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<h2> CHAPTER II: A NIGHT ATTACK </h2>
<p>The time seemed to Malchus to pass slowly indeed as he sat waiting the
commencement of the hunt. Deep roars, sounding like distant thunder, were
heard from time to time among the hills. Once or twice Malchus fancied
that he could hear other sounds such as would be made by a heavy stone
dislodged from its site leaping down the mountain side; but he was not
sure that this was not fancy, or that the sound might not be caused by the
roaring of lions far away among the hills.</p>
<p>His father had said that three hours would probably elapse before the
circuit would be completed. The distance was not great, but the troops
would have to make their way with the greatest care along the rocky hills
through brushwood and forest, and their advance would be all the more slow
that they had to take such pains to move noiselessly.</p>
<p>It was indeed more than three hours after the column had left the camp
when the sound of a distant horn was heard far up the hillside. Almost
instantaneously lights burst out in a great semicircle along the hillside,
and a faint confused sound, as of the shouting of a large body of men, was
heard on the still night air.</p>
<p>“That is very well done,” the general said in a tone of satisfaction. “I
had hardly expected it to be so well managed; for the operation on such
broken and difficult ground was not easy to carry out, even with the moon
to help them.”</p>
<p>“But see, father!” Malchus said, “there are many patches of darkness in
the line, and the lions might surely escape through these.”</p>
<p>“It would not be possible, Malchus, to place the parties at equal
distances over such broken ground. Nor are the lions likely to discover
the gaps in the line; they will be far too much terrified by the uproar
and sudden blaze of light to approach the troops. Hark, how they are
roaring! Truly it is a majestic and terrible sound, and I do not wonder
that the wild natives of these mountains regard the animals with something
of the respect which we pay to the gods. And now do you keep a sharp eye
along the foot of the hills. There is no saying how soon the beasts may
break cover.”</p>
<p>Slowly the semicircle of light was seen to contract as the soldiers who
formed it moved forward towards the foot of the hill; but although Malchus
kept his eyes strained upon the fringe of trees at its foot, he could see
no signs of movement.</p>
<p>The roaring still continued at intervals, and it was evident that the
beasts inclosed in the arc had descended to the lower slopes of the hill.</p>
<p>“They may be upon us sooner than you expect, Malchus. Their colour well
nigh matches with that of the sand, and you may not see them until they
are close upon us.”</p>
<p>Presently a Numidian soldier standing behind Malchus touched him on the
shoulder and said in a whisper: “There they are!” pointing at the same
time across the plain.</p>
<p>Malchus could for a time see nothing; then he made out some indistinct
forms.</p>
<p>“There are six of them,” the general said, “and they are making for this
grove. Get your bows ready.”</p>
<p>Malchus could now clearly see the lions approaching. They were advancing
slowly, turning occasionally to look back as if reluctant to quit the
shelter of the hills; and Malchus could hardly resist a start of
uneasiness as one of them suddenly gave vent to a deep, threatening roar,
so menacing and terrible that the very leaves of the trees seemed to
quiver in the light of the moon under its vibrations. The lions seemed of
huge dimensions, especially the leader of the troop, who stalked with a
steady and majestic step at their head. When within fifty yards of the
grove the lions suddenly paused; their leader apparently scented danger.
