A Struggle for Rome, v. 3 Read online

  CHAPTER XXV.

  The round tower, in the deepest dungeon of which Witichis was confined,was situated at the angle of the right wing of the palace, the same inwhich he had dwelt and ruled as King.

  The iron door of the tower formed the end of a long passage which ledfrom a court, and which was separated from this court by a heavy irongate.

  Exactly opposite this gate, on the ground-floor of the building at theleft side of the court, was the small dwelling of Dromon, the_carcerarius_ or gaoler of the prison.

  This dwelling consisted of two small chambers; the first, which wasseparated from the second by a curtain, was merely an ante-room.

  The inner chamber afforded an outlook across the court to the roundtower.

  Both rooms were very simply furnished. A straw couch in the inner room,and two chairs, a table, and a row of keys upon the walls in the outerroom, was almost all that they contained.

  Upon the wooden bench in the window abovementioned, sat, day andnight--her eyes fixed upon the hole in the wall, through which alonelight and air could penetrate to the King's prison--a silent andthoughtful woman.

  It was Rauthgundis. Her eyes never left the little chink in the wall,"For," she said to herself, "thither turn all my thoughts--there, where_his_ eyes too are ever fixed."

  Even when she spoke to her companion, Wachis, or to the gaoler, shenever turned her eyes away. It seemed as if she thought that her merelook could guard the prisoner from every danger.

  On the day of which we speak she had sat thus for a long time.

  It was evening. Dark and threatening the massive tower rose into thesky, casting a broad shadow over the court and the left wing of thepalace.

  "Thanks, O Heavenly Father," murmured Rauthgundis; "even the strokes offate have led to good. If, as I once intended, I had gone to my fatherupon the High Arn, I should never have heard of all the misery here. Orfar too late. But I could not bear to forsake the last resting-place ofmy child near our home. The last, indeed, I was obliged to leave, forhow could I know that _she_, his Queen, would not come there? I dweltin the woods near Faesulae, and when news came of failure, and onemisfortune followed another; when the Persians burnt our house, and Isaw the flames from my hiding-place; it was too late to escape to myfather. All the roads were blocked, and the Italians delivered all whomthey found with yellow hair into the hands of the Massagetae. No way wasopen but the road here--to the city where I had ever refused to go as_his_ wife. I came like a fugitive beggar. Wachis, the slave, now thefreedman, and Wallada, our horse, alone remained faithful to me.But--forced by God's hand to come, whether I would or not--I found thatit was only that I might save _him_--deliver him from the shamefultreachery of his wife, and out of the hands of his enemies! I thankThee, O God, for this Thy mercy!"

  Her attention was attracted by the rattling of the iron gate opposite.

  A man with a light came through it across the court, and now enteredthe ante-room. It was the old gaoler.

  "Well? Speak! cried Rauthgundis, leaving her seat and hurrying to him.

  "Patience--patience! Let me first set down the lamp. There! Well, hehas drunk and it has done him good."

  Rauthgundis laid her hand upon her heart.

  "'What is he doing?" she asked.

  "He always sits in the same position, perfectly silent. He sits on astone block, his back turned to the door, his head supported on hishands. He gives me no answer when I speak to him. Generally he does noteven move; I believe grief and pain have stupefied him. But to-day,when I handed him the wine in the wooden cup and said, 'Drink, dearsir; it comes from true friends,' he looked up. Ah, his look was sosorrowful, as sad as death! He drank deeply, and bowed his headthankfully, and gave such a sigh, that it cut me to the heart."

  Rauthgundis covered her eyes with her hand.

  "God knows what horrid thing that man means to do to him!" the old manmurmured to himself.

  "What sayest thou?"

  "I say that you must eat and drink well, or else you will lose yourstrength; and you will need it before long, poor woman!"

  "I shall have strength enough!"

  "Then take at least a cup of wine."

  "Of this wine? No, it is all for him!"

  And she went back into the inner chamber, where she again took her oldplace.

