CHAPTER IX
"There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets."--PROVERBSXXVI. 13.
He had exchanged his embroidered tunic for a gorgeous synthesis ofcrimson embroidered with gold, which set off to perfection the somewhatbarbaric splendour of his personality, and as he stood there massive anderect, beneath the gilded beams of Caius Nepos' dining-hall, with theslaves at his feet undoing the strings of his shoes, he looked everyinch the ruler for whom all these men here were blindly and senselesslyseeking.
His deep-set eyes beneath that stern frown had swept quickly over theassembly as he entered, and though now comparative order had beenrestored and a semblance of calm reigned around the table, TaurusAntinor did not fail to note the flushed faces and glowing eyes, thebroken goblets, and stained and tattered cloths which gave ugly evidenceof the riotous orgy that had gone before.
But though forty pairs of eyes were fixed upon his face, none couldboast that they had perceived any change in its somewhat severeimpassiveness as he now advanced towards his host.
"Greeting to thee, O Caius Nepos!" he said. "I crave thy pardon for mylate coming, but I had other duties to which to attend."
"Duties?" said Caius Nepos lightly; "nay, Taurus Antinor, there are justnow duties so high and sacred that others must of necessity stand asidefor these! But of this more anon. Wilt rest now and partake of wine?"
"I thank thee, good Caius," replied the praefect, "but I have supped,and only came at thy bidding, because thou didst say that affairs ofState would claim our attention this night."
To all those present he gave courteous if not very hearty greeting. Thendid his glance encounter that of Hortensius Martius who alone had saidno word or made a movement to welcome him.
There was a vacant place beside young Hortensius, and Taurus Antinortook it, but he did not lie along the cushions as the others did buthalf sat, half leaned on the couch, and turning to the young man saidsimply:
"I give thee greeting, O Hortensius! I had no thought of meeting theehere."
"I told thee yesterday that I would be present," said the other curtly.
"I remember now and am proud and honoured to sit by thy side; wiltpledge me in a goblet of wine?"
He had forced his rough voice to tones of gentleness. Hortensius Martiusraised his glowering eyes with some curiosity on his face.
But a day and a night had elapsed since his life had lain wholly at themercy of this powerful giant whom he had insulted, and who had been onthe point of punishing that insult with death.
Young Hortensius, held aloft in the mighty grip of the praefect twentyfeet above the flagstones of the Forum, seeing a hideous death waitingfor him below, did not even now realise how it came to pass that--whenhe recovered from the swoon into which horror and fear had thrownhim--he found himself being tended by an old woman, and anon deliveredsafe and sound into the keeping of his slaves; he had entered his litterand been borne to his home still marvelling, but of the praefect ofRome he had not since then seen a trace.
He had questioned his slaves who swore that from the arcades of thetabernae, where they had been waiting, they had seen nothing of whatwent on around the rostra. Hortensius knew that they lied, they musthave seen something of the quarrel; they must have seen him beingcarried like a recalcitrant child up to the top of the highest rostrum,and threatened with awful punishment by the very man whom he hadaffected to despise. They must also have seen the praefect relenting,carrying him down again, content apparently with the fright which he hadgiven him.
His slaves must have been witnesses to his humiliation, and now wereafraid to tell him what they had seen; and for the first time in hislife Hortensius Martius felt a wave of cruelty pass over him, in aninsensate desire to make the slaves speak under pressure of torture.
At the time he was ashamed to seem too eager and had forborne toquestion further. But he allowed his humiliation to breed thequick-growing weed of hate. When first the name of Taurus Antinor wasmentioned he realised how that weed had grown apace, and now that he satbeside him, and felt the inquisitive eyes of his host fixed withill-concealed mockery upon him, he knew in his innermost heart thatafter this day there would no longer be room in the city of Rome forhimself as well as for this man who had vanquished and humiliated him.
For the moment, however, he did not care to proclaim before all thesemen the hatred which he felt for Taurus Antinor. Thoughts of supremegrandeur were coursing through his brain. He knew that no one stood sohigh in Dea Flavia's graces as he himself had done this year past, andthat no one was so like to win her for wife, since she had in her ownproud and aloof way already accepted his respectful wooing.
