"Willingly will I continue the conversation. Perhaps—" Alyrus was swelling with importance, "it would interest you to visit the prisons and see these Christians before they are thrown into the arena. I understand that you are first on the program."
"Yes. I had thought of asking such a privilege as a visit to these prisoners. By the way, where is the daughter of Aurelius?"
Alyrus shot a keen glance at him, but the face of Lycias was guileless as that of a child.
"She is well guarded. I can tell you that, and her brother Martius, with Alexis the Greek slave—who ever looked down upon me," he added, unguardedly, continuing in haste, as he perceived his mistake, "I should have said, who was impertinent to me one day, lie in a dungeon far in the earth below the temple. From there, is a private underground passageway to the Circus. They will never see the light of day again."
"A faithless friend, a bitter enemy," was Lycias' thought as striding forth from the room, he joined Lucius.
"It is worse than I feared," Lucius said. "There is little hope."
"We shall see," responded the gladiator, thoughtfully. "Art thou willing to take great risks to save the son and daughter of Aurelius?"
"For the sake of Lidia, who loves them, I am."
"Await my instructions, then," and they parted.
The next afternoon, Alyrus let Lycias through the dark prisons in which the Christians were herded like beasts. The guards opened every door at the sight of the symbol of priestly authority, the bronze lizard.