THE CUNNING OF JULIUS.
"O Jew, thou hast brought to Tiberias the gladiators of Caius of
Thessalonica! Woe to thee and to thy accursed race! But I have orders
concerning thee and these. They will give us fine sport before long."
Low bowed Ben Ezra to the Roman officer of the gate and his reverent
reply came not fully to the ears of Ulric; but the jarl's face flushed
haughtily, for he liked neither the speech nor the manner of the
Roman. The Saxons, also, were watching their jarl and their faces also
reddened, the hands of men tightening upon the shafts of their spears.
"He will be prudent," they said, "but we are not slaves, to be trodden
on. As he doeth so will we."
Unto him now the officer turned as if he were looking at some newly
caught wild beast.
"O Saxon," he said, "I have heard of thee. Thou didst well by the
robbers, but they cost thy Caius of Thessalonica a tall swordsman.
Now thou art to be made food for a lion. I shall see thee torn in the
circus shortly, please the gods."
With an effort did the jarl steady his temper, but there was a deepness
in his voice:
"O Roman, I shall be ready for thy lion. But if thou hast anything
further to say thou mayest say it to Caius of Thessalonica. He is a man
and he will answer thee."
"What care I for him?" exclaimed the officer.
"He will answer thee that thing also," said the jarl. "It is between
thee and him. I have no words with one who openeth and shutteth a gate."
"I will have thee scourged."
"Silence!" ordered a stern, hard voice behind him. "Thou forgettest
thyself, Demetrius, of the gate. The scourging of gladiators is not
with thee. O Saxon, thy answer is good. March on to thy quarters."
"O noble Julius, the centurion," replied Ulric, "thy tower was a fair
abiding place, and thou wert correct in providing it with a garrison."
The face of Julius flushed somewhat, for the jarl spoke to him as one
captain may to another.
"I have an account of that affair," he said. "Keep thou thy speech to
thyself. Thou hast but slain a few robbers."
"I have heard of thee," said the jarl, "that thou art thyself a good
fighter and entitled to the respect of the brave. Thou hast led a
legion to victory in a hard battle. Well with thee!"
There is vanity in all men, and the anger passed from Julius while the
haughty mannered jarl of the Saxons ascribed to him this fame.
"I have fought more fights than ever thou hast," he said. "But thou art
a seaman. I would put thee upon a ship if I had one."
"I am of the sea kings," said Ulric, "but yonder water is too small for
a great battle. It is but a fishing pond."
The ground upon which they stood was the high and difficult hill which
ariseth behind the city. This, with its palace gardens, was more than
two leagues in circuit if the wall were measured around it from a
point on the south shore to a point on the north shore. But part of
this distance was of crags crowned with forts, and much of the city
was a suburb, having no wall. Within were temples and great buildings,
and there was an amphitheater near the shore. The Saxons had wondered
at the beauty and grandeur of this place as they drew near. They had
marched by way of small towns and villages, but up to this hour never
before had one of them seen such a city as Tiberias or such a lake as
Galilee.
"Speak no more," said Ben Ezra, "but obey him and march on. Our
quarters are in the lower town, near the circus. He giveth orders to
the guards at the gate."
Forward strode Ulric, followed by his men, and Julius glanced after
them. "Caius hath beaten me," he muttered. "I have none to contend with
these. They must be destroyed by tigers and lions. I will not waste an
elephant upon them."
Once they were within the wall they could obtain from that height a
fair view of the city, and they halted as one man.
"O Jew," said Tostig the Red, "is thy Jerusalem larger and better than
this?"
"An hundredfold!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "This abomination of the heathen
is but as a handful compared with Zion, the city of Jehovah, God of
Hosts."
"Then, O jarl," said Tostig, "I will not get myself killed until I have
seen Jerusalem. Manage thou with care, for I think thou wouldst like to
see it thyself."
"So will I," replied Ulric. "But I think we shall suffer no harm in
this place. I have not seen any strong men yet except some of these
Jews, who do not carry arms. They would make good fighting men."
For he had looked at all whom he met with the eye of a captain, and the
rabble of that land did not please him.