Therefore, putting a rein upon his jealousy and upon his unruly tongue,he took up a goblet and responded to the pledge of the man whom hehated. But whilst Antinor drained the crystal cup to the dregs youngHortensius scarcely wetted his lips, and pretending to drink deeply, hekept his eyes fixed upon the praefect of Rome.
It seemed to him as if he had never really seen him before, so sharp arethe eyes of hate that they see much that is usually hidden to those ofindifference. Young Hortensius, over the edge of his goblet, embracedwith a steady glance the whole person of his enemy--the massive frame,the strong limbs, the hands and feet slender and strong. He lookedstraight into those deep-set eyes over which a perpetual frown alwayscast a shadow, and saw that they were of an intense shade of blue andwith a strange look in them of kindliness and of peace, which belied thestern fierceness of the face and the wilful obstinacy of the massivejaw.
But now Caius Nepos began to speak. Taking the advice of Marcus Ancyrusthe elder, he spoke vaguely, trying to probe the thoughts that layhidden behind the Anglicanus' furrowed brow. He had received advice, hesaid that the Caesar was tired of government and wished to spend somequiet days in the Palace of Tiberius, on the island of Capraea; all thiscleverly interwoven with sighs of hope as to what a happier future mightbring if the Empire were rid--quite peaceably, of course--of the tyrannyof a semi-brutish despot.
Then, as Taurus Antinor made no comment on his peroration, he recalledin impassioned language all that Rome had witnessed in the past threeyears of depravity, of turpitude, of senseless and maniacal orgies andof bestial cruelty, all perpetrated by the one man to whom blind Fatehad given supreme power.
"And to whom, alas!" said Taurus Antinor in calm response to the glowingspeech, "we have all of us here sworn loyalty and obedience."
There was silence after this. Despite the lingering fumes of wine thatobscured the brain, everyone felt that with these few words the praefectof Rome had already given an answer, and that nothing that could be saidafter this would have the power of making him alter his decision. ButMarcus Ancyrus, conscious of his own powers of diplomacy, took up thethread of his host's peroration.
"Aye! but we should be obeying him," he said simply, "if we accept hisabdication."
"There is no disloyalty," asserted Escanes, "in rejoicing at such anissue, if the Caesar himself doth will it so."
"None," admitted the praefect; "but there would be grave difficulty inchoosing a successor."
"To this," said the host, "we have given grave consideration."
"Indeed!"
"And have come to a decision which we all think would best serve thewelfare of the State."
"May I hear this decision?"
"It means just this, O praefect! that since the sceptre of Caesar must,if possible, remain in the House of Caesar, and since no man of thatHouse is worthy to wield it, we would ask the Augusta Dea Flavia to taketo herself a lord and husband, on whom, by virtue of his marriage, theimperium would rest for his life, and after his death fall on the directdescendant of great Augustus himself."
Taurus Antinor had not made a sign whilst Caius Nepos thus briefly putbefore him the main outline of the daring project, and HortensiusMartius, who was watching him closely, could not detect the slightestchange in the earnest face even when Dea Flavia's name was spoken. Now,when Nepos paused as if waiting for c
omment, Antinor said gravely:
"Ye must pardon me, but I am a stranger to the social life in Rome. Willyou tell me who this man is whom the Augusta will so highly favour?"
"Nay, as to that," said Caius Nepos, "we none of us know it as yet! DeaFlavia has smiled on many, but up to now hath made no choice."
"Then 'tis to an unknown man ye would all pledge your loyalty?"
"Unknown, yet vaguely guessed at, O praefect," here broke in Escanes,with his usual breezy cheerfulness; "we all feel that Dea Flavia'schoice can but fall on an honourable man."
"Thou speakest truly," rejoined Taurus Antinor earnestly; "but I fear methat for the present your schemes are too vague. The Augusta hath madeno choice of a husband as yet, and the Caesar is still your chosen lord."
"A brutish madman, who----"
"You chose him----"
"Since then he hath become a besotted despot."
"Still your Emperor--to whom you owe your dignities, your power, yourrank----"
"Thou dost defend him warmly, O praefect of Rome," suddenly interposedHortensius Martius who had followed every phase of the discussion withheated brow and eyes alert and glowing. "Thou art ready to continue thislife of submission to a maniacal tyrant, to a semi-bestialmountebank----"
"The life which I lead is of mine own making," rejoined Taurus Antinorproudly; "the life ye lead is the one ye have chosen."
