Kitabı oku: «The Adventures of Captain Mago», sayfa 15

"Come, then, you shall," I said, deeply affected by her sorrow, her resignation, and her courage; "and may Ashtoreth protect us all!"

Hannibal gave the order to march. Bichri, ever indefatigable, went to the head of the column, leading Hazael by the cord which bound his wrists; Gisgo, with his hatchet on his shoulder, kept close to the eunuch on the other side; and Himilco, with his sword drawn, followed on behind. We advanced in silence towards the woods, choosing such hollows in the ground as the moonlight left in shadow, and in a short time were within sight of the dark masses of foliage that bounded the moonlit plain. Making our way as stealthily as we could through the thickets, we came to a mound near the edge of the steep that we had scaled in the morning. It was an abrupt elevation of the soil, and was described to us by Hazael as being the place known as the Wolf's knoll, and which Bodmilcar had fixed as the rally-point of his people. When we halted there was not a light to be seen, not a sound to be heard, nothing to break the gloom or the stillness of the forest.

"Before we give the signal for attack," said Hannibal, under his breath, "we ought to know what they are doing."

"I know my way," said the eunuch; "let me go and look, that I may bring you word."

"Thanks," said Himilco; "you are very good – we will not trouble you."

After this sarcastic rebuff to his very transparent pretext for eluding us, Hazael was relapsing into his former silence, when Bichri suggested that he should himself take the eunuch and go and ascertain the actual position of affairs, adding that if he made a movement to escape, he would plunge his knife hilt-deep into his body.

Hannibal gave his consent, and the two disappeared in the thicket, Bichri pushing on his prisoner before him. In less than half an hour there was a crushing of the brushwood, and they were before us again.

"What news?" we asked.

"The rascal has deceived us," said Bichri; "we went all round the mound, not a man, however, was to be seen."

"No, no, no!" sobbed the eunuch; "I have not deceived you. I swear I heard Bodmilcar say, 'Wolf's knoll.' Cut out my tongue if I lie! I swear it."

"Stop your oaths, liar!" I exclaimed impatiently. "Lucky for you I pledged you your life; but be on your guard, or, by Ashtoreth, another time – "

"It may be," said Hannibal, "the villains have been lurking about, and, having discovered your approach, have decamped. The eunuch may have told the truth. Anyhow, nothing can be done. I am dead-beat."

Himilco and Hamilcar both declared that they, too, were quite knocked up, so that I determined to make our way back, and seek the repose of which we were so much in need.

CHAPTER XV
JUDGE GEBAL DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF

On arriving within a comparatively few paces of our encampment, we were challenged by the sentinels, who were keeping a sharp look-out. As soon as we had entered the lines, Aminocles came running towards us with excited gestures, and, hardly allowing me time to inquire what had occurred, told me in broken Phœnician that during our absence "the little man" had been and gone, and was now in a clump of trees hard by.

For the moment I was puzzled; but Bichri, comprehending more quickly what the man meant, exclaimed, "Gebal! Judge Gebal!" and dashing off in the direction indicated, began to whistle his accustomed call-note. In a few minutes he returned, his countenance beaming with glee. The monkey was seated on his shoulder, and greeted us with hideous yells and grimaces. Ugly as the creature was, I confess I was glad to have it again amongst us; nearly every one came to look at it, and although it pulled Hannibal's beard, scratched Himilco's face, and bit Gisgo's nose, nothing was set down to spitefulness, but all was taken in good part, until the beast tried to claw Chamai's hand, upon which Chamai, never very patient either with man or brute, struck it a violent blow which sent it howling back to Bichri. As it sprang away it dropped something that looked like the strap of a sandal. After picking it up and examining it by the light of a torch, Chamai exclaimed:

"By all that's good, there is something written here! it is written in Phœnician."

I snatched the strap away from him in my eagerness, and discerned in a moment that it was covered with characters apparently traced in blood. Without waiting to read it all, I cried out:

"Hanno is alive! old Gebal has brought us the news. Hanno has written to us himself."

