But a man had followed him, and through the darkness, for the lights
of the feast were hidden by the corner of the palace, he recognised
Spendius.
"Begone!" said he.
The slave without replying began to tear his tunic with his teeth;
then kneeling beside Matho he tenderly took his arm, and felt it in the
shadow to discover the wound.
By a ray of the moon which was then gliding between the clouds, Spendius
perceived a gaping wound in the middle of the arm. He rolled the piece
of stuff about it, but the other said irritably, "Leave me! leave me!"
"Oh no!" replied the slave. "You released me from the ergastulum. I am
yours! you are my master! command me!"
Matho walked round the terrace brushing against the walls. He strained
his ears at every step, glancing down into the silent apartments through
the spaces between the gilded reeds. At last he stopped with a look of
despair.
"Listen!" said the slave to him. "Oh! do not despise me for my
feebleness! I have lived in the palace. I can wind like a viper through
the walls. Come! in the Ancestor's Chamber there is an ingot of gold
beneath every flagstone; an underground path leads to their tombs."
"Well! what matters it?" said Matho.
Spendius was silent.
They were on the terrace.
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