sent, I endure until the spell is taken
off me, and I return whence I came. O Interpreter, speak the will of her
of whom I am, that I may do it in my own fashion. There is food--eat and
drink, then speak."

So Asti ate and drank as Tua had done, and when she had finished and
was satisfied, behold! the cup and the platter vanished away. Next in a
slow, quiet voice she spoke, saying:

"O Shadow of this royal Star, by my spells incorporate, this is our
case: Here we starve in misery, and without the gate Abi waits the end.
If the Queen lives, he will take her who hates him to be his wife; if
she dies he will seize her throne. Our wisdom is finished. What must we
do to save this Star that it may shine serene until its appointed hour
of setting?"

"Is that all you seek?" asked the Double, when she had finished.

"Nay," broke in Tua hurriedly, "I would not shine alone, I seek another
Star to share my sky with me."

"Have you faith and will you obey?" asked the Double again. "For without
faith I can do nothing."

Now Asti looked at Tua who bowed her head in assent to an unspoken
question, then she answered:

"We have faith, we will obey."

"So be it," said the Shadow. "Presently Abi will come to ask whether the
Queen consents to be his wife, or whether she will bide here until she
dies. I who wear the fashion of the Queen will go forth and be his wife,
oh! such a wife as man never had before," and as she spoke the words an
awful look swept across her face, and her deep eyes flamed. "Ill goes it
with the mortal man who weds a wraith that hates him and is commanded to
work his woe," she added.

Now Asti and Tua understood and smiled, then the Queen said:

"So you will sit in my seat, O Shadow, and as your lord, Abi will sit on
Pharaoh's throne and find it hard. But what of Egypt and my people?"

"Fear not for Egypt and your people, O Morning Star. With these it shall
go well enough until you come back to claim them."

"And what of my companion and myself?" asked Tua.

The Double raised her sceptre, and pointed to the open window-space
between them, beneath which, hundreds of feet beneath, ran the milky
waters of the river.

"You shall trust yourselves to the bosom of Father Nile," she answered
solemnly.

Now the Queen and Asti stared at each other.

"That means," said Tua, "that we must trust ourselves to Osiris, for
none can fall so far and live."

"Think you so, O Star? Where, then, is that faith you prom