it was not long, indeed, before beric found that hostile influences were at work. nero was not less friendly in his manner, but he more than once spoke to him about aemilia.
"i hear," he said one day, "that your betrothed is very beautiful beric."
"she is very fair, caesar," beric replied coldly.
"i know not how it is that i have not seen her at court," nero continued.
"her tastes are like those of her father," beric said. "she goes but seldom abroad, and has long had the principal care of her father's household."
"but you should bring her now," nero persisted. "the wife of one of the officials of the palace should have a place at our entertainments."
"she is not at present my wife, caesar, she is but my betrothed; and as you have yourself excused me from attendance at all entertainments, it would be unseemly for her, a roman maiden, though betrothed to me, to appear there."
"there are plenty of other roman maidens who appear there," nero said pettishly. beric made no reply, and the subject was not again alluded to at that time; but the emperor returned to it on other occasions, and beric at last was driven to refuse point blank.
"i am your majesty's guard," he said. "i watch you at night as well as by day, and, as i have told your majesty, i cannot perform my duties properly if i have to be present at your entertainments. i should not permit my wife or my betrothed to be present in public unless i were by her side. your majesty took me for what i was, a simple briton, who could be relied upon as a guard, because i had neither friends nor family in rome, and was content to live a simple and quiet life. i am willing to abstain from marriage in order that i may still do my service as heretofore; but if i have to attend entertainments, you cannot rely upon my constant vigilance. it is for you to choose, caesar, whether you most require vigilant guards, who could be trusted as standing aloof from all, or the addition of two persons to the crowds you entertain. i am sure, caesar," he went on as the emperor made no reply, "it is not yourself who is now speaking to me; it is rufinus, formerly a suitor for the hand of the daughter of norbanus, who has been whispering into your ear and abusing the favour you show him. he dare not show his animosity to me openly, for one who has conquered a lion would make but short work of him. your majesty, i pray you, let not the word of men like this come between yourself and one you know to be faithful to you."
"you are right, beric," nero said. "i will press you no farther; it was but a passing thought. i had heard of the beauty of your betrothed, and though i would see if she were as fair as report makes her; but since you do not wish it to be so, it shall not be spoken of again."
but beric knew enough of nero to be aware that, like most weak men, he was obstinate, and that rufinus and his friends would not allow the matter to drop. every preparation was therefore made for sudden flight. aemilia was warned on no account to trust any message she might receive purporting to be from him, and the britons in the palace, who were heartily sick of their monotonous duty, were told to hold themselves in readiness for action. beric knew that he could depend on the slave who had been assigned to him as an attendant. he was not the man who had at first served him, and who, as beric doubted not, had acted as a spy upon him. when it was found that there was nothing to discover this man had been removed for other work, and a slave boy of some seventeen years old had taken his place. to him beric had behaved with great kindness, and the lad was deeply attached to him. he had several times taken notes and messages to the house of norbanus, and beric told aemilia that when it became necessary to send her the ring, he should probably intrust it to him.
a week later boduoc was on guard at ten in the evening. in the distant banqueting hall he could hear sounds of laughter and revelry, and knowing the nature of these feasts he muttered angrily to himself that he, a briton, should be standing there while such things were being done within. suddenly he heard a step approaching the hangings. they were drawn back, and one of the court attendants said, "caesar requires the attendance of beric the briton in the banqueting hall."
"i will tell him," boduoc said. "he will come directly." beric was sitting reading when boduoc entered and gave the message.
"this means mischief, boduoc," he said. "i have never been sent for before to one of these foul carousals. philo, come hither!"
the lad, who was lying on a mat by the door, rose. "philo, take this ring. follow me to the door of the banqueting room, and stand behind the hangings. if i say 'run, philo!' carry out the orders that i have before given you. speed first to the room where the britons sleep, and tell them to arm and come up by the private stairs to my room instantly. they know the way. they are then to pass on through the passage and the next room and wait behind the hangings, when boduoc will give them orders. directly you have given my message speed to the house of norbanus, and demand in my name to see the lady aemilia. if she has retired to her room she must be roused. if the slaves make difficulty, appeal to norbanus himself. he will fetch her down to you. give her this ring, and say the time has come."
