Part 3 (2/2)
”I always supposed you protected ave the story away-grieved, nant Scylax offered hi both hands on his shoulders froed him to sit down
”Calm!” Norbanus whispered, ”Calm! Your friends are your friends What has happened?”
Pertinax read the letter and passed it to Cornificia, then paced the floor with hands behind him
”Is that fellow to be trusted?” he asked with a jerk of his head toward Scylax He seemed nearly as upset as sextus was
sextus nodded, not trusting hi that if he did he would insult a uiltless in spite of appearances
”Commodus commanded me to visit Antioch, as he said, for a rest,” said Pertinax ”The public excuse was, that I should look into the possibility of holding the Oly He has been flatteringly friendly of late Those whoh their names were on his proscription list and I had not better excuse than that they had done no wrong! The day before I left I brought a list to him of na theain and strode toward the here he stood like a statue fralooers, weaving together behind hi her contralto voice, read the letter aloud:
”To Nimius Secundus sextus, son of Galienus Maxi
”May the Gods give solace and preserve you Notwithstanding all your noble father's piety-his respect for elders and superiors-he was accused of treason and of blasphemy toward the emperor, by whose orders he was seized yesterday and beheaded the same day The estates have already been seized It is said they will be sold to Asinus Sejanus, who is probably the source of the accusation against your father
”I and three other freedmen made our escape and will attempt to reach Tarentum, where ill await instructions from you titus, the son of the freedman Paulinus, will convey this letter to Brundisium and thence by boat to Dyrrachiue of a Jehom he says he can trust
”It is a certainty that orders will go forth to seize yourself, since the estates in Antioch are known to be of great value Therefore, we your true friends and devoted servants, urge you toStay not to make provision for yourself, but travel without encumbrances Hide! Hasten!
”We commend this letter to you as a sure proof that we ourselves are to be trusted, since, if it should fall into the hands of an informer by the way, our lives undoubtedly would pay the forfeit We have not h for the expenses of a journey to a foreign land The place where ill hide near Tarentum is known to you In deep anxiety, and not without such sacrifices to the Gods and to the manes of your noble ancestors as ” -RUFUS GLABRIO ”Freedman of the illustrious Galienus Maximus”
Pertinax turned fro,” he said, ”that who keepeth his ue, keepeth his soul from trouble Often I warned Maximus that he was too free with his speech He counted too much on my protection Now it remains to be seen whether Commodus has not proscribed ether, Scylax behind theing patience-discretion- deliberate thought, whereas sextus could hardly think at all for anger that reddened his eyes
”What can I do for you? What can I do?” wondered Pertinax
Then Cornificia was on her feet
”There is nothing-nothing you can do!” she insisted She avoided Galen's eyes; the old philosopher atching her as if she were the subject of some new experiment ”Let Commodus learn as much as that sextus was here in this pavilion and-”
sextus interrupted, very proudly:
”I will not endanger er? This toy that I wear is too short and not sharp You et me, Pertinax My slaves will bury me But play you the man and save Roer than all of theht They will knoas here They will probably torture his slaves and learn about that letter that has reached hi helped him to escape; whereas-”
”What?” Galen asked him as he hesitated
”If he dies by his own hand, he will not only save all his slaves from the torture but remove the suspicion from us and ill still be free to mature our-”
”Cowardice!” Norbanus finished the sentence for him
”Aye, some of us would hardly feel like noble Rorimly ”Possibly I can protect you, sextus Let us think of so an excuse for ht even take you to Rohed, and Cornificia drew in her breath, bit her lip