But I am curious.
Why?"
"Because, my lord Marcus, this Caleb will grow into the most dangerous
man in Judaea, and to none more dangerous than to my lady Miriam and
yourself. You should have killed him while you had the chance, before
his turn comes to kill you."
"Perhaps," answered Marcus with a yawn; "but, friend Nehushta, I have
been associating with a Christian and have caught something of her
doctrines. That seems a fine sword. You had better keep it. Good-night."
CHAPTER IX
THE JUSTICE OF FLORUS
On the following morning, when the roll of the neophytes of the Essenes
was called, Caleb did not appear. Nor did he answer to his name on the
next day, or indeed ever again. None knew what had become of him until
a while after a letter was received addressed to the Curators of the
Court, in which he announced that, finding he had no vocation for an
Essenic career, he had taken refuge with friends of his late father, in
some place not stated. There, so far as the Essenes were concerned, the
matter ended. Indeed, as the peasant who was concealed in the gully when
the Jew was murdered had talked of what he had witnessed, even the most
simple-minded of the Essenes could suggest a reason for this sudden
departure.
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