CHAPTER XX
CHARIOTEERING
Sight-seeing in Rome, in the guise of Gallic wastrels, under the tutelageof a harborside slum host, was truly an experience for me after my formerstation as a nobleman of the Republic, and my ruin and disguise andflight. I positively enjoyed it.
First of all Colgius was for showing us over the stables of the Reds, forhe was mad about racing and boasted that he had bet on the Reds since hewas six years old and his father gave him his first copper. But I demurredand pointed out that none of the racing-stables were fit places for us,since a steady stream of Spanish horses trickled through Marseilles and onthrough Vada Sabatia and Genoa to Rome, and there was too great aprobability that we might come face to face with some groom, hostler orhanger-on from Marseilles who would know us at sight. Colgius yielded tothis argument and agreed that we must avoid all the racing stables. Thisgreatly relieved us, since, while neither I nor Agathemer had beendevotees of the sport, both of us had been through all six establishmentsoften enough to be likely to be recognized in any one of them.
Baffled in his first choice and, apparently, in his only choice, Colgiusasked us what we wanted to see. I said I wanted most to see a day ofracing in the circus, blurting out this rather foolish utterance withoutreflection, merely because I thought it would seem natural to him. Hereplied that that would be easy, but that the next racing day was dayafter tomorrow: what would we like to do today?
I said I wanted first of all to be shown the Temple of Mercury, for Iwanted to make an offering to the god.
"Oh, yes," he said, "Mercury is your chief god in Gaul, isn't he, and youput him ahead of Jupiter. What is it you call him?"
"You are thinking of the Belgians," I said, "and of the Gauls in theValley of the Liger. They call Mercury Tiv or Tir and regard him as theirchief god. But we provincials never had any such ideas: we worship thesame gods as you, in the same way. But I, personally, while reveringJupiter as king of the gods, have always particularly sought the favor ofMercury."
Off we went to the meat market and I bought there two white hens, as onthe day of my flight, more than a year before. With one under each arm Ithen followed Colgius to the Temple of Mercury and there made my prayersand offering.
When we came out he, of course, began to display the outside of the GreatCircus and to tell me of its glories, which, he said, he would show mefrom the inside the day after tomorrow. The life there was much asMaternus and I had seen it twenty-three days before.
We could not avoid following Colgius about Rome, round the Palatine, theColosseum and the Baths of Titus and through the Forums of Vespasian,Nerva, Augustus and Trajan. At Trajan's Temple he reiterated his regretsthat we dare not go on to the stables of the Reds, and turned back throughTrajan's Forum, the Forum of the Divine Julius and the Great Forum. Ofcourse, I was quaking with dread for fear some lifelong acquaintance wouldrecognize me, even in my coarse attire. But none did: in fact I set eyeson no one I knew, except Faltonius Bambilio, who was pompously lecturingten victims in the Ulpian Basilica. I was certain that his eyes were onlyon his auditors; the sight of him did not alarm me, he never paid anyattention to those he considered his inferiors.
All along Agathemer and I were bursting with suppressed giggles: Colgiuspaid very little attention to the Palace, the Great Amphitheater, themagnificent public baths, the temples or to any of the glories about us;he was all for cook-shops and hauled us into cook-shops without number,sometimes presenting his Gallic friends, Asper and Felix, to his goodfriend, the proprietor, sometimes bursting into invectives against the badcookery, infinitesimal portions or absurd prices of his enemies'establishments. In cook-shops Agathemer and I felt safe, near a cook-shopwe felt almost safe, between cook-shops, companioned by Colgius and anycook-shop frequenters we met, we felt more than a little safe. To ourthinking no spy, informer or secret service agent would feel suspicioustowards Colgius and his friends, nor towards us in their company, and hepresented us to idlers, loafers, louts, betting agents, sellers of tips onthe races, friends of jockeys, cousins of hostlers and such like to anamazing number.
We found all Rome, as we saw it in the company of Colgius, humming withtwo names and we made sure that, if they buzzed in such company as we werein they also formed the chief topics of conversation in all parts of thecity and at every level of society from the senators down.
