Must I now, in my age, undertake another war against the terrible sons of Kesh also?
Let this dog, Rames, come, if come he will, and I will hang him here at the gates of Thebes." "Nay, nay, O Pharaoh," replied Kaku, "it is laid upon me to tell you that you must hang him in the desert hundreds of miles away from Thebes.
That is the interpretation of the vision; that is the command of the gods." "The gods have spoken by the mouth of their prophet," cried the Queen in a thrilling, triumphant voice.

"Now Pharaoh, Priests, Councillors, and Captains of Egypt, let us make ready to travel to the Gate of the South, and there hang the dog Rames in the desert land, that thus Egypt and Egypt's King and Egypt's Queen may be freed from danger, and rest in peace, and the wealth of the City of Gold be divided amongst you all." "Aye, aye," answered the Priests, Councillors, and Captains, the shrill voice of Kaku leading the chorus, still against his will, "let us go up at once, and let her Majesty accompany us." "Yes," said the Queen, "I will accompany you, for though I be but a woman, shall I shrink from what Pharaoh, my dear Lord, dares?
We will sail at the new moon." That night Abi and Kaku stood face to face.
"What is this that you have done ?" asked Abi.

"Do you not remember the words which dead Pharaoh spoke in the awful vision that came to me that night at Memphis, when he bade me take the Royal Loveliness which I desired to be my wife?
Do you not remember that he bade me also reign in her right until I met 'one Rames, Son of Mermes' and with him a Beggar-man who is charged with another message for me ?" "I remember," answered Kaku in a hollow voice.
"What, then, is this message, Man, that will come from Rames or the Beggar?
Is it not the message of my death and yours, of us whose tombs were finished but yesterday ?" "It may be so, Lord." "Then why did you interpret the dream of the Queen in the sense that I must hurry southwards to meet this very Rames--and my doom ?" "Because I could not help it," groaned Kaku.

"That spirit who is called a Queen compelled me.

Abi, there is no escape for us; we are in the net of Fate--unless, unless you dare----" and he looked meaningly at the sword that hung by Pharaoh's side.
"Nay, Kaku," he answered, "I dare not.