The accused appeared one by one. All were lean; much hair had grown out on them, and their eyes had the expression of settled bewilderment.
"Dutmoses," said the official, "tell how ye attacked the house of the most worthy erpatr."
"I will tell truth, as at the judgment seat of Osiris. It was the evening of that day when the Nile was to begin rising. My wife said to me, 'Come, father, let us go up on the hills, where we can have an earlier sight of the signal in Memphis.' Then we went up where we could see the signal in Memphis more easily. Some warrior came to my wife and said, 'Come with me into that garden. We will find grapes there, and something else also.' Then my wife went into the garden with that warrior. I fell into great rage, and I looked at them through the wall. But whether stones were thrown at the prince's house or not I cannot tell, for because of the trees and darkness I could not see anything."
"But how couldst Thou let thy wife go with a warrior?" asked the official.
"With permission, worthiness, what was I to do? I am only an earth worker, and he is a warrior and soldier of his holiness."
"But didst Thou see the priest who spoke to you?"
"That was not a priest," said the man, with conviction. "That must have been the god Num himself, for he came out of a fig-tree and he had a ram's head on him."
"But didst Thou see that he had a ram's head?"
"With permission I do not remember well whether I saw myself or whether people told me. My eyes were affected by anxiety for my wife."
"Didst Thou throw stones at the garden?"