ich she had roamed, and for a moment both were
silent.

At the turning of the road a man appeared. At the sight of Judas he
halted, then called him excitedly by name.

"It is Mathias," Judas muttered, and got to his feet. The man hurried to
them. He was broad of shoulder and of girth, the jaw lank and earnest. His
eyes were small, and the lids twitched nervously. He was out of breath,
and his garments were dust-covered.

"Where is the Master?" he asked; and at once, without waiting a reply, he
added: "I have just seen Johanna. Her husband told her that the tetrarch
is seeking him; he thinks him John, and would do him harm. We must go from
here."

Judas assented. "Yes, we must all go. Mary, it may be a penance, but it is
his will."

Mathias gazed inquiringly at them both.

"It is his will," Judas repeated, authoritatively.

Mary turned away and caught her forehead in her hands. "If this is a
penance," she murmured, "what then are his rewards?"

CHAPTER VII.

VII.

On the floor of a little room Mary lay, her face to the ground. In her
ears was the hideousness of a threat that had fastened on her abruptly
like a cheetah in the dark. From below came the sound of banqueting.
Beyond was the Bitter Sea, the stars dancing in its ripples; and there in
the shadow of the evergreens was the hut in which that Sephorah lived to
whom long ago Martha had forbidden her to speak. Through the lattice came
the scent of olive-trees, and with it the irresistible breath of spring.

In its caress the threat which had made her its own presently was lifted,
and mingling with other things fused into them. The kaleidoscope of time
and events which visits those that drown possessed her, and for a second
Mary relived a year.

There had been the sudden flight from Magdala, the first days with the
Master, the gorges of the Jordan, the journey to the coast, the glittering
green scales of that hydra the sea. Then the loiterings on the banks of
the sacred Leontes, the journey back to Galilee, the momentary halt at
Magdala, the sail past Bethsaida, Capharnahum, Chorazin, the fording of
the river, the trip to Caesarea Philippi, the snow and gold of Hermon, the
visit to Gennesareth, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the return to
Bethany.

Her recollections intercrossed, scenes that were trivial ousted others
that were grave; the purple limpets of Sidon, the shrine