‘I arranged for him to have a horse,’ Sekla continued.
While Sekla spoke, I noted that Leukas had a sword under his chlamys — a long Keltoi sword — and several other men were unobtrusively armed. Sittonax was lounging on a spear, his wrist and left leg both curled lovingly around the shaft. Some men still used spears as walking staffs back then — Sittonax was taking advantage of that.
‘What happened?’ I asked quietly. I took Sekla by the arm and towed him into the back of the wine tent.
Quite loudly he said, ‘It’s foolishness to keep two amphorae for our own use. We can get a drachma a cup today.’
Then he lowered his voice. ‘The man had a sling, and he went to use it on the Spartan charioteer. That’s all I know. Ka made the call and killed him.’
It was an act of gross impiety — an attack on the Olympic grounds, during the truce. On the other hand, as far as I know, Ka had never believed in our gods, so perhaps he is immune. But if the attack were traced to me. .
It is a difficult thing, having men who serve you. I gave them orders to protect Polypeithes. They did. Ka acted as he thought was correct, and now we had a corpse and some very angry Elisians.
‘What is done is done,’ I said. ‘On my head be it. How is the Spartan?’
‘I doubt he even knows there was an incident,’ Sekla responded. ‘Leukas followed him all the way to his encampment, dressed as a slave. He says the Spartans have thrown a cordon around their camp since the chariot returned.’
I poured myself a precious cup of our wine and sat on a leather stool. I beckoned to Sittonax, Harpagos and Leukas, all waiting visibly close. They came into the small back area of the tent.
I popped out and walked all the way around the tent to make sure we were alone. I caught Hector’s arm — he was carrying a basket of bread for Gaia — and sent him to watch the tent from a little distance, to make sure we were not overheard. I took Alexandros off his duties running our watch against theft and placed him at the door of the tent. I summoned Brasidas to our meeting. Behind me, Sekla and Leukas continued a fairly unconvincing haggle about what to charge for wine.
Committing an act of impiety at the Olympics raised the stakes enormously. Suddenly, it was all life and death.
‘Gentlemen,’ I said when I went back. ‘This is family only. Oikia, yes? Not for Cimon. Not even Paramanos.’ I looked around, and everyone nodded. ‘If Ka were to be taken, he would be tortured and then executed.’
That got to them. The south Egyptian was a very popular man.
‘Sekla — well done getting Ka away. Now — what’s our next step? It is five hours before the chariots run.’ I waved at the Spartan camp in the distance.
Brasidas did not hesitate. ‘Put a watch on the Corinthians. We have the manpower to do it.’
I had thought in terms of protecting Polypeithes. I had to smile at the Spartan-ness of his solution. I was prepared to defend, and Brasidas was, in effect, ready to attack.
‘We watch them, but what more can we do? If two slaves leave their camp. .’ I shrugged.
Sekla smiled. ‘Every one of theirs who leaves camp is followed by a couple of ours. Do we have to be secret? Why not make it obvious? There are fewer than a hundred Corinthians here.’
I scratched my beard. ‘We could end with a war between Corinth and Plataea,’ I said.
Brasidas shook his head. ‘Look — send a few men — led by me — to watch the Corinthian camp. And some boys as runners. Do the same for the Lacedaemonian camp. If the chariot leaves their camp — then we can act.’ He shot me a hard smile. ‘I doubt the Corinthians will try again, but if they do — we need to catch them at it.’
Hector’s high-pitched voice shouted outside, ‘Lord Aristides, master!’ and I was outside in a heartbeat, smiling falsely.
Aristides looked as angry as an outraged husband. ‘I would hate to think. .’ he began, and I came out to find that I had half the noblemen of Athens in my camp. I sent Hector for stools and wine. Cimon gave me a sign that I needed to talk fast.
‘They are saying in the camp that the Spartans killed the Corinthian groom. Other men say it was a Plataean. Others that it was an African,’ Aristides said. ‘This impiety must be punished.’
The problem with Aristides is that he was completely honest, and thus, he saw most issues in simple terms.
‘I saw the corpse,’ I said. ‘Heavy arrow. Not anyone local.’ I shrugged. ‘Perhaps a Cretan or a Cypriote.’
Cimon’s eyes applauded my lies. ‘Cretans do use heavy shafts like that one,’ Cimon drawled. ‘I had forgotten that.’
Other men responded with the sort of spontaneous expertise that every man is capable of when he knows nothing — suddenly a dozen of them were experts on Cretan arrows.
Aristides didn’t sit. He put a hand on my shoulder. ‘I feel in my bones that you have something to do with this,’ he said. ‘I saw you look at the corpse. Tell me immediately, please.’
I shook my head. ‘I can tell you only that the Corinthians have been trying to harm the Spartans,’ I said quietly.
Understanding flooded Aristides. His body stiffened. He narrowed his eyes.
I shook my head. ‘I’m looking into it,’ I said. In truth, he was very difficult to lie to, and I was struggling, but with the stakes so high, I managed.
I turned to Cimon. ‘Someone should watch the Corinthians, and someone else should watch the Spartans. To keep them apart, if nothing else.’
‘You think the Spartans killed the groom?’ Aristides asked.
I shrugged. ‘You know that someone struck Polypeithes the charioteer with a sling stone — right?’
Aristides shook his head. ‘I see,’ he said, face closing.
Cimon took his arm. ‘A slave is dead, not a Greek,’ he said. ‘Let’s not make too much of this.’
He drank down his wine and dragged Aristides away, leaving me with Themistocles. The orator glanced at the Spartan encampment. ‘You’ve taken. . measures?’ he asked.
‘No idea what you are talking about,’ I said. ‘But I have agreed to escort the Spartan ambassadors.’
‘Heralds,’ Themistocles said. ‘Not ambassadors.’
We spent the morning and the afternoon watching the Corinthians. We had help from a dozen Athenians and we didn’t hide ourselves particularly — that is to say, Cimon and I were quite open, and so was Themistocles — so open that Adamanteis came out in a cloak.
‘We can see to our own affairs,’ he said. ‘We don’t need Athenians interfering in our preparations.’
Themistocles shrugged. ‘It is a fine place to stand and watch the games,’ he said. ‘And free to all men, I think.’
Adamanteis looked as if he might explode.
‘Sir,’ I asked, ‘do you by any chance own in the chariot racing today? The four-horse team with the African charioteer?’
He nodded curtly.
I smiled. ‘Ah, I see,’ I said. I meant it. I did see. Gorgo had it all correct. ‘May the best chariot and team win, then,’ I said.
‘I repeat — you needn’t be here. We can protect ourselves,’ Adamanteis said.
Themistocles shrugged. ‘Perhaps it is not you that we protect.’
The Corinthian spun on his heel and walked back among his tents. Several men pointed at us.
I wondered whether he was enough of a fool to provoke a fight. At the Olympics, no less.
Meanwhile, we missed Astylos’s day of triumph altogether, which galled me. We heard the roar from the stadium as he won the stadia, and Hector found us to tell us of the victory. Most of my oarsmen were in the south end of the stadium, roaring their lungs out for the Italian.
Two hours later, we caught the excitement even three stades away. Hector came to tell us that Astylos had won his first heat at the diaulos. Cimon and I cursed that we were missing a great moment. Themistocles made an excuse and left us to watch. He loved the running, and he wasn’t doing anything but provoking the Corinthians. He and Adamanteis clearly loathed each other.
It broke my heart to miss the final race. More so as two Plataeans made the last heat.