“What, your Majesty?”
He did not answer for a while; then, “Do you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“It is a new trouble. It started on the outskirts of the mob, and is drawing nearer.... I can’t make it out.”
He was at the highest pitch of alertness, and was silent for a time.
“Don’t you hear the voice? That is no Senatra! His cries—don’t you hear them, man?... The people are falling away from him in terror.... Don’t you hear?”
“Yes, Sire.”
“They are crying, ‘A demon sent by the Black Face! He will take our children, and the hungry Face will devour them!’ Don’t you hear that?”
“Something of it, Sire.”
“The people are stricken with fear.... The women are fighting to escape. Don’t you hear their screams?”