"i will do it, my lord. where am i to join you afterwards?"
"i shall take the road to the alban hills first; i think that if you are speedy, you may be on the alban road before me. now follow me. boduoc, do you come as far as the hangings of the banqueting room, and stand there with philo. you will be able to hear what passes within. do not enter unless i call you. bring my sword with you."
beric passed through two or three large apartments and then entered the banqueting room. it was ablaze with lights. a dozen men and as many women, in the scantiest costumes, lay on couches along each side of the table. all were crowned with chaplets of flowers, and were half covered with roses, of which showers had fallen from above upon them. nero lay on a couch at the end of the table; his features were flushed with wine. beric repressed the exclamation of indignant disgust that rose to his lips, and walking calmly up to nero said coldly, "i am told that you want me, caesar."
"i do, my fighter of lions," nero said unsteadily. "i would see this paragon of whom rufinus tells me, whom you guard so jealously from my eyes. send and fetch her hither. she will be a worthy queen of our revels."
"it is an honour to me to obey your majesty's commands in all matters that regard myself," beric said; "but in regard to my promised wife, no! this is no place for a roman lady; and even at the risk of your displeasure, caesar, i refuse to dishonour her by bringing her into such an assembly."
"i told you he would refuse, caesar," rufinus, who was lying on the couch next to nero, laughed.
nero was speechless with surprise and anger at beric's calm refusal to obey his orders. "do i understand," he said at last, "that you refuse to obey me?"
"i do, caesar. it is not a lawful command, and i distinctly refuse to obey it."
"then, by the gods, your life is forfeit!" nero said, rising to his feet.
"you may thank your gods, caesar, that i have more sense of honour than you. were it otherwise, i would strike you dead at my feet. but a british chief disdains to fight an unarmed foe, and i who have eaten your bread and taken your wages am doubly bound not to lift my hand against you." then he lifted his voice and cried, "run, philo!"
the revellers by this time had all started to their feet. nero, shrinking backwards behind them, called loudly for help. rufinus, who had shown bravery in the wars, drew a dagger from beneath his toga and sprang at beric. the latter caught his uplifted wrist, and with a sharp wrench forced him to drop the weapon; then he seized him in his grasp. "you shall do no more mischief, rufinus," he said, and raising him in his arms hurled him with tremendous force against a marble pillar, where he fell inert and lifeless, his skull being completely beaten in by the blow.
the hall rang with the shrieks of women and the shouts of men. there was a sound of heavy footsteps, and eight of the praetorian guards, with drawn swords, ran in on the other side of the chamber. "boduoc!" beric shouted; and in a moment his follower stood beside him and handed him his sword and buckler.
"kill him!" nero shouted frantically. "the traitor would have slain me."
beric and boduoc stepped back to the door by which they had entered, and awaited the onset of the praetorians. for a moment these hesitated, for beric's figure was well known in the palace, and not one of them but had heard of his encounter with the lion. the emperor's shouts, however, overcame their reluctance, and shoulder to shoulder they rushed forward to the attack. two fell instantly, helmet and head cloven by the swords of the britons, who at once took the offensive and drove the others before them, slaying three more and putting the others to flight. but the success was temporary, for now a great body of the guard poured into the room.
"step back through the doorway, boduoc," beric said; "their numbers will not avail them then."
the doors were ten feet in width. this gave room to but three men to enter at once and use their arms to advantage, and for two or three minutes the britons kept the praetorians at bay, eight of them having fallen beneath their blows; then there was a shout, and the roman soldiers came running in at a door at the end of the chamber. "fall back to the next door," beric said; but as he spoke there was a rush behind, and nineteen britons ran into the room, and uttering the war cry of the iceni flung themselves upon the roman soldiers. these, taken by surprise at the sudden appearance of these tall warriors, and ignorant of what further reinforcements might be coming up, gave ground, and were speedily beaten back, a score of them falling beneath the britons' swords.
