de piteous lamentation to us to save them, which we let them
know we would: whereupon they crept all together in a huddle close behind
us, as for protection. I left my men drawn up together, and, charging
them to hurt nobody, but, if possible, to get at some of our people, and
see what devil it was possessed them, and what they intended to do, and
to command them off; assuring them that if they stayed till daylight they
would have a hundred thousand men about their ears: I say I left them,
and went among those flying people, taking only two of our men with me;
and there was, indeed, a piteous spectacle among them. Some of them had
their feet terribly burned with trampling and running through the fire;
others their hands burned; one of the women had fallen down in the fire,
and was very much burned before she could get out again; and two or three
of the men had cuts in their backs and thighs, from our men pursuing; and
another was shot through the body and died while I was there.

I would fain have learned what the occasion of all this was; but I could
not understand one word they said; though, by signs, I perceived some of
them knew not what was the occasion themselves. I was so terrified in my
thoughts at this outrageous attempt that I could not stay there, but went
back to my own men, and resolved to go into the middle of the town,
through the fire, or whatever might be in the way, and put an end to it,
cost what it would; accordingly, as I came back to my men, I told them my
resolution, and commanded them to follow me, when, at the very moment,
came four of our men, with the boatswain at their head, roving over heaps
of bodies they had killed, all covered with blood and dust, as if they
wanted more people to massacre, when our men hallooed to them as loud as
they could halloo; and with much ado one of them made them hear, so that
they knew who we were, and came up to us.

As soon as the boatswain saw us, he set up a halloo like a shout of
triumph, for having, as he thought, more help come; and without waiting
to hear me, "Captain," says he, "noble captain! I am glad you are come;
we have not half done yet. Villainous hell-hound dogs! I'll kill as
many of them as poor Tom has hairs upon his head: we have sworn to spare
none of them; we'll root out the very nation of them from the earth;" and
thus he ran on, out of breath, too, with action, and would not give us
leave to speak a word. At last, raising my voice th