Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero Page 22

  Chapter XXII

  ONLY inside the entrance did Vinicius comprehend the whole difficultyof the undertaking. The house was large, of several stories, one of thekind 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 scarcelya year passed in which numbers of them did not fall on the heads oftenants. Real hives, too high and too narrow, full of chambers andlittle dens, in which poor people fixed themselves too numerously. In acity where many streets had no names, those houses had no numbers; theowners committed the collection of rent to slaves, who, not obliged bythe city government to give names of occupants, were ignorant themselvesof them frequently. To find some one by inquiry in such a house wasoften very difficult, especially when there was no gate-keeper.

  Vinicius and Croton came to a narrow, corridor-like passage walled in onfour sides, forming a kind of common atrium for the whole house, with afountain in the middle whose stream fell into a stone basin fixed in theground. At all the walls were internal stairways, some of stone, some ofwood, leading to galleries from which there were entrances to lodgings.There were lodgings on the ground, also; some provided with woodendoors, 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 wasevident that all were asleep in the house except those who had returnedfrom Ostrianum.

  "What shall we do, lord?" asked Croton, halting.

  "Let us wait here; some one may appear," replied Vinicius. "We shouldnot be seen in the yard."

  At this moment, he thought Chilo's counsel practical. If there weresome tens of slaves present, it would be easy to occupy the gate, whichseemed the only exit, search all the lodgings simultaneously, and thuscome to Lygia's; otherwise Christians, who surely were not lacking inthat house, might give notice that people were seeking her. In viewof this, there was risk in inquiring of strangers. Vinicius stopped tothink 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 sievein 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 theentrance, and he began quietly to sink in water vegetables whichfilled the sieve. It was evident that, after a whole night spent in thecemetery, he intended to prepare a meal. After a while the washingwas finished; he took the wet sieve and disappeared behind the screen.Croton and Vinicius followed him, thinking that they would come directlyto Lygia's lodgings. Their astonishment was great when they saw that thescreen divided from the court, not lodgings, but another dark corridor,at the end of which was a little garden containing a few cypresses, somemyrtle bushes, and a small house fixed to the windowless stone wall ofanother 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 thelittle house facilitated the enterprise. They would set aside defenders,or rather Ursus, quickly, and would reach the street just as quicklywith the captured Lygia; and there they would help themselves. It waslikely that no one would attack them; if attacked, they would say thata hostage was fleeing from Caesar. Vinicius would declare himself then tothe guards, and summon their assistance.

  Ursus was almost entering the little house, when the sound of stepsattracted his attention; he halted, and, seeing two persons, put hissieve 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 Lygianwas able to think or to recognize his enemies, Croton had caught him inhis arms of steel.

  Vinicius was too confident in the man's preternatural strength to waitfor the end of the struggle. He passed the two, sprang to the door ofthe little house, pushed it open and found himself in a room a trifledark, lighted, however, by a fire burning in the chimney. A gleam ofthis fire fell on Lygia's face directly. A second person, sitting at thefire, was that old man who had accompanied the young girl and Ursus onthe road from Ostrianum.

  Vinicius rushed in so suddenly that before Lygia could recognize him hehad seized her by the waist, and, raising her, rushed toward the dooragain. The old man barred the way, it is true; but pressing the girlwith 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 bloodgrew cold in Lygia from fright, and the voice died in her throat. Shewished to summon aid, but had not the power. Equally vain was her wishto grasp the door, to resist. Her fingers slipped along the stone, andshe would have fainted but for the terrible picture which struck hereyes when Vinicius rushed into the garden.

  Ursus was holding in his arms some man doubled back completely, withhanging head and mouth filled with blood. When he saw them, he struckthe head once more with his fist, and in the twinkle of an eye sprangtoward 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 withwhich he held Lygia; then the earth turned round with him, and the lightof day died in his eyes.

  Chilo, hidden behind the angle of the corner house, was waiting forwhat would happen, since curiosity was struggling with fear in him. Hethought that if they succeeded in carrying off Lygia, he would fare wellnear Vinicius. He feared Urban no longer, for he also felt certain thatCroton would kill him. And he calculated that in case a gathering shouldbegin on the streets, which so far were empty,--if Christians, or peopleof any kind, should offer resistance,--he, Chilo, would speak to them asone representing authority, as an executor of Caesar's will, and if needcame, call the guards to aid the young patrician against the streetrabble--thus winning to himself fresh favor. In his soul he judgedyet that the young tribune's method was unwise; considering, however,Croton's terrible strength, he admitted that it might succeed, andthought, "If it go hard with him, Vinicius can carry the girl, andCroton clear the way." Delay grew wearisome, however; the silence of theentrance which he watched alarmed him.

  "If they do not hit upon her hiding-place, and make an uproar, they willfrighten her."

  But this thought was not disagreeable; for Chilo understood that in thatevent he would be necessary again to Vinicius, and could squeeze afresha goodly number of sestertia from the tribune.

  "Whatever they do," said he to himself, "they will work for me, thoughno one divines that. O gods! O gods! only permit me-"

  And he stopped suddenly, for it seemed to him that some one was bendingforward through the entrance; then, squeezing up to the wall, he beganto look, holding the breath in his breast.

  And he had not deceived himself, for a head thrust itself half out ofthe entrance and looked around. After a while, however, it vanished.

  "That is Vinicius, or Croton," thought Chilo; "but if they have takenthe girl, why does she not scream, and why are they looking out to thestreet? They must meet people anyhow, for before they reach the Carinaethere 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 theempty 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 theneighboring house. Chilo, without further waiting, his teeth chatte
ringfrom terror, ran along the cross street with a speed which even in ayoung man might have roused admiration.

