It was not until long after the guards to whom he was chained had fallen
asleep that Malchus followed their example. It seemed to him he had been
asleep a long time when a pressure by a hand on his shoulder woke him;
at the same moment another hand was placed over his mouth.
“Hush, my lord!” a voice said. It was Nessus. “Arise and let us go.
There is no time to be lost, for it is nigh morning. I have been the
whole night in discovering where you were.”
“But the guards, Nessus?”
“I have killed them,” Nessus said in a tone of indifference.
“But I am chained to them by the ankles.”
Nessus gave a little exclamation of impatience, and then in the darkness
felt the irons to discover the nature of the fastenings. In a minute
there was a sound of a dull crashing blow, then Nessus moved to the
other side and the sound was repeated. With two blows of his short heavy
sword the Arab had cut off the feet of the dead Romans at the ankle, and
the chains were free.
“Put on the clothes of this man, my lord, and take his arms; I will take
those of the other.”
As soon as this was done Nessus wrapped some folds of cloth round each
of the chains to prevent their clanking, then passing a band through the
ends he fastened them to Malchus' waist.
“Quick, my lord,” he said as he finished the work; “daylight is
beginning to break.”
They stepped over the dead sentry at the door of the tent and were going
on when Malchus said:
“Best lift him inside, Nessus; it may be some little time before it is
noticed that he is missing from his post.”
This was quickly done, and they then moved away quietly among the tents
till they approached the rear of the camp. It was now light enough to
enable them to see dimly the figures of the Roman sentries placed at
short intervals round the camp.
“We cannot get through unseen,” Malchus said.
“No, my lord,” Nessus replied; “I have wasted too much time in finding
you.”
“Then we had best lie down quietly here,” Malchus said; “in a short time
the men will be moving about, and we can then pass through the sentries
without remark.”
As the light spread over the sky sounds of movement were heard in the
camp, and soon figures were moving about, some beginning to make fires,
others to attend to their horses. The two Carthaginians moved about
among the tents as if similarly occupied, secure that their attire as
Roman soldiers would prevent any observation being directed towards
them. They were anxious to be off, for they feared that at any moment
they might hear the alarm raised on the discovery that the sentry was
missing.
It was nearly broad daylight now, and when they saw two or three
soldiers pass out between the sentries unquestioned they started at once
to follow them. The morning was very cold, and the soldiers who were
about were all wearing their military cloaks. Malchus had pulled the
irons as high up as he could possibly force them, and they did not show
below his cloak.
Walking carelessly along they passed through the sentries, whose duties,
now that morning had dawned, related only to discovering an enemy
approaching the camp, the soldiers being now free to enter or leave as
they pleased.
“It is of no use to go far,” Malchus said; “the nearer we hide to the
camp the better. We are less likely to be looked for there than at a
distance, and it is impossible for me to travel at any speed until I get
rid of these heavy irons. As soon as we get over that little brow ahead
we shall be out of sight of the sentries, and will take to the first
hiding place we see.”
The little rise was but a short distance from camp, the country beyond
was open but was covered with low brushwood. As soon as they were over
the brow and were assured that none of those who had left the camp
before them were in sight, they plunged into the brushwood, and, making
their way on their hands and knees for a few hundred yards, lay down in
the midst of it.
“They are not likely to search on this side of the camp,” Malchus said.
“They will not know at what hour I escaped, and will naturally suppose
that I started at once to regain our camp. Listen, their trumpets are
blowing. No doubt they are about to strike their camp and march; by
this time my escape must be known. And now tell me, Nessus, how did you
manage to follow and discover me?”
“It was easy to follow you, my lord,” Nessus said. “When I heard your
order I lay still, but watched through the bushes your meeting with the
Gauls. My arrow was in the string, and had they attacked you I should
have loosed it among them, and then rushed out to die with you, but
when I saw them take you a prisoner I followed your orders. I had no
difficulty in keeping you in sight until nightfall. Then I crept up to
the wood and made my way until I was within a few yards of you and lay
there till nearly morning; but, as the men around you never went to
sleep, I could do nothing and stole away again before daylight broke.
