"Much you know about it, O Gelimer," said Zazo, shaking his head. "You have accomplished miracles since you wore this heavy crown; but to cleanse the grove of Venus--" "Not cleanse; close!" replied the King, sternly. "It has been closed since yesterday." "I must complain, accuse many," Gibamund went on, "especially the nobles. They refuse to fight on foot, to take part in the drill of the foot soldiers. You know how much we need them. They appeal to the privileges bestowed by weak Sovereigns; they say they are no longer obliged to enter the ranks of the foot soldiers! Hilderic permitted every Vandal to buy freedom from it, if he would hire in his place two Moorish or other mercenaries." "I have abolished these privileges." "Oh, yes. And during your absence there was open rebellion; blood flowed on that account in the streets of Carthage. But the worst thing is, that these effeminate nobles and the richer citizens _can_ no longer fight on foot. They say--and unfortunately it is true--that they can no longer bear the weight of the heavy helmets, breastplates, shields, and spears, no longer hurl the lances which I had brought out again from Genseric's arsenal." "They are of course required to arm themselves," said Zazo. "So why--" "Because most have sold the ancient weapons or exchanged them for jewels, wine, dainties, or female slaves; or else for arms that are mere ornaments and toys. I allow no one to enter the army with this rubbish; and before they are properly equipped, the victory and the Empire might be lost. But it is true: they can no longer carry Genseric's armor. They would fall in a short time. They are swearing because we are now in the very hottest months." "Are we to tell the enemy that the Vandals fight only in the winter?" cried Zazo, laughing. "Therefore to fill the ranks of our foot soldiers I have already obtained many thousand Moorish mercenaries," the King replied. "Of course these sons of the desert, variable, impetuous, changeful, like the sands of their home, are a poor substitute for German strength. But I have gained twenty chiefs with about ten thousand men." "Is Cabaon, the graybeard of countless years, among them?" asked Gibamund. "No, he delays his answer." "It is a pity. He is the most powerful of them all! And his prophetic renown extends far beyond his tribe," observed Zazo. "Well, we shall have better assistants than the Moorish robbers," said Gibamund, consolingly. "The brave Visigoths in Spain." "Have you yet received an answer from their king?" "Yes and no! King Theudis is shrewd and cautious. I urged upon him earnestly (I wrote the letter myself; I did not leave it to Verus) that Constantinople was not threatening us Vandals solely; that the imperial troops could easily cross the narrow straits from Ceuta, if we were once vanquished. I offered him an alliance. He answered evasively: he must first be sure of what we could accomplish in the war."