"No; only against his free will. 'War with the Goths.'--'Belisarius commander-in-chief.'--'It is shameful to serve an ungrateful master.'--'Force the Emperor to his own advantage.' Such and similar things do these papers contain, do they not? Well, Belisarius has certainly not accepted; but, imprudently, he did not at once speak of these invitations to the Emperor, and this oversight may cost him his head!" "Oh, holy saints!" cried Antonina, wringing her hands. "He omitted to do so at my request, by my advice. Procopius advised him to tell all to the Emperor. But I--I feared Justinian's mistrust, which might have discovered the semblance of guilt in the mere fact that such papers had been sent to Belisarius." "It was not that alone, I think," said Cethegus cautiously, when he had looked round to see if any could hear, "which impelled you to give such advice, taken, of course, by Belisarius." "What else? What can you mean?" asked Antonina in a low voice. But she blushed up to the roots of her hair. "You knew that good friends of yours were concerned in the conspiracy; you wished first to warn them before the plot was betrayed." "Yes," she stammered. "Photius, the freedman----" "And yet another," whispered Cethegus, "who, scarcely freed from Theodora's gilded prison, would only exchange it for the vaults of the Bosphorus." Antonina covered her face with her hands. "I know all, Antonina--the slight fault of former days, the good resolutions of a later time. But in this case your old inclination has ensnared you. Instead of thinking only of Belisarius, you thought also of his welfare. And if Belisarius now falls, whose is the guilt?" "Oh! be silent! have pity!" cried Antonina. "Do not despair," continued Cethegus. "You have still a strong prop, one who will be your advocate with the Emperor. Even if banishment be threatened, the prayers of your friend Theodora will prevent the worst." "The Empress!" cried Antonina, in terror. "Oh, how she will misrepresent! She has sworn our undoing!" "That is bad," said Cethegus--"very bad! For the Empress also knows of the conspiracy, and of the invitations to Belisarius. And you know that a much less crime than that of being invited to join a conspiracy is sufficient----" "The Empress knows of it! Then we are lost! Oh! you who know how to find a means of escape when no other eye can see it--help I save us!" And Antonina sank at the Prefect's feet. A lamentable howl issued from the corner of the room. The leopard trembled with renewed fear. The Prefect cast a rapid glance at his beaten adversary, and then gently raised the kneeling woman. "Do not despair, Antonina. Yes; there is a way to save Belisarius--but only one." "Must he tell _now_ what has happened? As soon as he returns?"