"now retreat!" beric cried as the room was cleared; "retreat at full speed. show them the way, boduoc, by the staircase down into the garden. quick! there is not a moment to lose. i will guard the rear."
they ran down the passage, through beric's room, down a long corridor, and then by stairs leading thence into the garden, which was indeed a park of considerable size, with lakes, shrubberies, and winding walks. the uproar in the palace was no longer heard by the time they were halfway across the park; but they ran at full speed until they reached a door in the wall. of this beric had some time before obtained a key from the head gardener, and always carried this about with him. as they stopped they looked back towards the palace. distant shouts could be heard, and the lights of numbers of torches could be seen spreading out in all directions.
beric opened the door and locked it behind him when all had passed out. "now," he said to his companions, "make your way down to the road leading out to the alban hills. break up and go singly, so that you may not be noticed. it will be a good half hour before the news of what has occurred is known beyond the palace. do not pass through the frequented streets, but move along the dark lanes as much as possible. when half a mile beyond the city we will reunite."
an hour later the whole party were gathered beyond the city. all were delighted to escape from what they considered slavery, and the fact that they had again bucklers on their arms and swords by their sides made them feel as if their freedom were already obtained.
"this puts one in mind of old times," boduoc said joyously; "one might think we were about to start on an expedition in the fens. well, they have taught us all somewhat more than we knew before, and we will show them that the air of rome has robbed us of none of our strength. where go we now, beric?"
"first to the ludus of scopus; i learned a week since that he had taken his band out again to the alban hills for the hot season. i believe that most of his men will join us, if not all. as soon as the news is spread that we are in arms we could, if we wished it, be joined by scores of gladiators from the other schools. there are hundreds who would, if the standard of revolt were raised, prefer dying fighting in the open to being slain to gratify a roman mob."
"ay, that there are," put in another of the band. "i have never ceased to lament that i did not fall that day on our island in the fens."
"think you there will be pursuit, beric?" another asked.
"no; the first thought of nero will be to assemble all the praetorians for his protection; they will search the palace and the park, expecting attack rather than thinking of pursuit. in the morning, when they find that all is quiet, and that it is indeed only us with whom there is trouble, they will doubtless send parties of searchers over the country; but long before that we shall be a day's march ahead. my wish is to gain the mountains. i do not want to head a great rebellion against rome--disaster would surely come of it at last, and i should have only led men to their death. a hundred men is the outside number i will take. with that number we may live as outlaws among the mountains to the south; we could move so rapidly that large forces could not follow us, and be strong enough to repulse small ones. there is plenty of game among the hills, and we should live as we did at home, chiefly by hunting."
just as they were approaching the hills a quick step was heard behind them, and the lad philo ran up.
"ah, you have overtaken us, philo! 'tis well, lad, for your life would have been forfeited had you stayed in rome.
"well," he asked, drawing him aside, "you saw the lady aemilia. what said she?"
"she said, 'tell my lord that i obey, but that i pray him to let me join him and share his dangers if it be possible; but be it tomorrow or five years hence, he will find me waiting for him at the place he knows of.' norbanus was present when she spoke. i told him what i had heard in the banqueting room, and he said 'beric has done rightly. tell him that he has acted as a roman should do, but as romans no longer act, caring less for their honour than do the meanest slaves, and that i thank him for having thus defended my daughter against indignity.' he was glad, he said, that his life would end now, for it was a burden to him under such conditions. he gave me this bag of gold to bring to you, saying that he should have no farther need for it, and that, leaving in such haste, you would not have time to furnish yourself with money. it is heavy," the boy said. "i should have caught you some time earlier, but twenty or more pounds' weight makes a deal of difference in a long run."
on arriving at the house of scopus beric bade the others wait without, and stepping over the slaves lying at the entrance, he went quietly to the sleeping chamber of the lanista.
"who is this?" scopus asked as he entered.
"it is i, beric; throw your mantle on and come outside with me, scopus. i would speak with you alone, and do not wish that all should know that i have been here."
