enied the story, but in such a way that we
feared he would only injure his conscience by other prevarications if we
encouraged him. So we rode on; and in less than half an hour the sheik
swept proudly by us, with no goat slung over his shoulders, but as he
passed he shot out a single word, that told, like Caesar's _vici_, the
whole story of his victory.

The muleteer of Palestine will start on a journey at almost any hour of
the morning, but he has a superstitious dread of the darkness that falls
after sunset, and our Hassan was now too frightened to make any answer
to our questions except a short, tremulous half threat, half entreaty to
hurry. We were riding along the valley between Gerizim and Ebal. We had
left Joseph's tomb, and Jacob's well, where our Lord, wearied with his
journey, as we were with ours, sat and rested as he talked with a woman
who had come from the town toward which we were hurrying. The two
mountains, their sides covered with fig-trees and olives, loomed up
dimly out of the twilight on either side. We thought of the day when the
hosts of Israel were encamped here and the antiphonal choirs chanted
blessings from Gerizim and curses from Ebal in the ears of the vastest
congregation ever gathered on earth. There was no sound now of blessing
or cursing. The very stillness was oppressive. Hassan almost ceased to
breathe, and it was not till our horses' hoofs rang on the rough
pavement of Nablous--the ancient Shechem--that he relaxed his muscles
and gave a long sigh of relief.

We rode at once to the Latin convent, where we felt sure of a cordial
reception and a comfortable bed. There was no light anywhere in the
gloomy building; but Hassan knocked at the great door, confidently at
first, and then angrily. At last came an Arab youth about nineteen, who
stuck one eye in the crack of the door, and asked our business.

"Yes," he said, "you stay here all night, but go away early in the
morning."

This was definite, if not hospitable; but we went in, and asked to see
the monks.

"None here," said the Arab, with a chuckle: "all gone to Tiberias." We
ordered dinner, and, after half an hour, the Arab brought a saucer
holding two boiled eggs, put it on a chair, and said, "There's your
dinner." We were indignant, but it did no good: this boy was the head of
the house for the time, and neither promises nor threats were of any
avail to add anything, besides a little salt and pepper, to the dinner
he had prepar