one another, that if I had not wished to hear them I must have stopped my
ears."

"You kept them wide open, however," said Araspes laughing. "Your
enraptured exclamation proved that."

"Enough of this," cried Darius, to whom these jokes were getting
wearisome. "I really must beg you to leave off making allusions to
matters, which I do not care to hear spoken of."

"Imprudent fellow!" whispered the older man; "now you really have
betrayed yourself. If you were not in love, you would have laughed
instead of getting angry. Still I won't go on provoking you--tell me
what you have just been reading in the stars."

At these words Darius looked up again into the starry sky and fixed his
eyes on a bright constellation hanging over the horizon. Zopyrus watched
him and called out to his friends, "Something important must be happening
up there. Darius, tell us what's going on in the heavens just now."

"Nothing good," answered the other. "Bartja, I have something to say to
you alone."

"Why to me alone? Araspes always keeps his own counsel, and from the
rest of you I never have any secrets."

"Still--"

"Speak out."