noon
He himself paced round and round the intrenchment , occupied less with the three desperate fights going on below than with the edge of the bushes between those points . He knew that the morasses were so deep that even an active and unarmed man could scarce make his way through them and that only by springing from bush to bush . But he feared that the Romans might form paths by throwing down faggots , and so gain the island at some undefended point . Until noon he saw nothing to justify his anxiety ; everything seemed still in the swamp . But he knew that this silence was deceptive , and the canopy of marsh loving trees completely hid the bushes and undergrowth from his sight . It was just noon when a Roman trumpet sounded , and at once at six different points a line of Roman soldiers issued from the bushes . Beric raised his horn to his lips and blew the signal for retreat .