"Room, I want! give me room!" roared the giant, as he brandished his enormous weapon; "bring me bullocks, sheep, calves, cakes, wine, anything, and I'll earn my dinner honestly." And striking out more furiously than ever he roared again, "Room, room! elbow-room, I say!"
Three or four of the Hellenes now made a simultaneous attack upon myself. I succeeded in slashing the face of one of them who had knocked my shield out of my hand with his lance, but in a moment I felt myself grasped round the throat by another, who forced me backward, and was about to cut off my head with his scimitar, when Hanno caught him by the wrist and plunged his sword beneath his armpit. The two of them came down heavily upon me, and we were all three rolling on the deck together; a third man darted forward, and I could see the gleam of a lance as it pointed to Hanno's breast, when Chamai rushed to the rescue, and dealing a powerful blow, sent the fellow staggering back. Hanno rose, and placing his foot upon the dead man's neck found it taxed all his strength to withdraw the sword with which he had slain him. As I regained my footing, I caught sight of Chryseis standing near her cabin-door; her hands were tightly clasped, and her face was deadly pale, but she had not lost her self-command. Abigail was close beside her; like a true daughter of Judah, she had seized a sword which she was pointing defiantly against a soldier who had lost his lance, and who, as though scared at being challenged by a woman, was cowering behind his shield.
Chamai's keen eye soon discerned what was passing, and followed by Hanno, he rushed like a wild bull through the crush, knocking down friends and foes alike, as he made his way to the protection of the women.
Meanwhile Himilco and fifteen of the sailors, cutlass and hatchet in hand, forced their way along and grouped themselves close to me. Telling them that now was their chance, I led them forwards and succeeded in effectually clearing the whole fore-ship, the Hellenes stumbling over ropes and rigging in their precipitous retreat. On reaching the prow I turned, to make the reassuring discovery that Hanno and Chamai had been equally successful in clearing the stern, and that they were closing in towards Bichri and his men at the mast, where they were engaged in repelling a fresh contingent of the enemy. Above the mass of heads and shields I could see Jonah's handspike swinging to and fro, and above the confusion of cries and yells I could hear his sonorous shout of defiance:
"Come on, Dodanim! I am your man. Let me earn my dinner. Come on! Come on!"
With such determination did Bichri and his supporters beat back the assailants, that ere long the middle deck was as clear as prow and stern, and there rose a frantic cheer of triumph. The Ashtoreth was free from her enemies.
The cry of success was followed by a shout of welcome to the Dagon, which at that moment came dashing up at a prodigious speed, sinking a boat as it approached, and discharging a volley of arrows amongst the boats that still persevered in hanging around us.
I now signalled to my helmsman to hold himself ready, and sent my rowers down the hatchways to their oars; they found some Hellenes skulking in the hold, but they soon despatched them; and it was the work of only a few minutes to get clear of the remnant of the attacking boats, and to bring the Ashtoreth sharply round until she was in a position on one side of the Cabiros corresponding with that of the Dagon on the other. Hannibal had returned to us, and gave us whatever assistance was in his power. Yet another boat was sunk; and the crews of two more, overwhelmed in terror, leaped overboard and swam after the fugitives, who, under a shower of arrows, were making their way off.
No longer called upon to act upon the defensive, we next turned our attention to the main company of the convoys, of which three already had been abandoned by their crews and were drifting helplessly on the waves. As we were steering towards them, I chanced to look astern, and to my surprise I found that the boat we had in tow was crowded with armed men, who had evidently got into it with the design of boarding us, and had not been able to make their escape with their comrades. I made Bichri come on to the poop with a party of his bowmen, and he succeeded in hitting one of the Hellenes in the shoulder just as he was about to sever the tow-rope with his scimitar.
"Lay down your arms!" I shouted in Ionian.