regain his old friendship. Mention my name and recall the time when he
taught little Isisnefert the names of the plants she brought to him and
explained to her and her sister their beneficial or their harmful
qualities, during his visits to the queen, his second mother, in the
women's apartments. The wounds he has dealt our hearts shall be pardoned
and forgotten. Be our envoy. Hosea, do not deny us."

"Such words from royal lips are a strict mandate," replied the Hebrew.
"And yet they make the heart rejoice. I will accept the office of
mediator."

The hoary high-priest nodded approvingly, exclaiming:

"I hope a long period of blessing may arise from this brief hour. But
note this. Where potions can aid, surgery must be shunned. Where a bridge
spans the stream, beware of swimming through the whirlpool."

"Yes, by all means shun the whirlpool," Pharaoh repeated, and the queen
uttered the same words, then once more bent her eyes on the flowers in
her lap.

A council now began.

Three private scribes took seats on the floor close by Rui, in order to
catch his low tones, and the scribes and councillors in the circle before
the throne seized their writing-materials and, holding the papyrus in
their left hands, wrote with reed or brush; for nothing which was debated
and determined in Pharaoh's presence was suffered to be left unrecorded.

During the continuance of this debate no voice in the audience chamber
was raised above a whisper; the courtiers and guards stood motionless at
their posts, and the royal pair gazed mutely into vacancy as though lost
in reverie.

Neither Pharaoh nor his queen could possibly have heard the muttered
conversation between the men; yet the Egyptians, at the close of every
sentence, glanced upward at the king as if to ensure his approbation.
Hosea, to whom the custom was perfectly familiar, did the same and, like
the rest, lowered his tones. Whenever the voices of Bai or of the chief
of the scribes waxed somewhat louder, Pharaoh raised his head and
repeated the words of Rui: "Where a bridge spans the stream, beware of
swimming through the whirlpool;" for this saying precisely expressed his
own desires and those of the queen. No strife! Let us live at peace with
the Hebrews, and escape from the anger of their awful leader and his God,
without losing the thousands of industrious workers in the departed
tribes.

So the discussion went on, and when the murmuring of the debaters and the
scratching of the scribes' reeds had continued at least an hour the queen
remained in the same position; but Pharaoh began to move and lift up his
voice, fearing that the second prophet, who had detested the man whose
benedictions he had implored and whose enmity seemed so terrible, was
imposing on the mediator requirements impossible to fulfil.

Yet he said nothing save to repeat the warning about the bridge, but his
questioning look caused the chief of the scribes to soothe him with the
assurance that everything was progressing as well as possible. Hosea had
only requested that, in future, the overseers of the workmen should not
be of Libyan birth, but Hebrews themselves, chosen by the elders of their
tribes with the approval of the Egyptian government.

Pharaoh cast a glance of imploring anxiety at Bai, the second prophet,
and the other councillors; but the former shrugged his shoulders
deprecatingly and, pretending to yield his own opinion to the divine
wisdom of Pharaoh, acceded to Hosea's request.

The divinity on the throne of the world accepted, with a grateful bend of
the head, this concession from a man whose wishes had so often opposed
his own, and after the "repeater" or herald had read aloud all the
separate conditions of the agreement, Hosea was forced to make a solemn
vow to return in any case to Tanis, and report to the Sublime Porte how
his people had received the king's proposals.

But the wary chief, versed in the wiles and tricks with which the
government was but too well supplied, uttered the vow with great
reluctance, and only after he had received a written assurance that,
whatever might be the result of the negotiations, his liberty should not
be restricted in any respect, after he had proved that he had used his
utmost efforts to induce the leader of the Hebrews to accept the compact.

At last Pharaoh extended his hand for the warrior to kiss, and when the
latter had also pressed his lips to the edge of the queen's garments, Rui
signed to the head-chamberlain, who made obeisance to Pharaoh, and the
sovereign knew that the hour had come when he might retire. He did so
gladly and with a lighter heart; for he believed that he had done his
best to secure his own welfare and that of his people.

