{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_66876/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_66876","id":"gutenberg_66876","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66876","summary":null,"tags":["Bible stories, English -- Old Testament","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Novels","Elisha (Biblical prophet) -- Fiction","Naaman, the Syrian -- Fiction"],"text":"IN NAAMAN\u2019S\n  HOUSE\n\n  BY\n  MARIAN MACLEAN FINNEY\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n  THE ABINGDON PRESS\n\n  NEW YORK      CINCINNATI\n\n\n\n\n  Copyright, 1922, by\n  MARIAN MACLEAN FINNEY\n\n\n  Printed in the United States of America\n\n\n\n\n  TO\n  MY FRIENDS\n\n  \u201cOther blessings may be taken away, but if we have acquired a good\n  friend, we have a blessing which improves in value when all others\n  fail.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n CHAPTER                      PAGE\n      I. NEW ACQUAINTANCES       7\n     II. SURPRISES              18\n    III. VISITORS               29\n     IV. CAPTIVES               40\n      V. JOURNEYING             51\n     VI. DAMASCUS               63\n    VII. WAYFARERS              74\n   VIII. DOUBTS                 85\n     IX. INTRODUCTIONS          95\n      X. HANNATHON             107\n     XI. CONFESSION            117\n    XII. UNDERSTANDING         129\n   XIII. CHANGES               139\n    XIV. DECISION              151\n     XV. CONSTERNATION         162\n    XVI. HOPE                  173\n   XVII. REWARDS               185\n  XVIII. PLANS                 196\n    XIX. HOME                  206\n     XX. DEVOTION              218\n    XXI. TIDINGS               228\n   XXII. MEETINGS              239\n  XXIII. ISRAEL                249\n   XXIV. WAITING               261\n    XXV. ANTICIPATION          274\n   XXVI. CERTAINTY             285\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nNEW ACQUAINTANCES\n\n\n\u201cI like not the maiden, Caleb. No good will come of taking in this\ndaughter of strange people.\u201d\n\n\u201cThy words belie thy kind heart, Sarah. Thou wert willing to take\nunder our care the child of my kinsman, even though estranged from his\nfather\u2019s house by his marriage. I fear, however,\u201d and the man\u2019s voice\nwas troubled, \u201cthat we shall not be able to make her happy.\u201d\n\n\u201cMake her happy!\u201d broke in the woman\u2019s indignant tones. \u201cI fear that\nshe will not be able to make herself useful. She hath not so far.\u201d\nThen, more gently, \u201cYet is she welcome to all we can do for her now\nthat she hath no kin save us, but I am fearful because her mother was\nof the natives of Canaan so that she hath not been instructed in the\nway of Jehovah. If she should have a wrong influence over our little\nMiriam!\u201d\n\nThe woman in the doorway glanced over her shoulder at the scene within\nthe dwelling where an animated conversation was in progress.\n\n\u201cAwake, Judith. I myself have awaked early. See, the door hath been\nopened and the fresh morning breezes blow sweet after the night-time\nwhen no air cometh in at all. Father hath almost finished leading\nout the animals. Did they bother thee last night with their stamping?\nPeradventure some wild animal was prowling about outside. Is it not a\nfine arrangement to have the mangers built between their part of the\nhouse and ours? And is it not comforting to know that at night and on\nstormy days they are safe under the same roof with us? Art thou still\nasleep?\u201d\n\nAn older maiden sprang to her feet. \u201cWho could sleep through thy\nchatter, Miriam? Thou makest more noise than the oxen and the asses\nand the cow and the calf all put together.\u201d But a smile tempered the\nseverity of the speech.\n\nThe younger and smaller maid laughed delightedly and stooping to the\nfloor began to fold the thickly padded rug or quilt on which she had\nslept, depositing it in a nook in the wall apparently built for the\npurpose and keeping up a steady stream of talk designed to be informing\nto the new arrival.\n\n\u201cIf our olive trees have a good crop this year, we are going to have\ncurtains to hide the beds. Last year father built this wooden floor\nto raise our living room above the ground where the animals stay. It\nis cleaner and dryer now and ants and mice do not trouble us so much.\nThinkest thou not we have a splendid home?\u201d\n\nJudith\u2019s somewhat cool response caused Miriam to look at her in hurt\nsurprise. The mother flashed a reassuring smile from her seat in the\ndoorway, though never ceasing for a moment her skillful manipulation\nof a large sieve. It was tossed and shaken and every few minutes tilted\nsideways to allow a tiny shower of straws and dust to fall upon the\nground. While Miriam took up the beds Judith was required to assist\nher aunt in grinding the newly sieved grain. With a steady, monotonous\nmotion they worked the wooden handle of the mill back and forth, back\nand forth, never hastening but never stopping until at last the sound\nof the grinding became lower and lower and finally ceased, the whole\ngrains of wheat having been crushed into a coarse powder between the\nupper and lower stones of the mill.\n\nIt did not take long for this to be made up into dough, patted into\nsmall, flat cakes, and baked quickly in the out-of-doors oven made of\nheated stones. By ten o\u2019clock, as was usual in the Land of Israel, the\nmorning repast was ready: hot bread, fresh milk, and to-day there were\nyoung onions dipped in salt. Had this been winter instead of spring,\nthere might have been a handful of raisins or a few olives or the bread\nmight possibly have been dipped in grape-syrup. This meal was always\nrelished, however, for no other would be cooked until sunset. By the\ntime it was finished the morning mists had rolled away, the sun had\ndried up the heavy dews of the night before, and the distant fields\nwere calling to the husbandmen.\n\nLinking her arm through Judith\u2019s, Miriam guided the newcomer through\nthe one long street of the village.\n\n\u201cThou hast a beautiful name, Judith, almost as beautiful as thyself.\u201d\n\n\u201cA Hittite name, Miriam, what thy people call \u2018heathen,\u2019 so it will not\nrecommend me hereabouts, but thou art named for one of the great women\nof thy race.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, not because she was great,\u201d was the quick response, \u201cbut because\nshe was useful and good. Knowest thou not how she cared for her baby\nbrother, Moses, when she was just a little maid like me?\u201d\n\nThe conversation was cut short by their arrival at a dwelling from\nwhose open doorway voices floated out upon the balmy air.\n\n\u201cThy father and I toiling and sacrificing for thee, our only child, and\nthou rebelling when we ask for appreciation and obedience!\u201d\n\nAnother voice, choked with sobs, made answer: \u201cThou didst have no\nobjection to Benjamin until Abner fancied me.\u201d\n\n\u201cDost thou add impudence to stubbornness? It is well thou hast thy\nfather and me to see that thy folly doth not ruin thy young life.\u201d\n\nCatching sight of the two hesitating upon the threshold, the woman\nhastened to welcome them, then turned to the girl she had first\naddressed: \u201cWipe away thy tears and take thy water jar. See, Rachel,\nhere is Miriam and her young kinswoman from the Plain of Sharon, a\nmaiden of thine own age. Go with them and be diligent in thy task, but\nthis time next year thy feet will take no such journeys nor thy hands\nbe so employed, for thou shalt have servants to do thy bidding.\u201d\n\nThe woman turned to her work and the three girls proceeded on their\nway, Miriam walking between the grief-stricken Rachel and the envious\nJudith, seeking to atone for the silence which had fallen upon each.\nThus she began to speak in joyous enthusiasm:\n\n\u201cNow that the rains are over for the season, dost thou notice how sweet\nis the air? Every breeze bringeth the mingled scent of wild flowers\nwhich the hand of the Lord hath planted to delight the bees and us.\nEven from here we can tell what their faces will be like when we see\nthem closer: anemones and poppies and wild tulips and arbutus and hosts\nof others. Even at night it is interesting here, for thou canst not\ntell whether thou wilt be awakened by the song of a nightingale or the\nhowling of a wolf, and in the daytime, see!\u201d\n\nWith a sweep of her arm she indicated the light-green garden patches\nand wheat-fields in the valley below them and the darker green of the\nolive groves and patches of oaks and pines nestling among the rugged\ngray hills on every side.\n\nNeither of the girls commented and Miriam became silent.\n\nAt the foot of the path they were descending Judith paused to take\nbreath. \u201cTo one who hath but lately come from the level plain along\nthe seacoast, the mountains are wearying,\u201d she remarked. \u201cWhy are thy\ncities perched upon the hilltops when thou must grow thy food in the\nvalleys?\u201d\n\nAs Rachel seemed disinclined to talk, Miriam took it upon herself\nto answer: \u201cTo be cool in summer and relieved from danger of flood\nin winter and safe from our enemies all the time. Knowest thou not\nhow often the Syrians have swooped down upon us, like birds of prey,\nseeking that wherewith to enrich themselves?\u201d Then, in tones of\nsympathy: \u201cThe path will not seem so steep when thou art used to it.\nFor to-day do thou rest here and I will make two journeys to the\nspring, one for thee and one for me. Thou knowest we are commanded by\nour Law to be mindful of strangers because our people were strangers in\nthe Land of Egypt, and I must remember how lonely I should feel to have\nto live where nobody knew or loved me even as thou.\u201d\n\nJudith, deeply touched, was affectionately declining Miriam\u2019s offer\nof rest when a whoop startled alike the echoes and the girls and the\nmischievous face of a boy, somewhat older than Miriam, peeped from\nbehind a rock.\n\n\u201cNathan!\u201d The exclamation was full of distress, and Miriam gazed at a\nshattered water jar at her feet. \u201cKnowest thou not that jars cost wheat\nand sometimes olives? But,\u201d soothingly, \u201cnever mind, the jar is not\nwasted, for _these_ pieces will make drinking cups and _these_ will do\nto carry coals in. They are splendid sherds. Hast thou noticed, Eli,\u201d\nas a still older lad came hurrying toward them, \u201cthat no matter what is\nbroken there is always something left?\u201d\n\nThe entire party was busy picking up bits of pottery from the path,\nwhen a youngish man joined them, at sight of whom Rachel immediately\ncalled to mind an errand elsewhere and, with a whispered explanation to\nMiriam, promptly disappeared. While the newcomer was apparently known\nto the younger girl, her face did not light up with pleasure, although\nhe addressed her gently.\n\nWere they bound for the spring? He was going in the same direction. He\nhad not met Judith before. So she was Miriam\u2019s kinswoman from the Plain\nof Sharon where the roses grow. Then Sharon had sent her most beautiful\nrose to bloom near the Jordan! And these lads, he ought to know them.\nFine, sturdy boys. Ah, Hannah\u2019s children. He believed that they and\ntheir mother lived on a bit of his land. He had the pleasure, now and\nthen, of doing them little favors. Of course he knew them, should\nprobably know them better as time went on. Lads of excellent qualities\nindeed!\n\nHis soft voice trailed on and on. After the manner of the Orient, the\nman and bays walked ahead, the girls following.\n\nSo, thought Judith, this was Abner, the rich suitor for Rachel\u2019s\nunwilling hand and she (Judith) the unwanted guest in an irksome home.\nIf only their places might be reversed! But no hint of inward agitation\nappeared in her outward manner, nor, when the awe with which the boys\nhad first regarded the newcomer had gradually changed into friendliness\nand the elder of the two had been beguiled into telling an original\nstory, did she appear to do aught but listen.\n\nHe cast it in the form of a fable, after the manner of the young\ntheological students of the day, the \u201cSons of the Prophet,\u201d among whom\nhis father had been numbered:\n\n\u201cOnce there was a young ant who lived with a large colony of its\nrelatives in the clean, warm earth. It had everything to make it happy,\na good home and abundance of food, yet was it wroth, for its elders\nrequired it to work. \u2018Come,\u2019 said they, \u2018lend thy strength to the task\nof carrying home this grain that we may live and not die when the wet\nwinter sets in and there is no food to be had.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis little ant, however, who had never seen a wet winter, was\nrebellious and ran off to hide and sulk. Soon it saw a strange sight:\nmen digging great holes in the fields and coating the floor and walls\nwith a white substance. With his curiosity aroused, he went back to the\nspot day after day until the sun came out with great heat, the harvest\npassed and the threshed and winnowed grain was carefully stored in\nthese underground chambers, the cavities being closed in such a way\nthat thieves could not readily discover its hiding place.\n\n\u201c\u2018Ah,\u2019 said the ant, \u2018here is my opportunity. Once inside such a place\nas that, I should have no fear of cold or hunger, such as my elders\nare always trying to guard against. Naught would I have to do but eat,\nsleep and grow fat. Then should I be happy.\u2019\n\n\u201cForthwith he watched his chance and slipped into a little opening just\nbefore the workmen closed it. Alas for his expectations, however, for\nwhere moth and rust could not flourish neither could an ant. In the\nstifling atmosphere he began to grow faint. Tortured in body with this\nnauseating sickness and in mind with the thought that he had brought\nall this trouble upon himself by his sloth and selfishness, he finally\nexpired.\u201d\n\nMiriam, who had listened with rapt attention, now beamed upon Judith,\nwho stifled a yawn. The next instant she clutched the younger maid\u2019s\narm. \u201cSee, Miriam, the little gorge below us is filled with innumerable\ngray shapes, and from the sound of a reed flute which ascends to us I\nperceive that it is a shepherd with his flock.\u201d\n\nThey came nearer the objects pointed out. Miriam gave one look and a\njoyous little cry: \u201cIt can be no other than my brother, Benjamin, whom\nthou hast not met before, Judith. He giveth my father\u2019s flock a drink\nbelow the spring where the water floweth still and quiet so they will\nnot be frightened. See, he carrieth a lamb in his bosom. Is it not nice\nthat men wear such long, loose garments belted in at the waist, so they\ncan gather the fullness together wherewith to carry things?\u201d\n\nBy this time they were near enough for greetings. Miriam bounded\nforward with an eager salutation for Benjamin and much compassion for\nthe lamb. \u201cSee, Judith, it is all torn and bleeding, but its good\nshepherd hath anointed its wounds with oil and even put some on its\nhead to comfort and refresh it.\u201d\n\nJudith listened and smiled. From under lids discreetly lowered she was\nconscious that both the very young man and the older one were stealing\nglances of approval at her.\n\n\u201cPeradventure,\u201d she thought, \u201cit may not be so uninteresting here after\nall.\u201d\n\nAbner also listened and smiled, making mental calculations. As he moved\naway there was on his face a look of resolution. \u201cWhy not?\u201d he communed\nwith himself. \u201cFine lads both and can become useful. The younger and\nsturdier can care for the young of the flock while my shepherds take\ntheir mothers out to graze. The elder hath a remarkable mind, coming\nas he doth of a family which combineth Israel\u2019s piety and culture. He\ncan be trained as a clerk. There is trading to be done and accounts to\nbe kept. It should be regarded as a kindness to their mother. Let me\nsee, how much doth she owe me? Yea, enough and more.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile Sarah had observed with surprise Rachel\u2019s hasty return and\nnow watched with some anxiety for Miriam and Judith.\n\n\u201cI tell thee, Caleb, friendship with a heathen bodeth no good.\u201d\n\n\u201cSurely, Sarah, no harm can come from caring for the orphan and the\nneedy as we are commanded in our Law,\u201d and the man\u2019s voice was almost\nharsh in its reproof.\n\n\u201cSeemeth to me it might depend somewhat upon the orphan,\u201d murmured the\nwoman, softly, \u201cand my heart hath been strangely heavy since I first\nbeheld this maiden.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nSURPRISES\n\n\nCaleb\u2019s face expressed entire approval as he looked after Judith,\ndisappearing down the hill. \u201cThou seest, Sarah, that all this poor\nchild needed was instruction in the way of righteousness.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd firmness to see that she walketh therein,\u201d put in the wife.\n\n\u201cBut she hath a willing mind, Sarah. Hast thou not noticed how, of\nlate, she needeth no second bidding to go to the spring? She doth not\neven wait for Miriam to help; she watcheth to see when the jars need\nrefilling and seeth to them most diligently.\u201d\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d was the response, \u201cand I have wondered what--\u201d but Caleb,\nsighing, was already taking his way to the valley as Judith neared the\nspring.\n\nA little smile played about her lips. \u201cHow strange it is,\u201d she thought,\n\u201cthat Benjamin\u2019s sheep need a drink of water and our jars must be\nrefilled at exactly the same time every day!\u201d\n\nAt that very moment Rachel, with a tiny reed basket of bread on her\narm, started in the same direction.\n\n\u201cIf I _should_ see him while I feed the pigeons,\u201d her face was rosy\nred, \u201cand he _might_ be somewhere near, although, of course, if I knew\nfor certain I could not be so bold as to be there too--\u201d\n\nShe entered a little gulch whose narrow walls constantly widened as\none neared the spring. The air was sweet with aromatic shrubs. A\nbird hidden somewhere seemed about to burst its throat with melody.\nInsects buzzed a little song of content. As the girl appeared, a flock\nof wild pigeons rose from various resting places and circled around\nher with the familiarity of old friendship. Her thoughts, however,\nwere elsewhere. Peeping through the bushes, she had seen Benjamin and\nJudith, laughing and talking together with all too evident enjoyment.\nFor a moment--or was it several?--she seemed rooted to the spot with\nsurprise, then, sick at heart, she had dropped down upon the coarse,\ngreen grass, grateful for the overhanging rocks and bushes which gave\nher safe concealment.\n\nTo think of Benjamin, who had never cared for any maid but herself!\nThey had been childish sweethearts. Around her neck at this very\ninstant was suspended from a grass-woven chain a bracelet of dried\ngrasses which he had given her once when they played at a wedding. In\na thousand ways since then and with a tenderness she could not doubt\nhe had told her of his love. Had he not desired Caleb, his father, to\nask her parents\u2019 consent to their marriage? True it had been refused,\nAbner\u2019s proposal having been received unexpectedly a day or so\nearlier, yet she and Benjamin had hoped against hope, and now--\n\nBut the pigeons were insistent. They pecked from her basket. They\nalighted upon her shoulders. They watched for the customary open\nhandful of crumbs from which to eat. Mechanically, since they would not\nbe denied, she fed them. Abner, passing along the brow of the hill, saw\nboth tableaux. He stopped, looked, and passed on, pondering deeply.\n\n\u201cRachel is the gentler, the sweeter,\u201d he said to himself, \u201cbut this\nmaid from Sharon is likewise pleasing. I wonder! Yea, I wonder!\u201d\n\nIn a little while Judith started homeward, the smile still lingering.\n\u201cWhat a frank, winning boy!\u201d she meditated, \u201cand not unambitious,\neither, but I do not envy his charming Rachel the hard work and\nself-denial she will have as a shepherd\u2019s wife. Strange how she turneth\nfrom this man Abner, who hath treasures of oil and wine and grain; who\nhath men servants and maid servants.\u201d\n\nShe stopped and gazed over field after field of barley and wheat, now\nalmost ready for the harvest. \u201cHad I but her opportunity!\u201d She stamped\nher sandaled foot to the great peril of the water jar and its precious\ncontents, but her rage soon spent itself and she became thoughtful. At\nlast she drew a deep breath.\n\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d she asked herself. \u201cOf course an Eastern woman may not\ndecide whom she will marry, but there is no reason why she should\nnot try to influence her fate somewhat,\u201d and, quite calm again, even\nelated, she turned her face toward the home she found so irksome.\n\nScarcely had she passed when two young men crossed hastily the\nwell-worn path and started to descend the steep sides of the gulch.\nSuddenly one placed a detaining hand on the other\u2019s arm and they\ndropped down behind a sheltering bush, peering out and speaking\nguardedly.\n\n\u201cSeest thou anything, Isaac?\u201d\n\n\u201cNaught do I see, Lemuel, but what one is apt to behold all the way\nfrom the Dead Sea to Damascus: a romantic little gorge and a pretty\nmaiden feeding some wild pigeons. I thought thou hadst discovered\nsomething.\u201d\n\nHis companion regarded him with amusement. \u201cSomething thou meanest,\nIsaac, to breed distrust or caution or care, whereas the \u2018something\u2019\nwas only satisfactory. Much hast thou to learn, or peradventure thou\nart over-fastidious. Knowest thou not that women were made to delight\nthe hearts of men--that is, as long as they keep their youth and their\nfaith in us, which is not long at the best--and that our journey hath\nbeen singularly barren of such interests as lovely maidens far from\nhome?\u201d\n\nThe information was received coldly. \u201cFar from home, Lemuel, but not\nfar from what, in this mountainous land, they call a \u2018road,\u2019 and not\nfar from her city\u2019s supply of water. This gorge doubtless containeth\na spring or stream. As thou art aware, they have wells only in the\nlowlands. The maiden is therefore not far from protection even if _I_\nwere absent.\u201d\n\nThe other laughed sneeringly. \u201cThy bravery and thine honor doeth credit\nto thine house. Peradventure it will purchase thee promotion. It shall\nbe reported to my lord N-a-a-m-m-m.\u201d\n\nA hand was placed firmly over his mouth. \u201cThy indiscretion will spoil\nour errand, which shall also be reported and to the same source.\u201d\n\nA not unmusical cry came echoing down the glen: \u201cR- a- c- h- e- l.\u201d\n\nThe girl with her head in her hands neither moved nor answered, but in\na moment Miriam\u2019s face peeped through the foliage and lighted up with\nrelief.\n\n\u201cEverywhere have I searched for thee, Rachel, and Eli hath helped. He\nhath a new story, a splendid one. Dost thou not want to hear?\u201d\n\nRachel gave a half-hearted assent and the two new arrivals threw\nthemselves on the coarse green grass near Rachel, while Eli, smiling\nin response to Miriam\u2019s eager encouragement, began the story she\nconsidered so wonderful:\n\n\u201cOnce there was a cave which the hand of God had hollowed out of the\nlimestone hills and in front of which he planted bushes to hide its\nmouth. At first the cave was happy enough, but after awhile it became\nenvious of those in less lonely situations. Right in the midst of its\ndiscontent, however, along came a leopard who was pleased with this\nretired spot and brought up a family here.\n\n\u201cNext, there arrived a band of robbers who slew the wild animals and\ndeposited themselves and their ill-gotten gains in the cave, hiding by\nday and sallying forth at night. At last some of the thieves were slain\nin a battle with honest travelers and the rest of the band fled.\n\n\u201cFrom that time on the cave-dwellers were of a better class. It\nbecame the abode of the hunted and oppressed. Our father David once\ntook refuge here from the fury of King Saul, and many a troubled\nsoul afterward, including the Man of God, Elijah. But its greatest\nusefulness came when Queen Jezebel established Baal-worship as the\ncourt religion of Israel and persecuted the prophets of the Lord.\n\n\u201cAt this time Obadiah, the mayor of King Ahab\u2019s court, hid herein fifty\nof the hundred prophets he saved from the queen\u2019s vengeance, the cave\nbeing very commodious. Hereafter it was known as \u2018the prophet\u2019s cave,\u2019\nand of late years shepherds have kept provender always on hand so they\nmay resort hither with their flocks when winter storms drive them from\nthe hills.\n\n\u201cOne day the cave, with the wisdom of years, was reviewing its\nhistory. \u2018How foolish was I and ignorant,\u2019 it thought, \u2018to be\ndissatisfied with the place Jehovah had appointed me when I should not\nhave been nearly so useful had I been on the highway, where I would\nhave chosen to be.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe tale ended, Rachel praised it faintly, but the younger girl beamed\ndelighted appreciation, watching Eli\u2019s departing figure as long as she\ncould see it.\n\n\u201cDoth he not make thee feel as if thou wert standing up on tiptoe all\ninside, Rachel?\u201d she demanded. \u201cSome day he is going to learn to read\nand write and become learned in the Law, as was his father, and go\nabout the country teaching and prophesying.\u201d\n\nRachel put a hand to her head. \u201cLet us go home,\u201d she said, \u201cI feel\nweak and ill. Peradventure it is the summer heat which hath come on so\nsuddenly.\u201d She staggered to her feet.\n\nMiriam, at once all sympathy, put an arm around her friend\u2019s waist and\nthey took the steep path out of the gorge, the pigeons still circling\naround the empty basket. Only once did the smaller maid speak and that\nwas just as they came opposite the hiding place of the two strangers.\n\n\u201cThou knowest, Rachel, that Eli\u2019s tale was a true one, being of our own\nprophet\u2019s cave here in this very glen, thirty paces beyond the fallen\nsycamore tree, its mouth hidden by the sumac bushes. Thou wilt remember\nhow oft we have been there.\u201d\n\nRachel murmured an assent and they moved out of sight and hearing. The\nyoung men rose from their cramped positions.\n\n\u201cThe very place, Lemuel, thanks to our small friend, though she knew\nnot whom she was befriending. This night shall we abide there and mark\nthe spot for future need. This is a rich little valley. To-morrow we\nseparate, each taking the way determined aforetime,\u201d and with swift\nsteps they proceeded in the direction Miriam had indicated.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe perfumed breath of May lost its elusive sweetness and became\nburdened with the heat of June. The evening meal was over and the last\nfaint radiance of sunset was swallowed up in darkness. Caleb closed and\nbarred the heavy door against the summer breezes and the family spread\ntheir sleeping mats in preparation for rest.\n\nJudith yawned audibly. \u201cSo glad am I that this tiresome day hath drawn\nto a close.\u201d\n\nMiriam was scandalized. \u201cGlad that the Sabbath is over? And soon after\nsunrise one of the Sons of the Prophet came to instruct the city in the\nways of Jehovah.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d insisted Judith, \u201cI like not that long-haired Order of wayside\npreachers who shout and denounce and talk mysteries.\u201d\n\nCaleb felt it his duty to impart information. \u201cAlas, the sacred Order\nis not what it was before King Ahab took unto himself the foreign\nQueen, Jezebel. A fine soldier and statesman was Ahab, and I doubt not\nhe believed he benefited Israel by his alliance with our more cultured\nand enterprising neighbors, the Ph\u0153nicians. He thought much about the\nadvantages of trade, as shown by his treaty with Ben-hadad, the Syrian\nking, whereby the merchants of Israel now have their own street in\nDamascus, the great capital city of Syria.\n\n\u201cMany good qualities had King Ahab, but a sorry day it was for\nIsrael\u2019s religion when he allowed Queen Jezebel a free hand to spread\nBaal-worship, even to the persecution of the prophets of the Lord.\nHundreds were put to death; many fled to more peaceful homes, such as\nEgypt, and others still bowed the knee, not so much to the hated Baal\nas to the strong authority of the court. Fear threatened to destroy all\nthat was purest and best in the land, but the Lord of Hosts hearkened\nto the distress of his people and granted deliverance by his prophet\nElijah.\n\n\u201cSince then, and especially in these later years under Elijah\u2019s\nsuccessor, Elisha, the prophetic Guilds have been revived in the\nhope of spreading piety and some degree of learning among the people\nat large; they who have been exposed for so long to the pernicious\nteachings of the priests of Baal, as encouraged by that wicked woman,\nJezebel.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut truly the service of Baal is much more joyous than thy worship of\nJehovah with all thy strict observances and commandments,\u201d said Judith,\nearnestly, \u201cand why call Queen Jezebel \u2018wicked\u2019? It was but courteous\nto a foreigner to allow her to bring her own religion into her new\nhome, and naturally she was anxious to spread the teachings in which\nshe believed.\u201d\n\nIn tones whose sternness was softened by pity, Caleb bade her hush.\n\u201cThou knowest not what thou sayest. The \u2018wicked,\u2019 through the pride\nof his heart, will not seek after the one true God. They care not to\nknow the Law by which we, his chosen, are warned and in keeping of\nwhich there is great reward. It is well that thou shouldst understand\nclearly--\u201d\n\nA hubbub outside claimed attention. Faintly at first, and then nearer\nand nearer until it halted outside the very door, came the yelping and\nbarking of dogs mingled with the sound of running footsteps, and voices.\n\nMiriam crept to Sarah\u2019s outstretched arms. \u201cO mother,\u201d in a frightened\nwhisper, \u201cthinkest thou the Syrians be upon us?\u201d\n\nThe mother held her close. Caleb snatched up the goad ordinarily used\nfor driving oxen, the sharply pointed end of which made a formidable\nweapon. From the darkness came a sound of labored breathing and a\nwoman\u2019s sobbing cry.\n\n\u201cOpen, Caleb. It is only I, Hannah, and my children, Eli and Nathan,\nand the dogs rend us.\u201d\n\nAs the door was thrown open to admit them she cried, mournfully,\n\u201cPeace, peace be to thy home, though there be none in mine.\u201d\n\nShe was almost incoherent with grief. \u201cThe word came to me but a little\nwhile before the Sabbath and I waited until the passing of the holy day\nto hurry to thee, my friends. The dogs mistook us for foes and pursued.\nIn the darkness we stumbled oft and fell. Yea, we are bruised, but our\nbodies are less sore than our hearts, for Abner, my creditor, taketh my\ntwo sons, Eli and Nathan, to be bondmen for debt.\n\n\u201cSince my widowhood have I lived on his land. Oft hath he brought\nus food. Once, twice, thrice have I borrowed of him, so kind hath\nhe seemed. Always he urged me to take more and yet more than I\nasked. Never once hath this shame seemed possible. Let us kneel in\nsupplication to the God of our fathers.\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, Hannah, and I doubt not he will hear and answer. Abide thou with\nus for a time and to-morrow we will see if aught can be done.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nVISITORS\n\n\nOver the peaceful Israelitish hills came the piping of a reed flute.\nAnyone familiar with the country would know that it was a shepherd,\nseeking to assure the flock of his continued presence that they might\nfear no evil, but to the young man, scarcely more than a boy, lying\nprone on his back in the shade of the bushes, it conveyed nothing at\nall, yet it was the only sound which persisted in his consciousness.\nHe lived by it as much as did the sheep and goats. When the tune was\nblithe he saw sunlit fields and abundant harvests; shaded glens and\ncool, gurgling streams; a palace and a soldiers\u2019 barracks; the face of\nan old, bedridden woman and a delicately pretty girl feeding pigeons in\na romantic spot. When the notes were sad--as they frequently were--he\ndefended this maid from some grave peril in which the odds were all\nagainst him.\n\nThere came a day, however, when he no longer raved in delirium, but\nlooked upon his surroundings with recognition in his eyes. He tried to\nsit up, to reach a little water-bag that looked cool and comforting,\nbut finding himself weighted down with a strange heaviness, contented\nhimself with gazing around wonderingly. The sky seemed so near. No,\nit was not the sky. It was a covering of skins sewed together and\nstretched from one bush to another over him. Nothing else save the\ninterminable flute which told his newly awakened senses that the\nshepherd was near. It was all so soothing, just lying there, and he was\nso unexpectedly weak, that he closed his eyes and sank into a deep and\nrefreshing slumber.\n\nWhen he awoke the canopy over his head had been removed and he gazed\nat the brilliant stars. Looking around, he decided that he must be\ninside of a sheepfold. By the moonlight he discerned roughly built\nstone walls on four sides. The open entrance was guarded by a recumbent\nshepherd, staff in hand, alert, watchful. One, two, three other figures\nhe counted, evidently sleeping heavily beside great gray masses which\nhe knew must be sheep. All at once a scream pierced the silence, a\nhideous, unearthly sound, and then a long, lithe body leaped over the\nwall.\n\nThe young man who observed these things knew instinctively that it was\na mountain lion, tempted far from its rocky lair by hunger. He knew\nthat the shepherds, instantly awakened, would give battle, and that\nthey would be more than a match for any wild animal in search of food,\nbut a sense of his own helplessness swept over him. He saw the terror\nof the sheep, the mangled body of a victim, heard the cry of its\nmother, and then a great wave of sickness shut out sight and sound. He\nhad fainted from sheer weakness.\n\nA little later he opened his eyes upon the troubled face of the\nshepherd--_his_ shepherd, as he soon learned to call him in distinction\nfrom the others, who paid him but scant attention. It was a kindly,\npleasant face, over-thoughtful perhaps but with health and youth\nwritten large under its tan. In the days that followed, the invalid\nfound himself grasping at the strength and energy radiated by this\npersonality, basking in his sunny smile, entertained and quite\nfrequently instructed by his conversation, cheered and encouraged by\nhis practical helpfulness.\n\nIf, however, the convalescent was pleased with the shepherd, how much\nmore was the shepherd pleased with the convalescent! Moved at first\nmerely by motives of pity and generosity, he soon took a delight in the\npresence of the stranger which was wholly inexplicable to himself. He\nhad never met anyone--at least not a very young man like himself--who\npossessed such a fund of general information and seemed to have\nsuch mature judgment. He talked as one who had lived in cities and\nassociated with those who had seen much of that world which was new and\nstrange to this mountain lad who had spent his eager, responsive youth\nhand-in-hand with Toil and Responsibility, as youth often does in the\nEast.\n\nOne day, under the shadow of a great rock which shielded them from the\nheat of the midsummer sun, they were talking. \u201cHow long sayest thou I\nhave been here, Benjamin?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is eight weeks, Isaac, since I found thee under the bushes yonder,\nsick with fever.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen eight weeks hast thou cared for me, night and day. How knewest\nthou that I was not a robber, or, worse still, what thy countrymen\ndespise most, a Syrian spy?\u201d The tone was careless and breathed a\nlaugh, but the speaker glanced searchingly at his companion, who, after\na moment\u2019s silence, replied quietly:\n\n\u201cI stopped but to consider thy pressing need, Isaac, for our Law\ncommandeth us to regard the necessity of the stranger, but if I had\nthought further, the pack on thy back would have proclaimed thee a\npeddler, though thy stock be small. Likewise, thy pronunciation showeth\nthat our tongue is native to thee and thou hast an Israelitish name.\u201d\n\nIsaac sighed and there sounded in it something of relief. \u201cMy mother\nwas of thy nation,\u201d he explained, \u201ca captive in Syria, where she\nmarried my father, who was of Egyptian blood and a servant in the same\nhouse with herself. I am named for some of her people and she spoke\nto me always in her own language.\u201d Then, hastily, as if he feared\nquestions: \u201cBut for thee I might have died, an awful, burning death\nhere in the wilderness, without even a drink of cold water to allay my\nthirst or a friend to save my body from the vultures.\u201d\n\n\u201cThink not of it, Isaac. It is only thy departure on the morrow which\nsaddeneth me. Caring for thee was as balm to a sore heart, better than\nall the aromatic herbs in Gilead.\u201d\n\nIsaac looked questioningly: \u201cA woman?\u201d\n\nThe shepherd assented. \u201cFrom childhood have I had no thought save _of_\nher and _for_ her. When I could make her a home, I desired my father\nto ask her in marriage of her parents, as is our custom. At first\nthey were willing, as I had believed, but their consent was refused,\nthe maiden being pleasing to a man of greater means. Yet was she true\nto me. I had it from her own lips and through the mouth of my little\nsister, Miriam, of whom I have before spoken to thee. All at once\nthe maiden changed. Deaf, dumb, and blind did she become to all that\nconcerned me, and when I would see her they said she was sick, which I\ncannot believe, and I had to come away without a word of explanation.\nIt troubleth me.\u201d\n\nTo Isaac, more worldly wise, the reason was plain. \u201cShe favoreth the\nother,\u201d he said, \u201cand thou shouldst not cherish the memory of one who\nhath treated thee with contempt. Canst thou not think of someone else,\nBenjamin?\u201d\n\nThe shepherd laughed in a mirthless way. \u201cNone to fill her place,\nIsaac; nor is it of another she thinketh. Nay! One there was who\nalways appeared at the spring when I was waiting for my beloved. She\nwas a clever, amusing maid, but a life with her would be like living on\nhoney without any bread.\u201d\n\nIsaac nodded in comprehension. \u201cThe same have I felt toward all the\nmaidens I ever met save one. Once, as I traveled with my pack, I was\nable to avert a danger she knew not of, and her face hath been in my\nmemory ever since. I have not wished to dislodge it. She fed wild\npigeons, I recall, in a romantic little gorge.\u201d\n\nA silence fell between them, each, with fine feeling, unwilling to ask\nfor details not volunteered.\n\nThe next day, at parting, Isaac took from his own arm a heavy bracelet\nof gold and clasped it around Benjamin\u2019s. \u201cNot for its value,\u201d he\ninsisted, when the shepherd demurred, \u201cbut as a covenant of lasting\nfriendship \u2019twixt thee and me. As thou hast saved my life so doth it\nbelong to thee or thine if in aught I can ever serve thee.\u201d\n\nThe next minute Benjamin was alone. At the turn of the road Isaac\nlooked back and waved his hand in farewell and the shepherd, with a\nsigh, turned to his sheep and his constant thoughts of Rachel. He did\nnot know that at that very hour events of considerable importance to\nboth of them were taking place in the little \u201ccity\u201d of their nativity.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNoontime, whose brightness had no power to dispel the sorrow which\nhung over Caleb\u2019s household, saw Judith slipping, with a shudder, out\nof its gloomy portal. Abner was coming up the hill as she started to\ndescend it. She answered his pleasant greeting with assumed diffidence.\n\n\u201cI hasten, my lord, desiring to spend a time with Rachel, who, as thou\nknowest, hath spent these eight weeks and more in the house and mostly\non her bed, suffering from a mysterious sickness none dareth yet to\nname. Save that she hath long been secretly betrothed to my kinsman,\nBenjamin, who taketh his sheep to the hills, we know not where, and\nthat her parents are very wroth--yet because thou hast looked with\nfavor upon the maid would I warn thee--\u201d\n\n\u201cI thank thee,\u201d he said, slowly, his face somewhat paler than usual,\nand the two hurried their separate ways.\n\nIn strange contradiction to such solicitude, however, Judith did not\nvisit Rachel. She rarely did. It was Miriam who sat by her friend\u2019s\nside telling her of Hannah\u2019s plight.\n\n\u201cThere is not enough grain and olive oil in the whole city to satisfy\nAbner\u2019s claim and save Eli and Nathan from bondage, nor will he wait\nfor the next barley and wheat to be harvested. As for grapes and\nolives, they will not be ripe for months. Father hath tried to shame\nAbner, but he saith he is grieved to be so misunderstood; that Hannah\nshould be grateful to him for taking upon himself the burden of her\nsons\u2019 support.\u201d\n\nApparently, Rachel was not in a mood for conversation. The younger girl\ngazed at her in great dejection for a few minutes and a tear splashed\ndown on her hand. \u201cIt would be easier to bear other people\u2019s troubles,\nRachel, if one could help. I am going to bathe thy feverish face and\nhands and take down thy hair. Thou shalt hold the little mirror of\npolished bronze that Ezekiel, thy kinsman in Damascus, sent thee.\u201d\nSuiting the action to the word she went on talking: \u201cDamascus must be\na very great city, peradventure almost twice as large as ours. Father\nhath told me about the war between Israel and Syria and the treaty of\npeace, so that Syrian merchants may come to Israel and a street hath\nbeen set aside in Damascus in which our people may dwell.\u201d\n\nRachel seemed to take no more interest in foreign affairs than in\nthose at home, but the little maid was not discouraged. \u201cThou art more\ncomfortable now. Thou hast been sick ever since that day the heat\novercame thee in the gorge when thou wert feeding the pigeons, but thou\ndost not have to go on being miserable. Thou knowest, the Lord is thy\nstrength and song. I am going to see how Hannah doeth and remind her of\nthis. She abode with us through the night, but now she is in her own\nhouse. First, though, I shall sing thee to sleep. Thou seest I have\nbrought my timbrel. Then will I steal softly away.\u201d\n\nHaving made good her word, Miriam was about to depart when the kindly\nvoice of Rachel\u2019s mother detained her: \u201cStay, Miriam, yet a moment and\ntake to Hannah this little pot of oil. The gift is not much to her that\ndwelleth in the house of sorrow, but it carrieth a message of sympathy.\u201d\n\nHalfway to her destination Miriam met Judith. \u201cI have been seeking for\nthee,\u201d said the older girl. \u201cKnowest thou that we have a guest, a man?\nHe hath come from a distance in the heat and dust, and I have been to\ndraw cool, fresh water wherewith to bathe his hands and feet and so\nrefresh him while thy mother prepareth a meal to set before him.\u201d\n\nMiriam hazarded a few guesses as to the identity of their visitor, but\nJudith shook her head. \u201cIt is none whom thou hast mentioned, but who it\nis I know not. He weareth a mantle.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen he is one of the prophets.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, for he is bald and the prophets wear long hair. Neither hath\nhe the appearance of a fanatic, as do they. Rather, he seemeth like\nsome well-to-do man of the cities, peradventure a merchant. His speech\nis gracious and gentle and he carrieth a walking stick like any\nserious-minded, elderly gentleman. He is attended by a younger man and\nthy father did him great obeisance. Also--\u201d\n\nBut Judith was alone. Miriam was running like some wild thing straight\nto Hannah\u2019s house. Out of breath she stumbled over the threshold and\nthrust the pot of oil into the woman\u2019s hands.\n\n\u201cHannah--Hannah--the Man of God hath come, my lord Elisha, and even\nnow sitteth at meat in our house. Do thou go quickly. Thy husband was\nof his young men. Do thou tell him about Abner taking Eli and Nathan\nas bondmen for debt. Jehovah hath sent him that as God hath been thy\nstrength, he shall now be thy song. Hasten, Hannah,\u201d but Hannah was\nalready gone.\n\nTwenty-four hours later Miriam, wild with excitement, paused on the\nthreshold of Rachel\u2019s house. Within were voices and while she hesitated\nas to whether or not to enter, she heard the message.\n\nAbner had sent his friend, after the manner of the East, to speak on\nthe subject of his betrothal to Rachel, not to bring the customary\ngifts and make necessary arrangements, but to do the rather unusual\nthing: to withdraw his previous proposal on the plea of her ill-health.\nThe affair was conducted with elaborate civilities on the part of both\nthe emissary and Rachel\u2019s parents, hiding the contempt of the one and\nthe rage of the other.\n\nIt was a very awed little Miriam but one with shining eyes who held\nRachel\u2019s hand a few minutes after the messenger had departed. \u201cArt thou\nnot glad?\u201d she whispered.\n\nThe older girl nodded slightly, aware of her mother\u2019s frown.\n\n\u201cAnd Benjamin will be so happy,\u201d Miriam declared, but Rachel sighed.\n\n\u201cHe thinketh no more upon me,\u201d she said, and refused to be comforted.\n\nThe general gloom of the household was soon overborne, however, by the\ntidings Miriam had brought. At the feet of the prophet Hannah had knelt\nin supplication and he had had compassion upon her distress.\n\n\u201cAt his command,\u201d recited Miriam, joyfully, \u201cwe borrowed from our\nneighbors all the empty vessels possible, then she and Eli and Nathan\nwent into their own house and shut the door. Eli told me what happened.\n_From the little pot of oil thy mother sent by me, Hannah filled all\nthose vessels!_ Then came she again to the Man of God, who was still\nin our house, and he instructed her what next to do. Now she hath gone\nto sell the oil and pay Abner. Yet will there be something left, for I\nheard my lord Elisha say unto her, \u2018Live thou and thy children _of the\nrest_.\u2019\u201d\n\nWhen the happy comments had died away Miriam stroked her friend\u2019s hair.\n\u201cWhy dost thou not ask to be healed, Rachel? Let us go to the Man of\nGod.\u201d\n\nBut Rachel shook her head. \u201cI must not ask for what I do not want,\nMiriam, and when Benjamin no longer thinketh upon me, why should I\ndesire to get well?\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nCAPTIVES\n\n\nAutumn had come to the Land of Israel. The sun had just lifted a\nshining face, but in more than one city the inhabitants had been long\nastir. Before all the more important abodes stood asses, saddled\nand laden with water-skin and leather provision bag as if for a\njourney. In a little while could be seen broken lines of riders,\nsingly or in groups, wending their way in slow and dignified fashion\non these same sure-footed animals, over the narrow threads of rocky\nroads which traversed hill and vale. All faces were turned in one\ndirection--Jerusalem. The master of the house was on his way to the\nFeast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of the Ingathering, as it was\nsometimes called.\n\nThe air had in it a hint of frost, being too chill for rain, but nobody\nminded, certainly not a misty-eyed little maid who was walking with her\ntwo travelers to the brow of the hill.\n\n\u201cI believe thou art glad to see us go, Miriam,\u201d said Caleb, teasingly.\n\n\u201cOh, very glad, father. It is right thou shouldst appear before the\nLord with thine offerings, for he hath dealt bountifully with us, and\nI am glad thou canst take mother to visit her kindred. Long hath it\nbeen since she hath seen them, and it will make her so happy, but\u201d--the\nvoice trembled a little--\u201cI would be gladder if this were the day thou\nwert coming home.\u201d\n\nHer parents exchanged glances.\n\n\u201cThou knowest that the olive trees had a good crop and the vineyard.\nLikewise the flock hath been profitable and thou art thinking of the\nnose-ring we shall bring thee, or was it anklets thou didst choose?