Greatly relieved, the whole group left the road and in a moment were inside the shelter. "We are lucky to find this," said James, throwing the cover off his face. "It is getting cooler, and the wind is changing."
The disciples had hardly caught their breath when they heard a familiar sound. "Sheep!" exclaimed Philip. An instant later a tightly packed flock of frightened sheep crowded into the shed. It overflowed in a moment, but the bleating animals kept on pushing in. Suddenly their shepherd stood in the midst of the men.
"Oh!" He was completely surprised at finding people in his shed.
"We were looking for shelter from the wind and rain," explained Peter.
"Oh ... why yes!" replied the man. He was embarrassed in the presence of all these strangers. "This is a very poor old shed," he said, smiling apologetically. Shyly he turned away from the disciples and began to count his sheep.
The men watched. He was very slow and started over again three times. They smiled at each other as though to say, "A simple fellow, isn't he?"
The flimsy little shelter rocked under the gusts of the gale, now at its height. The shepherd was too busy counting to notice. Suddenly he jerked up straight. "There is one missing!" Before the disciples could stop him, he plunged into the windy darkness.
"Come back!" shouted James.
"One is missing!" A heavy gust almost drowned the shepherd's reply.
"You'll get hurt!" The man was gone. "How can he ever find his way?" protested James to the others. "There are gullies and high rocks! He will be killed in the dark!"