must learn to speak Phoenician and Elymian, the better to fulfill his task as the best of the Siccani. The Etruscan language might also prove useful, if he should show a readiness for learning, nor would practice on a stringed instrument hurt him. I was not concerned about his physical development, for life in the forest would see to that. As for the use of weapons, Hiuls’ own heritage would be the best teacher. Still my heart was filled with sadness at the thought of leaving Hiuls among the Siccani, although I knew that they would cherish and protect him better than I could.
And so I hardened my heart and advised the priest, “Teach him to obey his tribe. Only one who himself has learned to obey can some day command. If you see him killing merely for the sake of killing, kill him with your own hands and renounce Erklc.”
Arsinoe was pleased with the bracelet and claimed that it was old Cretan workmanship and that the collectors of antiques in Tyre would pay many times more than its weight in gold. I did not tell her where I had obtained it but said merely that the Siccanians had given it to her in gratitude for her having entrusted the boy to them.
The gift eased Arsinoe’s pangs at the moment of parting and Hiuls indicated no desire to follow us. In the Siccanian manner we left without farewell, arranging our departure so that we met Xenodotos and the Etruscan just as they arrived at the merchant’s storage place on the bank of the river.
The merchant declared that we were the first Siccanians he had seen appearing as a family before strangers, while Xenodotos rejoiced at the Siccanian objects I had brought with me. After resting that night by the fire, we began our journey toward Panormos.
In my Siccanian guise and after the lapse of so many years I did not fear recognition in Panormos. Nor did I think that Arsinoe, with her dark hair and changed face, would be recognized if she were careful. The Elymi did not attack unarmed Siccanians who arrived in the cultivated areas with a fir branch in their hands, as happened occasionally. I also had faith in the protection of Xenodotos, for it was doubtful whether anyone would wish to offend the Great King’s servant who had arrived in Sicily with Skythes.
Our journey progressed slowly because of the successful trading en gaged in by the merchant along the way. Thus the journey did not tire Arsinoe, although she had to walk, nor did Hanna feel the burden of carrying Misme.
At night as we lay under the open sky or within some Elymian log hut, I told Xenodotos as much about the Siccani as I thought might benefit them. I also entrusted him with the secret of Hiuls and the fable about Erkle, but swore him to secrecy, asking him to reveal it only to the King himself or to his most trusted advisers in matters pertaining to the West.
“I am not concerned with when and how the Great King utilizes this knowledge,” I said, “but it may be beneficial for him to know that the Siccani are rearing Erkle. Nor do I think that the Siccani will survive as a nation save under the protection of the King, for they are oppressed both by the Elymi and the Greeks. The King himself will know best against whom to send the Siccani so that they may redeem the right to live in the forest and to survive as a nation.”
Xenodotos declared that I was the most beautiful man he had ever seen and that he liked me even more now that I had bared my chin by shaving.
He brought his nose far too close to me in sniffing the smell of resin and smoke that clung to my skin after my years in the forest. He also assured me that my eyes were like those of a deer. Nor did he say all that merely to be courteous. Day by day he seemed to be increasingly attracted to me and it was with difficulty that I parried his approaches without hurting him too much.
But although I was sure of his friendship I did not reveal my name or identity and warned Arsinoe against placing too much confidence in him. When he had realized the futility of his approaches and saw that I had no intention of accompanying him to Susa, he as an intelligent man began to pay attention to Arsinoe. And because he was not susceptible to Arsinoe’s charms as a woman he was able with greater shrewdness to bend her to his will.
I did not suspect his intentions, but I felt only relief that he left me in peace and talked with Arsinoe about the goddess of Eryx, the ancient fountain and the rites. Xenodotos’ curiosity was inexhaustible. While they conversed I had the opportunity to talk to the merchant and tried to obtain some information about Rome. But he was an uneducated man interested only in his trade. I did, however, learn that Rome quarreled perpetually with its neighbors and that the rivalry between its rich and poor was so intense that the poor now and then rebelled against military service in order to gain concessions for themselves.
That did not alarm me, for a similar situation prevailed in all other cities. The dance of freedom had been glorious in the days of my defiant youth when I was a stranger and wanted to become the equal of other youths in Ephesus for the sake of Dione. But I had already forgotten Dione’s face, and even as the burning reeds had flown through the air in Sardis and left ineffaceable burns on my arms, I had begun to tremble in realization of what I had done. True, I had gained the favor of Artemis, but lonia’s fate had been billowing smoke and the stench of death.
I thought of all that as I crouched by the fire under the autumn stars of Eryx talking to the sullen Etruscan while Xenodotos chatted animatedly with Arsinoe on the other side of the campfire. Misme slept the sound sleep of a three-year-old in her sheepskin and in the glow of the fire I occasionally met Hanna’s sparkling glance. Absently I drew designs on the ground with a stick and knew that I lived in a period of tumult until such a time as the Persian king would restore harmony to all lands.
6.
We arrived in Panormos as in a festival procession with the curious thronging about us. We went directly to the harbor, to the Etruscan’s ship, and my heart sank when I saw it. It was round and slow and only partly covered with a deck, and I wondered how it had managed to make the long voyage from Rome to Sicily with its heavy cargo.
The customs men installed by Carthage greeted the Etruscan laughingly and politely raised their hands in amazement at the success of his trade. They treated Xenodotos with respect and were content to look from afar at Arsinoe and at my wooden mask without daring to finger our clothes. They said to one another that it was a good sign when highborn Siccanians ventured out of their forest into the civilized world to learn languages and sensible customs. It furthered trade and thus the interests of Carthage.
Panormos and the entire land of Eryx had good reason to be on conciliatory terms with the Etruscan from Rome, for during the previous years the administrators of Rome had bought vast quantities of grain from Eryx to avert a famine caused by the disorders.
The people of Eryx hoped that the trade in grain would be continued in the future. Panormos especially benefited by it since Rome shipped its grain not only on Etruscan vessels but on those of Panormos as well.
But the Etruscan, who as a merchant was never content, said bitterly, “If times were as they used to be and reasonable trade were possible, I could sell the Siccanian goods here in Panormos, buy grain at a low price and then sell it at a high price in Rome. But the Roman praetors have set a limit on the price of grain just as they have taken over the salt trade and determined its price in Rome. Formerly I could have sailed to Cumae and bartered the Siccanian goods for Attic vases whose beauty and graceful decorations we Etruscans admire so deeply that we even put them in the tombs of our rulers and Lucumones. But the Greeks have become arrogant after their victory at Marathon and the tyrant of Cumae confiscates the Roman grain ships arriving there.”
He cursed the Greeks and continued, “No, I dare not sail to Cumae. All I can do is to await a strong south wind and surrender myself to the dangers of the open sea in sailing back to the mouth of the Roman river.
Sack by sack, bundle by bundle and basket by basket he loaded his vessel. The customs men entered the cargo on their wax tablets and with a deep sigh the Etruscan paid for the donkeys he had hired and chased the drovers away with curses, saying that in no country had he met such thieves as in the land of Eryx. Of course this was a lie since the people of Eryx allowed him to trade freely with the Siccani while he himself had violated the laws of Eryx by smuggling iron goods to the Siccani.
I myself said hardly a word to the Carthaginians since I considered it wiser to let them believe that as a Siccanian I did not know their language. Even Arsinoe managed to control her tongue. But when we were within the
