him to the houses of the many friends and relatives of
his father among the priestly and military classes. When the priest
and his family went out to a banquet or entertainment Jethro and Amuba
were always with the party of servants who went with torches to escort
them home. The service was a light one in their case; but not so in
many others, for the Egyptians often drank deeply at these feasts, and
many of the slaves always took with them light couches upon which to
carry their masters home. Even among the ladies, who generally took
their meals apart from the men upon these occasions, drunkenness was
by no means uncommon.

When in the house Amuba was often present when Chebron studied, and as
he himself was most anxious to acquire as much as he could of the
wisdom of the Egyptians, Chebron taught him the hieroglyphic
characters, and he was ere long able to read the inscriptions upon the
temple and public buildings and to study from the papyrus scrolls, of
which vast numbers were stowed away in pigeon-holes ranged round one
of the largest rooms in the house.

When Chebron's studies were over Jethro instructed him in the use of
arms, and also practiced with Amuba. A teacher of the use of the bow
came frequently--for Egyptians of all ranks were skilled in the use of
the national weapon--and the Rebu captives, already skilled in the bow
as used by their own people, learned from watching his teaching of
Chebron to use the longer and much more powerful weapon of the
Egyptians. Whenever Mysa went outside the house Jethro accompanied
her, waiting outside the house she visited until she came out, or
going back to fetch her if her stay was a prolonged one.

Greatly they enjoyed the occasional visits made by the family to their
farm. Here they saw the cultivation of the fields carried on, watched
the plucking of the grapes and their conversion into wine. To extract
the juice the grapes were heaped in a large flat vat above which ropes
were suspended. A dozen barefooted slaves entered the vat and trod out
the grapes, using the ropes to lift themselves in order that they
might drop with greater force upon the fruit. Amuba had learned from
Chebron that although he was going to enter the priesthood as an
almost necessary preliminary for state employment, he was not intended
to rise to the upper rank of the priesthood, but to become a state
official.

"My elder brother will, no doubt, some day succeed my father as high
priest o