“Naturally not,” said Pertinax, suppressing irritation.  “Every day the legion lingered there meant money for the enterprising city fathers.  I am opposed to all the petty pouching of commissions that goes on.”

“Doubtless.  Being governor of Rome, you naturally—­”

“I have heard of peculations at the palace,” Pertinax interrupted.

“Be that as it may, Commodus ordered out the cohort, sent it marching and amused himself inventing new ingenious torments for Maternus.  Alternatively, he proposed to himself to have the cohort slaughtered in the arena, officers and all, if they should fail of their mission; so it was safe to wager they were going to bring back some one said to be Maternus, whether or not they caught the right man.  Commodus was indulging in one of his storms of imperial righteousness.  He was going to stamp out lawlessness.  He was going to make it safe for any one to come or go along the Roman roads.  Oh, he was in a fine Augustan mood.  It wasn’t safe for any one but Marcia to come within a mile of him.  Scowl—­you know that scowl of his—­it freezes the very sentries on the wall if he looks at their backs through the window!  I don’t suppose there was a woman in Rome just then who would have cared to change places with Marcia!  He sent for her, and half the palace betted she was ripe for banishment to one of those island retreats where Crispina (the wife of Commodus who was banished to the isle of Capreae and there secretly put to death) lived less than a week!  But Marcia is fertile of surprises.  She won’t surprise me if she outlives Commodus—­by Hercules, she won’t surprise me if—­”

He stared at Pertinax with impudently keen eyes.  Pertinax looked at the bronze door leading to the sweating room, shrugging himself as if the frigidarium had grown too cool for comfort.

“Marcia actually persuaded Commodus to countermand the order!” Livius said, emphasizing each word.  “Almighty Jove can only guess what argument she used, but if Maternus had been one of her pet Christians she couldn’t have saved him more successfully.  Commodus sent a messenger post-haste that night to recall the cohort.”

“And a good thing too,” Pertinax remarked.  “It isn’t a legion’s business to supply cohorts to do the work of the district police.  There were five thousand raw men on the verge of mutiny in Ostia—­”

“And—­wait a minute—­and,” said Livius, “don’t go yet—­this is interesting:  Marcia, that same night, sent a messenger of her own to find Maternus and to warn him.”

“How do you know?” Pertinax let a sign of nervousness escape him.

“In the palace, those of us who value our lives and our fortunes make it a business to know what goes on,” Livius answered with a dry laugh, “just as you take care to know what goes on in the city, Pertinax.”

The older man looked worried.

“Do you mean it is common gossip in the palace?” he demanded.