One name we had heard when in Rome with Maternus, but had barely heard it;now we heard it everywhere; the name of Palus, the charioteer; Palus, theincomparable jockey; Palus, the king of horsemasters; Palus the chum ofCommodus. Both of him, and about him, not only from the men who talked tous, but also from bystanders, diners and idlers, who never noticed us orknew that we overheard them, we heard the most amazing stories:
He could guide six horses galloping abreast between the test-pillars fortyros driving four-abreast and never jostle a pillar or throw a horse; hehad done it time after time; he had won three races, driving seven horsesabreast, his competitors driving four abreast; he had won a race, with ateam of four Cappodocian stallions, guiding them without reins, by hisvoice only; he was the most graceful charioteer, bar no one, ever seen inRome.
As to his origin and personality the stories were not only fantastic, butdivergent, contradictory or incompatible.
If we might believe what we heard he had been presented to Commodus by thesame nobleman who had presented Murmex Lucro, and on the very next day; hewas from Apulia; he was a Roman all his days; he was a Sabine; he was anobleman in disguise, he had been a foundling brought up in the Subura; hewas a half brother of Commodus, offspring of an amour between Faustina anda gladiator, reared in Samnium on a farm, lately recognized and acceptedby the Emperor; he was Commodus himself in disguise.
All this, you may be sure, made us prick up our ears. Still more did we atthe sound of the other much-bandied name. Here again the tales werevaried, inconsistent, antagonistic.
But the name!
That name was:
Marcia!
Marcia was in control of Commodus, of the Emperor, of the Republic, of theEmpire. She was domiciled in the Palace, she was treated as Empress, shehad all the honors ever accorded an Empress except that she neverparticipated in public sacrifices or other ceremonial rituals. Crispinahad been divorced and was no longer Empress, but had been relegated, underguard, to a distant island; Crispina was still Empress, but had withdrawnin disdain from the Palatine, occupied the Vectilian Palace on the CaelianHill, still received Commodus when he visited her, but would not set footon the Palatine nor take part in any ritual or ceremonial; Crispina hadbeen murdered by Marcia's orders, in her presence, with the Emperor'sconsent; Marcia got on well with the Empress, there was no jealousybetween them, Crispina was glad to have someone who could soothe Commodusin his periodic rages and humor him when he sulked; every possible varietyof story about Crispina was told, but every tale represented Marcia asundisputed and indisputable mistress of the Palace and of everybody in it.
Of her origin we heard mostly versions of the true story; often we heardnamed Hyacinthus and Ummidius Quadratus, never my uncle nor MarcusMartius. We dared not seem to know anything about Marcia and so could notname Marcus Martius or ask after him. From all the talk we heard,addressed to us or about us, his name was as absent as if he had neverexisted.
How Marcia came to the Emperor's attention, won his notice, acquired hermastery of him, as to all this we heard not one word: of her completecontrol of him and of all Rome everyone talked openly.
The next day we escaped the unwelcome attention of Colgius because Magannocame after us to introduce us to the captain who was to take us toAntioch, to show us his ship, and to make sure we knew the wharf at whichshe lay and how to reach her. The ship was to sail two days later. Thecaptain's name was Orontides, which struck both me and Agathemer as beingthe same as that of the most fashionable jeweler in Rome, whosegrandfather had come from Antioch, where, I suppose, the name would be asnatural and frequent as Tiberius with us.
He was a
Syrian Greek, with curly brown hair and brown eyes, by no meansso wind-tanned and weather-beaten as Maganno, but manifestly a seaman. Hewas bow-legged and had very large flat feet.
Orontides looked us over, approved us, required a deposit of twenty goldpieces, counted them, said we might pay the rest of his charges atAntioch, and we shook hands on the bargain.
Yet, as the cost of the voyage would land us in Syria with but a fewcoins, it was well for us that, later in the day, Agathemer found a dealerin gems lately come to Rome and sold him another jewel. This filled ourpouches and left us certain of having gold to spare until he could manageto find a purchaser for yet another gem in Antioch or elsewhere.
