Death Of A Gladiator

Death Of A Gladiator Part 4

CHAPTER 4

They brought him from the arena.

In death, as in life, the Gaul looked supreme.

I have seen death hundreds of times. I train men to kill, prepare men for death .... I have seen men cut, gutted, stabbed, decapitated, disembowelled, and crippled ....

Yet nothing could compare to the sight of the invincible Gaul.

Cinxor, idol of the crowd ... dead, at his last contest ......

I couldn't see a spot of blood or a scratch on him.

The two doctores, Lucius and Paulus, who had brought the body inside, were as shocked as I. They stood, gawking and gaping at the lifeless form.

"Get him into his cell!" I was in a vile temper now. A very promising day was now ruined. With Cinxor's death, my profit was gone. I would be lucky if I broke even.

"Hurry, you idiots! Take him there and put a guard on the door. Examine him."

"Master," said Lucius, "will you not examine him alone first?"

I hesitated. I trusted Lucius and Paulus. But it was better if I did it myself. I wanted to know why my most valuable asset had died.

They lifted Cinxor. I followed them to his cell.

*****

They dropped him roughly onto his litter, then stood there, still gawking.

"Get out of here!" I yelled. "Make yourselves useful! Notify my Secretary. Tell him to inform Cinxor's woman and give her a purse from my private funds. Keep the other women locked up. Make sure that the Governor sends soldiers in case of a riot."

They scuttled away.

All the gladiators not fighting that day were locked in their cells anyway. Since Spartacus broke out of the gladiator school at Capua, and started a rebellion, even though years ago, no Lanista would take a chance on a riot. Especially as the Gaul was very popular amongst most of his comrades.

I bent and examined the man. No obvious wounds on his chest, neck or stomach. Short and fat as I am, it took all my strength to roll him over; I examined him, back and sides.

Not a single wound anywhere. Plenty of old scars, but not even a week-old scratch.

I rolled him over again, sweating and cursing. Men without wounds had been known to drop dead in the arena, but only after an exhausting fight. The doctores said that sometimes the heart gave way.

I could not believe it of Cinxor. That huge heart would have withstood a battering ram.

I prised open his lips; his huge teeth grinned back at me. I jammed my fingers inside and with much cursing, managed to pull his jaws apart, to gaze inside the deep cave of his mouth.

Nothing. No wounds, no sores .... not even a decayed tooth.

I wiped my hands on my cloak and began searching his cell. For something. Anything.

But the mighty Gaul led a very simple life. A chair, his cot, a small table. Some old wooden practice swords in a corner. Some gifts of clothing and cheap metal clasps from his woman.

Few possessions. The simple things of a simple man.

A spare pair of sandals. An old cloak. A pair of winter breeches and a heavy shirt.

He was trusted. Almost due for his pardon and freedom, I'd allowed him to moonlight as a debt collector and hired thug; his earnings were safe in my office. 

 More often than not, he'd moonlighted with some delighted senators wives too. But that was none of my business.

I had also paid him small bonuses. Those, plus, some combat prizes .. coins, trinkets, gifts..... were in safe keeping in my office. And there was nothing here that anyone could want to steal.

I saw something on the floor. I bent and picked it up. It was a piece of wax, part of the seal of a letter.

I put it in my purse.

I was about to leave him when something else caught my attention.

Cinxor's huge hands.

One was open, relaxed in death.

The other was a giant fist.

Something was in there.

Something, in death, he could not release.

I prized his fingers apart. Rigor of death hadn't set in. Yet his thick fingers were clenched hard. By holding down his thumb with one hand and pulling at his fingers with the other, I managed to get them apart.

Out rolled the object he'd been fiercely guarding.

But it was only a one sesterce coin.

Continued next week..............