the place where he was, Theudis received them with friendliness and entertained them heartily, and during the feast he pretended to enquire how matters stood with Gelimer and the Vandals.  Now since these envoys had travelled to him rather slowly, it happened that he had heard from others everything which had befallen the Vandals.  For one merchant ship sailing for trade had put out from Carthage on the very same day as the army marched into the city, and finding a favouring wind, had come to Spain.  From those on this ship Theudis learned all that had happened in Libya, but he forbade the merchants to reveal it to anyone, in order that this might not become generally known.  And when Gothaeus and his followers replied that everything was as well as possible for them, he asked them for what purpose, then, they had come.  And when they proposed the alliance, Theudis bade them go to the sea-coast; “For from there,” he said, “you will learn of the affairs at home with certainty.”  And the envoys, supposing that the man was in his cups and his words were not sane, remained silent.  But when on the following day they met him and made mention of the alliance, and Theudis used the same words a second time, then at length they understood that some change of fortune had befallen them in Libya, but never once thinking of Carthage they sailed for the city.  And upon coming to land close by it and happening upon Roman soldiers, they put themselves in their hands to do with them as they wished.  And from there they were led away to the general, and reporting the whole story, they suffered no harm at his hand.  These things, then, happened thus.  And Cyril,[64] upon coming near to Sardinia and learning what had happened to Godas, sailed to Carthage, and there, finding the Roman army and Belisarius victorious, he remained at rest; and Solomon[65] was sent to the emperor in order to announce what had been accomplished.

XXV

But Gelimer, upon reaching the plain of Boulla, which is distant from Carthage a journey of four days for an unencumbered traveller, not far from the boundaries of Numidia, began to gather there all the Vandals and as many of the Moors as happened to be friendly to him.  Few Moors, however, joined his alliance, and these were altogether insubordinate.  For all those who ruled over the Moors in Mauretania and Numidia and Byzacium sent envoys to Belisarius saying that they were slaves of the emperor and promised to fight with him.  There were some also who even furnished their children as hostages and requested that the symbols of office be sent them from him according to the ancient custom.  For it was a law among the Moors that no one should be a ruler over them, even if he was hostile to the Romans, until the emperor of the Romans should give him the tokens of the office.  And though they had already received them from the Vandals, they did not consider that the Vandals held