第 34 页

"Judges!" Malchus repeated scornfully, "executioners, you should say.

Think you that I know not that my death is resolved on? Even if you

would you dare not free a noble of Carthage, a son of a general who has

lost his life in her service, a cousin of the great Hannibal, after you

have thus treacherously seized and thrown him into a dungeon. Cowed as

the people of Carthage are by your tyranny, corrupted as they are

by your gold, this lawless act of oppression would rouse them to

resistance. No, Hanno, it is because I know that my doom is sealed I

thus fearlessly defy you and your creatures."

Malchus then proceeded to deliver the message of Hannibal to the senate.

He showed the exact situation of affairs in Italy, urged that if the

reinforcements asked for were sent, the success of the arms of Carthage

and the final defeat and humiliation of Rome were assured; while, on the

other hand, if Hannibal were left unaided, his army must in time dwindle

away until too feeble to resist the assaults of the Romans and their

allies. He warned his hearers that if this catastrophe should come

about, Rome, flushed with victory, smarting under the defeats and

humiliation which Hannibal had inflicted upon them, would in turn become

the aggressor, and would inflict upon Carthage a blow similar to that

with which Rome had been menaced by Hannibal.

Hanno and his companions listened in silence. Malchus for a time forgot

his own position and the character of the men he addressed, and pleaded

with an earnestness and passion such as he would have used had he been

addressing the whole senate. When he had finished, Hanno without a word

motioned to the jailers, and these, placing themselves one on each side

of Malchus, led him back to his cell.

CHAPTER XVII: THE ESCAPE

For the next two days Malchus was visited only by the Nubian who brought

his food. The third night, as he was lying on his straw, wondering how

long Hanno would be before he decided his fate, he started to his

feet as he heard, apparently close at hand, his name whispered. It was

repeated, and he now perceived that it came from above.

"Yes," he said in a low tone, looking upwards, "I am Malchus. Who speaks

to me?"

"It is I, Nessus," the voice replied. "Thanks to the gods, I have found

my lord."

"How did you get here, Nessus? I feared that you were drowned."

"I swam to shore," the Arab said, "and then watched outside the gate

here. I saw several prisoners brought in, and doubted not that you were

among them. I was at the port when the ship came in, and found that

she brought no passenger. Then I came up here again, soon found friends

among the Arab regiment in the garrison; these obtained me employment

in the stables of the elephants. Each night, when all has been still, I

have crept here, and have whispered your name down each of the gratings.

Tonight you have heard me. Now that I know where you are, I will set to

work to contrive your escape. Is the passage from your cell here wide

enough to admit your being drawn up?"

"Yes," Malchus replied; "it would be a close fit, but with a rope you

could get me up through it."

"I will set to work to loosen these bars at once," Nessus said; "but the

difficulty is not to get you out from here, but to get you beyond the

gates of the citadel. The watch is extremely strict, and the gates

are not opened until nine o'clock. Before that your escape would be

discovered, and it will be impossible for you to pass out undetected. I

must find a hiding place where you can lie concealed until the search

is over, and the vigilance of the sentries is relaxed; but it will be no

easy matter. And now let us speak no more; it is dangerous to breathe,

much less to speak here."

Not another word was spoken for hours. Malchus could hear a low

continuous scraping noise as Nessus with his dagger worked away upon the

stone into which the grating fitted. At last Nessus spoke again. "I have

nearly finished, my lord, the greater part of the grating is loose, and

in half an hour I can complete the work. Daylight will soon be breaking

and I must go. Tomorrow night I will return with a rope. I hope today to

find some place where you may be concealed."

Malchus with renewed hope threw himself upon the straw, and lay there

until about noon when he was again summoned to the presence of his

judges. They were the same whom he had seen previously.

"Malchus, son of Hamilcar," Hanno said, "you are now brought before us

to hear the crime with which you are charged. We have here before us the

written list of the names of the members of the conspiracy, headed

by Giscon, which had for its aim the murder of many of the senate of

Carthage and the overthrow of her constitution. We have also here the

confession of several of the conspirators confirming this list, and

saying that you were one of the party."

"I do not deny," Malchus said firmly, "that I did once visit the place

in which those you speak of met, and that my name was then entered on

the roll; but when I went there I was wholly ignorant of the purposes

of the association, and as soon as I learned their aims and objects I

withdrew from them, and did not again visit their place of meeting."

"You could not well do that," Hanno said, "since it is writ down that

you sailed very shortly afterwards for Spain."

"I own that I did so," Malchus replied, "but I told Giscon on the very

day that I accompanied him to the meeting that I would go there no more.

Moreover, your commissioners with Hannibal's army have already inquired

into the circumstances, and they, in consideration of the fact that I

was then little more than sixteen years old, that I was led ignorantly

into the plot, and at once separated myself from it, absolved me from

blame."

"The commissioners had no authority to do so," Hanno replied; "they were

ordered to send you to Carthage, and failed to carry out their orders

only because Hannibal then, as always, set himself above the authority

of the republic. As you have confessed that you were a member of this

conspiracy, no further trial is needed, and this court awards to you

the same punishment which was meted to all the others concerned in the

conspiracy--you will tomorrow be put to death by the usual punishment of

the press."

Malchus abstained from all reply, for it struck him at once that were

he to defy and anger his judges they might order him to be instantly

executed. He therefore without a word turned and accompanied his jailer

to his cell. He waited impatiently for night, and the hours seemed long

indeed before he heard the whisper of Nessus above. Directly the Arab

received the reply, assuring him that Malchus was still there, he again

set to work.

