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."
[Illustration]
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."
[Illustration]
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.