o the last man. Not a foe shall
get in here; neither the Persians nor the Longobardians. I will protect
the King's life as long as I can raise a finger. Take him farther back;
into the mountain--into the cloister but make haste, for there, from
the Gate of Caprae, come the enemy's foot--and, look there!--Cethegus
the Prefect with his Isaurians! Caprae and our bowmen are lost!"

And so it was.

Wisand, obeying his orders, had not defended Caprae, but had allowed
Cethegus and Liberius to enter, and only when they were fairly inside
the town did he begin the fight in the streets, at the same time
sending a thousand of his men out of the southern gate to attack the
Longobardians.

But, as the ambuscades had fallen upon the Goths instead of the
Longobardians; as Alboin and Furius united in dispersing or
annihilating the few Gothic horsemen, and the attack intended by the
spearmen from Taginae did not take place; the Gothic bowmen, first in
Caprae itself, and then on the Flaminian Way, between Caprae and Taginae,
were quickly crushed by superior force.

Wisand escaped as if by a miracle, and, though wounded, reached Taginae
and reported the annihilation of his troops.

Narses was carried into Caprae, and the Illyrians began to storm Taginae.
Earl Thorismuth resisted heroically. He fought his best in order to
cover the retreat of his comrades.

He was presently reinforced by a few thousand men from Hildebrand's
left wing, who now hurried up, while the old master-at-arms led the
greater part of his troops southwards beyond Taginae upon the high-road
to Rome.

Just as the storming of Taginae was about to commence, Cethegus met
Furius and Alboin, who had recovered from the blows they had received.

Cethegus had heard of the course pursued by the Corsican, which had
decided the fate of the battle. He shook him by the hand.

"Well done, friend Furius! At last on the right side, and against the
barbarian King!"

"He must not escape alive!" growled the Corsican.

"What? How? He still lives! I thought that--he had fallen," said
Cethegus hastily.

"No; they managed to rescue him after he was wounded."

"He must not live!" cried Cethegus. "Then you are right! It is of more
importance than to win Taginae. Narses can manage that heroic work from
his litter. He has seventy to one. Up, Furius! Why do your horsemen
stand idle here?"

"The animals cannot ride up the walls!"

"No; but they can swim. Up! take three hundred y