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am much more concerned as to her conduct, Caleb, than I am as to her\nornaments,\u201d put in Sarah, hastily. \u201cRemember, Miriam, I shall expect\nthee to behave thyself wisely, in a perfect way.\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, mother, but when thou and father art gone, how will I know what\nis wise and perfect?\u201d\n\nSarah regarded her severely. \u201cThe Law of the Lord is perfect. See\nthat thou keep it. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the\nsimple. Remember it. The commandment of the Lord is right, enlightening\nthe eyes. Meditate upon it. There is no chance for a mistake if God is\nin all thy thoughts. Miriam, wilt thou keep the Lord alway before thy\nface?\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, mother.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd thou wilt not be turned aside to the right hand nor to the left,\nno matter what influence is brought to bear upon thee?\u201d Sarah glanced\napprehensively back at Judith, standing in the open door.\n\n\u201cNay, mother.\u201d\n\nThey had come to the place of parting, Caleb walking ahead, leading the\ntwo asses. Judith could not hear what was said, but she could see that\nthe farewells were lingering and affectionate. A great wave of longing\nfor her own parents swept over her and she turned into the house to\navoid the unsympathetic and the curious. She did not know, therefore,\nthat when the travelers were quite hidden from sight in the distance,\nMiriam sank upon the ground in a little heap of wretchedness.\n\nNeither did Judith nor anyone else guess that at that very moment the\nmother was nervously fingering the bridle of her beast. \u201cLong have I\nwanted to take this journey, Caleb, but it were easier to talk of than\nto do. I will go back. I cannot leave the little maid.\u201d\n\n\u201cNonsense, Sarah,\u201d and a stranger would have noticed that Caleb\u2019s voice\nwas none too steady, although he affected cheerfulness. \u201cIt will do\nthee much good to have a visit among thy kindred.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut thinkest thou all will go well while we are away?\u201d Sarah was still\nhesitant.\n\n\u201cHow could they go ill with Hannah to stay with Miriam and Judith, and\nEli and Nathan to see to the animals? Besides, we shall be gone but a\nfew days. They will be sorry to see us return, for youth joyeth with\nyouth. Mount, I pray thee, and let us be going, for our pace will be\nslow at the best.\u201d\n\nReluctantly she yielded to his entreaties, but with many a backward\nglance and an anxiety which seemed wholly unwarranted.\n\nAlong the path they had just traversed came Rachel and gathered Miriam\nin her arms. \u201cI feared to find thee so, little maid,\u201d she comforted.\n\u201cNay,\u201d compassionately, \u201cthou must not weep. And if thou wilt dry thine\neyes I will tell thee a secret so dear it hath not been whispered\nbefore.\u201d\n\nIt was a rosy and radiant Rachel who was speaking now. \u201cKnowest thou\nthat when Benjamin came home a few days ago he told me something that\nmade me very happy? And when he cometh next time we are to be publicly\nbetrothed. My parents have consented and I have my wedding veil. We\nmust go back to thy dwelling now, but some day, when there is none to\nsee but thee, I shall try it on.\u201d\n\nShe raised the limp figure and, talking of the future to divert the\nthoughts of her grief-stricken little friend, guided her along the\nwell-known path toward home.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAt about the same hour, somewhere out on the Israelitish hills, a\nshepherd was leading his flock northward under pressure of military\nescort. His face was sullen, but all at once he laughed: \u201cIt took\nthree and more coming to take captive one shepherd of Israel. These\nSyrian dogs!\u201d He laughed again, contemptuously. The soldier nearest,\nunderstanding the intent if not the words, struck him with the\nbroadside of his short sword, and the shepherd laughed no more.\n\nThe monotony of merely going forward was relieved a little later by\nthe passing of a band of horsemen, coming south. The shepherd listened\napathetically to what was evidently, although he understood not a word,\nan exchange of civilities and compliments upon the capture of so large\nand fine a flock. He glanced carelessly at the gayly bedecked horse of\nthe leader and then at the man himself. It was a young man, and all at\nonce the shepherd\u2019s indifference vanished. He had the face of a friend!\nUndoubtedly he and his flock would soon be free.\n\nRunning forward quickly, he knelt and threw up one arm, exposing to\nview a broad gold bracelet of exquisite design, by that movement\nplainly seeking recognition. The young officer appeared startled for\nan instant, then he assumed an air of unconcern and with careless\nfarewells to the soldier-escort of the flock, he and his men rode on.\n\nThe shepherd crimsoned at the rebuff. \u201cI could swear that were Isaac,\u201d\nhe muttered, \u201ceven to the pallor of his recent illness. Thus hath he\nkept his pledge, a promise he made voluntarily. So would a viper repay\nthe fool who warmed it by his fire!\u201d\n\nTurning, he found himself the object of mockery and ridicule.\nUnfortunately, he allowed rage to get the better of discretion. He was\ncaptured, but not conquered. With a swift movement he struck one of\nhis tormentors a stinging blow full in the face, but a fellow soldier\nused his ever ready spear, and after that, Benjamin the shepherd went\nhis way limping.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was the next day that Miriam was helping Hannah make butter. That\nis to say, a goatskin bag, nearly full of milk, was suspended out of\ndoors from the center of three crossed poles, and they were shaking and\nbeating it with great regularity and violence. In due course of time\na product not at all resembling the butter to which we are accustomed\nrewarded their labors. With a sigh, the moist and dripping bag was\ncarried into the house and hung in the coolest spot possible that its\ncurdled contents might ferment and be used, as needed, to give relish\nto otherwise dry bread.\n\nThe task finished, Hannah betook herself to her own home to be gone\nan hour or two. Miriam, left alone, dropped down in the doorway. All\nday she had been unaccountably heavy of spirit, \u201cnot sick,\u201d she had\ntold Hannah in answer to a solicitous inquiry, \u201cbut just not glad of\nanything.\u201d\n\nWas it only yesterday her parents had started on their journey? It\nseemed like a week. And what strange sights they must be seeing now!\nVery strange indeed could they have seen through Miriam\u2019s eyes, for her\nthoughts were soon jumbled by the sprites of Dreamland. When she awoke\nthe afternoon shadows were lengthening. Hannah had not returned, and\nwhere was Judith? If she were late, Hannah would be sure to tell father\nand mother and they would be displeased. Why did she not come?\n\nMiriam was dismayed, then came a thought, the horror of which sent her\nrunning to the top of the hill, where the path began to descend to the\nvalley below: suppose Judith had been bitten by a viper out of the\nbrushwood she had gone to gather for fuel! She was nowhere in sight,\nalthough she had been absent since a little after noon. Slowly Miriam\nwalked down the hill, gazing long and searchingly in all directions\nuntil she stood in the silence and loneliness of the deserted fields.\nHow find anybody or anything among those rank grasses, grown taller\nthan herself now that the harvests were over? Yet at that very instant\nJudith must be lying among them somewhere, sick perhaps unto death.\n\nRunning hither and thither and thoroughly alarmed, Miriam essayed\ncalling. The third time her hail was answered, but not in the way she\nhad expected. Not Judith but Nathan--Nathan, pale and frightened;\nNathan, entreating her silence but speaking himself in hoarse, excited\nwhispers.\n\n\u201cHush, Miriam, the valley is full of soldiers!\u201d\n\nShe was amazed, incredulous, and he indignant at her unbelief.\n\u201cThinkest thou, Miriam, I know not a soldier when I see one?\u201d he\npanted as they ran. \u201cWas not every man covered from neck to thigh, back\nand front, with his breast-plate of bronze scales? Did not each wear a\nhelmet and carry a shield on his left arm and a buckler[1] slung from\nhis girdle? Some had long and heavy spears; some, bows and arrows and\nsome had slings, with the stones for them in bags around their necks.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, Nathan,\u201d suggested Miriam, weakly, \u201cperadventure our king passeth\nthis way with his bodyguard.\u201d\n\n\u201cWould our king rob Abner\u2019s storehouses in the field? Nay, and these\nhave not Israelitish faces. Besides, they came on horses which they\nhave left at the head of the valley, and thou shouldst know that horses\nmean war. Canst thou not run faster, Miriam? We must warn quickly\nmother and the city.\u201d\n\nThe little maid\u2019s face blanched. \u201cI must find Judith. Do thou go on and\nI--\u201d Nathan\u2019s remonstrances were cut short by the sudden appearance,\nout of the tall grass, of a man dressed just as the lad had described.\nHe laid a detaining hand on each, addressing them in their own\nlanguage, but his pronunciation showed that it was acquired.\n\n\u201cThis time to-morrow,\u201d pointing to the village on the hilltop, \u201cour\narchers will have bent their bows and made ready their arrows and sent\nfire and destruction into the midst of thy city. None shall be left\nalive save such as we take into captivity.\u201d\n\nMiriam wrung her hands and wept, but Nathan spoke defiantly, with\npassion in his tones: \u201cThou knowest not that we of Israel, especially\nwe of the tribe of Zebulon, fight long and hard, jeoparding our lives\nunto the death.\u201d\n\nAn evil smile distorted the man\u2019s features. \u201cThinkest thou we know not\nthat thy men are away at the feast in Jerusalem? To-morrow this time\nthy land shall be desolate from Jerusalem northward, and we will take\ncaptive thy flocks and thy herds--\u201d\n\nThe speaker was interrupted by the arrival of another soldier, dressed\nmuch the same, but the more elaborate ornamentation of his shield, and\nhis richly decorated helmet with its crest, denoted a higher rank.\nAll this, however, was quite lost upon Nathan and Miriam. They noted\nonly that he was very young--older than Eli, perhaps, but doubtless\nyounger than Benjamin--that he bent upon them a look not in the least\nmalevolent, as was that of their captor, and that when he spoke to\nthem, also in their own tongue, his speech was as free from foreign\naccent as their own. Apparently, he had authority, for at a word, the\nfirst soldier withdrew.\n\n\u201cI happened to overhear,\u201d he told the children. \u201cFear not nor believe\nwhat Lemuel hath said. He was but teasing thee. Our men went no\nfarther south than the Valley of Jezreel, which is a long way north of\nJerusalem, and we have not come to make war upon the people but only to\ntake foodstuffs.\u201d\n\nThe two gazed at him doubtfully. \u201cPeradventure,\u201d sobbed Miriam, \u201cwhen\nthou art asleep the other soldier will do these terrible things.\u201d\n\nThe young man laughed, a mirthful laugh. \u201cLemuel? Nay, he could not. We\nhave but a few men and,\u201d with some little pride, \u201c_I_ have been given\ncharge of this band.\u201d\n\nHe glanced at the rapidly declining sun and his next words were more\ndecisive. \u201cSee, it is almost sunset. We did not come to take prisoners,\nbut thou wilt understand that I cannot let thee go home to give the\nalarm, and afterward thou wilt prefer Syria to Israel.\u201d\n\nMiriam was distressed anew.\n\nThe young captain reasoned gently: \u201cTo-night thy household will think\nthou art with friends somewhere, but they cannot seek thee in the\ndarkness, among the half-wild, scavenger dogs that roam thy villages at\nnight. By dawn they will have other matters to engage their attention.\nThou wilt go with me now to our encampment in the gorge by the spring.\nCome,\u201d to Miriam, \u201cthou shalt have a corner of the prophet\u2019s cave all\nto thyself to-night with a leopard\u2019s skin for a covering. Thou wilt\nlike that, for it was given me by the best man I ever knew, a shepherd\nof Israel. And thou,\u201d turning to Nathan, \u201cshalt have the opposite\ncorner, but I have only one leopard skin and that is for the little\nmaid.\u201d\n\nThere was something very attractive, very sincere in his address. He\nseemed to understand their terror, their distrust.\n\n\u201cBe not afraid,\u201d he said, \u201cthou shalt be well treated. If not, it will\nbe because thou dost not treat us well. To-night we encamp. To-morrow\nwe start for Damascus, but thou shalt both have good care all the way.\nIsaac pledgeth thee his word!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nJOURNEYING\n\n\nWhen dawn came Miriam was in a heavy slumber. Strange surroundings,\nterror, and grief had taken as large a part in keeping her long awake\nas her bed on the hard floor or the chill dampness of the cave. She was\nstill sobbing. The young captain bent over her pityingly for an instant\nand tucked in the leopard\u2019s skin to keep her warm, then, leaving a\nguard at the door, he and the rest of his men departed upon their\nerrand. When she awoke she discerned Nathan\u2019s sullen face in the half\nlight, and it aroused her to an immediate comprehension of their plight.\n\nHe whispered to her: \u201cThinkest thou I shall go to Damascus a captive?\nDid the Man of God save me from bondage in my own country only to go\ninto worse in a heathen land? Nay, but I shall escape, and when I am\ngone be not anxious for me nor unhappy for thyself. I shall come back\nto my mother and Eli, and some day we shall rescue thee. Do thou put\nconfidence in my words. Look here.\u201d\n\nHe bared his arm and shoulder and with gentle fingers she touched the\nwelts and bruises, exclaiming compassionately.\n\nHe was still unconquered, defiant. \u201cThe soldiers gave these to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut not when thou wert good and obedient, Nathan.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d he admitted, and fell into a shamefaced silence.\n\nShe considered a moment. \u201cIt seemeth to me, Nathan, there be times when\nwe cannot help what we do, only _how_ we do. Dost thou not remember how\nour father Joseph was sold into bondage in Egypt? If he had refused to\nmake himself useful or been unfaithful in his tasks--\u201d\n\nNathan placed his fingers warningly on his lips and Miriam ceased\nspeaking as the soldiers swarmed into the cave, so putting an end to\nconversation.\n\nBreakfast had long been over for the men, but in the hurry of departure\nthe youthful commander did not forget a handful of raisins and dried\nfigs, together with some parched corn, for his small prisoners. He\ninsisted that they eat, then, taking the hand of each, they left the\nprophet\u2019s cave, turned their backs upon the gorge, and walked leisurely\nthe valley road to its head, where the animals awaited them.\n\n\u201cHast thou ever been on a horse, little maid?\u201d\n\n\u201cI never saw one but once. That was when the king\u2019s messenger passed\nthis way.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall have to set thee in front of me, on my horse. He will go\nfaster than an ass but not so fast as a camel at top speed, and in\nsix days, or maybe seven, we shall be in Damascus. We travel slowly to\naccommodate our speed to that of our beasts of burden, heavily laden\nwith stores from thy rich little valley. The lad will be on another\nhorse in front of one of the men, but they are rough and boisterous.\nWouldst thou not rather ride with me?\u201d\n\nWithout waiting for assent he lifted her gently to the back of the\nanimal, gave a few directions to his men, and the column began to\nmove. There was no saddle and she found herself slipping. She grasped\ndesperately at the horse\u2019s mane, but Isaac had anticipated this and\nheld her firmly with one arm.\n\n\u201cIt will be easier when thou art more used to riding,\u201d he comforted,\n\u201cbut I will not let thee fall.\u201d\n\nA long, last look at the village on the hillside and then, with eyes\nthat saw not for tears and a heart that seemed to weigh much more than\nher sturdy little body, Miriam left behind all that was dear to her and\nbegan the journey into a far country.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAn hour later a maiden climbed slowly and painfully the steep path up\nfrom the valley. At the top she met a woman with horrible cuts across\nthe face and body, weak from loss of blood and leaning on the shoulder\nof a lad whose right arm hung useless at his side.\n\n\u201cArt thou hurt, Judith?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, Hannah, but if thou hadst fled from one terror to another ever\nsince yesterday afternoon when I first beheld the soldiers coming up\nthe valley, and had finally lain concealed for hours, not daring to\nmove lest thou be discovered, chilled by the heavy night dews, stiff\nand cramped, frightened and lacking food, thou also wouldst walk with\ndifficulty.\u201d\n\nEli was horrified, reproachful: \u201cThou knewest the Syrians were upon us\nand madest no effort to warn the city? We might have put up a better\ndefense or saved some of our supplies by hiding them. As it is, many\nhave suffered, a few even unto death.\u201d\n\nHe paused and looked shudderingly at a swiftly approaching cloud which\ndarkened the air, then quickly drew his mother inside the nearest\nhouse. \u201cThe vultures descend, having scented their prey from afar, yet\nfew were slain and they only because of desperate resistance. The pale\nyoung man, scarce older than I, who seemed to command the party, had\nhis men well under control. He reproved the soldier who smote thee,\nmother, and stooped over thee with horror in his eyes, himself tying\nthe cloth which saved thee from bleeding to death and which I could not\ntie with one hand. I could love him were he other than a heathen and a\nrobber!\u201d\n\nTurning to Judith, who had followed them, his voice became stern:\n\u201cKnowest thou that famine stareth us in the face--and thou mightest\nhave saved it?\u201d\n\nThe girl\u2019s tones were aggrieved: \u201cGladly would I have borne tidings,\nEli, if I could have done so with safety, but I should have been\ncaptured. They have taken Nathan and Miriam, and a veiled maiden rideth\nin the rear who somehow reminded me of Rachel.\u201d\n\nHannah clasped Judith\u2019s arm: \u201cThou sawest Nathan and Miriam? Tell me--\u201d\nand Judith, who had seen and heard almost everything of the eventful\nhours just past, told the story.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nMeanwhile Miriam had left the village-crowned hills, the fertile\nvalleys, the scattered oak groves; crossed a tree-studded, grassy\nmeadow, a tangle of ferns and brushwood, and descended a gorge in the\nmidst of which tumbled and roared and foamed a stream. The atmosphere\nseemed heavy with a heat not derived from the sun.\n\n\u201cHast thou seen the Jordan before, little maid?\u201d\n\nHer answer was lost in the confusion of fording the river. At a place\nsufficiently shallow the horses were led down the steep and slippery\nbank, alarmed the moment their feet rested in the soft mud; terrified\non reaching the shingly bottom to feel the swift tug of the current\nand the coldness of the rapid waters; cold after their enforced dip\nand taking quickly and easily the cliffs and steppes to the broad\nplateau above, which seemed the higher because of the depression of the\nJordan Valley. The wind swept chill out of the snow-covered mountains\nto the north, toward which they were turning their faces, but after the\nheaviness of the valley they had just left, the air was exhilarating\nand fragrant with herbage.\n\n\u201cWe are east of the Jordan now, little maid,\u201d explained the young\ncaptain. \u201cSeest thou how much easier it is to travel? It will be fairly\nlevel all the way into Damascus. Thou wilt see continual passing to and\nfro; much cattle and many camels and asses, and people that will look\nstrange to thee, but fear not.\u201d\n\nHe smiled at her reassuringly, but her eyes held a far-away look of\ninexpressible sadness, at sight of which he became silent.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOn the sixth night of the encampment, Isaac was decidedly out of sorts.\nSeveral things had gone wrong and the party was much overdue. There had\nfirst been trouble among the pack-animals. This adjusted, it had been\nfound that one of the soldiers, whose wounds had been thought of little\nconsequence, had grown rapidly worse, and, lastly, their boy-captive\nhad escaped. The veiled woman was gone likewise, but that mattered\nlittle.\n\nIn a retired spot, somewhat removed from the noises of the camp, they\nhad spread a goat\u2019s-hair tent and built a fire at a little distance so\nthat its light would not play unpleasantly upon the features so soon to\nbe relaxed in death. Isaac, who had taken the care of the sick man upon\nhimself, watched alone save for Miriam, who lay asleep in one corner of\nthe tent. For six days now he had been solicitous for her comfort, not\nfrom any personal interest but as a matter of war economics. It would\nbe awkward if fright or cold or hardship should result in her illness\nand they so far from Damascus. On her part, the little maid was losing\nher fear of this young man, who treated her with no unkindness or lack\nof gentle consideration.\n\nLost in thought, he sat gazing moodily into the fire. Odd about the\nwoman! Doubtless she had now joined herself to some one of the caravans\nthey were constantly passing. Lemuel had described her as a camp\nhanger-on, and her veil was evidence of her loose moral character,\nsince neither matron nor maid of good repute at that period went veiled\nsave at marriage or while journeying, yet for six days she had shown\nevery sign of shrinking timidity, and he had seen to it that she was\ntreated with respect. He had asked Nathan if he knew her, but the boy\nhad replied sullenly in the negative without turning his head. He had\nasked the little maid, but her eyes had been full of tears. For several\nreasons it had not seemed best to allow speech between the captives,\nand so the mystery had remained.\n\nHe had not himself questioned her, being irritated that she rode the\nhorse he had brought for the maiden whose face had been in his memory\never since that day he saw her feeding pigeons in the gorge. He had\nmeant to show special leniency to her family and thus secure their\nconsent to a marriage, scorning to take her an unwilling captive; to\nforce her into an alliance she would abhor, a sin of which certain\nother captains he could name had been guilty. However, the maid could\nnot be found and he bothered his brain with a thousand conjectures.\n\nThat very day a puzzling circumstance had occurred. While searching\nfor the fugitive lad, Isaac had caught the flutter of a garment and\nfollowed it straight to its hiding place. He had not found the boy,\nbut this woman had knelt before him, clasping her hands--wondrously\npretty hands, he had noticed--and in a voice remarkably soft and sweet\nhad besought him to leave her. He had hesitated, and then Chivalry had\ngone out to succor Distress. Planting himself in front of her retreat\nuntil the last of his men had passed, he had followed them without one\nbackward glance.\n\nThinking about it now, a doubt of Lemuel\u2019s tale came to his mind\nfor the first time. The veil might be explained away, but not that\nrefinement of voice, not--a movement by the fire attracted his\nattention. He stared incredulously, for there, hovering over the blaze,\nwas the girl of his dreams. It could be no other than the face he\nhad carried in his memory all these months. Stranger even than the\napparition, she had been the veiled woman, for the garment\u2019s tatters\nwere even now drawn tightly about her shivering form. Behind the girl\nsomebody appeared and clutched her by the arm. It was a boy--_the_\nboy--but Isaac did not move. Nathan\u2019s alarm exhibited itself in his\nvoice.\n\n\u201cI awoke and missed thee. Rachel, knowest thou not that whosoever hath\nkindled this fire is not far off?\u201d He scanned the darkness anxiously,\nbut the outlines of the tent were not visible where it lay, outside the\npale of the firelight. \u201cCome, Rachel. Hast thou no fear?\u201d\n\nHer tones were the same low, musical ones he had heard that day: \u201cI was\nso cold, Nathan, so cold. I watched a long time and saw no one, the\nsoldiers from whom we escaped being some distance away as thou knowest,\nand I became persuaded that if any but an angel had built this fire it\ncould be none other than a friend. Even now I feel it so.\u201d\n\nNevertheless, the boy\u2019s entreaties were not to be denied and after a\ntime she allowed herself to be led away to their place of concealment.\nIsaac noted its direction. He was sick at heart. To think he had had\nthe opportunity he craved and had not known it. He could have saved her\nthese hardships and had not done so. And then a savage joy possessed\nhim. She was his beyond all power of interference. He knew her hiding\nplace, but he would be careful not to frighten her by any vehemence\nof word or action. He would treat her gently, as was due the maiden\nwho would be acceptable in the great house he called \u201chome.\u201d He would\nfirst provide for her comfort and teach her to trust him, then, when he\noffered her honorable marriage, she would accept gladly, gratefully. It\nwas all so simple. Perhaps it had been best, after all, that things had\nturned out this way instead of--\n\nA little hand was suddenly slipped into his and a little voice cried\nexcitedly: \u201cI saw them by the fire: Rachel, the maid to whom my brother\nBenjamin is betrothed, and Nathan. Was it not nice she had her wedding\nveil to cover herself before all these strange, rough men? But Benjamin\nkeepeth my father\u2019s flock out on the hills of Israel and knoweth not\nhow it fareth with Rachel. Wilt thou send him word?\u201d\n\nThe soldier was stunned. He gazed at Miriam stupidly for a moment, for\nseveral moments. At last he seized her face between his hands and held\nit where the firelight shone full upon it. \u201cThy name, little maid,\u201d he\ncommanded, sharply.\n\n\u201cMiriam, daughter of Caleb.\u201d\n\nHe fell back a pace, repeating the words as if to recall memories:\n\u201cMiriam, daughter of Caleb ... thy brother keeping his father\u2019s flock\non the hills of Israel.... Benjamin, sayest thou?... Thy village\nHannathon, whose outgoing is the Valley of Jiptha-el.... _Benjamin!_\nAh, strangely familiar hath thy appearance been to me. I wondered whom\nthou didst remind me of. And now that I recall it, not only have I\nheard thy name but I have seen thee. Thou wert the little maid with\nRachel in the gorge, and there was a lad older than Nathan. \u2018Eli,\u2019 his\nbrother, sayest thou? And I have taken captive Benjamin\u2019s sister! Would\nthat I had known it six days ago!\u201d\n\nHe resumed his old position near the door of the tent, his head buried\nin his hands. \u201cAnd this maiden, Rachel--Benjamin\u2019s betrothed? Nay, it\ncannot be.\u201d\n\nBut Miriam said it was; said it with so much detail he could not doubt;\nsaid it with a calm matter-of-factness that was torture unspeakable\nto the listener, who was ill with disappointment; rebellious at the\nthought of failure in that which he had resolved; stubbornly determined\nto admit no defeat as long as there was one ray of hope. At last,\nfinding him quite unresponsive, Miriam crept away to her leopard\u2019s skin\nbed and sobbed herself to sleep, not knowing that he was so young and\ninexperienced and pain so new and strange that he knew not how to meet\nit.\n\nThat night he fought the hardest battle of his life, a battle not\nwith flesh and blood, which were easier to overcome, but with his own\nundisciplined spirit, and in the gray of the morning, as he watched\na life embark on the Great Unknown, the better part of him won. When\nMiriam awoke he greeted her with the friendly smile she had come to\nexpect. They would be on the march very soon, he said, but before they\nstarted perhaps they had better talk over something he had in mind, and\nthen they fell to planning together for the relief of the wayfarers,\nRachel and Nathan.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nDAMASCUS\n\n\nThe ninth day, shortly after noon, Isaac\u2019s company neared Damascus.\nThey traveled slowly, carrying the dead body of their comrade, but not\ntoo slowly for Miriam, to whom grief for the past and uncertainty as\nto the future loomed larger than the delights of new experiences. They\npaused a moment on the heights above and looked down upon the city.\n\nIsaac pointed with pride: \u201cSeest thou, little maid, that the buildings,\ncrowded so closely together and all covered with gray plaster, make\nDamascus look like a pearl. It is a pearl set in emeralds, for it lieth\nin the midst of fragrant gardens and shady orchards which entirely\nsurround it, and in which thou mayest travel for hours on hours before\nreaching the desert. All this is wrought by our two good friends, the\nRiver Abana and the River Pharpar, which hath made Damascus possible.\nWithout them this would be but desert sands. The Pharpar flows through\nthe plains to the south of us, but the Abana, like a faithful servant\nto her mistress, the Queen of Cities, washes off the dust of her feet.\nEvery street and every dwelling hath its marble fountain supplied by\nthe Abana\u2019s cold and sparkling waters. Freely doth it flow for rich and\npoor alike. Thou shalt see its wonders and its beauty.\u201d\n\nHe touched his horse and they moved on, leaving the exhilarating air\nof the hills, traversing roads which lay between fascinating vistas\nof garden and orchard, such as he had described, and finally entering\nthe great, crowded gate. To Miriam the city presented more perils than\nthe wilderness. The bustle of the streets appeared like confusion; the\ngayly colored garments everywhere looked odd, even fantastic, while the\ncries of the merchandise vendors and the constant din of conversation\nin many voices and many languages were bewildering. She drew closer to\nthe young captain, imploring, fearful.\n\nHe smiled reassuringly. \u201cWe stop here, nay, not to dismount but only\nto leave the men. This is the \u2018barracks\u2019 where I live when I am not at\nhome, but thou and I go further.\u201d\n\nShe grew faint with apprehension. Was she now to be sold as a slave?\nBut what else could one expect in this terrible heathen city?\n\nThey were taking the \u201cfarther ride\u201d of which he had spoken. \u201cSeest thou\nthis splendid temple, little maid? Notice its magnificence and its vast\nsize. It is the House of Rimmon, the sun-god of the Syrians. Nay, not\nmy god. If I believe at all, and sometimes I wonder how it is possible\nto know which god is the true one among so many, it is Jehovah, whom I\nwas taught to worship even as thou, my mother being a captive from the\nLand of Israel like thee.\u201d\n\nHe had not meant to bring that pained expression to Miriam\u2019s face.\nAll at once he noticed how small she was and how forlorn. His voice\nbecame soothing. \u201cI am taking thee to the house where she went, where\nshe grew up and married my father, who was chief steward there and an\nEgyptian. I was born in that house and call it \u2018home\u2019 even yet, for I\nam much with my master. It is the House of Naaman, commander-in-chief\nof the armies of Syria. I think thou wilt wait upon his wife, Adah. My\nsister, Milcah, hath a position of authority among the female servants,\nand if she seemeth to thee at first somewhat severe, thou must remember\nthat she hath much care, so much that her heart hath great ado to show\nitself. But peradventure\u201d (questioningly) \u201cthou wouldst enjoy a Quest\nfor the Hidden Heart?\u201d\n\nHer answer was prevented by their arrival at the largest abode Miriam\nhad ever seen, and the next hour was a very trying one. She did not\nmeet the mistress she was to serve. Instead, she was taken straight\nto Milcah, the soldier\u2019s sister, the Lady of the Hidden Heart, whose\nwelcome was critical rather than cordial. After a little while Isaac\nbade her good-by for the present, holding her hand tightly.\n\n\u201cThou wilt be happy here, and I will come often to see how thou doest.\nThou must feel free to tell me everything, just as thou wouldst talk\nwith thy brother, Benjamin.\u201d\n\nBut she would not let him depart. She was in an agony of terror,\nclinging to him and begging him piteously not to leave her.\n\nHe was perplexed and distressed. Stooping, he caressed her; took her in\nhis arms and attempted to soothe her in quite a big-brother fashion;\ntold her about his debt to Benjamin, which he should repay to her;\nreassured her about the kindness of those among whom he had brought\nher; promised to come every day; tried to divert her attention to the\nfountain in the peaceful courtyard and the other beauties around them;\nsought to arouse her courage and inspire hope. After a time she became\ncalm and suffered him to leave, but before going he had a few sharp\nwords with his sister, Milcah, who had looked on coldly, impatiently,\nat these proceedings.\n\n\u201cAs if I had naught to do but act as child\u2019s nurse! Assuredly she will\nbe well treated. Hath anything else ever been known in the House of\nNaaman?\u201d\n\nWith this ungracious promise he had to be content, but never before had\nhe taken his way to the barracks with such a heavy heart. He paused\ntwo or three times and looked back, as if debating whether or not to\nreturn, but finally went on. Meanwhile, with expedition and no waste\nof sympathy, Miriam was bathed, under Milcah\u2019s direction, and dressed\nin garments hastily adapted for the purpose out of those intended for\na much larger maid. The rest of the afternoon time dragged. Miriam,\nvery forlorn indeed, was yet very brave, as she had promised Isaac to\nbe. She expected to be put to work immediately, to be given tasks that\nwould try her strength and patience to the utmost, but, apparently,\nthere was nothing for her to do.\n\nVenturing into the courtyard, she observed that if the dwelling looked\nlarge on the outside, it was immense within and sheltered a household\nso numerous that the arrival of one more made no difference whatever.\nSomewhat later she had her supper, a bounteous meal that she could not\nswallow for the lump in her throat, and then Milcah sent her to bed\nin a large room with several of the maid servants. It was a softer\nbed than any she had ever known, but not one of ease. She lay there\nthinking, thinking until the intolerable pain in her throat was at last\nrelieved by tears, but she was careful to smother the sobs lest she\ndisturb those whose regular breathing told her they were asleep. She\ncould reach out her hand and touch them, they were so near, yet she was\nalone, quite, quite alone! No one cared about her except, strangely\nenough, the soldier who had brought her hither! If she could only\ncuddle down in her mother\u2019s arms, or her father\u2019s! Oh, the sobs would\nnot be stifled! What if the Lady of the Hidden Heart should hear?\n\nAs if in answer to this despairing cry, Milcah stood, looking down\nupon her. \u201cExactly what I feared,\u201d she commented, \u201cand to-morrow no\nwork will be done because the sound of thy weeping to-night will go\nforth to disturb the household. Thus is mischief wrought by a brother\u2019s\nthoughtlessness. Do thou come into the room with me, and if thou must\nweep, none will be distressed, for much care maketh me always wakeful.\u201d\n\nNot unkindly though entirely without tenderness, Miriam was assisted to\nmake the change, but the fountain of tears seemed frozen. For the rest\nof the night she lay with wide-open eyes, staring but unseeing, sick\nto the very soul. Yet did she not suffer alone. From his comparatively\nhard couch over in the barracks, Isaac all at once sprang up, alert,\nlistening. Noiselessly he crossed the room, opened a door, and stepped\nout into the starlight. Still were the voices of traffic and people\nwhich had so terrified Miriam that day. The city slumbered. He looked\nacross roof after roof to two which towered above the others, ghostlike\nin the whiteness of their plastered exteriors. One was the palace, the\nother the House of Naaman.\n\nA long, long while he stood there, then he returned to his bed,\nlaughing softly. \u201cI grow fanciful,\u201d he said to himself. \u201cI dreamed I\nheard the sobbing of the little maid. As if I could at this distance,\nor as if she were weeping when she hath doubtless been asleep these\nmany hours!\u201d\n\nYet for some reason the soldier slept but fitfully the remainder of the\nnight. Into his passive brain swarmed long-forgotten tales he had heard\nat his mother\u2019s knee: tales of her captivity; of her loneliness and\nhome-sickness; but because he had known her only in days of contentment\nand prosperity, they had seemed to him but as tales. Now he understood.\nWith features drawn as if in pain he groaned: \u201cIf only, ah, if only!\u201d\n\nIn the morning he went home very early, only to find that the little\nmaid was too weak and ill to rise.\n\nHis sister spoke her mind without reserve. \u201cI am not pleased, Isaac,\nthat thou shouldst have brought this child hither. She will be much\ntrouble and little help. We can do nothing now except endure it, but I\nhope thou wilt never take captive another maid.\u201d\n\nHe promised fervently, and Milcah surveyed his retreating form with\ngreat satisfaction. \u201cWhen I talk to Isaac,\u201d she told herself, \u201calways\ncan I cause him to see the right, and no other woman hath such\ninfluence with him--so far.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was truly a wonderful house to which Miriam had come. In the first\nplace it had no front door. The outside was just a blank wall of gray\nplaster with a few small openings, very high up, and instead of a door\nthere was a gate: a large, highly ornamented, metal gate at which a\nkeeper always stood. From this you will understand that none of the\nrooms looked out upon the street save through those little, latticed\nopenings above everybody\u2019s heads, the real doors and windows being on\nthe other side (the inside), where they opened upon a wide veranda\nand then upon a square courtyard. You could stand in one doorway, for\nexample, and see rows and rows of rooms facing the four sides of this\ncourtyard but not opening into each other.\n\nYou might think you would miss seeing the street, but how could you\nwhen the courtyard had its fountain and grass and flowers and trees and\neven birds? All of the courtyards were pretty and peaceful, even that\nwhere the animals were kept, the word \u201call\u201d being used advisedly, for\nwhile most houses had one court or two or three at most, this one had\nseven. You would get lost trying to find your way about. The rooms were\nlarge and high, and so clean and well furnished! On three sides were\nlow and wide benches, where you sat in the daytime and slept at night\non the soft cushions and thick mattresses which were never put away.\nThere was nothing else in these apartments, but, of course, there was\nnothing else to want except the queer little pans containing lighted\nwood or charcoal which would be brought in when it was cold.\n\nThe portion of the building set aside for the use of the master and\nmistress and their guests had not more but only more elegant furniture.\nHere the courtyard was paved with marble and inside the apartments\nthe low and wide benches were made of carved cedar inlaid with ivory\nand mother-of-pearl and tortoise-shell in intricate designs. Here the\ncushions were covered with beautifully colored silks, the mattresses\nwith heavier material, and there were curtains of silk and linen and\nrugs spread down to walk upon. Miriam, surveying this magnificence\nsurreptitiously, decided that while it was quite right and proper in\nsuch a place and for such a purpose, it was entirely unnecessary for\nthe rest of the household. With the rooms and verandas all floored and\nkept so clean, who would need carpets? And there were almost no ants\nor mice! As for cushions, silk would not wear nearly so long, she was\nsure, as the sheepskin and goatskin stuffed with wool which were so\nplentiful in the other apartments. The master, Naaman, must be very\nrich to maintain such a splendid dwelling. It was awe-inspiring just to\ncontemplate its glories.\n\nOut of doors it was even more interesting. You could go up a stone\nstaircase in the corner of one of the courts and come out on the roof.\nYou need not be afraid. There was no danger. It was only one story\nhigh--although that was very high indeed--and the roof was flat.\nBesides, the wall built around the edge would keep you from falling.\nYou could see so much and so far! You could look down into the narrow\nand crowded streets of Damascus itself, where brilliantly garbed\nthrongs were constantly coming and going on interminable errands,\nand beyond that to miles of verdure and swamp land and several\nswift, silvery streams, offshoots of the Pharpar and the Abana, and\nbeyond that still to the long, low-lying bluish-purple hills and the\ndun-colored desert. It would be just according to your mood whether or\nnot your gaze returned to Damascus and fastened itself upon the one\nother building more pretentious than this: the palace where dwelt King\nBen-hadad and his court, and then wandered off to the three great gates\nof Damascus, through which many entered and some never returned.\n\nThere were numerous people in the household of Naaman, almost as many,\nshe was sure, as lived in a whole \u201ccity\u201d in Israel, so it was not\nstrange they should have different languages. How very dissimilar each\nindividual was from the other! Odd that we should all have eyes and\nears and noses and mouths and hair and yet no two look alike! The only\nperson of the entire household whose ways and speech were the least\nfamiliar was Milcah, sister to the young soldier who had brought her\nhither, and Milcah was much, much older than her brother and much, much\nharder to please.\n\nIsaac\u2019s daily visits and trifling gifts of fruit or flowers, at first\nreceived listlessly, gradually acquired greater value in Miriam\u2019s\neyes until they were the only bright spots on an otherwise monotonous\nhorizon. The marvels of her new home had no charms for her at first.\nThey dawned upon her gradually as, day after day, with wan face and\nlagging footsteps, and in response to Isaac\u2019s encouragement, she roamed\nthrough the big house, smiling wistfully upon those who were often too\nbusy to smile in response. She was not resentful. The hurt came in the\nfact that they were absorbed in their own affairs, in which she had no\npart. And in Hannathon she had been so necessary!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nWAYFARERS\n\n\nThe western or southwestern gate of Damascus, that which looked toward\nIsrael and Egypt, had seen much coming and going of late. Varied\nfeatures and varied dispositions, people large and small, old and\nyoung, bond and free, soldiers and civilians, on all manner of business\nand pleasure they had passed, but never a couple more likely to attract\nattention than the maiden and the boy who now approached. There was\nsomething inexpressibly gentle and refined in her appearance which\ncontrasted oddly with her tattered garments and the leopard\u2019s skin\ndrawn closely around her. The boy seemed more fitted for the wilderness\nand the hardships they had evidently endured.\n\nThey were talking low and eagerly. \u201cThinkest thou, Rachel,\u201d with a\ntouch of scorn, \u201cthat the Lord would send an angel in these times and\nto us as he did to our fathers?\u201d\n\nShe was sweetly reasonable. \u201cThen how dost thou explain the fire with\nno one near it the night when I thought I should die with the cold;\nand this leopard\u2019s skin we found next morning near the embers; and the\nfood--so much we have had enough and to spare; and the water-skin\nfilled with life-giving water for which we thirsted; and even these\nstrips of cloth to bind up our bleeding feet, cut on the sharp\nrocks, bruised on the rough road? Nay, no matter what thou sayest,\nNathan, I have learned that Jehovah is merciful and gracious, full of\nloving-kindness and tender mercies with which we have been surrounded.\nIndeed, now that our perils are nearly over, I feel that all I have\ngone through hath been but a spiritual experience. The Lord hath been\nmy strength, just as Miriam told me, and he is about to become my song.\nSoon we shall reach the home of my kinsman, Ezekiel, where we shall not\nonly be safe and well cared for ourselves, but he will know what to do\nconcerning Miriam.\u201d\n\n\u201cLook out, Rachel!\u201d Nathan was glaring after a man with a heavy load\nwho had stumbled against them. \u201cA good thing it is that the road is\nstraight and smooth. Keep thou close to me and watch thy steps.\u201d\n\nThey had need to. As they proceeded the travel increased. They were\njostled; they jumped quickly out of the way of those who rode, only to\nbe pushed in another direction by those who walked; they met frowns\nand ill-natured remarks and, what was harder to bear, smiles and\nunmistakable jests. They had about concluded that Might rather than\nRight was the rule of the highway when their opinion was confirmed. As\nthey came within the shadow of the city gates, but before they could\nenter, they were espied by a gay party, looking for sport.\n\nBy the very simple device of joining hands, a circle was formed around\nthe two unfortunates and they were thus entirely at the will of their\ntormentors. Nathan\u2019s rage and Rachel\u2019s entreaties merely added to the\namusement. The circle advanced and retreated, dragging its victims\nalong with it. They were mimicked with exaggerated pantomime. They were\nforced into ridiculous and undignified postures. One, bolder or more\nfacetious than the rest, indulged in hair-pulling and pinching.\n\nThe roars of laughter attracted the attention of passers-by, who joined\nthe gathering, some to jeer and encourage, others to inquire and\nprotest. The crowd grew, the noise increased, the road was obstructed\nand, trying to force a passage, many came to angry arguments and\nfinally to blows. The excitement was quelled only by the arrival of\nsoldiers, who finally hurried to the scene and in no gentle manner\ndispersed the mob. To Rachel, bruised and humiliated, this was a\nwelcome relief. She did not notice the curious gaze of the soldiers,\nthe changing expression on the face of one, nor that another looked at\nher intently for a moment, then, urging his horse to full speed, set\noff in the direction of the House of Naaman.\n\nNathan, with wits sharpened by terror, lost none of these things nor\na host of others, and hastily came to the conclusion that their\ndeliverance was cause only for additional fear. He clutched Rachel\u2019s\nhand: \u201cWe must go back as we came. Hearest thou? We cannot go into the\ncity to-day. Dost thou not see that these are the soldiers from whom we\nescaped? They will know me and guess whom thou art, even without thy\nveil.\u201d\n\nHe was violently pulling backward; the crowd, so long detained and\nanxious to make up for lost time, surging forward. As well try to stem\nthe Jordan with bare hands! They were swept apart, and before Rachel\nrealized it, she stood within the portals of Damascus, dismayed and\nalone. With Miriam in captivity and Nathan lost, it was more than ever\nimperative that she find Ezekiel and that without delay, but how? She\nstood at one side of the busy footway, anxiously waiting to see if\nNathan would join her. When he did not and she found herself again\nattracting attention, she singled out one in the hurrying throng and\nappealed to him timidly: \u201cCanst thou direct me to the House of Ezekiel\nin the street of the merchants of Israel?\u201d\n\nThe man looked at her, shook his head, and answered in a language she\ndid not understand. Others she tried, but with no better success. They\nwere not unkind, merely uncomprehending--and indifferent. Peradventure\nif she walked along slowly, constantly seeking, constantly asking,\nshe might--she must--somewhere discover one of her own people, or\nat least one whose speech was the same as her own. Already the sun\nwas casting long shadows and with a sinking heart Rachel proceeded on\nher way, never seeing a soldier who followed her cautiously and at a\nsafe distance. He also watched the sun. At last he approached near\nenough to hear her question, put now not so much with timidity as with\ndesperation. He addressed her in her own tongue: \u201cI know the man thou\nseekest. Thou hast but to come with me.