fortress erected by the gods of their
native land, all courage to offer resistance must have deserted them."

"And it evidently _has_ abandoned them. All taste for war was
thoroughly extirpated by the departed hero, Valentinian, and our bold
young Emperor, his son. My pupil!" he added complacently. "I am quite
sure that all danger to the Empire from the Germans is over."

His companion silently shook his head. Just at that moment a captain of
the mailed horsemen, a man numbering about five and twenty years,
dashed forward from the centre of the Roman column. Tangled locks hung
from beneath his helmet, and his features were ignoble in form and
disagreeable in expression.

"Must we cross that accursed cliff. Tribune?" he exclaimed, abruptly
checking his horse.

"We must," replied the Illyrian quietly. "I have just learned that our
left wing has again found the morass in the forest bottomless, and is
approaching along this, our only road. And the waves of the lake are
dashing at our right."

The young man cast a doubtful glance at the cliff. "H'm," he muttered,
"it will cost us many men. But that's no misfortune," he added, "we
have more than enough Barbarians in our pay; if they fall fighting
against other Barbarians, there will simply be fewer of the beasts."

"An abominable remark, nephew Herculanus," replied the Prefect
reprovingly.

"If the ascent be resisted," said the Tribune, "it will consume much
time, and we have none to lose. We ought to have been on the bank of
the Ister long ago to fight the Goths. I am anxious about the Emperor
Valens. I have a presentiment of evil."

"You are always boding evil," replied the Prefect, smiling, "but the
evil never comes, the good fortune of eternal Rome always conquers.
Hark, it is the same now. The trumpeter is giving the signal: 'All
safe! Forward!' and the Centurion of the Batavians, who climbed the
height first--what is his name?--Rignomer, is beckoning to us to
follow. Up, friends! Was I not right, my brave Tribune? The Barbarians
will make no defence."

"You are right as usual, uncle!" said Herculanus with a smile intended
to be pleasant, but which made quite the opposite impression.

"If you only remain right, Ausonius!" said the Illyrian hesitatingly.
"Yet at the moment it really does appear so. Up, give the signal with
the tubas: Forward! We will pitch our camp for the night on that
height, and the land of the Alemanni will be defenceless before us."