her that she would
feel stronger to resist an attack in the sanctuary of her small inner
room, where every object was impregnated with her atmosphere, and where
the lattices of the two windows were so disposed that she would be able
to see the expression of her adversaries without exposing her own face
to the light.

She leaned forward and looked closely at herself in the glass, and with
a delicate brush of camel's hair smoothed one eyebrow that was a little
ruffled. It had touched Zoroaster's tunic when she threw herself upon
his breast; she looked at herself with a genuine artistic pleasure, and
smiled.

Before long she heard the sound of leathern shoes upon the pavement
outside, and the curtain was suddenly lifted. Darius pushed Phraortes
into the room by the shoulders and made him stand before the queen. She
rose and made a salutation, and then sat down again in her carved chair.
The king threw himself upon a heap of thick, hard cushions that formed a
divan on one side of the room, and prepared to watch attentively the two
persons before him.

Phraortes, trembling with fear and excessive fatigue, fell upon his
knees before Atossa, and touched the floor with his forehead.

"Get upon thy feet, man," said the king shortly, "and render an account
of the queen's affairs."

"Stay," said Atossa, calmly; "for what purpose has the Great King
brought this man before me?"

"For my pleasure," answered Darius. "Speak fellow! Render thy account,
and if I like not the manner of thy counting, I will crucify thee."

"The king liveth for ever," said Phraortes feebly, his flaccid cheeks
trembling, as his limbs moved uneasily.

"The queen also liveth for ever," remarked Darius. "What is the state
of the queen's lands at Ecbatana?"

At this question Phraortes seemed to take courage, and began a rapid
enumeration of the goods, cattle and slaves.

"This year I have sown two thousand acres of wheat which will soon be
ripe for the harvest. I have sown also a thousand acres with other
grain. The fields of water-melons are yielding with amazing abundance
since I caused the great ditches to be dug last winter towards the road.
As for the fruit trees and the vinelands, they are prospering; but at
present we have not had rain to push the first budding of the grapes.
The olives will doubtless be very abundant this year, for last year
there were few, as is the manner with that fruit. As for the yielding of
these harvests of grain and