CHAPTER XVIII
GALLOPING
As the Gardens of Verus are north of the Tiber we had no difficultywhatever in casting a wide circuit to the left and coming out on theAurelian Highway. All the way to it we had met no one; on it we met noone. After striking the highway we walked along it as fast as we dared. Weshould have liked to run a mile or two, but we were careful to comportourselves as wayfarers and not act so as to appear fugitives. The nightwas overcast and pitch dark. We must have walked fully four miles, whichis about one third of the way to Loria.
Then, being tired and with no reason whatever for going anywhere inparticular, we sat down to rest on the projecting base-course of apretentious tomb of great size but much neglected. It was so dilapidated,in fact, that Agathemer, feeling about by where he sat, found an aperturebig enough for us to crawl into. It began to rain and we investigated theopening. Apparently this huge tomb had been hastily built by dishonestcontractors, for here, low down, where the substructure should have beenas durable and solid as possible, they had cheapened the wall by insertingsome of those big earthenware jars which are universally built into theupper parts of high walls to lighten the construction. A slab of theexternal shell of gaudy marbles had fallen out, leaving an aperture nearlyas big as the neck of the great jar.
As the rain increased to a downpour we wriggled and squirmed through thehole, barely squeezing ourselves in, and found the jar a bit dusty but dryand comfortable. We wrapped ourselves in our cloaks, rejoicing to be outof the torrent of water which now descended from the sky. Also we composedourselves to sleep, if we could.
We discussed our situation. We had our tunics, cloaks, umbrella hats androad shoes, but no staffs, wallets or extras. Agathemer mourned for hisflageolet. Between us we had seven silver denarii and a handful ofcoppers; Maternus had given Agathemer four denarii, as he had me, butearly in the day, and he had broken one to buy two meals.
He said that Caburus had either feared to make an attempt on Commodus, orjudged that no opportunity presented itself. Of Cossedo he knew no morethan I. Caburus had turned him over to two ruffians to watch and he hadeluded them in the crowds and made his way to the Gardens of Verusexpressly to find me, if possible, and help me to escape.
He said that our coins could not be made to last any length of time. Norcould we well beg our way so near the city. Our store of gems in ouramulet-bags was of no use, because, as he said, he was personally known toevery gem-expert in Rome. Perusia was the nearest town to northward wherehe might hope to find prompt secret buyers for gems of dubious ownership;Perusia was far beyond the reach of two footfarers, without wallets andwith only seven denarii.
We argued that, whatever happened, the wisest course was to get somesleep. Agathemer declared that we could fast over next day and night, ifnecessary, and that we had best keep in our hole till next night, anyhow.I acceded and we went to sleep.
We were waked by loud voices in altercation. The sky had cleared, the latemoon was half way up, and we conjectured that the time was about midwaybetween midnight and dawn, the time when all roads are most deserted.
Close to us, plain in the brilliant moonlight, were two stocky men on roanor bay horses. The moonlight was bright enough to make it certain thatthey were wearing the garb of Imperial couriers. The trappings of theirhorses, frontlets, saddle cloths, saddle bags and all suited their attire.
But their actions, words, accents and everything about them was mostdiscordant with their horses and equipment.
Both were so drunk that they could just stick on their stationary andimpassive mounts, so drunk that they talked thickly. And they weredisputing and arguing and wrangling with their voices raised almost to ashout. Thickly as they talked, we had listened to them but a few momentswhen we were sure that they were low-class highwaymen who had robbed twoImperial couriers, tied and gagged them, changed clothes with them andridden off on their horses, but had stopped to drink, raw and unmixed, thecouriers' overgenerous supply of heady wine; two kid-skins, by theirutterances. Now they were reviling each other, each claiming a largerproportion of the coins than he had.
Here was a present from Mercury, indeed. It was a matter of no difficultyto crawl out of our hole, to approach Carex and Junco, as they called eachother, to pluck their daggers from their sheaths and to render thehighwaymen harmless, to pull them from their saddles, tie their hands withthe lashings of their saddle-bags and to gag them with strips torn fromtheir tunics; for they were too drunk to know that they were beingattacked; so drunk that each, as we dragged him from his horse, fanciedthat the other was assaulting him and expostulated at such unfair behavioron the part of a pal. So drunk were they that both were snoring before wetied their feet with more strips torn from their tunics.
Like sacks we hauled them out of the moonlight, into the shadow of thetomb and then stripped them except of their tunics, fitted on ourselvesthe accoutrements they had stolen, and thrust them, trussed, gagged,snoring and helpless, into the hole where we had taken shelter.