A sunny expression flitted across his handsome, worn features, and when
the queen also rose and saw his smile of satisfaction it was reflected on
her face. Pharaoh uttered a sigh of relief as he crossed the threshold of
the audience chamber and, accosting his wife, said:

"If Hosea wins his cause, we shall cross the bridge safely."

"And need not swim through the whirlpool," the queen answered in the same
tone.

"And if the chief succeeds in soothing Mesu, and induces the Hebrews to
stay in the land," Pharaoh added:

"Then you will enrol this Hosea--he looks noble and upright--among the
kindred of the king," Isisnefert interrupted.

But upon this Pharaoh drew up his languid, drooping figure, exclaiming
eagerly:

"How can I? A Hebrew! Were we to admit him among the 'friends' or
'fan-bearers' it would be the highest favor we could bestow! It is no
easy matter in such a case to choose between too great or too small a
recompense."

The farther the royal pair advanced toward the interior of the palace,
the louder rose the wailing voices of the mourning women. Tears once more
filled the eyes of the queen; but Pharaoh continued to ponder over what
office at court he could bestow on Hosea, should his mission prove
successful.




CHAPTER X.

Hosea was forced to hurry in order to overtake the tribes in time; for
the farther they proceeded, the harder it would be to induce Moses and
the leaders of the people to return and accept the treaty.

The events which had befallen him that morning seemed so strange that he
regarded them as a dispensation of the God whom he had found again; he
recollected, too, that the name "Joshua," "he who helps Jehovah," had
been received through Miriam's message. He would gladly bear it; for
though it was no easy matter to resign the name for which he had won
renown, still many of his comrades had done likewise. His new one was
attesting its truth grandly; never had God's help been more manifest to
him than this morning. He had entered Pharaoh's palace expecting to be
imprisoned or delivered over to the executioner, as soon as he insisted
upon following his people, and how speedily the bonds that held him in
the Egyptian army had been sundered. And he had been appointed to
discharge a task which seemed in his eyes so grand, so lofty, that he was
on the point of believing that the God of his fathers had summoned him to
perform it.

He loved Egypt. It was a fair country. Where could his people find a more
delightful home? It was only the circumstances under which they had lived
there which had been intolerable. Happier times were now in store. The
tribes were given the choice between returning to Goshen, or settling on
the lake land west of the Nile, with whose fertility and ample supply of
water he was well acquainted. No one would have a right to reduce them to
bondage, and whoever gave his labor to the service of the state was to
have for overseer no stern and cruel foreigner, but a man of his own
blood.

True, he knew that the Hebrews must remain under subjection to Pharaoh.
But had not Joseph, Ephraim, and his sons, Hosea's ancestors, been called
his subjects and lived content to be numbered among the Egyptians.

If the covenant was made, the elders of the tribes were to direct the
private concerns of the people. Spite of Bai's opposition, Moses had been
named regent of the new territory, while he, Hosea, himself was to
command the soldiers who would defend the frontiers, and marshal fresh
troops from the Israelite mercenaries, who had already borne themselves
valiantly in many a fray. Ere he had quitted the palace, Bai had made
various mysterious allusions, which though vague in purport, betrayed
that the priest was cherishing important plans and, as soon as the
guidance of the government passed from old Rui's hands into his, a high
position, perhaps the command of the whole army, now led by a Syrian
named Aarsu, would be conferred on him, Hosea.

But this prospect caused him more anxiety than pleasure, though great was
his satisfaction at having gained the concession that every third year
the eastern frontiers of the country should be thrown open to his people,
that they might go to the desert and there offer sacrifices to their God.
Moses had seemed to lay the utmost stress upon this privilege, and
according to the existing law, no one was permitted to cross the narrow
fortified frontier on the east without the permission of the government.
Perhaps granting this desire of the mighty leader might win him to accept
a compact so desirable for his nation.

During these negotiations Hosea had again realized his estrangement from
his people, he was not even aware--for what purpose the sacrifice in the
desert was offered. He also frankly acknowledged to Pharaoh's councillors
that he knew neither the grievances nor the requirements of the tribes, a
course he pursued to secure to the Hebrews the right of changing or
revising in any respect the offers he was to convey.

