第 40 页

him and the other two officers to labour, but would appoint them as

overseers over gangs of the men, informing them that he had a brother

who was at present a captive in the hands of Hannibal; and he trusted

that Malchus, should he have an opportunity, would use his kind offices

on his behalf.

One of the lines of huts near the Roman camp was assigned to the

Carthaginians, and that evening they received rations of almost black

bread similar to those served out to the others. The following morning

they were set to work. Malchus and his two friends found their tasks by

no means labourious, as they were appointed to look after a number of

Sards employed in breaking up and sorting the lead ore as it was brought

up from the mine. The men, however, returned in the evening worn out

with toil. All had been at work in the mines. Some had had to crawl long

distances through passages little more than three feet high and one foot

wide, until they reached the broad lode of lead ore.

Here some of the party had been set to work, others had been employed in

pushing on the little galleries, and there had sat for hours working

in a cramped position, with pick, hammer, and wedge. Others had been

lowered by ropes down shafts so narrow that when they got to the bottom

it was only with extreme difficulty that they were able to stoop to work

at the rock beneath their feet. Many, indeed, of these old shafts have

been found in the mines of Montepone, so extremely narrow that it is

supposed that they must have been bored by slaves lowered by ropes, head

foremost, it appearing absolutely impossible for a man to stoop to work

if lowered in the ordinary way.

The Carthaginians, altogether unaccustomed to work of this nature,

returned to their huts at night utterly exhausted, cramped, and aching

in every limb. Many had been cruelly beaten for not performing the tasks

assigned to them. All were filled with a dull despairing rage. In the

evening a ration of boiled beans, with a little native wine, was served

out to each, the quantity of the food being ample, it being necessary to

feed the slaves well to enable them to support their fatigues.

After three days of this work five or six of the captives were so

exhausted that they were unable to take their places with the gang when

ordered for work in the morning. They were, however, compelled by blows

to rise and take their places with the rest. Two of them died during the

course of the day in their stifling working places; another succumbed

during the night; several, too, were attacked by the fever of the

country. Malchus and his friends were full of grief and rage at the

sufferings of their men.

"Anything were better than this," Malchus said. "A thousand times better

to fall beneath the swords of the Romans than to die like dogs in the

holes beneath that hill!"

"I quite agree with you, Malchus," Halco, the other officer with the

party, said, "and am ready to join you in any plan of escape, however

desperate."

"The difficulty is about arms," Trebon observed. "We are so closely

watched that it is out of the question to hope that we should succeed in

getting possession of any. The tools are all left in the mines; and as

the men work naked, there is no possibility of their secreting any.

The stores here are always guarded by a sentry; and although we might

overpower him, the guard would arrive long before we could break through

the solid doors. Of course if we could get the other slaves to join us,

we might crush the guard even with stones."

"That is out of the question," Malchus said. "In the first place, they

speak a strange language, quite different to the Italians. Then, were

we seen trying to converse with any of them, suspicions might be roused;

and even could we get the majority to join us, there would be many who

would be only too glad to purchase their own freedom by betraying the

plot to the Romans. No, whatever we do must be done by ourselves alone;

and for arms we must rely upon stones, and upon the stoutest stakes we

can draw out from our huts. The only time that we have free to ourselves

is the hour after work is over, when we are allowed to go down to the

stream to wash and to stroll about as we will until the trumpet sounds

to order us to retire to our huts for the night.

"It is true that at that time the guards are particularly vigilant, and

that we are not allowed to gather into knots; and an Italian slave I

spoke to yesterday told me that he dared not speak to me, for the place

swarms with spies, and that any conversation between us would be sure

to be reported, and those engaged in it put to the hardest and cruelest

work. I propose, therefore, that tomorrow--for if it is to be done, the

sooner the better, before the men lose all their strength--the men shall

on their return from work at once eat their rations; then each man,

hiding a short stick under his garment and wrapping a few heavy stones

in the corner of his robe, shall make his way up towards the top of the

hill above the mine.

"No two men must go together--all must wander as if aimlessly among the

huts. When they reach the upper line on that side and see me, let all

rapidly close up, and we will make a sudden rush at the sentries above.

They cannot get more than five or six together in time to oppose us, and

we shall be able to beat them down with our stones. Once through them,

the heavy armed men will never be able to overtake us till we reach the

forest, which begins, I believe, about half a mile beyond the top."

The other two officers at once agreed to the plan; and when the camp was

still Malchus crept cautiously from hut to hut, telling his men of the

plan that had been formed and giving orders for the carrying of it out.

All assented cheerfully; for although the stronger were now becoming

accustomed to their work, and felt less exhausted than they had done the

first two days, there was not one but felt that he would rather suffer

death than endure this terrible fate. Malchus impressed upon them

strongly that it was of the utmost consequence to possess themselves of

the arms of any Roman soldiers they might overthrow, as they would to

a great extent be compelled to rely upon these to obtain food among the

mountains.

Even the men who were most exhausted, and those stricken with fever,

seemed to gain strength at once at the prospect of a struggle for

liberty, and when the gang turned out in the morning for work none

lagged behind.

CHAPTER XX: THE SARDINIAN FORESTS

The Carthaginians returned in the evening in groups from the various

scenes of their labour and without delay consumed the provisions

provided for them. Then one by one they sauntered away down towards

the stream. Malchus was the last to leave, and having seen that all his

followers had preceded him, he, too, crossed the stream, paused a moment

at a heap of debris from the mine, and picking up three or four pieces

of rock about the size of his fist, rolled them in the corner of his

garment, and holding this in one hand moved up the hill.

