his father's commands as a true and upright man, would perhaps
bring him back to his comrades in arms, whose cordial farewell he still
fancied he heard long after he was out of reach of their voices.

The greatness of the work assigned to him, the enthusiasm of a man
who devotes himself with devout earnestness to the performance of a
difficult task, the rapturous joy of the lover, who with well-founded
hopes of the fulfilment of the purest and fairest desires of his heart,
hastens to meet the woman of his choice, first dawned upon him when
he had left the city behind and was dashing at a rapid trot toward
the south-east across the flat, well-watered plain with its wealth of
palm-groves.

While forcing his steed to a slower pace as he passed through the
streets of the capital, and the region near the harbor, his mind was
so engrossed by his recent experiences and his anxiety concerning the
runaway youth, that he paid little attention to the throng of vessels
lying at anchor, the motley crowd of ship owners, traders, sailors, and
laborers, representatives of all the nations of Africa and Asia, who
sought a livelihood here, and the officials, soldiers, and petitioners,
who had followed Pharaoh from Thebes to the city of Rameses.

He had even failed to see two men of high rank, though one, Hornecht,
the captain of the archers, had waved his hand to him.

They had retired into the deep gateway formed by the pylons at the
entrance of the temple of Seth, to escape the clouds of dust which the
desert wind was still blowing along the road.

While Hornecht was vainly trying to arrest the horseman's attention, his
companion, Bai, the second prophet of Amon, whispered: "Let him go! He
will learn where his nephew is soon enough."

"As you desire," replied the soldier. Then he eagerly continued the
story he had just begun. "When they brought the lad in, he looked like a
piece of clay in the potter's workshop."

"No wonder," replied the priest; "he had lain long enough in the road
in the dust of Typhon. But what was your steward seeking among the
soldiers?"

"We had heard from my adon, whom I sent to the camp last evening, that
the poor youth was attacked by a severe fever, so Kasana put up some
wine and her nurse's balsam, and dispatched the old creature with them
to the camp."

"To the youth or to Hosea?" asked the prophet with a mischievous smile.

"To the sufferer," replied Hornecht positively, a frown darkening his
br