"Rameses! the fates of the kingdom are weighed, and before another full moon comes thou wilt be its ruler."

"O G.o.ds!" cried the terrified prince. "Is my father so sick, then?"

He fell on his face in the sand; then an a.s.sisting priest inquired if he did not wish to learn something more.

"Tell me, Father Amon, whether my plans will be accomplished."

After a while a voice spoke in the chapel.

"If thou begin no war in the east, if thou give offerings to the G.o.ds and respect their servants, a long life awaits thee, and a reign full of glory."

After the miracles which had happened on the open field, in the open day, the excited prince returned to his tent.

"Nothing can resist the priests," thought he in fear.

He found Pentuer in the tent.

"Tell me, my counsellor," said he, "whether priests can read the heart of a man and unveil his secret purpose."

Pentuer shook his head.

"Sooner," answered he, "will man see what there is in the centre of a cliff than read the heart of another man. It is even closed to the G.o.ds, and death alone can discover its secrets."

Rameses drew a deep sigh of relief, but he could not free himself from fear. When, toward evening, it was necessary to call a military council, he summoned Mentezufis and Pentuer.

No one mentioned the sudden death of Patrokles; perhaps because there was more urgent business; for Libyan envoys had come imploring in the name of Musawasa mercy for his son Tehenna, and offering to Egypt surrender and peace forever.

"Evil men," said one of the envoys, "tempted our people saying that Egypt was weak; that her pharaoh was the shadow of a ruler. But yesterday we learned how strong your arm is, and we consider it wiser to yield and pay you tribute than expose our people to certain death and our property to ruin."

When the military council had heard this speech the Libyans were sent from the tent, and Prince Rameses asked the holy Mentezufis directly for his opinions; this astonished even the generals.

"Only yesterday," said the worthy prophet, "I should have been glad to refuse the prayer of Musawasa, transfer the war to Libya, and destroy that nest of robbers. But to-day I have received such important news from Memphis that I will vote for mercy to the conquered."

"Is his holiness, my father, sick?" inquired the prince, with deep emotion.

"He is sick. But till we finish with the Libyans thou must not think of his holiness."

When the heir dropped his head in sadness, Mentezufis added,--

"I must perform one more duty. Yesterday, worthy prince, I made bold to offer a judgment that for such a wretched captive as Tehenna, a chief should not leave his army. To-day I see that I was mistaken, for if thou hadst not seized Tehenna we should not have this early peace with Musawasa. Thy wisdom, chief, has proved higher than military regulations."

The prince was arrested by this compunction on the part of Mentezufis.

"Why does he speak thus?" thought he. "It is evident that Amon is not alone in knowing of my holy father's illness."

And in the soul of the heir the old feelings were roused,--contempt for the priests and distrust of their miracles.

"So it was not the G.o.ds who told me that I should soon become pharaoh, but the news came from Memphis, and the priests tricked me in the chapel! But if they lie in one thing, who will a.s.sure me that those views of the desert shown on the wall were not deceit also?"

Since the prince was silent all the time, which was attributed to his sorrow because of his father's illness, and the generals did not dare to say anything after the decisive words of Mentezufis, the military council ended. A unanimous decision was made to stop the war, take the very highest tribute from the Libyans, and send them an Egyptian garrison.

All expected now that the pharaoh would die. But Egypt, to celebrate a funeral worthy of its ruler, needed profound peace.

When leaving the tent of the military council the prince said to Mentezufis,--

"The valiant Patrokles died last night; do ye holy fathers think to show his remains honor?"

"He was a barbarian and a great sinner," said the priest, "but he rendered such famous services to Egypt that it is proper to a.s.sure life beyond the grave to him. If thou permit, worthiness, we will send the body of that man this day to Memphis, so as to make a mummy of it, and take it to an eternal dwelling in Thebes among the retreats of the pharaohs."

The prince consented willingly, but his suspicions rose.

