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MARY E. WILKINS FREEMAN'S
"THE SHOULDERS OF ATLAS,"
In This Section
ARETHUSA: A PRINCESS IN SLAVERY
CHAPTER XI — Continued
f g'EHO was silent for a moment, and
g then spoke in a determined way.
M J "Hear me, sire,** he said. "A
maa does not run such risk twice
except for his own blood. You must
either come with me at once or give up
the Idea that I Bhall ever help you to
escape. The boy may be In danger, but
«&' are. you yourself, and your life. is
worth more to this unhappy empire
than his. Tonight, tomorrow, at any
"noment, your son Andronlcus may send
the executioner here and there will be
'an end cf you and many hopes. You
.must risk your younger boy's, life for
your cause. I see no other way."
"The other way* is this: I will stay
here and risk my own. I would rather
die 10 deaths than let my child be tor
' tured, blinded and murdered.**
. .'Very well." answered Zeno, "then I
.cast go."
. He let the knotted; rope go over tha
sill* again till it was all out, and he sat
astride tha window mullion ready to
begin the descent
• "Cast off the rope when I whistle."
he. said, "aad let it down by tha Use.
' aad the line after It by the twine."
, .He spoke to the big woman, who was
the wife of the keeper." himself a trust
ed captain of veterans. She nodded by
way of answer.
X Tor the last time," Zeno said, look*
isg toward Johannes, "will you coma
with' me? There is still time.*]
. . The emperor looked prematurely old
\u25a0lA the faint light and his figure was
.bent as he rested with one hand on the
: heavy table. Ilis voice was weak, too,
'as -If he were very tired after some
great effort.
•: "For the last time, no,"! he answered.
."l'ia sorry. I thank you with all* my
heart" — 4
, .Zeno did not wait 1 for more, and his
' -head disappeared below the window al
' ciost before the prisoner had spoken
ftne last word. Five minutes had not
• -elapsed since he had reached the cham
:ber. •
\u25a0' . 3rtcv.-, Gorlias had been surpristd
\u25a0whan he felt the second rope slack in
.-.his 'hand, and when the "basket and
.Hock, which had been half way \ip tha
". wall, began to come down again. * The
astrologer could only- suposa that
' ;.th»re 'was an alarm within the tower.
{;.a.n'd -that Zeno was getting away as
.- iist as he could. The last written
;. -message, lowered by the yarn at dusk
.'.lji&X evening, had been to say that the
•^•iperor was ready, and that a red
. vltght would be shown when the cap
: -tiiln was asleep, under the influence of
. the -drsig his wife had given him. It
\u25a0 iptSuld not poaslbly occur to the astrol
oger that Johannes would change his
Vx&lnd at the very last, moment
: '..iTake care!** Gorlias whispered quick
ly -to the woman at his elbow, as soon
°&she was sure of what was happening.
-."He is coming down again."
;./ TAloae?" The anxious inquiry an
.'.s'wered his words In the same breath.
: : ' : ••"Alone — yes! He Is on the rope now;
. -he Is coming do-s-a. hand under hand."
"Tee woman slipped down the Inclined
surface, almost fell, recovered her foot
. hold and nearly fell again as she sprang
into the boat and threw herself at full
length upon the bottom boards. Zena
"was half way down, and before she coy
' ered herself with the canvas sh«
.glanced up and distinctly saw, his dark
figure descending through the gloom.
She had scarcely stretched herself oul
,when* the was startled by a loud cry,
close at hand.
Thylake! Aho— ho— c! Watch, ho!
Watch, hor
A boat hed shot out of the darknesi
to tbe edge of the pier. In an instant
three men had sprung ashore, and were
\u25a0 clambering up the sloping masonry to
ward Gorlias. The woman stood up- in
Zeno's skiff, almost upsetting It, and
- her eyes pierced the gloom to see what
"w«.a happening.
