Page:Legends of Old Testament Characters.djvu/338

316 body like his skin, and it was impenetrable to the thrust of every weapon.

David put upon him his armour, and lay down in his bed. He slept, but was awakened at midnight by the knife of Saul stabbing at him as he lay. He sprang up, struck the weapon from the hands of his father-in-law, and thrust him forth out of the house.

After this, Saul came to Michal and said, "He was not asleep, or I certainly would have slain him. Admit me again into his chamber at night."

Michal went to David and told him all, with many tears.

Then said David, "I must escape from my house, for my life is not in security here. But do thou fill a leather bottle with wine, and lay it in my bed."

Michal did so; she took a large skin of wine and placed it in the bed, and drew the cover over it. But David fled away to Hebron.

And in the night came Saul, and he felt the clothes, and he thought it was David in the bed, so he stabbed at him with his knife, and the wine ran out in the bed. Then Saul smelt it, and he said, "How much wine the fellow drank for his supper!"

But when he found that David had escaped him once more, he was wroth, and he gathered men together, and pursued after him; in his anger, moreover, he sought to kill Michal, but she fled away and concealed herself.

Saul pursued David in the mountains, but David knew all the caves and lurking-places, and Saul was unable to catch him. One night, David crept into the camp and thrust four arrows, inscribed with his name, into the ground, round the head of Saul. When Saul awoke, he saw these arrows, and he said, "David has been here; he might have slain me had he willed it."

During the day, Saul came upon his enemy in a narrow valley; he was mounted, and he pursued David, who was on foot. David fled as fast as he could run, and managed to reach a cave a few moments before Saul could reach it. Then God sent a spider, which spun a web over the mouth of the cave; and Saul saw it and passed on, saying,