Three's Company

by Alfred Duggan

  ‘But not for Pompeius?’

  ‘Pompeius has deserted us. Under cover of darkness he sailed away, with seventeen ships only. The sailors had thrown their fighting-castles overboard to go faster. They are out of the war. Pompeius told us he would sail east and make his peace with Antonius. We in Messana are masterless men, who now seek protection from the rulers of Rome.’

  ‘That includes Plinius and his eight legions?’

  ‘They are the most eager for peace, Imperator. If you will send him a safe-conduct Plinius will come to your headquarters at dawn.’

  ‘Then for the moment there is no more to be said. I shall draft an ample safe-conduct, and you will take it back.’

  The envoy began to declaim an elaborate plea for mercy to his unfortunate fellow-townsmen, coerced into rebellion despite their overwhelming loyalty to Rome. Lepidus cut him short.

  ‘Don’t bother me now. If you leave the written version I shall glance through it at my leisure. I am curious to know the standard of rhetoric you attain in Sicily. What matters tonight is the attitude of the soldiers. Provided they are willing to surrender no one need be hurt.’

  ‘Unless our own garrison sacks the town before your men can enter it. I beg you, Imperator, send a few cohorts to keep order.’

  ‘I can’t do that. I won’t have my men blundering into a hostile fortress in the dark. Someone would start a skirmish, and then I must exterminate eight legions of foot, up and down the alleys of a populous seaport. It would cost more lives than were lost at Cannae. Take your safe-conduct and be off with you.’

  That was the way to do it. Short, sharp, and decisive, as was fitting when the ruler of the world conferred with wretched provincials. Besides, Agrippa would be poking his nose in unless the deputation returned to Messana at once.

  There was nothing more to be done until dawn. Lepidus sent word to the supper-party that he was turning in for what remained of the night. But since pirates were quite capable of making a surprise attack under cover of negotiations he sent orders that the troops must remain under arms. That brought Gallus into his bedroom, to protest that he was working his men too hard. They were willing to fight, but these incessant parades while the leaders negotiated made them surly. If they must stay up all night they would face it more cheerfully if the Imperator walked down the ranks and perhaps addressed them. Lepidus replied with severity that grave issues of peace and war hung in the balance, and that the brain of a Triumvir was a precious instrument; mere swordsmen, spared the necessity of thinking, could carry out their orders just as well when feeling drowsy.

  As he pulled the coverlet over him he wondered whether he had been too unsympathetic. But no, it was sensible to begin as he meant to go on. He was much more important than these common soldiers, a different sort of man altogether. He must get it into their heads that he was different, so that they would pass on to the general public some of the awe with which he inspired them.

  Three hours later he awoke, feeling much worse than if he had not slept at all. Perhaps it would have been wiser to follow the example of Antonius, to sit up all night drinking with the troops. But Plinius was waiting for him as promised; the prospect of gaining eight legions would make any commander feel alert.

  Plinius Rufus was a tough, capable, wary veteran, with the formal manners of the lesser Optimate gentry. These formal manners were not especially courteous, for the ancestors had been boorish and proud of it; but an old-fashioned patrician knew where he was with a man of that stamp. They quickly got down to business.

  First Plinius must make it clear that he was not a deserter. Pompeius had abandoned his army, giving his subordinates a free hand to make terms for themselves. Plinius might have surrendered as an individual, leaving his troops to shift for themselves. But he felt a personal responsibility for these men, who had stuck gallantly to their Eagles even when faced with the mighty army of Africa. They were good soldiers, who could march and dig when they were tired; which every veteran admits to be more difficult than dying gloriously in clean clothes with a full stomach. It would be a tragedy if such men were to flee into the hills, to end as crucified brigands.

  Lepidus granted all that.

