事業／計画（する） Gutenberg Australia a treasure-trove of literature treasure 設立する hidden with no 証拠 of 所有権

BROWSE the 場所／位置 for other 作品 by this author (and our other authors) or get HELP Reading, Downloading and 変えるing とじ込み／提出するs) or SEARCH the entire 場所／位置 with Google 場所／位置 Search

肩書を与える:      知恵's Daughter
Author:     H. Rider Haggard
* A 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBook *
eBook No.:  0200181h.html
Language:   English
Date first 地位，任命するd: March 2002
Date most recently updated: March 2002

This eBook was produced by: John Bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz
                      and Dagny, dagnyj@hotmail.com

事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed 版s
which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice
is 含むd. We do NOT keep any eBooks in 同意／服従 with a particular
paper 版.

Copyright 法律s are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the
copyright 法律s for your country before downloading or redistributing this
とじ込み／提出する.

This eBook is made 利用できる at no cost and with almost no 制限s
どれでも. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the 条件
of the 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg Australia Licence which may be 見解（をとる）d online.

GO TO 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg Australia HOME PAGE

知恵's Daughter

The Life and Love Story of
She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed

by

H. Rider Haggard

DEDICATION

In bygone years the 調書をとる／予約するs "She" and "Ayesha" were 献身的な to Andrew Lang. Now, when he is dead, this, the last romance that will be written 関心ing "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed," is 申し込む／申し出d as a 尊敬の印 to his beloved and honoured memory.

Ditchingham, 1922.

EDITOR'S NOTE

What was the greatest fault of Ayesha, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed? Surely a vanity so colossal that, to take one out of many examples, it 説得するd her that her mother died after looking upon her, 恐れるing lest, should she live, she might give birth to another child who was いっそう少なく fair.

At least, as her story shows, it was vanity, rather than love of the beauteous Greek, Kallikrates, that stained the 手渡すs of She with his innocent 血 and, amongst other ills, brought upon her the fearful 悪口を言う／悪態 of deathlessness while still 住むing a sphere where Death is lord of all. Had not Amenartas taunted her with the 病弱なing of her 皇室の beauty, eaten of the tooth of Time, never would she have disobeyed the 命令（する） of her master, the Prophet Noot, and entered that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Immortality which she was 始める，決める to guard.

Thus it seems that by 否定 she would have escaped the 逮捕する of many woes in which, perchance, she is still entangled and of Ayesha, Daughter of 知恵 yet Folly's Slave, there would have been no tale to tell and, from her parable of the eternal war of flesh and spirit there would have been no lesson to be learned. But Vanity—or was it 運命／宿命?—led her 負かす／撃墜する another road.

The Editor.

INTRODUCTORY

The manuscript of which the contents are printed here was discovered の中で the 影響s of the late L. Horace Holly, though not until some years after his death. It was in an envelope on which had been scribbled a direction that it should be 今後d to the 現在の editor "at the 任命するd time," words that at first he did not understand. However, in 予定 course it arrived without any …を伴ってing 公式文書，認める of explanation, so that to this hour he does not know by whom it was sent or where from, since the only postmark on the packet was London, W., and the 演説（する）／住所 was typewritten.

When opened the 一括 証明するd to 含む／封じ込める two 厚い notebooks, bound in parchment, or rather 捨てるd goat or sheepskin, and very 概略で as though by an unskilled 手渡す, perhaps ーするために 保存する them if exposed to hard usage or 天候. The paper of these 調書をとる／予約するs is 極端に thin and 堅い so that each of them 含む／封じ込めるs a 広大な／多数の／重要な number of sheets. It is not of European make, and its 外見 示唆するs that it was 製造（する）d in the East, perhaps in 中国.

There could be no 疑問 as to who had owned these notebooks, because on one of them, the first, written in red 署名／調印する upon the parchment cover in 封鎖する letters, appears the 指名する of Mr. Holly himself. Also on its first pages are さまざまな 覚え書き of travel evidently made by him and no one else. After these follow sheet upon sheet of 明らかに indecipherable shorthand mixed up with tiny Arabic characters. This shorthand 証明するd to belong to no known system, and though every 成果／努力 was made to decipher it, for over two years it remained unread.

At length, when all 試みる／企てるs had been abandoned, almost by chance, it was shown to a 広大な／多数の／重要な Oriental scholar, a friend of the Editor, who ちらりと見ることd at it and took it to bed with him. Next morning at breakfast he 発表するd calmly that he had discovered the 重要な and could read the stuff as easily as though it were a newspaper leader. It seemed that the 令状ing was an 古代の form of 契約d Arabic, mixed in places with the Demotic of the Egyptians—a shorthand Arabic and a shorthand Demotic, difficult at first, but once the 重要な was 設立する easily decipherable by some six or eight living men, of whom, as it chanced, the learned scholar into whose 手渡すs it had thus fallen accidentally was one.

So it （機の）カム about that with toil and cost and time, at length those two closely written 容積／容量s were transcribed in 十分な and translated. For the 残り／休憩（する）, they speak for themselves. Let the reader 裁判官 of them.

There is but one thing to 追加する. Although it is 記録，記録的な／記録するd in notebooks that had been his 所有物／資産／財産, 明確に this manuscript was NOT written by Mr. Holly. For 推論する／理由s which she explains it was written with the 手渡す of SHE herself, during the period of her second incarnation when at last Leo 設立する her in the mountains of Thibet, as is 述べるd in the 調書をとる／予約する called "Ayesha."

CHAPTER I

THE HALLS OF HEAVEN

To the learned man, ugly of form and 直面する but sound at heart, Holly by 指名する, a 国民 of a northern land whom at times I think that once I knew as Noot the 宗教上の, that philosopher who was my master in a past which seems far to him and is forgot, but to me is but as yesterday, to this Holly, I say, I, who on earth am 指名するd Ayesha, daughter of Yarab the Arab 長，指導者, but who have many other 肩書を与えるs here and どこかよそで, have told 確かな stories of my past days and the part I played in them. Also I have told the same or other stories to my lord Kallikrates, the Greek, now 指名するd Leo Vincey, aforetimes a 軍人 after the habit of his race and his forefathers, who for 宗教的な 推論する／理由s became a priest of Isis, the 広大な／多数の／重要な goddess of Egypt and, once I believed, my mother in the spirit. Also I have told these or different tales to one Allan, a wandering hunter of beasts and a fighting man of good 血 who visited me at Kor, though of this I said nothing to Holly or to my lord Kallikrates, now known as Leo or the Lion, because as to this Allan I held it wiser to be silent.

All these stories do not agree together, since often I spoke them as parables, or ーするために tell to each that which he would wish to hear, or to hide my mind for my own 目的s.

Yet in every one of them lay hid something of the truth, a 穀物 of gold in the 鉱石 of fable that might be 設立する by him who had the 技術 and strength to 捜し出す.

Now my spirit moves me to 解釈する／通訳する these parables and 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する what I am and whence I （機の）カム and 確かな of the things that I have seen and done, or at the least such of them as I am permitted to 明らかにする／漏らす by those mightier than I of whom I am the servant, as they in their turn are the servants of others yet mightier than themselves.

Here in these Asian 洞穴s I sit, the Hesea of the Mountain, the last priestess of the worship of Mother Isis upon earth, as aforetime I sat まっただ中に the 廃虚s of Kor in Libya.

At Kor for two thousand years I watched and waited till at length reborn Kallikrates, whom unwittingly I slew in a 激怒（する） of jealousy, （機の）カム 支援する to me where I had 殺害された him. There, because of the 悪口を言う／悪態 that is on me and him, I lost him again, for in this very place, too, I was 殺害された most horribly, 殺害された by an 超過 of life wherewith I thought to make myself more beautiful even than I was and in 努力する／競うing to overfill the vase, 粉々にするd it to the vilest dust. Thus once more 運命／宿命 made a mock of me; once more I lost Kallikrates whom it is my doom to 願望（する） in the flesh and to raise up in the spirit through time untold.

My soul passed out and on and here for a little while it 設立する a home masked in the withered 形態／調整 of an 古代の priestess of my worship.

As was foredoomed my lord （機の）カム 支援する to me and saw the 向こうずねing soul within that hideous 形態／調整 and （人命などを）奪う，主張するd it with a kiss, as I think the bravest 行為 and the most faithful that was ever done by man. In the 魔法 of that kiss as also was foredoomed, my beauty 広大な／多数の／重要な again before his 注目する，もくろむs, so that once more I stand a glory upon earth. Now we are 苦境d, now, if all goes 井戸／弁護士席, within a year we shall be 結婚する, aye, within one short year after I have borne him 支援する to Kor and unsealed the hidden 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life and 急落（する），激減（する）d him in its essence, giving to him my own gift of undying days.

And yet and yet—who knows the end? He 圧力（をかける）s me sore, and the 餓死するd woman part of me is 熱烈な and weak and I may 産する／生じる, and if his lips touch 地雷, who can say but that the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 within me will destroy him, the unfortified, and bring all my 計画（する）s to dust and nothingness? I am 広大な／多数の／重要な, 始める，決める far above mortals, yet I play against 軍隊s I cannot see, that are greater than I, and it may please them to snatch the cup from my lips, and once more to 倒す me; for even though the 血 of gods runs in him, as it runs in all of us, who can stand against their master, Doom, and its 法令s? Therefore I, 指名するd 知恵's Daughter, 指名するd Child of Isis, to-night am as 十分な of 恐れるs as any mortal maid craving her lover beneath the moon and not knowing but that war, or chance, or the vile breath of sickness may have borne him away into that 湾 where all things must be lost— until they are 設立する again.

From month to month Leo, my lord, 追跡（する）s upon the mountain after the fashion of men, and I, Ayesha, brood within the 洞穴s after the fashion of women. Yes, I who am half a goddess still brood within the 洞穴s after the fashion of women who wait and watch. Holly, the 教えるd, who loves me, as all men must do, 企て，努力，提案s here with me in the 洞穴s and we talk together of 古代の things whereof the world has lost count, for he is a learned man 技術d in the tongues of Greece and Rome, and one who thinks and, perchance, remembers.

But yesterday he said to me that I who seemed to know the past and to whom doors were opened that cannot be entered by human feet, should 令状 負かす／撃墜する what I know and have experienced, that in time to come the world may be the wiser.

This the fancy has taken me to do, though whether I can persevere to the end, I cannot say. He has given me that wherein I can 令状. 'Tis not the old papyrus, but it will serve, and I have pens of reed and can make 署名／調印する of さまざまな colours, who in the bygone days was no mean scribe. Also I sleep but little, whose 団体／死体, filled like a cup with life, needs small 残り／休憩（する）, and the long hours of the night pass wearily for me who 嘘（をつく） and brood upon what has been and is to come, searching the 不明瞭 of the 未来 with aching, fearful soul. Moreover, I am able to 令状 in characters which, with all his learning, Holly cannot read, I who am not minded that he should know my thoughts and 行為s and betray them to my lord whom they might 原因（となる） to think the worse of me.

Why, then, should I 令状 at all? For this 推論する／理由: in 確かな 事柄s I have foreknowledge and my spirit tells me that in a day to come, at the time 任命するd, some will guess the secret of my script and （判決などを）下す it into tongues that all may read, so that when, soon or late, upon the circle of my eternal path, I pass hence to whence I （機の）カム, and, like to the 解雇する／砲火／射撃-God in the 洞穴s of Kor am hid awhile, this 記録，記録的な／記録する will remain my monument. Ah! there peeps out the mortal in me, for see! like any ありふれた man or woman I would not be forgot even の中で the passing dwellers in a petty world.

Now to my 仕事.

I have a 見通し of what chanced to my soul before it descended to dwell on earth, and with it I will begin. Maybe it is but a parable not to be 厳密に （判決などを）下すd, a 記念品 and a symbol rather than a truth. Yet of this I am sure that in it there is something of the truth, since さもなければ why through the long centuries did it return to me again and yet again? Maybe Greece and Egypt had no gods save those they fashioned for themselves. Holly tells me, as did the Wanderer, Allan, who also had some smattering of knowledge, that Zeus and Aphrodite and Osiris and Horus and Ammon are now dethroned with all their company and 嘘（をつく） in the dust like the 粉々にするd columns of their 寺s, the mock of men who talk of them as the fables of the 早期に world, so that of all the divinities that I knew, He of the Jews, although changed of character and countenance, alone is worshipped and remains.

Doubtless it is so, yet while man lives, always there is God, though his 形態／調整s be many. Always there is the eternal Good, as in the dream the 宗教上の Noot 指名するd the ultimate Divine, and behold! it is called Ammon or さもなければ. Always there is Evil and behold! it is called 始める，決める or Baal, or Moloch, or さもなければ. Always the stained soul of man 捜し出すs redemption, and he who saves is called Osiris or さもなければ. Always Nature 耐えるs and she is called Isis or さもなければ. Always the 広大な／多数の／重要な world that will not die 緊張するs and pulses to new life, and the Life- bringer is called Aphrodite, or さもなければ. And so continually. Where man is, again I say, there was and is and will be God, or Good—the Spirit 指名するd by many 指名するs.

I go to my window-place in this 洞穴-議会 and look out upon the 星／主役にするs 向こうずねing countless in the frosty sky and lo! there I see God 覆う？ in one of the most glorious of His 衣料品s. I look at the moth flitting 一連の会議、交渉／完成する my lamp or 残り／休憩（する）ing on the 塀で囲む and, by the 魔法 that is in it, 召喚するing its mate from far, and lo! there I see God in another of His humbler 衣料品s. For God is in all things and everywhere, and from the 広大な／多数の／重要な suns 負かす／撃墜する, to Him who sent them 前へ／外へ and to Whom they return again, all that hath life must 屈服する.

This is the 見通し wherein I read a parable of eternal truths.

I, Ayesha, daughter of Yarab, not yet of the flesh, but above and beyond the flesh 住むd the halls of that 広大な／多数の／重要な goddess of the earth, a 大臣 of That which 支配するs all the earth (Nature's self as now I know), who in Egypt was 指名するd Isis, Mother of Mysteries. Child, she 指名するd me, and Messenger; and in that dream or parable, as a child was I to her, for I drank of the cup of her 知恵 and something of her greatness was in my soul.

The goddess sat brooding in her 聖域 where Spirits （機の）カム and went 耐えるing tidings from all lands or emptying at her feet the cups of 申し込む／申し出d 祈り. About her fell her 式服s, blue as the sky, and over the 式服s hung 負かす／撃墜する her hair dusky as the night, and beneath her bent brows shone her 注目する，もくろむs like 星／主役にするs of the night. In her 手渡す was the 棒 of 力／強力にする and the footstool at her feet was 形態／調整d like the 一連の会議、交渉／完成する world. There, canopied with light, she sat upon an ebon seat and brooded while 一連の会議、交渉／完成する her （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 music like sea waves upon the shore, such music as is not known upon the earth.

I appeared. I stood before her, I abased myself, I 屈服するd till my forehead lay upon the ground and my hair swept the dust of the ground. She touched me with her sceptre, bidding me arise.

"Speak, Child," she said. "What message dost thou bring from the shores of Nile? How goes my worship in the 寺s of Isis and are my servants faithful to my 法律?"

Then I made answer.

"O Mother divine, I have 遂行するd my 大使館. Unseen, a spirit, I have wandered through the Land of Egypt. I have visited thy 寺s, I have hearkened to the 会議s of thy priests, I have watched thy worshippers and read their hearts. This is my 報告（する）／憶測. Thy 宗教上の 寺s are empty; thy priests neglect thine altars; save a 残余 who remain faithful, thy worshippers 屈服する themselves before the 神社s of another goddess."

"How is this goddess 指名するd, O Child of my love and 知恵?"

"She is 指名するd Aphrodite of the Greeks, a people who have flowed into Egypt, also other folk know her as Ashtoreth and Venus. Her 聖域 of 聖域s is at Paphos in Cyprus, an island of the sea over against Egypt. She is the Queen of earthly love and love is the ritual of her worship, and she makes a mock of thee, O Mother, and of all the 古代の gods, thy brothers and sisters, 断言するing that thy day and theirs is done and that she has risen from the sea to 支配する the world, and will 支配する it to the end. Here and there she 明らかにする／漏らすs herself and 征服する／打ち勝つs by her beauty, making all men to worship her and teaching all women to follow in her steps and beguile as she does, so that thy very priests turn to her and thy priestesses break from their 公約するs and wanton with them."

"All of this I have learned, O Child, and more; yet it was my 願望（する） to hear it from thy lips that cannot 嘘（をつく）, since in thee dwells my spirit. Hearken now! I am minded to be avenged upon these 誤った Egyptians, and thou shalt be the sword of vengeance wherewith I will smite them, bringing their 古代の glory to the dust and for ever setting the yoke of bondage on their necks. Aye, I am so minded and it shall be done, how, I will teach thee afterward. But first, as I have the 力／強力にする to do, I who under the Strength above me am regent of the ball of earth, will 召喚する this Aphrodite to my presence here and now, and 企て，努力，提案 her speak out her heart to me.

"Hear me, Aphrodite, wherever thou art in earth or heaven. Aphrodite, I 企て，努力，提案 thee appear."

Then in 見通し the Mother rose from her 王位. Standing before it, terrible to see, she beckoned with her sceptre, north and south and east and west, uttering the secret words of 力／強力にする. Thrice she beckoned and thrice she spoke the secret words, and waited.

There was a 動かす at the end of the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall and a sound of singing. Behold! floating between the long lines of the 炎上-覆う？ 後見人s of that hall, …に出席するd by her 支配する gods, her maenads and her maidens, a 形態／調整 of naked loveliness, （機の）カム Aphrodite of the Greeks. 隠すd in her curling locks and roped about with gleaming pearls for necklace and for girdle, she stood before the 王位 and 屈服するd to the Majesty it bore, then asked in a laughing 発言する／表明する of music,

"I have heard thy 召喚するs, Mother of Mysteries, and I am here. What wouldst thou of me, Isis, Queen of the World? How can the Sea-born whose 指名する is Beauty and whose gift is Love, serve thee, Isis, Queen of the World?"

"Thus, thou who art shameless, thou born of the new gods and fashioned from the evil that is in the race of men—by 解除するing thy （一定の）期間 from off my worshippers. I know thy 作品. Drunken with 願望（する）s they flock to thee in 軍隊／機動隊s and for reward thou givest them the 給料 of their sin. Thou layest waste their homes; thou defilest their maidens, thou turnest men to beasts and makest a mock of them. Thy flowers fade; thy joys fill the mouth with ashes and those who drink of thy cup suck up 毒（薬） in their souls. Thy fair flesh is a rottenness and thy perfumes are a stench and the incense of thine altars is the reek of hell. Therefore I 命令（する） thee, go 支援する to whence thou camest and leave the world in peace."

"Whither, then, should I go, Mother?" answered Aphrodite with her silvery laugh, "save into thy bosom, whence indeed I sprang, seeing that thou art Nature's self and I am thy child. 厳しい is thy 法律 and 甘い, yet without me thou wouldst have 非，不，無 over whom to 支配する. Aye, without me would no child be born and not even a flower would blow. Without me thou wouldst 支配する a wilderness with but the 知恵 of which thou boastest to keep thee company. Hearken! We are at war and in that war I shall be 征服者／勝利者, for I am eternal and all life is my slave, because my 指名する is Life. Get thee to thy heavens, Isis, and 支配する there with Osiris, Lord of Death, but leave me the living. Soon their day is done and they pass beyond my （一定の）期間s into thy dominion. There 扱う／治療する them as thou wilt and be content, for then I have no more need of them, nor they of me. Why of a sudden art thou so wrath with me, whom thou hast known from the beginning? Is it because I take new 指名するs and 始める，決める up my altars in thine own Egypt, altars 花冠d with flowers, leaving all desolate thine where 祈りs are mumbled from 餓死するd hearts and 冷淡な 手渡すs make the 申し込む／申し出ing of 否定? Come now, Mother Isis, let us play a game and let Egypt be the 火刑／賭ける. Thou hast the vantage there, seeing that for aeons it has 屈服するd to thy 法律s and thy yoke has been upon its neck."

"What, then, O Aphrodite, dost thou 約束 Egypt to which I and those who 支配する with me have given greatness, 知恵, and hope beyond the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な?"

"非，不，無 of these high things, Mother. My gifts are love and joy; 甘い love and joy in which for a little while all 恐れるs are forgot. Small 伸び（る）s thou mayest think, looking backward to the past and onward to the 未来, thou whose 注目する，もくろむs are upon eternity. Yet they shall 勝つ／広く一帯に広がる. Isis, in Egypt thy day is done; there, as どこかよそで, thy sceptre 落ちるs."

"If so, Wanton, with it 落ちるs Egypt that henceforth shall be the world's slave. When 征服者／勝利者 after 征服者／勝利者 始める，決めるs his foot upon her neck, then let her think on Isis whom she has forsaken, and wailing, fill her soul with thy swine's food. Lo! I 出発／死, leaving my 悪口を言う／悪態 on Egypt. Have thy little day till before the Judgment seat we settle our account. No more will I listen to thy falsehoods and thy blasphemies. Till then, Wanton, look on my majesty no more."

So in that 見通し spoke the Mother and was gone. With her, flashing like 雷s, went the 炎上-覆う？ 後見人s that …に出席する the goddess, leaving the 広大な／多数の／重要な place empty save for Aphrodite and her throng, and for the soul of me, Ayesha, who watched and hearkened, wondering. The Paphian looked around and laughed, then glided to the 空いている 王位 and seating herself thereon, laughed again, till the music of her mockery echoing from 中心存在 to 中心存在, filled all the 寺's halls.

"It is an omen," she cried. "What Isis leaves I take; henceforth her seat and 力／強力にする are 地雷. See now my 大臣s, I queen it here, though I wear no vulture cap or symbols of the moon, whose brow is better graced by these abundant locks and whose sceptre is a flower whereof the odours make men mad. Yes, I queen it here as everywhere, though in this solemn melancholy fane I 欠如（する） a 支配する."

She ちらりと見ることd about her till her glorious, roving 注目する，もくろむs fell upon that spirit which was I.

"Come hither, thou," she said, "and do me homage."

Now in my dream I, that spirit who in the world am 指名するd Ayesha, （機の）カム and stood before her, 説,

"Nay, I am the child of Isis and to her I 屈服する alone."

"Thinkest thou so?" she answered, smiling and looking me up and 負かす／撃墜する. "井戸／弁護士席, I have another mind. It seems to me that soon thou wilt descend from this sad realm to the joyous fields of earth, that there thou mayest fulfil a 確かな 目的, for such is the 運命／宿命 法令d for thee. Now, I, Aphrodite, 追加する to that 運命／宿命 and lighten it. Look behind thee, Spirit that shall be woman!"

I turned and looked, there to behold a 形態／調整 of beauty that I knew for Man. So beautiful was he that my breast rose and the life in me stood still. He smiled at me and I smiled 支援する at him. Then he was gone, leaving his picture stamped upon my soul.

"This is what I 追加する to that 悲劇の 運命／宿命 of thine, O Spirit that shall be woman. Take him, the man 任命するd to thee, who from the beginning was always thine, and as perchance thou hast done before, in his kiss forget thy Mother Isis and thy 栄冠を与える of woes."

Thus this 見通し ends, and though now I, Ayesha, have learned that Isis, as we knew and 指名するd her in the 古代の time, is but a symbol of that eternal holiness which is 始める，決める above all heavens and all earths, I say again that, as I believe, in its parable is hid something of the changeless truth.

CHAPTER II

NOOT THE PROPHET COMES TO OZAL

Such is the 見通し, such the dream that has haunted me through the centuries, and brooding over it from age to age, I, Ayesha, 疑問 not that in its 実体 it is true, though its trappings may be fancy- wrought. At least this I know, that my spirit is the child of immortal 知恵, such as once men believed that Isis held, as my undying 形態／調整 is born of the beauty that is fabled Aphrodite's gift. At least it is 確かな that even before I dipped me in the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life, the most of learning and all human loveliness were 地雷. I know also that it was my 使節団 to bring Egypt to the dust, and did I not bring it to the dust, smiting to its heart through proud Sidon, and Cyprus, Aphrodite's home? And have I not for these 行為s borne Aphrodite's 悪口を言う／悪態, as, because of Aphrodite's yoke laid upon my helpless neck, I have borne and 耐える the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis, I whose 運命 it is thus at once to be the 器具 and sport of 競争相手 力／強力にするs whose 戦う／戦い- ground is the heart of every one of us.

式のs! were my tale known, the world in its haste might 裁判官 me hardly and think that I, who by 燃やすing its Phoenician 支え（る）s overturned an 古代の empire, am cruel-natured, or that because I sought the love of a 確かな man and in my 怒り／怒る slew him when he turned from me, which in truth I did not 願望（する） to do, that I am wanton and ungoverned. Yet these things are not so, seeing that it was 運命／宿命, not I, that gave Egypt to the Persian dog (whom in his turn I overthrew) and made of its people slaves, and my flesh, not I, which after I had tasted of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 that is Nature's Soul, 悪口を言う／悪態d me with passion and its fruits, perchance because I hated it and would never 屈服する myself to it wholly, I who followed after 潔白, 願望（する）ing not man's love but 知恵's gifts and a 栄冠を与える of spiritual gold.

Moreover, I had earthly and righteous 令状 to bring about Sidon's 落ちる and through it that of Egypt, seeing that their kings would have put me to utter shame and robbed my father of his life, as shall be told. So, too, I had the 令状 of a woman's heart to worship the man I sought and for the death I brought upon him in my jealous madness my soul has paid 十分な 手段 in 悔恨 and 涙／ほころびs. Still, since 司法（官） is hard to come by here on the earth, or even in the heaven above, I know that some would 裁判官 me 厳しく and must 耐える it with the 残り／休憩（する）. Even Holly, and at times my Lord Leo who once was 指名するd Kallikrates, have 心にいだくd such thoughts, though their lips dare not utter them, for I read it in their minds which to me are as an open 調書をとる／予約する. Therefore never shall Holly, nor my lord either, look upon this written truth, lest therefrom they might distil some 毒（薬） of mistrustful 疑問, for it is sure that all men stain the whiteness of pure verity to the colour of their 新たな展開d minds. Therefore, too, I 令状 it in tongues and symbols that they do not understand, which yet shall be deciphered in their season.

As I taught Holly long ago in the 洞穴s of Kor, and truly, though afterward for some forgotten 推論する／理由 of my own or to give him food for thought, I may perhaps have changed my tale, puzzling him with stories of 広大な／多数の／重要な Alexander and the 残り／休憩（する）, by my mortal birth I am an Arabian of the purest and most noble 血, born in Yaman the Happy and in the 甘い city of Ozal. My father was 指名するd Yarab after the 広大な／多数の／重要な ancestor of our race, and I, his only child, was 指名するd Ayesha after my highborn mother. Of her, whom I never knew, for she was gathered to the bosom of whatever god she worshipped but one moon from my birth, this is said.

At first she would not look upon me, 存在 怒り／怒るd because I was not a son, but at length at my father's pleading she was 勝つ／広く一帯に広がるd upon to 命令（する） that I should be brought to her. When she saw how fair a babe Heaven had given her, such a babe as had not been known or told of の中で our people, she was amazed and put up a 祈り that she might die. This, those who knew her 宣言するd, she did for two 推論する／理由s:— first because, 予知するing my greatness, she 願望（する）d that I alone should 持つ／拘留する my father's heart and that of all our tribe, and secondly because she 恐れるd lest, should she live, she might 耐える other children whom she would hate when she compared them to my perfectness.

So it （機の）カム about as, amongst others, my father told me often, that her 祈り was 認めるd and having kissed and blessed me, for a while she entered into 残り／休憩（する）.

This is the true story of her end, not the other, which those who envied me put about in after days, that 借りがあるing to 確かな 発覚s which （機の）カム to her at the time of my birth, as to the 行為s which I was doomed to do and the loves and hates which I was doomed to earn, my mother thought it better to ask death from her gods rather than to continue in a life which she must live out at my 味方する. This tale, my father often swore to me when I asked him of it, was as 誤った as the changeful pictures which are seen at sunset on the 砂漠, and いつかs at noonday also.

For the 残り／休憩（する） this beloved father of 地雷 took no other wife while I was yet a child, 恐れるing lest for her own sake, or her children's, she should be jealous and maltreat me, and afterward when I became a maiden, because I would not 苦しむ that another woman should 株 the 支配する of his 世帯 with me. As I showed to him, he had servants in plenty and these should be enough, to which he 屈服するd his 長，率いる and answered that without 疑問 my will was that of God.

Thus it （機の）カム about that I grew up with my noble father, his 助言者 and his strength, and through him, or rather with him, 支配するd all his 広大な／多数の／重要な tribe, who always worshipped me. Be it 認める that from the first, or at least from the time that I （機の）カム to womanhood, I brought him trouble 同様に as blessing, though through no fault of my own, but because of the beauty with which, as in those days I believed, Isis, or Aphrodite, or both of them, had endowed me for their own divine 目的s. Very soon this beauty of 地雷, also my wit and knowledge, were noised abroad through all Arabia, so that princes （機の）カム from far to 法廷，裁判所 me, and afterward quarrelled and fought, for, 存在 gentle-hearted, I said a 肉親，親類d word to every one of them and left them to 推論する／理由 out which was the kindest.

This, for the most part, they did with spears and arrows after the fashion of violent and insensate men, so that there was much fighting on my account, which made my father some enemies, because the people of 確かな of the princes who were killed swore that I had 約束d myself in marriage to them. This, however, I had never done, who 願望（する）d to marry no man that I might become a slave, 閉じ込める／刑務所d up in a 要塞 to 耐える children that I did not 願望（する） with some jealous tyrant for their father. Nay, 存在 higher-hearted than any of my time, already I sought to 支配する the world, and if I must have any lover, to choose one whom I wished, and, when I wished, to have done with him.

But at that time I asked no lover who myself was in love—with 知恵. Knowledge, I saw, was strength, and if I would 支配する, first I must learn. Therefore I 熟考する／考慮するd 深く，強烈に, taking for masters all the wisest in Arabia who were proud to teach Ayesha the Beautiful, daughter and heiress of Yarab the 広大な／多数の／重要な 長，指導者 who could call ten thousand spears to his 基準s, all of his own tribe; and ten thousand more sworn to us but not of our 血.

I learned of the 星／主役にするs, a 深い learning this that taught my soul its littleness, though it is true that while I 熟考する／考慮するd I wondered, as still I wonder now, in which of them I was 運命にあるd to 支配する when my day on earth was done. For always from the beginning I knew that wherever I am, there I must be the first and 統治する.

Perchance I had learned this aforetime in the halls of Isis who then to me had seemed so 広大な／多数の／重要な, though afterward 熟視する／熟考するing those 星／主役にするs in the silence of the 砂漠 night, I （機の）カム to understand that even the 全世界の／万国共通の Mother, as men 指名するd her in those far days, was herself but small, one who must fight for 主権，独立 with Aphrodite and other gods.

Holly has told me much of what the 天文学者s in these latter years have won of Nature's secrets: of how they number and 重さを計る the 星／主役にするs, and 手段 to a mile their infinite distance from the earth, and how assuredly that each of them, even the farthest, is a sun as 広大な／多数の／重要な or greater than our own, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する which 回転する worlds unseen. He has been astonished also, and 影響する／感情d to disbelieve, when I answered him, that we of Arabia guessed all these things over two thousand years ago, and indeed knew some of them. Yet, so it was.

Thus communing with greatness, my soul grew ever greater.

Moreover, I sought other and deeper lore. There wandered a 確かな strange man to our town, Ozal, where my father kept his 法廷，裁判所, if so it may be called, that is when we were not （軍の）野営地，陣営ing with our 広大な／多数の／重要な herds in the 砂漠, as we did at 確かな seasons of the year after the rains had 原因（となる）d the wilderness to throw up herbage. This man, 指名するd Noot, was always 老年の and white-haired, ugly to look on, with a curious wrinkled 直面する of the colour of parchment, much such a 直面する as that of Holly will be should he 達成する to his years. Indeed in this and other ways he was so like to Holly that often I think that in him dwells something of Noot's spirit now returned again to earth, as that of Kallikrates has returned to Leo.

Now this Noot, who （機の）カム to Egypt 非，不，無 knew whence, for by birth he was not Egyptian, had been the high-priest of Isis and Kherheb or 長，指導者 Magician in Egypt, one who had much 力／強力にする on earth and still more beyond the earth, since he was in touch with things divine. Moreover, he was an honest magician and told the truth even to the kings, as the gods and his 知恵 showed it to him, and this was the 原因（となる） of his downfall, for woe betide those who tell the truth to kings or to any who （権力などを）行使する the sceptre of their might. On a 確かな day Nectanebes, the first of that 指名する, the Pharaoh of Egypt whom others called Nekht- nebf, after a victory he had 伸び（る）d over the Persians, was filled with pride and took counsel with Noot, his 長，指導者 Magician, bidding Noot search out the 未来 and tell him of glories to come to Egypt and to the 王室の House, after he had been gathered to Osiris, that thereon he might 料金d his soul.

Noot answered that it was wiser to leave the 未来 to care for itself and to 満足させる his heart with the 現在の and its joys and greatness.

Then the Pharaoh grew wrath and bade him fulfil his 命令（する）.

So Noot 屈服するd and went, and alone in some tomb or 聖域 drew the circles, uttered the words of 力／強力にする, and called upon the gods he served to show him such things as should 生じる to Egypt and to Pharaoh's House.

The 魔法 sleep fell upon him and in it appeared the Spirit of Truth and spoke to him dreadful words of 運命／宿命 and doom. These she bade him 配達する to Pharaoh, but when they were spoken to 飛行機で行く for his life's sake from Egypt and 捜し出す out a maiden called Ayesha, the daughter of Yarab, the （イスラム圏での）首長 of Ozal, and with her take 避難 since she was an 任命するd 器具 of Heaven. Moreover, this spirit 命令（する）d him to 協議する the maiden Ayesha in everything and impart to her all his gathered learning and the very secrets of the gods that had been 明らかにする／漏らすd to him, that to any other it would be death to speak.

Now in the morning Noot went into the presence of Pharaoh who rejoiced to see him, and cried,

"Be welcome, Kherheb, the first of all magicians, you that men say were born beyond the earth, you in whom lives the spirit of Maat, goddess of Truth. Tell me now what the gods have 明らかにする／漏らすd to you as to the glories they 準備する for the 古代の land of Egypt, and the House of me the Pharaoh who have made her 広大な／多数の／重要な again, 運動ing out the dogs of Persians!"

"Life! 血! Strength! O Pharaoh!" answered Noot, saluting in the 古代の form. "I have heard the word of Pharaoh who 命令（する）d me against my counsel to make divination and to 捜し出す to learn of the 未来 from the gods. Behold! the gods hearkened. Behold! by the mouth of Maat, Lady of Truth, the goddess of the land where I was born, they spoke to me in the silence of the night. Thus they spoke. 'Say to Nectanebes who impiously dares to 解除する the 隠す of Time, that because he has fought for Egypt against the Barbarians who worship other gods, it is 認めるd to him to die in his bed which shall chance ere long. Say that after him shall come a usurper whom the Barbarians shall 敗北・負かす, so that he dies a slave in the land of Persia. Say that after him the son of Pharaoh shall wear the 二塁打 栄冠を与える and be called by the 指名する of Pharaoh, the last of the true 血 of Egypt who shall ever sit upon its 王位. Say that this son of his is accursed because he is in league with evil spirits and has worked apostasy, putting about his neck the chain of Aphrodite of the Greeks and the chains of Baal and of Moloch which never can be broken. Therefore, though he make many 誤った offerings, yet is he accursed and the Barbarians shall 打ち勝つ him, so that he 逃げるs away, nor shall all his 魔法 be a 保護物，者 to him. Because of him Egypt shall 落ちる and her cities shall be 燃やすd and her children 虐殺（する）d and her 寺s desecrated, and never more shall one of her pure and 古代の 血 持つ／拘留する her sceptre.' Such is the oracle that the gods have 命令（する）d me to speak, O Pharaoh."

Now when Nectanebes heard these awful 法令s of 運命／宿命 upon him and upon his son, he trembled and rent his 式服s. Then 激怒（する） took him and he reviled Noot the Prophet, calling him a liar and a 反逆者, and 説 that he would make an end of him and his prophecies together. But because they were alone together within a 議会, before he could 召喚する guards to kill him, Noot, helped of Heaven, fled away out of the palace and as 不明瞭 was 落ちるing, mingled with the throng and could not be 設立する by the 兵士s who sought him.

Ere daylight he was far from the city and, disguised, escaped from Egypt, bringing with him only his Kherheb's staff of 力／強力にする, also the 古代の sacred 調書をとる／予約するs of （一定の）期間s or words of strength that were hidden in his 式服s. With these he brought, moreover, a little 古代の image of Isis which he made use of in his divination and prayed before by day and night.

Thus it （機の）カム about awhile later, one eve when I, the young maiden Ayesha, stood alone in the 砂漠 communing with my soul and 製図／抽選 知恵 from the 星／主役にするs, that there appeared before me a withered, 古代の man who, when he saw me, knelt 負かす／撃墜する and 屈服するd to me. I looked on him and asked,

"Why, 老年の One, do you ひさまづく to me who am but a mortal?"

"Are you indeed a mortal?" he asked. "Methought that I who am the 長，率いる-priest of Isis saw in you the goddess come to earth, and indeed, Lady, I seem to see the 宗教上の 血 of Isis coursing in your veins."

"It is true, Priest, that of this goddess whom my mother worshipped I have dreams and memories and that いつかs she seems to speak with me in sleep, yet I tell you that I am but a mortal, the daughter of Yarab the far-famed," I answered to him.

"Then you are that maiden whom I am 命令（する）d to 捜し出す, she who is 指名するd Ayesha. Know, Lady, that 広大な／多数の／重要な is your 運命, greater than that of any 肉親，親類d, and that it is 明らかにする／漏らすd to me that you will become immortal."

"All who believe in the gods 信用 to find the pearl, Immortality, beneath Death's waters, O Priest."

"Yes, Lady, but the immortality that is foretold for you is different and begins upon the earth, and I 自白する that I understand it not, though perhaps it may be an immortality of fame."

"Nor I, Priest. But 一方／合間, what would you of me?"

"避難所 and food, Lady."

"And what can you 申し込む／申し出 for these, Priest?"

"Learning, Lady."

"That I think I have already."

"Nay, Lady Ayesha, not such learning as I can give; the knowledge of the secrets of the gods; （一定の）期間s that will sway the hearts of kings, 魔法 that will show things afar and call ghosts from the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, 力／強力にする that will 始める，決める him who （権力などを）行使するs it upon the pinnacle of worship—"

"Stay!" I broke in. "You are old and ugly! you are tired, your foot bleeds, you 捜し出す 保護, and it seems to me that you need food. How comes it that one who can 命令（する） so much lore and 力／強力にする is in want of such things as these that the humblest 小作農民 does not 欠如（する）, and must 捜し出す to 購入（する） them with flatteries?"

When he heard these words, of a sudden the 面 of that old man changed. To me his shrunken 団体／死体 seemed to swell, his 直面する grew 猛烈な／残忍な and 始める，決める, and a strange light shone in his 深い 注目する，もくろむs.

"Maiden," he said in another 発言する／表明する, "I perceive that you are in truth in need of such a teacher as I am. Had you the inner 知恵, you would not 裁判官 by the outward 外見 and you would know that ofttimes the gods bring misfortunes upon those they love in order that その為に they may work their ends. Beauty is yours, wit is yours, and a 広大な／多数の／重要な 運命 を待つs you, though with it, as I think, 広大な／多数の／重要な 悲しみ. Yet one thing is 欠如（する）ing to you—humility—and that you must learn beneath the 棒s of 運命. But of these 事柄s we will talk afterward. 一方／合間, as you say, I need food and 避難所, which are necessary to all while still they 労働 in the flesh. Lead me to your father!"

Without more talk though not without 恐れる, I guided this strange wanderer to our テントs, for at the time we were （軍の）野営地，陣営ing in the 砂漠, and into the presence of my father, Yarab, who gave him 歓待 after the Arab fashion, but save for the ありふれた words of 儀礼, held no converse with him that night.

On the に引き続いて morning before we struck our （軍の）野営地，陣営, however, they had much speech together, and at the end of it I was 召喚するd to the 広大な／多数の／重要な テント.

"Daughter," said my father, pointing to the wanderer who was sitting cross-legged on a carpet before him after the fashion of an Egyptian scribe, "I have questioned this learned man, our guest. I discover from him that he is the First Magician of Egypt, the 長，率いる-priest also of the greatest goddess of that land, she whom your mother worshipped. At least, he says he was these things—but now, having quarrelled with Pharaoh, that he is nothing but a beggar, which is a strange 明言する／公表する for a magician. Also, によれば his tale, Pharaoh 捜し出すs his life, as he 宣言するs, because of 確かな prophecies that he made to him 関心ing the 運命／宿命 of Egypt and of Pharaoh's House. It seems that he 願望（する）s to がまんする here with us and to impart his 知恵 to you, which 知恵, it is evident, has brought him to an evil 事例／患者. Now I ask you, as one gifted with discretion beyond your years, what answer shall I return to him? If I keep this Noot here, for that he tells me, is his 指名する, though of his race and country he will say nothing, perchance Pharaoh, whose arm is long, will come to 捜し出す him and bring war upon us, and if I sent him away, perchance I turn my 支援する upon a messenger from the gods. What then shall I do?"

"Ask him, my Father; seeing that one who prophesies evil to the Pharaoh to his own 廃虚 must be a truthful man."

Then my father 一打／打撃d his long 耐えるd, 存在 perplexed, and 問い合わせd of the wanderer whether he should keep him or send him away.

Noot replied that he thought that my father would do 井戸／弁護士席 to send him away, but better to keep him. He said that he had no 発覚 on the 事柄, though if it were wished he would 捜し出す one, but he believed that although his presence might bring trouble, from his 解雇／（訴訟の）却下 would come yet worse trouble. He 追加するd that in a 見通し he had been 命令（する）d by the goddess Isis to find out a 確かな Lady Ayesha and become her 指導者 in mysteries that the 目的s of Heaven might be 実行するd, and that it was ill to 侮辱する／軽蔑する goddesses whose 武器 were even longer than those of Pharaoh.

Now for the second time my father who did nothing 広大な／多数の／重要な or small without my counsel, asked my judgment on the 事柄 after I had heard the words of Noot. I pondered, remembering what the wanderer had 約束d to me in the 砂漠, すなわち, knowledge and the secrets of the gods, also （一定の）期間s that would sway the hearts of kings, with the gifts of 魔法 and of 力／強力にする. At length I answered,

"To what end is all this empty talk, my Father? Has not this stranger eaten of your bread and salt and is it the custom of our people to 運動 away from their doors for no fault those to whom they have given 歓待?"

"True," said my father. "If he were to be sent hence, it should have been done at once. がまんする in my 影をつくる／尾行する, Noot, and pray your gods to bring a blessing on me."

So Noot, the priest and prophet, remained with us and from the first day of his coming, opened out to my eager 注目する，もくろむs all the scrolls of his secret lore. Still it is true that he brought to my father, not blessing but death, as shall be told, though this did not come for many moons.

一方／合間 he taught and I learned, for his knowledge flowed into my soul like a river into the 砂漠 and filled its thirsty sand with life. Of all that I learned from him, because of the 誓いs I swore, even now it is not lawful that I should 令状, but it is true that in those years of 熟考する／考慮する I grew 近づく to the gods and ひったくるd many a secret from the clenched 手渡すs of Nature.

Moreover, though as yet I did not take the 公約するs, I became a votary of Isis, as Noot, her high-priest, had 当局 to make me, and one of the inner circle. Yes, I 決定するd even then that I would forswear marriage and all fleshly joys and make to Isis the 申し込む／申し出ing of my life, while she through her priest 公約するd to me in return such 力／強力にする and 知恵 as had 不十分な been given to any woman before me.

Thus the time went by till at length fell the blow and I—for all my 知恵—never heard Aphrodite laughing behind her 隠す. Nor indeed did Noot, but then he was an old man, who, as I drew out of him, save those of his mother, had not once touched a woman's lips. All learning was his, but it seemed that in his search for it there were some things he had passed by. At least so I believed, or rather half- believed, at this time, but as I learned afterward, there are 事柄s upon which even the most 宗教上の think it no shame to 嘘（をつく）, since in the end Noot 自白するd to me that in his 青年 he had been as are other men. Also I think that he heard the laughter of Aphrodite, though I did not. However these things may be, as I was to discover afterward, Mother Isis is a 厳しい mistress to whoever looks the other way.

Also, although Noot told me much, he hid more. Not for many a year was I to learn that he was a 国民 of the 古代の, 廃虚d land of Kor, and the only one who knew the fearful mystery it hid, which in a far day to come he was 命令（する）d to 明らかにする／漏らす to me, Ayesha, and to no other man or woman. Nor did he tell me that it was the 目的 of Heaven that under her other 形態／調整 and 指名する of Truth I should again 設立する the worship of Isis in that land and once more make of it a queen of the world. Yet these things were so and therefore was he sent to me and for no other 推論する／理由. Therefore was he 命令（する）d to 明らかにする／漏らす the doom of Egypt to Nectanebes, that this Pharaoh in his wrath might 運動 him, a wanderer, to our テントs at Ozal there to dwell for years and 教える me, the chosen, in all things that I must learn, so that when at last the 任命するd hour 夜明けd, I might be fitted for my mighty 仕事.

But all this while Aphrodite laughed on behind her 隠す!

CHAPTER III

THE BATTLE AND THE FLIGHT

In the end trouble （機の）カム upon us thus. As I have said already, my beauty was the talk of men throughout Arabia, and of women also, who were jealous of it, since those who travelled in caravans bore its fame from tribe to tribe and those who sailed upon the sea took up the 報告（する）／憶測 and carried it to distant shores. But now to this tale was 追加するd another, すなわち that the wearer of so much loveliness was also a 大型船 into which the gods had 注ぐd all their 知恵, so that there were few marvels which she could not work and little or nothing that she did not know. It was 追加するd, truly enough, that the channel through which this 知恵 flowed into her heart was a 確かな Noot who aforetime had been Kherheb in Egypt and high-priest of Isis.

Presently this tale, carried by the 水夫s, （機の）カム to the ears of the Pharaoh Nectanebes in his city of Sais, who knew 井戸／弁護士席 enough that Noot was the prophet whom he had driven from the land and whom by now he 願望（する）d to have 支援する again, for his 奮起させるd counsel's sake.

The end of it was that the Pharaoh sent an 大使館 to my father, Yarab, 需要・要求するing that I should be given to him or to his son, the young Nectanebes, I know not which, in marriage, and that Noot should return to Egypt as my 後見人, and there be 復帰させるd in all his offices.

My father answered, speaking with my 発言する／表明する, that least of anything did I 願望（する） to become one of the women of Pharaoh, a man already 近づく the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, or even of Pharaoh's son, I who was a 解放する／自由な-born Arabian, and that as for Noot, his 長，率いる felt safer on his shoulders in Ozal where he was an honoured guest, than it would at Pharaoh's 法廷，裁判所.

These words Nectanebes took ill, so ill indeed that, for this and other 推論する／理由s of 政策, he sent an army to 侵略する Yaman the Happy, and to 逮捕（する） me and kill Noot, or drag him away to Egypt in chains. Of all these 計画（する）s we had 警告s, partly through the priests of Isis in Egypt who still 定評のある Noot as their 長，率いる, although another had been raised up in his place and filled his office, and partly through dreams and 発覚s that （機の）カム to him from Heaven. Therefore we made ready and gathered in 広大な／多数の／重要な strength to fight against Pharaoh.

At length his hosts （機の）カム, borne for the most part in ships of Cyprus and of Sidon whereof at that time the kings were his 同盟（する）s, or rather vassals.

They landed upon a plain by the seashore and watching from our hills beyond, we 苦しむd them to land. But that night, or rather just before the に引き続いて 夜明け when their （軍の）野営地，陣営 was still unfortified, we 注ぐd 負かす／撃墜する upon them from our hills. 広大な／多数の／重要な was the fray! for they fought 井戸／弁護士席. I led the horsemen of our tribe in this, my first 戦う／戦い, and by the light of the rising sun 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d again and yet again into the heart of the hosts of Pharaoh, having no 恐れる since I knew 井戸／弁護士席 that 非，不，無 could 害（を与える） me.

There was a 確かな company of Greeks, two thousand of them perhaps, who served Pharaoh, and in the centre of them was his general, which company stood 会社／堅い when the others fled. Thrice we attacked it with the horsemen and thrice were beaten 支援する. Then my father （機の）カム to my 援助（する） with his 選ぶd kinsmen 機動力のある upon camels. Again we 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d and this time broke through. Those about Pharaoh's general saw me and strove to make me 捕虜, hoping to carry me 支援する to him, whatever happened to the host. They surrounded me, one caught the bridle of my horse. Him I slew with a javelin, but others snatched at me. Then I cried to Isis and I think that she 着せる／賦与するd me in some 衣料品 of her majesty, since 敵s 井戸／弁護士席 away in 前線 of me, calling out—

"This is a goddess, not a woman!"

Yet I was 削減（する） off, （犯罪の）一味d 一連の会議、交渉／完成する by them, for all my companions were 殺害された or driven 支援する.

They 圧力（をかける）d in on me to take me living, till I was hedged in with a （犯罪の）一味 of swords. My father appeared 機動力のある on his swift white dromedary that was called 砂漠 勝利，勝つd, followed by others. They broke through the （犯罪の）一味, and there was a 猛烈な／残忍な fight. My father fell, pierced by the spear of the general of the Egyptians. I saw it and, filled with madness, I 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d at that general and drove my javelin through his throat, so that he fell also. Then a cry went up and the host of Pharaoh melted away, 飛行機で行くing for the ships. Some 伸び（る）d them, but the most remained dead upon the shore or were taken 捕虜.

Thus ended that 戦う／戦い and such was the answer that we of Ozal sent to Pharaoh Nectanebes. Therefore it was also that because of the death of my beloved father at their 手渡すs I hated Egypt, and not only Egypt but Cyprus and Sidon in whose ships her hosts had been borne to attack us, yes, and swore to be avenged upon them all, which 誓い I kept to the 十分な.

Now my father 存在 dead, I, the daughter of Yarab, became 支配者 of our tribe in his place with Noot for my counsellor. For 確かな years I 支配するd it 井戸／弁護士席. Yet troubles arose—in this fashion. By now the fame of my glory and loveliness had spread through all the earth, so that, more even than before, I was beset with 需要・要求するs for my 手渡す from 長，指導者s and kings who went 井戸／弁護士席-nigh mad when I 辞退するd them. In the end, 存在 brothers in their grief because I would have 非，不，無 of them, I whom they called by the 指名するs of Hathor and Aphrodite and other goddesses famed for beauty によれば their separate worships, they made a 広大な／多数の／重要な 共謀 together and sent （外交）使節／代表s 耐えるing a message. This was the message:—

That unless my people would give me up so that my husband might be chosen from の中で their number by the casting of lots, they would join their armies together and 落ちる upon us and kill out our tribe so that not one remained to look upon the sun, save myself alone, who should then be the reward of him who could take me.

Now when I heard this I was filled with 激怒（する） and having 原因（となる）d those messengers to be 天罰（を下す）d before me, sent them 支援する to their masters 耐えるing my 反抗. But when they were gone, the 年上のs of the tribe （機の）カム to me and said through their 広報担当者,

"O Daughter of Yarab, O Ayesha the Wise and Lovely, we adore you as one beyond price. Yet it is true that we love our wives and children and 願望（する） to live, not to die. How can we who are but few stand against so many kings? We pray you, therefore, Ayesha, to choose one of them to be your husband, for then because of jealousy doubtless they will destroy each other and we, your servants, shall be left in peace. Or if you will not marry, then we pray you to hide your beauty どこかよそで for a while, so that the kings do not come to 捜し出す it here."

I hearkened and was angry because of the cowardice of this people who 始める，決める their own 福利事業 about my will and 辞退するd to fight with those who 脅すd me. Still, 存在 politic, I hid my mind and said that I would consider and give them an answer on the third day. Then I took counsel of Noot and together we made divinations and prayed to the gods, but most of all to Isis.

The end of it was that before the 夜明け on the second day a small caravan of five camels might have been seen, had there been any to watch, leaving the city of Ozal and 長，率いるing for the sea.

On the first of those camels sat an old merchant. On the second his wife or his daughter, or his woman, ひどく 隠すd. On the three others was his 商品／売買する. Woven carpets it seemed to be, though if opened, those carpets would have 証明するd to be filled with a very 広大な／多数の／重要な treasure in gold and pearls and sapphires and other gems, which for 世代s had been gathered together by my father, Yarab, and those who went before him out of the 利益（をあげる）s of their 貿易（する） and of their flocks and herds, and hid away against the time of need.

That merchant was Noot the priest and prophet, and that woman was I— Ayesha. That treasure was 地雷 and the camels were led by 確かな men who had served my father and now served me, 存在 sworn to me by secret 誓いs that might not be broken.

We 伸び（る）d the sea and took ship to Egypt in a 大型船 that I had 原因（となる）d to be 用意が出来ている. Yes, before we were 行方不明になるd the coast of Arabia was behind us, since I had given it out that I had gone to a secret place to consider of my answer to the 年上のs of the people. As I heard afterward, when it was known that I had turned my 支援する on them, there were woe and lamentations in every 世帯 of the tribe. Understanding what they had lost the men の中で them （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 their breasts and wept, though it is said that some of the women rejoiced, because I outshone them all and they were jealous of me.

Afterward the kings and 長，指導者s of whom I have spoken descended upon them to 捜し出す me, その結果 my people swore that I had been changed into a goddess and gone up into heaven. Some believed this, 宣言するing that they had always held me to be more than mortal, but others of a coarser, ありふれた mind 宣言するd that I had been hidden away, and 落ちるing on the tribe, 分散させるd it, 掴むing many and selling them into slavery.

Thus then did the children of Yarab 支払う／賃金 the price of their treachery to me, though I have heard that afterward once more they became a 広大な／多数の／重要な people under the 支配する of some baseborn grandson of my father, and worshipped me as a 後見人 goddess from 世代 to 世代, having come to believe that I was not a woman, but a spirit whom the gods sent to dwell with them for a while.

So Noot and I （機の）カム 安全に to Naukratis, a Grecian city upon the Canopic mouth of the Nile, and there abode disguised as a merchant and his daughter 貿易（する）ing in precious 石／投石するs and other 高くつく／犠牲の大きい wares, and thus 追加するing to my wealth, though of this there was little need, since already it was 広大な／多数の／重要な.

It was here that for the first time I went 隠すd in the Eastern fashion, ーするために hide my beauty from the 注目する，もくろむs of men.

Under cover of this 貿易（する） I and Noot lived for two years or more while I 熟考する／考慮するd the lore and language of the Egyptians, learning to read their picture-令状ing which the Greeks call hieroglyphs, and mastering their history. Also I perfected myself in the Grecian tongue and read the 作品 of their 広大な／多数の／重要な writers 同様に as those of the Romans. Moreover, I learned other things, since at the beginning of the year Nectanebes, the Pharaoh who had sought me in marriage, 存在 now dead, and Egypt for a while in the 手渡すs of the usurper Zehir, who some say was his son born of a concubine, we travelled up the Nile disguised and （機の）カム to the 古代の city of Thebes. This we did slowly, stopping at every 広大な／多数の／重要な town, where we received the 歓待 of the 長，率いる priests of the さまざまな gods, Ammon, Ptah, and the 残り／休憩（する）, since to these priests Noot by secret 調印するs 明らかにする／漏らすd himself. Indeed the news of our coming was passed on before us so that always we 設立する some waiting to welcome us who, once within the 寺 塀で囲むs, were 扱う／治療するd like the greatest, although we were garbed as humble travellers. All of these priests we 設立する 十分な of 激怒（する）, both because the gods of the Greeks, and even of the Persians and Sidonians, were 存在 始める，決める above their own, and still more for the 推論する／理由 that their 歳入s were 掴むd and used to 支払う／賃金 Grecian mercenaries, so that they who had been very rich were now poor and the gods 欠如（する）d their offerings, nor could their 宗教上の 寺s be 修理d.

Of all these things I took 公式文書，認める whose heart was 始める，決める upon one thing only,—to bring about the 落ちる of the Egyptians and their 同盟（する）s that had 殺害された my father whom I loved, as indeed I was 運命／宿命d to do. Therefore by a word here and a word there I blew the 怒り／怒る that smouldered in them to 炎上, hinting of 反乱 and the setting up of a new 王朝 in Egypt, of which at that time I thought to be the first, a priestess-queen, Isis-come-to-Earth. Of this 計画（する） I hinted also through the mouth of Noot, nor was it ill received, since already those priests to whom he had told my history and the 発覚s that had come to him 関心ing me, looked on me as something more than woman. Could a mortal maid, they asked, have so much beauty and so much learning; was I not in truth a goddess 着せる／賦与するd in woman's flesh?

Only on the road I 目的d to tread there was this つまずくing 封鎖する, that each of those high-priests 願望（する）d that he himself, or at least one who worshipped his god, were it Ammon or Osiris or Ptah, or Khonsu, should be the Pharaoh of that new 王朝. For they were jealous each of the other and could not agree together, as is ありふれた の中で 競争相手 priests.

We passed on to Thebes where I saw the wonders of the mighty 寺s which stood there 後部d by a hundred kings, which Holly tells me now are but 廃虚s, though the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall of columns の中で which I used to wander still stands in part. Also I crossed the Nile and visited the tombs of the Pharaohs.

Standing beneath the moon in that desolate Valley of Dead Kings, for the first time, I think I （機の）カム to know all the littleness of Life and of the vanities of earth. Life, I saw, was but a dream; its ambitions and its joys were naught but dust. Those kings and those queens, some of them had been very 広大な／多数の／重要な in their day; the people worshipped them as gods and when they stretched out their sceptres, the world trembled. And now what were they? But 指名するs, if so much as a 指名する remained of them.

I saw a 広大な／多数の／重要な queen whose tomb some while before had been broken into by robbers, Persians or Greeks I was told. They had unrolled her mummy and stripped her of her 王室の ornaments and there she lay, she in whom had centred all the world's pomp, a little 黒人／ボイコット and withered thing, grinning at us from the dust, like a dead ape, a sight so strange and unhuman that the priest who guided us, a coarse fellow, broke into laughter. I remembered that laugh and afterward paid him 支援する for it, though he never knew whence his misfortune （機の）カム.

I, Ayesha, have many sins to my count and at that time was 十分な of faults, as perchance still I am to-day. Thus I was proud of my beauty and my genius which were given to me above any other woman; 熱烈な and revengeful, too, and led on by ambitions. Yet this I 断言する by all the gods of all the heavens, that ever in my secret self I have 始める，決める the spirit above the flesh and 願望（する）d to 達成する to another glory than that of earth. From the flesh （機の）カム my sins, because it was begotten of other flesh and the flesh is sin incarnate. Yet my soul sins not, because it comes from that which is sinless and, its 仕事s 遂行するd here, laden with knowledge and purified by 苦しむing, to this 宗教上の fount at last it shall return again. At the least such are my 約束 and hope.

So it （機の）カム about that there in the Valley of Dead Kings I swore myself to the worship of God (since all the gods are one God) and to use the world as a ladder whereby I might climb nearer to His 王位.

Thus I swore with old Noot for 証言，証人／目撃する, 公式文書，認めるing that he shook his wise 長，率いる and smiled a little at the 誓い. For if I forgot Aphrodite and the flesh, he remembered them, or perchance he to whom the 未来 spoke already guessed something of my 運命／宿命 which it was not lawful that he should tell. Also at that time I knew nothing of that everlasting King of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 who dwells in majesty beneath the 激しく揺するs of Kor, nor of his evil gifts. Least of all did I know that Noot himself was by 相続物件 and 任命 the 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

From Thebes we passed up Nile to Philae on the 小島 of Elephantine, where Mother Isis had her 宗教上の 聖域, and Nectanebes, the first of that 指名する, he who had sought me as a wife and now was not long dead, had begun to build a 寺 of より勝るing beauty to the goddess, which 寺 was 完全にするd in my time by his son, the second Nectanebes, he with whom I had to do and brought to nothingness.

Here I abode a year making final 準備s utterly to 公約する myself to the goddess. I kept the 急速な／放蕩なs, I purified my heart, I passed the 裁判，公判s and at length alone I seemed to die and descended into the 湾 of death and fled through the Halls of Death 追求するd by terrors, till I saw, or dreamed I saw, the goddess in her glory and fell swooning at her feet. More I may not say, even now that over two thousand years have passed since that 宗教上の hour of 恐れるs and victory, save this one thing which indeed has come to pass. When I arose from that swoon 確かな words were written on my mind, though whether the goddess whom I seemed to see or some spirit spoke them to me I do not know. These were the words:—

"Far to the south in this land of Libya beyond the 地域 of Punt, is an 古代の city, whence my worship （機の）カム ere Egypt had a people. Thither, Daughter of Isis, shalt thou 耐える it 支援する and there shalt thou blow upon it with thy breath and keep alive the 宗教上の 誘発する that at last is doomed to die upon the earth まっただ中に those snows which as yet no southern foot has trod. There, Daughter, in that fallen and 砂漠d land, my prophet Noot shall welcome thee. There shall he guard the Door of Life which of mortal women thou alone shalt pass. There shalt thou stain thy 手渡すs with 血, and there in 孤独 まっただ中に the tombs, with 涙／ほころびs from thy repentant 注目する，もくろむs, shalt thou wash thy sin away. Yet of the seed that thou sowest in 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in the womb of the world, thou shalt 得る the 収穫 upon the mountain 最高の，を越すs まっただ中に the snows."

Such were the words branded upon my memory when I awoke from the swoon after the night of 裁判，公判. Later I repeated them to Noot, my Master, praying him to read their meaning, which either he could not or would not do. He said, however, it was true that far to the south there stood a 広大な／多数の／重要な city, now a 廃虚 sparsely peopled, whence （機の）カム the first forefathers of the Egyptians thousands of years before the pyramids were built. He said also that he knew the road to that city by sea and by land, though how he knew it he would not tell. Nor would he 解釈する／通訳する the 残り／休憩（する） of those dream words. Yet, when I 悩ますd him with questions he said carelessly, as one who hazards a guess, that perchance the goddess meant that it would be my lot after its 落ちる or 汚職 in Egypt, to 耐える 支援する her worship to this its earlier home and there 設立する a 広大な／多数の／重要な nation of her servants. As to the "Door of Life" that I alone could pass, of which he was 指名するd the 後見人, and the "northern snows," he 宣言するd that he knew not what was meant by them, but doubtless these things would be made （疑いを）晴らす in their season.

So he spoke somewhat lightly, like one who humours a 脅すd child, as though he would make me think that I had but dreamed a dream. This indeed I （機の）カム to believe, as is the fashion of mankind 関心ing things that they cannot see or 扱う, however real those things may appear in the hour of their experience. For these in the end always we 令状 負かす／撃墜する as dreams, such as haunt us by the thousand in our sleep.

Yet now that two thousand years have gone by, I know that this dream was true. For is there not a city called Kor and was I not there doomed to find the Door of Life whereof Noot was 後見人? And did I not sin there and from 世代 to 世代 wash the 血 from off my 手渡すs with 涙／ほころびs of bitterest repentance, and afterward expiate that sin in loss and shame and agony? And lastly do I not 得る that 収穫 of 涙／ほころびs upon the mountain 最高の，を越すs まっただ中に the northern snows whither the spirit bore me, still 持つ／拘留するing in those 手渡すs the embers of the worship of that regnant Good who to us of the 古代の world was known as the 全世界の／万国共通の Mother to whom I swore myself in Philae's 寺s?

But enough of these things now; let them be spoken of in their season.

CHAPTER IV

THE KISS OF FATE

There （機の）カム a man to Philae. Watching from a pylon 最高の，を越す whither I had gone to pray alone, I saw him land upon the island and from far off 公式文書，認めるd that he was a godlike man, 覆う？ in armour such as the Greeks used, over which was thrown a ありふれた cloak, hooded as though to disguise him; one who had the 空気／公表する of a 軍人. At a distance from the 寺 gate he 停止（させる）d and looked 上向き as though something drew his ちらりと見ること to me standing high above him upon the pylon 最高の，を越す. I could not see his 直面する because of the 影をつくる／尾行する thrown by the 広大な／多数の／重要な 塀で囲むs behind which the sun was 沈むing, but doubtless he could see me 井戸／弁護士席 enough, whose 形態／調整 was 輪郭（を描く）d against the 隠す of golden light that must have touched me with its glory, though, as that light was behind me, my 直面する also would be hidden from him. At least he stood a little while as though amazed, 星／主役にするing 上向き 刻々と, then 屈服するd his 長，率いる and passed into the 寺, followed by men 耐えるing 重荷（を負わせる）s.

Some 巡礼者 to the 神社, I thought to myself, then turned my mind to other 事柄s, remembering that with men I had no more to do. Thus for the first time here in the 団体／死体, all unknowing, I looked upon Kallikrates and he looked on me, but often afterward I have thought that there was a 隠すd lesson or a parable in the fashion of this 会合.

For did I not stand far above him, 着せる／賦与するd in the glory of heaven's gold, and did he not stand far beneath in the gloom of the 影をつくる／尾行するs that lay upon the lowly earth, so that between us there was a space unclimbable? And has it not been ever thus throughout the centuries, for am I not still upon the pylon 最高の，を越す 覆う？ in the splendour of the spirit, and is he not still far beneath me wrapped with the 影をつくる／尾行するs of the flesh? And since as yet the secret of the pylon stair is hidden from him, must I not descend to earth if we would 会合，会う, leaving the light and my pride of place that I may walk 謙虚に with him in the 影をつくる／尾行する? And is it not often so between those that love, that one is 始める，決める far above the other, though still this rope of love draws them together, uplifting the one, or dragging 負かす／撃墜する the other?

The man passed into the 寺 and that night I heard he was a Grecian captain of high 血, one who though young had seen much service in the wars and done 広大な／多数の／重要な 行為s, Kallikrates by 指名する, who had come to 捜し出す the counsel of the goddess, bringing precious gifts of gold and Eastern silks, the spoil of 戦う／戦いs in which he had fought.

I asked why such an one sought the 知恵 of Isis, and was told that it was because his heart was troubled. It seemed that he had been dwelling at Pharaoh's 法廷，裁判所 as a captain of the Grecian guard, and that there he had quarrelled with and 殺害された one who was a brother to him, if indeed he were not his very brother. This ill 行為, it was said, preyed upon his soul and drove him into the 武器 of Mother Isis, 捜し出すing for 容赦 and that 慰安 which he could not find at the 手渡す of any of the gods of the Greeks.

Again I asked idly enough why this Kallikrates had killed his familiar friend or his brother, whichever it might be. The answer was—because of some 高度に placed maiden whom both of them loved, so that they fought from jealousy, after the fashion of men. For this 推論する／理由 the life of Kallikrates was held to be 没収される によれば the 厳しい 軍の 法律 of the Grecian 兵士s, and he must 飛行機で行く. Also the 行為 had （名声などを）汚すd that 広大な／多数の／重要な lady's 指名する; also his heart was broken with 悔恨 and hither he （機の）カム to pray Isis to mend it of her mercy, he who had forsaken the world.

The tale moved me a little, but again I cast it from my mind, for are not such things ありふれた の中で men? Always the story is the same: two men and a woman, or two women and a man, and 流血／虐殺 and 悔恨 and memories which will not die and the cry for 容赦 that is so hard to find.

Yes, I cast it from my mind, 説 lightly—oh! those evil-omened words—that doubtless his own 血 in a day to come would 支払う／賃金 for that which he had spilt.

For a while, some months indeed, this Grecian Kallikrates 消えるd from my sight and even from my thoughts, save when, from time to time, I heard of him as 熟考する／考慮するing the Mysteries の中で the priests, having, it was said, 決定するd to 放棄する the world and be sworn to the service of the goddess. Noot told me that he was very earnest in this design and made 広大な／多数の／重要な 進歩 in the 約束, which pleased the priests who 願望（する）d above all things to 変える those that served Grecian gods with whom the deities of Egypt, and above all Isis, were at war. Therefore they 急いでd his 準備 so that as soon as might be he should be bound to the Heavenly Queen by 社債s that could not be loosed.

At length his 急速な／放蕩なs and 指示／教授／教育 were 完全にするd; his 裁判，公判s had been passed and the hour （機の）カム when he must make his last 自白 to the goddess and 断言する the awful 誓いs to her very self.

Now since Isis did not descend to earth to stand 直面する to 直面する with every neophyte, it was necessary in this 広大な／多数の／重要な 儀式 that one filled with her spirit should take her place and as may be guessed, that one was I, Ayesha the Arab. To speak truth, in all Egypt, because of my beauty, my learning, and the grace that was given to me, there was 非，不，無 so fitting to wear her mantle as myself. Indeed afterward this was 定評のある when, with a 選び出す／独身 発言する／表明する, the Colleges of her servants throughout the land, men and women together, 促進するd me to be her high-priestess, and gave me, who aforetime の中で them was known by the 肩書を与える of 知恵's Daughter, the new 指名する of Isis-come-to--earth, or in shorter words, The Isis. For my own 指名する of Ayesha I kept hid lest it should be discovered that I was that chieftainess, the child of Yarab, who had 敗北・負かすd the army of Nectanebes.

Therefore at a 確かな hour of the night, draped in the 宗教上の 式服s, wearing on my brow the vulture cap and the bent symbol of the moon, 持つ／拘留するing in my 手渡す the sistrum and the cross of Life, I was 行為／行うd to the 中心存在d 聖域 and seated alone upon the 王位 of blackest marble, with the 一連の会議、交渉／完成する symbol of the world for my footstool.

Thus, having learned my part and the 古代の hallowed words that I must say, I sat awhile wondering in my heart whether Isis herself could be more glorious or more fair. So indeed did the priests and priestesses who saw me thus arrayed and bent the 膝 to me as though I were the very goddess, which in truth many of the humbler の中で them half believed.

Thus I sat in the moonlight that flowed from the unroofed hall beyond, while the carven gods watched me with their 静かな 注目する，もくろむs.

At length I heard the sound of footsteps whereon there （機の）カム a priestess and flung over me the white 隠す of innocence sewn with golden 星／主役にするs that until the 任命するd moment must hide Isis from her worshipper. The priestess withdrew and, wrapped in the dark, hooded 式服 that 示す the stained flesh about to be cast away, which hid all of him so that his 直面する could not be seen, （機の）カム that tall neophyte led by two priests who held his 権利 手渡す and his left. I 公式文書，認めるd those 手渡すs because they were so white against the blackness of the 式服, and even by the moonlight saw that they were beautiful, long and thin and shapely, though the palm of one, the 権利, was somewhat broadened as though by long 扱うing of the 道具s of war.

The priests led him to the 入り口 of the 神社 and in hushed whispers bade him ひさまづく upon a footstool and make his sacrifice and 自白 to the goddess as he had been taught to do. Then they 出発／死d leaving us alone.

There followed silence which at length I broke, whispering,

"Who is this that comes to visit the Mother in her earthly 神社 and what is his 祈り to the Queen of Heaven and Earth?"

Though I spoke so gently and so low, perhaps because of their very sweetness, my words seemed to 脅す him, or perhaps he believed that he stood in the very presence of the goddess; at least he answered in a 発言する／表明する that trembled,

"O 宗教上の Queen adored, in the world I was 指名するd Kallikrates the comely. But the priests, O Queen, have given me a new 指名する, and it is, Lover-of-Isis."

"And what have you to say to Isis, O Lover-of-Isis?"

"O Queen eternal, I have to tell my sins and ask her 容赦 for them, I who have passed the 裁判，公判s and am 受託するd by her servants. If it is 認めるd, then to her I must make the 誓い, binding myself eternally to love and serve her, her and no other in heaven or on earth."

"始める，決める out those sins, O Lover-of-Isis, that my Majesty may 裁判官 of them, whether they can be forgiven or are beyond forgiveness," I answered in the words of the 任命するd ritual.

Then he began and told a tale that made me redden behind my 隠す, for all of it had to do with women, and never before had I learned what wantons those Greeks could be. Also he told of men whom he had 殺害された in war, one of them in the 戦う／戦い against my tribe, in which strangely enough it seemed he had fought as a lad, for this man was a 広大な／多数の／重要な 軍人. Of these 殺人，大当りs, however, I took no account, because they had been of those who were the enemies of himself or of his 原因（となる）.

In 厳しい silence I listened, 公式文書，認めるing that save for these 事柄s of light love and fightings, the man seemed innocent enough, for in his story there was naught of baseness or of betrayal. Moreover, it seemed that he was one in whom the spirit had striven against the flesh, and who, however much his feet were 絡まるd in the poisonous snares of earth, from time to time had 始める，決める his 注目する，もくろむs on Heaven.

At length he paused and I asked of him,

"Is the 黒人／ボイコット count finished? Tell now the truth and dare to 持つ／拘留する nothing 支援する from the goddess who 公式文書，認めるs all."

"Nay, O Queen," he answered, "the worst is yet to come. I （機の）カム to Egypt as a captain of the Grecian guard that watches the House of Pharaoh at Sais. With me （機の）カム another man, my half-brother, for our father was the same, with whom I was brought up and loved as never I loved any other man, and who loved me. He was a glorious 軍人, though some held that I was more handsome in my person, Tisisthenes by 指名する, that in my Grecian tongue in which I speak means the Avenger. Thus he was called because my father, whose first-born he was, 願望（する）d that he might grow up to work vengeance upon the Persians who slew his father 指名するd like myself, Kallikrates, the most beauteous Spartan that was ever born. Foully they slew him before the 戦う／戦い of Plataea, whilst he was 補佐官ing the 広大な／多数の／重要な Pausanius to make sacrifice to the gods. This Tisisthenes my brother I killed with my own 手渡す."

"For what 原因（となる） did you kill him?"

"There was a 王室の maiden at that 法廷，裁判所, one fairer than any woman has been, is, or will be—ask not her 指名する, O Mother, though doubtless it is known to you already. This lady both of us saw at the same time and by the 法令 of Aphrodite both of us loved. As it chanced it was I who won her favour, not my brother. We were 秘かに調査するd upon; the tale was told; trouble fell upon that 王室の maiden who, when she should be old enough, was sworn in marriage to a distant king. To save her 指名する she made 否定, as we must do. She swore there was naught between her and me, and to 証明する it turned her 直面する from me and toward my brother. I （機の）カム upon them together in a garden. She had plucked a flower which she gave to him and he kissed the 手渡す that held the flower. She saw me and fled away. I, maddened with jealousy, smote my beloved brother in the 直面する and 軍隊d him to fight with me. We fought. He guarded himself but ill, as though he cared nothing of the end of that fray. I 削減（する） him 負かす／撃墜する. He lay before me dying, but ere he died, he spoke:

"'This is a very evil 商売／仕事,' he said. 'Know Kallikrates, my most beloved brother, that what you saw in the garden between that 王室の maid and myself was but a 陰謀（を企てる） to save you both, since その為に I 目的d to take on to my own 長，率いる the 負わせる of your transgression against the 法律 of this land, because she prayed it and it was my wish. This I have done, and for this 推論する／理由 I 苦しむd you to 殺す me, though during that fight twice I could have pierced you, because you were blinded with 激怒（する） and forgot your swordsmanship. Now it will be said that you 設立する me 追求するing this 王室の maiden and rightly slew me によれば your 義務 and that it was I who loved her and not you, as has been 一般的に 報告（する）／憶測d. Yet in truth I love her 井戸／弁護士席 and am glad to die because it was to you that her heart turned and not to me; also because その為に I save both her and you. Yet, Kallikrates, my brother, the gods give me 知恵 and foresight in this the hour of my death, and I say that you will do 井戸／弁護士席 to have done with this lady and all women, and to 捜し出す 残り／休憩（する） in the bosom of the gods, since, if you do not, 広大な／多数の／重要な trouble will come upon you, and through this same 悪口を言う／悪態 of jealousy such a death as 地雷 shall be yours also. Now let us who are the 犠牲者s of 運命／宿命 kiss each other on the brow as we used to do when we were children, playing together in the happy fields of Greece, from whom death was yet a long way off, 許すing each other all and hoping that we may 会合，会う once more in the 地域 of the Shades.'

