"Never saw I one as swift," said Lysias. "But at the close of a day he were better for a rest."
"He may have a short one," said the Roman general, wisely. "I prepare a message that will take thy head with it if it be not delivered rightly. I have naught here but clumsy beasts that travel a league a day."
Then he turned to summon a servant, to whom he gave direction and with whom Lysias rode into the camp, wondering much at his good fortune at such an hour.
"This is of Mercurius," he thought. "I have ever thought well of him, and my father was once a priest of his temple at Corinth; the god hath now remembered me. To him I owe my prosperity upon this journey, and he did not favor the thieves as is his wont."
The ass had been hard ridden, but seemed not much the worse for it. Water and grain were brought to him, and Lysias, also, ate and drank. More time went by than he had expected before a soldier came to summon him to the camp gate.
"Saddle and mount!" said the soldier. "The hand of the procurator is heavy."
No answer might be made except to obey, and shortly the young Greek was at the gate.
"Kill not thy beast, lest thou fail of thy errand," said the eagle-faced commander. "Take thou this letter to the captain of the Damascus gate at Jerusalem. This also, and this. He will further deliver them. Abide thou with him until he give thee answers. Bring them to me."
Few and brief had been his questionings of the young Greek, the pupil of Gamaliel. He was but a tool, an instrument, intelligent, sufficient, sure to serve well because of the scourge or the sword, or of reward. So rule the Romans, and they who receive orders from a Roman general hesitate not to obey.
Silently sat Lysias until the procurator ceased speaking and motioned with his hand. Then, as if of his own accord, the ass went forward. Therefore Lysias had become a royal messenger, whom all men would be eager to speed upon his way, for the fear of Pontius went with him.
"Mercurius!" he shouted, at a goodly distance from the camp. "Better to me art thou than is Jupiter. Now may Venus, also, be my aid if it be true that my Sapphira was sold into the household of this bloody one. O that I might send an arrow into his heart and a flame into his dwelling! But I will not fail of the due delivery of his messages. Who knoweth to what the gods may have destined me? Soon will all the Saxons perish and no man then will know the manner of my coming into Syria. Sapphira! Sapphira! O swift beast! O Venus, goddess of love! Let me go on to Jerusalem that I may once more look into her eyes and hear her voice and touch her hand. She shall not be for another, but for me, for the gods have favored me greatly!"
"O Jew, thou hast brought to Tiberias the gladiators of Caius of Thessalonica! Woe to thee and to thy accursed race! But I have orders concerning thee and these. They will give us fine sport before long."
Low bowed Ben Ezra to the Roman officer of the gate and his reverent reply came not fully to the ears of Ulric; but the jarl's face flushed haughtily, for he liked neither the speech nor the manner of the Roman. The Saxons, also, were watching their jarl and their faces also reddened, the hands of men tightening upon the shafts of their spears.
"He will be prudent," they said, "but we are not slaves, to be trodden on. As he doeth so will we."
Unto him now the officer turned as if he were looking at some newly caught wild beast.
"O Saxon," he said, "I have heard of thee. Thou didst well by the robbers, but they cost thy Caius of Thessalonica a tall swordsman. Now thou art to be made food for a lion. I shall see thee torn in the circus shortly, please the gods."
With an effort did the jarl steady his temper, but there was a deepness in his voice:
"O Roman, I shall be ready for thy lion. But if thou hast anything further to say thou mayest say it to Caius of Thessalonica. He is a man and he will answer thee."
"What care I for him?" exclaimed the officer.
"He will answer thee that thing also," said the jarl. "It is between thee and him. I have no words with one who openeth and shutteth a gate."
"I will have thee scourged."
"Silence!" ordered a stern, hard voice behind him. "Thou forgettest thyself, Demetrius, of the gate. The scourging of gladiators is not with thee. O Saxon, thy answer is good. March on to thy quarters."
"O noble Julius, the centurion," replied Ulric, "thy tower was a fair abiding place, and thou wert correct in providing it with a garrison."
The face of Julius flushed somewhat, for the jarl spoke to him as one captain may to another.
"I have an account of that affair," he said. "Keep thou thy speech to thyself. Thou hast but slain a few robbers."
"I have heard of thee," said the jarl, "that thou art thyself a good fighter and entitled to the respect of the brave. Thou hast led a legion to victory in a hard battle. Well with thee!"
There is vanity in all men, and the anger passed from Julius while the haughty mannered jarl of the Saxons ascribed to him this fame.
"I have fought more fights than ever thou hast," he said. "But thou art a seaman. I would put thee upon a ship if I had one."
"I am of the sea kings," said Ulric, "but yonder water is too small for a great battle. It is but a fishing pond."
The ground upon which they stood was the high and difficult hill which ariseth behind the city. This, with its palace gardens, was more than two leagues in circuit if the wall were measured around it from a point on the south shore to a point on the north shore. But part of this distance was of crags crowned with forts, and much of the city was a suburb, having no wall. Within were temples and great buildings, and there was an amphitheater near the shore. The Saxons had wondered at the beauty and grandeur of this place as they drew near. They had marched by way of small towns and villages, but up to this hour never before had one of them seen such a city as Tiberias or such a lake as Galilee.
