CHAPTER XLVIII.
Bissula, too, on whose burning eyes sleep had not descended, had soonperceived what was happening. She heard with joyous terror the battlecry of the Alemanni, the war horns of her people.
"There they are! They are coming!" she exclaimed exultingly. "Now tomeet them!" With the words she ran out of her tent, leading herfaithful companion by the collar. She was determined to seize the firstopportunity, no matter how dangerous it might be, to escape from theprecincts of the camp.
But this was far more difficult than Bissula had expected. Sheexperienced the utmost trouble even in gaining the vicinity of the lakegate to which she was summoned. The regular squares of the Roman camp,intersected at right angles by the streets of tents, rendered the taskstill more arduous; for at all the streets and squares stood, in densemasses, the reserve troops not engaged in fighting on the walk. Nomatter whether their faces or their backs were turned toward her, thoseranks could not be penetrated.
Her friend Bruna impeded instead of aiding her. The animal was sowildly excited by the noise of thousands of men shouting, weaponsclashing, horses dashing by, and flames blazing on all sides, that theyoung girl had great difficulty in restraining the daughter of theAlemannic forests from mingling in the battle and furiously attackingthe legionaries. So for a long time she could make little progresstoward the gate she desired to reach.
But now a gap was suddenly made in the ranks of the soldiers standingbefore her. A troop of mailed riders came dashing down the street ofthe camp from the north toward the gate, and the Illyrians before heropened their ranks to let the cavalry pass. Bissula fearlessly seizedthe tail of one of the horses and, without loosing her hold of Bruna,let herself be dragged along. In this way she successfully reached theVia Principalis, but here, feeling her arm seized, she released thehorse, which now kicked violently. The girl looked around angrily. Itwas old Prosper.
"Halt," he commanded, "you must stay with me, Bissula. That is theorder of the patronus; he sent me to you, supposing that you would bein the midst of the uproar. I am to keep strict watch of you, till theattack is repulsed."
"Let me go," she cried angrily, trying to release herself.
"No, you shall not. I must answer for you. Follow me."
They now began to struggle violently; but the man was stronger than thegirl. She could not escape his hold. Then Bruna, growling furiously,rose on her hind legs and struck with her huge paws at her mistress'sfoe. With a cry of terror the freedman, releasing the girl, sprangback, and the next instant Bissula, by creeping between the horses'legs, slipped through the ranks of the mailed riders, who, facingsouth, were now the only obstacle between her and the lake gate.
She fairly flew down the long, narrow central street, the Via Media, inwhose tents the luggage was sheltered. There she saw Herculanus and,somewhat farther down, Davus, each in a heavy oak-block, sunk into theearth, with both feet thrust through holes and fettered to the blockswith heavy cross chains. Bissula ran farther in terror. Now, for thefirst time, she looked around for Bruna, The bear had not followed her;her growling came from beyond the ranks of the horsemen, and at thesame time Bissula saw a pack of huge dogs, barking furiously, leapingon the angry beast. One of the animals was hurled aside by the terriblepaw, yelping with agony. But the girl could wait no longer, far lessturn back. She hurried on; already she saw before her the goal of herlonging, the Decumanian Gate.
Already the blows of axes were thundering ceaselessly outside upon thegroaning oak planks and iron bars. Those were her own people, herdeliverers, her liberators! But the solid gate held out firmly, andmissiles rained from the top of the wall upon the unprotectedassailants. She pressed forward as near the gate as she could. Only asingle rank of soldiers separated her from it. Then Bissula heardoutside a ringing voice which sent a thrill of rapture through everyvein. She knew those tones.
"Set fire to the gate! Bring all the torches!"
Forgetting all caution, she sprang through the rank of soldiers,pushing two of them aside, put her face to the gate and called with herutmost strength, "Adalo! Help! Adalo!"
"Bissula!" rose a voice without, and a terrible blow--the first whichhad penetrated cleft a yawning gash in the right wing of the doublegate, so that the splinters flew inside.
At the same time Bissula heard two voices call her name from the wallabove. Looking up she saw Zercho and Sippilo who, in advance of all theothers, had scaled the wall at the right of the gate.
"Here, little one!" shouted the Sarmatian, letting a rope slide downthe inside, while he wound the other end around the ladder rising abovethe wall.
"Where are you, Bissula?" called Sippilo, leaning far over and holdinga torch down. "Alas! I can't see her anywhere!"
The girl, standing at the left of the gate, could not make her waythrough the soldiers to the right; she was obliged to see a strongThracian on the top of the wall seize a heavy pole, which he heldcrosswise with both hands, and springing forward hurl both theover-bold assailants (they were still standing alone) backward at asingle thrust.
"Oho, Sippilo," shouted Adalo outside, "what was that?"
"A somersault!" replied the boy laughing, and jumping up again. "Butyou, Zercho! Alas! you cannot stand?"
"Unfortunately! My foot--I think it is broken!"
"Take him, men, two of you, and carry him out of the fight," Adaloordered.
"Where?"
"To my own hall; it is still standing."
Bissula uttered a cry when she saw her two friends fall backward; butthe next instant her senses failed. A soldier whom she had repeatedlytried to thrust aside turned angrily: he meant to strike histroublesome comrade, as he supposed the person to be. Then herecognized the young girl, and his wrath instantly vanished.
"Go back, little one!" he exclaimed. "You'll get killed here!"
And, with kindly intent, he flung her toward the left; but the clumsyfellow exerted too much strength, or the weight of the dainty figurewas too light; she struck her head so violently against one of thebeams of her old hiding-place that she lay stunned and senseless whereshe had fallen.
"Bissula!" Adalo called again through the gaping cleft in the door. Buthe received no answer.