What better proposals could they or their leader desire?

The future was full of fresh hopes of happiness for his people and
himself. If the compact was made, the time had arrived for him to
establish a home of his own, and Miriam's image again appeared in all its
loftiness and beauty. The thought of gaining this splendid maiden was
fairly intoxicating, and he wondered whether he was worthy of her, and if
it would not be presumptuous to aspire to the hand of the
divinely-inspired, majestic virgin and prophetess.

He was experienced in the affairs of life and knew full well how little
reliance could be placed upon the promises of the vacillating man, who
found the sceptre too heavy for his feeble hand. But he had exercised
caution and, if the elders of the people could but be won over, the
agreement would be inscribed on metal tables, sentence by sentence, and
hung in the temple at Thebes, with the signatures of Pharaoh and the
envoys of the Hebrews, like every other binding agreement between Egypt
and a foreign nation. Such documents--he had learned this from the treaty
of peace concluded with the Cheta--assured and lengthened the brief
"eternity" of national covenants. He had certainly neglected no
precaution to secure his people from treachery and perjury. Never had he
felt more vigorous, more confident, more joyous than when he again
entered Pharaoh's chariot to take leave of his subordinates. Bai's
mysterious hints and suggestions troubled him very little; he was
accustomed to leave future anxieties to be cared for in the future. But
at the camp he encountered a grief which belonged to the present;
surprised, angry, and troubled, he learned that Ephraim had secretly left
the tent, telling no one whither he was going. A hurried investigation
drew out the information that the youth had been seen on the road to
Tanis, and Hosea hastily bade his trusty shield-bearer search the city
for the youth and, if he found him, to order him to follow his uncle to
Succoth.

After the chief had said farewell to his men, he set off, attended only
by his old groom. He was pleased to have the adone--[Corresponding to the
rank of adjutant.]--and subaltern officers who had been with him, the
stern warriors, with whom he had shared everything in war and peace, in
want and privation, show so plainly the pain of parting. Tears streamed
down the bronzed cheeks of many a man who had grown grey in warfare, as
he clasped his hand for the last time. Many a bearded lip was pressed to
the hem of his robe, to his feet, and to the sleek skin of the noble
Libyan steed which, pressing forward with arching neck only to be curbed
by its rider's strength, bore him through the ranks. For the first time
since his mother's death his own eyes grew dim, as shouts of farewell
rang warmly and loudly from the manly breasts of his soldiers.

Never before had he so deeply realized how firmly he was bound to these
men, and how he loved his noble profession.

Yet the duty he was now fulfilling was also great and glorious, and the
God who had absolved him from his oath and smoothed the way for him to
obey 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
brow. But, restraining himself, he added as if apologizing: "Her heart is
as soft as wax, and the Hebrew youth--you saw him yesterday. . . . "

"Is a splendid lad, just fitted to win a woman's heart!" replied the
priest laughing. "Besides, whoever shows kindness to the nephew does not
harm the uncle."

"That was not in her mind," replied Hornecht bluntly. "But the invisible
God of the Hebrews is not less watchful of his children than the
Immortals whom you serve; for he led Hotepu to the youth just as he was
at the point of death. The dreamer would undoubtedly have ridden past
him; for the dust had already . . . ."

"Transformed him into a bit of potter's clay. But then?"

"Then the old man suddenly saw a glint of gold in the dusty heap."

"And the stiffest neck will stoop for that."

"Quite true. My Hotepu did so, and the broad gold circlet the lad wore
flashed in the sunlight and preserved his life a second time."

"The luckiest thing is that we have the lad in our possession."

"Yes, I was rejoiced to have him open his eyes once more. Then his
recovery grew more and more rapid; the doctor says he is like a kitten,
and all these mishaps will not cost him his life. But he is in a violent
fever, and in his delirium says all sorts of senseless things, which even
my daughter's nurse, a native of Ascalon, cannot clearly comprehend. Only
she thought she caught Kasana's name."

"So it is once more a woman who is the source of the trouble."

"Stop these jests, holy father," replied Hornecht, biting his lips. "A
modest widow, and that boy with the down still on his lips."

