{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_5746/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_5746","id":"gutenberg_5746","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5746","summary":null,"tags":["Adventure","Category: Adventure","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Novels","Movie Books","Quatermain, Allan (Fictitious character) -- Fiction"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nThe Ancient Allan\n\nby H. Rider Haggard\n\nFirst Published 1920.\n\n\nContents\n\n CHAPTER I. AN OLD FRIEND\n CHAPTER II. RAGNALL CASTLE\n CHAPTER III. ALLAN GIVES HIS WORD\n CHAPTER IV. THROUGH THE GATES \n CHAPTER V. THE WAGER\n CHAPTER VI. THE DOOM OF THE BOAT\n CHAPTER VII. BES STEALS THE SIGNET\n CHAPTER VIII. THE LADY AMADA\n CHAPTER IX. THE MESSENGERS\n CHAPTER X. SHABAKA PLIGHTS HIS TROTH\n CHAPTER XI.  THE HOLY TANOFIR\n CHAPTER XII. THE SLAYING OF IDERNES\n CHAPTER XIII. AMADA RETURNS TO ISIS\n CHAPTER XIV. SHABAKA FIGHTS THE CROCODILE\n CHAPTER XV. THE SUMMONS\n CHAPTER XVI. TANOFIR FINDS HIS BROKEN CUP\n CHAPTER XVII. THE BATTLE\u2014AND AFTER\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\nAN OLD FRIEND\n\n\nNow I, Allan Quatermain, come to the weirdest (with one or two\nexceptions perhaps) of all the experiences which it has amused me to\nemploy my idle hours in recording here in a strange land, for after all\nEngland is strange to me. I grow elderly. I have, as I suppose, passed\nthe period of enterprise and adventure and I should be well satisfied\nwith the lot that Fate has given to my unworthy self.\n\nTo begin with, I am still alive and in health when by all the rules I\nshould have been dead many times over. I suppose I ought to be thankful\nfor that but, before expressing an opinion on the point, I should have\nto be quite sure whether it is better to be alive or dead. The\nreligious plump for the latter, though I have never observed that the\nreligious are more eager to die than the rest of us poor mortals.\n\nFor instance, if they are told that their holy hearts are wrong, they\nspend time and much money in rushing to a place called Nauheim in\nGermany, to put them right by means of water-drinking, thereby\nshortening their hours of heavenly bliss and depriving their heirs of a\ncertain amount of cash. The same thing applies to Buxton in my own\nneighbourhood and gout, especially when it threatens the stomach or the\nthroat. Even archbishops will do these things, to say nothing of such\nsmall fry as deans, or stout and prominent lay figures of the Church.\n\nFrom common sinners like myself such conduct might be expected, but in\nthe case of those who are obviously poised on the topmost rungs of the\nJacobean\u2014I mean, the heavenly\u2014ladder, it is legitimate to inquire why\nthey show such reluctance in jumping off. As a matter of fact the only\npersons that, individually, I have seen quite willing to die, except\nnow and again to save somebody else whom they were so foolish as to\ncare for more than they did for themselves, have been not those \u201cupon\nwhom the light has shined\u201d to quote an earnest paper I chanced to read\nthis morning, but, to quote again, \u201cthe sinful heathen wandering in\ntheir native blackness,\u201d by which I understand the writer to refer to\ntheir moral state and not to their sable skins wherein for the most\npart they are also condemned to wander, that is if they happen to have\nbeen born south of a certain degree of latitude.\n\nTo come to facts, the staff of Faith which each must shape for himself,\nis often hewn from unsuitable kinds of wood, yes, even by the very best\namong us. Willow, for instance, is pretty and easy to cut, but try to\nsupport yourself with it on the edge of a precipice and see where you\nare. Then of a truth you will long for ironbark, or even homely oak. I\nmight carry my parable further, some allusions to the proper material\nof which to fashion the helmet of Salvation suggest themselves to me\nfor example, but I won\u2019t.\n\nThe truth is that we fear to die because all the religions are full of\nuncomfortable hints as to what may happen to us afterwards as a reward\nfor our deviations from their laws and we half believe in something,\nwhereas often the savage, not being troubled with religion, fears less,\nbecause he half believes in nothing. For very few inhabitants of this\nearth can attain either to complete belief or to its absolute opposite.\nThey can seldom lay their hands upon their hearts, and say they _know_\nthat they will live for ever, or sleep for ever; there remains in the\ncase of most honest men an element of doubt in either hypothesis.\n\nThat is what makes this story of mine so interesting, at any rate to\nme, since it does seem to suggest that whether or no I have a future,\nas personally I hold to be the case and not altogether without\nevidence, certainly I have had a past, though, so far as I know, in\nthis world only; a fact, if it be a fact, from which can be deduced all\nkinds of arguments according to the taste of the reasoner.\n\nAnd now for my experience, which it is only fair to add, may after all\nhave been no more than a long and connected dream. Yet how was I to\ndream of lands, events and people whereof I have only the vaguest\nknowledge, or none at all, unless indeed, as some say, being a part of\nthis world, we have hidden away somewhere in ourselves an acquaintance\nwith everything that has ever happened in the world. However, it does\nnot much matter and it is useless to discuss that which we cannot\nprove.\n\nHere at any rate is the story.\n\nIn a book or a record which I have written down and put away with\nothers under the title of \u201cThe Ivory Child,\u201d I have told the tale of a\ncertain expedition I made in company with Lord Ragnall. Its object was\nto search for his wife who was stolen away while travelling in Egypt in\na state of mental incapacity resulting from shock caused by the loss of\nher child under tragic and terrible circumstances. The thieves were the\npriests of a certain bastard Arab tribe who, on account of a birthmark\nshaped like the young moon which was visible above her breast, believed\nher to be the priestess or oracle of their worship. This worship\nevidently had its origin in Ancient Egypt since, although they did not\nseem to know it, the priestess was nothing less than a personification\nof the great goddess Isis, and the Ivory Child, their fetish, was a\nstatue of the infant Horus, the fabled son of Isis and Osiris whom the\nEgyptians looked upon as the overcomer of Set or the Devil, the\nmurderer of Osiris before his resurrection and ascent to Heaven to be\nthe god of the dead.\n\nI need not set down afresh all that happened to us on this remarkable\nadventure. Suffice it to say that in the end we recovered the lady and\nthat her mind was restored to her. Before she left the Kendah country,\nhowever, the priesthood presented her with two ancient rolls of\npapyrus, also with a quantity of a certain herb, not unlike tobacco in\nappearance, which by the Kendah was called _Taduki_. Once, before we\ntook our great homeward journey across the desert, Lady Ragnall and I\nhad a curious conversation about this herb whereof the property is to\ncause the person who inhales its fumes to become clairvoyant, or to\ndream dreams, whichever the truth may be. It was used for this purpose\nin the mystical ceremonies of the Kendah religion when under its\ninfluence the priestess or oracle of the Ivory Child was wont to\nannounce divine revelations. During her tenure of this office Lady\nRagnall was frequently subjected to the spell of the _Taduki_ vapour,\nand said strange things, some of which I heard with my own ears. Also\nmyself once I experienced its effects and saw a curious vision, whereof\nmany of the particulars were afterwards translated into facts.\n\nNow the conversation which I have mentioned was shortly to the effect,\nthat she, Lady Ragnall, believed a time would come when she or I or\nboth of us, were destined to imbibe these _Taduki_ fumes and see\nwonderful pictures of some past or future existence in which we were\nboth concerned. This knowledge, she declared, had come to her while she\nwas officiating in an apparently mindless condition as the priestess of\nthe Kendah god called the Ivory Child.\n\nAt the time I did not think it wise to pursue so exciting a subject\nwith a woman whose mind had been recently unbalanced, and afterwards in\nthe stress of new experiences, I forgot all about the matter, or at any\nrate only thought of it very rarely.\n\nOnce, however, it did recur to me with some force. Shortly after I came\nto England to spend my remaining days far from the temptations of\nadventure, I was beguiled into becoming a steward of a Charity dinner\nand, what was worse, into attending the said dinner. Although its\nobjects were admirable, it proved one of the most dreadful functions in\nwhich I was ever called upon to share. There was a vast number of\npeople, some of them highly distinguished, who had come to support the\nCharity or to show off their Orders, I don\u2019t know which, and others\nlike myself, not at all distinguished, just common subscribers, who had\nno Orders and stood about the crowded room like waiters looking for a\njob.\n\nAt the dinner, which was very bad, I sat at a table so remote that I\ncould hear but little of the interminable speeches, which was perhaps\nfortunate for me. In these circumstances I drifted into conversation\nwith my neighbour, a queer, wizened, black-bearded man who somehow or\nother had found out that I was acquainted with the wilder parts of\nAfrica. He proved to be a wealthy scientist whose passion it was to\nstudy the properties of herbs, especially of such as grow in the\ninterior of South America where he had been travelling for some years.\n\nPresently he mentioned a root named Yag\u00e9, known to the Indians which,\nwhen pounded up into a paste and taken in the form of pills, had the\neffect of enabling the patient to see events that were passing at a\ndistance. Indeed he alleged that a vision thus produced had caused him\nto return home, since in it he saw that some relative of his, I think a\ntwin-sister, was dangerously ill. In fact, however, he might as well\nhave stayed away, as he only arrived in London on the day after her\nfuneral.\n\nAs I saw that he was really interested in the subject and observed that\nhe was a very temperate man who did not seem to be romancing, I told\nhim something of my experiences with _Taduki_, to which he listened\nwith a kind of rapt but suppressed excitement. When I affected\ndisbelief in the whole business, he differed from me almost rudely,\nasking why I rejected phenomena simply because I was too dense to\nunderstand them. I answered perhaps because such phenomena were\ninconvenient and upset one\u2019s ideas. To this he replied that all\nprogress involved the upsetting of existent ideas. Moreover he implored\nme, if the chance should ever come my way, to pursue experiments with\n_Taduki_ fumes and let him know the results.\n\nHere our conversation came to an end for suddenly a band that was\nbraying near by, struck up \u201cGod save the Queen,\u201d and we hastily\nexchanged cards and parted. I only mention it because, had it not\noccurred, I think it probable that I should never have been in a\nposition to write this history.\n\nThe remarks of my acquaintance remained in my mind and influenced it so\nmuch that when the occasion came, I did as a kind of duty what, however\nmuch I was pressed, I am almost sure I should never have done for any\nother reason, just because I thought that I ought to take an\nopportunity of trying to discover what was the truth of the matter. As\nit chanced it was quick in coming.\n\nHere I should explain that I attended the dinner of which I have spoken\nnot very long after a very lengthy absence from England, whither I had\ncome to live when King Solomon\u2019s Mines had made me rich. Therefore it\nhappened that between the conclusion of my Kendah adventure some years\nbefore and this time I saw nothing and heard little of Lord and Lady\nRagnall. Once a rumour did reach me, however, I think through Sir Henry\nCurtis or Captain Good, that the former had died as a result of an\naccident. What the accident was my informant did not know and as I was\njust starting on a far journey at the time, I had no opportunity of\nmaking inquiries. My talk with the botanical scientist determined me to\ndo so; indeed a few days later I discovered from a book of reference\nthat Lord Ragnall was dead, leaving no heir; also that his wife\nsurvived him.\n\nI was working myself up to write to her when one morning the postman\nbrought me here at the Grange a letter which had \u201cRagnall Castle\u201d\nprinted on the flap of the envelope. I did not know the writing which\nwas very clear and firm, for as it chanced, to the best of my\nrecollection, I had never seen that of Lady Ragnall. Here is a copy of\nthe letter it contained:\n\n\u201cMY DEAR MR. QUATERMAIN,\u2014Very strangely I have just seen at a meeting\nof the Horticultural Society, a gentleman who declares that a few days\nago he sat next to you at some public dinner. Indeed I do not think\nthere can be any doubt for he showed me your card which he had in his\npurse with a Yorkshire address upon it.\n\n\u201cA dispute had arisen as to whether a certain variety of Crinum lily\nwas first found in Africa, or Southern America. This gentleman, an\nauthority upon South American flora, made a speech saying that he had\nnever met with it there, but that an acquaintance of his, Mr.\nQuatermain, to whom he had spoken on the subject, said that he had seen\nsomething of the sort in the interior of Africa.\u201d (This was quite true\nfor I remembered the incident.) \u201cAt the tea which followed the meeting\nI spoke to this gentleman whose name I never caught, and to my\nastonishment learnt that he must have been referring to you whom I\nbelieved to be dead, for so we were told a long time ago. This seemed\ncertain, for in addition to the evidence of the name, he described your\npersonal appearance and told me that you had come to live in England.\n\n\u201cMy dear friend, I can assure you it is long since I heard anything\nwhich rejoiced me so much. Oh! as I write all the past comes back,\nflowing in upon me like a pent-up flood of water, but I trust that of\nthis I shall soon have an opportunity of talking to you. So let it be\nfor a while.\n\n\u201cAlas! my friend, since we parted on the shores of the Red Sea, tragedy\nhas pursued me. As you will know, for both my husband and I wrote to\nyou, although you did not answer the letters\u201d (I never received them),\n\u201cwe reached England safely and took up our old life again, though to\ntell you the truth, after my African experiences things could never be\nquite the same to me, or for the matter of that to George either. To a\ngreat extent he changed his pursuits and certain political ambitions\nwhich he once cherished, seemed no longer to appeal to him. He became a\nstudent of past history and especially of Egyptology, which under all\nthe circumstances you may think strange, as I did. However it suited me\nwell enough, since I also have tastes that way. So we worked together\nand I can now read hieroglyphics as well as most people. One year he\nsaid that he would like to go to Egypt again, if I were not afraid. I\nanswered that it had not been a very lucky place for us, but that\npersonally I was not in the least afraid and longed to return there.\nFor as you know, I have, or think I have, ties with Egypt and indeed\nwith all Africa. Well, we went and had a very happy time, although I\nwas always expecting to see old Har\u00fbt come round the corner.\n\n\u201cAfter this it became a custom with us who, since George practically\ngave up shooting and attending the House of Lords, had nothing to keep\nus in England, to winter in Egypt. We did this for five years in\nsuccession, living in a bungalow which we built at a place in the\ndesert, not far from the banks of the Nile, about half way between\nLuxor which was the ancient Thebes, and Assouan. George took a great\nfancy to this spot when first he saw it, and so in truth did I, for,\nlike Memphis, it attracted me so much that I used to laugh and say I\nbelieved that once I had something to do with it.\n\n\u201cNow near to our villa that we called \u2018Ragnall\u2019 after this house, are\nthe remains of a temple which were almost buried in the sand. This\ntemple George obtained permission to excavate. It proved to be a long\nand costly business, but as he did not mind spending the money, that\nwas no obstacle. For four winters we worked at it, employing several\nhundred men. As we went on we discovered that although not one of the\nlargest, the temple, owing to its having been buried by the sand\nduring, or shortly after the Roman epoch, remained much more perfect\nthan we had expected, because the early Christians had never got at it\nwith their chisels and hammers. Before long I hope to show you pictures\nand photographs of the various courts, etc., so I will not attempt to\ndescribe them now.\n\n\u201cIt is a temple to Isis\u2014built, or rather rebuilt over the remains of an\nolder temple on a site that seems to have been called Amada, at any\nrate in the later days, and so named after a city in Nubia, apparently\nby one of the Amen-hetep Pharaohs who had conquered it. Its style is\nbeautiful, being of the best period of the Egyptian Renaissance under\nthe last native dynasties.\n\n\u201cAt the beginning of the fifth winter, at length we approached the\nsanctuary, a difficult business because of the retaining walls that had\nto be built to keep the sand from flowing down as fast as it was\nremoved, and the great quantities of stuff that must be carried off by\nthe tramway. In so doing we came upon a shallow grave which appeared to\nhave been hastily filled in and roughly covered over with paving stones\nlike the rest of the court, as though to conceal its existence. In this\ngrave lay the skeleton of a large man, together with the rusted blade\nof an iron sword and some fragments of armour. Evidently he had never\nbeen mummified, for there were no wrappings, canopic jars, _ushapti_\nfigures or funeral offerings. The state of the bones showed us why, for\nthe right forearm was cut through and the skull smashed in; also an\niron arrow-head lay among the ribs. The man had been buried hurriedly\nafter a battle in which he had met his death. Searching in the dust\nbeneath the bones we found a gold ring still on one of the fingers. On\nits bezel was engraved the cartouche of \u2018Peroa, beloved of Ra.\u2019 Now\nPeroa probably means Pharaoh and perhaps he was Khabasha who revolted\nagainst the Persians and ruled for a year or two, after which he is\nsupposed to have been defeated and killed, though of his end and place\nof burial there is no record. Whether these were the remnants of\nKhabasha himself, or of one of his high ministers or generals who wore\nthe King\u2019s cartouche upon his ring in token of his office, of course I\ncannot say.\n\n\u201cWhen George had read the cartouche he handed me the ring which I\nslipped upon the first finger of my left hand, where I still wear it.\nThen leaving the grave open for further examination, we went on with\nthe work, for we were greatly excited. At length, this was towards\nevening, we had cleared enough of the sanctuary, which was small, to\nuncover the shrine that, if not a monolith, was made of four pieces of\ngranite so wonderfully put together that one could not see the joints.\nOn the curved architrave as I think it is called, was carved the symbol\nof a winged disc, and beneath in hieroglyphics as fresh as though they\nhad only been cut yesterday, an inscription to the effect that Peroa,\nRoyal Son of the Sun, gave this shrine as an \u2018excellent eternal work,\u2019\ntogether with the statues of the Holy Mother and the Holy Child to the\n\u2018emanations of the great Goddess Isis and the god Horus,\u2019 Amada, Royal\nLady, being votaress or high-priestess.\n\n\u201cWe only read the hieroglyphics very hurriedly, being anxious to see\nwhat was within the shrine that, the cedar door having rotted away, was\nfilled with fine, drifted sand. Basketful by basketful we got it out\nand then, my friend, there appeared the most beautiful life-sized\nstatue of Isis carved in alabaster that ever I have seen. She was\nseated on a throne-like chair and wore the vulture cap on which traces\nof colour remained. Her arms were held forward as though to support a\nchild, which perhaps she was suckling as one of the breasts was bare.\nBut if so, the child had gone. The execution of the statue was\nexquisite and its tender and mystic face extraordinarily beautiful, so\nlife-like also that I think it must have been copied from a living\nmodel. Oh! my friend, when I looked upon it, which we did by the light\nof the candles, for the sun was sinking and shadows gathered in that\nexcavated hole, I felt\u2014never mind what I felt\u2014perhaps _you_ can guess\nwho know my history.\n\n\u201cWhile we stared and stared, I longing to go upon my knees, I knew not\nwhy, suddenly I felt a faint trembling of the ground. At the same\nmoment, the head overseer of the works, a man called Achmet, rushed up\nto us, shouting out\u2014\u2018Back! Back! The wall has burst. The sand runs!\u2019\n\n\u201cHe seized me by the arm and dragged me away beside of and behind the\ngrave, George turning to follow. Next instant I saw a kind of wave of\nsand, on the crest of which appeared the stones of the wall, curl over\nand break. It struck the shrine, overturned and shattered it, which\nmakes me think it was made of four pieces, and shattered also the\nalabaster statue within, for I saw its head strike George upon the back\nand throw him forward. He reeled and fell into the open grave which in\nanother moment was filled and covered with the d\u00e9bris that seemed to\ngrip me to my middle in its flow. After this I remembered nothing more\nuntil hours later I found myself lying in our house.\n\n\u201cAchmet and his Egyptians had done nothing; indeed none of them could\nbe persuaded to approach the place till the sun rose because, as they\nsaid, the old gods of the land whom they looked upon as devils, were\nangry at being disturbed and would kill them as they had killed the\nBey, meaning George. Then, distracted as I was, I went myself for there\nwas no other European there, to find that the whole site of the\nsanctuary was buried beneath hundreds of tons of sand, that, beginning\nat the gap in the broken wall, had flowed from every side. Indeed it\nwould have taken weeks to dig it out, since to sink a shaft was\nimpracticable and so dangerous that the local officials refused to\nallow it to be attempted. The end of it was that an English bishop came\nup from Cairo and consecrated the ground by special arrangement with\nthe Government, which of course makes it impossible that this part of\nthe temple should be further disturbed. After this he read the Burial\nService over my dear husband.\n\n\u201cSo there is the end of a very terrible story which I have written down\nbecause I do not wish to have to talk about it more than is necessary\nwhen we meet. For, dear Mr. Quatermain, we shall meet, as I always knew\nthat we should\u2014yes, even after I heard that you were dead. You will\nremember that I told you so years ago in Kendah Land and that it would\nhappen after a great change in my life, though what that change might\nbe I could not say....\u201d\n\nThis is the end of the letter except for certain suggested dates for\nthe visit which she took for granted I should make to Ragnall.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\nRAGNALL CASTLE\n\n\nWhen I had finished reading this amazing document I lit my pipe and set\nto work to think it over. The hypothetical inquirer might ask why I\nthought it amazing. There was nothing odd in a dilettante Englishman of\nhighly cultivated mind taking to Egyptology and, being, as it chanced,\none of the richest men in the kingdom, spending a fraction of his\nwealth in excavating temples. Nor was it strange that he should have\nhappened to die by accident when engaged in that pursuit, which I can\nimagine to be very fascinating in the delightful winter climate of\nEgypt. He was not the first person to be buried by a fall of sand. Why,\nonly a little while ago the same fate overtook a nursery-governess and\nthe child in her charge who were trying to dig out a martin\u2019s nest in a\npit in this very parish. Their operations brought down a huge mass of\nthe overhanging bank beneath which the sand-vein had been hollowed by\nworkmen who deserted the pit when they saw that it had become unsafe.\nNext day I and my gardeners helped to recover their bodies, for their\nwhereabouts was not discovered until the following morning, and a sad\nbusiness it was.\n\nYet, taken in conjunction with the history of this couple, the whole\nRagnall affair was very strange. When but a child Lady Ragnall, then\nthe Hon. Miss Holmes, had been identified by the priests of a remote\nAfrican tribe as the oracle of their peculiar faith, which we\nafterwards proved to be derived from old Egypt, in short the worship of\nIsis and Horus. Subsequently they tried to steal her away and through\nthe accident of my intervention, failed. Later on, after her marriage\nwhen shock had deprived her of her mind, these priests renewed the\nattempt, this time in Egypt, and succeeded. In the end we rescued her\nin Central Africa, where she was playing the part of the Mother-goddess\nIsis and even wearing her ancient robes. Next she and her husband came\nhome with their minds turned towards a branch of study that took them\nback to Egypt. Here they devote themselves to unearthing a temple and\nfind out that among all the gods of Egypt, who seem to have been\nextremely numerous, it was dedicated to Isis and Horus, the very\ndivinities with whom they recently they had been so intimately\nconcerned if in traditional and degenerate forms.\n\nMoreover that was not the finish of it. They come to the sanctuary.\nThey discover the statue of the goddess with the child gone, as their\nchild was gone. A disaster occurs and both destroys and buries Ragnall\nso effectually that nothing of him is ever seen again: he just vanishes\ninto another man\u2019s grave and remains there.\n\nA common sort of catastrophe enough, it is true, though people of\nsuperstitious mind might have thought that it looked as though the\ngoddess, or whatever force was behind the goddess, was working\nvengeance on the man who desecrated her ancient shrine. And, by the\nway, though I cannot remember whether or no I mentioned it in \u201cThe\nIvory Child,\u201d I recall that the old priest of the Kendah, Har\u00fbt, once\ntold me he was sure Ragnall would meet with a violent death. This\nseemed likely enough in that country under our circumstances there,\nstill I asked him why. He answered,\n\n\u201cBecause he has laid hands on that which is holy and not meant for\nman,\u201d and he looked at Lady Ragnall.\n\nI remarked that all women were holy, whereon he replied that he did not\nthink so and changed the subject.\n\nWell, Ragnall, who had married the lady who once served as the last\npriestess of Isis upon earth, was killed, whereas she, the priestess,\nwas almost miraculously preserved from harm. And\u2014oh! the whole story\nwas deuced odd and that is all. Poor Ragnall! He was a great English\ngentleman and one whom when first I knew him, I held to be the most\nfortunate person I ever met, endowed as he was with every advantage of\nmind, body and estate. Yet in the end this did not prove to be the\ncase. Well, while he lived he was a good friend and a good fellow and\nnone can hope for a better epitaph in a world where all things are soon\nforgotten.\n\nAnd now, what was I to do? To tell the truth I did not altogether\ndesire to reopen this chapter in past history, or to have to listen to\npainful reminiscences from the lips of a bereaved woman. Moreover,\nbeautiful as she had been, for doubtless she was _pass\u00e9e_ now, and\ncharming as of course she remained\u2014I do not think I ever knew anyone\nwho was quite so charming\u2014there was something about Lady Ragnall which\nalarmed me. She did not resemble any other woman. Of course no woman is\never quite like another, but in her case the separateness, if I may so\ncall it, was very marked. It was as though she had walked out of a\ndifferent age, or even world, and been but superficially clothed with\nthe attributes of our own. I felt that from the first moment I set eyes\nupon her and while reading her letter the sensation returned with added\nforce.\n\nAlso for me she had a peculiar attraction and not one of the ordinary\nkind. It is curious to find oneself strangely intimate with a person of\nwhom after all one does not know much, just as if one really knew a\ngreat deal that was shut off by a thin but quite impassable door. If\nso, I did not want to open that door for who could tell what might be\non the other side of it? And intimate conversations with a lady in\nwhose company one has shared very strange experiences, not infrequently\nlead to the opening of every kind of door.\n\nFurther I had made up my mind some time ago to have no more friendships\nwith women who are so full of surprises, but to live out the rest of my\nlife in a kind of monastery of men who have few surprises, being\ncreatures whose thoughts are nearly always open and whose actions can\nalways be foretold.\n\nLastly there was that _Taduki_ business. Well, there at any rate I was\nclear and decided. No earthly power would induce me to have anything\nmore to do with _Taduki_ smoke. Of course I remembered that Lady\nRagnall once told me kindly but firmly that I would if she wished. But\nthat was just where she made a mistake. For the rest it seemed unkind\nto refuse her invitation now when she was in trouble, especially as I\nhad once promised that if ever I could be of help, she had only to\ncommand me. No, I must go. But if that word\u2014_Taduki_\u2014were so much as\nmentioned I would leave again in a hurry. Moreover it would not be, for\ndoubtless she had forgotten all about the stuff by now, even if it were\nnot lost.\n\nThe end of it was that as I did not wish to write a long letter\nentering into all that Lady Ragnall had told me, I sent her a telegram,\nsaying that if convenient to her, I would arrive at the Castle on the\nfollowing Saturday evening and adding that I must be back here on the\nTuesday afternoon, as I had guests coming to stay with me on that day.\nThis was perfectly true as the season was mid-November and I was to\nbegin shooting my coverts on the Wednesday morning, a function that\nonce fixed, cannot be postponed.\n\nIn due course an answer arrived\u2014\u201cDelighted, but hoped that you would\nhave been able to stay longer.\u201d\n\nBehold me then about six o\u2019clock on the said Saturday evening being\nonce more whirled by a splendid pair of horses through the gateway arch\nof Ragnall Castle. The carriage stopped beneath the portico, the great\ndoors flew open revealing the glow of the hall fire and lights within,\nthe footman sprang down from the box and two other footmen descended\nthe steps to assist me and my belongings out of the carriage. These, I\nremember, consisted of a handbag with my dress clothes and a\nyellow-backed novel.\n\nSo one of them took the handbag and the other had to content himself\nwith the novel, which made me wish I had brought a portmanteau as well,\nif only for the look of the thing. The pair thus burdened, escorted me\nup the steps and delivered me over to the butler who scanned me with a\ncritical eye. I scanned him also and perceived that he was a very fine\nspecimen of his class. Indeed his stately presence so overcame me that\nI remarked nervously, as he helped me off with my coat, that when last\nI was here another had filled his office.\n\n\u201cIndeed, Sir,\u201d he said, \u201cand what was his name, Sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cSavage,\u201d I replied.\n\n\u201cAnd where might he be now, Sir?\u201d\n\n\u201cInside a snake!\u201d I answered. \u201cAt least he was inside a snake but now I\nhope he is waiting upon his master in Heaven.\u201d\n\nThe man recoiled a little, pulling off my coat with a jerk. Then he\ncoughed, rubbed his bald head, stared and recovering himself with an\neffort, said,\n\n\u201cIndeed, Sir! I only came to this place after the death of his late\nlordship, when her ladyship changed all the household. Alfred, show\nthis gentleman up to her ladyship\u2019s boudoir, and William, take\nhis\u2014baggage\u2014to the blue room. Her ladyship wishes to see you at once,\nSir, before the others come.\u201d\n\nSo I went up the big staircase to a part of the Castle that I did not\nremember, wondering who \u201cthe others\u201d might be. Almost could I have\nsworn that the shade of Savage accompanied me up those stairs; I could\nfeel him at my side.\n\nPresently a door was thrown open and I was ushered into a room somewhat\ndimly lit and full of the scent of flowers. By the fire near a\ntea-table, stood a lady clad in some dark dress with the light glinting\non her rich-hued hair. She turned and I saw that she still wore the\nnecklace of red stones, and beneath it on her breast a single red\nflower. For this was Lady Ragnall; about that there was no doubt at\nall, so little doubt indeed that I was amazed. I had expected to see a\nstout, elderly woman whom I should only know by the colour of her eyes\nand her voice, and perhaps certain tricks of manner. But, this was the\nmischief of it, I could not perceive any change, at any rate in that\nlight. She was just the same! Perhaps a little fuller in figure, which\nwas an advantage; perhaps a little more considered in her movements,\nperhaps a little taller or at any rate more stately, and that was all.\n\nThese things I learned in a flash. Then with a murmured \u201cMr.\nQuatermain, my Lady,\u201d the footman closed the door and she saw me.\n\nMoving quickly towards me with both her hands outstretched, she\nexclaimed in that honey-soft voice of hers,\n\n\u201cOh! my dear friend\u2014\u2014\u201d stopped and added, \u201cWhy, you haven\u2019t changed a\nbit.\u201d\n\n\u201cFossils wear well,\u201d I replied, \u201cbut that is just what I was thinking\nof you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen it is very rude of you to call me a fossil when I am only\napproaching that stage. Oh! I am glad to see you. I _am_ glad!\u201d and she\ngave me both the outstretched hands.\n\nUpon my word I felt inclined to kiss her and have wondered ever since\nif she would have been very angry. I am not certain that she did not\ndivine the inclination. At any rate after a little pause she dropped my\nhands and laughed. Then she said,\n\n\u201cI must tell you at once. A most terrible catastrophe has happened\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\nInstantly it occurred to me that she had forgotten having informed me\nby letter of all the details of her husband\u2019s death. Such things chance\nto people who have once lost their memory. So I tried to look as\nsympathetic as I felt, sighed and waited.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s not so bad as all that,\u201d she said with a little shake of her\nhead, reading my thought as she always had the power to do from the\nfirst moment we met. \u201cWe can talk about _that_ afterwards. It\u2019s only\nthat I hoped we were going to have a quiet two days, and now the\nAtterby-Smiths are coming, yes, in half an hour. Five of them!\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Atterby-Smiths!\u201d I exclaimed, for somehow I too felt disappointed.\n\u201cWho are the Atterby-Smiths?\u201d\n\n\u201cCousins of George\u2019s, his nearest relatives. They think he ought to\nhave left them everything. But he didn\u2019t, because he could never bear\nthe sight of them. You see his property was unentailed and he left it\nall to me. Now the entire family is advancing to suggest that I should\nleave it to them, as perhaps I might have done if they had not chosen\nto come just now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you put them off?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cBecause I couldn\u2019t,\u201d she answered with a little stamp of her foot,\n\u201cotherwise do you suppose they would have been here? They were far too\nclever. They telegraphed after lunch giving the train by which they\nwere to arrive, but no address save Charing Cross. I thought of moving\nup to the Berkeley Square house, but it was impossible in the time,\nalso I didn\u2019t know how to catch you. Oh! it\u2019s _most_ vexatious.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps they are very nice,\u201d I suggested feebly.\n\n\u201cNice! Wait till you have seen them. Besides if they had been angels I\ndid not want them just now. But how selfish I am! Come and have some\ntea. And you can stop longer, that is if you live through the\nAtterby-Smiths who are worse than both the Kendah tribes put together.\nIndeed I wish old Har\u00fbt were coming instead. I should like to see Har\u00fbt\nagain, wouldn\u2019t you?\u201d and suddenly the mystical look I knew so well,\ngathered on her face.\n\n\u201cYes, perhaps I should,\u201d I replied doubtfully. \u201cBut I must leave by the\nfirst train on Tuesday morning; it goes at eight o\u2019clock. I looked it\nup.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen the Atterby-Smiths leave on Monday if I have to turn them out of\nthe house. So we shall get one evening clear at any rate. Stop a\nminute,\u201d and she rang the bell.\n\nThe footman appeared as suddenly as though he had been listening at the\ndoor.\n\n\u201cAlfred,\u201d she said, \u201ctell Moxley\u201d (he, I discovered, was the butler)\n\u201cthat when Mr. and Mrs. Atterby-Smith, the two Misses Atterby-Smith and\nthe young Mr. Atterby-Smith arrive, they are to be shown to their\nrooms. Tell the cook also to put off dinner till half-past eight, and\nif Mr. and Mrs. Scroope arrive earlier, tell Moxley to tell them that I\nam sorry to be a little late, but that I was delayed by some parish\nbusiness. Now do you understand?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, my Lady,\u201d said Alfred and vanished.\n\n\u201cHe doesn\u2019t understand in the least,\u201d remarked Lady Ragnall, \u201cbut so\nlong as he doesn\u2019t show the Atterby-Smiths up here, in which case he\ncan go away with them on Monday, I don\u2019t care. It will all work out\nsomehow. Now sit down by the fire and let\u2019s talk. We\u2019ve got nearly an\nhour and twenty minutes and you can smoke if you like. I learnt to in\nEgypt,\u201d and she took a cigarette from the mantelpiece and lit it.\n\nThat hour and twenty minutes went like a flash, for we had so much to\nsay to each other that we never even got to the things we wanted to\nsay. For instance, I began to tell her about King Solomon\u2019s Mines,\nwhich was a long story; and she to tell me what happened after we\nparted on the shores of the Red Sea. At least the first hour and a\nquarter went, when suddenly the door opened and Alfred in a somewhat\nfrightened voice announced\u2014\u201cMr. and Mrs. Atterby-Smith, the Misses\nAtterby-Smith and Mr. Atterby-Smith junior.\u201d\n\nThen he caught sight of his mistress\u2019s eye and fled.\n\nI looked and felt inclined to do likewise if only there had been\nanother door. But there wasn\u2019t and that which existed was quite full.\nIn the forefront came A.-S. senior, like a bull leading the herd.\nIndeed his appearance was bull-like as my eye, travelling from the\nexpanse of white shirt-front (they were all dressed for dinner) to his\nred and massive countenance surmounted by two horn-like tufts of\ncarroty hair, informed me at a glance. Followed Mrs. A.-S., the British\nmatron incarnate. Literally there seemed to be acres of her; black silk\nbelow and white skin above on which set in filigree floated big green\nstones, like islands in an ocean. Her countenance too, though stupid\nwas very stern and frightened me. Followed the progeny of this\nformidable pair. They were tall and thin, also red haired. The girls,\nwhose age I could not guess in the least, were exactly like each other,\nwhich was not strange as afterwards I discovered that they were twins.\nThey had pale blue eyes and somehow reminded me of fish. Both of them\nwere dressed in green and wore topaz necklaces. The young man who\nseemed to be about one or two and twenty, had also pale blue eyes, in\none of which he wore an eye-glass, but his hair was sandy as though it\nhad been bleached, parted in the middle and oiled down flat.\n\nFor a moment there was a silence which I felt to be dreadful. Then in a\nbig, pompous voice A.-S. _p\u00e8re_ said,\n\n\u201cHow do you do, my dear Luna? As I ascertained from the footman that\nyou had not yet gone to dress, I insisted upon his leading us here for\na little private conversation after we have been parted for so many\nyears. We wished to offer you our condolences in person on your and our\nstill recent loss.\u201d\n\n\u201cThank you,\u201d said Lady Ragnall, \u201cbut I think we have corresponded on\nthe subject which is painful to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI fear that we are interrupting a smoking party, Thomas,\u201d said Mrs.\nA.-S. in a cold voice, sniffing at the air for all the world like a\nsuspicious animal, whereon the five of them stared at Lady Ragnall\u2019s\ncigarette which she held between her fingers.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Lady Ragnall. \u201cWon\u2019t you have one? Mr. Quatermain, hand\nMrs. Smith the box, please.\u201d\n\nI obeyed automatically, proffering it to the lady who nearly withered\nme with a glance, and then to each to each in turn. To my relief the\nyoung man took one.\n\n\u201cArchibald,\u201d said his mother, \u201cyou are surely not going to make your\nsisters\u2019 dresses smell of tobacco just before dinner.\u201d\n\nArchibald sniggered and replied,\n\n\u201cA little more smoke will not make any difference in this room, Ma.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is true, darling,\u201d said Mrs. A.-S. and was straightway seized\nwith a fit of asthma.\n\nAfter this I am sure I don\u2019t know what happened, for muttering\nsomething about its being time to dress, I rushed from the room and\nwandered about until I could find someone to conduct me to my own where\nI lingered until I heard the dinner-bell ring. But even this retreat\nwas not without disaster, for in my hurry I trod upon one of the young\nlady\u2019s dresses; I don\u2019t know whether it was Dolly\u2019s or Polly\u2019s (they\nwere named Dolly and Polly) and heard a dreadful crack about her middle\nas though she were breaking in two. Thereon Archibald giggled again and\nDolly and Polly remarked with one voice\u2014they always spoke together,\n\n\u201cOh! clumsy!\u201d\n\nTo complete my misfortunes I missed my way going downstairs and strayed\nto and fro like a lost lamb until I found myself confronted by a green\nbaize door which reminded me of something. I stood staring at it till\nsuddenly a vision arose before me of myself following a bell wire\nthrough that very door in the darkness of the night when in search for\nthe late Mr. Savage upon a certain urgent occasion. Yes, there could be\nno doubt about it, for look! there was the wire, and strange it seemed\nto me that I should live to behold it again. Curiosity led me to push\nthe door open just to ascertain if my memory served me aright about the\nexact locality of the room. Next moment I regretted it for I fell\nstraight into the arms of either Polly or Dolly.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said she, \u201cI\u2019ve just been sewn up.\u201d\n\nI reflected that this was my case also in another sense, but asked\nfeebly if she knew the way downstairs.\n\nShe didn\u2019t; neither of us did, till at length we met Mrs. Smith coming\nto look for her.\n\nIf I had been a burglar she could not have regarded me with graver\nsuspicions. But at any rate _she_ knew the way downstairs. And there to\nmy joy I found my old friend Scroope and his wife, both of them grown\nstout and elderly, but as jolly as ever, after which the Smith family\nceased to trouble me.\n\nAlso there was the rector of the parish, Dr. Jeffreys and an absurdly\nyoung wife whom he had recently married, a fluffy-headed little thing\nwith round eyes and a cheerful, perky manner. The two of them together\nlooked exactly like a turkey-cock and a chicken. I remembered him well\nenough and to my astonishment he remembered me, perhaps because Lady\nRagnall, when she had hastily invited him to meet the Smith family,\nmentioned that I was coming. Lastly there was the curate, a dark, young\nman who seemed to be always brooding over the secrets of time and\neternity, though perhaps he was only thinking about his dinner or the\nnext day\u2019s services.\n\nWell, there we stood in that well-remembered drawing-room in which\nfirst I had made the acquaintance of Har\u00fbt and Mar\u00fbt; also of the\nbeautiful Miss Holmes as Lady Ragnall was then called. The Scroopes,\nthe Jeffreys and I gathered in one group and the Atterby-Smiths in\nanother like a force about to attack, while between the two, brooding\nand indeterminate, stood the curate, a neutral observer.\n\nPresently Lady Ragnall arrived, apologizing for being late. For some\nreason best known to herself she had chosen to dress as though for a\ngreat party. I believe it was out of mischief and in order to show Mrs.\nAtterby-Smith some of the diamonds she was firmly determined that\nfamily should never inherit. At any rate there she stood glittering and\nlovely, and smiled upon us.\n\nThen came dinner and once more I marched to the great hall in her\ncompany; Dr. Jeffreys got Mrs. Smith; Papa Smith got Mrs. Jeffreys who\nlooked like a Grecian maiden walking into dinner with the Minotaur;\nScroope got one of the Miss Smiths, she who wore a pink bow, the gloomy\ncurate got the other with a blue bow, and Archibald got Mrs. Scroope\nwho departed making faces at us over his shoulder.\n\n\u201cYou look very grand and nice,\u201d I said to Lady Ragnall as we followed\nthe others at a discreet distance.\n\n\u201cI am glad,\u201d she answered, \u201cas to the nice, I mean. As for the grand,\nthat dreadful woman is always writing to me about the Ragnall diamonds,\nso I thought that she should see some of them for the first and last\ntime. Do you know I haven\u2019t worn these things since George and I went\nto Court together, and I daresay shall never wear them again, for there\nis only one ornament I care for and I have got _that_ on under my\ndress.\u201d\n\nI stared and her and with a laugh said that she was very mischievous.\n\n\u201cI suppose so,\u201d she replied, \u201cbut I detest those people who are pompous\nand rude and have spoiled my party. Do you know I had half a mind to\ncome down in the dress that I wore as Isis in Kendah Land. I have got\nit upstairs and you shall see me in it before you go, for old time\u2019s\nsake. Only it occurred to me that they might think me mad, so I didn\u2019t.\nDr. Jeffreys, will you say grace, please?\u201d\n\nWell, it was a most agreeable dinner so far as I was concerned, for I\nsat between my hostess and Mrs. Scroope and the rest were too far off\nfor conversation. Moreover as Archibald developed an unexpected\nquantity of small talk, and Scroope on the other side amused himself by\nfilling pink-bow Miss Smith\u2019s innocent mind with preposterous stories\nabout Africa, as had happened to me once before at this table, Lady\nRagnall and I were practically left undisturbed.\n\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it strange that we should find ourselves sitting here again\nafter all these years, except that you are in my poor mother\u2019s place?\nOh! when that scientific gentleman convinced me the other day that you\nwhom I had heard were dead, were not only alive and well but actually\nin England, really I could have embraced him.\u201d\n\nI thought of an answer but did not make it, though as usual she read my\nmind for I saw her smile.\n\n\u201cThe truth is,\u201d she went on, \u201cI am an only child and really have no\nfriends, though of course being\u2014well, you know,\u201d and she glanced at the\njewels on her breast, \u201cI have plenty of acquaintances.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd suitors,\u201d I suggested.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she replied blushing, \u201cas many as Penelope, not one of whom\ncares twopence about me any more than I care for them. The truth is,\nMr. Quatermain, that nobody and nothing interest me, except a spot in\nthe churchyard yonder and another amid ruins in Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have had sad bereavements,\u201d I said looking the other way.\n\n\u201cVery sad and they have left life empty. Still I should not complain\nfor I have had my share of good. Also it isn\u2019t true to say that nothing\ninterests me. Egypt interests me, though after what has happened I do\nnot feel as though I could return there. All Africa interests me and,\u201d\nshe added dropping her voice, \u201cI can say it because I know you will not\nmisunderstand, you interest me, as you have always done since the first\nmoment I saw you.\u201d\n\n\u201c_I!_\u201d I exclaimed, staring at my own reflection in a silver plate\nwhich made me look\u2014well, more unattractive than usual. \u201cIt\u2019s very kind\nof you to say so, but I can\u2019t understand why I should. You have seen\nvery little of me, Lady Ragnall, except in that long journey across the\ndesert when we did not talk much, since you were otherwise engaged.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know. That\u2019s the odd part of it, for I feel as though I had seen you\nfor years and years and knew everything about you that one human being\ncan know of another. Of course, too, I do know a good lot of your life\nthrough George and Har\u00fbt.\u201d\n\n\u201cHar\u00fbt was a great liar,\u201d I said uneasily.\n\n\u201cWas he? I always thought him painfully truthful, though how he got at\nthe truth I do not know. Anyhow,\u201d she added with meaning, \u201cdon\u2019t\nsuppose I think the worse of you because others have thought so well.\nWomen who seem to be all different, generally, I notice, have this in\ncommon. If one or two of them like a man, the rest like him also\nbecause something in him appeals to the universal feminine instinct,\nand the same applies to their dislike. Now men, I think, are different\nin that respect.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps because they are more catholic and charitable,\u201d I suggested,\n\u201cor perhaps because they like those who like them.\u201d\n\nShe laughed in her charming way, and said,\n\n\u201cHowever these remarks do not apply to you and me, for as I think I\ntold you once before in that cedar wood in Kendah Land where you feared\nlest I should catch a chill, or become\u2014odd again, it is another you\nwith whom something in me seems to be so intimate.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s fortunate for your sake,\u201d I muttered, still staring at and\npointing to the silver plate.\n\nAgain she laughed. \u201cDo you remember the _Taduki_ herb?\u201d she asked. \u201cI\nhave plenty of it safe upstairs, and not long ago I took a whiff of it,\nonly a whiff because you know it had to be saved.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what did you see?\u201d\n\n\u201cNever mind. The question is what shall we _both_ see?\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing,\u201d I said firmly. \u201cNo earthly power will make me breathe that\nunholy drug again.\u201d\n\n\u201cExcept me,\u201d she murmured with sweet decision. \u201cNo, don\u2019t think about\nleaving the house. You can\u2019t, there are no Sunday trains. Besides you\nwon\u2019t if I ask you not.\u201d\n\n\u201c\u2018In vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird,\u2019\u201d I replied, firm\nas a mountain.\n\n\u201cIs it? Then why are so many caught?\u201d\n\nAt that moment the Bull of Bashan\u2014I mean Smith, began to bellow\nsomething at his hostess from the other end of the table and our\nconversation came to an end.\n\n\u201cI say, old chap,\u201d whispered Scroope in my ear when we stood up to see\nthe ladies out. \u201cI suppose you are thinking of marrying again. Well,\nyou might do worse,\u201d and he glanced at the glittering form of Lady\nRagnall vanishing through the doorway behind her guests.\n\n\u201cShut up, you idiot!\u201d I replied indignantly.\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d he asked with innocence. \u201cMarriage is an honourable estate,\nespecially when there is lots of the latter. I remember saying\nsomething of the sort to you years ago and at this table, when as it\nhappened you also took in her ladyship. Only there was George in the\nwind then; now it has carried him away.\u201d\n\nWithout deigning any reply I seized my glass and went to sit down\nbetween the canon and the Bull of Bashan.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\nALLAN GIVES HIS WORD\n\n\nMr. Atterby-Smith proved on acquaintance to be even worse than unfond\nfancy painted him. He was a gentleman in a way and of good family\nwhereof the real name was Atterby, the Smith having been added to\nsecure a moderate fortune left to him on that condition. His connection\nwith Lord Ragnall was not close and through the mother\u2019s side. For the\nrest he lived in some south-coast watering-place and fancied himself a\nsportsman because he had on various occasions hired a Scottish moor or\ndeer forest. Evidently he had never done anything nor earned a shilling\nduring all his life and was bringing his family up to follow in his\nuseless footsteps. The chief note of his character was that intolerable\nvanity which so often marks men who have nothing whatsoever about which\nto be vain. Also he had a great idea of his rights and what was due to\nhim, which he appeared to consider included, upon what ground I could\nnot in the least understand, the reversal of all the Ragnall properties\nand wealth. I do not think I need say any more about him, except that\nhe bored me to extinction, especially after his fourth glass of port.\n\nPerhaps, however, the son was worse, for he asked questions without\nnumber and when at last I was reduced to silence, lectured me about\nshooting. Yes, this callow youth who was at Sandhurst, instructed me,\nAllan Quatermain, how to kill elephants, he who had never seen an\nelephant except when he fed it with buns at the Zoo. At last Mr. Smith,\nwho to Scroope\u2019s great amusement had taken the end of the table and\nassumed the position of host, gave the signal to move and we adjourned\nto the drawing-room.\n\nI don\u2019t know what had happened but there we found the atmosphere\ndistinctly stormy. The ample Mrs. Smith sat in a chair fanning herself,\nwhich caused the barbaric ornaments she wore to clank upon her fat arm.\nUpon either side of her, pale and indeterminate, stood Polly and Dolly\neach pretending to read a book. Somehow the three of them reminded me\nof a coat-of-arms seen in a nightmare, British Matron _sejant_ with\nModesty and Virtue as supporters. Opposite, on the other side of the\nfire and evidently very angry, stood Lady Ragnall, _regardant_.\n\n\u201cDo I understand you to say, Luna,\u201d I heard Mrs. A.-S. ask in resonant\ntones as I entered the room, \u201cthat you actually played the part of a\nheathen goddess among these savages, clad in a transparent bed-robe?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Mrs. Atterby-Smith,\u201d replied Lady Ragnall, \u201cand a nightcap of\nfeathers. I will put it on for you if you won\u2019t be shocked. Or perhaps\none of your daughters\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d said both the young ladies together, \u201cplease be quiet. Here come\nthe gentlemen.\u201d\n\nAfter this there was a heavy silence broken only by the stifled giggles\nin the background of Mrs. Scroope and the canon\u2019s fluffy-headed wife,\nwho to do her justice had some fun in her. Thank goodness the evening,\nor rather that part of it did not last long, since presently Mrs.\nAtterby-Smith, after studying me for a long while with a cold eye, rose\nmajestically and swept off to bed followed by her offspring.\n\nAfterwards I ascertained from Mrs. Scroope that Lady Ragnall had been\namusing herself by taking away my character in every possible manner\nfor the benefit of her connections, who were left with a general\nimpression that I was the chief of a native tribe somewhere in Central\nAfrica where I dwelt in light attire surrounded by the usual\naccessories. No wonder, therefore, that Mrs. A.-S. thought it best to\nremove her \u201cTwin Pets,\u201d as she called them, out of my ravening reach.\n\nThen the Scroopes went away, having arranged for me to lunch with them\non the morrow, an invitation that I hastily accepted, though I heard\nLady Ragnall mutter\u2014\u201cMean!\u201d beneath her breath. With them departed the\ncanon and his wife and the curate, being, as they said, \u201cearly birds\nwith duties to perform.\u201d After this Lady Ragnall paid me out by going\nto bed, having instructed Moxley to show us to the smoking room,\n\u201cwhere,\u201d she whispered as she said good night, \u201cI hope you will enjoy\nyourself.\u201d\n\nOver the rest of the night I draw a veil. For a solid hour and\nthree-quarters did I sit in that room between this dreadful pair, being\nalternately questioned and lectured. At length I could stand it no\nlonger and while pretending to help myself to whiskey and soda, slipped\nthrough the door and fled upstairs.\n\nI arrived late to breakfast purposely and found that I was wise, for\nLady Ragnall was absent upstairs, recovering from \u201ca headache.\u201d Mr.\nA.-Smith was also suffering from a headache downstairs, the result of\nchampagne, port and whisky mixed, and all his family seemed to have\npains in their tempers. Having ascertained that they were going to the\nchurch in the park, I departed to one two miles away and thence walked\nstraight on to the Scroopes\u2019 where I had a very pleasant time,\nremaining till five in the afternoon. I returned to tea at the Castle\nwhere I found Lady Ragnall so cross that I went to church again, to the\nsix o\u2019clock service this time, only getting back in time to dress for\ndinner. Here I was paid out for I had to take in Mrs. Atterby-Smith.\nOh! what a meal was that. We sat for the most part in solemn silence\nbroken only by requests to pass the salt. I observed with satisfaction,\nhowever, that things were growing lively at the other end of the table\nwhere A.-Smith _p\u00e8re_ was drinking a good deal too much wine. At last I\nheard him say,\n\n\u201cWe had hoped to spend a few days with you, my dear Luna. But as you\ntell us that your engagements make this impossible\u201d\u2014and he paused to\ndrink some port, whereon Lady Ragnall remarked inconsequently,\n\n\u201cI assure you the ten o\u2019clock train is far the best and I have ordered\nthe carriage at half-past nine, which is not very early.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs your engagements make this impossible,\u201d he repeated, \u201cwe would ask\nfor the opportunity of a little family conclave with you to-night.\u201d\n\nHere all of them turned and glowered at me.\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d said Lady Ragnall, \u201c\u2018the sooner \u2018tis over the sooner to\nsleep.\u2019 Mr. Quatermain, I am sure, will excuse us, will you not? I have\nhad the museum lit up for you, Mr. Quatermain. You may find some\nEgyptian things there that will interest you.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, with pleasure!\u201d I murmured, and fled away.\n\nI spent a very instructive two hours in the museum, studying various\nEgyptian antiquities including a couple of mummies which rather\nterrified me. They looked so very corpse-like standing there in their\nwrappings. One was that of a lady who was a \u201cSinger of Amen,\u201d I\nremember. I wondered where she was singing now and what song. Presently\nI came to a glass case which riveted my attention, for above it was a\nlabel bearing the following words: \u201cTwo Papyri given to Lady Ragnall by\nthe priests of the Kendah Tribe in Africa.\u201d Within were the papyri\nunrolled and beneath each of the documents, its translation, so far as\nthey could be translated for they were somewhat broken. No. 1, which\nwas dated, \u201cIn the first year of Peroa,\u201d appeared to be the official\nappointment of the Royal Lady Amada, to be the prophetess to the temple\nof Isis and Horus the Child, which was also called Amada, and situated\non the east bank of the Nile above Thebes. Evidently this was the same\ntemple of which Lady Ragnall had written to me in her letter, where her\nhusband had met his death by accident, a coincidence which made me\nstart when I remembered how and where the document had come into her\nhands and what kind of office she filled at the time.\n\nThe second papyrus, or rather its translation, contained a most\ncomprehensive curse upon any man who ventured to interfere with the\npersonal sanctity of this same Royal Lady of Amada, who, apparently in\nvirtue of her office, was doomed to perpetual celibacy like the vestal\nvirgins. I do not remember all the terms of the curse, but I know that\nit invoked the vengeance of Isis the Mother, Lady of the Moon, and\nHorus the Child upon anyone who should dare such a desecration, and in\nso many words doomed him to death by violence \u201cfar from his own country\nwhere first he had looked on Ra,\u201d (i.e. the sun) and also to certain\nspiritual sufferings afterwards.\n\nThe document gave me the idea that it was composed in troubled days to\nprotect that particularly sacred person, the Prophetess of Isis whose\ncult, as I have since learned, was rising in Egypt at the time, from\nthreatened danger, perhaps at the hands of some foreign man. It\noccurred to me even that this Princess, for evidently she was a\ndescendant of kings, had been appointed to a most sacred office for\nthat very purpose. Men who shrink from little will often fear to incur\nthe direct curse of widely venerated gods in order to obtain their\ndesires, even if they be not their own gods. Such were my conclusions\nabout this curious and ancient writing which I regret I cannot give in\nfull as I neglected to copy it at the time.