of their Master, or the consciousness of their own
uprightness, or whether it was simply blindness, the alarming words of
Judas were met with a smile, and his continual advice provoked only
a grumble. When Judas procured, somewhere or other, two swords, and
brought them, only Peter approved of them, and gave Judas his meed of
praise, while the others complained:

"Are we soldiers that we should be made to gird on swords? Is Jesus a
captain of the host, and not a prophet?"

"But if they attempt to kill Him?"

"They will not dare when they perceive how all the people follow Him."

"But if they should dare! What then?"

John replied disdainfully--

"One would think, Judas, that you were the only one who loved Jesus!"

And eagerly seizing hold of these words, and not in the least offended,
Judas began to question impatiently and hotly, with stern insistency:

"But you love Him, don't you?"

And there was not one of the believers who came to Jesus whom he did not
ask more than once: "Do you love Him? Dearly love Him?"

And all answered that they loved Him.

He used often to converse with Thomas, and holding up his dry, hooked
forefinger, with its long, dirty nail, in warning, would mysteriously
say:

"Look here, Thomas, the terrible hour is drawing near. Are you prepared
for it? Why did you not take the sword I brought you?"

Thomas would reply with deliberation:

"We are men unaccustomed to the use of arms. If we were to take issue
with the Roman soldiery, they would kill us all, one after the other.
Besides, you brought only two swords, and what could we do with only
two?"

"We could get more. We could take them from the Roman soldiers," Judas
impatiently objected, and even the serious Thomas smiled through his
overhanging moustache.

"Ah! Judas! Judas! But where did you get these? They are like Roman
swords."

"I stole them. I could have stolen more, only some one gave the alarm,
and I fled."

Thomas considered a little, then said sorrowfully--

"Again you acted ill, Judas. Why do you steal?"

"There is no such thing as property."

"No, but to-morrow they will ask the soldiers: 'Where are your swords?'
And when they cannot find them they will be punished though innocent."

The consequence was, that after the death of Jesus the disciples
recalled these conversations of Judas, and determined that he had wished
to destroy them, together with the Master, by inveigling them into an
unequal and mur