And with significant glance his dark eyes took in every detail of thedisordered room--the littered table, the luxurious couches, thenumberless empty dishes and broken goblets as well as the flushed facesand the trembling hands, and involuntarily, perhaps, a look of harshcontempt spread over his face.
Hortensius caught the look and winced under it; the words that hadaccompanied it had struck him as with a lash, and further whipped up hisalready violent rage.
"And," he retorted with an evil sneer, "to the Caesar thou wilt renderhomage even in his most degraded orgies, and wilt lick the dust from offhis shoes when he hath kicked thee in the mouth."
Slowly Taurus Antinor turned to him, and Hortensius Martius appearedjust then so like a naughty child, that the look of harshness died outof the praefect's eyes, and a smile almost of amusement, certainly ofindulgence, lit up for a moment the habitual sternness of his face.
"Loyalty to Caesar," he said simply, "doth not mean obsequiousness, asall Roman patricians should know, oh Hortensius!"
"Aye! but meseems," rejoined the young man, whose voice had becomeharsher and more loud as that of Taurus Antinor became more subdued andlow, "meseems that at the cost of thy manhood thou at least art preparedto render unto Caesar----"
But even as these words escaped his lips the praefect, with a quickperemptory gesture, placed one slim, strong hand on Hortensius' wrist.
It seemed as if in a moment--and because of those words--a strangepower had gone forth from the soul within right down to the tips of theslender fingers that closed on those of the younger man with a grip ofsteel.
He had raised himself wholly upright on the couch, his massive figure,in the gorgeous crimson tunic, standing out clear and trenchant againstthe shadowy whiteness of the marble walls behind him. His head, with theruddy mass of hair on which the flickering lamps threw brilliant, goldenlights, was thrown back, and the eyes, deep, intent, and glowing withunrevealed ardour, looked straight out before him into the shadows.
"Render unto Caesar," he said slowly, "the things which are Caesar's, andunto God the things that are God's."
His voice was low and unmodulated, as of one who repeats something thathe has heard before, whilst the eyes suddenly shone as if with afleeting memory of an exquisite vision.
The action, the words, were but momentary, but for that brief moment theangry retort was checked on Hortensius' lips, even as were the sneersand the bibulous scowls on the faces of those around. Taurus Antinor,towering above them all, and imbued with a strange dignity, seemed to begazing into a space beyond the walls of the gorgeous dining-hall; into aspace hidden from their understanding but peopled with the sweet memoryof a sacred past. And even as he gazed a strange spell fell over thesevoluptuaries; a spell which they were unable to withstand. Whilst itlasted every ribald word was stilled and every drunken oath lulled tosilence. The very air seemed hushed and only from a bunch of dying rosesthe withered petals were heard to fall one by one.
Then the grasp on Hortensius' wrist relaxed, the dark head was lowered,the falling lids once more hid the mysterious radiance of the eyes. Thespell was broken as Taurus Antinor resumed quietly:
"The Caesar," he said, "hath not yet abdicated; he is still our chosenruler and Emperor. To speak of his successor now savours of treacheryand----"
"And what thou sayest stinks of treachery," broke in Hortensius Martiuswith redoubled wrath, and shaking himself free from the brief spell ofsuperstitious awe which Antinor's words and Antinor's grip on his armhad momentarily cast over him. "Hast come here, O praefect, but to spyon us, to probe our souls and use them for thine own selfish ends?"
"Silence, Hortensius!" admonished Ancyrus, the elder.
"Nay, I'll not be silent!" retorted the young man, who seemed at last tohave lost all control over his jealous passion. His eyes, in whichgleamed the fire of intense hate, swept from the face of his enemy tothat of his friends whom they challenged. His voice had become raucousand hoarse and his tongue refused him service, making his words soundinarticulate.
"Do ye not see," he shouted, turning his flushed face toward the others,"do you not see how you are being fooled? The praefect stands high inthe Caesar's favour, he has the Caesar's ear----"
"Silence!" broke in in peremptory accents the voice of Caius Nepos, thehost.
"Silence!" cried some of the younger men.