"So we embraced, and my brother Tisisthenes gave up his spirit in my 武器 and looking on him I wished that I were dead in his place. Then as I turned to go the 兵士s of our company 設立する me and seeing that I had 殺害された my brother, would have brought me to 裁判，公判, not because we had fought together, but because he was my superior in 階級 and therefore I who, 存在 under his 命令（する）, drew sword on him, by the 法律 of the Greeks, must die. Yet before I could be put upon my 裁判，公判, some of those who loved me and guessed the truth of the 商売／仕事 thrust me out of our （軍の）野営地，陣営 disguised, with all the treasure that I had won in war, bidding me hide myself awhile till the 事柄 was forgotten. O Queen, I did not 願望（する） to go; nay, I 願望（する）d to stay and to 支払う／賃金 the price of my sin. But they would not have it so. I think indeed that there were others behind, 広大な／多数の／重要な ones of Egypt, moving in this 事柄; at least I was thrust 前へ／外へ, all 存在 made 平易な for me, and all 注目する，もくろむs growing blind."

Again he paused, and I, Ayesha, 着せる／賦与するd as the goddess, asked,

"And what did you then, you who could 殺す you brother for the sake of a woman?"

"Then, Divine One, I fled up Nile, where, because of the trouble that was in the land, Pharaoh's arm could not reach me, nor the arm of the 指揮官 of the Greeks. Tarrying not and without speech with that high maiden who was the 原因（となる） of my sin, I fled up Nile."

"Why did you 飛行機で行く up Nile and not 支援する to your own people, O most sinful man?"

"Because my heart is broken, Queen, and I 願望（する）d to 捜し出す the mercy of Isis whose 法律 I had learned already and to become her priest. I knew that those who 屈服する themselves to her may look no more on woman, but thenceforth must live virgin to the death, and it was my will to look no more on woman, since woman had stained my 手渡すs with a brother's 血, and therefore I hated her."

Now I, Ayesha, asked,

"What gods did you worship before your heart was turned to Isis, Queen of Heaven?"

"I worshipped the gods of Greece and first の中で them Aphrodite, Lady of Love."

"Who has paid you 井戸／弁護士席 for your service, making of you a 殺害者 of one of your own 血 who, before she blinded your 注目する，もくろむs, was more to you than any on the earth. Do you then 放棄する this wanton Aphrodite?"

"Aye, Queen, I 放棄する her for ever. Never more will I 申し込む／申し出 at her altars or look on woman in the way of love. If I may have 容赦 for my sins, here and now I 公約する myself to Isis as her faithful priest and servant. Here and now I blot the 指名する of Aphrodite from my heart; yea, I 拒絶する her gifts and tread 負かす／撃墜する all her memories beneath my aspiring feet that at last shall 耐える my soul to peace."

Thus the man spoke in a quivering and earnest 発言する／表明する, and was silent. Yes, 深い silence 統治するd in that 宗教上の place, whilst I, Ayesha, although it is true that as a woman I misdoubted me of such 無分別な 誓いs, as the 大臣 of the goddess, 用意が出来ている myself to 認める 容赦 to this 探検者 in the hallowed, immemorial words, and to open to his troubled heart the doors of 潔白 and 残り／休憩（する） eternal.

Then suddenly in that silence 明確に I heard the sound of silvern laughter, soft, 甘い laughter that seemed to come from the skies above and though it was so low to fill the 神社 and all the hall beyond. I looked about me but could see naught. It would seem, too, that the Greek heard also, for he turned his 長，率いる and looked behind him, then once more let it 落ちる upon his 手渡すs.

Whence （機の）カム that sound? Could it be that she of Paphos—? Nay, it was impossible, and not thus would I be turned from my office, I who was 着せる／賦与するd with the 式服 and for that hour （権力などを）行使するd the might of Isis.

"Hearken, O man, in the world 指名するd Kallikrates," I said. "On に代わって of Isis, the All-Mother, goddess of virtue and of 知恵, speaking with her 発言する／表明する, 審理，公聴会 with her ears, and filled with her soul, I wash you clean of all your sins and 受託する you as her priest, 約束ing you light 重荷（を負わせる）s on the earth and beyond the earth 広大な／多数の／重要な rewards for ever. First 断言する the 誓い that may not be broken, and then draw 近づく that I may kiss you on the brow, 受託するing you as the slave and lover of Isis, from this day until the moon, her heavenly 王位, shall 崩壊する into nothingness."

Having spoken thus, letting the words 落ちる one by one, slowly as the 涙／ほころびs of the penitent fell upon the ground, I uttered the 誓い, the form of which even now I must not 令状.

It was a dreadful 誓い covering all things, and binding him who took it to Isis alone, an 誓い that if it were forgot wrought upon the 反逆者 the agelong doom of death in this world and woe in the worlds to come, till by slow steps, with pierced heart and bleeding feet, the 宗教上の 高さ from which he had fallen should be climbed again.

At length it was finished and he said faintly,

"I 断言する! With 恐れる and trembling still I 断言する!"

Then I beckoned to him with the sistrum of which the little shaken bells make a faint 説得力のある music that already he had learned to follow, and he （機の）カム and ひさまづくd before me. There I laid the Cross of Life upon his 長，率いる and gave him blessing, laid it upon his lips and gave him 知恵, laid it upon his heart and gave him 存在 for thousands upon thousands of years. All these things I did in the 指名する and with the strength of Isis the Mother.

（機の）カム the last 儀式, the 迎える／歓迎するing of the Mother to her child new-born in spirit, the 儀式 of the Kiss of welcome. At that moment 最高の a light fell on me from above: perchance it （機の）カム from Heaven, perchance it was an art of the watching priests; I do not know. At least it fell upon me illumining my glittering 式服s and jewelled headdress with a soft splendour in the 不明瞭 of that 神社. At that moment, too, at a touch my 隠す fell 負かす／撃墜する, so that the moonlight struck 十分な upon my 直面する making it mystical and lovely in the でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる of my flowing hair.

The priest new-任命するd 解除するd his bent 長，率いる that I might consecrate his brow with the Kiss of welcome, and his hood fell 支援する. The moonlight shone on his 直面する also, his beautiful 直面する like to that of a sculptured Grecian god, shapely, 罰金-featured, large-注目する，もくろむd, and 栄冠を与えるd with little golden curls—for as yet he was unshorn; yes, a 直面する more beautiful than that which I had seen on any man, 始める，決める above a 軍人's tall and sinewy form.

By Isis! I knew this 直面する; it was that which had haunted me from childhood, that which often I had seen in a dream of halls beyond the earth, that of a man who in this dream had been sworn to me to 完全にする my womanhood. Oh! I could not 疑問, it was the same, the very same, and looking on it, the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Aphrodite fell upon me and for the first time I knew the madness of our mortal flesh. Yea, my 存在 was rent and 粉々にするd like a cedar beneath the 雷 一打／打撃; I was smitten through and through. I, the priestess of Isis, proud and pure, was as lost as any village maid within her lover's 武器.

The man, too! He saw me and his 面 changed; the 宗教上の fervour went out of his 注目する，もくろむs and into them entered something more human, something more fateful. It was as though he, too, remembered—I know not what.

With a mighty 成果／努力 of the will, aware that the 注目する，もくろむs of the goddess and perchance of her priests also were upon me, I 征服する／打ち勝つd myself and with （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing heart and heaving breast bent 負かす／撃墜する to touch his brow with the Kiss of 儀式. Yet, I know not how—I know not if the fault were his or 地雷 or perchance of both of us—it was his lips I touched, not his brow, just touched them and no more.

It was nothing, or at any 率 but a little thing, in one instant come and gone, and yet to me it was all. For in that touch I broke my 宗教上の 公約するs, and he, new-sworn to the worship of the goddess, broke his, yes, in the very 行為／法令／行動する of sacrifice. What drove us to it? I do not know, but once again I thought I heard that low, 勝利を得た laughter, and it （機の）カム into my mind that we were the sport of an indomitable 力／強力にする greater than ourselves and all the 誓いs that mortals 断言する to gods or men.

I waved my sceptre. The new-made priest arose, 屈服するd and withdrew, I wondering of whom he was the priest—of Isis or of Aphrodite. The singing of a distant choir broke out upon the silence, the heirophants （機の）カム and led him away to be of their company till his death: the 儀式 was ended. My attendants, arrayed as the goddesses Hathor and Nut, 行為／行うd me from the 神社. I was unrobed of my sacred panoplies and once more from a goddess became a woman, and as a woman I sought my couch and wept and wept.

For had I not at the first 誘惑 in my heart broken the 法律 and betrayed the 信用 of her who, as then I believed, is and was and shall be; her whose 隠す no mortal man had 解除するd, the Mother of the sun and all its 星／主役にするs?

CHAPTER V

THE SUMMONS

非，不，無 knew my fault. Yet I knew, and what is known to one soul is known to all souls, since one is all and all are one. Moreover, it was known to That which begets souls, That from which they come and to which they return again, again to come, as Plato, the 広大な／多数の／重要な philosopher, who died before my day, has taught us in his writings. Also it was known to that accursed priest who was the 原因（となる） and partner of my 罪，犯罪. I was 打ち勝つ; I was eaten up with shame, I who thought myself purer than the mountain snows, as indeed I was and, in the flesh, to this hour have remained.

Soon I could no longer 耐える my torment. To Noot I went, Noot the high- priest, my counsellor and master, and in a secret place ひさまづくing on my 膝s, there I told him all.

He hearkened with a little smile upon his withered 直面する, then answered,

"Daughter, in your honesty you do but 明らかにする／漏らす that which I knew—how I knew it 事柄s not. And now take 慰安, since the 非難する is not altogether yours, or even that of this new-made priest, whose foot was caught in the same snare. You worship Isis, as I do, but what is Isis whom we portray on earth as a woman glorious above all women? Is she not Nature's self, the 全世界の／万国共通の Mother, the 最高の in whom all gods and goddesses have a part? She wars on Aphrodite, it is true, yet does not that mean that in verity she wars upon herself? And are we not as Isis is, not one but many 注ぐd into a 選び出す／独身 mould, for do we not all war upon ourselves? Believe me, Daughter, the human heart is a 広大な／多数の／重要な battleground where the higher and the lower parts of us fight with spiritual spears and arrows, till one 味方する or the other 勝利，勝つs victory and hoists the 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する of good or evil, or Isis or of 始める，決める. Only out of a struggle comes perfectness; that which has never struggled is a dead creature from whom little may be hoped. The 鉱石 must be melted in the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and lo! the most of it is dross, 辞退する to be thrown away. Had it never known the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, there could be no pure gold to adorn the brows of Heaven, nor even 巡査 and アイロンをかける to 形態／調整 the swords of men. Rejoice, then, that you have felt the 傷つける of 解雇する／砲火／射撃."

"Master," I answered, "Lord of 知恵 to whom alone Ayesha 屈服するs the 膝, your words are true and comfortable, yet bethink you, and if it is permitted, 解釈する／通訳する me this riddle. I dreamed a dream of the time before my earthly days—you know it 井戸／弁護士席 for I have told it to you. I dreamed of a place in Heaven and of two goddesses matched against each other and of a 命令（する） that was laid upon me to bring woe upon those who had 砂漠d the one and turned to the other. Now if they were parts of a 選び出す／独身 whole, why should this 命令（する） be laid upon me?"

"Daughter, in your dream you were 任命するd to be a Sword of Vengeance, not because the Egyptians turned from one part of the 宗教上の まとまり to another part of that まとまり, but because they have become corrupt and faithless, worshipping no gods save themselves and に引き続いて after that which is low, not that which is high. Such is my answer, yet of the truth or the falsehood of that dream I say nothing. Perchance it was but a dream."

"Perchance, Master. Yet in that dream, true or 誤った, I saw a 直面する, and lo! a few nights gone I, draped as Isis in the 神社, I saw that 直面する again and knew it; knew also that with it my 運命／宿命 is intertwined. What of this?"

"Daughter, who are we that we should read the mysteries of 運命／宿命, we who know not whence we come nor whither we go, nor what we have been, nor why we are? It may be that you have some 使節団 toward the spirit that is 着せる／賦与するd in the flesh of yonder man. It may be that you are 運命にあるd to uplift that spirit, and in so doing yourself to be trodden 負かす／撃墜する. If so, I say that in the end you shall rise again and 耐える him 上向き with you."

He paused, and I knelt silent, pondering the prophecy, for such I knew it 井戸／弁護士席 to be. Then again he spoke,

"You heard a laughter in the 神社, yet there was no laughter save that of the evil in your own heart, mocking and 勝利を得た. Such laughter mayhap you will often hear, but while you can hear it and repent, be not 狼狽d. When the ears of the soul grow deaf then utter loss is 近づく; while they are open, hope remains. Those who still 努力する／競う can never wholly 落ちる. 運命／宿命 支配するs us every one, yet within the circle of that 運命／宿命 力／強力にする is given to us to work out our redemption. I have finished. Ask me no more."

"What 罰, Master?" I asked.

"Daughter, this. For a while look no more upon that man. I say for a while, since with you I 持つ／拘留する that his 運命 and yours are intertwined. I have a 命令（する） for you: that presently you …を伴って me hence to lands beyond the seas. Now, go 残り／休憩（する）, and in 残り／休憩（する） find forgetfulness."

So I went, wondering yet 慰安d, though I knew 井戸／弁護士席 that Noot the 宗教上の had not told me all, no, nor yet the half of what he knew. For often those to whom the gods give 見通し are forbid to speak it, lest, as in the old Hebrew parable, men should eat of the tree of knowledge and grow like to them. Or perchance they cannot speak it, since it comes to them in a tongue which may not be （判決などを）下すd in the words that the passer-by would understand. So indeed it is with me to-day.

Thus it （機の）カム about that soon I and my master, Noot, left Philae and as before travelled the Nile disguised. Never since then have my 注目する，もくろむs looked upon that island and its 宗教上の fane which Holly, who has visited it, tells me is now a 廃虚 with stark, Hathor-長，率いるd columns standing here and there amongst the 宙返り／暴落するd 石／投石するs. He says, moreover, that his people who 支配する the land to-day 目的 to 沈む it beneath the Nile that the lands below may be 濃厚にするd and multiplied. Herein I see an allegory; the 寺s of Isis are 溺死するd and the learning they held is lost in order that more food may grow to 料金d the ありふれた and the ignorant. Yet to what end, seeing that if there is more food, more men will come to eat it, all of them ありふれた and ignorant, while Isis and her 知恵 are swallowed in the わずかな／ほっそりした. Thus has it ever been in Egypt, and doubtless どこかよそで, for such is Nature's 法律. Food 産む／飼育するs multitudes and where carrion is, there are 飛行機で行くs, while in the 砂漠s both are 欠如（する）ing. Yet I think that the 砂漠s and the few that wander on them beneath the sun and 星／主役にするs are nearer far to God.

Once more disguised as merchants, I and Noot, my master, took ship and visited far lands to see their 明言する／公表する and gather 知恵. We visited Rome, then breaking her shackles and rising to her greatness. They were a 広大な／多数の／重要な people, those Romans that Noot out of his foresight told me would one day 支配する the world. Or perhaps it was I who told Noot, 裁判官ing them by their 質s; I am not sure. At least I loved them not, because of their rude natures, their 欠如（する） of arts and their love of 力／強力にする and 伸び（る）. Therefore when I had 熟考する／考慮するd their language and their politics I passed on.

We （機の）カム to Greece and tarried there awhile, 熟考する／考慮するing philosophies and other things. The Greeks I did love, because they were beautiful and called 前へ／外へ beauty from all they touched. Also they were 勇敢に立ち向かう who 反抗するd the Persian might and had they but stood together, might have queened it on the earth. But they would not, for ever 明言する／公表する tore out the throat of 明言する／公表する, so that in the end all were undone and 圧倒するd by a multitude of commoner folk who held Greece before them, for such was their 運命. Moreover, they worshipped gods made like themselves, with all the faults of men grown greater and more vile, and told fables 関心ing them fit to please children, which I thought strange in a people that could produce such philosophers and poets. Yet those gods had come 負かす／撃墜する to them from their fathers, and it is hard to shake off the yoke of gods until some greater god appears and breaks it with the 大打撃を与える of war.

Here in Greece it was that I 提起する／ポーズをとるd to its most famous sculptor for a statue of Aphrodite, or rather it was as a mould of perfect Womanhood that I 提起する／ポーズをとるd, 願望（する）ing that this sculptor, who pleased me, should have one flawless model to copy in his 未来 work, for which he blessed me, 指名するing that statue "Beauty's Self." Yet when I visited him a while afterward I 設立する that he had changed this 指名する to Aphrodite.

I was 怒り／怒るd who did not 願望（する） that my loveliness should be 信じる／認定／派遣するd to 地雷 enemy and that of Isis whom I served, and asked him why this had been done.

He answered, 謙虚に enough, because of a dream in which the Paphian had appeared to him and 脅すd him with blindness unless he gave her own 指名する to so divine a 直面する and form. Moreover, 存在 in the thrall of superstition he prayed me, even with 涙／ほころびs, that thus it might remain, since さもなければ he must break that statue and as he thought, be blinded 同様に. So out of pity I let him have his way and even gave him my 手渡す to kiss in 記念品 of forgiveness.

Thus it comes about that Aphrodite unashamed throughout the ages has taken the 尊敬の印 of a million 注目する，もくろむs, 着せる／賦与するd in a borrowed loveliness. So be it, since what she has stolen is but a fraction of the truth. No sculptor, however 広大な／多数の／重要な, can mould the perfect out of frozen 石／投石する.

From Greece, still disguised as a merchant and his daughter, we wandered to Jerusalem, feigning to 貿易（する） in pearls and gems, since there I would 熟考する／考慮する the 宗教 of the Jews whereof I had heard so much. The "City of Peace" it was called の中で the Egyptians of old times, or so they 解釈する／通訳するd its 指名する, but never 設立する I one in which there was いっそう少なく of peace. 猛烈な／残忍な-直面するd were those Jews and quarrelsome; revengeful too and ever 行うing war, public and 私的な, upon one another. A peculiar people, as they 指名する themselves, 十分な of hate, 特に of the stranger within their gates. To 貿易（する） with them was scarcely possible, because he who sold them wares was always left the loser, though for this I who sought their philosophy, not their gold, cared nothing.

So I turned myself to the 熟考する／考慮する of their 約束, and 設立する that God, as they 解釈する／通訳するd Him, was 井戸／弁護士席-nigh as 猛烈な／残忍な as were his worshippers. Yet this I will say, that He was one God, not many, and a true God also, since さもなければ how could his prophets have written so gloriously 関心ing Him? Moreover, it was their belief that He would come to earth and lead them to the conquest of the world. This, Holly tells me, has chanced though not in the 形態／調整 they hoped, since the King who （機の）カム would have led them but to the conquest of the evil that is in the hearts of men and to the knowledge of a life to be, in which they had small 約束. Therefore they 迫害するd and slew Him as a malefactor after their cruel fashion, and what is now 受託するd by millions, so says Holly, they still 拒絶する.

I preached to them, for my heart 燃やすd in me at the sight of their sacrifices. Yes, I preached to them against the shedding of 血, telling them of a higher philosophy of gentleness and mercy. For a while they listened, then took up 石／投石するs and 石／投石するd me, so that had I and Noot not been 保護するd by Heaven, we should have been 殺害された. After this affront I turned my 支援する upon Jerusalem and its hook-nosed, 猛烈な／残忍な-注目する，もくろむd people, and went to Cyprus where I 審議d with the lewd priests of Aphrodite at Paphos. Thence I got me 支援する to Egypt whence I had been absent many years.

At Naukratis priests of Isis who knew of our coming, how I cannot tell, perchance Noot had told them by messenger, or in a dream as he could do, met us and 行為／行うd us up the Nile to the 寺 of Isis at Memphis. Here we were received in 明言する／公表する in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall of the 寺 and lo! at the 長，率いる of those who welcomed us was the Greek Kallikrates, now by his holiness and zeal risen high in the service of the goddess.

When I saw him, beauteous as of old, my heart stood still and the 血 急ぐd to my brow.

Yet I gave no 調印する, 扱う／治療するing him as a stranger on whom my 注目する，もくろむs had never fallen until that hour. He for his part 星／主役にするd at me with a puzzled 空気／公表する, then shook his 長，率いる as one does who sees a 直面する that he believes he has met in dream and yet is doubtful. For be it remembered, this man had looked on me but once, when 式服d as Isis I received him into the company of her priests at Philae, and then but for a moment in the light of the moon. Perchance he still thought that it was the goddess herself whom he saw thus and not a mortal. At the least he did not know that I, the beauteous prophetess who （機の）カム to Memphis after wanderings through the world, was the same as she who had sat upon the 王位 of Isis at Philae and whom by chance he had kissed upon the lips. Mayhap even he did not remember the kiss, or if he remembered, 始める，決める it 負かす／撃墜する as part of the 儀式の. Thus, if I knew him but too 井戸／弁護士席, to him I was a stranger.

I bethought me of flight, knowing in my heart that to me this man was as the fabled sword that hung above the 長，率いる of Damocles, though what 害（を与える） I had to 恐れる from him, I did not know.

Again I sought the counsel of Noot who smiled and answered,

"Have I not told you, Daughter, that 危険，危なくするs must be 直面するd since those from which we 逃げる will be swift to 追いつく us? If 運命 has brought you and this man together, be 確かな that it is for its own 目的s. Surely you have learned your lesson and steeled your soul against all fleshly vanities."

"Yes, my Father," I answered proudly, "I have learned my lesson and steeled my soul. Moreover, your thought is my thought, nor will I turn my 支援する on any man. Here I 企て，努力，提案, 反抗するing woman's 証拠不十分 and all the wiles of evil gods."

"井戸／弁護士席 spoken," answered Noot, and blessed me in the 古代の words. Yet as he did so I noticed that he sighed and shook his 長，率いる.

For many a moon, I know not how many who, having all time at my 命令（する）, seem to have lost its petty count, I remained there in the 寺 at Memphis of which soon I became the prophetess and the 長，率いる of the priestesses. Ere long the fame of my divinations spread far and wide, so that from all the land those who sought 知恵 or knowledge of the 未来 would come to 協議する me, bringing 広大な／多数の／重要な gifts to the goddess, though not one gem or piece of gold did Noot and I keep for ourselves, who indeed had no need of such ありふれた dross.

So I sat in a carven 議長，司会を務める in the 聖域, my diviner's bowl at my 味方する, and uttered dark 説s like to those of the famous oracles of the Greeks at Delphi, many of which 実行するd themselves. For in truth, I think that there was a spirit in me—whether it （機の）カム from the Heavens or どこかよそで I do not know—which enabled me to read much that was passing upon the earth and even いつかs that which had not yet happened upon the earth. So the renown of the Lady Isis spread till I became a 力／強力にする in the land. Moreover, thus I learned many things, for those who 協議する an oracle, like those who 捜し出す the help of a 内科医, lay 明らかにする their souls, keeping no secret 支援する.

Now at this time Egypt and all the countries 一連の会議、交渉／完成する seethed with war like a マリファナ boiling on the 炎上s. For years Egypt had beaten off the attacks of the Persians, but now the Pharaoh Nectanebes, the second of that 指名する who then sat upon the 王位, the last native king who 統治するd upon the Nile, was 脅すd by Artaxerxes, that one of this accursed race who as 指名するd Ochus. This Persian Ochus had gathered a mighty 軍隊 to subdue Egypt, hundreds of thousands of men, tens of thousands of horsemen, hundreds of triremes and of 輸送（する） ships.

The last 行為／法令／行動する of the 悲劇 had begun of which the end was to be the 鎮圧するing of Egypt who never more should know a Pharaoh of her own 血 and choosing. Of all these things I learned through those who （機の）カム to 協議する the oracle of Isis, and much did I talk of them with Noot.

Now of myself during these long years of 静かな and 準備 for 広大な／多数の／重要な events, I will say that the things of earth behind me, I grew nearer to the Divine, and in the night time I communed with my soul which seemed to have become a part of that which is above the world. The Greek, Kallikrates, I saw continually, but no word passed between us save such as had to do with 事柄s of our 約束 and of the worship of Isis in whose service he now stood high. Never did we 交換 a touch or a look of love. He was apart from me and I from him. And yet always in my heart I 恐れるd this man, this beautiful man, the 軍人 who had become a priest, for some prescience told me that he would bring 災害 on my 長，率いる, or I should bring it upon his, I knew not which.

So there we sat in the 聖域, Noot the wise and 老年の, who yet never seemed to change, Kallikrates the priest, and I, and alone or together gave counsel to kings and captains, or uttered oracles. （疑いを）晴らす seemed our sky and 解放する／自由な from trouble, yet on the far horizon in my spirit I discerned the tempest clouds arising, the terrible clouds in which the 雷s played like the swords of 運命 that in a day to come were doomed to 圧倒する and pierce us through.

Nectanebes the second, the Pharaoh, （機の）カム to his palace at Memphis to gather 軍隊／機動隊s from Upper Egypt and made 広大な／多数の／重要な offerings to the gods, 捜し出すing their favour in the coming war. Now I saw him for the first time, a gray-haired, fat, 激しい-jowled man, bald-長，率いるd, large-nosed, with 広大な／多数の／重要な 注目する，もくろむs like to those of an ox. Such as Nectanebes, the magician, the consorter with familiar spirits, 指名するd the 破壊者, a 肩書を与える which the gods who hated him must have given him in irony since himself he was doomed to be destroyed. But one good thing can I say of this Nectanebes, that he was a lover of the arts and raised glorious buildings to the gods. Learning that I, the high-priestess, had dwelt at Philae, he （機の）カム to 協議する me as to the beautiful 寺 with the Hathor-長，率いるd columns which he built there and through my counsel it was made perfect, for I drew its 計画（する）s, or at least those of its adornments. Holly tells me that even as a 廃虚, although so small, there is no lovelier building in all Egypt.

Now this Pharaoh thought me a Greek and did not know that I was an Arab and the daughter of him of Ozal in Yaman, whom his father, the first Nectanebes, had brought to his death because once long ago I had been 辞退するd as a wife to himself or to this son of his who now had 後継するd him. Of these things doubtless he remembered little or nothing, since that was one of the smallest of Egypt's wars. But I, I remembered and swore that in 支払い（額） for my father's 血 I would bring his accursed House to 廃虚. Always also I received him 隠すd since I did not 願望（する） that he should look upon my beauty and 問い合わせ 関心ing my history; therefore, as a prophetess had a 権利 to do, I received the Pharaoh 隠すd.

Often he （機の）カム to visit me because he had learned that I was a mistress of 魔法 and he who practised 魔法 much hoped that I would teach him secrets he did not know, and show him how to lay （一定の）期間s upon his enemies. This indeed I did, but the secrets that I taught him were evil and the （一定の）期間s were spears that when he threw them would 落ちる 支援する upon his 長，率いる.

So the scene was 始める，決める, and at length （機の）カム the 召喚するs to begin the play with the watching world for audience.

A 令状ing 調印（する）d with Pharaoh's 調印（する） was brought to the 寺 of Isis, 命令（する）ing Noot the high-priest and me, Ayesha, who now was 指名するd Oracle-of-Isis, and the Greek Kallikrates, 長，指導者 of the 儀式s, whose office it was to 補助装置 me in my divinations, to …に出席する the 法廷，裁判所 of Pharaoh and there 宣言する to him the 未来 of the war as it should be 明らかにする／漏らすd to us by the 広大な／多数の／重要な goddess whom we served. At first we 辞退するd to go, whereon there （機の）カム another message which said that if we continued to 辞退する, we should be brought. The Pharaoh wished to 申し込む／申し出 no affront to Isis, the messenger 宣言するd, but the 事柄 was 緊急の, as 広大な／多数の／重要な things hung upon the 発覚s which we alone could make, and some of the kings and generals who were gathered in the 寺 as 同盟（する）s of Nectanebes, 存在 the worshippers of other gods, could not 始める，決める foot in the 宗教上の 神社 of Isis.

Then, there 存在 no help for it, we answered that we would come that very night at the rising of the moon.

あわてて 協議するing together we planned the words of an oracle, 二塁打- 辛勝する／優位d words that yet prophesied good to Nectanebes and encouraged him to war; for thus we believed we should most quickly bring about his downfall.

Yet as those words were never spoken I will not 令状 them 負かす／撃墜する.

CHAPTER VI

THE DIVINATION

…を伴ってd by the priests and priestesses of Isis 覆う？ in their 式服s and 詠唱するing the 宗教上の songs, I was borne 隠すd to the palace of the Pharaoh in a litter, with its curtains drawn. On my 権利 手渡す walked Noot the high-priest, white-bearded, venerable; and on my left the Greek Kallikrates, Master of the 儀式s.

Thus we （機の）カム to the palace of which the outer 法廷，裁判所s were filled with Grecian 兵士s of the guard, some of whom in past years Kallikrates had once 命令（する）d, although as a shaven priest of Isis, disguised in his white 式服s, they knew him no more. These men 星／主役にするd at us, ready to mock and yet afraid, as did Phoenicians, Sidonians, men of Cyprus, and others who were gathered in the 法廷，裁判所s as though を待つing some 広大な／多数の／重要な event.

In an outer hall a captain of the guard bade our 護衛する of priests and priestesses to を待つ our return, but we three, that is I, Ayesha, Noot, and Kallikrates, were 召喚するd to the small 祝宴ing 議会 where Nectanebes with a few of the most 高度に placed of his guests sat at their feast. の中で these were the King of Sidon, two more kings from Cyprus, three Grecian generals, some 広大な／多数の／重要な nobles of Egypt, and others. Also 確かな 王室の ladies were 現在の, and の中で them one who 即時に drew my 注目する，もくろむs to her. She was younger than I—perchance there may have been ten years between us, tall, slender, and lovely in her dark fashion, with a strong, 静かな 直面する and large brooding 注目する，もくろむs, soft as a deer's and rather blue than 黒人／ボイコット in colour.

Suddenly as we entered I, who 公式文書，認める all, saw these 注目する，もくろむs grow 脅すd like to those of one who sees some spirit returned from the halls of Death; saw also the rich-hued 直面する turn pale, then grow red again as the 血 flowed 支援する; saw the breast heave beneath the jewelled 式服s, so はっきりと that a flower fell from them, and the lips of 珊瑚 part as though to utter some remembered 指名する.

Wondering what had thus 乱すd this beauteous 王族 since I, 存在 隠すd, it could not have been the 見通し of myself, I ちらりと見ることd 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and perceived that Kallikrates, who was on my left, but a little behind me, had become pale as a dead man and stood like one frozen into 石／投石する.

"Who is that 王室の woman?" I whispered to Noot through my 隠す, for 王室の I knew her to be by the Uraeus circlet she wore upon her raven hair.

"Pharaoh's daughter, Amenartas," he whispered 支援する, "whom the Greeks call The Maiden because she will take no man in marriage."

Then I remembered a 確かな 自白 that once I had heard sitting on the 王位 of the goddess Isis at Philae, of how the penitent had loved a girl of the 王室の House of Egypt, and for her sake killed his own dear brother; remembered also that this penitent was 非，不，無 other than the priest Kallikrates. Now I understood all, and though Kallikrates was naught to me save a fellow servant of the goddess, I hated that Amenartas and became aware that between her and me there was war unending, though how and why I knew not.

Next I looked at a man 覆う？ in kingly 式服s who sat on Pharaoh's 権利. He was a large man of about five and forty years of age with dark, handsome 直面する and 転換ing 注目する，もくろむs; one with a jovial 面 which yet I felt to be but a mask covering a heart 十分な of evil 計画／陰謀s. From his purple 式服 sewn with pearls and the style of his attire and headdress I guessed that this must be Tenes the Phoenician, King of the city of Sidon that was 報告（する）／憶測d the wealthiest in the world, which city, having 反乱d, had joined Egypt in its war against the Persians. 即時に I 重さを計るd that man in the balance of my mind and wrote him 負かす／撃墜する as an ambitious rogue who was also a coward and, as I 裁判官d from the many charms he wore, 十分な of superstition.

The others I had no time to 熟考する／考慮する for at once the Pharaoh began to speak.

"迎える／歓迎するing, Prophetess," he said, rising from his 議長，司会を務める and 屈服するing to us, or rather to me, "迎える／歓迎するing, High-priest of Isis, Queen of Heaven, Mistress of the World; 迎える／歓迎するing also, Priest, Master of the 儀式s of Isis. Pharaoh thanks you all for thus 敏速に answering to his 召喚するs, since this night Egypt needs your 知恵 more perchance than ever before in all the ages of its history."

"Be pleased, O Pharaoh, to 始める，決める out what you 願望（する） of us, the servants of the eternal goddess," said Noot.

"This, High-priest: that you should 宣言する the 未来 to us. Hearken! As you know, the 広大な／多数の／重要な war has begun. The mighty Tenes here, King of Sidon, my 同盟（する）, by the help of the Greeks I sent him, has 敗北・負かすd the Persians and against these Cyprus also is in 反乱. But now Artaxerxes Ochus has 掴むd the 王位 of Persia, having 殺人d all who stood between it and him, with the help of Bagoas the eunuch, his counsellor and general. He has raised a countless host and is 注ぐing 負かす／撃墜する upon Sidon and upon Egypt. Therefore we would learn how the war shall go and to what gods we must sacrifice to 安全な・保証する the victory."

"O Pharaoh," answered Noot, "in bygone years when your father sat upon the 王位 and I was the Kherheb, yes, the first magician of Egypt, he asked me such questions as these, and having prayed to my goddess, I answered him in the words that she 命令（する）d. 非，不，無 heard these words save your father himself, for he and I were alone together. Yet there was that in them which made him wroth so that he sought to kill me, and to save my life I fled out of Egypt, going whither the goddess led me. Afterward I was called 支援する to Egypt where once more I an high- priest of Isis though the office of Kherheb is filled by another. How know I, Pharaoh, if I obey you as I obeyed your father, and again the goddess should utter prophecies which are not pleasing to the ears of kings, that once more my life may not be sought in 支払い（額）?"

"I 断言する, High-priest," answered Nectanebes 熱望して, "that whatever may be 明らかにする／漏らすd by the goddess, you shall take no 害（を与える）. I 断言する it by the 指名する and 王位 of the 宗教上の Isis, to whom I will make 広大な／多数の／重要な gifts, and all this company are 証言，証人／目撃するs of the 誓い. If it be broken, may the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis and of all the gods of Egypt 落ちる upon the 長，率いる of me and 地雷. Draw nigh now that I may touch you with my sceptre, その為に 許すing all that you have said or shall say against me or my House, and 回復するing to you your office of Kherheb of Egypt, whereof my father, who to-day is gathered in Osiris, robbed you."

So Noot drew 近づく and Pharaoh touched him with his sceptre, a cedar 病弱なd surmounted with a little golden image of Horus, which he always carried because of his 王位-指名する which 示す "Horus-of-Gold." Moreover, he re-created him Kherheb and in 記念品 of it 始める，決める upon his shoulders the gold chain from his own neck, and swore to him his place and 力／強力にする for life and the gift of an alabaster 棺 wherein to 嘘（をつく） after life was done. This sarcophagus, however, Noot 辞退するd, 説 darkly that it was 運命／宿命d that he should sleep his last sleep far away from Egypt. Then he, Noot, drew 支援する and as he went I saw Pharaoh's daughter rise and whisper awhile in her father's ear. He listened and nodded. Then he said,

"Come hither, priest who is 指名するd 'Lover-of-Isis' and Master of her 儀式s, the 王室の Lady of Egypt says to me that in bygone days when she was 不十分な a woman, she thinks that before you were a priest, you held some 命令（する） amongst the Greeks of my guard, as from your stature and 耐えるing I can 井戸／弁護士席 believe. She says also that if her memory serves her, you slew some man in a quarrel and for this 推論する／理由 fled away and sought 避難 with Isis. If such things happened I have forgotten them, nor do I ask 関心ing them. Let them 嘘（をつく）. Yet, lest you should be afraid that old tales may be told against you or vengeance wrought upon you, come hither also and receive 容赦 for the past, and 保護 and 進歩 for the 未来 and with these a gift from Pharaoh."

Now I marvelled at this lady's foresight and cunning which showed her how to take advantage of Pharaoh's mood and 保護（する）／緊急輸入制限 one who once had loved her, all of which told me that she must be a wise woman 同様に as beauteous. Also it told me that the worship of this man had been pleasing to her. Then Kallikrates drew 近づく and was touched with the sceptre. Moreover, Pharaoh spoke to him in like words that he had spoken to Noot, 容赦ing him all and 約束ing him much. Moreover, in 記念品 of his favour he gave him a gold cup of Grecian workmanship having two 扱うs, that was chased about with the story of the loves of Aphrodite and Adonis, and 国境d with a 花冠 of those anemones which were fabled to have sprung from his 血. This glorious, flower-like cup from which the guests, when we entered, were 誓約（する）ing themselves in ワイン of Cyprus, Pharaoh 解除するd from the board and sent to Kallikrates, a 広大な／多数の／重要な gift which made it （疑いを）晴らす to me how 深く，強烈に he 願望（する）d to propitiate the goddess in the persons of her servants.

Lastly the 私的な scribe was 命令（する）d to 令状 負かす／撃墜する these 法令s that he had spoken, which he did forthwith, 調印（する）ing them with Pharaoh's 調印（する） and giving one copy to Noot whilst keeping the other to be とじ込み／提出するd の中で the 記録，記録的な／記録するs.

Thus Noot and Kallikrates were 保護するd from all things, but to me, the Prophetess, nothing was said, as I thought for two 推論する／理由s, first because I was known to Pharaoh, who as I have told, had often 協議するd me upon 事柄s of 魔法, and secondly because as the "発言する／表明する of the goddess" I was 宗教上の and above reward or 罰 at the 手渡すs of man. Thus I thought, with how much truth shall be seen.

The gifts were received, the papyrus had been hidden away in the 式服 of Noot, and there was silence in the 議会. To me, Ayesha, this 激しい silence was 十分な of omen. My soul, made keen and 罰金 with ceaseless contemplation of things that are above the earth, in that silence seemed to hear the breath of the watching gods of Egypt. To me it was as though they had gathered there to listen to the 運命／宿命 of this their 古代の home on earth. Yes, I felt them about me; or at the least I felt a spirit stirring.

The company at the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する drank no more ワイン and 中止するd from speech. They sat still 星／主役にするing in 前線 of them and notwithstanding the glitter of the ornaments that 布告するd their 王族 or 支配する, to me they were as dead men in a tomb. Only the Princess of Egypt, Amenartas, seemed to be alive and outside the circle of this doom, for I 公式文書，認めるd that her splendid 注目する，もくろむs sought the 直面する, the perfect, carven 直面する of the priest Kallikrates and that though he stood with 倍のd 武器 and gazed fixedly upon the ground, he knew it, for now and again covertly he ちらりと見ることd 支援する at her.

At length one of those guests could 耐える no more, and spoke. He was a の近くに-lipped, war-worn Grecian general who afterward I learned was 指名するd Kleinios of Cos, the 指揮官 of Pharaoh's mercenary 軍隊s.

"By Zeus!" he cried, "are we men or are we 石／投石するs, or are we shades in Hades? Let these diviners divine, and have done, for I would get me to my ワイン again."

"Aye," broke in Tenes, King of Sidon. "企て，努力，提案 them divine, Pharaoh, since we have much to agree upon ere I sail at 夜明け."

Then all the company cried, "Divine! Divine!" save Amenartas only, who searched the 直面する of Kallikrates with her 注目する，もくろむs, as though she would learn what lay behind its 冷淡な and priestly mask.

"So be it," said Noot, "but first I pray Pharaoh to 企て，努力，提案 all mean men 出発／死."

Pharaoh waved his sceptre and the butlers and attendants 屈服するd and went. Then Noot 動議d to Kallikrates, who thereon shook the sistrum that he bore, and in his rich, low 発言する／表明する, uttered a 詠唱する to the goddess, that which was used to 召喚する her presence.

He ended his 詠唱する and Noot began to pray.

"Hear me, thy prophet, O thou who wast and art and shalt be, thou in whose bosom is locked all the 知恵 of heaven and earth," he prayed. "These kings and 広大な／多数の／重要な ones 願望（する） knowledge, 宣言する it unto them によれば thy will. They 願望（する） truth—let them learn the truth in such fashion as thou shalt 法令."

Then he was silent. 非，不，無 spoke, yet it seemed that a 命令（する） （機の）カム to the three of us, for suddenly Noot looked at the priest Kallikrates, a very strange look. Next the priest Kallikrates, rising from his 膝s, laid 負かす／撃墜する the sistrum and taking the beautiful cup that Pharaoh had given him, went to the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and washed it with pure water from a silver ewer, then filled it to the brim from the ewer and brought it to me, Ayesha. Now I knew that I was 命令（する）d to gaze into that cup and to say what things I saw.

So I 始める，決める it on the ground in 前線 of me and ひさまづくing, threw my 隠す over it and gazed into the water in the shallow golden cup.

For a little while I saw nothing, till presently a 直面する formed in the water, the 直面する of the 王室の lady, Amenartas, which 星／主役にするd up at me out of the cup. Yes, it 星／主役にするd hard and seemed to 脅す me, for in its 注目する，もくろむs were hate and vengeance. Then another 直面する （機の）カム and covered it, the 直面する of Kallikrates the priest, and in its 注目する，もくろむs were trouble and 願望（する）.

Now I knew that the goddess Isis, or perchance another, she of the Greeks, spoke to me of 事柄s that had to do with myself and not with the 運命／宿命 of Egypt. In my heart I prayed to the Queen of Heaven to rid me of these 見通しs, though to give me others I did not pray her, since it was my design to speak 確かな politic words which we had 用意が出来ている.

Yet other 見通しs （機の）カム unsought, for some spirit 所有するd me, a spirit of truth and 運命. They were many and all of them terrible. I saw 戦場s; I saw men 落ちる in thousands, I saw cities in 炎上s. I saw that 誤った-注目する，もくろむd king, Tenes, dead. I saw the General, Kleinios of Cos, also dead, lying on a heap of Grecian 殺害された. I saw the Pharaoh Nectanebes 飛行機で行くing up Nile upon a boat—I knew it was Nile because the 現在の rippled against the prow of his ship, I saw him 掴むd by 黒人／ボイコット savages and throttled with a rope till his tongue hung out and the 広大な／多数の／重要な 一連の会議、交渉／完成する 注目する，もくろむs started from his 長，率いる. I saw the 寺s of Egypt 燃やすing and a 猛烈な／残忍な-直面するd, drunken king 切り開く／タクシー／不正アクセスing at the statues of the gods with a Persian sword and butchering the priests upon the altar. Then I saw no more but a 発言する／表明する called in my ears.

"Death to Egypt! Death and desolation! Death to her king, death to her priests, death to her gods! Finished, finished, all is finished!"

I cast the bowl from me. It overset but lo! there flowed from it not water but 血, or dark-hued ワイン, staining the white marble of the pavement. I 星／主役にするd at it! All 星／主役にするd at this god-sent horror!

"A trick!" cried the Princess Amenartas. "She has coloured the water behind the 避難所 of her 隠す."

The others too, 特に the Greeks, took up the cry, echoing,

"A trick, a brazen trick!"

Only I 公式文書，認めるd that Pharaoh was silent, Pharaoh who knew that Ayesha, 指名するd Isis-come-to-Earth, did not 取引，協定 in tricks; Pharaoh who himself practised 魔法 and had seen such omens sent by 始める，決める. Lo! Pharaoh looked afraid and spoke no word, only glared with his 広大な／多数の／重要な 注目する，もくろむs at the stain upon the marble.

"What answer did the goddess give to your 祈り, prophetess," asked Amenartas, sneering at me.

"This answer, 王室の Lady of Egypt," and I pointed to the marble, "the answer of 血."

"血! Whose 血? That of the Persians?"

"Nay, Lady, that of many who sit at this feast and who ere long shall sit at the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Osiris, and of thousands who 粘着する to them. Yet be 慰安d, Lady, not your 血. I think that you have much mischief to work ere you sit also at the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Osiris, or mayhap at that of 始める，決める," I 追加するd, giving thrust for thrust.

"宣言する then their 指名するs, Seeress."

"Nay, I 宣言する them not. Go, 捜し出す them for yourself, Lady, or let Pharaoh your father 捜し出す, for is he not a magician? though what god gives him 見通し I do not know. You 指名する me cheat, or rather you 指名する the goddess cheat. Therefore the goddess is dumb and her prophetess is dumb."

"Aye, I 指名する you cheat," she cried, who in her heart was mad with 恐れる, "and cheat you are. Now let this 寺 hag who hides her hideousness behind a silken 審査する 明かす that we may see her as she is, and let her be searched and the vase of dye be taken from her bosom or her 式服s."

"Aye, let her be searched," shouted the guests who were also afraid.

"No need to search, high lords," I said in a quavering 発言する／表明する, as though I too were 打ち勝つ with 恐れる. "I will obey the Princess. I will 明かす, yet I beseech you all, make not a mock of me when you see me as I am. Once I was perchance as fair as that 王室の Lady who 命令（する）s, but years of abstinence and the sleepless search for 知恵 損なう the features and wither the でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる. Moreover, time touches the locks, such of them as remain to me, since these too grow thin with age. Yet I will 明かす and the vase of precious dye shall be the prize of him who first can snatch it from my bosom or my 式服."

"Aye," said one of them, it was the king Tenes, "and in 支払い（額） for her trick we will make her drink what remains of it to give colour to her poor old carcase."

"Aye," I answered, "and I will drink what remains of it for I think the stuff is 害のない. Oh! be not angry because a poor conjurer plays her tricks."

Now Noot 星／主役にするd at me as though he were about to speak. Then his 直面する changed like to that of a man who of a sudden receives a 命令（する） that others cannot hear. He let 落ちる his 注目する，もくろむs, remaining silent, and I, watching, knew that it was the will of the goddess, or at least Noot's will, that I should 明かす.

I ちらりと見ることd at the priest Kallikrates but he stood still, looking like Apollo's self frozen into 石／投石する.

During this play I had 緩和するd the fastenings of my 隠す and hood and now of a sudden I cast them from me, 明らかにする／漏らすing myself 覆う？ as Isis, that is in little save a transparent, 粘着するing 式服 fastened about my middle. On my breast, hanging from a chain of pearls, were her 宗教上の symbols carved in gems and gold, and on my 長，率いる her vulture cap beneath which my tresses hung almost to my feet, having the golden feathers of the cap adorned with sapphires and with rubies and the uraeus rising from it fashioned of glittering diamonds.

Aye, I 明かすd and stood before them, my 武器 倍のd upon the jewelled girdle beneath my breast.

"Behold! Kings and Lords," I said, "the 寺 hag stands before you in such poor 形態／調整 as it has pleased the gods to fashion her. Now let him who can see it, come, take the vase that hides this 明かすd trickster's dye."

For a moment there was silence while those 残虐な men devoured my white loveliness with their 注目する，もくろむs, taking count of every beauty of my perfect 直面する and form. Amenartas 星／主役にするd at me and her ruddy cheeks went pale; yes, even the 珊瑚 faded from her rich lips. Then from between those lips there burst these words:

"This is not a woman! This is the very goddess. Beware of her, ye men, for she is terrible."

"Nay, nay," I answered 謙虚に, "I am but a poor mortal, not even 王室の like to yourself, Lady—but a poor mortal with some wits and 知恵, though perchance Isis for a while to your sight has touched me with her splendour. Come, take the vase ere I 隠す myself again."

Then those men went mad, all save Pharaoh, who sat brooding.

"Goddess or woman," they cried, "give her to us who henceforward can never look upon the beauty of another."

King Tenes rose, his coarse 直面する afire and his 転換ing 注目する，もくろむs 直す／買収する，八百長をするd upon me greedily.

"By Baal and Ashtoreth!" he cried, "goddess or woman, never have I seen such an one as this prophetess of Isis. Hearken, Pharaoh, before the feast we 論争d together 関心ing a 広大な／多数の／重要な sum of gold and in the end it was 自白するd by you that it was 予定 to me in 援助（する） of my costs of war although, so you said, it could not be 設立する in Egypt save by （警察の）手入れ，急襲ing the rich 財務省 of Isis. Perchance the goddess learned of this design of yours and by way of answer sent us an evil oracle. I know not, but this I do know, that she sent you also a means to 支払う／賃金 the 負債 without cost to yourself or the robbing of her sacred 財務省. Give me this fair priestess to 慰安 me with her 知恵 and さもなければ"—here the company laughed coarsely—"and I will talk no more of the 事柄 of that gold."

Pharaoh listened without raising his 長，率いる, then looked on me with rolling 注目する，もくろむs and answered:

"Which would 怒り／怒る the goddess most, King Tenes—to lose her gold or her prophetess?"

"The former as I think, Pharaoh, seeing that gold is 不十分な, and prophetesses—true or 誤った—are many. Give her to me, I say."

"I cannot for my 誓い's sake, King Tenes."

"You swore an 誓い to yonder high-priest and to yonder man, who looks like a Grecian god 覆う？ in a priest's 式服 and is called Master-of- the-儀式s, but to this lady you swore 非，不，無."

"I swore the 誓い to Isis, King Tenes, and if I break it doubtless she will be avenged upon me. Go your way; the gold shall follow you to the last ounce, but the prophetess is not 地雷 to give."

Now Tenes 星／主役にするd at me again and I, who hated him with all my soul, gave him 支援する his 星／主役にする with 利益／興味, though this did but seem to inflame him the more. Then he turned on Pharaoh furiously and answered in a 冷淡な 発言する／表明する,

"Hear me, Pharaoh. It is but a small 事柄, yet my mind is 始める，決める upon this woman who knows the heart of the gods and can 注ぐ their 知恵 into my ears. Therefore make your choice:

"In Sidon there are two 派閥s of almost equal strength. One of them says 'Make an 同盟 with Egypt and fight the Persian Ochus whom already you have 敗北・負かすd once.' The other says 'Make an 同盟 with Ochus and as reward in a day to come sit on Pharaoh's 王位!' I have taken the first counsel as you know. Yet it is not too late to change that counsel for a second which perchance would 証明する the wiser, if there be aught in yonder divination," and he pointed to the 血- stain upon the marble 床に打ち倒す. Then he went on:

"Moreover, I have my captains about me at this board and those that serve me without with all my (n)艦隊／(a)素早い, and therefore should it be changed I need not 恐れる to tell you so and to your 直面する. So I say to you that if you will not please me in this small 事柄, presently my 外交官／大使s go 前へ／外へ to Susa with a message for the ear of Ochus to which it would rejoice you to listen, seeing that without the strong 援助（する） of Sidon and her (n)艦隊／(a)素早いs Egypt cannot 征服する／打ち勝つ in this war."

Thus Tenes spoke and laid his 手渡す upon the 鞍馬 of his short Phoenician sword.

Now the 直面する of the Pharaoh, bearded thus in his own city and at his own board, grew red with 激怒（する） and I saw that he was about to answer this outland king, 反抗するing him as many of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 君主s who filled his 王位 before him would have done. But ere he could speak his 王室の daughter Amenartas whispered in his ear and although I could not hear her words, I read their 趣旨 in her 直面する. They were— "Tenes speaks truth. Without Sidon you cannot stand against the Persians and Egypt is lost. Let the woman go. Isis, understanding, will 許す, who さもなければ must see the Persian 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 燃やすing on her altars."

Pharaoh heard and the 怒り／怒る written in his 注目する，もくろむs was changed to trouble. Rolling them in his fashion he looked on Noot and said to him as one who asks a question,

"I swore an 誓い to you, Kherheb, and to yonder priest, but to the prophetess I swore no 誓い and perchance Egypt's 運命／宿命 hangs upon this 商売／仕事."

The old high-priest paused awhile like a man who を待つs a message. If so, it seemed to come, for presently he answered in a 静かな 発言する／表明する,

"Pharaoh is 権利; Egypt's 運命／宿命 hangs upon this 商売／仕事; also Pharaoh's 運命／宿命; also that of King Tenes and many others. The only 運命／宿命 which is not touched, whether it be finished in this way or in that, is the 運命／宿命 of yonder seeress who is 指名するd Isis-come-to-Earth, since the goddess will 保護する her own. Settle the 事柄 as you will, Pharaoh. Only settle it 速く, because under our 支配する it is time that I and my company who wait without should return to the 寺 to make our nightly 祈り and offerings to the goddess, the Queen of all the earth, the Queen of Pharaoh and of Egypt; the Queen of the King of Sidon, and in the end the Queen also of Artaxerxes Ochus, the Persian, as one day surely he shall learn."

Thus spoke Noot unconcernedly and 審理，公聴会 him, I laughed, for now I was sure that I had nothing to 恐れる from Tenes or any other man upon the earth. Therefore I laughed, which that company thought strange in one who was about to be borne away a slave, and bade Kallikrates give me my 隠す and hood, also the cloak that I had thrown off when I entered the 祝宴ing hall.

He obeyed, and while he was 補助装置ing me to cover up my beauty in the 倍のs of that 隠す, I 公式文書，認めるd that alone の中で all the men here 現在の, this beauty did not seem to 動かす him at all. Had he been 着せる／賦与するing a marble statue or an ivory image of the goddess, as every day it was his 義務 to do at sunrise, anointing it with perfumes and garlanding it with flowers, he could not have been いっそう少なく moved. Or perhaps so truly had the priest in him 打ち勝つ the man that he had learned to cloak all the feelings of a man. Or perhaps it was because that 王室の Amenartas watched his every movement with her 注目する，もくろむs. I know not, but this I do know, that his 静める 怒り／怒るd me and it （機の）カム into my mind that were I not the 長，率いる-priestess of Isis and sworn to her, there should be a different tale to tell. Yes, even in that moment of 運命 this （機の）カム into my mind, which shows that in my soul I had not forgotten the 会合 of our lips in yonder 神社 at Philae. At least I have often thought so since, I, who have had much time for thought.

"Priestess, you are 地雷," cried King Tenes in 勝利. "Make ready to sail with me for Sidon within an hour."

"Do you think that I am yours, King Tenes?" I asked in a musing 発言する／表明する as I fastened the 倍のs of my 隠す and arranged the hood. "If so, I 持つ／拘留する さもなければ. I 持つ／拘留する that I, Ayesha, a 解放する／自由な-born lady of the 古代の Arab 血, am not the slave of any Phoenician who for a little while chances to be a king, but of her who is the Queen of kings, Isis the Mother. Nay, Tenes, I am more, I am Isis herself, Isis-come-to-Earth. It seems that go with you I must, since such is the will of the goddess, but, Phoenician, take 注意する. Should you dare to befoul me even with a touch, I tell you that I have strength at my 命令（する） and that ere long Sidon shall 欠如（する） a king and 始める，決める shall 伸び（る） a 支配する. For your own sake therefore and for that of Sidon, think again and let me be!"

Now the 広大な／多数の／重要な jaws of Tenes fell and he 星／主役にするd at me open-mouthed.

"Yet you shall go with me," he muttered thickly, "and for the 残り／休憩（する） Ashtoreth 支配するs in Sidon, not Isis, for know that there are two Queens of Heaven."

"Aye, Tenes, a 誤った queen and a true, and let the 誤った beware of the true."

Then I turned to Nectanebes and said,

"Is it still your 命令（する）, O Pharaoh, that I …を伴って this 同盟（する） of yours to Sidon? Bethink you ere you answer, since much hangs upon your words."

"Yea, Priestess, it must be so. I have spoken and my 法令 is 記録，記録的な／記録するd. The 運命／宿命 of Egypt is more than that of any priestess and doubtless King Tenes will 扱う／治療する you 井戸／弁護士席. If not, you say that you have strength to defend yourself against him."

Now as I answered, I laughed lightly and the sound of my laughter was like the tinkle of 落ちるing silver.

"So be it, Pharaoh. To me it is nothing; indeed I would see Sidon, the glorious city, while she still is Sidon, home of merchants, mistress of the seas. Still ere I go, shall I tell you something, Pharaoh, of what was shewn to me in yonder bowl before its water was turned to 血—by dye from that vase which 非，不，無 of you has 設立する? If I remember 権利, for as you who practise 魔法, know, Pharaoh, such 見通しs fade quickly like dreams at 夜明け—I say that if I remember 権利, it had to do with the 運命／宿命 of a 広大な／多数の／重要な king. Have you ever seen a king, O Pharaoh, when in place of the chain of 王族 a collar of rope is 始める，決める about his throat and drawn hard till the tongue is thrust from the 王室の mouth and the 王室の 注目する，もくろむs start from their sockets? Nay? Then shall I draw his picture? Perchance in days to come you would know it again?"

"Witch, accursed witch!" shouted Pharaoh. "Take her, Tenes, and begone, though sooner would I 養育する a viper in my bosom," and rising from the board, he turned and fled away.

Again I laughed as I answered,

"I must go, but it seems that Pharaoh has gone first. 王室の Amenartas, watch the good god, your father, for I think that he is too superstitious and that which men believe fulfils itself upon them."

Then I went to Noot and spoke with him—few words for already the guards were 前進するing upon me.

"恐れる nothing, Daughter," he said, "you are 安全な."

"I know that I am 安全な, Master, yet be ready to come to my 援助（する） when I call, as my spirit tells me that call I shall."

He bent his 長，率いる and the guards （機の）カム up. As I went I ちらりと見ることd at the priest Kallikrates, who taking no 公式文書，認める of me or of my 運命／宿命, still stood 星／主役にするing at the 王室の Amenartas like a statue 削減（する） in 石／投石する, while she 星／主役にするd 支援する at him.

CHAPTER VII

THE QUELLING OF THE STORM

They 始める，決める me on board a 広大な／多数の／重要な ship, on the prow of which were images of 確かな gods of the Phoenicians, called by the Greeks Pataeci, not unlike to that which the Egyptians worshipped by the 指名する of Bes, before which images 燃やすd 解雇する／砲火／射撃. There was a 王室の cabin in that ship which was given to me, and with it splendid 式服s and furnishings of gold for my （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する.

At 夜明け we cast off from the quay of the white-塀で囲むd city while thousands of the worshippers of Isis who learned that I was 存在 taken from them, stood upon the quay and wailed, crying that the Mouth-of-Isis was sent away to slavery and that where her "Mouth" went, there the goddess would follow, leaving vengeance to 落ちる upon their 長，率いるs. For that the 長，率いる-priestess of Isis should be given into the 手渡すs of barbarians and their foreign gods was such a 罪，犯罪 as had not been known in Egypt.

Therefore they wailed, prophesying evil, and I stood upon the 厳しい alone in my white 式服s, 隠すd, and hearkened to them, for 非，不，無 dared to come 近づく to me. Yes, I hearkened and blessed them with my 手渡すs, whereat they knelt and wailed the more.

When at last we had passed 負かす／撃墜する the Nile and were out upon the 広大な／多数の／重要な sea, sailing 速く for Sidon over 静かな waters, I, Ayesha, having taken counsel of the goddess and of my woman's （手先の）技術, sent for King Tenes, who was also on board the ship, and received him in his own cabin that had been given up to me.

For my heart was 黒人／ボイコット with 激怒（する） against him, and against Nectanebes, Pharaoh of Egypt, who had betrayed me, and in my heart I swore that I would destroy them both. Yes, there I, the 捕虜, sat and received the captor king in his own cabin, 目的ing his doom, though how this was to be 遂行するd as yet I did not know.

"O King," I said, "I, your slave who, when not a slave, was high- priestess of Isis in Egypt and her seeress, into whose breast the goddess 注ぐd her 知恵 and her secrets, as indeed still she does, would speak with you, and since I could not come to you の中で so many men, have prayed your Majesty to come to me. What would you do with me, King Tenes, since it has pleased you to 軍隊 Pharaoh to give me into your keeping? Is it an oracle that you 願望（する） 関心ing your 運命／宿命 or that of your country in the war? If so, I will—"

"Nay, Priestess," he broke in hurriedly, "of your oracles I and others have had enough. They are bitter bread for daily food. Keep them, I pray you, to 養育する your own soul."

"What would you of me then, King Tenes, that you have been at such 苦痛s to steal me away from Egypt, even 脅すing Pharaoh to break your solemn 協定／条約 with him if he did not give me to your 手渡すs, me, the snared bird, who by chance was left out of his 誓い to the high-priest and Isis's officer, the Greek."

"Lady Ayesha," blurted out Tenes, "that I have learned to be by birth, daughter of Yarab, once 支配者 of Ozal, upon whom, with the Egyptians, I made war in the past and brought to his death, because of you, Lady, tell me, you who are wise, what would any man of you who had beheld your beauty as I saw it some nights gone?"

"Man, 存在 man, that is, a ravening beast fashioned like a god in 形態／調整 but not in soul, would make me his prey, Tenes. Such at least was the 願望（する） of the first Nectanebes whom you 補佐官d with the ships of Sidon to destroy my father, and of many since his time."

"Good. 井戸／弁護士席, I who am a man and something more, 存在 not a god indeed, but a 広大な／多数の／重要な king, would make you my prey, as you say, for to tell truth, having once looked on you I see no other woman in the whole world."

Now I threw 支援する my 隠す and 熟考する／考慮するd him with my 注目する，もくろむs.

"So you would take me for your queen, Tenes? Indeed I guessed as much. But what would your other queen, for doubtless you have one, say to this, O King?"

"My queen!" he said in an astonished 発言する／表明する, "my queen?"

"Surely, Tenes, you would scarcely dare to proffer いっそう少なく than queenship to such a one as I?"

"May be not. 井戸／弁護士席, let us say that I would make you my queen, since in Sidon it is not difficult to be rid of others of whom one may be 疲れた／うんざりした; that is, it is not difficult to a king who also is high-priest of Baal and of Ashtoreth. Yes, yes, I am sure that I would make you my queen. I will 申し込む／申し出 it to you in 令状ing if you 願望（する）."

"Aye, I do 願望（する） it, King, and that there may be no faults or 罠（にかける）s in it, I myself will draw up the 令状ing for you to 調印する. Only I 疑問 much whether I shall 受託する the 申し込む／申し出 if it is made."

"Why not, Lady? Is it a small thing to be Queen of Sidon?"

"For Ayesha, daughter of Yarab, high-priestess and prophetess of Isis, the wisest and most beauteous woman in the world, one who has never turned to look on man, it is a very small thing indeed, King Tenes. It is so small a thing that I will not deign to 受託する that proffered 栄冠を与える of yours, unless—"

"Unless what, Lady?"

"Unless it is made larger, King, so large and wide that she who wears it 持つ／拘留するs 支配する over all the earth."

"By Baal, Ashtoreth, and Moloch, all three of them, what mean you, Woman?"

"What I say, Man. I mean that when you are 君主, not of Sidon only, but of Egypt, Cyprus, Persia, and all the East, then perchance I will marry you, unless my fancy changes, as it may do, but certainly not before."

"Surely you are mad," he gasped. "How can I gather all these diadems upon a 選び出す／独身 brow? It is impossible."

"Aye, for you it is impossible, King Tenes, but for me it is possible. I can gather them and 始める，決める them on your brow and on my own, I who have within me all the 知恵 of the earth and much of the strength of Heaven. Understand that if I 願望（する） it and you follow my counsel, I can 栄冠を与える you emperor of the world, no いっそう少なく, but the question is, do I 願望（する） it and will you follow my counsel?"

"Lady, I 断言する that you are mad, unless in truth you are a goddess as they say in Egypt."

"Perchance I am somewhat of a goddess, and 存在 so, marvel whether for any reward that can be given I shall debase myself by taking such a one as you to husband, King Tenes. Now, first, look on me 井戸／弁護士席 and answer whether you do indeed 願望（する） me and are ready to 勝利，勝つ me through toil and danger, or whether you will let me be. For know, Tenes, that though I seem to be your 捕虜, you cannot snare me or do me 暴力／激しさ. Lay but a finger on me against my will, and it shall be your death, since I have those to 援助（する） me whom you cannot see. Now look—and answer."

He looked, devouring me with his greedy 注目する，もくろむs, then said,

"Of a truth I 願望（する） you more than anything on the earth, and since I may not do so さもなければ, for I perceive that you are too strong for me, will take you at your own price. Yea, even if I must wait for years, still I will take you. Now tell me, most beauteous and most wise, what I must do, and 断言する to me that when I am king of all things you will 結婚する me."

"Aye, Tenes, I 断言する that when you are king of all things I will 結婚する you," I answered gently, laughing in my heart as I remembered that the first and last of all things, the greatest of all things, is—Death. "Hearken. You shall bring me to Sidon, not as a 捕虜 but as a strange goddess who has come to 援助（する） you and your people, and with honour shall you receive me in Sidon, 原因（となる）ing your priests and priestesses to 申し込む／申し出 me worship and incense."

"And if so, what then?"

"Then, when I have 熟考する／考慮するd your people and your 準備s for war, we will take counsel together and I will show you how you may 勝つ／広く一帯に広がる. Tell me, Tenes, do you love Pharaoh Nectanebes?"

"Nay, Lady, I hate him who asks too much and gives too little, as I hated his father before him. Still we sleep in the same bed and 支え（る） up the same 塀で囲む, and if one of us 中止するs to support the 塀で囲む, the Persians will 押し進める it 負かす／撃墜する on both."

"I understand. Yet even so it comes into my mind that perchance you would have been safer had you been 押し進めるing at the 塀で囲む with the Persian Ochus and not 持つ／拘留するing it up with the Egyptian Nectanebes."

He ちらりと見ることd at me with his 転換ing 注目する，もくろむs and answered,

"I have had that thought, as you know 井戸／弁護士席, but having rebelled against Ochus, 敗北・負かすd his satraps, and 殺害された thousands of his 兵士s, or rather those of his father, if I climb the 塀で囲む I might find spears waiting for me on the さらに先に 味方する. Lady, it is too late."

"Yes, King Tenes, perhaps it is too late; I will consider of the 事柄 in your 利益／興味 and my own. But first send me papyrus and 令状ing 道具s that I may 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する our 協定／条約. When you have 認可するd and 調印するd it, then I will consider of this and other 事柄s, and not before. For the while, 別れの（言葉，会）."

He rose and went unwillingly enough and when I was alone in the cabin I laughed in my heart. This fish had been 平易な to hook, but he was a large fish and strong, and I must beware lest he pull me into the 深い sea where both might 溺死する together. Moreover, the man was hateful to me, more so even than that ox-注目する，もくろむd, 激しい-jowled Pharaoh, and his presence seemed to 毒（薬） the 空気／公表する I breathed. Yet if I entered into this 協定／条約 with him doubtless I must breathe it often, which 悩ますd me who shrank from men and their 願望（する）s, and above all from this man. Yet he had done me wrong and 侮辱; he had helped the Egyptians to make war upon my people and he had taken me as a slave, me, Ayesha, thinking to make of me his woman, and cost what it might, I would 支払う／賃金 him 支援する as I would 支払う／賃金 支援する Nectanebes who sold me.

The papyrus was brought to me by a slave and on it I wrote such a 契約 as I think was never 調印するd by a king before. It was 簡潔な／要約する and ran thus:—

"Ayesha, daughter of Yarab, high-priestess of Isis, prophetess of Isis, known in Heaven and の中で her servants as Isis-come-to-Earth, and Child of 知恵, to Tenes, King of Sidon.

"When you, Tenes, are king not only of Sidon but of Egypt, Cyprus, Persia, and the East, as I can make you, if you obey me in all things, then I, Ayesha, 公約する myself to you as your 単独の wife and queen. But if, ere this dignity is 地雷 and yours, you dare even to touch my 式服, then in the 指名する of Isis and speaking with the 発言する／表明する of Isis, I, Ayesha, 公約する to you shame and death in the world and after it all the torments of hell and the jaws of the Devourer that を待つ the judgment of Truth on perjured souls beyond the Sun.

"受託するd and 調印（する）d by Ayesha, daughter of Yarab and by Tenes, King of Sidon."

Having copied this 令状ing, I sent it to Tenes by the slave that he might 熟考する／考慮する it. Awhile later he asked audience of me, and entering, said in a 厚い 発言する／表明する that only a madman would 始める，決める his 調印（する） to such words.

I looked at him and answered that it was nothing to me whether he 調印（する）d or did not 調印（する） them; indeed that considering all, I should be better pleased if he let the 取引 be.

He 星／主役にするd at me and 激怒（する） took 持つ／拘留する of him who was inflamed with ワイン.

"Who are you," he said, "that dare to talk thus to Tenes the King? You are but a woman 覆う？ in the 式服s of a priestess who pretend to 力／強力にするs you have not. Why should I not take you and have done?"

Now I mocked him, answering,

"Because I think you love to sit upon a 王位 better than to 嘘（をつく） in a 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, Tenes, even in a king's 棺. Still, as you 願望（する） to know more 特に, I will put your question to the goddess, who is not far from me even on this ship, and to-morrow when the sun is up I will pass on her words to you—that is, if you live to look upon to-morrow's sun, King Tenes," I 追加するd, 星／主役にするing him in the 注目する，もくろむs.

These words seemed to sober him, for he turned pale and left the cabin, making a 調印する to 回避する the evil 注目する，もくろむ, but as I 公式文書，認めるd, taking the 令状ing with him. Yet me he left perplexed and afraid, for my heart was not so bold as my mouth!

Now that night, whether by chance or by the will of Heaven, a 広大な／多数の／重要な tempest sprang up suddenly. The captain of the trireme, a Greek or a half-Greek of Naukratis, Philo by 指名する, whom now upon this ship I met for the first time, （機の）カム himself to 警告する me, and to make sure that all was 急速な／放蕩な in my cabin. He was a quick-brained man, very active in his 団体／死体 and pleasant-直面するd, with a brown, pointed 耐えるd, who had seen some five and thirty years upon the earth. I had made 調査s 関心ing him from a 確かな slave who …に出席するd me, and was told that although he pretended to timidity, this Philo was in truth a 広大な／多数の／重要な 軍人 and one of the best handlers of a 屈服する upon the mouths of the Nile, since that which he 目的（とする）d at he always 攻撃する，衝突する, even if it were a fowl in flight. Moreover, he was a very good 船員 and, it was said, faithful to those he served and a worshipper of the gods.

"If so," I answered to that old slave, "how comes it that this Philo, instead of a humble captain, is not the first general or 海軍大将 amongst the Greeks, as a man of such 質 should be?"

"Because, divine Lady, of 確かな faults," answered the slave, "such faults as have made of me what I am instead of the Count of a Nome upon the Nile as I should have been. This Philo has always thought more of the 福利事業 of others than of his own, which is a very evil 証拠不十分; also he has loved women too much, which is a worse."

"Vile sins indeed," I said, "more 特に the second. The wise always think of themselves first, and the 宗教上の never love more than one woman, and her not too much, which perhaps is why the wise and the 宗教上の are so hateful and so dull. Bring this Philo to me; he is one whom I should wish to know."

In the end Philo （機の）カム, though whether because my message had reached him, or because of the 前進するing 嵐／襲撃する, I am not 確かな . At least he （機の）カム, and as he 屈服するd before me, made a 確かな secret 調印する whereby I knew that he was a worshipper of Isis, and one of high degree, though not of the highest, since when I tried him with that 調印する he could not answer. Still his 階級 in our 広大な／多数の／重要な company was enough, and thenceforward we spoke to each other under the 調印（する） of the goddess, or as our phrase went in those days "within the 影をつくる／尾行する of her wings," as brother and sister might, or rather as mother and son.

That is, we did this after I had 証明するd him その上の and brought to his mind the 運命／宿命 of those who betray the goddess and her 大臣s upon earth.

This Philo told me in few words, that although the trireme was Egyptian and 指名するd Hapi after the god of Nile, for this voyage she was under 借り切る／憲章 to Tenes and for the most part 乗組員を乗せた with Sidonians, also with low fellows from Cyprus and the coast-ports. These like the Phoenician guards of Tenes, of whom there were fifty on the 大型船, worshipped other gods than those of Egypt, that is, such of them as worshipped any gods at all.

Many of these men, Philo said warningly, murmured because a priestess of Isis was on board their ship, which they thought would 怒り／怒る the Phoenician gods of whom the images had been 始める，決める upon the prow, as might 合法の be done when a 大型船 was 雇うd by Tyre or Sidon.

I answered laughing that as he and I knew, Isis could 持つ／拘留する her own against Baal, Astarte, and all their company. Then, changing my mien, I asked him suddenly what he meant.

"Only this, 宗教上の one," he answered: "That if by chance the ship （機の）カム into danger—and I like not the 調印するs of the sky and the moaning of the 黒人／ボイコット north 勝利，勝つd with 激しく揺するs not two leagues away upon our 物陰／風下, then I say if this ship （機の）カム into danger, as might chance this very night, for here 強風s grow suddenly—井戸／弁護士席, 宗教上の one, you might be in danger also. In such 事例／患者s, 宗教上の one, いつかs the Phoenicians 需要・要求する a sacrifice to the Cabiri, the 広大な／多数の／重要な gods of the sea whom we do not worship."

"Is it so?" I answered coldly. "Then tell them that those who 需要・要求する sacrifices often furnish the 犠牲者s. Have no 恐れる, my brother-in-the- goddess. But if trouble comes, call on me to help you."

Then I stretched out to him the sistrum that was part of my ornaments of office in which I had been brought 船内に that ship, and he kissed it with his lips and went about his 商売／仕事.

不十分な had he gone when the 黒人／ボイコット north 勝利，勝つd began to blow. It blew fearfully, rising hour by hour and even minute by minute, till the 強風 was terrible. The rowers could no longer 列／漕ぐ／騒動, for the 広大な／多数の／重要な seas broke their oars, of which the 扱うs struck them, 投げつけるing them backward from the （法廷の）裁判s, and the sail they tried to hoist upon the mast was torn away and went flapping 負かす／撃墜する the 勝利，勝つd like a 負傷させるd gull. Thus continually the Hapi was driven in toward the coast of Syria where, still some miles away, the moonlight when it broke out between the clouds showed the white surf of breakers 泡，激怒することing on the アイロンをかける 激しく揺するs of Carmel.

Toward midnight the tall mast snapped in two like a rotten stick and went overboard, carrying with it 確かな men and 鎮圧するing others. Then terror took 持つ／拘留する of all the company upon this ship, so that they began to cry aloud who believed that 黒人／ボイコット death was upon them.

Now one shouted,

"We are bewitched! At this season there should be no such 強風, it is against nature."

Another answered,

"Little wonder that we are bewitched when you carry with us a sorceress of Egypt, one who hates our gods, wherefore they are angry."

This they said because they had heard the tale of the water turned to 血, also of the oracles I was wont to utter in the 寺 at Memphis. For in that city dwelt many Phoenicians who were 広大な／多数の／重要な talkers and lovers of strange tales, though now, Holly tells me all their race is silent for ever and the only tales they hear are those of Gehenna.

Then arose another shout from many throats,

"Sacrifice the witch to the gods of the Sea. Throw her into the sea that they may take her and we may live to look upon to-morrow's sun!"

Next there was a 急ぐ toward the afterpart of the trireme where I was in the cabin. In the waist of the ship appeared the captain, Philo, as I saw watching from between the curtains, and with him a number of the 乗組員 who were Egyptians and faithful to him, perhaps six in all, not more. In his 手渡すs Philo held a 屈服する, and a drawn short-sword was thrust through his belt.

