THE CROWN OF LIFE
Acratus was at the head of his plunderers. Nothing was too small or great for his rapacious maw. He came up the marble steps of the studio of Chios and knocked violently.
'Hast thou anything within?' said the tyrant.
'Nothing for thee,' said Chios.
'But we must see for ourselves,' and he pushed rudely by, followed by a dozen or more armed men, and as he rushed within he beheld Saronia.
'By heavens!' said he. 'Here is a greater than all thy marbles. This is the second time I have fallen in the way of this beautiful tigress. Look ye here: is this thy wife?'
'No,' said Chios.
'Thou art her lover, then?'
'That is my business. Mind thine own.'
'Thou art in a jesting mood. We will see how we can instruct thee to respect Acratus. Take this woman; she is known to the Proconsul and must not stay here. Take her to the fortress, and say I sent her, and I will deal with her anon. No, no, that will not do. Take her to the ship of Lucius, commander of the fleet, and say, "Care for her; she belongs to Acratus." Take her away. What is her name, fellow?'
'Saronia,' said Chios.
'Eh, and a pretty name, too. Now away, soldiers, to Lucius!'
Saronia looked appealingly to Chios.
'Wilt thou let me speak with her before she leaves?' said Chios.
'Yes, yes; thou canst speak to her.'
Chios drew Saronia aside, saying:
'Thou seest the position. They will take thee whither thou shouldst go, to Lucius. I will follow thee;' and he slipped into her bosom unseen a parchment sealed and addressed to Lucius. 'Now, do as I wish, my love, and Chios will soon be with thee, and Lucius thou canst trust.'
'Oh, Chios, is not this fraught with danger?'
'No; it is the only course, and it is well for thee,' and kissing her, he said, 'Just for an hour or so and we meet. This is ordered wisely.'
Then they led her off, guarded by a body of armed men, Chios saying to himself:
'Little does that villain know he sends her to her father.'
As Acratus was turning to follow his men, he looked around to see if anything might satisfy his greed, when he discovered the dead body of Endora lying beneath a coverlet, and raising it, he saw the face of the murdered.
'What is this?' said he. 'Another surprise. Killed! Who is she? What meaneth it?'
'She is my mother, killed by one of the Ephesian mob. Wouldst thou also rob me of her dead body?'
'Cease thy prating, fool! Men's mothers are not murdered in this way. There is foul play. Thou shalt answer for this. Ho there, men!' calling on those outside. 'Take this murderer away. Take him to the Temple. I shall be there shortly, and will see to this.'
'Hands away!' cried Chios. 'I am not my mother's murderer.'
'Seize him!' cried Acratus. 'Bring him forth!' and they dragged him from his mother's side to without the studio, where by this time many Ephesians had gathered, and when they saw him, they cried:
'Chios the Christian! Down with him!'
The fierce mob closed in, and the Romans cared not nor hindered—closed in around him till he was trampled under their feet, until one, perhaps more malignant than the rest, plunged a dagger in the bosom of the half-dead man. And Chios lifted up his feeble voice to heaven, crying:
'My God! my God! Saronia!'
The multitude laughed and jeered, and the sun shone down upon the fated city.
'Take him up, men, and carry him within. Better he be out of sight.'
And they laid him on the marble floor at the feet of his mother, Myrtile of Delos.
Then Acratus chuckled within himself:
'Thank the gods he is gone. Not a nice thing to have a lover prying about, disturbing one's happiness. I saw him kiss her. He had the last; the next shall be mine, not Nero's! I will take care the brute never sets eyes on such loveliness. No, no; I will tame those dark eyes to look into mine, and train those crimson, oleander lips to bear me rich kisses of love. Now then, men, away! Saronia by this time has almost reached the wharves. I will load the spoils to-day, and to-morrow they leave. I will take my prize, the gloomy-eyed girl, with me to Pergamos, where I have more temples to rifle, and then, overflowing with wealth, I'll back to Rome.' And he moved away towards the Temple, muttering to himself: 'What care I for Varro the Proconsul? He cannot stay me in my career, armed as I am with mandate from Nero. He will vex and threaten should he know I have that woman. But it must end there. Acratus is supreme in this expedition, and cannot be interfered with, for Nero's sake.'
That day was employed by thousands of men carrying away the wealth of the Temple. Great bronze statues and marbled loveliness were dragged through the streets and shipped—shipped with ivory and gorgeous draperies; large sacks filled with treasure, gold, silver, and precious stones, instruments of music of rarest workmanship and paintings priceless, worth many times their weight in gold, became the property of the spoilers, until the great Temple was left desolate like a ship stripped of her cordage and sails, masts, and yards; the crew gone—a lonely hull on an open shore.
The people could not stop this tide of locusts. So they had it all their own way, save where some more noble than the rest were struck down for defending their goddess.
Saronia was taken on board the ship to Lucius. When she was handed on to the deck, he was about to thank the guard, who said:
'I deliver to you this woman, most noble Lucius. She belongs to Acratus, and he wishes you to care for her until he claims her.'
'Does he? Go, tell that reptile that should he put foot on board this ship to claim this woman, I will order my men to throw him into the sea, and drown him like a dog. Now begone!'