Kitabı oku: «The Adventures of Captain Mago», sayfa 9

"But now," said Bodachmon, "let us proceed to business. What commodities have you to offer?"

I answered that I had just obtained goods in Crete, for which he would be sure to find a ready market either in Egypt or at home – copper, ox-hides, woollen cloth, and enormous goats' horns; I told him, moreover, that if he would visit Crete for himself, he would be able to purchase any number of young female slaves at the most reasonable rate.

He said that he thought he should act upon my advice, and that he was sure we should be able to make exchanges between ourselves which would satisfy us both. He proceeded to inquire whether I could let him have any wine, as his own supply had been exhausted six months ago, and that in his intercourse with the Iapyges and Umbrians he had had no opportunity of replenishing it.

Our own ships were well provisioned, and I was pleased to have the opportunity of inviting him with his two mates and pilots to come on board the Ashtoreth, and to partake of our fresh meat, onions, dried figs, cheese and wine. They all admired the completeness of our arrangements; and Bodachmon made an inspection of the goods that I proposed to barter, telling me that he should be able to pay a good price, if I would accept his rock-crystal.

All of a sudden Bodachmon exclaimed: "By Ashtoreth! I think I can give you a treat in return for your hospitality. In Corcyra I took up one of the Hellenes, whom I promised if I could that I would land in Crete. He is an old man and nearly blind, but he seems to know the history of all the world; neither Sanchoniathon, nor Elhanan the Israelite, could know it better. He sings the exploits of his country's gods and heroes, accompanying his singing on his lute; he has no other means of paying his passage. You shall hear him."

The venerable bard was sent for, and was soon conducted on board. He had a dignified bearing, and commanded an involuntary reverence. His long beard was very white, and he carried in his hand a lute made of tortoise-shell. His name was Homer.

Addressing us, he said:

"O Pheacians! ye sea-kings, who explore the marvels of the earth! may the divine gods protect your ships! My eyes are dim; no longer do I discern the meadows with their pasturing herds, nor the warriors with their dazzling armour; nay, scarce can I perceive the glorious beams of day. But the Muses from their blest abode, beside the Peneus, have endowed me with the gift of harmony and song, so that wherever I may go, I celebrate the achievements both of gods and men."

I handed the old man a cup of the choicest nectar, and, with invigorated spirit, he began to sing his songs. To me their meaning was barely intelligible; but Hanno, familiar with the Hellenic tongue, was perfectly enraptured, and made the venerable minstrel a present of his mantle, which was woven of the finest wool of Helbon, and exquisitely embroidered with flowers.

"Never have I heard anything to be compared with this," exclaimed the scribe; "in spite of their ignorance of trade and navigation, these people cannot be quite the barbarians we supposed."

Hannibal, who had hitherto looked on in silence, now observed:

"Once, when I was in the city of Our in Naharan, I came across an extraordinary man, of whom this wandering poet reminds me. He was an Egyptian, travelling about, and singing songs to his own lute, just like Homer here, but he was not so old, and the remarkable thing was that he had an ape with him that used to mimic all the events about which he sung. Now when Chryseis sings her war-songs, it is pleasant to listen, although one does not understand a word; her voice is itself a charm. But this old minstrel's songs are dull; he ought, I think, to have an ape with him, to act as an interpreter of what he sings."

Hanno sneered contemptuously, and said:

"Hannibal is wonderfully clever. I should fancy he could play the ape's part to perfection."

Not discerning the satire, Hannibal replied with the greatest gravity:

"I don't know about my being more clever than any of my people from Arvad; but I think that if I could understand the old man's tongue, I could perform for him better than an ape."

CHAPTER VIII
AN AFFAIR WITH THE PHOCIANS

Having entrusted Bodachmon with various commissions, and especially with the duty of delivering a letter from myself to King Hiram, I took my leave of him and his companions. In the afternoon, the breeze being favourable, we resumed our voyage to Italy. In order to pass between the islands of Cephallenia and Leucas, it was necessary to deviate somewhat to the north, after which we should have to steer nearly due east for the south of the great Iapygian gulf.

