“You wait,” he said to the people, “till I come back and tell you what God says.” So Moses and Joshua climbed up the steep side of the mountain, and the black cloud hid them from the people’s sight. And the storm increased in fury. The lightning flashed its fires of red and green, the rain came down in torrents, and louder and louder pealed the voice of the wind and the thunder and the trumpet. And as the people stood watching and waiting, they trembled so that their knees knocked together. But night came, and Moses did not return. All the next day they waited, but he did not appear. And the days grew into weeks, and the weeks into a month, till the people said, “Moses is dead. He lost his way, or he fell over a cliff, or he was struck by lightning. What shall we do? What shall we do?” And they made Aaron their leader. Now the people of Egypt, among whom the Children of Israel had lived so long, had strange ideas about God. They thought that God lived in certain animals. And they [Illustration: IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE SINGING] said their prayers to these animals, and made images of them to put in their churches. And as years passed and years passed, till the time of Joseph was as far away from them as the time of Columbus is from us, a good many of the Children of Israel, being slaves in Egypt, forgot the religion of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and became like the Egyptians. So now they said to Aaron, “Make us an image of God.” And Aaron said, “Give me your earrings.” Now all the men and women wore gold earrings, and they gave them to Aaron, and he melted them together and made a golden calf. And the people said, “This is our God.” And they began to pray to it, and to dance and sing around it. But all this time, Moses was speaking with God. God told Moses what He wished the people to do. And these things were put in the Ten Commandments, and were written on two smooth tables--or, as we say, tablets--of stone. And Moses took the Ten Commandments, and started down the mountain. And on the way he heard a noise; and he said to Joshua, “What is that noise?” And Joshua said, “It sounds like shouting. There must be a battle.” But Moses said, “It sounds to me like singing.” So they came in sight of the camp. And there was the Golden Calf, and all the people singing and dancing around it. And Moses was so angry that he took the tables of stone and threw them down the mountain, and they broke in pieces. And the people were ashamed and afraid. And he told them what a foolish and wicked thing they had done. “God,” he said, “has just been telling me that we must not worship images.” And he destroyed the Golden Calf. Then he went again upon the mountain, and asked God to forgive his people. And God gave him the Ten Commandments over again. Thus the Children of Israel met God at the mountain, and were told what they must do, and were ready at last to start upon their journey to the Promised Land. XIII THE PROPHET AND THE KING