An hour later, about two hours before midnight, they were riding into the desert, lighted by a late moon and incommoded by two puppies that Jesus could not be dissuaded from bringing with him:  for if Brother Amos give up his flock to me, he argued, I shall need dogs.  But Brother Amos will give thee his dogs, Joseph said.  A shepherd, Jesus answered, cannot work with any dogs but his own.  But what has become of the dogs that were left behind?  Joseph asked, and not being able to tell him, Jesus fell to wondering how it was he had forgotten his dogs.  At that moment one of the puppies cried to be let down:  see how well he follows, Jesus said, but hardly were the words past his lips than the puppy turned tail, and Jesus had to chase him very nearly back to Bethany before he allowed himself to be overtaken and picked up again.  The way is long, Joseph cried, more than seven hours to the city of Jericho, and if these chases happen again we shall be overtaken by the daylight.  One of my caravans starts from Jericho at dawn; and if we meet it I shall have my camel-drivers round me asking pertinent questions and may be compelled to return with them to Jericho.  Come, Jesus, thine ass seems willing to amble down this long incline; and dropping the reins over the animal’s withers, and leaning back, holding a puppy under each arm, Jesus allowed the large brown ass he was riding to trot; it was not long before he left far behind the heavy weighted white ass, which carried Joseph.

Now seeing the distance lengthening out between them Joseph was tempted to cry to Jesus to stop, but dared not, lest he might awaken robbers (their strongholds having lately been raided by soldiers), and he had in mind the fugitives that might be lurking in the hills, so instead of crying to Jesus to hold hard, he urged his ass forward.  But the best speed he could make was not sufficient to overtake the nimbly trotting brown ass, and the pursuit might have been continued into Jericho if Jesus had not been suddenly behoven by the silence to stop and wait for Joseph to overtake him, which he did in about ten minutes, whispering:  ride not so fast, robbers may be watching for travellers.  Not at this hour, Jesus replied; and he prepared to ride on.  This time one of the puppies succeeded in getting away and might have run back again to Bethany had not Joseph leapt from his ass and driven him back to Jesus with loud cries that the ravines repeated again and again.  If there were robbers asleep, thy cries would awaken them.  True, true, Joseph replied; I forgot; and he vowed he would not utter another word till they passed a certain part of the road, advantageous, he said, to robbers.  No better spot between Jerusalem and Jericho for murder and robbery, he continued:  cast thine eyes down into the ravine into which he could throw us.  But if a robber should fall upon me do not stay to defend me; ride swiftly to the inn for help, and, despite the danger, Joseph rode in