ut he
would not touch the Lord's anointed to harm him.

"See, my father," he cried "see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. I
have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it."

Much more he said, and asked the Lord to judge between them, and Saul's
hard heart was moved so that he wept aloud.

"Is this thy voice, my son David," he said, "Thou art more righteous
than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee
evil," and he made a covenant with David. For though he made no
promise to spare David's life, he made David promise to spare the life
of his children when he should be made king.

But a year was hardly past before the evil spirit was again upon Saul,
and he went out with three thousand men to hunt for David. Saul's camp
was on a hill, and David saw where it was. At night he took Abishai,
one of his warriors, and went down from the cliffs to Saul's camp,
where Saul lay sleeping in a trench, and the spear stuck in the ground
by his pillow, while all his men lay around him. Abishai wished to
strike him through with the spear, but David said,

"Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's
anointed and be guiltless? The Lord shall smite him, or his day shall
come to die, or he shall fall in battle and perish; but take thou now
the spear that is at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and let us go."

And they took them and went away. A deep sleep had fallen upon the
camp of Saul from the Lord, so that no one saw them.

Then David went up to his stronghold, and from the top of the cliff he
cried to Abner, the captain of Saul's men, and asked why he had not
defended his Master, and where was the king's spear, and his cruse of
water?

Then Saul cried as before,

"Is this thy voice, my son David?"

"It is my voice, my lord, O King," said David, and again he plead his
cause with his old enemy, but who could trust to the repentance of
Saul? He cried,

"I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm,
because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day. I have played the
fool, and erred exceedingly."

But David trusted him no more, and went and made friends with a
Philistine prince that he might live within their borders.

Samuel the prophet was dead, and there was no one to give counsel to
the darkened soul of the King when trouble fell upon him. The
Philistines had come with a great army, but Saul was afraid, for the