.' Gorlias threw himself desperately
.sxaios* the " three men with out
stretched arms, hoping to sweep. them
. altogether Into the water from s> plac«
. where they had «o little foothold. Th€
• woman held her breath. One of th«
three men. active as a monkey, dodged
-..past the astrologer, caught the knotted
- rope and began climbing it The othei
b • two fell, their feet entangled In th«
* : llne rove through the tail block, an*
: with the strong man's weight behind
. them they tumbled headlong down th«
.Incline. With a heavy splash,, and
•scarcely more than one for air' three,
; Goriias and his opponents fell into th«
\ wkter. v -
' 'There was silence then, while thi
" other man climbed higher and higher
* The woman watched ln_ horror. Ii
'falling the men had struck against thi
stem of the skiff, dragging the paintei
from the peg. The other boat wa«
4 not moored at all, and both were now
adrift on the sluggish stream. ,Th<
woman steadied herself and tried -_t<
- Bee - IESHHBP
• The man climbed fast, and above hire
the dark figure moved quickly upward
But Zeoo's pursuer was fresher thai
• he and as quick as a eat and gained oc
him. If he caught him he might 7 crooi
• Ills leg around the knotted rope tt
drag Zeno down and burl him to th»
ground.
• . Still be gained, while the boats . be
t«.n to drift, but still the woman coul<
xaake out both figures, nearer and near
• » t er to each other. Now there were no
10. feet between them.
A faint cry> was heard, a heavy thu«
on tbe stones, and silence; again. Zeh<
sad cut the . rope ' below . him. Th<
woman drew a sharp breath betweei
her closed teeth. There was no noise
now, for the man that had been as ac
tive as a cat was dead.' .-
But an instant later one of the other
three was out of the water and on the
edge of the pier, panting . for breath.
The woman took up one of the oars
and tried to paddle* with: it She thought
the man who had come up must be
Gorlias, and that the other two . were
drowned; and she tried to get the boat
to the pier again; she had never held
an oar In, her life, and she was trem
bling now. High in midair Zeno was .
hanging on what was left of the rope,
slowly working his way upward, fully
50 feet above the base of the tower.
Tha skiff bumped against the other
boat alongside and the woman began
to despair of gettiqg nearer to the land
and tried to shove the empty boat away
with her hands. The effect was to push.
her own "skiff, toward the pier, for the
other was much the heavier of the two.
Then, paddling a little, she made a lit
tle tray. The man ashore seemed to ba
examining the body of the one who had
been killed: it lay sprawling on the
stones., the head smashed. The living
one was not Gorlias; the woman could
set his outline now. She was strong,
and with the one oar shoved her skiff
still farther, from the other boat and
nearer to the pier. The man heard her,
got up on his feet and slipped down to
the water's edge again. .'y,\
\u25a0"Held "out the end of the oar to me," "
ha said, "and I will pull the boat in." .
It was not the voice of Gorlias that
spoke, and the woman did not obey the
Instructions it gave. On the contrary,
she tried to paddle away. lest_,the man
should jump aboard. Strangely enough,
the \u25a0 skiff seemed to answer at once to ,
her will, as if some unseen power were
helping her. It could not be her un
skilled, almost helpless movements of
the oar that guided it away.
But the man rose to his fe«t on -the
lowest course of the stones, where there
was ' a ledge, . and -be sprang * forward,
struck, the water without putting his
head under and trasott the stern of the
boat In a few seconds. -
The woman seemed fearless, for she
stepped quickly ' over the after thwart,
taking her oar with her, and a moment
later she struck a desperate blow with
It at the swimmer, and raised it again.
She could not see him any more, and
she knew that if she had struck^ his,
head he must have sunk instantly; but .
she waited a little* longer in . the .stern.'
the oar still! uplifted in both her hands.
At that moment'*- the repeated call of.
the owlet came down from far above.
It could only ' mean that Zeno had
reached tha upper window ,in safety.
Then. the boat rocked; violently two or
three times, and the woman was thrown
down, sitting, in the stern sheets ;\u25a0 she
caw that a man was getting- In over
tha bows and was already onboard.
"That was .well done, Kokona," said
the voice of , Gorlias, softly,
Zoo sank back In the stern, half
fainting with exhaustion, pain and past
anxiety. , t
"Is he safe?" she managed to ask.
"That was his call. He has reached
the window again, but it was a narrow
escape." / :j
She could hardly breathe. . Gorlias
had taken the oars and the skiff was
moving.
