The soldier mounted to the topmost branch, and looking over into the fort he saw that no sentinels were near. He had made a great discovery. Down the rock he clambered as quickly as he dared, and hastening back to the camp, told Marius that it was possible to scale the cliff at a point where the citadel was not guarded. Marius promptly ordered some soldiers to follow the mountaineer up the face of the cliff. It was no easy task, for the soldiers were cumbered with weapons, but by the help of their guide they reached the top in safety. Not a sentinel was to be seen. Marius waited until he thought the soldiers had had time to accomplish their hazardous climb, then he ordered an attack to be made at the front of the fort. The garrison rushed to the walls to repel the assault, but in the midst of their struggle they were startled to hear behind them the noise of trumpets, the clash of arms. The soldiers who had scaled the rock had entered the fort, and the garrison and the wretched inhabitants were seized with sudden panic at their appearance and fled. Then the Romans pursued the fugitives, cutting down all who resisted, and soon the citadel, which had so nearly defied them, was in their hands. But Marius was not yet satisfied, for Jugurtha was still free, and he had promised the Roman people that he would speedily capture or kill the king. CHAPTER LXXXVII THE CAPTURE OF JUGURTHA Sulla, who joined Marius in Numidia, was nineteen years younger than his commander. The young officer was a patrician, while Marius was a plebeian, and he had had many advantages which had been denied to Marius. But if the Consul was envious of his subordinate’s accomplishments, he successfully hid it, and even scoffed at the attainments he did not possess. As Sulla had ridden into the Roman camp the soldiers had looked at him with sudden interest. He was so unlike a soldier, and indeed he had not then been on a battlefield. But although he had looked to the troops like a man who had spent his days in pleasure, they had noticed that his blue eyes were keen, and gazed at them with fierce mastery. That he was clever and quick was soon evident to all, and Marius speedily found that he could count on Sulla’s brains and on Sulla’s strength. As for the soldiers, they learned to respect him, although he was so unlike their own rough, uneducated hero. Jugurtha had meanwhile again persuaded Bocchus to join him, although to do so he had been forced to promise him a large part of his kingdom. The Roman army soon knew that Jugurtha was again supported by an ally, for the two kings, each with his army, followed and harassed it as it marched away from the border-fort towards Cirta. Twice, indeed, the enemy had been in front, and the Romans had found their road blocked, and twice, before they could go forward, they had been forced to fight with their foes.