ded to the desire of the villain in the purple, now that his
father, by showing himself to the people in the 'toga pretexta', had
set the seal to their basest suspicions. The thought that henceforth he
could never hope to feel the grasp of an honest man's hand gnawed at his
heart.

The esteem of Diodoros was dear to him, and, when his young comrade
spoke to him, he felt at first as though he were doing him an unexpected
honor; but then he fell back into the suspicion that this was only for
his sister's sake.

The deep sigh that broke from him induced Melissa to speak a few words
of comfort, and now the unhappy man's bursting heart overflowed. In
eloquent words he described to Diodoros and Melissa all he had felt, and
the terrible consequences of his heedless folly, and as he spoke acute
regret filled his eyes with tears.

He had pronounced judgment on himself, and expected nothing of his
friend but a little pity. But in the darkness Diodoros sought and found
his hand, and grasped it fervently; and if Alexander could but have
seen his old playfellow's face, he would have perceived that his eyes
glistened as he said what he could to encourage him to hope for better
days.

Diodoros knew his friend well. He was incapable of falsehood; and his
deed, which under a false light so easily assumed an aspect of villainy,
had, in fact, been no more than an act of thoughtlessness such as he had
himself often lent a hand in. Alexander, however, seemed determined not
to hear the comfort offered him by his sister and his friend. A flash of
lightning revealed him to them, sitting with a bent head and his hands
over his brow; and this gloomy vision of one who so lately had been the
gayest of the gay troubled their revived happiness even more than the
thought of the danger which, as each knew, threatened the others.

As they passed the Temple of Artemis, which was brightly illuminated,
reminding them that they were reaching their destination, Alexander
at last looked up and begged the lovers to consider their immediate
affairs. His mind had remained clear, and what he said showed that he
had not lost sight of his sister's future.

As soon as Melissa should have effected her escape, Caesar would
undoubtedly seize, not only her lover, but his father as well. Diodoros
must forthwith cross the lake and rouse Polybius and Praxilla, to warn
them of the imminent danger, while Alexander undertook to hire a ship
for the party. Argutis would