Again the deep terrible roar rose in the air, answered by an angry
snarling noise on the part of the females.</p>
<p>“Aim at the leader,” the general whispered, “and have your brands in
readiness.”</p>
<p>Immediately behind the party a fire was burning; it had been suffered to
die down until it was a mere pile of glowing embers, and in this the ends
of a dozen stakes of dried wood were laid. The glow of the fire was
carefully hidden by a circle of sticks on which thick cloths had been
hung. The fire had been prepared in readiness in case the lions should
appear in numbers too formidable to be coped with. The leading lion was
within twenty-five paces of the spot where the party was standing when
Hamilcar gave the word, and a volley of arrows shot forth from their
hiding place.</p>
<p>The lion gave a roar of rage and pain, then, crouching for a moment, with
a few tremendous bounds he reached the edge of the wood. He could see his
enemies now, and with a fierce spring threw himself upon them. But as soon
as they had discharged their arrows the soldiers had caught up their
weapons and formed in a close body, and the lion was received upon the
points of a dozen spears.</p>
<p>There was a crashing of wood and a snarling growl as one of the soldiers
was struck dead with a blow of the mighty paw of the lion, who, ere he
could recover himself, received half a dozen javelins thrust deep into his
flanks, and fell dead.</p>
<p>The rest of the troop had followed him as he sprang forward, but some of
the soldiers, who had been told off for the purpose, seized the lighted
brands and threw them over the head of the leader among his followers. As
the glowing brands, after describing fiery circles in the air, fell and
scattered at their feet, the lions paused, and turning abruptly off dashed
away with long bounds across the front of the grove.</p>
<p>“Now, Malchus, to horse!” Hamilcar exclaimed. And the general and his son,
leaping upon their steeds, dashed out from the grove in pursuit of the
troop of lions. These, passing between the two clumps of trees, were
making for the plain beyond, when from behind the other grove a dark band
of horsemen rode out.</p>
<p>“Let them pass,” Hamilcar shouted; “do not head them back.”</p>
<p>The cavalry reined up until the troop of lions had passed. Hamilcar rode
up to the officer in command.</p>
<p>“Bring twenty of your men,” he said; “let the rest remain here. There will
doubtless be more of them yet.”</p>
<p>Then with the twenty horsemen he rode on in pursuit of the lions.</p>
<p>The chase was an exciting one. For a time the lions, with their long
bounds, kept ahead of the horsemen; but the latter, splendidly mounted on
their well bred steeds, soon began to gain. When they were within a
hundred yards of them one of the lions suddenly faced round. The
Numidians, well accustomed to the sport, needed no orders from their
chief. They scattered at once and broke off on each flank so as to
encircle the lion, who had taken his post on a hummock of sand and lay
couched on his haunches, with his tail lashing his sides angrily, like a
great cat about to make his spring.</p>
<p>The horsemen circled round him, dashing up to within five-and-twenty
yards, discharging their arrows, and then wheeling away. Each time the
lion was struck he uttered a sharp, angry growl, and made a spring in the
direction of the horsemen, and then fell back to his post.</p>
<p>One of the soldiers, thinking that the lion was now nearly crippled,
ventured to ride somewhat closer; he discharged his arrow, but before he
could wheel his horse the lion with two tremendous springs was upon him.</p>
<p>A single blow of his paw brought the horse to the ground. Then the lion
seized the soldier by the shoulder, shook him as a cat would a mouse, and
throwing him on the sand lay with his paw across him. At this moment
Malchus galloped past at full speed, his bow drawn to the arrow head and
fixed. The arrow struck the lion just behind its shoulder. The fierce
beast, which was in the act of rising, sank down quietly again; its
majestic head drooped between its forepaws on to the body of the Numidian,
and there it lay as if overtaken with a sudden sleep. Two more arrows were
fired into it, but there was no movement.</p>
<p>“The brave beast is dead,” Malchus said. “Here is the arrow with which I
slew it.”</p>
<p>“It was well done, Malchus, and the hide is yours. Let us set off after
the others.”</p>
<p>But the stand which the lion had made had been sufficiently long to enable
the rest of the troop to escape. Leaving two or three of their comrades to
remove the body of the soldier, the horsemen scattered in various
directions; but although they rode far over the plain, they could see no
