The gates were shut. The Barbarians5 appeared almost immediately; but they stopped in the middle of the isthmus7, on the edge of the lake.
At first they made no hostile announcement. Several approached with palm branches in their hands. They were driven back with arrows, so great was the terror.
In the morning and at nightfall prowlers would sometimes wander along the walls. A little man carefully wrapped in a cloak, and with his face concealed9 beneath a very low visor, was especially noticed. He would remain whole hours gazing at the aqueduct, and so persistently10 that he doubtless wished to mislead the Carthaginians as to his real designs. Another man, a sort of giant who walked bareheaded, used to accompany him.
But Carthage was defended throughout the whole breadth of the isthmus: first by a trench11, then by a grassy12 rampart, and lastly by a wall thirty cubits high, built of freestone, and in two storys. It contained stables for three hundred elephants with stores for their caparisons, shackles14, and food; other stables again for four thousand horses with supplies of barley15 and harness, and barracks for twenty thousand soldiers with armour16 and all materials of war. Towers rose from the second story, all provided with battlements, and having bronze bucklers hung on cramps17 on the outside.
This first line of wall gave immediate6 shelter to Malqua, the sailors’ and dyers’ quarter. Masts might be seen whereon purple sails were drying, and on the highest terraces clay furnaces for heating the pickle19 were visible.
Behind, the lofty houses of the city rose in an ampitheatre of cubical form. They were built of stone, planks20, shingle21, reeds, shells, and beaten earth. The woods belonging to the temples were like lakes of verdure in this mountain of diversely-coloured blocks. It was levelled at unequal distances by the public squares, and was cut from top to bottom by countless22 intersecting lanes. The enclosures of the three old quarters which are now lost might be distinguished23; they rose here and there like great reefs, or extended in enormous fronts, blackened, half-covered with flowers, and broadly striped by the casting of filth24, while streets passed through their yawning apertures25 like rivers beneath bridges.
The hill of the Acropolis, in the centre of Byrsa, was hidden beneath a disordered array of monuments. There were temples with wreathed columns bearing bronze capitals and metal chains, cones27 of dry stones with bands of azure28, copper29 cupolas, marble architraves, Babylonian buttresses30, obelisks31 poised32 on their points like inverted33 torches. Peristyles reached to pediments; volutes were displayed through colonnades34; granite35 walls supported tile partitions; the whole mounting, half-hidden, the one above the other in a marvellous and incomprehensible fashion. In it might be felt the succession of the ages, and, as it were, the memorials of forgotten fatherlands.
Behind the Acropolis the Mappalian road, which was lined with tombs, extended through red lands in a straight line from the shore to the catacombs; then spacious36 dwellings37 occurred at intervals38 in the gardens, and this third quarter, Megara, which was the new town, reached as far as the edge of the cliff, where rose a giant pharos that blazed forth40 every night.
In this fashion was Carthage displayed before the soldiers quartered in the plain.
They could recognise the markets and crossways in the distance, and disputed with one another as to the sites of the temples. Khamon’s, fronting the Syssitia, had golden tiles; Melkarth, to the left of Eschmoun, had branches of coral on its roofing; beyond, Tanith’s copper cupola swelled41 among the palm trees; the dark Moloch was below the cisterns42, in the direction of the pharos. At the angles of the pediments, on the tops of the walls, at the corners of the squares, everywhere, divinities with hideous43 heads might be seen, colossal44 or squat45, with enormous bellies46, or immoderately flattened47, opening their jaws48, extending their arms, and holding forks, chains or javelins50 in their hands; while the blue of the sea stretched away behind the streets which were rendered still steeper by the perspective.
They were filled from morning till evening with a tumultuous people; young boys shaking little bells, shouted at the doors of the baths; the shops for hot drinks smoked, the air resounded53 with the noise of anvils54, the white cocks, sacred to the Sun, crowed on the terraces, the oxen that were being slaughtered55 bellowed56 in the temples, slaves ran about with baskets on their heads; and in the depths of the porticoes57 a priest would sometimes appear, draped in a dark cloak, barefooted, and wearing a pointed58 cap.
The spectacle afforded by Carthage irritated the Barbarians; they admired it and execrated59 it, and would have liked both to annihilate60 it and to dwell in it. But what was there in the Military Harbour defended by a triple wall? Then behind the town, at the back of Megara, and higher than the Acropolis, appeared Hamilcar’s palace.
Matho’s eyes were directed thither61 every moment. He would ascend62 the olive trees and lean over with his hand spread out above his eyebrows63. The gardens were empty, and the red door with its black cross remained constantly shut.
