Steven Saylor - Catilina's riddle

Catilina roused him by gently shaking his shoulder. The man blinked the sleep from his eyes and sat up. He reached for a skin of wine, swallowed a mouthful, and cleared his throat. 'So you came back after all, Lucius Sergius,' he said. 'Just to see an old hole in the ground. There's not much to see, as I told you. Still, for three sesterces…' He looked up at Catilina and cocked his head.

'It seems I remember promising you two sesterces,' said Catilina. ‘But no matter. You'll be paid.'

'And who are they?' The goatherd stroked his grizzled chin and squinted at our silhouettes in the doorway. 'Your friend Tongilius I met this morning, but not this man, nor the boy beside him.'

'Friends of mine,' said Catilina. He moved so that a jingling sound was produced by the little bag of coins within his tunic.

'Oh, friends of yours are friends of mine!' said the goatherd heartily. He raised the wineskin and squeezed a long draught of wine between his lips, then stood up and wiped his mouth. 'Well, what are we waiting for? Let me fetch my mule and well begin.'

* * *

The goatherd's name was Forfex, so called, I imagine, for his proficiency at shearing his flock. His hair and beard were grey and his skin looked as brown and tough as old leather. Despite his age he moved with the wiry agility of a slave who has spent his lite on rocky hillsides, learning to be as surefooted as the goats in his charge. He struck me as a naturally cheerful fellow, sitting atop his little mule and humming a song. The coins in his bag and the wine in his belly had put himin an especially good mood.

The way led at first beneath a high canopy of trees that grew alongside a deep, rugged streambed on our left-hand side. The stream was dry, or nearly so; little ponds of stagnant water appeared here and there among the tumbled boulders. We proceeded towards the south and shortly came to a juncture where a little bridge crossed the ravine and led to the main house. Through the trees and rocks I caught glimpses of a rustic two-storey structure set against a steep hillside. Chickens and dogs surrounded the place. The hounds, smelling us across the ravine, roused themselves and began to bark. The more energetic ones ran to and fro, throwing up clouds of dust and causing the chickens to flutter and cluck. Forfex shouted at the dogs to be quiet. To my surprise, they obeyed.

We did not take the bridge but rode on, leaving the house behind. The way became steeper and steeper; the forest became more and more dense. At length we came to what appeared to be a dead end. Only when we entered the little clearing was I able to see the narrow passage that led away to the left through a bower of low branches.

'We'll have to dismount here,' said Forfex.

'This is the path that leads to the mine?' asked Catilina.

'Yes.'

'But how can it be so narrow? Surely at one time there must have been a great traffic of men and beasts upon it.'

'At one time, yes, but not for many yean,' said Forfex. 'Once it was practically a road, as broad as two men laid head to head. But when the mine failed there was no more reason to use the path, except for driving goats. Stop using a path and you see what happens — the woods reclaim it. It's still passable, yes, but not on horseback. Youll need to dismount and leave your horses here.'

As I was tying the reins to a branch, I noticed another path that opened into the woods. It was even more overgrown, so much so that I might have missed seeing it altogether. I stared into the shadowy undergrowth, trying to make out its course, then realized that Catilina was standing behind me, looking over my shoulder.

'Another path,' he said to me in a low voice. 'Where do you suppose it leads?' Then he called Forfex over. 'Is this another pathway?'

The old goatherd nodded. 'Or used to be. Nobody uses it at all, so far as I know, except perhaps to go looking for a lost kid.'

'Where does it lead?'

'Down to the Cassian Way, if I remember correctly. Yes, pretty much straight down the mountain towards the south and west. It used to come out on the highway not far from the gate to Claudia's farm. That way you could send a slave from Claudia's house all the way up to this clearing and on up to the mines without his having to go up north as you did and enter by the main gate. But the path hasn't been cleared in years and years. It may be blocked by fallen branches and stones, for all I know; we get some fierce storms up here on the mountain in the winter, blowing over trees and setting off landslides. It takes many a slave to keep the pathways clear.'

"Then one would pass this pathway on the ride up from Rome, before coming to the main entrance?' said Catilina.

'Oh, certainly. I dare say that's another reason it was built, so that slaves bought at market in the city could be driven up to the mine as directly as possible. It's a very steep path, you see, and very rough — I remember taking it once when I was a boy. A road fit only for mine slaves, too steep for horses; no one would take it by choice so long as there was an easier way. But as I say, it's been disused for many years. I doubt you can see much evidence these days of where it used to branch off from the Cassian Way.'

Catilina nodded. Forfex turned away, to tend to his mule. Under his breath, I thought I heard Catilina murmur, 'Good, very good.'

XII

We proceeded on foot. The narrow path was so steep that in places the stones underfoot had been cut into steps. Within the woods the air was still and hot, but the shade at least provided protection from the lowering sun. I found myself breathing hard and struggling to keep up. Meto seemed not to suffer at all from the heat and the steepness; he would run ahead of the party, double back, and run on again. Tongilius likewise showed no discomfort. But they were both young, I told myself, while Catilina was nearly my own age. Yet he seemed not to suffer at all. He picked up a fallen limb to use as a staff, sang a marching song under his breath, and kept up a steady rhythm. Where did he find such energy, especially without a full night's sleep?

While on the main path, we had moved away from the stream on our left, but now we seemed to be converging with it again, for I began to hear the sound of trickling water. To ascend much higher we would have to cross the stream eventually. I wondered what sort of state the bridge would be in. Given the general condition of the path, I feared it might be no more than a rope wound between tree trunks on the opposing banks. The sound of trickling water grew louder and more insistent.

But there was no bridge. Instead, we came to a vertical stairway of sheer rock, some thirty or more steps cut into the solid stone. Meto ascended first, running up the steps with the surefootedness of a goat. Tongilius followed him, and then Catilina, who planted his staff in the crevices between each step and pulled himself up by it. Our guide, out of breath, allowed me to pass him. By the time I reached the top my heart was pounding and my brow was covered with sweat.

The steps emerged into a clearing above a high waterfall. Here the stream flowed across a wide, flat bed of rock cut with fingerlike rivulets. We hardly got our sandals wet crossing to the other side. While I scooped up a handful of water to cool my face and wet my lips, Meto scurried to the edge of the cliff, where the water gathered against a lip of rock before spilling over. He picked his way among stones covered with treacherous moss and peered over the abyss. He looked so slight standing against the empty sky that 1 imagined a puff of wind could blow him over the edge. I followed after him and grabbed his tunic.

'But, Papa, look!'

The tops of high trees shivered below us. The slope of the mountain reared on our right, but to the north the view was wide open. I could see the Cassian Way disappearing into the dusty horizon, its paving stones shimmering like a white ribbon. Away to the west the sun was a blood-red globe hovering above the dark hills. High trees obscured the view of my farm, but I could see quite clearly the ridge where I sometimes retreated and talked with Claudia.