The Gladiator Read Online Free PDF

over.We lost quite a few of the crew and passengers. Mostly swept away. The rest were killed or injured by the ship’s kit when it broke loose. ‘
    ‘Julia’s safe then, ‘ Cato muttered to himself as a surge of relief flowed through him. He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart and looked up at Macro. ‘She thinks I was lost?’
    Macro nodded. ‘Putting a brave face on it, of course, what with her being the daughter of a senator. But you might want to put her mind at rest sooner rather than later. Then we need to get this tub seaworthy again, otherwise we’ll all be for the chop. ‘
    Cato struggled to his feet. ‘Where is she?’
    ‘In the hold. Helping get rid of the cargo. Her idea, not mine, before you ask. Now then, ‘ Macro turned to a nearby sailor, ‘give a hand with this. ‘
    Leaving Macro and the other man to ditch the unwieldy amphora, Cato crossed the deck towards the open cargo hold.As he approached, he saw Sempronius looking up.The senator broke into a broad smile.
    ‘Well now! I’d given you up for dead, Centurion. ‘
    Cato grasped the hand that was offered to him, and clasped the senator’s arm. The older man stared at him for a moment and then spoke softly. ‘It’s good to see you, my boy. I feared the worst. ‘
    ‘So did I, ‘ Cato replied ruefully. ‘Seems the gods aren’t quite finished with me. ‘
    ‘Indeed. I will make a sacrifice to Fortuna the moment we reach dry land. ‘
    ‘Thank you, sir. ‘ Cato nodded, and then looked past the senator down into the ship’s hold. Even in the gloom he could make Julia out at once. She was bent over a waterlogged bale of finely woven cloth, struggling to lift it on to her shoulder.
    ‘Excuse me, sir. ‘ Cato released the senator’s hand and hopped over the side of the hatch, dropping slightly behind Julia. He leaned forward to help her, brushing her arm as he took hold of the cloth. She flinched and snapped.
    ‘I can manage!’ ‘Let me help, Julia. ‘ She froze for an instant and then responded in a whisper, without turning her head. ‘Cato?’ ‘Of course. ‘
    Dropping the bale, Julia rose up and spun round, throwing her arms around him. ‘Cato! Oh, Cato…I thought… ‘ She stared up into his eyes, her lips trembling. Then she buried her face in his sodden chest and clenched her fists into the back of his tunic. He felt her shudder and then he heard a sob. He prised himselfback so that he could look down at her face.
    ‘It’s all right, Julia. Shhh, my love. There’s no need for tears, I’m alive and well. ‘
    ‘I know, I know, but I thought I might have lost you. ‘
    ‘Really?’ Cato raised his eyebrows. It was a lucky thing indeed that he had survived the wave. He forced a smile. ‘Takes more than a bloody wave to finish me off. ‘
    Julia released her grip and thumped him on the chest. ‘Don’t ever do that to me again. ‘
    ‘I promise. Unless we run into another wave, that is. ‘ ‘Cato!’ she growled. ‘Don’t!’ They were interrupted by a loud cough and turned to see Macro, hands on hips, looking down into the hold with a bemused expression. ‘Ifyou two have quite finished, can we get back to work?’
    The first hours ofthe night were spent getting rid ofas much cargo as possible. The work became progressively harder as the survivors began to get deeper into the hold, where the heaviest items had been loaded. Much of the cargo had been thrown out of position and smashed against the hull or the underside of the cargo hatch. But slowly the
Horus
began to ride higher in the water, to the relief of all aboard. However, as they delved further into the hold, it was clear that the vessel had shipped a great deal of water.
    ‘We can start bailing that out once we’ve shifted a bit more ofthe cargo, ‘ Macro decided. ‘That’ll keep us afloat. ‘
    The mate scratched his chin. ‘Yes, I hope so. ‘ Macro turned to him with an irritable expression. ‘Problem?’ ‘Of course. ‘ The mate