Evening star., 1926-12-04


ped his head. exhausted.
Closing his eyes. he rested 8 rev
moments Then he looked again. u
see Ii the enemy hen :cGp9earea.
Immediately he sat up with a sta
Coming toward him, down the i,s'
was a single file Of i::en, Weai:.ii-
crested helmets, carrying curved am.
oblong shields. Antonius blinked.
rubbed his eyes and looked aEai.
They were Romans, of his own cor"
pany.
"HIullo"' he shouted
The soldiers continued To advanV"-
Antonus lifted his own shield. amt
clashed his sword against il.
''Hullo, my comrades he cried
again.
The foremost of the men wer"
threading their way along the path,
His eyes shining. his lips parted,
Antonius waited for them.
My friends" he called, as they
came to him.
They did not answer. hut the tw"
foremost laid their shields upon the
ground. placed Antonius on the i'm
provised litter and. with the aid of
two others. hOisted him to thei
shoulders. Wondering. but joyful. he
was carried TO the hilloCk which he
had watched so inteutly for two days.
An officer was standing, waiting
AS AntoniuS was lowered to the
ground, he saluted. My captain" he
said. holding his sword before him
| point upward
! The officer looked at him with
| grave but not unkindly eyes.
| "Antonius," he said. you are
charged with treason"
! The soldiers face went blank. 81
| Treason?"
! The officer motioned to n decur1o-
who stood in attendance. and the la
ter took from Autonius his sword an
shield and dagger.
II hope your weapons may be r.
stored to you before long the officer
went on. But until this matter i
! cleared you must he q prisoner"
! Antonius' face remained expression
| less.
"Am I to be taken before Herod:"
| he asked.
Before Herod?" repeated the officer
You know better than that. An
tonius. The army is judge OF the
army, and no Roman kueels to Herod.
The soldier breathed a sigh of re
lief "Will my captain tell me. then
more about the natter"
! The centurion hcSitated. THE whole
| affair must be threShed out before
Caesars general at Antioch he said.
doubtfully. IF it were not for you
/ Herod would handle the villagers who
have rebelled against him. but
| "Rebelled" snapped Antonius. "They
| haven't rebeIIed. All they want is To
| be left in peace
| His superior showed surprise. "Why.
they are fighting even now. down In
! that ravine" he said IN runner
came only Il few minutes ago to say
that some Arabian chief, who is with
the rebels, has slain six of Herod'S
guardsmen with his own hand
| Antonius shouted with glee. "He is
a real warrior" he shouted. And
I'm proud that he has sworn to he
IAN Arabian" The centurions
amazement was increasing. Your
brother of the sword? Why, it was
this Arabian who came to Jezreel. to-
lead the villagers in their rebellion
How can you say that you are not
| guilty of treason to Caesar il you
mixed up with such Il plot"
II am not guilty of treason to
Caesar" said Antonius, with irrita-
ton. 1T is true that | was willing to
| fight against Herod---
| "Of course, of coursc." interrupted
| the officer. I'VE care nothing about
HerOd." He eyed the soldier. with
a CLINT Of kindness in his glance. You
always have been a good soldier, and
faithful" he went on. This thing
| is beyond my understanding. How
did you chance to be out here In the
mountain? Complaint was made to
me. as | marched up. that YOU your
self had slain four or five of these
guards
"Ten!' corrected Antonius. "At
least. 1 and my Arabians killed 10. at
my end of the path"
| The officer sighed and sat down
on a rock. "All this confuses me. '
he said. start al the beginning. An
tonius. and tell your tale. ! am mys-
titled"
First" said the soldier. may I ask
how you chanCed to come here? l.
will make my story easier tn tell"
| "A woman said the officer. -
woman. who said her name was Laila.
came running. She was exhausted
1t seems her journey had been hard
| She fell unconscious, but when she
was aroused she told me that one OF
my soldiers was here. in peril of his
| life. So we came by forced marches ."
! "Lailai" unused Antonius. "Yet 10
reach you she had to pass through
all these troops of Herod's,"
| His superior nodded. Il know. L.
seems she crept up a perilOus path
| and was torn and bruised. but she
came through the line Of guards. We
handed her to an officer of Herod's
court, just before we started"
! Antonius' hands raised in horror
"In Herod's hands,
"Why, yet-who else would we give
| her to? II seems that she was q
party to the plot
| The soldiers mouth was drawn, and
his eyes We're filled with misery. "My
captain" he said. that poor woman
| is innocent of wrong. and this
tetrarch will torture herl He will
seek to wiring a confession from her!"
Sure" returned the officer. "What
| other course would he take?"
Antonius clasped his hands, and
| held them toward the centurion.
my captain" he said. II have
| fought beside you in Greece and at
,, the border OF Parthia. and for Ave
years I'm Syria, and you know L would
not lie.''
~The officer smiled slyly. Except
about such little matters as gold or
women" He saw the deep trouble I'm
! the soldiers face and added: But
in this affair ] know you will tell the
truth. Proceed.
"This woman" Antonius went on A..
has given herself day and night TO
nursing me. She gave me food, and
cared for my wants until the men Of
this tetrarch drOye her away. She
has served Caesar. my captain! Shall
Herod slay her."
!, THAT alters matters" said the Of
f1cer. thoughtfully. Respect fo,.
those who serve Caesar must be pre-
served"
| And think, my captain--if she had
not borne word to you these dogs OF
guardsmen would have killed Roman
/ soldier, out here upon these rocksp
/ Hum" said the centurion "What
you say Is true"
He turnAd to the kecurion y4se had
taken Antonius' arms.
"Send q man postha ste TO the