"Tush! tush! man; never tell me that," replied Lentulus, with a grim smile. "Do you think I will believe you have sent for me all the way hither this morning, without some object of your own to serve? No! no! my friend; with whomsoever that may pass, it will not go current with Cornelius Lentulus!" "Just as you please," said the traitor; "you may believe me or not exactly as you choose; but it is true, nevertheless, that I have neither seen the men, nor spoken with them. Nor do I know at all what they want." "I would, then, you had not sent for me," answered the other. "Come, let us have the knaves in. I suppose they have been robbing some one’s hen-roost, and want to lay the blame on some one else!" "What ho! Chærea." And as he spoke the word, the curtain which covered the door-way was withdrawn, and the keen-witted freedman made his appearance. "Admit those fellows, Stolo and Rufinus. The prætor is prepared to give them a hearing." It would have been difficult, perhaps, to have selected from the whole population of Rome at that day, a more murderous looking pair of scoundrels. "Well, sirrahs, what secrets of the state have you that weigh so ponderously on your wise thoughts?" asked Lentulus, with a contemptuous sneer. "Murder, most noble Lentulus—or at least subornation thereof," answered one of the ruffians. "Most natural indeed! I should have thought as much. Well, tell us in a word—for it is clear that nobody has murdered either of you—whom have you murdered?" "If we have murdered no one, it was not for the lack of prompting, or of bribes either." "Indeed! I should have thought a moderate bribe would have arranged the matter easily. But come! come! to the point! whom were ye bribed or instigated to get rid of? speak! I am in haste!" "The cutler, Caius Volero!" "Volero! Ha!" cried Lentulus, starting. "Indeed! indeed! that may well be. By whom, then, were you urged to the deed, and when?" "Paullus Cæcilius Arvina tempted us to the deed, by the offer of ten thousand sesterces! We met him by appointment upon the Cælian hill, at the head of the Minervium, a little before sunrise, the day before yesterday." "Ha!" and for a moment or two Lentulus fixed his eyes upon the ground, and pondered deeply on what he had just heard. "Have ye seen Volero since?" "No, Prætor." "Nor heard anything concerning him?" "Nothing!" said Stolo. But he spoke with a confused air and in an undecided tone, which satisfied the judge that he was speaking falsely. Rufinus interposed, however, saying— "But I have, noble Lentulus. I heard say that he _was_ murdered in his own booth, that same night!" "And having heard this, you told it not to Stolo?" "I never thought about it any more," answered Rufinus doggedly, seeing that he had got into a scrape.