\n\nI may add that it seemed extremely strange to me that it and the other\nwhich dealt with a particular temple in Egypt should have passed into\nLady Ragnall\u2019s hands over two thousand years later in a distant part of\nAfrica, and that subsequently her husband should have been killed in\nher presence whilst excavating the very temple to which they referred,\nwhence too in all probability they were taken. Moreover, oddly enough\nLady Ragnall had herself for a while filled the r\u00f4le of Isis in a\nshrine whereof these two papyri had been part of the sacred\nappurtenances for unknown ages, and one of her official titles there\nwas Prophetess and Lady of the Moon, whose symbol she wore upon her\nbreast.\n\nAlthough I have always recognized that there are a great many more\nthings in the world than are dreamt of in our philosophy, I say with\ntruth and confidence that I am not a superstitious man. Yet I confess\nthat these papers and the circumstances connected with them, made me\nfeel afraid.\n\nAlso they made me wish that I had not come to Ragnall Castle.\n\nWell, the Atterby-Smiths had so far effectually put a stop to any talk\nof such matters and even if Lady Ragnall should succeed in getting rid\nof them by that morning train, as to which I was doubtful, there\nremained but a single day of my visit during which it ought not to be\nhard to stave off the subject. Thus I reflected, standing face to face\nwith those mummies, till presently I observed that the Singer of Amen\nwho wore a staring, gold mask, seemed to be watching me with her oblong\npainted eyes. To my fancy a sardonic smile gathered in them and spread\nto the mouth.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s what _you_ think,\u201d this smile seemed to say, \u201cas once before\nyou thought that Fate could be escaped. Wait and see, my friend. Wait\nand see!\u201d\n\n\u201cNot in this room any way,\u201d I remarked aloud, and departed in a hurry\ndown the passage which led to the main staircase.\n\nBefore I reached its end a remarkable sight caused me to halt in the\nshadow. The Atterby-Smith family were going to bed _en bloc_. They\nmarched in single file up the great stair, each of them carrying a hand\ncandle. Papa led and young Hopeful brought up the rear. Their\ncountenances were full of war, even the twins looked like angry lambs,\nbut something written on them informed me that they had suffered defeat\nrecent and grievous. So they vanished up the stairway and out of my ken\nfor ever.\n\nWhen they had gone I started again and ran straight into Lady Ragnall.\nIf her guests had been angry, it was clear that _she_ was furious,\nalmost weeping with rage, indeed. Moreover, she turned and rent me.\n\n\u201cYou are a wretch,\u201d she said, \u201cto run away and leave me all day long\nwith those horrible people. Well, they will never come here again, for\nI have told them that if they do the servants have orders to shut the\ndoor in their faces.\u201d\n\nNot knowing what to say I remarked that I had spent a most instructive\nevening in the museum, which seemed to make her angrier than ever. At\nany rate she whisked off without even saying \u201cgood night\u201d and left me\nstanding there. Afterwards I learned that the A.-S.\u2018s had calmly\ninformed Lady Ragnall that she had stolen their property and demanded\nthat \u201cas an act of justice\u201d she should make a will leaving everything\nshe possessed to them, and meanwhile furnish them with an allowance of\n\u00a34,000 a year. What I did not learn were the exact terms of her answer.\n\nNext morning Alfred, when he called me, brought me a note from his\nmistress which I fully expected would contain a request that I should\ndepart by the same train as her other guests. Its real contents,\nhowever, were very different.\n\n\u201cMY DEAR FRIEND,\u201d it ran, \u201cI am so ashamed of myself and so sorry for\nmy rudeness last night, for which I deeply apologise. If you knew all\nthat I had gone through at the hands of those dreadful mendicants, you\nwould forgive me.\u2014L.R.\u201d\n\n\u201cP.S.\u2014I have ordered breakfast at 10. Don\u2019t go down much before, for\nyour own sake.\u201d\n\nSomewhat relieved in my mind, for I thought she was really angry with\nme, not altogether without cause, I rose, dressed and set to work to\nwrite some letters. While I was doing so I heard the wheels of a\ncarriage beneath and opening my window, saw the Atterby-Smith family in\nthe act of departing in the Castle bus. Smith himself seemed to be\nstill enraged, but the others looked depressed. Indeed I heard the wife\nof his bosom say to him,\n\n\u201cCalm yourself, my dear. Remember that Providence knows what is best\nfor us and that beggars on horseback are always unjust and ungrateful.\u201d\n\nTo which her spouse replied,\n\n\u201cHold your infernal tongue, will you,\u201d and then began to rate the\nservants about the luggage.\n\nWell, off they went. Glaring through the door of the bus, Mr. Smith\ncaught sight of me leaning out of the window, seeing which I waved my\nhand to him in adieu. His only reply to this courtesy was to shake his\nfist, though whether at me or at the Castle and its inhabitants in\ngeneral, I neither know nor care.\n\nWhen I was quite sure that they had gone and were not coming back again\nto find something they had forgotten, I went downstairs and surprised a\nconclave between the butler, Moxley, and his satellites, reinforced by\nLady Ragnall\u2019s maid and two other female servants.\n\n\u201cGratuities!\u201d Moxley was exclaiming, which I thought a fine word for\ntips, \u201cnot a smell of them! His gratuities were\u2014\u2018Damn your eyes, you\nfat bottle-washer,\u2019 being his name for butler. _My_ eyes, mind you,\nAnn, not Alfred\u2019s or William\u2019s, and that because he had tumbled over\nhis own rugs. Gentleman! Why, I name him a hog with his litter.\u201d\n\n\u201cHogs don\u2019t have litters, Mr. Moxley,\u201d observed Ann smartly.\n\n\u201cWell, young woman, if there weren\u2019t no hogs, there\u2019d be no litters, so\nthere! However, he won\u2019t root about in this castle no more, for I\nhappened to catch a word or two of what passed between him and her\nLadyship last night. He said straight out that she was making love to\nthat little Mr. Quatermain who wanted her money, and probably not for\nthe first time as they had forgathered in Africa. A gentleman, mind\nyou, Ann, who although peculiar, I like, and who, the keeper Charles\ntells me, is the best shot in the whole world.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what did she say to that?\u201d asked Ann.\n\n\u201cWhat did she say? What didn\u2019t she say, that\u2019s the question. It was\njust as though all the furniture in the room got up and went for them\nSmiths. Well, having heard enough, and more than I wanted, I stepped\noff with the tray and next minute out they all come and grab the\nbedroom candlesticks. That\u2019s all and there\u2019s her Ladyship\u2019s bell.\nAlfred, don\u2019t stand gaping there but go and light the hot-plates.\u201d\n\nSo they melted away and I descended from the landing, indignant but\nlaughing. No wonder that Lady Ragnall lost her temper!\n\nTen minutes later she arrived in the dining-room, waving a lighted\nribbon that disseminated perfume.\n\n\u201cWhat on earth are you doing?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cFumigating the house,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is unnecessary as I don\u2019t think\nthey were infectious, but the ceremony has a moral significance\u2014like\nincense. Anyway it relieves my feelings.\u201d\n\nThen she laughed and threw the remains of the ribbon into the fire,\nadding,\n\n\u201cIf you say a word about those people I\u2019ll leave the room.\u201d\n\nI think we had one of the jolliest breakfasts I ever remember. To begin\nwith we were both hungry since our miseries of the night before had\nprevented us from eating any dinner. Indeed she swore that she had\nscarcely tasted food since Saturday. Then we had such a lot to talk\nabout. With short intervals we talked all that day, either in the house\nor while walking through the gardens and grounds. Passing through the\nlatter I came to the spot on the back drive where once I had saved her\nfrom being abducted by Har\u00fbt and Mar\u00fbt, and as I recognized it, uttered\nan exclamation. She asked me why and the end of it was that I told her\nall that story which to this moment she had never heard, for Ragnall\nhad thought well to keep it from her.\n\nShe listened intently, then said,\n\n\u201cSo I owe you more than I knew. Yet, I\u2019m not sure, for you see I was\nabducted after all. Also if I had been taken there, probably George\nwould never have married me or seen me again, and that might have been\nbetter for him.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked. \u201cYou were all the world to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs any woman ever all the world to a man, Mr. Quatermain?\u201d\n\nI hesitated, expecting some attack.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t answer,\u201d she went on, \u201cit would be too long and you wouldn\u2019t\nconvince me who have been in the East. However, he was all the world to\nme. Therefore his welfare was what I wished and wish, and I think he\nwould have had more of it if he had never married me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked again.\n\n\u201cBecause I brought him no good luck, did I? I needn\u2019t go through all\nthe story as you know it. And in the end it was through me that he was\nkilled in Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr through the goddess Isis,\u201d I broke in rather nervously.\n\n\u201cYes, the goddess Isis, a part I have played in my time, or something\nlike it. And he was killed in the temple of the goddess Isis. And those\npapyri of which you read the translations in the museum, which were\ngiven to me in Kendah Land, seem to have come from that same temple.\nAnd\u2014how about the Ivory Child? Isis in the temple evidently held a\nchild in her arms, but when we found her it had gone. Supposing this\nchild was the same as that of which I was guardian! It might have been,\nsince the papyri came from that temple. What do you think?\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think anything,\u201d I answered, \u201cexcept that it is all very odd.\nI don\u2019t even understand what Isis and the child Horus represent. They\nwere not mere images either in Egypt or Kendah Land. There must be an\nidea behind them somewhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! there was. Isis was the universal Mother, Nature herself with all\nthe powers, seen and unseen, that are hidden in Nature; Love\npersonified also, although not actually the queen of Love like Hathor,\nher sister goddess. The Horus child, whom the old Egyptians called\nHeru-Hennu, signified eternal regeneration, eternal youth, eternal\nstrength and beauty. Also he was the Avenger who overthrew Set, the\nPrince of Darkness, and thus in a way opened the Door of Life to men.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems to me that all religions have much in common,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cYes, a great deal. It was easy for the old Egyptians to become\nChristian, since for many of them it only meant worshipping Isis and\nHorus under new and holier names. But come in, it grows cold.\u201d\n\nWe had tea in Lady Ragnall\u2019s boudoir and after it had been taken away\nour conversation died. She sat there on the other side of the fire with\na cigarette between her lips, looking at me through the perfumed smoke\ntill I began to grow uncomfortable and to feel that a crisis of some\nsort was at hand. This proved perfectly correct, for it was. Presently\nshe said,\n\n\u201cWe took a long journey once together, Mr. Quatermain, did we not?\u201d\n\n\u201cUndoubtedly,\u201d I answered, and began to talk of it until she cut me\nshort with a wave of her hand, and went on,\n\n\u201cWell, we are going to take a longer one together after dinner\nto-night.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat! Where! How!\u201d I exclaimed much alarmed.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know where, but as for how\u2014look in that box,\u201d and she pointed\nto a little carved Eastern chest made of rose or sandal wood, that\nstood upon a table between us.\n\nWith a groan I rose and opened it. Inside was another box made of\nsilver. This I opened also and perceived that within lay bundles of\ndried leaves that looked like tobacco, from which floated an enervating\nand well-remembered scent that clouded my brain for a moment. Then I\nshut down the lids and returned to my seat.\n\n\u201c_Taduki_,\u201d I murmured.\n\n\u201cYes, _Taduki_, and I believe in perfect order with all its virtue\nintact.\u201d\n\n\u201cVirtue!\u201d I exclaimed. \u201cI don\u2019t think there is any virtue about that\nhateful and magical herb which I believe grew in the devil\u2019s garden.\nMoreover, Lady Ragnall, although there are few things in the world that\nI would refuse you, I tell you at once that nothing will induce me to\nhave anything more to do with it.\u201d\n\nShe laughed softly and asked why not.\n\n\u201cBecause I find life so full of perplexities and memories that I have\nno wish to make acquaintance with any more, such as I am sure lie hid\nby the thousand in that box.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf so, don\u2019t you think that they might clear up some of those which\nsurround you to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, for in such things there is no finality, since whatever one saw\nwould also require explanation.\u201d\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t let us argue,\u201d she replied. \u201cIt is tiring and I daresay we shall\nneed all our strength to-night.\u201d\n\nI looked at her speechless. Why could she not take No for an answer? As\nusual she read my thought and replied to it.\n\n\u201cWhy did not Adam refuse the apple that Eve offered him?\u201d she inquired\nmusingly. \u201cOr rather why did he eat it after many refusals and learn\nthe secret of good and evil, to the great gain of the world which\nthenceforward became acquainted with the dignity of labour?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the woman tempted him,\u201d I snapped.\n\n\u201cQuite so. It has always been her business in life and always will be.\nWell, I am tempting you now, and not in vain.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you remember who was tempting the woman?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly. Also that he was a good school-master since he caused the\nthirst for knowledge to overcome fear and thus laid the\nfoundation-stone of all human progress. That allegory may be read two\nways, as one of a rise from ignorance instead of a fall from\ninnocence.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are too clever for me with your perverted notions. Also, you said\nwe were not to argue. I have therefore only to repeat that I will not\neat your apple, or rather, breathe your _Taduki_.\u201d\n\n\u201cAdam over again,\u201d she replied, shaking her head. \u201cThe same old\nbeginning and the same old end, because you see at last you will do\nexactly what Adam did.\u201d\n\nHere she rose and standing over me, looked me straight in the eyes with\nthe curious result that all my will power seemed to evaporate. Then she\nsat down again, laughing softly, and remarked as though to herself,\n\n\u201cWho would have thought that Allan Quatermain was a moral coward!\u201d\n\n\u201cCoward,\u201d I repeated. \u201cCoward!\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, that\u2019s the right word. At least you were a minute ago. Now\ncourage has come back to you. Why, it\u2019s almost time to dress for\ndinner, but before you go, listen. I have some power over you, my\nfriend, as you have some power over me, for I tell you frankly if you\nwished me very much to do anything, I should have to do it; and the\nsame applies conversely. Now, to-night we are, as I believe, going to\nopen a great gate and to see wonderful things, glorious things that\nwill thrill us for the rest of our lives, and perhaps suggest to us\nwhat is coming after death. You will not fail me, will you?\u201d she\ncontinued in a pleading voice. \u201cIf you do I must try alone since no one\nelse will serve, and then I _know_\u2014how I cannot say\u2014that I shall be\nexposed to great danger. Yes, I think that I shall lose my mind once\nmore and never find it again this side the grave. You would not have\nthat happen to me, would you, just because you shrink from digging up\nold memories?\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course not,\u201d I stammered. \u201cI should never forgive myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, of course not. There was really no need for me to ask you. Then\nyou promise you will do all I wish?\u201d and once more she looked at me,\nadding, \u201cDon\u2019t be ashamed, for you remember that I have been in touch\nwith hidden things and am not quite as other women are. You will\nrecollect I told you that which I have never breathed to any other\nliving soul, years ago on that night when first we met.\u201d\n\n\u201cI promise,\u201d I answered and was about to add something, I forget what,\nwhen she cut me short, saying,\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s enough, for I know your word is rather better than your bond.\nNow dress as quickly as you can or the dinner will be spoiled.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\nTHROUGH THE GATES\n\n\nShort as was the time at my disposal before the dinner-gong sounded, it\nproved ample for reflection. With every article of attire that I\ndiscarded went some of that boudoir glamour till its last traces\nvanished with my walking-boots. I was fallen indeed. I who had come to\nthis place so full of virtuous resolutions, could now only reflect upon\nthe true and universal meaning of our daily prayer that we might be\nkept from temptation. And yet what had tempted me? For my life\u2019s sake I\ncould not say. The desire to please a most charming woman and to keep\nher from making solitary experiments of a dangerous nature, I suppose,\nthough whether they should be less dangerous carried out jointly\nremained to be seen. Certainly it was not any wish to eat of her\nproffered apple of Knowledge, for already I knew a great deal more than\nI cared for about things in general. Oh! the truth was that woman is\nthe mightiest force in the world, at any rate where the majority of us\npoor men is concerned. She commanded and I must obey.\n\nI grew desperate and wondered if I could escape. Perhaps I might slip\nout of the back door and run for it, without my great coat or hat\nalthough the night was so cold and I should probably be taken up as a\nlunatic. No, it was impossible for I had forged a chain that might not\nbe broken. I had passed my word of honour. Well, I was in for it and\nafter all what was there of which I need be afraid that I should\ntremble and shrink back as though I were about to run away with\nsomebody\u2019s wife, or rather to be run away with quite contrary to my own\ninclination? Nothing at all. A mere nonsensical ordeal much less\nserious than a visit to the dentist.\n\nProbably that stuff had lost its strength by now\u2014that is, unless it had\ngrown more powerful by keeping, as is the case with certain sorts of\nexplosives. And if it had not, the worst to be expected was a silly\ndream, followed perhaps by headache. That is, unless I did not chance\nto wake up again at all in this world, which was a most unpleasant\npossibility. Another thing, suppose I woke and she didn\u2019t! What should\nI say then? Of a certainty I should find myself in the dock. Yes, and\nthere were further dreadful eventualities, quite conceivable, every one\nof them, the very thought of which plunged me into a cold perspiration\nand made me feel so weak that I was obliged to sit down.\n\nThen I heard the gong; to me it sounded like the execution bell to a\nprisoner under sentence of death. I crept downstairs feebly and found\nLady Ragnall waiting for me in the drawing-room, clothed with gaiety as\nwith a garment. I remember that it made me most indignant that she\ncould be so happy in such circumstances, but I said nothing. She looked\nme up and down and remarked,\n\n\u201cReally from your appearance you might have seen the Ragnall ghost, or\nbe going to be married against your will, or\u2014I don\u2019t know what. Also\nyou have forgotten to fasten your tie.\u201d\n\nI looked in the glass. It was true, for there hung the ends down my\nshirt front. Then I struggled with the wretched thing until at last she\nhad to help me, which she did laughing softly. Somehow her touch gave\nme confidence again and enabled me to say quite boldly that I only\nwanted my dinner.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she replied, \u201cbut you are not to eat much and you must only\ndrink water. The priestesses in Kendah Land told me that this was\nnecessary before taking _Taduki_ in its strongest form, as we are going\nto do to-night. You know the prophet Har\u00fbt only gave us the merest\nwhiff in this room years ago.\u201d\n\nI groaned and she laughed again.\n\nThat dinner with nothing to drink, although to avoid suspicion I let\nMoxley fill my glass once or twice, and little to eat for my appetite\nhad vanished, went by like a bad dream. I recall no more about it until\nI heard Lady Ragnall tell Moxley to see that there was a good fire in\nthe museum where we were going to study that night and must not be\ndisturbed.\n\nAnother minute and I was automatically opening the door for her. As she\npassed she paused to do something to her dress and whispered,\n\n\u201cCome in a quarter of an hour. Mind\u2014no port which clouds the\nintellect.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have none left to cloud,\u201d I remarked after her.\n\nThen I went back and sat by the fire feeling most miserable and staring\nat the decanters, for never in my life do I remember wanting a bottle\nof wine more. The big clock ticked and ticked and at last chimed the\nquarter, jarring on my nerves in that great lonely banqueting hall.\nThen I rose and crept upstairs like an evil-doer and it seemed to me\nthat the servants in the hall looked on me with suspicion, as well they\nmight.\n\nI reached the museum and found it brilliantly lit, but empty except for\nthe cheerful company of the two mummies who also appeared to regard me\nwith gleaming but doubtful eyes. So I sat down there in front of the\nfire, not even daring to smoke lest tobacco should complicate _Taduki_.\n\nPresently I heard a low sound of laughter, looked up and nearly fell\nbackwards, that is, metaphorically, for the chair prevented such a\nphysical collapse.\n\nIt was not wonderful since before me, like a bride of ancient days\nadorned for her husband, stood the goddess Isis\u2014white robes, feathered\nheaddress, ancient bracelets, gold-studded sandals on bare feet,\nscented hair, ruby necklace and all the rest. I stared, then there\nburst from me words which were the last I meant to say,\n\n\u201cGreat Heavens! how beautiful you are.\u201d\n\n\u201cAm I?\u201d she asked. \u201cI am glad,\u201d and she glided across the room and\nlocked the door.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d she said, returning, \u201cwe had better get to business, that is\nunless you would like to worship the goddess Isis a little first, to\nbring yourself into a proper frame of mind, you know.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d I replied, my dignity returning to me. \u201cI do not wish to worship\nany goddess, especially when she isn\u2019t a goddess. It was not a part of\nthe bargain.\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite so,\u201d she said, nodding, \u201cbut who knows what you will be\nworshipping before an hour is over? Oh! forgive me for laughing at you,\nbut I can\u2019t help it. You are so evidently frightened.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho wouldn\u2019t be frightened?\u201d I answered, looking with gloomy\napprehension at the sandal-wood box which had appeared upon a case full\nof scarabs. \u201cLook here, Lady Ragnall,\u201d I added, \u201cwhy can\u2019t you leave\nall this unholy business alone and let us spend a pleasant evening\ntalking, now that those Smith people have gone? I have lots of stories\nabout my African adventures which would interest you.\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I want to hear my own African adventures, and perhaps yours\ntoo, which I am sure will interest me a great deal more,\u201d she exclaimed\nearnestly. \u201cYou think it is all foolishness, but it is not. Those\nKendah priestesses told me much when I seemed to be out of my mind. For\na long time I did not remember what they said, but of late years,\nespecially since George and I began to excavate that temple, plenty has\ncome back to me bit by bit, fragments, you know, that make me desire to\nlearn the rest as I never desired anything else on earth. And the worst\nof it has always been that from the beginning I have known\u2014and\nknow\u2014that this can only happen with you and through you, why I cannot\nsay, or have forgotten. That\u2019s what sent me nearly wild with joy when I\nheard that you were not only alive, but in this country. You won\u2019t\ndisappoint me, will you? There is nothing I can offer you which would\nhave any value for you, so I can only beg you not to disappoint\nme\u2014well, because I am your friend.\u201d\n\nI turned away my head, hesitating, and when I looked up again I saw\nthat her beautiful eyes were full of tears. Naturally that settled the\nmatter, so I only said,\n\n\u201cLet us get on with the affair. What am I to do? Stop a bit. I may as\nwell provide against eventualities,\u201d and going to a table I took a\nsheet of notepaper and wrote:\n\n\u201cLady Ragnall and I, Allan Quatermain, are about to make an experiment\nwith an herb which we discovered some years ago in Africa. If by any\nchance this should result in accident to either or both of us, the\nCoroner is requested to understand that it is not a case of murder or\nof suicide, but merely of unfortunate scientific research.\u201d\n\n\nThis I dated, adding the hour, 9.47 P.M., and signed, requesting her to\ndo the same.\n\nShe obeyed with a smile, saying it was strange that one who had lived a\nlife of such constant danger as myself, should be so afraid to die.\n\n\u201cLook here, young lady,\u201d I replied with irritation, \u201cdoesn\u2019t it occur\nto you that _I_ may be afraid lest _you_ should die\u2014and _I_ be hanged\nfor it,\u201d I added by an afterthought.\n\n\u201cOh! I see,\u201d she answered, \u201cthat is really very nice of you. But, of\ncourse, you would think like that; it is your nature.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I replied. \u201cNature, not merit.\u201d\n\nShe went to a cupboard which formed the bottom of one of the mahogany\nmuseum cases, and extracted from it first of all a bowl of ancient\nappearance made of some black stone with projecting knobs for handles\nthat were carved with the heads of women wearing ceremonial wigs; and\nnext a low tripod of ebony or some other black wood. I looked at these\narticles and recognized them. They had stood in front of the sanctuary\nin the temple in Kendah Land, and over them I had once seen this very\nwoman dressed as she was to-night, bend her head in the magic smoke\nbefore she had uttered the prophecy of the passing of the Kendah god.\n\n\u201cSo you brought these away too,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she replied with solemnity, \u201cthat they might be ready at the\nappointed hour when we needed them.\u201d\n\nThen she spoke no more for a while, but busied herself with certain\nrather eerie preparations. First she set the tripod and its bowl in an\nopen space which I was glad to note was at some distance from the fire,\nsince if either of us fell into that who would there be to take us off\nbefore cremation ensued? Then she drew up a curved settee with a back\nand arms, a comfortable-looking article having a seat that sloped\nbackwards like those in clubs, and motioned to me to sit down. This I\ndid with much the same sensations that are evoked by taking one\u2019s place\nupon an operation-table.\n\nNext she brought that accursed _Taduki_ box, I mean the inner silver\none, the contents of which I heartily wished I had thrown upon the\nfire, and set it down, open, near the tripod. Lastly she lifted some\nglowing embers of wood from the grate with tongs, and dropped them into\nthe stone bowl.\n\n\u201cI think that\u2019s all. Now for the great adventure,\u201d she said in a voice\nthat was at once rapt and dreamy.\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do?\u201d I asked feebly.\n\n\u201cThat is quite simple,\u201d she replied, as she sat herself down beside me\nwell within reach of the _Taduki_ box, the brazier being between us\nwith its tripod stand pressed against the edge of the couch, and in its\ncurve, so that we were really upon each side of it. \u201cWhen the smoke\nbegins to rise thickly you have only to bend your head a little\nforward, with your shoulders still resting against the settee, and\ninhale until you find your senses leaving you, though I don\u2019t know that\nthis is necessary for the stuff is subtle. Then throw your head back,\ngo to sleep and dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat am I to dream about?\u201d I inquired in a vacuous way, for my senses\nwere leaving me already.\n\n\u201cYou will dream, I think, of past events in which both of us played a\npart, at least I hope so. I dreamt of them before in Kendah Land, but\nthen I was not myself, and for the most part they are forgotten.\nMoreover, I learned that we can only see them all when we are together.\nNow speak no more.\u201d\n\nThis command, by the way, at once produced in me an intense desire for\nprolonged conversation. It was not to be gratified, however, for at\nthat moment she stood up again facing the tripod and me, and began to\nsing in a rich and thrilling voice. What she sang I do not know for I\ncould not understand the language, but I presume it was some ancient\nchant that she learned in Kendah Land. At any rate, there she stood, a\nlovely and inspired priestess clad in her sacerdotal robes, and sang,\nwaving her arms and fixing her eyes upon mine. Presently she bent down,\ntook a little of the _Taduki_ weed and with words of incantation,\ndropped it upon the embers in the bowl. Twice she did this, then sat\nherself upon the couch and waited.\n\nA clear flame sprang up and burned for thirty seconds or so, I suppose\nwhile it consumed the volatile oils in the weed. Then it died down and\nsmoke began to come, white, rich and billowy, with a very pleasant\nodour resembling that of hot-house flowers. It spread out between us\nlike a fan, and though its veil I heard her say,\n\n\u201cThe gates are wide. Enter!\u201d\n\nI knew what she meant well enough, and though for a moment I thought of\ncheating, there is no other word for it, knew also that she had\ndetected the thought and was scorning me in her mind. At any rate I\nfelt that I must obey and thrust my head forward into the smoke, as a\ngreen ham is thrust into a chimney. The warm vapour struck against my\nface like fog, or rather steam, but without causing me to choke or my\neyes to smart. I drew it down my throat with a deep inhalation\u2014once,\ntwice, thrice, then as my brain began to swim, threw myself back as I\nhad been instructed to do. A deep and happy drowsiness stole over me,\nand the last thing I remember was hearing the clock strike the first\ntwo strokes of the hour of ten. The third stroke I heard also, but it\nsounded like to that of the richest-throated bell that ever boomed in\nall the world. I remember becoming aware that it was the signal for the\nrolling up of some vast proscenium, revealing behind it a stage that\nwas the world\u2014nothing less.\n\nWhat did I see? What did I see? Let me try to recall and record.\n\nFirst of all something chaotic. Great rushes of vapour driven by mighty\nwinds; great seas, for the most part calm. Then upheavals and volcanoes\nspouting fire. Then tropic scenes of infinite luxuriance. Terrific\nreptiles feeding on the brinks of marshes, and huge elephant-like\nanimals moving between palms beyond. Then, in a glade, rough huts and\nabout them a jabbering crowd of creatures that were only half human,\nfor sometimes they stood upright and sometimes ran on their hands and\nfeet. Also they were almost covered with hair which was all they had in\nthe way of clothes, and at the moment that I met them, were terribly\nfrightened by the appearance of a huge mammoth, if that is the right\nname for it, which walked into the glade and looked at us. At any rate\nit was a beast of the elephant tribe which I judged to be nearly twenty\nfeet high, with enormous curving tusks.\n\nThe point of the vision was that I recognized myself among those hairy\njabberers, not by anything outward and visible, but by something inward\nand spiritual. Moreover, I was being urged by a female of the race, I\ncan scarcely call her a woman, to justify my existence by tackling the\nmammoth in her particular interest, or to give her up to someone who\nwould. In the end I tackled it, rushing forward with a weapon, I think\nit was a sharp stone tied to a stick, though how I could expect to hurt\na beast twenty feet high with such a thing is more than I can\nunderstand, unless perhaps the stone was poisoned.\n\nAt any rate the end was sudden. I threw the stone, whereat a great\ntrunk shot out from between the tusks and caught me. Round and round I\nwent in the air, reflecting as I did so, for I suppose at the time my\nnormal consciousness had not quite left me, that this was my first\nencounter with the elephant Jana, also that it was very foolish to try\nto oblige a female regardless of personal risk....\n\nAll became dark, as no doubt it would have done, but presently, that is\nafter a lapse of a great many thousands of years, or so it appeared to\nme, light grew again. This time I was a black man living in something\nnot unlike a Kaffir kraal on the top of a hill.\n\nThere was shouting below and enemies attacked us; a woman rushed out of\na hut and gave me a spear and a shield, the latter made of wood with\nwhite spots on it, and pointed to the path of duty which ran down the\nhill. I followed in company with others, though without enthusiasm, and\npresently met a roaring giant of a man at the bottom. I stuck my spear\ninto him and he stuck his into me, through the stomach, which hurt me\nmost abominably. After this I retired up the hill where the woman\npulled the spear out and gave it to another man. I remember no more.\n\nThen followed a whole maze of visions, but really I cannot disentangle\nthem. Nor is it worth while doing so since after all they were only of\nthe nature of an overture, jumbled incidents of former lives, real or\nimaginary, or so I suppose, having to do, all of them, with elementary\nthings, such as hunger and wounds and women and death.\n\nAt length these broken fragments of the past were swept away out of my\nconsciousness and I found myself face to face with something connected\nand tangible, not too remote or unfamiliar for understanding. It was\nthe beginning of the real story.\n\nI, please remember always that I knew it was I, Allan, and no one else,\nthat is, the same personality or whatever it may be which makes each\nman different from any other man, saw myself in a chariot drawn by two\nhorses with arched necks and driven by a charioteer who sat on a little\nseat in front. It was a highly ornamented, springless vehicle of wood\nand gilded, something like a packing-case with a pole, or as we should\ncall it in South Africa, a disselboom, to which the horses were\nharnessed. In this cart I stood arrayed in flowing robes fastened round\nmy middle by a studded belt, with strips of coloured cloth wound round\nmy legs and sandals on my feet. To my mind the general effect of the\nattire was distinctly feminine and I did not like it at all.\n\nI was glad to observe, however, that the I of those days was anything\nbut feminine. Indeed I could never have believed that once I was so\ngood-looking, even over two thousand years ago. I was not very tall but\nextremely stalwart, burly almost, with an arm that as I could observe,\nsince it projected from the sleeve of my lady\u2019s gown, would have done\nno discredit to a prize-fighter, and a chest like a bull.\n\nThe face also I admired very much. The brow was broad; the black eyes\nwere full and proud-looking, the features somewhat massive but well-cut\nand highly intelligent; the mouth firm and shapely, with lips that were\nperhaps a trifle too thick; the hair\u2014well, there was rather a failure\nin the hair, at least according to modern ideas, for it curled so\nbeautifully as to suggest that one of my ancestors might have fallen in\nlove with a person of negroid origin. However there was lots of it,\nhanging down almost to the shoulders and bound about the brow by a very\nneat fillet of blue cloth with silver studs. The colour of my skin, I\nwas glad to note, was by no means black, only a light and pleasing\nbrown such as might have been produced by sunburn. My age, I might add,\nwas anywhere between five and twenty and five and thirty, perhaps\nnearer the latter than the former, at any rate, the very prime of life.\n\nFor the rest, I held in my left hand a very stout, long bow of black\nwood which seemed to have seen much service, with a string of what\nlooked like catgut, on which was set a broad-feathered, barbed arrow.\nThis I kept in place with the fingers of my right hand, on one of which\nI observed a handsome gold ring with strange characters carved upon the\nbezel.\n\nNow for the charioteer.\n\nHe was black as night, black as a Sunday hat, with yellow rolling eyes\nset in a countenance of extraordinary ugliness and I may add,\nextraordinary humour. His big, wide mouth with thick lips ran up the\nleft side of his face towards an ear that was also big and projecting.\nHis hair, that had a feather stuck in it, was real nigger wool covering\na skull like a cannon ball and I should imagine as hard. This head, by\nthe way, was set plumb upon the shoulders, as though it had been driven\ndown between them by a pile hammer. They were very broad shoulders\nsuggesting enormous strength, but the gaily-clad body beneath, which\nwas supported by two bowed legs and large, flat feet, was that of a\ndwarf who by the proportions of his limbs Nature first intended for a\ngiant; yes, an Ethiopian dwarf.\n\nLooking through this remarkable exterior, as it were, I recognized that\ninside of it was the soul, or animating principle, of\u2014whom do you\nthink? None other than my beloved old servant and companion, the\nHottentot Hans whose loss I had mourned for years! Hans himself who\ndied for me, slaying the great elephant, Jana, in Kendah Land, the\nelephant I could not hit, and thereby saving my life. Oh! although I\nhad been obliged to go back to the days of I knew not what ancient\nempire to do so in my trance, or whatever it was, I could have wept\nwith joy at finding him again, especially as I knew by instinct that as\nhe loved the Allan Quatermain of to-day, so he loved this Egyptian in a\nwheeled packing-case, for I may as well say at once that such was my\nnationality in the dream.\n\nNow I looked about me and perceived that my chariot was the second of a\ncavalcade. Immediately in front of it was one infinitely more gorgeous\nin which stood a person who even if I had not known it, I should have\nguessed to be a king, and who, as a matter of fact, was none other than\nthe King of kings, at that time the absolute master of most of the\nknown world, though what his name may have been, I have no notion. He\nwore a long flowing robe of purple silk embroidered with gold and bound\nin at the waist by a jewelled girdle from which hung the private,\nsacred seal; the little \u201cWhite Seal\u201d that, as I learned afterwards, was\nfamous throughout the earth.\n\nOn his head was a stiff cloth cap, also purple in colour, round which\nwas fastened a fillet of light blue stuff spotted with white. The best\nidea that I can give of its general appearance is to liken it to a tall\nhat of fashionable shape, without a brim, slightly squashed in so that\nit bulged at the top, and surrounded by a rather sporting necktie.\nReally, however, it was the _kitaris_ or headdress of these monarchs\nworn by them alone. If anyone else had put on that hat, even by mistake\nin the dark, well, his head would have come off with it, that is all.\n\nThis king held a bow in his hand with an arrow set upon its string,\njust as I did, for we were out hunting, and as I shall have to narrate\npresently, lions are no respecters of persons. By his side, leaning\nagainst the back of the chariot, was a tall, sharp-pointed wand of\ncedar wood with a knob of some green precious stone, probably an\nemerald, fashioned to the likeness of an apple. This was the royal\nsceptre. Immediately behind the chariot walked several great nobles.\nOne of them carried a golden footstool, another a parasol, furled at\nthe moment; another a spare bow and a quiver of arrows, and another a\njewelled fly-whisk made of palm fibre.\n\nThe king, I should add, was young, handsome with a curled beard and\nclear-cut, high-bred looking features; his face, however, was bad,\ncruel and stamped with an air of weariness, or rather, satiety, which\nwas emphasized by the black circles beneath his fine dark eyes.\nMoreover pride seemed to emanate from him and yet there was something\nin his bearing and glances which suggested fear. He was a god who knows\nthat he is mortal and is therefore afraid lest at any moment he may be\ncalled upon to lose his godship in his mortality.\n\nNot that he dreaded the perils of the chase; he was too much of a man\nfor that. But how could he tell lest among all that crowd of crawling\nnobles, there was not one who had a dagger ready for his back, or a\nphial of poison to mix with his wine or water? He with all the world in\nthe hollow of his hand, was filled with secret terrors which as I\nlearned since first I seemed to see him thus, fulfilled themselves at\nthe appointed time. For this man of blood was destined to die in blood,\nthough not by murder.\n\nThe cavalcade halted. Presently a fat eunuch glittering in his\ngold-wrought garments like some bronzed beetle in the sunlight, came\nwaddling back towards me. He was odious and I knew that we hated each\nother.\n\n\u201cGreeting, Egyptian,\u201d he said, mopping his brow with his sleeve for the\nsun was hot. \u201cAn honour for you! A great honour! The King of kings\ncommands your presence. Yes, he would speak with you with his own lips,\nand with that abortion of a servant of yours also. Come! Come swiftly!\u201d\n\n\u201cSwift as an arrow, Houman,\u201d I answered laughing, \u201cseeing that for\nthree moons I, like an arrow, have rested upon the string and flown no\nnearer to his Majesty.\u201d\n\n\u201cThree moons!\u201d screeched the eunuch. \u201cWhy, many wait three years and\nmany go to the grave still waiting; bigger men than you, Egyptian,\nthough I hear you do claim to be of royal blood yonder on the Nile. But\ntalk not of arrows flying towards the most High, for surely it is\nill-omened and might earn you another honour, that of the string,\u201d and\nhe made a motion suggestive of a cord encircling his throat. \u201cMan,\nleave your bow behind! Would you appear before the King armed? Yes, and\nyour dagger also.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerchance a lion might appear before the King and he does not leave\nhis claws and teeth behind,\u201d I answered drily as I divested myself of\nmy weapons.\n\nThen we started, the three of us, leaving the chariot in charge of a\nsoldier.\n\n\u201cDraw your sleeves over your hands,\u201d said the eunuch. \u201cNone must appear\nbefore the King showing his hands, and, dwarf, since you have no\nsleeves, thrust yours into your robe.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat am I to do with my feet?\u201d he answered in a thick, guttural voice.\n\u201cWill it offend the King of kings to see my feet, most noble eunuch?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, certainly,\u201d answered Houman, \u201csince they are ugly enough to\noffend even me. Hide them as much as possible. Now we are near, down on\nyour faces and crawl forward slowly on your knees and elbows, as I do.\nDown, I say!\u201d\n\nSo down I went, though with anger in my heart, for be it remembered\nthat I, the modern Allan Quatermain, knew every thought and feeling\nthat passed through the mind of my prototype.\n\nIt was as though I were a spectator at a play, with this difference. I\ncould read the motives and reflections of this former _ego_ as well as\nobserve his actions. Also I could rejoice when he rejoiced, weep when\nhe wept and generally feel all that he felt, though at the same time I\nretained the power of studying him from my own modern standpoint and\nwith my own existing intelligence. Being two we still were one, or\nbeing one we still were two, whichever way you like to put it. Lastly I\nlacked these powers with reference to the other actors in the piece. Of\nthese I knew just as much, or as little as my former self knew, that is\nif he ever really existed. There was nothing unnatural in my faculties\nwhere they were concerned. I had no insight into their souls any more\nthan I have into those of the people about me to-day. Now I hope that I\nhave made clear my somewhat uncommon position with reference to these\npages from the Book of the Past.\n\nWell, preceded by the eunuch and followed by the dwarf, I crawled\nthough the sand in which grew some thorny plants that pricked my knees\nand fingers, towards the person of the Monarch of the World. He had\ndescended from his chariot by help of a footstool, and was engaged in\ndrinking from a golden cup, while his attendants stood around in\nvarious attitudes of adoration, he who had handed him the cup being\nupon his knees. Presently he looked up and saw us.\n\n\u201cWho are these?\u201d he asked in a high voice that yet was not unmusical,\n\u201cand why do you bring them into my presence?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please the King,\u201d answered our guide, knocking his head upon\nthe ground in a very agony of humiliation, \u201cmay it please the King\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cIt would please me better, dog, if you answered my question. Who are\nthey?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please the King, this is the Egyptian hunter and noble,\nShabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cI hear,\u201d said his Majesty with a gleam of interest in his tired eyes,\n\u201cand what does this Egyptian here?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please the King, the King bade me bring him to the presence,\nbut now when the chariots halted.\u201d\n\n\u201cI forgot; you are forgiven. But who is that with him? Is it a man or\nan ape?\u201d\n\nHere I screwed my head round and saw that my slave in his efforts to\nobey the eunuch\u2019s instructions and hide his feet, had made himself into\na kind of ball, much as a hedgehog does, except that his big head\nappeared in front of the ball.\n\n\u201cO King, that I understand is the Egyptian\u2019s servant and charioteer.\u201d\n\nAgain he looked interested, and exclaimed,\n\n\u201cIs it so? Then Egypt must be a stranger country than I thought if such\nape-men live there. Stand up, Egyptian, and bid your ape stand up also,\nfor I cannot hear men who speak with their mouths in the dust.\u201d\n\nSo I rose and saluted by lifting both my hands and bowing as I had\nobserved others do, trying, however, to keep them covered by my\nsleeves. The King looked me up and down, then said briefly,\n\n\u201cSet out your name and the business that brought you to my city.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay the King live for ever,\u201d I replied. \u201cAs this lord said,\u201d and I\npointed to the eunuch\u2014\u2014\n\n\u201cHe is not a lord but a dog,\u201d interrupted the Monarch, \u201cwho wears the\nrobe of women. But continue.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs this dog who wears the robe of women said\u201d\u2014here the King laughed,\nbut the eunuch, Houman, turned green with rage and glowered at me\u2014\u201cmy\nname is Shabaka. I am a descendant of the Ethiopian king of Egypt of\nthat same name.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems from all I hear that there are too many descendants of kings\nin Egypt. When I visit that land which perhaps soon I must do with an\narmy at my back,\u201d here he stared at me coldly, \u201cit may be well to\nlessen their number. There is a certain Peroa for instance.\u201d\n\nHe paused, but I made no answer, since Peroa was my father\u2019s cousin and\nof the fallen Royal House; also the protector of my youth.\n\n\u201cWell, Shabaka,\u201d he went on, \u201cin Persia royal blood is common also,\nthough some of us think it looks best when it is shed. What else are\nyou?\u201d\n\n\u201cA slayer of royal beasts, O King of kings, a hunter of lions and of\nelephants,\u201d (this statement interested me, Allan Quatermain, intensely,\nshowing me as it did that our tastes are very persistent); \u201calso when I\nam at home, a breeder of cattle and a grower of grain.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood trades, all of them, Shabaka. But why came you here?\u201d\n\n\u201cIdernes the satrap of Egypt, servant of the King of kings, sought for\none who would travel to the East because the King of kings desired to\nhear of the hunting of lions in the lands that lie to the south of\nEgypt towards the beginnings of the great river. Then I, who desired to\nsee new countries, said, \u2018Here am I. Send me.\u2019 So I came and for three\nmoons have dwelt in the royal city, but till this hour have scarcely so\nmuch as seen the face of the great King, although by many messengers I\nhave announced my presence, showing them the letters of Idernes giving\nme safe-conduct. Therefore I propose to-morrow or the next day to\nreturn to Egypt.\u201d\n\nThe King said a word and a scribe appeared whom he commanded to take\nnote of my words and let the matter be inquired of, since some should\nsuffer for this neglect, a saying at which I saw Houman and certain of\nthe nobles turn pale and whisper to each other.\n\n\u201cNow I remember,\u201d he exclaimed, \u201cthat I did desire Idernes to send me\nan Egyptian hunter. Well, you are here and we are about to hunt the\nlion of which there are many in yonder reeds, hungry and fierce beasts,\nsince for three days they have been herded in so that they can kill no\nfood. How many lions have you slain, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cFifty and three in all, O King, not counting the cubs.\u201d\n\nHe stared at me, answering with a sneer,\n\n\u201cYou Egyptians have large mouths. I have always heard it of you. Well,\nto-day we will see whether you can kill a fifty-fourth. In an hour when\nthe sun begins to sink, the hounds will be loosed in yonder reeds and\nsince the water is behind them, the lions will come out, and then we\nshall see.\u201d\n\nNow I saw that the King thought me to be a liar and the blood rose to\nmy head.\n\n\u201cWhy wait till the sun begins to sink, O King of kings?\u201d I said. \u201cWhy\nnot enter the reeds, as is our fashion in the Land of Kush, and rouse\nthe lions from sleep in their own lair?\u201d\n\nNow the King laughed outright and called in a loud voice to his\ncourtiers,\n\n\u201cDo ye hear this boasting Egyptian, who talks of entering the reeds and\nfacing the lions in their lair, a thing that no man dare do where none\ncan see to shoot? What say ye now? Shall we ask him to prove his\nwords?\u201d\n\nSome great lord stepped forward, one who was a hunter though he looked\nlittle like it, for the scent on his hair reached me from four paces\naway and there was paint upon his face.\n\n\u201cYes, O King,\u201d he said in a mincing voice, \u201clet him enter and kill a\nlion. But if he fail, then let a lion kill him. There are some hungry\nin the palace den and it is not fit that the King\u2019s ears should be\nfilled with empty words by foreigners from Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the King. \u201cEgyptian, you have brought it on your own\nhead. Prove that you can do what you say and I will give you great\nhonour. Fail, and to the lions with him who lies of lions. Still,\u201d he\nadded, \u201cit is not right that you should go alone. Choose therefore one\nof these lords to keep you company; he who would put you to the test,\nif you will.\u201d\n\nNow I looked at the scented noble who turned pale beneath his paint.\nThen I looked at the fat eunuch, Houman, who opened his mouth and\ngasped like a fish, and when I had looked, I shook my head and said as\nthough to myself,\n\n\u201cNot so, no woman and no eunuch shall be my companion on this quest,\u201d\nwhereat the King and all the rest laughed out loud. \u201cThe dwarf and I\nwill go alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe dwarf!\u201d said the King. \u201cCan he hunt lions also?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, O King, but perchance he can smell them, for otherwise how shall I\nfind them in that thicket within an hour?\u201d\n\n\u201cPerchance they can smell him. How is the ape-man named?\u201d asked the\nKing.\n\n\u201cBes, O King, after the god of the Egyptians whom he resembles.\u201d\n\n\u201cDare you accompany your master on this hunt, O Bes?\u201d inquired the\nKing.\n\nThen Bes looked up, rolling his yellow eyes, and answered in his thick\nand guttural voice,\n\n\u201cI am my master\u2019s slave and dare I refuse to accompany him? If I did he\nmight kill me, as the King of kings kills his slaves. It is better to\ndie with honour by the teeth of a lion, than with dishonour beneath the\nwhip of a master. So at least we think in Ethiopia.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell spoken, dwarf Bes!\u201d exclaimed the King. \u201cSo would I have all men\nthink throughout the East. Let the words of this Ethiop be written down\nand copies of them sent to the satraps of all the provinces that they\nmay be read to the peoples of the earth. I the King have decreed it.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\nTHE WAGER\n\n\nWhile the scribes were at their work I bowed before the King and prayed\nhis leave that I and the dwarf Bes might get to ours.\n\n\u201cGo,\u201d he said, \u201cand return here within an hour. If you do not return\ntidings of your death shall be sent to the satrap of Egypt to be told\nto your wives.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank the King, but it is needless, for I have no wives, which are\nill company for a hunter.\u201d\n\n\u201cStrange,\u201d he said, \u201csince many women would be glad to name such a man\ntheir husband, at least here among us Easterns.\u201d\n\nWalking backwards and bowing as we went, Bes and I returned to our\nchariot. There we stripped off our outer garments till Bes was naked\nsave for his waistcloth and I was clad only in a jerkin. Then I took my\nbow, my arrows and my knife, and Bes took two spears, one light for\nthrowing and the other short, broad and heavy for stabbing. Thus armed\nwe passed back before the Easterns who stared at us, and advanced to\nthe edge of the thicket of tall reeds that was full of lions.\n\nHere Bes took dust and threw it into the air that we might learn from\nwhich quarter the light wind blew.\n\n\u201cWe will go against the breeze, Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cthat I may smell the\nlions before they smell us.\u201d\n\nI nodded, and answered,\n\n\u201cHearken, Bes. Well may it be that we kill no lions in this place where\nit is hard to shoot. Yet I would not return to be thrown to wild beasts\nby yonder evil king. Therefore if we fail in this or in any other way,\ndo you kill me, if you still live.\u201d\n\nHe rolled his eyes and grinned.\n\n\u201cNot so, Master. Then we will win through the reeds and lie hid in\ntheir edge till darkness comes, for in them those half-men will never\ndare to seek for us. Afterwards we will swim the water and disguise\nourselves as jugglers and try to reach the coast, and so back to Egypt,\nhaving learned much. Never stretch out your hand to Death till he\nstretches out his to you, which he will do soon enough, Master.\u201d\n\nAgain I nodded and said,\n\n\u201cAnd if a lion should kill me, Bes, what then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Master, I will kill that lion if I can and go report the matter\nto the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if he should wish to throw you to the beasts, Bes, what then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, first I will drag him down to the greatest of all beasts, he who\nwaits to devour evil-doers in the Under-world, be they kings or\nslaves,\u201d and he stretched out his long arms and made a motion as of\nclutching a man by the throat. \u201cOh! have no fear, Master, I can break\nhim like a stick, and afterwards we will talk the matter over among the\ndead, for I shall swallow my tongue and die also. It is a good trick,\nMaster, which I wish you would learn.\u201d\n\nThen he took my hand and kissed it and we entered the reeds, I, who was\na hunter, feeling more happy than I had done since we set foot in the\nEast.\n\nYet the quest was desperate for the reeds were tall and often I could\nnot see more than a bow\u2019s length in front of me. Presently, however, we\nfound a path made perchance by game coming down to drink, or by\ncrocodiles coming up to sleep, and followed it, I with an arrow on my\nstring and Bes with the throwing spear in his right hand and the\nstabbing spear in his left, half a pace ahead of me. On we crept, Bes\ndrawing in the air through his great nostrils as a hound might do, till\nsuddenly he stopped and sniffed towards the north.\n\n\u201cI smell lion near,\u201d he whispered, searching among the reed stems with\nhis eyes. \u201cI see lion,\u201d he whispered again, and pointed, but I could\nsee nothing save the stems of the reeds.\n\n\u201cRouse him,\u201d I whispered back, \u201cand I will shoot as he bounds.\u201d\n\nThen Bes poised the spear, shook it till it quivered, and threw. There\nwas a roar and a lioness appeared with the spear fast in her flank. I\nloosed the arrow but it cut into the thick reeds and stuck there.\n\n\u201cForward!\u201d whispered Bes, \u201cfor where woman is, there look for man. The\nlion will be near.\u201d\n\nWe crept on, Bes stopping to cut the arrow from a reed and set it back\nin the quiver, for it was a good arrow made by himself. But now he\nshifted the broad spear to his right hand and in his left held his\nknife. We heard the wounded lioness roar not far away.\n\n\u201cShe calls her man to help her,\u201d whispered Bes, and as the words left\nhis lips the reeds down wind began to sway, for we were smelt.\n\nThey swayed, they parted and, half seen, half hid between their stems,\nappeared the head of a great, black-maned lion. I drew the string and\nshot, this time not in vain, for I heard the arrow thud upon his hide.\nThen before I could set another he was on us, reared upon his hind legs\nand roaring. As I drew my dagger he struck at me, but I bent down and\nhis paw went over my head. Then his weight came against me and I fell\nbeneath him, stabbing him in the belly as I fell. I saw his mighty jaws\nopen to crush my head. Then they shut again and through them burst a\nwhine like that of a hurt dog.\n\nBes had driven his spear into the lion\u2019s breast, so deep that the point\nof it came out through the back. Still he was not dead, only now it was\nBes he sought. The dwarf ran at him as he reared up again, and casting\nhis great arms about the brute\u2019s body, wrestled with him as man with\nman.\n\nThen it was, for the first time I think, that I learned all the\nEthiopian\u2019s strength. For he, a dwarf, threw that lion on its back and\nthrusting his big head beneath the jaws, struggled with it madly. I was\nup, the knife still in my hand, and oh! I too was strong. Into the\nthroat I drove it, dragging it this way and that, and lo! the lion\nmoaned and died and his blood gushed out over both of us. Then Bes sat\nup and laughed, and I too laughed, since neither of us had more than\nscratches and we had done what men could scarcely do.\n\n\u201cDo you remember, Master,\u201d said Bes when he had finished laughing, as\nhe wiped his brow with some damp moss, \u201chow, once far away up the Nile\nyou charged a mad elephant with a spear and saved me who had fallen,\nfrom being trampled to death?\u201d\n\nI, Shabaka, answered that I did. (And I, Allan Quatermain, observing\nall these things in my psychic trance in the museum of Ragnall Castle,\nreflected that I also remembered how a certain Hans had saved me from a\ncertain mad elephant, to wit, Jana, not so long before, which just\nshows how things come round.)\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d went on Bes, \u201cyou saved me from that elephant, though it seemed\ndeath to you. And, Master, I will tell you something now. That very\nmorning I had tried to poison you, only you would not wait to eat\nbecause the elephants were near.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you?\u201d I asked idly. \u201cWhy?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause two years before you captured me in battle with some of my\npeople, and as I was misshapen, or for pity\u2019s sake, spared my life and\nmade me your slave. Well, I who had been a chief, a very great chief,\nMaster, did not wish to remain a slave and did wish to avenge my\npeople\u2019s blood. Therefore I tried to poison you, and that very day you\nsaved my life, offering for it your own.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think it was because I wanted the tusks of the elephant, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, Master, only you will remember that this elephant was a young\ncow and had no tusks worth anything. Still had it carried tusks, it\nmight have been so, since one white tusk is worth many black dwarfs.\nWell, to-day I have paid you back. I say it lest you should forget that\nhad it not been for me, that lion would have eaten you.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Bes, you have paid me back and I thank you.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster, hitherto I always thought you one who worshipped Maat, goddess\nof Truth. Now I see that you worship the god of Lies, whoever he may\nbe, that god who dwells in the breasts of women and most men, but has\nno name. For, Master, it was _you_ who saved _me_ from the lion and not\nI you, since you cut its throat at the last. So that debt of mine is\nstill to pay and by the great Grasshopper which we worship in my\ncountry, who is much better than all the gods of the Egyptians put\ntogether, I swear that I will pay it soon, or mayhap ten thousand years\nhence. At the last it shall be paid.