fond of him and
his barbarians, though we never let them paint us Pict fashion. The marks
endure till you die.'

'How's it done?' said Dan. 'Anything like tattooing?'

'They prick the skin till the blood runs, and rub in coloured juices. Allo
was painted blue, green, and red from his forehead to his ankles. He said
it was part of his religion. He told us about his religion (Pertinax was
always interested in such things), and as we came to know him well, he
told us what was happening in Britain behind the Wall. Many things took
place behind us in those days. And, by the Light of the Sun,' said
Parnesius, earnestly, 'there was not much that those little people did not
know! He told me when Maximus crossed over to Gaul, after he had made
himself Emperor of Britain, and what troops and emigrants he had taken
with him. _We_ did not get the news on the Wall till fifteen days later.
He told me what troops Maximus was taking out of Britain every month to
help him to conquer Gaul; and I always found the numbers as he said.
Wonderful! And I tell another strange thing!'

He jointed his hands across his knees, and leaned his head on the curve of
the shield behind him.

'Late in the summer, when the first frosts begin and the Picts kill their
bees, we three rode out after wolf with some new hounds. Rutilianus, our
General, had given us ten days' leave, and we had pushed beyond the Second
Wall--beyond the Province of Valentia--into the higher hills, where there
are not even any of Rome's old ruins. We killed a she-wolf before noon,
and while Allo was skinning her he looked up and said to me, "When you are
Captain of the Wall, my child, you won't be able to do this any more!"

'I might as well have been made Prefect of Lower Gaul, so I laughed and
said, "Wait till I am Captain." "No, don't wait," said Allo. "Take my
advice and go home--both of you." "We have no homes," said Pertinax. "You
know that as well as we do. We're finished men--thumbs down against both of
us. Only men without hope would risk their necks on your ponies." The old
man laughed one of those short Pict laughs--like a fox barking on a frosty
night. "I'm fond of you two," he said. "Besides, I've taught you what
little you know about hunting. Take my advice and go home."

'"We can't," I said. "I'm out of favour with my General, for one thing;
and for another, Pertinax has an uncle."

'"I don't know about his uncle," said Allo, "but the trouble with you,
Parnesiu