Joseph tried to picture to himself the scene when
Moses, on the summit of the mountain, received the
tables of stone from Jehovah. Then a cloud slowly
covered the mountain top as if to veil the secret.
Joseph was ashamed of his presumption and kept silence.
Before he departed he cut a bough from the thorn-bush
and pulled off the leaves and twigs, so that it formed
a pilgrim’s staff for the rest of the journey.
They were always meeting new dangers. And one
day a hunter of the desert came running after them.
They were not frightened of his tiger skin, but of
what he had to tell them. If they had come from
Judaea with their boy, they had better hasten into
the land of Egypt, for Herod’s men were on their
track. So they had no rest until at last they
came to the land of the Pharaohs. But one day
they found themselves not on its frontier, but on
the seashore. They were dumb with astonishment.
There lay the sea, its waves dashing against the black,
jagged cliffs, and beyond them was a smooth, level
plain as far as the eye could see.
Once in the past fugitives had stood on the other
side of the sea, their enemies behind them.
And Joseph lifted up his arms and called upon the
God of his forefathers to divide the waters of the
sea once again and make a passage for them.
Belief in the God of ancestors is strong. He
appealed also to his ancestors themselves and entreated
them to come to his assistance, for are we not one
with them and strong in the same faith? But
the sea lay in calm repose and divided not. Six
horsemen came riding over the sand, shouting for joy
at the thought of their reward, when they saw those
they had so long pursued standing by the water, unable
to proceed farther. Quickly they approached the
shore, and were about to let fly the stones from their
slings against the couple who had the little King
of the Jews with them, when they saw the fugitives
descend the wave-dashed cliffs and go out upon the
surface of the sea. The man led the ass on which
sat the woman with the child, and just as they passed
over the sand of the desert, with even steps, they
passed over the waters of the sea.
Their pursuers rode after them in blind rage, urged
their horses into the sea, and were the first to reach—not
Egypt, but the other world.
CHAPTER VI
The family of the poor carpenter from Nazareth stood
on the soil of ancient Egypt. How had they crossed
the sea? Joseph thought in a fishing boat, but
it had all happened as in a dream. He opened
his eyes, and sought the mountains of Nazareth, and
saw the dark grove of palm-trees with their bare trunks
and sword-shaped leaves, and he saw the gate flanked
by enormous stone figures which, lying on their bellies,
stretched out two paws in front of them and lifted
huge human heads high in the air. He saw the
triangular form of the pyramids rise against the yellow
background. Strange odours filled the air, as
well as shrill noises made by fantastic figures, and
every sound struck hard and sharp on the ear.
Joseph’s heart was heavy. His home was
abandoned, and they were in a strange land in which
they must certainly be lost.
