was gone. I came back here and then set out alone for
Galilee. I had traveled about an hour when the Master appeared to me,
standing in the road. He commanded me to return here."

"When we first saw him, we did not know who he was," said Cleopas. Then
he told everything that had happened. At first many wondered if the
story could be true, but as they listened, their joy and amazement grew.
When Cleopas finished, they stirred and sighed. Here was one at least
who certainly believed Jesus was alive!

The air was heavy in the crowded room. An iron pan filled with burning
charcoal stood near the wall. Several broiled fish, left over from
supper, lay on the coals. Cleopas and his friend looked at them
hungrily. Peter handed pieces to them. James rose from the rough wooden
bench on which he sat and opened the shutters. Andrew poured oil from a
large jar into the nearly empty lamps. The men breathed deeply of the
cool air that swept through the window. The lamplight sprang up. Hope
and wonder flickered through the disciples' minds, still dulled by the
sorrow of the Master's violent death.

"If I could just see him myself!" murmured John.

Suddenly Jesus was there. He did not come in--he just appeared standing
in the midst of them. John drew in his breath sharply. Was this a ghost?
Did the others see? The men shrank from the place where Jesus stood.

"Do not be afraid. It is I! Look at my hands and my feet. Do you not see
the wounds of the cross?" The men stared. In the palms of his hands
James could see the marks of nails. His voice was real too! The men did
not trust their eyes. Several reached out timidly and touched the scars.
They moved like men in a dream.

"Have you any food?" asked Jesus. Peter took another piece of fish from
the charcoal stove and handed it to Jesus. When the disciples saw their
Master eat, their doubts vanished. They began to talk, trying to realize
that the impossible had really happened; their Leader was really living!

"Master," burst out James enthusiastically, "are you going to drive out
the Romans now and give the Kingdom back to us?" The others suddenly
became quiet, listening for his answer.

"It is not for you to know when the Father in heaven will do that,
James," replied Jesus. "In his own time he will destroy all evil. He has
already come among you: all you must do is accept the power he gives you
to obey his commands."

"Master, what do you want us to do?" asked Peter. Hearing h