CHAPTER VIII: THE GREAT SWAMPS
Soon after daybreak next morning the headman came into the hut hehad placed at the disposal of Aska and Beric with news that two ofthe Fenmen had arrived. They at once went out and found that thetwo men had just laid down their loads, which were so heavy thatBeric wondered they could possibly have been carried by them. Onehad brought fish, the other wildfowl, slung on poles over theirshoulders. These men were much shorter than the Iceni, they wereswarthier in complexion, and their hair was long and matted. Theironly clothing was short kilts made of the materials for which theybartered their game.
"They both speak the language well," the headman said, "I will tellthem what you want."
The men listened to the statement that the chiefs before them desiredto find with their followers a refuge in the Fens, and that theywere willing to make presents to the Fenmen of cattle and otherthings, so that there should be friendship between them, and thatthey should be allowed to occupy some island in the swamps wherethey might live secure from pursuit. The men looked at each otheras the headman began to speak, shaking their heads as if theythought the proposal impossible.
"We will tell our people," they said, "but we do not think thatthey will agree; we have dwelt alone for long years without troublewith others. The coming of strangers will bring trouble. Why dothey seek to leave their land?"
"Our people have been beaten in battle by the Romans," Aska said,taking up the conversation, "and we need a refuge till the troublesare over."
"The Romans have won!" one of the men exclaimed in a tone thatshowed he was no stranger to what was going on beyond the circleof the Fens.
"They have won," Aska repeated, "and there will be many fugitiveswho will seek for shelter in the Fens. We would fain be friends withyour people, but shelter we must have. Our cause after all is thesame, for when the Romans have destroyed the Iceni, and conqueredall the countries round, they will hunt you down also, for theylet none remain free in the lands where they are masters. The Fencountry is wide, there must be room for great numbers to shelter,and surely there must be places where we could live withoutdisturbance to your people."
"There is room," the man said briefly. "We will take your messageto our people, our chiefs will decide."
Aska and Beric wore few other ornaments than those denoting theirposition and authority. Many of their followers, however, had jewelsand bracelets, the spoil of the Roman towns. Beric left the groupand spoke to Boduoc, who in two or three minutes returned withseveral rings and bracelets.
"You could have a score for every one of these," he said; "theyare of no value to the men now, and indeed their possession wouldbring certain death upon any one wearing them did he fall into thehands of the Romans."
Beric returned to the Fenmen. "Here," he said, "are some presentsfor your chiefs, tell them that we have many more like them."
The men took them with an air of indifference.
"They are of no use," they said, "though they may please women. Ifyou want to please men you should give them hatchets and arms."
"We will do that," Aska said, "we have more than we require;" forindeed after the battle with Cerealis and the sack of the townsall the men had taken Roman swords and carried them in additionto their own weapons, regarding them not only as trophies but asinfinitely superior to their own more clumsy implements for cuttingwood and other purposes. At a word from Beric four of these werebrought and handed to the men, who took them with lively satisfaction.
"Could you take us with you to see your chiefs?" Beric asked.
They shook their heads. "No strangers can enter the swamps; butthe chiefs will come to see you."
"It is very urgent that no time shall be lost," Beric said, "theRomans may be here very shortly."
"By the time the sun is at its highest the chiefs will be here orwe will bring you an answer," they said. "Come with us now, we willshow you where to expect them, for they will not leave the edge ofour land."
After half an hour's walking through a swampy soil they arrived atthe edge of a sluggish stream of water. Here tied to a bush was aboat constructed of basket work covered with hide. In it lay twolong poles. The men took their places in the coracle, pushed outinto the stream, and using their poles vigorously were soon lostto sight among the thick grove of rush and bushes. Aska and Bericreturned to the hamlet.
"Have you any idea of the number of these people?" they asked theheadman.
"No," he said, "no one has any idea; the swamps are of a vast extentfrom here away to the north. We know that long ago when the Iceniendeavoured to penetrate there they were fiercely attacked by greatnumbers, and most of those who entered perished miserably, but forages now there has been no trouble. The land was large enough forus, why should we fight to conquer swamps which would be uselessto us? We believe that there are large numbers, although they have,from the nature of the country, little dealings with each other;but live scattered in twos and threes over their country, since,living by fishing and fowling, they would not care to dwell inlarge communities. They never talk much about themselves, but Ihave heard that they say that parts of the swamps are inhabited bystrange monsters, huge serpents and other creatures, and that intothese none dare penetrate."
