“And what becomes of the rest, Bes?”
“Their bodies go to the earth or the water and the Grasshopper carries off their souls to—where, Master?”
“I do not know, Bes.”
“No, Master, no one knows, except the lady Amada and perhaps the holy Tanofir. Here I think is the entrance to his hole,” and he pulled up his beast with a jerk at what looked like the doorway of a tomb.
Apparently we were expected, for a tall and proud-looking girl clad in white and with extraordinarily dark eyes, appeared in the doorway and asked in a soft voice if we were the noble Shabaka and Bes, his slave.
“I am Shabaka,” I answered, “and this is Bes, who is not my slave but a free citizen of Egypt.”
The girl contemplated the dwarf with her big eyes, then said,
“And other things, I think.”
“What things?” inquired Bes with interest, as he stared at this beautiful lady.
“A very brave and clever man and one perhaps who is more than he seems to be.”