By Way of the Wilderness Read Free

might have been better for him if he had not been quite so accomplished. He would not be such a threat to them if he were stupid.”
    â€œIt’s a little late for Moses to become stupid, Father.”
    â€œI agree. But I must warn you that the opposition from the priesthood is growing stronger. He does not reverence the gods properly, or so they say. You must have noticed it yourself.”
    Kali hesitated. Indeed she had noticed that Moses was not overly religious. She had cautioned him on this already, but now she studied her father, wondering if his message meant more than it appeared to. “Do you think he is in danger?”
    â€œYes, I do, and I have come to tell you that you must help him join himself to our people and our ways.”
    â€œI have tried, but he is a stubborn man,” Kali said. “He is a strange mixture of sweetness and stubbornness. He will do anything for me except what I ask him to do!” She laughed. “Maybe all strong men are like that. You’re like that yourself, Father.”
    Pharaoh Seti laughed too and stood to his feet. He came over and put his arm around Kali and said, “You must teach him, daughter.”
    â€œTeach him what?”
    â€œTeach him to at least go through the motions of religion. It may mean the difference between life and death.”
    â€œYes. I will try. And I’m grateful to you for giving me this counsel.”
    Pharaoh kissed her on the cheek and shook his head. “Sweet and stubborn. Try to talk him out of the stubbornness. He needs to be sweet if he’s going to pacify those priests of mine.”
    ****
    Amram’s family had gathered, along with many others of the slaves. It was one of the rare occasions when the slaves were granted time off from the brickyard, in this case to help celebrate a victory. The Egyptian army was coming back from a conquest, and the overseers had been commanded to line up the slaves along the road down which the conqueror and his troops would come.
    In this case the conqueror was none other than Moses, Prince of Egypt. Amram and his family had not spoken to Moses since he had been taken away from them. As soon as he was weaned, the princess had sent for him to be schooled in the palace, where he was thoroughly trained to be a soldier and a scientist, as well as to learn the difficult art of writing.
    Amram and Jochebed had grown old, but their children, Miriam and Aaron, were now fine-looking adults. As the family stood along the parade route, Miriam cried out, “Look, they’re coming.”
    Every eye went to the procession that began to pass. First came the infantry, their spears glinting in the bright noon sunshine. Hardened by warfare and training, they were strong men, their faces burned by the sun.
    Next came the archers, with their bows and quivers on their backs. More soldiers followed in a seemingly endless procession until finally a cry went up, “There he is! Moses the prince!”
    Miriam fixed her eyes on the approaching chariot and stepped out in front of the crowd. The movement caught the eye of the tall, powerful man who stood in the chariot beside the driver. Moses wore the uniform of a general, and the sunlight made his golden armor flash. Their eyes met, and she saw Moses draw back his head in a strange motion, almost that of recognition. She had seen him before, but it was always from a distance. Every time Moses appeared in public, Miriam made it a point to be there and be seen by him, so she knew he must remember her face by now.
    Moses turned his head as the chariot passed, keeping his eye on Miriam, and then he suddenly snapped around, shaking his head as if to clear it.
    â€œHe recognized you, Miriam,” Aaron whispered. “All the years of putting yourself before him have paid off.”
    â€œYes, I saw him look at you, daughter,” Amram said.
    They watched the procession sadly as lines of captives shuffled past in shackles—more