PHARAOH ARRIVES TOO LATE.
We shortly hove in sight of what is known as the Tanitic mouth of
the Nile, beyond which, in the distance, could be discerned the
tall obelisks of the City of Tanis. The deposit brought down by the
river itself, combined with the action of the wind and surf upon the
two headlands of the bay, has a perpetual tendency to block up this
outlet of the Nile; and when the _Cabiros_, which had been sent on
ahead to explore the bar, returned with the intelligence that the
water was too shallow to permit a safe passage to the _Melkarth_, I
determined to push on a little further to the Mendezian mouth, which
is considerably wider, and which leads, moreover, direct to Memphis.
Night was coming on, so that I would not venture to stem the somewhat
rapid current of the river in the dark, but brought my ships to
anchor within a bowshot of the shore.
Hazael came to me and asked permission to pass the night with his
friend Bodmilcar. I was equally surprised at his request, and at the
submissive manner in which he made it; but after ascertaining that
the Ionian was in her cabin, and that Abigail was with Chamai on
deck, I allowed him to go.
Remembering that we had arrived at a land of strangers, with whom
hitherto we had held no communication, I doubled the watch, and gave
Hannibal special directions to keep a sharp look-out. The order in
which our ships were arranged was this: on the right, furthest to the
south, was the _Cabiros_; the _Ashtoreth_ was moored to some piles
about half a bowshot behind; the _Melkarth_ and the _Dagon_ were
stationed on the opposite bank, where the water was deeper. One of
the small barques was with me, the other with the _Melkarth_.
Anchored higher up the river were several Egyptian vessels, and a
considerable number was drawn up upon the shore. I wondered why there
should be so many at a spot where there was no regular anchorage,
but I subsequently learnt that Pharaoh was about to send forth a
squadron for the purpose of putting down a revolt that had broken
out at Pelusium. Two officers, accompanied by a troop of soldiers,
some armed with battle-axes, and some with bows, had already boarded
my ship to inquire who we were and what we wanted, and had retired
satisfied with my explanation. As the shades of night deepened, we
could observe the lights of two galleys cruising about in the open
channel, and shortly afterwards another Egyptian came on board and
ordered my own lights to be extinguished, a direction which was
instantly obeyed.
The night was intensely warm, and the scorching east wind, laden
with the sand of the desert, blew from time to time in dry and
unrefreshing gusts. The sky was overcast, and although the night
was not black it was so dark that little could be distinguished
except the gleam from the fires of a large camp pitched on the right
bank, and the inconstant lights of the distant villages on either
shore. Close in front of us were still burning the torches of the
two galleys I have mentioned; but besides these, there was only the
occasional flicker from some little boat that moved upon the stream.
Towards midnight, five or six hours after our anchoring, I resigned
my watch to Himilco, intending to take some rest. On my way to my
berth I cast my eye towards the right bank, and through the gloom I
could see indistinctly that there was a crowd of vessels there; but
everything was silent, and I went below.
I had not been asleep for more than a half-an-hour when I was roughly
aroused by Himilco.
"We are adrift!" he exclaimed.
In an instant I was upon my feet, and rushed to examine our moorings.
They were cut asunder.
"All hands on deck! lights! light the lamps!" I cried with all my
might; and at the same time I noticed lights appearing on the left,
and heard a distant voice hailing the _Ashtoreth_ with the cry,
"Our moorings have been cut, and we are all adrift." I shouted in
reply that they should come over to us; it was only too evident that
another of our ships was in the same dilemma as ourselves.
Meantime my crew had come on deck, and had lighted several signals. I
ordered the rowers to their benches, and made them backwater gently
so as to keep us steady until the other ship should join us. At the
distance of about four bowshots behind, I made out the _Cabiros_
hoisting her lights, and could hear the voices of the crew in great
excitement. Almost immediately there was a splash of oars, and
the _Dagon_ came alongside of us. I shouted to Hasdrubal, who was
standing on board:
"Where's the _Melkarth_?"
Getting no satisfactory reply, I immediately ordered the three ships
on to the left bank. The _Dagon_ went straight across the river; I
followed, taking an oblique course, and the _Cabiros_, hastening
ahead, went a little way south, and then turned back due north,
keeping as close as possible to the shore.