\u201d\n\nAlthough his pronunciation was distinctly bad, she turned with pleasure\nat the words, but at sight of the speaker she shrank back, shivering.\n\n\u201cThoughtest thou to escape?\u201d He was regarding her with a kind of cruel\nexultation. \u201cI have found thee again as I swore I would, and now--\u201d\n\nHis hand rested compellingly upon her shoulder. The girl pleaded\ntremulously: \u201cIs it not enough that thou shouldst have taken me captive\nin Israel? Yet did the God of my fathers preserve me then and later on\nthe road hither. I shall believe that here in Damascus I shall fare no\nworse. Thy name, I know, is Lemuel, and there must be some law, some\nprotection for the innocent--\u201d\n\nDespite the bravery of the words her voice faltered. She was weary and\nheartsick. Had she endured so much only to fall into danger at every\nstep? Her captor had drawn her within an alley-way and in the fast\ngathering dusk the hurrying pedestrians neither saw nor heard aught\namiss. He spoke in a tone of easy confidence, secure in possession, but\nRachel heeded not. She was planning escape, yet weighed down by a sense\nof her own helplessness. With a grip on her arm which made her wince\nwith pain, she felt herself hurried along to an unknown destination.\n\nEmerging upon a less frequented thoroughfare, they unexpectedly\nencountered two men on horseback, riding slowly and straining their\neyes into the night as if in search of something or somebody. The man\nat Rachel\u2019s side glanced carelessly; again more intently and with\na muttered exclamation partially relaxed his hold. That instant\u2019s\nindecision lost him his prey. With a strength at which she wondered\nRachel tore herself out of his grasp and fled, whither she knew not.\nA few moments had sufficed to change her into a fugitive, afraid of\npeople, afraid of the torches which the few travelers still abroad were\ncompelled to carry. She sought only some dark corner in which to stand\npanting and then, afraid lest even its kindly shelter be sinister, to\nhurry to another.\n\nIt was in the intense darkness and stillness which precedes the dawn\nthat the girl, utterly exhausted, crouched in the shadow thrown by\na large dwelling and fell into a deep sleep. When the world turned\ngray two men on horseback extinguished their torches and approached\nthe entrance to this abode. The face of one was ashy with fatigue\nand disappointment. Observing the huddled figure he bent over it and\nuttered a joyful exclamation, beckoning for the other.\n\n\u201cOur search is ended. While we roamed abroad by night, she whom we\nsought found her way alone to protection. Quickly, bring food and water\nand borrow a cloak from one of the maid servants, while I remain here\nto guard the maiden.\u201d\n\nThe voices awakened the sleeper. Startled and confused, Rachel\nfound herself gazing into the face of the very young captain who\nhad commanded the little company of soldiers under whose escort she\nhad been brought from Israel. She recalled to mind the respect with\nwhich he had seen to it she was treated; his courtesy the day he\nhad discovered her hiding place, yet fear made her suspicious. She\nwould have fled once more, but before she could rise she noticed the\ncompassion in his look, the deference in his manner. His reassuring\nwords were spoken in her own tongue and as though it were native to him.\n\nThe incident at the gate, he said, and Rachel recalled her experience\nwith a shudder, had attracted the attention of his servant, who had\nbrought him word. Together they had sought her through the streets of\nthe city throughout the night, hoping to aid her, to give her a better\nimpression of Damascus than she had evidently formed. As they had\nreturned, almost persuaded that she must have found friends with whom\nshe was sheltered, they had discovered her asleep, at the portal of the\nHouse of Naaman, of whom she had doubtless heard and who was as good as\nhe was great. The servant had now gone for some refreshment. When she\nhad partaken and her strength was somewhat restored, she would permit\nhim, he hoped, to assist her to make plans for the future.\n\nAll at once the nerve-tension relaxed and Rachel found herself\nstrangely weak and trembling. She answered with puzzled relief: \u201cThou\ndost not look altogether like my people, but thou speakest as one.\nCanst thou direct me to the House of Ezekiel, in the street of the\nmerchants of Israel? He is my kinsman.\u201d\n\nThe anxious expression left the young man\u2019s face. \u201cYea,\u201d he said, \u201cas\nsoon as thou hast eaten and drunken--and here cometh my servant-thou\nwilt find that I am the way. Behold, I go before thee. Follow thou me.\u201d\n\nAn hour later Rachel, guided by the soldier, arrived at the street and\nthe dwelling she had so greatly desired to find, but disappointment\nawaited her. \u201cEzekiel? Yea, he _was_ here,\u201d she was told, \u201cbut a month\nago he died and only yesterday his family started back to Israel.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nRachel was not Isaac\u2019s only problem. There was Miriam. That she was\nrelated to the shepherd who had nursed him with tender care through\na long illness meant, to the young man, that he should see to her\nwelfare; that the gift he had brought his master\u2019s wife from the\nenemy\u2019s country should be unappreciated, that the child was unwanted\nand unwelcome, stirred him to profound indignation; and that she\ngrieved for the home and loved ones from which he had ruthlessly taken\nher roused his deepest pity.\n\nIn compensation he gave her the best of himself--his leisure moments,\nhis most unselfish thought. All at once he became critical of his own\nmotives and those of others. Miriam had such an uncomfortable way of\nlooking him straight in the eye and innocently inquiring, \u201cThinkest\nthou Jehovah would be pleased?\u201d He had never thought before nor cared.\n\u201cJehovah\u201d was a name his mother reverenced and to which his sister was\nnot indifferent, but it had meant nothing in particular to him. Now,\nhowever, with the obligation of answering the frank questions of this\nsmall maiden, who seemed to believe him the embodiment of wisdom, he\nbegan to observe and compare conduct, to ask himself what was worth\nwhile and why. As the weeks and months went by, such considerations\ncould not fail to react upon his own ideals nor remain unnoticed by\nothers.\n\nIn his wife\u2019s apartments lingered Naaman, soldier-statesman of Syria.\n\u201cWhat thinkest thou, Adah, of the little maid who is of the Land of\nIsrael?\u201d\n\nHis wife toyed with a silken tassel. \u201cI know not indeed, having seen\nher but a time or two and that from a distance.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen thou dost not care for the present Isaac brought thee, with such\nelation, from afar?\u201d Something there was in the cool displeasure of the\ntone which caused the lady suddenly to remember that Isaac\u2019s parents\nhad served her husband\u2019s family; that Isaac\u2019s mother had been Naaman\u2019s\nnurse; and that Isaac himself had been born in that very house.\n\nShe hastened to her own defense. \u201cThe maid of whom thou speakest hath\nbeen so woe-begone I felt I owed it to myself not to be troubled by her\nsadness. Milcah hath borne tidings of her and I was not attracted.\u201d\n\nHis reply was dictated by long observation and much worldly knowledge.\n\u201cMilcah taketh precautions lest she be supplanted later. Fear hath\neyes of its own and its vision is oft distorted. Thou wilt be wise,\nI think, to judge of the little maid for thyself. It hath been my\nexperience that where there is a drop of Israelitish blood, there is\ntrustworthiness. Oft have I wondered if their religion had aught to\ndo with it. Look thou at Isaac. Because he understandeth the tongue\nof Israel, I sent him with Lemuel, kinsman of thy friend, to spy out\nthe land to the south of us. Of the two, Isaac brought back the more\ndetailed and reliable information.\u201d\n\nAdah was glad to turn the conversation into this new channel. \u201cWas it\nfor this thou didst reward him with the captaincy of a small band? My\nfriends were somewhat displeased, hoping no doubt for such preferment\nfor Lemuel.\u201d\n\nThe man frowned. \u201cShould I not reward justly? Isaac is young, thou\nsayest? Ah, but age is not a matter of birthdays. He joyeth in\nresponsibility.\u201d The speaker smiled. \u201cHast thou not observed his care\nover the little maid?\u201d\n\nLater and alone, Adah, wife of Naaman, sat wrapped in reflection.\nIt were undoubtedly right and politic to please one\u2019s husband. His\njudgment concerning the little maid should be respected. He was\nimpulsive but astute. Of course, when properly trained, even a tiny\nmaid would be useful, but oh, the tediousness, the annoyance of the\ntraining! She would be awkward and heedless. Nay, for the present at\nleast it would be best to wait.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nDOUBTS\n\n\nAlmost six months passed. In the House of Amos, friend of that Ezekiel\nwho had died, sat Rachel, the scalding tears dropping from between her\nfingers. She was not unmindful that Rebekah, wife of Amos, was holding\na guarded conversation out in the courtyard with her bosom friend and\nthat it concerned her.\n\n\u201cI think her trouble hath affected her mind,\u201d the neighbor was saying.\n\u201cWhen thou wert gone to the Street of the Bakers I peeped in at the\ndoor and she was laughing and crying over a bracelet made of dried\ngrasses which was hung around her neck. She would have hidden it when\nI appeared, but when I insisted upon knowing its history she said it\nhad been given her by the young shepherd to whom she is betrothed. They\nwere children then and played at a wedding and she kept the foolish\ntoken. It is the nearest she will ever come to a marriage, poor child,\nand I told her so.\u201d\n\nRebekah nodded.\n\n\u201cThou knowest,\u201d the other woman continued, \u201cthat the soldier who\nbrought her hither cometh not at all since the first day or two, when\nhe came to inquire how she fared. Then he did not ask to see her,\nnor even when he brought thee the gold wherewith to purchase her new\nclothing. Didst thou not think it strange that he wished her to think\nthe gift came from Amos and thee? To my mind it is plain that he\ndesireth to be rid of the maiden. Peradventure he is relieved to place\nthe responsibility with thee.\u201d\n\nUnder this positive indictment Rebekah\u2019s double chin quivered. \u201cAll\nwe know of her,\u201d she agreed, \u201cis that some six months ago she came\nsomewhat after dawn, which hath seemed very odd to me, with a young\nsoldier, evidently an officer, seeking Ezekiel, and that Amos, in\npity for her distress, took her into our home until we could find out\nsomething about her. Yet, beyond the tale she telleth, we know no more\nthan at first. Gentle she is and sweet and if what she saith be true--\u201d\n\nRebekah\u2019s friend regarded her severely. \u201cThe minute I saw her with the\nsoldier I knew that no good would come of it. Thou didst say the same\nand her story goeth but to prove--\u201d\n\nThe voices sunk lower. Rachel could catch the import but not the words.\nHowever, she had heard enough. They doubted her account of herself\nand she had no way whereby to prove it. She might, of course, make an\nattempt to find the soldier who had been so kind. His name was \u201cIsaac\u201d\nand he had spoken of the great House of Naaman as \u201chome,\u201d but she\nhesitated to throw herself upon the mercy of any man. The bitterness of\nbeing allowed a shelter on a sufferance which might terminate at any\ntime! Where was she to go? What to do? And not for herself alone was\nshe anxious. What had become of Nathan? How fared it with poor little\nMiriam?\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn the meanwhile Miriam, formerly of the Land of Israel, now of the\nLand of Syria but always, at least in her happier moments, a dweller in\nthe Land of Make-Believe, where you and I once lived, had discovered\nsomething new. By piling the cushions high on that wide bench which ran\naround three sides of the room, and standing upon them, she could look\nthrough the window-opening out upon the street. The lattice, which kept\nout the bats so nicely, would also prevent anyone on the outside from\nseeing the face at the window.\n\nThere was so much to be seen close at hand! From the roof, the figures\non the streets of Damascus looked almost as small as had the ants\ncrawling about their hills in Israel. Why, there was Isaac coming and\nhe had a timbrel under his arm! She was sure it was for her because she\nhad mentioned, one day, how much better she could sing the Lord\u2019s songs\nwhen accompanied by music, and they had talked about timbrels. She knew\njust how he would give it to her. He would make an elaborate bow and\nsay: \u201cFair lady, accept, I pray thee, a fond token of remembrance from\nthy faithful subjects beyond the Great Sea who have sent this, through\nmany and great dangers, by the hand of thy devoted slave.\u201d\n\nShe would take it with very grand airs, just as if she were a fair lady\nwith subjects beyond the Great Sea and it had been sent through many\ndangers, when they both knew that he had bought it for her in that\nvery city in one of those puzzling little shops he had told her about\nand which he was going to take her to see some time. She wondered if\nit would be the day he would also take her to see Rachel, who was so\nhappy in the home of Ezekiel\u2019s friend in the street of the merchants of\nIsrael.\n\nNext she would become extremely grave and tell him that just before\nhe came into the courtyard somebody had thrown him a kiss. She knew\nit for a fact, but he would never guess who it was. At first he would\nnot believe such a thing, then he would reluctantly admit that she\nmight have seen a kiss thrown, but it was surely meant for someone\nelse--Milcah, perhaps. This being denied, he would accept her word for\nit, but be very much mystified and make so many wild and improbable\nguesses as to the source from which it came that it was a great deal of\nfun. At last he would give it up and she would have to tell him that\nit was herself. At this he would assume a comical expression of relief\nand say that such being the case he was not so distressed because, not\nhaving any little sister of his own, he had adopted her, but if it had\nbeen anyone else--here his tone would become tragic--he would be most\nuncomfortable, for, as she knew, he was so bashful. At this they would\nboth laugh, for he was not bashful at all, and their play would be over.\n\nThey would then sit on the marble bench under the damson tree in the\ncourtyard, where they could see the fountain and hear the birds, and he\nwould give her a lesson. Every day he taught her a few words of Syrian\nand encouraged her to tell him all her experiences since the day before\nin that language so that she would the sooner become proficient. Thus\nshe began to \u201csave up\u201d things to relate and to \u201cpick up\u201d words as she\nwandered among the maid servants. He had begun this task as a dreaded\nduty. He continued it as a pleasure, finding her intelligent and quick\nand her ideas frequently original.\n\nMiriam neither guessed his one-time aversion to these lessons nor his\npresent satisfaction. He was learning tact as well as patience. She\nonly knew that he was sufficiently young to grasp her viewpoint just\nas Eli had once done--that Eli about whom she was so voluble. \u201cBecause\nBenjamin had Rachel to talk to,\u201d she explained, \u201cand I am going to\nmarry Eli when I grow up.\u201d He wondered why he felt complimented that\nshe should tell him this \u201csecret,\u201d but he did. In response he gravely\napproved her choice, and even asked the privilege of being the friend\nof the bridegroom, who would, according to Eastern usage, make the\nnecessary arrangements! The lesson over he would say good-by until the\nnext day, and when he had gone she always found that the sun did not\nseem to shine so brightly.\n\nShe was still gazing through the lattice when she was suddenly jerked\ndown, and a voice she had learned to fear said, indignantly, \u201cI know\nthe man to whom thou art throwing kisses.\u201d\n\nMiriam fingered her arm ruefully. To get those bruises over that! She\nanswered a little triumphantly: \u201cNay, Milcah, it was no man at all. It\nwas only Isaac.\u201d\n\nThere was a sound from the veranda wonderfully like a stifled laugh,\nbut it passed unnoticed in the excitement. Milcah\u2019s tones were coldly\nsevere: \u201cIn justice I shall have to say that I can find no fault with\nthy general conduct, but I have observed that thou art very bold toward\nmy brother. Shame on thee!\u201d\n\nMiriam was stunned. Bold! Why, to be that was to be the worst thing on\nearth, for a bold maiden was never respected. Her mother had told her.\nAfter a long minute she found voice: \u201cThinkest thou I do not know that\n\u2018men\u2019 are strangers or those who have no right to caress thee? Thinkest\nthou my mother hath not warned me to be careful? Isaac is not a man.\nHe is just--just--Isaac. The same as Benjamin. I almost hated him at\nfirst because he took me from my home\u201d--the words came chokingly--\u201cbut\nhe hath explained to me that he cannot take me back, yet he repenteth\nof the evil he hath done and seeketh to make me happy. _Thou_ hast\nnever been kind--nor anyone else in this big house save Isaac--\u201d\n\nShe could say no more, but with heart almost bursting under its load of\ngrief and misunderstanding, she ran swiftly past Isaac without seeing\nhim and hid somewhere to weep for the mother she never expected to see\nagain. Milcah was limp with despair when her brother entered the room.\n\n\u201cAt her age _I_ never attracted a man\u2019s attention.\u201d\n\n\u201cNor at any age, sister.\u201d\n\nThe woman glanced at him quickly and beheld what she had never thought\nto see in his face--a wrath so great that she cowered before it. His\ntones were new and strange: \u201cOft hast thou told me, sister, of our\ngreat leader, Moses, who met Jehovah face to face in the flaming bush\nof the desert. I go to the desert but to fight its wandering hordes of\nwarriors. Hast thou considered where _I_ am to meet Jehovah? Might it\nnot be in the pure heart of this little maid? Certainly I have done\nnothing to deserve her gratitude and affection, and thou as little;\nbut if I were worthy, I think there is naught that could hold a man to\nhigher thoughts and better deeds than the trust and expectancy in the\neyes of a child.\u201d\n\nThe speaker departed hurriedly. He too could say no more, for quite\nsuddenly his own shortcomings swarmed before him like black specters\nwith murderous intent. Why had he not told Miriam of her brother\u2019s\ncaptivity? Why had he not taken her to see Rachel? Why had he failed\nto tell the older maiden of the presence in Syria of her betrothed?\nWhy had he not sought out Benjamin, as he had long ago promised? Was\nit enough that he had assured himself of his benefactor\u2019s safety? Nay,\nhe lacked courage. That was it: he was afraid, he, a soldier! He was\nafraid to lose the flattering confidence of the little maid; afraid to\nexpose himself to the fascination Rachel still held for him; afraid to\nconfess the injury he had unwittingly wrought Benjamin, the man to whom\nhe was indebted. The thought was bitter: he--afraid. Yet it was true.\nHe would begin reparation by telling Miriam of Benjamin; by taking her\nthis very day to see Rachel; but she was nowhere to be found and he\nwent away regretful. On the morrow, if he could obtain permission, he\nwould be far away. _If_ he could obtain permission! Did he not come and\ngo at another\u2019s will? The morrow might bring duties elsewhere.\n\nMilcah, when Isaac had gone, sat down weakly upon the bench which had\nbeen the scene of Miriam\u2019s transgression. She was face to face with a\nstupendous thought. Her young brother was growing into manhood. He\nformed his own opinions and defended them. She had lost her baby! She\nsaid the words over slowly, trying to comprehend; trying to tear loose\nher heart-strings; trying to imagine him as he would be in the future.\nShe was dazed, bewildered, sorrowful. That he should have rebelled\nagainst words spoken for his own good; should have defied her, to whom\nhe was so dear! The outburst had been so unnecessary, and then her\nanger flamed against Miriam. Had it not been for _her_ it would never\nhave happened. Always was there a maid, large or small, to come between\na man and his family. Had she not seen it? It was the way of the world.\nThe only thing that saved the present situation was that this was a\nlittle maid. How careful she would have to be never to offend one whom\nhe loved!\n\nMeditating irritably, she was annoyed to find a small figure in her\nlap, a wet cheek pressed to hers: \u201cI am sorry, Milcah, that I said\nthou wert not kind. I should have remembered thou wert not brought\nup in Israel, and so thou dost not know about \u2018showing forth his\nloving-kindness in the morning and his faithfulness every night,\u2019 but\nbe of good comfort, I will show thee how.\u201d\n\nThe woman gasped. \u201cI need not,\u201d she commenced indignantly, and broke\noff the sentence in the middle, glaring in displeasure but utter\nhelplessness into the tear-stained face of this unwelcome child who\nwas taking such unwarranted liberties. No one else would dare! Yet it\nwas distinctly pleasant to feel those clinging little arms. It roused\none to such unexpectedly human emotions. She wondered how it would have\nbeen if her mother had not frowned upon Somebody. If the brief romance,\nso quickly stifled, had come true, if she had married, would a little\nmaid of her very own be making charming overtures of affection like\nthis one?\n\nAll at once Milcah gathered the child to her bosom, a little awed at\nthe overpowering sweetness of it but wholly lost in its joy. Without\npremeditation she was whispering soft words which had never been used\nsince Isaac had needed them; words which came falteringly from a tongue\nto which they were new and strange; words she had thought never to\nspeak again. A long time they sat thus while a maid servant peeped in\nat the door and, amazed at what she saw, went away stealthily to tell\nthe tale to those who scoffed at it as impossible.\n\nThus did Miriam end her Quest of the Hidden Heart, the same having been\nfound.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nINTRODUCTIONS\n\n\nIt was a week later that Milcah\u2019s voice interrupted Miriam\u2019s slumbers:\n\u201cArise quickly and prepare thyself. This day thou goest with me to the\nshop of Amos, the perfumer.\u201d\n\nA pair of bright eyes flew open, a cheerful voice answered, and an\nagile little body was soon robing itself.\n\n\u201cNay, not that garment, Miriam, but this which I have had woven for\nthee, and sandals for street-wear and this padded cloak. The morning is\ncool.\u201d\n\nThe recipient of these unusual attentions gazed with delight, touching\nthe gifts with admiration and wonder. \u201c\u2019Tis so white, Milcah, the robe,\nI mean, and it hath such a beautiful border of colored threads. I like\nit better than fringe and I never had so fine a cloak before nor such\nexpensive sandals. They are like a pair sent to Rachel from this very\ncity by her kinsman, Ezekiel.\u201d\n\nIt had been a very different week from any Miriam had passed before.\nMilcah\u2019s awkward motherliness had been all the more welcome since Isaac\nhad been away on business for his master. She had seen him for but a\nbrief and serious moment.\n\n\u201cWhen I return,\u201d he had told her, \u201cI must tell thee something thou\nshouldst have known before. Also, thou shalt see Rachel, but to-day\nthere is not time enough,\u201d and he was gone.\n\nThe speech had led to much speculation as to what that \u201csomething\u201d\nmight be, but then she was puzzled by quite a number of things in the\nnew life. For instance, it was not a joyous household. No one was ever\nmerry, and if any inadvertently laughed aloud, he or she immediately\nassumed an apologetic attitude which seemed strange when coupled with\nthe evident prosperity of the House of Naaman. Also, though of lesser\nimportance, there was one door in the Women\u2019s Courtyard which never\nremained open and through which none passed save Milcah and, less\noften, Isaac. Miriam had never asked questions. To her, the Closed Door\nwas an accepted but mystifying fact just as was the Joyless Household;\njust as had been the Lady of the Hidden Heart by whose side she was now\ncrossing the courtyard.\n\nAt a point just outside the gate they met Isaac, who greeted them\nhurriedly. He had returned but an hour ago, he said, and was even now\nsetting off on another errand on which he would be gone a few days.\nThis being not unusual and Milcah likewise disposed to hasten, they\nwent their separate ways, but Miriam was distinctly disappointed. He\nhad not noticed the new garments of which she was so happily conscious;\nhe had not inquired where she went on this, the first occasion she\nhad left the House of Naaman since she had entered it; he had scarcely\nseemed to see her at all.\n\nWondering much, she walked very soberly by Milcah\u2019s side, but the\nmarvelous experiences of the next two hours crowded unpleasant\nremembrances from her mind. For the first time she viewed close at hand\nthe streets and bazaars of Damascus; those crowded streets at which\nshe had once been affrighted; which she had so often observed from\nthe roof; which seemed mysteriously shorn of terror now; those small,\nstall-like bazaars Isaac had described, crowded with every conceivable\nmerchandise, salable articles hung on the walls and piled on the\nground, the merchants sitting cross-legged in the center of their\nwares. It was all so bewilderingly different from Hannathon, the only\n\u201ccity\u201d she had ever seen save Damascus!\n\nThe stern lines of Milcah\u2019s mouth relaxed into a little smile as she\nanswered eager, excited questions and looked into the flushed face of\nher companion. \u201cThe child taketh dress,\u201d she thought to herself. \u201cShe\nis not so unattractive as at first and she commenteth with intelligence\nupon what she sees. Peradventure she may become useful to me. Her\nnimble feet may oft save mine own from weariness. At once will I\nbegin--\u201d\n\nBut Milcah\u2019s thoughts received an unexpected check. She stopped short,\namazed and displeased, for there, on the footway of the busy street,\nin front of the shop of Amos the perfumer, stood Isaac, talking low and\nearnestly with a maiden whose full face was not visible from where they\nstood. The two saw only each other, paying no attention whatever to the\njostling throngs which surged past them.\n\nMilcah drew Miriam a little aside: \u201cSo this was the meaning of his\nhaste! Deaf is he and blind to his only sister, and when he is married\nhe will have time for neither thee nor me.\u201d She was greatly agitated,\nand her impressive tones carried an unaccountable chill to the heart of\nher listener. She had lost her friend! That was why he had not seemed\nto see her that morning. It would always be that way. Miriam brushed\naway a tear as the two parted with lingering adieux.\n\nFor the first time they saw the face of the girl at whom he was still\nsmiling, and Milcah was not relieved to note that she was of undoubted\nbeauty. Evidently, too, she was of Israelitish blood, which made the\nsituation all the more hopeless. It would be easier to urge objections\nagainst one of another race. With determination she turned to Miriam.\n\n\u201cThe maiden went into the House of Amos. With him have I business\nregarding perfumes for my mistress and with his wife have I some\nacquaintance, so that I may, with no impropriety, inquire the meaning\nof what we have witnessed. I would know how long this hath continued\nand something of the maid herself. Before I am obliged to accept her\nas a sister I desire to learn--\u201d\n\nBut Milcah was speaking to empty air. Miriam had already disappeared\nwithin the doorway and when the woman arrived and had exchanged with\nthe inmates of the dwelling the elaborate courtesies of the East, she\nfound the child and the strange maiden wholly engrossed in a happy\nconversation. The older girl at last became aware of voices near and\nquestioning, annoyed glances. She looked up with a face transfigured\nwith joy.\n\n\u201cTwo beautiful surprises hath come to me to-day: this little maid and\nbefore that Isaac came--\u201d\n\nRachel paused, perceiving the sudden coolness with which her words were\nreceived, but lifting her head a trifle defiantly she concluded the\nsentence almost with triumph: \u201cAnd within the month I am to be publicly\nbetrothed.\u201d\n\n\u201cI suppose,\u201d commented Milcah, \u201cthat thou art counting the days.\u201d\n\nThe girl looked her steadily in the eye: \u201cI never wanted anything in my\nlife so much as I want a home in which I may hide from the cruelties I\nhave suffered since I was taken captive.\u201d She brushed away a tear. \u201cYet\nI would not be ungrateful for all the mercies vouchsafed unto me by the\nGod of my fathers, nor would I be so unjust to my betrothed as to marry\nhim if I did not love him much, much more than my own ease or comfort.\u201d\n\nA blush overspread her cheek and she smiled down at Miriam, whom she\nwas holding in a close embrace.\n\n\u201cThen thou art very sure thou lovest him and wilt make him a worthy\nwife; that thou art not taking advantage of his goodness of heart nor\nconsidering thyself first of all.\u201d Milcah\u2019s tone was judicial, almost\naccusing.\n\nRachel answered slowly, wonderingly: \u201cI know not why thou shouldst\nask, but since our vows are soon to be said before the world there is\nno reason why I should not tell thee how I love him, have always loved\nhim--as he loveth me.\u201d\n\nMilcah\u2019s heart sank. Here was confirmation of her worst fears. She\nloved him too. She did not wish him to marry this maiden, nor any\nother, but if his heart were set in this direction, she would not want\nhim disappointed. She would try to approve his choice; try to forget\nher own loneliness when he should be absorbed in someone else and\nforget her, as was natural, as all men did forget their families when\nonce they were married.\n\nA little hand was laid against her arm, a little voice with compassion\nin it was urging her to listen. In the light of what had gone before,\nMiriam had understood Milcah\u2019s remarks as Rachel could not; had\ncomprehended Milcah\u2019s thoughts from the despair on her countenance, and\nnow came to the rescue of both. With a thrill of being at last needed\nshe realized that she held the key to an embarrassing situation. How\nmuch more she knew of the whole matter than anyone else present! She\ncould guess why Isaac had come. Had he not promised to take care of\nRachel for Benjamin, to whom he was indebted? Into an atmosphere thick\nwith misunderstanding, Miriam volubly poured her explanations.\n\nAnd now, she concluded, Isaac had gone to bring Benjamin, to whom\nRachel was betrothed, lacking only the public acknowledgment. Not until\nRachel told her did Miriam know he was also in Syria, a captive with\nhis flock, Isaac having spared to tell her lest she grieve for the\ndesolation of her parents. Her voice choked. But now that Rachel had no\nhome (Rebekah winced), she was glad he was near.\n\n\u201cThinkest thou he will come?\u201d asked Rebekah\u2019s friend, sharply. \u201cWill he\nnot resent the--the--interest of the soldier?\u201d\n\nRachel answered with a trace of indignation. \u201cHe will be grateful to\nthe soldier, for much kindness hath Isaac showed me and asked naught in\nreturn.\u201d\n\nMilcah, likewise indignant at the slur, found herself liking Rachel\nimmensely. In this maiden\u2019s hands her brother\u2019s reputation was quite\nsafe.\n\nMiriam assured them that he _would_ come and that without delay, and\nwent on to add numberless details which bore the manifest stamp of\ntruth, even to the mention of the sandals she was wearing, which were\nso very like a pair Ezekiel had once sent Rachel.\n\nLong after farewells had been said and the visitors had departed,\nRachel caressed the grass-woven bracelet strung from a chain around her\nneck, oblivious to comments, unheeding the low-toned conference between\nRebekah and her friend.\n\n\u201cThe minute I saw her with him,\u201d Rebekah was saying, \u201cnever did I doubt\neither of them nor the tale they told.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever,\u201d agreed her friend, \u201cand she with looks and ways so like\nEzekiel, as we have often said.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell do I remember,\u201d continued Rebekah, \u201cthe gifts he sent to Israel\nand with what praise he spoke of this young kinswoman! The child,\nMiriam, recalleth it to my mind. A lovable little maid! Ah me, how fast\nthey grow! To think I should not have known Isaac, a man now and an\nofficer, when as a lad his sister hath oft brought him to the shop!\u201d\n\n\u201cIf only the maiden were betrothed to the soldier!\u201d sighed the friend,\n\u201cbut to a wandering shepherd!\u201d\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d Rebekah answered, sorrowfully, \u201cand a sad day will it be for\nAmos and me when we shall have to lose our sweet little Rachel!\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThat visit changed Miriam\u2019s whole attitude toward her new life.\nAlthough her longing for her parents and the old familiar faces and\nplaces remained almost overpowering at times, yet in Rachel\u2019s presence\nand Benjamin\u2019s nearness she discovered comforting home ties. The\ncertainty that her brother would soon be in Damascus and that she was\nfree to visit her friend, did much to bring contentment. A captive\nshe might be, but not a prisoner. The color began to come back to the\npale cheeks; she grew more cheerful and energetic, more diligent in\nseeking ways of usefulness, and that is how it happened that she had an\nadventure while Isaac was gone. She walked straight through the Closed\nDoor and stepped--not on but still further into--Milcah\u2019s heart.\n\nIt was Memory that opened the door and Kindness which escorted her over\nthe threshold, and it all came about through her new timbrel. She was\nsinging in the courtyard and inadvertently paused near the Closed Door.\n\n  \u201cShow me thy ways, O Lord;\n    Teach me thy paths.\n  Guide me in thy truth and teach me;\n  For thou art the God of my salvation;\n  For thee do I wait all the day.\u201d\n\nLooking up, she was startled to find Milcah at hand with a hesitant\ninvitation.\n\n\u201cI never told thee before and asked Isaac not to let thee know that our\nmother is living, lest thou annoy her. She is old and bedridden, and I\nthought she would not enjoy having a child around, but to-day she hath\nheard thee singing the Lord\u2019s songs in which she rejoiceth and hath\nasked that thou shouldst be brought to her. Dost thou wish to go? She\nis a native of Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cTake me quickly, Milcah. I would be so very glad to sing to her,\u201d and\nthough the woman looked incredulous, she did not delay.\n\nBehind the Closed Door was a sight that ordinarily would not appeal to\nyouth, for age is not beautiful in the East. Wrinkled, bald, toothless\nand feeble, it excited compassion in the heart of the little visitor.\nShe went to the bed and spoke kindly, stooping to peer into the weak\neyes and to pat the worn hand. Then, at a command, she picked up her\ntimbrel and sang again:\n\n  \u201cBlessed be the Lord,\n  Because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.\n  The Lord is my strength and my shield,\n  In him hath my heart trusted,\n  And I am helped;\n  Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth,\n  And with my song will I praise him.\u201d\n\nThat was only the beginning: the beginning of that particular visit\nand of others which followed, and in between the songs were snatches\nof conversation in the speech of Israel. In her youth the invalid had\nbeen a resident of Tish-bi (or Tish-beh) in Gilead, the cattle country\neast of the Jordan, in whose fertile valleys grew the spicy herbs for\nmedicine and perfume which had made her land famous all over the East.\n\nIn her village were the home and kinsfolk of Elijah, the prophet of\nJehovah, whom she well remembered with his long, thick hair, his\ngirdle of skins and his sheepskin mantle or cloak, and more than one\ntale did she tell of his prowess in strength, for, exposed to the\nraids of the fierce desert tribes as was Gilead on the east, every man\nmust be a soldier at need. She told of the prophet\u2019s earnestness and\neloquence, his stormy moods of exaltation and despair, his wanderings,\nhis sudden reappearances where least expected, his invectives against\nBaal by which he had roused the ire of the foreign Queen Jezebel, his\nmiraculous escapes from personal danger and the staggering blow he\nfinally gave Baal-worship on Mount Carmel.\n\nOnly through Miriam\u2019s eyes, however, did she know Elijah\u2019s successor,\nElisha the Healer, the civilized man who dwelt in cities, who for the\nmost part went about displaying the loving-kindness of Jehovah rather\nthan his terrible might; whose task it was to build up as Elijah\u2019s had\nbeen to destroy; who established the prophetic Guilds wherein the Law\nwhich had been so long forgotten was once more taught. And then Miriam\nand her new friend fell into more personal confidences, comparing\nnotes as to their coming to Syria, their impressions, their longings,\nweeping and smiling together and parting only to visit again at the\nearliest opportunity.\n\nThus did Hope, nature\u2019s most renowned and successful physician,\nundertake the cure of the little maid\u2019s wounded heart as, far away, it\nwas doing likewise for her mother, though Miriam knew it not.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nHANNATHON\n\n\nThe village or \u201ccity\u201d of Hannathon in the Land of Israel saw startling\nchanges as a result of the Syrian raid. Gone were the flocks and herds;\ngone were the stores of oil and wine; gone was the lately garnered\ngrain, and they who had journeyed to Jerusalem to the feast returned to\nscant supplies. It was Eli who waited for them at the foot of the hill\nand broke the news to the little companies as they arrived, but Caleb,\nfather of Miriam, came not.\n\n\u201cHe tarrieth a day or two behind us,\u201d said his friends, and Eli waited\nimpatiently one day and a second and yet a third after the last of his\ntownsmen had straggled up the hill. Then it was Sarah, and not Caleb,\nwho met his view, riding dejectedly her faithful and weary beast and\nleading the other, on the back of which was bound something still and\ncovered.\n\nAs Caleb had traveled, making what haste he could in pleasant\nanticipation of home and family, he had been set upon by thieves. He\nhad not risen from the narrow, rocky road in which he had fallen from\nthe blows of the robber band, but the timely arrival of other pilgrims\nhad doubtless saved her from the same fate. They had dragged his\nbody into a convenient cave while they tried frantically to restore\nbreathing, but finding it quite useless they had bound the burden to\nthe back of his patient ass and accompanied her to within sight of\nHannathon.\n\nIn the pitiful horror of her tale Eli felt that his own was matched. If\nhe could only spare her! But he could not, and told her as tenderly as\npossible. She listened numbly, without exclamation, without tears. It\nwas as if brain and nerves had already borne more than they could take\ncognizance of. After a time he helped her up the hill, where Judith was\nwaiting; waiting in dread of the displeasure she knew she merited, yet\nkeyed up to defiance. There was, however, no harsh rebuke. In fact,\nSarah seemed scarcely to recognize her as she leaned heavily upon Eli.\nHastily Judith unrolled the thickly padded rug or quilt which served as\na bed and the two laid her upon it. Without a word she turned her face\nto the wall and Eli beckoned the girl to the door, where he whispered\nthe sad news concerning Caleb.\n\nLater in the day a crowd of white-faced men and women laid the body\nreverently away and sealed the rocky tomb with a heavy stone. Sarah,\non her bed, appeared unconscious of all that passed, and Judith would\nnot leave her. After doing a hundred things which occurred to her as\nnecessary for the bodily comfort of her kinswoman, the girl patiently\nwatched the long night through, the one witness to Sarah\u2019s dumb agony.\nEli was, of course, with his mother. A neighbor, coming to offer her\nservices, had said that Hannah might not live.\n\nMad fancies took possession of Judith that awful night. She had the\nfeeling that every hour was a year and that, by morning, she would be\nan old, old woman. Again, she was a mother, brooding over a sick babe,\nand she stroked the head on the mattress and murmured soothing words.\nAt other times she had a wild desire to shriek, to tear her hair, to\nstamp and rave, but in the presence of that awful stillness came peace.\nIn the gray of the morning she opened the heavy front door and let in a\nstream of sweet, cool air. As she stood there her mind cleared.\n\nThere was something tangible about that long street with its\nflat-roofed houses, seen dimly through the mist; there was something\ntangible about that silvery rim rising higher and higher in the east\nand gradually dissipating the shadows; there was something tangible in\nthe chill wind that swept over and around her. In a little while she\nwould go for fuel. They would enjoy the warmth of a fire even if there\nwas little to eat. As she turned back into the house Sarah broke her\nlong silence. She was holding something in her hand and peering at it.\n\n\u201cNeither husband nor son,\u201d she was saying in a voice very unlike her\nown, \u201cbut this--_this_--which can avail nothing; this for which hath\nbeen spent the earnings of years; this for which Caleb was slain and\nwhich was yet not found because I had hidden it; this which hath no\npower to avenge my daughter or to bring me back my loved ones or to do\naught but torment with its impotency.\u201d\n\nRaising up on her elbow, she threw out of the door whatever it was she\nheld in her hand, and lay back exhausted. After a moment she went on in\nthat strangely rambling tone: \u201cNeither husband nor son to avenge the\ncaptivity of my daughter; to--\u201d\n\nA tall form stood in the doorway. It was Eli. At the words he came\nforward and bent over the figure on the pallet, his hot tears dropping\non her face.\n\n\u201cThe son who is without a mother shall care for the mother who is\nwithout a son. An hour ago my mother fell victim to the soldier\u2019s\nsword.\u201d He clinched his hands and drew a long, sobbing breath. \u201cI will\navenge thy daughter and my brother and my mother. For one thing only\nwill I live henceforth: to follow into Syria those who are gone; to\nfind them and to secure their ransom. Their sorrows shall be mine;\ntheir weeping shall be even as mine own, and woe unto him by whom they\nwere taken!\u201d\n\nThe woman seemed strangely excited. She rose unsteadily and tottered\nto the door. \u201cI threw away that which would help thee to accomplish\nthy vow. It was a pearl, a pearl of great price which we brought from\nJerusalem, meaning to give it to Miriam when she is older.\u201d\n\nAttempting to cross the threshold she fell, overborne by lack of\nnourishment, weariness and grief. Eli raised her with his one good arm\nand he and Judith again laid her on the bed. He lingered, speaking\ncomforting words the while: \u201cWhen it is fully light we will look for\nthy pearl. Fear not, it shall be found. Judith and I will seek--\u201d but\nJudith was slipping hastily away.\n\n\u201cI go for firewood,\u201d she explained, and partially closed the door\nbehind her. Once outside and assured that Eli still sat beside her\naunt, she sank to her knees and groped upon the ground. Handfuls of\nearth, sticks and stones, thorns and stinging ants rewarded her search,\nbut she cared not. The sun rose higher and she lifted her head in\nsmiling thankfulness. At last she rose, rejoicing, clutching something\nin her hand, hugging it to her bosom.\n\nShe was about to re-enter the house when, far below her, she espied\nthe familiar figure of a man. In demonstrative Eastern fashion he was\nbeating his breast and pouring dust upon his head, customs indicative\nof overwhelming sorrow. The girl suddenly changed her mind and went\ndown the hill, passing the man but paying no attention to him. Half\nan hour later he passed her where she was industriously and demurely\ngathering brush. In the common calamity Eastern etiquette might well be\ndisregarded. He stopped to speak to her as though she had been a man\nand an equal.\n\n\u201cWoe is me,\u201d he began. \u201cGone are my flocks and herds; gone are my\nstores of wine and olives; gone is my newly garnered grain; naught\nremaineth but the bare fields wherewith to mock me while famine and\nsickness and death stare our village in the face.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot to mock thee, my lord,\u201d she replied, her voice low from\nnervousness and the fear of being overheard by some unsuspected\npasser-by, \u201cnot to mock thee do thy fields stare thee in the face, but\nto save us from the disasters thou dost mention.\u201d\n\nHis tones held surprise and a certain amount of incredulity. \u201cA prudent\nmind is thine, but long will it be until next harvest, and how shall we\nlive until then?\u201d He regarded her shrewdly while she made answer.\n\n\u201cIn our house is a little food; in Hannah\u2019s a little more; probably\nsome remaineth in every dwelling. Do thou go quickly, my lord, gather\nup whatever there be and put it in thy storehouse. Then it shall be\nthat day by day the people shall come unto thee for food and thou shalt\napportion it, so-much and so-much for each person. Thus shall the\ngluttonous divide with him that hath little and so shall all be fed.\nFear not, thou shalt plant and reap in due time. Hasten, my lord, the\nvillage waiteth upon thee.\u201d\n\nIn his eyes was frank admiration. \u201cWise are thy words and quickly will\nI do as thou sayest, but how thinkest thou I can plant without seed and\nreap with nothing wherewith to sow?\u201d\n\nJudith\u2019s hand opened and trembling a little she held before his dazzled\neyes the pearl she had just found: \u201cA jewel, my lord, given unto me by\nmy father and kept hidden until now. Do thou take it and go unto other\ncities and buy seed. So shalt thou and I and the village be saved from\ndeath and thy prosperity come again. Only, I pray thee, tell no one\nwhence came the pearl.\u201d\n\nShe paused, a world of entreaty in her manner. He assented, his hand\nclutching the jewel, but his eyes fastened upon her.\n\n\u201cMost discreet art thou of all the women of Israel and long hath my\nsoul cleaved unto thee. I will do as thou sayest, and when I return it\nshall be, if thou thinkest well, that I shall ask for thee at the hands\nof thy kinswoman, Sarah, and thou shalt be my wife.\u201d\n\nJudith stooped without haste and picked up her bundle of brush. \u201cYea,\nmy lord,\u201d she murmured, preparing to leave him and dropping her eyelids\nto hide an exultant gleam, \u201cthy servant shall be obedient unto thy\nwishes in the matter.\u201d\n\nHalfway up the hill she paused and looked back. He was diligently\nexamining the pearl. Her lip curled slightly.\n\n\u201cThy _soul_ cleaveth unto me, thou sayest? Nay, for hereabouts they say\nthou hast none.\u201d She laughed to herself. \u201cWhen a faithless Israelite\ntaketh unto himself a wife who is a \u2018heathen\u2019 they who know us will\nsay that no worse fate could come to either. And when the two who are\nmost despised form an alliance, each should know that there is no\nfriend save in the other.\u201d\n\nThe sun had risen fully when Judith returned to the house. Eli, groping\nunavailingly upon the ground, drew her aside for a whispered word. \u201cNo\npearl can I find and she had not strength to throw it far. Thinkest\nthou she had the jewel but in a dream? Thinkest thou that sorrow hath\naffected her mind?