them I must have
stopped my ears."

"You kept them wide open, however," said Araspes laughing. "Your
enraptured exclamation proved that."

"Enough of this," cried Darius, to whom these jokes were getting
wearisome. "I really must beg you to leave off making allusions to
matters, which I do not care to hear spoken of."

"Imprudent fellow!" whispered the older man; "now you really have
betrayed yourself. If you were not in love, you would have laughed
instead of getting angry. Still I won't go on provoking you--tell me
what you have just been reading in the stars."

At these words Darius looked up again into the starry sky and fixed his
eyes on a bright constellation hanging over the horizon. Zopyrus
watched him and called out to his friends, "Something important must be
happening up there. Darius, tell us what's going on in the heavens just
now."

"Nothing good," answered the other. "Bartja, I have something to say to
you alone."

"Why to me alone? Araspes always keeps his own counsel, and from the
rest of you I never have any secrets."

"Still--"

"Speak out."

"No, I wish you would come into the garden with me."

Bartja nodded to the others, who were still sitting over their wine,
laid his hand on Darius' shoulder and went out with him into the bright
moonlight. As soon as they were alone, Darius seized both his friend's
hands, and said: "To-day is the third time that things have happened in
the heavens, which bode no good for you. Your evil star has approached
your favorable constellation so nearly, that a mere novice in astrology
could see some serious danger was at hand. Be on your guard, Bartja, and
start for Egypt to-day; the stars tell me that the danger is here on the
Euphrates, not abroad."

"Do you believe implicitly in the stars?"

"Implicitly. They never lie."

"Then it would be folly to try and avoid what they have foretold."

"Yes, no man can run away from his destiny; but that very destiny
is like a fencing-master--his favorite pupils are those who have the
courage and skill to parry his own blows. Start for Egypt to-day,
Bartja."

"I cannot--I haven't taken leave of my mother and Atossa."

"Send them a farewell message, and tell Croesus to explain the reason of
your starting so quickly."

"They would call me a coward."

"It is cowardly to yield to any mortal, but to go out of the way of
one's fate is wisdom."

"You contradict yourself, Darius. What would the fencing-master say