CHAPTER XII,
"My Bout Has Come**
T—9 END found the. two occupants df
g the room terror stricken, and'
g j standing on one side, of the win- "
dow, from which they had not
dared to look after the cry of alarm
had been given from below. Indeed,
. they; were in a dangerous pass, unless .
all thret of the men who had attempted
to stop Zeno were dead, or If the first..
cry had roused the sleeping captain
and guards of the tower from their
.drugged sleep. .
But Zeno's own situation wes quite
as bad. It was out of the question to
shout to Gorlias, on the mere chance
of his being still alive and on the pien
No communication . was possible. \u25a0; and
the rope was cut below. *'
There was no* time to ;be; lost, either.
He did not know the number of his as-
Baiiants, and though he gave his aignal
when he reached the window., on the
mert chance of' being heard, he would
not: have trusted the answer to it if it ;
had come. " Any one could Imitate such
a 'sound after hearing lit once. If. he
let down the" remaining length of the
ropa by the fishing line, and if his ene
mies were on the: pier instead of Gor
lias, they; would have^ wlt't enough* to
knot the rope when it had been cut,
and to" send It up again, -,_f or; him to
conic down by; and he 'would drop Into
their midst . '
He understood . all' this \ is an instant,
and without" -hesitation he cast'^off
: everything above and dropped I the ; rope
and^ the ; fishing \u25a0 line out of the window.
He - knew/ Gorliss |well f e*bough ! ; to be
sure , that \u25a0" he would ; come\ back before
daylight and land ; if there were no'ine
on th« : pier, and .'remove all traces ; of
the attempt . \u0084 ' .!
- '"We are lost," moaned the : big
• woman. 1 '. ..\u25a0-/.;. ;.'; X'-' X : X
' - "My hour \ has come." said the- Em
peror' Johannes In \ solemn ; terror. ,
Thereupon he began to say his ;pray r
er«. ; and paid no more attention -to; the
othtrs. - Zenotook^the woman-by the
wrist
"We are not lost unless your husband
is awake," he ealdL "Take me to him."
The captain's wife stared at; Mm .;
,'rThere is -no /others way: If he is
awake you will tell him'thatllfgot into
.the tower.. and :that*you '\u25a0. have betrayed
me into his hands." You 'will be safe at
least, and. l will take my chance. If
he Is asleep"; l< have nothing to fear."
He drew her to the door and, began
to unbar it himself. ; She had under
stood that ' he was right.. so , far. as her
own safety ! was ; concerned, and \u25a0 she
helped him. ." A horn lantern stood : on
th» stone floor in the entry, at the head
of ths stair, where' she had left "it when
she had last t come up. Before rjroirig
down she barred the door outside ,aa
usual, -and ithen led the \ way.
At ; ' the - first "• landing \u25a0" she ;\u25a0 opened v a
door as softly as . she could", and Iwent
In,' leaving ; Zeno • onv the ' theshold. It
was the sleeping room, and Zeno heard
the captain's stertorous breathing with
relief. He -went in 'and \u25a0 looked \ at ; the
sleeping" man's .face, which.; was "'- con
gested :to a dark ] red' by the powerful
drug, and ' Zeno ; thought it •; doubtful
whether.' he \u25a0 would c ever . wake t again.
The ", woman,- ignorant of "the : effects of
much- opium, .was C_af raid- her ~' husband
might' open" his,; eyes, and; she 'plucked
at Zeno's 'sleeve,; anxious- to get .him
away,- but - the Venetian smiled. - : '\u25a0'•.
"He .Is-good- for 12 f hours' 'sleep," ; he
said. \u25a0 "Give me his ; cloak; and. helmet.
If I find no : one • awake I will ; leave
them * at -the } outer "Kate.': .'Otherwise * I
.will';, send .them to, the tbm*er Jin; a
clothes basket ; tomorrow morning.'.' ;'
The captain's wife .obeyed; v less
frightened vthan ; she 'had. been at: first;
Zeno : muffled -half -his : face -In- the i big
Cloak.'-' and! threw the -C end over : -hls
shoulder, whence it* hung "down, 'displayr
ins the three,broad stripes of goldlace
; that \ formed ; thot borderi distinctive ; of a
captain's .rank in'the guards. ' *'
* "Now show •meHheway/'lZeno- said.