Then I followed again until I saw our horsemen approaching. I had
started to run towards them to lead them to you when I saw the Roman
horse, and I again hid myself.
“The next night again the Romans kept too vigilant a watch for me to do
anything, and I followed them all yesterday until I saw them enter the
Roman camp. As soon as it was dark I entered, and, getting into the
part of the camp occupied by the Massilians, whose Gaulish talk I could
understand a little, I gathered that a Carthaginian prisoner who had
been brought in was to be executed in the morning. So I set to work
to find you; but the night was too dark to see where the sentries were
placed, and I had to crawl round every tent to see if one stood at the
entrance on guard, for I was sure that a sentry would be placed over
you. I entered seven tents, at whose doors sentries were placed, before
I found yours, but they were all those of Roman generals or persons of
importance. I entered each time by cutting a slit in the back of the
tent. At last when I was beginning to despair, I found your tent.
“It was the smallest of any that had been guarded, and this made me
think I was right. When I crawled in I found feeling cautiously about,
that two Roman soldiers were asleep on the ground and that you were
lying between them. Then I went to the entrance. The sentry was standing
with his back to it. I struck a blow on his neck from behind, and he
died without knowing he was hurt. I caught him as I struck and lowered
him gently down, for the crash of his arms as he fell would have roused
everyone near. After that it was easy to stab the two guards sleeping by
you, and then I woke you.”
“You have saved my life, Nessus, and I shall never forget it,” Malchus
said gratefully.
“My life is my lord's,” the Arab replied simply. “Glad am I indeed that
I have been able to do you a service.”
Just as he spoke they saw through the bushes a party of Roman horse
ride at a gallop over the brow between them and the camp. They halted,
however, on passing the crest, and an officer with them gazed long and
searchingly over the country. For some minutes he sat without speaking,
then he gave an order and the horsemen rode back again over the crest.
“I think we shall see no more of them,” Malchus said. “His orders were,
no doubt, that if I was in sight they were to pursue, if not, it would
be clearly useless hunting over miles of brushwood in the hope of
finding me, especially as they must deem it likely that I am far away in
the opposite direction.”
An hour later Nessus crept cautiously forward among the bushes, making a
considerable detour until he reached the spot whence he could command a
view of the Roman camp. It had gone, not a soul remained behind, but at
some distance across the plain he could see the heavy column marching
north. He rose to his feet and returned to the spot where he had left
Malchus, and told him that the Romans had gone.
“The first thing, Nessus, is to get rid of these chains.”
“It is easy as to the chains,” Nessus said, “but the rings around your
legs must remain until we rejoin the camp, it will need a file to free
you from them.”
The soil was sandy, and Nessus could find no stone sufficiently large
for his purpose. They, therefore, started in the direction which the
Romans had taken until, after two hours' slow walking, they came upon
the bed of a stream in which were some boulders sufficiently large for
the purpose.
The rings were now pushed down again to the ankles, and Nessus wound
round them strips of cloth until he had formed a pad between the iron
and the skin to lessen the jar of the blow, then he placed the link of
the chain near to the leg upon the edge of the boulder, and, drawing his
sharp heavy sword, struck with all his force upon the iron.
A deep notch was made; again and again he repeated the blow, until the
link was cut through, then, with some difficulty, he forced the two
ends apart until the shackle of the ring would pass between them. The
operation was repeated on the other chain, and then Malchus was free,
save for the two iron rings around his ankles. The work had taken
upwards of an hour, and when it was done they started at a rapid walk in
the direction taken by the column. They had no fear now of the natives,
for should any come upon them they would take them for two Roman
soldiers who had strayed behind the army.