More than twenty times he walked round the ramparts, seeking some breach64 by which he might enter. One night he threw himself into the gulf65 and swam for three hours at a stretch. He reached the foot of the Mappalian quarter and tried to climb up the face of the cliff. He covered his knees with blood, broke his nails, and then fell back into the waves and returned.
His impotence exasperated66 him. He was jealous of this Carthage which contained Salammbo, as if of some one who had possessed67 her. His nervelessness left him to be replaced by a mad and continual eagerness for action. With flaming cheek, angry eyes, and hoarse68 voice, he would walk with rapid strides through the camp; or seated on the shore he would scour69 his great sword with sand. He shot arrows at the passing vultures. His heart overflowed70 into frenzied71 speech.
“Give free course to your wrath72 like a runaway73 chariot,” said Spendius. “Shout, blaspheme, ravage74 and slay75. Grief is allayed76 with blood, and since you cannot sate77 your love, gorge78 your hate; it will sustain you!”
Matho resumed the command of his soldiers. He drilled them pitilessly. He was respected for his courage and especially for his strength. Moreover he inspired a sort of mystic dread79, and it was believed that he conversed80 at night with phantoms81. The other captains were animated82 by his example. The army soon grew disciplined. From their houses the Carthaginians could hear the bugle-flourishes that regulated their exercises. At last the Barbarians drew near.
To crush them in the isthmus it would have been necessary for two armies to take them simultaneously83 in the rear, one disembarking at the end of the gulf of Utica, and the second at the mountain of the Hot Springs. But what could be done with the single sacred Legion, mustering84 at most six thousand men? If the enemy bent85 towards the east they would join the nomads86 and intercept87 the commerce of the desert. If they fell back to the west, Numidia would rise. Finally, lack of provisions would sooner or later lead them to devastate88 the surrounding country like grasshoppers89, and the rich trembled for their fine country-houses, their vineyards and their cultivated lands.
Hanno proposed atrocious and impracticable measures, such as promising90 a heavy sum for every Barbarian4’s head, or setting fire to their camp with ships and machines. His colleague Gisco, on the other hand, wished them to be paid. But the Ancients detested91 him owing to his popularity; for they dreaded92 the risk of a master, and through terror of monarchy93 strove to weaken whatever contributed to it or might re-establish it.
Outside the fortification there were people of another race and of unknown origin, all hunters of the porcupine94, and eaters of shell-fish and serpents. They used to go into caves to catch hyenas95 alive, and amuse themselves by making them run in the evening on the sands of Megara between the stelae of the tombs. Their huts, which were made of mud and wrack96, hung on the cliff like swallows’ nests. There they lived, without government and without gods, pell-mell, completely naked, at once feeble and fierce, and execrated by the people of all time on account of their unclean food. One morning the sentries97 perceived that they were all gone.
At last some members of the Great Council arrived at a decision. They came to the camp without necklaces or girdles, and in open sandles like neighbours. They walked at a quiet pace, waving salutations to the captains, or stopped to speak to the soldiers, saying that all was finished and that justice was about to be done to their claims.
Many of them saw a camp of Mercenaries for the first time. Instead of the confusion which they had pictured to themselves, there prevailed everywhere terrible silence and order. A grassy rampart formed a lofty wall round the army immovable by the shock of catapults. The ground in the streets was sprinkled with fresh water; through the holes in the tents they could perceive tawny98 eyeballs gleaming in the shade. The piles of pikes and hanging panoplies99 dazzled them like mirrors. They conversed in low tones. They were afraid of upsetting something with their long robes.
The soldiers requested provisions, undertaking100 to pay for them out of the money that was due.
Oxen, sheep, guinea fowl101, fruit and lupins were sent to them, with smoked scombri, that excellent scombri which Carthage dispatched to every port. But they walked scornfully around the magnificent cattle, and disparaging102 what they coveted103, offered the worth of a pigeon for a ram13, or the price of a pomegranate for three goats. The Eaters of Uncleanness came forward as arbitrators, and declared that they were being duped. Then they drew their swords with threats to slay.
Commissaries of the Great Council wrote down the number of years for which pay was due to each soldier. But it was no longer possible to know how many Mercenaries had been engaged, and the Ancients were dismayed at the enormous sum which they would have to pay. The reserve of silphium must be sold, and the trading towns taxed; the Mercenaries would grow impatient; Tunis was already with them; and the rich, stunned104 by Hanno’s ragings and his colleague’s reproaches, urged any citizens who might know a Barbarian to go to see him immediately in order to win back his friendship, and to speak him fair. Such a show of confidence would soothe105 them.
