called Asti to her from the adjoining
chamber and said:

"You are wise, my nurse, tell me, what did Abi mean?"

"If your Majesty cannot guess, then you are duller than I thought,"
answered Asti in her quick, dry fashion, adding; "however, I will try to
translate. The Prince Abi, your noble uncle, means that he has trapped
you here, and that you shall not leave these walls save as his wife."

Now fury took hold of Tua.

"How dare he speak such words?" she gasped, springing to her feet. "I,
the wife of that old river-hog, my father's brother who might be my
grandfather, that hideous, ancient lump of wickedness who boasts that he
has a hundred sons and daughters; I, the Queen of Egypt, whose birth was
decreed by Amen, I--how dare you?" and she ceased, choking in her wrath.

"The question is--how he dares, Queen. Still, that is his plot which
he will carry through if he is able. I suspected it from the first,
and that is why I always opposed this visit to Memphis, but you will
remember that you bade me be silent, saying that you had determined to
see the most ancient city in Egypt."

"You should not have been silent. You should have said what was in your
mind, even if I ordered you from my presence. Neither Abi nor any of his
sons proposed for my hand when the others did, therefore _I_ suspected
nothing----"

"After the fashion of women who have already given their hearts, Queen,
and forget that they have other things to give--a kingdom, for instance.
The snake does not roar like the lion, yet it is more to be feared."

"Once I am out of this place it is the snake that shall have cause
to fear, Asti, for I will break its back and throw it writhing to the
kites. Nurse, we must leave Memphis."

"That is not easy, Queen, since some ceremony is planned for each of the
next eight days. If Pharaoh were to go away without attending them, he
would anger all the people of the North which he has not visited since
he was crowned."

"Then let them be angered; Pharaoh can do as he wills."

"Yes, Queen, at least, that is the saying. But do you think that Pharaoh
wishes to bring about a civil war and risk his crown and yours? Listen:
Abi is very strong, and under his command he has a greater army than
Pharaoh can muster in these times of peace, for in addition to his
trained troops, all the thousands of the Bedouin tribes of the desert
look on him as lord, and at his word will fall on the wealth of Egypt
like famished vultur