"Speak no more," said Ben Ezra, "but obey him and march on. Our quarters are in the lower town, near the circus. He giveth orders to the guards at the gate."
Forward strode Ulric, followed by his men, and Julius glanced after them. "Caius hath beaten me," he muttered. "I have none to contend with these. They must be destroyed by tigers and lions. I will not waste an elephant upon them."
Once they were within the wall they could obtain from that height a fair view of the city, and they halted as one man.
"O Jew," said Tostig the Red, "is thy Jerusalem larger and better than this?"
"An hundredfold!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "This abomination of the heathen is but as a handful compared with Zion, the city of Jehovah, God of Hosts."
"Then, O jarl," said Tostig, "I will not get myself killed until I have seen Jerusalem. Manage thou with care, for I think thou wouldst like to see it thyself."
"So will I," replied Ulric. "But I think we shall suffer no harm in this place. I have not seen any strong men yet except some of these Jews, who do not carry arms. They would make good fighting men."
For he had looked at all whom he met with the eye of a captain, and the rabble of that land did not please him.
"Thou art right," said Ben Ezra. "Thou hast seen men of the tribe of Zebulun and of the tribe of Naphtali and some of Ephraim and Manasseh. They are swordsmen if they had a king. Ere long our king cometh. But these heathen of Tiberias are fit only to be crushed under the foot like vipers."
"Speak not so loudly," said Abbas at his side. "Remember that thou art a Jew, and they hate thee."
"O thou of a weak heart!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "When shall a money-lender be fit to wear a sword! Knowest thou not that I can lead these Saxons through a host of these dogs of the gentiles? The Romans are warriors, but the rabble of Tiberias are scorned even by the lepers. Let us go on."
Fierce was the countenance of the Jew as they went down the long street, for it was broad and on either side of it were temples and shrines.
"Pollution! Abomination!" he exclaimed. "O jarl of the Saxons, these gods of Tiberias are but of wood and stone, the work of men's hands. This place is cursed because of them."
"I will inquire shortly of what sort they may be," said Ulric. "I grow curious concerning gods. What need of so many? They would all go down before the hammer of Thor. Where is thy god that he permitteth them to be here?"
"This was never a city of my people," said Ben Ezra. "It is a work of the Greeks and the Romans. In Jerusalem thou wilt see only the temple of the living god, and of him thou wilt find no image in stone or wood or metal. No man hath ever seen his face."
"I like that," said Ulric, striding onward. "There would be harm if the gods were seen too often. I will yet look again into the face of one, but I am of their kindred and Odin is my father. Thy god seemeth a good one."
All the while the other Saxons gazed as they went, saying not much, but wondering, and all who met them stepped aside, for their stature was great and their arms were splendid. The jarl had bidden them prepare for this on the previous day, and Julius and the gate guards had seen Northmen appareled and armored as if they were now marching to a feast of swords.
Behind them now came on their baggage chariot, and shortly it was joined by horsemen, servants of Caius, sent by him to care for the guidance and welfare of his gladiators.
Before a palace in the main street of the city, well down toward the sea, sat upon their horses two horsemen from whom others reined aside respectfully. These were face to face and they had greeted one another with all ceremony.
"Thy northern wolves have arrived, O Caius," said one. "But thou art short of a tall fighter."
"So art thou robbed of thy robbers, O Julius," replied the friend of Ulric. "Thy tower was a subtle trap, but it hath not profited thee greatly."
"Ha!" responded Julius, mockingly. "Thou hast lost thy best sword. A thousand sesterces that my Numidian lion slayeth thy Saxon chief."
"Wagered!" exclaimed Caius. "And a thousand sesterces more that thy Hyrcanian tiger shall also be slain by the man I will name against him."
"I have thee!" shouted Julius. "We will write these wagers with care and let thy words be recorded with exactness. If either the lion or the tiger shall be slain by a Saxon, I lose that wager, but if a Saxon be overcome by the tiger or the lion, thou losest."
"Thou hast some cunning of thine own in this," laughed Caius, "but thy sesterces and mine will be in the keeping of Sempronius, the judge of the games. I will trust him."
Each of these carried a tablet of wax and a pointed stylus of steel wherewith they wrote, and the words were compared with care, that they might then be written upon parchments, to be held by the judge of the games.
"What meaneth he?" thought Caius as he rode away from the gate. "I will see the Jew, Ben Ezra, as to this matter. There is a trap. I have not yet seen the laws of this circus, and Julius knoweth them well."
Like an inn, large and well appointed, was the house to which the Saxons were guided, near the circus, and they entered it gladly, for they were as men who were walking on into a new world.
"O Abbas," said Ben Ezra, "come with me to the amphitheater. I would inquire there concerning many things."
"Not so," replied Abbas. "Go thou. I have a friend to commune with and I go to meet him."
