and
came at last to a large dark hole in the rock.

The captain turned. "In there!" he commanded harshly. The two figures,
man and girl, were dumped like sacks of flour into the gloomy
chamber. The men who had carried them turned and tramped away; the
captain faced one who had stayed.

"Guard them with thy life, Sitah. Thou knowest the payment for
carelessness."

Sitah nodded grimly. He was fully armed, with spear and sword. He sat
down outside the dark hole, and the captain retraced his steps. The
pad of his feet on the floor died away, and then, for a long time,
there was silence.

Perhaps every five minutes Sitah turned and stared down into the hole
behind, ears craned for the slightest sound. But none came. The two
inside, no doubt, were asleep.

It was very hot, down in the deep-buried corridor, and though Sitah
was accustomed to the heat, he soon found his eyelids drooping and his
whole body crying out for sleep. But he did not go to sleep. He knew
too well what would befall him in Aten's hands if he did. He had seen
many old men and women die in those hands, on ceremony days--old
people who croaked in helpless agony as the keen knife blade dropped
slowly down toward them, paused a second, inches from their hearts,
and then plunged in with a rush. Old men and women, useless, their
years of service gone. Yes, and many unwanted girl children....

That was what the Sun God demanded. His hands reached ever for human
bodies. It was cruel, but he was a god; and who was to question the
will of a god?

* * * * *

Sitah was very glad when, after six hours of lonely vigil, another
guard relieved him and took his place outside the dark hole. Sitah
spoke humorously to him, a grim kind of humor, as befitting one who
has seen much death.

"They sleep, Hapu," he said, nodding into the prison. "But soon a
longer sleep will come for them--the sleep of the knife!" He chuckled
as he made his way far below, to his bed. A few hours of rest and he
would be in fine fettle for the ceremony.

The relieving guard grunted and peered into the cell. He saw two dark
figures outstretched, mere blobs of black, a little blacker than the
shadows. Yes, they slept....

He sat down on the bench Sitah had just vacated. He had four hours to
wait. Then the priests, led by Hrihor, would come, and the ceremony
would begin, and the god's hands would move together. It would be a
fine show! He looked forward to