“And, after all thy promises, wilt thou leave me to the mercy of these haters of women? If thy love for me is real, and if thou art prepared to die with me, at least redeem thy promise and take me back to Greece, and there we can await our doom. Thou dost not think,” she said, anxiously, “that the plague has destroyed all the Greeks?”
“No,” he replied; “I have no doubt that by this time it is spent, and that many survive.”
“Then,” she said, “if we fail, flee with me. In any case thou wilt be an outcast from thy tribe. And I am very young, and life is very sweet. I would fain see my country and fellows again. And in some remote corner of the earth we might escape with a few companions from the general doom, by thy wisdom.”
She looked at Thoth in a beseeching manner, and his heart became hot with love. He seemed lost in thought for a long time, and then said—
“If we fail, I shall be, as thou sayest, an outcast; and the little delay that thou prayest for may be granted.
“Listen to my plan.
“I have discovered recently a most curious and powerful substance. I can, by breaking a small vessel, fill the council-chamber with a vapour which shall at once send into a heavy sleep all present, unless they are prepared by an antidote. The drug is the most powerful of all our agents of destruction yet discovered. In a few hours the sleep will end in irrevocable death unless the remedy is applied, and then the recovery is slow. For love of thee, if we fail, I will use this means for a little delay. We will then prepare everything for flight, and only just before we depart will I administer the remedy.
“Thus we may gain a few hours’ start, and in essence I shall not fail in my obedience. But I hope for a better result, and that reason will prevail, and thou wilt become the queen of the earth, and not a wanderer over a desolate earth with an outcast man. Rouse thy courage, and at the fitting time be prepared to speak as I shall bid thee. Let them see that thou art worthy of the highest honour.”
“What must I say?”
“After,” he replied, “I have explained the reasons for restoring women to love and honour, thou must say two things.