"O jarl of the Saxons," said Ben Ezra, as Abbas departed, "it is well that he goeth not with us. Come! Trust him not. He is overfond of money. Thou art a soldier. Thou must see thine enemy. Speak not to any man, but hear well. Who here knoweth thy gift of tongues? I am thine interpreter, and be thou as if thou wert deaf."
Ulric did but bow his head in answer to Ben Ezra, but the other Saxons knew the errand of their jarl and approved of his going.
A high arch of marble was the gate of the amphitheater, and on one side of it, upon the wall, was a broad tablet of wood. Upon this were inscribed many things, and both Ben Ezra and the jarl read them.
"Speak not," said the Jew. "One cometh to lead us to the dens."
Through the portal they went, guided by a soldier of Julius, and he seemed pleased to show them all things. First went they across the arena, and this was a broad place, egg-shaped, with vast tiers of seats arising upon all sides. Under these tiers were the keeping places, and from some of these came cries and roarings of wild beasts and the shouts of men.
"Here are the prisons of criminals and of captured rebels," said the soldier as the guard before a door opened it to let them in, "but thou hast little to do with these. They are to slay each other or to be torn by beasts. There are trained swordsmen for thee and thine."
Nevertheless, he and the jarl and the Jew went into more than one of these prisons, looking well at what they found there.
"Wretches!" murmured Ulric. "Some of them hardly seem like men and women. It is well for such as they are to be slain quickly. The gods care not for these people, and so they are given to the Romans."
Not so thought Ben Ezra, for he beat his breast more than once and he whispered to himself in Hebrew:
"O God of Israel!" he gasped. "Here are of thine own chosen people, also, many scores, taken in the snares of the heathen. Where art thou, O Jehovah, that thou hearest not? Canst thou not see this city of pollution, wherein thy name hath not been written? Unclean! Unclean! Woe is me that I am here! It is as Sodom and Gomorrah, and thy fire lingereth!"
What he meant Ulric understood only in part, but he saw that many of these who were doomed were Jews.
"They are not warriors," he thought, "except that some of them are tall and strong. They must all die and get out of these prisons, but they go not to Valhalla, and I know not where they go. I care not to slay such persons."
Now the guard led him and his interpreter to the dens of the animals and Ulric was displeased that his men were not with him to see.
"The wolves," he said in Saxon, "are like those of the North. I think not much of the hyenas, nor of the small leopards. The great leopards are fierce beasts and so are the bears, but I could meet one of them."
There were four elephants in one den, and he walked around among them, wondering at their size and at their peacefulness, while Ben Ezra told him of their intelligence and of their manner of fighting.
The jarl did but study them thoughtfully, and now a keeper said to Ben Ezra:
"It is known by us that this Saxon is to fight the great lion. Come."
The den was near and in it the lion was pacing to and fro.
"He is almost as large in body as was the ice bear," thought Ulric. "He standeth higher and his head is vast. He is a springing beast. He is stronger than the one we saw in Africa. I think he would fail if his heart were cloven. Now I will see the tiger."
Near was his den also, and he, too, walked to and fro, snarling fiercely, for he was hungry.
"O Abbas," said the keeper of the beasts to Ben Ezra, mistaking him, "thou art for Julius in this matter. What thinkest thou of thy Saxon? If he can meet a lion, can he fight, also, the tiger? How will he not be rent quickly when both are let loose upon him!"
"Silence, thou unwise one!" said Ben Ezra. "Is it for thee to let out this tiger?"
"That is my care," said the keeper. "I stand in this small box to throw open the door, and the tiger will be famished on the day of the games."
"Mark thou this thine instruction!" said Ben Ezra. "Wait thou not! Send out thy tiger when thou hearest the trumpet call for the lion. So shall Julius win two thousand sesterces. Hold not thy door till the lion be slain, lest thou be smitten with a sword. Thy life for it! The beasts go out together."
Ulric heard and he understood, for a fire flashed in his eyes, but he held his tongue. "I am to be torn without hope!" he thought. "I am betrayed by Abbas, but I know the thing in the mind of Ben Ezra. He doeth cunningly."
So they walked on across the arena, and as they went Ben Ezra stood still.
"Here," he said in Saxon, "wilt thou halt if thou art wise. Thou wilt have thy mail on, but only thy sword and thy shield."
"I will wear no armor!" said Ulric. "I will bear no weights. What were mail and shield against these monsters? I will bring with me the long sword of Annibaal. Odin be with me! He who fighteth a lion must spring as lightly as doth a lion. He who faceth a tiger must move as the lightning or he is lost."
"Thou art wise!" exclaimed the Jew. "I have seen no warrior like thee. Verily I am true to thee. Sharpen thy sword and let thy hand and thy heart be strong. I would that Jehovah of Hosts might fight for thee, but thou art a heathen and thou must look to thine own gods, if so be they can do anything in such a case."
Dark was the face of the Jew, but he said no more, and they went back to the house of the gladiators.
Eager were all the Saxons to hear the account of their jarl, and he told them many things, but in the gloom of the evening Caius came and he spoke to Tostig the Red.
"Thou art to meet a black giant with a net and a trident against thy sword and shield," he said. "What thinkest thou, O Saxon? Am I safe to wager upon thy success?"