Traders, scribes, workers in the arsenal106, and whole families visited the Barbarians.
The soldiers allowed all the Carthaginians to come in, but by a single passage so narrow that four men abreast107 jostled one another in it. Spendius, standing108 against the barrier, had them carefully searched; facing him Matho was examining the multitude, trying to recognise some one whom he might have seen at Salammbo’s palace.
The camp was like a town, so full of people and of movement was it. The two distinct crowds mingled109 without blending, one dressed in linen110 or wool, with felt caps like fir-cones, and the other clad in iron and wearing helmets. Amid serving men and itinerant111 vendors112 there moved women of all nations, as brown as ripe dates, as greenish as olives, as yellow as oranges, sold by sailors, picked out of dens39, stolen from caravans114, taken in the sacking of towns, women that were jaded115 with love so long as they were young, and plied116 with blows when they were old, and that died in routs117 on the roadsides among the baggage and the abandoned beasts of burden. The wives of the nomads had square, tawny robes of dromedary’s hair swinging at their heels; musicians from Cyrenaica, wrapped in violet gauze and with painted eyebrows, sang, squatting118 on mats; old Negresses with hanging breasts gathered the animals’ dung that was drying in the sun to light their fires; the Syracusan women had golden plates in their hair; the Lusitanians had necklaces of shells; the Gauls wore wolf skins upon their white bosoms119; and sturdy children, vermin-covered, naked and uncircumcised, butted120 with their heads against passers-by, or came behind them like young tigers to bite their hands.
The Carthaginians walked through the camp, surprised at the quantities of things with which it was running over. The most miserable121 were melancholy122, and the rest dissembled their anxiety.
The soldiers struck them on the shoulder, and exhorted123 them to be gay. As soon as they saw any one, they invited him to their amusements. If they were playing at discus, they would manage to crush his feet, or if at boxing to fracture his jaw49 with the very first blow. The slingers terrified the Carthaginians with their slings125, the Psylli with their vipers126, and the horsemen with their horses, while their victims, addicted127 as they were to peaceful occupations, bent their heads and tried to smile at all these outrages129. Some, in order to show themselves brave, made signs that they should like to become soldiers. They were set to split wood and to curry130 mules131. They were buckled132 up in armour, and rolled like casks through the streets of the camp. Then, when they were about to leave, the Mercenaries plucked out their hair with grotesque133 contortions134.
But many, from foolishness or prejudice, innocently believed that all the Carthaginians were very rich, and they walked behind them entreating135 them to grant them something. They requested everything that they thought fine: a ring, a girdle, sandals, the fringe of a robe, and when the despoiled136 Carthaginian cried —“But I have nothing left. What do you want?” they would reply, “Your wife!” Others even said, “Your life!”
The military accounts were handed to the captains, read to the soldiers, and definitively137 approved. Then they claimed tents; they received them. Next the polemarchs of the Greeks demanded some of the handsome suits of armour that were manufactured at Carthage; the Great Council voted sums of money for their purchase. But it was only fair, so the horsemen pretended, that the Republic should indemnify them for their horses; one had lost three at such a siege, another, five during such a march, another, fourteen in the precipices138. Stallions from Hecatompylos were offered to them, but they preferred money.
Next they demanded that they should be paid in money (in pieces of money, and not in leathern coins) for all the corn that was owing to them, and at the highest price that it had fetched during the war; so that they exacted four hundred times as much for a measure of meal as they had given for a sack of wheat. Such injustice139 was exasperating140; but it was necessary, nevertheless, to submit.
Then the delegates from the soldiers and from the Great Council swore renewed friendship by the Genius of Carthage and the gods of the Barbarians. They exchanged excuses and caresses141 with oriental demonstrativeness and verbosity142. Then the soldiers claimed, as a proof of friendship, the punishment of those who had estranged143 them from the Republic.
Their meaning, it was pretended, was not understood, and they explained themselves more clearly by saying that they must have Hanno’s head.
Several times a day, they left their camp, and walked along the foot of the walls, shouting a demand that the Suffet’s head should be thrown to them, and holding out their robes to receive it.
The Great Council would perhaps have given way but for a last exaction144, more outrageous145 than the rest; they demanded maidens146, chosen from illustrious families, in marriage for their chiefs. It was an idea which had emanated147 from Spendius, and which many thought most simple and practicable. But the assumption of their desire to mix with Punic blood made the people indignant; and they were bluntly told that they were to receive no more. Then they exclaimed that they had been deceived, and that if their pay did not arrive within three days, they would themselves go and take it in Carthage.