\u201d\n\nThe girl drew a breath of relief and letting fall the brush pretended\nto assist him in the search. \u201cYea,\u201d she assented with apparent\nreluctance, \u201csurely it is as thou sayest, and she but dreamed. As if\nshe would cast away a valuable pearl! Nay, but thou hast spoken the\ntruth,\u201d and sighing heavily she passed into the house.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAdah, wife of Naaman, was slightly indisposed. Restlessly she tossed\non her silken pillow, wooing in vain the sleep which came fitfully and\nwith disturbing dreams. Her attendant had departed on some errand when\nthrough the open door there stole a small shadow. Softly it moved about\nthe room for a few moments, touching this and changing that, then it\ncame and stood over the fair form of the mistress of this magnificent\nhome. It stooped, straightened up as if considering, then bent hastily\nand kissed gently each eyelid. The eyes flew open in bewilderment and\nat the same moment a delighted little voice exclaimed:\n\n\u201cI knew it would. It never faileth. I have been looking at thee for a\nlong time through the open door and thou wert so restless I thought\nit better to wake thee up entirely while I give thee a fresh, cool\npillow,\u201d suiting the action to the word, \u201cthen will I kiss each eyelid\nagain and thou wilt go straight to sleep. Dost thou notice how I have\npropped these other pillows to shut out the light, and drawn the\ncurtains so they will sway with the breeze and make thee think thou art\nbreathing the sweet air of the courtyard? There, I have smoothed thy\nrobes and thou wilt be much more comfortable. Now, a kiss here--and one\non this eye--nay, open them not; thou must not get too wide awake, for\nI have not time to sing thee to sleep to-day. There--sh--sh!\u201d\n\nThe object of these unexpected attentions drew a satisfied sigh. It was\npleasant to be put so entirely at ease without having to think about\nit at all. The others fussed so and it grew monotonous to be giving\ndirections continually. She had never been taken possession of in just\nthis way before. Everybody else--even Milcah--was so irritatingly\nanxious to be dignified and proper. There was nothing disrespectful in\nthese quiet tones. It merely showed sense. A moment later there floated\nthrough her drowsy consciousness the startling intelligence that this\nmust be the little maid of Israel whom she had so dreaded until\n\u201ctrained.\u201d Taking care not to open the eyes so surprisingly closed,\nthe lady murmured a command to stay right there lest she should want\nsomething farther.\n\n\u201cI should like to,\u201d Miriam answered serenely, \u201cbut thou hast everything\nthou wilt need for quite awhile because thou wilt be asleep. I have\nto take my timbrel now and sing to Milcah\u2019s mother. She is much, much\nolder than thou and needeth me much, much more, but I will come again\nto see thee when I can spare the time,\u201d with which cheerful assurance\nMiriam betook herself off with the gladness of being at last wanted.\n\nHer newest acquaintance, so unceremoniously disobeyed for the sake of\nduty, lay there smiling and then--to her own amazement as she thought\nabout it afterward--actually went to sleep as she was bidden and awoke\nrefreshed, as the little maid had said. She awoke too with a delightful\nsensation of anticipation, wondering how and when this astonishing\nchild would keep her promise of another visit. Nay, she would not send\nfor her lest it mar the charming spontaneity of the occasion and, had\nMiriam but known of this, she might also have known that Adah was not\naccustomed to looking forward with pleasure. To her, life had become a\nweary round of sameness with dread calamity as its certain goal.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nCONFESSION\n\n\nSomewhere out on the Syrian hills a shepherd was engaged in a most\ninteresting occupation. At the door of the sheepfold he was holding\na light rod, forked at one end, under which the flock passed as he\ncounted. It was always the last task of the evening.\n\n\u201cSeventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven. So far nothing hath\ndisturbed thee through the day now gone. Seventy-eight, seventy-nine.\nNay, Master Bold, thou wilt wait thy turn. Eighty, eighty-one,\neighty-two. Come, thou timid one, thy mother is already in and calleth\nfor thee. Eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five. Now, Bright Eyes,\nwhat mischief art thou up to? This rod is a means of counting, but it\ncan be turned into a means of punishment if it be necessary to make\nthee see thy duty. Eighty-six, eighty-seven. Nay, not so much crowding\nthere. Youth is eager, knowing not that time is long and weariness\ncertain. Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety. What, my pearl, the heat of\nthe day hath been too much for thee? Wait thou.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd hastily dipped his fingers in the horn of olive oil that\nhung at his belt and anointed its temples.\n\n\u201cThere, so shalt thou be refreshed, and here, do thou drink of this cup\nof cold water which overfloweth for thee.\u201d\n\nThe needy one attended to, he went on with his count of the others.\n\u201cNinety-one, ninety-two--\u201d\n\nTwo horsemen approached, the one behind leading a third animal which\nwas without a rider. At a sign, the one with the led horse halted while\nthe other dismounted and with some impatience waited until the long\nenumeration was finished. Then he advanced toward the shepherd.\n\n\u201cPeace be unto thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd to thee,\u201d the shepherd made answer. \u201cThou art in uniform. Hast\nthou orders for thy servant? Quickly, thy name and errand. One of my\nsheep hath strayed and I go to seek it, hastening lest the darkness\ndescend and I be unable to find it.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell thou knowest, Benjamin, that I am Isaac, servant to Naaman,\ncommander-in-chief of the armies of Syria, but I come on a private and\nnot on an official errand. Lead thou the way and I will go with thee.\u201d\n\nThere was an awkward silence broken at last by the soldier: \u201cThou art\nlooking somewhat haggard since I saw thee last, Benjamin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have passed through much sorrow of spirit, Isaac.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut surely thou hast no fault to find with thy treatment. Thou hast\na well-built sheepfold: the long, low buildings to shelter thy flock\nin storms, the large space for them to roam in when thou dost not\nbring them to pasture, and the whole surrounded by wide stone walls,\nsurmounted by sharp thorns to keep out wild beasts. Nor have we a hard\nmaster to serve. Thy faithfulness and ability will be noted by those\nwho have charge of such matters for the king.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd\u2019s tones were infinitely sad: \u201cCould any reward compensate\nmy parents for the loss of their only son; for their loneliness and\ngrief and real need of me? Could any reward make up to my little sister\nfor the brother who should guard and guide her? Could any reward atone\nto me for the loss of my well-beloved, my betrothed?\u201d\n\nThe light was already dim as they stumbled over the rocks and through\npatches of woodland, the long briars catching at their garments and\ntearing the flesh. They passed another sheepfold. Benjamin raised his\nvoice in a shout: \u201cHast thou found a sheep which is lost?\u201d\n\nClearly the answer came back: \u201cNay, we have none but our own.\u201d\n\nSighing, the shepherd went on, the soldier abreast of him.\n\n\u201cI have come to redeem my pledge, Benjamin.\u201d\n\nThe other\u2019s face was sadly accusing. \u201cHere, on these lonely hills, with\nonly the fast-falling night for a witness, and not before the eyes of\nmen?\u201d\n\nThe soldier\u2019s face flushed. \u201cIf thou meanest our last meeting on the\nway hither, I had thought thou wouldst understand. It was through no\ninformation furnished by me that thou wert taken, nor was it by my\nband. Naaman is Captain of the Host. I have but a few men under me and\nmy authority is small. I could not help thee then. Besides, thou wert\nin no personal danger, else I would have risked it. It was thy flock of\nwhich Eleazer\u2019s company was so proud. They took thee because the sheep\nknew thy voice but a stranger would they not follow, fleeing from any\nbut thee.\u201d\n\nA contemptuous smile played around Benjamin\u2019s mouth. He unclasped from\nhis wrist a broad gold bracelet and handed it to Isaac.\n\n\u201cI thought thou wouldst be apt to consider this too costly a token,\u201d he\nsaid.\n\nA pained look crossed Isaac\u2019s face. \u201cI redeem it with what hath cost me\nmore: the delight of a woman\u2019s presence and a woman\u2019s sweetness and a\nwoman\u2019s wonderful devotion which otherwise might have been mine. I have\ncome to invite thee to a wedding--thine own wedding--with Rachel of\nHannathon in the Land of Israel.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd was plainly startled. \u201cThou hast come to ask me to marry\nmy betrothed? I do not understand.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe was captured about the time thou wert by one of the men in my\ncompany,\u201d the soldier explained. \u201cI am glad to say I was able to save\nher from familiarity at the hands of the soldiers--\u201d\n\n\u201cFor which I am grateful to thee, Isaac.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut three days\u2019 journey from Damascus she left us with another\ncaptive, a young lad called \u2018Nathan,\u2019 being sore afraid. By accident I\ndiscovered her hiding place, but knew not it was the maid of my dreams,\nshe being enveloped in her wedding veil, as I afterward learned it was.\nNevertheless, I discovered her identity in time to soften the hardships\nof the journey with food and water, together with the leopard\u2019s skin\nthou gavest me, her clothing being insufficient protection against\nthe cold winds which swept down from the Lebanons. I was quite sure\nthe two would come to Damascus, so I had the gate watched and word\nbrought to me of her arrival. She appeared to be alone, the boy having\ndisappeared, and though she had wandered far out of her way in the\ncity, I found her after some search and conducted her, as she desired,\nto the street of the merchants of Israel. Her kinsman, however, whom we\nsought, had died a month before.\u201d\n\nBenjamin\u2019s voice betrayed uneasiness. \u201cAnd then?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd then I found lodging for her in the house of one, Amos the\nperfumer, also of Israel, since which time she hath been there cared\nfor, provided with necessary raiment and awaiteth thee, desiring that\nthou come quickly.\u201d\n\nBenjamin\u2019s attitude became questioning. \u201cIt is now the height of the\nrainy season. All this occurred months ago and I hear but now.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou art hearing as soon as it was convenient for me to bring thee\nword. Am I in a place of authority? Do I not come and go at another\u2019s\nbidding? Besides, it was but little more than a week ago that she told\nme of the whispered conversations which always break off when she\nappeareth, the averted glances and, almost worse than this, the pitying\nkindness of her friends--\u201d\n\nThe shepherd\u2019s face grew white and stern. \u201cThen didst thou think\nit was time to send for the one who would not fail her? I suppose,\nIsaac, _thou_ hast not thought of marrying the maiden--considering the\ncircumstances.\u201d\n\nThe soldier sought to restrain his anger. \u201cI did,\u201d he answered, \u201cor at\nleast I would have had it not been for another maiden to whom I would\nhave found it hard to explain matters. This other--\u201d\n\n\u201cI see it all,\u201d the shepherd responded, bitterly. \u201cHaving a little\nauthority and noting that the maid was fair, she was thy lawful prey,\nwhereas the maiden who is surrounded by care and affection thou canst\nnot bear to offend. My little Rachel, pure as the snows of Hermon, and\nentirely at thy mercy--\u201d\n\nHe raised his stout staff. The soldier threw up one arm to ward off the\nblow but he did not draw the short sword which hung at his girdle.\n\n\u201cThou dost not let me make myself clear,\u201d he said, gently, \u201cbut thou\nshalt know for thyself. And another sorrow I have unwittingly brought\nthee. At the same time that Rachel was taken by my band, Miriam was\nalso captured, although I knew not she was thy sister.\u201d\n\nBenjamin lowered his staff, grief succeeding indignation. \u201cAnd what of\nher? Tell me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have myself seen to her welfare, and my errand here is to tell thee\nof both maidens and to conduct thee to them that thou mayest assure\nthyself--\u201d\n\nBenjamin assented briefly. At that moment his keen ear detected the\nfar-off bleat of a sheep. Guided by its cries, he made his way to it\nas quickly as possible and with his light, hooked rod disentangled\nits wool from the cruel thorns which caught and tore his own flesh\nmeanwhile. Catching the forelegs together with one hand and the\nhindlegs with the other, he swung the exhausted animal over his\nshoulder and began retracing his steps. Isaac followed, a dozen times\nessaying to reopen the subject upon which he had come prepared to\nspeak, and a dozen times being repulsed by the gloom in which Benjamin\nseemed wrapped.\n\nThey passed the sheepfold where inquiry had earlier been made and the\nshepherd raised his voice in a shout, \u201cRejoice with me, for I have\nfound my sheep that was lost.\u201d\n\nArriving at last whence they had started and the weary and injured\nanimal tenderly cared for, Isaac and Benjamin took opposite sides of\nthe fire, each preferring the company of his own bitter thoughts to\nconversation. A recumbent shepherd kept watch before the door of the\nfold. Two more slept. To use the tongue of Israel would have been\nto insure privacy to the message, but each waited for the other. If\nIsaac were sufficiently penitent, thought Benjamin, he would talk even\nthough the words came falteringly. As it was, his errand was one of\nexpediency and no real satisfaction would be gained by forcing from his\nlips details of the confession he should make voluntarily. If, thought\nIsaac, Benjamin wished to ask questions, he would answer them fully,\nbut why give unasked information which was distorted and misunderstood\nas soon as uttered? And so, each nursing a sense of injury, the long\nnight passed.\n\nA couple of days were spent in making preparation for the care of the\nflock while Benjamin should be away, and the fourth they started for\nDamascus. At dawn a gentle rain was falling. The substitute shepherd\nwas delighted. Since the flock must remain within shelter of the\nfold while the storm lasted, it were that much easier cared for. To\nthe three whose horses stood waiting, the rain mattered not at all.\nBenjamin moved here and there, giving directions and making sure that\nall was well before his departure. Once he paused and took a sick lamb\nin his arms:\n\n\u201cI go to bring another,\u201d he whispered, tenderly, \u201cbruised and wounded\nas thou art, but her spirit, like thine, shall be healed with the oil\nof loving-kindness.\u201d\n\nAn hour later he was riding across the rain-soaked plain, the other\nhorseman a little in advance, the servant in the rear. The two\nforemost were quite unchanged, the one lost in the depths of profound\nirritation, the other in melancholy, and neither speaking save when\ntheir common errand made it necessary.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nMiriam took an early opportunity of again calling upon the mistress\nof the household. She felt no sense of obligation beyond her promise.\nThe visit was entirely a friendly one and was so understood. On the\nthreshold she paused with a bright smile of greeting, which was\ncordially returned. Entering, she found a cushion of the right height,\nthrew it upon the floor and sat down, resting her arms confidingly on\nAdah\u2019s lap, studying the face above hers.\n\n\u201cI have noticed how sad thou art, and I think it is the way thy house\nis built. Thou wouldst not be nearly so lonely if thy dwelling were\nlike ours in Israel: all in one big room with the animals in one part\nand the family on a raised floor in the other. Of course thou hast too\nlarge a household for that, but thou dost not know how comforting it\nis to hear the animals stamping around in their stalls at night and on\nrainy days. Here it is so quiet I cannot sleep sometimes.\u201d\n\nAdah frequently did not sleep, but she had never attributed it to the\nsilence.\n\n\u201cIf thou couldst but rise early in the morning,\u201d Miriam continued with\nanimation, \u201cand grind the wheat--thou art so rich thou couldst have\nan ass or a camel harnessed to the mill to do the hardest part of the\nwork--and if thou couldst make up the dough quickly and bake it in\ncakes for thy family\u2019s breakfast, it would give thee so much delight.\nHast thou never tried it?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot the pleasure of toil, Miriam, but I have sometimes wondered--\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if thou wouldst pretend to find fault because thy bread is eaten\nso fast and thy husband would pretend to find fault because thou hast\nnot baked enough, and he would caress thee and say thou canst bake the\nbest bread to be found in any house in Israel--I mean in Syria--it\nwould be such joy to thee. Hast thou never known this?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot the joy of service, Miriam, but I have often thought--\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if thou didst see to the clothing of thy entire household instead\nof having Milcah do it for thee; I mean the spinning and weaving and\nwashing, and couldst look after the conduct and instruction of thy men\nservants and thy maid servants. If, while thy husband sits in the gate,\njudging the cause of the people, thou wert also considering the needs\nof the poor, thou wouldst never have time to be sad. Hast thou never\ndone these things?\u201d\n\n\u201cNot enough to give me the happiness of being necessary, but I have\nsometimes envied those who were.\u201d\n\nAdah recollected herself with a start. To be making such undignified\nadmissions! Her countenance settled back into its old lines of haughty\nindifference and Miriam was quick to notice the change. She took the\nolder face tenderly between her hands and kissed it, quite unaware that\nshe was not expected to take such liberties. Her voice was full of pity:\n\n\u201cThou dost look so sorrowful. I never knew before how much thou dost\nneed me. I can teach thee so much. I will show thee how to be happy.\u201d\n\nAdah thought it extremely doubtful, but it would have been cruel to\ndiscourage such cheerful confidence. Besides, she saw a loophole of\nescape from an embarrassing conversation: \u201cThou hast no time to give to\nme.\u201d\n\nMiriam pondered. \u201cI will take time,\u201d she said with decision, \u201cjust as\nmuch as I can spare from Isaac and Milcah and their mother.\u201d\n\nShe ran to the door and looked appraisingly at the position of the sun\non the courtyard foliage.\n\n\u201cI must go now,\u201d she said; \u201cit groweth late. See how the shadows\nlengthen?\u201d\n\nAdah, left alone, smiled, then she sighed. Alas, that the sorrow of the\nHouse of Naaman should be past the little maid\u2019s generously offered\nassistance, past the ability of the wisest men and the greatest gods of\nSyria!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nUNDERSTANDING\n\n\nOut on the Syrian plains three horsemen plodded steadily through the\nstorm. At last they halted, shivering, in the shelter of a great rock.\nOne went about the necessary preparations for a slender meal, another\nfaced his companion contritely.\n\n\u201cI am so sorry, Benjamin. I--\u201d\n\n\u201cWe usually are, Isaac, when we see what sorrow is wrought by our\nwrongdoing.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have been trying to put myself in thy place, Benjamin. I can realize\nsomething of what thou hast suffered. I admit that it is all my fault\nthat--\u201d\n\n\u201cI have never thought of blaming anyone else, Isaac.\u201d\n\n\u201cI wish,\u201d impatiently, \u201cthat thou wouldst let me explain. I was greatly\nsurprised that--\u201d\n\n\u201cI am sure of it, Isaac. We go along doing what we want instead of what\nwe ought, and we are always surprised when God\u2019s \u2018Thou shalt not\u2019 makes\nus stop and think.\u201d\n\nThe other made a gesture of despair. \u201cHave I lost thy confidence\nentirely? If thou wouldst but let _me_ tell the story instead of\ntelling it thyself in thine own way, thou wouldst be better prepared--\u201d\n\n\u201cRachel and I have been companions since babyhood, Isaac, and never\nhave I been unprepared for her lightest wish, nor am I unprepared now\nfor her dire distress. As for my sister, it will go hard with thee if\nthou hast allowed ill to come to a child.\u201d He closed his lips in a way\nthat revealed both strength and determination.\n\nThe soldier faced him without flinching. \u201cWe near Damascus,\u201d he said,\ncoldly, \u201cand it is necessary that we speak of certain arrangements.\nWe wish to observe the usual customs, but our situation is peculiar:\nthat which is usually furnished by the family of the maiden we must\nourselves provide. Rachel will need festive robes and a veil and a\ngirdle and a chaplet for her flowing hair, not mentioning the perfumery\nand the jewels which every bride desireth, and saying nothing, also, of\n_thy_ festive robe and nuptial wreath and the myrrh and frankincense\nfor thine adorning.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd buried his face in his hands. \u201cNot once have I thought of\nthese things, but only of her need of me. And I a captive, without even\na trinket I can sell, and my flock the stolen property of an enemy!\u201d\n\nIsaac tapped the bracelet so lately transferred from the other\u2019s arm to\nhis own. \u201cI anticipated this when I asked for my pledge. When sold, as\nI intend it shall be, it will provide all and more, but I am curious\nto know why thou wert allowed to keep the token. Eleazer\u2019s band which\ntook thee is not noted for its gentleness nor its generosity.\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not the reason, Isaac, save that I fought for it once and twice\nand thrice and was not overcome.\u201d\n\nHis tone was abstracted; now it became passionate: \u201cBut thinkest thou I\nwould take so much from thee--from _thee_?\u201d\n\nIsaac spoke soothingly: \u201cPeradventure not for my sake, Benjamin, but\nfor Rachel--whom we both love!\u201d\n\nThe shepherd looked up quickly. \u201cLove?\u201d he queried, his mood changing\nto contempt. \u201cBut the other maiden more.\u201d\n\nIsaac laughed. \u201cThe other maiden--\u201d All at once he became serious.\n\u201cThou wilt understand when I tell thee--\u201d but a glance at his\ncompanion\u2019s forbidding countenance caused him to shut his lips in a\ngrimness which was not lost in their short resting time, nor in the\nseveral miles which they traveled, nor even in Damascus itself. Only\nonce was there speech between them and that was as they entered the\ncity gates.\n\nIt was Benjamin who broke the silence. \u201cThou hast told me of Rachel,\nbut not of my sister. Take me, therefore, first to Miriam that I may\nknow for myself how she fareth.\u201d\n\nIsaac bent his head stiffly. \u201cIt is well,\u201d he said, and led the way to\nthe largest and most magnificent dwelling the shepherd had ever beheld.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTo her mistress, Miriam spoke Syrian as far as possible; to Milcah,\neither Syrian or the speech of Israel, more often a mixture of the\ntwo, but to Milcah\u2019s mother it was joy unspeakable to use only her\nnative tongue. Unfortunately, this pleasure was not to last. The\nfeeble strength waned fast, and one morning Miriam ran swiftly to\nMilcah, imploring her to hasten to the invalid. She herself sped to the\ngatekeeper.\n\n\u201cDo thou send to the barracks and there leave word that Isaac come home\nas soon as he arriveth in Damascus. His mother--\u201d\n\nFor reply the gatekeeper pointed to the street. In company with two\nothers he was just dismounting. The gate was opened for them and a\nbreathless little figure, tense with excitement, rushed into his arms,\nunmindful of his companions.\n\nHe bent his head over hers for a moment, listening to her broken words,\nthen, with a courteous explanation to the stranger, he hurried down\nthe courtyard and turned into that in which his mother\u2019s room was\nlocated. Miriam started to follow, her mind intent upon this new grief,\nbut a hand touched her on the shoulder and she looked into the brown,\nquestioning face of her brother.\n\nThe warmth of her welcome left him no room for jealousy of Isaac.\nBoth faces beamed as genially as the sun, which had finally succeeded\nin dispersing the clouds and drying up the rain drops. She guided her\nvisitor to the spot that she and Isaac liked, the seat under the damson\ntree near the fountain. He gazed in wonder at his surroundings, at the\nrichness and beauty everywhere, marveling that she seemed so much at\nease amid all this magnificence. It was so different from what he had\nexpected to find, nor could he understand the greeting he had just\nwitnessed between herself and Isaac.\n\n\u201cArt thou not afraid of the man who took thee captive?\u201d he asked.\n\nRadiant with the happiness of her brother\u2019s coming and clinging to him\nas if he were a pleasant dream which might be lost, she answered quite\nserenely: \u201cAfraid of Isaac? Nay, thou canst not fear one who loveth\nsomeone thou dost love.\u201d\n\nHe thought she referred to Rachel and it was like the thrust of a knife.\n\n\u201cEver conscious is he, Benjamin, of the debt he oweth thee. He hath\ntold me.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd was bitterly incredulous.\n\n\u201cBefore thou seest Rachel,\u201d she went on, \u201cI must tell thee something\nshe knoweth not I have learned.\u201d\n\nA stern look crept into Benjamin\u2019s face.\n\n\u201cRachel liketh Isaac very much indeed--\u201d\n\nThe shepherd paled. This possibility had not occurred to him.\n\n\u201cBut I think Isaac liketh her not at all, else he would have visited\nher.\u201d\n\nBenjamin uttered an exclamation, but she was too full of the importance\nof her discovery to pay attention. She continued impressively, looking\naround to make sure she was not overheard:\n\n\u201cNot since he found her, cold and tired and hungry, just outside this\nwall one daybreak and conducted her to the street of the merchants of\nIsrael, where Amos and Rebekah took pity upon her distress, never once\ndid she see him until the morning. I went with Milcah and we found him\ntalking to her on the footway. He had stopped just a moment to tell her\nthat he and his servant were starting to bring thee. I think he would\nhave done nothing for her at all, not even on the way hither, if she\nhad not been thy betrothed. He would not even promise to help her when\nI first asked. Wouldst thou not have supposed he would consider her as\nsweet and beautiful as thou dost and I?\u201d\n\nThe shepherd was too bewildered to reply at once. \u201cArt thou very sure\nof what thou sayest?\u201d he finally stammered, an odd excitement in his\nmanner. \u201cThy words sound strange to mine ears. I would hear all thou\nknowest,\u201d and Miriam was very obliging.\n\nBeginning with the last time he had visited their home in Israel\n(which had been a few days before their parents went to the feast at\nJerusalem; when he and Rachel had come to a full understanding), she\ntold him all that had befallen her and what she knew concerning Rachel.\nHe heard with varying emotions, and all too soon Isaac stood before\nthem. On his face was the dignity of sorrow. The gladness died out\nof Miriam\u2019s countenance; his grief was hers. He pressed the hand she\nslipped into his and addressed Benjamin.\n\n\u201cMy mother--\u201d he began and his voice broke. In a moment he went on: \u201cMy\nservant will conduct thee to Rachel and attend upon thee. After the\ncustom of our people I must remain in seclusion until after our period\nof mourning hath ended. Nevertheless, the House of Naaman is thine\nabode as long as thou art in Damascus and whenever thou comest hither.\nMy home is thine. And this I give into thy keeping for the purpose of\nwhich we spoke. I will instruct my servant regarding its disposal.\u201d\n\nHe unclasped the bracelet from his arm and for the second time gave\nit to the shepherd, but his present manner bore no resemblance to the\nfirst. Something of the difference occurred to Benjamin. He called\nafter the retreating figure. He ran and placed himself before Isaac,\nbowing low before him.\n\n\u201cThy servant hath misjudged thee. Forgive, I pray thee. What am I that\nthou shouldst show such kindness unto me?\u201d\n\nThe shepherd\u2019s voice faltered before the other\u2019s coldly courteous\nmanner. He went on almost timidly: \u201cMy sister hath explained much that\nI could not understand hitherto. Surprise and perplexity hath gone and\nin their stead hath come shame. I would that thou shouldst overlook--\u201d\n\nThe cold steel of Isaac\u2019s eye might have been the cold steel of a\nweapon piercing Benjamin\u2019s heart, the effect being much the same.\n\n\u201cThou didst once save my life, which is precious unto me, and I have\ngiven thee that which is dearer than thy life, thy betrothed. The debt\nhath been mutually repaid. Henceforth we owe each other nothing.\u201d\n\nTears sprang to the shepherd\u2019s eyes. \u201cNaught save remembrance and good\nwill. I would that we might both remember this obligation.\u201d\n\nThere was no answer unless Isaac\u2019s silence and his averted head might\nbe construed in the negative.\n\nBenjamin tried again. \u201cAs thou didst once admit thy guilt to me, so do\nI now acknowledge to thee my fault and plead my penitence.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is too late, Benjamin. Thou hast refused to listen to the\nconfession I sought thee voluntarily to make. Thou hast assailed my\nmotives with insult. Thou hast outraged every feeling of affection I\never had for thee. For the sake of all that is past we must not allow\nourselves to become enemies, but friends we can never be again.\u201d\n\nThe shepherd persevered although seeming to find speech difficult: \u201cWe\nare both wrong, Isaac. Should we permit the winds of trouble to dry\nup the fountain of loving-kindness and to scatter abroad the waters\nof bitterness? Captivity filleth my mind with suspicion. Resentment\ncauseth thee to hate. Is it right?\u201d\n\nIsaac stood immovable, without speaking. Miriam, where they had left\nher, ceased her weeping and running to where the two stood slipped a\nhand in each of theirs.\n\n\u201cI shall be so lonely now that Isaac\u2019s mother hath gone. Thou wilt stay\nin Damascus as long as thou canst, wilt thou not, Benjamin?\u201d\n\nHe sought to comfort her, yet he could not leave his duties longer than\nwas necessary. He would go to Rachel now, the arrangements would be\nmade for their marriage according to the customs of Israel, and after\nthe formal betrothal feast he would hurry back to his flock because it\nwas with an hireling who cared not for the sheep. When the rainy season\nended he would return to Damascus for his bride and take her to the\nhome he would prepare meanwhile. The present arrangements would consume\nbut a few days. \u201cBut when I am no longer here I shall think of thee as\nstill being brave, shall I not, Miriam?\u201d\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d she said, tremulously. \u201cThou wilt have sad enough meditations,\nlonging for Rachel and thinking of our home in Israel and of father and\nmother.\u201d There was a long pause. \u201cBut thou must not grieve over me. At\nfirst I thought I should die here, until I knew that somebody loved\nme. Now Milcah doth a little, and I think my mistress will, but I have\nnever had to wonder about Isaac. He always hath. He will watch over me\nas thou wouldst.\u201d\n\nShe leaned confidingly against the soldier and he slipped his arm\naround her: \u201cThe heart of my little maid can safely trust in me,\u201d he\nassured her. Then, to Benjamin: \u201cBehold, the other maid of whom we\nspoke.\u201d\n\nMiriam looked up wonderingly, not understanding Benjamin\u2019s\nembarrassment nor Isaac\u2019s defiance, but neither troubled her. She\nsmiled upon them impartially. \u201cAnd what hath made it easy for me to\nlove Isaac,\u201d she went on, \u201cis because he loveth thee so much, Benjamin.\nIt hath made me so happy. Else I could not bear things even now.\u201d\n\nShe was caressing their two hands, holding them to her cheeks and\npatting them; thus she failed to see that each young man avoided the\nother\u2019s eye.\n\n\u201cI love thee both so very much,\u201d she confided.\n\nThey each smiled down upon her indulgently, and somehow their eyes\nmet--with the smile still in them, and this time they did not turn\naway. Oddly enough the coldness, the constraint faded before that look\nas snow disappears before the genial warmth of the sun. They parted in\na manner quite satisfactory to the little maid, who beamed upon them\nboth. Suspicion and resentment had fled before the affectionate trust\nof a child!\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\nCHANGES\n\n\nThe death of Milcah\u2019s mother made changes in the House of Naaman. Adah,\nits mistress, was inconsolable, not with grief but with vexation.\n\n\u201cSo Milcah will sit on the floor for a whole week and mourn! Of course\nI wish her to treat her mother\u2019s memory with respect. I am myself\nwilling to pay for the mourning men and mourning women. I will provide\nthe spices and linen in which the body is to be wrapped. I will even\nhave it laid in the rocky tomb her people prefer, but I cannot go\nwithout bathing and dressing for a week. Who will see to my raiment and\nmy perfumes?\u201d\n\nTo Miriam, who had brought the message, this was a very simple matter.\n\u201cThou hast so many servants,\u201d she began, but her mistress interrupted\nirritably:\n\n\u201cThinkest thou Milcah would instruct any who might supplant her? Nay,\nfor jealous is she and sour of disposition, hence doth she keep both my\nmaidens and me dependent upon her.\u201d\n\nMiriam was genuinely distressed. \u201cMilcah is not young and much pain\ndoth she suffer at times, for she hath told me. Oft hath she waited\nupon thee when naught but determination urged her tired footsteps.\nMany times have I wondered what will become of her when she is unable\nto work.\u201d\n\n\u201cShe will be taken care of, as was her mother, and in place of a\ndaughter _thou_ shalt attend upon her.\u201d\n\nThe little maid clasped her hands. \u201cThen will I be able to show how I\nlove her. Thinkest thou she will let me make her hair look prettier?\nWhen Rachel, the maiden to whom my brother Benjamin is betrothed, was\nsick many weeks I waited upon her continually.\u201d\n\nAdah surveyed the small figure doubtfully. \u201cThinkest thou the duties of\nthe bath-chamber would be too much for thee with older maids to help?\u201d\n\nMiriam thought not, and with enthusiasm began a week which ended all\ntoo quickly, for Milcah resumed her old duties when the period of\nmourning was past. With fine delicacy the little maid absented herself\nentirely from the apartments of her mistress, but when three days had\nelapsed she was sent for.\n\nAdah surveyed her with a half displeasure. \u201cWhy dost thou not\ncome without being commanded? Knowest thou not that I have found\nthee teachable and quick and have determined to make thee one of\nmy handmaidens? Already have I talked with Milcah, and she is not\ndispleased, nor will she keep from thee knowledge that will be of use\nwhen thou art older. Hear thou? She calleth thee. Thou mayest go.\u201d\n\nThe older woman beamed upon her. \u201cI see by thy face thou hast heard.\nYoung art thou to find such favor in the sight of thy mistress, and\nmuch will I have to teach thee, but that thou shouldst be chosen for\nsuch honor doeth credit to my instruction.\u201d\n\nThus did it come about that Miriam became necessary to the House of\nNaaman, and in gladness of heart she began that very day to fill the\nplace she had won for herself.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nFar away the sun had begun to shine also for another heart. A month\nafter the Syrian raid Sarah was still upon her bed, a little paler, a\nlittle weaker every day. Judith had been her faithful attendant, and\nso it happened that when Abner came, as he had promised, to ask the\ngirl at the hands of her kinswoman, there had been no opposition. The\nbetrothal \u201cfeast\u201d had been held minus the usual festivity, the pall of\nmelancholy having settled upon the tiny \u201ccity\u201d of Hannathon. Also, the\nprincipals to this strange alliance were not popular. Lastly, there was\nnothing to feast upon, the daily rations, doled out by Abner, being\nbarely sufficient to keep the people alive.\n\nA few weeks later, as was the custom, Judith went to the home of\nher husband, whither she would have removed Sarah but for vigorous\nobjection.\n\n\u201cIf they should return and find the dwelling closed--\u201d said the woman.\n\u201cNay, but here must I remain,\u201d and no argument availed to change her\ndecision.\n\nThus it had come about that Eli had gone to dwell with Sarah in\nplace of the son and daughter she had lost, and Abner, upon Judith\u2019s\ninsistence, sent a maid servant to care for her in Judith\u2019s stead.\nEli was Sarah\u2019s one stay and comfort. He treated her precisely as he\nwould his own mother, sustaining her feeble strength largely by his own\ncheery courage and unfailing hopefulness. Under his tender ministry she\nhad begun to grow stronger. The time had come when she no longer kept\nto her bed.\n\n\u201cI must live to welcome them when they come back,\u201d she told him, and he\nturned his head to hide a tear of pity.\n\nNever did she tire of planning for the journey he should some time\ntake to ransom the captives, although both clearly apprehended the\ndifficulties first to be overcome. \u201cYet will we trust in Jehovah,\u201d he\nassured her, confidently, \u201cand he shall bring it to pass.\u201d\n\nThe first obstacle was removed when Abner, returning from a short\npilgrimage with seed for sowing his fields, agreed with Eli that the\nlatter should work on his land for wages, the same to be collected at\nharvest time. The second obstacle yielded when Nathan, ragged and weary\nbut rejoicing, arrived in Hannathon. Finding that his mother\u2019s home\nwas closed, he had come at once to Sarah\u2019s, and however doubtful his\ntidings it had been eagerly received: Rachel had reached Damascus. At\nthis very moment she was doubtless enjoying the peace and plenty of her\nkinsman\u2019s abode. Miriam had been well treated on the journey and had\nborne up bravely. Of Benjamin he knew nothing at all and the mother\nwept afresh.\n\nTo Eli the important thing, next after the safety of his brother,\nwas that he now knew the name of the soldier in charge of the party.\nIsaac, once found, could tell him the whereabouts of the captives.\nBut surprise was not confined to the dwelling of Sarah nor yet to the\nabode of Rachel\u2019s parents. It was also present in the House of Abner.\nThe master had brought the mistress a most unexpected gift: a pearl of\ngreat price which he had not sold for seed, as she had supposed.\n\n\u201cThe grapes and olives be surety for that wherewith I am to sow, and\nbecause thou hast been prudent and far-seeing I return unto thee the\njewel given thee by thy father. Behold, thou hast what is thine own,\nyet none but thou and I shall know, lest it be stolen from thee.\u201d\n\nJudith, receiving the gift with smiling thanks, frowned when Abner had\ndeparted. Throwing the pearl upon the floor she stamped her foot: \u201cThus\nhath our deeds power to follow and torment us! Thou,\u201d addressing the\njewel, \u201chast served thy purpose. Why comest thou back to me like a\nspirit from the sepulcher to remind and to mock, yea to be ever unto me\nlike a live coal in my bosom?\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt had been late autumn when Miriam came to Syria; but winter rains\nwere now over and Damascus rejoiced in an absence of dampness and\nchill, nor had the extreme heat come on with its irritating dust. The\ncharm of one day had not faded when another began, but the nameless\ngloom which always hovered over the House of Naaman had not lifted, and\nMiriam pondered much.\n\nAll this time she had never seen the master of the house, but, running\nacross the courtyard one morning, she met him face to face and bowed\nlow. She knew him by his splendid dress, his air of authority, the\ndeference paid him by the numerous servants moving here and there. When\nhe had passed she staggered back against the wall, faint with horror,\nvainly seeking to erase from memory what she had witnessed. Now she\nknew why he had not braved the inclemency of the weather heretofore. It\nwas leprosy!\n\nHer errand forgotten, the little maid went directly to her mistress,\nout of breath with haste. Impulsively she clasped between her own the\nhand she had thought so white and idle.\n\n\u201cNot until this moment, my mistress, did I know that thou art grieved.\nI thought thou wert lonely in this big house, but I have beheld the\nreason for thy sorrow. Oh, my mistress, would God that my lord were\nwith the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his\nleprosy!\u201d\n\nAdah, wife of Naaman, looked down upon the flushed and eager figure\nkneeling beside her and gently drew away her hand. She was not\ninsensible of the kindness intended, but it was so futile.\n\nIn vain Miriam told her of the miracle which had saved Hannah\u2019s sons\nfrom bondage and of many another wrought by the Man of God who dwelt\nin Israel, but her words fell upon an unbelieving heart. Wonderful was\nit, thought Adah, to have the unquestioning belief of youth before\nexperience disillusions, yet how absurd to suppose that what Rimmon\nand Baal and Chemosh and a host of other gods could not do, even\nthough Naaman had offered rich gifts, could be accomplished by this\nalmost unheard of Jehovah! Nay, it were impossible, and lest fruitless\nexpectation be aroused and a fresh disappointment experienced, she\nwould say nothing to her husband of this well-meant but wholly\nimpossible suggestion.\n\nIt was, however, to reach Naaman\u2019s ears a few days later and in another\nmanner. Miriam spoke to Isaac about the matter and urged it with\nvehemence. He could not resist her pleading, but he was reluctant,\ndoubtful.\n\n\u201cYea, I will tell him all thou sayest, but he hath tried so many things\nso many times I fear he will not heed.\u201d\n\nIsaac was, however, mistaken. Naaman, commander-in-chief of the\narmies of Syria and popular hero, was accustomed to solicitude. To\nhim it seemed neither unusual nor audacious that a small maid servant\nshould have suggested a means of relief from the awful malady which\nwas slowly sapping his strength. He paid it the compliment of a brief\nconsideration, wholly untouched by the hopelessness of his wife or\nthe hesitancy of his favorite man servant, with both of whom he spoke\nconcerning it.\n\nSmall matter that this Jehovah whom she named was little known\nand probably much less powerful than she believed. He had long\nsuspected--and who would not among so many gods?--that latent abilities\nsometimes resided in the most unlikely. In favorable circumstances who\ncould tell? Nevertheless, it was a long journey to Israel and in his\ncondition a painful one. Besides, there were other plans, suggested by\npeople for whose judgment he had the greatest respect, which could not\nbe discountenanced in favor of one so vague. Nay, he would try remedies\ncloser at hand.\n\nIsaac bowed and withdrew, dreading the message he must carry to Miriam.\nHe told her with compassion in his face, his voice, his manner, yet\nwith an attempt at cheerfulness which deceived neither of them.\n\nAfter a little she turned the head which had been averted. \u201cIsaac,\nbelievest thou?\u201d\n\nHe hesitated, then hit upon a happy expedient. \u201cI believe _thee_,\nlittle maid.\u201d\n\n\u201cWouldst thou be pleased to do whatever thou canst for me, Isaac?\u201d\n\nThere was a flash of amusement on the young man\u2019s countenance. \u201cKnowest\nthou, Miriam, thou wilt soon be a woman? Already thou art akin to her\nthou shalt be.\u201d He reached into the flowering tree above their heads\nand broke off a small branch. \u201cEven as this beauty is the delight of\nour eyes, so art thou the delight of my heart. I swear it. See, I bind\nthese flowers upon that heart in token of my fealty. There shall they\nremain, and though they wither, that for which they stand shall never\ndie. Needst thou other assurance?\u201d\n\nBut she was not laughing. \u201cBelievest thou in Jehovah, Isaac?\u201d\n\n\u201cWas I not taught so to believe, Miriam?\u201d\n\nShe sighed. \u201cIf Eli were only here to make thee understand! But when\nthou believest Jehovah as thou believest me, then wilt thou speak to\nthy master with boldness and insistence and he will hear.\u201d\n\nIsaac patted her cheeks. \u201cI am not sure, Miriam, but that I have known\nJehovah, at least as long as I have known thee. Be very courageous,\nlittle maid. Thy plea shall yet save thy master,\u201d but neither knew how\nlong a time must first elapse, nor that this same unselfish entreaty\nwould some day cause international complications.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn the meanwhile an event occurred which, at least temporarily,\nbanished the subject from Miriam\u2019s mind. Rachel became legally\nBenjamin\u2019s wife. With all the lavish display and elaborate ceremony\nof the East they were married. That is to say, the bridegroom walked\nthree times around the bride ere he lifted the detachable portion of\nthe heavy \u201cveil\u201d (really a thick garment enveloping her from head to\nfoot) and threw it over his shoulder as a token that he accepted the\ngovernment of this woman. In so doing the bride\u2019s blushing face was\nexposed to the fond gaze of her husband and the curious looks of their\nassembled friends.\n\nFollowing this the guests broke into song, accompanying themselves with\ntimbrels, tabrets, cymbals, and the clapping of hands. There was no\npriest, no religious observance, nothing but this public demonstration,\nbut it was considered sufficient and binding. The \u201csweet singer\u201d now\ncame forward. As a matter of fact, he did not \u201csing\u201d as we understand\nthe term, but recited in a monotonous, sing-song voice, composing his\nproduction as he went along. First he recounted the charms of the\nbride, calling attention to her physical beauty with such detail and\nfulsome praise that Rachel, with burning cheeks, kept her eyes cast\ndown, ashamed to look anyone in the face. Then he told of her modesty,\nher amiability, her industry, her frugality, and a host of other\nvirtues, real and imaginary.\n\nAfter the bride\u2019s personality had been dissected, so to speak, the\nsweet singer turned to the bridegroom and did the same for him, to\nBenjamin\u2019s great disgust and Isaac\u2019s would-be-concealed amusement. The\nprincipals having been disposed of, the indefatigable singer turned his\nattention to each of the guests in turn, reciting their eminent history\nand complimenting their virtues at as great length as the singer\u2019s\nknowledge extended or his imagination could, at a moment\u2019s notice,\nsupply. For a whole week the celebration lasted. The street of the\nmerchants of Israel rejoiced loudly and there were flowing wines (at\nIsaac\u2019s expense) and much gluttony and revelry.\n\nThe happy occasion ended with a night-time procession through the\nstreets of Damascus, accompanied once more by the usual music of\ntimbrels, tabrets, cymbals[2] and the clapping of hands; the usual\nlamps and torches carried by each individual to light the dark\nstreets and add to the festive appearance; the usual waiting crowds\nto shower congratulations and good wishes upon the happy couple.