property and life, and of that which to them was far more precious than
either.

"There was not the shadow of an excuse for the invasion. The hill
people--a fierce, brave tribe, trained under a military government, and
accustomed to fighting from their youth--had no quarrel with the
citizens of the plain, who had no mind to fight with their neighbors or
to interfere with any one's rights. But the hill people were
slave-holders, and, whenever their establishments wanted replenishing,
they sent out an army to attack some neighboring city; and if they
gained the victory (as they were pretty sure to do, for they were a
fierce, brave race), they would rush into every house in the city and
carry off all the babies they could find, to be brought up as slaves.

"And this is what they had planned to do to the pretty city lying asleep
in the moonlight on a July evening.

"They started about noon--a large body of infantry, making a fine show;
for they wore polished armor as black as jet, that shone in the sun, and
every one of them carried a murderous weapon. The advance guard was
made up of the biggest and bravest, while the veterans, and the young
soldiers who lacked experience, brought up the rear.

"They had a long wearisome march across a rocky plain and up a steep
hill. Then there was a river to cross, and on the other side a stretch
of desert land, where the hot sun beat upon their heads, and where it
must have been hard to keep up the rapid pace at which they marched. But
they pressed on, and woe to him who stumbled and fell! for not a soldier
was allowed to stop an instant to help his fallen comrade. The whole
army swept on and over him, and there was no straggling from the close