He could not descend by the date palm's trunk, for that was too far
from the roof to be reached by him. The palm's straight trunk shot
up twenty cubits above the roof's level, and, after the manner of
the date palm's growth, bore no branches, such as the doum palm has.
"How did Pentaur climb?" thought Timokles.
The lad passed to the other edge, where the merchant had
disappeared. Here, a little lower as yet than the roof, he found a
group of young doum palms, the branching stems of which variety of
trees he had noticed here and there in forest-like clumps throughout
the oasis. Timokles found no difficulty in descending with the doum
palms' help, and he reflected that perhaps food for the leopard was
often brought up this way, and thrown to the creature through the
roof's holes. No one had come to-day with food, because the
Christian had been sent to keep the leopard company!
The village, some distance away, was quiet. Scarcely had he gone a
score of steps before he saw a star reflected in a spring at his
feet. Timokles dropped upon his knees, and with thankfulness drank
of the refreshing water. How he had longed for some, as he had lain
on the roof under the parching sun this day! He bathed his scratched
arm, which had ceased to bleed but still felt very sore.
Carefully Timokles crept over the fallen remnants of the old
building.
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