The Young Carthaginian: A Story of The Times of Hannibal

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XIV: THE BATTLE OF LAKE TRASIMENE

  The battle of Trebia cost Malchus the loss of his father. It was againstthe portion of the force headed by Hamilcar that the Romans, who cuttheir way through the circle of foes which Hannibal had thrown roundthem, flung themselves. Hamilcar had in vain attempted to stem thetorrent. Surrounded by his bravest officers, he had cast himself in theway of the Roman legion; but nothing could withstand the rush of theheavy armed spearmen, who, knowing that all was lost, and that theironly hope was in cutting their way through the Carthaginians, pressedforward, shoulder to shoulder, and swept aside the opposition oftheir more lightly armed foes. Hamilcar and most of his officers fell,striving to the last to stem the current.

  It was a grievous blow to Malchus, when, as he was exulting in the greatvictory which had been gained, the news came to him that his father hadfallen. Hamilcar was very dear to him. He had been his companion and hisfriend, his guide and adviser. He had encouraged him in his aspirations,and had from his earliest years urged him to make the sacrifices andexertions necessary to qualify him to bear a prominent part under hiscousin Hannibal.

  He had been his tutor in arms, and had striven to inspire him with thenoblest sentiments. Since they had reached Spain he had seen less of himthan before, for Hamilcar felt that it was best for his son to dependupon himself alone. He was proud of the name which Malchus was alreadywinning for himself, and knew that it was better for him that hisadvancement should be considered due to his own exertions and gallantryand not to the influence of his father.

  When, however, they were thrown together, their relations wereunchanged. Malchus was as affectionate, as respectful, and as eager tolisten to his father's advice, as he had been as a boy, while Hamilcarwas glad in the society of his son to forget the cares and toils of theexpedition in which they had embarked and to talk of the dear ones athome.

  It was only three days before the battle that they had rejoiced togetherover the news which had reached them by a messenger from Gaul thatThyra had married Adherbal, and had immediately set out with him forCarthagena, where Adherbal had been offered a command by Hannibal'sbrother Hasdrubal, the governor of Spain, in his absence.

  Father and son had rejoiced at this for several reasons. Hanno'sfaction had now gained the upper hand, and the friends of Hannibal weresubjected to persecution of all kinds. The very life of Adherbal as aprominent member of the Barcine party had been menaced. And it wasonly by embarking secretly for Spain that he had succeeded in avoidingarrest. The property of many of Hannibal's friends had been confiscated.Several had been put to death under one pretext or another, and althoughHamilcar did not think that Hanno's faction would venture to bringforward any accusation against him while he was fighting the battlesof his country, he experienced a sense of relief at the knowledge that,should the worst happen, his wife and Anna would find a refuge andasylum with Adherbal in Spain. Hamilcar and Malchus had discussed thematter long and seriously, and had talked, Hamilcar with sorrow, Malchuswith indignation and rage, of the state of Carthage.

  "It makes one hate one's country," Malchus exclaimed passionately, "whenone hears of these things. You taught me to love Carthage, father, andto be proud of her. How can one be proud of a country so misgoverned, socorrupt, so base as this? Of what use are sacrifices and efforts here,when at home they think of nothing but luxury and ease and the making ofmoney, when the best and bravest of the Carthaginians are disgraced anddishonoured, and the people bow before these men whose wealth has beengained solely by corruption and robbery? It makes one wish one had beenborn a Roman."

  "Did not one hope that a better time would come, Malchus, when Carthagewill emancipate herself from the rule of men like Hanno and his corruptfriends, I should, indeed, despair of her, for even the genius ofHannibal and the valour of his troops cannot avail alone to carry to asuccessful conclusion a struggle between such a state as Carthage now isand a vigourous, patriotic, and self-reliant people like those of Rome.