He shouted to the 暴徒 of madmen to stand 支援する, but they would not, and led by one of the guards of Tenes, crept 今後. Philo knelt, 残り／休憩（する）ing his 支援する against a water-樽, waiting till the ship 安定したd herself a little on the crest of a wave. Then he drew the 屈服する and 発射. Very 井戸／弁護士席 and straight did he shoot, for the arrow pierced that leader of the guard of Tenes from breast to 支援する, so that he fell 負かす／撃墜する dead. Seeing this, the others grew afraid and stayed where they were, 粘着するing to the 防御壁／支持者s of the ship or whatever they could しっかり掴む with their 手渡すs.

Tenes appeared の中で them. They shouted to him and he shouted 支援する to them, but what they said I could not hear because of the howling of the 勝利，勝つd.

Philo crept into the cabin and his 直面する was very 激しい.

"宗教上の one," he said, "make ready to join Isis in the heavens. 恐れるing for his own life, that dog of a Sidonian king has 同意d to your sacrifice and I am come to die with you."

"The goddess thanks you, O 広大な／多数の／重要な-hearted man, and I, her servant, thank you also," I said, smiling at him. "Yet have no 恐れる, since my spirit tells me that neither I nor you shall die this night. Help me now and let us go 前へ／外へ and talk with these hissing snakes of Sidon."

"But what will you say to them, 宗教上の one?"

"The goddess will teach me what to say," I answered, who in truth did not know what I should say. All I knew was that some spirit moved me to go 前へ／外へ and to talk with them.

So we went, I leaning upon Philo as it was hard to stand upon my feet, and （機の）カム to the stump of the broken mast in the 中央 of the hollow ship, all the 暴徒 of the 乗組員 製図／抽選 支援する before me. Here with one arm I clung to the mast, and beckoned to them with the other in which I held the sistrum of our worship. They drew 近づく, Tenes の中で them, his 直面する covered by a cloak.

"Hearken!" I cried. "I learn that you would 申し込む／申し出 me, the Prophetess of Isis, as a sacrifice to your gods. Fools! Is not Isis greater than your gods? O Queen of Heaven! send a 調印する to show that thou art greater than these foreign gods!"

So I spoke and 星／主役にするd 上向き at the moon, for the 勝利，勝つd had torn away my 隠す, and waited.

A 広大な／多数の／重要な 大波 （機の）カム and struck the forepart of the ship, burying it 深い in green water. As she rose I saw two dark forms 飛行機で行く from her high-投げ上げる／ボディチェックするd prow and a 発言する／表明する cried,

"The 後見人 images have gone and the sacred 解雇する／砲火／射撃 is quenched!"

"Aye," I answered, "they are gone where you shall go, every one of you, if you dare to touch me. Know that I do not 恐れる for my own life which cannot be taken from me, but for your lives I 恐れる, and for Sidon, which presently shall 欠如（する） a king—if you dare to touch me. Be silent now and though you deserve it not, I will pray Isis to save you."

Then gaping on me standing there like one 奮起させるd, as indeed I think I was, they were struck to silence and through the roaring 強風 and 飛行機で行くing 泡，激怒すること I prayed to Heaven to 保存する that ship and those she bore from the grinding 激しく揺するs on which the surf （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 not a mile away.

A marvel happened, whether because the tempest had grown 疲れた／うんざりした of its 激怒（する）ing, or because That which hears the 祈りs of men had 受託するd my 祈り for its own 目的s, to this hour I know not. At least the marvel happened, for although the sea still （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 and 急ぐd, wave に引き続いて wave, like white-maned, countless 非難する steeds, of a sudden the 強風 died 負かす／撃墜する and there was 静める between sky and sea.

"It has pleased the 広大な／多数の／重要な goddess to hearken to me and to save your lives, yes, even the lives of you who would have 殺人d her priestess," I said in a 静かな 発言する／表明する. "Now get you to your oars and 列／漕ぐ／騒動 as never you 列／漕ぐ／騒動d before, if you would 持つ／拘留する the ship off yonder 激しく揺するs."

They gasped. They 星／主役にするd with open mouths! One said,

"Thou art the goddess; thou art the very goddess! 容赦 us, 容赦 us, thy slaves, O Queen of Heaven!"

Then they 急ぐd to their oars and with toil and danger drew the Hapi past the promontory of Carmel where the water boiled upon the 激しく揺するs, and out into the 深い sea beyond.

"What did I say to you, Philo?" I said, as he led me 支援する to the cabin.

He made no answer, only 解除するing the hem of my 衣料品, he 圧力（をかける）d it to his brow.

CHAPTER VIII

THE KING OF SIDON

Next morning the sun （機の）カム up in a sky of perfect blue and the Hapi, driven 今後 by the oars, since her mast was gone, passed northward over a 静かな sea. Not a league away upon our 権利, gleaming like gold, were the roofs of the glorious city of Tyre, 始める，決める like a queen upon her island 王位, Tyre that as yet did not dream of evil days when her marble palaces should melt in 炎上 and her merchant princes and 国民s 嘘（をつく） butchered by the thousand in her streets; Tyre the wanton, the beauteous, the 豊富な, who sucked riches from all the lands.

Seeing our 粉々にするd 明言する／公表する, a boat 乗組員を乗せた by red-capped seamen （機の）カム out from the Egyptian harbour to learn if we needed help. But Philo shouted 支援する to its officer that, save for the loss of a mast and some men, we had taken no 害（を与える） in the 強風 and hoped ere night to be 安全な in Sidon.

So the boat returned and we 列／漕ぐ／騒動d on.

By midday we caught sight of the towers of Sidon and within three more hours, the sea 存在 静める, had dropped 錨，総合司会者 in the southern harbour.

Now after we left Tyre Tenes the King （機の）カム to visit me in my cabin. At the sight of him my gorge rose for I remembered that this dog of a Sidonian had 同意d to the 需要・要求する of the sailors that I should be 投げつけるd into the 深い as a sacrifice to his god. Yet I 抑制するd my soul and received him smiling and 明かすd.

"あられ／賞賛する, King Tenes," I said, "Isis has been very 慈悲の to you in answer to my 祈り; for know that never again did I think to look upon you living."

"You are 広大な／多数の／重要な, Lady," he answered, 星／主役にするing at me with 脅すd yet devouring 注目する，もくろむs. "I think that you are as 広大な／多数の／重要な as that Isis whom you serve, if indeed you are not that Isis come to earth, as they 指名する you in Egypt. Isis I know not who worship Ashtoreth, she who is also styled Tanith and Baaltis, and like your Isis, is an 定評のある Queen of Heaven, but you I know, and your 力／強力にする, for did you not 原因（となる） the terrible tempest to 中止する last night and save us all from death upon the 激しく揺するs of Carmel?"

"Aye, I did this, Tenes, having strength given to me, whence it 事柄s not. It is strange to think, is it not?"—here I bent 今後 and 星／主役にするd him in the 注目する，もくろむs—"that on board this ship there are men so 臆病な／卑劣な and so evil that they took counsel to cast me to the 深い as a sacrifice to their gods, and that had they done so, though me, had they known it, they could not 害（を与える）, they themselves, every one of them, would have been that sacrifice?"

Now he writhed and turned colour beneath my ちらりと見ること, but answered,

"Is it so, Lady? 指名する me those men and they shall be 殺害された."

"Aye, King Tenes, without 疑問 they shall be 殺害された, every one of them, since Isis does not forget a 脅し of 殺人 against her priestess. Yet I 指名する them not. Where is the need when already those 指名するs are written on the tablets of Heaven? Let them be till 運命／宿命 finds them, since I would not have you in your 激怒（する） stain your 手渡すs with their vile 血. But what would you with me, King?"

"You know 井戸／弁護士席," he answered thickly. "I worship you. I am mad with love of you. When I saw you standing by the broken mast and making 祈り, even then upon the 辛勝する／優位 of doom, my heart melted for you. I say that there is a 激怒（する）ing 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in my breast that only you can quench," and he made as though he would 落ちる upon his 膝s before me.

I 動議d to him to remain seated, and answered,

"I remember, King, that you spoke in this same fashion before the 嵐／襲撃する and that, half in jest, I wrote 確かな 条件 upon which I would become your queen, すなわち, when you could give me 支配する over all the earth. Wisely, perhaps, to these 条件 you would not 始める，決める your 調印（する）; indeed you asked me why you should not take me to be your toy, and to that question an answer （機の）カム to you last night when the ship wallowed water-logged and on her 物陰／風下 you saw the 大波s spouting on the 激しく揺するs of Carmel. Also the goddess has told me more of what would chance to you should you dare to 解除する a 手渡す against her priestess. I tell you that it is horrible, so horrible that I spare you, since if you heard it, you would tremble. What need to talk of such a 罪，犯罪 when such a judgment would follow hard upon its heels? So have done, Tenes, and learn that it is my 楽しみ to return to Egypt in this ship."

"Nay, nay!" he cried, "I cannot part with you; sooner would I lose my 栄冠を与える. I tell you that if I lost sight of you and hope of you, I should go mad—"

"Which perchance you may do yet, Tenes," I replied laughing, "if indeed you are not already mad after the fashion of tyrants who for the first time are robbed of that which they 願望（する）. You have my 命令（する）s, so have done. I would speak with Philo the captain as to when he can be ready to sail for Nile."

"Hearken, Lady, hearken!" he said thickly. "I have the 令状ing here. I will 調印する it in your presence if you 断言する to がまんする by it."

"Is it so? 井戸／弁護士席, Tenes, I do not change my word. When you can 栄冠を与える me Queen of Phoenicia, Egypt, Persia, and the 残り／休憩（する）, as I can show you how to do, then I will take you for husband and 統治する as your 単独の wife. But until then never shall you dare so much as to touch me. Now I am 疲れた／うんざりした, who last night slept so ill. Do you wish to 調印（する） the 令状ing, for if so it shall be done before a 証言，証人／目撃する whose life and 福利事業 henceforth shall be as sacred to you as my own."

"Aye, aye, I will 調印（する）, I will 調印（する）," he said.

Then I clapped my 手渡すs and the slave who waited without appeared. I bade him 召喚する Philo, the captain of the ship, and to bring wax. Presently Philo （機の）カム and I told him what was needed of him. More, 需要・要求するing the papyrus from Tenes, I read it to both of them, Philo listening with a stony 星／主役にする of amazement. Then the wax was spread upon the papyrus and Tenes 調印（する）d it with his 調印（する）, which was a cylinder of lapis lazuli having images of gods upon it after the old Babylonian fashion. Also, beneath my own, he wrote his 指名する in Phoenician letters which I could not read. Then Philo as 証言，証人／目撃する wrote his, for 存在 half a Greek, he knew this art, and 調印（する）d it with his 調印（する）, a scarab 削減（する） in cornelian by no mean artist, doubtless a Grecian, which scarab, he said, he had taken many years before from the finger of one whom he killed in 戦う／戦い. When I looked at what it left upon the wax, I laughed, for behold the 装置 was that of a Diana, or perchance a nymph, 狙撃 with an arrow a brute-直面するd faun that had surprised her at the bath. To my mind the 直面する of that faun or satyr was very like to the 直面する of Tenes, and Philo thought it also for I saw him ちらりと見ること from one to the other, and heard him mutter, "An omen! An omen!" beneath his breath in the Egyptian tongue which Tenes did not understand.

When the roll was 調印するd Tenes would have taken it, but I answered,

"Nay, on that day when its 条件s are 実行するd it shall be yours. But till then it is 地雷."

Still I 約束d to give him a copy of the 令状ing, and with this he was, or feigned to be, content.

When Philo had gone Tenes asked me how he was to become 支配者 of the world and thus to 勝利，勝つ me.

I answered that I would tell him later in Sidon after I had thought and prayed. But one thing he must 断言する, すなわち, to listen to no counsels save my own, since さもなければ he might lose me and with me all. He did so by his gods, 存在 at that time so bemused that he would have sworn anything if その為に he might keep 近づく to me. Moreover, he told me that it was his 目的 to 始める，決める me in a palace 近づく his own, or perchance in a part of his own, that there he might visit me daily and learn my counsels.

I 屈服するd my 長，率いる and said, the more often the better, so long as he （機の）カム for counsel and no more. Then I 解任するd him and he went like any slave.

When he had gone once more I 召喚するd Philo and, "under the wings of the goddess," that is, under an 誓い of secrecy to break which is death, I told him, my brother-in-Isis, the meaning of this play, すなわち that I would be avenged upon Tenes who had affronted me and the goddess, who also, in his cowardice, had 提案するd to sacrifice me in the 深い, an 申し込む／申し出ing to his 誤った divinities. Moreover, I gave him that copy of the 令状ing which I had made and, his 借り切る／憲章 存在 実行するd, bade him get 支援する to Egypt as soon as might be and 配達する it to Noot, the high-priest of Isis, and with it all this story.

There at Memphis I bade him 企て，努力，提案, having a 広大な／多数の／重要な ship, this one or another, ready, 乗組員を乗せた with 勇敢に立ち向かう men, all of them 信奉者s of Isis, with whom Noot would furnish him, also with the moneys needful to 雇う or buy that ship. There he was to wait till my word （機の）カム. How it would come I did not know as yet. Perchance this would be by messenger, or perchance I should talk with the spirit of Noot, by means at the 命令（する） of those 始めるd in the highest mysteries of the goddess. At least when my word （機の）カム he must sail at once and come to me at Sidon.

These things he swore to do. Moreover, I wrote a letter which afterward I gave to him to 配達する to Noot.

We cast 錨，総合司会者 in the harbour, hoisting the 王室の 基準 of Tenes as best we could on a tall 政治家 at the prow. At once gilded 船s, on board of which were generals and priests, put off from the quay, and watching from my cabin, I saw Tenes talk 真面目に with these 著名なs who from time to time ちらりと見ることd toward where I was hidden. Then a messenger （機の）カム to pray me to be pleased to がまんする on board the ship till 準備 had been made to receive me, a 事柄 to which the king 出発／死d to …に出席する. So I stayed there and spoke with Philo about many things, learning from him much 関心ing the Sidonians, their wealth and their strength in war.

Two hours later a 船 arrived, the 王室の 船, I think, for it was glorious with silks and gold and the rowers wore blazoned uniforms. On board this 船 was Tenes himself and with him, の中で others, priests who wore tall caps, also some priestesses. The king （機の）カム and 屈服するing, led me to a carpeted ladder by which I descended into the 船. As I went 負かす／撃墜する its steps I said with a laugh,

"If some had won their way last night, O King, I should have left this ship in a very different fashion. 井戸／弁護士席, I 許す them, poor fools and cowards, but whether the goddess whom I serve will 許す them is another 事柄"—words at which I saw him wince.

Before I went also I stepped aside and again spoke to Philo who stood 近づく the 長，率いる of the ladder, cap in 手渡す. That speech was short yet 十分な, 存在 of but two words,

"Remember everything."

"To the death! Child of 知恵," he answered.

"What says the 水夫?" asked Tenes suspiciously.

"Naught, O King. That is, he only prays me to intercede with the goddess lest the 運命／宿命 of those who would have 害（を与える）d me on this ship should 追いつく him also who is its captain."

Again Tenes winced and again I smiled.

We were 列／漕ぐ／騒動d 岸に, and there upon the quay waited a chariot drawn by milk-white horses in which chariot I was seated, splendidly apparelled men 主要な the horses. In 前線 of me went the king in another chariot and behind followed an 護衛する of guards.

Thus we proceeded through the glorious streets of Sidon and 存在 moved thereto, I 解除するd my 隠す and stood up in the chariot as though I would see these better. Already the fame of my coming had spread abroad, so that those streets and the flat roofs of the houses were （人が）群がるd with thousands of the people. These, when they saw my beauty, gasped with wonder and cried in their own tongue,

"No woman! No woman! A goddess indeed!"

Yet I thought that I heard others answer,

"Aye, a 誤った goddess sent to Sidon to be her 廃虚."

True words indeed, though, as I think, 奮起させるd by hate and jealousy rather than from on high.

We （機の）カム to a 広大な／多数の／重要な and noble square, the 宗教上の Place it was called, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する which stood statues of those whom the Sidonians worshipped, Baal, Ashtoreth, and the 残り／休憩（する） of their daemons. Moreover, with its 支援する to the 寺 stood a 抱擁する and hideous god of 厚かましさ／高級将校連, who in 前線 of him, upon 広大な／多数の／重要な 手渡すs which seemed to be discoloured with 解雇する／砲火／射撃, held a curved tray whereof the inner 辛勝する／優位 残り／休憩（する）d on an 開始 in the belly of the 人物／姿／数字. I asked of one who walked by the chariot what was the 指名する of this god. He answered,

"Dagon whom some call Moloch, to whom the firstborn are sacrificed by 解雇する／砲火／射撃. See, the priests are 蓄える／店ing the hollow place beneath with 支持を得ようと努めるd. Soon, doubtless, there will be a 広大な／多数の／重要な 申し込む／申し出ing."

Thenceforward I hated this people, for what could one born in Arabia and a servant of Isis, the 宗教上の and gentle, think of a race that 申し込む／申し出d sacrifice of those born of them to a daemon? Yes, I looked on their 直面するs, keen, handsome, and cruel, and hated them, one and all.

We （機の）カム to the door of the palace where slaves ran 今後, 補助装置ing me from the chariot. By it stood Tenes surrounded with glittering nobles and white-式服d priests who 星／主役にするd at me doubtfully.

"Be pleased to enter my house, Lady, 恐れるing nothing, for there you shall be 井戸／弁護士席 宿泊するd and given of the best that Sidon has to 申し込む／申し出," said Tenes.

"I thank you," I answered, 屈服するing and letting 落ちる my 隠す, "and I 疑問 it not, for what いっそう少なく than her best could Sidon give to the Daughter of Isis, the Queen of Heaven?"

Yes, thus I answered proudly, I who played a 広大な／多数の／重要な game and 火刑／賭けるd all upon a throw.

"Here we have another Queen of Heaven and she is not 指名するd Isis," I heard one of the dark-browed priests mutter to a companion, thinking that I did not understand his words.

They led me into a glorious dwelling wherein were 議会s more splendid than any that I had seen in my 旅行s through the Eastern world. Gold and gems were everywhere and on the 塀で囲むs hung priceless trappings dyed with the Tyrian purple of that 高くつく／犠牲の大きい sort to use which is the prerogative of kings. The very carpets on the 床に打ち倒すs shone like silk and were woven to things of beauty, while the lamps seemed to be hollowed from 広大な／多数の／重要な gems.

"Who 宿泊するs in this place?" I asked of a slave when I was alone.

"Who but the Queen Beltis, divine one," answered the slave, 屈服するing low before me.

"Where then is the Queen Beltis? I see her not."

"Nay, divine one, she visits her father at Jerusalem, whence she should return すぐに. Indeed, the King has 問題／発行するd orders that other 議会s should be 用意が出来ている for her against her coming."

"Is it so?" I replied indifferently, but within my heart I wondered what this queen would say when she （機の）カム to find her place 住むd by a stranger and a 競争相手.

Then to the sound of 甘い music I ate from services of gold and drank out of jewelled cups, and afterward, 存在 疲れた／うんざりした, who had 残り／休憩（する）d little on that ship and was tempest-投げ上げる／ボディチェックするd, laid me 負かす／撃墜する to sleep in a soft and scented bed guarded by women and by eunuchs.

"平易な enough," thought I to myself, "would it be for these to 殺人 me, one unfriended and alone in a strange land," and because of this for a little felt afraid who at that time was but as other mortals are. On the ship I had 恐れるd nothing, for there was Philo, a brother of my 約束, and with him some others who could be 信用d. But here I was but as a lamb （犯罪の）一味d 一連の会議、交渉／完成する with wolves. Moreover, besides the wolves there was a lion, the king-brute Tenes, who sought to snare me, and whom I knew for a liar, not to be 信用d whatever he might 断言する.

Yes, for a little while, perhaps for the first time in my life, and certainly for the last, that is, where my 団体／死体 was at 火刑／賭ける, I felt somewhat afraid, so much so that I went to a window-place to watch the rising of the moon and to make my 祈り to Isis of whom it was the symbol, that she would be pleased to 保護する me in this city whither by her will I had wandered.

This window looked out upon that 炎上-lit square which was called the 宗教上の Place. There I 公式文書，認めるd that thousands of those of Sidon were gathered, some of them 星／主役にするing up at the palace to which it was known I had been taken, pointing and talking. The most of them, however, wandered 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 広大な／多数の／重要な brazen statue, that hideous, devil-直面するd thing whereof I have written, and when they could, caught one of the priests by the arm and put questions to him.

の中で these, I noticed, were many women, some of whom from their mien seemed to be noble, whose 直面するs were strange to see. 反抗的な they were, yet in a way proud, as might be the 直面するs of those about to do some 広大な／多数の／重要な 行為. Moreover, many of these women led or carried children, which little ones they showed to the priests who smiled horribly and nodded 是認, patting the children on the arm and even kissing them.

One lady, after her son had received such a kiss, wailed aloud and, clasping him to her breast, turned and fled away, whereon the priest 悪口を言う／悪態d her and the other women shouted "Shame!" then strove to cover up the 悲惨 that peeped out of their 注目する，もくろむs by singing some 猛烈な／残忍な song in honour of their gods.

熟考する／考慮するing this scene, presently the meaning of it （機の）カム home to me. Those children were doomed to be sacrificed to the brazen Dagon or Moloch whereof I remembered having heard in Jerusalem as a devil to whom the firstborn were passed through the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Yes, and these the mothers had brought them there that they might look upon the god and grow accustomed to the sight of him.

Oh! it was horrible, and my heart 冷気／寒がらせるd at the thought of such iniquity. What reward from Heaven, I marvelled, for a people who practised such a 約束?

As I marvelled an answer seemed to come to me. The sun had sunk but there were 激しい clouds in the sky above upon which struck its 出発／死ing rays. Thence they were 反映するd on to the city and 主として upon this 宗教上の Place, as it was called, and the brazen image that sat there before the 寺. Yes, from those clouds （機の）カム red light that filled the 空気／公表する and the city beneath and the 宗教上の Place, as it were with a もや of 血. It was as though everything were dyed with 血, and in the 中央, （犯罪の）一味d 一連の会議、交渉／完成する with たいまつs, glowed Moloch, a god of 血!

Then I knew that Sidon was doomed to be 溺死するd in 血; that such was the 法令 of Heaven and that I, Ayesha, was the 器具 任命するd to loose this spear of death upon her beauteous, sinful breast. I shivered at the thought, I who love not cruelty or to spend the lives of men, though it was true that I would kill Tenes. Yet what was I but the 雷 in the 手渡すs of 運命／宿命, and can the 雷 choose where it will strike? Must it not 落ちる whither it is drawn? To this end had I been sent to earth, すなわち that I might bring woe upon 誤った Egypt and the peoples who clung to her.

Such was the 重荷（を負わせる） of that dream by which my sleep was haunted, such too the 命令（する） of Heaven which again and again Noot the prophet had whispered in my ear. I must destroy Egypt, or rather her apostate priests and 支配者s, and afterward once more build up the worship of Isis in some far land that should be 明らかにする／漏らすd to me. Such was my 使節団, whereof it was 法令d that I should fulfil the first part and because of my sin leave the 残り／休憩（する） undone.

Holly the learned tells me that the new 約束 he follows, to which I will not listen who am 疲れた／うんざりした of 宗教s and their changeful march toward a changeless end, 令状s it 負かす／撃墜する that 解放する／自由な will is given to man, that he is able to choose this path and 拒絶する the other; that he is the master of his own soul which he can guide here or there as the horseman guides his steed or Philo steered his ship.

And yet he read to me from the writings of one of the 広大な／多数の／重要な apostles of that 約束, a 確かな 宗教上の one 指名するd Paulus, words which 宣言するd that man is predestined ere he was born to eternal life or eternal death, to the glory of the light or the unfathomed dark. To me these doctrines seem to war one upon the other, though for aught I knew both may be true, seeing that within the circle of the starry spheres and the 広大な soul of That which made them, there is room for a multitude of truths whereof the 影をつくる／尾行するs 落ちるing upon the 甚だしい／１２ダース earth take a thousand 形態／調整s of error.

Moreover, I 持つ／拘留する that whatever is, is true because it is, and that men do but 絡まる themselves in seeming differences that are only 変化させるing lights darting from the eternal 注目する，もくろむs of Truth. On all hearts 向こうずね those 注目する，もくろむs, but 非，不，無 beholds them as his brother does, for to each they 燃やす as a separate たいまつ of different-coloured 炎上. Therefore it is that men worship many gods not knowing that these are the same God whose 手渡すs 持つ／拘留する all things.

Thus I sum up the 事柄. At least through the millions of the ages and the multitudes of lives man may 達成する to freedom if his 直面する be 始める，決める that way of his own 願望（する）. Yet in his little hour on the earth, that 誤って he believes his all, looking from birth to death and the blackness that bounds them both, he is not 解放する／自由な but a part of Strengths that are greater than his own. Have I, Ayesha, been 解放する／自由な, I who chose the 宗教上の path and fell from it into Nature's 湾s? Did I 願望（する） to 落ちる? Did I not 願望（する） to climb that 法外な road to the 高さs of Heaven and sit enthroned upon the topmost snows of 潔白 and peace? And yet another Might 投げつけるd me thence and now it is my 運命／宿命 to climb again; by slow and painful steps to climb eternally.

But of these things I will speak in their season, telling what is the price those 支払う／賃金 who 捜し出す to overleap the bounds that hem us in and to match their pettiness against divine 法令.

These in the 中央 of the red light that filled Sidon like a bowl with 血 and shone on me and all; on me, the priestess, on the brazen Dagon 非常に高い up against me, on fantastic, lamp-lit, 寺s and palaces, on the 広大な／多数の／重要な place about which they stood and the 猛烈な／残忍な- 直面するd multitude that wandered on its marble pavements, there in the window-開始 I knelt me 負かす／撃墜する and prayed, 解除するing my 直面する to the pure heavens above. To Isis did I pray, as an idolater prays to an image in a 洞穴, because Isis was my symbol, or rather to That which is as far above Isis as Isis was above me. For I prayed to the Soul of that Universe whereof my 注目する，もくろむs could see a part in the arching skies, and of this Soul what was Isis but one golden thread in a glittering 衣料品 that 包むs the majesty of God? And what then was I and what were those 猛烈な／残忍な-直面するd worshippers of Dagon?

Oh! in that hour of dedication, for such I felt it to be, these truths （機の）カム home to my heart as never they had done before. And this was the sum of them, that I and all I could see and know were but as impalpable 穀物s of dust, not 十分な to 原因（となる） the delicately hung balance wherein the wilfulness of the world is 均衡を保った against the 法令s of the immortal 法律 to 変化させる by a hair's breadth. Still I prayed and because that which is small yet 含む／封じ込めるs that which is smaller, and the smaller finds a god in the small, as the small does in the 広大な／多数の／重要な, from that 祈り I won 慰安.

My 祈り finished I laid me 負かす／撃墜する to 残り／休憩（する） in the golden bed of Beltis, the queen into whose place I had been thrust, bethinking me how many and 近づく were the dangers by which I was surrounded. That brute king 願望（する）d me for a prey and here in his palace I lay in the hollow of his 手渡す. He had the 重要な to all my doors; the servants who stood about them were his creatures whom at a nod he could send to death. I was a stranger in a strange land, utterly unfriended, for Philo was far off upon his ship; there was nothing between me and him save the impalpable 隠す of 恐れる which I had woven between us by the strength of my spirit. I was a prize to be taken, unarmoured, without javelin or arrow to 保護する me, with nothing, nothing save that 隠す of 恐れる. If he chose to break through it, daring my 悪口を言う／悪態 and that of my goddess, he could do so. Then the 悪口を言う／悪態 would 落ちる indeed, but it would be too late to save me, and I the proud and pure, must pass hence defiled, as pass I would. Still 信用ing to the goddess, or rather to the part of her which dwelt in me, or to That which was above us both, I laid me 負かす／撃墜する and slept.

At midnight I awoke. The light of the moon flowing through the window- places flooded the splendid 議会, catching on the cornices of gold, the polished mirrors and the silver 大型船s. The door opened and through it wrapped in a dark cloak （機の）カム Tenes. Though his 直面する was hidden I knew him by his 激しい 形態／調整 and shambling step. He crept toward me like a wolf upon a sleeping lamb. There I lay in the golden bed illumined by the moon, and watched through the web of my outstretched hair, my 手渡す upon the dagger that was buckled to my girdle. He drew 近づく, he bent over me breathing ひどく, and his 注目する，もくろむs devoured my beauty. Still I feigned sleep and watched him, while my fingers の近くにd upon the 扱う of the dagger. He unbuckled his cloak, 明らかにする／漏らすing his hook-nosed visage, and a draught of 勝利，勝つd seemed to catch it, for it flapped and fell from his shoulders, though I felt no 勝利，勝つd. He stooped as though to 解除する it, and it would seem （機の）カム 直面する to 直面する with I know not what. Perchance it was the goddess invisible to me. Perchance it was some picture of his own death to come. I cannot say. At least his 転換ing 注目する，もくろむs sank in till they seemed to 消える beneath the hairy brows, and his fat cheeks grew pallid as though the 血 were draining from them by a mortal 負傷させる. Words （機の）カム hissing from his 厚い lips and they were,

"Horrible! Horrible! She is indeed divine, for gods and ghosts 保護する her! Horrible! Death walks the 空気／公表する!"

Then he reeled from the room dragging the cloak after him, and knowing that I had no more to 恐れる, I returned thanks to the 後見人 spirits and slept sweetly. The danger that I dreaded had drawn 近づく and passed —to return no more.

CHAPTER IX

DAGON TAKES HIS SACRIFICE

The sun arose on Sidon and drove away the terrors of the dark. I too arose and was led to the bath by slaves. Then those slaves 着せる／賦与するd me in the silks of Cyprus, over which I threw a new 隠す 国境d with the purple of Tyre. More, they brought me gifts from the King, priceless jewels, pearls with rubies and sapphires 始める，決める in gold. Those I laid aside who would not wear his gems. Then, in another 議会, I ate as before of meats delicately served by 屈服するing maidens. 不十分な had I finished my meal of fish from the sea and fruit and snow-冷静な／正味のd water drunk from a 水晶 cup, when a eunuch （機の）カム 説 the King Tenes craved audience of me.

"Let him enter," I answered.

Presently he stood before me, making salutation, and asked me with feigned carelessness whether I had 残り／休憩（する）d 井戸／弁護士席.

"Aye, 広大な／多数の／重要な King," I answered, "井戸／弁護士席 enough, save for a 選び出す／独身, very vivid dream. I dreamed that 始める，決める, the god of Evil, rose out of the 不明瞭 of hell wearing the 形態／調整 of a man whose 直面する I could not see, and that this fiend would have 掴むd me and dragged me 負かす／撃墜する into the 炭坑，オーケストラ席 of hell. I was afraid, and while I lay as one in a 逮捕する, there （機の）カム to me a 見通し of the divine Isis who said,

"'Where is thy 約束, Daughter? If I saved thee on the ship, giving thee the lives of all her company, cannot I save thee now and always? Fiends shall not 害（を与える） thee, nor men; swords shall not pierce thee nor 解雇する／砲火／射撃s 燃やす, and if any would lay 手渡すs on thee, on them I give thee 力／強力にする to call 負かす／撃墜する my vengeance and to cast them to the jaws of the Devourer who, を待つing evil-doers, watches ever in the 黒人／ボイコット depth of death.'

"Then in my dreams the Mother whispered into the ears of that fiend 形態／調整d like a man, and passing her 手渡す before his 注目する，もくろむs, showed him 確かな 見通しs, though what these were I know not. At the least they 原因（となる）d him to wail aloud with terror, also to my sight to 落ちる as from a precipice and, like some foul vulture pierced by an archer's 軸, go whirling 負かす／撃墜する, 負かす／撃墜する, and 負かす／撃墜する, into 湾s that had no 底（に届く）. It was a very evil dream, King Tenes, and yet 甘い, because it told me that though I should 旅行 to the ends of the earth, still I shall not pass out of the 避難所 of the circling 武器 of Isis."

"Evil indeed, Lady," he said hoarsely, biting his lips to still the quaver in his 発言する／表明する. "Yet it ended 井戸／弁護士席, so what of dreams?"

"Very 井戸／弁護士席, O King—for me. And as for dreams, I, who by gifts and training am 技術d in their 解釈／通訳s, 持つ／拘留する that for the most part they are a 影をつくる／尾行する of the Truth. I know that certainly no 害（を与える） can come to me in your palace over which one day I must 支配する, or in your city where I am a guest. Yet doubtless some 危険，危なくする of the spirit did 脅す me last night, and by the help of Heaven was brought to nothing."

"Doubtless, doubtless! though of such 事柄s I know nothing, who を取り引きする the things of earth, not with those of Heaven. But, Lady, I （機の）カム to tell you that this day there is a 広大な／多数の／重要な sacrifice on the 宗教上の Place yonder, and that from these windows you will be able to watch it 井戸／弁護士席. It is to propitiate our gods that they may 井戸／弁護士席 give us victory in the war against the Persians."

"Is it so, King? But where are the 犠牲者s? I see no 肉親，親類, nor sheep, nor doves, such as are 申し込む／申し出d in Rome and in Jerusalem, or even flowers and fruit such as in Egypt we lay upon our gentler altars."

"Nay, Lady; here we make more 高くつく／犠牲の大きい offerings, tithing our own 血. Yes, here Moloch （人命などを）奪う，主張するs the fruit of our 団体／死体s, taking them to his purifying 解雇する／砲火／射撃s so that their innocent breath may rise as a 甘い savour to the nostrils of the devouring and 保護するing gods."

"Do you, perchance, mean children, King?"

"Aye, Lady, children, many children, and の中で these to-day one of my own, a son of a 確かな Beltis who is of my 世帯. He is a child of 約束, yet I grudge him not to the god if その為に my people may be 利益d."

"And does this Beltis not grudge him, King?"

"I know not," he answered sullenly. "She is a woman of the 王室の House of イスラエル and is absent on a 旅行. Therefore I know not, and when she returns the boy will have joined the gods and it will be too late for her to make trouble 関心ing him, should she be so minded."

Now horror took 持つ／拘留する of me, Ayesha, and my soul sickened.

"King Tenes," I said, "bethink you of that mother's heart and, I pray you, spare this child."

"How can I, Lady? Must not the king 耐える that yoke which is laid upon the necks of his people? If I spare him, would not the mothers of Sidon whose young have passed into the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 spit at me and 悪口を言う／悪態 me— aye, and 涙／ほころび me to pieces if they might? Nay, he must die with the 残り／休憩（する）. The priests have so 法令d."

"On your 長，率いる be it, King," I said and choked in my loathing of him. Then a thought took me, and I cried to those who were gathered about the door of the 議会, captains of the guard, eunuchs, slaves, scribes, and a priest or two,

"Come hither, ye of Sidon, and hearken to the words of her who in Egypt is 指名するd Oracle-of-Isis."

They （機の）カム, drawn by wonder, or perchance because my strength compelled them.

"Take 公式文書，認める of my words and 記録，記録的な／記録する them," I said, while they 星／主役にするd on me. "Take 公式文書，認める and forget it not, that I, the daughter of Isis, have made 祈り to King Tenes of Sidon, that he will spare the life of his son and the son of a lady 指名するd Beltis, and that he has 辞退するd my 祈り. Ye have heard me. It is enough. Go!"

They went, looking at each other, the scribes, as I saw, 令状ing 負かす／撃墜する what I had said upon their tablets. Tenes also 星／主役にするd at me curiously.

"You are an Arab by birth, born of an Egyptian mother, and wholly Egyptian in your 約束 and mind, though the Arab courage still strikes through these 質s," he said. "Therefore I 許す you who do not understand our customs. Yet, know, Lady, that those of Sidon whom it pleases you to call as 証言，証人／目撃するs will think you mad."

"Doubtless, Tenes, before all is done, those of Sidon will think many things of me, as you will also. But what will this lady Beltis think?"

"I neither know nor care who 疲れた／うんざりした of Beltis and her moods," he answered, scowling. "Beauteous one, I sent you jewels. Why do you not wear them?"

"The daughter of Isis wears no jewels save those the goddess gives her, King. Yet yours shall go to 濃厚にする her 神社s when I return to Egypt, and in her 指名する I thank you for them, bounteous King."

"Aye, when you return to Egypt. But how can you return if you 企て，努力，提案 here as my wife?"

"If I 企て，努力，提案 here as your wife, then I shall 企て，努力，提案 as the Queen of Egypt as is written in our 社債, and from time to time the Queen of Egypt must visit her dominions, King, and give thanks to the goddess for her 進歩. Do you understand?"

"I understand that you are a very strange woman, so strange that I would I had never 始める，決める 注目する，もくろむs on you and your accursed beauty," he answered in a 激怒（する）.

"What! So soon?" I said, laughing. "That this should be so in the beginning makes me wonder what you will wish in the end. Why not take your 注目する，もくろむs off me and have done, King Tenes?"

"Because I cannot. Because I am bewitched," he answered furiously, and rising left me, while I laughed and laughed.

He 出発／死d and I went to the window-place to breathe 空気／公表する 解放する／自由な from the 毒（薬） of his presence. There I saw that the 宗教上の Place beneath was already filled with tens of thousands of the Sidonians. I saw, moreover, that priests were engaged in lighting 解雇する／砲火／射撃 at the foot of the 広大な／多数の／重要な brazen image of Dagon, which 解雇する／砲火／射撃 seemed to 燃やす within the image, since smoke 注ぐd out far above from an 開始 in his 長，率いる. Moreover, by degrees the 巡査 plates of which its 広大な and hideous 本体，大部分／ばら積みの was built up grew red with heat, so that the upper part of it became one glowing furnace.

White-式服d priests, gathered in 軍隊／機動隊s, began to 申し込む／申し出 祈りs and celebrate 儀式s of which I did not know the meaning. They 屈服するd themselves to the image, they gashed their 武器 with knives and catching the 血 that fell from them in shallow 爆撃するs of the sea, cast it into the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Orators made speeches, prophets uttered prophecies. 禁止（する）d of fair women appeared naked to the middle and having their breasts gilded, who danced wildly before the god.

Then suddenly there was a 広大な／多数の／重要な silence and from the mouth of some gateway that I could not see, because it lay almost beneath the balconies of the palace, appeared the King Tenes 覆う？ in gorgeous, sacerdotal 式服s, those, I think, of the high-priest of Baal. With him was a woman who led by the 手渡す a little boy who perhaps had seen three summers, dressed in white with a garland of flowers about his neck. Tenes 屈服するd to the glowing image and cried in a loud 発言する／表明する,

"People of Sidon, I the King make sacrifice of my son to Dagon the 広大な／多数の／重要な god, that Dagon may be propitiated and Sidon may 征服する／打ち勝つ in this war. O Dagon, take my son that his spirit may pass through the 炎上s and be gathered to thy spirit and that thine appetite may 料金d upon his 血."

At these words a 広大な／多数の／重要な and joyous shout went up from the tens of thousands of people, and in the 中央 of the shout Tenes bent 負かす／撃墜する and kissed his son, which was the only kindly, human thing that ever I saw him do. The child, affrighted, clung to his 式服s, but the woman at his 味方する snatched the boy away and ran with him, struggling, to a priest who stood by the foot of a little アイロンをかける ladder of which the 最高の，を越す 残り／休憩（する）d against the outstretched 巨大（な） 手渡すs of the glowing image.

The priest took the child from the woman, 持つ／拘留するing him aloft that the multitude might see him and know him for the very son of the king. Oh! never shall I forget the look upon that child's 直面する as he was thus held aloft in the 手渡すs of the 残虐な priest who stood upon the lower rungs of the ladder. He had 中止するd to 叫び声をあげる, but his ruddy cheeks were blanched, his 黒人／ボイコット 注目する，もくろむs seemed to start from his 長，率いる, and his little 手渡すs しっかり掴むd emptily at the 空気／公表する or were 解除するd up to heaven, which indeed was 近づく to him, as though in supplication for deliverance from the cruelty of man.

The priest climbed the ladder, 耐えるing the child, and I 公式文書，認めるd a 肉親，親類d of metal covering upon his breast and 長，率いる, 始める，決める there to 保護物，者 him from the heat of the fiery idol.

He reached the 壇・綱領・公約 of the outstretched 手渡すs. The child's fingers clung to his 衣料品s, but he tore them 解放する／自由な and with a cry of 勝利 let 落ちる the little 団体／死体 into the hollow of the hot 手渡すs. Then, to 溺死する the 犠牲者's cries, priests standing below began to play upon 器具s of music, as they played, singing some hymn to the god. I saw the little 武器 投げ上げる／ボディチェックするd aloft above the 辛勝する／優位 of the hollow of the brazen 手渡すs. Then I saw those 武器 解除する themselves, feebly for the last time, and that poor, 拷問d, innocent babe rolled slowly into the red abyss beneath, while the savage multitude 叫び声をあげるd its delight to heaven.

This 王室の sacrifice was 遂行するd, yet it was but the first of many, for woman after woman brought her child, or いつかs it was a man who brought it, and babe after babe was thrown upon the red-hot 手渡すs and rolled thence into the 炎上s beneath. All the while the priests played upon their 器具s and sang their songs while the shameless priestesses, and others, those with the gilded breasts, danced lewdly, 投げ上げる／ボディチェックするing up their white 武器, and the thousands of the people of Sidon, filled with the lust of 血, roared aloud in their drunken joy, and the poor mothers, now that the 行為 was done, crept thence, laughing and crying both together, 支援する to their desolated homes, there to 星／主役にする at the cots emptied into "the bosom of the god."

At length I could 耐える no more of this scene of hell, and 出発／死ing to my sleeping-議会, 原因（となる）d women to draw curtains over the window- places and having 解任するd them, sat myself 負かす／撃墜する and thought.

A 広大な／多数の／重要な 激怒（する） filled me, Ayesha, who have ever loved children—will a day come when I shall nurse one upon my breast, I wonder, and if so in what 星／主役にする will it be born?—and a mighty hate of those accursed Sidonians. All pity left my heart, even for the young who would grow up to be as were those who begat them. These sharks and tigers loved 血. Good. They should be filled with 血, their own 血. All of them were 有罪の, all, all were 殺害者s. Hearken to their horrible rejoicings! Old men and maidens, young men and matrons, the toothless crone and the budding girl, the 広大な／多数の／重要な lords and ladies, the toilers on the 深い and the 仲買人s of the city, the 社債 and the 解放する／自由な, from the king 負かす／撃墜する to the meanest slave, all of them 叫び声をあげるd with hideous rejoicing as babe after babe was swallowed by the glowing gorge of the daemon they 指名するd a god. Therefore I 公約するd by Isis that all of them should 支払う／賃金 the price of this innocent 血 and go 負かす／撃墜する to find their god in hell. Yes, I swore it by the Mother and by my own 乱暴／暴力を加えるd soul!

The next day Beltis （機の）カム. The King Tenes was in my outer 議会 fawning on me and watching me out of his crafty 注目する，もくろむs, as I saw through the 隠す that I had let 落ちる over my 直面する, and my flesh crept at the sight of him. Trained though I was and wise though I was, who knew 井戸／弁護士席 that the hour had not come to strike, 不十分な could I 耐える him 近づく me who longed to 運動 my dagger through his lying throat. Yet I sat still and listened to his flattery and answered him with 二塁打- 辛勝する／優位d and mocking words of which he could not read the meaning. He told me that already the 広大な／多数の／重要な sacrifice had borne good fruit, since tidings had come of a new victory over the 先導 of the Persians, in which five thousand of the men of Ochus had 死なせる／死ぬd.

I answered that I 疑問d not it would 耐える yet better fruit, then asked him how many of his folk dwelt in Sidon.

He answered, some sixty thousand.

"Then, O King," I said, "I who am filled with the spirit of the Mother, make a prophecy to you, I prophesy that in reward of the piety of this people of yours who do not grudge their own children to the gods, the gods will take sixty thousand lives from の中で the wicked of the earth who worship 解雇する／砲火／射撃—as I am told these Persians do."

"That is a good 説, Lady," he said, rubbing his fat 手渡すs, "though it is true that some might say that we Sidonians also worship 解雇する／砲火／射撃, or rather Moloch whose belly is filled with 炎上 as we saw yesterday."

Now while we were speaking and this brute bemused was talking thus almost at hazard, for his mind was 始める，決める on me only, I 公式文書，認めるd that those who …に出席するd him slipped from the place, taking with them the waiting women and の近くにing the carven doors behind them, so that he and I were now alone. Guessing that this was done by order, I knew that I must 準備する for some 爆発 of the man's passion and took counsel with myself. What it was does not 事柄 because of that which followed.

Already he had begun, for the words, "O most beauteous!" had passed his lips when the door burst open and through it （機の）カム a noble-looking woman. She was tall, dark, and handsome with swift-ちらりと見ることing, 悲劇の 注目する，もくろむs, as I knew at once, a Jewess, since I had seen others like her in Jerusalem. She ちらりと見ることd at me as though wondering what my 隠す hid, and 前進するing, stood before Tenes. He had not heard her come or seen her, his mind 存在 十分な of other 事柄s and his 支援する toward the doorway. At the sound of her feet he turned and, coming 直面する to 直面する with her, stepped backward three paces with a 脅すd 直面する and uttering some Phoenician 悪口を言う／悪態.

"Have you returned so soon, Beltis?" he asked. "What has brought you here before the 任命するd time?"

"My heart, O Tenes, king and husband. Yonder in Jerusalem a prophet of Jehovah said words to me that 原因（となる）d me to return and 速く. Tell me, Tenes, where is our son? On my path to this 議会 I passed through those where he should be and 設立する him not. All I 設立する was his nurse weeping; aye, so choked with 涙／ほころびs that she could not answer my question. Where is our son, Tenes?"

Now he cast his 注目する，もくろむs about him like one who finds himself in a snare, and answered thickly,

"式のs! Lady, the gods have taken our son."

She gasped and clasped her 手渡すs upon her heart, 説, or rather moaning,

"How did they take him, Husband?"

He looked through the window-place at the hideous brazen image dulled with heat and blackened by smoke; he looked at the lady with the white 直面する and the terrible 注目する，もくろむs. Then he strove to speak, but as it seemed, could not, for the mumbled words choked each other in his throat.

"Answer!" she said coldly, but he could not, or would not answer.

Then my spirit moving me, I played a part in this ineffable 悲劇. Yes, I, Ayesha, threw 支援する my 隠す, 説,

"Queen, if it pleases you to listen I will tell you how your son died."

She looked at me wondering, and asked like one who dreams,

"Is this a woman or a goddess, or perchance a spirit? Speak on, woman, or goddess, or spirit."

"Queen," I said, "look through the window-place and tell me what you see."

"I see the image of Dagon, the brazen image 非常に高い to the housetops, blackened with 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and 星／主役にするing at me with empty 注目する，もくろむs, and beyond it the 寺 and above it Heaven."

"Queen, yesterday I looked from this window-place and saw that image of Dagon, only then from those empty 注目する，もくろむs （機の）カム 炎上. Also I saw King Tenes lead out a beauteous, 黒人／ボイコット-注目する，もくろむd boy of three summers or so, which boy he 宣言するd to be his son. This boy he gave to a woman, although the child clung wailing to his 式服. The woman gave him to a priest. The priest climbed a ladder—look, there it stands—and laid him upon the red-hot 手渡すs of the idol whence he rolled まっただ中に the plaudits of the people into a womb of 解雇する／砲火／射撃, to be perchance reborn in Heaven."

Beltis heard and as she heard her 直面する seemed to 凍結する into a mask of ice. Then she 星／主役にするd at Tenes and asked almost in a whisper,

"Are these things so, O dog of a Sidonian, that like a dog can devour your own flesh?"

"The god （人命などを）奪う，主張するd him," he mumbled, "and like others I must give when the god （人命などを）奪う，主張するs, that victory may 栄冠を与える our 武器. Who can 否定する the god? Rejoice, O mother, that he has been pleased to 受託する that which was born of you."

So he mumbled on as priests patter to their idols, till at length in that 冷淡な silence his 発言する／表明する died away.

Then Beltis the Queen began to hiss a 悪口を言う／悪態 at him, such a 悪口を言う／悪態 as, save once only, I have never heard come from the lips of woman. In the 指名する of Jehovah, God of the Jews, she 悪口を言う／悪態d him, calling 負かす／撃墜する woe and desolation upon his 長，率いる, consigning him to death in 血 and 任命するing Gehenna, as she 指名するd hell, as a 残り／休憩（する）ing-place for his soul, where devils fashioned as children should 涙／ほころび him eternally with hooks of 炎上. Yes, she 悪口を言う／悪態d him living and dead, but always in that low, whispering 発言する／表明する, that 残忍な 発言する／表明する which did not seem to come from the throat of woman, such a 発言する／表明する as the gods or spirits use when from time to time they speak to their servants in the inmost 聖域s.

He cowered before her. Once even he sank to his 膝s, 持つ／拘留するing his 手渡すs above his 長，率いる as though to 区 off her words of evil omen. Then, as she would not 中止する, he sprang up, shouting,

"You also shall be a sacrifice, you worshipper of the God of the Jews. Dagon is greater than the God of the Jews. Be you a sacrifice to him, O Sorceress of イスラエル!"

He drew the sword at his 味方する and shook it. She did not 動かす, only with her 手渡すs she tore open the 式服s upon her breast, 説,

"Smite on, dog of a Sidonian, and 完全にする the circle of your 罪，犯罪s. Where the son went, there let the mother follow!"

Now in madness, or in 激怒（する）, or in terror, he 解除するd the sword and was about to do the 行為, when I stepped between him and her. Loosing the 隠す I wore I threw it over her 長，率いる, and turning, said to Tenes,

"Now, King, touch her who is hid in the 隠す of Isis if you dare. Of Isis I think you have learned something on a 確かな ship when the breakers called for you off Carmel, yes, of Isis and her prophetess. Know then that she who could save can also 殺す, and give you over to such dreams as （機の）カム to you, Tenes, at midnight in a bed in yonder room. Aye, she can 殺す, and 速く. Strike then through the 隠す of Isis and learn whether her prophetess speaks truth."

He looked at me; he looked at Beltis standing still and ghostlike beneath the 隠す. Then he cast 負かす／撃墜する the sword and fled.

When he had gone I went to the door and 発射 its bolt. I returned, I 解除するd the 隠す from about that queen.

"Who and what are you?" she asked, "that can 勇敢に立ち向かう Tenes in his palace and save one whom he would 殺す, though for that I thank you not. So little do I thank you that—" And she stooped to しっかり掴む the sword.

Moving 速く as a swallow 飛行機で行くs, I flitted between her and it. Before her fingers could touch it, I had snatched it away who understood her 目的.

"Be seated, Lady, and listen," I said.

She sank into a 議長，司会を務める and, 残り／休憩（する）ing her 長，率いる upon her 手渡す, regarded me with a 冷淡な and curious look.

"Queen," I went on, "I am one whom Heaven has sent to this land to destroy Tenes and the Sidonians."

"Then I welcome you, Stranger. Speak on."

So 簡潔に I told her all my tale, and in proof of it read to her the 令状ing in which I 約束d myself to Tenes when he could 栄冠を与える me queen of the world.

"So you 願望（する） my place and this man?"

"Aye," I answered, "as much, or as little, as life 願望（する）s death. 熟考する／考慮する the 条件s. Can he 栄冠を与える me queen of all the earth, and under them until he does so, can he take me? Do you not understand that I would lead the fool on to his 廃虚?"

She nodded her 長，率いる.

"Then will you not help me?"

"Aye, Lady, but how?"

"I will show you how," and bending 今後, I whispered in her ear.

"It is good," she said when I had finished. "By Jehovah my God, and by the 血 of my son, with you I stand or 落ちる, and when all is done take Tenes if you will."

CHAPTER X

THE VENGEANCE OF BELTIS

So it （機の）カム about that this queen, whose 指名する I learned was Elisheba の中で her own people, the Hebrews, Beltis 存在 a 肩書を与える given to her in Sidon, and I dwelt together in the palace of Tenes. Leave me she dared not, nor would I 苦しむ it who knew that then certainly she would be 殺人d, while with me she was 安全な because Tenes dared not touch one whom I 避難所d, 存在 afraid of me; one, moreover, over whom I had placed the 隠す of Isis. For the 残り／休憩（する） she was glad to stay with me whom soon she learned to love, 特に after she had learned how I pleaded for her son's life.

I, too, was glad that she should do so, both because she was a companion to my loneliness and a 保護, since Tenes could not 迫害する me with his passion in her presence, and because she had those who loved her in Sidon, 確かな Hebrews through whom we learned much. Yet we were in a strange 事例／患者, the queen who 統治するd and the queen to whom her place was 約束d, dwelling together like sisters, and both sworn to destroy him who was her husband and who 願望（する）d to be 地雷.

For we made a 協定／条約 together, she 断言するing by Jehovah and I by Isis, that we would neither 残り／休憩（する） nor stay till we saw Tenes dead and his Sidonians with him. Oh! if I hated him and these, she, the robbed mother, hated them worse, so 深く，強烈に indeed that if only she might come by vengeance she cared nothing for her life. She was a 猛烈な／残忍な-natured woman, such as those of the Hebrews often are, and all her heart's love had been given to this boy, her only child, whom Tenes butchered at the bidding of the priests and because of his superstitions.

From the beginning this Beltis or Elisheba had hated the Sidonians and Tenes, to whom she was given in a marriage of 政策 by the 支配者s of Jerusalem because of her beauty and her 王室の 血, and now to her they were but as wild beasts and snakes to be destroyed. Yet she was clever also and played her part 井戸／弁護士席, feigning 悲しみ for the wild words she spoke in the hour of her agony and with it obedience to the wishes of the King. She even told him in my presence that when the time （機の）カム she would be willing that I should take her 栄冠を与える and she but a second place, or if it pleased him better, that she would return to her own people. This, however, he did not 願望（する）, since he 恐れるd lest the 不名誉 of so 広大な／多数の／重要な a lady should bring the wrath of Jerusalem upon him, or even 原因（となる） the Hebrews to join his enemies.

So 井戸／弁護士席 did she play that part, indeed, making it appear that her spirit was 鎮圧するd and that she was one from whom there was nothing to 恐れる, that soon Tenes （機の）カム to believe that this was so, and ーするために please me he 苦しむd her to dwell on there in peace.

Now I have to tell of the war and of the end of Sidon. First I should say, however, that before he sailed for Egypt, after the Hapi had been fitted with a new mast of cedar, I 原因（となる）d Philo to be 召喚するd to the palace by the help of those Jews who were the friends of Beltis. He was brought to my presence with two merchants, disguised as one of their company, and, while Beltis made pretence to chaffer with them for their 高くつく／犠牲の大きい goods, I spoke with him apart.

I told him to get him to Memphis as quickly as he might, and there make all ready as we had agreed, を待つing my message. How this would reach him, or Noot, or both of them, I did not know. It might be by 令状ing, or by messenger who would 耐える 確かな 記念品s, or it might be さもなければ. At least when it （機の）カム he must sail at once, and arriving off the port of Sidon, every night after the setting of the sun and before its rising, must light a ゆらめく of green 解雇する／砲火／射撃 at his masthead, 原因（となる）ing it to 燃やす for the fourth part of an hour, so that I might be sure that the ship which signal led was his and no other. Then in this way or in that I would find means to come 船内に that 大型船, and the 残り／休憩（する） was in the 手渡すs of the gods.

These things he 公約するd to do and 出発／死d 安全に with the merchants, nor did Tenes ever learn that Philo had visited the palace.

一方／合間 Tenes was making mighty 準備s for the war. He dug a ３倍になる 溝へはまらせる／不時着する about Sidon and 高くする，増すd its 塀で囲むs. He 雇うd ten thousand Grecian mercenaries and 武装した the 国民s. By help of the Greeks he drove the Persian 先導 out of Phoenicia, and for a while all went 井戸／弁護士席 for him and Egypt. At length （機の）カム the news that the 広大な army of Ochus was rolling 負かす／撃墜する on Sidon, together with three hundred triremes and five hundred 輸送（する）s; such an army as Phoenicia had never seen.

One morning Tenes （機の）カム to my 議会 and told of the march of Ochus, Beltis 身を引くing herself. He was in a very evil 事例／患者, for he trembled and even forgot to say 甘い words or to devour me with his 注目する，もくろむs after his fashion. I asked him why his 手渡す shook and his lips were pale, he, who as a 軍人 king, should be rejoicing at the prospect of 戦う／戦い. He answered because of a dream he had dreamed, in which he seemed to see himself 敗北・負かすd by the Persians and cast 負かす／撃墜する living from the 塀で囲む of the city. Then he 追加するd these words:

"You, Lady, 約束d to show me how to 征服する／打ち勝つ the world. Do so, I pray you, for I say that my heart is afraid and I know not how I shall stand against Ochus."

Now I laughed at him and answered,

"So at last you come to me for counsel, Tenes, who for days have been wondering for how long you would be content to take that of 助言者 of Rhodes and of the King of Cyprus. 井戸／弁護士席, what would you learn?"

"I would learn how I may 敗北・負かす the Persians, Lady, the Persians who 注ぐ upon us like a flood through a broken 塀で囲む."

"I do not know, Tenes. To me it seems impossible. I think that dream of yours is coming true, Tenes, that is—" And I 中止するd.

"What, then, must I do, Lady? What is your meaning?"

"I mean that you are mad to fight Ochus."

"But I am fighting Ochus."

"Those who have been enemies may become friends, King Tenes. Have I not told you that you would be safer as the 同盟（する） of Ochus than as his 敵? What is Egypt to you that you should destroy yourself to save Nectanebes?"

"Egypt may be little, Lady, but Sidon is much. The Sidonians are 誓約（する）d to this war and the 手渡す of Ochus might be 激しい on them."

Again I laughed and answered,

"Which is dearer to a man, his own life or those of others? Fight and die if you will, O King; or make peace and perchance let others die if you will, O King. They say that Ochus is generous and knows how to reward those who serve him."

"Do you mean that I should make a 協定／条約 with him and betray my people?" he asked hoarsely.

"Aye, my words may be so read. Hearken. You have 広大な／多数の／重要な ambitions. You would 勝利，勝つ the world—and me. My 知恵 tells me that only thus can you 勝利，勝つ the world—and me. Continue this war, and very soon you will lose me and all that you 命令（する） of Earth shall be such small part of it as hides your bones. Now make your choice and trouble me no more, who in truth find little joy in timid hearts that 恐れる to take 持つ／拘留する of 適切な時期. Therefore, follow your counsel or my own, I care not which who would be gone 支援する to Egypt to 捜し出す a higher 運命 than that of consort to a 征服する／打ち勝つd slave."

"Whatever I may lose, you I cannot lose," he said slowly. "Also your mind is 地雷. This Persian is too strong for me, and on Egypt I cannot lean too hard lest it break beneath me. These Sidonians, also, are 反抗的な and murmur against me. I think that they would kill me if they dared, who now call me Child-殺害者 because I gave my son in sacrifice to please the priests."

"Mayhap, King," I answered carelessly, "since 暴徒s are fickle. I repeat that the wise man and he who would be 広大な／多数の／重要な does not think of others but of himself."

"I will 協議する with my General, 助言者 the Greek, for he is far- sighted," he said, and left me.

"The 毒（薬） 作品," I thought to myself as I watched him go. Then I called Beltis and told her all that had passed between her lord and me. She listened and asked,

"Why do you lead Tenes 負かす／撃墜する this road, Ayesha?"

"Because of the 炭坑，オーケストラ席 at the end of it," I answered. "Have not your 秘かに調査するs told us that this Ochus is implacable? He will make a 協定／条約 with Tenes and then he will destroy him. Such at least is the counsel that comes to me from Heaven, which he has 怒り／怒るd, as I think."

"Then I pray that Tenes may follow it, Ayesha, so long as it hurls him 負かす／撃墜する to hell, and the Sidonians with him."

As it chanced he did, for it was of a sort that his 誤った heart loved. The 残り／休憩（する） may be told in few words. Tenes sent his 大臣, Thessalion, another crafty fellow, to make a 条約 with Ochus. These were the 条件 of this 条約: That he, Tenes, should 降伏する Sidon and in 支払い（額） receive the 王族 of Egypt after it had been 征服する／打ち勝つd, and of all Phoenicia also, and with it that of Cyprus. Ochus swore these gifts to him and continued his 前進する. When he reached a 確かな 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, he 停止（させる）d. Then Tenes, as he had undertaken to do, led out a hundred of the 長，指導者 国民s of Sidon to a 会議 of the 明言する／公表するs of Phoenicia, or so he said.

Howbeit, presently they 設立する themselves in the （軍の）野営地，陣営 of Ochus who butchered them to the last man, all save Tenes himself, who returned to Sidon with a tale of an 待ち伏せ／迎撃する from which he had escaped.

Then it was I saw that the end drew 近づく, and in a ship, which not Tenes, but the captains of the Sidonians sent to Nectanebes at Memphis to pray for more 援助（する）, I 原因（となる）d a faithful Jew to sail, one sworn to the service of Beltis, who carried with him hidden in the hollow 単独の of his sandal a letter 演説（する）／住所d to Noot and to Philo, praying that Philo would sail at once and do all those things that had been agreed upon between us. Also night by night I sent out my spirit, or rather my thought, to 捜し出す the spirit of Noot, as he had taught me to do, and it seemed to me that answers （機の）カム from Noot telling me that he read my thought and would do those things which I 願望（する）d.

The 長，指導者 men of the Sidonians held a 会議 in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall of the palace. Hidden behind curtains in a gallery of the hall, Beltis and I saw and heard all that passed at this 会議, over which Tenes 統括するd as King. Bitter was the talk of those lords, for 疑問s were abroad. They thought it very strange that Tenes alone should have escaped from that 待ち伏せ／迎撃する. Yet like the liar that he was, he cozened them with 誤った tales, showing them also that the gods of the Sidonians had 保存するd his life, that he in his turn might 保存する theirs. Yes, he said this and other things, he the knave and 反逆者, who already plotted to destroy them all.

At this 会議 the Sidonians took a desperate road. Day by day many were escaping from the city by sea and さもなければ. Already nigh a third of the people had gone, and の中で them some thousands of the best 兵士s, so that the captains saw that soon the 広大な／多数の／重要な city would be left with few to defend her. Therefore they （機の）カム to this 解決する—to 燃やす all their ships so that no more could 逃げる upon them, and to 始める，決める watches at the gates and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 塀で囲むs with orders to 殺す any who might 試みる／企てる flight by land.

恐れるing for his life, Tenes 同意d to these 行為s, 断言するing that he 願望（する）d but one thing, to 征服する／打ち勝つ or to die with the 国民s of Sidon.

So it （機の）カム about that soon the 不明瞭 was made as light as day by the 炎上s which sprang from over a hundred 大型船s of war besides a multitude of smaller ships, while the Sidonians, watching them 燃やす from the roofs of their houses, （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 their breasts and moaned. For now they knew they were 削減（する） off and must 征服する／打ち勝つ or 死なせる／死ぬ.

The ships of Ochus watched the port of Sidon, though somewhat carelessly because it was known to him that its harbours were empty, and the 広大な army of Ochus rolled 負かす／撃墜する in countless hosts upon its 塀で囲むs.

Hour by hour 秘かに調査するs （機の）カム in with terrible 報告（する）／憶測s, 原因（となる）ing the hearts of the Sidonians to melt with 恐れる. For now they understood that all hope of victory was gone and that they were doomed, though as yet they did not know that it was their king who had betrayed them.

Another 会議 was held, at which Beltis and I watched as before, and there it was agreed that the city should throw itself upon the mercy of Ochus. Tenes 影響する／感情d to 抗議する and at last to 許す himself to be overruled, as I, to whom he （機の）カム day by day for 指導／手引, put it into his 黒人／ボイコット heart to do. 先触れ（する）s were sent to the （軍の）野営地，陣営 of Ochus, 申し込む／申し出ing to 降伏する upon honourable 条件, and while they were absent 血まみれの sacrifices of children and others were made to Dagon and his company in the 宗教上の Place before the 寺, till its pavements ran red with 血. For thus these cruel folk hoped to propitiate Heaven and to 勝利，勝つ mercy from Ochus.

The 先触れ（する）s returned 耐えるing the word of Ochus. He said that if five hundred of the 長，指導者 国民s （機の）カム out 非武装の and made submission to him, he would 認める their 祈り and spare Sidon; but if they did not, that he would pull it 石／投石する from 石／投石する and 虐殺（する） all who lived within its 塀で囲むs. Also one of the Persian 外交官／大使s who …を伴ってd them brought a secret letter for Tenes. This letter Tenes, who by now did nothing without my counsel, read to me.

It was 簡潔な／要約する. This was its 実体:

If he would put Sidon into his 手渡すs, Ochus swore to Tenes by his most solemn Persian 誓いs 進歩 greater than he had ever dreamed; and to 助言者 the Rhodian and the general of the Grecian and Egyptian Mercenaries, he swore a 広大な sum in gold and one of the first 命令（する）s in the Persian army. If Tenes would not do this, then Ochus 提案するd to make peace with Sidon for a while but afterward to destroy it. To Tenes himself, however, he 約束d death at the 手渡すs of the Sidonians themselves, to whom all his treachery should be 明らかにする／漏らすd. Lastly an answer was 需要・要求するd without 延期する.

"What shall I say to Ochus, Lady?" asked Tenes of me.

"I know not," I answered. "Honour would seem to 需要・要求する that you should lay 負かす／撃墜する your life and save Sidon and her 国民s, if only for a while. Yet, O King, what is honour? How will honour help you when you have been torn to pieces by the maddened 暴徒 upon yonder 宗教上の Place, and your spirit has gone to Baal, or wherever the spirits of those sacrificed to Moloch may go. Will this empty honour give you that 広大な／多数の／重要な 進歩 of which the Persian speaks, which doubtless will carry with it the 支配する of Phoenicia and of Egypt, and perchance also that of the East? For Ochus 存在 mortal, Tenes, once you have brought him to his death, as I can show you how to do, who is fitter than yourself to fill his 王位? Lastly, will death with honour bring me whom you 願望（する） to your 味方する, King Tenes? I have spoken, now 裁判官," and 解除するing my 隠す, I sat and smiled at him.

"It is not 安全な," he said. "All hangs on 助言者 and the Greeks. Unless they join in the 陰謀（を企てる） the Sidonians will fight to the last with their 援助（する）, and when they discover my traffic with Ochus they will 殺す me. And if I 飛行機で行く to Ochus and the Sidonians fight, then mayhap he will 殺す me as one who has helped him nothing. But if 助言者 joins us, then we can open the gates to the Persians and ourselves go out 安全な to 得る our reward."

"There speaks a 広大な／多数の／重要な man," I said, "one who is fore-sighted, one not tied by petty scruples; there speaks such a one as I would take to be my lord. Aye, there speaks a man fit to 支配する the world, to whom the 広大な／多数の／重要な 進歩 the Persian 約束s is but the first rung in the ladder of glorious 勝利—that ladder which reaches to the very 星／主役にするs. Already these Sidonians hate you, Tenes. I saw them mutter when you passed の中で them yesterday; aye, and one laid his 手渡す upon his dagger, but another checked him, having a look in his 注目する，もくろむs that seemed to say—'Not yet.' If once they learn the truth, Tenes, perchance soon you also will 嘘（をつく） on the altar of sacrifice and be cast living into the fiery jaws of Dagon, where your son went before you, Tenes. Why do you not send for 助言者 and search his mind?"

So 助言者 was sent for, and 一方／合間 I gave Tenes my 手渡す to kiss. Yes, I even 苦しむd this that I might 直す／買収する，八百長をする him the more 堅固に on my hook.

助言者 （機の）カム. He was a burly Greek, a 広大な／多数の／重要な 兵士 with a keen brain behind his laughing 注目する，もくろむs; one who loved gold and ワイン and women, and for these and high place and generalship was ready to sell his sword to whoever 企て，努力，提案 the most.

Tenes 始める，決める out the 事柄 to him very craftily and showed him the 令状ing of Ochus. He listened, then asked,

"And what does this 隠すd Daughter of Isis think? I remember 審理，公聴会 in Egypt where she was held the first of Oracles and 指名するd Child of 知恵, that her prophecies never fail to fulfil themselves."

"The Daughter of Isis thinks that の中で the Persians 助言者 will grow tall, but that here の中で the Sidonians he will be felled like a forest tree and go to 料金d a mighty 解雇する／砲火／射撃, such a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 as 消費するd the (n)艦隊／(a)素早いs of Sidon awhile ago."

Thus I answered, and when 助言者 heard my words, he laughed and said that he was of the same mind, which without 疑問 was true, for afterward I learned that he had already been in 条約 with Ochus.

So he and Tenes struck 手渡すs upon their 取引, the most 悪名高い perhaps that was ever made by men, since it gave to 虐殺（する） forty thousand or more who 信用d to them.

Thus was 調印するd the doom of an accursed people, that doom which I was 運命にあるd to bring upon their 長，率いるs, and thus was Tenes sent 負かす／撃墜する the road to hell. Only 助言者 栄えるd 大いに for a while in the service of the Persians, and what was the end of him I do not know. After all, he was but one of many who flit from master to master as advantage leads them. Doubtless long ago the world has forgotten him, his Grecian cunning, his generalship, and his treachery.

The five hundred went out to the Persian （軍の）野営地，陣営 to 嘆願d with Ochus, 耐えるing palm 支店s in their 手渡すs; yea, they went with light hearts, for Tenes had told them that certainly their 祈り would be 認めるd and that he knew this from the lips of Ochus himself. Led by the 聖職者s of the さまざまな gods—oh! how it rejoiced me to see those vile and cruel priests in that company!—they went, but not one of them returned again, for Ochus received them with mockeries and reviling, and to make sport for himself and his 兵士s, told them to run 支援する to Sidon. Then he loosed his horsemen on them and slew them with swords and javelins and 始める，決める their 長，率いるs on 火刑／賭けるs around the 塀で囲むs.

When the Sidonians knew and saw, they went mad with 激怒（する） and terror. They gathered themselves by thousands in the 宗教上の Place, and had it not been for 助言者 and his Greeks, would have 嵐／襲撃するd the palace, for now they were sure that Tenes had betrayed them. Indeed Beltis had made the truth of this treachery known through the Hebrews who served her. Also they clamoured that I, Ayesha, should be led 前へ／外へ and sacrificed, 説 that it was the presence of a priestess of Isis in the city which had 原因（となる）d their gods to 砂漠 them. For a little while I was afraid, who remembered what had chanced upon the ship Hapi when Tenes would have 苦しむd me to be thrown to the 深い to 満足させる the superstition of the sailors. Therefore thinking it best to be bold, I sent for Tenes and said to him,

"If by evil chance I should be 殺害された, O King, then know that I have it from the goddess whom I serve that you with whose lot 地雷 is intertwined will die within an hour. I, Tenes, am the 有望な 星／主役にする of your fortunes, and if I 始める，決める, 別れの（言葉，会） to them and you."

"I know it," he answered, "as I know that without you I can never rise to be king of the world. Therefore I will defend you to the last; also, beauteous one, I 願望（する） you for my wife. Yet," he 追加するd, "some might think that this 星／主役にする of your 知恵 has hitherto led my feet into dark and evil places," and he looked at me doubtfully.

"恐れる nothing," I answered. "'Tis ever darkest before the 夜明け and out of evil arises good. 広大な／多数の／重要な glory を待つs you, Tenes, or rather 広大な／多数の／重要な glory を待つs both of us. History will embalm your 指名する, Tenes." But to myself I thought that it was the Persians who would embalm his 団体／死体, unless indeed they cast it to the dogs!

Now every evening after sundown it was my custom to walk upon the flat roof of the palace and look out over the ocean which, also for 推論する／理由s of my own, rising 早期に, I did before the 夜明け. That night while I walked I put up my 祈りs to Heaven, for though I played so bold a game, its 半端物s seemed to be 集会 against me. Doubtless, as it deserved, this hateful Sidon would 落ちる, but when its 塀で囲むs were 衝突，墜落ing 負かす／撃墜する, with what should I 保護する my 長，率いる? I did not know. Yet it is true that never did I lose 約束. Always I knew that I was the 器具 of that Strength which directs the 運命／宿命 of men and nations, that what I did was because I was driven and 命令（する）d so to do for 推論する／理由s that were dark to me; moreover, that I was not an 器具 to be broken and thrown aside. Nay, however 海峡 the path and however 広大な／多数の／重要な the 危険，危なくするs that beset it, I was sure that I should walk it with safety, because it was 運命／宿命d that I should do so, though whither it would lead me I could not tell in those days when I was but as other women are. Still I put up my 祈り to Heaven and scanned the horizon with my 注目する，もくろむs.

Lo! far away beyond the lights of the watching triremes of Ochus, so far that it seemed almost 始める，決める upon the surface of the sea, 燃やすd a faint green 解雇する／砲火／射撃. For the fourth part of an hour it 燃やすd, and went out. Then I knew that my words had reached Egypt, whether in the 令状ing or by the swift path of the spirit, and that Noot or Philo had come to save me.

Before the 夜明け once more I climbed to the roof of the palace, and behold! far away again the green 解雇する／砲火／射撃 燃やすd upon the bosom of the 深い, telling me that out yonder the 広大な／多数の／重要な trireme waited for my coming. Aye, but how was I to come?

Tenes the vile and 助言者 the venal played their parts 井戸／弁護士席. They opened the gates of the outmost 塀で囲む which the Greeks held, and let in the Persians whom these Greeks 迎える／歓迎するd as brothers, having at times served under them in the past. The Sidonians saw and knew that the dice had fallen against them; knew too that they were 負担d dice.

They gathered in the 宗教上の Place and raved for the 血 of Tenes who cowered behind a curtain and hearkened to them. Beltis and I, playing our parts, （機の）カム to 慰安 him.

"Be 勇敢に立ち向かう!" I said gently. "The road to the kingship of the world is 法外な and difficult. Yet when the 頂点（に達する） is 伸び（る）d, how glorious, O 征服者／勝利者, will be the prospect spread out before your 注目する，もくろむs."

"It is 法外な and difficult," he muttered, wiping his brow with the fringe of his broidered 式服.

Had he been seen the look which Beltis cast upon him, standing behind him with 倍のd 武器 and humble 空気／公表する, perchance he would have thought it steeper still.

"Let us talk," I said, "for the end draws 近づく. What is your 計画（する）? How will you and we, your queens, escape from this city?"

"All is 用意が出来ている," he answered. "At the King's wharf, to which a covered way runs from the palace, in the house where the 王室の boats are moored, is my own 船 that, 存在 thus 安全な・保証するd, escaped 燃やすing with the ships. In this 船, which is 乗組員を乗せた with Greeks to whom a 広大な／多数の／重要な reward is 約束d and who wait in the boathouse day and night, we will 列／漕ぐ／騒動 from the harbour for a hidden land and be 護衛するd thence to the 野営 of the 広大な／多数の／重要な King. Yet perchance it may be wiser that I should be with 助言者 to welcome Ochus when he enters to take 平和的な 所有／入手 of the city. If so, Daughter of Isis, you will do 井戸／弁護士席 to leave it by yourself, or with the lady Beltis if she wishes to …を伴って you, and to 会合，会う me in the （軍の）野営地，陣営 of Ochus."

"Perhaps that would be better," I answered, "since it might not be thought seemly that the 広大な／多数の／重要な King Tenes should slip away to his 同盟（する） by night. Nay, let him rather march out as a 君主 should. Only then we must have 当局 to 行為／法令／行動する as occasion may direct."

"Aye, Lady, take this （犯罪の）一味," and slipping the 王室の signet from his finger he gave it to me. "It will be obeyed by all who see it; moreover, I will 問題／発行する 確かな orders. So long as we 会合，会う again at last, we whose 運命／宿命s are intertwined, it 事柄s not by what separate roads we travel."

"It 事柄s not at all, my lord Tenes," I answered as 速く as I hid away the signet.