Colgius, when we returned to our lodgings, talked of nothing but the Gameswhich were to be celebrated next day. He first exhibited the togas whichhe had hired for us to wear; we, as fugitives, having, of course, no togasof our own. We found them clean and tried them on. Colgius approved andwent on with his enthusiasm.
There were to be twenty-four faces, all of four-horse chariots only,twelve in the morning, of six chariots, one for each of the racingcompanies; twelve in the afternoon, of twelve chariots, two for each ofthe racing companies. Colgius discoursed at length as to his opinionsconcerning the six companies, inveighing against the Golds and theCrimsons, declaring that they were rich men's companies, in which onlysenators and nobles took any interest and the existence of which spoiledracing.
"You never heard of a plain man like me betting on the Crimson or theGold," he ranted, "all folks of moderate means, all the plain people, allthe populace, bet on the Reds, Whites, Greens or Blues. I agree that theGreens are the most popular company, most popular with all classes fromthe senators and nobles to the poorest, but I will never admit, as manyclaim, that the Blues have the second place in the affections of thepeople; the Blues, I maintain, come third and the Reds have second placewith all classes. The Whites are a strong fourth. But, as to the Golds andthe Crimsons, no one ever lays a wager on them except the enormously richnobles and senators whose ancestors organized them under Domitian ahundred years ago. But they, being so enormously rich, can buy the besthorses and have the best jockeys. Now they have Palus. The Reds haveScopas and the Greens Diocles, and both have been wonderful, but Palus canbeat anybody.
"They say he has wagered an enormous sum that he will win all of thetwelve races in which he is to run, the first six odd numbers and the lastsix even numbers, and that he will do so in a previously specified way;that he will take and keep first place in the first race; that, in theothers he will, at the start, take second place, third place and so onprogressively further back in each, till he lets the whole of five getahead of him in the eleventh race and the whole field of eleven have thestart of him in the last race."
Colgius was afraid Palus would succeed in doing precisely what hepurposed. The Reds, if they won any races, must win in those in whichPalus did not start. He judged they could not hope to win more than eightof those twelve. He was gloomy.
Next day dawned fair, mild, and with a gentle breeze, perfect weather forspending a day in the Circus. To this Agathemer and I looked forward withsome trepidation, for service men, spies and informers were always in allparts of the Circus and one might recognize me. But we comforted ourselveswith the hope that they were no longer on the lookout for me. If I knewthe ways of secret-service men I conjectured that they would never havebeen willing to report the truth: that they could find no trace of me,that I had vanished utterly and completely. I would have been willing towager that, within a month of my disappearance, some corpse somewhere wasidentified as mine and my suicide reported as verified; which report hadprobably been accepted at the Palace; whereafter I would be off the mindsof all secret-service men everywhere. Therefore I felt reasonably surethat no agent would be on the lookout for me. Of course there was a chancethat one might recognize me by accident. But this was so unlikely that wedid not worry over it much.
I was more concerned for fear of arousing suspicion in Colgius by notbehaving as he would expect a Gallic Provincial to behave at his firstsight of the great games in the Circus Maximus. I could not be sure atwhat he would expect me to exclaim, what I ought to wonder at and remarkon to seem natural in my assumed role of Marseilles scapegrace.
We were a party of eight, Colgius, his wife Posilla, and two teamsters ordrovers named Ramnius and Uttius, who conveyed goods or convoyed cattlebetween Ostia and the markets of Rome. They had their wives with them, butI forget their names. The three women were arrayed in wonderful costumesof cheap fabrics dyed in gaudy hues and adorned with jewelry of gilt orsilvered bronze set with bits of colored glass. I had seen such at adistance, but never so close.
Both Agathemer and I liked Ramnius and Uttius; we felt at ease with themat first sight. And they were evidently intimates of Colgius and high inhis favor. He and they wore their togas with all the awkwardness to beexpected from men who donned togas only for Circus games and Amphitheatreshows. To my amazement I found myself really delighted at again wearing atoga. Like all gentlemen I had always loathed the hot, heavy things. But Ifound myself positively thrill at being again garbed as befits a Roman ona holiday or at a ceremonial. Besides I found that a toga, over a poorman's tunic, was not nearly so uncomfortable as it was over the morecomplicated garb of a fashionable person of means and position.
