X.
CONVALESCENCE.
The many weeks of hovering between life and death that followed thesedays were a dense blank to Sergius. First, there was his injury, moreserious than he had imagined, and the fever that had followed it,complicated again by the malaria of the marshes through which he hadjourneyed in so vulnerable a plight. Then came other weeks of suchlassitude that he had neither power nor desire to learn of the world towhich he felt himself slowly returning, as did Aeneas from the realmsof Pluto. There were times when he had been vaguely conscious ofwhisperings around his couch upon subjects that should have interestedhim and did not. Was it his fault? or had everything becomecommonplace and of no account?
At last there came a time of convalescence. His haggard facefrightened him when he looked at it in the bronze mirror; but the airof the winter was fresh and keen, bringing health and life to the mind,if not entirely to the body. So, lying one day in the entrance halland gazing out over the Forum below, he turned to Agathocles, who satclose by.
"And now you shall tell me," he began, "of the things that havehappened while I have lain here, helpless as a bag of corn in thegranary, and of even less importance."
"You mistake, my master," replied the physician, quickly. "Surely youmust know that your condition has been a matter of deep anxiety tomany, both within and without your walls."
"Within, perhaps, yes," said Sergius, slowly. "I treat them well, andsuch of them as do not get freedom by my will would doubtless findharder masters in Sabinus and Camerinus. My sisters' husbands arepatricians of the old school. As for without,--am I not a man uselessin times of action?--well-nigh disgraced?--"
Agathocles hastened to interrupt:--
"Ah! my master, you do not know. Could you but see the crowd ofclients who have gathered at your door each morning, waiting for it tocreak upon the pivots, and, later in the day, such of your friends aswere not away with the army--ay," he continued, with a sharp glance atthe invalid, "and a pretty female slave who has come at each nightfalland has questioned the doorkeeper."
The strong desire to hear of two things had come into Sergius' mindwhile the physician was speaking. He must learn about this femaleslave who had inquired so assiduously, and he must hear of the army,the war, the Republic; for these last three were really but one. Aftersomething of an effort, and not without a certain sentiment ofself-approval, he said:--
"Let me hear of friends later, my Agathocles. Tell me now of the war."
There was a troubled expression in the physician's eyes, but heanswered volubly:--
"It progresses famously, in Spain, my master. Oh!--ay--famously.Their fleet has been swept from the seas, and Scipio slays and drivesthem as he wills. Doubtless by now they are all back in Africa--"
"Not of Spain," interrupted Sergius, as the narrator caught his breath."Tell me of Italy, of Hannibal and Fabius. Have the standards opposedeach other?"
"They say Hannibal is in winter quarters at Geronium, and the consulswatch him," began Agathocles, in more subdued tones.
"Tell me of Fabius. Tell me of what has happened--all, do you hear?"cried Sergius, raising himself impatiently on one elbow. "If yourstory seems to lack coherence and truth, I swear to you that I will godown into the Forum at once and learn what I wish."
Thus adjured, the physician answered, but with evident reluctance:--
"Truly, my master, all things have not been as we might wish, and yetthey could easily have run worse. When your dictator let the invadersout of Campania, there was much complaint among the people that he wasprotracting the war for his own advantage; but when he came to Rome forthe sacrifices and left Minucius in command, with orders not to engage,and when the master-of-the-horse, as some say, evading the orders,fought and gained an advantage, then, you may believe me, the city wasin a turmoil; nor were there wanting friends of Minucius and emissariesfrom his camp to sound his praises as a general and decry the dictatorand his policy, not to say his courage and his honesty."
"I warrant," said Sergius, gloomily, "that every pot-house politicianfrom the Etruscan Street was declaiming on how much better _he_ couldcommand than could Quintus Fabius."
"Until at last," went on Agathocles, "Marcus Metilius--"
"The tribune?--a corrupt knave!" broke in Sergius.
"Surely; yes. Well, this Marcus Metilius made a speech--"
"Full of rank demagoguery, I warrant."
"Surely, and saying that it was intolerable for Minucius, who was theonly man who could fight, to be put under guard lest he beat the enemy;intolerable that the territory of the allies should have been given upto ravage, while the dictator protected his own farm with the legionsof the Republic; and, finally, proposing, as a most moderate measure,that Minucius, the victor, should be given equal command over the armywith Fabius the laggard."
"Unprecedented impudence!" murmured Sergius, "and what said thedictator?"