It was just then, at the hour of sunset, that 助言者 entered the 議会. No longer was he gay and light-hearted; indeed his brows were bent and his 注目する，もくろむs 十分な of trouble.

"By Zeus!" he said, "a dreadful thing has happened. In their despair these Sidonians of yours, King Tenes, have taken counsel together. They have 決定するd that rather than 落ちる into the 手渡すs of Ochus, they will 燃やす the city and with it themselves and their wives and children. Yes, uttering the 悪口を言う／悪態 of all the gods upon you, thus they have 決定するd. Look, the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s begin!"

We went to the window-places and gazing from them, saw desperate men 急ぐing to and fro with lighted たいまつs of cedar 支持を得ようと努めるd in their 手渡すs, while other men drove 暴徒s of 叫び声をあげるing women and children into the houses, yes, and into the 寺s, and shut the doors upon them. Here and there, too, from the roofs of these houses rose wisps of smoke that soon were mingled with 炎上. East and west and north and south, through the 広大な／多数の／重要な city of Sidon arose that smoke and 炎上. Everywhere also 暴徒s of the people whose courage failed them and who did not 願望（する） to die thus were 急ぐing toward the gates and into the （軍の）野営地，陣営 of the Greeks. In this fashion, I believe, that from ten to twenty thousand of the inhabitants of Sidon escaped, though afterwards Ochus the cruel slew many of them and enslaved the 残り／休憩（する）.

I looked, I saw, and my heart melted within me. Hateful as were these insolent, bloodstained folk, I grieved that I should have had any 手渡す in bringing their reward upon them. After all, they were 勇敢に立ち向かう and would have fought to the end, who now made expiation by a 広大な／多数の／重要な self- sacrifice, which was also 勇敢に立ち向かう. Oh! if I could I would have 解除するd that doom from off them. Then I remembered that it was not I who did these things, but 運命／宿命 which made of me its 器具; remembered also that only thus could I escape the foul 手渡すs of Tenes.

I turned to look upon that 反逆者. He trembled, and trembling tried to seem 勇敢に立ち向かう; he laughed, and in the 中央 of his laughter burst into 涙／ほころびs.

"Behold the 運命／宿命 of those who would have 殺害された their king! Truly the gods are just," he said. "Now let us 飛行機で行く to the 広大な／多数の／重要な Ochus and receive from him his 王室の welcome and reward. Truly the gods are just!"

He turned about 捜し出すing for 助言者, but 助言者 had gone. There remained in that 議会 only Beltis the Queen, he, and I, Ayesha. Beltis glided to the door and made it 急速な／放蕩な. Then she （機の）カム to Tenes and before he guessed her 目的, snatched the gold-hilted sword from his belt. She stood before him with 猛烈な／残忍な white 直面する and 炎ing 注目する，もくろむs.

"Truly the gods are just," she repeated in a low and terrible 発言する／表明する. "Fool, do you not know what welcome Ochus will give you yonder and what rewards? Hearken! That 誤った Greek, 助言者, told me of these but now, for pitying my lot, he 申し込む／申し出d me his love and to take me to safety. After I had 辞退するd him, he went his way while you 星／主役にするd from the window-place."

"What words are these, Woman?" gasped Tenes. "Ochus is my 同盟（する）; Ochus will 迎える／歓迎する me 井戸／弁護士席 who have served him 井戸／弁護士席. Let us be going."

"Ochus will 迎える／歓迎する you thus, O Tenes; I have it from the mouth of 助言者 who has it from Ochus himself. Slowly he will 原因（となる） you, a king, to be beaten to death with 棒s, which is the 運命／宿命 the Persians give to slaves and 反逆者s. Then he will stuff your 団体／死体 with spices and tie it to the masthead of his ship, that when presently he sails for Egypt it may be a 警告 to Nectanebes the Pharaoh whom also you have betrayed."

"It is a 嘘（をつく）, it is a 嘘（をつく）!" shouted Tenes. "Daughter of Isis, tell this mad woman that it is a 嘘（をつく）."

I stood still, answering nothing, and Beltis went on,

"Tenes, 運命／宿命 is upon you. Will you 会合，会う it いっそう少なく bravely than the meanest of the thousands of this people whom you have given to doom? Take my last counsel and leap from yonder window, that you who have lived a coward and a 反逆者 may at last die a man."

He gnashed his teeth, he 星／主役にするd about him. He even went to the window- place and looked out as though he would 勇敢に立ち向かう the 行為.

"I dare not," he muttered, "I dare not. The gods are just; they will save me who sacrificed my son to them."

Then he knelt 負かす／撃墜する in the window-place and began to pray to Moloch whose brazen image showed redly in the 集会 gloom.

"Take your sword, Tenes, if you dare not leap, and make an end," said the 冷淡な 発言する／表明する of the 猛烈な／残忍な-直面するd Hebrew lady who stood behind him, whilst I, Ayesha, watched all this play as a spirit might that is afar from the 事件／事情／状勢s of earth, wondering how it would end.

But Tenes only answered,

"Nay, sharp steel is worse than 法外な 空気／公表する. I would live, not die. The gods are just, the gods are just!"

Then he went on praying to Moloch.

Queen Beltis しっかり掴むd the 扱う of the short sword with both her 手渡すs and with all her strength drove it 負かす／撃墜する between the 幅の広い shoulders of Tenes.

"Aye, dog of a Sidonian," she cried, "the gods are very just, or at the least my God is just, and here—child-slayer—is the 司法（官）!"

Tenes 叫び声をあげるd aloud, then struggled to his feet and stood striking at the 空気／公表する, the short sword still 直す／買収する，八百長をするd in his 支援する, a dreadful sight to behold.

"Would you 殺人 me, Jewess?" he babbled, and staggered after her, still （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing at the 空気／公表する with his clenched 握りこぶし.

"Nay," she answered, ever 退却／保養地ing before him, "I would but give you your 予定, or some of it. Go, 獲得する the 残り／休憩（する） in Gehenna's 深い, O butcher of children and 反逆者 blacker than the world has ever seen. Die, hound! Die, lurking jackal who would have mumbled the bones of greatness left by the 十分な-fed Persian lion. Die, slaughterer of the son that sprang from us, and go 会合，会う his spirit in the world below, telling him that Elisheba his mother, a woman of the 王室の house of イスラエル, the Queen whom you had 拒絶するd, sent you thither. Die, while the city, the 広大な／多数の／重要な City of the Seas, 燃やすs with the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s that your treachery has lighted and the cries of its 拷問d 国民s （犯罪の）一味 in your ears. Pass with them to Gehenna and there strike your account, having their 解雇する／砲火／射撃-shrivelled souls for 証言，証人／目撃するs and Moloch and Baal and Ashtoreth for 裁判官s and for company. Die, dog, die! and while your brain darkens, remember to the last that it was Elisheba, the robbed mother, who gave you to drink of the cup of death."

So she reviled, ever flitting before him, while he staggered slowly after her 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 広大な／多数の／重要な 議会. At length he could no more and fell at my feet, しっかり掴むing my 式服,

"Daughter of Isis," he babbled, "whom I 願望（する）d and would have made my queen, save me! Is this the 広大な／多数の／重要な 進歩 that you swore to me?"

"Aye, mighty Tenes," I answered, "since death is the greatest of all 進歩s. In death be king of Phoenicia, of Egypt, and of all the East, since surely there you will stand above all 王位s, 力／強力にするs, and dominions. In death all things will be yours, O 反逆者 Tenes, who would have done 暴力／激しさ to the daughter of Isis, everything save Ayesha's self, who here 企て，努力，提案s you 別れの（言葉，会）, vile Tenes."

Then, wailing and moaning, he died, and thus robbed Ochus of his vengeance upon a 道具 of which he had no その上の need.

CHAPTER XI

THE ESCAPE FROM SIDON

All was over and done. Within that 王室の 議会 was silence, though without the 炎上s roared and the cries of the Sidonians went up to Heaven. I, Ayesha, and Beltis the Queen, 直面するd each other in the gloom and between us lay the 団体／死体 of Tenes, on whose white, distorted 直面する flickered the light of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s that 燃やすd without.

"What now, Queen?" I said.

"Death, I think," she answered in a 静かな 発言する／表明する, for all her 激怒（する） seemed to have left her. "Why cheat his jaws of their richest morsel?"

"I have still work to do, my hour has not yet come, Queen."

"Aye, I forgot. Follow me, Daughter of Isis; Beltis does not forsake those who have served her. Look your last upon this carrion that hoped to call you wife, and follow me."

As we passed from that 議会 I ちらりと見ることd through the window and saw that, although 不明瞭 now had fallen, the 宗教上の Place beneath was 有望な as noon with the 炎上s of the 燃やすing 寺, and that in them the 広大な graven image of Moloch glowed as it had done upon the day of sacrifice when the child of Beltis was swallowed in its red-hot jaws. There it sat hideous; grinning as though in unholy 勝利 over this greatest of all sacrifices.

Then suddenly a pinnacle from the 寺 fell upon it, grinding it to 砕く. This was the end of Moloch, since, although Sidon, as I have learned, was rebuilt in the after years, never more was sacrifice made to that devil within its 塀で囲むs. This at least I, Ayesha, brought to pass—the end of the worship of Moloch at Sidon.

We passed through my sleeping-議会, and as we went I 掴むd the 閣僚 of priceless gems that Tenes from time to time had heaped upon me, since these were sworn to Isis and no goddess loves to be robbed of her offerings. At the 支援する of the 議会 was a passage 主要な to a door by which a lighted lamp had been 始める，決める in 準備完了. At this door stood a man whom I knew for one of the ユダヤ人の servants sworn to the service of Beltis.

"You are late, 王室の Lady," he exclaimed. "So late that I was about to 逃げる, for look, the palace 燃やすs beneath us," and he pointed to little 花冠s of smoke that 軍隊d themselves up between the boards of the 床に打ち倒すing of the bedchamber that we had passed.

"Late, but not too late," she answered. "The King 拘留するd us and has gone another way. You have his orders and here is his （犯罪の）一味," and she pointed to the 王室の signet upon my 手渡す. "Obey it and lead on."

The man held up the lantern and ちらりと見ることd at the （犯罪の）一味. Then he 屈服するd and beckoned to us to follow him.

We went 負かす／撃墜する passages, long passages with many turnings, and at length （機の）カム to another door which he opened with a 重要な. Passing it, we 設立する ourselves in a 丸天井d place beneath which was water, where floated the 王室の 船, the same in which I had been 列／漕ぐ／騒動d to the shore of Sidon. Oarsmen sat waiting within this 船, and guarding it were two Grecian 兵士s, who 命令（する）d us to 停止（させる）.

"This boat を待つs King Tenes," said one of them, "and 非，不，無 else may enter it."

"I am the Queen," answered Beltis.

"With whom I hear the King has quarrelled," broke in the Greek with a sneer. "Queen or no, Lady, you cannot enter that boat without the King, or an order under his signet."

Then I held up my 手渡す, 説,

"Here is the signet itself. Let us pass."

He 星／主役にするd at it by the light of the lamp, then said something to the other Greek and very doubtfully they obeyed. It was 確かな that these guards standing in that 丸天井d place did not know what was passing in the city. Moreover, I think it had come into their minds to 略奪する us, or worse. At the least this is sure, that unless we could have killed those two Greeks, without the signet never should have we have won to the boat.

We went on twelve paces or so and reached the 船, which was 乗組員を乗せた with sailors who wore the uniform of the King's 護衛, men who knew the Queen and saluted her by raising their oars. Beltis 動議d first to me and afterward to the Jew who had been our guide from the palace, to enter the 船, then suddenly she said to the steersman who 命令（する）d the sailors,

"Go now whither this lady shall direct you, and know that if 害（を与える） comes to her your lives shall 支払う／賃金 the price of it, for she is no woman, but a goddess whom Death obeys."

Now I 星／主役にするd at her and asked,

"Do you not come also, Queen Beltis?"

"Nay," she whispered. "I choose another road to safety. 恐れる not for me, I will tell you all when we 会合，会う again. For a while 別れの（言葉，会）, Child of 知恵 and my friend. May the gods with whom you commune be your 保護物，者 upon earth and receive you when you leave the earth, you who strove to save a 確かな one and cast your mantle over Beltis when a sword that now is 始める，決める in another's heart was at her own. Give way, sailors," she cried, "and if you would look once more upon the sun, obey."

Then with her own 手渡すs she thrust at the 厳しい of the boat, 原因（となる）ing it to move into the channel. Next moment Beltis had shrunk 支援する into the 不明瞭 and was gone.

Now I would have returned to 捜し出す for her, but the Jew at my 味方する called out,

"Give way! Give way and question not the word of the Queen who doubtless has work どこかよそで. Be swift; doom is behind you."

For a moment they hesitated, then bent them to their oars while I wondered what might be the meaning of the part that Beltis played. Did she perchance 計画（する） some 罠（にかける） for me? I did not know, but this I knew, that behind was the 燃やすing city, 反して in 前線 lay the open sea. Whatever its 危険，危なくするs I would 直面する the sea, 信用ing to 運命 to be my guide. As for Beltis, doubtless she took some other road to freedom. Mayhap after all she would 避難所 with 助言者, or Ochus had 約束d her deliverance in 支払い（額） for the 血 of Tenes.

So I sat silent, and presently the channel took a turn; the swinging water-gates that hid its mouth were thrust open with an oar by a man who stood at the 船's prow, and we passed into the southern harbour.

Yes, out of the 不明瞭 we passed into a 炎 of light, and out of the silence into a hideous tumult of sound. For all around us the city 燃やすd furiously and from it rose one horrible wail of woe.

The rowers saw and understood who until now had known nothing in the silence of the secret harbour 洞穴. They hung upon their oars. Then they brought 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 船's prow seeing to return into the 洞穴, but could not because those doors had swung to behind them and, having locked themselves by some 装置, could only be opened from within. Nor indeed could I tell where these were since they seemed to form part of the harbour 塀で囲む.

The helmsman looked 支援する and from 味方する to 味方する at the hell of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which 激怒（する）d behind and around him. He looked at the jutting pier upon our 権利 and 公式文書，認めるd that already its 木材／素質s were 燃えて. Then he looked in 前線 and cried,

"Now I see why the Queen left us! 井戸／弁護士席, there is but one chance. Onward to the open sea."

"Aye," I echoed, "onward to the open sea. Here you must die; there I will lead you to safety. I 断言する it by the Queen of Heaven."

"'Tis 井戸／弁護士席 to talk," said one, "but how shall we 伸び（る） the sea? Look, the Persians are barring the harbour mouth and 殺すing those who 努力する／競う to escape."

It was true. Many of the 哀れな inhabitants of Sidon had 設立する boats of this sort or of that, or even were swimming upon スピードを出す／記録につけるs or バーレル／樽s. For these the Persians or those in their 支払う／賃金 waited at the mouth of the harbour and with mocking words and laughter butchered them as they （機の）カム. Yes, from their smaller ships they slew them with spears and arrows or by throwing 石／投石するs that drove out the 底（に届く）s of the boats.

"Keep in the 影をつくる／尾行する of the jetty," I said, "where the 勝利，勝つd-driven smoke hangs 厚い and 近づく which the triremes dare not come because of the 激しく揺するs whereon it is built, and 列／漕ぐ／騒動, 列／漕ぐ／騒動 急速な／放蕩な."

They heard and obeyed. On we went beneath an arching canopy of smoke laced with bursts of 炎上 from the kindling 木材／素質s, till at length we reached the 長，率いる of the jetty on which stood a 木造の tower where a light 燃やすd at night to be a guide to 水夫s entering the harbour. Here we waited a while, 粘着するing to one of the piers, for although the 勝利，勝つd was rising, in this 避難所d place the sea remained 静める.

列／漕ぐ／騒動ing across the 長，率いる of the jetty was a Persian trireme, and until she had gone by we dared not 試みる／企てる the sea. At length she passed, leisurely, and our chance （機の）カム. At a muttered word the oarsmen gave way with all their strength and we 発射 （疑いを）晴らす of the mole into the open 深い. As we did so, I looked 支援する and perceived behind and above me a sight that after more than two thousand years still haunts me in my sleep.

Upon the end of this 木材／素質-crested mole, as I have said, there was a 木造の tower from which in times of peace a beacon 燃やすd. Now this tower was 炎ing like the pierway behind it and no beacon shone there. Only where it should be stood a woman on whose 直面する the strong light （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域, since the 勝利，勝つd swept away the smoke and 明らかにする／漏らすd her like a statue on a column that rises above もや. I looked at this 形態／調整 and this 直面する and saw that they were those of Beltis the Queen of Sidon. How she had come there, I do not know, but I think that she had run along the 燃やすing mole before it was too late, 存在 井戸／弁護士席 熟知させるd with the path, and had climbed the stairway of the tower, that from its crest she might look her last upon Sidon and on life.

There at least she stood, 王室の-looking, silent, with her 武器 crossed upon her breast, while the purple cloak that 示すd her 階級 floated behind her like a 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する on the 微風.

She saw the 船 that bore us shoot out of the gloom and reek into the 深い sea. I know that she saw because she stretched out her arm as though to bless us. Then she turned and 解除するd her 手渡すs に向かって the 燃やすing city as though to 悪口を言う／悪態 it. Lastly, once more she 倍のd her 武器 upon her breast and stood motionless, her white 直面する raised to the heavens.

Thus she remained while one might count an hundred, till suddenly the 木材／素質s of the tower, gnawed through by the 炎上s, fell in and she 消えるd in a roaring 湾 of 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

Such was the end of that 広大な／多数の／重要な and ill-運命／宿命d woman, the 王室の Beltis, Queen of Sidon, whom, mayhap in expiation of sin done in another 星／主役にする, the gods gave to the 武器 of perchance the vilest man that ever lived upon the earth. 大いに she died, a sacrifice, as her son had been a sacrifice, but not before she had wrought a fitting vengeance upon the 殺害者 of her child and the betrayer of his people. Moloch, god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃, took her as he took them all, but now she was beyond the reach of Moloch, Moloch who was but molten metal, an 申し込む／申し出ing to himself.

In the 広大な／多数の／重要な 炎上 of the fallen tower the trireme that bore the 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する of Ochus saw our boat escaping out to sea and put about to 追求する it.

"列／漕ぐ／騒動 on!" I cried, "列／漕ぐ／騒動 into the 不明瞭," and knowing that their lives hung on the 問題／発行する, since, as we had already seen, the Persians spared 非，不，無 whom they overtook in the boats but drove the triremes over them, 狙撃 any who swam with arrows, those sailors 列／漕ぐ／騒動d sturdily. Yet our 進歩 was but slow and that of the three-banked ship behind us 急速な／放蕩な; moreover, the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s of 燃やすing Sidon lit up the sea for miles.

Could we reach the 不明瞭 before we were overtaken? We （機の）カム to its 辛勝する／優位 with the 広大な／多数の／重要な trireme not a hundred paces from our 厳しい—so 近づく indeed that the 兵士s on board of her began to shoot at us, though in the 集会 gloom and because of the rolling 壇・綱領・公約 on which they stood, their 軸s went wide. She was 権利 upon us; her 船体 had 消えるd in the 影をつくる／尾行するs but the light from the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s still gleamed upon her gilded masthead, while her 広大な／多数の／重要な oars （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 the sea with a sound like 雷鳴.

"Put about," I cried, "or she will 沈む us."

Very skilfully the steersman obeyed so that we 二塁打d like a 追跡（する）d hare and the Persian 発射 past us. Then once more we turned and 列／漕ぐ／騒動d on into the night. When it wrapped us 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, the sailors, exhausted, 残り／休憩（する）d on their oars. Again we heard the 雷鳴 of the 広大な／多数の／重要な slave- 乗組員を乗せた sweeps, and again the brazen prow of the tall ship, cruel, enormous, hung almost over us. Only by an ell or two did the 幅の広い blades of the oars 行方不明になる us, the eddies that they made 原因（となる）ing our little （手先の）技術 to 激しく揺する 危険に. But this time that 抱擁する sea-hound was blinded by the 不明瞭 and not seeing us, nor 審理，公聴会 anything, for we sat silent as the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, she 急ぐd upon her way, and for a time we saw her no more.

All was 静かな upon the breast of ocean. Far off 燃やすd Sidon like a gigantic beacon 解雇する／砲火／射撃, but there （機の）カム to us no whisper of her agony. Yes, all was 静かな, save for the sighing of the night 勝利，勝つd that, to my strange fancy, seemed like to such a sound as might be made by the 急ぐ of ten thousand spirits passing from the cruel earth 上向き to the peace above. Slowly the 疲れた／うんざりしたd oarsmen drove the boat still さらに先に out to sea; then their captain said,

"Whither away, Lady? It is in my mind to change our course and run for the coast northward, where perchance there are no Persians."

"Nay," I answered, "we stay where we are, I search for a ship."

"Mayhap we shall find one," he said with a hoarse laugh, "a ship of the (n)艦隊／(a)素早い of Ochus."

They began to 論争 as to what course they should take.

"Obey me," I said, "or obey me not, as you will. Only then I, who have the counsel of the gods, tell you that save I only, by sunrise to-morrow everyone of you will be dead."

They whispered together, for my words 脅すd them. At length the captain spoke, 説,

"The 広大な／多数の／重要な Queen Beltis who is gone told us that this woman is a goddess and that what she 命令（する）d, that we must do. Let us remember the words of the 広大な／多数の／重要な Queen Beltis who is dead and doubtless watches us from the sky."

So this danger passed also, and all that night we floated, keeping the boat's 厳しい to 燃やすing Sidon while the most of the oarsmen slept in their places. So 疲れた／うんざりした were they that not even the horror behind them and the loss of their kinsfolk, or even their own 恐れるs, could 持つ／拘留する them 支援する from sleep.

But I, Ayesha, did not sleep; nay, I watched and thought. If Philo had fled away, or if his ship had been sunk, what then? Then all was finished. Nay, not so, since it could not be that I should die with but half my 仕事 遂行するd. I was friendless の中で strange men, yet in my breast there dwelt the greatest of friends, that spirit whose 指名する is 運命／宿命. I threw out my soul to my master Noot the Seer, and lo! it seemed to me that his soul answered, 説,

"恐れる nothing, Daughter of Isis, for the wings of Isis 影をつくる／尾行する thee."

It drew 近づく to the 夜明け; I knew it by the 星／主役にするs which I was wont to watch and by the smell of the 空気／公表する. I rose in my seat and 星／主役にするd into the 不明瞭. Behold! not four furlongs from our prow suddenly there sprang into life a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of green 炎上.

"Awake," I cried, "and 列／漕ぐ／騒動 on 速く, for if you would you live you must reach the ship upon which yonder 解雇する／砲火／射撃 燃やすs before the breaking of 夜明け."

They obeyed, wondering, who knew not what this 解雇する／砲火／射撃 might mean. We sped 今後, and as the first light gleamed saw almost above us the 本体，大部分／ばら積みの of the 広大な／多数の／重要な trireme 指名するd Hapi.

"あられ／賞賛する her!" I cried, and the captain did so. One appeared by her 防御壁／支持者 rail, 持つ／拘留するing a lantern. Its light shone upon his 直面する and I saw that it was that of Philo the Greek.

"Ye are saved," I said 静かに, "for yonder is the 大型船 that を待つs me."

"Of a truth this is a goddess!" muttered the captain of the 船.

Now Philo saw us in the growing light, and cried to us to come 速く, pointing to something which he could discover but we could not. We were と一緒に, eager 手渡すs dragged us from the boat. We were 船内に, I still carrying the casket of jewels though at the time I did not know I held it 急速な／放蕩な. Philo 屈服するd the 膝 to me as to one divine, at which our oarsmen 星／主役にするd. Then he shouted a 命令（する） and again pointed behind us.

Lo! there, 不十分な two bowshots away, was the 広大な／多数の／重要な Persian ship which we had escaped in the gloom of the night.

Our oars struck the water, we leapt 今後 like an 抑えるのをやめるd hound, and after us （機の）カム the trireme like a lion springing on the hound. Trireme have I called her? Nay, as we saw now, she was a quinquereme, one of the new five-banked ships built by Ochus, a mighty monster. For a little while she hesitated as though wondering whether to attack or let us be. Then as the light 強化するd the 注目する，もくろむs of her watchmen caught sight of our abandoned boat and by its gilding and emblems knew it for the 王室の 船 of Tenes.

A 広大な／多数の／重要な shout arose, a shout of

"The King escapes. The King and Queen Beltis escape. After them!"

Then the quinquereme leapt 今後 in 追跡. Because of her 本体，大部分／ばら積みの she was slow in 集会 速度(を上げる） and we who had the start of her drew away quickly, 特に after a 転換 of 勝利，勝つd which seemed to 行方不明になる the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃, for so Philo, who knew her, said the Persian was 指名するd, filled our 広大な／多数の／重要な sail.

Seeing this and hoping that our danger was past, I went to that same captain which had been 地雷 when as the 捕虜 of Tenes I sailed upon this ship, which seemed to be just as I had left it. This I did without speech to Philo, save a word to commend to his care the Jew and those others who had been my companions upon the 船.

For now that all was over, it seemed to me as though I must 残り／休憩（する） or die; moreover, I was foul with travel and needed food. This indeed I 設立する ready upon a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する which 原因（となる）d me to wonder, though dully, which I did even more when I saw clean woman's 衣料品s such as I was accustomed to use spread out upon the cabin couch. So I 洗浄するd and 着せる／賦与するd myself and ate a little, drinking some ワイン, which I did rarely, then lay 負かす／撃墜する upon the couch and for a space, perhaps, slept as though I were dead.

I woke, I knew not why who could have slumbered on for hours, yet feeling as though the most of my weariness had rolled off me. The place was very 薄暗い for the curtained door was shut and at first I could see nothing. Presently, however, I became aware that I was not alone in the cabin. For as my 注目する，もくろむs grew accustomed to such light as reached it, I discovered the 形態／調整 of a man, an old, white-bearded man, ひさまづくing at its far end as though in 祈り, and wondered whether I dreamed, for what could such a one be doing here? Soon indeed I was sure that I dreamed, since this 形態／調整 was that of the high-priest Noot, my Master, whom I supposed to be far away in Egypt. Or perchance Noot was dead and this was his spirit that visited me in my sleep. Spirit or dream or man, words （機の）カム from the lips of that 見通し spoken in the very 発言する／表明する of Noot; such words as these,

"O Mother Isis, and Thou without a 指名する whom Isis and all the gods serve and obey, I thank ye that ye have been pleased to bring this maiden in safety through her 任命するd 仕事s, throwing over her the 保護物，者 of a strength divine. I thank ye that ye have led her 支援する to me, her father in the spirit, that defilement has not touched her, that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 has not 燃やすd her, that water has not 溺死するd her, and that the foeman's spears have not pierced her heart. I pray ye, O Mother Isis and O Thou without a 指名する in the hollow of whose 手渡す 嘘（をつく） the world and all that live thereon, that as has been the beginning, so may be the end, and that this chosen woman may return 安全な to whence she （機の）カム, there to 遂行する those 仕事s that she was created to fulfil."

Thus that 発言する／表明する prayed on, the 宗教上の, 井戸／弁護士席-remembered 発言する／表明する, till at length I brought its supplications to an end, 説,

"Tell me, Noot my father, why do you still 恐れる in this hour of deliverance?"

He rose, he （機の）カム to me, and 製図／抽選 aside a curtain on a little window-plate, scanned me with 肉親，親類d and gentle 注目する，もくろむs. Then he took my outstretched 手渡す, kissed it, and answered,

"式のs! there is still much to 恐れる, O my daughter, but of that you shall learn presently. First tell me the story of what has chanced to you since we parted."

簡潔に, omitting much, I told him that tale.

"It is as my spirit showed me," he said when I had finished. "Heaven has not deceived its servant. Your messenger reached us, Daughter, but had he died upon the road it would have 事柄d little, since long ere he had 始める，決める foot in Egypt my soul had heard your soul and made all things ready. Yet last night, when Sidon 燃やすd, I 自白する that my 約束 failed me and this soul of 地雷 shook with 恐れる. Indeed an hour after sunset I thought that your ghost passed me, crying that all was done."

"Perchance it was the ghost of Beltis that passed. But of these things we will talk afterward. I see 恐れる in your 注目する，もくろむs. Of what are you afraid?"

"Rise and look through that window-place, Daughter."

I did so and behold! but a little distance away the 広大な／多数の／重要な quinquereme 指名するd the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 sped upon our 跡をつける, so 急速な／放蕩な that her five banks of oars 攻撃するd the sea to 泡，激怒すること.

"Father divine," said a 発言する／表明する without, a 発言する／表明する that I seemed to know, "I have words to say."

"Enter and speak," answered Noot.

The door was opened and the curtain drawn, admitting a 急ぐ of sunlight. Lo! there before me stood a 軍人 覆う？ in such armour as the Greeks wear and, thus attired, the most beautiful and glorious- looking man that ever my 注目する，もくろむs beheld.

It was Kallikrates, Kallikrates himself, only now in place of the priest's 式服 his 広大な／多数の／重要な form was 覆う？ in bronze; in place of a chaplet a 舵輪／支配 was on his 長，率いる and in place of the sistrum his 手渡す gripped a sword hilt. Yes, it was Kallikrates, he whose lips in past days had met 地雷 in the 宗教上の 神社, but as he had been before he had 公約するd himself to Isis because of a 確かな 罪，犯罪. For now again he was a man and a captain of men, not one who with bent brows and humble mien from hour to hour mutters 祈りs to an unseen divinity.

Oh! I will tell truth. When I saw him thus I liked him 井戸／弁護士席. Yes, though for long he had been nothing to me save a fellow servant of the goddess, once more I was thrilled with a cup of that same ワイン which I had seemed to drink when our lips met far away in Egypt; once again that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which I had stamped to ashes beneath my feet sprang to life and scorched my heart.

Mayhap it was his beauty, as 広大な／多数の／重要な perhaps as that of any man who ever lived, or mayhap it was the light of 戦う／戦い that shone in his gray 注目する，もくろむs which thus stirred the woman in me. At least I who had sickened at the sight of Tenes and all other men, I who had given myself to higher things and, 拒絶するing the flesh, followed the spirit only, was stirred like any ありふれた maid who finds her lover at the moonrise. Moreover, Noot, who could read hearts and above all my heart, 公式文書，認めるd it for I saw him smile and heard him sigh.

Perchance Kallikrates also 公式文書，認めるd something, for the colour （機の）カム to his brows—I saw it redden beneath the plumed 舵輪／支配 of bronze, and he dropped those bold and beautiful 注目する，もくろむs. More, he sank upon his 膝, saluting me with the secret 調印する and 説,

"容赦, Child of 知恵, High-priestess of the Queen of Heaven, that once again, if only for a little while, I have put on the harness which I used to wear. It is done to save you, Child of 知恵. It is done by 命令（する）."

"Aye," said Noot, "it is the 命令（する） of Her we serve that this priest should 解除する sword on に代わって of Her and us, her slaves."

I 屈服するd my 長，率いる, but answered—naught.

CHAPTER XII

THE SEA BATTLE

The 広大な／多数の／重要な Persian ship was on us. 努力する／競う as we would, we could not escape her. She raced upon our beam not a spear's cast away. I stood upon the high poop of the Hapi and saw it all, for the old Arab 血 was on 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in me, as it had been when I 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d in the 戦う／戦い where my father fell, and I would play no woman's part. Moreover, my spirit told me that I had not escaped from the 手渡すs of Tenes and out of the 燃やすing hell of Sidon, to die there upon the sea.

Standing thus upon the poop by the 味方する of Philo the cunning captain, I 公式文書，認めるd this strange thing, that no arrow was 発射 and no spear thrown from the Persian's decks. She raced と一緒に us, that was all. I looked at Philo, a question in my 注目する，もくろむs, and he answered the question 簡潔に between his 始める，決める lips.

"They think the King and Queen are 船内に and would take us living. Hark! They shout to us to 降伏する."

Again I looked at him, wondering what he would do.

He 問題／発行するd an order and presently our 速度(を上げる） slackened so that we fell a little behind the Persian. He 問題／発行するd another order and we leapt 今後 again under a changed 舵輪／支配. Now I saw that he was minded to 押し通す the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃. The Persian saw it also and sheered off. We ran と一緒に of her, shipping our oars as we （機の）カム on that 味方する which was nearest to her. But the Persian had no time to ship hers. Our sharp prow caught her fivefold line of sweeps, 粉砕するing the most of them as though they were but twigs, and casting the rowers in a broken, 宙返り／暴落するd heap within her 深い 持つ／拘留する.

"That was worthy of Philo," I said, but he, ever a humble man, as are all masters of their 貿易（する）, shook his 長，率いる and answered,

"Nay, Lady, I 行方不明になるd my 示す and now we must 支払う／賃金 for it. Ah! I thought so."

As he spoke, from sundry places on the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 grapnels flew out which caught in the rails, ropes and 列／漕ぐ／騒動ing （法廷の）裁判s of the Hapi, binding the two ships together.

"They are about to board us," said Philo. "Now, Lady, pray to Mother Isis to give us 援助（する）."

Then he blew two 爆破s upon his whistle. 即時に rose up upon our deck a 禁止（する）d of men, nigh a hundred of them, perhaps, 覆う？ in armour and captained by the Greek, Kallikrates. Also behind these I saw the 乗組員 of the 王室の 船, 武装した with such 武器s as they could find, and the sailors of the Hapi.

The Persians thrust out boards or ladders from one ship to the other, across which their boarders, most of them Greeks, （機の）カム in 群れているs. The fighting began and it was very 猛烈な／残忍な. Our men 削減（する） 負かす／撃墜する many of the 敵 and 溺死するd others by casting off the boards and ladders, so that those on them fell into the sea. Still a 広大な／多数の／重要な number of them won on board of us, and oh! 猛烈な／残忍な was that fray. Always in the thickest of it I saw Kallikrates 非常に高い a 長，率いる above the others, and who now would have dreamed that he was a priest of Isis? For he smote and smote and man after man went 負かす／撃墜する before him, while as his sword rose and fell he shouted out some old Greek 戦う／戦い cry, such as once his fathers used.

On a space of deck （犯罪の）一味d 一連の会議、交渉／完成する with dead and dying, he （機の）カム 直面する to 直面する with the captain of the boarders, a 広大な／多数の／重要な and burly man, also, as I think, a Greek. They fought terribly, whilst others paused to watch that fray which ホームラン might have sung. Kallikrates was 負かす／撃墜する and my heart stood still. Nay, he was up again but his bronze sword had broken on the foeman's mail.

That foeman had an axe; he swung it up to make an end. Kallikrates, 急ぐing beneath it, 掴むd him in his 武器 and they 格闘するd there upon the slippery deck. The ship lurched; together they staggered to the 防御壁／支持者s. The foeman loosed one arm and drew a dagger; with it he smote Kallikrates again and again. Kallikrates bent, and with his 解放する／自由なd 手渡す 掴むd the man beneath the 膝. By a mighty 成果／努力 he 解除するd him to the 防御壁／支持者's 辛勝する／優位 and there they clung awhile. Then Kallikrates with that same 解放する／自由なd 手渡す smote the other on the brow. Thrice he smote and his blows were as those of a 大打撃を与える 落ちるing on an anvil.

The 支配する of the captain of the boarders 緩和するd and his 長，率いる hung 支援する. Once more Kallikrates smote and behold! his 敵 rolled 負かす／撃墜する and was 鎮圧するd to 砕く between the swelling 味方するs of the two 広大な／多数の／重要な ships as they ground one against the other, while the servants of Isis 元気づけるd and the sullen Persian hordes gave 支援する.

I caught sight of Philo thrusting his way along the 防御壁／支持者s. He held an axe in his 手渡す but he was not fighting. Nay, he 避けるd those who fought. Once indeed he stood still and gave an order, 公式文書，認めるing, as I had done, that of a sudden the 勝利，勝つd had begun to blow. 確かな sailors who heard this order ran to the mast and I saw the 広大な／多数の／重要な sail rising slowly.

一方／合間 Philo slipped along those 防御壁／支持者s, taking cover beneath them like a jackal beneath a 塀で囲む. But whenever he （機の）カム to one of the grapnels he stopped and smote it with his axe, 厳しいing the rope that held it. Three of them did he 切断する thus, so that the prows of the 大型船s swung apart.

Now the 広大な／多数の／重要な sail was up and filled. The Hapi (1)偽造する／(2)徐々に進むd ahead, dragging 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 厳しい of the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 by those grapnels that remained. The Persians understood and grew 脅すd. Those who were still alive upon our decks 急ぐd to the planks and ladders, but few 伸び（る）d them, for Kallikrates and the men of Isis were on their heels. They were 削減（する） 負かす／撃墜する; they fell from the 事情に応じて変わる planks and ladders, or they leapt into the sea and for the most part 溺死するd there. Very soon not one of them was left upon our deck.

The grapnels were torn away, or the ropes broke. We were 解放する／自由な. Yet the Persian was not beaten, for she was 十分な of men of whom those who had been killed were but a tithe.

She, too, hoisted her sail and thrust out fresh sweeps to continue the 追跡. Her captain, standing on her prow, roared out,

"Dogs of Egyptians, I'll hang you yet."

Philo heard and took up his 屈服する. Now we were 広範囲にわたる across the 屈服する of the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃; mayhap it was a hundred paces away. Philo 目的（とする）d and 発射. So truly did he shoot that his arrow struck the Persian captain beneath his 舵輪／支配 and 負かす／撃墜する he went.

His 落ちる seemed to bewilder the 乗組員 of the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃. They hung upon their oars shouting at each other, as though they knew not what to do. Then their sail began to rise and I saw that they were putting about.

Philo at my 味方する laughed, a hard little laugh.

"Mother Isis is good to us," he said. "See, the hunter has become the 追跡（する）d!"

Then he gave orders and we （機の）カム 一連の会議、交渉／完成する so that our 広大な／多数の／重要な sail taken aback flapped against the mast.

"負かす／撃墜する with the sail and 列／漕ぐ／騒動," he shouted, "列／漕ぐ／騒動 as never ye 列／漕ぐ／騒動d before!"

Those at the sweeps obeyed. Oh! it was splendid to see them bending their 幅の広い 支援するs and tugging at the oars till these also bent like 屈服するs in the water. Here was no slave work, for they were servants of Isis and 解放する／自由な men, every one of them. Philo 急ぐd to the steering gear and with the 援助（する） of another man took 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of it himself. We leapt 今後 like a panther on its prey. The 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 saw and strove to escape. Too late, too late! For presently the sharp prow of the Hapi 衝突，墜落d into her 味方する with such a shock that all who stood upon the deck were thrown 負かす／撃墜する, I の中で them. I struggled to my feet again and heard Philo 叫び声をあげるing,

"支援する water! 支援する! lest she take us with her."

We 支援するd. Slowly the prow appeared again from where it was buried three paces 深い in the foeman's 側面に位置する.

The 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 reeled over; the water 急ぐd in through the gap. 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd and helpless she wallowed; aye, she began to 沈む. From her 群れているing decks went up a yell of terror and 狼狽. Still the water 急ぐd in with an ever-集会 flood and still she sank and sank. Men threw up their 武器, praying for mercy; men sprang into the sea. Then suddenly the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 後部d her glittering prow into the 空気／公表する and 厳しい 真っ先の 消えるd into the 深い. It was finished!

The Persians swam about us, or clung to 難破, praying to be taken 船内に. But we 列／漕ぐ／騒動d on coming to the 勝利，勝つd again. I know not how it is in the world to-day, but then in time of war there was little mercy. Egypt alone was 慈悲の because age had mellowed her and because of her gentle worship of her gentle gods. But now Egypt was fighting for her life against the Persian. So we 列／漕ぐ／騒動d on, and those barbarians were abandoned to 溺死する and in the world below 捜し出す the warmth of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 they worshipped.

Philo left the 舵輪／支配 and （機の）カム to where I stood. I 公式文書，認めるd that he was white and shaken and called to one to bring him ワイン. He drank of it thankfully, not forgetting first to 注ぐ a libation at my feet, or rather at those of the goddess to whom I was so 近づく.

"Bravely done!" I said. "You understand your 貿易（する）, Philo."

"Not so ill, Lady, though it might have been better. Had I been at the 舵輪／支配 we should have rammed that 群れているing hulk before the 搭乗 and saved some lives. 井戸／弁護士席, 始める，決める has her now and Ochus 欠如（する）s his finest ship."

"It might have been far さもなければ," I said.

"Aye, Lady. Had I 命令（する）d the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 it would have been さもなければ, for she had two oars and three men to our one, but her captain was wanting in sea-（手先の）技術, and when my arrow 設立する him, there was 非，不，無 to take his place. They should have swept us with their boarders, but that all Greek captain called Kallikrates, who they tell me was once a priest, 扱うd his 兵士s 井戸／弁護士席. He is a gallant man and I grieve that we are like to lose him."

"Why?" I asked.

"Oh! because in his fight with a fellow whom he flung over the 防御壁／支持者s, he took a knife-thrust in the 決定的なs, which they think will be mortal. See, they are 耐えるing him to my cabin," and he pointed to Kallikrates 存在 carried 今後 by four men—a sight that stirred my heart.

Then Philo was 召喚するd away, for it seemed that when the Hapi rammed, she sprang a 漏れる and the carpenters called Philo to 協議する with them as to how it might be stopped.

When they had gone I followed after Kallikrates and 設立する him laid in Philo's cabin. They had taken off his armour and the leech, an Egyptian, was きれいにする a 削減（する） in his thigh whence the 血 ran 負かす／撃墜する his ivory 肌.

"Is it mortal?" I asked.

"I know not, Lady," answered the leech, "I cannot tell the depth of the thrust. Pray Isis for him, for he has lost much 血."

Now I who was 技術d in 薬／医学 and in the 治療 of 負傷させるs which I had learned from a 広大な／多数の／重要な master in my 青年 の中で the Arabs, helped that 内科医 as best I might, 信頼できるing the 血 flow and stitching up the 削減（する） with silk before we 包帯d it.

Moreover, taking from my 手渡す a charmed and 古代の amulet that gave health and had the 力／強力にする, so it was said, to 原因（となる） the sick or 負傷させるd to 回復する, I 始める，決める it on the finger of Kallikrates that it might cure him. This amulet was a （犯罪の）一味 of brown 石／投石する on which were graven 確かな hieroglyphics that meant 王室の Son of the Sun. He who gave it to me told me that it had been worn by that greatest of all healers and magicians, Khaemuas, the eldest son of the mighty Rameses. Once only did I see this （犯罪の）一味 again as shall be told. Then of it I lost sight and knowledge till, after more than two thousand years, I beheld it on the 手渡す of Holly in the 洞穴s of Kor.

As I worked thus the 苦痛 of the needle awoke Kallikrates from his swoon. He opened his 注目する，もくろむs, looked up and saw me, then muttered in Greek so low that only I who was bending over him heard his words. They were:

"I thank thee, Beloved. I thank thee and the gods who have 認めるd that like my forefathers I should die no priest, but a 兵士 and a man. Yea, I thank thee, O 王室の and beautiful Amenartas."

Then he swooned again and I left him quickly, having learned that it was of the Egyptian he dreamed, and doubtless that it was for the sake of this same Egyptian that he had changed his sacred 式服 for mail, yes, the Egyptian Amenartas for whom he had mistaken me, Ayesha, in the wandering of his 証拠不十分.

井戸／弁護士席, why not? What had I to do with him or any man? Yet of a sudden I grew 疲れた／うんざりした of the world and almost wished that the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 had rammed the Hapi and not the Hapi the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

Yonder behind us a thousand men were now at peace beneath the sea. 存在 overwrought with all that I had 耐えるd and seen, almost I could have wished that I, too, was at peace beneath the sea, sleeping for ever, or perchance to wake again nursed in the 宗教上の 武器 of Isis.

In the cabin sat my master, the prophet Noot, 星／主役にするing through the open doorway at the infinite blue of heaven above, as I knew that he had done during all that fearsome fight.

He smiled when he saw me and asked,

"Whence come you, Daughter, and why do your 注目する，もくろむs 向こうずね like 星／主役にするs?"

"I come from the sight of the death of men, my Father, and my 注目する，もくろむs 向こうずね with the light of 戦う／戦い."

"With other lights also, I think, Daughter. O Ayesha, beauty is yours, 知恵 is yours, and you are filled with spirit like a cup with ワイン. But what of the cup? What of the cup? I 恐れる me that those fair feet of yours have far to travel before they reach their home."

"What is their home, Father?"

"Do you not know it after these many years of learning? Hearken. I will tell you. Your home is God, not this god or that god called by a hundred 指名するs, but the God beyond the gods. Doubtless you will love and you will hate, as you have loved and hated. And doubtless you are 運命にあるd to draw up what you love and to come to peace with what you hate. Yet know that above all mortal loves there is another love in which they must be both lost and 設立する. God is the end of man, O Ayesha, God or—death. All sin, all つまずく on the path, but only those who continue on that path or who, having lost it, with 涙／ほころびs and broken hearts 捜し出す it again and, like the Sisyphus of fable, thrust before them their frozen 負担 of fleshly error, till at length it melts in the light that 向こうずねs above; only those, I say, 達成する to the eternal peace."

So solemnly did he speak, uttering the slow words one by one, and so 深い and 宗教上の was the lesson that they hid, that I, Ayesha, grew afraid.

"What have you seen and what do you know, my Father?" I asked 謙虚に.

"Daughter, I have seen you yonder in Sidon rejoicing in vengeance for vengeance's sake; aye, glad when the vile hound who would have gripped you, gasped out his life before your 注目する，もくろむs. You did not 殺す him, Ayesha, but it was your counsel that gave cunning to the thought that planned and strength to the arm that dealt the blow."

"It was so 運命／宿命d, O my father, and さもなければ—"

"Yes, it was so 運命／宿命d; yet you should not have rejoiced in the hour of your 勝利. Nay, you should have 悲しみd as the gods 悲しみ when they fulfil the 法令s of 運命. Again I have seen you 燃やすing with the 炎上 of 戦う／戦い, your heart filled with songs of victory when Philo's 技術 and the Grecian courage of Kallikrates sent those mad brutes of Persians to their account. And lastly unless I dream— What did you but now in Philo's cabin, Daughter?"

"I tended a 負傷させるd man, my Father, as I have the 技術 to do. Also I gave him an amulet which it is said has virtue to 傷をいやす／和解させる the sick."

"Aye, that was 権利 and 肉親，親類d and the just reward of courage. Did he thank you, Daughter? I thought that in the 静かな I heard thanks come from his lips."

"Nay," I answered sullenly, "his mind wandered and he thanked—another woman who was not there."

Again Noot smiled a little, and answered,

"Was it so? Then let her 指名する be. Yet remember that from such wanderings of a mind distraught ofttimes springs the truth, like water from a 粉々にするd 激しく揺する. Oh! Daughter, Daughter, if this man forgets his 公約するs, must you do the same? For him there is excuse who is a 兵士— can we 疑問 it who have looked upon his 行為s to-day? He became a priest for love's sake, and the shed 血 which it brought. But for you there is 非，不，無—at least 非，不，無 upon the earth," he 追加するd あわてて. "I pray you, therefore, let this man be, for if you do not, my gift of 知恵 tells me that you will bring much trouble on your 長，率いる and his. Why will you 捜し出す after vanity? Is it because in the pride of your beauty you cannot 耐える that another should be preferred before you and that a fruit which it is not lawful for you to pluck, should 落ちる into some other woman's （競技場の）トラック一周? I say to you, Daughter, that this beauty is your 悪口を言う／悪態, because to it you 需要・要求する obedience night and day, although of it you should think nothing, remembering its end. You are too proud, you are too puffed up. Look upon the 星／主役にするs and learn to be humble, lest you should be humbled by that which is stronger."

"I am still a woman, Father, a woman whose 使節団 it is to love and to 耐える babes."

"Then learn to love that which is above and let the babes you 耐える be those of 知恵 and good 作品. Is it your part to suckle sinners like any hedge-味方する troll, you to whom the heavens stretch out their 手渡すs? Is it for you in whose breast springs the tree of life to root it up and in its place to （種を）蒔く the seed of a woman's ありふれた arts, that by their 援助（する） you may snatch her lover from a 競争相手? Because he sins, if sin he does, should you 中止する from 存在 宗教上の? Where is your greatness? Where are your 潔白 and pride? I pray to you, beloved daughter of my spirit, 断言する to me by Heaven which we serve, that with this man you will have no more to do. Twice have you sinned—once in the 聖域 yonder at Philae when his kiss met yours, and now again not an hour gone upon this ship, when your heart was torn with jealous 激怒（する） because the 指名する of another woman escaped from lips that you thought were about to 形態／調整 your own. Twice have you sinned and twice has the goddess turned her 長，率いる and shut her 注目する，もくろむs. But if for a third time you should walk into this 炭坑，オーケストラ席 dug of your own 手渡すs, then know that escape will be hard indeed. I tell you"—here his 直面する and his low 発言する／表明する 常習的な—"I tell you that from age to age shall you 努力する／競う unceasingly to wash the stain of 血 from off those 手渡すs and that all your breath shall become a sigh and your every heart-（警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 shall be an agony. 断言する then, 断言する!"

I looked at his 注目する，もくろむs and saw that they were alight and unearthly, yes, that some spirit 向こうずねing from within 原因（となる）d them to glow like alabaster lamps. I looked at the thin 手渡す which he stretched out toward me and saw that it trembled in his passion.

I looked and was moved to obey. Yet ere I did so I asked,

"Were you ever young, my Father? Did you ever を煩う this eternal 悪口を言う／悪態 which Nature lays on men and women because she would not die? Did you ever take the 賄賂 of 甘い madness with which she baits her hook? Or, as once I think you told me in bygone years, were you always 宗教上の and apart?"

He covered his 注目する，もくろむs with those thin 手渡すs, then answered,

"I was young. I 苦しむd from that 悪口を言う／悪態. Whatever I may have said to you in the past when you were but a child, I gorged that bait, not once but many times, and I have paid the price. Because I have paid it to my 廃虚, I pray you whom I love not to empty your heart of its purest virgin gold and fill the 無効の with 苦痛 and penitence. 平易な is it to 落ちる, Daughter, but hard, very hard to rise again. Will you not 断言する?"

"Aye," I answered, "I 断言する by Isis and by your spirit, O Purified."

"You 断言する," he said, whispering, "but will you keep the 誓い? I wonder, aye, I wonder 大いに, will you keep that 誓い, O high-hearted woman whose 血 runs with so red and strong a stream?"

Then bending 今後 he kissed me on the brow, and rising left me.

Kallikrates did not die. Under the care of that cunning leech or of something above the leech, Death was cheated of him, since it seemed that the knife-thrust had not reached his 決定的なs, or at least had not pierced them beyond 修理. Still he was sick for a long while, for his whole 団体／死体 was drained of 血, so that had he been older, or いっそう少なく vigorous, Osiris would have taken him. Or perchance not in vain had I 始める，決める upon his finger that scarab-talisman once charmed by Khaemuas. I visited him no more, and thus it was not until we were passing up the Nile and drew 近づく to Memphis that I saw him again. Then, very pale and wasted, yet to my fancy more pleasing than he had been, since now his 直面する had grown spiritual and his 注目する，もくろむs were those of one that had looked の近くに into those of Death, he was carried in a bed on to the deck. There I spoke with him, thanking him in the 指名する of the goddess for the 広大な／多数の／重要な 行為s that he had done. He smiled and his white 直面する took a little tinge of red as he answered,

"I 恐れる me, O Mouth-of-Isis, that it was not of the goddess that I thought in that fray, but rather of the joy of 戦う／戦い which I, a priest, had never hoped to feel again. Nay, nor was it for the goddess that I smote as best I could, since in the extremities of war the gates of heaven, which are then in truth so 近づく, seem very far away, but rather that after all which you had passed, you, with the 残り／休憩（する） of us, might not 落ちる into the 手渡すs of the heathen 解雇する／砲火／射撃-worshippers."

Now I smiled 支援する, for the words, if 誤った, were courteous, and replied that doubtless also he, who was still young, 願望（する）d to go on living.

"Nay," he answered 真面目に, "I think that I 願望（する） to die rather than to live, and to pass hence as often my forefathers have done, sword in 手渡す and 舵輪／支配 on 長，率いる. Life is no boon to a shaven priest, Lady, one who by his 公約するs is 削減（する） off from all its joys."

"What is a man's joy in life?" I asked.

"Look at yourself in a mirror, Lady, and you will learn," he answered, and there was that in his 発言する／表明する which 原因（となる）d me to wonder whether it was possible after all that the wrong 指名する （機の）カム from his lips in the wanderings of his mind.

For then I did not know that a man may love two women and at the same time; one with his spirit and the other with his flesh, since through all things runs this war between the spirit and the flesh. The spirit of Kallikrates was always 地雷, having been given to me from the beginning, but with his flesh it was さもなければ, and perchance while he is in the flesh it will so remain.

Before we reached Memphis a signal was made for us to 錨，総合司会者. Then a 船, 飛行機で行くing the 基準 of Pharaoh, （機の）カム off to us from the shore. On board of it was Nectanebes himself and with him his daughter, the Princess of Egypt, the lady Amenartas; also 確かな 議員s and Grecian captains in his service.

The Pharaoh and the others （機の）カム 船内に to learn tidings of what had chanced at Sidon, and were received by Philo and by Noot. Presently they 需要・要求するd to be led to me and I met them on the deck outside my cabin, 公式文書，認めるing that the 注目する，もくろむs of Nectanebes were troubled and that his fat cheeks had fallen in.

"So you are returned to us, Oracle-of-Isis," he said in a hesitating 発言する／表明する, scanning my form, for my 直面する he could not see because it was 隠すd.

"I am returned, O Pharaoh," I answered, 屈服するing before his Majesty. "It has pleased Her whom I serve to 配達する me out of the 手渡すs of King Tenes of Sidon, to whom Pharaoh 申し込む／申し出d me as a gift."

"Aye, I remember. It was at that feast when the water in the cup you held turned to 血. 井戸／弁護士席, if all I hear is true, there has been 血 enough out yonder."

"Yes, Pharaoh, the Sidonian sea runs red with it. Tenes, Egypt's 同盟（する）, 降伏するd the city to Ochus the Persian, thinking to find 広大な／多数の／重要な 進歩, which he won by death, whereon the Sidonians 燃やすd themselves in their houses with their wives and children. So it comes about that all Phoenicia is in the 手渡すs of Ochus who 前進するs upon Egypt with a mighty host."

"The gods have 砂漠d me!" moaned Nectanebes, waving his 武器.

"Aye, Pharaoh," I answered in a 冷淡な 発言する／表明する, "for the gods are very jealous and seldom 許す those who forsake them and betray their servants into the 手渡すs of enemies that hate them."

He understood and answered in a low, babbling 発言する／表明する,

"Be not angry with me, Oracle-of-Isis, for what else could I do? That Sidonian dog, whom may 始める，決める devour eternally, was mad for you. Always I 不信d him and I was sure that if I 辞退するd you to him, he would make his peace with Ochus and bite me in the 支援する, as indeed he 脅すd at the feast. Also I knew 井戸／弁護士席 that Mother Isis would 保護する you from all 害（を与える） at his 手渡すs, which it seems that she has done."

Now when I heard these words 激怒（する） filled me and I answered,

"Aye, Pharaoh, Mother Isis has done this and more. Have you heard how your 毒（薬） worked? Nay? Then I will tell you. Having sacrificed her only son to Dagon, Tenes would have put away Beltis, his queen, to give her place to me. Mad with hate, Beltis led him into the 武器 of the Persian and afterward when his treachery was 遂行するd, slew him with her own 手渡す, for I saw the 行為. And now, Pharaoh, Sidon has fallen and with it all Phoenicia, and soon, Pharaoh, Egypt will follow Sidon. Aye, I, the Oracle, tell you that because you were pleased to throw the high-priestess of Isis into the 武器 of Tenes as though she were some singing woman of whom you had 疲れた／うんざりしたd, these things have come about. Therefore too soon there will no longer be a Pharaoh in Egypt and the Persian will take the Land of Nile and defile the altars of its gods."

He heard. He trembled. He had naught to say. But there was another who heard also. As I had 公式文書，認めるd, the Princess Amenartas, when she （機の）カム on to the ship, went straight to where Kallikrates lay upon a couch beneath an awning on the deck, and there talked with him 真面目に. What they said I could not hear for they spoke together beneath their breath. But their 直面するs I could see, and watching them I grew sure that the Greek had made no error of a mind distraught when he spoke this 王室の lady's 指名する as I tended his 負傷させるs. For those 直面するs were the 直面するs of lovers who met after long 分離 and the passing of 広大な／多数の／重要な dangers.

Leaving Kallikrates this Amenartas had returned to her father and stood at his 味方する listening to our talk. Now she broke in ひどく,

"Surely, Priestess, you were ever a bird of evil omen croaking of 災害. You 飛行機で行く to Sidon and lo! Sidon 燃やすs, yet you escape with wings unscorched. Now you flit 支援する to Egypt and again wail of woe like a night フクロウ of the 砂漠. How is it, O Isis-come-to-Earth, as it pleases you to call yourself, that you alone escape from Sidon and return here to curdle the 血 of men with prophecies such as those you uttered at the feast when by a trick you turned the water into 血? Have you perchance made friends with Ochus?"

"Ask it of Philo the captain of this ship, Lady," I answered in a 静かな 発言する／表明する. "Or stay. Ask it of yonder priest which perchance will please you better, the Grecian who in the world was 指名するd Kallikrates. Ask them how I showed friendship to Ochus by so working through the strength of Isis and their 技術 and valour that the Persian's finest ship of war with a multitude of his sailors and fighting men lies to-day at the 底（に届く） of the 深い."

"Perchance because a captain was 技術d and a 確かな priest, or 兵士, was 勇敢に立ち向かう, that ship is sunk with all she bore, but not, I think, through you or your 祈りs, O Oracle. I say to you, Pharaoh, my father, that if I held your sceptre I would send this Isis-come-to-Earth to 捜し出す Isis in Heaven ere she bring more 悲しみs on us and Egypt."

"Nay, nay," muttered Nectanebes, rolling his big 注目する，もくろむs, "speak not so madly, Daughter, lest the Mother should hear and once more smite me. Hearken. Last night I, who have 技術, 協議するd my spirit, the Daemon who obeys me. He （機の）カム, he spoke. I heard him with my ears. Yes, he spoke of this prophetess. He said that she drew 近づく to Memphis on a ship. He said that she was 広大な／多数の／重要な, almost a goddess, that she must be 心にいだくd, that to you and me she would be a 避難所 from the 嵐／襲撃する, that in her is the 力／強力にする of One who sits above. O Oracle, O Isis-come- to-Earth, O 知恵's Daughter, 許す the wild words of this 王室の child of 地雷 who is distraught with 恐れる, and know that, to the last, Pharaoh is your friend and your protector."

"As mayhap, if this Daemon of yours speaks truth, before all is done I shall be the protector of Pharaoh and of the Princess of Egypt whom it pleases to revile me," I replied.

Then 屈服するing to him I turned and sought my cabin.

CHAPTER XIII

THE SHAME OF PHARAOH

When Pharaoh and his daughter had gone, though I did not see them go, I bade 別れの（言葉，会） to Philo, thanking him much and, in reward for all he had done, calling 負かす／撃墜する on him the blessing of the goddess which he received upon his bended 膝s. Moreover, when he had risen from them he swore himself to my service, 説 that while he lived he would come even from the ends of the earth to do my will. Also he showed me how I might call him by 確かな secret ways.

So we bade 別れの（言葉，会） for a while, nor did I let him go empty-手渡すd, since from those jewels that Tenes had heaped upon me, which almost by 事故 I had 保存するd in my flight, I took 確かな of 広大な／多数の／重要な value and gave them to him as a gift from the goddess. Thus we parted though, as both of us were sure, not for the last time.

So soon as our coming was known the priests and priestesses of Isis flocked to the quay in solemn 行列 to receive Noot, their high- priest, and me their high-priestess, which they did with sacred 儀式 and 宗教上の 詠唱するs. By them we were 護衛するd through the streets of Memphis to the 寺 of Isis …を伴ってd by many of the 乗組員 of the Hapi that were of our brotherhood. の中で them I 行方不明になるd one.

"Where is the priest Kallikrates?" I asked of Noot.

He smiled and answered,

"I think that he has been taken to the palace of Pharaoh to be nursed until he 回復するs from his 負傷させるs. Perchance for a while he is minded, or it is 法令d that he should continue to play a 軍人's part. Yet 恐れる not, Daughter; those upon whose brow Isis has laid her 手渡すs, in life or death must return to her at last. They are 強硬派s upon a string which, though it stretches, cannot be broken."

"Aye," I answered, "in life or death," and asked no more of this Kallikrates.

In the 中央 of the rejoicings of the city at our 安全な return, we （機の）カム to the 寺 and made sacrifice. There it was that I 始める，決める the jewels of Tenes, all save those that I had given to Philo, upon the alabaster statue of the goddess in her inmost 神社 that only I and Noot might enter, and there too by 調印するs and wonders she 示す to me her 受託 of the 申し込む／申し出ing. For here while we stood alone before the effigy of the goddess in that 宗教上の place, a trance fell upon Noot and in his trance he spoke to me with the 発言する／表明する of Isis and out of her infinite heart. This was the divine message that （機の）カム to me through the lips of Noot:

"Daughter, I, thy mother, know of all that thou hast passed and of all that thou must pass. Though the barbarian come and the gods of Egypt are thrown 負かす／撃墜する and 廃虚 smites the land and thou seemest to be left alone, がまんする thou here till my word 企て，努力，提案s thee to 出発／死. By myself and That of which under the 指名する of Isis I am a 大臣, I 断言する that no 害（を与える） shall 生じる thee or that place where thou art, or those of my servants who remain with thee. Therefore を待つ my 命令（する）s with patience, doing such things as I 奮起させる thee to do, that thou mayest bring the vengeance of the gods upon those dogs who desecrate their 神社s."

Thus spoke Noot in his trance, not knowing what he had said until I told him afterward. He listened 真面目に and bade me obey.

"Even if I be taken from you for a while, as it comes to me will happen—perchance I learned it in my swoon, Daughter—and you are left unfriended and alone, still I pray you to obey. If so, think not that I am dead, who do but return to my own place and land, but wait until my message comes. Then obey that also though I know not what it will be."

Thus he spoke solemnly and I 屈服するd my 長，率いる and hid his words within my heart—

The war began, Egypt's last war for life. Nectanebes as the Pharaoh, 奮起させるd by his evil Daemon, thrust aside his captains and 宣言するd himself General in 長，指導者 of his armies, he who had 不十分な the wit or the courage to 命令（する） the guard of a harem. At first that Daemon served him 井戸／弁護士席, since at Barathra, as the 湾s are 指名するd which make the Sirbonian bog, the Persians were 罠にかける and lost many thousands of their men who sank through the sand into the 沼s and there were 溺死するd or speared. But their numbers were uncountable and the 残り／休憩（する） （機の）カム on. Pelusium was 包囲するd and for a while held its own against the 巨大（な） Nicostratus of Argos, a man as strong as Hercules who, like Hercules, 着せる／賦与するd himself in a lion's 肌 and for a 武器 bore a 広大な／多数の／重要な club. The Grecian captain, Kleinios of Cos, he who had been 現在の at the feast when I was given over to Tenes and whom in my 見通し at that feast I had seen dead, lying upon a heap of 殺害された, attacked Nicostratus and after a mighty fight was 敗北・負かすd, Kleinios and five thousand men of those who were with him 存在 殺害された. Thus was my 見通し 実行するd.

Then his Daemon 出発／死d from Nectanebes taking his heart with him, for of a sudden Pharaoh 中止するd to be a man and, becoming a coward, fled 支援する to Memphis, leaving his (n)艦隊／(a)素早い, his cities, and their 守備隊s to their 運命／宿命s.

Rumour ran 急速な／放蕩な; it told of the 落ちる of city after city, some 嵐／襲撃するd, some 賄賂d to 降伏する; it told that Ochus had sworn to 燃やす Memphis and after it Thebes; also to 掴む Nectanebes and roast him living upon the altar in the 広大な／多数の／重要な 寺 of Ptah here at Memphis, or さもなければ to make him fight with the bull Apis after the beast had been driven mad by fiery darts. It told that the Egyptians, enraged at the desertion of their armies by Pharaoh, would themselves 掴む him and give him up to Ochus as a peace-申し込む／申し出ing. （人が）群がるs gathered and 急ぐd through the streets of Memphis calling imprecations on his 指名する, or clustered like bees 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the altars of the gods, praying for help in their despair, yes, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the neglected altars of the gods of Egypt.

Then of a sudden （機の）カム Amenartas, 飛行機で行くing to the 寺 of Isis for 聖域, since it was 報告（する）／憶測d that Ochus had said that the 神社s of Isis he would spare alone, because she was the Mother of all things and her 王位 was the moon and her husband was Osiris-Ra, who was the Father of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which he worshipped; also because a 確かな priestess of the goddess had done him 広大な／多数の／重要な service in the war, words that 原因（となる）d me to wonder.

So this 王室の priestess （機の）カム and put on the 隠す of a novice that it might 保護する her should Ochus take the city. But though this 隠す changed her 直面する and form to the 注目する，もくろむs of men, her heart it did not change.

A little later （機の）カム Kallikrates from the war in the Delta where I learned that he had done 広大な／多数の／重要な things, fighting bravely. Indeed he told me himself that he had fought the 巨大（な） Nicostratus in 選び出す／独身 戦闘 and 負傷させるd him, though the 事柄 was not 圧力（をかける）d to an end, since others 急ぐd up and separated them. He said that he was a very terrible man, and that when that 抱擁する club of his wavered above him, for the first time in his life he felt afraid. Notwithstanding he ran in beneath the club and stabbed Nicostratus in the shoulder.

Thus it happened that all 存在 lost in war and his service at an end, Kallikrates the captain once more became Kallikrates the priest and again put on the 式服s of Isis. Therefore in that 寺, serving together before its altars were Amenartas, Princess of Egypt, and Kallikrates, priest of Isis.

Often I, Ayesha, seated in my 議長，司会を務める of 明言する／公表する as first of that 宗教上の company, save the 老年の Noot alone, watched them from beneath my 隠す while they anointed the statue of the goddess or joined in the sacred 詠唱するs and hymns of 賞賛する. As I watched I 公式文書，認めるd this—that always they drew 近づく together as though some strength compelled them; that always their ちらりと見ることs thrown from the corners of their 注目する，もくろむs, met and turned away and met again, and that always, if occasion served, the 式服 of the one 小衝突d the 式服 of the other, or the 手渡す of the one touched the 手渡す of the other. These things I 公式文書，認めるd in silence, wondering what judgment the goddess would call 負かす／撃墜する upon this beauteous pair who dared thus to 侵害する／違反する her 聖域 with their earthly passion. Oh! much I wondered, though little did I guess what it would be and by whose 手渡す it was 運命にあるd to 落ちる upon them.

Lastly （機の）カム Nectanebes himself, his 広大な／多数の／重要な 注目する，もくろむs 十分な of terror and his fat でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる wasted with woe and sleeplessness. He sought audience of me.

"O Prophetess," he said, "all is lost! Ochus Artaxerxes has his foot upon my neck. I 飛行機で行く, 捜し出すing 避難所 beneath the wings of Isis, 捜し出すing 避難所 from you, O Isis-come-to-earth. Help me, Daughter divine, for my Daemon has 砂漠d me, or if he comes at all it is but to jibber and to mock."

"Strange words from Pharaoh," I answered in a 発言する／表明する of 軽蔑（する）, "very strange words from Pharaoh who gave this same prophetess to be the woman of a vile, Baal-serving king; from Pharaoh who has 砂漠d his army, his country, and his gods, and now 捜し出すs only to save his treasure and his life."

"Reproach me not," he moaned, "運命／宿命 has been too strong for me, as perchance one day it may be too strong for you also. At first all went 井戸／弁護士席. In the bygone years I 征服する／打ち勝つd the Persian; I built 寺s to the gods. Then of a sudden Fortune hid her 直面する and now—and now!"

"Aye, O fallen Pharaoh," I answered, "and why did Fortune hide her 直面する? I will tell it, to whom it has been 明らかにする／漏らすd. It was because although you built 寺s to the gods, you were 誤った to the gods. In secret, に引き続いて the counsel of that Daemon of yours, you made 血まみれの sacrifice to devils, to Baal, to Ashtoreth, and to Aphrodite of the Greeks. Nay, do not start and 否定する, for I know all. Lastly, to 栄冠を与える your 罪，犯罪s, you gave me, the high-prophetess of Isis, to the base, 現行犯で Tenes, one who 申し込む／申し出d his own son to idols. What has chanced to Tenes who took me, and say, what shall chance to him who sold me, O Nectanebes no more a Pharaoh?"

Now I thought that surely he would kill me and cared not if he did. For my heart was sore—oh! because of many things my heart was sore. But like a beaten cur he only cowered at my feet, praying me to 容赦 him, praying me to 中止する from （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing him with my tongue, praying me to counsel him. I listened and pity took 持つ／拘留する of me, who was ever tender-minded though a lover of 司法（官） and a hater of 反逆者s.

"Hearken," I said at last. "If Ochus finds you here, O fallen Pharaoh, first he will make a mock of you and then he will 拷問 you to death. I have heard what he will do. He will bring you to his judgment seat and lay you bound upon your 支援する and grind his sandals upon your 直面する. Then he will 軍隊 you to sacrifice to the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 that he worships and one by one to spit upon the effigies of the gods of Egypt. Lastly, either he will 原因（となる） the 宗教上の bull Apis to 血の塊／突き刺す you to death, or he will 貯蔵所d you upon the altar in the 寺 of Ptah and there slowly with torments bring you to your end."

Now when Nectanebes heard these things, he wept and I thought that he would swoon away.

"Hearken," I said again, "I will show you a road whereby although 敗北・負かすd and 不名誉d you may yet 勝利，勝つ glory that shall be told of from age to age. 召喚する the people while there is yet time. Go to the 寺 of Ammon, King of the gods of Egypt. Stand before the 神社 of Ammon and make 自白 of your sins in the ears of all. Then, there in the sight of all, 殺す yourself, praying Ammon and all the gods to 受託する your life as an 申し込む／申し出ing and to spare Egypt and the people upon whose 長，率いる you, the hated of the gods, have brought all these woes. So can you 原因（となる） the Persian and the world to marvel and say that though accursed, still you were 広大な／多数の／重要な, and so perchance you shall turn away the wrath of heaven from apostate Egypt."

A flash of pride shone in his 注目する，もくろむs that had been empty of light and filled with 涙／ほころびs. He 解除するd his 長，率いる stiffly as though still it felt the 負わせる of the 広大な／多数の／重要な earrings of 明言する／公表する, the golden uraeus, and the 二塁打 栄冠を与える. For a moment he looked as once he had done at Sais reviewing his 勝利を得た army after his first victory over the Persians and drinking in the incense of its shouts, yes, he looked as 広大な／多数の／重要な Thotmes and the proud Rameses might have done in their day, a Pharaoh, the king of all the world he knew.

"It would be 井戸／弁護士席 to die thus," he murmured, "it would be very 井戸／弁護士席, and then, perhaps, the gods I have betrayed would 許す me, the old, old gods to whom thirty 王朝s of 記録，記録的な／記録するd kings have 屈服するd the 膝, and those who went before them for unnumbered 世代s. Yes, then perhaps that 広大な／多数の／重要な company of Pharaohs would not turn their 支援するs on me or spit at me when I join them at the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Osiris. But, Prophetess"—here his 直面する fell in again and his crab-like 注目する，もくろむs 事業／計画（する）d and rolled, while his 発言する／表明する sank to a whisper, "Prophetess, I dare not."

"Why, Nectanebes?"

"Because—oh! because years ago I struck a 取引 with a 確かな 力／強力にする of the Under-world, a daemon if you will, at least some spirit of evil that comes I know not whence and dwells I know not where, which became manifest to me. It 約束d me glory and success if I would sacrifice to it—nay, I will not tell what I sacrificed, but once I had a son, yes, like Tenes I had a son—"

Here I, Ayesha, shivered, then 動議d to him to speak on.

"This was the 取引, that though to please the people I might build 寺s to the gods, by 確かな means I must defile them in their 神社s. Aye, and I did defile them, and when the priest dressed me, the Pharaoh, in the trappings of those gods （許可，名誉などを）与えるing to custom, by thought and word and 行為 I blasphemed them. Yet one divinity remained outside the 協定／条約 because my Daemon 警告するd me that she was too strong for him and must not be 感情を害する／違反するd," and he paused.

"Was she perchance 指名するd Isis?" I asked.

"Aye, prophetess, she was 指名するd Isis and therefore I never 汚染するd her 神社 and therefore to her alone in my heart I 申し込む／申し出d 祈り. So all went 井戸／弁護士席 and I gathered 広大な／多数の／重要な armies and 広大な wealth, I 雇うd Greeks by thousands to fight for me, I made 同盟s with many kings and was sure that again I should 敗北・負かす the Persians and be the master of the world. Then （機の）カム the evil hour of that accursed feast at which you, the Mouth of Isis, were 召喚するd to prophesy and, moved by some madness, you 明かすd your beauty before Tenes, and I, forgetting whose 大臣 you were, gave you to Tenes, その為に 乱暴／暴力を加えるing Isis in your person."

"Did I not 警告する you, Nectanebes, and did not the 宗教上の Noot 警告する you?"

"Aye, you 警告するd me, but in my need I took the 危険, or I forgot. From that moment all went ill and 廃虚, like a 巨大（な） before whom 非，不，無 may stand, has 追跡（する）d me by night and day."

"Yes, Nectanebes, and Isis is the 指名する of that 巨大（な）."

"I made error upon error," he went on. "I 信用d to Tenes and Tenes betrayed me. My Daemon counselled me to thrust aside the Grecian generals and take 命令（する） of the armies, and at first there was victory, then （機の）カム 敗北・負かす. It might have been retrieved, but of a sudden my courage failed me. It fell like a 寺 of which the 創立／基礎s have been washed out by hidden waters. It 衝突，墜落d 負かす／撃墜する; in a moment its proud pylons, its tall columns, its 大規模な, honourable 塀で囲むs blazoned with the 記録，記録的な／記録するs of glorious 行為s, fell to a shapeless heap hidden in the dust of shame. I am undone. I am what you see, a loathsome worm, a 負傷させるd worm wriggling in the 黒人／ボイコット わずかな／ほっそりした of despair, I who was Pharaoh."

Again pity touched me, Ayesha, and I answered,

"There still remains the road that I have pointed out. While we live, however 黒人／ボイコット our 記録，記録的な／記録する, repentance is always possible, since さもなければ there would be no hope for man the sinner. Moreover, repentance, if it be true, brings 改正 in its train, and this god-born pair struggling 上向き, 手渡す in 手渡す, over cruel 激しく揺するs, through 押し寄せる／沼地s and streams, through ブレーキs and briars, blinded with 涙／ほころびs and the 甚だしい／１２ダース 不明瞭 of despair, at length see the 甘い 形態／調整 of Forgiveness 向こうずねing before them like a 宗教上の 夜明け such as never gleams upon this world. Hearken, therefore, to one who speaks not with her own 発言する／表明する, or out of the foolishness of her own weak flesh, but as she is 命令（する）d of a spirit that is within her. Go to the 寺 of Ammon and there in the presence of the people make 自白 of your sins and 落ちる, a sacrifice, upon your sword. Self-殺人 is a sin, but occasions come when to live on is a greater sin, since it is better to die for others than to 心にいだく breath that 毒（薬）s them."

"To die! There you speak it, Prophetess. I say again that I dare not die. When I die I pass to the Daemon. This was the 協定／条約: that for my life he should give me success and glory and that in return after death, I should 降伏する him my soul."

