quickly. The horses of the Asiatics grew
restive, flocks of birds flew into the garden, and occupied all the
trees, with noisy twitter.

"Rouse up!" cried Kalippos to the Greeks.

The drums beat, the flutes sounded, and to this accompaniment the Greek
soldiers sang a dancing song of the priest's daughter who was so timid
that she could sleep only in the barracks.

Meanwhile an ominous shade fell on the tawny Libyan hills, and covered
Memphis, the Nile, and the palace gardens with lightning swiftness.
Night embraced the earth, and in the heavens appeared a ball as black
as coal surrounded by a rim of brightness.

An immense uproar drowned the song of the Greek regiment. This was
caused by the Asiatics, who raised a military shout as they sent a
cloud of arrows toward the sky to frighten the evil spirit which was
gulping the sun down.

"Dost say that that black ball is the moon?" inquired the pharaoh of
Pentuer.

"That is what Menes asserts."

"He is a great sage! And will the darkness end soon?"

"To a certainty."

"And if this moon should tear itself away and fall to the earth?"

"That cannot be. Here is the sun!" cried Pentuer, with delight.

The assembled regiments raised a shout in honor of Ramses XIII.

The pharaoh embraced Pentuer. "Indeed," said he, "we have seen a most
wonderful event. But I should not like to see it a second time. I feel
that if I had not been a warrior fear would have mastered me."

Hiram approached Tutmosis, and whispered,

"Send couriers, worthiness, to Memphis immediately, for I fear that the
high priests have done something evil."

"Dost Thou think so?"

Hiram nodded.

"They would not have managed the kingdom so long," said he, "they would
not have buried eighteen dynasties if they had not known how to use
events like the present."

When Ramses had thanked the troops for good bearing in presence of the
strange phenomenon, he returned to his villa. He continued thoughtful,
he spoke calmly, even mildly, but on his shapely face doubt was
evident.

In the pharaoh's soul there was indeed a grievous struggle. He had
begun to understand that the priests possessed powers which he not only
had not weighed, but had not noted; he had not even wished to hear of
them. In a few moments the priests who followed the movements of stars
rose in his eyes immensely, and he said to himself that in every case
he should learn this wonderful wisdom which confuses people's plans so
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