_ ONLY inside the entrance did Vinicius comprehend the whole
difficulty of the undertaking. The house was large, of several
stories, one of the kind of which thousands were built in Rome, in
view of profit from rent; hence, as a rule, they were built so
hurriedly and badly that scarcely a year passed in which numbers
of them did not fall on the heads of tenants. Real hives, too high
and too narrow, full of chambers and little dens, in which poor
people fixed themselves too numerously. In a city where many
streets had no names, those houses had no numbers; the owners
committed the collection of rent to slaves, who, not obliged by the
city government to give names of occupants, were ignorant
themselves of them frequently. To find some one by inquiry in
such a house was often very difficult, especially when there was no
gate-keeper.
Vinicius and Croton came to a narrow, corridor-like passage
walled in on four sides, forming a kind of common atrium for the
whole house, with a fountain in the middle whose stream fell into
a stone basin fixed in the ground. At all the walls were internal
stairways, some of stone, some of wood, leading to galleries from
which there were entrances to lodgings. There were lodgings on
the ground, also; some provided with wooden doors, others
separated from the yard by woollen screens only. These, for the
greater part, were worn, rent, or patched.
The hour was early, and there was not a living soul in the yard. It
was evident that all were asleep in the house except those who had
returned from Ostrianum.
"What shall we do, lord?" asked Croton, halting.
"Let us wait here; some one may appear," replied Vinicius. "We
should not be seen in the yard."
At this moment, he thought Chio's counsel practical. If there were
some tens of slaves present, it would be easy to occupy the gate,
which seemed the only exit, search all the lodgings
simultaneously, and thus come to Lygia's; otherwise Christians,
who surely were not lacking in that house, might give notice that
people were seeking her. In view of this, there was risk in
inquiring of strangers. Vinicius stopped to think whether it would
not be better to go for his slaves. Just then, from behind a screen
hiding a remoter lodging, came a man with a sieve in his hand, and
approached the fountain.
At the first glance the young tribune recognized Ursus.
"That is the Lygian!" whispered Vinicius.
"Am I to break his bones now?"
"Wait awhile!"
Ursus did not notice the two men, as they were in the shadow of
the entrance, and he began quietly to sink in water vegetables
which filled the sieve. It was evident that, after a whole night spent
in the cemetery, he in-tended to prepare a meal. After a while the
washing was finished; he took the wet sieve and disappeared
behind the screen. Croton and Vinicius followed him, thinking that
they would come directly to Lygia's lodgings. Their astonishment
was great when they saw that the screen divided from the court,
not lodgings, but another dark corridor, at the end of which was a
little garden containing a few cypresses, some myrtle bushes, and a
small house fixed to the windowless stone wall of another stone
building.
Both understood at once that this was for them a favoring
circumstance. In the courtyard all the tenants might assemble; the
seclusion of the little house facilitated the enterprise. They would
set aside defenders, or rather Ursus, quickly, and would reach the
street just as quickly with the captured Lygia; and there they would
help themselves. It was likely that no one would attack them; if
attacked, they would say that a hostage was fleeing from Caesar.
Vinicius would declare himself then to the guards, and summon
their assistance.
Ursus was almost entering the little house, when the sound of steps
attracted his attention; he halted, and, seeing two persons, put his
sieve on the balustrade and turned to them.
"What do ye want here?" asked he.
"Thee!" said Vinicius.
Then, turning to Croton, he said in a low, hurried voice:
"Kill!"
Croton rushed at him like a tiger, and in one moment, before the
Lygian was able to think or to recognize his enemies, Crown had
caught him in his arms of steel.
Vinicius was too confident in the man's preternatural strength to
wait for the end of the struggle. He passed the two, sprang to the
door of the little house, pushed it open and found himself in a
room a trifle dark, lighted, however, by a fire burning in the
chimney. A gleam of this fire fell on Lygia's face directly. A
second person, sitting at the fire, was that old man who had
accompanied the young girl and Ursus on the road from
Ostrianum.
Vinicius rushed in so suddenly that before Lygia could recognize
him he had seized her by the waist, and, raising her, rushed toward
the door again. The old man barred the way, it is true; but pressing
the girl with one arm to his breast, Vinicius pushed him aside with
the other, which was free. The hood fell from his head, and at sight
of that face, which was known to her and which at that moment
was terrible, the blood grew cold in Lygia from fright, and the
voice died in her throat. She wished to summon aid, but had not
the power. Equally vain was her wish to grasp the door, to resist.
Her fingers slipped along the stone, and she would have fainted but
for the terrible picture which struck her eyes when Vinicius rushed
into the garden.
Ursus was holding in his arms some man doubled back
completely, with hanging head and mouth filled with blood. When
he saw them, he struck the head once more with his fist, and in the
twinkle of an eye sprang toward Vinicius like a raging wild beast.
"Death!" thought the young patrician.
