"O thou," said Pontius, calmly, "go back to thy affairs. I care not greatly what Caius hath done with his gladiators. If indeed they have rebelled and if they are in Judea or Samaria, I will retake them for him in season for the games. The fault is not thine."
"O most noble Pontius," said the master of the games, "what sayest thou of the Greek? He came unto them, as I testified."
"What is that to thee?" responded the procurator haughtily. "Care thou for thy beasts and thy cages. See that thou speak not at all to him of this matter when thou seest him. Go thy way!"
The master of the games trembled somewhat as he went forth and Pontius followed him not with his eyes, but muttered to himself:
"The Greek hath made good his token of a man from the circus. I will now wait for a word from Joppa, but I will not question him imprudently when he returneth from Cæsarea."
Heavy matters were now coming before him, and among them all was none which seemed to trouble him more than did certain testimonies concerning the evil deeds of robbers from the wilderness of Judea.
"O ye Jews!" exclaimed the angry magistrate. "How shall I execute justice when so many of you are in league with these evil-doers? In this city is the refuge of these wicked men. Who will capture for me this Bar Abbas that I may crucify him? He hath kindred among you and ye shelter him!"
Loud were the indignant protests which replied to him from scribes and rabbis and rulers, but far back, near the entrance of the hall of judgment, were twain who listened eagerly.
"Father Abraham!" hoarsely whispered one of these. "I may not upon any account bring my matter before him. Even now is my son at my house and he brought much profit with him. He is worth more to me than are all the robbers of Gilboa or the tribes beyond Jordan. He must not fall into the hands of these Roman heathen lest I also be destroyed. The God of Israel be my protector against the enemy!"
Searching eyes were upon him, but the thought in the mind of Ulric, the son of Brander, was: "Well for me that I fell in with him as I left the house of Ben Ezra. Well that I followed him even here. Now will I not cease until I know his abiding place."