At the conclusion of the tour, the visitors were treated to a dazzling sight: rows of racks holding harvested silk that was awaiting only to be woven and dyed and made into scrolls, wall hangings, kites, clothing. The long silky filaments, bundled so thickly that they resembled a woman's tresses, glowed like white gold in the flickering torchlight. Sebastianus and his friends were speechless at the sight of the gossamer strands, worth even more than gold or the rarest of gemstones.
Thanking the chief, who was now swaying on his feet, the men from Rome retired to their tent to rest up for the journey back to Luoyang. They could not get the sight of that luxurious silk out of their minds, and as they undressed, Timonides said quietly, "Master, if we could obtain some of those worms, those cocoons, and take them back to Rome, we could be wealthy beyond measure."
Sebastianus pulled his tunic over his head and tossed it down. "The punishment for smuggling silkworms is death, my old friend. It isn't worth it."
"But still," Timonides said wistfully. "We would be the most famous men in Rome. Nestor and I could buy ourselves a villa, a comfortable retirement ..."
"You will always have a home with me. Go to sleep, old friend. We have just one day to find a weakness in the emperor's security, and then we are prisoners in the city again."
When Sebastianus doused the lights and the tent was in darkness, and presently both he and the astrologer were snoring, Nestor lay on his pallet staring up at the ceiling.
For a long time now he had sensed that his father was unhappy, and Nestor loved his Papa very much. He had sought ways to please him, had searched for gifts in the marketplace, but nothing had shone for Nestor. A gift for his Papa had to be special.
He thought of the silken threads in that big tent. They would make Papa happy. He could buy a villa. Papa would be comfortable.
Nestor crept from his tent and loped swiftly and silently through the sleeping camp. He remembered where the shining hair was because it was in the biggest tent, which stood silhouetted against the stars. He saw the guards at the entrance and would have walked right in, but then he saw their spears and he wondered if they were hurtful men. So he went around the side, searching the perimeter of the enormous structure made of goatskins and felt, until he was on the other side, and there were no men with sticks here.
The tent was well anchored into the hard ground, but Nestor was big and strong and he was able, after much grunting and groaning, to lift the staked wall and crawl under it. By the light of the few torches that glowed inside the tent, he saw the beautiful white filaments, bundled like a lady's hair, hanging from pegs.
Nestor helped himself, curling his big thick fingers around the clump of silk strands, and then he paused to look at the white cocoons spread out on tables. He wanted one of those, too. Another gift for Papa.
Nestor was so intent upon reaching for a cocoon, trying not to break it or disturb the tiny caterpillar sleeping within, that he did not hear the guards enter the tent, was not aware of their presence until he turned around.
Nestor thought that if he smiled at the men with the clubs, they would not hurt him.
IT WAS THE FINAL game of the week-long polo match, and tension and excitement filled the air.
Timonides searched the crowd. Where was Nestor? He would not want to miss this game.
"What is that?" Sebastianus said, pointing out onto the field where the two teams were lining up with clubs.
Timonides squinted out over the sparse grass. "It's the ball—" He gasped. "Great Zeus!" he cried.
Sebastianus and Timonides ran out onto the field, where Nestor's head rose out of the ground. They saw the packed earth around him and realized in horror that the simpleton had been buried in a deep pit up to his neck.
Before Sebastianus and Timonides could reach him, horsemen rode up and barred the way. "You must stop this!" Timonides cried. "My son has done no wrong!"
Sebastianus turned and dashed away from the field to the canopy beneath which Chief Jammu and his military aides sat on wooden chairs. When Sebastianus demanded to know what was going on, the chief said, "The man was caught in the Silk House stealing from us. He had silk in his hands, and a cocoon. The punishment is death."
"But he didn't know! Nestor has the mind of a child!"
They heard a shout and the start of thundering hooves. Sebastianus and Timonides turned in time to see the horses racing toward Nestor. Even as the hooves came down on him, and the first great club, Nestor laughed.
As Timonides watched in frozen horror, as he saw the blood and bone and bits of brain fly up from the clubs, he remembered that silk was produced by the mulberry worm. And thus the fulfillment of an ox scapula prophecy.
SEBASTIANUS FOUND HIS FRIEND lying on a pallet, staring lifelessly at the ceiling. Timonides's eyes were red and puffy, but he no longer wept. The sun had set, the stars were out, and he had no more tears to shed.
"I requested an audience with the emperor," Sebastianus said, "and he has granted it. I am going to ask him to allow us to leave. We cannot stay here any longer. I am responsible for what happened to Nestor. I should have insisted long ago that we be permitted to leave. I only hope you can forgive me, my old friend, for allowing us to remain prisoner here so long."
Timonides did not speak, and a short time later, after following the usual, wearisome protocol, Sebastianus bowed respectfully and said to Ming: "Your Majesty, I have seen with my own eyes the wise and compassionate way the Lord of Ten Thousand Years governs his vassals, and I see that they are happy under his rule. I believe my own emperor would be interested to hear about the wise and mighty Lord of Heaven, and perhaps he can even learn from the sovereign of the Flowery Land. I humbly ask that I be allowed to return to my country and paint for my Emperor and all the high officials a portrait of the wise and compassionate rule of the Lord of Ten Thousand Years. It will be a great honor to praise Your Majesty's name from here to Rome and instill in the peoples along the way a fearsome respect for the name of the lofty one who occupies Your Majesty's throne.
"Your Majesty's generosity exceeds the number of stars in the night sky. Truly Your Majesty is the most generous man on earth. I wish to have the honor of telling the world of the greatness of the Lord of Heaven. I wish to boast of my having been your humble guest and the recipient of the Lord of Heaven's bounty and compassion. I wish to return to my country and impress my own emperor with this knowledge."
Ming said nothing. His face was without expression beneath the curious crown of beaded fringe. Ma sat silently at his side.
"In return for this generous favor, Your Majesty," Sebastianus continued, "I will tell you about the might and power of Rome. Her armies are like the seas, her soldiers are like dragons that breathe fire, her machines of war are like thunder and lightning. I tell Your Majesty these things not to betray my country, nor to boast in falsehoods—for what I say of Rome's legions is true—but to offer the Lord of Heaven the opportunity to join with a great ally that is almost as powerful as himself. Persia is Rome's enemy. And I know that the Han people would like to subjugate Persia. Together, Rome and China can surround Persia and show that lowly nation what great races we are."