Page:Orczy--the gates of Kamt.djvu/203

 the darkness, light; after desolation, joy unspeakable. Oh! thou canst not know," she added, stretching out her arms longingly towards the distant horizon, "how I long to break the hideous fetters that bind me, and when Osiris shines so brightly, the flowers smell so sweet, and the birds' chorus of harmony fills the air, how I hate then the splendours of my palace, the marble halls and temples of Kamt, the very sight of the people almost worshipping at my feet, and long to run up those inaccessible hills and see what lies far away beyond this land, beyond the valley of death, beyond the pillars that support the vault of heaven. Wilt thou not tell me," she pleaded, "or, better still, wilt take me there one night when Kamt is wrapped in sleep?"

Hugh looked almost wildly down at her, and then round him with that curious dazed expression which had puzzled me already last night. Then he caught sight of me and seemed relieved, for he said very quietly:

"Nay, Princess, it is not for me to teach thee the secrets of this earth. But here comes my counsellor; he is wise, and if thou wilt he will tell thee all about Osiris and the vault of heaven, and even of the land which lies beyond the gates of Kamt."

She turned to me with a sweet smile, but I thought that there was a shade of disappointment in her eyes. "It is always a joy to speak to the learned counsellor," she said evasively, "and soon, when he has leisure, when the holy Pharaoh is cured of his ailments, he will no doubt teach me much which I do not know; and in the meanwhile I will go roaming with Sen-tur, and perhaps if I sit on his back he will carry me there, where foot of man doth not tread."

She began playing with the panther, who seemed much disinclined for a game, and made sundry attempts