Scipio made a long day's march, and it was not until nightfall that his
army halted. Malchus and his companion made a long detour round the camp
and continued their way for some hours, then they left the track that
the army would follow, and, after walking for about a mile, lay down
among some bushes and were soon asleep.
In the morning they agreed that before proceeding further it was
absolutely necessary to obtain some food. Malchus had been fed when
among the Romans, but Nessus had had nothing from the morning when he
had been upset in the Rhone four days before, save a manchet of bread
which he had found in one of the tents he had entered. Surveying the
country round carefully, the keen eye of the Arab perceived some light
smoke curling up at the foot of the hills on their right, and they at
once directed their course towards it. An hour's walking brought them
within sight of a native village.
As soon as they perceived it they dropped on their hands and knees and
proceeded with caution until within a short distance of it. They were
not long in discovering a flock of goats browsing on the verdure in some
broken ground a few hundred yards from the village. They were under the
charge of a native boy, who was seated on a rock near them. They made
their way round among the brushwood until they were close to the spot.
“Shall I shoot him?” Nessus asked, for he had carried his bow and arrows
concealed in his attire as a Roman soldier.
“No, no,” Malchus replied, “the lad has done us no harm; but we must
have one of his goats. His back is towards us, and, if we wait, one of
them is sure to come close to us presently.”
They lay quiet among the bushes until, after a delay of a quarter of an
hour, a goat, browsing upon the bushes, passed within a yard or two of
them.
Nessus let fly his arrow, it passed almost through the animal, right
behind its shoulder, and it fell among the bushes. In an instant
Nessus was upon it, and, grasping its mouth tightly to prevent it from
bleating, cut its throat. They dragged it away until a fall in the
ground hid them from the sight of the natives, then they quickly skinned
and cut it up, devoured some of the meat raw, and then, each taking a
leg of the animal, proceeded upon their way.
They now walked without a halt until, late in the evening, they came
down upon the spot where the Carthaginian army had crossed. It was
deserted. Going down to the edge of the river they saw the great rafts
upon which the elephants had crossed.
“We had best go on a mile or two ahead,” Nessus said, “the Roman cavalry
may be here in the morning, though the column will be still a day's
march away. By daylight we shall have no difficulty in finding the
traces of the army.”
Malchus took the Arab's advice, and the next morning followed on the
traces of the army, which were plainly enough to be seen in the broken
bushes, the trampled ground, and in various useless articles dropped or
thrown away by the troops. They were forced to advance with caution, for
they feared meeting any of the natives who might be hanging on the rear
of the army.
After three days' travelling with scarce a pause they came upon the army
just as the rear guard was crossing the Isere, and Malchus received a
joyous welcome from his friends, who had supposed him drowned at the
passage of the Rhone. His account of his adventure was eagerly listened
to, and greatly surprised were they when they found that he had been a
prisoner in the camp of Scipio, and had been rescued by the fidelity and
devotion of Nessus. Hannibal asked many questions as to the strength
of Scipio's army, but Malchus could only say that, not having seen it
except encamped, he could form but a very doubtful estimate as to its
numbers, but considered it to be but little superior to that of the
Carthaginian.
“I do not think Scipio will pursue us,” Hannibal said. “A defeat here
would be as fatal to him as it would be to us, and I think it more
likely that, when he finds we have marched away north, he will return to
his ships and meet us in Italy.”
Malchus learned that everything had progressed favourably since the army
had crossed the Rhone, the natives having offered no further opposition
to their advance. A civil war was going on in the region the army had
now entered, between two rival princes, brothers, of the Allobroges.
Hannibal was requested to act as umpire in the quarrel, and decided in
favour of the elder brother and restored order. In return he received
from the prince whom he reseated on his throne, provisions, clothing,
and other necessaries for the army, and the prince, with his troops,
escorted the Carthaginians some distance up into the Alps, and prevented
the tribes dwelling at the foot of the mountains from attacking them.
