第 39 页

boat had disappeared soon after darkness had set in. Half the soldiers

and crew by turns were kept at work baling out the water which found its

way over the sides, and several times so heavily did the seas break into

her that all thought that she was lost. However, when morning broke she

was still afloat. The wind had hardly shifted a point since it had begun

to blow, and the pilot told Malchus that they must be very near to the

coast of Sardinia. As the light brightened every eye was fixed ahead

over the waste of angry foaming water. Presently the pilot, who was

standing next to Malchus, grasped his arm.

"There is the land," he cried, "dead before us."

Not until a few minutes later could Malchus make out the faint outline

through the driving mist. It was a lofty pile of rock standing by

itself.

"It is an island!" he exclaimed.

"It is Caralis," the pilot replied; "I know its outline well; we are

already in the bay. Look to the right, you can make out the outline of

the cliffs at its mouth, we have passed it already. You do not see the

shore ahead because the rock on which Caralis stands rises from a level

plain, and to the left a lagoon extends for a long way in; it is there

that the Roman galleys ride. The gods have brought us to the only spot

along the coast where we could approach it with a hope of safety."

"There is not much to rejoice at," Malchus said; "we may escape the sea,

but only to be made prisoners by the Romans."

"Nay, Malchus, the alternative is not so bad," a young officer who was

standing next to him said. "Hannibal has thousands of Roman prisoners in

his hands, and we may well hope to be exchanged. After the last twelve

hours any place on shore, even a Roman prison, is an elysium compared to

the sea."

The outline of the coast was now clearly visible. The great rock of

Caralis, now known as Cagliari, rose dark and threatening, the low

shores of the bay on either side were marked by a band of white foam,

while to the left of the rock was the broad lagoon, dotted with the

black hulls of a number of ships and galleys rolling and tossing

heavily, for as the wind blew straight into the bay the lagoon was

covered with short, angry waves.

The pilot now ordered the oars to be got out. The entrance to the lagoon

was wide, but it was only in the middle that the channel was deep, and

on either side of this long breakwaters of stone were run out from the

shore, to afford a shelter to the shipping within. The sea was so rough

that it was found impossible to use the oars, and they were again

laid in and a small sail was hoisted. This enabled the head to be laid

towards the entrance of the lagoon. For a time it was doubtful whether

the galley could make it, but she succeeded in doing so, and then ran

straight on towards the upper end of the harbour.

"That is far enough," the pilot said presently; "the water shoals fast

beyond. We must anchor here."

The sail was lowered, the oars got out on one side, and the head of the

galley brought to the wind. The anchor was then dropped. As the storm

beaten galley ran right up the lagoon she had been viewed with curiosity

and interest by those who were on board the ships at anchor. That she

was an Italian galley was clear, and also that she was crowded with men,

but no suspicion was entertained that these were Carthaginians.

The anchor once cast Malchus held a council with the other officers.

They were in the midst of foes, and escape seemed altogether impossible.

Long before the gale abated sufficiently to permit them to put to sea

again, they would be visited by boats from the other vessels to ask who

they were and whence they came. As to fighting their way out it was out

of the question, for there were a score of triremes in the bay, any

one of which could crush the Capuan galley, and whose far greater speed

rendered the idea of flight as hopeless as that of resistance. The

council therefore agreed unanimously that the only thing to be done was

to surrender without resistance.

The storm continued for another twenty-four hours, then the wind died

out almost as suddenly as it began.

As soon as the sea began to abate two galleys were seen putting out from

the town, and these rowed directly towards the ship. The fact that she

had shown no flag had no doubt excited suspicion in the minds of the

garrison. Each galley contained fifty soldiers. As they rowed alongside

a Roman officer on the poop of one of the galleys hailed the ship, and

demanded whence it came.

"We are from Capua," the pilot answered. "The gale has blown us across

thence. I have on board fifty Carthaginian officers and soldiers, who

now surrender to you."

As in those days, when vessels could with difficulty keep the sea in a

storm, and in the event of a gale springing up were forced to run before

it, it was by no means unusual for galleys to be blown into hostile

ports, the announcement excited no great surprise.

"Who commands the party?" the Roman officer asked.

"I do," Malchus replied. "I am Malchus, the son of Hamilcar, who was

killed at the Trebia, a cousin of Hannibal and captain of his guard. I

surrender with my followers, seeing that resistance is hopeless."

"It is hopeless," the Roman replied, "and you are right not to throw

away the lives of your men when there is no possibility of resistance."

As he spoke he stepped on board, ordered the anchor to be weighed, and

the galley, accompanied by the two Roman boats, was rowed to the landing

place. A messenger was at once sent up to Mucius to tell him what had

happened, and the praetor himself soon appeared upon the spot. The

officer acquainted him with the name and rank of the leader of the

Carthaginian party, and said that there were with him two officers of

noble families of the Carthaginians.

"That is well," the praetor said, "it is a piece of good fortune. The

Carthaginians have so many of our officers in their hands, that it is

well to have some whom we may exchange for them. Let them be landed."

As they left the ship the Carthaginians laid down their arms and armour.

By this time a large number of the Roman garrison, among whom the

news had rapidly spread, were assembled at the port. Many of the

young soldiers had never yet seen a Carthaginian, and they looked

with curiosity and interest at the men who had inflicted such terrible

defeats upon the armies of the Romans. They were fine specimens of

Hannibal's force, for the general had allowed Malchus to choose his own

officers and men, and, knowing that strength, agility, and endurance

would be needed for a campaign in so mountainous a country as Sardinia,

he had picked both officers and men with great care.