"Is it so?" I answered. "井戸／弁護士席, the 取引 is 古代の, as old as the world, I think; one also that every human 存在 in his degree 調印（する）s or 辞退するs to 調印（する） in this way or in that. Still my counsel 持つ／拘留するs. This Daemon of yours has broken his 誓い, for where now are the success and glory, Nectanebes? Therefore he cannot （人命などを）奪う，主張する the fulfilment of your own."

"Nay, Prophetess," he answered in a wailing 発言する／表明する, "he has not broken it. From the first he told me that I must work no 害（を与える） to Isis the Mother, since the Queen of Heaven was more powerful than all the denizens of hell, and that if once it were spoken, her Word of Strength would pierce and shrivel him like a red-hot sword and cutting his web of （一定の）期間s, would bring his 誓いs to nothingness and me with them. And now the web is 削減（する）, and I the painted insect that it meshed, 落ちる from it to where the hell-born spider sits in his 穴を開ける. Prophetess, I have seen him with these 注目する，もくろむs, I have seen his orbs of 解雇する／砲火／射撃, I have seen his snout and fangs like to those of a crocodile, I have seen his 広大な／多数の／重要な hairy 武器 and the searching talons stretched out to 支配する me, and I tell you that I dare not die to be cast into the jaws of the Devourer and 燃やす eternally in his belly of 炎上s. Show me how to save my life, so that I may continue to look upon the sun. Oh! because you are a tender woman and charitable, though I have sinned against you, show me how to save my life."

Now 審理，公聴会 this creature 嘆願d with me thus, this coward who at the last did not dare go 直面する the indignant gods like a man, 説, as a 広大な／多数の／重要な soul should, "I have 深く，強烈に erred, O ye Gods; I repent, 容赦 me of your nobility, or 殺す my soul and make an end," my pity left me and its place was filled with 軽蔑（する） and loathing.

"Those who would live when the Persian dogs are on their heels, must 飛行機で行く 急速な／放蕩な and far, Nectanebes; they must 飛行機で行く like the deer of the 砂漠 on whom the hunters の近くに. The road up Nile is empty, Nectanebes; as yet there are no Persians there. As you would not die, take it and live."

"Aye," he said as the thought went home, "why not? I have still a 広大な treasure; for many years I have hoarded against misfortune, for who can put all his 信用 in any Daemon? With it I can buy friends in the south; with it I may 設立する another empire の中で the Ethiopians or those of Punt. Why should I not 飛行機で行く, Prophetess?"

"I know not," I answered, "save that Death is always 急速な／放蕩な and untiring and in the end wears 負かす／撃墜する the swiftest 走者."

This I said darkly for at that moment there （機の）カム into my mind a 見通し that once I had seen of a 確かな servile slave, aforetime a Pharaoh, that same 王室の slave who grovelled before me; yea, a 見通し of him throttling in a rope while 黒人／ボイコット men mocked him. Yet of that I said nothing, only 追加するd,

"If it should please you to go south, Nectanebes, would it please you also to take with you that 王室の and beautiful lady, Amenartas your daughter, aforetime Princess of Egypt?"

"Nay," he answered はっきりと, "since hour by hour she 天罰（を下す）s me with her tongue because I am fallen. Let her がまんする here under the 隠す of Isis. Yet why do you ask this, Prophetess?"

"Because of Isis. Because, as I think, this lady of the 王室の 血 makes play with a 確かな priest who is sworn to Isis, and the goddess does not love that her 公約するd servitors should 砂漠 her for the sake of mortal woman."

"What priest?" he asked dully.

"A Greek who is 指名するd Kallikrates."

"I know him, Prophetess. A very beauteous man, like to their own Apollo; a 勇敢に立ち向かう one too who did good service yonder in the 沼s, fighting the 巨大（な） general whom he 負傷させるd. Also I remember that in the past he was a captain of my guard before he became a priest and that there was trouble 関心ing him, though what trouble I forget, save that Amenartas pleaded for him. 井戸／弁護士席, if he has 感情を害する／違反するd you, there are still those who do my will. Send for him, and if it pleases you, he shall be killed. I give you his life. Yes, his 血 shall flow at your feet. Indeed I will 命令（する） it at once, since you tell me he has shamed the goddess or 怒り／怒るd you, her priestess," and he opened his 手渡すs to clap them, 召喚するing the messengers of death.

I saw, I thrust my arm between so that they struck not upon each other, but upon my soft flesh, making no sound.

"Nay," I said, "this 軍人-priest is a good servant of the Queen Isis, one, moreover, who fought for me, her prophetess, upon the seas. He shall not die for so small a 事柄. Yet I pray you, Nectanebes, take with you the 王室の princess Amenartas, when you 飛行機で行く south with your treasure."

"Aye," he answered wearily, "as it is your 願望（する） I'll take her if she will come, though if so there will be small 残り／休憩（する） for me."

Then he went, 屈服するing to me 謙虚に, and this was my 別れの（言葉，会） to Nectanebes, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. I watched him go and wondered whether I had done 井戸／弁護士席 in forbidding him to kill Kallikrates. It （機の）カム into my mind that the death of this man would save me much trouble. Why should he not die as others did who had sinned against the goddess? An answer rose within me. It was that he had sinned, not only against the goddess, but also against me—and this by preferring another woman before me.

Was I then so feeble that I could not 持つ／拘留する my own against another woman should I choose to do so? Nay. Yet my trouble was that I did not choose.

Now I saw the truth. My 反抗的な flesh 願望（する）d that which my spirit 拒絶するd. My spirit was far from this man, yet my flesh would have him 近づく. Aye, my flesh said: "Let him be 殺害された rather than another should take him," while my spirit answered, "What has he to do with one whose soul is 始める，決める upon things above? Let him go his way, and go you yours. Above all, be not stained with his 血."

So I let him go, not knowing that it was written in the 調書をとる／予約するs of 運命／宿命 that I must be stained with his 血, 法外なd in it to the 注目する，もくろむs. Aye, I saved him from the sword of Nectanebes and let him go, 決定するing to think of him no more.

Yet as it chanced 運命／宿命 played me an evil trick in this 事柄. On the morrow, or the next day, I sat in the gloom of the outer 聖域 praying to the goddess to 緩和する me of my sore heart, for 式のs! 努力する／競う as I would to hide it, that heart was sore. There （機の）カム a white-式服d priest, Kallikrates himself, but changed indeed from that glorious Grecian 軍人 who had （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 支援する the boarders on the Hapi, or who had fought in 選び出す／独身 戦闘 with the 巨大（な） Nicostratus. For now the little golden curls were shaven from his 長，率いる and he was pale with the thin diet of the fruits of the earth and pure water which alone might pass the lips of those who were sworn to Isis, enough indeed for me who touched no other food, or such a one as the 老年の Noot, but not for a 広大な／多数の／重要な-でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れるd man bred to the 貿易（する） of 武器. Moreover, his 直面する was troubled as though with some struggle of the soul.

He passed me unseen and going to the statue of the goddess, knelt 負かす／撃墜する before it and prayed 真面目に, perhaps for help and blessing. Rising at length, once more he passed me and I saw that his gray 注目する，もくろむs were 十分な of 涙／ほころびs and longed to 慰安 him. Also I saw that still he carried on his 手渡す that （犯罪の）一味 talisman which I had 始める，決める there upon the ship Hapi, that it might perchance defend him from the evil 影響（力）s which 願望（する） and compass the death of men.

He went out across the 中心存在d 法廷，裁判所 toward the cloister at its end. From this cloister appeared a woman, the dark and beauteous Amenartas herself. This was 平易な to see since, I know not why, she had put off the 隠す of Isis and was gloriously attired in the 式服s of a princess —scanty enough I thought them, for they left 明らかにする much of her loveliness—while on her dark and abundant hair shone a golden circlet from which rose the 王室の uraeus, and on her 武器 and bosom sparkled jewels and necklaces.

They 会合，会う by 計画（する）, thought I to myself. But it was not so, for seeing her, Kallikrates started and turned to 飛行機で行く; also he covered his 注目する，もくろむs with his 手渡す as though to hide her beauty from him. She 解除するd her 直面する like one who 嘆願d, yes, and when he would not hearken, caught him by the 手渡す and drew him into the 影をつくる／尾行する of the cloister.

There they remained a long while, for at this hour the place was 砂漠d by all. At length they appeared again on the 辛勝する／優位 of the 影をつくる／尾行する and I saw that her 武器 were about him and that her 長，率いる 残り／休憩（する）d on his breast. They separated. She 消えるd into the 影をつくる／尾行するs and went her way, while he walked to and fro across the 法廷，裁判所, muttering to himself like a man who knows not what he does.

I （機の）カム from my place and met him, 説,

"Surely you are troubled, Priest. Can it be that the goddess 辞退するs your 祈りs? Or is it perchance that you 疲れた／うんざりした of them and would still play the part of a 軍人 of 軍人s as you did on the galley Hapi, or but the other day yonder in the northern 沼s? If so, it is too late, Priest, for Egypt is fallen and all is lost. That is, unless, like 助言者 and many of your race, you would sell your sword to Ochus Artaxerxes."

"Aye, Prophetess," he answered, "Egypt is lost which, 存在 a Greek, should not trouble me over much, and I too am lost, I, the driven of an evil 運命／宿命."

"Speak on it if it pleases you. Or be silent if it pleases you, O Priest. What the prophetess hears, she tells only to the Mother."

Then I turned and went 支援する into the 影をつくる／尾行する of the 神社 where I leaned against a 中心存在—I remember that on it was sculptured the scene of Thoth 重さを計るing hearts before Osiris. Here I waited, wondering whether he would follow me or go his ways.

For a while he stood hesitating, but at length he followed me.

"Prophetess," he said hoarsely, "I speak under the 隠す of Isis, knowing that such 自白s cannot be 明らかにする／漏らすd. Yet it is hard to speak, since the 事柄 has to do with woman, aye, and with yourself, most 宗教上の Prophetess."

"In Isis I have no self," I answered.

"Prophetess, in bygone years, as I think you know, I learned to love a 王室の maiden, one 始める，決める far above me, and it seems that she loved me. That passion brought a brother's 血 upon my 手渡すs, as you also know. I fled to the goddess, 捜し出すing peace and forgiveness. For in me I think there are two selves, the self of my 団体／死体 and the self of my soul."

"As in most that breathe beneath the sun," I answered, sighing.

"I was bred a 兵士, one who （機の）カム from a race of 兵士s, men of high 血 and good to look upon, as once I was, though in this garb few would guess it."

"I have seen you wearing war-harness and can guess," I answered, smiling a little.

"That 兵士-self, Prophetess, was as are others of the 産む／飼育する. I drank and I revelled, I 屈服するd the 膝 to Aphrodite, loving women and for an hour 存在 loved. I fought, not without honour. Then 捜し出すing 進歩, with my brother I entered the service of Pharaoh, and of that story doubtless you know the 残り／休憩（する）."

I 屈服するd my 長，率いる and he went on,

"I （機の）カム to Philae, I made 自白, I took the first 公約するs. At night and alone I was led to the 聖域, there to see the 見通し of the goddess. I saw that 見通し glowing in the darkened 神社, and oh! it was glorious."

Here I started and watched him 辛うじて, wondering how much he knew or guessed.

"Something took 持つ／拘留する of me, Prophetess, for now I beheld her whom all my soul adored, her with whom it would be 部隊d. It was as though a memory （機の）カム to me from afar, a memory and a 約束. That 力／強力にする which took 持つ／拘留する of me 原因（となる）d me to bend my 長，率いる as though to kiss the 見通し and その為に 誓約（する） my soul to the divine. The 見通し also bent its 長，率いる and our lips met, and lo! hers were like to those of mortal woman, yet sweeter far."

"The Mother is mistress of all 形態／調整s, Priest. Yet think not that she forgets the 誓約（する） that thus it pleased her to 受託する. From that moment you were sworn to her, and doubtless in a day to come, in this form or in that, she will （人命などを）奪う，主張する you—should you remain true to her, O Priest."

"The years passed," he went on, "and true I remained. 運命／宿命 brought me here to Memphis and in this 寺 I saw you, 宗教上の Prophetess, and learned to worship you from afar, not with the 団体／死体, but with the spirit; since to me you were and are what the vulgar call you, /Isis- come-to-Earth/, and the sight of you ever put me in mind, as it does to-day, of that divine 見通し whose lips met 地雷 in the 神社 at Philae. Perchance you never knew it, but thus with my spirit I worshipped you."

Now I, Ayesha, remained silent, leaning against the 中心存在, for 証拠不十分 took 持つ／拘留する of me who felt as though I were about to 落ちる. Yet —and let the vengeful gods 令状 this to my honour—yet I made him no 調印する that I was she who had played the part of Isis in the 聖域.

"It is 井戸／弁護士席," I said presently, "and doubtless at the 任命するd hour the goddess will thank you. But what then is your trouble, Priest? To love a goddess with the spirit is no 罪，犯罪."

"Aye, Prophetess. But what if he who loves the goddess with his spirit and is sworn to her alone for ever in a 公約する of perpetual chastity, should love a woman with his flesh and thus betray both heaven and his own soul?"

"Then, Priest," I answered, speaking very low, "I 恐れる that he is one whose hope of forgiveness is but small. Yet for those who repent and 否定する, there is 容赦. Only they must 否定する, they must 否定する while there is still time."

"平易な to say and hard to do," he answered, "at least for him who has to を取り引きする one that will not be 否定するd; with one who 持つ／拘留するs his heart in the hollow of her 手渡す and 鎮圧するs it; with one whose 注目する，もくろむs are like 星／主役にする-beacons to which the wanderer must 飛行機で行く; with one whose breath is as roses and whose lips are as honey; with one who can 運動 the 願望（する）s of man as a racer 運動s his chariot; with one to whom 誓いs also have been sworn, such 誓いs as the 青年 断言するs to the maid in the first madness of the flesh, 法令d by those who made it. Goddesses are far away, but woman is 近づく; moreover, の中で men there is a 法律 which even a prophetess may understand, which says that 誓いs 公約するd with the lips may not be broken to 利益 the vower's soul."

"These are 古代の arguments," I answered; "from age to age they echo from the roofs of the 寺s of Aphrodite and of Ashtoreth, but Isis knows them not. The flesh is given to mankind that its wearers may learn to 軽蔑（する） and trample it; the spirit is given to mankind that its 支えるもの／所有者s may learn to rise upon its wings. Woe to those who choose the flesh and 拒絶する the spirit. Repentance is still possible, and after it comes 改正 and after 改正, forgiveness."

He brooded awhile, then said,

"Prophetess, I repent who above all things 願望（する） at the end—that end which again and again I have sought in 戦う／戦い wherever it has passed me by—to be 部隊d with the goddess, 形態／調整d like the divine one whom I saw at the 神社 of Philae. Yes, with her and with no other. But how can I 修正する who am a lion in a 逮捕する, a 逮捕する woven of woman's hair?"

Now I searched him with my 注目する，もくろむs and learned that although so sore beset, this man spoke nothing but the truth. Then I answered,

"The wise bird 飛行機で行くs the snare which it sees spread in its sight. To-morrow at the 夜明け Noot the 宗教上の sails north to 会合，会う 確かな 外交官／大使s of the Persians and if he can make 条件, to 身代金 the 寺s of Isis from the 激怒（する） of Ochus. Will you go with him, breathing no word of his 目的 or of yours? If so, perchance thus at last you shall find that goddess whose lips met yours at Philae, here— or otherwhere."

He thought awhile, then muttered,

"It is hard, very hard, yet I will go; I who would 満足させる my soul and not my flesh."

As he spoke a tall priestess flitted past us, passing from 影をつくる／尾行する into 影をつくる／尾行する, but thinking that she was one of those whose 義務 it was to watch the inner 神社 at this hour, I took no 公式文書，認める of her. Nor did Kallikrates, lost in his own thoughts, so much as see her.

CHAPTER XIV

THE BEGUILING OF BAGOAS

That night Noot my master （機の）カム to 企て，努力，提案 別れの（言葉，会） to me.

"I go north as I have been 命令（する）d—as to how the 命令（する） （機の）カム, let that be—hoping その為に to 保存する the 寺s of our worship and those who serve in them. I know not if I shall return, or when, and therefore, Daughter of my spirit, it grieves me to part from you in these troublous times. Yet the 命令（する） said that you must not …を伴って me but 企て，努力，提案 here. For your 慰安, learn two things: first, that no 害（を与える） shall come to you, as I have told you before; and secondly, though that hour be far away, even in the flesh we shall 会合，会う again. Wait then till my word comes to you."

I 屈服するd my 長，率いる in obedience and asked whether he was unattended.

"Nay, Daughter," he answered. "I take with me 確かな of our fellowship, and の中で them that Greek Kallikrates who has asked leave to …を伴って me. 存在 a man of war, as you have seen, he may perchance 証明する of service upon such a 使節団. How he learned that I was going I cannot say," he 追加するd, looking at me curiously.

"I told him. Ask no more, Master."

"There is little need, I think," he answered, smiling. "It may please you to learn," he 追加するd 激しく, "that the 反逆者 who was Pharaoh, 飛行機で行くs up Nile to-morrow ere the 夜明け. Already they lade his ship with the chests of Egypt's treasure, many of them, that should have gone to 支払う／賃金 his 兵士s and 強化する his 同盟（する）s."

"May the counting of them 慰安 him in his honourable 追放する の中で the Ethiopians! Yet, my Master, I think that he will need to count quickly, unless it pleased the gods to send a 誤った 見通し to me when I prophesied in the palace yonder, ere this shameless Nectanebes gave the Daughter of Isis to Tenes the Sidonian."

"If so, Ayesha, the gods sent a 誤った 見通し to me also. How will he 直面する them, I wonder, with the 血 of Egypt on his 手渡すs, and with what 発言する／表明する will he tell them of their desecrated 神社s?"

"I know not, Master, yet it was written that because of her apostasies and sins Egypt must 落ちる. Can the gods, then, be wroth with their own 器具?"

Noot pondered awhile, shaking his 長，率いる, then answered,

"Go ask that question of the Sphinx who sits yonder in the sand by the pyramids of the 古代の kings brooding, as the legend says, over the secrets of earth and heaven. Or," he 追加するd slowly, "when your own days are done, Ayesha, ask it of your soul. Perchance then some god will make （疑いを）晴らす the riddle of the world below, but here on earth it cannot be answered, since he who could read it would know all things and be himself a god. Sin must come, and to sin, sinners are necessary. But to what sin is necessary, I do not know, unless it be that from it good is born at last. At least the sinner can 嘆願d that he is but an arrow on the 屈服する of 運命 and that the arrow must 飛行機で行く where the shooter 目的（とする）s, even though it drinks innocent 血, 未亡人s women, and makes children fatherless."

"Mayhap, my Master, it will be answered to this arrow that it fashioned itself to 取引，協定 out death; that it grew the 支持を得ようと努めるd and (1)偽造する／(2)徐々に進むd the barb and bound upon its 軸 the feathers of 願望（する）; which 支持を得ようと努めるd, had it chosen さもなければ, here or どこかよそで might have 繁栄するd—a tree 耐えるing fruits—or as seasoned 支持を得ようと努めるd, 形態／調整d itself to be a staff to lean upon or a 棒 of 司法（官） in the 手渡すs of kings."

"You are wise, Ayesha, nor have I 教えるd you in vain," he replied with a gentle smile. "Yet I repeat, when for the last time you watch the sun 沈む and your soul 準備するs to follow it over the 辛勝する／優位 of the world, then again propound to it this riddle and hear the answer of that invisible Sphinx which broods in the heaven above, on the earth below, and in the breast of every child it 耐えるs."

Thus he spoke and waved his 手渡す, making an end of that 審議. Nor have I ever forgotten it, or his words, and now when いつかs I feel or hope soon I, even I, the half-immortal, may see the sun 沈む for the last time, once more, as Noot 命令（する）d, I ask this riddle of the Sphinx that broods within my 教えるd spirit, and wait its answer. For 式のs and 式のs! how am I better than Nectanebes? He betrayed the gods. Have I not betrayed the gods who were nearer to me than ever they （機の）カム to his coarse and gluttonous soul? He shed 血 to 満足させる his 激怒（する） and lust. Have I not shed 血 and shall I not perchance shed more of it before all is done, when my unconquerable appetites are on me and there is a dear prize that I would 勝利，勝つ? He fled with the treasures of Egypt to waste them in the 砂漠 sand. Have I not fled with the treasures that were given me—with the jewelled 栄冠を与えるs of my 知恵, with the golden talents of my heaped-up learning, with the alabaster 大型船 of my beauty, with the perfumes of my 力／強力にする and my eloquence—that 演習d, ordered, and 集まりd together, and 追加するd to the greatest gift of all, my length of undying days, might have 改革（する）d the world and led it into peace?

Have I, Ayesha, not fled with all these countless splendours clasped upon my breast, and buried them in the wilderness, as did Nectanebes with Egypt's wealth, before the barbarians slew him? Have I not done these things because of a 広大な／多数の／重要な 願望（する） and because, robbed of that 願望（する）, the world I should have guided was gall to my tongue and gravel to my teeth? Yet was I to 非難する? Was not that blind man I loved to 非難する who could not see with his darkened, fleshy 注目する，もくろむs the glory that lay within his しっかり掴む and thus stirred my soul to madness? Was not the woman to 非難する also who darkened those 注目する，もくろむs of his by arts the evil gods had given her?

Oh! I know not. Perchance they too can put up a tale before the Judgment Seat which I shall find it hard to answer, for they too are as they were made, or as they made themselves, 形態／調整ing their own arrows from the 支持を得ようと努めるd of circumstance that grew I know not where. And now my 願望（する） has drawn 近づく to me again; it gleams, a glittering fruit, upon the Tree of Life, and I stretch out my 手渡す to pluck it. Yes, I stand on tiptoe and almost reach it with my finger-tips. Yet what if it 証明する a 汚職? What if it 崩壊する into dust, rotted by the 広大な／多数の／重要な sun of my spirit, withered at the fingering of my undying 手渡す?

Oh! my lord 追跡（する）s upon the mountain after the fashion of men, and Atene, once 指名するd Amenartas, sits in her dark beauty in the City of the Plains and, as aforetime, 陰謀（を企てる）s my 廃虚 and her fleshly 窃盗. Who knows the end? But there within my soul broods the Sphinx smiling its immortal smile and to it soon or late I must put that question to which Noot, the 宗教上の and half divine, could give no answer—or would not if he could.

"What of the 王室の Princess, Amenartas?" I asked. "Know, Master, that I grow 疲れた／うんざりした of this woman."

"Aye, Daughter, these 寺 法廷，裁判所s are wide, but not wide enough for both of you. Take 慰安, she sails to-morrow."

"North?" I asked.

"Nay, south with her father, Nectabenes. Or so she tells me, 説 that his fortune shall be her own and that together they will 統治する or 落ちる."

"It is 井戸／弁護士席," I answered.

Then we talked of humble 事柄s that had to do with the 神社 of the goddess and of the hiding away of her treasures lest the Persians should take them. When all was finished, Noot rose, blessed me, calling on the 力／強力にするs above to 保護する me, and went his ways in the ship Hapi which he had 購入（する）d to bring it to my 援助（する） at Sidon, nor did I guess that for years I should see him no more. Yet I think he knew it 井戸／弁護士席.

Like a mighty river in its flood the Persian hosts 注ぐd 負かす／撃墜する on Memphis. As such a 激流 sweeps away the village and the humble homestead, 溺死するs the cattle, 新たな展開s out the palm trees by their roots, covers the corn with わずかな／ほっそりした, floods cities, palaces, and 寺s, chokes the breath from their inhabitants and まき散らすs the 肉親，親類d earth with the 死体s of those that tilled it, so did Ochus and his barbarians to Egypt. Rapine and 大虐殺, 炎上s of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and 悲惨 示すd their path. Men were butchered by the thousand, the 老年の and women who were no longer fair were driven into the 砂漠 to 餓死する. Yes, it was the sport of those Persians to 運動 them like game to where there was no water, and then watch them die of かわき beneath the 燃やすing sun. Only the young women were spared to be concubines or slaves, and the flower of the children to be put to vile 目的s. The cities and the 寺s were 略奪するd, their 国民s 拷問d to drag from them the secret of the hiding-places of treasure, the priests were 軍隊d to sacrifice to the god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and to spit upon their own or die, the priestesses were 燃やすd or defiled, or both.

So pitiful was the 事例／患者 of Egypt that although I knew that by her sins and faithlessness she had brought these woes upon herself, I who by my work at Sidon had become one of the 任命するd 大臣s of her 破壊, my heart wept for her and I prayed the avenging gods to 持つ／拘留する their 手渡すs. Also I prayed them to give Ochus to drink of his own cup and to make of me the butler who mixed his ワイン. Nor did I pray in vain.

Thus the red Ochus （機の）カム at length to Memphis, the white-塀で囲むd city, the 古代の, the 宗教上の, and filled its streets with horror, till they were spread 厚い with dead and one wail of woe went up to heaven. Yet he did not 燃やす the place, perchance because our 祈りs availed and the gods relented, perchance because he wished to keep it to be the seat of his majesty. Only here as どこかよそで he 解雇（する）d the 寺s and wrought sacrilege.

From the pylon 最高の，を越す of the 寺 of Isis that overlooked the 法廷，裁判所s of that of Ptah and the gilded stable of the bull Apis, with my own 注目する，もくろむs I saw the Persians, for in this 商売／仕事 the Greeks would have no 手渡す, drag out the sacred beast whom they held to be a god of the Egyptians, though in truth he was but the emblem of the god, or rather of the 生成するing 力／強力にする that is in Nature, and butcher it with jeers and mockery. More, their scullions （機の）カム and cooked the sacred flesh after which, at （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs spread in the inner 法廷，裁判所, Ochus and his captains ate it, 軍隊ing the priests of Ptah to "taste of their own god" and to drink of the アルコール飲料 in which it had been seethed. They were cowards, those priests, or surely they would have 設立する means to mix the broth with 毒（薬）.

After the feast, when all the revellers were drunk with ワイン, a 広大な／多数の／重要な jackass was brought and, the statue of the god having been thrown out of it, was stabled in the 聖域.

Such were some of the things that were done in Memphis and indeed throughout Egypt, for as Apis was served, so was the 宗教上の 押し通す of Mendes. Moreover, other things were done too shameful to 記録，記録的な／記録する.

Now all this while I sat in the 寺 of Isis を待つing what might 生じる. I will not say that I was unafraid, because I was afraid. Yet within me was that proud spirit which forbade me to show my 恐れる. Moreover, within me also 燃やすd a 確かな 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of 約束 whereof the light was my guide in the 不明瞭 of despair. The 宗教上の Noot, my Master, had told me that I and those with me should take no 害（を与える）, and I would not 疑問 my Master. Moreover, when I prayed at night, a 発言する／表明する from heaven speaking in my heart seemed to 命令（する） me to be 勇敢に立ち向かう, since there fought for me and 地雷 those whom I could not see.

So there I sat やめる alone with 非，不，無 to counsel me and 非，不，無 to help me, giving courage as best I could to those poor priests and priestesses, my fellow servants of the goddess. The worship of the 寺 went on as before, each morn the statue of the Mother was decked and dressed, the perfumes were 注ぐd, the offerings were made, the 行列s 負傷させる 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 法廷，裁判所s に先行するd by the singers and the shakers of the sistrum, while at night the 宗教上の hymns were 詠唱するd to the 星／主役にするs.

The Persians （機の）カム to know of these things and gathered at the gates, amazed.

"Who are these," they asked, "who have no 恐れる?"

But we answered nothing though death 星／主役にするd us in the 直面する.

The 事柄 reached the ears of Ochus and stirred his wonder, so that in the end he （機の）カム in person to visit the 寺. I received him in the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall, 隠すd and seated in a 議長，司会を務める of 明言する／公表する that was 始める，決める at the foot of a statue of the goddess. With him were sundry of his 広大な／多数の／重要な lords dressed in silks and perfumed, also the general 助言者, whom I had known at Sidon where he played 反逆者, 砂漠ing with his Greeks to the Persians. その上の there was 現在の Bagoas the eunuch and first 議員 of the King of kings, who 命令（する）d his army also; like all these unfortunates, a fat, shrill-発言する／表明するd man with a smooth and furtive manner, who waved his long 手渡すs to and fro when he spoke.

Now this Bagoas was by birth Egyptian; so I had heard, and my first sight of him 確認するd the tale. Yes, without 疑問 by birth he was an Egyptian of the small-boned, large-注目する，もくろむd, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する-長，率いるd type that had descended from the 古代の 血, as I knew by the statues of many that I have seen taken from the earliest tombs before it became the custom to embalm the dead. I 公式文書，認めるd this, and at once a thought （機の）カム to me.

Would an Egyptian 願望（する） to see the 聖域 of Isis and her priests desecrated and destroyed? Perchance he did not worship Ptah or Apis, or other of the gods, but all born upon the Nile venerated Mother Isis, the Queen of Heaven, and 屈服するd to her 主権，独立. That was a 約束 which where'er they wandered and upon whatever altars they 燃やすd incense, they never could forget, because through a hundred 世代s it （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する to them with their 血. Yet who knew? This Bagoas, it was said, was a cunning fellow 法外なd in 殺人, who from his 罪，犯罪s had 得るd a rich reward, and such an one, looking only to his day of glory, might forget even Isis and the wrath to come.

Ochus, loose-lipped, cruel-直面するd, and 疲れた／うんざりした-注目する，もくろむd, wearing a look of pride that yet was 十分な of haunting terrors, such as are ever the companions of 殺害者s who know that in a day unborn surely themselves they will be 殺人d, stood before me. I, rising from my 議長，司会を務める, made obeisance to the King of kings—and had he but known it, cast the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis at him from beneath my 隠す.

"What is this?" he asked, speaking in Greek, in the 厚い 発言する／表明する of one who has drunk 井戸／弁護士席 at the feast, and pointing at me with his sceptre. "Is it one of those wrapped 団体／死体s that we drag from the tombs, such as we used for the cooking of the god Apis, broiling him with his own worshippers? Nay, for it moves and 会談 and seems to have the 形態／調整 of a woman. Bagoas, （土地などの）細長い一片 that 隠すd thing naked, that we may see whether it be a woman, and if so, of what favour."

Now when I, Ayesha, heard this, at once all my courage （機の）カム 支援する to me, as ever it does when 危険，危なくする gets me by the throat. At once I laid my 計画（する）, which was short and simple.

If that eunuch so much as 前進するd to lay a finger on me, I would draw the knife that hung to my girdle, the curved, かみそり-辛勝する／優位d Arab knife that had been my father's, and thrusting him aside, I would spring past him and strike it through the heart of yonder King of kings, sending him to sum up his account with Isis. Then if there were time, I would serve Bagoas in the same way, and afterward, if must be, use the knife upon myself. Better thus than that I should be shamed before these barbarians.

I spoke no word and my 直面する was hid, yet I think that out of my soul sprang something which 警告するd these two of their danger. Or perchance it was my 後見人 spirit that 警告するd them. At the least Bagoas went 負かす／撃墜する upon his 膝s and 屈服するd till his forehead touched the ground.

"O King of kings," he said, "I pray thee 命令（する） not thy slave to do this 行為. Yonder lady is the prophetess of Isis, Queen of all gods, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and to touch her with an unhallowed 手渡す is a sacrilege that brings death in this world and in that to come everlasting torment."

Now Ochus laughed 残酷に, then turned and asked,

"What do you say, 助言者, who are a Greek and know no more of the gods of Egypt than I do? Is there any 推論する／理由 why we should not （土地などの）細長い一片 this 隠すd priestess and discover what she is like beneath those wrappings?"

Now 助言者 rubbed his brow and answered,

"Since I am asked, O King of kings, one does come into my mind. Do you remember Tenes, King of the Sidonians? He took this same prophetess as a gift from Nectanebes, and also wished to （土地などの）細長い一片 her in his fashion. 井戸／弁護士席, Tenes （機の）カム to a very bad end, and so did Nectanebes who gave her to him, or is in the way of it. Therefore, O King of kings, were I in your place I should advise that she remain 隠すd, who perhaps after all is but an ugly old woman. I have known little of Isis, still she is a goddess with a 広大な／多数の／重要な 指名する and perchance it is scarcely 価値（がある） while to 危険 her wrath to look at the wrinkled flesh of an ugly old woman. One never knows, O King of kings, and I have seen so much of it of late that I come to learn that death, with the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Heaven thrown in, is a bad 商売／仕事."

Thus spoke 助言者 in his bluff, rambling, 兵士 talk, that yet was so 十分な of Grecian cunning, and Ochus, appearing suddenly to grow sober, listened to him.

"I seem to remember," Ochus said, "that this same priestess served me 井戸／弁護士席 yonder at Sidon, giving the Phoenician dog, Tenes, counsel that led him 負かす／撃墜する to 廃虚. So at least the tale runs. Therefore, not because of the Egyptian goddess whom I despise," and he spat on the statue of Isis, an 行為／法令／行動する at which I saw Bagoas shiver, "or for the 推論する／理由s that you fools give, but because by design or chance, I know not which, she served me 井戸／弁護士席 at Sidon, let her continue to wear her 隠す. I 命令（する） also that this 寺, which is beautiful in its fashion, shall not be 燃やすd or 害（を与える）d, and that those who serve it may continue to dwell there and carry on their mad worship as it pleases them, 供給するd that they stay within its 塀で囲むs and do not 試みる／企てる to 動かす up the people by pageantry in the streets. In 記念品 thereof I stretch out my sceptre," and he held the ivory-長，率いるd 病弱なd he carried toward me.

Bagoas whispered to me that I must touch it, so I thrust my arm between the 倍のs of my 隠す and did so, though next instant I remembered that it would have been wiser to しっかり掴む the 病弱なd from beneath the 隠す.

At once Ochus 公式文書，認めるd the beauty of that arm and exclaimed with a laugh,

"By the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃! yonder 手渡す and wrist are not those of an ugly old woman, such as was spoken of by you slaves, but rather those of one who is still young and fair. Had I seen them but a moment gone, surely she would have been stripped. Indeed—"

"I have touched the sceptre of the 広大な／多数の／重要な King," I broke in coldly. "Once the sceptre has been touched the 法令 of the 広大な／多数の／重要な King may not be altered."

"Wise also," said Ochus, "for she knows our Persian 法律s. 井戸／弁護士席, she is 権利. The sceptre has been touched, and what has been said cannot be changed. See now, all of you who are ignorant, how good a 保護物，者 is 知恵. Come, 助言者, let us be going to make sport with those young priestesses of Ammon who, not 存在 wise, but only pretty, を待つ us in the palace. It will be a merry night. Bagoas, 企て，努力，提案 you here, lest you should be shocked," and he laughed 残酷に, "also to 問い合わせ whether this heavenly harlot called Isis decks herself with jewels, for if so, as to them I swore no 誓い. 別れの（言葉，会）, Priestess. Continue to be wise and to wear a 隠す, because of the 残り／休憩（する） of you is as shapely as your 手渡す, who knows but that some night when ワイン has 溺死するd all 約束s, I, or others, might 原因（となる） you to be stripped at last."

Then he turned and went, followed by his foul company. Only Bagoas remained behind as he had been bidden.

When the doors had の近くにd and by the shouts from without the 塀で囲むs I knew that the Persians were gone, I said to Bagoas, who was alone with me in the place,

"Tell me, Egyptian, cradled beneath the wings of Isis, are you not afraid?" and I turned my 長，率いる, ちらりと見ることing at the vile stain upon the alabaster statue.

"Aye, Prophetess," he answered, "I am afraid, as much afraid as you were but now."

"Fool!" I mocked 支援する at him, "I was not afraid. Ere ever a 手渡す had been laid upon me by you, you would have been dead, and that king whom you serve would have been dead also—ask me not how—and by now your souls would be writhing beneath the hooks of the Tormentors of the Under-world. Have you not heard of the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis, Eunuch, and do you think that your pomp and 力／強力にする can 保護する you from her swift sword? Now, now, should I but breathe one 祈り to her, she can 殺す you if she wills."

He 地震d, he fell on his 膝s; yes, this 殺害者 of kings fell upon his 膝s before me, one 隠すd woman in a 神社, imploring me to spare him and to 保護する him from the wrath of Heaven. For in his soul Bagoas was still Egyptian, and the 血 of his forefathers who had worshipped Isis for a thousand years still ran strong in him. Moreover, he 恐れるd me, the priestess whose fame he knew as he knew the 運命／宿命 of those who had 感情を害する／違反するd me.

"Forgiveness! 保護! Methinks these must be most dearly bought, Bagoas. Are you one of those who have eaten the flesh of Apis and dragged the virgins of Ammon from their 聖域? Are you one of those who have stabled an ass in the 寺 of Ptah, have 燃やすd the 古代の fanes and have butchered the priests upon their altars?"

"式のs! I am," he said, （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing his breast, "but not of my own will. What I did I must do, or die."

"It may be so. Make your own peace with those gods if you can. I have little to do with them who serve the 最高の Mother. But for her what atonement?" and again I ちらりと見ることd at the foul stain upon the alabaster of the image.

"That is what I need to be told. What atonement, Prophetess? I will 断言する that there are no jewels here; that the Mother is decked only with flowers and perfumes. I will guard this 神社 so that never again a Persian 始める，決めるs foot within its 塀で囲むs. I will 原因（となる） any who 感情を害する／違反する you, Prophetess, to die 内密に and at once. Is it enough?"

"Nay, nor by a hundredth part. You would spare the 儀式の trappings of the Mother, but where is the vengeance upon him who defiled her with his spittle? You would 保護する the priestess, but where is vengeance upon him who would have stripped her stark to be his sport and that of his barbarians? If that is all you have to 申し込む／申し出, Bagoas, take the Mother's 悪口を言う／悪態 and that of her Oracle, and get you 負かす／撃墜する to hell." Here Bagoas 解除するd his 手渡す as though to 保護する his 長，率いる and began to 抗議する, but without 注意するing him I went on,

"Hurry not, ぐずぐず残る as long as you will upon the road. Deck yourself like a woman with broidered 式服s, perfume yourself with scents; 始める，決める chains about your neck and jewels upon your fingers. Pander to the lusts you cannot 株 and take your 支払う／賃金 in gold and 州s. 毒（薬） those you hate and from pure children wring out their lives, because these stand between you and the fruit of some new phantasy. Glut yourself with the swine's food of earth, swell yourself out with the 沼-gas of 力／強力にする, and then, Bagoas, die! die! one year, ten years, fifty years hence, and get you 負かす／撃墜する to hell and look upon the awful 注目する，もくろむs of the goddess you have shamed, of her whom your forefathers worshipped from the beginning, and wait the coming of her priestess, that with every merciless particular she may lay the count against you from the pavement of the Judgment Hall."

"What, then, shall I do? What shall I do to save my soul? Know, Priestess, that I who am maimed in my 団体／死体 would save my soul, and that all these gauds you count are but gall and ashes to me; for having nought else to 伸び（る）—存在 robbed of wives and children I needs must 捜し出す them and thus 麻薬 the spirit that is within me. Oh! it is something—存在 what I am, that I should feel the necks of all these 広大な／多数の／重要な ones writhing beneath my foot. Yes," here his 発言する／表明する dropped to a whisper, "even that of the King of kings himself, who forgets that there were other Kings of kings before him. Tell me—what must I do?"

内密に I drew the curved knife at my girdle; 内密に and unwincing, unseen of him, I gashed my arm—oh! I 削減（する） 深い, for I can see the 示す to-day, though this fair flesh of 地雷 once seemed to 死なせる／死ぬ in the immortal 解雇する／砲火／射撃, but to re-arise どこかよそで. The 血 from a 厳しいd vein leaped 前へ／外へ and stained my 隠す, a little 示す at first which grew and grew, till it cried of 殺人. The man's 注目する，もくろむs fastened themselves upon the prodigy, for so he thought it; then he asked,

"血! Whose 血?"

"Perchance that of the 負傷させるd goddess. Perchance that of a shamed priestess. What does it 事柄, Bagoas?"

"血," he went on, "for what does the 血 ask?"

"Perchance it cries to Heaven for vengeance; perchance it 需要・要求するs to be washed away with other 血, Bagoas. Who am I that I should 解釈する／通訳する parables?"

Now he understood, and struggling from his 膝s, bent 今後 whispering in my ear. Yes, the priceless jewels that hung from his pointed golden cap jingled against my ear.

"I understand," he said, "and be sure it shall be done. But not yet. It cannot be yet. Still I 断言する that it shall be done when the hour is 熟した. I hate him! I say that I hate him who while he にわか雨s gifts upon me with his 手渡すs, mocks me with his tongue, and who, when by my wit I 勝利，勝つ victories for him, jeers at the 兵士s who are led by one who is neither man nor woman. Yes, I hate him who, knowing that I am of Egypt, 軍隊s me to desecrate their 神社s and to butcher those who serve them. Oh! I 断言する that it shall be done in its season."

"By what, O Bagoas?"

"By this, Prophetess," and 掴むing the dripping 隠す he rubbed that which stained it upon his lips and brow, "I 断言する by the 血 of Isis, or of her Priestess and Oracle in whom Isis is, that I will neither 残り／休憩（する） nor stay till I bring Ochus Artaxerxes to his doom. Years may go by, but still I will bring him to his doom—at a price."

"What price?" I asked.

"That of absolution, Priestess, which is yours to give."

"Aye, it is 地雷 to give or to 保留する. Yet I give it not until Ochus lies dead, and by your 手渡す. Then I call it 負かす／撃墜する from Heaven—not before."

"At least 保護する me till that hour, O Daughter of the Queen of Heaven."

From the necklace I wore beneath my 隠す I loosed a 確かな charm of 力／強力にする, the secret symbol of the Queen herself, worked cunningly in jasper, and known only to the 始める. This I breathed upon and blessed.

"Take it," I said, "and wear it on your heart. It shall 保護する you from all ills while your heart is true. But if once that heart turns from its 目的, then this 宗教上の 記念品 shall bring all ills upon you, here and hereafter, Bagoas. For then upon your doomed 長，率いる shall 落ちる the 悪口を言う／悪態 of the goddess that even now hangs 一時停止するd over it, as in the Grecian fable the sword of Damocles hangs by its 選び出す／独身 hair. Take it and be gone, to return no more till you come to tell me that Ochus Artaxerxes treads that same road upon which he has 始める，決める so many feet."

Bagoas took the talisman and 圧力（をかける）d it on his brow, as though it had been the very signet of the King of kings, and hid it away about him. Then he prostrated himself before me, who sat upon a greater 王位, that of the Queen of queens, prostrated himself till his forehead touched the ground beneath my feet. Then rising, without another word, Bagoas withdrew himself with humble obeisances till he reached the doors where he 消えるd from my sight.

When the man had gone I, Ayesha, laughed aloud, I who had played a 広大な／多数の／重要な game and won it.

Yes, I laughed aloud; then, having purified the statue of the goddess and burnt incense before it, I went upon my 膝s and returned my humble thanks to that just Heaven of which I was the 大臣.

CHAPTER XV

THE PLOT AND THE VOICE

The 疲れた／うんざりした years went by. Ochus returned to Persia, 耐えるing his spoils with him and leaving one Sabaco, a 残虐な fellow, to 支配する Egypt and wring 尊敬の印 from her.

All this while I, Ayesha, sat alone, やめる alone, in the 寺 of Isis at Memphis whose 塀で囲むs I never left, for the 命令（する） of Ochus was obeyed and whatever happened to those of other gods, the 神社 of Isis was left inviolate. Here, then, surrounded by a dwindling company of priests and priestesses, I remained, as Noot, my Master, had 命令（する）d me to do, を待つing a word that never （機の）カム, and carrying on the 儀式s of the 寺 in such humble fashion as our poverty 許すd.

What did I through all that slow and 激しい time? I dreamed, I communed with Heaven above, I 熟考する／考慮するd the 古代の lore of Egypt and of other lands, growing ever wiser and 十分な of knowledge as a new-filled jar with perfume or with ワイン. Yet of what use was this knowledge to me? As it seemed, of 非，不，無. Yet it was not so, since my heart fed on it like a bee upon its winter 蓄える／店 of honey, and without it I should have died, as the bee must die. Moreover, now I understand that this space of waiting was a 準備 for those long centuries which afterward I was doomed to pass in the tombs of Kor. It was a training and a discipline of the soul.

Thus forgotten of the world I brooded and 耐えるd, I who had thought to 支配する the world.

So moon 追加するd itself to moon, and, still filled with a divine patience, I abode within those 寺 塀で囲むs till the 任命するd hour, which I knew would 夜明け at last. Of Nectanebes I heard nothing; he had 消えるd away—I 疑問d not to the doom which I had foreseen. Of Amenartas, his daughter, I heard nothing, she also had 消えるd away, as I supposed with him. Of Kallikrates, the 兵士 priest, I heard nothing. Doubtless he was dead and that beauty of his had turned to evil-odoured dust as my own must do, a thought from which I shrank.

Much I wondered why this man alone upon the earth should have stirred my soul and awakened the longings of my woman's flesh. I knew not, unless it was agreed that when the gates were passed I should 会合，会う him in a world that lies beyond, if such there were. For from the beginning I was sure that it had been laid upon me to 解除する up his spirit to the level of my own, perchance because in some far-off 星／主役にする or 明言する／公表する I had sinned against it and him and dragged them 負かす／撃墜する.

Indeed is not this the ありふれた lot of the 広大な／多数の／重要な, that with toil and 涙／ほころびs and bitter 失望 they must 努力する／競う to draw the spirits of others to that high 頂点（に達する） upon which themselves they stand? And amongst all the sins of our vile 条件, is there one blacker than to cast 支援する some soul that struggles toward the pure and good into the seething depths of ill?

Thus in those days I thought of that lost Kallikrates, whose lips alone had touched my own. I thought, too, with a sad wonderment, how strange it was that I to whose feet men had crept by 得点する／非難する／２０s, I the most beautiful of women and the most learned, had been 拒絶するd, or at the least turned from by this man, the favourer of another, who although she was fair and bold of heart, still shone with a smaller light, as does the pale moon when compared with the glory of the sun.

Indeed, now that all was over and done, as I believed, and that nought remained of these 解雇する／砲火／射撃s of folly save a pinch of burnt-out ash, I smiled to myself as I remembered them. Yet to tell truth, I smiled sadly, who here alone at the dear feast of love which, to a woman, means more than all other feasts, had been served with the cups of 敗北・負かす and shame by the grinning varlet, 運命. Yet I was 井戸／弁護士席 served, for what had I, 知恵's Daughter, the 公約するd to eternal glory, to do with such 事柄s of our ありふれた flesh?

Oh! I was glad to have done with the gray-注目する，もくろむd Kallikrates, who could （権力などを）行使する a sword so manly-井戸／弁護士席 in 戦う／戦い, and yet, when 悔恨 took 持つ／拘留する of him, could pray with the best of priests. Now at least once more I was the mistress of my own soul with leisure to 形態／調整 it to the likeness of the gods and, in those days of 宗教上の contemplation, truly its wings （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 against their 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s, struggling to be 解放する／自由な. Would that they had burst them, but 運命／宿命 had built that cage too strong.

At length news （機の）カム to me, for Isis still had 注目する，もくろむs and ears in Egypt and all that these saw or heard I learned, news that Ochus, grown timid or 疲れた／うんざりした in his Persian palace, had 決定するd once more to drink the waters of the Nile, or perchance to check the accounts of his satrap Sabaco whose sum of 尊敬の印 had fallen off of late.

So he （機の）カム with all his Eastern pomp and at last took up his abode in the palace of Memphis within two bowshots of the 寺 where I dwelt. The people received him with rejoicings; it was pitiful to see them decking themselves and the streets with flowers, spreading 支店s of palm for him to tread on, and 飛行機で行くing 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道するs from the lofty 最高の，を越すs of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃-scorched pylons—slaves welcoming their torturer and tyrant and grinning to hide the terror in their hearts. He （機の）カム, and there was festival throughout the 広大な／多数の／重要な town as though Osiris had returned to earth, …を伴ってd by all the lesser gods.

Only in the 寺 of Isis there was 非，不，無. No palm leaves decked its stark and 古代の 塀で囲むs, no bonfires 燃やすd within its 法廷，裁判所s, and no lanterns hung in its window-places. Not thus would I, Ayesha, 屈服する the 膝 to Baal or sacrifice to Moloch, though it is true that some of my servants looked askance when I forbade it and asked who would 保護する us from the wrath of the King of kings because of this neglect of his 命令（する）.

"The goddess will 保護する us," I answered, "or if she does not, I will," and sent them to their 仕事s.

On the second night after the coming of Ochus, Bagoas waited on me and I 命令（する）d that he should enter, but alone. So his Eastern 群衆 of gorgeous servitors was turned 支援する from the gates and he （機の）カム in unattended, splendid in gold-embroidered silk and jewels. Where he had left me, there I received him, seated 隠すd in the 議長，司会を務める of 明言する／公表する before the alabaster statue of the goddess, at the 入り口 to the outer 聖域 that overlooked the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall.

"あられ／賞賛する! Bagoas," I said, "how goes it with you? Has that amulet of 力／強力にする which I gave to you 保護するd you from 害（を与える）?"

"Prophetess," he answered, 屈服するing, "it has 保護するd me. It has 解除するd me up so that now, save for the King of kings, my master most august," he 追加するd with a sneer in every word, "I am now the greatest one in the whole world. I give life, I 法令 death. I 解除する up, I cast 負かす／撃墜する; satraps and 議員s はう about my feet; generals beg my favour; gold is にわか雨d upon me. Yea, I might build my house of gold. There is nought left for me to 願望（する） beneath the sun."

"Except 確かな things to which, thanks to the cruelty of the King of kings, or those who went before him, you cannot 達成する? For example, children to 相続する all this glory and all this gold, Bagoas, although you live の中で so many of those who might be mothers."

He heard, and his 直面する, that I 公式文書，認めるd had grown thinner and more 猛烈な／残忍な since last I saw him, became like to that of the devil.

"Prophetess," he hissed, "surely you are one who knows how to 注ぐ 酸性の into an open 負傷させる."

"That その為に it may be 洗浄するd, Bagoas."

"Yet your words are true," he went on, unheeding. "All this splendour, all this wealth and 力／強力にする I would give, and 喜んで, to be as my fathers were before me, gently bred but humble owners of a patch of land between Thebes and Philae. There they sat for a 得点する／非難する／２０ of 世代s with their women and their children. But where, thanks to the Persians, are my woman and my children? In the western cliff yonder there is a sepulchre. In the chapel of that sepulchre above the 棺s of those who 嘘（をつく） beneath is an image of him who dug it. He lived some fourteen hundred years ago in the days of Aahmes, he who won 支援する Egypt from the Hyksos kings, the invaders who held it as the Persians do to-day. For he was one of the captains of the 軍隊／機動隊s of Aahmes who, when he 征服する／打ち勝つd, gave him that patch of land in guerdon for his service."

Here Bagoas paused like to one 圧倒するd by unhappy memories, then continued,

"From age to age, Prophetess, it has been the custom for the children of the children of this 兵士 upon a 確かな day to make offerings to that statue, wherein, as we 持つ／拘留する, dwells the Ka of him whose 直面する and form it pictures; to 始める，決める a golden 栄冠を与える, that of Osiris, upon its 長，率いる, to 勝利，勝つd a golden chain about its neck; to give it food, to give it flowers. Such is the sacred 義務, from 世代 to 世代, of the 子孫s of that captain who served Aahmes and helped to 解放する／自由な Egypt from the barbarian 敵. Myself I have 実行するd that 義務, aye, when Ochus the 破壊者 first （機の）カム to Memphis, I travelled up Nile and placed the 栄冠を与える upon the 長，率いる and 負傷させる the chain about the neck, and 申し込む／申し出d the flowers and the food. But, Prophetess, of this 血 I am the last, for because of my beauty as a child the Persian 掴むd me and made of me a 乾燥した，日照りの tree, so that never again will there be one to make 申し込む／申し出ing in the tomb of my forefather, the captain of Aahmes, or to read the story of his 行為s that fourteen hundred years ago, while yet living, he 原因（となる）d to be 記録，記録的な／記録するd upon his funeral tablet."

I heard and laughed.

"A ありふれた tale," I said, "a very ありふれた tale in Egypt to-day, the Egypt of the Persians, as doubtless it was long ago in the Egypt of the Hyksos. But this ancestor of yours was a man who smote, or helped to smite, the Hyksos and lived to 令状 his glorious 行為s on 石／投石する to be an example to those who （機の）カム after him. 井戸／弁護士席, the story is finished, is it not? Indeed I wonder that the glorious Bagoas, slave of the Persian, Bagoas with his pomp and 楽しみs, thinks fit to waste time upon the tale of a forgotten 軍人 who in his hour struck for freedom. What are the flowers and the humble scents which for more than a thousand years have been 申し込む／申し出d to the spirit of that 軍人, but now can never be 申し込む／申し出d again since there are 非，不，無 of his 血 left to bring them, compared to the priceless balms, the jewels and the gold, that daily are 注ぐd upon the feet of Bagoas, the 長，指導者 Eunuch and Counsellor of the King of kings, who, did he know of those 宗教上の ones that sleep in the tomb of the race of Bagoas, doubtless would drag them out and 原因（となる） Bagoas, the last of its 血, to 解雇する／砲火／射撃 them, that he might see a merry 炎? That would be a good sport for the King of kings, to 軍隊 the 広大な／多数の／重要な Bagoas to 燃やす his ancestors and on their bones to cook a 王室の meal, as he 軍隊d the priests of Ptah to broil Apis for his feast."

The mighty Bagoas heard and understood me, as I could see 井戸／弁護士席, for at every word he winced like a high-bred steed beneath the whip.

"中止する," he said hoarsely, "中止する! I can 耐える no more. Why do you rub sand into my 注目する，もくろむs, Prophetess?"

"To （疑いを）晴らす away their rheum that they may see the better, Bagoas. But let us be done with the tale of that honourable, long-lost ancestor of yours to whose spirit no more offerings will be made, and tell me of the wonders of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 広い地所 of you in whom runs his 血, the last 減少（する）s of it, that soon will be sucked up in the sands of Death. 調印（する） that sepulchre, Bagoas, but first 始める，決める it in another 令状ing, graven on a tablet of emerald or gold, telling how he who hallowed it was by the gods given the glory of 存在 the far forefather of Bagoas, 長，指導者 Eunuch of the King of kings, Ochus, who 燃やすd the 神社s of that forefather's gods."

"中止する, 中止する!" he moaned. "The hour is at 手渡す."

"What hour, Bagoas?"

"The hour of vengeance which I swore to Isis."

"Does the Egyptian worshipper of the Persian 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 remember his 公約するs to Isis? Be plain, Bagoas."

"Hearken, Prophetess. During all these years I have been 捜し出すing 適切な時期. Now of a sudden I see it to my 手渡す. A thought （機の）カム to me whilst you talked of the captain of Aahmes to whom no more of his 血 can make offerings."

"Speak it, then, Bagoas."

"Prophetess, the King of kings is wrath with you, because alone of all the 広大な／多数の／重要な places in Memphis, on the 寺 of Isis no welcoming 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道するs hang to 迎える／歓迎する him at his 王室の coming and because no priest or priestess of Isis spread flowers before his 征服する／打ち勝つing feet. So wrath is he that, were it not for his 誓い, which he 恐れるs to break, he would pull this 聖域 石／投石する from 石／投石する, 虐殺（する） its priests, and give its priestesses to the 兵士s."

"Is it so?" I asked indifferently.

"Aye, Prophetess. But by that 誓い you are saved, for ever I keep it before his mind and 警告する him of the 運命／宿命 of those who do 暴力／激しさ to the Queen of Heaven. Only this morning I did this while he stood 星／主役にするing at these unbannered 塀で囲むs and muttered vengeance."

"And what said he then, Bagoas?"

"He laughed and answered that he would do the goddess not 暴力／激しさ, but honour, thus. On the third night from this, the night of 十分な moon, he will make a 広大な／多数の／重要な feast in the inner 法廷，裁判所 of this 寺. At that feast the King of kings and his women will sit upon a 壇・綱領・公約 laid over the 棺s of the 王族s of Egypt dragged from their sepulchres, so that its kings and queens may be beneath his feet. This 壇・綱領・公約 will be supported by the statues of the gods of Egypt which once they worshipped. In 前線 of it will 燃やす the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Persia and that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 will be fed with the mortal 残余s of priests and priestesses of these Egyptian gods. Ochus the king will be 覆う？ in the 式服s of Osiris, and at the end of the feast from behind her consecrated statue, that before which we sit, the goddess herself, dressed in the 式服s of Isis and wearing the 宗教上の emblems upon her 長，率いる, will appear 隠すd, led by priestesses or by 王室の Persian women. You will be that goddess, Prophetess."

"And then?" I asked.

"Then you will be brought up on to the 壇・綱領・公約 and there this new Osiris will 明かす you, embracing you as his wife in welcome before all that company. This he will do to make a mock of you because he believes you to be an 古代の woman who goes 隠すd to hide her baldness and her wrinkles, for so the rumour runs の中で the Persians."

Now when I, Ayesha, heard these terrible words and my heart understood the 高さ and depth of the sacrilege which this mad king would dare and all that it might mean to me, I trembled; yes, the bones seemed to melt within me so that almost I fell from the 王位 whereon I sat. Yet 集会 up my strength I asked,

"Is this all, Bagoas?"

"Nay. At that feast, Prophetess, I myself as Vizier and the 長，率いる of the world under him, must serve Ochus as his cup-持参人払いの. While the priests of Osiris and the priestesses of Isis sing the 古代の 詠唱するs of the awakening of Osiris from the tomb and of his 再会 with Isis the Wife Divine, it will be my part to 手渡す the jewelled goblet filled with the 宗教上の ワイン to Osiris-Ochus, King of Heaven and Earth. From it he will drink the marriage-draught, and having drunk, will 注ぐ the dregs of the goblet upon your feet, or for aught I know will cast them in your 直面する. Nay, I forgot. First the Persian women of the 王室の 世帯 will （土地などの）細長い一片 the coverings from you that Osiris may see his long-lost bride and the company may have sport, jeering at her withered age."

"And if she should 証明する to remain unwithered, if even she should chance to be passing fair, what then, Bagoas?"

"Then perchance, Prophetess, it is in the mind of Ochus to 追加する Isis to the number of his queens, thinking thus to 伸び（る） the favour of the Egyptians, if not of their gods. Oh! Prophetess, you are very wise, as all know, yet once your foot slipped—or rather your 手渡す slipped, when in bygone days you stretched it out to touch the sceptre of the King of kings. Ochus has often spoken of the beauty of that 手渡す and arm, and of how, more than all things, he 願望（する）d to see the 直面する above them and the form of which they are a part. Perchance, Prophetess, that is why he 計画（する）s all this mummery."

"And if I 辞退する to 行為／法令／行動する this play, what then, Bagoas?"

"Then since the 命令（する） is lawful and designed to honour the goddess, the 広大な／多数の／重要な King's 誓い is at an end. Then the 寺 of Isis will be 解雇（する）d and 燃やすd like others, then her priests will be 殺人d unless they make offerings to the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and her priestesses be enslaved or find a home in the 兵士s' テントs or Persian 世帯s."

"Bagoas," I said, rising and standing over him, "know that the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis hovers about your 長，率いる. Show me a path out of this trouble or you die—not to-morrow or next year, but at once. How, it 事柄s not, still you die; and for the 残り／休憩（する）, are the Sidonians the only ones who can 解雇する／砲火／射撃 their 寺s and 死なせる／死ぬ in them?"

He cringed before me after the fashion of his unhappy 肉親，親類d, then answered,

"I waited for such words, Prophetess, and had I not been 用意が出来ている against them, never would I have entered these gates alone. Did I not tell you that at this feast I shall be the King's cup-持参人払いの? Now," he went on in a whisper, "I 追加する that his own 内科医, who is in my 支払う／賃金, will mix the marriage ワイン, that his life is in the hollow of my 手渡す; that the guards and captains are my servants; that the 広大な／多数の／重要な lords are sworn to me, and that the hour for which I have waited through long years has come at last. Lady, you are not the only one who 願望（する）s vengeance upon Ochus."

"罰金 words," I said. "But how know I that they will be 実行するd? In Egypt Bagoas is called the King's Liar."

"I 断言する it by Isis, and if I fail you, may the Devourer take my soul."

"And I, who am her Mouth and Oracle, 断言する by Isis that if you fail me I will take your 血. Aye, though I die, a thousand will live on to avenge me, and the dagger or the 軸 of one of them shall reach your heart at last. Or if they 行方不明になる their 目的（とする） then the goddess herself will smite."

"I know it, Prophetess, and I will not fail. After drinking of that cup sleep will 落ちる upon the King of kings; yes, the new Osiris will return to his tomb and sleep sound, but not in the 武器 of Isis."

Then for a while there was silence between us, till at length I 動議d to him to begone.

The night of the feast （機の）カム and all was 用意が出来ている. I did not 信用 Bagoas and therefore I made a 計画（する）, a splendid and terrible 計画（する）. I 決定するd to 申し込む／申し出 all those feasters, yes, the King of kings with his women, his generals, his chamberlains, his 議員s, and his company, as one 広大な sacrifice to the 乱暴／暴力を加えるd gods of Egypt, and with them if need were, myself and my servants, to guide them upon the road to hell.

Beneath that hall of the 寺 which Ochus had 任命するd for the feast was a 広大な 丸天井 for the 貯蔵 of oil and 燃料 against times of want or tumult. This 丸天井, as it chanced, was 十分な to the roof, since in those troublous days I never knew from moon to moon when the place might be 包囲するd. Also in it was much 用意が出来ている papyrus with many written rolls that for centuries had been hidden there, 広大な／多数の／重要な 負わせる of bitumen such as the embalmers use, a stack of 棺s 用意が出来ている by the living to receive their 団体／死体s at the end; and lastly hundreds of bundles of 乾燥した，日照りのd reeds that served to まき散らす the 法廷，裁判所s. What more was needed, save to open the 空気／公表する 軸s to the hall above that the 炎上s might find 十分な play, and to 始める，決める in the 丸天井 one who could be 信用d with a lamp of which the light was hidden, 命令（する）d at a 確かな signal to cast it の中で the oil-soaked reeds and 飛行機で行く?

As it chanced such an 器具 was to my 手渡す, an old, 猛烈な／残忍な- hearted woman in whom ran 王室の 血, for that hard on seventy years had served as priestess of this 寺.

That very night I 召喚するd the priests and priestesses who remained and in the 聖域 under the wings of Isis, I told them all: told them how I 目的d to sweep this human dirt of Persians with the red bosom of 破壊 out of the company of the living over the 辛勝する／優位 of the world into the Avenger's everlasting jaws.

This 禁止（する）d of the faithful hearkened and 屈服するd their cowled 長，率いるs. Then the first of them, an old priest, asked,

"Is it 法令d that we must eat 解雇する／砲火／射撃 with these swine? If so, we are ready."

"Nay," I answered, "the secret passage that runs from the 支援する of the 聖域 of the 廃虚d 寺 of Osiris will be unbarred, that passage by which in the old days the 宗教上の effigy of Osiris was brought at the 広大な／多数の／重要な festival of the Resurrection to be laid upon the breast of Isis. By this passage at the first 調印する of 解雇する／砲火／射撃, you must 逃げる, as I will if I may. But if I come not you will know that the goddess has called me. At the water-steps of the 寺 of Osiris boats will be waiting 乗組員を乗せた by brothers of our 約束. In the 不明瞭 and the tumult, those boats will pass 負かす／撃墜する Nile to the secret 神社 that is called Isis-の中で-the-Reeds, where once, the legend tells, the goddess 設立する the heart of Osiris hidden there by Typhon, the 神社 upon the 小島 that 非，不，無 dare visit, no, not even the Persians, because it is guarded by the ghosts of the dead, or by spirits sent from the Under-world fashioned like 炎上s of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Thither 飛行機で行く, and there 嘘（をつく） hid until the word of Isis comes to you, as come it will."

Again they 屈服するd their cowled 長，率いるs in the 暗い／優うつな 聖域 lit by a 選び出す／独身 lamp. Then the old priest said,

"広大な／多数の／重要な is the 行為 that we shall do, and worthy. Surely the song of it shall echo through all the 法廷，裁判所s of Heaven and the gods themselves shall 栄冠を与える our brows with splendour. Yet ere it is 法令d, O Prophetess 奮起させるd, let us 捜し出す a 調印する from the Queen immortal that such is her 命令（する）."

"Aye," I answered, "let us 捜し出す a 調印する."

So there in the half 不明瞭 we 詠唱するd the mystic ritual, 手渡す in 手渡す before the goddess we 詠唱するd it, 屈服するing and swaying, weeping and praying, 需要・要求するing that a 調印する be given to us who were 用意が出来ている to die that her splendour might shone 前へ／外へ as a 星／主役にする.

Yet no 調印する （機の）カム.

"O Oracle 奮起させるd," said the old priest, "it is not enough. Yet in your heart are locked the unutterable Words, the Words of 力／強力にする, the Words of the 開始 of the Mouth Divine, that may not be spoken save at the last extreme. Are not these words known to you, the Oracle 奮起させるd?"

"They are known to me," I answered. "From Noot I had them under the Seven 誓いs when I was 任命するd prophetess; yea, under the Seven 悪口を言う／悪態s if those words should be used unworthily, the seven dreadful 悪口を言う／悪態s, deer-footed, snake-長，率いるd, lion-maned with red 解雇する／砲火／射撃, that shall 追跡（する） the betrayer's soul from 星／主役にする to 星／主役にする, till the 黒人／ボイコット 丸天井 of space 落ちるs in and buries Time. ひさまづく now and 屈服する your 長，率いるs and stop your ears till they be spoken. Then open your ears and hearken."

They knelt in a 二塁打 列／漕ぐ／騒動 and I, I the Oracle, 着せる／賦与するd in the might of my Queen, I dared to draw 近づく to her 宗教上の effigy gleaming white above us in the 不明瞭 of the 神社. Yes, this I dared, not knowing what would chance. I took the jewelled sistrum of my office; I laid it upon the lips of the goddess, I shook it till it chimed before her 直面する, I clasped her feet and kissed them.

Then I rose and into her ear I whispered the dreadful Words of 力／強力にする, which even now, after so many ages, I dare not so much as 形態／調整 in the halls of memory. I whispered them and returning to my company of ひさまづくing worshippers, I 動議d to them to unstop their ears and 倍のing my 武器 upon my breast, I waited with downcast 注目する，もくろむs.

Presently there was a 動かす in the 聖域 as of 耐えるing wings; a 冷淡な 空気／公表する blew upon us; then a 発言する／表明する spoke, the very 発言する／表明する of Noot my Master, Noot, the 宗教上の priest of priests. Said the 発言する／表明する:

"Fulfil! It is 法令d. Fulfil and 恐れる not!"

"Ye have heard," I said.

"We have heard," they answered.

"Whose 発言する／表明する did ye hear?" I asked.

"The 発言する／表明する of Noot, the 宗教上の priest of priests who has gone from us," they answered.

"Is it enough?" I asked.

"It is enough," they answered.

Then I 出発／死d rejoicing, who knew by this 調印する that Noot, who spoke with his human 発言する／表明する, still lived upon the earth, and that through him it had pleased Heaven to utter its 法令.

CHAPTER XVI

THE FEAST OF THE KING OF KINGS

It was the night of the 広大な／多数の／重要な feast. All day long artificers by 得点する／非難する／２０s had toiled in the 法廷，裁判所 of the 寺. Adown its length （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs had been 始める，決める up and by them couches and （法廷の）裁判s upon which hundreds of the feasters would 嘘（をつく） or sit によれば their degree. 近づく to the 長，率いる of the 法廷，裁判所 a 壇・綱領・公約 had been built, of which the 創立／基礎 beams were supported by the statues of gods dragged from a 得点する／非難する／２０ of 寺s where they had stood in solemn peace for ages. Yes, there were Ptah, Ammon, Osiris, Mut, Khonsu, Hathor, Maat, Thoth, Ra, Horus, and the 残り／休憩（する）, 耐えるing on their sacred brows and headdresses the eating-（米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of a heathen horde. But they bore more than this, since around and between them and the 壇・綱領・公約 upon which stood this （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する were laid the 棺s of long-dead kings or queens, and other 広大な／多数の／重要な ones, torn, it was said, from the pyramids or their surrounding tombs. Dark with the dust of ages there they lay, some of them 暴露するd, so as to 明らかにする／漏らす the grim 形態／調整s that slept within.

Above these again was placed the wide 壇・綱領・公約 carpeted with purple cloth of Tyre, and on it stood the board and gilded furniture of the feast. Here, too, was a golden 王位 at the 支援する of which was a peacock fan of jewels, while to its 前線 was 始める，決める a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する fashioned of 黒人／ボイコット 支持を得ようと努めるd inlaid with ivory, and around it other smaller 王位s and （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs. These were the seats of the King of kings and some of his favoured women.

Nor was this all, for in an outer 法廷，裁判所 but within the pylon gates, cooks and scullions had built 解雇する／砲火／射撃s whereon they dressed meats, and butlers 始める，決める out their 蓄える／店 of ワインs. Never before within the memory of man had so strange and rich a feast been seen in Egypt as that which was now 準備するing in the 法廷，裁判所s of Isis, to defile which with the smell of flesh was a sacrilege and the eating of it there an abomination.

When the sun had turned toward the west （機の）カム Bagoas with other eunuchs and chamberlains, and 存在 認める to the inner 法廷，裁判所s, 召喚するd our company and 問題／発行するd his 命令（する）s as to the 儀式の that we must keep. We hearkened meekly, 説 that we were the slaves of the King of kings, we and our goddess together, and in all things would obey his words.

Then they went away, but as he passed me, 影響する／感情ing to つまずく, he whispered in my ear,

"Be not afraid, Prophetess. All is 井戸／弁護士席 and the end shall be good."

"I am not afraid, Eunuch," I answered, "who know that all is 井戸／弁護士席 and that the end will be good."

The night fell; 広大な／多数の／重要な ゆらめくs of light 始める，決める upon stands of bronze were lit adown the hall, and with them countless lamps placed at intervals along the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs. The feasters gathered; they （機の）カム by 得点する／非難する／２０s and hundreds; Persian lords in their rich 式服s, generals and captains in their armour, merchants of many lands, Egyptian apostates, and I know not who besides, men, all of them, whom it pleased the King of kings to honour. They were marshalled in their 任命するd places by the stewards and butlers, and there waited in silence, or speaking only in low 発言する／表明するs.

From behind the curtains of the outer 聖域 I and my company watched it all. These were 覆う？ in their festal 衣料品s of white, garlanded with flowers. But I, によれば 命令（する）, wore the glorious 式服s of Isis beneath my 隠す, and on my 長，率いる the vulture cap of Isis, the golden Uraeus, the earrings and the 三日月 of the moon. Moreover, about my bosom were hung the sacred necklaces and the other jewelled emblems of the goddess, while in my 手渡すs I held the sistrum and the Cross of Life.

Trumpets blew 発表するing the advent of the King of kings. Up the long hall he marched, 覆う？ in the mummy wrappings of Osiris, somewhat 広げるd at the feet so that he might walk in them, wearing on his 長，率いる the tall feathered 栄冠を与える and 持つ／拘留するing in his 手渡すs the Crook of Dominion and the 天罰（を下す） of 支配する. His chamberlains and 広大な／多数の／重要な 公式の／役人s led him by a stairway to the 壇・綱領・公約 that was built above the 団体／死体s of 古代の kings, where was 始める，決める a tiny altar upon which 燃やすd the 宗教上の Persian 解雇する／砲火／射撃. There for a while he stood in pride, waving the 天罰（を下す） with which he flogged the world, while all that company fell upon their 直面するs and adored him as a god, after which they lay still as 死体s in the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な.

It was strange to see them lying on their 直面するs like dead men, who indeed soon were to be dead, every one of them, and adoring this human image, this dressed-up doll, fashioned in their own likeness, to be the plaything of the gods and about to be broken by them and cast upon the rubbish heap of time.

I, Ayesha, watching through the 隠す and alive with that spirit which in the hour of 広大な／多数の／重要な events comes to such as I am, thought it very strange; so strange that I could have laughed. For there in this mime, this puppet king upon the 壇・綱領・公約, with the tame tiger, Bagoas, that was about to 涙／ほころび out his throat, crouching at his feet, I saw the very type of all grandeur that is built of clay and not of spirit, since assuredly there is one grandeur of the earth and another of the spirit. Whether by the 毒（薬） of Bagoas or by the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Isis, yonder man who stood 勝利ing over the mighty 君主s that lay 棺d beneath his feet, like a 勝利，勝つd-filled toad upon a consecrated altar, was about to die and then what of his 勝利 and what of his pomp?

His cup of 血 was 十分な, and when the 爆破 of doom overturned it into the sands of Death, what tongues would it take, I wondered, in which to 勧める a million trembling 告訴，告発s against his trembling soul? Lastly, what mocking devil had 説得するd him to don the 式服s of Osiris, that in them he might do 侮辱 to Isis who, whate'er she may not be, at least under her 王室の 指名する of Nature is the mighty vassal of the Most High, forgetting that Osiris is the god of Death and that Isis-Nature ever avenges herself upon those who 侵害する／違反する her 法律s? Little wonder then that I who laughed but seldom in those days did so in my heart, while my 注目する，もくろむs took their fill of the tinselled panoply of this lost madman.

Ochus-Osiris waved his sceptre, and the seeming dead who lay around him, as they had been 演習d to do by those who planned this play, （機の）カム to life in a grim mockery of ghosts called from the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な. They rose up and each, によれば his degree, took his place at this （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Osiris brought to earth.

The feast went on; they ate much; they drank more, till their brains were bemused with ワイン and 不十分な could they stand upon their feet. At length the 最高潮 （機の）カム; the 対処するing-石／投石する was 始める，決める upon this 黒人／ボイコット pyramid of mortal sin against the spirit of Divinity.

Ochus rose, waving the Crook of Dominion.

"Osiris is risen again in Egypt!" he cried. "Let his wife, the divine Isis, be brought 前へ／外へ that he may drink with her the cup of marriage and embrace her as her husband."

Thereon that ribald company shouted,

"Yea, the god Osiris is risen again in Egypt. Bring out Queen Isis. Bring her out, that we may see her drink with him and be kissed!"

Guards 召喚するd us. We （機の）カム 前へ／外へ from the curtained 聖域, white- 式服d in simple 明言する／公表する. Singing the 古代の hymn of 再会 to the music of harps and of shaken sistra, our company （機の）カム 前へ／外へ into the 広大な／多数の／重要な hall, I at the 長，率いる of them. We walked into the hall, a solemn 軍隊／機動隊 at whom the drunken feasters forgot to mock; indeed some of them 屈服するd their 長，率いるs as though in awe. We （機の）カム to the 演壇 that was supported by the statues of the gods of Egypt and 壇・綱領・公約d with her 古代の 王族s, and here we 停止（させる）d. Guards led me up a stairway so that I stood upon the 壇・綱領・公約, 直面するing Ochus-Osiris. He spoke, 説, mockingly,

"あられ／賞賛する! Queen of Heaven. Behold Osiris re-arisen on the Nile has 設立する you at last. 明かす, Queen of Heaven, that he may look upon your glory, for as goddesses do not grow old, doubtless you are glorious."

At these words of 侮辱 the company broke into coarse laughter. I waited till it had died away, then answered,

"O King wrapped in the 式服s of a greater king, yea, in the 式服s of Death, have you not heard that it is very dangerous to draw the 隠す of Isis, that 非，不，無, indeed, has drawn it and lived? You think me but a woman, but know that here in the 神社 of Isis, aye, here in her 宗教上の House which you desecrate with revellings and with the flesh of butchered beasts, I, her Prophetess and Oracle, am the very goddess and 着せる／賦与するd with her divinity. I pray you, therefore, think again ere you 企て，努力，提案 me to draw my 隠す."