"Yesterday," thought he, "Mentezufis threatened me as he might a lazy pupil, and it was even a favor of the G.o.ds that he did not beat my back with a stick; but to-day he speaks to me like an obedient son to a father, and almost falls on his breast before me. Is this a sign that power is drawing near my tent, and also the hour of reckoning?"

Thus thinking, the prince increased in pride, and his heart was filled with greater wrath against the priesthood. Wrath which was the worse for being silent like a scorpion which has hidden in the sand and maims the incautious foot with its biting sting.

CHAPTER XLVI

At night the sentries gave notice that a throng of Libyans imploring mercy had entered the valley. Indeed the light of their fires was visible on the desert.

At sunrise the trumpets were sounded, and all the Egyptian forces were drawn up under arms on the widest part of the valley. According to command of the prince, who wished to increase the fright of the Libyans--the carriers were arranged between the ranks of the army, and men on a.s.ses were disposed among the cavalry. So it happened that the Egyptians seemed as numerous as sands in the desert, and the Libyans were as timid as doves, over which a falcon is soaring.

At nine in the morning his gilded war chariot stood before the tent of the viceroy. The horses bearing ostrich plumes reared so that two men had to hold each of them.

Rameses came out of his tent, took his place in the chariot, and seized the reins himself, while the place of the charioteer was occupied by the priest Pentuer, who held now the position of counsellor. One of the commanders carried a large green parasol over the prince; behind, and on both sides of the chariot, marched Greek officers in gilded armor. At a certain distance behind the prince's retinue came a small division of the guard, in the midst of it Tehenna, son of the Libyan chief Musawasa.

A few hundred paces from the Egyptians, at the entrance of the ravine, stood the gloomy crowd of Libyans imploring the conqueror's favor.

When Rameses came with his suite to the eminence where he was to receive the envoys of the enemy, the army raised such a shout in his honor that the cunning Musawasa was still more mortified, and whispered to the Libyan elders,--

"I say to you, that is the cry of an army which loves its commander."

Then one of the most restless of the Libyan chiefs, a great robber, said to Musawasa,--

"Dost thou not think that in a moment like this we should be wiser to trust to the swiftness of our horses than to the kindness of the pharaoh's son? He must be a raging lion, which tears the skin even when stroking it, while we are like lambs s.n.a.t.c.hed away from our mothers."

"Do as may please thee," replied Musawasa, "thou hast the whole desert before thee. But the people sent me to redeem their faults, and above all I have a son, Tehenna, on whom the prince will pour out his wrath unless I win favor."

To the crowd of Libyans galloped up two Asiatic hors.e.m.e.n, who declared that their lord was waiting for submission.

Musawasa sighed bitterly and went toward the height on which the conqueror had halted. Never before had he made such a painful journey.

Coa.r.s.e linen used by penitents covered his back imperfectly; on his head, sprinkled with ashes, the heat of the sun was burning; sharp pebbles cut his naked feet, and his heart was crushed by his own sorrow and that of his people.

He had advanced barely a few hundred paces, but he was forced to halt a couple of times to rest and recover. He looked backward frequently to be sure that the naked slaves carrying gifts to the prince were not stealing gold chains, or what was worse, stealing jewels. For Musawasa knowing life, knew that man is glad to make use of his neighbor's misfortune.

"I thank the G.o.ds," said the cunning barbarian, comforting himself in mishap, "that the lot has come to me of humbling myself to a prince who may put on the pharaoh's cap any moment. The rulers of Egypt are magnanimous, especially in time of triumph. If I succeed then in moving my lord he will strengthen my position in Libya, and permit me to collect a mult.i.tude of taxes. It is a real miracle that the heir to the throne himself seized Tehenna; and not only will he not do him wrong, but he will cover him with dignities." Thus he thought and looked behind continually, for a slave, though naked, may conceal a stolen jewel in his mouth, and even swallow it.