The King's Talisman — page 141: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

132 THE KING@S TALISMAN. it openly. On the morrow I am to arrest the two censors on the charge of treason.” ‘<TDo you speak in good faith, Nabal?” . ‘In truth I do, sir. I bear the king’s signet for that purpose.” ‘«¢ And this treason—what is it?” «‘T know not, except that they have had the doors of the temple locked while they held converse with some one whom the king declares to have conspired against him.” ‘*Ah, Modad, Modad!” exclaimed the old man, raising his eyes to heaven, ‘“‘ how hast thou debased, how dishon- ored the mantle which thy sainted brother let fall upon thy shoulders; but surely, thy day of reckoning is at hand. Even now thy star burns dimly, and with a fitful light in the heavens, and soon it shall set to rise no more. Set, did I say? No, Modad, thy star shall not set—it shall _be swept away from the starry track, and its atoms shall be annihilated—utterly and forever!” The centurion gazed in astonishment upon the features of the dervise, to which the night-gloom gavea cast of pe- culiar solemnity, but ere he found words for either a ques- tion or an answer, Abdah Nazor continued: ‘‘ But come, good Nabal, I forgot myself. ‘Tell me with- out fear what thou hast learned respecting myself, and as sure as the one living and true God reigneth, there shall no harm come to thee for it.” , There was a strange power of assurance in the old man’s manner, and the centurion seemed to catch its influence, for without further hesitation, he replied: ‘Then, Abdah Nazor, I will tell thee what Iknow. ‘The king has been on the watch for thee, and-a short time since ~ one of his spies carried him the information that you were eutering the city by the pass. He was too late to intercept you there, and so he has sent a strong body cf men to form an ambush near the old passage of the river, for by some Eomicbooks.¢co