ugh she is a Christian, it may turn out that she has more
judgment than thou; and it will certainly, unless she wishes thy ruin."

Vinicius shrugged his shoulders. "She saved me from the hands of Ursus."

"Then hurry, for Bronzebeard will not postpone his departure. Sentences
of death may be issued in Antium also."

But Vinicius did not hear. One thought alone occupied him, an interview
with Lygia; hence he began to think over methods.

Meanwhile something intervened which might set aside every difficulty.
Chilo came to his house unexpectedly.

He entered wretched and worn, with signs of hunger on his face and in
rags; but the servants, who had the former command to admit him at
all hours of the day or night, did not dare to detain him, so he went
straight to the atrium, and standing before Vinicius said,--"May the
gods give thee immortality, and share with thee dominion over the
world."

Vinicius at the first moment wished to give the order to throw him
out of doors; but the thought came to him that the Greek perhaps knew
something of Lygia, and curiosity overcame his disgust.

"Is that thou?" asked he. "What has happened to thee?"

"Evil, O son of Jove," answered Chilo. "Real virtue is a ware for which
no one inquires now, and a genuine sage must be glad of this even, that
once in five days he has something with which to buy from the butcher a
sheep's head, to gnaw in a garret, washing it down with his tears. Ah,
lord! What thou didst give me I paid Atractus for books, and afterward
I was robbed and ruined. The slave who was to write down my wisdom
fled, taking the remnant of what thy generosity bestowed on me. I am
in misery, but I thought to myself: To whom can I go, if not to thee, O
Serapis, whom I love and deify, for whom I have exposed my life?"

"Why hast thou come, and what dost thou bring?"

"I come for aid, O Baal, and I bring my misery, my tears, my love, and
finally the information which through love for thee I have collected.
Thou rememberest, lord, I told thee once how I had given a slave of the
divine Petronius one thread from the girdle of the Paphian Venus? I know
now that it helped her, and thou, O descendant of the Sun, who knowest
what is happening in that house, knowest also what Eunice is there. I
have another such thread. I have preserved it for thee, lord."

Here he stopped, on noticing the anger which was gathering on the brows
of Vinicius, and said quickly, so as to anticipate the