Still, notwithstanding the small number of men who had seen the pharaoh or his counterfeit in a state of insanity, the reports of these strange happenings circulated everywhere very quickly. In a few days all the inhabitants of Thebes, from dissectors and water-carriers to scribes and merchants, whispered that Ramses XIII was affected with the disease which had deprived his older brothers of succession.
Dread of the pharaoh and honor for him were so great that people feared to speak openly, especially before strangers. Still, all heard of it all save Ramses.
But most peculiar was this, that the report went around the whole kingdom very speedily; a proof that it circulated by means of the temples. For priests alone possessed the power of communicating in a few hours from one end of Egypt to the other.
No one mentioned these disagreeable tidings to Tutmosis directly, but the chief of the pharaoh's guard felt their existence everywhere. From the bearing of people with whom circumstances brought him in contact he divined that the servants, the slaves, the warriors, the purveyors of the court were discussing the insanity of the pharaoh, and were silent only when some superior might overhear them.
At last Tutmosis, impatient and alarmed, decided on a conversation with the Theban nomarch.
On arriving at the palace of his father-in-law he found Antefa lying on a sofa in a room, one half of which was filled with rare plants like a garden. In the centre played a fountain of water perfumed with roses; in the comers of the room were statues of gods; on the walls were depicted the deeds of the renowned nomarch. Standing near his head was a black slave who cooled his master with an ostrich feather fan; on the pavement sat the scribe of the province reading a report to him.
Tutmosis had such an anxious face that the nomarch dismissed the scribe and the slave straightway; then rising from the couch he looked toward every corner of the chamber to be sure that no one overheard them.
"Worthy father of Lady Hebron, my revered wife," said Tutmosis, "from thy bearing I see that Thou divinest the subject of which I wish to speak."
"The nomarch of Thebes must always look ahead," replied Antefa. "I divine also that the commander of the guard of his holiness would not honor me by a visit for a frivolous reason."
For a moment they looked each other in the eyes. Then Tutmosis took a seat at the side of his father-in-law, and whispered,