Long after they had gone, Cassius Hasta continued to chuckle. 'Caesar!' he exclaimed. 'Swine!'
As the prisoners discussed the discomfiture of Fastus and sought to prophesy what might come of it, they saw a wavering light reflected from afar in the corridor before their cell.
'We are to have more guests,' said Metellus.
'Perhaps Fastus is returning to spit on Tarzan,' suggested Cassius Hasta, and they all laughed.
The light was advancing along the corridor, but it was not accompanied by the tramp of soldiers' feet.
'Whoever comes comes silently and alone,' said Maximus Praeclarus.
'Then it is not Fastus,' said Hasta.
'But it might be an assassin sent by him,' suggested Praeclarus.
'We shall be ready for him,' said Tarzan.
A moment later there appeared beyond the grating of the cell door the commander of the Colosseum guards, who had accompanied Fastus and who had stood between the prince and the prisoner.
'Appius Applosus!' exclaimed Maximus Praeclarus. 'He is no assassin, my friends.'
'I am not the assassin of your body, Praeclarus,' said Applosus, 'but I am indeed the assassin of your happiness.'
'What do you mean, my friend?' demanded Praeclarus.
'In his anger Fastus told me more than he told you.'
'He told you what?' asked Praeclarus.
'He told me that Dilecta had consented to become his wife only in the hope of saving her father and mother and you, Praeclarus, and your mother, Festivitas.'
'To call him swine is to insult the swine,' said Praeclarus. 'Take word to her, Applosus, that I would rather die than to see her wed to Fastus.'
'She knows that, my friend,' said the officer, 'but she thinks also of her father and her mother and yours.'
Praeclarus's chin dropped upon his chest. 'I had forgotten that,' he moaned. 'Oh, there must be some way to stop it.'
'He is the son of Caesar,' Applosus reminded him, 'and the time is short.'
'I know it! I know it!' cried Praeclarus, 'but it is too hideous. It cannot be.'
'This officer is your friend, Praeclarus?' asked Tarzan, indicating Appius Applosus.
'Yes,' said Praeclarus.
'You would trust him fully?' demanded the ape-man.
'With my life and my honor,' said Praeclarus.
'Tell him where your keys are and let him fetch them,' said the ape-man.
Praeclarus brightened instantly. 'I had not thought of that,' he cried, 'but no, his life would be in jeopardy.'
'It already is,' said Applosus. 'Fastus will never forget or forgive what I said tonight. You, Praeclarus, know that I am already doomed. What' keys do you want? Where are they? I will fetch them.'
'Perhaps not when you know what they are,' said Praeclarus.
'I can guess,' replied Appius Applosus.
'You have been in my apartments often, Applosus?'
The other nodded affirmatively.
'You recall the shelves near the window where my books lie?'
'Yes.'
'The back of the third shelf slides to one side and behind it in the wall, you will find the keys.'
'Good, Praeclarus. You shall have them,' said the officer.
The others watched the diminishing light as Appius Applosus departed along the corridor beneath the Colosseum.
The last day of the games had come. The bloodthirsty populace had gathered once more as eager and enthusiastic as though they were about to experience a new and unfamiliar thrill, their appetites swept as clean of the memories of the past week as were the fresh sands of the arena of the brown stains of yesterday.
For the last time the inmates of the cell were taken to enclosures nearer to the entrance to the arena. They had fared better, perhaps, than others, for of the twelve rings only four were empty.
Maximus Praeclarus alone was left behind. 'Good-by,' he said. 'Those of you who survive the day shall be free. We shall not see one another again. Good luck to you and may the gods give strength and skill to your arms— that is all that I can ask of them, for not even the gods could give you more courage than you already possess.'
'Applosus has failed us,' said Hasta.
Tarzan looked troubled. 'If only you were coming out with us, Praeclarus, we should not then need the keys.'
From within the enclosure, where they were confined, Tarzan and his companions could hear the sounds of combat and the groans and hoots and applause of the audience, but they could not see the floor of the arena.
It was a very large room with heavily barred windows and a door. Sometimes two men, sometimes four, sometimes six would go out together, but only one, or two, or three returned. The effect upon the nerves of those who remained uncalled was maddening. For some the suspense became almost unendurable. Two attempted suicide and others tried to pick quarrels with their fellow prisoners, but there were many guards within the room and the prisoners were unarmed, their weapons being issued to them only after they had quit the enclosure and were about to enter the arena.
The afternoon was drawing to a close. Metellus had fought with a gladiator, both in full armor. Hasta and Tarzan had heard the excited cries of the populace. They had heard cheer after cheer, which indicated that each man was putting up a skilful and courageous fight. There was an instant of silence and then the loud cries of 'Habet! Habet!'
'It is over,' whispered Cassias Hasta.
Tarzan made no reply. He had grown to like these men, for he had found them brave and simple and loyal and he, too, was inwardly moved by the suspense that must be endured until one or the other returned to the enclosure; but he gave no outward sign of his perturbation, and while Cassius Hasta paced nervously to and fro Tarzan of the Apes stood silently, with folded arms, watching the door. After awhile it opened and Caecilius Metellus crossed the threshold.
Cassius Hasta uttered a cry of relief and sprang forward to embrace his friend.
Again the door swung open and a minor official entered. 'Come,' he cried, 'all of you. It is the last event.'
Outside the enclosure each man was given a sword, dagger, pike, shield, and a hempen net, and one by one, as they were thus equipped, they were sent into the arena. All the survivors of the week of combat were there— one hundred of them.
They were divided into two equal parties, and red ribbons were fastened to the shoulders of one party and white ribbons to the shoulders of the other.
Tarzan was among the reds, as were Hasta, Metellus, Lukedi, Mpingu, and Ogonyo.
'What are we supposed to do?' asked Tarzan of Hasta.
'The reds will fight against the whites until all the reds are killed or all the whites.'
'They should see blood enough to suit them now,' said Tarzan.
'They can never get enough of it,' replied Metellus.
The two parties marched to the opposite end of the arena and received their instructions from the prefect in charge of the games, and then they were formed, the reds upon one side of the arena, the whites upon the other. Trumpets sounded and the armed men advanced toward one another.
Tarzan smiled to himself as he considered the weapons with which he was supposed to defend himself. The pike he was sure of, for the Waziri are great spearmen and Tarzan excelled even among them, and with the dagger he felt at home, so long had the hunting-knife of his father been his only weapon of protection—but the Spanish sword, he felt, would probably prove more of a liability than an asset, while the net in his hands could be nothing more than a sorry joke. He would like to have thrown his shield aside, for he did not like shields, considering them, as a rule, useless encumbrances, but he had used them before when the Waziri had fought other native tribes, and