Under the. folds; of s the" cloak ; he^had
the short", broad? sheath*" knife ; ready ' ir
his grasp, ' and : it was no .bad ir
the hand 1 of. such^a/: fighter as : Carle
Zeno. * - The captain's , wif e \u25a0 led ; the i was
with; the. lantern.. J .
i At the.foot of;ihe next flight of stain
F. Marion Crawford
; sht> i almost ' stumbled , : over the < sentinel,
\u25a0'. half seated *'on » the . lowest "step * in' a
-drunken Stupor. \- .. ,
, The story . they" had now reached con
) talned < the ) living room } of the . captain
and his wife, and no sentinel was need
ed ' higher iiip "i in )\u25a0. the tower. An I ron
door, fastened 'on. the ; inside, cut off fthe
.' descent, Vi arid ,;hadf to/ be .opened, for
; Zeno ; to .; pass.' " But ' being constantly ! in }
v use^the -lock, was 'well oiled and Uth^
bolt^ slipped back .almost without any
noise. Nevertheless, as" he followed his
f companionTdown.; the >t next ' flight ' Zeno
drew : up the" folds ; of • his \u25a0 cloak on his
•right ; arm ' till the 7 edge 'barely; covered
; the drawn , knife in "his hand. \u25a0•.•'.• . f
•;They "reachedTthe^;next ; story; below,
• where f the i upper Tguardroom •; was."; The
\u25a0 door r, was- half; open- and a lamp\was
burning " within, jbut \u25a0'- 'as V the window
>i was over the great court' of Blachernae
'' jno; light *had : been y visible: ' from :\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 the
\u25a0 water.V Zeno.*heardsvoices, and-caught
' slght^ of two guards , carousing at the
• end of "an oak table. .At Jthe sound of
footsteps fone of;.the;men\roseVquickly,
\u25a0 but staggered^when-he; tried to walk to
. the/ door. \u25a0• . *\ \u25a0\u25a0 '.. '.. > '
V "Who." goes; there?" .he v called v out,
i \u25a0\u25a0,' steadying: himself :by; the J doorpost and
;6ut. :>T : \u25a0..-;/.\u25a0 ./.:-. : *\;-S-.-- '-v v.-/- ' :
• .- . iThe fcap tain's \ wif e < had "Hhe ' presence
: qfi"mind; to; hold-up the" lantern so: that
i-^the light fell full upon, the helmet Zeno
; -wore. -Instantly, the- soldier tried- to
; 'straighten himsefi to an- attitude -of at
i jtfntiorir ; with; his' hands * to; his - sides.
V But 'this was too;much;for his unstable
s , balance, , and • he Vreeled '- backward^. half
i<r across \u25a0 the i"; room \wlthin I till; he struck
• the >- table 'behind j^him '*-. and '7 tumbled
. down .with [a. \ clatter, of "accoute'rmerits
I and a^ ratUlngi of ithe; horn; drinking
i Ccu'ps \ that- were • thrown ; tojthe Aground.
i HIs v cbm'pariion. .who :was_ altogether "too
> drunk 'even ;, to -.leave his;; seat, . broke
• -' into a loud '\u25a0 idiotic laugir at his accident.
,' t"You - have -done .; your share well,
i ;* Ky r laV'l **ld ; Zeno 'l&a he followed ;» her
"again.". . "The ; emperor's friends \eould
have j brought him i down by the stairs
In. triumph without being stopped.**
"You : ara not out of the palace , pre
- clncts' yet,"., answered the' captain's wife
* in* a" warning tone.
