Читать книгу: «The Adventures of Captain Mago», страница 14

I shouted to them, but they made no sign, and continued skulking along the bank.

"Bichri!" cried Himilco, to the archer, who was sitting on the poop with Jonah, both of them playing with the monkey, "Bichri, just put an arrow into one of those scaramouches, will you? they pretend they cannot hear the captain."

He started to his feet, and was in the act of raising his bow, when I interposed:

"Leave them alone; time enough to attack them when they attack us."

Bichri lowered his hand at once.

"Well then," he said, "I may as well go on amusing myself with the monkey; what an entertaining brute it is! he pulls my hair and scratches my face a bit; but I bear it all because he's so clever."

"Aye, aye, go back to your plaything; he's about as good-looking as the Iberians," said Hanno, laughing.

My brave young archer was not much more than eighteen years of age, and in light-heartedness and love of frolic was like a boy of twelve. The monkey, the only creature on board more restless than himself, had taken his fancy immensely, and they were continually vying with one another in feats of agility, trying which could climb the mast the faster, or which could swing the higher at the end of a rope. Another of Judge Gebal's warm admirers was Jonah. The giant seemed to have lost his concern about the land of strange beasts, and to be engrossed with the monkey, which he had admitted into his close friendship, and whose antics he was always rewarding with the choicest tit-bits on which he could lay hands. One of the creature's great delights was to mount the trumpeter's shoulder and clamber by his shaggy hair to the top of his head, where from its elevated perch it would make grimaces, scratch its pate, and grin and gnash its teeth at every one. Bichri, Jonah, and the monkey, thus formed an amicable trio, of which a little rough treatment all round, and a few cuffs and scratches, did not mar the general concord.

Towards evening by my orders we came to a standstill, opposite a miners' village. The overseer came out from his hut to speak to us. He was a coarse, ill-spoken man, rarely opening his mouth without an oath. He was a native of Arvad, and consequently an old acquaintance of Hannibal's.

"By all the infernal gods!" he began, "this is a week of visitors!"

"How so?" I asked.

"Confound me, if we hadn't another Tyrian here five days ago! Bodmilcar was his name; and a rascally set of scamps he brought. Drunken beasts they were; they sacked some houses in the village here, and, by Khousor Phtah! I vow they would have murdered us every one if we had not pounced upon them pretty hard. I have seen blackguards in my time, but never the like of those. And if any one can succeed in swinging up Bodmilcar himself at a rope's end, he will do the world a service."

"Where is he now?" I asked; "can you tell me that? I have a score of my own to settle with him."

"By the gods! you will have some distance to go. He has taken a swarm of Iberians with him into the interior. You had better be careful how you meddle with them: they are dangerous folks to touch; and they are a pretty strong force altogether."

"Never mind their force," said Chamai; "numbers don't matter; only let us get them within reach of our swords."

"All very fine for you, young fellow, to be so cocksure of your game," replied the overseer; and turning to me, he added, civilly enough: "But I see you are determined to risk the consequences. Give me a drink of wine, and by the gods! I will give you some hints that may be useful to you. Silver is silver, you know."

"Yes, and wine is wine," muttered Himilco, always keenly interested upon that topic.

I ordered a skin of good wine to be produced, that he might drink while we talked over our scheme; but the overseer had no wish to be outdone on the score of hospitality; and accordingly he clapped his hands sharply, and when the manager of his slaves appeared in answer to the summons, he gave instructions for one of his finest calves to be killed, and a feast to be laid out for us under an adjacent clump of trees.

After we had given each other the latest news of Phœnicia and Tarshish, the overseer said in his own abrupt way:

"You seem brave enough; but I have a great respect for numbers. Your wine is good stuff, and I like it. I am glad to meet a fellow-townsman. Now, in return for the wine, curse me if I don't do the best I can to help you."

After all, he had not much to tell. He informed us that in the territory adjacent to that of Aitz, who had made his compact with Ziba, there were some exceedingly rich veins of silver; and that, although the Iberians in possession were decidedly disposed to be hostile, they might readily be bought over by some trumpery merchandise, or without difficulty might be subdued by our arms.

"And how near to them can we take our ships?" I asked.

