Now Eli was almost a hundred years old, and blind. And that day, while the battle was raging afar off, he sat on his bench by the side of the road, at the church door, and waited for the news. And his heart trembled within him for fear. And by and by a man came running out of the army from the scene of battle. His clothes were torn, and there was dust upon his head; so that all who saw him knew at once that the army of Israel had been defeated. But Eli could not see him. And all who saw cried out with a great cry, “What is it? What has happened?” And the runner told them. And Eli heard the noise of the crying, and he said, “What is the meaning of the noise of this tumult?” And the man from the battle hastened to Eli and said, “I am he that came out of the army, and I am fled to-day out of the army.” And Eli said, “What is done there, my son?” And the messenger answered, “Israel is fled from before the Philistines; and there has been a great slaughter among the people; and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the Ark of God is taken!” And it came to pass when the messenger made mention of the Ark of God that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. Thus the word of the Lord came true which He said to Samuel, that the wickedness of Eli’s sons should be punished in such a way that both the ears of all who heard of it should tingle. XXVIII FIVE GOLD MICE The Philistines had five strong cities, and the strongest of these was Ashdod, which means “the fort.” When they had defeated the Israelites at Beth-shemesh, beside the great rock Ebenezer, and had taken away the Ark of God, they made all haste to get to Ashdod. Down they came along the valley and across the plain till they drew near the sea. And they shut the gates of Ashdod behind them. And the Ark of God they carried to the temple of their own god, Dagon. For many people thought in those days that there were as many gods as there were countries, each having its own. Thus they believed that the Lord was the god of the land of Israel, but that Dagon was the god of the land of the Philistines. So in every city they had a temple of Dagon. Samson had pulled down the one which belonged to the city of Gaza, but they had built it up again.