- She\went /on, treading more; softly^
; as she 'descended and carrying the lan
tern, low lest she or her companion
: should stumble .over another; sleeping
.but the" staircase and the door
"led * into the court .• were deserted,
for theTc'aptain* was a very exact man,
.- and' had 1 his supper "at the same hour
every evening ~ and went to bed soon
after. like an honest citizen,: after set
ting." his .^watch ~ and "'.; locking the " Iron
V door s to . his own' lower; landing. y In ; two
."years. he hadiiever.'once'come down the
;'\u25a0 tower ; after i sunset ':£}. The consequence
•was y that : H. the t guards ;;' did v :' as ~: they
I pleased, or as i thel r ' lieutenant , pleased ;
'.', ,toT.}. he 'i found; it « pleasant Z to Ispend? his
J, nights 1 1n5'anotherf.part> of Hhe I palace,
{and J.was 4 extremely/ popular}' with- his
s men .== because jthey.^were {enabled * to^go
v to X bed i like > good . Christians ' and sleep
, all* night :;s.\'~, : '. : - -"': :.": : : -- --"""• '-\u25a0''' ,:'J-':'r \u25a0\u25a0
captain's, wife knew well
: : enough.;? '£• Herij apprehension 'was ) for
,; what * ; mlght i happen I to J Zenolbetween
I leaving the tower and; passing the great
\u25a0 ' : gate^l which |was | the |only X way Ho j ge t
I out of i thejfortifledipreclncts7i,The wide
there
!j;the?wln?! j;the?wln
? dows | of |the" ( buHdlngs\thati surrounded
i ltion{tbfee" sides,* the; gfeat;mass'of the
palace £ on 1 the 3 right,*s the I barracks '< of
$. :tti»t guards?alorig4thel^rall|to I. the : left
Vand | thaTmaln' post i "at i th"c ? great ! gat e -In
;'frorit^twlth|thelbuildings!on|each;slde
\u25a0-, of ; it,"iome"6ccupied'byj slaves and some
-used' as: stables.: -v * " -". v /.-:.
T ~\fi Zenolwishedlthat'heihad stripped one
of the" sleeping soldiers and had put on
lhis''dress,tfpr,ihelhad|beehjlnformed]of
the) captain's! ;- habits and knew that the
;-f disguise : ; was f no] longerTa" safe Tone \u25a0 after
":- leaving.3thei; I tower.'"^lrideed.*iit ;',was J a
:1?: 1? chief fpartiOf^thelcaptain's:- duty| never
,^to* go] out : af ter" dark ' on' any,; excused' and
: he '$ apparentlyij made >of
Jthiaf p£^mancntiorder,lby'i going.; to ibed
the rest,
personal |care
;lof«his]prisorierjtolhis],wife; l of«his]prisorierjtolhis],wife, < 'judglnglthai
her;; stout age 'land ;flers
cheeks sufflcielltly protected his domes.
AIAX PEAIBERTON'SV
"Silt RICHARD ESCOMBE"
v : In This* Section
ic C honor* She ; had been young and i
\u25a0ery ? pretty ~ once; it was true,, but the 1
aptain * did not know that* Johannes 1
iad: even: seen her. then, much less did '
le j guess '" that many • years ago, when i
he- emperor -was -a i handsome .young 1
trlnce and she was a lovely , girl in th% i
>ld ; empress 1 ,; trafn. , she had worshiped <
lim and he had . condescended to accept
ter;admira"t!on for a few 'weeks. . But i
his ".was the truth.as Zen o's grandson, i
he bishop, very clearly explains.. ;
She"*left the lantern Just outside the ;
!oor and came' out with Carol Into the <
•pen; air. After walking a few steps :
;he laid her hand on his arm. stopped. :
ooked around and ,'Hstened. As yet
hey had. not exchanged two words
ibout-the situation, and were far from
lure-that the "watch. '.which had detect-,
>d Carlo from the water and had failed
0 catch him. had not come around by
and to th-e palace \ gate to ' give the
tlarjn.
Zeno slipped the cloak from his
thoulders and wrapped it round the
ieln»et, so that, the captain's wife
:ou!d carry both conveniently.
"It is hopeless." she whispered as she
ook them. ."This morning he promised
hat he would leave the prison if you
:ould bring him out. He has often
ipoken to me as he spoke to y.ou this
evening— he loves the boy dearly — but
' was sure" that he had made up his
nind; to risk; everything, else I would
lot have shown the red light."