  "We may win battles, but, however great the victories may be, we cannever succeed in the long run against the power of Rome unless Carthageproves true to herself. Our army is not a large one. Rome and her Latinallies can, if need be, put ten such in the field. If Carthage at thiscrisis of her fate proves worthy of the occasion, if she by a greateffort again wins the sovereignty of the sea, and sends over armies tosupport us in our struggle, we may in the end triumph. If not, gloriousas may be our success for a time, we are in the end doomed to failure,and our failure will assuredly involve the final destruction ofCarthage.

  "Rome will not be slow to profit by the lesson which Hannibal isteaching her. His genius perceives that only by striking at Rome inItaly could a vital blow be given to her. The Romans in turn willperceive that only by an invasion of Africa can Carthage be humbled.Her task will then be far easier than ours is now, for not only is Romefresh, strong, and vigourous, but she has had the wisdom to bind theLatin peoples around her closely to her by bestowing upon them therights of citizenship, by making them feel that her cause is theirs.

  "Upon the other hand, Carthage has throughout her history been pavingthe way for her fall. She fights, but it is with foreign mercenaries.She stamps under foot the people she has conquered, and while her taxcollectors grind them to the earth, and she forces them to send theirsons to fight her battles, she gives them no share in her privileges, novoice in her councils.

  "I had hoped, Malchus, that at such a moment as this faction would havebeen silent at Carthage, and a feeling of patriotism would once againhave asserted itself. I find that it is not so, and my heart sinks formy country. Were it not for my wife and family, Malchus, I would gladlydie in the coming battle."

  The words recurred to Malchus as he sat in his tent by the side of hisfather's body on the night after the battle of the Trebia, and a deepbitterness mingled with his sorrow.

  "Giscon was right," he exclaimed. "All means are justifiable to ridone's country of those who are destroying her. It makes one mad to thinkthat while men like my father are fighting and dying for their country,the tribunes of the democracy, who fatten on our spoils, are plottingagainst them at home. Henceforth, I fight not as a Carthaginian, but asa soldier of Hannibal, and will aid him in his endeavour to humble Rome;not that Carthage, with her blood stained altars, her corrupt officials,and her indolent population, may continue to exist, but that these manlyand valiant Gauls who have thrown in their lot with us may live free andindependent of the yoke of Rome. These people are rude and primitive,but their simple virtues, their love of freedom, their readiness to dierather than to be slaves, put the sham patriotism of Carthage to shame."

  When the army went into winter quarters, and Hannibal dismissed hisGaulish allies, with many rich presents, to their homes, Malchusobtained leave from Hannibal to depart with Allobrigius--the chief ofthe Insubrian tribe living on the Orcus--who had, with his fightingmen, accompanied Hannibal through the campaign. The chief's wife anddaughters had returned after seeing the army across the Po. Malchushad sought the society of his late host during the campaign, had oftenridden beside him on the march, and had spent the evening in his tenttalking either of the civilization of Carthage, which seemed wonderfulindeed to the simple Gaulish chieftain, or of the campaign on which theywere engaged.

  Malchus had by this time mastered the differences between the dialectof the Cisalpine Gauls and that of those in Gaul itself and Iberia,with which he was already acquainted. The chief was gratified by thefriendship of Hannibal's kinsman, and liked the frank simplicity of hismanner. He had laughed loudly when his wife had told him how Malchus hadleaped from the bridge to save the life of Clotilde when she fell intothe river. But the act had proved that Malchus was grateful for thekindness which had been shown him, and had cemented the friendshipbetween them. Therefore, when the campaign came to a close, he hadoffered a hearty invitation to Malchus to spend the time, until thearmy should again assemble, with him in his village on the banks of theOrcus. Hannibal had smiled when Malchus had asked for
leave of absence.

  "Those daughters of the chief whom you presented to me on the day whenwe crossed the Po are the fairest I have seen in Gaul. Malchus, are youthinking of keeping up the traditions of our family? My father weddedall my sisters, as you know, to native princes in Africa, and I took anIberian maiden as my wife. It would be in every way politic and to bedesired that one so nearly related to me as yourself should form analliance by marriage with one of these Gaulish chiefs."

