Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/73

 “What a neat idea,” said Harry.

“Yes, necessity maketh man ingenious. Well, Cambyses and the Arabian king pledged faith with each other; and an Arab, whatever be his faults, never breaks faith. When two men swear to be friends, they go through a ceremony which would astonish you, who speak of friendship so lightly.”

“Yes, Father always says we talk of friends by the dozen here—one ought to say acquaintances.”

“Thy father is right. Well, when Arabs swear friendship they stand one on each side of a third man, who with a stone makes a cut near the middle finger of the hand of the other two. Then he dips a piece of their dress in the blood and moistens seven stones with it, at the same time uttering a prayer. Then the man who pledges his friendship commends the other to all his friends, and they are bound to see the promise carried out.”

“What a fuss,” said Harry; “but I daresay it was a very good thing. Well, did the Arab king help Cambyses?”

“Yes; he loaded camels with skins of water, and drove them into the desert to await the coming of the army. Thus Cambyses crossed the desert in comfort, and pitched his camp near that of the Egyptians.”

“Oh, Amasis had come out to meet him, then?”’

“Nay, not Amasis, for he had meanwhile died, after a long and prosperous reign. His son Psammenitus ruled instead. Now Psammenitus did a cruel thing. Phanes, the runaway Egyptian, had left several sons behind him. The king had them brought out and slain before their father’s eyes, in the space between the camps.”

“There weve some brutes about in those days,” said Harry fiercely.

“Well, it profited them little,’ said Herodotus, “for the Egyptians were defeated grievously.”

“I can’t help feeling glad,” said Harry.

“I must tell thee of a curious thing I noticed when I visited the battlefield. I saw the bones of those who fell still lying on the field, and the skulls of the Persians were so weak that if you struck them even with a pebble you could break a hole in them, while those of the Egyptians were so strong that you might strike with all your force and scarce break them.”

“How strange,” cried Harry. “How does that happen?”

“The natives told me, and it seems probable enough, that the Egyptians, when quite young, have their heads shaved and exposed