"O Thou fool!" interrupted an embalmer who had been silent till that moment. "The pharaoh conquer the priests!"

"Why not?"

"But hast Thou ever seen that a lion tore down a pyramid?"

"Nonsense!"

"Or that a buffalo tossed it apart?"

"Of course he cannot toss it."

"Or that a tempest overturned it."

"What has this man begun at today?"

"Well, I tell thee that sooner will a lion, a buffalo, or a tempest overturn the great pyramid than the pharaoh put an end to the priesthood. Even if that pharaoh were a lion, a buffalo, and a tempest in one person."

"Hei ye, there!" cried men from above. "Is the corpse ready?"