  "If he sees me from a distance when he is returning, he will catch andkill me," said he to himself. "Save me, Zeus; save me, Apollo; saveme, Hermes; save me, O God of the Christians! I will leave Rome, I willreturn to Mesembria, but save me from the hands of that demon!"

  And that Lygian who had killed Croton seemed to him at that moment somesuperhuman being. While running, he thought that he might be some godwho had taken the form of a barbarian. At that moment he believed in allthe gods of the world, and in all myths, at which he jeered usually. Itflew through his head, too, that it might be the God of the Christianswho had killed Croton; and his hair stood on end again at the thoughtthat he was in conflict with such a power.

  Only when he had run through a number of alleys, and saw some workmencoming toward him from a distance, was he calmed somewhat. Breath failedin 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, andagain the place round about was empty. The city was sleeping yet. In themorning movement began earlier in the wealthier parts of the city,where the slaves of rich houses were forced to rise before daylight; inportions inhabited by a free population, supported at the cost of theState, hence unoccupied, they woke rather late, especially in winter.Chilo, after he had sat some time on the threshold, felt a piercingcold; so he rose, and, convincing himself that he had not lost the pursereceived from Vinicius, turned toward the river with a step now muchslower.

  "I may see Croton's body somewhere," said he to himself. "O gods! thatLygian, if he is a man, might make millions of sestertia in the courseof 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 hehimself weighs. He guards that maiden better than Cerberus does Hades.But may Hades swallow him, for all that! I will have nothing to do withhim. He is too bony. But where shall I begin in this case? A dreadfulthing 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 housenow, awaiting his burial. By Castor! but he is a patrician, a friendof Caesar, a relative of Petronius, a man known in all Rome, a militarytribune. His death cannot pass without punishment. Suppose I were to goto 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 knowthat I came to his house, and some of them know with what object. Whatwill happen if they suspect me of having pointed out to him purposelythe house in which his death met him? Though it appear afterward, in thecourt, that I did not wish his death, they will say that I was thecause of it. Besides, he is a patrician; hence in no event can I avoidpunishment. But if I leave Rome in silence, and go far away somewhere, Ishall 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 forhim. Any other man might go directly to the prefect of the city guardsand tell what had happened, and, though some suspicion might fallon him, await the issue calmly. But Chilo's whole past was of suchcharacter that every closer acquaintance with the prefect of the cityor the prefect of the guard must cause him very serious trouble, andconfirm also every suspicion which might enter the heads of officials.

  On the other hand, to flee would be to confirm Petronius in the opinionthat Vinicius had been betrayed and murdered through conspiracy.Petronius was a powerful man, who could command the police of the wholeEmpire, and who beyond doubt would try to find the guilty parties evenat 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 wascalm, and Chilo might be sure of this, at least, that he would hear himto the end. Petronius, who knew the affair from its inception, wouldbelieve in Chilo's innocence more easily than would the prefects.

  But to go to him, it was needful to know with certainty what hadhappened to Vinicius. Chilo did not know that. He had seen, it is true,the Lygian stealing with Croton's body to the river, but nothing more.Vinicius might be killed; but he might be wounded or detained. Now itoccurred to Chilo for the first time, that surely the Christians wouldnot dare to kill a man so powerful,--a friend of Caesar, and a highmilitary official,--for that kind of act might draw on them a generalpersecution. It was more likely that they had detained him by superiorforce, 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 notbetrayed him; and then not only does nothing threaten me, but--O Hermes,count again on two heifers--a fresh field is opening. I can informone of the freedmen where to seek his lord; and whether he goes to theprefect 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 knowfirst whether Vinicius is dead or living."

  Here it occurred to him that he might go in the night to the baker Demasand inquire about Ursus. But he rejected that thought immediately. Hepreferred to have nothing to do with Ursus. He might suppose, justly,that if Ursus had not killed Glaucus he had been warned, evidently, bythe Christian elder to whom he had confessed his design,--warned thatthe affair was an unclean one, to which some traitor had persuaded him.In every case, at the mere recollection of Ursus, a shiver ran throughChilo's whole body. But he thought that in the evening he would sendEuricius 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 weariedhim exceedingly.

  One thing gave him permanent comfort: he had on his person twopurses,--that which Vinicius had given him at home, and that whichhe had thrown him on the way from the cemetery. In view of this happycircumstance, and of all the excitement through which he had passed, heresolved 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 sucha marked measure that he forgot the bath; he wished to sleep, above all,and drowsiness overcame his strength so that he returned with totteringstep to his dwelling in the Subura, where a slave woman, purchased withmoney obtained from Vinicius, was waiting for him.

  When he had entered a sleeping-room, as dark as the den of a fox, hethrew himself on the bed, and fell asleep in one instant. He woke onlyin the evening, or rather he was roused by the slave woman, who calledhim to rise, for some one was inquiring, and wished to see him on urgentbusiness.

  The watchful Chilo came to himself in one moment, threw on his hoodedmantle hastily, and, commanding the slave woman to stand aside, lookedout cautiously.

  And he was benumbed! for he saw before the door of the sleeping-room thegigantic form of Ursus.

  At that sight he felt his feet and head grow icy-cold, the heart ceasedto beat in his bosom, and shivers were creeping along his back. Fora time he was unable to speak; then with chattering teeth he said, orrather 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 thegirl; "he asked to rouse thee."

  "O gods! I will command that thou--"

  But Ursus, as if impatient of delay, approached the door of thesleeping-room, and, bending, thrust in his head.

  "O Chilo Chilonides!" said he.

  "Pax tecum! pax! pax!" answered Chilo. "O best of Christians! Yes, I amChilo; but this is a mistake,--I do not know thee!"

  "Chilo Chilonides," repeated Ursus, "thy lord, Vinicius, summons thee togo with me to him."

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