Part 14 (2/2)
”Well, she's lost Cyprus,” he said ”And she never even went to visit it You and I must do that when the war is over Venus was born on the seafoa for us to be together there” He gave that seehthearted smile that did not extend to his eyes
When the as overhow certain he was of victory!
That night, before retiring, he stood a long ti at the harbor and its configuration His lined hands gripped the railings, and I could see thein his arers
”It will not be easy,” he conceded ”It is a long way, and the width will not allow very many men on it at any one ti torches, and the sun was sinking, turning ould be toht the sun, tomorrow the blood of et used to it?” I wondered ”How can you accustom yourself to death in advance?”
”Death,” he finally said ”Perhaps I aarden of poisonous plants that he enjoyed cultivating Perhaps I surround myself with death in order to accustom myself to it”
”And does it?”
”I think so,” he said ”I can honestly say death holds no terror for me, only sadness--sadness at what I must leave behind” He turned and looked directly in ht I was riveted by the intense expression on his face ”I would hate to leave you so soon We have so ether It is just the beginning for us When I set out for Gaul, I was forty-two It was a neorld, an infinite green expanse-- forests,for me What happened to h for any man But noant more, not less It built fires, it did not quench the blue and dim now ”Down there, tomorrow--it seems unthinkable that a short little piece of polished metal could put out ainst him ”Don't you Romans believe there are three immortal sisters who control your span of days? One who spins your thread of life, one who measures it, and one who cuts it? Your life is not measured yet”
”Such is the skill of the sisters that one does not feel the thread being drawn out, or perceive the scissors being opened” Then his tone of voice changed ”This sort of talk is bad luck! Come!” Abruptly he quit the rooftop and went inside
Such was the oddness of the Alexandrian War that I was able to stationview of the action the next day I did not want to watch it, and yet I had to, for I needed to knohat happened, and not fro, before the sun's rays had even reached beyond the tops of the temples, and when the streets were still dark, Caesar and histhe enemy by surprise The streets were quickly theirs, and by the ti fully on the waterfront, I could see fierce fighting by the docks The Romans were easy to spot because of their helmets and their distinctive military attire, in contrast to the forces of Achillas in their varying, pieced-together costueneral's cloak, and although I wished I could look elsewhere, I could not for a second take my eyes frouarded and dangerous areas, putting heart into them by his reckless bravery He did not spare hi But then the superior nuan to tell, and suddenly the Romans seemed to be sed up I felt a horrible cold fear as Caesar disappeared from view under a swirl of swords and shi+elds The tu lobbed and sainst the docks and houses, and the screa men, rose, like the cry of a monster, all the way up toacross the dock; someone had thrown a torch Others followed, and suddenly one of the warshi+ps was on fire The fla and quickly spread to the deck
One of asped No!
The flames spread so fast it was obvious that tar and pitch on board had caught fire Men poured from the shi+p and dived into the water Then the shi+p next to that one caught fire Screahting on the docks continued as furiously as ever
My shi+ps were afla destroyed! I watched in horror as the entire fleet caught fire, and my pride and wealth of sea power vanished But then--the wind carried sparks fro shi+ps and set fire to warehouses on the docks Well I kneas in the warehouses--grain, oil, but most precious of all, manuscripts for the Library An entire warehouse of an to screa
The fires distracted the Alexandrians, which gave Caesar and his men their opportunity to hthouse, where I soon sawin the midst of hand-to-hand co, inning, until after what see Roman heloing to secure the length of the causeway The men spread out, and now--thanks be to you, Isis, and to all the Gods who held him in their care--I saw the flash of Caesar's purple cloak He was out in front, leading the men back across the causeway and toward the waterfront
Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, an ene hulks of my shi+ps in the western harbor, andthe Romans in the forefront off fro them in one section of the causeway It was Caesar they were after; they meant to hem him in and destroy him The newly landed soldiers advanced on him, while the ones from the shore closed in on the other side
The Romans decided to retreat to their shi+ps, but the shi+ps had pulled in their gangplanks and cast anchors to prevent the boarded by the ene to the shi+ps; I saw Caesar plunge in and make for the nearest shi+p, but it was so overladen it was near capsizing, so he was forced to swi a hail of arrows and ress was slowed by the fact that he i up a sheaf of papers-- what could be so ieneral's cloak behind hith I saw him throw off the cloak and swim free of it to the shi+p The cloak floated back toward the causehere it was retrieved by the enemy with jeers and jubilation
He was safe He was safe The sweetness of realizing that he would return froratitude
He sat in our private room, hunched over his charts His hair wasfrom exhaustion and the cold water His ars were bruised, and he kept shaking his head
”Four hundred”Four hundred!”
”But you won,” I said ”You won And you did everything you set out to do You captured the island and the Lighthouse”
”And burnt a fleet!” He sounded bitter ”Forgiveto capture it, and that would have given them a navy, which they do not now have”
”So it was you who threw that brand!” I said ”It was no accident!”
”No, of course not,” he said ”It was e they ain he shook his head ”I lost four hundred ot that”
”At least it was not you you they got,” I said ”And why did you persist in trying to protect those papers? What was so iot,” I said ”And why did you persist in trying to protect those papers? What was so i your life for?”
”Military plans,” he said ”Ciphers Codes Those ained by them” He withdrew them from inside his sodden leather jerkin and threw theh of relief ”There”
”Manuscripts were lost that were on the docks, waiting to be transferred to the Library,” I said
”I a of the warehouses was a true accident”
”Yes,” I said ”An accident of war I can see that war, once launched, is not very easily controlled It goes wherever it pleases, like a reat Caesar cannot keep it leashed!”
”I a off the last of his soaked, tattered clothing and lying down on the bed
”You are safe,” I said ”That is all that ultimately matters”
And as I watched him slide into sleep, I knew that was true forcoain?
The Roman civil wars that had spread to us now see for the e: Achillas did not outlive Pothinus by many days, because Arsinoe killed him and turned the army over to Ganyainst Pompey had now found their way home into their masters' entrails
Jubilant with power, Ganymedes launched a direct attack on the palace Caesar and I were dining in the private apart ht onto our balcony, followed by a rain of arroith es attached
Caesar pulled one out of the wooden sun canopy and held it up for s! it read it read
”How original,” I said
”Here's another,” said Caesar, bending down to pick one up
A gold piece for every soldier who coold piece for every soldier who coerous
”They have no money to pay,” I said scornfully
”The coo below and rally theenuity of Ganymedes was manifested directly in our water supply Unable to stors in the city and the island, he resolved to drive us out by thirst
The cooks had discovered that the water in the conduits had turned salty and brackish, and the soldiers stationed in town reported that all the water in the local households had the saht