To put “suspicion out of his head” that his conspiracy was known, and to draw him on, Lane sent word to Pemisapan that he was presently to go to Croatoan, since he had heard of the arrival of his relief fleet from England (which he had not), and asking him to loan some of his men to fish for the colonists. Pemisapan made reply that he would come himself. But he deferred from day to day. At length on the last day of May his savages began to “make their assembly at Roanoak at his commandement sent abroad to them.” Now Lane took the aggressive. "I resolved not to stay longer upon his comming over, since he meant to come with so good company, but thought good to go and visit him with such as I had, which I resolved to do the next day: but that night I meant by the way to give them in the Island a canvisado, and at the instant to seize upon all the canoas about the Island to keepe him from advertisements. But the towne tooke the alarme before I meant it to them: the occasion was this. I had sent the Master of the light horsman, with a few with him, to gather up all the canoas in the setting of the Sun, & to take as many as were going from us to Dasamonguepeio, but to suffer any that came from thence, to land. He met with a Canoa going from the shore, and overthrew the Canoa and cut off two Savages heads: this was not done so secretly but he was discovered from the shore; whereupon the cry arose: for in trueth they, privy to their owne villanous purposes against us, held as good espiall [spy] upon us, both by day and night, as we did upon them. The allarme given they tooke themselves to their bowes and we to our armes: some three or foure of them at the first were slaine with our shot: the rest fled into the woods.