wo clumps of gnarled trees and starved
bushes near its brow, the view included a full two miles of the highway in
each direction.

I climbed the slope to the lower shelf and ensconced myself where I was
shaded from the sun and had a clear view of the road both ways. From my
coign I watched the traffic. I judged that the northern supply of arena-
beasts was already overtaxed. The procession of wagons was no longer
continuous. They came now in trains of a hundred or so with some miles
between the convoys. Just as I settled myself no beast-wagons were in
sight, the road-traffic was normal. An Imperial courier dashed into view
from the south, tore past at full gallop, and vanished northwards; three
family travelling carriages, also bound north, pulling to the side of the
road to let him pass; as did a train of a score of mules laden with
charcoal.

The first sign of arena-beasts which I saw after I settled myself to watch
was a string of eight elephants, each with a turbaned mahout rocking on
his back, and seven each with his trunk clasping the tail of the elephant
before him. This was the second batch of elephants I had heard of; the
former, I had been told, came by way of Ateste, since the elephants could
swim the Po and all the other rivers had strong stone bridges. These
looked well after their four hundred mile tramp and fit for the hundred
and odd ahead of them.

Before they were out of sight there came into view the head of a column of
wagons which turned out to be loaded with cages of bears, lynxes, bison,
aurochs, elk, wolves and other northern animals. I watched them pass and
meditated. After they were gone the road was normal for a full two hours,
during which I pondered the thoughts which obsessed me and gloomed with
shame over the condition of the Empire. I had brought food and water with
me and ate about noon, slept an hour or more and woke to watch the passage
of two trains of cages full of lions, tigers, leopards and panthers. The
second train was overtaken and passed by two Imperial couriers from the
north, racing each other, the former more than a half mile ahead of the
latter, and, apparently lengthening his lead. I spent the day on the crag.
Also I spent other days there, sometimes on one shelf, sometimes on the
other, sometimes on the top.

Not many days elapsed before I again visited the outlaws' camp and had
another chat with Bulla; not we two alone, for there was always an easy
sociability about