At the pharaoh's command Tutmosis ran out, and found, in fact, a strange officer.
"Who art thou?" asked he.
"I am Eunana, a centurion in the regiment of Isis. The unfortunate Eunana. Dost Thou not remember me, worthiness? More than a year ago at the maneuvers near Pi-Bailos I discovered the sacred scarabs."
"Ah, that is thou!" interrupted Tutmosis. "But thy regiment is not in
Abydos?"
"The water of truth flows from thy lips. We are quartered at a wretched place near Mena where the priests have commanded us to clear a canal, as if we were Hebrews or earthdiggers."
"How hast Thou appeared here?"
"I implored my superiors for a rest of some days, and like a deer thirsting for a spring I, thanks to the swiftness of my feet, have hurried hither."
"What dost Thou wish, then?"
"I wish to beg favor of his holiness against the shaven heads who give me no promotion because I am sensitive to the sufferings of warriors."
Tutmosis returned to the tent, ill-humored, and repeated the conversation to the pharaoh.