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"If thy father, Musawasa, will submit and make peace with Egypt, Thou wilt be free and happy." The Libyan turned his face aside, and lay down careless of everything; he seemed to be sleeping. He came to himself, in a quarter of an hour, somewhat fresher.
Let us return, for not only have we lost sight of the camp, but even sounds from there do not reach to us." Ramses looked at the priest almost contemptuously. "And dost Thou think, O prophet," said he, "that I, having once commanded the capture of Musawasa, can return empty handed because I fear heat and a tempest?" They went on without stopping.
And since the country was poor, and had no supplies to nourish visitors, a war with Egypt was decided on straightway, so as to send off the new arrivals at the earliest. Even the wise and crafty Libyan prince, Musawasa, let himself be swept away by the general current.
And when a sufficient number of hearers had assembled, they informed them that in the temple of Ptah there would be prayers and processions during three days, to the intent that the good god would bless Egyptian arms and crush Libyans; that he would send down on their leader, Musawasa, leprosy, insanity, and blindness. As the priests wished, so was it done.
All people then understood that even the terrible regiments of Libya had value only while thy hand sent them forward." "Thou speakest wisely, Musawasa," said the viceroy, "and Thou hast done still better to meet thus the army of the divine pharaoh, instead of waiting till it came to thee. But I should be glad to know how sincere thy obedience is."
"Dost Thou not think that in a moment like this we should be wiser to trust to the swiftness of our horses than to the kindness of the pharaoh's son? He must be a raging lion, which tears the skin even when stroking it, while we are like lambs snatched away from our mothers." "Do as may please thee," replied Musawasa, "Thou hast the whole desert before thee.
"Thou wilt find there endless wealth," said they, "and granaries for thyself, thy people, and the grandsons of thy grandsons." Musawasa, though a skilful diplomat and leader, let himself be caught in that way. Like a man of energy, he declared a sacred war at once, and, as he had valiant warriors in thousands, he hurried off the first corps eastward.
When Ramses came with his suite to the eminence where he was to receive the envoys of the enemy, the army raised such a shout in his honor that the cunning Musawasa was still more mortified, and whispered to the Libyan elders, "I say to you, that is the cry of an army which loves its commander." Then one of the most restless of the Libyan chiefs, a great robber, said to Musawasa,
Ramses gave command that Musawasa, Tehenna, and the foremost Libyans should go to Memphis straightway, and he gave them an escort, not so much to watch them as to safeguard their persons and the treasures which they were taking. The prince withdrew to a tent then, and did not appear again until a number of hours had passed. He was like a man to whom pain is the dearest companion.
Musawasa had made the same mistake as the supreme priestly council. He had not foreseen military genius in Ramses. And an uncommon thing happened: before the first Libyan corps had reached the neighborhood of the Soda Lakes the viceroy's army was there, and was twice as numerous as its enemies. No man could reproach the Libyans with lack of foresight.
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