The bad faith of the Mercenaries was not so complete as their enemies thought. Hamilcar had made them extravagant148 promises, vague, it is true, but at the same time solemn and reiterated149. They might have believed that when they disembarked at Carthage the town would be abandoned to them, and that they should have treasures divided among them; and when they saw that scarcely their wages would be paid, the disillusion150 touched their pride no less than their greed.
Had not Dionysius, Pyrrhus, Agathocles, and the generals of Alexander furnished examples of marvellous good fortune? Hercules, whom the Chanaanites confounded with the sun, was the ideal which shone on the horizon of armies. They knew that simple soldiers had worn diadems151, and the echoes of crumbling152 empires would furnish dreams to the Gaul in his oak forest, to the Ethiopian amid his sands. But there was a nation always ready to turn courage to account; and the robber driven from his tribe, the patricide153 wandering on the roads, the perpetrator of sacrilege pursued by the gods, all who were starving or in despair strove to reach the port where the Carthaginian broker154 was recruiting soldiers. Usually the Republic kept its promises. This time, however, the eagerness of its avarice155 had brought it into perilous156 disgrace. Numidians, Libyans, the whole of Africa was about to fall upon Carthage. Only the sea was open to it, and there it met with the Romans; so that, like a man assailed157 by murderers, it felt death all around it.
It was quite necessary to have recourse to Gisco, and the Barbarians accepted his intervention158. One morning they saw the chains of the harbour lowered, and three flat-bottomed boats passing through the canal of Taenia entered the lake.
Gisco was visible on the first at the prow8. Behind him rose an enormous chest, higher than a catafalque, and furnished with rings like hanging crowns. Then appeared the legion of interpreters, with their hair dressed like sphinxes, and with parrots tattooed159 on their breasts. Friends and slaves followed, all without arms, and in such numbers that they shouldered one another. The three long, dangerously-loaded barges160 advanced amid the shouts of the onlooking161 army.
As soon as Gisco disembarked the soldiers ran to him. He had a sort of tribune erected162 with knapsacks, and declared that he should not depart before he had paid them all in full.
There was an outburst of applause, and it was a long time before he was able to speak.
Then he censured163 the wrongs done to the Republic, and to the Barbarians; the fault lay with a few mutineers who had alarmed Carthage by their violence. The best proof of good intention on the part of the latter was that it was he, the eternal adversary164 of the Suffet Hanno, who was sent to them. They must not credit the people with the folly165 of desiring to provoke brave men, nor with ingratitude166 enough not to recognise their services; and Gisco began to pay the soldiers, commencing with the Libyans. As they had declared that the lists were untruthful, he made no use of them.
They defiled167 before him according to nationality, opening their fingers to show the number of their years of service; they were marked in succession with green paint on the left arm; the scribes dipped into the yawning coffer, while others made holes with a style on a sheet of lead.
A man passed walking heavily like an ox.
“Come up beside me,” said the Suffet, suspecting some fraud; “how many years have you served?”
“Twelve,” replied the Libyan.
Gisco slipped his fingers under his chin, for the chin-piece of the helmet used in course of time to occasion two callosities there; these were called carobs, and “to have the carobs” was an expression used to denote a veteran.
“Thief!” exclaimed the Suffet, “your shoulders ought to have what your face lacks!” and tearing off his tunic168 he laid bare is back which was covered with a bleeding scab; he was a labourer from Hippo-Zarytus. Hootings were raised, and he was decapitated.
As soon as night fell, Spendius went and roused the Libyans, and said to them:
“When the Ligurians, Greeks, Balearians, and men of Italy are paid, they will return. But as for you, you will remain in Africa, scattered169 through your tribes, and without any means of defence! It will be then that the Republic will take its revenge! Mistrust the journey! Are you going to believe everything that is said? Both the Suffets are agreed, and this one is imposing170 on you! Remember the Island of Bones, and Xanthippus, whom they sent back to Sparta in a rotten galley171!”
“How are we to proceed?” they asked.
“Reflect!” said Spendius.
The two following days were spent in paying the men of Magdala, Leptis, and Hecatompylos; Spendius went about among the Gauls.
“They are paying off the Libyans, and then they will discharge the Greeks, the Balearians, the Asiatics and all the rest! But you, who are few in number, will receive nothing! You will see your native lands no more! You will have no ships, and they will kill you to save your food!”
The Gauls came to the Suffet. Autaritus, he whom he had wounded at Hamilcar’s palace, put questions to him, but was repelled172 by the slaves, and disappeared swearing he would be revenged.
