"It is unfair!" he moaned to me in his cabin. "I am no magician, able to bend the king's will to mine by subtle spells. Before that accursed bust is finished, Chares, you must have another go at old potbelly."
"Sir," I said, "as I've explained, the king warned me not to do that. If I defy his warning, he will have me at least tossed out of the palace on my arse."
"You will have to take that chance. I have been working on Demetrios Phalereus, but all I get from him is a request for a new formula to restore his virility. The man who can furnish him with a drug or a spell to stiffen his yard can command the wealth of Egypt. His other main concern is literature. 'How about soldiers and food and arms for beautiful Rhodes?' say I. 'Listen to my plan for a new anthology of the early lyric poets,' says he. Phy!"
When I got to my lodgings, I found Amenardis brooding. She burst out:
"You must not sit here in Alexandria, darling. You go somewhere else."
"Why?"
"Because Tis still alive. He send somebody to kill you. I know him. He kill me, too. Take me away!"
"As I've explained, I cannot. I have to wait for the Halia to sail, two months hence."
"And what about me? You think you leave me here?"
I thought hard. "How would it be if I sent you to one of the Ionian islands out of the present war zone: Kôs, say, or Samos? Then we could be reunited as soon as the war is over."
"How soon you send me?"
"About the time I sail in the Halia."
"That not much better than Alexandria. What chance has poor lone foreign woman? Somebody seize me, sell me to slavers." She began to weep noisily. "You no love me! You get me by trick! All you want is one good futtering ..."
We had another of those horrible scenes, which ended in my stamping out of the house. As I issued into the mild afternoon sunshine, I met Manethôs .
"Rejoice!" said the priest. "E! Where are you off to in such haste?"
"To the harbor, to drown myself! Life has become unbearable!"
"You will find the water unpleasantly cold at this time of year, my friend. More trouble with your true love,. I suppose?"
"Of course. I cannot live with her or without her."
"Well, nought endures forever, even life. Pray, stop sputtering like an overheated frying pan and listen. I bring an invitation to a feast in the chambers of Demetrios Phalereus, in the palace, tonight."
"I'm grateful; but I don't think I could bear human company just now."
"Be not absurd! How better to cool off after such a bout than by means of sweet wine and witty converse with congenial comrades and learned colleagues? All the intellectuals of the city will be there."
"Hm," I said. "Maybe you will persuade me, after all. But what do these fine gentlemen want with a mere artisan like me?"
"You are known for your feat in recovering the robe, and the king has praised you. Besides, your knowledge of engineering and the arts qualifies you as a man of intellect. Demetrios has invited Berosos and me, who are not even Hellenes. After all, he is the son of a slave himself, so why should he be snobbish?"
As things fell out, I already knew most of Demetrios Phalereus' guests. There were Dikaiarchos, Kasandros' roving geographer; Theodoros, the atheistical philosopher; and Apelles, the great Koan painter. As I arrived, Apelles was telling of a fantastic thing that had befallen him.
"... so, because of our ancient rivalry over this lady," he said, "I thought it wise not to obtrude upon the king. Naturally I was astonished to receive an invitation to dine at the king's table; but, also naturally, I went as commanded. None challenged me as I entered the palace, and the butler announced me to the king as if all were in order.
"The Ptolemaios looked at me with a puzzled expression and consulted with his minions. Then he confronted me, saying: 'O Apelles, tell me, pray, how you come to be here in this room.'
" 'A man from your palace called at my lodgings with an invitation this afternoon, while I was painting, sire,' I said. 'Why, is anything amiss?'
" 'Only this,' said he, 'that I never issued such an invitation. While I bear you no grudge after twenty years, me-seems that somebody has played a joke upon us. Describe the man who spoke to you.'
" 'I can best describe with a board and a piece of charcoal,' I said, and when these things had been brought, I sketched the face of my inviter.
" 'Ah!' said the king at once. 'That is Pathymias, my second palace steward. He shall rue the day he thought it were fun to play a practical joke on his king. Meanwhile, since there is plenty to eat and drink, you shall remain and tell me of your rise in the world of art.'
"After that all went smoothly, and the Ptolemaios even commissioned me to paint his portrait. 'In spite of the fact,' said he, 'that you painted that old temple robber Antigonos first.'
" 'He asked me first, sire,' I said, 'and your portrait will be all the better for this previous experience. Moreover, I hope you will do nothing drastic to Pathymias, whose jest has turned out well, at least for me.'
" 'I will neither lengthen nor shorten his neck, if that is what you fear,' said the Ptolemaios with a smile. 'I think, however, that six months of peeling onions in the kitchen will do much to season his flighty character.'"
Another guest was Philemon of Syracuse, a dramatist whom the Ptolemaios had lured from Athens to write a comedy for the opening of the new Alexandrian theater in the spring. There was also a scholar, Hekataios of Teos, who became embroiled with Manethôs in a heated argument on Egyptian history.
"I know not who gave your Herodotos his information," said the priest, "but either he or his informant got things fearfully confused. Imagine, placing the kings of the Fourth Dynasty two thousand years out of their proper time!"
The king dropped in for a short visit after dinner, to greet those whom he knew and to meet the others. He spent a while in private converse with Manethôs and then withdrew.
Demetrios Phalereus asked: "My dear Chares, how is your bust of the king coming?"
"I shall be ready to pour in a ten-day, sir."
"Good. Be warned not to prettify the king in his statue; he prefers to be shown as he is, bald spot and all." Lowering his voice, he continued: "Speaking of the effects of age, do you know any good methods of restoring youthful vigor to one's masculine parts? I've eaten bulbs, eggs, and snails until they run out my ears, to no avail. Why, but a few days ago I had to send one of the most beautiful courtesans of the city home untouched."
"I fear not, sir. But I have heard it said that faith in certain foods for this purpose is faith misplaced."
"Then what hope is there? I am even willing to try magic, which I once scorned as mere vulgar superstition."
I said: "I know no magicians, unless you count the Egyptian priest yonder. But wait ... An Egyptian of my crew, who is always talking of Egyptian wizards and their spells, might know somebody."
"Then pray send him to me."
"Gladly. And now, sir, may I ask you a candid question?"
"Surely, dear boy. What would you know?"
"As you are well aware, my captain and I have long tried to secure a commitment of more aid for Rhodes, and we have gotten nowhere. Are we wasting our time?"
Demetrios Phalereus smiled blandly. "I shouldn't say that. You are making your bust, safe for the nonce from war's alarums; and Captain Python is drilling his crew, so they should put up a mighty battle on your homecoming."
"Come now, sir, you know what I mean."
"I suppose I do. I cannot answer flatly, because I do not know myself. On one hand, we are loath to disappoint our faithful friends. On the other, our finances have been pulled and strained from many directions of late. And suppose the City of Roses fall, despite all that we can do? The Antigonos wants the Isle of the Three Cities as a base for a descent upon Egypt. Should such an invasion take place, we shall need every man and every drachma. They are a formidable pair, the crafty and ruthless old king and the daring and ingenious young one!"