His subjects, who before had been trembling slaves, planned to slay him at the city gate. The women, always more excited by popular frenzy vied with each other for the honour of striking the first blow. They were highly delighted to see as a suppliant before them, one who formerly had exacted unquestioning obedience. The rebel, after many adventures sought sanctuary at Mergui, to which place he was followed by his relatives and a few supporters who had either the nobility of character to wish to share his misfortunes, or perhaps so guilty that they feared the harshness of an angry judge. His fleet of sixty galleys by no means reassured the inhabitants who were not anxious to shelter an outlaw pursued by a victorious army. Panic was general, some fled to the forests, and others to desert islands fearing death by starvation less than to have to appear before a wrathful conqueror. The governor feared that those who had given him shelter would not respect the rights of hospitality for long. He only begged a small force with which to go and retake the town that he had evacuated on the strength of a false report. He considered that the letter from the Burmese General had been sent by an advanced body of troops whom he would keep up even in time of peace. He then began to doubt whether the document had been genuine and suspected that it had been the work of some disaffected persons who had concocted it to give him a false alarm, and to make him take his departure. He was so convinced that his idea was correct that he persuaded himself that his subjects were his only enemies. Thus a victim of his blind faith he went to give himself up to a ruler whom he had offended. This rumour was taken as credible by so many that the captains of the ships at Mergui, who had been alarmed by the first news of the Burmese advance, believed they were in perfect safety. Trade that had been interrupted for some time was renewed. The fugitives returned to their houses, and the town that had been deserted for eight days, resumed its normal aspect. The Christians had been very anxious to embark for the Coromandel coast and only one availed himself of the offer of a Portuguese captain who sailed on January 8th, 1765, but the rest very soon saw that they had been misled by a false sense of security. On the 10th of January, a confused noise as of a shouting multitude was heard in the evening by the river side. The sounds gave rise to the idea that the enemy were approaching and that the first alarms had been only too well founded. In fact the enemy were only three or four leagues from the city and a pilot had seen ten of their ships. A short period of calm succeeded this alarm. The pilot on being questioned replied that he had seen nothing whereupon everybody returned home quietly.