The interior of the Circus, from my novel location, appeared sufficientlystrange to lull my dread that I might seem too familiar with it. Of coursewe were very far back, only five rows in front of the arcade, whereas aslong as I was a nobleman of Rome in good standing, I had always sat in thesecond tier, far forward.
But what made much more difference than sitting far back and high upinstead of well forward and low down was that we were on the other side ofthe Circus from my old seat and almost directly opposite it. I had alwayssat in section E, about the middle of the east side of the Circus and notfar from the Imperial Pavilion in section C. We were in section P,directly facing E, and not far from the judges' stand in section O.
Now from where I had been used to sitting, facing a little south of west,I had viewed only the tiers of seats and of spectators, the upper arcade,and, above that the roofs of the not very lofty, large or magnificenttemples on the Aventine Hill. From where we sat with Colgius we faced thePalatine and I was overwhelmed by the vastness, beauty and grandeur of thegreat mass of buildings which make up the Imperial Palace. On a festivalday, of course, they were exceptionally gorgeous, for every window wasgarlanded at the top and most displayed tapestries or rugs hung over thesill, every balcony was decorated similarly and with greater care than thewindows, and every window, balcony and portico was a mass of eager faces.Especially my eye was caught by the crowd of Palace officials and servantson the bulging loggia built by Hadrian in order to be able to catchglimpses of games when he was too busy to occupy the Imperial Pavilion inthe Circus itself. That Pavilion, as yet occupied only by a few guards, Igazed at with mixed feelings.
Colgius put Agathemer next him, then me; beyond me sat Ramnius and hiswife and then Uttius and his. But across Posilla we were introduced to twocattle inspectors named Clitellus and Summanus of whom we feltuncomfortably suspicious from the instant we laid eyes on them. Theylooked to me like secret-service agents and Agathemer nodded towards them,when they were not looking, raised his eyebrows and touched his lips.
I for some time satiated myself with gazing at the Palace, with admiringthe wonderful charm of the outlook from this side of the Circus, withrevelling in the sense of delight at being again in it, with feasting myeyes on its gorgeousness, on the magnificence of its vastness, of itscolonnade, of its costly marbles, of its tiers of seats, of the obelisks,shrines, monuments and other decorations of the _spina_.
Then, after the upper seats were well packed with commonality, the gentryand nobility began to dribble into the lower tiers and even a fewsenatorial parties entered their boxes in the front row. I began to peerat party after party, outwardly trying to keep my face blank, inwardlyexcite
d at the probability of recognizing many former friends andacquaintances.
The first man I recognized was Faltonius Bambilio, unmistakably pompousand self-satisfied. Although a senator he came early. Later I saw VediusVedianus and, far from him, Satronius Satro. Didius Julianus, always themost ostentatious of the senators, was unmistakable even in section B,further from me than any part of the Circus except the left hand startingstalls and their neighborhood.
I looked for Tanno in section D, and early made him out.
But, even after the equestrian seats and senatorial boxes had all filled,nowhere could I descry any feminine shape at all suggestive of Vedia. Iwas still peering and sweeping the senatorial seats with my eyes, hopingto espy her, when the bugles announced the Emperor's approach and theaudience stood up. My eyes were on the Imperial Dais watching for theappearance of the Emperor. But when he came into sight, and I joined inthe cheers, I viewed without emotion this man, who had honored me with hisfavor, yet who had credited to the utmost, without investigation, myinclusion among the number of his dangerous enemies. I reflected that noman accused of participating in a conspiracy against any Prince of theRepublic had ever been given any sort of hearing or his friends allowed totry to clear him.
I used all my powers of eyesight to con the Emperor, distinctive in hisofficial robes but too far off to be seen well. He appeared to me to havelost something of his elegance of carriage and grace of movement. Heseemed less elastic in bearing, less springy of gait. There was, even atthat distance, something familiar in his attitude and stride, but it didnot seem precisely the presence of Commodus as I had known him. I staredpuzzled and groping in my mind. But I felt no emotion as I stared andpeered at him.
