nce he declared that he was
willing, they went with him against Hadrumetum. And upon coming near the
city, they sent Himerius a little in advance with some of the soldiers
of Stotzas, dragging along, as it seemed, some Moors in chains, and they
themselves followed behind. And they directed Himerius to say to those
in command of the gates of the city that the emperor's army had won a
decisive victory, and that John would come very soon, bringing an
innumerable multitude of Moorish captives; and when in this manner the
gates had been opened to them, he was to get inside the fortifications
together with those who went with him. And he carried out these
instructions. And the citizens of Hadrumetum, being deceived in this way
(for they could not distrust the commander of all the troops in
Byzacium), opened wide the gates and received the enemy. Then, indeed,
those who had entered with Himerius drew their swords and would not
allow the guards there to shut the gates again, but straightway received
the whole army of the Moors into the city. And the barbarians, after
plundering it and establishing there some few guards, departed. And of
the Romans who had been captured some few escaped and came to Carthage,
among whom were Severianus and Himerius. For it was not difficult for
those who wished it to make their escape from Moors. And many also, not
at all unwillingly, remained with Stotzas.

Not long after this one of the priests, Paulus by name, who had been
appointed to take charge of the sick, in conferring with some of the
nobles, said: "I myself shall journey to Carthage and I am hopeful that
I shall return quickly with an army, and it will be your care to receive
the emperor's forces into the city." So they attached some ropes to him
and let him down by night from the fortifications, and he, coming to the
sea-shore and happening upon a fishing-vessel which was thereabouts, won
over the masters of this boat by great sums of money and sailed off to
Carthage. And when he had landed there and come into the presence of
Sergius, he told the whole story and asked him to give him a
considerable army in order to recover Hadrumetum. And since this by no
means pleased Sergius, inasmuch as the army in Carthage was not great,
the priest begged him to give him some few soldiers, and receiving not
more than eighty men, he formed the following plan. He collected a large
number of boats and skiffs and embarked on them many sailors and Libyan