"So everything vanished but the woman!" exclaimed Kama, naïvely. "The compassionate Amon left her to the scribe to console him," said the viceroy. "Then Amon is compassionate only to scribes," answered Kama. "But what does that story signify?" "Guess. But thou hast just heard what the poor scribe yielded up for the kiss of a woman--" "But he would not yield up a throne," interrupted the priestess. "Who knows? if he were implored greatly to do so," whispered Rameses, with passion. "Oh, no!" cried Kama, tearing away from him; "let not the throne go so easily, for what would become then of thy promise to Phœnicia?" They looked into each other's eyes for a long time. The prince felt a wound in his heart, and felt as if through that wound some feeling had gone from him. It was not passion, for passion remained; but it was esteem for Kama, and faith in her. "Wonderful are these Phœnicians," thought the heir; "one may go wild for them, but 'tis not possible to trust them." He felt wearied, and took farewell of the priestess. He looked around the chamber as though it were difficult to leave the place; and while going, he said to himself,-- "And still thou wilt be mine, and Phœnician gods will not kill thee, if they regard their own priests and temples." Barely had Rameses left Kama's villa, when into the chamber of the priestess rushed a young Greek who was strikingly beautiful, and strikingly similar to Rameses. Rage was depicted on his face. "Lykon!" cried the terrified Kama. "What art thou doing here?" "Vile reptile!" replied the Greek, in his resonant voice. "A month has not passed since thy oath, declaring thy love, and that thou wouldst flee to Greece with me, and now thou art falling on the neck of another. Are the gods dead? Has justice deserted them?" "Thou art mad with thy jealousy," interrupted the priestess; "thou wilt kill me." "It is sure that I, and not thy stone goddess, will kill thee. With these two hands," cried he, stretching out his fingers, like talons, "I will choke thee if thou hast become the mistress--" "Of whom?" "Do I know? Of course, of both,--of that old Assyrian and this princeling, whose head I will split with a stone should he prowl about this place any longer. The prince! he has all the women of Egypt, and still he wants foreign priestesses. The priestesses are for priests, not for foreigners." Kama recovered her coolness. "But for us art thou not a foreigner?" asked she, haughtily. "Reptile!" burst out the Greek, a second time. "I cannot be a foreigner for you Asiatics, since that gift of voice with which the gods have endowed me is turned to the use of your divinities. But how often, by means of my figure, have ye deceived dull Asiatics by telling them that the heir to the throne of Egypt belongs to your faith in secret?" "Silence! silence!" hissed the priestess, closing his mouth with her hand. There must have been something enchanting in her touch, for the Greek grew calm, and spoke lower.