"Within three days' march," he answered. "It is not so much that the distance is great as that there are no roads; and after the ships are left there is no further communication with the river. You have to go through forests, and you have to go on foot. No horses can go; no mules."

"Nice marching that!" said Hannibal, sententiously; "and you say we have to take our own provisions?"

"As to that, I daresay you can get Ziba's overseer to lend you some Iberians; they make capital beasts of burden."

"Very good," said Himilco; "and I think I can undertake to make them trot along at a good pace. Give me a stick, and I will write a few words of their Iberian tongue upon their backs in a way they will perhaps remember."

The overseer seemed to enjoy Himilco's spiteful jest, for he laughed aloud. We emptied our wine-cups, and broke up our meeting.

Betimes next morning we were again on our voyage up the river, and in less than a day had reached Ziba's territory. Her overseer, a native of Utica, lent me two hundred slaves as porters and miners, and I divided them into gangs, which I put under the supervision of my officers. The ships, with just a sufficient portion of their crews, were left under the charge of Hasdrubal; the Dagon and the Ashtoreth descending the river for a short distance to get a better anchorage; the Cabiros, as drawing less water, being left under orders to cruise about, and to keep on collecting a supply of provisions. We had been provided with a guide; and everything being arranged, I set out upon my exploration of the new territory.

We started across an extensive plateau, and having traversed several woods and deep ravines, made our encampment for the night. Very monotonous were the journeys of the following days, over gloomy hills and across deep valleys, and it was not until the middle of the fourth day after leaving the banks of the Bœtis, that we caught sight of an Iberian village. The people were all under arms when we arrived, and inclined to take a defiant attitude, but a few presents had the effect of conciliating the chiefs, and inducing them to give us permission to encamp on a barren knoll, about three stadia off their cluster of huts. Under Hannibal's superintendence we surrounded the encampment with a trench and a palisade, and in two days were ready to commence our digging operations, in which we were directed by an experienced man, who had been sent with us for the purpose.

We were beginning an arduous task. For three long months did our labours proceed without intermission. The Iberians were always distrustful, but never committed any overt act of hostility. Yet, thanks to the favour of Ashtoreth, though our work was long, our success was great. Excavation after excavation turned out prolific, and as the result of our mining, I obtained no less than two thousand shekels of silver. Some of this I refined on the spot, and retained in my own keeping, the rest of the ore being periodically despatched by hired slaves to the Ashtoreth, whence I received back a written acknowledgment of each consignment as it was delivered on board.

At length I felt it was time to re-organise my caravan to return; and under the direction of an Iberian guide, over whom a strict surveillance was kept, we set out upon our way back to the ships, rejoicing to quit the desolation in which we had been sojourning so long.

No sooner were our backs turned upon the encampment than the Iberians rushed towards it, tore down the palisade, and scrambled furiously for any article, however worthless, that we happened to have left behind.

CHAPTER XIV
AN AMBUSCADE

For two days we continued our return march without any interruption, and reached the base of the steep ascent that leads to the plateau overlooking the river.

The mounting of this height was a matter of no little difficulty. We had to climb like goats, clinging to rocks and tufts of brushwood, trampling down branches and dry grass, and hardly succeeded, after all, in following the track which the head of the caravan had opened.

Suddenly, about half-way up the slope, the ground sank abruptly, forming a deep ravine that had to be crossed before continuing the ascent. We paused at its brink to recover our breath. Behind us the long line of our sailors and porters was slowly filing through the thicket; in front, yawned the precipitous ravine itself; and opposite to us rose the mountain-side, to its very summit a mass of sombre woods; several eagles were wheeling round above the chasm.

"A fine place for an ambush!" said Hannibal, wiping the perspiration from his forehead, and little dreaming what was in store for us.

Himilco took a draught from the goat-skin that he carried at his side, and heaved a long-drawn sigh:

"Ah!" he said, "it was in just such a plaguy hole as this that I lost my eye ten years ago. I hope the hand that thrust the lance has been rotten long since."

My own experience of the dangers of the land of Tarshish made me very cautious, and with the approval of my two military subordinates, I despatched Hanno and Jonah to the rear to call together the stragglers, and to collect any that might have lost their way in the woods; Bichri and his ten Benjamite archers, and Aminocles with his five companion Phocians, I sent on in front to make their way rapidly across the ravine, and to explore the forest on the opposite side.