signs of the troop they had pursued.</p>
<p>After a time they gave up the pursuit and rode back towards the camp. When
they reached it they found that another troop of lions, eight in number,
had approached the other grove, where two had been killed by the party
commanded by Adherbal and Giscon, and the rest of the cavalry were still
in pursuit of the others. They presently returned, bringing in four more
skins; so that eight lions in all had fallen in the night's work.</p>
<p>“Well, Malchus, what do you think of lion hunting?” Adherbal asked as they
gathered again in the general's tent.</p>
<p>“They are terrible beasts,” Malchus said. “I had not thought that any
beast could make so tremendous a roar. Of course I have heard those in
captivity in Carthage, but it did not seem nearly so terrible as it
sounded here in the stillness of the desert.”</p>
<p>“I own that it made my blood run cold,” Adherbal said; “and their charge
is tremendous—they broke through the hedge of spears as if they had
been reeds. Three of our men were killed.”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Malchus agreed; “it seemed almost like a dream for a minute when
the great beast was among us. I felt very glad when he rolled over on to
his side.”</p>
<p>“It is a dangerous way of hunting,” Hamilcar said. “The chase on horseback
in the plains has its dangers, as we saw when that Numidian was killed;
but with proper care and skill it is a grand sport. But this work on foot
is too dangerous, and has cost the republic the loss of five soldiers. Had
I had nets with me I would have adopted the usual plan of stretching one
across the trees ten paces in front of us. This breaks the lion's spring,
he becomes entangled in its meshes, and can be destroyed with but little
danger. But no skill or address avails against the charge of a wounded
lion. But you are wounded, Giscon.”</p>
<p>“It is a mere nothing,” Giscon said.</p>
<p>“Nay,” Hamilcar replied, “it is an ugly scratch, Giscon; he has laid open
your arm from the shoulder to the elbow as if it were by the cut of a
knife.”</p>
<p>“It served me right for being too rash,” Giscon said. “I thought he was
nearly dead, and approached with my sword to give him a finishing thrust.
When he struck viciously at me I sprang back, but one of his claws caught
my shoulder. A few inches nearer and he would have stripped the flesh from
my arm, and perhaps broken the limb and shoulder bone.”</p>
<p>While he was speaking a slave was washing the wound, which he then
carefully bandaged up. A few minutes later the whole party lay down to
sleep. Malchus found it difficult to close his eyes. His pulse was still
throbbing with excitement, and his mind was busy with the brief but
stirring scene of the conflict.</p>
<p>Two or three hours passed, and he felt drowsiness creeping over him, when
he heard a sudden challenge, followed instantly by a loud and piercing
yell from hundreds of throats. He sprang in an instant to his feet, as did
the other occupants of the tent.</p>
<p>“To arms!” Hamilcar cried; “the enemy are upon us.”</p>
<p>Malchus caught up his shield and sword, threw his helmet on his head, and
rushed out of the tent with his father.</p>
<p>A tremendous din had succeeded the silence which had just before reigned
in the desert, and the yells of the barbarians rose high in the air,
answered by shouts and loud words of command from the soldiers in the
other grove. The elephants in their excitement were trumpeting loudly; the
horses stamped the ground; the draught cattle, terrified by the din,
strove to break away.</p>
<p>Large numbers of dark figures occupied the space some two hundred yards
wide between the groves. The general's guards, twenty in number, had
already sprung to their feet and stood to arms; the slaves and attendants,
panic stricken at the sudden attack, were giving vent to screams and cries
and were running about in confusion.</p>
<p>Hamilcar sternly ordered silence.</p>
<p>“Let each man,” he said, “take a weapon of some kind and stand steady. We
are cut off from the main body and shall have to fight for our lives. Do
you,” he said to the soldiers, “lay aside your spears and shoot quickly
among them. Fire fast. The great object is to conceal from them the
smallness of our number.”</p>
<p>Moving round the little grove Hamilcar posted the slaves at short
distances apart, to give warning should the enemy be attempting an attack
upon the other sides, and then returned to the side facing the other
grove, where the soldiers were keeping up a steady fire at the enemy.</p>
<p>The latter were at present concentrating their attention upon their attack
upon the main body. Their scouts on the hills during the previous day had
