Les aventures du Capitaine Magon. English

by David-Léon Cahun

  CHAPTER XXIII.

  WE SETTLE OUR ACCOUNTS WITH BODMILCAR.

  It was quite late in the evening before we reached the bar of theriver, and as I was fearful of crossing it in the dark, I gave ordersto lay to for the night. A small Chaldean camp was within sight, butI took every precaution to guard against any act of treachery on thepart of Belesys.

  A number of booths made of branches of trees had been erected onthe shore, and some Phœnician dealers were purchasing plunderfrom the soldiers, and supplying them with wine in return. Himilco,Gisgo, and several others expressed a great wish to go ashore, andalthough I knew that they would only be drinking and bragging oftheir adventures, I could not find it in my heart to refuse them. Ionly stipulated that they should not go out of hearing. A couple ofhours later, being curious to know what was going on in the littlemart that looked so bright with its many lamps, I took Bichri andJonah, and rowed to land. Just as I stepped on shore, I observed twogalleys pass down stream, as if about to anchor below us; they werefollowed by a gaoul, which kept very close to the opposite bank;but as the river was very wide, and it was quite dusk, I could notdistinguish its form. Knowing, moreover, that there was a great dealof slave-trafficking going on with the Assyrians, I did not give thecircumstance more than a casual attention.

  HIMILCO AND GISGO IN ANIMATED CONVERSATION WITH THE CHALDEAN SOLDIERS. _To face page 327._]

  I found Himilco and Gisgo in animated conversation with the Chaldeansoldiers, who evidently regarded all their tales about enormousstags, stinking fish-oil, and the sun shining on the wrong side, asmere romances, if not downright lies. One of them avowed that nopower on earth would ever make him believe that any people couldaccept Jonah for their god, a mere human being like themselves. Tothis Bichri replied, somewhat contemptuously, that he could not seebut that Jonah was every whit as good as Nisroch; and Gisgo addedthat he could believe anything after seeing how the Assyrians allowedthemselves to be bullied by Belochus and his general Belesys.

 

  Furious at the insults offered alike to his god and to hisrulers, the Chaldean threatened to break every bone in Gisgo'sskin; whereupon Gisgo replied that he was quite ready to accept achallenge, and that he would fight it out in any way he pleased; likethe people of Prydhayn or Ar-Mor, if he chose.

  "You had better not be fighting with us," said Himilco; "we conquerwherever we go; Sicilians, Garamantines, Suomi, Germani, we havethrashed them all. We have been to the river Illiturgis, and to thePyrenees, and to the Chariot of the Gods, and to the FortunateIslands, where we got as much gold as we liked. Everything succeedswith us; and the best thing you can do is to leave us alone."

  The man looked aghast at the string of names which Himilco repeatedout so volubly, and, in a half-apologetic tone, replied:

  "You Sidonians are wonderful travellers. I am a Kardook, and thoughtI had done something marvellous in coming here from my far-offmountains. The world is much larger than I reckoned."

  Another Chaldean now put in his word, and said that though he had notbeen to Tarshish, he had just seen a man of Tarshish.

  "Just seen one! where?" asked Himilco.

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

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

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

  "Make it two, and I will tell you."

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

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

  The very sound of the name was enough. My men caught it, and in aninstant we were all on our way back to the ships. Once on board, Iheld a consultation with the officers, and put them in possessionof the fact that Bodmilcar was lying in wait a few cables' lengthbelow us; that he was in connection with the army; and that itwas extremely likely that Belesys would attack us in the rear. Howmelancholy would it be, I urged, if our enterprise, hitherto sosuccessful, should be marred by our hateful foe at last!

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

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

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

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

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

  Using every possible caution, we proceeded towards the river-mouth.The _Ashtoreth_ took the middle of the channel, with the _Adonibal_on her right, and the _Cabiros_ on her left. Every light had beenextinguished, and it was with throbbing pulses that the men on boardstood, ready armed, peering out into the darkness. Bichri had spreadout his arrows within reach upon the deck, and was crouching down,his bow full strung; he was between Dionysos and Jonah. The trumpeterwas armed with a huge hatchet in his girdle, and the little Phocianwas provided with his bow and arrow ready for immediate use. Himilco,holding his cutlass and shield, took his post at the stern, directingthe helmsman; Hannibal and Chamai placed themselves at the head oftheir own companies, and stood almost on tiptoe in their eagerness toget the first glimpse of the enemy.

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

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

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

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

  As I had myself superintended the construction of the _Melkarth_, Iwas well aware that her flanks were far too substantial to be injuredby any blow from our prows; I knew, moreover, that her height wasso great that it gave her an immense advantage in overwhelming uswith missiles, and rendered every thought of boarding her untenable.But I also knew her weak points. I had myself experienced that herenormous weight made her difficult to move; and I resolved in my ownmind that, if possible, I would take advantage of this defect. Afterascertaining from Himilco, who knew enough of the channel to form areliable opinion, that the _Melkarth_ drew too much water to be ableto move a cable's length to the right of where she was, I ordered ourboats to be laden with all the combustibles they could carry. I nextsignalled to the _Cabiros_ to come alongside, and telling Himilco tofollow me, I went on board her, Hamilcar being left in charge of the_Ashtoreth_. All this time the arrows from the enemy's ships werefalling fast about us, and Bodmilcar, evidently expecting assistancefrom Belesys behind us, was fighting as if sure of victory.

  Gisgo joined Himilco at the helm of the _Cabiros_, and I stoodbetween them to give my orders. Never, I can confidently say, was avessel more skilfully piloted. After taking the two boats in tow, andeffectually setting light to their cargo of combustibles, we borestraight down upon the _Melkarth_; and when we were within half abowshot, we were descried by Bodmilcar, who began to jeer us.

