"Maximus Praeclarus does not take orders from Fastus," said the young man, "and he knows his duty without consulting him." "You will arrest this man who has protected me, Praeclarus?" demanded Dilecta. "What else may I do?" asked Praeclarus. "It is my duty." "Then do it," sneered Fastus. Praeclarus went white. "It is with difficulty that I can keep my hands off you, Fastus," he said. "If you were the son of Jupiter himself, it would not take much more to get yourself choked. If you know what is well for you, you will go before I lose control of my temper." "Mpingu," said Dilecta, "show Fastus to the avenue." Fastus flushed. "My father, the Emperor, shall hear of this," he snarled; "and do not forget, Dilecta, your father stands none too well in the estimation of Sublatus Imperator." "Get gone," cried Dilecta, "before I order my black slave to throw you into the avenue." With a sneer and a swagger Fastus quit the garden, and when he had gone Dilecta turned to Maximus Praeclarus. "What shall we do?" she cried. "I must protect this noble stranger who saved me from Fastus, and at the same time you must do your duty and return him to Sublatus." "I have a plan," said Maximus Praeclarus, "but I cannot carry it out unless I can talk with the stranger." "Mpingu can understand and interpret for him," the girl. "Can you trust Mpingu implicitly?" asked Praeclarus. "Absolutely," said Dilecta. "Then send away the others," said Praeclarus, indicating Axuch and Sarus; and when Mpingu returned from escorting Fastus to the street he found Maximus Praeclarus, Dilecta, and Tarzan alone in the garden. Praeclarus motioned Mpingu to advance. "Tell the stranger that I have been sent to arrest him," he said to Mpingu, "but tell him also that because of the service he has rendered Dilecta I wish to protect him, if he will follow my instructions." "What are they?" asked Tarzan when the question had been put to him. "What do you wish me to do?" "I wish you to come with me," said Praeclarus; "to come with me as though you are my prisoner. I shall take you in the direction of the Colosseum and when I am opposite my own home I shall give you a signal so that you will understand that the house is mine. Immediately afterward I will make it possible for you to escape into the trees as you did when you quit the palace with Sublatus. Go, then, immediately to my house and remain there until I return. Dilecta will send Mpingu there now to warn my servants that you are coming. At my command they will protect you with their lives. Do you understand?" "I understand," replied the ape-man, when the plan had been explained to him by Mpingu. "Later," said Praeclarus, "we may be able to find a way to get you out of Castra Sanguinarius and across the mountains." _Chapter Ten_