Upon the morning of the day fixed for the gathering of the Iceni
preparations were begun early at Cardun. Oxen and swine were
slaughtered, great fires made, and the women in the village were
all employed in making and baking oaten cakes upon the hearth. For
some days many of them had been employed in making a great store
of fermented honey and water. Men began to flock in from an early
hour, and by midday every male of the Sarci capable of bearing
arms had come in. Each brought with him a supply of cooked meat and
cakes sufficient to last for three or four days. In the afternoon
the tribes began to pour in, each tribe under its chiefs. There
was no attempt at order or regularity; they came trooping in in
masses, the chiefs sometimes in chariots sometimes on horseback,
riding at their head. Parta welcomed them, and food was served out
to the men while the chiefs were entertained in the hall. Beric,
looking at the wild figures, rough and uncouth but powerful and
massive in frame, was filled with regret that these men knew nothing
of discipline, and that circumstances had forced on the war so
suddenly.
The contrast between these wild figures and the disciplined
veterans of Rome, whom he had so often watched as they performed
their exercises, was striking indeed. Far inferior in height and
muscular power to the tribesmen, the legionaries bore themselves
with a proud consciousness in their fighting power that alone went
a long way towards giving them victory. Each man trusted not only
in himself, but on his fellows, and believed that the legion to
which he belonged was invincible. Their regular arms, their broad
shields and helmets, all added to their appearance, while their
massive formation, as they stood shoulder to shoulder, shield
touching shield, seemed as if it could defy the utmost efforts of
undisciplined valour. However, Beric thought with pride that his own
tribe, the sixteen hundred men he had for six weeks been training
incessantly, would be a match even for the Roman veterans. Their
inferiority in the discipline that was carried to such perfection
among the Romans would be atoned for by their superior strength
and activity. His only fear was, that in the excitement of battle
they would forget their teaching, and, breaking their ranks, fight
every man for himself. He had, however, spared no pains in impressing
upon them that to do this would be to throw away all that they had
learned.
"I have not taught you to fight in Roman fashion," he said, "merely
that you might march in regular order and astonish the other
tribesmen, but that you should be cool and collected, should be
able patiently to stand the shock of the Roman legion, and to fight,
not as scattered units, but as a solid whole. You will do well to
bear this in mind, for to those who disobey orders and break the
line when engaged with the foe I will show no mercy. My orders
will be given to each sergeant of ten men to run a spear through
any man who stirs from his post, whether in advance or in retreat,
whether to slay or to plunder. The time may come when the safety
of the whole army depends upon your standing like a wall between
them and the Romans, and the man who advances from his place in the
ranks will, as much as the man who retreats, endanger the safety
of all."
Over and over again had he impressed this lesson upon them. Sometimes
he had divided them in two parts, and engaged in mimic fight. The
larger half, representing the tribesmen, advanced in their ordinary
fashion with loud shouts and cries, while the smaller section
maintained their solid formation, and with levelled spears, five
deep, waited the attack. Even those who were least impressed with
the advantages of the exercises through which they had been going,
could not but feel how immensely superior was the solid order, and
how impossible would it have been for assailants to burst through
the hedge of pointed weapons.
By sunset well nigh thirty thousand men had arrived, each subtribe
passing through the village and taking up its post on the slopes
around it, where they were at once supplied with food by the women.
With the fighting men were large numbers of women, for these
generally accompanied the Britons on their warlike expeditions.
Just at sunset a shout arose from the tribesmen on the north side
of the village, and Boadicea, with her daughters and chief councillors,
drove into the village. Her mien was proud and lofty. She carried
a spear in her hand and a sword in her girdle. She had resumed
her royal ornaments, and a fillet of gold surrounded her head. Her
garments were belted in with a broad girdle of the same metal, and
she wore heavy gold armlets and bracelets. She looked with pride
upon the tribesmen who thronged shouting to greet her, and exclaimed
as she leapt from her chariot, "The day of vengeance is at hand."
The fires blazed high all that night round Cardun. Numbers of
bards had accompanied the tribes, as not only had those who lived
in the households of the principal chiefs come in, but many had
been attracted from the country lying near their borders. At every
fire, therefore, songs were sung and tales told of the valour and
glory of the heroes of old. Mingled with these were laments over
the evil days that had befallen Britain, and exhortations to their
hearers to avenge the past and prove themselves worthy of their
ancestors.
