ds will take vengeance on me for having
brought to pass the death of such a haunted one?" Eudemius asked
unexpectedly.

Marius shrugged.

"I did not say that," he answered. "Maybe they will, maybe not. If you
believe that they will, it is probable that they will do so."

Eudemius laughed. As quickly he became grave once more.

"I had not meant to kill him! I was fond of him--I was even going to
give him gold and have put upon him the pileus of a freedman, for he
hath served me well. He had belonged to Constantia, my wife. Perhaps it
was I who was mad to-night. Sometimes I have thought--I must ask
Claudius if there is prospect of that--" He broke off. "Pardon! I
forgot, and thought aloud. To-morrow I shall be myself, but to-night I
am shaken. If you will excuse me, I shall leave you. The house is at
your service, if you do not choose to retire yet. Summon Mycon--he shall
fill Marcus's place--and give what commands you will."

"I think that I shall follow your example," Marius said, and stifled a
yawn, "if you will tell me how to reach my rooms from here through these
labyrinthine passages of yours. This part of the house I do not know
well."

Eudemius looked at him in silence a moment, so that Marius thought he
had not heard his question. He was about to repeat it, when Eudemius
said:

"From this door go to your left, until you come to the gallery which
runs along the northern, not the southern, end of the large court. Go
down this to your right, and you will reach your own apartments. Vale!"

Marius took his leave, wishing his host good rest. He strolled through
halls on which looked numberless rooms, furnished richly, warm and
silent, waiting for the guests who never came. Not a servant was in
sight; the silence of midnight wrapped the place in slumber. Lamps,
swinging from tall standards or from the ceilings, shed a mellow light
around; his feet pressed rich woven rugs which hid the mosaic pavements
beneath. Around him was a golden perfumed stillness. He went more
slowly, steeping his senses in the aroma of luxury.

"How a man might welcome his friends to such a house as this!" he
muttered. "I can see them here around me--Fabian, Julius, Volux, all the
rest. Ye gods, how the walls would echo! Now it all lies fallow, its
wealth unknown, its treasures unseen. It should be used--ay, used to the
very top notch of its value. Where is the use of paintings, marbles,
rugs, halls, gardens, wealth such as this, with