CHAPTER XV
REDIVIVUS
Many had been the debauch at which, himself its chief originator andpromoter, the tribune had assisted; nor had he escaped the penalties thatNature exacts even from the healthiest constitutions, when her laws arehabitually outraged in the high-tide of revelry and mirth; but never,after his longest sittings with the Emperor, had he experienced anythingto compare with the utter prostration of mind and body in which he came tohimself, waking from the deathlike sleep that followed his pledge toValeria. With returning consciousness came a sense of painful giddiness,which, as the velvet cushions of the couch rose and heaved beneath hissight, confused him utterly as to where he was, or how he got there; then,sitting up with an effort that seemed to roll a ball of lead across hisbrain, he was aware that every vein throbbed at fever-heat, that his handswere numbed and swollen, that his mouth was parched, his lips cracked, andthat he had a racking headache--the latter symptom was sufficientlyfamiliar to be reassuring; he sprang to his feet, regardless of the pangso sudden a movement shot through his frame, then seizing a goblet fromthe table, filled it to the brim with Falernian, and in defiance of thenausea with which its very fragrance overpowered him, emptied it to thedregs. The effect, as he expected, was instantaneous; it enabled him tostand erect, and, passing his hand across his brow, by a strong effort ofthe will, he forced himself to connect and comprehend the events that hadled to this horrible and bewildering trance. By degrees, one afteranother, like links in a chain, he traced the doings of the day, beginninga long way back, somewhere about noon, till the immediate past, so tospeak, came more and more tangibly within his grasp. It was with a thrillof triumphant pleasure that he remembered Valeria's visit, and his own armwinding round her handsome form on that very couch. Where was she now? Helooked about him vacantly, almost expecting to find her in the room; as hedid so, his eye lighted on the two goblets, one of them half-emptied,still standing on their salver.
To say that Placidus had a conscience would be simply a perversion ofterms; for that monitor, never very troublesome, had since his manhoodbeen so stifled and silenced as to have become a mere negative quality,yet in his present unhinged state, a shudder of horror did come over him,as he recalled the visit to Petosiris, and the poison with which he hadresolved to ensure the silence of his slave. But ere that shudder passedaway, the dark secret Esca knew, the plot from which it was now too lateto draw back, the desperate adventure that every hour brought nearer, andthat must be attempted to-night--all these considerations came flooding inon his memory at once, and for a moment he felt paralysed by the height ofthe precipice on the brink of which he stood. With the emergency, however,as was always the case in the tribune's character, came the energyrequired to encounter it. "At least," he muttered, steadying himself bythe table with one hand, "the cup is nearly empty; the drug cannot buthave done its work. First, I must make sure of the carrion, and then itwill be time enough to find Valeria." Had he suffered less in body, hewould have laughed his own low malicious laugh, to think how deftly he hadoutwitted the woman he professed to love. The laugh, however, died away ina grin that betrayed more pain than mirth; and the tribune, withchattering teeth and shaking frame, and wavering uncertain steps, betookhimself to the outer court to make sure with his own eyes that thestalwart frame of him whom he feared was stiff and cold in death.
His first feeling would have been one of acute apprehension, had not angerso completely mastered that sensation, when he perceived the slave's chainand collar lying coiled on the pavement. Obviously, Esca had escaped; andwas gone, moreover, with his late master's life completely in his power;but Placidus possessed a keen intellect and one familiar with suddencombinations; it flashed upon him at once, that he had been outwitted byValeria, and the two had fled together.
