ut drove away the last envoys who returned. The latter then
deserted to the consuls and received from them land in Sicily and
other gifts.

The Carthaginians at home, hearing this, sent Adherbal with a very
large number of ships carrying grain and money to Lilybaeum. The leader
waited for a time of storm and sailed in. Thereupon many others
likewise ventured to attempt a landing, and some made it, others were
destroyed.

As long as both the consuls were present, the conflicts were even.
Pestilence and famine, however, came to harass them and these caused
one of them with the soldiers of his division to return home. Hamilcar
then took courage and made sorties in which he would set fire to the
engines and slay the men defending them; his cavalry, starting from
Drepanum, prevented the Romans from getting provisions and overran the
territory of their allies; and Adherbal ravaged the shores now of
Sicily, now of Italy, so that the Romans fell into perplexity.
[Sidenote: B.C. 249 (_a.u._ 505)] Meantime, however, Lucius Junius was
making ready a fleet, and Claudius Pulcher made haste to reach
Lilybaeum, where he manned ships of war. With these he overhauled Hanno
the Carthaginian as he was leaving harbor on a five-banked ship. The
prize craft served the Romans as a model in shipbuilding.

The interests of their fleet were so frequently endangered that the
Romans were disheartened by the constant destruction of their ships.
In these they lost numbers of men and vast sums of money. Yet they
would not give up; nay, they even executed a man who in the senate
opened his mouth about reconciliation with the Carthaginians, and they
voted that a dictator should be named. Collatinus[26] was therefore
named dictator and Metellus became master of the horse, but they
accomplished nothing worthy of remembrance. While Collatinus[27] was
being named dictator, Junius had won over Eryx, and Carthalo had
occupied AEgithallus and taken Junius alive.

[Footnote 26: _A. Atilius Calatinus_ once more.]

[Footnote 27: [See previous footnote.]]

[Sidenote: B.C. 248 (_a.u._ 506)] VIII, 16.--The next year Gaius
Aurelius and Publius Servilius took office and spent their time in
harrying Lilybaeum and Drepanum, in keeping the Carthaginians off the
land, and in devastating the region that was in alliance with them.
Carthalo undertook many different kinds of enterprises against them,
but, as he accomplished nothing, he started for Italy with the objec