"All the better," Beric said; "we are not afraid of monsters ofany kind, and they might therefore let us settle in one of theseneighbourhoods where we could clear out these enemies of theirsfor them. It strikes me that our greatest difficulty will be toget our cattle across the morasses to firm ground. We shall haveto contrive some plan for doing so. It will be no easy matter tofeed so large a number as we shall be on fish and wildfowl."
At noon the two chiefs returned to the spot where the men had leftthem, taking with them Boduoc and another of their followers. Afew minutes after they arrived there they heard sounds approaching,and in a short time four boats similar to those they had seen, andeach carrying two men in addition to those poling, made their wayone after another through the bushes that nearly met across thestream. Most of the men were dressed like the two who had visitedthe village, but three of them were in attire somewhat similar tothat of the Iceni. These were evidently the chiefs. Several of themen were much shorter and darker than those they had first seen,while the chiefs were about the same stature. All carried short bowsand quivers of light arrows, and spears with the points hardenedin the fire, for the Iceni living near the swamps had been strictlyforbidden to trade in arms or metal implements with the Fenmen.The chiefs, however, all carried swords of Iceni make. Before thechiefs stepped ashore their followers landed, and at once, to thesurprise of Beric, scattered among the bushes. In two or threeminutes they returned and said something in their own language totheir chiefs, who then stepped ashore.
"They were afraid of an ambush," Aska muttered, "and have satisfiedthemselves that no one is hidden near."
The chiefs were all able to speak the language of the Iceni, anda long conversation ensued between them and Beric. They protestedat first that it was impossible for them to grant the request made;that for long ages no stranger had penetrated the swamps, and thatalthough the intention of those who addressed them might be friendly,such might not always be the case, and that when the secrets ofthe paths and ways were once known they would never be free fromdanger of attack by their neighbours.
"There is more room to the north," they said; "the Fen countryis far wider there, there is room for you all, while here the drylands are occupied by us, and there is no room for so many strangers.We wish you well; we have no quarrel with you. Ages have passednow since you drove our forefathers from the land; that is allforgotten. But as we have lived so long, so will we continue. Wehave no wants; we have fish and fowl in abundance, and what morewe require we obtain in barter from you."
"Swords like those we sent you are useful," Aska said. "They aremade by the Romans, and are vastly better than any we have. Withone of those you might chop down as many saplings in a day aswould build a hut, and could destroy any wild beasts that may lurkin your swam
ps. The people who are coming now are not like us. Wewere content with the land we had taken, and you dwelt among usundisturbed for ages; but the Romans are not like us, they wantto possess the whole earth, and when they have overrun our countrythey will never rest content till they have hunted you out also.There are thousands of us who will seek refuge in your swamps. Youmay oppose us, you may kill numbers of us, but in the end, stepby step, we shall find our way in till we reach an island of firmland where we can establish ourselves. It is not that we have anyill will towards you, or that we covet your land, but with the Romansbehind us, slaying all they encounter, we shall have no choice butto go forward.
"It will be for your benefit as well as ours. Alone what could youdo against men who fight with metal over their heads and bodiesthat your arrows could not penetrate, and with swords and dartsthat would cut and pierce you through and through? But with us--whohave met and fought them in fair battle, and have once evendefeated them with great slaughter--to help you to guard yourswamps, it would be different, and even the Romans, brave as theyare, would hesitate before they tried to penetrate your land of mudand water. Surely there must be some spots in your morasses thatare still uninhabited. I have heard that there are places that areavoided because great serpents and other creatures live there, butso long as the land is dry enough for our cattle to live and forus to dwell we are ready to meet any living thing that may inhabitit."
The chiefs looked awestruck at this offer on the part of thestrangers, and then entered into an animated conversation together.
"The matter is settled," Aska said in a low voice to Beric. "Thereare places they are afraid to penetrate, and I expect that, much asthey object to our entering their country, they would rather haveus as neighbours than these creatures that they are so much afraidof."
When the chiefs' consultation was finished, the one who had beforespoken turned to them and said: "What will you give if we take youto such a place?"