During the time we were getting across, Hannibal had just put all his
men under arms, as it occasioned us much surprise that while there
was this commotion amongst ourselves the Egyptians had made no sign
nor sound; their lights were out, and their cruisers no longer to
be seen. The _Cabiros_ rejoined us, and reported that she had seen
nothing; nor even after we had descended the river a couple of stadia
was a single Egyptian vessel visible, and it was not until we were
within hearing of the roar of the waves at the river's mouth that we
almost ran against some black mass that loomed through the darkness.
"Back to your moorings, Phœnicians! no leaving the river at
night!" shouted a voice, in Egyptian.
"We don't want, I can tell you," I replied, "to be running away like
a set of thieves. We have been cut adrift, and one of our ships has
disappeared."
"Then get fresh moorings," was the answer: "you must wait till
morning. By Pharaoh's orders, you cannot leave to-night."
There was no help for it but to obey; and sending some men on shore
in the small boat with torches, we succeeded in finding an anchorage.
But scarcely had we settled in our places, when our attention was
arrested by a voice from the middle of the river gasping out in
Phœnician, "Help! help!"
We put off a boat in the direction of the sound; the cry was repeated
still closer to us, and in a few minutes the boat returned alongside,
and one of my sailors, dripping with water, was hoisted on to the
deck of the _Ashtoreth_. He was in a pitiable condition, his face all
bleeding, and his head gashed open in several places.
"Treason, treason! we are betrayed by Bodmilcar!" was all he could
utter, as he staggered and fell senseless on the deck. I ordered
him to be laid upon a piece of carpet, whilst Abigail chafed his
face with ointment, and Himilco put some wine to his lips. I had
ascertained quite enough to put me on my guard, and consequently had
our lights extinguished, permitting only one lamp and one torch to
each ship: and I gave directions to the watch to keep a keen look-out.
Meanwhile the poor fellow had recovered his consciousness, and
Hanno, Hannibal, Himilco, Chamai, and myself, pressed round him to
gather what he had to say. One of our sailors supported his head to
facilitate his power of speech, and Abigail and the Ionian knelt
beside him, with the wine and ointment.
"I went this evening," began the man, "to visit a friend of mine
on board the _Melkarth_. You know the crew are nearly all Tyrians.
Bodmilcar has tampered with them all. He has had an interview with
Pharaoh's general, and told him that you are spies in league with the
insurgents at Pelusium; he said, too, that you had a slave on board
your ship, whom he was bringing to Pharaoh, but who had escaped.
His people urged me to join the conspiracy, and when I refused they
all threatened to kill me. I jumped overboard. An Egyptian boat
pursued me. I was twice struck on the head by an oar. I dived beneath
the water. I suppose they thought I had sunk; as they gave up the
pursuit. Orders have been given to seize us all to-morrow. We are to
be attacked in the morning, and carried off to Pharaoh. I can tell no
more."
[Illustration]
The exertion of telling all this had been too much for the brave
fellow, and he fainted away again. My first impulse was to rush to
my cabin for the King's letters, but to my amazement they had all
disappeared; they had evidently been stolen during my absence at
Jerusalem We were overwhelmed with consternation. Hanno was the
first to speak:
"All is plain enough," he said; "Bodmilcar is the thief. Hazael, you
know, has the King's signet ring; and the rascals have opened the
papers, altered their purport, and closed them again with the royal
seal. Bodmilcar has carried them and presented them; he represents
himself as leader of the expedition, and denounces you as a traitor.
He gets believed: and what is the result? why, sure as fate, we shall
be made prisoners, and only too likely we shall be put to death.
Abigail, of course, will be sent to Pharaoh."
"Not while I have a sword to defend her," said Chamai, stamping with
rage.
"Yes," continued Hanno, coolly; "no doubt Abigail will be handed over
to Pharaoh, and the fair Chryseis will be awarded to Bodmilcar as a
recompense for his service."
Hanno groaned aloud, and Hannibal furiously twirled his moustache.
"I have no doubt, Hanno," I said, "that all your conjectures are
right. But it's rather soon to despair. Perhaps you haven't been with
us old mariners long enough to learn our seamen's song about the
Egyptians?"
