ror Gratian, and
thinking he must now be secure, I wrote again for men. He answered: "You
will learn that I have at last settled accounts with the pup Gratian.
There was no need that he should have died, but he became confused and
lost his head, which is a bad thing to befall any Emperor. Tell your
Father I am content to drive two mules only; for unless my old General's
son thinks himself destined to destroy me, I shall rest Emperor of Gaul
and Britain, and then you, my two children, will presently get all the men
you need. Just now I can spare none."'

'What did he mean by his General's son?' said Dan.

'He meant Theodosius Emperor of Rome, who was the son of Theodosius the
General under whom Maximus had fought in the old Pict War. The two men
never loved each other, and when Gratian made the younger Theodosius
Emperor of the East (at least, so I've heard), Maximus carried on the war
to the second generation. It was his fate, and it was his fall. But
Theodosius the Emperor is a good man. As I know.' Parnesius was silent for
a moment and then continued.

'I wrote back to Maximus that, though we had peace on the Wall, I should
be happier with a few more men and some new catapults. He answered: "You
must live a little longer under the shadow of my victories, till I can see
what young Theodosius intends. He may welcome me as a brother-Emperor, or
he may be preparing an army. In either case I cannot spare men just now."'

'But he was always saying that,' cried Una.

'It was true. He did not make excuses; but thanks, as he said, to the news
of his victories, we had no trouble on the Wall for a long, long time. The
Picts grew fat as their own sheep among the heather, and as many of my men
as lived were well exercised in their weapons. Yes, the Wall looked
strong. For myself, I knew how weak we were. I knew that if even a false
rumour of any defeat to Maximus broke loose among the Winged Hats, they
might come down in earnest, and then--the Wall must go! For the Picts I
never cared, but in those years I learned something of the strength of the
Winged Hats. They increased their strength every day, but I could not
increase my men. Maximus had emptied Britain behind us, and I felt myself
to be a man with a rotten stick standing before a broken fence to turn
bulls.

'Thus, my friends, we lived on the Wall, waiting--waiting--waiting for the
men that Maximus never sent!

'Presently he wrote that he was preparing an army agains