ok his hand.

"Thou dost forgive me, my son?" he said.

"I should find it hard to forgive one who lessened my respect for
the AEmilian constancy," returned Verronax.

Then he led Marcus aside to make arrangements with him respecting
his small mountain estate and the remnant of his tribe, since Marina
was his nearest relative, and her little son would, if he were cut
off, be the sole heir to the ancestral glories of Vercingetorix.

"And I cannot stir to save such a youth as that!" cried the Senator
in a tone of agony as he wrung the hand of Sidonius. "I have bound
mine own hands, when I would sell all I have to save him. O my
friend and father, well mightest thou blame my rashness, and doubt
the justice that could be stern where the heart was not touched."

"But I am not bound by thine oath, my friend," said Sidonius. "True
it is that the Master would not be served by the temporal sword, yet
such zeal as that of this youth merits that we should strive to
deliver him. Utmost justice would here be utmost wrong. May I send
one of your slaves as a messenger to my son to see what he can
raise? Though I fear me gold and silver is more scarce than it was
in our younger days."

This was done, and young Lucius also took a summons from the Bishop
to the deacons of the Church in the town, authorising the use of the
sacred vessels to raise the ransom, but almost all of these had been
already parted with in the time of a terrible famine which had
ravaged Arvernia a few years previously, and had denuded all the
wealthy and charitable families of their plate and jewels. Indeed
Verronax shrank from the treasure of the Church being thus applied.
Columba might indeed weep for him exultingly as a martyr, but, as he
well knew, martyrs do not begin as murderers, and passion,
pugnacity, and national hatred had been uppermost with him. It was
the hap of war, and he was ready to take it patiently, and prepare
himself for death as a brave Christian man, but not a hero or a
martyr; and there was little hope either that a ransom so
considerable as the rank of the parties would require could be
raised without the aid of the AEmilii, or that, even if it were, the
fierce old father would accept it. The more civilised Goths, whose
families had ranged Italy, Spain, and Aquitaine for two or three
generations, made murder the matter of bargain that had shocked
AEmilius; but this was an old man from the mountain cradle of the
race, unsoph