The Ancient Allan: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

SHABAKA PLIGHTS HIS TROTH

Bes and I went armed to the palace, walking in the middle of the road,
but now that the sun was up we met no more robbers. At the gate a
messenger summoned me alone to the presence of Peroa, who, he said,
wished to talk with me before the sitting of the Council. I went and
found him by himself.

"I hear that you were attacked last night," he said after greeting me.

I answered that I was and told him the story, adding that it was
fortunate I had left the White Seal and the pearls in safe keeping,
since without doubt the would-be thieves were Easterns who desired to
recover them.

"Ah! the pearls," he said. "One of those who handled them, who was
once a dealer in gems, says that they are without price, unmatched in
the whole world, and that never in all his life has he seen any to
equal the smallest of them."

I replied that I believed this was so. Then he asked me of the value
of the gold of which I had spoken. I told him and it was a great sum,
for gold was scarce in Egypt. His eyes gleamed for he needed wealth to
pay soldiers.

"And all this you are ready to hand over to me, Shabaka?"

Now I bethought me of my mother's words, and answered,

"Yes, Prince, at a price."

"What price, Shabaka?"

"The price of the hand of the Royal Lady, Amada, freed from her vows.
Moreover, I will give her the pearls as a marriage dowry and place at
your service my sword and all the knowledge I have gained in the East,
swearing to stand or fall with you."

"I thought it, Shabaka. Well, in this world nothing is given for
nothing and the offer is a fair one. You are well born, too, as well
as myself, and a brave and clever man. Further, Amada has not taken
her final vows and therefore the high priests can absolve her from her
marriage to the goddess, or to her son Horus, whichever it may be, for
I do not understand these mysteries. But, Shabaka, if Fortune should
chance to go with us and I should became the first Pharaoh of a new
dynasty in Egypt, he who was married to the Royal Princess of the true
blood might become a danger to my throne and family."

"I shall not be that man, Prince, who am content with my own station,
and to be your servant."

"And my son's, Shabaka? You know that I have but one lawful son."

"And your son's, Prince."

"You are honest, Shabaka, and I believe you. But how about your sons,
if you have any, and how about Amada herself? Well, in great
businesses something must be risked, and I need the gold and the rest
which I cannot take for nothing, for you won them by your skill and
courage and they are yours. But how you won the seal you have not told
us, nor is there time for you to do so now."

He thought a little, walking up and down the chamber, then went on,

"I accept your offer, Shabaka, so far as I can."

"So far as you can, Prince?"

"Yes; I can give you Amada in marriage and make that marriage easy,
but only if Amada herself consents. The will of a Royal Princess of
Egypt of full age cannot be forced, save by her father if he reigns as
Pharaoh, and I am not her father, but only her guardian. Therefore it
stands thus. Are you willing to fulfil your part of the bargain, save
only as regards the pearls, if she does not marry you, and to take
your chance of winning Amada as a man wins a woman, I on my part
promising to do all in my power to help your suit?"

Now it was my turn to think for a moment. What did I risk? The gold
and perhaps the pearls, no more, for in any case I should fight for
Peroa against the Eastern king whom I hated, and through him for
Egypt. Well, these came to me by chance, and if they went by chance
what of it? Also I was not one who desired to wed a woman, however
much I worshipped her, if she desired to turn her back on me. If I
could win her in fair love--well. If not, it was my misfortune, and I
wanted her in no other way. Lastly, I had reason to think that she
looked on me more favourably than she had ever done on any other man,
and that if it had not been for what my mother called her soul and its
longings, she would have given herself to me before I journeyed to the
East. Indeed, once she had said as much, and there was something in
her eyes last night which told me that in her heart she loved me,
though with what passion at the time I did not know. So very swiftly I
made up my mind and answered,

"I understand and I accept. The gold shall be delivered to you to-day,
Prince. The pearls are already in your keeping to await the end."

"Good!" he exclaimed. "Then let the matter be reduced to writing and
at once, that afterwards neither of us may have cause to complain of
the other."

So he sent for his secret scribe and dictated to him, briefly but
clearly, the substance of our bargain, nothing being added, and
nothing taken away. This roll written on papyrus was afterwards copied
twice, Peroa taking one copy, I another, and a third being deposited
according to custom, in the library of the temple of Ptah.

