"I cannot sleep," he said to himself. "There is a sound of clashing arms in the air, and an odour of blood. The Goths are coming; they are most surely marching down through the Sabine mountains, on the Via Casperia and Salara."
On a sudden the curtain of his tent was pushed back, and Syphax rushed up to his couch breathless.
"I know," cried Cethegus, springing up, "what you come to announce--the Goths are coming!"
"Yes, master; to-morrow they will be here. They advance upon the Salarian Gate. I had the Queen's best horse; but this Totila, who leads the vanguard, rushes like the wind over the desert, and here in the camp no one has any suspicion."
"The great general," laughed Cethegus, "has placed no outposts on the watch."
"He relied upon the solid tower on the bridge over the Anius,[1] but----"
"Well, the tower is safe?"
"Yes; but the garrison--Roman citizens from Neapolis--at once went over to the Goths when young Totila appeared. The body-guards of Belisarius, who tried to stop them, were taken prisoners and delivered up to Totila; the tower and the bridge are in the hands of the Goths."
"Things are going on well! Have you any idea of the strength of the enemy?"
"Not merely an idea; I know it as exactly as Witichis himself. Here is the list of their troops; Mataswintha, their Queen, sends it to you."