friend, that you and I know
each other too well for me to let you go back to Jerusalem. You would
then have too great a desire to have me with you. You would send out
the Romans to search for me, and bring me to the beautiful city. The
desert is much more to my taste: life is pleasanter there. Now, tell
me where the bags of coin such as a man like you always carries about
with him are hidden. No? Then you may go to sleep."

He who went forth to seek eternal life is now in danger of losing
mortal life. In terror of death, cold sweat on his brow, he began to
haggle for his life with the desert king. He not only offered all that
he had with him. The next caravans were bringing him rare spices and
incense; bars of gold, diamonds, and pearls were coming in the Indian
ships, and he would send all out to the desert, as well as beautiful
women slaves, with jewels to deck their throats. Only he must be
allowed to keep his bare life.

Grinning and wrinkling up his snub nose, Barabbas let it be understood
that he was not to be won with women and promises--he was no longer
young enough. Neither would he have any executioner dispatched in
search of him--he was not old enough. And he had his weaknesses. He
could not decide which would suit the noble citizen's slender, white
neck best, metal or silk. He took a silken string from the pocket of
his cloak, while two Bedouins roughly held Simeon.

Meanwhile, outside the camp, the second chief was packing the stolen
treasure on the camels by torchlight. Whenever he stumbled over a dead
body he muttered a curse, and when his work was finished he sought his
comrade. Women in chains wept loudly, not so much on account of their
imprisonment--they took that almost as a matter of course--but because
their master was being murdered in the tent. So the second chief
snatched a torch from a servant, hastened to the tent, and arrived just
in the nick of time.

"Barabbas!" he exclaimed, taking hold of the murderer, "don't you
remember what we determined? We only kill those who fight; we do not
kill defenceless persons."

Barabbas removed his thin arms from his victim and in a tearful voice
grumbled: "Dismas, you are dreadful. I'm old now, and am I to have no
more pleasure?"

Dismas said meaningly: "If the old man does not keep his agreement, the
troop will have its pleasure, and, for a change, swing him who likes to
be called king of the desert."

That had the desired effec