Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/354

342 "Askest thou me, whom the Lord hath raised, whether I believe He is the Son of God?" said Lazarus.

"Wast thou really dead?" asked Pilate.

"Dead? Yea," said Lazarus. "Four days in the tomb, and my spirit departed into Hades."

"Is there, then, another world?" asked Pilate breathlessly; "a world of life and death?"

"Another world in truth," said Lazarus. "A world of light and peace and righteousness and joy for evermore.

"Oh!" Pilate cast himself down before his table and, throwing his hands outstretched across it, placed his head upon them and cried out: "And I have crucified Him! I have crucified Him!"

At that moment in the distance rose a hideous yell the yell of triumph at sated hate. It fell on Lazarus's ears like sharp-edged stones. He knew it for the death-knell of the Christ. Claudia started, then wrung her hands and cried out: "He is dead! The Son of God is dead!"

Then down on his knees fell Lazarus, and bowed himself to the ground. And now occurred a wondrous thing: the house swayed backwards and forwards, as though it were like to fall, so fearful was its rocking.

Claudia stretched out her hands in awe and horror to her husband, but, the while, a darkness, a solid darkness, with no faint glimmerings of struggling light, had fallen between her and him.

Lazarus!" she cried, "Lazarus, Pilate, what meaneth this?"

And Lazarus's voice beside her said: "Fear not,