perished in the waste; but his life was strong within him, because
it was more than man's.

Then he cried to Athene, and said -

'Oh, fair and pure, if thou hearest me, wilt thou leave me here to
die of drought? I have brought thee the Gorgon's head at thy
bidding, and hitherto thou hast prospered my journey; dost thou
desert me at the last? Else why will not these immortal sandals
prevail, even against the desert storms? Shall I never see my
mother more, and the blue ripple round Seriphos, and the sunny
hills of Hellas?'

So he prayed; and after he had prayed there was a great silence.

The heaven was still above his head, and the sand was still beneath
his feet; and Perseus looked up, but there was nothing but the
blinding sun in the blinding blue; and round him, but there was
nothing but the blinding sand.

And Perseus stood still a while, and waited, and said, 'Surely I am
not here without the will of the Immortals, for Athene will not
lie. Were not these sandals to lead me in the right road? Then
the road in which I have tried to go must be a wrong road.'

Then suddenly his ears were opened, and he heard the sound of
running water.

And at that his heart was lifted up, though he scarcely dare
believe his ears; and weary as he was, he hurried forward, though