The Cabiros was about ten stadia ahead, and consequently so far in advance that she was lost to sight as she rounded the southern cape of Cephallenia; but she had hardly disappeared beyond the headland, when it struck me that I could hear her trumpet sounding signals of distress. Having sounded an alarm, I put my men in readiness for any emergency, and it was well I did so; for when we had rounded the promontory far enough to get her within view, we saw her not only surrounded by nearly twenty large boats of the Hellenes, but the object towards which some fifty other boats were making their way with the greatest speed.

The fact was, that while we had been coasting along the east of the island the enemy had made their way by the west, and thus the Cabiros, rounding the headland, had found herself unawares in an ambush, which, with her superior sailing power, it would have been quite easy to escape if there had been any previous warning. As it was, she was completely taken by surprise; and her tonnage being too light to allow her to carry a copper beak for attack, she could only avoid being boarded by the expedient of rapidly making her way round and round in a circle.

There was not a moment to be lost. The Dagon put on all speed and made her way direct towards the promiscuous cluster of boats that was coming up beyond, whilst I hastened to secure the rescue of the imperilled Cabiros.

The antagonists with which the Dagon had to contend did not appear to be of a very formidable character. A very cursory glance at the unmartial appearance of most of the crews, and at the cargoes, which consisted mainly of agricultural produce and implements, made it evident that we had come into collision with some convoy of emigrants. Hannibal had manifestly come to the same conclusion that there was nothing to cause him any alarm for I noticed that after having given his men a sign that there was no occasion to draw their bows, he made a considerable sweep to leeward, and then dashed furiously in upon the crowded craft.

But my more serious attention was demanded in another quarter. The adversaries that I had to face were less numerous, but far more formidable, being all armed men. It was in vain that I hurried forward with all the speed at my command; before I could get within two stadia of the Cabiros she was already boarded, and the deck of the gallant little ship was becoming the scene of a desperate struggle. From the midst of a whirl of lances I could distinguish Hamilcar, protecting himself with his shield in one hand, and dealing tremendous blows with his sword in the other; whilst Gisgo stood with his back supported by the top of the poop, and had just raised the battle-axe with which he had cloven the skull of one of his assailants. To prevent us from rendering any assistance, five or six large boats advanced towards us to obstruct our progress, and I could hear the shrill voices of the warriors on board chanting their exciting war-cry, "Io Pœan! Io Pœan!" A fine-built man, who seemed to be chief in command, was standing at the prow of the highest boat; he had a crested helmet; his shield and greaves were faced with copper, and he was brandishing his long lance like a maniac. I was about to point him out to Bichri, but he, ever on the alert, was already upon one knee with his arrow to his bow, watching his opportunity, and no sooner were we within range than the bowstring was up to his ear, the arrow whizzed through the air, and the chief, throwing both hands aloft, fell head foremost into the water.

"Now, men, now's your time!" I shouted; "down upon the savages! Down upon them! Quick!"

With a tremendous spurt, the Ashtoreth dashed violently into the boat, which sank instantly in an eddy of foam, our magnificent success setting us at liberty to concentrate our attention upon another boat which was harassing us on the right.

In their eagerness to be ready to climb up into our ship the crew of this boat had inconsiderately crowded altogether to one side. Knowing the unscientific build of the Hellenic boats, and how easily they are overturned when heavily laden, I tacked round suddenly to the opposite side, and putting on full speed, capsized it without the slightest difficulty.

But the need, meanwhile, was becoming more and more urgent that we should reach the Cabiros, although she was holding out with a vigorous defence. I had to manœuvre by taking a long semicircular sweep to get beyond the reach of the boats around me, but the delay had its advantage in giving Hannibal opportunity to arrange his men. He very judiciously placed the archers in the stern, and divided his remaining force into two companies; one of them under his own leadership to be prepared to follow him on to the deck of the Cabiros, the other to remain and protect their own ship from being boarded.

About the Dagon I had little or no anxiety. I could see that she was not only holding her own, but that by dashing backwards and forwards amongst the medley of boats around her, she was crushing or sinking all that she came athwart, and by discharging volleys of arrows and pots of combustibles, she succeeded in distressing the men on board to such a degree that we could hear their howlings of mingled rage and dismay.

Hannibal's instructions to his soldiers were very brief; telling those whom he left behind that they were to obey Chamai's orders, and that he trusted them to do their duty, he turned to those under his own command, and said:

"Soldiers! the fight before you is a fight hand-to-hand; no room for lances! Draw your swords, stand ready at the prow!"