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you worship a grasshopper and why is he better than the gods of\nthe Egyptians?\u201d I asked carelessly, for I was tired and his talk amused\nme while we rested.\n\n\u201cWe worship the Grasshopper, Master, because he jumps with men\u2019s\nspirits from one life to another, or from this world to the next, yes,\nright through the blue sky. And he is better than your Egyptian gods\nbecause they leave you to find your own way there, and then eat you\nalive, that is if you have tried to poison people, as of course we have\nall done. But, Master, we are fresh again now, so let us be going, for\nthe hour will soon be finished. Also when she has eaten the spear\nhandle, that lioness may return.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said; \u201clet us go and report to the King of kings that we have\nkilled a lion.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster, it is not enough. Even common kings believe little that they\ndo not see, wherefore it is certain that a King of kings will believe\nnothing and still more certain that he will not come here to look. So\nas we cannot carry the lion, we must take a bit of it,\u201d and straightway\nhe cut off the end of the brute\u2019s tail.\n\nFollowing the crocodile path, presently we reached the edge of the\nreeds opposite to the camp where the King now sat in state beneath a\npurple pavilion that had been reared, eating a meal, with his courtiers\nstanding at a distance and looking very hungry.\n\nOut of the reeds bounded Bes, naked and bloody, waving the lion\u2019s tail\nand singing some wild Ethiopian chant, while I, also bloody and half\nnaked, for the lion\u2019s claws had torn my jerkin off me, followed with\nbow unstrung.\n\nThe King looked up and saw us.\n\n\u201cWhat! Do you live, Egyptian?\u201d he asked. \u201cOf a surety I thought that by\nnow you would be dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt was the lion that died, O King,\u201d I answered, pointing to Bes who,\nhaving ceased from his song, was jumping about carrying the beast\u2019s\ntail in his mouth as a dog carries a bone.\n\n\u201cIt seems that this Egyptian has killed a lion,\u201d said the King to one\nof his lords, him of the painted face and scented hair.\n\n\u201cMay it please the King,\u201d he answered, bowing, \u201ca tail is not the whole\nbeast and may have been taken thither, or cut from a lion lying dead\nalready. The King knows that the Egyptians are great liars.\u201d\n\nSo he spoke because he was jealous of the deed.\n\n\u201cThese men look as though they had met a live one, not one that is\ndead,\u201d said the King, scanning our blood-stained shapes. \u201cStill, as you\ndoubt it, you will wish to put the matter to the proof. Therefore,\nCousin, take six men with you, enter the reeds and search. In that soft\nground it will be easy to follow their footmarks.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is dangerous, O King,\u201d began the prince, for such he was, no less.\n\n\u201cAnd therefore the task will be the more to your taste, Cousin. Go now,\nand be swift.\u201d\n\nSo six hunters were called and the prince went, cursing me beneath his\nbreath as he passed us. For he was terribly afraid, and with reason.\nSuddenly Bes ceased from his antics and prostrating himself, cried,\n\n\u201cA boon, O King. This noble lord throws doubt upon my master\u2019s word.\nSuffer that I may lead him to where the lion lies dead, since otherwise\nwandering in those reeds the great King\u2019s cousin might come to harm and\nthe great King be grieved.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have many cousins,\u201d said the King. \u201cStill go if you wish, Dwarf.\u201d\n\nSo Bes ran after the prince and catching him up, tapped him on the\nshoulder with the lion\u2019s tail to point out the way. Then they vanished\ninto the reeds and I went to the chariot to wash off the blood from my\nbody and clothes. As I fastened my robe I heard a sound of roaring,\nthen one scream, after which all grew still. Now I drew near to the\nreeds and stood between them and the King\u2019s camp.\n\nPresently on their edge appeared Bes dancing and singing as before, but\nthis time he held a lion\u2019s tail in either hand. After him came the six\nhunters dragging between them the body of the lion we had killed. They\nstaggered with it towards the King, and I followed.\n\n\u201cI see the dwarf,\u201d he said. \u201cI see the dead lion and I see the hunters.\nBut where is my cousin? Make report, O Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cO King of kings,\u201d replied Bes, \u201cthe mighty prince your cousin lies\nflat yonder beneath the body of that lion\u2019s wife. She sprang upon him\nand killed him, and I sprang upon her and killed her with my spear.\nHere is her tail, O King of kings.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs this true?\u201d he asked of the hunters.\n\n\u201cIt is true, O King,\u201d answered their captain. \u201cThe lioness, which was\nwounded, leapt upon the prince, choosing him although he was behind us\nall. Then this dwarf leapt upon the lioness, being behind the prince\nand nearest to him, and drove his spear through her shoulders to her\nheart. So we brought the first lion as the King commanded us, since we\ncould carry no more.\u201d\n\nThe face of the King grew red with rage.\n\n\u201cSeven of my people and one black dwarf!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cYet the\nlioness kills my cousin and the dwarf kills the lioness. Such is the\ntale that will go to Egypt concerning the hunters of the King of the\nworld. Seize those men, Guards, and let them be fed to the wild beasts\nin the palace dens.\u201d\n\nAt once the unfortunates were seized and led away. Then the King called\nBes to him, and taking the gold chain he wore about his neck, threw it\nover his head, thereby, though I knew nothing of it at the time,\nconferring upon him some noble rank. Next he called to me and said,\n\n\u201cIt would seem that you are skilled in the use of the bow and in the\nhunting of lions, Egyptian. Therefore I will honour you, for this\nafternoon your chariot shall drive with my chariot, and we will hunt\nside by side. Moreover, I will lay you a wager as to which of us will\nkill the most lions, for know, Shabaka, that I also am skilled in the\nuse of the bow, more skilled than any among the millions of my\nsubjects.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, O King, it is of little use for me to match myself against you,\nseeing that I have met men who can shoot better than I do, or, since in\nthe East all must speak nothing but the truth, not being liars as the\ndead prince said we Egyptians are, one man.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho was that man, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Prince Peroa, O King.\u201d\n\nThe King frowned as though the name displeased him, then answered,\n\n\u201cAm I not greater than this Peroa and cannot I therefore shoot better?\u201d\n\n\u201cDoubtless, O King of kings, and therefore how can I who shoot worse\nthan Peroa, match myself against you?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor which reason I will give you odds, Shabaka. Behold this rope of\nrose-hued pearls I wear. They are unequalled in the whole world, for\ntwenty years the merchants sought them in the days of my father; half\nof them would buy a satrapy. I wager them\u201d\u2014here the listening nobles\ngasped and the fat eunuch, Houman, held up his hands in horror.\n\n\u201cAgainst what, O King?\u201d\n\n\u201cYour slave Bes, to whom I have taken a fancy.\u201d\n\nNow I trembled and Bes rolled his yellow eyes.\n\n\u201cYour pardon, O King of kings,\u201d I said, \u201cbut it is not enough. I am a\nhunter and to such, priceless pearls are of little use. But to me that\ndwarf is of much use in my hunting.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it, Shabaka, then I will add to the wager. If you win, together\nwith the pearls I will give you the dwarf\u2019s weight in solid gold.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe King is bountiful,\u201d I answered, \u201cbut it is not enough, for even if\nI win against one who can shoot better than Peroa, which is impossible,\nwhat should I do with so much gold? Surely for the sake of it I should\nbe murdered or ever I saw the coasts of Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat shall I add then?\u201d asked the King. \u201cThe most beauteous maiden in\nthe House of Women?\u201d\n\nI shook my head. \u201cNot so, O King, for then I must marry who would\nremain single.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is no need, you might sell her to your friend, Peroa. A\nsatrapy?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so, O King, for then I must govern it, which would keep me from my\nhunting, until it pleased the King to take my head.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy the name of the holy ones I worship what then do you ask added to\nthe pearls and the pure gold?\u201d\n\nNow I tried to bethink me of something that the King could not grant,\nsince I had no wish for this match which my heart warned me would end\nin trouble. As no thought came to me I looked at Bes and saw that he\nwas rolling his eyes towards the six doomed hunters who were being led\naway, also in pretence of driving off a fly, pointing to them with one\nof the lion tails. Then I remembered that a decree once uttered by the\nKing of the East could not be altered, and saw a road of escape.\n\n\u201cO King,\u201d I said, \u201ctogether with the pearls and the gold I ask that the\nlives of those six hunters be added to the wager, to be spared if by\nchance I should win.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d asked the King amazed.\n\n\u201cBecause they are brave men, O King, and I would not see the bones of\nsuch cracked by tame beasts in a cage.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs my judgment registered?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cNot yet, O King,\u201d answered the head scribe.\n\n\u201cThen it has no weight and can be suspended without the breaking of the\nlaw. Shabaka, thus stands our wager. If I kill more lions than you do\nthis day, or, should but two be slain, I kill the first, or should none\nbe slain, I plant more arrows in their bodies, I take your slave, Bes\nthe dwarf, to be my slave. But should you have the better of me in any\nof these ways, then I give to you this girdle of rose pearls and the\nweight of the dwarf Bes in gold and the six hunters free of harm, to do\nwith what you will. Let it be recorded, and to the hunt.\u201d\n\nSoon Bes and I were in our chariot which by command took place in line\nwith that of the King, but at a distance of some thirty steps. Bending\nover the dwarf who drove, I spoke with him, saying,\n\n\u201cOur luck is ill to-day, Bes, seeing that before the end of it we may\nwell be parted.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so, Master, our luck is good to-day seeing that before the end of\nit you will be the richer by the finest pearls in the whole world, by\nmy weight in pure gold (and Master, I am twice as heavy as the king\nthought and will stuff myself with twenty pounds of meat before the\nweighing, if I have the chance, or at least with water, though in this\nhot place that will not last for long), and by six picked huntsmen,\nbrave men as you thought, who will serve to escort us and our treasure\nto the coast.\u201d\n\n\u201cFirst I must win the match, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhich you could do with one eye blinded, Master, and a sore finger.\nKings think that they can shoot because all the worms that crawl about\nthem and are named men, dare not show themselves their betters. Oh! I\nhave heard tales in yonder city. There have been days when this Lord of\nthe world has missed six lions with as many arrows, and they seated\nsmiling in his face, being but tamed brutes brought from far in cages\nof wood, yes, smiling like cats in the sun. Look you, Master, he drinks\ntoo much wine and sits up too late in his Women\u2019s house\u2014there are three\nhundred of them there, Master\u2014to shoot as you and I can. If you doubt\nit, look at his eyes and hands. Oh! the pearls and the gold and the men\nare yours, and that painted prince who mocked us is where he ought to\nbe\u2014dead in the mud.\n\n\u201cDid I tell you how I managed that, Master? As you know better than I\ndo, lions hate those that have on them the smell of their own blood.\nTherefore, while I pointed out the way to him, I touched the painted\nprince with the bleeding tail of that which we killed, pretending that\nit was by chance, for which he cursed me, as well he might. So when we\ncame to the dead lion and, as I had expected, met there the lioness you\nhad wounded, she charged through the hunters at him who smelt of her\nhusband, and bit his head off.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, Bes, you smelt of him also, and worse.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Master, but that painted cousin of the King came first. I kept\nwell behind him, pretending to be afraid,\u201d and he chuckled quietly,\nadding, \u201cI expect that he is now telling an angry tale about me to\nOsiris, or to the Grasshopper that takes him there, as it may happen.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese Easterns worship neither Osiris, nor your Grasshopper, Bes, but\na flame of fire.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he is telling the tale to the fire, and I hope that it will get\ntired and burn him.\u201d\n\nSo we talked merrily enough because we had done great deeds and thought\nthat we had outwitted the Easterns and the King, not knowing all their\ncraft. For none had told us that that man who hunted with the King and\nyet dared to draw arrow upon the quarry before the King should be put\nto death as one who had done insult to his Majesty. This that royal fox\nremembered and therefore was sure that he would win the wager.\n\nNow the chariots turned and passing down a path came to an open space\nthat was cleared of reeds. Here they halted, that of the King and my\nown side by side with ten paces between them, and those of the court\nbehind. Meanwhile huntsmen with dogs entered the great brake far away\nto the right and left of us, also in front, so that the lions might be\ndriven backwards and forwards across the open space.\n\nSoon we heard the hounds baying on all sides. Then Bes made a sucking\nnoise with his great lips and pointed to the edge of the reeds in front\nof us some sixty paces away. Looking, I saw a yellow shape creeping\nalong between their dark stems, and although the shot was far,\nforgetting all things save I was a hunter and there was my game, I drew\nthe arrow to my ear, aimed and loosed, making allowance for its fall\nand for the wind.\n\nOh! that shot was good. It struck the lion in the body and pierced him\nthrough. Out he came, roaring, rolling, and tearing at the ground. But\nby now I had another arrow on the string, and although the King lifted\nhis bow, I loosed first. Again it struck, this time in the throat, and\nthat lion groaned and died.\n\nThe King looked at me angrily, and from the court behind rose a murmur\nof wonder mingled with wrath, wonder at my marksmanship, and wrath\nbecause I had dared to shoot before the King.\n\n\u201cThe wager looks well for us,\u201d muttered Bes, but I bade him be silent,\nfor more lions were stirring.\n\nNow one leapt across the open space, passing in front of the King and\nwithin thirty paces of us. He shot and missed it, sending his shaft two\nspans above its back. Then I shot and drove the arrow through it just\nwhere the head joins the neck, cutting the spine, so that it died at\nonce.\n\nAgain that murmur went up and the King struck the charioteer on the\nhead with his clenched fist, crying out that he had suffered the horses\nto move and should be scourged for causing his hand to shake.\n\nThis charioteer, although he was a lord\u2014since in the East men of high\nrank waited on the King like slaves and even clipped his nails and\nbeard\u2014craved pardon humbly, admitting his fault.\n\n\u201cIt is a lie,\u201d whispered Bes. \u201cThe horses never stirred. How could they\nwith those grooms holding their heads? Nevertheless, Master, the pearls\nare as good as round your neck.\u201d\n\n\u201cSilence,\u201d I answered. \u201cAs we have heard, in the East all men speak the\ntruth; it is only Egyptians who lie. Also in the East men\u2019s necks are\nencircled with bowstrings as well as pearls, and ears are long.\u201d\n\nThe hounds continued to bay, drawing nearer to us. A lioness bounded\nout of the reeds, ran towards the King\u2019s chariot and as though amazed,\nsat down like a dog, so near that a man might have hit it with a stone.\nThe King shot short, striking it in the fore-paw only, whereon it shook\nout the arrow and rushed back into the reeds, while the court behind\ncried,\n\n\u201cMay the King live for ever! The beast is dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall see if it is dead presently,\u201d said Bes, and I nodded.\n\nAnother lion appeared to the right of the King. Again he shot and\nmissed it, whereon he began to curse and to swear in his own royal\noaths, and the charioteer trembled. Then came the end.\n\nOne of the hounds drew quite close and roused the lioness that had been\npricked in the foot. She turned and killed it with a blow of her paw,\nthen, being mad, charged straight at the King\u2019s chariot. The horses\nreared, lifting the grooms off their feet. The King shot wildly and\nfell backwards out of the chariot, as even Kings of the world must do\nwhen they have nothing left to stand on. The lioness saw that he was\ndown and leapt at him, straight over the chariot. As she leapt I shot\nat her in the air and pierced her through the loins, paralysing her, so\nthat although she fell down near the King, she could not come at him to\nkill him.\n\nI sprang from my chariot, but before I could reach the lioness hunters\nhad run up with spears and stabbed her, which was easy as she could not\nmove.\n\nThe King rose from the ground, for he was unharmed, and said in a loud\nvoice,\n\n\u201cHad not that shaft of mine gone home, I think that the East would have\nbowed to another lord to-night.\u201d\n\nNow, forgetting that I was speaking to the King of the earth,\nforgetting the wager and all besides, I exclaimed,\n\n\u201cNay, your shaft missed; mine went home,\u201d whereon one of the courtiers\ncried,\n\n\u201cThis Egyptian is a liar, and calls the King one!\u201d\n\n\u201cA liar?\u201d I said astonished. \u201cLook at the arrow and see from whose\nquiver it came,\u201d and I drew one from my own of the Egyptian make and\nmarked with my mark.\n\nThen a tumult broke out, all the courtiers and eunuchs talking at once,\nyet all bowing to the mud-stained person of the King, like ears of\nwheat to a tree in a storm. Not wishing to urge my claims further, for\nmy part I returned to the chariot and the hunting being done, as I\nsupposed, unstrung my bow which I prized above all things, and set it\nin its case.\n\nWhile I was thus employed the eunuch Houman approached me with a sickly\nsmile, saying,\n\n\u201cThe King commands your presence, Egyptian, that you may receive your\nreward.\u201d\n\nI nodded, saying that I would come, and he returned.\n\n\u201cBes,\u201d I said when he was out of hearing, \u201cmy heart sinks. I do not\ntrust that King who I think means mischief.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo do I, Master. Oh! we have been great fools. When a god and a man\nclimb a tree together, the man should allow the god to come first to\nthe top, and thence tell the world that he is a god.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I answered, \u201cbut who ever sees Wisdom until she is flying away?\nNow perhaps, the god being the stronger, will cast down the man.\u201d\n\nThen both together we advanced towards the King, leaving the chariot in\ncharge of soldiers. He was seated on a gilded chair which served him as\na throne, and behind him were his officers, eunuchs and attendants,\nthough not all of them, since at a little distance some of them were\nengaged in beating the lord who had served as his charioteer upon the\nfeet with rods. We prostrated ourselves before him and waited till he\nspoke. At length he said,\n\n\u201cShabaka the Egyptian, we made a wager with you, of which you will\nremember the terms. It seems that you have won the wager, since you\nslew two lions, whereas we, the King, slew but one, that which leapt\nupon us in the chariot.\u201d\n\nHere Bes groaned at my side and I looked up.\n\n\u201cFear nothing,\u201d he went on, \u201cit shall be paid.\u201d Here he snatched off\nthe girdle of priceless, rose-hued pearls and threw it in my face.\n\n\u201cAt the palace too,\u201d he went on, \u201cthe dwarf shall be set in the scales\nand his full weight in pure gold shall be given to you. Moreover, the\nlives of the six hunters are yours, and with them the men themselves.\u201d\n\n\u201cMay the King live for ever!\u201d I exclaimed, feeling that I must say\nsomething.\n\n\u201cI hope so,\u201d he answered cruelly, \u201cbut, Egyptian, you shall not, who\nhave broken the laws of the land.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn what way, O King?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cBy shooting at the lions before the King had time to draw his bow, and\nby telling the King that he lied to his face, for both of which things\nthe punishment is death.\u201d\n\nNow my heart swelled till I thought it would burst with rage. Then of a\nsudden, a certain spirit entered into me and I rose to my feet and\nsaid,\n\n\u201cO King, you have declared that I must die and as this is so, I will\nkneel to you no more who soon shall sup at the table of Osiris, and\nthere be far greater than any king, going before him with clean hands.\nIs it not your law that he who is condemned to die has first the right\nto set out his case for the honour of his name?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d said the King, I think because he was curious to hear what I\nhad to say. \u201cSpeak on.\u201d\n\n\u201cO King, although my blood is as high as your own, of that I say\nnothing, for at the wish of your satrap I came to the East from Egypt\nas a hunter, to show you how we of Egypt kill lions and other beasts.\nFor three months I have waited in the royal city seeking admission to\nthe presence of the King, and in vain. At length I was bidden to this\nhunt when I was about to depart to my own land, and being taunted by\nyour servants, entered the reeds with my slave, and there slew a lion.\nThen it pleased you to thrust a wager upon me which I did not wish to\ntake, as to which of us would shoot the most lions; a wager as I now\nunderstand you did not mean that I should win, whatever might be my\nskill, since you thought I knew that I must shoot at nothing till you\nhad first shot and killed the beasts or scared them away.\n\n\u201cSo I matched myself against you, as hunter against hunter, for in the\nfield, as before the gods, all are equal, not as a slave against a king\nwho is determined to avenge defeat by death. We were posted and the\nlions came. I shot at those which appeared opposite to me, or upon my\nside, leaving those that appeared opposite to you, or on your side\nunshot at, as is the custom of hunters. My skill, or my fortune, was\nbetter than yours and I killed, whereas you missed or only wounded. In\nthe end a lioness sprang at you and I shot it lest it should kill you;\nas could easily be proved by the arrow in its body. Now you say that I\nmust die because I have broken some laws of yours which men should be\nashamed to make, and to save your honour, pay me what I have won,\nknowing that pearls and gold and slaves are of no value to a dying man\nand can be taken back again. That is all the story.\n\n\u201cYet I would add one word. You Easterns have two sayings which you\nteach to your children; that they should learn to shoot with the bow,\nand to tell the truth. O King, they are my last lessons to you. Learn\nto shoot with the bow\u2014which you cannot do, and to tell the truth which\nyou have not done. Now I have spoken and am ready to die and I thank\nyou for the patience with which you have heard my words, that, as the\nKing does _not_ live for ever, I hope one day to repeat to you more\nfully beyond the grave.\u201d\n\nNow at this bold speech of mine all those nobles and attendants gasped,\nfor never had they heard such words addressed to his Majesty. The King\nturned red as though with shame, but made no answer, only he asked of\nthose about him.\n\n\u201cWhat fate for this man?\u201d\n\n\u201cDeath, O King!\u201d they cried with one voice.\n\n\u201cWhat death?\u201d he asked again.\n\nThen his Councillors consulted together and one of them answered,\n\n\u201cThe slowest known to our law, _death by the boat_.\u201d\n\nHearing this and not knowing what was meant, it came into my mind that\nI was to be turned adrift in a boat and there left to starve.\n\n\u201cBehold the reward of good hunting!\u201d I mocked in my rage. \u201cO King,\nbecause of this deed of shame I call upon you the curse of all the gods\nof all the peoples. Henceforth may your sleep be ever haunted by evil\ndreams of what shall follow the last sleep, and in the end may you also\ndie in blood.\u201d\n\nThe King opened his mouth as though to answer, but from it came nothing\nbut a low cry of fear. Then guards rushed up and seized me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\nTHE DOOM OF THE BOAT\n\n\nThe guards led me to my chariot and thrust me into it, and with me Bes.\nI asked them if they would murder him also, to which the eunuch,\nHouman, answered No, since he had committed no crime, but that he must\ngo with me to be weighed. Then soldiers took the horses by the bridles\nand led them, while others, having first snatched away my bow and all\nour other weapons, surrounded the chariot lest we should escape. So Bes\nand I were able to talk together in a Libyan tongue that none of them\nunderstood, even if they heard our words.\n\n\u201cYour life is spared,\u201d I said to him, \u201cthat the King may take you as a\nslave.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he will take an ill slave, Master, since I swear by the\nGrasshopper that within a moon I will find means to kill him, and\nafterwards come to join you in a land where men hunt fair.\u201d\n\nI smiled and Bes went on,\n\n\u201cNow I wish I had time to teach you that trick of swallowing your own\ntongue, since perhaps you will need it in this boat of which they\ntalk.\u201d\n\n\u201cDid you not say to me an hour or two ago, Bes, that we are fools to\nstretch out our hands to Death until he stretches out his to us? I will\nnot die until I must\u2014now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy \u2018now,\u2019 Master, seeing that only this afternoon you bade me kill\nyou rather than let you be thrown to the wild beasts?\u201d he asked peering\nat me curiously.\n\n\u201cDo you remember the old hermit, the holy Tanofir, who dwells in a cell\nover the sepulchre of the Apis bulls in the burial ground of the desert\nnear to Memphis, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe magician and prophet who is the brother of your grandfather,\nMaster, and the son of a king; he who brought you up before he became a\nhermit? Yes, I know him well, though I have seldom been very near to\nhim because his eyes frighten me, as they frightened Cambyses the\nPersian when Tanofir cursed him and foretold his doom after he had\nstabbed the holy Apis, saying that by a wound from that same sword in\nhis own body he should die himself, which thing came to pass. As they\nhave frightened many another man also.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Bes, when yonder king told me that I must die, fear filled me\nwho did not wish to die thus, and after the fear came a blackness in my\nmind. Then of a sudden in that blackness I saw a picture of Tanofir, my\ngreat uncle, seated in a sepulchre looking towards the East. Moreover I\nheard him speak, and to me, saying, \u2018Shabaka, my foster-son, fear\nnothing. You are in great danger but it will pass. Speak to the great\nKing all that rises in your heart, for the gods of Vengeance make use\nof your tongue and whatever you prophesy to him shall be fulfilled.\u2019 So\nI spoke the words you heard and I feared nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it so, Master? Then I think that the holy Tanofir must have entered\nmy heart also. Know that I was minded to leap upon that king and break\nhis neck, so that all three of us might end together. But of a sudden\nsomething seemed to tell me to leave him alone and let things go as\nthey are fated. But how can the holy Tanofir who grows blind with age,\nsee so far?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know, Bes, save that he is not as are other men, for in him\nis gathered all the ancient wisdom of Egypt. Moreover he lives with the\ngods while still upon earth, and like the gods can send his _Ka_, as we\nEgyptians call the spirit, or invisible self which companions all from\nthe cradle to the grave and afterwards, whither he will. So doubtless\nto-day he sent it hither to me whom he loves more than anything on\nearth. Also I remember that before I entered on this journey he told me\nthat I should return safe and sound. Therefore, Bes, I say I fear\nnothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor do I, Master. Yet if you see me do strange things, or hear me\nspeak strange words, take no note of them, since I shall be but playing\na part as I think wisest.\u201d\n\nAfter this we talked of that day\u2019s adventure with the lions, and of\nothers that we had shared together, laughing merrily all the while,\ntill the soldiers stared at us as though we were mad. Also the fat\neunuch, Houman, who was mounted on an ass, rode up and said,\n\n\u201cWhat, Egyptian who dared to twist the beard of the Great King, you\nlaugh, do you? Well, you will sing a different song in the boat to that\nwhich you sing in the chariot. Think of my words on the eighth day from\nthis.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will think of them, Eunuch,\u201d I answered, looking at him fiercely in\nthe eyes, \u201cbut who knows what kind of a song you will be singing before\nthe eighth day from this?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat I do is done under the authority of the ancient and holy Seal of\nSeals,\u201d he answered in a quavering voice, touching the little cylinder\nof white shell which I had noted upon the person of the King, but that\nnow hung from a gold chain about the eunuch\u2019s neck.\n\nThen he made the sign which Easterns use to avert evil and rode off\nagain, looking very frightened.\n\nSo we came to the royal city and went up to a wonderful palace. Here we\nwere taken from the chariot and led into a room where food and drink in\nplenty were given to me as though I were an honoured guest, which\ncaused me to wonder. Bes also, seated on the ground at a distance, ate\nand drank, for his own reasons filling himself to the throat as though\nhe were a wineskin, until the serving slaves mocked at him for a\nglutton.\n\nWhen we had finished eating, slaves appeared bearing a wooden framework\nfrom which hung a great pair of scales. Also there appeared officers of\nthe King\u2019s Treasury, carrying leather bags which they opened, breaking\nthe seals to show that the contents were pure gold coin. They set a\nnumber of these bags on one of the scales, and then ordered Bes to seat\nhimself in the other. So much heavier did he prove than they expected\nhim to be, that they were obliged to send back to the Treasury to fetch\nmore bags of gold, for although Bes was so short in height, his weight\nwas that of a large man. One of the treasurers grumbled, saying he\nshould have been weighed before he had eaten and drunk. But the officer\nto whom he spoke grinned and answered that it mattered little, since\nthe King was heir to criminals and that these bags would soon return to\nthe Treasury, only they would need washing first, a remark that made me\nwonder.\n\nAt length, when the scales were even, the six hunters whose lives I had\nwon and who had been given to me as slaves, were brought in and ordered\nto shoulder the bags of gold. I too was seized and my hands were bound\nbehind me. Then I was led out in charge of the eunuch Houman, who\ninformed me with a leer that it would be his duty to attend to my\ncomfort till the end. With him were four black men all dressed in the\nsame way. These, he said, were the executioners. Lastly came Bes\nwatched by three of the king\u2019s guards armed with spears, lest he should\nattempt to rescue me or to do anyone a mischief.\n\nNow my heart began to sink and I asked Houman what was to happen to me.\n\n\u201cThis, O Egyptian slayer of lions. You will be laid upon a bed in a\nlittle boat upon the river and another boat will be placed over you,\nfor these boats are called the Twins, Egyptian, in such a fashion that\nyour head and your hands will project at one end and your feet at the\nother. There you will be left, comfortable as a baby in its cradle, and\ntwice every day the best of food and drink will be brought to you.\nShould your appetite fail, moreover, it will be my duty to revive it by\npricking your eyes with the point of a knife until it returns. Also\nafter each meal I shall wash your face, your hands and your feet with\nmilk and honey, lest the flies that buzz about them should suffer\nhunger, and to preserve your skin from burning by the sun. Thus slowly\nyou will grow weaker and at length fall asleep. The last one who went\ninto the boat\u2014he, unlucky man, had by accident wandered into the court\nof the House of Women and seen some of the ladies there unveiled\u2014only\nlived for twelve days, but you, being so strong, may hope to last for\neighteen. Is there anything more that I can tell you? If so, ask it\nquickly for we draw near to the river.\u201d\n\nNow when I heard this and understood all the horror of my fate, I\nforgot the vision of my great uncle, the holy Tanofir, and his\ncomfortable prophecies, and my heart failed me altogether, so that I\nstood stock still.\n\n\u201cWhat, Lion-hunter and Bearder of kings, do you think it is too early\nto go to bed?\u201d mocked this devilish eunuch. \u201cOn with you!\u201d and he began\nto beat me about the face with the handle of his fly-whisk.\n\nThen my manhood came back to me.\n\n\u201cWhen did the King tell you to touch me, you fatted swine?\u201d I roared,\nand turning, since I could not reach him with my bound hands, kicked\nhim in the body with all my strength, so that he fell down, writhing\nand screaming with agony. Indeed, had not the executioners leapt upon\nme, I would have trampled the life out of him where he lay. But they\nheld me fast and presently, after he had been sick, Houman recovered\nenough to come forward leaning on the shoulders of two guards. Only now\nhe mocked me no more.\n\nWe reached a quay just as the sun was setting. There in charge of a\none-eyed black slave, a little square-ended boat floated at the river\u2019s\nedge, while on the quay itself lay a similar but somewhat shorter boat,\nbottom uppermost. Now the hunters whom I had won in the wager, with\nmany glances of compassion, for they were brave men and knew that it\nwas I who had saved their lives, placed the bags of gold in the bottom\nof the floating boat, and on the top of these a mattress stuffed with\nstraw. Then the girdle of rose-hued pearls was made fast about my\nmiddle, my hands were untied, I was seized by the executioners and laid\non my back on the mattress, and my wrists and ankles were fixed by\ncords to iron rings that were screwed to the thwarts of the boat. After\nthis the other, shorter boat was laid over me in such a manner that it\ndid not touch me, leaving my head, my hands and my feet exposed as the\neunuch had said.\n\nWhile this wicked work was going forward Bes sat on the quay, watching,\ntill presently, after I had been made fast and covered up, he burst\ninto shouts of laughter, clapped his hands and began to dance about as\nthough with joy, till the eunuch, who had now recovered somewhat from\nmy kick, grew curious and asked him why he behaved thus.\n\n\u201cO noble Eunuch,\u201d he answered, \u201conce I was free and that man made me a\nslave, so that for many years I have been obliged to toil for him whom\nI hate. Moreover, often he has beaten me and starved me, which was why\nyou saw me eat so much not long ago, and threatened to kill me, and now\nat last I have my revenge upon him who is about to die miserably. That\nis why I laugh and sing and dance and clap my hands, O most noble\nEunuch, I who shall become the follower and servant of the glorious\nKing of all the earth, and perhaps your friend, too, O Eunuch of\neunuchs, whose sacred person my brutal master dared to kick.\u201d\n\n\u201cI understand,\u201d said Houman smiling, though with a twisted face, \u201cand\nwill make report of all you say to the King, and ask him to grant that\nyou shall sometimes prick this Egyptian in the eye. Now go spit in his\nface and tell him what you think of him.\u201d\n\nSo Bes waded into the water which was quite shallow here, and spat into\nmy face, or pretended to, while amid a torrent of vile language, he\ninterpolated certain words in the Libyan tongue, which meant,\n\n\u201cO my most beloved father, mother, and other relatives, have no fear.\nThough things look very black, remember the vision of the holy Tanofir,\nwho doubtless allows these things to happen to you to try your faith by\ndirect order of the gods. Be sure that I will not leave you to perish,\nor if there should be no escape, that I will find a way to put you out\nof your misery and to avenge you. Yes, yes, I will yet see that\naccursed swine, Houman, take your place in this boat. Now I go to the\nCourt to which it seems that this gold chain gives me a right of entry,\nor so the eunuch says, but soon I will be back again.\u201d\n\nThen followed another stream of most horrible abuse and more spitting,\nafter which he waded back to land and embraced Houman, calling him his\nbest friend.\n\nThey went, leaving me alone in the boat save for the guard upon the\nquay who, now that darkness had come, soon grew silent. It was lonely,\nvery lonely, lying there staring at the empty sky with only the\nstinging gnats for company, and soon my limbs began to ache. I thought\nof the poor wretches who had suffered in this same boat and wondered if\ntheir lot would be my lot.\n\nBes was faithful and clever, but what could a single dwarf do among all\nthese black-hearted fiends? And if he could do nothing, oh! if he could\ndo nothing!\n\nThe seconds seemed minutes, the minutes seemed hours, and the hours\nseemed years. What then would the days be, passed in torture and agony\nwhile waiting for a filthy death? Where now were the gods I had\nworshipped and\u2014was there any god? Or was man but a self-deceiver who\ncreated gods instead of the gods creating him, because he did not love\nto think of an eternal blackness in which he would soon be swallowed up\nand lost? Well, at least that would mean sleep, and sleep is better\nthan torment of mind or body.\n\nIt came to me, I think, who was so weary. At any rate I opened my eyes\nto see that the low moon had vanished and that some of the stars which\nI knew as a hunter who had often steered his way by them, had moved a\nlittle. While I was wondering idly why they moved, I heard the tramp of\nsoldiers on the quay and the voice of an officer giving a command. Then\nI felt the boat being drawn in by the cord with which it was attached\nto the quay. Next the other boat that lay over me was lifted off, the\nropes that bound me were undone and I was set upon my feet, for already\nI was so stiff that I could scarcely stand. A voice which I recognised\nas that of the eunuch Houman, addressed me in respectful tones, which\nmade me think I must be dreaming.\n\n\u201cNoble Shabaka,\u201d said the voice, \u201cthe Great King commands your presence\nat his feast.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs it so?\u201d I answered in my dream. \u201cThen my absence from their feast\nwill vex the gnats of the river,\u201d a saying at which Houman and others\nwith him laughed obsequiously.\n\nNext I heard the bags of gold being removed from the boat, after which\nwe walked away, guards supporting me by either elbow until I found my\nstrength again, and Houman following just behind, perhaps because he\nfeared my foot if he went in front.\n\n\u201cWhat has chanced, Eunuch,\u201d I asked presently, \u201cthat I am disturbed\nfrom the bed where I was sleeping so well?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know, Lord,\u201d he answered. \u201cI only know that the King of kings\nhas suddenly commanded that you should be brought before him as a guest\nclothed in a robe of honour, even if to do so, you must be awakened\nfrom your rest, yes, to his own royal table, for he holds a feast this\nnight. Lord,\u201d he went on in a whining voice, \u201cif perchance fortune\nshould have changed her face to you, I pray you bear no malice to those\nwho, when she frowned, were forced, yes, under the private Seal of\nSeals, against their will to carry out the commands of the King. Be\njust, O Lord Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay no more. I will try to be just,\u201d I answered. \u201cBut what is justice\nin the East? I only know of it in Egypt.\u201d\n\nNow we reached one of the doors of the palace and I was taken to a\nchamber where slaves who were waiting, washed and anointed me with\nscents, after which they clad me in a beautiful robe of silk, setting\nthe girdle of rose-hued pearls about me.\n\nWhen they had finished, preceded by Houman I was led to a great\npillared hall closed in with silk hangings, where many feasted. Through\nthem I went to a dais at the head of the hall where between half-drawn\ncurtains surrounded by cup-bearers and other officers, the King sat in\nall his glory upon a cushioned golden throne. He had a glittering\nwine-cup in his hand and at a glance I saw that he was drunk, as it is\nthe fashion for these Easterns to be at their great feasts, for he\nlooked happy and human which he did not do when he was sober. Or\nperchance, as sometimes I thought afterwards, he only pretended to be\ndrunk. Also I saw something else, namely, Bes, wondrously attired with\nthe gold chain about his neck and wearing a red headdress. He was\nseated on the carpet before the throne, and saying things that made the\nKing laugh and even caused the grave officers behind to smile.\n\nI came to the dais and at a little sign from Bes who yet did not seem\nto see me, such a sign as he often made when he caught sight of game\nbefore I did, I prostrated myself. The King looked at me, then asked,\n\n\u201cWho is this?\u201d adding, \u201cOh, I remember, the Egyptian whose arrows do\nnot miss, the wonderful hunter whom Idernes sent to me from Memphis,\nwhich I hope to visit ere long. We quarrelled, did we not, Egyptian,\nsomething about a lion?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so, King,\u201d I answered. \u201cThe King was angry and with justice,\nbecause I could not kill a lion before it frightened his horses.\u201d\n\nThis I said because my hours in the boat had made me humble, also\nbecause the words came to my lips.\n\n\u201cYes, yes, something like that, or at least you lie well. Whatever it\nmay have been, it is done with now, a mere hunters\u2019 difference,\u201d and\ntaking from his side his long sceptre that was headed with the great\nemerald, he stretched it out for me to touch in token of pardon.\n\nThen I knew that I was safe for he to whom the King has extended his\nsceptre is forgiven all crimes, yes, even if he had attempted the royal\nlife. The Court knew it also, for every man who saw bowed towards me,\nyes, even the officers behind the King. One of the cup-bearers too\nbrought me a goblet of the King\u2019s own wine, which I drank thankfully,\ncalling down health on the King.\n\n\u201cThat was a wonderful shot of yours, Egyptian,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen you sent\nan arrow through the lioness that dared to attack my Majesty. Yes, the\nKing owes his life to you and he is grateful as you shall learn. This\nslave of yours,\u201d and he pointed to Bes in his gaudy attire, \u201chas\nbrought the whole matter to my mind whence it had fallen, and,\nShabaka,\u201d here he hiccupped, \u201cyou may have noted how differently things\nlook to the naked eye and when seen through a wine goblet. He has told\nme a wonderful story\u2014what was the story, Dwarf?\u201d\n\n\u201cMay it please the great King,\u201d answered Bes, rolling his big eyes,\n\u201conly a little tale of another king of my own country whom I used to\nthink great until I came to the East and learned what kings could be.\nThat king had a servant with whom he used to hunt, indeed he was my own\nfather. One day they were out together seeking a certain elephant whose\ntusks were bigger than those of any other. Then the elephant charged\nthe king and my father, at the risk of his life, killed it and claimed\nthe tusks, as is the custom among the Ethiopians. But the king who\ngreatly desired those tusks, caused my father to be poisoned that he\nmight take them as his heir. Only before he died, my father, who could\ntalk the elephant language, told all the other elephants of this\nwickedness, at which they were very angry, because they knew well that\nfrom the beginning of time their tusks have belonged to him who killed\nthem, and the elephants are a people who do not like ancient laws to be\naltered. So the elephants made a league together and when the king next\nwent out hunting, taking heed of nothing else they rushed at the king\nand tore him into pieces no bigger than a finger, and then killed the\nprince his son, who was behind him. That is the tale of the elephants\nwho love Law, O King.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, yes,\u201d said his Majesty, waking up from a little doze, \u201cbut what\nbecame of the great tusks? I should like to have them.\u201d\n\n\u201cI inherited them as my father\u2019s son, O King, and gave them to my\nmaster, who doubtless will send them to you when he gets back to\nEgypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cA strange tale,\u201d said the King. \u201cA very strange tale which seems to\nremind me of something that happened not long ago. What was it? Well,\nit does not matter. Egyptian, do you seek any reward for that shot of\nyours at the lioness? If so, it shall be given to you. Have you a\ngrudge against anyone, for instance?\u201d\n\n\u201cO King,\u201d I answered, \u201cI do seek justice against a certain man. This\nevening I was led to the bank of the river in charge of the eunuch\nHouman, who desired to take me for a row in a boat. On the road, for no\noffence he struck me on the head with the handle of his fly-whip. See,\nhere are the marks of it, O King. Unless the King commanded him to\nstrike me which I do not remember, I seek justice against this eunuch.\u201d\n\nNow the King grew very angry and cried,\n\n\u201cWhat! Did the dog dare to strike a freeborn noble Egyptian?\u201d\n\nHere Houman threw himself upon his face in terror and began to babble\nout I know not what about the punishment of the boat, which was unlucky\nfor him, for it put the matter into the King\u2019s mind.\n\n\u201cThe boat!\u201d he cried. \u201cAh! yes, the boat; being so fat you will fit it\nwell, Eunuch. To the boat with him, and before he enters it a hundred\nblows upon the feet with the rods,\u201d and he pointed at him with his\nsceptre.\n\nThen guards sprang upon Houman and dragged him away. As he went he\nclutched at Bes, but hissing something into his ear, the dwarf bit him\nthrough the hand till he let go. So Houman departed and the King\u2019s\nguests laughed at the sight, for he had worked mischief to many.\n\nWhen he had gone the King stared at me and asked,\n\n\u201cBut why did I disturb you from your sleep, Egyptian? Oh! I remember.\nThis dwarf says that he has seen the fairest woman in the whole world,\nand the most learned, some lady of Egypt, but that he does not know her\nname, that you alone know her name. I disturbed you that you might tell\nit to me but if you have forgotten it, you can go back to your bed and\nrest there till it returns to you. There are plenty of boats in the\nriver, Egyptian.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe fairest and most learned woman in the world?\u201d I said astonished.\n\u201cWho can that be, unless he means the lady Amada?\u201d and I paused,\nwishing I had bitten out my tongue before I spoke, for I smelt a trap.\n\n\u201cYes, Master,\u201d said Bes in a clear voice. \u201cThat was the name, the lady\nAmada.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho is this lady Amada?\u201d asked the King, seeming to grow suddenly\nsober. \u201cAnd what is she like?\u201d\n\n\u201cI can tell you that, O King,\u201d said Bes. \u201cShe is like a willow shaken\nin the wind for slenderness and grace. She has eyes like those of a\nbuck at gaze; she has lips like rosebuds; she has hair black as the\nnight and soft as silk, the odour of which floats round her like that\nof flowers. She has a voice that whispers like the evening wind, and\nyet is rich as honey. Oh! she is beautiful as a goddess and when men\nsee her their hearts melt like wax in the sun and for a long while they\ncan look upon no other woman, not till the next day indeed if they meet\nher in the evening,\u201d and Bes smacked his thick lips and gazed upwards.\n\n\u201cBy the holy Fire,\u201d laughed the King, \u201cI feel my heart melting already.\nSay, Shabaka, what do you know of this Amada? Is she married or a\nmaiden?\u201d\n\nNow I answered because I must, for after all that boat was not far\naway, nor did I dare to lie.\n\n\u201cShe is married, O King of kings, to the goddess Isis whom she loves\nalone.\u201d\n\n\u201cA woman married to a woman, or rather to the Queen of women,\u201d he\nanswered laughing, \u201cwell, that matters little.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, O King, it matters much since she is under the protection of Isis\nand inviolate.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat remains to be seen, Shabaka. I think that I would dare the wrath\nof every false goddess in heaven to win such a prize. Learned also, you\nsay, Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye, O King, full of learning to the finger tips, a prophetess also,\none in whom the divine fire burns like a lamp in a vase of alabaster,\none to whom visions come and who can read the future and the past.\u201d\n\n\u201cStill better,\u201d said the King. \u201cOne, then, who would be a fitting\nconsort for the King of kings, who wearies of fat, round-eyed,\nsweetmeat-sucking fools whereof there are hundreds yonder,\u201d and he\npointed towards the House of Women. \u201cWho is this maid\u2019s father?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe is dead but she is the niece of the Prince Peroa, and by birth the\nRoyal Lady of Egypt, O King.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood, then she is well born also. Hearken, O Shabaka, to-morrow you\nstart back to Egypt, bearing letters from me to my vassal Peroa, and to\nmy Satrap Idernes, bidding Peroa to hand over this lady Amada to\nIdernes and bidding Idernes to send her to the East with all honour and\nwithout delay, that she may enter my household as one of my wives.\u201d\n\nNow I was filled with rage and horror, and about to refuse this mission\nwhen Bes broke in swiftly,\n\n\u201cWill the King of kings be pleased to give command as to my master\u2019s\nsafe and honourable escort to Egypt?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is commanded with all things necessary for Shabaka the Egyptian and\nthe dwarf his servant, with the gold and gems and slaves he won from me\nin a wager, and everything else that is his. Let it be recorded.\u201d\n\nScribes sprang forward and wrote the King\u2019s words down, while like one\nin a dream I thought to myself that they could not now be altered. The\nKing watched them sleepily for a while, then seemed to wake up and grow\nclear-minded again. At least he said to me,\n\n\u201cFortune has shown you smiles and frowns to-day, Egyptian, and the\nsmiles last. Yet remember that she has teeth behind her lips wherewith\nto tear out the throat of the faithless. Man, if you play me false or\nfail in your mission, be sure that you shall die and in such a fashion\nthat will make you think of yonder boat as a pleasant bed, and with you\nthis woman Amada and her uncle Peroa, and all your kin and hers; yes,\u201d\nhe added with a burst of shrewdness, \u201cand even that abortion of a dwarf\nto whom I have listened because he amused me, but who perhaps is more\ncunning than he seems.\u201d\n\n\u201cO King of kings,\u201d I said, \u201cI will not be false.\u201d But I did not add to\nwhom I would be true.\n\n\u201cGood. Ere long I shall visit Egypt, as I have told you, and there I\nshall pass judgment on you and others. Till then, farewell. Fear\nnothing, for you have my safe-conduct. Begone, both of you, for you\nweary me. But first drink and keep the cup, and in exchange, give me\nthat bow of yours which shoots so far and straight.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the King\u2019s,\u201d I answered as I pledged him in the golden, jewelled\ncup which a butler had handed to me.\n\nThen the curtain fell in front of the throne and chamberlains came\nforward to lead me and Bes back to our lodging, one of whom took the\ncup and bore it in front of us. Down the hall we went between the\nfeasting nobles who all bowed to one to whom the Great King had shown\nfavour, and so out of the palace through the quiet night back to the\nhouse where I had dwelt while waiting audience of the King. Here the\nchamberlains bade me farewell, giving the cup to Bes to carry, and\nsaying that on the morrow early my gold should be brought to me\ntogether with all that was needed for my journey, also one who would\nreceive the bow I had promised to the King, which had already been\nreturned to my lodgings with everything that was ours. Then they bowed\nand went.\n\nWe entered the house, climbing a stair to an upper chamber. Here Bes\nbarred the door and the shutters, making sure that none could see or\nhear us.\n\nThen he turned, threw his arms about me, kissed my hand and burst into\ntears.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\nBES STEALS THE SIGNET\n\n\n\u201cOh! my Master,\u201d gulped Bes, \u201cI weep because I am tired, so take no\nnotice. The day was long and during it twice at least there has been\nbut the twinkling of an eyelid, but the thickness of a finger nail, but\nthe weight of a hair between you and death.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said, \u201cand you were the eyelid, the finger nail and the hair.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Master, not I, but something beyond me. The tool carves the statue\nand the hand holds the tool but the spirit guides the hand. Not once\nonly since the sun rose has my mind been empty as a drum. Then\nsomething struck on it, perhaps the holy Tanofir, perhaps another, and\nit knew what note to sound. So it was when I cursed you in the boat. So\nit was when I walked back with the eunuch, meaning to kill him on the\nroad, and then remembered that the death of one vile eunuch would not\nhelp you at all, whereas alive he could bring me to the presence of the\nKing, if I paid him, as I did out of the gold in your purse which I\ncarried. Moreover he earned his hire, for when the King grew dull, wine\nnot yet having taken a hold on him, it was he who brought me to his\nmind as one who might amuse him, being so ugly and different from\nothers, if only for a few minutes, after the women dancers had failed\nto do so.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what happened then, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I was fetched and did my juggling tricks with that snake I caught\nand tamed, which is in my pouch now. You should not hate it any more,\nMaster, for it played your game well. After this the King began to talk\nto me and I saw that his mind was ill at ease about you whom he knew\nthat he had wronged. So I told him that story of an elephant that my\nfather killed to save a king\u2014it grew up in my mind like a toadstool in\nthe night, Master, did this story of an ungrateful king and what befell\nhim. Then the King became still more unquiet in his heart about you and\nasked the eunuch, Houman, where you were, to which he answered that by\nhis order you were sleeping in a boat and might not be disturbed. So\nthat arrow of mine missed its mark because the King did not like to eat\nhis own words and cause you to be brought from out the boat, whither he\nhad sent you. Now when everything seemed lost, some god, or perhaps the\nholy Tanofir who is ever present with me to see that I have not\nforgotten him, put it into the King\u2019s mouth to begin to talk about\nwomen and to ask me if I had ever seen any fairer than those dancers\nwhom I met going out as I came in. I answered that I had not noticed\nthem much because they were so ugly, as indeed all women had seemed to\nme since once upon the banks of Nile I had looked upon one who was as\nHathor herself for beauty. The King asked me who this might be and I\nanswered that I did not know since I had never dared to ask the name of\none whom even my master held to be as a goddess, although as boy and\ngirl they had been brought up together.\n\n\u201cThen the King saw his opportunity to ease his conscience and inquired\nof an old councillor if there were not a law which gave the king power\nto alter his decree if thereby he could satisfy his soul and acquire\nknowledge. The councillor answered that there was such a law and began\nto give examples of its working, till the King cut him short and said\nthat by virtue of it he commanded that you should be brought out of\nyour bed in the boat and led before him to answer a question.\n\n\u201cSo you were sent for, Master, but I did not go with the messengers,\nfearing lest if I did the King would forget all about the matter before\nyou came. Therefore I stayed and amused him with tales of hunting, till\nI could not think of any more, for you were long in coming. Indeed I\nbegan to fear lest he should declare the feast at an end. But at the\nlast, just as he was yawning and spoke to one of his councillors,\nbidding him send to the House of Women that they might make ready to\nreceive him there, you came, and the rest you know.\u201d\n\nNow I looked at Bes and said,\n\n\u201cMay the blessing of all the gods of all the lands be on your head,\nsince had it not been for you I should now lie in torment in that boat.\nHearken, friend: If ever we reach Egypt again, you will set foot on it,\nnot as a slave but as a free man. You will be rich also, Bes, that is,\nif we can take the gold I won with us, since half of it is yours.\u201d\n\nBes squatted down upon the floor and looked up at me with a strange\nsmile on his ugly face.\n\n\u201cYou have given me three things, Master,\u201d he said. \u201cGold, which I do\nnot want at present; freedom, which I do not want at present and\nmayhap, never shall while you live and love me; and the title of\nfriend. This I do want, though why I should care to hear it from your\nlips I am not sure, seeing that for a long while I have known that it\nwas spoken in your heart. Since you have said it, however, I will tell\nyou something which hitherto I have hid even from you. I have a right\nto that name, for if your blood is high, O Shabaka, so is mine. Know\nthat this poor dwarf whom you took captive and saved long years ago was\nmore than the petty chief which he declared himself to be. He was and\nis by right the King of the Ethiopians and that throne with all its\nwealth and power he could claim to-morrow if he would.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe King of the Ethiopians!\u201d I said. \u201cOh! friend Bes, I pray you to\nremember that we no longer stand in yonder court lying for our lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cI speak no lie, O Shabaka, I before you am King of the Ethiopians.\nMoreover, I laid that kingship down of my own will and should I so\ndesire, can take it up again when I will, since the Ethiopians are\nfaithful to their kings.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked, astonished.\n\n\u201cMaster, for so I will still call you who am not yet upon the land of\nEgypt where you have promised me freedom, do you remember anything\nstrange about the people of that tribe from among whom you and the\nEgyptian soldiers captured me by surprise, because they wished to drive\nyou and your following from their country?\u201d\n\nNow I thought and answered,\n\n\u201cYes, one thing. I saw no women in their camp, nor any sign of\nchildren. This I know because I gave orders that such were to be spared\nand it was reported to me that there were none, so I supposed that they\nhad fled away.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere were none to fly, Master. That tribe was a brotherhood which had\nabjured women. Look on me now. I am misshapen, hideous, am I not? Born\nthus, it is said, because before my birth my mother was frightened by a\ndwarf. Yet the law of the Ethiopians is that their kings must marry\nwithin a year of their crowning. Therefore I chose a woman to be the\nqueen whom I had long desired in secret. She scorned me, vowing that\nnot for all the thrones of all the world would she be mated to a\nmonster, and that if it were done by force she would kill herself, a\nsaying that went abroad throughout the land. I said that she had spoken\nwell and sent her in safety from the country, after which I too laid\ndown my crown and departed with some who loved me, to form a\nbrotherhood of women-haters further down the Nile, beyond the borders\nof Ethiopia. There the Egyptian force of which you were in command,\nattacked us unprepared, and you made me your slave. That is all.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why did you do this, Bes, seeing that maidens are many and all\nwould not have thought thus?