Chapter 10

He came upon a farrier’s shop and found a greying man of fifty or more at his forge, mending a broken cistern-wheel, probably a matter of some urgency. Always interested in farriers’ shops, he paused in the open doorway. The man looked up from his work and nodded amiably. It was a pleasant surprise to be greeted in this friendly manner, and Voldi sauntered in.

‘Stranger in these parts?’ The farrier gave the bellows-rope another tug and pointed to a seat on an old tool-chest.

‘Yes—I am an Arabian.’ Voldi thought it better to have this awkward subject disposed of without delay.

‘We don’t see many,’ said the farrier. ‘Are you staying with us awhile, sir?’

‘Tonight only. I am on my way from Caesarea to Tiberias.’

‘The Tetrarch came through here a couple of days ago. Quite a procession. Going to Rome. Perhaps you know about it.’

Voldi said he did.

‘Ever been in Tiberias?’ asked the farrier.

‘No. I suppose you have been there many a time.’

‘Never. But I mean to go—tomorrow. That’s why I’m working late. Big doings over there, these days. Perhaps you’ve had wind of it along the way. Our prophet, Jesus, has been talking to great multitudes.’

‘Your prophet? Meaning that you believe in him? Have you heard him?’

‘I’ve known him since he was a baby! This is his home!’ The farrier put his hammer down on the anvil and leaned comfortably against his work-bench, relishing the stranger’s evident interest in him.

‘Is it true that he performs miracles?’ asked Voldi. ‘I’ve heard a rumour to that effect.’

‘That’s what I want to know,’ said the farrier soberly. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me much; though he never did anything strange here in Nazareth. He is a carpenter, a good one too.’ He pointed through the open window behind Voldi, who turned to look. ‘That’s the shop, over there, across the road. It’s his father’s. And it was his father’s before him. Jesus has worked there ever since he was a youngster—until a few months ago.’

‘Anything queer about him?’ encouraged Voldi.

‘He was a dreamy little fellow,’ remembered the farrier, averting his eyes. ‘The other children liked him though. As a lad he used to tell them stories.’