Talbot Mundy

“ Old Perseus had been no man's enemy but all the world's friend, reserving his own right to be its friend in his own way. Tros gloried in being the enemy of Cæsar, of Rome, of any man or any power that dared to come between him and the freedom of earth and sea that his heart told him was a free man's heritage. ”

“ You saved Britain for us, Tros. Caswallon will not forget that."
But Tros smiled sourly. "It is only grudges that endure. Kings' memories are as short as Cæsar's for a friendship."
Orwic, too weak to argue, lay down near the lee rail, hugging himself in his cloak. Not long ago he had ridden in triumph to Lunden to announce Cæsar's hurried midnight retreat from Britain; he relished no more than Tros did the prospect of slinking up Thames with nothing to show but a foreigner's corpse to offset more than sixty dead and wounded gentlemen. ”

“ He tried for a while to imagine himself in Cæsar's place; but that was difficult; the very breath Tros breathed was the antithesis of Cæsar's. Cæsar yearned to impose the Roman yoke on all the world; Tros burned to see a world of free men, in which each man ruled himself and minded his own business. ”

“ But the boat was decked, and the deck must have been strong and watertight. She rose out of a welter of gray sea, dismasted but right side up, and Tros could see men, who certainly were Romans, chopping at the rigging with their short swords.
"Go about and ram them!" Conops urged again, and Tros considered that for a minute. But he would likely enough lose his own sail if he tried to turn into the wind.
"They'll smash on the rocks when the tide carries them inshore," he prophesied and went below again to make up arrears of sleep. ”

“ Hardship meant no more to him than other men's feelings or opinions; his whole interest in living was to serve Tros loyally; the one reward he craved, a nod from Tros, maybe a smile, and a word or two of terse, ungilded praise.
"Keep the wind at the back of your right ear," Tros commanded. "The tide 'll be slack in an hour; watch for the surf on the quicksands [2] on your starboard bow. Keep clear of that, and follow the tide around the coast when it starts to make. If there's any trouble with the crew, wake me." ”

“ As he turned that over in his mind and calculated how much time the Roman messengers would have for intrigue—supposing that dismasted boat to have reached the coast—Tros almost made up his mind to run for the Belgian lowlands and seek refuge there. He did not doubt he could make good friends among the Belgæ.
All that restrained him was his own pride. He had made a promise to Caswallon; he would keep it. Those young gallants who had sailed with him—mutinous cockerels—had their rights; their dead should be buried in British earth. ”

“ He had to cling to the rail, and his eyes ached, staring at stark, dark seas that pitched the bireme like a cork.
"I will die free. I will set others free. I must! I burn to live! But is it all worth the burning?" ”