uilding. It was Doeg, the Edomite, Saul's savage herdsman, who
David felt sure had recognised him. A chill of foreboding crept over
David and made him at once demand arms from the peaceful priest. There
were none to give except Goliath's sword, which David had taken from
the giant when he killed him, and which had been there at Nob, wrapped
in a cloth, ever since. With eager joy, David exclaimed:

"There is none like _that_, give it to me!" and seizing the matchless
weapon, he fled with it, knowing that Doeg was even then hastening to
Saul with news of his whereabouts, and that soon Saul's messengers
would be in hot pursuit of him. His next move was a bold one. Leaving
Nob, he and his few followers struck across the country in a southwesterly
direction, keeping well within the dense forests, until they looked
down on the city of Gath. David's condition was desperate now and he
resorted to desperate measures. The nearest Philistine city was Gath;
the glen where he had killed the giant was close beside him. It was a
dangerous thing to trust himself in Gath with Goliath's sword dangling
in his belt but David was nothing if not courageous. Danger in some
form he must face, the Israelites were behind, the Philistines before
him, and he made the plunge and took refuge in Gath. But the move was a
fatal one, his identity was at once discovered, to have his life he
resorted to the least heroic trick of his whole life. Pretending to be
a madman, he raved and stormed and twisted about with horrible
contortions, pounded upon the gates of the city, let the spittle run
down on his beard, and acted his insane part so perfectly that he
completely deceived the King, who laughed at the report that this was
David, the Israelite, and ordered him sent from the city, saying that
there were enough madmen in it for all practical uses.

David's hasty flight ends this episode and we can fancy his sigh of
relief when he had once again escaped so narrowly from danger.

Once more a fugitive, and a real outlaw now, he took refuge in the cave
of Adullam, where as soon as it became known that he had taken up an
outlaw's life, he was at once joined by a number of men who for some
reason were either discontented with their position at court, or
fugitives from justice, and had trust in David's ability to achieve
victories over enemies and circumstances. Even his own brothers, who
had hated and envied him in his earlier days, and his parents, who were
n