Cæsar! The name was as magic, and the sailors forgot their fears, and once again they pulled their hardest against waves and wind. But their efforts were vain, while each moment the danger became greater. When the boat began to fill with water, even Cæsar had to yield, and bade the sailors pull for the shore. As he reached the land, his soldiers, who had missed him, eagerly helped him from the boat, and chid him for risking his life so heedlessly. Moreover, it seemed that their pride was hurt, for why, they said, should he go into danger for the legions who were at Brundisium? Could he not trust them to gain the victories he desired? With the spring, Antony and the legions at length arrived, and Cæsar determined to force Pompey to fight without delay. CHAPTER CXII THE FLIGHT OF POMPEY In the camps of both Pompey and Cæsar there was great suffering. The chief strength of Pompey’s army was its cavalry, which was 7000 strong, and the horses had begun to die for want of food. Pompey had many officers of noble rank in his camp, and they urged him to fight at once, or there would be no horses left for the soldiers to ride. But Pompey knew that his large army was undisciplined, that many of the soldiers were rebellious, and he wished to avoid a battle. He hoped that the difficulty of providing food for his army would force Cæsar to retreat. It was indeed true that Cæsar’s legions were suffering from hunger, but they would have died rather than let the enemy know that this was so. They tried their utmost to mislead them. To stay their hunger they gathered a root which they found in the fields, and made it as palatable as they could by adding milk to it. Sometimes they made the root into loaves of a kind, and some of these they threw into the enemy’s camp, as though to say, ‘Whatever you may think, we have food enough and to spare.’ Not a murmur was heard in Cæsar’s camp. Every man remained loyal to his general, and cheerful, even when suffering intensely from the pangs of hunger. It had been spring when Mark Antony joined Cæsar. It was now nearly the end of summer, and still the two armies were encamped near to each other, but no battle had been fought. Then, at length, it happened, that Pompey discovered a weak point in Cæsar’s lines, which he believed he could attack with success. His army, pleased to be at last in action, advanced with alacrity as soon as the order was given. As Pompey had hoped, Cæsar’s troops were soon driven back toward their camp in utter confusion, while the camp itself was in danger of being taken. In vain did Cæsar try to rally his forces, heedless of his own danger, if he could but stem the flight of his men. As one strong active soldier ran past, Cæsar caught hold of him, to make him turn to face the foe. Mad with terror, and scarce knowing what he did, the fugitive raised his sword. He was going to strike his general.