"Thorismuth," he said, "thou must defend Taginæ; for the present Capræ is lost. Let a mounted messenger fetch the whole of Hildebrand's wing here; the road to Rome must be kept open at all costs. Teja, as I learned, has already joined in the battle with his left wing.--To defend the retreat to the south--is our last hope!" And, saying this, he swooned away. But Earl Thorismuth said: "I and my spearmen will defend Taginæ to the last man. Not a foe shall get in here; neither the Persians nor the Longobardians. I will protect the King's life as long as I can raise a finger. Take him farther back; into the mountain--into the cloister but make haste, for there, from the Gate of Capræ, come the enemy's foot--and, look there!--Cethegus the Prefect with his Isaurians! Capræ and our bowmen are lost!" And so it was. Wisand, obeying his orders, had not defended Capræ, but had allowed Cethegus and Liberius to enter, and only when they were fairly inside the town did he begin the fight in the streets, at the same time sending a thousand of his men out of the southern gate to attack the Longobardians. But, as the ambuscades had fallen upon the Goths instead of the Longobardians; as Alboin and Furius united in dispersing or annihilating the few Gothic horsemen, and the attack intended by the spearmen from Taginæ did not take place; the Gothic bowmen, first in Capræ itself, and then on the Flaminian Way, between Capræ and Taginæ, were quickly crushed by superior force. Wisand escaped as if by a miracle, and, though wounded, reached Taginæ and reported the annihilation of his troops. Narses was carried into Capræ, and the Illyrians began to storm Taginæ. Earl Thorismuth resisted heroically. He fought his best in order to cover the retreat of his comrades. He was presently reinforced by a few thousand men from Hildebrand's left wing, who now hurried up, while the old master-at-arms led the greater part of his troops southwards beyond Taginæ upon the high-road to Rome. Just as the storming of Taginæ was about to commence, Cethegus met Furius and Alboin, who had recovered from the blows they had received. Cethegus had heard of the course pursued by the Corsican, which had decided the fate of the battle. He shook him by the hand. "Well done, friend Furius! At last on the right side, and against the barbarian King!" "He must not escape alive!" growled the Corsican. "What? How? He still lives! I thought that--he had fallen," said Cethegus hastily. "No; they managed to rescue him after he was wounded." "He must not live!" cried Cethegus. "Then you are right! It is of more importance than to win Taginæ. Narses can manage that heroic work from his litter. He has seventy to one. Up, Furius! Why do your horsemen stand idle here?" "The animals cannot ride up the walls!"