Page:Private Life-1925.djvu/22
IV
The wind was against them, and the men were at the oars. Menelaos sat near the helmsman, and Helen before him, her face bare to the window. The rowers looked up at her, not as in anger at one who had brought on them war and labor, but curiously at first, then with understanding and awe, as though there were a blessing in the boat. Menelaos watched the change in their gaze, and wondered why he had come to Troy, anyway—and remembered why.
Helen shifted her position, for the first time in hours, and looked in his eyes. The oarsmen looked up at him, too; they forgot to row.
"Menelaos," she said, "you should have offered sacrifices. There is something very strange about this boat."
"On the contrary," he replied, "this boat is perhaps the only thing here which is beyond criticism. The wind is unfavorable, but the men row well, except when you distract them."
"In Troy at this moment, or somewhere along the shore," she said, "Agamemnon offers up prayers which I dare say will be effective; he will doubtless reach home. Our own prospect seems to me uncertain. You know my point of view—I have no love for adventure unless I know where I'm going."
"We are going to Sparta," he said.