None of the Mercenaries knew the mountain, and, marching as they did at the head of their columns, they had drawn on the rest.

The rocks, which were somewhat narrow at the base, had been easily cast down; and, while all were running, his army had raised shouts, as of distress, on the horizon.

Hamilcar, it is true, might have lost his velites, only half of whom remained, but he would have sacrificed twenty times as many for the success of such an enterprise.
The Barbarians pressed forward until morning, in compact files, from one end of the plain to the other.

They felt the mountain with their hands, seeking to discover a passage.
At last day broke; and they perceived all about them a great white wall hewn with the pick.

And no means of safety, no hope! The two natural outcomes from this blind alley were closed by the portcullis and the heaps of rocks.
Then they all looked at one another without speaking.