om herself that he would
disapprove of the whole proceeding, and would probably send the phial
back to the young man, and the money to the dealer. She herself
would never have asked the stranger for the bottle if she had had the
slightest suspicion of its value; but now it certainly belonged to
her, and if she had given it back again she would have given no one any
pleasure; on the contrary, she would have offended the stranger, and
probably have lost the greatest pleasure that she had ever enjoyed.

What was to be done now? She was still perched on the table; she had
taken her left foot in her right hand, and sitting in this quaint
position, she looked down on the ground as gravely as if she were trying
to find an idea, or a way out of the difficulty, in the pattern on the
floor.

The dealer for a moment amused himself in studying her bewilderment,
which he thought charming--only wishing that his son, a young painter,
were standing in his place. At last he broke the silence however,
saying:

"Your father, perhaps, will not agree to our bargain; and yet it is for
him you want the money?"

"Who says so?"

"Would he have offered me his own treasures if he had not wanted money?"

"It is only--I can--only--" stammered Arsinoe, who was unaccustomed to
falsehood. "--I would merely not confess to him--"

"I myself saw how innocently you came by the phial," said the dealer,
"and Keraunus never need know anything about such a trifle. Fancy
yourself, that you have broken it, and that the pieces are lying at
the bottom of the sea. Which of all these things does your father value
least?"

"This old sword of Antony," answered the child, her face brightening
once more. "He says it is much too long, and too slender to be what it
pretends to be. For my part I do not believe that it is a sword at all,
but a roasting-spit."

"I shall apply it to that very purpose to-morrow morning in my kitchen,"
said the dealer, "but I offer you two thousand drachmae for it, and will
take it with me and send you the amount in a few hours. Will that do?"

Arsinoe dropped her foot, glided from the table, and instead of
answering, clapped her hands with glee.

"Only tell him," continued Hiram, "that I am able just now to pay so
much for this kind of thing, because Caesar is certain to look about him
for the things that belonged to Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Octavianus,
Augustus, and other great Romans who have lived in Egypt. The old woman