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause I wished for that one only, Master; also I feared lest I\nshould become the father of a breed of twisted dwarfs. So I who was a\nking am now a slave, and yet, who knows which way the Grasshopper will\njump? One day from a slave I may again grow into a king. And now let us\nseek that wherein kings are as slaves and slaves as kings\u2014sleep.\u201d\n\nSo we lay down and slept, I thanking the gods that my bed was not\nyonder in the boat upon the great river.\n\nWhen I woke refreshed, though after all I had gone through on the\nyesterday my brain still swam a little, the light was pouring through\nthe carved work of the shuttered windows. By it I saw Bes seated on the\nfloor engaged in doing something to his bow, which, as I have said, had\nbeen restored to us with our other weapons, and asked him sleepily what\nit was.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d he said, \u201cyonder King demanded your bow and therefore a bow\nmust be sent to him. But there is no need for it to be that with which\nyou shot the lions, which, too, you value above anything you have,\nseeing that it came down to you from your forefather who was a Pharaoh\nof Egypt, and has been your companion from boyhood ever since you were\nstrong enough to draw it. As you may remember I copied that bow out of\na somewhat lighter wood, which I could bend with ease, and it is the\ncopy that we will give to the King. Only first I must set your string\nupon it, for that may have been noted; also make one or two marks that\nare on your bow which I am finishing now, having begun the task with\nthe dawn.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are clever,\u201d I said laughing, \u201cand I am glad. The holy Tanofir,\nlooking on my bow, once had a vision. It was that an arrow loosed from\nit would drink the blood of a great king and save Egypt. But what king\nand when, he did not see.\u201d\n\nThe dwarf nodded and answered,\n\n\u201cI have heard that tale and so have others. Therefore I play this trick\nsince it is better that yonder palace dweller should get the arrow than\nthe bow. There, it is finished to the last scratch, and none, save you\nand I, would know them apart. Till we are clear of this cursed land\nyour bow is mine, Master, and you must find you another of the Eastern\nmake.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d I repeated after him. \u201cSay, Bes, did I dream or did you in\ntruth tell me last night that you are by birth and right the king of a\ngreat country?\u201d\n\n\u201cI told you that, Master and it is true, no dream, since joy and\nsuffering mixed unseal the lips and from them comes that at times which\nthe heart would hide. Now I ask a favour of you, that you will speak no\nmore of this matter either to me or to any other, man or woman, unless\nI should speak of it first. Let it be as though it were indeed a\ndream.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is granted,\u201d I said as I rose and clothed myself, not in my own\ngarments which had been taken from me in the palace, but in the\nsplendid silken robes that had been set upon me after I was loosed from\nthe boat. When this was done and I had washed and combed my long,\ncurling hair, we descended to a lower chamber and called for the woman\nof the house to bring us food, of which I ate heartily. As we finished\nour meal we heard shouts in the street outside of, \u201cMake way for the\nservants of the King!\u201d and looking through the window-place, saw a\ngreat cavalcade approaching, headed by two princes on horseback.\n\n\u201cNow I pray that yonder Tyrant has not changed his mind and that these\ndo not come to take me back to the boat,\u201d I said in a low voice.\n\n\u201cHave no fear, Master,\u201d answered Bes, \u201cseeing that you have touched his\nsceptre and drunk from his cup which he gave to you. After these things\nno harm can happen to you in any land he rules. Therefore be at ease\nand deal with these fellows proudly.\u201d\n\nA minute later two princes entered followed by slaves who bore many\nthings, among them those hide bags filled with gold that had been set\nbeneath me in the boat. The elder of them bowed, greeting me with the\ntitle of \u201cLord,\u201d and I bowed back to him. Then he handed me certain\nrolls tied up with silk and sealed, which he said I was to deliver as\nthe King had commanded to the King\u2019s Satrap in Egypt, and to the Prince\nPeroa. Also he gave me other letters addressed to the King\u2019s servants\non the road and written on tablets of clay in a writing I could not\nread, with all of which I touched my forehead in the Eastern fashion.\n\nAfter this he told me that by noon all would be ready for my journey\nwhich I should make with the rank of the King\u2019s Envoy, duly provisioned\nand escorted by his servants, with liberty to use the royal horses from\npost to post. Then he ordered the slaves to bring in the gifts which\nthe King sent to me, and these were many, including even suits of\nflexible armour that would turn any sword-thrust or arrow.\n\nI thanked him, saying that I would be ready to start by noon, and asked\nwhether the King wished to see me before I rode. He replied that he had\nso wished, but that as he was suffering in his head from the effects of\nthe sun, he could not. He bade me, however, remember all that he had\nsaid to me and to be sure that the beauteous lady Amada, of whom I had\nspoken, was sent to him without delay. In that case my reward should be\ngreat; but if I failed to fulfil his commands, then his wrath would be\ngreater and I should perish miserably as he had promised.\n\nI bowed and made no answer, after which he and his companions opened\nthe bags of gold to show me that it was there, offering to weigh it\nagain against my servant, the dwarf, so that I could see that nothing\nhad been taken away.\n\nI replied that the King\u2019s word was truer than any scale, whereon the\nbags were tied up again and sealed. Then I produced the bow, or rather\nits counterfeit, and having shown it to the princes, wrapped it and six\nof my own arrows in a linen cloth, to be taken to the King, with a\nmessage that though hard to draw it was the deadliest weapon in the\nworld. The elder of them took it, bowed and bade me farewell, saying\nthat perhaps we should meet again ere long in Egypt, if my gods gave me\na safe journey. So we parted and I was glad to see the last of them.\n\nScarcely had they gone when the six hunters whom I had won in the wager\nand thereby saved from death, entered the chamber and fell upon their\nknees before me, asking for orders as to making ready my gear for the\njourney. I inquired of them if they were coming also, to which their\nspokesman replied that they were my slaves to do what I commanded.\n\n\u201cDo you desire to come?\u201d I inquired.\n\n\u201cO Lord Shabaka,\u201d answered their spokesman, \u201cwe do, though some of us\nmust leave wives and children behind us.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cFor two reasons, Lord. Here we are men disgraced, though through no\nfault of our own and if you were to leave us in this land, soon the\nanger of the King would find us out and we should lose not only our\nwives and children, but with them our lives. Whereas in another land we\nmay get other wives and more children, but never shall we get another\nlife. Therefore we would leave those dear ones to our friends, knowing\nthat soon the women will forget and find other husbands, and that the\nchildren will grow up to whatever fate is appointed them, thinking of\nus, their fathers, as dead. Secondly we are hunters by trade, and we\nhave seen that you are a great hunter, one whom we shall always be\nproud to serve in the chase or in war, one, too, who went out of his\npath to save our lives, because he saw that we had been unjustly doomed\nto a cruel death. Therefore we desire nothing better than to be your\nslaves, hoping that perchance we may earn our liberty from you in days\nto come by our good service.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs that the wish of all of you?\u201d I asked.\n\nSpeaking one by one, they said that it was, though tears rose in the\neyes of some of them who were married at the thought of parting from\ntheir women and their little ones, who, it seemed might not be brought\nwith them because they were the people of the King and had not been\nnamed in the bet. Moreover, horses could not be found for so many, nor\ncould they travel fast.\n\n\u201cCome then,\u201d I said, \u201cand know that while you are faithful to me, I\nwill be good to you, men of my own trade, and perhaps in the end set\nyou free in a land where brave fellows are not given to be torn to\npieces by wild beasts at the word of any king. But if you fail me or\nbetray me, then either I will kill you, or sell you to those who deal\nin slaves, to work at the oar, or in the mines till you die.\u201d\n\n\u201cHenceforth we have no lord but you, O Shabaka,\u201d they said, and one\nafter another took my hand and pressed it to their foreheads, vowing to\nbe true to me in all things while we lived.\n\nSo I bade them begone to bid farewell to those they loved and return\nagain within half an hour of noon, never expecting, to tell the truth,\nthat they would come. Indeed I did this to give them the opportunity of\nescaping if they saw fit, and hiding themselves where they would. But\nas I have often noted, the trade of hunting breeds honesty in the blood\nand at the hour appointed all of these men appeared, one of them with a\nwoman who carried a child in her arms, clinging to him and weeping\nbitterly. When her veil slipped aside I saw that she was young and very\nfair to look on.\n\nSo at noon we left the city of the Great King in the charge of two of\nhis officers who brought me his thanks for the bow I had sent him,\nwhich he said he should treasure above everything he possessed, a\nsaying at which Bes rolled his yellow eyes and grinned. We were mounted\non splendid stallions from the royal stables and clad in the shirts of\nmail that had been presented to us, though when we were clear of the\ncity we took these off because of the heat, also because that which Bes\nwore chafed him, being too long for his squat shape. Our goods together\nwith the bags of gold were laden on sumpter horses which were led by my\nsix hunter slaves. Four picked soldiers brought up the rear, mighty men\nfrom the King\u2019s own bodyguard, and two of the royal postmen who served\nus as guides. Also there were cooks and grooms with spare horses.\n\nThus we started in state and a great crowd watched us go. Our road ran\nby the river which we must cross in barges lower down, so that in a few\nminutes we came to that quay whither I had been led on the previous\nnight to die. Yes, there were the watching guards, and there floated\nthe hateful double boat, at the prow of which appeared the tortured\nface of the eunuch Houman, who rolled his head from side to side to rid\nhimself of the torment of the flies. He caught sight of us and began to\nscream for pity and forgiveness, whereat Bes smiled. The officers\nhalted our cavalcade and one of them approaching me said,\n\n\u201cIt is the King\u2019s command, O Lord Shabaka, that you should look upon\nthis villain who traduced you to the King and afterwards dared to\nstrike you. If you will, enter the water and blind him, that your face\nmay be the last thing he sees before he passes into darkness.\u201d\n\nI shook my head, but Bes into whose mind some thought had come,\nwhispered to me,\n\n\u201cI wish to speak with yonder eunuch, so give me leave and fear nothing.\nI will do him no hurt, only good, if I find the chance.\u201d\n\nThen I said to the officer,\n\n\u201cIt is not for great lords to avenge themselves upon the fallen. Yet my\nslave here was also wronged and would say a word to yonder Houman.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo be it,\u201d said the officer, \u201conly let him be careful not to hurt him\ntoo sorely, lest he should die before the time and escape his\npunishment.\u201d\n\nThen Bes tucked up his robes and waded into the river, flourishing a\ngreat knife, while seeing him come, Houman began to scream with fear.\nHe reached the boat and bent over the eunuch, talking to him in a low\nvoice. What he did there I could not see because his cloak was spread\nout on either side of the man\u2019s head. Presently, however, I caught\nsight of the flash of a knife and heard yells of agony followed by\ngroans, whereat I called to him to return and let the fellow be. For\nwhen I remembered that his fate was near to being my own, those sounds\nmade me sick at heart and I grew angry with Bes, though the cruel\nEasterns only laughed.\n\nAt length he came back grinning and washing the blade of his knife in\nthe water. I spoke fiercely to him in my own language, and still he\ngrinned on, making no answer. When we were mounted again and riding\naway from that horrible boat with its groaning prisoner, watching Bes\nwhose behaviour and silence I could not understand, I saw him sweep his\nhand across his great mouth and thrust it swiftly into his bosom. After\nthis he spoke readily enough, though in a low voice lest someone who\nunderstood Egyptian should overhear him.\n\n\u201cYou are a fool, Master,\u201d he said, \u201cto think that I should wish to\nwaste time in torturing that fat knave.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen why did you torture him?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cBecause my god, the Grasshopper, when he fashioned me a dwarf, gave me\na big mouth and good teeth,\u201d he answered, whereon I stared at him,\nthinking that he had gone mad.\n\n\u201cListen, Master. I did not hurt Houman. All I did was to cut his cords\nnearly through from the under side, so that when night comes he can\nbreak them and escape, if he has the wit. Now, Master, you may not have\nnoticed, but I did, that before the King doomed you to death by the\nboat yesterday, he took a certain round, white seal, a cylinder with\ngods and signs cut on it, which hung by a gold chain from his girdle,\nand gave it to Houman to be his warrant for all he did. This seal\nHouman showed to the Treasurer whereon they produced the gold that was\nweighed in the scales against me, and to others when he ordered the\nboat to be prepared for you to lie in. Moreover he forgot to return it,\nfor when he himself was dragged off to the boat by direct command of\nthe King, I caught sight of the chain beneath his robe. Can you guess\nthe rest?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot quite,\u201d I answered, for I wished to hear the tale in his own\nwords.\n\n\u201cWell, Master, when I was walking with Houman after he had put you in\nthe boat, I asked him about this seal. He showed it to me and said that\nhe who bore it was for the time the king of all the Empire of the East.\nIt seems that there is but one such seal which has descended from\nancient days from king to king, and that of it every officer, great or\nsmall, has an impress in all lands. If the seal is produced to him, he\ncompares it with the impress and should the two agree, he obeys the\norder that is brought as though the King had given it in person. When\nwe reached the Court doubtless Houman would have returned the seal, but\nseeing that the King was, or feigned to be drunk, waited for fear lest\nit should be lost, and with it his life. Then he was seized as you saw,\nand in his terror forgot all about the seal, as did the King and his\nofficers.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, surely, Bes, those who took Houman to the boat would have removed\nit.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster, even the most clear-sighted do not see well at night. At any\nrate my hope was that they had not done so, and that is why I waded out\nto prick the eyes of Houman. Moreover, as I had hoped, so it was; there\nbeneath his robe I saw the chain. Then I spoke to him, saying,\n\n\u201c\u2018I am come to put out your eyes, as you deserve, seeing how you have\ntreated my master. Still I will spare you at a price. Give me the\nKing\u2019s ancient white seal that opens all doors, and I will only make a\npretence of blinding you. Moreover I will cut your cords nearly\nthrough, so that when the night comes you can break them, roll into the\nriver and escape.\u2019\n\n\u201c\u2018Take it if you can,\u2019 he said, \u2018and use it to injure or destroy that\naccursed one.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you took it, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Master, but not easily. Remember, it was on a chain about the\nman\u2019s neck, and I could not draw it over his head, for, like his hands,\nhis throat was tied by a cord, as you remember yours was.\u201d\n\n\u201cI remember very well,\u201d I said, \u201cfor my throat is still sore from the\nrope that ran to the same staples to which my hands were fastened.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Master, and therefore if I drew the chain off his neck, it would\nstill have been on the ropes. I thought of trying to cut it with the\nknife, but this was not easy because it is thick, and if I had dragged\nit up on the blade of the knife it would have been seen, for many eyes\nwere watching me, Master. Then I took another counsel. While I\npretended to be putting out the eyes of Houman, I bent down and getting\nthe chain between my teeth I bit it through. One tooth broke\u2014see, but\nthe next finished the business. I ate through the soft gold, Master,\nand then sucked up the chain and the round white seal into my mouth,\nand that is why I could not answer you just now, because my cheeks were\nfull of chain. So we have the King\u2019s seal that all the subject\ncountries know and obey. It may be useful, yonder in Egypt, and at\nleast the gold is of value.\u201d\n\n\u201cClever!\u201d I exclaimed, \u201cvery clever. But you have forgotten something,\nBes. When that knave escapes, he will tell the whole story and the King\nwill send after us and kill us who have stolen his royal seal.\u201d\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t think so, Master. First, it is not likely that Houman will\nescape. He is very fat and soft and already suffers much. After a day\nin the sun also he will be weak. Moreover I do not think that he can\nswim, for eunuchs hate the water. So if he gets out of the boat it is\nprobable that he will drown in the river, since he dare not wade to the\nquay where the guards will be waiting. But if he does escape by\nswimming across the river, he will hide for his life\u2019s sake and never\nbe seen again, and if by chance he is caught, he will say that the seal\nfell into the water when he was taken to the boat, or that one of the\nguards had stolen it. What he will not say is that he had bargained it\naway with someone who in return, cut his cords, since for that crime he\nmust die by worse tortures than those of the boat. Lastly we shall ride\nso fast that with six hours\u2019 start none will catch us. Or if they do I\ncan throw away the chain and swallow the seal.\u201d\n\nAs Bes said, so it happened. The fate of Houman I never learned, and of\nthe theft of the seal I heard no more until a proclamation was issued\nto all the kingdoms that a new one was in use. But this was not until\nlong afterwards when it had served my turn and that of Egypt.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\nTHE LADY AMADA\n\n\nNow day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute every detail of that\njourney appeared before me, but to set it all down is needless. As I,\nAllan Quatermain, write the record of my vision, still I seem to hear\nthe thunder of our horses\u2019 hoofs while we rushed forward at full gallop\nover the plains, over the mountain passes and by the banks of rivers.\nThe speed at which we travelled was wonderful, for at intervals of\nabout forty miles were post-houses and at these, whatever might be the\nhour of day or night, we found fresh horses from the King\u2019s stud\nawaiting us. Moreover, the postmasters knew that we were coming, which\nastonished me until we discovered that they had been warned of our\narrival by two King\u2019s messengers who travelled ahead of us.\n\nThese men, it would seem, although our officers and guides professed\nignorance of the matter, must have left the King\u2019s palace at dawn on\nthe day of our departure, whereas we did not mount in the city till a\nlittle after noon. Therefore they had six hours good start of us, and\nwhat is more, travelled lighter than we did, having no sumpter beasts\nwith them, and no cooks or servants. Moreover, always they had the pick\nof the horses and chose the three swiftest beasts, leading the third in\ncase one of their own should founder or meet with accident. Thus it\ncame about that we never caught them up although we covered quite a\nhundred miles a day. Only once did I see them, far off upon the skyline\nof a mountain range which we had to climb, but by the time we had\nreached its crest they were gone.\n\nAt length we came to the desert without accident and crossed it, though\nmore slowly. But even here the King had his posts which were in charge\nof Arabs who lived in tents by wells of water, or sometimes where there\nwas none save what was brought to them. So still we galloped on,\nparched by the burning sand beneath and the burning sand above, and\nreached the borders of Egypt.\n\nHere, upon the very boundary line, the two officers halted the\ncavalcade saying that their orders were to return thence and make\nreport to the King. There then we parted, Bes and I with the six\nhunters who still chose to cling to me, going forward and the officers\nof the King with the guides and servants going back. The good horses\nthat we rode from the last post they gave to us by the King\u2019s command,\ntogether with the sumpter beasts, since horses broken to the saddle\nwere hard to come by in Egypt where they were trained to draw chariots.\nThese we took, sending back my thanks to the King, and started on once\nmore, Bes leading that beast which bore the gold and the hunters\nserving as a guard.\n\nIndeed I was glad to see the last of those Easterns although they had\nbrought us safely and treated us well, for all the while I was never\nsure but that they had some orders to lead us into a trap, or perhaps\nto make away with us in our sleep and take back the gold and the\npriceless, rose-hued pearls, any two of which were worth it all. But\nsuch was not their command nor did they dare to steal them on their own\naccount, since then, even if they escaped the vengeance of the King,\ntheir wives and all their families would have paid the price.\n\nNow we entered Egypt near the Salt Lakes that are not far from the head\nof the Gulf, crossing the canal that the old Pharaohs had dug, which\nproved easy for it was silted up. Before we reached it we found some\npeasant folk labouring in their gardens and I heard one of them call to\nanother,\n\n\u201cHere come more of the Easterns. What is toward, think you, neighbour?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d answered the other, \u201cbut when I passed down the canal\nthis morning, I saw a body of the Great King\u2019s guards gathering from\nthe fort. Doubtless it is to meet these men of whose coming the other\ntwo who went by fifty hours ago, have warned the officers.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow what does that mean?\u201d I asked of Bes.\n\n\u201cNeither more nor less than we have heard, Master. The two King\u2019s\nmessengers who have gone ahead of us all the way from the city, have\ntold the officer of the frontier fort that we are coming, so he has\nadvanced to the ford to meet us, for what purpose I do not know.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor do I,\u201d I said, \u201cbut I wish we could take another road, if there\nwere one.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is none, Master, for above and below the canal is full of water\nand the banks are too steep for horses to climb. Also we must show no\ndoubt or fear.\u201d\n\nHe thought a while, then added,\n\n\u201cTake the royal seal, Master. It may be useful.\u201d\n\nHe gave it to me, and I examined it more closely than I had done\nbefore. It was a cylinder of plain white shell hung on a gold chain,\nthat which Bes had bitten through, but now mended again by taking out\nthe broken link. On this cylinder were cut figures; as I think of a\npriest presenting a noble to a god, over whom was the crescent of the\nmoon, while behind the god stood a man or demon with a tall spear. Also\nbetween the figures were mystic signs, meaning I know not what. The\nworkmanship of the carving was grown shallow with time and use for the\ncylinder seemed to be very ancient, a sacred thing that had descended\nfrom generation to generation and was threaded through with a bar of\nsilver on which it turned.\n\nI put the seal which was like no other that I had seen, being the work\nof an early and simpler age, round my neck beneath my mail and we went\non.\n\nDescending the steep bank of the canal we came to the ford where the\nsand that had silted in was covered by not more than a foot of water.\nAs we entered it, on the top of the further bank appeared a body of\nabout thirty armed and mounted men, one of whom carried the Great\nKing\u2019s banner, on which I noted was blazoned the very figures that were\ncut upon the cylinder. Now it was too late to retreat, so we rode\nthrough the water and met the soldiers. Their officer advanced, crying,\n\n\u201cIn the name of the Great King, greeting, my lord Shabaka!\n\n\u201cIn the name of the Great King, greeting!\u201d I answered. \u201cWhat would you\nwith Shabaka, Officer of the King?\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly to do him honour. The word of the King has reached us and we come\nto escort you to the Court of Idernes, the Satrap of the King and\nGovernor of Egypt who sits at Sais.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not my road, Officer. I travel to Memphis to deliver the\ncommands of the King to my cousin, Peroa, the ruler of Egypt under the\nKing. Afterwards, perchance, I shall visit the high Idernes.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo whom our commands are to take you now, my lord Shabaka, not\nafterwards,\u201d said the officer sternly, glancing round at his armed\nescort.\n\n\u201cI come to give commands, not to receive them, Captain of the King.\u201d\n\n\u201cSeize Shabaka and his servants,\u201d said the officer briefly, whereon the\nsoldiers rode forward to surround us.\n\nI waited till they were near at hand. Then suddenly I plunged my hand\nbeneath my robe and drew out the small, white seal which I held before\nthe eyes of the officer, saying,\n\n\u201cWho is it that dares to lay a finger upon the holder of the King\u2019s\nWhite Seal? Surely that man is ready for death.\u201d\n\nThe officer stared at it, then leapt from his horse and flung himself\nface downwards on the ground, crying,\n\n\u201cIt is the ancient signet of the Kings of the East, given to their\nfirst forefather by Samas the Sungod, on which hangs the fortunes of\nthe Great House! Pardon, my lord Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is granted,\u201d I answered, \u201cbecause what you did you did in\nignorance. Now go to the Satrap Idernes and say to him that if he would\nhave speech with the bearer of the King\u2019s seal which all must obey, he\nwill find him at Memphis. Farewell,\u201d and with Bes and the six hunters I\nrode through the guards, none striving to hinder me.\n\n\u201cThat was well done, Master,\u201d said Bes.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cThose two messengers who went ahead of us brought\norders to the frontier guard of Idernes that I should be taken to him\nas a prisoner. I do not know why, but I think because things are\npassing in Egypt of which we know nothing and the King did not desire\nthat I should see the Prince Peroa and give him news that I might have\ngathered. Mayhap we have been outwitted, Bes, and the business of the\nlady Amada is but a pretext to pick a quarrel suddenly before Peroa can\nstrike the first blow.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, Master, for these Easterns are very crafty. But, Master, what\nhappens to those who make a false use of the King\u2019s ancient, sacred\nsignet? I think they have cut the ropes which tie them to earth,\u201d and\nhe looked upwards to the sky rolling his yellow eyes.\n\n\u201cThey must find new ropes, Bes, and quickly, before they are caught.\nHearken. You have sat upon a throne and I can speak out to you. Think\nyou that my cousin, the Prince Peroa, loves to be the servant of this\ndistant, Eastern king, he who by right is Pharaoh of Egypt? Peroa must\nstrike or lose his niece and perchance his life. Forward, that we may\nwarn him.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if he will not strike, Master, knowing the King\u2019s might and being\nsomewhat slow to move?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Bes, I think that you and I had best go hunting far away in\nthose lands you know, where even the Great King cannot follow us.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd where, if only I can find a woman who does not make me ill to look\non, and whom I do not make ill, I too can once more be a king, Master,\nand the lord of many thousand brave armed men. I must speak of that\nmatter to the holy Tanofir.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho doubtless will know what to advise you, Bes; or, if he does not, I\nshall.\u201d\n\nFor a while we rode on in silence, each thinking his own thoughts. Then\nBes said,\n\n\u201cMaster, before so very long we shall reach the Nile, and having with\nus gold in plenty can buy boats and hire crews. It comes into my mind\nthat we should do well for our own safety and comfort to start at once\non a hunting journey far from Egypt; in the land of the Ethiopians,\nMaster. There perchance I could gather together some of the wise men in\nwhose hands I left the rule of my kingdom, and submit to them this\nquestion of a woman to marry me. The Ethiopians are a faithful people,\nMaster, and will not reject me because I have spent some years seeing\nthe world afar, that I might learn how to rule them better.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have remembered that it cannot be, Bes,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cWhy not, Master?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor this reason. You left your country because of a woman? I cannot\nleave mine again because of a woman.\u201d\n\nBes rolled his eyes around as though he thought to see that woman in\nthe desert. Not discovering her, he stared upwards and there found\nlight.\n\n\u201cIs she perchance named the lady Amada, Master?\u201d\n\nI nodded.\n\n\u201cSo. The lady Amada who you told the Great King is the most beautiful\none in the whole world, causing the fire of Love to burn up in his\nroyal heart, and with it many other things of which we do not know at\npresent.\u201d\n\n\u201c_You_ told him, Bes,\u201d I said angrily.\n\n\u201cI told him of a beautiful one; I did not tell him her name, Master,\nand although I never thought of it at the time, perhaps she will be\nangry with him who told her name.\u201d\n\nNow fear took hold of me, and Bes saw it in my face.\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid, Master. If there is trouble I will swear that I told\nthe Great King that lady\u2019s name.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Bes, but how would that fit in with the story, seeing that I was\nbrought out of the boat for this very purpose?\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite easily, Master, since I will say that you were led from the boat\nto confirm my tale. Oh! she will be angry with me, no doubt, but in\nEgypt even a dwarf cannot be killed because he has declared a certain\nlady to be the most beautiful in the world. But, Master, tell me, when\ndid you learn to love her?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen we were boy and girl, Bes. We used to play together, being\ncousins, and I used to hold her hand. Then suddenly she refused to let\nme hold her hand any more, and I being quite grown up then, though she\nwas younger, understood that I had better go away.\u201d\n\n\u201cI should have stopped where I was, Master.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Bes. She was studying to be a priestess and my great uncle, the\nholy Tanofir, told me that I had better go away. So I went down south\nhunting and fighting in command of the troops, and met you, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhich perhaps was better for you, Master, than to stop to watch the\nlady Amada acquire learning. Still, I wonder whether the holy Tanofir\nis _always_ right. You see, Master, he thinks a great deal of priests\nand priestesses, and is so very old that he has forgotten all about\nlove and that without it there never would have been a holy Tanofir.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe holy Tanofir thinks of souls, not of bodies, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Master. Still, oil is of no use without a lamp, or a soul without\na body, at least here underneath the sun, or so we were taught who\nworship the Grasshopper. But, Master, when you came back from all your\nhunting, what happened then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I found, Bes, that the lady Amada, having acquired all the\nlearning possible, had taken her first vows to Isis, which she said she\nwould not break for any man on earth although she might have done so\nwithout crime. Therefore, although I was dear to her, as a brother\nwould have been had she had one, and she swore that she had never even\nthought of another man, she refused so much as to think of marrying who\ndreamed only of the heavenly perfections of the lady Isis.\u201d\n\n\u201cUmp!\u201d said Bes. \u201cWe Ethiopians have Priestesses of the Grasshopper, or\nthe Grasshopper\u2019s wife, but they do not think of her like that. I hope\nthat one day something stronger than herself will not cause the lady\nAmada to break her vows to the heavenly Isis. Only then, perhaps, it\nmay be for the sake of another man who did not go off to the East on\naccount of such fool\u2019s talk. But here is a village and the horses are\nspent. Let us stop and eat, as I suppose even the lady Amada does\nsometimes.\u201d\n\nOn the following afternoon we crossed the Nile, and towards sunset\nentered the vast and ancient city of Memphis. On its white walls\nfloated the banners of the Great King which Bes pointed out to me,\nsaying that wherever we went in the whole world, it seemed that we\ncould never be free from those accursed symbols.\n\n\u201cMay I live to spit upon them and cast them into the moat,\u201d I answered\nsavagely, for as I drew near to Amada they grew ten times more hateful\nto me than they had been before.\n\nIn truth I was nearer to Amada than I thought, for after we had passed\nthe enclosure of the temple of Ptah, the most wonderful and the\nmightiest in the whole world, we came to the temple of Isis. There near\nto the pylon gate we met a procession of her priests and priestesses\nadvancing to offer the evening sacrifice of song and flowers, clad, all\nof them, in robes of purest white. It was a day of festival, so singers\nwent with them. After the singers came a band of priestesses bearing\nflowers, in front of whom walked another priestess shaking a _sistrum_\nthat made a little tinkling music.\n\nEven at a distance there was something about the tall and slender shape\nof this priestess that stirred me. When we came nearer I saw why, for\nit was Amada herself. Through the thin veil she wore I could see her\ndark and tender eyes set beneath the broad brow that was so full of\nthought, and the sweet, curved mouth that was like no other woman\u2019s.\nMoreover there could be no doubt since the veil parting above her\nbreast showed the birth-mark for which she was famous, the mark of the\nyoung moon, the sign of Isis.\n\nI sprang from my horse and ran towards her. She looked up and saw me.\nAt first she frowned, then her face grew wondering, then tender, and I\nthought that her red lips shaped my name. Moreover in her confusion she\nlet the _sistrum_ fall.\n\nI muttered \u201cAmada!\u201d and stepped forward, but priests ran between us and\nthrust me away. Next moment she had recovered the _sistrum_ and passed\non with her head bowed. Nor did she lift her eyes to look back.\n\n\u201cBegone, man!\u201d cried a priest, \u201cBegone, whoever you may be. Because you\nwear Eastern armour do you think that you can dare the curse of Isis?\u201d\n\nThen I fell back, the holy image of the goddess passed and the\nprocession vanished through the pylon gate. I, Shabaka the Egyptian,\nstood by my horse and watched it depart. I was happy because the lady\nAmada was alive, well, and more beautiful than ever; also because she\nhad shown signs of joy and confusion at seeing me again. Yet I was\nunhappy because I met her still filling a holy office which built a\nwall between us, also because it seemed to me an evil omen that I\nshould have been repelled from her by a priest of Isis who talked of\nthe curse of the goddess. Moreover the sacred statue, I suppose by\naccident, turned towards me as it passed and perhaps by the chance of\nlight, seemed to frown upon me.\n\nThus I thought as Shabaka hundreds of years before the Christian era,\nbut as Allan Quatermain the modern man, to whom it was given so\nmarvellously to behold all these things and who in beholding them, yet\nnever quite lost the sense of his own identity of to-day, I was amazed.\nFor I knew that this lady Amada was the same being though clad in\ndifferent flesh, as that other lady with whom I had breathed the\nmagical _Taduki_ fumes which had power to rend the curtain of the past,\nor, perhaps, only to breed dreams of what it might have been.\n\nTo the outward eye, indeed she was different, as I was different,\ntaller, more slender, larger-eyed, with longer and slimmer hands than\nthose of any Western woman, and on the whole even more beautiful and\nalluring. Moreover that mysterious look which from time to time I had\nseen on Lady Ragnall\u2019s face, was more constant on that of the lady\nAmada. It brooded in the deep eyes and settled in a curious smile about\nthe curves of the lips, a smile that was not altogether human, such a\nsmile as one might wear who had looked on hidden things and heard\nvoices that spoke beyond the limits of the world.\n\nSomehow neither then nor at any other time during all my dream, could I\nimagine this Amada, this daughter of a hundred kings, whose blood might\nbe traced back through dynasty on dynasty, as nothing but a woman who\nnurses children upon her breast. It was as though something of our\ncommon nature had been bred out of her and something of another nature\nwhereof we have no ken, had entered to fill its place. And yet these\ntwo women were the same, that I _knew_, or at any rate, much of them\nwas the same, for who can say what part of us we leave behind as we\nflit from life to life, to find it again elsewhere in the abysms of\nTime and Change? One thing too was quite identical\u2014the birthmark of the\nnew moon above the breast which the priests of the Kendah had declared\nwas always the seal that marked their prophetess, the guardian of the\nHoly Child.\n\nWhen the procession had quite departed and I could no longer hear the\nsound of singing, I remounted and rode on to my house, or rather to\nthat of my mother, the great lady Tiu, which was situated beneath the\nwall of the old palace facing towards the Nile. Indeed my heart was\nfull of this mother of mine whom I loved and who loved me, for I was\nher only child, and my father had been long dead; so long that I could\nnot remember him. Eight months had gone by since I saw her face and in\neight months who knew what might have happened? The thought made me\ncold for she, who was aged and not too strong, perhaps had been\ngathered to Osiris. Oh! if that were so!\n\nI shook my tired horse to a canter, Bes riding ahead of me to clear a\nroad through the crowded street in which, at this hour of sundown, all\nthe idlers of Memphis seemed to have gathered. They stared at me\nbecause it was not common to see men riding in Memphis, and with little\nlove, since from my dress and escort they took me to be some envoy from\ntheir hated master, the Great King of the East. Some even threatened to\nbar the way; but we thrust through and presently turned into a\nthoroughfare of private houses standing in their own gardens. Ours was\nthe third of these. At its gate I leapt from my horse, pushed open the\nclosed door and hastened in to seek and learn.\n\nI had not far to go for, there in the courtyard, standing at the head\nof our modest household and dressed in her festal robes, was my mother,\nthe stately and white-haired lady Tiu, as one stands who awaits the\ncoming of an honoured guest. I ran to her and kneeling, kissed her\nhand, saying,\n\n\u201cMy mother! My mother, I have come safe home and greet you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI greet you also, my son,\u201d she answered, bending down and kissing me\non the brow, \u201cwho have been in far lands and passed so many dangers. I\ngreet you and thank the guardian gods who have brought you safe home\nagain. Rise, my son.\u201d\n\nI rose and kissed her on the face, then looked at the servants who were\nbowing their welcome to me, and said,\n\n\u201cHow comes it, Lady of the House, that all are gathered here? Did you\nawait some guest?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe awaited you, my son. For an hour have we stood here listening for\nthe sound of your feet.\u201d\n\n\u201cMe!\u201d I exclaimed. \u201cThat is strange, seeing that I have ridden fast and\nhard from the East, tarrying only a few minutes, and those since I\nentered Memphis, when I met\u2014\u2014\u201d and I stopped.\n\n\u201cMet whom, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe lady Amada walking in the procession of Isis.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh! the lady Amada. The mother waits that the son may stop to greet\nthe lady Amada!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut _why_ did you wait, my mother? Who but a spirit or a bird of the\nair could have told you that I was coming, seeing that I sent no\nmessenger before me?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou must have done so, Shabaka, since yesterday one came from the holy\nTanofir, our relative who dwells in the desert in the burial-ground of\nSekera. He bore a message from Tanofir to me, telling me to make ready\nsince before sundown to-night you, my son, would be with me, having\nescaped great dangers, accompanied by the dwarf Bes, your servant, and\nsix strange Eastern men. So I made ready and waited; also I prepared\nlodging for the six strange men in the outbuildings behind the house\nand sent a thank offering to the temple. For know, my son, I have\nsuffered much fear for you.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd not without cause, as you will say when I tell you all,\u201d I\nanswered laughing. \u201cBut how Tanofir knew that I was coming is more than\nI can guess. Come, my mother, greet Bes here, for had it not been for\nhim, never should I have lived to hold your hand again.\u201d\n\nSo she greeted him and thanked him, whereon Bes rolled his eyes and\nmuttered something about the holy Tanofir, after which we entered the\nhouse. Thence I despatched a messenger to the Prince Peroa saying that\nif it were his pleasure I would wait on him at once, seeing that I had\nmuch to tell him. This done I bathed and caused my hair and beard to be\ntrimmed and, discarding the Eastern garments, clothed myself in those\nof Egypt, and so felt that I was my own man again. Then I came out\nrefreshed and drank a cup of Syrian wine and the night having fallen,\nsat down by my mother in the chamber with a lamp between us, and,\nholding her hand, told her something of my story, showing her the sacks\nof gold that had come with me safely from the East, and the chain of\npriceless, rose-hued pearls that I had won in a wager from the Great\nKing.\n\nNow when she learned how Bes by his wit had saved me from a death of\ntorment in the boat, my mother clapped her hands to summon a servant\nand sent for Bes, and said to him,\n\n\u201cBes, hitherto I have looked on you as a slave taken by my son, the\nnoble Shabaka, in one of his far journeys that it pleases him to make\nto fight and to hunt. But henceforth I look upon you as a friend and\ngive you a seat at my table. Moreover it comes into my mind that\nalthough so strangely shaped by some evil god, perhaps you are more\nthan you seem to be.\u201d\n\nNow Bes looked at me to see if I had told my mother anything, and when\nI shook my head answered,\n\n\u201cI thank you, O Lady of the House, who have but done my duty to my\nmaster. Still it is true that as a goatskin often holds good wine, so a\ndwarf should not always be judged by what can be seen of him.\u201d\n\nThen he went away.\n\n\u201cIt seems that we are rich again, Son, who have been somewhat poor of\nlate years,\u201d said my mother, looking at the bags of gold. \u201cAlso, there\nare the pearls which doubtless are worth more than the gold. What are\nyou going to do with them, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought of offering them as a gift to the lady Amada,\u201d I replied\nhesitatingly, \u201cthat is unless you\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cI? No, I am too old for such gems. Yet, Son, it might be well to keep\nthem for a time, seeing that while they are your own they may give you\nmore weight in the eyes of the Prince Peroa and others. Whereas if you\ngave them to the lady Amada and she took them, perchance it might only\nbe to see them return to the East, whither you tell me she is summoned\nby one whose orders may not be disobeyed.\u201d\n\nNow I turned white with rage and answered,\n\n\u201cWhile I live, Mother, Amada shall never go to the East to be the woman\nof yonder King.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile you live, Son. But those who cross the will of a great king, are\napt to die. Also this is a matter which her uncle, the Prince Peroa,\nmust decide as policy dictates. Now as ever the woman is but a pawn in\nthe game. Oh! my son,\u201d she went on, \u201cdo not pin all your heart to the\nrobe of this Amada. She is very fair and very learned, but is she one\nwho will love? Moreover, if so she is a priestess and it would be\ndifficult for her to wed who is sworn to Isis. Lastly, remember this:\nIf Egypt were free, she would be its heiress, not her uncle, Peroa. For\nhers is the true blood, not his. Would he, therefore, be willing to\ngive her to any man who, according to the ancient custom, through her\nwould acquire the right to rule?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not seek to rule, Mother; I only seek to wed Amada whom I love.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmada whom you love and whose name you, or rather your servant Bes,\nwhich is the same thing since it will be held that he did it by your\norder, gave to the King of the East, or so I understand. Here is a\npretty tangle, Shabaka, and rather would I be without all that gold and\nthose priceless pearls than have the task of its unravelling.\u201d\n\nBefore I could answer and explain all the truth to her, the curtain was\nswung aside and through it came a messenger from the Prince Peroa, who\nbade me come to eat with him at once at the palace, since he must see\nme this night.\n\nSo my mother having set the rope of rose-hued pearls in a double chain\nabout my neck, I kissed her and went, with Bes who was also bidden.\nOutside a chariot was waiting into which we entered.\n\n\u201cNow, Master,\u201d said Bes to me as we drove to the palace, \u201cI almost wish\nthat we were back in another chariot hunting lions in the East.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cBecause then, although we had much to fear, there was no woman in the\nstory. Now the woman has entered it and I think that our real troubles\nare about to begin. Oh! to-morrow I go to seek counsel of the holy\nTanofir.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I come with you,\u201d I answered, \u201cfor I think it will be needed.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\nTHE MESSENGERS\n\n\nWe descended at the great gate of the palace and were led through empty\nhalls that were no longer used now when there was no king in Egypt, to\nthe wing of the building in which dwelt the Prince Peroa. Here we were\nreceived by a chamberlain, for the Prince of Egypt still kept some\nstate although it was but small, and had about him men who bore the\nold, high-sounding titles of the \u201cOfficers of Pharaoh.\u201d\n\nThe chamberlain led me and Bes to an ante-chamber of the banqueting\nhall and left us, saying that he would summon the Prince who wished to\nsee me before he ate. This, however, was not necessary since while he\nspoke Peroa, who as I guessed had been waiting for me, entered by\nanother door. He was a majestic-looking man of middle age, for grey\nshowed in his hair and beard, clad in white garments with a purple hem\nand wearing on his brow a golden circlet, from the front of which rose\nthe _ur\u00e6us_ in the shape of a hooded snake that might be worn by those\nof royal blood alone. His face was full of thought and his black and\npiercing eyes looked heavy as though with sleeplessness. Indeed I could\nsee that he was troubled. His gaze fell upon us and his features\nchanged to a pleasant smile.\n\n\u201cGreeting, Cousin Shabaka,\u201d he said. \u201cI am glad that you have returned\nsafe from the East, and burn to hear your tidings. I pray that they may\nbe good, for never was good news more needed in Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cGreeting, Prince,\u201d I answered, bowing my knee. \u201cI and my servant here\nare returned safe, but as for our tidings, well, judge of them for\nyourself,\u201d and drawing the letter of the Great King from my robe, I\ntouched my forehead with the roll and handed it to him.\n\n\u201cI see that you have acquired the Eastern customs, Shabaka,\u201d he said as\nhe took it. \u201cBut here in my own house which once was the palace of our\nforefathers, the Pharaohs of Egypt, by your leave I will omit them.\nAmen be my witness,\u201d he added bitterly, \u201cI cannot bear to lay the\nletter of a foreign king against my brow in token of my country\u2019s\nvassalage.\u201d\n\nThen he broke the silk of the seals and read, and as he read his face\ngrew black with rage.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d he cried, casting down the roll and stamping on it. \u201cWhat! Does\nthis dog of an Eastern king bid me send my niece, by birth the Royal\nPrincess of Egypt, to be his toy until he wearies of her? First I will\nchoke her with my own hands. How comes it, Shabaka, that you care to\nbring me such a message? Were I Pharaoh now I think your life would pay\nthe price.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs it would certainly have paid the price, had I not done so. Prince,\nI brought the letter because I must. Also a copy of it has gone, I\nbelieve, to Idernes the Satrap at Sais. It is better to face the truth,\nPrince, and I think that I may be of more service to you alive than\ndead. If you do not wish to send the lady Amada to the King, marry her\nto someone else, after which he will seek her no more.\u201d\n\nHe looked at me shrewdly and said,\n\n\u201cTo whom then? I cannot marry her, being her uncle and already married.\nDo you mean to yourself, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have loved the lady Amada from a child, Prince,\u201d I answered boldly.\n\u201cAlso I have high blood in me and having brought much gold from the\nEast, am rich again and one accustomed to war.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you have brought gold from the East! How? Well, you can tell me\nafterwards. But you fly high. You, a Count of Egypt, wish to marry the\nRoyal Lady of Egypt, for such she is by birth and rank, which, if ever\nEgypt were free again, would give you a title to the throne.\u201d\n\n\u201cI ask no throne, Prince. If there were one to fill I should be content\nto leave that to you and your heirs.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you say, no doubt honestly. But would the children of Amada say the\nsame? Would you even say it if you were her husband, and would she say\nit? Moreover she is a priestess, sworn not to wed, though perhaps that\ntrouble might be overcome, if she wishes to wed, which I doubt. Mayhap\nyou might discover. Well, you are hungry and worn with long travelling.\nCome, let us eat, and afterwards you can tell your story. Amada and the\nothers will be glad to hear it, as I shall. Follow me, Count Shabaka.\u201d\n\nSo we went to the lesser banqueting-hall, I filled with joy because I\nshould see Amada, and yet, much afraid because of that story which I\nmust tell. Gathered there, waiting for the Prince, we found the\nPrincess his wife, a large and kindly woman, also his two eldest\ndaughters and his young son, a lad of about sixteen. Moreover, there\nwere certain officers, while at the tables of the lower hall sat others\nof the household, men of smaller rank, and their wives, since Peroa\nstill maintained some kind of a shadow of the Court of old Egypt.\n\nThe Princess and the others greeted me, and Bes also who had always\nbeen a favourite with them, before he went to take his seat at the\nlowest table, and I greeted them, looking all the while for Amada whom\nI did not see. Presently, however, as we took our places on the\ncouches, she entered dressed, not as a priestess, but in the beautiful\nrobes of a great lady of Egypt and wearing on her head the _ur\u00e6us_\ncirclet that signified her royal blood. As it chanced the only seat\nleft vacant was that next to myself, which she took before she\nrecognized me, for she was engaged in asking pardon for her lateness of\nthe Prince and Princess, saying that she had been detained by the\nceremonies at the temple. Seeing suddenly that I was her neighbour, she\nmade as though she would change her place, then altered her mind and\nstayed where she was.\n\n\u201cGreeting, Cousin Shabaka,\u201d she said, \u201cthough not for the first time\nto-day. Oh! my heart was glad when looking up, outside the temple, I\ncaught sight of you clad in that strange Eastern armour, and knew that\nyou had returned safe from your long wanderings. Yet afterwards I must\ndo penance for it by saying two added prayers, since at such a time my\nthoughts should have been with the goddess only.\u201d\n\n\u201cGreeting, Cousin Amada,\u201d I answered, \u201cbut she must be a jealous\ngoddess who grudges a thought to a relative\u2014and friend\u2014at such a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe is jealous, Shabaka, as being the Queen of women she must be who\ndemands to reign alone in the hearts of her votaries. But tell me of\nyour travels in the East and how you came by that rope of wondrous\npearls, if indeed there can be pearls so large and beautiful.\u201d\n\nThis at the time I had little chance of doing, however, since the young\nPrincess on the other side of her began to talk to Amada about some\nforthcoming festival, and the Prince\u2019s son next to me who was fond of\nhunting, to question me about sport in the East and when, unhappily, I\nsaid that I had shot lions there, gave me no peace for the rest of that\nfeast. Also the Princess opposite was anxious to learn what food noble\npeople ate in the East, and how it was cooked and how they sat at\ntable, and what was the furniture of their rooms and did women attend\nfeasts as in Egypt, and so forth. So it came about that what between\nthese things and eating and drinking, which, being well-nigh starved, I\nwas obliged to do, for, save a cup of wine, I had taken nothing in my\nmother\u2019s house, I found little chance of talking with the lovely Amada,\nalthough I knew that all the while she was studying me out of the\ncorners of her large eyes. Or perhaps it was the rose-hued pearls she\nstudied, I was not sure.\n\nOnly one thing did she say to me when there was a little pause while\nthe cup went round, and she pledged me according to custom and passed\nit on. It was,\n\n\u201cYou look well, Shabaka, though somewhat tired, but sadder than you\nused, I think.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps because I have seen things to sadden me, Amada. But you too\nlook well but somewhat lovelier than you used, I think, if that be\npossible.\u201d\n\nShe smiled and blushed as she replied,\n\n\u201cThe Eastern ladies have taught you how to say pretty things. But you\nshould not waste them upon me who have done with women\u2019s vanities and\nhave given myself to learning and\u2014religion.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave learning and religion no vanities of their own?\u201d I began, when\nsuddenly the Prince gave a signal to end the feast.\n\nThereon all the lower part of the hall went away and the little tables\nat which we ate were removed by servants, leaving us only wine-cups in\nour hands which a butler filled from time to time, mixing the wine with\nwater. This reminded me of something, and having asked leave, I\nbeckoned to Bes, who still lingered near the door, and took from him\nthat splendid, golden goblet which the Great King had given me, that by\nmy command he had brought wrapped up in linen and hidden beneath his\nrobe. Having undone the wrappings I bowed and offered it to the Prince\nPeroa.\n\n\u201cWhat is this wondrous thing?\u201d asked the Prince, when all had finished\nadmiring its workmanship. \u201cIs it a gift that you bring me from the King\nof the East, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is a gift from myself, O Prince, if you will be pleased to accept\nit,\u201d I answered, adding, \u201cYet it is true that it comes from the King of\nthe East, since it was his own drinking-cup that he gave me in exchange\nfor a certain bow, though not the one he sought, after he had pledged\nme.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou seem to have found much favour in the eyes of this king, Shabaka,\nwhich is more than most of us Egyptians do,\u201d he exclaimed, then went on\nhastily, \u201cStill, I thank you for your splendid gift, and however you\ncame by it, shall value it much.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps my cousin Shabaka will tell us his story,\u201d broke in Amada, her\neyes still fixed upon the rose-hued pearls, \u201cand of how he came to win\nall the beauteous things that dazzle our eyes to-night.\u201d\n\nNow I thought of offering her the pearls, but remembering my mother\u2019s\nwords, also that the Princess might not like to see another woman bear\noff such a prize, did not do so. So I began to tell my story instead,\nBes seated on the ground near to me by the Prince\u2019s wish, that he might\ntell his.\n\nThe tale was long for in it was much that went before the day when I\nsaw myself in the chariot hunting lions with the King of kings, which\nI, the modern man who set down all this vision, now learned for the\nfirst time. It told of the details of my journey to the East, of my\ncoming to the royal city and the rest, all of which it is needless to\nrepeat. Then I came to the lion hunt, to my winning of the wager, and\nall that happened to me; of my being condemned to death, of the\nweighing of Bes against the gold, and of how I was laid in the boat of\ntorment, a story at which I noticed Amada turn pale and tremble.\n\nHere I ceased, saying that Bes knew better than I what had chanced at\nthe Court while I was pinned in the boat, whereon all present cried out\nto Bes to take up the tale. This he did, and much better than I could\nhave done, bringing out many little things which made the scene appear\nbefore them, as Ethiopians have the art of doing. At last he came to\nthe place in his story where the king asked him if he had ever seen a\nwoman fairer than the dancers, and went on thus:\n\n\u201cO Prince, I told the Great King that I had; that there dwelt in Egypt\na lady of royal blood with eyes like stars, with hair like silk and\nlong as an unbridled horse\u2019s tail, with a shape like to that of a\ngoddess, with breath like flowers, with skin like milk, with a voice\nlike honey, with learning like to that of the god Thoth, with wit like\na razor\u2019s edge, with teeth like pearls, with majesty of bearing like to\nthat of the king himself, with fingers like rosebuds set in pink\nseashells, with motion like that of an antelope, with grace like that\nof a swan floating upon water, and\u2014I don\u2019t remember the rest, O\nPrince.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps it is as well,\u201d exclaimed Peroa. \u201cBut what did the King say\nthen?\u201d\n\n\u201cHe asked her name, O Prince.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what name did you give to this wondrous lady who surpasses all the\ngoddesses in loveliness and charm, O dwarf Bes?\u201d inquired Amada much\namused.\n\n\u201cWhat name, O High-born One? Is it needful to ask? Why, what name could\nI give but your own, for is there any other in the world of whom a man\nwhose heart is filled with truth could speak such things?\u201d\n\nNow hearing this I gasped, but before I could speak Amada leapt up,\ncrying,\n\n\u201cWretch! You dared to speak my name to this king! Surely you should be\nscourged till your bones are bare.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd why not, Lady? Would you have had me sit still and hear those fat\ntrollops of the East exalted above you? Would you have had me so\ndisloyal to your royal loveliness?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou should be scourged,\u201d repeated Amada stamping her foot. \u201cMy Uncle,\nI pray you cause this knave to be scourged.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, nay,\u201d said Peroa moodily. \u201cPoor simple man, he knew no better and\nthought only to sing your praises in a far land. Be not angry with the\ndwarf, Niece. Had it been Shabaka who gave your name, the thing would\nbe different. What happened next, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly this, Prince,\u201d said Bes, looking upwards and rolling his eyes, as\nwas his fashion when unloading some great lie from his heart. \u201cThe King\nsent his servants to bring my master from the boat, that he might\ninquire of him whether he had always found me truthful. For, Prince,\nthose Easterns set much store by truth which here in Egypt is\nworshipped as a goddess. There they do not worship her because she\nlives in the heart of every man, and some women.