hed without difficulty. All day I kept my eye
on the vessel, which remained at anchor. As I could not tell to which
landing place you might be brought I went up in the evening and took
my post on the road leading up here, and when towards morning a party
entered, carrying one with them on a stretcher, I had little doubt that
it was you.

"I was sure to find friends among the Arabs either belonging to the
regiment stationed in Byrsa or those employed in the storehouses or
stables; so the next morning I entered the citadel and soon met these
men, who belonged to my tribe and village. After that my way was plain;
my only fear was that they might kill you before I could discover the
place in which you were confined, and my heart sank the first night when
I found that, though I whispered down every one of the gratings, I could
obtain no reply.

"I had many answers, indeed, but not from you. There might be many cells
besides those with openings into the temple, and were you placed in one
of these I might never hear of you again. I had resolved that if the
next night passed without my being able to find you, I would inform some
of those known to be friends of Hannibal that you were a prisoner, and
leave it in their hands to act as they liked, while I still continued my
efforts to communicate with you. You may imagine with what joy I heard
your reply on the following night."

"I must have been asleep the first night," Malchus said, "and did not
hear your voice."

"I feared to speak above a whisper, my lord; there are priests all night
in the sanctuary behind the great image."

Day had by this time broken, and a stir and bustle commenced in front
of the long line of casemates; the elephants were brought out from
their stables and stood rocking themselves from side to side while their
keepers rubbed their hides with pumice stone. Nessus was one of those
who was appointed to make the great flat cakes of coarse flour which
formed the principal food of the elephants. The other Arabs busied
themselves in bringing in fresh straw, which Malchus scattered evenly
over the stall; heaps of freshly cut forage were placed before each
elephant.

In a short time one of the Arabs took the place of Nessus in preparing
the cakes, while Nessus moved away and presently went down into the
town to await the coming of Malchus. By this arrangement if the
superintendent of the stables came round he would find the proper number
of men at work, an