"Let me look," said Commodus. "Here, give me that lamp!"

He looked first at Pavonius Nasor, who gazed back, at him with stupid,
passionless, already dimming eyes. A stream of blood was gushing from
below his left arm.

"Now the gods of heaven and hell, and all the strange gods that have no
resting place, and all the spirits of the air and earth and sea, defile
your spirit!" Commodus exploded. "Careless, irresponsible, ungrateful
fool! You have deprived me of my liberty! You let yourself be killed
like any sow under the butcher's knife, and dare to leave me shadowless?
Then die like carrion and rot unburied!"

He began to kick him, but the stricken man's lips moved. Commodus bent
down and tried to listen--tried again, mastered impatience and at last
stood upright, shaking both fists at the tunnel roof.

"Omnipotent Progenitor of Lightnings!" he exploded. "He says he should
have had stewed eels tonight!"

The watching senators mistook that for a cue to laugh. Their laughter
touched off all the magazines of Caesar's rage. He turned into a mania.
He tore at his own hair. He tore off his loin-cloth and stood naked.
He tried to kill Narcissus, because Narcissus was the nearest to him.
His crashing centurion's parade voice filled the tunnel.

"Dogs! Dogs' ullage! Vipers!" he yelled. "Who slew my shadow? Who did
it? This is a conspiracy! Who hatched it? Bring my tablets! Warn the
executioners! What is Commodus without his dummy? Vultures! Better