Page:Ben-Hur a tale of the Christ.djvu/139

Rh &quot;The Greeks are taking him away,&quot; another broke in. &quot;Let us abuse them, not the gods. In learning to trade they forgot how to fight.&quot;

&quot;With these words, the party passed the gateway, and came upon the mole, with the bay before them beautiful in the morning light. To the veteran sailor the plash of the waves was like a greeting. He drew a long breath, as if the perfume of the water were sweeter than that of the nard, and held his hand aloft.

&quot;My gifts were at Præneste, not Antium—and see! Wind from the west. Thanks, O Fortune, my mother!&quot; he said, earnestly. The friends all repeated the exclamation, and the slaves waved their torches.

&quot;She comes—yonder!&quot; he continued, pointing to a galley outside the mole. &quot;What need has a sailor for other mistress? Is your Lucrece more graceful, my Caius?&quot;

He gazed at the coming ship, and justified his pride. A white sail was bent to the low mast, and the oars dipped, arose, poised a moment, then dipped again, with wing-like action, and in perfect time.

&quot;Yes, spare the gods,&quot; he said, soberly, his eyes fixed upon the vessel. &quot;They send us opportunities. Ours the fault if we fail. And as for the Greeks, you forget, O my Lentulus, the pirates I am going to punish are Greeks. One victory over them is of more account than a hundred over the Africans.&quot;

&quot;Then thy way is to the Ægean?&quot;

The sailor's eyes were full of his ship.

&quot;What grace, what freedom! A bird hath not less care for the fretting of the waves. See!&quot; he said, but almost immediately added, &quot;Thy pardon, my Lentulus. I am going to the Ægean; and as my departure is so near, I will tell the occasion—only keep it under the rose. I would not that you abuse the duumvir when next you meet him. He is my friend. The trade between Greece and Alexandria, as ye may have heard, is hardly inferior to that between Alexandria and Rome. The people in that part of the world forgot to celebrate the Cerealia, and Triptolemus paid them with a harvest not worth the gathering. At all