PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT
Prince Hur, son of Azemilcus, sat in his house, which opened from the
courtyard of the palace. In figure he was undersized, like his father,
with a delicate face and thin white hands, on one of which glittered a
great ruby. Instead of the mocking smile that the king was accustomed
to wear, his expression was grave and serious.
With him were Esmun, chief priest of Baal-Moloch, on whose fat
countenance, with its pendulous jowls, sloth struggled with greed, and
Ariston, the Athenian. Ariston's thin form was thinner and his face
more worn than on the day when he watched his nephew, Clearchus, ride
out of Athens, leaving him guardian of his fortune. He had made free
use of this wealth, as he had planned, to save the remnants of his own;
but mischance had continued to follow him in everything he attempted.
So heavy were his losses that he rejoiced when he learned that
Clearchus had been sent to Babylon a prisoner. The young man's return
to the army filled him with despair. Involved as he was, only one hope
remained. He would dispose of his great dye-works in Tyre, and the
proceeds of the sale would enable him to make a last attempt to save
himself. While he was in Tyre, he also would collect the loan that he
had been forced to make to Phradates, and that the Ph[oe]nician had
never repaid. If this plan failed, he would have to choose between
death and the punishment that would be visited upon the betrayal of his
trust. Therefore he had come to Tyre, and there, by a final stroke of
misfortune, he had been imprisoned by the siege.
"I fear there is not much hope for us," Prince Hur said. "Even though
we succeed in beating off these attacks, as we did to-day, sooner or
later we shall starve."
"Hast thou, too, lost faith in the power of Baal?" Esmun asked, in a
tone of reproof.
"I believe in him as much as you do yourself," the prince said.
"I may have deserved that reproach," the priest replied sadly. "To my
shame, I confess it; but if I have allowed the name of Baal to be
lightly spoken in my presence, it was not because I did not believe. I
thought that he was able to defend himself, as indeed he is. I say to
you now that I know his power. It has been shown over and over again.
If it should please him to save Tyre in her extremity, he will do it.
We shall know after the sacrifice."
"There will be no sacrifice," the prince said quietly.
Esmun stared at him open-mouthed, and Ariston started sharply. The
Athenian was the first to recover himself.
"What does your Highness mean?" he asked. "Doubtless you speak in
jest."
"I sent for you because I am in need of your advice," the prince
continued gravely. "You are both men of the world and fitted to aid me
with your counsel; but what I am about to tell you must not be
repeated, even to yourselves. Do you swear to keep the secret, no
matter what my decision may be?"
"We swear it," Ariston replied.
"And you?" the prince said to Esmun.
"By the head of Baal!" the priest declared.
"Azemilcus has resolved to deliver the city," the prince said, bending
forward and speaking in a tone scarcely above a whisper.
For an instant both his hearers were silent. Ariston comprehended in a
flash that surrender would mean his ruin, since it would involve the
loss of his property. Esmun was too astonished to think.
"What will the king receive in return?" the Athenian inquired.
"His life," Hur replied. "He knows well that the city must be
destroyed, and that his people will be sold into slavery."
Esmun groaned. He saw himself torn from his life of ease,
Baal-Moloch's temple in ruins, and nothing left for him but years of
servitude.
"How will the surrender be made?" Ariston asked.
"The king will order the fleets out of both harbors," the prince
explained. "They will be destroyed, and care will be taken to leave
the harbor entrances unguarded."
"Does Alexander know this?" Esmun demanded.
"Not yet," said the prince. "I am to go to him to-night with the
chancellor to make him the offer."
"Then you have consented to it?" the priest said.
"I was not asked to consent," the prince replied bitterly. "You know
that the king is not in the habit of consulting me."
"Yet he proposes to take your inheritance from you!" Esmun exclaimed.
"If Baal intervenes, the city will be saved and you will be its king."
"Does the council know?" Ariston asked.
"It does not," Hur replied.
"There is only one course open to you," Esmun declared, roused as he
had not been since the long struggle that ended in raising him above
his rivals and placing him in a position that gave him almost as much
power as the king himself. "Go with the chancellor, since to refuse
now would arouse suspicion. Get proof of the king's treachery and lay
it at once before the council and the generals. Azemilcus will be
dealt with according to their will, and you will be made king in his
stead. That you may leave to me if you can obtain the proof; but it
must be strong."
"There would be no difficulty concerning the proof," the prince said
doubtfully. "We are to bring Macedonians back with us to act as a
guard for the king. They will be concealed in the palace so that they
will be able to insure his safety when the city falls. Their presence
will be proof enough."
"Would it not be better to lay the whole affair before the council
now?" Ariston suggested.
"No," said Esmun decisively. "The king would deny everything. He
would accuse Hur of seeking his throne, and he would be believed. We
must have the proof."
"I do not like to raise my hand against my father," Hur said
hesitatingly.
"Tyre is in danger," Esmun said solemnly. "It is your duty to save her
if you can, and this duty comes before any tie of blood. It is I,
chief servant of Baal, who tell you this."
"I shall not shrink," the prince responded, with sudden decision.
The sun was setting before the three completed the details of their
plan. When Ariston left the prince, he was so wrapped in thought that
he did not recognize the brutal face of Syphax, who passed him with
three or four others of his own kind.
"Do you see that man?" the broken freebooter exclaimed, directing the
attention of his companions to the retreating form. "I have a
settlement to make with him. It was he who scattered my crew and
brought me to what I am. I have sought him far, and now the Fates have
given him to me. He shall pay the reckoning!"