"in trouble?" scopus asked as they left the house. "ay, lad, i expected it, and knew that sooner or later it would come. what is it?"
"nero ordered me to fetch aemilia to his foul carousal. i refused. rufinus, at whose instigation he acted, attacked me. i hurled him against a pillar, and methinks he was killed, and then nero, in alarm for his life, called in the praetorians. boduoc and my countrymen joined me, and we slew some thirty of them, and then made our escape, and are taking to the mountains."
"and you have come to ask my gladiators to join?" scopus said shortly.
"no," beric replied; "when i started i thought of so doing, but as i walked hither i decided otherwise. it would not be fair to you. did i ask them some would join, i know, others might not. the loss of their services i could make up to you; but if it were known that we had been here, and that some of your band had joined me, nero's vengeance would fall on you all."
"i thank you, beric; if some went i must go myself, for i dare not remain, and though i wish you well, and hate the tyrant, i am well off and comfortable, and have no desire to throw away my life."
"there is one i should like to take with me--porus; we were good friends when i was here, and i know that he hates this life and longs to be free from it. he would have run away and joined the gladiators when they rose at praeneste had i not dissuaded him. he could leave without the others knowing it, and in the morning you might affect a belief that he has run away, and give notice to the magistrate here and have him sought for. in that way there would be no suspicion of his having joined us. i know that he is valuable to you, being, i think, the best of your troop, but i will pay you whatever price you place his services at."
"no, no," scopus said, "i will give him to you, beric, for the sake of our friendship, and for your consideration for me in not taking the rest with you. i have done well by you and him. stay here and i will fetch him out to you; it may be that many will desert both from me and the other lanistae when they hear that you have taken to the mountains, but for that i cannot be blamed. you have come far out of your way to come hither."
"yes, 'tis a long detour, but it will matter little. we shall skirt round the foot of the hills, cross the lyris below praeneste, and then make straight to the mountains. they will not search for us in that direction, and we will take shelter in a wood when day breaks, and gain the mountains tomorrow night. once there we shall be safe, and shall move farther south to the wild hills between apulia and campania, or if it is too hot for us there, down into bruttium, whence we can, if it be needed, cross into sicily. i am not thinking of making war with rome. we intend to live and die as free men, and methinks that in the mountains we may laugh at the whole strength of rome."
"you will find plenty of others in the same condition there, beric; escaped slaves and gladiators constantly make for the hills, and there have been many expeditions against the bands there, who are often strong enough to be a danger to the towns near the foot of the mountains."
"we are not going to turn brigands," beric said; "there is game on the hills, and we are all hunters, and i have money enough to pay for all else we require did we live there for years. but fetch me porus. we must be far from here by daylight."
porus soon came out, much surprised at being suddenly roused from sleep, and silently brought out of the house by scopus. as soon as beric explained to him what had happened, he joyfully agreed to join him, and stole in and fetched his arms. then with a hearty adieu to scopus beric placed himself at the head of his band and struck off by the road to praeneste. walking fast they arrived at the bank of the lyris before daybreak, crossed the river in a fisherman's boat they found on the bank, and just as daylight showed in the sky entered an extensive grove, having walked over forty miles since leaving rome. they slept during the day, taking it by turns to watch at the edge of the wood, and when it was again dark started afresh, and were, when morning broke, high up on the slopes of the apennines.
"i feel a free man again now," boduoc said. "it does not seem to me that i have drawn a breath of fresh air since i entered rome; but fresh air, good as it is, beric, is not altogether satisfying, and i begin to feel that i have eaten nothing since i supped the day before yesterday."
"we will push on for another hour," beric said, "and then we shall be fairly beyond the range of cultivation. at the last house we come to we will go in and purchase food. flour is the principal thing we need; we shall have no difficulty in getting goats from the herdsmen who pasture their animals among the hills."
an hour later beric, with boduoc and two of his followers, went up to a farm house. the farmer and his servants ran into the house, raising cries of alarm at the sight of the four tall armed figures.
