SLAYERS OF INNOCENT BABES
Merciless soldiers; ye yourselves shall not receive mercy!"
The soldiers took fright and spurred their steeds and hastened. But the old Centurion was angry and scolded them, crying:
"For shame! Of whom are you afraid. Are soldiers of the mighty and godlike Emperor afraid of shadows. From whom do you flee? From a boy whom you killed, from a dead body raised to life by unclean charms! Pull yourselves together, men, and remember that the Roman arms triumph not only over our enemies, but over the enchantments of the enemy also."
The soldiers took shame. At the bidding of the Centurion they came to a halt. They were still and listened to the noises of the night. Some one was distinctly on their tracks following after them, waiting and denouncing. No shape was seen in the darkness or upon the vague shadowiness of the landscape, but a small intense voice of a child cried out incessantly.
"Let us find out who it is," said one soldier, and the troop spurred their horses across the waste in the direction of the sound. And when they had lost sight of the road they came suddenly upon a strange child running on the heath, his garments
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