The great Afonso Dalboquerque now perceiving that there was no remedy for these things, and being displeased at the vacillation of his captains, and convinced that they ought not to abandon the fortress without at least making an attempt worthy of its importance to hold it, made up his mind to withdraw to the ships, and commanded D. Antonio de Noronha to superintend the re-embarkation of all the artillery, not only our own but also that of the Moors which had been captured, and all the stores that could be collected, and the women and the children and merchants who were lodged in the fortress. And when everything had been collected, Afonso Dalboquerque commanded Gaspar de Paiva, chief alcaide of the city, to proceed to the fortress and order his men to cut off the heads of Melique Çufecondal and of a hundred and fifty principal Moors of the city, who had been detained therein in consequence of information which João Machado had given him, and to hamstring all the horses that were in the stables, and to set fire to the arsenals, wherein everything was consumed by fire that could be of any service to the Moors.