••After all," Zeno observed, "It Is Just
as well that, he would not come, since
vre were seen, though I really believe
jorllas was too much for the men who
ilmost caught us. He and I together
could certainly have settledthem all- —
there :\u25a0 were $ only three. I saw them
distinctly .when they firsts Jumped
ashore, and one was killed by the fall
when, I \u25a0 cut' the rope.. Gorlias silenced
the other two, for if they were alive
there .would"have been an alarm here
by. this time."
;\u25a0 "Yes." the woman answered. "But
some one must have betrayed us. TVe
:annot try. that way again."
-"I shall not try that, or any other
way again!" Zeno said with emphasis.
"In -the name of the evangelist, why
should ,1 risk my neck to free a man
who prefers to be a prisoner?"
ir^The wonder Is that you are alive
this time!" •-\u25a0- ",:
"'lt will not :. even be safe to com
municate by the thread again. * "Will
you take a message?"
/; "As"; well as I can remember it."
"Tell ' him ;~ that the next time he
ssks my. help he naust send me, by the
same messenger, a deed giving Tenes
dos to . Venice, signed -and sealed.
Otherwise I will not stir."
"Shall I tell him that?" ;
"Yes. Tell] him. so from me. And
no w go . back, Kyria. and thank you
for your guidance and your lantern In
those dark stairs."
"How shall you " pass the gate?"
asked the captain's wife. \u25a0
She spoke - anxiously, for Zeno .was a
handsome man, and she had seen how
brave he was.' " fr
"I do not know." he answered, "but
one of two things must happen."
"What things T' .
"Either I shall get out or I shall
never see daylight again! I shall not
let : myself be .taken alive to be im
paled in the hippodrome, I assure you.
Thank you again, and good night."
Zeno did not walk straight toward
the gate, though ; It was "easily distin
guished from the adjacent buildings by
the greater^ number of Its lights. He
crossed the wide, court diagonally to
the- right, in the direction of the sta
bles, till he was near enough to see dis
tinctly, any one who chanced to come
under the ; rays ! . of one of the scat
tered" lamps^ that burned here and
there in doorways and open windows.
Before long he saw; a trooper of the
guards emerging rather unsteadily out
of the. darkness into one of these small
circles -of light.
•He overtook the man In half a dozen
strides, and spoke to him in a low
voice.'
"Hi: comrade! Yon who are still per
fectly sober, help a friend who is very
d runk !'*;.-
The" man -stopped, steadied himself,
and answered- with ponderous grav
ity: .
\u25a0 "Perfectly— hic-^-hic — sober!"
"I wish I were!" replied Zeno. "The
truth Is. I am exceedingly * • drunk,
though. l do not show it. Wine only
affects vmy ; brain, never . my legs or
my tongue. It is a very strange" —
. "Excuse " me— hie," Interrupted the
soldier. "Are you one man — hie — or
two men?" »\u25a0
""One man,"' Zeno answered. "Only
one. and so „ drunk that I have quite
forgotten the* password."" ' „
"Sec— hio^— ret.7 hiccoughed the- man.
"Password secret," he repeated, with a
tremendous effort.
'; "Here "is a gold piece, my dear
friend, s You- will help a comrade In
trouble." _V -
\ The 'man took the money eagerly and
tried" to!put; It into his wallet : To do
so he had to bend his head down so as
to see the , thongs . that fastened it. It
took a long time to find .them. . \u25a0_'
i"Just; give •me the password before
jyouTdo- that." Zeno said in a coaxing
tone. •?;-•,-. ' \u25a0 "• -w*
*' \u25a0•'Password?',' The man looked up
stupidly. .',.'."- m
".The effort of undoing the thongs had
been too much for him and had sent
the blood, to his head. He staggered
against the. Venetian .and tried to
. speak. . "After many efforts he got the
words out' suddenly. fcV
• VDrunk, by ; Moses!"\he cried, quite
distinctly,; as he f ell , at'Zeno's feet- J
:In his . -vexation " Zeno could- have
kicked .: the' stupid \u25a0 mass of humanity
across! the great 'yard, but he was far
; too,, wise to .waste his time so unproflt
ably.... Instead- of : "klcklng ; him he
stepped across ; him.' -thrust his hands
' under l the unconscious man's armpits.