When all was done and Peroa and I had touched each other's breasts and
given our word in the name of Amen, we went to the hall in which we
had dined, where those whom the Prince had summoned were assembled.
Altogether there were about thirty of them, great citizens of Memphis,
or landowners from without who had been called together in the night.
Some of these men were very old and could remember when Egypt had a
Pharaoh of its own before the East set its heel upon her neck, of
noble blood also.

Others were merchants who dealt with all the cities of Egypt; others
hereditary generals, or captains of fleets of ships; others Grecians,
officers of mercenaries who were supposed to be in the pay of the King
of kings, but hated him, as did all the Greeks. Then there were the
high priests of Ptah, of Amen, of Osiris and others who were still the
most powerful men in the land, since there was no village between
Thebes and the mouths of the Nile in which they had not those who were
sworn to the service of their gods.

Such was the company representing all that remained or could be
gathered there of the greatness of Egypt the ancient and the fallen.

To these when the doors had been closed and barred and trusty watchmen
set to guard them, Peroa expounded the case in a low and earnest
voice. He showed them that the King of the East sought a new quarrel
against Egypt that he might grind her to powder beneath his heel, and
that he did this by demanding the person of Amada, his own niece and
the Royal Lady of Egypt, to be included in his household like any
common woman. If she were refused then he would send a great army
under pretext of taking her, and lay the land waste as far as Thebes.
And if she were granted some new quarrel would be picked and in the
person of the royal Amada all of them be for ever shamed.

Next he showed the seal, telling them that I--who was known to many of
them, at least by repute--had brought it from the East, and repeating
to them the plan that I had proposed upon the previous night. After
this he asked their counsel, saying that before noon he must send an
answer to Idernes, the King's Satrap at Sais.

Then I was called upon to speak and, in answer to questions, answered
frankly that I had stolen the ancient White Seal from the King's
servant who carried it as a warrant for the King's private vengeance
on one who had bested him. How I did not mention. I told them also of
the state of the Great King's empire and that I had heard that he was
about to enter upon a war with the Greeks which would need all its
strength, and that therefore if they wished to strike for liberty the
time was at hand.

Then the talk began and lasted for two hours, each man giving his
judgment according to precedence, some one way and some another. When
all had done and it became clear that there were differences of
opinion, some being content to live on in slavery with what remained
to them and others desiring to strike for freedom, among whom were the
high priests who feared lest the Eastern heretics should utterly
destroy their worship, Peroa spoke once more.

"Elders of Egypt," he said briefly, "certain of you think one way, and
certain another, but of this be sure, such talk as we have held
together cannot be hid. It will come to the ears of spies and through
them to those of the Great King, and then all of us alike are doomed.
If you refuse to stir, this very day I with my family and household
and the Royal Lady Amada, and all who cling to me, fly to Upper Egypt
and perhaps beyond it to Ethiopia, leaving you to deal with the Great
King, as you will, or to follow me into exile. That he will attack us
there is no doubt, either over the pretext of Amada or some other,
since Shabaka has heard as much from his own lips. Now choose."

Then, after a little whispering together, every man of them voted for
rebellion, though some of them I could see with heavy hearts, and
bound themselves by a great oath to cling together to the last.

The matter being thus settled such a letter was written to Idernes as
I had suggested on the night before, and sealed with the Signet of
signets. Of the yielding up of Amada it said nothing, but commanded
Idernes, under the private White Seal that none dared disobey, to wait
upon the Prince Peroa at Memphis forthwith, and there learn from him,
the Holder of the Seal, what was the will of the Great King. Then the
Council was adjourned till one hour after noon, and most of them
departed to send messengers bearing secret word to the various cities
and nomes of Egypt.

Before they went, however, I was directed to wait upon my relative,
the holy Tanofir, whom all acknowledged to be the greatest magician in
Egypt, and to ask of him to seek wisdom and an oracle from his Spirit
as to the future and whether in it we should fare well or ill. This I
promised to do.

When most of the Council were gone the messengers of Idernes were
summoned, and came proudly, and with them, or rather before them, Bes
for whom I had sent as he was not present at the Council.

"Master," he whispered to me, "the tallest of those messengers is the
man who captained the robbers last night. Wait and I will prove it."

