As Giscon was the leading spirit of the band his recommendation was taken as amply sufficient.  The young men rose and formed in a circle round Malchus.  All drew their daggers, and one, whom Malchus recognized with a momentary feeling of surprise as Carthalon, whom Adherbal had pointed out at the Barcine Club as one who thought only of horse racing, said: 

“Do you swear by Moloch and Astarte to be true to this society, to devote yourself to the destruction of the oppressors of Carthage, to carry out all measures which may be determined upon, even at the certain risk of your life, and to suffer yourself to be torn to pieces by the torture rather than reveal aught that passes within these walls?”

“That I swear solemnly,” Malchus said.

“I need not say,” Carthalon said carelessly, “that the punishment of the violation of the oath is death.  It is so put in our rules.  But we are all nobles of Carthage, and nobles do not break their oaths, so we can let that pass.  When a man’s word is good enough to make him beggar himself in order to discharge a wager, he can be trusted to keep his word in a matter which concerns the lives of a score of his fellows.  And now that this business is arranged we can go on with our talk; but first let us have some wine, for all this talking is thirsty work at best.”

The young men threw themselves upon the couches around the room and, while slaves brought round wine, chatted lightly with each other about horses, the play presented the day before, the respective merits of the reigning beauties of Carthage, and other similar topics, and Malchus, who was impressed with the serious nature of the secret conspiracy which he had just sworn to aid, could not help being surprised at the careless gaiety of the young men, although engaged in a conspiracy in which they risked their lives.

It was not until some minutes after the slaves had left the apartment that the light talk and banter ceased, as Giscon rose and said: 

“Now to business.  Malchus has told me that an old fisherman, who took a lead in stirring up his fellows to declare for Hannibal, has been decoyed away from his home and murdered; his body has been found floating in the lake, strangled.  This is the nineteenth in the course of a week.  These acts are spreading terror among the working classes, and unless they are put a stop to we can no longer expect assistance from them.

“That these deeds are the work of the officials of the tribunals we have no doubt.  The sooner we strike the better.  Matters are getting ripe.  I have eight men sworn into my section among the weavers, and need but two more to complete it.  We will instruct our latest recruit to raise a section among the fishermen.  The sons of the man just murdered should form a nucleus.  We agreed from the first that three hundred resolute men besides ourselves were required, and that each of us should raise a section of ten.  Malchus brings up our number here to thirty, and when all the sections are filled up we shall be ready for action.