The demands and complaints multiplied. The most obstinate173 penetrated174 at night into the Suffet’s tent; they took his hands and sought to move him by making him feel their toothless mouths, their wasted arms, and the scars of their wounds. Those who had not yet been paid were growing angry, those who had received the money demanded more for their horses; and vagabonds and outlaws175 assumed soldiers’ arms and declared that they were being forgotten. Every minute there arrived whirlwinds of men, as it were; the tents strained and fell; the multitude, thick pressed between the ramparts of the camp, swayed with loud shouts from the gates to the centre. When the tumult52 grew excessively violent Gisco would rest one elbow on his ivory sceptre and stand motionless looking at the sea with his fingers buried in his beard.
Matho frequently went off to speak with Spendius; then he would again place himself in front of the Suffet, and Gisco could feel his eyes continually like two flaming phalaricas darted176 against him. Several times they hurled177 reproaches at each other over the heads of the crowd, but without making themselves heard. The distribution, meanwhile, continued, and the Suffet found expedients178 to remove every obstacle.
The Greeks tried to quibble about differences in currency, but he furnished them with such explanations that they retired179 without a murmur180. The Negroes demanded white shells such as are used for trading in the interior of Africa, but when he offered to send to Carthage for them they accepted money like the rest.
But the Balearians had been promised something better, namely, women. The Suffet replied that a whole caravan113 of maidens was expected for them, but the journey was long and would require six moons more. When they were fat and well rubbed with benjamin they should be sent in ships to the ports of the Balearians.
Suddenly Zarxas, now handsome and vigorous, leaped like a mountebank181 upon the shoulders of his friends and cried:
“Have you reserved any of them for the corpses182?” at the same time pointing to the gate of Khamon in Carthage.
The brass183 plates with which it was furnished from top to bottom shone in the sun’s latest fires, and the Barbarians believed that they could discern on it a trail of blood. Every time that Gisco wished to speak their shouts began again. At last he descended184 with measured steps, and shut himself up in his tent.
When he left it at sunrise his interpreters, who used to sleep outside, did not stir; they lay on their backs with their eyes fixed185, their tongues between their teeth, and their faces of a bluish colour. White mucus flowed from their nostrils186, and their limbs were stiff, as if they had all been frozen by the cold during the night. Each had a little noose187 of rushes round his neck.
From that time onward188 the rebellion was unchecked. The murder of the Balearians which had been recalled by Zarxas strengthened the distrust inspired by Spendius. They imagined that the Republic was always trying to deceive them. An end must be put to it! The interpreters should be dispensed189 with! Zarxas sang war songs with a sling124 around his head; Autaritus brandished190 his great sword; Spendius whispered a word to one or gave a dagger191 to another. The boldest endeavoured to pay themselves, while those who were less frenzied wished to have the distribution continued. No one now relinquished192 his arms, and the anger of all combined into a tumultuous hatred193 of Gisco.
Some got up beside him. So long as they vociferated abuse they were listened to with patience; but if they tried to utter the least word in his behalf they were immediately stoned, or their heads were cut off by a sabre-stroke from behind. The heap of knapsacks was redder than an altar.
They became terrible after their meal and when they had drunk wine! This was an enjoyment194 forbidden in the Punic armies under pain of death, and they raised their cups in the direction of Carthage in derision of its discipline. Then they returned to the slaves of the exchequer195 and again began to kill. The word “strike,” though different in each language, was understood by all.
Gisco was well aware that he was being abandoned by his country; but in spite of its ingratitude he would not dishonour196 it. When they reminded him that they had been promised ships, he swore by Moloch to provide them himself at his own expense, and pulling off his necklace of blue stones he threw it into the crowd as the pledge of his oath.
Then the Africans claimed the corn in accordance with the engagements made by the Great Council. Gisco spread out the accounts of the Syssitia traced in violet pigment197 on sheep skins; and read out all that had entered Carthage month by month and day by day.
Suddenly he stopped with gaping198 eyes, as if he had just discovered his sentence of death among the figures.
The Ancients had, in fact, fraudulently reduced them, and the corn sold during the most calamitous199 period of the war was set down at so low a rate that, blindness apart, it was impossible to believe it.
“Speak!” they shouted. “Louder! Ah! he is trying to lie, the coward! Don’t trust him.”
For some time he hesitated. At last he resumed his task.
The soldiers, without suspecting that they were being deceived, accepted the accounts of the Syssitia as true. But the abundance that had prevailed at Carthage made them furiously jealous. They broke open the sycamore chest; it was three parts empty. They had seen such sums coming out of it, that they thought it inexhaustible; Gisco must have buried some in his tent. They scaled the knapsacks. Matho led them, and as they shouted “The money! the money!” Gisco at last replied:
“Let your general give it to you!”