Jonah's trumpet was soon heard sounding its call, and very shortly afterwards Bichri and Aminocles were seen entering the wood beyond the hollow. Without suspecting that there was any cause for alarm, I ordered the guide (who was still being watched narrowly by my sailors) to advance, and we began our descent. Some of us had already reached the bottom, and the main body were making their way as best they could down the troublesome incline, when the guide came to a sudden halt. He was about fifty paces ahead, just beginning to re-ascend the hollow. As soon as he stopped, a whistle was distinctly heard from the woods in front, and Himilco called out:

"Look out, captain – look out! there's mischief brewing."

I shouted with all my might to the guide to move on more briskly, and the sailor who had been put in charge of him was in the act of pushing him forward, when the savage made a sudden dive, felled the sailor to the ground, in two or three bounds cleared the intervening space, and disappeared in the adjoining thicket.

"I told you so," said Himilco; "I knew well enough that the Iberian scoundrels would be at their old games again."

While he spoke, Jonah's trumpet sounding an alarm told only too plainly that the column was being attacked in the rear, and in front a frightful chorus of yells and war-cries was followed instantaneously by an avalanche of stones. One of my poor sailors fell at my side with his skull smashed, and all the native bearers who had entered the ravine threw down their loads and fled precipitately.

"Form a line!" shouted Hannibal to his men; and in spite of the storm of stones that was falling around him, the intrepid leader mounted a projecting rock, and brandishing his sword, vigorously rallied his force. A party of sailors made a body-guard about the two women, and Chamai, pale with rage and excitement, rushed with his sword drawn to Hannibal's side.

"What do you think of this?" said Himilco to me, pathetically, as he picked up a great stone that had fallen within a hand's breadth of his side; "these Tarshish almonds seem to be falling pretty thick."

And as if in answer to his words, a second storm yet heavier than the first came pelting down amongst us, and knocked over several of our men; but this time it came from behind, from the quarter of the ravine that we had just quitted, and showed us that we were assailed as much in our rear as in front.

"O, if only we had some cavalry and some chariots," began Hannibal; "how easy to turn both flanks like the Khetas⁴⁰ did with the Assyrians.⁴¹ We would send our cavalry to the right, and our chariots to the left, and a free passage for our own centre should soon be forced."

"But considering we have no cavalry and no chariots," I said, interrupting him, "we must defend ourselves how we can."

Without taking any notice of what I had said, he was proceeding to expatiate upon the advantages and disadvantages of our position, when a huge stone struck his helmet, knocking off the crest and battering in the headpiece, and enforced upon him more effectually than I had done the necessity of abandoning theory for practice. For an instant he staggered with the shock, but quickly recovering himself, he roared out:

"By Nergal! this won't do. Holy El-Adonai! this is too much. They must pay the penalty for this. Archers! quick! up the slopes! shoot every one who attempts to enter the ravine!"

And turning to me, he cried:

"Captain, will you take your sailors back again up the very path by which you came down, and sweep round to those vagabonds who are harassing our rear?"

"Men of Judah," he continued, "follow Chamai. Chamai, lead them yonder to the left. And now, my men, to the right with me. Forward!"

"Forward to the left! long live the King!" shouted Chamai at the full pitch of his lungs, as he obeyed orders, and led off his company in the direction contrary to Hannibal.

The archers under Hamilcar formed a circle round the women and the baggage, and were a guard for the bottom of the ravine; Himilco and Gisgo, with my party, regained the ridge we had so recently quitted; and thus on every side we presented a front to the enemy.

No sooner had we scaled the side of the ridge, than my men, cutlass in hand, began to lay about them vigorously. The half-naked men of Tarshish, armed only with clumsy bludgeons or wooden-pointed lances, could make no stand against our sharp weapons, and fell in numbers beneath our blows; and although crowds of them disappeared behind the thickets, we did not break our compact mass to go in pursuit, but pushed on straight ahead. Concealed and protected by the underwood, many of the foe continued to follow us, and to hurl javelins at us from piles that had been secreted ready for the purpose. When, however, we came to any open patch, clear of trees, a detachment of our men would make a dash into the brushwood in the hope of capturing some of the stragglers; but the savages were generally much too fleet of foot to allow themselves to be caught, and only about fifteen altogether were secured in this way. To these no quarter was given.

