saw before him the face of that dreadful woman, with the vipers
writhing round her head.

So he returned home; and when he came to Seriphos, the first thing
which he heard was that his mother was a slave in the house of
Polydectes.

Grinding his teeth with rage, he went out, and away to the king's
palace, and through the men's rooms, and the women's rooms, and so
through all the house (for no one dared stop him, so terrible and
fair was he), till he found his mother sitting on the floor,
turning the stone hand-mill, and weeping as she turned it. And he
lifted her up, and kissed her, and bade her follow him forth. But
before they could pass out of the room Polydectes came in, raging.
And when Perseus saw him, he flew upon him as the mastiff flies on
the boar. 'Villain and tyrant!' he cried; 'is this your respect
for the Gods, and thy mercy to strangers and widows? You shall
die!' And because he had no sword he caught up the stone hand-
mill, and lifted it to dash out Polydectes' brains.

But his mother clung to him, shrieking, 'Oh, my son, we are
strangers and helpless in the land; and if you kill the king, all
the people will fall on us, and we shall both die.'

Good Dictys, too, who had come in, entreated him. 'Remember that
he is my brother. Remember how I have brought you up, and trained
you as my own son, and spare him for my sake.'

Then Perseus lowered his hand; and Polydectes, who had been
trembling all this while like a coward, because he knew that he was