"Silence!" said the grave prætor; "who is there?"
"The blind girl--Nydia," answered Sallust; "it is her hand that has raised Calenus from the grave, and delivered Glaucus from the lion."
"Of this hereafter," said the prætor. "Calenus, priest of Isis, thou accusest Arbaces of the murder of Apæcides?"
"I do!"
"Thou didst behold the deed?"
"Prætor--with these eyes--"
"Enough at present--the details must be reserved for more suiting time and place. Arbaces of Egypt, thou hearest the charge against thee--thou hast not yet spoken--what hast thou to say?"
The gaze of the crowd had been long riveted on Arbaces; but not until the confusion which he had betrayed at the first charge of Sallust and the entrance of Calenus had subsided. At the shout, "Arbaces to the lion!" he had indeed trembled, and the dark bronze of his cheek had taken a paler hue. But he had soon recovered his haughtiness and self-control. Proudly he returned the angry glare of the countless eyes around him; and replying now to the question of the prætor, he said, in that accent so peculiarly tranquil and commanding which characterized his tones:--
"Prætor, this charge is so mad that it scarcely deserves reply. My first accuser is the noble Sallust--the most intimate friend of Glaucus! My second is a priest: I revere his garb and calling--but, people of Pompeii! ye know somewhat of the character of Calenus--he is griping and gold-thirsty to a proverb; the witness of such men is to be bought! Prætor, I am innocent!"
"Sallust," said the magistrate, "where found you Calenus?"