knew not whom to trust. One by one we
all had yielded to ceaseless intrigue and common distrust of each other,
until no honest man was left; till all were intent to save their lives
by holding power; for in this land to lose power is to lose life. No man
who has been in high place, has had the secrets of the Palace and the
ear of the Prince, lives after he has lost favour. The Prince, for his
safety, must ensure silence, and the only silence in Egypt is the grave.
In thee, Saadat, Kaid has found an honest man. Men will call thee mad,
if thou remainest honest, but that is within thine own bosom and with
fate. For me, thou hast taken my place, and more. Malaish, it is the
decree of fate, and I have no anger. I come to ask thee to save my life,
and then to give me work."

"How shall I save thy life?"

"By reconciling the Effendina to my living, and then by giving me
service, where I shall be near to thee; where I can share with thee,
though it be as the ant beside the beaver, the work of salvation in
Egypt. I am rich since my brother was--" He paused; no covert look was
in his eyes, no sign of knowledge, nothing but meditation and sorrowful
frankness--"since Foorgat passed away in peace, praise be to God! He lay
on his bed in the morning, when one came to wake him, like a sleeping
child, no sign of the struggle of death upon him."

A gasping sound came from the chair where Hylda sat; but he took no
notice. He appeared to be unconscious of David's pain-drawn face, as
he sat with hands upon his knees, his head bent forward listening, as
though lost to the world.

"So did Foorgat, my brother, die while yet in the fulness of his
manhood, life beating high in his veins, with years before him to
waste. He was a pleasure-lover, alas! he laid up no treasure of work
accomplished; and so it was meet that he should die as he lived, in a
moment of ease. And already he is forgotten. It is the custom here.
He might have died by diamond-dust, and men would have set down their
coffee-cups in surprise, and then would have forgotten; or he might have
been struck down by the hand of an assassin, and, unless it was in the
Palace, none would have paused to note it. And so the sands sweep over
his steps upon the shore of time."

After the first exclamation of horror, Hylda had sat rigid, listening
as though under a spell. Through her veil she gazed at Nahoum with a
cramping pain at her heart, for he seemed ever on the verge of the truth
s