Standing out to sea next day, we met a ship from Guzerat, laden with cotton, calico, and pintados or chintz, and bound for Acheen.[285] As they told us it was a place of great trade, we went there along with her, but we found it quite otherwise, being merely a garrison town with many soldiers.  There is a castle at the entrance cut out of the main land, and surrounded by the sea, having thirty-two pieces of ordnance, and there were fifty in the town.  Arriving there the 10th April, the people of the Guzerat ship landed, and told the governor that an English ship had come to trade there.  The governor sent his admiral to invite our general, who went very unadvisedly on shore, where he and his attendants were received with much courtesy, three or four horses waiting for his use, and was brought in great pomp to the governor.  Finding our general but a simple man, the governor put him into a house with a chiaus, or keeper, and a strong guard of janissaries, and kept him and his attendants prisoners for six weeks, I being of the number.  The governor then obliged him to send aboard for iron, tin, and cloth, to the value of 2500 dollars, pretending that he meant to purchase the goods; but when once on shore, he seized them under pretence of customs.  Seeing he could get no more, he sent the general aboard on the 27th May, but detained two of our merchants as pledges for payment of 2000 dollars, which he said was for anchorage:  but as we all declared against submitting to pay this arbitrary exaction, the governor sent our two merchants to the Pacha at Sanaa, about eight days journey up the country.

[Footnote 285:  Jones says she belonged to Diu, but told the English she was from Surat, and gave them an account of the arrival of Captain Hawkins at that place.—­E.]

The 28th of May, we were joined by our pinnace, the Good Hope, the master of which, John Luffkin, had been knocked in the head with a mallet by Thomas Clarke, with the consent of Francis Driver, master’s mate,[286] together with Andrew Evans and Edward Hilles.  Being asked the reason for this murder, they could only allege being refused some aqua vitae and rosa solis, which Luffkin wished to preserve for the crew in case of sickness.  A jury was called on the 31st May, when the murderers were convicted; of whom Driver and Clarke were hanged in the pinnace.  The other two met their deserts, for Hilles was eaten by canibals,[287] and Evans rotted where he lay.

[Footnote 286:  Jones calls Clarke master’s-mate, and Driver gunner.—­E.]

[Footnote 287:  Hilles was left at Madagascar, where perhaps he might be eaten.—­Astl. 343. c.]