It was the hour before the dawn, just when the night is darkest. Westood in the sanctuary of the ancient temple of Amon-Ra, that was litwith many lamps. It was an awful place. On either side the great columnstowered to the massive roof. At the head of the sanctuary sat the statueof Amon-Ra, thrice the size of a man. On his brow, rising from thecrown, were two tall feathers of stone, and in his hands he held theScourge of Rule and the symbols of Power and Everlastingness. Thelamplight flickered upon his stern and terrible face staring towards theeast. To his right was the statue of Mut, the Mother of all things. Onher head was the double crown of Egypt and the uraeus crest, and in herhand the looped cross, the sign of Life eternal. To his left sat Khonsu,the hawk-headed god of the moon. On his head was the crescent of theyoung moon carrying the disc of the full moon; in his right hand he alsoheld the looped cross, the sign of Life eternal, and in his left theStaff of Strength. Such was this mighty triad, but of these the greatestwas Amon-Ra, to whom the shrine was dedicated. Fearful they stoodtowering above us against the background of blackness.
Gathered there were Seti the Prince, clothed in a priest's whiterobe, and wearing a linen headdress, but no ornaments, and Userti thePrincess, high-priestess of Hathor, Lady of the West, Goddess of Loveand Nature. She wore Hathor's vulture headdress, and on it the disc ofthe moon fashioned of silver. Also were present Roi the head-priest,clad in his sacerdotal robes, an old and wizened man with a strong,fierce face, Ki the Sacrificer and Magician, Bakenkhonsu the ancient,myself, and a company of the priests of Amon-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu. Frombehind the statues came the sound of solemn singing, though who sang wecould not see.
Presently from out of the darkness that lay beyond the lamps appeared awoman, led by two priestesses and wrapped in a long cloak. They broughther to an open place in front of the statue of Amon, took from her thecloak and departed, glancing back at her with eyes of hate and fear.There before us stood Merapi, clad in white, with a simple wimple abouther head made fast beneath her chin with that scarabaeus clasp which Setihad given to her in the city of Goshen, one spot of brightest blue amida cloud of white. She looked neither to right nor left of her. Once onlyshe glanced at the towering statue of the god that frowned above, thenwith a little shiver, fixed her eyes upon the pattern of the floor.
"What does she look like?" whispered Bakenkhonsu to me.
"A corpse made ready for the embalmers," I answered.
He shook his great head.
"Then a bride made ready for her husband."
Again he shook his head.
"Then a priestess about to read from the roll of Mysteries."
"Now you have it, Ana, and to understand what she reads, which fewpriestesses ever do. Also all three answers were right, for in thiswoman I seem to see doom that is Death, life that is Love, and spiritthat is Power. She has a soul which both Heaven and Earth have kissed."
"Aye, but which of them will claim her in the end?"
"That we may learn before the dawn, Ana. Hush! the fight begins."
The head-priest, Roi, advanced and, standing before the god, sprinkledhis feet with water and with perfume. Then he stretched out his hands,whereon all present prostrated themselves, save Merapi only, who stoodalone in that great place like the survivor of a battle.
"Hail to thee, Amon-Ra," he began, "Lord of Heaven, Establisher ofall things, Maker of the gods, who unrolled the skies and built thefoundations of the Earth. O god of gods, appears before thee this womanMerapi, daughter of Nathan, a child of the Hebrew race that owns theenot. This woman blasphemes thy might; this woman defies thee; this womansets up her god above thee. Is it not so, woman?"
"It is so," answered Merapi in a low voice.
"Thus does she defy thee, thou Only One of many Forms, saying 'if thegod Amon of the Egyptians be a greater god than my god, let him snatchme out of the arms of my god and here in this the shrine of Amon takethe breath from out my lips and leave me a thing of clay.' Are these thywords, O woman?"
"They are my words," she said in the same low voice, and oh! I shiveredas I heard.
The priest went on.
"O Lord of Time, Lord of Life, Lord of Spirits and the Divinities ofHeaven, Lord of Terror, come forth now in thy majesty and smite thisblasphemer to the dust."
Roi withdrew and Seti stood forward.
"Know, O god Amon," he said, addressing the statue as though he weespeaking to a living man, "from the lips of me, thy high-priest, bybirth the Prince and Heir of Egypt, that great things hang upon thismatter here in the Land of Egypt, mayhap even who shall sit upon thethrone that thou givest to its kings. This woman of Israel dares thee tothy face, saying that there is a greater god than thou art and thatthou canst not harm her through the buckler of his strength. She says,moreover, that she will call upon her god to work a sign and a wonderupon thee. Lastly, she says that if thou dost not harm her and if hergod works no sign upon thee, then she is ready to be handed over to thypriests and die the death of a blasphemer. Thy honour is set against herlife, O great God of Egypt, and we, thy worshippers, watch to see thebalance turn."
"Well and justly put," muttered Bakenkhonsu to me. "Now if Amon failsus, what will you think of Amon, Ana?"
"I shall learn the high-priest's mind and think what the high-priestthinks," I answered darkly, though in my heart I was terribly afraidfor Merapi, and, to speak truth, for myself also, because of the doubtswhich arose in me and would not be quenched.