After I had deciphered the writing carefully, I said:

"Now, listen, my friends – this is what he says: 'We are prisoners, alive and well: Jonah's trumpet saved us; savages would not give us up to Bodmilcar; their chief wanted a Phœnician trumpeter. Another chief wants a trumpeter before he will give his daughter in marriage to this chief. I am spared as well. We are to be sent off at once to the northern chief. Keep up your spirits. We will soon escape. Beware of Bodmilcar; he is laying an ambush. He means to cut you off from the river.' There, my men, that's what he says. We will hope to see him yet."

As I ceased to read, Chryseis threw herself into Abigail's arms, and wept for joy; Gisgo flung his cap into the air; Himilco took a liberal draught from his goat-skin; and Hannibal manifested his emotion by sneezing seven times in succession. As for Bichri, he took the monkey in his arms, and fairly hugged it, a piece of attention which Gebal acknowledged by plucking out a handful of his hair.

"O, Gebal, shame upon you! would you be pulling out my hair when you know how much I love you? Brave old Gebal! I was only congratulating you on distinguishing yourself so well."

The others were all equally anxious to pet the creature, and gave it quantities of almonds and raisins, which it took without leaving its perch upon Bichri's shoulder.

"Come, come!" I said, "no time for this trifling. Our water is gone; we must get to the river; we must be beforehand with Bodmilcar. But there is one piece of business that we must settle first. Bring Hazael here."

The eunuch was brought before me, and addressing him very sternly, I said:

"Hazael, you have heard this letter. It proves you a liar and a traitor. Your villainy has cost us much trouble; there is no reprieve this time; you must be sent forthwith to another tribunal. Menath, Hokk, and Rhadamath must be your judges. You must die."

Flinging himself prostrate at my feet, the abject wretch broke out into the most piteous supplications; he implored for mercy, but I was inexorable. Two sailors raised him to his feet, and Himilco having made a running noose in his rope, slipped it round the Syrian's neck.

"Choose your own tree, my good man," said Himilco; "for my part I should recommend a sturdy holm."

Hazael made no reply, but struggled so violently that he had to be dragged forcibly along.

"Don't be a fool!" cried Gisgo. "What objection can you have to be hanged? it will save your shoe-leather."

"Now then," said Himilco, as soon as they had placed the eunuch under the tree, "haul away, tackle him up to the standing-rigging; there! his navigation has come to an end!"

And almost as he spoke, Hazael was dangling in the moonlight.

"One traitor gone to his last account," I said.

"And the other, I hope, soon to follow," Hannibal replied.

Brief and scanty was our rest that night; and when in the morning the sun rose in a cloudless sky, so unrefreshed were we after our fighting and toiling, that it was with the utmost difficulty that we could drag ourselves across the hot and dusty plain. My own throat was parched, and my stomach cramped with those terrible sensations known only too well by those who have suffered the tortures of excessive thirst. Himilco had drained his last drop of wine, and went feebly along through lack of stimulant; Hannibal removed his helmet, and carried it slung from his girdle; and all were too worn and weary to utter a syllable as we marched. Bichri was the only one of us who exhibited no symptom of fatigue, his wiry frame being capable of unlimited endurance.

About the middle of the afternoon a light mist, indicating the course of the river, revived our flagging energies by making us aware that fresh water was not far off. I took Bichri and a number of men carrying gourds and goat-skins, and hurried on to obtain, without loss of time, some drink for my thirsty host; but when I had got within half a stadium of the river-bank I was seized with such violent pain and nausea that I could hardly stand. I persevered, however, till we were hardly more than twenty paces from the water's edge, when suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes, and a score or more of lances came whizzing about us, and we were startled by the shrill war-cry of the Iberians. Surprised, but not intimidated by the attack, we kept steadily on our way, and were close upon the river-bank, when some thirty or forty savages emerged from the rushes and confronted us with their lances, whilst as many again, with hideous yells, ran to assail the flank of our main body. Hannibal and Chamai soon dispersed their adversaries, but I with my party in advance did not fare so well, for notwithstanding that Bichri struck down more than one of the foremost of the barbarians, they succeeded in entirely surrounding us. One of the sailors had his arm pierced by a javelin. Bichri had a cut in the calf of his leg, and my own movements were completely paralysed by a lance having got tightly fixed in my shield and shoulder-belt. I confess I thought it was all up with us, but at the critical moment the well-known sound of the Phœnician trumpet broke upon us, followed by the animating cry, "Courage, courage, we are here!" and a change passed upon the scene. Like a flock of startled birds the savages were off in scared retreat; an advancing troop, doubtless Bodmilcar's own, wheeled rapidly about and took to flight; they had descried Hasdrubal who, from the river-bank, was bringing up a company to our rescue. Never did a friend receive a warmer welcome. To my inquiry how it was that he had arrived so opportunely, he told me he had been watching the enemy's movements all the morning; they had been too engrossed with their own schemes to observe him, but he was so convinced they were designing mischief that he lowered the mast of the Cabiros and brought her up to the side-arm of the river, whence he had led his men forward just in time to render us good service.

