"Was it when you sold your farm that you became a fisherman, Gideon?" asked James.
"Yes. I almost had to serve a term of bondage."
The gentile jerked up his head and said, "Were you a slave?"
"No, but my brother bound himself for twelve years," answered Gideon, looking at the gentile curiously.
"Do the bondslaves make much trouble here?" he asked.
Zebedee looked at him very closely. "In Galilee the slaves do not cause riots. The Jews do."
James explained. "In Palestine there are more free men than slaves. Hunger causes most riots. But in a way, our whole nation is a slave to Rome." His eyes challenged the gentile and no one missed his meaning when he spoke again. "A nation can't run away from its master the way a slave can."
The gentile started. He glanced swiftly around the group. The men were looking at him suspiciously.
"Are you a runaway slave?" demanded Zebedee point-blank.