"Nay1, but it is impossible that they be here. Pah! I cannot abide2 the odor of mummies."
"Yet must thou pass centuries in their company, if indeed thou art fortunate enough to die in a civilized4 land." And the speaker's lips widened till they revealed a row of yellow teeth.
Amu bent5 over and gazed steadily6 for a moment into the black opening that yawned at his feet, then he looked up at his companion. Something in his sombre eyes caused the yellow row of teeth to disappear. "I am going home," he said suddenly.
"'Tis good! Go back, fetch me a torch, and I will explore for the singing bird. I am not minded to move from this place till I shall seize her."
"Hast thou water?"
"Nay, but thou hast a bottle at thy girdle; give it me. Even at this moment I thirst."
"By Sechet! it is empty. But stay, there is a fountain beyond the crest7 of yonder hill; go quench8 thy thirst. I will remain till thou shalt return."
Besa hesitated; he looked steadily into the lowering face of Amu. "Thou art in a strange humor to-day, friend," he said at length. "I have been patient with thee, but I will bear no more. Give me thy flask9; I will fill it at the fountain."
The face of Amu blanched10 to a sickly yellow hue11. His eyes glowed with fury, but he said not a word; with a sudden quick movement, he seized the bridle12 of his mule13, and leaping upon its back galloped14 away towards Memphis.
Besa looked after him quietly. "What may be the meaning of all this?" he said to himself. "Stay, let me consider for a moment. The man comes to me and says in effect this: 'Thou art a dealer15 in slaves; I can procure16 for thee two of good value, a lad and a maiden17. The maiden hath a voice like to the sound of nightingales; yet cannot I bring them to the proper purchasers.' At the same time I, Besa, am commissioned to procure a singing slave for the princess, who pineth in a sickly melancholy18. But what have I suffered in the matter thus far? I have been half killed by a fall, now am I parched19 with thirst, and the man lies to me concerning his water-bottle. I saw him fill it before we started, therefore I ventured to leave mine own, which I could not at the moment lay my hands upon. There is no fountain behind the brow of yonder hill. For what purpose hath the man lied? There is something here that I cannot see. I will for the present forego the matter, but there are two things to be set down for the future, and Besa is not the man to forget."
Then he advanced to the opening of the tomb, which showed black in its setting of yellow sand; kneeling clown, he looked carefully at the stone stairway which led down into the depths. The sand was sifting20 in with each breath of the hot desert wind. "It has been opened but a short time," he remarked at length. "It will be a pious21 act for me to replace the stone; Anubis will reward me for it. One must not fail in duty to the sacred dead." Then he raised his voice, "Rest quietly, my children; there is nought22 to hurt thee in the abodes23 of the departed. Song and sunlight, laughter and air are needed no more by the slaves of Anubis. His slave shalt thou be unless thou presently come forth25 in answer to my cry."
The sound of his voice echoed in dismal26 reverberations through the hollow blackness within, but there was no sign that his words fell upon other ears than those sealed to eternal silence within their swathings of spiced linen27. The heavy odor of death ascended28 in stupefying clouds into the face of the man as he knelt at the edge of the tomb. He drew back a little, and the malignant29 smile faded from his face.
"The stone shall be put back," he said doggedly30, "for I believe, by my life, that they be down there. They will live till I shall return with torches and men. If I secure them both, I shall be avenged31 also upon Amu."
Forthwith he bent over and laid hold upon the stone. It was heavy, and though the lad in his mad fear had succeeded in shoving it to one side, the man could with difficulty stir it a single inch. The sun beat down in fury upon his head, the hot wind sang in his ears with a strange sound of buzzing insects and humming wheels. He stepped down into the stairway, the better to grasp the stone for another mighty32 effort. Suddenly a wave as of fire swept before his eyes, his hands relaxed their hold, he reeled a little, and then fell, a nerveless heap, into the darkness.
To Seth and Anat, who were crouching33 behind a huge sarcophagus, the sound at first signified nothing but some fresh horror.
"I must cry out," urged Seth in a vehement34 whisper. "We shall perish in this place, for I cannot move the stone from beneath."
But Anat held him fast. "Better slavery to death than to such a man."
Seth watched the shaft35 of yellow light that pierced the thick darkness. "Presently," he thought shudderingly36, "it will disappear." But the moments crept slowly by, and the sun still poured in, revealing the countless37 dancing atoms which had leapt up from the sleep of centuries beneath the feet of the fugitives38.
"Anat," he whispered, "something has happened; I will go and see."
The blind girl held him fast for a moment longer. She bent her head. There was no sound save the sighing of the wind outside and the hissing39 murmur40 of the sand as it drifted onto the stairway of their prison. "Go," she said with a sigh of relief, "he has departed."
