“and still from morn till eve i’ve scanned
that weary sea from strand to strand,
to mark his sail against the spray.
in vain! in vain! the morning ray
shows not his bark ’mid all the seas.”
thomas davidson.
the opportunity for meetings between cimon and ladice had been very rare since the former wished as far as possible to avoid meeting themistocles. the young man had conscientiously endeavored to rectify the harm that he had done against the older man, but the populace preferred to believe the evil charge which was still vigorously promoted by leobotes and other newly-won conspirators.
one afternoon cimon walked briskly into the curio shop of aphobus. the little merchant was dusting with loving care, delicate vases in ivory and bronze of intricate designs.
“this vase,” he said, picking up a small urn in terra-cotta with figures and designs painted in black, “has depicted upon it in minutest detail the story of the siege of troy. here we see paris presenting aphrodite with the apple. there he is carrying away the beautiful helen. and here,” he added delightedly, “is the wooden horse of ulysses. how very—”
202
“i did not come here to discuss the trojan war,” said cimon abruptly. “i came to find out if there is any truth to the rumor that themistocles has disappeared.”
before aphobus could reply, the entrance to the shop was darkened by another figure. both men upon looking up perceived it to be lysimachus, son of aristides.
“have you heard the news?” he cried, and upon receiving negative responses, continued. “themistocles has left greece and it is believed that he has gone to persia!”
cimon could venture no response but he listened dully to the details as related by the son of themistocles’ former rival. but one question kept throbbing in his brain: “will she marry me now that themistocles has gone?”
he realized presently that lysimachus was addressing him personally. “i hear that the allied fleet leaves tomorrow on its first expedition since the formation of the delian confederacy, with you as its commander in which capacity you succeed my father.”
“yes we set sail on the morrow for thrace to free from persian rule the town of eion on the river strymon.”
aphobus gazed with approbation at the manly form of cimon.
203
“i have known you since you were a little boy,” he said, “and i am proud to see you the first man in athens. this expedition is a noble enterprise, but take care that while you are gone others right here in the city do not arise to seek your position. i have in mind a certain youth named pericles. to be sure he is not the soldier that you are, but he is a patron of the arts and is interested in beautifying athens, as very little of that has been done since the war.”
“i do not fear pericles,” answered cimon. “athens is more interested at present in the results of the recent formation of the delian league which pertain more directly to our colonies. after these troubles are settled there will be time for the future rebuilding of the city.”
cimon took his leave of aphobus and lysimachus and had gone but a few steps when he met leobotes. he wished to hurry on after a short nod of greeting, but leobotes stopped him with the words: “congratulations, cimon, themistocles has fled and now there is none before you in athens.”
“in my opinion themistocles is fortunate to be away from the immediate influence of the intrigues of certain so-called ‘loyal citizens.’ the fate of ephialtes should prove a warning to such,” with which words he walked away from leobotes who was too much astonished to reply.
204
at last he had opportunity to think! so the fiery statesman, themistocles, was gone, and he, cimon, had been instrumental in bringing this about! well he knew that he had done his utmost to prevent this toward the last. he had humbled himself that themistocles might not be thought guilty of treason, and all this was for the purpose of obtaining the girl he loved. he realized that whether by force of will or unconsciously he was drawing nearer and nearer to the home of themistocles. he paused before the entrance, ascended the steps and lifted the bronze knocker. there was no response, so he gently pushed open the door and entered. all was still. he proceeded cautiously to the solarium and found it empty, but from this room the faint sound of voices came to his listening ear. they proceeded from the garden, so thither he betook himself. from the top of a short flight of stone steps which led to the garden, he surveyed the abundance of plants and shrubbery which he thought surpassed even those in the garden of pasicles. he caught sight of two female figures seated upon a bench at the farther end of the garden. they were ladice and asia, the youngest daughter of themistocles. the girls seemed to be indulging in mutual consolation.
a vague uneasiness that foreboded no good hovered about cimon as he approached with the words: “do i intrude?”
ladice shook her head while asia arose, hastily excused herself and entered the house.
cimon took the place that asia had occupied and said gently: “ladice, you can not believe how i regret what has happened. believe that i did all within my power to prevent this ever since our meeting in the shadow of the acropolis. i have come to take you with me, ladice. i sail in the morning for thrace.”