Then he heard, as through a dream, the scream of Lygia, "Kill
not!" He felt that something, as it were a thunderbolt, opened the
arms with which he held Lygia; then the earth turned round with
him, and the light of day died in his eyes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chilo, hidden behind the angle of the corner house, was waiting
for what would happen, since curiosity was struggling with fear in
him. He thought that if they succeeded in carrying off Lygia, he
would fare well near Vinicius. He feared Urban no longer, for he
also felt certain that Croton would kill him. And he calculated that
in case a gathering should begin on the streets, which so far were
empty, -- if Christians, or people of any kind, should offer
resistance, -- he, Chio, would speak to them as one representing
authority, as an executor of Caesar's will, and if need came, call
the guards to aid the young patrician against the street rabble --
thus winning to himself fresh favor. In his soul he judged yet that
the young tribune's method was unwise; considering, however,
Croton's terrible strength, he admitted that it might succeed, and
thought, "If it go hard with him, Vinicius can carry the girl, and
Croton clear the way." Delay grew wearisome, however; the
silence of the entrance which he watched alarmed him.
"If they do not hit upon her hiding-place, and make an uproar, they
will frighten her."
But this thought was not disagreeable; for Chilo understood that in
that event he would be necessary again to Vinicius, and could
squeeze afresh a goodly number of sestertia from the tribune.
"Whatever they do," said he to himself, "they will work for me,
though no one divines that. O gods! O gods! only permit me--"
And he stopped suddenly, for it seemed to him that some one was
bending forward through the entrance; then, squeezing up to the
wall, he began to look, holding the breath in his breast.
And he had not deceived himself, for a head thrust itself half out
of the entrance and looked around. After a while, however, it
vanished.
"That is Vinicius, or Croton," thought Chilo; "but if they have
taken the girl, why does she not scream, and why are they looking
out to the street? They must meet people anyhow, for before they
reach the Carmn~ there will be movement in the city -- What is
that? By the immortal gods!"
And suddenly the remnant of his hair stood on end.
In the door appeared Ursus, with the body of Croton hanging on
his arm, and looking around once more, he began to run, bearing it
along the empty street toward the river.
Chilo made himself as flat against the wall as a bit of mud.
"I am lost if he sees me!" thought he.
But Ursus ran past the corner quickly, and disappeared beyond the
neighboring house. Chio, without further waiting, his teeth
chattering from terror, ran along the cross street with a speed
which even in a young man might have roused admiration.
"If he sees mc from a distance when he is returning, he will catch
and kill me," said he to himself. "Save me, Zeus; save me, Apollo;
save me, Hermes; save me, O God of the Christians! I will leave
Rome, I will return to Mesembria, but save me from the hands of
that demon!"
And that Lygian who had killed Croton seemed to him at that
moment some superhuman being. While running, he thought that
lie might be some god who had taken the form of a barbarian. At
that moment he believed in all the gods of the world, and in all
myths, at which he jeered usually. It flew through his head, too,
that it might be the God of the Christians who had killed Croton;
and his hair stood on end again at the thought that he was in
conflict with such a power.
Only when he had run through a number of alleys, and saw some
workmen coming toward him from a distance, was he calmed
somewhat. Breath failed in his breast; so he sat on the threshold of
a house and began to wipe, with a corner of his mantle, his
sweat-covered forehead.
"I am old, and need calm," said he.
The people coming toward him turned into some little side street,
and again the place round about was empty. The city was sleeping
yet. In the morning movement began earlier in the wealthier parts
of the city, where the slaves of rich houses were forced to rise
before daylight; in portions inhabited by a free population,
supported at the cost of the State, hence unoccupied, they woke
rather late, especially in winter. Chio, after he had sat some time
on the threshold, felt a piercing cold; so he rose, and, convincing
himself that he had not lost the purse received from Vinicius,
turned toward the river with a step now much slower.
"I may see Croton's body somewhere," said he to himself. "O gods!
that Lygian, if he is a man, might make millions of sestertia in the
course of one year; for if he choked Croton, like a whelp, who can
resist him? They would give for his every appearance in the arena
as much gold as he himself weighs. He guards that maiden better
than Cerberus does Hades. But may Hades swallow him, for all
that! I will have nothing to do with him. He is too bony. But where
shall I begin in this case? A dreadful thing has happened. If he has
broken the bones of such a man as Croton, beyond a doubt the soul
of Vinicius is puling above that cursed house now, awaiting his
burial. By Castor! but he is a patrician, a friend of Caesar, a
relative of Petronius, a man known in all Rome, a military tribune.
His death cannot pass without punishment. Suppose I were to go to
the pretorian camp, or the guards of the city, for instance?"
Here he stopped and began to think, but said after a while, -- "Woe
is me! Who took him to that house if not I? His freedmen and his
slaves know that I came to his house, and some of them know with
what object. What will happen if they suspect me of having
pointed out to him purposely the house in which his death met
him? Though it appear afterward, in the court, that I did not wish
his death, they will say that I was the cause of it. Besides, he is a
patrician; hence in no event can I avoid punishment. But if I leave
Rome in silence, and go far away somewhere, I shall place myself
under still greater suspicion."
