The Roman Traitor (Vol. 1 of 2)

fri

o. Sir, we ar

lemen of

, in order to keep his appointment with the conspirator; and bold as he was, and fearless under ordinary circumstances, it would be useless

hat, although the skies were perfectly clear and cloudless, there was but little light by which to

g Almo, wherein the priests of Cybele were wont to lave the statue of their goddess, amid the din of brazen instruments and sacred song; and a littl

lane trees overrun with vines, on which the ripe clusters consecrated to the God were hanging yet,

the grove, which wound over two or three little hillocks, and then sweeping downward to the three kind

tant chirrup of the shrill-voiced cicala, not mute as yet, although his days of tuneful life were well nigh ended, rose cheerfully above the rippling murmurs of the waters, and the mysterious rustling of the herbage rejoicing

orders, strolling affectionately homeward; a party of rural slaves returning from their labours on some suburban farm, to their master's house; a

a vault of reticulated brick-work, decorated elegantly with reliefs of marble and rich stucco. The soft green mosses and dark tendrils of the waving ivy, which drooped down from the rock and curtained well nigh half the opening, rendered the grotto very dark with[pg 139]in. And it was a moment or two bef

scious that he was behind his time; and had, indeed, come somewhat late on purpose, with a view of

is sword, and the mouth-piece of his hunting-horn, which he carried beneath his gown. And he applied himself to that purpose immediately, congratulating himself, as he did so, on the failure of his f

cting angle of the statue's marble couch, in the inmost corner of the vault, facing

gay and pleasant subjects entirely disconnected with the purpose for which he had come thither. Then he fell gradually into a sort of waking dream, or vision, as it were, of wandering fancies, made up partly of the sounds which he actually heard with his outward ears, though his mind took but little note of them, and partly of [pg 140]the occurrences in which he had been mixed up, and the persons with whom he had been brought into contact within the last tw

se, when a deep voice aroused him with a start, and though he had neithe

aullus, have I detained you

fallen into strange thoughts, and forgotten altogether the

. Some friends of mine are waiting for us, to whom I wish to introduce you, that you may become altoge

not with me

y, boy?" cried the conspirator, very savagely. "By all th

ot bring it with me," he replied firmly, for the threats of the ot

"fool! fool! beware how you tamper with your fate. Spea

the arch-traitor's movements; "before I knew that it was yours, I sent it, as I had [pg

s desire to make himself fully acquainted with all that had passed. "Whe

in an hour of the time I l

ng to my hou

o thy house to

Orestilla?" again sneer

was now growing angry, for his temper was not o

speak of that hereafter. H

ad; and how dead, Ca

thou, then, that houndest mine enemies upon my track! By the great Gods, I know not whether most to marvel at the sublime, unrivalled folly, which could lead thee to fancy, that thou, a mere boy and tyro, couldst hoodwink eyes like mine; or at the daring which could prom

wh

; this pendant c

empted to accede to his proposal; "and

possession damps something at all times the fierceness of

Ro

ratic sway upon the ramparts of the capitol; when Rome and all that she contains of bright and beautiful, shal

e first

pitch already? ho! boy, the first is mine, by

I sa

st on the

ed Arvina quietly, "

h, fool, in

e had held in his hand naked, during the whole discussion, in readiness for t

histle was answered, however, the very moment it was uttered; and just as he saw Paullus spring to the farther side of the cavern, and set his back against the wall, unsheath

t his whole enterprise depended on the young man's destruction. "He is armed under his gown wi

y all the Gods you will repent it. If you have three me

hem! think you again to fool me? Ho, Geta and Arminius, get r

g a fierce blow at his head, while the others a mo

is left arm, and when Catiline rushed in he parried the blow with his sword, and raising the little horn he carried, to his lip

hile Paul, profiting by their hesitation, sprang with a quick active bound across the basin of the fountain, and gained the cavern's mouth just as his stout freedman Thrasea sho

having his late assailants hemmed in by a force, again

e my fault, if aught that has passed here, is remembered any farther. None here have seen you, or know who you are; and you may rest assured that for her sake a

ns, "men trust not avowed traitors. Upon them, I say, you dogs. Let there be forty of them

omed to risk their lives, without quarrel or excitement, for the gratification of the brute po[pg 144]pulace of Rome, they had come to the cave of Egeria, prepared for assassination, not for

ing that none came, and that the unknown opponent was pressing his lord hard; while the gladiators, apparently encouraged by his apathy, were beginning to handle their weapons, he shifted his spear in his hands, and stepping back a pace, so as to give full scope to a sweeping blow, he flourished the butt,

ried Paullus, "by the Go

"I felt my staff rebound from the bone, which it would not have done, had the

and gallows-birds! most justly are your lives forfeit, whether it seem good to me, to take them here this mome

dest of the gladiators, sullenly; "and you cannot, I think, take o

, and bear him home; and, when he shall be able to receive it, tell him Paullus Arvina pardons his madness, pities his fears, and betrays no man's trust-least of all his. For the rest, let him choose between enmity and friendship. I care not

cross the threshold, leaving the fierce conspirator, as he was beginning to recover his scattered senses, t

ud of his well-planned stratagem, elated by success, and flattered by the hope that he had extricated

g