"I did not know that things would turn out as they have."
"Woe is on my head!" cried the high priest. "Not chief should I be at this edifice, but gatekeeper. We were warned that some one was stealing in, but now we have let out two of the most dangerous, who will bring now whomever it may please them O woe!"
"Thou hast no need, worthiness, to despair," said another priest. "Our law is explicit. Send four or six of our men to Memphis, and provide them with sentences. The rest will be their work."
"I have lost my reason," complained the high priest.
"What has happened is over," interrupted the young priest, with irony. "One thing is certain: that men who not only reach the vaults, but even walk through them as through their own houses, may not live."
"Then select six from our militia."
"Of course! It is necessary to end this," confirmed the overseers.
"Who knows if Mefres did not act in concert with the most worthy
Herhor?" whispered some one.
"Enough!" exclaimed the high priest. "If we find Herhor in the labyrinth we will act as the law directs. But to make guesses, or suspect any one is not permitted. Let the secretaries prepare sentences for Mefres and Lykon, Let those chosen hurry after them, and let the militia strengthen the watch. We must also examine the interior of the edifice and discover how Samentu got into it, though I am sure that he will have no followers in the near future."
A couple of hours later six men had set out for Memphis.