is eyes, conveying her
thought to him: 'Open it not here.'

He saw the oleander and the myrtle both entwined upon her bosom, and
this he understood not.

He placed the parchment within the folds of his robe, and after thanking
the givers, he retired with the Proconsul.

After passing the precincts of the Temple, the two men wished each other
fortune and separated--the Roman to Nika, and Chios to wonder at the
twin symbol which graced the bosom of Saronia.

He broke the seal of the parchment; between the folds he saw a tiny
scrap. He read it--the other was nothing to him.

'To-morrow, when midnight has passed, haste to the bend of the river
Cayster, which flows by the grove of Hecate. Fear nothing. The child of
the Bride of Britain will be there.'

It was from Saronia, and he feared for her. He kissed the tiny scrap
passionately.

'I will be there should all the Furies in Hades block the way....

'By the bend of the river--by the bend of the Cayster which washes the
fringe of the horrible grove. I know the place well, where the
chrysophrus with golden-coloured head swims to and fro. I know the spot
where the iris bends its yellow flowers, where the lordly swans glide
past, and the cranes dwell, and the nightingale sings from the silvery
leaves of the sacred trees.

'I will be there, Saronia, my soul, my light, my love! I will be there
to strike for thee with the strength of a lion if needs be!'

CHAPTER XXX

BY THE RIVER CAYSTER

The grove of Hecate was filled with beautiful trees--palm and myrtle,
cypress and pine, the rich springing laurel, and the holy shoot of the
deep blue olive.

Statues studded the wood, and the river Cenchrius watered the ground,
and here had been heard the sound of the dance-loving lyre at the feasts
of the gods.

Through this tree-clustering wood the fair-haired Muses came to worship,
and the Sybil let loose her golden locks when the gods breathed on her.

The Cayster came south to the margin of the grove, moving rapidly
northward and westward, sweeping by myriad blooms of the rose and iris,
till it flowed from the land to the sea, carrying with it the snow-born
waters of Cenchrius, Marnas, and Selinus--all goodly streams which
watered the plain of Ephesus.

* * * * *

The priestess Saronia was thoughtful and calm. Not a ripple of agitation
crossed her face as she gave her orders to a s