Over the Wine Dark Sea

'If you'd asked me, I could have told you you were an idiot,' Menedemos said cheerfully. Sostratos glowered. Menedemos went on, 'But what didn't you see?'   'It probably wasn't just good luck,' Sostratos answered.   'What wasn't?' Menedemos hated it when his cousin got ahead of him. Sostratos thought too well of his thinking as things were.   'Agathokles' sally, of course,' he said now. 'It all fits together, don't you see? Agathokles had to use something to break the Carthaginians' blockade if he was going to get his own fleet loose. What would be more likely to make the Carthaginians move than a gaggle of nice, fat grain ships?'   Menedemos stared. It did fit together, provided . . .. 'That Agathokles must be one sneaky rogue.' He held up a hand; this time, he was running even with Sostratos. 'We already know he is, from the way he treated his enemies.'   'We can't prove any of this, you know,' Sostratos said. 'I wonder if Antandros would tell us.'   'If you ask him, I'll hit you over the head with the biggest pot I can pick up,' Menedemos said. 'How can you be clever enough to see plots and schemes and foolish enough to want to get in trouble sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong, both at the same time?'   'Hmm.' Sostratos pondered again. 'Well, maybe you're right.'   'I should hope so!' Menedemos said. 'Are you going to stay aboard the Aphrodite tonight?'   'I think so,' Sostratos replied. 'Why?'   Menedemos grinned. That was the answer he'd wanted to hear. 'Why? Because, O best one, I intend to go into Syracuse and celebrate getting here without getting sunk the way such things ought to be celebrated.'   'You're going to have a couple of girls and you're going to get so drunk you won't remember having them,' Sostratos said with distaste.   'Right!' Menedemos said. His cousin rolled his eyes. Menedemos couldn't have cared less about his cousin's opinion.   *  *  *   As the oarsmen rowed the Aphrodite's boat across the narrow channel separating the Sicilian mainland from the island of Ortygia, Sostratos took a certain somber satisfaction in Menedemos' condition. His cousin's eyes were red, his face sallow. He shaded his eyes from the sun with the palm of his hand. Even though the sea in the Little Harbor was calm as could be, he kept gulping as if he were about to lean over the gunwale and feed the fish.   'I hope you had a good time last night,' Sostratos said sweetly.