"You know Pilate refuses to interfere with our dogmatic religious troubles, but if we clamor before him he will favor the voice of the people. For several days I have been unable to detain the intruder, either with officer or mob violence, but at last I have, through patience and perseverance, sought out an agent, even Judas Iscariot, his most confidential disciple, who is now in waiting at the gate, to lead a band of our most vicious brigands to bring him before me, when through previously instructed witnesses I will condemn him and turn him over to Pilate. Now listen,—my scheme is that the same assassins, led by Judas Iscariot, will crowd every available space of standing room in Pilate's court, and clamor for his conviction. These assassins Pilate will suppose to be the common people and of course will yield to their demand and permit his execution, while we, his countrymen, will shed a tear that the Romans have crucified a Jew."
"Our captains tomorrow will summon the squad of ruffians, who will exact one piece of silver each, except Judas, who is wrangling for 100 pieces, but will accept much less."
"The plan I would suggest is that tomorrow evening our gate-keepers be instructed to retain the squad inside the city walls until our common people are asleep, then when the Galileans are crossing the Cedron, fall upon them and bring him in for examination, and I, after a mock trial, will turn him over to Pilate."
THE MOB FALL UPON JESUS
The following evening Joseph and Nicodemus, together with the Galileans and Bethany friends, having become anxious that Jesus and his disciples remained so late in the city, began a search. Finding all the gates closed for the night, they stopped before the gate beautiful and clamoured for admittance, but received no response.
Nicodemus, realizing the move as unusual, becomes alarmed and communed in low tones with the group thus: "I fear Caiaphas has assembled his family at the Sanhedrim and condemned Jesus and his disciples and put them all to death, for, the second time he assembled us, concerning Jesus, he advocated such a course. Let us now go to the Damascus gate on the north and if we are not admitted I know a watchman who has the key to the quarry dungeon, from which I can gain entrance through a secret chamber to the abandoned court of Bell, near to the home of Annas."
"What quarry dungeon?" inquired Magdalene, as she faced him, opening wide her large eyes in wonder.
"There is such a place," he replied. "Jerusalem is honeycombed by high, dark, shapeless vaults, from which Solomon quarried his foundation. It is beneath the city and the public have not been permitted to enter there for many years."