They were all pacified by an elderly Nubian who said he knew a road to the south that by-passed the fortresses of the Black Land and went through the plains of Nubia to the Blue Waters.
The narrow crescent of the moon rose above the terraced hills of the desert and still the insurgent slaves continued to plan their flight. They were now discussing the details of the revolt and gave a task to each group under a specific leader.
The revolt was timed to begin on the night after the next, immediately it became completely dark.
Sixty men crawled silently back to various parts of the compound while above them, silhouetted against the moonlit sky, stood the sentries, little suspecting what was going on below them and full of contempt for those who slept in the dark hole beneath their feet.
Cautiously and unnoticed, the plans for the revolt continued all next day and night and all through the second day. The leaders, for fear of traitors, spoke only to those with whom they were well acquainted, expecting that the others would join the general mass of the insurgents once the sentries had been removed.
The night of the revolt came. Groups of people assembled in the darkness, one for each of the three walls — the northern, western and southern. On the eastern side, two groups gathered under the inner wall.
The movement of the men had been carried out so speedily that by the time Cavius struck an upturned water jug with a stone, giving the signal for attack, they had already formed living pyramids. The bodies of seventy men formed a slope against the vertical wall. There were five such living bridges over which men, intoxicated with the coming battle, swarmed from all sides.
Cavius, Pandion, Remdus and Kidogo were amongst the first to mount the inner wall. The Hellene, without pausing to think, leaped down into the darkness and was followed by dozens of others.
Pandion knocked down a soldier who appeared from the guard-house, jumped on his back and twisted his neck. The Egyptian’s back-bone cracked softly and his body went limp in Pandion’s hands. All round him, in the darkness, the slaves hunted and seized their hated enemies. In their fury men attacked armed soldiers with their bare hands. Before any of the soldiers could defend himself against an attacker from the front, others jumped on him from the sides and from behind; unarmed, but strong in their wrathful fury, the slaves dug their teeth into the hands that held weapons and stuck their fingers into the soldiers’ eyes. Weapons, weapons at any cost^-this was the one idea of the attackers. Those who succeeded in seizing a dagger or spear were still more furious in their attacks, feeling death-dealing strength in their hands. Pandion struck right and left with the sword he had taken from a dead enemy. Kidogo fought with a huge pole used for carrying water.
Cavius mounted the living bridge and threw himself at four soldiers on guard over the inner door. The astounded Egyptians put up a poor resistance as they were literally crushed by the avalanche of silent men that fell en them from above.
With a shout of triumph Cavius pushed open the heavy bolt on the doors and soon the crowd of liberated slaves occupied the entire area between the walls, broke into the house of Commandant of the shehne and killed the soldiers resting there after the guard had been changed.
On the walls above the struggle was even more desperate. The nine sentries on the wall had noticed the attacking slaves in good time. Arrows whistled through the air and the silence of the night was broken by the moans of the wounded and the thud of bodies falling from above.
Nine Egyptians, however, could not long resist a hundred of infuriated slaves, who flew directly on to the spears of the soldiers and rolled down from the wall together with them.
In the meantime the soldiers and officials had been dealt with in the narrow confines between the two walls: the keys of the outer gates had been found on the dead Commandant and the screech of the rusty hinges as the gates opened was like a cry of victory in the night.
Spears, shields, daggers, bows — everything was taken from the soldiers, clown to the last arrow. The armed slaves headed the crowd of runaways and all of them, in deep silence, made their way to the river.
Every boat, barge or raft they could get hold of was used to begin the river crossing. Several men perished in the river, falling victims to the huge crocodiles that guarded the waters of Tha-Quem,
Before two hours had elapsed the vanguard of the column reached a shehne situated on the other bank of the river on the road to Zesher-Zesheru.
Cavius, Pandion and two Libyans went openly to the gates and knocked while about a hundred other slaves pressed close against the wall near the gates,
A soldier shouted down from the wall, asking them what they wanted. A Libyan who spoke the language of Tha-Quem fluently demanded the Commandant of the shehne, saying that he had a letter from the Director of Royal Works. Several voices were heard behind the door; a torch was lighted, and the door opened, showing them a courtyard between two walls similar to that they had just left. The Captain of the Guard stepped forward from a group of soldiers and demanded the letter.
Cavius rushed at him with a howl of fury and plunged Yakhmos’ dagger into his breast while Pandion and the Libyans rushed at the other soldiers. The other armed slaves, who were standing prepared for action, took advantage of the confusion and burst into the shehne with terrifying cries. The torches went out and the darkness was filled with suppressed groans, howls and martial shouts. Pandion made short work of two opponents and opened the inner door. The call to revolt resounded throughout the shehne, now awakened by the noise of battle, as slaves darted here and there calling to their astounded fellow-countrymen in their native language. The compound hummed like a beehive; the howls grew in volume until they merged into a deep roar. The soldiers on the walls dashed back and forth, afraid to descend; they shouted threats at the slaves and from time to time let fly arrows at random. The fight in the corridor between the walls died down; well-aimed arrows flew from the courtyard at the clearly visible soldiers on the walls and the second shehne was liberated.
The crowd of liberated slaves, puzzled and inebriated by their sudden liberty, streamed through the doors and spread in all directions, paying no attention to the shouts of their liberators. In a short time savage howls came from the direction of the houses and fires broke out in several places. Cavius advised the other leaders to assemble those of their shehne companions who were already acquainted with discipline. The Etruscan stood deep in thought, running his fingers through his beard; in his eyes, turned westwards in the direction to be followed, there was a red glint — the reflection of the fires.
Cavius was thinking that they had most probably made a mistake in liberating the slaves from the second shehne without any preparatory work amongst them. His own followers were already familiar with the conception of a common purposeful struggle and it was possible that more harm than good would come of joining them to a mass of people who were unprepared, who acted as individuals and were intoxicated by the possibility of vengeance and liberty.
Such proved to be the case. A large number of the slaves from the first shehne were also attracted by the idea of plunder and destruction. Apart from that, time had been lost, every minute of which was of the utmost importance. The smaller column moved on towards the third shehne situated some eight thousand cubits from the second, in the immediate vicinity of the Temple of Zesher-Zesheru.
There was no time to change the plan of the revolt and Cavius foresaw very great difficulties. And as they approached the shehne the Etruscan noticed the silhouettes of soldiers drawn up on the walls and heard shouts of “A’atu, a’atu!” (insurgents) followed by the whistle of the arrows with which the Egyptians greeted the approaching column from a long distance.