Page:The Song of the Sirens.djvu/203

 and the orders are unequivocal, to let no one see it"

"Not even the commander's wife?" Mucia pleaded.

"Pompey makes no exceptions and tolerates no transgressions," Antony declared. "No one dare break his rules."

"But even if no one else dare break one," Mucia insinuated, "you might know a way to get round this one quietly."

"Circumventing Pompey," Antony told her, "is likely to be as disastrous as disobeying him. Kind-hearted as he is, bland and deliberate as his habits are, he can be terrifyingly sudden and inflexibly stern on occasions."

"He wouldn't be savage on the eve of a triumph," Mucia wheedled.

"Technically," Antony agreed, "we disbanded at Brundisium and are here informally waiting to march in the celebration. Actually his authority is as autocratic as while we were still under oath and his discipline as exacting. He would not hesitate, I believe, to touch an offender with his baton if he thought the offense grave enough, and the offender would undoubtedly be stoned instantly."

"His hold on the men is good then?" Mucia queried.

"Perfect," Antony affirmed.