“How then?  Why, then we’ll drum him back to Rome.”

“Ah, thou sayest so, and, perchance, Harmachis, had I not won that game we played together some twelve days gone, thou, being Pharaoh, mightest well have done this thing, for round thy throne old Egypt would have gathered.  But Egypt loves not me nor my Greek blood; and I have but now scattered that great plot of thine, in which half the land was meshed.  Will these men, then, arise to succour me?  Were Egypt true to me, I could, indeed, hold my own against all the force that Rome may bring; but Egypt hates me, and had as lief be ruled by the Roman as the Greek.  Still I might make defence had I the gold, for with money soldiers can be bought to feed the maw of mercenary battle.  But I have none; my treasuries are dry, and though there is wealth in the land, yet debts perplex me.  These wars have brought me ruin, and I know not how to find a talent.  Perchance, Harmachis, thou who art, by hereditary right, Priest of the Pyramids,” and she drew near and looked me in the eyes, “perchance, if long descended rumour does not lie, thou canst tell me where I can touch the gold to save thy land from ruin, and thy Love from the grasp of Antony?  Say, is it so?”

I thought a while, and then I answered: 

“And if such a tale were true, and if I could show thee treasure stored by the mighty Pharaohs of the most far-off age against the needs of Khem, how can I know that thou wouldst indeed make use of that wealth to those good ends?”

“Is there, then, a treasure?” she asked curiously.  “Nay, fret me not, Harmachis; for of a truth the very name of gold at this time of want is like the sight of water in the desert.”

“I believe,” I said, “that there is such a treasure, though I myself have never seen it.  But I know this, that if it still lie in the place where it was set, it is because so heavy a curse will rest upon him who shall lay hands on it wickedly and for selfish ends, that none of those Pharaohs to whom it has been shown have dared to touch it, however sore their need.”

“So,” she said, “they were cowardly aforetime, or else their need was not great.  Wilt thou show me this treasure, then, Harmachis?”

“Perhaps,” I answered, “I will show it to thee if it still be there, when thou hast sworn that thou wilt use it to defend Egypt from this Roman Antony and for the welfare of her people.”

“I swear it!” she said earnestly.  “Oh, I swear by every God in Khem that if thou showest me this great treasure, I will defy Antony and send Dellius back to Cilicia with sharper words than those he brought.  Yes, I’ll do more, Harmachis:  so soon as may be, I will take thee to husband before all the world, and thou thyself shalt carry out thy plans and beat off the Roman eagles.”

Thus she spoke, gazing at me with truthful, earnest eyes.  I believed her, and for the first time since my fall was for a moment happy, thinking that all was not lost to me, and that with Cleopatra, whom I loved thus madly, I might yet win my place and power back.