  Malchus laughed somewhat confusedly.

  "It will be time to talk about marriage some years hence, Hannibal; I amscarce twenty yet, and she is but a girl."

  "Oh! there is a she in the case," Hannibal laughed; "and my arrow drawnat a venture has struck home. Ah! yes, there were three of them, twotall and stately maidens and one still a slim and unformed girl. Indeed,I remember now having heard that you lost your armour and helmet injumping off the bridge across the Po to fish out one of the daughtersof Allobrigius, who turned out to be able to swim much better than youcould. I had a hearty laugh over it with your poor father, but with theRomans at Piacenza and a great battle before us the matter passed frommy mind. So that is how the wind lies. Well, as you say, you are bothyoung, and there is no saying what the next two or three years may bringforth. However, bear in mind that such an alliance would please me much,and remember also that the Gaulish maidens marry young, and in timeslike ours, Malchus, it is never well to delay long."

  Malchus took with him Nessus, who had, from the day when they escapedtogether from Scipio's camp, been always near his person, had carriedhis helmet on the line of march, slept next to him by the campfire, andfought by his side in battle, ready at any moment to give his life toavert harm from his leader.

  The return of Allobrigius and his tribesmen was celebrated by greatrejoicings on the Orcus. The women and old men and boys met them somemiles from the village, raising loud cries of welcome and triumphas they returned from their successful campaign against their formeroppressors. Among no people were family ties held more precious thanamong the Gauls, and the rough military order which the tribesmen hadpreserved upon their march was at once broken up when the two partiesmet.

  Wives rushed into the arms of husbands, mothers embraced their sons,girls hung on the necks of their fathers and brothers. There was nothingto mar the joy of the meeting, for messengers had from time to timecarried news from the army to the village, and the women who had lostthose dearest to them in the campaign remained behind in the village, sothat their mourning should not mar the brightness of the return of thetribe.

  Brunilda, the wife of the chief, stood with her daughters a littleapart from the crowd on a rising knoll of ground, and the chief, whowas mounted upon a horse taken from the Romans at the Trebia, spurredforward towards them, while Malchus hung behind to let the firstgreeting pass over before he joined the family circle. He had, however,been noticed, and Clotilde's cheeks were colouring hotly when her fatherrode up, from some laughing remark from her sisters. Brunilda receivedMalchus cordially, saying that she had often heard of him in themessages sent by her husband.

  "He has come to stop the winter with us," Allobrigius said. "I promisedhim a warm welcome, and he needs rest and quiet, as do we all, for ithas been hard work even to seasoned men like us. What with snow and rainI have scarcely been dry since I left you."

  "That would not matter to the young Carthaginian lord," the eldest girlsaid with a smile; "we know that he rather likes getting wet, don't we,Clotilde?" she said, turning to her sister, who was, contrary to herusual custom, standing shyly behind her.

  "I am afraid I shall never hear the last of that," Malchus laughed; "Ican only say that I meant well."

  "Of course you did," Allobrigius said; "you could not know that ourGaulish maidens could swim and march, and, if necessary, fight asstoutly as the men. The Romans before now have learned that, inthe absence of the men from the camp, the women of Gaul can fightdesperately for country, and home, and honour. Do not let yourself betroubled by what these wild girls say, my lord Malchus; you know ourGaulish women are free of tongue, and hold not their men in such awe anddeference as is the custom among other nations."

  "I am accustomed to be laughed at," Malchus said smiling; "I have twosisters at home, and, whatever respect women may pay to their lordsin Carthage, I suppose that neither there nor anywhere else have girlsrespect for their brothers."

  The music at this moment struck up, the harpers began a song which theyhad composed in honour of the occasion, the tribesmen fell into theirranks again, and Allobrigius placed himself at their head. Malchusdismounted, and, leading his horse, walked by the side of Brunilda, who,with the rest of the women, walked on the flanks of the column on itsway back to the village.

