The Kingdom and the Crown by Gerald N. Lund

Author:Gerald N. Lund [Lund, Gerald N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2012-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Appearances are deceiving.

—Aesop’s Fables; from the story about the wolf in sheep’s clothing

I

In the wilderness of Judea 14 March, a.d. 31

Simeon raised his head slightly, peering through the thin cover of the bush across the ravine. The opposite ridge was a hundred feet higher than the spot where Simeon and Yehuda hid; directly level with them was the dark shape of a massive cave. To the right about fifty paces and somewhat below the entrance to the cave, a mixed flock of sheep and goats was scattered along the steep slope. A young shepherd boy, no more than twelve years old, was just ahead of the animals. He seemed oblivious to the gaping opening as he picked up a rock and threw it at a goat that was getting a little too far away from him. The bleating of the animals carried easily to Simeon and Yehuda across the space of the narrow canyon.

“Steady,” Yehuda whispered, speaking not to Simeon but to the boy.

It took the flock another three or four minutes to make their way right up to the cave’s entrance. The boy looked around quickly, then tentatively took a step forward. They heard him call out softly in the melodic tongue of the Arabians. Then he disappeared. If anyone was inside, something Simeon was sure was not the case, the boy was to say he had lost one of his goats and was checking to see if it had strayed inside the great cave.

A moment later the boy reappeared. He beckoned them to come.

Simeon waved back, then sprang up into a crouch. “Let’s go.” Yehuda was instantly up as well. He stood, looking down the canyon, then waved an arm. About half a mile away, a figure stood and waved back. That was Issachar, the second of Simeon’s lieutenants. All was clear in that direction. They both turned, and Yehuda waved again. Above them, another figure waved. That was Barak. All clear up there as well.

Yehuda walked back several paces to where a lumpy bundle laid on the ground. Something was wrapped in a heavy wool blanket and tied securely with hemp ropes.

“Here,” Simeon said, moving back to join him. “I’ll take that.”

“No, you get the bellows and the branches. I’ve got this.” He hefted it up onto his shoulders, then jerked his head away. “Whew!” he exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “I thought you said the blanket would keep the smell in.”

Simeon grinned. “That was my hope.”

“This is awful. Maybe you had better take it.”

“Oh, no.” Simeon backed away, one hand over his mouth. “You volunteered.” He picked up the skin bellows they had purchased from a blacksmith in Jerusalem and the long branches they had cut from a Jerusalem pine two days before. “Let’s go.”

But as he started away, Yehuda didn’t move. Simeon stopped again. “What?”

“Are you sure this is what we ought to be doing?” There was no mistaking the distaste in Yehuda’s eyes. “Why not just wait for them to come back and jump them? We could hit them hard and be gone again before they even knew we were here.

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