It was bad in every case. The only question was to choose the less
evil. Rome was immense; still Chilo felt that it might become too
small for him. Any other man might go directly to the prefect of
the city guards and tell what had happened, and, though some
suspicion might fall on him, await the issue calmly. But Chilo's
whole past was of such character that every closer acquaintance
with the prefect of the city or the prefect of the guard must cause
him very serious trouble, and confirm also every suspicion which
might enter the heads of officials.
On the other hand, to flee would be to confirm Petronius in the
opinion that Vinicius had been betrayed and murdered through
conspiracy. Petronius was a powerful man, who could command
the police of the whole Empire, and who beyond doubt would try
to find the guilty parties even at the ends of the earth. Still, Chilo
thought to go straight to him, and tell what had happened. Yes;
that was the best plan. Petronius was calm, and Chilo might be
sure of this, at least, that he would hear him to the end. Petronius,
who knew the affair from its inception, would believe in Chio's
innocence more easily than would the prefects.
But to go to him, it was needful to know with certainty what had
happened to Vinicius. Chilo did not know that. He had seen, it is
true, the Lygian stealing with Crown's body to the river, but
nothing more. Vinicius might be killed; but he might be wounded
or detained. Now it occurred to Chilo for the first time, that surely
the Christians would not dare to kill a man so powerful, -- a friend
of Caesar, and a high military official, -- for that kind of act might
draw on them a general persecution. It was more likely that they
had detained him by superior force, to give Lygia means to hide
herself a second time.
This thought filled Chilo with hope.
"If that Lygian dragon has not torn him to pieces at the first attack,
he is alive, and if he is alive he himself will testify that I have not
betrayed him; and then not only does nothing threaten me, but --O
Hermes, count again on two heifers -- a fresh field is opening. I
can inform one of the freedmen where to seek his lord; and
whether he goes to the prefect or not is his affair, the only point
being that I should not go. Also, I can go to Petronius, and count
on a reward. I have found Lygia; now I shall find Vinicius, and
then again Lygia. It is needful to know first whether Vinicius is
dead or living."
Here it occurred to him that he might go in the night to the baker
Deinas and inquire about Ursus. But he rejected that thought
immediately. He preferred to have nothing to do with Ursus. He
might suppose, justly, that if Ursus had not killed Glaucus he had
been warned, evidently, by the Christian elder to whom he had
confessed his design, -- warned that the affair was an unclean one,
to which some traitor had persuaded him. in every case, at the
mere recollection of Ursus, a shiver ran through Chio's whole
body. But he thought that in the evening he would send Euricius
for news to that house in which the thing had happened.
Meanwhile he needed refreshment, a bath, and rest. The
sleepless night, the journey to Ostrianum, the flight from the
Trans-Tiber, had wearied him exceedingly.
One thing gave him permanent comfort: he had on his person two
purses, -- that which Vinicius had given him at home, and that
which he had thrown him on the way from the cemetery. In view
of this happy circumstance, and of all the excitement through
which he had passed, he resolved to eat abundantly, and drink
better wine than he drank usually.
When the hour for opening the wine-shop came at last, he did so in
such a marked measure that he forgot the bath; he wished to sleep,
above all, and drowsiness overcame his strength so that he
returned with tottering step to his dwelling in the Subura, where a
slave woman, purchased with money obtained from Vinicius, was
waiting for him.
When he had entered a sleeping-room, as dark as the den of a fox,
be threw himself on the bed, and fell asleep in one instant. He
woke only in the evening, or rather he was roused by the slave
woman, who called him to rise, for some one was inquiring, and
wished to see him on urgent business.
The watchful Chilo came to himself in one moment, threw on his
hooded mantle hastily, and, commanding the slave woman to stand
aside, looked out cautiously.
And he was benumbed! for he saw before the door of the
sleeping-room the gigantic form of Ursus.
At that sight he felt his feet and head grow icy-cold, the heart
ceased to beat in his bosom, and shivers were creeping along his
back. For a time he was unable to speak; then with chattering teeth
he said, or rather groaned, -- "Syra -- I am not at home -- I don't
know that -- good man--"
"I told him that thou wert at home, but asleep, lord," answered the
girl; "he asked to rouse thee."
"O gods! I will command that thou --"
But Ursus, as if impatient of delay, approached the door of the
sleeping-room, and, bending, thrust in his head.
"O Chilo Chilonides!" said he.
"Pax tecum! pax! pax!" answered Chio. "O best of Christians! Yes,
I am Chilo; but this is a mistake, -- I do not know thee!"
"Chilo Chilonides," repeated Ursus, "thy lord, Vinicius, summons
thee to go with me to him." _