n his sleep.

She watched alone.

It seemed to her as if she were in the habitation of sleep, and as if
phantoms and dreams were floating around her on the unfamiliar noises.

She was afraid, and the thought of being the only woman among so many men
caused her extreme uneasiness.

She could not sit still.

Inaudibly as a shadow she approached the head of the sleeping emperor,
holding her breath to listen to him. How soundly he slept! And she had
come that she might talk to him. If his sleep lasted till sunrise, the
pardon for her people would be too late, and her father and Philip,
chained to a hard bench, would have to ply heavy oars as galley slaves by
the side of robbers and murderers. How terribly then would her father's
wish to use his strength be granted! Was Philip, the narrow-chested
philosopher, capable of bearing the strain which had so often proved
fatal to stronger men?

She must wake the dreaded man, the only man who could possibly help her.

She now raised her hand to lay it on his shoulder, but she half withdrew
it.

It seemed to her as if it was not much less wicked to rob a sleeping man
of his rest, his best cure, than to take the life of a living being. It
was not too late yet, for the harbor-chain would not be opened till the
October sun had risen. He might enjoy his slumbers a little longer.

With this conclusion she once more sank down and listened to the noises
which broke the stillness of the night.

How hideous they were, how revolting they sounded! The vulgarest of the
sleepers, old Adventus, absolutely sawed the air with his snoring.

The emperor's breathing was scarcely perceptible, and how nobly cut was
the profile which she could see, the other side of his face leaning on
the pillow! Had she any real reason to fear his awakening? Perhaps he was
quite unlike what Berenike thought him to be. She remembered the sympathy
she had felt for him when they had first met, and, in spite of all the
trouble she had experienced since, she no longer felt afraid. A thought
then occurred to her which was sufficient excuse for disturbing the sick
man's sleep. If she delayed it, she would be making him guilty of a fresh
crime by allowing two blameless men to perish in misery. But she would
first convince herself whether the time was pressing. She looked out
through the open window at the stars and across the open place lying at
her feet. The third hour after midnight was past, and the sun would ris