This Was Overheard And Understood By
Nazerbeg, Who Concealed It For The Time, Though It Raised Some Suspicion
In His Mind, As He Said Afterwards:
Yet so strongly was he prepossessed
by the agreement of all that had passed before, that he could not bring
himself to believe their intentions were bad.
He listened, however, more
attentively to all that was said afterwards among them, but could hear
nothing that savoured of double-dealing.
A little while afterwards, Nazerbeg met with one Haji Comul,[113] whom
God made an instrument to disclose the devilish project of the balloches
to circumvent and destroy us, and who now revealed the particulars of
their bloody designs. Nazerbeg was amazed, and even chid Comul for not
having told this before the goods were landed. As the time appointed for
the landing of the ambassador was at hand, Nazerbeg was fearful he might
have come ashore before he could get to our ship to forewarn him.
Wherefore, hastening to the shore, where, as God would have it, our
skiff was still filling water, he told our men there was treachery
plotting against us on shore, and entreated them to row him to the ship
with all possible speed. He was therefore brought off immediately, yet
hardly a moment too soon, as the ambassador and all his suite, together
with our captain and all the principal officers among us, willing to
grace the ambassador as far as we could for the honour of our country,
were already in the waste, and ready to go on shore. When Nazerbeg had
communicated his news, we were as ready to change our purpose as we had
been before to go ashore. The purport of what he had learnt from Haji
Comul was as follows: -
The viceroy and governor had agreed together to entice as many of us as
they possibly could ashore, on purpose to cut all our throats; which
done, they meant to have set upon the ship, and having taken her, to
seize every thing she contained. They had made minute enquiry into our
numbers, and had got a particular enumeration of the state and condition
of every person in the ship, all of whom they intended to put to death
without mercy, except the surgeon, the musicians, the women, and the
boys. Their reverence for the king of Persia, of which they had so
boasted, was all a mere pretence to deceive; for they were all rebels,
and it was death to talk of the king of Persia in Guadal. Though we now
understood their intended plot, for which God be praised, and were
sufficiently put upon our guard to prevent its execution by arming
ourselves, knowing that we were able to defend ourselves from injury on
board, although they had great numbers of boats, and above 1500 men
armed with muskets, besides others; yet were we at a loss how we might
recover his lordship's goods, and his three men who were ashore along
with them.
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