It was Abbas who interpreted, but the men had already heard much of these nets and tridents and Tostig stood still for a moment.
"I have not seen this giant, O Roman captain," he said. "May I be guided by my own jarl?"
"Verily!" exclaimed Caius. "Do thou as he will tell thee, and I know not what it is. O jarl, can he win?"
"I saw thy giant," said Ulric. "Tostig the Red will slay him for thee. Make thy wagers. I would talk with Abbas."
"So do!" said Caius, for Ben Ezra had beckoned him and he stepped away a little.
"What is it?" asked Abbas of the jarl.
"Only this," said Ulric. "I have seen the lion of Julius. He is a great one. Hath he slain many?"
"That I know not," said Abbas. "Why askest thou? What matters it to thee?"
"Little," said Ulric, "but I was curious," and he asked him other questions, keeping him while Ben Ezra talked with Caius, getting full permission that the jarl should wear arms of his own choosing and not the armor of a Roman soldier.
Caius rode away and many great ones came and went, as they had been doing; for they who were to make wagers willed to see these pirates of Caius, as they called them. Not any, it seemed, went away believing that the jarl could face the Numidian, and they declared that Julius would win his wager.
Then the night passed and in the early dawn Ulric, the son of Brander, sat apart by himself sharpening the long, beautiful sword on the stone which Wulf the Skater had brought to him from the North Cape, at the end of the world. To him came then Ben Ezra, looking like one whose soul is burdened within him.
"O jarl," he said, "the great games are set down for the third day hence. Wilt thou then be rested after thy journeying?"
"Were I to meet the lion this day," replied Ulric, "I am not weary. I care more for the training of Tostig the Red in the matter of this black giant. I pray thee procure for me a net and trident that the thing he is to do may not be altogether new to him."
"That will I do," said Ben Ezra, "but thou canst not instruct thyself concerning lions."
Before the close of that day the jarl and Tostig were in a room by themselves, but they told not to any man what they did with these strange weapons whereby so many good swordsmen had been destroyed. That day, moreover, and the next day and the next the Saxons wandered much around the city of Tiberias, for they were permitted to do so freely, and all the people wondered at their stature and their armor.
"What thinkest thou of all these temples?" asked Wulf the Skater of Ulric. "Would it not be well for thee and Tostig to offer sacrifices to some of these gods?"
"What good?" said the jarl. "I know them not and they know not me. I would sacrifice to Jehovah if he had an altar here, because he is the god of all this land. I heard Jesus of Nazareth praying to him and calling him his father. If Jesus were here I would ask him that Jehovah might be to me instead of Odin, for I think the North gods are far away. Caius may sacrifice to his Roman gods if he will, but thou and I have no business with them."
"Thou art wise, O jarl," said Wulf. "I will waste none of my coins upon these priests and temples."
Splendid was the appearance of the Saxons on the morning of the great day of the games at Tiberias, when they marched around the arena with the jarl at their head, for their arms and armor were bright and their bearing was that of warriors accustomed to conquer. They themselves gazed, wondering, as they went, at the throngs which crowded the rising tiers of seats. Among these were many in gorgeous apparel, and the rich women had vied with each other in the colors and shapes of their garments and in the gold and jewels of their tiaras and other ornaments. There was a place on a lower tier for all the free gladiators, and to this the Saxons went after their marching. In it was a covered stairway going down to the door by which any among them might enter a room adjoining the arena to wait for his summons to combat. Each company of the trained ones was by itself and they were not too near each other.
Julius and Caius and other great men, with their glittering women, had a place which was as if it were full of thrones, but in the center of this was one splendid chair in which only a Cæsar or a proconsul might at any time presume to sit. It was this day unoccupied, but against it leaned the eagle standard of a legion and before it were scattered flowers.
The games began with races, both of footmen and chariots, and in these the multitude were interested greatly, but only they who had wagers cared much who might win.
When these were over it was time for the shedding of blood, and a band of captives were driven in, knowing that their fate had come.
"I see no swordsmen," was in the mind of Ulric. "Each of these hath a dart, but he is naked and so are the women and children."
Then uttered he a loud exclamation, for a door under the tiers of seats swung open widely and the den behind it vomited wolves famished with hunger and thirst.
"So many!" said Ulric. "Where got they so many? This is the cruelty of the Romans. I see no sport in this thing. It is but tearing and shrieking, for the small darts avail not."
Nevertheless, many wolves were slain before all the captives were torn down. Men in full armor went out to drive the rest of the beasts back to their den, but it was not difficult, for hunger was satiated and a wolf might carry with him a torn limb or a fragment of raw flesh.
Swiftly a crowd of bondservants cleansed the arena, and the feast of the wolves had not been long in duration.
"There cometh now thy giant with the net and trident," said Ulric to Tostig. "He is very black. He is from Africa. Watch him well, for this thing of his is but a trick of skill. Thou couldst parry that three-pronged spear?"
"That can I," said Tostig. "But the net? Let us see what he doeth with that short-legged brown swordsman in mail and helmet."
