CHAPTER XIV
The King, with a keen eye of a general, had seen that the crisis of thebattle would be decided in the centre of the two armies, where on thesouthwest at the left, and on the northeast at the right of the littlestream, rose a succession of low hills. Besides, deserters from theHuns had reported that in the next encounter these troops would eithernot fight at all, or take a very inactive part; therefore Gelimerexpected from the right Roman wing no peril to his own left flank. Hestationed the right wing of the Vandal troops tolerably far back, sothat the enemy would have to march a considerable distance to reach it.Perhaps by that time the centre might already have won the victory, andthereby obtained the accession of the Huns.
So the King placed the best strength of his troops in the centre. Byfar the larger portion consisted of cavalry; there was a small force ofinfantry, Zazo's warriors, numbering nearly five thousand; here, too,he had posted Gibamund with his faithful two hundred men; here were thetwo Gundings and their numerous kinsmen, with boar helmets and boarshields, like their leaders; here he himself took his station with alarge body of cavalry, to which he added the few faithful Moors fromthe Pappua Mountains under their young chief, Sersaon. The command ofthe two wings he had intrusted to two other noblemen. Before thebeginning of the battle and during its course, Gelimer dashed in personon a swift horse everywhere through the ranks, rousing and stimulatingthe courage of his men.
The conflict began as the King had planned, by a total surprise of thefoe. Just at the time the Byzantines were busied in preparing themorning meal, Gelimer suddenly led the centre of his army from behindthe shelter of the row of tents to the left bank of the marshy littlebrook. This stream was so small that it had no name, yet it never driedup. And the left bank occupied by the Vandals was higher than theright. Belisarius was not yet on the ground, but his subordinateofficers arranged their men as well as they could in their haste, whereeach division happened to be standing or lying. The right Roman wing onthe hill consisted of the Huns, who did not move. Next to them,according to secret orders, stood Fara with the Herulians, watchingthese doubtful allies. Then followed, in the centre, Althias theThracian and Johannes the Armenian, with their picked troops of theirfellow-countrymen, and the shield and lance bearers of Belisarius'sbodyguard. Here gleamed the imperial standard, the _vexillumpraetorium_, the flag of the General, Belisarius. The left Roman wingwas formed of the other auxiliary troops except the Huns. TheByzantines, too, had perceived that the victory would be decided in thecentre of the two armies. When Gibamund, on his white charger, led hismen forward, Hilda on her splendid stallion rode at his side. By herhusband's wish she had protected her beautiful head with a lighthelmet, on which rose two white falcon wings; her bright golden locksflowed over her white mantle. He had also pressed upon her a small,shining shield, with a light silvery hue. Her white lower robe wasgirdled with the black belt which supported the sheath of Teja'sdagger; but she had refused a breastplate on account of its weight.
"You will not let me fight with you or even ride by your side," shecomplained.
Already the Byzantines' arrows were flying over the Vandals andstriking among Gibamund's men.
"Halt, love," he commanded, "go no farther! Not within reach of thearrows! Wait here, on this little hill. I will leave ten men as aguard. From this spot you can see a long distance. Watch the whiteheron's wings on my helmet, and the dragon banner. I shall follow it."A clasp of the hand; Gibamund dashed forward; Hilda quietly checked thedocile horse. Her face was very pale.
The first encounter came at once.
Johannes the Armenian, one of Belisarius's best leaders, pressed withhis countrymen through the stream, which reached only to their knees,and rushed out of it up the steeper Vandal shore. He was instantlyhurled back. Zazo, with his foremost warriors, darted upon him with theweight with which a bird of prey strikes small game. Down the slope,into the midst of the stream, whose water was soon dyed red, and up theopposite bank, swept the Vandal pursuit. Hilda saw it plainly from herstation. "Oh, at last, at last," she cried, "a breath of victory!"
But Zazo followed no farther. He prudently led his men back to the leftbank of the stream. "We will pitch them down here again," he said,laughing; "we will profit once more by our position on the height."