On horseback we rode like couriers, full gallop, passed Loria before thefirst hint of dawn showed through the moonlight and, about half waybetween Fregena and Alsium turned aside into a lovely little grove aboutan old shrine of Ops Consiva, a grove whose beauty and the openness ofwhose tree-embowered, grass-carpeted spaces was plain even by themoonlight.
As soon as it was light enough to see we took stock of our windfall. Thehorses were both bays and of the finest; their trappings new and inperfect condition. Our attire was made up of the best horsemen's boots, atrifle too large for us, but not enough to be so noticeable as to betrayus, or even enough to make us uncomfortable; of horsemen's long rain-cloaks and of excellent umbrella hats, all of the regulation material,design and color. In the saddle-bags were excellent blankets, ourdespatches, legibly endorsed with the name, Munatius Plancus, of theofficial at Marseilles to whom we were to deliver them; and ourcredentials, entitling us to all possible assistance from all men and tofresh horses at all change-houses. From these diplomas we learned that ournames were Sabinus Felix and Bruttius Asper.
This crowned our luck. We crowed with glee over the unimaginably helpfulcoincidence that these diplomas should be made out for couriers with thevery names which we had chosen at haphazard at the commencement of ourflight and had been using to each other ever since.
The provision of cash was ample: besides plenty of silver there was morethan enough gold to have carried us all the way to Marseilles, on the mostlavish scale of expenditure, without resorting to our credentials to getus fresh horses.
We ate liberally of the couriers' generous provision of bread, cheese,sausage, olives and figs; well content to quench our thirst at the springby the shrine. Then we muffled ourselves in our cloaks, tightened thestraps of our umbrella hats, jammed them down on our heads, pulled thebrims over our faces, mounted and set off, elated, sure of ourselves, wellfed, well clad, well horsed, opulent, accredited, gay.
As couriers vary in their theories of horse-husbanding and in theirpractice of riding, we had a wide choice, and elected to get every mile wecould out of these fine horses and not change until as far as possiblefrom Rome. We found their most natural lope and, pausing to drink and towater them sparingly at the loneliest springs we descried, we pressed onthrough or past the Towers, Pyrgos, and Castrum Novum to Centumcellae.That was all of forty-one miles from the shrine of Ops Consiva and fullfifty from Rome, but, partly because we had to spare ourselves, as we hadnot been astride of a horse since we crawled through the drain at VillaAndivia, we so humored our horses that we arrived in a condition which theostler took as a matter of course, and it was then not quite noon, whichwe both considered a feat of horsemanship.
At Centumcellae we ate liberally and enjoyed the inn's excellent wine.Also we set off on strong horses. From there only the danger of gettingsaddle-sick after our long disuse of horses and the certainty of gettingsaddle-sore, as we did, restrained us. We tore on through Martha, ForumAurelii, and a nameless change-house, spurring and lashi
ng as much as wedared, for we dared not disable ourselves with blisters, changing at eachhalt and getting splendid horses, our diplomas unquestioned. Thus at duskwe reached Cosa, forty-nine miles from Centumcellae and a hundred and ninemiles from Rome.
We dreaded that we should wake too sore to ride, perhaps too sore tomount, perhaps even too sore to get out of bed. But, while stiff and ingreat pain, we managed to breakfast and get away.
That day we, perforce, rode with less abandon, though we both felt lessdiscomfort after we warmed to the saddle. We nooned at Rosellae, thirty-three miles on, and slept at Vada, the port of Volaterrae, fifty-six milesfurther, a day of eighty miles. Next day we were, if anything, yet sorerand stiffer, certainly we were less frightened. So we took it easier,nooning at Pisa, thirty miles on, and sleeping at Luna, thirty-fivefurther, a day of only sixty-five miles, rather too little for Imperialcouriers. Our third morning we woke feeling hardened and fit: we madethirty-nine miles before noon and ate at Bodetia; from there we pushed onforty-five miles to Genoa, an eighty-four mile day, more in character.
At Genoa we were for taking the coast road. We were all for haste. We hadridden amazingly well for men who had not been astride of a horse fornearly a year; we had ridden fairly well for Imperial couriers; but we hadnot ridden fast enough to suit ourselves. From Cosa onward we had beenhaunted by the same dread. We had imagined the real Bruttius Asper andSabinus Felix reporting their loss of everything save their tunics, weimagined the hue and cry after us, the most capable men in the secretservice, riding fit to kill their horses on our trail. At Cosa, at Vada,at Luna we had waked dreading to find the avengers up with us andourselves prisoners; at Rosellae, at Pisa, at Bodetia, we had eaten withone eye on the door, expecting every instant to see our pursuers enter; soat every change-station, while our trappings were taken from our wearycattle and girthed on fresh mounts. So we were for the coast road asshortest.