In similar manner the night was passed in Parta's hall. Here the
chief bards were assembled, with all the tribal leaders, and vied
with each other in their stirring chants. Beric moved about among
the guests, seeing that their wants were supplied, while Parta
herself looked after those who were gathered on the dais. Beric
learned from the old chief Aska, who had first spoken to him on the
day of their arrival at the sacred oak, that all Britain was ripe
for the rising, and that messengers had been received not only from
the Brigantes, but from many of the southern and western tribes,
with assurances that they would rise as soon as they heard that
the Iceni had struck the first blow.
"The Trinobantes will join us at Camalodunum. All goes well.
Suetonius, with the legions, is still in the far west. We shall
make an end of them here before he can return. By that time we shall
have been joined by most of the tribes, and shall have a force that
will be sufficient to destroy utterly the army he is leading. That
done, there will be but the isolated forts to capture and destroy,
and then Britain will be free from the invader. You think this will
be so, Beric?"
"I hope and trust so," Beric replied. "I think that success in
our first undertakings is a certainty, and I trust we may defeat
Suetonius. With such numbers as we shall put in the field we ought
surely to be able to do so. It is not of the present I think so
much as of the future. Rome never submits to defeat, and will send
an army here to which that of Suetonius would be but a handful.
But if we remain united, and utilize the months that must elapse
before the Romans can arrive in preparing for the conflict, we
ought to be victorious."
"You feel sure that the Romans will try to reconquer Britain?"
"Quite sure. In all their history there is not an instance where
they have submitted to defeat. This is one of the main reasons of
their success. I am certain that, at whatever sacrifices, they will
equip and send out an army that they will believe powerful enough
for the purpose."
"But they were many years after their first invasion before they
came again."
"That is true; but in those first two invasions they did not conquer.
In the first they were forced to retire, and therefore came again;
in the second they had success enough to be able to claim a victory
and so to retire with honour. Besides, Rome is vastly stronger and
more powerful now than she was then. Believe me, Aska, the struggle
will be but begun when we have driven the last Roman from the
island."
"We must talk of this again," Aska said, "as it is upon us that the
brunt of this struggle will fall. We shall have the chief voice and
influence after it is over, and Boadicea will stand in the place
that Cunobeline held, of chief king of the island. Then, as you
say, much will depend on the steps we take to prepare to resist the
next invasion; and young as you are, your knowledge of Roman ways
will render your counsels valuable, and give great weight to your
advice."
"I do not wish to put myself in any way in the foreground," Beric
said. "I am still but a boy, and have no wish to raise my voice
in the council of chiefs; but what I have learned of Roman history
and Roman laws I would gladly explain to those who, like yourself,
speak with the voice of authority, and whose wisdom all recognize."
In the morning Boadicea said that reports had been brought to her
of the manner in which Beric had been teaching the Sarci to fight
in Roman fashion, and that she should be glad to see the result.
Accordingly the tribesmen proceeded to the open fields a mile away,
where they had been accustomed to drill, and they were followed by
the whole of those gathered round the village. The queen and Parta
drove out in their chariots. When they reached the spot the chiefs
of the other tribes, at Beric's request, called upon their men to
draw off and leave a space sufficient for the exercises. This left
the Sarci standing in scattered groups over the open space, at one
end of which Boadicea and all the chiefs were gathered.
"They are now in the position, queen," Beric said, "of men unsuspecting
danger. I shall now warn them that they are about to be attacked,
and that they are to gather instantly to repel the enemy."
Taking the conch slung over his shoulder Beric applied it to his
lips and blew three short notes. The tribesmen ran together; there
was, as it seemed to the lookers on, a scene of wild confusion for
a minute, and then they were drawn up in companies, each a hundred
strong, in regular order. A short blast and a long one, and they
moved up together into a mass five deep; a single note, and the
spears fell, and an array of glistening points shone in front of
them.
A shout of surprise and approval rose from the tribesmen looking on.
To them this perfect order and regularity seemed well nigh miraculous.
