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Thereupon she had laughed shrilly and reviled so bitterly the contemptible blind Fortune that remains most loyal to those who deserve to perish in the deepesther words to his acy had not reached her ears, and Bias, too, had just heard of it for the first time

Ledscha's object had been to relieve her troubled soul by attacks upon the man whom she hated, but she suddenly turned to the master and servant to ask if they desired to obtain their liberty

Oh, how quickly a hopeful "Yes" reached the ears of the gloomy woman! how ready both were to swear, by a solemn oath, to fulfil the conditions the Biamite desired to impose!

As soon as opportunity offered, both were to leave the Hydra with one other person who, like Bias and herself, understood how to e a boat

The favourableof the Hydra was intrusted to the Gaul, Ledscha waked the two prisoners and, with the Gaul Lutarius, Myrtilus, and the slave, entered the boat, which conveyed them to the shore without accident or interruption

Bias knew the name of the place where it had anchored, it is true, but the oath which Ledscha had made him swear there was so terrible that he would not have broken it at any cost

This oath required the slave, who, three days after their landing, was sent to Alexandria by the first ship that sailed for that port, toMyrtilus's hiding place until he was authorized to speak Bias was to go to Alexandria without delay, and there obtain froed Myrtilus's property, the suback These were for the Gaul, probably in payment for his assistance Two more were to be taken by the slave to the Temple of Nemesis Lastly, Bias was to deliver five talents to old Tabus, who kept the treasure of the pirate family on the Owl's Nest, and tell her that Ledscha, in this money, sent back the bridal dohich Hanno had paid her father for his daughter With this she released herself fros very unlike love

Hermon asked to have this coiven to the slave The blind s and news from his friend's hand was destroyed by Bias, whoht to read This was not so difficult a task for the slave, who longed for knowledge, and had already tried it before But riting, on the other hand, he could make no headway He was too old, and his hand had become too clumsy to acquire this difficult art