n the two houses by means of
carrier-pigeons, and many missives were thus despatched with little
gossip, invitations, excuses, and the like, from Katharina to Mary and
back again. Anubis took great pleasure in the pretty creatures, and by
the permission of his superiors a dovecote was erected on the roof of
the treasurer's house. Mary was now lying ill, and their intercourse
was at an end; still, the well-trained messengers need not be idle, and
Katharina had begun to use them for a very different purpose.

Orion's envoy had been detained a long time at Rufinus' door the day
before; and she had since learnt from Anubis, who was acquainted with
all that took place in Nilus' office, that Paula's moneys were to be
delivered over to her very shortly, and in all probability by Orion
himself. They must then have an interview, and perhaps she might succeed
in overhearing it. She knew well how this could be managed; the only
thing was to be on the spot at the right moment.

On the morning after the full-moon, at two hours and a half before noon,
the little boy whose task it was to feed the feathered messengers in
their dove-cote brought her a written scrap, on which Anubis informed
her that Orion was about to set out; but he was not very warmly
welcomed, for the hour did not suit her at all. Early in the morning
Bishop Plotinus had come to inform Susannah that Benjamin, Patriarch of
Alexandria, was visiting Amru on the opposite shore, and would presently
honor Memphis with his presence. He proposed to remain one day; he had
begged to have no formal reception, and had left it to the bishop to
find suitable quarters for himself and his escort, as he did not wish
to put up at the governor's house. The vain widow had at once pressingly
urged her readiness to receive the illustrious guest under her roof: The
prelate's presence must bring a blessing on the house, and she thought,
too, that she might turn it to advantage for several ends she just now
happened to have in view.

A handsome reception must be prepared; there were but a few hours to
spare, and even before the bishop had left her, she had begun to call
the servants together and give them orders. The whole house must be
turned upside down; some of the kitchen staff were hurried off into the
town to make purchases, others bustled round the fire; the gardeners
plundered the beds and bushes to weave wreaths and nosegays for
decorations; from cellar to roof half a hundred of s