Brave seemed to be the brown warrior, but the net flew over him and the negro stepped backward, dragging. Then it was but as a flash and the trident was driven deeply through mail and breast.
Loud were the plaudits of the multitude, for the pitiless black had seemed to show both skill and strength.
The next comer was a large man, and Ben Ezra, sitting near Ulric, ground his teeth.
"A warrior of Israel, from the Lebanon!" he exclaimed. "He will but be netted!"
"Watch!" whispered Ulric to Tostig. "Thy turn cometh next. Mark how he faileth and remember what I taught thee."
"I see his sleight of hand," said Tostig. "I have beaten harder fighters than he is. The Jew is snared!"
Longer this time had been the contest, for the Jew ran, dodging, advancing, retreating, striking, and it was only by his utmost skill that the huge African at last threw over him the fatal net. Even then the trident was parried oft, but it struck and the brave Jew went down.
"Now!" said Ulric to Tostig. "I go with thee. We will show them a thing. Let me see thy seax. It is sharp. It will do. Off with thy armor! Take this heavy shield and see that thou cast it well."
Bare, save a cloth around his loins and a helmet on his head, Tostig went out into the arena, and the multitude shouted loudly, but Julius bit his lip. "Here is something more than the Nubian hath yet encountered," he muttered. "I would I might change my wagers. Yonder Saxon is an athlete for the Olympian games."
Well used were the rabble of Tiberias, however, to see their black favorite net his victims. Neither they nor he expected aught but a sure and speedy victory.
Facing each other at twenty cubits' distance were now the two combatants, and on the face of Tostig the Red was a smile.
"Now do I see more plainly the meaning of the jarl!" he exclaimed. "Let this black one but cast his net. Thor and Odin! What a simple trick is this to be slain by!"
The black uttered a great cry, laughing, as he strode forward, but Tostig made no retreat. He did but stamp with one foot, balancing himself, and loosened the exceedingly heavy shield upon his left arm, to seize it, also, with his right hand.
Through the air swept the net of peril, whistling as it went, and flying, with a wide hollowing, to fall over Tostig as it had fallen over many another. Laughed, also, Tostig, throwing with all his strength, and midway in the air the heavy shield struck into the hollow of the net, swinging it suddenly downward, but it fell also over the points of the lowered trident, tangling it. Around and under the tangle, not touched by it, went the white and muscular shape of the Saxon and the swift seax went twice into the bosom of the African juggler with nets.
"Thy sesterces, O Julius!" shouted Caius. "Thy favorite is gone from thee. What thinkest thou of my Saxons?"
True gamester was Julius, for his face changed not its proud serenity.
"I have but learned how a strong swordsman may overcome the weapons of Neptune," he responded. "My lion will bring me back my sesterces."
"Well for thee, O jarl!" muttered Caius. "My Saxons have a cunning captain. He is a man to win battles. I must keep him. But great is his peril now. Jove guard him lest I lose many sesterces."
The multitude was hoarse with shouting, and now they grew silent, for they knew by the lists that they were next to see a trained swordsman torn asunder by the unconquerable lion from Numidia, the beast which had slain heroes before Cæsar.
The trumpet had not yet sounded when Ulric, the son of Brander, went down the stairway to the room below where waited for him the master of the games, and upon this man's face was a bitter smile, for he was a servant of Julius.
"O Saxon," he said, "the edict forbiddeth thee to wear mail. Thou hast but a sword and buckler. The lion weareth no armor."
"Ulric the Jarl," exclaimed Wulf the Skater, "this is a trick for thy destruction!"
"Wait thou, true friend," said the jarl. "Trust me yet a little. Odin is with me this day, and fear not thou these tricksters."
The master of the games understood not the Saxon tongue, but he read well the fierce eyes of Wulf and he fell back a little, for the Skater's hand was on his sword-hilt and the Saxons were known to act suddenly.
"No helmet!" said the cunning friend of Julius. "The lion fighteth bareheaded."
The sword of Wulf rattled loosely in the sheath as the helmet was put aside, but he obeyed a sign from Ulric and drew it not.
"If the jarl be slain," he muttered, "that dog must die. I will see to this matter."
Knud the Bear had come down, but he was silent and his face was dark. He and Wulf turned and went up the stairs and so did the master of the games, well satisfied.
"Now the long sword!" said Ulric, throwing aside the short falchion provided for him. "O but its edge is keen!"
He heard the trumpet sound and the door before him opened. Then the great multitude shouted with admiration and the Saxons themselves wondered.
"He is so beautiful!" exclaimed Tostig the Red. "O that we must lose him! What shall we do without our jarl?"
"Would that I might die with him!" groaned Wulf the Skater, but Knud was thoughtful.
"Do we not know him?" he said. "Is he not the son of Odin? Are all our gods dead? I think the Nornir are not here and that the valkyrias will not come."
A tower of white stood the jarl, with but a silken garment from waist to knee, and his golden-curled head was a glory. In his hand was the African sword, its bright blade and the jewels of its hilt glittering.
