im for a third blow, when
he felt a cord round his neck. It was drawn tighter and tighter till at
last he could not breathe and fell down insensible. By the time he came
to his senses he was bound, and notwithstanding all his appeals to his
pass and the name of Theopompus, was forced to follow his captors.

When the tale was finished the Milesian did not attempt to conceal his
strong disapprobation, and told Zopyrus that his most unseasonable love
of fighting might be followed by the saddest consequences. After saying
this, he turned to the officer and begged him to accept his own personal
security for the prisoner. The other, however, refused gravely, saying
he might forfeit his own life by doing so, as a law existed in Egypt
by which the concealer of a murder was condemned to death. He must,
he assured them, take the culprit to Sais and deliver him over to the
Nomarch for punishment. "He has murdered an Egyptian," were his last
words, "and must therefore be tried by an Egyptian supreme court. In any
other case I should be delighted to render you any service in my power."

During this conversation Zopyrus had been begging his friends not to
take any trouble about him. "By Mithras," he cried, when Bartja offered
to declare himself to the Egyptians as a means of procuring his freedom,
"I vow I'll stab myself without a second thought, if you give yourselves
up to those dogs of Egyptians. Why the whole town is talking about
the war already, and do you think that if Psamtik knew he'd got such
splendid game in his net, he would let you loose? He would keep you as
hostages, of course. No, no, my friends. Good-bye; may Auramazda send
you his best blessings! and don't quite forget the jovial Zopyrus, who
lived and died for love and war."

The captain of the band placed himself at the head of his men, gave the
order to march, and in a few minutes Zopyrus was out of sight.

CHAPTER XI.

According to the law of Egypt, Zopyrus had deserved death.

As soon as his friends heard this, they resolved to go to Sais and try
to rescue him by stratagem. Syloson, who had friends there and could
speak the Egyptian language well, offered to help them.

Bartja and Darius disguised themselves so completely by dyeing their
hair and eyebrows and wearing broad-brimmed felt-hats,--that they could
scarcely recognize each other. Theopompus provided them with ordinary
Greek dresses, and, an hour after Zopyrus' arrest, they met the
splendid