  The next three months passed very pleasantly to Malchus. In the dayhe hunted the boar, the bear, and the wolf among the mountains withAllobrigius; of an evening he sat by the fire and listened to the songsof the harpers or to the tales of the wars and wanderings of the Gaulishtribes, or himself told the story of Carthage and Tyre and the wars ofthe former with the Romans, described the life and manners of the greatcity, or the hunting of the lion in the Libyan deserts.

  While his listeners wondered at the complex life and strange arts andmagnificence of Carthage, Malchus was struck with the simple existence,the warm family ties, the honest sincerity, and the deep love of freedomof the Gauls. When Brunilda and her daughter sighed with envy at thethought of the luxuries and pleasures of the great city, he told themthat they would soon weary of so artificial an existence, and thatCarthage, with its corruption, its ever present dread of the rising ofone class against another, its constant fear of revolt from the peopleit had enslaved, its secret tribunals, its oppression and tyranny, hadlittle which need be envied by the free tribes of Gaul.

  "I grant," he said, "that you would gain greater comfort by adoptingsomething of our civilization. You might improve your dwellings,hangings round your walls would keep out the bitter winds, well madedoors are in winter very preferable to the skins which hang at yourentrance, and I do think that a Carthaginian cook might, with advantage,give lessons to the tribes as to preparations of food; but beyond that Ithink that you have the best of it."

  "The well built houses you speak of," Allobrigius said, "have theiradvantages, but they have their drawbacks. A people who once settle downinto permanent abodes have taken the first step towards losing theirfreedom. Look at all the large towns in the plains; until lately each ofthem held a Roman garrison. In the first place, they offer an incentiveto the attack of a covetous foe; in the second, they bind theirowners to them. The inhabitants of a town cling to their houses andpossessions, and, if conquered, become mere slaves to their captors; wewho live in dwellings which cost but a few weeks of work, whose worldlygoods are the work of our own hands, or the products of the chase,should never be conquered; we may be beaten, but if so, we can retirebefore our enemies and live in freedom in the forest or mountains, ortravel beyond the reach of our foes.

  "Had not your army come and freed us from Rome I was already meditatingmoving with my tribe across the great mountains to the north andsettling among Brunilda's people in the German forests, far beyond thereach of Rome. What though, as she tells me, the winters are longand severe, the people ignorant of many of the comforts which we haveadopted from our neighbours; at least we should be free, and of allblessings none is to compare with that."

  "I agree with you," Malchus said, thinking of the plots andconspiracies, the secret denunciations, the tyranny and corruptionof Carthage, "it is good to be great, but it is better to be free.However," he added more cheerfully, "I trust that we are going to freeyou from all future fear of Rome, and that you will be able to enjoyyour liberty here without having to remove to the dark forests and longwinter of the country north of the Alps."

  So passed the winter. Early in the spring a messenger arrived fromHannibal bidding Malchus rejoin him, and calling upon Allobrigius toprepare to take the field against the Romans. Similar me
ssages had beensent to all the Gaulish tribes friendly to Carthage, and early in MarchHannibal prepared to cross the Apennines and to advance against Rome.

  The position occupied by the two Roman armies barred the only two roadsby which it was believed that Hannibal could march upon Rome, butas soon as the spring commenced Hannibal started by a path, hithertountrodden by troops, across the Apennines. In the march the troopssuffered even greater hardships than those which they had undergonein the passage of the Alps, for during four days and three nights theymarched knee deep in water, unable for a single moment to lie down.

  While ever moving backwards and forwards among his men to encourage themwith his presence and words, even the iron frame of Hannibal gave wayunder the terrible hardships. The long continued strain, the want ofsleep, and the obnoxious miasma from the marshes, brought on a feverand cost him the sight of one of his eyes. Of all the elephants but onesurvived the march, and it was with an army as worn out and exhausted asthat which had issued from the Alps that he descended into the fertileplains of Tuscany, near Fiesole.

