JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN
Heru [To Simeon] Come now, shall we not barter? Here is gold
Simeon. My lord is merry. Because we are very poor my lord would tempt us
Heru. Here, then! Double.
Levi. [Anxiously—to Simeon] Simeon—!
Simeon [Angrily] Let me be!—Ho, brothers! Cover these wares from my lord's sight, lest he do us a wrong.
Heru. Here, then. Thrice the first offer.
Simeon. It is easy to see my lord is a stranger. [He catches the sight of Zuleika, who has moved the curtain of her basourah a very little and is peeping out] These spices alone—[He takes a handful and throws it into the air] mark how they scent the air!—This cloth of gold—see how it glitters!—Nay, one of these gems—how many lives were lost to win it!—It is worth twice what my lord offers for all. And I say nought of our dear brother's memory. Cover them! Cover them quickly.
Heru [Furious] Now, may a plague be upon you all. Keep your trumpery!
Levi. Lost! Lost!
Simeon [Watching the basourah] Silence!
Zuleika's Voice. Heru-Netch-Tef!
Heru [With his hands uplifted; the attitude of worship] Thy slave hears.
Zuleika's Voice. Buy all their wares at their own price.
28
