"Your purpose," said the others, "is good enough and full of profit, but what are we to do if many more of their people are lying hidden? For just as these were lying in wait, so there may now be ambushed a much greater number of them unknown to us, and if there is a snare laid and we land, our perdition is assured." Others did not seek to correct these matters, but began to complain, saying that if they were always to reason thus, they would never do a single brave deed. "Is it right," said they, "to see our honour before our eyes, and to leave the matter thus through fear of a hap so doubtful? All the men opposed to us are not sufficient to withstand ten of ours in a fight. For they are but a handful of Moorish knaves, who have never learnt to fight except like beasts, and the first man to be wounded among them will frighten all the others, so that they will not know how to face our arms any longer. Bold indeed would be the men that have their armed ships in the Strait of Ceuta, and through all the Levant Sea, if they were to dread such a hostile gathering as this." These last reasons were well in accord with the will of the captain, and those that spake them were much praised of him. Wherefore he commanded that in each boat three men should place themselves in the prow with lances and shields to protect themselves and those that rowed, if perchance they should be shot at by the Moors; and as soon as they should have rowed the boats ashore, these men were to leap out at once with their weapons. And he commanded the cross-bow men to keep their cross-bows charged, ordering their shots in such wise that their bolts should be employed to the best advantage. And after this he had the boats rowed as vigorously as possible, telling them to go bow forward among the Moors as had been before determined; the which matter was straightway put in action; and all shouting with a loud voice, "St. George," "St. James," "Portugal," leapt out upon them as men who feared little the valour of their enemies. And as if in a matter which God Himself willed to ordain, the Moors at the first onset at once discharged their arms, from which no Christian received any dangerous hurt; but, on the contrary, they proved of use later on, for our men possessed themselves of these arms and used them as if they had been their own. CHAPTER XLVI. Of the battle that they had, and of the Moors that they took.