  The army of Flaminius, 30,000 strong, was still lying at Arezzo, on hisdirect road south, and it was with this only that Hannibal had now todeal, the force of Servilius being still far away at Rimini. His ownarmy was some 35,000 strong, and crossing the Upper Arno near Florence,Hannibal marched towards Arezzo. Flaminius, as soon as he had heardthat Hannibal was ascending the slopes of the Apennines, had sentto Servilius to join him, but the latter, alleging that he feared aninvasion by the Gaulish tribes on the north, refused to move, but sentfour thousand cavalry to Flaminius. This brought the armies to nearlyequal strength, but, although Hannibal marched his troops within sightof Arezzo, Flaminius would not issue from his camp to attack him.

  He knew that Hannibal had defeated a force of tried troops, muchexceeding his own in numbers, in the north, and that he would thereforeprobably be successful against one which scarcely equalled his own. Hehoped, too, that Hannibal would attack him in his intrenched position.This the Carthaginian general had no intention of doing, but, leavingthe camp behind him, marched on, plundering and ravaging the countrytowards Rome. Flaminius at once broke up his camp and followed on histrack, preparing to take any opportunity which might occur to fall uponthe Carthaginians, and knowing that the senate would at once call up thearmy of Servilius to assist him.

  Hannibal, by means of scouts left in his rear, found that Flaminiuswas marching on with his troops in solid column, taking no precautionagainst surprise, secure in the belief that Hannibal's object was tomarch on Rome without a stop. The Carthaginian general prepared at onceto take advantage of his enemy's carelessness. He halted his troops atCortona. The road by which he had passed wound along the shore of LakeTrasimene, at the foot of a range of steep hills, which approachedclosely to the water.

  Half way along these hills a stream runs down a valley into thelake, and in the valley, completely hidden from the sight of an enemyapproaching, Hannibal placed the Numidian cavalry and the Gaulishinfantry. Among some woods clothing the lower slope of the hills facingthe lake he placed his light troops, while the Spanish and Africaninfantry and the Gaulish cavalry were similarly hidden on the outerslopes of the hill in readiness to close in on the rear of the Romanswhen they had entered on the road between the hills and the lake.

  No better position could have been chosen for a surprise. When once theRomans had entered the path between the hills and the lake there was noescape for them. They were shut up between the wood clad hills swarmingwith the Carthaginian light troops and the lake, while the heavyinfantry and cavalry of Hannibal were ready to fall on them front andrear.

  When Flaminius arrived at Cortona late at night he heard of the ravagesand executions committed by the Carthaginians, as they had passedthrough early in the morning, and resolved to press forward at daybreakin hopes of finding some opportunity for falling upon and punishingthem. When day broke it seemed favourable to his design, for a thickmist was rising from the lake and marshes. This, he thought, wouldconceal his advance from the Carthaginians, while, as the high groundahead rose above the mist, he would be enabled to see their position. Hepushed forward then rapidly, thinking that he should be able to overtakethe rear of the Carthaginian army as it moved slowly along encumberedwith its plunder.

  As he neared the entrance to the pass he caught sight of the heavyarmed Carthaginians on the distant hill above the level of the mist,and believing that his own movements were hidden from the enemy, pushedforward as fast as the infantry could march. But the moment the rear ofhis column had entered the narrow flat between the foot of the hills andthe lake, the Numidians quietly moved down and closed the pass behindthem, while Hannibal with his heavy infantry descended from the fartherhill to confront him. When all was ready he gave the signal, and at oncein front, on their right flank, and on their rear the Carthaginians fellupon them.

  The light troops heralded their attack by rolling a vast quantity ofrocks down the hill on the long column, and then, pressing down throughthe woods, poured their arrows and javelins into the struggling mass.

