"
Now the aged man drew near, looked, and said:
"It is the sign. Here shines the Star of Amen and no other. Still we do
not understand. Tell us the tale, O Asti."
So Asti stood forward, and told that tale, omitting nothing, and then
Rames told his tale, whereto Tua the Queen added a little, and, although
ere they finished the sun was high, none wearied in listening save only
Abi, Kaku, and Merytra, who heard death in every word.
It was done at length, and a great silence fell upon the place, for the
tongues of men were tied. Presently, the High-Priest, who all this while
had stood with bent head, lifted up his eyes to heaven, crying:
"O Amen, Father of the Spirit of this Queen, show now thy will, that we
may learn it and obey."
For a while there was silence, till suddenly a sound was heard in the
dark sanctuary where stood the statue of the god, a sound as of a stick
tapping upon the granite floor. Then the curtains of that sanctuary
were drawn, and standing between them there appeared the figure of an
ancient, bearded man, with stony eyes, who was clad in a beggar's robe.
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