Thus happily relieved from the threatened peril, our force hastened onwards to slake their thirst, and I think it was for the first time in my life that I saw Himilco gulp down (and that with evident satisfaction) a draught of pure water. Another hour and we were descending the Bœtis, and joyously recounting our adventures.

That night, which was spent on board the Cabiros, was a night of well-earned rest. Next morning we started early for the spot where the Dagon and the Ashtoreth had been moored.

I gave my sailors five shekels apiece, and a triple ration of wine, and conscious that they had been overworked, I granted them twenty-four hours' release from labour before finally recommencing our voyage. They spent their holiday according to their own taste; they drank, they shouted, they sang, they danced, and occasionally they diversified their amusement by a little fighting; yet, notwithstanding the obstreperousness of their proceedings, when evening came they calmed down quietly enough to their ordinary discipline.

The next day found us once more on the open sea, and for myself I felt an indescribable satisfaction in again looking upon its green and restless face, and in hearing its waves plash against the sides of my ship.

In two days we had reached Gades, and I settled all the business I had to transact with Ziba.

And now the time had come for me to announce to my officers and crew a purpose that I had long been contemplating. Accordingly I invited them all to an entertainment in a tent at some public gardens beyond the town, and when the repast was over I rose and told them why I had gathered them together.

"My friends," I began, "our mission is accomplished. King David's demands are met; King Hiram's orders are fulfilled. King David's subjects are at liberty to return to Palestine, and I have brought them here to bid them all farewell."

Chamai started to his feet impatiently, and looking at me with a keen and earnest scrutiny, asked what I meant.

"What I mean," I continued, "is soon told. I propose to put all my silver on board the Dagon, and to place her under the command of Hasdrubal. In the Dagon you, too, can return. Hasdrubal shall have orders to land you and Abigail and Hannibal, and whoever else may choose to accompany you, at Joppa."

Upon hearing this, Hannibal, in a voice agitated with emotion, called out:

"And you? What about yourself? And are not Himilco, Hamilcar, and Gisgo to go back with us?"

"Not one of them," I answered; "we have other work to do."

A blank silence fell upon them all. Hannibal gazed at me in bewilderment, big tears gathering in his eyes; Chamai broke his reverie by bringing his fist down so violently upon a chair that it broke under the blow; and after a space, Bichri began softly to whistle one of the melodies of his tribe, his usual way of trying to exhibit a contemptuous indifference.

Chamai was the first to speak.

"By our holy God! captain, I could never have believed you capable of this," he blurted out.

"Yes, indeed, by all that's holy!" said Hannibal, finding his voice, "what have we done that merits treatment of this kind?"

"I am doing you no wrong," I answered; "friends we have been hitherto; friends let us part. You can surely ask no more than that I should remit you to your homes to pass the rest of your lives in ease and affluence."

"But why not return yourself?" they asked.

"I have invited you here, to tell you why. It is the resolve of myself and of the Sidonians that are with me to make a voyage of discovery. I have set my heart on finding out what lands there are, whether they be isles or continents, lying to the north. I am determined, if I can, to settle whether it be possible, by sailing round Tarshish to the west, to reach the Celtic shores. These are the problems that I seek to solve."

"And do you think," said Chamai, "that we shall be content to enjoy our repose while you are braving all the perils of the unknown sea? No, no; not quite so ungrateful as that!"

"Desert our colours in the middle of the fight? nay, that will never do," cried Hannibal: "return home, who will; my post is with you, captain."

