.

But the terrors of death were upon the wretched victim. He knew the
centurion would assuredly be at hand to receive his report, and he
could not escape. He had not brought back one word of intelligence;
and being blindfolded, he knew not whither he had been taken. The
writing he carried would assuredly be unintelligible save to those for
whom it was intended. His mission, he could perceive, had utterly
failed. The centurion would not be able to profit by anything he had
brought back, and must inevitably, according to his pledge, at once
render him up to the soothsayer. Whilst ruminating on his hard fate a
sudden thought crossed him. There was little probability of success,
but at all events it might operate as a diversion in his favour, and
the design was immediately executed. Skulking for a moment behind the
slave, he tore off the bandage, and tripped up the heels of his
conductor. Before the latter could recover himself the Briton's gripe
was on his throat.

"Now, slave, thou art my prisoner! Lead on, or by this good sword,
thou diest!"

The torch he carried was luckily not extinguished in the fall. The
eunuch, almost choking, made a sign that he would obey. With the drawn
blade at his throat, the slave went on; but Cedrick, ever wary, and
with that almost instinctive sagacity peculiar to man in his
half-civilised state, kept a tiger-like watch on every movement of his
prisoner, which enabled him to detect the fingers of the slave
suddenly raised to his lips, and a shrill whistle would have consigned
him over to certain and immediate destruction; but he struck down the
uplifted hand with a blow which made his treacherous conductor crouch
and cringe almost to the ground.

"Another attempt," said Cedric, "and we perish together!"

The wily slave looked all penitence and submission. Silently
proceeding, apparently through the underground avenues of the palace,
Cedric was momentarily expecting his arrival at the place where the
centurion kept watch. A flight of steps now brought them to a spacious
landing-place. Suddenly a lamp was visible, and beneath it sat a
number of soldiers, the emperor's body-guard. They gave way as the
eunuch passed by, followed by Cedric, his sword still drawn. Several
of these groups were successively cleared: the guide, by a
countersign, was enabled to thread his way through every obstacle that
presented itself. The Briton's heart misgave him as they approached a
vestibule, before whi