I gave orders to the rowers to pull steadily ahead; but they had scarcely laid themselves out to their work, when we fouled two of the boats which had detached themselves from the others, and were endeavouring to get alongside of us.

"Quick! to the engines!" I cried; "and, archers, draw your bows!"

In an instant Bichri's men were at the scorpions, and a perfect torrent of stones, arrows, and combustibles, fell on either hand. Hannibal's men did not stir from their attitude of readiness, and Chamai kept his detachment grouped close around the mast, abiding the time for a charge to be ordered. Bichri's party laid aside their bows, and drew their knives and swords; and Jonah, laying his trumpet on the deck, armed himself with the ponderous handspike usually employed for heaving the anchor, and which two ordinary men could scarcely carry.

"Come on, Dodanim!" he shouted; "if you can afford a calf for a little shaking, perhaps you will pay better still if I lay this rod across your shoulders. I should like a few bullocks and a good skin of wine. I am quite ready to begin pounding away, like Samson at the mill."

The time for action had come, and I gave the word of command to push ahead, straight at the foe. A dash and a crash! and cries of mingled wrath and consternation rose from beneath our prow as it made its way in a vortex of foam. We rushed past the first boat, leaving it hopelessly far astern; we disabled a second that was designing an attack upon our starboard, and we capsized a third that was coming on our left; and when our men drew breath after their paroxysm of exertion we were within half a bowshot of the Cabiros. So close we were, that I could see Hamilcar with his head all bleeding, and Gisgo, with dishevelled hair, laying about him desperately with his hatchet, whilst a dozen sailors who had retreated to the stern, were making a vain effort to repel the invaders, who continued to make their way on board.

"Help! Mago, help!" shouted Hamilcar, imploringly, as he saw us drawing near.

"Cheer up, mate!" I replied; "we shall soon be with you."

I made a rapid survey of our position, and having instructed the helmsman to bear up hard to starboard, I called to the oarsmen:

"Now, men, once again, a good strong pull with might and main; then ship your oars, and we shall be right alongside!"

So vehemently did they put forth their strength that our prow was lifted high above the flood, and the impetus given to our speed was so great that another of the opposing boats was cut clean in two. In another minute we had gained the side of the Cabiros. Hannibal seized a rope and sprang upon the deck; and followed by his men was quickly in the midst of the mortal struggle.

I had no time to watch the issue of their intrepid venture. They had hardly left our deck when I was startled by the urgent voice of Hanno:

"Look, captain! they have us now!"

And turning round I was face to face with a throng of the Hellenes, who had not only brought their boats into close quarters with the Ashtoreth, but had forced their way on to her stern. Into the breast of the foremost man, who was rushing towards me with uplifted lance, I thrust my sword well-nigh to its hilt; and Hanno showed how well he had profited by the fencing lessons he had had on board; he parried a blow with his left hand, and almost in the same instant felled an opponent by driving his weapon into his shoulder with his right. Sometimes bending himself down, sometimes rearing himself to his fullest height, Chamai wielded his sword with the most extraordinary dexterity: three men set upon him at once; one of them soon reeled and fell heavily at his feet; a second, grasping his sides in agony, was seen to stagger back amongst his comrades; whilst the other, putting his head between his hands, cowered down to the ground, the blood trickling through his fingers.

Bichri also, single-handed, had to engage quite a little group of antagonists. It seemed a desperate fray; but, strange to tell, he got the better of them all, and retired triumphant, his blood-stained sword in one hand, his dagger in the other. Nor did good fortune fail Himilco; closely pressed as he was by his adversary, he succeeded in catching him by the throat, and, holding him back firmly against the mast, he thrust his sword into his heart.

But for rendering effective service no one surpassed the redoubtable Jonah. Such wholesale slaughter was never seen. Skulls were fractured; limbs smashed; ribs broken in; back-bones, breast-bones, collar-bones, shoulder-blades contused, crushed, splintered, as the ponderous handspike, swinging backwards, forwards, upwards, downwards, made the very air reverberate.

