"That was my brother, Marcus. He was detailed to report on your local feud. Whether he knew of you before that, whether his queer spite against you originated then or earlier, I don"t know. He took dislikes and likes without any traceable reasons."
Similarly, when I told of seeing Marcus Crispinillus peer through the postern door of Nemestronia"s water-garden he interjected some remarks.
He uttered admiring e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns as I told of wrestling with the leopard on the terrace at Nemestronia"s and of how Agathemer and I crawled through the drain at Villa Andivia, also at my tale of my branding and scourging and of the loyalty of Chryseros Philargyrus.
But, when I came to our discovery of the hut in the mountains, he stirred uneasily in the rustling straw and muttered in his throat. As I described our winter at the hut he became more and more excited, uttering e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns, half suppressed at first, as if not to interrupt my narrative, later louder and louder.
When I told of our killing the five ruffians he sprang up.
"Say no more!" he cried. "Come to my arms. Let me embrace you! Let me clasp you close! You are he! You are my benefactor! The man who tells that story in such detail cannot have heard it from another, he must have lived it! To think that you are Felix the Horse-Master and also Andivius Hedulio and that you saved my Nona! My grat.i.tude cannot be expressed, any more than your service to me can be requited. But I shall do all I can. The gems you took were but a trifle and you were welcome to them. In fact, I never missed them. In any case they were but an installment on what you deserved and now deserve. It is not yet too late for me to save you. I can cause your speedy release and probably your complete rehabilitation. They have been keeping me here in the hope of extorting from me information which would enable them to ferret out my confederates in the towns and cities. They have wheedled and threatened, but have hesitated to torture me, since no one doubts that I was, by origin, a freeman. I have held out and should have held out, even if tortured. Now I"ll make a voluntary confession, enough to delight the magistrates. Chiefly I"ll emphasize your complete innocence and my brother"s malignity. I"ll have to save some others along with you and I shall. But, to a certainty, I"ll save you!
"It seems to me there is a poplar-pole somewhere in this dungeon."
He felt about and presently I heard a dull thumping, on the trap-door, in a sort of rhythm, like the foot-beating of spectators at Oscan dances.
After no long interval the trapdoor was lifted; Crispinillus called up:
"Tell them I have changed my mind. I"ll confess. I"ll make a full confession. I"ll tell the whole story!"
The trap-door was replaced and we were again in complete darkness.
He settled himself beside me in the straw.
"No need to husband our provisions now," he said. "Neither of us will be left long in this hole. Let"s comfort ourselves with food and wine."
I felt inclined the same way and we munched and pa.s.sed the kidskin back and forth.
"Tell me," I said, "how it was that your thumping brought such a quick response."
"I signalled in the code of knocking known to all jailers," he said.
I expressed my amazement and incredulity.
"Don"t you fool yourself," he said. "There is a certain sort of mutual understanding between executioners and jailers on the one hand and criminals on the other. There must be a give and take in all trades, even between man-hunters and hunted men. They were on the watch for any signal I might give, if it really meant anything. They were pleased to hear.
You"ll see the results promptly."
In fact, after no long interval, the trap-door was lifted again and a rope lowered, up which Crispinillus was bidden to climb.
He embraced me time after time, saying that we should never set eyes on each other again and that, confession or no confession, he knew his doom was not far off; but he wanted me, as long as I lived, to remember the grat.i.tude of Nona"s husband, his thankfulness for my treatment of his family and his efforts to requite the service.
"Keep up a good heart, lad," he said. "You won"t be long here alone in the dark, and you"ll soon be as coddled and pampered as a man can be. Long life to you and good luck and may you be soon married and raise a fine family. Peace of mind and prosperity to you and yours and a green old age to you!"
And he climbed the rope, hand over hand, like the best sailor on Libo"s yacht.
CHAPTER XL
SEVERUS
Not many hours later, I, sleeping soundly in the straw, was wakened by the raising of the trap-door. Again a rope was let down. This time two of the Executioner"s helpers slid down the dangling rope. They addressed me most deferentially and asked permission to prepare me to be hauled up, thereupon adjusting the ropes about me.
In the upper chamber of the prison I was rubbed down and clothed in the best sort of tunic, shod with the ceremonial boots of a n.o.bleman and wrapped in a n.o.bleman"s outer garments. Then I was led off to the nearest point to which a litter may approach the Mamertine Prison. The brilliant sunrays blinded me and the sight of Rome in the glory of a mellow July afternoon brought the tears to my eyes and made me gulp and swallow. But the tears did not blind me too much to recognize Imperial liveries on the litter-bearers and runners and intendant. I was obsequiously invited to enter the litter, the panels were slid, the curtains drawn, and the bearers set off. They carried me to the Palace!
