“Dost speak words of wisdom to thy friend, oh! wisest of counsellors,” said a loud sarcastic voice close behind us, “or dost adjure him to pray to his God to watch protectingly over his head? Whatever else thou sayest, tell him one thing, in that language which comes from beyond the valley of death, and that is, that Ur-tasen will not rest content in the midst of a failure. In the language which he speaks there is no such word as fail.”
Hugh had jumped to his feet and confronted the high priest of Ra, who from some remote corner of the temple had crept noiselessly close to us.
“What dost thou mean? Why art thou here?” demanded Hugh. “Art bold indeed, Ur-tasen, that thou darest stand before me and my wrath.”
“Bold indeed, oh! son of Ra!” replied the high priest, making a mock obeisance. “Ur-tasen now hath no cause for fear… he is an old man, and thy hands are mighty and strong, and yet the old man, with one foot in the grave, hath struck a blow at thee which will crush thy life, and wither thy manhood, and throw thee, a weak and puling coward, at the foot of him whose power thou hast defied.”
“What dost thou mean? Speak! Thou hast not many moments of peace before thee, for I will make thee answer for thy treachery against my friend.”
“Ay, I am willing to bear the full brunt of thy wrath, oh! stranger who hailest from the foot of the throne of Osiris.… Thy counsellor hath no doubt told thee that I and Maat-kha did plot against thee. He says so, and thou dost believe.… I care not to deny; we failed, she and I… and whatever crime she hath committed she must atone for, according to the laws of the land. But thinkest thou perchance that Ur-tasen did rest content? didst think that a weak and passionate woman could throw herself across his plans? Fools were ye both! oh! thou who dost style thyself the son of Ra, and she… who once was called Princess of Kamt.”
“Name her not, thou infamous priest,” said Hugh, raising his hand, as if ready to strike the miscreant; “I forbid thee to speak her name!”
But Ur-tasen shrugged his shoulders, with a low sarcastic chuckle.
“Nay! I will not name her, since it rouses thine anger; but anon it will not only be I, but all Tanis who will shriek out her name in loathing and execration.”
I had struggled to my feet and was clinging with all my might to Hugh, for I could see that he could scarcely restrain himself from strangling the old man, then and there. But I felt that at any cost we ought to know what nefarious scheme he had concocted, and my heart filled with awful forebodings, I whispered to Hugh: