"Yes, Goddess," came Hercules' willing reply.
Dinah had been testing Hercules to see if he would submit to her even if she threatened to interfere with his plans. And from what she could tell, he was completely and willingly her property to do with whatever she wanted. But just to be safe, she decided not to make good on her threat.
Later that morning, Dinah rode on Hercules' shoulders to meet Cythoe at the grinding wheel. Cythoe smiled when she glimpsed Dinah's means of transportation.
"He is a very useful slave isn't he?" Cythoe piped.
"Yes, indeed he is," came Dinah's proud response.
"We have ten slaves on the grinding wheel from sunup to sundown. We switch them for ten others halfway through the day. But no matter who we put on this wheel, we cannot seem to grind enough grain in one day's time. I think your big strong slave, Dirt, should be able to change that for us if we put him on the wheel in place of one of the other slaves."
"No!" said Dinah emphatically.
A look of utter surprise came across the face of Cythoe. A similar look came across the face of Hercules even though his face was hidden from view, because his head was bowed down as his neck still bore some of Dinah's seated weight.
"No!" said Dinah emphatically again.
"But I thought we had a deal. I vouched for you and your slave. You only have those bounteous quarters because of my word. I refuse to have my reputation tarnished by a newcomer!" said Cythoe with a look of dire seriousness on her face.
Dinah smiled calculatingly. "How much do those slaves earn for their mistresses by pushing the grinding wheel?"
"This is one of the hardest jobs in the village. They earn two denarius each per shift."
"So one slave earns two denarius for every half-day worked?"
"Yes, the only job that pays more is bridge building, because it is such dangerous work. A mistress needs to be compensated well, just in case her slave is injured or killed while building the bridge."
"And how much does that pay?"
"It pays five denarius per half-day shift."
Dinah looked down at Hercules with a devious smile and then back up at Cythoe who still had an intense look on her face.
"When I said no, I didn't mean no to putting Dirt on the grinding wheel. When I said no, I meant no to replacing only one slave with him. I want more than the paltry wage of one worker."
"Then how many of the slaves did you want Dirt to stand in for?"
"All of them."
Cythoe was stunned. "That's impossible! I admit that Dirt is very strong, but no slave can possibly do the work of ten others. Besides, I want to increase the output, not reduce it."
Dinah smiled a knowing smile. "I'll guarantee that Dirt will not only crush your target amount of grain for the day, but he will do so in only one half-day shift. And I want the wage of all ten slaves for two shifts when he does. That should work out to forty denarius for the day."
Cythoe stared in disbelief. "Even if Dirt could somehow do that, he would be so worn out that he would have to be put down."
"You let me worry about how worn out Dirt will be. Do we have a deal?"
Cythoe paused in thought for a moment. "Well, you have been right about him so far. But I can't see how any slave could do what you claim Dirt can do."
"Listen, I know you put your reputation on the line for me, and I appreciate it, Cythoe. I won't let you down. If Dirt doesn't do everything I say he will, you can have him to do whatever you wish to him, and I will leave the village for good. But if he does what I claim he will, imagine the credibility it will lend to your word and reputation."
Cythoe again took pause. Finally, "Ok, it's a deal."
Dinah kicked her heels into Hercules' sides and he lowered himself to gently place Dinah on the ground. Cythoe dismissed the other slaves and chained Hercules to the wheel.
Dinah approached Hercules and whispered in his ear, "I know that even this will be nothing for you. But when you finish today's work, be sure to act as if you are completely exhausted. I have a nice little punishment planned for you to make me look good in front of the Amazons."
Hercules nodded and said, "Yes, Goddess."
Dinah smiled and turned to Cythoe. The two women walked off toward the rest of the village. It was time for Dinah's tour.
Hercules was briefly distracted by the light conversation of the two women as they walked away. He was snapped back to attention by the crack of a whip across his back. The amazon woman who was responsible for watching over the grinding wheel slaves was intent on meeting her quota for the day, and she was none too happy about the deal that Dinah had made with Cythoe. But she was determined to work Hercules to the bone as quickly as possible so she could get a replacement set of slaves to grind the grain.
Hercules turned his attention to the grinding wheel and he began to push, slowly at first, because he wanted to experience the sting of the whip wielded by his womanly taskmaster. She obliged with harsh intent and after about ten lashes, Hercules was pushing the wheel about twice as fast as all ten of the other slaves would have pushed the wheel.
The amazon watching Hercules was very pleased with his pace so she stopped lashing him. Hercules knew he could maintain this pace with ease indefinitely. So he settled into a groove and let his thoughts drift to his dream of the Amazon Queen on her throne of men.
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