He loved his home dearly, but he believed that his first duty
was to his country; and so he had left all, to fight in this cruel
war.
He had lost a battle, it is true, and had been taken prisoner. Yet he
knew that the Romans were gaining ground, and the people of Carthage
were afraid of being beaten in the end. They had sent into other
countries to hire soldiers to help them; but even with these they
would not be able to fight much longer against Rome.
One day some of the rulers of Carthage came to the prison to talk with
Regulus.
"We should like to make peace with the Roman people," they said, "and
we are sure, that, if your rulers at home knew how the war is going,
they would be glad to make peace with us. We will set you free and let
you go home, if you will agree to do as we say."
"What is that?" asked Regulus.
"In the first place," they said, "you must tell the Romans about the
battles which you have lost, and you must make it plain to them that
they have not gained any-thing by the war. In the second place, you
must promise us, that, if they will not make peace, you will come back
to your prison."
"Very well," said Regulus, "I promise you, that, if they will not make
peace, I will come back to prison.
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