The King's Talisman — page 145: what you’re looking at

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

136 THE KINGS TALISMAN. << 'T'welve, sire.” «“No—you mistake; there were but ten.” ‘©T counted twelve of your eunuchs.” “Twelve!” uttered the king, trembling with a suspicion he could not repress. ‘‘T am sure, sire—they were twelve of your Egyptians.” ‘‘ Heyptians!” gasped the monarch, as he caught Mizar by the arm, and gazed wildly into his face. ‘‘ Now, by the royal diadem, slaves, if thou speakest a le, or if for the in- stant thou triflest, thy head shall feed the eagles on the next hour. Speak! Tell me ‘twas ten Nubians whom you saw! Thine eyes deceived thee, Mizar, I know they did. Pooh, pooh! why such suspicions? T'was ten Nubians, Mizar?” «< No, sire,” Mizar returned, in careful, measured accents. ‘““T counted them, and I marked well their features, from my hiding-place, as the torch flashed upon them, and they were surely your Egyptians. Bearing them company was a youth called Noureddin, whom “i Mizar spoke no further, for at that moment the king gasped suddenly for breath—his face turned ashy pale, and he seized a marble column for support. For a full minute he stared at his servant, with eyeballs rolling wildly in their sockets—then laying his hand again upon Mizar’s arm, he said, in a tone of freezing calmness: «There were twelve Egyptians? Noureddin led them?” ‘So it was, sire—and they bore a pavilion upon four camels,” ‘* Didst see within the pavilion?” ‘“No, Me. but there burned a candle within it, for I saw its beams.” Ere the astonished monarch could recover his speech, the crimson arras was thrown hastily aside, and a courier, all covered with sweat and dust, rushed unbidden into the room. ‘“‘ How, now, sirrah?” cried Modad, starting forward and Gomicbooks (E(o)