Then followed another stream or most horrible abuse and more spitting,
after which he waded back to land and embraced Houman, calling him his
best friend.

They went, leaving me alone in the boat save for the guard upon the
quay who, now that darkness had come, soon grew silent. It was lonely,
very lonely, lying there staring at the empty sky with only the
stinging gnats for company, and soon my limbs began to ache. I thought
of the poor wretches who had suffered in this same boat and wondered
if their lot would be my lot.

Bes was faithful and clever, but what could a single dwarf do among
all these black-hearted fiends? And if he could do nothing, oh! if he
could do nothing!

The seconds seemed minutes, the minutes seemed hours, and the hours
seemed years. What then would the days be, passed in torture and agony
while waiting for a filthy death? Where now were the gods I had
worshipped and--was there any god? Or was man but a self-deceiver who
created gods instead of the gods creating him, because he did not love
to think of an eternal blackness in which he would soon be swallowed
up and lost? Well, at least that would mean sleep, and sleep is better
than torment of mind or body.

It came to me, I think, who was so weary. At any rate I opened my eyes
to see that the low moon had vanished and that some of the stars which
I knew as a hunter who had often steered his way by them, had moved a
little. While I was wondering idly why they moved, I heard the tramp
of soldiers on the quay and the voice of an officer giving a command.