And the tale how one great cavern was besieged amused the old man till he was nigh to clapping his hands with delight and to reminding Joseph of the time when he used to ask his grandmother to tell him stories.  Were she here she’d like to hear thee telling thy stories.  Thou wast in her thoughts to the last and now we shall never see her any more, however great our trouble may be; and in the midst of a great silence they fell to thinking how the same black curtain would drop between them and the world.  She has gone away to Arimathea, Joseph, whence we came and whither I shall follow her.  We go forward a little way but to go back again.  But I can’t talk of deaths and graves.  Go on telling me about Pilate and the robbers, for I’ve been busy all day in the counting-house adding up figures, and to listen to a good tale is a rare distraction.  Yet I wouldn’t talk of them either, Joseph, but of thyself and thy horse that all the country will be talking about the day after to-morrow, when thou’lt ride him into the town.  And now say it, Joseph:  ye are a wee bit tired, isn’t that so?  Nay, Father, not a bit.  We have come but twenty miles from the last halt, and as for the telling of my story, maybe the loose ends which I’ve forgotten for the moment will unravel themselves while we’re talking of fish-salting—­of the many extra barrels you’ve sent out.  Now, Father, say how many?  At it, Joseph, as beforetimes, rallying thy old father!  Well, I’ve not done so badly, but a drop in the year’s trading is never a pleasant thought, though it be but a barrel.  And he began again his complaint against the government of Antipas, who had never encouraged trade as he should have done.  Now, if we had a man here such as thy friend Pilate, I’d not be saying too much were I to say that my trade could be doubled.  But Pilate has no authority in Galilee.  Joseph thought that Pilate’s authority should be extended.  But how can that be done?  Dan inquired, and being embarrassed for an answer, Joseph pressed Dan to confide in him, a thing which Dan showed no wish to do; but at last his reluctance was overcome, and shyly he admitted that his despondency had nothing to do with Antipas nor with a casual drop in the order from Damascus, but with a prophet that was troubling the neighbourhood.  A very dangerous prophet, too, is this one; but I am afraid, Joseph, we don’t view prophets in exactly the same light.  Joseph was about to laugh, but seeing the smile coming into his eyes, his father begged him to wait till he heard the whole story.

He called up all his attention into his face, and the story he heard was that the new prophet, who came up from Jordan about a year ago, was preaching that the Lord was so outraged at the conduct of his chosen people that he had determined to destroy the world, and might begin the wrecking of it any day of the week.  But before the world ends there’ll be wars.  Joseph said:  but there has been none, nor have I heard rumours of any.  We don’t