Thus proceeding in our iourney, the tenth day at night being at rest, and our watch set, there came vnto vs foure horsemen, which wee tooke as spies, from whom wee tooke their weapons and bound them, and hauing well examined them, they confessed that they had seene the tract of many horsemen, and no footing of camels, and gaue vs to vnderstand, that there were rouers and theeues abroade: for there trauaile few people that are true and peaceable in that Countrey, but in companie of Carauan, where there be many camels: and horsefeeting new without camels were to be doubted. Whereupon we consulted and determined amongst our selues, and sent a poste to the said Soltan of Kayte, who immediatly came himselfe with 300. men, and mette these foure suspected men which we sent vnto him, and examined them so streightly, and threatned them in such sort, that they confessed, there was a banished Prince with 40. men 3. daies iourney forward, who lay in wait to destroy vs, if he could, and that they themselues were of his companie.
The Soltan therefore vnderstanding, that the theeues were not many, appointed vs 80. men well armed with a Captaine to goe with vs, and conduct vs in our way. And the Soltan himselfe returned backe againe, taking the foure theeues with him. These souldiers trauailed with vs two dayes, consuming much of our victuals. And the 3. day in the morning very earely they set out before our Carauan, and hauing ranged the wildernes for the space of foure houres, they mette vs, comming towards vs as fast as their horse could runne, and declared that they had founde the tract of horses not farre from vs, perceiuing well that we shoulde meete with enemies, and therefore willed vs to appoint our selues for them, and asked vs what we would giue them to conduct vs further, or else they would returne. To whom we offered as we thought good, but they refused our offer, and would haue more; and so we not agreeing they departed from vs, and went back to their Soltan, who (as wee coniectured) was priuie to the conspiracie. [Sidenote: Diuination by sorcerie] But they being gone, certaine Tartars of our companie called holy men, (because they had bene at Mecha) caused the whole Carauan to stay, and would make their prayers, and deuine how wee should prosper in our iourney and whether we should meet with any ill company or no? To which, our whole Carauan did agree. And they tooke certaine sheepe and killed them, and tooke the blade bones of the same, and first sodde them and then burnt them, and tooke of the blood of the said sheepe, and mingled it with the powder of the saide bones, and wrote certaine Characters with the saide blood, vsing many other ceremonies and wordes, and by the same deuined and found, that wee shoulde meete with enemies and theeues (to our great trouble) but should ouercome them, to which sorcerie, I and my companie gaue no credit, but we found it true: for within 3. houres after that the souldiers departed from vs, which was the 15. day of December, in the morning, we escried farre off diuers horsemen which made towards vs, and we (perceiuing them to be rouers) gathered ourselues together, being 40. of vs wel appointed, and able to fight, and we made our prayers together euery one after his lawe; professing to liue and die one with another, and so prepared our selues. When the theeues were nigh vnto vs, we perceiued them to be in number 37. men well armed, and appointed with bowes, arrowes and swords, and the captaine a prince banished from his Countrey. They willed vs to yeelde our selues, or els to be slaine, but wee defied them, wherewith they shotte at vs all at once, and wee at them very hotly, and so continued our fight from morning vntil two houres within night, diuers men, horses and camels being wounded and slaine on both partes: [Sidenote: Handguns very profitable.] and had it not bene for 4. handgunnes which I and my companie had and vsed, we had bene ouercome and destroyed: for the theeues were better armed, and were also better archers than we: But after wee had slaine diuers of their men and horses with our gunnes, they durst not approch so nigh, which caused them to come to a truce with vs vntill the next morning, which we accepted, and encamped our selues vpon a hill, and made the fashion of a Castle, walling it about with packes of wares, and laide our horses and camels within the same to saue them from the shotte of arrowes: and the theeues also incamped within an arrowe shotte of vs, but they were betwixt vs and the water, which was to our great discomfort, because neither we nor our camels had drunke in 2. dayes before.