"neighbor, dost think it is safe for us to come down? verily, for myself, i shall take the risk, if risk there be, for my limbs are as stiff as those of yonder dead man."
by way of answer, the other man shook a warning finger at the speaker, and proceeded to clamber up still further into the branches of the tree in which these two spectators of the stirring scene which had just transpired were hidden. "wait a little," he whispered, "till i shall make sure that the fellows have gone. by the thunderbolts of jove!" he exclaimed with a laugh, as he presently descended to a level with his companion, "that was a greater sight than the stoning which we came out to see; i would not have missed it--no, not for ten shekels of silver!"
"have they gone?" said the first querulously. "i tell thee that my limbs have lost all feeling, so long have i sat here without moving."
"thou mayest thank the gods that thou art alive to complain, friend. but come down, come down; there is naught to hurt thee now, and we must look to these dead men."
"who were the rescuers, thinkest thou?"
"nay, i know not. there were thirteen of them, for i counted; verily, i believe that the multitude thought them the twelve apostles headed by the nazarene himself." and the speaker threw back his head and laughed again.
"nay, there were fourteen," said the other, with an obstinate shake of the head. "i also counted, and i never make a mistake. they were wild men out of the desert, i opine," he added sagely. "i have seen the like many times when crossing to egypt, for i have traveled in my day." then he looked anxiously about him. "there is no one dead here save the man yonder," he said, "and he was smitten at the first. we had best make haste and return to the city; this affair is nothing to us."
"hold, dost thou not see a body yonder in the shadow of the bush? by the rod of moses, i think i saw him move; let us look to it."
"we had best leave the whole matter alone, i tell thee," insisted his companion with irritation. "thanks be to jehovah, i have had nothing to do with it so far--save to look on; and i tell thee that i will not lay a finger to yonder body, be it dead or alive. come, i am going to the city." and without stopping for further parley, the speaker began to run toward the city gate, apparently not hearing the loud cries to stop which his companion sent after him.
"coward!" muttered the one who was left; then he walked over to the body, which lay face downward in the shadow of the bushes, and deliberately turned it over, starting back with a cry of surprise as the identity of the unconscious man became apparent.
"'tis saul of tarsus! so the wolf is himself bitten for once; but not unto death, i am thinking." he sprinkled the face of the wounded man with water, and forced a little wine between his clenched teeth. "only a bruise," he continued reflectively, as he examined the body with care. "i suspect that the nazarenes would thank me should i thrust him through as he lies. he is a hard man--a hard man. yet that is nothing to me. ha! he is reviving already. another sip of the wine, friend; thou hadst a sharp blow, and it hath confused thy senses somewhat; but thou wilt shortly----"
"did the blasphemers escape me?" said saul in a hollow voice, sitting up and looking about him. then his eye fell upon the four empty posts which had been set up for the scourging, and he groaned aloud.
"be thankful rather that thou hast thyself escaped with so slight an injury," said the man who still stood at his side, flask in hand. "another sup of----"
"hold thy peace, fellow," said saul savagely, springing to his feet. "the cowardly knaves!--to flee from their duty before a dozen peasants,--where are they? which way did they go?" and he fixed his angry eyes on his rescuer, who was calmly girding himself.
"thou hast bidden me hold my peace, pharisee; and i am not the man to be bidden twice. farewell, and a good recovery to thee." and the man turned resolutely away.
"stay, friend. i should not have spoken thus to one who had done me a kindness," said saul. "grant me thy pardon, and tell me, i beseech thee, what thou canst of this affair--if thou wast witness to it. god knows that it was untimely; another hour might have seen four penitent ones restored to the fold of israel."
"thinkest thou so, pharisee?" said the other carelessly. "now for myself i think otherwise. another hour would have seen four corpses yonder, where now we see but one. the affair was timely enough for the nazarenes."
"thy name, man?"
"my name, pharisee, is festus; i am a free-born roman, resident of jerusalem yonder for a score of years back, but answerable to no man for my beliefs or practices. if it pleaseth me to believe on a crucified man instead of on jove or jehovah, thou canst neither scourge nor stone me for it. and now, most courteous rabbi, let me advise thee to return with all haste into jerusalem, and in future to moderate thy zeal, lest thou come to an untimely end." with which bit of advice, received by saul in contemptuous silence, the man strode away toward jerusalem.
left to himself the baffled pharisee examined the ground carefully, pausing at length to question several peasants who had left their work in the neighboring fields to gather at the scene of the disaster.
"didst thou see which way the knaves fled?" he asked of one.
the man looked at him stupidly. "they be fled along the road yonder," he said, pointing with his finger to the highway.
"which way, north or south?"