Seti withdrew, taking his stand by Userti, and Ki stood forward andsaid:
"O Amon, I thy Sacrificer, I thy Magician, to whom thou givest power,I the priest and servant of Isis, Mother of Mysteries, Queen of thecompany of the gods, call upon thee. She who stands before thee is but aHebrew woman. Yet, as thou knowest well, O Father, in this house she ismore than woman, inasmuch as she is the Voice and Sword of thine enemy,Jahveh, god of the Israelites. She thinks, mayhap, that she has comehere of her own will, but thou knowest, Father Amon, as I know, that sheis sent by the great prophets of her people, those magicians who guideher soul with spells to work thee evil and to set thee, Amon, beneaththe heel of Jahveh. The stake seems small, the life of this one maid, nomore; yet it is very great. This is the stake, O Father: Shall Amon rulethe world, or Jahveh. If thou fallest to-night, thou fallest for ever;if thou dost triumph to-night, thou dost triumph for ever. In yondershape of stone hides thy spirit; in yonder shape of woman's flesh hidesthe spirit of thy foe. Smite her, O Amon, smite her to small dust; letnot the strength that is in her prevail against thy strength, lest thyname should be defiled and sorrows and loss should come upon the landwhich is thy throne; lest, too, the wizards of the Israelites shouldovercome us thy servants. Thus prayeth Ki thy magician, on whose soul ithas pleased thee to pour strength and wisdom."
Then followed a great silence.
Watching the statue of the god, presently I thought that it moved, andas I could see by the stir among them, so did the others. I thought thatits stone eyes rolled, I thought that it lifted the Scourge of Power inits granite hand, though whether these things were done by some spiritor by some priest, or by the magic of Ki, I do not know. At the least,a great wind began to blow about the temple, stirring our robes andcausing the lamps to flicker. Only the robes of Merapi did not stir. Yetshe saw what I could not see, for suddenly her eyes grew frightened.
"The god is awake," whispered Bakenkhonsu. "Now good-bye to your fairIsraelite. See, the Prince trembles, Ki smiles, and the face of Usertiglows with triumph."
As he spoke the blue scarabaeus was snatched from Merapi's breast asthough by a hand. It fell to the floor as did her wimple, so that nowshe appeared with her rich hair flowing down her robe. Then the eyes ofthe statue seemed to cease to roll, the wind ceased to blow, and againthere was silence.
Merapi stooped, lifted the wimple, replaced it on her head, found thescarabaeus clasp, and very quietly, as a woman who was tiring herselfmight do, made it fast in its place again, a sight at which I heardUserti gasp.
For a long while we waited.
Watching the faces of the congregation, Isaw amazement and doubt on those of the priests, rage on that of Ki, andon Seti's the flicker of a little smile. Merapi's eyes were closed asthough she were asleep. At length she opened them, and turning her headtowards the Prince said:
"O high-priest of Amon-Ra, has your god worked his will on me, or must Iwait longer before I call upon my God?"
"Do what you will or can, woman, and make an end, for almost it is themoment of dawn when the temple worship opens."
Then Merapi clasped her hands, and looking upwards, prayed aloud verysweetly and simply, saying:
"O God of my fathers, trusting in Thee, I, a poor maid of Thy peopleIsrael, have set the life Thou gavest me in Thy Hand. If, as I believe,Thou art the God of gods, I pray Thee show a sign and a wonder uponthis god of the Egyptians, and thereby declare Thine Honour and keepmy breath within my breast. If it pleases Thee not, then let me die, asdoubtless for my many sins I deserve to do. O God of my fathers, I havemade my prayer. Hear it or reject it according to Thy Will."
So she ended, and listening to her, I felt the tears rising in my eyes,because she was so much alone, and I feared that this god of hers wouldnever come to save her from the torments of the priests. Seti alsoturned his head away, and stared down the sanctuary at the sky over theopen court where the lights of dawn were gathering.
Once more there was silence. Then again that wind blew, very strongly,extinguishing the lamps, and, as it seemed to me, whirling away Merapifrom where she was, so that now she stood to one side of the statue. Thesanctuary was filled with gloom, till presently the first rays ofthe rising sun struck upon the roof. They fell down, down, as minutefollowed minute, till at length they rested like a sword of flame uponthe statue of Amon-Ra. Once more that statue seemed to move. I thoughtthat it lifted its stone arms to protect its head. Then in a moment witha rending noise, its mighty mass burst asunder, and fell in small dustabout the throne, almost hiding it from sight.
"Behold my God has answered me, the most humble of His servants," saidMerapi in the same sweet and gentle voice. "Behold the sign and thewonder!"
"Witch!" screamed the head-priest Roi, and fled away, followed by hisfellows.
"Sorceress!" hissed Userti, and fled also, as did all the others, savethe Prince, Bakenkhonsu, I Ana, and Ki the Magician.
We stood amazed, and while we did so, Ki turned to Merapi and spoke.His face was terrible with fear and fury, and his eyes shone like lamps.Although he did but whisper, I who was nearest to them heard all thatwas said, which the others could not do.
"Your magic is good, Israelite," he muttered, "so good that it hasovercome mine here in the temple where I serve."
"I have no magic," she answered very low. "I obeyed a command, no more."
He laughed bitterly, and asked:
"Should two of a trade waste time on foolishness? Listen now. Teachme your secrets, and I will teach you mine, and together we will driveEgypt like a chariot."
"I have no secrets, I have only faith," said Merapi again.
"Woman," he went on, "woman or devil, will you take me for friend orfoe? Here I have been shamed, since it was to me and not to their godsthat the priests trusted to destroy you. Yet I can still forgive. Choosenow, knowing that as my friendship will lead you to rule, to life andsplendour, so my hate will drive you to shame and death."
"You are beside yourself, and know not what you say. I tell you that Ihave no magic to give or to withhold," she answered, as one who did notunderstand or was indifferent, and turned away from him.
Thereon he muttered some curse which I could not catch, bowed to theheap of dust that had been the statue of the god, and vanished awayamong the pillars of the sanctuary.
"Oho-ho!" laughed Bakenkhonsu. "Not in vain have I lived to be so veryold, for now it seems we have a new god in Egypt, and there stands hisprophetess."
Merapi came to the prince.
"O high-priest of Amon," she said, "does it please you to let me go, forI am very weary?"