d whose presence
in the escort the Princess Pulcheria had noted, sprang into the circle
before the throne, brandishing his long spear in hot defiance.

"Dogs and children of dogs, ye dare not say us nay!" he cried harshly.
"Except we be made the friends and allies of the emperor, and are given
full store of southern gold and treasure, Ruas the king shall overturn
these your palaces, and make you all captives and slaves. It shall be
war between you and us forever. Thus saith my spear!"

And as he spoke he dashed his long spear upon the floor, until the
mosaic pavement rang again.

Boy emperor and princesses, prefect and nobles and imperial guards,
sprang to their feet as the spear clashed on the pavement, and even
the barbarian envoys, while they smiled grimly at their young comrade's
energy, pulled him hastily back.

But ere the prefect Anthemius could sufficiently master his astonishment
to reply, the young Princess Pulcheria faced the savage envoys, and
pointing to the cause of the disturbance, asked calmly:

"Who is this brawling boy, and what doth he here in the palace of the
emperor?"

And the boy made instant and defiant answer:

"I am Attila, the son of Mundzuk, kinsman to Ruas the king, and deadly
foe to Rome."

"Good Anthemius," said the clear, calm voice of the unterrified girl,
"were it not wise to tell this wild young prince from the northern
forest that the great emperor hath gold for his friends, but only iron
for his foes? 'T is ever better to be friend than foe. Bid, I pray, that
the arras of the Hippodrome be parted, and let our guests see the might
and power of our arms."

With a look of pleased surprise at this bold stroke of the Princess, the
prefect clapped his hands in command, and the heavily brocaded curtain
that screened the gilded columns parted as if by unseen hands, and the
Hunnish envoys, with a gaze of stolid wonder, looked down upon the great
Hippodrome of Constantinople.

It was a vast enclosure, spacious enough for the marshalling of an
army. Around its sides ran tiers of marble seats, and all about it rose
gleaming statues of marble, of bronze, of silver, and of gold--Augustus
and the emperors, gods and goddesses of the old pagan days, heroes of
the eastern and western empires. The bright oriental sun streamed down
upon it, and as the trumpets sounded from beneath the imperial balcony,
there filed into the arena the glittering troops of the empire, gorgeous
in color and app