"No! No! I'll shout! I'll shout!" persisted Hortensius with the crazyobstinacy of one whose mind is obscured with liquor and with passion,"I'll shout until you understand. Fools, I tell ye! Fools are ye all!You tell this man of your schemes, of your plans! He listens blandly toyou!... You fools! you fools! Not to have suspected ere this that hisso-called loyalty to Caesar masks his treachery to us!"
He was kneeling now upon his couch, and with clenched hands was poundingagainst the cushions like an angry child. The tumult became general;everyone was shouting. Those who were nearest to this raving youngmaniac were trying to seize him, but he waved his arms about like thewings of a night bird, and anon he seized a goblet of heavy solid metaland struck out with it to the right and left of him, so that none daredcome nigh.
But the praefect stood quietly beside him, with arms held very tightlyacross his mighty chest, his dark eyes fixed upon the raving figure onthe couch. No one had ventured to approach him, for the feeling ofsuperstitious awe which he had aroused in them a while ago had notwholly died down, and now there was such a look of contempt and of wrathin his face that instinctively the most sober drew away from him, andthose whose minds were obscured with wine looked upon him in evergrowing terror.
Suddenly Hortensius, brandishing the heavy goblet, raised it high abovehis head, and with a drunken and desperate gesture he flung it in thedirection of the praefect, but his hand had trembled and his arm wasunsteady. The goblet missed the head of Taurus Antinor and fell crashingalong the marble-topped table, bringing a quantity of crystal down withit in its fall.
A few drops of the wine from the goblet had fallen on Taurus Antinor'stunic, and from the parched throat of young Hortensius there rose ahoarse and immoderate laugh and a string of violent oaths. But evenbefore these had fully escaped his lips he saw the praefect's dark facequite close to his own, and felt a grip as of a double vice of steelfastening on both his shoulders.
He knew the grip and had felt it before; no claw of desert beast wasfirmer or more unrelenting. Young Hortensius felt his whole body giveway, his very bones crack beneath that mighty grip. His head, overheatedwith wine, fell back against the cushions of his couch, and he felt asif the last breath in him was leaving his enfeebled body.
"Thou art a
fool indeed, Hortensius," murmured a harsh voice close tohis ear; "a fool to provoke a man beyond the power of his control."
Then as at a word from the host, the other men--those who were steady ontheir feet--tried to interpose, Taurus Antinor turned his face to them.
"Have no fear," he said quite calmly, "for this man. He shall come to noharm. Twice hath he insulted me and twice have I held his life in myhands."
Then, as Hortensius uttered an involuntary cry of rage or of pain,Taurus Antinor spoke once more to him:
"Thy life is in my hands yet will I not kill thee, even though I coulddo it with just the tightening of my fingers round thy throat. Butprovoke me not a third time, O Hortensius, for I have in my possession aheavy-thonged whip, and this would I use on thee even as I order it tobe used on the miscreant thieves that are brought to my tribunal. Socross not my path again, dost understand? I am but a man and have not aninexhaustible stock of patience."
Whilst he spoke he still held young Hortensius down pinioned amongst thecushions. No one interfered, for it had dawned on every blurred mindthere that here lay a deeper cause for quarrel than mere politicalconflict. Hortensius, though vanquished now, had been like a madman; hisunprovoked insults had come from a heart overburdened with jealousy andwith hate. Now when the praefect relaxed his grip upon him, he lay fora while quite still, and anon Caius Nepos beckoned to his slaves, andthey it was who ministered to him, bathing his forehead with water andholding lumps of ice to the palms of his hands.
Taurus Antinor had straightened out his tall figure. For a moment helooked down with bitter scorn on the prostrate figure of his vanquishedfoe. The awed silence which his strange words of a while ago had imposedupon the others, still hung upon them all. They stood about in groups,whispering below their breath, and the slaves were huddled up oneagainst the other in the distant corners of the room. An air of mysterystill hung over the magnificent triclinium, its convivial board, itsabandoned couches, over the vases of murra and crystal and the fastdying roses. It seemed as if some personality--great, majestic,divine--had passed through the marble hall and that the sound of sacredfeet still echoed softly along its walls.
It almost seemed as if there clung a radiance in that shadowy cornerwhere the eyes of an enthusiast had sought and found the memory of theDivine Teacher; and that in the fume-laden air there lingered the odourof the sacrifice offered by a rough, untutored heart to the Man Who hadspoken unforgettable words seven years ago in Galilee.
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