He looked them in the face without speaking, with his great yellow eyes, and his long face that was paler than his beard. An arrow, held by its feathers, hung from the large gold ring in his ear, and a stream of blood was trickling200 from his tiara upon his shoulder.
At a gesture from Matho all advanced. Gisco held out his arms; Spendius tied his wrists with a slip knot; another knocked him down, and he disappeared amid the disorder26 of the crowd which was stumbling over the knapsacks.
They sacked his tent. Nothing was found in it except things indispensable to life; and, on a closer search, three images of Tanith, and, wrapped up in an ape’s skin, a black stone which had fallen from the moon. Many Carthaginians had chosen to accompany him; they were eminent201 men, and all belonged to the war party.
They were dragged outside the tents and thrown into the pit used for the reception of filth. They were tied with iron chains around the body to solid stakes, and were offered food at the point of the javelin51.
Autaritus overwhelmed them with invectives as he inspected them, but being quite ignorant of his language they made no reply; and the Gaul from time to time threw pebbles202 at their faces to make them cry out.
The next day a sort of languor203 took possession of the army. Now that their anger was over they were seized with anxiety. Matho was suffering from vague melancholy. It seemed to him that Salammbo had indirectly204 been insulted. These rich men were a kind of appendage205 to her person. He sat down in the night on the edge of the pit, and recognised in their groanings something of the voice of which his heart was full.
All, however, upbraided206 the Libyans, who alone had been paid. But while national antipathies207 revived, together with personal hatreds208, it was felt that it would be perilous to give way to them. Reprisals209 after such an outrage128 would be formidable. It was necessary, therefore, to anticipate the vengeance210 of Carthage. Conventions and harangues211 never ceased. Every one spoke212, no one was listened to; Spendius, usually so loquacious213, shook his head at every proposal.
One evening he asked Matho carelessly whether there were not springs in the interior of the town.
“Not one!” replied Matho.
The next day Spendius drew him aside to the bank of the lake.
“Master!” said the former slave, “If your heart is dauntless, I will bring you into Carthage.”
“How?” repeated the other, panting.
“Swear to execute all my commands and to follow me like a shadow!”
Then Matho, raising his arm towards the planet of Chabar, exclaimed:
“By Tanith, I swear!”
Spendius resumed:
“To-morrow after sunset you will wait for me at the foot of the aqueduct between the ninth and tenth arcades214. Bring with you an iron pick, a crestless215 helmet, and leathern sandals.”
The aqueduct of which he spoke crossed the entire isthmus obliquely216 — a considerable work, afterwards enlarged by the Romans. In spite of her disdain217 of other nations, Carthage had awkwardly borrowed this novel invention from them, just as Rome herself had built Punic galleys218; and five rows of superposed arches, of a dumpy kind of architecture, with buttresses at their foot and lions’ heads at the top, reached to the western part of the Acropolis, where they sank beneath the town to incline what was nearly a river into the cisterns of Megara.
Spendius met Matho here at the hour agreed upon. He fastened a sort of harpoon219 to the end of a cord and whirled it rapidly like a sling; the iron instrument caught fast, and they began to climb up the wall, the one after the other.
But when they had ascended220 to the first story the cramp18 fell back every time that they threw it, and in order to discover some fissure221 they had to walk along the edge of the cornice. At every row of arches they found that it became narrower. Then the cord relaxed. Several times it nearly broke.
At last they reached the upper platform. Spendius stooped down from time to time to feel the stones with his hand.
“Here it is,” he said; “let us begin!” And leaning on the pick which Matho had brought they succeeded in dislodging one of the flagstones.
In the distance they perceived a troop of horse-men galloping222 on horses without bridles223. Their golden bracelets224 leaped in the vague drapings of their cloaks. A man could be seen in front crowned with ostrich225 feathers, and galloping with a lance in each hand.
“Narr’ Havas!” exclaimed Matho.
“What matter?” returned Spendius, and he leaped into the hole which they had just made by removing the flagstone.
Matho at his command tried to thrust out one of the blocks. But he could not move his elbows for want of room.
“We shall return,” said Spendius; “go in front.” Then they ventured into the channel of water.
It reached to their waists. Soon they staggered, and were obliged to swim. Their limbs knocked against the walls of the narrow duct. The water flowed almost immediately beneath the stones above, and their faces were torn by them. Then the current carried them away. Their breasts were crushed with air heavier than that of a sepulchre, and stretching themselves out as much as possible with their heads between their arms and their legs close together, they passed like arrows into the darkness, choking, gurgling, and almost dead. Suddenly all became black before them, and the speed of the waters redoubled. They fell.