Peroa gave the roll to the head messenger, bidding him bear it to the
Satrap in answer to the letter which he had delivered to him. The man
took it insolently and thrust it into his robe, as he did so revealing
a silver chain that had been broken and knotted together, and asked
whether there were words to bear besides those written in the roll.
Before Peroa could answer Bes sprang up saying,

"O Prince, a boon, the boon of justice on this man. Last night he and
others with him attacked my master and myself, seeking to rob us, but
finding nothing let us go."

"You lie, Abortion!" said the Eastern.

"Oh! I lie, do I?" mocked Bes. "Well, let us see," and shooting out
his long arm, he grasped the chain about the messenger's neck and
broke it with a jerk. "Look, O Prince," he said, "you may have noted
last night, when that man entered the hall, that there hung about his
neck this chain to which was tied a silver key."

"I noted it," said Peroa.

"Then ask him, O Prince, where is the key now."

"What is that to you, Dwarf?" broke in the man. "The key is my mark of
office as chief butler to the High Satrap. Must I always bear it for
your pleasure?"

"Not when it has been taken from you, Butler," answered Bes. "See,
here it is," and from his sleeve he produced the key hanging to a
piece of the chain. "Listen, O Prince," he said. "I struggled with
this man and the key was in my left hand though he did not know it at
the time, and with it some of the chain. Compare them and judge. Also
his mask slipped and I saw his face and knew him again."

Peroa laid the pieces of the chain together and observed the
workmanship which was Eastern and rare. Then he clapped his hands, at
which sign armed men of his household entered from behind him.

"It is the same," he said. "Butler of Idernes, you are a common
thief."

The man strove to answer, but could not for the deed was proved
against him.

"Then, O Prince," asked Bes, "what is the punishment of those thieves
who attack passers-by with violence in the streets of Memphis, for
such I demand on him?"

"The cutting off of the right hand and scourging," answered Peroa, at
which words the butler turned to fly. But Bes leapt on him like an ape
upon a bird, and held him fast.

"Seize that thief," said Peroa to his servants, "and let him receive
fifty blows with the rods. His hand I spare because he must travel."

They laid the man down and the rods having been fetched, gave him the
blows until at the thirtieth he howled for mercy, crying out that it
was true and that it was he who had captained the robbers, words which
Peroa caused to be written down. Then he asked him why he, a messenger
from the Satrap, had robbed in the streets of Memphis, and as he
refused to answer, commanded the officer of justice to lay on. After
three more blows the man said,

"O Prince, this was no common robbery for gain. I did what I was
commanded to do, because yonder noble had about him the ancient White
Seal of the Great King which he showed to certain of the Satrap's
servants by the banks of the canal. That seal is a holy token, O
Prince, which, it is said, has descended for twice a thousand years in
the family of the Great King, and as the Satrap did not know how it
had come into the hands of the noble Shabaka, he ordered me to obtain
it if I could."

"And the pearls too, Butler?"

"Yes, O Prince, since those gems are a great possession with which any
Satrap could buy a larger satrapy."

"Let him go," said Peroa, and the man rose, rubbing himself and
weeping in his pain.

"Now, Butler," he went on, "return to your master with a grateful
heart, since you have been spared much that you deserve. Say to him
that he cannot steal the Signet, but that if he is wise he will obey
it, since otherwise his fate may be worse than yours, and to all his
servants say the same. Foolish man, how can you, or your master, guess
what is in the mind of the Great King, or for what purpose the Signet
of signets is here in Egypt? Beware lest you fall into a pit, all of
you together, and let Idernes beware lest he find himself at the very
bottom of that pit."

"O Prince, I will beware," said the humbled butler, "and whatever is
written over the seal, that I will obey, like many others."

"You are wise," answered Peroa; "I pray for his own sake that the
Satrap Idernes may be as wise. Now begone, thanking whatever god you
worship that your life is whole in you and that your right hand
remains upon your wrist."

So the butler and those with him prostrated themselves before Peroa
and bowed humbly to me and even to Bes because in their hearts now
they believed that we were clothed by the Great King with terrible
powers that might destroy them all, if so we chose. Then they went,
the butler limping a little and with no pride left in him.

"That was good work," said Peroa to me afterwards when we were alone,
"for now yonder knave is frightened and will frighten his master."