I began to whistle an air, and Himilco, with a merry laugh, broke out
with the gay refrain:
"The bull-head tribe, with all their skill,
Must catch the man they fain would kill."
The effect was instantaneous. My whole party almost smothered me
in their delight. Hanno threw himself at my knees and grasped one
of my hands; Abigail seized the other, and covered it with kisses;
Hannibal caught hold of my cuirass on one side; Chamai lugged at me
on the other. Altogether, I was in a fair way of being strangled. The
Ionian, who partially comprehended my meaning, could only express
her gratitude by the bright glance of her soft eyes.
As soon as I had extricated myself from the embraces of the
enthusiastic group, I pointed out to them a confused mass of Egyptian
boats, now just visible in the dawn.
"If there were only half-a-dozen of those fresh-water
tortoise-shells," said I, "our three ships could soon show them the
way to the bottom of the Nile; but there is such a lot of them!
Besides, they have forces on land, and the river isn't wide enough
for us to get out of their reach. Bodmilcar, too, will lend them a
helping hand, and he is an old stager; his ship, it is true, is not
much in fighting trim, but it is manned with Tyrians. However, we
mustn't give up! Patience! Trust yourselves to me!"
"Yours we are to the death!" cried Hanno; while Hannibal, with his
teeth set, growled out, that if any one disobeyed my orders it should
be the worse for him. Chamai, almost beside himself with excitement,
clasped Abigail in his arms, and vowed he would bring her the head
and spoils of the first foe he should meet, even if it were Pharaoh
himself.
Hamilcar and Hasdrubal, with his pilot Gisgo, now came on board for
my orders.
"I never trusted that Tyrian," said Hamilcar; "and I am glad to have
the chance of fighting it out with him; and my men are as delighted
as myself."
"Ha, ha! Himilco," laughed Gisgo the earless, "we shall have some
sport now."
"Yes, old Celt," replied Himilco, "we will teach the rascals to swim."
I shook hands heartily with all three men, and they returned to
their ships. It was now broad daylight, and casting my eye towards
the river, I reconnoitred the enemy's position. Below-stream the
Egyptian galleys were under way; opposite to us, on the left bank,
were about forty small boats, each manned with four rowers and five
soldiers, and a troop of nearly a hundred bowmen were assembling
hastily on the right-hand shore. Looking up-stream, I could count as
many as six galleys about two stadia away; two large heavy ships,
with hanging decks, were sailing down the left bank; and mid-channel
I recognised the towering sides and rounded prow of the _Melkarth_,
her oars shipped, and her sails furled, being towed by a low,
open rowing-boat. The camp, of which we had noticed the fires in
the darkness, was much too far off to be visible by daylight. The
shore on either side was perfectly flat and treeless, but covered
with fields of clover and of corn that was nearly ripe, as the
harvest-time was drawing nigh. On the left bank, about two bowshots
from the water, a steep dyke, surmounted by a causeway, had been
thrown up as a protection during the annual inundation. Far away to
the south, the white buildings of a city could be distinguished; and
in the north could be seen the yellowish-whitey waters of the river
bar, with the broad green surface of the sea beyond.
We were hardly six stadia from the mouth of the river; the strong
east wind and the current were both in our favour, and once out at
sea we should have little to fear. I determined, therefore, to make
an attack upon the Egyptians before the _Melkarth_ could get ahead
of us, for I knew that once in front of us, her very bulk would be a
formidable obstacle to our retreat, and that she could overwhelm us
with a storm of missiles; while the superior height of her deck would
not only prevent our men from boarding her, but, on the contrary,
would give her men every facility for boarding us.
My first manœuvre was to slip my moorings, and to take up my
position in the middle of the channel, so as to be out of reach
of the archers on the shore. The _Dagon_ had shifted her prow to
the north, and lay half a bowshot below me; the _Cabiros_ was to
my left, her prow southward. The sails were all furled, the rowers
were ordered to backwater very gently so as to just keep the vessels
in their places, and each pilot took his stand by the side of the
helmsman. Hannibal posted his archers fore and aft, and grouped
his soldiers round the mast. Hanno and I mounted the prow, and my
trumpeter followed. The gigantic Jonah remained with Hannibal; he
could not be persuaded either to put on a cuirass or to take a lance,
but stood, clarion in hand, watching all our preparations with a
curious eye.