"Thou art right," said Ben Ezra. "Thou hast seen men of the tribe of
Zebulun and of the tribe of Naphtali and some of Ephraim and Manasseh.
They are swordsmen if they had a king. Ere long our king cometh. But
these heathen of Tiberias are fit only to be crushed under the foot
like vipers."
"Speak not so loudly," said Abbas at his side. "Remember that thou art
a Jew, and they hate thee."
"O thou of a weak heart!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "When shall a
money-lender be fit to wear a sword! Knowest thou not that I can lead
these Saxons through a host of these dogs of the gentiles? The Romans
are warriors, but the rabble of Tiberias are scorned even by the
lepers. Let us go on."
Fierce was the countenance of the Jew as they went down the long
street, for it was broad and on either side of it were temples and
shrines.
"Pollution! Abomination!" he exclaimed. "O jarl of the Saxons, these
gods of Tiberias are but of wood and stone, the work of men's hands.
This place is cursed because of them."
"I will inquire shortly of what sort they may be," said Ulric. "I grow
curious concerning gods. What need of so many? They would all go down
before the hammer of Thor. Where is thy god that he permitteth them to
be here?"
"This was never a city of my people," said Ben Ezra. "It is a work of
the Greeks and the Romans. In Jerusalem thou wilt see only the temple
of the living god, and of him thou wilt find no image in stone or wood
or metal. No man hath ever seen his face."
"I like that," said Ulric, striding onward. "There would be harm if the
gods were seen too often. I will yet look again into the face of one,
but I am of their kindred and Odin is my father. Thy god seemeth a good
one."
All the while the other Saxons gazed as they went, saying not much, but
wondering, and all who met them stepped aside, for their stature was
great and their arms were splendid. The jarl had bidden them prepare
for this on the previous day, and Julius and the gate guards had seen
Northmen appareled and armored as if they were now marching to a feast
of swords.
Behind them now came on their baggage chariot, and shortly it was
joined by horsemen, servants of Caius, sent by him to care for the
guidance and welfare of his gladiators.
Before a palace in the main street of the city, well down toward the
sea, sat upon their horses two horsemen from whom others reined aside
respectfully. These were face to face and they had greeted one another
with all ceremony.
"Thy northern wolves have arrived, O Caius," said one. "But thou art
short of a tall fighter."
"So art thou robbed of thy robbers, O Julius," replied the friend of
Ulric. "Thy tower was a subtle trap, but it hath not profited thee
greatly."
"Ha!" responded Julius, mockingly. "Thou hast lost thy best sword. A
thousand sesterces that my Numidian lion slayeth thy Saxon chief."
"Wagered!" exclaimed Caius. "And a thousand sesterces more that thy
Hyrcanian tiger shall also be slain by the man I will name against him."
"I have thee!" shouted Julius. "We will write these wagers with care
and let thy words be recorded with exactness. If either the lion or the
tiger shall be slain by a Saxon, I lose that wager, but if a Saxon be
overcome by the tiger or the lion, thou losest."
"Thou hast some cunning of thine own in this," laughed Caius, "but thy
sesterces and mine will be in the keeping of Sempronius, the judge of
the games. I will trust him."
Each of these carried a tablet of wax and a pointed stylus of steel
wherewith they wrote, and the words were compared with care, that they
might then be written upon parchments, to be held by the judge of the
games.
"What meaneth he?" thought Caius as he rode away from the gate. "I will
see the Jew, Ben Ezra, as to this matter. There is a trap. I have not
yet seen the laws of this circus, and Julius knoweth them well."
Like an inn, large and well appointed, was the house to which the
Saxons were guided, near the circus, and they entered it gladly, for
they were as men who were walking on into a new world.
"O Abbas," said Ben Ezra, "come with me to the amphitheater. I would
inquire there concerning many things."
"Not so," replied Abbas. "Go thou. I have a friend to commune with and
I go to meet him."
