The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth George Speare [20]
Daniel set off long before dawn, carrying the cloak Simon had given him. Leaving Samson was easier this time. The big man understood that he would come back. The dark trails held no terror; his feet knew every jutting rock and turn. With the first light he left the mountain behind and strode along the level road through the plain. In the east a yellow glow began to gather, sending out long spears of pink and pale amethyst. From the olive groves came the song of a lark, rising to a thin clear sweetness against the pearly sky. On every side sounded the urgent chirping of linnets and finches. Abruptly the sun burst forth. Daniel could see a golden field of mustard stretching as far as his eye could reach, the yellow blossoms so high that a man could walk through them unseen.
Presently he overtook a caravan. Prodded on by weary drivers, the camels swayed slowly. Above the smell of camel Daniel's nose caught an unfamiliar fragrance, sweet and spicy, which seeped from the toppling bags they carried. As the day grew brighter the road was busy with farmers trundling small wagons or bearing on their shoulders baskets of vegetables for the city market. Already the excitement of the city quickened his pulse.
He came out on the last long slope of the road. Below him lay the sea, like a great blue jewel in the sun, and at its edge the town of Capernaum, a mass of dark stone houses, thick-clustered. A transparent veil of mist and smoke hung over the rooftops. He fancied he could hear the hum of thousands of voices. He hurried on, forgetting the miles behind, feeling fresh and exhilarated.
It was far too early to look for Joel, but he was in no haste. There was much to see. He wandered through the streets, taking in great gulps the busyness, the color and sound and smell of them. In the marketplace the farmers were heaping squashes and cucumbers and melons, and merchants jabbered in outlandish tongues as they set up booths of cloth or baskets or pottery. He saw four elders of the Pharisees, the phylacteries bound to their proud foreheads, walking with great care that their tasseled robes did not brush the passers-by, lest the merest touch might make them unclean. Once he saw a black slave scurrying about his master's business. Did he, if Daniel could understand, speak the same language as Samson?
He came to the harbor and gazed at the multitude of boats, fishing dories and pleasure craft and flat-bottomed barges. Back and forth from the anchored barges moved an unending line of half-naked men, bearing on their backs the sacks of grain and baskets of fruit which the farmers had brought to the city. So this was where the food went that was borne away dav after dav from his own village? All this to feed the evil city of Tiberias, which Herod had built to the south and named for the emperor of Rome. Daniel was reminded suddenly of his own empty stomach, and he remembered that although Rosh had been free enough with his advice, he had not provided a single copper with which to buy food.
Further along the shore, where the fishing boats were drawn up, the fishermen were dragging in their night's catch, the great nets heaving and gleaming in the sun. Women had come down to meet them, and were spreading the fish on flat stones and sprinkling them with salt. Others stretched out the empty nets to dry. Above the smell of fish, Daniel detected a tantalizing odor, and saw that several of the families had lighted small fires and were preparing their breakfast.
"Hungry, boy?"
Daniel started, abashed to be caught staring. A smiling young woman in a bright red and blue headdress was holding out a small fish on a palm leaf. He backed away. "I have no money," he muttered.
"Who said anything about money? You can see there's plenty. Take it."
The fish was delicious, the skin smoky and crisp.
The woman eyed him admiringly. "Where would a handsome stranger like you have come from?" she demanded.
Embarrassed,