\u201d\n\nNow all stared at Bes who continued to stare at the ceiling, and I rose\nto say something, I know not what, when suddenly the doors opened and\nthrough them appeared heralds, crying,\n\n\u201cHearken, Peroa, Prince of Egypt by grace of the Great King. A message\nfrom the Great King. Read and obey, O Peroa, Prince of Egypt by grace\nof the Great King!\u201d\n\nAs they cried thus from between them emerged a man whose long Eastern\nrobes were stained with the dust of travel. Advancing without salute he\ndrew out a roll, touched his forehead with it, bowing deeply, and\nhanded it to the prince, saying,\n\n\u201cKiss the Word. Read the Word. Obey the Word, O servant of our Master,\nthe King of kings, beneath whose feet we are all but dust.\u201d\n\nPeroa took the roll, made a semblance of lifting it to his forehead,\nopened and read it. As he did so I saw the veins swell upon his neck\nand his eyes flash, but he only said,\n\n\u201cO Messenger, to-night I feast, to-morrow an answer shall be given to\nyou to convey to the Satrap Idernes. My servants will find you food and\nlodging. You are dismissed.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet the answer be given early lest you also should be dismissed, O\nPeroa,\u201d said the man with insolence.\n\nThen he turned his back upon the prince, as one does on an inferior,\nand walked away, accompanied by the herald.\n\nWhen they were gone and the doors had been shut, Peroa spoke in a voice\nthat was thick with fury, saying,\n\n\u201cHearken, all of you, to the words of the writing.\u201d\n\nThen he read it.\n\n\u201cFrom the King of kings, the Ruler of all the earth, to Peroa, one of\nhis servants in the Satrapy of Egypt,\n    \u201cDeliver over to my servant Idernes without delay, the person of\n    Amada, a lady of the blood of the old Pharaohs of Egypt, who is\n    your relative and in your guardianship, that she may be numbered\n    among the women of my house.\u201d\n\n\nNow all present looked at each other, while Amada stood as though she\nhad been frozen into stone. Before she could speak, Peroa went on,\n\n\u201cSee how the King seeks a quarrel against me that he may destroy me and\nbray Egypt in his mortar, and tan it like a hide to wrap about his\nfeet. Nay, hold your peace, Amada. Have no fear. You shall not be sent\nto the East; first will I kill you with my own hands. But what answer\nshall we give, for the matter is urgent and on it hang all our lives?\nBethink you, Idernes has a great force yonder at Sais, and if I refuse\noutright, he will attack us, which indeed is what the King means him to\ndo before we can make preparation. Say then, shall we fight, or shall\nwe fly to Upper Egypt, abandoning Memphis, and there make our stand?\u201d\n\nNow the Councillors present seemed to find no answer, for they did not\nknow what to say. But Bes whispered in my ear,\n\n\u201cRemember, Master, that you hold the King\u2019s seal. Let an answer be sent\nto Idernes under the White Seal, bidding him wait on you.\u201d\n\nThen I rose and spoke.\n\n\u201cO Peroa,\u201d I said, \u201cas it chances I am the bearer of the private signet\nof the Great King, which all men must obey in the north and in the\nsouth, in the east and in the west, wherever the sun shines over the\ndominions of the King. Look on it,\u201d and taking the ancient White Seal\nfrom about my neck, I handed it to him.\n\nHe looked and the Councillors looked. Then they said almost with one\nvoice,\n\n\u201cIt is the White Seal, the very signet of the Great Kings of the East,\u201d\nand they bowed before the dreadful thing.\n\n\u201cHow you came by this we do not know, Shabaka,\u201d said Peroa. \u201cThat can\nbe inquired of afterwards. Yet in truth it seems to be the old Signet\nof signets, that which has come down from father to son for countless\ngenerations, that which the King of kings carries on his person and\naffixes to his private orders and to the greatest documents of State,\nwhich afterwards can never be recalled, that of which a copy is\nemblazoned on his banner.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is,\u201d I answered, \u201cand from the King\u2019s person it came to me for a\nwhile. If any doubt, let the impress be brought, that is furnished to\nall the officers throughout the Empire, and let the seal be set in the\nimpress.\u201d\n\nNow one of the officers rose and went to bring the impress which was in\nhis keeping, but Peroa continued,\n\n\u201cIf this be the true seal, how would you use it, Shabaka, to help us in\nour present trouble?\u201d\n\n\u201cThus, Prince,\u201d I answered. \u201cI would send a command under the seal to\nIdernes to wait upon the holder of the seal here in Memphis. He will\nsuspect a trap and will not come until he has gathered a great army.\nThen he will come, but meanwhile, you, Prince, can also collect an\narmy.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat needs gold, Shabaka, and I have little. The King of kings takes\nall in tribute.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have some, Prince, to the weight of a heavy man, and it is at the\nservice of Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank you, Shabaka. Believe me, such generosity shall not go\nunrewarded,\u201d and he glanced at Amada who dropped her eyes. \u201cBut if we\ncan collect the army, what then?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you can put Memphis into a state of defence. Then too when\nIdernes comes I will meet him and, as the bearer of the seal, command\nhim under the seal to retreat and disperse his army.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if he does, Shabaka, it will only be until he has received fresh\norders from the Great King, whereon he will advance again.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Prince, _he_ will not advance, or that army either. For when they\nare in retreat we will fall on them and destroy them, and declare you,\nO Prince, Pharaoh of Egypt, though what will happen afterwards I do not\nknow.\u201d\n\nWhen they heard this all gasped. Only Amada whispered,\n\n\u201cWell said!\u201d and Bes clapped his big hands softly in the Ethiopian\nfashion.\n\n\u201cA bold counsel,\u201d said Peroa, \u201cand one on which I must have the night\nto think. Return here, Shabaka, an hour after sunrise to-morrow, by\nwhich time I can gather all the wisest men in Memphis, and we will\ndiscuss this matter. Ah! here is the impress. Now let the seal be\ntried.\u201d\n\nA box was brought and opened. In it was a slab of wood on which was an\nimpress of the King\u2019s seal in wax, surrounded by those of other seals\ncertifying that it was genuine. Also there was a writing describing the\nappearance of the seal. I handed the signet to Peroa who, having\ncompared it with the description in the writing, fitted it to the\nimpress on the wax.\n\n\u201cIt is the same,\u201d he said. \u201cSee, all of you.\u201d\n\nThey looked and nodded. Then he would have given it back to me but I\nrefused to take it, saying,\n\n\u201cIt is not well that this mighty symbol should hang about the neck of a\nprivate man whence it might be stolen or lost.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr who might be murdered for its sake,\u201d interrupted Peroa.\n\n\u201cYes, Prince. Therefore take it and hide it in the safest and most\nsecret place in the palace, and with it these pearls that are too\npriceless to be flaunted about the streets of Memphis at night, unless\nindeed\u2014\u2014\u201d and I turned to look for Amada, but she was gone.\n\nSo the seal and the pearls were taken and locked in the box with the\nimpress and borne away. Nor was I sorry to see the last of them, wisely\nas it happened. Then I bade the Prince and his company good night, and\npresently was driving homeward with Bes in the chariot.\n\nOur way led us past some large houses once occupied by officers of the\nCourt of Pharaoh, but now that there was no Court, fallen into ruins.\nSuddenly from out of these houses sprang a band of men disguised as\ncommon robbers, whose faces were hidden by cloths with eye-holes cut in\nthem. They seized the horses by the bridles, and before we could do\nanything, leapt upon us and held us fast. Then a tall man speaking with\na foreign accent, said,\n\n\u201cSearch that officer and the dwarf. Take from them the seal upon a gold\nchain and a rope of rose-hued pearls which they have stolen. But do\nthem no harm.\u201d\n\nSo they searched us, the tall man himself helping and, aided by others,\nholding Bes who struggled with them, and searched the chariot also, by\nthe light of the moon, but found nothing. The tall man muttered that I\nmust be the wrong officer, and at a sign they left us and ran away.\n\n\u201cThat was a wise thought of mine, Bes, which caused me to leave certain\nornaments in the palace,\u201d I said. \u201cAs it is they have taken nothing.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Master,\u201d he answered, \u201cthough I have taken something from them,\u201d\na saying that I did not understand at the time. \u201cThose Easterns whom we\nmet by the canal told Idernes about the seal, and he ordered this to be\ndone. That tall man was one of the messengers who came to-night to the\npalace.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen why did they not kill us, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause murder, especially of one who holds the seal, is an ugly\nbusiness, that is easily tracked down, whereas thieves are many in\nMemphis and who troubles about them when they have failed? Oh! the\nGrasshopper, or Amen, or both, have been with us to-night.\u201d\n\nSo I thought although I said nothing, for since we had come off\nscatheless, what did it matter? Well, this. It showed me that the\nsignet of the Great King was indeed to be dreaded and coveted, even\nhere in Egypt. If Idernes could get it into his possession, what might\nhe not do with it? Cause himself to be proclaimed Pharaoh perhaps and\nbecome the forefather of an independent dynasty. Why not, when the\nEmpire of the East was taxed with a great war elsewhere? And if this\nwas so why should not Peroa do the same, he who had behind him all Old\nEgypt, maddened with its wrongs and foreign rule?\n\nThat same night before I slept, but after Bes and I had hidden away the\nbags of gold by burying them beneath the clay floor, I laid the whole\nmatter before my mother who was a very wise woman. She heard me out,\nanswering little, then said,\n\n\u201cThe business is very dangerous, and of its end I will not speak until\nI have heard the counsel of your great-uncle, the holy Tanofir. Still,\nthings having gone so far, it seems to me that boldness may be the best\ncourse, since the great King has his Grecian wars to deal with, and\nwhatever he may say, cannot attack Egypt yet awhile. Therefore if Peroa\nis able to overcome Idernes and his army he may cause himself to be\nproclaimed Pharaoh and make Egypt free if only for a time.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuch is my mind, Mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot all your mind, Son, I think,\u201d she answered smiling, \u201cfor you think\nmore of the lovely Amada than of these high policies, at any rate\nto-night. Well, marry your Amada if you can, though I misdoubt me\nsomewhat of a woman who is so lost in learning and thinks so much about\nher soul. At least if you marry her and Egypt should become free, as it\nwas for thousands of years, you will be the next heir to the throne as\nhusband of the Great Royal Lady.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can that be, Mother, seeing that Peroa has a son?\u201d\n\n\u201cA vain youth with no more in him than a child\u2019s rattle. If once Amada\nceases to think about her soul she will begin to think about her\nthrone, especially if she has children. But all this is far away and\nfor the present I am glad that neither she nor the thieves have got\nthose pearls, though perhaps they might be safer here than where they\nare. And now, my son, go rest for you need it, and dream of nothing,\nnot even Amada, who for her part will dream of Isis, if at all. I will\nwake you before the dawn.\u201d\n\nSo I went, being too tired to talk more, and slept like a crocodile in\nthe sun, till, as it seemed to me, but a few minutes later I saw my\nmother standing over me with a lamp, saying that it was time to rise. I\nrose, unwillingly enough, but refreshed, washed and dressed myself, by\nwhich time the sun had begun to appear. Then I ate some food and,\ncalling Bes, made ready to start for the palace.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d said my mother, the lady Tiu, before we parted, \u201cwhile you\nhave been sleeping I have been thinking, as is the way of the old.\nPeroa, your cousin, will be glad enough to make use of you, but he does\nnot love you over much because he is jealous of you and fears lest you\nshould become his rival in the future. Still he is an honest man and\nwill keep a bargain which he once has made. Now it seems that above\neverything on earth you desire Amada on whom you have set your heart\nsince boyhood, but who has always played with you and spoken to you\nwith her arm stretched out. Also life is short and may come to an end\nany day, as you should know better than most men who have lived among\ndangers, and therefore it is well that a man should take what he\ndesires, even if he finds afterwards that the rose he crushes to his\nbreast has thorns. For then at least he will have smelt the rose, not\nonly have looked on and longed to smell it. Therefore, before you hand\nover your gold, and place your wit and strength at the service of\nPeroa, make your bargain with him; namely, that if thereby you save\nAmada from the King\u2019s House of Women and help to set Peroa on the\nthrone, he shall promise her to you free of any priestly curse, you\ngiving her as dowry the priceless rose-hued pearls that are worth a\nkingdom. So you will get your rose till it withers, and if the thorns\nprick, do not blame me, and one day you may become a king\u2014or a slave,\nAmen knows which.\u201d\n\nNow I laughed and said that I would take her counsel who desired Amada\nand nothing else. As for all her talk about thorns, I paid no heed to\nit, knowing that she loved me very much and was jealous of Amada who\nshe thought would take her place with me.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\nSHABAKA PLIGHTS HIS TROTH\n\n\nBes and I went armed to the palace, walking in the middle of the road,\nbut now that the sun was up we met no more robbers. At the gate a\nmessenger summoned me alone to the presence of Peroa, who, he said,\nwished to talk with me before the sitting of the Council. I went and\nfound him by himself.\n\n\u201cI hear that you were attacked last night,\u201d he said after greeting me.\n\nI answered that I was and told him the story, adding that it was\nfortunate I had left the White Seal and the pearls in safe keeping,\nsince without doubt the would-be thieves were Easterns who desired to\nrecover them.\n\n\u201cAh! the pearls,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of those who handled them, who was once\na dealer in gems, says that they are without price, unmatched in the\nwhole world, and that never in all his life has he seen any to equal\nthe smallest of them.\u201d\n\nI replied that I believed this was so. Then he asked me of the value of\nthe gold of which I had spoken. I told him and it was a great sum, for\ngold was scarce in Egypt. His eyes gleamed for he needed wealth to pay\nsoldiers.\n\n\u201cAnd all this you are ready to hand over to me, Shabaka?\u201d\n\nNow I bethought me of my mother\u2019s words, and answered,\n\n\u201cYes, Prince, at a price.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat price, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe price of the hand of the Royal Lady, Amada, freed from her vows.\nMoreover, I will give her the pearls as a marriage dowry and place at\nyour service my sword and all the knowledge I have gained in the East,\nswearing to stand or fall with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought it, Shabaka. Well, in this world nothing is given for\nnothing and the offer is a fair one. You are well born, too, as well as\nmyself, and a brave and clever man. Further, Amada has not taken her\nfinal vows and therefore the high priests can absolve her from her\nmarriage to the goddess, or to her son Horus, whichever it may be, for\nI do not understand these mysteries. But, Shabaka, if Fortune should\nchance to go with us and I should became the first Pharaoh of a new\ndynasty in Egypt, he who was married to the Royal Princess of the true\nblood might become a danger to my throne and family.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall not be that man, Prince, who am content with my own station,\nand to be your servant.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd my son\u2019s, Shabaka? You know that I have but one lawful son.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd your son\u2019s, Prince.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are honest, Shabaka, and I believe you. But how about your sons,\nif you have any, and how about Amada herself? Well, in great businesses\nsomething must be risked, and I need the gold and the rest which I\ncannot take for nothing, for you won them by your skill and courage and\nthey are yours. But how you won the seal you have not told us, nor is\nthere time for you to do so now.\u201d\n\nHe thought a little, walking up and down the chamber, then went on,\n\n\u201cI accept your offer, Shabaka, so far as I can.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo far as you can, Prince?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes; I can give you Amada in marriage and make that marriage easy, but\nonly if Amada herself consents. The will of a Royal Princess of Egypt\nof full age cannot be forced, save by her father if he reigns as\nPharaoh, and I am not her father, but only her guardian. Therefore it\nstands thus. Are you willing to fulfil your part of the bargain, save\nonly as regards the pearls, if she does not marry you, and to take your\nchance of winning Amada as a man wins a woman, I on my part promising\nto do all in my power to help your suit?\u201d\n\nNow it was my turn to think for a moment. What did I risk? The gold and\nperhaps the pearls, no more, for in any case I should fight for Peroa\nagainst the Eastern king whom I hated, and through him for Egypt. Well,\nthese came to me by chance, and if they went by chance what of it? Also\nI was not one who desired to wed a woman, however much I worshipped\nher, if she desired to turn her back on me. If I could win her in fair\nlove\u2014well. If not, it was my misfortune, and I wanted her in no other\nway. Lastly, I had reason to think that she looked on me more\nfavourably than she had ever done on any other man, and that if it had\nnot been for what my mother called her soul and its longings, she would\nhave given herself to me before I journeyed to the East. Indeed, once\nshe had said as much, and there was something in her eyes last night\nwhich told me that in her heart she loved me, though with what passion\nat the time I did not know. So very swiftly I made up my mind and\nanswered,\n\n\u201cI understand and I accept. The gold shall be delivered to you to-day,\nPrince. The pearls are already in your keeping to await the end.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood!\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cThen let the matter be reduced to writing and at\nonce, that afterwards neither of us may have cause to complain of the\nother.\u201d\n\nSo he sent for his secret scribe and dictated to him, briefly but\nclearly, the substance of our bargain, nothing being added, and nothing\ntaken away. This roll written on papyrus was afterwards copied twice,\nPeroa taking one copy, I another, and a third being deposited according\nto custom, in the library of the temple of Ptah.\n\nWhen all was done and Peroa and I had touched each other\u2019s breasts and\ngiven our word in the name of Amen, we went to the hall in which we had\ndined, where those whom the Prince had summoned were assembled.\nAltogether there were about thirty of them, great citizens of Memphis,\nor landowners from without who had been called together in the night.\nSome of these men were very old and could remember when Egypt had a\nPharaoh of its own before the East set its heel upon her neck, of noble\nblood also.\n\nOthers were merchants who dealt with all the cities of Egypt; others\nhereditary generals, or captains of fleets of ships; others Grecians,\nofficers of mercenaries who were supposed to be in the pay of the King\nof kings, but hated him, as did all the Greeks. Then there were the\nhigh priests of Ptah, of Amen, of Osiris and others who were still the\nmost powerful men in the land, since there was no village between\nThebes and the mouths of the Nile in which they had not those who were\nsworn to the service of their gods.\n\nSuch was the company representing all that remained or could be\ngathered there of the greatness of Egypt the ancient and the fallen.\n\nTo these when the doors had been closed and barred and trusty watchmen\nset to guard them, Peroa expounded the case in a low and earnest voice.\nHe showed them that the King of the East sought a new quarrel against\nEgypt that he might grind her to powder beneath his heel, and that he\ndid this by demanding the person of Amada, his own niece and the Royal\nLady of Egypt, to be included in his household like any common woman.\nIf she were refused then he would send a great army under pretext of\ntaking her, and lay the land waste as far as Thebes. And if she were\ngranted some new quarrel would be picked and in the person of the royal\nAmada all of them be for ever shamed.\n\nNext he showed the seal, telling them that I\u2014who was known to many of\nthem, at least by repute\u2014had brought it from the East, and repeating to\nthem the plan that I had proposed upon the previous night. After this\nhe asked their counsel, saying that before noon he must send an answer\nto Idernes, the King\u2019s Satrap at Sais.\n\nThen I was called upon to speak and, in answer to questions, answered\nfrankly that I had stolen the ancient White Seal from the King\u2019s\nservant who carried it as a warrant for the King\u2019s private vengeance on\none who had bested him. How I did not mention. I told them also of the\nstate of the Great King\u2019s empire and that I had heard that he was about\nto enter upon a war with the Greeks which would need all its strength,\nand that therefore if they wished to strike for liberty the time was at\nhand.\n\nThen the talk began and lasted for two hours, each man giving his\njudgment according to precedence, some one way and some another. When\nall had done and it became clear that there were differences of\nopinion, some being content to live on in slavery with what remained to\nthem and others desiring to strike for freedom, among whom were the\nhigh priests who feared lest the Eastern heretics should utterly\ndestroy their worship, Peroa spoke once more.\n\n\u201cElders of Egypt,\u201d he said briefly, \u201ccertain of you think one way, and\ncertain another, but of this be sure, such talk as we have held\ntogether cannot be hid. It will come to the ears of spies and through\nthem to those of the Great King, and then all of us alike are doomed.\nIf you refuse to stir, this very day I with my family and household and\nthe Royal Lady Amada, and all who cling to me, fly to Upper Egypt and\nperhaps beyond it to Ethiopia, leaving you to deal with the Great King,\nas you will, or to follow me into exile. That he will attack us there\nis no doubt, either over the pretext of Amada or some other, since\nShabaka has heard as much from his own lips. Now choose.\u201d\n\nThen, after a little whispering together, every man of them voted for\nrebellion, though some of them I could see with heavy hearts, and bound\nthemselves by a great oath to cling together to the last.\n\nThe matter being thus settled such a letter was written to Idernes as I\nhad suggested on the night before, and sealed with the Signet of\nsignets. Of the yielding up of Amada it said nothing, but commanded\nIdernes, under the private White Seal that none dared disobey, to wait\nupon the Prince Peroa at Memphis forthwith, and there learn from him,\nthe Holder of the Seal, what was the will of the Great King. Then the\nCouncil was adjourned till one hour after noon, and most of them\ndeparted to send messengers bearing secret word to the various cities\nand nomes of Egypt.\n\nBefore they went, however, I was directed to wait upon my relative, the\nholy Tanofir, whom all acknowledged to be the greatest magician in\nEgypt, and to ask of him to seek wisdom and an oracle from his Spirit\nas to the future and whether in it we should fare well or ill. This I\npromised to do.\n\nWhen most of the Council were gone the messengers of Idernes were\nsummoned, and came proudly, and with them, or rather before them, Bes\nfor whom I had sent as he was not present at the Council.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d he whispered to me, \u201cthe tallest of those messengers is the\nman who captained the robbers last night. Wait and I will prove it.\u201d\n\nPeroa gave the roll to the head messenger, bidding him bear it to the\nSatrap in answer to the letter which he had delivered to him. The man\ntook it insolently and thrust it into his robe, as he did so revealing\na silver chain that had been broken and knotted together, and asked\nwhether there were words to bear besides those written in the roll.\nBefore Peroa could answer Bes sprang up saying,\n\n\u201cO Prince, a boon, the boon of justice on this man. Last night he and\nothers with him attacked my master and myself, seeking to rob us, but\nfinding nothing let us go.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou lie, Abortion!\u201d said the Eastern.\n\n\u201cOh! I lie, do I?\u201d mocked Bes. \u201cWell, let us see,\u201d and shooting out his\nlong arm, he grasped the chain about the messenger\u2019s neck and broke it\nwith a jerk. \u201cLook, O Prince,\u201d he said, \u201cyou may have noted last night,\nwhen that man entered the hall, that there hung about his neck this\nchain to which was tied a silver key.\u201d\n\n\u201cI noted it,\u201d said Peroa.\n\n\u201cThen ask him, O Prince, where is the key now.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat is that to you, Dwarf?\u201d broke in the man. \u201cThe key is my mark of\noffice as chief butler to the High Satrap. Must I always bear it for\nyour pleasure?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot when it has been taken from you, Butler,\u201d answered Bes. \u201cSee, here\nit is,\u201d and from his sleeve he produced the key hanging to a piece of\nthe chain. \u201cListen, O Prince,\u201d he said. \u201cI struggled with this man and\nthe key was in my left hand though he did not know it at the time, and\nwith it some of the chain. Compare them and judge. Also his mask\nslipped and I saw his face and knew him again.\u201d\n\nPeroa laid the pieces of the chain together and observed the\nworkmanship which was Eastern and rare. Then he clapped his hands, at\nwhich sign armed men of his household entered from behind him.\n\n\u201cIt is the same,\u201d he said. \u201cButler of Idernes, you are a common thief.\u201d\n\nThe man strove to answer, but could not for the deed was proved against\nhim.\n\n\u201cThen, O Prince,\u201d asked Bes, \u201cwhat is the punishment of those thieves\nwho attack passers-by with violence in the streets of Memphis, for such\nI demand on him?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe cutting off of the right hand and scourging,\u201d answered Peroa, at\nwhich words the butler turned to fly. But Bes leapt on him like an ape\nupon a bird, and held him fast.\n\n\u201cSeize that thief,\u201d said Peroa to his servants, \u201cand let him receive\nfifty blows with the rods. His hand I spare because he must travel.\u201d\n\nThey laid the man down and the rods having been fetched, gave him the\nblows until at the thirtieth he howled for mercy, crying out that it\nwas true and that it was he who had captained the robbers, words which\nPeroa caused to be written down. Then he asked him why he, a messenger\nfrom the Satrap, had robbed in the streets of Memphis, and as he\nrefused to answer, commanded the officer of justice to lay on. After\nthree more blows the man said,\n\n\u201cO Prince, this was no common robbery for gain. I did what I was\ncommanded to do, because yonder noble had about him the ancient White\nSeal of the Great King which he showed to certain of the Satrap\u2019s\nservants by the banks of the canal. That seal is a holy token, O\nPrince, which, it is said, has descended for twice a thousand years in\nthe family of the Great King, and as the Satrap did not know how it had\ncome into the hands of the noble Shabaka, he ordered me to obtain it if\nI could.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the pearls too, Butler?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, O Prince, since those gems are a great possession with which any\nSatrap could buy a larger satrapy.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet him go,\u201d said Peroa, and the man rose, rubbing himself and weeping\nin his pain.\n\n\u201cNow, Butler,\u201d he went on, \u201creturn to your master with a grateful\nheart, since you have been spared much that you deserve. Say to him\nthat he cannot steal the Signet, but that if he is wise he will obey\nit, since otherwise his fate may be worse than yours, and to all his\nservants say the same. Foolish man, how can you, or your master, guess\nwhat is in the mind of the Great King, or for what purpose the Signet\nof signets is here in Egypt? Beware lest you fall into a pit, all of\nyou together, and let Idernes beware lest he find himself at the very\nbottom of that pit.\u201d\n\n\u201cO Prince, I will beware,\u201d said the humbled butler, \u201cand whatever is\nwritten over the seal, that I will obey, like many others.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are wise,\u201d answered Peroa; \u201cI pray for his own sake that the\nSatrap Idernes may be as wise. Now begone, thanking whatever god you\nworship that your life is whole in you and that your right hand remains\nupon your wrist.\u201d\n\nSo the butler and those with him prostrated themselves before Peroa and\nbowed humbly to me and even to Bes because in their hearts now they\nbelieved that we were clothed by the Great King with terrible powers\nthat might destroy them all, if so we chose. Then they went, the butler\nlimping a little and with no pride left in him.\n\n\u201cThat was good work,\u201d said Peroa to me afterwards when we were alone,\n\u201cfor now yonder knave is frightened and will frighten his master.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I answered, \u201cyou played that pipe well, Prince. Still, there is\nno time to lose, since before another moon this will all be reported in\nthe East, whence a new light may arise and perchance a new signet.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou say you stole the White Seal?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cNay, Prince, the truth is that Bes bought it\u2014in a certain fashion\u2014and\nI used it. Perhaps it is well that you should know no more at present.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d he answered, and we parted, for he had much to do.\n\nThat afternoon the Council met again. At it I gave over the gold and by\nhelp of it all was arranged. Within a week ten thousand armed men would\nbe in Memphis and a hundred ships with their crews upon the Nile; also\na great army would be gathering in Upper Egypt, officered for the most\npart by Greeks skilled in war. The Greek cities too at the mouths of\nthe Nile would be ready to revolt, or so some of their citizens\ndeclared, for they hated the Great King bitterly and longed to cast off\nhis yoke.\n\nFor my part, I received the command of the bodyguard of Peroa in which\nwere many Greeks, and a generalship in the army; while to Bes, at my\nprayer, was given the freedom of the land which he accepted with a\nsmile, he who was a king in his own country.\n\nAt length all was finished and I went out into the palace garden to\nrest myself before I rode into the desert to see my great uncle, the\nholy Tanofir. I was alone, for Bes had gone to bring our horses on\nwhich we were to ride, and sat myself down beneath a palm-tree,\nthinking of the great adventure on which we had entered with a merry\nheart, for I loved adventures.\n\nNext I thought of Amada and was less merry. Then I looked up and lo!\nshe stood before me, unaccompanied and wearing the dress, not of a\npriestess, but of an Egyptian lady with the little circlet of her rank\nupon her hair. I rose and bowed to her and we began to walk together\nbeneath the palms, my heart beating hard within me, for I knew that my\nhour had come to speak.\n\nYet it was she who spoke the first, saying,\n\n\u201cI hear that you have been playing a high part, Shabaka, and doing\ngreat things for Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cFor Egypt and for you who are Egypt,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cSo I should have been called in the old days, Cousin, because of my\nblood and the rank it gives, though now I am but as any other lady of\nthe land.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd so you shall be called in days to come, Amada, if my sword and wit\ncan win their way.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow so, Cousin, seeing that you have promised certain things to my\nuncle Peroa and his son?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have promised those things, Amada, and I will abide by my promise;\nbut the gods are above all, and who knows what they may decree?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Cousin, the gods are above all, and in their hands we will let\nthese matters rest, provoking them in no manner and least of all by\ntreachery to our oaths.\u201d\n\nWe walked for a little way in silence. Then I spoke.\n\n\u201cAmada, there are more things than thrones in the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Cousin, there is that in which all thrones end\u2014death, which it\nseems we court.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd, Amada, there is that in which all thrones begin\u2014love, which I\ncourt from you.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have known it long,\u201d she said, considering me gravely, \u201cand been\ngrateful to you who are more to me than any man has been or ever will\nbe. But, Shabaka, I am a priestess bound to set the holy One I serve\nabove a mortal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat holy One was wed and bore a child, Amada, who avenged his father,\nas I trust that we shall avenge Egypt. Therefore she looks with a kind\neye upon wives and mothers. Also you have not taken your final vows and\ncan be absolved.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she said softly.\n\n\u201cThen, Amada, will you give yourself into my keeping?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think so, Shabaka, though it has been in my mind for long, as you\nknow well, to give myself only to learning and the service of the\nheavenly Lady. My heart calls me to you, it is true, day and night it\ncalls, how loudly I will not tell; yet I would not yield myself to that\nalone. But Egypt calls me also, since I have been shown in a dream\nwhile I watched in the sanctuary, that you are the only man who can\nfree her, and I think that this dream came from on high. Therefore I\nwill give myself, but not yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot yet,\u201d I said dismayed. \u201cWhen?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen I have been absolved from my vows, which must be done on the\nnight of the next new moon, which is twenty-seven days from this. Then,\nif nothing comes between us during those twenty-seven days, it shall be\nannounced that the Royal Lady of Egypt is to wed the noble Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cTwenty-seven days! In such times much may happen in them, Amada.\nStill, except death, what can come between us?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know of nothing, Shabaka, whose past is shadowless as the noon.\u201d\n\n\u201cOr I either,\u201d I replied.\n\nNow we were standing in the clear sunlight, but as I said the words a\nwind stirred the palm-trees and the shadow from one of them fell full\nupon me, and she who was very quick, noted it.\n\n\u201cSome might take that for an omen,\u201d she said with a little laugh,\npointing to the line of the shadow. \u201cOh! Shabaka, if you have aught to\nconfess, say it now and I will forgive it. But do not leave me to\ndiscover it afterwards when I may not forgive. Perchance during your\njourneyings in the East\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing, nothing,\u201d I exclaimed joyfully, who during all that time had\nscarcely spoken to a youthful woman.\n\n\u201cI am glad that nothing happened in the East that could separate us,\nShabaka, though in truth my thought was not your own, for there are\nmore things than women in the world. Only it seems strange to me that\nyou should return to Egypt laden with such priceless gifts from him who\nis Egypt\u2019s greatest enemy.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave I not told you that I put my country before myself? Those gifts\nwere won fairly in a wager, Amada, whereof you heard the story but last\nnight. Moreover you know the purpose to which they are to be put,\u201d I\nreplied indignantly.\n\n\u201cYes, I know and now I am sure. Be not angry, Shabaka, with her who\nloves you truly and hopes ere long to call you husband. But till that\nday take it not amiss if I keep somewhat aloof from you, who must break\nwith the past and learn to face a future of which I did not dream.\u201d\n\nFor the rest she stretched out her hand and I kissed it, for while she\nwas still a priestess her lips she would not suffer me to touch.\nAnother moment and smiling happily, she had glided away, leaving me\nalone in the garden.\n\nThen it was for the first time that I bethought me of the warnings of\nBes and remembered that it was I, not he, who had told the Great King\nthe name of the most beautiful woman in Egypt, although in all\ninnocence. Yes, I remembered, and felt as if all the shadows on the\nearth had wrapped me round. I thought of finding her, but she had gone\nwhither I knew not in that great palace. So I determined that the next\ntime we were alone I would tell her of the matter, explaining all, and\nwith this thought I comforted myself who did not know that until many\ndays were past we should be alone no more.\n\nAfter this I went home and told my mother all my joy, for in truth\nthere was no happier man in Egypt. She listened, then answered, smiling\na little.\n\n\u201cWhen your father wished to take me to wife, Shabaka, it was not my\nhand that I gave him to kiss, and as you know, I too have the blood of\nkings in me. But then I was not a priestess of Isis, so doubtless all\nis well. Only in twenty-seven days much may happen, as you said to\nAmada. Now I wonder why did she\u2014\u2014? Well, no matter, since priestesses\nare not like other women who only think of the man they have won and of\nnaught before or after. The blessing of the gods and mine be on you\nboth, my son,\u201d and she went away to attend to her household matters.\n\nAs we rode to Sekera to find the holy Tanofir I told Bes also, adding\nthat I had forgotten to reveal that it was I who had spoken Amada\u2019s\nname to the king, but that I intended to do so ere long.\n\nBes rolled his eyes and answered,\n\n\u201cIf I were you, Master, as I had forgotten, I should continue to\nforget, for what is welcome in one hour is not always welcome in\nanother. Why speak of the matter at all, which is one hard to explain\nto a woman, however wise and royal? I have already said that _I_ spoke\nthe name to the King and that you were brought from the boat to say\nwhether I was noted for my truthfulness. Is not that enough?\u201d\n\nWhile I considered, Bes went on,\n\n\u201cYou may remember, Master, that when I told, well\u2014the truth about this\nstory, the lady Amada asked earnestly that I should be scourged, even\nto the bones. Now if you should tell another truth which will make mine\ndull as tarnished silver, she will not leave me even my bones, for I\nshall be proved a liar, and what will happen to you I am sure I do not\nknow. And, Master, as I am no longer a slave here in Egypt, to say\nnothing of what I may be elsewhere, I have no fancy for scourgings, who\nmay not kiss the hand that smites me as you can.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, Bes,\u201d I said, \u201cwhat is, is and may always be learned in this way\nor in that.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster, if what is were always learned, I think the world would fall\nto pieces, or at least there would be no men left on it. Why should\nthis matter be learned? It is known to you and me alone, leaving out\nthe Great King who probably has forgotten as he was drunk at the time.\nOh! Master, when you have neither bow nor spear at hand, it is not wise\nto kick a sleeping lion in the stomach, for then he will remember its\nemptiness and sup off you. Beside, when first I told you that tale I\nmade a mistake. I did tell the Great King, as I now remember quite\nclearly, that the beautiful lady was named Amada, and he only sent for\nyou to ask if I spoke the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cBes,\u201d I exclaimed, \u201cyou worshippers of the Grasshopper wear virtue\neasily.\u201d\n\n\u201cEasily as an old sandal, Master, or rather not at all, since the\nGrasshopper has need of none. For ages they have studied the ways of\nthose who worship the gods of Egypt, and from them have learned\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\u201cAmongst other things, Master, that woman, being modest, is shocked at\nthe sight of the naked Truth.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\nTHE HOLY TANOFIR\n\n\nWe entered the City of Graves that is called Sekera. In the centre\ntowered pyramids that hid the bones of ancient and forgotten kings, and\neverywhere around upon the desert sands was street upon street of\nmonuments, but save for a priest or two hurrying to patter his paid\noffice in the funeral chapels of the departed, never a living man. Bes\nlooked about him and sniffed with his wide nostrils.\n\n\u201cIs there not death enough in the world, Master,\u201d he asked, \u201cthat the\nliving should wish to proclaim it in this fashion, rolling it on their\ntongues like a morsel they are loth to swallow, because it tastes so\ngood? Oh! what a waste is here. All these have had their day and yet\nthey need houses and pyramids and painted chambers in which to sleep,\nwhereas if they believed the faith they practised, they would have been\ncontent to give their bones to feed the earth they fed on, and fill\nheaven with their souls.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo your people thus, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor the most part, Master. Our dead kings and great ones we enclose in\npillars of crystal, but we do this that they may serve a double\npurpose. One is that the pillars may support the roof of their\nsuccessors, and the other, that those who inherit their goods may\nplease themselves by reflecting how much handsomer they are than those\nwho went before them. For no mummy looks really nice, Master, at least\nwith its wrappings off, and our kings are put naked into the crystal.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what becomes of the rest, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cTheir bodies go to the earth or the water and the Grasshopper carries\noff their souls to\u2014where, Master?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know, Bes.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Master, no one knows, except the lady Amada and perhaps the holy\nTanofir. Here I think is the entrance to his hole,\u201d and he pulled up\nhis beast with a jerk at what looked like the doorway of a tomb.\n\nApparently we were expected, for a tall and proud-looking girl clad in\nwhite and with extraordinarily dark eyes, appeared in the doorway and\nasked in a soft voice if we were the noble Shabaka and Bes, his slave.\n\n\u201cI am Shabaka,\u201d I answered, \u201cand this is Bes, who is not my slave but a\nfree citizen of Egypt.\u201d\n\nThe girl contemplated the dwarf with her big eyes, then said,\n\n\u201cAnd other things, I think.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat things?\u201d inquired Bes with interest, as he stared at this\nbeautiful lady.\n\n\u201cA very brave and clever man and one perhaps who is more than he seems\nto be.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho has been telling you about me?\u201d exclaimed Bes anxiously.\n\n\u201cNo one, O Bes, at least not that I can remember.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot that you can remember! Then who and what are you who learn things\nyou know not how?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am named Karema and desert-bred, and my office is that of Cup to the\nholy Tanofir.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf hermits drink from such a cup I shall turn hermit,\u201d said Bes,\nlaughing. \u201cBut how can a woman be a man\u2019s cup and what kind of a wine\ndoes he drink from her?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe wine of wisdom, O Bes,\u201d she replied colouring a little, for like\nmany Arabs of high blood she was very fair in hue.\n\n\u201cWine of wisdom,\u201d said Bes. \u201cFrom such cups most drink the wine of\nfolly, or sometimes of madness.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe holy Tanofir awaits you,\u201d she interrupted, and turning, entered\nthe doorway.\n\nA little way down the passage was a niche in which stood three lamps\nready lighted. One of these she took and gave the others to us. Then we\nfollowed her down a steep incline of many steps, till at length we\nfound ourselves in a hot and enormous hall hewn from the living rock\nand filled with blackness.\n\n\u201cWhat is this place?\u201d said Bes, who looked frightened, and although he\nspoke in a low whisper, our guide overheard him and turning, answered,\n\n\u201cThis is the burial place of the Apis bulls. See, here lies the last,\nnot yet closed in,\u201d and holding up her lamp she revealed a mighty\nsarcophagus of black granite set in a niche of the mausoleum.\n\n\u201cSo they make mummies of bulls as well as of men,\u201d groaned Bes. \u201cOh!\nwhat a land. But when I have seen the holy Tanofir it was in a brick\ncell beneath the sky.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoubtless that was at night, O Bes,\u201d answered Karema, \u201cfor in such a\nhouse he sleeps, spending his days in the Apis tomb, because of all the\nevil that is worked beneath the sun.\u201d\n\n\u201cHump,\u201d said Bes, \u201cI should have thought that more was worked beneath\nthe moon, but doubtless the holy Tanofir knows better, or being asleep\ndoes not mind.\u201d\n\nNow in front of each of the walled-up niches was a little chapel, and\nat the fourth of these whence a light came, the maiden stopped, saying,\n\n\u201cEnter. Here dwells the holy Tanofir. He tended this god during its\nlife-days in his youth, and now that the god is dead he prays above its\nbones.\u201d\n\n\u201cPrays to the bones of a dead bull in the dark! Well, give me a live\ngrasshopper in the light; he is more cheerful,\u201d muttered Bes.\n\n\u201cO Dwarf,\u201d cried a deep and resounding voice from within the chapel,\n\u201ctalk no more of things you do not understand. I do not pray to the\nbones of a dead bull, as you in your ignorance suppose. I pray to the\nspirit whereof this sacred beast was but one of the fleshly symbols,\nwhich in this haunted place you will do well not to offend.\u201d\n\nThen for once I saw Bes grow afraid, for his great jaw dropped and he\ntrembled.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d he said to me, \u201cwhen next you visit tombs where maidens look\ninto your heart and hermits hear your very thoughts, I pray you leave\nme behind. The holy Tanofir I love, if from afar, but I like not his\nhouse, or his\u2014\u2014\u201d Here he looked at Karema who was regarding him with a\nsweet smile over the lamp flame, and added, \u201cThere is something the\nmatter with me, Master; I cannot even lie.\u201d\n\n\u201cCease from talking follies, O Shabaka and Bes, and enter,\u201d said the\ntremendous voice from within.\n\nSo we entered and saw a strange sight. Against the back wall of the\nchapel which was lit with lamps, stood a life-sized statue of Maat,\ngoddess of Law and Truth, fashioned of alabaster. On her head was a\ntall feather, her hair was covered with a wig, on her neck lay a collar\nof blue stones; on her arms and wrists were bracelets of gold. A tight\nrobe draped her body. In her right hand that hung down by her side, she\nheld the looped Cross of Life, and in her left which was advanced, a\nlong, lotus-headed sceptre, while her painted eyes stared fixedly at\nthe darkness. Crouched upon the ground, at the feet of the statue,\nscribe fashion, sat my great-uncle Tanofir, a very aged man with\nsightless eyes and long hands, so thin that one might see through them\nagainst the lamp-flame. His head was shaven, his beard was long and\nwhite; white too was his robe. In front of him was a low altar, on\nwhich stood a shallow silver vessel filled with pure water, and on\neither side of it a burning lamp.\n\nWe knelt down before him, or rather I knelt, for Bes threw himself flat\nupon his face.\n\n\u201cAm I the King of kings whom you have so lately visited, that you\nshould prostrate yourselves before me?\u201d said Tanofir in his great\nvoice, which, coming from so frail and aged a man seemed most\nunnatural. \u201cOr is it to the goddess of Truth beyond that you bow\nyourselves? If so, that is well, since one, if not both of you, greatly\nneeds her pardon and her help. Or is it to the sleeping god beyond who\nholds the whole world on his horns? Or is it to the darkness of this\nhallowed place which causes you to remember the nearness of the\nawaiting tomb?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, my Uncle,\u201d I said, \u201cwe would greet you, no more, who are so\nworthy of our veneration, seeing we believe, both of us, that you saved\nus yonder in the East, from that tomb of which you speak, or rather\nfrom the jaws of lions or a cruel death by torments.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerchance I did, I or the gods of which I am the instrument. At least\nI remember that I sent you certain messages in answer to a prayer for\nhelp that reached me, here in my darkness. For know that since we\nparted I have gone quite blind so that I must use this maiden\u2019s eyes to\nread what is written in yonder divining-cup. Well, it makes the\ndarkness of this sepulchre easier to bear and prepares me for my own.\n\u2018Tis full a hundred and twenty years since first I looked upon the\nlight, and now the time of sleep draws near. Come hither, my nephew,\nand kiss me on the brow, remembering in your strength that a day will\ndawn when as I am, so shall you be, if the gods spare you so long.\u201d\n\nSo I kissed him, not without fear, for the old man was unearthly. Then\nhe sent Karema from the place and bade me tell him my story, which I\ndid. Why he did this I cannot say, since he seemed to know it already\nand once or twice corrected me in certain matters that I had forgotten,\nfor instance as to the exact words that I had used to the Great King in\nmy rage and as to the fashion in which I was tied in the boat. When I\nhad done, he said,\n\n\u201cSo you gave the name of Amada to the Great King, did you? Well, you\ncould have done nothing else if you wished to go on living, and\ntherefore cannot be blamed. Yet before all is finished I think it will\nbring you into trouble, Shabaka, since among many gifts, the gods did\nnot give that of reason to women. If so, bear it, since it is better to\nhave trouble and be alive than to have none and be dead, that is, for\nthose whose work is still to do in the world. And you, or rather Bes,\nstole the White Signet of signets of which, although it is so simple\nand ancient, there is not the like for power in the whole world. That\nwas well done since it will be useful for a while. And now Peroa has\ndetermined to rebel against the King, which also is well done. Oh!\ntrouble not to tell me of that business for I know all. But what would\nyou learn of me, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am instructed to learn from you the end of these great matters, my\nUncle.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you mad, Shabaka, that you should think me a god who can read the\nfuture?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot at all, my Uncle, who know that you can if you will.\u201d\n\n\u201cCall the maiden,\u201d he said.\n\nSo Bes went out and brought her in.\n\n\u201cBe seated, Karema, there in front of the altar, and look into my\neyes.\u201d\n\nShe obeyed and presently seemed to go to sleep for her head nodded.\nThen he said,\n\n\u201cWake, woman, look into the water in the bowl upon the altar and tell\nme what you see.\u201d\n\nShe appeared to wake, though I perceived that this was not really so,\nfor she seemed a different woman with a fixed face that frightened me,\nand wide and frozen eyes. She stared into the silver bowl, then spoke\nin a new voice, as though some spirit used her tongue.\n\n\u201cI see myself crowned a queen in a land I hate,\u201d she said coldly, a\nsaying at which I gasped. \u201cI am seated on a throne beside yonder\ndwarf,\u201d a saying at which Bes gasped. \u201cAlthough so hideous, this dwarf\nis a great man with a good heart, a cunning mind and the courage of a\nlion. Also his blood is royal.\u201d\n\nHere Bes rolled his eyes and smiled, but Tanofir did not seem in the\nleast astonished, and said,\n\n\u201cMuch of this is known to me and the rest can be guessed. Pass on to\nwhat will happen in Egypt, before the spirit leaves you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere will be war in Egypt,\u201d she answered. \u201cI see fightings; Shabaka\nand others lead the Egyptians. The Easterns are driven away or slain.\nPeroa rules as Pharaoh, I see him on his throne. Shabaka is driven away\nin his turn, I see him travelling south with the dwarf and with myself,\nlooking very sad. Time passes. I see the moons float by; I see\nmessengers reach Shabaka, sent by Peroa and you O holy Tanofir; they\ntell of trouble in Egypt. I see Shabaka and the dwarf coming north at\nthe head of a great army of black men armed with bows. With them I come\nrejoicing, for my heart seems to shine. He reaches a temple on the Nile\nabout which is camped another great army, a countless army of Easterns\nunder the command of the King of kings. Shabaka and the dwarf give\nbattle to that army and the fray is desperate. They destroy it, they\ndrive it into the Nile; the Nile runs red with blood. The Great King\nfalls, an arrow from the bow of Shabaka is in his heart. He enters the\ntemple, a conqueror, and there lies Peroa, dying or dead. A veiled\npriestess is there before an image, I cannot see her face. Shabaka\nlooks on her. She stretches out her arms to him, her eyes burn with\nwoman\u2019s love, her breast heaves, and above the image frowns and\nthreatens. All is done, for Tanofir, Master of spirits, you die, yonder\nin the temple on the Nile, and therefore I can see no more. The power\nthat comes through you, has left me.\u201d\n\nThen once more she became as a woman asleep.\n\n\u201cYou have heard, Shabaka and Bes,\u201d said Tanofir quietly and stroking\nhis long white beard, \u201cand what that maiden seemed to read in the water\nyou may believe or disbelieve as you will.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you believe, O holy Tanofir?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cThe only part of the story whereof I am sure,\u201d he replied, evading a\ndirect answer, \u201cis that which said that I shall die, and that when I am\ndead I shall no longer be able to cause the maiden Karema to see\nvisions. For the rest I do not know. These things may happen or they\nmay not. But,\u201d he added with a note of warning in his voice, \u201cwhether\nthey happen or not, my counsel to you both is that you say nothing of\nthem beforehand.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat then shall we report to those who bid me seek the oracle of your\nwisdom, O Tanofir?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can tell them that my wisdom declared that the omens were mixed\nwith good and evil, but that time would show the truth. Hush now, the\nmaiden is about to awake and must not be frightened. Also it is time\nfor me to be led from this sepulchre to where I sleep, for I think that\nRa has set and I am weary. Oh! Shabaka, why do you seek to peer into\nthe future, which from day to day will unroll itself as does a scroll?\nBe content with the present, man, and take what Fate gives you of good\nor ill, not seeking to learn what offerings he hides beneath his robe\nin the days and the years and the centuries to come.\u201d\n\n\u201cYet you have sought to learn those things, O Tanofir, and not in\nvain.\u201d\n\n\u201cAye and what have they made of me? A blind old hermit weighed down\nwith the weight of years and holding in my fingers but some few threads\nthat with pain and grief I have plucked from the fringe of Wisdom\u2019s\nrobe. Be warned by me, Nephew. While you are a man, live the life of a\nman, and when you become a spirit, live the life of a spirit. But do\nnot seek to mix the two together like oil and wine, and thus spoil\nboth. I am glad to learn, O Bes, that you are going to make a king\u2019s,\nor a slave\u2019s wife, whichever it may be, of this maiden, seeing that I\nlove her well and hold this trade unwholesome for her. She will be\nbetter bearing babes than reading visions in a diviner\u2019s cup, and I\nwill pray the gods that they may not be dwarfs as you are, but take on\nthe likeness of their mother, who tells me that she is fair. Hush! she\nstirs.\n\n\u201cKarema, are you awake? Good. Then lead me from the sepulchre, that I\nmay make my evening prayer beneath the stars. Go, Shabaka and Bes, you\nare brave men, both of you, and I am glad to have the one for nephew\nand the other for pupil. My greetings to your mother, Tiu. She is a\ngood woman and a true, one to whom you will do well to hearken. To the\nlady Amada also, and bid her study her beauteous face in a mirror and\nnot be holy overmuch, since too great holiness often thwarts itself and\nends in trouble for the unholy flesh. Still she loves pearls like other\nwomen, does she not, and even the statue of Isis likes to be adorned.\nAs for you, Bes, though I think that is not your name, do not lie\nexcept when you are obliged, for jugglers who play with too many knives\nare apt to cut their fingers. Also give no more evil counsel to your\nMaster on matters that have to do with woman. Now farewell. Let me hear\nhow fortune favours you from time to time, Shabaka, for you take part\nin a great game, such as I loved in my youth before I became a holy\nhermit. Oh! if they had listened to me, things would have been\ndifferent in Egypt to-day. But it was written otherwise, and as ever,\nwomen were the scribes. Good night, good night, good night! I am glad\nthat my thought reached you yonder in the East, and taught you what to\nsay and do. It is well to be wise sometimes, for others\u2019 sake, but not\nfor our own, oh! not for our own.\u201d\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d said Bes as we ambled homewards beneath the stars, \u201cthe holy\nTanofir is a man for thought to feed on, since having climbed to the\ntopmost peak of holiness, he does not seem to like its cold air and\nwarns off those who would follow in his footsteps.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he might have spared himself the pains in your case, Bes, or in\nmy own for that matter, since we shall never come so high.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Master, and I am glad to have his leave to stay lower down, since\nthat hot place of dead bulls is not one which I wish to inhabit in my\nage, making use of a maiden to stare into a pot of water, and there\nread marvels, which I could invent better for myself after a jug or two\nof wine. Oh! the holy Tanofir is quite right. If these things are going\nto happen let them happen, for we cannot change them by knowing of them\nbeforehand. Who wishes to know, Master, if his throat will be cut?\u201d\n\n\u201cOr that he will be married,\u201d I suggested.\n\n\u201cJust so, Master, seeing that such prophecies end in becoming truths\nbecause we make them true, feeling that we must. Thus, now I must marry\nyonder Karema if she will marry me for fear lest I should prove the\nholy Tanofir to be what he called me\u2014a liar.\u201d\n\nI laughed and then asked Bes if he had taken note of what the seeress\nsaid of our flight south and our return thence with a great army of\nblack men armed with bows.\n\n\u201cYes, Master,\u201d he answered gravely, \u201cand I think this army can be none\nother than that of the Ethiopians of whom by right I am the King. This\nvery night I send messengers to tell those who rule in my place that I\nstill live and am changing my mind on the matter of marriage. Also that\nif I do change it I may return to them, the wisest man who ever wore\nthe crown of Ethiopia, having journeyed all about the world and\ncollected much knowledge.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, Bes, those who rule in your place may not wish to give it up\nto you. Perhaps they will kill you.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear, Master; as I have told you, the Ethiopians are a\nfaithful people. Moreover they know that such a deed would bring the\ncurse of the Grasshopper on them, since then the locusts would appear\nand eat up all their land, and when they were starving their enemies\nwould attack them. Lastly they are a very tall folk and simple-minded\nand would not wish to miss the chance of being ruled over by the wisest\ndwarf in all the world, if only because it would be something new to\nthem, Master.\u201d\n\nAgain I laughed thinking that Bes was jesting according to his fashion.