An expression of disgust crossed the face of his questioner. A murmur and a slight laugh broke from his comrades.
‘A fair night to you, Centurion,’ answered Tigellinus; ‘I thought the shadow of that rock would hold some of you—it usually does. But you are not so well acquainted with me as some of the regular folk of the island.’
‘A misfortune for me, doubtless,’ responded Martialis. ‘You have authority, I believe, to come and go at will?’
‘Quite right, Centurion, I have,—as well as for whatever merchandise I can bring along with me. I go at once to my [pg 140]royal patron to offer what I have for his approval. I am afraid I must rob you of one of your men, Centurion, to go on an errand to the villa Jovis; I am sorry, but it is for Caesar’s sake, whom we must all obey. Had I been going thither myself direct, I might have spared the legs of some one else, but, you see, I have to look after the wellbeing of my two friends here.’
‘The men are there at your service. You need not be at so much pains to excuse the trouble you feel called upon to give,’ said Martialis, with a frown at the man’s impertinence and vulgar assumption of importance.
‘Thanks, Centurion, much,’ responded Tigellinus; ‘then, with your kind permission, I will ask my good friend Rufus, whom I see there, to go on my errand.’
Singling out a certain man from amongst the guard, he took him aside and imparted his injunctions. The man departed, and Tigellinus turned round and said: ‘In which palace does Caesar rest at present, Centurion?’
‘In the villa of Neptune,’ returned Martialis briefly, turning to leave the shore.
‘The villa of Neptune!’ echoed the other, with a grimace. ‘Just my luck! Of course, when I come on shore, I must needs find my patron in the furthest corner of the island, at the far end of the most toilsome path—humph! And the Prefect, the mighty Sejanus, your commander, Centurion?—Proud-stomached puppy!’
The last expression was not applied to the dreaded Prefect, but, in an undertone, to the contemptuous back which the young officer had abruptly turned upon him.