I came wearily through
the garden; it was long before I found my way hither; will you send me
back as helpless as I came? You first taught me to disobey my father in
giving me the lute; will you refuse to aid me in succouring him now? He
is all that I have left in the world! Have mercy upon him!--have mercy
upon me!'
Again she looked up in Vetranio's face. His trembling lips moved, but
still no sound came from them. The expression of confusion and awe yet
prevailed over his features as he pointed slowly towards the upper end
of the banqueting-table. To her this simple action was eloquent beyond
all power of speech; she turned her feeble steps instantly in the
direction he had indicated.
He watched her, by the light of the single lamp that still burnt,
passing--strong in the shielding inspiration of her good purpose--amid
the bodies of his suicide companions without pausing on her way. Having
gained the upper end of the room, she took from the table a flask of
wine, and from the wooden stand behind it the bowl of offal disdained by
the guests at the fatal banquet, returning immediately to the spot where
Vetranio still stood.
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