"It is not the sword I sent him," muttered Julius. "That might have broken in his hand, but this will not. He is like Mars! O Caius, what thinkest thou of thy barbarian and of thy sesterces?"
"Wilt thou double thy wager?" asked Caius. "I am pleased with my Saxon lion."
"Nay," laughed Julius, "thou wilt have losses enough. Thou wilt see him torn shortly."
For the trumpet spoke again and the lion sprang out of his cage with a roar like distant thunder. The sun rays fell upon his face, however, and he lifted his head, blinded for a moment. Then he saw the throng and he walked along a few paces, as if willing to spring among the tiers of seats, but they were high and he looked again around the arena. Motionless stood Ulric, watching the lion, and between them now was but half the width of the arena. Men breathed not, but leaned forward in their places, and now the eyes of the great beast perceived the jarl and he roared with the roar of hunger and wrath.
"Now for thy Saxon!" said Julius to Caius. "I think his hour hath come."
"O jarl!" murmured Wulf. "Is it for this thou didst sail to the Middle Sea? Where is now thy city of Asgard!"
"Hark!" exclaimed Knud the Bear. "Another cometh! Here is more treachery! A tiger!"
Not with a roar, but with a snarl that was dreadful did the Hyrcanian monster rush from his den into the arena. He was more terrible to look upon than was even the lion, and he paused not in his going. He seemed to rush along the ground, crouching stealthily, and he looked longer and larger as he went.
"The jarl is lost!" said Tostig the Red. "O to be near with my spear for one cast. This is twain upon one!"
"This was thy bargain," said Caius to the cunning Julius. "Thy tiger was to contend with the swordsman of my naming. I have appointed this chief."
"So be it!" said Julius calmly. "I accept!"
"Wait!" muttered Ben Ezra to the Saxons. "The beasts have seen each other. Mark now the swift movement of the jarl! The lion is about to spring! The tiger! O God of Israel, aid thou, even though he be a heathen!"
The tiger's rush was rapid and Ulric sprang forward as if to meet him; but the lion was in the air with a vast bound, his black mane streaming and his teeth showing in the cavern of his jaws.
Not upon Ulric did he alight, however, for at his spring and roar the tiger turned in his tracks as toward one who would wrest from him his intended prey. Past both of them darted the jarl as the Numidian fell heavily upon the Hyrcanian; then his turning was as the light in its quickness and he thrust with his might upon the beasts as they grappled each other, rolling upon the ground and tearing.
"He hath cut off one forepaw of the tiger," exclaimed Knud. "That thrust was at the lion. Again! Again! Such roaring was never heard."
The wild beasts tore as they roared and the multitude uttered loud outcries, but all of the movements in the arena were untellably rapid, nor might they who were watching separate Ulric from his two enemies. He was with them at every spring and turn and roll. The long, keen sword dripped blood and the white skin of the son of Odin was spattered redly, as if he were sorely wounded.
"If he be slain at all thou losest," said Julius.
"O friend," replied Caius, "be thou contented. Thou must buy thee better beasts than these."
"Mark!" exclaimed Tostig the Red. "That was a thrust behind the shoulder. The tiger falleth undermost. O jarl! Beware now of thy lion!"
Over the dying tiger stood the huge Numidian, panting and roaring, and before him stood the jarl, looking him in the eyes.
"Splendid is he!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "Jehovah of Hosts, be with him now! It is the last."
Forward went the lion, but not with a bound, and he swerved in his rush owing to his many wounds. High in the air and over him, in a leap for life, went the son of Odin, and as his feet touched the earth he turned, thrusting swiftly, and he sprang again. Wild were the plaudits of the multitude, but the lion was staggering and his roar was muffled.
"One thrust more," muttered Ulric. "I am sorely spent and I bleed. Hael, Odin! I have cloven his heart! He dieth!"
Then turned he and walked steadily to the front of the place of the great ones, while a vast clamor arose in all the tiers of seats.
"O Saxon," said Caius, "art thou wounded?"
"A scratch or two," replied the jarl, cunningly. "Am I to fight another lion this day, or wait I until the morrow?"
"O Caius, the sesterces are thine," said Julius. "Thy barbarian hath won for thee. Never saw I the like of this."
"To thy place, O jarl," shouted Caius. "I come to thee quickly. Be thou silent!"
Away strode Ulric, stepping proudly, but the door of the room he sought opened as he came.
"Enter! Enter!" shouted Knud the Bear. "O our beloved, art thou slain?"
"Water, quickly!" said Ulric. "I would drink. Wash me also. Bind up my hurts and put on my mail. Let no man see these tearings in my limbs. I shall not die!"
"Glory to the God of Israel!" exclaimed Ben Ezra. "I am the physician for thy hurts. Bring bandages. These are not to death. I feared for thee greatly."
"Nevertheless," growled Wulf the Skater, "I will slay that master of the games. O jarl, if we had lost thee!"
So said the other Saxons, crowding down to greet him, but the bandages were made firm, the mail and the helmet were put on, and then out across the arena marched they all, the jarl leading them.
"Truly he is not slain," muttered Julius. "I have lost my beasts and my sesterces!"
