Chapter 17

‘You wouldn’t think she was crazy if you met her,’ said Voldi. ‘As for her bravery, she doesn’t value her life very highly. Fara is a woman without a country, you know. She cares little whether she lives or dies. The trouble is: she undoubtedly knows now that she cannot possibly succeed in her undertaking—and she has voluntarily cut herself off from Arabia…I know she loves me, Felix, and I would gladly die for her…Is it any wonder that I took a chance?’

Felix sat for some time with his elbows on his knees, digging his fingers into his close-cropped, curly hair; then he slowly raised his head to inquire:

‘Well—what’s to be done, if anything?’

‘It’s easily to be seen that there’s nothing I can do,’ said Voldi dejectedly. ‘If I could only get a letter to her, explaining why I cannot come; but a letter from me would certainly be intercepted and lead to an investigation of Fara’s business in Galilee.’

‘I have it!’ declared Felix impulsively. ‘You write the letter. I’ll take it to her.’

There was a quiet moment before Voldi replied. It was not natural for either the Arabian or the Roman to show any emotion. Laying a hand on Felix’s knee, Voldi murmured, ‘You are indeed a loyal friend, Felix! I hope this doesn’t get you into trouble.’

‘It’s time I had some trouble. A bit of adventure will be good for me…And this girl is well worth the risk.’

‘What will the Prefect think of you?’

‘He will be annoyed, I dare say; but I feel sure that if he were in my place he would do exactly what I intend to do…The Prefect,’ added Felix proudly, ‘is a very sound fellow!’

For the next half-hour they seriously discussed the ways and means. Felix wondered if some embarrassing curiosity might be stirred in little Bethsaida by the arrival of a stranger, easily identifiable as a Roman, to pay a visit to a young woman whose presence there had never been fully explained. It was finally decided that Felix should take the letter directly to the canny old Sadducee, David of the House of Zadok. Voldi confidently believed that David could be trusted to deliver the message to Fara.

* * * * *