The roll dropped to the ground, and he hid his face in his hands, crying, "How long must I endure this? Oh, why was I not taken instead of Lazarus?"
The sound of some one scrambling over the rocks made him look up quickly.
Seth never made his visits at this time of the day, and strangers had never before found the path to this out-of-the-way place.
Joel came on, and stopped by the rock where the water-jar stood.
Simon stood up, covering himself with his mantle, and crying out, warningly, "Beware! Unclean! Come no further!"
"I bring you news from the village," said Joel. The man threw out his hand with a gesture of alarm.
"Oh, not of my wife Esther," he cried, imploringly, "or of my little Joseph! I could not bear to hear aught of ill from them. My heart is still sore for the death of my friend Lazarus. I went as near the village as I dared, and heard the dirge of the flutes and the wailing of the women, when they laid him in the tomb. I have sat here ever since in sackcloth and ashes."
"But Lazarus lives again!" exclaimed Joel, simply. He had seen so many miracles lately, that he forgot the startling effect such an announcement would have on one not accustomed to them.
"'YOU BUT MOCK ME, BOY'"