"And what does it say about Bethlehem?" "It says that you, Judas, were born in Bethlehem." "How so?" "Why, it repeated the words of the prophet, 'And thou, Bethlehem in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel.'" "Say not such things, my child," said Judas, "I was born here in Jerusalem." "Do you remember it?" said Caleb. "No." "Then I think you are mistaken." For a while they were both silent. Suddenly Caleb cried: "Look! Look, Judas! A star!" "There are no stars now, little brother; it is daytime." "A star! A star! There it floats over Moab. Now it passes over Jordan. There! There! A star out of Jacob, which Balaam saw." The thin hands were stretched out, the eyes fixed, the whole frame of the child shook with convulsion. Judas gazed into Caleb's eyes--his fountain of divination--but the depths were covered, as when a spring is frozen over. Tears from his own eyes dropped upon the face of the child, which gave back no response. He pressed his lips against those of the lad. Was it to breathe into them his own abundant life? or to take from them the sweetness of the life that was failing? Judas had been called to ponder great problems, questions involving the fate of a nation, the solution of which he believed to be the fulfilment of prophecy and the turning of the highways of history. But here was a deeper study than statecraft or war--that of the issue of a child's life. Whither was it going? On what wings would the spirit rise as now it was disentangling itself from the frail flesh which had held it down for a little while? "What," he thought, "is love--the love by which this little one has held my soul close to his, calming my turbid nature, taming my ferocity, and making me think of and feel the nearness of God himself!" A slight tremor ran through the tiny frame. Judas carried Caleb within the upper chamber, and laid him upon the couch. Then, burying his face in the pillow, this strongest of men wept with a breaking heart over a dead child. Deborah quickly came, and Dion too; for the tidings sped. As they gazed upon the beautiful face, which seemed but the shadow of the soul that still hovered over it, Judas repeated Caleb's last words, about the star. "It is prophecy," said Deborah. "What saith the Scripture of these words of Balaam? 'He hath said which heard the word of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open,' even as Caleb did, 'I shall see Him soon, but not now. I shall behold Him, but not nigh. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel.' Of whom are these things said, son of Mattathias?"