Oddly enough, from the moment when I received Vedia's letter of warninguntil I caught sight of the head of the procession about to enter theCircus through the Procession gate, I had had not one instant ofdespondency or of self-pity. But, at sight of the head of that magnificentprocession, a sort of wave of misery surged through me and inundated mewith a sudden sense of wistful regret for all that I had lost and alsowith an acute realization of the precarious hold I had on life, of theperil I was in from hour to hour. This unexpected and unwelcome dejectionpossessed me until the whole line of floats displaying the images of thegods had passed and the racing chariots came along.
The very first of these drawn by a splendid team of four dapple grays, wasdriven by a charioteer wearing the colors of the Crimsons' Company. I didnot need to hear the exclamation of Colgius:
"There is Palus! That is Palus!" to recognize this Prince of Charioteers.The descriptions I had heard were enough to have told me who he was. Forat even a distant sight of him I did not wonder at the tales which gaveout that he was a half brother of Commodus, or Commodus in disguise. Hewas more like Commodus than any half brother would have been likely tohave been; like as a twin brother, like enough to be actually Commodushimself. He had all Commodus' comeliness of port and refinement of poise.Every attitude, every movement, was a joy to behold. I stared back andforth from this paragon in a charioteer's tunic to the stolid lump on theImperial throne, perplexed at the enigma, feeling just on the verge ofcomprehension, but baffled. I kept gazing from one to the other till Palusrounded the further goal and was largely hidden by the posts, the standfor the bronze tally-eggs, the obelisk and the other ornaments of the_spina_. [Footnote: See Note G.]
There were about two hundred chariots, for very few teams were entered torace twice. More than a third were driven by charioteers, the rest bygrooms, or others, quite competent to control them at a walk, though someof the more fiery had also men on foot holding their bits.
"Felix," Agathemer queried, "did you notice anything peculiar about thefirst chariot?"
"Yes, Asper," I replied, "I did. I never saw a chariot with its wheels soclose together, nor with such long spokes. Its axle is higher from theground than any I ever set eyes on."
"I recall," said Agathemer, "hearing you recount a lecture on chariot-design you once heard from a man of lofty station."
"The design of that chariot," I replied, "certainly tallies with thedesign advocated in that lecture. It would seem to indicate that Palus hasaccepted the views of that very distinguished lecturer."
"Perhaps," said Agathemer drily. "Perhaps it indicates something morenotable."
"Perhaps," I admitted.
Most of the teams were white or dapple gray, those being the favoritecolors of all the racing companies except the Whites themselves, amongwhom it was a tradition that teams of their racing-colors were unlucky forthem. Next most frequent were bays, then sorrels, while roans andpiebalds, as usual, were distinctly scarce. In fact there were but threeteams of roans, all with the white colors, and two of piebalds, onebelonging to the Greens and one to the Blues. The Blue team caught my eye,even at so great a distance. When it came opposite us I nudged Agathemerand queried:
"Asper, did you ever see any of these horses before?"
"Yea, Felix," he replied. "You are quite right in your judgment; the left-hand yoke-mate is the very stallion you are thinking of, which you and Ihave seen and handled before to-day. You and I know where you rode him andhow he passed out of your ken."
It was, in fact, the trick stallion I had ridden at Reate fair and won asa prize of my riding him, which had been spirited away from my stables notmany nights after he came into my possession. At once I foresaw someattempt at altogether unusual trickery in the course of this racing-day.The team of four splendid piebald stallions, about five years old, was oneof the few entered for two races. I could not conjecture how a horse whichhad spent his youth as trick-horse in possession of an itinerant fakir,had acquired, since I knew him, reputation enough to be yoke-mate in ateam highly enough thought of to be entered for two races the same day inthe Circus Maximus. This was a puzzle almost as absorbing as the likenessand contrast between the Emperor and Palus.
The racing had many remarkable features, but I am concerned to relate onlythose in which Palus took part.
