THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 HARRIS 
 

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 FROM THE 
 
 BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY 
 
 COLLECTED BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1919 
 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
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 3 1924 022 462 554 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022462554 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
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 s 
 
%\\t (game (Bt Bofg 
 
 A STORY OF THE 
 
 HEBREW PEOPLE 
 
 ELEANOR E. HARRIS 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALFRED FEINBERG 
 
 ^ 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 The Jewish Publication Society of America 
 1914 
 
 J. 
 

 Copyright, 1914, by 
 The Jewish Publication Society of America 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. An Unexpected Guest 9 
 
 II. The Little One; 25 
 
 III. A Friend at Court 35 
 
 IV. The Minstrel 47 
 
 V. The Game of Doeg 62 
 
 VI. A Champion 77 
 
 VII. A Jealous King , gz 
 
 VIII. A Broken Pledge 103 
 
 IX. The School of the Prophets 119 
 
 X. The Swoto of Goliath 135 
 
 XI. A Partridge in the Mountains 150 
 
 XII. The Witch of Endor 170 
 
 XIII. The Battle of Mount GaBOA i8o 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Prince Shot the Arrows beyond Him (page 137) . .Frontispiece 
 
 He Was Fond of Playing the Harp facing page 42 
 
 A Moment Later the Evil Face of Doeg Appeared 
 
 at the Opening " " 140 
 
 The Monarch Faced around suddenly " " 158 
 
 " Why Hast Thou Disquieted Me, to Bring 
 
 Me UP?" " " 178 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 T was a spring day many hundred years ago, 
 when the people of Israel lived in Palestine, 
 and Saul was their king. 
 
 Tired, hot, and dusty, the laborers toiled from 
 terrace to terrace up the hill, to the gate of the little 
 walled city of Bethlehem, men and boys, women and 
 girls. The gate stood wide open, and a brilliant sun- 
 set made the strong watch-towers that flanked it on 
 cither side shine as if burnished with gold. A beauti- 
 ful golden light hung over the gardens and fruit- 
 trees that spread close to the walls on every side, and 
 the distant olive groves looked almost black against 
 the background of fire. Overhead the sky was very 
 blue. The people were coming in from their work 
 in the fields and vineyards, driving cows and goats 
 before them. 
 
 Arrived at the wide, open space inside the gate, 
 many stopped for a few moments to refresh them- 
 selves with a drink of cool water from the well in the 
 center, or to lounge on the benches near by and com- 
 pare notes on the day's work. Some stopped at the 
 market-place, which was not far from the gate, to get 
 
 9 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 something needed for the supper at home. The cows 
 and goats took their leisurely way through the narrow 
 streets, each headed for its own stable to be milked. 
 
 While the people were talking together, a burly 
 fellow, called Doeg, who had lived but a few months 
 in the town, appeared among them. 
 
 " Strange news ! " he exclaimed. " This day I have 
 had speech with a man of King Saul's house, and this 
 man told me that Samuel, our judge, who put King 
 Saul, the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin, upon 
 his throne, and made him ruler over us, is angry with 
 the king, and hath refused to help him in his battles 
 or even to see him again." 
 
 Hearing this, the elders of the town crowded 
 around and questioned Doeg, who liked nothing 
 better than to have a piece of news to tell. 
 
 " It is reported," he went on, " that in a great 
 battle with the Amalekites, King Saul permitted his 
 soldiers to seize upon the spoil, though Samuel had 
 commanded him to spare nothing. He tried to ex- 
 cuse himself to Samuel by saying that he had taken 
 only the best of the sheep and oxen and other things 
 to sacrifice to the Lord, but the judge was very angry 
 and turned away, and would not accept such an excuse. 
 As he was going, the king became desperate, and 
 caught hold of the skirt of Samuel's mantle to detain 
 him, and tore a great hole in it." 
 
 10 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 Doeg paused to note the effect of his story on the 
 people. 
 
 "What happened, O Doeg?" they crowded 
 around. 
 
 " This happened," said Doeg. " Samuel turned 
 his head and looked King Saul in the eye, and said, 
 ' The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from 
 thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, 
 that is better than thou.' Now, good people, make 
 what you please of this great scandal in Israel. I 
 have told you just what was told to me, and by my 
 sacred beard it is enough, I should say, if it is true, 
 and I doubt it not." 
 
 " If this story reaches the ears of our enemies, they 
 will come against us and overpower us," wailed an 
 old man in a high-pitched voice. 
 
 " Did not the man of God warn us against having 
 a king? " cried another. " But we insisted upon 
 having a king like other nations, and now see what 
 hath come to pass." 
 
 Doeg began to chuckle in his beard as he watched 
 the anxiety of the simple farming people. 
 
