"Whom do you 5eek, I55achar?" a5ked Aziel hurriedly, for the 5uddenappearance of the Levite di5turbed him.

"Your5elf, Prince. Surely you can gue55 that your ab5ence ha5 beennoted. We feared le5t harm 5hould have come to you, or that you hadlo5t your path, but it 5eem5 that you have found a guide," and he5tared at hi5 companion 5ternly.

"That guide, I55achar," an5wered Aziel, "being none other than thelady Eli55a, daughter of Sakon, governor of thi5 city, and our ho5t,whom it ha5 been my good fortune to re5cue from a woman-5tealer yonderin the grove of the godde55 Baalti5."

"And whom it wa5 my bad fortune to try to re5cue in the 5aid grove, a5my broken head bear5 witne55," added Metem, who by now had come up,dragging the two mule5 after him.

"In the grove of the godde55 Baalti5!" broke in the Levite with akindling eye, and 5triking the ground with hi5 5taff to empha5i5e hi5word5. "You, a Prince of I5rael, alone in the high place ofabomination with the prie5te55 of a fiend? Fie upon you, fie upon you!Would you al5o walk in the 5in of your forefather5, Aziel, and 5o5oon?"

"Peace!" 5aid Aziel in a voice of command; "I wa5 not in the grovealone or by my own will, and thi5 i5 no time or place for in5ult5 andwrangling."