There I was received by the new Chamberlain in person, to be sure with four armed guardsmen accompanying him, but himself as deferential as possible. By him I was conducted to a luxurious apartment, consisting of a large anteroom, a private library, a private _triclinium_, a private bathroom, and two bedrooms, all furnished with the most lavish abundance and in perfect taste.
I found a small regiment of servants to minister to my wants: a valet, a ma.s.seur, a cook, waiters, errand-pages, a reader and yet others. I could have anything I asked for in that apartment, but a guard at its outer door saw to it that I remained in it.
There I was bathed, ma.s.saged, obsequiously asked what dainties and wines I preferred, supplied with all I suggested and clothed in garments to my liking; huge heaps of togas, mantles, wraps, tunics and shoes being brought in for me to choose from. There I spent some comfortable days, sleeping much, having myself read to, mostly from the private letters of the Emperors, and from the Anticatones of the Divine Julius; and, from the balcony of the ante-room enjoying the splendid view southwestwards, over the Circus Maximus, the lower reaches of the Tiber and the Campagna, for my apartment was on that side of the Palace and high up.
When I asked if I might despatch letters to my friends I was told that the Emperor had given orders that I was to communicate with no one and no one with me. I worried over Vedia"s anxiety and almost as much over the probable disquiet of Agathemer, Tanno and even of Galen. But I was helpless and endeavored to be calm. I was certainly comfortable and hopeful, though impatient.
At last, after six days of this luxurious imprisonment, on the day before the Ides of July, sometime before noon, my apartment was entered by Juvenalis himself in the full regalia of Prefect of the Palace. He greeted me deferentially and was most respectful. He informed me that the Emperor desired an interview with me and through him conveyed to me his regrets that it had had to be postponed so long and that I had been so long kept in confinement and seclusion. He had now come to conduct me to the Emperor, who was at last free to spend with me an hour or more. When my valet had made me comfortable and had prepared me for my private audience, Juvenalis escorted me to the upper private audience-hall, a chamber s.p.a.cious and magnificent, though somewhat smaller than the lower private audience-hall and far smaller than the great hall for public audiences or the vast throne-room.
I followed Juvenalis along the corridors, elated by my n.o.bleman"s attire, but nervous at the prospect of coming face to face with the master of Rome and Italy, with the prospective (as he turned out to be in fact) master of the world.
I was ushered in and Juvenalis withdrew, shutting the door and leaving me alone with the great man. He rose from his chair, for it could not be called a throne, took a step or two towards me and greeted me affably, as one n.o.bleman another. He bade me be seated, did not sit down himself until I had taken the chair he indicated; then he settled himself deliberately.
We eyed each other, in silence. I cannot conjecture what he thought of me, but I can never forget the impression made on me by him.
He wore the Imperial robes consciously. I had often noted how Commodus wore his without thought, as any fisherman wears his rags. Severus was aware of his regalia, and especially of the sky-blue shoes with the Imperial Eagles embroidered on them in gold thread. He looked a man in the best of health, completely fit for a frontier command, for open campaigning, full of surplus energy, hard-muscled, spare and enduring.
Also he looked as competent, discerning, clear-headed and ruthless as a man could be. Most of all I diagnosed him as economical of himself, of his men and of his possessions, especially of cash; as swayed by self-interest alone, as flinty-hearted; yet as capable of kindliness when it did not interfere with his plans and was not too expensive.
I waited in silence for him to speak. He said:
"I am a very busy man, even far too busy. Commodus left the treasury empty and every department of the government inefficient. Pertinax refilled the treasury, but his attempts at reorganization merely disorganized everything and prepared for the general confusion which came about under Julia.n.u.s. With insufficient funds I must fill the Treasury, reorganize the whole governmental machinery, get it to working dependably and smoothly, and at the same time prepare for a civil war which I hope to win, but of which I can foretell the outcome no better than could the Divine Julius be sure of the outcome of his when he crossed the Rubicon. Amid all these cares and occupations I must keep fit and must do all I can to win the confidence and respect of all cla.s.ses by rectifying, as far as I may, the consequences of the inattention of my predecessors and of the knavery and venality of their subordinates. And I must hurry off to deal with Pescennius Niger, who is no mean antagonist. Altogether I have no time for trifles.
"But I do not reckon your case as a trifle, though the safety of the Republic by no means hinges on it. And I am more interested in you than in any one individual outside of my family and connections. I have never heard of a man brought so near death, so ruined, but for the singular favor of the G.o.ds so utterly and so hopelessly ruined, subjected to such dangers and miseries, so baselessly, by such malevolent misrepresentations and fabrications. You deserve to be recompensed. You shall be. And besides the merits of your case I am curious about you.
"You must be curious yourself.
"When I foresaw that I was likely to be acclaimed Emperor by my soldiers and welcomed by the Senate as Prince of the Republic, I set on foot various measures certain to benefit the Commonwealth and the Empire.
