nds. "Why
have we so weakened ourselves, and whither will those disbanded men
go?"

"They have gone to the Libyan desert already, and will either attack
the Libyans, which will cause us trouble, or will join them and both
will attack then our western border."

"I have heard nothing of this! What did they do, and when did they do
it? No news reached us!" cried Ramses.

"The disbanded troops went to the desert from Memphis, and Herhor
forbade to mention this news to any person."

"Do neither Mefres nor Mentezufis know of this matter?"

"They know."

"They know, and I do not."

The prince grew calm on a sudden, but he was pale, and on his young
face was depicted terrible hatred. He seized both hands of his
favorite, pressed them firmly, and whispered,

"Hear me! By the sacred heads of my father and mother, by the memory of
Ramses the Great by all the gods, if there are any, I swear that during
my rule if the priests will not bow down before me I will crush them."

Tutmosis listened in alarm.

"I or they!" finished the prince. "Egypt cannot have two lords."

"Formerly it had only one, the pharaoh," added Tutmosis.

"Then Thou wilt be loyal to me?"

"I, all the nobles, and the army, I swear to thee."

"Enough!" concluded Ramses. "Let them discharge the mercenary
regiments, let them sign treaties, let them hide before me like bats,
and let them deceive us all. But the time will come And now, Tutmosis,
rest after the journey; be with me at the feast this evening. Those
people have so bound me that I can only amuse myself. Then let me amuse
myself. But in time I will show them who the ruler of Egypt is, they or
I."

From that day feasts began again. The prince, as if ashamed to meet the
army, was not present at drills. Still, his palace was swarming with
nobles, officers, jugglers, and singers, while at night great orgies
took place, at which the sound of harps mingled with the drunken shouts
of guests and the spasmodic laughter of women.

Ramses invited Kama to one of these feasts, but she refused.

The prince was offended. Seeing this, Tutmosis said,

"They have told me, lord, that Sarah has lost thy favor."

"Do not mention that Jewess to me," replied Ramses. "But dost Thou know
what she did with my son?"

"I know; but that, it seems to me, was not her fault. I heard in
Memphis that thy worthy mother and the worthy minister Herhor made thy
son a Jew, so that he might rule over Israelites sometime."