第25章

’Ay！soyouwouldhavepreciseanswerstothosequestions？——therearevariouswaysofsatisfyingyou。ThereistheLithomanteia，orSpeaking—stone，whichanswersyourprayerwithaninfant’svoice；but，then，wehavenotthatpreciousstonewithus——costlyisitandrare。ThenthereistheGastromanteia，wherebythedemoncastspaleanddeadlyimagesuponthewater，propheticofthefuture。Butthisartrequiresalsoglassesofapeculiarfashion，tocontaintheconsecratedliquid，whichwehavenot。I

think，therefore，thatthesimplestmethodofsatisfyingyourdesirewouldbebytheMagicofAir。’

’Itrust，’saidSosia，tremulously，’thatthereisnothingveryfrightfulintheoperation？Ihavenoloveforapparitions。’

’Fearnot；thouwiltseenothing；thouwiltonlyhearbythebubblingofwaterwhetherornotthysuitprospers。First，then，besure，fromtherisingoftheeveningstar，thatthouleavestthegarden—gatesomewhatopen，sothatthedemonmayfeelhimselfinvitedtoentertherein；andplacefruitsandwaternearthegateasasignofhospitality；then，threehoursaftertwilight，comeherewithabowlofthecoldestandpurestwater，andthoushaltlearnall，accordingtotheThessalianloremymothertaughtme。

Butforgetnotthegarden—gate——allrestsuponthat：itmustbeopenwhenyoucome，andforthreehourspreviously。’

’Trustme，’repliedtheunsuspectingSosia；’Iknowwhatagentleman’sfeelingsarewhenadoorisshutinhisface，asthecookshop’shathbeeninminemanyaday；andIknow，also，thatapersonofrespectability，asademonofcourseis，cannotbutbepleased，ontheotherhand，withanylittlemarkofcourteoushospitality。Meanwhile，prettyone，hereisthymorning’smeal。’

’Butwhatofthetrial？’

’Oh，thelawyersarestillatit——talk，talk——itwilllastoverallto—morrow。’

’To—morrow？Youaresureofthat？’

’SoIhear。’

’AndIone？’

’ByBacchus！shemustbetolerablywell，forshewasstrongenoughtomakemymasterstampandbitehislipthismorning。Isawhimquitherapartmentwithabrowlikeathunderstorm。’

’Lodgesshenearthis？’

’No——intheupperapartments。ButImustnotstaypratingherelonger。

Vale！’

ChapterXII

AWASPVENTURESINTOTHESPIDER’SWEB。

THEsecondnightofthetrialhadsetin；anditwasnearlythetimeinwhichSosiawastobravethedreadUnknown，whenthereentered，atthatverygarden—gatewhichtheslavehadleftajar——not，indeed，oneofthemysteriousspiritsofearthorair，buttheheavyandmosthumanformofCalenus，thepriestofIsis。Hescarcelynotedthehumbleofferingsofindifferentfruit，andstillmoreindifferentwine，whichthepiousSosiahaddeemedgoodenoughfortheinvisiblestrangertheywereintendedtoallure。’Sometribute，’thoughthe，’tothegardengod。Bymyfather’shead！ifhisdeityshipwereneverbetterserved，hewoulddowelltogiveupthegodlyprofession。Ah！wereitnotforuspriests，thegodswouldhaveasadtimeofit。AndnowforArbaces——Iamtreadingaquicksand，butitoughttocoveramine。IhavetheEgyptian’slifeinmypower——whatwillhevalueitat？’

Ashethussoliloquised，hecrossedthroughtheopencourtintotheperistyle，whereafewlampshereandtherebrokeupontheempireofthestarlitnight；andissuingfromoneofthechambersthatborderedthecolonnade，suddenlyencounteredArbaces。

’Ho！Calenus——seekestthoume？’saidtheEgyptian；andtherewasalittleembarrassmentinhisvoice。

’Yes，wiseArbaces——Itrustmyvisitisnotunseasonable？’

’Nay——itwasbutthisinstantthatmyfreedmanCalliassneezedthriceatmyrighthand；Iknew，therefore，somegoodfortunewasinstoreforme——and，lo！thegodshavesentmeCalenus。’

’Shallwewithintoyourchamber，Arbaces？’

’Asyouwill；butthenightisclearandbalmy——Ihavesomeremainsoflanguoryetlingeringonmefrommyrecentillness——theairrefreshesme——letuswalkinthegarden——weareequallyalonethere。’

’Withallmyheart，’answeredthepriest；andthetwofriendspassedslowlytooneofthemanyterraceswhich，borderedbymarblevasesandsleepingflowers，intersectedthegarden。