"At his age," replied the unabashed priest, "fullblown roses have a
stronger attraction for young beetles than do buds; and in this
instance," he added more gravely, "it is a most fortunate accident. We
have Hosea's nephew in the snare, and it will be your part not to let him
escape."

"Do you mean that we are to deprive him of his liberty?" cried the
warrior.

"Even so."

"Yet you value his uncle?"

"Certainly. But the state has a higher claim."

"This boy. . . ."

"Is a desirable hostage. Hosea's sword was an extremely useful tool to
us; but if the hand that guides it is directed by the man whose power
ever greater things we know . . . ."

"You mean the Hebrew, Mesu?"

"Then Hosea will deal us wounds as deep as those he erst inflicted on our
foes."

"Yet I have heard you say more than once that he was incapable of
perjury."

"And so I say still, he has given wonderful proof of it to-day. Merely
for the sake of being released from his oath, he thrust his head into the
crocodile's jaws. But though the son of Nun is a lion, he will find his
master in Mesu. That man is the mortal foe of the Egyptians, the bare
thought of him stirs my gall."

"The cries of the wailing women behind this door admonish us loudly
enough to hate him."

"Yet the weakling on the throne has forgotten vengeance, and is now
sending Hosea on an errand of reconciliation."

"With your sanction, I think?"

"Ay," replied the priest with a mocking smile. "We send him to build a
bridge! Oh, this bridge! A grey-beard's withered brain recommends it to
be thrown across the stream, and the idea just suits this pitiful son of
a great father, who would certainly never have shunned swimming through
the wildest whirlpool, especially when revenge was to be sought. Let
Hosea essay the bridge! If it leads him back across the stream to us, I
will offer him a right warm and cordial welcome; but as soon as this one
man stands on our shores, may its supports sink under the leaders of his
people; we, the only brave souls in Egypt, must see to that."

"So be it. Yet I fear we shall lose the chief, too, if justice overtakes
his people."

"It might almost seem so."

"You have greater wisdom than I."

"Yet here you believe me in error."

"How could I venture to . . . ."

"As a member of the military council you are entitled to your own
opinion, and I consider myself bound to show you the end of the path
along which you have hitherto followed us with blindfold eyes. So listen,
and judge accordingly when your turn comes to speak in the council. The
chief-priest Rui is old . . . ."

"And you now fill half his offices."

"Would that he might soon be relieved of the last half of his burden. Not
on my own account. I love strife, but for the welfare of our native land.
It is a deep-seated feeling of our natures to regard the utterances and
mandates of age as wisdom, so there are few among the councillors who do
not follow the old man's opinions; yet his policy limps on crutches, like
himself. All good projects are swamped under his weak, fainthearted
guidance."

"That is the very reason my vote is at your disposal," cried the warrior.
"That is why I am ready to use all my might to hurl this sleeper from the
throne and get rid of his foolish advisers."

The prophet laid his finger on his lips to warn his companion to be more
cautious, drew nearer to him, pointed to his litter, and said in a low,
hurried tone:

"I am expected at the Sublime Porte, so listen. If Hosea's mission is
successful his people will return--the guilty with the innocent--and the
latter will suffer. Among the former we can include the whole of Hosea's
tribe, who call themselves the sons of Ephraim, from old Nun down to the
youth in your dwelling."

"We may spare them; but Mesu, too, is a Hebrew, and what we do to
him. . . ."

"Will not occur in the public street, and it is child's play to sow
enmity between two men who desire to rule in the same sphere. I will make
sure that Hosea shall shut his eyes to the other's death; but Pharaoh,
whether his name is Meneptah or"--he lowered his voice--"Siptah, must
then raise him to so great a height--and he merits it--that his giddy
eyes will never discern aught we desire to conceal. There is one dish
that never palls on any man who has once tasted it."

"And what is that?"

"Power, Hornecht--mighty power! As ruler of a whole province, commander
of all the mercenaries in Aarsu's stead, he will take care not to break
with us. I know him. If I can succeed in making him believe Mesu has
wronged him--and the imperious man will afford some pretext for it--and
can bring him to the conviction that the law directs the punishment we
mete out to the sorcerer and the worst of his adherents, he will not only
assent but approve it."