.Bove^him'up ~\ like : a sack : of .flour, got
him = oyer^ his * shoulder and carried \u25a0 hlrn^
'tolthe^openldoorof the nearest stable.'
whence the; light .came. -- Five .horsea
-stood or lay^ in their stalls, but the sixth
-stall" was i vacant and . there was .'fresh
straw ; ln.lt. \\ Zeno^threw the man, down
there and ' looked 'around to see , that no
.one'else.was.lntheplace. •
»; The; trooper-. was now, sound asleep.
'and , It 'was \u25a0 the work [of a few^ moments
to pull: off [his' boots, of soft^ ; leather and
slip them -on? for Zeno' had left his own
and: had walked \n his cloth
.hose; \ he , took w off* the '*\u25a0 soldier's • sword
1 belt - and I the ' latter^of •* rich
? scarlet; cloth" trimmed". with heavy. silver
; lace. v the *": belt ? being - ; entirely *: covered
iwith silver, scales.'y Th» drunken sleeper
•"grunted ; ,withjsatisfaction when be. felt
i himself Irelieved ;i>f ; his > useless ., clothes
* and f settled ; himself {comfortably , in- the
t straw \while Zeno ; put : on th'ej tunic over
;. his : own^ buff- jerkin': and fdre-w^ the belt
"' tight ! round -his .waist.- settled ,the man'?
nail [Greek f cap Von l^ his vownlv ownl head ' at ; - the
r»Froper|angle.*i as |the; troopers", wore y It
threw the' military cloak' ovor hia
arm. _'--> BBBBQHBBOBB
He"cquld now, easily pass himself for
.'a^trooper^ atlthelgate.'i and ; a 1 man .who
has been -a soldier is rarely at a loss
among soldiers, especially If he wears »
uniform. In consideration of wbat he
had taken. Zeno left the man his wallet
with the piece of gold and anything *!se
It might contain, and after carefully re
moving: a few wisps of straw that cVuas
to his clothes he went toward tha door
of the stable.
His plan was to saunter. to the fata
and loiter there till >- chance offered of
opening the small nijrht postern la the
great door, which ha had noticed la
passing? the palace when the gates were
open. The fact of his being sober when
almost ever? one else was more or lass*
Intoxicated would give him a great ad
vantage. •'\u25a0 v
But as he turned from the sleeper and
walked along the line from the empty
stall, which was the last. hi 3 eye fell
on the. saddles and bridles, neatly ar
ranged on stout pe^s that projected
from the walls, each set opposite the
stall of the horse to which it belonged.
He peered out into the wide court, and
listened for the sound of voices.
All was very quiet outside. Zeno
changed his plan, turned back Into the ..
stable and began to saddle the horse
farthest from the door. He did not
mean to ride far else he would have
picked out his mount with all tha judg
ment he possessed. There was bat *
dash to make, and it was far more Im
portant that no passing trooper should
see him In the act of putting on saddle
and bridle than that he should have the
best horse under him afterward. *
When he had finished he led tha
charger past the other stalls, stopping
just before he reached the door to put
out the oil lamp- that kuar by tha,en
trance. This done, he slipped his arm
through the bridle and left the stable..
He struck across the deserted court
toward the palace, until he was almost
In the. middle of the yard, and opposite
the great gate, toward which he looked
steadily for some seconds, trying to
make out. by the uncertain light that
dimly illuminated it from within,
whether the doors under tha arch were
open or shut There was just a possi
bility that they might be open. It was
worth trying for; and. after all. if they
were .barred, he was sura ho could tta
pos c upon the sentinels to open them.
A man accustomed to command does
not doubt that he must be obeyed whan
he asserts himself.
Zeno mounted the big horse, put him
from a walk to a canter, and from a
canter to a thundering gallop that
roused echoes all round the court.
As he came near he saw that th«
doors were shut, but he did not slacken,
speed till he was almost upon tha
startled sentinels. Then he drew rein
suddenly, as was tha practice of horse
manship in those days, and the great
Tunisian threw himself back on his
haunches with outstretched forefeet,
while Zeno called out to tha watch.
