That night Tua could not sleep. Whenever she shut her eyes visions rosebefore her mind, terrifying, fantastic visions in all of which thefat and hideous Abi played a part. Thus she saw again the scene at herfather's fatal feast to the Priest of Kesh, when Asti by her magic hadcaused the likeness of a monkey to come from the juggler's vase. Onlynow it was Abi who emerged from the vase, a terrible Abi, with a redsword in his hand, and Pharaoh's crown upon his head. He leapt from themouth of the vase, he devoured her with his greedy eyes, with stealthysteps he came to seize her, and she could not stir an inch, somethingheld her fast upon her throne.
She could bear it no more--she opened her eyes, stared at the darkness,and out of the darkness came voices, telling of death and war. Shethrust her fingers into her ears, and tried to fix her thoughts onRames, that bright-eyed, light-footed lover of hers, whom she so longedto see again, without whom she was so lonely and undefended.
"Where was Rames?" she wondered. "What fate had overtaken him? Something inher seemed to answer--Death. Oh! if Rames were dead, what should she do?Of what use was it to be Queen of Egypt, the first woman in the world,if Rames were dead?"
Loneliness, insufferable loneliness seemed to get a hold of her. Sheslipped from her bed, and through the doorway of her little pylonchamber. Now she was upon the narrow stair, and in face of her was thatother chamber where Asti slept. Someone was talking with her! PerhapsMermes was with his wife, and if so she could not enter. No, it wasAsti's voice, and, listening, she could hear her murmuring prayers orinvocations in solemn tones. She pushed open the door and entered. Alittle lamp burned in the room, and by its feeble light she saw thewhite-robed Asti, whose long hair fell about her, standing with upturnedeyes and arms outstretched to Heaven. Suddenly Asti saw her also, thoughbut dimly for she stood in the dense shadow, and knew her not.
"Advance, O thou Ghost, and declare thyself, for never was thy help moreneeded," she said.
"It is no ghost, but I," said Tua. "What dealings are these that youhave with ghosts at this deadest hour of the night, Asti? Do not enoughterrors encompass us that you must needs call on your familiar spiritsto add to them?"
"I call on the spirits to save us from them, Queen, for, like you, Ithink that we are set in the midst of perils. This night is full ofsorcery; I scent it in the air, and strive to match spell with spell.But why do you not sleep?"
"I cannot, Asti, I cannot. Fear has got hold of me. Oh! I would that wehad never come to this hateful Memphis, or set eyes upon its ill-omenedlord, that foul brute who seeks to make a wife of me."
"Be not afraid, Lady," said Asti, throwing her arms about Tua's slightand quivering form. "To-morrow morning we march; I have it from Pharaoh,and already the guard make preparations, while as for the accursed Abi,he is in prison."
"There is no prison that will hold him, Asti, save the grave. Oh! whydid not my Father command him to be slain, as I would have done? Then,at least, we should be free of him, and he could never marry me."
"Because it was otherwise decreed, O Neter-Tua, and Pharaoh must fulfilhis fate and ours, for though he is so gentle, none can turn him."
As she spoke the words, somewhere, far beneath them, arose a cry, avoice of one in dread or woe, and with it the sound of feet upon thestairs.
"What passes?" said Asti, leaping to the door.
"Pharaoh is dead or dying," answered the terrified voice without. "Lether Majesty come to Pharaoh."
They threw on their garments, they ran down the narrow stair and acrossthe halls till they came to the chamber of Pharaoh. There upon hisbed he lay and about him were the physicians of his Court. He wasspeechless, but his eyes were open, and he knew his daughter, for,raising his hand feebly, he beckoned to her, and pointed at his feet.
"What is it, man?" she asked of the head physician, who, by way ofanswer, lifted the linen on the bed, and showed her Pharaoh's legs andfeet, white and withered as though with fire.
"What sickness is this?" asked Tua again.
"We know not, O Queen," answered the physician, "for in all our liveswe have never seen its like. The flesh is suddenly wasted, and the limbsare paralysed."
"But I know," broke in Asti. "This is not sickness, it is sorcery.Pharaoh has been smitten by some foul spell of the Prince Abi, or of hiswizards. Say, who was with him last?"
"It seems that the Lady of the Footstool, Merytra, sang him to sleep, aswas her custom," answered the physician, "and left him about two hoursago, so say the guard. When I came in to see how his Majesty rested butnow, I found him thus."
