foreign envoys, Ikkor and the troops, acting
on their instructions, made a pretense of attacking his majesty.

"Do you not see?" said Nadan. "The king of Egypt not being here, Ikkor
threatens thee," and he immediately gave orders to the royal
trumpeters to sound "Halt!"

Ikkor was brought before the king and confronted with the letter to
Pharaoh.

"Explain this, if thou canst," exclaimed the king, angrily. "I have
trusted thee and loaded thee with riches and honors and thou wouldst
betray me. Is not this thy signature, and is not thy seal appended?"

Ikkor was too much astounded to reply, and Nadan whispered to the king
that this proved his guilt.

"Lead him to the execution," cried the king, "and let his head be
severed from his body and cast one hundred ells away."

Falling on his knees, Ikkor pleaded that at least he should be granted
the privilege of being executed within his own house so that he might
be buried there.

This request was granted, and Nabu Samak, the executioner, led Ikkor a
prisoner to his palace. Nabu Samak was a great friend to Ikkor and it
grieved him to have to carry out the king's order.

"Ikkor," he said, "I am certain that thou art innocent, and I would
save thee. Hearken unto me. In the prison is a wretched highwayman who
has committed murder and who deserves death. His beard and hair are
like thine, and at a little distance he can easily be mistaken for
thee. Him will I behead and his head will I show to the crowd, whilst
thou canst hide and live in secret."

Ikkor thanked his friend and the plan was carried out. The robber's
head was exhibited to the crowd from the roof of the house and the
people wept because they thought it was the head of the good Ikkor.
Meanwhile, the vizier descended into a cellar deep beneath his palace
and was there fed, while his adopted son, Nadan, was appointed chief
of the king's counselors in his stead.

Now, when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard that Ikkor, the wise, had been
executed, he determined to make war upon Assyria. Therefore, he
dispatched a letter to the king, asking him to send an architect to
design and build a palace in the clouds.

"If this thou doest," he wrote, "I, Pharaoh, son of the Sun, will pay
thee tribute; if thou failest, thou must pay me tribute."

The king of Assyria was perplexed when he received this letter which
had to be answered in three months. Nadan could not advise him what to
do, and he bitterly regretted that Ikk