Volume I Part 26 (2/2)

”Davus, thou wicked dog!” growled a powerful voice, and, twice as tall, and certainly twice as broad as the frightened tormentor, there stood over the fallen man a gigantic Goth, who rained down blows upon him with a thick cudgel. ”Thou miserable coward,” said he, giving him a final kick, ”I will teach thee how to treat a creature which is ten times better than thyself. I verily believe, thou rascal, that thou treatest the beast ill, because he comes from the other side of the mountains! If I catch thee at it again, I will break every bone in thy body. Now get up, and unload--thou shalt carry every swath that is too much into the barn upon thine own back. Forwards!”

With a malicious glance at his punisher the beaten man rose, and, limping, prepared to obey.

The Goth had immediately helped the struggling horse to its feet, and now carefully washed its broken knees with his own evening drink of wine and water.

He had scarcely finished his task, when the clear voice of a boy called urgently from a neighbouring stable:

”Wachis, come here; Wachis!”

”I'm coming, Athalwin, my boy! What's the matter?” And he already stood in the open door of the stable near a handsome boy of about seven years of age, who angrily stroked his long yellow hair from his glowing face, and with great trouble repressed two large tears of rage that _would_ spring into his blue eyes. He held a pretty wooden sword in his right hand, and shook it threateningly at a black-browed slave who stood opposite to him, with his head insolently thrust forward and his fists clenched. ”What is the matter here?” repeated Wachis, crossing the threshold.

”The chesnut has again nothing to drink; and only look! Two gadflies have sucked themselves fast upon his shoulder, where he cannot get at them with his tail, and I cannot reach with my hand; and that bad Cacus there won't do what I tell him; and I am sure he has been scolding at me in Latin, which I don't understand.”

Wachis drew nearer with a threatening look.

”I only said,” said Cacus, slowly receding, ”that I must first eat my millet. The beast may wait. In our country men come before beasts.”

”Indeed, thou dunce!” said Wachis, as he killed the gadflies; ”in our country the horse eats before the rider! Make haste!”

But Cacus was strong and obstinate; he tossed his head and said:

”Here, we are in _our_ country, and _our_ customs must be followed.”

”Oho, thou cursed blockhead! wilt thou obey?” asked Wachis, raising his hand.

”Obey? Not thee! Thou art only a slave like me. And my parents lived in this house when such as thou were stealing cows and sheep on the other side of the mountains.”

Wachis let his cudgel fall and swung his arms to and fro.

”Listen, Cacus, I have another crow to pluck with thee besides; thou knowest wherefore. Now it can all be done with at the same time.”

”Ha, ha!” cried Cacus with a mocking laugh, ”about Liuta, the flaxen-haired wench? Bah! I like her no longer, the barbarian. She dances like a heifer!”

”Now it's all up with thee,” said Wachis quietly, and caught hold of his adversary.

But Cacus twisted himself like an eel out of the grasp of the Goth, pulled a sharp knife from the folds of his woollen frock and threw it at him. As Wachis stooped the knife whistled only a hair's-breadth past his head, and penetrated deeply into the door-post behind him.

”Well, wait, thou murderous worm!” cried the German, and would have thrown himself upon Cacus, but he felt himself clasped from behind.

It was Davus, who had watched for this moment of revenge.

But now Wachis became exceedingly wroth.

He shook the man off, held him by the nape of the neck with his left hand, got hold of Cacus with his right, and, with the strength of a bear, knocked the heads of his adversaries together, accompanying every knock with an interjection, ”There, my boys--that for the knife--and that for the back-spring--and that for the heifer!” And who knows how long this strange litany would have continued, if he had not been interrupted by a loud call.

”Wachis! Cacus! let loose, I tell you,” cried the strong fall voice of a woman; and a stately matron, clad in a blue Gothic garment, appeared at the door.

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