The Jamesburg record., 1900-02-24
THE SECOND ACT
By Owen Oliver.
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DR; STRANGE has told you of my
delusion," he said, with an un-
mirthful smile. Let US start from the
delusion. l cannot very well tell my
story in any other way"
He pushed his papers aside, leaned
back in the cozy reading chair and
folded his hands. The scene haunts me
yet. His dark, grave face, with its raven
hair and long, pointed beard; his soft,
weary voice; the chirping of the birds,
the humming of the bees, and the hare
breaths of summer air, stealing in
through the barred windows-I remem-
Der them all. This is the story:
Four thousand years ago, when men
worshiped God under the name of Osiris
and Isis, l was Amenemhat ~, king in
Kem-which you call Egypt. My con-
quests and my learning are craven upon
the great tablets, but the scribes left
unsaid what should be unsaid. There
fore you will seek in vain for mention OF
Numidea, the slave.
Felix, the trader, brought her from
over the Mediterranean. When she
stood before me with flushed cheeks
and tears in her pale blue eyes, the cum
ming knave refused to name price.
'The world is thine, o king" he said,
"and the maid, if it be thy will. Give
to me only what she seemeth worth to
thee"
So 1 gave him nome-or province
and dealt somewhat niggardly with
him, methought. Then 1 took her to the
palace to be queen, under the name Of
Sebek-nefru-ra, which is on the tablets.
The people murmured, yet none dared
to complain to my face, but Numidea,
the blue-eyed slave, with her soft looks
and her frightened voice, was braver
than they.
xiii me, if thou wilt, oh king" she
said, tauntingly, ''for in truth 1 love
thee not at ALL" A whole month wooed
her, disdaining force, and she said no
more. Then she cast her eyes upon Ka-
les, the captain of the guard, and cared
less than ever for me.
[ sent Kales on journey beyond the
seas. 1 would have slain him, but he
was brave man, and we had played and
Numidea struck me with her small, soft
hand.
"Take her to the deathsmen," I COM
manded; "in the morning she shall
die" Lest I should break a kings
word l rode to the great temple far
away. But I could not sleep for the
thought of her great blue eyes, wide
with fear. So rose and bade them
harness the swiftest horses to the light
est chariot, and Charmicles drove for
me, whose hand was the lightest upon
the reins. All the night we sped in the
moonlight with the sand flying in long
clouds behind us and the great pyra-
mids scowling upon us from afar.
IF thou lovedst slave, Charmicles,"
1 asked him, land she loved not thee?"
'If loved her little," he said, chap
ly she would perish, oh lord"
sand if thou lovedst her much ?" He
looked at the moon feeting through the
clouds for a long time, and his face
grew sad.
IF loved her enough, oh king-per-
chance I should set her free.''
I covered my head in my robe and
said nothing. Was 1 not racing the fly
ing hours to open her prison doors?
Ra, the sun-god, sprung up, and
laughed upon the Land, and Charmicles
wiped the sweat from his brow and
ceased to strike the horses as ,hey pant
ed and struggled to the base of the
great pyramid, where the prison was.
And behold they had tortured her;
and she had died in the night!
I drew my sword upon myself, but
Charmicles stayed my hand. "Shall they
write upon the tablets that Amenemhat
Df the holy line died forlove of slave?"
he said.
So went back to the temple and
awelt. Presently made spell, from
my arts, that I might be reborn when
she was reborn, and another spell that
died, and none knew why. So fell
asleep, and my sleep was 1900 years.
When was newborn a child knew
none OF these things; but one by one
they came back to me.
One ~eyenif g-my father held me upon
bis knee and showed me a quaint pic