Beric now advanced to the line. At his order the two rear ranks
stepped backwards a few feet, struck their spears in the ground,
and then discharged their javelins--of which each man carried
six--over the heads of the ranks in front, against the enemy supposed
to be advancing to attack them. Then seizing their spears they
fell into line again, and at another order the whole advanced at a
quick pace with levelled spears to the charge, and keeping on till
within a few paces of where the queen was standing, halted suddenly
and raised their spears. Again a roar of applause came from the
tribesmen.
"It is wonderful," the queen said. "I had not thought that men could
be taught so to move together; and that is how the Romans fight,
Beric?"
"It is, queen," Beric said. "The exercises are exactly similar to
those of the Romans. I learnt them by heart when I was among them,
and the orders are exactly the same as those given in the
legions--only, of course, they are performed by trained soldiers more
perfectly than we can as yet do them. It is but two months since
we began, and the Romans have practised them for years. Had I time
you would have seen them much more perfect than at present."
"You have performed marvels," she said. "I wish that you had had
more time, and that all the Iceni, and not the Sarci only could
have thus learned to meet the enemy. Do you not think so, chiefs?"
"It is wonderful," one of the chiefs said; "but I think that it is
not so terrifying to a foe as the rush of our own men. It is better
for resistance, but not so good for attack. Still it has great
merits; but I think it more suited for men who fight deliberately,
like the Romans, than for our own tribesmen, who are wont to rely
for victory each upon his own strength and valour."
"What say you, Beric?" the queen asked.
"It would be presumptuous for me to give my opinion against that
of a great chief," Beric said quietly; "But, so far, strength and
valour have not in themselves succeeded. The men of Caractacus
had both, but they were unavailing against the solid Roman line.
We have never yet won a great victory over the Romans, and yet we
have fought against them valiantly. None can say that a Briton is
not as brave and as strong as a Roman. In our battles we have always
outnumbered them. If we have been beaten, therefore, it has been
surely because the Roman method of fighting is superior to our
own."
There was a murmur of assent from several of the chiefs.
"Beric's argument is a strong one," the queen said to the one who
had spoken; "and I would that all the Iceni had learnt to fight in
this fashion. However, we shall have opportunities of seeing which
is right before we have finished with the Romans. March your men
back again, Beric."
Beric sounded his horn, and the line, facing half round, became
a column, and marched in regular order back to the village. The
morning meal was now taken, and at midday the march began. Boadicea
with her daughters, Parta and other women of rank, went first in
their chariots; and the Sarci, who, as lying next to the enemy's
country, were allowed the post of honour, followed in column
behind her, while the rest of the tribesmen made their way in a
miscellaneous crowd through the forest. They halted among the trees
at a distance of four miles from Camalodunum, and then rested, for
the attack was not to take place until daybreak on the next morning.
Late that evening two or three women of the Trinobantes came out,
in accordance with a preconcerted arrangement, to tell them that
there was no suspicion at Camalodunum of the impending danger; and
that, although there was great uneasiness among the inhabitants, no
measures for defence had been taken, and that even the precaution
of sending away the women and children had not been adopted.
No fires had been lighted; the men slept in the open air, simply
wrapping themselves in their mantles and lying down under the trees.
Beric had a long talk with Boduoc and ten of the tribesmen of the
latter's company.
"You understand," Beric said at last, "that if, as I expect, the
surprise will be complete and no regular resistance be offered,
I shall sound my horn and give the signal for the tribe to break
ranks and scatter. You ten men will, however, keep together, and
at once follow Boduoc and myself. As soon as we enter the house to
which I shall lead you, you will surround the two persons I shall
place in your charge, and will conduct them to the spot where the
chariot will be waiting. You will defend them, if necessary, with
your lives, should any disobey my order to let you pass through
with them. As soon as they are placed in the chariot you will be
free to join in the sack, and if you should be losers by the delay,
I will myself make up your share to that of your comrades. You are
sure, Boduoc, that all the other arrangements are perfect?"
