“You have saved my life, Nessus, and I shall never forget it,” Malchus said gratefully.

“My life is my lord’s,” the Arab replied simply.  “Glad am I indeed that I have been able to do you a service.”

Just as he spoke they saw through the bushes a party of Roman horse ride at a gallop over the brow between them and the camp.  They halted, however, on passing the crest, and an officer with them gazed long and searchingly over the country.  For some minutes he sat without speaking, then he gave an order and the horsemen rode back again over the crest.

“I think we shall see no more of them,” Malchus said.  “His orders were, no doubt, that if I was in sight they were to pursue, if not, it would be clearly useless hunting over miles of brushwood in the hope of finding me, especially as they must deem it likely that I am far away in the opposite direction.”

An hour later Nessus crept cautiously forward among the bushes, making a considerable detour until he reached the spot whence he could command a view of the Roman camp.  It had gone, not a soul remained behind, but at some distance across the plain he could see the heavy column marching north.  He rose to his feet and returned to the spot where he had left Malchus, and told him that the Romans had gone.

“The first thing, Nessus, is to get rid of these chains.”

“It is easy as to the chains,” Nessus said, “but the rings around your legs must remain until we rejoin the camp, it will need a file to free you from them.”

The soil was sandy, and Nessus could find no stone sufficiently large for his purpose.  They, therefore, started in the direction which the Romans had taken until, after two hours’ slow walking, they came upon the bed of a stream in which were some boulders sufficiently large for the purpose.

The rings were now pushed down again to the ankles, and Nessus wound round them strips of cloth until he had formed a pad between the iron and the skin to lessen the jar of the blow, then he placed the link of the chain near to the leg upon the edge of the boulder, and, drawing his sharp heavy sword, struck with all his force upon the iron.

A deep notch was made; again and again he repeated the blow, until the link was cut through, then, with some difficulty, he forced the two ends apart until the shackle of the ring would pass between them.  The operation was repeated on the other chain, and then Malchus was free, save for the two iron rings around his ankles.  The work had taken upwards of an hour, and when it was done they started at a rapid walk in the direction taken by the column.  They had no fear now of the natives, for should any come upon them they would take them for two Roman soldiers who had strayed behind the army.

Scipio made a long day’s march, and it was not until nightfall that his army halted.  Malchus and his companion made a long detour round the camp and continued their way for some hours, then they left the track that the army would follow, and, after walking for about a mile, lay down among some bushes and were soon asleep.