he most pressing that has brought you out here,
Ylga?"

"You know me, then? There must be something warmer than the ordinary
between us two, Deucalion, if you could guess who walked beneath all
these mufflings."

I let that pass. "But what's your errand, girl?"

"Aye," she said bitterly, "there's my reward. All your concern's for the
message, none for the carrier. Well, good my lord, you are husband to
the dainty Phorenice no longer."

"This is news."

"And true enough, too. She will have no more of you, divorces you,
spurns you, thrusts you from her, and, after the first splutter of wrath
is done, then come pains and penalties."

"The Empress can do no wrong. I will have you speak respectful words of
the Empress."

"Oh, be done with that old fable! It sickens me. The woman was mad for
love of you, and now she's mad with jealousy. She knows that you gave
Nais some of your priest's magic, and that she sleeps till you choose to
come and claim her, even though the day be a century from this. And if
you wish to know the method of her enlightenment, it is simple. There
is another airshaft next to the one down which you did your cooing and
billing, and that leads to another cell in which lay another prisoner.
The wretch heard all that passed, and thought to buy enlargement by
telling it.

"But his news came a trifle stale. It seems that with the pressure of
the morning's ceremonies, they forgot to bring a ration, and when at
last his gaoler did remember him, it was rather late, seeing that by
then Phorenice had tied herself publicly to a husband, and poor Nais had
doubtless eaten her green drug. However, the fools must needs try and
barter his tale for what it would fetch; and, as was natural, had such
a silly head chopped off for his pains; and after that your Phorenice
behaved as you may guess. And now you may thank me, sir, for coming to
warn you not to go back to Atlantis."

"But I shall go back. And if the Empress chooses to cut my head also
from its proper column, that is as the High Gods will."

"You are more sick of life than I thought. But I think, sir, our
Phorenice judges your case very accurately. It was permitted me to hear
the outbursting of this lady's rage. 'Shall I hew off his head?' said
she. 'Pah! Shall I give him over to my tormentors, and stand by whilst
they do their worst? He would not wrinkle his brow at their fiercest
efforts. No; he must have a heavier punishment than any of these, and