midnight
After bidding farewell to the old noble , Malchus returned to the house of the Arab and prepared for his departure . He had already handsomely rewarded the two men and the mahout for the services they had rendered him . In the course of the day he had provided himself with the garments of a trader , the character which he was now about to assume . At midnight , when all was quiet , he and Nessus set out and made their way down to the port , where , at a little frequented landing stage , a boat was awaiting them , and they were at once rowed to the ship , which was lying at anchor half a mile from the shore in readiness for an early start in the morning . Although it seemed next to impossible that they could have been traced , Malchus walked the deck restlessly until the morning , listening to every sound , and it was not until the anchor was weighed , the sails hoisted , and the vessel began to draw away from Carthage that he went into his cabin . On the sixth day after leaving Carthage the ship entered the port of Corinth . There were several vessels there from Italian ports , but before proceeding to arrange for a passage Malchus went to a shop and bought , for himself and Nessus , such clothing and arms as would enable them to pass without difficulty as fighting men belonging to one of the Latin tribes .