The Adventures of Captain Mago

"In the royal camp. He was along with the Phœnician captain who has taken service under King Belochus."

A thrill ran through me. In an instant I recollected the gaoul and the two galleys, and the truth flashed upon my mind.

"His name?" I cried. "Tell me his name, and I will give you a shekel."

"Make it two, and I will tell you."

I threw him the money, which he picked up and put in his purse. He was walking off, saying that he did not see why he need tell me the captain's name now that he was already paid. In my rage at the cool effrontery of the rascal I was about to knock him down, when one of the Phœnician dealers interposed:

"Never mind that fellow's nonsense, I will tell you what you want. The captain's name is Bodmilcar; he is a Tyrian."

The very sound of the name was enough. My men caught it, and in an instant we were all on our way back to the ships. Once on board, I held a consultation with the officers, and put them in possession of the fact that Bodmilcar was lying in wait a few cables' length below us; that he was in connection with the army; and that it was extremely likely that Belesys would attack us in the rear. How melancholy would it be, I urged, if our enterprise, hitherto so successful, should be marred by our hateful foe at last!

Animated by a general enthusiasm, my people declared that not a moment should be lost, the hour for action was come, and the attack must be made at once.

Chamai and Hanno began to contend for the right to kill Bodmilcar.

"Let me only get within reach of him!" cried Chamai.

"No, no," said Hanno, flushing with excitement; "he is my rival, and by my hand must he fall."

"Don't be simpletons, young men!" I interposed; "there is something better than wrangling for you to do now. Look to your duties. We will make for the sea."

Using every possible caution, we proceeded towards the river-mouth. The Ashtoreth took the middle of the channel, with the Adonibal on her right, and the Cabiros on her left. Every light had been extinguished, and it was with throbbing pulses that the men on board stood, ready armed, peering out into the darkness. Bichri had spread out his arrows within reach upon the deck, and was crouching down, his bow full strung; he was between Dionysos and Jonah. The trumpeter was armed with a huge hatchet in his girdle, and the little Phocian was provided with his bow and arrow ready for immediate use. Himilco, holding his cutlass and shield, took his post at the stern, directing the helmsman; Hannibal and Chamai placed themselves at the head of their own companies, and stood almost on tiptoe in their eagerness to get the first glimpse of the enemy.

Before the hour of sunrise we could hear the rushing of the water at the river-bar, and in the faint dawn could make out Bodmilcar's three ships blockading our exit The Melkarth was in the middle; the decks of all three being perfectly thronged by men in helmets. The shore was quite deserted.

"The stream is in our favour," I observed; "let us commence action with the fire-ships."

A number of planks loaded with combustibles was soon set afloat.

I did not wait long before ordering Jonah to sound the signal for attack: it was answered promptly by a challenge from the enemy; a volley of lances fell upon our deck; we discharged another volley in reply; and the battle had fairly commenced.

As I had myself superintended the construction of the Melkarth, I was well aware that her flanks were far too substantial to be injured by any blow from our prows; I knew, moreover, that her height was so great that it gave her an immense advantage in overwhelming us with missiles, and rendered every thought of boarding her untenable. But I also knew her weak points. I had myself experienced that her enormous weight made her difficult to move; and I resolved in my own mind that, if possible, I would take advantage of this defect. After ascertaining from Himilco, who knew enough of the channel to form a reliable opinion, that the Melkarth drew too much water to be able to move a cable's length to the right of where she was, I ordered our boats to be laden with all the combustibles they could carry. I next signalled to the Cabiros to come alongside, and telling Himilco to follow me, I went on board her, Hamilcar being left in charge of the Ashtoreth. All this time the arrows from the enemy's ships were falling fast about us, and Bodmilcar, evidently expecting assistance from Belesys behind us, was fighting as if sure of victory.

Gisgo joined Himilco at the helm of the Cabiros, and I stood between them to give my orders. Never, I can confidently say, was a vessel more skilfully piloted. After taking the two boats in tow, and effectually setting light to their cargo of combustibles, we bore straight down upon the Melkarth; and when we were within half a bowshot, we were descried by Bodmilcar, who began to jeer us.

"All hail, Mago! you are right welcome; there are some old scores to settle between us, – that little affair in Egypt, and that other matter in Tarshish, and that piece of business in the Straits of Gades; we may as well wipe them all off to-day. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you swing from that yard-arm before night. Most happy to meet you now."

An arrow struck him as he finished speaking; he started back.

"Hit! he's hit!" shouted Bichri, in a voice that rang out high above the general tumult.