 " What are you laughing at, Doeg? " exclaimed a 
 woman, who stood, with a pitcher of water on her 
 head, ready to start for her home. " If what you 
 say is true, it is a very serious matter, is it not? " 
 
 Doeg only laughed more. " Why," said he, " the 
 way things are coming to pass amuses me. I know 
 
 11 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 all about this king, who is so handsome and higher 
 from his shoulders and upward than any other man 
 in the kingdom. I was in the employ of Kish, Saul's 
 father, when Samuel chose him out to be king over 
 this land. I went with Saul to hunt for the asses. 
 You remember, it was when he was hunting for his 
 father's asses that were lost that he was first called 
 to be king. It was I who advised the young man to 
 go to the man of God to inquire about the asses, and 
 so it was I who gave him his first chance of meeting 
 the man of God. I know all about that business. 
 They sent Saul to the school for prophets, where he 
 studied law and poetry and religious music, and 
 learned the sacred dances, and later, when he was 
 proclaimed king, and all the people shouted, ' God 
 save the king,' he forgot that I had ever done him a 
 service. He had grown so fine in his tastes that he 
 would have only handsome men near him, and Doeg 
 is not handsome, as you see, my good friends, not 
 handsome at all, by my sacred beard. But look, 
 friends, who comes ! " 
 
 All the heads turned toward the gate to which 
 Doeg pointed. An old man clad in priestly robes 
 appeared, laboriously ascending the last rise of the 
 terrace, and leading a red heifer by a rope of twisted 
 leather. He was tall and dignified in aspect, though 
 somewhat bent with age. On his head he had a 
 turban much taller than those ordinarily worn. His 
 
 12 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 snowy beard extended below the girdle that confined 
 his long gown at the waist, and his long hair hung in 
 loose curls below his shoulders. Keen black eyes, 
 undimmed by age, looked out from beneath shaggy, 
 beetling brows. His nose was bent like the beak of 
 an eagle, and had it not been for a certain gentle, 
 pathetic look about the mouth, he might have seemed 
 quite stern and forbidding in the eyes of the simple 
 townspeople. 
 
 As for the red heifer, she evidently was not ac- 
 customed to being led. She tugged at the rope, 
 kicked up her heels in a frisky manner every now and 
 then, and occasionally emitted a doleful low. 
 
 Presently the pair stood in the gateway, and the 
 old man, passing his hand over the heifer's neck, held 
 her by one horn, to keep her still. 
 
 "It is the prophet! The man of God! " whis- 
 pered one to another, casting frightened glances 
 about. 
 
 Doeg pushed his way to the front. " By my 
 beard! " he ejaculated in half-suppressed tones. " It 
 is Samuel, the supreme judge. Have I not told you 
 I know him ? He is here on no light errand, you may 
 depend upon it. Some sin hath been committed in the 
 city, and he is bound to judge us for it." 
 
 " If that is true," said a tall, handsome young 
 
 man at Doeg's elbow, " God grant the offender may 
 
 13 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 be discovered, so that judgment may not fall upon 
 the whole town." 
 
 " In my opinion," spoke up a comely young matron, 
 who was in the act of filling a pitcher with water 
 from the well, " the man of God will have reason to 
 pass judgment upon us all for the sin of rudeness and 
 neglect to obey the most common laws of politeness, 
 if we let him stand at the gate unwelcomed much 
 longer. Approach him respectfully, husband," she 
 continued, addressing the young man before men- 
 tioned, " salute him, offer him entertainment, and 
 ask him if he comes in peace." 
 
 " Thou art right, Hannah, but Doeg knows him, 
 let him go," returned the young man, hesitating, 
 
 " O, I would, not put myself forward to that ex- 
 tent," Doeg declared. " The judge would not rec- 
 ognize a common man like me or even remember my 
 name, even though I am the servant who was ordered 
 to walk on before while he anointed his king. Be- 
 sides, thy family is of some importance in the town, 
 and I am only a sojourner among you. It Is more 
 fitting that thou shouldst go." 
 
 Thus urged, the young man advanced to meet the 
 stranger. He bowed low, for he had been well 
 brought up, and he said, " The Lord be with thee." 
 The judge bowed also, but more slightly, and replied, 
 " The Lord bless thee, my son." After a few 
 moments' conversation, the young man, reassured 
 
 14 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 by the kindly manner of the judge, made bold to ask, 
 " Comest thou peaceably among us, father? " 
 
 " I come peaceably," was the answer. " I have busi- 
 ness with Jesse, the son of Obed, of the house of 
 Judah, who, I am told, lives in this city, and I have 
 brought this heifer to make a feast withal." 
 
 The young woman at the well, who had been 
 watching and listening Intently, waited only to hear 
 these words. Placing her pitcher of water on her 
 shoulder and supporting it with one hand, she walked 
 rapidly away. 
 
 " Thy servant Is Ellab, the son of Jesse," the young 
 man hastened to say. " My father is an old man, at 
 home. These are my younger brothers." 
 
 He designated, as he spoke, several young fellows, 
 and presented them to the judge, who greeted each 
 in turn, saying words of praise about the man who 
 had raised so large a family of handsome sons. The 
 judge then assured the townspeople that his mission 
 was one of peace, and bade them go quietly away to 
 their homes. Then, turning to Eliab again, he said, 
 " Call thy brothers, and we shall sacrifice the heifer 
 at some place outside the gate, and bring part of the 
 meat to thy father's house, where It shall be prepared, 
 and we shall eat together." 
 
 This was done at once. A large stone was found 
 at some distance from the gate, and there the pretty 
 red heifer was sacrificed, according to the religious 
 
 15 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 customs of the time. Judge Samuel, or the " man 
 of God," as he was often called, then accompanied 
 the brothers to their home, to partake of the meat 
 with them. All meat was cooked as soon as possible 
 after the animal had been killed, for in the warm 
 climate of Palestine flesh could not be kept long. 
 It was no unusual thing to kill a lamb or a heifer and 
 cook the meat immediately after. The only strange 
 thing was that the little town of Bethlehem should 
 be visited by a man whose influence was greater in 
 the land than that of the king. 
 
