Bevis Part 33

Shrewd Mark Antony having knocked his man over, paused on the higher part of the slope where he chanced to be, and looked down on the battle.

He noted Phil Varro go up to Pompey and urge something. Pompey seemed to yield, and shouted, "A tail! a tail! Cra.s.sus! George! Tim! A tail!"

Mark dashed down the slope to Bevis, who was fighting on the level ground. He hastened to save the battle, for a "tail" is a terrible thing. The leader, who must be the biggest, gets in front, the next biggest behind him, a third behind him, and so on to the last, forming a tail, which is in fact a column, and so long as it keeps formation will bore a hole through a crowd. Before he could get to Caesar, for so many struck at him in pa.s.sing that it took him some time to pa.s.s fifty yards, the tail was made--Pompey in front, next Val Cra.s.sus, then Varro, then Ike (a big fellow, but who had as yet done nothing, and was no good except for the weight of his body), then George, then Tim, and two more.

Eight of them in a mighty line, which began to descend the slope.

"Look!" said Mark Antony at last, touching Caesar Bevis, "look there!

It's a tail!"

"It doesn't matter," said Bevis, looking up.

"Doesn't matter! Why, they'll _hunt_ us!"

And Pompey did hunt them, downright hunt them along. Before Fred and Bill could come at Mark's call, before they could shake themselves free of their immediate opponents, Pompey came thundering down, and swept everything before him.

"Out of the way!" cried Mark. "Bevis, out of the way! O! Now!" He wrung his hands and stamped.

Bevis stood and received the charge which Pompey led straight at him.

Pompey, with his head down and arms crossed to defend it, ran with all his might. Bevis, never stirring, lifted his sword. There was a part of Pompey's bare head which his arms did not cover. It was a temptation, but he remembered the agreement, and he struck with all his strength on Pompey's left arm. So hard was the blow that the tough sword snapped, and Pompey groaned with pain, but in the same instant Caesar felt as if an oak or a mountain had fallen on him. He was hurled to the ground with stunning force, and the column pa.s.sed over him, one stepping on his foot.

There he lay for half a minute, dazed, and they might easily have taken him prisoner, but they could not stop their rush till they had gone twenty or thirty yards. By that time, Mark, Fred, and Bill had dragged Bevis up, and put a sword which they s.n.a.t.c.hed from a soldier into his hand. He limped, and looked pale and wild for a minute, but his blood was up, and he wanted to renew the fight. They would not let him, they pulled him along.

"It's no use," said Mark; "you can't. We must get to the trees. Here, lean on me. Run. Sycamores! Sycamores!" he shouted.

"Sycamores! trees!" shouted Fred and Bill to their scattered followers.

They urged Caesar to run, he limped, but kept pace with them somehow.

Pompey had turned by now, and went through a small body of Caesar's men, who had rushed towards him when they saw he was down, just as if they had been straws. Still they checked the column a little, as floating beams check heavy waves, and so gave Caesar time to get more ahead.

"Sycamores!" Mark continued to shout as he ran, and the broken legions easily understood they were to rally there. At that moment the battle was indeed lost. Pompey ranged triumphant. Leading his irresistible and victorious column with shouting, he chased the flying Caesar.

Little Charlie, left in the ash-tree, could not get down, but saw the whole of the encounter. The lowest bough was too high to drop from, the trunk too large to clasp and slide down. He was imprisoned and helpless, with the war in sight. He chafed and raged and shouted, till the tears of vexation rolled down his cheeks. Full of fiery spirit it was torture to him to see the battle in which he could not take part.

For awhile, watching the first shock, he forgot everything else in the interest of the fight; but presently, when the combatants separated, and were strewn as it were over the slope, he saw how easily at that juncture any united body could have swept the field, and remembered Scipio Cecil. Why did not Cecil come?

He looked that way, and from his elevation could see Cecil standing on the gate by Pompey's camp. Having sacked the camp, put the fire out, and thrown all the coats over the gate into a heap in the field, Scipio did not know what next he ought to do, and wondered that no orders reached him from Caesar. He got up on the highest bar except one of the gate, but could see no one, the undulations of the ground completely concealing the site of the conflict. He did not know what to do; he waited a while and looked again. Once he fancied he heard shouting, but the gale was so strong he could not be certain.

Charlie in the ash-tree now seeing Pompey form the tail, or column, worked himself into a state of frenzy. He yelled, he screamed to Scipio to come, till he was hoa.r.s.e, and gasped with the straining of his throat; but the howling of the tremendous wind through the trees by the gate, prevented Scipio from hearing a word. Had he known Charlie was in the tree he might have guessed there was something wrong from his frantic gestures, but he did not, and as there were so many scattered trees in the field, there was nothing to make him look at that one in particular. Charlie waved his hat, and at last flung it up into the air, waved his handkerchief--all in vain.

He could see the crisis, but could not convey a knowledge of it to the idle cohort. He looked again at the battle. Caesar was down and trampled under foot. He threw up his arms, and almost lost his balance in his excitement. The next minute Caesar was up, and he and his lieutenant were flying from Pompey. The column chased them, and the whole scene--the flight and the pursuit--pa.s.sed within a short distance, half a stone's throw of the ash-tree.

