"This was the most northern town of the Israelite kingdom," replied the Doctor, "and Beersheba the most southern. To go from Dan to Beersheba was to go from one end of Palestine to the other, just as we say in America, 'from Maine to California,' or 'from Boston to Brownsville.'" "Then we are at the northern end of Palestine," said Frank, "and close to the frontier of Syria?" "Exactly so," was the reply; "and to-morrow we shall bid farewell to what is called the Holy Land. We are only three miles from the boundary, and our camp to-night will be where we can throw a stone from one region into the other." With this understanding of their position the boys proceeded to examine the site of Dan. While they were doing so the Doctor explained that the word "Dan" in Hebrew means "Judge," which is exactly the signification of the Arabic "Kady." The place is called "the Hill," because it is a hill or mound shaped like the summit of a mountain, and about eighty feet higher than the surrounding plain. It is thought to have been once the crater of a volcano, and its shape certainly justifies that belief. The diameter of the cup or basin on the top of the mound is about half a mile; the whole area is covered with ruins, but they are so overgrown with vines and brush that an examination is difficult. Frank was ready in a few moments with a brief account of Dan, which he ran off very glibly, as follows: "The place was originally a Phoenician colony under the name of Laish, and was a populous city. A wandering band of Danites captured it, and named it after the founder of their tribe; they set up a graven image which they had stolen, and, as they had also stolen a priest along with the idol, they had a good basis for a system of religion. "You can read in the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Judges how the Danites captured Laish, and stole their gods and the priest. You can read in Genesis xiv. how Abraham pursued the plunderers of Sodom to Dan, and recovered what they had stolen; and in the twelfth chapter of the First Book of Kings you will learn how Jeroboam set up a golden calf in one of the temples of the Danites, and established its worship. "But there is something which has been preserved down to our day," Frank continued; "here is one of the sources of the Jordan. The Danites and the golden calf have been gone for many centuries, but the fountain of the Jordan is not exhausted. It may say with the brook, in the words of the poet-- "'Men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.'"