"Yes," I answered, "you played that pipe well, Prince. Still, there is
no time to lose, since before another moon this will all be reported
in the East, whence a new light may arise and perchance a new signet."

"You say you stole the White Seal?" he asked.

"Nay, Prince, the truth is that Bes bought it--in a certain fashion--
and I used it. Perhaps it is well that you should know no more at
present."

"Perhaps," he answered, and we parted, for he had much to do.

That afternoon the Council met again. At it I gave over the gold and
by help of it all was arranged. Within a week ten thousand armed men
would be in Memphis and a hundred ships with their crews upon the
Nile; also a great army would be gathering in Upper Egypt, officered
for the most part by Greeks skilled in war. The Greek cities too at
the mouths of the Nile would be ready to revolt, or so some of their
citizens declared, for they hated the Great King bitterly and longed
to cast off his yoke.

For my part, I received the command of the bodyguard of Peroa in which
were many Greeks, and a generalship in the army; while to Bes, at my
prayer, was given the freedom of the land which he accepted with a
smile, he who was a king in his own country.

At length all was finished and I went out into the palace garden to
rest myself before I rode into the desert to see my great uncle, the
holy Tanofir. I was alone, for Bes had gone to bring our horses on
which we were to ride, and sat myself down beneath a palm-tree,
thinking of the great adventure on which we had entered with a merry
heart, for I loved adventures.

Next I thought of Amada and was less merry. Then I looked up and lo!
she stood before me, unaccompanied and wearing the dress, not of a
priestess, but of an Egyptian lady with the little circlet of her rank
upon her hair. I rose and bowed to her and we began to walk together
beneath the palms, my heart beating hard within me, for I knew that my
hour had come to speak.

Yet it was she who spoke the first, saying,

"I hear that you have been playing a high part, Shabaka, and doing
great things for Egypt."

"For Egypt and for you who are Egypt," I answered.

"So I should have been called in the old days, Cousin, because of my
blood and the rank it gives, though now I am but as any other lady of
the land."

"And so you shall be called in days to come, Amada, if my sword and
wit can win their way."

"How so, Cousin, seeing that you have promised certain things to my
uncle Peroa and his son?"

"I have promised those things, Amada, and I will abide by my promise;
but the gods are above all, and who knows what they may decree?"

"Yes, Cousin, the gods are above all, and in their hands we will let
these matters rest, provoking them in no manner and least of all by
treachery to our oaths."

We walked for a little way in silence. Then I spoke.

"Amada, there are more things than thrones in the world."

"Yes, Cousin, there is that in which all thrones end--death, which it
seems we court."

"And, Amada, there is that in which all thrones begin--love, which I
court from you."

"I have known it long," she said, considering me gravely, "and been
grateful to you who are more to me than any man has been or ever will
be. But, Shabaka, I am a priestess bound to set the holy One I serve
above a mortal."

"That holy One was wed and bore a child, Amada, who avenged his
father, as I trust that we shall avenge Egypt. Therefore she looks
with a kind eye upon wives and mothers. Also you have not taken your
final vows and can be absolved."

"Yes," she said softly.

"Then, Amada, will you give yourself into my keeping?"

"I think so, Shabaka, though it has been in my mind for long, as you
know well, to give myself only to learning and the service of the
heavenly Lady. My heart calls me to you, it is true, day and night it
calls, how loudly I will not tell; yet I would not yield myself to
that alone. But Egypt calls me also, since I have been shown in a
dream while I watched in the sanctuary, that you are the only man who
can free her, and I think that this dream came from on high. Therefore
I will give myself, but not yet."

"Not yet," I said dismayed. "When?"

"When I have been absolved from my vows, which must be done on the
night of the next new moon, which is twenty-seven days from this.
Then, if nothing comes between us during those twenty-seven days, it
shall be announced that the Royal Lady of Egypt is to wed the noble
Shabaka."

"Twenty-seven days! In such times much may happen in them, Amada.
Still, except death, what can come between us?"

"I know of nothing, Shabaka, whose past is shadowless as the noon."

"Or I either," I replied.

Now we were standing in the clear sunlight, but as I said the words a
wind stirred the palm-trees and the shadow from one of them fell full
upon me, and she who was very quick, noted it.

