Chapter 23

‘Didn’t go out through the door?’

‘Didn’t go near the door! Didn’t move!…He just vanished!’

Johnny broke the ensuing silence to say, ‘It was reported that two men met him on the highway near Emmaus, that evening at supper time. Both of them were firm believers in the Master; had often seen him and had heard him talk. They were discussing the report of the resurrection when he overtook them and joined in the conversation. They invited him to have supper with them at the Emmaus inn. He sat with them for a time at the table—’

‘But ate nothing,’ put in James.

‘And vanished!’ ended John.

‘The queer thing about it was that he talked with these men at Emmaus about the same time that he appeared to us at Ben-Josef’s house,’ contributed Thomas.

‘And it’s a good three-hour walk from Emmaus to Jerusalem,’ said Philip.

Nothing more was said for a while. Peter sat thoughtfully stroking his jaw. Andrew observed that there was a mixture of white in his brother’s black beard. Yes—and there was a patch of silver in his forelock that had not been there before. It must have taken a deal of suffering to do that to Peter.

Thad had now caught Johnny’s eye and wiggled a beckoning finger. The two arose quietly and strolled arm in arm toward the little galley, presumably to prepare food for the party.

‘What it all comes to, Peter,’ summed up old Bartholomew soberly, ‘is that our Master, having overcome death, is set free to go wherever he pleases, whenever he pleases! He is independent of miles—and hours!’

‘He might even be here—on The Abigail—now!’ mused Andrew.

Peter gave a startled look over his shoulder, and then stared into his brother’s eyes.

‘Does that affright you, Andy?’ he asked.

‘No; it does not affright me,’ replied Andrew. ‘But—from now on—so long as I live—I’m going to be more careful—about what I say—and do…One never knows when he may be standing there.’

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