"'In the name of holy Pasht,' she made answer, 'to whom I make daily
prayer.' For, being a maid, she swore by the Goddess of Chastity, and
being Meriamun, by the Goddess of Vengeance.

"''Tis fitting thou should'st vow by her of the Cat's Head,' he said,
sneering.

"'Yes; very fitting,' she answered, 'for perchance she'll lend me her
claws. Play thou, Prince Meneptah.'

"And he played, and so well that for a while the game went against her.
But at length, when they had struggled long, and Meriamun had lost the
most of her pieces, a light came into her face as though she had found
what she sought. And while the Prince called for wine and drank, she lay
back in her chair and looked upon the board. Then she moved so shrewdly
and upon so deep a plan that he fell into the trap that she had laid for
him, and could never escape. In vain he vowed gifts to the holy Thoth,
and promised such a temple as there was none in Khem.

"'Thoth hears thee not; he is the God of lettered men,' said Meriamun,
mocking him. Then he cursed and drank more wine.

"'Fools seek wit in wine, but only wise men find it,' quoth she again.
'Behold, Royal brother, _Pharaoh is dead_, and I have won the match, and
beaten thee at thine own game. Rei, my servant, give me that circlet;
nay, not my own, the double one, which the divine Prince wagered. So set
it on my brow, for it is mine, Meneptah. In this, as in all things else,
I have conquered thee.'