Chamai echoed his words, and Abigail averred her intention of not being parted from her lover.

I was quite overcome by the attachment of my people, and grasped them all in turns by the hand.

"The gods reward your courage and fidelity," I exclaimed. "But surely some of you will wish to return? Aminocles, what say you? do you not want to take your son back to his home? And you, Chryseis, you will hardly think of facing the perils of the untried sea?"

Aminocles replied that he could not desire his son to have a better home than the society of warriors offered; and Chryseis avowed that she was bound to me by a perpetual debt of gratitude: I had liberated her from slavery, and it might be, if she continued with me still, that her missing lover would be restored to her.

Turning to Bichri, who was still whistling some national air in a lackadaisical manner, I said to him:

"As yet, young man, we have not heard your decision. Have you nothing to say?"

"Not much," he answered; "I planted a patch of Ziba's land with a lot of vine-slips. I think I shall go north with you, and look in here at Tarshish on my way back, just to see how my plantation prospers."

"Well done, Bichri!" cried Himilco; "you have set a young vineyard going, have you? You will have a long generation of tipplers never ceasing to bless the day you came to Gades. May the gods smile on you and your vines!"

Bichri did not vouchsafe Himilco any answer, but went on, as though talking to himself:

"With old Gebal, and little Dionysos, I think I can be happy enough. I shall miss poor Jonah, though."

I had thus learnt to my great surprise that there was not one of my companions who was disposed to leave me. I took measures, therefore, for consigning the charge of my cargo, including the silver, to a Sidonian captain who was about returning home, and then, without loss of time, laid in an ample store of provisions for my voyage over the untraversed waters of the West.

On the morning of my departure I went to take my leave of the naval suffect and of Ziba. As I passed along the quay by the entrance of the harbour, I found a great concourse of people gathered together for the purpose of witnessing the erection of two great pillars, one of which bore a figure of the sun, and the other a statue of our god Melkarth. I was naturally curious to ascertain the meaning of the columns, and was informed that they indicated the limits of the habitable world, and that beyond them there was nothing but ocean. But the response of the oracle was still echoing in my memory: the world for me had wider bounds, I smiled, and went my way with a hopeful heart.

CHAPTER XVI
PERILS OF THE OCEAN

For a whole week I followed the coast steadily to the north, and having rounded a lofty promontory, bore towards the east. In all my previous navigation I had never experienced such difficult sailing, nor seen waves more angry than those which dashed against the cliffs that formed the shore. One headland there was which took us little short of four days to double, and it was not until we had been battling for more than a fortnight with continual tempest that we found ourselves in calmer waters and off a flat coast, of which, after the mountains had come to their limit, the direction was again northwards. We were all greatly fatigued.

Before we had proceeded much further we came to a river with a mouth so wide that at first I imagined it to be a gulf; the shores on either hand were wooded and undulating, and the general aspect of the country was so inviting that I determined to lay to, and had no difficulty in finding excellent anchorage about half-way up the estuary.

"By all that's good!" exclaimed Gisgo, "I recognise those cabins. That's a Celtic village;" and he pointed to a cluster of huts, with conical roofs made of thatched reeds, and without more ado made four rowers pull him ashore in a boat to pay a visit to his former acquaintances.

He was not mistaken. In half an hour our vessels were surrounded by the ill-made coracles of the inquisitive Celts some of whom were so eager to scrutinise us that they swam out all the way from the shore; and our decks were soon invaded by numbers of them, who, with loud laughter and much gesticulating, began talking all at once in a language which was anything but euphonious. They appeared perfectly friendly, and were far less barbarous in their manners than the people of Tarshish. They were dressed in very short tunics, made of coarse material woven by themselves, and their legs were covered with trousers that came to the ankles; their faces were round, and generally bore a good-humoured expression; their eyes were bright, and for the most part blue; their hair light brown, and occasionally quite flaxen. Some of them had bronze weapons and jewellery, which had found their way from Phœnicia along the Rhone by means of the Salians; the majority of them, however, still retained their wooden, stone, or bone implements, many of which were very well made.