The scorpions had already been supplied with missiles, and each
vessel was provided with a number of earthenware pots filled with
sulphur and pitch. We improvised, also, a quantity of fire-ships,
formed of small planks, into which spikes were driven, to which were
fastened well-greased goat-skins charged with combustibles.
We had not long to wait. Very soon were heard the shrill notes of the
small Egyptian trumpets, and the decks of the ships were seen manned
with troops. I could discern the smooth brown faces of the soldiers,
and make out that they were armed with battle-axes and large
triangular shields; and I could see that the archers, with their legs
bare, and poignards in their girdles, were ranged along the sides
of the ships. The rowers, more than half-naked (clothed merely by a
strip around their loins), plied their paddles, according to their
custom, standing. On board the _Melkarth_, Bodmilcar was easily
distinguished; he was in a state of great excitement and activity,
and apparently giving some explanation to an Egyptian officer, a man
dressed in green and wearing a large wig, with his face and arms
painted with cinnabar, in accordance with the common fashion of their
men of rank.
The soldiers that manned the small boats were nearly as slightly
clad as the rowers; they carried poignards in their girdles, and
were armed with axes and staves pointed at both ends, in the use of
which the Egyptians are notoriously skilful. Although all appeared in
considerable commotion, not one of the vessels made any attempt to
advance, and there seemed a general state of expectation.
The solution of all this was soon apparent. A large boat was seen to
detach itself from the general mass, and make its way down-stream
towards us. Eight rowers stood paddling on the raised bow and stern;
twelve soldiers, with square plates of bronze strapped on their
breasts, and armed with lances, daggers, and short scimitars, were
in the middle; and amongst them was an Egyptian officer of high
rank. He was arrayed in two tunics of striped gauze, crossed one
over the other upon his breast; a girdle ornamented with enamel
plates was round his waist, and a large gold and enamelled bird with
outstretched wings was suspended by a gold chain from his neck. His
head was covered with a tall cap, bearing an enamel plate inscribed
with the name of Pharaoh in hieroglyphics; his beard was enclosed
in a casing of red cloth; and in his hand was a gilt battle-axe,
elaborately inlaid with figures of animals and other symbols. On
one side of this sumptuous personage was a closely-shorn priest or
scribe, habited entirely in white, and holding an inkhorn and some
papyrus in his hand; on the other, in full Syrian armour, was our old
friend Hazael. I could not resist a smile as I caught sight of a pile
of chains and manacles lying in the boat.
On the Egyptian officer shouting that he wanted to come on board and
speak to me, I gave permission for his boat to come alongside the
_Ashtoreth_, and, followed by his scribe and five of the soldiers,
with the greatest arrogance he stepped on deck. Hazael had the
discretion to remain behind, where he was. I received the magnate
with all courtesy, and saluted him after the fashion of his own
country, but instead of acknowledging it in any way, he began with
the most overbearing insolence to exclaim:
[Illustration: "DOWN, YOU PHŒNICIAN THIEVES!"
_To face page 85._]
"Down, down, you Phœnician thieves, and sue for Pharaoh's mercy!"
Finding that such was the tone he took, I answered sternly:
"No thieves are we, nor have we injured Pharaoh; so far from
imploring Pharaoh's mercy, we have a right to demand Pharaoh's
protection."
"Out upon your falsehoods!" retorted the enraged Egyptian; "have you
not this very night been attempting your escape?"
"No," I said emphatically; "we were cut adrift. The real thieves are
amongst you. That rascal Bodmilcar and that vile eunuch stole the
royal letters that they brought to you."
"Silence!" shouted the Egyptian in impetuous fury; "too well we
understand your frauds. Out with your hands! the handcuffs are ready
here, and you and the slave that you have stolen must come along to
Pharaoh. Never fear but ample justice shall be done!"
The scribe was opening his inkhorn for the purpose of taking down our
names, when I burst out into a roar of laughter.
"Do you take us for fools?" I said; "why on earth should we leave our
ships to go and hear a slanderous catalogue of lies alleged against
us? No, no, sire, we remain where we are."