Seth rose cautiously to his feet and crept toward the opening; his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness now, and he could see on either side the vast gaudily-painted wooden cases in which dwelt the dead. Their great eyes stared at him as he hurried past. He stumbled presently over something which lay at the foot of the stone steps. Starting back with a cry he perceived that it was the body of a man. He had fallen upon his face in the sand and lay quite motionless. The lad stared at him for a moment in fascinated silence, then he bethought him that presently the man might recover his senses. Turning, he darted41 back into the darkness. "Come!" he said breathlessly in the ear of the blind girl.
Treading lightly that they might not awake the sleeper42, the two crept up the stair, not without many a fearful backward glance at the quiet figure which still lay on its face, the monstrous43 staring eyes of the mummies looking on unmoved, and the stealthy wind already beginning to urge the uneasy desert to "Come, cover this man that hath lain him down to sleep unasked in the abode24 of kings!"
"Shall I put the stone in its place?" said Seth, when they had reached the upper air.
"Yes," said the girl, clenching44 her thin hands. "Let him bide3 there till the other shall seek him, and if that be never, then I care not. Would he not have left us to perish? But the gods stayed his hand."
The lad hesitated. "He hath no water."
"Fetch him water then and food also if thou wilt45. Thou art soft-hearted; for myself I should leave him as he is. Dost thou not see that it is now that we must make good our escape? Once the man hath recovered himself we are lost. I can hear the bells of his beast, let us seize it and flee away into the desert that we may find the magician who can open the eyes of them that see not."
"We could not pass the wilderness46, we should perish by the way."
Anat sat down in the sand. "Thou art a man," she said scornfully, "and therefore wise; I am as the dust under thy feet; I have no eyes to see with, yet shall I tell thee what shall come to pass. Go down now to our enemy whom the gods have smitten47, raise him up and pour water into his mouth and upon his head, then when he shall come to himself say to him, 'Here now is thy beast, I will set thee upon it that thou mayest ride. As for this maid whom thou didst covet48, behold49 she is thine; I also will run before thee.'" And the girl laughed aloud, and tossed her head so that all the gold and silver coins of her necklace clinked musically together.
Seth looked at her indignantly. "All women have the poison of asps under their tongues," he muttered. "It hath been told me, and it is even true, I have seen men beat their women for less; it purgeth them from folly50."
The blind girl sprang to her feet. "Wilt thou beat me because I have proved that thou art the fool?" she cried, her voice choking with rage. "Yes, let it be so, I care not, but I had thought that thou wast not as others--that thou didst love me, blind, useless, helpless though I be," and she burst into a passion of weeping.
The lad was at her side in a moment. "I do love thee," he murmured penitently51. "I have no other on earth, thou art my all. Come! it shall be as thou hast said, here is the beast, with such a pretty saddle, little one, all of crimson52 velvet53, and hung with bells of silver. It is thine, the gods have given it thee. We will go away towards the first halting place, I am sure that I can find it."
Anat checked her sobs54 after a due space; she even allowed herself to be placed upon the back of the mule. "Have I the poison of asps under my tongue?" she said plaintively55, but with a gleam of triumph.
"Not so, by Osiris, I was a brute56 to say such a thing. Rather hast thou a voice as sweet as the voice of fountains and as the voice of thrushes that sing by the river. But I shall place water where our enemy can drink when he awakens57; and I will not close the stone altogether, I will leave a little space where the sun may enter into that noisome58 place. This shall be, shall it not, little sister?"
Anat tossed her head; she made no reply. Then Seth made haste and poured water into a cup and set it on the step where their enemy should see it when he awoke; he took also from his wallet a handful of parched corn and laid it beside the cup. Looking sidewise at the man, who still lay all along on his face just as he had been stricken, he fancied that he saw him stir a little, and the terror came back upon him so that he sprang up the steps two at a time, and with a mighty effort drew the great stone forward over the opening, forgetting in his fear to leave it open ever so little that the sun might look in.
After that the two fled away, their faces set towards the great and terrible wilderness, beyond which lay the land of their hope.
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1
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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bide
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| v.忍耐；等候；住 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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quench
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| vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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10
blanched
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| v.使变白( blanch的过去式 )；使（植物）不见阳光而变白；酸洗（金属）使有光泽；用沸水烫（杏仁等）以便去皮 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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12
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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14
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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dealer
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| n.商人，贩子 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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18
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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19
parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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20
sifting
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| n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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21
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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27
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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28
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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30
doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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31
avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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32
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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33
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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34
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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35
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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shudderingly
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37
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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38
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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39
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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40
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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41
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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42
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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43
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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44
clenching
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
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45
wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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46
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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47
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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48
covet
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| vt.垂涎；贪图(尤指属于他人的东西) | |
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49
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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50
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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51
penitently
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52
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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53
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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54
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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55
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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56
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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57
awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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58
noisome
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| adj.有害的，可厌的 | |
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