’Itisalovelynight，’saidArbaces——’blueandbeautifulasthatonwhich，twentyyearsago，theshoresofItalyfirstbrokeuponmyview。MyCalenus，agecreepsuponus——letus，atleast，feelthatwehavelived。’

’Thou，atleast，maystarrogatethatboast，’saidCalenus，beatingabout，asitwere，foranopportunitytocommunicatethesecretwhichweigheduponhim，andfeelinghisusualaweofArbacesstillmoreimpressivelythatnight，fromthequietandfriendlytoneofdignifiedcondescensionwhichtheEgyptianassumed——’Thou，atleast，maystarrogatethatboast。Thouhasthadcountlesswealth——aframeonwhoseclose—wovenfibresdiseasecanfindnospacetoenter——prosperouslove——inexhaustiblepleasure——and，evenatthishour，triumphantrevenge。’

’ThoualludesttotheAthenian。Ay，to—morrow’ssunthefiatofhisdeathwillgoforth。Thesenatedoesnotrelent。Butthoumistakest：hisdeathgivesmenoothergratificationthanthatitreleasesmefromarivalintheaffectionsofIone。Ientertainnoothersentimentofanimosityagainstthatunfortunatehomicide。’

’Homicide！’repeatedCalenus，slowlyandmeaningly；and，haltingashespoke，hefixedhiseyesuponArbaces。Thestarsshonepaleandsteadilyontheproudfaceoftheirprophet，buttheybetrayedtherenochange：theeyesofCalenusfelldisappointedandabashed。Hecontinuedrapidly——’Homicide！

itiswelltochargehimwiththatcrime；butthou，ofallmen，knowestthatheisinnocent。’

’Explainthyself，’saidArbaces，coldly；forhehadpreparedhimselfforthehinthissecretfearshadforetold。

’Arbaces，’answeredCalenus，sinkinghisvoiceintoawhisper，’Iwasinthesacredgrove，shelteredbythechapelandthesurroundingfoliage。I

overheard——Imarkedthewhole。IsawthyweaponpiercetheheartofApaecides。Iblamenotthedeed——itdestroyedafoeandanapostate。’

’Thousawestthewhole！’saidArbaces，dryly；’soIimagined——thouwertalone’Alone！’returnedCalenus，surprisedattheEgyptian’scalmness。

’Andwhereforewertthouhidbehindthechapelatthathour？’

’BecauseIhadlearnedtheconversionofApaecidestotheChristianfaith——becauseIknewthatonthatspothewastomeetthefierceOlinthus——becausetheyweretomeettheretodiscussplansforunveilingthesacredmysteriesofourgoddesstothepeople——andIwastheretodetect，inordertodefeatthem。’

’Hastthoutoldlivingearwhatthoudidstwitness？’

’No，mymaster：thesecretislockedinthyservant’sbreast。’

’What！eventhykinsmanBurboguessesitnot！Come，thetruth！’

’Bythegods……’

’Hush！weknoweachother——whatarethegodstous？’

’Bythefearofthyvengeance，then——no！’

’Andwhyhastthouhithertoconcealedfrommethissecret？WhyhastthouwaitedtilltheeveoftheAthenian’scondemnationbeforethouhastventuredtotellmethatArbacesisamurderer？Andhavingtarriedsolong，whyrevealestthounowthatknowledge？’

’Because——because……’stammeredCalenus，coloringandinconfusion。

’Because，’interruptedArbaces，withagentlesmile，andtappingthepriestontheshoulderwithakindlyandfamiliargesture——’because，myCalenus（seenow，Iwillreadthyheart，andexplainitsmotives）——becausethoudidstwishthoroughlytocommitandentanglemeinthetrial，sothatI

mighthavenoloopholeofescape；thatImightstandfirmlypledgedtoperjuryandtomalice，aswellastohomicide；thathavingmyselfwhettedtheappetiteofthepopulacetoblood，nowealth，nopower，couldpreventmybecomingtheirvictim：andthoutellestmethysecretnow，erethetrialbeoverandtheinnocentcondemned，toshowwhatadesperatewebofvillainythywordto—morrowcoulddestroy；toenhanceinthis，theninthhour，thepriceofthyforbearance；toshowthatmyownarts，inarousingthepopularwrath，would，atthywitness，recoiluponmyself；andthatifnotforGlaucus，formewouldgapethejawsofthelion！Isitnotso？’

’Arbaces，repliedCalenus，losingallthevulgaraudacityofhisnaturalcharacter，’verilythouartaMagician；thoureadesttheheartasitwereascroll。’

’Itismyvocation，’answeredtheEgyptian，laughinggently。’Well，then，forbear；andwhenallisover，Iwillmaketheerich。’

’Par