 Meantime the young wife of Eliab, carrying her 
 pitcher of water and also some fine flour, which she 
 had procured at the market as she passed, hastened 
 home and burst in upon her parents-in-law with the 
 astonishing news. The old couple were exceedingly 
 alarmed at first, as the people of the town had been. 
 These simple country folk could not imagine so great 
 a man coming to their humble home for any other 
 purpose than to pronounce judgment upon some of 
 them for a sin committed by them. 
 
 " Didst thou hear any murmuring against the house 
 of Jesse among the people, my daughter? " the father 
 hastened to ask. 
 
 " Not a whisper have I heard of any wrong deed 
 among us," Hannah declared. 
 
 "Has fault been found with any of my sons?" 
 the mother cried almost in the same breath. 
 
 16 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 " I distinctly heard the man of God say, ' I come 
 peaceably,' " Hannah replied. " He will eat with 
 us this night. We must keep the oven hot for the 
 meat, and I have brought a little fine flour from the 
 market to make some cakes." 
 
 While she talked, Hannah hastily cleansed her per- 
 son from the soil of a day's work in the field. 
 
 " Thou art right, my daughter," said her mother, 
 " it is best for us to hurry and prepare entertainment 
 for the man of God. Get a bottle of the best wine, 
 and some dates and raisins as well as fresh fruit, and 
 I shall roll out the cakes. I am glad you got the fine 
 flour." 
 
 Hannah started to obey, but turned back, saying, 
 " Mother, I think the man of God belongs to that 
 order of men who drink no wine. His hair is very 
 long, far below his shoulders, and parted in the 
 middle, and his dress is coarse and plain." 
 
 " True enough, Hannah, the man is a Nazarite. 
 I remember now to have heard that his good mother 
 consecrated him to the service of the Lord from his 
 very birth. My mother has told me too that he was 
 brought up in the temple, with Eli the priest. Put 
 no wine on the table, but water instead, and plenty 
 of fruit, but no grapes. A Nazarite never touches 
 the fruit of the vine. Here, see to the cakes, daughter. 
 This heat is too much for my poor old head. Thou, 
 little Ben, go out to the door and watch for thy 
 
 17 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 masters. Be sure to serve the judge first, and forget 
 not thy manners." 
 
 The last was addressed to a little slave boy who 
 had been hanging around the kitchen door listening. 
 He now pattered through the hall on his bare, brown 
 feet to the street door, and sat down on the step. 
 Many passers-by who had witnessed the unusual scene 
 at the city gate shortly before cast interested glances 
 towards the house of Jesse. 
 
 A savory stew of meat and broth that had been 
 intended for the evening meal simmered on the fire. 
 This Hannah removed, for the flesh of the heifer 
 would be used in its stead, and she began to place the 
 cakes, which her mother had rolled out thin, on the 
 top of the clean, hot stove to bake, turning them 
 until both sides were browned. They were very much 
 like pancakes or large round crackers in shape. 
 
 " Run to the lattice, Hannah, and see if they are 
 coming," the mother called, growing more and more 
 nervous as time passed. 
 
 One narrow window covered by latticework looked 
 out upon the street from the guest-room. This 
 lattice was the only opening in the front wall of the 
 building, aside from the front door. All the other 
 windows as well as several doors opened on an inner 
 court, around the four sides of which the house was 
 built. In the middle of the paved court the cool, 
 sweet waters of a fountain bubbled up into a basin 
 
 18 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 hollowed out of solid rock. In this court Jesse paced 
 restlessly to and fro while waiting for his guests. 
 
 The roof of the house was flat and surrounded by 
 a parapet, of the thickness of the house wall and about 
 three feet high. This cozy and safe enclosure was 
 used as a summer dining-room, sitting-room, and dur- 
 ing the hottest weather even sleeping-room. The 
 guest-chamber was the only upper room, and from 
 the roof a door led into it. The main part of the 
 house was only one story high. A stairway from the 
 court led up to the roof. Up this stairway Hannah 
 flew at her mother's bidding, quite forgetting that 
 she had worked all day in the hot sun, and was very 
 tired. Into the guest-room she ran and peeped out 
 at the lattice, for she heard voices in the street. Yes, 
 the expected party stood at the door! She ran out 
 to the roof again, to put the low round table in order 
 and to draw up mats and cushions for the men to sit 
 upon during the meal. In haste though she was, she 
 did not fail to put on her best golden bracelets, her 
 anklets, necklace, and ear-rings, besides taking many 
 a glance at her comely self in the little hand-mirror 
 that hung at her girdle. Then down-stairs again by a 
 narrow private stairway leading from one corner of 
 the roof to the back part of the house, and she was 
 just in time to receive the fresh meat from. Eli ab at 
 the door of the kitchen. 
 
 Jesse met his distinguished guest at the door with 
 
 19 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 due ceremony, extending his wrinkled hands and bend- 
 ing his aged form In obeisance as low as he could, 
 though not quite to the ground, as the rank of the 
 judge demanded, for age had made him stifE in the 
 joints, and he had long been unused to paying such 
 extreme deference. Jesse was one of the chief elders 
 of the town, more accustomed to receive obeisance 
 than to give it. 
 
 The little slave dropped upon his knees to unfasten 
 the great man's sandals. Sandals arc the soles of 
 shoes fastened to the foot with straps and laces, and as 
 the people did not wear stockings, the feet naturally 
 became soiled when walking or working in the field. 
 The floors of the houses were made of stone, brick, 
 or cement, covered with rugs of various sizes. Every 
 one, whether man, woman, or child, took off his 
 sandals upon entering, and washed his feet, that no 
 soil or dust from the street might be brought in. The 
 floor in Jesse's house was of stone and very clean. 
 