\nThe route should have been from the home of the bride to that of the\nbridegroom. In this case it was from the abode of Amos, in a long and\ncircuitous march, back to it again. Miriam, sole representative of the\nbridegroom\u2019s family, at the head of the chosen maidens, escorted Rachel\nto the bridal chamber. This happened to be the guest room on the roof,\nwhich had been decked with flowers and rendered sweet with perfumes.\n\nBy this act public notice was served that the bride had been\nwillingly received into the heart and home of her husband. Shortly\nthereafter, the bridegroom was left at the door of the dwelling by\nIsaac, heading the young men, and the public expressions of felicity\nwere now complete. The next day came the leave-taking. Rebekah and\nher friend wept copiously. Milcah smiled upon Rachel with the most\nperfect cordiality and approval. Rachel herself and Miriam were both\nvery misty-eyed as they bade each other farewell. Isaac and Benjamin\nheld a brief but earnest conversation in which all traces of former\nmisunderstandings seemed completely obliterated, and Amos lifted his\nhands and voice in blessing as the newly married pair mounted patient\nasses and started alone into the hills of Syria to set up that most\nimportant of all sanctuaries, a home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\nDECISION\n\n\nTwo years went by and Miriam passed her twelfth birthday. Thereafter\nshe was no longer known as \u201cthe little maid\u201d save as a title of\naffection still retained by her mistress, Milcah, and Isaac, but\nreferred to in terms which meant \u201ca young woman.\u201d Insensibly her\nmanners grew quieter. No longer did she impulsively speak her mind to\nAdah, nor bound unexpectedly into Milcah\u2019s arms, nor indulge in the\nold, familiar caresses where Isaac was concerned, although she could\nnot have explained these changes any more than she could have given a\nreason for being taller and prettier, as she was told she was. Day by\nday she was becoming gently reserved and charmingly shy and elusively\nsweet as maidens are wont to be.\n\nTwo more years went by and spring came again, the fourth since Miriam\nhad come to Syria and the third since she had first urged the visit of\nher master to Israel. More and more had she become a necessary part of\nthe great household which had at first been indifferent. Her time was\nnow spent largely in the apartments of her mistress, or in attendance\nupon that lady when she overlooked the affairs of the house or rode\nin her chariot. A few times had she visited the House of Rimmon,\nthe sun-god of the Syrians, but because it distressed her this was\nnot always required. On several occasions had she been to the palace\nand, with Milcah, quite often saw the tradespeople and helped make\nselections of merchandise for her mistress.\n\nYet these years, so eventful to Miriam, had brought little change\nto the House of Naaman save, if possible, to deepen its gloom. Adah\nhad grown more languid, more petulant, more sad. The little maid had\nnot taught her how to be happy as she had so cheerfully promised.\nNaaman, still demonstrating the futility of one remedy after another,\nwas plainly growing worse. Each winter the rains had washed out the\nroads and made traveling as far as Israel an utter impossibility. Each\nspring, when the dry season set in once more, Miriam had entreated\nher mistress, appealed to Isaac and been disappointed afresh at the\nrejection of her plan. Still she hoped and grew patient.\n\nOnce more she pressed her query, tenderly, anxiously, without receiving\nan answer. She knelt beside her mistress, despairing, insistent.\n\u201cKnowest thou not that my lord is no better and that Jehovah thinketh\nupon thy sorrow? Oh that he would go to the prophet that is in Samaria!\u201d\n\nCaressingly Adah took Miriam\u2019s face between her hands and looked at her\nthrough tear-blurred eyes. \u201cAll that I possess would I give, little\nmaid, for the confidence of youth, but even as the ruthless rains wash\naway the footpaths, so doth Experience, in the autumn and winter of\nlife, steal away courage and joy. Yea, well I know that thy master\u2019s\nmalady groweth worse, but what availeth a long and painful journey with\ndisappointment at its end?\u201d\n\nFinding that neither argument nor persuasion availed, Miriam abandoned\nthe subject and waited until she should be able to see Isaac. The next\nday she was fortunate in having speech with him just before he was\nsummoned to his master\u2019s apartments. Briefly she outlined the last\nconversation with her mistress and its hopelessness.\n\n\u201cBut because thou dwellest in his favor, Isaac, speak thou unto him\nyet again that he perish not. Believest thou that Jehovah can do this?\nBelievest thou, Isaac?\u201d\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d looking into the serious depths of her dark eyes, \u201cyea, Miriam,\nI believe.\u201d\n\nThe time was auspicious. The burden of discomfort which Naaman had\nborne so long had become irritating, loathsome, intolerable. If, by\nenduring a little more, he could end it forever--yea, he would take the\njourney to Israel. It was a forlorn hope, but he would risk it.\n\nBreathless with haste, Isaac paused a brief instant before Miriam. He\nchose to be very mysterious. \u201cWhat wouldst thou, little maid, if thou\ncouldst have thy choice?\u201d\n\nExpectantly she searched his radiant countenance and caught the gayety\nof his mood. \u201cNot fruit nor flowers; not silken garments, nor fine\nlinen, nor choice food, for thus sumptuously do I fare every day.\nNot even a new timbrel, for that thou didst give me when I was but a\n_little_ maid is beautiful with ivory and mother-of-pearl. Naught have\nI to wish for save that my master should seek Jehovah through the Man\nof God who dwelleth at Samaria.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen thou hast thy desire. He goeth!\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen?\u201d she asked, excitedly.\n\nThe soldier shrugged his shoulders. \u201cOur master\u2019s impatience brooketh\nno delay, as thou wilt know from knowing him, but he must first obtain\nthe king\u2019s permission and the king\u2019s credentials ere he dare venture\ninto another kingdom to ask a favor of a monarch with whose house Syria\nhath been time and again at war.\u201d\n\nMiriam was dismayed, incredulous. It had seemed such a simple matter to\nher.\n\nIsaac smiled. \u201cThou dost not consider how great a man is our master.\nKnowest thou not it is an affair of state?\u201d\n\nHe left her and she ran with swift footsteps to tell the glad news\nto Milcah and then, with greater deliberation, to speak of it to her\nmistress.\n\nNext morning the household was early astir. The general air of\nexcitement precluded sleep to even the most laggard, yet why this straw\nof relief appeared more able to bear the weight of their longings than\nprevious efforts no one could have told, nor, indeed, did they pause\nto ask. None, at least, save Miriam. At the top of the stone staircase\nwhich led to the roof she unexpectedly met Isaac. He greeted her gayly.\n\n\u201cAll is well, little maid, so far. To-day I go to the palace to request\nan audience for my master with the king.\u201d\n\n\u201cThinkest thou, Isaac, that he will approve the journey?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe thoughts of a king, Miriam, are past finding out, but we have a\ngood omen.\u201d\n\nHe pointed to the opal sky, beautiful in its sunrise tints. \u201cSeest\nthou? As the Syrians say, our all-conquering lord, the Sun, goeth forth\nfrom his habitation with smiles to the arms of the virgin East who\nhaileth his approach with blushes.\u201d\n\nMiriam pointed to the distant mountains. \u201cSeest thou the good omen? No\nhaze shrouds them from our view, but even as they stand immovable and\nprotecting, so Jehovah is ever a shield round about his people. The\nrosy sky, against which the mountains show dark and clear, reminds us\nthat our hope is in the Lord our God who only giveth us the victory.\u201d\n\nThe soldier stood abashed, but in his eyes there dawned a something\nwhich was akin to reverence and more. The girl, catching the look quite\naccidentally, flushed as prettily as the sky they had been watching\nand fled instinctively, even as she wondered why she did these things.\nYet she did not seek explanations of anyone.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWith armament resplendent and an obsequious group of\nsoldier-attendants, as befitted the importance of the mission, Isaac\nwas dispatched to the palace. Having passed the gatekeeper and been\nconducted across two or three courtyards to the entrance of the king\u2019s\nresidence proper, the guard suddenly stood at attention while Isaac\nfound himself in the presence of the chief officer of the palace.\n\nEach bowed to the ground, exclaiming, \u201cPeace be unto thee.\u201d Three times\nthis was repeated.\n\nEach then put his hand to his heart, which was meant to say, \u201cMy heart\nmeditates upon thee.\u201d\n\nEach next put his hands to his lips as if to say, \u201cMy lips speak well\nof thee.\u201d\n\nFinally, each put his hand to his forehead, which conveyed the\nflattering intelligence, \u201cMy intellect delights in thee.\u201d\n\nLastly they fell upon each other\u2019s neck and embraced fervently.\n\nThese civilities over, they stooped and rested in the comfortable\nOriental fashion while they held converse. My lord high officer\ninquired for his visitor\u2019s grandfather. Instead of replying truthfully\nthat he was long since dead, diplomacy required that Isaac relate a\ntale of courage and honor, whether true or untrue, which he ascribed\nto the _other\u2019s_ grandfather.\n\nWell pleased with the compliment, my lord high officer inquired for\nIsaac\u2019s father, with the same result. Next, my lord high officer\ninquired for Isaac\u2019s master and attributed to him deeds of valor which\nIsaac entirely disclaimed for Naaman, pronouncing blessings upon the\nother\u2019s master, the king.\n\nBy degrees and after a considerable time had elapsed, the moment was\nopportune for the delivery of Isaac\u2019s message. He had come to request\nan audience of King Ben-hadad for his master, Naaman. My lord high\nofficer was politely kind. He would see that the message was conveyed\nto his master, the king, and in the course of a few days an answer\nwould be returned. Although his real errand was now completed, Isaac\u2019s\nmanner was casual and betrayed no haste, after the approved style of\nEastern courtiers. For quite awhile longer they chatted with gravity\nand pretended interest, then they rose, bidding each other farewell\nwith the same elaborate gestures which had marked their meeting.\n\nWith a sigh of relief and a complacence born of duty well performed,\nIsaac and his soldiers took their way homeward and the House of Naaman\nbegan that waiting program which was to be its chief occupation for\nsome time to come and of which its master was to grow almost fatally\nweary before it should be brought to a happy ending. In a few days, as\npromised by my lord high officer, the watchman stationed upon Naaman\u2019s\nroof to note the approach of the king\u2019s messenger sent the joyful cry\nechoing through the courtyards: \u201cBehold, he cometh.\u201d\n\nInstantly the great house responded with a bustle of preparation and a\nsuspension of all unnecessary tasks, giving itself up to the delightful\nthrill of expectancy. The crowd of mendicants, the halt and maimed and\nblind, pensioners upon Naaman\u2019s bounty, melted away from before his\ngate--at the command of the gatekeeper, aided by a stout staff and one\nor two men servants--like snow before the sun. The courtyards were\ncleared of all save those whose privilege and duty it was to be there.\nIsaac, not now in the dress of a soldier but in the soft, fine raiment\nof a rich man, as befitted the master he represented, met the stranger\nat the very gateway.\n\nBy means of those elaborate bows which had characterized Isaac\u2019s\nprevious visit to the palace, the messenger was finally drawn within\nthe greater privacy of one of the inner courts. This not only shut\nthem out from the gaze and hearing of the curious but conveyed the\ncomplimentary impression that he was received into the bosom of the\nfamily. His message was brief. On the morrow his master, the king,\nwould give audience to his well-beloved servant, Naaman, at the fourth\nhour of the day. Yet, however concise the communication, Oriental\netiquette forbade its delivery in a hasty manner or without due\nceremony. A long time was it before Isaac, bidding farewell to this\nimportant guest, was at liberty to pay a scarcely less ceremonious\nvisit to his anxious master and to stand at length, smiling, before\nMiriam, that she might hear the joyful tidings.\n\nThe next day, promptly at ten o\u2019clock, Naaman and his imposing\nbodyguard of soldiers appeared at the palace. A no less imposing\nretinue of palace officials and servants, led by my lord high\nofficer, met him at the palace gate and with great apparent respect\nconducted him to the throne room. Here he and his king exchanged\nthe same elaborate courtesies which had marked the meeting of their\nrepresentatives a few days before. Yet with a difference! The latter\nhad been coldly formal, meaninglessly polite. This was the greeting\nof friends, of those whose regard for each other was built upon a\nsolid foundation of respect and affection, although there was not\nthe slightest trace of undue familiarity on the one hand nor lack of\ndignity on the other.\n\nSalutations concluded, the king commanded all who attended him to\nretire from the immediate vicinity. Naaman, following suit, gestured\nto Isaac, and his bodyguard likewise withdrew to a distance. The two\nhighest dignitaries of Syria could now converse in such privacy that\ntheir tones alone were audible to those who stood at either end of the\nlong throne room. Impressively yet briefly Naaman recited the facts:\nit had become known to him, through a maid in his household, that\nthere dwelt in the city of Samaria, in the Land of Israel, a prophet of\nJehovah, the little-known God of the land. This seer, it appeared, was\na man mighty in word and deed, able, so the maiden stated, to heal even\nthe dread disease of leprosy. Now, therefore, if he had found favor in\nthe sight of his master, the king, he hoped it would please the king to\nallow his servant to depart in peace upon this mission.\n\nBen-hadad was gracious. The affliction of Naaman, the man whom\nall Syria delighted to honor, was also his affliction. Any chance\nof relief, however remote, must be seized with as little delay as\npossible. If Jehovah, the God of the Israelites, acting through his\nprophet, was thus powerful, to effect a cure would be but a small\nmatter and one to be quickly accomplished. He, the king of Syria, would\nwrite a letter to the young king of Israel, son of their late enemy,\nAhab, which letter should be delivered in person by Naaman. The request\ntherein contained would of course be immediately granted. The affair\nshould take precedence of certain other state business so that, in a\nfew days, the letter should be written and dispatched by messenger to\nthe House of Naaman.\n\nThus comforted and highly elated at the success of his mission, Naaman\nand his attendants made the usual elaborate adieux and departed.\nIt was not that an interview between the king and his army\u2019s\ncommander-in-chief was either unusual or infrequent, but this had been\nfraught with national and international consequence, and ceremony was\nnecessary. Not often did one monarch ask a favor of another without\nintending to reciprocate, but this visit of Naaman to Israel, with its\nconsequent exchange of diplomatic courtesies, meant a closer alliance\nof the two nations; a declaration of friendship, as it were, which\nwould last as long as it served their purpose and which might not be a\nbad thing in these days of Assyrian encroachments.\n\nMiriam, watching the approach of the party from her favorite spot on\nthe roof, observed that the leader lifted his shield of beaten brass\nand pointed to the distant mountains. She understood. Isaac was telling\nher that Jehovah, in whom she trusted, had brought it to pass: the\nking\u2019s answer was favorable, and breathlessly she ran to carry the\nsecond message of hope to her mistress.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\nCONSTERNATION\n\n\nIn that portion of the veranda where stood Isaac and Miriam, eagerly\ndiscussing recent events, there was much passing to and fro of men\nservants and maid servants, picking up crumbs of talk like hungry\nbirds at a feast. With an imperious gesture, borrowed from his master,\nIsaac made known his displeasure. Instantly each individual had duties\nelsewhere.\n\nMiriam laughed. \u201cWhat a great man thou art becoming, Isaac!\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d he answered, \u201cbut if this mission of our master to Israel be\nprospered, then must we flatter and defer to thee, for thy position in\nthe household will be enviable.\u201d\n\nImmediately regretting the contamination of her mind with any taint of\nworldly wisdom, he ignored her surprised exclamations and spoke of the\nrich stores which were being gathered in preparation for the journey\nto Israel, a thank-offering to the prophet should Naaman be healed.\nMuch gold and silver, not in coins--which came at a later period--but\nin bulk, ready to be cut and weighed according to the amount required\nwhen occasion arose for paying or giving, and, in addition, the famous\nproducts of Damascus looms and other Eastern merchandise: silk that\nwould neither wrinkle nor cut; cotton and linen of exquisite weave, and\nheavier fabrics, all made up into the much-prized \u201cchanges of raiment,\u201d\nwhich would last the fortunate possessor a lifetime and still not be\nworn out.[3]\n\nMiriam asked a half-indignant question: \u201cThinkest thou the Man of\nGod will regard this? Nay, but only that our master may know Jehovah\nliveth.\u201d\n\nIsaac looked at her strangely. \u201cIt is customary, when asking a favor,\nto take in thine hand a present, and I have never known a prophet\nwho would refuse it. Have we not tried many prophets and many gods?\nBesides, is not our master very rich and Damascus the gateway between\nAssyria on the east and Egypt on the west, a city great in commerce and\nindustry? Yea, these things are but right.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt had been a late spring. That is to say, the dry season had been late\nin arriving, and for diplomatic and business reasons Naaman\u2019s journey\nto Israel was not commenced until nearly midsummer, but the great day\ncame at last. Miriam, her cheeks glowing with excitement, watched it\nfrom the latticed window where she could stand now on fewer cushions\nthan formerly. It was an imposing procession. Isaac, at the head,\nlooking very splendid, Miriam thought, waved her a farewell as they\nwent past the lattice. He could not see her, but he knew she was there.\n\nShe gazed eagerly, noting every detail. After Isaac came his servant,\ncarrying a long pole on the end of which was a brazier of coals, the\nsmoke of which would be a cloud by day and a fire by night, thus\nguiding the drivers behind no matter how far they straggled apart. A\nbodyguard of horsemen entirely surrounded the chariot, in which was\nNaaman, with one driver and one attendant, the latter supporting a\nsort of awning on poles to protect his master from sun and wind as\nhe traveled. A second chariot followed in case of accident to the\nfirst. At the rear of the bodyguard rode a man whom Miriam had long\nago learned to distrust, Lemuel by name. At a little distance followed\nthe camel train with its precious burden of merchandise and another\nsoldier-guard. Another space and then the asses, laden with food,\nwater, camping equipment, and the various necessities of such a lengthy\njourney. Last of all came a few asses and camels led, these to be used\nin case of emergency. A few more soldiers completed the cavalcade.\n\nIt was impressive, picturesque, noisy, with gaudily dressed drivers,\nthe decorated animals with their tinkling bells, the cries in many\nlanguages of those who urged them forward, to say nothing of the more\nordinary sight, the soldiers in dress-uniforms, dazzlingly bright, with\nthe sun reflected on metal helmets and shields and scalelike coats of\nmail. No wonder Damascus paused in its business and pleasure to admire\nand applaud as the party filed slowly and with dignity through its\nstreets and out of the southwestern gate. No wonder Miriam was excited,\nentranced, delighted. In her wildest dreams she had not beheld it thus,\nbut after it had passed there came a feeling of desolation such as she\nhad not experienced since that first terrible night in Damascus. Almost\nan hour later Milcah found her, huddled among the cushions, moaning and\nweeping.\n\n\u201cThey have gone; gone to Israel; and I am left here!\u201d\n\nAstonished but not unsympathetic, Milcah attempted comfort, but the\nwrithing, disheveled figure and the wild sobs frightened her. Running\nexcitedly to her mistress, she succeeded in startling that lady out\nof her accustomed languor and a few moments later they both bent over\nMiriam with deep concern. Adah gathered the girl in her arms.\n\n\u201cDesirest thou to go to Israel, little maid? Thou dost, thou sayest?\nThou art grieving for thy father and mother and thy home there? Nay, do\nnot weep. Thou shalt go. Only be thou patient until we learn how it is\nwith thy master.\u201d\n\nGradually, under these assurances and Milcah\u2019s ministrations, Miriam\nbecame calmer. Wearied by her outburst and half ashamed, she was\npersuaded to rest in a darkened room until she should feel quite\nherself again. To her own surprise, she found she was strangely weak\nand unnerved. For days she could not rise, and then she dragged about\nthe great house, pale and dispirited, until the excitement of watching\nfor the return of the party brought a little color to her cheeks and a\nlittle hope to her heart.\n\nMeanwhile Naaman and his company proceeded on their long, long way in\nthe scorching heat. Unerringly Isaac led his party out from the cool\nshade of the orchards surrounding the city of Damascus; by broad,\nrocky terraces to the wind-swept Plain of the Hauran, toward Mount\nHermon\u2019s rugged dominance in the south. Past wheat-fields and pasture\nlands, a few insignificant water courses and occasional small groves of\ntrees. Over the plains they went, across the Jordan and up the broad\nand fertile Vale of Jezreel, brown in the midsummer heat and drought.\nA twist in the valley and they were in the basin in which Samaria\nwas situated. Up, up, three hundred feet or more to the very top of\nthe cone-shaped hill upon which sat the city itself, impregnable,\nbeautiful, commanding a wide view of the Valley of Jezreel at its feet\nand the blue waters of the Great Sea (now called the Mediterranean)\nonly twenty-three miles distant.\n\nThe approach of so large a procession could not remain unknown. Long,\nlong before it wound its slow way up the hill, among the gardens and\nscattered houses of the suburbs, the watchman in the tower had noted\nits strength and its probable importance and hastily communicated\nthis intelligence to the proper officials, who had, in turn, sent a\nmessage to the palace. Long, long before it entered the square chamber\nof masonry which in the Orient they call a gate, prepared to emerge\ntherefrom into the city through the opening in another wall, the elders\nor judges sitting on the stone benches ranged along the two blank walls\nwere ready with questions. Was their errand one of peace? Who were they\nand whence did they come? What was the purpose of this visit to their\ncity and whom sought they?\n\nIsaac\u2019s duties multiplied. He was now not only guide but interpreter\nand the trusted servant who should present his master\u2019s all-important\nplea to the city officials. More than this, he was the courteous\ndiplomat who must secure the favor and the good will of these officials\nwho would, at their discretion, give them safe conduct to the king. The\nexamination into their credentials was conducted with great solemnity\nand consumed a vast deal of time, but with the happy result that the\nprocession of foreign guests was conducted with much ceremony through\nthe crooked streets of Samaria to the celebrated Ivory Palace of the\nking; those streets so narrow that two camels could not go abreast and\nleave room for foot passengers, so shaded from the heat of the sun by\nthe windowless buildings on either side that, had it been more unusual,\nit would have been depressing.\n\nIn the East there is courtesy but no haste. One wing of the palace,\nwith its own courts, was set aside for the use of the visitors, and\ntrusted servants and high officials busied themselves in making these\naccommodations comfortable for those who honored the roof by their\npresence. Isaac was granted a formal interview with the chief officer\nof the palace, the occasion being much the same as in Syria, when he\nhad appeared to request audience for his master with King Ben-hadad.\nNow as then an interval must elapse while the message was conveyed to\nKing Jehoram and he returned an answer, but in consideration of the\ndistinguished position which Naaman occupied in his own country and the\ncompliment which his visit implied, this was considerably hurried.\n\nThe next day Isaac, chief servant of the embassy, received a call from\nthe chief officer of the palace, appointing the hour and day when\nKing Jehoram would receive in person the letter of King Ben-hadad\nand the officer whom it introduced. Naaman, tired from the long and\nexhausting journey, was glad to have a few hours of rest, but as the\nhardened soldier recovered somewhat from his pain and fatigue, he grew\nimpatient for the interview. The hour came. Amid great splendor Naaman\nwas conducted into the presence of the young King Jehoram, the letter\nwas presented, courteous greetings and assurances of friendship were\nexchanged, and then Naaman was escorted back to his apartments to await\nthe real answer to his plea; the favorable reply anticipated but not\nyet given! Though compatible with Eastern custom, it was a situation\ncalculated to inspire distrust in the breast of the suffering Naaman\nand uneasiness on the part of his servant, Isaac.\n\nIn that portion of the palace they had just left the air was charged\nwith excitement. The king, surrounded by his counselors, old and young,\nrent his garments with true Oriental display of grief and vexation.\nWhat power had he to cure a man of leprosy? Was he a god to kill and\nmake alive? No reasonable human being would suppose he could do this\nthing. Nay, it was merely a pretext for Syria to declare war against\nIsrael. Not content with petty raids on their fertile valleys almost\nevery year; not satisfied with carrying off their flocks, their grain,\ntheir wine and their oil, and even a captive now and then; not content\nthat Jehoram\u2019s father, Ahab, had spared Ben-hadad\u2019s life when the\nlatter was at his mercy, and made a treaty of trade and peace when\nhe might have been less generous; not satisfied with this and all of\nthese, Ben-hadad now, without just cause, sought an open rupture. And\nIsrael--was Israel prepared to resist an invasion? Nay, but as the\nravenous dogs fell upon travelers in the night so would Syria fall upon\nthem and rend them in pieces!\n\nThe counselors of the young king shook their heads and mingled their\ntears with his, their hearts heavy with sorrow. If this thing came\nupon them--and it had--they must meet it like men. What did prudence\ndictate? It was a long conference, prudence seeming to dictate quite a\nnumber of things. As a result, the king hastily sent from one end of\nhis kingdom to the other, taking account of his resources: the number\nof his fighting men; his weapons of war; his food-supplies; his gold\nand silver. His counselors met in secret session again and considered\nIsrael\u2019s trade relations, her diplomatic friendships. Was she able,\nalone, to meet the enemy? Would she have help? Upon what could she\ndepend when this unfavorable answer should be returned as soon, indeed,\nit must be?\n\nDespite the urgency of the occasion, this census consumed some time\nand was, alas, in no wise satisfactory. It was a fact, grave but\nunmistakable, that Israel was not prepared to meet a foe of Syria\u2019s\nmeans, of Syria\u2019s army, of Syria\u2019s leadership! Israel never faced\na greater crisis. Her king was commanded to do the impossible or\nelse--there were no need to complete the sentence. The veriest child\ncould speak the answer and dread it, and King Jehoram lifted up his\nvoice and wept in the demonstrative Eastern fashion. Consternation,\nthough veiled, was not confined to the palace. The arrival of so large\na procession, its gorgeous display of wealth, the foreign garb of its\npeople and their probable errand could not fail to be a matter of\npublic interest and conjecture. The hopelessness of its mission could\nnot long be kept from the populace, nor fail to sound a note of dismay\nto the thoughtful.\n\nMeanwhile, in the apartments paneled in ivory, among the simple but\ncostly furnishings, Naaman paced restlessly. Was this prophet of\nJehovah on a journey to some far country that he came not? Was there\nany deception on the part of this young king that he failed to return\na favorable reply? Did he consider it a matter of so little importance\nthat he could safely procrastinate? Could there have been any mistake\nin the information which had sent him hither? Down, far below, into the\nValley of Jezreel Naaman looked, but the yellow grain fields merely\nnodded in the summer heat and refused to answer. Off to the blue strip\nof the Great Sea he raised his eyes, but the flashing oars of the\nPh\u0153nician galleys rose and fell unheeding. Toward the hills he looked,\nbut from their bare, brown hulks no help arose and Hermon regarded him\ncoldly from its snow-crowned peak. Weary, puzzled and in pain, Naaman\nstrove, sighing, to wait yet another day while the little maid whose\ncheerful assurances had been the cause of his visit, lay upon her bed,\nin the grasp of a great longing, knowing not that her unselfish plea\nhad brought about international complications and deep consternation to\nher beloved Land of Israel.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\nHOPE\n\n\nIn a crooked and somewhat retired street of Samaria stood a house\nwhich, next to the Ivory Palace of the king, was the most noted in\nall Israel. On the outside there was nothing to denote any special\nimportance, nothing to particularly commend it to the attention of\nthe young man who walked along slowly, scanning each dwelling with\ninterest. It might have been the home of any well-to-do citizen. The\nstranger paused doubtfully, asked a question of a passer-by, and then\napproached the entrance gate, rapping loudly.\n\nOne in the garb of a servant but with the air and manner of authority\nresponded to the summons. That is to say, although not opening the\nportal he called through it to know who was there and what the errand.\nThese questions being answered satisfactorily, the stranger was allowed\nto remain standing without until the servant within walked leisurely\nacross the courtyard and ascended a flight of stone steps in the corner\nto the flat roof of the dwelling and so into the presence of an older\nman, to whom he bowed low and who, in return, greeted him eagerly.\n\n\u201cNo message hath come to me from the king, Gehazi?\u201d\n\n\u201cNone, my master.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what saith the people to-day?\u201d\n\n\u201cDespair filleth all hearts, my lord, and the king rendeth his garments\nand weepeth, for there be none to help.\u201d\n\nThe face of the older man suddenly became gray and drawn and he went on\ntalking, but as if to himself: \u201cNeither king nor people remember that\nJehovah is their refuge, a very present help in trouble. Yet will not\nthe son of Jezebel hearken nor the people whose minds the priests of\nBaal hath darkened.\u201d He stood silent a moment, then stretched out his\narms over the parapet, toward the panoramic view of the city and valley\nbelow.\n\n\u201cO Israel, that ye would consider and know that the Lord is good and\nthat thy strength cometh from him, whose servant I am!\u201d\n\nHis head sank upon his breast in meditation, but ere long he roused\nhimself and spoke with decision: \u201cWe have waited many days, Gehazi. Now\nshall they see the salvation of the Lord of Hosts. Do thou send to the\npalace and say to the young King Jehoram, \u2018Wherefore hast thou rent thy\ngarments? Let this man, Naaman, come now to me and he shall know that\nthere is a God in Israel and I, his prophet.\u2019\u201d\n\nGehazi again bowed low, murmuring some words of assent, after which he\nremembered to speak of the visitor below.\n\n\u201cA stranger, my master, is without the gate, desiring to talk with the\nseer. He giveth his name as Isaac of Damascus, a soldier. Shall I bid\nhim enter?\u201d\n\n\u201cKnowest thou his voice, Gehazi?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, my master, but it hath the ring of sincerity.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen shall he be admitted. Doubtless he cometh with this Syrian,\nNaaman, and seeketh me to inquire of the Lord concerning him. I await\nhim here.\u201d\n\nGehazi leisurely descended the stairs, crossed the courtyard, opened\nthe gate and received the visitor within. Isaac\u2019s sandals having been\nleft outside, Gehazi brought forth a basin over which the young man\nheld first his hands and then his feet while the servant, from the ewer\nwhich he held, poured water over them. Isaac then wiped off the water\nwith the towel which hung from the other\u2019s girdle.\n\nGehazi now disappeared and a moment later set before the stranger\na little bread and wine. This was partaken of with the audible\nsatisfaction which Eastern etiquette demanded--the smacking of lips\nwhich told of the pleasure conferred by this attention.\n\nThese ceremonies over, the visitor was conducted to the roof, where\nthe host awaited him. Gehazi bowed low before his master: \u201cIt is Isaac,\na soldier of Damascus.\u201d\n\nThe older man forsook his meditation and looked toward his guest. In\nthe meanwhile, he of whom they spoke, apparently seeing nothing at all\nhad yet seen everything. No detail of his surroundings had escaped his\nobservant eye.\n\n\u201cIf I like not the master better than the man,\u201d he thought, \u201cthen\nshall I know that the little maid hath been indeed mistaken in putting\nconfidence here,\u201d and he sighed.\n\nNoting that he was expected to approach, Isaac ran forward, prostrating\nhimself. Rising, he reverentially took between his hands the face\nof the seer and kissed his head. Immediately the older man extended\nhis hand, which the visitor clasped, and each kissed the back of the\nother\u2019s hand. Isaac\u2019s greeting was the tribute of an inferior to a\nrevered superior. Elisha\u2019s extended hand was a condescension which the\nyounger man understood as placing him on the footing of an equal or\nthat of an honored guest, yet courtesy forbade him to speak until his\nhost had first taken the initiative.\n\nThe keen gaze of the latter seemed to penetrate his gorgeous costume\nand lay bare every secret of his soul, but the voice was kindly: \u201cWhat\nis thy need, my son?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou art Elisha, prophet of Jehovah?\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, my son. What wouldst thou?\u201d\n\nWhat would he? Isaac\u2019s voice fairly trembled with the earnestness of\nhis desire, and he spoke rapidly: \u201cThat thou wouldst heal my master,\nNaaman the Syrian.\u201d\n\nThe prophet sighed. \u201cNeither king nor people have asked this thing at\nthe hand of the Lord. Great love hast thou for thy master that thou\ncomest to me.\u201d\n\n\u201cLove and gratitude and admiration and pity, my lord. All these have\nI for my great and good master, Naaman, but I have come to thee more\nin dread of sorrow to a little maid whom I carried away captive almost\nfive years ago and who hath brought to mind the teaching of my mother,\nwho was of the Land of Gilead. Thou must know, oh my father, that among\nso many gods it is hard to know the one supreme save as now and again\none performeth some mighty work which causeth men to say, \u2018Lo here,\u2019\nor \u2018Lo there,\u2019 but my mother and this little maid have ever maintained\nthat Jehovah is God alone, who only doeth marvelous works. If this be\nso, thou his prophet canst heal my master of his leprosy.\u201d\n\nStraight into the troubled eyes of his young visitor the older man\nlooked and smiled. \u201cIt is well, my son. To win the unselfish affection\nof a child; to love a maid purely and protectingly and to keep thyself\nworthy of both will be to thy remorseful soul as waters of cleansing.\u201d\nThen, sternly: \u201cAnd to atone for the evil thou hast wrought to the\nHouse of Caleb, I charge thee to do this thing lest the wrath of\nJehovah fall upon thee.\u201d\n\nAwed and assenting, Isaac stood through a few moments of silence on the\npart of his host. At last the latter turned to him. \u201cAs to thy master,\nNaaman, behold, before thy return to the palace, he will have received\na message from the king to present himself to me. To-morrow at this\nhour thou shalt bring him hither and both he and thou shalt know the\nonly true God.\u201d\n\nThe speaker made a gesture by which his visitor understood that the\ninterview was ended. With respectful ceremony Isaac made his adieux\nand started back to the Ivory Palace, back to his impatient master. As\nhe went he reviewed the events of the past few weeks, the disquieting\nrumors which his familiarity with the language had enabled him to\nhear in the long walks he had taken through the city with a view to\nnews-gathering, a pastime inspired by Jehoram\u2019s delay and Naaman\u2019s\ndepression. It was this which had driven him to the prophet. He must\nknow for himself if there were hope.\n\nAt the palace gate there awaited him a servant whom they had brought\nfrom Syria to say that his master desired his presence without delay.\nIsaac presented himself humbly, half expecting the wrath which he\nencountered.\n\n\u201cSo thine own business and pleasure are more to thee than mine, Isaac.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, my master, I--\u201d\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s messenger hath been here and thou away. None but Lemuel to\nspeak his tongue and he haltingly and the message one of importance.\nYet peradventure I should not have expected thy interest. Thinkest thou\nI have not marked thy many absences of late and this the longest of\nall?\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, my master, if thou hadst followed me--\u201d The eager tone trailed\noff into silence. How could he relate the disheartening tidings he had\nheard on every hand when it could but add to his master\u2019s impatience\nand perhaps frustrate the very purpose for which they had come? The\npause was lengthy.\n\nNaaman\u2019s manner changed from sarcastic irritability to amused\ntoleration. \u201cI had forgotten, Isaac, how oft thou hast been in this\nland. I should have remembered thy youth and thy good looks and the\ncharm of the maids of Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, nay, my master. I but went--\u201d\n\nNaaman waved aside the explanation. \u201cFew maidens are unwilling to\nsmile upon a soldier, but it mattereth not,\u201d he said with finality. \u201cI\nshould not expect from thee the wisdom of age. I do not expect it. But\ngo now and make what preparations are necessary, for to-morrow, at the\nfourth hour, we present ourselves before this prophet of Jehovah for my\nhealing. The mouth of the king hath spoken it.\u201d\n\nOther mouths, both within and without the palace, took up the words and\nrepeated them until, between excitement and curiosity, Samaria slept\nbadly that night. The next morning, at the hour appointed, the narrow\nstreets of the city were packed with humanity as the Syrian embassy\nwended its slow and stately way to the house of the Man of God.\n\nIn front rode several dignitaries in chariots representing King\nJehoram. Next came Isaac on horseback, attended by his servant and\na soldier or two who preceded the chariot of Naaman. The Syrian\nbodyguard, who followed, were escorted by the flower of the Israelitish\narmy. In the rear came the pack-animals, their picturesque drivers,\nand a few more soldiers. It was a civil and not a military procession,\nand the splendor and dignity of both countries were represented. Amid\ngaping crowds the company came to a halt before the House of Elisha.\nSlowly and as if in expectation of their arrival, the gate opened. The\nmoment was tense with expectancy. As a mark of respect to the prophet\nall dismounted, including Naaman, but it was not Elisha. It was his\nservant, Gehazi, with a message:\n\n\u201cThus saith the Man of God: \u2018Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy\nflesh shall come again to thee and thou shalt be clean.\u2019\u201d\n\nAll eyes were turned upon Naaman, who flushed crimson with rage\nand disappointment. The Jordan indeed! The muddy, swift-flowing,\ntreacherous Jordan! Contrast it with the clear, sparkling waters of\nthe Abana and Pharpar back in Syria! If all he needed was to dip in\nsome river, he much preferred those at home. They were, at least, less\nrepulsive than this boasted stream in a foreign land. Were they not\nbetter than all the rivers of Israel? And the idea of sending a servant\nwith the message! Why did not the prophet himself come out, and stand,\nand call upon the name of his God in the spectacular manner of the\nEast? Why did he not strike his hand over the diseased flesh and effect\na cure with all the ceremony it was natural to expect? The meanest\nservant could have hoped for nothing less than such treatment as he,\nNaaman, had received. To put the most charitable construction upon the\nact, the prophet had evidently not understood the position held by his\nvisitor, else he would have acted more in accordance with the customs\nof the day. Nevertheless he, Naaman, had not come all the way to Israel\nto be treated discourteously, slightingly; to be mocked and ridiculed.\nThe long and painful journey had been worse than useless. They would\nreturn whence they had come and woe to Israel when Ben-hadad heard!\n\nThe Syrian embassy whispered among themselves. The elders of the city\nand the dignitaries from the palace held a brief parley and then\napproached Naaman with an air of dismayed humility, with apology and\nalmost with entreaty, but the outraged visitor was conscious only\nof the insult put upon him. In the face of his anger all of Isaac\u2019s\ndiplomacy served only to ruffle his feelings the more and to make the\nefforts of the young interpreter and servant appear ridiculous in the\neyes of those who saw the futility of anything but surrender to the\nexasperating circumstances. The king\u2019s representatives were thoroughly\nalarmed. In a few days, perhaps, when the wrath of their mighty visitor\nhad cooled, he might be persuaded to try the remedy, which appeared\neven to them as questionable, if not absurd. If he did not care to\nbe reasonable, or if the prescription failed, then, indeed, the last\nstate of this miserable affair would be worse than the first. Years\nago King Ahab had had Ben-hadad at his mercy; Israel had put her foot\nupon Syria\u2019s neck, but since then other wars had changed entirely the\ncomplexion of Eastern politics.[4]\n\nIt was a crestfallen party which took its slow departure from the\nprophet\u2019s house. Even the horses seemed to feel the general air of\ngloom and walked less proudly. Isaac, chagrined at this unexpected\nturn of affairs, heard not the comments of his companions, saw not the\njostling and awe-struck throngs, cared not for his master\u2019s ire. He\nwas conscious only that back in Syria was a maid with the light of\nhappy expectancy in her eyes and it must not be dimmed! He resolved it\nfiercely, striving to consider the situation as calmly as possible.\nFor Miriam\u2019s sake, considerations of self were obliterated. Into the\nstruggle he threw his all, risking his future and the favor of his\nimpulsive master. At a turn into the wider street which led to the\npalace, Naaman, with uncooled wrath, commanded greater speed, but\nIsaac, turning, wheeled his horse directly in the path of the chariot,\nthus halting the entire company.\n\nThe anger in his master\u2019s eye was like a drawn sword, but love for\nMiriam was like a shield, warding off the thrusts. His voice slightly\ntrembled but he held his ground: \u201cMy father, if the prophet had bid\nthee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much\nrather when he saith to thee, \u2018Wash and be clean\u2019?\u201d\n\nNaaman, the bluff man of moods, at first irritated at such daring,\ngradually became aware that he admired it. He himself had experienced\ngreat moments and high courage. And there was no selfishness in the\nplea. Isaac was asking for nothing which could benefit him personally.\nNaaman looked at the straight, young figure, at the earnest face, at\nthe yearning affection in the eyes. \u201cMy father,\u201d he had said. Naaman\nfelt the charm of deference from youth to age; the tribute of regard\nfrom man to master; the acknowledgment of respect from an inferior.\n\u201cIf the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have\ndone it?\u201d He would. He was keyed up to any effort. That was wherein lay\nthe disappointment. \u201cHow much rather when he saith to thee, \u2018Wash and\nbe clean\u2019?\u201d The logic appealed to Naaman\u2019s sense of justice. Why not\nindeed? It could but fail as had everything else. Why take all this\ntrouble and then refuse to do the thing recommended?\n\nThe king\u2019s representatives looked on in amazement. Who and what was\nthis youthful interpreter and courtier that he dared speak words of\nremonstrance and exhortation to this powerful foreigner? That he\nwas doing just this was evident even though the language used left\nthe exact sentences in doubt. The Syrian soldiery held its breath\nin wonder, uncertain whether to admire Isaac\u2019s bravery or condemn\nhis temerity. They would decide according to the outcome. Naaman\u2019s\nexpression passed through a series of changes and took on the cool\nmatter-of-fact.\n\n\u201cOn,\u201d he directed, \u201con--to the Jordan!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\nREWARDS\n\n\nFrom the city of Samaria to the banks of the Jordan was some\nthirty-five miles, considerably more than a day\u2019s journey each way.\nIt lacked an hour of noon when they started, so Naaman\u2019s party was\nobliged to encamp over night, and it was late the following afternoon\nwhen they finally reached their destination. With an eagerness that\nknew no faltering, no uncertainty, Isaac had led the way. Now, finding\na shallow spot in the turbulent river near one of the fords, a spot\nwarmed for hours by the summer sun, Naaman had dipped seven times, as\ndirected, the seventh turning vague hope into joyous certainty. He was\nhealed every whit! Joy knew no bounds. The king\u2019s representatives had\nembraced him and each other. Israel was saved! The Syrian embassy was\nscarcely less contained. Even the camel drivers from the desert and the\nlowest of the servants shouted with loud voices and great enthusiasm\nand Naaman beamed upon them all, but it was Isaac to whom his first\nwords of relief and happiness had been addressed, and Isaac upon whom\nhe smiled with tenderness and even affection.\n\nWith hearts attuned to see the wonderful yellows and browns of the\nValley of Jezreel in late summer, their horses\u2019 hoofs had again\npattered its long expanse, the laden camels and asses driven in the\nrear. One more night they had encamped and now they came straggling up\nthe hill they had descended three days before. But the young leader\nhad made a slight error in judgment as to the time of arrival. It was\nshortly after sunset, a few minutes past the hour when the city closed\nits gates--and no man came to open! Lemuel, companion of Isaac\u2019s old\nscouting days, approached him with a respect so profound that its\ninsincerity was patent.\n\n\u201cSir, there be not room among this crowd of mendicants,\u201d glancing\ncontemptuously at other belated travelers, \u201cto spread our camping\nequipment with due regard to our importance, and without it we shall\nfind the night dews too heavy to be pleasant. I pray thee have the\ngates opened without delay that thy servants may render thee the honor\ndue so great a captain.