When they came to the surface again, they remained for a few minutes extended on their backs, inhaling226 the air delightfully227. Arcades, one behind another, opened up amid large walls separating the various basins. All were filled, and the water stretched in a single sheet throughout the length of the cisterns. Through the air-holes in the cupolas on the ceiling there fell a pale brightness which spread upon the waves discs, as it were, of light, while the darkness round about thickened towards the walls and threw them back to an indefinite distance. The slightest sound made a great echo.
Spendius and Matho commenced to swim again, and passing through the opening of the arches, traversed several chambers228 in succession. Two other rows of smaller basins extended in a parallel direction on each side. They lost themselves; they turned, and came back again. At last something offered a resistance to their heels. It was the pavement of the gallery that ran along the cisterns.
Then, advancing with great precautions, they felt along the wall to find an outlet229. But their feet slipped, and they fell into the great centre-basins. They had to climb up again, and there they fell again. They experienced terrible fatigue230, which made them feel as if all their limbs had been dissolved in the water while swimming. Their eyes closed; they were in the agonies of death.
Spendius struck his hand against the bars of a grating. They shook it, it gave way, and they found themselves on the steps of a staircase. A door of bronze closed it above. With the point of a dagger they moved the bar, which was opened from without, and suddenly the pure open air surrounded them.
The night was filled with silence, and the sky seemed at an extraordinary height. Clusters of trees projected over the long lines of walls. The whole town was asleep. The fires of the outposts shone like lost stars.
Spendius, who had spent three years in the ergastulum, was but imperfectly acquainted with the different quarters. Matho conjectured231 that to reach Hamilcar’s palace they ought to strike to the left and cross the Mappalian district.
“No,” said Spendius, “take me to the temple of Tanith.”
Matho wished to speak.
“Remember!” said the former slave, and raising his arm he showed him the glittering planet of Chabar.
Then Matho turned in silence towards the Acropolis.
They crept along the nopal hedges which bordered the paths. The water trickled232 from their limbs upon the dust. Their damp sandals made no noise; Spendius, with eyes that flamed more than torches, searched the bushes at every step; — and he walked behind Matho with his hands resting on the two daggers233 which he carried on his arms, and which hung from below the armpit by a leathern band.
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1
asses
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| n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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exterminate
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| v.扑灭，消灭，根绝 | |
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barbarian
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| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
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barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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isthmus
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| n.地峡 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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10
persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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11
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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12
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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shackles
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| 手铐( shackle的名词复数 )； 脚镣； 束缚； 羁绊 | |
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barley
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| n.大麦，大麦粒 | |
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armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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cramps
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| n. 抽筋, 腹部绞痛, 铁箍 adj. 狭窄的, 难解的 v. 使...抽筋, 以铁箍扣紧, 束缚 | |
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18
cramp
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| n.痉挛；[pl.](腹)绞痛；vt.限制，束缚 | |
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19
pickle
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| n.腌汁，泡菜；v.腌，泡 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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21
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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22
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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apertures
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| n.孔( aperture的名词复数 )；隙缝；（照相机的）光圈；孔径 | |
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26
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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27
cones
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| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
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28
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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29
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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30
buttresses
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| n.扶壁，扶垛( buttress的名词复数 )v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
obelisks
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| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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33
inverted
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| adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
colonnades
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| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
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35
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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37
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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38
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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39
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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40
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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41
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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42
cisterns
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| n.蓄水池，储水箱( cistern的名词复数 )；地下储水池 | |
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43
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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44
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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45
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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46
bellies
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| n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的 | |
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47
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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48
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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49
jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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50
javelins
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| n.标枪( javelin的名词复数 ) | |
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51
javelin
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| n.标枪，投枪 | |
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52
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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53
resounded
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| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
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54
anvils
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| n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨 | |
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55
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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57
porticoes
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| n.柱廊，（有圆柱的）门廊( portico的名词复数 ) | |
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58
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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59
execrated
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| v.憎恶( execrate的过去式和过去分词 )；厌恶；诅咒；咒骂 | |
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60
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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61
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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62
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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63
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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64
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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65
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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66
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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67
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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68
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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69
scour
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| v.搜索；擦，洗，腹泻，冲刷 | |
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70
overflowed
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| 溢出的 | |
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71
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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72
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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73
runaway
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| n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的 | |
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74
ravage
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| vt.使...荒废，破坏...；n.破坏，掠夺，荒废 | |
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75
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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76
allayed
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77
sate
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| v.使充分满足 | |
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78
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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79
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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80
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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81
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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82
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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83
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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84
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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85
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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86
nomads
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| n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活 | |
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87
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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88
devastate
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| v.使荒芜，破坏，压倒 | |
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89
grasshoppers
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| n.蚱蜢( grasshopper的名词复数 )；蝗虫；蚂蚱；（孩子）矮小的 | |
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90
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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91
detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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93
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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94
porcupine
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| n.豪猪， 箭猪 | |
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95
hyenas
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| n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 ) | |
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96
wrack
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| v.折磨；n.海草 | |
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97
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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98
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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99
panoplies
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| n.全套礼服( panoply的名词复数 )；盛装；全副甲胄；雄伟的阵式 | |
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100
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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101
fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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102
disparaging
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| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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103
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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104
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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105
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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106
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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107
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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108
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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109
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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110
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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111
itinerant
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| adj.巡回的；流动的 | |
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112
vendors
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| n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方 | |