At the great portal, however, Caius waited with a chariot.
"Not to thy quarters, O Saxon jarl," he said. "I take thee to Capernaum for thy healing. All thy men will follow now, and a ship waiteth at the seaside. Julius must not see how thou art wounded. Wilt thou live?"
"He will live," said Ben Ezra. "Speak not now. Harm was done by claws, but more by a paw stroke on the head. But for that he had slain them sooner, and he was torn only while he was fallen. A hard battle, O Caius of Thessalonica."
"He and his have beaten Julius for me," said Caius. "They shall fight no more save at Jerusalem and at Rome."
"May we tarry long enough to offer sacrifices to the gods of this place?" asked Knud. "I would leave them in good humor. It is well to be on good terms with the gods."
"What sayest he?" asked Caius of Ben Ezra, but Ulric himself responded:
"Peace with thy gods, O Knud. Let alone. I saw when I was under the tiger's paw. I thought at first of the valkyrias, but they came not. The gods of this place we will leave here. They are nothing to us. Come!"
"So be it!" said Knud. "I meant only to deal prudently. Thou art our jarl. We will come."
They lifted Ulric into the chariot, Ben Ezra and Knud and Tostig entering with him, and the other Saxons followed, led by Wulf the Skater. With them now was Abbas, and he said to Ben Ezra:
"The keeper of the tiger's cage hath lost his head for letting him out too soon, and the master of the games lieth slain under the tiers, no man knoweth by whose hand."
"They who butcher many," said Ben Ezra, "do well to avoid knives. The man with all other men for enemies dieth speedily."
But Wulf the Skater smiled joyously and he said to Lars, the son of Beolf, at his side:
"The Jew is a wise one; but beware thou of Abbas, lest he sell thee."
Lars looked at the spear in his hand and at Abbas, and he answered not.
"We have our jarl!" laughed Wulf as they went forward, and quickly they were at the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and they saw a galley, like a pleasure boat, rowing rapidly nearer to the place where the chariot halted.
Softly and easily may a wounded man be borne along upon cushions over smooth water under a silken canopy. There was no further fatigue for the jarl, the victor, that day, and before its close he lay upon a couch in a room of one of the seaside palaces. All men went out from him save Caius.
"O jarl, my friend," he said, "I must leave thee. Gain thou thy strength as rapidly as thou mayest. Thy Jew, Ben Ezra, telleth me that he may not tarry here."
"He is not any more needed while I lie thus," said the jarl. "I would see him. If thou art willing, he may go."
"I consent," said Caius. "Thou art interpreter enough for thy men. I will send him to thee, but now I must return to Tiberias, for I have much upon my hands. May all the gods give thee a speedy recovery, and I promise thee that thou shalt yet fight before Cæsar himself. Thou art worthy!"
So saying, the centurion departed, and in a moment more Ben Ezra came and sat down sadly by the side of Ulric.
"Thou goest from me?" asked the jarl.
"Hardly of mine own will," replied Ben Ezra, "but I must go to Jerusalem, and I will return to thee if thou comest not soon to me. I commit thee to the keeping of Jehovah, my god. Abbas goeth also, and there will be one double tongue the less in Galilee. Fare thee well. I have done for thee what I could."
"O Jew, I thank thee," said the jarl. "Come thou again to me and I will ever welcome thee as if thou wert of my kindred."
Little more did they say, for the jarl was in fever and in pain and the hour was late. Ben Ezra departed, but at the door of the room stood Tostig, spear in hand, although this palace was a place of peace.
"O Tostig," said Ben Ezra. "I go away for a season. Guard thee well your jarl!"
"That will we, O Jew," said Tostig. "There will be swords and spears around him by day and night. Whither goest thou?"
"To Jerusalem," said Ben Ezra, "and I think I may have somewhat to do there for thy jarl. I love him much. I come again shortly."
"The gods go with thee," said Tostig. "I think thee a brave warrior. Art thou sure that the jarl healeth of these hurts?"
"No man knoweth surely," said Ben Ezra, "but see ye to it that he hath quiet."
"We will care for that," said Tostig. "I have been sore wounded myself, and while the cuts were knitting I would fain have cleft the head of any who came near me."
So Ben Ezra departed from Tiberias, taking with him Abbas, and the palace of the friend of Caius by the Sea of Galilee contained now only the servants of its owner and these who were called the gladiators of Caius of Thessalonica. For these there was sufficient occupation of mind at the first, for many came to gaze at them, and men of rank, also, were interested, but none might ask undue questions of men whose speech was unknown and whose behavior was silent and haughty. To them, also, not only were all buildings new to be examined, but there were fruits and wines and strange ways of living to become accustomed to. Boats were there, to be used at any time, and the Saxons talked much of the fiords and fishing of their own land while they were amusing themselves upon the Sea of Galilee. Over it did they go from end to end that they might look upon all things upon its shores, and they wondered much that one small sea should contain such abundance of fishes and have so many towns and cities builded beside it, as if there were no other place for the cities of this marvelous land. Few days went by in this manner, but there were other affairs than those of the Saxons.