  ‘Therefore, Imperator,’ Plinius continued, ‘I ask you to send me back to Messana bearing a message of hope for these brave soldiers. Permit me to tell them not only that they have been granted quarter; let me add good news as well. Let me tell them that there is room for them in the army of Lepidus the Triumvir, the great army whose strength they withstood so manfully for sixty days. Accept them into your service, as they stand: eight war-hardened legions, grouped in their cohorts, obedient to their officers. If you wish them to surrender their arms they must do so; they cannot resist your might. But such soldiers are worthy of a better fate than captivity. If you permit, by nightfall the piratical trident on their banners will have yielded place to the African lion. They will swear, on the Eagles your mercy has saved from profanation, to live and die faithful followers of Aemilius Lepidus.’

  ‘What did they swear to Sextus Pompeius?’

  ‘The same oath, I grant you. They did not break it. He did. He fled, leaving his soldiers leaderless. They are worthy of a better leader. You will find them worthy of the army of Africa.’

  ‘And I shall have twenty-two legions instead of fourteen. A numerous army, but Rome can support it. By the way, are your men paid up to date, or do you look to me to make up the arrears owed by Pompeius?’

  ‘Their pay is months in arrears, Imperator, as indeed is my own. We are all penniless, and I don’t see how we can march until we have a little money. But I don’t expect you to pay us out of your own purse. I have thought of a means by which we can be supplied.’

  ‘The pirate treasure? That belongs to the African legions, who have won it in fair fight.’

  ‘It is a great treasure. There will be enough for all. Consider, Imperator. Our faithless leader sailed at a moment’s notice, with only a few ships. He cannot have taken all his hoard with him. But there is more than his hoard. For years Sicily has preyed on the rest of the world; every merchant and landowner received his share. As we withdrew before your victorious advance the rich sent their gold and silver to Messana. Every house in the town is stuffed with plate. Let my men mark their return to their true allegiance by the plunder of those rebellious provincials. Then your army will be reinforced by eight legions of contented soldiers.’

  ‘But my fourteen legions will be disappointed. They have already spent the plunder of Messana, sure it must come to them. However, those townsfolk are doomed to be plundered, by one army or another. It serves them right, for getting mixed up in a rebellion.… Well, Plinius, I shall trust you. We’ll strike a bargain. Before the sack begins your men must throw open all the gates of the town. Then my troops can join them; and I hope you are telling the truth when you say there is enough for all. But this must be done today, as soon as you leave me. Otherwise we shall have Caesar bringing over his army from Naulochus, and no town can make three armies rich.’

  Plinius looked worried. ‘I had forgotten Caesar. I didn’t know he was so near. When I have made my peace with you I suppose Caesar will consider me a friend? Does your seal bind him?’

  ‘It will, my worthy legate, even if at this moment it doesn’t. Tell your men not to fret about that. When he sees the army of Africa with twenty-two Eagles in line Caesar will be most friendly.’

  ‘Of course, Imperator. Whatever you say. Then shall I go back at once to put these terms to my men? They will accept, I know; and when you see the gates thrown open your army may enter and be welcomed.’

  ‘That’s right. And don’t be greedy. Leave my men a few virgins as well as the silver. Remember, we chased you from Lilybaeum to Messana, and we have fourteen legions to your eight.’

  Lepidus was uneasily aware that he had just concluded a really dastardly bargain; it seemed easier to carry it off on a swashbuckling note.

  The moment Plinius had left Agrippa bustled in, w
ithout asking permission. His manner was barely respectful, as he stood stiffly before the Imperator’s desk.

  ‘What’s this I hear, sir?’ he said, without waiting for leave to speak. ‘Is it true that you have granted terms to the pirates? This matter concerns Rome, not Africa. They must surrender to the ruler of Italy. It is not at all certain that Caesar will grant quarter to every man in their ranks. They have among them some dangerous Optimates, who escaped the proscription.’

  ‘Legate, you forget yourself,’ answered Lepidus, speaking with all the gravity of a patrician and pontifex. ‘Loyalty to your commander has made you insubordinate, and because loyalty is a virtue I pardon your lack of respect. But let me hear no more of this. The civilized world is governed by three equal rulers. Any one of us may decide in the name of the Three. I have granted quarter, and my decision cannot be altered.’

  ‘But, Imperator, Caesar is quite close; at Naulochus, only a day’s journey from here. Of course I don’t deny your right to do what you have done, and if my manner was disrespectful I apologize. But it’s only a delay of one day. When Caesar has arrived you and he together can decide what is to be done with the rebel army.’

