Then she fell back and lay still.
Daybreak came in time, and a streak of light crept under the arch and touched the group in the corner.
The aged hag, filthy and unkempt, lay dead upon her couch of rushes, and beside her sat Kāra, his face immobile, his eyes staring fixedly at the opposite wall.
CHAPTER III.
THE DRAGOMAN.
Nephthys came from her mother’s hut in the cool of early morning, bearing on her head an earthen jar. She was bound for the river, to carry from thence their daily supply of water.
As she passed Hatatcha’s dwelling she found Kāra standing in the archway, and he drew the girl toward him and kissed her lips. They were cold and unresponsive.
“How is your grandmother?” she asked, indifferently.
“She is with Isis,” he answered, holding her arm with one hand and feeling her brown cheek with the other.
The girl shuddered and glanced askance at the arch.