my eyes." After pausing a moment Zador
pointed toward the steps and said, "Look, seest thou the woman with a
man on each side of her? She weareth white with a veil. And the one
man is a Rabbi with uncovered head and carrying a staff. The other
weareth a blue turban with fringed sash on the side. See them? Midway
of the third step they stand. Let us move toward them."

Keeping to the outer edge of the animated throng, Zador soon came to a
place from which, by standing on the base of a pillar he could see over
the heads of the people. "Yea," he said to his companion, "it is
Lazarus and his sister as I thought. And at his heels is the other
sister with her man. Now I will get me on the track of my anklet.
Watch thou my standing place while I call a guard." Leaving the Temple
lawyer by the pillar, Zador Ben Amon soon found a guard to whom he
said, "The woman in the white cloak and veil who walketh between the
Rabbi uncovered, and the man in blue head-dress, with a sash, hath in
times past vexed me sore because of a lost anklet which she prayed me
to find for her. Since I have seen her last, good fortune may have
brought her the trinket. This would I know. For her right leg just
above the ankle was it made. Pass thou behind her as she maketh her
way to Nicantor. There are fifteen steps, on one of these shalt thou
overtake her. When thou hast done so, lift thou her skirt and--if she
be offended, swear that thou didst it unwittingly. If she wear not the
anklet, lift thy sword as though thou wouldst open a way for a priest.
If it be there, make haste to tell me and a piece of gold shall be
thine. I will watch thee from the base-stone of the fourth pillar."

So it happened that as the group from Bethany stood for a moment midway
of the marble steps to look forward to the shining altar and backward
at the surging crowd, some one lifted the skirt of Mary. "What meanest
thou," she exclaimed, turning to face a Temple guard. "He hath lifted
my skirt," was her angry explanation as her brother and the Rabbi
turned to the offender.

"Not of purpose did I, but from the press of the crowd," was his answer.

"Nay, with thy hands didst thou do it. I felt the touch of thy
fingers."

Leaving Lazarus and Joel to have words over the matter, the Rabbi moved
quickly a step higher and cast his eyes across the moving throng to the
outskirts where he saw a thick-set man who wore a royal blue cloak and
gold embroidered head