\u201d\n\nAnnoyed, Isaac ceased thundering at the gates and became aware of the\nmurmuring among his own party and the derision of the merchants and\nothers who, like themselves, seemed doomed to spend the night with only\nthe city walls for a covering while the chill air of the mountains\npenetrated even the thickest of garments. The voice of Naaman commanded\nsilence. He spoke compassionately to Isaac.\n\n\u201cMy son, he at whom the multitude throws roses feels mostly the thorns.\nHe who by any act becomes more noticeable than his fellows is the\ntarget for their envy. Only a brave man can afford to be prominent. Do\nI not know, I, the veteran of a hundred wars and judged of all? Courage\nin the peril of battle I know thou hast, Isaac, for with mine own eyes\nhave I beheld, but courage in the peril of success, hast thou fortitude\nsufficient for this?\u201d\n\nThe Syrian party had unconsciously drawn closer together, away from\nthe motley crowd of late-comers who were striving to make themselves\ncomfortable in the shadow of the walls and were fighting energetically\nfor the best places. The king\u2019s representatives, in another group,\nwere making a determined onslaught upon the stout gates with their\nswords and spears. Lemuel again drew near Isaac, this time in hurried\npompousness.\n\n\u201cAnswer thou wisely,\u201d he said in an undertone. \u201cHe meaneth to reward\nthee. Remember that I have been thy friend, thy companion since\nboyhood, intimate enough for such jesting as I had with thee a moment\nago.\u201d\n\nIsaac shook off the counsel impatiently. His action had been inspired\nwith no thought of reward, save in the joy of the little maid; yet\nNaaman was rich and generous and a gift not unlikely. If given a\nchoice, he knew what he should ask. He had considered the matter,\nbut the plan did not include Lemuel. The latter fell back a pace. His\nwords had reached no other ears than those for whom they were intended,\nbeing drowned in the din of the pounding on the gate. Naaman, amiable\nin the delight of physical relief, gave a few brief directions and his\nparty settled down to waiting with whatever calmness they could muster.\nAudible complaints ceased. At last, on top of the city wall, a watchman\nwas seen approaching from the tower at the far corner. At first a\nspeck in the distance as he made the rounds of the wall leisurely, he\nfinally stood near enough to the gate to survey the assemblage outside.\nWith unsympathetic eye he viewed the poorer travelers and the belated\nmerchants, but a change came over his countenance as he beheld the\nking\u2019s representatives and the Syrian embassy. Instantly he disappeared\nwithin the city and the party without drew a sigh of content.\n\nYet the gate was not opened; that is, not the great gate. A smaller\none within the larger was flung wide and the watchman appeared with\nobsequious interest: \u201cBehold the needle\u2019s eye. Enter thou and thy\nbeasts.\u201d\n\nThe men could get through readily, and even the horses could with\ndifficulty, but hard is it indeed for a camel to go through the eye\nof a needle! They were made to kneel and then, with much tugging and\ncursing and shouting their drivers at last succeeded in getting them\nthrough its narrow space. The asses required almost as much effort,\nhaving to be unladen and their burdens strapped upon them once more on\nthe city-side of the gate. Finally, only the chariots and the least\nimportant luggage remained under guard without while the watchman\nclosed the small gate decisively against the envious groups left\nderiding and pleading and cursing in the shadow of the walls.\n\nThe next morning Naaman\u2019s company again stood before the abode of\nElisha. Again was it surrounded by gaping throngs. Again had the\ncity of Samaria cause to be both curious and joyful. Did not all\nwish to gaze upon this great foreign diplomat who had been healed in\nthe Jordan? Did not his recovery mean that war had been averted from\nIsrael? What would he say to the prophet and what part of his goodly\ntreasure would he leave behind? Part of this question had been answered\nbefore it had been asked; answered before he left the palace, when he\nhad proffered a gift to the king, a gift generous in itself but small\nin comparison with what he had brought, most of which was intended for\nthe Man of God.\n\nNaaman\u2019s visit to the prophet, however, had an even greater\nsignificance than the crowd surmised. In fact, his errand was\nthreefold. First, he had come to bring a thank-offering. Second, he\nwished to make public confession of his belief in that Jehovah who,\nthough Israel\u2019s national God,[5] should now be his own. Third, he\ndesired greatly to have the prophet\u2019s advice on a matter which weighed\nheavily upon his mind. This time he was not required to deal with the\nservant, Gehazi. Instead, with all the elaborate courtesy of the East,\nNaaman was received by Elisha in person. Not with the abruptness and\nhaste which we of the West are pleased to call \u201cbusiness,\u201d but with\ndeliberation and delicacy, Naaman made known his errand.\n\n\u201cBehold, now know I that there is no God in all the earth but in\nIsrael; now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant,\u201d\nand Naaman stretched forth his hand toward the camels laden with\ntreasure, those rich stores of which Damascus was proud and which,\nbrought in this form, was the current idea of wealth.\n\nElisha demurred. \u201cAs the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will\nreceive none.\u201d\n\nNaaman stared. Surely he did not mean it. This was merely the usual\nreluctance, the hypocritical hesitancy which might be expected. All\nover the Orient it was customary to give presents to the various\nholy men who were successful interpreters of the wills of their\nrespective gods, and none ever refused. This man had a different\nmanner: a courtesy without servility, an assurance without bigotry,\nself-respect without self-esteem, but he was human! Once and again\nNaaman urged acceptance of the offering, but Elisha was firm. A murmur\nof surprise ran through the ranks of the Syrians and Naaman turned\nimpatiently, commanding their withdrawal that he and the seer might\nconverse in private. Isaac, sole attendant upon his master, as Gehazi\nwas upon Elisha, communed with himself: \u201cSo saith the little maid,\u201d\nand went over in his mind her protests against this gift and his own\nworldly-wise replies. So different was Jehovah from other gods! So\nunusual a man was his prophet!\n\nFinding insistence useless, Naaman with fine feeling ignored the\nbenefit he had thought to confer and begged instead that a favor be\ngranted him. \u201cShall not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant\ntwo mules\u2019 burden of earth?\u201d From the land Jehovah was supposed to\nespecially bless Naaman would take sufficient holy ground to erect\nin heathen Syria an altar to this new God. \u201cFor thy servant will\nhenceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods\nbut only unto Jehovah.\u201d\n\nThe prophet graciously gave consent and dispatched Gehazi with servants\nof their visitor to see that proper attention be given the matter.\n\nNaaman\u2019s brow clouded as his host stood waiting in dignified civility.\nDrawing nearer, he spoke in tones which betrayed his agitation of\nmind. \u201cIn this thing, however, the Lord pardon thy servant; that when\nmy master, the king, goeth into the House of Rimmon to worship there\n(for thou knowest that my master, the king, leaneth upon the hand of\nthy servant) and I must needs bow myself in the House of Rimmon as\nits worship requireth; when I bow myself I make request that the Lord\npardon thy servant in this thing.\u201d\n\nFor a moment the prophet did not speak and Naaman waited anxiously.\nHis was not a nature which could practice deception or tolerate it in\nothers, yet between his own religious convictions and his official\nduties as a member of the Syrian Court was a great gulf fixed. Elisha\u2019s\nanswer fell upon his hungry heart like a refreshing shower on parched\nground.\n\n\u201cIt is well. Go thou in peace.\u201d\n\nThe great soldier prostrated himself before the seer, who politely\nbade him rise, and their farewells over--those long farewells of the\nOrient--the Syrian embassy turned its face homeward, wondering greatly\nat what it had seen and heard.\n\nThrough the gate of the house just left peered a frowning face. Gehazi,\nservant to the prophet, had regarded his master\u2019s decision concerning\nthe gift with some displeasure. True, Elisha was not poor, but to\nallow wealth to pass as lightly through his fingers as a man openeth\nhis hand and droppeth seed in sowing time! But stay, should not his\nown services be rewarded with a little, a very little indeed, of\nwhat this foreigner was reluctantly carrying away? His eyes, lighted\nwith cupidity, grew cautious as they searched the apartments within\nfor trace of his master. In a moment he had shut the gate softly and\nstepped outside.\n\nIsaac, hearing behind them the footsteps of a runner, looked backward\ncuriously, checking his horse. Naaman, hearing at the same moment,\ncommanded his charioteer to stop while he dismounted. Walking a few\nsteps toward the runner, whom he perceived to be the prophet\u2019s servant,\nhe greeted him anxiously.\n\n\u201cIs all well?\u201d\n\nThe man reassured him. \u201cAll is well, but my master hath sent me,\nsaying, \u2018Behold even now there be come to me from Mount Ephraim two\nyoung men of the Sons of the Prophet. Give them, I pray thee, a talent\nof silver and two changes of garments.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn answer to this request, Naaman generously insisted upon giving more\nthan was desired: \u201cBe content, take two talents,\u201d and although Gehazi\nobjected with well simulated humility there was in his tones no such\ndecisive finality as had been present in the voice of his master.\n\nCalling two of the servants, Naaman saw to it that they bore before\nthe messenger the heavy silver, cut and weighed, and the two changes\nof fine raiment. Well satisfied that at least something of all he had\ntaken had been accepted, the Syrian captain reentered his chariot and\nthe party waited for the return of the burden bearers. Isaac looked\nafter the trio questioningly.\n\n\u201cThere be many Sons of the Prophet,\u201d he reasoned with himself, \u201cwould\ntheir leader, the Man of God, honor two above the rest? Nay, it seemeth\nnot so to me. Somehow I like not this man Gehazi. Never once, in all of\nour dealings, hath he looked my master or me straight in the eye!\u201d\n\nAt the same moment another mind was dealing with the same problem.\nGehazi, elated at Naaman\u2019s generosity, had been likewise perplexed.\nTo receive a present was one thing, to dispose of it quite another,\nespecially in view of the two servants who carried the treasure and\nbefore whom he must act the part of Elisha\u2019s messenger as he had\nrepresented himself to be. At the tower in the vineyard at the foot of\nthe hill he dismissed the men and took the burden himself, staggering\nunder its weight. Within the house he hastily disposed of his new\npossessions and betook himself to his master, wondering if his absence\nhad been noted and striving to assume an air of innocence by busying\nhimself about necessary tasks.\n\nElisha\u2019s keen eye rested upon the guilty countenance: \u201cWhence comest\nthou, Gehazi?\u201d\n\n\u201cThy servant went no whither.\u201d\n\nThe prophet\u2019s righteous indignation was kindled at the falsehood. \u201cWent\nnot my heart with thee when the man turned back from his chariot to\nmeet thee?\u201d\n\nThe fear in the craven face opposite told its own story. The prophet\u2019s\nwrath overflowed. To have upheld the honor of the Lord of Hosts and\nthen this misrepresentation! \u201cIs it a time to receive money and to\nreceive garments and olive-yards and vineyards and sheep and oxen and\nmen servants and maid servants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall\ncleave unto thee and unto thy seed forever.\u201d\n\nGehazi cowered, weeping and pleading, but the stern edict had gone\nforth. Already he knew himself to be the loathsome object Naaman had\nonce been, and at the same hour when Isaac lay down to sleep with a\nsmile upon his face, Gehazi rent his garments and cried aloud outside\nthe gate through which Greed had driven him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\nPLANS\n\n\nNaaman, freed from the bondage of physical suffering, made plans for\nthe future with all the abandon of a joyous child. The first day of the\nreturn journey he talked much with Isaac, whom he graciously permitted\nto ride beside him, the target for both the flattery and the malice of\nhis less-favored associates.\n\n\u201cThere remaineth, Isaac, most of the treasure we brought to this land,\ndespite our trifling gifts to King Jehoram and to the prophet\u2019s servant\nfor his master\u2019s almsgiving. Had it not been for thee I should not now\nbe healed. Behold, the gift is thine.\u201d\n\nIsaac bowed low. \u201cNay, my lord, for had it not been for the little maid\nwe should not now be in Israel.\u201d\n\nThe great man pondered. \u201cThe maid shall be suitably rewarded, but what\ndesirest thou for thyself?\u201d\n\nThus encouraged the young soldier dared to speak of what had been in\nhis mind since that day of healing at the Jordan. \u201cYea, my lord, much\nmore than thou wilt wish to give, but if, oh my lord, I have found\nfavor in thy sight, grant, I pray thee, that Miriam be allowed to\nreturn to Israel and to her home as she longeth to do, and that thou\nshouldst also allow to return with the maid her brother Benjamin, a\nfriend to whom I am much indebted, but who, being a shepherd, was\ncarried into captivity with his flock by Eleazer\u2019s band about the time\nI took Miriam.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut for thyself, Isaac, what for thyself?\u201d\n\nThe soldier gazed beseechingly at the older man. \u201cFor myself do I ask\nthese things. Do they not mean the reward of a conscience at peace? And\nthat is something, my lord, I have not had this long time.\u201d\n\nNaaman was silent a moment, lost in thought. At last he spoke: \u201cIt\nshall be done, Isaac, even as thou desirest, but more. This treasure\nwill I divide between thee and the maid, and when she is old enough she\nshall be given thee in marriage. I see thou hast a tender affection for\nher. It is well.\u201d\n\nWith a gesture of dismissal Naaman was turning away, but Isaac\ncaught hold of the fringe of his garment, speaking with unmistakable\nearnestness. \u201cThou hast spoken truly, my master. I love the maid as\nshe cannot now comprehend and she loveth me, but not in the way I\nwould wish. There be many kinds of love, and when she is old enough to\nconsider such things I pray thee help her to be happy.\u201d\n\nNaaman could not hide his amusement. \u201cI see, Isaac, that I was not\nwrong when I accused thy good looks of leading thee into experiences.\nThou speakest of love wisely.\u201d\n\nThe amusement faded into seriousness. \u201cOft have I thought, Isaac, that\nthou hast shown discretion far beyond thy years. As thou knowest,\nmy steward groweth old. In time he must be supplanted by a younger\nman, and even now he needeth to lean upon the stronger arm of youth.\nWhere can I find one more diligent and less self-seeking than thou?\nBehold, from henceforth thou shalt be no longer a soldier, but greater\nresponsibility shall be given into thine hand. In time thou mayest be\nover all of my substance as was thy father before thee.\u201d\n\nIsaac stammered his thanks, but its lack of enthusiasm irritated his\nmaster. \u201cCarest thou not for the reward I would give thee? Peradventure\nthou hast some other request. Speak and conceal it not.\u201d\n\nAnd Isaac spoke, too utterly miserable to be prudent. \u201cCould I be born\nand grow up in thy house, my master, and not wish to be even as thou\nart, a man of war? Could I be thine armor-bearer and not feel that war\nis more glorious than peace? Could I be promoted to the captaincy of a\nsmall band and not wish to lead a greater? Could I follow thee and not\nwish to be like thee? Thy wealth thou hast inherited, but the affection\nof the people thou hast won by thine own valor, thine own worth. I had\ndreamed even of this. Once I gained the favor of Naaman, Captain of\nthe Host. Henceforth thou dost ask me to seek only the favor of Naaman,\nthe rich man.\u201d He ceased speaking, his breast heaving, tears in his\neyes.\n\nNaaman stared at the dejected figure with incredulity and growing\ndispleasure. Why all this show of emotion over a benefit he had thought\nto confer? His kindness was misconstrued. His thoughtfulness was\nconsidered intrusive. He was defied and rebuked by a servant. Yet he\nmight have expected ingratitude. It was the way of the world. He had\nimagined that Isaac was different, but he had been disillusioned. His\ntones held the sadness of disappointed hope.\n\n\u201cI had believed thou wert glad to serve me, Isaac, but thou art like\nthe others: thou wouldst rather serve thyself. It is well that I should\nhave learned this before making any mistake.\u201d\n\nWith a disdainful gesture he turned from his one-time favorite. Isaac,\nshocked into full understanding of the mischief his tongue had wrought,\ndropped to the rear of the chariot and by degrees to the rear of the\ncompany, affecting not to see the curious and surprised glances with\nwhich his action was greeted by his companions. Lemuel rode forward\nhastily. Passing Isaac he leaned from his saddle, speaking in so low a\nvoice that even the soldier nearest could not catch the words, much as\nhe tried:\n\n\u201cThou fool! Knowest thou not his imperious temper? Couldst thou not\nbear with his impatience? Thou shouldst have considered only the\nreward. Thou hast had thy chance and lost it. Next to thee he hath\nseemed to regard me with favor. Peradventure the opportunity thou hast\nthrown away will be mine. Behold, I go to do his bidding.\u201d\n\nHe pushed his way to a place just behind the chariot, where he rode\nfor a time, respectful and attentive. Naaman, saddened and perplexed\nby Isaac\u2019s outburst, accepted Lemuel\u2019s attentions with a certain\ndegree of grateful appreciation which gradually became relief and\neven pleasure, and when evening fell, Lemuel\u2019s tent was pitched next\nNaaman\u2019s, in the very center of the encampment, while Isaac kept to the\nouter circle. The evening meal was long since eaten; the bustle of the\ncamp had quieted into the soundlessness of night; not a figure moved\namong the dark tent-shapes and masses of camp paraphernalia. Even the\npack-animals were quiet, but hour after hour Isaac lay awake.\n\nThe stars looked at him with far-off, unsympathetic faces. He was\nbitterly humiliated. Why had he so rashly thrown away his master\u2019s\nfavor? Why had he treated his future advancement as a child would\nlightly discard a withered flower? It was not merely of himself he\nshould think, but what would Miriam say when she knew? The impetuous\nyouth who had never faltered before a foe quailed now, in imagination,\nbefore the clear vision of a maid\u2019s disapproval. And then the remedy\nflashed through his mind. Discarding it at first as absurd and\nimpossible, he ended by weighing carefully reasons for and against.\nAt last he rose and stealthily went for his tired horse. No watchman\nquestioned his action or interfered, but the significance of this did\nnot occur to him until afterward.\n\nLeading the animal apart from the camp he stopped in the shadow of a\ngreat rock. He was facing the road which led to Damascus. A little\nfarther along there crossed it the no less important highway which went\ndown into Egypt. It was well known to every traveler and each twist and\nturn of it had been familiar to Isaac since his scouting days. He would\nhave no difficulty finding his way. Egypt was his destination. There\nwould he be a soldier. The ruling power was always anxious to recruit\nits forces with any foreigner willing to serve, and how much more would\nhe be welcomed when it was known that his father had been an Egyptian!\n\nAlthough the decision was made, the young man hesitated. To be a\nsoldier for pay, and pay alone! To fight, not to defend the weak and\nrepulse the strong but to uphold the quarrels of a master he should\nhate! To leave the impulsive, impatient but kindly and generous Naaman,\nthe only master he had ever known! To cut himself off from jealous,\nloving Milcah and repudiate the home of his mother! Most of all, never\nto see the maid again! What would she think of this desertion? He\nshuddered at the word, yet it was that despicable thing--desertion\nof duty. He wavered an instant, then his face set into lines of\nbitterness. By whatever name it might be called it was necessary.\nWas he not already disgraced? Had he not foolishly and without just\ncause forfeited his master\u2019s favor? Did he deserve or could he expect\nsympathy or even respect from Milcah and Miriam?\n\nStill he did not start. Before his mind\u2019s eye passed quickly a panorama\nof all his dreams, now brought to naught. Brushing a mist from his eyes\nhe sighed and mounted the fiery little steed of the desert, once a gift\nfrom his master. Motionless he sat in the shadow, staring, for down\nthe road, like a moving picture, came a band of mounted men. Was his\ndream coming true? Was this the phantom command he had often seen in\nimagination? And then he came back to realities with a start. His horse\nseemed to feel the suspicion which passed through his rider\u2019s mind and\nwas instantly alert, responsive, trembling slightly, but eager for the\nfray.\n\nOn the company came. There was no mistaking the camels and the armed\nmen, though not a sound of their advance came to the sensitive horse\nand to the man who crouched in the shadows, listening. It was this\nsilence which proclaimed their errand. They were robbers coming by\nnight with the feet of their animals muffled, their object being no\nother than Naaman\u2019s treasure, upon which they hoped to pounce while\nthe camp slumbered, exhausted by a hard day\u2019s travel. And then it\noccurred to Isaac for the first time that the watchmen should have seen\nand reported. He remembered that he had noticed no passing to and fro\non the usual rounds. Was there a traitor within the camp? But he had no\ntime for investigation. He lifted his face to the stars for an instant\nand through the cool stillness of the night sent a long, weird call.\n\nIt was the Syrian battle cry. The camp responded without delay, and\nIsaac, dashing out of his shadowed retreat, led the first charge\nagainst the oncoming robbers, made desperate by the miscarriage of\ntheir plans and the surprise of the attack. It was a longer fight\nthan might have been anticipated. Their numbers were almost evenly\nmatched and both sides felt that so much wealth was worth fighting for.\nNaaman\u2019s party, however, had the handicap of weariness, for its leader\nwas pushing toward Damascus at a forced speed. Isaac never understood\nhow it was that he and his master and Lemuel became separated from the\nrest and cornered. He only knew, with the clearness of vision which\ncomes in a time of emergency, that the chances were all against them\nand in favor of the robbers.\n\nIn that moment, also, there swept over him the certainty that he had\nnever cared for Naaman the soldier and even less for Naaman the rich\nman, but that Naaman his master was dearer to him than all the world\nexcept the little maid. He saw the battle-line draw closer and closer\nabout them. He noted the spear-thrust which Lemuel avoided and which\nNaaman, though he did not see, would soon feel unless, by a quick\nmovement on his own part--in Isaac\u2019s side he felt a sharp and agonizing\npain as if he were being burned with red hot lead. His strength\nsuddenly forsook him. Crumpled up on the rocky road, held fast in the\ngrip of a dull torture and a nauseating weakness, the struggle surged\naround and over him and he cared not, nor knew when it ceased.\n\nIt was long past daylight when his dull eyes opened upon his\nsurroundings and his stiff lips tried to frame a question. It was\nNaaman himself who bent over him tenderly and answered with a\nmatter-of-factness in itself reassuring:\n\n\u201cThree of our men have we lost and four beside thyself are dangerously\nwounded. The others are able to be about the camp and to minister to\nthe sufferers. We shall rest here for two or three days and then resume\nthe journey slowly. Yea, the treasure is safe and we have buried many\nof our enemies. But rest thou and so shalt thy strength return.\u201d\n\nThe speaker gave his patient a drink of something that was cool and\nrefreshing and bathed his wound with a mixture of oil and wine which\nwas supposed to have great virtue in soothing and healing. But Isaac\ncould not rest until one more query was answered.\n\n\u201cAnd thou?\u201d\n\nHis articulation was feeble, but it was understood. As his master\nstooped to reply two scalding drops fell upon Isaac\u2019s hand and the\nwords came chokingly:\n\n\u201cSafe--thanks to thy fidelity.\u201d\n\nAnd then Naaman did a strange thing for one who was merely a master. He\ngathered Isaac within his arms and wept openly over him.\n\n\u201cThat I should have forgotten how high flame the fires of youth; its\nambition and its courage and its boldness; its longing for achievement\nand its impatience of restraint. Yet of these is manhood born. Ah, if\nthou stayest with me, Isaac, I will remember, yea, I will.\u201d\n\nThe younger man looked up into his face wonderingly. Stay with him!\nWhat did he mean? He was not going to Egypt. Not now. He was going back\nto the little maid, and home. He was, however, too weak and too weary\nto make explanations, so he closed his eyes and when he opened them\nagain the stars were out once more and his master still lingered beside\nhim.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\nHOME\n\n\nIn the House of Naaman at Damascus all was anxiety. As soon as the\ndays were accomplished when the caravan might return, a watchman\nwas stationed upon the roof to give tidings of its arrival, but day\nsucceeded day without sight of the party itself or even a messenger. At\nleast twenty times between dawn and sunset did Miriam run lightly up\nthe stone staircase to her own favorite spot. Shading her eyes with her\nhand she would gaze long into the grayish distances and then, sighing,\ndescend to her mistress, who, weary with waiting and unutterably\ndistressed at the delay, had ceased asking questions with her lips\nand now asked them only with her eyes. When no gladness appeared in\nMiriam\u2019s expressive countenance, Adah would sink back upon her silken\ncushions with one brief exclamation:\n\n\u201cIt is as before. We could expect nothing else.\u201d\n\nNot even the little maid\u2019s confident cheerfulness could rouse her\nto hope. Added to the gloom of her mistress, Miriam experienced\nother trials. Her position in the household began to be somewhat\nuncomfortable. She could not fail to be aware of whispered remarks,\nslighting, scornful, amused. If a visit to the prophet who dwelt in the\nLand of Israel were all that was needed for her master\u2019s restoration,\nwhy had he not returned ere this with the healing predicted? The delay\nwas proof positive of the failure of his mission. And who had doubted\nthat it would fail? Certainly not they. Had they not said all along\nthat if Baal and Rimmon and Chemosh and Tammuz and all the other gods\ncould do nothing, was it not highly improbable that this Jehovah of\nIsrael, of whom the maid was always talking, could do more? And the\nidea of one in her place offering advice to her master!\n\nIt was on a particularly trying day that anticipation was changed\nto certainty. It needed not the cry of the watchman nor the tense\nexcitement with which the household responded to apprize Miriam, for in\nher own particular lookout on the roof she had observed for herself.\nFar in the distance she had noted moving specks which could be no other\nthan a caravan. Fascinated, hopeful, she had watched its approach\nuntil assured from appearances that it _might_ be Naaman\u2019s party. She\nhad seen the sudden paralysis of Damascus traffic and had heard the\nexultant cry of the multitude, two marks of respect accorded only the\ngreat and the popular. It _must_ be Naaman\u2019s party! Slowly and with\ndignity the procession moved through the narrow, crowded streets amid\nthe cheering throngs and came to a halt before the arched gateway.\nWith wildly beating heart Miriam knew that it _was_ Naaman\u2019s party.\n\nPeeping over the parapet surrounding the roof, she noted that the\nhousehold had hurried into festal garb and gone forth to meet its\nmaster in the solemn joy of the dance, accompanied by the music of\nsilver trumpets and cymbals, stringed instruments and timbrels. Her\nplace was with them, but surprise and dismay held her motionless for\na long moment, then she bounded down the steps and ran, panting, to\nthe apartments of her mistress. Adah, in excitement scarcely less than\nMiriam\u2019s but decidedly more controlled, stood by the doorway, trembling\nand waiting. Miriam, with white face, clutched her garment and her\nvoice sounded strange even to herself.\n\n\u201cMy mistress, knowest thou? Knowest thou?\u201d\n\nShe could proceed no further. In Adah\u2019s eyes the light of happy\nexpectancy slowly faded--and it had shown there momentarily. In its\nstead came the old, deep despair. Dropping back a pace she covered her\nface with her hands.\n\n\u201cI should have known--oh I think I did know--yea, I knew.\u201d\n\nMiriam, in utter misery, gazed at her fixedly. \u201cThou knewest and didst\nnot tell me. Thou didst wait and let me find out for myself that his\nhorse is led and riderless and that they carry a prostrate figure!\nSomeone hath told thee and thou hast concealed it from me. Oh, how\ncouldst thou?\u201d\n\nAdah moaned. \u201cThat he could not be healed I felt, I knew, but that it\nis with him as thou sayest--Miriam, art thou sure?\u201d\n\nBut Miriam was gone. With swift steps she passed various members of\nthe elated household. With unseeing eyes she rushed past its master\non his way to his wife\u2019s apartments, and though he stopped and spoke\ngraciously she noted not it was he. Her objective was a room in another\ncourtyard where the figure she had seen was being tenderly cared for.\nHere she knelt beside Milcah and stroked Isaac\u2019s hand, openly weeping\nover him; took from the servant the cooling drink and administered it\nherself; listened to an account of the battle with the robbers and\nforgot to ask for Naaman, and left the room only when she and Milcah\nwere satisfied that it was quite safe to leave him in the hands of\nother attendants for the time being.\n\nShe was soon summoned to the apartments of her mistress, where she\nprostrated herself before her master, but he gently raised her.\n\n\u201cLook upon me, little maid, and behold what thy faith hath wrought.\u201d\n\nTimidly she raised her eyes as she was bidden and the look lingered. To\nbehold him thus restored! Around the mouth which life had molded into\nsternness played a little smile, to which the lips of his wife and her\nhandmaiden likewise responded.\n\n\u201cWell did I know that Jehovah would do this,\u201d Miriam exclaimed,\ndelightedly, \u201cif my lord would but go to the Man of God who dwelleth in\nSamaria in the Land of Israel.\u201d\n\nAdah, with the lassitude all gone, drew Miriam down beside her while\nthe story was told from beginning to end, and the little maid heard\nwith such great happiness that the attitude and the recital seemed the\nmost natural thing in the world and not at all, as it was, an unusual\npiece of condescension. Nor did either master or mistress appear to\nremember. The tale finished and questions asked and answered with\nentire frankness, Naaman suddenly propounded a query.\n\n\u201cAnd now what wouldst thou, little maid? Behold, a gift is thine.\u201d\n\nInto Miriam\u2019s eyes crept a certain wistfulness and they entreated her\nmistress. Adah turned her own away. Like the sharp thrust of a dagger\nshe remembered the girl\u2019s wail on the day Naaman had started to Israel\nand her own words of promise. Yet how could they let her go? Oh,\nanything but this!\n\nMiriam\u2019s reply was not, however, what was expected by either of her\nauditors. \u201cA gift, my lord? Nay, for I sought only thy good because I\nloved my mistress and thee.\u201d\n\nNaaman\u2019s keen eyes searched her face. \u201cWe express our thanks by a gift,\nlittle maid. Speak thou and be not afraid.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen, my lord, let thy gift, I pray thee, come to Isaac, who\ndeserveth it more. He it is who hath brought this to pass more than thy\nhandmaiden. Thou wouldst not have listened to me, yet wert thou ready\nto hear the servant in whom thou delightest.\u201d\n\nNaaman toyed with the hilt of the buckler which hung at his girdle.\nStrangely unselfish were these Israelites. First the prophet, then\nIsaac, now Miriam. \u201cYea,\u201d he said aloud, \u201cand Isaac shalt have his\nreward, but something must be given also to thee. Speak! What wouldst\nthou?\u201d\n\nThus importuned the girl hesitatingly voiced her desires: \u201cThou\nknowest, my lord, that with great anguish of spirit have I thought upon\nthe distress of my father and mother, bereft of both son and daughter,\nand that with great longing have I desired to know how it fareth with\nthem. If, therefore, I have found favor in thy sight, I pray that thou\nwilt allow my brother, Benjamin, who is a captive shepherd in the\nSyrian hill country, to return unto them.\u201d\n\nAdah drew a sharp breath of surprise and relief, but Naaman was not\nsatisfied. \u201cYea, thy brother shalt go. Isaac hath already asked this\nthing, but in Benjamin\u2019s hand he shall carry a gift to thy parents.\nI have told thee that but a little is gone of all that we took into\nIsrael. What wouldst thou?\u201d\n\nMiriam\u2019s decision was prompt. \u201cIf thou couldst find it in thine heart\nto give him some of the sheep. Thou knowest he hath tended them until\nthey are dear unto him, and with a few, my father\u2019s flock could again\nbe restored.\u201d\n\nNaaman hastened to grant the request. \u201cA few sheep would be but small\nrecompense for all that I owe thee. He shall take the flock with its\nincrease. I will send a messenger to the palace and the king will give\norders to his servants that this be done.\u201d\n\nMiriam knelt before him, her face transfigured with joy. \u201cSo good art\nthou to thy handmaiden, my lord. I thank thee,\u201d and slipped hastily\naway while Naaman and his wife conversed long and earnestly on a\nsubject Adah presented and which appeared to be of concern to the\nlittle maid, since her name was frequently mentioned.\n\n\u201cLet us consider well,\u201d advised the man, gravely, \u201cand if thou art of\nthe same mind a week or so hence--\u201d\n\nBut evidently she was, for Miriam was again summoned to appear before\nher master and mistress, and in a maze of bewildered delight soon\nafterward sought Isaac on the veranda, where his couch had been placed.\n\n\u201cAnd when I am _daughter_ to the House of Naaman, thou who hast taught\nme so much must teach me yet more,\u201d she said with smiling confidence in\nthe help which had never been refused.\n\nShe was surprised at his averted head, his long silence. When he did\nspeak it was slowly and with seeming difficulty.\n\n\u201cWhen thou art daughter to the House of Naaman it will not be my right\nto teach thee anything. Then will I come into thy presence only to do\nthy bidding. I shall be thy servant even as I am servant to my master\nand mistress.\u201d\n\nThe smile left Miriam\u2019s face. She put her hand on his arm and he\ncovered it with his larger one.\n\n\u201cBut, Isaac,\u201d she began, in a dismayed little voice, \u201cwhy, Isaac--\u201d and\ngot no further, for he went on earnestly:\n\n\u201cBut I am glad for thee, Miriam, truly glad. Thou art entirely worthy.\nSweet art thou and refined and teachable, and with the advantages they\nwill give thee thou shalt be second to none at the court. They have\nchosen wisely, much as they owe thee, and thou shouldst be grateful and\npleased at the honor.\u201d\n\nHe smiled at her encouragingly, trying to steady the voice which\nsounded so unlike his own, and went on telling her all that the new\nposition would mean in responsibility and opportunity and happiness.\nVery quietly she sat listening, her hand still in his, but when Milcah\ncame, bringing some nourishment for the invalid, Miriam slipped away to\nher favorite nook, trying to think calmly. Somehow joy had fled.\n\nIt had gone for Isaac also. Over and over he told himself how glad\nhe was for her, and over and over his heart mocked him with its own\ndesolation. Never again would she come to him with her innocent\nconfidences; never again bring him her problems to be solved; never\nagain would he have the sweetness of knowing that he was first to her!\nAnd that was what he wanted; wanted it more intensely than he had\never wanted anything in his life. Once he had craved the affection of\nanother maiden. Now he wondered that he should have been carried away\nby a fancy. That was a dream, an impossibility. This was reality and\nlikewise an impossibility, and Isaac was unutterably wretched.\n\nFor a week Miriam avoided him, as he knew she would henceforth, and\nthen she sought him once more as he moped in the courtyard. It was the\nsame Miriam he had always known. As if they had parted but an hour ago\nshe plunged into the continuation of her tale.\n\n\u201cI am not going to be daughter to the House of Naaman.\u201d\n\nHe was startled. \u201cMiriam! What right hast thou to choose? Thy master\nand mistress hath spoken. Naught is left for thee but to obey.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe can always choose between right and wrong, Isaac.\u201d\n\nHe regarded her helplessly. \u201cBut what will thy mistress say? She will\nbe very wroth with thee.\u201d\n\nMiriam shook her head. \u201cNay, for I have already explained, and she is\nnot wroth. She laughed.\u201d\n\nHe could not understand. \u201cLaughed? At what?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know not,\u201d with a puzzled frown. \u201cWhat other answer could I make to\nher questions and her planning but that I could not be daughter in the\nhouse where thou art only a servant?\u201d\n\nA long moment of silence. One searching glance and Isaac\u2019s thrill was\nstrangled by disappointment. Quite frankly her eyes had looked into\nhis. Very matter-of-fact were the comments she was making upon the\nsacredness of friendship and the gratitude she felt for his great\nand constant kindnesses. He resisted the impulse to laugh as her\nmistress had done. The barbaric joy which her words had awakened died\nprematurely. In a little while he was the kindly, serious Isaac of her\nformer acquaintance. He drew her down on the stone seat beside him,\nspeaking in a tone of authority he had never used to her before.\n\n\u201cSit thou here while I speak plainly to thee. Thinkest thou I shall let\nthee ruin thy future for the sake of what thou canst not understand?\nShall I take advantage of thy innocent generosity to thine own hurt?\nAm I so weak and my friendship so poor, so mean that I will allow thy\ninexperience to deprive thee of that which thou dost so richly deserve?\u201d\n\nHe spared neither himself nor her. He told her of the great riches of\nthe House of Naaman, of its power, of all the advantages which would\nbe hers. He reminded her that this was a childless household; that\nits mistress was lonely, needing a daughter\u2019s companionship; that he\nand Milcah would be proud of her in the new relationship, and that she\nwould be able to accomplish much good for the name of Jehovah, her God.\n\nShe was distressed at his reception of her tidings. She wept at the\nsternness of his tone, but her decision remained unchanged.\n\n\u201cThinkest thou I have not thought of all these things, Isaac? Have I\nnot been to the court with my mistress and beheld its glory and its\nfolly? It would be wickedness to me. To be daughter in this household\nwould not mean to give more time or greater service to my mistress, but\nless of both, for would not my duties be increased? More than this,\nas daughter here I must bow to Rimmon, but as handmaiden I can serve\nJehovah. Thinkest thou the Lord, who looketh upon the heart, would\nbe unmindful of my deceit? Nor, as I have told thee, would I thus\nungratefully treat my friend. Thinkest thou I could be happy were I to\ntake precedence of thee?\u201d\n\nIsaac was sternly resolved. \u201cMiriam, thou must take heed to what I say.\nQuickly, before it is too late, thou must go to thy mistress and say--\u201d\nbut Miriam had gone.\n\nIn her place stood Milcah, shocked and reproving, as is the right of\nelder sisters. \u201cI was passing through the courtyard shrubbery and\nheard. That she should tell a man what she told thee! And at her age!\u201d\n\nIsaac\u2019s serenity unexpectedly returned. \u201cThat it should be \u2018at her\nage,\u2019\u201d mocking Milcah\u2019s tone, \u201cis the only sad part of it to me.\nWould she were two or three years older! Would she had whispered it,\nhesitatingly and with a blush! Then would it have pleased me better,\nbut as it is, she knoweth not what she hath said, and when she findeth\nout she will not mean it.\u201d\n\nMilcah\u2019s sharp glance encountered one of the maid servants lingering\nwithin a doorway, smiling upon Isaac. The sight infuriated her, and by\ncontrast, Miriam\u2019s friendly admissions appeared the embodiment of frank\nchildishness. She sighed.\n\n\u201cUseless is it to enlighten her or to chide thee, for Miriam is just\nMiriam, and neither thou nor I would have her different,\u201d and so\nsaying, Milcah went her way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\nDEVOTION\n\n\nThe gatekeeper at the House of Naaman was extremely wise. Old and\nfaithful and trusted, he was an autocrat whose word few had the\ntemerity to question. For years he had admitted and dismissed through\nthat gate high and low, rich and poor, distinguished and obscure,\nspeaking to each in his own tongue and with the manner his rank and\nerrand demanded. For this reason he felt entirely competent to judge\nfor himself of the worth of any applicant for admission, without\nreferring the matter to higher authority. When, therefore, two young\nmen of poverty-stricken appearance and speaking the language of Israel\ncame, demanding to see the master of the house, it required but a\nmoment to decide that their request should, by all means, be refused.\n\nThey were undoubtedly grieved and disappointed. The next day they\ncame again, also the next and still the fourth, but neither arguments\nnor persuasion availed with the gatekeeper. Then they changed their\ntactics. They pursued a policy of watchful waiting, coming every day\nand crouching on the roadway outside the forbidden walls from the\nearliest beam of sunrise until its last faint glow in the evening.\nAgainst such warfare as this the autocrat of the gate was incensed, but\nnot despondent. Others had made like attempts at various times, but had\nnever been victorious.\n\nTo the sorely tried youths, their enemy\u2019s resources seemed unlimited.\nBy turns he tried threats, blows, indifference, sarcasm, and ridicule,\nenlisting the sympathy and ready help of the assorted variety of\nhangers-on who might always be counted upon to linger in the vicinity\nof a rich man\u2019s dwelling. To the gatekeeper\u2019s surprise and disgust, it\nwas all useless. Smarting under defeat and in great irritation the old\nman carried his grievance to Isaac.\n\n\u201cRight hast thou been to tell me,\u201d the young man assured him. \u201cEither\nthey be thieves watching their opportunity, in which case the soldiers\nshould pay heed to them, or else they bear a message sufficiently\nimportant to be heard. I will see them at once.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the two on the roadway without held converse in low tones.\n\u201cNot in vain have we daily watched these comings and goings,\u201d said one,\n\u201cfor much have we learned of the ways of the household and the manner\nof behavior therein.\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, and what meaneth more to us,\u201d responded his companion, \u201cmuch\nhave we learned as to _whom_ it is that cometh and goeth: soldiers and\nservants, merchants and mendicants and messengers of various sorts as\nwell as visitors of rank and distinction. Of importance must this man\nNaaman be and of considerable possessions. Thinkest thou he will demand\nmore than we can pay?\u201d\n\n\u201cThou knowest the alternative,\u201d was the grim answer.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d went on the speaker, \u201calso have we seen the master himself, I\ntake it, but never close enough to have speech with him. Likewise hath\nthe mistress passed and a maiden who always goeth forth with her, a\nmaiden very gorgeously appareled and of great beauty whom we supposed\nto be the daughter of the house save that her looks betray a different\nlineage. All these and more, yet never the young soldier, Isaac by\nname, who carried her away.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd if it were possible,\u201d was the quick retort, \u201cI would be content\nnot to see him.\u201d\n\n\u201cMore concerned am I,\u201d pursued the other, \u201cthat he should not see me.\nHe may remember that out of his hand did I escape and seek to take me\nagain. Yet to redeem my promise and thy vow are we come, and I shall\nnot begrudge the price.\u201d\n\nAt that moment an air of expectancy ran through the group outside the\nportal, a thrill which communicated itself even to the two who were\nconversing and who, by reason of the hostility offered them, had been\nobliged to surrender the strategic position opposite the entrance\nand take refuge under the wall at a little distance. The gatekeeper\nappeared, beckoning violently. The idle pauper group, each individual\nof which hoped this honor was for him, crowded about the man, only to\nbe repulsed with grumbling curses. The two young men, having learned to\nexpect nothing but unkindness, merely gazed and wondered. At last they\nbecame aware that it was they who were being called.\n\n\u201cCome, thou gaunt tricksters. Thou of the brawny arm,\u201d to the younger,\n\u201cand thou of the burning eyes,\u201d to the elder. \u201cThou Israelitish\nimpostors! Come and tell thy errand to the favorite servant of my\nlord Naaman. Come quickly that thou mayest be gone before he loseth\npatience.\u201d\n\nThe two looked at each other questioningly, disregarding the curious\nand envious eyes upon them.\n\n\u201cWhat new insult thinkest thou--?\u201d\n\nOut of the gate limped a soldier very little older than themselves and\nhalted before them with a grave salute.\n\n\u201cPeace be unto thee if thy errand be peace. Naaman, my master, goeth\nforth on a matter for the king. Quickly, therefore, thy names and what\nit is that bringeth thee hither.\u201d\n\nThe young men bowed low before him and the elder made the necessary\nexplanations.\n\n\u201cA long and toilsome journey hath thy servants taken and one beset with\ndanger, and five lean and hungry years have they spent in preparing\nthat they might speak to the master of this house concerning a matter\non which only he can speak with both knowledge and authority. So I pray\nthee, if thy servants have found favor in thine eyes, grant that their\nrequest be carried to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt shall be done,\u201d the soldier answered, tersely, after a momentary\nhesitancy, and conducted them forthwith past the sacred gate and the\nonce frowning gatekeeper (now all smiles) to the outer courtyard.\n\nScarcely had he left them and scarcely had they time to observe the\nmagnificence of the surroundings, when he returned, a few steps behind\nhis master. The latter suffered the usual elaborate salutations of the\nEast with visible irritation.\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s business, on which I go, requireth haste,\u201d he told them,\nthoughtlessly speaking in Syrian. \u201cState thy errand in as few words as\npossible that I may tarry but briefly.\u201d\n\nThe elder of the two, continuing to act as spokesman, bowed low before\nthe soldier, who was standing apart: \u201cThy speech is that of Israel and\nthy master is not able to understand thy servants. I pray thee stand\nnear that thou mayest tell thy lord what thy servants say and tell them\nwhat he saith.