‘Well, I can’t see much thanks to this snow,’ Caesar muttered. ‘Are you sure about this, Marcus?'

‘I am certain, master.’

Caesar stroked his chin. ‘You saw them from where exactly?’

‘Back where the road turns.’

Caesar sighed. ‘Then we'd better have a look.’

The column halted and the three made their way back down the line until they reached the bend and stopped as close to the edge as they dared to peer down the steep slope. Below, the snow was falling hard and it was difficult to make out more than the dim outline of the forest.

There was a brief silence before Festus growled, ‘I can’t see anything.

‘No,’ Caesar added quietly before he turned to Marcus. ‘Are you quite certain about what you saw? Tired eyes sometimes play tricks.’

Marcus felt a brief instant of doubt, then shook it off. ‘I saw horsemen, sir. I know it.’

‘Well, there’s nothing down there now,’ said Festus. ‘Nothing I can see.’

‘Nevertheless, I trust the boy’s judgement,' Caesar responded firmly. ‘I want you to stay at the rear. Keep watch behind us. If you see anything, then let me know at once,’

Festus bowed his head and Caesar was about to turn his horse round when the snow cleared and, as if a veil had been drawn back, the ground beneath came into view again, together with the party of horsemen trotting up the track, closer now than when Marcus had first spotted them.

‘Get the men moving!’ Caesar snapped. ‘Let’s get up to the pass. It’s a natural choke point. We can wait for them there. If they mean us no good, then that’s where we shall make a stand. Go.’

Festus wheeled his mount away and it kicked up a spray of snow as he galloped to the head of the column. Caesar squinted as he scrutinized the horsemen below. ‘They’re armed. I can see spears, shields, some helmets. Not soldiers from our side at any rate. There’s no standard at their head. No sign of an officer. I fear they may be trouble, young Marcus.’ He blinked and turned to look at his former slave. ‘Well spotted. Once more you serve me well. Come, I want you at my side.’

They trotted back to the head of the column and Caesar waved them forward as he kicked his heels in. There was no need to race ahead of the other men, and in any case the ground beneath the light layer of snow was frozen hard and presented an additional hazard to any horse and rider who slipped and fell. They continued up the slope, and at every corner Marcus looked down to see that the pursuers were remorselessly edging closer. They urged their mounts on, heedless of the risk, and he saw one or two of them tumble into the snow. One went over the edge and tumbled a good thirty feet before landing hard against a rock. The rider lay dazed and the horse floundered in a drift as it struggled to regain its feet. Then they were lost from sight again.