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The eunuch Kishra sat beneath a palm, his mind a prey unto vexious thought. He was hideous to look upon, with a bloated paunch, a thick-lipped mouth, and crafty eyes which peeped from their pouch-like rims. Long had he served in the household of the King, and now was chief of the palace-guard and warden of the chambers where the women dwelt. When Ninus marched to Bactria, the rearward wing of the palace had been sealed, and, together with the gardens, was set apart for Sozana and Semiramis, while Memetis, the Egyptian hostage, was confined in a distant court, in charge of an under-chief. Now the Princess had pined for the presence of him she loved, and sought by bribery to have him brought to her; yet Kishra feared the wrath of Ninus, and naught would move him. Sozana then contrived, through her tire-maid Nissa, to bribe the guard who paced before the Egyptian's door, and in secret this maiden bore many a tender message to and fro, till she came at last to a grievous end.
Kishra once marked her stealing from a shadowy passage-way, and on the morrow he lay in wait, following upon her heels and listening while Memetis whispered with the maid. In the knowledge of being thus befooled, so great was his rage that he fell upon Nissa and slew him with his sword, too late repenting the folly of his deed. With the Princess he sought to excuse himself, but for once Sozana forgot her gentle mien and rose in wrath.
"Dog!" she cried, "your life shall pay for the murder of this child, for I swear by Asshur to see you crucified upon the garden wall."
Now the eunuch knew that Ninus loved his daughter utterly, and at her pleading, would surely nail him to the mortar between the bricks; so he groveled at her feet with tears and prayers, beseeching that she speak no word on the King's return; yet the Princess spurned him with her foot and refused to heed, till Semiramis spoke softly into her ear, then the maiden's cheeks grew red again with a rosy flush.
"Kishra," she answered, "I will spare your worthless life, yet exact a price therefor. Memetis shall come each morning to the garden here, and, beneath your sight, remain till the evening hour. Do this, and silence holds my tongue. Refuse, and the god of darkness claims you for his own."
Thus it came to pass that the eunuch, in his dread of being crucified, suffered Sozana to have her will, albeit, at very sight of the Egyptian, his blood became as water in his veins. If Ninus learned that Memetis came each day to the women's dwelling-place, short shift would the chief of guards receive, and Ninus was prone to beset the passing of a man with pain. Thus Kishra roasted betwixt two fires of woe, and because of all these things he pondered much upon his lot, and his sleep was fraught with evil dreams.
As he now sat pondering beneath the palm, Semiramis and Sozana talked with Prince Memetis on a distant garden-seat. This oft' occurred, yet now there was somewhat in their manner which annoyed the eunuch's thoughts, for they whispered, with their heads held close together, while ever and anon they glanced to where Kishra sat, and laughed as at some merry jest. So the eunuch waxed suspicious of their murmurings; yet, when he came toward them, they straightway ceased to smile and began to speak of the garden birds, the flowering plants, or the heat of the mid-day sun. Throughout the day they counseled among themselves in secret, with fingers upon their lips and many a swift, mysterious sign, till Kishra sweated because of curiosity.
All night he cudgeled at his brain for means by which to overhear their words, and ere the dawn he bethought him of a plan. Behind the garden-seat, whereon the conspirators were wont to loll, was a muddy fish pond surrounded by overhanging shrubs; and here the eunuch submerged himself, with his chin upon the bank, his fat head covered by a mass of matted vines. In this retreat he waited for a weary space, yet the plotters came at last, seating themselves a spear's length from the listener's open ears.
"Hast found a messenger?" Sozana asked, in a voice subdued.