The Brook Kerith | Page 8

and come to the window
to tell him if day were not breaking; but she answered: get thee back to
thy bed, for 'tis the moon shining down the sky, simpleton. The sun
won't give way an hour to the moon nor the moon an hour to the sun
because thou'rt going to Arimathea. And methinks, Joseph, that to some

the morrow is always better than to-day, and yesterday better than
either,--a remark that puzzled Joseph and kept him from his rest. Didst
never hear, Joseph, that it is a clever chicken that crows in the egg? the
old woman continued, and who knows but Azariah will forget to come
for thee! He won't forget, Granny, Joseph uttered in so doleful a tone
that Rachel repented and promised Joseph she would wake him in time;
and as she had never failed to keep her promise to him he allowed sleep
to close his eyelids. And once asleep he was hard to awaken. At six in
the morning sleep seemed to him better than Arimathea, but once
awake Rachel could not hand him his clothes fast enough; he escaped
from her hands, dressing himself as he ran into the lanes, and while
tying his sandals at the gate he forgot them and stood at gaze,
wondering whether Azariah would come to fetch him on a horse or an
ass or a mule or a camel.
At last the sound of hooves came through the dusk, and a moment after
some three or four camels led the way; and there were horses too and
asses and mules, and the mules were caparisoned gaily, the one
reserved for Joseph's riding more richly than the others--a tall fine
animal by which he was proud to stand, asking questions of the
muleteer, while admiring the dark docile eyes shaded with black lashes.
Now why do we delay? he asked Azariah, who reminded him--and
somewhat tritely--that he had not yet said good-bye to his parents. But
they know I'm going with you, Sir, he answered. Azariah would not,
however, allow Joseph to mount his mule till he had bidden good-bye
to his father and grandmother, and he brought the boy back to the house,
but without earning Dan's approval, who was ashamed before Azariah
of his son's eagerness to leave home; a subtlety that escaped Rachel
who chided Dan saying: try to remember if it wasn't the same with thee,
for I can remember thine eyes sparkling at the sight of a horse and thy
knees all of an itch to be on to him. Well, said Dan, he'll have enough
riding before the day is over, and I reckon his little backside will be
sore before they halt at the gates of Arimathea; a remark that caused
Rachel to turn amazed eyes on her son and to answer harshly that since
he had so much foresight she hoped he had not forgotten to tell Azariah
that Joseph must have a long rest at midday. But thy face tells me no
order has been given for the care of the child on the journey. But

Azariah cannot be far on his way. I'll send a messenger to caution him
that Joseph has his rest in the shade.
Dan let her go in search of the messenger and moved around the room
hoping (he knew not why) that the messenger would not overtake the
caravan, the which he very nearly missed doing, for while Rachel was
instructing the messenger, Joseph was asking Azariah if he might have
a stick to belabour his mule into a gallop. The cavalcade, he said,
needed a scout that would report any traces of robbers he might detect
among the rocks and bushes. But we aren't likely to meet robber bands
this side of Jordan, Azariah said, they keep to the other side; and he
told Joseph, who was curious about everything, that along the Jordan
were great marshes into which the nomads drove their flocks and herds
in the spring to feed on the young grass. So they are there now, Joseph
replied meditatively, for he was thinking he would like better to ride
through marshes full of reeds than through a hilly country where there
was nothing to see but the barley-fields beset by an occasional olive
garth. But hooves were heard galloping in the rear and when the
messenger overtook the caravan and blurted out Rachel's instructions,
Joseph's face flushed. Now what can a woman know, he cried, about a
journey like this? Tell her, he said, turning to the messenger, that I shall
ride and rest with the others. And as an earnest of his resolve he struck
the messenger's horse so sharply across the quarters that the animal's
head went down between his knees and he plunged so violently