Had Stephania returned?
He heard no steps, no sound in her chamber.
At the memory of what he had seen, a groan broke from his lips.
How he hated that boy, who after wresting from him the dominion of the city, had stolen from him the love of his wife!
Stolen? Had it not been thrust upon him? What mortal could have resisted the temptation? He would die—thus it was written in the stars;—but Stephania would weep for him—
On tip-toe the Senator stole to the chamber of his wife. The door stood ajar. The chamber was empty.
The candle flared up for the last time, lighting up the gloom. Then it sank down and went out.
Crescentius was alone in the darkness.
CHAPTER XI
THE INCANTATION