The Celts, as I learnt on visiting one of their villages built upon piles in the water, are very expert fishermen. I bought some gold dust of them in exchange for some of my goods, which they seemed glad to obtain. They all agreed in affirming that they had come from the north-east, and had been established for nearly a century in their present localities, whence they had driven out some people resembling the Iberians and Ligurians; and they said that in the regions behind them there were some other tribes of Celts, whom they called Gauls and Cymri.

After leaving their "mas," as they termed their village, I returned to the ships, and we resumed our northward course. Eight days' moderate sailing brought us into a labyrinth of rocky shoals and islands. On the mainland we found some more Celts, who told us that the name of the country was Ar-Mor, that is to say, "the land of the sea;" and relying on their statement that north of their own country there was a large island both rich and fertile, I resolved to prosecute my voyage in that direction.

Two days later we were overtaken by a tremendous tempest, and the sea being at the same time overhung by a dense fog, which my people called "the lungs of the ocean," we were tossed about by the foaming waves, and seemed for several succeeding days to be wandering in the gloomy realms of the dead. By the evening of the fifth day we had lost all reckoning of our position, and were drifting helplessly at the mercy of the wind and waves. Towards midnight, overcome with fatigue, I was dozing at the foot of the mast, when I was aroused by Himilco's stentorian shout, "Breakers ahead!"

In an instant I was upon my feet, and at the helmsman's side.

"Backwater!" I shouted, "and signal the other ships."

All hastened to light the torches and lamps; but it was too late – a long cry of distress made us aware that the Dagon had already stranded, and as I tacked about to effect a retreat, I witnessed the heart-breaking spectacle of the Cabiros completely heeled over, and lying in the very midst of the breakers.

The Ashtoreth, although she was hitherto uninjured, was environed by reefs which were level with the surface of the water. The current was so strong that all my efforts to get back to the channel by which we had entered were unavailing, and after an hour's struggle I still found myself near enough to hear the surf curling over the peaks of the rocks. For nearly the twentieth time I gave the order to tack, when a sudden and ominous crash revealed the appalling fact that we had struck the shoal, and were aground; and all through that pitch-black night we had to endure the torture of believing that all our vessels were irretrievably lost.

The wind dropped with the first streak of dawn, and beyond the breakers I could distinguish that the sea was calm, and that we were not much more than half a stadium from the shore. Shipwrecked though we might be, our lives were spared, and our situation was not altogether so desperate as we had imagined. The Cabiros was safe, in spite of her disaster, and had been hauled up on shore; but the Dagon, it was only too evident, was in a very critical position. I ordered all my men to abandon the ships and make for land. Some of them hung back, unwilling to leave me; Chamai being so reluctant to go that he had to be sent ashore by main force, and Hamilcar, Hasdrubal, Gisgo, and Himilco all pleading so earnestly to remain with me that I was forced to consent. My own resolution, of course, was to abide, while the planks held together, with the ship that had carried us so far in safety.

As the day advanced the swell gradually abated, and the pale-blue sky was broken by fleecy clouds; not far away we could see the green shore, where our people were standing on the water's edge waving signs of encouragement, and very soon Bichri and Dionysos managed to clamber over the rocks and to come aboard our vessel.

At low tide I made a careful examination of the keels, and found that not only was the keel of the Ashtoreth very little injured, but that her stern was wedged so tightly between the two rocks that her position was secure; at the same time she had not been jammed in so violently but that I hoped a high tide might float her again. With the Dagon, however, the case was unfortunately very different; she had been dashed so hopelessly against the jutting crags that she must inevitably go to pieces, and I lost no time in beginning to unload her.

Our people had discovered a stream of fresh water, and a neighbouring wood afforded fuel, so that the spot was very favourable for a camp, the whole arrangement of which I deputed to Hannibal, who immediately enclosed the site with an intrenchment. Having completed the task of unloading both ships, we took down the mast of the Ashtoreth, and rescued from the Dagon as much planking and as many fittings as we could, as well as the best part of her copper sheathing. Lightened by the removal of her cargo and rigging, the Ashtoreth, under the influence of a stiffish breeze, was set afloat on the third day amidst general acclamation, and so admirably was she managed by Himilco, that she was soon brought to land, and laid high and dry upon the shore.