"O jarl of the Saxons," said Ben Ezra, as Abbas departed, "it is well
that he goeth not with us. Come! Trust him not. He is overfond of
money. Thou art a soldier. Thou must see thine enemy. Speak not to any
man, but hear well. Who here knoweth thy gift of tongues? I am thine
interpreter, and be thou as if thou wert deaf."
Ulric did but bow his head in answer to Ben Ezra, but the other Saxons
knew the errand of their jarl and approved of his going.
A high arch of marble was the gate of the amphitheater, and on one
side of it, upon the wall, was a broad tablet of wood. Upon this were
inscribed many things, and both Ben Ezra and the jarl read them.
"Speak not," said the Jew. "One cometh to lead us to the dens."
Through the portal they went, guided by a soldier of Julius, and he
seemed pleased to show them all things. First went they across the
arena, and this was a broad place, egg-shaped, with vast tiers of seats
arising upon all sides. Under these tiers were the keeping places,
and from some of these came cries and roarings of wild beasts and the
shouts of men.
"Here are the prisons of criminals and of captured rebels," said the
soldier as the guard before a door opened it to let them in, "but thou
hast little to do with these. They are to slay each other or to be torn
by beasts. There are trained swordsmen for thee and thine."
Nevertheless, he and the jarl and the Jew went into more than one of
these prisons, looking well at what they found there.
"Wretches!" murmured Ulric. "Some of them hardly seem like men and
women. It is well for such as they are to be slain quickly. The gods
care not for these people, and so they are given to the Romans."
Not so thought Ben Ezra, for he beat his breast more than once and he
whispered to himself in Hebrew:
"O God of Israel!" he gasped. "Here are of thine own chosen people,
also, many scores, taken in the snares of the heathen. Where art thou,
O Jehovah, that thou hearest not? Canst thou not see this city of
pollution, wherein thy name hath not been written? Unclean! Unclean!
Woe is me that I am here! It is as Sodom and Gomorrah, and thy fire
lingereth!"
What he meant Ulric understood only in part, but he saw that many of
these who were doomed were Jews.
"They are not warriors," he thought, "except that some of them are tall
and strong. They must all die and get out of these prisons, but they go
not to Valhalla, and I know not where they go. I care not to slay such
persons."
Now the guard led him and his interpreter to the dens of the animals
and Ulric was displeased that his men were not with him to see.
"The wolves," he said in Saxon, "are like those of the North. I think
not much of the hyenas, nor of the small leopards. The great leopards
are fierce beasts and so are the bears, but I could meet one of them."
There were four elephants in one den, and he walked around among them,
wondering at their size and at their peacefulness, while Ben Ezra told
him of their intelligence and of their manner of fighting.
The jarl did but study them thoughtfully, and now a keeper said to Ben
Ezra:
"It is known by us that this Saxon is to fight the great lion. Come."
The den was near and in it the lion was pacing to and fro.
"He is almost as large in body as was the ice bear," thought Ulric.
"He standeth higher and his head is vast. He is a springing beast. He
is stronger than the one we saw in Africa. I think he would fail if his
heart were cloven. Now I will see the tiger."
Near was his den also, and he, too, walked to and fro, snarling
fiercely, for he was hungry.
"O Abbas," said the keeper of the beasts to Ben Ezra, mistaking him,
"thou art for Julius in this matter. What thinkest thou of thy Saxon?
If he can meet a lion, can he fight, also, the tiger? How will he not
be rent quickly when both are let loose upon him!"
"Silence, thou unwise one!" said Ben Ezra. "Is it for thee to let out
this tiger?"
"That is my care," said the keeper. "I stand in this small box to throw
open the door, and the tiger will be famished on the day of the games."
"Mark thou this thine instruction!" said Ben Ezra. "Wait thou not! Send
out thy tiger when thou hearest the trumpet call for the lion. So shall
Julius win two thousand sesterces. Hold not thy door till the lion be
slain, lest thou be smitten with a sword. Thy life for it! The beasts
go out together."
Ulric heard and he understood, for a fire flashed in his eyes, but he
held his tongue. "I am to be torn without hope!" he thought. "I am
betrayed by Abbas, but I know the thing in the mind of Ben Ezra. He
doeth cunningly."
