them.

She advised Orion to put off his journey and to devote himself to his
friends; but he explained that even their arrival must not delay him.
He had entire confidence in Sebek and the upper housekeeper, and the
emperor himself would remit the duties of hostess to a sick woman. Once,
at any rate, she would surely allow the illustrious guests to pay their
respects to her,--but even this Neforis refused It would be quite enough
if her visitors received messages and greetings daily in her name, with
offerings of choice fruit and flowers, and on the last day some costly
gift. Orion thought this proposal quite worthy of them both, and
presently drove off behind his Pannonians to the hostelry.

By the harbor he met the captain of the boat he had hired; to him he held
up two fingers, and the boatman signified by repeated nodding that he had
understood the meaning of this signal: "Be ready at two hours before
midnight."

The sight of this weather-beaten pilot, and the prospect of making some
return to his noble friends for all their kindness, cheered Orion
greatly; and though he regretted being obliged to leave these guests of
all others, the perils that lay before him reasserted their charm. He
could surely win over the abbess in the course of the voyage, and Paula
might be brought to reason, perhaps, this very evening. Justinus and his
wife were Melchites, and he knew that both these friends--for whom he had
a particular regard--would be enchanted with his scheme if he took them
into his confidence.

The inn kept by Sostratus, a large, square building surrounding a
spacious court-yard, was the best and most frequented in the town. The