“That he did,” cried Cimon who could no longer maintain his attitude of aloofness. “Next to Pausanias himself, there was no braver in the ranks of the Greeks!”
The stranger’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm and he bent upon Zopyrus a look of deep admiration. Suddenly he stood up and though he leaned on his cane, the young men were surprised at his lofty stature.
“Do you intend to worship the gods of Greece? I see you have made a start by journeying here to this shrine of pagan idolatry.” He looked about him, his sharp features expressive of scorn and disapproval.
Cimon took an aggressive step toward the two, but Zopyrus stretched forth his hand deterringly.
“Tell me what you mean,” Zopyrus asked, a suspicion of the truth beginning to dawn upon him.
The ancient pilgrim dropped his staff, and raising his arms toward the heavens, cried, “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain.”
He turned and pointed with one outstretched arm in the direction of the oracle, and with the other extended heavenward he continued: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all the languages of the nation, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, “We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
The last words trembled into a silence that neither of the men dared to break. The awful solemnity and stern conviction of this prophet of a foreign race filled them with indescribable fear. They stood in reverent attitude before this worthy seer whose inspired words caused the possible utterances of the demented Pythoness to sink into utter insignificance. When the young men ventured to look up, the aged one was disappearing around the edge of the fountain in the opposite direction from which the two had come.
“Wait a moment,” called Zopyrus. “Who are you, worthy sir, who have only strengthened convictions which I already possessed?”
The prophet smiled and his face seemed alight with an inner radiance as he replied, “They call me Zechariah.”