"How far distant is it?" Aska asked.
"It is two days' journey from here," the chief said. "The distanceis not great, but the channels are winding and difficult. There island many feet above the water, but how large I cannot say. Threemiles to the west from here is the great river you call the Ouse,it is on the other side of that where we dwell. None of us liveon this side of that river. Three hours' walk north from here isa smaller river that runs into the great one. At the point wherethe two rivers join you will cross the Ouse, and then journey westin boats for a day; that will take you near the land we speak of."
"But how are we to get the boats? We have no time to make them."
"We will take you in our boats. This man," and he pointed to oneof those who had been with them in the morning, "will go with youas a guide through the swamps to the river to the north. There wewill meet you with twenty boats, and will take a party to the spotwe speak of. Then we will sell you the boats--we can build more--andyou can take the rest of your party over as you like. Whatwill you give us?"
"We will give you twenty swords like those I sent you, and twentyspearheads, and a hundred copper arrowheads, and twenty cattle."
The chiefs consulted together. "We want grain and we want skins,"their spokesman said. "We have need of much grain, for if the Romanstake your land and kill your people, where shall we buy grain? Andwe want skins, for it takes two skins to make a boat, and we shallhave to build twenty to take the place of those we give you."
"We can give the skins," Aska said, after a consultation with Beric;"and I doubt not we can give grain. How much do you require?"
"Five boat loads filled to the brim."
"To all your other terms we agree," Aska said; "and you shall haveas much grain as we can obtain. If we fall short of that quantitywe will give for each boat load that is wanting three swords, sixspearheads, and ten arrowheads."
The bargain was closed. The Fenmen had come resolved not to allowthe strangers to enter their land, but their offer to occupyany spot, even if tenanted by savage beasts, entirely changed theposition. In the recesses of the swamps to the east of the Ouse laya tract of country which they avoided with a superstitious fear.In the memory of man none had dared to approach that region, forthere was a tradition among them that, when they had first fled fromthe Iceni, a large party had penetrated there, and of these but afew returned, with tales of the destruction of their companions byhuge serpents, and monsters of strange shapes, some of which wereclothed in armour impenetrable to their heaviest weapons. From thattime the spot had been avoided. Legends had multiplied concerningthe creatures that dwelt there, and it now seemed to the chiefsthat they must be gainers in any case by the bargain.
If the monsters conquered and devoured the Iceni, as no doubt theywould do, they would be well rid of them. If the Iceni destroyedthe monsters a large tract of country now closed would be openfor fishing and fowling. They therefore accepted, without furtherdifficulty, the terms the strangers offered. It was, moreover,agreed that any further parties of Iceni should be free to join thefirst comers without hindrance, and that guides should be furnishedto all who might come to the borders of the swamps to join theircountrymen. They were to act in concert in case of any attack bythe Romans, binding themselves to assist each other to the utmostof their powers.
"But how are we to convey our cattle over?" Beric asked.
The native shook his head. "It is too far for them to swim, andthe ground in most places is a swamp, in which they would sink."
"That must be an after matter, Beric," Aska said. "We will talkthat over after we have arrived. Evidently we can do nothing now.The great thing is to get to this place they speak of, and toprepare it to receive the women and other fugitives. When will youhave the boats at the place you name?"
"Three hours after daylight tomorrow."
"We will be there. You shall receive half the payments we haveagreed upon before we start, the rest shall be paid you when youreturn with the boats and hand them over for the second detachmentto go."
The native nodded, and at once he and his companions took theirplaces in their coracles, leaving the native who was to act asguide behind them.
"They are undersized little wretches," Boduoc said, as they startedfor the village; "no wonder that our forefathers swept them out ofthe land without any difficulty. But they are active and sturdy,and, knowing their swamps as they do, could harass an invaderterribly. I don't think that at present they like our going intotheir country, but they will be glad enough of our aid if the Romanscome."
When they reached the village they found that the herds had justarrived. The headman was surprised when they told him that theFenmen had agreed to allow them a shelter in the swamps, and he andeight or ten men who had straggled in since Beric's party arrived,expressed their desire to accompany the party with their families.Other women in the village would likewise have gone, but Askapointed out to them that they had better go north and take shelteramong the Brigantes, as all the women of his tribe had done, exceptthose whose men were with them.