The sting was very sharp, but it roused and sobered him. Pacing swiftlyback through the corridors, and stopping for a few minutes to immerse hishead and face in cold water, he returned to the banqueting-hall, andeagerly scrutinised with look and smell, and, notwithstanding all that hadhappened, even with a sparing taste, the cup from which he had last drunk.The opiate, however, had been so skilfully prepared that nothingsuspicious could be detected in the flavour of the wine; nevertheless,reflecting on all the circumstances with a clearer head, as the strengthof his constitution gradually asserted itself, he arrived at the trueconclusion, and was satisfied that Valeria had changed the cups while hisattention was distracted by her charms; that he had purchased a poison henever doubted for a moment, nor suspected that Petosiris could have dared,from sheer love of trickery, to substitute an opiate for the deadlierdraught; but he exulted to think that his powerful organisation must haveresisted its effects, and that he who had so often narrowly escaped deathin the field must indeed bear a charmed life. If a suspicion haunted himthat the venom might still be lurking in his system, to do its work morecompletely after a short respite, the vague horror of such a thought didbut goad him to make use of the intervening time all the more ardently forbusiness and pleasure, not forgetting the sacred duty of revenge. _Dumvivimus vivamus!_ was the tribune's motto, and if he had been granted butone hour to live, he would have divided that hour systematically, betweenthe delights of love, wine, and mischief.
Rapidly, though coolly, he reviewed his position, as though he had beencommanding a cohort hemmed in by the Jewish army. To-night would make ormar him. The gladiators would be here within an hour. Esca must, ere this,have reached the palace and given the alarm. Why had a centurion of Caesarnot yet arrived with a sufficient guard to arrest him in his own house?They might be expected at any moment. Should he fly while there was yettime? What! and lose the brilliant future so nearly within his reach?No--he would weather this as he had weathered other storms, by skilful andjudicious steering. A man who has no scruples need never be deficient inresource. To leave his house now, would be a tacit admission of guilt. Tobe found alone, undefended, unsuspicious, a strong presumption ofinnocence. He would at least have sufficient interest to be taken into thepresence of Caesar. There, what so easy as to accuse the slave oftreachery, to persuade the Emperor the barbarian had but hatched a plotagainst his master's life; to make the good-humoured old glutton laughwith an account of the drugged goblet, and finish the night by a debauchwith his imperial host?
Then, he must be guided by the preparations for defence which he observedin the palace. If they were weak, he must find some means of communicatingwith Hippias, and the attack would be facilitated by his own presenceinside. If, on the contrary, there was an obvious intention of firmresistance, the conspirators must be warned to postpone their enterprise.If worst came to the worst, he could always save his own head by informingagainst his confederates, and so handing over Hippias and the gladiatorsto death.
Some slight compunction visited him at the thought of such an alternative,but he soon stifled it with the arguments of his characteristicphilosophy. Should he be found, indeed, presiding at a supper-partycomposed of these desperate men, they might defend the gate whilst he fleddirectly to Caesar, and sacrificed them at once. Under any circumstances,he argued, he had bought them, and had a right to make use of them.
In the meantime, Mariamne would be here directly. She ought to have beenhere long ago. Whatever the future threatened, an hour, half an hour, aquarter, should be devoted to her society, and after that, come whatmight, at least he would not have been foiled in every event of the day.It was when he had arrived at this conclusion, that Esca from his hiding-place saw the figure of the tribune, pale, wan, and ghostly, givingdirections for the preparation of the supper-table.
The evening stole on, the sun-dial no longer showed the hour, and theslave whose duty it was to keep count of time by the water-clock(13) thenin vogue, announced that the first watch of the night was alreadyadvanced. He was followed by Automedon, who came into the presence of hismaster, with hanging head and sheepish looks, sadly mistrusting how farhis own favour would bear him harmle
ss in the delivery of the tidings hehad to impart. It was always a perilous duty to inform Placidus of thefailure of any of his schemes. He listened, indeed, with a calm demeanourand an unmoved countenance, but sooner or later he surely contrived tovisit on the unfortunate messenger the annoyance he himself experiencedfrom the message.
The tribune's face brightened as the boy came into the hall; withcharacteristic duplicity, however, he veiled even from his charioteer theimpatience in which he had waited his return.
"Have you brought the horses in cool?" said he, with an affectation ofextreme indifference.
Automedon looked greatly relieved.
"Quite cool," he answered, "most illustrious! and Oarses came part of theway home, but he got down near the Sacred Gate, and I had no one with mein the chariot the whole length of the Flaminian Way; and the slaves willbe back presently; and Damasippus--Oh! my lord, do not beangry!--Damasippus--I fear I have left him dead in the street."
