E-li sat on a seat by the way-side, where he kept watch, for he was in great fear lest harm should come to the ark of God. And when the man came through the crowd and told that the ark was lost, all cried out with great fear. And when E-li heard the noise, he said, What is it? What do those sounds mean? For his eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. And the man ran up to E-li and said, I am he that came out of the fight, and I fled from there to-day. And E-li said, What word hast thou, my son? [Illustration: THE RE-TURN OF THE ARK.] And he said that Is-ra-el had been put to flight with great loss, his two sons were dead, and the ark of God in the hands of the Phil-is-tines. When the man spoke of the ark of God, E-li fell off the seat by the side of the gate, and broke his neck, and died there. And he had been a high priest and a judge in Is-ra-el for two-score years. And the ark of God was with the Phil-is-tines for more than half the year, and to each place where it was sent it brought great grief. So at last they sent for their wise men, and said to them, What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? To what place shall we send it? And the wise men told them to make a new cart, and tie two cows to it, but to bring the calves home with them. Then they should put the ark on the cart, and let the cows draw it where they would. If the cows should leave their calves and go down to the land of Is-ra-el, it would be a sign that the Lord was their guide, and that he had sent these ills on the Phil-is-tines for their great sins. But if the cows did not take the ark, it would show that the Lord did not want it back, and that all these ills they had to bear had come by chance, and were not sent from the Lord. So the Phil-is-tines did as their wise men said. They took the two cows and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. And they laid the ark on the cart, and let the cows go where they chose. And the cows took the straight road to the land of Is-ra-el till they came to a place called Beth-she-mesh. The Jews who dwelt there were out in the wheat fields. And the cows brought the cart to the fields of a man named Josh-u-a, and stood there by a great stone. Then some of the men of Le-vi came and took the ark and set it on the stone. And they broke up the cart, and burnt the cows as a gift of praise to the Lord. CHAPTER XIII. SAMUEL THE MAN OF GOD. WHEN E-li died, Sam-u-el was made a judge in Is-ra-el. And he went from place to place to teach men the law. And as the ark had not been brought back to Shi-loh, Sam-u-el built an al-tar in his own house and served God there. The chil-dren of Is-ra-el set up strange gods, and the Phil-is-tines went to war with them. And Sam-u-el told them to give up their false gods and serve the Lord, and he would save them from their foes. And they did so. And he said, Come up to Miz-peh, and I will pray to the Lord for you.