there. His absence was taken by the Gauls as a
sign that his power was weakening, and they considered that they had a
splendid chance to revolt successfully and throw off the Roman power.
And among them there sprang up a leader named Vercingetorix, who in his
way was almost as great a genius as Caesar himself, possessed of
boundless courage and hardihood.

A revolt in Gaul at that time would endanger all Caesar's chances for
success in Rome. Should his army be overcome he would have no means of
enforcing his power there, and a defeat would utterly destroy the
prestige that he had built up among the Romans at the cost of so much
money and labor. So Caesar hurried across the Alps and after maneuvering
his legions in a manner that showed to the world he was a genius in the
art of war, he succeeded in surrounding the greater part of the forces
of Vercingetorix.

To save his comrades Vercingetorix gave in to Caesar, and galloped out
of his stronghold to give up his sword. He laid his arms at Caesar's
feet and surrendered himself as a captive. Caesar kept him as a prisoner
for a number of years, after which time he was taken to Rome and forced
to walk in the triumph of the conqueror. Then he suffered the fate of
the captives of Rome. He was shut up in a dungeon and strangled, and
his body was thrown upon one of the refuse heaps of the mighty city.

Continued success in Gaul had by this time made Caesar's name so great
in Rome that the Senate had grown to fear him. Pompey too was jealous
of his growing power, and Caesar was finally ordered by the Senate to
disband his army. The two officers of the people, called the tribunes,
whose names were Antony and Cassius, vetoed this act on the part of the
Senate, and were hunted from Rome and fled to Caesar's camp for refuge.

Then the Senate, wildly afraid that Caesar would return at the head of
his troops and become a tyrant like Sulla, declared war against Caesar
and put in Pompey's hands the task of humbling his former friend. Caesar
had no intention of disbanding his troops. His soldiers loved him
deeply and would follow wherever he led them. And Caesar exhorted his
men to stand by him, promising them honor and riches if he should
succeed in overcoming his enemies at Rome, and the men with wild cheers
swore that they would follow him to the death.

At the head of a powerful and well disciplined army that was devoted to
him, Caesar advanced on Rome. When he came to a stream ca