Here the lad's courage failed him completely; he had indeed beenthoroughly frightened by the events of the night; and making a piteousface, he twined his fingers in his long curls and wept aloud.
"What, fool!" thundered the tribune, his brow turning black with rage."You have not brought her after all! Silly child," he added, controllinghimself with a strong effort. "Where is the--the passenger--I chargedDamasippus to bring here with him to-night?"
"I will tell you the truth," exclaimed the boy, flinging himself down onhis knees, and snatching at the hem of his master's garment. "By theTemple of Vesta, I will tell you the truth. I drove from here acrossTiber, and I waited in the shadow by Tiber-side; and Jugurtha wouldn'tstand still, and presently Damasippus brought a--a passenger in his arms,and put it into the chariot, and bade me go on fast; and we went on at agallop till we tried to cross the Appian Way, and then we had to turnaside, for the houses were burning and the people fighting in the street,and Scipio was frightened and pulled, and Jugurtha wouldn't face thecrowd, and I drove on to cross a little farther down, but we were stoppedagain by the Vestals, and I couldn't drive through _them_! So we halted tolet them pass, and then a fierce terrible giant caught the horses andstopped them once more, and a thousand soldiers, nay, a legion at least,surrounded the chariot, and they killed Damasippus, and they tore thepassenger out, and killed it too, and Scipio kicked, and I was frightened,and drove home as fast as I could--and indeed it wasn't my fault!"
Automedon's fears had magnified both the number of the assailants and thedangers undergone. He had not recognised the gladiators, and wasaltogether in too confused a state, as the tribune perceived at a glance,to afford his master any more coherent information than the foregoing.Placidus bit his lip in baffled anger, for he could not see his way;nevertheless the boy-charioteer was a favourite, and he would not visitthe failure of the enterprise on him.
"I am glad the horses are safe," said he good-humouredly. "Go, get somesupper and a cup of wine. I will send for you again presently."
Automedon, agreeably surprised, glanced up at his master's face ere hedeparted, and observed that, although deadly pale, it had assumed thefixed resolute expression his dependants knew so well.
Placidus had indeed occasion to summon all the presence of mind on whichhe prided himself, for even while he spoke, his quick ear caught the trampof feet, and the familiar clink of steel. The blood gathered round hisheart as he contemplated the possibility that a maniple of Caesar's guardsmight even now be occupying the court. It was with a sigh of intenserelief that, instead of the centurion's eagle crest, he recognised thetall form of Rufus, accompanied by his comrades, advancing respectfully,and even with awkward diffidence, through the outer hall. The tribunecould assume--none better--any character it suited him to play at a moment'snotice; nevertheless there was a ring of real cordiality in his greeting,for the visitors were more welcome than they guessed.
"Hail! Rufus, Lutorius, Eumolpus!" he shouted boisterously. "Gallantswordsmen and deep drinkers all! What! old Hirpinus, do I not see thybroad shoulders yonder in the rear? and Hippias too, the king of thearena! Welcome, every man of you! Even now the feast is spread, and theChian cooling yonder amongst the flowers. Once again, a hearty welcome toyou all!"
The gladiators, still somewhat abashed by the unaccustomed splendour whichmet their eyes on every side, responded with less than their usualconfidence to their entertainer. Rufus nudged Lutorius to reply in politelanguage, and the Gaul, in a fit of unusual modesty, passed the signal onto Eumolpus of Ravenna--a beetle-browed, bow-legged warrior, with hugemuscles and a heavy, sullen face. This champion looked helplessly abouthim and seemed inclined to turn tail and fly, when, to his great relief,Hippias advanced from the rear of his comrades, and created a diversion inhis favour, of which he availed himself by slinking incontinently into thebackground. Placidus clapped his hands, an Asiatic fashion affected by themore luxurious Romans; and two or three slaves appeared in obedience tothe summons. The gladiators looked on in awe at the sumptuous dresses andpersonal beauty of these domestics.
"Hand round wine here amongst my friends. I will but say three words toyour captain, and we will go to supper forthwith."
So speaking, the tribune led Hippias apart, having resolved that in thepresent critical state of affairs it would be better to take him entirelyinto his confidence, and trust to the scrupulous notions of fidelity totheir bargains, which such men entertained, for the result.
