After these words Jesus came forward as to give himself up, and no man laid hands on him, but the mob returned to the chief priests, saying, "No man ever spake like this man," which brought his adversaries to a standstill, not knowing what step to take next. CONSPIRACY TO MURDER JESUS The next day Jesus and his followers again entered the temple, and after the noon hour retired across the brook up in to the renowned Olive Orchard, which overlooks Jerusalem. Among the throng which followed them was Caiaphas, who the previous day had convened the chief rulers into his palace, when he advocated decoying Jesus from his friends and murdering him, which was opposed by the more conservative, who said it would cause an uproar among the people. Again in the evening Caiaphas assembled his co-conspirators and, after setting forth what Jesus had said on the mountain and how the people were all turning to him, said, "Some means must be devised to destroy this man, as I fear if the case comes before Pilate he will require more evidence than is at hand, before he will consent to his death." Nicodemus, still a member of good standing among them, arose and asked, "Does our law judge any man before it hear him and know what he doeth?" which created so strong an opposition that it broke up the council and Caiaphas ordered each man to his own home. Caiaphas, nervous and weary from the perplexity of the day, reclines on an elaborate divan in an alcove off from his spacious court, where the Sanhedrim of seventy elders were wont to convene and discuss important matters. As he sips wine to drown his troubles, trouble seems to arise, when he is startled from his phlegmatic vision by an intruder in the form of a huge lizzard, creeping over a cactus urn. Then the great high priest murmured, "I wonder if there is a God, as that which I daily proclaim; if I knew there were not it might eliminate this fear of the devil." As he thus soliloquized at the dead of night, a trusted servant intrudes upon his forced quietude, by announcing that the gatekeeper informs him that one of the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth is at the gate, craving audience with the high priest personally. Caiaphas, frowning, orders the servant to bring his message, "but first," says he, "send two officers of the court to detain him." Servant returns: "He must commune with the high priest personally." Caiaphas hesitates, then to the servant growls: "Summon my guard." To the guard he says, "Search him that he bears no arms and bring him to my inner court chamber." The arch conspirators now meet. Caiaphas thin and pale, with his three score years and ten all past, while the broad burly frame of Judas Iscariot indicated not more than forty years. "Art thou a Galilean?" "I am not." "Are not the disciples of Jesus Galileans?" "All but me. I am an Edomite." "What? Edom at the south?" "Yes." "Did you join the Galilean band as a spy?" "No." "Then why comest thou hither?"