"How so?" asked Bodza, much surprised; "where is he then?"
"He has disappeared—like Romulus. The Gods have taken him!"—and Maria smiled enigmatically, as if she could reveal a great deal more if she only chose.
Bodza seized her hand violently.
"And in his own time he will appear again, eh?"
The only answer Maria gave was to press his hand significantly.
"Then it is true that they have not beheaded him?" continued the master excitedly, "and one of his good spiritual brethren sacrificed himself in his stead?"
"It was my own brother," said Maria, covering her eyes with her hands. Then she suddenly placed her hand on the master's shoulder. "Weep not for him!" she cried. "Look! I do not weep, and yet he was my brother. Romulus still lives and demands sacrifice and obedience from us all."
The master pressed Maria's hand still more warmly.
"What is thy name, my beloved brother?"
"My name is Fabius Cunctator!" said Maria, well aware of the weakness of these visionaries for classical names.