soft sand in which
his foot sank as he followed the line of the sea-coast.

Thus passionately hurrying onwards he thought neither of Sirona nor
of his past life--only of the hills on the farther shore and of the
Blemmyes--how he should best surprise them, and, when he had learnt
their plans, how he might recross the sea and return to his own people.
At last, as he got more and more weary, as the heat of the sun grew
more oppressive, and as the blood rushed more painfully to his heart
and began to throb more rapidly in his temples, he lost all power
of thought, and that which dwelt in his mind was no more than a dumb
longing to reach his destination as soon as possible.

It was the third afternoon when he saw from afar the palms of Raithu,
and hurried on with revived strength. Before the sun had set he had
informed the anchorite, to whom Paulus had directed him, that the
Alexandrian declined their call, and was minded to remain on the Holy
Mountain.

Then Hermas proceeded to the little harbor, to bargain with the
fishermen of the place for the boat which he needed While he was talking
with an old Amalekite boatman, who, with his black-eyed sons, was
arranging his nets, two riders came at a quick pace towards the bay in
which a large merchant-ship lay at anchor, surrounded by little barks.
The fisherman pointed to it.

"It is waiting for the caravan from Petra," he said. "There, on the
dromedary, is the emperor's great warrior who commands the Romans in
Pharan."

Hermas saw Phoebicius for the first time, and as he rode up towards him
and the fisherman he started; if he had followed his first impulse, he
would have turned and have taken to flight, but his clear eyes had met
the dull and searching glance of the centurion, and, blushing at his
own weakness, he stood still with his arms crossed, and proudly and
defiantly awaited the Gaul who with his companion came straight up to
him.

Talib had previously seen the youth by his father's side; he recognized
him and asked how long he had been there, and if he had come direct from
the mountain. Hermas answered him as was becoming, and understood at
once that it was not he that the centurion was seeking.

Perfectly reassured and not without curiosity he looked at the
new-comer, and a smile curled his lips as he observed that the lean old
man, exhausted by his long and hurried ride, could scarcely hold himself
on his beast, and at the same time it struck him that this pit