"I told you so," said Himilco; "I knew well enough that the Iberian scoundrels would be at their old games again."
To face [page 220].
While he spoke, Jonah's trumpet sounding an alarm told only too plainly that the column was being attacked in the rear, and in front a frightful chorus of yells and war-cries was followed instantaneously by an avalanche of stones. One of my poor sailors fell at my side with his skull smashed, and all the native bearers who had entered the ravine threw down their loads and fled precipitately.
"Form a line!" shouted Hannibal to his men; and in spite of the storm of stones that was falling around him, the intrepid leader mounted a projecting rock, and brandishing his sword, vigorously rallied his force. A party of sailors made a body-guard about the two women, and Chamai, pale with rage and excitement, rushed with his sword drawn to Hannibal's side.
"What do you think of this?" said Himilco to me, pathetically, as he picked up a great stone that had fallen within a hand's breadth of his side; "these Tarshish almonds seem to be falling pretty thick."
And as if in answer to his words, a second storm yet heavier than the first came pelting down amongst us, and knocked over several of our men; but this time it came from behind, from the quarter of the ravine that we had just quitted, and showed us that we were assailed as much in our rear as in front.
"O, if only we had some cavalry and some chariots," began Hannibal; "how easy to turn both flanks like the Khetas[40] did with the Assyrians.[41] We would send our cavalry to the right, and our chariots to the left, and a free passage for our own centre should soon be forced."