"He did not trouble to go near the Comitia, and even in the Senate theydid not like to hear his praises of Hannibal and his troops, or listenfavourably when he spoke doubtfully concerning the magnitude ofMinucius' victory and claimed that, even were it all true, themaster-of-the-horse should be called to account for hisinsubordination. So, after he had lauded prudence and supported hisown policy, and after Marcus Atilius Regulus was elected consul, thedictator departed for the army, in the night, and left them to do asthey pleased."
"They passed the law?" asked Sergius, bitterly.
"It hung in doubt for some time," went on Agathocles; "for, though manyfavoured, few were disposed to advance such a measure, until CaiusTerentius Varro, who was praetor last year--"
"The butcher's son," commented Sergius. "You know, my Agathocles, howdemagogues and tyrants crushed out the life of your Hellas. We haveyet to see the same ruin fall upon Rome, and from the same cause:first, an ungovernable rabble, stirred up by the ignorant and vicious,and then a king, and then a foreign conqueror. Flaminius lost onearmy, Minucius will doubtless lose another, while Metilius and Varroare well able to lose whatever may remain. Pah! Why did you not letme finish my journey to Acheron? This is no city for men whose fatherswere able to teach them about war and honour. He whose tongue is mostready to lie about the noble and the rich is counted on to wield thesword best against an enemy. Well,--speak on; and what happened next?"
"As you say," continued the physician, "the measure was passed; butwhen Minucius desired that he and the dictator should command onalternate days, Fabius would only consent to a division of the army."
"Gods!" exclaimed Sergius. "Two legions apiece! That must have beenrare sport for Hannibal."
"Truly, yes; but it resulted well, for, to shorten the tale, theCarthaginian trapped Minucius through his rashness, and was about tocut him to pieces, when the dictator, who had foreseen all this, cameup and saved what was left; whereupon the master-of-the-horse marchedto the general's camp, and, saluting him as 'father' and 'saviour,'surrendered his equal command, after having directed his soldiers,also, to greet the others as patrons--"
"That, at least, was well done," said Sergius, nodding; "worthy of aman better born than Minucius. I do him honour for learning fromexperience. Metilius or Varro could not have done it."
"And, now," continued Agathocles, "both the dictator and themaster-of-the-horse have given up their commands, the time of theirappointments expiring, and the army is in winter quarters under theconsuls."
"Servilius and Atilius?"
"Truly."
"And the elections?"
"Are falling due."
"Who sue for the consulship?"
Agathocles hesitated and placed his fingers upon the patient's pulse.
"I have told you enough for the day--"
"Who are candidates?" reiterated Sergius, leaning forward impatiently.
"They say that Varro--" began Agathocles.
But the tribune had sprung to his feet. Then, as he swayed a momentfrom weakness, leaning back against the couch, he raised bo
th hands andcried out:--
"Have they gone mad? The butcher's son!--the bearer of his father'swares, to command against Hannibal! Do you think the Carthaginian abullock to stand still and stupid, while this soldier of the shamblesswings the axe? Gods! They will learn their error--only _we_ must paythe price, together with the rabble that owe it. Gods! Was not thelesson of Flaminius enough for these drinkers of vinegar-water? Thiswill be great news for them on the Megalia."
Then, seeming to gain strength from his excitement, he strode up anddown the atrium, while the physician watched him anxiously but withoutventuring to interfere.
It was the doorkeeper's attendant that broke in upon the scene, pausinga moment in doubt, as his eyes followed his master's rapid strides.Finally, approaching Agathocles, he plucked him by the sleeve andwhispered:--
"The woman desires to know of the health of my lord."
Before the physician could answer, Sergius had caught the words, and,wheeling about, faced the boy.
"What woman and where?" he asked.
"The gray stole; the slave woman who inquires for you. She waits heranswer at the door," said the boy, his tongue loosened by the question.
"Let her come to me," commanded Sergius, and he threw himself down uponthe deeply cushioned seat of a marble chair. Agathocles stood at hiselbow, with an expression of anxiety on his face, and, in a momentmore, the girl entered.
Muffled almost to the eyes, she glided forward, and the voice thataddressed him was soft and musical.
"May the gods favour you, my lord! even as they have favoured me inpermitting a sight of your improved health."
"You have been here often," began Sergius, "and I wished to see you andbid you bear my thanks to her who sent you."
Slowly the stole dropped from the eyes--very pretty eyes, that, joinedwith an equally pretty mouth, took on an expression of hurtastonishment.
"That _sent_ me?" she murmured, half sadly. "Ah, well; doubtless it isa matter of insolence for a poor slave girl to wish and ask concerningthe health of the noble Sergius."