For a moment he seemed to grow afraid, as did that company, for they were silent. Then 激怒（する） took 持つ／拘留する of him who was 十分な of ワイン and pride.

"What?" he shouted. "Am I, the King of the world, to be 反抗するd and 脅すd by an old hag who calls herself a priestess, or a goddess, or both? Woman, once before I listened to your 祈り and left you wrapped in that rag, but now when I come both as your king and as your god, why I （人命などを）奪う，主張する the 特権 of the god. Off with that 隠す or I will 企て，努力，提案 my women （土地などの）細長い一片 you stark."

Again the silence fell, and for a little while I looked about me. I looked at the feasters illumined by the strong ゆらめくs of the essence of bitumen; I looked at the blue heaven above in which the 広大な／多数の／重要な moon floated royally; I turned and looked at the white statue of the goddess showing faint and pure between the curtains in the 不明瞭 of the distant 神社 beyond. Then I 解除するd my 長，率いる and prayed aloud, 説,

"O Thou, that from thy moon-王位 watchest all things passing on the earth, O Thou, 広大な／多数の／重要な Spirit of the world whom men 指名する Isis, Thou that canst spare; Thou that canst avenge; Thou that knowest both life and death; Thou that rulest hearts and 運命s; Thou to whose equal sight the king is as the slave, since both kings and slaves are but dust beneath thine immortal feet, hear me, thy priestess and thine Oracle. Thou knowest my 海峡 and that of these thy servants over whom I 支配する beneath thee. 保護する me and them, if thou wilt, or if thou wilt not, then take us to thyself. I ask nothing of thee; I 捜し出す not to turn the chariot wheels of 運命／宿命; 裁判官 thou of my 原因（となる） who with thy judgment am content. In thine 手渡すs hang the 規模s of doom and the 広大な／多数の／重要な worlds are thy 負わせるs. Who then am I that I should 捜し出す to 圧力（をかける） upon thy balances? 裁判官 now between me, O Mother Isis, and this death-attired king who mocks thee, the Queen of Heaven, in mocking me, thy servitor on earth."

"Have done, woman!" mocked Ochus. "中止する your whimperings to a goddess sitting in the moon, for she is far away from you—and 明かす. Bagoas, give me the Marriage Cup, that I may drink to this new wife of 地雷 who thinks herself divine."

Bagoas beckoned and a dark-直面するd, 黒人／ボイコット-bearded man whom I knew for the king's 内科医 （機の）カム 今後 with a golden goblet on which were vile carvings of the loves of satyrs. This he tasted, or 影響d to taste, with much 儀式, and as he did so, though save I 非，不，無 公式文書，認めるd it, let 落ちる the 毒（薬） into the ワイン. Then with humble steps, 解除するing the cup thrice, lowering it again thrice, doubtless to mix the venom with the ワイン, he （機の）カム to the Presence and ひさまづくing, 現在のd the goblet to his master, the King of kings, the King of the world.

"Now," said the drink-besotted Ochus as he しっかり掴むd the goblet, "now, Priestess, will you 明かす or must I call the women?"

"It is not needful," I answered. "Yet, O most glorious 君主, yet, O 征服者／勝利者 of all things, first I would 追加する one word. Even a king so 広大な／多数の／重要な that he dares to 着せる／賦与する himself in the raiment of the Lord of Death perchance may err from time to time. Thus, Mighty One, do you err when you say that Isis is far from me, for Isis is here and /I am Isis/."

Then at a word two priestesses sprang to my 味方する and loosed me of my 隠す. It fell to the ground and there I stood before them 覆う？ in all the splendid pomp of Isis, beautiful as Isis, with the terrible 注目する，もくろむs of Isis, and 持つ／拘留するing in my 手渡すs the emblems of Isis and the sceptre with which Isis 支配するd the world.

They saw, and from that （人が）群がるd hall there went up a sigh of wonder— or was it of 恐れる? Ochus saw also; his 注目する，もくろむs started, his mouth opened.

"By the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃!" he muttered, "here is one 価値（がある） wedding, be she goddess or woman."

"Then drink the cup, O Ochus-Osiris, and take her, be she goddess or woman," I answered, pointing at him with the Cross of Life.

He drank, he drank 深い, and forgetting to 申し込む／申し出 the ワイン to me, loosed the goblet from his 手渡す so that it fell upon the little altar where 燃やすd the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃, 消滅させるing it, and thence rolled from the 壇・綱領・公約 to the ground. I ちらりと見ることd at Bagoas and read in his 注目する，もくろむs such a look as I had never seen upon the 直面する of man. Oh! it was cruel, that look—cruel yet 勝利を得た, this 冷淡な 星／主役にする of the 犠牲者 who had become a 征服者／勝利者. All hell was in that look.

The feasters murmured at the omen of the death of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, but that draught seemed to sober Ochus, who took no 注意する of it. The wildness left his 注目する，もくろむs; they grew cunning as those of a merchant. Merchant-like he appraised my loveliness seen through the gauzy wrappings such as are used to deck the painted effigy of the goddess.

"I look before I take," he said. "'Twas good to 勝利，勝つ Egypt; it will be better to 勝利，勝つ you, O Divine in flesh if not in spirit. Now I understand why in the past you would not 苦しむ me to draw your 隠す."

Thus he spoke slowly, savouring the words upon his tongue as his greedy 注目する，もくろむs savoured my beauty. Then he rose to pass the small altar and 前進する upon me.

In that 猛烈な／残忍な moment of time I considered all. It （機の）カム into my mind that Bagoas had tricked me; that his cup 欠如（する）d 毒（薬）, or at least that the 計画（する） had failed, and that if I was to be saved it must be by myself. Yet I paused ere I did that which would 原因（となる） the death of hundreds.

"Stay!" I said to him. "Lay no finger on me lest you shall call the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis upon your 長，率いる."

"Nay," he answered, "it is the blessing of Isis that I am about to call upon my lips, O most Beautiful, O Loveliness incarnate!"

He （機の）カム on. He was past the marble altar. His 猛烈な／残忍な, bestial 直面する glared into 地雷 and he gripped me; his hot arm was about me, he dragged me to his embrace, while all the beasts of his company shouted in vile joy.

I let 落ちる the sistrum that I held. The moment of mercy had gone by. That shout had 調印（する）d the doom of all those dogs and satyrs. It was the signal!

By the arts known to us 即時に the 命令（する） was passed on to her who waited below. 即時に this 猛烈な／残忍な-souled 破壊者 was at her work with lamp and たいまつ. Never did lover run so 速く to her lover's 味方する as she did from pile to pile, 解雇する／砲火／射撃ing the oil, 解雇する／砲火／射撃ing the reeds.

Now that brute-king had me! He 圧力（をかける）d his hot kisses upon my breast, upon my lips. I stood still. I struggled not. I stood like the statue of the goddess. This 冷淡な 静める of 地雷 seemed to 脅す him.

"Are you woman?" he asked, hesitating.

"Nay," I hissed 支援する, "I am Isis. Woe to them who lay 手渡すs upon Isis!"

He unloosed. He stood 星／主役にするing at me, and as he 星／主役にするd I saw his 直面する change.

"What is in your 注目する，もくろむs?" he asked. "All the devils in Egypt are looking out of your 注目する，もくろむs."

"Nay," I answered, "all the devils of hell look out of my 注目する，もくろむs. Isis 命令（する）s the devils of hell and unchains them, O death-着せる／賦与するd king."

"What do you mean? What do you mean?" he asked.

"That you will learn presently—in hell. Therefore 企て，努力，提案 別れの（言葉，会） to the world, O 死体 of a king!"

He glowered at me. He swayed to and fro. Then suddenly 負かす／撃墜する he went like one pierced through the heart with an arrow. There he lay upon his 支援する across the altar 星／主役にするing up at the moon.

"Isis is in the moon!" he cried. "She 脅すs me from the moon. Persians, be afraid of Isis the Moon-dweller. Bagoas! 内科医! 内科医! Bagoas! 保護する me from Isis. She is wringing my heart with her 手渡すs. Witch! Witch! loose my heart from your 手渡すs."

Thus he wailed in a horrible 発言する／表明する and these were his last words, for having spoken them he 解除するd his 長，率いる, glaring about him with a 新たな展開d mouth, then let it 落ちる ひどく, rolled to the 壇・綱領・公約, and was still.

Bagoas and the 内科医 ran to him.

"The 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis has fallen upon the King of kings," cried Bagoas.

"He who bestrode the world is dead, smitten by Isis of the Egyptians!" cried the 内科医.

From the 王室の women and all that company there went up a wail of:

"Ochus is dead! Artaxerxes is dead! The King of kings is dead!"

Bagoas and the 内科医, helped by the wailing women of Ochus, 解除するd the 団体／死体. They carried it from the 壇・綱領・公約, they bore it 負かす／撃墜する the hall, they 消えるd with it into the 不明瞭, and presently in the utter silence I heard the gates of the 法廷，裁判所s and the outer gates of the pylon clang behind them and the 衝突／不一致ing of the bolts as they were 発射 by the guards of the gates.

Still for awhile the silence held, for all were like dead men with terror. Then a 発言する／表明する cried,

"The witch has killed the king with her kiss! 殺す her. 涙／ほころび her to pieces. 殺す her and her company!"

The （一定の）期間-bound 暴徒 began to 動かす; I heard swords 動揺させるing in their scabbards. They rose like waves on a 静かな sea, and like a wave began to flow toward the 壇・綱領・公約 on which I now stood alone. I stooped 負かす／撃墜する, 解除するd the sistrum from the 壇・綱領・公約, and held it toward them.

"Be 警告するd!" I cried. "Stay still lest the 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis 落ちる on you also."

"Witch! Witch! Witch!" they 叫び声をあげるd, hesitating awhile, and again swayed 今後.

I waved my arm, and as though in answer to it from the grating of 石／投石する beyond the 壇・綱領・公約 suddenly arose dense smoke followed by bursts of 炎上. I waved it a second time, and from the gratings at the end of the hall arose smoke followed by bursts of 炎上. They looked, they saw, they understood.

"The 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis!" they 叫び声をあげるd. "The 悪口を言う／悪態 of Isis is upon us! 解雇する／砲火／射撃 rises from hell."

"Nay," I answered, "解雇する／砲火／射撃 落ちるs from Heaven sent by the 乱暴／暴力を加えるd gods!"

Now between me and them ゆらめくd a 盗品故買者 of 炎上 which the boldest dared not 直面する. They paused, one 投げつけるd a sword at me which passed above my 長，率いる. Then they turned, 飛行機で行くing for the gateways of the hall, and there were met by another 盗品故買者 of 炎上. Some of the boldest leapt through it only to find that the gates were shut and that the terror-stricken guards had fled. They 急ぐd 支援する, 燃やすing, yea, their silken 式服s and their oil-anointed hair turned them, yet living, into たいまつs. Now they took another counsel. They dragged the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs together, piling them each on each and 努力する／競うing thus to climb the 塀で囲むs of the hall. This, perhaps, they might have done, some of them, had not every man pulled 負かす／撃墜する his 隣人, so that they fell in 宙返り／暴落するd heaps upon the 石／投石する 床に打ち倒すing where the life was trampled out of them.

I turned and behind the 隠す of smoke fled from the 壇・綱領・公約, 非，不，無 seeing me, 支援する behind the hangings that hid the outer 聖域, where all the company of Isis was gathered, save only that 猛烈な／残忍な old priestess who yet with lamp and たいまつ lit 解雇する／砲火／射撃 upon 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in the 丸天井s beneath and, at last, doubtless, passed to Heaven on the chariot wheels of 炎上.

Here my servants stripped off my sacred trappings, wrapping me in dark 衣料品s and a hooded cloak. While they did so I looked 支援する. The hall was filled with spouts of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. The 壇・綱領・公約 upon which Ochus had feasted was 燃やすing and the 王室の dead beneath 炎d merrily. Only the 石／投石する gods by whom it was upborne still 星／主役にするd silent and dreadful through the vesture of smoke and 解雇する／砲火／射撃, emblems of vengeance and eternal doom.

I could see no more but above the roaring 炎上s I heard the mad 叫び声をあげるs of those 罠にかける feasters who had come to see their king make a mock of Isis and her priestess, and these were terrible to hear. Then the 床に打ち倒す gave way and 負かす／撃墜する they went into the furnace 炭坑，オーケストラ席 beneath. Yes, they who worshipped 解雇する／砲火／射撃 were devoured of their own god.

Thus did I, Ayesha, Child-of-知恵, daughter of Yarab （許可，名誉などを）与えるing to the flesh, work the vengeance of Heaven upon the Persians and their King of kings. By 解雇する／砲火／射撃 I wrought it, I whose path ever was and ever shall be 示すd by 解雇する／砲火／射撃; I, Ayesha, who grew undying in the breath of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and who, in the caverns of Kor, clasped it to my breast and was wedded to its secret Soul.

CHAPTER XVII

THE FLIGHT AND THE SUMMONS

We 伸び（る）d the hidden passage, 耐えるing with us the treasures and the 宗教上の 調書をとる／予約するs of the 聖域 that to this day 嘘（をつく） buried in the 洞穴s of Kor. We （機の）カム 安全に to the 廃虚d 寺 of Osiris that the Persians had destroyed, and through it to the water-gate where the boats waited. 非，不，無 公式文書，認めるing us, we 乗る，着手するd upon the boats, and glided away 負かす／撃墜する Nile. If any saw us pass, they thought us country-folk, or perchance Egyptians who fled from the Persians in Memphis. But I think that 非，不，無 did see us, since all 注目する，もくろむs were bent upon the 炎上ing 寺 of Isis and all ears were filled with the rumours that fled from mouth to mouth, telling that the goddess had descended in 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and made an end of the tyrant Ochus, his generals, his 議員s, and his 法廷，裁判所.

Thus did I 企て，努力，提案 別れの（言葉，会） to white-塀で囲むd Memphis which never again my 注目する，もくろむs should see, though often my spirit shows it to me in 見通しs of the night, and often I seem to hear the last wild agony of those upon whom I 遂行する／発効させるd the 法令 of Heaven.

What happened afterward? Of that I know little, though rumours which Philo brought in the later years told me that Bagoas and the 内科医 let 落ちる or flung away the 死体 of Ochus. These rumours said that it was 設立する devoured by cats and jackals, so that had it not been for the rent Osiris wrappings, 非，不，無 would have known that here lay all that was left of the King of kings who desolated Egypt and made her a 未亡人. They told also that Bagoas 始める，決める Arses, the son of Ochus, upon the 王位 of Persia, and later 毒（薬）d him and all his children save one. Then it seems that he made Darius king, and this Darius Codamannus, knowing that Bagoas would 毒（薬） him also, smote the first, 軍隊ing him to drink of the drugged cup that he had given to so many.

Such, it appears, was the end of Bagoas whom I used as the artist uses a 道具, harnessing him to the chariot of my wrath and, like the Erinnyes of the Greeks, making of him a sword wherewith I, or Heaven working through me, stabbed Persia to the heart, as through Tenes I had stabbed Sidon and through Sidon, Egypt. For such were the dooms that I was 命令（する）d to bring about. Thus Bagoas walked the road 負かす／撃墜する which, aforetime, he drove his 犠牲者s, and save for an evil 指名する that echoes through the ages, this was the end of him and all his 罪，犯罪s.

Ere 夜明け our company （機の）カム to the 広大な／多数の／重要な reed-bed and through it by channels known only to our 操縦するs, reached the secret 神社 指名するd Isis-の中で-the-Reeds, where all had been made ready for our coming by the priests who watched there. Worn out, 同様に I might be, I laid me 負かす／撃墜する and slept in a tiny 独房, 恐れるing no 害（を与える）, since I knew surely that 非，不，無 would come to me or to those with me. Why I knew it I cannot say, but it was so. I knew その上の that I had done with Egypt; my work there was finished; henceforth we were 離婚d.

All that day I slept and through most of the night which followed, なぎd by the whispering of the tall, surrounding reeds. I suppose that it must have been during those night hours that I dreamed a strange dream. In it I stood upon the 砂漠, a 広大な waste of sand 国境d in the distance by the Nile. I was alone in this 砂漠 save for the sun that sank in the west and the moon that rose in the east, and between them, shone upon by sun and moon, by Ra and by Isis, crouched a mighty Sphinx of 石／投石する with a woman's breasts and 長，率いる, which Sphinx I knew was Egypt. There she sat, immemorial, unchanging, 厳しい, beautiful, and 星／主役にするd with brooding 注目する，もくろむs toward the east whence morn by morn arose the sun.

Appeared before her, one by one, each adorned with its own sacred emblems, all the gods of Egypt, a grim, fantastic （人が）群がる such as a brain distraught might fashion in its madness. Beast-長，率いるd and human- 形態／調整d, human-長，率いるd and beast-形態／調整d; dogs and 強硬派s, crocodiles and フクロウs; 押し寄せる／沼地-birds, bulls, 押し通すs, and swollen-bellied dwarfs, （機の）カム this 大勝する of gods and 屈服するd before the 厳しい and beauteous Sphinx that wore a woman's 長，率いる.

The Sphinx opened its mouth and spoke.

"What would ye of me who have 避難所d you for long?" it asked.

One 形態／調整d like a man but from whose shoulders rose the beaked 長，率いる of an ibis 栄冠を与えるd with a 三日月 moon on which stood a feather, and 持つ／拘留するing in his 手渡す the palette of a scribe; he whom the Egyptians 指名するd Thoth the Measurer, the Recorder, stood 今後 and made answer.

"We would 企て，努力，提案 thee 別れの（言葉，会）, Mother Egypt, our shelterer for thousands upon thousands of years. Out of thy mud we were created, into thy mud we return again."

"Is it so?" answered the Sphinx. "井戸／弁護士席, what of it? Your short day is done. Yet tell me, who gave you these monstrous 形態／調整s and who 指名するd you gods?"

"The priests gave them to us and the priests 指名するd us gods," answered the ibis-長，率いるd man. "Now the priests are 殺害された and we 死なせる／死ぬ with the priests, because we are but gods made of thy mud, O Egypt."

"Then get you gone 支援する into the mud, ye gods of mud. But first tell me, where is my Spirit that in the beginning, when the world was young, I sent 前へ／外へ that it might be a Soul divine to 支配する Egypt and the world?"

"We know not," answered Thoth the Recorder. "Ask it of the priests who made us. Perchance they have hidden it away. 別れの（言葉，会）, O Egypt, 別れの（言葉，会）, O Sphinx, 別れの（言葉，会）, 別れの（言葉，会）!"

"別れの（言葉，会）!" echoed all that monstrous throng and then faded miserably away.

There was silence and with it 孤独; the Sphinx 星／主役にするd at Nothingness and Nothingness 星／主役にするd at the Sphinx, and I, the 選挙立会人, watched. At length out of the nothingness arose something, and its 形態／調整 was the 形態／調整 of woman. It stood before the Sphinx and said,

"Behold me! I am thy lost spirit, but thou, O Egypt, didst not create me, for I created thee by a divine 命令（する）. I am she whom men know as Isis here upon the Nile, but whom all the world, and all the worlds beyond the world know as Nature, the 明白な 衣料品 of the Almighty God. Gone are those phantasies, man-養育するd and priest-conceived. Yet I remain and thou remainest, aye, and though we be called by many 指名するs in the infinite days to come as we have been called in the infinite days that are gone, ever shall we remain until this little floating globe of earth 中止するs from its journeyings and melts 支援する into that from which it （機の）カム, the infinite 武器 of the infinite God."

Then the human-長，率いるd Sphinx rose from the 激しく揺する whereon it had laid from the beginning. It 後部d its 巨大（な） 本体，大部分／ばら積みの, it went upon its 膝s and 屈服するd to the woman-形態／調整, the tiny woman-形態／調整 that was Isis, that was Nature, that was the Executrix of God. Thrice it 屈服するd—and 消えるd.

The Spirit was left and I, Ayesha, was left. The Spirit turned and looked on me and lo! to my sight it was 形態／調整d as I am 形態／調整d. Sadly it looked, with grieving 注目する，もくろむs, but never a word it spoke.

"Mother. My mother," I called, "speak to me, my mother!"

But never a word it answered, only it pointed to the skies and suddenly was gone. Then I, Ayesha, I stood alone in the immeasurable 砂漠 looking at the setting sun, looking at the rising moon, looking at the evening 星／主役にする that shone between, and wept and wept and wept because of my loneliness. For what company is there for a human soul in sun and moon and evening 星／主役にする when the spirit that formed it and them has 出発／死d, leaving them to gaze one upon the other, voiceless in the 無効の?

Such was my dream upon which I have pondered from year to year, asking an answer to its riddle from sun and moon and evening 星／主役にする, and finding 非，不，無. Only the spirit can 解釈する／通訳する its own problems, and to me, because of my sins, because, like the gods of Egypt I am fashioned of mud that 隠すs my soul's 薄暗い lamp within, as yet that spirit is choked and dumb. Still, one day the Nile of death that I have dammed from me for so long will burst its 障壁s and wash away the mud. Then the lamp will 向こうずね out again; then the spirit will come and refresh it with its 宗教上の oil and breathe upon it with its breath, and in that breath perchance I shall understand my dream and learn the answer to its riddle.

Indeed already Time lays its 創立／基礎s 明らかにする, for does not Holly tell me that for nigh upon two thousand years her gods have been dead in Egypt? For awhile they ぐずぐず残るd on beneath the Greeks and Romans, changed masks of what once they were; for awhile their effigies were still painted upon the 棺s of her people. Then the 星／主役にする of a new 約束 rose, a 有望な and 宗教上の 星／主役にする, and in its beams they withered and 崩壊するd into dust. Only the old Sphinx remains 星／主役にするing at the Nile and mayhap in the silence of the night 持つ／拘留するs commune with Isis the Mother, telling of dead kings and wars forgot, for 存在 Nature's self, Isis alone can never die although from age to age her vestments change.

Yea, when I, Ayesha, 解雇する／砲火／射撃d the hall and 燃やすd those foul Persian feasters, with them I slew the gods of Egypt, and their sad and solemn statues 星／主役にするd a 別れの（言葉，会） to me through that wavering 塀で囲む of 炎上. Nay, it was not I who did it, nor was it I who brought its doom on Sidon and his death on Ochus, but 運命 that used me as its sword, as I used Bagoas, me, 運命／宿命's doom-driven daughter.

When I awoke it was still dark save for the light of the 沈むing moon, and in the night-勝利，勝つd, with a faint continual 発言する／表明する, the tall reeds whispered their 祈り to Heaven. For though we know it not, all that has life must pray or die. From the 広大な／多数の／重要な 星／主役にする 急ぐing through space on its eternal 旅行 to the humblest flower nestling beneath a 石／投石する, everything must pray, for 祈り is the 血 of the spirit that is in them and if that 血 凍結するs, then they are 解決するd to 事柄 that cannot grow and, knowing neither hope nor 恐れる, is lost in the blind 湾 of 不明瞭.

I hearkened to those whispering reeds telling of the mysteries below to the mysteries above, and on the wings of their 甘い 嘆願（書）s, sent up my own to Heaven.

For in truth I was troubled and knew not what to do. Here I could not 企て，努力，提案 for long, since surely, soon or late the Persians would 捜し出す me out and surely Bagoas, to cover his own 罪，犯罪s, would 殺す me as the 破壊者 of his king. This did not affright me who was 疲れた／うんざりした of the world with all its horrors and in a mood to walk the gate of death, hoping that beyond it I might find a better. But there were those with me, my fellow servants to whom I had sworn safety and who put their 約束 in me, as though in truth I were the goddess herself, and if I died, certainly they would die also.

Therefore I must save them if I could. Yet how? I had no ship in which to 逃げる from Egypt, and if it were to 手渡す, whither should I 飛行機で行く now that all the earth was Persian? Oh! that Noot were here to counsel me. That he lived somewhere I was sure, since had not his 発言する／表明する spoken in the 神社 and this by no priestly trick, for when I put up that 祈り for 指導／手引, I knew not how it would be answered or by whom, or if indeed it would but 落ちる upon the deaf ears of the 勝利，勝つd, and like a dead leaf, in their breath be blown away and lost.

Yes, he still lived, yet how could I know that it was here he lived? Mayhap he spoke from far beyond this 嵐の 空気／公表する of earth. Even so he who had counselled me once might counsel me again.

"O whispering reeds," I cried in my heart, "with all your million tongues, pray east and west and north and south, that Ayesha in her need may be helped of the 知恵 of the 宗教上の Noot."

Yes, thus I prayed like a little, bewildered child who sees God in a cloud and thinks that flowers open for her joy and that the 広大な／多数の／重要な Pleiades look 負かす／撃墜する from the sky and love her. Yes, toil and grief and terror had made me like a little child.

井戸／弁護士席, it is to such, rather than to the proud and learned, the 支配者s of the earth and the 挑戦者s of Heaven, that answers oftenest come and with them knowledge of the truth. At least to me, emptied of strength and 知恵 and in that weak hour, forgetful even of my beauty, my 広大な／多数の／重要な 行為s, and the lore that I had won, 速く there （機の）カム an answer.

Of a sudden, at the first blush of 夜明け upon night's pale cheek, a priestess stood by my pallet,

"Awake, O Isis-come-to-Earth," she said, 屈服するing. "A man stands without who would have speech with you. He （機の）カム here in a boat and when he was challenged answered with all the 調印するs, aye, and even spoke the secret words known to few, those words that open the 聖域's door. The priests questioned him of his 商売／仕事. He answered that he could tell it only to her who bore the jewelled sistrum, to her who 隠すd her 長，率いる with cloud like a mountain-最高の，を越す, to that Prophetess who in all 神社s is known as Child-of-知恵, but who の中で men was 指名するd Ayesha, Daughter of Yarab."

疑問ing me of this man and scenting treachery, I 原因（となる）d that 教えるd priestess to repeat one by one the mystical words that he had spoken. At last she uttered a 確かな syllable of which even she did not know the meaning. But I knew it and knew also who had its 保護／拘留.

Filled with a 広大な／多数の／重要な hope I rose and wrapped myself in a dark 衣料品.

"Lead me to this man," I said, "but first make sure that three priests stand 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him with drawn swords."

She went and presently returned again, 説 that the man を待つd me in the fore-法廷，裁判所 of the little 寺, guarded as I had bidden. To this 法廷，裁判所 I followed her. It was but a small place, like to a large room. I entered it from the 聖域 to the west. Through the eastern door 注ぐd the first rays of the rising sun, that struck upon a man who stood waiting in the centre of the 法廷，裁判所, guarded by three priests with 解除するd swords.

I could not see his 直面する, though perhaps even beneath my cowl he could see 地雷 upon which those rays also struck. At least I saw him start, then 落ちる to his 膝s, raising his 手渡す in salute with a quick and curious 動議. It was enough. I knew him at once. This man was Philo and no other. With a word I bade the 武装した priests leave us and the priestess who had …を伴ってd me 企て，努力，提案 in the 影をつくる／尾行する. Then I went 今後, 説,

"Rise, Philo, for whom I have looked so long that I began to think you were no more to be 設立する beneath the sun. Whence come you, Philo, and for what 目的?"

"O Prophetess, O adored, O Lady divine," he answered in a 発言する／表明する of joy, "I, your slave in the flesh and your fellow servant in the goddess, 迎える／歓迎する you whom never I hoped to see again after all that has passed in Egypt. 苦しむ that I may kiss your 手渡す and その為に learn that you are still a woman and not a ghost."

I stretched out my 手渡す and reverently he touched it with his lips.

"Now tell your tale, friend Philo," I said. "Whence come you, most welcome Philo, and by what 魔法 do you find me here?"

"I come from far to the south, Prophetess, out of an 古代の land of which you shall learn afterward. For three moons have I struggled over difficult seas driven by contrary 勝利，勝つd, to reach the mouths of Nile and to find you, if still you lived."

"And who sent you, friend Philo?"

"A 確かな Master who is known to both of us, he sent me."

"Is he perchance 指名するd Noot?" I asked in a low 発言する／表明する, "and if so, did you sail hither over mortal seas, or over those through which Ra travels in the Under-world?"

This I said wondering, for it （機の）カム into my mind that he who knelt before me might perchance be not a man but a 影をつくる／尾行する sent to 召喚する me to the halls of Osiris.

"Mortal seas I sailed; those of the Under-world still を待つ my prow, O 知恵's Daughter. Here is the proof of it," and 製図／抽選 a roll from his bosom, with it he touched his brow in 記念品 of reverence, then gave it to me.

I broke the 調印（する）s, I opened that roll, and by the light of the rising sun I read. It ran thus:

"From Noot, the son of Noot, the high-priest, the 後見人 of Secrets, to Ayesha, Child of Isis, 知恵's Daughter, the 教えるd, the Oracle: Thus saith Noot.

"I live, I do not sleep in my eternal house. My spirit shows me that which passes upon the Nile. I know that you have obeyed my 命令（する）s which I gave to you before we parted in the bygone years, O my begotten in the goddess. I know that you have waited 根気よく in 約束 through many tribulations. I know also that this 令状ing will find you in an hour of 広大な／多数の／重要な 危険，危なくする when for the second time you have escaped from 解雇する／砲火／射撃, leaving behind you the ashes of your 敵s. Come to me now and at once, Philo the beloved brother and the consecrated sistrum that is the sceptre of your office 存在 your guides. Philo shall lead you; through all dangers the sistrum shall be your 保護物，者. I 令状 no more.

"Obey, Mouth of Isis, bringing with you those that are left to the service of the goddess. Read the 調印（する） of Noot, high-priest and prophet, and tarry not."

I read and hid away the roll. Then I asked,

"Upon what wings do we 飛行機で行く to Noot who is so far from us, friend Philo?"

"Upon those of a ship that is known to you, Prophetess, the ship 指名するd Hapi, upon which already you have passed many 危険，危なくするs. She lies yonder fully 乗組員を乗せた in the outer fringe of this sea of reeds."

"How did you find those reeds, and how did you know that I was hidden の中で them?" I asked curiously.

"Noot 示すd them on a chart he gave me and told me that in them, where, as the story runs, Isis discovered the heart of Osiris, there I should find the child of Isis. Prophetess, 問い合わせ no more."

I heard and returned thanks in my heart. Truly what I whispered to the whispering reeds had been borne to the ears of Heaven.

The trireme Hapi, with her mast struck, lay hidden in shallow water 中央 beds of tall bulrushes and papyrus 工場／植物s, into which Philo had worked her by the moonlight. All that day we 労働d lading her with the treasures of the 寺 of Isis and those of the secret 神社, which were many, for during these times of trouble much gold and priceless furnishing of precious metals had been hidden here の中で the reeds. Also with them were some of the most 古代の and hallowed statues of the goddess fashioned in gold and ivory and alabaster 石／投石する.

All of these together with my own 広大な／多数の／重要な wealth of jewels and other gear were borne in boats to the Hapi and 蓄える／店d within her 持つ／拘留する where they lay hid beneath much 商品／売買する that Philo had 購入（する）d at the ports of Nile. Hither he had come disguised as a merchant from the south, having his ship laden with the produce of Punt such as ivory and rare 支持を得ようと努めるd. These he sold at the ports where he gathered tidings of all that passed in Egypt, and having 購入（する）d other goods in place of them, passed unsuspected up the Nile to the secret 小島 of Reeds where Noot had bidden him to make 調査 for me at the time of 十分な moon in this very month. It was not difficult for him to find this 小島 as it seemed that, 存在 an 始める of Isis, once in bygone days he had visited it on the 商売／仕事 of the goddess.

While we were at this work we saw boats 十分な of Persian 兵士s pass 負かす／撃墜する Nile, as though they searched for someone, and toward the evening saw them return up Nile again, 長，率いるing for Memphis. I knew for whom they sought and 公式文書，認めるd that they did so very idly, since all believed that I and my company had 死なせる／死ぬd with the Persians in the 燃やすing 寺.

At nightfall I gathered the priests and priestesses, in all they were thirty and three in number, and spoke to them, 説,

"Here in Egypt we who are the servants of the goddess can stay no more. The gods of Khem are fallen, their 神社s are desolate, and death by sword and 解雇する／砲火／射撃, or by the torturer's hooks, is the lot of those that worship them. Noot, the high-priest, the Master, the Prophet, 召喚するs us from afar, bidding us 耐える the worship of the goddess to new lands that 嘘（をつく） I know not where. Philo, our brother, is his messenger and here is the message written in this roll; read it if you will. I, the Oracle and Prophetess, obey the 召喚するs; this very night I sail setting my course for seas unknown, and 信用ing to the goddess to be my guide, mayhap into the gates of death. Noot the high- priest 企て，努力，提案s you to …を伴って me. Yet I give you choice. 企て，努力，提案 on here if you will and live out your lives disguised as scribes or 小作農民s, for in the 寺s you can no longer find a home. Mayhap thus you shall escape the vengeance of the Persians. Or come with me if you will, knowing that I 約束 you nothing. Let each speak as the Spirit directs the heart within."

They 協議するd together; then one by one they said that it was their mind to be of my company since they held it better to die with me and pass pure to the 武器 of the goddess rather than to live on defiled, or perchance to 死なせる／死ぬ miserably beneath the （土地などの）細長い一片s of the executioners, having first been 軍隊d to do sacrifice to the Persian god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. So man by man and woman by woman they swore the 誓い that might be broken by those who would escape the jaws of the Devourer, and in 記念品 kissed the 宗教上の sistrum that I held to the lips of each. Then for the last time we celebrated the 儀式s of Isis in a 寺 of Isis on the Nile and with weeping and with woe sang the psalm of 別れの（言葉，会）, such as is 詠唱するd over the dead of our fellowship.

This done we went to the boats and were 列／漕ぐ／騒動d on board the Hapi.

When the moon was 有望な the 水夫s, 猛烈な／残忍な, foreign men most of them, such as I had never seen before, who wore 広大な／多数の／重要な earrings of gold and had （犯罪の）一味s thrust through their noses, 政治家d the 大型船 out from の中で the reeds into the 深い waters of the Nile. Here they hoisted the mast and 始める，決める the sails which presently filled before the strong 勝利，勝つd blowing from the upper land, and bore us 今後 速く.

Passing out of the Nile by a little-used mouth, as we could do now that the river was in flood, we entered the canal that joins the seas, which canal the old Pharaohs dug and the Persians had 原因（となる）d to be （疑いを）晴らすd of drifting sand. By it, though not easily, for in places it was both 狭くする and shallow, at length we （機の）カム 安全に into the Red Sea and bade 別れの（言葉，会） to Egypt. 非，不，無 妨げるd us on this 旅行, and, having crossed the lakes, only once did we stay at a little unravaged town at the far mouth of the canal, to buy bread, fresh fish, and meat wherewith to 在庫／株 our ship.

This town we 設立する to be 十分な of rumours, for the news of the death of Ochus had reached it and many tales were told of the manner of his end. That which these coast-dwellers favoured was that 始める，決める the god had appeared in person at a feast, and 掴むing Ochus, had 始める，決める him upon a winged Apis, that very Apis bull which he had sacrificed and eaten, and borne him away to hell. At this fable I smiled, though indeed in it there was a seed of truth, since without 疑問, if there be a hell, the 血-soaked Ochus was its inhabitant that day.

Now of all that 旅行 I, who grow 疲れた／うんざりした of 令状ing, will omit the story. Most marvellously it 栄えるd, so much so that I think, unseen by us, spirits from the Under-world must have stood upon our prow. From day to day a strong and 安定した 勝利，勝つd blowing from the north drove us 今後 速く. No 嵐／襲撃する smote us nor did we strike upon any 激しく揺する, and when we made land for water, either it was uninhabited, or the folk who dwelt there, strange barbarous folk, were friendly.

So the time went by creeping from moon to moon and ever we sailed on southward. Nor was the time unhappy, since there I sat in that same cabin which had been 地雷 when Pharaoh gave me as a 賄賂 to Tenes and that therefore was familiar to me, having something of the 面 of a home. Indeed with a 確かな taste of 酸性の 楽しみ, from time to time I 解任するd all that had happened to me upon this ship and in that very cabin. For instance where I had wrung the 令状ing from the passion- maddened Tenes; where he had stood and knelt; where his 影をつくる／尾行する had struck upon the cedar 塀で囲むs. There, too, in the 支持を得ようと努めるd was an arrow 穴を開ける, which arrow should have drunk my life.

Then in the waist of the ship was the place where the boarders from the 宗教上の 解雇する／砲火／射撃 had won 船内に, whence Kallikrates, the Grecian captain turned heirophant, had （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 them 支援する so gallantly. Aft, also, was the 避難所 where I had visited him and dressed his 負傷させるs that were almost to the death. Here I placed upon his finger the charmed scarab （犯罪の）一味 of Khaemuas, the Magician, whereon were 削減（する） symbols with a secret meaning, though they seemed to read only as "Son of Ra," that this （犯罪の）一味 might raise him from the 不明瞭 of death, as Osiris rose and as Ra rises from the Under-world.

Here, too, it was that I heard him mistake me for another woman and to that woman give his thanks, thus 開始 my 注目する，もくろむs to all the folly of my heart. Years ago these things had chanced to me, and now when they were dead things, I say that I could dream of them with that soft grief which is like to the tenderness of eve after the 約束 of the morning and the 燃やすing noonday heat have become but memories buried beneath the dust of time. Yet it is true that now and again those memories 新たにするd their life, 特に within the 神社s of sleep.

Oh! it was all so long ago. Had not Philo's 耐えるd, that I remembered brown and rich, since then grown gray, and were not his curling locks thinned upon his 寺s? And I who then was young, had I not grown to middle-age, though still I remained more lovely than any other woman in the world, and was not my soul 重荷（を負わせる）d with much learning, and had not the 悲しみs I had passed pierced it with a thousand spears? Now, too, doubtless Kallikrates was dead, and all the dreams to which he alone の中で men had given birth within me had gone wherever dreams may go, perchance to be lost in the 広大な unknown, or perchance after the change called death, there to be 設立する again?

Yet I, I wandered 今後 on my path, 運命／宿命-driven as of old, to what end I knew not and did not 大いに care to know. For now it seemed my part was played; the world and its stirrings were left behind me and the last shreds of my web must be spun of poor stuff in petty, unknown places, where I should patter 祈りs beneath an 外国人 sky till it pleased death to enfold me in its wings and 耐える me to the depths of its enormous habitations.

井戸／弁護士席, so let it be, since, as I have said, I was 疲れた／うんざりした of the world; its toils, its 血まみれの 問題／発行するs, and its perpetual strivings to しっかり掴む that which man or woman may not 持つ／拘留する—except in dreams.

With Philo I talked much, but always of the past; of those things which we had experienced together, or of other events of his earlier, adventurous life, or of my own. A most pleasant companion was this Philo, of a shrewd wit and some learning also, a 勇敢に立ち向かう 国民 of the world who had seen much, and yet one who 深い尊敬の念を抱くd the gods, whatever the gods might be, and had thoughts of that which lies beyond the world, whatever this may be. But of the 現在の or of what had happened to him since he sailed away with Noot, my Master, when Ochus 侵略するd Egypt, and least of all of the 未来 and whither we went or why, I did not talk at all.

For when these 事柄s （機の）カム to my lips, as they did even before we were （疑いを）晴らす of Nile, Philo made a 確かな 調印する to me which 存在 解釈する／通訳するd meant that he was under an 誓い, a very solemn 誓い, not to speak of any of them, which 誓い I 尊敬（する）・点d, as indeed I was bound to do. Therefore I asked no more and sailed on careless as a child that recks not of what is to come and from whom death is still very far away.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE TALE OF PHILO

Once more it was a night of 十分な moon. As we had done for many days we were sailing before that 安定した 勝利，勝つd along the coast of Libya, having this upon our 権利 手渡す, and upon our left, at a distance, a line of rocky 暗礁 upon which breakers fell continually.

It was a very splendid moon that turned the sea to silver and lit up the palm-grown shore almost as brightly as does the sun. I sat upon the deck 近づく to my cabin and by me stood Philo watching that shore intently.

"For what do you 捜し出す, Philo? Are you in 恐れる of sunken 激しく揺するs?"

"Nay, Child of Isis, yet it is true that I 捜し出す a 確かな 激しく揺する which by my reckoning should now be in sight. Ah!"

Then suddenly he ran 今後 and shouted an order. Men leapt up and sprang to the ropes while the rowers began to get out the sweeps. As they did this the Hapi （機の）カム 一連の会議、交渉／完成する so that her 屈服する pointed to the shore and the 広大な／多数の／重要な sail sank to the deck. Then the long oars bit into the water and drove us shoreward.

Philo returned.

"Look, Lady," he said. "Now that the moon has risen higher you can see 井戸／弁護士席," and he pointed to a headland in 前線 of us.

に引き続いて his outstretched 手渡す with my 注目する，もくろむs I perceived a 広大な／多数の／重要な 激しく揺する many cubits in 高さ and carven on the crest of it a 長，率いる far larger than that of the 抱擁する Sphinx in Egypt. Or perchance it was not carved; perchance Nature had fashioned it thus. At least there it stood and will stand, a terrible and hideous thing, having the likeness of an Ethiopian's 長，率いる gazing eternally across the sea.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Lady, it is the 後見人 of the Gate of the land whither we go. Legend tells that it is 形態／調整d to the likeness of the first king of that land who lived thousands upon thousands of years before the pyramids were built; also that his bones 嘘（をつく） in it, or at least, that it is haunted by his spirit. For this 推論する／理由 非，不，無 dare to touch and much いっそう少なく to climb yonder monstrous 激しく揺する."

Then he left me to see to the 事柄s of the ship, because, as he said in going, the 入り口 to the place was 海峡 and dangerous. But I sat on alone upon the deck watching this strange new sight.

Within an hour, 列／漕ぐ／騒動ing carefully, we entered the mouth of a river, having the 激しく揺する 形態／調整d like to a Negro's 長，率いる upon our 権利. Then it was that I saw something which put me in mind of Philo's tale about an 古代の king. For there, unless I dreamed, upon the very point of the skull of the effigy, of a sudden I perceived a tall form 覆う？ in armour which shone silvery 有望な in the moon's rays. It leaned upon a 広大な／多数の／重要な spear, and when we were opposite to it, straightened itself and bent 今後 as though to 星／主役にする at our ship beneath. Next, thrice it 解除するd the spear in salutation; thrice it 屈服するd, as I thought in obeisance to me, and having done so, threw its 武器 wide and was gone.

Afterward I asked Philo if he also had seen this thing.

"Nay," he answered in a doubtful 発言する／表明する as though the 事柄 were one of which he did not wish to talk, 追加するing,

"It is not the custom of 水夫s to 熟考する／考慮する that 長，率いる in the moonlight, because the story goes that if they do and chance to see some such ghost as that you tell of, it casts a spear toward them, who then are doomed to die within the year. Yet at you, Child of Isis, he cast no spear, only 屈服するd and gave the salute of kings, or so you tell me. Therefore doubtless neither you nor any of us, your companions, are 示すd for death."

I smiled and said that I whose wraith was in touch with Heaven 恐れるd not the wrath of any 古代の king, nor did we speak more of this 事柄. Yet in the after ages it （機の）カム into my mind that there was truth in this story and that this long-dead king appeared thus to give 迎える／歓迎するing to her who was 運命にあるd to 支配する his land through many 世代s; also that perchance he was not dead at all, but, having drunk of a 確かな Cup of Life of which I was to learn, lived eternally there upon the 激しく揺する.

I laid me 負かす／撃墜する and slept, and when I woke in the 有望な morning it was to find that we had passed from that river into a canal dug by man which, though 深い, was too 狭くする for the sweeps to work. Therefore the Hapi must be 押し進めるd along with 政治家s and 牽引するd by ropes dragged at by the 水夫s from a path that ran upon the bank.

For three days we travelled thus making but slow 進歩, since the toil of dragging so large a ship was 広大な／多数の／重要な, and at night we tied up to the bank, as boats do upon the Nile. All this while we saw no habitation though 確かな 廃虚s we did see. Indeed that country was very desolate and 十分な of 広大な／多数の／重要な 押し寄せる／沼地s that were tenanted by wild beasts, the haunt of フクロウs and bitterns, where lions roared and serpents crept, 広大な／多数の／重要な serpents such as I had never seen.

At length at noon on the fourth day we （機の）カム to a lake where the canal ended, which lake once had been a harbour, for we saw 石／投石する quays where still were tied some boats that seemed to be little used. Here Philo said that we must disembark and travel on by land. So we left the Hapi, sadly enough for my part, because those were happy, 静かな days that I had spent on board of her, veritable oases in the 嵐／襲撃する- swept 砂漠 of my life.

Scarcely had we 始める，決める foot upon the land when appeared, I knew not whence, a company of men, handsome, hook-nosed, sombre men, such as I had seen の中で the 乗組員 upon the Hapi. These men, though so 猛烈な／残忍な in 外見, were not barbarians, for they wore linen 衣料品s that gave to them the 面 of priests. Moreover, their leaders could speak Arabic in its most 古代の form, which, having 熟考する／考慮するd it, as it chanced, I knew. With this army, who bore 屈服するs and spears, （機の）カム a multitude of folk of a baser sort that carried litters, or 重荷（を負わせる）s, also a guard of 広大な／多数の／重要な fellows that Philo told me were my especial 護衛する. Now my patience failed so that I turned upon Philo 説,

"Hitherto, Friend, I have 信用d myself to you, because it seemed 法令d that I should do so. Now tell me, I pray you, what means this 旅行 over countless leagues of sea into a land untrod, and whither go I in the fellowship of these barbarians? Because you brought me a 確かな 令状ing in an 許容できる hour, I gave myself into your keeping, nor did I even ask any 発覚 from the goddess or 捜し出す to solve the mystery by （一定の）期間s. Yet, now I ask and, as the Prophetess of Isis, 需要・要求する the truth of you, her humbler servant."

"Lady divine," answered Philo, 屈服するing himself before me, "what I have withheld is by 命令（する）, the 命令（する） of a very 広大な／多数の／重要な one, of 非，不，無 いっそう少なく than Noot the 老年の and 宗教上の. You go to an old land that is yet new to find Noot, your master and 地雷."

"In the flesh or in the spirit?" I asked.

"In the flesh, Prophetess, if still he lives, as these men say, and see, I …を伴って you, I whom in the past you have 設立する faithful. If I fail you, let my life 支払う／賃金 没収される, and for the 残り／休憩（する）, ask it of the 宗教上の Noot."

"It is enough," I said. "Lead on."

We entered the litters; we laded the 持参人払いのs with the treasures of Isis and with my own peculiar wealth, and having placed the ship Hapi under guard, marched into the unknown like to some 広大な／多数の／重要な caravan of merchants. For days we marched, に引き続いて a 幅の広い road that was broken 負かす／撃墜する in places, over plains and through 広大な 押し寄せる／沼地s, and at night sleeping in 洞穴s or covered by テントs which we brought with us.

This was a strange 旅行 that I made surrounded by that host of hook-nosed, silent, ghost-like men, who, as I 公式文書，認めるd, loved the night better than they did the day. Almost might I have thought that they had been sent from Hades to 行為／行う us to those gates from which for mortals there is no return. My fellowship of the priests and priestesses grew afraid and clustered 一連の会議、交渉／完成する me at night, praying to be led 支援する to familiar lands and 直面するs.

I answered them that what I dared they must dare also, and that the goddess was as 近づく to us here as she had been in Egypt, nor could death be closer to us than it was in Egypt. Yea, I bade them have 約束, since without 約束 we could not be at peace one hour who, 欠如（する）ing it, must be 圧倒するd with terrors, even with the 塀で囲むs of citadels.

They hearkened, 屈服するing their 長，率いるs and 説 that whatever else they might 疑問, they 信用d themselves to me.

So we went on, passing through a country where more of these half- savage men that I learned were called Amahagger dwelt in villages surrounded by their cattle, or by 植民地s in 洞穴s. At last there arose before us a mighty mountain whose 非常に高い cliffs had the 外見 of a 塀で囲む so 広大な that the 注目する，もくろむ could not compass it. By a gorge we 侵入するd that mountain and 設立する within it an enormous, fertile plain, and on the plain a city larger than Memphis or than Thebes, but a city half in 廃虚s.

Passing over a 広大な／多数の／重要な 橋（渡しをする） spanning a wide moat once filled with water that now here and there was 乾燥した，日照りの, we entered the 塀で囲むs of that city and by a street broader than any I had ever seen, 国境d by many noble, broken houses, though some of these seemed still to be 住むd, （機の）カム to a glorious 寺 like to those of Egypt, only greater, and with taller columns. Across its grass-grown 法廷，裁判所s, that were 始める，決める one within another, we were carried to some inner 聖域. Here we descended from the litters and were led to sculptured 議会s that seemed to have been made ready to receive us, where we 洗浄するd ourselves of the dust of travel and ate. Then （機の）カム Philo, who 行為／行うd me to a little lamp-lit hall, for now the night had fallen, where was a 議長，司会を務める of 明言する／公表する such as high-priests used, in which at his bidding I sat myself.

I think that 存在 疲れた／うんざりした with travel, I must have slept in that 議長，司会を務める, since I dreamed or seemed to dream that I received worship such as is given to a queen, or even to a goddess. 先触れ（する）s あられ／賞賛するd me, 発言する／表明するs sang to me, even spirits appeared in 軍隊／機動隊s to talk to me, the spirits of those who thousands of years before had 出発／死d from the earth. They told me strange stories of the past and of the 未来; tales of a fallen people, of a worship and a glory that had gone by and been swallowed in the 湾s of Time. Then 集会 in a multitude they seemed to あられ／賞賛する me, crying,

"Welcome, 任命するd Queen! Build thou up that which has fallen. Discover thou that which is lost. Thine is the strength, thine the 適切な時期, yet beware of the 誘惑s, beware of the flesh, lest the flesh should 打ち勝つ the spirit and by its 落ちる 追加する 廃虚 unto 廃虚, the 廃虚 of the soul to the 廃虚 of the 団体／死体."

I awoke from my 見通し and saw Philo standing before me.

"Hearken, Philo," I said. "Of these mysteries I can 耐える no more. The time has come when you must speak, or 直面する my wrath. Why have I been brought hither to this strange and distant land where it seems that I must dwell in a place of 廃虚s?"

"Because the 宗教上の Noot so 命令（する）d, O Child of 知恵," he answered. "Was it not 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する in the 令状ing I gave you at the 小島 of Reeds upon the Nile?"

"Where then is the 宗教上の Noot?" I asked. "Here I see him not. Is he dead?"

"I do not think that he is dead, Lady. Yet to the world he is dead. He has become a hermit, one who dwells in a 洞穴 in a perilous place not very far from this city. To-morrow I will bring you to him, if that be your will. So only can you see him who now for years has never left that 洞穴, or so I think, save to fetch the food which is 用意が出来ている for him."

"A strange tale, Philo, though that Noot should become a hermit does not amaze me, since such was ever his 願望（する）. Now tell me how he （機の）カム hither, and you with him?"

"Lady, you will remember that in the bygone years when Nectanebes, he who was Pharaoh, fled up Nile, the 宗教上の Noot 乗る，着手するd upon my ship, the Hapi, to sail to the northern cities, that there he might 扱う／治療する with the Persians for the 身代金 of those 寺s of Egypt that remained unravished."

"I remember, Philo. What chanced to you upon that 旅行?"

"This, Lady: that we were very nearly 殺害された, every one of us, for whom the Persians had 始める，決める a 罠（にかける）, thinking to snare Noot and his company and 拷問 him till he 明らかにする／漏らすd where the treasures of the 寺s of Isis were hid away. にもかかわらず, because I am a good sailor and because that 軍人 priest, Kallikrates, was 勇敢に立ち向かう, we escaped into the canal which is called the Road of Rameses and so at last out to sea, for to return up Nile was impossible. Then Noot 命令（する）d that I should sail on southerly upon a course he seemed to know 井戸／弁護士席 enough; or perchance the goddess taught it to him; I cannot say. At least I obeyed, so that in the end we reached that harbour which is guarded by a 激しく揺する carved to the likeness of an Ethiopian's 長，率いる, and thence travelled to this place, still guided by the 知恵 of Noot who knew the road."

"And Kallikrates? What became of Kallikrates—who it seems was with you?" I asked in an indifferent 発言する／表明する, though my heart 燃やすd to hear his answer.

"Lady, so far as it is known to me this is the story of Kallikrates and the Princess Amenartas."

"The Princess Amenartas! By all the gods, what is your meaning, Philo? She went up Nile with Nectanebes her father, he who was Pharaoh."

"Nay, Lady, she went 負かす／撃墜する Nile with Kallikrates, or perhaps with Noot, or perhaps with herself alone. I do not know with whom she hid since I never saw her, nor learned that she was 船内に my ship until we were two days' 旅行 out to sea and the coasts of Egypt were far behind us."

"Is it so?" I asked coldly, though I was filled with bitter 怒り／怒る. "And what did the 宗教上の Noot when he 設立する that this woman was 船内に his 大型船?"

"Lady, he did nothing except look on her somewhat doubtfully."

"And what did the priest Kallikrates? Did he 努力する／競う to be rid of her?"

"Nay, Lady, and indeed that would have been impossible, unless he had thrown her overboard. He did nothing except talk with her—that is, so far as I saw."

"井戸／弁護士席, then, Philo, where is she now, and where is Kallikrates? I do not see him in this place."

"Lady, I cannot tell you, but I think it probable that they are dead and in the fellowship of Osiris. When we had been some weeks at sea we were driven by 嵐／襲撃する to an island off the coast under the 物陰／風下 of which we took 避難所, a very fertile and beautiful island, peopled by a kindly folk. After we had sailed again from that island it was discovered that the priest Kallikrates and the 王室の Princess Amenartas were 行方不明の from the ship, nor because of the strong 勝利，勝つd that blew us 今後 was it possible for us to return to 捜し出す for them. I made 調査 of the 事柄 and the sailors told me that they had been fishing together and that a shark which took their bait pulled them both into the sea; in which 事例／患者 doubtless they were 溺死するd."

"And did you believe that story, Philo?"

"Nay, Lady. I understood at once that it was one which the sailors had been 賄賂d to tell. Myself I think that they went to the island in one of the boats of the people who dwell there; perhaps because they could no longer 耐える the 冷淡な 注目する，もくろむs of Noot 直す／買収する，八百長をするd upon them, or perhaps to gather fruit, for which those who have been long upon water often conceive a 広大な／多数の／重要な 願望（する）. But," he 追加するd 簡単に, "I do not know why they should have done this seeing that the island-dwellers brought us plenty of fruits in their boats."

"Doubtless they preferred to pluck them fresh with their own 手渡すs, Philo."

"Perhaps, Lady, or perhaps they wished to stay awhile upon that island. At least I 公式文書，認めるd that the Princess took her 衣料品s and her jewels with her, which she could scarcely have done if the shark had dragged her into the sea."

"Are you so sure, Philo, that she did not leave some of those jewels behind—in your keeping, Philo? It is very strange to me that the Princess Amenartas could have come 船内に your ship and have left your ship, and you know nothing."

Now Philo looked up innocently and said,

"Surely it is lawful for a captain to receive faring money from his 乗客s, and that I 収容する／認める I did. But I do not understand why the Child of 知恵 is so wrath because a Greek and a 広大な／多数の／重要な lady were by chance left together upon an island where, for aught I know, one or other of them may have had friends."

"Am I not the 後見人 of the honour of the goddess?" I answered. "And do you not know that under our 法律 Kallikrates was sworn to her alone?"

"If so, Prophetess, doubtless that captain, or that priest, remembers his 誓い and 取引，協定s with this princess as though she were his sister or his mother. At the least the goddess can guard her own honour, so why should you fret your soul 関心ing it, Prophetess? Lastly, it is probable that by now both of them are dead and have made all things （疑いを）晴らす to Isis in the heavenly halls."

Thus he prattled on, 追加するing 嘘（をつく） to 嘘（をつく） as only a Greek can do. I listened until I could 耐える no more. Then I said but one word. It was "Begone!"

He went 謙虚に, yet as I thought, smiling.

Oh! now I saw it all. Noot had made a 陰謀（を企てる） to 除去する Kallikrates far from me, so that I might never look upon him again. Philo knew of this 陰謀（を企てる）, and through him Amenartas knew it also. Unknown to Noot she 賄賂d Philo to hide her upon his ship till they were far from land, though whether the 計画（する） was known to Kallikrates I could not say, nor did it 大いに 事柄. Then the 残り／休憩（する） followed. Amenartas appeared upon the ship and cast her 逮捕する about Kallikrates who had sworn to have done with her, and the end can be guessed. Noot was wrath with them, so wrath that when the chance （機の）カム they fled away, 目的ing to stay upon that island until they could find a ship to take them 支援する to Egypt or どこかよそで. Thus, I was sure, ran the story, and, as it 証明するd afterward, I was 権利.

井戸／弁護士席, they were gone and as I hoped, dead, since only death could cover up such a sin, and for my part I was glad that I had done with Kallikrates and his light-of-love. And yet there, seated on the couch of 明言する／公表する, I wept—because of the 乱暴／暴力を加える done to Isis whom I served. Or was it for myself that I wept? I cannot say, I only know that my 涙／ほころびs were bitter. Also I was very lonely in this strange and desolate place. Because Noot had 命令（する）d it, sending for me from afar, and what he 命令（する）d, that I must obey. Where, then, was Noot, who, Philo swore, still lived? Why had he not appeared to 迎える／歓迎する me? I covered my 注目する，もくろむs with my 手渡すs and threw out my soul to Noot, 説,

"Come to me, O Noot. Come to me, my beloved Master."

Lo! a 発言する／表明する, a 井戸／弁護士席-remembered 発言する／表明する answered.

"Daughter, I am here."

I let 落ちる my 手渡す. I gazed with my 涙／ほころび-stained 注目する，もくろむs, and behold! before me, white-式服d, gold-filleted, 雪の降る，雪の多い-bearded, grown very 古代の and ethereal, stood the prophet and high-priest, my Master. For a moment I thought that it was his spirit which I saw. Then he moved, and I heard his white 式服s rustle, and knew that there stood Noot himself whom I had travelled so many thousand leagues to find.

I rose; I ran to him; I 掴むd his thin 手渡す and kissed it, while he, murmuring, "My Daughter, at last, at last!" leaned 今後 and with his lips touched me on the brow.

"Far away your 召喚するs reached me in an hour of 危険，危なくする," I said. "Behold! I obeyed, I （機の）カム. In 約束 I （機の）カム, asking no questions, and I am here in safety, for I think the goddess herself was with me on that 旅行. Tell me all, O Noot. What is this place? How were you brought to it and why have you called me to you?"

"Hearken, Daughter," he said, seating himself beside me on the 王位- like couch. "This city is 指名するd Kor. Once she was queen of the world, as after her, Babylon, Thebes, Tyre, and Athens are, or have been queens. From Kor thousands of years ago in the 黒人／ボイコット, lost ages Egypt was peopled, as were other lands. In those 薄暗い days by another 肩書を与える her 国民s worshipped Isis, Queen of Heaven, only they 指名するd her Truth whom in Egypt you know as Maat. Then apostasy arose and many of this 広大な／多数の／重要な people, abandoning the pure and gentle worship of Isis wrapped in the 隠す of Truth, under the 指名する of Rezu, a 猛烈な／残忍な sun- daemon, 始める，決める up another god to whom they made human sacrifices, as the Sidonians did to Moloch. Yea, they sacrificed men, women, and children by thousands, and even learned to eat their flesh, first as a sacred 儀式, and afterward to 満足させる their appetites. Heaven saw and grew wrath; Heaven smote the people with a mighty pestilence, so that they 死なせる／死ぬd and 死なせる／死ぬd till few were left. Thus Kor fell by the sword of God as, for like 原因（となる）, fell Sidon."

"Of all this afterward," I answered impatiently. "Tell me first, how （機の）カム you here? Long years ago you sailed 負かす／撃墜する Nile to 扱う／治療する with the Persians for the 身代金 of the 寺s of Egypt, a 使節団 in which it seems you failed, my Father."

"Aye, Ayesha, I failed. It was but a 罠（にかける）, since those 誤った-hearted 解雇する／砲火／射撃-worshippers thought to take me 捕虜 and 持つ／拘留する my life in gage against all the treasures of Isis. By the cunning and seamanship of Philo and the courage of a priest 指名するd Kallikrates, whom you may still remember after all these years," here he ちらりと見ることd at me はっきりと, "I escaped when a ギャング（団） of them disguised as （外交）使節／代表s strove to snare me. But the road up Nile 存在 閉めだした, we were 軍隊d to 飛行機で行く south, and 負かす／撃墜する Pharaoh's 広大な／多数の／重要な 溝へはまらせる／不時着する, till at length, after many wanderings and adventures, we （機の）カム to this land, as it was 運命／宿命d that I should do. You will remember, Daughter, that I told you I believed that we were parting for a long while, although I believed also that we should 会合，会う again in the flesh."

"I remember 井戸／弁護士席," I answered, "also that I swore to come to you at the 任命するd hour."

"I （機の）カム to this land," went on Noot, "but Kallikrates, the Greek captain who was a priest of Isis, never reached it. He was lost on the way."

"With another, my Father. But now I have heard that story from Philo."

"With another who 原因（となる）d him to break his 公約するs. Be sure, Daughter, that I knew nothing of her 陰謀（を企てる） or that she was hidden 船内に the ship, though perchance Philo knew. The goddess hid it from me, doubtless for her own 目的s."

"Are this pair dead, or do they still live, my Father?"

"I cannot say; that also is hidden from me. Better for them if they are dead, since soon or late for such sacrilege vengeance will 落ちる upon the 長，率いる of one, if not of both of them. Peace be to them. May they be forgiven! At least as I think they loved each other much and, since love is very strong, all who have ever loved where they ought not should have pity on them," and again his 尋問 注目する，もくろむs played upon my 直面する.

CHAPTER XIX

THE HERMITAGE OF NOOT

"Tell me of what has passed in Egypt since Ochus 征服する／打ち勝つd and Nectanebes fled away. Does Ochus still live, Daughter?" asked Noot after a pause during which both of us had sat 星／主役にするing at the ground.

"Nay, Father, Ochus is dead and by my 手渡す, or through it," and I told him all that story of the 燃やすing of the 寺 of Isis at my 命令（する） and of the Persians who defiled it.

"A 広大な／多数の／重要な 行為 such as you alone could have planned," he muttered, "but terrible, terrible!"

"Then your soul must 耐える its 重荷（を負わせる）, Prophet, since it was your 発言する／表明する that we heard in the 聖域, when in our extreme we prayed for 指導／手引, and it told us to go 今後. There are those with me who can 耐える 証言，証人／目撃する that they heard your very 発言する／表明する, as I do."

"Mayhap, Daughter. It is true that on a 確かな day not so many moons ago, I seemed to hear you calling to heaven in 広大な／多数の／重要な trouble and danger, also that by direction which （機の）カム I know not whence, I answered in my spirit that you must 'fulfil and 恐れる not.' What you were to fulfil I did not know, though it （機の）カム to my mind that the 商売／仕事 had something to do with the 燃やすing of a 寺."

"As it had indeed. 井戸／弁護士席, I 実行するd, as Ochus Artaxerxes with some hundreds of his Persian ravagers can 証言する before all the gods until the end of time, for those dogs at least have 中止するd to 汚染する the earth and to-day are 濃厚にするing hell. There let them 嘘（をつく） with Tenes and Nectanebes also, if in truth he has joined them, and many another 誤った priest and king. Afterward we will talk of them and all their 行為s of shame. But first tell me why I am here. For what end did you 召喚する me from Egypt. Was it to save me from death?"

"Nay, Ayesha, from more than that. Why should I wish to 持つ／拘留する you 支援する from the 広大な／多数の／重要な boon of death in which so soon I must have joined you? I 召喚するd you because I was 命令（する）d so to do, that now when Isis has passed from Egypt, you should 原因（となる） her worship to re-arise at Kor which was her 古代の home. It is willed that here you should がまんする and once more build up this people and make it 広大な／多数の／重要な by the help of the Queen of Heaven who then will lead it on to 勝利 and to glory."

"That is a mighty 仕事, Prophet. Still perchance with your 援助（する） it may be done if the gods give me life and 知恵."

He shook his 長，率いる and answered,

"Look not to my 援助（する）, for at length my day is finished. Has not Philo told you that I mix no more with 事柄s of the world, I who for years past have dwelt a hermit in a terrible place, 避難所d only by a 洞穴 and lost in the contemplation of 宗教上の things?"

"No, Father, he has told me little or nothing—by your will, or so he said," I replied, amazed.

"Yet it is so; moreover, presently I must return to that 刑務所，拘置所 whence I （機の）カム, there to を待つ the change called death. I have played my part, but your work still remains to do; Philo will 援助（する） you in it."

"Why do you live in that place, Father, leaving me without the 指導／手引 of your 知恵?"

"Because there I guard a 広大な／多数の／重要な secret, that was 明らかにする／漏らすd to me long ago, it 事柄s not how, the greatest secret in the whole world—that of how men may escape death and live on eternally upon the earth."

Now I 星／主役にするd at him, thinking that age and abstinence had made him mad. Then, to 実験（する） the 事柄, I asked,

"If it be so 広大な／多数の／重要な a secret, why do you tell it to me, Master?"

"Because I must. Because I know 井戸／弁護士席 that if I do not, you would discover it for yourself, and 存在 unwarned, would 落ちる into the 罠（にかける）, and still living beneath the sun, dare to 着せる／賦与する yourself with this 衣料品 of immortality. It was for this 推論する／理由 that until twice the 命令（する） had come to me, I would not 召喚する you to Kor."

Now a new thought thrilled my soul. If this strange tale were true; if indeed here on earth there could be 設立する such a door 主要な to the divine, why should I not pass it, and become as are the gods? Only I did not believe that it was true.

"Surely you have dreamed in your loneliness, my Father," I said. "But know that if you did not dream, if it were true, I, Ayesha, should be minded to wear that 式服 of life eternal. Why not, O Prophet?"

"Because, Ayesha, the man or woman who dared to eat of this fruit forbidden to their race here on earth, where death is 法令d for all, would be a man or woman who dared to enter into hell."

"I think さもなければ, Prophet Noot, I think that this man or woman would enter into glory and become the 支配者 of the world," I answered, and as I spoke the words my 注目する，もくろむs flashed and my breast heaved.

"Not so, Ayesha, since from that 致命的な 頂点（に達する） of pride Heaven will （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 支援する all human feet. Oh, hearken to me and 粛清する your soul of the madness of this 願望（する） by which I see already it is 所有するd. It was laid upon me to 明らかにする／漏らす this secret to you, which I think was given me for that very 目的, so that you might show your greatness by 拒絶するing it, the deadliest 賄賂 that the god of Ill ever 申し込む／申し出d to mortal woman."

"Or perchance by 受託するing it, Master!"

"Nay, nay! Bethink you. Is the world a fit place for the undying? Moreover, this secret that I guard is but the world's spirit, not that of immortality; the hidden 軍隊 from which our earth draws its strength, but which will 死なせる／死ぬ with the earth, as it must do upon a day still hidden in the 深いs of time. The drinker of that cup therefore would become, not eternal, but long-lived only, 運命にあるd to 死なせる／死ぬ at last with this passing 星／主役にする. For him death would not be destroyed, it would only be 延期するd, waiting ever to snare him in the end. 一方／合間 he must 耐える desolate and alone, watching the 世代s pass one by one to their 任命するd 残り／休憩（する）; while, filled perchance with fearful appetites which he must know eternally and yet remain unsatisfied, he stands but as a frozen 激しく揺する upon the plain, wearing a human 形態／調整, yet 外国人 to mortality, though still torn by its ambitions, its loves, its hates, its hopes, its 恐れるs, and waiting terrified for that predestined moment when this globe shall 崩壊する and death shall devour it and him.

"I am old, I am feeble, my hour is 井戸／弁護士席 nigh done, I pass to my repose in Heaven. Ayesha, I have no strength to stay your feet, if you elect to drink this cup my weak 手渡す cannot dash it from your lips. Yet as one who has taught and loved you, as one to whom the gods have given 広大な／多数の／重要な 知恵, I pray you to thrust aside this 広大な／多数の／重要な 誘惑. As our 約束 teaches truly, already your spirit is immortal and has its home 用意が出来ている above. 願望（する） not, therefore, to perpetuate your flesh, since if you do, Ayesha, I tell you that you will become but as a painted mummy in a tomb, ふりをするing life, yet dead and 冷淡な within. 断言する to me, Daughter, that you will lock this knowledge in your heart and thrust the 毒（薬） from your lips."

"You speak wisely," I answered, "aye, as one 奮起させるd by the truth, and though I take no 誓いs, it is my 目的 to do your will. Yet, Father, what is this secret? Having told me so much, tell all, lest I should go to discover it for myself."

"Daughter, 近づく to this 古代の city, まっただ中に the mountain cliffs, 深い in the bowels of the 激しく揺するs 燃やすs a travelling 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which is the very soul of the world, the 炎上ing heart that gives it life. Yet this 解雇する／砲火／射撃 is no 解雇する／砲火／射撃, but rather the essence of 存在, and he who bathes in it will be filled with that essence and 耐える while it 耐えるs."

"Perchance such a one might be destroyed by that 解雇する／砲火／射撃," I answered doubtfully.

"Daughter, I would that I could leave you thinking thus, for then a 広大な／多数の／重要な 恐れる would pass from me. But we who are the 長，指導者 servants of Isis dare not hide the truth from one another, since to do so is to break our 誓いs. Moreover, in this 事柄 I do not speak with my own 発言する／表明する, but with that of a Strength which is greater than I, to whom now I stand so 近づく that almost it and I are one. Therefore to your 注目する，もくろむs I must 身を引く all 隠すs, showing you what is, as it is, and not as I would have it be. Yonder 解雇する／砲火／射撃 will not destroy the mortal who finds the courage to stand in its 激怒（する）ing path; it will give him life, and with it such strength, such beauty, and such 知恵 as have never been the lot of man born of woman. Also it will give him such passions, such despairs, such unending woes as hitherto no mortal heart has known.

"There is the truth. Ask me not how it comes into my keeping and what that 発言する／表明する may be which is speaking it through my lips. A minute gone this truth was 地雷 alone, or perchance 地雷 and one other's. Now it is yours also, and 存在 yours, I pray to that Divine from which we come and whither we return again, that it may give you strength and the true 知恵, knowing all, to 拒絶する all, and turning aside from this glittering guerdon of 耐えるing life, 根気よく to walk your human path to the end 任命するd to our human feet."

"Will you show me this 解雇する／砲火／射撃, Prophet?"

"Aye, if you will, for so I am 命令（する）d," he answered faintly; "yet why look upon that which must excite 願望（する）?"

Then weariness overcame him and he sank 負かす／撃墜する swooning, so that had I not caught him, he would have fallen.

Noot abode three days at Kor and talked with me of many things, but at that time of the wonderful Secret of Life he spoke no more. As though by 同意 both of us let that 事柄 嘘（をつく） awhile. For the 残り／休憩（する） there was much to say. I told him everything that had passed in Egypt and the outer world since long years before he had left me to sail 負かす／撃墜する Nile, never to return. I told him how I had obeyed his last 命令（する）s to the letter, and surrounded though I was by 敵s, had 保存するd the worship of Isis in her 寺 from season to season, celebrating her festivals in their 任命するd course, though I never dared to leave its 塀で囲むs.

"So, Ayesha," he said when I had done, "while I have been a hermit here at Kor, you have been a hermit at Memphis. 井戸／弁護士席, each of us has served the goddess as best might be, so may she reward us both によれば our 砂漠s, which doubtless are but small. And now my 仕事 is finished, but yours lies before you, seeing that you still have strength, even if your 青年 has gone."

"Yes," I answered somewhat 激しく, "中央の-age has overtaken me, my 青年 has passed in the service of Heaven, and what has Heaven given to me after all my wars and strivings? Just this—that in a savage, desolate land の中で 廃虚s and barbarians I must begin もう一度. I must 回復する a 約束 decayed, collect those barbarians into armies and order them, 制定する 法律s and 原因（となる） them to be obeyed, fight 戦う／戦いs, till lands, build ships and carry on 商業, collect 歳入s and spend them wisely, 労働 without 中止する day by day, finding but little 残り／休憩（する） at night because of the troubles that を待つ the morrow. I must be at once a high-priestess, an oracle, a general, a 法律-giver, a 裁判官, an architect, a land-tiller and a queen beneath an 外国人 sky; without counsel, without friends, without love, without children to tend me in my age or to pile the earth upon my bones. Such is the lot that the goddess has given to her priestess Ayesha in 支払い（額） of all her strivings."

Thus I spoke 激しく enough, but Noot answered with a gentle smile,

"At least, Daughter, it might have been more evil. You have a planning and a thoughtful mind and here you can 形態／調整 all things afresh to your 願望（する）. You love 力／強力にする and here you will be 絶対の, a very queen, you who cannot brook 否定. Here there will be 非，不，無 to say you nay. You hate 競争相手s who would 支配する alone. Here they will be 欠如（する）ing. You 願望（する） to remain celibate who are 結婚する to the spirit. Here no more kings or others will come to trouble you, plotting to 勝利，勝つ your beauty. It has ever been your wish to commune with Nature and that Divine from which it springs; here in this 砂漠d place is Nature's very home and in 孤独 the Divine draws 近づく to empty souls.

"Truly you should be thankful, therefore, whose 祈りs have been 実行するd, who have 達成するd to all you sought, whose ambitions are 満足させるd and who in the 宗教上の 静める and the healthful weariness that follows upon long-continued 労働s, at last when your 仕事 is done, will 沈む gently to the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な to 捜し出す their reward どこかよそで. Soon, very soon, you will be as I am and when that day comes there will be an empty hermitage yonder where in 不明瞭 and in contemplation you can 根気よく を待つ the end and those new endeavours which, after it, may be 任命するd to you どこかよそで. For be sure of this, Ayesha—all 存在 is a ladder up which painfully and with many slips we must climb step by step."

"And when we reach the 最高の，を越す, what then, Master?"

"I do not know, Daughter, but I do know that if we 落ちる to the 底（に届く）, all those steps must be climbed again, only this time the rungs of the ladder will be 花冠d with thorns."

"It seems that yonder hermitage of yours is no home of joy, my Father."

"Nay, Daughter. It is a home of grief and repentance. The joy lies beyond. Such are the philosophy of life and the teachings of all 宗教. Be sorrowful and afterward you will rejoice. Rejoice and afterward you will be sorrowful."

"A sad philosophy, Prophet, and such lessons as slaves learn beneath the whip."

"Aye, Ayesha, but one that must be 耐えるd, as, if they could speak, Tenes and Ochus and Nectanebes would tell you to-day."

So he droned on who grew weak and senile, having become but the 乾燥した，日照りの 爆撃する of a man, whence the 次第に損なう had withered, like to a sterile nut indeed, from which, if it were sown, no shoot would spring. At length 疲れた／うんざりしたing of his melancholy talk, I fell to the thought of that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life 激怒（する）ing in its eternal vigour beneath his hermitage, which, as he swore, would give unending beauty, 青年, glory, and dominion to him who could find 約束 and courage to dare its terrors.

On the に引き続いて day I …を伴ってd Noot 支援する to his hermitage for the 静かな of which he seemed to yearn, so much so indeed that even for my sake whom he loved more than anything on earth and in whose fellowship he delighted, he would not be separated from it for another hour.

