That there was peril in such a step he was well aware.

Not merely could Artemisia, if recaptured, receive any form whatsoever of brutal punishment, but he, as the abettor of her flight, would be liable to a heavy penalty.

Slave property was necessarily very precarious property, and to aid a slave to escape was an extremely heinous crime.

"So many slaves, so many enemies," ran the harsh maxim; and it was almost treason to society for a freedman to aid a servant to run away.
But Agias had no time to count the cost, no time to evolve a plan of escape that admitted no form of disaster.

Artemisia besought him not to leave her for a moment, and accordingly he remained by her, laughing, poking fun, and making reckless gibes at her fears.
Sesostris went about his simple household duties with a long face, and now and then a tear trickled down his cheek.