Stephen

aiden and set them in my presence. I

urned, leading by the hand a slight figure clad in the shapeless blue gown of

ayest go till I shall call thee," he said to the woman. She l

t thou know," he added somewhat severely, "that thou wast brought to the borders of the encampment only that thou mightest be buried safe from th

ned his lips as though to speak, b

ll perish by the way if we go forth into the wilderness.' It is true," she continued, turning to the

t beard, but the smile looked also out of his

y into the bright eyes of the man before him. "He would have ma

, my son," cried Ben Hesed, his eyes flashing. "And who i

ere hidden in the abiding place of the dead; he would have shut us up there to

fter a pause. "How comes it that thou

's language; my f

en are th

n, and digging his bare toes into the hot sand. A

e to bide in safety from thine enemy," he said gently. "Where else should the y

ed the lad simply; "bu

rders of my land, though it be not the plenty of Egypt; there is no lack of either flesh nor bread, nor yet of the milk of many herds. Thou art strong, son, and thou sh

way. "It is impossible for us to repay thee thy

ght shade of impatience in his tone. "Go

e, I must tell him," cried A

t my hands?" and Ben Hesed drew his bushy brows together with the look

t deal harshly with the maid, my sister. She is blind, and we were seeking a great magician who can heal blindness by a wo

st thou not heard how Moses, the mighty man of God, fetched out the Israelites with a strong hand from among the Egyptians; how he worked marvels

many marvels of the great gods of the Greeks and Romans also. Yet is ther

hou look for this magi

Jesus," said Anat in her low, sweet voice. "I have not forgotten the nam

silence. "What manner of man Was he that

great stature and his beard descended upon his breast. I gave him to drin

rt have I builded me an altar, even as did Abraham in the days of old. Jerusalem is desolate and her holy places are waste. Why should I go any more into a temple which is daily defiled by the feet of wicked men?" The

awn sigh to escape her, by way of a delicate reminder of the

innocence of the child-face, guarded by its pathetic, unsee

d gravely, "and I saw this m

ost thou think that he would heal me? I have no money nor treasure to g

his bed unable to move, and the man gave him no reward. I came away from Jerusalem in that same hour and sa

viction; "and now wilt thou further give a handful of parched corn that we may ea

esed with a grave smile. "And how will the flint of the desert

he said at length, "my goat-skin is not

not for the vultures, and we have already come a grea

uld'st not see them, but it was horrible--horrible! They stared at us with their red eyes, they waited for us to die. I kept up as long as I was

y! and shall rule as long as the desert itself remains, for his word is from everlasting to everlasting. Listen now to what I shall say unto thee: thou shalt go in search of this man Jesus, for I believe that he is able to do this thing whereof thou hast spoken. I will send thee to the borders of Jud?a with food and water and beasts of burden also, that ye pe

to thee that hereafter I will serve thee as a bondman during the years of my life--if it be

y son Eri, whom God hath taken from me," said Ben H

the fierce eyes of vultures. And Seth dreamed that he had grown to be a man, and that he was riding upon a swift horse, the wild desert winds blowing in his face, and he laughed aloud in his dream for joy. But to the blind gir