uld comfort a mother, her moaning
heart cried only, "He is dead! My son--my little Jehu--he is dead!"
And the suffering of the woman moved the heart of Claudia until tears
wet her face.

Gradually the number of passers-by grew less and by the conversation of
the stragglers Claudia knew that the body had been taken from the
cross. After what seemed hours of waiting, the eunuch returned to her.

"Long hast thou been gone!" she said.

"Yea, most noble Claudia, for it hath been given thy scarred servant to
take in his strong arm the body of the Galilean from his cross. Holy
service!"

"And he is dead--dead--" and Claudia's voice broke under its burden of
pain.

"Weep not! Weep not!" said the scarred eunuch. "Thy falling tears
drop heavily on thy servant's heart. Weep not."

"Thy kind heart hath never been the heart of a bond-slave," Claudia
sobbed. "But he is dead--he is _dead_!"

"Dead? Yea--and nay, for of his promise cometh the glorious hope that
turneth the waters of bitterness into the oil of joy and sobs into
singing."

"What promise is this?"

"On the third day he shall rise from the dead and come forth from the
grave."

"Rise from the dead! Come forth from the grave!" and Claudia lifted
her eyes in astonishment.

"Yea, most noble Claudia--alive forever more. When he hath so often
said, 'I and the Father are One,' he hath meant in power over life and
death, for hath he not said of his life, 'I have power to lay it down
and power to take it up again?'"

"He that is dead shall come forth to everlasting life?" Claudia
repeated as if dazed.

"Thou speakest. Of his divine love for humankind hath the Nazarene
laid down his life, that of the sacrifice may be knitted together the
hearts of all races and kinds of men into the Brotherhood for which he
lived and died. And when he shall take up that life, then will there
be victory over death and the grave forever more to all who believe.
According to the faith he hath taught hath the Galilean this day
achieved immortal victory. Wouldst thou see from whence the body of
the Conqueror hath been taken?"

"Yea, I would see."

He led the way up the road and as they turned on to the brow of the
hill, three upright crosses came boldly into view. On two of them hung
human forms with drooping heads from the half opened mouths of which a
tongue point protruded. Their hand palms were filled with clotted
blood and their legs, freshly mangled by the bone-