Then when they had risen Hamilcar
with a sign commanded the man who bore the sword-belt to speak. Spendius
was afraid; he stammered.
Hamilcar, while listening to him, kept turning round on his finger a
big gold ring, the same which had stamped the seal of Carthage upon the
sword-belt. He let it fall to the ground; Spendius immediately picked it
up; his servile habits came back to him in the presence of his master.
The others quivered with indignation at such baseness.
But the Greek raised his voice and spoke for a long time in rapid,
insidious, and even violent fashion, setting forth the crimes of Hanno,
whom he knew to be Barca's enemy, and striving to move Hamilcar's pity
by the details of their miseries and the recollection of their devotion;
in the end he became forgetful of himself, being carried away by the
warmth of his temper.
Hamilcar replied that he accepted their excuses. Peace, then, was about
to be concluded, and now it would be a definitive one! But he required
that ten Mercenaries, chosen by himself, should be delivered up to him
without weapons or tunics.
They had not expected such clemency; Spendius exclaimed: "Ah! twenty if
you wish, master!"
"No! ten will suffice," replied Hamilcar quietly.
They were sent out of the tent to deliberate.
Pages:
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413