"Thou hast spoken truth," replied the Libyan. "This is Tehenna, the son of Musawasa; he is our leader; he is worthy to be even prince of Egypt." "But where is Musawasa?" "In Glaucus. He will collect a great army and avenge us." The other Libyans said nothing; they did not even look at their conquerors. At command of Rameses the Asiatics disarmed them without the least trouble, and sat down in the shade themselves. At that moment they were all neither enemies nor friends, only men who were mortally wearied. Death was hovering over all, but beyond rest they had no desire. Pentuer, seeing that Tehenna remained unconscious, knelt near him and bent above his head so that no one saw what he was doing. Soon Tehenna sighed, struggled, and opened his eyes; then he sat up, rubbed his forehead, as if roused from a deep sleep, which had not yet left him. "Tehenna, leader of the Libyans, thou and thy people are prisoners of his holiness," said Rameses. "Better slay me here," said Tehenna, "if I must lose my freedom." "If thy father, Musawasa, will submit and make peace with Egypt, thou wilt be free and happy." The Libyan turned his face aside, and lay down careless of everything; he seemed to be sleeping. He came to himself, in a quarter of an hour, somewhat fresher. He gazed at the desert and cried out with delight: on the horizon a green country was visible,--water, many palms, and somewhat higher, a town and a temple. Around him all were sleeping, both Asiatics and Libyans. But Pentuer, standing on a rock, had shaded his eyes with his hand and was looking in some direction. "Pentuer! Pentuer!" cried Rameses. "Dost thou see that oasis?" He sprang up and ran to the priest, whose face was full of anxiety. "Dost thou see the oasis?" "That is no oasis," said Pentuer; "that is the ghost of some region which is wandering about through the desert--a region no longer in existence. But over there--over there--is reality!" added he, pointing southward. "Are they mountains?" "Look more sharply." The prince looked, and saw something suddenly. "It seems to me that a dark mass is rising--my sight must be dulled." "That is Typhon," whispered the priest. "The gods alone have power to save us, if only they have the wish." Indeed, Rameses felt on his face a breath, which amid the heat of the desert seemed all at once hot to him. That breath, at first very delicate, increased, growing hotter and hotter, and at the same time the dark streak rose in the sky with astonishing swiftness. "What shall we do?" asked Rameses. "These cliffs," said the priest, "will shelter us from being covered with sand, but they will not keep away dust or the heat which is increasing continually. But in a day or two days--" "Does Typhon blow that long?" "Sometimes three and four days. But sometimes he springs up for a couple of hours, and drops suddenly, like a vulture pierced with an arrow. That happens very rarely."