“Hearken,” I said to the charioteer as they came, “run as you never ran before, and bring up the guard behind!”

He sprang away like an arrow.

“Get back, Lady,” cried Seti.  “This is no woman’s work, and see here comes Laban to seek you,” and he pointed with his sword at the leader of the murderers.

She obeyed, staggering a few paces to a stone at the roadside, behind which she crouched.  Afterwards she told me that she had no strength to go further, and indeed no will, since if we were killed, it were better that she who had warned us should be killed also.

Now they had reached us, the whole flood of them, thirty or forty men.  The first who came stabbed the frightened horses, and down they went against the bank, struggling.  On the chariot leapt the Hebrews, seeking to come at us, and we met them as best we might, tearing off our cloaks and throwing them over our left arms to serve as shields.

Oh! what a fight was that.  In the open, or had we not been prepared, we must have been slain at once, but, as it was, the place and the barrier of the chariot gave us some advantage.  So narrow was the roadway, the walls of which were here too steep to climb, that not more than four of the Hebrews could strike at us at once, which four must first surmount the chariot or the still living horses.

But we also were four, and thanks to Userti, two of us were clad in mail beneath our robes—­four strong men fighting for their lives.  Against us came four of the Hebrews.  One leapt from the chariot straight at Seti, who received him upon the point of his iron sword, whereof I heard the hilt ring against his breast-bone, that same famous iron sword which to-day lies buried with him in his grave.

Down he came dead, throwing the Prince to the ground by the weight of his body.  The Hebrew who attacked me caught his foot on the chariot pole and fell forward, so I killed him easily with a blow upon the head, which gave me time to drag the Prince to his feet again before another followed.  The two guards also, sturdy fighters both of them, killed or mortally wounded their men.  But others were pressing behind so thick and fast that I could keep no count of all that happened afterwards.

Presently I saw one of the guards fall, slain by Laban.  A stab on the breast sent me reeling backwards; had it not been for that mail I was sped.  The other guard killed him who would have killed me, and then himself was killed by two who came on him at once.

Now only the Prince and I were left, fighting back to back.  He closed with one man, a very great fellow, and wounded him on the hand, so that he dropped his sword.  This man gripped him round the middle and they rolled together on the ground.  Laban appeared and stabbed the Prince in the back, but the curved knife he was using snapped on the Syrian mail.  I struck at Laban and wounded him on the head, dazing him so that he staggered back and seemed to fall over the chariot.  Then others rushed at me, and but for Userti’s armour three times at least I must have died.  Fighting madly, I staggered against the rock, and whilst waiting for a new onset, saw that Seti, hurt by Laban’s thrust, was now beneath the great Hebrew who had him by the throat, and was choking the life out of him.