"You will be better off there than among the swamps, and we cannotfeed unnecessary mouths; nor have we means of transporting youthere. We, too, would shelter in the woods, were it not that wemean to harass the Romans, so we need a place where they cannotfind us. But as you go spread the news that Aska has sought refugein the swamps with two hundred fighting Sarci, and that all capableof bearing arms who choose to join them can do so. They must cometo the junction of the two rivers, and there they will hear of us."
As the villagers were unable to take away with them their stores ofgrain, they disposed of them readily to Beric in exchange for goldornaments, with which they could purchase cattle or such things asthey required from the Brigantes; they also resigned all propertyin their swine and cattle, which were to be left in the woods, tobe fetched as required. Aska and Beric having made these arrangements,sat down to discuss what had best be done, as the twenty boatswould only carry sixty, and would be away for two days before theyreturned for the second party. Boduoc was called into
the council,and after some discussion it was agreed that the best plan wouldbe for the whole party to go down together to the junction of therivers, each taking as large a burden of grain as he could carry,and driving their cattle before them.
They heard from the headman that the whole country near the riverwas densely covered with bushes, and that the ground was swampy andvery difficult to cross. They agreed, therefore, that they wouldform a strong intrenchment at the spot where they were to embark.It was unlikely in the extreme that the Romans would seek topenetrate such a country, but if they did they were to be opposedas soon as they entered the swamps, and a desperate stand was tobe made at the intrenchment, which would be approachable at one ortwo points only. Six men were to be left at the village to receivethe women and children when they arrived. The guide was to returnas soon as he had led the main party to the point where the boatswere to meet them, and to lead the second party to the same point.
That evening, indeed, the women began to arrive, and said thatthey believed all would be in on the following day. Among themwas Boduoc's mother, who told Beric that her eldest daughter hadstarted with Berenice and Cneius to meet the Romans as soon as thenews of the defeat reached them. When day broke, Beric's command,with the women who had arrived, set off laden with as much grainin baskets or cloths as they could carry, and driving the cattleand pigs before them. The country soon became swampy, but theirguide knew the ground well, and by a winding path led them dryfooted through the bushes, though they could see water among theroots and grass on either side of them. They had, however, greatdifficulty with the cattle and pigs, but after several attempts tobreak away, and being nearly lost in the swamps, from which manyof them had to be dragged out by sheer force, the whole reachedthe river. The men of the rear guard in charge of the main body ofthe swine and cattle did not arrive there until midday.
The spot to which the guide led them was on the river flowing eastand west, a mile from its junction with the main stream, as he toldthem that the swamps were too deep near the junction of the riverfor them to penetrate there.
Some of the boats were already at the spot. When they reachedit Aska and Beric at once began to mark out a semicircle, with aradius of some fifty yards, on the river bank. Ten of the cattlewere killed and skinned, and as others of the party came up theywere set to work to cut down the trees and undergrowth within thesemicircle, and drag them to its edge, casting them down with theirheads outwards so as to form a formidable abbatis. Within half anhour of the appointed time the twenty boats had arrived togetherwith as many more, in which the grain, hides, and other articlesagreed to be paid were to be carried off. Three of the cattle werecut up, and their flesh divided among the twenty boats, in whicha quantity of grain was also placed. The seven remaining carcasseswere for the use of the camp, the ten hides, half the grain, swords,spears, and arrowheads agreed upon, were handed over to the natives,and Beric, as an extra gift, presented each of the three chiefswho had come with the boats with one of the Roman shields, pickedup on the field of battle.
The chiefs were greatly pleased with the present, and showed moregoodwill than they had exhibited at their first interview. Aska hadarranged with Beric to remain behind in charge of the encampment.As soon, therefore, as the presents had been handed over, Bericwith Boduoc and three men to each boat took their places and pushedfrom shore. The boats of the Fenmen put off at the same time, andthe natives, of whom there was one in each of Beric's boats, poledtheir way down the sluggish stream until they reached a wide river.The chiefs here shouted an adieu and directed their course up theriver, while Beric's party crossed, proceeded down it for two miles,and then turned up a narrow stream running into it. All day theymade their way along its windings; other streams came in on eitherside or quitted it; and, indeed, for some hours they appeared tobe traversing a network of water from which rose trees and bushes.The native in Beric's boat, which led, could speak the languageof the Iceni, and he explained to Beric that the waters were nowhigh, but that when they subsided the land appeared above them,except in the course of the streams.