The Egyptian literally stamped with rage. "Villains! pirates!
thieves!" he cried; "every one of you shall die a death of torment."
[Illustration: THE SOLDIERS RAPIDLY CROSSED THEIR LANCES.
_To face page 86._]
Throughout this interview I had taken care never for a moment to lose
sight of the fleet above-stream; and seeing that the ships were now
in motion, without paying the least regard to the continued ravings
of the grand official, I ordered my trumpeter to sound an alarm. The
Egyptian, followed closely by his scribe, hurried towards his boat;
his soldiers, to cover his retreat, rapidly crossed their lances.
Chamai, Hannibal, and Hanno, mistaking the movement, and supposing
they were making an attack on me, fell upon them with drawn swords;
and the huge Jonah, throwing down his trumpet, rushed into the fray,
and wresting a lance from one of the soldiers' hands, took him by
the shoulders and dashed his head twice or thrice against the
side of the ship. It is a popular belief that the Egyptians are a
hard-headed race, but I avow that this fellow's skull cracked like a
ripe water-melon.
Meanwhile, Hannibal had cut the throat of another of the soldiers,
and Chamai had plunged his sword into the body of a third. I was
struggling to wrench the lance from the grasp of a fourth, when
taking alarm at the number of my men, he turned about, and following
the example of his sole remaining comrade, sprang overboard and swam
like a frog. But they were not to escape so easily; Bichri, who was
standing near the wale of the vessel, hit one of them with an arrow,
and the rowers stunned the other by blows with their oars. Thus the
whole five were entirely disposed of; but the real conflict was yet
to come.
As soon as the Egyptians were aware of the fray, one of their galleys
from the right bank drew rapidly towards us, and the whole bevy of
small boats that had gathered round kept up a continuous flight of
arrows, every one of which, however, either stuck in the ship's side
or went whistling over our heads.
A single glance was sufficient to reveal to me the enemy's tactics.
Just as I had anticipated, the _Melkarth_ was being towed down the
stream towards the right, obviously with the design to pass us and
get below, so as to cut off our retreat. Their immediate design was
to divert our attention from this manœuvre, and for this purpose
two large ships were ordered to bear down upon us, and a flotilla
of small boats was sent to keep up a storm of arrows. Hannibal
immediately, by my directions, set his catapults to work, and a
volley of stones and pots full of pitch and sulphur was discharged,
right over the _Cabiros_, on to the approaching vessels. I then
ordered the _Cabiros_ and the _Dagon_ to move simultaneously, right
and left of me, but in opposite directions: the _Cabiros_ northwards
towards the galleys that were obstructing our way, the _Dagon_
straight down upon the boat that was towing the _Melkarth_. I could
see Bodmilcar upon the prow of the great gaoul, wildly endeavouring
to make the Egyptians understand their danger, and urging the rowers
to get their oars into the water; but he was too late. Our movements
had taken them completely by surprise. The _Dagon_, cutting her way
full speed through the crowd of small boats, crushed or capsized all
that came in her course; the _Ashtoreth_, liberated by the departure
of the _Cabiros_, effectually kept in check the ships that were
trying to pass down the stream; and the _Cabiros_, that had gone
northward, by sending out a number of fire-floats that drifted on in
advance, completely discomfited the two galleys that were guarding
the mouth of the river.
Our tactics were a perfect success. One of the Egyptian ships was
run into by the _Ashtoreth_ with such violence that it was cut
asunder, and sank immediately; and the other, harassed by the pots
of combustibles, and alarmed at the eddy caused by the foundering
of its consort, purposely ran aground. The _Dagon_, after staving
in the towing-boat like a piece of rotten wood, had returned to
me; and as we had the satisfaction of seeing Bodmilcar's crew cut
their tow-rope, we both turned our attention to the galley which
was retiring from the attack and falling back upon the _Melkarth_.
Simultaneously passing it quite close, one on each side, we swept off
both its tiers of oars, and hurling down upon it a final shower of
arrows, we filed off to join the _Cabiros_, which was still engaged
in discharging its missiles and fire-floats at the other two galleys.
