we must have--
It is Roman flesh.'

"Tor-e-benn! Tor-e-benn!
Old sea-raven, tell me, what have you there?
The head of the Roman leader I clutch;
I want his eyes--his two red eyes!'
And you, sea-wolf, what have you there?

'The heart of the Roman leader I hold--
I am devouring it.'
And you, sea-serpent, what are you doing there,
Coiled 'round that neck, your flat head so close
To that mouth, already cold and blue?
'To hear the soul of the Roman leader
Take its departure am I here!'
Tor-e-benn! Tor-e-benn!"

Stirred up, like her husband, by the song of war, Meroe repeated with
him, seeming to defy Caesar, whose tent they discerned in the distance:

"Tor-e-benn! Tor-e-benn! Tor-e-benn!"

Still the bark of Albinik and Meroe played with the rocks and surges of
those dangerous roads, sometimes drawing off shore, sometimes in.

"You are the best and most courageous pilot I have ever met with, I, who
have in my life traveled so much on the sea," said Caesar to Albinik
when he had regained dry land, and, with Meroe, had left the boat.
"To-morrow, if the weather is fair, you will guide an expedition, the
destination of which you will know at the moment of setting sail."

CHAPTER V.

INTO THE SHALLOWS.

The following day, at sunrise, the wind being favorable and the sea
smooth, the Roman galleys were to sail. Caesar wished to be present at
the embarkment. He had Albinik brought to him. Beside the general was a
soldier of great height and savage mien. A flexible armor, made of
interwoven iron links, covered him from head to foot. He stood
motionless, a statue of iron, one might say. In his hand he held a
short, heavy, two-edged axe. Pointing out this man, the interpreter said
to Albinik:

"You see that soldier. During the sail he will stick to you like your
shadow. If through your fault or by treason, a single one of the galleys
grates her keel, he has orders to kill you and your companion on the
instant. If, on the contrary, you carry the fleet to harbor safely, the
general will overwhelm you with gifts. You will then give the most happy
mortals cause for envy."

"Caesar shall be satisfied," answered Albinik.

Followed by the soldier with the axe, he and Meroe went up into the
galley Pretoria which was to lead the fleet. She was distinguished from
the other ships by three gilded torches placed on the poop.

Each galley carried s