  "The flask will last some time," old Dromon said to himself; "but wemust save him soon, if he is to be saved at all. There comes Wachis.May he bring good news, else----"

  Wachis entered. Since his visit to the Queen he had exchanged his steelcap and mantle for clothes borrowed from Dromon.

  "I bring good news!" he cried, as he entered. "But where were you anhour ago? I knocked in vain."

  "We had both gone out to buy wine."

  "To be sure; that is the reason why the whole room smells so sweet.What do I see? Why, this is old and costly Falernian! How could you payfor it?"

  "Pay for it?" repeated the old man. "With the purest gold in the world!I told you that the Prefect had purposely let the King starve, in orderto undermine his health. For many days I have received no rations forhim. Against my conscience I have kept him alive by depriving the otherprisoners. This Rauthgundis would no longer suffer. She fell into deepthought, and then asked me whether the rich Roman ladies still paid sodearly for the yellow locks of the Gothic women. Suspecting nothing, Isaid 'Yes.' She went away, and soon returned shorn of her beautifulauburn hair, but with a handful of gold. With this the wine wasbought."

  Wachis went into the next room, and kissing the hand of Rauthgundis,exclaimed: "Good and faithful wife!"

  "What art thou doing, Wachis? Rise, and tell me thy news."

  "Yes, tell us," said Dromon, joining them. "What says my Paukis? Whatadvice does he give?"

  "What matters his advice?" asked Rauthgundis. "I can manage alone."

  "We need him very much. The Prefect has formed nine cohorts, after themodel of the Roman legionaries, of all the youth of Ravenna, and myPaulus is enrolled amongst them. Luckily, the Prefect has entrusted theguard of the city gates to these legionaries. The Byzantines are placedoutside the city in the harbour; the Isaurians here in the palace."

  "Yes," continued Wachis; "and these gates are carefully closed atnight; but the breach near the Tower of AEtius is not yet repaired. Onlysentinels are placed there to guard it."

  "When has my son the watch?"

  "In two days. He will have the third night-watch."

  "Thanks be to the saints! It could not have lasted much longer. Ifeared----"

  He hesitated.

  "What? Speak!" cried Rauthgundis. "I can bear to hear everything."

  "Perhaps it is well that you should know it; for you are cleverer thanwe two, and will better find out what is to be done. I fear they havesomething wicked in their heads. As long as Belisarius had the commandhere, it went well with the King. But since Belisarius has gone and thePrefect--that silent demon!--is master of the palace, things lookdangerous. He visits the King every day, and speaks to him for a longtime, earnestly and threateningly. I have often listened in thepassage. But it seems to have little effect, for the King, I believe,never answers him; and when the Prefect comes out, he looks as black asthunder. For six days I have received no wine for the King, and only alittle piece of bread; and the air down there is as mouldy and damp asthe grave."

  Rauthgundis sighed deeply.

  "Yesterday," continued Dromon, "when the Prefect came up, he lookedblacker than ever. He asked me----"

  "Well? Tell me, whatever it may be!"

  "He asked me whether the instruments of torture were in good order!"

  Rauthgundis turned pale, but remained silent.

  "The wretch!" cried Wachis. "What did you----"

  "Do not be afraid; all is safe for a time. 'Clarissimus,' I said--andit is the pure truth--'the screws and pincers, the weights and spikes,and the whole delightful apparatus lie all together as safe aspossible.' 'Where?' he asked. 'In the deep sea,' I answered; 'I myself,a
t the order of King Theodoric, threw them in!' For you must know,Mistress Rauthgundis, that when your master was a simple Earl, he oncesaved me from being tortured. At his request, the horrible practice wasfully abolished. I owe him my life and my sound limbs, and I wouldgladly risk my neck for him. And, if it cannot be otherwise, I willleave this city with you. But we must not delay long, for the Prefecthas no need of my pincers and screws if he once takes it into his headto torture a man's marrow out of his bones. I fear him as I fear thedevil!"

  "And I hate him as I hate a lie!" cried Rauthgundis sternly.