"do not fear," beric said when he reached the door, "we are not brigands, but honest men, who desire to pay for what we need."
somewhat reassured, the farmer came out. "what does my lord require?" he asked, impressed by a nearer view of beric's dress and arms.
"how much flour have you in the house?" beric asked, "and what is the price of it?"
the farmer had three sacks of flour. "i will take them all," beric said, "and three skins of wine if you have them. i would also buy two sheep if you name me a fair price for the whole."
the farmer named a price not much above that which he would have obtained in the market, and beric also bought of him a number of small bags capable of containing some fifteen or twenty pounds of flour each. then one of the men fetched up the rest of the band; the flour was divided and packed in the small bags; the sheep were killed and cut up; three of the men lifted the wine skins on to their shoulders; the rest took the flour and meat, and they marched away, leaving the farmer and his family astounded at the appearance of these strange men with fair hair and blue eyes, and of stature that appeared to them gigantic.
still ascending the mountain the band halted in a forest. wood was soon collected and a fire lighted. the contents of one of the bags was made into dough at a stream hard by, divided into cakes and placed on red hot ashes, while the meat was cut up and hung over the fire.
"we have forgotten drinking horns," beric said, "but your steel cap, porus, will serve us for a drinking cup for today."
after a hearty meal they lay down for some hours to sleep, and then resumed their march. they were getting well into the heart of the mountains when a figure suddenly appeared on a crag above them.
"who are you?" he shouted, "and what do you here in the mountains?"
"we are fugitives from the tyranny of rome," beric replied. "we mean harm to no man, but those who would meddle with us are likely to regret it."
"you swear that you are fugitives," the man called back.
"i swear," beric said, holding up his hand.
the man turned round and spoke to someone behind him, and a moment later a party of fifteen men appeared on the crag and began to descend into the ravine up which beric's band were making their way.
"it is the britons," the leader exclaimed as he neared them. "why, beric, is it you, tired already of the dignities of rome? how fares it with you, boduoc?"
beric recognized at once a gaul, one of the gladiators of scopus, who had some months before fled from the ludus. in a minute the two bands met. most of the newcomers were gauls, and, like their leader, escaped gladiators, and as beric's name was well known to all they saluted him with acclamations. both parties were pleased at the meeting, for, akin by race and speaking dialects of the same language, they regarded each other as natural allies.
"the life of an outlaw will be a change to you after nero's palace, beric," gatho, their leader, said.
"a pleasant change," beric replied. "i have no taste for gilded chains. how do you fare here, gatho?"
"there are plenty of wild boars among the mountains, and we can always get a goat when they are lacking. there are plenty of them wild all over the hills, escaped captives like ourselves. as for wine and flour, we have occasionally to make a raid on the villages."
"i do not propose to do that," beric said; "i have money to buy what we require; and if we set the villagers against us, sooner or later they will lead the troops after us up the mountains."
"i would gladly do that too, but the means are lacking. we owe the peasants no ill will, but one must live, you know."
"have you any place you make your headquarters?"
"an hour's march from hence; i will lead you to it."
the united bands continued to climb the hills, and on emerging from the ravine gatho led them for some distance along the upper edge of a forest, and then turned up a narrow gorge in the hillside with a little rivulet running down it. the ravine widened out as they went up it, till they reached a spot where it formed a circular area of some hundred and fifty feet in diameter, surrounded on all sides by perpendicular rocks, with a tiny cascade a hundred feet in height falling into it at the farther end. some rough huts of boughs of trees were erected near the centre.
"a good hiding place," beric said, "but i see no mode of retreat, and if a peasant were to lead a party of romans to the entrance you would be caught in a trap."
