During the last few sultry weeks he had rarely gone out of doors, and to-day he waited till the hour before sunset before starting to keep his promise.

Robed in snowy-white linen, with new sandals on his feet, freshly shaven, and protected from the sun’s rays by a crisply curled, flowing wig, after the manner of his fathers, as well as by an umbrella, he mounted his beautiful white ass in the conviction that he had done his best for his outer man, and set forth, followed by his black slave trotting on foot.

It was not yet dark when he stopped at the house of Rufinus.  His heart had not beat so high for many a day.

“I feel as if I had come courting,” said he, laughing at himself.  “Well, and I really am come to propose an alliance for the rest of my life!  Still, curiosity, one would think, might be shed with the hair and the teeth!” However, it still clung to him, and he could not deny to himself that he was very curious as to the person whom he hated, though he had never seen her, simply because she was the daughter of a patrician and a prefect, and had made his Philippus miserable.  As he was dismounting, a graceful young girl and an older woman, in very costly though simple dresses, came through the garden.  These must be the water-wagtail, and Orion’s Byzantine guest.—­How annoying!  So many women at once!

Their presence here could only embarrass and disturb him—­a lonely student unused to the society of women.  However, there was no help for it; and the new-comers were not so bad after all.

Katharina was a very attractive, pretty little mouse, and even without her millions much too good for the libertine Orion.  The matron, who had a kind, pleasant face, was exactly what Philippus had described her.  But then—­and this spoilt all—­in their presence he must not allude to the death of Rufinus, so that he could not mention his proposed arrangement.  He had swallowed all that dust, and borne that heat for nothing, and to-morrow he must ignominiously go through it all again!

The first people he met were a handsome young couple:  Rustem and Mandane.  There could be no doubt as to their identity; so he went up to them and gave Rustem the merchant’s message, offering in Philip’s name to advance the money for the journey.  But the Masdakite patted his sleeve, in which he carried a good round sum in gold pieces, and exclaimed cheerily: 

“It is all here, and enough for two travellers to the East.—­My little wife, by your leave; the time has come, little pigeon!  Off we go, homeward bound!”

The huge fellow shouted it out in his deep voice with such effervescent contentment, and the pretty girl, as she looked up at him, was so glad, so much in love, and so grateful, that it quite cheered the old man; and he, who read an omen in every incident, accepted this meeting as of good augury at his first entering the house which was probably to be his home.