"Some might take that for an omen," she said with a little laugh,
pointing to the line of the shadow. "Oh! Shabaka, if you have aught to
confess, say it now and I will forgive it. But do not leave me to
discover it afterwards when I may not forgive. Perchance during your
journeyings in the East----"

"Nothing, nothing," I exclaimed joyfully, who during all that time had
scarcely spoken to a youthful woman.

"I am glad that nothing happened in the East that could separate us,
Shabaka, though in truth my thought was not your own, for there are
more things than women in the world. Only it seems strange to me that
you should return to Egypt laden with such priceless gifts from him
who is Egypt's greatest enemy."

"Have I not told you that I put my country before myself? Those gifts
were won fairly in a wager, Amada, whereof you heard the story but
last night. Moreover you know the purpose to which they are to be
put," I replied indignantly.

"Yes, I know and now I am sure. Be not angry, Shabaka, with her who
loves you truly and hopes ere long to call you husband. But till that
day take it not amiss if I keep somewhat aloof from you, who must
break with the past and learn to face a future of which I did not
dream."

For the rest she stretched out her hand and I kissed it, for while she
was still a priestess her lips she would not suffer me to touch.
Another moment and smiling happily, she had glided away, leaving me
alone in the garden.

Then it was for the first time that I bethought me of the warnings of
Bes and remembered that it was I, not he, who had told the Great King
the name of the most beautiful woman in Egypt, although in all
innocence. Yes, I remembered, and felt as if all the shadows on the
earth had wrapped me round. I thought of finding her, but she had gone
whither I knew not in that great palace. So I determined that the next
time we were alone I would tell her of the matter, explaining all, and
with this thought I comforted myself who did not know that until many
days were past we should be alone no more.

After this I went home and told my mother all my joy, for in truth
there was no happier man in Egypt. She listened, then answered,
smiling a little.

"When your father wished to take me to wife, Shabaka, it was not my
hand that I gave him to kiss, and as you know, I too have the blood of
kings in me. But then I was not a priestess of Isis, so doubtless all
is well. Only in twenty-seven days much may happen, as you said to
Amada. Now I wonder why did she----? Well, no matter, since
priestesses are not like other women who only think of the man they
have won and of naught before or after. The blessing of the gods and
mine be on you both, my son," and she went away to attend to her
household matters.

As we rode to Sekera to find the holy Tanofir I told Bes also, adding
that I had forgotten to reveal that it was I who had spoken Amada's
name to the king, but that I intended to do so ere long.

Bes rolled his eyes and answered,

"If I were you, Master, as I had forgotten, I should continue to
forget, for what is welcome in one hour is not always welcome in
another. Why speak of the matter at all, which is one hard to explain
to a woman, however wise and royal? I have already said that /I/ spoke
the name to the King and that you were brought from the boat to say
whether I was noted for my truthfulness. Is not that enough?"

While I considered, Bes went on,

"You may remember, Master, that when I told, well--the truth about
this story, the lady Amada asked earnestly that I should be scourged,
even to the bones. Now if you should tell another truth which will
make mine dull as tarnished silver, she will not leave me even my
bones, for I shall be proved a liar, and what will happen to you I am
sure I do not know. And, Master, as I am no longer a slave here in
Egypt, to say nothing of what I may be elsewhere, I have no fancy for
scourgings, who may not kiss the hand that smites me as you can."

"But, Bes," I said, "what is, is and may always be learned in this way
or in that."

"Master, if what is were always learned, I think the world would fall
to pieces, or at least there would be no men left on it. Why should
this matter be learned? It is known to you and me alone, leaving out
the Great King who probably has forgotten as he was drunk at the time.
Oh! Master, when you have neither bow nor spear at hand, it is not
wise to kick a sleeping lion in the stomach, for then he will remember
its emptiness and sup off you. Beside, when first I told you that tale
I made a mistake. I did tell the Great King, as I now remember quite
clearly, that the beautiful lady was named Amada, and he only sent for
you to ask if I spoke the truth."

"Bes," I exclaimed, "you worshippers of the Grasshopper wear virtue
easily."

"Easily as an old sandal, Master, or rather not at all, since the
Grasshopper has need of none. For ages they have studied the ways of
those who worship the gods of Egypt, and from them have learned----"

"What?"

"Amongst other things, Master, that woman, being modest, is shocked at
the sight of the naked Truth."

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