his ancestor from him. You laughed at me yesterday,
Granny, when I said I'd like to be a prophet. Now what do you say?
Answer me that. And he continued to look from one to the other for an
answer. But neither had the wit to find an answer, so amazed were they
at the news that the prophet Samuel had visited Joseph in a dream; and
satisfied at the impression he had made and a little frightened by their
silence Joseph stole out of the room, leaving his parents to place
whatever interpretation they pleased on his dream. Nor did he care
whether they believed he had spoken the truth. He was more concerned
with himself than with them, and conscious that something of great
importance had happened to him he ascended the stairs, pausing at every
step uncertain if he should return to ask for the whole of the story of
Saul's anointment. It seemed to him to lack courtesy to return to the
room in which he had seen the prophet, till he knew these things. But he
could not return to ask questions: later he would learn what had
happened to Samuel and Saul, and he entered the room, henceforth to him
a sacred room, and stood looking through it, having all the
circumstances of his dream well in mind: he was lying on his left side
when Samuel had risen up before him, and it was there, upon that spot,
in that space he had seen Samuel. His ancestor had seemed to fade away
from the waist downwards, but his face was extraordinarily clear in the
darkness, and Joseph tried to recall it. But he could only remember it
as a face that a spirit might wear, for it was not made up of flesh but
of some glowing matter or stuff, such as glow-worms are made of; nor
could he call it ugly or beautiful, for it was not of this world. He had
drawn the bed-clothes over his head, but--impelled he knew not why, for
he was nearly dead with fright--he had poked his head out to see if the
face was still there. The lips did not move, but he had heard a voice.
The tones were not like any heard before, but he had listened to them
all the same, and if he had not lost his wits again in an excess of fear
he would have put questions to Samuel: he would have put questions if
his tongue had not been tied back somewhere in the roof of his mouth.
But the next time he would not be frightened and pull the bed-clothes
over his head.

And convinced of his own courage he lay night after night thinking of
all the great things he would ask the old man and of the benefit he
would derive