e succeeded in leaving Thebes
unobserved.

Bent-Anat knelt in prayer before the images of her mother in Osiris, of
Hathor, and of the guardian Gods of her house, till the chamberlain
returned, and told her that he had persuaded the captain of the ship to
stop at Chennu, and to conceal from Ani that he had betrayed his charge.

The princess breathed more freely, for she had come to a resolution that
if the chamberlain had failed in his mission, she would cross over to the
Necropolis forbid the departure of the vessel, and in the last extremity
rouse the people, who were devoted to her, against Ani.

The following morning the Lady Katuti craved permission of the princess
to see her daughter. Bent-Anat did not show herself to the widow, whose
efforts failed to keep her daughter from accompanying the princess on her
journey, or to induce her to return home. Angry and uneasy, the indignant
mother hastened to Ani, and implored him to keep Nefert at home by force;
but the Regent wished to avoid attracting attention, and to let Bent-Anat
set out with a feeling of complete security.

"Do not be uneasy," he said. "I will give the ladies a trustworthy
escort, who will keep them at the Sanctuary of the 'Emerald-Hathor' till
all is settled. There you can deliver Nefert to Paaker, if you still like
to have him for a son-in-law after hearing several things that I have
learned. As for me, in the end I may induce my haughty niece to look up
instead of down; I may be her second love, though for that matter she
certainly is not my first."

On the following day the princess set out.

Ani took leave of her with kindly formality, which she returned with
coolness. The priesthood of the temple of Amon, with old Bek en Chunsu at
their head, escorted her to the harbor. The people on the banks shouted
Bent-Anat's name with a thousand blessings, but many insulting words were
to be heard also.

The pilgrim's Nile-boat was followed by two others, full of soldiers, who
accompanied the ladies "to protect them."

The south-wind filled the sails, and carried the little procession
swiftly down the stream. The princess looked now towards the palace of
her fathers, now towards the tombs and temples of the Necropolis. At last
even the colossus of Anienophis disappeared, and the last houses of
Thebes. The brave maiden sighed deeply, and tears rolled down her checks.
She felt as if she were flying after a lost battle, and yet not wholly
discouraged,