ften the breast of the enormous bronze Moloch which we
have in Carthage! A moment ago, in the solitude of my tent, I felt weak
and disheartened, but talking with you revives my strength. Look at me
well; you are in the presence of one who fears neither men nor gods!"

"The gods!" exclaimed Asbyte with a throb of terror. "Do you not fear
that they will punish you?"

A peal of laughter, sarcastic, tinged with deep scorn, answered the
Amazon.

"The gods!" exclaimed Hannibal. "I live among warriors of all nations.
Each one adores his own gods, and I know so many, so many, that I do not
believe in any of them, and I jest at them all. In Carthage I adored
Moloch; here you have often seen me dedicate sacrifices to the Iberian
divinities, to attract the people to me. If some day I enter as a
conqueror that city where my thought continually dwells, the populace
shall acclaim me, seeing me climb to the Capitol to offer thanks to
their gods. I believe only in force and strategy. I have but one
tutelary god--war, who makes giants of men, giving them the omnipotence
of divinity. If on becoming lord of the earth, I find no one with whom
to fight, I shall die, thinking the world empty!"

The Amazon bowed her head, overcome with sadness.

"I realize now that you will never be mine, Hannibal! You love war above
all things else, and will be faithful to it as long as you live. You are
indeed a bird of prey; the momentary love of a slave woman satisfies
you; the wounded and weeping woman who falls into the power of your
soldiers as they enter a city through a breach in its walls satiates
you. You will never understand love and its sweetness."

Hannibal shrugged his shoulders scornfully.

"I love victory, success! The laurel which Greek heroes bound upon their
brows in the triumph has for me a more penetrating perfume than the
roses of the poets. Cease your laments, Asbyte; be a warrior, and forget
that you are a woman; I will love you more. You shall be my brother in
arms. Why think of those nights of love when I was still in misfortune
and lacking in soldiers, now that all Iberia follows me and I see my
dreams of world-power beginning to be realized? Look over this camp,
where infinite tongues are spoken, and where each tribe dresses in a
different costume. They flow in like streams which swell the torrent.
Each day new warriors appear. How many are they? No one knows. Maherbal
said yesterday that there were a hundred and twenty th