"we have only been here ten days," gatho said, "and never stop long in one place; but it has the disadvantage you speak of. however, we have always one or two men posted lower down, at points where they can see any bodies of men ascending the hills. they brought us notice of your coming when you were far below, so you see we are not likely to be taken by surprise, and the roman soldiers are not fond of night marches among the mountains."
as it was some hours since the britons had partaken of their meal they were quite ready to join the gauls in another, and the carcass of a wild boar hanging up near the huts was soon cut up and roasting over a fire, the britons contributing wine and flour to the meal. after it was over there was a long talk, and after consulting together gatho and his band unanimously agreed in asking beric to take command of the whole party.
"we all know you, beric," gatho said. "none could like you have fought a lion barehanded, and i know that there was no one in the ludus who was your match with the sword, while boduoc and the other five were infinitely superior to any of us in strength. besides, you are well versed in roman ways, and have led an army against them, therefore we all are ready to accept you as our leader and to obey your orders if you will take us."
"i will do so willingly, gatho. i do not wish to have more than fifty men with me, for it would be difficult to find subsistence for a larger number. a hundred is the outside number, and doubtless we shall be able to gather other recruits should we choose to raise the band to that number; but all who follow me must obey me as implicitly as did my own tribesmen in our struggle with the romans, and must swear to do no harm to innocent people, and to abstain from all violence and robbery. i am ready to be a leader of outlaws but not of brigands. i desire only to live a free life among the mountains. if the romans come against us we will fight against them, and the spoil we may take from them is lawful booty, to be used in exchange for such things as we may require. but with the peasants we will make friends, and if we treat them well they will bring us news of any expeditions that may be on foot for our capture. as i said i have money enough to buy everything we want at present, and can obtain more if necessary, so that there is no reason for us to rob these poor people of their goods. here we are too near rome for them to be disaffected, but further south we shall find them not unwilling to aid us, for the provinces are ground into the dust by the exactions necessary to pay for the cost of the rebuilding of rome and to support the extravagance of nero."
the gauls cheerfully took the required oath.
"you, gatho, will continue to act as my lieutenant with your gauls, boduoc commands the britons under me. it may be necessary at times for the band to divide, as when game is scarce we may find a difficulty in keeping together, especially if we recruit our band up to a hundred. i am determined to have no malefactors who have fled from justice nor riotous men among us. i should prefer that they should be chiefly your countrymen, but we will not refuse gladiators of other nations who have been captured as prisoners of war. we want no escaped slaves among us. a man who has once been a slave might try to buy his pardon and freedom by betraying us. we will be free men all, asking only to live in freedom among the mountains, injuring none, but determined to fight and die in defence of that freedom."
these sentiments were warmly welcomed by the gauls. the next day the number of men on the lookout was increased, and the band, breaking up into small parties, scattered among the mountains in pursuit of wild boars and goats. some were to return, successful or not, at night to the encampment, and on the following day to take the place of those on watch, and relays were provided so that during the week each would take a turn at that duty.
never did men enjoy a week's hunting with greater zest than the britons. to them life seemed to begin anew, and although the skies were bluer and the mountains higher and rougher than those of britain, it seemed to them that they were once again enjoying their native air, and of an evening rude chants of gaul and britain echoed among the rocks.
porus, the syrian, stood somewhat apart from the rest, not understanding the tongue of the others, and he therefore became naturally the special companion of beric; for having been six years in rome he spoke latin fluently.
"it is i who must go down to get you news, beric," he said one day. "you britons could not disguise yourselves, for even if you stained your cheeks and dyed your hair your blue eyes and your height would betray you at once. the gauls, too, though shorter than you, are still much taller and broader men than the romans, and there are none of them who speak the language well enough to ask a question without their foreign tongue being detected. i am about the height of the romans, and am swarthier than the gauls, and could, if i borrowed the dress of one of the goatherds, pass among them without notice. it would certainly be well, as you were saying, to know what is being done below, and whether there is any idea of sending troops up into the mountains to search for us.
"you may be sure that after the scare you gave nero, and the defeat of his guards, the matter will not be allowed to drop, and that they will search all italy for you. i should think that, at first, they will seek for you in the north, thinking that you would be likely, after taking to the hills--which you would be sure to do, for such a party could never hope to traverse the plains unnoticed--to keep along the chain to the north, cross the cisalpine plains, and try the passage of the great mountains."
