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[Illustration: Cover]




JOEL: A BOY OF GALILEE.




Works of

ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON


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    Ole Mammy's Torment                           .50
    The Story of <DW55>                             .50
    Cicely                                        .50
    Aunt 'Liza's Hero                             .50
    The Quilt that Jack Built                     .50
    Flip's "Islands of Providence"                .50
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Other Books

    Joel: A Boy of Galilee                       $1.50
    In the Desert of Waiting                   Net.50
    The Three Weavers                          Net.50
    Keeping Tryst                              Net.50
    The Legend of the Bleeding Heart           Net.50
    The Rescue of the Princess Winsome         Net.50
    The Jester's Sword                         Net.50
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    THE PAGE COMPANY
    53 Beacon Street        Boston, Mass.

[Illustration: "'THEN TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF MY SIGHT FOR EVER'"

    (_See page 96_)]




_NEW ILLUSTRATED EDITION_

JOEL: A BOY OF GALILEE

By

ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON

    Author of "The Little Colonel Series," "Big Brother,"
    "Ole Mammy's Torment," "Asa Holmes," etc.

    With Pictures by L. J. BRIDGMAN

    [Illustration]

    BOSTON
    THE PAGE COMPANY
    PUBLISHERS




    _Copyright, 1895_
    BY ROBERTS BROTHERS

    _Copyright, 1904_
    BY THE PAGE COMPANY

    _All rights reserved_

    Eleventh Impression, October, 1910
    Twelfth Impression, March, 1915
    Thirteenth Impression, March, 1918

    THE COLONIAL PRESS
    C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.




PUBLISHER'S PREFACE


IN this volume, it has been the purpose of the author to present to
children, through "Joel," as accurate a picture of the times of the
Christ as has been given to older readers through "Ben Hur." With this
in view, the customs of the private and public life of the Jews, the
temple service with its sacerdotal rites, and the minute observances of
the numerous holidays have been studied so carefully that the
descriptions have passed the test of the most critical inspection. An
eminent rabbi pronounces them correct in every detail.

While the story is that of an ordinary boy, living among shepherds and
fishermen, it touches at every point the gospel narrative, making Joel,
in a natural and interesting way, a witness to the miracles, the death,
and the resurrection of the Nazarene.

It was with the deepest reverence that the task was undertaken, and the
fact that the little book is accomplishing its mission is evinced not
only by the approval accorded its first editions by so many, from Bible
students to bishops, but by the boys and girls here and in distant
lands.




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS


                                              PAGE

  "'THEN TAKE YOURSELF OUT OF MY SIGHT FOR
      EVER'" (_See page 96_)            _Frontispiece_

  "HE LOOKED DOWN AT PHINEAS, AND SMILED
      BLISSFULLY"                               34

  "'I PEEPED OUT 'TWEEN 'E WOSE-VINES'"         82

  "NOT A WORD WAS SAID"                        104

  "'WE TALKED LATE'"                           139

  "'YOU BUT MOCK ME, BOY'"                     184

  "A DARK FIGURE WENT SKULKING OUT INTO THE
      NIGHT"                                   203

  "'THE STONE IS GONE!'"                       233




JOEL: A BOY OF GALILEE.




CHAPTER I.


IT was market day in Capernaum. Country people were coming in from the
little villages among the hills of Galilee, with fresh butter and eggs.
Fishermen held out great strings of shining perch and carp, just dipped
up from the lake beside the town. Vine-dressers piled their baskets with
tempting grapes, and boys lazily brushed the flies from the dishes of
wild honey, that they had gone into the country before day-break to
find.

A ten-year-old girl pushed her way through the crowded market-place,
carrying her baby brother in her arms, and scolding another child, who
clung to her skirts.

"Hurry, you little snail!" she said to him. "There's a camel caravan
just stopped by the custom-house. Make haste, if you want to see it!"

Their bare feet picked their way quickly over the stones, down to the
hot sand of the lake shore. The children crept close to the shaggy
camels, curious to see what they carried in their huge packs. But before
they were made to kneel, so that the custom-house officials could
examine the loads, the boy gave an exclamation of surprise.

"Look, Jerusha! Look!" he cried, tugging at her skirts. "What's that?"

Farther down the line, came several men carrying litters. On each one
was a man badly wounded, judging by the many bandages that wrapped him.

Jerusha pushed ahead to hear what had happened. One of the drivers was
telling a tax-gatherer.

"In that last rocky gorge after leaving Samaria," said the man, "we were
set upon by robbers. They swarmed down the cliffs, and fought as
fiercely as eagles. These men, who were going on ahead, had much gold
with them. They lost it all, and might have been killed, if we had not
come up behind in such numbers. That poor fellow there can hardly live,
I think, he was beaten so badly."

The children edged up closer to the motionless form on the litter. It
was badly bruised and blood-stained, and looked already lifeless.

"Let's go, Jerusha," whispered the boy, whimpering and pulling at her
hand. "I don't like to look at him."

With the heavy baby still in her arms, and the other child tagging
after, she started slowly back towards the market-place.

"I'll tell you what we'll do," she exclaimed. "Let's go up and get the
other children, and play robbers. We never did do that before. It will
be lots of fun."

There was a cry of welcome as Jerusha appeared again in the
market-place, where a crowd of children were playing tag, regardless of
the men and beasts they bumped against. They were all younger than
herself, and did not resent her important air when she called, "Come
here! I know a better game than that!"

She told them what she had just seen and heard down at the beach, and
drew such a vivid picture of the attack, that the children were ready
for anything she might propose.

"Now we'll choose sides," she said. "I'll be a rich merchant coming up
from Jerusalem with my family and servants, and the rest of you can be
robbers. We'll go along with our goods, and you pounce out on us as we
go by. You may take the baby as a prisoner if you like," she added, with
a mischievous grin. "I'm tired of carrying him."

A boy sitting near by on a door-step, jumped up eagerly. "Let me play,
too, Jerusha!" he cried. "I'll be one of the robbers. I know just the
best places to hide!"

The girl paused an instant in her choosing to say impatiently, although
not meaning to be unkind, "Oh, no, Joel! We do not want you. You're too
lame to run. You can't play with us!"

The bright, eager look died out of the boy's face, and an angry light
shone in his eyes. He pressed his lips together hard, and sat down again
on the step.

There was a patter of many bare feet as the children raced away. Their
voices sounded fainter and fainter, till they were lost entirely in the
noise of the busy street.

Usually, Joel found plenty to amuse and interest him here. He liked to
watch the sleepy donkeys with their loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.
He liked to listen to the men as they cried their wares, or chatted over
the bargains with their customers. There was always something new to be
seen in the stalls and booths. There was always something new to be
heard in the scraps of conversation that came to him where he sat.

Down this street there sometimes came long caravans; for this was "the
highway to the sea,"--the road that led from Egypt to Syria. Strange,
dusky faces sometimes passed this way; richly dressed merchant princes
with their priceless stuffs from beyond the Nile; heavy loads of
Babylonian carpets; pearls from Ceylon, and rich silks for the court of
the wicked Herodias, in the town beyond. Fisherman and sailor, rabbi and
busy workman passed in an endless procession.

Sometimes a Roman soldier from the garrison came by with ringing step
and clanking sword. Then Joel would start up to look after the erect
figure, with a longing gaze that told more plainly than words, his
admiration of such strength and symmetry.

But this morning the crowd gave him a strange, lonely feeling,--a hungry
longing for companionship.

Two half-grown boys passed by on their way to the lake, with fish nets
slung over their