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

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

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

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

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

  The _Cabiros_ now dashed between the _Melkarth_ and the galley onher right, and in endeavouring to avoid us, the gaoul became wedgedbetween the burning boats. In the midst of a shower of arrows, one ofwhich wounded my cheek, I cut asunder the towing-ropes; the flamesbroke forth, and a long jet of smoke rose high into the air. Gisgowas wounded in the thigh, and could not stand, but he continuedbravely to steer upon his knees. So rapidly had we darted by, thatthe volley of missiles intended for our deck went splashing andcrashing down upon the water in our wake; and as we retraced ourcourse on the other side just as rapidly, I called out to Bodmilcarthat I meant to serve his ship as I had served the Egyptian galley atTanis. Himilco, too, did not spare him some cutting jokes upon hisdilemma.

  Having returned to my own ship, I ordered the _Adonibal_ and the_Cabiros_ to make a joint attack with me upon one of the two galleys,and then to get right ahead of the other. We made the assault withthe very utmost of our strength; the galley made a desperate effortto escape us, but it was too late; before she could move I had stovein one of her sides, and driven her, by the violence of the shock,against the _Melkarth_ and the two burning boats. In the midst ofthe smoke I could see that the _Melkarth's_ men were franticallymaking their way on board the _Adonibal_, which had got betweenher and the other galley, and that the whole of the six ships werethus brought together into a compact mass, at one end of which theflames were raging furiously, and at the other hatchets, swords, andcutlasses were being wielded with relentless desperation.

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

  Simultaneously my own people and the crew of the _Cabiros_ made theirway on to her deck. Bodmilcar was already there. Hanno rushed towardshim and cried:

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

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

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

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

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

  He had recognised the man for whom he had been looking for the lastfourteen years, and had knocked him down: the two were rollingtogether on the deck.

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

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

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

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

  Meanwhile Jonah, backed up courageously by Aminocles, was performingfeats of wonder with his cutlass; Hannibal and Chamai, with theirarmour all battered in, were on the prow, pushing man after manback overboard into the water; Hamilcar was reported to be killed;Hasdrubal was badly wounded, but still clinging to his helm; I wentto his assistance, and by our joint effort we succeeded in bringingthe ship round so as to be out of the reach of the threateningflames; the _Ashtoreth_ and _Cabiros_ had sheered off a little, andwere waiting my summons to come again alongside; and the other galleyof the enemy, although it escaped the fire, had gone adrift.

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

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

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

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

  "Back to the _Ashtoreth_!"

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

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

  For more than half an hour, Bodmilcar endured our projectiles; but atlength I came to the determination of again facing him on board the_Adonibal_. We found him standing on the bow, surrounded by a scantyremnant of hardly more than thirty men. His face was covered withblood.

  "Shall I shoot him?" asked Bichri.

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

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

  "Here's your man, captain!"

  Bodmilcar struggled to get free.

  "Attempt to escape," said the trumpeter, "and I'll shake the life outof your body!"

  Foaming with suppressed rage, the captured man submitted to his fate.

  MY ACCOUNT WAS SETTLED WITH BODMILCAR. _To face page 335._]

  He was motionless and silent. Nothing could induce him to open hislips; sullenly he heard my questions; obstinately he refused toreply. He was tied to a rope's-end, and was soon swinging at the endof the yard-arm of the _Adonibal_.

  My account was settled with Bodmilcar.

  * * * * *

  We were soon upon our homeward way.

  After reporting our experiences to the Queen of Sheba, we proceededto Tyre along the canal of Pharaoh, stopping only to pay our devoirsto King Solomon.

  A triumphal reception awaited us. Throngs of our countrymen assembledto welcome our return; and King Hiram, in our honour, gave asumptuous banquet, at which he invited me publicly to narrate thehistory of our protracted and adventurous voyage.

  The King munificently gave me the three vessels which I had broughtsafely home, and the people unanimously elected me naval suffect atSidon.

  I appointed Hannibal captain of my men-at-arms, and retainedHimilco, Gisgo, and Hasdrubal in my service in various posts of goodemolument. The report of Hamilcar being killed in action had provedtoo true.

  I have little more to tell.

  All Phœnicia knows how I superintended the floating of thecedar-wood and all the materials which King Solomon required for themagnificent temple he was rearing at Jerusalem. Chamai is a captainin King Solomon's army, and is invariably recognised with everytoken of respect when he comes with Abigail, his wife, to visit meat the Admiralty palace. Every one, too, knows Bichri, the richvine-dresser, who periodically comes to Sidon to sell his barrelsand skins of sparkling wine, always inviting Himilco to the firsttaste of the produce of his vineyards; whilst every year a vessel issent with all due pomp to Paphos to bring Hanno, the high priest ofAshtoreth, with the lovely Chryseis, her priestess and his wife, tosacrifice in the temple of their great metropolis. Dionysos, who hasbecome a distinguished instructor of his countrymen in navigation,and Aminocles, his proud and aged father, generally accompany them.

 

  On these occasions the _Cabiros_, adorned with embroidered hangings,puts out to sea in honour of my guests, and brings them to my privatequay, where they are always hailed with acclamation as my formercompanions in the discovery of the Cassiterides, the Amber-coast,and the Fortunate Islands.

  During the period of our festivities it is generally observed thatHimilco does not walk home part
icularly straight, a circumstancethat Bichri notifies by whistling some Benjamite or Cymrian air; andwhen finally the guests depart, Jonah is never missing, as he alwaysinsists on preceding them to their ship with a magnificent flourishof his trumpet.