So they walked on across the arena, and as they went Ben Ezra stood
still.
"Here," he said in Saxon, "wilt thou halt if thou art wise. Thou wilt
have thy mail on, but only thy sword and thy shield."
"I will wear no armor!" said Ulric. "I will bear no weights. What were
mail and shield against these monsters? I will bring with me the long
sword of Annibaal. Odin be with me! He who fighteth a lion must spring
as lightly as doth a lion. He who faceth a tiger must move as the
lightning or he is lost."
"Thou art wise!" exclaimed the Jew. "I have seen no warrior like thee.
Verily I am true to thee. Sharpen thy sword and let thy hand and thy
heart be strong. I would that Jehovah of Hosts might fight for thee,
but thou art a heathen and thou must look to thine own gods, if so be
they can do anything in such a case."
Dark was the face of the Jew, but he said no more, and they went back
to the house of the gladiators.
Eager were all the Saxons to hear the account of their jarl, and he
told them many things, but in the gloom of the evening Caius came and
he spoke to Tostig the Red.
"Thou art to meet a black giant with a net and a trident against thy
sword and shield," he said. "What thinkest thou, O Saxon? Am I safe to
wager upon thy success?"
It was Abbas who interpreted, but the men had already heard much of
these nets and tridents and Tostig stood still for a moment.
"I have not seen this giant, O Roman captain," he said. "May I be
guided by my own jarl?"
"Verily!" exclaimed Caius. "Do thou as he will tell thee, and I know
not what it is. O jarl, can he win?"
"I saw thy giant," said Ulric. "Tostig the Red will slay him for thee.
Make thy wagers. I would talk with Abbas."
"So do!" said Caius, for Ben Ezra had beckoned him and he stepped away
a little.
"What is it?" asked Abbas of the jarl.
"Only this," said Ulric. "I have seen the lion of Julius. He is a great
one. Hath he slain many?"
"That I know not," said Abbas. "Why askest thou? What matters it to
thee?"
"Little," said Ulric, "but I was curious," and he asked him other
questions, keeping him while Ben Ezra talked with Caius, getting full
permission that the jarl should wear arms of his own choosing and not
the armor of a Roman soldier.
Caius rode away and many great ones came and went, as they had been
doing; for they who were to make wagers willed to see these pirates of
Caius, as they called them. Not any, it seemed, went away believing
that the jarl could face the Numidian, and they declared that Julius
would win his wager.
Then the night passed and in the early dawn Ulric, the son of Brander,
sat apart by himself sharpening the long, beautiful sword on the stone
which Wulf the Skater had brought to him from the North Cape, at the
end of the world. To him came then Ben Ezra, looking like one whose
soul is burdened within him.
"O jarl," he said, "the great games are set down for the third day
hence. Wilt thou then be rested after thy journeying?"
"Were I to meet the lion this day," replied Ulric, "I am not weary.
I care more for the training of Tostig the Red in the matter of this
black giant. I pray thee procure for me a net and trident that the
thing he is to do may not be altogether new to him."
"That will I do," said Ben Ezra, "but thou canst not instruct thyself
concerning lions."
Before the close of that day the jarl and Tostig were in a room by
themselves, but they told not to any man what they did with these
strange weapons whereby so many good swordsmen had been destroyed. That
day, moreover, and the next day and the next the Saxons wandered much
around the city of Tiberias, for they were permitted to do so freely,
and all the people wondered at their stature and their armor.
"What thinkest thou of all these temples?" asked Wulf the Skater of
Ulric. "Would it not be well for thee and Tostig to offer sacrifices to
some of these gods?"
"What good?" said the jarl. "I know them not and they know not me. I
would sacrifice to Jehovah if he had an altar here, because he is the
god of all this land. I heard Jesus of Nazareth praying to him and
calling him his father. If Jesus were here I would ask him that Jehovah
might be to me instead of Odin, for I think the North gods are far
away. Caius may sacrifice to his Roman gods if he will, but thou and I
have no business with them."
"Thou art wise, O jarl," said Wulf. "I will waste none of my coins upon
these priests and temples."