They united so rapidly that the Suffet had not time to draw up his
men in battle array. By degrees he slackened his speed. The elephants
stopped; they rocked their heavy heads with their chargings of ostrich
feathers, striking their shoulders the while with their trunks.
Behind the intervals between them might be seen the cohorts of the
velites, and further on the great helmets of the Clinabarians,
with steel heads glancing in the sun, cuirasses, plumes, and waving
standards. But the Carthaginian army, which amounted to eleven thousand
three hundred and ninety-six men, seemed scarcely to contain them, for
it formed an oblong, narrow at the sides and pressed back upon itself.
Seeing them so weak, the Barbarians, who were thrice as numerous, were
seized with extravagant joy. Hamilcar was not to be seen. Perhaps he
had remained down yonder? Moreover what did it matter? The disdain
which they felt for these traders strengthened their courage; and before
Spendius could command a manoeuvre they had all understood it, and
already executed it.
They were deployed in a long, straight line, overlapping the wings of
the Punic army in order to completely encompass it. But when there
was an interval of only three hundred paces between the armies, the
elephants turned round instead of advancing; then the Clinabarians were
seen to face about and follow them; and the surprise of the Mercenaries
increased when they saw the archers running to join them.
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