er, and a girl about
twelve years old was seated on a low stool studying from a roll of
papyrus. She threw it down and jumped to her feet as her father
entered, and the lady rose with a languid air, as if the effort of
even so slight a movement was a trouble to her.

"Oh, papa--" the girl began, but the priest checked her with a motion
of his hand.

"My dear," he said to his wife, "I have brought home two of the
captives whom our great king has brought with him as trophies of his
conquest. He has handed many over for our service and that of the
temples, and these two have fallen to my share. They were of noble
rank in their own country, and we will do our best to make them forget
the sad change in their position."

"You are always so peculiar in your notions, Ameres," the lady said
more pettishly than would have been expected from her languid
movements. "They are captives; and I do not see that it makes any
matter what they were before they were captives, so that they are
captives now. By all means treat them as you like, so that you do not
place them about me, for their strange-colored hair and eyes and their
white faces make me shudder."

"Oh, mamma, I think it so pretty," Mysa exclaimed. "I do wish my hair
was gold-colored like that boy's, instead of being black like everyone
else's."

[Illustration: C. of B.
THE HIGH-PRIEST PRESENTS AMUBA AND JETHRO TO
HIS WIFE.--Page 68.]

The priest shook his head at his daughter reprovingly; but she seemed
in no way abashed, for she was her father's pet, and knew well enough
that he was never seriously angry with her.

"I do not propose placing them near you, Amense," he said calmly in
reply to his wife. "Indeed, it seems to me that you have already more
attendants about you than you can find any sort of employment for. The
lad I have specially allotted to Chebron; as to the other I have not
exactly settled as to what his duties will be."

"Won't you give him to me, papa?" Mysa said coaxingly. "Fatina is not
at all amusing, and Dolma, the Nubian girl, can only look good-natured
and show her white teeth, but as we can't understand each other at all
I don't see that she is of any use to me."

"And what use do you think you could make of this tall Rebu?" the
priest asked, smiling.

"I don't quite know, papa," Mysa said, as with her head a little on
one side she examined Jethro critically, "but I like his looks, and I
am sure he could d