The contest had been sharp but short. In less than an hour we had
rendered the _Melkarth_ incapable of action; had sunk two Egyptian
vessels; had sent a third aground; and had crushed or capsized at
least fifteen small boats.
The surface of the water was covered with the _débris_, and not a
few men could be seen drifting along in the current. Thrown into
utter confusion by our unlooked-for attack, the rest of the Egyptian
vessels floundered about in each others' way, and totally prevented
the _Melkarth_ from obtaining another tug-boat. Finding, therefore,
that those need give me no concern, I gave my attention to the
galleys in front, and sent adrift a dozen or more fire-floats, which
the crew of the _Cabiros_ sent down-stream with their boathooks.
The galleys gave way; and, feeling that there was no immediate
impediment, I proceeded towards them calmly to the north, leaving
our assailants confounded by their disaster, and Bodmilcar raving
furiously on the poop of his helpless ship. Bichri lamented that he
could not let fly an arrow at him, but it was utterly useless, as we
were already too far away.
[Illustration]
"A drawn battle!" said the brave archer, coming forward from the
stern.
"Yes," said I; "the rascal has had bad luck this morning; but he will
watch his opportunity. We haven't done with each other yet."
"I hope not," said Hanno, vindictively.
Presently there was a movement among the Egyptian ships, and three of
them, having extricated themselves from the maze of confusion, had
commenced a pursuit of us, accompanied by a number of little boats.
At the same moment I espied a troop of horsemen galloping along the
shore; and raising my eyes to the causeway on the top of the dyke,
I observed a cloud of dust, from the midst of which broke ever and
again the gleam of a row of bronze and gilded chariots. There was no
room for doubt; evidently the King himself was approaching with the
intention of being a witness of our capture.
But the mighty Pharaoh had come too late!
Out of forty or fifty fire-ships which we had set afloat, two at last
had run foul of one of the galleys, which was now in flames, and the
terrified crew were fain to resort to the usual naval manœuvre
of the Egyptians, and run their ship aground. The vessels that had
started in pursuit of us were still at least two stadia in our rear,
so that we had ample time to tackle with the single galley that
remained ahead to bar our progress.
"Board her! board her! Let us board her!" shouted Hannibal, Hanno,
and Chamai, with unanimous accord.
"We have no time, and she's not worth the trouble," I replied; "we
will sink her."
"Down she goes, then, like a stone," cried Himilco.
The _Cabiros_, without meeting with any resistance beyond a few
chance stones and straggling arrows, now slipped quietly under the
very prow of the galley, and with unfurled sail was making off to
sea. The _Dagon_ was about to follow her, but at a signal from me,
Hasdrubal bore down upon the galley's stern, whilst I simultaneously
drove straight against her flank, and between us we literally cut her
in two. Down sank the galley in a whirlpool of foam; and our last
obstacle being thus removed, we hoisted our sails and rode out to
sea, our trumpets sounding out a flourish of victory.
Behind us rose a discordant howl of maledictions. We were out of
reach. It was utterly impossible for our enemies in their little
nut-shells of vessels to follow where our victorious prows were now
cleaving the foamy billows; and when we were fairly out at sea,
steering due west, I could see, as I looked along the low flat
coast, that the Egyptian masts were quite motionless. It was evident,
therefore, that Bodmilcar had advised them to abandon their pursuit.
Fifteen of our men were wounded, nearly all of them slightly, and two
had been killed; whilst the loss of the enemy, including those slain
by the archers, burnt by the fire-ships, or drowned by the waters of
their own sacred Nile, must have been nearly three hundred.
It did not take long to repair whatever damage we had sustained.
Some broken oars on board the _Ashtoreth_, and a few more on board
the _Dagon_, were replaced from the reserves; the decks were washed
down, the stays strengthened, some broken ropes spliced, and the
arrows that had lodged in the rigging and ship's sides removed. All
our wounded had been carried below; and the bodies of the three
Egyptians, having been stripped of any spoil of value, were thrown
overboard. The bodies of our own two men were also committed to
the waves with an invocation on their behalf to Menath, Hokk, and
Rhadamath, the judges of the infernal regions[30]. In less than three
hours everything was as much in order as though nothing had happened.
