“I hope that you may. The book that disappeared from the study of the late Iphicrates; you said it was by Biton, and entitled On Engines of war?”
“That is so.”
“Might you have a copy?”
He nodded gravely. “Yes. We have copies made of every book that comes to the Library. This spares excessive handling of the more valuable originals.”
“Yet Iphicrates insisted upon the original?”
“He was most insistent. He said that he did not wish to cope with the inevitable copier’s errors.”
“I see. Might I have a look at a copy?”
“Certainly, Senator.” I followed him to a nook where scores of scrolls rested in their racks, labels dangling from their handles. He scanned the rack expertly and plucked a scroll from its resting place. It was a good deal smaller than the massive original I had seen in Iphicrates’s study.
“Is it in a single volume?” I asked.
“Yes, it isn’t a lengthy work. If you wish to peruse it, please unroll it carefully It probably hasn’t been looked into since it was made here nearly a century ago.”
“How does the Museum happen to have the original, since it was dedicated to Attalus I of Pergamum? I would think it would be among the Pergamese collection.” The rulers of Pergamum had founded a library in imitation of the Alexandrian, and in those days it still had a reputation second only to the original.
“An earlier Ptolemy … ah … borrowed it in order to have a copy made. Through an oversight, an excellent copy was returned, rather than the original.”
“Has this been a common oversight?” I asked.
“Well, we do have several thousand original manuscripts from that library.”
It figured. King or foot soldier, all Macedonians are thieves.
“There are a number of vacant tables, Senator, if you wish to read the book now.”
“Actually. I would rather take it to the embassy and read it at my leisure, if that is permitted.”
“We really prefer not to lend volumes outside the Library, Senator. Now that the original has disappeared, this is the only copy we have.”
“If my investigation is successful,” I said, “I think it very likely that I will be able to return the original to you.” I kept the scroll in a tight grip.
“Well, that being the case, and in view of our sovereign’s eagerness to please Rome in any way he may, I think we can make an exception in this case.”
“You have my heartiest thanks, and those of the Senate and People of Rome,” I assured him.
Back at the embassy. I called on Creticus. I found him going over correspondence from Rome and elsewhere in the Empire.
“If you don’t mind, sir, I think I’d like to take a few days to do some hunting.”
He looked up suspiciously. “Since when did you like to do anything more strenuous than watch other people race chariots? What are you up to?”
“I just need a bit of exercise. Too much of the good life, as it were.
“It’s not as if you do much necessary work around here. Will you take Julia with you?”
“I don’t think that would be proper, sir. We’re not married yet.”
“You’re concerned about respectability? Now I know you’re hiding something. What happened to this murder investigation of yours?”
“It will hold for a few days.”
“Go, then. Stay out of trouble.”
Hermes was no less amazed when I told him.
“Hunting?” he said. “You mean, hunting animals?”
“What else is there to hunt? Except for runaway slaves?”
“You’ve never done this before.”
“All the more reason to start now. Go find us some hunting gear. This place has clothing and equipment for every sort of activity. We leave tomorrow as soon as it’s light enough to see.” Muttering and shaking his head, he went to do my bidding.
I found a comfortable corner and a pitcher of wine and settled down to delve into Biton’s book. I slipped off its stiff leather cover and carefully began to unroll the crackling scroll. Unlike the original, this copy was made on Egyptian papyrus, another reason for its reduced bulk.
Biton began with a disquisition upon the history of war machines. These had been relatively rare and simple among the Babylonians and Egyptians and even rarer among the early Greeks. The Greek army that besieged Troy had not used them except for the wooden horse, which was not the same thing. But as men increasingly fought over fortified cities, these engines became necessary. At first they were mere towers for storming walls, covered galleries on wheels to protect rammers, and the various forms of missile-hurling device. Alexander’s battles had mostly been of the open-field sort, and he had rarely resorted to engines.