THE ROBE Read Online Free PDF

manners,'
drawled Marcellus. 'Are you to await an answer?'
    'Imperial commands require obedience; not replies!' shouted Quintus. He
pulled his horse about savagely, dug in his spurs, and made off, pursued by his
obsequious aide.
    'Gaius is prompt,' commented the Senator. There was satisfaction on his
face as he watched his son's steady hands, and the cool deliberateness with
which he drew his dagger and thrust the point of it through the wax. Unrolling
the ostentatious document, Marcellus held it at an angle where his father might
share its contents. Gallio read it aloud, in a rasping undertone.
     
    Prince Gaius Drusus Agrippa to Trib. Marcellus Lucan Gallio:
    Greeting:
    The courage of a Military Tribune should not be squandered in
banquet-halls. It should be serving the Empire in positions where reckless
audacity is honorable and valorous. Tribune Marcellus Lucan Gallio is commanded
to report, before sunset, at the Praetorium of Chief Legate M. Cornelius
Capito, and receive his commission.
     
    Marcellus rolled up the scroll, tossed it negligently to Demetrius, who
thrust it into the breast of his tunic; and, turning to his father, remarked,
'We have plenty of time to go out and see Ismael's horses.'
    The Senator proudly drew himself erect, gave his son a respectful bow,
strutted down the marble steps; and, taking the bridle reins, mounted his
mettlesome black gelding. Marcellus beckoned to Demetrius.
    'You heard that message?' he queried, abruptly.
    'Not if it was private, sir,' countered Demetrius.
    'Sounds a bit malicious,' observed Marcellus. 'The Prince evidently
wishes to dispose of me.'
    'Yes, sir,' agreed Demetrius.
    'Well--I brought this upon myself,' said Marcellus. 'I shall not order
you to risk your life. You are at liberty to decide whether--'
    'I shall go with you, sir.'
    'Very good. Inspect my equipment--and look over your own tackle, too.'
Marcellus started down the steps, and turned to say, soberly, 'You're going to
your death, you know.'
    'Yes, sir,' said Demetrius. 'You will need some heavier sandals, sir.
Shall I get them?'
    'Yes--and several pairs for yourself. Ask Marcipor for the money.'
    After a lively tussle with the bay, who was impatient to overtake her
stable-mate, Marcellus drew up beside the Senator, and they slowed their horses
to a trot.
    'I tarried for a word with Demetrius. I shall take him with me.'
    'Of course.'
    'I told him he might decide.'
    'That was quite proper.'
    'I told him he might never come back alive.'
    'Probably not,' said the Senator, grimly, 'but you can be assured that
he will never come back alone.'
    'Demetrius is a very sound fellow--for a slave,' observed Marcellus.
    The Senator made no immediate rejoinder, but his stern face and flexed
jaw indicated that his reflections were weighty.
    'My son,' he said at length, staring moodily down the road, 'we could
use a few men in the Roman Senate with the brains and bravery of your slave,
Demetrius.' He pulled his horse down to a walk. '"Demetrius is a sound
fellow--for a slave"; eh? Well--his being a slave does not mean that what
he thinks, what he says, and what he does are unimportant. One of these days
the slaves are going to take over this rotted Government! They could do it
tomorrow if they were organized. You might say that their common desire for
liberty should unite them, but that is not enough. All men want more liberty
than they have. What the Roman slaves lack is leadership. In time, that will
come. You shall see!' The Senator paused so long, after this amazing
declaration, that Marcellus felt some response was in order.
    'I never heard you express that opinion before, sir. Do you think there
will be an uprising--among the slaves?'
    'It lacks form,' replied Gallio. 'It lacks cohesion. But some day it
will take shape; it will be integrated; it will develop a leader, a cause, a
slogan, a banner. Three-fourths of this city's inhabitants either have been or
are slaves. Daily our expeditionary forces arrive with new