From Cork they set sail for Cape St. Vincent, and presently four ships hove in sight, to which Ralegh at once gave chase. The long delay made it dangerous to allow ships to pass unheeded, for by this time Ralegh must have known to some extent how much the Spaniards knew. Neither he nor any man could have suspected the scope of King James's treachery. The pursuit was long and stirring. Eventually the strange vessels were overhauled. Their leader said that they were French vessels bound for Seville. His tale bore small signs of truth. His vessels were so heavily armed, their cut so questionable, that Ralegh's men affirmed that they were merely pirates, and should be treated as pirates. But Ralegh was not in a position to run any risk, which might bring down upon him the King's anger afresh. Accordingly he took the four ships with him for a length of time, sufficient to ensure the harmlessness of any intelligence which they might carry, and treated them with courtesy. The men grumbled. Why should they be expected to believe in a trumped-up story, when the vessels were full of Spanish apparel and Spanish merchandise and unmistakable pirates, and why should they be deprived of their proper spoil? To them Ralegh answered that it was lawful for the French to make prize of the Spaniards to south of the Canaries and to west of the Azores. "And if it were not so, it is no business of mine to examine the subjects of the French King." He bought commodities from them--oil, a pinnace, a fishing-net--to the value of sixty crowns, and let them go on their way. His scruples were well considered, but they did not tend to mollify the feeling of discontent which the untoward delays at the outset of the voyage had brought into existence among the men. The ill-feeling was increased when a little afterwards a Spanish vessel was encountered which had been pillaged by them.