This eBook was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D.W.]
By Georg Ebers
The storm which had risen as night closed in swept over the isthmus. Thewaves in its lakes dashed high, and the Red Sea, which thrust a bayshaped like the horn of a snail into it from the south, was lashed to thewildest fury.
Farther northward, where Pharaoh's army, protected by the Migdol of theSouth, the strongest fort of the Etham line, had encamped a short timebefore, the sand lashed by the storm whirled through the air and, in thequarter occupied by the king and his great officials, hammers wereconstantly busy driving the tent-pins deeper into the earth; for thebrocades, cloths, and linen materials which formed the portable houses ofPharaoh and his court, struck by the gale, threatened to break from thepoles by which they were supported.
Black clouds hung in the north, but the moon and stars were oftenvisible, and flashes of distant lightning frequently brightened thehorizon. Even now the moisture of heaven seemed to avoid this rainlessregion and in all directions fires were burning, which the soldierssurrounded in double rows, like a living shield, to keep the storm fromscattering the fuel.
The sentries had a hard duty; for the atmosphere was sultry, in spite ofthe north wind, which still blew violently, driving fresh clouds of sandinto their faces.
Only two sentinels were pacing watchfully to and fro at the most northerngate of the camp, but they were enough; for, on account of the storm, noone had appeared for a long time to demand entrance or egress. At last,three hours after sunset, a slender figure, scarcely beyond boyhood,approached the guards with a firm step and, showing a messenger's pass,asked the way to Prince Siptah's tent.
He seemed to have had a toilsome journey; for his thick black locks weretangled and his feet were covered with dust and dried clay. Yet heexcited no suspicion; for his bearing was that of a self-reliant freeman,his messenger's pass was perfectly correct, and the letter he producedwas really directed to Prince Siptah; a scribe of the corn storehouses,who was sitting at the nearest fire with other officials and subordinateofficers, examined it.
As the youth's appearance pleased most of those present, and he came fromTanis and perhaps brought news, a seat at the fire and a share in themeal were offered; but he was in haste.
Declining the invitation with thanks, he answered the questions curtlyand hurriedly and begged the resting soldiers for a guide. One wasplaced at his disposal without delay. But he was soon to learn that itwould not be an easy matter to reach a member of the royal family; forthe tents of Pharaoh, his relatives, and dignitaries stood in a specialspot in the heart of the camp, hedged in by the shields of the heavily-armed troops.
When he entered he was challenged again and again, and his messenger'spass and the prince's letter were frequently inspected. The guide, too,was sent back, and his place was filled by an aristocratic lord, called Ithe 'eye and ear of the king,' who busied himself with the seal of theletter. But the messenger resolutely demanded it, and as soon as it wasagain in his hand, and two tents standing side by side rocking in thetempest had been pointed out to him, one as Prin