of our eternal deities. If he will do the same, we will rise hand in
hand to the highest place, of that he may be sure--and well he merits it.
The obligation still due him I shall gratefully discharge in other ways,
which must for the present remain secret. But you may tell your uncle
now from me that I shall find means to protect Nun, his noble father,
when the vengeance of the gods and of Pharaoh falls upon the rest of your
race. Already--tell him this also--the sword is whetted, and a pitiless
judgment is impending. Bid him ask himself what fugitive shepherds can
do against the power of the army among whose ablest leaders he is
numbered. Is your father still alive, my son?"

"No, he was borne to his last resting-place long ago," replied the youth
in a faltering voice.

Was the fever of his wound attacking him? Or did the shame of belonging
to a race capable of acts so base overwhelm the young heart? Or did the
lad cling to his kindred, and was it wrath and resentment at hearing them
so bitterly reviled which made his color vary from red to pale and roused
such a tumult in his soul that he was scarcely capable of speech? No
matter! This lad was certainly no suitable bearer of the message the
prophet desired to send to his uncle, and Bai beckoned to Hornecht to
come with him under the shadow of a broad-limbed sycamore-tree.

The point was to secure Hosea's services in the army at any cost, so he
laid his hand on his friend's shoulder, saying:

"You know that it was my wife who won you and others over to our cause.
She serves us better and more eagerly than many a man, and while I
appreciate your daughter's beauty, she never tires of lauding the winning
charm of her innocence."