h such as these, good sheik, one day suffices. They are not afraid;
they have a man's intelligence, and they love the exercise. This one,"
he shook a rein over the back of the youngest of the four--"you called
him Aldebaran, I believe--is the swiftest; in once round a stadium he
would lead the others thrice his length."

Ilderim pulled his beard, and said, with twinkling eyes, "Aldebaran is
the swiftest; but what of the slowest?"

"This is he." Ben-Hur shook the rein over Antares. "This is he:
but he will win, for, look you, sheik, he will run his utmost all
day--all day; and, as the sun goes down, he will reach his swiftest."

"Right again," said Ilderim.

"I have but one fear, O sheik."

The sheik became doubly serious.

"In his greed of triumph, a Roman cannot keep honor pure. In the
games--all of them, mark you--their tricks are infinite; in chariot
racing their knavery extends to everything--from horse to driver,
from driver to master. Wherefore, good sheik, look well to all
thou hast; from this till the trial is over, let no stranger so
much as see the horses. Would you be perfectly safe, do more--keep
watch over them with armed hand as well as sleepless eye; then I
will have no fear of the end."

At the door of the tent they dismounted.

"What you say shall be attended to. By the splendor of God, no hand
shall come near them except it belong to one of the faithful.
To-night I will set watches. But, son of Arrius"--Ilderim drew
forth the package, and opened it slowly, while they walked to
the divan and seated themselves--"son of Arrius, see thou here,
and help me with thy Latin."

He passed the despatch to Ben-Hur.

"There; read--and read aloud, rendering what thou findest into
the tongue of thy fathers. Latin is an abomination."

Ben-Hur was in good spirits, and began the reading carelessly.
"'MESSALA TO GRATUS!'" He paused. A premonition drove the blood
to his heart. Ilderim observed his agitation.

"Well; I am waiting."

Ben-Hur prayed pardon, and recommenced the paper, which, it is
sufficient to say, was one of the duplicates of the letter
despatched so carefully to Gratus by Messala the morning after
the revel in the palace.

The paragraphs in the beginning were remarkable only as proof
that the writer had not outgrown his habit of mockery; when they
were passed, and the reader came to the parts intended to refresh
the memory of Gratus, his voice trembled, and twice he stopped to
regain hi