Especially I made an effort to abolish or at least curb the banditry, brigandage and outlawry which corrupts the entire rural population of Italy and is a national disgrace. I was successful in so far as that my emissaries broke up most of the bands of outlaws and captured many of them, particularly the most famous of all, known as the King of the Highwaymen.
"I had made sure to have secret agents watching all my emissaries, on whatever errand I had sent them. These secret agents reported that powerful influences were at work to bring about the escape of this arch- criminal. I set reliable men to find out what those influences were. Their investigations led straight to Marcus Galvius Crispinillus, a life-long member of the Imperial secret service, universally known as a professional informer, yet considered second to no man in the secret service as to usefulness and reliability, the only man among the spies of Commodus who had been trusted and retained by Pertinax and Julia.n.u.s, the very man whom my relations in Rome, who had kept me posted as to conditions here, had represented as most likely to be dependable and serviceable. I ordered him apprehended but he and his despicable sister, Galvia Crispinilla, escaped arrest by taking some of her poison. Their papers were seized, but so huge was the ma.s.s of them and so great their confusion that they could not be put in order and their secrets utilized at once. So sluggishly did their unravelling proceed that, although it was manifest at once that the precious pair had been agents in Rome for the King of the Highwaymen, had marketed for him his booty, had kept up an almost daily correspondence with him, had warned him of all facts and rumors likely to affect him, had maintained a highly organized and cleverly concealed system of secret agents and road-messengers for his benefit and theirs; yet, until his voluntary confession, neither I nor anyone else concerned had the slightest inkling that the King of the Highwaymen was named Caius Galvius Crispinillus and was a full brother to the procuress and poisoner and the professional spy, who had committed suicide to escape retribution for their villainies. Until his confession was brought to my attention I had equally no inkling that all relevant aspersions upon you had originated with or been transmitted by Marcus Galvius Crispinillus.
"The case against you, on the basis of the papers filed at Secret Service Headquarters, was most d.a.m.natory. You were represented to have been the man who had suggested to Egnatius Capito the formation of his conspiracy against Commodus; and to have planned for him the inclusion in it of all undetected survivors of the members of Lucilla"s abortive conspiracy of the year before; to have offered yourself as the most likely man to succeed in a.s.sa.s.sinating Commodus, as he held you in high regard for some exploit in some roadside affray in Sabinum; to have pretended illness as a cloak for your machinations. Then it was represented, circ.u.mstantially, that, after the detection and foiling of Capito"s conspiracy, you had taken ship for Spain, made your way to the camp of the rebel, Maternus, won his confidence, suggested to him the idea of a secret march on Rome, of the a.s.sa.s.sination of Commodus during the Festival of Cybele, planned for him the details of that secret march, managed it for him and come all the way from Spain to Rome with him.
"When his attempt failed, you, alone among his henchmen, escaped. You then, according to the reports, went straight to Britain, visited every important camp, infused into the garrisons the spirit of discontent, engineered their mutiny, suggested to them the sending of a dangerously large deputation to Rome, led that deputation and were its controlling spirit all the way to Rome, vanishing successfully when the mutineers were induced by Oleander to return to Britain and their a.s.sociates, by his device, were ma.s.sacred or consigned to _ergastula_.
"With such reports in my hands, with additions declaring that while neither your presence nor your influence could be proved, you were probably the guiding spirit in the a.s.sa.s.sination of Pertinax, it is no wonder that I, crediting these apparently sincere and trustworthy statements, considered you the most dangerous among all the survivors of conspiracies against my predecessors, which conspirators, on principle, I meant to exterminate as an obvious measure of mere sensible precaution.
"No one seems to have recognized you as Andivius Hedulio while you were in the service of Pompeia.n.u.s Falco under the name of Phorbas, except only Galen, who has explained and justified to me his reasons for protecting you, of which I entirely approve. He did well. As Phorbas I heard of you first, when it was represented to me that you had murdered your late master and been cleared by that indulgent humanitarian, Lollius Corbulo; that the case was a most flagrant miscarriage of justice and that such slackness would breed a crop of such murders unless temptation was counteracted by severity. I then directed Ca.s.sius Ravilla.n.u.s to deal with you, for I trusted him.
"When, in the arena of the Colosseum, I saw the savage, ravening beasts not only spare you but fawn on you, I felt sure that you had been falsely convicted, that you were innocent and that the G.o.ds had intervened to save you. Later, when I heard the cries of "Festus" and they were explained to me, I was doubly incensed against you. That no beast would touch you, even when bound and your face covered, convinced me of your complete innocence.
"Thereupon, after I had ordered you released, I had turned my attention again to the spectacle of the games in the arena, promising myself an interview with you later, for I was intensely curious about you. But, that very day, before dark, Flavius Clemens craved a brief private audience with me and informed me that he had recognized you as Andivius Hedulio and that you had confessed your ident.i.ty. I ordered you at once into the Tullianum, pending my decision as to how to wring from you a complete disclosure of your villainies and accomplices before putting you to death.