"It is always wet and swampy," he said; "and men cannot traversethis part on foot except by means of flat boards fastened to thefeet by loops of leather; this prevents them from sinking deeplyin."
Late in the afternoon the country became drier, and the land showeditself above the level of the water. The native now showed signsof much perturbation, stopping frequently and listening.
"I have come much farther now," he said, "than I have ever beenbefore, and I dare not have ventured so far were it not that thesefloods would have driven everything back; but I know from an oldman who once ventured to push farther, that this is the beginningof rising ground, and that in a short time you will find it dryenough to land. I advise you to call the other boats up so that incase of danger you can support each other."
The stream they were following was now very narrow, the branchesof the trees meeting overhead.
"Can any of the other Fenmen in the boats speak our language?"Beric asked.
The man replied in the negative.
"That is good," he said; "I don't want my men to be frightened withstories about monsters. I don't believe in them myself, though Ido not say that in the old time monsters may not have dwelt here.If anything comes we shall know how to fight it; but it is gloomyand dark enough here to make men uncomfortable without anythingelse to shake their courage."
At last they reached a spot where the bank was two feet above thewater, and they could see that it rose further inland. Several ofthe other Fenmen had been shouting for some time to Beric's boatmen,and their craft had been lagging behind. Beric therefore thoughtit well to land at once. The boats were accordingly called up,the meat and grain landed, and the men leapt ashore, the boatmeninstantly poling their crafts down stream at their utmost speed.
"We will go no farther tonight," Beric said; "but choose a comfortablespot and make a fire. It will be time enough in the morning toexplore this place and fix on a spot for a permanent encampment."
A place was soon chosen and cleared of bushes. The men in severalof the boats had at starting brought brands with them from thefires. These were carried across each other so as to keep the firein, and eight or ten of these brands being laid together in theheart of the brushwood and fanned vigorously a bright flame soonshot up. The men's spirits had sunk as they passed through the wildexpanse of swamp and water, but they rose now as the fire burnedup. Meat was speedily frying in the flames, and this was eaten assoon as it was cooked, nothing being done with the grain, which theyhad no means of pounding. They had also brought with them severaljars of beer from the village, and these were passed round afterthey had eaten their fill of meat.
"We will place four sentries," Beric said, "there may well be wolvesor other wild beasts in these swamps."
After supper was over Boduoc questioned Beric privately as to themonsters of which their boatman had spoken.
"It is folly," Beric said. "You know that we have legends amongourselves, which we learned from the natives who were here beforewe came, that at one time strange creatures wandered over the country;but if there were such creatures they died long ago. These Fenmenhave a story among themselves that such beasts lived in the heartof the swamp here when they first fled before us. It is quitepossible that this is true, for although they died ages ago on theland they may have existed long afterwards among the swamps wherethere were none to disturb them. I have read in some of the Romanwriters that there are creatures protected by a coat of scales ina country named Egypt, and that they live hundreds of years. Possiblythese creatures, which the legends say were a sort of Dragon, mayhave lingered here, but as they do not seem to have shown themselvesto the Fenmen since their first arrival here, it is not at alllikely that there are any of them left; if there are we shall haveto do battle with them."
"Do you think they will be very formidable, Beric?"
"I do not suppose so. They might be formidable to one man, but notto sixty well armed as we are; bu
t I have not any belief that weshall meet with them."
The night passed quite quietly, and in the morning the band setout to explore the country. It rose gradually until they were, asBeric judged, from forty to fifty feet above the level of the swamp.Large trees grew here, and the soil was perfectly dry. The groundon the summit was level for about a quarter of a mile, and thengradually sank again. A mile farther they were again at the edgeof a swamp.
"Nothing could have suited us better," Beric said. "At the top wecan form an encampment which will hold ten thousand men, and thereis dry ground a mile all round for the cattle and swine."
Presently there was a shout from some men who had wandered away,and Beric, bidding others follow, ran to the spot. They found menstanding looking in wonder at a great number of bones lying in whatseemed a confused mass.
