The Adventures of Captain Mago. Cahun David-Léon
five or six hours after our anchoring, I resigned my watch to Himilco, intending to take some rest. On my way to my berth I cast my eye towards the right bank, and through the gloom I could see indistinctly that there was a crowd of vessels there; but everything was silent, and I went below.
I had not been asleep for more than a half-an-hour when I was roughly aroused by Himilco.
"We are adrift!" he exclaimed.
In an instant I was upon my feet, and rushed to examine our moorings. They were cut asunder.
"All hands on deck! lights! light the lamps!" I cried with all my might; and at the same time I noticed lights appearing on the left, and heard a distant voice hailing the Ashtoreth with the cry, "Our moorings have been cut, and we are all adrift." I shouted in reply that they should come over to us; it was only too evident that another of our ships was in the same dilemma as ourselves.
Meantime my crew had come on deck, and had lighted several signals. I ordered the rowers to their benches, and made them backwater gently so as to keep us steady until the other ship should join us. At the distance of about four bowshots behind, I made out the Cabiros hoisting her lights, and could hear the voices of the crew in great excitement. Almost immediately there was a splash of oars, and the Dagon came alongside of us. I shouted to Hasdrubal, who was standing on board:
"Where's the Melkarth?"
Getting no satisfactory reply, I immediately ordered the three ships on to the left bank. The Dagon went straight across the river; I followed, taking an oblique course, and the Cabiros, hastening ahead, went a little way south, and then turned back due north, keeping as close as possible to the shore.
During the time we were getting across, Hannibal had just put all his men under arms, as it occasioned us much surprise that while there was this commotion amongst ourselves the Egyptians had made no sign nor sound; their lights were out, and their cruisers no longer to be seen. The Cabiros rejoined us, and reported that she had seen nothing; nor even after we had descended the river a couple of stadia was a single Egyptian vessel visible, and it was not until we were within hearing of the roar of the waves at the river's mouth that we almost ran against some black mass that loomed through the darkness.
"Back to your moorings, Phœnicians! no leaving the river at night!" shouted a voice, in Egyptian.
"We don't want, I can tell you," I replied, "to be running away like a set of thieves. We have been cut adrift, and one of our ships has disappeared."
"Then get fresh moorings," was the answer: "you must wait till morning. By Pharaoh's orders, you cannot leave to-night."
There was no help for it but to obey; and sending some men on shore in the small boat with torches, we succeeded in finding an anchorage. But scarcely had we settled in our places, when our attention was arrested by a voice from the middle of the river gasping out in Phœnician, "Help! help!"
We put off a boat in the direction of the sound; the cry was repeated still closer to us, and in a few minutes the boat returned alongside, and one of my sailors, dripping with water, was hoisted on to the deck of the Ashtoreth. He was in a pitiable condition, his face all bleeding, and his head gashed open in several places.
"Treason, treason! we are betrayed by Bodmilcar!" was all he could utter, as he staggered and fell senseless on the deck. I ordered him to be laid upon a piece of carpet, whilst Abigail chafed his face with ointment, and Himilco put some wine to his lips. I had ascertained quite enough to put me on my guard, and consequently had our lights extinguished, permitting only one lamp and one torch to each ship: and I gave directions to the watch to keep a keen look-out.
Meanwhile the poor fellow had recovered his consciousness, and Hanno, Hannibal, Himilco, Chamai, and myself, pressed round him to gather what he had to say. One of our sailors supported his head to facilitate his power of speech, and Abigail and the Ionian knelt beside him, with the wine and ointment.
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