"they went that way, master," said the peasant, pointing toward the north, which was indeed the opposite direction from that which ben hesed and his company had taken.
"he asked me which way the knaves were fled," said the man to his companions, as they stood staring after the departing figure of saul. "assuredly the knaves who came out to look upon the death of the just went that way, since it took them back to jerusalem. as for the nazarenes and those that saved them this day, god be with them, i did not look to see which way they fled. jehovah grant them a swift journey and a safe abiding-place from the hand of that pestilent pharisee."
"thou hast spoken!" cried the others with an air of enjoyment, after which they went peacefully back to their labors.
in the meantime saul was hastening back to jerusalem with rage in his heart; bruised, baffled, humiliated as he was, he lost no time in seeking annas that he might acquaint him with the untoward occurrence of the morning.
"i will pursue them," he said, "even unto strange cities. within this hour will i set forth."
annas looked thoughtful. "thou sayest," he said, "that they be fled towards the north. it hath come to my ears of late that there be many of these accursed apostates who have taken refuge in damascus. so that there is now a goodly company of them dwelling in fancied security in that city, waxing fat and flourishing, as doth this pestilent weed of evil wherever it taketh root. the men who have this day interfered with the just sentence of the law, have doubtless accomplished the mischief through the connivance of some person who hath played traitor to the cause, and are now fled to damascus, thinking to find there a refuge from the wrath of israel."
"who is the traitor?"
annas hesitated for an instant. "there be foes among them of a man's own household in these days," he said in a half whisper. "caiaphas hath disappeared, i know not whither; but i fear--i fear."
"damascus is under aretas, emir of petra, now," said saul after a pause. "with him thy house hath friendly relations. give me therefore letters that i may carry fire and the sword into the camp of jehovah's enemies. i will not let so much as one of them escape me," and he ground his teeth savagely. "i will fetch them chained to jerusalem, that they may perish in sight of the walls which they have dishonored."
"thou hast spoken wisely and well, my son. i will procure the letters for thee at once, so that thou mayest start without delay. as for matters in this city, there shall be no sparing of pains nor effort to carry on to its completion the good work which we have begun. jehovah hath prospered us mightily so far. we hear of no more blasphemous gatherings in solomon's porch; no more preaching of a false messiah in the synagogues; no more healing of vile beggars in the name of the accursed one; no further prating about apostles or disciples. men walk soberly in these days as they have not since the days of the malefactor. let us continue in this good cause, my son, and we shall have triumphed gloriously. this disgraceful heresy, which is even as a spot of foul leprosy on the fair body of israel, shall be utterly purged away. then indeed may we hope once more for the coming of the anointed one."
the eyes of the young man flashed fire. "amen and amen!" he cried. "may jehovah hasten the day!" but his brow was gloomy and forbidding as ever, when an hour later he had finished the visitation of the prisons wherein groaned many that believed.
"neither scourgings, threatenings, revilings, nor torture of any degree hath the power to move these nazarenes," declared the chief-jailers; "and the women yield no whit easier than the men."
"a spot of leprosy indeed," muttered saul to himself, "it hath by stealth crept into the very life-blood of the nation; and how hardly shall the deadly leprosy be cleansed."
another hour and he was in the saddle pressing forward with all haste towards damascus, for he hoped to overtake the fugitives before night. with him traveled a well-armed escort of tried and experienced men, to whom had been promised large rewards should the mission be successful. the journey to damascus was a long one, the roads were rough and ill-made moreover, so that progress was necessarily slow. hasten as he might, saul could not hope to reach damascus before the better part of a week. as for them that had escaped, it was impossible for him to decide whether or not they were still before him. now and again he heard from the khans along his route, of a troop of horsemen with whom were traveling also women, but when on the third day he actually overtook such a company of wayfarers it turned out to be merely a caravan of wine merchants, traveling with their wives and little ones.
"i will at all events press on to damascus," he decided, "for even should i not immediately lay hand upon the ones i seek, there are in that city other lost sheep of the house of israel which i must needs bring back into the fold."
on this journey for the first time in many months saul found time to think. habitually taciturn and forbidding, his subordinates did not venture to address the haughty pharisee save when it became necessary; so for long hours the man sat silent, while his beast picked its slow and difficult way along the rocky roads.
strangely enough his thoughts wandered again and again from the object of his journey; in these vernal solitudes the wily words of annas faded from his mind. something in the pure-eyed flowers that leaned in shy welcome from the roadside grass put him in mind of stephen, the dead apostate, as he bitterly termed him. before his mental vision there arose again that never-to-be-forgotten face; now radiant with the fire of youth and enthusiasm, as he remembered it in many a heated debate over law and prophecy; now stern and unrelenting as he pronounced the terrible arraignment which yet echoed in the ears of the pharisee: "ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears; ye do always resist the holy ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye. which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before the coming of the just one; of whom ye have now become the betrayers and murderers!" then pallid beneath the icy shadow of approaching death, yet shining with a mysterious glory as he cried out, "behold, i see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of power." and yet again, touched with the mystic seal of the great deliverer as he had lain "asleep" on the stony ground beyond the damascus gate.
