could stop
him, he plunged into the windy darkness.

"Come back!" shouted James.

"One is missing!" A heavy gust almost drowned the shepherd's reply.

"You'll get hurt!" The man was gone. "How can he ever find his way?"
protested James to the others. "There are gullies and high rocks! He
will be killed in the dark!"

"He has practically all the sheep in," declared John. "He could wait a
little while till this lets up."

"He would leave his flock here and search all night for a sheep,"
remarked Jesus.

"He ought not to risk his life like that," answered James.

"A good shepherd is ready to face death to find just one sheep," said
Jesus.

Death! The twelve men had been able to think of nothing but fear and
death the whole day through. Why did the Master talk about it so much?

At that instant the shepherd came back. Under his arm was a lamb,
frightened but not harmed. "There," sighed the man, putting it gently
down. "Now all are safe."

"You are hurt!" exclaimed Peter. He knelt and gently touched the man's
ankle. The shepherd flinched, but said, "Oh, it is nothing!"

"Let me bandage it," insisted Peter. The man sat down; he was in pain.
"How did this happen?" asked Peter, tearing a strip of cloth from the
long loose shirt he wore.

"I heard the little one crying and ran toward him," answered the man. "I
must have stumbled on a sharp rock."

Jesus was watching the man. "You are a faithful shepherd," he said.

The shepherd looked up quickly and smiled. This man understood! But the
disciples were quiet. They knew Jesus was thinking about his own work in
Jerusalem.

The wind had veered around and now blew from the southwest. Spattering
drops turned into a steady, cold, driving rainstorm.

"Perhaps it will settle the dust," said Andrew hopefully. He was
thinking how dejected the sheep looked that had not found room in the
shed when he felt cold water on his back. "This place leaks!" he
exclaimed. Soon all the men were moving uncomfortably about, trying to
find places to stand where they could keep dry. But it was hopeless. The
rain poured through the cracks in the old roof.

"We might as well be walking outside as standing here," declared the
Zealot in disgust. The suggestion seemed sensible.

"Thank you for the shelter," said Jesus to the shepherd.

The rain had not let up at all, but the men plunged into the night. "Be
careful of that ankle," said Peter, the last to go. The shepherd smiled
in farewel