Then he would grip his heart with his hand, and strive to set his whole body in motion, as though he were perishing with cold, and hasten to shift his eyes to a fresh place, and again to another.  When they led Jesus away from Caiaphas, he met His weary eyes quite close, and, somehow or other, unconsciously he gave Him several friendly nods.

“I am here, my Son, I am here,” he muttered hurriedly, and maliciously poked to some gaper in the back who stood in his way.

And now, in a huge shouting crowd, they all moved on to Pilate for the last examination and trial, and with the same insupportable curiosity Judas searched the faces of the ever swelling multitude.  Many were quite unknown to him; Judas had never seen them before, but some were there who had cried, “Hosanna!” to Jesus, and at each step the number of them seemed to increase.

“Well, well!” thought Judas, and his head spun round as if he were drunk, “the worst is over.  Directly they will be crying:  ’He is ours, He is Jesus!  What are you about?’ and all will understand, and—­”

But the believers walked in silence.  Some hypocritically smiled, as if to say:  “The affair is none of ours!” Others spoke with constraint, but their low voices were drowned in the rumbling of movement, and the loud delirious shouts of His enemies.

And Judas felt better again.  Suddenly he noticed Thomas cautiously slipping through the crowd not far off, and struck by a sudden thought, he was about to go up to him.  At the sight of the traitor, Thomas was frightened, and tried to hide himself.  But in a little narrow street, between two walls, Judas overtook him.

“Thomas, wait a bit!”

Thomas stopped, and stretching both hands out in front of him solemnly pronounced the words: 

“Avaunt, Satan!”

Iscariot made an impatient movement of the hands.

“What a fool you are, Thomas!  I thought that you had more sense than the others.  Satan indeed!  That requires proof.”

Letting his hands fall, Thomas asked in surprise: 

“But did not you betray the Master?  I myself saw you bring the soldiers, and point Him out to them.  If this is not treachery, I should like to know what is!”

“Never mind that,” hurriedly said Judas.  “Listen, there are many of you here.  You must all gather together, and loudly demand:  ’Give up Jesus.  He is ours!’ They will not refuse you, they dare not.  They themselves will understand.”

“What do you mean!  What are you thinking of!” said Thomas, with a decisive wave of his hands.  “Have you not seen what a number of armed soldiers and servants of the Temple there are here?  Moreover, the trial has not yet taken place, and we must not interfere with the court.  Surely he understands that Jesus is innocent, and will order His release without delay.”

“You, then, think so too,” said Judas thoughtfully.  “Thomas, Thomas, what if it be the truth?  What then?  Who is right?  Who has deceived Judas?”