 The little slave's hands trembled at first, for he was 
 overcome with awe at being asked to wash the feet 
 of so venerable and great a man in the kingdom as 
 Judge Samuel. Little Ben was accustomed to such 
 work. It was one of his daily duties. His little 
 fingers were very skilful at untying knots in the laces 
 and unfastening the buckles. In spite of his nervous- 
 ness, he very soon had removed all the sandals. Jesse 
 led the way with the judge, the young men followed, 
 
 20 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 the slave with the sandals brought up the rear, and all 
 passed, barefooted, straight through the hall to the 
 court with the fountain. 
 
 The men seated themselves upon the low settees 
 arranged on two sides of the square, while the slave 
 brought water and towels for the hands and feet. 
 First he presented the water for the hands, and after- 
 wards, kneeling upon the floor, he carefully washed 
 and wiped the feet of each man, the judge first, then 
 the brothers in order, beginning with the eldest. This 
 ceremony, which might be called one of the necessary 
 luxuries of Oriental life, being over, they passed up 
 the stairs to the roof, where the cool evening breezes 
 would further refresh them. 
 
 The judge showed so friendly an interest in the 
 young men that Jesse, being old and somewhat gar- 
 rulous, began to relate the personal characteristics of 
 his sons and to tell in what particular each excelled. 
 One was a vine-dresser, another understood the grow- 
 ing of fruit-trees, the others tended the vegetable gar- 
 dens and the fields of grain. All could throw stones 
 with the sling and hit the mark within a hair's breadth. 
 Two of them were betrothed, and would be married 
 as soon as they had earned a sufficient dowry. As far 
 as looks were concerned, the judge declared he could 
 make no choice. All were handsome, with glossy, 
 dark, curling hair, keen, black eyes, and tall, sinewy 
 frames. There were seven of them, and they all 
 
 21 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 blushed modestly at being so complimented. Eliab 
 thought, as he was the oldest, he would surely receive 
 some mark of special favor before the evening was 
 over. 
 
 " Are all thy children here? " the judge asked, as 
 a servant appeared at the top of the stairs, to an- 
 nounce that supper would be served. 
 
 " There is yet a little one, David, the youngest. 
 He is with the sheep," Jesse replied. 
 
 " Send and fetch him by all means. I want to see 
 all thy sons together. We cannot possibly sit down 
 till he comes," cried the judge, rubbing his hands 
 together and stroking his venerable beard, as if the 
 idea of seeing all the brothers together pleased him 
 immensely. 
 
 There was no help for it, though all were hungry, 
 and the supper was waiting. It was long past the 
 usual supper hour, but the judge's will was law. The 
 slave boy Ben was dispatched with all speed after 
 David, and bidden to take Doeg, who was a shepherd, 
 and who often worked for the herdsmen of the 
 town, with him to guard the flock. Ben was sent, be- 
 cause, being tall and slender and very nimble, he could 
 run faster than any of the other slaves or servants. 
 Through the narrow streets he sped, like a low-fly- 
 ing swallow, but he could see nothing of Doeg. The 
 man was not in his accustomed haunts, and as the im- 
 portance of the occasion admitted of no delay, Ben 
 
 22 
 
AN UNEXPECTED GUEST 
 
 quickly decided that he must go on alone, and stay 
 with the sheep till his master could send some one. 
 
 The herdsmen and farmers of Palestine, instead 
 of living widely separated upon their farms, as is the 
 custom in this country at the present day, had their 
 homes together in walled towns, from which they 
 went out to work in the fields and to care for the 
 flocks. Shepherds always remained with the cattle by 
 night as well as by day, to guard them from the 
 beasts, which often crept down out of their mountain 
 dens, and from prowling bands of robbers, who might 
 feel inclined to appropriate part of the flock to their 
 own use. It was also common for watchmen to re- 
 main in charge of the more distant gardens from the 
 time of planting or blossoming till after the harvest. 
 All who were not employed in some such manner 
 went home to their city at night, and when it grew 
 dark they shut and locked the gate. 
 
 When little Ben reached the gate of Bethlehem, it 
 was already shut and locked, but the gatekeeper let 
 him through when he heard his errand. The boy was 
 timid, afraid of his own shadow, and he had all sorts 
 of notions in his head about unlucky signs. Yet he 
 was brave at heart, and never thought of turning back. 
 His mind was made up. He darted through the gate, 
 and began to thread his way down the winding path 
 of the hillside, as sure-footed and fleet as a mountain 
 goat, past the gardens, orchards, and vineyards. The 
 
 23 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 country outside the safely walled city was broken into 
 small valleys, strips of level plain, hills, and rocky 
 gorges. Hidden away among the rocks in the sides of 
 the ravines were numerous dens and caves, where wild 
 beasts lurked and robbers hid themselves. No won- 
 der that little Ben was frightened. But he was only 
 a slave boy and knew that he must obey. Besides, he 
 liked the sturdy shepherd boy David better than any 
 of the other sons of Jesse. He knew that it was a 
 great honor for the judge to ask to see him, and he did 
 not want David to miss this great opportunity. Surely 
 some unusual good fortune must be in store for 
 David. 
 
 On and on sped the slave boy. Dark shadows were 
 gathering all around. A fox sprang across his path- 
 way. Suddenly a huge dark form leaped out from be- 
 hind a clump of bushes at one side and seized him by 
 the arm. 
 
