te of appearances.

"Commodus commanded me to visit Antioch, as he said, for a rest," said
Pertinax. "The public excuse was, that I should look into the
possibility of holding the Olympic games here. Strangely enough, I
suspected nothing. He has been flatteringly friendly of late. Those
whom I requested him to spare, he spared, even though their names were
on his proscription list and I had not better excuse than that they had
done no wrong! The day before I left I brought a list to him of names
that I commended to his favor--your father's name among them, Sextus."

Pertinax turned his back again and strode toward the window, where he
stood like a statue framed in the luminous gloom. The only part of him
that moved was his long fingers, weaving together behind him until the
knuckles cracked.

Cornificia, subduing her contralto voice, read the letter aloud:

"To Nimius Secundus Sextus, son of Galienus Maximus, the freedman Rufus
Glabrio sends humble greeting.

"May the gods give solace and preserve you. Notwithstanding all your
noble father's piety--his respect for elders and superiors--he was
accused of treason and of blasphemy toward the emperor, by whose orders
he was seized yesterday and beheaded the same day. The estates have
already been seized. It is said they will be sold to Asinus Sejanus,
who is probably the source of the accusation against your father.

"I and three other freedmen made our escape and will attempt to reach
Tarentum, where we will await instructions from you. Titus, the son of
the freedman Paulinus, will convey this letter to Brundisium and thence
by boat to Dyrrachium, whence he will send it by post in the charge of a
Jew whom he says he can trust.

"It is a certainty that orders will go forth to seize yourself, since
the estates in Antioch are known to be of great value. Therefore, we
your true friends and devoted servants, urge you to make all speed in
escaping. Stay not to make provision for yourself, but travel without
encumbrances. Hide! Hasten!

"We commend this letter to you as a sure proof that we ourselves are to
be trusted, since, if it should fall into the hands of an informer by
the way, our lives undoubtedly would pay the forfeit. We have not much
money, but enough for the expenses of a journey to a foreign land. The
place where we will hide near Tarentum is known to you. In deep
anxiety, and not without such sacrifices to the gods and to the manes of
your n