er was gray, whipped into angry waves by the wind.
Only a few months before, the men had nearly drowned in a gale like
this.

To their right were bleak hills, bare of trees. An anxious shepherd was
driving his sheep to shelter. The black, windy sky reminded the
disciples of all the fears that filled them: fear of their own future
and distrust of one another.

"Where can we stay for the night. Master?" asked Andrew, raising his
voice above a gust that snatched the words from his lips.

Jesus glanced at the sky. "Perhaps we can find an inn at Tiberias."

The wind was hot and laden with dust. Its choking heat kept their skin
dry even though the men perspired freely. They covered their faces with
their robes to avoid breathing dust.

The air was thick; they could not see the sun, though it was fully four
hours before sunset. They could not even see the crest of the ridge
rising above them to the right.

"If the wind changes to the southwest, this is sure to turn to rain,"
remarked James, almost shouting. John nodded. A moment later they heard
Andrew call to them.

"Look there!" he shouted. "Up the hill." He was pointing to a
tumble-down shed a few yards from the road to their right.

Greatly relieved, the whole group left the road and in a moment were
inside the shelter. "We are lucky to find this," said James, throwing
the cover off his face. "It is getting cooler, and the wind is
changing."

The disciples had hardly caught their breath when they heard a familiar
sound. "Sheep!" exclaimed Philip. An instant later a tightly packed
flock of frightened sheep crowded into the shed. It overflowed in a
moment, but the bleating animals kept on pushing in. Suddenly their
shepherd stood in the midst of the men.

"Oh!" He was completely surprised at finding people in his shed.

"We were looking for shelter from the wind and rain," explained Peter.

"Oh ... why yes!" replied the man. He was embarrassed in the presence of
all these strangers. "This is a very poor old shed," he said, smiling
apologetically. Shyly he turned away from the disciples and began to
count his sheep.

The men watched. He was very slow and started over again three times.
They smiled at each other as though to say, "A simple fellow, isn't he?"

The flimsy little shelter rocked under the gusts of the gale, now at its
height. The shepherd was too busy counting to notice. Suddenly he jerked
up straight. "There is one missing!" Before the disciples