Odysseus in the Serpent Maze Read Online Free PDF Page A

you.”
    By then a cart had come to a halt next to them. The boys watched as three men began the task of unloading the gifts. A pair of bronze tripods, several painted clay bowls, a polished sword, a massive two-handed gold goblet, a casket of jewels, a footstool inlaid with ebony and a fir-wood box carved with pictures of lions and gryphons. They were all taken on to the ship.
    “That box looks familiar,” Odysseus said.
    “So it should,” said Autolycus with a smirk. “I stole it from your father the last time I visited his palace.”
    “Grandfather!” Odysseus said in mock horror. “Stealing from your son-in-law?”
    Autolycus grinned. “Just keeping my hand in. He’ll be glad to see it back. If indeed he ever noticed it was gone. And your mother will be pleased with what I am sending her, too: those agate beads she loves so well, and three bronze finger rings. And another ring of white onyx. And Hera only knows what else. Woman stuff. Menaera picked them out for me.” He wrinkled his nose. “And I have something special for Mentor as a parting gift.”
    “For me?” Mentor’s voice rose to an alarming squeak.
    “For the young hero who saved my grandson. Here.” He handed Mentor a golden signet ring. “Do you see the carving?”
    Mentor held the ring up so that the sun glinted on it. “A boar hunt!” he said.
    “And finished by my goldsmith just this morning, or I would have given it to you before,” Autolycus said.
    “Sir, I’m overwhelmed …” Mentor began.
    “Quick, put it on your finger,” Odysseus said, his arm around his friend’s shoulder, “or he’ll have it back from you and hidden away before you know it.”
    They walked down towards the ship, a black-tarred beauty with a red and white eye painted on its side. Mentor trailed slightly behind, admiring his new ring.
    “What was in the box when you took it?” Odysseus asked. “In case Father is angry.”
    Autolycus shook his head. “It was empty when I stole it, worse luck. So I’m sending it back just as empty. I may be a thief, but at least I’m an honest one.”
    Mentor had caught up by then and heard the last sentence.
    They all three laughed at that, Autolycus loudest of all.
    At the sound of their laughter, the burly captain of the ship started towards them.
    “It’s a fine ship, and a good crew,” he called out. “You’ll be proud, my king.”
    Autolycus went to meet him. “Tros, you old pirate.” They grasped hands and began speaking rapidly, one to the other.
    “That ship would look better to me,” Odysseus said quietly to Mentor, “if it weren’t taking us back home.”
    Mentor refused to be discouraged. He grasped his friend’s shoulder. “But it’ll be a real voyage this time, Odysseus. We’ll be going the whole length of the Great Gulf—not just taking the short crossing to Ithaca.”
    Autolycus and the captain had finished their conversation and joined the boys.
    “Real voyage, eh?” said the captain, his broad face wreathed by a scraggly beard. There was a slashing scar down from his right eyebrow to his chin. “By sea is quicker. Safer too. You never know what sort of robbers you might run into by the road. Begging your pardon, Autolycus, but you’re—”
    “A thief, not a robber.” Autolycus clapped the captain on the back to show he held no hard feelings. “A fine distinction from a seaman who has done some pirating of his own!”
    “The sea has its own dangers,” Odysseus mused.
    Mentor noted that he sounded more hopeful than scared.
    “A few,” Tros agreed, fingering the scar on his cheek. “But we know how to handle them.”
    “My soothsayer consulted the oracles not once but twice for this trip,” Autolycus said. “He assures me that you’ll have good weather, calm seas, and a fruitful voyage. And I’ll hold Captain Tros responsible if you don’t.”
    “Hold the gods responsible for the seas, not me!” Tros retorted. “I assure you we’ll take proper care of your young