Chryseis and Abigail, who had all along rendered what assistance they
could, were rejoicing in their freedom; Hanno, whose nerve had never
failed him, and Chamai fully sharing in their delight.
[30] The Minos, Eacus, and Rhadamanthus of the Greeks.
I sent for Hasdrubal to come on board, that he might join Himilco and
myself in a council of war. When we were alone together, I said:
"Listen to me. There is no shadow of doubt that we shall be pursued.
Ascending the eastern outlet of the river, the Egyptians will come
down by the western; they may come either by the Canopic or Phanitic
branch; and at both Pharos and Canope there is no question but that
the King has ships in readiness. They can anticipate us there;
couriers by land can arrive by early morning; we, with our utmost
speed, could not arrive till long beyond midday. Somewhere or other
we must of necessity put in to shore again; our supply of water is
all but gone."
To Himilco's suggestion that we had wine enough to meet our need,
I vouchsafed no other reply than a shrug of the shoulders, and
continued:
"My intention was to take in a fresh supply this very evening, but
this skirmish has frustrated everything. Go ashore we must; and this
is the scheme that I propose; we will re-enter the river by the
Sebennitic mouth, which is nearest to us now; they will never suspect
us of venturing on land so soon; probably they will not be there at
all; if they are, we must use main force; but water we must have."
[Illustration]
My companions approved my plan, but expressed their anxiety as to
what was to happen afterwards.
"I do not think," I said, "that because we have lost the gaoul that
we need at all contemplate abandoning our expedition. Failing to find
us at either Canope or Pharos, the Egyptians will watch for us all
along the coast; and at last Bodmilcar, who knows our destination,
will get reinforcements from Pharaoh and will chase us right on to
Tarshish. Sooner or later we shall be pretty sure of falling in with
him; but for the present, at least, we can elude him thoroughly. Here
is my project. The wind is north-east and favourable; by steering by
the sun in the daytime, and by keeping the Cabiros a little to our
left at night, I do not fear but that in five days at most we might
reach the shores of the great island, Crete."
Himilco and Hasdrubal stared at me in mingled admiration and surprise.
"From Egypt to Crete! Across the open sea! An unheard-of thing! Can
it be possible?"
Such were the exclamations with which they heard my proposition.
"Aye, harder things than that may be done," I continued; "the wind
isn't likely to change till next new moon; but even should it change
and we happen to miss Crete, we shall only run upon the mainland, or
on one of the islands of the Archipelago. Thence we can get round
Cape Malea to Sicily, from Sicily to Carthage, from Carthage direct
to Tarshish. That's our course, now."
"By our goddess Ashtoreth, your scheme is beautiful!" cried Hannibal;
"and meanwhile the Egyptian rascals will be floundering about the
Syrtes."
"And rough enough they'll find them," said Himilco. "I was well-nigh
drowned there two years back; and let us hope that Bodmilcar and his
Tyrian sneaks, bad luck to them! may come to grief. How I should like
to hang them all like a string of fishes, fastened by their gills!"
We were not long in reaching the little town of Sebennys. The
_Cabiros_ was first sent ashore, and returned with the tidings that
all was quiet. I paid the customary dues to the Egyptian governor
of the place, and despatched a number of our sailors to procure the
requisite supply of water; they took the opportunity of purchasing
several baskets of onions and some good fresh meat. Before the end
of the day we had turned our backs upon the land, and were making our
venturous way north-west.
"And now, for our dishes and platters," I cried; "I am frightfully
hungry."
We seated ourselves in the stern, and joined by Chryseis and Abigail,
we formed a large and merry group. The sailors and soldiers all were
served with a ration of wine in honour of the morning's victory.
"I see we have changed our course," said Hanno; "are we making for
Crete?"
"Yes," I replied; and added that I supposed it was a place already
known to the fair Chryseis.
Chamai inquired whether it was not the same as Chittim.
"No, not the same," I answered; "_this_ island is full of mountains,
upon which are goats with spreading horns like those of Arabia; the
people are famous for their skill as archers."
"Bichri, then, may find his match," said Chamai. "But to what nation
do they belong?"
"They are Phrygians and Dorians," I told him; "fair, tall men, with
handsome faces and well-formed limbs; they have built towns in which
some of our Sidonian merchants have recently settled, getting there
by way of Chittim and Rhodes. Chryseis speaks the same language as
the Dorians."
