Now when the old man began his story he interrupted him.

“I know everything,” he said.  “The disciples cling to Pentaur, and have committed a folly for his sake, and you met the princess Bent-Anat with him in the temple of Hatasu, to which he had admitted a woman of low rank before she had been purified.  These are grave matters, and must be seriously considered, but not to-day.  Make yourself easy; Pentaur will not escape punishment; but for to-day we must recall him to this temple, for we have need of him to-morrow for the solemnity of the feast of the valley.  No one shall meet him as an enemy till he is condemned; I desire this of you, and charge you to repeat it to the others.”

The haruspex endeavored to represent to his superior what a scandal would arise from this untimely clemency; but Ameni did not allow him to talk, he demanded his ring back, called a young priest, delivered the precious signet into his charge, and desired him to get into his chariot that was waiting at the door, and carry to Pentaur the command, in his name, to return to the temple of Seti.

The haruspex submitted, though deeply vexed, and asked whether the guilty boys were also to go unpunished.

“No more than Pentaur,” answered Ameni.  “But can you call this school-boy’s trick guilt?  Leave the children to their fun, and their imprudence.  The educator is the destroyer, if he always and only keeps his eyes open, and cannot close them at the right moment.  Before life demands of us the exercise of serious duties we have a mighty over-abundance of vigor at our disposal; the child exhausts it in play, and the boy in building wonder-castles with the hammer and chisel of his fancy, in inventing follies.  You shake your head, Septah! but I tell you, the audacious tricks of the boy are the fore-runners of the deeds of the man.  I shall let one only of the boys suffer for what is past, and I should let him even go unpunished if I had not other pressing reasons for keeping him away from our festival.”

The haruspex did not contradict his chief; for he knew that when Ameni’s eyes flashed so suddenly, and his demeanor, usually so measured, was as restless as at present, something serious was brewing.

The high-priest understood what was passing in Septah’s mind.

“You do not understand me now,” said he.  “But this evening, at the meeting of the initiated, you shall know all.  Great events are stirring.  The brethren in the temple of Anion, on the other shore, have fallen off from what must always be the Holiest to us white-robed priests, and will stand in our way when the time for action is arrived.  At the feast of the valley we shall stand in competition with the brethren from Thebes.  All Thebes will be present at the solemn service, and it must be proved which knows how to serve the Divinity most worthily, they or we.  We must avail ourselves of all our resources, and Pentaur we certainly cannot do without.  He must fill the function of Cherheb