"They have gone to the Libyan desert already, and will either attack the Libyans, which will cause us trouble, or will join them and both will attack then our western border." "I have heard nothing of this! What did they do, and when did they do it? No news reached us!" cried Rameses. "The disbanded troops went to the desert from Memphis, and Herhor forbade to mention this news to any person." "Do neither Mefres nor Mentezufis know of this matter?" "They know." "They know, and I do not." The prince grew calm on a sudden, but he was pale, and on his young face was depicted terrible hatred. He seized both hands of his favorite, pressed them firmly, and whispered,-- "Hear me! By the sacred heads of my father and mother, by the memory of Rameses the Great--by all the gods, if there are any, I swear that during my rule if the priests will not bow down before me I will crush them." Tutmosis listened in alarm. "I or they!" finished the prince. "Egypt cannot have two lords." "Formerly it had only one, the pharaoh," added Tutmosis. "Then thou wilt be loyal to me?" "I, all the nobles, and the army, I swear to thee." "Enough!" concluded Rameses. "Let them discharge the mercenary regiments, let them sign treaties, let them hide before me like bats, and let them deceive us all. But the time will come-- And now, Tutmosis, rest after the journey; be with me at the feast this evening. Those people have so bound me that I can only amuse myself. Then let me amuse myself. But in time I will show them who the ruler of Egypt is,--they or I." From that day feasts began again. The prince, as if ashamed to meet the army, was not present at drills. Still, his palace was swarming with nobles, officers, jugglers, and singers, while at night great orgies took place, at which the sound of harps mingled with the drunken shouts of guests and the spasmodic laughter of women. Rameses invited Kama to one of these feasts, but she refused. The prince was offended. Seeing this, Tutmosis said,-- "They have told me, lord, that Sarah has lost thy favor." "Do not mention that Jewess to me," replied Rameses. "But dost thou know what she did with my son?" "I know; but that, it seems to me, was not her fault. I heard in Memphis that thy worthy mother and the worthy minister Herhor made thy son a Jew, so that he might rule over Israelites sometime--" "But the Israelites have no king,--only priests and judges," interrupted the prince. "They have not, but they wish to have. They, too, are disgusted with priestly rule." The heir waved his hand contemptuously. "A charioteer of his holiness means more than any king, especially any king of the Israelites, who as yet have no kingdom." "In every case, Sarah's fault is not so great," put in Tutmosis. "Then know that I will pay the priests sometime." "They are not to blame so greatly. For instance, the worthy Herhor did this to increase the glory and power of thy dynasty. And he did it with the knowledge of thy mother."