"On the emperor's service!** ha shout
ed. "The gates, and quickly!"
The sentinels wera tolerably sober.
for they. -were not to get their full
share of the flood of wina that was
Cowing till their guard was relieved.
But they could hardly ba* .blamed for
obeying Zeno's Imperativa command. It
was not likely that a guardsman of
their troop who wished to slip out of
barracks for a night's amusement
would dress himself in full uniform
and coma galloping and shouting to
the gate/ nor that any trooper would
dare to pretend that he rods on tha
emperor's business if it were not true.
\u25a0 The two sentinels, therefore, did not
hesitate, but set their long cavalry
lances upright against the walls on
either side, took down the bar and laid
hold of the ponderous gates, each man
taking one and throwing himself back
ward with all his weight to move It
"When once started the doors swung
slowly but easily backward. Zeno sat
motionless in the saddle ready to dash
• forward a3 soon as there was room for
him to pa s_=«. He had halted just far
enough away to allow the doors to
swing clear of his horse's head as they
were pulled inward. It was an anxious
moment. *
A sJbond more and there would ba
space between the yawning gates. But*
that second had not yet passed whan
a tall officer in scarlet rushed shouting
frons the open door of tha guardhouse
and seized Zeno's bridle.
"Stop hfcnr yelled the lleutsnant.;
"Shut the gates!"
The two soldiers did their best to
obey instantly, but leaves of tha gata
were of cypress wood four inches thick
and covered with bronze and wera
swinging back faster now under tha
impulse they had received. It wu
impossible to c£eck them suddenly, and
the order was hardly spoken whan Zeno
saw that there was room to ride
through.
\ He would have given his fortune for
a pair of Arab spurs at that moment,
but he struck tha corners of his h»«ls
at the horse's tides with all his might
and almost lifted -him by the bridle at
the same time. "The big Tunisian an
swered the call upon his strength \u25a0 bat
ter than the. rider had dared to hope;
he gathered himself and lifted bis fore
; quarters, shaking his head savagely to
"get rid of the bands that grasped tha
off rein close to the bit, and then ha
dashed forward, straight between tha
doors, throwing ' the , oCtcer to tha
ground and dragging htm violently
away In the powerful stride of his
heavy .gallop. * .
. Seeing what had happened tha aan
tlnels started in pursuit at full speed.
. following the sound of the charger's
* shoes on the cobblestones rather than
anything they could see, for it was
as dark as pitch outside.
The officer, who was very actlva and
seemed indifferent to the frightful risk
ha ran. still . clung to tha bridle, re
gained his f eet. ; ran nimbly by tha side
of the galloping . horse and seemed
about to spring up and close with Zeno
to drag hlm : from* the saddle. Zeno
had no weapon within reach now. for
- his knife I was in nl3 own belt under
"the- belted- tunic he wore over his
• clothes, and .he could not possibly get
at It. But the odcer was unarmed, too.
\u25a0 as he Jhad sprung, from his couch and
was at a great' disadvantage on foot
*\u25a0 \u25a0. They dashed on into the darkness ot
the broad street.. Zeno bent down and
tried to get, at his adversary's collar
with his right hand, but the officer
dodged him. and Jerked the bridle with
desperate energy, brlngingthe Tuni
sian, to a stand after one more furious
plunge. ? At"; the "same time \Zem>
heard .the footsteps of the two guards- .
* men running up behind, and, he real
ized" that the odds -were three Uo on*
against him. and that he had no
weapon - In his hand. .The troopers, of
•.course. had;thelr Greek 'sabers. If ha
: could not £ escape he must either, bo
- taken alive 'or cut to ; pieces on : tha
:*. spot." with "no defense but his bara
\u25a0' hands. • '
He "did not hesitate. The officer.
• dragging ; down the charger's head by
, hU weight; to stop him, was almost on
.""\u25a0 his knees for a moment, on the off side.
i of course, and the soldiers had not yet'
' come up. Zeno dropped the reins, \u25a0
•• sp'ran? from the saddle and ran for hi*
> 'life. :^MOBPBPP ~" "
; (To Be Continued Next .Week.)