The Armenians bore their brave leader away with them in their flight.Johannes, who had received through his shield a wound in the arm fromZazo's sword, said grimly to Marcellus, the commander of the bodyguard:"The devil has got into the cowards of Decimum. It confuses my spearmento have them fight solely with the sword. The Barbarians thrust thelong spears to the right, run under them, and cut the men down. Andthis fellow with the buffalo helm actually butts like a mountain bull.Give me your shield-bearers; I will try again."
With the shield-bearers, led by Martinus, the Armenians renewed theattack. Not an arrow, not a spear, flew to meet them; but as soon asthey began to climb the Vandal shore, the Germans dashed down on themwith the sword in a hand-to-hand conflict. Martinus fell by Gibamund'ssword. Then the shield-bearers fled; the Armenians hesitated, wavered,fell into confusion, finally they, too, fled, pursued by the Vandals.
"Dash on the foemen! Strive with and strike them Down in close combat!"
rose in a roar from Zazo's troops, whom the latter again led to theleft shore.
"They must repeatedly see the backs of the dreaded Byzantines beforethey have the courage to defeat them entirely," he said to Gibamund,who urged pursuit. "And where is Belisarius?"
The latter, with his five hundred horsemen, had reached the centre fromCarthage just in time to see the flight of his men. When he learnedthat this was the second attack which had been repulsed, he ordered allhis bodyguard, men trained to fight on foot as well as on horseback, todismount and advance with Althias's Thracians for the third assault.His own special standard, the "General's banner," he commanded to beborne before them.
It was a mighty, a menacing spectacle. The tuba of the Romans blared togreet the standard of the commanding General. The Byzantines, in firmlyclosed ranks, advanced like a moving wall of bronze, their long lanceslevelled. Zazo saw that his men hesitated. "Forward! Cross the stream!On to the attack!"
He dashed on in advance of his troops. But he soon perceived that onlya very few--the Gundings and their boar-helmeted kinsmen--werefollowing. "Forward!" he commanded again. But the Vandals delayed. Theyfelt that the rush down from the height had made their success fareasier; they did not wish to leave the vantage-ground, and--they hadseen Belisarius in the distance. The ranks of levelled lances,terrible, threatening, drew nearer and nearer.
"If we only had our spears!" cried voices in the ranks behind him. TheByzantines had already reached the stream; now they were wading throughthe marshy rivulet,--yet the Vandals on the heights did not obey thecommand to charge.
"You _will_ not cross?" cried Zazo, furiously. "Then you _must_!" Withthese words he tore Genseric's dragon banner from the hand of thehorseman at his right and shouting: "Bring back the standard and yourhonor!" he hurled it with all his strength across the stream into themidst of the Byzantines. Loud cries rose from friends and enemies.
One of the Byzantines instantly snatched the banner from the ground,raised it aloft, and was hurrying with it to Belisarius. But he did notgo far. For when they saw the treasure of the kingdom in the hands ofthe foe, all the Vandals, on horseback and on foot, following theirnobles, rushed down the slope into the stream and the midst ofthe enemy. By Zazo's side, on a powerful stallion, rode a strangefigure,--a monk without helmet, shield, or breastplate; he wore a graycowl and carried a sword. Breaking a passage through the hostile ranks,he reached the captor of the scarlet banner, tore it from his hand,and, with a single sword-stroke, cleft helmet and skull. It wasValerianus, the commander of the lance-bearers.
The victor swung the rescued standard high aloft, and instantly fellfrom his horse, pierced by five lances. But Gundobad, the Gunding,raised the banner from th
e hand of the sinking figure.
"Here, to the rescue," he shouted, "kinsmen of the Gundings! Here, youboars!"
Immediately his brother and the whole troop of boar helms gatheredaround him; the banner and its bearer were cut out for the moment. Theranks of the foe nearest to the Vandal banner wavered, yielded.
"Victory!" shouted the Vandals, pressing boldly forward, singing,--
"Forward to battle! Follow the standard, The fame-heralded Consort of victory."
They struck their sword-blades on their shields till the sound echoedfar and wide.
"Victory!" cried Hilda, exultantly, as she witnessed the wholemagnificent spectacle.