ses of barbarian officers were heard calling to order.
Those who were sitting sprang up; those who were drinking snatched
their weapons and ran to their places; chaotic throngs developed into
ranks, and all this took place amid outcries and tumult. Meanwhile the
Egyptian slingers cast a number of missiles each minute. They were as
calm and well ordered as at a maneuver. The decurions indicated to
their men the hostile crowds against which they must strike, and in the
course of some minutes they covered them with a shower of stones and
leaden bullets. The prince saw that after every such shower a Libyan
crowd scattered and very often one man remained on the earth behind the
others.

Still the Libyan ranks formed and withdrew outside the reach of
missiles, then their slingers pushed forward and with equal swiftness
and coolness replied to the Egyptians. At times there were bursts of
laughter in their ranks and shouts of delight at the fall of some
Egyptian slinger.

Soon above the heads of the prince and his retinue stones began to
whizz and whistle. One, cast adroitly, struck the arm of an adjutant,
and broke the bone in it; another knocked the helmet from a second
adjutant; a third, falling at the prince's feet, was broken against the
cliff and struck the leader's face with fragments as hot as boiling
water.

The Libyans laughed loudly and shouted out something: apparently they
were abusing the viceroy.

Fear and, above all, compassion and pity left the soul of Ramses in an
instant. He saw before him no longer people threatened by death and
anguish, but lines of savage beasts which he had to kill or deprive of
weapons. Mechanically he reached for his sword to lead on the spearmen
awaiting command, but he was restrained by contempt of the enemy. Was
he to stain himself with the blood of that rabble? Warriors were there
for that purpose.

Meanwhile the battle continued, and the brave Libyan slingers, while
shouting and even singing, began to press forward. From both sides
missiles whizzed like beetles, buzzed like bees, sometimes they struck
one another in the air with a crack, and every minute or two on this
side or that some warrior went to the rear groaning, or fell dead
immediately. But this did not spoil the humor of others: they fought
with malicious delight, which gradually changed to rage and self
oblivion.

Then from afar on the right wing were heard sounds of trumpets, and
shouts repeated frequently. Th