The prince gave such a look to the nomarch that he bent double and moved backward.
"What did the worthy Otoes command you the workers?" asked the viceroy of Bakura.
"He commanded us, lord, to go along the bank of the Nile, swim in the river, stand at the roads, make an uproar in thy honor, and he promised to give us what was proper for doing so. For two months before that, we, O lord, received nothing, neither barley cakes, nor fish, nor olive oil for our bodies."
"What is thy answer to this, worthy lord?" asked the prince of the nomarch.
"He is a dangerous drunkard, a foul liar," answered Sofra.
"What noise didst Thou make in my honor?"
"That which was commanded," said the giant. "My wife and daughter cried with the others, 'May he live through eternity!' I sprang into the water and threw a garland at thy barge, worthiness; for this they promised an uten. When Thou wert pleased graciously to enter the city of Atribis, I approached to throw myself under the horses and stop thy chariot."
The prince laughed.
"As I live," said he, "I did not think that we should end the feast with such joyousness. But how much did they pay thee for falling under the chariot?"
"They promised three utens, but have paid nothing to me or my wife or my daughter. Nothing has been given to the whole regiment of diggers to eat for two months past."