I'm not quite sure," said Marcus, thoughtfully, "though I think our
army must have won the day."

"There's no doubt about that, boy, and in such a fight as it has been
they could not help losing heavily; but I haven't seen the body and arms
of a single Roman soldier, and that is a sure sign that they won the
day, and then stopped to carry away their wounded and bury their dead."

Marcus shuddered, and they rode on for a time in silence, passing here
and there a little mound, and as soon as they had cleared one the old
soldier swept the distance with his eyes in search of another.

Marcus looked at him questioningly.

"Yes, boy," said the old fellow, softly; "an ugly way of tracking our
road, but a sure. Those hillocks show where they've laid some of our
poor fellows who fell out to lie down and die, and there their comrades
found them."

"War is very horrible," said Marcus, after a pause.

"Well, yes," replied Serge, "I suppose it is; but soldiers think it's
very glorious, and as a man's officers say it is, why, I suppose they're
right. But there; that's not for us to think about. It's not horrible
for our Roman soldiers to stop and bury their slain, and their doing
this has made it easy for us to follow the track of the army."

"Yes," said Marcus, who was gazing straight before him; "and look
there."

Serge shaded his eyes, and gazed in the direction pointed out.

"Yes," he said, "that's another sign-post to show us our way, and I dare
say we shall come upon some more, ready to prove that we are on the
right track. The crows seem to have been pretty busy there, boy."

"The crows and the ants," said Marcus.

"Yes, and maybe the wolves have been down from the mountains to have
their turn."

"Whoever would think, Serge, that those scattered white bones had once
formed a beautiful horse, just such a one as these we have in the
chariot?"

"Ah, who indeed?" replied the old soldier. "But I don't know that we
want to think about it, boy. Let's think about your message and getting
on to deliver it. We must make the best of our way while the light
lasts, so as to get on as far as we can, as we know now that we're going
right. I should like to get down to some hilly or mountainous hit."

"What for, Serge?"

"To climb up when it's dark."

"Because you think it will be safe to sleep there?"

"No, boy; I was not thinking of sleeping till we get our message
delivered. I was wondering whether we should be