" Then he told how, having perceived the
Suffet on the terrace, he had passed himself off on the warders of the
harbour as one of Salammbo's women, so as to make his way in to him.
Hamilcar remained for a long time apparently lost in deliberation; at
last he said:
"To-morrow you will present yourself at sunset behind the purple
factories in Megara, and imitate a jackal's cry three times. If you do
not see me, you will return to Carthage on the first day of every moon.
Forget nothing! Love him! You may speak to him now about Hamilcar."
The slave resumed his costume, and they left the house and the harbour
together.
Hamilcar went on his way alone on foot and without an escort, for the
meetings of the Ancients were, under extraordinary circumstances, always
secret, and were resorted to mysteriously.
At first he went along the western front of the Acropolis, and then
passed through the Green Market, the galleries of Kinisdo, and the
Perfumers' suburb. The scattered lights were being extinguished, the
broader streets grew still, then shadows glided through the darkness.
They followed him, others appeared, and like him they all directed their
course towards the Mappalian district.
The temple of Moloch was built at the foot of a steep defile in a
sinister spot.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168