THE SACRED HOUNDS
When the night advanced, Chios went his way to the Sacred Grove of
Hecate. Once near the walls surrounding it, he sprang over and was soon
among the trees.
The night was still; no sound was heard save the shriek of the hawk and
the cry of the hounds of the goddess.
Which way should he take? Would she come to sacrifice? What should he
do--should he give up this foolhardy expedition and retrace his steps?
No; a strange fascination drew him onwards. Step by step he moved
forward until he drew nigh to the marble Temple of the night goddess--a
lonely man amidst the great solitude, and shadowed by the lofty pines.
No thunderings or voices or lightnings came from the sombre pile; a
great bird wheeled by, nearly touching him, shrieking as it flew like
the spirit of a wandering soul.
Whilst wondering what to do, he heard the sound of barking dogs; it came
nearer, nearer still; they would soon be upon him. Escape there was
none. He looked for refuge: the trees were tall and mighty, and no
foothold to ascend. He hid behind the great trunk of the nearest, and
was no sooner there than a pack of the fiercest hell-hounds came rushing
down the gloomy way. Swiftly they came. The leaders went past him; troop
after troop swept by in great masses, until they seemed to be without
end.
Verily they had an object, for the foremost ones turned and were coming
back towards him. Some had left the beaten track and were scouring
between the trees. Evidently they had scented him, and in a second or
two the foremost brute stood near him with foaming mouth and eyes of
fire.
For a moment only it stood; the next it was upon Chios and received the
dagger of the Greek firmly embedded in its heart. Rolling over, it
uttered a dismal howl and died. Two others were upon him. He grasped his
cloak, wound it around his arm over his hand and thrust it into one
animal's mouth, and with one wrench dislocated its jaw. With the right
hand free, he met the third and plunged his dagger into its side until
it fell back goaded with pain, and in the throes of death sent forth
terrific wails, at which the doors of the Temple were thrown open. A
light streamed down the pathway, lighting up the fierce combat between
man and beasts. The priests uttered a peculiar call, and every hound was
immediately obedient; not one left its post, but drew up in a circle
around Chios, preventing any chance of escape. Torches flamed, and many
men came towards the place of conflict.
One of the priests stepped forward, and beheld the Greek covered with
blood, and still clutching his jewelled dagger.
The priest cried:
'What dost thou here on holy ground, surrounded by the hounds of the
goddess and the slain around thee? Knowest thou the penalty is death?
Surrender! or we let loose the hounds that they tear thee limb from
limb. Surrender! we say. Thou shalt have trial, that justice may be
done, and we may know whether or not thou camest hither by mischance.'
'I surrender. Not that I fear your hounds or death--I surrender because
I have no right here.'
'Art thou a stranger?'
'No.'
'Who art thou, then, besmeared with the blood of the consecrated
beasts?'
'I am Chios.'
'Chios!' shouted the priests. 'What doest thou here?'
'That is my business,' replied he.
'Arrest Chios the Greek!' cried the chief.
Chios put up his dagger into its sheath, and, surrounded by the
torch-bearing priests and the hounds following, he walked towards the
Temple of Hecate. They led him to the rear of the building, and opening
the door of a cell cut into the solid rock, they thrust him in, and the
hounds wailed and kept guard the long night through.
* * * * *
How long he slept he knew not. When he awoke, a ray of light pierced
through between the joints of the doorway, and he knew the day had come,
and probably his fate.
* * * * *
It was about the ninth hour, and by this time the priests and
priestesses of Diana's fane knew of the arrest of the Greek for
penetrating the mysterious grove of Hecate, and slaying the sacred
hounds.
What could this strange proceeding mean? All were horror-stricken. None
could solve the reason of his being there.
Chios, above all others--Chios, one of the best beloved in Ephesus,
guilty of such a thing!
The news of this strange adventure flew from tongue to tongue until it
penetrated the conversation of all the people, from the place where the
philosophers gathered to the Acropolis on the summit of Mount Pion,
where the Roman soldiers guarded the heights.
From the Temple of Apollo at Claros to the shrines at Phygela nothing
was so much spoken about as the sin of Chios the Greek.
As the day grew this event gained in intensity, and many were the
interpretations of his presence there.
The people were divided. Those who were devout worshippers of the great
goddess, jealous of his leanings toward the Christians, said it was a
conspiracy on behalf of the hated sect to burn the Temple, and he ought
to die. Others were more lenient, and looked suspiciously on his being
within the Sacred Grove, and thought when on his trial all might be
explained. But should it not, then he should stand to the death against
the wild beasts within the common arena.
The priests of the Temple would show no undue haste with the trial of
such a citizen; but feeling ran high, and the ultra-devotees demanded
immediate action.
He was brought before the august tribunal. Many eminent men offered to
speak for him. Chios was obdurate, and, when faced by his accusers, and
asked to explain his position, he politely, but positively, refused.
Nothing was left for him but death, and he was condemned to the lions.
When the sentence became fully known, and, moreover, that he refused
explanation, the populace were more than ever confounded, and desired to
solve the problem. They well knew that, the decree having gone forth, he
must die; and rightly, said many, or the Sacred Grove would never be
safe from robbers or midnight prowlers, and the glory of the Lady
Saviour be impaired.
* * * * *
Chios was handed over to the authorities and lodged in a cell within the
walls of the great theatre, to be brought forth on a day near at hand,
when many who were condemned should fight to the end.