"Everything is arranged," Boduoc said. "My brother, who drives the
chariot that brought your mother's attendants, quite understands
that he is to follow as soon as we move off, and keeping a short
way behind us is to stop in front of the last house outside the
gate until we come. As soon as he has taken them up he will drive
off and give them into the charge of our mother, who has promised
you to have everything in readiness for them; the skins for beds,
drinking vessels, food, and everything else necessary was taken
there two days ago. My sisters will see to the comfort of the young
lady, and you can rely upon my mother to carry out all the orders
you have given her. Our hut lies so deeply in the forest that there
is little chance of anyone going near it, especially as the whole
of the men of the tribe are away."
Two hours before daylight the Iceni moved forward. They were to
attack at a number of different points, and each chief had had his
position allotted to him. The Sarci were to move directly against
the northern gate and would form the centre of the attack. Each
man, by Beric's order, carried a faggot so that these could be piled
against the wall by the gate and enable them to effect an entrance
without the delay that would be incurred in breaking down the
massive gates. They passed quietly through the cultivated fields,
and past the houses scattered about outside the walls, whose
inhabitants had withdrawn into the city since the alarm spread.
They halted at a short distance from the gate, for sentries would
be on guard there, and remained for nearly an hour, as many of the
other tribesmen had a considerably longer distance to go to reach
their appointed stations. A faint light was beginning to steal
over the sky when, far away on their right, a horn sounded. It was
repeated again and again, each time nearer, and ran along far to
the left; then, raising their war cry, the Sarci dashed forward to
the gate.
The shouts of the sentinels on the walls had arisen as soon as
the first horn sounded, and had scarcely died away when the Sarci
reached the gate. Each man as he arrived threw down his faggot, and
the pile soon reached the top of the wall. Then Beric led the way
up and stood on the Roman work. The sentries, seeing the hopelessness
of resistance, had already fled, and the Sarci poured in. A confused
clamour of shouts and cries rose from the town, above which sounded
the yells of the exulting Iceni. Beric gave the signal for the Sarci
to scatter, and the tribesmen at once began to attack the houses.
Placing himself at the head of Boduoc's chosen party, Beric ran
forward. Already from some of the houses armed men were pouring
out, but disregarding these Beric pressed on until he reached the
house of Caius Muro. His reason for haste was that, standing rather
on the other side of the town, it was nearer the point assailed
by one of the other divisions of the tribe than to the north gate,
and he feared that others might arrive there before him. Reaching
the door he beat upon it with the handle of his sword.
"Open, Cneius," he shouted, "it is I, Beric."
The door was opened at once, and he ran forward into the atrium,
which was filled with frightened slaves, who burst into cries of
terror as, followed by his men, he entered. "Where are you, Cneius?"
Beric shouted.
"I am here," the scribe replied from his cubicule, "I will be with
you in a moment; it is but a minute since we were awoke by the
uproar."
"Be quick!" Beric said, "there is not a moment to be lost.
"Run up to the women's apartments," he said to a slave, "and tell
your mistress to hurry down, for that every minute is precious."
Almost immediately Berenice came down the stairs in her disguise as
a British boy, and at the same moment Cneius issued from his room.
"Come, Berenice," Beric said, "there is not a moment to be lost;
the town is in our hands, and if others of the tribe arrive I might
not be able to save you."
Hurrying them from the house he ordered the men to close round them,
and then started on his way back. A terrible din was going on all
round; yells, shouts, and screams arising from every house. Flames
were bursting up at a dozen points. To his great satisfaction Beric
reached the point where the Sarci were at work, breaking into the
houses, before he encountered any of the other Iceni. The men were
too busy to pay any attention to the little group of their own
tribesmen; passing through these they were soon at the gate. It
already stood open, the bolts having been drawn by those who first
entered. Fifty yards from the wall stood the chariot.
"Now you can leave us," Beric said to his followers, "I will rejoin
you soon."
Berenice was crying bitterly, horror stricken at the sounds she had
heard, though happily she had seen nothing, being closely shut in
by the tall forms of her guard.
"Thanks be to the gods that I have saved you, Berenice," Beric said,
"and you also, Cneius! Now I must commit you to the care of the
driver of the chariot, who is one of my tribesmen. He will take you
to a retreat where you will, I trust, be in perfect safety until
the troubles are over. His mother has promised to do all in her
power for your comfort. You will find one of our huts but a rough
abode, but it will at least be a shelter."