\nBut when that night, chancing to go round the corner of the house, I\ncame upon him with a circlet of feathers round his head and his big bow\nin his hand, addressing three great black men who knelt before him as\nthough he were a god, I changed my mind. As I withdrew he caught sight\nof me and said,\n\n\u201cI pray you, my lord Shabaka, stay one moment.\u201d Then he spoke to the\nthree men in his own language, translating sentence by sentence to me\nwhat he said to them. Briefly it was this:\u2014\n\n\u201cSay to the Lords and Councillors of the Ancient Kingdom that I, the\nKaroon\u201d (for such it seemed was his title) \u201chave a friend named the\nlord Shabaka, he whom you see before you, who again and again has saved\nmy life, nursing me in his arms as a mother nurses her babe, and who\nis, after me, the bravest and the wisest man in all the world. Say to\nthem that if indeed I double myself by marriage and return having\nfulfilled the law, I will beg this mighty prince to accompany me, and\nthat if he consents that will be the most joyful day which the\nEthiopians have seen for a thousand years, since he will teach them\nwisdom and lead their armies in great and glorious battles. Let the\npriests of the Grasshopper pray therefore that he may consent to do so.\nNow salute the mighty lord Shabaka who can send one arrow through all\nthree of you and two more behind, and depart, tarrying not day or night\ntill you reach the land of Ethiopia. Then when you have delivered the\nmessage of Karoon to the Captains and the Councillors, return, or let\nothers return and seek me out wherever I may be, bringing of the gold\nof Ethiopia and other gifts, together with their answer, seeing that I\nand the lord Shabaka who have the world beneath our feet, will not come\nto a land where we are not welcome.\u201d\n\nSo these great men saluted me as though I were the King of kings\nhimself, after which they rubbed their foreheads in the dust before\nBes, said something which I did not understand, leapt to their feet,\ncrying \u201cKaroon\u201d and sprang away into the night.\n\n\u201cIt is good to have been a slave, Master,\u201d said Bes when they had gone,\n\u201csince it teaches one that it is even better to be a king, at least\nsometimes.\u201d\n\nHere I may add that during the days which followed Bes was often\nabsent. When I asked him where he had gone, he would answer, to drink\nin the wisdom of the holy Tanofir by help of a certain silver vessel\nthat the maiden Karema held to his lips. From all of which I gathered\nthat he was wooing the lady who had called herself the Cup of Tanofir,\nand wondered how the business went, though as he said no more I did not\nask him.\n\nIndeed I had little time to talk with Bes about such light matters,\nsince things moved apace in Memphis. Within six days all the great\nlords left in Upper Egypt were sworn to the revolt under the leadership\nof Peroa, and hour by hour their vassals or hired mercenaries flowed\ninto the city. These it was my duty to weld into an army, and at this\ntask I toiled without cease, separating them into regiments and\ndrilling them, also arranging for the arming and victualling of the\nboats of war. Then news came that Idernes was advancing from Sais with\na great force of Easterns, all the garrison of Lower Egypt indeed, as\nhis messengers said, to answer the summons conveyed to him under the\nprivate Seal of seals.\n\nOf Amada during this time I saw little, only meeting her now and again\nat the table of Peroa, or elsewhere in public. For the rest it pleased\nher to keep away from me. Once or twice I tried to find her alone, only\nto discover that she was engaged in the service of the goddess. Once,\ntoo, as she left Peroa\u2019s table, I whispered into her ear that I wished\nto speak with her. But she shook her head, saying,\n\n\u201cAfter the new moon, Shabaka. Then you shall speak with me as much as\nyou wish.\u201d\n\nThus it came about that never could I find opportunity to tell her of\nthat matter of what had happened at the court of the Great King. Still\nevery morning she sent me some token, flowers or trifling gifts, and\nonce a ring that must have belonged to her forefathers, since on its\nbezel was engraved the royal _ur\u00e6us_, together with the signs of long\nlife and health, which ring I wore hung about my neck but not upon my\nfinger, fearing lest that emblem of royalty might offend Peroa or some\nof his House, if they chanced to see it. So in answer I also sent her\nflowers and other gifts, and for the rest was content to wait.\n\nAll of which things my mother noted with a smile, saying that the lady\nAmada showed a wonderful discretion, such as any man would value in a\nwife of so much beauty, which also must be most pleasing to her\nmistress, the goddess Isis. To this I answered that I valued it less as\na lover than I might do as a husband. My mother smiled again and spoke\nof something else.\n\nThus things went on while the storm-clouds gathered over Egypt.\n\nOne night I could not sleep. It was that of the new moon and I knew\nthat during those hours of darkness, before the solemn conclave of the\nhigh priests, with pomp and ceremony in the sanctuary of the temple,\nAmada had undergone absolution of her vows to Isis and been given\nliberty to wed as other women do. Indeed my mother, in virtue of her\nrank as a Singer of Amen, had been present at the rite, and returning,\ntold me all that happened.\n\nShe described how Amada had appeared, clad as a priestess, how she had\nput up her prayer to the four high priests seated in state, demanding\nto be loosed from her vow \u201cfor the sake of her heart and of Egypt.\u201d\n\nThen one of the high priests, he of Amen, I think, as the chief of them\nall, had advanced to the statue of the goddess Isis and whispered the\nprayer to it, whereon after a pause the goddess nodded thrice in the\nsight of all present, thereby signifying her assent. This done the high\npriest returned and proclaimed the absolution in the ancient words \u201cfor\nthe sake of the suppliant\u2019s heart and of Egypt\u201d and with it the\nblessing of the goddess on her union, adding, however, the formula, \u201cat\nthy prayer, daughter and spouse, I, the goddess Isis, cut the rope that\nbinds thee to me on earth. Yet if thou should\u2019st tie it again, know\nthat it may never more be severed, for if thou strivest so to do, it\nshall strangle thee in whatever shape thou livest on the earth\nthroughout the generations, and with thee the man thou choosest and\nthose who give thee to him. Thus saith Isis the Queen of Heaven.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d I asked my mother.\n\n\u201cIt means, my son, that if, having broken her vows to Isis, a woman\nshould repeat them and once more enter the service of the goddess, and\nthen for the second time seek to break them, she and the man for whom\nshe did this thing would be like flies in a spider\u2019s web, and that not\nonly in this life, but in any other that may be given to them in the\nworld.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt seems that Isis has a long arm,\u201d I said.\n\n\u201cWithout doubt a very long arm, my son, since Isis, by whatever name\nshe is called, is a power that does not die or forget.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Mother, in this case she can have no reason to remember, since\nnever again will Amada be her priestess.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think not, Shabaka. Yet who can be sure of what a woman will or will\nnot do, now or hereafter? For my part I am glad that I have served Amen\nand not Isis, and that after I was wed.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\nTHE SLAYING OF IDERNES\n\n\nWhilst I was still talking to my mother I received an urgent summons to\nthe palace. I went and in a little ante-chamber met Amada alone, who, I\ncould see, was waiting there for me. She was arrayed in her secular\ndress and wore the insignia of royalty, looking exceedingly beautiful.\nMoreover, her whole aspect had changed, for now she was no longer a\npriestess sworn to mysteries, but just a lovely and a loving woman.\n\n\u201cIt is done, Shabaka,\u201d she whispered, \u201cand thou art mine and I am\nthine.\u201d\n\nThen I opened my arms and she sank upon my breast and for the first\ntime I kissed her on the lips, kissed her many times and oh! my heart\nalmost burst with joy. But all too fleeting was that sweet moment of\nlove\u2019s first fruits, whereon I had sown the seed so many years ago, for\nwhile we yet clung together, whispering sweet things into each other\u2019s\nears, I heard a voice calling me and was forced to go away before I had\neven time to ask when we might be wed.\n\nWithin the Council was gathered. The news before it was that the Satrap\nIdernes lay camped upon the Nile with some ten thousand men, not far\nfrom the great pyramids, that is, within striking distance of Memphis.\nMoreover his messengers announced that he purposed to visit the Prince\nPeroa that day with a small guard only, to inquire into this matter of\nthe Signet, for which visit he demanded a safe-conduct sworn in the\nname of the Great King and in those of the gods of Egypt and the East.\nFailing this he would at once attack Memphis notwithstanding any\ncommands that might be given him under the Signet, which, until he\nbeheld it with his own eyes, he believed to be a forgery.\n\nThe question was\u2014what answer should be sent to him? The debate that\nfollowed proved long and earnest. Some were in favour of attacking\nIdernes at once although his camp was reported to be strongly\nentrenched and flanked on one side by the Nile and on the other by the\nrising ground whereon stood the great sphinx and the pyramids. Others,\namong whom I was numbered, thought otherwise, for I hold that some evil\ngod led me to give counsel that day which, if it were good for Egypt\nwas most ill for my own fortunes. Perchance this god was Isis, angry at\nthe loss of her votary.\n\nI pointed out that by receiving Idernes Peroa would gain time which\nwould enable a body of three thousand men, if not more, who were\nadvancing down the Nile, to join us before they were perhaps cut off\nfrom the city, and thus give us a force as large as his, or larger.\nAlso I showed that having summoned Idernes under the Signet, we should\nput ourselves in the wrong if we refused to receive him and instead\nattacked him at once.\n\nA third party was in favour of allowing him to enter Memphis with his\nguard and then making him prisoner or killing him. As to this I pointed\nout again that not only would it involve the breaking of a solemn oath,\nwhich might bring the curse of the gods upon our cause and proclaim us\ntraitors to the world, but it would also be foolish since Idernes was\nnot the only general of the Easterns and if we cut off him and his\nescort, it would avail us little for then the rest of the Easterns\nwould fight in a just cause.\n\nSo in the end it was agreed that the safe-conduct should be sent and\nthat Peroa should receive Idernes that very day at a great feast given\nin his honour. Accordingly it was sent in the ancient form, the oaths\nbeing taken before the messengers that neither he nor those with him\nwho must not number more than twenty men, would be harmed in Memphis\nand that he would be guarded on the road back until he reached the\noutposts of his own camp.\n\nThis done, I was despatched up the Nile bank in a chariot accompanied\nonly by Bes, to hurry on the march of those troops of which I have\nspoken, so that they might reach Memphis by sundown. Before I went,\nhowever, I had some words alone with Peroa. He told me that my\nimmediate marriage with the lady Amada would be announced at the feast\nthat night. Thereon I prayed him to deliver to Amada the rope of\npriceless rose-hued pearls which was in his keeping, as my betrothal\ngift, with the prayer that she would wear them at the feast for my\nsake. There was no time for more.\n\nThe journey up Nile proved long for the road was bad being covered with\ndrifted sand in some places and deep in mud from the inundation waters\nin others. At length I found the troops just starting forward after\ntheir rest, and rejoiced to see that there were more of them than I had\nthought. I told the case to their captains, who promised to make a\nforced march and to be in Memphis two hours before midnight.\n\nAs we drove back Bes said to me suddenly,\n\n\u201cDo you know why you could not find me this morning?\u201d\n\nI answered that I did not.\n\n\u201cBecause a good slave should always run a pace ahead of his master, to\nclear the road and tell him of its pitfalls. I was being married. The\nCup of the holy Tanofir is now by law and right Queen of the\nEthiopians. So when you meet her again you must treat her with great\nrespect, as I do already.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed, Bes,\u201d I said laughing, \u201cand how did you manage that business?\nYou must have wooed her well during these days which have been so full\nfor both of us.\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not woo her over much, Master; indeed, the time was lacking. I\nwooed the holy Tanofir, which was more important.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe holy Tanofir, Bes?\u201d I exclaimed.\n\n\u201cYes, Master. You see this beautiful Cup of his is after all\u2014his\nbeautiful Cup. Her mind is the shadow of his mind and from her he pours\nout his wisdom. So I told him all the case. At first he was angry, for,\nnotwithstanding the words he spoke to you and me, when it came to a\npoint the holy Tanofir, being after all much like other men, did not\nwish to lose his Cup. Indeed had he been a few score of years younger I\nam not sure but that he would have forgotten some of his holiness\nbecause of her. Still he came to see matters in the true light at\nlast\u2014for your sake, Master, not for mine, since his wisdom told him it\nwas needful that I should become King of the Ethiopians again, to do\nwhich I must be married. At any rate he worked upon the mind of that\nCup of his\u2014having first settled that she should procure a younger\nsister of her own to fill her place\u2014in such fashion that when at length\nI spoke to her on the matter, she did not say no.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo doubt because she was fond of you for yourself, Bes. A woman would\nnot marry even to please the holy Tanofir.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh! Master,\u201d he replied in a new voice, a very sad voice, \u201cI would\nthat I could think so. But look at me, a misshapen dwarf, accursed from\nbirth. Could a fair lady like this Karema wed such a one for his own\nsake?\u201d\n\n\u201cWell, Bes, there might be other reasons besides the holy Tanofir,\u201d I\nsaid hurriedly.\n\n\u201cMaster, there were no other reasons, unless the Cup, when it is awake,\nremembers what it has held in trance, which I do not believe. I wooed\nher as I was, not telling her that I am also King of the Ethiopians, or\nany more than I seem to be. Moreover the holy Tanofir told her nothing,\nfor he swore as much to me and he does not lie.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what did she say to you, Bes?\u201d I asked, for I was curious.\n\n\u201cShe lied fast enough, Master. She said\u2014well, what she said when first\nwe met her, that there was more in me than the eye saw and that she who\nhad lived so much with spirits looked to the spirit rather than to the\nflesh, and that dwarf or no she loved me and desired nothing better\nthan to marry me and be my true and faithful wife and helpmeet. She\nlied so well that once or twice almost I believed her. At any rate I\ntook her at her word, not altogether for myself, believe me, Master,\nbut because without doubt what the holy Tanofir has shown us will come\nto pass, and it is necessary to you that I should be married.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou married her to help me, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is so, Master\u2014after all, but a little thing, seeing that she is\nbeautiful, well born and very pleasant, and I am fond of her. Also I do\nher no wrong for she has bought more than she bargained for, and if she\nhas any that are not dwarfs, her children may be kings. I do not\nthink,\u201d he added reflectively, \u201cthat even the faithful Ethiopians could\naccept a second dwarf as their king. One is very well for a change, but\nnot two or three. The stomach of a tall people would turn against\nthem.\u201d\n\nI took Bes\u2019s hand and pressed it, understanding the depth of his love\nand sacrifice. Also some spirit\u2014doubtless it came from the holy\nTanofir\u2014moved me to say,\n\n\u201cBe comforted, Bes, for I am sure of this. Your children will be strong\nand straight and tall, more so than any of their forefathers that went\nbefore them.\u201d\n\nThis indeed proved to be the case, for their father\u2019s deformity was but\nan accident, not born in his blood.\n\n\u201cThose are good-omened words, Master, for which I thank you, though the\nholy Tanofir said the like when he wed us with the sacred words this\nmorning and gave us his blessing, endowing my wife with certain gifts\nof secret wisdom which he said would be of use to her and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is she now, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cWith the holy Tanofir, Master, until I fetch her, training her younger\nsister to be a diviner\u2019s worthy Cup. Only perhaps I shall never send,\nseeing that I think there will be fighting soon.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Bes, but being newly married you will do well to leave it to\nothers.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, Master. Battle is better than wives. Moreover, could you think\nthat I would leave you to stand alone in the fray? Why if I did and\nharm came to you I should die of shame or hang myself and then Karema\nwould never be a queen. So both her trades would be gone, since after\nmarriage she cannot be a Cup, and her heart would break. But here are\nthe gates of Memphis, so we will forget love and think of war.\u201d\n\nAn hour later I and my mother, the lady Tiu, stood in the banqueting\nhall of the palace with many others, and learned that the Satrap\nIdernes and his escort had reached Memphis and would be present at the\nfeast. A while later trumpets blew and a glittering procession entered\nthe hall. At the head of it was Peroa who led Idernes by the hand. This\nEastern was a big, strong man with tired and anxious eyes, such as I\nhad noted were common among the servants of the Great King who from day\nto day never knew whether they would fill a Satrapy or a grave. He was\nclad in gorgeous silks and wore a cap upon his head in which shone a\njewel, but beneath his robes I caught the glint of mail.\n\nAs he came into the hall and noted the number and quality of the guests\nand the stir and the expectant look upon their faces, he started as\nthough he were afraid, but recovering himself, murmured some courteous\nwords to his host and advanced towards the seat of honour which was\npointed out to him upon the Prince\u2019s right. After these two followed\nthe wife of Peroa with her son and daughters. Then, walking alone in\ntoken of her high rank, appeared Amada, the Royal Lady of Egypt,\nwonderfully arrayed. Now, however, she wore no emblems of royalty,\neither because it was not thought wise that these should be shown in\nthe presence of the Satrap, or because she was about to be given in\nmarriage to one who was not royal. Indeed, as I noted with joy, her\nonly ornament was the rope of rose-hued pearls which were arranged in a\ndouble row upon her breast.\n\nShe searched me out with her eyes, smiled, touching the pearls with her\nfinger, and passed on to her place next to the daughters of Peroa, at\none end of the head table which was shaped like a horse\u2019s hoof.\n\nAfter her came the nobles who had accompanied Idernes, grave Eastern\nmen. One of these, a tall captain with eyes like a hawk, seemed\nfamiliar to me. Nor was I mistaken, for Bes, who stood behind me and\nwhose business it would be to wait on me at the feast, whispered in my\near,\n\n\u201cNote that man. He was present when you were brought before the Great\nKing from the boat and saw and heard all that passed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen I wish he were absent now,\u201d I whispered back, for at the words a\nsudden fear shot through me, of what I could not say.\n\nBy degrees all were seated in their appointed places. Mine was by that\nof my mother at a long table that stood as it were across the ends of\nthe high table but at a little distance from them, so that I was almost\nopposite to Peroa and Idernes and could see Amada, although she was too\nfar away for me to be able to speak to her.\n\nThe feast began and at first was somewhat heavy and silent, since, save\nfor the talk of courtesy, none spoke much. At length wine, whereof I\nnoted that Idernes drank a good deal, as did his escort, but Peroa and\nthe Egyptians little, loosened men\u2019s tongues and they grew merrier. For\nit was the custom of the people of the Great King to discuss both\nprivate and public business when full of strong drink, but of the\nEgyptians when they were quite sober. This was well known to Peroa and\nmany of us, especially to myself who had been among them, which was one\nof the reasons why Idernes had been asked to meet us at a feast, where\nwe might have the advantage of him in debate.\n\nPresently the Satrap noted the splendid cup from which he drank and\nasked some question concerning it of the hawk-eyed noble of whom I have\nspoken. When it had been answered he said in a voice loud enough for me\nto overhear,\n\n\u201cTell me, O Prince Peroa, was this cup ever that of the Great King\nwhich it so much resembles?\u201d\n\n\u201cSo I understand, O Idernes,\u201d answered Peroa. \u201cThat is, until it became\nmine by gift from the lord Shabaka, who received it from the Great\nKing.\u201d\n\nAn expression of horror appeared upon the face of the Satrap and upon\nthose of his nobles.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d he answered, \u201cthis Shabaka must hold the King\u2019s favours\nlightly if he passes them on thus to the first-comer. At the least, let\nnot the vessel which has been hallowed by the lips of the King of kings\nbe dishonoured by the humblest of his servants. I pray you, O Prince,\nthat I may be given another cup.\u201d\n\nSo a new goblet was brought to him, Peroa trying to pass the matter off\nas a jest by appealing to me to tell the story of the cup. Then I said\nwhile all listened,\n\n\u201cO Prince, the most high Satrap is mistaken. The King of kings did not\ngive me the cup, I bought it from him in exchange for a certain famous\nbow, and therefore held it not wrong to pass it on to you, my lord.\u201d\n\nIdernes made no answer and seemed to forget the matter.\n\nA while later, however, his eye fell upon Amada and the rose-hued\npearls she wore, and again he asked a question of the hawk-eyed\ncaptain, then said,\n\n\u201cThink me not discourteous, O Prince, if I seem to look upon yonder\nlovely lady which in our country, where women do not appear in public,\nwe should think it an insult to do. But on her fair breast I see\ncertain pearls like to some that are known throughout the world, which\nfor many years have been worn by those who sit upon the throne of the\nEast. I would ask if they are the same, or others?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know, O Idernes,\u201d answered Peroa; \u201cI only know that the lord\nShabaka brought them from the East. Inquire of him, if it be your\npleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cShabaka again\u2014\u2014\u201d began Idernes, but I cut him short, saying,\n\n\u201cYes, O Satrap, Shabaka again. I won those pearls in a bet from the\nGreat King, and with them a certain weight of gold. This I think you\nknew before, since your messenger of a while ago was whipped for trying\nto steal them, which under the rods he said he did by command, O\nSatrap.\u201d\n\nTo this bold speech Idernes made no answer. Only his captains frowned\nand many of the Egyptians murmured approval.\n\nAfter this the feast went on without further incident for a while, the\nEasterns always drinking more wine, till at length the tables were\ncleared and all of the meaner sort departed from the hall, save the\nbutlers and the personal servants such as Bes, who stood behind the\nseats of their masters. There came a silence such as precedes the\nbursting of a storm, and in the midst of it Idernes spoke, somewhat\nthickly.\n\n\u201cI did not come here, O Peroa,\u201d he said, \u201cfrom the seat of government\nat Sais to eat your meats and drink your wine. I came to speak of high\nmatters with you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is so, O Satrap,\u201d answered Peroa. \u201cAnd now what may be your will?\nWould you retire to discuss them with me and my Councillors?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is the need, O Peroa, seeing that I have naught to say which may\nnot be heard by all?\u201d\n\n\u201cAs it pleases you. Speak on, O Satrap.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been summoned here, Prince Peroa, by a writing under what seems\nto be the Signet of signets\u2014the ancient White Seal that for generations\nunknown has been worn by the forefathers of the King of kings. Where is\nthis Signet?\u201d\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said the Prince, opening his robe. \u201cLook on it, Satrap, and let\nyour lords look, but let none of you dare to touch it.\u201d\n\nIdernes looked long and earnestly, and so did some of his people,\nespecially the lord with the hawk eyes. Then they stared at each other\nbewildered and whispered together.\n\n\u201cIt seems to be the very Seal\u2014the White Seal itself!\u201d exclaimed Idernes\nat length. \u201cTell me now, Peroa. How came this sacred thing that dwells\nin the East hither into Egypt?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe lord Shabaka brought it to me with certain letters from the Great\nKing, O Satrap.\u201d\n\n\u201cShabaka for the third time, by the holy Fire!\u201d cried Idernes. \u201cHe\nbrought the cup; he brought the famous pearls; he brought the gold, and\nhe brought the Signet of signets. What is there then that he did not\nbring? Perchance he has the person of the King of kings himself in his\nkeeping!\u201d\n\n\u201cNot that, O Satrap, only the commands of the King of kings which are\nprepared ready to deliver to you under the White Seal that you\nacknowledge.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what may they be, Egyptian?\u201d\n\n\u201cThis, O Satrap: That you and all the army which you have brought with\nyou retire to Sais and thence out of Egypt as quickly as you may, or\npay for disobedience with your lives.\u201d\n\nNow Idernes and his captains gasped.\n\n\u201cWhy this is rebellion!\u201d he said.\n\n\u201cNo, O Satrap, only the command of the Great King given under the White\nSeal,\u201d and drawing a roll from his breast, Peroa laid it on his brow\nand cast it down before Idernes, adding,\n\n\u201cObey the writing and the Signet, or by virtue of my commission, as\nsoon as you are returned to your army and your safe-conduct is expired,\nI fall upon you and destroy you.\u201d\n\nIdernes looked about him like a wolf in a trap, then asked,\n\n\u201cDo you mean to murder me here?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot so,\u201d answered Peroa, \u201cfor you have our safe-conduct and Egyptians\nare honourable men. But you are dismissed your office and ordered to\nleave Egypt.\u201d\n\nIdernes thought a little while, then said,\n\n\u201cIf I leave Egypt, there is at least one whom I am commanded to take\nwith me under orders and writings that you will not dispute, a maiden\nnamed Amada whom the Great King would number among his women. I am told\nit is she who sits yonder\u2014a jewel indeed, fair as the pearls upon her\nbreast which thus will return into the King\u2019s keeping. Let her be\nhanded over, for she rides with me at once.\u201d\n\nNow in the midst of an intense silence Peroa answered,\n\n\u201cAmada, the Royal Lady of Egypt, cannot be sent to dwell in the House\nof Women of the Great King without the consent of the lord Shabaka,\nwhose she is.\u201d\n\n\u201cShabaka for the fourth time!\u201d said Idernes, glaring at me. \u201cThen let\nShabaka come too. Or his head in a basket will suffice, since that will\nsave trouble afterwards, also some pain to Shabaka. Why, now I\nremember. It was this very Shabaka whom the Great King condemned to\ndeath by the boat for a crime against his Majesty, and who bought his\nlife by promising to deliver to him the fairest and most learned woman\nin the world\u2014the lady Amada of Egypt. And thus does the knave keep his\noath!\u201d\n\nNow I leapt to my feet, as did most of those present. Only Amada kept\nher seat and looked at me.\n\n\u201cYou lie!\u201d I cried, \u201cand were it not for your safe-conduct I would kill\nyou for the lie.\u201d\n\n\u201cI lie, do I?\u201d sneered Idernes. \u201cSpeak then, you who were present, and\ntell this noble company whether I lie,\u201d and he pointed to the hawk-eyed\nlord.\n\n\u201cHe does not lie,\u201d said the Captain. \u201cI was in the Court of the Great\nKing and heard yonder Shabaka purchase pardon by promising to hand over\nhis cousin, the lady Amada, to the King. The pearls were entrusted to\nhim as a gift to her and I see she wears them. The gold also of which\nmention has been made was to provide for her journey in state to the\nEast, or so I heard. The cup was his guerdon, also a sum for his own\npurse.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is false,\u201d I shouted. \u201cThe name of Amada slipped my lips by\nchance\u2014no more.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo it slipped your lips by chance, did it?\u201d sneered Idernes. \u201cNow, if\nyou are wise, you will suffer the lady Amada to slip your hand, and not\nby chance. But let us have done with this cunning knave. Prince, will\nyou hand over yonder fair woman, or will you not?\u201d\n\n\u201cSatrap, I will not,\u201d answered Peroa. \u201cThe demand is an insult put\nforward to force us to rebellion, since there is no man in Egypt who\nwill not be ready to die in defence of the Royal Lady of Egypt.\u201d\n\nThis statement was received with a shout of applause by every Egyptian\nin the hall. Idernes waited until it had died away, then said,\n\n\u201cPrince Peroa and Egyptians, you have conveyed to me certain commands\nsealed with the Signet of signets, which I think was stolen by yonder\nShabaka. Now hearken; until this matter is made clear I will obey those\ncommands thus far. I will return with my army to Sais and there wait\nuntil I have received the orders of the Great King, after report made\nto him. If so much as an arrow is shot at us on our march, it will be\nopen rebellion, as the price of which Egypt shall be crushed as she was\nnever crushed before, and every one of you here present shall lose his\nhead, save only the lady Amada who is the property of the Great King.\nNow I thank you for your hospitality and demand that you escort me and\nthose with me back to my camp, since it seems that here we are in the\nmidst of enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cBefore you go, Idernes,\u201d I shouted, \u201cknow that you and your lying\ncaptain shall pay with your lives for your slander on me.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany will pay with their lives for this night\u2019s work, O thief of\npearls and seals,\u201d answered the Satrap, and turning, left the hall with\nhis company.\n\nNow I searched for Amada, but she also had gone with the ladies of\nPeroa\u2019s household who feared lest the feast should end in blows and\nbloodshed, also lest she should be snatched away. Indeed of all the\nwomen in the hall, only my mother remained.\n\n\u201cSearch out the lady Amada,\u201d I said to her, \u201cand tell her the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, my son,\u201d she answered thoughtfully; \u201cbut what is the truth? I\nunderstood it was Bes who first gave the name of the lady Amada to the\nGreat King. Now we learn from your own lips that it was you. Wise would\nyou have been, my son, if you had bitten out your tongue before you\nsaid it, since this is a matter that any woman may well misunderstand.\u201d\n\n\u201cHer name was surprised out of me, Mother. It was Bes who spoke to the\nKing of the beauty of a certain lady of Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I think, my son, it was Bes who told Peroa and his guests that he\nand not you had given the King her name, which you do not seem to have\ndenied. Well, doubtless both of you are to blame for foolishness, no\nmore, since well I know that you would have died ten times over rather\nthan buy your life at the price of the honour of the Lady of Egypt.\nThis I will say to her as soon as I may, praying that it may not be too\nlate, and afterwards you shall tell me everything, which you would have\ndone well to do at first, if Bes, as I think, had not been over cunning\nafter the fashion of black people, and counselled you otherwise. See,\nPeroa calls you and I must go, for there are greater matters afoot than\nthat of who let slip the name of the lady Amada to the King of kings.\u201d\n\nSo she went and there followed a swift council of war, the question\nbeing whether we were to strike at the Satrap\u2019s army or to allow it to\nretreat to Sais. In my turn I was asked for my judgment of the issue,\nand answered,\n\n\u201cStrike and at once, since we cannot hope to storm Sais, which is far\naway. Moreover such strength as we have is now gathered and if it is\nidle and perhaps unpaid, will disperse again. But if we can destroy\nIdernes and his army, it will be long before the King of kings, who is\nsending all his multitudes against the Greeks, can gather another, and\nduring this time Egypt may again become a nation and able to protect\nherself under Peroa her own Pharaoh.\u201d\n\nIn the end I, and those who thought like me, prevailed, so that before\nthe dawn I was sailing down the Nile with the fleet, having two\nthousand men under my command. Also I took with me the six hunters whom\nI had won from the Great King, since I knew them to be faithful, and\nthought that their knowledge of the Easterns and their ways might be of\nservice. Our orders were to hold a certain neck of land between the\nriver and the hills where the army of Idernes must pass, until Peroa\nand all his strength could attack him from behind.\n\nFour hours later, the wind being very favourable to us, we reached that\nplace and there took up our station and having made all as ready as we\ncould, rested.\n\nIn the early afternoon Bes awakened me from the heavy sleep into which\nI had fallen, and pointed to the south. I looked and through the desert\nhaze saw the chariots of Idernes advancing in ordered ranks, and after\nthem the masses of his footmen.\n\nNow we had no chariots, only archers, and two regiments armed with long\nspears and swords. Also the sailors on the boats had their slings and\nthrowing javelins. Lastly the ground was in our favour since it sloped\nupwards and the space between the river and the hills was narrow,\nsomewhat boggy too after the inundation of the Nile, which meant that\nthe chariots must advance in a column and could not gather sufficient\nspeed to sweep over us.\n\nIdernes and his captains noted all this also, and halted. Then they\nsent a herald forward to ask who we were and to command us in the name\nof the Great King to make way for the army of the Great King.\n\nI answered that we were Egyptians, ordered by Peroa to hold the road\nagainst the Satrap who had done affront to Egypt by demanding that its\nRoyal Lady should be given over to him to be sent to the East as a\nwoman-slave, and that if the Satrap wished to clear a road, he could\ncome and do so. Or if it pleased him he could go back towards Memphis,\nor stay where he was, since we did not wish to strike the first blow. I\nadded this,\n\n\u201cI who speak on behalf of the Prince Peroa, am the lord Shabaka, that\nsame man whom but last night the Satrap and a certain captain of his\nnamed a liar. Now the Easterns are brave men and we of Egypt have\nalways heard that among them none is braver than Idernes who gained his\nadvancement through courage and skill in war. Let him therefore come\nout together with the lord who named me a liar, armed with swords only,\nand I, who being a liar must also be a coward, together with my\nservant, a black dwarf, will meet them man to man in the sight of both\nthe armies, and fight them to the death. Or if it pleases Idernes\nbetter, let him not come and I will seek him and kill him in the\nbattle, or by him be killed.\u201d\n\nThe herald, having taken stock of me and of Bes at whom he laughed,\nreturned with the message.\n\n\u201cWill he come, think you, Master?\u201d asked Bes.\n\n\u201cMayhap,\u201d I answered, \u201csince it is a shame for an Eastern to refuse a\nchallenge from any man whom he calls barbarian, and if he did so it\nmight cost him his life afterwards at the hands of the Great King. Also\nif he should fall there are others to take his command, but none who\ncan wipe away the stain upon his honour.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Bes; \u201calso they will think me a dwarf of no account, which\nmakes the task of killing you easy. Well, they shall see.\u201d\n\nNow when I sent this challenge I had more in my mind than a desire to\navenge myself upon Idernes and his captain for the public shame they\nhad put upon me. I wished to delay the attack of their host upon our\nlittle band and give time for the army of Peroa to come up behind.\nMoreover, if I fell it did not greatly matter, except as an omen,\nseeing that I had good officers under me who knew all my plans.\n\nWe saw the herald reach the Satrap\u2019s army and after a while return\ntowards us again, which made us think my challenge had been refused,\nespecially as with him was an officer who, I took it, was sent to spy\nout our strength. But this was not so, for the man said,\n\n\u201cThe Satrap Idernes has sworn by the Great King to kill the thief of\nthe Signet and send his head to the Great King, and fears that if he\nwaits to meet him in battle, he may slip away. Therefore he is minded\nto accept your challenge, O Shabaka, and put an end to you, and indeed\nunder the laws of the East he may not refuse. But a noble of the Great\nKing may not fight against a black slave save with a whip, so how can\nthat noble accept the challenge of the dwarf Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cQuite well,\u201d answered Bes, \u201cseeing that I am no slave but a free\ncitizen of Egypt. Moreover, in my own country of Ethiopia I am of royal\nblood. Lastly, tell the man this, that if he does not come and\nafterwards falls into my hands or into those of the lord Shabaka, he\nwho talks of whips shall be scourged with them till his life creeps out\nfrom between his bare bones.\u201d\n\nThus spoke Bes, rolling his great eyes and looking so terrible that the\nherald and the officer fell back a step or two. Then I told them that\nif my offer did not please them, I myself would fight, first Idernes\nand then the noble. So they returned.\n\nThe end of it was that we saw Idernes and his captain advancing,\nfollowed by a guard of ten men. Then after I had explained all things\nto my officers, I also advanced with Bes, followed by a guard of ten\npicked men. We met between the armies on a little sandy plain at the\nfoot of the rise and there followed talk between the captains of our\nguards as to arms and so forth, but we four said nothing to each other,\nsince the time for words was past. Only Bes and I sat down upon the\nsand and spoke a little together of Amada and Karema and of how they\nwould receive the news of our victory or deaths.\n\n\u201cIt does not much matter, Master,\u201d said Bes at last, \u201cseeing that if we\ndie we shall never know, and if we live we shall learn for ourselves.\u201d\n\nAt length all was arranged and we stood up to face each other, the four\nof us being armed in the same way. For as did Idernes and the hawk-eyed\nlord, Bes and I wore shirts of mail and helms, those that we had\nbrought with us from the East. For weapons we had short and heavy\nswords, small shields and knives at our girdles.\n\n\u201cLook your last upon the sun, Thieves,\u201d mocked Idernes, \u201cfor when you\nsee it again, it shall be with blind eyes from the points of spears\nfastened to the gateway pillars of the Great King\u2019s palace.\u201d\n\n\u201cLiars you have lived and liars you shall die,\u201d shouted Bes, but I said\nnothing.\n\nNow the agreement was that when the word had been given Idernes and I,\nand the noble and Bes, should fight together, but if they killed one of\nus, or we killed one of them, the two who survived might fall together\non the remaining man. Remembering this, as he told me afterwards, at\nthe signal Bes leapt forward like a flash with working face and foam\nupon his lips, and before ever I could come to Idernes, how I know not,\nhad received the blow of the Eastern lord upon his shield and without\nstriking back, had gripped him in his long arms and wrapped him round\nwith his bowed legs. In an instant they were on the ground, Bes\nuppermost, and I heard the sound of blow upon blow struck with knife or\nsword, I knew not which, upon the Eastern\u2019s mail, followed by a shout\nof victory from the Egyptians which told me that Bes had slain him.\n\nNow Idernes and I were smiting at each other. He was a taller and a\nbigger man than myself, but older and one who had lived too well.\nTherefore I thought it wise to keep him at a distance and tire him,\nwhich I did by retreating and catching his sword-cuts on my shield,\nonly smiting back now and again.\n\n\u201cHe runs! He runs!\u201d shouted the Easterns. \u201cO Idernes, beware the\ndwarf!\u201d\n\n\u201cStand away, Bes,\u201d I called; \u201cthis is my game,\u201d and he obeyed, as often\nhe had done when we were hunting together.\n\nNow a shrewd blow from Idernes cut through my helm and staggered me,\nand another before I could recover myself, shore the shield from my\nhand, whereat the Easterns shouted more loudly than before. Then fear\nof defeat entered into me and made me mad, for this Satrap was a great\nfighter. With a shout of \u201cEgypt!\u201d I went at him like a wounded lion and\nsoon it was his turn to stagger back. But alas! I struck too hard, for\nmy sword snapped upon his mail.\n\n\u201cThe knife!\u201d screamed Bes; \u201cthe knife!\u201d\n\nI hurled the sword hilt in the Satrap\u2019s face and drew the dagger from\nmy belt. Then I ran in beneath his guard and stabbed and stabbed and\nstabbed. He gripped me and we went down side by side, rolling over each\nother. The gods know how it ended, for things were growing dim to me\nwhen some thrust of mine found a rent in his mail made when the sword\nbroke and he became weak. His spirit weakened also, for he gasped,\n\n\u201cSpare my life, Egyptian, and my treasure is yours. I swear it by the\nFire.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot for all the treasure in the world, Slanderer,\u201d I panted back and\ndrove the dagger home to the hilt thrice, until he died. Then I\nstaggered to my feet, and when the armies saw that it was I who rose\nwhile Idernes lay still a roar of triumph went up from the Egyptians,\nanswered by a roar of rage from the Easterns.\n\nWith a cry of \u201cWell done, Master!\u201d Bes leapt upon the dead man and\nhewed his head from him, as already he had served the hawk-eyed noble.\nThen gripping one head in each hand he held them up for the Easterns to\nsee.\n\n\u201cMen of the Great King,\u201d I said, \u201cbear us witness that we have fought\nfairly, man to man, when we need not have done so.\u201d\n\nThe ten of the Satrap\u2019s guard stood silent, but my own shouted,\n\n\u201cBack, Shabaka! The Easterns charge!\u201d\n\nI looked and saw them coming like waves of steel, then supported by my\nmen and preceded by Bes who danced in front shaking the severed heads,\nI ran back to my own ranks where one gave me wine to drink and threw\nwater over my hurts which were but slight. Scarcely was it done when\nthe battle closed in and soon in it I forgot the deaths of Idernes and\nthe Eastern liar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\nAMADA RETURNS TO ISIS\n\n\nWe fought a very terrible fight that evening there by the banks of\nNile. Our position was good, but we were outnumbered by four or five to\none, and the Easterns and their mercenaries were mad at the death of\nthe Satrap by my hand. Time upon time they came on furiously, charging\nup the slope like wild bulls. For the most part we relied upon our\narchers to drive them back, since our half-trained troops could\nscarcely hope to stand against the onset of veterans disciplined in\nwar. So taking cover behind the rocks we rained arrows on them,\nshooting the horses in the chariots, and when these were down, pouring\nour shafts upon the footmen behind. Myself I took my great black bow\nand drew it thrice, and each time I saw a noble fall, for no mail could\nwithstand the arrows which it sent, and of that art I was a master.\nNone in Egypt could shoot so far or so straight as I did, save perhaps\nPeroa himself. I had no time to do more since always I must be moving\nup and down the line encouraging my men.\n\nThree times we drove them back, after which they grew cunning. Ceasing\nfrom a direct onslaught and keeping what remained of their chariots in\nreserve, they sent one body of men to climb along the slope of the hill\nwhere the rocks gave them cover from our arrows, and another to creep\nthrough the reeds and growing crops upon the bank of the river where we\ncould not see to shoot them well, although the slingers in the ships\ndid them some damage.\n\nThus they attacked us on either flank, and while we were thus engaged\ntheir centre made a charge. Then came the bitterest of the fighting for\nnow the bows were useless, and it was sword against sword and spear\nagainst spear. Once we broke and I thought that they were through. But\nI led a charge against them and drove them back a little way. Still the\nissue was doubtful till I saw Bes rush past me grinning and leaping,\nand with him a small body of Greeks whom we held in reserve, and I\nthink that the sight of the terrible dwarf whom they thought a devil,\nfrightened the Easterns more than did the Greeks.\n\nAt any rate, shouting out something about an evil spirit whom the\nEgyptians worshipped, by which I suppose they meant that god after whom\nBes was named, they retreated, leaving many dead but taking their\nwounded with them, for they were unbroken.\n\nAt the foot of the slope they reformed and took counsel, then sat down\nout of bowshot as though to rest. Now I guessed their plan. It was to\nwait till night closed in, which would be soon for the sun was sinking,\nand then, when we could not see to shoot, either rush through us by the\nweight of numbers, or march back to where the cliffs were lower and\nclimb them, thus passing us on the higher open land.\n\nNow we also took counsel, though little came of it, since we did not\nknow what to do. We were too few to attack so great an army, nor if we\nclimbed the cliffs could we hope to withstand them in the desert sands,\nor to hold our own against them if they charged in the dark. If this\nhappened it seemed that all we could do would be to fight as long as we\ncould, after which the survivors of us must take refuge on our boats.\nSo it came to this, that we should lose the battle and the greater part\nof the Easterns would win back to Sais, unless indeed the main army\nunder Peroa came to our aid.\n\nWhilst we talked I caused the wounded to be carried to the ships before\nit grew too dark to move them. Bes went with them. Presently he\nreturned, running swiftly.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d he said, \u201cthe evening wind is blowing strong and stirs the\nsand, but from a mast-head through it I caught sight of Peroa\u2019s\nbanners. The army comes round the bend of the river not four furlongs\naway. Now charge and those Easterns will be caught between the hammer\nand the stone, for while they are meeting us they will not look\nbehind.\u201d\n\nSo I went down the lines of our little force telling them the good news\nand showing them my plan. They listened and understood. We formed up,\nthose who were left of us, not more than a thousand men perhaps, and\nadvanced. The Easterns laughed when they saw us coming down the slope,\nfor they thought that we were mad and that they would kill us every\none, believing as they did that Peroa had no other army. When we were\nwithin bowshot we began to shoot, though sparingly, for but few arrows\nwere left. Galled by our archery they marshalled their ranks to charge\nus again. With a shout we leapt forward to meet them, for now from the\nhigher ground I saw the chariots of Peroa rushing to our rescue.\n\nWe met, we fought. Surely there had been no such fighting since the\ndays of Thotmes and Rameses the Great. Still they drove us back till\nunseen and unsuspected the chariots and the footmen of Peroa broke on\nthem from behind, broke on them like a desert storm. They gave, they\nfled this way and that, some to the banks of the Nile, some to the\nhills. By the light of the setting sun we finished it and ere the\ndarkness closed in the Great King\u2019s army was destroyed, save for the\nfugitives whom we hunted down next day.\n\nYes, in that battle perished ten thousand of the Easterns and their\nmercenaries, and upon its field at dawn we crowned Peroa Pharaoh of\nEgypt, and he named me the chief general of his army. There, too, fell\nover a thousand of my men and among them those six hunters whom I had\nwon in the wager with the Great King and brought with me from the East.\nThroughout the fray they served me as a bodyguard, fighting furiously,\nwho knew that they could hope for no mercy from their own people. One\nby one they were slain, the last two of them in the charge at sunset.\nWell, they were brave and faithful to me, so peace be on their spirits.\nBetter to die thus than in the den of lions.\n\nIn triumph we returned to Memphis, I bringing in the rear-guard and the\nspoils. Before Pharaoh and I parted a messenger brought me more good\nnews. Sure tidings had come that the King of kings had been driven by\nrevolt in his dominions to embark upon a mighty war with Syria, Greece\nand Cyprus and other half-conquered countries, in which, doubtless by\nagreement, the fires of insurrection had suddenly burned up. Also\nalready Peroa\u2019s messengers had departed to tell them of what was\npassing on the Nile.\n\n\u201cIf this be true,\u201d said Peroa when he had heard all, \u201cthe Great King\nwill have no new army to spare for Egypt.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is so, Pharaoh,\u201d I answered. \u201cYet I think he will conquer in this\ngreat war and that within two years you must be prepared to meet him\nface to face.\u201d\n\n\u201cTwo years are long, Shabaka, and in them, by your help, much may be\ndone.\u201d\n\nBut as it chanced he was destined to be robbed of that help, and this\nby the work of Woman the destroyer.\n\nIt happened thus. Amidst great rejoicings Pharaoh reached Memphis and\nin the vast temple of Amen laid down our spoils in the presence of the\ngod, thousands of right hands hewn from the fallen, thousands of swords\nand other weapons and tens of chariots, together with much treasure of\nwhich a portion was given to the god. The high priests blessed us in\nthe name of Amen and of the other gods; the people blessed us and threw\nflowers in our path; all the land rejoiced because once more it was\nfree.\n\nThere too that day in the temple with ancient form and ceremonial Peroa\nwas crowned Pharaoh of Egypt. Sceptres and jewels that had been hid for\ngenerations were brought out by those who knew the secret of their\nhiding-places; the crowns that had been worn by old Pharaohs, were set\nupon his head; yes, the double crown of the Upper and the Lower Land.\nThus in a Memphis mad with joy at the casting off of the foreign yoke,\nhe was anointed the first of a new dynasty, and with him his queen.\n\nI too received honours, for the story of the slaying of Idernes at my\nhands and of how I held the pass had gone abroad, so that next to\nPharaoh, I was looked upon as the greatest man in Egypt. Nor was Bes\nforgotten, since many of the common people thought that he was a spirit\nin the form of a dwarf whom the gods had sent to aid us with his\nstrength and cunning. Indeed at the close of the ceremony voices cried\nout in the multitude of watchers, demanding that I who was to marry the\nRoyal Lady of Egypt should be named next in succession to the throne.\n\nThe Pharaoh heard and glanced first at his son and then at me,\ndoubtfully, whereon, covered with confusion, I slipped away.\n\nThe portico of the temple was deserted, since all, even the guards, had\ncrowded into the vast court to watch the coronation. Only in the\nshadow, seated against the pedestal of one of the two colossal statues\nin front of the outer pylon gate and looking very small beneath its\ngreatness, was a man wrapped in a dark cloak whom noting vaguely I took\nto be a beggar. As I passed him, he plucked at my robe, and I stopped\nto search for something to give to him but could find naught.\n\n\u201cI have nothing, Father,\u201d I said laughing, \u201cexcept the gold hilt of my\nsword.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not part with that, Son,\u201d answered a deep voice, \u201cfor I think you\nwill need it before all is over.\u201d\n\nThen while I stared at him he threw back his hood and I saw that\nbeneath was the ancient withered face and the long white beard of my\ngreat-uncle, the holy Tanofir, the hermit and magician.\n\n\u201cGreat things happen yonder, Shabaka. So great that I have come from my\nsepulchre to see, or rather, being blind, to listen, who thrice in my\nlife days have known the like before,\u201d and he pointed to the glittering\nthrong in the court within. \u201cYes,\u201d he went on, \u201cI have seen Pharaohs\ncrowned and Pharaohs die\u2014one of them at the hand of a conqueror. What\nwill happen to this Pharaoh, think you, Shabaka?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou should be better able to answer that question than I, who am no\nprophet, my Uncle.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow, my Nephew, seeing that your dwarf has borne away my magic Cup? I\ndo not grudge her to him for he is a brave dwarf and clever, who may\nyet prove a good prop to you, as he has done before, and to Egypt also.\nBut she has gone and the new vessel is not yet shaped to my liking. So\nhow can I answer?\u201d\n\n\u201cOut of the store of wisdom gathered in your breast.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo! my Nephew. Well, my store of wisdom tells me that feasts are\nsometimes followed by want and rejoicings by sorrow and victories by\ndefeat, and splendid sins by repentance and slow climbing back to good\nagain. Also that you will soon take a long journey. Where is the Royal\nLady Amada? I did not hear her step among those who passed in to the\nCrowning. But even my hearing has grown somewhat weak of late, except\nin the silence of the night, Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know, my Uncle, who have only been in Memphis one hour. But\nwhat do you mean? Doubtless she prepares herself for the feast where I\nshall meet her.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoubtless. Tell me, what passes at the temple of Isis? As I crept past\nthe pylon feeling my way with my beggar\u2019s staff, I thought\u2014but how can\nyou know who have only been in Memphis an hour? Yet surely I heard\nvoices just now calling out that you, Shabaka, should be named as the\nnext successor to the throne of Egypt. Was it so?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, holy Tanofir. That is why I have left who was vexed and am sworn\nto seek no such honour, which indeed I do not desire.\u201d\n\n\u201cJust so, Nephew. Yet gifts have a way of coming to those who do not\ndesire them and the last vision that I saw before my Cup left me, or\nrather that she saw, was of you wearing the Double Crown. She said that\nyou looked very well in it, Shabaka. But now begone, for hark, here\ncomes the procession with the new-anointed Pharaoh whose royal robe you\nwon for him yonder in the pass, when you smote down Idernes and held\nhis legions. Oh! it was well done and my new Cup, though faulty, was\ngood enough to show me all. I felt proud of you, Shabaka, but begone,\nbegone! \u2018A gift for the poor old beggar! A gift, my lords, for the poor\nblind beggar who has had none since the last Pharaoh was crowned in\nEgypt and finds it hard to live on memories!\u2019\u201d\n\nAt our house I found my mother just returned from the Coronation, but\nBes I did not find and guessed that he had slipped away to meet his\nnew-made wife, Karema. My mother embraced me and blessed me, making\nmuch of me and my deeds in the battle; also she doctored such small\nhurts as I had. I put the matter by as shortly as I could and asked her\nif she had seen aught of Amada. She answered that she had neither seen\nnor heard of her which I was sure she thought strange, as she began to\ntalk quickly of other things. I said to her what I had said to the holy\nTanofir, that doubtless she was making ready for the feast since I\ncould not find her at the Crowning.\n\n\u201cOr saying good-bye to the goddess,\u201d answered my mother nodding, \u201csince\nthere are some who find it even harder to fall from heaven to earth\nthan to climb from earth to heaven, and after all you are but a man, my\nson.\u201d\n\nThen she slipped away to attire herself, leaving me wondering, because\nmy mother was shrewd and never spoke at random.\n\nThere was the holy Tanofir, too, with his talk about the temple of\nIsis, and he also did not speak at random. Oh! now I felt as I had done\nwhen the shadow of the palm-tree fell on me yonder in the palace\ngarden.\n\nThe mood passed for my blood still tingled with the glory of that great\nfight, and my heart shut its doors to sadness, knowing as I did, that I\nwas the most praised man in Memphis that day. Indeed had I not, I\nshould have learned it when with my mother I entered the great\nbanqueting-hall of the palace somewhat late, for she was long in making\nready.\n\nThe first thing I saw there was Bes gorgeously arrayed in Eastern silks\nthat he had plundered from the Satrap\u2019s tent, standing on a table so\nthat all might see and hear him, and holding aloft in one hand the\ngrisly head of Idernes and in the other that of the hawk-eyed noble\nwhom he had slain, while in his thick, guttural voice he told the tale\nof that great fray. Catching sight of me, he called aloud,\n\n\u201cSee! Here comes the man! Here comes the hero to whom Egypt owes its\nliberty and Pharaoh his crown.\u201d\n\nThereon all the company and the soldiers and servants who were gathered\nabout the door began to shout and acclaim me, till I wished that I\ncould vanish away as the holy Tanofir was said to be able to do. Since\nthis was impossible I rushed at Bes who leapt from the table like a\nmonkey and, still waving the heads and talking, slipped from the hall,\nI know not how, followed by the loud laughter of the guests.\n\nThen heralds announced the coming of Pharaoh and all grew silent. He\nand his company entered with pomp and we, his subjects, prostrated\nourselves in the ancient fashion.\n\n\u201cRise, my guests,\u201d he cried. \u201cRise, my people. Above all do you rise,\nShabaka, my beloved cousin, to whom Egypt and I owe so much.\u201d\n\nSo we rose and I took my seat in a place of honour having my mother at\nmy side, and looked about me for Amada, but in vain. There was the\ncarven chair upon which she should have been among those of the\nprincesses, but it was empty. At first I thought that she was late, but\nwhen time went by and she did not appear, I asked if she were ill, a\nquestion that none seemed able to answer.\n\nThe feast went on with all the ancient ceremonies that attended the\ncrowning of a Pharaoh of Egypt, since there were old men who remembered\nthese, also the scribes and priests had them written in their books.\n\nI took no heed of them and will not set them down. At length Pharaoh\npledged his subjects, and his subjects pledged Pharaoh. Then the doors\nwere opened and through them came a company of white-robed, shaven\npriests bearing on a bier the body of a dead man wrapped in his\nmummy-cloths. At first some laughed for this rite had not been\nperformed in Egypt since she passed into the hands of the Great Kings\nof the East and therefore was strange to them. Then they grew silent\nsince after all it was solemn to see those death-bearing priests\nflitting in and out between the great columns, now seen and now lost in\nthe shadows, and to listen to their funeral chants.\n\nIn the hush my mother whispered to me that this body was that of the\nlast Pharaoh of Egypt brought from his tomb, but whether this were so I\ncannot say for certain. At length they brought the mummy which was\ncrowned with a snake-headed circlet of the royal _ur\u00e6us_ and still\ndraped with withered funeral wreaths, and stood it on its feet opposite\nto Peroa just behind and between my mother and me in such a fashion\nthat it cut off the light from us.\n\nThe faint and heavy smell of the embalmer\u2019s spices struck upon my\nnostrils, a dead flower from the chaplets fell upon my head and,\nglancing over my shoulder, I saw the painted or enamelled eyes in the\ngilded mask staring at me. The thing filled me with fear, I knew not of\nwhat. Not of death, surely, for that I had faced a score of times of\nlate and thought nothing of it. Indeed I am not sure that it was fear I\nfelt, but rather a deep sense of the vanity of all things. It seemed to\ncome home to me\u2014Shabaka or Allan Quatermain, for in my dream the\ninspiration or whatever it might be, struck through the spirit that\nanimated both of us\u2014as it had never done before, that everything is\n_nothing_, that victory and love and even life itself have no meaning;\nthat naught really exists save the soul of man and God, of whom\nperchance that soul is a part sent forth for a while to do His work\nthrough good and ill. The thought lifted me up and yet crushed me,\nsince for a moment all that makes a man passed away, and I felt myself\nstanding in utter loneliness, naked before the glory of God, watched\nonly by the flaming stars that light his throne. Yes, and at that\nmoment suddenly I learned that all the gods are but one God, having\nmany shapes and called by many names.