Page:The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (1922), vol. 1.djvu/328

Yet it flows for common use. Shall love alone, then, be stolen, rather than be regarded as a prize to be won? No, indeed! I desire no possession unless the world envies me for possessing it. A solitary old man can scarcely become a serious rival; even should he wish to take advantage, he would lose it through lack of breath.” When, but without any confidence, I had arrived at these conclusions, and beguiled my uneasy spirit, I covered my head with my tunic and began to feign sleep, when all of a sudden, as though Fortune were bent upon annihilating my peace of mind, a voice upon the ship’s deck gritted out something like this—“So he fooled me after all.”—As this voice, which was a man’s, and was only too familiar, struck my ears, my heart fluttered. And then a woman, equally furious, spat out more spitefully still—“If only some god would put Giton into my hands, what a fine time I would give that runaway.”—Stunned by these unexpected words, we both turned pale