 24 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE LITTLE ONE 
 
 HE boy uttered a cry of fright. Recognlz- 
 .,_.^ ._,„ ing the burly Doeg, whom he had been 
 ^SSg^l in search of, he tried to jerk himself away. 
 But the man kept a grip on his clothing. 
 
 "What art thou screaming for, thou little fool? 
 Dost thou not know Doeg? " demanded the fellow, 
 roughly. " Now, tell me where thou art going so 
 late at night, or I shall dip thee into this slimy 
 cistern till thou learnest better manners." Then, with- 
 out giving the trembling boy a chance to explain, he 
 added: " Running away from thy master, I'll be 
 bound ! Speak, I say ! " 
 
 " Thy servant is about his master's business, and 
 it need be none of thine," returned the child, whose 
 blood was now at the boiling point. He was only a 
 slave, but he felt that Doeg had no right to detain 
 him, much less to question him about his master's 
 affairs, and so, though Doeg was the very man he had 
 been in search of, and though he dreaded the idea of 
 being left alone with the flock, his anger got the better 
 of his discretion, and he would not explain matters. 
 
 25 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " Now, by my sacred beard," cried his persecutor, 
 " thou art an insolent young one ! What if thy master 
 should in some way find out how impudent thou art 
 to his good friend Doeg? What would save thy neck 
 from the rope? " 
 
 The boy was now thoroughly frightened, and he 
 began to cry. Yet between sobs he managed to make 
 Doeg understand the errand on which he had been 
 sent and the need of haste. 
 
 " Well," declared Doeg, at length, " mend thy 
 manners, and it may be I shall oblige thy master. 
 Speed on thine errand, or thou wilt get the rope as 
 it is. But stay ! Since thou art so independent, per- 
 haps thou wouldst rather stay with the flock thyself 
 when thou hast sent David to feast with the judge. 
 Canst thou keep the lion at bay when he comes up 
 from the parched river bank into the hill country, or 
 defend the sheep from the great bear when she creeps 
 out of her den and thinks she will take a lamb to her 
 young ones? Thou foolish stripling! " 
 
 The picture was sufficiently horrifying. The slave 
 did not know that neither lions nor bears were likely 
 to approach the flock when it lay so near the city as 
 that night. He fell on his knees, and with tears be- 
 sought Doeg not to leave him alone. 
 
 "Ah! Now thou art humble and in a proper 
 frame of mind. Get on thy feet and run to thy 
 
 master, and, bid him make haste, for I will follow," 
 
 26 
 
THE LITTLE ONE 
 
 Doeg said, and as the slave ran nimbly away, he 
 muttered, " The judge, or the man of God, as the 
 people call him, may well have his own purposes to 
 serve. This king of his, whom he bragged about so 
 much at first as being bigger and handsomer and abler 
 than any other man in the country, is not obedient 
 enough to his commands to suit him. Perhaps he is 
 on the lookout for another that pleases him better. 
 Who knows I Because the judge can't make his own 
 sons obey him, is it any sign that he can't dethrone one 
 king and set up another if he pleases? King Saul is 
 getting too independent, indeed, and Doeg knows 
 more about the making and unmaking of kings than 
 he has credit for. King Saul would better not have 
 forgotten his servant when he came into his king- 
 dom." 
 
 The slave ran on with the tears drying in streaks 
 on his hot, little face and fierce wrath against the 
 brutal Doeg in his young heart. " I shall not be a 
 slave always," he thought wildly, " and when I am 
 grown up and my own master, that old Doeg shall 
 suffer for what he does to me now I am little and can't 
 help myself." 
 
 With these thoughts in his mind he reached the 
 door of David's tent in the valley close to the en- 
 closure in which the sheep and lambs lay huddled all 
 about in the sweet, warm night under the stars. 
 
 " The man of God is come," he panted, " and thy 
 
 27 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 father hath sent for thee to come home. They wait 
 supper till thou art come." 
 
 " What strange story is this? " David exclaimed. 
 " What has the man of God to do with the youngest 
 son of my father's house, and who will stay with these 
 sheep? " 
 
 At that moment Doeg strode up. " Haste thee, 
 David, son of Jesse," cried the man, boisterously. 
 " The table is prepared, and Judge Samuel sits In thy 
 father's house, and will not eat until thou art come 
 to sit down with thy brothers." 
 
 " What means this unusual thing? " demanded 
 David. " I am the littlest one in my father's house 
 and of the least account. I only tend the sheep and 
 lambs. Come, thou art joking. Go back and leave 
 me in peace." 
 
 " It is even as I say," said Doeg. " Get thee gone 
 with speed." 
 
 " It is true, master," cried little Ben, excitedly. 
 " Even I heard the judge say, ' I want to see all thy 
 sons together. We cannot possibly sit down till he 
 comes. Send and fetch him by all means.' And thy 
 father bade thy servant find Doeg and send him to 
 take thy place with the flock, but I could not find 
 Doeg, and so I came by myself. By the middle vine- 
 yard he sprang out and frightened me, but when I 
 told him the truth he came on with me." 
 
 " It is very strange," mused David, as he tightened 
 28 
 
THE LITTLE ONE 
 
 his girdle, took his shepherd's staff in his hand, and 
 started on a run, the slave following close behind. 
 
 Arrived at the city gates, which had been closed and 
 locked with a great wooden key, they were obliged 
 to pound vigorously for some moments before the 
 sleepy watchman got up and opened them. At last 
 they were in, and soon they had arrived at Jesse's 
 house. 
 
 " So this is thy little one ? " the judge said when 
 David stood before him. " He Is a well-grown child 
 and strong of limb." 
 
 Unlike his brothers' hair, David's was of a tawny 
 color, verging upon auburn. It hung in thick, bushy 
 curls down to his shoulders. His eyes were large 
 and of a bright brownish blue, his skin fair, and his 
 cheeks red. 
 
 " The boy is scarcely fifteen," his father said, " and, 
 indeed, I had not realized how he was growing. As 
 he is the youngest, I called him the little one." 
 
 " I am well pleased with the lad," the judge de- 
 clared, taking the blushing boy by the hand and lead- 
 ing him to the table. " He is well-knit and sturdy 
 and of a beautiful countenance." 
 
 The brothers looked on in astonishment when he 
 drew David to a seat at his right hand, and motioned 
 to Jesse to sit on the left. Eliab thought it more 
 fitting that his father should sit on the right hand and 
 himself on the left, but here was the youngest and 
 
 29 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 in his opinion the least important member of the 
 family honored above all the rest. 
 
 " Surely there is no accounting for tastes," thought 
 the elder brother, while his hopes of preferment sank 
 into nothingness. 
 
 And now the fragrant stew was placed in the 
 middle of the table, and the cakes of fine flour were 
 passed around. The judge pronounced a lengthy 
 blessing, and the dinner began. The table was not 
 furnished with plates, but each person used one of 
 the flat, thin cakes as a plate, upon which he placed 
 a portion of meat after fishing It out of the stew with 
 his fingers. They broke other cakes in pieces, dipping 
 a morsel at a time into the broth and conveying it to 
 the mouth. A number of quaint, pretty cups were 
 on the table, from which they drank water. Fresh, 
 ripe figs and a delicious salad also formed part of 
 the meal. 
 
 A tent-like awning, open at the sides and supported 
 by poles, had been stretched over the heads of the 
 company, that they might not feel the heavy dew of 
 the evening. A lamp of curious workmanship, having 
 a covered top, with a handle at one end and a wick 
 protruding from a spout at the other, stood on one 
 side of the table. Its uncertain flame cast weird re- 
 flections upon the figures that sat or half reclined on 
 the cushions around the low table. 
 
 The abundant, snowy tresses of the two aged men 
 
 30 
 
THE LITTLE ONE 
 
 showed in vivid relief against the circle of youths with 
 their rich coloring and jet black hair. There were 
 occasional glances, half shy, half jealous, in the direc- 
 tion of David, the " little one," who sat so close to 
 the man of God that his tawny curls mingled with 
 the white. The loose sleeves of their Oriental gar- 
 ments fell back from the arm whenever one reached 
 to dip his morsel in the broth, displaying now the 
 strong sinews of youth and again the shrunken muscles 
 of old age. 
 
 Hannah, in her best gown and embroidered girdle, 
 with mirror and reticule attached, her dark braids 
 partially covered by her matron's cap, her gaudy 
 jewels catching occasional gleams from the flickering 
 blaze of the lamp, passed in and out around the 
 table serving the food, or waited at intervals in the 
 background. 
 
 The aged wife of Jesse, the mother of those eight 
 handsome youths, had crept up the stairway, and sat 
 in a sheltered corner of the battlements, where none 
 could see her, while she watched with humble pride 
 and pleasure, and wondered like the others why her 
 youngest son should be given the seat of honor. 
 
 All along the roofs of the houses, which were built 
 close together with a parapet between, were many 
 similar awnings, with now and then a gleaming light. 
 The dark outlines of dancing figures appeared above 
 the battlements, the sound of merry laughter and the 
 
 31 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 sweet music of the dulcimer and the harp filled the air, 
 and the stars shone in the low-hanging sky. 
 
 The judge passed one arm over David's shoulders, 
 and talked softly In his ear. Soon he unfastened the 
 horn that hung at his girdle, and, lifting it, poured 
 some drops of richly perfumed oil upon the boy's 
 head. Wonder of wonders! What would happen 
 next! Surely the old judge was in his dotage, to 
 make so much of the baby of the family, this young 
 shepherd boy, who knew nothing at all but to tend 
 the sheep. A queer eye for beauty he had too, the 
 brothers thought, to admire that brush of tawny hair 
 more than their glossy black locks, and those red 
 cheeks and that white forehead above their clear olive 
 tints of complexion. So to honor a child as to pour 
 oil upon his head, was more than they could under- 
 stand. The old man, Jesse, was pleased that the 
 judge should have honored any one of his sons. He 
 would rather it had been Eliab, but they were simple 
 farming people, and Jesse was glad of the preferment 
 of any of his sons, even the smallest and youngest. 
 The brothers dared not so much as look the astonish- 
 ment they felt. 
 
 When the supper was over, slaves brought towels, 
 a basin, and a pitcher of water, that every one in turn 
 might wash his hands. The remnants of the food 
 were removed, and for a long time they sat, while 
 the venerable judge talked with Jesse, and the sons 
 
THE LITTLE ONE 
 
 listened respectfully. David sat shy and quiet close 
 by the judge, his blue eyes with the bright brownish 
 tints in them gazing wonderingly out upon the night 
 and up to the gleaming stars. He had had strange 
 secrets whispered into his ear that night. Even while 
 he sat so still, his pulses beat with the wonder of what 
 he had heard. And he was to keep those wonderful 
 things in his heart and go back to the tending of his 
 sheep and lambs until he should be a man — then — 
 What would his father and mother think? What 
 would his brothers say? 
 
 Very early the next morning, before it was light, 
 the judge, who had passed the night in the guest- 
 room, descended to the court to take his leave, for 
 he wished to travel to his own city before the heat 
 of the day. David was already up and preparing 
 to go back to his flocks in the fields. He had hoped 
 to see the man of God once more. A slave brought 
 the judge's sandals, clean and fresh, and adjusted 
 them. Just then Jesse came into the court to bid his 
 venerable guest farewell. 
 
 Very soon the judge took his leave, and David ac- 
 companied him feeling childishly happy. He was glad 
 to go before his brothers were up, because he was a 
 little afraid of their teasing him and asking him ques- 
 tions, and he did not want to tell any of the wonder- 
 ful things the man of God had whispered to him at 
 the table. They went out of the city gates so early 
 z 33 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 that there were very few people at the well or in the 
 market-place, and the shepherds and vine-dressers 
 were just beginning to gather to go back to the day's 
 work in the field, but there were enough to tell all the 
 rest of the inhabitants of the town how David, the 
 youngest son of Jesse, had walked through the city 
 gate with the mighty judge Samuel. The family of 
 Jesse became at once very important in the eyes of 
 every one, and the story of the heifer, the sacrifice 
 of the animal outside the city gate, and the supper at 
 Jesse's home were upon every lip. 
 
 At the foot of the hill, below the city of Bethlehem, 
 the man of God and David parted. The judge laid 
 his hand on David's head, and said, " Remember, 
 God hath chosen thee to be king of thy people. Be 
 righteous and obedient to His commands, and thou 
 shalt overcome all thine enemies." The boy stood 
 in the path gazing reverently at the retreating form 
 of the judge, till it blended with the morning mist 
 and disappeared. Then he turned aside into the 
 valley. 
 
 It was still so dark that one could see only a little 
 distance around; yet he had no thought of danger, 
 the fold being so close to the city. His sandaled feet 
 passed noiselessly over the grass. He was thinking 
 of the judge's last words, " Thou shalt overcome all 
 thine enemies," when a fearful apparition hurled 
 itself at him out of the mist. 
 
 34 
 
CHAPTER III 
 A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 QJ^^^ HE next instant David was wrestling with 
 VixmW ^°"^^ creature in mortal combat. It was 
 ^SSg^i a full-grown lion, and a lamb fell from its 
 reeking jaws. David felt the strength of ten lions 
 surging in his veins. He seized the brute by the tail 
 close to the body, and swung it round and round with 
 all his might. His lionship was at a serious disad- 
 vantage. " God has not chosen me to be king over 
 this land to let me be killed by a lion the first thing," 
 was the thought David had in his mind as he strug- 
 gled. " Thou shalt overcome, thou shalt overcome," 
 kept ringing in his ears. Finally, summoning all his 
 power, he drove the beast's head against a great 
 boulder with such force that its neck was broken. 
 
 The contest had lasted only a few minutes, and, 
 just as the dawn broke, Doeg, who had heard a 
 strange noise, came running up from the fold where 
 iie had been with the sheep, and beheld David lean- 
 ing exhausted upon his staff, the dead lion before him 
 and a trembling lamb in the bushes close by. It had 
 
 35 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 escaped with nothing worse than a slit in one of its 
 long ears and the loss of a mouthful of wool. 
 
 " By my sacred beard! " exclaimed the astonished 
 Doeg. " Thou art a Samson in very truth I " 
 
 Doeg's beard was his only claim to beauty, and he 
 alluded to it on every possible occasion. He had a 
 retreating forehead, his skin was an unhealthy saffron, 
 his expression repulsive and villainous, but his beard, 
 his beloved darling, was soft and black and curling 
 and of unusual length. 
 
 Doeg would have taken the lamb in his arms, to 
 carry it back to the fold, but David, seeing his inten- 
 tion, sprang forward, saying, " I tore it out of the 
 lion's mouth; let me have it," and picking it up he 
 laid it gently in a fold of his cloak. 
 
 "Was Doeg asleep, that' he permitted a lion to 
 enter the fold and carry away a lamb? " asked David, 
 rather sharply, stroking the trembling little creature 
 in his arms. 
 
 " It must have strayed away and not come in with 
 the others," answered Doeg, glibly, but in his heart 
 there was anger aroused by David's criticism of him. 
 They walked back together, Doeg dragging the car- 
 cass of the lion. One sheep was bleating distractedly, 
 and David knew that it was her lamb that had been 
 seized by the lion. He put the little thing in his arms 
 down by her side, and watched her evident joy at 
 
 having her infant back again. She pressed her head 
 
 36 
 
A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 against his knee as if to thank him, and David felt 
 elated, because he had been strong enough to kill 
 the lion and save the lamb alive. 
 
 By the rising sunlight they skinned the beast, and 
 stretched the shaggy coat out to dry and cure it. 
 
 " Had he set those claws in thy garments, David, 
 the battle had not gone so well with thee," com- 
 mented Doeg. " To grasp him by the tail was thy 
 only chance; with the lamb in his mouth he was at a 
 disadvantage at first." 
 
 " He had no chance of his life after I laid hold 
 on him," laughed the shepherd boy, "but" — and 
 David became serious at once — " I did not do this 
 thing by myself alone ; it was the Lord God that put 
 strength into my arms." 
 
 " Verily, it was the Lord," agreed Doeg, piously. 
 " But the honor to thee is all the greater, for some 
 youths, had they been called out of the sheepfold to 
 sit at table with the great Judge Samuel, would have 
 felt so puffed up with pride that they would not have 
 called upon the Lord for help in such a Case. They 
 would have attempted it in their own strength — and 
 failed of course." 
 