In an hour the grating was removed and the rope lowered. Malchus

fastened it under his arms, knotting it in front, and then whispered to

Nessus that he was ready. The Arab drew him slowly and steadily up until

his head was in the entrance of the narrow passage. Malchus had grasped

the rope as high as possible above his head and hung by his hands,

thereby drawing the shoulders upwards, and reducing their width as

much as possible. He then managed to swing himself so that his body was

diagonally across the opening, and when thus placed he found to his joy

that the passage was large enough for him to pass through without much

difficulty.

Slowly and steadily Nessus drew him up until his shoulders were

above the level of the ground, when Malchus, placing his hands on the

pavement, sprang noiselessly out. The grating was replaced, and without

a word being spoken they glided from the temple. Not a word was said

until they had gone some little distance.

"You have saved my life again, Nessus," Malchus said, laying his hand

upon his shoulder. "Another twelve hours and it would have been too

late. I was to have been put to death in the morning."

Nessus gave a fierce exclamation and placed his hand on his knife.

"Had they slain my lord," he said, "I would have avenged you. I would

have dogged your enemies night and day till, one by one, my knife should

have found its way to their hearts!"

"Have you found a hiding place, Nessus?"

"There is but one place of safety, my lord, that I can think of. I have

talked it over with two or three faithful friends, and they agree that

so rigid will be the search that it will be well nigh impossible for

anyone within the walls of the citadel to escape detection. The spies

of Hanno are everywhere, and men fear within these walls even to whisper

what they think. At any rate, no more secure hiding place could be found

than that which we have decided upon."

"And where is that, Nessus?"

"It is in the reservoirs. With four water skins and some planks we

have prepared a raft. My two friends are waiting for us at one of the

entrances. They will have fitted the raft together, and all will be in

readiness. They are not likely to search for you there."

"The idea is excellent, Nessus."

The reservoirs of Carthage were of enormous extent, and some of these

remain to this day and are the wonder and admiration of travellers. They

were subterranean, and were cut from the solid rock, the stone extracted

from them being used for the walls of the buildings of the city. Pillars

were left at intervals to support the roof, and it was calculated that

these underground lakes--for they were no less--contained sufficient

water to supply the wants of the great city for at least six months.

These vast storing places for water were an absolute necessity in a

climate like that of Northern Africa, where the rain falls but seldom.

Without them, indeed, Carthage would have been at the mercy of the first

army which laid siege to it.

The greatest pains were devoted to the maintenance of the water supply.

The rainfall from the roofs of the temples and houses was conducted

to the reservoirs, and these stores were never drawn upon on ordinary

occasions, the town being supplied with water brought by aqueducts from

long distances among the hills. Here and there openings were cut in the

rock which formed the roof of the reservoirs, for the admission of air,

and at a few points steps from the surface led down to the water. Iron

gates guarded the entrance to these.

Nessus and his friends had the evening before unfastened one of these

gates. The lock was old and little used, as the gate was placed rather

to prevent children and others going down to the water than for any

other purpose, and the Arabs had found little difficulty in picking the

rough lock.

Malchus followed Nessus down the steps until he reached the edge of the

water, some fifty feet below the surface. Here stood two Arabs bearing

torches. At the foot of the steps floated the raft, formed, as Nessus

had said, of four inflated sheepskins connected by a framework of

planks. Across these a bullock's hide had been stretched, forming a

platform. On this were some rugs, a skin of wine, and a pile of flat

cakes and fruit, together with half a dozen torches.

"Thanks, my friends!" Malchus said to the Arabs. "Some day I may be able

to prove that I am grateful to you."

"The friends of Nessus are our friends," one of the Arabs replied

simply; "his lord is our master."

"Here is a paddle, my lord," Nessus said. "I propose that you should

paddle straight away as far as you can see a torch burning here; then

that you should fasten the raft to a pillar. Every other night I will

come with provisions here and show a light. If you see the light burn

steadily it is safe for you to approach, and I come only to bring food

or news; if you see the torch wave to and fro, it is a warning that they

intend to search the reservoirs. I do not think it likely they will do

so; still it is best to be prepared, and in that case you must paddle

far away in the recesses. They might search for a long time before they

find you. I trust that your imprisonment here will not be long, but that

we may hit upon some plan of getting you out of the citadel. I would

gladly go with you to share your solitude, but I must remain outside to

plan some way of escape."

With a short farewell to his faithful follower Malchus took his place

on the raft, having lit a torch and fastened it upright upon it. Then

he paddled slowly away, keeping between the lines of heavy columns. His

rate of progress was slow, and for half an hour he kept the torch

in sight. By this time he felt sure that he must be approaching the

boundary of the reservoir. He therefore moored his raft against a pillar

and waved his torch backwards and forwards. The signal was answered by

a similar movement of the distant light, which then disappeared. Malchus

now extinguished his own torch, placed the means of relighting it with

which Nessus had furnished him close to his hand, and then, wrapping

himself in a rug, lay down to sleep.

When he awoke it was day. The light was streaming down on to the water

from an opening two or three hundred yards away, while far in the

distance he could see a faint light which marked the place of the

steps at which he had embarked. In the neighbourhood of the opening the

columns stood up clear and gray against the dark background. A little

further off their outlines were dim and misty; and wherever else he

looked an inky darkness met his eye, save one or two faint bands of

misty light, which marked the position of distant openings.

The stillness which reigned in this vast cavern was almost oppressive.

Sometimes a faint rustling whisper, the echo of some sound in the

citadel above, passed among the columns; and the plaintive squeak of a

bat was heard now and then, for numbers of these creatures were flitting

noiselessly in the darkness, their forms visible for an instant as they

passed and repassed between Malchus and the light. He wondered vaguely