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Show THE LANDLORD AND THE JEWS By Alexander Harvey. 4 The landlord of the tiny inn in Bethlehem I stared gloomily at the solitary star in the flrma- I ment. It had glowed upon him since shortly I alter sunset that evening. Its beams were now I brightening the spot whereon Elijah rested in I the course of his memorable flight from the un- I speakable Jezebel. From the portal at which ho I stood the landlord could make out the mound I marking the tomb of Rachel. It Was all that I now remained of the pillar Jacob had set upon I her grave. The gaze of the landlord embraced I these details twenty times within an hour. I "A good omen," he had said, when first the I star now silvering these things had caught his I fishy eye. "I shall have guests and there will I be a little money in the till. I The thought was exhilarating because patron- I age of late had been slight. Wages were high. I Food was scarce. That star gave the landlord I hope. It made its first appearance that night I over the deep gorges descending east to the I Dead Sea where the shepherds of Bethlehem I contended against the Philistines. At this ob- I scure hour it shot a ray or two right down upon the barley fields. They were such crops as Ruth had cut when Boaz first caught sight of her. Up and down the dusty road that wound past the inn this landlord cocked his eye. Minute Min-ute followed minute until a good two hours had fled. "A wonderful star," reflected the landlord for the fortieth time. "It seems brighter tonight to-night than any star I ever saw. Can it be a bad omen instead of a good one?" Ho withdrew his gaze as he thus mused from the quarter assigned to the lepers and sighed as he cast a final glance adown the road. "Could you shelter us for the night?" The landlord nearly leaped in his astonishment. astonish-ment. He had not suspected the approach of any fellow creature. He turned hastily, to find himself confronting a pair of voyagers. They had come upon him unawares from the direction of the hill country of Judah while he had been staring gloomily at the caves of the Arab robbers rob-bers on the east. "Sir," replied the landlord, with the courtesy of Judea in his obeisance, "Sir and Madam, I have accommodation for man and beast." He stared at the elder of these travelers as he spoke the words. The stranger was an aged man with a long gray beard. At his side was the shrouded figure of a female, slight, girlish girl-ish and, in the landlord's eye, of a subtle beauty that one felt like an essence. When the landlord land-lord had finished his little speech, the aged tourist tour-ist lifted his girlish companion in his arms, and without a word walked into the inn. Mine host walked after them in mute amaze. He looked on without a word as the venerable voyager deposited his burden upon a rolled rug In a con.er of the room which served as dining-room dining-room and hall. There was even an expression of sympathy upon the face o fthe landlord when the old man had, with a sigh, turned to confront his host. But the darkness of the apartment ,-eiled the feelings of the man of Bethlehem. "Your wife is ill, sir?" "Sir," said the stranger, wearily, "she is. Wo have come far afoot since the loss of our camel, which died on the edge of the desert." "You must have supper at once." began the landlord. "I will tell my wife to " But the stranger shook his venerable head. "We want beds nothing more," ho retorted. "My wife is, as you see, very ill." Without another word the landlord tiptoed into an adjoining room. There lay his wife and to her ear he placed his lips. |