The Coming of the King | Page 5

justice to answer
the charge of sedition against the mighty Caesar and his king, thy
Herod."
"Nay, no king of mine is that Idumean fox whose brother's wife doth
defile his bed. Such for Rome, but not for Israel!"
"Dog of a Jew!"
"Swine of a Roman!"
For a moment the two measured glances. Then Jael was seized on each
side by one of the soldiers, the first spitting in his face with the
question, "Swine of a Roman am I?"
"Yea, verily--son of a she-swine," and Jael blew the contents of his
mouth in the face of the soldier, who struck him across the cheek with
his sword, exclaiming: "This for thy portion to-night, then the cross."
Grandmother Rachael had taken refuge on the oven step and was
wringing her hands and muttering prayers, while Sara was keeping as

close as possible to Jael.
"Have pity, sir," she begged of the soldier when the cross was
mentioned. "Have pity, he hath done thee no harm."
"Hold your tongue, woman," the soldier replied without looking at her,
"else the cross will be thy portion also."
"And to the cross I choose to go if there my Jael goeth," she replied.
Then the second soldier, casting admiring glances on Sara, said, "She is
a fair maiden; she shall be my spoil."
"Jove Almighty!" exclaimed the other, catching his sword-point in the
front of her bodice and laying it open. "A fair maiden indeed. Not thine,
but mine shall she be," and he motioned his fellow soldier to stand
back.
"The God of our fathers strike thee dead!" Jael shouted in wrath.
"The God of thy fathers! Ha! Ha! The God of thy fathers hath no more
power than yonder driveling granny. By Rome hath the God of thy
fathers been smitten. To Rome belongs the maiden."
"Of all the spoil," the soldier who had discovered the beauty of Sara
said to his companion, "of all the spoil that hath been taken between us,
you have the larger portion. I first saw the maiden. She shall be mine!"
"Nay, mine--first mine. Then shall she be yours."
"Lord God Almighty!" Jael cried. "Is it the name of my Sara your
polluted lips pass back and forth? Is it the virgin innocence of my
betrothed you would trade between you? Nay!"
And with a tremendous effort he freed himself and attacked the soldiers
with his naked hands. In the thick of the conflict, Sara, who had seized
the lamp, went out with it to search for the knife. In the dark the
struggle continued, but when Sara returned with the knife she found
Jael on the floor with blood running from a wound in the head. She

screamed, but no attention was paid her until her lover had been
securely enmeshed in the pile of fish nets and thrown upon the wooden
bench. Then the first soldier, wiping his brow and regaining his helmet,
said, "Now shall I take my own?" and he moved toward Sara.
Turning the point of the fishing knife against her breast she whispered,
"If thou takest me, thou takest me dead."
"'Twas I who first saw her," the second soldier protested, stepping up.
"Hold thy tongue," his companion exclaimed angrily, "else will I tie
thee in the fish net with the Jew. Art thou ready to go with me?" turning
toward Sara.
"Touch me not!" she commanded, drawing back.
The soldier laughed. "Touch thee not, when thou hast set my blood
running like fire? Touch thee not?" and he snatched the knife from her
hand and flung it into the pile of nets, as he said, "Flame doth become
thy cheek and fire thine eye! Come, nay--thou comest not? Then will
Jael hang on a cross. Then will Jael's flayed back draw many stinging
flies. Then will Jael's moans for water to cool his veins drained dry of
blood, make sweet music. Then will the smell of Jael's flesh draw dogs
with whetted fangs. Then--"
"Stop! Stay!" cried Sara. "Wilt thou spare Jael?"
"When thou art mine, then Jael shall be spared."
Sara turned to the bench. "Jael--Jael--Jael," she called, drawing her
long hair across her face.
"Tangle not thy fair tresses. Soft must they lie across my cheek when
thou art mine. Come," and the soldier lay hands upon her, but she
shrank away and throwing herself down beside the bench cried:
"Oh, Jael--Jael--save me!"
"Come here," the first soldier called to the second, "thy sword. A live

Roman is better than a dead Jew. Why wait we for the cross?"
Turning on her knees before the soldier, Sara caught the upraised sword
saying, "Nay--nay--spare him."
"Wilt thou come with me?"
"Yea--God of my fathers--God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I come!
But ere I leave my home forever, let me