"
"What do you know of the lady, you old knave, and of my dealings with
her?" asked Janees angrily.
"Much of both, O King, for I am her father, and--shall I tell the rest?"
"Her father, you hoary liar!" broke in Janees.
"Aye, her father, and I have come to tell you that as our blood is more
ancient than yours, I will not have you for a son-in-law, any more than
that daughter of mine will have you for a husband."
Now some of the courtiers who heard these words laughed outright, but
Janees did not laugh, his dark face turned white with rage, and he
gasped for breath.
"Drag this madman forth," he shouted at length, "and cut out his
insolent tongue."
Again the guards sprang forward, but before ever they reached him Kepher
was speaking in a new voice, a voice so terrible that at the sound of it
they stopped, leaving him untouched.
"Beware how you lay a finger on me, you men of Tat," he cried, "for how
know you who dwells within these rags? Janees, you who call yourself a
King, listen to the commands of a greater king, whose throne is yonder
above the sun.
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