ld him that her father's name was Arybas. 'I will go with you,'
answered the woman, 'if ye will swear an oath to carry me home
unharmed.' They all swore to do as she said, and after that she
instructed them how to proceed. 'Keep close counsel,' she said, 'and
let none of you seem to know me when ye meet me in the street, nor yet
by the well, lest anyone tell it to my master; for if he suspects that
aught is amiss it will be the ruin of us all. Lose no time in selling
your wares, and when the ship is freighted for her homeward voyage let
one of you come up to the house and give me a sign. I will not come
empty-handed, but will bring with me vessels of gold to pay for my
passage. Furthermore, I have charge of my master's child, a knowing
little lad; and, if it be possible, I will bring him with me, that ye
may sell him for a great price.'

"The bargain was struck, and the woman departed. Then for a whole year
they remained among us and traded; at last, when they had sold out all
their goods, and stowed their cargo, they sent up a man to my father's
house, to warn the woman that the time was come. He brought with him a
necklace of gold and amber, a thing of most rare device; and while my
mother and her women were handling it, and bargaining for the price,
the fellow made a sign to my nurse. When he was gone she took me by
the hand and led me with her into the courtyard before the house.
There she found tables set with vessels of gold, where my father had
been dining with his guests. They had now gone forth to attend the
council, and the place was deserted; so she caught up three goblets
and hid them in her bosom. Then with one rapid glance round, to make
sure that she was not observed, she hastened down to the spot where
the Phoenician ship lay moored; and I, poor child, followed her,
fearing nothing.

"Evening was coming on as we reached the shore, and the crew were
sitting ready at their oars, only waiting for our arrival. They took
us on board, rowed their galley into open water, and, a strong breeze
springing up from the land, they hoisted sail, and were soon beyond
the reach of pursuit. On the seventh day of the voyage the hand of
vengeance fell upon the woman, and she was struck dead by an invisible
blow. They flung her body to the fishes, and soon after we landed in
Ithaca, where they sold me as a slave to Laertes."

"Twas a sad fate for one of thy tender years," remarked Odysseus, when
Eumaeus had finished his s