"Now the Vandal is alongside of the Byzantine." "They are leaping across--our men. How their fair locks fly! Victory, victory to the Vandals!" "Why, Thrasaric! They are only slaves in disguise." "No matter! They bear our flag. Victory, victory to the Vandals! But look, there is a terrible hand-to-hand conflict--man to man! How the shields crash! How the axes glitter! Alas! the Vandal leader is falling! Oh, if I were only on that accursed Roman ship!" "There! Another Vandal falls! More Romans are coming up from the lower deck. Alas! That is treachery!" "The Romans have the superior force. Two more Vandals have fallen." "They lured our men on board by stratagem." "Brother! Thrasabad! Where are you?" "On a boat over yonder, beside the two ships," cried Glauke, full of terror. "It is no use! The Vandals are overpowered; they are leaping into the water!" "The others on the Roman ship are bound." "The Romans are throwing fire into our ship. It is burning!" "The mast is blazing brightly." "The helmsman and rowers are jumping overboard." "Where is Thrasabad?" Mercury again appeared in the podium. "Look you, brother, that is a bad omen," said Thrasaric. Thrasabad shrugged his shoulders. "The fortune of war. I did not allow myself to interfere. No agreement was made about the result. Five Romans and twelve Vandals are dead. Away, away with the whole! Vanish, sea!" He waved the Hermes staff; the water sank rushing into the depths, with the corpses it had swallowed. The Roman ship, amply manned and obeying her helm, succeeded, by rowing powerfully to the right, in passing through the gate by which it had entered. The empty, burning, unguided Vandal vessel was drawn into the seething, whirling funnel; it turned more and more swiftly on its own axis; the water dashed over the deck, extinguishing the flames as far as it reached them; the mast leaned farther and farther to the right, still blazing brightly. Suddenly it fell completely over on the right side and disappeared in the abyss. Gurgling, whirling, and foaming, the rest of the water followed. "The sea has vanished!" cried Thrasabad. "Let the desert and its monsters, warring with each other, appear in its place!" And at the height of the former flooring, far above the level of the sea, the two halves of the arena, covered with white sand, were again pushed together from the right and left. Slaves, clad only with aprons--fair-skinned ones, yellow-complexioned Moors, and negroes--appeared in countless numbers and drew back the curtains which covered the gratings of the cages containing the wild animals. "We will present to you--" Thrasabad cried amid the breathless silence.