Judas said in his
ordinary tone, at once fawning and mocking--

"There is surely none stronger than Peter? When he shouts, all the asses
in Jerusalem think that their Messiah has arrived, and lift up their
voices too. You have heard them before now, have you not, Thomas?"

Smiling politely; and modestly wrapping his garment round his chest,
which was overgrown with red curly hairs, Judas stepped into the circle
of players.

And since they were all in high good humour, they met him with mirth and
loud jokes, and even John condescended to vouchsafe a smile, when Judas,
pretending to groan with the exertion, laid hold of an immense stone.
But lo! he lifted it with ease, and threw it, and his blind, wide-open
eye gave a jerk, and then fixed itself immovably on Peter; while the
other eye, cunning and merry, was overflowing with quiet laughter.

"No! you throw again!" said Peter in an offended tone.

And lo! one after the other they kept lifting and throwing gigantic
stones, while the disciples looked on in amazement. Peter threw a
great stone, and then Judas a still bigger one. Peter, frowning and
concentrated, angrily wielded a fragment of rock, and struggling as
he lifted it, hurled it down; then Judas, without ceasing to smile,
searched for a still larger fragment, and digging his long fingers into
it, grasped it, and swinging himself together with it, and paling, sent
it into the gulf. When he had thrown his stone, Peter would recoil and
so watch its fall; but Judas always bent himself forward, stretched out
his long vibrant arms, as though he were going to fly after the stone.
Eventually both of them, first Peter, then Judas, seized hold of an old
grey stone, but neither one nor the other could move it. All red with
his exertion, Peter resolutely approached Jesus, and said aloud--

"Lord! I do not wish to be beaten by Judas. Help me to throw this
stone."

Jesus made answer in a low voice, and Peter, shrugging his broad
shoulders in dissatisfaction, but not daring to make any rejoinder, came
back with the words--

"He says: 'But who will help Iscariot?'"

Then glancing at Judas, who, panting with clenched teeth, was still
embracing the stubborn stone, he laughed cheerfully--

"Look what an invalid he is! See what our poor sick Judas is doing!"

And even Judas laughed at being so unexpectedly exposed in his
deception, and all the others laughed too, and even Thomas allowed his
pointed, grey, overhanging mous