Arolind: 

O don’t, don’t.  It frightens me.  I only want to be prettily dressed and see my husband happy.

Tharmia: 

Have you seen the prophet?

Arolind: 

Oh yes, I have seen him.  He walks about the palace.  He is free but cannot escape.

Tharmia: 

What does he look like?  Has he a frightened look?

Arolind: 

He mutters as he walks.  Sometimes he weeps; and then he puts his cloak over his face.

Tharmia: 

I fear that he will betray them.

Arolind: 

I do not trust a prophet.  He is the go-between of gods and men.  They are so far apart.  How can he be true to both?

Tharmia: 

This prophet is false to the gods.  It is a hateful thing for a prophet to prophesy falsely.

    [Prophet walks across hanging his head and muttering.]

Prophet: 

The gods have spoken a lie.  The gods have spoken a lie.  Can all their vengeance ever atone for this?

Tharmia: 

He spoke of vengeance.

Arolind: 

O he will betray them.

    [They weep.  Enter the Queen.]

Queen: 

Why do you weep?  Ah, you are going to die.  You heard the death-lute. 
You do well to weep.

Tharmia: 

No, your Majesty.  It is the man that has played for the last three days.  We all heard him.

Queen: 

Three days.  Yes, it is three days.  Gog-Owza plays no longer than three days.  Gog-Owza grows weary then.  He has given his message and he will go away.

Tharmia: 

We have all heard him, your Majesty, except the deaf young man that went back to Barbul-el-Sharnak.  We hear him now.

Queen:  Yes!  But nobody has seen him yet.  My maidens have searched for him but they have not found him.

Tharmia: 

Your Majesty, my husband heard him, and Ludibras, and while they live we know there is nothing to fear.  If the King grew angry with them—­ because of any idle story that some jealous man might tell—­some criminal wishing to postpone his punishment—­if the King were to grow angry with them they would open their veins; they would never survive his anger.  Then we should all of us say, “Perhaps it was Gog-Owza that Ichtharion or Ludibras heard.”

Queen: 

The King will never grow angry with Ichtharion or Ludibras.

Tharmia: 

Your Majesty would not sleep if the King grew angry with them.

Queen: 

Oh, no.  I should not sleep; it would be terrible.

Tharmia: 

Your Majesty would be wakeful all night long and cry.

Queen: 

Oh, yes.  I should not sleep; I should cry all night. [Exit]

Arolind: 

She has no influence with the King.

Tharmia: 

No.  But he hates to hear her cry all night.