The darkness settled down over Rome and still Virgilia dreamed on, but
the dreams were not prophetic; in the visions which she had there were
no forebodings of that which was to come.
IV.
THE INNER SHRINE OF JUPITER.
Alyrus crept out of the rear door of the house about sundown, while
Virgilia, her head pillowed on a cushion of soft down, was dreaming of
things past. He told Alexis to guard the entrance and if the master
inquired for him to tell him that a pair of sandals needed repairing
and he was carrying them to the shoemaker. In fact, he had the
sandals, of yellow Persian leather, wrapped up in an old handkerchief,
and showed them to the Greek.
While Alexis seated himself on the porter's marble bench just inside
the front door, left open that the evening breeze blowing fresh and
cool from the sea might pass through the heated rooms, Alyrus went
into the narrow alley at the rear. Just outside, a man crouched
against the brick wall. It was Lucius, the water-carrier, who had sung
the Christian hymn so boldly on the streets where pagan gods were
worshipped.
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