“Yes, my lady. I landed at this hamlet, and went up at once to the south gate of the palace grounds. Here I found a soldier on guard; but, on making him a small present, he allowed me to enter and seek my old acquaintances, the custodes. Fortunately I found them by themselves in an out-house—the old Egyptian and his much younger Jewish wife; the latter much the leading partner, as I had long known. I warmly saluted them as old friends, hoped they had not forgotten Ezra, assured them that I had never been so well prepared to give them a good trade as now; and proceeded to unpack and display my goods despite their protestations that they did not want anything, could not afford to buy anything, and such like nonsense. But I saw that their eyes followed me as I spread out article after article, and that they listened well as I mentioned prices absurdly low.
“‘You must have stolen these things,’ exclaimed the Jewess. ‘Alas, that a son of Abraham should turn thief!’
“‘I hardly wonder,’ said I, ‘that you suspect my honesty; for, as you so plainly see, these goods are worth many times what I ask for them. How then does it happen that I can honestly offer them so low? I will tell you. I have a very liberal friend—no less a person than the lady Rachel, daughter of the great banker Alexander; and she pities me and other poor children of our people; and it is she who makes it possible for me to let you have the goods at so low a figure. Our father Abraham knows that I could not do it otherwise.’
“As soon as I mentioned your name, I saw at once that I had touched the right chord. I have since found that she came from Alexandria, where her family in time of sickness and poverty had received much help from your family. ‘The God of our fathers bless the pitiful and gracious lady,’ she exclaimed. ‘Many a time has she helped me and mine.’
“‘And is she not the granddaughter of Seti—the high-priest and head of my race?’ inquired the Egyptian husband.
“‘To be sure she is,’ I exclaimed, ‘the worthy child of both Egypt and Israel—and I will tell you a secret (I sank my voice very low and looked cautiously about). I can tell you of a way in which you can greatly oblige these great friends of ours and get as many of these goods as you would like for just nothing—absolutely nothing.’
“Their eyes opened wider and began to glisten. They drew themselves closer to me.
“‘Look you,’ said I, ‘there has been in the dungeon of this castle for the last few days a young man who is a special friend of Seti and Alexander. He was arrested without right, and spirited away from Alexandria in the night, and brought here by a company of men appearing as Roman soldiers.’
“Thrown off her guard, the Jewess exclaimed, ‘How did you come to know this?’