Abi was the hope of every one of them; to him they looked for the spoils
of Egypt, and before them on Abi's throne they saw a woman who stood
between them and their ends, who in her ancient pride dared to demand
that he, her husband, should do homage to her, and who to-morrow, if she
conquered, would give them to the sword.
"Tear her to pieces!" they screamed, "the bastard whom childless Pharaoh
palmed off upon the land! She is a sorceress who keeps fat on air--an
evil spirit. Away with her! Or if you fear, then let us come!"
At length they had roared themselves hoarse; at length they grew still.
Then Abi, who all this while had stood there hesitating, and now and
again turning to hearken to Kaku who whispered in his ear, looked up at
Tua and spoke.
"You see and you hear, Queen," he said. "My people mistrust you, and
they are a rough people, I cannot hold them back for long. If once they
get at you, very soon that sweet body of yours will be in more fragments
than was Osiris after Set had handled him.
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