There was a flash of gleaming steel, a hissing sound, and the headless trunk of the Persian beauty sank before its murderer.
* * * * * * * *
During the time that Zopyrus and Ladice made good their escape from the Persian encampment and were beginning to pursue their precarious way across Mt. Cithæron, the Greek encampment lay in the stillness of sleep. Above the tents rose the gentle, picturesque slope of the mountain, where beyond the space which had been cleared, the forest stretched in black silence.
In one of the tents well toward the forest edge of the encampment, three young men sat around a small table upon which a candle sent forth its flickering light. Presently one of them arose with an impatient gesture and strode back and forth with restless energy.
“What ails you, Cimon?” questioned one of the two who were seated. He was a thin wiry fellow, whose face showed the tan of continued exposure to the elements. His nose was aquiline, his lips thin and his eye penetrating, but withal, kindly.
“Nothing new, Icetes, but before tomorrow’s battle I should like to know if Ladice is confined in the harem of one of the Persian leaders as I have heard.”
“Wait till the battle is over, and if Zeus grants us the victory, demand the return of the girl. The harems of the Persians will be ours then, and to such a brave soldier as you have proved yourself to be, Pausanias will gladly give first choice of the spoils,” said Icetes, rising from his chair and placing a friendly hand upon the other’s shoulder.
Cimon smiled wanly. “Perhaps you are right, my friend,” he acquiesced “but you can not know how I suffer! Has Eros never found you vulnerable here?” Cimon placed both hands upon his heart and smiled with a questioning glance at Icetes.
“If Eros has ever found him so, it was not for the love of a maiden who possesses a heart of stone as does this Ladice whom you adore,” remarked the third youth who up till the present moment had remained a silent observing listener.
“Be still, Ephialtes,” said Icetes gruffly. “Cimon suffers enough without your reproaches.”