It was a rough 旅行 that we made borne in litters to the foot of the 広大な／多数の／重要な precipice which surrounds the plain of Kor like to a measureless 塀で囲む chiselled by 巨人s at the 形態／調整ing of the world. We climbed up a cleft in that 塀で囲む and entered a hidden 倍の of 激しく揺する, invisible from below. に引き続いて this 倍の we （機の）カム to the mouth of a 洞穴. Here I 公式文書，認めるd that food was 始める，決める in plenty by the dwellers in this land who 深い尊敬の念を抱くd Noot as a prophet and thus 供給（する）d him with his sustenance. Here also were たいまつs which were lit by those who …を伴ってd us to give us light upon our 旅行 through the 洞穴 that was long and rough. At length we （機の）カム to its end to find before us a terrible chasm. Thousands of feet above us was a line of blue sky and beneath lay a 湾 of 不明瞭. Out into this chasm 負かす／撃墜する which 勝利，勝つd raved and howled, ran a 巨大（な） 刺激（する） of 激しく揺する of which the end was lost in 不明瞭. I looked at it doubtfully and said,

"Where then is your habitation, Noot, and by what road is it reached?"

"It lies yonder in the 不明瞭, Daughter," he answered, smiling, "and this is the road that those who would visit me must travel," and he pointed to the 刺激（する） of 激しく揺する that trembled in the roaring 強風, 追加するing, "To my feet it is familiar; moreover, I know that on it as どこかよそで I am 保護するd from 害（を与える）. But if you 恐れる to walk such a path, turn 支援する while there is still time. Perhaps it would be better that you should turn 支援する."

Now I looked at the trembling 激しく揺する and then I looked at Noot, my Master.

"What," thought I to myself, "shall I, Ayesha, who dread neither man nor devil, be afraid to follow where this frail old priest can lead? Never will I blench from 危険，危なくする though in it lies my death."

So I 星／主役にするd him in the 直面する and answered,

"To the 仕事, Father, and 速く, for here the 勝利，勝つd blows 冷気／寒がらせる. I go first; Philo, follow me の近くに."

Now Philo, who was my companion upon this adventure, ちらりと見ることd at me with 尋問 注目する，もくろむs, but 存在 a 勇敢に立ち向かう man and one who as a sailor was accustomed to perilous 高さs, said nothing.

For a moment Noot paused, looking 上向き, perchance to pray or perchance for other 推論する／理由s. Then having asked Philo how long it was to the time of sunset and been answered that it 欠如（する）d between the half and the fourth part of an hour before Ra sank behind the western cliff, he started, walking boldly 負かす／撃墜する the 刺激（する）. I followed next, and last （機の）カム Philo.

Very terrible was that 旅行 in the uncertain light which as we 進歩d into the 湾 grew ever fainter, till at last we were wrapped about with gloom. Moreover, always the 刺激（する） of 激しく揺する 狭くするd, and the raving gusts of 勝利，勝つd which blew about that hideous gorge buffeted us more ひどく.

Still we went on leaning our 負わせる against them, and as we went a 肉親，親類d of exaltation 掴むd me, as it does always in moments of 広大な／多数の／重要な danger, so that my heart grew bold and 恐れるd no more. I would match myself against these elemental strengths as I had matched myself against those of 敵意を持った and 願望（する）ing kings, and 征服する／打ち勝つ them. Or perchance it was the breath from the divine 解雇する／砲火／射撃 that 燃やすd below that already had entered into me. I cannot say, but this I remember, that before I had reached the point of that fearful 激しく揺する I was filled with a wild joy and could laugh at Philo はうing after me with hesitating steps and breathing 祈りs now to Isis and now to the Grecian gods that he had worshipped as a child.

At length we （機の）カム to the end of that long needle which thrust itself thus into the dark stuff of space, and as we did so all light went out of the sky above, leaving us 急落（する），激減（する）d in blackness. I seated myself upon the throbbing point of 激しく揺する, 粘着するing to Philo who had done likewise, and cried into the ear of Noot, ひさまづくing at our 味方する.

"What now? Show us and be swift, lest we should be thrown from this place like 石／投石するs from a sling."

"持つ／拘留する 急速な／放蕩な and wait," answered Noot.

We did so, しっかり掴むing the roughness of the 激しく揺する with our 手渡すs. Then suddenly a marvel happened, since from somewhere, I know not whence and have never learned, a 猛烈な／残忍な red ray of light, cast doubtless by the setting sun, struck us through some 穴を開ける in the …に反対するing cliffs. Aye, it struck like a 炎ing sword, showing all things that could be seen. They were these: ourselves crouched upon that point of 激しく揺する; infinite space beneath us, infinite space above reaching up to a 選び出す／独身 星／主役にする that shone upon the sky, and we three hemmed in by two 黒人／ボイコット precipices. Moreover, they showed, not four paces from the point, a 抱擁する trembling 石／投石する that was joined to that fearsome spar by a little 橋（渡しをする） of 支持を得ようと努めるd laid from the one to the other by the 手渡す of man, which 橋（渡しをする） rose and fell and 激しく揺するd as the 広大な／多数の／重要な 石／投石する trembled on its さらに先に 味方する.

"Follow me 速く before the light dies," cried Noot as he stepped across this 橋（渡しをする） and, reaching the crest of the trembling 石／投石する, stood there like a ghost illumined with 解雇する／砲火／射撃; like also to that 人物／姿／数字 which I had seen watching from the brow of the Ethiopian's 長，率いる when we entered the harbour from the sea.

I obeyed and joined him, and after me （機の）カム Philo.

By the last rays of that (n)艦隊／(a)素早いing light we descended a rough stairway 削減（する） on the さらに先に 味方する of the Trembling 石／投石する and of a sudden 設立する ourselves in 避難所. Light sprang up and I saw that it was held in the 手渡す of a dwarf, a curious, solemn dwarf. Whence this creature （機の）カム and who he was I do not know, but I think that he must have been a spirit, some gnome from the Under-world 任命するd by the 力／強力にするs which 支配するd in that dark place to …に出席する to the wants of the 宗教上の Noot, their Master and 地雷.

This I 公式文書，認めるd at least, and so did Philo, that we could never see this creature's 直面する. Even when he moved about us, always it seemed to be hidden either by 影をつくる／尾行するs or something that hung in 前線 of it like a 隠す. Yet man, or gnome, or ghost, he was a good servant, since in that hermit's 洞穴, or rather 洞穴s, for there were several of them, joined one to the other, all things were made ready. Thus a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 燃やすd, food was 用意が出来ている upon a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, and in the inner 洞穴s beds were spread, each in a little separate 議会.

The outer 洞穴 also was furnished in a fashion and I 公式文書，認めるd that in a niche stood the small statue of Isis which I remembered 井戸／弁護士席, since wherever Noot my Master went in the past years when we 旅行d together, that statue went with him and now still it was his companion. Indeed the tale was that it could speak and gave him counsel in all hours of 疑問 and trouble, and that from this enchanted thing he gathered his 広大な／多数の／重要な 知恵. Whether or no this tale were true, I do not know, since I never heard it utter words, nor would Noot tell me when I asked him. Yet it is true that it was his custom to pray to it; also that it was very 古代の and valued by him more than all the gold and jewels on the earth. Now it stood here, as it had done in my Father's house at Ozal, as it had done at Philae in his 議会, at Memphis, on the ship Hapi and どこかよそで when we 旅行d together throughout the world, and it was strange to me to behold its familiar 直面する again in this dreadful habitation.

"Eat," said Noot, "then sleep, for you are 疲れた／うんざりした."

Philo and I did as he 命令（する）d. We ate, we laid ourselves 負かす／撃墜する upon the beds in the inner 洞穴s, and slept. The last thing that my 注目する，もくろむs saw before slumber の近くにd them was Noot my Master, now become more of a spirit than a man, ひさまづくing in solemn 祈り before the hallowed effigy of Isis.

I know not for how long we slept, but it must have been many hours, for when we woke it was to see that dwarf whose 直面する was always hidden, setting another meal upon the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する in the outer 洞穴. There, too, by the lamplight, I perceived Noot still praying to the statue of Isis as though he had never risen from his 膝s, which perchance he had not done who no longer was as are other men. It was a strange sight in that dreadful place and one that affrighted Philo, as he told me, and left me not unmoved, who felt that here we stood upon the 辛勝する／優位 of mortal things.

I went to him, and seeing me come, he rose from his 膝s to 迎える／歓迎する me, asking me whether I had 残り／休憩（する）d 井戸／弁護士席.

"Neither 井戸／弁護士席 nor ill," I answered. "I slept, yet my sleep was 十分な of dreams, very strange dreams that boded I know not what. They told me both of the past and of the 未来, and the 重荷（を負わせる） of them was that I seemed to see myself living alone from 世代 to 世代 in 洞穴s as you do to-day."

"May the gods defend you from such a 運命／宿命, Daughter," he answered as though the thought 乱すd him.

"They have not defended you, Father. Oh! how can you 耐える to dwell in the 不明瞭 of this dreadful place 一連の会議、交渉／完成する which the 勝利，勝つd howl eternally, companioned only by your thoughts and a dwarf who never speaks? How did you find it, how （機の）カム you here, and what put into your mind the thought of choosing this burrow for a hermitage? Tell me truly, who as yet, I think, have hidden half the truth even from me, for I am devoured with wonder and would understand."

"Hearken, Ayesha. When first we met in Arabia, I was already very old, was I not, I who now long have passed the tale of man's allotted days? Before that time for many years I had been a 長，率いる-priest and prophet of Isis in Egypt, also the 長，指導者 Magician of that land. Yet I was not born an Egyptian nor did my 注目する，もくろむs so much as look upon the Nile until I had counted over sixty summers."

"Where then were you born, Father?"

"Here in Kor. I am the last 子孫 of the king-priests who 支配するd in Kor before the 広大な／多数の／重要な apostasy and the 落ちるing of the Sword of God. To the 宗教上の men who were my fathers had descended their knowledge of that secret of secrets whereof I have spoken to you, and ever it was their custom when age took a 持つ／拘留する of them to 身を引く into this living sepulchre and there as 後見人s of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, to を待つ the end. Also under many 誓いs each of them passed on to his 子孫s the knowledge of the secret.

"Thus, Daughter, it （機の）カム into my keeping, for my grandsire told my father, and my father whispered it to me. Then, while my grandsire still lived, the goddess for her own ends of which now I think I see the 目的, called me from this desolate land away to Egypt, there to serve her as I have done. Again she called me to Arabia that there you might be given into my keeping, as you were for 確かな years. A third time she called me 支援する to Kor, whither I （機の）カム with Philo. Here I 設立する my grandsire dead and his son, my father, dead after him, leaving the hermitage of the 選挙立会人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 untenanted. Therefore setting Philo to 命令（する） the savage tribes who dwell around the 廃虚s of haunted Kor, hither I （機の）カム, as for 世代s my forbears have done, to fill the office that they filled, and—to die."

"Forgetting me upon whose 長，率いる you left a 激しい 重荷（を負わせる）, my Father in Isis," I said 激しく.

"Nay, Ayesha, I forgot you not, who knew 井戸／弁護士席 that at the 任命するd time we should 会合，会う once more, as 会合，会う we have. Always in my 祈りs I have watched over you and many of your troubles and dangers have been made known to me in dreams. It was in a dream that I heard you calling for 指導／手引, and sent the answer that was 命令（する）d. Aye, and before that already I had despatched Philo to Egypt to bring you to me, as also I was 命令（する）d. And now you stand here before me in my hermitage and I tell you all these things because last night I learned, while I prayed and you were lost in sleep, that we shall speak no more together. My hour is at 手渡す and since I have no child of my 団体／死体, to you, my child in the Spirit, I pass on the 広大な／多数の／重要な secret as to you already I have passed on my high office and my 知恵. When the breath has left me, Ayesha, then to you will descend the guardianship of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and here, doubtless, when age has overtaken you, you also will end your days."

"Is it so?" I asked, 狼狽d, 星／主役にするing around me at the rocky 塀で囲むs and listening to the tempest that 激怒（する）d eternally without.

"Aye, Ayesha, it is so, since that is the high 義務 laid upon your soul, whereby it shall find wings to 飛行機で行く to Heaven. Know that no 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 enters into the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. He watches it—no more—and if it is 脅すd he 調印（する）s it for ever from the sight of man. Listen, I will tell you how," and leaning 今後 he whispered 確かな words into my ear and showed me 確かな hidden things.

I heard, I saw, I 屈服するd my 長，率いる. Then I asked,

"And if the 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 entered into the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, what then, 選挙立会人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃?"

"Daughter, I know not," he answered, horror-struck. "But then I think the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 would become his 後見人, a terrible 後見人 that at the last would also be the 破壊者 of its 誤った servant. More I cannot tell, because though some have breathed its essence, 非，不，無 of them has dared this 行為."

"Two nights ago you told me, O Noot, that this 解雇する／砲火／射撃 gives 青年 and beauty and uncounted days to those who bathe therein. If 非，不，無 has ever entered it, how know you this?"

"Because it is so, Ayesha. Moreover, I did not say that 非，不，無 had ever entered it. Perchance there are 存在s now known to the world as gods or daemons, who, by 事故 rather than design, have tasted of this cup. Perchance that 形態／調整 you saw standing on the Ethiopian's 長，率いる, in some bygone age stood for an instant in its path. At least I repeat that it is so. Believe or disbelieve me as you will, but ask me no more, and above all do not 投機・賭ける to solve the mystery in your mortal flesh."

"At least, Prophet, let me look upon that which I must guard," I said.

"Aye, you shall look," he answered. "It is for that 推論する／理由 that I have brought you here, Priestess and Daughter of 知恵, for having looked, I do not think that you will 願望（する） to bathe in that red 炎上. Eat now and make ready."

CHAPTER XX

THE COMING OF KALLIKRATES

Awhile later we left the 洞穴, Noot, Philo, and I, each of us 耐えるing a lighted lamp. 覆う？ in a dark cloak Noot led the way, his lamp in one 手渡す and in the other a long staff such as herdsmen use upon the mountain 味方する. Strange enough he seemed thus arrayed, with his thin, transparent 直面する, his 注目する，もくろむs grown large and luminous from 星／主役にするing at the 不明瞭, and his long white 耐えるd showing like snow against the 黒人／ボイコット texture of the cloak; more of a spirit than a man indeed, or like Charon 主要な 影をつくる／尾行するs of the dead to that boat in which all— aye, even I, Ayesha—must 乗る，着手する at last. Never shall I forget his 面 as he searched for and 設立する the stair that led to the 激しく揺する- strewn slope which stretched downward for a furlong or more to the 狭くする passage at its end, through which presently we travelled into the infernal halls beyond.

広大な／多数の／重要な were those halls or caverns; so 広大な／多数の／重要な that we light-持参人払いのs were but as ants creeping through their vastness, so 広大な／多数の／重要な that we could see neither their 塀で囲むs nor roof.

We passed through two of them, our footfalls echoing in their fearful silence, and （機の）カム to a passage.

"企て，努力，提案 here," said Noot to Philo, "and を待つ us, since it is not lawful for you to look upon that which lies beyond. If perchance we should not return within three hours so nearly as you can 手段 them, which may happen since we go to where there is danger for mankind, 勝利，勝つ your way 支援する to the world and say that the gods have taken Noot the Prophet and Ayesha the High-Priestess to be of their company."

So Philo, out of whose 注目する，もくろむs all the Grecian joyousness had fled, sat himself 負かす／撃墜する upon a 激しく揺する to wait, as I could see unwillingly enough, for he loved this adventure little and was troubled for the safety of me whom he loved much.

"恐れる not," I whispered to him, "the hour is still far in which Ayesha must 落ちる a 熟した fruit from the Tree of Life."

"I pray so, Child of Isis," he answered, "since surely we have entered into Hades where I would not be left without so much as a fellow shade to 慰安 me. Yet beware! for I know not whither that old ghost is 主要な you," and he ちらりと見ることd at the tall 形態／調整 of Noot striding into the tunnel in which this 洞穴 ended, the lamp held above his 長，率いる.

I followed after him, also 持つ／拘留するing my lamp aloft, though presently it became needless since now the 不明瞭 of that 穴を開ける grew alive with rosy light. On like a swift 影をつくる／尾行する glided Noot, and I followed him into the heart of the light, into a place, too, where 雷鳴 was 拘留するd, like 勝利，勝つd in the 捕らえる、獲得する of aeolus, aye, a place filled with glories and with roarings, though whence these （機の）カム I could not guess.

We entered yet another cavern, not so very large in size and carpeted with 罰金 white sand.

It was empty save for one thing. On the sand lay a withered 形態／調整, a hideous little 形態／調整 that once had been man or woman. Whose it was and how it （機の）カム there I never learned, since in the marvel of all that followed and afterward I forgot to ask it of Noot, if indeed he could have told me. Perchance some 探検者 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 who lived a thousand or ten thousand years before had 死なせる／死ぬd of terror at the sight of it, or perchance for his or her impiety that 探検者 had been sacrificed by gods or men. Yet even then I thought it dreadful and ominous that the first sight my 注目する，もくろむs beheld in this terrible place should be this shrivelled, long-haired lump of death lying there in eternal 孤独, while in 前線 of and around it played the 猛烈な／残忍な essences of Life eternal.

This cavern was filled with a light like to that of some tempestuous Libyan 夜明け. Also it was filled with a muttering, thunderous sound, such sound as is 原因（となる）d by the アイロンをかける wheels of a thousand chariots 急ぐing to 戦う／戦い adown a rocky way. The light multiplied and was stabbed through as though by many coloured levins flashing hither and thither; the 雷鳴s gathered to an awful roar; those unearthly chariots were rolling 負かす／撃墜する upon us.

"To your 膝s," cried Noot in my ear. "The 解雇する／砲火／射撃 comes, the god is passing by!"

I knelt; my 手渡す 残り／休憩（する）d by chance upon that little shrivelled form, and lo! at my touch it 崩壊するd into dust. It had been, it was not; the grinning 新たな展開d 直面する was gone; nothing remained of it save a lock or two of curling hair—surely it must have been a woman's hair. Then the marvel happened. Before me appeared a turning column of glorious, many-coloured brightness, that roared and bellowed like a million maddened bulls. To my 注目する，もくろむs it seemed to take the 形態／調整 of a mighty man, and in its glowing crest I saw green 注目する，もくろむs of emerald like to those of tigers, which 注目する，もくろむs 直す／買収する，八百長をするd themselves upon me. 武器 it had also, 血-red, splendid 武器 that stretched themselves に向かって me as though to clasp me to that 燃やすing breast. It was terrible and yet it was most beauteous. Never until I saw it had I known beauty, no not even in the 夜明け or in the sunset, or in the sight of the wild shock of 戦う／戦い.

This mighty god of Life seemed to call to the life within me, like a king to his 支配する, like a master to his slave; I longed to lose myself in that embrace of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Half I rose from my 膝s. Noot caught me by the arm.

"Enter not!" he cried 厳しく, and again I sank 負かす／撃墜する and hid my 直面する upon the sand.

How long I lay there I do not know, for exaltation 掴むd me and made my senses drunk, so that I could take no count of time. It may have been for a minute or an hour; I say I do not know. When I looked up again, the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 had gone by, the god was hidden in his secret 聖域, though still the cavern glowed with rosy light.

Noot drew me from that place. Without we 設立する Philo pale-lipped and trembling, and together, slowly and with 労働, we climbed our 上向き course 支援する to the hermitage beneath the swaying 石／投石する. Here we 残り／休憩（する）d in silence until at last Noot drew me aside and spoke.

"Ayesha," he said, "you have seen as it was 法令d that you must see. In that 燃やすing presence 誘惑 took 持つ／拘留する of you, so sharp a 持つ／拘留する that had I not been there, perchance you would have 産する／生じるd, forgetting my 警告s and my 祈りs. Now I beseech you, guard the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in the days to come, but look on it no more for ever, since although in other 事柄s you are so strong, in this I feel you frail. While I live indeed never again shall you behold it with your 注目する，もくろむs, since first I will call upon the goddess to 削減（する） your thread of life and take you to herself."

I 屈服するd my 長，率いる but made no answer, nor did he ask for any.

What happened then? Oh! I remember that we ate of food that was made ready doubtless by the gnome-like dwarf whom I saw no more. After this Noot looked from the door of his hermitage and called to us to come 速く, since the moment of sunset that brought with it the 落ちるing ray was at 手渡す and the 橋（渡しをする） must be crossed and the narrowest of the 石／投石する 刺激（する） travelled ere it 出発／死d. 持つ／拘留するing lighted lanterns in our 手渡すs, he led us to the crest of the Trembling 石／投石する whereon the 木材／素質s of the 橋（渡しをする） creaked and swayed. Here he clasped me in his 武器, blessing me and bidding me 別れの（言葉，会）, and though he said it not, I was 確かな that in his mind, as at the moment I did in 地雷, he believed that our spirits parted for ever upon this earth; yes, believed it so surely that 涙／ほころびs coursed 負かす／撃墜する his pale cheeks.

Then suddenly the sword-like ray of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 stabbed the 不明瞭 and by it I and Philo crossed the 橋（渡しをする） and while it 耐えるd clambered 速く along the 刺激（する） of which, I know not why, all 恐れる had left me.

As that ray began to fade I turned my 長，率いる to look my last on Noot. There in the heart of it he stood, 着せる／賦与するd as it were with 解雇する／砲火／射撃, as our 約束 tells are the messengers of Isis, Queen of Heaven. Yes, there he stood with clasped 手渡すs and uplifted 注目する，もくろむs like to one lost in 祈り. Then the ray went out like a blown lamp and the 不明瞭 fell and swallowed him.

We 伸び（る）d the plain in safety and through the night were borne 支援する to Kor. The litter swayed; the slaves whose shoulders bent beneath the 政治家 sang their low, weird 詠唱する 招待するing to sleep, but its messengers would not touch my eyelids with their 棒 of slumber. I could not sleep whose soul 燃やすd with a 猛烈な／残忍な wakefulness. Oh! what was this wonder that I had seen? The very fount of Life that, hidden from mankind, 燃やすs in the womb of the world! But if it were this, why did Noot speak of it as though it were a fount of Death? Why did he forbid me to taste its cup? Perhaps because not Life but Death 住むd that 炎上, as the little withered thing which had 崩壊するd at my touch, that once had been man or woman—woman, as I think—hinted to the mind.

I knew not, but what I did know was that henceforth I was 苦境d to this god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and that in some day to come I must feel his 燃やすing marriage kiss upon my brow.

When we （機の）カム to Kor at the sunrise I beckoned Philo to me and made to him the 調印する of silence, which 存在 始めるd, he knew 井戸／弁護士席, so that neither then nor at any other time should any word 関心ing these mysteries pass his lips. Nor indeed could it do so as he had not looked upon the greatest of them and only from afar had listened to the 雷鳴 of the wheeling 炎上.

Then with a new energy, as though 奮起させるd by the breath of that fiery god, I got me to my ありふれた daily 仕事 of 再構築するing a 死なせる／死ぬd 約束 and people. Let that 商売／仕事 be. Why should I speak of it, since 運命 法令d that I must 形態／調整 my work of water or of drifting sand, not of 激しく揺する or 解雇する／砲火／射撃d clay. Oh! 運命／宿命, why didst thou fool me thus? Oh, Love the 破壊者, why didst thou make of me thy 道具, and with me thus bring Isis and her worship to the dust?

How long afterward was it that Kallikrates （機の）カム? But a little while, I think, though to one who has lived over two thousand years Time loses its 手段 and significance.

I had sent Philo to the coast, 目的ing to 準備する for the 開始 up of 貿易（する） and converse with the outer world. For in this rich place, when its wild people were brought beneath my yoke, who already looked upon me as one half divine, as the spirit of their 古代の goddess indeed, sent 支援する to them from Heaven, I knew that we could produce much that the teeming tribes of Libya would 捜し出す and buy. One night he returned and was at once 認める to my presence. He told me of all that he had done, or failed to do, and I 賞賛するd him, then made the signal of 解雇／（訴訟の）却下. He hesitated a while, then said,

"Child of Isis, be pleased to learn that I have not returned alone."

"That I know already, Philo, since there were many in your company."

"Be it understood, Child of Isis, that I have brought 支援する with me some with whom I did not 始める，決める 前へ／外へ."

"Doubtless （外交）使節／代表s from the peoples of the coast," I answered indifferently.

"Nay," he replied, "travellers who have wandered long の中で those peoples and whom I 設立する shipwrecked and in a desperate 明言する／公表する. Travellers from Egypt."

"From Egypt! How many, Philo?"

"Nine in all, Prophetess, though the most of them are servants."

"Good, Philo. It will please me who must dwell so much alone to talk with strangers from Egypt. They may have news of what passes on the Nile. Give them 歓待 such as we can 命令（する）, and all they need, and to-morrow, after the morning 儀式s, bring them to me. To-night it is too late and doubtless they are 疲れた／うんざりした."

Again he hesitated, then 屈服するd, and went, leaving me wondering, for there was that in his manner which I thought strange. Still, having spoken my 命令（する）s, I would not alter them. Yet as I laid me 負かす／撃墜する to sleep terror took 持つ／拘留する of me; yes, a terror of I knew not what. I felt that evil 影を投げかけるd me with its 黒人／ボイコット wings; that I was about to look upon something or someone I did not 願望（する） to see; that a doom unknown had meshed me so that I lay helpless like a gladiator over whom the 逮捕する-投げる人 has cast his web and who lies struggling vainly, the 核搭載ミサイル at his throat. Thus often does 前進するing 危険，危なくする cast its 冷淡な 影をつくる／尾行する upon our mortal hearts which shiver at the touch of that they feel but cannot discern.

I thought that perchance I was about to die, that already Death gripped me with his clasp of ice; that in the dark 休会s of the 議会 where I lay already some 殺害者 fingered the dagger which should pierce my breast, 同様に might happen in this wild land の中で man-eating savages upon whose necks I had 始める，決める my heel. Again I thought that the spirits of the 古代の dead whose place I 占領するd, were 追跡（する）ing me, 需要・要求するing that I should give them 支援する their own, the 支配する I had usurped.

Next I remembered Tenes transfixed by the sword of vengeance and knowing now that 地雷 was the 手渡す that drove it, and Ochus Artaxerxes when the 毒（薬） began to 燃やす his 決定的なs as presently the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 would 燃やす his company, guessing at the last that I, the 乱暴／暴力を加えるd priestess, had brewed the cup and lit the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Yea, all these memories gathered 一連の会議、交渉／完成する me, rising like 黒人／ボイコット clouds upon my sky of life and 脅すing its （太陽，月の）食／失墜, I who was terrified of I knew not what.

Lastly there （機の）カム into my mind this tale of Philo's of shipwrecked strangers whom he had 救助（する）d and led hither to be 慰安d. Who were these strangers, I wondered? 暗殺者s perchance, hid under a disguise of want and desolation, men who sought to kill me and 解放する／自由な my spirit with their dagger-points, that it might no longer watch them here on earth. Yet, and this was marvellous, showing how blind are the 注目する，もくろむs of our mortal flesh, never did the thought come to me that those strangers might be Kallikrates the Greek and Amenartas, aforetime 王室の Princess of Egypt, she whom her 願望（する） and hate had made my 敵.

I slept at last, though feverishly, only to wake when the high sun was flooding the 寺 法廷，裁判所 with its 猛烈な／残忍な summer rays. I rose, and since the day was one of 儀式 and festival, was arrayed by my women in the queenly 衣料品s of the high-priestess of Isis and hung about with the sacred jewels and emblems of my 階級.

Thus splendidly attired, I was led to my seat of 明言する／公表する that I had 原因（となる）d to be placed in the inmost 中心存在d 法廷，裁判所 before a wondrous 隠すd statue of Truth standing on the world, which some god-gifted artist of old Kor had fashioned in the forgotten days. Here we celebrated our service with pomp and ritual, as once we were wont to do in Egypt, though 式のs! the heirophants and the singers were few in number. So was the outer congregation of half-変えるd worshippers creeping 支援する from the blackness of their barbarous 儀式s to the 宗教上の fellowship of the goddess.

The office was ended, the （犯罪の）一味ing of the sistrum had 中止するd, the blessing was given and with it the absolution of offences.

The worshippers had 分散させるd, save here and there one who remained to pray. I too was about to 出発／死 when Philo （機の）カム, 説, 謙虚に and あわてて like one who 願望（する）s to be done with an unwelcome 仕事, that those wanderers of whom he had spoken waited upon my 楽しみ.

"収容する／認める them," I answered, wondering within myself upon whom I was about to look. Malefactors perchance, I thought, who had fled from 司法（官） into far lands, or merchants driven southward by the 強風s, or humble seamen escaped from some sunk ship.

They （機の）カム, a little knot of them, winding in and out between the 広大な／多数の／重要な columns of the 廃虚d 寺, 前進するing through the 影をつくる／尾行するs. Idly I 公式文書，認めるd, as they passed an open space where fell a stronger light, that the two who walked first had a noble 空気／公表する, different from that of those who followed after them. Then once more the 影をつくる／尾行するs 隠すd them, whence presently they 現れるd before me, seated beneath the statue, and stood there, the sun's rays 注ぐing 負かす／撃墜する upon them.

I ちらりと見ることd at them and saw that they were man and woman, perfect man and very beauteous woman. Then I 解除するd my 長，率いる and looked them fully in the 直面する, only to 沈む 支援する terrified, amazed, 圧倒するd! Did I dream? Had some mocking spirit tricked my 注目する，もくろむs, or were those that stood before me Kallikrates, the Grecian 軍人-priest, and Amenartas, the 王室の Princess of Egypt?

解除するing my 手渡す to hide my 直面する, I 熟考する／考慮するd them beneath its shade. Oh! who could be mistaken? There before me, splendid in beauty as of old, stood the god-like Kallikrates and at his 味方する, dark, magnificent and as yet untouched by time, or perchance 保護するd from its 荒廃させるs by arts she learned from her 味方する, Nectanebes the sorcerer, was the 皇室の Amenartas. For a moment I kept silence, 集会 up my strength, ordering my spirit. Then still 持つ／拘留するing my 手渡す before my 直面する, I spoke coldly as though without 関心, 説,

"Whence come you, noble strangers? What are your 指名するs and why do you 捜し出す the 歓待 of the Queen of this 廃虚d land of Kor?"

Bold as ever, it was Amenartas who answered me, not Kallikrates, who stood 星／主役にするing about him as men do when they are uneasy in their minds or 疲れた／うんざりしたd with 儀式s.

"We are wanderers, Priestess, in 駅／配置する neither mean nor 広大な／多数の／重要な; 仲買人s, to tell the truth, from the far north, who having 苦しむd shipwreck and many other things at length were 救助（する）d of this servant of yours who led us here," and she pointed to Philo standing 近づく by with a stupid smile upon his 直面する.

"By race we are Phoenicians called—" and she gave some 指名する that I forget. "As to the 残り／休憩（する）, 存在 in extremity, for those over whom we 支配するd rebelled against us and cast us out, we ask 避難所 from you until Fortune smiles upon us again, who of late has dealt us naught but frowns."

"It is 認めるd, Lady. But tell me, what are you to each other? Brother and sister, perchance?"

"Aye, Priestess, brother and sister, as you have rightly guessed, seeing that our 指名するs are one 指名する."

"That is strange, Lady; indeed I think that you throw mud upon your father or your mother, or both, since how could these have begotten one dark, a high-born daughter of the Nile, and another fair as Apollo and having Grecian Apollo's 直面する and mien? Again, how comes it that the sister of a Phoenician merchant 貯蔵所d up her locks with the circlet of Egyptian 王族?" And I pointed to the uraeus-新たな展開d 禁止（する）d of gold upon her brow.

"血 plays strange tricks, Priestess, searching out now the likeness of one ancestor, and now of another, so that ofttimes one child is born dark and the other fair. As for the ornament, I bought it in 貿易（する） from an Arab merchant, not knowing whence it （機の）カム or its significance," she began to answer unabashed, when of a sudden Kallikrates checked her, muttering,

"Have done!" Then 演説（する）／住所ing me, he said,

"O Queen and Priestess, take no 注意する of this lady's words, since of late, because of our misfortunes, we have been 軍隊d to tell many strange tales によれば the 条件s of the hour. We are not Phoenicians born of one House; we are by 血 Greek and Egyptian, and by relation not brother and sister, but man and wife."

Now when I heard these words my heart stood still who hoped that Isis and their 誓いs might have held this pair apart. Yet I answered calmly,

"Is it so, Wanderer? Tell me then, of what 約束 are you twain and by whom were you 結婚する? Did some 大臣 of Zeus join your 手渡すs, or did you stand together before Hathor's altars?"

Then while he searched for some answer that he could not find, I went on, laughing a little,

"Perchance, O noble pair, you were not 結婚する at all. Perchance you are not husband and wife but only lover and lover mated after Nature's fashion!"

He hung his 長，率いる, 混乱させるd, and even the bold 注目する，もくろむs of Amenartas were troubled.

Now I could 耐える no more.

"O Grecian Kallikrates," I said, "aforetime captain of Pharaoh's guard, aforetime priest of Isis, and O Amenartas, daughter of Nectanebes, by birth 王室の Prince of Egypt, why do you waste words, hoping to fool one who cannot be deceived? Doubtless you have 賄賂d yonder Philo to hide the truth, as once you 賄賂d him to hide a 確かな lady upon his ship and to 始める，決める the two of you 岸に upon a 確かな island."

"If so, he has betrayed us," stammered Kallikrates, the red 血 rising to his brow.

"Nay, he has not betrayed you, 存在 one who ever keeps 約束 with those who 支払う／賃金 him 井戸／弁護士席. Is it not so, Philo my servant?"

I waited for an answer, but 非，不，無 （機の）カム, for Philo had gone. Then I continued,

"Nay, Philo did not betray you, nor was it needed. 王室の Amenartas, whence had you that scarab （犯罪の）一味 upon your 手渡す?"

"It was my lord's gift to me," she answered.

"Then tell me, Kallikrates, whence had you the （犯罪の）一味, also if there be graven on its bezel in the Egyptian 令状ing, 調印するs that mean '王室の Son of the Sun'?"

"Those 調印するs are 削減（する） upon the （犯罪の）一味, O Queen, which in bygone years was given to me as a talisman by a 確かな divine priestess whom I saved in 戦う／戦い, that its virtues might 回復する me of 負傷させるs which I received in the 戦う／戦い. This, as I was told afterward, it had the 力／強力にする to do because that （犯罪の）一味 was blessed, having been fashioned like to one which Isis the Mother 始める，決める as her love gift upon the 手渡す of dead Osiris ere she breathed his soul into him again. Or perchance it was the very same that Osiris left upon the earth when he passed to Heaven; I know not."

Thus he spoke, つまずくing at the words like an ill-bred mule upon a stony path till, 疲れた／うんざりしたing of the tale, I broke in,

"Therefore, O Kallikrates, you in your turn gave the enchanted amulet to a woman you 願望（する）d, or who 願望（する）d you, hoping that its virtues might consecrate your unhallowed union. O priest forsworn, how did you dare this sacrilege—to 始める，決める upon your lover's 手渡す the （犯罪の）一味, the very （犯罪の）一味 of Isis that once 広大な／多数の／重要な Khaemuas wore, given to you by the Prophetess of Isis to 解除する you from the gates of death."

Then bending 今後 so that the 影をつくる／尾行する of the statue behind no longer hid me, I 暴露するd my 直面する and looked him in the 注目する，もくろむs.

"I thought it!" he said, "though who could have dreamed that here in this 廃虚—? It is the Oracle and the Prophetess. It is the Child of Isis, the Daughter of 知恵 herself whose 発言する／表明する I knew again through all her feigning," and he fell to the ground so that his brow was 圧力（をかける）d upon its 石／投石するs, muttering,

"殺す me, Queen, and have done, but spare this lady and send her 支援する to her own land, since the sin is 地雷, not hers, who was no priestess."

Now Amenartas 星／主役にするd at me with her bold 注目する，もくろむs, then cried with a hard laugh,

"Be not so sure, my Lord, for this is scarcely possible. 井戸／弁護士席 do I remember looking upon her who was called Isis-come-to-Earth in the bygone days, 特に at a 確かな feast that Pharaoh gave when she 明かすd to show herself to Tenes, King of Sidon, who afterward took her as his slave. But that seeress was a very fair woman, although perchance even then somewhat faded, or so I who but a little while before had bade 別れの（言葉，会） to childhood, 裁判官d of her. Therefore this 支配者 of 廃虚s can scarcely be the same, seeing that 非，不，無 could 指名する her fair. Look, she is old and withered, her neck has fallen in, her 形態／調整 is flattened.

"The seeress I remember had a lovely mouth of 珊瑚, but this lady's lips are thin and pale; also she had large and beauteous 注目する，もくろむs, but those of this lady are small and almost colourless. Moreover, they are （犯罪の）一味d beneath with lines of 黒人／ボイコット, such as are ありふれた to 老年の virgin priestesses who have never known the love of man, though of it, perchance, their 宗教上の souls still dream even in the 中央 of their customary, bead-checked 祈りs, while, like those of slaves, their 膝s harden upon the 石／投石するs.

"Nay, my Lord, although time 作品 strange changes in those who have passed the meridian of their days, this priestess who hides her gray hairs beneath the vulture cap of her 説得／派閥 can scarcely be the same as the glowing pythoness upon whom once we looked in Pharaoh's halls and who, as I 解任する, then looked much on you."

Now I listened to this vulgar venom, the ありふれた outpouring of a small- natured, jealous heart, and smiled. Yet it is true, for in these lines I 令状 nothing which is not the truth, that some of those 毒（薬）d 軸s went home. I knew 井戸／弁護士席 that all the beauty that once I had was no longer 地雷; that the passing of the years, that care and abstinence and the turning of my heart from things mortal to those divine, 追加するd to the 負わせる of 支配する and 知恵 and avengement which 運命 had laid upon my brow, had robbed me of my bloom and that 皇室の loveliness which once enthralled the world. Also it was true that Amenartas was still a child when I was a woman grown and therefore had Nature's vantage of me, which indeed must 増加する from moon to moon.

Still I smiled, and as I smiled a 広大な／多数の／重要な thought smote me, （種を）蒔くing a seed of daring in the 肉親，親類d 国／地域 of my breast where thenceforth it was doomed to grow, to blossom, and in an unborn hour of fulfilment to 耐える its fearful fruit. Oh! if I have sinned against high Heaven and the 命令（する）s of its 大臣, my guide, the 宗教上の Noot, let the 記録，記録的な／記録するing gods remember that it was the whip of this woman's bitter tongue which drove me to the 行為.

Now very gently I spoke, 説,

"Rise, Kallikrates, such words as you have heard spoken of one who once was 始める，決める above you in her office can scarcely be pleasing to your ears, nor will I answer them. I know 井戸／弁護士席 that in them there is something of the truth and I am proud that it has been 認めるd to me to make sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven whom I adore of such small gifts of the flesh and comeliness as once were 地雷. It is but another 申し込む／申し出ing which I heap upon her altar, one of many.

"Yet, Kallikrates, though as I think you can on longer 屈服する the 膝 before that Majesty as once you did, I pray you, if you can, to 持つ／拘留する this lady's lips from 注ぐing 軽蔑（する） upon her, as she does upon me, her priestess. I pray you to bring it to her memory that once, 覆う？ in her 隠す of Isis, she also worshipped at that 神社, aye, that in a time of 危険，危なくする, often there, she and you and I have sent up our pure 嘆願（書）s, though not in the 'customary bead-checked 祈りs' of which she speaks. Yes, bring it to her memory that though the 寺 of Memphis has been given to the 炎上s, Mother Isis hears and watches not in Egypt, but in Heaven, and that though she will be slow to wrath, yet she still can smite. Now, Kallikrates, go 残り／休憩（する） you, taking your love with you, and afterward we will talk alone since, although I can 許す, I am not minded to be 石／投石するd with such words as angry women of the people throw at their 競争相手s in the marketplace."

CHAPTER XXI

THE TRUTH AND THE TEMPTATION

Not that day but on the morrow Kallikrates asked audience of me. Learning that he was alone, I received him in my 私的な 議会 and bade him be seated. He obeyed, and for awhile I watched him, the light from the window-place 落ちるing upon his golden 長，率いる and upon his 向こうずねing armour, 乱打するd with 嵐／襲撃する and war. For now he was 覆う？ in his 兵士's garb, perchance the very same that years ago he had worn on board the Hapi, and thus attired looked like a king of men.

"The lady Amenartas is somewhat sick after all our journeyings," he said, "I think that the disorder which is ありふれた on the coast lands has fallen upon her, since her 直面する is 紅潮／摘発するd and her 手渡すs are hot. Therefore she cannot を待つ upon you, Prophetess. Yet she 企て，努力，提案s me thank you for your 歓待, and say that she asks your 容赦 for any bitter words she may have spoken yesterday, since these sprang, not from her heart, but from a fever 燃やすing in her 血."

"It is 認めるd. I know this sickness though myself I have been 保護するd from it, and will send her 薬／医学 and with it a 技術d woman to wait upon her. 企て，努力，提案 her not to 恐れる; it is seldom dangerous. Now, my guest Kallikrates, if it pleases you, let me hear your story; you must have much to tell since we parted in the 聖域 at Memphis. Then, you will remember, your 目的 was to …を伴って the 宗教上の Noot upon his 使節団, because you thought it best for 推論する／理由s of your own to 出発／死 from Memphis for a while. Yet I think it was in your mind to go alone, not …を伴ってd by that 王室の lady who is your companion."

"This is true, Prophetess," he answered ひどく, "nor did I know that the lady of whom you speak was 船内に the Hapi until, to escape 逮捕（する） at the 手渡すs of the Persians, we had fled from the Nile out toward the open sea."

"I understand, Kallikrates, nor can it be 否定するd that 運命／宿命 dealt hardly, or perchance I should say kindly, with you when it 原因（となる）d the lady Amenartas to 乗る，着手する in error upon the ship Hapi, which sailed 負かす／撃墜する Nile, instead of that of her father, Nectanebes, which 始める，決める its course for Thebes and Ethiopia."

"Mock me not, Child of 知恵. As the lady Amenartas would tell you to your 直面する, she knew 井戸／弁護士席 enough upon what ship she sailed, though I knew nothing who believed that I had said 別れの（言葉，会） to her for ever. Aye, abandoning her hope of 王族 and all else, and taking every 危険, she 乗る，着手するd upon the Hapi, setting some other woman tricked out to her likeness to fill her place awhile の中で the company of Nectanebes."

"That at least was bold, and I love courage, Kallikrates. Yet—what was her 目的?"

"Is that a question that you should ask me, Lady, who know 井戸／弁護士席 that 広大な／多数の／重要な-hearted women will dare much for love?"

"Whether I should ask or not, at least I have the answer to my question, Kallikrates. Of a truth you should love and honour one who for your sake abandoned all to 勝利，勝つ what she thought more than all, even at the cost of her own shame and the 廃虚 of your soul."

"I do love and honour her," he answered hoarsely. "When she was still a child I loved her and because of that love I slew my brother, believing that on reaching womanhood she had come to favour him, which, it seems, she did only to draw me closer to her."

"It would appear, Kallikrates, that this lady brings no good fortune to your race, since first she 作品 the death of one of you, making a 殺害者 of his own brother, and then of that brother fashions an apostate to his 約束, yea, a 反逆者 accursed from God and man."

"It is so," he said 謙虚に. "Yet she loves me much, so much that whether I will it or not, I must love her, since if the woman loves enough what can the man do but follow on the path she leads? Tell me, Prophetess, you who are wise, had you been a man and sat in my place there upon the ship Hapi, which is a 狭くする 刑務所，拘置所, what would you have done, 存在 a man I say—as I am?"

"Perhaps just what you did, Kallikrates, and therefore have become accursed, as you are, Kallikrates, seeing that the lady was 甘い and loving, and that man must remain man however 広大な／多数の／重要な the 誓いs he has sworn to goddesses who do not throw their 武器 about him or kiss him on the lips."

"Once I thought that a goddess did kiss me on the lips, Oracle of Isis, and the memory of that kiss is 甘い and 宗教上の."

"Is it so?" I answered. "井戸／弁護士席, since, you are no more of our communion, I may tell you now that in the 神社 at Philae I played the part of the goddess and gave that 儀式の kiss."

Now he 星／主役にするd at me, reddening, then muttered,

"Always I guessed it who could not やめる believe that a goddess would kiss so sweetly," and again he started like one who would ask a question that his lips do not dare to でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる.

I remained silent, watching him, till presently he broke out,

"You tell me that I am accursed, Priestess. Tell me also why Isis is so wrath with me?"

"Did you not 断言する yourself to her alone and break your 誓い, Kallikrates? Do you not know that if women can be jealous, goddesses who are 始める，決める far above them can be more 大いに so of those who are bound to them in the mystic marriage? Have you not heard that to turn from them to a daughter of man is to 申し込む／申し出 them the most terrible of all 侮辱s?"

"Isis herself was 結婚する to Osiris, Prophetess, and I have heard of priests and priestesses who served her who were also 結婚する."

"Perchance, Kallikrates, after absolution given by one upon whom 当局 is conferred to 緊張する 公約するs for some high end. But who gave you 当局 to marry, you, who indeed are not married but only a woman's lover? Did you mayhap 捜し出す it from the 宗教上の Noot 船内に the ship Hapi?"

"Nay," he answered, "that thought never （機の）カム to me. Or if it （機の）カム I believed that he would but heap 悪口を言う／悪態s upon me, or mayhap call 負かす／撃墜する the vengeance of Isis upon another. You have heard, Prophetess, of what 運命／宿命 いつかs を待つs those who tempt the feet of priests or priestesses from the 海峡 path of their 公約するs."

"Aye, Kallikrates, they die by 解雇する／砲火／射撃, or they 餓死する, or they 死なせる／死ぬ shut up in some 狭くする, airless 穴を開ける; each worship 作品 its own vengeance for that unmeasured 罪，犯罪. Yet you were foolish not to make your 祈り of Noot, by whom alone it could be 認めるd, since who knows what he would have answered."

"Is it too late?" he asked 熱望して. "For every sin there is forgiveness, why not for 地雷? Only who could 認める it; since now I know not where to look for Noot, if indeed he lives."

"For every sin there is forgiveness, Kallikrates, but only at a price. First the sin itself must be laid upon the altar as a sacrifice. For dead sins there may be forgiveness; for those that live and are continued there is 非，不，無, but only （土地などの）細長い一片 追加するd to （土地などの）細長い一片 and 悔恨 piled upon 悔恨. As for Noot it chances that he does live and not so far away. Would you lay your 事例／患者 before him and hear his judgment?"

"I do not know," he answered slowly. "Hearken, Child of 知恵. I am in a strange 海峡. I love this lady with my 団体／死体 and am bound to her, but it is not so with my spirit. Our souls, I think, are far apart. Oh! 耐える me 証言，証人／目撃する that my heart is 始める，決める on higher things; it would sail into far seas unvisited of man, but always there is this 錨，総合司会者 of the flesh chaining it to its native shore. Amenartas does not think thus, she loves to 嘘（をつく） bound in life's pleasant harbour, or to wander to its green banks, wafted thither by the fitful breath of ありふれた things, there to deck her brow with the 花冠 of passion.

"'Let Heaven be!' she says, 'here is the happy earth beneath our feet, and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する us murmur the waters of delight and I am very beautiful and I love you 井戸／弁護士席. If there be gods and they are vengeful, at least their hour is not yet. This moment is ours to enjoy and to our lips it 持つ／拘留するs a glorious cup. If all the ワイン be drunk and the cup is 粉々にするd, at least there will remain with us their memories. What are these gods whom you 捜し出す so madly? What do they give to man save many 悪口を言う／悪態s—deaths and 分離s, sicknesses and 悲しみs, 追加するing to these 約束s of woe to follow when they have worked their worst on earth? Are there any gods save those that man fashions from his own terrors? man who will not be content with Nature's food, but needs must sour it with an 外国人 毒（薬）, and even when the sun 向こうずねs 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him, shivers in some 冷淡な 影をつくる／尾行する that superstition casts upon his heart.'

"Thus she 推論する／理由s, and such ever were her arguments."

"Tell me, Kallikrates, has any child been born to you?"

"Aye, one, a very lovely child; he died of hardships that 原因（となる）d his mother's milk to fail."

"And when the 王室の Amenartas looked upon him dead, did she still 推論する／理由 in this fashion, 説 that there are no gods and for man there is no hope beyond the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な?"

"Not altogether, since she 悪口を言う／悪態d the gods, and who 悪口を言う／悪態 that in which they do not believe? Also I remember that she wept and prayed those gods to give him 支援する to her while his little heart still （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域, and like a moth new-crept from its chrysalis, he yet hung to the 辛勝する／優位 of the world, 乾燥した，日照りのing his soul's crinkled wings in the 夜明けing lights of Heaven. But afterward she forgot and made sacrifice to her familiar Spirit, asking it to send her another child, which 祈り she tells me is in the way of fulfilment."

"So Amenartas practices 魔法 like her father Nectanebes?"

"Aye, Lady, and it would seem not without avail, though of this 事柄 of 取引，協定ing with daemons I neither know nor want to know anything. I think it comes to her with her Egyptian 血, also that the Pharaoh taught her these arts in her childhood, and what is learnt then is never やめる forgotten. At least I know that when we have been in trouble or in danger during our long wanderings, with secret 儀式s upon which I do not 調査する, she calls upon some Familiar and that thereafter, in this way or in that, our pathway has been straightened. Indeed she did this just before Philo 設立する us 餓死するing."

"As the path of your babe was straightened from this world to the next, Kallikrates; as the devious path of Pharaoh Nectabenes was straightened to a road which led from the 王位 of Egypt—but pray the lady Amenartas to ask of her daemon whither it led, since here my 知恵 fails me and I am not sure. 井戸／弁護士席, we have spoken long and so stands the 事例／患者, one that might puzzle Thoth himself. Is it your 楽しみ, Kallikrates, to visit the divine Noot and take his counsel upon all these 事柄s? I think that he alone upon the earth can give you 指導／手引 in them. Yet do as you will."

Kallikrates thought a while brooding, then he answered,

"Yes, it is my 楽しみ. When Amenartas is 回復するd of her sickness, we will go."

"The 宗教上の Noot is very 古代の and the 王室の Amenartas may be sick for a long while. Therefore might it be wise to go at once, Kallikrates."

"Nay, Prophetess, I cannot. Amenartas has strange fancies and will not be left alone; she thinks that she may be 毒（薬）d; indeed that already she has tasted 毒（薬）."

"Then let her make richer sacrifices to her daemon and pray him to 保護する her. Certainly they will not be without avail since I can 断言する that here in Kor no 毒（薬） shall pass her lips, nor any 害（を与える） come to her—save perchance from those gods whom she 否定するs. 別れの（言葉，会）, Kallikrates."

He 屈服するd to me 謙虚に and turned to go, then after a step or two （機の）カム 支援する and said,

"The gods! The gods! who for you and me in their sum are one god, Isis, Queen of Heaven. Tell me now, I pray you that are 指名するd 知恵's Daughter, who and what is Isis?"

I thought a while since the question was a 広大な／多数の／重要な one, a problem that as yet I had never tried to solve in words. Then I answered,

"By my soul I do not know. East and west and north and south, men in their millions worship this god or that. Yet is there one の中で them who save in dreams or ecstasies has ever seen his god, or if he tries to fashion him out before his mortal 注目する，もくろむs, can do more than carve some effigy of 支持を得ようと努めるd or 石／投石する?"

Then I pointed to the 隠すd statue of Truth behind me, 説,

"Lo! there is Isis, a beauteous thing with a hidden 直面する 判決，裁定 o'er the world. She is one of Divinity's thousand forms. Aye, she is its essence, frozen to the 形態／調整 we know in this world's icy 空気／公表する, and having a countenance chiselled 異なって from age to age by the changeful thought of man. She lives in every soul, yet in no two souls is she the same. She is not, yet eternally she is. Invisible, intangible; ever 追求するd and ever 逃げるing; never seen and never 扱うd, yet she answers 祈り and her 王位 is not in the high heavens but in the heart of every creature that draws the breath of life. One day we shall behold her and not know her. Yet she will know us. Such is Isis: formless, yet in every form; dead, yet living in all that breathes; a priest-bred phantasy, yet the one 広大な／多数の／重要な truth."

"If Isis be thus, what of the world's other gods?"

"They all are Isis and Isis is them all. The thousand gods men worship are but one god wearing many 直面するs. Or rather they are two gods, the god of good and the god of evil; Horus and Typhon who war continually for the souls of things created by that Divine, unseen, unknown yet eternally existent, who 統治するs beyond the 星／主役にするs alone in fearful glory and from his nameless habitation looks 負かす／撃墜する both on gods and men, the puppets of his 手渡すs; on the rolling worlds that 耐える them, on the seas of space between and on the infusing spirit whose 操作／手術 is the breath of life. So it was in the beginning, is now and shall be eternally. At least, Kallikrates, thus I have been taught by the 知恵 of Noot my Master, and に引き続いて his path, thus my searching soul has learned. Again 別れの（言葉，会）."

He looked at me muttering,

"Child of Isis, oh! 井戸／弁護士席-指名するd Child of Isis, and 知恵's Daughter!" and there was awe in his 注目する，もくろむs and 発言する／表明する.

Now as ever he is afraid of me, I thought to myself, and how can a man come to love that of which he is afraid, since love and 恐れる are opposites and there is no 橋（渡しをする） between them. Oh! why did I speak to him of these high things which as yet his spirit can 不十分な 重さを計る or understand? Perhaps because I am so lonely and having naught into which I can 注ぐ my mind, no vase of gold and alabaster, my 深い o'erflowing thought must fill the first coarse cup of clay that chance 申し込む／申し出s to my 手渡す, like to the 蓄える／店ing of priceless ワイン in some tarry 瓶／封じ込める which it will burst.

Surely I should learn a lesson from yonder Amenartas, who knows 井戸／弁護士席 how to を取り引きする such a one as he; one who still stands at thought's beginnings, looking 狼狽d at the 法外な 上向き path studded with sharp 石／投石するs, 花冠d in cruel thorns, strewn with quicksands and with 落し穴s, and 国境d by precipices from whose 湾s there is no return, that path which his feet long to tread yet dare not, 欠如（する）ing any guide.

She leads him by a different road, the road of mortal passion, bidding him to 中止する from 星／主役にするing at the 星／主役にするs; bidding him weave 栄冠を与えるs of its 激しい-scented flowers to 始める，決める upon her brow and his. She prattles to him of daily doings, of the joy of yesterday and the 約束 of to-morrow, aye, even of the food he eats. And all the time she 新たな展開s the （一定の）期間s her father taught her to strong ropes of charm, 目的ing by these to tie him to her everlastingly. Aye, like a gilded spider, that 黒人／ボイコット-browed, bounteous-breasted witch meshes him in her 魔法 web, binding him 急速な／放蕩な and yet more 急速な／放蕩な, till at length he lies there 星／主役にするing at her stirless as a mummy in its wrappings.

Thus I mused, 着せる／賦与するing my musings finely yet knowing in my heart that what 誘発するd them was the vilest of all 原因（となる）s and the most ありふれた, naught indeed but the jealousy of one woman of another. For now I knew the truth, it could no more be hidden, no longer could I blind my 注目する，もくろむs, for it had come home to me while he told me his sad story. I loved this man; yes, and had always loved him since first I looked upon him far away at Philae, or certainly since, 隠すd in the wrappings of the goddess, I had 産する／生じるd to Nature's promptings and kissed him upon the lips.

Oh! I had beaten 負かす／撃墜する that truth, I had buried it 深い, but now it arose like a ghost from the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な and 脅すd me with its 厳しい, immortal 注目する，もくろむs. I loved this man and must always love him and no other, and he—he 恐れるd yet adored me, as some high spirit is adored at its appearing—but love me he did not who was 始める，決める so far above him.

Yes, I was jealous, if the 広大な／多数の／重要な can be truly jealous of that which is small, for though we were wide apart as continent from continent, yet we both were women desirous of one man. With my spirit I was not jealous, for that I knew must 征服する／打ち勝つ in the end, 存在 so strong, so armoured against all the 軸s of mortal change. Yet with my flesh I was jealous. He told me Amenartas had borne a son to him; that she hoped to 耐える another son, and—I too yearned to be the mother of his son. For is it not true that by a 直す／買収する，八百長をするd unchanging 法律, 反して the man loves the woman for herself, the woman loves the man most of all because he may become the father of her child, and thus by the marvel of 創造, even in the dust 保存する her from perpetual death?

So, so, let me think. I loved this man and would take him for myself and would 解除する him up and would make him my equal, if that could ever be, and would teach him glorious things, and would show him the secret light that 燃やすd within my heart, and would guide him onward by the rays of my own peculiar 星／主役にする. How could it be brought about? Yonder woman, wrapped 一連の会議、交渉／完成する with the twice-dipped Tyrian purple of kings, which purple, be it 認める, she wore 井戸／弁護士席 enough although now she 欠如（する）d a 王位 whereon to drape it, thought in her folly that I had 毒（薬）d or would 毒（薬） her. Yes, she knew Ayesha so little that she believed that like a Persian eunuch she would stoop to call deadly venom to her 援助（する） and その為に rid her of a 競争相手. Never! If I could not 勝利，勝つ by my own strength in a fair fight for favour, then let me fail, who deserved 敗北・負かす. Were her life so utterly in my 手渡すs that I could destroy it with a wish, that wish would never form itself within my mind, and certainly never 形態／調整 itself to 行為s.

What then could be done? She was 権利. I began to grow old; Time's 酸性の was gnawing at me so that my beauty was no more what it had been. Aye, I grew spare and old, while on her still shone the 十分な glory of her womanhood. If I would 征服する／打ち勝つ I must 中止する from growing old!

The 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life! Ah! that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life which gave, it was said, the gift of undying days and of perfect 青年 and loveliness such as Aphrodite herself might envy. Who said so? Noot the Master who knew all things. Yet Noot had never entered into that 解雇する／砲火／射撃, therefore how did he know, unless it were by 発覚? At least he had forbidden me to taste its cup, perhaps because he was sure that it would 殺す me whom he 願望（する）d to be his 後継者 and to 設立する here a 広大な／多数の／重要な kingdom whereof the people should 受託する Isis as their god.

Still the story might be true, for さもなければ why did Noot sit in that melancholy hermitage watching the pathway to the 解雇する／砲火／射撃? There had been other tales of the same sort told in the world. Thus the old Chaldean legend spoke of a Tree of Life that grew in a 確かな garden whence the parents of mankind were driven lest they should eat of it and become immortal, which legend was expounded to me more fully by the ユダヤ人の rabbis in Jerusalem, and afterward by Holly the learned man. Therefore it seemed that there was a Tree of Life, or a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life, jealously guarded of the gods lest the children of men should become their equals. And I, I knew where that Tree grew, or rather where that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 燃やすd. Yet Noot forbade it to me, and could I disobey Noot my Master, Noot the half divine? 井戸／弁護士席, Noot was very old and 近づく his end, and when he died, I, by his own 任命, should be the 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and may not a 後見人 taste of that he guards?

The gods 法令d さもなければ, he said. Mayhap, but what if in this 事柄 where I had so much to 伸び（る）, I chose to match myself against the gods? If the gods give knowledge, can they be wrath with those who use it? Yet if they are wrath—井戸／弁護士席, let them be wrath and 始める，決める their worst against my best. いつかs I grew 疲れた／うんざりした of the gods and all the fantastical 法令s which they—or their priests—heaped upon the 長，率いるs of the 苦しんでいる人s of this earth. Were not life's 悪口を言う／悪態 and death's doom enough to 満足させる their appetites, that they must 負担 the toilful days between with so much of the lead of 悲惨, 否定するing this, 否定するing that; strowing the path of men with spikes and 栄冠を与えるing their 長，率いるs with thorns?

If Noot's tale were true, what then? I should enter the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, I should 現れる ever-glorious, beauteous beyond imagining, and ever young, having left death far behind me. I should need but to wait a while until Amenartas died, and when she was dead, or having grown 疲れた／うんざりした of dull life in an 古代の place, had 出発／死d to 捜し出す some other. Nay, for then in the first 事例／患者 Kallikrates also would be dead or 古代の, and in the second, certainly she would take him with her.

Ah! now I had it; if I entered the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and （機の）カム 前へ／外へ 無事の, Kallikrates must enter it after me, for then we should be fitly mated, even if we must wait until a little pinch of the sand of time had run out from between our fingers. Yet supposing that Amenartas chose to enter it also, as 存在 so fond of 魔法 and so 決定するd to 粘着する to that which she had won, perchance she might do, would my 事例／患者 be bettered? The play would be 始める，決める upon a larger 行う／開催する／段階, that is all. 井戸／弁護士席, should I not be the 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and would it not be in my 手渡す to 決定する who should taste or who should be 否定するd its glories? Let that 事柄 decide itself when the hour （機の）カム, since the 決定／判定勝ち（する） would be such as I and not as Amenartas willed.

Here then was my 計画（する）. And yet—one thought more. What if the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 slew? If so, had I 設立する life so 甘い that I should be afraid to die, as in any 事例／患者 within some few years die I must? Let me take my chance of death who was ready to fade away into a land where Kallikrates and Amenartas and all earthly 悲惨s and all baulked 願望（する）s and ambitions, and all hopes and 恐れるs and sufferings must be forgot. Only would they be forgot? Perchance there they might be remembered and pierce the soul eternally with an even keener 辛勝する／優位. Noot believed that we were made of an immortal stuff, and so at heart did I. It must be 危険d. What is life but a long 危険, and why should we 恐れる to 追加する to its tremendous count? I at least did not 恐れる.

So all was summed up and balanced. Yet from my reckoning I left out the largest 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金, that which 運命／宿命 makes against those who play at dice with the Unknown. The gods may smile at courage and pass a 投機・賭ける by, but who can tell how blind 運命／宿命 will avenge the 軍隊ing of his 支配する 法令d and the 強姦 of knowledge from his secret 蓄える／店?

This problem I forgot, I who was doomed to learn its answer.

CHAPTER XXII

BEWARE!

The days went by and it was not long before Amenartas 回復するd from her sickness, long at least before she would appear out of the 宿泊するing, the best at our 命令（する）, which had been given to her. It was an 古代の, 廃虚d house 近づく to the 寺, that doubtless once had been a splendid place 住むd by forgotten nobles of old Kor. There were gardens 一連の会議、交渉／完成する it, or rather what had been gardens, for now these were much overgrown, and in their 避難所 Amenartas hid herself and wandered, never leaving them to visit me.

Yet Kallikrates （機の）カム often, though 存在 unshriven and thrust out of our community by his own 行為／法令／行動する, he did not 株 in the worship of the goddess. Often I would see him as our 行列 負傷させる in and out of the columns of the 広大な／多数の／重要な unroofed 寺 hall, standing afar off and gazing at it wistfully. Aye, and once when it passed 近づく to him, I saw too, that there were 涙／ほころびs upon his 直面する, 公式文書，認めるing which my heart 悲しみd for him who was an outcast for a woman's sake.

When these 儀式s were ended he would visit me in my 議会s where we talked long and of many things. I asked him why the Princess Amenartas, who it seemed was 回復するd of her fever since now she could wander in her garden ground, laid no 申し込む／申し出ing on the altar of the goddess. He answered,

"Because she will have naught to do with the gods of Egypt who, she says, if they are at all, have ever been the enemies of her House and have dragged her father, the Pharaoh Nectanebes, from his 王位 and 投げつけるd him 前へ／外へ, a discrowned 逃亡者／はかないもの, to 死なせる／死ぬ まっただ中に strangers."

"Upon those who follow after （一定の）期間s and affront the gods, the gods will be avenged, Kallikrates. For every sin there is forgiveness, save for that of the 否定 of Divinity, and of the setting of Evil in its place to be propitiated by the arts of sorcerers. Moreover, did not this Nectanebes 申し込む／申し出 deadly 侮辱 to the Queen of Heaven when he gave me, her servant and seeress, to be a slave to Tenes, the worshipper of her worst of 敵s, Baal and Ashtoreth and Moloch, that Tenes from whose 支配する you helped to save me, Kallikrates?"

"It is so," he answered sadly.

"And now," I went on, "the daughter follows in the father's steps. Oh! I am sure that yonder she （一定の）期間s out her charms, 目的（とする）ing her enchantments at my heart, whence they 落ちる 支援する 害のない, as the bone- tipped arrows of wild men 落ちる from a 保護物，者 of Syrian bronze."

He hung his 長，率いる who knew 井戸／弁護士席 that my words were true, and muttered,

"式のs! she loves you not, Lady, who from the first hour that she 始める，決める 注目する，もくろむs upon you, as often she has told me, 恐れるd and hated you, because, she says, her spirit 警告するs and has ever 警告するd her that you will bring 災害 upon her 長，率いる and call up Death to keep her company."

"At least he would be a better guest, Kallikrates, than the daemon that, like her father, she harbours in her breast. Oh! unhappy man, my heart bleeds for you, who are linked to this 毒（薬）d loveliness that 離婚s you from hope and charity; to this 王室の infidel who in the end will 貯蔵所d your spirit's wings and drag you 負かす／撃墜する into her own 不明瞭. For your soul's sake I pray you, Kallikrates, 捜し出す out the 宗教上の Noot, 自白する your sins and hear his counsel, since this 事柄 is beyond my strength and I have 非，不，無 to give. 捜し出す him soon, nay, at once, ere perchance it be too late, for I learn that he grows feeble."

"That is my 広大な／多数の／重要な 願望（する）, Priestess, yet how can I, who know not where to find him?"

"I will be your guide, Kallikrates. When the sun rises on the second day from now we will march to visit Noot in his secret dwelling."

"I will be ready," he answered and left me.

On the morrow he （機の）カム again and we spoke together of the 明言する／公表する of Kor and of my 計画（する）s for bettering it; also of 確かな savages who 脅すd us from without, man-eating tribes that it seemed were descended from the apostates who 拒絶するing the worship of Truth or Lulala, as Isis was 指名するd by them in those times, had 可決する・採択するd that of a devil that, as they 宣言するd, 住むd the sun or some ill-omened 星／主役にする.

Kallikrates listened, he who at 底（に届く） was ever a 兵士, for the tale awoke all his general's （手先の）技術 and courage. As a 広大な／多数の／重要な captain does, he balanced the 推論する／理由s for or against defence, for or against attack. He questioned me as to the numbers of my people and of their 敵s, as to their 武器, and many other 事柄s that have to do with war. Then having learned all that I could tell him, he 始める，決める out the 計画（する） which he 裁判官d to be the best in our 条件s, talking of it long and 熱望して, he who for a while had forgot his woes. I listened to him, watching his 有望な and splendid 直面する which seemed as that of the Sun-god of the Greeks. Speaking a word here and a word there, I listened, thinking to myself the while that if only he and I, he with his 技術 and courage and I with my 知恵, could guide the 運命にあるs of Kor, before our day was done we would 運動 them like the chariots of a 征服する／打ち勝つing king from Egypt's 国境s to these of the uttermost southern seas, setting nation after nation beneath our feet, and building up such an empire as Libya had never known.

What had I dreamed? To Egypt's 国境s? Why should we stop at her 国境s? Why should we not hurl 前へ／外へ the foul Persian 群れているs and be 栄冠を与えるd 君主s of the world at Susa and at Thebes? Yet it would take time, and life is short, and yonder, not so far away, 燃やすd the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Immortality, and I, I held the 重要な to its 刑務所，拘置所 house, or soon should 持つ／拘留する it when Noot had sought his 残り／休憩（する）. Almost these 燃やすing thoughts, these high ambitions, in whose fulfilment lay the seeds of peace 達成するd through war and the 約束 of the 福利事業 of the earth, burst from my lips in a 激流 of hot words which I knew 井戸／弁護士席 would 始める，決める his soul aflame. But I, Ayesha, 差し控えるd myself from myself, I wrapped myself in silence, I said to myself, "Wait, wait, the 熟した hour has not 夜明けd."

He rose to 出発／死, then turned and said,

"At the sunrise I will be here, or rather," he 追加するd doubtfully, "we will be here, since Amenartas 願望（する）s to …を伴って us upon this 旅行 to visit the 宗教上の Noot."

"By whom I 信用 she will be 井戸／弁護士席 received, seeing the manner in which she parted from him upon the ship Hapi. 井戸／弁護士席, so be it; I rejoice to learn that the 王室の Amenartas again finds herself 用意が出来ている to travel. Yet remind her, Kallikrates, that the road we go is rough and dangerous."

"She shall be told, yet it will serve little, since who can turn Amenartas from her ends? Not I, be sure; nor could her father before me, nor any living man."

"Nay, nor any god, Kallikrates, since the ends she follows are those of neither man nor god, but of something that stands beyond them both, as was the 事例／患者 of Pharaoh Nectanebes who begot her. Each of us shoots at his chosen 示す, Kallikrates, you at yours, I at 地雷, and Amenartas at her own; therefore what 権利 have we to 裁判官 of one another's 弓術，射手隊? Let her come to visit Noot and I pray that she may return the happier."

Next morning ere the 夜明け I stood at the 寺 porch を待つing Philo and the litters. （機の）カム Amenartas cloaked ひどく, for the 空気／公表する was 冷淡な, yet splendid even in those wrappings.

"迎える／歓迎するing, 知恵's Child," she said, 屈服するing in her courtlike fashion. "I learn that you and my husband would make some strange 旅行, and therefore, as a wife should, I …を伴って him."

"That is so, 王室の Lady, though I knew not that you were 結婚する to the lord Kallikrates."

"What is marriage?" she asked. "Is it 確かな words mumbled before an altar and a priest, a thing of 証言，証人／目撃するd 儀式, or is it the union of the heart and flesh によれば Nature's custom and 法令? But let that pass. Where my lord goes, there I …を伴って him."

"非，不，無 forbids you, O Lady of Egypt."

"True, Prophetess. Yet my own heart forbids me. Know that but last night I was haunted by a very evil dream. It seemed to me that my father Nectanebes stood before in a sable 式服 that was 発射 through with threads of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. He spoke to me 説: 'Daughter, beware of that witch who goes on a dreadful 追求（する），探索（する）, taking with her one who is dear to you. At the end of that 追求（する），探索（する） lies Doom for her, for him, for you, though each of these dooms be different!'"

"It may be so, Princess," I answered coldly. "Then …を伴って me not and keep Kallikrates at your 味方する."

"That I cannot do," she said in a sullen 発言する／表明する, "since now for the first time he will not listen to my pleading and crosses my will. You have laid your charm upon him as on others in the past, and where you lead, he follows."

"Mayhap as a slave follows one who can show him where he may loose his chains! But let us not bandy words, 王室の Amenartas. I 出発／死. Follow if you will, or 企て，努力，提案 behind, one or both of you. See, here comes Kallikrates; agree together as it pleases you."

She turned and met him in the 廃虚s of the 古代の pylon, where they 審議d together in words I could not hear. Once she seemed to 征服する／打ち勝つ, for both of them walked a little way toward their own home. Then Kallikrates swung 一連の会議、交渉／完成する upon his heel and （機の）カム 支援する to me who stood by the litters. She hesitated awhile, ah! what mighty 問題／発行するs hung upon this trembling of the balance of her mind, but in the end she followed him.

After this, without more speech we entered the litters and began our 旅行.

As we went across the misty plain it （機の）カム home to me, as many a time it has done during the long centuries that followed, how often the 広大な／多数の／重要な depends upon the little. Another bitter word from Amenartas, a trifle いっそう少なく of courage in Kallikrates, and how 異なって would 運命／宿命 have fashioned the 運命s of every one of us. For be it remembered that the choice lay with these two; I did naught save wait upon their wills. Had they so 願望（する）d, never need they have entered those litters. Alone I should have 出発／死d; alone I should have looked upon the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and drunk of that Cup of Life, or perchance, as is probable, I should have left it untasted and gone 負かす／撃墜する my way to death after the ありふれた fashion of mankind. But it was not so 法令d; of their own 願望（する） they took the path to doom, though perchance that 願望（する） was 形態／調整d by some Strength above their own.

We reached the precipice and climbed it, Amenartas, Kallikrates, Philo and I. We passed the 洞穴 by the light of lanterns, and we （機の）カム to the trembling 刺激（する） of 激しく揺する that reaches out like a 広大な／多数の／重要な needle thrust through the 式服 of 不明瞭. When they looked upon it, Kallikrates and Amenartas shivered and drew 支援する, seeing which I rejoiced, for it is true that at the moment I 設立する no more heart for this adventure.

"Stay where you are," I cried, "and wait. I go to visit the 宗教上の Noot. I will return again, and if I return not within a 一連の会議、交渉／完成する of the sun, then make your way 支援する to Kor and there がまんする. Or if it pleases you, 捜し出す the coast-land and the harbour of the Ethiopian's 長，率いる and 出発／死 with the help of Philo, if he still lives, or if not, さもなければ. 別れの（言葉，会）! I go."

"Nay," cried Kallikrates, "whither you lead, Prophetess, thither I follow."

"If so," said Amenartas, laughing in her 王室の fashion, "you will not follow alone. What! Shall I not dare that which my lord can dare? Is this the first 危険，危なくする in which we twain have stood 味方する by 味方する? If it be the last, what of it?"

So we started 負かす／撃墜する the 刺激（する）, Philo coming at the end of our line, and though with many hazards, for once the brain of Amenartas swam so that almost she fell, reached its point in safety. Here we waited crouched upon the rough 激しく揺する and 粘着するing to it with our 手渡すs, lest its quick throbbing should hurl us into the 湾, or the 猛烈な／残忍な gusts should sweep us away like autumn leaves.

At length at the 任命するd moment the sword-like sunset ray appeared, striking 十分な upon us and showing that the frail 橋（渡しをする） of boards was still in the place, for it swayed and moved like the deck of a ship at sea.

"Be bold and follow," I cried, "since he who hesitates is doomed," and 即時に I stepped across that perilous plank and took my stand upon the swaying 石／投石する beyond.

For a moment Kallikrates stood doubtful, 同様に he might, but Amenartas 押し進めるd past him and with a laugh crossed it as though she would teach me that I was not the only one to whom the gods had given courage. I caught her by the 手渡す. Then Kallikrates followed because he must, and she caught him by the 手渡す and after him Philo, the 船員, calmly enough, so that now all four of us stood together on the 石／投石する.

"Glad enough am I to be here, Prophetess," cried Kallikrates, though in that wailing 勝利，勝つd his 発言する／表明する reached me only as a whisper. "Yet, I know not why, it comes into my mind that I go upon my last 旅行."

I made no answer because his fateful words 冷気／寒がらせるd my heart and choked my 発言する／表明する; only I looked at his 直面する and 公式文書，認めるd that it was white as ice even in the red light of the ray and that his large 注目する，もくろむs shone as though with the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s of fever.

Taking Kallikrates by the 手渡す and 動議ing to Philo to do likewise with Amenartas, I led him to the little rough-hewn stair. By this stair we descended into the 避難所d place that was in 前線 of the hermitage of Noot and rejoiced was I to find myself and the others out of the reach of those 激怒（する）ing 勝利，勝つd and to see that lights 燃やすd within the 洞穴 beyond.

"企て，努力，提案 here, all of you," I said. "I will enter the 洞穴 and 準備する the 宗教上の Noot for your coming."

I entered the place thinking to find that strange dwarf who was Noot's servant, but nowhere could he be seen. Yet I was sure that he must be 近づく, since on the rough 激しく揺する were 始める，決める food and 木造の platters, four platters as though を待つing four guests. I thought to myself that doubtless the Master had seen us creeping 負かす／撃墜する the 刺激（する）, or perchance his spirit had 警告するd him of our coming—who could say?

I gazed about me to find Noot, and at length in the 深い 影をつくる／尾行する, out of reach of the lamp's rays, I perceived him ひさまづくing before that image of Isis whereof I have told, and wrapt in earnest 祈り. I drew 近づく and waited a while who did not dare to break in upon his orisons. Still he did not 動かす or look up. So 静かな was he that he might have been carved in ivory. I bent 今後, 診察するing his 直面する. Lo! his 注目する，もくろむs were 直す／買収する，八百長をするd and open and his jaw had fallen.

Noot was dead!

"My Master, my most beloved Master! Too late, too late!" I moaned, and bending 負かす／撃墜する kissed him on his brow of ice.

