It is a shame."
"Shame, yes, but it pleases the people and gratifies the priests, two
things very essential to him who sits upon the throne."
"Dost think--"
"Aye, I think much that I do not say. Hundreds of Christians have been
herded into the prisons, the uprising of the multitude yesterday was
but part of the game. It was all planned. They say, too, that a dark
man, with great gold rings in his ears and a scar on his face, has
been tracking these Christians for weeks. No doubt he was an emissary
of the priests."
"I have seen him myself. There he goes, now."
Alyrus walked through the crowd like a king, as if he expected them to
bow before him.
"I've seen him before," said the first man. "Where was it? I remember
now. It was he who sat in the ante-chamber of Aurelius Lucanus'
office. He is his slave."
"And is the honorable lawyer mixed up in this business?"
"Who knows? One thing is certain. The people will be amused and forget
the cruelties of the Emperor, for there will be a grand show in the
amphitheatre, far grander than any gladiatorial show.
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