At once after the procession he drove in the first race, always a periloushonor. When we saw the chariots dart out of the starting-stalls, theCrimson emerged from the stall furthest to the left, just that which isthe worst possible position from which to start. Although thus handicappedthe Crimson seemed a horse-length ahead before the other chariots hadcleared the sills of their stalls and a full chariot-length ahead beforeit reached the near end of the _spina_ wall. We saw Palus take the walleasily and hold it throughout the race, after the first turn never lessthan two full chariot-lengths ahead of the Green, which came second. TheRed was third, which comforted Colgius a little. As Palus passed thejudges' stand he threw up an arm, with a gesture so boyish, so debonair,so graceful, so altogether characteristic of Commodus, that I felt a qualmall over me. And a second gesture of exultation as he vanished through theGate of Triumph was equally individual.
The Red won the second race, which put Colgius, Uttius and Ramnius in highgood humor and seemed to make their fat, smiling wives even more smiling.
Agathemer and I agreed that the rumors retailed by Colgius concerning thewager said to have been made by Palus were probably correct; for he didjust what that rumor specified and so singular and spectacular a series offeats could hardly have been fortuitous. It was quite plain that he pulledin his team in the third race, and let a Gold team get the lead of him andkeep it till five eggs and five dolphins had been taken down by the tally-keepers' menials and there were but two full laps to run. Then he took thelead easily in the middle of the straight and won by four full lengths.
So of the other races in which he drove. He pulled in his team at thestart and each time allowed to get ahead of him one more team than in hislast race. Then he joyously and without apparent effort passed first one,in one straight, then another in another, varying his methods from race torace, watching for and seizing his opportunities, biding his time, dashinginto top speed as he chose, all smoothly and in perfect form.
The Blue team of piebalds
with my trick-stallion among them won the fourthrace in which Palus did not compete.
The eleventh race, in which Palus let the whole field of five precede him,was most exciting, especially because of the length of lead he gave evento the fifth team, and the impression of inevitableness about his victoryafterwards. The thirteenth, in which he did not drive, was notable for anappalling smash-up of five chariots, in which three jockeys were killedand eight horses killed outright or so badly injured that the clearing-crew had to put them out of their agonies.
The fourteenth race would have been spoiled by an even worse massacre hadit not been for the superlative skill of Palus and his amazing luck. Hehad passed five of the seven chariots which had the lead of him at thestart and was a close third to the two Blue teams, with the entire fieldwell up behind, three abreast, mostly, bunched up in a fashion whichseldom happens. The whole dozen had gathered way after the tenth turn, asthey came up the straight past the judges and us on the first lap, whiletwo eggs and two dolphins still remained on the tally stands. Two thirdsup the straight, just when all twelve teams were at their top speed, theBlue chariot furthest out from the _spina_ wall swerved to the right as ifthe jockey had lost control of his team. Palus lashed his four and theyincreased their speed as if they had been held in before and dartedbetween the two Blues. As the twelve horses were nose to nose the outerBlue pulled sharply inward in a way which appeared certain to pocket Palusand wreck his team and chariot, but even more certain to wreck theswerving Blue. What Palus did I was too far off to see, but the roar ofdelight from the front rows, which spread north, south and west till itsounded like surf in a tempest, advertised that he had done somethingsuperlatively adequate. Certainly he slipped between the two Blue teamsand won his race handily, as he did every other in succession, thougheight, nine, ten and eleven chariots led him at the start of each insuccession.
"What do you think of that, Asper?" I asked Agathemer.
"Felix," he replied, "there has never been but one man on earth who couldmanage horses like that. I've seen him do it. I've been smuggled in towatch him, like many another servant supposed to be waiting for his masteroutside. I recognize the inimitable witchery of him."
"No need to name him," I said. "But if you are right, who is wearing hisrobes and occupying his usual seat to-day?"
"Don't ask me!" Agathemer replied. "But you yourself, Felix, who have seenhim drive so much oftener than I have must agree with me about Palus."
I was mute.