"Cannot you come with us, Beric?" the girl sobbed.
"That I cannot do, Berenice. I am a Briton and a chief, and I must
be with my tribe. And now I must away. Farewell, Berenice! may your
gods and mine watch over you! Farewell, my kind teacher!"
He took off the torque, the collar formed of a number of small metal
cords interlaced with each other, the emblem of rank and command,
and handed it to the driver. "You will show this, Runoc, to any
you meet, for it may be that you will find parties of late comers
on the road. This will be a proof that you are journeying on my
business and under my orders. Do not stop and let them question
you, but drive quickly along, and if they should shout and bid
you stop, hold up the torque and shout, 'I travel at speed by my
chief's orders.'
"Do you both sit down in the chariot," he said to the others. "Then
as you journey rapidly along it will be supposed that you are either
wounded or messengers of importance. Farewell!"
Cneius and the girl had already mounted the chariot, and the driver
now gave the horses rein and started at full speed. Beric turned and
re-entered the town slowly. In those days pity for the vanquished
was a sentiment but little comprehended, and he had certainly not
learned it among the Romans, who frequently massacred their prisoners
wholesale. Woe to the vanquished! was almost a maxim with them. But
Beric shrank from witnessing the scene, now that the tables were
turned upon the oppressors. Nationally he hated the Romans, but
individually he had no feeling against them, and had he had the
power he would at once have arrested the effusion of blood. He
wished to drive them from the kingdom, not to massacre them; but
he knew well that he had no power whatever in such a matter. Even
his own tribesmen would not have stayed their hand at his command.
To slay a Roman was to them a far more meritorious action than to
slay a wolf, and any one who urged mercy would have been regarded
not only as a weakling but as a traitor.
Already the work was well nigh done. Pouring in on all sides
into the city the Iceni had burst into the houses and slain their
occupants whether they resisted or not. A few men here and there
sold their lives dearly, but the great majority had been too panic
stricken with the sudden danger to attempt the slightest resistance.
Some of the inhabitants whose houses were near the temple had fled
thither for refuge before the assailants reached them, but in half
an hour from the striking of the first blow these and the troops
there were the sole survivors of the population of Camalodunum.
For the present the temple was disregarded. It was known that the
garrison did not exceed four hundred men, and there was no fear of
so small a body assuming the offensive.
The work of destruction had commenced. There was but little plundering,
for the Britons despised the Roman luxuries, of the greater part
of which they did not even comprehend the use. They were Roman,
and therefore to be hated as well as despised. Save, therefore,
weapons, which were highly prized, and gold ornaments, which were
taken as trinkets for the women at home, nothing was saved. As the
defenders of each house were slain, fire was applied to hangings
and curtains, and then the assailants hurried away in search of
fresh victims. Thus the work of destruction proceeded concurrently
with that of massacre, and as the sun rose vast columns of smoke
mounting upwards conveyed the news to the women of the Iceni and
Trinobantes for a circle of many miles round, that the attack had
been successful, and that Camalodunum, the seat of their oppressors,
was in flames. Beric, as he made his way towards the centre of the
town, sighed as he passed the shop where two months before he had
stopped a moment to look at the rolls of vellum.
The destruction of the monuments of Roman luxury; the houses with
their costly contents; and even the Palace of Cunobeline, which
had been converted into the residence of the Roman governor, had
not affected him; but he mourned over the loss of the precious
manuscripts which had contained such a wealth of stored up learning.
Already the house was wrapped in flames, which were rushing from
the windows, and the prize which he had looked upon as his own
special share of the plunder had escaped him.
At the edge of the broad open space that surrounded the Temple of
Claudius the Britons were gathering thickly. Beric applied his horn
to his lips, and in a few minutes the Sarci gathered round him.
Bidding them stand in order he moved away to see what disposition
was being made for the attack on the temple, but at present all
were too excited with their success for any to assume the lead or
give orders. At the first rush parties of the Britons had made for
the temple, but had been received with showers of darts and stones,
and had been met on the steps by the Roman soldiers and roughly
repulsed. Walking round he came upon the chariot of Boadicea. The
queen was flushed with excitement and gratified vengeance, and was
shaking her spear menacingly towards the temple; her eye presently
fell upon Beric.