But the innkeeper, who was also manager of the change-stables, told usthat between Genoa and Vada Sabatia the road was blocked by landslides,washouts and the destruction of at least three bridges by freshets. Headvised us to take the carriage-road by Dertona, the Mineral Springs,Crixia and Canalicum. But we thought of the pursuers thundering after usand anyhow we wanted none of Dertona, recalling our encounter withGratillus at Placentia. We took the coast road, and, though we had to fordtwo streams and swam our horses over one, although we had to slide downslopes and toil up others afoot, leading our horses after us, although afull third of the road was mere rough track, like a wild mountain trail,though the distance was all of forty-five miles, yet we slept at VadaSabatia, very thankful to have done in one day what would have taken us atleast three by the hundred and fifty-one mile mountain-detour throughDertona, and still more thankful for the lonely safety of the coast road.
From Vada Sabatia the coast road was better, but still far from easy. Wewere well content to noon at a tiny change-house between Albingaunum andAlbintimilium and to sleep at Lumo, seventy-seven miles on. Next morningearly, only six miles from Lumo, but six miles of hard climbing up atwisty, rock-cut road, we came out at its crest, where there is awonderful view up and down the coast and out southwards to sea, and therepassed the boundary of Italy and entered Gaul. That night we slept atMatavonium, eighty-four miles forward and but seventy-four miles fromMarseilles.
So far we had had no adventures, had been accepted without questioneverywhere, had seen no look of suspicion from anyone, had encountered noother couriers, except those whom we met and passed on the road, we andthey lashing, spurring and hallooing, each party barely visible to theother through the cloud of dust both raised.
On that day, our eighth out from Rome, at noon at Tegulata, we hadadventure enough.
The common room of the inn was low-ceiled, I could have jumped and touchedthe carved beams with my hand. But it was very large indeed, somethinglike thirty yards long and fully twenty yards wide, with two Tuscancolumns about ten yards apart in the middle of it, supporting the sevengreat beams, smoke-blackened till their carving was blurred, on which theceiling-joists were laid. The floor was of some dark, smooth-grainedstone, polished by the feet which had trod it for generations; there weresix wide-latticed windows, and, opposite the door, a great fire-place,with an ample chimney above and four bronze cranes for pots or roasts.Each arm had several chains and actually, when we entered, four pots wereboiling, and a kid was roasting over the cunningly bedded fire of clearred coals, the fresh caught wood at the back, where the smoke would notdisflavor the roasting meat. It was the most civilized inn we had enteredon our post-ride and spoke of the nearness of Marseilles, though everydetail of its construction, furnishings and methods was Gallic, not Greek.
Unlike our inns, where the drink and food is set on low, round-topped,one-legged, three-footed tables, about which are placed the backlessstools or low-backed, wooden-seated chairs on which the customers sit, ithad, Gallic fashion, big, heavy-topped, high-set, rectangular, six-leggedtables with benches along their long sides, others with chairs, like thoseat the ends of every table; solid, high-backed chairs, comfortable for theguests, whose knees were well under the high-topped, solid-legged tables.
Agathemer and I took seats at the table in the far corner to the right ofthe door; only two of the five were occupied, and they by but two at each;plainly local customers. We told the host that we were in haste and askedfor whatever fare he had ready. He brought us an excellent stew of fowl,with bread and wine and recommended that we wait till he had broiled somesea-fish, saying they were small but toothsome, fresh-caught and would beready in a few moments. The fish tempted us, and, so near Marseilles, wefelt no hurry at all, for we meant to loiter on the road and pass the gateabout an hour before sunset, calculating that the later in the day wearrived the better chance we had of delivering our despatches, as we must,without being exposed as not the men we passed for, and of somehowdisembarrassing ourselves of our accoutrements and donning ordinary attirebought at some cheap shop.
As we sat, tasting the eggs, shrimps, and such like relishes beforeattacking the stew, which was too hot as yet, there entered two men in theattire of Imperial couriers. Agathemer kept his face, but I am sure Iturned pale. I expected, of course, that they would walk over to ourtable, greet us, ask our names, and like as not turn out intimates ofBruttius Asper and Sabinus Felix, so that we would be exposed then andthere.