The conquest of Catalonia, the passage of the Pyrenees, and the march
across the south of Gaul, had occupied many months. Summer had come and
gone, autumn had passed, and winter was at hand. It was the eighteenth
of October when Hannibal led his army up the narrow valleys into the
heart of the Alps. The snow had already fallen thickly upon the upper
part of the mountains, and the Carthaginians shuddered at the sight
of these lofty summits, these wild, craggy, and forbidding wastes.
The appearance of the wretched huts of the inhabitants, of the people
themselves, unshaved and unkempt and clad in sheepskins, and of the
flocks and herds gathering in sheltered spots and crowding together to
resist the effects of the already extreme cold, struck the Carthaginian
troops with dismay. Large bodies of the mountaineers were perceived
posted on the heights surrounding the valleys, and the column,
embarrassed by its length and the vast quantity of baggage, was also
exposed to attack by hordes who might at any moment rush out from the
lateral ravines. Hannibal, therefore, ordered his column to halt.
Malchus was now ordered to go forward with his band of scouts, and to
take with him a party of Gauls, who, their language being similar
to that of the natives, could enter into conversation with them. The
mountaineers, seeing but a small party advancing, allowed them to
approach peaceably and entered freely into conversation with them. They
declared that they would on no account permit the Carthaginian army to
pass forward, but would oppose every foot of their advance.
The Gauls learned, however, that, believing the great column could only
move forward in the daytime, the natives were in the habit of retiring
from their rocky citadels at nightfall. Malchus returned with this news
to Hannibal, who prepared to take advantage of it. The camp was at once
pitched, and the men set to work to form an intrenchment round it as if
Hannibal meditated a prolonged halt there. Great fires were lit and the
animals unloaded. The natives, seeing from above everything that was
being done, deserted their posts as usual at nightfall, confident that
the Carthaginians had no intention of moving forward.
Malchus with his scouts crept on along the path, and soon sent down
word to Hannibal that the heights were deserted. The general himself now
moved forward with all his light troops, occupied the head of the pass,
and posted strong parties of men upon the heights commanding it. As soon
as day broke the rest of the army got into motion and proceeded up the
pass. The natives were now seen approaching in great numbers, but they
halted in dismay on seeing that the Carthaginians had already gained
possession of the strong places.
The road by which the column was ascending wound along the face of
a precipice, and was so narrow that it was with difficulty that the
horses, snorting with fright, could be persuaded to proceed. The
natives, seeing the confusion which the fright of the animals created in
the column, at once took to the mountains, climbing up rugged precipices
which appeared to the Carthaginians absolutely inaccessible, and
presently made their appearance far up on the mountain side above the
column.
Here, sending up the most piercing yells, they began to roll rocks and
stones down upon the column. The confusion below became terrible. The
horses, alarmed by the strange wild cries, echoed and re-echoed a score
of times among the mountains, and struck by the falling stones, plunged
and struggled wildly to escape. Some tore along the path, precipitating
those in front of them over the precipice, others lost their footing,
and, dragging with them the carts to which they were attached, fell
into the valley below. All order was lost. Incapable of defence or of
movement the column appeared to be on the verge of destruction.
“Come, my men,” Malchus exclaimed to his Arabs, “where these men can
climb we can follow them; the safety of the whole column is at stake.”
Slinging their weapons behind them the scouts began to climb the crags.
Sure footed and hardy as they were, it was with the greatest difficulty
that they could make their way up. Many lost their footing, and rolling
down were dashed to pieces; but the great majority succeeded in climbing
the heights, and at once became engaged in desperate battle with the
natives.
Every narrow ledge and crag was the scene of a conflict. The natives
from the distant heights encouraged their companions with their shouts,
and for a time the confusion in the column below was heightened by the
combat which was proceeding far above them. Every stone dislodged by the
feet of the combatants thundered down upon them, and the falling bodies
of those hit by arrow or javelin came crushing down with a dull thud
among the mass.