no doubt ascertained that the Carthaginian force was encamped here, and
the occupants of the smaller grove would fall easy victims after they had
dealt with the main body. The fight was raging furiously here. The natives
had crept up close before they were discovered by the sentries, and with a
fierce rush they had fallen upon the troops before they had time to seize
their arms and gather in order.</p>
<p>The fight raged hand to hand, bows twanged and arrows flew, the light
javelins were hurled at close quarters with deadly effect, the shrill
cries of the Numidians mingled with the deeper shouts of the Iberians and
the yells of the natives. Hamilcar stood for a minute irresolute.</p>
<p>“They are neglecting us,” he said to Adherbal, “until they have finished
with the main body; we must go to their assistance. At present our men are
fighting without order or regularity. Unless their leaders are with them
they are lost, our presence will encourage and reanimate them. Bring up
the elephants quickly.”</p>
<p>The three elephants were at once brought forward, their drivers mounted on
their necks. Four soldiers with their bows and arrows took their places on
the back of each, the general with the rest of the fighting men followed
closely behind.</p>
<p>At the orders of their drivers the well trained animals broke into a trot,
and the party advanced from the shadow of the grove. The natives scattered
between it and the wood fired a volley of arrows and then broke as the
elephants charged down upon them. Trained to warfare the elephants dashed
among them, catching some up in their trunks and dashing them lifeless to
the ground, knocking down and trampling upon others, scattering terror
wherever they went, while the archers on their backs kept up a deadly
fire. As soon as the way was open Hamilcar led the little party on foot at
full speed towards the wood.</p>
<p>As he entered it he ordered his trumpeter to blow his horn. The well known
signal revived the hopes and courage of the sorely pressed troops, who,
surprised and discouraged, had been losing ground, great numbers falling
before the arrows and javelins of their swarming and active foes. The
natives, surprised at the trumpet sound in the rear, paused a moment, and
before they could turn round to face their unexpected adversaries,
Hamilcar with his little band burst his way through them and joined his
soldiers, who, gathered now in a close body in the centre of the grove,
received their leader with a shout of welcome.</p>
<p>Hamilcar's measures were promptly taken. He saw that if stationary his
band must melt away under the shower of missiles which was being poured
upon them. He gave the command and the troops rapidly formed into three
groups, the men of each corps gathering together. Adherbal, who was in
command of the Numidians, placed himself at their head, Giscon led the
Iberians, and Hamilcar headed the heavily armed troops, Malchus taking his
place at his side. Hamilcar had already given his orders to the young
officers. No response was to be made to the fire of the arrows and
javelins, but with spear, sword, and battleaxe the troops were to fall
upon the natives.</p>
<p>“Charge!” he shouted in a voice that was heard above the yells of the
barbarians. “Clear the wood of these lurking enemies, they dare not face
you. Sweep them before your path.”</p>
<p>With an answering shout the three bodies of men sprang forward, each in a
different direction. In vain the natives poured in volleys of arrows and
javelins; many fell, more were wounded, but all who could keep their feet
rushed forward with fury upon their assailants.</p>
<p>The charge was irresistible. The natives, fighting each for himself, were
unable for a moment to withstand the torrent, and, vastly superior in
numbers as they were, were driven headlong before it. When they reached
the edge of the wood each of the bodies broke into two. The Numidians had
directed their course towards their horses, which a party of their own men
were still defending desperately against the attacks of a large body of
natives. Through these they cut their way, and springing upon their steeds
dashed out into the plain, and sweeping round the grove fell upon the
natives there, and cut down the parties of men who emerged in confusion
from its shelter, unable to withstand the assaults of Hamilcar and his
infantry within.</p>
<p>The heavy infantry and the Iberians, when they gained the edge of the
wood, had swept to the right and left, cleared the edge of the grove of
their enemies until they met, then joining they again plunged into the
centre. Thus they traversed the wood in every direction until they had
completely cleared it of foes.</p>
<p>When the work was done the breathless and exhausted troops gathered
