Acting on his instructions they had thrust a kerchief into her mouth, and wrapped a cloak round her, and were carrying her off when a man rushed at him, and he supposed struck him, for he remembered nothing more.  He then with many tears implored mercy, on the ground that he was acting but on his master’s orders.  At this moment the praetor himself arrived, Flavia having sent for him immediately she had ascertained that Sempronius was dead.  He was confused and bewildered at the suddenness of his loss.

“I thought at first,” Flavia said, “that he must have been engaged in some wild scheme to carry off Julia, though why he should do so I could not imagine, seeing that he had my approval of his wooing; but Julia is asleep, not having been a wakened by the noise of the scuffle.  It must have been one of the slave girls.”

“Ah!” she exclaimed suddenly.  “I did not see Clotilde.”  She struck a bell, and her attendant entered.

“Go,” she said, “and summon Clotilde here.”

In a few minutes the slave returned, saying that Clotilde was not to be found.

“She may have been carried off by the other slave,” Flavia said, “but Malchus was there, and would have pursued.  Fetch him here.”

But Malchus too was found to be missing.

“They must have fled together,” Flavia said.  “There was an understanding between them.  Doubtless Malchus feared that this affair with your son might cause him to be taken away from here.  Perhaps it is best so, and I trust that they may get away, though I fear there is little chance, since no slaves are allowed to leave the city without a pass, and even did they succeed in gaining the open country they would be arrested and brought back by the first person who met them.  But that is not the question for the present.”

“What think you, my friend, what are we to do in this terrible business?”

“I know not,” the praetor said with a groan.

“The honour of both our families is concerned,” Flavia said calmly.  “Your son has been found in my house at night and slain by my lion.  All the world knows that he was a suitor for Julia’s hand.  There’s but one thing to be done; the matter must be kept secret.  It would not do to try and remove Sempronius tonight, for the litter might be stopped by the watch; it must be taken boldly away in daylight.  Send four slaves whom you can trust, and order them to be silent on pain of death.  I will tell my household that if a word is breathed of what has taken place tonight, I will hand whoever disobeys me over to the executioners.  When you have got your son’s body home you can spread a rumour that he is sick of the fever.  There will be no difficulty in bribing the leech.  Then in a few days you will give out that he is dead, and none will be any the wiser.”

The praetor agreed that this was the best plan that could be adopted, and it was carried out in due course, and so well was the secret kept that no one in Rome ever doubted that Sempronius had fallen a victim to fever.