Warren sheaf., 1905-09-14

Il ~
down before the rabble. KeukSntsa
sei1ed upon their advance to proceed
also ana. dropping between ths nrst
and second litter, made his way wfth
little difficulty to the front. With tn
complacency Of man that has rank
and authority on his side, be turned
up the roadway and continued toward
the temple. He was halted before be
had proceeded ten steps. A litter rich.
" gilded and borne by four men came
pushing through the crowd and was de.
posted directly In his path.
But for the unusual appearance of
the bearers Kenkenes might have
passed around the conveyance and con.
tinued. Instead he caught the con.
tagious curiosity of the crowd and
stood to marvel. The men were stal.
wart, black bearded and strong Of fea.
ture and robed in no Egyptian garb,
They were draped voluminously IN
long habits Of brown linen fringed at
the hem, belted by yellow cord with
tasseled ends. The sleeves were wide
and showed the wristbands Of white
undergarment The headdress was q
brown kerchief bound about the brow
with a cord, also yellow.
While Kenkenes examined them IN
detail a long, indrawn breath Of won:
der from the circle Of spectators caused
q to look at the alighting owner Of
the litter. 4.
He took backward step and halted,
amazed. III
Before him was woman Of heroic
proportions, taller, with the exception
Of himself, than any man In the crowd.
Upon her. at first glance, was to be dis
cerned the stamp Of great age, yet she
was as straight as a column and her
hair was heavy and midnight black.
Hers was the Semitic cast OF coun-
tenance, the features sharply chiseled,
but without that aggressiveness that
emphasizes the outline Of a wtthered
face. Every passing year had left its
mark on her, but she had grown old
not as others do. Here was flesh COM
promising with age accepting its
majesty, defying Its decay-a sublunar
assumption of Immortality. There was
no longer any suggestion Of femininity;
the idea was dread power and unearth-
" grace. :. OF such nature might the
sexless archangels partake. Il
Holy Amenv' one of the awed by
ISLANDERS exclaimed in q whisper to his
neighbor. "Who Is this? -
"A princess from Punt ARABIA )" the
neighbor surmised. !.
"A priestess from Babylon" another
hazarded. s}
NAY, ye are all wrong" quavered an
old man who had been looking at the
newcomers under the elbows Of the
crowd. t'She is an Israelite." aF
''Thou hast cataract, old man." was
the scornful reply from some one near
by. "She is no slave" ...
"Aye," went on the unsteady voice,
Il know her. She was the favorite wo-
man of Queen Neferari Thermuthis.
She has not been out Of the delta
where her people live since the good
queen died forty years ago. She must
be we'll nigh a hundred years old. Aye,
I should know her by her stature It is
Of truth the Lady Miriam" - ,.' -
At the sound of his mistress name
one of the bearers turned and shot a
sharp glance at the speaker. Instantly
the old man fell back, saying, as
sneer Of contempt ran through the rab-
BILE at the intelligence his words con-
veyed: "Anger them not. They have
the evil eyey'
Kenkenes had guessed the national
ity of the strangers Immediately, but
had doubted the correctness of his sur
mise because of their noble mien. If
he suffered any disappointment in hear
ing proof of their identity it was imnne-
diately nullif1ed by the Joy his artist
soul took In the stately Hebrew wom-
an. He forgot the mission that urged
him to the temple, and, permitting the
shifting, restless crowd to surround
him, he fingered, thinking. This proud
disdain must mark his goddess of stone
in the Arabian hills, this majesty and
power. but there must be youth and
fire in the place Of this ancient calm.
A porter that stood beside him, en-
boldened by barley beer and the grow
ing disapproval among the onlookers,
cried:
''Ha, by the rags Of my fathers, she
her masters, the brickmaking
hagv'
Kenkenes, who lowered over the ruff
fan, became possessed Of a sudden and
Indignation. He picked
the man on the head with the knuckle
Of his forefnger, saying in colloquial
Egyptian: ,-'4s ..
Hold thy tongue, brawler, nor pre-
rune to fout thy betters!'
The stately Israelite, who bad taken
no notice Of any word against her, now
turned her head toward Kenkenes and
slowly inspected him. He had no op-.
portunity to guess whether her gaze
was approving, for the crowd about
him, grown weary Of waiting, had be-
come quarrelsome and was loudly re
senting his defense Of the Hebrews.
The porter, supported by several Of hts
brethren, was already menacfng the