this little joke. She pulled pettishly away
when good friend Anna placed her hand upon her forehead to see if she
were feverish.

"I would see the gardens of King Herod," she repeated plaintively,
rubbing her eyes as she spoke. "Ezra saw them, with rivers and flowers
and fountains. He saw doves and pigeons flying through the air. He saw a
great beast that spouted water from its mouth, and I would fain see it,
too."

The magnificent gardens of the King of Judea were open all day long to
any one who wished to enter and enjoy their beauty, their coolness, and
their shade. Canals flowed between green banks, flowers bloomed and
trees rustled, fountains played in the sunlight, and tiny fish darted
hither and thither in the artificial pools. But there, too, bright
against the green, was to be seen the white marble of statues--nymphs,
and dryads, figures symbolizing grace and beauty--and for this reason,
since to him all statues were idols, no Jew would set foot within King
Herod's garden.

All that Naomi could hope to do, beside gazing at the three famous
castles of white marble, with their battlements and turrets, built by
Herod the Great, and at his own splendid palace with its massive walls
and towers, was to peep at the garden through the open gateways or
perhaps from the top of the wall, as Ezra had done.

But Aunt Miriam, with sturdy common sense, had no intention of taking
the weary and ailing little girl on the long trip across Cheesemonger's
Valley from the Mount of the Temple to Mount Zion where the palaces
stood. She beckoned to Jacob who had walked near them all the way, and
when he came forward she said:

"Carry the little maid home, Jacob. She is exceedingly weary and needs a
night's rest."

Naomi, without a protest, turned to Jacob and gladly hid her heavy,
aching eyes upon his broad shoulder.

"I am like Three Legs," thought Naomi, as the procession moved
homeward. "But then Three Legs has been sick a long, long time, and I
shall be well in the morning."

CHAPTER IV

IN THE DARK

"Mother, is it sunrise yet?"

"No, Naomi, it but nears the end of the Third Watch."

"Mother, does the lamp still burn?"

"Yes, child, as always, on the table. Lie still, Naomi, and try to
sleep. Thou hast a journey before thee to-day."

"Aye," said the little girl, turning restlessly on her quilt. "I know,
to the Pool of Bethesda. Perhaps I shall come home with opened eyes,
Mother. Perhaps I shall see when