"And if he fails in his mission?"

"He will return at any rate; for he would not be false to his oath. But
if Mesu, from whom we may expect anything, should detain him by force,
the boy will be of service to us; for Hosea loves him, his people value
his life, and he belongs to one of their noblest tribes. In any case
Pharaoh must threaten the lad; we will guard him, and that will unite his
uncle to us by fresh ties and lead him to join those who are angry with
the king."

"Excellent!"

"The surest way to attain our object will be by forging still another
chain. In short--now I beg you to be quiet, your temper is far too hot
for your grey hairs--in short, our Hebrew brother-in-arms, the saviour of
my life, the ablest man in the army, who is certain to win the highest
place, must be your son-in-law. Kasana's heart is his--my wife has told
me so." Hornecht frowned again, and struggled painfully to control his
anger. He perceived that he must overcome his objection to giving his
daughter to the man whose birth he scorned, much as he liked and esteemed
his character. He could not refrain from uttering an oath under his
breath, but his answer to the prophet was more calm and sensible than the
latter had anticipated. If Kasana was so possessed by demons that this
stranger infatuated her, let her have her will. But Hosea had not yet
sued for her.

"By the red god Seth, and his seventy companions," he added wrathfully,
"neither you, nor any one shall induce me to offer my daughter, who has
twenty suitors, to a man who terms himself our friend, yet finds no
leisure to greet us in our own house! To keep fast hold of the lad is
another thing, I will see to that."




CHAPTER XI.

The midnight heavens, decked with countless stars, spanned with their
cloudless azure vault the flat plains of the eastern Delta and the city
of Succoth, called by the Egyptians, from their sanctuary, the place of
the god Tum, or Pithom.

The March night was drawing toward its end, pallid mists floated over the
canal, the work of Hebrew bondmen which, as far as the eye could reach,
intersected the plain, watering the fields and pastures along its course.

Eastward and southward the sky was shrouded by dense veils of mist that
rose from the large lakes and from the narrow estuaries that ran far up
into the isthmus. The hot and dusty desert wind, which the day before had
swept over the parched grass and the tents and houses of Succoth, had
subsided at nightfall; and the cool atmosphere which in March, even in
Egypt, precedes the approach of dawn, made itself felt.

Whoever had formerly entered, between midnight and morning, the humble
frontier hamlet with its shepherd tents, wretched hovels of Nile mud, and
by no means handsome farms and dwellings, would scarcely have recognized
it now. Even the one noticeable building in the place--besides the
stately temple of the sungod Turn--the large fortified store-house,
presented at this hour an unfamiliar aspect. Its long white-washed walls,
it is true, glimmered through the gloom as distinctly as ever, but
instead of towering--as usual at this time--mute and lifeless above the
slumbering town--the most active bustle was going on within and around
it. It was intended also as a defense against the predatory hordes of the
Shasu,

[Bedouins, who dwelt as nomads in the desert adjacent to Egypt, now
regarded as part of Asia.]

who had made a circuit around the fortified works on the isthmus, and its
indestructible walls contained an Egyptian garrison, who could easily
defend it against a force greatly superior in numbers.

To-day it looked as if the sons of the desert had assailed it; but the
men and women who were bustling about below and on the broad parapet of
the gigantic building were Hebrews, not Shasu. With loud outcries and
gesticulations of delight they were seizing the thousands of measures of
wheat, barley, rye, and durra, the stores of pulse, dates, and onions
they found in the well-filled granaries, and even before sunset had begun
to empty the store-rooms and put their contents into sacks, pails, and
skins, trays, jugs, and aprons, which were let down by ropes or carried
to the ground on ladders.

The better classes took no share in this work, but among the busy throng,
spite of the lateness of the hour, were children of all ages, carrying
away in pots, jugs, and dishes-borrowed from their mothers' cooking
utensils--as much as they could.

