Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/75

 chap; I daresay he thought of himself when he heard Psammenitus’ answer.”

“It was a case much like his. Thou rememberest Cyrus spared his life at the last moment, when the funeral pyre was lighted? Well, Cambyses was so touched at Psammenitus’ words that he declared his son should not die. The messengers were too late, however. The youth had already been killed.”

“What hard luck!” cried Harry sorrowfully.

“Yes, in truth,” replied Herodotus. “But, at any rate, Psammenitus himself was brought to the Court, and could have enjoyed a happier life than he expected, only he fell to plotting against Cambyses, and was accordingly put to death.”

“That was stupid of him,” observed Harry. “If I had been he I should have made the best of a bad job. Well, and what happened next, Herodotus?”

“After his conquest of Egypt, Cambyses turned his attention to the Ethiopians, who lived far south, and were noted for their wonderful strength and height and beauty. But Cambyses was wily. He did not wage open war, but sent spies to find out the strength and ways of the Ethiopians.”

“What an old fox,’ said Harry. ‘And what happened?”

“Well, he sent these spies, who were taken from the Ichthyophagi, or fish eaters (a people who dwelt on what thou callest the Arabian Gulf). These Ichthyophagi knew the Ethiopian tongue, so they brought rich presents to the king—a purple robe, a gold chain for the neck, armlets, an alabaster box of myrrh, and a cask of palm wine—and declared that Cambyses wished to be their ally and friend.

“But the Ethiopian king knew better, and he said: ‘It is not true. Ye are sent as a spy by your king, who is an unjust king, for he made war on a land which was not his, and on a people which had never harmed him.’”

“He seems to have been a decent sort,” remarked Harry, who always had to put in his word.

“Then the king continued: ‘Tell your master, when he can bend the bow which I shall send him, then let him make war on the long- lived Ethiops. Until then let him thank the gods that it is not in the minds of the Ethiopians to desire lands which are not theirs.’

“Then he unstrung the bow and handed it to the messengers.”