nd strength to move. A flood of bright light, in which
whirled millions of motes, danced before her eyes; and as her breath
sent the atoms flying, it passed through her mind that at this very
moment the reprobate utterance of a madman's lips was blowing happiness,
joy, peace, and hope out of the lives of many thousands--blowing them
into nothingness, like the blast of a storm.

Then she commanded herself, for the horrible scene before her threatened
to stamp itself on her eye like the image her father could engrave on
an onyx; and she must avoid that, or give up all hope of ever being
light-hearted again. Hardly an hour since she had seen the arena looking
like a basket of fresh flowers, full of splendid, youthful men. Then the
warriors of the Macedonian phalanx had taken their places on the
long ranks of seats on which she looked down, with several cohorts
of archers, brown Numidians and black Ethiopians, like inquisitive
spectators of the expected show--but all in full armor. At first
the youths and men had formed in companies, with singing, talk, and
laughter, and here and there a satirical chant; but presently there
had been squabbles with the town-watch, and while the younger and more
careless still were gay enough, whole companies on the other hand had
looked up indignantly at the Romans; some had anxiously questioned each
other's eyes, or stared down in sullen dismay at the sand.

The hot, seething blood of these men--the sons of a free city,
and accustomed to a life of rapid action in hard work and frenzied
enjoyment--took the delay very much amiss; and when it was rumored that
the doors were being locked, impatience and distrust found emphatic
utterance. Timid whistling and other expressions of disapproval had been
followed by louder demonstrations, for to be locked up was intolerable.
But the lictors and guards took no notice, after removing the member of
the Museum who had perpetrated the epigram on Caesar's mother. This one,
who had certainly gone too far, was to pay for all, it would seem.

Then the trumpets sounded, and the most heedless of the troop of youths
began to feel acute anxiety and alarm. From her high post of observation
Melissa could see that, although the appearance of Zminis on the scene
had caused a fever of agitation, they now broke their serried squares,
wandered about as if undecided what to do, but prepared for the worst,
and turned their curly heads now to this side and now to that, ti