The Roman camp lay to the south of the river Metaurus, and not far off was the camp of Hasdrubal.
Claudius had arranged to reach his colleague at night. He arrived as quietly as he had left his own camp, and his men were at once scattered among the tents in which the soldiers of Livius were already for the most part asleep.
As the camp had not been enlarged, the Consuls thought that Hasdrubal would not notice that the army of the enemy had been increased.
But Hasdrubal had fought with Romans in Spain, and he knew their signals. So the following morning, when he heard two trumpets sound instead of one, as had been the case on other days, he was aware that the second Consul had joined the camp. And when the army was drawn up, Hasdrubal would have been unobservant indeed if he had not seen that the number of Roman soldiers was greater than before. How it was that the camp remained unchanged may have proved a puzzle which Hasdrubal had no time to solve.
The new soldiers were haggard and worn, as though they had marched far and fast, or as though they had been on the battlefield, and, seeing this, Hasdrubal grew alarmed.
Had Hannibal by some strange chance been at last defeated, and were these the exhausted but triumphant troops?
Had his letter failed to reach his brother? Nay, worse still, had it fallen into the enemy’s hands?
In his uncertainty Hasdrubal determined that when night fell he would withdraw his army to the other side of the river. It would be safer there until he heard from Hannibal.
So when it was dark the camp was broken up, and the army set out with guides to ford the river.
But the guides proved faithless, and fled, leaving Hasdrubal and his men to wander up and down the river bank in search of a ford. Thus much precious time was wasted.