ve
judged us better off where we were than if wandering alone. Now whatever
the risks of an attempt to escape, whatever the perils we may encounter if
we escape, try to escape we must. I have an intuition that this camp is,
tonight, the most dangerous spot in all Italy."

We peered out of the tent at intervals; without hindrance or danger, for
our tent-mates were utterly asleep. The night was windless and warm. A
moon, more than half full, rose about midnight and, as it climbed the sky,
shed a pearly light through a veil of mist which deepened and thickened.
Near the ground the mist was so thick that it made escape easy, though
blundering likely.

We tried to judge our time so as to start a full hour before the first
streak of dawn. We traversed unhindered a camp sunk in sleep, where we
heard no sound but crapulous snorings. Northward, towards the Mulvian
Bridge, we sneaked out into the tomb-lined meadows. Through or above the
dense fog we could spy the pinnacles of several vast and ambitious
mausoleums glittering in the moon-rays.

We were not a hundred yards from the camp when I dimly perceived ahead of
us through the fog something like a wall or stockade about two yards high.
A step or two further, at the same moment at which I made out that it was
a serried rank of helmetted men, a challenge rang out, sharp and
peremptory.

Instantaneously we dropped on our hands and knees and crawled back to
camp.

"I told you I had a suspicion that this was a dangerous locality,"
Agathemer whispered when we had stood up and gotten our breath. "Those
were regular infantry of some sort. We can only hope that they are on that
side only. Let's try towards Rome."

There, at about the same distance we were similarly challenged.

In camp again Agathemer said:

"Those were Praetorian infantrymen, and they were standing shoulder to
shoulder. This looks bad. But I believe in taking every possible chance.
Let's try towards the road."

Eastwards also we encountered the like obstacle.

Back we crawled unpursued. As we skurried through the snoring camp,
unperceived by the sodden sleepers, Agathemer said, aloud:

"This looks increasingly bad. The Praetorians are standing with
interlocked elbows; they look unpleasantly like samples of a complete
cordon round the camp. The mounted Praetorians are behind them not two
horse-lengths and less than that apart. I divined some sort of troops
massed behind the cavalrymen. I feel frightened."