coin lodge in an honest palm. Among
the money-lenders none was more keenly alive to his own interests than
Zador Ben Amon who by gift-giving and cunning had secured a place for
his long table near the steps leading from the Outer Court up to the
Beautiful Gate. In addition to this choice place of business, Ben Amon
had a gold and silver shop on the other side of the Outer Court and
half a dozen more scattered through the city. In each of these places
he had trusted salesmen and trusted watchers all of whom he himself
watched.

It was early on the morning following the day he had been publicly
proclaimed King with such a mighty demonstration, that Jesus made his
way over Olivet from Bethany to Jerusalem. As was his pleasure
oftentimes, he walked alone. The greater number who had followed him
the day before were Galileans and those who camped with them beyond the
city walls. These would not have business in the Temple until a later
hour nor did he expect recognition that would give him any publicity
from strangers or the busy tradesmen. Before the Golden Gate he paused
and lifted his eyes. On each side were handsome pillars said to have
been brought to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. But he was not thinking
of these. Perhaps he heard the glad hosannahs ringing as they had
sounded but a day before. Perhaps it was the bleating of young lambs
he heard; perhaps the voice of a woman as she bade him not be late at
the day's dinner where he was to be an honored guest.

Standing but a moment he passed under the gate and through the city
streets to the Temple. As he entered the portals of Solomon's Porch
the babel of many tongues, the ring of hammers and the hoarse shouting
of cattle drivers reached his ear and prepared his eye for the picture
of activity it would behold in the Outer Court. With every step he
took, the noise and confusion grew. Wishing to study the crowd without
himself being seen, he climbed on to the marble balustrade of the Outer
Court where it ran between two pillars and in the niche thus made
concealed himself.

Directly across from where he stood was the table of Zador Ben Amon
with two servants already in charge and a watcher to keep his eye on
the chests and bags under the table. At this stand business had
already begun. A Roman Jew had just left with his good Hebrew coin,
and an Egyptian had come up, when a woman with two men stopped in front
of the Galilean so that he could no longer