Volume Iii Part 47 (1/2)
The Prefect, just as he had entered the pine-wood and was about to follow the King's track, had been overtaken by a messenger from Liberius, who sent word for him to return immediately. Na.r.s.es was insensible, and the peril of the situation necessitated immediate counsel.
Na.r.s.es insensible--Liberius perplexed--the victory they had thought certain, endangered--these circ.u.mstances weighed more with the Prefect than the doubtful expectation of dealing the death-stroke to the half-dead King.
In haste Cethegus galloped back to Taginae the way that he had come.
When he reached the town he found Liberius, who cried:
”Too late! I have already settled and agreed to everything. A truce!
The rest of the Goths march off!”
”What?” thundered Cethegus--he would gladly have poured all the blood of the Goths upon the grave of his darling as a sacrifice. ”They march?
A truce? Where is Na.r.s.es?”
”He lies insensible in his litter; he has been taken with severe convulsions. The fright, the surprise--it prostrated him, and no wonder.”
”What surprise? Speak, man!”
And Liberius briefly related how they had forced their way into Taginae with fearful loss of blood, ”for the Goths stood like a wall”--had been obliged to storm house by house, even room by room--”we were obliged to hack to pieces by inches one of their leaders, who ran Anzalas through as he leaped into the first breach, before we could force our way into the town over his body.”
”Who was he?” asked Cethegus earnestly. ”I hope Earl Teja?”
”No; Earl Thoris.m.u.th. When we had finished our b.l.o.o.d.y work, and Na.r.s.es was about to let himself be carried into the town, he met in the gate a messenger from our left wing--which no more exists! It was Zeuxippos, wounded, and accompanied by Gothic heralds.”
”Who has----?”
”He whom you just named--Earl Teja! He guessed or learned that Zeuxippos was threatening his centre, that the King was wounded--and, well knowing that he would arrive too late to turn the course of events at Taginae, he came to a bold and desperate resolution. He suddenly gave up his post of expectation on the hills, threw himself upon our left wing, which was slowly advancing up the hill opposite to him, beat it at the first onset, pursued the fugitives into their camp, and there made prisoners of ten thousand of our men, and all the captains, amongst them my Orestes and Zeuxippos. He sent Gothic heralds to Na.r.s.es, who took Zeuxippos with them to witness to the truth of what they said, and demanded an immediate truce of twenty-four hours.”
”Impossible!”
”Otherwise he swore to slay all his ten thousand prisoners---together with the captains.”
”That is no matter,” observed Cethegus.
”It may be no matter to you, Roman--what matters to you a myriad of our troops?--but not so to Na.r.s.es. The terrible surprise, the still more terrible necessity of making a choice, quite prostrated him. A severe attack of his malady came on, and as he sank down, he gave me his commander's staff, and I, of course, accepted the conditions----”
”Of course, Pylades must save Orestes!” said Cethegus in a rage.
”And, besides, ten thousand men of the imperial army!”
”I am not bound by this agreement,” cried Cethegus; ”I shall again attack.”
”You dare not! Teja has taken most of his prisoners and all the captains with him as hostages--he will slay them if another arrow be shot?”
”Let him slay them! I shall attack.”
”See whether the Byzantines will follow you! I at once communicated the order of Na.r.s.es to your troops: for now _I_ am Na.r.s.es.”
”You shall die, as soon as Na.r.s.es has recovered his senses!”
But Cethegus perceived that he could do nothing against the Goths with his mercenaries alone. For when Teja had retreated to the cloister and chapel hill and the Flaminian Way with his prisoners, and Hildebrand's wing had also reached the road with little loss of life--for the two rivers, and then the news of the truce, had checked the pursuit attempted by Johannes--the Goths had gathered the rest of their troops together and taken up a safe position.