Albuquerque accordingly attacked Ormuz and defeated the troops who had assembled to prevent his landing; but Cogeatar knew of the discontent of the captains, and steadfastly refused to surrender the deserters. With João da Nova the situation soon became still more strained. This captain was undoubtedly the leader of the malcontents, and at last, after a disgraceful scene, Albuquerque ordered him under arrest. An enquiry was made into his conduct and that of his ship's crew, and in the words of the _Commentaries_, 'the captain and all the men were found to be so guilty that it was thought to be better counsel to forgive them, considering the times they had fallen upon, and the necessity there was of them, than to punish them as they deserved; ... and he [Albuquerque] ordered them to return to the ship, and released João da Nova from custody and returned him his captaincy, not caring to hear any more of his guilt, but leaving the punishment of it for the King to settle, although he had, in the instructions given to him, granted him power for all.'[4] [Footnote 4: Albuquerque's _Commentaries_, vol. i. p. 189.] These troubles in his fleet caused Albuquerque to abandon his project of building a castle at Ormuz, and he therefore sailed away, in April 1508, to intercept the Muhammadan merchant-ships on their way from India. The disputes with his captains still continued, and three of them--Antonio do Campo, Affonso {58} Lopes da Costa, and Manoel Telles--deserted him and went to India. Their desertion was soon followed by that of João da Nova, whose departure deprived him of the finest ship in his squadron. With his diminished force of only two ships Albuquerque sailed to Socotra, where he found the garrison suffering from want of provisions, having nothing to eat but palm-leaves and wild fruit. He then cruised for some time in the Gulf of Aden, and eventually he finally disgraced Francisco de Tavora, his sole remaining captain, who disgusted him by further mutinous behaviour. After cruising for four months in the Gulf of Aden, during which time he only took one prize, he proceeded once more to Calayate (K[a-macron]lh[a-macron]t). The governor of the place was an intimate friend of Cogeatar, and did not receive the Portuguese as favourably as he had done in the previous year. On observing symptoms of resistance Albuquerque promptly attacked the city, and after a furious engagement, in which Dom Antonio da Noronha especially distinguished himself, Calayate was sacked and burnt. The ships in the harbour were also destroyed, and with great barbarity the ears and noses of all the Muhammadans who were taken prisoners were cut off.