第89章

Thus the long years rolled away， and I， the hermit Olympus， the dweller in a tomb， the eater of bread and the drinker of water， by strength of the wisdom that was given me of the avenging Power， became once more great in Khem. For I grew ever wiser as I trampled the desires of the flesh beneath my feet and turned my eyes to heaven.

At length eight full years were accomplished. The war with the Parthians had come and gone， and Artavasdes， King of Armenia， had been led in triumph through the streets of Alexandria. Cleopatra had visited Samos and Athens； and， by her counselling， the noble Octavia had been driven， like some discarded concubine， from the house of Antony at Rome. And now， at the last， the measure of the folly of Antony was full even to the brim. For this Master of the World had no longer the good gift of reason； he was lost in Cleopatra as I had been lost. Therefore， in the event， Octavianus declared war against him.

And as I slept upon a certain day in the chamber of the Harpers， in the tomb of Pharaoh that is by Tápé， there came to me a vision of my father， the aged Amenemhat， and he stood over me， leaning on his staff， and spoke， saying：

"Look forth， my son."

Then I looked forth， and with the eyes of my spirit saw the sea， and two great fleets grappling in war hard by a rocky coast. And the emblems were those of Octavian， and of the other those of Cleopatra and Antony. The ships of Antony and Cleopatra bore down upon the ships of C？sar， and drove them on， for victory inclined to Antony.

I looked again. There sat Cleopatra in a gold-decked galley watching the fight with eager eyes. Then I cast my Spirit on her so that she seemed to hear the voice of dead Harmachis crying in her ear.

"/Fly， Cleopatra，/" it seemed to say， "/fly or perish！/"

She looked up wildly， and again she heard my Spirit's cry. Now a mighty fear took hold of her. She called aloud to the sailors to hoist the sails and make signal to her fleet to put about. This they did wondering but little loath， and fled in haste from the battle.

Then a great roar went up from friend and foe.

"Cleopatra is fled！ Cleopatra is fled！" And I saw wreck and red ruin fall upon the fleet of Antony and awoke from my trance.

The days passed， and again a vision of my father came to me and spoke， saying：

"Arise， my son！--the hour of vengeance is at hand！ Thy plots have not failed； thy prayers have been heard. By the bidding of the Gods， as she sat in her galley at the fight of Actium， the heart of Cleopatra was filled with fears， so that， deeming she heard thy voice bidding her fly or perish， she fled with all her fleet. Now the strength of Actium is broken on the sea. Go forth， and as it shall be put into thy mind， so do thou."

In the morning I awoke， wondering， and went to the mouth of the tomb， and there， coming up the valley， I saw the messengers of Cleopatra， and with them a Roman guard.

"What will ye with me now？" I asked， sternly.

"This is the message of the Queen and of great Antony，" answered the Captain， bowing low before me， for I was much feared by all men. "The Queen commands thy presence at Alexandria. Many times has she sent， and thou wouldst not come； now she bids thee to come， and that swiftly， for she has need of thy counsel."

"And if I say Nay， soldier， what then？"

"These are my orders， most holy Olympus； that I bring thee by force."

I laughed aloud. "By force， thou fool！ Use not such talk to me， lest I smite thee where thou art. Know， then， that I can kill as well as cure！"

"Pardon， I beseech thee！" he answered， shrinking. "I say but those things that I am bid."

"Well， I know it， Captain. Fear not； I come."

So on that very day I departed， together with the aged Atoua. Ay， I went as secretly as I had come； and the tomb of the Divine Rameses knew me no more. And with me I took all the treasures of my father， Amenemhat， for I was not minded to go to Alexandria empty-handed and as a suppliant， but rather as a man of much wealth and condition. Now， as I went， I learned that Antony， following Cleopatra， had， indeed， fled from Actium， and knew that the end drew nigh. For this and many other things had I foreseen in the darkness of the tomb of Tápé， and planned to bring about.

Thus， then， I came to Alexandria， and entered into a house which had been made ready for me at the palace gates.

And that very night Charmion came to me--Charmion whom I had not seen for nine long years.