50
The Courtesan
head and saw a man, one of the poor Egyptians, standing near her.
Two days before, she would have welcomed one of these men who sometimes entered the wood, paying a few oboli for the favors of the poor courtesans. But, this night, she felt that her life was over; she felt that she was going to die. The thought of love sickened her.
She shook her head wearily and dropped it once more upon her arms. But the man, with a rough laugh, bent down and clasped her. She struggled weakly for a moment, but had no strength. Her subdued cry awoke the echo of a laugh among the trees . . .
***
Awkwardly, the man thrust three coppers into her hand, and shambled away into the darkness.