"Here is your monster," Beric said; "they are snake bones." Thiswas evident to all, and exclamations of wonder broke from them attheir enormous size. One man got hold of a pair of ribs, and placingthem upright they came up to his chin. The men looked apprehensivelyround.
"You need not be afraid," Beric said. "The creature has probablybeen dead hundreds of years. You see his skin is all decayed away,and it must have been thick and tough indeed. By the way the bonesare piled together, he must have curled up here to die. He wasprobably the last of his race. However, we will search the islandthoroughly, keeping together in readiness to encounter anythingthat we may alight upon."
Great numbers of snakes were found, but none of any extraordinarysize.
"No doubt they fled here in the rains," Beric said, "when the waterrose and covered the swamps; we shall not be troubled with themwhen the morasses dry. Anyhow they are quite harmless, and savethat they may kill a chicken or two when we get some, they willgive us no trouble. The swine will soon clear them off."
It was late in the day before the search was completed, and theythen returned to the camping ground of the night before, quiteassured that there was no creature of any size upon the island.Just as evening was falling on the following day they heard shouts.
"Are you alive?" a voice, which Beric recognized as that of hisboatman, shouted.
"Yes," he exclaimed, "alive and well. There is nothing to be afraidof here."
A few minutes later the twenty boats again came up. The Fenmen thistime ventured to land, but Beric's boatman questioned him anxiouslyabout the monsters. Beric, who thought it as well to maintain theevil reputation of the place, told him that they had searched theisland and had found no living monsters, but had come across a deadserpent, who must have been seventy or eighty feet long.
"There are no more of them here," he said, "but of course theremay be others that have been alarmed at the noises we made and havetaken to the swamps. This creature has been dead for a long time,and may have been the last of his race. However, if one were to comewe should not be afraid of it with a hundred and twenty fightingmen here."
The Fenmen, after a consultation among themselves, agreed that itwould be safer to pass the night with the Iceni than to start inthe darkness among the swamps. When they left in the morning Bericsent a message to Aska describing the place, and begging him tosend up some of the women with the next party with means of grindingthe grain. As soon as the boats were started Beric led the party upto the top of the rise, and then work was begun in earnest, and ina couple of days a large number of huts were constructed of saplingsand brushwood cleared off from the centre of the encampment.Some women arrived with the next boat loads, and at once took thepreparation of food into their hands. Aska sent a message sayingthat the numbers at his camp were undiminished, as most of thefighting men belonging to the villages round who had survived thebattle had joined him at once with their wives, and that freshmen were pouring in every hour. He urged Beric to leave Boduoc incharge of the island, and to return with the empty boats in orderthat they might have a consultation. This Beric did, and upon hisarrival he found that there were over four hundred men in camp, witha proportionate number of women and children. There were severalsubchiefs among them, and Aska invited them to join in the council.
"It is evident," he said, "that so large a number as this cannotfind food in one place in the swamps, at any rate until we havelearned to catch fish and snare wildfowl as the Fenmen do. The swinewe can take there, but these light boats would not carry cattlein any numbers, though some might be thrown and carried there,with their legs tied together. At present this place is safe fromattack. There is only one path, our guide says, by which it canbe approached. I propose that we cut wide gaps through this, andthrow beams and planks over them. These we can remove in case ofattack. When we hear of the Romans' approach we can throw up a highdefence of trees and bushes behind each gap."
"That will be excellent," Beric agreed, "and you would doubtlessbe able to make a long defence against them on the causeway. Butyou must not depend upon their keeping upon that. They will wadethrough the swamp waist deep, and, if it be deeper still, will cutdown bushes and make faggots and move forward on these. So, thoughyou may check them on the causeway, they will certainly, by onemeans or other, make their way up to your intrenchment, and you musttherefore strengthen this in every way. I should build up a greatbank behind it, so that if they break through or fire the defencesyou can defend the bank. There is one thing that must be done withoutdelay; we must build more boats. There must be here many men fromthe eastern coast, where they have much larger and stronger craftthan these coracles. I should put a strong party to work upon them.Then, in case of an attack, you could, when you see that longerresistance would be vain, take to the boats and join me; or, whenthe Romans approach, send them off to fetch my party from theisland. Besides, we shall want to move bodies of men rapidly so asto attack and harass the enemy when they are not expecting us.
