CHAPTER VII.
A few days after Cethegus had taken up his chosen position on the leftof Narses with his mercenaries, the report came to the camp of theByzantines that the Goths in the Mausoleum of Hadrian had beenoverpowered.
So now all Rome was in the hands of the Romans; not a single Goth, and,as Cethegus exultingly thought, not a single Byzantine, ruled in hisRome.
If he could now succeed in throwing his Isaurians, under the command ofthe tribunes, into Rome, the Prefect would be in a much more favourableposition, opposed to Narses, than he had ever been opposed toBelisarius, with whom he had been obliged to share the possession ofthe city.
One of the messengers who had brought the news from Rome, at the sametime gave to Aulus, the hostage, a letter from the two centurions, thebrothers Macer, which ran thus: "The bride has recovered from her longsickness; if the bridegroom will come, there is nothing more to hinderthe wedding. Come, Aulus."
These were the words fixed upon. Cethegus communicated them to hisRoman knights.
"Excellent!" cried Lucius. "Now I shall be able to place a monumentupon the spot where my brave brother fell for Rome and for Cethegus."
"Yes," said Salvius Julianus, "imprescriptible is the Romans' right toRome."
"But if we are to go secretly, see to it well, Prefect," said Piso,"that our departure is concealed so long from the greatest cripple ofall times, that it will be impossible for him to overtake us."
"No," said Cethegus, "you shall not depart in secret. I have convincedmyself that this most prudent of all heroes has placed outposts farbeyond our position on the left wing. What we considered our outpostsare hemmed round by _his_--occupied by his Longobardian wolves, whom hehas placed in all directions. Without his consent, you cannot manageyour departure either by force or deception. It will be far wiser toact openly. If he chooses, he can frustrate our plan, for, in any case,he is sure to hear of it. But he will have nothing to say againstit--you will see! I shall tell him of my resolution, and, depend uponit, he will approve of it."
"General, that is very bold; it is great!"
"It is the only possible way."
"Yes, you are right," said Salvius Julianus, after a few moments'reflection. "Force and deception are equally impossible; and shouldNarses consent, I will willingly confess that my fears----"
"Were founded upon an over-estimation of the _statesman_ Narses.Large numbers have intimidated you, and the certainly not to beover-estimated _general-ship_ of the sick man. I confess that beforethe battle of Taginae the whole horizon threatened thunderstorms; but,as I am still alive, those appearances must have been illusive. I willat once send you with my inquiry to Narses. You are suspicious, youwill therefore observe sharply. Go, tell him that the Romans haveresolved to admit me, their Prefect, within their walls _now_, beforethe annihilation of Teja's army. And I wish to know if he will permityou to march to Rome with my Isaurians, or if he would consider such anact as a breach of our agreement. Against his will neither I nor theIsaurians will set forth."
The two tribunes took leave, and, as he stepped out of the Prefect'stent, Piso said with a laugh to the others:
"The crutch of Narses rendered your wits useless, longer than the stickof the shepherd did my fingers!"
When they were well outside, Syphax hurried up to his master.
"O master," he said, "do not trust this sick man with his quiet andimpenetrable looks! Last night I again questioned my snake oracle. Idivided the skin of my idol into two pieces, and laid them upon livecoals. The piece which I called 'Narses' outlasted by far the piecewhich I called 'Cethegus.' Shall I not make the attempt? You know thata scratch with this dagger, and he is lost! What would it matter ifthey impaled Syphax, the son of Hiempsal? I cannot do it by stealth,for the Longobardian prince sleeps in the tent of Narses, in a bedstretched across the entrance, and seven of his 'little wolves' lieupon the threshold. The Herulians stand outside the curtain. Accordingto your hint, I have watched Narses' tent at night ever since we leftHelvillum. Even a gnat can scarcely escape the vigilance of theHerulians and Longobardians when it flies into the tent. But openly, byday, one spring into his litter--a scratch of the skin--and he is adead man in a quarter of an hour!"
"And before that time has elapsed, not only is Syphax, the son ofHiempsal, a corpse, but also Cethegus. No. But listen; I havediscovered where the commander is accustomed to hold his secretconversations with Basiliskos and Alboin. Not in his tent--a camp has athousand ears--but in the bath. The physicians have ordered Narses amorning bath in the bay at Stabiae, and he has had a bath-house builtout into the sea, which can only be reached in a boat. When Alboin andBasiliskos accompany him thither, they are only as wise as--well, asBasiliskos and Alboin. But when they return, they are full of thewisdom of Narses; they know what letters have come from Byzantium, andmany other things. Round about the bath-house there is much seaweed.Syphax, for how long a time can you dive?"
"As long," answered the slave, not without pride, "as the clumsy andsuspicious crocodile in our streams takes to observe the gazelle whichhas been thrown into the reeds as a bait, and to make up his mind toswim to it--then a knife from below in his belly! This small-eyedNarses has something of the crocodile--we will see if I cannot outdohim by patient diving."
"Excellent! my panther on shore, my diving duck in the water!"
"I would leap into fire for your sake, then you would call me your'salamander.'"
"Well, you must manage to listen to the conversation of this sick manwhen he goes to bathe."
"The office will very well suit another game which I have on hand. Formany days a fisherman, who throws his net every morning and evening,and never catches anything, has been signing and winking to me in avery innocent-sly manner. I believe he is watching for me, and not forsea mullets. But the long-bearded wolves of this Alboin are always atmy heels. Perhaps, when I dive into the water, I shall be able to catchup what this fisherman wishes to confide to me."