Although we had advanced two stadia, we found no traces of Hanno and Jonah. I did not consider it advisable to go further, and made my men halt and form a circle round a large oak that stood alone in a little glade; but Himilco, whose vengeance seemed insatiable, ventured on for about another stadium, with Gisgo and fifteen sailors. It was somewhat more than an hour before they returned. They had caught and killed two of the Iberians, but what created a far greater interest for us, they had found Hanno's writing-case all covered with blood, lying in a copse with the dead bodies of nine or ten of our adversaries, and the mutilated corpse of one of our own sailors. The trampled soil, the pools of blood, and the carcases of the savages strewn all about rendered it only too probable that after a desperate struggle the scribe and poor Jonah had succumbed to numbers, and that they had not only been massacred, but their bodies had been carried away.

It was with saddened hearts that we made our way back to the spot where we had been first surprised, repelling our enemies all along as they persisted in harassing us. As soon as I reached the ridge, and had satisfied myself that the women and the troop around them were all safe, I closed in my ranks and told up my losses. Six of my men had fallen. Meanwhile I was beginning to feel very uneasy about both Hannibal and Chamai, but my anxiety was of no long duration; they soon appeared together on the opposite height of the chasm: Bichri, too, was with them, and the troops were in good order. They had nearly forty prisoners; and in the midst of the ranks I could see Aminocles marching along with a child in his arms, whilst amongst the captives I could distinguish a woman, two men wearing kitonets, and another dressed in a long Syrian robe. Hannibal was in front, and no sooner did he catch sight of me than he waved his sword over his head with a triumphant gesture, while Chamai, still more excited, with his head bare and his forehead covered with blood, began running rapidly towards me. I made pretence of looking another way as he stopped to kiss Abigail in passing, but in a minute or two he was at my side, his countenance beaming with joy. All out of breath, he exclaimed:

"Close quarters! but we have pretty well done for them now!"

Seeing the deep gash in his forehead and his blood-stained sword, I observed that he bore evident traces of a smartish tussle with the Iberians.

"Iberians!" he said, contemptuously; "who cares for Iberians? No; it is our Tyrians that have done the mischief. However, we have nabbed the scoundrel Hazael; and Aminocles has recovered his boy; he was only just in time to save the child's life."

"And Bodmilcar? what of him?" I asked, all excitement at the information.

"Ah! we have just missed him," he said; "Hannibal got near enough to slice him pretty sharply in the ribs, and if it had not been for this unlucky wound of mine, we should have had him here now; but his people contrived to rescue him, and to carry him off to the wood."

Half-frantic with agitation, and impatient to exact vengeance on my hated adversary, I forgot all about our perilous position, my scattered ingots, and the fate of my unfortunate scribe, and declared to Chamai that without the loss of an hour we must go in pursuit, and get Bodmilcar dead or alive. Across the ravine, off I started, bidding who would to follow.

Himilco had shown Chryseis the writing-case, stained as it was with blood, and a very few words had sufficed to make her realise what were the fears we entertained upon the scribe's behalf. She said nothing, but while Abigail grasped her waist and wept tears of sympathy, she walked steadily along, her hands tightly clenched, and giving no other outward sign of emotion than a slight convulsive movement of the shoulders. Chamai, whom I had omitted to inform of the too likely fate of Hanno and Jonah, hurriedly asked Himilco what had become of them, but the pilot only answered by a significant shake of the head, and by pointing to the woods behind.

As I drew near to Hannibal, he advanced rapidly to greet me. He seemed in high spirits, and although he was evidently affected by the intelligence we gave him about Hanno, he endeavoured to disguise his feelings by saying that we must all submit to the chances of war.

"But what's to be done next?" he added, quickly.

I told him that I was determined at all hazards to go in pursuit of Bodmilcar, who must not be suffered to escape.

"Easier said than done," replied Hannibal. "Bodmilcar not only had a large force of Phœnician criminals and deserters, but when he attacked us he had a regular swarm of savages, all armed either with clubs or javelins. At any rate, he can keep his distance. I know not whether he is alive or dead; but I know this, that the fellows have found out that it is not to their advantage to tackle us in close quarters. However, we are too few to surround them, and to pursue them is only to expose ourselves to another ambush."

"What is to be done, then?" I asked, gnashing my teeth with vexation.

"You must get to the top of the hill before night," he answered, decidedly; "you must reach the open plain; you must not run the risk of another surprise. Once on the plateau you are secure; you can rest your men and give them food; they are knocked up. And you will have time to interrogate your prisoners."

Chagrined as I was, I could not resist the conviction that Hannibal's advice was judicious, and, however reluctantly, gave up all thought of immediate pursuit. I directed that the prisoners should be fastened together by a rope passed round their necks, and that forty men should be told off under Himilco for a guard, with orders to kill the first man that showed the least sign of resistance.

"You may trust me for that," said the pilot, with a vindictive grin; "they have only left me one eye, but that is a sharp one."

When the captives had been securely bound, I had all the packages and silver collected that had been left strewn about by the runaway porters.

"There will be a double load for each of these scoundrels to carry," I remarked; "I shall take good care not to trust Iberians with my property again till I have seen them well fettered."

The baggage was gathered without the occurrence of any renewed attack, and Gisgo returned from the wood brandishing a stout cudgel that he had cut from the bough of an oak.

"Here's something to make them stir their legs a bit!" he said, as he saw the men loaded with their burdens.

"Now then, get on, you brutes!" Himilco screamed in Iberian; "and the first rogue that shirks his work is a dead man!"

Placing the prisoners in the middle, we proceeded cautiously to continue our ascent; and while we were prosecuting our toilsome march, I asked Bichri to give me full particulars about the encounter with Bodmilcar.

"As accurately as I can," he said, "I will. On leaving you we advanced without obstruction some hundred paces into the wood, when in a moment we found ourselves with a host of Iberians in our front, and as many in our rear, pelting us with stones and darts. We ran full speed to a spot where the trees were not so thick, and planting our backs against a projecting rock, we stood on our defence; but almost directly afterwards we espied a troop of soldiers dashing down towards us. They were Bodmilcar and his miscreants. There seemed no hope for us: in a few minutes we must have been overpowered; but, happily, Hannibal and Chamai made their appearance, and a desperate fray ensued. I saw Bodmilcar fall to the ground; Chamai had all but secured him, when he was cut down by a cutlass, and the Tyrians seized their opportunity to carry off their chief, the barbarians covering their retreat, and hurling an incessant shower of missiles. But we were rescued."

I had listened with eager attention to Bichri's story, and as he came to a pause, I asked:

"But how about Hazael, and the woman and the child?"

"Patience, and you shall hear," he said. "We resolved to go in pursuit of our foe, who, we had no doubt, was seriously wounded, and we had got into the thick of the forest, when we came upon a pile of wood with a child lying bound on the top of it. Fourteen or fifteen soldiers were standing round, and Hazael, with a long knife in his hand was on the very point of slaying the child, while two men were forcibly dragging off a woman, who had evidently thrown herself across its body. The very instant that Aminocles caught sight of the victim, he shrieked aloud 'My son, my son!' and dashed like a madman into the group; we all rushed after him, and Hazael, seeing that he was in danger, made a lunge at the child with his knife and took to his heels. However, I was too quick for him, and soon had him back again. Meanwhile Aminocles and my archers had made short work with the other men, and the boy, who had fainted, was set free by cutting the cords that fastened him, and was found to have sustained no very serious injury. The woman, too, who had been endeavouring to ward off the blow of the knife, was recognised by one of the Phocians as the wife whom he had lost. Altogether, considering we have captured the eunuch, saved the child, and restored a man his wife, I do not know that we have done a bad day's work."

But changing his tone, Bichri added, mournfully:

"And yet how it saddens all to think about poor Hanno and our big friend Jonah. I loved them both, poor fellows! I wonder what has become of old Gebal. Is he gone too?"

I said that I had very little doubt the monkey had been on his usual perch upon the trumpeter's shoulder, and so most probably had shared his fate. Bichri drew a long sigh, which seemed to convey the impression that he was almost as much concerned at the loss of the monkey as he was moved by the fate of his comrades.

