“It is to give into thy hands a message from Akaza, and to impart to thee the manner of its coming.”
“Speak,” returned Yermah, in a whisper.
“Before the awful time of wrath, a pair of golden eagles trained in falconry were intrusted to me by our beloved high-priestess, who intended them to be thy companions in the chase. She gave me, also, a ring set with diamonds, which I carried safely until I met Akaza after we left our battered balsa. I should never have known how, or when, the ring and the birds left me, had I not received this from the hierophant.”
He handed over a tiny, silver locket taken from the casket in Alcyesta’s hand.
Yermah pressed the spring and revealed a ring, large enough for his thumb, and having a fine silk tissue evenly fitting its broad band.
“Before removing the contents of this locket, hear me fully,” pleaded Ben Hu Barabe. “This treasure was made fast in a leather pouch, which was securely tied to the wing, next the body, of one eagle. Here is the parchment slipped in beside it.”
Yermah reached out his hand, but Ben Hu Barabe retained it.
“Thou canst not read without more light. Hold a lantern close by,” he ordered.
When the tamane obeyed, Ben Hu Barabe gave Yermah the writing.
Beloved: