ad seen what it was, she dropped
it to the floor and sprang back, screaming.

"Hast thou been stung by an adder?" Lazarus cried.

"Yea--yea. There it is!" and she pointed to a shining gold circlet
lying at the hem of Joseph's robe. Lazarus picked it up. A bit of
blue border with a purple stripe and a red pomegranate, whose ragged
edges showed that it had been torn from a garment, was twisted in one
side of it. Every eye in the room was on the circlet when Lazarus
placed it on the table, and they all gathered close around except Mary,
who stood back watching the faces of Lazarus and Joseph. Martha took
the bit of blue wool from the circlet, while Lazarus lifted up the gold
itself, and the two looked at each other in speechless questioning.
Then Lazarus turned to Mary.

"What is the mystery of this that our servant Eli hath found at the
mouth of a sheep ridden tomb?"

"Mary seeth little of mystery but much of danger in that which thy hand
holdeth," she answered.

"Thou gavest Zador Ben Amon back his betrothal anklet?"

"Yea, by putting it, unbeknown to him, in the border of his coat."

"Where it was tightly sewn the next day and hath remained in the dark
until torn out by the sharp thorn, methinks," said Martha.

As Joseph, standing by, heard this brief conversation, his face took on
a puzzled expression, seeing which Lazarus said, "Thou dost not
understand. Here is that which seemeth to uncover to us the enemy of
our friend Jesus. He is Zador Ben Amon, a Sadducee of power and a
money-lender of great wealth. The man did have his heart set on Mary
and did bring this anklet as a betrothal gift. But my sister loved him
not, nor listened to his proposal for marriage and this gift she gave
to him again."

"Yea, by putting it in the border of his cloak where methought he would
find it on the morrow."

Joseph looked at the anklet. Then he raised his eyes to the face of
Mary. "Thou didst not love the money-changer?"

"Nay! Nay!"

"Thy heart hath taken its way wisely. By this witness," and he tapped
the shining ring with his long forefinger, "he is," and the aged Rabbi
bent his shoulders until his face was even with that of Mary, "he is a
_murderer_!"

"Yea, yea--a murderer he is--_by this witness_," Mary promptly answered.

"Is this Jew whose sensuous advances thou hast repulsed, acquainted
with thy friendship for the Galilean?"

"I know not."

Joseph considered the matter a moment. When he spok