"His petitions!" cried the excited king. "And to whom does he offer his
petitions?"

"He daily offers his petitions to his God, O king!"

"His God! Wiseman! Who can--But--If--Say ye not that Daniel was
concerned in making this law?"

"Yea, verily, O king! May the gods forbid that we should utter aught but
truth in the presence of King Darius!"

"To me it seemeth a strange thing that Daniel, the worshiper of the God
of Israel, should frame a law that bears oppressively on himself and upon
thousands of his nation within the realm. And it seemeth still more
strange to the king that he should be the first transgressor! Already
have I sorrow of heart because I signed the decree; but the thing is
done, and my name must go down to posterity as the name of a fool. There
is a mystery connected with this affair that to me, as yet, is
inexplicable. If by any means I find that I have been wrongly dealt with,
by all the gods I swear I will pour vengeance on the guilty heads!"

"If thou wilt permit the four princes to testify, they will say, with thy
servant, that this Daniel was the chief mover in the formation of this
law."

"At present I have no desire to hear from any of the princes. But to
think of casting Daniel into the den of lions is mournful beyond
description--it must not be done!"