Part 12 (1/2)

”Oh! what shall we do?” wailed Meffia, ”what shall we do?”

”Do?” snarled Brinnaria. ”It's plain enough what you have to do. Go to your room, go to bed and go' to sleep, stay asleep, keep your mouth shut, say nothing, pretend you woke me at midnight, pretend you had nothing to do with the fire going out, pretend you know nothing about it, keep your face straight, keep mum, leave the rest to me!”

”But,” wailed Meffia, ”if they think you let the fire go out you'll be scourged for it.”

”Well,” snapped Brinnaria, ”what's that to you? Go to bed.”

”But,” Meffia insisted, ”I let it go out. I ought to take the blame, not you. I ought to be scourged with you.”

”You insufferable little idiot,” Brinnaria hurled at her, ”you never could stand a flogging, you'd die of it most likely. To a certainty you'd be ill, and have to be sent off to be nursed and kept away for a month or more to recover. I won't have Causidiena worried with any such performances. And as sure as the fire is out, you'd behave like the poor creature you are. You'd scream and howl and faint and shame us all.

”No flogging of you if I can help it!

”Now, go to bed!”

”But,” protested Meffia, ”why need either of us be flogged? I have tinder and flint and steel in my room. We could light the fire and no one ever know it.”

”You imbecile child! You silly baby! You wicked, horrible, sacrilegious girl!” Brinnaria stormed. ”You irreligious, atheistical, blasphemous wretch! To save your hide you'd desecrate the temple, pollute the Altar, anger Vesta, make all our prayers in vain, bring down curses without count on Rome and all of us. Be silent! Don't you dare to speak another word! Off to bed with you!”

”But,” Meffia trembled, ”you hate me; why do you take my punishment?”

”I don't hate you,” hissed Brinnaria. ”I despise you! And I've told you why I'm going to take the licking. Off to bed with you!”

”But,” Meffia still persisted, ”what will you do?”

”Do?” whispered Brinnaria. ”Do? Why I'll curl up where you've left a warm spot on the floor and go to sleep and sleep till some one finds me.

I can sleep any time.”

”But think of the scourging!” Meffia insisted.

”I shan't,” Brinnaria maintained. ”I shan't think of it a moment. I never did mind a licking. It's bad enough while it lasts, but soon over.

No licking will worry me. I'll sleep like a top. Now to bed with you, or I'll break every bone in your worthless body!” Meffia started to speak again; Brinnaria caught her gullet in one strong, young hand, clutched her neck with the other, and craftily pressed one thumb behind one of Meffia's ears.

Meffia squeaked like a snared rabbit.

”There!” Brinnaria whispered fiercely. ”Now you know how badly I can hurt you when I try. If you let on that it was you and not I that let the fire go out what I did to you then won't amount to anything to what I'll do to you. I'll kill you. Promise you'll keep mum.”

”I promise,” gasped Meffia.

”Go to bed!” Brinnaria hissed.

Meffia went.

Brinnaria, left alone, did all she could to make the ashes on the Altar look like the remains of a fire that had died out of itself, to efface all signs of her efforts to find live coals under the ashes. She judged that she had succeeded pretty well.

Then she composed herself on the floor and was asleep in ten breaths.

There Manlia found her when the daylight was already strong.

When wakened Brinnaria merely remarked: