"He's got youthere," Sostratos said.

"No, we finally gothim and his pals back," Menedemos answered. "For a while there,ordinary Rhodians had a cursed hard time getting carpenters to work for them -  everybodywas building ships for Antigonos to use against Ptolemaios."

"That was a mistake-  helping Antigonos, I mean," Sostratos said. "Rhodes does too muchbusiness with Egypt for us to get on Ptolemaios' wrong side."

"You can say that - you were studying up in Athens. You don't know what things were likehere." Menedemos scowled at the memory. "Nobody had the nerve to trycrossing One-Eyed Antigonos, believe you me."

As terns screechedoverhead, Sostratos made a placating gesture. "All right. I wouldn't wantto try crossing him myself, since you put it that way." Another screechrang out, this one louder, more raucous, and much closer than the high-flyingsea birds. Sostratos jumped. "By the dog of Egypt, what was that?"

"I don'tknow." Menedemos trotted away from the Aphrodite. "Come on. Let's gofind out."

Sostratos flipped hishands in protest. "Our fathers sent us down here to see if the ship isready to take out."

"We'll dothat," Menedemos said over his shoulder. "But whatever's making thatnoise may be something the Hellenes in Italy haven't seen before. I know I'venever heard it before."

The horrible screechrang out again. It sounded more like a bugle than anything else, but it didn'treally sound like a bugle, either. "I hope I never hear it again,"Sostratos said, but, as he did so often, he followed where Menedemos led.

Since the screeches,once begun, resounded at pretty regular intervals, tracking them didn't requiredogs. They came from a ramshackle pierside warehouse about a plethron from theAphrodite. The owner of the building, a fat Phoenician named Himilkon, camerunning out, hands clapped over his ears, just as Menedemos and Sostratostrotted up.