Hearing this I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed my eyes, thinking that I must have fallen into a dream there in the sunshine. When I lifted it again all was the same as before. There stood the sentry, indifferent to that which had no interest for him; the c.o.c.k that had moulted its tail still scratched in the dirt; the crested hoopoe still sat spreading its wings on the head of one of the two great statues of Rameses which watched the gate; a water-seller in the distance still cried his wares, but the stranger was gone. Then I knew that I had been dreaming and turned to go also, to find myself face to face with him.
"Man," I said, indignantly, "how in the name of Ptah and all his priests did you pa.s.s a sentry and through that gate without my seeing you?"
"Do not trouble yourself with a new problem when already you have so many to perplex you, friend Ana. Say, have you yet solved that of how a rod like this turned itself into a snake in your hand?" and he threw back his hood, revealing the shaved head and the glowing eyes of the Kherheb Ki.
"No, I have not," I answered, "and I thank you," for here he proffered me the staff, "but I will not try the trick again. Next time the beast might bite. Well, Ki, as you can pa.s.s in here without my leave, why do you ask it? In short, what do you want with me, now that those Hebrew prophets have put you on your back?"
"Hush, Ana. Never grow angry, it wastes strength, of which we have so little to spare, for you know, being so wise, or perhaps you do not know, that at birth the G.o.ds give us a certain store of it, and when that is used we die and have to go elsewhere to fetch more. At this rate your life will be short, Ana, for you squander it in emotions."
"What do you want?" I repeated, being too angry to dispute with him.
"I want to find an answer to the question you asked so roughly: Why the Hebrew prophets have, as you say, put me on my back?"
"Not being a magician, as you pretend you are, I can give you none, Ki."
"Never for one moment did I suppose that you could," he replied blandly, stretching out his hands, and leaving the staff which had fallen from them standing in front of him. (It was not till afterwards that I remembered that this accursed bit of wood stood there of itself without visible support, for it rested on the paving-stone of the gateway.) "But, as it chances, you have in this house the master, or rather the mistress of all magicians, as every Egyptian knows to-day, the lady Merapi, and I would see her."
"Why do you say she is a mistress of magicians?" I asked indignantly.
"Why does one bird know another of its own kind? Why does the water here remain pure, when all other water turns to blood? Why do not the frogs croak in Seti"s halls, and why do the flies avoid his meat? Why, also, did the statue of Amon melt before her glance, while all my magic fell back from her breast like arrows from a shirt of mail? Those are the questions that Egypt asks, and I would have an answer to them from the beloved of Seti, or of the G.o.d Set, she who is named Moon of Israel."
"Then why not go seek it for yourself, Ki? To you, doubtless, it would be a small matter to take the form of a snake or a rat, or a bird, and creep or run or fly into the presence of Merapi."
"Mayhap it would not be difficult, Ana. Or, better still, I might visit her in her sleep, as I visited you on a certain night at Thebes, when you told me of a talk you had held with a woman in the avenue of the Sphinxes, and of what it cost you in gold and tears. But, as it chances, I wish to appear as a man and a friend, and to stay a while. Bakenkhonsu tells me that he finds life here at Memphis very pleasant, free too from the sicknesses which just now seem to be so common in Egypt; so why should not I do the same, Ana?"
I looked at his round, ripe face, on which was fixed a smile unchanging as that worn by the masks on mummy coffins, from which I think he must have copied it, and at the cold, deep eyes above, and shivered a little. To tell truth I feared this man, whom I felt to be in touch with presences and things that are not of our world, and thought it wisest to withstand him no more.
"That is a question which you had best put to my master Seti who owns this house. Come, I will lead you to him," I said.
So we went to the great portico of the palace, pa.s.sing in and out through the painted pillars, towards my own apartments, whence I purposed to send a message to the Prince. As it chanced this was needless, since presently we saw him seated in a little bay out of reach of the sun. By his side was Merapi, and on a woven rug between them lay their sleeping infant, at whom both of them gazed adoringly.
"Strange that this mother"s heart should hide more might than can be boasted by all the G.o.ds of Egypt. Strange that those mother"s eyes can rive the ancient glory of Amon into dust!" Ki said to me in so low a voice that it almost seemed as though I heard his thought and not his words, which perhaps indeed I did.
Now we stood in front of these three, and the sun being behind us, for it was still early, the shadow of the cloaked Ki fell upon a babe and lay there. A hateful fancy came to me. It looked like the evil form of an embalmer bending over one new dead. The babe felt it, opened its large eyes and wailed. Merapi saw it, and s.n.a.t.c.hed up her child. Seti too rose from his seat, exclaiming, "Who comes?"
Thereon, to my amazement, Ki prostrated himself and uttered the salutation which may only be given to the King of Egypt: "Life! Blood!
Strength! Pharaoh! Pharaoh! Pharaoh!"
"Who dares utter those words to me?" said Seti. "Ana, what madman do you bring here?"
"May it please the Prince, _he_ brought _me_ here," I replied faintly.
"Fellow, tell me who bade you say such words, than which none were ever less welcome."
"Those whom I serve, Prince."
"And whom do you serve?"
"The G.o.ds of Egypt."
"Then, man, I think the G.o.ds must need your company. Pharaoh does not sit at Memphis, and were he to hear of them----"
"Pharaoh will never hear them, Prince, until he hears all things."
They stared at each other. Then, as I had done by the gate Seti rubbed his eyes, and said:
"Surely this is Ki. Why, then, did you look otherwise just now?"
"The G.o.ds can change the fashion of their messenger a thousand times in a flash, if so they will, O Prince."
Now Seti"s anger pa.s.sed, and turned to laughter.
"Ki, Ki," he said, "you should keep these tricks for Court. But, since you are in the mood, what salutation have you for this lady by my side?"
Ki considered her, till she who ever feared and hated him shrank before his gaze.
"Crown of Hathor, I greet you. Beloved of Isis, shine on perfect in the sky, shedding light and wisdom ere you set."
Now this saying puzzled me. Indeed, I did not fully understand it until Bakenkhonsu reminded me that Merapi"s name was Moon of Israel, that Hathor, G.o.ddess of love, is crowned with the moon in all her statues, that Isis is the queen of mysteries and wisdom, and that Ki who thought Merapi perfect in love and beauty, also the greatest of all sorceresses, was likening her to these.
"Yes," I answered, "but what did he mean when he talked about her setting?"
"Does not the moon always set, and is it not sometimes eclipsed?" he asked shortly.
"So does the sun," I answered.
"True; so does the sun! You are growing wise, very wise indeed, friend Ana. Oho--ho!"
To return: When Seti heard these words, he laughed again, and said:
"I must think that saying over, but it is clear that you have a pretty turn for praise. Is it not so, Merapi, Crown of Hathor, and Holder of the wisdom of Isis?"
But Merapi, who, I think, understood more than either of us, turned pale, and shrank further away, but outwards into the sunshine.
"Well, Ki," went on Seti, "finish your greetings. What for the babe?"
Ki considered it also.
"Now that it is no longer in the shadow, I see that this shoot from the royal root of Pharaoh grows so fast and tall that my eyes cannot reach its crest. He is too high and great for greetings, Prince."
Then Merapi uttered a little cry, and bore the child away.
"She is afraid of magicians and their dark sayings," said Seti, looking after her with a troubled smile.
"That she should not be, Prince, seeing that she is the mistress of all our tribe."
"The lady Merapi a magician? Well, after a fashion, yes--where the hearts of men are concerned, do you not think so, Ana? But be more plain, Ki. It is still early, and I love riddles best at night."