Above, beside the unroofed openings of the storerooms, into which the
stars were shining, and also at the foot of the ladders, women held
torches or lanterns to light the others at their toil.

Pans of blazing pitch were set in front of the strong locked doors of the
real fortress, and in their light armed shepherds were pacing to and fro.
When heavy stones or kicks belabored the brazen-bound door from within,
and threats were uttered in the Egyptian tongue, the Hebrews outside did
not fail to retort in words of mockery and scorn.

On the day of the harvest festival, during the first evening watch,
runners arrived at Succoth and announced to the Israelites, whose numbers
were twenty-fold greater than those of the Egyptians, that they had
quitted Tanis in the morning and the tribes intended to leave at night;
their kindred in Succoth must be ready to go forth with them. There was
great rejoicing among the Hebrews, who like those of their blood in the
city of Rameses, had assembled in every house at a festive repast on the
night of the new moon after the vernal equinox when the harvest festival
usually began. The heads of the tribes had informed them that the day of
liberation had arrived, and the Lord would lead them into the Promised
Land.

Here, too, as in Tanis, many had been faint-hearted and rebellious, and
others had endeavored to separate their lot from the rest and remain
behind; but here, too, they were carried away by the majority. Eleasar,
the son of Aaron, and the distinguished heads of the tribe of Judah, Hur
and Naashon, had addressed the multitude, as Aaron and Nun had done in
the city of Rameses. But Miriam, the virgin, the sister of Moses, had
gone from house to house, everywhere awakening the fire of enthusiasm in
men's hearts, and telling the women that the morrow's sun would usher in
for them and their children a new day of happiness, prosperity, and
freedom.

Few had been deaf to the appeals of the prophetess; there was an air of
majesty, which compelled obedience, in the bearing of this maiden, whose
large black eyes, surmounted by heavy dark eye-brows, which met in the
middle, pierced the hearts of those on whom her gaze was bent and seemed
to threaten the rebellious with their gloomy radiance.

The members of every household went to rest after the festival with
hearts uplifted and full of hope. But what a change had passed over them
during the second day, the night that followed it, and the next morning!
It seemed as though the desert wind had buried all their courage and
confidence in the dust it swept before it. The dread of going forth to
face an unknown future had stolen into every heart, and many a man who
had waved his staff full of trust and joyful enterprise was now held, as
if with clamps and fetters, to his well-tilled garden, the home of his
ancestors, and the harvest in the fields, which had just been half
gathered.

The Egyptian garrison in the fortified store-house had not failed to
notice that the Hebrews were under some special excitement, but they
supposed it due to the harvest festival. The commander of the garrison
had learned that Moses desired to lead his people into the wilderness to
offer sacrifices to their God, and had asked for a reinforcement. But he
knew nothing more; for until the morning when the desert wind blew, no
Hebrew had disclosed the plans of his kindred. But the more sorely the
heat of the day oppressed them, the greater became the dread of the
faint-hearted of the pilgrimage through the hot, dusty, waterless desert.
The terrible day had given them a foretaste of what was impending and
when, toward noon, the dust grew thicker, the air more and more
oppressive, a Hebrew trader, from whom the Egyptian soldiers purchased
goods, stole into the store-house to ask the commander to prevent his
people from rushing to their doom.

Even among the leaders the voices of malcontents had grown loud. Asarja
and Michael, with their sons, who grudged the power of Moses and Aaron,
had even gone from one to another to try to persuade them, ere departing,
to summon the elders again and charge then to enter into fresh
negotiations with the Egyptians. While these malcontents were
successfully gathering adherents, and the traitor had sought the
commander of the Egyptian garrison, two more messengers arrived with
tidings that the fugitives would arrive in Succoth between midnight and
morning.

Breathless, speechless, dripping with perspiration, and with bleeding
lips, the elder messenger sank on the threshold of Amminadab's house, now
the home of Miriam also. Both the exhausted men were refreshed with wine
and food, ere the least wearied was fully capable of speech. Then, in a
hoarse voice, but from a heart overflowing with gratitude and ardent
enthusiasm, he reported the scenes which had occurred at the exodus, and
how the God of their fathers had filled every heart with His spirit, and
instilled new faith into the souls of the cowards.

