“Fear ye not; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.  For the Egyptians ye have seen this day, ye shall see again no more for ever.”

At the words, Kenkenes lifted his head quickly.  The Hebrew had answered his question, but how enigmatically!  Was Israel to escape, or Har-hat to be destroyed?  In either case, the young man wondered concerning himself.  Again the eyes of the Lawgiver returned to him, as if the sight of the young Egyptian was grateful to him.

“Abide with us,” he said.  “Saith not thy faith, ’Fear not; the Lord shall fight for thee?’”

Kenkenes’ face wore a startled expression; how had the Israelite divined his purpose?  “Saith not thy faith?” Faith?  He confessed faith, but faith had not spoken that thing to him.  Slowly and little by little it began to manifest itself to him, that he had wavered in his trust; that the purpose of his visit to Israel had questioned the fidelity of his God’s care; that so surely had he doubted, he had defied danger and fought with death to ask after the intent of the Lord; that he had meant to perform the duty which the Lord had left undone.  The realization came with a rush of shame.  In the asking he had betrayed his wavering, and Moses had tactfully told him of it.  A surge of color swept over his face.

“Thou hast recalled my trust to me, my Prince,” he said in a lowered tone.  “Till now, I knew not that it had failed me.  But remember thou, it was my love for Israel—­O, and my love for mine own—­that made me fear.  Forgive me, I pray thee.”

The Lawgiver laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder but did not answer at once.  The growing clamor about them had reached the acme of insistence.  The nearest people pressed through the tribal lines and, rushing forward, began to throw themselves on their knees, tumbling in circles about the majestic Hebrew.  Others kept their feet, and with arms and clenched hands above their heads, shouted vehemently.  Their cries were partly in Egyptian, partly in their own tongue, but the cause of their terror and the burden of their supplications were the same.  The Egyptians were upon them!  Even the dumb beasts were swept into the panic and the illuminated beach shook with sound.

After a little sad contemplation of the clamoring horde about him, the Lawgiver drew nearer to Kenkenes and said in his ear, because the tumult drowned his voice: 

“The Lord will fight for thee; thine enemy can not flee His strong hand.  Wait upon Him and behold His triumph.”

Kenkenes bowed his head in acquiescence.

CHAPTER XLV

THROUGH THE RED SEA

The voices of the storm found harmonious tones of different pitch and swelled in glorious accord from the faintest breath of melody to an almighty blast that stunned the senses with stupendous harmony.  Then the chord seemed to melt and lose itself in the wild dissonances of the hurricane.