Ever is it true that the cunning, who believe their ways to be hidden, are sometimes read as are books in strange tongues read by those who are learned in difficult runes. Julius, the centurion, the chief commander of the Roman forces in Galilee, had other hopes and ambitions than the winning of sesterces in gambling, and he had other cunnings besides his tricks of the circus. At this time Herod, tetrarch of Galilee and loving to be called a king, was plotting to gain for himself the entire realm which had been ruled by his cruel father, Herod the Great. To this end he might require the removal by Cæsar of Pontius the Spearman from being procurator, and the destruction of his own brother, Herod Antipas, tetrarch of the lands northward of Galilee. If, therefore, Herod of Machærus and Julius, the centurion, were working together against the procurator, then the near friend of Pontius was as a spy and an enemy in their camp. Nevertheless, Caius of Thessalonica had been received in Tiberias with all the welcoming due to an exceedingly distinguished visitor, an honored friend. Not that Herod was here to meet him at this time, for the tetrarch preferred the safekeeping of his Black Castle, Machærus, on the easterly side of the Sea of Death, which hath no waves and whereon the seabirds die.
Caius, the centurion, walked one evening alone by the shore of the Lake of Galilee, and he communed deeply with himself.
"Thus far Jove hath been with me. I have escaped the treachery of both the wolf Julius and the foxes, the Herods. I do now know that Herod Antipas refuseth to join them, to his ruin. Why linger I here, where I am not safe for an hour but for the swords of my Saxon gladiators? I trust their jarl, for they are his more than mine. He mendeth but slowly from the tiger's clawing. I would he were able to ride even in a chariot, for my errand here is done. Unless he were with me I could do little with his barbarians. Abbas is a traitor, ready for a buyer, and I believe him already bought. Ben Ezra—he is a Jew, and every Jew hateth every Roman, with good cause. I am glad he hath departed. The barbarians are not so, for they are but gladiators, and this Jarl Ulric is not as a common man. I may trust him."
So spoke with himself the grim centurion, the near friend of Pontius the Spearman, considering the affairs of princes and of kingdoms. He walked on, thinking deeply, and ere long he was at the palace by the seashore. A legionary stood guard at the portal, but no Saxons were to be seen.
If one had walked with these at this hour, he would have been at a place from which might be seen the walls of Capernaum. Along the beach were boats and sailing vessels, larger and smaller, and out upon the sea were many fishermen. At the water side were some who spread out a net to dry, but above them, on the high ground, had gathered rapidly a mingled concourse of people. Said one of the net dryers to another:
"The rabbi of Nazareth is there. He healeth the people. Only John is with him. We ought not to be here. Let us go to him."
"Did he not bid us go a-fishing?" replied another. "We have caught many. It is enough. Let us go."
So left they their net and went up the bank, and as they went they heard the voice of the rabbi preaching to the multitude. They listened, hastening, and they spoke no more to each other. All utterances were stilled save the wonderful voice of the preacher, the music of the waves upon the beach, and the low, painful mutterings of one man who hobbled along upon crutches as if to join the gathering.
"O that I am to be maimed!" he said. "I, Ulric, the son of Brander! That I shall no more walk firmly! The tendons and the muscles of my limbs refuse to heal, as if the tiger's claws were poisonous. What thinkest thou, Wulf the Skater? Shall we not go on and see this man?"
"Thou art faint, O jarl," said Wulf. "It is not well that thou hast walked so far. I fear thou wilt but cure the more slowly. One goeth by us! Look at him! Hear him! He is a leper!"
"Unclean! Unclean! Unclean!" a hoarse and croaking sound came to their ears from the ulcered, shriveled lips of him at whom Wulf pointed.
Behind him were four who carried a sick one in a litter, but they held back, not overtaking the leper.
"Come!" said Ulric. "I would look into the face of this god once more. We may hear another of the demons. I have much curiosity concerning them. Put thy arm around me and aid me on."
"Woe is me, son of Brander," moaned Wulf, but his strong arm went around the waist of his jarl and they walked along.
"Unclean! Unclean! Unclean!" the terrible voice repeated, but on the brow of a little knoll the rabbi of Nazareth stood and ceased not his preaching.
All around him were men and women, the old and the young, but these stepped suddenly away, as if in fear, while the leper came toward them.
"He hath no right!" exclaimed one.
"Touch him not! Breathe not his breath," said another, "lest thou become leprous!"
Down knelt the leper, but the rabbi ceased speaking and looked upon him kindly.
"What wilt thou?" he asked.
"That I might be clean," gasped the leper.
"Be thou clean!" said Jesus.
"O jarl!" exclaimed Wulf. "What is this? He standeth erect! He is strengthening! Would almost that thou wert a Jew, for their god is a strong healer."
"Come!" said Ulric. "He hath cured this leper. I will have speech with him. Nearer! I walk more easily. My hurts cease to pain as they did. O Wulf, aid me strongly, that I may get to him. Pass me on! I breathe more freely! I strengthen! I fail not! Fear thou not for me that this shall do me harm!"