"No!" roared Bodmilcar, "my cuirass is arrow-proof."

"Let us see whether your ship is fire-proof!" I bellowed in reply.

The Cabiros now dashed between the Melkarth and the galley on her right, and in endeavouring to avoid us, the gaoul became wedged between the burning boats. In the midst of a shower of arrows, one of which wounded my cheek, I cut asunder the towing-ropes; the flames broke forth, and a long jet of smoke rose high into the air. Gisgo was wounded in the thigh, and could not stand, but he continued bravely to steer upon his knees. So rapidly had we darted by, that the volley of missiles intended for our deck went splashing and crashing down upon the water in our wake; and as we retraced our course on the other side just as rapidly, I called out to Bodmilcar that I meant to serve his ship as I had served the Egyptian galley at Tanis. Himilco, too, did not spare him some cutting jokes upon his dilemma.

Having returned to my own ship, I ordered the Adonibal and the Cabiros to make a joint attack with me upon one of the two galleys, and then to get right ahead of the other. We made the assault with the very utmost of our strength; the galley made a desperate effort to escape us, but it was too late; before she could move I had stove in one of her sides, and driven her, by the violence of the shock, against the Melkarth and the two burning boats. In the midst of the smoke I could see that the Melkarth's men were frantically making their way on board the Adonibal, which had got between her and the other galley, and that the whole of the six ships were thus brought together into a compact mass, at one end of which the flames were raging furiously, and at the other hatchets, swords, and cutlasses were being wielded with relentless desperation.

"To the Adonibal!" I shouted; "board her! we shall have them now!"

Simultaneously my own people and the crew of the Cabiros made their way on to her deck. Bodmilcar was already there. Hanno rushed towards him and cried:

"Now then, Bodmilcar, come on, and show yourself a man for once!"

"Come on, young milksop! I am quite ready! As soon as I have settled your business, I shall have time to attend to the rest."

Their swords clashed as they closed in one upon the other, but the throng around them was so dense that they were quite lost to my view.

All at once Himilco, who had never left my side, made a dash forward, and shouted:

"Ah! you monster, scoundrel, wretch, I have you now!"

He had recognised the man for whom he had been looking for the last fourteen years, and had knocked him down: the two were rolling together on the deck.

"Well done, Himilco! hold him tight!" said Bichri, who was passing, his sword all covered with blood.

"The brute is biting my arm; cannot you help me?"

Bichri, quick as lightning, slipped a knife into the hand of Himilco, who plunged it deep into his adversary's side: he rolled back; the death-rattle was already in his throat.

"Revenge is sweet," sighed the pilot; "this death of a dog is too good for you!"

Meanwhile Jonah, backed up courageously by Aminocles, was performing feats of wonder with his cutlass; Hannibal and Chamai, with their armour all battered in, were on the prow, pushing man after man back overboard into the water; Hamilcar was reported to be killed; Hasdrubal was badly wounded, but still clinging to his helm; I went to his assistance, and by our joint effort we succeeded in bringing the ship round so as to be out of the reach of the threatening flames; the Ashtoreth and Cabiros had sheered off a little, and were waiting my summons to come again alongside; and the other galley of the enemy, although it escaped the fire, had gone adrift.

Such was the condition of affairs, when as I was rallying my men for another onslaught, Hanno, his sword broken, and his clothes all stained with blood, rushed to my side.

"He has escaped!" he gasped. "I have lost him in the crowd."

"Patience!" I answered; "he is not far off."

I now resolved to fall back myself towards my two other ships, and as soon as I saw the opportunity, I shouted to my men:

"Back to the Ashtoreth!"

As we retreated, we left the prow of the Adonibal in complete possession of Bodmilcar's troops, and then by drawing up two lines of men made an avenue for our own escape at the stern.

Bodmilcar, perfectly helpless, was thus left in a trap, on board the Adonibal, which was exposed to the full fury of our arrows and catapults; his own ship was burning like a furnace; one of the galleys was sunk, and the other, as I have said, had gone adrift.

For more than half an hour, Bodmilcar endured our projectiles; but at length I came to the determination of again facing him on board the Adonibal. We found him standing on the bow, surrounded by a scanty remnant of hardly more than thirty men. His face was covered with blood.

"Shall I shoot him?" asked Bichri.

"By no means," I answered, laying my hand upon the archer's arm; "he must die a more ignominious death than that."

Desperate, but short, was the last effort of the Tyrian's body-guard. He was about to make a frantic rush upon myself, when Jonah seized him with a powerful grasp.