thinking that in a small town like this, you do most of your business right at the start, and then it peters out after that.' Menedemos looked mulish. Have had all too recent experience with a veritable mule, Sostratos had no trouble noting the resemblance. With a sigh, he said, 'Very well, O best one. If you want to stay in Pompaia a while longer, stay a while longer we shall.' 'That's right,' Menedemos said smugly. Menedemos glanced out over the agora. He was beginning to hate Pompaians. Over the past two days, he'd sold one amphora of Ariousian, one bolt of Koan silk, and not a single peafowl chick. He wasn't even meeting the Aphrodite's expenses, let alone turning a profit. His glare reached over to Sostratos. His cousin only smiled back, which irked him further. Had Sostratos said something like, I told you so, they could have had a good, satisfying, air-clearing quarrel. Of course, had Sostratos said something like, I told you so, Menedemos' pride probably would have made him keep the Aphrodite tied up outside Pompaia for another couple of days. He knew that perfectly well. In fact, he was looking for the excuse. But Sostratos kept his mouth shut. He just went on smiling that irritating, superior smile. As sunset of the second long, boring, empty day neared, Menedemos knew he was beaten. 'All right,' he snarled, as if Sostratos were arguing with him. 'All right, curse it. Tomorrow morning we'll head up toward Neapolis.' 'Fair enough,' his cousin said. 'All things considered, the stop was worthwhile - we did make money here.' 'Well, so we did.' Menedemos gruffly allowed Sostratos to let him down easy. Later, he sometimes wondered what would have happened had Sostratos chosen that afternoon to squabble. His life, and his cousin's, would have been very different. He was sure of that, if of nothing else. In Pompaia, the taverns and brothels lay close by the river. After returning to the Aphrodite, Menedemos sent Diokles and a double handful of sober sailors through them, making sure his crew would be in place and ready to go at dawn. 'Tell 'em they can stay with the barbarians here if they don't want to come with you,' he instructed the oarmaster. 'Don't you worry about a thing, skipper,' Diokles said. 'I'll take care of it.' And he did, too, with his usual unfussy competence. He had every sailor back aboard the merchant galley before the night could have been more than two hours old. That was a performance even Menedemos hadn't expected. 'By the dog of Egypt, how did you manage?' he asked when Diokles returned with the last two sodden Hellenes. 'Not so hard,' the keleustes answered. 'All I had to do was listen for real Greek. It would've been a lot tougher job down in one of the towns of Great Hellas.' 'All right. Good. You've done everything we've asked of you since we went out from Rhodes, Diokles, and you've done most things better than Sostratos or I would have hoped,' Menedemos said. 'When we get home, you'll find I haven't forgotten.' 'That's mighty kind of you, captain,' the oarmaster said. 'Me, I'm just doing my job.'
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