Now Tua lifted up her head and spoke, saying:
"My divine Father is helpless, and therefore again I rule alone inEgypt. Hear me and obey. Let the Prince Abi be brought from hisprison to the inner hall, for I would question him at once. Let thewaiting-woman, Merytra, be brought also under guard with drawn swords."
The officer of the watch bowed and departed to do the bidding of herMajesty, while others went to light the hall.
Soon he returned to an outer chamber whither Tua had withdrawn herselfwhile the physicians examined Pharaoh.
"O Queen," he said, with a frightened face, "be not wrath, butthe Prince Abi has gone. He has escaped out of his prison, and thewaiting-woman, Merytra, is gone also."
"How came this about?" asked Tua in a cold voice.
"O Queen, the small gate was open, for people passed in and out of itcontinually, making preparation for to-morrow's march, it seems thatabout an hour ago the lady Merytra came to the gate and showed Pharaoh'ssignet to the officer, saying that she was on Pharaoh's business. Withher went a fat man dressed in the robe of a master of camels that in thedarkness the officer thought was a certain Arab of the Desert who hasbeen to and fro about the camels. It is believed that this man wasnone other than the Prince Abi, dressed in the Arab's robe, and that heescaped from his cell by some secret passage which was known to him,a passage of the old priests. The Arab, whose robes he wore, cannot befound, but perhaps he is asleep in some corner."
"Bar the gates," said Tua, "and let none pass in or out. Asti, take menwith you, and go search the room where Merytra slept. Perchance she hasreturned again."
So Asti went, and a while after re-appeared carrying something envelopedin a cloth.
"Merytra has gone, O Queen," she said in an ominous voice, "leaving thisbehind hidden beneath her bed," and she placed the object on a table.
"What is it? The mummy of a child?" asked Tua, shrinking back.
"Nay, Queen, the image of a man."
Then throwing aside the cloth Asti revealed the waxen figure shaped tothe exact likeness of Pharaoh, or rather what remained of it, for thelegs were molten and twisted, and in them could be seen the bones ofivory and the sinews of thin wire, about which they had been moulded.Also beneath the chin where the tongue would be, sharp thorns hadbeen thrust up to the root of the mouth. The thing was life-like andhorrible, and as it was, so was the dumb and stricken Pharaoh on hisbed.
Neter-Tua hid her eyes for a while, and leaned against the wall, thenshe drew herself up and said:
"Call the physicians and the members of the Council, and those who canbe spared of the officers of the guard, that everyone of them may seeand bear witness to the hideous crime which has been worked againstPharaoh by his brother, the Prince Abi, and the wizard Kaku, and theiraccomplice, the woman Merytra."
So they were called, and came, and when they saw the dreadful thinglying in its waxen whiteness before them, they wailed and cursed thosewho had wrought this abominable sorcery.
"Curse them not," said Neter-Tua, "who are already accursed, and givenover to the Devourer of Souls when their time shall come. Make a recordof this deed, O Scribes, and do it swiftly."
So the scribes wrote the matter down, and the Queen and others who werepresent signed the writings as witnesses. Then Neter-Tua commanded thatthey should take the image and destroy it before it worked more evil,and a priest of Osiris who was present seized it and departed.
But Neter-Tua went to Pharaoh's
room and knelt by his bed, watching him,for he seemed to be asleep. Presently he awoke, and looked round himwildly, moving his lips. For a while he could not speak, then of asudden his voice burst from him in a hoarse, unnatural cry.
"They have bewitched me! I burn, I burn!" he screamed, rolling himselfto and fro upon the bed. "Avenge me, my daughter, and fear nothing, forthe gods are about you. I see their awful eyes. Oh! I burn, I burn!"
Then his head fell back, and the peace of death descended on histortured brow.
Tua kissed his dead brow, and knelt at his side in prayer. After alittle while she rose and said:
"It has pleased Pharaoh, the just and perfect, to depart to hiseverlasting habitation in Osiris. Make it known that this god is dead,and that I rule alone in Egypt. Send hither the priest of Osiris, thathe may repeat the Ritual of Departing, and you, physicians, do youroffice."
So the priest came, but at the door Asti caught him by the hand andasked:
"How did you destroy the image of wax?"
"I burned it upon the altar in the old sanctuary of this temple," heanswered.
"O, Fool!" said Asti, "you should have buried it. Know that with theenchanted thing you have burned away the life of Pharaoh also."
Then that priest fell swooning to the ground, and another had to besummoned to utter the Ritual of Departing.