numbers being very unequal, they had already wounded and maltreated them. We came out at the noise and the Chinese drew up in battle array, armed with many warlike instruments, challenging us to battle, with insults and expressions of contempt. At this juncture, what would have become of our reputation had we retired when the advantage was on their side? Then, too, after attacking and killing many of them what security had we in this tyrannical kingdom, which showed itself not at all friendly to us, with only one ship, [98] which was at the time aground, and with the artillery and provisions ashore; while they had six ships and many rowboats all provided with one or two culverins and many men, both in the ships and those living in the port? [99] Would it have been right, after war had broken out, to have them with all their resources while we had none? Had they taken our lives, what reputation would the Spaniards have left in these kingdoms? For this reason I thought it better for us to overpower them, rather than to be at their mercy, or at that of the king. Accordingly, in order to assure our lives we were obliged to seize their ships and to strengthen ourselves by means of them, since the Chinese began the war. After this, father Fray Alonso Ximenez and we thought that, by making an embassy with presents to the king, and by exculpating ourselves in this matter, before him, everything would turn out well; and that if we had peace with him, and our persons in safety in a fort, or under his word and safe-conduct, we would give the Chinese their ship and property. All this was written out and signed by us. In order to carry this out, a letter was written in the name of the governor of that city [i.e., Manila], and we went to deliver it nine leguas away at the residence of the king, leaving the vessels guarded. But when he found us there, the king deprived us of the boats in which we had gone, and refused to receive the letter, which went under form of embassy, or to hear us unless we first restored the ships. Then he immediately began to prepare arms and to assemble many men, with the intention, unless we restored the ships, of killing us, or reducing us by force to such straits as to compel us to restore them; and after their restoration, of making an end of us all without trouble or risk to his own men. For he trusted us in nothing, since we were going in search of, and bringing help to, him whom he had dispossessed. All this was told us by some Christians among them, especially by a young mestizo from Malaca who lived among them and knew their language. Therefore considering that we were already separated from our companions, and that, if we restored the ships, they could easily take ours by means of them and kill the men left in them, and then us who were in that place; also that if we waited for them to collect and attack us, they could very easily kill us: we decided to seek the remedy by first