or four days after he had been seen from this city.  With two ships and his patache (for his flagship was left in the same location), he approached Cavite.  However he was forced to retire because of the innumerable cannon fired at him.  Although these did him no damage, he did none, either, with the artillery that he fired.  But he noted how slight were their forces for injuring him, for they had no more than three very small vessels, which could scarcely carry any artillery; one old, dilapidated ship, called “Espiritu Santo,” which was already almost useless and broken-up from its voyages to Nueva Espana, and was mastless and without rigging; and one galley of twenty benches.  Therefore not anticipating any trouble with Cavite, where he found the resistance that he did not expect, and preferring to effect his purpose bloodlessly, and quite safely to himself, he returned to his post.  Not long afterward, he had all four of his vessels weigh anchor; and going out of sight of the city, went to anchor at the port called El Fraile ["the Friar"], at a short distance from his former anchorage.  There he began to rob whatever he could, and prevented the ingress of provisions brought from all the islands to this city.  Alferez Aldana was aboard one of the boats that he seized coming from a corregidor’s district.  He, thinking the Dutch to be Castilian vessels, went to them with great joy; but his joy was shortly changed into sad captivity, for he was pillaged and imprisoned.  Shortly after this event, four Dutchmen fled from the Dutch fleet.  Their arrival was singularly consoling for full information was obtained from them of the Dutch force and object.  Not more than three slaves deserted from us to the Dutch; and, being slaves, they could give but little information regarding our affairs.  Almost the same thing happened to captain Castillo as to Alferez Aldano; for having come from Japon, whither he had gone with a fragata, he was sent, as one experienced in these coasts, to a certain place, to warn the ships from China and Japon of the Dutch, and that they commanded the sea.  One day the [Dutch] patache went so far in search of ships that Captain Castillo could not be persuaded that it was not a friendly vessel; consequently he went to give it information, according to his orders.  Although he was afterwards undeceived, and tried to escape from the Dutch, who pursued him, he was unable to do so.  Their commander tried to learn from him whether Cavite had greater force than he had seen; but he always answered that he knew of nothing else, and excused himself by saying that he had but recently come from Japon.  On the contrary, he belittled our affairs, in order to assure them the more.  He managed to write a letter thence and send it by a Sangley, in which he gave an account of the vessels, artillery, and men, thus making the battle easier.