Chamai, ever full of interest in Chryseis, expressed his pleasure at
hearing that she was about to go amongst a people kindred to herself,
and was inquiring whether they were a martial race, when Chryseis
interposed, and with Hanno's assistance explained that the Dorians,
like the Ionians of the Isles, and the Achaians on the mainland, were
renowned warriors, and that the fame of their conquests had spread
far and wide.
"How large, how vast the world must be!" exclaimed Hannibal; "here is
a people, famed in war, whose very name I scarcely know. But is it
not from Crete that we get our Chalcidian swords?"
Smiling at his mistake, I made him understand that Chalcidian
swords were made of copper from the island of Chalcis, and that the
Phœnicians could not elsewhere procure copper that would take so
fine a temper.
Hannibal went on to ask Hanno to inquire of Chryseis what were the
military tactics of the Ionians, and how they paid their soldiers.
"Do you expect us women to know such things as these?" asked Abigail,
with a merry laugh; "a woman knows well enough that her countrymen
can fight, and she knows how to prize the spoils they bring her from
the battle-field; but what can she know of the art of war?"
Chryseis seemed amused at her maid's vivacity, and proceeded to
enumerate the most illustrious military leaders of her land. I heard
her name Achilles, and Ajax, and a certain king called Agamemnon; and
I understood her to relate that two kings in her country, named Jason
and Ulysses, were renowned for the voyages they had made.
"Voyages!" cried Himilco, scornfully; "I can guess what their voyages
were: creeping along and hugging the shore; making perhaps a stadium
a day; never looking at a star. And then, what ships they had! I am
glad I haven't to trust myself in one of them from Sidon to Chittim."
Chryseis owned that, as to ships, she had never seen anything in her
own country that could be compared to the ships of the Phœnicians,
adding that she thought that the mariners of Phœnicia must be true
sea-gods.
"And you must be their goddess," said Hanno, with enthusiasm.
"Ah, young man," yawned out Hannibal, "you should put your fine
speeches in Ionian; the lady does not understand you."
The lady, however, bent her head gracefully, and raised a laugh by
saying in good Phœnician that she perfectly understood what had
passed.
"Trust a woman for understanding a compliment," was Hannibal's remark.
"I should like to see the effect," said Himilco, "of one of Hanno's
pretty speeches upon Gisgo's wife; her Celtic dialect is something
like the croaking of Bodmilcar's ravens."
It was now getting dark, and as he spoke, Himilco moved off to his
post upon the prow, and I took up my watch upon the stern. All
that night, and all the following day, the wind freshened till it
blew a gale; being all in our favour, its violence caused me no
alarm, but well-nigh all on board, conscious of being far away
from land, and beholding nothing but sea and sky, were filled with
terror; and as the ship at one moment was carried high upon the
crests of the enormous waves, and at another was sunk low in what
seemed an unfathomable abyss, they became almost paralysed with
alarm; they lost their appetites entirely, and were incessant in
their invocations to their gods. The gale next night increased to a
hurricane, and on the morning shifted to the south, driving us to the
north at the rate of 1800 stadia in a day.
Happily, although our ships were thus flying over the sea, they kept
well together. Towards evening the wind dropped a little, and on the
morning of the fourth day it was comparatively calm; the sky was very
clear, and, to our vast delight, the man on watch at the top of the
mast announced that land was in sight. I joined Himilco on the prow,
and both of us could plainly distinguish in the sunlight the peaks
of some snow-capped mountains. By the afternoon the view of land was
plain to every one on board, and before the stars had risen, we were
skirting a coast that seemed so rocky as to be inaccessible.
It was long past midnight before we could discover any anchorage at
all; at last we found a small exposed bay where a river coursing
along a bottom of white sand entered the sea. Towards the east,
masses of thick woods could be made out, with snowy peaks of higher
ridges rising up behind them. The _Cabiros_ was hauled up on shore
close to the river's mouth, and, the water in the bay being found
sufficiently deep, the two galleys were moored to some of the great
boulder-stones upon the beach. The coast was quite desolate, and
there was no sign of human habitation.