\u201d\n\nA smile played round the soldier\u2019s mouth. \u201cNay, for my mother, who was\nof the Land of Israel, taught its tongue to my master, whom she nursed.\nSay on and he will understand. Long hath Isaac\u2019s people served the\nHouse of Naaman.\u201d\n\n\u201cIsaac?\u201d The question--or exclamation--was like the swift thrust of a\nsword dividing friend from friend. The speaker drew back with hostility\nin eye and voice. \u201cThou art Isaac?\u201d\n\nThe soldier wonderingly assented.\n\n\u201cThen thou art he who hath brought us hither. Five years and more,\u201d\nsternly, \u201chast the captivity of a maid been on thy conscience, if thou\nhast a conscience; a maid whom thy soldiers stole from Hannathon in the\nLand of Israel.\u201d\n\nSurprise, resentment, and then infinite sadness overspread Isaac\u2019s\ncountenance. \u201cNay,\u201d he said gently, \u201cnot five, but twenty-five, fifty,\nan hundred, hath been the years of my remorse.\u201d\n\nThe travelers exchanged glances.\n\n\u201cThen do we not need to be told how it hath fared with the maiden,\u201d\nsaid the spokesman, and turned his back upon the soldier, addressing\nNaaman in the tongue of Israel.\n\n\u201cThy servants be Eli and Nathan, from the city of Hannathon in the Land\nof Israel, and we have come to redeem out of thy hand this captive\nmaid, Miriam by name.\u201d\n\nNaaman frowned, and he spoke slowly. \u201cThy words do I comprehend but not\nthy meaning. \u2018Redeem,\u2019 thou sayest.\u201d\n\nOut of his bosom Eli drew a piece of sheepskin, which he carefully\nunwrapped, displaying two huge bracelets and a ring.\n\n\u201cWhen these are weighed, my lord, thou wilt find that they are of\nconsiderable value.\u201d\n\nNaaman exchanged a look with Isaac and assumed an air of sternness.\n\u201cAnd when the truth is known thou wilt be found to have stolen them.\u201d\n\nOn the faces of the two young men was blank despair. \u201cSay not so,\nmy lord. It is the product of five years and more of toil for us in\nthe fields and vineyards of Abner of Hannathon. Robbed of his flocks\nand herds and his stores of oil and wine by the same hand which made\nMiriam\u2019s parents desolate\u201d--he paused and cast a contemptuous glance at\nIsaac, who winced as if he had received a blow--\u201cnaught had he left but\nhis land, so he agreed with us for wages, and the God of our fathers,\nwho heard the sighs of the maid in captivity, also prospered Abner and\nus.\u201d\n\nNaaman surveyed the jewelry appraisingly. \u201cFive years\u2019 wages for two\nwould scarcely equal their value. Thou hast obtained them by fraud.\nPeradventure even now he for whom thou wert hirelings mourneth his\nloss.\u201d\n\nGenuinely distressed, tears came to the eyes of Eli. \u201cNay,\u201d he said,\neagerly, \u201cmy lord misjudgeth his servants. Privation hath been sister\nunto Toil and both have been sweet unto us for the hope wherewith we\nwere comforted. My lord can see that these be the hands of workers--\u201d\nhe stretched open palms toward Naaman and commanded Nathan to do\nlikewise. \u201cThese are not the hands of those who live delicately on the\nearnings of others.\u201d\n\nNaaman surveyed their hardened and calloused hands, to which his\nattention had been directed, but he saw yet more: their emaciated\nappearance, their coarse clothing, above all, their earnestness, but he\nseemed to find no words.\n\nSlowly Eli drew from his bosom another and yet smaller piece of\nsheepskin and unwrapping it, passed it without speaking to Naaman.\nThe latter looked long and with surprise, examining it diligently and\ncommenting briefly.\n\n\u201cIt is a pearl of great price. It hath never belonged to thee.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever,\u201d assented the spokesman. \u201cIt is a gift from Judith, kinswoman\nto Miriam and wife of Abner, who considereth herself to blame for\nMiriam\u2019s capture. Loath was I to take it, but she besought me with\ntears and we reflected that what might mean much to the maid was but a\nlittle thing to Abner, so we hearkened to his wife.\u201d\n\nThe conversation was interrupted momentarily when Lemuel, bowing low\nand with many apologies, crossed the courtyard hurriedly and whispered\na message in Naaman\u2019s ear. With a hasty glance at the sun the great\ncaptain turned to Eli.\n\n\u201cPut up thy jewels into thy bosom. Very dear unto her mistress is the\nmaid, and the sum thou canst offer tempts me not. Nay, for I would tell\nthee--\u201d\n\nWith one dismayed look at his brother Eli spoke again with calm\nfinality: \u201cThen one thing more do we bring my lord, all that we have to\ngive. Let, I pray thee, thy servants remain as thy bondmen and let the\nmaid return to Israel and to the mother who yearneth for her.\u201d\n\nThe younger brother now advanced, prostrating himself and echoing Eli\u2019s\nrequest: \u201cLet Nathan and Eli serve thee as thou seest fit, but let not\nthe maid remain in captivity.\u201d\n\nFrank admiration beamed from Naaman\u2019s countenance. \u201cNay, not as bondmen\nshalt thou remain in this house, but as guests. Meat and drink shall\nbe set before thee and changes of raiment shall be brought. Thou shalt\nsee the maid and have audience with her mistress. Much of gratitude\nand affection do we owe Miriam, and if it please my wife to let her go\ninto Israel, naught of what thou hast offered would we take, but a gift\nshould she carry in her hand. Already hath request for the maiden\u2019s\nfreedom been made by my well-beloved servant, Isaac, and--\u201d\n\nToward the gate they had entered flitted a smiling maiden, attended by\nan older woman and a maid servant. She stopped to pick a flower from\nthe courtyard garden. Two women passed and she spoke to each, not with\nfamiliar chat, but with pleasant authority, both hurrying off to do her\nbidding. As the three entered a chariot which was in waiting and to\nwhich she was assisted with every mark of respect, she turned her head\nand the visitors saw that it was the gorgeously appareled maiden they\nhad once supposed to be the daughter of the house.\n\n\u201cBehold,\u201d said Naaman, \u201cthe maid whom thou seekest. She goeth--\u201d\n\nA rush of faintness caused Eli to lean heavily upon his brother. It was\nnot _this_ Miriam for whose sake they had toiled and suffered, but a\nMiriam poor and abused and possibly degraded. Upon the stone floor of\nthe courtyard Eli fell. It was the tragedy of an unnecessary sacrifice.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\nTIDINGS\n\n\nSomewhere out on the Syrian hills a mother caressed her babe. \u201cAwakest\nthou, little one? Knowest thou that when thine eyes open it is as if\nsunrise had come and when thou closest them again it is as sunset?\u201d\n\nThe exultation went out of her face, but the tenderness remained in her\nvoice. \u201cTo think, joy of my life, that thou shalt never know thine own\npeople! Never shall the eyes of thy father\u2019s father or thy mother\u2019s\nmother behold thy sweetness and delight in thee.\u201d\n\nThe next words came with a low intensity like the fierce growl of some\nmother-beast called upon to defend her young: \u201cAlways shalt thou be a\nstranger in a strange land with not even memories, such as thy father\nand I enjoy, to console thee. Scorn and misunderstanding and bitterness\nof spirit shall be thy portion forever. O little son, dearly as I love\nthee, how can I bear to see thee grow into manhood thus?\u201d Her bosom\nheaved and her eyes suffused with tears.\n\nShe was startled by a long, low peal of thunder and a great gust of\nwind which blew violently into the tent through the raised flap. With\nthe babe in her arms she went quickly to this opening, which served\nas both door and window, and peered out anxiously. A few large drops\nof rain were already falling, giving promise of the deluge which came\nsuddenly, even as she looked. For some reason the babe wrinkled up its\ntiny face and began to wail. The woman, with a quick movement, let fall\nthe curtain flap and retreated from the entrance, soothing the child\nmeanwhile.\n\n\u201cNay, little son, it is not Rimmon, whom these Syrians sometimes\nworship as the sun-god and sometimes as the storm-god. He is not, as\nthey believe, punishing his people for their sins, lashing them with\nthe fury of the storm. It is Jehovah, sending rain that grass may grow\nupon the hills to provide food for his creatures. Surely, none knowest\nbetter than thy mother that he is of tender mercy. Nay,\u201d as the cries\ngrew louder, \u201cweep not even for thy father. Long before thou and I\nthought of rain he had sensed the storm and securely hidden his sheep\nin some cave of the mountains where the forethought of the shepherds\nhath already stored food for such emergencies. Skillful and tender\nand watchful is thy father. The worst for us is that we shall have to\nspend the night alone, so far from the sheepfold and the tents of other\nshepherds. Shall we sit here, just within the door, where we can see\nwhat passeth without, heart\u2019s delight?\u201d\n\nSuiting the action to the word she lifted the tent-flap a little and\npeered out, uttering an exclamation. \u201cIt is hard to see through the\nblinding rain and the wind, sweet one, but someone cometh.\u201d\n\nAgain she looked. \u201cIt is not sheep, and so I know it is not thy father.\nRather it seemeth like a chariot. Yea, it _is_ a chariot with horsemen\nbefore and behind.\u201d\n\nShe clasped the babe to her in an agony of apprehension. \u201cOnly king\u2019s\nmessengers ride with chariot and horsemen. They come in haste, as if on\nurgent business. They will stop when they see the tent and seek shelter\nfrom the storm. And thou and I alone!\u201d\n\nScarcely had she ceased speaking when she detected that the little\ncompany was, as she feared, preparing to halt. The foremost horseman\ndismounted and, approaching the tent, entered with an air of insolent\nauthority. The woman, face to face with her intruder-guest, drew back\nin fear. He smiled triumphantly.\n\n\u201cTwice,\u201d he said, \u201cnay, thrice hast thou escaped me. Once in the\ngorge in Israel when thou fedest wild pigeons and knew not thou wert\nobserved; once as we journeyed toward Damascus, and again in Damascus\nitself. Thrice had I thee in my power. Wert thou not _my_ captive?\nThrice hast thou escaped through the help of thy friend--peradventure\nmore than friend--Isaac.\u201d\n\nThe woman lifted her head proudly, resenting the sneer, a torrent of\nindignant denials on the end of her tongue, but his manner immediately\nbecame conciliatory: \u201cYet though the gods, who have ever been kind to\nme, have brought thee into my hand once more, and there be no Isaac\nnear to secure thy release, thou hast no cause for alarm. Only speak\nthou favorably of me to the maiden I have brought hither and all shall\nbe well with thee and with thy husband and babe. Refuse, and--\u201d\n\nHis words were cut short by the arrival of the rest of the party,\nwho crowded into the tent unceremoniously, but though the threat was\nunspoken, the woman shuddered. It was as if personified Evil had\nintruded into the sacredness of Home. Retreating as far as possible\ninto the dim shadows of the tent\u2019s interior, she watched apathetically\nthe entrance of two women, heavily veiled. That they were persons of\nimportance was evidenced by the deference with which they were treated\nby the soldier-escort, chief of whom was Lemuel.\n\nThe older woman was speaking querulously: \u201cNever should we have come to\nseek those who are but wayfarers. Saidst I not to thee that only storms\nand uncertainty would be our portion?\u201d\n\nHer companion, evidently much younger, answered, soothingly: \u201cYea,\nand many more discouragements didst thou prophesy, but said we not\nthat none of them should delay the message of joy we carry, for is\nnot Jehovah able to deliver us out of them all? See how he hath now\nprovided shelter for us.\u201d\n\nLemuel, dropping the tent-flap, which he had held as the two entered,\nbowed deferentially to the last speaker: \u201cRightly hast thou spoken,\nMiriam. Blessed be the name of Jehovah, as I learned in our recent\nvisit to Israel.\u201d\n\nIt was noticeable that the girl did not return the smile but drew away\nsomewhat coldly. The woman within the shadows suddenly recovered her\nself-possession, noting that this was the tongue of Israel and not the\ndespised Syrian. Hastening forward she spoke those courteous words of\ngreeting which no Oriental householder would, under any circumstances,\nomit, placing her services and her possessions entirely at the disposal\nof the strangers and drawing the two females of the party into the\nwoman\u2019s portion of the tent while the men made themselves quite at home\nin the other and larger section.\n\nThe younger traveler received these kindly ministrations of her hostess\nwith a wondering hesitancy. \u201cThou art not--thou canst not be--\u201d she\nbegan, then, throwing aside the drenched veil worn on the journey, she\npeered intently into the face which could not be seen plainly in the\nsemi-darkness.\n\n\u201cThy voice,\u201d she continued, \u201cand what I can see of thy countenance--\u201d\nand then a glad cry rang out: \u201cThou _art_ she whom Milcah and I have\nsought, lo, these many days. Thou art Rachel, wife of my brother\nBenjamin. Blessed be the name of Jehovah, who hath brought us to thee\nsafely!\u201d\n\n\u201cYea, blessed be the name of Jehovah!\u201d piously echoed the men of the\nparty, but two of them exchanged glances partly amused and partly\nsinister yet altogether significant.\n\nIt was an evening of joy. After the tiny lamps had been lighted and\nthe wayfarers had eaten, Rachel listened to Miriam\u2019s recital in amazed\nincredulity.\n\n\u201cThat we should return to Israel when we had despaired of seeing our\nkindred again! That our son should be reared in the land of Jehovah\ninstead of in this country of many gods! And that we should return as\nthou sayest, not as those who flee from an enemy but with a gift in our\nhand, the sheep that Benjamin loveth, nay, I have not heard aright.\nTruly thy master is good unto thee and unto us. And thou wilt come\nalso?\u201d\n\nFor a moment Miriam struggled with emotion. \u201cNay,\u201d she declared with\nsad finality, \u201cthou must know that since my master\u2019s healing at the\nhands of the Man of God, Jehovah only doth our household worship and\nthere be none to teach them his ways when I am gone. Besides, is it not\nBenjamin and the flock which will be of most help to our parents? What\nam I that I should ask more when I have already been granted much?\u201d\n\nHer lip quivered and very unexpectedly she found herself weeping in\nRachel\u2019s arms. The cords of captivity, however entwined with love, have\never been found to cut the very heart-strings! The storm without almost\ndrowned conversation within and very early, sleeping mats were unrolled\nin both sections of the tent, the lights were extinguished and silence\nreigned.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAll day long the same rain had dripped and drizzled upon the streets of\nDamascus, driving its inhabitants to shelter. All day long the several\ncourtyards of Naaman\u2019s house had been deserted and the two young men\nfrom Israel, guests for several days under its hospitable roof, waited\nin isolation and impatience for the interview they had been promised\nwith Miriam and her mistress. Instead, a servant had come with a\ncourteous message to the effect that the maiden was on a short journey\nand Adah was indisposed, but it was hoped it would please them to abide\nthere for a time, and so they had remained.\n\nSome time during the night the wind changed and drove a fine spray\nthrough the lattice, sprinkling the sleepers below and slapping them\nin the face with its raw breath. Nathan sprang to his feet with an\nexclamation of disgust, dragged his quilt-mattress to another and dryer\npart of the room and was soon dreaming again that he was a soldier with\na commander who looked extremely like Isaac.\n\nEli too arose, but with greater deliberation. Peering through the\nlattice into the inky blackness without, he sighed. \u201cRain coming with a\nquiet steadiness that seemeth to deluge my heart with its cold torrent.\nPersistence hath the power of accomplishment. Already are the roads\nwashed out and a long winter must we remain in Syria before travel to\nIsrael will be safe or comfortable. And the mother, old before her\ntime, bent under the weight of misfortune like an olive tree before a\nstorm, can she endure? So different hath been our coming from all we\nhad planned! To find the maid well treated, even honored and beloved,\nhow it would hearten the mother could we but send her word! And\nyet--what if Miriam should not wish to go?\u201d\n\nOthers there were in the House of Naaman who felt the wind\u2019s rough\ncaress. Isaac, in no wise discomfited by the spray, as became a\nsoldier, merely moved away from the lattice, but drowsiness had fled. A\nthought of Miriam came to him. She would be greatly disappointed that\nshe must wait throughout the long, wet months of winter, for when she\nshould learn that Eli had come, she would desire to start for Israel at\nonce. Now the rain had made it impossible and his heart was filled with\na great pity, even though her going meant more to him than he dared to\ndwell upon. Perhaps, in all that great abode, Adah, its mistress, alone\nfelt pleased over the storm. Staring into space with wide-open eyes\nfor hours, she had listened to the rain\u2019s gentle patter, listened with\na kind of fierce joy.\n\n\u201cUntil spring Miriam cannot go,\u201d she whispered to herself. \u201cMonths\nmust she abide here. Blessed respite! But how can I spare her at all?\nShe who hath been the sunshine, the courage, the hope in our time of\ndarkness and distress. She who hath taught me to be happy as she said\nshe would. Ah, empty will be the house and dreary the days without our\nlittle maid!\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nFor two days the storm expended its fury. The third dawned clear, and\na wind which threatened to tear down the tent dried the soaked earth.\nThe fourth found Benjamin, with his sheep, pushing forward with as\nmuch speed as the safety of his flock would permit, anxious for the\nwelfare of his loved ones. He was surprised and delighted to greet\nhis unexpected guests, and with a joy scarcely less restrained than\nRachel\u2019s listened to the wondrous tale his sister had traveled so many\nmiles to bring him.\n\n\u201cBut thou also shalt ask to go. Behold, is not the House of Naaman\nindebted to thee?\u201d\n\nMiriam shook her head. \u201cThere is no debt, but if there were, would it\nnot be more than repaid when thou and thy flock are restored to those\nwho need both? And thou wilt tell my mother that I have kept the Lord\nalway before my face, even as she bade me promise.\u201d\n\nThe voice faltered, and Benjamin put an arm about her. \u201cBe of good\ncourage, little maid. Thinkest thou Isaac will let thee weep for thy\nkindred? Nay, but he will speak to his master and he to thy mistress,\nand when we start for Israel in the spring thou shalt go also. Rest\nthou in hope.\u201d\n\nMiriam tried to smile and, saddened that the storm should have rendered\nher errand futile, but rejoicing in the confidence it had inspired, she\nlingered yet another day and took her departure. Almost at the last\nmoment Rachel drew her aside for a whispered word.\n\n\u201cPut no confidence in this Lemuel who hath charge of thy party. Not now\ncan I explain, but I fear for thee if thou dost trust him.\u201d\n\nMiriam nodded. \u201cIsaac told me the same and wished greatly that I\nwait until he should be well enough to bring me himself or spare his\nservant, but the tidings seemed too joyful to delay.\u201d\n\nMilcah, Miriam\u2019s perpetual shadow, put in a word: \u201cAnd so my brother\nbesought his master that I be allowed to come with the maiden, and\nour mistress, who can deny her nothing, hastened the plans lest\ndisappointment befall her.\u201d\n\nAt a little distance Lemuel was talking confidentially with a fellow\nsoldier. \u201cPleased am I that our errand hath ended well,\u201d he was saying.\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d rejoined the other with a sneering smile, \u201cpleased if it please\nthe maid and, better still, pleased if it please her master and\nmistress, for very dear unto them is Miriam since Naaman\u2019s healing. So\nshall thine own schemes be furthered.\u201d\n\nLemuel frowned. \u201cMy creditors agreed to wait.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the gods, whom thou art always boasting have thee in their favor,\nhave given thee this opportunity. How much thinkest thou is the\ntreasure which hath been given to the maid?\u201d\n\nBut it was time for the little company to start back to Damascus and\nwith a sigh of relief Lemuel took his place at its head. He gritted his\nteeth as, obeying his order, the man to whom he had been speaking took\na place in the rear.\n\n\u201cBetter were this Jehovah-worshiping maid than thy insolence,\u201d he said\nunder his breath. \u201cMay the gods help me to find favor in the eyes of\nthe maid and most of all in the eyes of her mistress, who holdeth the\nmaid\u2019s future and the maid\u2019s fortune in her hands!\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\nMEETINGS\n\n\nIn a guest-chamber of the House of Naaman Nathan hovered anxiously\naround his brother. They had heard the happy announcement of Miriam\u2019s\nreturn, had seen the great house transformed into a scene of busy\nfestivity as if some honored guest were about to arrive, had even stood\nat a distance and observed the bit of rivalry between the soldier who\nhad brought her hither and Isaac, who assisted her to alight from the\nchariot into the arms of her waiting mistress, had noted the happiness\nin her countenance and had turned away, sick at heart. Later the\nservant who had been in almost constant attendance upon them had come\nto name the hour when they would be conducted to Adah\u2019s apartments, but\nfor the present they were quite alone.\n\nEli spoke dully, his whole attitude one of extreme dejection: \u201cStrong\nwere we to labor when we thought of the maid despised and ill-treated.\nSacrifice was as sweet to us as the cool air of morn. Joyful were we\nas they who conquer in battle when we had this--and this--and this--\u201d\ntouching the separate pieces of jewelry which lay in a glittering heap\nbeside him. \u201cEnough and more did we deem them for her ransom, yet how\nlittle it profiteth! All of her impressionable years have been spent\nin the midst of such plenty, such riches as we in Israel knew not\nexisted save in kings\u2019 houses. Nor hath she been required to labor.\nPeradventure she scorneth toil. Her master refuseth to let her go, and\nshe would not wish to be redeemed even if we had sufficient gold to\npurchase her freedom.\u201d\n\nHe regarded the jewelry at his side with disdain. \u201cTake it, Nathan. Let\nme never see it more nor speak thou of it to me. Wasted is our work,\nill-spent are our years, blasted are our hopes. It is as a pomegranate\ntree which a man planteth in his vineyard and careth for, and lo, when\nit might have borne, the frost killeth it.\u201d\n\nHe relapsed into bitter musings while his brother took the gold as\nhe was bidden and, wrapping it carefully in its sheepskin coverings,\nput it in his bosom. Eli silently passed him the pearl, but neither\nof them looked at it, nor did they observe a figure which approached\nstealthily, peered through the partially opened door, and departed a\nlittle distance, remaining near enough, however, to note the comings\nand goings from that particular portal.\n\nEli was speaking again in the same despondent tone: \u201cPeradventure she\nwill have for us naught but contempt, and brought up in this heathen\nsplendor she may not even care to remember her home in Israel, nor the\nmother who weepeth for her, nor the God of her fathers. Come, let us\nreturn before her words and actions reveal to us this shame. In an hour\nwe are to see her, so the servant hath said. Let us hasten and depart\nlest a greater sorrow be ours.\u201d\n\nNathan pressed him back into the seat from which he had risen. \u201cThou\nart beside thyself with grief and disappointment. Nay, but we will see\nthe maid. We will tell her wherefore we are come. If she hath forgotten\naught she should remember, we will teach her gently and patiently as a\nmother teacheth her babe, and we will plead for that mother whose heart\nwill break if we return with ill news. Nay, but we will quit ourselves\nlike men, and if there be blame, it shall be upon the maid and not upon\nus. Do thou remain here while I step into the courtyard and see if the\nservant cometh who is to conduct us to the apartments of her mistress.\nWait, I say, until my return.\u201d\n\nAnd Eli waited. As Nathan crossed the threshold no servant was in\nsight, and, attempting to shake off the gloom which weighed upon him in\nspite of attempted cheerfulness, he walked slowly down the courtyard,\nturned into an adjoining one and crossed to yet another before he\nrealized, with a start, that he was in unfamiliar surroundings. Lost\nin thought, he had not noticed that he was followed. Now, halting in\nconfusion and seeking to recall how he had come, he was confronted\nby a figure oddly familiar. There was neither formal salutation nor\nfriendly greeting, but only a look of insolent amusement.\n\n\u201cSo thou hast changed thy mind,\u201d said the newcomer. \u201cOnce thou didst\nrefuse to remain in the company which would have brought thee straight\nto this house. Five years later thou hast come of thine own free will.\nPeradventure reflection hath brought wisdom, yet thou shouldst have\nknown it was dangerous.\u201d\n\nNathan was startled. The speaker continued.\n\n\u201cIsaac knew thee not yesterday, but thou couldst not so deceive me.\nThou art the lad who once escaped out of his hand.\u201d\n\nNathan considered it prudent to appear fearless. \u201cThou art Lemuel,\u201d he\nsaid, slowly, \u201cthe soldier who captured Miriam and me in Israel.\u201d\n\n\u201cThou hast guessed rightly,\u201d went on the other. \u201cI am Lemuel, who\nforgetteth neither friend nor foe. One word from me to my master,\nNaaman, and thou wouldst indeed serve as bond-servant, not willingly\nbut by right, for wert thou not fairly taken in war?\u201d\n\nNathan determined upon escape, but the watchful Lemuel laid a detaining\nhand upon his shoulder. \u201cYet I may not speak that word, or, speaking\nit, may soften the tone with a gift. Thou canst procure thine own\nransom more easily than the maiden\u2019s. The same gold intrusted to me for\nmy master--\u201d he paused to give the better effect to his words.\n\nNathan was distressed.\n\n\u201cOr the pearl,\u201d went on Lemuel, \u201cand it may require all. Thy fate is in\nthine own hands. Come, what sayest thou? Which shall it be, thy freedom\nor thy gold? Thou hast not long to debate the matter. Thinkest thou I\nknow not that the treasure is even now in thy bosom?\u201d\n\nNathan gave the speaker a quick glance of anxiety. How could he know\nthat?\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d continued his tormentor, \u201cwhat is the word that I shall speak?\u201d\n\nBefore the now thoroughly frightened lad could frame a reply, Isaac\nstood before them. Frowningly he addressed himself to Lemuel.\n\n\u201cI will carry the word to our master, the word that a guest in his\nhouse hath been intimidated and an attempt made to rob him of his\npossessions. I will not soften it, neither will he.\u201d\n\nLemuel held up a deprecating hand. \u201cThou art too harsh. Thou dost not\nremember that the lad was a prisoner, taken in open warfare. Should he\nnot purchase his ransom?\u201d\n\nIsaac replied by a look, one long look of scorn and indignation, and\nLemuel departed, failing miserably to maintain his old-time swagger.\nIsaac watched him, his lip curling. At last he turned to Nathan.\n\n\u201cHadst thou intrusted thy treasure to him, never wouldst thou have\nseen it again, nor would my master have known of the matter. Guard it\nand thyself as well.\u201d\n\nNathan stammered his thanks, wondering the while if he had not been\ndelivered from one peril but to fall into another. He braced himself\nfor the ordeal.\n\n\u201cThe man hath spoken the truth,\u201d he confessed, bravely. \u201cFive years\nhath made a change in my appearance, but look thou steadily upon my\ncountenance and thou wilt see that I am the lad who escaped out of\nthine hand. Behold, it is revealed. What owe I thee?\u201d\n\nThe soldier regarded him with the same frank admiration as had Naaman\non the day previous. \u201cThy courage is equal to thy resourcefulness\nand independence of spirit. What a soldier thou wouldst make! Not at\nfirst did I know thee, but soon did thy brother\u2019s words bring thee to\nremembrance. Naught owest thou, for didst thou not guard and guide the\nmaiden, Rachel, who was very dear to a friend of mine, a man to whom I\nowe my very life? Nor have I any claim upon thee after this lapse of\ntime and we at peace with Israel and grateful because of the healing of\nmy master by thy great prophet. Nay, fear not, but go in peace.\u201d\n\nNathan would have gone instantly and with joy had he known the way,\nand so it came about that once more was he indebted to the soldier\nagainst whom he had cherished resentment for five long years. In\nthe guest-chamber Eli had awaited his brother\u2019s return in profound\nmelancholy. The servant came to conduct them to the apartments of\nMiriam\u2019s mistress just as Nathan and Isaac reached the threshold, but\nEli sat still.\n\n\u201cWhy go?\u201d he asked, mournfully, in reply to Nathan\u2019s sharp\nremonstrance. \u201cIf we find, as seemeth likely, that the maid hath chosen\nto forget all she should remember: Israel the land of her birth, her\nmother and her home, and more important than all else, Jehovah her God,\nhow could we carry the tidings which would be sharper than a sword to\nthe heart of her mother?\u201d\n\nIsaac regarded the speaker with surprise. \u201cHadst thou dwelt long\nin Damascus,\u201d he said, \u201cthou wouldst have heard that so far from\nforgetting Israel and Jehovah, the maid hath remembered with profit to\nthe House of Naaman. The wonder of it is on every tongue.\u201d\n\nHe recounted his master\u2019s cure at the hands of the prophet, ascribing\nthe suggestion to Miriam and praising her persistency. \u201cIn gratitude\nfor this healing,\u201d he went on, \u201cNaaman and his whole house have since\nworshiped only Jehovah, the God of Israel, at which the maid greatly\nrejoiceth.\u201d\n\nEli\u2019s face glowed. \u201cSayest thou so? Upon coming to Damascus we first\nsought Ezekiel to obtain news of Rachel and to see if she knew of\nMiriam. Finding him long since dead and Rachel married and somewhere\nout on the hills with Benjamin, her husband, who is a shepherd, we then\nsought thee, fearing to mention Miriam\u2019s name or to betray our errand\nlest obstacles be put in our way or our treasure stolen. From Amos,\nseller of perfumes, did we learn that one, Isaac, wast in the service\nof Naaman at this house. From thee we hoped to learn of the maiden\u2019s\nwhereabouts. Later we heard that an Israelitish maid, Miriam by name,\nwas also here, so we sought to speak to the master.\u201d\n\nHe paused, gazing at Isaac with a strange mixture of diffidence and\nresolution. \u201cWe came,\u201d he went on, \u201cthinking of thee as an enemy to be\napproached with cautious dread. We find thee a friend to whom we are\nmuch indebted.\u201d\n\nNathan nodded, telling briefly his experience just past and joining\nhis thanks to Eli\u2019s, but Isaac waved aside the praise and, dismissing\nthe servant, himself conducted them to the apartments where they were\nexpected. Miriam was nowhere in sight. Adah listened languidly while\nEli earnestly pleaded his cause, Nathan, as usual, in admiring silence.\nIsaac paced the courtyard without.\n\n\u201cAnd so because her master, thy husband, refuseth to accept a ransom,\u201d\nEli supplicated, \u201ceven though we have offered to become servants in her\nstead, I have determined to ask of thee a gift--the gift of the maid to\nher mother, who yearneth for her.\u201d\n\nRestless under those burning eyes, jealous for the reputation of her\nown household, she addressed him haughtily: \u201cThe same request hath\nalready been preferred by Isaac, and although the maid is dear unto us,\nyet to-day hath she been told that she is not bound to the House of\nNaaman save by the cords of affection. When the rainy season is over,\nshe is to go with her brother and his family, together with his flocks\nand herds, back to the Land of Israel, in the care of a captain and\nhorsemen. Behold, before thou camest thou hadst thy desire.\u201d\n\nCutting short Eli\u2019s bewildered expressions of gratitude, she dispatched\na servant in search of Miriam. To the waiting ones, it seemed hours\nbefore she came, although in reality it was but a few minutes. It was\nher fifteenth birthday and she was glowing with happiness, smiling\nradiantly upon the little world inside the walls of Naaman\u2019s house.\n\nAdah claimed her attention: \u201cAnother gift, little maid, an unexpected\none: tidings from thy home in Israel brought by these two young men.\nDost thou know them?\u201d\n\nMiriam turned, scanning their faces eagerly. Nathan smiled and Eli\nbegan to speak, but she interrupted with a joyous cry: \u201cEli! Nathan!\nHow tall thou art grown! And how didst thou ever find me? But how glad\nI am, how very glad! Tell me, my mother and my father--\u201d\n\nIt was the same Miriam Eli had last seen in Israel. Out in the\ncourtyard Isaac heard the joyful greeting and through the partly opened\ndoor his eyes encountered Adah\u2019s, looking past the young people. She\nbeckoned him to her side for a whispered word.\n\n\u201cI fear the little maid will no longer be _our_ little maid.\u201d\n\nThe words were spoken in so low a tone he scarcely caught them, but\nthey might have been shouted and Miriam and her visitors would not have\nheard. Isaac watched for a moment the little group so absorbed each in\nthe other and sighed.\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d he admitted, sadly, \u201cwe have lost our little maid and thou and I\nwill sorrow most.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\nISRAEL\n\n\nOnce more it was spring. Once more were the rains over and the air\nbalmy and the water courses quiet so that sheep might pass them and\nnot be afraid. Once more were faint paths made across the sands of the\nwilderness and the stony hillsides by caravans large and small, abroad\non errands of business or pleasure, and once more did the House of\nNaaman pass a restless night, for on the morrow Miriam was to depart\nfor her beloved Land of Israel.\n\nRoused from happy dreams, she could not understand for a moment the\nmedley of confused but pleasurable sensations which surged over her;\nthen she remembered clearly. Eli had come long months ago to take her\nback to things as they used to be, back to her mother and father--nay,\nwith a rush of tears, not her father. Never again would she see that\nfond expression in his eyes, never again hear his kind voice, never\nagain look upon his dear face. And her mother, old and broken, she was\ntold. She could not realize it. Yet soon would she clasp that mother\nin her arms; soon see her and know for herself. To-morrow Isaac\u2019s band\nwould give the captives in Syria safe conduct, Rachel and the babe\nriding in the chariot beside her, and Benjamin leading his sheep before\nthem. And all through this time of waiting Eli had been here: Eli, who\nhad suffered with and for her, who had toiled and sacrificed and then\nfound it had been in vain. Oh, Eli was so wonderful!\n\nIn another part of the House of Naaman he of whom she thought was also\nawake, a little smile on his lips, a little thrill in his heart. To\nhave found her unchanged and unspoiled in the midst of all this heathen\nluxury! To have found her beautiful and true and sweet! To have thought\nthat he toiled for the sake of the mothers, not knowing it was for\nMiriam, not understanding that there was just one maiden--only one!\n\nBut nights have a way of ending, and dawn came as radiant as Miriam\u2019s\ncountenance when the household thronged around the altar which had\nbeen erected in one of the more private courtyards immediately after\nNaaman\u2019s return from Israel. In appearance it was merely a raised mound\nmade of ordinary Syrian soil upon which had been spread the \u201ctwo mules\u2019\nburden of earth\u201d he had begged from the Man of God. Thus hallowed\nby the sacred earth from the locality in which Jehovah was supposed\nto especially delight, it was considered a fitting place for the\nburnt-offering which Naaman himself piously sacrificed each morning.\n\nThis accomplished, the worshipers kneeling in petitions more or less\nheartfelt, they rose and the service closed with a psalm of David,\npainstakingly taught by Miriam to the household singers. To-day the\nhymn concerned itself with the wonders of nature, not in and for\nthemselves as did the psalms of the sun-worshipers, but extolling\nJehovah as Lord over nature.\n\nMiriam\u2019s voice led:\n\n  \u201cThe heavens declare the glory of God,\n  And the firmament showeth his handiwork.\u201d\n\nThe chorus responded:\n\n  \u201cDay unto day uttereth speech,\n  And night unto night revealeth knowledge;\n  There is no speech, there are no words,\n  Neither is their voice heard.\n  Yet is their line gone out through all the earth,\n  And their words to the end of the world.\u201d\n\nMiriam\u2019s voice again:\n\n  \u201cIn them hath Jehovah set a tent for the sun,\u201d\n\nAnd the chorus once more:\n\n  \u201cWhich is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,\n  And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.\n  His going forth is from the end of the heaven,\n  And his circuit unto the ends of it:\n  And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.\u201d\n\nAt the close of the service Eli had speech with Miriam for a moment.\n\u201cThey go now,\u201d she told him, \u201cto the House of Rimmon, where the old\nKing Ben-hadad leaneth for support upon the hand of his well-beloved\nservant, Naaman, my master. Isaac attendeth upon him. Thou wilt wish to\ngo to see for thyself this sun-worship while I wait upon my mistress\nere we depart.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlways thou hast refused to go,\u201d Isaac reminded, seconding the\ninvitation, and Eli, after a little hesitancy, consented.\n\nLemuel, with a smile meant to be friendly, joined the group as Miriam\nhastened away. \u201cOnce more hath Rimmon, our sun-god, vanquished the\ndarkness and started his victorious journey across the face of the sky,\nbut whether it be Rimmon, god of Syria, or Baal, god of Ph\u0153nicia, or\nJehovah, God of Israel, let each worship according to the custom of the\nland, say I.\u201d He lowered his voice. \u201cBut didst thou think that Naaman\nwould risk the favor of the king by importing a different God for\nworship at his private altar?\u201d\n\nIsaac sprang to his master\u2019s defense. \u201cIt proveth the generous kindness\nof the king, and is but what might be expected in gratitude for healing\nat the hands of Jehovah\u2019s prophet. Did not Naaman speak to Elisha, who\nrefused to condemn his faithfulness to his old master, the king?\u201d\n\nHalf an hour later they were all in the large and splendid Temple of\nRimmon, the pride of Damascus architecture and decorating. It was\nbeautiful with flowers, the air heavy with incense. Eli noted the\nservice, burdened with ceremony, the reverence during the sacrifice\nof the burnt-offering, the earnestness of the murmured prayers, the\nspreading out of the hands in formal attitudes of supplication, the\ngeneral singing of hymns of praise. Even the lewd dancing of the sun\nvirgins filled him with pity rather than horror.\n\nHe spoke his mind to Miriam as he rode beside the chariot that\nafternoon on the way to Israel. \u201cTo be so sincere yet so mistaken; to\ngo from the altar of Jehovah to the Temple of Rimmon; to turn from the\ntrue God to the false; to have none to show them a better way! Nay,\nthou couldst not be reconciled to dwell in this heathen land.\u201d\n\nFor some reason Miriam resented his half-pitying, half-complacent\ntone. The quiet which had possessed her since the tearful farewells at\nNaaman\u2019s gate suddenly forsook her. \u201cThe daybreak, Eli, how cometh it,\nsuddenly and with the noise of a trumpet or silently and by degrees,\none faint radiance succeeding another until all is light?\u201d\n\nIt was a moment before he caught her meaning. \u201cYea, I see,\u201d he said,\nglowing with admiration, \u201cand _thou_ hast led this household to its\nfirst, faint gleam--the gleam which shineth more and more unto the\nperfect daybreak.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn the most splendid house of the \u201ccity\u201d of Hannathon, the house with\nthe courtyard which Judith had so coveted, Abner addressed her, a\nlittle frown on his forehead:\n\n\u201cOne field after another have I added to what I already had. Anxious\nenough were our neighbors to sell and remove hence when the Syrian raid\nleft them hungry and desolate and afraid. For almost nothing did many\npart with their possessions. And now the best vineyard of them all,\nthat held by Sarah, widow of Caleb, I cannot buy because thou dost\nwithhold the pearl which I might offer as surety for payment in full\nwhen the grapes be gathered in the fall. So obstinate is a woman! Long\nhath Sarah held the land and offer after offer hath she refused, saying\nthe vineyard be all of her living save a few olive trees. Now, with Eli\ngone, a price hath been agreed upon, but she demanded of me a pledge.\nCome, give me the pearl.\u201d\n\nJudith\u2019s eyes besought him piteously. \u201cI cannot,\u201d she faltered.\n\nHe smiled unpleasantly, quite misunderstanding the reason for her\nhesitancy. \u201cBecause it is Sarah, who hath shared her home with thee?\nBecause she is old before her time and sick? Because thou thinkest I\noffer her too little? Five years ago thou wert ready to leave her roof\nfor mine. Hath she treated thee better than I?\u201d\n\nAgain Judith\u2019s eyes spoke, this time with a flash of indignation.\n\u201cNever hath she treated me well. Grudgingly always did she offer me a\nhome. Daughter that I have been to her for the past five years since\nMiriam was taken away, never doth she look _at_ me but always _through_\nme. My services are acceptable but not myself. Never doth she let me\nforget that I am of strange people. It was Caleb, husband of Sarah and\nbrother to my father, who was ever my friend.\u201d Her voice broke, but in\na moment she went on more steadily: \u201cWhat I do for her is in memory of\nhim and of the little maid who loved me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see,\u201d he declared, his eyebrows drawn together until they made one\nline: \u201cSo it is because I refused help to that visionary, Eli, who\ndesired a gift toward the maid\u2019s ransom, that thou dost revenge thyself\nupon me by withholding the pearl. As if he would find trace of her! As\nif he would want to find what he would find! Thinkest thou a little\nmaid would be safe in the midst of a rough soldiery? Thinkest thou\nthe cruel Syrians would deal gently with a child? Nay, but when Eli\nreturneth with a tale too pitiful to tell a sorrowing mother--\u201d\n\nJudith interrupted, her words coming chokingly: \u201cWhen Eli failed to\nsecure thy help, I besought thine aid for Miriam, adding my tears to\nhis, thinking thou wouldst understand and sympathize, thou, a sorrowing\nfather, who had himself lost a little maid, a maid so tiny and so\nsweet, stolen by Death, not by the Syrians--\u201d\n\nShe turned her head and a sob escaped her. There was absolute silence\nin the apartment. Abner cleared his throat.\n\n\u201cThou dost evade the question. Come, acknowledge the truth. Thou dost\nrevenge thyself upon me by withholding the pearl.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d returned Judith, \u201cI would scorn to avenge myself upon thee.\nI--I--have lost the pearl.\u201d\n\nHe looked at her in amazement.\n\n\u201cAnd I feared to tell thee lest thou be angry,\u201d she added, not looking\nat him.\n\nHe strode across the room and took her face between his hands, striving\nto read her expression. Something he saw there dictated his next words:\n\n\u201cUnless it had been stolen from thee, small chance hast thou had to\nlose it. Nay, but thou dost deceive me. Speak without fear. What hast\nthou done with the jewel?\u201d\n\nShe hesitated. \u201cI lost it,\u201d she reiterated.\n\nStorm clouds gathered on his face and the tempest broke in fury upon\nher: \u201cThinkest thou to deal doubly with me and yet find confidence and\naffection? Nay, but truth will I have from thee, else this home is no\nlonger thine. Speak! What hast thou done with the pearl?\u201d\n\nJudith meditated. To confess while he was in that mood was to find\nneither understanding nor approval. She would wait until his heart was\nmore tender toward her.\n\n\u201cI have lost it,\u201d she repeated, sullenly, and cowered as he came toward\nher.\n\nLaying a rough hand on her shoulder he pointed to the door: \u201cGo thou\nand enter not again until truth be thy companion.\u201d\n\nShaking off his hand she faced him. Not a word did she utter, but the\nlook he never forgot. In a moment she had passed out of the door into\nthe sun-kissed air, divorced by the one word which an Oriental husband\nmay speak at any time to the wife of whom he has tired, and which even\na Jew occasionally spoke in defiance of Mosaic law.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAt the top of the hill which crowned the Valley of Jiptha-el, a woman\nbent and worn sat patiently on the coarse green grass under the shade\nof a wild fig tree. As Judith appeared she addressed her without\nsalutation and without taking her eyes from the path.\n\n\u201cDay after day, from sunrise to sunset, have I stayed here, waiting for\nEli to bring them back to me. Yet if they were coming, would they not\nhave been here a month ago? Early were the rains over and long hath\ntravelers been passing the mouth of the valley, but they for whom I\nwait come not.\u201d\n\nHer voice had in it that note of calm endurance which belongs to those\nwho have suffered. Judith, observing her in the strong sunlight,\nthought she had never looked so frail.\n\n\u201cTo-day and to-morrow and the day after will I wait,\u201d went on Sarah,\n\u201cand then--\u201d she put her hand over her heart--\u201cthen if they come not, I\nwill know he hath not found them and I think I cannot wait longer.\u201d\n\nJudith was startled out of her own sad musings. \u201cIt is the first time I\nhave heard thee hint at surrender,\u201d she said, reproachfully. \u201cNay, but\nbe of good courage. What if they should come later?\u201d\n\n\u201cIf they come after I am gone,\u201d was the answer, the worn hand still\nover the tired heart, \u201ctell them I waited as long as I could, as long\nas the pain would let me. Tell Eli that I say his faithfulness hath\nnever let me feel the lack of a son, and tell Miriam that no one could\ntake her place, but that thou, like a dear, elder daughter, hath filled\na corner in my heart all thine own.\u201d\n\nJudith stared incredulously. \u201cThou canst not mean--\u201d she began, but\nSarah went on, unheeding the interruption:\n\n\u201cStrange that the maiden I could not welcome should have been my stay\nand comfort these five years and more! And tell Benjamin, my beloved--\u201d\n\nJudith brushed away the tears: \u201cOh but thou dost not know the wrong--\u201d\n\nSarah was shading her eyes with her hand: \u201cWhat meaneth that cloud of\ndust in the valley?\u201d\n\n\u201cSheep,\u201d declared Judith with a careless glance. \u201cWhy, if I had ever\nknown that thou hast even thought of me kindly--and thou couldst not\nif thou knewest--\u201d\n\n\u201cA flock of sheep larger, yea, twice as large as Benjamin tended,\u201d\ncommented Sarah. \u201cSee, the shepherd turneth them aside into the old\nsheepfold which hath not seen the like since the Syrians swooped down\nupon us so long ago. And a band of horsemen and a chariot! Thinkest\nthou the king\u2019s messengers come this way? But why the flock escorted by\nsoldiers?\u201d\n\nShe turned a wondering face toward Judith, but her question was\nanswered when a tall youth and a maiden, the first of the party to\nreach the top of the hill, paused to take breath after the steep climb.