"Room, I want! give me room!" roared the giant, as he brandished his enormous weapon; "bring me bullocks, sheep, calves, cakes, wine, anything, and I'll earn my dinner honestly." And striking out more furiously than ever he roared again, "Room, room! elbow-room, I say!"

Three or four of the Hellenes now made a simultaneous attack upon myself. I succeeded in slashing the face of one of them who had knocked my shield out of my hand with his lance, but in a moment I felt myself grasped round the throat by another, who forced me backward, and was about to cut off my head with his scimitar, when Hanno caught him by the wrist and plunged his sword beneath his armpit. The two of them came down heavily upon me, and we were all three rolling on the deck together; a third man darted forward, and I could see the gleam of a lance as it pointed to Hanno's breast, when Chamai rushed to the rescue, and dealing a powerful blow, sent the fellow staggering back. Hanno rose, and placing his foot upon the dead man's neck found it taxed all his strength to withdraw the sword with which he had slain him. As I regained my footing, I caught sight of Chryseis standing near her cabin-door; her hands were tightly clasped, and her face was deadly pale, but she had not lost her self-command. Abigail was close beside her; like a true daughter of Judah, she had seized a sword which she was pointing defiantly against a soldier who had lost his lance, and who, as though scared at being challenged by a woman, was cowering behind his shield.

Chamai's keen eye soon discerned what was passing, and followed by Hanno, he rushed like a wild bull through the crush, knocking down friends and foes alike, as he made his way to the protection of the women.

Meanwhile Himilco and fifteen of the sailors, cutlass and hatchet in hand, forced their way along and grouped themselves close to me. Telling them that now was their chance, I led them forwards and succeeded in effectually clearing the whole fore-ship, the Hellenes stumbling over ropes and rigging in their precipitous retreat. On reaching the prow I turned, to make the reassuring discovery that Hanno and Chamai had been equally successful in clearing the stern, and that they were closing in towards Bichri and his men at the mast, where they were engaged in repelling a fresh contingent of the enemy. Above the mass of heads and shields I could see Jonah's handspike swinging to and fro, and above the confusion of cries and yells I could hear his sonorous shout of defiance:

"Come on, Dodanim! I am your man. Let me earn my dinner. Come on! Come on!"

With such determination did Bichri and his supporters beat back the assailants, that ere long the middle deck was as clear as prow and stern, and there rose a frantic cheer of triumph. The Ashtoreth was free from her enemies.

The cry of success was followed by a shout of welcome to the Dagon, which at that moment came dashing up at a prodigious speed, sinking a boat as it approached, and discharging a volley of arrows amongst the boats that still persevered in hanging around us.

I now signalled to my helmsman to hold himself ready, and sent my rowers down the hatchways to their oars; they found some Hellenes skulking in the hold, but they soon despatched them; and it was the work of only a few minutes to get clear of the remnant of the attacking boats, and to bring the Ashtoreth sharply round until she was in a position on one side of the Cabiros corresponding with that of the Dagon on the other. Hannibal had returned to us, and gave us whatever assistance was in his power. Yet another boat was sunk; and the crews of two more, overwhelmed in terror, leaped overboard and swam after the fugitives, who, under a shower of arrows, were making their way off.

No longer called upon to act upon the defensive, we next turned our attention to the main company of the convoys, of which three already had been abandoned by their crews and were drifting helplessly on the waves. As we were steering towards them, I chanced to look astern, and to my surprise I found that the boat we had in tow was crowded with armed men, who had evidently got into it with the design of boarding us, and had not been able to make their escape with their comrades. I made Bichri come on to the poop with a party of his bowmen, and he succeeded in hitting one of the Hellenes in the shoulder just as he was about to sever the tow-rope with his scimitar.

"Lay down your arms!" I shouted in Ionian.

But the man was not daunted. He renewed his effort to cut the rope asunder, an attempt in which he was foiled by receiving a second arrow in his throat.

"Shall we shoot them all?" asked Bichri.

"No; wait a bit!" I said; "they look sturdy fellows, and ought to fetch a good price at Carthage; we may as well do an extra stroke of business."

Again I called to them to lay down their arms and to surrender, but they made no sign of submission. One of them hurled his lance at me, just grazing my shoulder; but another, apparently convinced that the case was desperate, jumped overboard, and as we were a long distance out at sea, was probably drowned.