His second in command was his friend Trebon, who had long since obtained

a separate command, but who, on hearing from Malchus of the expedition

on which he was bound, had volunteered to accompany him. The men were

all Africans accustomed to desert fighting and trained in warfare in

Spain. The Romans, good judges of physical strength, could not repress

a murmur of admiration at the sight of these sinewy figures. Less

heavy than themselves, there was about them a spring and an elasticity

resembling that of the tiger. Long use had hardened their muscles until

they stood up like cords through their tawny skin, most of them bore

numerous scars of wounds received in battle, and the Romans, as they

viewed them, acknowledged to themselves what formidable opponents these

men would be.

A strong guard formed up on either side of the captives, and they were

marched through the town to the citadel on the upper part of the rock.

Here a large chamber, opening on to the courtyard, was assigned to the

officers, while the men, who were viewed in the light of slaves, were at

once set to work to carry stores up to the citadel from a ship which had

arrived just as the storm broke.

A fortnight later a vessel arrived from Rome with a message from

the senate that they would not exchange prisoners, and that the

Carthaginians were at once to be employed as slaves in the mines. The

governor acquainted Malchus with the decision.

"I am sorry," he said, "indeed, that it is so; but the senate are

determined that they will exchange no prisoners. Of course their view

of the matter is, that when a Roman lays down his arms he disgraces

himself, and the refusal to ransom him or allow him to be exchanged is

intended to act as a deterrent to others. This may be fair enough in

cases where large numbers surrender to a few, or where they lay down

their arms when with courage and determination they might have cut their

way through the enemy; but in cases where further resistance would be

hopeless, in my mind men are justified in surrendering. However, I can

only obey the orders I have received, and tomorrow must send you and

your men to the mines."

As Malchus had seen the Iberian captives sent to labour as slaves in the

mines in Spain, the fate thus announced to him did not appear surprising

or barbarous. In those days captives taken in war were always made

slaves when they were not put to death in cold blood, and although

Hannibal had treated with marked humanity and leniency the Roman and

Italian captives who had fallen into his hands, this had been the result

of policy, and was by no means in accordance with the spirit in which

war was then conducted. Accordingly, the next day the Carthaginians

were, under a strong guard, marched away to the mines, which lay on the

other side of the island, some forty miles due west of the port, and

three miles from the western sea coast of the island. The road lay for

some distance across a dead flat. The country was well cultivated and

thickly studded with villages, for Rome drew a heavy tribute in corn

annually from the island.

After twenty miles' march they halted for the night, pursuing their way

on the following morning. They had now entered a wide and fertile valley

with lofty hills on either side. In some places there were stagnant

marshes, and the officer in charge of the guard informed Malchus that in

the autumn a pestilential miasma rose from these, rendering a sojourn in

the valley fatal to the inhabitants of the mainland. The native people

were wild and primitive in appearance, being clad chiefly in sheepskins.

They lived in beehive shaped huts. The hills narrowed in towards the

end of the day's march, and the valley terminated when the party arrived

within half a mile of their destination. Here stood a small town named

Metalla, with a strong Roman garrison, which supplied guards over the

slaves employed in working the mines. This town is now called Iglesias.

The principal mine was situated in a narrow valley running west from the

town down to the sea coast. The officer in command of the escort handed

over Malchus and his companions to the charge of the officer at the head

mining establishment.

Malchus was surprised at the large number of people gathered at the

spot. They lived for the most part in low huts constructed of boughs or

sods, and ranged in lines at the bottom of the valley or along the lower

slopes of the hill. A cordon of Roman sentries was placed along the

crest of the hill at either side, and a strong guard was posted in a

little camp in the centre of the valley, in readiness to put down any

tumult which might arise.

The great majority of the slaves gathered there were Sards, men

belonging to tribes which had risen in insurrection against the Romans.

There were with them others of their countrymen who were not like them

slaves, though their condition was but little better except that they

received a nominal rate of payment. These were called free labourers,

but their labour was as much forced as was that of the slaves--each

district in the island being compelled to furnish a certain amount

of labourers for this or the mines further to the north. The men so

conscripted were changed once in six months. With the Sards were mingled

people of many nations. Here were Sicilians and members of many Italian

tribes conquered by the Romans, together with Gauls from the northern

plains and from Marseilles.

There were many mines worked in different parts of the island, but

Metalla was the principal. The labour, in days when gunpowder had not

become the servant of man, was extremely hard. The rocks had to be

pierced with hand labour, the passages and galleries were of the

smallest possible dimensions, the atmosphere was stifling; consequently

the mortality was great, and it was necessary to keep up a constant

importation of labour.

"If these people did but possess a particle of courage," Trebon said,

"they would rise, overpower the guard, and make for the forests. The

whole island is, as the officer who brought us here told us, covered

with mountains with the exception of the two broad plains running

through it; as we could see the hills are covered with woods, and the

whole Roman army could not find them if they once escaped."

"That is true enough," Malchus said, "but there must be at least five or

six thousand slaves here. How could these find food among the mountains?

They might exist for a time upon berries and grain, but they would in

the end be forced to go into the valleys for food, and would then be

slaughtered by the Romans. Nevertheless a small body of men could no

doubt subsist among the hills, and the strength of the guard you see on

the heights shows that attempts to escape are not rare. Should we find

our existence intolerable here, we will at any rate try to escape. There

are fifty of us, and if we agreed in common action we could certainly

break through the guards and take to the hills. As you may see by their

faces, the spirit of these slaves is broken. See how bent most of them

are by their labour, and how their shoulders are wealed by the lashes of

their taskmasters!"

The officer in charge of the mines told Malchus that he should not put