over
and over, 'You saved others--now save yourself!' and laughed." Tears of
anger sprang into Cleopas' eyes.

"That is where his mother stood when he told John to take care of her,"
remarked his companion. At that moment the wind tore loose the parchment
nailed at the top of the cross. It drifted to the ground a few yards
away. The younger man looked at Cleopas: "Shall I get it?"

After a moment Cleopas replied: "No. Let it lie there. Why keep things
that make us remember these days?" He turned his back on the cross and
started down the hill toward Emmaus. His companion said nothing; he knew
the bitterness that made Cleopas speak this way.

The road down to Emmaus was rough but heavily traveled. From all Judea,
camel caravans carried olive oil and wool to Joppa, the main seaport of
southern Palestine. Up from the sea rode Roman soldiers to guard
Jerusalem, Jericho, and the forts across the Jordan.

Toward sunset the two travelers came in sight of the Valley of Aijalon,
sloping down to the sea. Here King Saul had fought many bloody battles
with the ancient Philistines. The low-hanging sun made a great golden
blaze on the Mediterranean Sea, twenty miles away.

"We are not far from Emmaus now," remarked Cleopas. A warning cry
sounded behind them: "Caravan!" The two men moved to the side of the
road, and found, when they turned, that another traveler had joined
them. He had been very close behind, but the two men had been so deep
in conversation that they had not noticed him. After the camels had
passed, kicking up the dust with their wide, padded feet, the stranger
walked on with them.

"What is all this you are talking about?" he asked in a friendly way.

Cleopas glanced at his companion. Was it dangerous to answer frankly?
Certainly they were safe here! "You must not have stayed in Jerusalem
very long if you have not heard about what happened," he replied.

"What is that?" asked the man.

"It is about Jesus of Nazareth," answered Cleopas. "He was a Galilean.
The common people all thought he was a Prophet. God truly had given him
a message for us! He warned us to repent and give our lives to God if we
wish to have eternal life." Cleopas paused and his companion took up the
story.

"You see, the high priests hated Jesus because he called them hypocrites
to their faces. He was right: they are cruel to the poor! They make many
sacrifices, but just the same they do not really love God. Three days
ago the priests