and as is supposed my father and mother, fearing for my
life, placed me in a little cradle and set me afloat on the water. It
chanced--or was it chance or the will of God?--that the water took me
to the spot where the Princess Thermuthis, the daughter of the then
king, was bathing with her maidens. She had compassion upon me and
adopted me, and as I grew up I had all the rights and privileges of
her son, and rank, as you say, with the princes of Egypt. She called
me Moses; for that was the name, as it seems, that was writ upon a
piece of papyrus fastened to my cradle. I was instructed in all the
learning of the Egyptians, and grew up as one of them. So I lived for
many years, and had almost forgotten that I was not one of them; but
now--" And here he stopped and began thoughtfully to pace up and down
the apartment.

"What has become of the maiden of whom you spoke?" he asked, suddenly
stopping before Amuba.

"That I know not, my lord. Upon the day that Ameres was murdered by
the mob his little daughter was carried off, and Ruth, for that is her
name, has also been missing ever since. It is for that reason we have
lingered here, otherwise we should have fled at once."

"You and the son of Ameres?"

"Yes, my lord, and another Rebu, one of my father's warriors, who was
a fellow-captive with me, and also slave of Ameres. The high priest
had great confidence in him, and committed to him the mission of
aiding Chebron to escape and of conducting us if possible back to my
own land; but when we found that my young mistress was missing we
decided to remain to search for her."

"What will you do when you find her?"

"If we can rescue her from those who have carried her away we shall
hand her over to her mother, and then leave the land as we had
intended. Unless, indeed, you, my lord, in your goodness, could obtain
for Chebron a pardon for an offense which was wholly accidental."

"That I can never do," Moses said. "This is wholly beyond my power;
the king himself could not withstand the demand of the populace for
his life. Until lately I might have in some way aided you, but I have
no longer influence and have myself fallen into disgrace at court."

After again pacing the apartment for some time, Moses went on:

"If you find this little Israelite maiden tell her that she is not the
last of the Israelites who believes in the God of Abraham, our
ancestor; tell her that Moses also holds to the faith. You again look
surpris