outside, in the light of the moon. More than half their number had fallen;
scarce one but was bleeding from wounds of arrow or javelin. The plain
beyond was thickly dotted to the foot of the hills with the bodies of the
natives who had been cut up by the Numidian horse or trampled by the
elephants, while the grove within was thickly strewn with their bodies.</p>
<p>As there was no fear of a renewal of the attack, Hamilcar ordered the men
to fall out of ranks, and the hours until daybreak were passed in
extracting arrows and binding up wounds, and in assisting their comrades
who were found to be still living in the grove. Any natives still
breathing were instantly slain.</p>
<p>Hamilcar found that a party of the enemy had made their way into his own
camp. His tent had been hastily plundered, but most of the effects were
found in the morning scattered over the ground between the groves and the
hills, having been thrown away in their flight by the natives when the
horsemen burst out of the wood in pursuit. Of the slaves and attendants
several had been killed, but the greater portion had, when Hamilcar left
the grove with the troops, climbed up into trees, and remained there
concealed until the rout of the assailants.</p>
<p>It was found in the morning that over one hundred and fifty of the three
hundred Carthaginian troops had fallen, and that four hundred of the
natives had been slain either in the grove or in the pursuit by cavalry.</p>
<p>The following day two envoys arrived from the hostile tribe offering the
submission of their chief.</p>
<p>As pursuit in the hills would be useless Hamilcar offered them
comparatively easy terms. A heavy fine in horses and cattle was to be paid
to the republic, and ten of the principal members of the tribe were to be
delivered up as hostages for their future good behaviour. The next day the
hostages were brought into the camp with a portion of the ransom; and
Hamilcar, having thus accomplished the mission he had been charged to
perform, marched away with his troops to Carthage.</p>
<p>As they approached the coast the whole character of the scenery changed.
The desert had been left behind them, and they entered a fertile tract of
country which had been literally turned into a garden by the skill and
industry of the Carthaginian cultivators, at that time celebrated
throughout the world for their knowledge of the science of agriculture.
The rougher and more sterile ground was covered with groves of olive
trees, while rich vineyards and orchards of fig and other fruit trees
occupied the better soil. Wherever it was possible little canals leading
water from reservoirs and dammed up streams crossed the plains, and every
foot of the irrigated ground was covered with a luxuriant crop.</p>
<p>The villages were scattered thickly, and when the troops arrived within a
day's march of Carthage they came upon the country villas and mansions of
the wealthy inhabitants. These in the richness of their architecture, the
perfection and order of their gardens, and the beauty and taste of the
orchards and grounds which surrounded them, testified alike to the wealth
and taste of their occupants.</p>
<p>Fountains threw their water into the air, numerous waterfalls splashed
with a cool, soothing sound over artificial rocks. Statues wrought by
Greek sculptors stood on the terraces, shady walks offered a cool retreat
during the heat of the day, the vine, the pomegranate, and the fig
afforded refreshment to the palate as well as pleasure to the eye. Palm
trees with their graceful foliage waved gently in the passing breezes. All
the countries with which the Carthaginians traded had supplied their
contingent of vegetation to add to the beauty and production of these
gardens, which were the admiration and envy of the civilized world.</p>
<p>Crossing the brow of a low range of hills the detachment came in sight of
Carthage. The general and his three companions, who were riding in the
rear of the column, drew in their horses and sat for a while surveying the
scene. It was one which, familiar as it might be, it was impossible to
survey without the deepest feeling of admiration.</p>
<p>In the centre stood the great rock of Byrsa, a flat topped eminence with
almost perpendicular sides rising about two hundred feet above the
surrounding plain. This plateau formed the seat of the ancient Carthage,
the Phoenician colony which Dido had founded. It was now the acropolis of
Carthage. Here stood the temples of the chief deities of the town; here
were immense magazines and storehouses capable of containing provisions
for a prolonged siege for the fifty thousand men whom the place could
contain. The craggy sides of the rock were visible but in few places.
