pposite to the hill from which the pass was approached,
Narses had pitched his tents with the Longobardians; on his right
Johannes; on his left Cethegus.

The Prefect drew the attention of his tribunes to the fact that Narses,
by the cession of this position--Cethegus himself had chosen it--had
given either a proof of great imprudence or of complete inoffensiveness
of intention, "for," said Cethegus, "with this position he has left
open the way to Rome, which he could easily have prevented, by giving
me the command of the right wing or of the centre. Hold yourselves in
readiness to start secretly and at night with all the Isaurians, as
soon as a sign is made by Rome."

"And you?" asked Licinius anxiously.

"I remain here with the dreaded commander. If he had wished to murder
me--he could have done so long ago. But it is evident that he has no
such intention. He will not act against me without just cause. And if I
obey the call of the Romans, I do not break, I fulfil, our agreement."

CHAPTER VI.

Above the narrow pass on Vesuvius, which we will call the Ravine of the
Goths, a small but deep chasm had been formed by the black blocks of
lava. Within it King Teja had concealed the most sacred possession of
the nation--the corpse of King Theodoric and the royal treasure.
Theodoric's banner was fixed before the mouth of this chasm.

A purple mantle, stretched upon four spears, formed the dark curtain to
the rocky chamber which the last King of the Goths had chosen for his
royal hall. A block of lava, covered with the skin of the black tiger,
formed his last throne.

Here King Teja rested, when not called away by his jealously-held post
at the southern entrance of the Ravine of the Goths; upon which, now
from a distance with arrows, slings, and hurling--spears, now close at
hand in a bold and sudden attack, the outposts of Narses commenced
their assaults. None of the brave guardians returned home without
bringing tokens of such attacks upon shield and armour, or leaving
signs at the entrance of the ravine, in the form of slain enemies.

This happened so frequently, that the stench arising from the decay of
the bodies threatened to render any further sojourn in the ravine
impossible. Narses seemed to have counted upon this circumstance, for,
when Basiliskos lamented the useless sacrifice, he said, "Perhaps our
slain soldiers will be more useful after death than during their life."