Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/335

Rh "What is that to us?" said one. "See thou to that."

"Thou hast thy money; go thy way. Thou hast done thy work well and art well paid. Begone!" another said.

Then, with such lightning rapidity that none could stop him, with fingers trembling with excitement, he undid the mouth of the bag, his hands and fingers shaking so that he could hardly do it; and, before any could stop him, he had thrown the silver from the window into the courts of the Temple, where it clinked on the tesselated pavement with a sound that seemed to cry out: '"Blood money, blood money."

At that, a number of the priests ran out tumultuously, jostling each other like a herd of blinded cattle, to gather up the money before the people should be admitted to the Temple in the morning. But Caiaphas only shrugged his shoulders and smiled scornfully, as though the thirty pieces of silver and the presence of the madman were no affair of his.

Only the Nazarene turned an eye of pity on the wretched man; and, when that look of love and mercy fell upon the traitor, he bent his head and shuffled from the room.

Then, to end the horrible situation, Caiaphas gave a sign to the soldiers to lead the Christ away to the guard-room, where He would remain till early the next morning, when His trial before Pilate would take place.

Weary with all His drawn-out agony, anguished with the foretaste of a death of torture on the morrow, the Son of God was not yet allowed to rest.