h would join the
Red Sea with the Mediterranean."

"Art Thou jesting, old man?" cried the pharaoh, springing up from his
seat. "Who could do such a work, and who could wish to endanger Egypt?
The sea would inundate the country."

"What sea? Neither the Mediterranean nor the Red Sea would," answered
Hiram calmly. "I know that Egyptian priests who are engineers have
examined this work and have calculated that it would give immense
profit, it is the best work on earth. But they wish to do it
themselves, or rather they do not wish that the pharaoh should do it."

"Where are thy proofs?" asked Ramses.

"I have not the proofs, but I will send a priest, holiness, who will
explain the whole affair to thee, with plans and estimates."

"Who is this priest?"

Hiram thought a moment and then asked,

"Have I thy promise, holiness, that no one will know of him except us?
He, lord, will render more service than I. He knows many secrets and
many iniquities of the priesthood."

"I promise," answered the pharaoh.

"This priest is Samentu. He is a great sage, but needs money, and he is
very ambitious. And since the high priests degrade him he will overturn
the order of priests; for he knows many secrets oh, many!"

Ramses meditated. He understood that that priest was a great traitor,
but he estimated the magnitude of the service which the man might
render.

"Well," said the pharaoh, "I will think of this Samentu. But now let us
suppose for the moment that it is possible to make such a canal; what
profit shall I have from it?"

Hiram raised his left hand, and counted on his fingers.

"First, holiness, Phoenicia will give thee five thousand talents of
unpaid tribute; second, Phoenicia will pay for the right of doing this
work; third, when the work begins we will pay one thousand talents of
yearly rent, and besides as many talents as Egypt furnishes us tens of
laborers; fourth, for every Egyptian engineer we will give to thee,
holiness, a talent a year; fifth, when the work is finished Thou wilt
give us the canal for one hundred years, and we will pay for that one
thousand talents yearly. Are those small gains?" inquired Hiram.

"But now, today," asked Ramses, "would ye give me those five thousand
talents tribute?"

"If the treaty is made today we will give ten thousand, and we will add
three thousand as an advance of rent for a three years' period."

Ramses meditated. More than once Phoenicians had proposed the cutting