“and you will go alone,” she replied drawing away from him. “do you think for one moment that i will be the wife of the man who helped to cause the ruin of one whose home has sheltered me for many months? you failed in accomplishing your part of the agreement; i do not have to abide by mine!”
205
cimon’s face grew pale and his jaw acquired the peculiar set appearance of indomitability.
“the trouble with me,” he cried, “is that i have been too gentle, too lenient with you. my patience is exhausted and i am going to take you by force.”
he caught her and held her close, though she struggled to free herself from his almost brutal kisses.
“i am going to take you as the men of the mountain countries take their wives,” he whispered fiercely, and she felt his hot breath upon her cheek.
frantically she struggled to gain her freedom, succeeding at times in striking sharp blows upon his face, but still he held her in a vise-like grip. her desperate struggles merely strengthened his determination to conquer her, but when she realized the impotence of her resistance, she resorted to the use of the most effective weapon a woman can employ. in scathing tones she reminded him of the dissipations of his youth, of the disgrace of his father and ended with a direct accusation of the ostracism of themistocles, thus denying any belief in the assurances with which he had opened conversation with her upon entering the garden. suddenly his hold relaxed. he pushed her from him and arose from the bench and there was a cold glint in the eyes that a moment before had burned with the light of desire.
“very well,” he said, and his tones were clearly cut and even, “the fair agariste to whom my attentions are not unwelcome will accompany me to thrace.”
206
he turned and left her, a pitiful drooping figure. her posture remained the same for some moments after he had gone, and so preoccupied was she that she did not hear asia re-enter the garden and seat herself beside her.
“my poor dear girl, that man is a brute,” remarked asia indignantly. “at any rate you can rejoice that he will molest you no more. i could not help hearing some of the things he said, and i hope he and his agariste will meet no delays in getting away from athens. why do you not laugh at your good fortune, foolish girl? one would think from your crestfallen appearance that you loved the man!”
ladice looked up and smiled faintly through her tears as she said, “asia, i believe i do!”
“you do love him! that beast that makes three-headed cerberus look like a lamb!” cried asia. “ladice, you must be crazy! grief over my poor father and the excitement of the past hour have unbalanced your mind. come let me get you to bed, though there is yet another hour before set of sun.”
“no asia, i could not rest,” said the grief-stricken girl. “please leave me. the garden is so beautiful and i wish to be alone with my thoughts.”
asia left her reluctantly making her promise to retire early.
once more alone ladice marvelled at the change that had come over her. from a cold, indifferent girl she had changed into a passionate, loving woman. the love must have come when she lay helpless in his arms, she reasoned, but it was not a vital thing till he spoke the words that stung her pride. how different was this love from that which she had felt for the persian, masistius! that had been like a clear and steady light; this was a fire that leaped wildly while it consumed. at times she smiled at the memory of his kisses, then clenched her hands as she thought of the unknown agariste.
207
darkness fell but she took no food, and worn out with weeping she dropped into a dreamless sleep. she awoke with a sense of depression. it was dawn and birds were twittering in their nests about her. it was apparent from the silence that the household was still wrapped in slumber. gathering her shawl more closely about her she made her way cautiously through the house to the street. along narrow lanes she threaded her way with unnatural rapidity. she ran between mud-colored walls that rose on either side, punctuated with doors out of which stared disheveled women. piles of rotting garbage lay in her path and she was forced to dodge now this way, now that, to avoid the slinking forms of dogs that were seeking food among the piles of refuse. as she neared the vicinity of the harbor she met men and women who looked at her curiously. then she realized what an aspect she presented; wild-eyed and with unkempt hair, but she cared naught for her appearance. she was obsessed with one idea; to present herself a willing companion to cimon on his journey.
on the quay she approached a woman, apparently of the upper class, who with many others was gazing steadfastly out at sea, with the words, “when does the fleet said for thrace?”
for answer the woman pointed to the distant horizon where a few indistinct blots were barely discernible.
208
“it sailed before sunrise,” said the woman. “i came to see it off because the great commander cimon honored our family by taking my daughter agariste with him as his bride.”
