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Caesar Dies by Talbot Mundy
page 36 of 185 (19%)

Scylax stood erect with closed lips. Sextus broke the seal, merely
glancing at Pertinax, taking permission for granted. He frowned as he
read, bit his lip, his face growing crimson and white alternately. When
he had mastered himself he handed the letter to Pertinax.

"I always supposed you protected my father," he said, struggling to
appear calm. But his eyes gave the story away--grieved, mortified,
indignant. Scylax offered him his arm to lean on. Norbanus, setting
both hands on his shoulders from behind, obliged him to sit down.

"Calm!" Norbanus whispered, "Calm! Your friends are your friends. What
has happened?"

Pertinax read the letter and passed it to Cornificia, then paced the
floor with hands behind him.

"Is that fellow to be trusted?" he asked with a jerk of his head toward
Scylax. He seemed nearly as upset as Sextus was.

Sextus nodded, not trusting himself to speak, knowing that if he did he
would insult a man who might be guiltless in spite of appearances.

"Commodus commanded me to visit Antioch, as he said, for a rest," said
Pertinax. "The public excuse was, that I should look into the
possibility of holding the Olympic games here. Strangely enough, I
suspected nothing. He has been flatteringly friendly of late. Those
whom I requested him to spare, he spared, even though their names were
on his proscription list and I had not better excuse than that they had
done no wrong! The day before I left I brought a list to him of names
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