those elect from among whom the Lord chose the
martyrs for the faith; and that it was his part to lead her into the fold
of the Redeemer. He had begun the work of converting her with the zeal he
put into everything. But fresh doubts had come upon him on the threshold
of the sick-room, after seeing the lad who was so dear to him, and whose
eye had met his with such a trustful, suffering look. Could it be right
to sow the seed of discord between him and his future wife? And supposing
Diodoros, too, should be converted by Melissa, could he thus alienate
from his father the son and heir of Polybius--his benefactor and master?

Then, he remembered, too, to what a position he had risen through that
master's confidence in him. Polybius knew nothing of the concerns of his
house but from the reports laid before him by Andreas; for the steward
controlled not merely the estate but the fortune of the family, and for
years had been at the head of the bank which he himself had founded to
increase the already vast income of the man to whom he owed his freedom.
Polybius paid him a considerable portion of each year's profits, and had
said one day at a banquet, with the epigrammatic wit of an Alexandrian,
that his freedman, Andreas, served his interests as only one other man
could do--namely, himself--but with the industry of ten. The Christian
greatly appreciated his confidence; and as he walked on by the side of
Melissa, he told himself again and again that it would be dishonorable to
betray it.

If only the sweet girl might find the way alone! If she were chosen to
salvation, the Lord himself would lead and guide her. Had he indeed not
beckoned her already by impressing on her heart those words, "The
fullness of the time is now come?"

That he was justified in keeping this remembrance alive he had no doubt;
and he was about to speak of it again, when she prevented him by raising
her large eyes beseechingly to his, and asking him:

"Is Diodoros in real danger? Tell me the truth. I would rather endure the
worst than this dreadful anxiety."

So Andreas acknowledged that the youth was in a bad way, but that
Ptolemaeus, himself well-skilled, hoped to cure him if his greater
colleague Galenus would aid him.

"And it is to secure his assistance, then," Melissa went on, "that the
leech would have him carried to the Serapeum?"

"Yes, my child. For he is in Caesar's train, and it would be vain to try
to speak with him to-day or to-morro