world.
“So you see, Senator Metellus, my position here is not just that of Roman governor over a mixed pack of Greeks and Phoenicians. There is a balancing act going on here. Future relations between Rome and Egypt are in that balance.”
“I spoke with Cato before I came here,” I said. “He said he set things in order with no trouble.”
“That’s Cato,” Gabinius said. “And he had little concern save the local population and local affairs. He gave them a taste of the Roman whip and, as usual, they settled down. That was while I was busy putting old Ptolemy Auletes’ fat rump back on his throne. Now things are different.”
“When Caesar finishes in Gaul,” Silvanus said, “all of Rome’s attention will be turned eastward. There are matters to settle with Parthia, and something will have to be done about those squabbling Jewish princes. They’re disrupting trade and foreign relations in a crucial part of the world. We’ll want Ptolemy’s support in those operations: supplies, auxiliaries, garrison troops—he has them all to spare. So please try not to get his favorite daughter killed, even if she did conspire to have you murdered.”
Gabinius clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve accomplished plenty of work with men who’ve tried to kill me, every Roman of any stature has. I hear you even cooperated with Clodius on an occasion or two. Just do the work, never trust him or turn your back on him. If you can do that with a bloody lunatic like Clodius, surely you can hold your own with a girl playing at war.”
The grizzled old centurion came in. “No luck. We found the man in an alley, dead. He’d bled out from that arm cut. Severed the big vessel. I’m amazed he got as far as he did.”
“How about the other one?” I asked.
“Died before they got him to the lockup.”
“Well, so much for that.” Silvanus said disgustedly. “Senator, I think we’ve kept you long enough, and I hope you’ll keep what we’ve said in mind.”
“Gentlemen,” I said, lurching to my feet, “rest assured that I shall give your words my closest attention. And now, I bid you good night.”
I walked back to my quarters as steadily as I could and found Hermes waiting up for me, sitting with his sword across his knees.
“Sleep across the doorway tonight,” I told him, “and keep your weapons handy. From here on in, we trust nobody.”
“You mean we were trusting someone before?”
A S SOON AS THE SUN CAME UP, MY MEN put their shoulders to the hulls and pushed them into the water. They floated prettily, spruced up and repainted, ready to go out and ravage the enemies of Rome. The sailors swam out to them and worked them under oars to the long wharf, where the marines boarded and supplies were loaded.
Cleopatra’s ship already floated out in the harbor, and to judge by her royal banner she was aboard already. The enthusiasms of the young are irrepressible.
“A message for Senator Metellus!” shouted someone. I turned from my supply tally to see a boy running down the wharf, holding aloft a bronze message carrier. “Harbormaster Orchus sends you this, Senator.” I took the polished tube from his hand and twisted off the cap. Inside was a slip of papyrus.
To the Commodore of the Roman Fleet,
I read, smiling at the grandiose salutation.
The grain ship
Hapi
has just put in on its way from Egypt to Piraeus. Its master reports that yesterday he passed a devastated village on the island of Salia.
“Brief and to the point,” I remarked. “Ion, how far is this place?” “Half a day’s sailing if the winds are favorable, which this time of year they won’t be. But they’ve been there and gone. Won’t do any good to look at burned houses and dead bodies.”
“Still, it’s a starting place. We may be able to quiz witnesses, and, in any case, with so many new men we need a shakedown cruise and plenty of drill before I’ll feel ready to take them into a fight. This is as good an excuse as
“So you see, Senator Metellus, my position here is not just that of Roman governor over a mixed pack of Greeks and Phoenicians. There is a balancing act going on here. Future relations between Rome and Egypt are in that balance.”
“I spoke with Cato before I came here,” I said. “He said he set things in order with no trouble.”
“That’s Cato,” Gabinius said. “And he had little concern save the local population and local affairs. He gave them a taste of the Roman whip and, as usual, they settled down. That was while I was busy putting old Ptolemy Auletes’ fat rump back on his throne. Now things are different.”
“When Caesar finishes in Gaul,” Silvanus said, “all of Rome’s attention will be turned eastward. There are matters to settle with Parthia, and something will have to be done about those squabbling Jewish princes. They’re disrupting trade and foreign relations in a crucial part of the world. We’ll want Ptolemy’s support in those operations: supplies, auxiliaries, garrison troops—he has them all to spare. So please try not to get his favorite daughter killed, even if she did conspire to have you murdered.”
Gabinius clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve accomplished plenty of work with men who’ve tried to kill me, every Roman of any stature has. I hear you even cooperated with Clodius on an occasion or two. Just do the work, never trust him or turn your back on him. If you can do that with a bloody lunatic like Clodius, surely you can hold your own with a girl playing at war.”
The grizzled old centurion came in. “No luck. We found the man in an alley, dead. He’d bled out from that arm cut. Severed the big vessel. I’m amazed he got as far as he did.”
“How about the other one?” I asked.
“Died before they got him to the lockup.”
“Well, so much for that.” Silvanus said disgustedly. “Senator, I think we’ve kept you long enough, and I hope you’ll keep what we’ve said in mind.”
“Gentlemen,” I said, lurching to my feet, “rest assured that I shall give your words my closest attention. And now, I bid you good night.”
I walked back to my quarters as steadily as I could and found Hermes waiting up for me, sitting with his sword across his knees.
“Sleep across the doorway tonight,” I told him, “and keep your weapons handy. From here on in, we trust nobody.”
“You mean we were trusting someone before?”
A S SOON AS THE SUN CAME UP, MY MEN put their shoulders to the hulls and pushed them into the water. They floated prettily, spruced up and repainted, ready to go out and ravage the enemies of Rome. The sailors swam out to them and worked them under oars to the long wharf, where the marines boarded and supplies were loaded.
Cleopatra’s ship already floated out in the harbor, and to judge by her royal banner she was aboard already. The enthusiasms of the young are irrepressible.
“A message for Senator Metellus!” shouted someone. I turned from my supply tally to see a boy running down the wharf, holding aloft a bronze message carrier. “Harbormaster Orchus sends you this, Senator.” I took the polished tube from his hand and twisted off the cap. Inside was a slip of papyrus.
To the Commodore of the Roman Fleet,
I read, smiling at the grandiose salutation.
The grain ship
Hapi
has just put in on its way from Egypt to Piraeus. Its master reports that yesterday he passed a devastated village on the island of Salia.
“Brief and to the point,” I remarked. “Ion, how far is this place?” “Half a day’s sailing if the winds are favorable, which this time of year they won’t be. But they’ve been there and gone. Won’t do any good to look at burned houses and dead bodies.”
“Still, it’s a starting place. We may be able to quiz witnesses, and, in any case, with so many new men we need a shakedown cruise and plenty of drill before I’ll feel ready to take them into a fight. This is as good an excuse as
Similar Books
