The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 100

"Why art thou here, O prophet?" asked Rameses. "Better sleep--to-day thou hast rendered good service."

"I may be of use yet," added Pentuer.

"But remain--I command thee--"

"The supreme council commands me not to go one step from thee, worthiness."

Rameses shook himself angrily.

"But if we fall into an ambush?"

"I will not leave thee in ambush," answered the priest.

CHAPTER XLIV

There was in his voice so much kindliness that the astonished prince was silent and let him go.

They were in the desert; a couple of hundred yards behind them was an army; in front were fugitives several hundred yards in advance. But though they beat and urged on their horses, the fleeing, as well as the pursuers, advanced with great difficulty. The sun poured from above dreadful heat on them, the fine but sharp dust pushed itself into their mouths, into their nostrils, into their eyes above all; under their horses' feet the burning sand gave way at every step. In the air reigned a deathlike silence.

"But it will not continue like this," said Rameses.

"It will be worse and worse," answered Pentuer. "Dost thou see, worthiness,"--he indicated the fugitives,--"their horses are in sand to their knees?"

The prince laughed, for at that moment they came out on ground which was firmer, and trotted about a hundred yards. But soon their road was confronted by a sea of sand, and again they advanced step by step slowly.

Sweat poured from the men, there was foam on the horses.

"It is hot!" whispered the heir.

"Listen, lord," said Pentuer, "this is not a good day for hunting in the desert. This morning the sacred insects showed great disquiet, then dropped into lethargy. Also my knife of a priest went down very little in the earthen scabbard, which means intense heat. Both these phenomena--the heat, and the lethargy of insects--may announce a tempest. Let us return, for not only have we lost sight of the camp, but even sounds from there do not reach to us."

Rameses looked at the priest almost contemptuously.

"And dost thou think, O prophet," said he, "that I, having once commanded the capture of Musawasa, can return empty-handed because I fear heat and a tempest?"

They went on without stopping. At one place there was hard ground again, thanks to which they approached the fugitives to within the distance of a sling cast.

"Hei, ye there!" cried the heir, "yield."

The Libyans did not even look behind, and waded on through the sand with great effort. After a while one might suppose that they would be overtaken. Soon again, however, the prince's party struck on deep sand while the Libyans hastening forward vanished beyond an elevation.

The Asiatics cursed, the prince gritted his teeth.

At last the horses began to stumble more and to be weary, so the riders had to dismount and go on foot. All at once an Asiatic grew purple, and fell on the sand. The prince commanded to cover him with a mantle, and said,--

"We will take him on the way back."

After great toil they reached the top of the sand height, and saw the Libyans. For them too the road had been murderous, two of their horses had stopped.

The camp of the Egyptian army was hidden completely behind the rolling land, and if Pentuer and the Asiatics had not known how to guide themselves by the sun they could not have gone back to the camping-place. In the prince's party another man fell, and threw b.l.o.o.d.y foam from his mouth. He was left, with his horse. To finish their trouble, on the outline of the sands stood a group of cliffs; among these the Libyans vanished.

"Lord," said Pentuer, "that may be an ambush."

"Let it be death, and let it take me!" replied the heir, in a changed voice.

The priest gazed at him with wonder; he had not supposed such resolve in Rameses.

The cliffs were not distant, but the road was laborious beyond description. They had not only to walk themselves, but to drag their horses out of the soft sand. They waded, sinking below their ankles; they sank to their knees even in some places.

Meanwhile the sun was flaming above them,--that dreadful sun of the desert,--every ray of which not only baked and blinded, but p.r.i.c.ked also. The men dropped from weariness: in one, tongue and lips were swollen; another had a roaring in his head, and saw black patches before his eyes; drowsiness seized a third,--all felt pain in their joints, and lost the sensation of heat. Had any one asked if it were hot, they would not have answered.

The ground grew firm under their feet again, and the party pa.s.sed in between the cliffs.

The prince, who had more presence of mind than those who were with him, heard the snorting of horses; he turned to one side, and in the shade cast by the cliff saw a crowd of people lying as each man had dropped. Those were the Libyans.

One of them, a youth of twenty years, wore an embroidered purple shirt, a gold chain was around his neck, and he carried a sword richly mounted. He seemed unconscious; the eyes were turned in his head, and there was foam on his lips. In him Rameses recognized the chief. He approached him, drew the chain from his neck, and unfastened his sword.

Some old Libyan who seemed less wearied than others, seeing this, called out,--

"Though thou art victor, Egyptian, respect the prince's son, who is chief."

"Is he the son of Musawasa?" asked Rameses.

"Thou hast spoken truth," replied the Libyan. "This is Tehenna, the son of Musawasa; he is our leader; he is worthy to be even prince of Egypt."

"But where is Musawasa?"

"In Glaucus. He will collect a great army and avenge us."

The other Libyans said nothing; they did not even look at their conquerors.

At command of Rameses the Asiatics disarmed them without the least trouble, and sat down in the shade themselves.

At that moment they were all neither enemies nor friends, only men who were mortally wearied. Death was hovering over all, but beyond rest they had no desire.

Pentuer, seeing that Tehenna remained unconscious, knelt near him and bent above his head so that no one saw what he was doing. Soon Tehenna sighed, struggled, and opened his eyes; then he sat up, rubbed his forehead, as if roused from a deep sleep, which had not yet left him.

"Tehenna, leader of the Libyans, thou and thy people are prisoners of his holiness," said Rameses.

"Better slay me here," said Tehenna, "if I must lose my freedom."

"If thy father, Musawasa, will submit and make peace with Egypt, thou wilt be free and happy."

The Libyan turned his face aside, and lay down careless of everything; he seemed to be sleeping.