\n\nThen I heard the priests saying,\n\n\u201cPharaoh the Osiris greets Pharaoh the living on the Earth and sends to\nhim this message\u2014\u2018As I am, so shalt thou be, and where I am, there thou\nshalt dwell through all the ages of Eternity.\u2019\u201d\n\nThen Pharaoh the living rose and bowed to Pharaoh the dead and Pharaoh\nthe dead was taken away back to his Eternal House and I wondered\nwhether his _Ka_ or his spirit, or whatever is the part of him that\nlives on, were watching us and remembering the feasts whereof he had\npartaken in his pomp in this pillared hall, as his forefathers had done\nbefore him for hundreds or thousands of years.\n\nNot until the mummy had gone and the last sound of the chanting of the\npriests had died, did the hearts of the feasters grow light again. But\nsoon they forgot, as men alive always forget death and those whom Time\nhas devoured, for the wine was good and strong and the eyes of the\nwomen were bright and victory had crowned our spears, and for a while\nEgypt was once more free.\n\nSo it went on till Pharaoh rose and departed, the great gold earrings\nin his ears jingling as he walked, and the trumpets sounding before and\nafter him. I too rose to go with my mother when a messenger came and\nbade me wait upon Pharaoh, and with me the dwarf Bes. So we went,\nleaving an officer to conduct my mother to our home. As I passed her\nshe caught me by the sleeve and whispered in my ear,\n\n\u201cMy son, whatever chances to you, be brave and remember that the world\nholds more than women.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I answered, \u201cit holds death and God, or they hold it,\u201d though\nwhat put the words into my mind I do not know, since I did not\nunderstand and had no time to ask her meaning.\n\nThe messenger led us to the door of Peroa\u2019s private chamber, the same\nin which I had seen him on my return from the East. Here he bade me\nenter, and Bes to wait without. I went in and found two men and a woman\nin the chamber, all standing very silent. The men were Pharaoh who\nstill wore his glorious robe and Double Crown, and the high priest of\nIsis clothed in white; the other was the lady Amada also clothed in the\nsnowy robes of Isis.\n\nAt the sight of her thus arrayed my heart stopped and I stood silent\nbecause I could not speak. She too stood silent and I saw that beneath\nher thin veil her beautiful face was set and pale as that of an\nalabaster statue. Indeed she might have been not a lovely living woman,\nbut the goddess Isis herself whose symbols she bore about her.\n\n\u201cShabaka,\u201d said Pharaoh at length, \u201cthe Royal Lady of Egypt, Amada,\npriestess of Isis, has somewhat to say to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet the Royal Lady of Egypt speak on to her servant and affianced\nhusband,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cCount Shabaka, General of the armies,\u201d she began in a cold clear voice\nlike to that of one who repeats a lesson, \u201clearn that you are no more\nmy affianced husband and that I who am gathered again to Isis the\ndivine, am no more your affianced wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not understand. Will it please you to be more plain?\u201d I said\nfaintly.\n\n\u201cI will be more plain, Count Shabaka, more plain than you have been\nwith me. Since we speak together for the last time it is well that I\nshould be plain. Hear me. When first you returned from the East, in\nyonder hall you told us of certain things that happened to you there.\nThen the dwarf your servant took up the tale. He said that he gave my\nname to the Great King. I was wroth as well I might be, but even when I\nprayed that he should be scourged, you did not deny that it was he who\ngave my name to the King, although Pharaoh yonder said that if you had\nspoken the name it would have been another matter.\u201d\n\n\u201cI had no time,\u201d I answered, \u201cfor just then the messengers came from\nIdernes and afterwards when I sought you you were gone.\u201d\n\n\u201cHad you then no time,\u201d she asked coldly, \u201cbeneath the palms in the\ngarden of the palace when we were affianced? Oh! there was time in\nplenty but it did not please you to tell me that you had bought safety\nand great gifts at the price of the honour of the Lady of Egypt whose\nlove you stole.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou do not understand!\u201d I exclaimed wildly.\n\n\u201cForgive me, Shabaka, but I understand very well indeed, since from\nyour own words I learned at the feast given to Idernes that \u2018the name\nof Amada\u2019 slipped your lips by chance and thus came to the ears of the\nGreat King.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe tale that Idernes and his captain told was false, Lady, and for it\nBes and I took their lives with our own hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt had perhaps been better, Shabaka, if you had kept them living that\nthey might confess that it was false. But doubtless you thought them\nsafer dead, since dead men cannot speak, and for this reason challenged\nthem to single combat.\u201d\n\nI gasped and could not answer for my mind seemed to leave me, and she\nwent on in a gentler voice,\n\n\u201cI do not wish to speak angrily to you, my cousin Shabaka, especially\nwhen you have just wrought such great deeds for Egypt. Moreover by the\nlaw I serve I may speak angrily to no man. Know then that on learning\nthe truth, since I could love none but you according to the flesh and\ntherefore can never give myself in marriage to another, I sought refuge\nin the arms of the goddess whom for your sake I had deserted. She was\npleased to receive me, forgetting my treason. On this very day for the\nsecond time I took the oaths which may no more be broken, and that I\nmay dwell where I shall never see you more, Pharaoh here has been\npleased, at my request to name me high priestess and prophetess of Isis\nand to appoint me as a dwelling-place her temple at Amada where I was\nborn far away in Upper Egypt. Now all is said and done, so farewell.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll is not said and done,\u201d I broke out in fury. \u201cPharaoh, I ask your\nleave to tell the full story of this business of the naming of the lady\nAmada to the King of kings, and that in the presence of the dwarf Bes.\nEven a slave is allowed to set out his tale before judgment is passed\nupon him.\u201d\n\nPeroa glanced at Amada who made no sign, then said,\n\n\u201cIt is granted, General Shabaka.\u201d\n\nSo Bes was called into the chamber and having looked about him\ncuriously, seated himself upon the ground.\n\n\u201cBes,\u201d I said, \u201cyou have heard nothing of what has passed.\u201d (Here I was\nmistaken, for as he told me afterwards he had heard everything through\nthe door which was not quite closed.) \u201cIt is needful, Bes, that you\nshould repeat truly all that happened at the court of the King of kings\nbefore and after I was brought from the boat.\u201d\n\nBes obeyed, telling the tale very well, so well that all listened\nearnestly, without error moreover. When he had finished I also told my\nstory and how, shaken by all I had gone through and already weak from\nthe torment of the boat, the name of Amada was surprised from me who\nnever dreamed that the King would at once make demand of her, and who\nwould have perished a thousand times rather than such a thing should\nhappen. I added what I had learned afterwards from our escort, that\nthis name was already well known to the Great King who meant to make\nuse of it as a cause of quarrel with Egypt. Further, that he had let me\nescape from a death by horrible torments because of some dream that he\nhad dreamed while he rested before the banquet, in which a god appeared\nand told him that it was an evil thing to slay a man because that man\nhad bested him at a hunting match and one of which heaven would keep an\naccount. Still because of the law of his land he must find a public\npretext for loosing one whom he had once condemned, and therefore chose\nthis matter of the lady Amada whom he pretended to send me to bring to\nhim.\n\nWhen I had finished, as Amada still remained silent, Pharaoh asked of\nBes how it came about that he told one story on the night of our return\nand another on this night.\n\n\u201cBecause, O Pharaoh,\u201d answered Bes rolling his eyes, \u201cfor the first\ntime in my life I have been just a little too clever and shot my arrow\njust a little too far. Hearken, Pharaoh, and Royal Lady, and High\nPriest. I knew that my master loves the lady Amada and knew also that\nshe is quick of tongue and temper, one who readily takes offence even\nif thereby she breaks her own heart and so brings her life to ruin, and\nwith it perchance her country. Therefore, knowing women whom I have\nstudied in my own land, I saw in this matter just such a cause of\noffence as she would lay hold of, and counselled my master to keep\nsilent as to the story of the naming of her before the King. Some evil\nspirit made him listen to this bad counsel, so far at least, that when\nI lied as to what had chanced, for which lie the lady Amada prayed that\nI might be scourged till my bones broke through the skin, he did not at\nonce tell all the truth. Nor did he do so afterwards because he feared\nthat if he did I should in fact be scourged, for my master and I love\neach other. Neither of us wishes to see the other scourged, though such\nis my lot to-night,\u201d and he glanced at Amada. \u201cI have said.\u201d\n\nThen at last Amada spoke.\n\n\u201cHad I known all this story from the first, perhaps I should not have\ndone what I have done to-day and perhaps I should have forgiven and\nforgotten, for in truth even if the dwarf still lies, I believe your\nword, O Shabaka, and understand how all came about. But now it is too\nlate to change. Say, O Priest of the Mother, is it not too late?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is too late,\u201d said the priest solemnly, \u201cseeing that if such vows\nas yours are broken for the second time, O Prophetess, the curse of the\ngoddess will pursue you and him for whom they were broken, yes, through\nthis life and all other lives that perchance may be given to you upon\nthe earth or elsewhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cPharaoh,\u201d I cried in despair, \u201cI made a bond with you. It is recorded\nin writing and sealed. I have kept my part of the bond; my treasure you\nhave spent; your enemies I have slain; your army I have commanded not\nso ill. Will you not keep yours and bid the priests release this lady\nfrom her vow and give her to me to whom she was promised? Or must I\nbelieve that you refuse, not because of goddesses and vows, but because\nyonder is the Royal Lady of Egypt, the true heiress to the throne who\nmight perchance bear children, which as prophetess of Isis she can\nnever do. Yes, because of this and because of certain cries that came\nto your ears in the hour of your crowning before Amen-ra and all the\ngods?\u201d\n\nPeroa flushed as he heard me and answered,\n\n\u201cYou speak roughly, Cousin, and were you any other man I might be\ntempted to answer roughly. But I know that you suffer and therefore I\nforgive. Nay, you must believe no such things. Rather must you remember\nthat in this bond of which you speak, it was set down that I only\npromised you the lady Amada with her own consent, and this she has\nwithdrawn.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, Pharaoh, hearken! To-morrow I leave Egypt for another land,\ngiving you back your generalship and sheathing the sword that I had\nhoped to wield in its defence and yours when the last great day of\ntrial by battle comes, as come it will. I tell you that I go to return\nno more, unless the lady Amada yonder shall summon me back to fight for\nher and you, promising herself to me in guerdon.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat can never be,\u201d said Amada.\n\nThen I became aware of another presence in the room, though how and\nwhen it appeared I do not know, but I suppose that it had crept in\nwhile we were lost in talk. At least between me and Pharaoh, crouched\nupon the ground, was the figure of a man wrapped in a beggar\u2019s cloak.\nIt threw back the hood and there appeared the ashen face and snowy\nbeard of the holy Tanofir.\n\n\u201cYou know me, Pharaoh,\u201d he said in his deep, solemn voice. \u201cI am\nTanofir, the King\u2019s son; Tanofir the hermit, Tanofir the seer. I have\nheard all that passes, it matters not how and I come to you with a\nmessage, I who read men\u2019s hearts. Of vows and goddesses and women I say\nnothing. But this I say to you, that if you break the spirit of your\nbond and suffer yonder Shabaka to go hence with a bitter heart, trouble\nshall come on you. All the Great King\u2019s armies did not die yonder by\nthe banks of Nile, and mayhap one day he will journey to bury the bones\nof those who fell, and with them _yours_, O Pharaoh. I do not think\nthat you will listen to me to-night, and I am sure that yonder lady,\nfull of the new-fanned flame of the jealous goddess, will not listen.\nStill let her take counsel and remember my words: In the hour of\ndesperate danger let her send to Shabaka and demand his help, promising\nin return what he has asked and remembering that if Isis loves her,\nthat goddess was born upon the Nile and loves Egypt more.\u201d\n\n\u201cToo late, too late, _too late!_\u201d wailed Amada.\n\nThen she burst into tears and turning fled away with the high priest.\nPharaoh went also leaving me and Bes alone. I looked for the holy\nTanofir to speak with him, but he too was gone.\n\n\u201cIt is time to sleep, Master,\u201d said Bes, \u201cfor all this talk is more\nwearisome than any battle. Why! what is this that has your name upon\nit?\u201d and he picked a silk-wrapped package from the floor and opened it.\n\nWithin were the priceless rose-hued pearls!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\nSHABAKA FIGHTS THE CROCODILE\n\n\n\u201cWhere to?\u201d I said to Bes when we were outside the palace, for I was so\nbroken with grief that I scarcely knew what I did.\n\n\u201cTo the house of the lady Tiu, I think, Master, since there you must\nmake preparations for your start on the morrow, also bid her farewell.\nOh!\u201d he went on in a kind of rapture which afterwards I knew was\nfeigned though at the time I did not think about it, \u201cOh! how happy\nshould you be who now are free from all this woman-coil, with life new\nand fresh before you. Reflect, Master, on the hunting we will have\nyonder in Ethiopia. No more cares, no more plannings for the welfare of\nEgypt, no more persuading of the doubtful to take up arms, no more\ndesperate battle-ventures with your country\u2019s honour on your\nsword-point. And if you must see women\u2014well, there are plenty in\nEthiopia who come and go lightly as an evening breeze laden with the\nodour of flowers, and never trouble in the morning.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt any rate _you_ are not free from such coils, Bes,\u201d I said and in\nthe moonlight I saw his great face fall in.\n\n\u201cNo, Master, I am tying them about my throat. See, such is the way of\nthe world, or of the gods that rule the world, I know not which. For\nyears I have been happy and free, I have enjoyed adventures and visited\nstrange countries and have gathered learning, till I think I am the\nwisest man upon the Nile, at the side of one whom I loved and holding\nnothing at risk, except my own life which mattered no more than that of\na gnat dancing in the sun. Now all is changed. I have a wife whom I\nlove also, more than I can tell you,\u201d and he sighed, \u201cbut who still\nmust be looked after and obeyed\u2014yes, obeyed. Further, soon I shall have\na people and a crown to wear, and councillors and affairs of state, and\nan ancient religion to support and the Grasshopper itself knows what\nbesides. The burden has rolled from your back to mine, Master, making\nmy heart which was so light, heavy, and oh! I wish it had stopped where\nit was.\u201d\n\nEven then I laughed, sad as I was, for truth lived in the philosophy of\nBes.\n\n\u201cMaster,\u201d he went on in a changed voice, \u201cI have been a fool and my\nfolly has worked you ill. Forgive me since I acted for the best, only\nuntil the end no one ever knows what is the best. Now here is the house\nand I go to meet my wife and to make certain arrangements. By dawn\nperhaps you will be ready to start to Ethiopia.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you really desire that I should accompany you there, Bes?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly, Master. That is unless you should desire that I accompany\nyou somewhere else instead, by sea southward for instance. If so, I do\nnot know that I would refuse, since Ethiopia will not run away and\nthere is much of the world that I should still like to visit. Only then\nthere is Karema to be thought about, who expects, or, when she learns\nall, soon will expect, to be a queen,\u201d he added doubtfully.\n\n\u201cNo, Bes, I am too tired to make new plans, so let us go to Ethiopia\nand not disappoint Karema, who after holding a cup so long naturally\nwould like to try a sceptre.\u201d\n\n\u201cI think that is wisest, Master; at any rate the holy Tanofir thinks it\nwisest, and he is the voice of Fate. Oh! why do we trouble who after\nall, every one of us, are nothing but pieces upon the board of Fate.\u201d\n\nThen he turned and left me and I entered the house where I found my\nmother sitting, still in her festal robes, like one who waits. She\nlooked at my face, then asked what troubled me. I sat down on a stool\nat her feet and told her everything.\n\n\u201cMuch as I thought,\u201d she said when I had finished. \u201cThese over-learned\nwomen are strange fish to catch and hold, and too much soul is like too\nmuch sail upon a boat when the desert wind begins to blow across the\nNile. Well, do not let us blame her or Bes, or Peroa who is already\nanxious for his dynasty and would rather that Amada were a priestess\nthan your wife, or even the goddess Isis, who no doubt is anxious for\nher votaries. Let us rather blame the Power that is behind the veil, or\nto it bow our heads, seeing that we know nothing of the end for which\nit works. So Egypt shuts her doors on you, my Son, and whither away?\nNot to the East again, I trust, for there you would soon grow shorter\nby a head.\u201d\n\n\u201cI go to Ethiopia, my Mother, where it seems that Bes is a great man\nand can shelter me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo we go to Ethiopia, do we? Well, it is a long journey for an old\nwoman, but I weary of Memphis where I have lived for so many years and\ndoubtless the sands of the south make good burial grounds.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe!\u201d I exclaimed. \u201c_We?_\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely, my Son, since in losing a wife you have again found a mother\nand until I die we part no more.\u201d\n\nWhen I heard this my eyes filled with tears. My conscience smote me\nalso because of late, and indeed for years past, I had thought so much\nof Amada and so little of my mother. And now it was Amada who had cast\nme out, unjustly, without waiting to learn the truth, because at the\nworst I, who worshipped her, had saved myself from death in slow\ntorment by speaking her name, while my mother, forgetting all, took me\nto her bosom again as she had done when I was a babe. I knew not what\nto say, but remembering the pearls, I drew them out and placed them\nround my mother\u2019s neck.\n\nShe looked at the wonderful things and smiled, then said,\n\n\u201cSuch gems as these become white locks and withered breasts but ill.\nYet, my Son, I will keep them for you till you find a wife, if not\nAmada, then another.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf not Amada, I shall never find a wife,\u201d I said bitterly, whereat she\nsmiled.\n\nThen she left me to make ready before she slept a while.\n\nWork as we would noon had passed two hours, on the following day,\nbefore we were prepared to start, for there was much to do. Thus the\nhouse must be placed in charge of friends and the means of travel\ncollected. Also a messenger came from Pharaoh praying me for his and\nEgypt\u2019s sake to think again before I left them, and an answer sent that\ngo I must, whither the holy Tanofir would know if at any time Pharaoh\ndesired to learn. In reply to this came another messenger who brought\nme parting gifts from Pharaoh, a chain of honour, a title of higher\nnobility, a commission as his envoy to whatever land I wandered, and so\nforth, which I must acknowledge. Lastly as we were leaving the house to\nseek the boat which Bes had made ready on the Nile, there came yet\nanother messenger at the sight of whom my heart leapt, for he was\npriest of Isis.\n\nHe bowed and handed me a roll. I opened it with a trembling hand and\nread:\n\n\u201cFrom the Prophetess of Isis whose house is at Amada, aforetime Royal\nLady of Egypt, to the Count Shabaka,\n\n\u201cI learn, O my Cousin, that you depart from Egypt and knowing the\nreason my heart is sore. Believe me, my Cousin, I love you well, better\nthan any who lives upon the earth, nor will that love ever change,\nsince the goddess who holds my future in her hands, knows of what we\nare made and is not jealous of the past. Therefore she will not be\nwroth at the earthly love of one who is gathered to her heavenly arms.\nHer blessing and mine be on you and if we see each other no more face\nto face in the world, may we meet again in the halls of Osiris.\nFarewell, beloved Shabaka. Oh! why did you suffer that black master of\nlies, the dwarf Bes, to persuade you to hide the truth from me?\u201d\n\n\nSo the writing ended and below it were two stains still wet, which I\nknew were caused by tears. Moreover, wrapped in a piece of silk and\nfastened to the scroll was a little gold ring graven with the royal\n_ur\u00e6us_ that Amada had always worn from childhood. Only on the previous\nnight I had noted it on the first finger of her right hand.\n\nI took my stylus and my waxen tablets and wrote on one of them:\n\n\u201cHad you been a man, Amada, and not a woman, I think you would have\njudged me differently but, learned priestess and prophetess as you are,\na woman you remain. Perchance a time may come when once more you will\nturn to me in the hour of your need; if so and I am living, I will\ncome. Yea, if I am dead I think that I still shall come, since nothing\ncan really part us. Meanwhile by day and by night I wear your ring and\nwhenever I look on it I think of Amada the woman whose lips have\npressed my own, and forget Amada the priestess who for her soul\u2019s sake\nhas been pleased to break the heart of the man who loved her and whom\nshe misjudged so sorely in her pride and anger.\u201d\n\n\nThis tablet I wrapped up and sealed, using clay and her own ring to\nmake the seal, and gave it for delivery to the priest.\n\nAt length we drew near to the river and here, gathered on the open\nland, I found the most of those who had fought with me in the battle\nagainst the Easterns, and with them a great concourse of others from\nthe city. These collected round me, some of them wounded and hobbling\nupon crutches, praying me not to go, as did the others who foresaw\nsorrow to Egypt from my loss. But I broke away from them almost in\ntears and with my mother hid myself beneath the canopy of the boat.\nHere Bes was waiting, also his beautiful wife who, although she seemed\nsad at leaving Egypt, smiled a greeting to us while the steersmen and\nrowers of the boat, tall Ethiopians every one of them, rose and gave me\na General\u2019s salute. Then, as the wind served, we hoisted the sail and\nglided away up Nile, till presently the temples and palm-groves of\nMemphis were lost to sight.\n\nOf that long, long journey there is no need to tell. Up the Nile we\ntravelled slowly, dragging the boat past the cataracts till Egypt was\nfar behind us. In the end, many days after we had passed the mouth of\nanother river that was blue in colour which flowed from the northern\nmountain lands down into the Nile, we came to a place where the rapids\nwere so long and steep that we must leave the boat and travel overland.\nDrawing near to it at sunset I saw a multitude of people gathered on\nthe sand and beyond them a camp in which were set many beautiful\npavilions that seemed to be broidered with silk and gold, as were the\nbanners that floated above them whereon appeared the effigy of a\ngrasshopper, also done in gold with silver legs.\n\n\u201cIt seems that my messengers travelled in safety,\u201d said Bes to me, \u201cfor\nknow, that yonder are some of my subjects who have come here to meet\nus. Now, Master, I must no longer call you master since I fear I am\nonce more a king. And you must no longer call me Bes, but Karoon.\nMoreover, forgive me, but when you come into my presence you must bow,\nwhich I shall like less than you do, but it is the custom of the\nEthiopians. Oh! I would that you were the king and that I were your\nfriend, for henceforth good-bye to ease and jollity.\u201d\n\nI laughed, but Bes did not laugh at all, only turned to his wife who\nalready ruled him as though he were indeed a slave, and said, \u201cLady\nKarema, make yourself as beautiful as you can and forget that you have\never been a Cup or anything useful, since henceforth you must be a\nqueen, that is if you please my people.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what happens if I do not please them, Husband?\u201d asked Karema\nopening her fine eyes.\n\n\u201cI do not quite know, Wife. Perhaps they may refuse to accept me, at\nwhich I shall not weep. Or perhaps they may refuse to accept you, at\nwhich of course I should weep very much, for you see you are so very\nwhite and, heretofore, all the queens of the Ethiopians have been\nblack.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if they refuse to accept me because I am white, or rather brown,\ninstead of black like oiled marble, what then, O Husband?\u201d\n\n\u201cThen\u2014oh! then I cannot say, O Wife. Perhaps they will send you back to\nyour own country. Or perhaps they will separate us and place you in a\ntemple where you will live alone in all honour. I remember that once\nthey did that to a white woman, making a goddess of her until she died\nof weariness. Or perhaps\u2014well, I do not know.\u201d\n\nThen Karema grew angry.\n\n\u201cNow I wish I had remained a Cup,\u201d she said, \u201cand the servant of the\nholy Tanofir who at least taught me many secret things, instead of\ncoming to dwell among black barbarians in the company of a dwarf who,\neven if he be a king, it seems has no power to protect the wife whom he\nhas chosen.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy will women always grow wroth before there is need?\u201d asked Bes\nhumbly. \u201cSurely it would be time to rate me when any of these things\nhad happened.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf any of them do happen, Husband, I shall say much worse things than\nthat,\u201d she replied, but the talk went no further, for at this moment\nour boat grounded and singing a wild song, many of those who waited\nrushed into the water to drag it to the bank.\n\nThen Bes stood up on the prow, waving his bow and there arose a mighty\nshout of, \u201c_Karoon! Karoon!_ It is he, it is he returned after many\nyears!\u201d\n\nTwice they shouted thus and then, every one of them, threw themselves\nface downwards in the sand.\n\n\u201cYes, my people,\u201d cried Bes, \u201cit is I, Karoon, who having been\nmiraculously preserved from many dangers in far lands by the help of\nthe Grasshopper in heaven, and, as my messengers will have told you, of\nmy beloved friend, lord Shabaka the Egyptian, who has deigned to come\nto dwell with us for a while, have at length returned to Ethiopia that\nI may shed my wisdom on you like the sun and pour it on your heads like\nmelted honey. Moreover, mindful of our laws which aforetime I defied\nand therefore left you, I have searched the whole world through till I\nfound the most beautiful woman that it contained, and made her my wife.\nShe too has deigned to come to this far country to be your queen.\nAdvance, fair Karema, and show yourself to these my Ethiopians.\u201d\n\nSo Karema stepped forward and stood on the prow of the boat by the side\nof Bes, and a strange couple they looked. The Ethiopians who had risen,\nconsidered her gravely, then one of them said,\n\n\u201cKaroon called her beautiful, but in truth she is almost white and very\nugly.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt least she is a woman,\u201d said another, \u201cfor her shape is female.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and he has married her,\u201d remarked a third, \u201cand even a king may\nchoose his own wife sometimes. For in such matters who can judge\nanother\u2019s taste?\u201d\n\n\u201cCease,\u201d said Bes in a lordly way. \u201cIf you do not think her beautiful\nto-night, you will to-morrow. And now let us land and rest.\u201d\n\nSo we landed and while I did so I took note of these Ethiopians. They\nwere great men, black as charcoal with thick lips, white teeth and flat\nnoses. Their eyes were large and the whites of them somewhat yellow,\ntheir hair curled like wool, their beards were short and on their faces\nthey wore a continual smile. Of dress most of them had little, but\ntheir elders or leaders wore lion and leopard skins and some were clad\nin a kind of silken tunic belted about the middle. All were armed for\nwar with long bows, short swords and small shields round in shape and\nmade from the hide of the hippopotamus or of the unicorn. Gold was\nplentiful amongst them since even the humblest wore bracelets of that\nmetal, while about the necks of the chieftains it was wound in great\ntorques, also sometimes on their ankles. They wore sandals on their\nfeet and some of them had ostrich feathers stuck in their hair, a few\nalso had grasshoppers fashioned of gold bound on the top of their\nheads, and these I took to be the priests. There were no women in their\nnumber.\n\nAs the sun was sinking we were led at once to a very beautiful tent\nmade of woven flax and ornamented as I have described, where we found\nfood made ready for us in plenty, milk in bowls and the flesh of sheep\nand oxen boiled and roasted. Bes, however, was taken to a place apart,\nwhich made Karema even more angry than she was before.\n\nScarcely had we finished eating when a herald rushed into the tent\ncrying, \u201cProstrate yourselves! Yea, be prostrated, the Grasshopper\ncomes! Karoon comes.\u201d\n\nHere I must say that I found that the title of Karoon meant \u201cGreat\nGrasshopper,\u201d but Karema who did not know this, asked indignantly why\nshe should prostrate herself to a grasshopper. Indeed she refused to do\nso even when Bes entered the pavilion wonderfully attired in a\ngorgeous-coloured robe of which the train was held by two huge men. So\nabsurd did he look that my mother and I must bow very deeply to hide\nour laughter while Karema said,\n\n\u201cIt would be better, Husband, if you found children to carry your robe\ninstead of two giants. Moreover, if it is meant to copy the colours of\na grasshopper, \u2018tis badly done, since grasshoppers are green and you\nare gold and scarlet. Also they do not wear feathers set awry upon\ntheir heads.\u201d\n\nBes rolled his eyes as though in agony, then turning, bade his\nattendants be gone. They obeyed, though doubtfully as though they did\nnot like to leave him alone with us, whereon he let down the flap of\nthe pavilion, threw off his gorgeous coverings and said,\n\n\u201cYou must learn to understand, Wife, that our customs are different\nfrom those of Egypt. There I was happy as a slave and you were held to\nbe beautiful as the Cup of the holy Tanofir, also learned. Here I am\nwretched as a king and you are held to be ugly, also ignorant as a\nstranger. Oh! do not answer, I pray you, but learn that all goes well.\nFor the time you are accepted as my wife, subject to the decision of a\ncouncil of matrons, aged relatives of my family, who will decide when\nwe reach the City of the Grasshopper whether or not you shall be\nacknowledged as the Queen of the Ethiopians. No, no, I pray you say\nnothing since I must go away at once, as according to the law of the\nEthiopians the time has come for the Grasshopper to sleep, alone,\nKarema, as you are not yet acknowledged as my wife. You also can sleep\nwith the lady Tiu and for Shabaka a tent is provided. Rest sweetly,\nWife. Hark! They fetch me.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow, if I had my way,\u201d said Karema, \u201cI would rest in that boat going\nback to Egypt. What say you, lord Shabaka?\u201d\n\nBut I made no answer who followed Bes out of the tent, leaving her to\ntalk the matter over with my mother. Here I found a crowd of his people\nwaiting to convey him to sleep and watching, saw them place him in\nanother tent round which they ranged themselves, playing upon musical\ninstruments. After this someone came and led me to my own place where\nwas a good bed in which I lay down to sleep. This however I could not\ndo for a long while because of my own laughter and the noise of the\ndrums and horns that were soothing Bes to his rest. For now I\nunderstood why he had preferred to be a slave in Egypt rather than a\nking in Ethiopia.\n\nIn the morning I rose before the dawn and went out to the river-bank to\nbathe. While I was making ready to wash myself, who should appear but\nBes, followed, but at a distance, by a number of his people.\n\n\u201cNever have I spent such a night, Master,\u201d he said, \u201cat least not since\nyou took me prisoner years ago, since by law I may not stop those horns\nand musical instruments. Now, however, also according to the law of the\nEthiopians, I am my own lord until the sun rises. So I have come here\nto gather some of those blue lilies which she loves as a present for\nKarema, because I fear that she is angry and must be appeased.\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly she is very angry,\u201d I said, \u201cor at least was so when I left\nher last night. Oh! Bes, why did you let your people tell her that she\nwas ugly?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow can I help it, Master? Have you not always heard that the\nEthiopians are chiefly famous for one thing, namely that they speak\nnothing but the truth. To them she, being different, seems to be ugly.\nTherefore when they say that she is ugly, they speak the truth.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf so, it is a truth that she does not like, Bes, as I have no doubt\nshe will tell you by and by. Do they think me ugly also?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, they do, Master; but they think also that you look like a man who\ncan draw a bow and use a sword, and that goes far with the Ethiopians.\nOf your mother they say nothing because she is old and they venerate\nthe aged whom the Grasshopper is waiting to carry away.\u201d\n\nNow I began to laugh again and went with Bes to gather the lilies.\nThese grew at the end of a mass of reeds woven together by the pressure\nof the current and floating on the water. Bes lay down upon his stomach\nwhile his people watched from a distance on the bank amazed into\nsilence, and stretched out his long arms to reach the blue lotus\nflowers. Suddenly the reeds gave way beneath him just as he had grasped\ntwo of the flowers and was dragging at them, so that he fell into the\nriver.\n\nNext instant I saw a swirl in the brown water and perceived a huge\ncrocodile. It rushed at Bes open-mouthed. Being a good swimmer he\ntwisted his body in order to avoid it, but I heard the great teeth\nclose with a snap on the short leathern garment which he wore about his\nmiddle.\n\n\u201cThe devil has me! Farewell!\u201d he cried and vanished beneath the water.\n\nNow, as I have said, I was almost stripped for bathing, but had not yet\ntaken off my short sword which was girded round me by a belt. In an\ninstant I drew it and amidst the yells of horror of the Ethiopians who\nhad seen all from the bank, I plunged into the river. There are few\nable to swim as I could and I had the art of diving with my eyes open\nand remaining long beneath the surface without drawing breath, for this\nI had practised from a child.\n\nImmediately I saw the great reptile sinking to the mud and dragging Bes\nwith him to drown him there. But here the river was very deep and with\na few swift strokes I was able to get under the crocodile. Then with\nall my strength I stabbed upwards, driving the sword far into the soft\npart of the throat. Feeling the pain of the sharp iron the beast let go\nof Bes and turned on me. How it happened I do not know but presently I\nfound myself upon its back and was striking at its eyes. One thrust at\nleast went home, for the blinded brute rose to the surface, bearing me\nwith him, and oh! the sweetness of the air as I breathed again.\n\nThus we appeared, I riding the crocodile like a horse and stabbing\nfuriously, while close by was Bes rolling his yellow eyes but helpless,\nfor he had no weapon. Still the devil was not dead although blood\nstreamed from him, only mad with pain and rage. Nor could the shouting\nEthiopians help me since they had only bows and dared not shoot lest\ntheir shafts should pierce me. The crocodile began to sink again,\nsnapping furiously at my legs. Then I bethought me of a trick I had\nseen practised by natives on the Nile.\n\nWaiting till its huge jaws were open I thrust my arm between them,\ngrasping the short sword in such fashion that the hilt rested on its\ntongue and the point against the roof of its mouth. It tried to close\nits jaws and lo! the good iron was fixed between them, holding them\nwide open. Then I withdrew my hand and floated upwards with nothing\nworse than a cut upon the wrist from one of its sharp fangs. I appeared\nupon the surface and after me the crocodile spouting blood and\nwallowing in its death agonies. I remembered no more till I found\nmyself lying on the bank surrounded by a multitude with Bes standing\nover me. Also in the shallow water was the crocodile dead, my sword\nstill fixed between its jaws.\n\n\u201cAre you harmed, Master\u201d cried Bes in a voice of agony.\n\n\u201cVery little I think,\u201d I answered, sitting up with the blood pouring\nfrom my arm.\n\nBes thrust aside Karema who had come lightly clothed from her tent,\nsaying,\n\n\u201cAll is well, Wife. I will bring you the lilies presently.\u201d\n\nThen he flung his arms about me, kissed my hands and my brow and\nturning to the crowd, shouted,\n\n\u201cLast night you were disputing as to whether this Egyptian lord should\nbe allowed to dwell with me in the land of Ethiopia. Which of you\ndisputes it now?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo one!\u201d they answered with a roar. \u201cHe is not a man but a god. No man\ncould have done such a deed.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo it seems,\u201d answered Bes quietly. \u201cAt least none of you even tried\nto do it. Yet he is not a god but only that kind of man who is called a\nhero. Also he is my brother, and while I reign in Ethiopia either he\nshall reign at my side, or I go away with him.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be so, Karoon!\u201d they shouted with one voice. And after this I\nwas carried back to the tent.\n\nIn front of it my mother waited and kissed me proudly before them all,\nwhereat they shouted again.\n\nSo ended this adventure of the crocodile, except that presently Bes\nwent back and recovered the two lilies for Karema, this time from a\nboat, which caused the Ethiopians to call out that he must love her\nvery much, though not as much as he did me.\n\nThat afternoon, borne in litters, we set out for the City of the\nGrasshopper, which we reached on the fourth day. As we drew near the\nplace regiments of men to the number of twelve thousand or more, came\nout to meet us, so that at last we arrived escorted by an army who sang\ntheir songs of triumph and played upon their musical instruments until\nmy head ached with the noise.\n\nThis city was a great place whereof the houses were built of mud and\nthatched with reeds. It stood upon a wide plain and in its centre rose\na natural, rocky hill upon the crest of which, fashioned of blocks of\ngleaming marble and roofed with a metal that shone as gold, was the\ntemple of the Grasshopper, a columned building very like to those of\nEgypt. Round it also were other public buildings, among them the palace\nof the Karoon, the whole being surrounded by triple marble walls as a\nprotection from attack by foes. Never had I seen anything so beautiful\nas that hill with its edifices of shining white roofed with gold or\ncopper and gleaming in the sun.\n\nDescending from my litter I walked to those of my mother and Karema,\nfor Bes in his majesty might not be approached, and said as much to\nthem.\n\n\u201cYes, Son,\u201d answered my mother, \u201cit is worth while to have travelled so\nfar to see such a sight. I shall have a fine sepulchre, Son.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have seen it all before,\u201d broke in Karema.\n\n\u201cWhen?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cI do not know. I suppose it must have been when I was the Cup of the\nholy Tanofir. At least it is familiar to me. Already I weary of it, for\nwho can care for a land or a city where they think white people hideous\nand scarcely allow a wife to go near her husband, save between midnight\nand dawn when they cease from their horrible music?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt will be your part to change these customs, Karema.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d she exclaimed, \u201ccertainly that will be my part,\u201d after which I\nwent back to my litter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\nTHE SUMMONS\n\n\nNow at the gates of the City of the Grasshopper we were royally\nreceived. The priests came out to meet us, pushing a colossal image of\ntheir god before them on a kind of flat chariot, and I remember\nwondering what would be the value of that huge golden locust, if it\nwere melted down. Also the Council came, very ancient men all of them,\nsince the Ethiopians for the most part lived more than a hundred years.\nPerhaps that is why they were so glad to welcome Bes since they were\ntoo old to care about retaining power in their own hands as they had\ndone during his long absence. For save Bes there was no other man\nliving of the true royal blood who could take the throne.\n\nThen there were thousands of women, broad-faced and smiling whose black\nskins shone with scented oils, for they wore little except a girdle\nabout their waists and many ornaments of gold. Thus their earrings were\nsometimes a palm in breadth and many of them had great gold rings\nthrough their noses, such as in Egypt are put in those of bulls. My\nmother laughed at them, but Karema said that she thought them hideous\nand hateful.\n\nThey were a strange people, these Ethiopians, like children, most of\nthem, being merry and kind and never thinking of one thing for more\nthan a minute. Thus one would see them weep and laugh almost in the\nsame breath. But among them was an upper class who had great learning\nand much ancient knowledge. These men made their laws wherein there was\nalways sense under what seemed to be folly, designed the temples,\nmanaged the mines of gold and other metals and followed the arts. They\nwere the real masters of the land, the rest were but slaves content to\nlive in plenty, for in that fertile soil want never came near them, and\nto do as they were bid.\n\nThus they passed from the cradle to the grave amidst song and flowers,\ncarrying out their light, allotted tasks, and for the rest, living as\nthey would and loving those they would, especially their children, of\nwhom they had many. By nature and tradition the men were warriors and\nhunters, being skilled in the use of the bow and always at war when\nthey could find anyone to fight. Indeed when we came among them their\ntrouble was that they had no enemies left, and at once they implored\nBes to lead them out to battle since they were weary of herding kine\nand tilling fields.\n\nAll of these things I found out by degrees, also that they were a great\npeople who could send out an army of seventy thousand men and yet leave\nenough behind them to defend their land. Of the world beyond their\nborders the most of them knew little, but the learned men of whom I\nhave spoken, a great deal, since they travelled to Egypt and elsewhere\nto study the customs of other countries. For the rest their only god\nwas the Grasshopper and like that insect they skipped and chirruped\nthrough life and when the winter of death came sprang away to another\nof which they knew nothing, leaving their young behind them to bask in\nthe sun of unborn summers. Such were the Ethiopians.\n\nNow of all the ceremonies of the reception of Bes and his re-crowning\nas Karoon, I knew little, for the reason that the tooth of the\ncrocodile poisoned my blood and made me very ill, so that I remained\nfor a moon or more lying in a fine room in the palace where gold seemed\nto be as plentiful as earthen pots are in Egypt, and all the vessels\nwere of crystal. Had it not been for the skill of the Ethiopian leeches\nand above all for the nursing of my mother, I think that I must have\ndied. She it was who withstood them when they wished to cut off my arm,\nand wisely, for it recovered and was as strong as it had ever been. In\nthe end I grew well again and from the platform in front of the temple\nwas presented to the people by Bes as his saviour and the next greatest\nto him in the kingdom, nor shall I ever forget the shoutings with which\nI was received.\n\nKarema also was presented as his wife, having passed the Ordeal of the\nMatrons, but only, I think, because it was found that she was in the\nway to give an heir to the throne. For to them her beauty was ugliness,\nnor could they understand how it came about that their king, who\ncontrary to the general customs of the land, was only allowed one wife\nlest the children should quarrel, could have chosen a lady who was not\nblack. So they received her in silence with many whisperings which made\nKarema very angry.\n\nWhen in due course, however, the child came and proved to be a son\nblack as the best of them and of perfect shape, they relented towards\nher and after the birth of a second, grew to love her. But she never\nforgave and loved them not at all. Nor was she over-fond of these\nchildren of hers because they were so black which, she said, showed how\npoisonous was the blood of the Ethiopians. And indeed this is so, for\noften I have noticed that if an Ethiopian weds with one of another\ncolour, their offspring is black down to the third or fourth\ngeneration. Therefore Karema longed for Egypt notwithstanding the\nsplendour in which she dwelt.\n\nSo greatly did she long that she had recourse to the magic lore which\nshe had learned from the holy Tanofir, and would sit for hours gazing\ninto water in a crystal bowl, or sometimes into a ball of crystal\nwithout the water, trying to see visions therein that had to do with\nwhat passed in Egypt. Moreover in time much of her gift returned to her\nand she did see many things which she repeated to me, for she would\ntell no one else of them, not even her husband.\n\nThus she saw Amada kneeling in a shrine before the statue of Isis and\nweeping: a picture that made me sad. Also she saw the holy Tanofir\nbrooding in the darkness of the Cave of the Bulls, and read in his mind\nthat he was thinking of us, though what he thought she could not read.\nAgain she saw Eastern messengers delivering letters to Pharaoh and knew\nfrom his face that he was disturbed and that Egypt was threatened with\ncalamities. And so forth.\n\nSoon the news of her powers of divination spread abroad, so that all\nthe Ethiopians grew to fear her as a seeress and thenceforth, whatever\nthey may have thought, none of them dared to say that she was ugly.\nFurther, her gift was real, since if she told me of a certain thing\nsuch as that messengers were approaching, in due course they would\narrive and make clear much that she had not been able to understand in\nher visions.\n\nNow from the time that I grew strong again and as soon as Bes was\nfirmly seated on his throne, he and I set to work to train and drill\nthe army of the Ethiopians, which hitherto had been little more than a\nmob of men carrying bows and swords. We divided it into phalanxes after\nthe Greek fashion, and armed these bodies with long lances, swords, and\nlarge shields in the place of the small ones they had carried before.\nAlso we trained the archers, teaching them to advance in open order and\nshoot from cover, and lastly chose the best soldiers to be captains and\ngenerals. So it came about that at the end of the two years that I\nspent in Ethiopia there was a force of sixty thousand men or more whom\nI should not have been afraid to match against any troops in the world,\nsince they were of great strength and courage, and, as I have said, by\nnature lovers of war. Also their bows being longer and more powerful,\nthey could shoot arrows farther than the Easterns or the Egyptians.\n\nThe Ethiopian lords wondered why their King and I did these things,\nsince they saw no enemy against which so great an army could be led to\nbattle. On that matter Bes and I kept our own counsel, telling them\nonly that it was good for the men to be trained to war, since, hearing\nof their wealth, one day the King of kings might attempt to invade\ntheir country. So month by month I laboured at this task, leading\narmies into distant regions to accustom them to travelling far afield,\ncarrying with them what was necessary for their sustenance.\n\nSo it went on until a sad thing happened, since on returning from one\nof these forays in which I had punished a tribe that had murdered some\nEthiopian hunters and we had taken many thousands of their cattle, I\nfound my mother dying. She had been smitten by a fever which was common\nat that season of the year, and being old and weak had no strength to\nthrow it off.\n\nAs medicine did not help her, the priests of the Grasshopper prayed day\nand night in their temple for her recovery. Yes, there they prayed to a\ngolden locust standing on an altar in a sanctuary that was surrounded\nby crystal coffins wherein rested the flesh of former kings of the\nland. To me the sight was pitiful, but Bes asked me what was the\ndifference between praying to a locust and praying to images with the\nheads of beasts, or to a dwarf shaped as he was like we did in Egypt,\nand I could not answer him.\n\n\u201cThe truth is, Brother,\u201d he said, for so he called me now, \u201cthat all\npeoples in the world do not offer petitions to what they see and have\nbeen taught to revere, but to something beyond of which to them it is a\nsign. But why the Ethiopians should have chosen a grasshopper as a\nsymbol of God who is everywhere, is more than I can tell. Still they\nhave done so for thousands of years.\u201d\n\nWhen I came to my mother\u2019s bedside she was wandering and I saw that she\ncould not live long. In a little while, however, her mind cleared so\nthat she knew me and tears of joy ran down her pale cheeks because I\nhad returned before she died. She reminded me that she had always said\nthat she would find a grave in Ethiopia, and asked to be buried and not\nkept above ground in crystal, as was the custom there. Then she said\nthat she had been dreaming of my father and of me; also that she did\nnot think that I need fret myself overmuch about Amada, since she was\nsure that before long I should kiss her on the lips.\n\nI asked if she meant that I should marry her and that we should be\nhappy and fortunate. She replied that she supposed that I should marry\nher, but of the rest would say nothing. Indeed her face grew troubled,\nas though some thought hurt her, and leaving the matter of Amada she\nbade Karema bring me the rose-hued pearls, blessed me, prayed for our\nreunion in the halls of Osiris, and straightway died.\n\nSo I caused her to be embalmed after the Egyptian fashion and enclosed\nin a coffin of crystal with a scarab on her heart that Karema had\ndiscovered somewhere in the city, for always she was searching for\nthings that reminded her of Egypt, whereof many were to be found\nbrought from time to time by travellers or strangers. Then with such\nceremony as we could without the services of the priests of Osiris,\nKarema and I buried her in a tomb that Bes had caused to be made near\nto the steps of the temple of the Grasshopper, while Bes and his nobles\nwatched from a distance.\n\nAnd so farewell to my beloved mother, the lady Tiu.\n\nAfter she was gone I grew very sad and lonely. While she lived I had a\nhome, but now I was an exile, a stranger in a strange land with no one\nof my own people to talk to except Karema, with whom, as there were\ngossips even in Ethiopia, I thought it well not to talk too much. There\nwas Bes it was true, but now he was a great king and the time of kings\nis not their own. Moreover Bes was Bes and an Ethiopian and I was I and\nan Egyptian, and therefore notwithstanding our love and brotherhood, we\ncould never be like men of the same blood and country.\n\nI grew weary of Ethiopia with its useless gold and damp eternal green\nand heat, and longed for the sand and the keen desert air. Bes noted it\nand offered me wives, but I shrank from these black women however buxom\nand kindly, and wished for no offspring of their race whom afterwards I\ncould never leave. To Egypt I had sworn not to return unless one voice\ncalled me and it remained silent. What then was I to do, being no\nlonger content to discipline and command an army that I might not lead\ninto battle?\n\nAt length I made up my mind. By nature I was a hunter as much as a\nsoldier; I would beg from Bes a band of brave men whom I knew, lovers\nof adventure who sought new things, and with them strike down south,\nfollowing the path of the elephants to wherever the gods might lead us.\nDoubtless in the end it would be to death, but what matter when there\nis nothing for which one cares to live?\n\nWhile I was brooding over these plans Karema read my mind, perhaps\nbecause it was her own, perhaps by help of her strange arts, which I do\nnot know. At least one day when I was sitting alone looking at the city\nbeneath from one of the palace window-places, she came to me looking\nvery beautiful and very mystic in the white robes she always loved to\nwear, and said,\n\n\u201cMy lord Shabaka, you tire of this land of honey and sweetness and soft\nairs and flowers and gold and crystal and black people who grin and\nchatter and are not pleasant to be near, is it not so?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Queen,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cDo not call me queen, my lord Shabaka, for I weary of that name, as we\nboth do of the rest. Call me Karema the Arab, or Karema the Cup, which\nyou will, but by the name of Thoth, god of learning, do _not_ call me\nqueen.\u201d\n\n\u201cKarema then,\u201d I said. \u201cWell, how do you know that I tire of all this,\nKarema?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could you do otherwise who are not a barbarian and who have Egypt\nin your heart, and Egypt\u2019s fate and\u2014\u2014\u201d here she looked me straight in\nthe eyes, \u201cEgypt\u2019s Lady. Besides, I measure you by myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou at least should be happy, Karema, who are great and rich and\nbeloved, and the wife of a King who is one of the best of men, and the\nmother of children.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, Shabaka, I should be but I am not, for who can live on sweetmeats\nonly, especially when they like what is sour? See now how strangely we\nare made. When I was a girl, the daughter of an Arab chief, well bred\nand well taught as it chanced, I tired of the hard life of the desert\nand the narrow minds about me, I who longed for wisdom and to know\ngreat men. Then I became the Cup of the holy Tanofir and wisdom was all\nabout me, strange wisdom from another world, rough, sharp wisdom from\nTanofir, and the quiet wisdom of the dead among whom I dwelt. I wearied\nof that also, Shabaka. I was beautiful and knew it and I longed to\nshine in a Court, to be admired among men, to be envied of women, to\nrule. My husband came my way. He was clever with a great heart. He was\nyour friend and therefore I was sure that he must be loyal and true. He\nwas, or might be, a king, as I knew, though he thought that I did not.\nI married him and the holy Tanofir laughed but he did not say me nay,\nand I became a queen. And now I wish sometimes that I were dead, or\nback holding the cup of the holy Tanofir with the wisdom of the heavens\nflowing round me and the soft darkness of the tombs about me. It seems\nthat in this world we never can be content, Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Karema, we only think that we should be if things were otherwise\nthan they are. But how can I help you, Karema?\u201d\n\n\u201cLeast of all by going away and leaving me alone,\u201d she answered with\nthe tears starting to her eyes.\n\nLooking at her, I began to think that the best thing I could do would\nbe to go away and at once, but as ever she read my thought, shook her\nhead and laughed.\n\n\u201cNo, no, I have put on my yoke and will carry it to the end. Have I not\ntwo black children and a husband who is a hero, a wit and a mountebank\nin one, and a throne and more gold and crystal than I ever wish to see\nagain even in a dream, and shall I not cling to these good things? If\nyou went I should only be a little more unhappy than before, that is\nall. Not for my sake do I ask you to stay, but for your own.\u201d\n\n\u201cHow for my own, Karema? I have done all that I can do here. I have\nbuilt the army afresh from cook-boys to generals. Bes needs me no\nlonger who has you, his children and his country, and I die of\nweariness.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can stop to make use of that army you have built afresh, Shabaka.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgainst whom? There are none to fight.\u201d\n\n\u201cAgainst the Great King of the East. Listen. My gift of vision has\ngrown strong and clear of late. Only to-day I have seen a meeting\nbetween Pharaoh, the holy Tanofir and the lady Amada. They were all\ndisturbed, I know not at what, and the end of it was that Amada wrote\nin a roll and gave the writing to messengers, who I think even now are\nspeeding southward\u2014to you, Shabaka. Nay, do not look doubtfully on me,\nit is true.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen you did well to tell me, Karema, for within a moon of this day I\nshould have been where perhaps no messengers would have found me. Now I\nwill wait and let it be your part to prepare the mind of Bes. Do you\nthink that he would give me an army to lead to Egypt, if there were\nneed?\u201d\n\nShe nodded and answered,\n\n\u201cHe would do so for three reasons. The first is because he loves you,\nthe second because he too wearies of Ethiopia and this rich, fat life\nof peace, and the third, because I shall tell him that he must.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen why trouble to speak of the other two?\u201d I said laughing.\n\nSo I stayed on in the City of the Grasshopper, and busied myself with\nthe questions of how to transport and feed a great army that must hold\nthe field for six months or a year; also with the setting of hundreds\nof skilled men to the making of bows, arrows, swords and shields. Nor\ndid Bes say me no in these matters. Indeed he helped them forward by\nissuing the orders as his own, wherein I saw the hand of Karema.\n\nThree months went by and I began to think that Karema\u2019s power had been\nat fault, or that her vision was one that came from her lips and not\nfrom her heart, to keep me in Ethiopia. But again she read my mind and\nsmiled.\n\n\u201cNot so, Shabaka,\u201d she said. \u201cThose messengers have come to trouble and\nare detained by a petty tribe beyond our borders over some matter of a\nwoman. Ten days ago the frontier guards marched to set them free.\u201d\n\nSo again I waited and at length the messengers came, three of them\nEgyptians and three men of Ethiopia who dwelt in Egypt to learn its\nwisdom, reporting that as Karema had said, through the foolishness of a\nservant they had been held prisoner by an Arab chief and thus delayed.\nThen they delivered the writings which they had kept safe. One was from\nPharaoh to the Karoon of Ethiopia; one from the holy Tanofir to Karema;\nand one from the lady Amada to myself.\n\nWith a trembling hand I broke the silk and seals and read. It ran thus:\n\n\u201cShabaka, my Cousin,\n\n\u201cYou departed from Egypt saying that never would you return unless I,\nAmada the priestess, called you, and I told you that I should never\ncall. You said, moreover, that if you came at my call you would demand\nme in guerdon, and I told you that never would I give myself to you who\nwas doubly sworn to Isis. Yet now I call and now I say that if you come\nand conquer and I yet live, then, if you still will it, I am yours.\nThus stands the case: The Great King advances upon Egypt with an army\ncountless as the sands, nor can Egypt hope to battle against him\nunaided and alone. He comes to make of her a slave, to kill her\nchildren, to burn her temples, to sack her cities and to defile her\ngods with blasphemies. Moreover he comes to seize me and to drag me\naway to shame in his House of Women.\n\n\u201cTherefore for the sake of the gods, for Egypt\u2019s sake and for my own, I\npray you come and save us. Moreover I still love you, Shabaka, yes,\nmore a thousand times, than ever I did, though whether you still love\nme I know not. For that love\u2019s sake, therefore, I am ready to break my\nvows to Isis and to dare her vengeance, if she should desire to be\navenged upon me who would save her and her worship, praying that it may\nfall on my head and not on yours. This will I do by the counsel of the\nholy Tanofir, by command of Pharaoh, and with the consent of the high\npriests of Egypt.\n\n\u201cNow I, Amada, have written. Choose, Shabaka, beloved of my heart.\u201d\n\nSuch was the letter that caused my head to swim and set my soul on\nfire. Still I said nothing, but thrust it into my robe and waited.