Then I began to think and 速く. Had he not 警告するd me when I bade him 別れの（言葉，会） a while before that we spoke together for the last time? Where was my 約束 who had forgotten that the prophecies of Noot were always true? So he had gone to his 残り／休憩（する） in the bosom of Osiris, and on me had fallen his mantle. I, Ayesha, was the 後見人 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life, whereof alone I knew the secrets and held the 重要な! The knowledge struck me like a blow; I trembled and sank to the ground. I think that for a little while I swooned and in that swoon strange dreams took 持つ／拘留する of me, half-remembered dreams, dreams not to be written.

Presently I rose and going to the doorway 召喚するd the others, who stood there 密談する／（身体を）寄せ集めるd together like sheep before a 嵐／襲撃する.

"Enter," I said, and they obeyed. "Now be seated and eat," I went on, pointing to the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する on which the food was ready.

"Where is the master of the feast, Prophetess? Where is the 宗教上の Noot whom we have walked this fearful road to see?" asked Kallikrates, 星／主役にするing about him.

"Yonder," I answered, pointing to the depths of the 影をつくる／尾行する, "yonder— dead and 冷淡な. You tarried too long at Kor, Kallikrates. Now you must 捜し出す his counsel and his absolution at another （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する—that of Osiris."

Thus I spoke, for something 奮起させるd the words, yet ere they had left my lips I could have bitten out the tongue that 形態／調整d them. Was this the place to talk of the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する of Osiris to the man I loved?

They went to that dark nook where the little sacred statue looked 負かす／撃墜する upon its 静かな worshipper. They 星／主役にするd in silence; they returned, Philo muttering 祈りs, Kallikrates wringing his 手渡すs, for he had loved and honoured Noot above any man that lived. Also—I read the question in his mind—to whom now should he 自白する his sins? Who now could loose their 重荷（を負わせる）?

Only Amenartas pondered a space; then she spoke with a slow and meaningful smile, 説,

"Perchance, my lord, it is 同様に that this old high-priest has come to discover whether he dreamed true dreams for so many years upon the earth. I know not what you would have said to him, yet I can guess that it boded but little good to me, your wife, for so I am, whatever yonder priestess may tell you, who also bodes little good either to me or to you, my lord Kallikrates. 井戸／弁護士席, he is dead and even 知恵's Daughter there cannot bring him 支援する to life. So let us 残り／休憩（する） a while and eat, and then return by that dread road which we have trodden, ere our strength and spirit fail us."

"That you may not do, Princess Amenartas, until the sunset comes again and once more the red ray shows us where to 始める，決める our feet, for to 試みる／企てる it sooner is to die," I answered, and went on:

"Hearken. By the death of this 宗教上の man, or half-god, I have become the keeper of a 確かな treasure over which he watched. It is hidden 深い in the bowels of the earth beneath us. I must go to visit it and see that it is 安全な. This I shall do presently. 企て，努力，提案 you here, if you will, till I return, and if I return not, wait till the ray strikes upon the point of 激しく揺する, cross the 橋（渡しをする）, climb the 刺激（する）, and 逃げる whither you will. Philo can guide you."

"Not so, Child of Isis," said Philo. "My 誓い and 義務 are to you, not to this pair. Whither you go, I follow to the end."

"I follow also," said Kallikrates, "who would not be left in this darksome place companied by death."

"Yet it might be wiser, Kallikrates," I answered, "since who can escape that company of death of which you speak?" for again dreadful and ominous words 急ぐd unbidden from my heart.

"I care not. I go," he said almost sullenly.

"Then I go also," broke in Amenartas. "This Prophetess doubtless is wise and 宗教上の, yet I may be 容赦d if I choose to 株 her fellowship with you upon a road unknown. Perchance it has another gate どこかよそで that I might never find," she 追加するd in bitter jest.

Oh! had this fool but known that her coarse を刺すs at me did but harden the heart which she sought to pierce, and 運動 it whither she did not 願望（する）.

"As you will," I answered. "Now eat and 残り／休憩（する） till the hour of 出発 comes and I 召喚する you."

So they ate, if not much, though for my own part I touched no food, and laid them 負かす／撃墜する in the inner 洞穴 as best they might, and there slept, or did not sleep. But I, I watched the hours away by the dead 爆撃する of the 宗教上の Noot, 努力する／競うing to commune with his spirit which I knew to be 近づく to me. Yet it gave no answer to all my questions. Or at least there （機の）カム one only which again and again seemed to 形態／調整 itself to a 選び出す／独身 word,

"Beware!"

Strange, thought I to myself, that the prophet Noot my Master, who loved me better than any other living upon the earth, and knew the most of my lonely, wayward heart, now that he was 正当化するd and made perfect, as doubtless he must be, if such a lot can be 達成するd by man, should find no more to say to me than this one word, which indeed while in the flesh often he had said before. Therefore it seemed that in the flesh and out of it his counsel was the same; one certainly that I should take.

What did it mean? That I should look no more upon the 解雇する／砲火／射撃; that I should rise up and get me 支援する to Kor and there play such parts as I could compass, and wither and grow old and die, 養育するing perchance the children of Kallikrates and Amenartas, should they 捜し出す the Shades before me; or, growing 疲れた／うんざりした of barbarians and 廃虚s, 逃げる away from Kor to find the fellowship of 教えるd men.

That is what this counsel meant. 井戸／弁護士席, what did that of my own heart 約束 me? Perhaps a swift death and after it 罰 in some 薄暗い land beyond, because I had disobeyed the shadowy cautionings of the 宗教上の Noot and dared to make 裁判，公判 of a new Strength, against which as yet no man had matched himself. Or perhaps a glory greater than any man had ever dreamed, and a 力／強力にする far above that of emperors and a life longer than that of mountains. Also more—more, the love that I 願望（する）d, to me a greater guerdon than all these boons 追加するd together and multiplied by the snowflakes upon Lebanon or the sands of the seashore. Surely, come what might of it, I would take my own counsel and let the other be.

The hour （機の）カム; although I saw it not, I knew that it was that of 夜明け in the world without. I arose, I 召喚するd the others; we 出発／死d 負かす／撃墜する that darksome path of which I have written, climbing from 激しく揺する to 激しく揺する in the bowels of the earth by the 薄暗い light of the lanterns which we bore.

We （機の）カム to the outer cavern; we passed the passage and reached the second cavern, 停止（させる）ing at the mouth of another passage through which at intervals 発射 flickerings of light, and from time to time sounds as of muttering 雷鳴 reached our ears.

"The treasure on which I would look lies yonder. 企て，努力，提案 ye here," I said.

"Nay," answered Kallikrates, "now as before I follow."

"Where my lord goes there go I also," said Amenartas.

Only Philo, the 用心深い Greek, 屈服するd his 長，率いる and answered,

"I obey. I 企て，努力，提案 here. If I am needed, 召喚する me, O Child of Isis."

"Good," I cried, who at that moment thought little of Philo and his 運命／宿命, though it is true that, cunning as he might be, I loved him 井戸／弁護士席.

Then I went on and with me went Kallikrates and Amenartas.

CHAPTER XXIII

THE DOOM OF THE FIRE

We stood in the third 洞穴 that was carpeted with white sand and alive with rosy light. Making a dark stain upon that 雪の降る，雪の多い sand was a 黒人／ボイコット patch of dust. I knew it again; when last I had seen it, it bore the withered 形態／調整 of one long dead. The rolling many-coloured 解雇する／砲火／射撃 approached from afar; its muttering grew to a roar, its roar grew to such a 雷鳴 as shakes the mountain 頂点（に達する）s and 分裂（する）s the 塀で囲むs of citadels. It appeared, 炎ing with a thousand lights; for a while it hovered, 新たな展開ing like a spun 最高の，を越す. Then it 出発／死d upon its eternal 一連の会議、交渉／完成する in the unknown entrails of the earth, and the tumult sank to silence.

Kallikrates, terrified, flung himself upon his 直面する; even the proud Amenartas fell to her 膝s, covering her 注目する，もくろむs with her 手渡すs; only I stood 築く and laughed, I who knew that I was betrothed to that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and that it ill became the bride-to-be to 縮む from her 約束d lord.

Kallikrates rose, asking,

"Where is the treasure which you 捜し出す, Prophetess? If it be hidden here, in this awful house of a living god, look on it 速く, and let us begone. I, a mortal man, am terrified."

"同様に you may be," broke in Amenartas, "since such wizardries as these have not been told of in the earth. I say it, who know something of wizardries, and like my father have stood 直面する to 直面する with spirits 召喚するd from the Under-world, giving them word for word of 力／強力にする."

"My treasure lies in the red heart of yonder 激怒（する）ing 炎上, and presently I go to pluck it thence," I answered in a 静かな 発言する／表明する. "Whether I shall return I do not know. Perchance I shall がまんする in the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and be borne away upon its wings. Stay if you will, or if you will, while there is yet time, 出発／死, but trouble me no more with words, who must steel my soul to its last 裁判，公判."

They 星／主役にするd at me, both of them, and remained silent.

For a space I stood still pondering. It seemed to me that I was the plaything of two 広大な／多数の／重要な Strengths that dragged me 今後, that dragged me 支援する. The spirit of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 cried,

"Come, O Divine! Come, be made perfect, and queen it in this red heart of 地雷. Come, drink of that 十分な cup of mysteries which no mortal lips have drained. Come, see those things that are hidden from mortal 注目する，もくろむs. Come, taste of joys wherewith no mortal heart has ever throbbed. Haste, haste to the fiery bridal and in the glory of my kiss learn what delight can be. Oh! 疑問 no more but take 約束 by the 手渡す and let her lead thee home. 疑問 no more! Be 勇敢に立ち向かう, lay 負かす／撃墜する mortality: put on the spirit and as a spirit sit enthroned beyond the touch of time and with immortal 注目する，もくろむs, 式服d in eternal majesty, watch the 世代s pass, marching with sad feet from 不明瞭 into 不明瞭. Behold there he stands who is 任命するd to thee, who was thine from the beginning, who shall be thine until the end of ends. Thy new-born loveliness shall chain him 急速な／放蕩な and he shall grow drunken in the breath of thy perfumed sighs who for ever and for ever and for ever shall be thy very own, turning the winter of thy 未亡人d heart to summer of perpetual joy."

Thus spake the spirit of the 炎上, but to it there answered another spirit that wore the 形態／調整 of Noot, yea, of Noot grown 厳しい and terrible.

"Turn 支援する, O 知恵's Daughter, ere thou art wrapped in the 式服 of madness and repentance comes too late," it seemed to say. "Always the tempter tempts and when 賄賂 after 賄賂 is 軽蔑（する）d, at last he 注ぐs his richest jewels at the feet of her whom he would 勝利，勝つ. Woe, woe to her who, charmed of their 誤った glitter, clasps them upon brow and breast, for there they shall change to scorpions and through the living flesh gnaw to the brain and heart within. 出発／死ing, have I not 始める，決める thee to watch the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and wilt thou steal the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, therewith to make thyself a god? Do so and this I 断言する to thee: that the godhead which thou shalt put on will be that of hell. Thy love shall be snatched away; undying, through all the earth, through all the 星／主役にするs, thou shalt follow after him and never find, or, if thou findest, it will be but to lose again. Dost thou dare to ひったくる thy 運命 out of the 手渡す of 運命／宿命 and fashion it to thy 願望（する） with the 器具 of thy blind and petty will? Do so, and daemons shall 所有する it that from age to age shall 運動 thee on, torn by the furies of 悔恨, choked with bitter, unavailing 涙／ほころびs, frozen by the icy 爆破s of 悲しみ; desolate, alone, unfriended, till at last thou standest before the Judgment-seat hearkening with 屈服するd 長，率いる to a doom that can never be undone. Daughter of 知恵, art thou sunk so low that thou wilt forget thine 誓いs and break thy 信用 to 略奪する another woman of her lover?"

Those 見通しs passed and I しっかり掴むd 否定's 式服s. I would not do this thing. I would live out my life upon the earth, I would die—oh! might it be soon—to pass to whatever place had been 用意が出来ている for me, or to 沈む into the 深い abysm of that rich and boundless sleep which no dreams haunt.

Aye! 放棄するing joy and 放棄するd of hope, already I turned to go and climb my 上向き path 支援する to the bitter world.

Then, from far, far away （機の）カム the faint music of the 詠唱する of the 前進するing god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Low and 甘い it sang at first, soft as a mother's lullaby, and lo! I dreamed of a happy childhood's day. It swelled and grew and now I had entered into womanhood and strange, uncomprehended longings companioned me. It took a fiercer 公式文書，認める and I bethought me of the （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing of the hoofs of horses as, 機動力のある on my crested stallion, I 急ぐd across the 砂漠 like the 勝利，勝つd. Louder yet, and behold! once more I was in the 戦う／戦い at my father's 味方する; behind me the wild tribesmen 殺到するd and shouted; in 前線 of me my 敵s were beaten 負かす／撃墜する to death. Ah! 有望な flashed my javelin, ah! 解放する／自由な flowed my hair の中で the flapping pennons. "The Daughter of Yarab! Follow the daughter of Yarab!" cried the thousands of my 肉親，親類, and on we went, like sun-loosed snows 負かす／撃墜する mountains, on upon the marshalled host beneath. We broke them, for who could stand before the Daughter of Yarab and her 肉親，親類? We trampled them, Egyptian and Syrian and Mede and the men from Chittim's 小島; 負かす／撃墜する they went before that wild 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金, and see! my 有望な spear was red.

Deeper yet and more solemn grew that mighty music. Now I was alone in the wilderness beneath the 星／主役にするs, and from the 星／主役にするs knowledge and beauty fell upon my heart like dew. Now I was a 支配者 of men, and kings who would be my lovers bent at my feet and were the puppets of my 手渡すs. I cast them 負かす／撃墜する and broke them; I saw Sidon go up in 炎上s and filled my soul with vengeance. Hark! It is the footstep of the goddess, the Queen of Heaven 始める，決めるs her kiss upon my brow; she 指名するs me Daughter, her 任命するd. Knowledge is 地雷, out of my lips flow prophecies, a spirit guides my feet. I, I 持つ／拘留する my own against the Persian, when all else have fled I cast him from his 王位. I give his pomp to the tongues of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Oh! how they cry, those mockers of Egypt's gods, as I watch them scorch and 死なせる／死ぬ.

I am lonely. Where is my love? I wend toward the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な and 非，不，無 are born of me. I 捜し出す my love. "There stands my love—not far away, but at thy 味方する. Take him, take him, take him!" Thus said the 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

Now its 発言する／表明する is the 発言する／表明する of trumpets that blare and echo around the hills. They call, those trumpets call: "Where is the captain of our hosts? Where is our Queen? Come 前へ／外へ, O Queen, 栄冠を与えるd with 知恵, diademed with 力／強力にする, 持つ／拘留するing in thine 手渡す the gift of days. No longer would we be left leaderless, we who would march to victory and 持つ／拘留する the world in thrall."

The King of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 is at 手渡す. He opens the gateways of the dark. Behind him march the legions: he comes with splendour, he comes with glory, he comes to take his bride. "Unrobe, unrobe! 準備する thyself, O Bride! The King of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 calls!"

I unloosed my 衣料品s, I unbound my hair that covered me like to a sable 式服.

"Art mad?" cried the Greek, Kallikrates, wringing his 手渡すs.

"Art mad?" echoed the 王室の Amenartas with a slow smile as she waited to see 地雷 end.

"Nay, I am wise," I answered 支援する, "I who 疲れた／うんざりした of tame days and ありふれた things, I who 捜し出す death or 勝利."

I ran. I stood in the pathway of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. It saw; it stretched out its 武器 to me. Lo! it wrapped me 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and in my ears I heard the shoutings of the 星／主役にするs.

Oh! what was this? I did not 燃やす. The 血 of the gods flowed through my veins. The soul within me became as a lighted たいまつ. The 解雇する／砲火／射撃 所有するd me, I was the 解雇する／砲火／射撃's and in a dread communion the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 was 地雷. By that lit たいまつ of my heart I saw many 見通しs; 隠すs rolled up before my 注目する，もくろむs 明らかにする／漏らすing glory after glory, glories that cannot be told. Death shrank away from before my feet; pale and ashamed he shrank away. 苦痛 出発／死d, 証拠不十分 was done. I stood the Queen of all things human.

Lo! mirrored in that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 as in water I saw myself, a 形態／調整 of loveliness celestial. Could this form be the form of woman? Could those orbs divine be a woman's 注目する，もくろむs?

Then a 広大な／多数の／重要な silence and in the silence a silvery tinkling sound that I knew 井戸／弁護士席—the sound of the laughter of Aphrodite!

The 中心存在 of 炎上 had rolled away, its thousand blinding lights had 中止するd to 向こうずね, and there I stood 勝利を得た, 征服する／打ち勝つing, never to be 征服する／打ち勝つd. I （機の）カム 前へ／外へ speaking with a 発言する／表明する of music, knowing that I had 相続するd another soul. What now to me was Isis or any other goddess, to me who stood 勝利を得た, the equal of them all? Oh! I saw now that Isis was but Nature and henceforth Nature was my slave. I thought no more of sin or of repentance, I who from this day 前へ／外へ would fashion my own 法律s and be to myself a 裁判官. That which I 願望（する）d, that I would take. That which was hateful to me that would I cast away. Yea! I was Nature's very self. I felt all her springs stirring in my 血; it glowed with the heats of all her summers. I was 肉親，親類d with the 親切 of her 実りの多い／有益な autumns; I was terrible with her winter wrath.

Look! There stood the man whom I 願望（する）d. Somewhat coarse and poor he seemed to me; I smelt death upon him. To be my mate he must be my equal; he too must taste of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃; then we would talk of love. As he was, my love was not for him, nay, it would destroy him as the 雷 爆破s.

"Look on me, Kallikrates," I cried, "and tell me, in all your days have you seen aught so fair?"

"Fair, yes, fair!" he gasped, "but terrible in beauty. No woman, no woman! A very spirit. Oh! let me shut 地雷 注目する，もくろむs. Let me 逃げる!"

"Be still and wait," I answered, "for soon I shall show you how they may be opened. Look on me, Daughter of Pharaoh, and tell me, has that stamp of age of which you spoke to me not long ago 出発／死d from my 直面する and form, or is it yet 明らかな?"

"I look," she answered, still bold, "and I see before me no child of man, but a very witch! Away from us, accursed witch! 着せる／賦与する yourself, shameless one, and begone, or let us begone, leaving you to commune with your witch's 解雇する／砲火／射撃."

I cast my 式服s around me and oh! they hung royally. Then once more I turned to Kallikrates, considering him. As I looked I became aware that a 広大な／多数の／重要な change had fallen upon me. I was no longer the Ayesha of old days. That Ayesha had been spirit-driven; her soul aspired to the heavens; it glistened with the dews of 潔白. True, I had loved this man, little at the first, and more a hundred times after Noot had 苦しむd me to look upon the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, since with the sight and the sound and the odours of it the 広大な／多数の／重要な change began.

That Ayesha was one who dreamed of heavenly things; one with whom 祈り was a constant habit of the mind; yes, all her thoughts were mixed with the leaven of 祈り, so that the humblest 行為 and the most ありふれた of imaginings were by it sanctified! She knew that here was not her home, but that far away and out of sight, beyond the seas and mountains of the world, her everlasting house rose white and stately and that with her earthly toil and sufferings she built it 石／投石する by 石／投石する, filling its halls and porticoes with ivory statues of the gods, making it pure with clouds of incense that their perfected souls brooding on her soul drew from it, as at 夜明け the sun draws もや from rivers.

With grief and toil, with bleeding feet; buffeted by the 勝利，勝つd of circumstance, wet with the rain of 涙／ほころびs, washed by the waters of repentance, she climbed the stony 上向き path that led to the 頂点（に達する） of Peace. She believed in she knew not what, for always to her those gods were man-形態／調整d symbols. Still day and night she struggled on, lit by the rays of the lamp of 約束, sure that in the end the 隠すs would be 孤立した and that she would look upon the 直面する Divine and hear its 発言する／表明する of welcome. She was obedient to the 法律; she knew that time was not her own and that of every moment she must give account. Aye, she was in the way of holiness and before her shone the golden guerdons of redemption.

But now. What was Ayesha now when she had known the embrace of the Spirit of 解雇する／砲火／射撃, when she had dared the 行為 and wrung the secret from his 燃やすing heart? Aye, when on the earth she had 達成するd to immortality, since even then a 発言する／表明する cried in her ears:

"Behold! thou shalt not die. Behold while the world lives, with it thou shalt live also, because thou hast drunk of the ワイン of Earth's primeval Soul that cannot be 流出／こぼすd until its mighty fabric is 解散させるd into the nothingness whence it sprang!"

What was she now? She was that very Earth. She was that Soul 注ぐd into the white vase of a woman's form; aye, she was its essence. Its 雷s and its ハリケーンs lay chained within her, ready to leap out when she was wrath, and who could がまんする before their strength? She knew all Earth's glory as alone it swung through space, kissed of the light of the Sun its father, or dreaming in the 武器 of 不明瞭. The 惑星s were her sisters, the 有望な, 炎ing 星／主役にするs 定評のある her as 肉親，親類. Aye; with this mother-world she symbolled she was numbered の中で the multitude of that 階層制度 of heaven.

Nor was this all, for in her 統治するd and glowed every 力／強力にする and passion of the Earth. Thenceforth all things were at her 命令（する）, but, like that Earth, she was alone and could no more speak with Heaven!.

In a flash, in a twinkling, all this mighty truth （機の）カム home to me, and with it other truths. I did not 疑問, I did not dream, I knew, I knew, I knew!

There stood the man and I would take him. He was 結婚する （許可，名誉などを）与えるing to Nature's 法律, and now I owned no other. But what of that? The ワイン that I 願望（する）d I would drink. I would mate me as the wild things mated, by strength and 逮捕（する）, since I was very strong and who could stand against my might? I, the reborn Ayesha, had 命令（する）d. It should be done.

"Kallikrates," I said in my new 発言する／表明する of honeyed sweetness, "behold your spouse, one of whom you need not be ashamed. Make ready, Kallikrates. Go stand in the path of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 when it returns, and then let us hence to 統治する eternally."

"What, Witch," cried Amenartas, "would you 略奪する me of my lord? It shall not be. If you are mighty, so am I, although I remain a woman. Kallikrates, look on me, your wife, she who has borne your child, that lost child who 貯蔵所d us yet with 社債s that may not be broken. Have done with this fair daemon ere she enchant you. Away! Away from this haunted, mocking hell."

"I come. Surely I come," said Kallikrates, ちらりと見ることing at me fearfully. "I am afraid of her, and of that 解雇する／砲火／射撃 I will have 非，不，無. Surely it is 始める，決める himself wrapped about with 炎上s."

"Nay, you go not, Kallikrates. Let Amenartas go if she 願望（する）s. Here you がまんする with me until all is 遂行するd. I 命令（する）, and when I 命令（する）, you must obey."

He wheeled about; he flung himself into the 武器 of Amenartas. They の近くにd around him and held him 急速な／放蕩な. Then I threw out my will. 説 nothing I laid my strength upon him, so that he was dragged from out those 武器 and with slow steps drew 近づく to me, as the bird draws 近づく to the snake that charms it with its baleful 注目する，もくろむs. Amenartas leaped between us and from her lips flowed words in 激流s.

All she said I do not know; it is forgot; but very sore she pleaded and very 激しく she wept. Yet my heart, new steeled in yonder 解雇する／砲火／射撃, felt no pity for her. An hour past I should have bade him go his way and to look upon my 直面する no more, but now it was さもなければ. I was cruel, cruel as Death, King of the world. The wild beast does not spare its 競争相手, neither would I.

Still I drew him with my strength; still Amenartas clung and pleaded, till at last madness took 持つ／拘留する of that tormented man. He raved, he 悪口を言う／悪態d us both, he 悪口を言う／悪態d himself who had left the 静かな halls of Isis, who had 拒絶するd the love divine to 捜し出す the 武器 of woman. He prayed to Isis to be pitiful, to 許す, to receive his soul and shrive it.

Then suddenly from his belt he snatched his short Grecian sword and stabbed at his own heart.

Swift as a snake that strikes, or a falcon stooping at its prey, I sprang. I 掴むd his arm, I dragged it 支援する, and such might was there in my しっかり掴む, aye, the might of Hercules himself, that the sword flew far, and the strong man who held it reeled 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and 一連の会議、交渉／完成する and fell.

We stood aghast, thinking that he was sped. Yet he rose, the red 血 running from his beast, and in a 静かな 発言する／表明する, a little laugh upon his lips, said to Amenartas, not to me,

"恐れる nothing, Wife. 式のs! it is but a 削減（する）—肌 深い, no more."

"Then let the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 傷をいやす／和解させる it, O Kallikrates. Make ready to enter the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 that must soon retravel its circling path," I answered.

"Nay, nay, Husband," cried Amenartas. "By that 血 of yours, the 血 that flowed in our dead son and flows in that of the child to be, I adjure you turn from this witch and temptress and break her enchanted 社債s."

"By our dead son," he repeated after her in a strange and 激しい 発言する／表明する. "With what holier words could you conjure, O my wife? With that 指名する of 力／強力にする I am new-armoured. Daughter of 知恵, I 拒絶する your proffered gifts, nor will I enter your charmed 解雇する／砲火／射撃 though it should give to me eternal strength and gloriousness, and with these your 向こうずねing beauty and your love. Child of the gods, 別れの（言葉，会）! I go to 捜し出す peace and 容赦 if it may be 設立する. Yes, 容赦 for you and me, and for Amenartas, the mother of my child. Daughter of 知恵, fare you 井戸／弁護士席 for ever!"

I heard and it seemed to me that I stood alone in the 中央 of a 広大な／多数の／重要な silence while those cruel words, 離婚ing me from hope, fell one by one upon me like ice-減少（する）s from the sky, cutting to brain and heart and 氷点の me to 石／投石する. Then of a sudden 激怒（する） 所有するd me, such 激怒（する） as Nature knows in her fiercest moods, and I spoke as it gave me words, 説,

"I call 負かす／撃墜する death upon thee, Kallikrates the Greek. Death be thy 部分 and the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な thy home. Because thou hast 拒絶するd me, because thou hast 申し込む／申し出d me 侮辱 to my 直面する, it is my will that thou mayest die; it is my 願望（する） that thy 指名する be blotted out from the roll of Life. Die, then, Kallikrates, that thine 注目する，もくろむs may torment me no more and that I may learn to mock thy memory."

Thus I spoke those words of doom in my madness, though what conceived them in my heart I do not know. There they sprang up suddenly at the touch of the 病弱なd of Evil, such evil as until now I had never dreamed. Lo! in a moment they 実行するd themselves. There before my 注目する，もくろむs that man died, smitten of the dominion over Death that was the 解雇する／砲火／射撃's 致命的な gift to me, as now, all unprepared, 即時に I learned. Yes, the first service that I made of my dread majesty was to hurl that awful doom at the heart of the man I loved.

He died! Kallikrates died there before our 注目する，もくろむs. Yet 存在 dead, still he stood upon his feet and spoke, though even then I knew that it was not he who spoke, but some spirit 所有するing his flesh. His lips did not move, his 注目する，もくろむs were glassed, his 発言する／表明する was not the 発言する／表明する of Kallikrates, nay, nor the 発言する／表明する of mortal man. Yet he spoke, or seemed to speak, and these were the words he said,

"Woman, known on earth as Ayesha, daughter of Yarab, but in the Under- world by many another 指名する, hearken to thy 運命／宿命. Here, where thou hast betrayed thy 信用, here where thou didst 殺す the man of thy 願望（する）, here through long ages shalt thou がまんする undying, until in the fulness of time he returns to thee, O Ayesha, in lonely bitterness shalt thou がまんする; 涙／ほころびs shall be thy drink and 悔恨 thy bread. The 力／強力にする that thou didst crave shall be but a blunted, 未使用の sword within thine 手渡す. Thy kingdom shall be a desolation, thy 支配するs barbarians, and from century to century thy companions shall be the dead."

The 発言する／表明する 中止するd and I answered it, asking,

"And when the returning tide of Time 耐えるs this man 支援する to me, what then, O Spirit? Is all hope passed from me, O Spirit?"

No answer （機の）カム, but that which had been Kallikrates sank in a 密談する／（身体を）寄せ集めるd heap upon the sand.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE COUNSEL OF PHILO

Roaring like a whirlwind, shouting triumphantly, once more the wheel of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 rolled on its tremendous course. I watched it come, I watched it go, while in it I thought I saw grinning, elf-like 直面するs that gibbered at me and thrust out tongues of derision. It 出発／死d on its secret 旅行 through the bowels of the world. Its 雷鳴 sank to mutterings, its mutterings to silence, while I said to my heart that could I be sure that it would 殺す, I would cast myself beneath its chariot wheels.

To what 目的? Since then, as I believed in those days, in the 炎上s I should find but 追加するd life—I who could not die.

It was gone. Naught remained save the 洞穴 carpeted with white sand and the rosy light playing on the 団体／死体 of the dead Kallikrates. Nay, Amenartas remained also, and I became aware that she was 悪口を言う／悪態ing me by all her gods, or rather by those who had been her gods before she turned her 直面する from them, 捜し出すing the counsel of familiar spirits.

Bravely she 悪口を言う／悪態d and long, calling 負かす／撃墜する upon my 長，率いる every evil that can be 設立する in heaven above or earth beneath; she who did not know that this was needless, for already the winged Furies had made it their 残り／休憩（する）ing-place and before they could be uttered all her imprecations were 実行するd.

"Have done!" I said when at length she grew weak and 疲れた／うんざりした, "and let us 召喚する Philo to help us 耐える this noble clay to some fitting sepulchre."

"Nay, Witch," she answered, "use your 魔法 on me also, if you can. 殺す the wife as you have 殺害された the husband, and here let us 残り／休憩（する） eternally. What tomb can be better for both of us than that which saw our 殺人."

"Have done!" I repeated. "You know 井戸／弁護士席 that I have no 願望（する） to kill you and that it was my madness, not my will, that brought doom on Kallikrates, whom we loved; I who had not learned that henceforth my spirit is a 屈服する winged with deadly 軸s."

I went 負かす／撃墜する the 洞穴 and through the passage that lay beyond and from its mouth called to Philo to follow me.

He （機の）カム, and perceiving my new loveliness as I stood を待つing him in the rosy light, fell to the ground, kissing my feet and the hem of my 式服, and muttering,

"O Isis-come-to-Earth! O Queen divine!"

"Rise up and follow me," I said, and led him to where lay Kallikrates, by whom knelt the 未亡人d Amenartas weeping 激しく.

"圧倒するd with the sight of glory, 式のs! this lord has 殺害された himself," I said, and pointed to the 負傷させる in the dead man's breast whence still the 血 oozed 減少（する） by 減少（する）.

"Nay, this witch slew him," moaned Amenartas, but if Philo heard her words, he took no 注意する of them.

Then at my 命令（する） the three of us 解除するd Kallikrates and bore him thence up the difficult ways, which never could we have done had I not discovered that now in my woman's 形態／調整 that seemed so frail and weak was hid unmeasured strength.

So through the 洞穴s and up the winding slopes and stairs we bore the dead Kallikrates, bringing him 支援する to the hermitage of Noot but a little before the hour of sunset. Here I 命令（する）d Amenartas and Philo to eat and drink, though myself I needed neither food nor ワイン. While they did so, 補佐官d of this new strength of 地雷, I 解除するd the 団体／死体 of Noot from where it knelt and laid it 負かす／撃墜する, crossing the 手渡すs upon the breast, and having covered it with a 式服, left him to his last sleep.

These things finished, we carried Kallikrates to the crest of the Swaying 石／投石する, and waited the coming of the ray. Suddenly it shone out, and in its 猛烈な／残忍な light we dared the 転換ing 橋（渡しをする）. Beneath a 負わせる which it was ill designed to 耐える, the frail thing broke just as Amenartas and Philo, 耐えるing the feet of the dead man, had 設立する 地盤 upon the point of the 刺激（する） beyond. It seemed that I should have fallen, yet I fell not, who, I know not how, 設立する myself at their 味方する still supporting Kallikrates in my 武器.

Then it was that first I learned that as I was 保護するd from the gnawings of the tooth of Time so also I was armoured against all the 一打／打撃s of chance. This indeed became very （疑いを）晴らす to me in the after days. Thus once when the roof of a 洞穴 fell upon me and others they were 殺害された but I remained unbruised, and again, when a deadly snake bit me, its 毒（薬） 害（を与える）d me not at all. But what of these things which are not worthy to be chronicled, seeing that if I could die, in the passing of two thousand years and more, what men call 事故 must long since have brought me to my end.

We bore Kallikrates 負かす／撃墜する the 刺激（する） and through the cavern whence it springs, till at length we 設立する the litters waiting for us, and in one of these we laid his 静かな form.

Thus at length we （機の）カム 支援する to Kor at the hour of the 夜明け.

Again we 解除するd up the 死体 of Kallikrates and carried it to the 議会 where I slept. A thought （機の）カム to me.

"Philo," I said, "did you not tell me that の中で those who serve us in this 寺 are 確かな 老年の 薬／医学-men who 宣言する that knowledge of the arts whereby the people of old Kor 保存するd their dead from 汚職 has come 負かす／撃墜する to them, which arts they still practise from time to time?"

"It is so, O Queen," for so he 指名するd me now. "There are three of them."

"Good. 召喚する them, Philo, and 企て，努力，提案 them bring with them their 器具s and spices."

Awhile later the three appeared, very 老年の, cunning-looking men who had upon their 強硬派-nosed 直面するs the stamp of high and 古代の 血. I pointed to the 団体／死体 of Kallikrates and asked,

"Are ye able to 持つ／拘留する 支援する this 宗教上の flesh from the foul fingers of decay?"

"If he be not more than forty hours dead," answered one of them, "we can do so in such fashion that when five thousand years have passed it will seem as it does at this hour, O Queen."

"Then to your office, Slaves, and know that if ye do as ye have 約束d ye shall receive 広大な／多数の／重要な reward. But if ye 嘘（をつく） to me, ye die."

"We do not 嘘（をつく）, O Queen," he said.

Forthwith they 始める，決める a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 outside the 議会 and thereon 始める，決める a large earthen マリファナ. In this マリファナ, mixed with water, they placed 乾燥した，日照りのd leaves of a 確かな shrub, in 形態／調整 long and 狭くする, and boiled them to a broth, whereof the pungent colour seemed to fill all the 空気／公表する about. While the マリファナ was boiling they took the 死体 of Kallikrates, and, having washed it, 小衝突d it everywhere with some secret stuff that gave to it the 面 of white and 向こうずねing marble. Then they brought a funnel of clay with a curved point, and having opened the 広大な／多数の／重要な artery of the throat, 挿入するd the point into the artery.

This done, they stood the stiff 死体 on its feet and while two of them held it thus, the third brought the マリファナ into which they 注ぐd stuff that looked like glass when it is molten, mixing all together with a 棒 of 石／投石する. Then he 始める，決める a ladder, perhaps four paces in length, against the 塀で囲む, and carrying the マリファナ, climbed to the 最高の，を越す of it, whence slowly he 注ぐd the brew into the funnel beneath so that its 負わせる 軍隊d it through all the dead man's veins. When the most of it was gone he descended and the three of them finished their work in some way that I did not stay to watch, for the sight of this grim 準備 for the tomb and the scent of these spicy 麻薬s overcame me.

At length they 召喚するd me and showed me Kallikrates lying like to one in a 深い sleep, 静める and beautiful as he had been in life.

"O Queen," said their 広報担当者, "by to-morrow at the sunrise the flesh of this man will be as marble, and so everlastingly remain. Then 耐える him where you will, but till then let him 残り／休憩（する） untouched."

I bade that they should be rewarded, and they went their ways. But first I asked them where the inhabitants of old Kor were wont to lay their 王室の dead. They answered that it was in the 広大な／多数の／重要な 洞穴s at a little distance across the plain, and I 命令（する）d that on the morrow they should guide me thither, 耐えるing the 団体／死体 of Kallikrates.

Philo （機の）カム and said that the priests and priestesses of Isis would have speech with me and that they were gathered in the inmost 法廷，裁判所 of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 寺 before the 隠すd statue of the goddess Truth. I bade him lead on, but he wavered a little and said,

"O Queen, there is trouble. The 王室の lady, Amenartas, has told a tale in the ears of those priests and priestesses. She has sworn to them that you are not a woman but a daemon; aye, a witch risen from the Under-world, and that you 殺人d the lord Kallikrates because he would not give himself to you. Also she swore that you strove to 殺人 her who, 存在 保護するd by the 魔法 which her father Nectanebes, the 広大な／多数の／重要な wizard, taught her, was too strong for you and therefore escaped alive."

"As to the last, she lies," I answered carelessly.

We （機の）カム to the inmost 法廷，裁判所. It was the hour of sunset and the place was filled with glowing light. I took my seat upon the 王位-like 議長，司会を務める beneath the statue and the light （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 十分な upon me, a glory on a glory.

The priests and priestesses who were standing still with 倍のd 武器 and 屈服するd 長，率いるs looked up and saw me. A murmur of astonishment rose from them and I heard one say to the other,

"The Princess has told us truth."

At first I did not understand; then I remembered that I was no long as mortal women are, but rather, as my mirror told me, an incarnate splendour, a very goddess to the sight.

"Speak," I said, and they shook at the new rich 公式文書，認める of 力／強力にする in my 発言する／表明する, as leaves vibrate at the sudden swell of music.

The first of the priests, a large man of middle age, 押し通すs by 指名する, stood 今後 and 直す／買収する，八百長をするing his 一連の会議、交渉／完成する 注目する，もくろむs upon my 直面する, said,

"O Prophetess, O Daughter of 知恵, O Isis-come-to-Earth, we know not what to say, since we have heard that you have changed your 形態／調整, now as is evident to us. Prophetess, you are not the same high-priestess who 支配するd over us in the 寺 at Memphis and whom we followed to this desolate land. Some 魔法 has been at work with you."

"If so," I answered, "is it an evil 魔法? Tell me, 押し通すs, am I changed for better or for worse?"

"You are beautiful," he answered, "so beautiful that madness must take all men who look on you. But, Prophetess, your loveliness is not such as mortal woman wears. Nay, it is such as Typhon might give to one who had sold her soul to him. Also, there is more. We learn that you 殺人d the Greek Kallikrates, who once was of our fellowship, because he 辞退するd his love to you; yes, that you, the high-priestess of Isis, 殺人d a man because he turned from your 武器 to those of his wife, the 王室の Amenartas, and that if you could, you would have 殺人d her also."

"Who tells this tale?" I asked slowly.

"The Princess herself," 押し通すs answered. "See, she is here. Let her speak."

Amenartas appeared from の中で the throng, and cried,

"It is true, it is most true. Here before the statue of Truth herself, I 断言する it in the 直面する of Heaven and to all the listening earth. There is a 負傷させる on the breast of my dead lord, Kallikrates. Ask yonder witch how that 負傷させる （機の）カム there. 着せる／賦与するd only in her hair, she entered into a 解雇する／砲火／射撃, a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of hell. She （機の）カム 前へ／外へ beautiful with a beauty that is not human. She called my lord to embrace her. Yes, this shameless one, she 指名するd herself his spouse. This she did before the 注目する，もくろむs of his own wife and in the 審理，公聴会 of her ears. She bade him enter the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Hell, and when he would not, when he turned to 捜し出す 避難 in my 武器, she sent him 負かす／撃墜する the path of death by her words of 力／強力にする. She said:

"'I call 負かす／撃墜する death upon thee, Kallikrates. Death be thy 部分 and the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な thine home. Die, Kallikrates, that thy 直面する may torment me no more and that I may learn to mock thy memory.'

"These were her very words. Let her 否定する them if she can. I say, moreover, that always she has 願望（する）d to lead astray the lord Kallikrates, and that when she could not do so of her woman's strength, then she made a 協定／条約 with Typhon and strove to mesh him in her 魔法, but strove in vain. Therefore she slew him in her 激怒（する）."

When the priests and priestesses heard these words they turned pale and trembled. Then they called me to answer. But I said,

"I answer not. Who are you that I should （判決などを）下す account to you of what I have or have not done? Think what you will and do what you will, I answer not, save this, that what has chanced, has chanced by the 法令 of 運命／宿命 who sits above all gods and goddesses, 王位d beyond heaven's remotest 星／主役にする."

They drew apart, they talked together. Then 押し通すs （機の）カム 今後 and, still 星／主役にするing at me, said:

"Whether you yet serve Isis, O Ayesha, daughter of Yarab, we do not know. But we who are her children, sworn to her obedience for which we have 苦しむd many things, 拒絶する you from your place of 支配する in which you were 始める，決める above us by the 宗教上の Noot, whom we learn has passed to the keeping of Osiris. No more are you our high-priestess, Ayesha, or Evil Spirit, and no longer shall you stand with us before the altars of the Queen of Heaven."

"Be it as you will," I answered. "Go and leave me to make 地雷 own peace with Isis, who now and henceforward am her equal, I who have learned what Isis is, and been 着せる／賦与するd with that same majesty. I see that you believe me to blaspheme; the horror upon your 直面するs tells me so. Yet I do not; here in the 影をつくる／尾行する of Truth—if it were but known, the only goddess—I speak with the 発言する／表明する of Truth. 別れの（言葉，会）. I wish you good fortune, and in all things will 援助（する） you if I can. Tell me, Philo, do you 砂漠 me like these others?"

"Nay, O Queen," he answered, "we are old comrades, you and I, who have gone through too much together to separate at last. I am a Greek who entered into the company of Isis 主として after I met you, fair Daughter of 知恵, and 公式文書，認めるd the 行為s you did upon the ship Hapi, and to be short—whatever road you take is a good road for me. I know not whether you slew this Kallikrates, or whether he slew himself with his own sword, of which I 公式文書，認めるd the 示す upon him, but if you 申し込む／申し出d him your love and he 辞退するd it then I 持つ／拘留する that he deserved to die.

"For the 残り／休憩（する）, I am a merchant who take my 伸び（る） where I can find it, and I know that you 支払う／賃金 井戸／弁護士席. Therefore I follow your 旗，新聞一面トップの大見出し／大々的に報道する to the end, whether it lead me to the Heaven of Isis or to the Hades of my forefathers, where doubtless I shall 会合，会う Achilles and 圧力をかけて脅す（悩ます） and Odysseus and many another gallant seafaring 軍人 of whom our ホームラン sings. That place whither you wend is home enough for me, for in your palace I shall always find a 議会, and on your ship of 明言する／公表する I shall always stand upon the poop, however far the voyage."

Thus spoke that gay and cunning Greek, hiding the 忠義 of his heart beneath his jesting words, and truly in that hour of 砂漠d loneliness my 感謝 went out toward him, as still it does to-day and will do for evermore. For though Philo would take a 賄賂 where he could find it, as is the way of those who serve Fortune and must earn bread, still he was ever loyal to those he loved, and he loved me in that high fashion which is born of long service and of fellowship. When at length I come into my 広大な／多数の／重要な 相続物件, and 支配する otherwhere— as 支配する I shall—my first care shall be to reward Philo as he deserves, although once or more he did fill his pouch with the gold of Amenartas, or so I believe.

Yet at this time I only smiled at him and asked,

"These things 存在 done, what of the Princess of Egypt? Let her speak her 願望（する） that I may fulfil it, if I can."

"It is simple," answered Amenartas, "that I may be rid of you, no いっそう少なく and no more. I would go hence to 耐える my child and to 後部 him to wreak vengeance on you for his father's 血, O Witch of the Under- world, and until I die, to work and pray that the Furies may be your bedfellows, O murderess and どろぼう of love."

"Let these things 生じる as they are 運命／宿命d," I answered very 静かに. "The 行う／開催する／段階 of doom is 始める，決める and on it throughout the ages until the play ends at last, we, the puppets of 運命, must 行為／法令／行動する our 任命するd parts to a consummation that we cannot 予知する. But how will it end, Lady Amenartas? You know not; nor do I, though already some master's 手渡す has 令状 the last scene upon his roll. Philo, it is my 命令（する） that you lead Pharaoh's child to the coast, or wherever she would go, that thence she may find her way to Greece or Egypt as Fortune may direct her. That done, return and make 報告（する）／憶測 to me. 別れの（言葉，会）, Amenartas."

"Fare ill, Witch," she cried. "We part, but as I think, to 会合，会う again どこかよそで, seeing that between you and me there is a 得点する／非難する／２０ to settle."

"Aye," I answered gently enough. "Yet 誇る not, Amenartas, and be not too sure of anything, since when at length that sum is 追加するd up, who knows on which 味方する the balance will be struck."

"At least I know that the count will be long and that 殺人 is a 激しい 負わせる in any 規模," she answered.

Then she went; they all went and left me alone brooding there upon the 議長，司会を務める of 明言する／公表する, in which I sat for the last time. The 不明瞭 の近くにd about me, then （機の）カム the twilight of the rising moon in whose soft rays I saw the 人物／姿／数字 of a man creeping toward me as a どろぼう creeps.

"Who comes?" I asked.

"Beauteous Queen," answered a 厚い 発言する／表明する, "it is I, 押し通すs, the priest."

"Speak on, 押し通すs."

"O most fair の中で women, if indeed you may be 指名するd woman, hear me. Those fools of priests and priestesses have thrown you from your place."

"So you told me but now, 押し通すs, nor can they be 非難するd."

"So I told you because I must, not of my own will, and that which is done, cannot be undone. You are cast out and here in Kor the worship of Isis is at an end, since who is there that can fill your 王位? Yet, hearken, hearken! I 粘着する to you, I worship you. I 願望（する） you to be my wife, O most lovely. Here together we will 支配する in Kor and you shall be its Queen and goddess, and I will be its Captain. It is most wise that you should 同意, O Lady divine."

"Why is it wise, 押し通すs?"

"Because, Lady, I can 保護する you. You know the 宣告，判決 that goes out against those who break the 支配する of Isis. I say that it is already uttered against you. I say that those bigots 捜し出す to 殺人 you. But if you take me as husband, then we will be beforehand with them and kill or 運動 them away. Yea, now that you are lonely and 砂漠d, I shall be your sure 保護物，者."

I heard and laughed aloud, and I think that this madman 解釈する／通訳するd that laugh in a strange fashion. At least he threw himself upon me. He 掴むd my 手渡す and 解除するd it toward his lips, though by those lips it was never touched. For now 激怒（する） took 持つ／拘留する of me, such 激怒（する） as had 所有するd my soul in the 洞穴 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of Life; 激怒（する） and the 願望（する） of 破壊, that with other evil gifts had come to me in the breath of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

"Accursed one!" I cried, "vile and insolent どろぼう! Do you dare to touch me with your 手渡す? Away with you to 始める，決める! Let the world know you no more!"

As the words passed my lips it seemed to me that from some strength within a withering 炎上 leapt out of me and smote that man as the 雷 smites. At the least he 解除するd his 手渡すs to his 長，率いる; he reeled 支援する, he fell, he groaned—he died.

Looking at him lying there in the moonlight, still and bereft of life, at the last I （機の）カム to know 十分な surely that henceforward I could 殺す with a thought, that I was the Lady of Death, and that such wrath as others 表明する in words went 前へ／外へ from me with all the might of Heaven; moreover, that now this wrath rose suddenly and 速く in me, 平易な to unchain, hard to 持つ／拘留する. Yea, I was both a fury and a terror whom no man might cross or 悩ます if he would continue to look upon the sun.

Philo （機の）カム. He 星／主役にするd at me and at the dead 押し通すs, then questioned me with his 注目する，もくろむs.

"He would have laid 手渡すs on me, Philo, and I slew him," I said.

"Then what he has earned, he has been paid," answered Philo. "Yet, Queen, how did you 殺す him? I see no bruise or 負傷させる."

"By a 力／強力にする that has come to me, Philo. I 願望（する）d him dead and he died. That is all the tale."

"A strange and a terrible 力／強力にする, Queen. Often when we are angry we wish that this one or that were dead—yet that they should forthwith die—! Henceforth you must watch your moods 井戸／弁護士席, Daughter of 知恵, since さもなければ I think that you and I will soon be parted for, as I know, at times you are angry with me, and when next that chances I shall be sped."

"Aye, Philo, so I have learned. I must watch my moods very 井戸／弁護士席. Yet 恐れる nothing, since never could I wish you dead."

"Are you sure, Ayesha? Hearken. What was the 罪，犯罪 of this poor wretch? Was it not that he, who hitherto had been a virtuous man, a good and earnest priest who never turned to look at woman, of a sudden went mad for love of you, and in his madness 勧めるd his 控訴—井戸／弁護士席, as men do when they have lost 持つ／拘留する of the reins of 推論する／理由, whereon you slew him? Now if men must die for such a 罪，犯罪, who is there that would live to grow old? I think that all of them would soon be driven to dwell in such a hermitage as that wherein the 宗教上の Noot sleeps to-night. Is it not true? I ask you who know the world."

"It is true," I answered.

"If so, Lady, I would ask another question. What was it that sent this man mad? Was it not the sight of such beauty as has never yet been known upon the earth? Which beauty, Ayesha, if I look upon it much longer, I think will send me mad also, or any other man. Daughter of 知恵, such loveliness as you wear to-day is the greatest 悪口を言う／悪態 that the gods can 認める to a woman, because 存在 above Nature, all Nature must obey its might. Daughter of 知恵, henceforward you must 隠す your 直面する from the 注目する，もくろむs of men, or become the murderess of more ill- 運命／宿命d ones."

"It seems that this is so," I answered ひどく. "I have 願望（する）d beauty and beauty has come to me, but however 広大な／多数の／重要な, all gifts are not good."

"So I have heard philosophers preach in Greece, Lady, yet never did I know one of them to turn his 支援する on any gift. Ayesha, hide those 注目する，もくろむs of yours, hide them 速く. While 押し通すs lies there dead, love is 脅すd, but once his clay is gone, who knows? But I forgot, I （機の）カム to 警告する you that a 確かな 法令 has been uttered against you, the same, Queen, that you have uttered against 押し通すs, also to 保護する you, if I can."

Now I laughed 完全な.

"Foolish man," I said, "do you not yet understand that I cannot be killed or even 害（を与える）d?"

"Ye Gods!" said Philo, 持つ／拘留するing up his 手渡すs in amazement. Then he was silent.

That night I slept by the 冷淡な 形態／調整 of Kallikrates and oh! it was the most fearful of all nights that ever I passed upon the earth. Evil, very evil were the dreams that （機の）カム to me, if dreams they were. In them it seemed that Noot spoke with me. Nay, not Noot, but a flickering tongue of 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which I knew to be the spirit of Noot. Naught could I see save that 燃やすing tongue, and from it （機の）カム terrible words.

"Daughter," it said, "you have cast my counsels to the 勝利，勝つd, you have betrayed your 信用, you have broken my 命令（する）s that I gave to you out of the 知恵 that was given to me. You have entered the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 that you were 始める，決める to watch. You have been embraced by the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and received its gifts. Behold the first fruits of them. The man whom you would have taken lies dead at your 味方する, and yonder in the 寺 法廷，裁判所 another lies dead also, who was good until your hell-認めるd beauty made him evil. The worship of Isis is destroyed in this land that now nevermore will become a nation 広大な／多数の／重要な and strong and pure. The heart of Amenartas is broken, yet she will live on to beget avengers, one of whom will 追いつく you at the 任命するd time. In loneliness, in 悔恨, in utter desolation you must 耐える till the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 dies that cannot die while the world is; 捜し出すing yet never finding, or finding but to lose again. Henceforth you are an 外国人 to the kindly race of men, a beauteous terror that all must 願望（する） and yet all 恐れる and hate. Ever that which you 捜し出す will flit before you like a wandering 星／主役にする which you may never 追いつく, and in に引き続いて it you will bring death to thousands. Daughter, you are accursed."

"Is there then no redemption?" I asked of Noot in my dream.

"Aye, Ayesha, when the world is redeemed, then perchance you may find your part in that 広大な／多数の／重要な forgiveness. Hearken. There is a 見通し which throughout your life has haunted you. In that 見通し Aphrodite and the evil gods, those gods that she had led into Egypt to destroy its higher 約束, were 召喚するd before the 王位 of Isis. In it also a 運命／宿命 and a 命令（する） were laid upon you—that you should war against those gods and bring its 罰 on Egypt that received and welcomed them."

"It is but a fantasy," I answered. "Now I know that there are no evil gods; there lives no Aphrodite; even no Isis."

"Daughter, you err. True, there is no Isis who was 形態／調整d only by the 約束 of earth and in the dreams of men. Yet there is that which they 指名する Isis, as the highest that they know and can fashion in their thought. There is the eternal Good and that Good is God. Throughout the countless ages man, warring against Nature, has 解除するd up his heart till almost he seems to look upon the 直面する of that almighty, regnant Good. Thus it was with you, Daughter, and now wither have you wended? You have fled 負かす／撃墜する the backward path. You have undone all, you have gone 支援する to Nature. Henceforth you are Nature's self, 向こうずねing with her 誤った and passing beauty, 奮起させるd with her 法律 of death, you who once drew 近づく to the new 法律 of Life that を待つd you beyond the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, which now you may not 捜し出す."

"Whate'er I did, I did for Love and Love shall save me," I seemed to answer in my agony.

"Aye, Ayesha, doubtless in the end Love will save you, as it saves all things that without its grace must 死なせる／死ぬ everlastingly. Yet for you that 救済 is now far away, and ere it can be 設立する, one by one you must 征服する／打ち勝つ those passions that 設立する you in the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. You who sought undying beauty, must see your fair 団体／死体 more hideous and more horrible than the leper of the streets. You who are filled with 激怒（する） and strength must grow gentle as a dove and weak as a little child. By 苦しむing you must learn to soothe the sufferings of others. By expiation you must atone your 罪，犯罪s, by 約束 once more you must 解除する up your soul. By the knowledge you shall 勝利，勝つ you must come to understand your own blind pettiness through time untold. Ayesha, this is your doom."

Such was the 実体 of that dream and when I awoke from it, oh! how 激しく I wept. For now I understood. I was fallen—fallen! All that I had gathered through the long years of 祈り and abstinence and service had been reft from me, and I who stood 近づく to joy had sunk into a hell of unending 悲しみ. There was no Isis, so I had dreamed Noot to say, and so my new knowledge told me. Yet there was the eternal Good which in Egypt men knew as Isis, and in other lands by many a different 指名する, and from that Good I was excommunicate.

Now like my savage ancestors of a million years before, I was but a part of Nature as we see her upon the earth and feel her in our 血 and—this was the most dreadful of my 罰s—my 知恵 and my lost 約束 had become 支配するs by which I could mete out the 手段 of my 落ちる, for ignorance can smile at that which to knowledge is a hell. All Nature's gifts were 地雷; all her beauty, all her 願望（する）s, all her fierceness, all her hates, and one by one, through countless time I must 少しのd her every evil growth from the garden of my 毒（薬）d soul. The 悪口を言う／悪態 with which she was accursed had smitten me also, and in the end her death would be my death. Such was the doom that I had brought upon my 長，率いる when I had listened to the calling of that god of 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

Oh! looking upon the 冷淡な 死体 of Kallikrates and feeling the primeval passions 殺到するing in my breast, little wonder that I, the 拒絶するd of Heaven, wept as still I weep to-day.

For such is the lot of those who trample on all good as they run to 掴む the glittering gauds that the tempter spreads before their lusting 注目する，もくろむs. Perchance Noot never broke his 宗教上の 残り／休憩（する） to speak to me in dreams; perchance it was the strength in my own soul that spoke to my heart, as that strength of which now I knew the 力／強力にする, in the old days wrought marvels that then I believed to be done by the invisible 手渡す of Isis. At least the lesson taught is true.

CHAPTER XXV

IN UNDYING LONELINESS

Ere the 夜明け, guided by those old embalmers and 耐えるing with me the dead Kallikrates, I 出発／死d from that hateful Kor. As I think, 非，不，無 saw me go, for, forgetful of their 約束d vengeance, the priests and priestesses were gathered trembling about the 死体 of 押し通すs in the inmost 法廷，裁判所 of the 寺 of Truth, though it is true that I felt the baleful 注目する，もくろむs of Amenartas watching me. Or perhaps it was her 追求するing hate I felt, and not her 注目する，もくろむs.

隠すd so that no man might look upon my deadly beauty, I crossed the plain and （機の）カム to the 広大な 洞穴-sepulchres. Here those old embalmers lit lamps and showed me a 深い and empty tomb. It had two 棚上げにするs or niches, on one of which I laid my dead, choosing the other to be my couch. Thus then I took up my abode in the Sepulchres of Kor that for some two thousand years were to be my home.

At my 命令（する） Philo led the 王室の Amenartas from the haunted land of Kor, and returning three moons later, told me, truly or not, that she had passed the 押し寄せる／沼地s and 出発／死d on a wandering ship, sailing north, whither he knew not. I asked him no more who did not 願望（する） to learn of her words and 悪口を言う／悪態s, though as it chanced this I must do after long ages had gone by. Some of the priests and priestesses went with her. Others remained in Kor and, if they were young enough, took wives or husbands and 支配するd there. Indeed, the last of their 子孫s whom I could trace before their 血 was utterly swallowed up in that of the barbarians, died after five hundred years or more had passed away.

Philo, too, lived on at Kor, making 貿易（する）ing 旅行s to the coast and along it in his ship and grew rich and, after a fashion, 広大な／多数の／重要な. For Philo would never leave me whom he loved, though no more would he look upon my 明かすd 直面する. At length, very old, he died in my 武器, he who would have 非，不，無 of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and its gifts. When his breath left him, for the first time since that night at Kor, I wept. For now I was やめる alone.

While he lay dying he prayed me to 明かす, 説 that now, when no 害（を与える） could come of it, he would look upon my 直面する once more. I did so and he 熟考する／考慮するd me long and 真面目に with his hollow 注目する，もくろむs.

"You are wondrous beautiful," he said, "nor during these past forty years or more, since last I beheld you 明かすd in the 聖域 of the 寺 of Truth, has your loveliness 少なくなるd by one wit. Indeed, I think that it has gathered. What is the meaning of this, fair Daughter of 知恵?"

"It means what I have told you before, Philo, that I do not die until the world dies, although I may change and seem to pass away."

"Yet I die. Do we then part for ever?" he asked.

"Nay, I think not, Philo, for at last Death 追いつくs everything and in its hallways we may 会合，会う again. Moreover, the world lives long and to it, ere its end, you may return once, or often, and if so, perchance you will be drawn to me."

"I 信用 so, O 知恵's Daughter. They call you witch, and doubtless such you are, who can 殺す with a ちらりと見ること, whom age does not touch, and whom Death 軽蔑（する）s. Yet, witch or woman, or both, there lives 非，不，無, no, not even wife or child, whom I so 願望（する） to 会合，会う hereafter."

So Philo died, and since those 薬／医学-men who had embalmed Kallikrates now were dead also, leaving behind them 非，不，無 who had knowledge of their art, I buried him unpreserved in the 広大な／多数の／重要な sepulchres.

Awhile ago the fancy took me to go to look upon him, but 式のs! after the passing of some sixteen hundred years, save for the skull, his naked bones had 崩壊するd into dust.

What more is there to tell? All died and （機の）カム again in their children: 世代 after 世代 of them did I watch arise, 繁栄する in their wild fashion, and go their way 負かす／撃墜する the path of Death. I 支配するd those barbarians, if 支配する it can be called. They were my slaves who 恐れるd me as a spirit, and I was 肉親，親類d to them, but if they 怒り／怒るd me, then I slew them, for thus only could they be held in a 予定 subjection even to one that they believed to be an 古代の goddess whom their forefathers worshipped, Lulala by 指名する, whose 王位 was in the moon.

For these Amahagger were a terrible people, barbarians who loved the night because their 行為s were evil, and who, if strangers wandered の中で them, slew them by the setting of red-hot マリファナs upon their 長，率いるs, and afterward ate their flesh. Yet の中で them were some of a nobler sort, descended, as I think, either from the unmixed 血 of the 古代のs of old Kor, or perchance from those priests and priestesses of Isis who had been my companions. Such a one was a 確かな Billali whom my lord Leo and Holly knew. But for the most part they were hook- nosed, 背信の, dark-haunting savages, and as such they must be 扱うd.

In the course of those long ages, to コースを変える myself in my loneliness and for the 目的s of 熟考する／考慮する, I 後部d 確かな of these savages up to this and that. I stunted them to dwarfs, I bred them to 巨大（な）s. Musicians of a 肉親，親類d I made of some of them, though to do so took ten of their 世代s. Then I grew 疲れた／うんざりした of the game and all these variants died 支援する into the ありふれた 在庫／株; that 根底となる type to which, if left alone, every 種類 that springs on earth returns in time, and this more quickly than might be thought. The last 産む／飼育する that I created, or 原因（となる）d to create itself, was one of mutes 発展させるd from a faithful 緊張する who had served me 井戸／弁護士席, since I 設立する these mutes more docile and いっそう少なく wearisome than the 残り／休憩（する）.

But enough of that people with which I have done for ever.

What did I do through all those awful ages? At first, as I 設立する I had the 力／強力にする, I threw my watching 注目する，もくろむs across the world, and learned all that happened there. Thus I saw the 戦う／戦いs of Alexander, his conquests and his death, and the rise of the Ptolemies in Egypt; also many other things in the countries with which I have had to do. But soon I tired of it all.

Men arose of whom I knew nothing. Peoples changed, and ever the play repeated itself afresh, though with new actors. I had naught in ありふれた with them and their petty 目的（とする）s and passions, I who watched as a god might watch those that served him not, or as an idle child watches the 労働s of 植民地 after 植民地 of ants. Yea, I tired of them and took no more 注意する of what they did or did not do upon their short 旅行 to that forgetfulness wherewith the dust of Time would bury them. I was dead to the world, and the world was dead to me.

In the ages that followed I sent out my soul to 捜し出す kindred souls and 設立する some with whom I communed, though they never knew who it was that talked to them. With wise men throughout the earth I held this converse, and from them gathered knowledge, giving them in return something of my 知恵, which doubtless they 現在のd to the 世代s as their own. If so, the world was the gainer, and if Truth comes, what 事柄s it whence it comes?

I did more. I sought out the dead in their habitations beyond the 星／主役にするs, aye, and 設立する not a few of them. Always they were eager to learn of the world and in return paid me with the coin of their unearthly lore. They told me of those other worlds and I made 知識 with their princes and their 支配者s: I gathered up the broken fragments from the feasts that were spread upon these 外国人 （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs and drank of the dregs of their new ワイン. But, and here was a mystery, here was the grief: never once could I しっかり掴む the 式服 of any whom I had known upon the earth. I 設立する not my father, I 設立する not Noot, I 設立する not Kallikrates, I 設立する not Philo, I 設立する not Beltis or Amenartas. In all that countless multitude I discovered no 選び出す／独身 soul to whom my mortal lips had spoken in its little day. Of friend or 敵 I 設立する not one. Perchance all them were still asleep and 残り／休憩（する）ing in their sleep.

I looked into the secrets of Nature and they opened themselves to me like flowers beneath the sun. I 吸い込むd their perfume, I admired their beauty, so that at length little was hid from me. I learned how to turn clay to gold and how to harness the 雷 to my service, aye, and many another thing. Yet what was the use of all of it to me, the dweller in a tomb?

Knowledge, the lord, is a barren 認める unless it can also be a servant; aye, a slave at 命令（する） to work good for man.

For the 残り／休憩（する）, what could I do? Without the 洞穴s I （種を）蒔くd the seed of trees. I watched them spring, I watched them grow to saplings and, in the slow progression of the centuries, swell to 広大な／多数の／重要な 木材／素質s with far-reaching 武器 beneath whose shade I 残り／休憩（する）d. Thus they stood for many a hundred years. Then for many another hundred they decayed, grew hollow, rotted to dust and fell, their long day done at last. And I, I （種を）蒔くd me others.

To 示す the passage of those years lest I should lose count of them, in a 確かな cavern I laid me 石／投石するs, a 石／投石する for every one as from the 手渡す of Time it fell 熟した into the bosom of Eternity. As on their rosaries, here and there, priests 始める，決める larger beads to 示す the tale of their 完全にするd 祈りs, so when ten years had gone I 始める，決める a larger 石／投石する, and when a hundred had passed by, one larger yet and white in colour, while the thousandth year I 示すd with a little pyramid, two of which now stand in the 洞穴s of Kor. It was a good 計画（する） whereby I could reckon easily, only some of the softer 石／投石するs that lay 近づく to the mouth of that cavern where sun and rain could reach them at length 崩壊するd into sand.

Why did I stay at Kor? Why did I not wander 前へ／外へ through the world? Because I could not, because of the 悪口を言う／悪態 that had been laid upon me, that here I must wait until Kallikrates （機の）カム again, as come I knew he would. Therefore no 捕虜 ever was more chained and fettered in his dungeon than I, Ayesha, by that 説得力のある 悪口を言う／悪態 in the Sepulchres of Kor, where night by night I laid me 負かす／撃墜する to 残り／休憩（する） in the 冷淡な company of the dead. From time to time, once in a 世代 mayhap, I would 解除する the cloths that covered him and look upon his pale beauty (for those old embalmers did not 嘘（をつく）), and kiss his brow of ice and weep and weep. Then once more I laid the shroud, or a new shroud, upon him and went my 疲れた／うんざりした way.

Oh! it is terrible in this world where all is change, where even the 石／投石するs grow old and die to re-form again, to be the one thing that changeth not for ever. Yet, that was my lot, such was the gift of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃-lord whom I had wedded and embraced. There I sat in my eternal beauty which I was doomed to hide, lest brute men should be maddened at the sight of it, so that I must 殺す them with the 雷 of my will. There I brooded, 集会 to my breast all that 知恵 of Mother Nature of whom now I was a part, all the useless 知恵 whose 負わせる at length clogged my sense and cramped my soul. There I sat, eaten of 願望（する） for one dead and 燃やすing with jealous hate of that woman who had borne his child and who, as I knew 井戸／弁護士席, wandered with him, greater than I perhaps and still more fair, in some Elysium that even my spirit could not reach, taking the place that I might fulfil, if only I could 達成する to the boon of death which is everlastingly 否定するd to me, until the old world itself shall die. There, I say, I sat while the slow 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of the torturer Time, 燃やすing in my breast, ate its path through all my 存在, till the hot soul within me turned to the bitter ash of hopelessness.

Oh! why did he not come? Why did he not come? Surely the circle must be 完全にする and the time 実行するd. Surely he must be 疲れた／うんざりした of those unknown heavenly fields and of the coarse love of Egypt's Lady. Surely he would come and soon. Only then, what if here, as there, she still companioned him?

At length one （機の）カム, and when I learned of it my heart 炎上d up with hope as a たいまつ 炎上s in these dark 洞穴s. 式のs! it was not he. So soon as my 注目する，もくろむs fell on him afar, I knew it, yonder in the 寺 of Kor whither I had gone upon the 事柄s of some petty savage trouble, such as had arisen thrice since the days of Philo. I saw and grew sick with hope destroyed, so sick that had he but known it, this little, wizened wanderer at that moment stood 近づく to the world's 辛勝する／優位. Yet afterward I （機の）カム to like him 井戸／弁護士席, perchance because he reminded me so much of Philo that once or twice almost I thought—But let this 事柄 be.

He was a strange man, that wanderer; very shrewd, but one who believed nothing which he could not see or touch or 扱う. Thus when I told him tales 関心ing myself and my length of days and why I sat at Kor in beauty, yet like one who is dead in a 砂漠, 率直に he mocked at them, which 怒り／怒るd me. Not all of these were true, be it 認める, because, 存在 a part of Nature as I am, how can I always speak the truth?

Nature shows many 直面するs to those who 法廷，裁判所 her; Nature has 砂漠- phantasies wherewith the traveller is oft deceived, thinking he sees that which he does not see, though in some 形態／調整 or form of a surety it 存在するs どこかよそで. Nature also keeps her secrets の近くに and ever 教えるs in parables that yet 持つ／拘留する the seed of perfect verity.

So, 存在 a part of Nature's self, did I with that wanderer, as indeed I do to this day with Holly the learned, who followed after him. Yet here the example has its 欠陥, for this man who was called 選挙立会人-in- the-Night, a 指名する that fitted him 井戸／弁護士席 enough, did not 法廷，裁判所 me, as her 選挙立会人s 法廷，裁判所 Nature the beautiful. Nay, he turned his 支援する upon me 説 he was not one who loved, moth-like, to singe his wings in a 炎上, however 有望な; I think because often he had singed them already.

Still, I 設立する this so strange that almost I began to wonder whether once more my beauty was on the 病弱な and whether it needed longer to be hidden beneath a 隠す, or whether perchance men had grown wiser than they used to be. Therefore, once for a little moment I put out my strength and brought him to his 膝s and having taught him 確かな lessons, I laughed at him and let him go. Yet be it said that I held and 持つ／拘留する him dear, and look onward to the day when we shall 会合，会う again, as perchance we have met in those that are long past. So enough of this 勇敢に立ち向かう and honest man, gently born also, and 教えるd in his fashion. Doubtless he died many years ago.

I tire of this long, sad 仕事; let the end of my tale be short.

At last, at last, （機の）カム Kallikrates reborn, 欠如（する）ing memories, changed in spirit, and yet in 直面する and form the very same. Holly brought him hither, or he brought Holly, because of an 古代の, lying screed that Amenartas wrote upon a sherd, which from age to age had passed 負かす／撃墜する in his race, 勧めるing some 子孫 of her 血 to find me out and 殺す me, for this Egyptian fool thought that I could be 殺害された.

He （機の）カム, and by Heaven! I knew not that he was here until the crabbed Holly led me to the couch whereon he lay fever-stricken and at the very point of death. By my arts I dragged him 支援する from between those doors of doom, that almost once again had の近くにd behind him, and afterward, 明らかにする／漏らすing to him my beauty and my 燃やすing love, 原因（となる）d him to worship me. Yet, 示す! He （機の）カム not alone; as I 恐れるd would chance, something of Amenartas 刑務所，拘置所d in a savage woman's breast （機の）カム with him, and already he was her lover.

I slew that woman who was obstinate and would not leave him; though the 行為 grieved me, I slew her because I must. It 事柄d little, for soon she was forgot, and I held him 急速な／放蕩な.

Of the 残り／休憩（する） little need be said, for Holly knows it all and tells me that he has written it in a 調書をとる／予約する. Because I might not 結婚する with mortal man I led Kallikrates, he who now was known as Leo, 負かす／撃墜する the perilous ways to that hid cavern where ever the 有望な Spirit of Life, 覆う？ in 炎上 and 雷鳴, marches on his endless 一連の会議、交渉／完成する. Behold! as it had been over two thousand years before, so it was now. Again Kallikrates 恐れるd to enter the 炎上s and, putting on majesty, to become undying king of all the world. Aye, even though the prize of my glory lay to his 手渡す, his flesh shrank from the 解雇する／砲火／射撃.

Therefore that he might learn courage, once more I gave myself to the embrace of the god, and lo! this time he slew me. Yes, in utter shame and hideousness before my lover's 注目する，もくろむs, there I died, or rather seemed to die; an 古代の, shrivelled, ape-like thing. Yet dying, my unconquered spirit gave me strength to mutter in his ear that I should come again and once more be beautiful.

Nay, I did not die. Far away again I became incarnate in this distant Asian land, which after all is my own, since in a part of it first I saw the light. Here in this cavern-修道院 where still ぐずぐず残るs some 影をつくる／尾行する of the worship of the moon and of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 原則 that in the old days was 指名するd Isis, Queen of Heaven, once more I was 着せる／賦与するd with mortal flesh.

The years went by, but two or three of them, and I 設立する the 力／強力にする to search out Kallikrates, or Leo Vincey, still living on the earth, and in a 見通し showed him the mountains that I 住む. He was faithful. Yes, like Holly he was faithful, and together they followed that 見通し. For twice ten years they searched, and then at last they 設立する me. They passed the 危険，危なくするs and the 実験（する）s; Kallikrates, or Leo Vincey, escaped the web spun by the Queen Atene, she in whom Amenartas once more shows herself upon the earth. They 耐えるd the 任命するd 裁判，公判s. Aye, when I 明かすd before him on the mountain 頂点（に達する）, my Love, my eternal Love, my doom and my 願望（する）, 設立する strength and 約束 to kiss my hideous, withered brow. Then was that 約束 rewarded. Then before his very 注目する，もくろむs I changed into the flower of all beauty, into the glory of all 力／強力にする, and he worshipped, worshipped, worshipped!

Now soon we shall be 結婚する. Now soon the 悪口を言う／悪態 shall 落ちる from us, like to a 厳しいd chain. Now soon my sin will be forgiven, and 味方する by 味方する we shall tread the endless path of splendour, no longer two but one, that path which leads through perfect joy—oh! whither does it lead? Even to-day I know not.

But this cannot be yet awhile. First he must bathe him in the 解雇する／砲火／射撃, since mortal man may not mix with my immortality and live as man. For while this world 耐えるs—have I not said it?—I who have drunk of the very Cup of its Spirit, aye, twice drunk 深い, must also 耐える, and I think the world is still far away from the gates of Death. Aye, though I change a thousand times, still I shall be the same in other 形態／調整s, and though I seem to 消える, yet I must appear again.

Where I go, also, thither Kallikrates must follow me, or I must follow him, since he and I are one, and on me is laid the 重荷（を負わせる） of the uplifting of the soul of him whose 団体／死体 once I slew.

And yet, and yet—oh! he is still human and death dogs the heels of man. As I 令状 a horror 掴むs me. Aye, my 手渡す trembles on the scroll and my spirit 地震s. What if some chance, some sickness, some 運命／宿命 should strike him 負かす／撃墜する, leaving me once more desolate and 離婚d, so that どこかよそで all this dark 悲劇 must be played afresh?

Away with that hell-born thought! There are no gods and, 運命／宿命, I 反抗する thee who am myself a 運命／宿命 and thine equal. I will 征服する／打ち勝つ thee, O 運命／宿命; thou shalt not 征服する／打ち勝つ me. There is naught but that eternal Good whereof the fiery tongue which was the soul of Noot spoke, or seemed to speak, to me in my haunted sleep at Kor, and to that Good I, Ayesha, make my 祈り.

Lo! I have 苦しむd. Lo! I have paid the count to its last coin. Lo! I have 耐えるd. Through the long ages I have sown in 涙／ほころびs, and my hour of 収穫 is at 手渡す; aye, the night of 悲しみ dies, and already on the 頂点（に達する） of heavenly Peace 向こうずねs the 夜明け of joy...My lord 追跡（する）s upon the mountain after the fashion of men, and I brood within the 洞穴s after the fashion of women...

"...Holly, Holly! Awake! Look yonder! What is this? I seem to see my lord struggling on the snow and the spotted beast has him by the throat—..."

Here ends Ayesha's manuscript. Its last words are almost illegible and are written by one whose agitation was evidently 広大な／多数の／重要な; indeed their 外見 示唆するs that they were 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する in some half- (a)自動的な／(n)自動拳銃 fashion while the writer's mind was 占領するd with other 事柄s. With them Ayesha ends her tale of which in 輪郭（を描く） the 残り／休憩（する） is to be 設立する どこかよそで—in the 調書をとる／予約する that is 指名するd after her. Suddenly she appears to have tired of her 仕事. Perhaps, 先触れ（する）d and induced by the 出来事/事件 of the snow-ヒョウ that went 近づく to ending the life of Leo Vincey, the presage of terrible woes to come, to which she alludes and not obscurely, 麻ひさせるd Ayesha's mind or filled it with forebodings that （判決などを）下すd her incapable of その上の 成果／努力 of the 肉親，親類d, or at least unwilling to 耐える its 労働, of which, it is （疑いを）晴らす, already she was 疲れた／うんざりしたing.

Editor.

THE END

This 場所／位置 is 十分な of FREE ebooks - 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg Australia