  "So we must be quick," Dromon went on, "before he can carry out hiscruel intentions; for he is certainly planning something terribleagainst the King. I don't know what he can want of the poor prisoner.Now listen, and mark my words. The third night from now, when Pauluskeeps the watch, and I take the King his evening drink, I will unlockhis chains, throw my mantle over him, and lead him out of the prisonand the passage into the court. Thence he will be able to go unnoticedto the gate of the palace, where the sentinel will demand thewatch-word. This I shall acquaint him with. When he is once in thestreet, he must go direct to the Tower of AEtius, where Paulus will lethim pass the breach. Outside, in the pine-grove of Diana, at a shortdistance from the gate, Wachis will wait for him with Wallada. But noone must accompany him; not even you, Rauthgundis. He will escape moresurely alone."

  "Of what consequence am I? He shall be free; not even bound to me! Thoumust not even name my name. I have brought him misfortune enough, Iwill only look at him once again from the window as he goes away!"

  The Prefect now sunned himself in the feeling of supremacy. He wasGovernor of Italy. By his order the fortifications were repaired andstrengthened, the citizens practised in the use of arms all over thecountry. The representatives of Byzantium could no longercounterbalance him. Their captains had no luck; the siege of Tarvisium,as well as of Verona and Ticinum, made no progress. And Cethegus heardwith pleasure that Hildebad, whose troops had been augmented bydeserters to the number of about six hundred, had badly beaten Acacius,who had overtaken and attacked him with a thousand Persian horsemen.But Hildebad's road was still blocked by a strong battalion ofByzantines, who marched against him from Mantua--he had intended tojoin Totila at Tarvisium--and he was obliged to throw himself into theCastle of Castra Nova, which was still occupied by the Goths underThorismuth.

  Here the Byzantines kept him shut up. They could not, however, take thestrong fortress, and the Prefect already foresaw that Acacius wouldsoon call upon him to help to destroy the Goths, who could then nolonger escape him. It rejoiced him that, since the departure ofBelisarius, the forces of Byzantium were proved, in the face of allItaly, to be incapable of putting an end to the resistance of theGoths. And the harshness of the Byzantine financial administration,which had accompanied Belisarius wherever he went--for he could notprevent the practice of draining the resources of the country, whichwas carried on at the Emperor's command--awakened or heightened thedislike of both town and country to the East Roman rule.

  Cethegus took good care not--as Belisarius had often done--to opposethe worst acts of Justinian's officials. It gave him great pleasurewhen the populations of Neapolis and Rome repeatedly broke out intoopen rebellion against their oppressors.

  When the Goths were completely annihilated, the power of the Byzantinesbecome contemptible, and their tyranny sufficiently hated, Italy mightbe called upon to assert her independence, and her saviour, her ruler,would be Cethegus.

  Notwithstanding, he was troubled by one circumstance--for he was farfrom undervaluing his enemies. The Gothic war, the last sparks of whichwere not yet trampled out, might at any time flame up anew, fanned bythe national indignation aroused by the treachery which had beenpractised. It had great weight with the Prefect that the most hatedleaders of the Goths, Totila and Teja, had not been taken in the traplaid at Ravenna.

  For the purpose, therefore, of preventing such a national uprising ashe feared, he attempted to drag from the Gothic King a declaration,that he had surrendered himself and the city without hope and withoutcondition, and that he called upon his people to abstain from fruitlessresistance. He also wished his prisoner to tell him in what castle thewar-treasure of Theodoric was concealed.

  Even in those days such a treasure, as a means of gaining foreignprinces and mercenaries, was of the highest importance. If the Gothslost it, they would lose their best chance of strengthening theirexhausted forces by the aid of foreign weapons.

  And it was the Prefect's greatest wish not to let this treasure--whichlegend spoke of as immense--fall into the hands of the Byzantines--whoseneed of money, and the tyranny caused by this need, were such activeallies in his plans--but to secure it for himself. His means were alsonot inexhaustible. But opposed to the calm steadfastness of his prisoner,the Prefect's efforts to extort the secret were vain.