TIMOLEON, THE FAVORITE OF. FORTUNE, 285

with lightning and roared with thunder. And all
this was on the backs of the Greeks; in the faces
of the Carthaginians. They could not hear the
orders of their officers. The ground became so muddy
that many of them slipped and fell: and once down
their heavy armor would not let them rise again.
The Greeks, driven forward by the wind, attacked
their foes with double energy. At length, blinded
by the driving storm, distracted by the furious as-
sault, and four hundred of their front ranks fallen,
the white shield battalion turned and fied.

But flight was not easy. They met their own
troops coming up. The stream had become suddenly
swollen with the rain. In the confused flight num-
bers were drowned. The panic spread from rank to
rank until the whole host was in total rout, flying
wildly over the hills, leaving their camp and baggage
to the victors, who pursued and slaughtered them in
thousands as they fled.

Such a complete victory had rarely been won.
Ten thousand Carthaginians were killed and fifteen
thousand made prisoners, their war-chariots were
captured, and the spoil found in the camp and on the
track of the flying army was prodigiously great.
As for the Sacred Band, it was annihilated. The
story is told that it was slain toaman. The broken
remnants of the flying army hastened to their ships,
which they were half afraid to enter, for fear the
gods that helped Timoleon would destroy them on
the seas. And thus was Sicily freed.

The thousand deserters who had left Timoleon’s
army on its march were ordered by him to leave