Fifteen men still remained, and I made Hanno and Chryseis bespeak their attention in their own language, and thus succeeded in bringing them to terms. Hanno, by my instruction, promised them that their lives should be spared, and that they should be conveyed to a land where they might earn good pay as soldiers of a king, and have good treatment besides. After a while they yielded, and laid down their arms, which were immediately hauled up on deck; and then a rope was thrown down, and one by one the men, crestfallen and agitated, climbed on board.

The remainder of our assailants were now flying in complete disorder. Night was coming on, and to them a voyage in the darkness was scarcely less terrible than a second battle. Although some of the boats were quite uninjured, we could see that several of them had sustained so much damage that they could hardly make any progress, and that more than one had been set on fire by the combustibles discharged by the Dagon. From the distant shore we could hear the lamentations of the women bewailing the fate of the drowned and slain.

Hamilcar and Hasdrubal obtained my leave to go in pursuit of the fugitives, and I told off thirty men under Bichri and Chamai to go with them. While they were absent I sent some men to take in tow the two boats that had been abandoned by their crews, and found that they contained a number of dead bodies, the whole of which I had stripped and thrown into the sea. The two ships returned very shortly, bringing three prizes and twenty-two prisoners.

I deferred making any detailed examination of the spoils until the morrow, and tired as we were, I should have been glad of repose for myself and my men; but it was absolutely necessary that we should at once wash the decks, collect the scattered armour, and do something to repair the disorder inevitable after so hard a conflict. The corpses of the Hellenes who had been killed and about twelve of the wounded were thrown overboard. Of our own men, twenty-three had been wounded and eleven killed; the bodies of these were wrapped in cloth and laid side by side on the fore-deck, that they might be committed to the sea in the morning, with the rites and invocations of their religion.

As the Dagon had sustained less injury than any of our ships, I had all the captives, including my own fifteen, sent on board her and fastened securely in the hold.

Our losses were very serious. The Cabiros had eight killed and ten wounded; the Dagon, three killed and seven wounded; making, with the casualties on my own ship, a total of twenty-three dead, and forty wounded. Here was a melancholy proof that we had been matched with no mean opponents; and to confess the truth, their courage and energy were such, that if they had had any practical notion of naval tactics, and if their boats had been more manageable, and their weapons not so ill-adapted for this character of warfare, our chances of success would have been very small.

Both Hamilcar and Gisgo had sustained serious though by no means dangerous wounds. Hanno had a gash across his shoulder, Chamai a lance-cut in the arm, and Himilco a large bruise on the head, but neither of the three was incapacitated from going on with his accustomed duty. Our senior seaman, Hadlai, was among the killed. Jonah had five lance-wounds, which he regarded as mere scratches; and after he had smeared himself all over with ointment, he declared that the day's proceedings had not only given him a tremendous appetite, but had made him desperately thirsty.

It was impossible accurately to estimate the losses of the Hellenes; but they must have amounted to several hundred; thirty-six dead bodies had been found lying on the deck of the Ashtoreth alone, and the Cabiros had thrown overboard thirty-eight more.

We contrived to get some brief repose before morning, but it was still quite early when under a fair east wind we started again on our way to Italy. The eight prizes were all taken in tow, and in order to make our progress more easy I sent a few men into each of them, either to put up a sail or to work them with oars.

Our ships were hung with black in honour of the dead, and the usual invocations were made to the gods of the departed. There were several bullocks amongst the booty we had captured, and I ordered one of them to be hoisted upon each vessel and slain for a sacrifice. On board the Ashtoreth, Hanno recited the prescribed petitions to the goddess, and after the slaughter of our beast, the fat and a portion of the flesh were set apart to be smoked and dried, the rest being allotted to the funeral feast. The children of Israel, meanwhile, after their own fashion, were sacrificing a sheep to their God, El-Adonai. As soon as the sacrifices were finished, I made a distribution of wine; but before this was allowed to be tasted, the trumpets were sounded, and the bodies of the dead solemnly committed to the deep. The black hangings were then removed; and we gathered together for the general repast. Every one's spirits revived under the influence of food and drink. Weariness and wounds were soon forgotten, and the men, one to the other, were cheerfully recounting their own experiences of the fight.