But they merely saluted, perfunctorily, and took seats at the tablenearest the door on their left, diagonally the whole space of the roomfrom us. Agathemer and I returned their salute as precisely as we couldimitate it, thankful that they had saluted, so as to let us see what thecouriers' salute was, for we had felt much anxiety all along the road,since neither of us, often as we had seen it, could recall it well enoughto be sure of giving it properly, if we met genuine couriers, or, terriblethought, encountered an inspector making sure that the service was all itshould be and on the outlook for irregularities.
The moment they were at the table they bawled for instant service, urgedthe host, reviled the slaves, fell on their food like wolves, eatinggreedily and hurriedly and guzzling their wine. We could catch most oftheir orders, but of their almost equally loud conversation, since theytalked with their mouths full, we caught only the words "Dertona" and"Crixia"; these comforted us; either they had left Rome before us and wehad overtaken them, or they came from Ancona or somewhere on the road fromAncona to Dertona or more likely from Aquileia, or somewhere on the roadfrom it, or perhaps even from beyond it.
They disposed of relishes, boiling stew, a mountain of bread, and a lakeof wine, besides olives and fruit, in an incredibly short time, and then,again perfunctorily saluting us, rushed out.
Our fish had just been served and were as good as prophesied. A momentafter the exit of the couriers there entered a plump, pompous individual,every line of whose person and attire advertised him a local dandy, whileevery lineament and expression of his face, his every attitude andmovement, equally proclaimed him a busybody.
He wal
ked straight to our table, bowed to us and nodded to one of theslave-waiters, who instantly and obsequiously vanished. Our new table-companion at once entered into conversation with us, speaking civilly, butwith an irritating self-sufficiency.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I am acquainted with many of your calling who passthrough here, but I do not recall having ever seen you before. My estatesare near Tegulata and I am chiefly concerned with wine-growing. My wines,indeed, are reckoned the best between Baeterrae and Verona. My name isValerius Donnotaurus; may I know yours?"
I kept my eyes on his face as I introduced Agathemer as Bruttius Asper andhe me as Sabinus Felix. It seemed to me that his expression was notaltogether free from a momentary gleam of suspicion; but my anxiety mighthave seen what was not there, I could not be sure. At any rate he bowedpolitely, asked me whence we came, when we had left Rome, and the latestnews. He commended our speed and our having overcome the difficulties ofthe coast road between Genoa and Vada Sabatia.
The waiter, according to some subtle characteristic of his nod, broughtwine for three, which he assured us was wine from his estates, though nothis best, yet worth trying, and he invited us to drink with him. We couldnot well refuse and we were glad to be able to praise the wine, which, forGallic wine, was really not so bad. Before we had finished our fish heexcused himself and went out.
We dallied with our food, counting on giving the two couriers time to getaway before we came out into the courtyard. But we learned afterwardsthat, as we had shown our credentials and ordered fresh horses before weentered the inn, the change-master would not give them the two best horseswhich he was holding ready for us and had in the yard no other horses.They had demanded our fresh horses, cursed him and blustered, but couldnot move him and so were still berating him when Donnotaurus came out tothem. He, after introducing himself, asking their names and route and,commiserating them on the poor supply of horses, had casually inquiredwhether they were acquainted with two couriers named Bruttius Asper andSabinus Felix. On their answering that they knew both of them he hadchatted a while longer and then asked them to reenter with him the inn'scommon-room, alleging that they could assist him on an important mattertouching the service of the Emperor. According to the change-master, whotold us all this later, they had complied in a hesitating and unwillingmanner, as if numb and bewildered.
We, dallying over some excellent fruit and the not unpalatable wine,knowing nothing of all this, saw the three reenter together and approachus, the couriers looking not only reluctant, but dazed: up to usDonnotaurus led them.
"Do you know these gentlemen?" he demanded.
"Never set eyes on them in my life," one of them disclaimed. The othernodded.
"I thought so!" Donnotaurus cried. "These men claim to be Bruttius Asperand Sabinus Felix. You say you know Bruttius Asper and Sabinus Felix. Youdo not know these men. Therefore they are passing under false names. Theyare not Imperial couriers, but some of the scoundrels who have been posingas Imperial couriers and using the post-roads for their own private ends.I thank you for assisting me to expose them. It now remains to arrestthem!"
I had thought when the two entered first and saluted us that theirexpression of face was queer; now it was queerer: they looked like some ofthe deer we had seen in the net-pocket at Spinella, frantic to escape andseeing no way out.
One mumbled something about having barely seen Bruttius Asper and SabinusFelix and not being sure that we were not they. But Donnotaurus neitherheard nor heeded.
