Book 28
30
Hanno, Mago's lieutenant, had been despatched during this time, with a small body of Africans to hire troops among the Spanish tribes, and succeeded in raising 4000 men. Soon afterwards, his camp was captured by L. Marcius, most of his men were killed in the assault, some during their flight by the pursuing cavalry; Hanno himself escaped with a handful of his men. Whilst this was going on at the Baetis Laelius sailed westward and brought up at Carteia, a city situated on that part of the coast where the Straits begin to widen into the ocean. Some men had come into the Roman camp with a voluntary offer to surrender the city of Gades, but the plot was discovered before it was ripe. All the conspirators were arrested and Mago handed them over to the custody of Adherbal for conveyance to Carthage. Adherbal placed them on board a quinquereme which was sent on in advance as it was a slower vessel than the eight triremes with which he followed shortly after The quinquereme was just entering the Straits when Laelius sailed out of the harbour of Carteia in another quinquereme followed by seven triremes. He bore straight down upon Adherbal, feeling quite sure that the quinquereme could not be brought round, as it was caught by the current sweeping through the channel.