"The work has begun well, my young chief, but we have still to crush
the wolves in their den. It is a strong place, with its massive
walls unpierced save by the doorway at each end; but we will have
them out if to do so we are forced to tear it down stone by stone."
"I trust that we shall not be as long as that would take, queen,"
Beric said, "for we have other work to do."
Just at this moment one of the chiefs of the Trinobantes came up.
"Queen Boadicea," he said, "we crave that we may be allowed to storm
the temple. It is built on our ground as a sign of our subjection,
and we would fain ourselves capture it."
"Be it so," the queen replied. "Do you undertake the task at once."
The Trinobantes, who had joined the Iceni in the attack on the
town, presently gathered with loud shouts, and under their chiefs
rushed at the temple. From the roof darts and stones were showered
down upon them; but though many were killed they swarmed up the
broad steps that surrounded it on all sides and attacked the doors.
Beric shook his head, and returning to his men led them off down
one of the broad streets to an open space a short distance away.
"This will be our gathering place," he said. "Do not wander far
away, and return quickly at the sound of my horn. We may be wanted
presently. I do not think that the Trinobantes will take the temple
in that fashion."
They had indeed advanced entirely unprovided with proper means
of assault. The massive gates against which the Romans had piled
stones, casks of provisions, and other heavy articles were not to
be broken down by such force as the Britons could bring against
them. In vain these chopped with their swords upon the woodwork.
The gates were constructed of oak, and the weapons scarce marked
them. In vain they threw themselves twenty abreast against them.
The doors hardly quivered at the shock, and in the meantime the
assailants were suffering heavily, for from openings in the roof,
extending from the building itself to the pillars that surrounded
it, the Romans dropped missiles upon them.
For some time the Trinobantes persevered, and then their chiefs,
seeing that the attempt was hopeless, called off their followers.
No fresh attempt was made for a time, and Boadicea established
herself in one of the few houses that had escaped the flames, and
there presently the chiefs assembled. Various suggestions were
made, but at last it was decided to batter in the doors with a
heavy tree, and a strong party of men were at once despatched to
fell and prepare two of suitable size. The operation was a long
one, as the trees when found had to be brought down by lighting
fires against the trunks, and it was nightfall before they fell and
the branches were cut off. It was decided, therefore, to postpone
the attack until the next day.
Beric had not been present at the council, to which only a few of
the leading chiefs had been summoned; but he doubted, when he heard
what had been decided upon, whether the attack would be successful.
It was settled that the Trinobantes were to attack the door at one
end of the temple, and the Iceni that at the other. Late in the
evening the chariot returned, and Beric was greatly relieved to hear
that the fugitives had been placed in safety and that the journey
had been made without interference. He was glad to recover his torque,
for its absence would have excited surprise when men's minds were
less occupied and excited. Not until he recovered it could he
go to see Parta, who was lodged with the queen, but as soon as he
recovered it he went in. Every sign of Roman habitation and luxury
had been, as far as possible, obliterated by order of Boadicea
before she entered the house. Hangings had been pulled down, statues
overthrown, and the paintings on the plaster chipped from the walls.
"What have you been doing all day, Beric?" his mother asked. "I
looked to see you long before this, and should have thought that
some accident had befallen you had I not known that the news would
have been speedily brought me had it been so."
"I have been looking after the tribesmen, mother. I should have
come in to see you, but did not wish to intrude among the chiefs
in council with the queen. You represented the Sarci here, and had
we been wanted you would have sent for me. Who are to attack the
temple tomorrow?"
"Not the Sarci, my son. Unser begged that he and his tribe might
have the honour, and the queen and council granted it to him."
"I am glad of it, mother. The duty is an honourable one, but the
loss will be heavy, and others can do the work as well as we could,
and I want to keep our men for the shock of battle with the legions.
Moreover, I doubt whether the doors will be battered down in the
way they propose."
"You do, Beric! and why is that?" The speaker was Aska, who had
just left the group of chiefs gathered round the queen at the other
end of the apartment, and had come close without Beric hearing him.
The lad coloured. "I spoke only for my mother's hearing, sir," he
said. "To no one else should I have ventured to express an opinion on
a course agreed upon by those who are older and wiser than myself."
