Saul would not listen. David's music did not
make him well as it had before, but rather worse, for he was full of
suspicion of his young chief, and hated the sight of him. But the
king's friends thought David's music was the best thing to restore the
king to health.

Now the dark-faced king was never without a weapon near his hand; and
holding his long spear, he would sit and listen to the young harper,
now pleased, now angry, for he sometimes liked David and sometimes
hated him. Twice he seized a little spear and flung it at him, crying
out that he would pin him to the wall; but his aim was bad. Perhaps he
did not mean to harm him; but at all events David avoided the weapon
and ran out.

The king in his sickness of mind next became afraid of his young
captain. Wishing to have him out of his sight, he set him over a band
of a thousand fighting-men, and bade him live with them at a distance.
But the men who were under David liked him more than ever.

King Saul now wished that David was dead, so fiercely did he hate him;
but he did not think it wise to kill him himself, so he made a plan to
get him killed. He offered him his daughter Merab for a wife, if he
would go down the hills and fight the Philistines in their own country;
and the crafty king said this, hoping that they would kill him.

Now David had no wish to marry Merab, but he loved fighting, so he went
willingly, fought stoutly with the Philistines, and came back alive.
Then Saul broke his promise, and gave Merab to another man, who gave
him a rich present, as was the custom when a king's daughter was
wedded; and David was not sorry, for Michal, Merab's younger sister,
loved the brave young captain, and he loved her in return.

Saul was pleased when he heard of this; for he hoped David would be
willing to go into greater danger to win Michal as his wife. And he
sent a messenger to tell David that he was well pleased with him, and
would like him to marry Michal; and that as he was too poor to give the
king a present, he would not ask him for one. But if he would kill one
hundred Philistines within a certain time, that would stand for a
present.

We are not told what Michal thought of this cruel bargain, for Saul
hoped and believed that David would be killed, but David himself was
well pleased. He and his young men went down the long valleys to the
land of the Philistines, where they went about killing people, until
they had slain two hundred; and