of
a thunderbolt. The first rank of the Herulians was scattered as
completely as if it had never stood there.

"Where is the King?" cried Fara, springing forward.

"Here," rang the answer.

The next instant five of his Herulians were supporting their sorely
wounded leader. This I saw, then I fell backward. The young Vandal
behind the King had sent his spear whizzing against my firm coat of
mail; I staggered, fell, and slid like an arrow down the smooth sandy
incline, much faster and more easily than I had climbed it. When I came
to myself and rose again, Fara's faithful followers were bearing him
past me on two shields. The leader of the Armenians was leaning on his
spear.

"Do you believe it now, Fara?" he asked. "Yes," replied the German,
pressing his bleeding head. "I believe it now. My beautiful helmet," he
went on, laughing. "But better to have the helmet cleft than the skull
under it, too." When he reached the bottom of the mountain he laughed
no longer; one hundred and twenty of his two hundred Herulians lay dead
among the rocks. I think this will be the only storming of Mount
Pappua.

* * * * *

Fara's wound is healing. But he complains a great deal of headache.

* * * * *

They must be miserably starving to death on that accursed mountain.
Deserters often come down now, but only Moors. Not a single Vandal
during the whole campaign has voluntarily joined us, in spite of my
fine invitation to treason and revolt! Of the much-lauded German
virtues fidelity seems to be almost the only one which has remained to
these degenerates.

Fara gave orders that no more should be received.

"The more mouths and stomachs Gelimer has, the smaller his stock of
food will be," he said.

But now, as they will no longer be accepted as comrades in arms, the
Moors sell themselves for slaves for a bit of bread. Fara also
prohibited this sorrowful trading. He said to his men:

"Let them starve up there; you will get them all as captives of war so
much the sooner."

Yet it does the Vandals (it is said that there are not more than forty
of them) all honor that they still hold out while the Moors succumb. It
is the strongest contrast conceivable; for everything we heard in
Constantinople concerning the luxury and effeminacy of the Vandals was
surpassed by what we saw in their palaces, villas, and houses, and by
what the Carthaginians have told us. Two