Here and there he paused a moment as if interested in watching the

groups of slaves eating their evening meal, until at last he reached the

upper line of little huts. Between these and the hill top upon which

the sentries stood was a distance of about fifty yards, which was kept

scrupulously clear to enable them to watch the movements of any man

going beyond the huts. The sentries were some thirty paces apart, so

that, as Malchus calculated, not more than four or five of them could

assemble before he reached them, if they did not previously perceive

anything suspicious which might put them on the alert.

Looking round him Malchus saw his followers scattered about among the

slaves at a short distance. Standing behind the shelter of the hut he

raised his hand, and all began to move towards him. As there was nothing

in their attire, which consisted of one long cloth wound round them,

to distinguish them from the other slaves, the movement attracted no

attention from the sentries, who were, from their position, able to

overlook the low huts.

When he saw that all were close, Malchus gave a shout and dashed up the

hill, followed by his comrades.

The nearest sentry, seeing a body of fifty men suddenly rushing towards

him, raised a shout, and his comrades from either side ran towards him;

but so quickly was the movement performed that but five had gathered

when the Carthaginians reached them, although many others were running

towards the spot. The Carthaginians, when they came close to their

levelled spears, poured upon them a shower of heavy stones, which

knocked two of them down and so bruised and battered the others that

they went down at once when the Carthaginians burst upon them.

The nearest Romans halted to await the arrival of their comrades coming

up behind them, and the Carthaginians, seizing the swords, spears, and

shields of their fallen foes, dashed on at full speed. The Romans soon

followed, but with the weight of their weapons, armour, and helmets

they were speedily distanced, and the fugitives reached the edge of the

forest in safety and dashed into its recesses.

After running for some distance they halted, knowing that the Romans

would not think of pursuing except with a large force. The forests which

covered the mountains of Sardinia were for the most part composed of

evergreen oak, with, in some places, a thick undergrowth of shrubs and

young trees. Through this the Carthaginians made their way with some

difficulty, until, just as it became dark, they reached the bottom of a

valley comparatively free of trees and through which ran a clear stream.

"Here we will halt for the night," Malchus said; "there is no fear of

the Romans pursuing at once, if indeed they do so at all, for their

chance of finding us in these mountains, covered with hundreds of square

miles of forests, is slight indeed; however, we will at once provide

ourselves with weapons."

The five Roman swords were put into requisition, and some straight

young saplings were felled, and their points being sharpened they were

converted into efficient spears, each some fourteen feet long.

"It is well we have supped," Malchus said; "our breakfast will depend

on ourselves. Tomorrow we must keep a sharp lookout for smoke rising

through the trees; there are sure to be numbers of charcoal burners in

the forest, for upon them the Romans depend for their fuel. One of the

first things to do is to obtain a couple of lighted brands. A fire is

essential for warmth among these hills, even putting aside its uses for

cooking."

"That is when we have anything to cook," Halco said laughingly.

"That is certainly essential," Malchus agreed; "but there is sure to be

plenty of wild boar and deer among these forests. We have only to find a

valley with a narrow entrance, and post ourselves there and send all the

men to form a circle on the hills around it and drive them down to us;

besides, most likely we shall come across herds of goats and pigs, which

the villagers in the lower valleys will send up to feed on the acorns. I

have no fear but we shall be able to obtain plenty of flesh; as to corn,

we have only to make a raid down into the plain, and when we have found

out something about the general lay of the country, the hills and the

extent of the forest, we will choose some spot near its centre and

erect huts there. If it were not for the peasants we might live here

for years, for all the Roman forces in Sardinia would be insufficient to

rout us out of these mountains; but unfortunately, as we shall have to

rob the peasants, they will act as guides to the Romans, and we shall be

obliged to keep a sharp lookout against surprise. If it gets too hot for

us we must make a night march across the plain to the mountains on the

eastern side. I heard at Caralis that the wild part there is very much

larger than it is on this side of the island, and it extends without a

break from the port right up to the north of the island."

Safe as he felt from pursuit Malchus posted four men as sentries, and

the rest of the band lay down to sleep, rejoicing in the thought that on

the morrow they should not be wakened to take their share in the labours

in the mine.

At daybreak all were on the move, and a deep spot having been found

in the stream, they indulged in the luxury of a bath. That done they

started on the march further into the heart of the forest. The hills

were of great height, with bare crags often beetling up among the trees

hundreds of feet, with deep valleys and rugged precipices. In crossing

one of these valleys Nessus suddenly lifted his hand.

"What is it?" Malchus asked.

"I heard a pig grunt," Nessus replied, "on our right there."

Malchus at once divided the band in two and told them to proceed as

quietly as possible along the lower slopes of the hill, leaving a man at

every fifteen paces.

When all had been posted, the ends of the line were to descend until

they met in the middle of the valley, thus forming a circle. A shout

was to tell the rest that this was done, and then all were to move down

until they met in the centre. One officer went with each party, Malchus

remained at the spot where he was standing. In ten minutes the signal

was heard, and then all moved forward, shouting as they went, and

keeping a sharp lookout between the trees to see that nothing passed

them. As the narrowing circle issued into the open ground at the bottom

of the valley there was a general shout of delight, for, huddled down

by a stream, grunting and screaming with fright, was a herd of forty

or fifty pigs, with a peasant, who appeared stupefied with alarm at the

sudden uproar.

On seeing the men burst out with their levelled spears from the wood,

the Sard gave a scream of terror and threw himself upon his face. When

the Carthaginians came up to him Malchus stirred him with his foot, but

he refused to move; he then pricked him with the Roman spear he held,