The tribune watched her closely and with mingled feelings. He hadsettled in his mind, from the moment of Agathocles' mention of thefact, that the slave woman who called must be sent by Marcia, and itwas not without a pang of very poignant regret that he relinquished theidea. That he could not place this girl--one of a class so far beneaththe notice of a Roman of rank--was not strange, and yet the face seemedvaguely familiar to him, and--it was certainly little short ofbeautiful. A man flouted, or, still worse, ignored by a mistress atwhose shrine he has worshipped, might well be pardoned a feeling ofsatisfaction that his well-being was a matter of interest to at leastone pretty woman.
Meanwhile the girl stood before him, her arms hanging by her sides, hereyes modestly cast down, and her whole attitude indicative of detectedaudacity and submissive despair. Agathocles had transferred hisattention from his patient to the visitor, and his scrutiny seemed totrouble her.
"So it was yourself alone who desired to learn of my welfare," saidSergius, with a faint smile. "Believe me, my girl, no Roman is toonoble to value the interest of beauty like yours."
There was just the suspicion of a laugh in the downcast eyes, but itsped away as swiftly as it came, and she made haste to answer:--
"Truly, my lord does not measure his own worth. There are many, asmuch above me in beauty as they are in rank; many who cannot venture toshow the concern they doubtless feel. What has a poor slave girl to dowith maidenly modesty--the plaything of any master who chooses to smileupon her for a moment?"
She spoke bitterly, and Sergius, half frowning, half smiling, reachedout his hand. The contrast between this girl's frankly spoken interestand the courted Marcia's trivial indifference came to him morepowerfully. What a fool a man was to waste himself on some haughtymistress who exacted all things and gave nothing! She had taken thehand he held out, and now, suddenly, he drew her to him, and kissed her.
Then he found new occasion to marvel over the strange ways of women.As if awakened from a dream or a part in a comedy, to some instant andfrightful peril, she wrenched herself from him and, wrapping her cloakaround her face, turned and ran like a deer through the hallway and outinto the street.
Sergius was dazed for a moment by the suddenness of it all; then herose.
"Quick, Smyrnus!" he called to the boy who attended on the porter."Follow, and bring me word where she goes."
The delay had been short, and Smyrnus was swift of foot, but when hereached the street it was empty as far as he could see, and a dash toeach corner of the house gave no better results. Inquiries, likewise,were unavailing, and he returned slowly and with shoulders that alreadyseemed to tingle under the expected rods.
Meanwhile, Agathocles had essayed to exert his authority over theinvalid, and was protesting volubly against the latter's imprudence.Sergius was in excellent humour, despite the escape of his conquest.
"Nonsense, my Agathocles," he began, half guiltily at first, butgaining confidence as he pursued his justification. "Do you not see,all this has done me more good than a score of days spent in dullreclining, with only nauseous draughts to mark the hours by? I havelearned that I am a man again, with an interest in the Republic andmyself. Surely such knowledge is worth a little risk. To-morrow, markyou, if the gods favour me, I shall descend into the Forum and see ifnothing is to be effected against this rabble in the matter of theelections. Had she not magnificent eyes, my Agathocles? not those ofthe dull ox, as your Homer puts it, but rather of the startled fawn?"
"They seemed to me more of the fox," said the physician, dryly, "beinggolden in colour and very cunning. I doubt you fathomed her smile,though wherefore she should seek--"
"Sacrilege! Agathocles," cried Sergius, gayly; "but here comes Smyrnus.Well, boy, where is the lair of this fox of our good Agathocles?"
The terrified boy had thrown himself upon his face.
"I hastened with all speed, master," he protested. "At your word Iflew, but she was gone, as if a god had snatched her up, nor was therea passer-by who had seen aught--"
Sergius was frowning ominously; then his face cleared.
"Doubtless that was it, Smyrnus," he said. "Your judicious piety isquicker than your heels in saving your back. If a god took her, heshowed excellent taste, and it would be utter sacrilege to punish youfor failing to learn her whereabouts. Come, Agathocles, be not sogloomy. Do you think it is Aesculapius who has come to your aid? He,at least, is no spruce, young rival. Be conciliatory, or I may,perhaps, venture to try my fortune even against--"
"I am rather of the opinion that some cunning Hermes has tricked Erosand Aesculapius and my Lord Lucius as well," said the physician. Anexpression of grim humour lurked in his face, and Sergius feltstrangely uncomfortable.
"What is a physician if he talk not in the language of oracles," hesaid, querulously. "Well, you may send me to my couch now, if youwill; but, mark you, to-morrow I go to the Forum."
The Lion's Brood Page 11