gry and alone in an unknown land he
felt attracted by the kindness of the unhappy creature; there was the
fraternity of misery between them.

"If you desire company, stay near me," he said; "talk as much as you
wish, but do not caress me. I am hungry; I have eaten nothing since
dawn, and at this moment I would exchange all the joys of Cytherea for
the pittance of any mariner."

The harlot stood up straight, so great was her surprise.

"You hungry? You faint with hunger, when I thought you nourished on the
ambrosia of Zeus?"

Her eyes displayed astonishment such as she would have felt had she seen
Aphrodite, the nude, white, goddess who was guarded up there in her
temple, descend from her marble pedestal and offer herself with open
arms to the rowers of the port for an obolus.

"Wait, wait!" she cried with resolution, after a moment's reflection.

The Greek saw her running toward the huts, and when at last weariness
and weakness began to close his eyes, he felt her near him again,
touching his shoulder.

"Take this, my master! It has cost me dear to obtain it. The cruel Lais,
an old woman as horrible as the Pareae, who helps us to live through days
of privation, has agreed to give me her supper, after making me take
oath that by the time the sun rises I will hand her two sestertii. Eat,
my love; eat and drink!"

She placed upon the steps a loaf of brown bread, made in the form of a
disk, some dried fish, half a Saguntine cheese, tender and oozing whey,
and a jar of Celtiberian beer.

The Greek fell upon the food, and began to devour it, followed by the
gaze of the _lupa_, which sweetened at times, and acquired an almost
maternal expression.

"I should like to be as rich as Sonnica, a woman who they say began like
any one of us, and is now mistress of many of these ships, and has
gardens as wonderful as Olympus, troops of slaves, potteries, and half
the domain of the commonwealth as her own property. I should like to be
rich if only for to-night, to regale you on the best there is in the
city; to give you a banquet like one of Sonnica's, which last till dawn,
and where, crowned with roses, you should drink the Samian wine from a
golden cup."

The Greek, touched by the simplicity and ingenuousness with which she
spoke, gazed at her tenderly.

"Do not thank me," she continued. "It is I who should be grateful for
the joy of feeding you. What is this? I know not. Never has a man
approached me before without gi