od preserve me," answered Sarah, "from wanting another lord
beyond the one who is mine at this moment. But whence, worthy Dagon,
did the desire come to thee today of visiting our lord's servant?"

"I will tell thee the truth, as if Thou wert Tamara, my wife, who, a
real daughter of Sidon, though she brought me a large dowry, is old now
and not worthy to take off thy sandals."

"In the honey flowing from thy lips there is much wormwood," put in
Sarah.

"Let the honey," replied Dagon, sitting down, "be for thee and let the
wormwood poison my heart. Our lord Prince Ramses may he live through
eternity! has the mouth of a lion and the keenness of a vulture. He has
seen fit to rent his estate to me. This has filled my stomach with
delight; but he does not trust me, so I lay awake whole nights from
anxiety, I only sigh and cover my bed with tears, in which bed would
that Thou wert resting with me, O Sarah, instead of my wife Tamara, who
cannot rouse desire in me any longer."

"That is not what Thou wishest to say," interrupted the blushing Sarah.

"I know not what I wish to say, since I have looked on thee, and since
our lord, examining my activity on his estates, struck with a cane and
took health from my scribe who was collecting dues there from tenants.
And these dues were not for me. Sarah, but for our lord. It is not I
who will eat the figs and wheaten bread from those lands, but Thou and
our lord. I have given money to our lord and jewels to thee. Why then
should the low Egyptian rabble impoverish our lord and thee, Sarah? To
show how greatly Thou rousest my desire and that from these estates I
wish nothing but reserve all for thee and our lord, I give this goblet
of pure gold set with jewels and covered with carving at which the gods
themselves would be astonished."

Then Dagon drew forth from the cloth the goblet refused by Prince
Ramses.

"I do not even wish that Thou shouldst have the goblet in the house and
give the prince to drink from it. Give this goblet of pure gold to
Gideon, whom I love as my own brother. And thou, Sarah, tell thy father
these words: 'Thy twin brother Dagon, the unfortunate tenant on the
lands of Prince Ramses, is ruined. Drink then, my father, from this
goblet, think of thy twin brother, and beg Jehovah that our lord,
Prince Ramses, may not beat his scribes, and bring to revolt tenants
who even now have no wish to pay tribute? And know this, Sarah, that if
Thou wouldst admit me to con