Massive fortifications rising from its foot to its summit defended every
point where the rock was not absolutely perpendicular. These walls were of
enormous thickness, and in casemates or recesses in their thickness were
the stables for the elephants, horses, and cattle of the garrison.</p>
<p>Round the upper edge of the rock extended another massive wall, above
which in picturesque outline rose the temple and other public edifices. At
the foot of this natural citadel stretched the lower town, with its
crowded population, its dense mass of houses, its temples and forum. The
style of architecture was peculiar to the city. The Carthaginians abhorred
straight lines, and all their buildings presented curves. The rooms were
for the most part circular, semicircular, or oval, and all exterior as
well as interior angles were rounded off. The material used in their
construction was an artificial stone composed of pieces of rock cemented
together with fine sand and lime, and as hard as natural conglomerate. The
houses were surmounted by domes or cupolas. Their towers were always
round, and throughout the city scarce an angle offended the eye of the
populace.</p>
<p>Extending into the bay lay the isthmus, known as the Tana, some three
miles in length, communicating with the mainland by a tongue of land a
hundred yards wide.</p>
<p>This was the maritime quarter of Carthage; here were the extensive docks
in which the vessels which bore the commerce of the city to and from the
uttermost parts of the known world loaded and unloaded. Here were the
state dockyards where the great ships of war, which had so long made
Carthage the mistress of the sea, were constructed and fitted out. The
whole line of the coast was deeply indented with bays, where rode at
anchor the ships of the mercantile navy. Broad inland lakes dotted the
plain; while to the north of Byrsa, stretching down to the sea and
extending as far as Cape Quamart, lay Megara, the aristocratic suburb of
Carthage.</p>
<p>Here, standing in gardens and parks, were the mansions of the wealthy
merchants and traders, the suburb presenting to the eye a mass of green
foliage dotted thickly with white houses. Megara was divided from the
lower town by a strong and lofty wall, but lay within the outer wall which
inclosed Byrsa and the whole of Carthage and stretched from sea to sea.</p>
<p>The circumference of the inclosed space was fully twenty miles; the
population contained within it amounted to over eight hundred thousand. On
the north side near the sea, within the line of the outer fortifications,
rose a low hill, and here on the face which sloped gently down to the sea
was the great necropolis—the cemetery of Carthage, shaded by broad
spreading trees, dotted with the gorgeous mausoleums of the wealthy and
the innumerable tombs of the poorer families, and undermined by thousands
of great sepulchral chambers, which still remain to testify to the
vastness of the necropolis of Carthage, and to the pains which her people
bestowed upon the burying places of their dead.</p>
<p>Beyond all, from the point at which the travellers viewed it, stretched
the deep blue background of the Mediterranean, its line broken only in the
foreground by the lofty citadel of Byrsa, and far out at sea by the faint
outline of the Isle of Zinbre.</p>
<p>For some minutes the party sat immovable on their horses, then Hamilcar
broke the silence:</p>
<p>“'Tis a glorious view,” he said; “the world does not contain a site better
fitted for the seat of a mighty city. Nature seems to have marked it out.
With the great rock fortress, the splendid bays and harbours, the
facilities for commerce, the fertile country stretching away on either
hand; give her but a government strong, capable, and honest, a people
patriotic, brave, and devoted, and Carthage would long remain the mistress
of the world.”</p>
<p>“Surely she may yet remain so,” Adherbal exclaimed.</p>
<p>“I fear not,” Hamilcar said gravely, shaking his head. “It seems to be the
fate of all nations, that as they grow in wealth so they lose their manly
virtues. With wealth comes corruption, indolence, a reluctance to make
sacrifices, and a weakening of the feeling of patriotism. Power falls into
the hands of the ignorant many. Instead of the destinies of the country
being swayed by the wisest and best, a fickle multitude, swayed by
interested demagogues, assumes the direction of affairs, and the result is
inevitable—wasted powers, gross mismanagement, final ruin.”</p>
<p>So saying Hamilcar set his horse in motion and, followed silently by his
companions, rode with a gloomy countenance after his little columns
towards the capital.</p>
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