At last, one night when Eli was so old that he could hardly see, and Samuel had grown to be a sturdy lad, they were both asleep in the same room. There was a great box in the room called the Ark, and in it were the two tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written, and over it hung a lamp which was kept burning every night. And Samuel heard a voice calling his name, “Samuel!” and he answered, “Here am I,” and ran to see what Eli wanted. But Eli said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” So Samuel went and lay down, and again there was a voice, “Samuel! Samuel!” And again Samuel ran to Eli, saying, “Here am I,” and Eli said, “I did not call.” And this happened a third time. Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and if you hear the voice again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.’” And pretty soon he heard the voice again, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” Then the Lord spoke and said, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. I will punish Eli and his sons for all the evil that is done, for they have behaved themselves wickedly and he did not stop them.” Then there was silence, and by and by the lamp burned out, and the sun rose and it was light, and Samuel got up and opened the doors and let the morning breeze blow in. And Eli said, “Samuel, what did the Lord say?” And Samuel did not like to tell, but Eli urged him, and he told. And Eli said, “It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.” XXVII THE BATTLE OF THE ARK OF GOD Well, things went on from bad to worse. One day a stranger came to Eli and stood before him as he sat on the bench by the church door. And the stranger said, “Hear what the Lord God says to you, Eli. I chose your father to be my priest, to minister at my altar, to burn incense before me, and to offer the sacrifices of my people. And now you honor your sons more than you honor me, and they are making themselves rich by stealing the offerings which the people bring. Therefore it shall come to pass that your two sons shall die both of them in one day, and your grandchildren shall be so poor that they shall stand begging at the church steps, saying, ‘Give me a little money and a bit of bread, for I am hungry.’” But it was too late. The time to teach people to be good is when they are young, and Eli had let that time go by. He had allowed his sons to do whatever they pleased when they were small boys, and now he could not stop them.