[215] about forty years of age, who spoke Venetian well. He was dressed in linen, wore a fine _touca_ on his head, and a sword in his belt. He had no sooner landed than he embraced the captain-major and the captains, and said that he was a Christian from the west, who had come to this country in early youth; that he was now in the service of a Moorish lord,[216] who could muster 40,000 horsemen; that he, too, had become a Moor, although at heart still a Christian. He said that, being one day at his master’s house, news was brought that men had arrived at Calecut, whose speech none could understand, and who were wholly clad; that when he heard this he said that these strangers must be Franks, for this is the name by which we [Europeans] are known in these parts. He then begged permission of his master to be allowed to visit us, saying that a refusal would cause him to die of sorrow. His master thereupon had told him to go and tell us that we might have anything in his country which suited us, including ships and provisions, and that if we desired to remain permanently it would give him much pleasure. When the captain had cordially thanked him for these offers, which appeared to him to have been made in good faith, our visitor asked as a favour that a cheese be given him, which he desired to take to one of his companions who had remained on the mainland, as a token that all had gone well. The captain ordered a cheese and two soft loaves to be given to him. He remained on the island, talking so much and about so many things, that at times he contradicted himself. Paulo da Gama, in the meanwhile, had sought the Christians who had come with this visitor, and asked who he was. They said he was a pirate (_armador_), who had come to attack us, and that his ships, with many people in them, had remained on the coast. Knowing this much, and conjecturing the rest, we seized him, took him to the vessel drawn up on the beach, and there began to thrash him, in order to make him confess whether he was really a pirate, or what was the object with which he had come to us. He then told us that he was well aware that the whole country was ill-disposed towards us, and that numbers of armed men were around, hidden within the creeks, but that they would not for the present venture to attack us, as they were expecting some forty vessels which were being armed to pursue us. He added that he did not know when they would be ready to attack us. As to himself he said nothing except what he had said at first. Afterwards he was “questioned”[217] three or four times, and although he did not definitely say so, we understood from his gestures that he had come to see the ships, so that he might know what sort of people we were, and how we were armed.