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Ascyltos, when he had caught his breath, gloatingly exulted of the pleasure which the looting of a villa belonging to Lycurgus, a superlatively avaricious man, afforded him: he complained, with justice of his parsimony, affirming that he himself had received no reward for his k-nightly services, that he had been kept at a dry table and on a skimpy ration of food.
When I screamed, he pulled out his tool and gritted out If you're a Lucretia, you've found your Tarquin!" When I heard this, I shook my fists in Ascyltos' face, "What have you to say for yourself," I snarled, "you rutting pathic harlot, whose very breath is infected?" Was I not a 'brother' to you in the pleasure-garden, in the same sense as that in which this boy now is in this lodging-house?"
Being more out of danger among the thickets we cast about where we should hide the gold that we might not be either charg'd with the felony, or robb'd of it our selves: At last we concluded to sow it in the lining of an old patcht coat which I threw over my shoulders and entrusted the care of the mantle to Ascyltos, in design to get to the city by cross-ways: But as we were going out we heard somewhat on our left hand to this purpose: "They shall not escape us; they came into the wood; let's separate ourselves and beat about, that we may the better discover and take them."
We had just done, when Ascyltos, with a beadle, having search'd the other chambers, came to ours, which gave him greater hopes, because he found the door so barr'd: But the petty officer he brought, with an iron crow, forc'd it open.
O the wonderful vagaries of fortune! for the country-man had not so much as examined a seam of it, but carelessly exposed it as beggars-booty. Ascyltos seeing the coat unript, and the person of the seller contemptible, took me aside from the crowd: And "Don't you see, brother," said he, "the treasure I made such moan about is returned?
Then, too, we were girded higher, and I had so arranged matters that if it came to a fight, I would engage Quartilla myself, Ascyltos the maid, and Giton the girl. "Pray; madame," I groaned, "if you have anything worse in store, bring it on quickly for we have not committed a crime so heinous as to merit death by torture."
"It is so," quoth Quartilla; "can ye sleep when ye know it is the vigil to Priapus?" at what time Ascyltos snor'd so soundly, that Psyche, not yet forgeting the disapointment, he gave her, all besooted his face, and scor'd down his shoulders with a burnt sticks end.
As far as we were concerned, we were as willing as he, and Fortune aided the cause of each of us, for the peasant, infuriated at our demand that his rags be shown in public, threw the tunic in Ascyltos' face, released us from responsibility, and demanded that the mantle, which was the only object of litigation, be sequestered.
It was longer e're I reach'd the city than I thought of; but coming to the inn, I found Ascyltos half dead, and stretcht on a straw pallet, and fell on another my self, not able to utter a word: He missing the coat was in a great disorder, and hastily demanded of me, what was become of it: I on the other hand, scarce able to draw my breath, resolv'd him by my languishing eyes, what my tongue would not give me leave to speak: At length recovering by little and little, I plainly told him the ill luck I had met with: But he thought I jested, and tho' the tears in my eyes might have been as full evidence to him as an oath, he yet questioned the truth of what I said, and would not believe but I had a mind to cheat him.
Ascyltos muffled his head in his coat, as having had a hint given him, how dangerous it was to take notice of what did not concern him. In the mean time Psyche took off her garters, and with one of them bound my feet, and with the other my hands. Thus fetter'd as I lay, "This, madam," said I, "is not the way to rid you of your ague."
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