He gave the sheet to Esther, and took the next one.
“With that amount—one hundred and twenty talents—I charged myself. Hear now my credits. I use the word, as thou wilt see, with reference rather to the proceeds gained from the use of the money.”
From separate sheets he then read footings, which, fractions omitted, were as follows:
| By ships | 60 talents |
| ” goods in store | 110 ” |
| ” cargoes in transit | 75 ” |
| ” camels, horses, etc. | 20 ” |
| ” warehouses | 10 ” |
| ” bills due | 54 ” |
| ” money on hand and subject to draft | 224 ” |
| —— | |
| Total | 553 ” |
“To these now, to the five hundred and fifty-three talents gained, add the original capital I had from thy father, and thou hast SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THREE TALENTS!—and all thine—making thee, O son of Hur, the richest subject in the world.”
He took the papyri from Esther, and, reserving one, rolled them and offered them to Ben-Hur. The pride perceptible in his manner was not offensive; it might have been from a sense of duty well done; it might have been for Ben-Hur without reference to himself.
“And there is nothing,” he added, dropping his voice, but not his eyes—“there is nothing now thou mayst not do.”
The moment was one of absorbing interest to all present. Simonides crossed his hands upon his breast again; Esther was anxious; Ilderim nervous. A man is never so on trial as in the moment of excessive good-fortune.
Taking the roll, Ben-Hur arose, struggling with emotion.
“All this is to me as a light from heaven, sent to drive away a night which has been so long I feared it would never end, and so dark I had lost the hope of seeing,” he said, with a husky voice. “I give first thanks to the Lord, who has not abandoned me, and my next to thee, O Simonides. Thy faithfulness outweighs the cruelty of others, and redeems our human nature. ‘There is nothing I cannot do:’ be it so. Shall any man in this my hour of such mighty privilege be more generous than I? Serve me as a witness now, Sheik Ilderim. Hear thou my words as I shall speak them—hear and remember. And thou, Esther, good angel of this good man! hear thou also.”