unpaid debt. I should tell them that after years of wandering and misfortune, I had come back to pay my debts as fast as the gods would permit. Next I should make a home for my wife and become a citizen of whom my parents should be proud.
My debts were my enemies, but the men I owed were my friends for they had trusted me and believed in me.
I staggered weakly to my feet. What mattered hunger. What mattered thirst. They were but incidents on the road to Babylon. Within me surged the soul of a free man going back to conquer his enemies and reward his friends. I thrilled with the great resolve.
The glazed eyes of my camels brightened at the new note in my husky voice. With great effort, after many attempts, they gained their feet. With pitiful perseverance, they pushed on toward the north where something within me said we would find Babylon.
We found water. We passed into a more fertile country where were grass and fruit. We found the trail to Babylon, because the soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to be solved and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines, ‘What can I do who am but a slave?’
“How about thee, Tarkad? Dost thy empty stomach make thy head exceedingly clear? Art ready to take the road that leads back to Babylon?”
Moisture came to the eyes of the youth. He rose eagerly to his knees. “Thou hast shown me a vision; already I feel the soul of a free man surge within me.”
“But what did you upon your return?” queried a listener. “Tell us how you repaid your debts.”
—46—