  Taken wholly by surprise, unable to advance or retreat, desperate atfinding themselves thus caught in a trap, the Romans fought bravely butin vain. An earthquake shook the ground on which the terrible fight wasgoing on; but not for a moment did it interrupt the struggle. For threehours the Romans, although suffering terribly, still fought on; thenFlaminius was killed, and from that time they thought only of escape.But this was next to impossible. Six thousand only cut their way out.Fifteen thousand fell, and nine thousand were taken prisoners.

  As soon as the battle was over Hannibal despatched Maharbal with hisdivision of the army in pursuit of the six thousand who had escaped,and, overtaking them next morning at Perugia, Maharbal forced them tosurrender. At the same time he detached a strong force against the fourthousand horsemen, whom Servilius had despatched from Rimini to aid hiscolleague, and the whole of these were surrounded and taken prisoners.Thus of the Roman army, thirty-six thousand strong, not a single manescaped.

  In all history there is no record of so great and successful a surprise.Hannibal retained as prisoners the Roman citizens and Latins, butreleased the rest of the captives, telling them that, far from beingtheir enemy, he had invaded Italy for the purpose of liberating itshelpless people from the tyranny of the Roman domination. The lossto the Carthaginians in the battle of Lake Trasimene was only fifteenhundred men.

  Hannibal has been blamed for not advancing against Rome after the battleof Lake Trasimene; but he knew that he could not hope to subdue thatcity so long as she was surrounded by faithful allies. His army wasnumerically insufficient to undertake such a siege, and was destituteof the machines for battering the walls. Rome was still defended bythe city legions, besides which every man capable of bearing arms wasa soldier. The bitter hostility of the Latins would have rendered itdifficult in the extreme for the army to have obtained provisions whilecarrying on the siege, while in its rear, waiting for an opportunity toattack, would have lain the army of Servilius, thirty thousand strong,and growing daily more numerous as the friends and allies of Romeflocked to its banners.

  Hannibal saw that to undertake such an enterprise at present would beruin. His course was clear. He had to beat the armies which Rome couldput into the field; to shake the confidence of the Italian tribes inthe power of Rome; to subsist his army upon their territories, and sogradually to detach them from their alliance with Rome. He hoped that,by the time this work was finished, Carthage would send another greatarmy to his assistance provided with siege materials, and he would thenbe able to undertake with confidence the great task of striking a vitalblow at Rome herself.

  "Malchus," Hannibal said one day, "I wish you to ride north. The tribesat the foot of the hills promised to aid us, but have so far donenothing. If they would pour down to the plains now they would occupy thetribes friendly to the Romans, and would prevent them from sending menand stores to them. They sent me a message a month ago, saying that theywere s
till willing to help us, and I then replied that I had been longwaiting to hear that they had risen, and urged them to do so withoutloss of time. I have not heard since, and fear that the Roman agentshave, by promises of money and privileges, prevailed upon them to keepquiet. It is a service of danger; for if they have been bought over theymay seize you and send you in token of their goodwill as a prisoner toRome; but I know that will not deter you."

  "I am ready to go," Malchus said, "and will start today. What forceshall I take with me, and which of the chiefs shall I first see?"

  "You had best go first to Ostragarth. He is the most powerful of thechiefs on this side of the Apennines. You can select from the treasurysuch presents as you may choose for him and the others. You can promisethem large grants of the land of the tribes aiding the Romans, togetherwith a share in the plunder of the cities. I leave you quite free. Inthose respects you will be guided by what you see they want; but anypromises you may make I will ratify. As to men I should not take a largeescort. Force will, of course, be of no avail, and the appearance ofa large number of troops might alarm them at once. Twenty men will besufficient for dignity, and as a protection against any small bodies ofthe hostile tribesmen you may meet on your way; but have no frays if youcan avoid it. The mission is an important one, and its successshould not be risked merely to defeat a body of tribesmen. Go in yourhandsomest armour, and make as brave a show as you can, as my ambassadorand kinsman. Take twenty of the Carthaginian horse; they will imposemore upon the barbarians than would the Libyans or Numidians. Take yourfriend Trebon as their commander and a companion for yourself."

