Surely there are dogs in Rome ?" "Plenty," Tanno assured him.
"Haven't you ever seen a vicious dog fly at Hedulio ?" Muso pursued.
"Many a time," Tanno admitted.
"Did you ever see one bite him ?" Muso asked.
"Never!" Tanno affirmed.
"Can you recall what happened ?" queried Muso.
Tanno rubbed his chin.
"It seems to me," he said, "that every time I saw a snarling cur or an open-mouthed watch-dog rush at Caius, the dog slowed his rush before he reached him, circled about him, sniffing, and trotted back where he came from." "Did you never see Hedulio beckon such a dog, handle and gentle him, even pet him." "Once I did, as I now recall," Tanno confessed, "yet I thought nothing of it at the time and forgot it at once." "Probably," Muso conjectured, "you thought the dog was only pretending to be cross and was really tame." "Just about that, I suppose," Tanno ruminated.
"Well," said Muso, "I take it that any one of the dogs you saw run at Hedulio was affected by him just as was the bull this afternoon; each began by acting towards him as he would have towards any other man; each was cowed and tendered mild by the nearer sight of him.

That is the way Hedulio affects all animals whatever." "Tell us some cases you have seen yourself," Tanno suggested.
"I fear your skepticism, even your derision," Muso demurred.
"I haven't a trace of either left in me by now," Tanno declared.

"What you say has knocked the mental wind out of me, so to speak, and I see that the others feel as you do and seem to have similar ideas to express.

I vow I believe you, gentlemen, though something inside me is still numb with amazement.

Tell us, Juventius, the biggest story you know of these alleged powers of our Caius." "I told you so," said Muso.