cousin, Amenmeses. You know him, do you not?"

I shook my head.

"Then tell me what you think of him, at once before the first judgment
fades."

"I think he is a royal-looking lord, obstinate in mind and strong in
body, handsome too in his way."

"All can see that, Ana. What else?"

"I think," I said in a low voice so that none might overhear, "that his
heart is as black as his brow; that he has grown wicked with jealousy
and hate and will do you evil."

"Can a man grow wicked, Ana? Is he not as he was born till the end? I do
not know, nor do you. Still you are right, he is jealous and will do me
evil if it brings him good. But tell me, which of us will triumph at the
last?"

While I hesitated what to answer I became aware that someone had joined
us. Looking round I perceived a very ancient man clad in a white robe.
He was broad-faced and bald-headed, and his eyes burned beneath his
shaggy eyebrows like two coals in ashes. He supported himself on a staff
of cedar-wood, gripping it with both hands that for thinness were like
to those of a mummy. For a while he considered us both as though he were
reading our souls, then said in a full and jovial voice:

"Greeting, Prince."