  In two hours Malchus and his escort were ready to start. As theirjourney would be rapid they carried no stores with them, save threedays' provisions, which each man carried at his saddlebow, and a bagcontaining a few feeds of corn for the horse. They took with them,however, two baggage horses laden with arms, armour, garments, and otherpresents for the chiefs.

  They passed rapidly across the country, meeting with no hostile parties,for the raids of Hannibal's light armed horse had so terrifiedthe people that the villages were for the most part deserted, theinhabitants having sought refuge in the fortified towns. After two days'brisk riding they arrived at the foot of the hills, and their progresswas now slower. The village of Ostragarth lay far up among them, and,being ignorant of the direction, Malchus broke the troop up into partiesof four, and sent them up different valleys with orders to capturethe first native they came across, and oblige him either by threats orpromises to act as a guide to the stronghold of the chief.

  "I sincerely trust that this barbarian is friendly, Malchus, for thecountry looks wild and difficult in the extreme, and the forests whichclothe these hills are thick and tangled. On the plain we can laughat the natives, however numerous, and with twenty men I would charge athousand of them; but among these hills it is different, one cannot finda level spot for a charge, and, if it comes to running, the mountaineersare as fleet as a horse on the broken ground of their hills."

  "I agree with you, Trebon, that it would go hard with us, and that theutmost we could hope for would be a visit to Rome as captives. Still,these chiefs all offered alliance to Hannibal as he went south, and thesuccess which has attended us should surely bind them to our interests.They are ever willing to join the winning side, and so far fortune hasbeen wholly with us."

  "That is so, Malchus, but then they see that the tribes of the plainsstill hold aloof from us and pin their faith on Rome. They must knowthat we are receiving no reinforcements to fill the gaps made in battle,and may well fear to provoke the anger of Rome by taking part with usbefore our success is, as they consider, absolutely secure."

  "On the same grounds then, Trebon, they will be equally unwilling tooffend us by any hostility until the scale is decidedly weighed downagainst us. Hannibal's anger might be as terrible as that of theRomans."

  "There is something in that, Malchus, but not so much as you think. IfRome wins, Rome will have ample time and ample power, with the aid ofall her native allies, to punish any who may have declared againsther. On the other hand, should Carthage triumph, they may consider itprobable that we should sack and burn Rome and then retire, or that ifwe remain there will be so much to arrange, so many tribes in the plainsto subjugate and pacify, that we shall be little likely to undertakeexpeditions in the mountains. Therefore, you see, prudent men woulddecide for Rome. Could we have marched straight on after the victory atLake Trasimene and have captured Rome, all these mountain tribes wouldhave taken the opportunity to pour down into the plains to plunder andslay under the pretence of being our allies."

  It was not until nightfall that the five parties returned to the spotwhere they had left their leaders. Three of them had been entirelyunsuccessful, but the other two had each brought in a native. These menlooked sullen and obstinate, and it was not until Malchus had ordered ahalter to be placed round their necks and threatened them with instantdeath that they consented to act as guides.

  A vigilant watch was kept over them all night, and at daybreak nextmorning the party started. For some miles they rode along at the footof the mountains, and then entered a valley up which a little used trackran. The men upon being questioned intimated that it was several hours'journey to the village of the chief of whom they were in search.

  This, indeed, proved to be the case, for it was not till the afternoon,after many hours' weary journey up gorges and through mountain valleys,that they arrived within sight of the village of Ostragarth. It wassituated on one side of the valley, and consisted of huts surroundedby a rough stone wall of such height that only the tops of the circularroofs were visible above it. A loud shrill cry was heard as they came insight, a cow horn was blown in the village, and instantly men could beseen running in. Others, engaged in tending flocks of goats high up onthe mountain side, left their charges and began to hurry down.