In a few moments his eyelids began to tremble, and a faint flush appeared in his cheeks. Then he seemed to begin to breathe again. His lips parted, and slowly his eyes opened. Daphne glanced round the chamber, and saw that all the sleepers had been similarly affected. In a low voice Thoth said to her— “Fear not. They will regain speech and reason long before they can move their limbs.” She roused her courage, for though she could not doubt that the mysterious beings were living, their eyes looked dull and vacant, and she hoped that nature had become her ally. * * * * * The silence was profound, and moments seemed years in duration. Surely, she thought, this is but a momentary awakening of the dead. Suddenly, however, she saw the eyes of the ancient king gleam with intelligence, and she knew that both will and reason were awake. Thoth took his place in front of the king, and when he saw that his long sleep was broken, he bowed to the ground, and stood still, as if awaiting his commands. Daphne remained at the side of the throne, still unseen by the monarch, though in full sight of all the others. At last the lips of the awakened sleeper began to move, and Thoth presented him very gently with a curiously shaped cup. He sipped at first with difficulty, but after a time took a full draught. Then his face became animated, and in a moment he looked like a man in the full vigour of life. Still, however, he did not move, though apparently he made an effort to rise. He gazed fixedly at Thoth, and then spoke. The voice and accent of ancestor and descendant were the same. “Thou art my present vice-regent?” “I am.” “I see,” he said, “for the first time a multitude of my race aroused from sleep. Is, then, our task complete?” “It is complete.” A smile of majestic triumph passed over the face of the mighty ruler. “The cars are prepared?” “They are perfect.” “And the arrows of death?” “Nothing living can escape, such is their abundance and variety.” Again the king smiled with gratified vengeance. Then he said, “A few days will suffice to regain the full strength of life in our limbs—already my mind is as vigorous as of old. At last, then, I become the ruler of the earth, and the races of men shall for evermore be such as my will has planned.” For a time he seemed lost in an ecstatic vision, as if the present had faded from his sight. Then he said, “This moment is worth all the toil and waiting.” He raised his voice, which every moment became more vigorous, and, speaking to the assembly, said— “Rejoice, my sons, with me.” He looked at the faces of Thoth’s companions, and suddenly his face darkened.