n, and he held
the king's hands down on either side, pinioned to the floor. Darius
struggled desperately twice and then lay quite still. Zoroaster gazed
down upon him with blazing eyes.

"Thou who wouldst crucify me upon Shushan," he said through his teeth.
"I will slay thee here even as thou didst slay Smerdis. Hast thou
anything to say? Speak quickly, for thy hour is come."

Even in the extremity of his agony, vanquished and at the point of
death, Darius was brave, as brave men are, to the very last. He would
indeed have called for help now, but there was no breath in him. He
still gazed fearlessly into the eyes of his terrible conqueror. His
voice came in a hoarse whisper.

"I fear not death. Slay on if thou wilt--thou--hast--conquered."

Nehushta had come near. She trembled now that the fight was over, and
looked anxiously to the heavy curtains of the tent-door.

"Tell him," she whispered to Zoroaster, "that you will spare him if he
will do no harm to you, nor to me."

"Spare him!" echoed Zoroaster scornfully. "He is almost dead now--why
should I spare him?"

"For my sake, beloved," answered Nehushta, with a sudden and passionate
gesture of entreaty. "He is the king--he speaks truth; if he says he
will not harm you, trust him."

"If I slay thee not, swear thou wilt not harm me nor Nehushta," said
Zoroaster, removing one knee from the chest of his adversary.

"By the name of Auramazda," gasped Darius, "I will not harm thee nor
her."

"It is well," said Zoroaster. "I will let thee go. And as for taking her
to be thy wife, thou mayest ask her if she will wed thee," he added. He
rose and helped the king to his feet. Darius shook himself and breathed
hard for a few minutes. He felt his limbs as a man might do who had
fallen from his horse, and then he sat down upon the chair, and broke
into a loud laugh.

Darius was well known to all Persia and Media before the events of the
last two months, and such was his reputation for abiding by his promise
that he was universally trusted by those about him. Zoroaster had known
him also, and he remembered his easy familiarity and love of jesting, so
that even when he held the king at such vantage that he might have
killed him by a little additional pressure of his weight, he felt not
the least hesitation in accepting his promise of safety. But remembering
what a stake had been played for in the desperate issue, he could not
join in the king's laugh. He stood silently a