At last the bravery and superior weapons of the Arabs prevailed. The
precipice was cleared of the natives, and as the uproar ceased and the
missiles ceased to fall, the column recovered its order, and again moved
forward until the whole army gained the top of the pass. Here Hannibal
took possession of a rough fort erected by the natives, captured several
villages, and enough flocks and herds to feed his army for three days.
Then descending from the top of the pass, which is now known as the
Gol-du-Chat, he entered the valley of Chambery, and marched forward for
three days without opposition.
Malchus and his scouts received the warmest congratulations for their
conduct at the pass, for they had undoubtedly saved the army from what
had at one time threatened to be a terrible disaster. On arrival at a
town supposed to be identical with the modern Conflans, the inhabitants
came out with green boughs and expressed their desire for peace and
friendship. They said that they had heard of the fate which had befallen
those who ventured to oppose the Carthaginians, and that they were
anxious to avoid such misfortunes. They offered to deliver hostages as a
proof of their good intentions, to supply sheep and goats for the army,
and to furnish guides through the difficult country ahead.
For two days the march continued. The route the army was passing was
that now known as the little St. Bernard. Fortunately Hannibal had from
the first entertained considerable doubt as to the good faith of his
guides, and never relaxed his vigilance. The scouts and light infantry,
with the cavalry, preceded the great column of baggage, the heavy
cavalry defended the rear.
The track, which had for the last five days' march proceeded along a
comparatively level valley, now mounted rapidly, and turning aside from
the valley of the Isere it led up the deep bed of the mountain torrent
known as the Reclus; this stream ran in a deep trough hollowed out in a
very narrow valley. The bed is now so piled with rocks and stones as to
be impassable, and the Romans afterwards cut a road along on the side
of the mountain. But at this time it was possible for men and animals to
proceed along the bed of the torrent.
Suddenly while struggling with the difficulties of the ascent, a vast
number of the natives appeared on the hills on either side, and began to
hurl down stones and rocks upon the column below, while at the same
time a still stronger force attacked them in the rear. The instant
the natives made their appearance the treacherous guides, who were
proceeding with the scouts at the head of the column, attempted to make
their escape by climbing the mountain side. The Arabs were starting off
in pursuit, but Malchus checked them.
“Keep together,” he shouted, “and on no account scatter; the enemy are
upon us in force, and it behooves us all to be steady and deliberate in
our action.”
A flight of arrows was, however, sent after the traitors, and most of
them rolled lifeless down the slope again.
Hannibal's first care was to extricate his cavalry from the gorge. This
was performed with great difficulty, and they were drawn up in good
order on the narrow piece of level ground between the gorge in which the
river ran and the mountains bordering the side of the pass.
The light troops now ascended the hills on both sides, and speedily
became engaged with the enemy. The confusion in the bed of the torrent
was tremendous. Great numbers of men and animals were killed by the
rocks and missiles from above, but more of the soldiers were trampled to
death by the frightened horses. The heavy infantry in the rear remained
steady, and repulsed every effort of the main body of the enemy to break
in upon the column.
As night fell the combat ceased, but Hannibal and the troops in advance
of the column passed the night under arms at the foot of a certain white
rock standing above the ravine, and which still marks the exact site of
the conflict. The natives had suffered heavily both from their conflict
with the light troops upon the hillside, and from the repulse of their
assaults upon the rear guard, and in the morning they did not venture
to renew the attack, and the column moved forward out of the ravine
and continued its march, the natives from time to time dashing down to
attack it.
The elephants were placed on the flank of the line of march, and the
appearance of these strange beasts so terrified the enemy that they
desisted from their attack, and by evening the army encamped on the
summit of the pass.
