The Centurion played his part well, and asked various questions as to his destination and fate; but, when they produced bonds to fasten him, he drew back.
‘No—not those,’ said he proudly; ‘I will go with you, comrades, without giving you the trouble of a knot or a buckle.’
They assented, and presently all left the cell and marched down to the Marina. Here they took boat, and were rowed to the north-west side of the island, where the villa Neptune stood. Ascending the cliffs by a narrow flight of steps cut in the rock, they reached the level ground above and entered the villa. Martialis was conducted to a cell beneath ground, and very similar to the one he had left, save that it was somewhat larger. Wine and food was brought him, and he proceeded at once to make a hearty meal. The fresh air had invigorated him, and dispelled, in a great measure, the vapours with which his drugged drink had filled him. Moreover, it was dusk by the time they had entered the villa, and he expected and hoped to encounter a night’s toil. He had just finished eating when the key rattled in the lock, and Caesar entered.
‘Have you eaten well, for you have a long journey before you?’ asked Tiberius.
‘I am ready,’ replied Martialis.
‘Then listen! On your own concern, proceed as you think best, but first of all you must carry and deliver a letter for me.’
‘I will ride without a single stop.’
‘Wait until you hear, for this business must be carried out in a different manner, else I had not brought you here. It is necessary, for the reasons already given, that your absence be not known to any one. Whilst you are leagues away, the guard will still be stationed at the upper end of the corridor, under the belief that you are a prisoner. Provisions will still be supplied, and all details will go on, in order that no suspicion may be aroused. I, myself, and the Prefect are journeying down the coast, southward, for a few days, so that no one will interfere—you comprehend fully?’
‘Quite.’
‘This letter you must deliver at the earliest,’ said the Emperor, drawing a small packet from his bosom. ‘Never rest until you have placed it with your own hands in those of the lady to whom it is addressed. Guard it and care for it as your own life. I never wrote a more important and weighty despatch. You see, I place implicit faith in you.’