We had now reached the plateau. It was a dreary plain, dotted at rare intervals with a few trees and tufts of thistles, and as far as I could estimate, about twelve stadia from the Bœtis. Our supply of fresh water being nearly exhausted, we were obliged to be very frugal with it at our evening meal; but as soon as this was finished, and Hannibal had posted his sentinels and had all lights extinguished, I summoned Hazael before me. I took my seat, supported on either side by my officers and pilots, making Bichri, Aminocles and his son, and the Phocian with his wife, likewise be present.

The prisoner was brought forward, pale and trembling; his hands were tied behind his back, and his embroidered robe was torn and soiled with dust and blood.

"You know me?" I roared out to him as he approached.

"Yes, my lord," he faltered out in a quivering voice, without lifting his eyes from the ground.

"And you know your conduct towards me?" I roared again.

The culprit made no answer.

"Do you suppose I took you with me that you should plot against me in Egypt, at Utica, at Gades?"

He still gave no reply.

"What made you dare to try and kill that child?" I said.

"I was under orders," he whined out; "Bodmilcar made me. He wanted to sacrifice to Moloch to secure his favour. I dared not disobey him; he has had me in his power all along. It is not I, it is Bodmilcar that has wronged you."

"O, that matters not," I answered. "Curses on Bodmilcar! Would you save your life? One way, one only way is open to you still."

The despicable Syrian prostrated himself till his face was on the earth, and groaned out:

"Spare me! spare my life! ask what you will! trample on my neck! make me your slave for ever! but spare my life!"

Chamai, who was standing beside me with a bandage on his forehead, turned his head away in disgust.

"Spare your life!" I repealed; "why, if I did my duty I should make your life a sacrifice this very minute to the souls of the brave heroes who have lost their lives through you!" And after a pause, I said: "But, listen to me! do what I require, and I will give you more than your life; when we are back at Gades, I will give you your liberty."

"O, I will do anything; but swear, swear that you will spare my life!" implored the abject wretch, still grovelling with his forehead in the dust.

"Yes, hearken!" I ejaculated. "By Ashtoreth! goddess of heaven, I swear it!"

Relieved of his immediate terror, the pusillanimous craven started to his feet, and in a tone quite brisk in contrast with his previous whinings began to ask what it was that I required him to do.

"You must first inform us of the strength of Bodmilcar's force."

"One hundred and sixty Phœnicians. Six hundred or perhaps seven hundred Iberians."

"You must next tell us the place of rendezvous he had appointed, in case his attack should fail."

Hazael hesitated. Chamai said that if he revealed this, he would deserve a score of hangings for his treachery. Without noticing the interruption, I said again:

"You must tell us his place of rendezvous."

Again no answer.

"Except you tell, you shall be hanged this very minute."

And to show him that I was in earnest I called for a rope. Himilco produced a strong cable-end that he always wore round his waist under his kitonet. Hazael quivered and turned pale.

"Stop, stop! don't hang me! I will tell!"

"Out with it, then; quick!"

"At the Wolf's knoll."

"So far, so good. But where is that?"

"In the wood, two stadia off."

"But which way?"

"Behind us; over there; there to the right."

"Well then, come and show us the way."

And weary as I was, almost worn out by fatigue, I could not resist the desire to go upon the simplest chance of meeting the adversary that I hated so bitterly. I called out to my men that I wanted fifty volunteers to go with me and hunt out Bodmilcar from his lurking place. Many more than I had called answered to my appeal, eager to offer their services, and I could only request Hannibal to select those best fitted for the expedition, and bid the others take good care of the women and the baggage, and see that the captives were well secured.

Aminocles begged for permission to remain behind with his little son, and asked that his countryman Demaretes might likewise be allowed to stay with his newly-rescued wife; he acknowledged that they were indebted to me for the recovery of their dear ones, promised that they would fight doubly hard another time, but pleaded that they might be excused now. Of course I had no hesitation in yielding to his request.

Before setting out I said, incidentally, that we might perchance be fortunate enough to recover the bodies either of Hanno or Jonah, or both. Chryseis rose instantly to her feet, and, pale with agitation, placed herself at my side. To my inquiry whither she was going, she replied in a steady voice:

"To seek the body of my betrothed. If it be the will of the gods, I will consign it to a tomb."