A little later they came into view of a flock of goats browsing near a wood, and Azariah sought to improve the occasion by a little dissertation on the destructive nature of the goat.  Of late years a sapling rarely escaped them, and still more regrettable was the carelessness of the shepherd who left the branches they had torn down to become dry like tinder.  He spoke of many forest fires, and told all the stories he could remember in the hope of distracting Joseph’s thoughts from the length of the journey.  We are now about half-way, he said, disguising the truth.  We shall see the city upon the evening glow in about another hour.  The longest hour that I have ever known, Joseph complained two hours later; and Azariah laid his cloak over Joseph’s saddle.  Dost feel more comfortable?  A little, the child answered.  At the sight of the city thy heart will be lifted again and the suffering forgotten.  And Joseph believed him, but towards the end of the day the miles seemed to stretch out indefinitely and at five o’clock he was crying:  shall we ever get to Arimathea, for I can sit on this mule no longer, nor shall I be able to stand straight upon my legs when I alight.

Azariah promised they would be at the gates in a few minutes, but these few minutes seemed as if they would never pass away, but they did pass, and at the gateway Joseph toppled from his mule and just managed to hobble into the inn at which they were to sleep that night:  too tired to eat, he said, too tired, he feared, to sleep.  Azariah pressed him to swallow a cup of soup and he prepared a hot bath for him into which he poured a bottle of vinegar; an excellent remedy he reported this to be against stiffness, and it showed itself to be such:  for next morning Joseph was quite free from stiffness and said he could walk for miles.  Samuel’s rock cannot be more than a few hundred yards distant, so miles are not necessary, Azariah answered, as they stepped over the threshold into a delightful morning all smiles and greetings and subtle invitations to come away into the forest and fields, full of promises of flowers and songs, but in conflict with their project, which was to inquire out their way from the maidens at the fountain, who would be sure to know it, and in its shade to read the story of David and Goliath first and other stories afterwards.  But the gay morning drew their thoughts away from texts, and without being aware of their apostasy they had already begun to indulge in hopes that the maidens would be late at the fountain and leave them some time to loiter by the old aqueduct that brought the water in a tiny stream to fall into a marble trough:  an erstwhile sarcophagus, maybe, Azariah said, as he gathered some water out of it with his hands and drank, telling Joseph to do likewise.