"I should say that we ought to have at least twenty great flatboatsable to carry fifty men each. Speed would not be of much consequence,as the Romans will have no boats to follow us; besides, except onthe Ouse and one or two of the larger streams, there is no room forrowing, and they must be poled along. Let us keep none but fightingmen here. As all the villagers fled north there must be numbers ofcattle and swine wandering untended in all the woods, and in manyof the hamlets much grain must have been left behind, therefore Ishould send out parties from time to time to bring them in. Whenthe large boats are built we can transport some of the cattle aliveto the island; till then they must be slaughtered here; but witheach party a few swine might be sent to the island, where they canrange about as they choose. What is the last news you have of theRomans?"
"They are pressing steadily north, burning and slaying. I hear thatthey spare none, and that the whole land of the Trinobantes, fromthe Thames to the Stour, has been turned into a waste."
"It was only what we had to expect, Aska. Have any more of my peoplecome in since I left?"
"Only a young girl. She arrived last night. It is she that broughtthe news that I am giving you. She is a sister of your friendBoduoc, and her mother, who had given her up for lost, almost losther senses with delight when she returned. The family are fortunate,for another son also came in two or three days ago."
Beric at once went in search of Boduoc's mother, whom he foundestablished with her girls in a little bower.
"I am glad indeed that your daughter has returned safe," he said,as the old woman came out on hearing his voice.
"Yes, I began to think that I should never see her face again, Beric;but I am fortunate indeed, when so many are left friendless, thatall my four children should be spared.
"Tell the chief how you fulfilled your mission," she said to thegirl.
"It was easy enough," she replied. "Had I been by myself I shouldhave returned here three days since, but the little lady couldnot make long journeys, and it was three days after we left beforewe saw any of the Romans. At last we came upon a column of horse.When we saw them the little lady gave me this bracelet, and she putthis gold chain into my hand and said, 'Beric.' So I knew that it
was for you. Then I ran back and hid myself in the trees while theywent forward. When they got near the soldiers on horseback the manlifted up his arms and cried something in a loud voice. Then theyrode up to them, and for some time I could see nothing. Then thehorsemen rode on again, all but two of them, who went on south. Theman rode behind one of them, and the little lady before another.Then I turned and made hither, travelling without stopping, exceptonce for a few hours' sleep. There are many fugitives in the woods,and from them I heard that the land of the Trinobantes was lit upby burning villages, and that the Romans were slaughtering all.Some of those I met in the wood had hid themselves, and had madetheir way at night, and they saw numbers of dead bodies, women andchildren as well as men, in the burned hamlets."
"You have done your mission well," Beric said. "Boduoc will be gladwhen I tell him how you have carried out my wish. We must find agood husband for you some day, and I will take care that you go tohim with a good store of cattle and swine. Where is your brother?"
"He is there," she said, "leaning against that tree waiting foryou."
"I am glad to see you safe among us," Beric said to the young man."How did you escape the battle?"
"I was driving the chariot with Parta's attendants, as I had fromthe day we started. I kept close behind her chariot, and escaped withher when the line of wagons was broken to let the queen pass. Whenwe got far away from the battle your mother stopped her chariot andbade me go north. 'I have no more need of attendants,' she said;'let them save themselves. Do you find my son if he has escapedthe battle, and tell him that I shall share the fate of Boadicea.I have lived a free woman, and will die one. Tell him to fight tothe end against the Romans, and that I shall expect him to joinme before long in the Happy Island. Bid him not lament for me, butrejoice, as he should, that I have gone to the Land where thereare no sorrows.' Then I turned my chariot and drove to your hometo await your coming there if you should have escaped. It was buta few hours after that the messengers brought the news that youwere safe, and that the survivors of your band were to join you atSoto with such men as might have escaped. As Parta's orders were totake the women with me to the north, I drove them two days farther,taking with me a lad, the brother of one of them. Then I handed overthe chariot to him, to convey them to the land of the Brigantes,and started hither on foot to join you."
"You shall go on with me tomorrow, you and your mother and sisters.Boduoc will be rejoiced to see you all. We have found a place whereeven the Romans will hardly reach us."