CHAPTER XXVII
THE HEIR INTERVENES
At Tanis, the next day after the arrival of Meneptah, there came a
messenger from Thebes to Hotep, and the royal scribe retired to his
apartments to read the letter.
And after he had read he was glad that he had secluded himself, for his
demonstrations of relief at the news the message imparted were most
extravagant and unrestrained. For the moment he permitted no reminder
of Kenkenes' present plight to subdue his joy in the realization that
his friend was not dead.
Having exulted, he read the letter again, and then he summoned all his
shrewdness to his aid.
He would wait till the confusion of the court's settling itself had
subsided before he presented the petition to Meneptah. Furthermore, he
would relieve his underlings and write the king's communications with
his own hand till he knew that the reply to Kenkenes had been sent.
Har-hat should be watched vigilantly.
But order and routine were not restored in the palace of Meneptah. The
unrest that precedes a national crisis had developed into irritability
and pugnacity.
Tanis was within hearing of the plaints of Israel, and the atmosphere
quivered with omen and portent. Moses appeared in this place and that,
each time nearer the temporary capital, and wherever he came he left
rejoicing or shuddering behind him.
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