“Not that I am aware of.”
“Your father is on a visit to Rhodopis this evening, at Naukratis?”
“How did you hear this?”
“From himself. I followed him to the boat this morning and sought to cast myself at his feet.”
“And did you succeed?”
“Certainly. He spoke a few gracious words with me, but could not wait to hear what I would say, as his companions were already on board when he arrived. His slave Sandon, whom I know, told me that they were going to Naukratis, and would visit the Greek woman whom they call Rhodopis.”
“He spoke truly.”
“Then you must speed to the rescue. At the time that the market-place was full.”
[The forenoon among the Greeks was regulated by the business of the
market. “When the market-place begins to fill, when it is full,
when it becomes empty.” It would be impossible to define this
division of time exactly according to our modern methods of
computation, but it seems certain that the market was over by the
afternoon. The busiest hours were probably from 10 till 1. At the
present day the streets of Athens are crowded during those hours;
but in Summer from two to four o’clock are utterly deserted.]
“Ten carriages and two boats, full of Ethiopian soldiers under the command of an Egyptian captain, were sent off to Naukratis to surround the house of Rhodopis and make captives of her guests.”