y heard, before nor since, one
whit of any such thing.

Then Elene spake and answered them in anger:--'I
shall say unto you truly, and never in your life
will this be false, that if ye who stand before me 575
persist long in this falsehood with lying craft, ye
shall be burned upon the hill in the hottest fury of
fire, and leaping flames shall consume your flesh, so
that for you this lie shall be changed into utter destruction. 580
Nor can ye prove those words which now
in your guile ye cover up under the cloak of evil.
Ye cannot hide the deed, nor conceal its mystic
power.'

10. ELENE AND JUDAS.

Then were they in the fear of death, of the
funeral-pyre, and the end of life; and there they 585
thrust forth one of exceeding wisdom in the lore
of old, whose name was Judas, sprung from noble
lineage; and they gave him up unto the queen,
and called him a man of wondrous learning: 'He
can show forth to thee the truth, unlock the secret
of the fates, expound the just law from the beginning 590
even to the end, according as thou dost ask
him. He is of noble race in the world, wise in
speech, the son of a prophet, outspoken in council.
And it is his nature to have sage answers and wisdom
of soul. He shall show forth to thee before 595
the multitude with his great power the gift of wisdom,
even as thy heart desireth.'

Then she let each man seek his own home in peace,
and took Judas alone as hostage. And she earnestly 600
bade him tell the truth concerning the cross,
which had been long buried in a secret place. Then
Elene, the glorious queen, drew him aside by himself,
and thus spake to the lonely man:--'Two ways 650
are ready for thee, either life or death, whichsoever
thou shalt please to choose. Declare quickly
now which one thou wilt accept.'

And Judas made answer unto her--nor could he
rid himself of sorrow and turn away the wrath of
his ruler, but he was in the power of the queen--: 610
'How shall it be with him who treadeth the moor
in a desert, weary, without food, and tortured
with hunger, if before his eyes a loaf and a stone
together seem hard and soft, and he knoweth them
not apart, but taketh the stone to ward off his 615
hunger, and marketh not the loaf, turneth to want
and forsaketh the food, refuseth the better when
he hath the choice of both?'

Then openly before the people