A fleet of Spanish men-of-war was expected round
from the Mediterranean. He proposed to stay for a week or two in the
neighbourhood of the Straits, in the hope of falling in with them. He
wanted fresh water, too, and had to find it somewhere.
Before leaving Cadiz Roads he had to decide what to do with his
prisoners. Many English were known to be in the hands of the Holy Office
working in irons as galley slaves. He sent in a pinnace to propose an
exchange, and had to wait some days for an answer. At length, after a
reference to Lisbon, the Spanish authorities replied that they had no
English prisoners. If this was true those they had must have died of
barbarous usage; and after a consultation with his officers Sir Francis
sent in word that for the future such prisoners as they might take would
be sold to the Moors, and the money applied to the redemption of English
captives in other parts of the world.
Water was the next point. There were springs at Faro, with a Spanish
force stationed there to guard them. Force or no force, water was to be
had. The boats were sent on shore. The boats' crews stormed the forts
and filled the casks. The vice-admiral again lifted up his voice.
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