CHAPTER TWELVE.
CAPTURED.
When Jovinian found himself in the hands of the Roman soldier, henaturally struggled to get free. He was held fast, however, by the manwho had seized him.
"Why, by Mars, I believe he must be the youth we were sent to look forwith the slave Eros whom we captured yesterday and took back to hismaster, the pontiff Gaius," exclaimed the soldier, holding his torch sothat the light fell on Jovinian's countenance.
"Whether or not you speak the truth, I am a Roman citizen, guilty of nocrime, with perfect right, prompted by whatever cause, to visit thesegalleries," answered Jovinian, feeling that his best course was to put abold face upon the matter, and not to exhibit any signs of fear.
"You cannot deny that you are the youth we are in search of--the nephewof the pontiff Gaius," said the soldier. "Although we may have missedthe larger game we were sent to hunt down, we have secured you, andshall obtain the reward promised us; so come along."
"What! and give up the search for the others we expected to capture!"observed another soldier. "The youth was in company with two or morepersons. Will you consent to lead us to where your friends areconcealed?" he continued, addressing Jovinian; "it will be well for youif you do, for if we take them we will allow you to go free." Sodebased was the soldier, that it did not occur to him that he was makinga proposal which was sure to be refused, "I know not where those youspeak of have gone, nor would I lead you to them if I did," answeredJovinian. "I insist, however, on being set at liberty. By whatauthority do you detain me?"
"By that of the grip I have on your arm," answered the soldier,laughing; "your boldness proves you to be the youth we were sent to lookafter; so come along, I say, and if you will not show us the way yourfriends have taken we must try and find it ourselves."
While the man was speaking some of his companions discovered the galleryalong which Jovinian had been endeavouring to make his escape. "Thisway, this way!" cried several of the soldiers; "they must have gone downhere, and we shall soon overtake them."
The party, dragging Jovinian with them, entered the gallery; but heobserved that most of their torches were nearly burnt out, and he knewthat if they continued on long they would be left in total darkness.This, however, the soldiers did not appear to have thought of. Jovinianwas relieved of all anxiety about his friend Severus and the fossor fromfinding the soldiers proceeding along the gallery by which he had atfirst attempted to escape until convinced that it was not the path heought to have followed. What he had expected soon happened: first onetorch went out, then another.
"We must beat a retreat, or we shall be losing our way," said the manwho held him, calling to his comrades. "No time to lose! Quick!quick!--our safest plan is to retreat by the road we entered; let allthe torches be put out except one, which will suffice to guide us; thesegalleries have no end, they say, or may conduct, for what I know, to theinfernal regions."
Even the plan proposed availed the party but little. They had madetheir way much farther than they supposed along the galleries.
The first torch was quickly burnt out, a second and third were soonafter extinguished; and in a short time, before they had got to anygreat distance from the entrance to the gallery where Jovinian had beencaptured, the torch alone of the soldier who held him by the arm wasleft alight.
"Here, Bassus," said his captor, addressing a comrade, "hold him fastand bring him along. I will go ahead and lead the way, or we shall beleft in darkness."
The speaker hurried forward, and Jovinian felt his arm clasped by hisfresh guardian.
Directly afterwards the other man, in his eagerness, stumbled over ablock of stone, and dropped his torch into a pool of water, by which itwas immediately extinguished. The men groped their way in the directionthey had before been going. "On! on!" cried their leader: "we mustescape from this as fast as we can."
Other passages turned off from the gallery they had been following; and,as a natural consequence, some of the men went into one of them, othersinto a second, and more into a third, and then, suspecting that theywere going wrong, they tried to retrace their steps, and in a short timecompletely lost themselves.
Jovinian and his guard had not gone far when the latter whispered tohim, "If you know the road out of this, and wish to make your escape,you are welcome to do so. It is my belief that we shall be all lost inthis labyrinth; the further we go the less hope there will be for you.I would not involve you in our destruction. I am a Christian, and wouldgladly accompany you, but I must not desert my comrades." As Bassusspoke he released his captive's arm.
Jovinian was at first inclined to doubt the man, but this last remarkconvinced him that Bassus was a follower of the Lord.
"If you will accompany me I will try and find the way," he said; "andwould rather have you with me than be alone."
"No, no; go, and save yourself," said Bassus. "I am committing amilitary crime in letting you go; but I feel sure that I shall never bequestioned on the subject."
At length Jovinian, finding that he could not persuade Bassus toaccompany him, took his advice. With arms outstretched before him, hehastened along the gallery away from the soldiers. He had carefullynoted the distance he had come since leaving the mouth of the passagealong which Severus and the fossor, he was now satisfied, had proceeded.He hoped that they would come back and look for him, and if not, thathe might be led by Providence to the abode of Gentianus. For some timehe could hear the soldiers shouting to each other, but their cries grewfainter and fainter. The entrance to the gallery he was seeking for wason the left side, and then he ought, he supposed, to take the firstopening on the right, instead, as he had before done, of going straightforward. On he went, but in the darkness his progress was of necessityvery slow; still, as he had the path mapped, as it were, clearly in hismind, he proceeded without hesitation. At last he entered the galleryhe was seeking for.