He was now about three miles away and none of the enemy had yet noticed his advance, the rocks and thickets which covered the whole of this hilly district concealed his movements. Before making his final advance, he ordered his men to halt in a valley where they were effectually hidden and take food. The scouting parties returned and confirmed the statements of the deserters, on which the Romans, after placing the baggage in the centre and arming themselves for the combat, advanced in order of battle. The enemy caught sight of these when they were a mile distant and hurriedly prepared to meet them. As soon asM heard the shouting and confusion he galloped across from camp to take command. There were in the Celtiberian army 4000 men with shields and 200 cavalry; making up a regular 1呼on. These were his main strength and he stationed them in the front:the rest who were liahtly armed ne postea in reserve. in tnis formation ne iea tnem out of the camp, but they had hardly crossed the rampart when the Romans hurled their javelins at them. The Spaniards stooped to avoid them, and then sprang up to discharge their own, which the Romans who were in their usual close order received closed up foot to foot ltiberians, accustomed on their overlapping shields; then theyand fought with their swords. The Ceto rapid evolutions, found their agilityground, but the Romans, who were used useless on the broken to stationary fighting, found no inconvenience from it beyond the fact that their ranks were sometimes broken when moving through narrow Maces or hatches of brushwood. Then thev had to fight sinaly or in pairs, as it tney were ngnting aueis. These very obstacles, however, by impeding the enemy's flight, gave them up, as though bound hand and foot, to the sword. Almost all the heavy infantry of the Celtiberians had fallen when the Carthaginian light infantry, who had now come from the other camp, shared their fate. Not more than 2000 infantry escaped;the cavalry, which had hardly taken any part in the battle, together with Mago also got away. The other general, Hanno, was taken prisoner, together with those who were the last to appear in the field when the battle was already lost. Mago, with almost the whole of his cavalry and his veteran infantry, joined Hasdrubal at Gades ten days after the battle. The Celtiberian levies dispersed amongst the neighbouring forests and so reached their homes. So far the war had not been a serious one, but there was all the material for a much greater conflagration had it been possible to induce the other tribes to join the Celtiberians in arms;that possibility was by this most timely victory destroyed. Scipio therefore eulogised Silanus in generous terms, and felt hopeful of bringing the war to a termination if he on his part acted with sufficient promptitude. He advanced, accordingly, into the remote corner of Spain where all the remaining strength of Carthage was concentrated under Hasdrubal. He happened at the time to De encampea m the alstnct of tsaetica for the purpose of securing the fidelity of his allies, but on Scipio's advance he suddenly moved away and in a march which closely resembled a flight retreated to Gades on the coast. Feeling, however. auite certain tnat as ions as ne xeDt nis armv together he would be the object of attack, he arranged, before he crossed over to Gades, for the whole of址s force to be distributed amongst the various cities, so that they could defend the walls whilst the walls protected them.