Julius Caesar (6 page)

But Brutus had a rather longer rest on his mind – one that would last forever. He quietly asked Dardanius and Clitus if they would help him to die, but they were horrified and refused. So then he turned to Volumnius.

‘You know, I saw the ghost of Caesar last night,' he said. ‘I should have known then that we were going to lose. The hour of my death has come.'

‘That's not true, my lord,' said Volumnius, tears on his battle-stained cheeks.

‘Oh, but I'm sure it is, Volumnius,' said Brutus. Trumpets sounded in the distance, and they could hear the men hunting them calling to each other. ‘Our enemies have pushed me to the edge of the grave,' Brutus murmured. ‘And it would be far better if I leap myself
rather than wait for them to push me in.'

‘I just can't do it, my lord,' said Volumnius. ‘It's not a job for a friend.'

‘Quick, run, my lord!' Clitus hissed suddenly. ‘They're almost upon us!'

‘You go,' said Brutus. ‘Don't worry, I will follow you in a moment.'

Dardanius, Clitus and Volumnius ran off, but Brutus stayed where he was, and held Strato's arm. ‘Stay with me, Strato,' he said. ‘You're a good man, an honourable man. Will you hold my sword for me so that I can run on to it?'

‘Very well,' said Strato. ‘But give me your hand first.' Brutus did as he asked, and then handed Strato his sword. Strato held the blade straight out in front of him. ‘Farewell, my lord,' he said, turning his face away.

Brutus threw himself forward, gripping Strato's wrist to guide the sword into his own body. ‘Farewell, good Strato,' he moaned, and sank to the ground, his hands round the bloody
blade. ‘I hope you're satisfied now, Caesar,' he said as his eyes glazed over. ‘I'm killing myself far more willingly than I killed you…'

Then Brutus died, his last breath leaving him like a sigh of regret. Strato stood beside him, his head bowed, and barely looked up when Octavius and Antony arrived with their men. Messala was with them, having already been pardoned by Octavius, as were all the other surviving members of the plotters' army. Messala walked over to Strato and put an arm round his shoulder.

‘Tell me, Strato,' he said, his voice gentle. ‘How did Brutus die?'

‘I held his sword,' said Strato, almost choked. ‘And he ran onto it…'

‘This was the noblest Roman of them all,' said Mark Antony, taking off his helmet, the others doing the same. ‘The other conspirators were just jealous of Caesar, but Brutus believed he was acting for the good of Rome and its people. He lived a good life, and we could look
at him and say – this was a man!'

‘We'll give him the burial a man like him truly deserves,' said Octavius. ‘We'll put his body in my tent tonight, where he'll lie like a brave soldier.'

So six soldiers raised up his body, took the noble Brutus away.

And a lone Roman trumpet sounded the end of this terrible day.

Tony Bradman was born in London and still lives there. He has written a large number of books for children of all ages, including 25 titles about his most popular creation, Dilly the Dinosaur.
Dilly the Dinosaur
was made into a long-running TV series and one of the books was shortlisted for the Children's Book Award. Tony has also edited many anthologies of poetry and short stories.

Tony loves reading about the classical world and Roman history, and also going to see Shakespeare plays performed at the restored Globe Theatre on London's South Bank. So doing an adaptation of Shakespeare's famous play about Julius Caesar was the perfect job!

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HAKESPEARE
T
ODAY

S
HAKESPEARE
T
ODAY

S
HAKESPEARE
T
ODAY

S
HAKESPEARE
T
ODAY

This electronic edition published 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Text copyright © 2011 Tony Bradman

First published 2008 by
A & C Black
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
www.acblack.com

Illustrations copyright © 2011 Mark Oldroyd

The rights of Tony Bradman and Mark Oldroyd to be identified as author and illustrator of this work respectively have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

eISBN 9781408163795

A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

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