Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/377

Rh men have spat; and them wouldst deceive the whole nation for thy own power's sake, and thou wouldst hound pure-living souls to their destruction, so that thou and thy tool, Annas, may hold in chains each Jewish heart; and, when thou diest—as thou must surely die—to thee it will not matter whether or not there be a resurrection, for thou wilt never rise again, since neither heaven nor hell could hold so base a soul. So now thou knowest, Caiaphas, what I think of thee, and with that I bid thee farewell. Henceforward, except in the Sanhedrim, we shall meet no more, for Romans like not cowards; and, if there be a resurrection, all I pray is that thou and I may never meet at it."

With these words, Pilate left the room, and the little priest, who was huddled up in his seat, and looking more like ape than exasperated man, and so amazed, so swelling with rage and hate, that voice and tongue refused their office.

And, when Pilate had reached the street, he raised his head and took a long, deep breath, as though he had been inspiring in the High Priest's chamber some foul, death-dealing gas.