  The young man was doing no more than his duty. Of course he could not sway the mind of a great Imperator, but a magnanimous reply would be even more crushing than an outburst of temper. Lepidus smiled gently as he spoke.

  ‘Come, Agrippa. Which of us has overthrown the rebel army? Yesterday you destroyed the pirate fleet, and again I congratulate you on your prowess. But when you captured all those ships, did you pause to consult me before dealing with their crews?’

  The young man pulled himself together, and spoke respectfully in reply.

  ‘Imperator, whatever may be the form of the Triumvirate enacted by the Senate and People, Rome is ruled by Caesar. You ought to consult with him.’

  That was the last straw. Courtesy was wasted on this oaf, too stupid and too ill-bred to recognize political realities unless they were put into plain words.

  ‘Caesar does not rule the whole world. By pure luck he acquired a famous name, to which his blood does not entitle him. Today he may be ruling in Rome. But I rule here in Sicily, and tomorrow I shall rule in Rome also.’

  ‘It is hard to foretell the future.…’ Agrippa began.

  ‘But easier for the Pontifex Maximus than for most men,’ Lepidus cut in. ‘Be off with you, young man, before one of us says something he will regret afterwards. Now that the fighting is finished I expect Caesar will visit your camp. Tell him I shall be delighted to receive him whenever he wishes to call.’

  In the afternoon the gates of Messana were thrown open, and the legions of Africa flocked to share in the sack. Lepidus seized the opportunity for a leisurely bath between dinner and supper, to make up for his broken night. Just for the present, he had no troops to look after; during the next few hours any attempt to give orders would mean only the execution of good soldiers for mutinous conduct. The high command must keep out of the way until the men had recovered from their orgy.

  Unpleasant sounds were borne on the wind even into the calm of headquarters: the screams of women and the crash of falling buildings. Dozing in his bath, Lepidus refused to hear them. No one was the richer for pushing over a temple, but there was a knack in knocking away the right column, and some of the men enjoyed it. On these occasions girls screamed at what was done to them, and older women at what they saw done to their daughters. But Messana was a legitimate prize of war, and the soldiers were receiving no more than their due. Luckily after the recent rain the place would not burn, and he had forbidden indiscriminate massacre. These Sicilians were really getting off very lightly; they had afforded a safe refuge to the pirates, and he would have been within his rights if he had sold them all as slaves. They should never have submitted to Pompeius in the first place.

  While he was dressing for supper he was surprised to notice his orderly strolling outside. ‘Hallo, Crastinus,’ he called graciously. ‘Aren’t you missing some fun? The pirate treasure was stored in Messana, and there ought to be plenty for everybody.’

  ‘Well, my lord, I have been your orderly for more than ten years. There are pickings in that. I don’t need the plunder.’

  ‘Even so, a sack has its amusing side. Don’t you want to chase a few pretty girls?’

  ‘I prefer them willing, my lord. But it isn’t only that. I am a soldier by trade, like my father before me. I don’t like seeing good soldiers go to pieces. It’s one thing to fight your way over a wall, kill some men who are trying to kill you, and then help yourself to their silver and their daughters. That all goes together, if you take my meaning; and anyway at the time you feel like doing it. But marching in through an open gate to rob harmless civilians who have never fought anyone in their lives … there’s something cold-blooded about that, so cold-blooded that it’s disgusting. Our men haven’t earned this plunder, and it will make them greedy instead of brave. Money for nothing never improved anyone. I wish I could have told you this before you permitted the sack. We had a very fine army. It will never be the same.’

  ‘Don’t be gloomy, Crastinus. Just because you and I are too old for this game, that doesn’t mean the youngsters don’t enjoy it.’

  ‘Oh, some of them will enjoy it. The trouble is that they will be panting to do it again. Next time they may not wait for permission. You have put it into their heads that soldiers can be robbers, and that will make it easier for some other general to buy them. Plain speaking, my lord. But if you went down into the town you would hear plainer, and plenty of it.’