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113
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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114
caravans
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| （可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队） | |
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115
jaded
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| adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的 | |
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116
plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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117
routs
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| n.打垮，赶跑( rout的名词复数 )；（体育）打败对方v.打垮，赶跑( rout的第三人称单数 )；（体育）打败对方 | |
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118
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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119
bosoms
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| 胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形 | |
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120
butted
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| 对接的 | |
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121
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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122
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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123
exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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124
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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125
slings
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| 抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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126
vipers
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| n.蝰蛇( viper的名词复数 )；毒蛇；阴险恶毒的人；奸诈者 | |
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127
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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128
outrage
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| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
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129
outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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130
curry
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| n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革 | |
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131
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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132
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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133
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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134
contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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135
entreating
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的现在分词 ) | |
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136
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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137
definitively
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| adv.决定性地，最后地 | |
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138
precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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139
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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140
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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141
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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142
verbosity
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| n.冗长，赘言 | |
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143
estranged
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| adj.疏远的，分离的 | |
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144
exaction
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| n.强求，强征；杂税 | |
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145
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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146
maidens
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| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
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147
emanated
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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148
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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149
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
disillusion
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| vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭 | |
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151
diadems
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| n.王冠，王权，带状头饰( diadem的名词复数 ) | |
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152
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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153
patricide
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| n.杀父 | |
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154
broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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155
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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156
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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157
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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158
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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159
tattooed
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| v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击 | |
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160
barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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161
onlooking
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| n.目击，旁观adj.旁观的 | |
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162
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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163
censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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164
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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165
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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166
ingratitude
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| n.忘恩负义 | |
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167
defiled
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| v.玷污( defile的过去式和过去分词 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
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168
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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169
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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170
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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171
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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172
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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173
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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174
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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175
outlaws
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| 歹徒，亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 )； 逃犯 | |
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176
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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177
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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178
expedients
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| n.应急有效的，权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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179
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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180
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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181
mountebank
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| n.江湖郎中；骗子 | |
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182
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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183
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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184
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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185
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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186
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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187
noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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188
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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189
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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190
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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191
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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192
relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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193
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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194
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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195
exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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196
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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197
pigment
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| n.天然色素，干粉颜料 | |
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198
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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199
calamitous
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| adj.灾难的，悲惨的；多灾多难；惨重 | |
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200
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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201
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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202
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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203
languor
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| n.无精力，倦怠 | |
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204
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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205
appendage
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| n.附加物 | |
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206
upbraided
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| v.责备，申斥，谴责( upbraid的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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207
antipathies
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| 反感( antipathy的名词复数 )； 引起反感的事物； 憎恶的对象； （在本性、倾向等方面的）不相容 | |
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208
hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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209
reprisals
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| n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 ) | |
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210
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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211
harangues
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| n.高谈阔论的长篇演讲( harangue的名词复数 )v.高谈阔论( harangue的第三人称单数 ) | |
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212
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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213
loquacious
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| adj.多嘴的，饶舌的 | |
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214
arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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215
crestless
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| adj.无冠毛的，卑微的，出身低下的 | |
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216
obliquely
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| adv.斜； 倾斜； 间接； 不光明正大 | |
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217
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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218
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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219
harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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220
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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221
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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222
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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223
bridles
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| 约束( bridle的名词复数 )； 限动器； 马笼头； 系带 | |
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224
bracelets
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| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
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225
ostrich
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| n.鸵鸟 | |
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226
inhaling
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| v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 ) | |
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227
delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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228
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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229
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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230
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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231
conjectured
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| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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232
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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233
daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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