280 DESTRUCTION OF THE GREEK EMPIRE immediately and that it should be kept secret. His pre- parations were forthwith put in hand. He chose two trans- ports of five hundred tons each and placed bales of cotton and of wool upon them as armour to prevent damage from cannon-balls. Two large galleys and two of the lighter and swifter kinds of biremes or fustae were to accompany them. Each fust a had twenty-four banks or thwarts and contained seventy-two oarsmen, forty-eight abaft the mast and twenty- four ahead of it. Accompanying each ship was a large boat. 1 Coco's plan was to employ the two large ships as a screen for the galleys and fustae, so that at the last moment these swift vessels might pull rapidly forward and cut out or burn the Turkish ships. It was agreed that the vessels should be brought together that same night of April 24, at an hour after sunset, the Eastern method of computing the hours making this a fixed and precise time, and the attack was to be made at mid- night. The Genoese heard of the proposed attack and pressed Execution the Venetians hard to postpone the execution of the project, postponed j n or( j er ^at they might take part in it. Unluckily, they Apni 28. consented. The preparations of the Genoese took four days. During that period the sultan became aware of what was proposed, added two big guns to those already stationed on the shore at Cassim Pasha to cover his ships, and waited in confidence for the attack. Contemporary writers charge the Genoese with having betrayed the project to the sultan. Even Leonard evidently believed in the existence of this treachery and hints that he knows more than he cares to tell. Ducas states bluntly that the Genoese told the sultan. Critobulus and Pusculus each affirm that Mahomet had information from Galata. 2 Barbaro adds the further detail that the Podesta, as the mayor of Galata was called, on learning what was proposed to be done, immediately sent word to the sultan at St. Komanus Gate, and speaks of the * accursed Genoese ' as ' enemies of the faith and treacherous dogs ' for so doing. While it is difficult to reject all these statements, it
- Barbaro, under April 24 and 25. 2 Pusculus, lines 585 et seq.
