When the door was closed behind him, Hanan said, “What need we of further words? let us proceed to the judgment.” And glancing over to Chananyah ben Nedebai, he said, “Chananyah, thou art the youngest; it is thine to pronounce judgment first. Is not this man guilty of death for his manifest blasphemy here before us?” And Chananyah said, “Yea.” And so said all till Hanan had called upon thirteen to give judgment. Then said Hanan, “This man is for certain condemned to death, or at least to be handed over to the Roman Procurator: for already a majority of two have declared his death, even if all the rest were for an acquittal, as I cannot think possible. The Court will rise and reassemble at the time of the saying of the morning prayer, in order to confirm this judgment. Ye will not have long to wait, for even now I heard the crowing of the cock, and the dawn cannot be far off.” Then the Court broke up, and many of the younger members met together and discussed the case. And I was somewhat surprised to find that very few words of compassion were raised for Jesus. The stubborn conduct of the prisoner had set them against him in the first place, and his wild outburst had confirmed their ill thoughts of him. But most of all they were influenced by the thought that this was but a preliminary trial, and could only result in handing him over to the Roman Procurator, with whom the last word would be. None of them had seen aught of Jesus but during the last few days in the Temple, when he had interfered with their order and prerogatives. I cannot say I was convinced, either by Hanan’s harangue at first, or by these men’s arguments afterwards. But I was somewhat perplexed, feeling myself in some wise an intruder in their midst, not being of the priestly order. And as is my custom in such cases, I went out into the open air down the steps into the atrium. There I found a great fire had been lit in the court, for the night was chilly. Near the fire Jesus was seated, with the High Priest’s guard around him. As I came near, behold, one of the guard threw part of his mantle across the face of Jesus so as to blindfold him, and then struck him, saying, “Thou art a Prophet; prophesy who hath struck thee.” And all the soldiers laughed and jeered. Then sought I the captain of the guard and told him this, and he said, “They mean naught of ill—they be rude fellows; howbeit, I will stop them.” And he went up to them and reproved them. And I paced up and down the courtyard, with the silent stars above and the glowing fire beneath, till an apparitor of the High Priest summoned me, saying, “It beginneth to dawn at the back of the house; the Council will resume its sitting.”