"There is no time to lose," observed he anxiously, when he had led Hippiasapart from his followers. "Something has occurred which was out of all ourcalculations. Can they overhear us, think ye?"
The fencing-master glanced carelessly at his band. "Whilst they are at_that_ game," said he, "they would not hear the assembly sounding from allfour quarters of the camp. Never fear, illustrious! it will keep them busytill supper time."
The band had broken up into pairs, and were hard at work with theirfavourite pastime, old as the Alban hills, and handed down to the RomanEmpire from the dynasty of the Pharaohs. It consisted in gambling forsmall coins at the following trial of skill:--the players sat or stood,face to face; each held the left hand erect, on which he marked theprogress of his game. With the right he shot out any one or more of hisfour fingers and thumb, or all together, with immense rapidity, guessingaloud at the same time the sum-total of the fingers thus brandished byhimself and his adversary, who was employed in the same manner. Whoeverguessed right won a point, which was immediately marked on the left, heldimmovable at shoulder-height for the purpose, and when five of these hadbeen won the game began again. Nothing could be more simple, nothingapparently less interesting, and yet it seemed to engross the attention ofthe gladiators to the exclusion of all other subjects, even the prospectof supper and the flavour of the Falernian.(14)
"They are children now," said Placidus contemptuously. "They will be menpresently, and tigers to-night. Hippias, the slave has escaped. We mustattack the palace forthwith."
"I know it," replied the other quietly. "But the Germans are relievingguard at this hour. My own people are hardly ready, and it is not darkenough yet."
"You know it," repeated Placidus, even more irritated than astonished byhis companion's coolness, "you _know_ it, and yet you have not hastenedyour preparations? Do you know, too, that this yellow-haired barbarian hasgot your head, and mine, and all the empty skulls of our intelligentfriends who are amusing themselves yonder, under his belt? Do you knowthat Caesar, true to his swinish propensities, will turn like a huntedboar, when he suspects the least shadow of danger? Do you know that notone of us may live to eat the very supper waiting for us in the next room?What are you made of, man, that you can thus look me so coolly in the facewith the sword at both our throats?"
"I can keep my own throat with my hand," replied the other, totallyunmoved by his host's agitation. "And I am certainly not accustomed tofear danger before it comes. But that the barbarian has escaped I saw withmy own eyes, for I left him ten minutes since within a hundred paces ofyour own gate."
The
tribune's eyebrows went up in unfeigned surprise.
"Then he has not reached the palace!" he exclaimed, speaking rather tohimself than his informant.
"Not reached the palace certainly," replied the latter calmly, "since Itell you I saw him here. And in very good company too," he added with asmile.
The tribune's astonishment had for once deprived him of his self-command.
"With Valeria?" he asked unguardedly; and directly he had spoken, a vaguesuspicion made him wish that he had held his tongue.
The fencing-master started and knit his brows. His head was more erect andhis voice sterner when he answered--
"I have seen the lady Valeria too, within the last hour. She had no slaveswith her beyond her usual attendants."
Anger, curiosity, uncertainty, jealousy, a hundred conflicting emotionswere rankling at the tribune's heart. What had this handsome gladiator todo at Valeria's house? and was it possible that she did not care for theslave after all? Then what could have been her object throughout? Hemarked too the alteration in manner betrayed by Hippias at the mention ofthis fair and flighty dame; nor did it seem improbable under all thecircumstances that he entertained a kindly feeling, if nothing more, forhis pupil. Judging men and women by his own evil nature, and knowing wellthe favour with which their female admirers regarded these votaries of thesword, the tribune did not hesitate to put its true construction on suchkindly feelings, and their probable result. From that moment he hatedHippias--hated him all the more that in the tumult and confusion of thecoming night he might find an opportunity of gratifying his hatred by thedestruction of the gladiator. Many a bold leader has been struck down frombehind by the very followers he was encouraging; and who would ask how aconspirator met his death, in the attack on a palace and the murder of anemperor? Even while the thought crossed his mind he took the other by thehand, and laughed frankly in his face.