I never saw a better managed racing-day. The first twelve races of sixchariots each were over and done with more than an hour before noon and wehad plenty of time to eat the abundant lunch Posilla and her two friendshad put up for us, to drink all we wanted of the wine served in the tavernin the vault to the left of the entrance stair, underneath the seats ofour section, and to return to our seats, refreshed like the rest of thatfraction of the spectators which went out and came back, most of themsitting tight in their seats, unwilling to miss any of the tight-rope-walking, jugglers' tricks, fancy riding and rest of the diversions whichfilled up the noon interval. Also the twelve afternoon races of twelvechariots each were so promptly started, with so little interval between,that the last race was run a full two hours before sunset, while the lightwas still strong; stronger, in fact, than earlier in the day, for a sortof film of cloud had mitigated the glare of noon, while by the start ofthe last race the sky was the deepest, clearest blue and the sun'sradiance undimmed by any hindrance.
That last race! Palus passed nine competitors in ten half laps, and, inthe first half of the sixth lap, was again third to two Blue teams one ofwhich was the piebald team with the Reate trick-stallion as left-handyoke-mate. Again, as in the fourteenth race, the field was close up,widespread, bunched, and thundering at top speed. Palus was driving thedapple grays with which he had won the first race.
Now, what happened, happened much quicker than it can be told, happened inthe twinkling of an eye. The inner leading Blue team apparently hugged the_spina_ wall too close and jammed its left-hand hub-end against themarble, stopping the chariot, so that the axle and pole slewed and so thatthe horses, since the pole and the traces did not snap, were brought noseon against the wall and piled up horridly, just at the goal-line, oppositethe judges stand, and falling so that as they fell they straightened outthe pole and brought the chariot to a standstill with its axle neatlyacross the course.
The other Blue, with the piebalds, was not close in to the leaders, butfairly well out and about a length behind. As the wall-team piled upsomething happened among the free-running piebalds. Of course, Iconjecture that the trick-stallion threw himself sideways at a signal. Butit seems incredible that a creature as timid as a horse, so compellinglycontrolled by the instinct to keep on its feet, should, in the frenzy ofthe crisis of a race, while in the mad rush of a full-speed gallop, obey asignal so out of variance with his natural impulse. Agathemer vows he sawthe trick-stallion throw himself against the chief horse while he and theother two were running strong and true. I did not see that; I only saw thefour piebalds go down in a heap in front of their chariot, saw the chariotstop dead, saw, even at that distance, that its axle was perfectly in linewith the axle of the other wrecked chariot, both chariots right side upand too close together for any chariot to pass between them.
Palus, skimming the sand not three horse lengths behind the piebalds, wastrapped and certain to be piled up against the wrecked Blues, under threeor four more of the field thundering behind him.
Actually, at that distance, I saw his pose, the very outline of his neckand shoulders, express not alarm but exultation. Although his right earand part of the back of his head was towards me, I could almost see himyell. I could descry how the lash of his whip flew over his team, howcraftily he managed his reins.
Right at the narrow gap he drove. In it his horses did not jam or fall orstumble or jostle. The yoke-mates held on like skimming swallows, thetrace-mates seemed to rise into the air. I seemed to see the two wheels ofhis chariot interlock with the two wheels of the upright, stationarywrecked chariots, his left-hand wheel between the chariot-body and right-hand wheel of the chariot on his left, his right-hand wheel between thechariot-body and left-hand wheel of the chariot on his right.
Certainly I saw his chariot, with him erect in it, rise in the air, saw itbump on the ground beyond the two stationary chariots, saw it leap upagain from its wheels' impact upon the sand, all four of his dapple grayson their feet and running smoothly, saw him speed on and round the uppergoal-posts.
As Palus came round the next lap, well ahead of the diminished field, hecraftily avoided the heap of wreckage. As he won he dropped his reinsaltogether, threw up both, arms, and yelled like a lad. As he vanishedthrough the Triumphal Gateway, he again dropped his reins, left his teamto guide themselves, and turned half round to wave an exultant farewell tothe spectators.
"What do you think, Asper?" I asked Agathemer.
"Felix," said he, "I wouldn't bet a copper that the occupant of the throneis not Commodus. But I'll wager my amulet-bag and all it contains thatPalus is not Ducconius Furfur."
He said it under his breath, that I alone might hear.
"My idea, precisely, Asper," I replied.
Andivius Hedulio: Adventures of a Roman Nobleman in the Days of the Empire Page 21
