The Fifth Mountain Page 0,38

already at the door.

"Look!" he said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's war!"

A battalion of soldiers, imposing in their battle gear and armaments, was marching toward the southern gate of Akbar. A group of musicians followed them, marking the battalion's pace to the beat of drums.

"Yesterday you were afraid," Elijah told the boy.

"I didn't know we had so many soldiers. Our warriors are the best!"

He left the boy and went into the street; he must find the governor at any cost. The other inhabitants of the city had been awakened by the sound of the war anthems and were enthralled; for the first time in their lives they were seeing the march of an organized battalion in its military uniforms, its lances and shields reflecting the first rays of dawn. The commander had achieved an enviable feat; he had prepared his army without anyone becoming aware of it, and now - or so Elijah feared - he could make everyone believe that victory over the Assyrians was possible.

He pushed his way through the soldiers and came to the front of the column. There, mounted on horses, the commander and the governor were leading the march.

"We have an agreement!" said Elijah, running to the governor's side. "I can perform a miracle!"

The governor made no reply. The garrison marched past the city wall and into the valley.

"You know this army is an illusion!" Elijah insisted. "The Assyrians have a five-to-one advantage, and they are experienced warriors! Don't allow Akbar to be destroyed!"

"What do you desire of me?" the governor asked, without halting his steed. "Last night I sent an emissary so we could talk, and they said you were out of the city. What else could I do?"

"Facing the Assyrians in the open field is suicide! You know that!"

The commander was listening to the conversation, making no comment. He had already discussed his strategy with the governor; the Israelite prophet would have a surprise.

Elijah ran alongside the horses, not knowing exactly what he should do. The column of soldiers left the city, heading toward the middle of the valley.

"Help me, Lord," he thought. "Just as Thou stopped the sun to help Joshua in combat, stop time and let me convince the governor of his error."

As soon as he thought this, the commander shouted, "Halt!"

"Perhaps it's a sign," Elijah told himself. "I must take advantage of it."

The soldiers formed two lines of engagement, like human walls. Their shields were firmly anchored in the earth, their swords pointing outward.

"You believe you are looking at Akbar's warriors," the governor said to Elijah.

"I'm looking at young men who laugh in the face of death," was the reply.

"Know then that what we have here is only a battalion. The greater part of our men are in the city, on top of the walls. We have placed there caldrons of boiling oil ready to be poured on the heads of anyone trying to scale them.

"We have stores divided among several locations, so that flaming arrows cannot do away with our food supply. According to the commander's calculations, we can hold out for almost two months against a siege. While the Assyrians were making ready, so too were we."

"I was never told this," Elijah said.

"Remember this: even having helped the people of Akbar, you are still a foreigner, and some in the military could mistake you for a spy."

"But you wished for peace!"

"Peace is still possible, even after combat begins. But now we shall negotiate under conditions of equality."

The governor related that messengers had been dispatched to Sidon and Tyre advising of the gravity of their position. It had been difficult for him to ask for help; others might think him incapable of controlling the situation. But he had concluded that this was the only solution.

The commander had developed an ingenious plan; as soon as combat began, he would return to the city to organize the resistance. The troops in the field were to kill as many of the enemy as possible, then withdraw to the mountains. They knew the valley better than anyone and could attack the Assyrians in small skirmishes, thus reducing the pressure of the siege.

Relief would come soon, and the Assyrian army would be decimated. "We can resist for sixty days, but that will not be necessary," the governor told Elijah.

"But many will die."

"We are all in the presence of death. And no one is afraid, not even I."

The governor was surprised at his own courage. He had never before been in a battle, and