I did what I could to console Hasdrubal for the loss of his ship, but he wept tears of bitter sorrow as he saw his ill-fated Dagon break up before his eyes.

For some days we had seen no trace of any natives, and were in want of provisions. I was preparing to send out two boats on a fishing excursion, when we caught sight of a long coracle rounding the point that sheltered our position. It was made of hides stretched out upon a wooden frame, and was paddled by four men, half-naked. On nearing us they hesitated, but we made signs to them of our friendly intentions, and they came on and landed. Gisgo, recognising them as Celts, both by their physiognomy and general aspect, began to address them in their own language, and they answered him very volubly, making many gesticulations all the time they were speaking. So delighted did they profess themselves at meeting with people who understood their tongue, that they insisted on kissing us; and notwithstanding the smell of their long hair, which was reeking with rancid grease, we were obliged to submit to their embraces.

Gisgo told us that although they spoke a language similar to that of the southern and central Celts, they were really the Cymri, a kindred tribe from the north, where they inhabited an island which they called Prydhayn; they seemed restless and inquisitive, overwhelming us with all manner of questions; they were tall and handsome, and had pink and white complexions, eyes of azure blue, and hair of the colour of ripe corn.

"Fine soldiers these fellows would make," said Hannibal; "I should like to have a thousand of them to drill; I would soon be more than a match for Bodmilcar."

To Bichri's remark that they seemed to have no bows, Gisgo replied that he had seen them with bows occasionally, but that their ordinary weapons were lances and hatchets, of which the stone tips and blades were always sharp and often beautifully made.

I had the men questioned as to whether they had any previous knowledge of the Phœnicians. They said that their kinsmen, the Cymri of the north, had often spoken of strangers with dark skins and black hair, who came in large ships and brought beautiful merchandise, but that they themselves had never been thrown into contact with them.

I made them a number of presents, and much to Himilco's annoyance (for he knew our supply was rapidly diminishing), I gave them some wine. This exhilarated them very much for a time, although their shouting and screaming ended in some bickerings amongst themselves; to us, however, they were civil, and in spite of a little roughness, we found their manners so kind, that it was impossible to be in any way alarmed at them. When they went away they promised to return in the evening, and bring their whole population and some goods in return for our presents, but we saw nothing more of them until the next morning, when they came followed by a whole retinue of men, women, and children, but all of them quite empty-handed. Rushing into the camp with great excitement, they overwhelmed us with their embraces, and asked such countless questions that I was quite bewildered; they insisted upon helping us to arrange our camp, but introduced disorder wherever they went: loud in their praises of what they saw, they were scrupulously honest, and did not attempt to purloin the smallest article, but their inquisitiveness and their meddling rendered them a perpetual nuisance. They tried Hannibal's temper sorely, by handling his cuirass and helmet; the more he pushed them off the more they laughed and enjoyed his annoyance. Chryseis and Abigail had a hard matter to keep them from stripping them, in their curiosity to examine their clothes. Judge Gebal did not fail to provide them boundless amusement, and they roared with laughter as Bichri and Dionysos made their mischievous little quadruped show off his antics. Some of my people regretted that we had lost the attraction of Jonah's trumpet, but there was a sufficient variety of objects without that to give them abundance of diversion.

Amidst all this, however, I did not suffer myself to forget either of the two grand objects of my voyage, the discovery of new lands and the acquisition of rare commodities; and accordingly I took much pains to examine the people about the situation and configuration, both of their own islands and of the land we had just left. They seemed a very intelligent race, and I found that they were adventurous, frequently accomplishing long distances in their canoes of hide. According to their information we were now on the largest and most important of a group of twelve small islands,⁴² but that the great island Prydhayn was so large that it took them no less than two months to circumnavigate it in their canoes, from which I drew the inference that it must be as large as Tarshish. I requested the men to bring me whatever food they had for sale, and they never failed subsequently in keeping me well supplied with fish and venison. Seeing at once that they were not an agricultural people, I made no demands for corn and vegetables; but as some time afterwards a small quantity of barley and some other edible grain arrived from Prydhayn, I conjectured that some of the natives are beginning to have some notion of husbandry.