Dio remembered that a man holding a pig by the tail was the hieroglyphic of lapis-lazuli, the Egyptian officials' favourite bribe—Hez-Bet: hez—to hold and bet—a pig, and that the tomb of the ancient King Saakerra had been robbed recently.
"And so I was saying, Ahmez, son of Aban, is a foolish man and no good will come of him," the old man's voice went on. "You may pound a foolish man in the mortar, but his foolishness will not leave him, and it is better to meet a savage bear in a field than a foolish man in the house!"
"But in what way is he foolish, father?"
"Why, because he never knows which way the wind is blowing. There is trouble brewing up in the town and the Lybian soldiers are mutinous because they haven't had their pay for the last six months. And he, the fool, is afraid of a rising, so he was delighted when the pay-money was sent the other day from the king's treasury and ordered it to be distributed straight away. But I was too sharp for him—I said nothing to him but kept back the money and at once reported the whole thing to His Highness the Viceroy. And what do you think? He thanked me, said 'well done,' patted me on the cheek and promised to get me a job in his service. What do you think of that now?"
"Splendid, father! There is no one like you for giving one a hint! ... But if there really is a rising, it will be bad, won't it?"
"Bad for some and good for others. A fool burns in the fire and a clever man warms his hands at it...."
The whisper became so low that Dio could not hear. Then it grew louder again:
"Impossible, impossible, father! Who could presume to do such a thing?"
"Do you know Issachar, son of Hamuel?"
"But he is a coward, it isn't for a dirty Jew like him to do it!"