Miriam had listened to this story with sparkling eyes; at its close she
flung her veil over her head and bade the servants of the household, who
had assembled around the messengers, to summon the whole Hebrew people
under the sycamore, whose broad summit, the growth of a thousand years,
protected a wide space of earth from the scorching sunbeams.

The desert wind was still blowing, but the glad news seemed to have
destroyed the baneful power it exerted on man, and when many hundreds of
people had flocked together under the sycamore, Miriam had given her hand
to Eleasar, the son of her brother Aaron, sprung upon the bench which
rested against the huge hollow trunk of the tree, raised her hands and
eyes toward heaven in an ecstasy, and began in a loud voice to address a
prayer to the Lord, as if she beheld him with her earthly vision.

Then she permitted the messenger to speak, and when the latter again
described the events which had occurred in the city of Rameses, and then
announced that the fugitives from Tanis would arrive in a few hours, loud
shouts of joy burst from the throng. Eleasar, the son of Aaron,
proclaimed with glowing enthusiasm what the Lord had done for his people
and had promised to them, their children, and children's children.

Each word from the lips of the inspired speaker fell upon the hearts of
the Hebrews like the fresh dew of morning on the parched grass. The
trusting hearers pressed around him and Miriam with shouts of joy, and
the drooping courage of the timorous appeared to put forth new wings.
Asarja, Michael, and their followers no longer murmured, nay, most of
them had been infected by the general enthusiasm, and when a Hebrew
mercenary stole out from the garrison of the store-house and disclosed
what had been betrayed to his commander, Eleasar, Naashon, Hur, and
others took counsel together, gathered all the shepherds around them, and
with glowing words urged them to show in this hour that they were men
indeed and did not fear, with their God's mighty aid, to fight for their
people and their liberty.

There was no lack of axes, clubs, sickles, brazen spears, heavy staves,
slings, the shepherds' weapons of defence against the wild beasts of the
desert, or bows and arrows, and as soon as a goodly number of strong men
had joined him, Hur fell upon the Egyptian overseers who were watching
the labor of several hundred Hebrew slaves. Shouting: "They are coming!
Down with the oppressors! The Lord our God is our leader!" they rushed
upon the Lybian warders, put them to rout, and released their fellows who
were digging the earth, and laying bricks. As soon as the illustrious
Naashon had pressed one of the oldest of these hapless men like a brother
to his heart, the other liberated bondsmen had flung themselves into the
shepherds' arms and thus, still shouting: "They are coming!" and "The
Lord, the God of our fathers, is our leader!" they pressed forward in an
increasing multitude. When at last the little band of shepherds had grown
to a body of several thousand men, Hur led them against the Egyptian
soldiers, whom they largely outnumbered.

The Egyptian bowmen had already discharged a shower of arrows, and stones
hurled from the slings of the powerful shepherds had dealt fatal wounds
in the front ranks of the foe, when the blast of a trumpet rang out,
summoning the garrison of the fortress behind the sloping walls and solid
door. The Hebrews seemed to the commander too superior a force to fight,
but duty required him to hold the fort until the arrival of the
reinforcements he had requested.

Hur, however, had not been satisfied with his first victory. Success had
kindled the courage of his followers, as a sharp gust of wind fans a
smouldering fire, and wherever an Egyptian showed himself on the
battlements of the store-house, the round stone from a shepherd's sling
struck heavily upon him. At Naashon's bidding ladders had been brought
and, in the twinkling of an eye, hundreds climbed up the building from
every direction and, after a short, bloodless struggle, the granaries
fell into the Hebrews' hands, though the Egyptians had succeeded in still
retaining the fort. During the passage of these events the desert wind
had subsided. Some of the liberated bondsmen, furious with rage, had
heaped straw, wood, and faggots against the gate of the courtyard into
which the Egyptians had been forced. It would have been a light task for
the assailants to destroy every one of their foes by fire; but Hur,
Naashon, and other prudent leaders had not suffered this to be done, lest
the provisions still in the store-rooms should be burned.