"That is right, Beric; the young should be silent in the presence
of their elders; nevertheless I should like to know why you think
the assault is likely to fail."
"It was really not my own opinion I was giving, sir. I was thinking
of the manner in which the Romans, who are accustomed to besiege
places with high walls and strong gates, proceed. They have made
these matters a study, while to us an attack upon such a place is
altogether new, seeing that none such exist in Britain save those
the Romans have erected."
"How would they proceed, Beric?"
"They would treat an attack upon such a place as a serious matter,
not to be undertaken rashly and hastily, but only after great
preparation. In order to batter down a gate or a wall they use
heavy beams, such as those that have been prepared for tomorrow,
but they affix to the head a shoe of iron or brass. They do not
swing it upon men's arms, seeing that it would be most difficult
to get so many men to exercise their strength together, and indeed
could not give it the momentum required."
"But we propose to have the beam carried by fifty men, and for all
to rush forward together and drive it against the door."
"If the door were weak and would yield to the first blow that might
avail," Beric said; "but unless it does so the shock will throw
down the tree and the men bearing it. Many will be grievously hurt.
Moreover, if, as will surely be the case, many of the bearers fall
under the darts of the Romans as they approach, others will stumble
over their bodies, and the speed of the whole be greatly checked."
"Then can you tell me how the Romans act in such a case, Beric?"
"Yes, sir. I have frequently heard relations of sieges from soldiers
who have taken part in them. They build, in the first place, movable
towers or sheds running on wheels. These towers are made strong
enough to resist the stones and missiles the besieged may hurl
against them. Under cover of the shelter men push up the towers to
the door or wall to be battered; the beam is then slung on ropes
hanging from the inside of the tower. Other ropes are attached;
numbers of men take hold of these, and working together swing the
beam backwards and forwards, so that each time it strikes the wall
or door a heavy blow. As the beam is of great weight, and many men
work it, the blows are well nigh irresistible, and the strongest
walls crumble and the most massive gates splinter under the shock
of its iron head."
"The Romans truly are skilled warriors," Aska said. "We are but
children in the art of war beside them, and methinks it would be
difficult indeed for us to construct such a machine, though mayhap
it could be done had we with us many men skilled in the making of
chariots. But sometimes, Beric, they must have occasion to attack
places where such machines could not well be used."
"In that case, sir, they sometimes make what they call a tortoise.
The soldiers link their broad shields together, so as to form
a complete covering, resembling the back of a tortoise, and under
shelter of this they advance to the attack. When they reach the
foot of the wall all remain immovable save those in the front line,
who labour with iron bars to loosen the stones at the foot of the
wall, protected from missiles from above by the shields of their
comrades. From time to time they are relieved by fresh workers
until the foundations of the wall are deeply undermined. As they
proceed they erect massive props to keep up the wall, and finally
fill up the hole with combustibles. After lighting these they
retire. When the props are consumed the wall of course falls, and
they then rush forward and climb the breach."
"Truly, Beric, you have profited by your lessons," Aska said, laying
his hand kindly on the lad's shoulder. "The Druids spoke wisely
when they prophesied a great future for you. Before we have done we
may have many Roman strongholds to capture, and when we do I will
see that the council order that your advice be taken as to how they
shall be attacked; but in this matter tomorrow things must remain
as they are. Unser is a proud chief, and headstrong, and would
not brook any interference. Should he be repulsed in the assault,
I will advise the queen to call up the Sarci, and allow you to
proceed in your own manner."
"I will do my best, sir; but time is needed for proceeding according
to the first Roman method, and our shields are too small for the
second. The place should be taken by tomorrow night, for Cerealis
will assuredly move with his legion to relieve it as soon as he
hears the news of our attack."
"That is what has been in our minds," Aska said. "Well, what do
you say, Beric? After what I saw the other day of the movements
you have taught your tribe I should be sorry to have their ranks
thinned in a hopeless attack upon the temple. I would rather that
we should leave it for the present and march out to meet Cerealis,
leaving a guard here to keep the Romans hemmed in until we have
time to deal with them."
Beric stood for a minute or two without answering, and then said,
"I will undertake it, sir, with the Sarci should Unser's attack
fail."