The Storyteller

New Zealand Tablet, 11 July 1918, Page 3

The Storyteller

(By Cardinal Wiseman.)

FAB IOLA; OR, THE CHURCH OF THE CATACOMBS

Part Second- Conflict CHAPTER XIV.— DISCOVERY. At the first dawn of morning Corvinus was up; and notwithstanding the gloominess of the day proceeded straight to the Forum. He found his outposts quite undisturbed, and hastened to the principal object of his care. It would be useless to attempt describing his astonishment, his rage, his fury when he saw the blank board, with only a few shred's of parchment left round the nails, and beside it, standing in unconscious stolidity, his Dacian sentinel. He would have darted at his throat like a tiger if he had not seen in the barbarian's twinkling eye a sort of hyena squint, which told him he had better not. Rut he broke out at once into a passionate exclamation. "Sirrah how has the Edict disappeared? Tell me directly !'' "Softly, softly, Heir Kornvveiner," answered the imperturbable Northern. "There it is as you left it in 1113" charge." ''Where, you fool? Come and look at it." The Dacian went to his side, and for the first time confronted the board ; and after looking at it for some moments, exclaimed, "Well, is not that the board you hung up last night "Yes, you blockhead, but there was writing on it, which is gone. That is what you had to guard." "Why, look you, captain, as to writing, you see T know nothing, having never been a scholar; but as it was raining all night it may have been washed out." "And as it was blowing, I suppose the parchment on which it was written was blown off." "No doubt, Herr Kornweiner, you are quite right.'' . " y "Come, sir: this is no joking matter. Tell me at once who came here last night." "Why, two of them came."' 'Two of what ?" "Two wizards, or goblins, or worse." "None of that nonsense for me." The Dacian's eyes flashed drunkenly again. "Well, tell me, Arminius, what, sort of people they were, and what they did." "Why, one of them was but a stripling, a boy, tall and thin, who went round the pillar, and I suppose must have taken away what you miss while I was busy with the other." "And what of him? What was he like?" The soldier opened his mouth and eyes and stared at Corvinus for some moments, then said with a sort of stupid solemnity, "What was he like? Why, if he was not Thor himself he wasn't far from it. I never felt such strength." "What did he do (o show it?" "He came up first and began to chat quite friendly —asked me if it was not very cold, and that sort of thing. At last I remembered that I had to run through anyone that came near me " "Exactly," interrupted Corvinus; "and why did you not do it?" "Only because he wouldn't let me. I told him to be off or I would spear him, and drew back and stretched out my javelin ; when in the quietest manner, but I don't know how, he twisted it out of my hand, broke it over his knee as if it had been a mountebank's wooden sword, and dashed the iron-headed piece fast into the ground, where you see it, fifty yards off." "Then why did you not rush on him with your sword and despatch him at once ? But where is your sword? It is not in your scabbard."

The Dacian, with a stupid grin, pointed to the roof of the neighboring basilica, and said, "There, don't you see it shining on the tiles in the morning light?" Corvinus looked, and there indeed he saw what appeared like such an object, but he could hardly believe his own eyes. "How did it get there, you stupid booby?" he asked. The soldier twisted his moustache in an ominous way, which made Corvinus ask again more civilly, and then he was answered —■ "He, or it. whatever it was, without any apparent effort, by a sort of conjuring, whisked it out of my hand and up where you see it as easily as I could cast a quoit a dozen yards." "And then?" "And then he and the boy, who came from round the pillar, walked off in the dark." "What a strange story!" muttered Corvinus to himself; "yet there are proofs of the fellow's tale. It is not everyone who could have performed that feat. But pray, sirrah, why did you not give the alarm and rouse the other guard's to pursuit?" "First, Master Kornweiner, because in my country we will fight any living men, but we do not choose to pursue hobgoblins. ' And, secondly, what was the use ? I saw the board that you gave into my care all safe and sound." "Stupid barbarian!" growled Corvinus, but well within his teeth: then added: "This business will rr 0 hard with you: you know it is a capital offence " "What is?" "Why, to let a man come up and speak to von without giving the watchword." "Gently, captain: who says he did not "ive it? I never said so." "But did he, though? Then it could be no Christian.' "Oh, yes, he came up and said quite plainly, A omen Imperittoritm .' " "What?" roared out Corvinus. ".\ omen Impei-atnrum." 'Xumen Imperatoriun' was the watchword." shrieked the enraged Roman. "Xomen or Xumen, it's all the same, I suppose. A letter can't make any difference. You call me Arminins, and 1 call myself Hermann, and they mean the same. How should I know your nice points of language Corvinus was enraged at himself, for he saw how much better he would have gained his ends by putting a sharp, intelligent pretorian on duty instead" of a sottish, savage foreigner. "Well," ho "said, in the worst of humors, "you will have to answer to the emperor for all this: and you know he is not accustomed to pass over offences." "Look you now, Herr Krummbeiner," returned the soldier, with a look of sly stolidity, "as to that we are pretty well in the 'same boat." (Corvinus turned pale, for he knew "this was true.) "And you must contrive something to save me, if von want' to save yourself. It was you the emperor made responsible for the what-d'ye-call it ? —that board."" "You are right, my friend: I must make it out that a strong body atacked you and killed you at your post. So shut yourself up in quarters for a few days and you shall have plenty beer till the thing blows over The soldier went off and concealed himself -V few days after the dead body of a Dacian, evidently murdered, was washed on the banks of the Tiber- It was supposed he had fallen in some drunken row ;' and no further trouble was taken about it. The fact was indeed so, but Corvinus could have given the best account of the transaction. Before, however leaving the ill-omened spot in the Forum he had carefully examined the ground for any trace of the darino- act • when he picked up, close under the place of the Edict' a knife, which he was sure he had seen at school in possession of one of his companions. He treasured it up as an implement of future vengeance, and hastened to provide another copy of the decree.