The snow had already fallen deeply, the army were worn out and
dispirited by the exertions and dangers through which they had passed,
and had suffered great losses in men and animals in the nine days which
had elapsed since they first entered the mountains. Hannibal gave them
two days' rest, in which time they were joined by many stragglers who
had fallen behind, and by beasts of burden which, in the terror and
confusion of the attack, had got rid of their loads and had escaped, but
whose instinct led them to follow the line of march.
At the end of the second day Hannibal assembled his troops and addressed
them in a stirring speech. He told them that the worst part of their
journey was now over. He pointed to them the plains of Italy, of which a
view could be obtained through the pass ahead, and told them that there
they would find rest and friends, wealth and glory. The soldiers as
usual responded to the words of their beloved general with shouts of
acclamation, and with renewed spirits prepared to meet the difficulties
which still lay before them.
The next morning the march was renewed. The snow lay deep on the track,
and the soldiers found that, great as had been the difficulties of the
ascent, those of the descent were vastly greater, for the slopes of the
Alps on the Italian side are far steeper and more abrupt than are those
on the French. Every step had to be made with care; those who strayed in
the slightest from the path found the snow gave way beneath their feet
and fell down the precipice beside them.
Many of the baggage animals thus perished; but at last the head of the
column found itself at the foot of the steep descent in a ravine with
almost perpendicular walls, amid whose foot was in summer occupied by a
mountain stream. Into the depth of this ravine the rays of the sun never
penetrated, and in it lay a mass of the previous year's snow which had
never entirely melted, but which formed with the water of the torrent a
sheet of slippery ice.
The newly formed snow prevented the troops from seeing the nature of the
ground, and as they stepped upon it they fell headlong, sliding in
their armour down the rapidly sloping bed of ice, many dashing out
their brains or breaking their limbs against the great boulders which
projected through it. The cavalry next attempted the passage, but with
even less success, for the hoofs of the horses broke through the hard
upper crust of the old snow and the animals sank in to their bellies.
Seeing that it was impossible to pass this obstacle, Hannibal turned
back the head of the column until they reached the top of the ascent
down which they had just come. There he cleared away the snow and
erected a camp; all the infantry were then brought down into the pass
and set to work to build up a road along the side of the ravine.
The engineers with fire and explosives blasted away the foot of the
cliffs; the infantry broke up the rocks and formed a level track. All
night the work continued, the troops relieving each other at frequent
intervals, and by the morning a path which could be traversed by men
on foot, horses, and baggage animals was constructed for a distance of
three hundred yards, beyond which the obstacle which had arrested the
advance of the army did not continue.
The cavalry, baggage animals, and a portion of the infantry at once
continued their way down the valley, while the rest of the infantry
remained behind to widen the road sufficiently for the elephants to
pass along. Although the work was pressed on with the greatest vigour it
needed three days of labour in all before the elephants could be passed
through. The animals were by this time weak with hunger, for from the
time when they had turned aside from the valley of the Isere the Alps
had been wholly bare of trees, and the ground being covered with snow,
no foliage or forage had been obtainable to eke out the store of flour
which they carried for their consumption. Nor was any wood found with
which to manufacture the flat cakes into which the flour was formed for
their rations.
The elephants once through, the march was continued, and, joining the
troops in advance, who had halted in the woods below the snow level,
the column continued its march. On the third day after passing the gorge
they issued out on to the plain of the Po, having lost in the fifteen
days' passage of the Alps great numbers of men from the attacks of
the enemy, from the passage of the rapid torrents, from falls over the
precipices, and from cold, and having suffered still more severely in
horses and baggage animals.
Of the 59,000 picked troops with which he had advanced after the
conquest of Catalonia, Hannibal reached the plains of Italy with but
12,000 African infantry, 8,000 Spanish and Gaulish infantry, and 6,000
cavalry--in all 26,000 men. A small force indeed with which to enter
upon the struggle with the might and power of Rome. Of the 33,000 men
that were missing, 13,000 had fallen in the passes of the Pyrenees and
the march through Gaul, 20,000 had died in the passage of the Alps.