On the morning of this third day the Englishmen’s suspicion was aroused by various activities on the Spanish ships: “as shifting of weapon from ship to ship, planting and bending of ordnance from the ships to the Iland where our men warded, passing to and fro of companies of men more then [than] required for their necessary busines, & many other ill likelihoods.” Hawkins sent a peremptory demand to the viceroy for an explanation of these goings on. His reply was the issue of a “commandement to unplant all things suspicious,” and an assurance to Hawkins that “he in the faith of a Viceroy would be our defence from all villanies.” But Hawkins and his chiefs were not satisfied with this assurance for they now “suspected a great number of men to be hid in a great ship of nine hundred tunnes which was mored next unto the Minion.” A second messenger was sent, this time the master of the “Jesus,” who could speak Spanish, to demand of the viceroy “if any such thing were or were not.” This brought matters to a crisis. “The Viceroy now seeing that the treason must be discovered foorthwith stayed [held] our master, blew the Trumpet, and of all sides set upon us.” Desperately brief as was the time for preparation, the English ships had been made ready for the awful assault. But the men on the island were taken quite unawares, and abandoning their guns fell a quick prey to their onrushing assailants. The story of the unequal battle Hawkins graphically relates with soldierlike brevity. "Our men which warded a shore being stricken with sudden feare, gave place, fled, and sought to recover succour of our ships; the Spaniardes being before provided for the purpose landed in all places in multitudes from their ships which they might easily doe without boates, and slewe all our men a shore without mercie, a fewe of them escaped aboord the Jesus. The great ship which had by the estimation three hundred men placed in her secretly, immediately fel aboord the Minion, but by Gods appointment, in the time of the suspicion we had, which was onely one halfe houre, the Minion was made readie to avoide, and so leesing her hedfasts, and hayling away by the sternefastes she was gotten out: thus with Gods helpe she defended the violence of the first brunt of these three hundred men. The Minion being past out, they came aboord the Jesus, which also with very much a doe and the losse of manie of our men were defended and kept out. Then there were also two other ships that assaulted the Jesus at the same instant, so that she had hard getting loose, but yet with some time we had cut our headfastes and gotten out by the sternefastes.