In a low voice Thoth said to her—
“Fear not. They will regain speech and reason long before they can move their limbs.”
She roused her courage, for though she could not doubt that the mysterious beings were living, their eyes looked dull and vacant, and she hoped that nature had become her ally.
The silence was profound, and moments seemed years in duration. Surely, she thought, this is but a momentary awakening of the dead.
Suddenly, however, she saw the eyes of the ancient king gleam with intelligence, and she knew that both will and reason were awake.
Thoth took his place in front of the king, and when he saw that his long sleep was broken, he bowed to the ground, and stood still, as if awaiting his commands. Daphne remained at the side of the throne, still unseen by the monarch, though in full sight of all the others.
At last the lips of the awakened sleeper began to move, and Thoth presented him very gently with a curiously shaped cup. He sipped at first with difficulty, but after a time took a full draught.
Then his face became animated, and in a moment he looked like a man in the full vigour of life. Still, however, he did not move, though apparently he made an effort to rise. He gazed fixedly at Thoth, and then spoke. The voice and accent of ancestor and descendant were the same.
“Thou art my present vice-regent?”