Only men without hope would risk their necks on your ponies . '' The old man laughed one of those short Pict laughs -- like a fox barking on a frosty night . `` I 'm fond of you two , '' he said . `` Besides , I 've taught you what little you know about hunting . Take my advice and go home . '' ' `` We ca n't , '' I said . `` I 'm out of favour with my General , for one thing ; and for another , Pertinax has an uncle . '' ' `` I do n't know about his uncle , '' said Allo , `` but the trouble with you , Parnesius , is that your General thinks well of you . '' ' `` Roma Dea ! '' said Pertinax , sitting up . `` What can you guess what Maximus thinks , you old horse-coper ? '' ` Just then -LRB- you know how near the brutes creep when one is eating ? -RRB- a great dog-wolf jumped out behind us , and away our rested hounds tore after him , with us at their tails . He ran us far out of any country we 'd ever heard of , straight as an arrow till sunset , towards the sunset . We came at last to long capes stretching into winding waters , and on a grey beach below us we saw ships drawn up . Forty-seven we counted -- not Roman galleys but the raven-winged ships from the North where Rome does not rule . Men moved in the ships , and the sun flashed on their helmets -- winged helmets of the red-haired men from the North where Rome does not rule . We watched , and we counted , and we wondered , for though we had heard rumours concerning these Winged Hats , as the Picts called them , never before had we looked upon them . ' `` Come away ! come away ! ''
said XXXXX .
Allo Dea General Maximus North Pertinax Rome brutes night rumours