Part 12 (2/2)
There were plenty of whispered stories current as to his true identity Some said he was an impoverished landholder who in Northern Italy But it was much more commonly believed he was the emperor's twin brother, spirited away at birth by midwives, and the stories told to account for that were as remarkably unlikely as the tale itself; as for instance, that a soothsayer had prophesied how Commodus should one day mount the throne and that he and his twin brother would wreck Roht with the father, Marcus Aurelius, although the iven credence to it
Whatever the truth of his origin, Pavonius Nasor never ran the risk of telling it He kept his sinecure byalmost bovine speechlessness When he and Commodus met face to face he never seehed at Commodus' obscenely vivid jibes at his expense, nor once complained of his anomalous position He appeared to be a h life as easily ashabits, but possessed of ihtest trouble, to adopt the very gait and gesture of the e the tunnel he received the guards' salute with nition to deceive an onlooker not in the secret (It was Pavonius Nasor's half-indulgent, rather lazy suards that Coood humored man)
There was a box at one end of the private arena, over the gate where the horses entered, so placed as to avoid the sun's direct rays It was reached by a short stairway from an anteroom that opened on the tunnel There was no other means of access to the box It's wooden sidewalls, finished to reses, projected over the arena so that it ell screened and in shadow There was none, observing from beloho could have sworn it had not been the eladiator showing off his skill
The asseladiators, perfectly aware of Paulus' true identity, went through the farce of sole as the e's shadoeen golden eagle's wings, and who returned the salute with a wave of the arnized
Co fro roo the sweat- beads to his skin; then, snatching at the nearest gladiator, wrestled with him until the breathless victim cried for mercy; dropped him then, as crushed as if a python had left a job half-finished, and shouted for the ashen sword-sticks In a minute, with a leather buckler on his left ar and so crowding them on one another's toes that only two could seriously answer the terrific flailing of his own ash stick He named them, named his blow, and laid the on the sand, until the last one by a quick feint landed on hireat crimson welt across his shoulders
”Well done!” Commodus exclaimed and smote him on the skull so fiercely that he broke the sword-stick ”You have killed him,” said a senator as twohim out
”Possibly,” said Commodus ”That blow I landed on him would have killed a horse But he is fortunate He dies proud-prouder than you ever will, Varronius! He got past Paulus' guard! Would you like to attempt it? Woman! How I loathe you soft, effeminate, sleek senators! You fear death and you fear life equally! Where is Narcissus? Where are those aot hiet, then at half-a-dozen targets, hitting all six marks exactly in the middle as he spun himself on one heel
”I a the back of the senator whoo If he was conscious of applause fron of it What pleased him was his own ability, not their praises
”Lions!” he said ”Loose that big one!”
”Paulus,” a scarred veteran answered (they were all forbidden to address him by any other name in that arena), ”you have ordered us to keep that fellow for the birthday ga all the best ones off at practise, what shall we do when the day comes? The last shi+p- load has arrived from Africa and already you have used up nearly half of the in tia one hasn't tasted ry now He will eat whatever we throw in, so let hie”
”Loose a leopard then”
The veteran went off without a word to give his orders to the es to the openings of tunnels in the ht There were ten such openings on either side of the arena, closed by trapdoors, set in grooves, that could be raised by ropes from overhead
Coladiators watched hih any one of which the aniht come They knew their Paulus, and were trained, besides, to look at death or danger with a curious, conte theht threw a V-shaped shadow on the sand, as if they thought that seht would protect therooves but Commodus kept his back toward it
”Women!” he exclaimed
His sudden scowl transforan to ht, tried to turn again but was prevented by the closing trap, and crouched against the arena wall
”Beware! The beast coue, you slave-born rascal!” Co away and have hiate to beckon the offending gladiator, alked out with a look of hatred on his face He paused once, hesitating whether to askhis fine bronzed shoulders The leopard left the wall and crept toward the center of the sand, his black and yellow beauty rippling in the sunlight and his shadow looking like death's trailing cloak The courtiers seemed doubtful which of the two beasts to watch, leopard or eladiator put it in his hand
”Varronius! It irks me to have cowards in the senate! Let rown effeh Rome was, there was no patrician who had not received so in the use of ar on the shaft with ave the lie to the alacrity hich he strode out of the shadow
”Kill him, and you shall have the consulate next year!” said Commodus ”Be killed, and there will be one useless bastard less to clutter up the curia!”
A flush of anger swept over the senator's pale face For awith the spear at Co with the javelin Varronius strode out to face the leopard, and the lithe beast did not wait to feel the spear-point It began to stalk its adversary in irregular swift curves Its body almost pressed the sand Its eyes were spots of sunlit topaz Coloat over the leopard's subtlety and strength
”He is a lovelier thing than you, Varronius! He is a better fighter! He is er and his wits et you! I will bet a talent that he gets you-and I hope he does! You hold your spear the way a woathers all his strength in readiness to leap instantly in any direction! Ah!”
The leopard made a feint, perhaps to test the swiftness of the spear- point Leaping like a flash of light, he see hi as he turned, ripped open Varronius' tunic and brought a little strea down his left arm