Warren sheaf., 1905-12-14

beard, ripping and streaked with gray,
the young sculptor took the stranger to
be- an IsraeIlte AS Kenkenes looked
upon him he was minded Of his ia
ther, the magnificent Mentu. There
was the bearing Of the cOurtier, with
the same wondrous stature, the same
massive frame: But the delicate fea-
lures. Of the Egyptian, the long, slim
fingers; the narrow foot, were absent
In this mans counrenance there was
majesty instead Of grace> in his figure,
might instead Of elegance
The stranger stood i'm profound med
itation: his splendid head gradually
sinking until 1t rested ON his breast.
The arms hung" by the' sides The at
tftude' suggested Il sorrow healed byE
the long years until It was no, more a
pain. but q memory 80 subdmng that
IT, depressed. At last the great man
sank to his knees. with a movementE
quite" in Keeping with bis grandeur
and hts mood and bowed, his: head on
his arms ~ d.. -. ...-. e# ..~.t i
Pressed down with, awe;;, Kenkenes|
followed his example. and, although he'll
seemed to kneel on some rough ehisells
mark in the floor; hi" did not shift Hist
position. The" discomfort seemed apsE
propriate" as" penitence" on, that holyhi
:occasion!. " 49,. |!
After Il long time the stranger" arose;E|
took; up the torch and quilted the
chamber. He went awaylmore saoowlN} {.
than he had come, :with(reattctantt step|
and averted face" r.s.
! WhenN night and profjun1l silenaed
were restored i'm the crypt; kenkenes1
regained his feet and; examining the
irritated knee, found the: offending oh
ject chnging TO the timpressjoni it. Had
made lin the fesh.a. The<slape' Of the
tritie sent a wild hcpc" througts his
brain..s. Cropping through the lare;. he
found his lamp and. lighted itI wit1ns
trembling hands,.
He. held, the lapls Il i3ulii sAgnet-.
Y f'e. did notamoJe.o. He only 5asDeds
g tne scarabahtl ly and. painted. Ths
Il sudden change IRON sense suspense
e to intense relief had deprivsshhll of
the power Of expression Only his
e physical makeup manifested it's rebel
e lion against the shock.
y He examined the scarab. The cord
0 by which it had been suspended passed
). through small gold ring between the
: claws of the beetle. This had worn
very thin and some slight wrench had
, broken it,
, "Ah!' he exclaimed aloud. tIt is
) even as had thought. But let me not
, seem to boast when l tell my father of
1t. It will be victory enough for me to
display the jewel and abashment enough
for him to know he was wrong" .
He ceased to speak, but the echoes
talked on after him. He shivered,
caught up his light and raced through
the tomb into the world again.
It was near dawn, and the skies were
pallid. He was hungry and weary, but
most impatient to be gone. He would
repair to Thebes and break his fast
Thereafter he would procure the swift
est boat on the Nile and take his rest
while speeding toward Memphis.
The inn Of the metropolis was like an
immense dwelling, except that the
courts were stable yards. The doors,
opening off the porch, were always
open and light burned by night with
AAA SAAC NAoAAOCA. NJ AOA6 OAU 0V wuA
kily had 1t burned that the chamber
Kenkenes entered was smoky and red
olent Of it. Aside from q high, bench
like table running half the length of the
rear wall, there was nothing else in the
room. Kenkenes raped on the table.
In little time an Egyptian emerged
from under the counter on the other
side. Understanding at last that the
guest wished to, be fed, he staggered
sleepily through door and, presently
reappeartng, signed Kenkenes to enter.
The room into which the young sculp-
tor was conducted was too large to be
lighted by the two lamps, hung from
hooks, one at each end of the cham
ber Down either side, hidden in the
shadows, were long benches, and from
| the huddled heap that occupied the full
! length of each it was to be surmised
that men were sleeping on them.
Above them the Slated blinds had been
withdrawn from the small windows
and the morning breeze was blowing |
strongly through the chamber. At the |
upper end was. another table similar to
the one in the outer room except for
napkin In the middle with bottle Of /
water set upon it. An Egyptian wom-
an stood beside this table and gave the
young man wooden stool.
AS Kenkenes walked toward the seat
a stronger blast Of wind puffed out the
light above his head. The woman
climbed up to take the lamp down and
set it on the table while she relighted
it. The skirt of her dress caught on
the top Of the stool she had mounted
and pulled it over on the wooden floor
with sharp sound.
+ One Of the sleepers stirred at the
noise and turned over. Presently he
sat up
kenkenes righted the stool and sat
down on it, the light shining in his
face He saw the guest in the shadow
shake Off the light covering and walk
swiftly through the door into the outer
chamber.