After bidding farewell to the old noble, Malchus returned to the house of the Arab and prepared for his departure.  He had already handsomely rewarded the two men and the mahout for the services they had rendered him.  In the course of the day he had provided himself with the garments of a trader, the character which he was now about to assume.

At midnight, when all was quiet, he and Nessus set out and made their way down to the port, where, at a little frequented landing stage, a boat was awaiting them, and they were at once rowed to the ship, which was lying at anchor half a mile from the shore in readiness for an early start in the morning.

Although it seemed next to impossible that they could have been traced, Malchus walked the deck restlessly until the morning, listening to every sound, and it was not until the anchor was weighed, the sails hoisted, and the vessel began to draw away from Carthage that he went into his cabin.  On the sixth day after leaving Carthage the ship entered the port of Corinth.

There were several vessels there from Italian ports, but before proceeding to arrange for a passage Malchus went to a shop and bought, for himself and Nessus, such clothing and arms as would enable them to pass without difficulty as fighting men belonging to one of the Latin tribes.  Then he made inquiries on the quay, and, finding that a small Italian craft was to start that afternoon for Brundusium, he went on board and accosted the captain.

“We want to cross to Italy,” he said, “but we have our reasons for not wishing to land at Brundusium, and would fain be put ashore at some distance from the town.  We are ready, of course, to pay extra for the trouble.”

The request did not seem strange to the captain.  Malchus had spoken in Greek, the language with which all who traded on the Mediterranean were familiar.  He supposed that they had in some way embroiled themselves with the authorities at Brundusium, and had fled for awhile until the matter blew over, and that they were now anxious to return to their homes without passing through the town.  He asked rather a high price for putting them ashore in a boat as they wished, and Malchus haggled over the sum for a considerable time, as a readiness to pay an exorbitant price might have given rise to doubts in the captain’s mind as to the quality of his passengers.  Once or twice he made as if he would go ashore, and the captain at last abated his demands to a reasonable sum.

When this was settled Malchus went no more ashore, but remained on board until the vessel sailed, as he feared that he might again be recognized by some of the sailors of the Carthaginian vessels in port.  The weather was fair and the wind light, and on the second day after sailing the vessel lay to in a bay a few miles from Brundusium.  The boat was lowered, and Malchus and his companions set on shore.