"Hannibal," I said, "you, as captain of the guard, and your men under you, have acquitted yourselves admirably and, according to the covenants of the charter-party, you are entitled to a share of the spoil."

"For my part," said Hannibal, "I am quite ready to give up all further claim if I can only have a new set of armour; my cuirass is terribly battered about, and my helmet has lost both crest and plume. I have no doubt there is a good suit of Lydian armour on board; let me have that and I shall ask no more."

"With all my heart!" I answered: "and in addition I shall give you a flask of fine Sareptan wine."

"Aye, a good thought!" said Himilco; "I, also, shall be only too happy to dispose of my claim for three skins of Berytos."

Chamai maintained that he must be entitled at least to a bracelet and a pair of Syrian earrings. "Give them to Abigail," he said, "and I will cry quits for my share."

"And now, sir scribe," I asked, turning to Hanno, "what shall I do for you? There are sheep, oxen, armour, wines at your command."

"By Ashtoreth!" he answered; "there is nothing I want. Take my portion and distribute it amongst the wounded; they need it more than I."

Struck by this generosity, Hannibal and Chamai shook him heartily by the hand, and Chryseis showed her approval by the most beaming of smiles.

One of the pilots came to me, as a deputation from the crew, and requested that I would sell the whole booty in a lump at the first opportunity, and let them have their shares in money: meanwhile they hoped that I should not object to make them an advance of what they might expect. The fact was that the men knew that Phœnician coin was current at Utica, Carthage and Gades, and reckoned upon going ashore and enjoying themselves at all these ports. I saw no reason for refusing the men what they wanted, and accordingly instructed Hanno to draw up a list of all the plunder, to every article of which I appended the price in shekels which I was willing to pay for it. The priced catalogue was affixed to the mast of each ship for the sailors' inspection, and as it gave universal satisfaction, I paid them the amount to which they were severally entitled that very evening.

Chryseis and Abigail spent the night in administering to the wants of the wounded.

Next morning, I sent for the prisoners. They had some rations served out to them, and were brought from the Dagon to the Ashtoreth, looking downhearted and full of mistrust. I enlisted the services of Hanno as interpreter, and having selected the most intelligent-looking of the group, had him questioned as to his nationality and his home.

"We are Hellenes," he said, "of the tribe of the Phocians. We have no regular home, but we have been in the country round Mount Parnassus. We left our haunts there at the bidding of Apollo, who told us to depart, and to seek for other settlements. With our wives and children we were on our way to join our kinsmen, the Ionians, either in Epirus or in Corcyra. We were hoping there to find a happy and a settled residence."

Great tears stood in his eyes, and his companions in adversity could not suppress their sobs. I assured him that it was far from my wish to aggravate their misery, and that I really pitied them in their misfortune, so that they need not fear any harsh treatment at my hands.

"If we had been meeting you in regular warfare," he continued, "we should have fought on to the very death, and would have borne disaster and defeat without a murmur; but now who shall blame us, if we weep for our wives and dear ones perished in the waves?"

"But why, then, did you attack us?" I inquired.

"Listen, and you shall hear," he answered: "three days ago, we fell in with a great Phœnician ship; it was not alone, but was accompanied by several others. The captain hailed us and asked us to sell him some provisions: regarding the Phœnicians as all divine, we were all most ready to oblige them; we sent them oxen, fruit and corn; my own poor son and many others went besides; but no sooner had they got the supplies on board, than the pirates hoisted sail and made away. We had no remedy; there was no hope of recovering our people or our property; our boats cannot compete with yours in speed. In our fury we swore that we would be avenged, and vowed we would attack the first Phœnicians we should see. You were the first. Now you know all."

"Bodmilcar! by all the gods!" ejaculated Himilco. "It is Bodmilcar that has involved us in this trouble. To him we owe the death of our brave Hadlai, and the loss of all our men! Ten thousand curses on him! Moloch's bitterest curse be on his head!"

Anxious to learn whether this suspicion was well founded, I made inquiry as to what the Phœnician ship was like, and not only ascertained that it was large and round and high, but that the men on board were quite different to the men upon the smaller boats, who had brown faces, and wore dresses of another shape. These boats, too, carried the figure of a goose's head at every prow.