The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-08-21
CHAPTER xxx.
TIE WAY TO THE SEA.

he reused himself sufficiently 10 reailZe
and speculate. He had saved the king
and exposed Har-hat, but the accom-
plishing Of this temporary good had
forced the probable commission Of
great evil # death in some form did
not oEertake the fan bearer he could
enrich and strengthen himself from
Israel. Then, even If Meneptahs army
did not continue to follow him, he
would be enabled to buy mercenaries
and return equipped to do battle with
Meneptah, even as be had vowea.
The flower Of the military was with
him: the Pharaoh was Incapable and
Egypt demoralZed- The, success OF
tie traitor seemed ass1csa. What
then of Rachel, Of BIS own father, Of
the faithful ministers, Of all whom
Kenkenes hsS loved or befriended?
The thought filed him with resolution
and vigor.
.If the Lord God of Israel overtakes
him not" he said, returning to the
king. then must l! For in my good
intent 1t seems that have undone
thee. Hotep," he continued, taking the
seribe's hands, 'slet my father know
that I died not with the frstborn; alse
thon seest the danger into which the
nation hath descended in this hour.
Help thou the king! return not
Farewell .
He kissed the scribe on the lips and,
freeing himself from his clinging
hands, ran through the broken line OF
the royal guards.
The army was already compact
cluster in the center Of rolling cloud
Z Of dust to the south.
-. When Nechutes had aroused him be
fore daybreak the espbearef had
brought Hotep with him, and while the
messenger broke his fast he had avail
ed himself of the scribe's presence 70
learn many things. Not the smallest
cart of his information was the fact
Z that the Pharaoh's scouts had located
israel encamped OF g. sedgy plain az
Tx. base oe q great hil % the north
e-nmost arm. OF the Red sea. Meaep-
9ans arn9 had macched twenty-five
n;les due south Of PitboIa and pitched
Us tents sor the night. II was twenty.
i've miles from that point to Baal-
Zeohon or the hill before which Israel
had canped The fugi6ves had cho-
sen the smoothest path for travel,
Keeping along the Bitter lakes, that
their cattle might feed Their track
led IN southeasterly direction.
But Har-hat, making OF with the ar
ms. had struck due south. He had
chosen this line for more than one ad-
vantage it offered. The Arabian desert
approached the sea in series OF pla-
teaas or steps. The most westerly was
surnounted by a ridge Of high hills,
higher probably than any other chain
within the boundaries Of Egypt The
most easterly overlooked the seabeach
and was originally, it may be, the old
sea margin At points the taoleland
advanced within sight Of the water, at
other localities an intervening space
Of several mics lay bet-een it and the
sea. The summit was fat, at least
smooth enough for the passage OF
horsepen. and at all times it was
good field for strategic maneuyerlngs
by an army arrayed against anything
which might be on the beach below.
The slaves were entrapped- Inc pur-
sue- had but TO follow the pursued in
the only open direction and overtake
the starving, thirsting multitude at
last But from Har-hat's movement he
! had meant to continue along this pla-
tea cut of sight of Israel until he had
posted part Of his army in the way OF
escape to the south. Kenkenes reached
this conclusion without much ponder
ing. He had his own maneuyerings in
mind. OF the captain Of Israel, Prince
Moses. he would discover, first, if the
Lord God had prepared him against
Har-hat. The grave question answered
to the repose Of his mind concerning
the welfare Of Israel, the path OF his
next duty would be clearly laid before
him. He would join the army and take
fhe life Of the fan bearer for the sake
of all he loved and Egypt In the
course of the days events his motive
had been exalted from the personal de-
sire sor revenge to the high intent OF a
Da4r;ot. He felt most confident that ne
would forfeit bis cxn life in the act
Not an instant did he hesitate.
Ahead Of him was the narrow BED OF
8 miniature torrent which rolled out OF
the desert during the infrequent rains.
Now. It was dry, packed hard. free OF
all obstructions except the great bowl
6ers and LED IN comparatively
straight line toward the sea. It was an
ideal stretch for running.
He summoned all his forces, gather
sne In q mighty mental effort all that
denended on his speed. and took the
pash with leap The dazed King and
his ministers saw him with whom they
had that moment talked stretch vast
and ever widening breach between
fhe1n with bat-nke swoop, and while
they watched he was swallowed up In
the distance.
him