Soldier of Sidon Read Free Page A

second healer entered. He greeted the first politely and took a stool.
    "This foreign man forgets everything," the first healer explained. "His friend the ship-master has brought him to me. The disorder is of long standing."
    Ra'hotep nodded, not looking at the first healer but very intently at me. He is shorter than Muslak, and perhaps twenty years older.
    Muslak said, "Lewqys is a mercenary. He owns a farm in his own country. His relatives work it for him while he is away."
    Ra'hotep nodded again in the manner of one who had reached a decision. "Was he like this when you met him for the first time?"
    Muslak shook his head.
    "Tell me of your first meeting."
    "We were upriver. We'd sold our cargo and were looking for something else--papyrus at a good price, cotton cloth, or whatever. He had found out that the satrap had sent troops to the Great King, not his own troops from Parsa, but Nubians and your people. He had a hundred men and tried to get the satrap to hire them too. He wouldn't--he'd already sent the Great King what he'd asked for. I told Lewqys he'd have no trouble in Byblos--that's my own city. They'd be snapped up there, and good money. He said he'd go, but he didn't have enough to hire my ship. He'd have to march overland."
    "And did you, Latro?"
    He was clearly speaking to me. I asked if that was also my name.
    "It's the name I was given by your comrades when I saw you with the Great King's army. It took me a moment to recall it, but I'm sure that was it. Did you march overland? It's difficult."
    "I don't know."
    "You clearly reached this man's country in some fashion. When I treated you, it was said you were one of Sidon's soldiers." Ra'hotep turned to the first healer. "He is somewhat improved, but not greatly. Have you anything to suggest?"
    They spoke of herbs and potions for some while. I could not write all of it here if I wished to. Ra'hotep said that he had tried to drive out a xu and thought there was none. The first healer tried, but achieved nothing. He gave me medicine to take each day.
    This is important. Set is master of the bad xu. He is the god of the South. There is a temple far to the south where a successful appeal to him might be made. Muslak says he does not know it.
    He paid the first healer. Ra'hotep gave me this scroll, some reed pens, and a cake of ink; but he would take nothing, saying he had been of no help. I offered him my sword, saying truly that I had nothing else. He said I was the soldier, not he. He would not take it. I must talk with him further whenever the opportunity arises, and make him a gift when I can.
    Muslak and I walked back to our ship. Muslak said we would go to the temple of Hathor tonight, as we did. "She's a helpful goddess," he told me, "and she may be able to help you. We're right here, and what's the use of not trying?"
    I said, "None, of course."
    "Right. Besides, I want to hire a singing girl, and that's where you get them."
    I asked whether he meant to give a dinner for someone.
    He laughed. "I want a wife for the voyage upriver. Now you're going to say I wouldn't take your wife when she wanted to go with you."
    I said I recalled his telling the physician about it.
    "It was the truth. It's one thing to take a singing girl upriver, something else to take a decent woman across the Great Sea. If one of my crew gets to my singing girl, it won't matter much. I'll punish him and that will be that. Besides, we won't sleep on the ship. I'll have her on shore in a room to myself."
    Merchants were waiting to view the hides in our hold, portly, serious men with many rings and oiled skin. At Muslak's order, sailors carried up three and four hides ofeach kind. They were of fine quality. The merchants went down into the hold, chose others, and carried them up to view in the sunlight, which was then so bright as to be almost blinding. I helped, and these hides too were fine. Several made offers which merely amused Muslak.
    He explained to them that he can get much a better