\nWith true Eastern hospitality Sarah rose and tottered feebly toward\nthem. A moment more and Eli\u2019s voice sounded in her ears and Miriam\u2019s\narms were around her. Another moment and Benjamin was bending over her.\nShe looked in bewildered fashion from one to the other as if scarce\ncomprehending. At last she smiled upon them.\n\n\u201cJudith,\u201d she called, \u201cJudith, come thou. My children must be all\ntogether,\u201d and closed her eyes with a little sigh of contentment.\n\n\u201cThen Rachel must be here also,\u201d said Benjamin, drawing her toward him\nas she held the babe.\n\n\u201cAnd Nathan too,\u201d put in Eli, taking his brother by the arm.\n\nAmong them all they carried Sarah to her old home and, without one\nbackward glance, the happy, chattering group entered, leaving a lone\nfigure upon the hilltop.\n\nIt was a strange sight to be seen in Israel, that soldier in splendid\nSyrian dress, lingering there. He noted the village straggling up\nthe unpaved street, the tender green of growing things in the valley\nbeneath, the low cloud of dust hovering over the sheepfold. Memory was\nlikewise busy. He recalled Miriam\u2019s joy in Eli\u2019s coming to Damascus,\nher unwonted gayety since they had started for the Land of Israel, her\npresent absorption in her mother. Yet could aught else be expected?\nReasoning with himself, excusing her, striving to stifle the pain of\nher thoughtlessness, he descended the hill to the encampment of the\nsoldiers.\n\n\u201cYea,\u201d he said mournfully to himself, \u201cwe have lost our little maid,\u201d\nand then, again, with heart-sick despair, \u201c_I_ have lost _my_ little\nmaid.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\nWAITING\n\n\nIn the House of Abner the usual household scenes mocked the sorrowing\nman who beheld them. \u201cEmpty, empty, empty!\u201d he moaned. \u201cMy Rose of\nSharon have I plucked from its stem and cast aside. Ah, woe is my\nportion!\u201d\n\nStriding down the village street long before the morning mists had\nfaded, he paused in front of Sarah\u2019s house, thereby startling a\nbeautiful girl in foreign raiment who had just stepped over the\nthreshold and surprising himself scarcely less. Then he recalled the\nconversation of his excited servants the day before, tidings which had\nbeen unheeded in his own grief. This must be Miriam!\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d she replied to his question, \u201cmy mother and I are quite alone.\nVery early this morning did Benjamin take Rachel and their little son\nto the house of her parents, whom she saw but briefly yesterday. Eli\nand Nathan soon afterward took the path down the hill to the camp of\nthe soldiers, and Judith departed likewise. Nay, I know not where.\u201d\n\nHe was hastening away when she ran and prostrated herself in his path.\n\u201cMy lord hath been good to his servant. I thank thee for the pearl\nwhich thou didst send to Syria by the hand of Eli for my ransom.\u201d\n\nAbner listened dully. \u201cA pearl, thou sayest?\u201d And then the significance\nof her speech dawned upon him. \u201cRise thou,\u201d he commanded, suavely, \u201cit\nwas but a small gift. Happy am I that it hath helped to purchase thy\nfreedom.\u201d\n\nA tenderly reminiscent smile played around Miriam\u2019s mouth. \u201cNay,\u201d she\nsaid, \u201cI have returned to Israel because of a jewel more precious than\nany found in earth or sea: the love of my master and mistress. Naught\nwould they accept but gave me freedom and sent me to my mother with a\ngift in mine hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut the pearl,\u201d inquired Abner, eagerly. \u201cWhat hath become of the\njewel?\u201d\n\n\u201cEli hath already given it back to Judith, from whom he received it,\u201d\nshe answered, and with cool adieux turned and left him.\n\nHe passed a hand over his brow, made as if to turn back, hesitated and\nthen went on, groping his way down the hill and through the fields,\nwet with the night dews. The camp of the soldiers, so busy a scene at\nsunset, was now deserted, and huddled over the still warm ashes of what\nhad recently been a fire was the figure he sought.\n\n\u201cI--arrived--too--late. They--were--already--gone,\u201d she said, slowly,\nin response to his excited inquiry.\n\nAbner laid a shaking hand upon her shoulder. A crimson flush crept into\nthe pale cheek. Rising suddenly she wrenched herself from his grasp and\nthrust something into his hand. \u201cTake it,\u201d she cried. \u201cI should have\nknown thou wouldst have followed me even to Damascus to get it back.\nLo, thou hast that which thou seekest,\u201d and turning, she fled.\n\nHe glanced hastily at the object she had given him. It was the pearl.\nWith sudden passion he threw it into the unsearchable depths of the\ncanyon and swiftly followed Judith, but a loose stone ended the\npursuit. With a cry of pain she stumbled and fell, and when he bent\nover the prostrate figure a moment later her eyes were closed. It was\nEli who answered Abner\u2019s hail and helped him carry his burden up the\nhill. Stopping for a moment\u2019s rest they met Miriam on her way to the\nspring.\n\nWith anxious questions and practical sympathy the girl knelt beside\nher cousin, slipping off the sandal and examining the rapidly swelling\nankle. \u201cStraight to my mother\u2019s house,\u201d she suggested. \u201cIt is so near,\u201d\nbut Abner objected.\n\n\u201cTo her own home,\u201d he commanded, sharply, preparing to resume his load.\n\nJudith\u2019s eyes flew open. \u201cNay,\u201d she protested feebly. \u201cThou shouldst\nknow that truth is not my companion nor hath ever been. I stole the\npearl. It is that for which Caleb, brother to my father, was slain, and\nwhich Sarah, who hath been a mother to me, cast away in her despair. I\nfound it and used it to serve my own ends. Then, when it had long been\na coal of fire in my bosom I gave it to Eli to help with the little\nmaid\u2019s ransom. Yet sin reapeth sorrow as surely as harvest followeth\nthe time of sowing. Because of the pearl my husband hath divorced me,\nand lest my disgrace be known to those to whom it would bring grief,\nI determined to use the jewel to purchase my way to Damascus with the\nsoldiers.\u201d\n\nMiriam\u2019s amazed look encountered Eli\u2019s stern one. \u201cI knew not,\u201d he\nbegan, but Miriam was stroking Judith\u2019s forehead and speaking tenderly.\n\u201cAlways hast thou been unhappy in Hannathon, for wast not thy sadness\nmine? Yea, but come thou. Behold, our home is thine also.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d said Abner with decision, \u201cwe take thee to thine own house,\nthine and mine. As for the pearl, I knew not it belonged to Sarah. I\nhated it for the trouble it hath caused thee and me and just now I\nflung it into the gorge.\u201d\n\nEli gasped. \u201cBut thou wilt pay,\u201d he insisted. \u201cIts value shalt thou\nredeem, that the widow and the orphan be not robbed.\u201d\n\nMiriam was quite as decided. \u201cNay, it hath ever been an evil thing,\nand with the gift sent by Naaman my master, my mother will not miss\nthe pearl. Rather would she wish it counted dead now that it hath been\nburied. Her anxiety will be for Judith. Take her to our house, I pray\nthee.\u201d\n\nBut he would not and the little procession resumed its slow march to\nhis abode.\n\nAn hour later Miriam remembered the abandoned water jar, and bidding\nher cousin an affectionate farewell, hastened to reclaim her forgotten\nproperty. The sun had finally conquered the fog and sweet-scented\nbreezes played with her hair, but the sight of Eli, dolorously gazing\ninto the distance, hushed the song in her heart.\n\nHe broke the news without preamble. \u201cNathan hath returned to Damascus\nwith the soldiers.\u201d\n\nThe water jar came near crashing to the earth in Miriam\u2019s consternation.\n\n\u201cOft have we talked of our future plans now that thou art provided\nfor,\u201d went on Eli, sure of understanding, \u201cbut only this morning, when\nwe visited the camp, did he tell me of his resolve. Then I could not\nsay him nay, knowing that here he must work for Abner, whom we like\nnot, and I was the more persuaded when Isaac, chief of the band which\nbrought us on our way, promised to be surety for the lad.\u201d\n\nMiriam was staring wild-eyed into the valley at their feet. \u201cGone, thou\nsayest? The soldiers gone? And Isaac came not to my mother\u2019s house,\ncame not to tell me that he goeth--\u201d\n\nEli nodded impatiently. \u201cThinkest thou he would have said more to thee\nthan to me? A likable young man and one in whom remorse hath kindled\nthe fires of penitence which alone purifieth. He hath restored thee to\nthe home from which thou wert stolen, and he saith that when the rains\nare over and the roads passable once more he will return to see if thou\ndost wish to go back to Damascus. As if thou wouldst again be bound by\nthe cords of bondage!\u201d\n\nBut Miriam was half-way down the hill, sobbing bitterly, leaving Eli to\ngaze after her in great and growing bewilderment.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe same sun which had kissed into bloom the wild flowers of Israel\nshone with dazzling brightness upon the white walls of Damascus,\nwarming youth into gayety and age into contentment, but its rays were\nfutile to coax into cheerfulness the great House of Naaman. There\nwas an inexplicable sense of loss. The maid servants grumbled among\nthemselves at the uncertainty of Milcah\u2019s temper and longed for Miriam,\ntheir ever-sympathetic mediator. The men servants hoped they would see\nher bright face again.\n\n\u201cNot that she ever had much to say,\u201d explained the old gatekeeper, \u201cand\nfew were the smiles she had for the young men, as most maids have, but\nthe lowest servant and the grandest visitor were alike to her. Well do\nI remember--\u201d and the garrulous tongue would run on as long as it had\nan audience.\n\nNor were the servants the only ones who missed Miriam. With light\nfingers Adah smoothed the creases from between her brows. \u201cThe maid\nservants drive me frantic,\u201d she moaned. \u201c\u2018Do I want this?\u2019 and \u2018how\nwill I have that?\u2019 The little maid would have known without asking and\nseen that it was done without confusion. My heart yearneth over the\nmaiden.\u201d\n\nThe soldier standing respectfully on the other side of the room nodded.\n\u201cThe young man Eli, to whom I talked long, saith that the mother\nfaileth fast. Peradventure Miriam will be free to return to Syria if\nshe so desire.\u201d\n\nAdah\u2019s irritation increased. \u201cThe young man Eli! Admire him I must,\nbut like him I cannot, for would he not rob thy master and me of the\nsunbeam which hath gladdened our hearts--the little maid we have come\nto love as a daughter? Nay, but not for always. One year, Isaac, shalt\nthou remain in Syria, then shalt thou return to Israel with a gift in\nthine hand, bringing Miriam and her mother gently and by slow degrees\nif the woman be feeble. Here shall the household delight to do her\nhonor. One year, Isaac, from the time our little maid went away shall\nshe come back to us!\u201d\n\nWith this decree of its mistress, the House of Naaman entered, with\nwhat patience it could, upon its period of waiting.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBut Miriam did _not_ return at the end of a year. The wild flowers\nfaded in Israel; the figs ripened and were gone; the hills grew bare\nand yellow under the sun\u2019s persistent glare; the grapes turned dusky\nand filled with liquid sweetness; the olive trees blossomed and bore\nand were denuded; the rains came and went; barley and wheat were sowed\nand matured and were harvested and wild flowers bloomed a second time\nin Israel. It was another spring, the time Isaac had said he would\ncome, but though Miriam strained her eyes day after day gazing afar, no\nforeign horsemen, no chariot, no Syrian camels bestirred the dust of\nthe Valley of Jiptha-el.\n\nRachel touched her lightly on the shoulder as she stood in the doorway.\nThere was yearning tenderness in the older woman\u2019s tones: \u201cStill\nwaitest thou, little maid? Peradventure they think thy mother hath need\nof thee, knowing not that she sleepeth long months in the sepulcher of\nthy people. Ample time hath there been since the rains ceased to take\neven the long journey from Damascus.\u201d\n\nMiriam turned a musing countenance. \u201cBut when Isaac talked last with\nEli he said he would return when the rains were over to see how it\nfareth with me and to bring me tidings of my home.\u201d\n\nRachel sighed and drew the girl close. \u201cIs not thy mother\u2019s dwelling\n\u2018home\u2019? And behold how Benjamin and little Caleb and I have loved thee.\nAre we not dearer than any in the House of Naaman?\u201d\n\nMiriam smiled and returned the caress. \u201cThe love light in thine eyes\nis beautiful and it filleth me with delight when it shineth upon me,\nbut mostly doth it shine for thy husband and babe and for joy in thy\nhome, not for thy sister.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is the way with a woman,\u201d was the answer, \u201cas some day thou wilt\nknow for thyself, for I have seen a look in eyes that followed thee,\nsuch a look as a man giveth to but one maid, though peradventure thou\nknowest--\u201d\n\nShe paused, but as there was no reply and Miriam\u2019s face was turned\naway, she hurried on: \u201cAnd so thou wilt soon have a home of thine own\nif that is what thou desirest.\u201d\n\nMiriam at last found voice: \u201c\u2018Home\u2019 is where thou art needed, Rachel,\nwhere thou hast a place no other can fill. Here in Israel, now that my\nmother hath left me--\u201d there was a choking pause--\u201cI am not necessary\nas I am to the household in Syria. Milcah groweth feeble in body and\nimpatient in mind. The maid servants resent her sharpness, and my\nmistress is distressed when things go not well. But most of all do\nthey need help to walk in the way of Jehovah, for him only do they\nserve since the healing of my master at his word. So do I wait until\nmy mistress sendeth. Nay,\u201d as Rachel affectionately protested, \u201cnay, I\nshall not be disappointed, for did not Isaac say he would come?\u201d\n\nAnd so she waited. Again the wild flowers faded and the figs ripened\nand the hills grew sere and brown. It was midsummer. This time a\npilgrim approached Hannathon, but he was alone and on foot, taking the\nsteep hills and fertile vales with an easy, swinging stride as none but\na Highlander, born and bred, could have taken them. From the flat roof\nwhere she was spreading linen to dry, Miriam saw him while yet a great\nway off and called to Rachel exultantly:\n\n\u201cEli cometh.\u201d\n\nShe did not go to meet him. Instead, she hastily descended the stairs\nand retreated within the house, excitement in her manner and an\nunwonted color in her cheeks. When he entered, though they spoke only\ncommonplaces, neither of them observed that Rachel took the child and\nslipped quietly out of the house with a smiling glance backward. Quite\nabsorbed in each other, they sat on one of the low benches which lined\nthree sides of the room.\n\n\u201cTwo years hath it been, Miriam, since I joined myself to the young\nmen, the Sons of the Prophet. Two full years have I hung upon the words\nof our great master, Elisha, learning much concerning our Law and its\ninterpretation, and things of lesser importance such as music and\nsacred poetry. Thinkest thou not my mother would be pleased to know\nthat I am of this company, even as was my father?\u201d\n\nThe girl\u2019s face was glowing with enthusiasm. \u201cIt is as thou and I have\ndreamed from childhood, Eli.\u201d\n\n\u201cA little while shall I spend with thee and with Benjamin, for I have\na mind to learn the care of a flock. Then, with the treasure not needed\nfor thy ransom will I purchase sheep and goats, which will supply my\nliving while I preach the word of Jehovah to this froward people.\nBeyond that thou knowest--thou must know--my heart\u2019s desire.\u201d\n\nHe took her hand in his and although it trembled slightly it was not\nwithdrawn.\n\n\u201cI think there will be no objection from thy brother, for long hath\nhe known me, so I shall speak to him in due time without dread, but\nconcerned am I to know if thou wouldst be satisfied so to spend thy\nlife.\u201d\n\nHer face paled under his anxious scrutiny, \u201cNay, I could not,\u201d she\nfaltered.\n\nHe was silent a long moment, and when he spoke his voice betrayed\nprofound sorrow. \u201cIt is even as I feared. In Damascus, where thy\nimpressionable years were spent, thou hast learned the luxury which\nbelongeth alone to kings\u2019 courts. Thou wouldst not be willing to toil\nas do the women of Israel, where there is neither man servant nor maid\nservant. Have I not been in Syria and do I not know how different are\nthe ways there and here?\u201d\n\nShe disengaged her hand and faced him earnestly: \u201cNot because of its\nriches, Eli, must I return to the House of Naaman, but because of its\npoverty. Except through me they know not Jehovah.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd except we of prophetic vision teach him in Israel, the people are\naltogether turned unto idols,\u201d he answered, in his eyes the fanatical\ngleam of the zealot.\n\n\u201cYea, but there be many Sons of the Prophet in Israel. There be none\nin Syria. Save as tidings of the healing of my master hath been\nscattered abroad and praise given to the God by whose hand it was\nperformed, none knoweth Jehovah. He is merely the God of Israel, their\nsometimes-enemies in the south, and Rimmon and Baal and a host of\nothers are more real to them. Come thou with me to Damascus, where\nthou art needed, and instead of a shepherd, thou shalt be a scribe,\nand being diligent in the business of Naaman, thou shalt also instruct\nthe household and preach the word of the Lord to those who know it not\notherwise. Say thou wilt come,\u201d she pleaded, but he only gazed at her\npityingly.\n\n\u201cI pray thee, Miriam, deceive not thyself. For more than a year hast\nthou waited for a messenger from Syria and grown pale and thin with\ndisappointment. Rachel hath told me, and have I not seen for myself\nwhen I came to visit thee? Nay, for if one were coming, there hath been\ntime and to spare.\u201d His brow clouded. \u201cYet had I hoped to hear from\nNathan through that same messenger. Both thou and I didst trust the\nsoldier, and thou more than I.\u201d\n\nThe color sprang again to Miriam\u2019s cheek. \u201cMy trust will not be in\nvain,\u201d she declared, quietly. \u201cSomething of ill hath happened in\nDamascus, else my mistress would have sent, but Isaac will yet come.\u201d\n\nThe conversation was interrupted by Rachel\u2019s entrance, and Miriam,\nmaking an excuse of the linen on the roof, ran quickly up the stairs to\na task which consumed a vast amount of time even in the leisurely East,\nwhere time counted for little.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\nANTICIPATION\n\n\nOnce again Isaac stood before Adah, mistress of the House of Naaman. He\nbowed low. \u201cEverything is in readiness for our departure to Israel. The\ncaravan waiteth without the gate and the maid servants thou art sending\nto attend upon Miriam are at hand, but lest thou shouldst have some\nlast instructions for thy servant--\u201d\n\nAdah briefly acknowledged the courtesy and the courtier. She was\nthinner than of old, there was more of gray in her hair and the lines\nwere deeper between her eyes. Now she rested her head upon her hand in\nthe languor so becoming and so habitual.\n\n\u201cOnly that thou shouldst bring the maid and her mother,\u201d she answered,\n\u201cwith any others she may not care to leave behind. If she will but\ncome, for she is free to choose, as thou knowest! Thou takest a present\nin thine hand. Bring the maid safely, but in haste, for she is dear\nunto me.\u201d\n\nThe messenger bowed his understanding of his orders, but the lady was\nnot through with the conference. She continued, musingly: \u201cTwo years\nsince she left us, Isaac, and one since we had confidently planned for\nher return. It hath been a long, long year, full of alarm and anxiety\nfor us and of waiting for her. _If_ she hath waited! Miriam is now\nat an age when maidens dream romantic, vagrant dreams of mating. Oft\nin the night seasons have I lain awake wondering if, in despair of a\nSyrian messenger, she hath betrothed herself or possibly married\u201d--the\nspeaker shuddered--\u201csome Israelitish youth who would not be at home in\nDamascus or the House of Naaman. As thou knowest, Syrian ways are more\ngentle and their speech less rough than those of Israel.\u201d She paused,\nevidently expecting some comforting assurance that her fears were not,\ncould not, be true.\n\n\u201cBut the tones of love are as soft in one tongue as in another, and\nwhen interpreted to a maiden\u2019s willing heart they are softer still,\u201d he\nsaid, gently.\n\nShe was exasperated at his answer, not knowing what it had cost him.\n\n\u201cMiriam gave promise of beauty,\u201d she continued, \u201cand Syrian lovers will\nshe have in plenty, especially when it is known that the favor of the\nHouse of Naaman goeth with her. Already one, hoping to be the first,\nhath asked her of me in marriage.\u201d\n\nThe start which Isaac gave was not lost upon Adah, but she affected\nblindness.\n\n\u201cThou knowest him well. It is thy friend, Lemuel.\u201d\n\nThe young soldier was visibly agitated. He prostrated himself before\nAdah, entreating her attention: \u201cAnd if thy servant hath found favor\nin thy sight grant that this sacrifice shall not be. Always hath the\nmaid feared and hated the man and with good cause, as we who know him\ncan testify.\u201d\n\nHe hesitated before making a second request: \u201cNo man liveth who is good\nenough for her, but almost am I persuaded that she would rather be\ngiven into my care.\u201d\n\nAdah repressed a smile. \u201cI shall give Miriam to someone more to my\nliking and to hers than is Lemuel, but I had not supposed thou wouldst\nhave taken advantage of the maid\u2019s childish expressions of fondness for\nthee to weave into them meanings she could not then understand.\u201d\n\nIsaac\u2019s cheek flushed under his soldier tan. \u201cI have not, my mistress,\nand I would not. A thousand times hath she innocently told me that\nwhich I long to hear her say with full knowledge of its import.\u201d\n\nHis manner changed to sadness. \u201cYet do I know that always she hath\ncarried in her heart the image of Eli, and that she was greatly touched\nby his desire to ransom her from what he supposed was cruel slavery. He\nhath the soul of a saint and the mind of a seer, while thy servant is\nnaught but a soldier. I fear that when I reach Hannathon it will be to\nfind her choice hath already been made and needeth but thine approval.\u201d\n\nAdah frowned. \u201cThy master\u2019s plans cannot be lightly changed. This is\na childless home and its treasure is great. We are not unmindful of\nthe two through whose loving devotion much of its happiness hath come.\nAlready hath thy master divided between thee and Miriam the present\nwhich the prophet of Israel refused, and seeing thy tender affection\neach for the other, we have determined that when the maid is old\nenough she shall be given thee in marriage. Thus shall the joy and\ncontentment of both be assured, and thou shalt be unto us in our age\nand helplessness as the pillars are to the temple.\u201d\n\nThe maid servant who was fanning her mistress gasped audibly, for\nwhich indecorum the sorely displeased Adah sent her hastily and in\ndisgrace from the room, but the punishment rested lightly. Once outside\nthe angle of vision of those within, feet and tongue were nimble in\ndisseminating this surprising bit of news. Only Milcah, exacting and\nirritable, did the excited servants fear to approach. The tidings\nspread, however, not only within the gate but without, and provided a\nchoice bit of gossip for the caravan, impatiently awaiting its leader.\nTwo of the company failed to receive the message with the laughing\napproval of the others: over the sensitive face of a boy passed a look\nof surprise, and the man next to him smiled an evil smile.\n\nMeanwhile Isaac had stammered his thanks and had again become a\nsuppliant: \u201cBut if it please not the maid, my mistress, I pray thee to\nentreat thy husband that he transfer his favor to the young man Eli.\nI think there can be no other in Miriam\u2019s thoughts. Thou wilt find him\nworthy, and in the maiden\u2019s joy thou shalt have thy reward.\u201d\n\nAdah was frankly amused. \u201cThou dost plead well to be released.\nPeradventure some other maiden--\u201d but the look on his face checked the\nsuggestion.\n\n\u201cNot for admiration of Eli do I speak, but for love of Miriam,\u201d he\ndeclared. \u201cThe circumstances in which I would have brought another\nmaiden to the House of Naaman could not be justified in the pure eyes\nof my little maid.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen am I sure that thy master\u2019s confidence hath not been misplaced,\u201d\nshe answered, softly, \u201cand a maiden\u2019s unruly heart is not always wise.\nNevertheless, do thou bring the young man if it seemeth right unto\nthee. I trust to thy discretion, and when I have had time to talk to\nMiriam and to observe for myself, I shall be better able to judge what\nis best. Only go thou quickly and delay not.\u201d\n\nLeft alone, Adah laughed quietly to herself. \u201cIf Miriam had the eyes of\nexperience, she would prefer the good-looking young soldier who loveth\nher unselfishly to the gifted young fanatic who loveth an ideal more\nthan any maid. I shall not compel her choice, but her master will like\nnot the idea of sharing the treasure of the House of Naaman with a\nstranger.\u201d\n\nQuite unexpectedly Milcah bent over her, having entered the apartment\nunobserved while her mistress mused. \u201cDidst thou wish something? I\nthought I heard thee speak. That worthless maid I sent in here an hour\nago hath not wit to do aught save curl her hair and make eyes at the\nmen servants.\u201d The woman wiped away a tear and continued, speaking\nunsteadily: \u201cThe caravan hath just started. Many a time have I seen my\nbrother ride to war and cared less, but to-day it seemeth so joyful it\nis almost solemn.\u201d\n\nAll at once the peace-loving Adah felt a vague uneasiness, dreading\nthe unpleasantness of Milcah\u2019s disapproval. Clearly she had a duty of\npreparation.\n\n\u201cBut if Isaac should ever think of marrying--\u201d she began, but only to\nbe promptly and tearfully interrupted:\n\n\u201cSay not so, for I should hate his wife. Never a maid have I seen save\nour little Miriam that I could regard with sisterly affection, and he\nwould never think of the child _that_ way.\u201d\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nUp the Valley of Jiptha-el in the heat of midsummer dashed a lone\nhorseman. No anxious watcher from the roof heralded his approach,\nbut every echo sought to imitate his wild shouts. The village was\nsurprised, alarmed, but comforted when the horseman was discovered to\nbe Nathan--reckless, jubilant, noisy, the veteran of one war and a\nbraggart. In a single breath he poured out greetings, exclamations,\ncomments and all the gossip of Damascus.\n\nIsaac was coming, but just this side of the Jordan he had been obliged\nto make camp with a sick soldier, Lemuel by name, so he (Nathan),\nunable to wait, had pushed on alone. Danger there was (his manner\nbecame very self-important), but what of that to one who had faced the\nhordes of the desert? Last year when the fruit trees first blossomed\naround Damascus, its peace and prosperity had been threatened by the\nhalf-wild tribes who roamed the desert to the east; beautiful, rich,\nlonely Damascus, whose stoutest walls were her walls of living men, her\nsoldiery! But it had held, thanks to Naaman, Captain of the Host, who\nwas respected and adored as no other man in the city.\n\nIt was the younger men who had showed most valor. Once he (Nathan) had\nbeen surrounded by five dark-skinned, savage enemies. Making ready his\nsling he was taking aim and would have slain them all had not Isaac and\nhis servant interfered. He bore them no malice, but when Isaac realized\nthat they had not been needed he had given him a horse all his own.\nFine horse it was with dainty feet and fiery spirit, Isaac\u2019s share of\nthe spoils of battle, but he would probably never miss it. Everybody\nknew he stood high in favor with the House of Naaman. He might in time\nbe chief steward and rich.\n\nThis spring not a desert chieftain had dared even to gaze upon\nDamascus, but there were rumors that the Assyrian hosts came nearer\nand nearer. Not a soldier was allowed to leave the city. Day and\nnight a watch had been maintained and every fighting man stood ready,\nbut the Assyrians tarried. Pity, too! It would have been glorious to\nengage in battle with the finest army in the world. But no enemies\nhaving appeared by midsummer and scouting parties reporting the danger\npast for a time at least, Isaac had been allowed to take a small band\ninto Israel to render the journey to Syria safe for Miriam. No doubt\nhe would wish to hurry back, for was he not going to be married? The\ntidings had been scattered abroad the morning they had started. Nay, he\nknew nothing more.\n\nAll at once Nathan realized that his speech had been undiplomatic, and\nhastily turned his attention to Hannathon. Eli was taller and thinner\nthan ever. He ought to be a soldier and properly fed. A good fighter he\nwould make too. Miriam had become amazingly pretty. If she found there\nwas no one to marry her, he would be willing. She looked something like\nRachel did before she faded out so. How was Benjamin? He would ride\nout to find him after a while, for would he not want to see the horse?\nAnd how the little boy had grown! Who would have supposed that such a\nsturdy, bright-looking youngster could have developed from that ugly,\nstupid baby? The village was just the same; very unexciting after\nDamascus. The only new thing was the house. So the old was not good\nenough, and they had built one like those in Syria! Well, they were\nmore comfortable. How sad that Sarah had not liked it! She might have\nlived longer if she had not been obliged to change her ways to suit\nthose who had learned better.\n\nBut Eli must come and look at the horse he had left at the foot of the\nhill. He knew his master and he had a trick-- Still talking, Nathan\ndescended the path with Eli while Rachel and Miriam returned to their\ngrinding at the mill, Rachel smiling and chatting, but Miriam strangely\nunresponsive. And once again a shadow darkened the doorway. With\nrespectful salutations Lemuel stood upon the threshold, seeming not to\nbe affected by the frigid greeting he received. He had merely pushed on\nahead of the party, he said, desiring earnestly to see the maid whom he\nhad missed sadly. Her mistress would explain why he felt he had a right\nto do this. (Miriam shrank from his bold gaze.)\n\nIsaac came more slowly, seeming, in fact, to be in no haste to arrive.\nWhen he _did_ come he would have news. Rumor said he was soon to be\nmarried, but since he refused to talk on the subject it was taken to\nmean that the matter had been arranged by his master\u2019s decree rather\nthan his own preference. Not even the name of the maid was known,\nwhich was further evidence that he was not proud of her. It was\nnot unlikely that his choice centered elsewhere, but that might all\nbe gossip. Certainly, it was beneath a man\u2019s honor to bear tales of\nhis friend, and he and Isaac had long been comrades. Well, Isaac was\nhandsome and in favor with the rich and powerful House of Naaman, so\nmaids there were in plenty who would be glad to unite their fortunes\nwith his.\n\nThe speaker may have felt the chill with which his tidings were\nreceived or his errand may have been finished. At all events he took\nhis departure. Rachel watched him from the door, shivering the while.\n\n\u201cLet us sweep the house,\u201d she suggested. \u201cI feel as if a serpent had\nuncoiled itself in our midst,\u201d but Miriam said nothing at all.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nScreened from observation by the bushes down in the gorge, Lemuel\nexamined a wounded foot. \u201cCursed be those thorns,\u201d he grumbled, \u201cbut\nit is worth it even though I had to leave my horse. Lucky that I\nremembered the cross-cuts of our scouting days in Israel! It hath\nhelped me to repay Isaac for many long-cherished grudges.\u201d\n\nHe glanced at the sun and uttered an exclamation. \u201cI had better be on\nmy way to Damascus by the time he findeth that I have tricked him.\u201d\n\nNear at hand an animal whinnied and Lemuel\u2019s eyes brightened. A few\nmoments later, where the path led into the valley road, a horse and\nits rider dodged quickly behind a clump of trees to avoid being seen by\na caravan at the head of which rode Isaac, and that afternoon Nathan\nsearched sorrowfully but in vain for his steed of the desert.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\nCERTAINTY\n\n\nA trifle shyly Miriam stood in the doorway awaiting Isaac, who was\ncoming alone up the hill. One look into his face as he came nearer,\nwith eyes only for her, and both her hands were outstretched, but Eli\npushed past her, speaking low:\n\n\u201cI pray thee, Miriam, let us greet the man with becoming dignity.\nBehold, have I not been as a son in thy mother\u2019s household and in\nBenjamin\u2019s absence is it not my place to welcome its guests?\u201d\n\nThe girl laughed happily. \u201cWhy, it is only Isaac. He would think it\nstrange if I delayed to meet him and I am so glad, so very glad, he\nhath come.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut he may misunderstand thy eagerness, Miriam.\u201d Eli\u2019s tones were\nsomewhat stern. \u201cRemember, thou art no longer a child.\u201d\n\nMiriam stopped short, reddening painfully. \u201cIsaac hath never\nmisunderstood,\u201d she retorted.\n\nNevertheless, when he took both her hands in his she was for the\nfirst time unable to meet his gaze frankly. He found it very charming\nand in some circumstances it might have been encouraging, but he had\nseen, if he had not heard, and now put his own construction upon the\ndegree of understanding between herself and Eli. With a heavy heart\nhe noticed that Eli acted as host, a right not only undisputed but\napparently expected by both Rachel and Miriam. From this he drew\nfurther disquieting conclusions, which were not contradicted by the\nconversation he was allowed with Miriam herself.\n\nShe asked innumerable questions about the household at Damascus, but\nthere was not half time to answer fully. She told him a great deal\nabout her mother\u2019s last days and very little about herself. Far too\nlittle to satisfy him. She called his attention to the new abode,\nbuilt on the site of the old with the gift she had brought from the\nHouse of Naaman. Her mother had never found the dwelling comfortable.\nIt had seemed too luxurious to have those low and wide benches on\nthree sides of the room for sitting and sleeping, and she was uneasy\nabout the animals, banished to quarters in the courtyard. She had\nfelt more secure to have them at night on the unfloored portion of\nthe same apartment. But the new house was much prized by Benjamin and\nRachel, and since they preferred to remain in Israel to be the stay and\nconsolation of Rachel\u2019s parents, Miriam was glad they would have the\ncomfort of a home like those in Syria.\n\nThe gift Isaac had just brought--such a generous present from her\nbeloved master and mistress--should be used to purchase a larger flock\nfor Benjamin and thus secure a greater income. Then she spoke of her\nplans for Eli (she and Isaac were alone for a few minutes), plans\nwhich he heartily approved because it would please her. She talked with\na pretty hesitancy and with such an evident gratitude and admiration\nfor Eli that Isaac\u2019s worst fears were confirmed, yet he could not bring\nhimself to ask a question direct. He would wait a few days and observe\nfor himself, and he was comforted to an extent by the fact that she\ndesired to return to Damascus. He had hardly expected such willingness.\n\nFinally, Isaac and Eli and Rachel and Miriam together decided that\nthe journey to Syria should not be undertaken for a week. Isaac\nparticularly wished to see Benjamin, and a week would give Miriam time\nto say her farewells without haste. Also the soldiers would be grateful\nfor a rest in the shade of the mountains. The midsummer heat of the\nroads they must travel was anything but pleasant, but circumstances\nhad granted them no choice. As Miriam watched him depart, the virus of\nLemuel\u2019s remarks began to be active in her brain. Isaac was evidently\nnot in any hurry to return to Damascus!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was the morning of Miriam\u2019s departure and she and Rachel, from the\ndoorway, were watching the sun rise.\n\n\u201cThou art so pale, Miriam. Thou dost not have to go. Hast not thy\ngenerous master freed thee? I shall miss thee every day.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd every day will I think of thee, Rachel, and of Benjamin and\nlittle Caleb, and wish we could all be in the same country rather than\nseparated.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut I am better satisfied to know that Isaac is going to be married,\u201d\nwent on the older woman. \u201cHis wife will be like a sister, taking my\nplace to thee.\u201d\n\nThere was no answer.\n\n\u201cWhy--why--Miriam,\u201d with a bewildered little laugh, \u201cwouldst thou have\nme think--why, art thou not glad, too?\u201d\n\n\u201cNay,\u201d answered the girl, \u201cI like not to dwell upon the thought. Have\nI not always been first to him, next after his duty to his master? And\nnow how greatly is he changed! A week hath passed and he hath never\nmentioned the maiden\u2019s name nor even told me he is to be married. If it\nbe thus now--\u201d\n\nRachel was aghast. Her tones were pityingly severe: \u201cThou hast no\nmother, Miriam, and I must speak plainly for thine own good. Isaac took\nthee into captivity out of no malice. Thou wert one of the spoils of\nwar. Afterward, when he knew thou wert sister to Benjamin, the man who\nhad befriended him, he was sorry and tried to be kind, but remorse is\nnot love. Thou must not expect it of him.\u201d\n\nThe girl turned a face as pink as the sky. \u201cI go to the sepulcher,\u201d she\nsaid, and slipped hastily out of the door--to confront Eli.\n\nIt was a pale and scandalized Eli, but he spoke quietly: \u201cI will go\nwith thee, for doth not my mother lie there also?\u201d\n\nHalfway down the hill they met Isaac and Benjamin in earnest\nconversation. Isaac intercepted the pair: \u201cThe caravan is ready. The\nstart awaiteth thy pleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn an hour,\u201d Eli returned, briefly, but Miriam answered not at all,\nnor even raised her eyes.\n\nAs they plodded on, Isaac turned sadly to Benjamin: \u201cI fear my question\nis already answered.\u201d\n\nBenjamin put a sympathetic hand upon his shoulder. \u201cThen for many\nreasons would I be sorry,\u201d he declared, \u201cyet peradventure the maiden\u2019s\nmistress will not let her make such a mistake.\u201d\n\nNot until they neared their destination did Eli speak to Miriam, then\nhe burst forth with a vehemence which awed her: \u201cCould _he_ come with\nthee to this sacred place? Canst thou share thy holiest memories with\nhim? Nay, for well thou knowest that our two mothers lie here because\nof the wounds he inflicted.\u201d\n\n\u201cSay rather \u2018the wounds of war,\u2019 Eli. Isaac hath repented of his part\nand hath made such restitution as he could. Should we count it as\nnaught? I think our mothers would forgive, and doth not our Law require\nit?\u201d\n\nEli continued as if he had not heard: \u201cTidings did I hear in the camp\nthat thy mistress was to give thee to him in marriage, but because\nthou hast filled my heart did I believe I was in thine. I did not know\nthou wouldst prefer the servant of the rich man, who hath manners which\nbelong to a king\u2019s court, who is clothed in fine linen and fareth\nsumptuously every day. I thought not thou wouldst despise the preacher\nof Jehovah, whose lot will be a far country and coarse apparel and\nscanty food and the contempt and ridicule of the multitude. Thou didst\ntell me that it was duty which called thee to Damascus. I have just\nlearned that it was the voice of thy beloved. Nor would I have believed\nhad I not heard from thine own lips through the open door.\u201d\n\nMiriam lifted her head a trifle defiantly. \u201cWhat thou sayest is as if\nit were in an unknown tongue. The tidings thou hast heard have not\nreached mine ears, nor can it be true when well I know that it would\nnot be to his liking.\u201d Her tones were bitter. The poison of Lemuel\u2019s\nremarks was still at work.\n\nShe went on more calmly: \u201cNever have I thought of Isaac as thou hast\ndescribed him but only as the friend in whom I could safely trust,\nwho was never amused like my mistress nor impatient like Milcah nor\nindifferent like everyone else.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut friendship is not love, Miriam. Thou must not think it.\u201d\n\nSuddenly he took her in his arms. \u201cThou art mine,\u201d he cried, fiercely.\n\u201cLong ago thy mother gave thee to me. Neither Isaac nor any man shall\ntake thee from me.\u201d\n\nHe drew a long, sobbing breath, gazing at her with a face so full of\ntragic sorrow she was appalled.\n\n\u201cI owe thee so much--so much, Eli,\u201d she whispered, contritely.\n\n\u201cHe shall not _take_ thee,\u201d repeated the young man, \u201cbut I shall go\nwith thee to Damascus to preach the word of Jehovah as we have said,\nand when the time cometh I will _give_ thee to him if it pleaseth thee.\u201d\n\nReleasing her not urgently he strode away. She stood still for a\nmoment, then she called after him, her voice sweetly compassionate. She\nbegged him to tarry, but he seemed not to hear, and after a little she\nfollowed him to the sleeping place of the dead.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt was not a cheerful party which started that day to Syria. Farewell\ntears were thinly veiled under encouraging smiles. Miriam was so\nobviously considerate for Eli that Isaac was plunged into the depths\nof despondency. Eli himself seemed lost in painful reverie. Nathan,\nobliged to ride the horse Lemuel had not had opportunity to take,\nloudly bewailed his own better steed, while the soldier-escort, under\nits breath, cursed the merciless rays of the sun.\n\nHour after hour they journeyed. Through dim eyes Miriam beheld a\nfleeting picture of the hilltop villages and scattered groves of\nher beloved Israel. Here and there they passed other travelers and\ninfrequent beggars. Once, the chariot in which Miriam and her two maid\nservants were riding came to a sudden halt. Apparently there was some\nobstruction in the road ahead. A leper, hurrying away, was yet near\nenough for her to look upon his repulsive countenance. Shuddering, she\nturned to see if Eli or Nathan had noticed, but they were busy helping\nthe soldiers conceal a loathsome something with a light covering of\nearth. The leper was Gehazi!\n\nIsaac rode up with an explanatory word. He pointed to the mound: \u201cIt is\nthe deserter, Lemuel. Some wild beast hath met him at night while he\nslept and where there was none to help. The body is gnawed and broken,\nbut there can be no mistake.\u201d\n\nNathan called excitedly and Isaac responded at once. A little\nlater they returned with Nathan\u2019s own horse, which had broken his\nhalter--doubtless through fright--and roamed at will until reclaimed\nby his master. For half an hour Miriam listened indulgently to the\nboy\u2019s enthusiastic recital of the capture and the steed\u2019s wonders, then\nNathan took a place in the rear. They descended the hot gorge in which\nroared the Jordan, crossed its foaming waters, emerged into the freer\nair of the uplands and so to the main-traveled roads leading north.\nNathan was again beside Miriam.\n\n\u201cI have been watching the party for hours,\u201d he declared with a\nboisterous laugh. \u201cFunny how it rides. The soldiers plod along\nsilently, sometimes jesting or quarreling. Obeying is their business.\nNever once hath Eli turned his head. Already he seeth himself a prophet\nof the Lord in the strange land toward which he goeth. But ever Isaac\nwatcheth thee, and always thine eyes are turned toward Eli.\u201d\n\nAs they resumed their journey after the noon-time rest it was Isaac who\nrode beside the chariot. He put into her hands a piece of sheepskin,\nfolded protectingly over something evidently very precious.\n\n\u201cOnce,\u201d he explained, \u201cwhen thou wert but a little maid and knewest not\nthe meaning of such things, I bound these damson blossoms upon my heart\nin token of loving devotion to thee. They have withered, but that for\nwhich they stood has never died. I cannot suppose\u201d--with an involuntary\nglance at Eli--\u201cthat thou wilt treasure them as I have, but it is thy\nright to know.\u201d\n\nWithout waiting for an answer he dropped back to his old position. A\nlong time Miriam stared at the blossoms, then, with tenderest care she\nfolded them in their sheepskin covering and put them in her bosom. He\nwas at her side instantly.\n\n\u201cThou dost not count them as naught, Miriam?\u201d\n\n\u201cLove is not friendship, Isaac.\u201d\n\nThe thrill he had experienced suddenly died. It was a moment before\nhe could answer in the old, matter-of-fact way. \u201cThen it were only\nselfishness, Miriam. If it be not friendship, then it is not love\neither, for love is friendship intensified, glorified.\u201d\n\nShe was silent. After some hesitancy he spoke again, this time with\nquiet determination and in the speech of Israel, which they had used\nbefore so that the maid servants might not understand.\n\n\u201cThe hour hath come, Miriam, when I must tell thee what thy mistress\nhath said and ask thee for the truth.\u201d He told her briefly the plans\nAdah had outlined to him.\n\nShe made no comment.\n\n\u201cBut because thou wert free in Israel and but a servant in Syria I have\nwondered if thou art sacrificing thyself to give advantages to Eli.\u201d\n\nThe answer was very faint. \u201cNay, Isaac.\u201d\n\n\u201cThy sense of duty is strong, Miriam, and thou art necessary to the\nhappiness of the household in Damascus, yet because thou hast cherished\nthe token which hath meant so much to me I almost thought--peradventure\nbecause I so wished it might be--\u201d\n\nShe did not speak for so long that he peered under the awning,\nbeholding a face that crimsoned as it looked into his and in the eyes a\nsomething which lit his own with rapturous hope.\n\n\u201cI could not be content to be free when thou wert still in bondage,\nIsaac.\u201d The tones were very low, very sweet, very hesitant.\n\n\u201cMiriam,\u201d he gasped, \u201cthou canst not mean--thou dost not--\u201d\n\nBut evidently she did, for the two maid servants exchanged smiles and\nmeaning glances, and he continued to ride beside the chariot while they\ndrew near to Damascus and the glad welcome of the House of Naaman.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] \u201cA short sword buckled to the belt or girdle.\u201d\n\n[2] A _timbrel_ was an instrument similar to our modern tambourine.\nA _tabret_ was the progenitor of our modern drum, though smaller.\n_Cymbals_ were the same to which we are accustomed.\n\n[3] It is impossible to translate into modern terms the exact value\nof the treasure Naaman took into Israel, the figures of different\nauthorities varying greatly, but none estimate it at less than $60,000,\nand some vary much more. At all events, it was considered a worthy and\neven a generous gift.\n\n[4] Some authorities claim that at this period Syrian arms were\nrenowned because she had repelled even mighty Assyria.\n\n[5] In this age, deities were supposed to favor localities or peoples;\nthere was no conception of a God other than one who was local or\nnational.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES:\n\n\n  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.\n\n  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.\n\n  Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.","title":"In Naaman's House","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":65876}