ossible. Even had he possessed arms and could
noiselessly have slain the two soldiers, he would be no nearer getting
away, for the chains were fastened as securely round their limbs as
round his own. Malchus, therefore, at once abandoned any idea of escape,
and lying quietly down meditated on his fate in the morning.

CHAPTER XII: AMONG THE PASSES

It was not until long after the guards to whom he was chained had fallen
asleep that Malchus followed their example. It seemed to him he had been
asleep a long time when a pressure by a hand on his shoulder woke him;
at the same moment another hand was placed over his mouth.

"Hush, my lord!" a voice said. It was Nessus. "Arise and let us go.
There is no time to be lost, for it is nigh morning. I have been the
whole night in discovering where you were."

"But the guards, Nessus?"

"I have killed them," Nessus said in a tone of indifference.

"But I am chained to them by the ankles."

Nessus gave a little exclamation of impatience, and then in the darkness
felt the irons to discover the nature of the fastenings. In a minute
there was a sound of a dull crashing blow, then Nessus moved to the
other side and the sound was repeated. With two blows of his short heavy
sword the Arab had cut off the feet of the dead Romans at the ankle, and
the chains were free.

"Put on the clothes of this man, my lord, and take his arms; I will take
those of the other."

As soon as this was done Nessus wrapped some folds of cloth round each
of the chains to prevent their clanking, then passing a band through the
ends he fastened them to Malchus' waist.

"Quick, my lord," he said as he finished the work; "daylight is
beginning to break."

They stepped over the dead sentry at the door of the tent and were going
on when Malchus said:

"Best lift him inside, Nessus; it may be some little time before it is
noticed that he is missing from his post."

This was quickly done, and they then moved away quietly among the tents
till they approached the rear of the camp. It was now light enough to
enable them to see dimly the figures of the Roman sentries placed at
short intervals round the camp.

"We cannot get through unseen," Malchus said.

"No, my lord," Nessus replied; "I have wasted too much time in finding
you."

"Then we had best lie down quietly here," Malchus said; "in a short time
the men will be moving about, and we can then pass through the sentries
without remark."

As