\nPresently Bes, who had been reading in his roll, looked up and spoke,\nsaying,\n\n\u201cAre you minded to see arrows fly and swords shine in war, Brother? If\nso, here is opportunity. Pharaoh writes to me above his own seal,\nseeking an alliance between Egypt and Ethiopia. He says that the King\nof kings invades him and that if he conquers Egypt he has sworn to\ntravel on and conquer Ethiopia also, since he learns that it is now\nruled by a certain dwarf who once stole his White Signet, and by a\ncertain Egyptian who once killed his Satrap, Idernes.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat says the Karoon?\u201d I asked.\n\nBes rolled his eyes and turning to Karema, asked,\n\n\u201cWhat says the Karoon\u2019s wife?\u201d\n\nKarema laid down the roll she had been studying and answered,\n\n\u201cShe says that she has received a command from her master the holy\nTanofir to wait upon him forthwith, for reasons that he will explain\nwhen she arrives, or to brave his curse upon her, her children, her\ncountry and her husband, and not only his but that of the spirits who\nserve him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe curse of the holy Tanofir is not a thing to mock at,\u201d said Bes,\n\u201cas I who revere him, know as well as any man.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, Husband, and therefore I leave for Egypt as soon as may be. It\nseems that my sister is dead, this year past, and the holy Tanofir has\nno one to hold his cup.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what shall I do?\u201d asked Bes.\n\n\u201cThat is for you to say, Husband. But if you will, you can stay here\nand guard our children, giving the command of your army to the lord\nShabaka.\u201d\n\nNow, for we were alone, Bes twisted himself about, rolling his eyes and\nlaughing as he used to do before he became Karoon of Ethiopia.\n\n\u201cO-ho-ho! Wife,\u201d he said, \u201cso you are to go to Egypt, leaving me to\nplay the nurse to babes, and my brother here is to command my armies,\nleaving me to look after the old men and the women. Nay, I think\notherwise. I think that I shall come also, that is if my brother wishes\nit. Did he not save my life and is it not his and with it all I have?\nOh! have done. Once more we will stand side by side in the battle,\nBrother, and afterwards let Fate do as it will with us. Tell me now,\nwhat is the tale of archers and of swordsmen with which we can march\nagainst the Great King with whom, like you, I have a score to settle?\u201d\n\n\u201cSeventy and five thousand,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cGood! On the fifth day from now the army marches for Egypt.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\nTANOFIR FINDS HIS BROKEN CUP\n\n\nMarch we did, but on the fifteenth day, not the fifth, since there was\nmuch to make ready. First the Council of the Ethiopians must be\nconsulted and through them the people. In the beginning there was\ntrouble over the matter, since many were against a distant war, and\nthis even after Bes had urged that it was better to attack than wait to\nbe attacked. For they answered, and justly, that here in Ethiopia\ndistance and the desert were their shields, since the King of kings,\nhowever great his strength, would be weary and famished before he set\nfoot within their borders.\n\nIn the end the knot was cut with a sword, for when the army came to\nlearn of the dispute, from the generals down to the common soldiers,\nevery man clamoured to be led to war, since, as I have said, these\nEthiopians were fighters all of them, and near at hand there were none\nleft with whom they could fight. So when the Council came to see that\nthey must choose between war abroad and revolt at home, they gave way,\nbargaining only that the children of the Karoon should not leave the\nland so that if aught befell him, there would be some of the true blood\nleft to succeed.\n\nAlso the Grasshopper was consulted by the priests who found the omens\nfavourable. Indeed I was told that this great golden locust sat up upon\nits hind legs upon the altar and waved its feelers in the air, which\nonly happened when wonderful fortune was about to bless the land. The\ntale reminded me of the nodding of the statues of our own gods in Egypt\nwhen a new Pharaoh was presented to them, and of that of Isis when\nAmada put up her prayer to the divine Mother. To tell the truth, I\nsuspected Karema of having some hand in the business. However, so it\nhappened.\n\nAt length we set forth, a mighty host, Bes commanding the swordsmen and\nI, under him, the archers, of whom there were more than thirty thousand\nmen, and glad was I when all the farewells were said and we were free\nof the weeping crowds of women. At first Bes and Karema were somewhat\nsad at parting from their children, but in a little while they grew gay\nagain since the one longed for battle and the other for the sands of\nEgypt.\n\nNow of our advance I need say little, except that it was slow, though\nnone dared to bar the road of so mighty an array. Since we must go on\nfoot, we were not able to cover more than five leagues a day, for even\nafter we reached the river boats could not be found for so many, though\nKarema travelled in one with her ladies. Also cattle and corn must\nalways be sent forward for food. Still we crept on to Egypt without\nsickness, accident, or revolt.\n\nWhen we drew near to its frontiers messengers met us from Pharaoh\nbearing letters in answer to those which we had sent with the tidings\nof our coming. These contained little but ill news. It seemed that the\nGreat King with a countless host had taken all the cities of the Delta\nand, after a long siege, had captured Memphis and put it to the sack,\nand that the army of Egypt, fighting desperately by land and upon the\nNile was being driven southwards towards Thebes. Pharaoh added that he\nproposed to make his last stand at the strong city of Amada, since he\ndoubted whether the troops from Lower Egypt would not rather surrender\nto the Easterns than retreat further up the Nile. He thanked and\nblessed us for our promised aid and prayed that it might come in time\nto save Egypt from slavery and himself from death.\n\nAlso there was a letter for me from Amada in which she said,\n\n\u201cOh! come quickly. Come quickly, beloved Shabaka, lest of me you should\nfind but bones for never will I fall living into the hands of the Great\nKing. We are sore pressed and although Amada has been made very strong,\nit can stand but a little while against such a countless multitude\narmed with all the engines of war.\u201d\n\n\nFor Karema, too, there were messages from the holy Tanofir of the same\nmeaning, saying that unless we appeared within a moon of their receipt,\nall was lost.\n\nWe read and took counsel. Then we pressed forward by double marches,\nsending swift runners forward to bid Pharaoh and his army hold on to\nthe last spear and arrow.\n\nOn the twenty-fifth day from the receipt of this news we came to the\ngreat frontier city which we found in tumult for its citizens were mad\nwith fear. Here we rested one night and ate of the food that was\ngathered there in plenty. Then leaving a small rear-guard of five\nthousand men who were tired out, to hold the place, we pressed onwards,\nfor Amada was still four days\u2019 march away. On the morning of the fourth\nday we were told that it was falling, or had fallen, and when at length\nwe came in sight of the place we saw that it was beleaguered by an\ninnumerable host of Easterns, while on the Nile was a great fleet of\nGrecian and Cyprian mercenaries. Moreover, heralds from the King of\nkings reached us, saying:\n\n\u201cSurrender, Barbarians, or before the second day dawns you shall sleep\nsound, every one of you.\u201d\n\nTo these we answered that we would take counsel on the matter and that\nperhaps on the morrow we would surrender, since when we had marched\nfrom Ethiopia, we did not know how great was the King\u2019s strength,\nhaving been deceived as to it by the letters of the Pharaoh. Meanwhile\nthat the King of kings would do well to let us alone, since we were\nbrave men and meant to die hard, and it would be better for him to\nleave us to march back to Ethiopia, rather than lose an army in trying\nto kill us.\n\nWith these words which were spoken by Bes himself, the messengers\ndeparted. One of them however, who seemed to be a great lord, called in\na loud voice to his companions, saying it was hard that nobles should\nhave to do the errands, not of a man but of an ape who would look\nbetter hanging to a pole. Bes made no answer, only rolled his yellow\neyes and said when the lord was out of hearing,\n\n\u201cNow by the Grasshopper and all the gods of Egypt I swear that in\npayment for this insult I will choke the Nile with the army of the\nGreat King, and hang that knave to a pole from the prow of the royal\nship.\u201d Which last thing I hope he did.\n\nWhen the embassy had gone Bes gave orders that the whole army should\neat and lie down to sleep.\n\n\u201cI am sure,\u201d said he, \u201cthat the Great King will not attack us at once,\nsince he will hope that we shall flee away during the night, having\nseen his strength.\u201d\n\nSo the Ethiopians filled themselves and then lay down to sleep, which\nthese people can do at any time, even if not tired as they were. But\nwhile they rested Bes and I and Karema, with some of the generals\nconsulted together long and earnestly. For in truth we knew not what to\ndo. But a league away lay the town of Amada beset by hundreds of\nthousands of the Easterns so that none could come in or out, and within\nits walls were the remains of Pharaoh\u2019s army, not more than twenty\nthousand men, all told, if what we heard were true. On the Nile also\nwas the great Grecian and Cyprian fleet, two hundred vessels and more,\nthough as we could see by the light of the setting sun the most of\nthese were made fast to the western bank where the Egyptians could not\ncome at them.\n\nFor the rest our position was good, being on high desert beyond the\ncultivated land which bordered the eastern bank. But in front of us,\nseparating us from the southern army of the King, stretched a swamp\nhard to cross, so that we could not hope to make an attack by night as\nthere was no moon. Lastly, the main Eastern strength, to the number of\ntwo hundred thousand or more, lay to the north beyond Amada.\n\nAll these things we considered, talking low and earnestly there in the\ntent, till it grew so dark that we could not see each other\u2019s faces\nwhile behind us slumbered our army that now numbered some seventy\nthousand men.\n\n\u201cWe are in a trap,\u201d said Bes at length. \u201cIf we await attack they will\nweigh us down with numbers. If we flee they have camels and horses and\nwill overtake us; also ships of which we have none. If we attack it\nmust be without cover through swamp where we shall be bogged.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile Pharaoh is perishing within yonder walls of Amada which the\nengines batter down. By the Grasshopper! I know not what to do. It\nseems that our journey is vain and that few of us will see Ethiopia\nmore; also that Egypt is sped.\u201d\n\nI made no answer, for here my generalship failed me and I had nothing\nto say. The captains, too, were silent, only woman-like, Karema wept a\nlittle, and I too went near to weeping who thought of Amada penned in\nyonder temple like a lamb that awaits the butcher\u2019s knife.\n\nSuddenly, coming from the door of the tent which I thought was closed,\nI heard a deep voice say,\n\n\u201cI have ever noted that those of Ethiopian blood are melancholy after\nsundown, though of Egyptians I had thought better things.\u201d\n\nNow about this voice there was something familiar to me, still I said\nnothing, nor did the others, for to speak the truth, all of us were\nfrightened and thought that we must dream. For how could any thing that\nbreathed approach this tent through a triple line of sentries? So we\nsat still, staring at the darkness, till presently in that darkness\nappeared a glow of light, such as comes from the fire-flies of\nEthiopia. It grew and grew while we gasped with fear, till presently it\ntook shape, and the shape it took was that of the ancient withered\nface, the sightless eyes, and the white beard of the holy Tanofir. Yes,\nthere not two feet from the ground seemed to float the head of the holy\nTanofir, limned in faint flame, which I suppose must have been\nreflected on to it from the light of some camp-fire without.\n\n\u201cO my beloved master!\u201d cried Karema, and threw herself towards him.\n\n\u201cO my beloved Cup!\u201d answered Tanofir. \u201cGlad am I to know you well and\nunshattered.\u201d\n\nThen a torch was lit and lo! there before us, wrapped in his dark cloak\nsat the holy Tanofir.\n\n\u201cWhence come you, my Great-uncle?\u201d I asked amazed.\n\n\u201cFrom less far than you do, Nephew,\u201d he answered. \u201cNamely out of Amada\nyonder. Oh! ask me not how. It is easy if you are a blind old beggar\nwho knows the path. And by the way, if you have aught to eat I should\nbe glad of a bite and a sup, since in Amada food has been scarce for\nthis last month, and to-night there is little left.\u201d\n\nKarema sped from the tent and presently returned with bread and wine of\nwhich Tanofir partook almost greedily.\n\n\u201cThis is the first strong drink that I have tasted for many a year,\u201d he\nsaid as he drained the goblet; \u201cbut better a broken vow than broken\nwits when one has much to plan and do. At least I hope the gods will\nthink so when I meet them presently. There\u2014I am strong again. Now, say,\nwhat is your force?\u201d\n\nWe told him.\n\n\u201cGood. And what is your plan?\u201d\n\nWe shook our heads, having none.\n\n\u201cBes,\u201d he said sternly, \u201cI think you grow dull since you became a\nking\u2014or perhaps it is marriage that makes you so. Why, in bygone years\nschemes would have come so fast that they would have choked each other\nbetween those thick lips of yours. And Shabaka, tell me, have you lost\nall your generalship whereof once you had plenty, in the soft air of\nEthiopia? Or is it that even the shadow of marriage makes _you_ dull?\nWell, I must turn to the woman, for that is always the lot of man. Your\nplan, Karema, and quickly for there is no time to lose.\u201d\n\nNow the face of Karema grew fixed and her eyes dreamy as she spoke in a\nslow, measured voice like one who knows not what she says.\n\n\u201cMy plan is to destroy the armies of the Great King and to relieve the\ncity of Amada.\u201d\n\n\u201cA very good plan,\u201d said holy Tanofir, \u201cbut the question is, how?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think,\u201d went on Karema, \u201cthat about a league above this place there\nis a spot where at this season the Nile can be forded by tall men\nwithout the wetting of their shoulders. First then, I would send five\nthousand swordsmen across that ford and let them creep down on the navy\nof the Great King where the sailors revel in safety, or sleep sound,\nand fire the ships. The wind blows strongly from the south and the\nflames will leap fast from one of them to the other. Most of their\ncrews will be burned and the rest can be slain by our five thousand.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood, very good,\u201d said the holy Tanofir, \u201cbut not enough, seeing that\non the eastern bank is gathered the host of over two hundred thousand\nmen. Now how will you deal with _them_, Karema?\u201d\n\n\u201cI seem to see a road yonder beyond the swamp. It runs on the edge of\nthe desert but behind the sand-hills. I would send the archers of whom\nthere are more than thirty thousand, under the command of Shabaka along\nthat road which leads them past Amada. On its farther side are low\nhills strewn with rocks. Here I would let the archers take cover and\nwait for the breaking of the dawn. Then beneath them they will see the\nmost of the Eastern host and with such bows as ours they can sweep the\nplain from the hills almost to the Nile, and having a hundred arrows to\na man, should slaughter the Easterns by the ten thousand, for when\nthese turn to charge a shaft should pierce through two together.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood again,\u201d said Tanofir. \u201cBut what of the army of the Great King\nwhich lies upon this side of Amada?\u201d\n\n\u201cI think that before the dawn, believing us so few, it will advance and\nwith the first light begin to thread the swamp, and therefore we must\nkeep five thousand archers to gall it as it comes. Still it will win\nthrough, though with loss, and find us waiting for it here shoulder to\nshoulder, rank upon rank with locked shields, against which horse and\nfoot shall break in vain, for who shall drive a wedge through the\nEthiopian squares that Shabaka has trained and that Bes, the Karoon,\ncommands? I say that they shall roll back like waves from a cliff; yes,\nagain and again, growing ever fewer till the clamour of battle and the\nshouts of fear and agony reach their ears from beyond Amada where\nShabaka and the archers do their work and the sight of the burning\nships strikes terror in them and they fly.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood again,\u201d said the holy Tanofir. \u201cBut still many on both fronts\nwill be left, for this army of Easterns is very vast. And how will you\ndeal with these, O Karema?\u201d\n\n\u201cOn these I would have Pharaoh with all his remaining strength pour\nfrom the northern and the southern gates of Amada, for so shall they be\ncaught like wounded lions between two wild bulls and torn and trampled\nand utterly destroyed. Only I know not how to tell Pharaoh what he must\ndo, and when.\u201d\n\n\u201cGood again,\u201d said the holy Tanofir, \u201cvery good. And as for the telling\nof Pharaoh, well, I shall see him presently. It is strange, my chipped\nCup which I had almost thrown away as useless, that although broken,\nyou still hold so much wisdom. For know, wonderful though it may seem,\nthat just such plans as you have spoken have grown up in my own mind,\nonly I wished to learn if you thought them wise.\u201d\n\nThen he laughed a little and Karema stretched her arms as one does who\nawakes from sleep, rubbed her eyes and asked if he would not eat more\nfood.\n\nIn an instant Tanofir was speaking again in a quick, clear voice.\n\n\u201cBes, or King,\u201d he said, \u201cdoubtless you will do your wife\u2019s will.\nTherefore let the host be aroused and stand to its arms. As it chances\nI have four men without who can be trusted. Two of these will guide the\nfive thousand to the ford and across it; also down upon the ships. The\nother two will guide Shabaka and the archers along the road which\nKarema remembers so well; perhaps she trod it as a child. For my part I\nreturn to Amada to make sure that Pharaoh does his share and at the\nright time. For mark, unless all this is carried through to-night Amada\nwill fall to-morrow, a certain priestess will die, and you, Bes, and\nyour soldiers will never look on Ethiopia again. Is it agreed?\u201d\n\nI nodded who did not wish to waste time in words, and Bes rolled his\neyes and answered,\n\n\u201cWhen one can think of nothing, it is best to follow the counsel of\nthose who can think of something; also to hunt rather than to be\nhunted. Especially is this so if that something comes from the holy\nTanofir or his broken Cup. Generals, you have heard. Rouse the host and\nbid them stand to their arms company by company!\u201d\n\nThe generals leapt away into the darkness like arrows from a bow, and\npresently we heard the noise of gathering men.\n\n\u201cWhere are these guides of yours, holy Tanofir?\u201d asked Bes.\n\nTanofir beckoned over his shoulder, and out of the gloom, one by one,\nfour men stole into the tent. They were strange, quiet men, but I can\nsay no more of them since their faces were veiled, nor as it chances,\ndid I ever see any of them after the battle, in which I suppose that\nthey were killed. Or perhaps they appeared after\u2014well, never mind!\n\n\u201cYou have heard,\u201d said Tanofir, whereupon all four of them bowed their\nmysterious veiled heads.\n\n\u201cNow, my Brother,\u201d whispered Bes into my ear, \u201ctell me, I pray you, how\ndid four men who were not in the tent, hear what was said in this tent,\nand how did they come through the guards who have orders to kill anyone\nwho does not know the countersign, especially men whose faces are\nwrapped in napkins?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d I answered, whereon Bes groaned, only Karema smiled a\nlittle as though to herself.\n\n\u201cThen, having heard, obey,\u201d said the holy Tanofir, whereon the four\nveiled ones bowed again.\n\n\u201cWill you not give them their orders, O most Venerable?\u201d inquired Bes\ndoubtfully.\n\n\u201cI think it is needless,\u201d said Tanofir in a dry voice. \u201cWhy try to\nteach those who know?\u201d\n\n\u201cWill you not offer them something to eat, since they also must be\nhungry?\u201d I asked of Karema.\n\n\u201cFool, be silent,\u201d she replied, looking on me with contempt. \u201cDo\nthe\u2014friends\u2014of Tanofir need to eat?\u201d\n\n\u201cI should have thought so after being beleaguered for a month in a\nstarving town. If the master wants to eat, why should not his men?\u201d I\nmurmured.\n\nThen a thought struck me and I was silent.\n\nA general returned and reported that the orders had been executed and\nthat all the army was afoot.\n\n\u201cGood,\u201d said Bes. \u201cThen start forthwith with five thousand men, and\nburn those ships, according to the plan laid down by the Queen Karema,\nwhich you heard her speak but now,\u201d and he named certain regiments that\nhe should take with him, those of the general\u2019s own command, adding:\n\u201cSave some of the ships if you can, and afterwards cross the Nile in\nthem with your men, and join yourself either to my force or to that of\nthe lord Shabaka, according to what you see. May the Grasshopper give\nyou victory and wisdom.\u201d\n\nThe general saluted and asked,\n\n\u201cWho guides us to and across the ford of the great river?\u201d\n\nTwo of the veiled men stepped forward whereon the general muttered into\nmy ear,\n\n\u201cI like not the look of them. I pray the Grasshopper they do not guide\nus across the River of Death.\u201d\n\n\u201cHave no fear, General,\u201d said the holy Tanofir from the other end of\nthe tent. \u201cIf you and your men play their parts as well as the guides\nwill play theirs, the ships are already burned together with their\ncompanies. Only take fire with you.\u201d\n\nSo that general departed with the two guides, looking somewhat\nfrightened, and soon was marching up Nile at the head of five thousand\nswordsmen.\n\nNow Bes looked at me and said,\n\n\u201cIt seems that you had better be gone also, my Brother, with the\narchers. Perchance the holy Tanofir will show you whither.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d answered Tanofir, \u201cmy guides will show him. Look not so\ndoubtful, Shabaka. Did I fail you when you were in the grip of the King\nof kings in the East, and only your own life and that of Bes were at\nstake?\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not know,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cYou do not know, but I know, as I think do Bes and Karema, since the\none received the messages which the other sent. Well, if I did not fail\nyou then, shall I fail you now when Egypt is at stake? Follow these\nguides I give you, and\u2014\u2014\u201d here he took hold of the quiver of arrows\nthat lay beside me on the ground, and as certainly as though he could\nsee it with his blind eyes, touched one of them, on the shaft of which\nwere two black and a white feather, \u201cremember my words after you have\nloosed this arrow from your great black bow and noted where it\nstrikes.\u201d\n\nThen I turned to Bes and asked,\n\n\u201cWhere do we meet again?\u201d\n\n\u201cI cannot say, Brother,\u201d he answered. \u201cIn Amada if that may be. If not,\nat the Table of Osiris, or in the fields of the Grasshopper, or in the\nblackness which swallows all, gods and men together.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes Karema come with me or bide with you?\u201d I asked again.\n\n\u201cShe does neither,\u201d interrupted Tanofir, \u201cshe accompanies me to Amada,\nwhere I have need of her and she will be more safe. Oh! fear nothing,\nfor every hermit however poor, still carries his staff and his cup,\neven if it be cracked.\u201d\n\nThen I shook Bes by the hand and went my way, wondering if I were awake\nor dreaming, and the last thing I saw in that tent was the beautiful\nface of Karema smiling at me. This I took to be a good omen, since I\nknew that it was the heart of the holy Tanofir which smiled, and that\nher eyes were but its mirror.\n\nAlready my thirty thousand archers were marshalling, and having made\nsure that there was ample store of arrows and that all their gourds\nwere filled with water, I set myself at their head while in front of me\nwalked the two veiled guides. I looked upon them doubtfully, since it\nseemed dangerous to trust an army to unknown men who for aught I knew,\nmight lead us into the midst of our foes. Then I remembered that they\nwere vouched for by the holy Tanofir, my own great-uncle whom I trusted\nabove any man on earth, and took heart again.\n\nHow had he come into our tent, I wondered, and how, blind as he was,\nwould he get back into Amada with Karema, if he took her? Well, who\ncould account for the goings or the comings of the holy Tanofir, who\nwas more of a spirit than a man? Perhaps it was not really he whom we\nhad seen, but what we Egyptians called his _Ka_ or Double which can\npass to and fro at will. Only do _Kas_ eat? Of this matter I knew only\nthat offerings of food and drink are made to them in tombs. So leaving\nthe holy Tanofir to guard himself, I turned my mind to our own\nbusiness, which was to surprise the army of the Great King.\n\nSkirting the swamp we came to rough and higher ground and though I\ncould see little in that darkness, I knew that we were walking up a\nhill. Presently we crossed its crest and descending for three bowshots\nor so, I felt that my feet were on a road. Now the guides turned to the\nleft and after them in a long line came my army of thirty thousand\narchers. In utter silence we went since we had no beasts with us and\nour sandalled feet made little noise; moreover orders had been passed\ndown the line that the man who made a sound should die.\n\nFor two hours or more we marched thus, then bore to the left again and\nclimbed a slope, by which time I judged we must be well past the town\nof Amada. Here suddenly the guides halted and we after them at\nwhispered words of command. One of them took me by the cloak, led me\nforward a little way to the crest of the ridge, and pointed with his\nwhite-sleeved arm. I looked and there beneath me, well within bowshot,\nwere thousands of the watchfires of the King\u2019s army, flaring, some of\nthem, in the strong wind. For a full league those fires burned and we\nwere opposite to the midmost of them.\n\n\u201cSee now, General Shabaka,\u201d said the guide, speaking for the first time\nin a curious hissing whisper such as might come from a man who had no\nlips, \u201cbeneath you sleeps the Eastern host, which being so great, has\nnot thought it needful to guard this ridge. Now marshal your archers in\na fourfold line in such fashion that at the first break of dawn they\ncan take cover behind the rocks and shoot, every man of them without\npiercing his fellow. Do you bide here with the centre where your\nstandard can be seen by all to north and south. I and my companion will\nlead your vanguard farther on to where the ridge draws nearer to the\nNile, so that with their arrows they can hold back and slay any who\nstrive to escape down stream. The rest is in your hands, for we are\nguides, not generals. Summon your captains and issue your commands.\u201d\n\nSo we went back again and I called the officers together and told them\nwhat they were to do, then despatched them to their regiments.\n\nPresently the vanguard of ten thousand men drew away and vanished, and\nwith them the white-robed guides on whom I never looked again. Then I\nmarshalled my centre as well as I could in the gloom, and bade them lie\ndown to rest and sleep if they were able; also, within thirty minutes\nof the sunrise, to eat and drink a little of the food they carried, to\nsee that every bow was ready and that the arrows were loosened in every\nquiver. This done, with a few whom I trusted to serve me as messengers\nand guard, I crept up to the brow of the hill or slope, and there we\nlaid us down and watched.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\nTHE BATTLE\u2014AND AFTER\n\n\nTwo hours went by and I knew by the stars that the dawn could not be\nfar away. My eyes were fixed upon the Nile and on the lights that hung\nto the prows of the Great King\u2019s ships. Where were those who had been\nsent to fire them, I wondered, for of them I saw nothing. Well, their\njourney would be long as they must wade the river. Perhaps they had not\nyet arrived, or perhaps they had miscarried. At least the fleet seemed\nvery quiet. None were alarmed there and no sentry challenged.\n\nAt length it grew near to dawn and behind me I heard the gentle stir of\nthe Ethiopians arising and eating as they had been bidden, whereon I\ntoo ate and drank a little, though never had I less wished for food.\nThe East brightened and far up the Nile of a sudden there appeared what\nat first I took to be a meteor or a lantern waving in the wind that now\nwas blowing its strongest, as it does at this season of the year just\nat the time of dawn. Yet that lantern seemed to travel fast and lo! now\nI saw that it was fire running up the rigging of a ship.\n\nIt leapt from rope to rope and from sail to sail till they blazed\nfiercely, and in other ships also nearer to us, flame appeared that\ngrew to a great red sheet. Our men had not failed; the navy of the King\nof kings was burning! Oh! how it burned fanned by the breath of that\nstrong wind. From vessel to vessel leapt the fire like a thing alive,\nfor all of them were drawn up on the bank with prows fastened in such\nfashion that they could not readily be made loose. Some broke away\nindeed, but they were aflame and only served to spread the fire more\nquickly. Before the rim of the sun appeared for a league or more there\nwas nothing but blazing ships from which rose a hideous crying, and\nstill more and more took fire lower down the line.\n\nI had no time to watch for now I must be up and doing. The sky grew\ngrey, there was light enough to see though faintly. I cast my eyes\nabout me and perceived that no place in the world could have been\nbetter for archery. In front the hill was steep for a hundred paces or\nmore and scattered over with thousands of large stones behind which\nbowmen might take shelter. Then came a gentle slope of loose sand up\nwhich attackers would find it hard to climb. Then the long flat plain\nwhereon the Easterns were camped, and beyond it, scarce two furlongs\naway, the banks of Nile.\n\nIndeed the place was ill-chosen for so great an army, nor could it have\nheld them all, had not the camping ground been a full league in length,\nand even so they were crowded. Out of the mist their tents appeared,\nthousands of them, farther than my eye could reach, and almost opposite\nto me, near to the banks of the river, was a great pavilion of silk and\ngold that I guessed must shelter the majesty of the King of kings.\nIndeed this was certain since now I saw that over it floated his royal\nbanner which I knew so well, I who had stolen the little White Signet\nof signets from which it was taken. Truly the holy Tanofir, or his Cup,\nKarema, or his messengers, or the spirits with whom he dwelt, I know\nnot which, had a general\u2019s eye and knew how to plan an ambuscade.\n\nSo thought I to myself as I ran back to my army to meet the gathered\ncaptains and set all things in order. It was soon done for they were\nready, as were the fierce Ethiopians fresh from their rest and food,\nand stringing their bows, every one of them, or loosening the arrows in\ntheir quivers. As I came they lifted their hands in salute, for speak\nthey dared not and I sent a whisper down their ranks, that this day\nthey must fight and conquer, or fall for the glory of Ethiopia and\ntheir king. Then I gave my orders and before the sun rose and revealed\nthem they crept forward in a fourfold line and took shelter behind the\nstones, lying there invisible on their bellies until the moment came.\n\nThe red rim of Ra appeared glorious in the East, and I, from behind the\nrocks that I had chosen, sat down and watched. Oh! truly Tanofir or the\ngods of Egypt were ordering things aright for us. The huge camp was\nawake now and aware of what was happening on the Nile. They could not\nsee well because of the tall reeds upon the river\u2019s rim and therefore,\nwithout order or discipline, by the thousand and the ten thousand, for\ntheir numbers were countless, some with arms and some without, they ran\nto the slope of sand beneath our station and began to climb it to have\na better view of the burning ships.\n\nThe sun leapt up swiftly as it does in Egypt. His glowing edge appeared\nover the crest of the hill though the hollows beneath were still filled\nwith shadow. The moment was at hand. I waited till I had counted ten,\nglancing to the right and left of me to see that all were ready and to\nsuffer the crowd to thicken on the slope, but not to reach the lowest\nrocks, whither they were climbing. Then I gave the double signal that\nhad been agreed.\n\nBehind me the banner of the golden Grasshopper was raised upon a tall\npole and broke upon the breeze. That was the first signal whereat every\nman rose to his knees and set shaft on string. Next I lifted my bow,\nthe black bow, the ancient bow that few save I could bend, and drew it\nto my ear.\n\nFar away, out of arrow-reach as most would have said, floated the Great\nKing\u2019s standard over his pavilion. At this I aimed, making allowance\nfor the wind, and shot. The shaft leapt forward, seen in the sunlight,\nlost in the shadow, seen in the sunlight again and lastly seen once\nmore, pinning that golden standard against its pole!\n\nAt the sight of the omen a roar went up that rolled to right and left\nof us, a roar from thirty thousand throats. Now it was lost in a sound\nlike to the hissing of thunder rain in Ethiopia, the sound of thirty\nthousand arrows rushing through the wind. Oh! they were well aimed,\nthose arrows for I had not taught the Ethiopians archery in vain.\n\nHow many went down before them? The gods of Egypt know alone. I do not.\nAll I know is that the long slope of sand which had been crowded with\nstanding men, was now thick with fallen men, many of whom lay as though\nthey were asleep. For what mail could resist the iron-pointed shafts\ndriven by the strong bows of the Ethiopians?\n\nAnd this was but a beginning, for, flight after flight, those arrows\nsped till the air grew dark with them. Soon there were no more to shoot\nat on the slope, for these were down, and the order went to lift the\nbows and draw upon the camp, and especially upon the parks of baggage\nbeasts. Presently these were down also, or rushing maddened to and fro.\n\nAt last the Eastern generals saw and understood. Orders were shouted\nand in a mad confusion the scores of thousands who were unharmed,\nrushed back towards the banks of Nile where our shafts could not reach\nthem. Here they formed up in their companies and took counsel. It was\nsoon ended, for all the vast mass of them, preceded by a cloud of\narchers, began to advance upon the hill.\n\nNow I passed a command to the Ethiopians, of whom so far not one had\nfallen, to lie low and wait. On came the glittering multitude of\nEasterns, gay with purple and gold, their mail and swords shining in\nthe risen sun. On they came by squadron and by company, more than the\neye could number. They reached the sand slope thick with their own dead\nand wounded and paused a little because they could see no man, since\nthe black bodies of the Ethiopians were hid behind the black stones and\nthe black bows did not catch the light.\n\nThen from a gorgeous group that I guessed hid the person of the Great\nKing surrounded by his regiment of guards, ten thousand of them who\nwere called Immortals, messengers sprang forth screaming the order to\ncharge. The host began to climb the slippery sand slope but still I\nheld my hand till their endless lines were within fifty paces of us and\ntheir arrows rattled harmlessly against our stones. Then I caused the\nbanner of the Grasshopper that had been lowered, to be lifted thrice,\nand at the third lifting once more thirty thousand arrows rushed forth\nto kill.\n\nThey went down, they went down in lines and heaps, riddled through and\nthrough. But still others came on for they fought under the eye of the\nGreat King, and to fly meant death with shame and torture. We could not\nkill them all, they were too many. We could not kill the half of them.\nNow their foremost were within ten paces of us and since we must stand\nup to shoot, our men began to fall, also pierced with arrows. I caused\nthe blast of retreat to be sounded on the ivory horn and step by step\nwe drew back to the crest of the ridge, shooting as we went. On the\ncrest we re-formed rapidly in a double line standing as close as we\ncould together and my example was followed all down the ranks to right\nand left. Then I bethought me of a plan that I had taught these archers\nagain and again in Ethiopia.\n\nWith the flag I signalled a command to stop shooting and also passed\nthe word down the line, so that presently no more arrows flew. The\nEasterns hesitated, wondering whether this were a trap, or if we lacked\nshafts, and meanwhile I sent messengers with certain orders to the\nvanguard, who sped away at speed behind the hill, running as they never\nran before. Presently I heard a voice below cry out,\n\n\u201cThe Great King commands that the barbarians be destroyed. Let the\nbarbarians be destroyed!\u201d\n\nNow with a roar they came on like a flood. I waited till they were\nwithin twenty paces of us, and shouted, \u201cShoot and fall!\u201d\n\nThe first line shot and oh! fearful was its work, for not a shaft\nmissed those crowded hosts and many pinned two together. My archers\nshot and fell down, setting new arrows to the string as they fell,\nwhereon the second line also shot over them. Then up we sprang and\nloosed again, and again fell down, whereon the second line once more\npoured in its deadly hail.\n\nNow the Easterns stayed their advance, for their front ranks lay prone,\nand those behind must climb over them if they could. Yes, standing\nthere in glittering groups they rocked and hesitated although their\nofficers struck them with swords and lances to drive them forward. Once\nmore our front rank rose and loosed, and once more we dropped and let\nthe shafts of the second speed over us. It was too much, flesh and\nblood could not bear more of those arrows. Thousands upon thousands\nwere down and the rest began to flee in confusion.\n\nThen at my command the ivory horns sounded the charge. Every man slung\nhis bow upon his back and drew his short sword.\n\n\u201cOn to them!\u201d I cried and leapt forward.\n\nLike a black torrent we rushed down the hill, leaping over the dead and\nwounded. The retreat became a rout since before these ebon, great-eyed\nwarriors the soft Easterns did not care to stand. They fled screaming,\n\n\u201cThese are devils! These are devils!\u201d\n\nWe were among them now, hacking and stabbing with the short swords upon\ntheir heads and backs. There was no need to aim the blow, they were so\nmany. Like a huddled mob of cattle they turned and fled down Nile. But\nmy orders had reached the vanguard and these, hidden in the growing\ncrops on the narrow neck of swampy land between the hills and the Nile,\nmet them with arrows as they came, also raked them from the steep cliff\nside. Their chariot wheels sank into the mud till the horses were\nslain; their footmen were piled in heaps about them, till soon there\nwas a mighty wall of dead and dying. And our centre and rearguard came\nup behind. Oh! we slew and slew, till before the sun was an hour high\nover half the army of the Great King was no more. Then we re-formed,\nhaving suffered but little loss, and drank of the water of the Nile.\n\n\u201cAll is not done,\u201d I cried.\n\nFor the Immortals still remained behind us, gathered in massed ranks\nabout their king. Also there were many thousands of others between\nthese and the walls of Amada, and to the south of the city yet a second\narmy, that with which Bes had been left to deal, with what success I\nknew not.\n\n\u201cEthiopians,\u201d I shouted, \u201ccease crying Victory, since the battle is\nabout to begin. Strike, and at once before the Easterns find their\nheart again.\u201d\n\nSo we advanced upon the Immortals, all of us, for now the vanguard had\njoined our strength.\n\nIn long lines we advanced over that blood-soaked plain, and as we came\nthe Great King loosed his remaining chariots against us. It availed him\nnothing, since the horses could not face our arrows whereof, thanks be\nto the gods! I had prepared so ample a store, carried in bundles by\nlads. Scarce a chariot reached our lines, and those that did were\ndestroyed, leaving us unbroken.\n\nThe chariots were done with and their drivers dead, but there still\nfrowned the squares of the Immortals. We shot at them till nearly all\nour shafts were spent, and, galled to madness, they charged. We did not\nwait for the points of those long spears, but ran in beneath them\nstriking with our short swords, and oh! grim and desperate was that\nbattle, since the Easterns were clad in mail and the Ethiopians had but\nshort jerkins of bull\u2019s hide.\n\nFight as we would we were driven back. The fray turned against us and\nwe fell by hundreds. I bethought me of flight to the hills, since now\nwe were outnumbered and very weary. But behold! when all seemed lost a\ngreat shouting rose from Amada and through her opened gates poured\nforth all that remained of the army of Pharaoh, perhaps eighteen or\ntwenty thousand men. I saw, and my heart rose again.\n\n\u201cStand firm!\u201d I cried. \u201cStand firm!\u201d and lo! we stood.\n\nThe Egyptians were on them now and in their midst I saw Pharaoh\u2019s\nbanner. By degrees the battle swayed towards the banks of Nile, we to\nthe north, the Egyptians to the south and the Easterns between us. They\nwere trying to turn our flank; yes, and would have done it, had there\nnot suddenly appeared upon the Nile a fleet of ships. At first I\nthought that we were lost, for these ships were from Greece and Cyprus,\ntill I saw the banner of the Grasshopper wave from a prow, and knew\nthat they were manned by our five thousand who had gone out to burn the\nfleet, and had saved these vessels. They beached and from their crowded\nholds poured the five thousand, or those that were left of them, and\nranging themselves upon the bank, raised their war-shout and attacked\nthe ends of the Easterns\u2019 lines.\n\nNow we charged for the last time and the Egyptians charged from the\nsouth. Ha-ha! the ranks of the Immortals were broken at length. We were\namong them. I saw Pharaoh, his _ur\u00e6us_ circlet on his helm. He was\nwounded and sore beset. A tall Immortal rushed at him with a spear and\ndrove it home.\n\nPharaoh fell.\n\nI leapt over him and killed that Eastern with a blow upon the neck, but\nmy sword shattered on his armour. The tide of battle rolled up and\nswept us apart and I saw Pharaoh being carried away. Look! yonder was\nthe Great King himself standing in a golden chariot, the Great King in\nall his glory whom last I had seen far away in the East. He knew me and\nshot at me with a bow, the bow he thought my own, shouting, \u201cDie, dog\nof an Egyptian!\u201d\n\nHis arrow pierced my helm but missed my head. I strove to come at him\nbut could not.\n\nThe real rout began. The Immortals were broken like an earthen jar.\nThey retreated in groups fighting desperately and of these the thickest\nwas around the Great King. He whom I hated was about to escape me. He\nstill had horses; he would fly down Nile, gain his reserves and so away\nback to the East, where he would gather new and yet larger armies,\nsince men in millions were at his command. Then he would return and\ndestroy Egypt when perchance there were no Ethiopians to help her, and\nperhaps after all drag Amada to his House of Women. See, they were\nbreaking through and already I was far away with a wound in my breast,\na hurt leg and a shattered sword.\n\nWhat could I do? My arrows were spent and the bearers had none left to\ngive me. No, there was one still in the quiver. I drew it out. On its\nshaft were two black feathers and one white. Who had spoken of that\narrow? I remembered, Tanofir. I was to think of certain things that he\nhad said when I noted what it pierced. I unslung my bow, strung it and\nset that arrow on the string.\n\nBy now the Great King was far away, out of reach for most archers. His\nchariot forging ahead amidst the remnant of his guards and the nobles\nwho attended on his sacred person, travelled over a little rise where\ndoubtless once there had been a village, long since rotted down to its\nparent clay. The sunlight glinted on his shining armour and silken\nrobe, whereof the back was toward me.\n\nI aimed, I drew, I loosed! Swift and far the shaft sped forward. By\nOsiris! it struck him full between the shoulders, and lo! the King of\nkings, the Monarch of the World, lurched forward, fell on to the rail\nof his chariot, and rolled to the ground. Next instant there arose a\nroar of, \u201cThe King is dead! The Great King is dead! _Fly, fly, fly!_\u201d\n\nSo they fled and after them thundered the pursuers slaying and slaying\ntill they could lift their arms no more. Oh! yes, some escaped though\nthe men of Thebes and country folk murdered many of them and but a few\never won back to the East to tell the tale of the blotting out of the\nmighty army of the King of kings and of the doom dealt to him by the\ngreat black bow of Shabaka the Egyptian.\n\nI stood there gasping, when suddenly I heard a voice at my side. It\nsaid,\n\n\u201cYou seem to have done very well, Brother, even better than we did\nyonder on the other side of the town, though some might think that fray\na thing whereof to make a song. Also that last shot of yours was worthy\nof a good archer, for I marked it, I marked it. A great lord was laid\nlow thereby. Let us go and see who it was.\u201d\n\nI threw my arm round the bull neck of Bes and leaning on him, advanced\nto where the King lay alone save for the fallen about him.\n\n\u201cThis man is not yet sped,\u201d said Bes. \u201cLet us look upon his face,\u201d and\nhe turned him over, and stretched him there upon the sand with the\narrow standing two spans beyond his corselet.\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said Bes, \u201cthis is a certain High one with whom we had dealings\nin the East!\u201d and he laughed thickly.\n\nThen the Great King opened his eyes and knew us and on his dying\nfeatures came a look of hate.\n\n\u201cSo you have conquered, Egyptian,\u201d he said. \u201cOh! if only I had you\nagain in the East, whence in my folly I let you go\u2014\u2014\u201d\n\n\u201cYou would set me in your boat, would you not, whence by the wisdom of\nBes I escaped.\u201d\n\n\u201cMore than that,\u201d he gasped.\n\n\u201cI shall not serve you so,\u201d I went on. \u201cI shall leave you to die as a\nwarrior should upon a fair fought field. But learn, tyrant and\nmurderer, that the shaft which overthrew you came from the black bow\nyou coveted and thought you had received, and that this hand loosed\nit\u2014not at hazard.\u201d\n\n\u201cI guessed it,\u201d he whispered.\n\n\u201cKnow, too, King, that the lady Amada whom you also coveted, waits to\nbe my wife; that your mighty army is destroyed, and that Egypt is free\nby the hands of Shabaka the Egyptian and Bes the dwarf.\u201d\n\n\u201cShabaka the Egyptian,\u201d he muttered, \u201cwhom I held and let go because of\na dream and for policy. So, Shabaka, you will wed Amada whom I desired\nbecause I could not take her, and doubtless you will rule in Egypt, for\nPharaoh, I think, is as I am to-day. O Shabaka, you are strong and a\ngreat warrior, but there is something stronger than you in the\nworld\u2014that which men call Fate. Such success as yours offends the gods.\nLook on me, Shabaka, look on the King of kings, the Ruler of the earth,\nlying shamed in the dust before you, and, accursed Shabaka! do not call\nyourself happy until you see death as near as I do now.\u201d\n\nThen he threw his arms wide and died.\n\nWe called to soldiers to bear his body and having set the pursuit, with\nthat royal clay entered into Amada in triumph. It was not a very great\ntown and the temple was its finest building and thither we wended. In\nthe outer court we found Pharaoh lying at the point of death, for from\nmany wounds his life drained out with his flowing blood, nor could the\nleeches help him.\n\n\u201cGreeting, Shabaka,\u201d he said, \u201cyou and the Ethiopians have saved Egypt.\nMy son is slain in the battle and I too am slain, and who remains to\nrule her save you, you and Amada? Would that you had married her at\nonce, and never left my side. But she was foolish and headstrong and\nI\u2014was jealous of you, Shabaka. Forgive me, and farewell.\u201d\n\nHe spoke no more although he lived a little while.\n\nKarema came from the inner court. She greeted her husband, then turned\nand said,\n\n\u201cLord Shabaka, one waits to welcome you.\u201d\n\nI rested myself upon her shoulder, for I could not walk alone.\n\n\u201cWhat happened to the army of the Karoon?\u201d I asked as we went slowly.\n\n\u201cThat happened, Lord, which the holy Tanofir foretold. The Easterns\nattacked across the swamp, thinking to bear us down by numbers. But the\npaths were too narrow and their columns were bogged in the mud. Still\nthey struggled on against the arrows to its edge and there the\nEthiopians fell on them and being lighter-footed and without armour,\nhad the mastery of them, who were encumbered by their very multitude.\nOh! I saw it all from the temple top. Bes did well and I am proud of\nhim, as I am proud of you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is of the Ethiopians that you should be proud, Karema, since with\none to five they have won a great battle.\u201d\n\nWe came to the end of the second court where was a sanctuary.\n\n\u201cEnter,\u201d said Karema and fell back.\n\nI did so and though the cedar door was left a little ajar, at first\ncould see nothing because of the gloom of the place. By degrees my eyes\ngrew accustomed to the darkness and I perceived an alabaster statue of\nthe goddess Isis of the size of life, who held in her arms an ivory\nchild, also lifesize. Then I heard a sigh and, looking down, saw a\nwoman clad in white kneeling at the feet of the statue, lost in prayer.\nSuddenly she rose and turned and the ray of light from the door ajar\nfell upon her. It was Amada draped only in the transparent robe of a\npriestess, and oh! she was beautiful beyond imagining, so beautiful\nthat my heart stood still.\n\nShe saw me in my battered mail and the blood flowed up to her breast\nand brow and in her eyes there came a light such as I had never known\nin them before, the light that is lit only by the torch of woman\u2019s\nlove. Yes, no longer were hers the eyes of a priestess; they were the\neyes of a woman who burns with mortal passion.\n\n\u201cAmada,\u201d I whispered, \u201cAmada found at last.\u201d\n\n\u201cShabaka,\u201d she whispered back, \u201creturned at last, to me, your home,\u201d\nand she stretched out her arms toward me.\n\nBut before I could take her into mine, she uttered a little cry and\nshrank away.\n\n\u201cOh! not here,\u201d she said, \u201cnot here in the presence of this Holy One\nwho watches all that passes in heaven and earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen perchance, Amada, she has watched the freeing of Egypt on yonder\nfield to-day, and knows for whose sake it was done.\u201d\n\n\u201cHearken, Shabaka. I am your guerdon. Moreover as a woman I am yours.\nThere is naught I desire so much as to feel your kiss upon me. For it\nand it alone I am ready to risk my spirit\u2019s death and torment. But for\nyou I fear. Twice have I sworn myself to this goddess and she is very\njealous of those who rob her of her votaries. I fear that her curse\nwill fall not only on me, but on you also, and not only for this life\nbut for all lives that may be given to us. For your own sake, I pray\nyou leave me. I hear that Pharaoh my uncle is dead or dying, and\ndoubtless they will offer you the throne. Take it, Shabaka, for in it I\nask no share. Take it and leave me to serve the goddess till my death.\u201d\n\n\u201cI too serve a goddess,\u201d I answered hoarsely, \u201cand she is named Love,\nand you are her priestess. Little I care for Isis who serve the goddess\nLove. Come, kiss me here and now, ere perchance I die. Kiss me who have\nwaited long enough, and so let us be wed.\u201d\n\nOne moment she paused, swaying in the wind of passion, like a tall reed\non the banks of Nile, and then, ah! then she sank upon my breast and\npressed her lips against my own.\n\nAND AFTER\n\n\nFor a few moments I, Shabaka, seemed to be lost in a kind of delirium\nand surrounded by a rose-hued mist. Then I, Allan Quatermain, heard a\nsharp quick sound as of a clock striking, and looked up. It was a\nclock, a beautiful old clock on a mantelpiece opposite to me and the\nhands showed that it had just struck the hour of ten.\n\nNow I remembered that centuries ago, as I was dropping asleep, I did\nnot know why, I had seen that clock and those hands in the same\nposition and known that it was striking the second stroke of ten. Oh!\nwhat did it all mean? Had thousands of years gone by or\u2014only eight\nseconds?\n\nThere was a weight upon my shoulder. I glanced round to see what it was\nand discovered the beautiful head of Lady Ragnall who was sweetly\nsleeping there. Lady Ragnall! and in that very strange dream which I\nhad dreamed she was the priestess called Amada. Look, there was the\nmark of the new moon above her breast. And not a second ago I had been\nin a shrine with Amada dressed as Lady Ragnall was to-night, in\ncircumstances so intimate that it made me blush to think of them. Lady\nRagnall! Amada!\u2014Amada! Lady Ragnall! A shrine! A boudoir! Oh! I must be\ngoing mad!\n\nI could not disturb her, it would have been\u2014well, unseemly. So I,\nShabaka, or Allan Quatermain, just sat still feeling curiously\ncomfortable, and tried to piece things together, when suddenly Amada\u2014I\nmean Lady Ragnall woke.\n\n\u201cI wonder,\u201d she said without lifting her head from my shoulder, \u201cwhat\nhappened to the holy Tanofir. I think that I heard him outside the\nshine giving directions for the digging of Pharaoh\u2019s grave at that\nspot, and saying that he must do so at once as his time was very short.\nYes, and I wished that he would go away. Oh! my goodness!\u201d she\nexclaimed, and suddenly sprang up.\n\nI too rose and we stood facing each other.\n\nBetween us, in front of the fire stood the tripod and the bowl of black\nstone at the bottom of which lay a pinch of white ashes, the remains of\nthe _Taduki_. We stared at it and at each other.\n\n\u201cOh! where have we been, Shaba\u2014I mean, Mr. Quatermain?\u201d she gasped,\nlooking at me round-eyed.\n\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I answered confusedly. \u201cTo the East I suppose. That\nis\u2014it was all a dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cA dream!\u201d she said. \u201cWhat nonsense! Tell me, were you or were you not\nin a sanctuary just now with me before the statue of Isis, the same\nthat fell on George two years ago and killed him, and did you or did\nyou not give me a necklace of wonderful rosy pearls which we put upon\nthe neck of the statue as a peace-offering because I had broken my vows\nto the goddess\u2014those that you won from the Great King?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d I answered triumphantly, \u201cI did nothing of the sort. Is it likely\nthat I should have taken those priceless pearls into battle? I gave\nthem to Karema to keep after my mother returned them to me on her\ndeath-bed; I remember it distinctly.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, and Karema handed them to me again as your love-token when she\nappeared in the city with the holy Tanofir, and what was more welcome\nat the moment\u2014something to eat. For we were near starving, you know.\nWell, I threw them over your neck and my own in the shrine to be the\nsymbol of our eternal union. But afterwards we thought that it might be\nwise to offer them to the goddess\u2014to appease her, you know. Oh! how\ndared we plight our mortal troth there in her very shrine and presence,\nand I her twice-sworn servant? It was insult heaped on sacrilege.\u201d\n\n\u201cAt a guess, because love is stronger than fear,\u201d I replied. \u201cBut it\nseems that you dreamed a little longer than I did. So perhaps you can\ntell me what happened afterwards. I only got as far as\u2014well, I forget\nhow far I got,\u201d I added, for at that moment full memory returned and I\ncould not go on.\n\nShe blushed to her eyes and grew disturbed.\n\n\u201cIt is all mixed up in my mind too,\u201d she exclaimed. \u201cI can only\nremember something rather absurd\u2014and affectionate. You know what\nstrange things dreams are.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought you said it wasn\u2019t a dream.\u201d\n\n\u201cReally I don\u2019t know what it was. But\u2014your wound doesn\u2019t hurt you, does\nit? You were bleeding a good deal. It stained me here,\u201d and she touched\nher breast and looked down wonderingly at her sacred, ancient robe as\nthough she expected to see that it was red.\n\n\u201cAs there is no stain now it _must_ have been a dream. But my word!\nthat was a battle,\u201d I answered.\n\n\u201cYes, I watched it from the pylon top, and oh! it was glorious. Do you\nremember the charge of the Ethiopians against the Immortals? Why of\ncourse you must as you led it. And then the fall of Pharaoh Peroa\u2014he\nwas George, you know. And the death of the Great King, killed by your\nblack bow; you were a wonderful shot even then, you see. And the\nburning of the ships, how they blazed! And\u2014a hundred other things.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d I said, \u201cit came off. The holy Tanofir was a good strategist\u2014or\nhis Cup was, I don\u2019t know which.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd you were a good general, and so for the matter of that was Bes.\nOh! what agonies I went through while the fight hung doubtful. My heart\nwas on fire, yes, I seemed to burn for\u2014\u2014\u201d and she stopped.\n\n\u201cFor whom?\u201d I asked.\n\n\u201cFor Egypt of course, and when, reflected in the alabaster, I saw you\nenter that shrine, where you remember I was praying for your\nsuccess\u2014and safety, I nearly died of joy. For you know I had been,\nwell, attached to you\u2014to Shabaka, I mean\u2014all the time\u2014that\u2019s my part of\nthe story which I daresay you did not see. Although I seemed so cold\nand wayward I could love, yes, in that life I knew how to love. And\nShabaka looked, oh! a hero with his rent mail and the glory of triumph\nin his eyes. He was very handsome, too, in his way. But what nonsense I\nam talking.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, great nonsense. Still, I wish we were sure how it ended. It is a\npity that you forget, for I am crazed with curiosity. I suppose there\nis no more _Taduki_, is there?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot a scrap,\u201d she answered firmly, \u201cand if there were it would be\nfatal to take it twice on the same day. We have learned all there is to\nlearn. Perhaps it is as well, though I should like to know what\nhappened after our\u2014our marriage.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo we _were_ married, were we?\u201d\n\n\u201cI mean,\u201d she went on ignoring my remark, \u201cwhether you ruled long in\nEgypt. For you, or rather Shabaka, did rule. Also whether the Easterns\nreturned and drove us out, or what. You see the Ivory Child went away\nsomehow, for we found it again in Kendah Land only a few years ago.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps we retired to Ethiopia,\u201d I suggested, \u201cand the worship of the\nChild continued in some part of that country after the Ethiopian\nkingdom passed away.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, only I don\u2019t think Karema would ever have gone back to\nEthiopia unless she was obliged. You remember how she hated the place.\nNo, not even to see those black children of hers. Well, as we can never\ntell, it is no use speculating.\u201d\n\n\u201cI thought there _was_ more _Taduki_,\u201d I remarked sadly. \u201cI am sure I\nsaw some in the coffer.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot one bit,\u201d she answered still more firmly than before, and,\nstretching out her hand, she shut down the lid of the coffer before I\ncould look into it. \u201cIt may be best so, for as it stands the story had\na happy ending and I don\u2019t want to learn, oh! I don\u2019t want to learn how\nthe curse of Isis fell on you and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo you believe in that?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I do,\u201d she answered with passion, \u201cand what is more, I believe it\nis working still, which perhaps is why we have all come down in the\nworld, you and I and George and Hans, yes, and even old Har\u00fbt whom we\nknew in Kendah Land, who, I think, was the holy Tanofir. For as surely\nas I live I _know_ beyond possibility of doubt that whatever we may be\ncalled to-day, you were the General Shabaka and I was the priestess\nAmada, Royal Lady of Egypt, and between us and about us the curse of\nIsis wavers like a sword. That is why George was killed and that is\nwhy\u2014but I feel very tired, I think I had better go to bed.\u201d\n\nAs I recall that I have explained, I was obliged to leave Ragnall\nCastle early the next morning to keep a shooting engagement. O heavens!\nto keep a shooting engagement!\n\nBut whatever Amada, I mean Lady Ragnall, said, there _was_ plenty more\n_Taduki_, as I have good reason to know.\n\nALLAN QUATERMAIN.","title":"The Ancient Allan","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":89223}