"Thou art at home in the private apartments of every lady in Rome, Ibelieve, my warlike Apollo," said he. "But, indeed, it is no question nowof such trifling; the business of to-night must be determined on--ay, anddisposed of--without delay. If my slave had reached the palace our wholeplan must have been altered. I wish, as you did come across him, you hadtreated him to that deadly thrust of yours under the short-ribs, andbrought him in here dead or alive."
"He will not trouble us," observed the other coolly. "Take my word for it,tribune, he is disposed of for the present."
"What mean you?" asked Placidus, a devilish joy lighting up his sallowface. "Did you bribe him to secrecy then and there with the metal you areaccustomed to lavish so freely? Gold will buy silence for a time, butsteel ensures it for ever."
"Nay, tribune," answered Hippias, with a frank laugh. "We have beenfencing too long in the dark. I will tell you the whole truth. This younggiant of yours is safe enough for the present. I saw him depart with apale-faced girl, in a black hood, whom he promised to take care of as faras Tiber-side. Depend upon it, he will think of nothing else to-night. Forall his broad shoulders the down is yet upon his chin. And a man's beardmust be grey before he leaves such a fair young lass as that to knock hishead against a wall, even though it be the wall of a palace. No, no,tribune, he is safe enough, I tell you, for the next twelve hours, atleast!"
"A pale-faced girl?" repeated Placidus, still harping on Valeria. "Whatand who was she? Did you know her? did you speak to her?"
"My people had some wild tale," replied the fencing-master, "about achariot with white horses, that had been upset in the street, and a girlall gagged and muffled, whom they pulled out of it, and for whom, ofcourse, they quarrelled amongst themselves. In faith, had it not been forto-night's business and the oath, you might have seen some sweet practicein your own porch, for I have two or three here that can make as close andeven work with a sword as a tailor does with his needle. They saidsomething about her being a Jewess. Very likely she may be, for they swamacross Tiber since we have lost Nero. And the lad might as well be a Jewas a Briton for that matter. Are you satisfied now, tribune? By the bellyof Bacchus, I must wash my mouth out with Falernian! All this talkingmakes a man as thirsty as a camel."
Satisfied! and after what he had just learnt! Chariot! White horses!Jewess! There could be no doubt of it. These gladiators must haveblundered on her, thought the tribune, and slain my freedman, and rescuedher from my people, and handed her over to the man whom most I hate andfear on earth. Satisfied! Perhaps I shall be better satisfied when I havecaptured her, and humbled Valeria, and put you out of the way, my gallantcut-throat, and seen the slave scourged to death at my own doorpost! Then,and not till then, shall I be able to drink my wine without a heartburn,and lay my head on the pillow with some chance of sleep. In the meantime,to-night's work must be done. To-night's work, that puts Vespasianvirtually on the throne (for this boy(15) of his shall only keep thecushion warm till his father takes his seat), that makes Placidus thefirst man in the empire. Nay, that might even open a path to the purpleitself. The general is well advanced in years; already somewhat broken andworn with his campaigns. Titus, indeed, is the darling of the legions, butall the heart black-browed Berenice has left him, is wrapped up in war. Heloves it, I verily believe--the daring fool!--for the mere braying oftrumpets, and the clash of steel. Not a centurion exposes himself half sofreely, nor so often. Well, a Zealot's javelin, or a stone from theramparts of some nameless town in Judaea, may dispose of him at any time.Then there is but Domitian--a clever youth indeed, and an unscrupulous. Somuch the worse for him! A mushroom is not the only dish that may be fatalto an emperor, and if the knot be so secure as to baffle all dexterity,why, it must be cut with steel. Ay, the Macedonian knew well how the greatgame should be played. Satisfied! Like him, I shall never be satisfiedwhile there is anything more to win! These being the tribune's thoughts,it is needless to say that he assumed a manner of the utmost frankness andcarelessness.
"Thirsty!" he repeated, in a loud voice, clapping Hippias on the shoulder."Thirsty--I could empty an aqueduct! Welcome again, and heartily, my heroesall! See, the supper waits. Let us go in and drink out the old Falernian!"