  ‘No need to go there while I have an orderly. I’m glad you spoke frankly, but I think you are wrong. I came to soldiering late in life, and I’ve heard it said I’m too strict, an old-fashioned spoil-sport. No one can say that in future. Antonius himself could not have done more for his men.’

  As Crastinus wandered off to drink in solitude at the canteen, the only soldier who paid for his wine that day, the orderly sighed. His Imperator aspired to be a freebooter like Antonius; but until he could march and fight like Antonius he ought not to imitate his failings.

  By evening of the next day the army was back in camp, reinforced by eight legions of Pompeians. When the praetorians had beheaded two hard cases, and propped their headless bodies against the gate, the rest stopped singing rude songs about their officers and came back willingly. There were hardly any desertions; for it was raining again, and Messana now offered little shelter to a straggler.

  In the morning a council of war assembled, to make plans for the future. The augmented army contained more than thirty senior officers; as he prepared to address the group, sitting in rows behind Gallus and Plinius, Lepidus imagined that he was once again making a speech in the Senate.

  That was a familiar sensation; familiar also was the knowledge that he had not yet made up his mind what to propose. Oh well, a hasty decision need not be an unwise decision; an experienced politician should think on his feet, picking up pointers from the reactions of his audience.

  But how on earth was he to break it to them that they must follow him to Rome and overthrow the government of Caesar? For one thing, they could not start until after months of preparation, probably not until next year. Agrippa’s fleet commanded these waters. He must increase his own navy, gather transport and supplies, and collect enough money to give every man in the ranks a good bounty before opening the campaign. He had a sound head for business, and saw exactly what a mighty undertaking this would be. He had never expected to see the rivalry come to breaking-point. He had assumed that Caesar, that wary politician, would sense his own weakness at the first hint; the boy ought to be clever enough to yield gracefully before his supplanter was driven to threaten naked force. Lepidus maundered on, emphasizing the need to hold the island securely as a loyal and prosperous base; but he was slow in coming to the point. Granted that they needed a base for their next campaign, who was to be their next enemy?

  In the end Gallus drove
him to it, interrupting to ask a direct question. ‘Those Caesarians in Tyndaris, Imperator,’ said he. ‘Agrippa is pushing out his patrols all over the place. What happens if his men seek admission to a town garrisoned by us?’

  ‘We refuse admission, and back our refusal by force if necessary,’ Lepidus answered shortly. ‘Furthermore, this morning I shall send a circular to every town-council in the island, informing them that they must surrender to our army, and that if they admit a Caesarian garrison I shall regard it as an act of war.’

  ‘But my men thought they were surrendering to you and Caesar jointly,’ cried Plinius. ‘They saw the Caesarians destroy our fleet; that’s what decided them to surrender. If they had known that by joining your army they were committed to war against Caesar they might have decided differently.’

  ‘What else could you have done?’ asked Gallus contemptuously. ‘You had to surrender. You were beaten.’

  ‘We could have held Messana for two more days, until Caesar arrived to guarantee our safety. You don’t think you could have got in yesterday if we hadn’t opened the gates to you?’

  ‘I’ll walk through any gate you close, with a centurion’s cudgel, not a sword. Your men are not even good enough to be pirates! If Pompeius had thought them worth deck-space he would have taken them with him.’

  ‘Silence, both of you. I am speaking,’ said Lepidus. ‘We follow the same Eagles, gentlemen, and this is no time for quarrelling. It can’t come to open war. When Caesar’s men see what they are up against they will force their leader to negotiate. He is no soldier himself, otherwise he would have recognized the situation and sought a parley.’

  At that moment envoys from Caesar were announced, come to seek a parley. The council adjourned, and Lepidus offered a prayer of thanks to the genius of the gens Aemilia for getting him out of this impasse so neatly.

  The envoy was a messenger, not an ambassador. A mere trumpeter brought a letter proposing an immediate meeting, in the open country between Tyndaris and Messana. The man wanted only a plain answer, Yes or No, and would not discuss anything else. These were high matters, to be decided by Triumvirs; his orders were to deliver a letter and carry back the answer. After a few moments of indecision, Lepidus agreed to go to the meeting.