in vain did he endeavor to shake off these haunting visions, resolutely repeating aloud commands, prohibitions and long passages of the law, rigorously observing the ceremonial washings and cleansings whenever the company halted beside a running stream. all was in vain, "ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not!" sounded the inexorable voice. and with and through it, mingled the wail of women bereft of their little ones, the groanings of strong men beneath the scourge, the sullen clang of prison doors, and the clank of chains.
on the fifth night of his journey the agony became so intolerable that he left his tent and wandered out beneath the open heavens. "my god!" he groaned aloud, "have i not kept thy law, and loved thy statutes? yet have i no peace: my days are consumed with anguish. surely thou hast hated iniquity and thou hast loved righteousness; behold now i have done all these things that thy name might be exalted before the people, that blasphemy and deceit might cease from out the land." and he vowed a great sacrifice before the lord of fat sheep and oxen. but again came the haunting voice, "o ye house of israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices for the space of forty years. but behold, i will carry you away beyond babylon--who have received the law ordained of angels and have kept it not."
"i have kept the law!" he cried aloud, and the hills replied in melancholy echoes, "the law--the law."
then there crowded into his thought the faces of the four who had escaped out of his hand, and he remembered the look in the eyes of the maiden as she said, "i believe that he was put to death upon the cross that he might draw all men unto him and heal them from their sins, even as moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness that the stricken israelites might look and be saved," and with these words there mingled the solemn voices of prophecy, "surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of god, and afflicted. but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all."
"god, if it be true," he murmured; and for a moment the soft radiance of that ever brooding presence of love had well nigh penetrated his dark soul, then he lifted his head stubbornly. "i cannot believe," he cried. "i will not believe.--shall i, a pharisee of the pharisees, accept a messiah who hath died the accursed death? i am mad. i will not believe--unless i too can see the heavens opened."
he laughed aloud as he spoke the words, and the sound of his laughter fled away through the silent night to the dark hills which caught it and tossed it back upon him in mocking echoes.
on the morrow they journeyed in the plains of anti-libanus, a vast arid burning desert, wherein was neither water nor verdure, and the men and the beasts were parched by reason of the great heat. certain ones of the company therefore besought saul that they might tarry by the way. "let us rest till the heat of the day be past," they said, "then shall we with ease reach the village of kaukab; there will we abide till morning, that we may enter damascus before the hour of the great heat."
"we will not tarry," replied saul, "until we reach damascus." and there was that in his eye which forbade remonstrance. so they toiled on silently beneath the burning syrian sky. the village of kaukab--which is being interpreted the village of the star--was reached, and passed; and now before them lay the city of damascus in all its beauty. "the city of the paradise of god," for so has it been called in every age, embowered in gardens of palm and roses, its walls and towers of snowy whiteness shining like "a handful of pearls in a goblet of emerald." a land of flowing streams, a city of cool fountains, set like a bit of heaven in the midst of a barren and thirsty land.
the exhausted wayfarers paused for a moment that they might feast their eyes upon the beauty of the scene, but saul, with an imperative gesture, bade them hasten.
"we are not come to damascus as one who journeyeth for his pleasure," he cried savagely; "we seek the blood of them that confess the accursed jesus."
but even as he spoke the sacred name, some invisible power smote him to the earth; and a great light, brighter even than the fierce shining of the noonday sun, blazed round about him. in the midst of this terrible light he beheld a form upon which he gazed appalled; then was there the sound of a voice, and the words were these:
"saul, saul, why persecutest thou me?"
true to the utter fearlessness of his soul, the man also has a question to ask, "who art thou, lord?"
and the answer came clear and decisive, "i am jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
then indeed did the strong man tremble, and he made answer from out the depths of his soul, "lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"
"arise, go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
the majestic presence was gone; the light faded to the light of an earthly noontide. yet saul still lay upon his face in the dust of the damascus road. the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, staring at one another with livid faces. they had seen the blazing light, they had heard the strange and awful sound of a voice, but their eyes had been holden to the vision of the glorified jesus.
presently saul arose from the earth, the first command of his newly-acknowledged lord ringing in his ears, "arise, go into the city." but when he opened his eyes that he might obey the words, he opened them upon darkness. he was blind.
and they led him by the hand and brought him into damascus.