"Here, Tectosax!" he called to the host, "come help us arrest these men!They are bogus! They are shams! They are not couriers!"
"One man arrest two!" the host demurred.
"I only want your help," Donnotaurus bawled. "Call Arecomus and theostlers. They can make short work of it."
At this point Agathemer found his voice, and he spoke steadily, coolly andfirmly, even with a bit of a drawl.
"Don't do anything you will have to be sorry for," he said. "Better notmake any mistake."
At his utterance the two couriers were manifestly even more uncomfortablethan before. But Donnotaurus only bawled louder to the host.
"I don't arrest travellers," the host protested, "I feed 'em. Arecomusdon't arrest travellers, he horses 'em. Anyhow, there's no magistratehere; talking of arresting is folly.
"And I wish you'd quit your foolishness, Donnotaurus. This is the thirdrow you've started here within six months. You're giving my inn a bad nameand ruining my trade. You're my best customer, yourself, but you are morenuisance than all the rest of my customers put together. I'd rather you'dmove out of the neighborhood or keep away from my inn than go on with suchnonsense. I don't want anybody arrested on my premises or threatened witharrest. And you've nothing to go on in this case, anyhow."
Donnotaurus appeared at a loss, but obstinate and about to insist, whenthe doors opened and there entered a bevy of staff officers, all green andgold and blue and silver, clustered about a huge man in the full regaliaof a general, his crimson plumes nodding above his golden helmet, hiscrimson cloak dangling about his golden cuirass, his gilt kilt-strapsgleaming over his crimson tunic-skirt. There was no mistaking thatincredible expanse of face, seemingly as big as the body of an ordinaryman, those bleary gray eyes under the shaggy eyebrows, their great baggylower lids, the heavy cheeks and the vast sweep of russet beard.
It was Pescennius Niger himself!
As he was later proclaimed Emperor and narrowly missed overcoming hiscompetitors and emerging master of the world, the mere encounter has acertain interest. Its details, I think, even more.
Up to us he strode.
"What's all this?" he demanded in his big, authoritative voice. Agathemerand I stood up and saluted.
I expected Agathemer, who knew the value of speaking first, to anticipateDonnotaurus, but he let Donnotaurus give his version of the affair.
"I'm competent to decide this," said Pescennius, "and I shall."
And he eyed us, asking: "What have you two to say?"
"In the first place," said Agathemer, "I ask you to examine our papers."
He took from the seat of his chair, where he had placed it as he stood up,our despatch bag, opened it, and displayed its contents; the package ofdespatches, our credentials, and the diploma entitling us to change ofhorses, with the endorsement of each change-master from Centumcellaeonwards.
Pescennius examined these meditatively.
"These papers," he said, "are in perfect order. But they do not prove thatyou are the men named in them though they incline me to believe it. Ishould believe it, but these men deny that you are Bruttius Asper andSabinus Felix."
"And why do they deny it?" Agathemer queried triumphantly. "Why, becausethey were caught by this busybody and asked whether they knew BruttiusAsper and Sabinus Felix and they said they did; then haled in here by himand confronted with us and asked whether they knew us and of course saidthey did not, as they did not. And why do they not know us? Because theyare not couriers at all, but men passing themselves off as couriers. Ourpapers are in perfect order, as you say. Ask them for their papers. Theyhaven't any!"
By the faces of the two I saw that Agathemer had guessed right. They, infact, were impostors. They had no despatches, no credentials, no papers atall, except a diploma with entries from Bononia, through Parma, Placentiaand Clastidium to Dertona and so onwards; a diploma so manifestly a clumsyforgery that, at sight of it, I wondered how it had fooled the stupidestchange-master.
Pescennius barely glanced at it. To his apparitors, he said:
"Arrest these three!"
In a trice Donnotaurus and the two impostors were seized.
To us he said:
"Gentlemen, I apologize for having doubted you, even for a moment. And Ithank you for having so cleverly and quietly exposed these preciousgentry. I shall keep an eye on them and on this local meddler; I'llinvestigate them in Marseilles.
"Meantime I must eat. So I'll remain here. You are in haste and you haveeaten. Your horses are ready. I need not d
etain you. I'll see you atMarseilles tomorrow. I congratulate you on your horsemanship. To haveovertaken me, even when I am travelling by carriage, is no mean exploit. Iam pleased to have made your acquaintance."
And he bade us farewell, allowed us to pass out, and seated himself at ourtable.
Andivius Hedulio: Adventures of a Roman Nobleman in the Days of the Empire Page 19