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Among those whom this chance of war had rendered most deplorable, was Don Fernando de Mendoça, grand captain and commander of this mighty carak, descended of the house of Mendoça in Spain, but having married in Portugal, lived there as one of that nation. He was a gentleman well striken in years, of comely personage and good stature, but of hard fortune.

The carak continued to burn all the rest of that day and the succeeding night; but next morning, on the fire reaching her powder, being 60 barrels, which was in the lowest part of her hold, she blew up with a dreadful explosion, most of her materials floating about on the sea. Some of the people said she was larger than the Madre de Dios, and some that she was less.

And, lest the English might find means to extinguish the fire, and thereby to preserve a part of the cargo, being in number 400 well armed men, they entrenched themselves on shore as near as possible to the carak, to keep our men aloof till the fire might consume the carak and all her contents.

'The sandstone ridge, the caves to the south, are of stone even worse than the Carak. And there the mountain cats rule. I don't know where else to go. 'What about Skither's cave? He shook his head. Perhaps we could block up this passage with stones. He pointed to toward the smaller opening. 'But what can we do with an entrance so high as the one below?

As it chanced, a large Spanish carak named 'Las Cinque Llagas, or 'The Five Wounds, was about to sail for Hispaniola, and having obtained a licence to trade, I took passage in her under my assumed name of d'Aila, passing myself off as a merchant.

Surely he feared the hill-tribe, and would not pass directly in front of their cave. He was grateful that his head no longer ached and his breath came easier. He thought of his mother. Such ran the jumble of his thoughts, and the feelings which rose all the stronger for his efforts to control them. The wolves, he decided, must have passed on the far side of Carak mesa.

We then wished to have disentangled ourselves from the burning carak, but had little hope of success; yet we plied water with great diligence to keep our ship safe. At this time I had little hope but our ship, myself, and several of our wounded men must have been all destroyed along with the carak. Most of our people indeed might have saved themselves in boats on board our consorts.

The generall hauing disarmed the Portugals, and stowed them for better security on all sides, first had presented to his eyes the true proportion of the vast body of this carak, which did then and may still iustly prouoke the admiration of all men not formerly acquainted with such a sight.

In this dilemma, on purpose to discover her force, burden, and countenance, Sir John took his boat and rowed three miles towards her, to make her out exactly; and on his return, having consulted with his officers, it was resolved to board her in the morning. A heavy storm arose in the night, which forced them to weigh anchor, yet did they bear up amain against the weather, not to lose the carak.

That same evening, finding the carak drawing near the land, Sir Robert Crosse persuaded his consorts to board her again, as otherwise there were no hopes of taking her. After many fears and excuses, he at last encouraged them, and then went athwart her bows all alone, and so hindered her sailing, that the rest had time to get up to the attack before she could make the land.