Quite wild, and lost to everything but his auger, Charlie the next second was out on a bough, clinging to it like a cat. He crawled out some way, till the bough bent a little with his weight. His design was to get out till it bowed towards the ground, and so lowered him--a perilous feat! He got half a yard further, and then swung under it, out and out, till the branch gave a good way. He tried again, and looked down; the ground was still far below. He heard a shout, it stimulated him. He worked out farther, till the branch cracked loudly; it would break, but would not bend much farther. His feet hung down now; he only held by his hands. Crack! Another shout! He looked down wildly, and in that instant saw a little white k.n.o.b--a b.u.t.ton mushroom in the gra.s.s.

He left hold, and dropped. The little mushroom saved him, for it guided him, steadied his drop; his feet struck it and smashed it, and his knees giving under him, down he came.

But he was not hurt, his feet, as he hung from the bowed branch, were much nearer the earth than it had looked to him from his original perch, and he alighted naturally. The shock dazed him at first, just as Bevis had been confused, a few minutes previously. In a minute he was all right, and running with all his speed towards Scipio.

As Caesar ran, with the shout of victorious Pompey close behind, he said, "If we could charge the column sideways we could break it--"

"If," snorted Mark, with the contempt of desperation; "if--of course!"

Caesar was right, but he had not got the means just then. Next minute they reached the first sycamore, not ten yards in front of Pompey. As they turned to face the enemy, with their backs to the great tree, Pompey lowered his head, crossed his arms, and the column charged.

Nothing could stop that onslaught, which must have crushed them, but Bevis, quick as thought, pushed Mark and Fred one way and Bill the other, stepping after the latter. Ted Pompey, with his eyes shut, and all the force of his men thrusting behind, crashed against the tree.

Down he went recoiling, and two or three more behind him.

Thwack! thwack! The four defenders hammered their enemies before they could recover the shock.

"Quick!" cried Mark; "tie him--prisoner--quick," pulling a cord from his pocket, and putting his foot on Ted, who was lying in a heap.

Before any one could help Mark the heap heaved itself up, and Val Cra.s.sus and Phil Varro hauled their half-stunned leader back out of reach.

Crash! clatter! bang! thwack!

"Backs to trees! Stand with backs to trees!" shouted Bevis, hitting out furiously. "We shall win! Here, Bill!"

They planted themselves, these four, Bevis, Mark, Fred, and Bill, with their backs to the great trunk of the sycamore, standing a foot or two in front of it for room to swing their swords, and a little way apart for the same reason. The sycamore formed a bulwark so that none could attack them in rear.

The column, as it recoiled, widened out, and came on again in a semicircle, surrounding them.

"Give in!" shouted Val. "We're ten to one!" (that was not numerically correct.) "Give in! You'll all be prisoners in a minute!"

"That we shan't," said Bill, fetching him a side way slash.

"If we could only get Scipio up," said Mark. "Where is he? Can't we get him?"

"I forgot him," said Bevis. "There, take that," as he warded a cut and returned it. "I forgot him. Look out, Fred, that's it. Hurrah!

Mark," as Mark made a successful cut. "How stupid." In the heat and constant changes of the combat they had totally forgotten Cecil and his cohort.

"Why, we've been fighting two to three," said Bill, "and they haven't done us yet."

"But we mean to," said Tim, and Bill shrank involuntarily under an unexpected knock.

"Some more of you--there," shouted Ted Pompey, as he came to himself, and saw a number of his soldiers in the rear watching the combat.

"You,"--in a rage,--"you go round behind and worry them there; and some of you get up in the tree and hit down."

"O! botheration!" said Mark, as he heard the last order.

"We _must_ get Cecil somehow," said Bevis.

"Now then," yelled Ted Pompey, stamping in terrible fury, "do as I tell you; go round the tree, and 'bunt' somebody up into it!"

He pa.s.sed his hand across his bruised forehead, wiping off a fragment of bark which adhered indented in the skin, and rushed into the fight. Ted fought that day like a hero; twice severely punished, he returned to the war with increased determination. He was nervous at lightning, but he feared no mortal being. He was as brave as brave could be. These heavy knocks seemed only to touch him on the quick and arouse a stronger will.

When he came in the combat became tremendous.

Like knights with their backs to the tree, the four received them. The swords crossed and rattled, and for two or three minutes nothing else was heard; they were too busy to shout. The eight of the column would have succeeded better had not so many of the others pressed in to get a safe knock at Bevis, hitting from behind the bigger ones so as to be themselves in safety. These impeded Val and Phil and the first line.

One and all struck at Bevis. The dust flew from his coat, his shoulders smarted, his arms were sore, his left arm, which he used as a guard like a shield, almost numb with knocks.

His face grew pale with anger. He frowned and set his lips tight together, his eyes gleamed. The hail of blows descended on him, and though his wrist began to weary, he could not repay one-tenth of that they gave him.

"Give in! Give in!" shouted Val, who was in front of him, and he put his left hand on Bevis's shoulder. With a twist of his wrist Bevis. .h.i.t his right hand so sharp a knock that the sword flew out of it, and for a second Val was daunted.