"at any rate it will be well, porus, to know what they are doing. if they are at present confining their search to the northern range we can stay where we are with confidence. i should be sorry to move, for we are well placed here; there is good water and game is abundant. we certainly shall soon lack wine, but for everything else we can manage. we have meat in abundance, and have flour to last for some time, for both we and the gauls eat but little bread; besides, if pushed, we can do as the peasants do, pound up acorns and beechnuts and make a sort of bread of them."
"very well, beric, i will go down tomorrow."
early in the morning, however, two of the men on sentry came in and said that they observed the glitter of the sun on spearhead and armour far down the hillside.
"if they are after us," beric said, "as i expect they are, they have doubtless learned that we are somewhere in this part of the mountains from the man of whom we bought the wine and flour. i don't suppose he intended to do us harm, but when he went down to purchase fresh supplies he may well have mentioned that a party of strong men of unusual height, and with fair hair, had bought up his stock, paying for it honestly, which would perhaps surprise him more than anything. if the news had come to the ears of any of the officials, they, knowing the hue and cry which was being made for us, would have sent word at once to praeneste or rome. we must at once recall those who are away. philo, take a couple of brands and go and light the signal fire."
a pile of dry wood had been placed in readiness upon a projecting rock a mile away and standing in position where it was visible from a considerable extent of the hillside. it had been settled that the parties of hunters who did not return at nightfall should occasionally send one of their number to a point whence he could get a view of the beacon.
"directly the pile is well alight, philo, pluck up green bushes and tufts of grass and throw upon it, so as to make as much smoke as possible."
there were eighteen men in the encampment, and four out on guard. boduoc and gatho were both away, and as soon as philo had started with the brands beric and porus set out with the two scouts.
"that was where we saw them," one of them said, pointing far down the hillside, "but by this time they will no doubt have entered the wooded belt."
"we must find out something about their numbers," beric said. "not that i wish to fight; for were we to inflict losses upon them they would more than ever make efforts to overtake us. still, it will be as well to know what force they may think sufficient to capture us."
"i will go down through the forest," porus said, "doubtless they will have some light armed troops with the spearmen; but they must be fleet indeed if they overtake me after all my training."
"do not let them see you if you can help it, porus, or they will follow close behind you, although they might not overtake you, and that might bring on a fight."
"i will be careful;" and leaving his buckler behind him, porus started on his way down the mountain.
in an hour and a half he returned. "i have had a good view of them," he said; "they have halted at the place where we got the flour. there are a hundred heavy armed troops and a hundred archers and slingers."
"they have come in strength," beric said; "it shows that they do not hold the britons cheaply. we will return at once to the camp. by this time the hunters should be back."
sending one of the men to call in the other sentries, they returned to the huts. boduoc, with a party of ten men, had already come in, and said that they had seen gatho's party making their way down from a point high up in the mountains.
"we will pause no longer," beric said, "we shall meet them as they descend; take the flour and what little wine remains, and let us be going. scatter the fire and extinguish the brands; unless they have found some goatherd who has marked us coming and going, they may not find this place. i hope they will not do so, as it would encourage them by the thought that they had nearly captured us."
the party had ascended the mountain half a mile when they met gatho returning.
"i like not to retreat without fighting," he said, when he had heard from beric of the coming of the romans and their force; "but i agree with you that it is better not to anger them farther."
"i want three of the fleetest footed of your men, gatho, to stay behind with porus and watch them, themselves unseen. we will cross over the crest of the hills to the eastern side, porus. do you mark that tall craig near the summit; you will find one of us there, and he will lead you to our camping place. i want to know whether the romans, after spending the day searching the hills, go back through the forest, or whether they encamp here. in the one case we can return, in the other it will be better to move south at once. we could laugh at their heavy armed spearmen, but their archers and slingers carry no more weight than we do, and would harass us sorely with their missiles, which we have no means of returning."
as soon as the men to remain with porus were chosen, the rest of the band proceeded on their way.