 " I have very little to be proud of," said David. 
 " I am the youngest and smallest of my father's sons. 
 All my brothers are taller and handsomer than L" 
 
 " Beauty is largely a matter of opinion," said Doeg. 
 " There may be some who prefer a ruddy skin to an 
 
 37 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 olive or a brown complexion, and tawny hair to jet 
 black locks. There may be some even who would 
 consider Doeg handsome," and he stroked his curling 
 black beard affectionately. " But enlighten me, I 
 pray thee, upon the object of Judge Samuel's visit." 
 
 " We sat together at supper on the housetop," 
 David replied, " but why my father's house should 
 have been chosen, or why I should have been pre- 
 ferred above my brothers, I cannot say." 
 
 " Very well, if the matter is a secret, keep it to thy- 
 self. But it hath come to my ears, and I was telling 
 the story at the well even as Judge Samuel came in at 
 the gate, that the man of God hath cast off King 
 Saul." 
 
 David remained silent, gazing up toward the stars. 
 Doeg went on and told David all the story he had 
 told the people by the well : how King Saul had torn 
 Samuel's mantle, and how the judge had said, " The 
 Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this 
 day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine that 
 is better than thou." 
 
 Doeg's stock in trade was his knowledge of other 
 people's business, and he wanted very much to know 
 what had happened at the supper at Jesse's house. 
 David said nothing about it, however, for the judge 
 had cautioned him to keep what he had told him 
 hidden in his heart and to tell no one. The longer 
 David kept silent, the angrier Doeg grew, but he con- 
 
 38 
 
A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 cealed his anger, and determined to find out all about 
 it by some means. 
 
 " David," said he, suddenly, " why does thy head 
 shine on the top in the sunlight as if it had been 
 dipped in oil, and whence comes that odor of per- 
 fumed oil that spreads out on the air? " 
 
 The face of the shepherd boy flushed scarlet, and 
 he had no answer ready for these questions. Then 
 Doeg laughed within himself, for he felt sure that 
 he had discovered David's secret. He went back to 
 the city of Bethlehem with his head full of plans for 
 bettering his own condition through the knowledge he 
 possessed of the affairs of King Saul, of David, and 
 of Judge Samuel. He felt that what he knew meant 
 riches for him if he could but be sharp enough to 
 manage things to suit himself. 
 
 By the time Doeg got back the town was wide 
 awake and bustling enough. Noises of all kinds were 
 to be heard. The lowing of cattle, the bleating of 
 sheep and goats, cocks crowing, doves cooing, swal- 
 lows twittering, and above all the sound of many mills 
 and the voices of women singing. Maid-servants 
 and sometimes, where there were no servants, the 
 women of the household were laboriously turning the 
 hand-mills, grinding barley-meal or fine flour for the 
 day's use, singing as they worked. The sheep and 
 goats had been milked, and were taking their leisurely 
 way back to the fields. Tame swallows flitted in and 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 out of the open courts. They were welcome pets, for 
 they destroyed the flies and gnats, those pests in all 
 warm regions. The doves came out from under the 
 stairs in the courts where they nested, and splashed 
 their wings in the fountains or in the water jars when 
 there was no fountain, and pecked daintily at the 
 grain that was thrown to them. The laborers, singly 
 and in groups, were going back to the fields. 
 
 Doeg met Eliab, David's eldest brother, and 
 greeted him. " How was the house of Jesse honored 
 last night I " he exclaimed. 
 
 " It was all David last night, only David. The 
 rest of us had no chance at all after he appeared," 
 said Eliab. He could not help betraying his jealousy. 
 
 " Anointed with oil, too I " said Doeg. 
 
 " Hath the youngster told it already? " Eliab 
 cried. 
 
 " He had no need to tell it. Was not his head 
 soaked with it and the perfume of it heavy upon him ? 
 But he is a good youth and handsome. Ye ought to 
 rejoice that the child hath found favor with the man 
 of God. He may bring honor to the house of Jesse 
 yet." 
 
 " That is all true, Doeg, but it shames us to feel 
 that the little one is preferred before us, and we 
 would keep this matter a secret as far as we may." 
 
 " Ye may count upon Doeg to spread the news no 
 40 
 
A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 further," replied the herdsman, with an ugly smirk, 
 which he intended for a smile to inspire confidence. 
 
 Eliab was unsuspecting, and he told Doeg all that 
 had happened: how the judge had made David sit 
 close by his side, and had poured oil out of a horn 
 upon his head, and had whispered things in his ear, 
 which none of the rest had heard. 
 
 " Verily, this is a great honor," said Doeg, " and 
 if the preferment had been for thee, I should have 
 said, Hide it not; but since it hath fallen upon the 
 little one, it may be wise, as thou sayest, to keep it a 
 secret until we shall see what comes of it. One thing 
 I know, the little one Is growing strong and sturdy. 
 I have just seen him crush a lion, which was devour- 
 ing one of his lambs, as if the great beast had been a 
 reptile beneath his heel. By my sacred beard, he is a 
 lusty child." ? 
 
 Some of the other sons of Jesse came up in time to 
 hear how their little brother had killed a lion that 
 morning before it was light, and neighbors joined the 
 group, and the story of David's bravery and strength 
 added to that of Judge Samuel's visit to the house of 
 Jesse, made subjects for conversation for many days 
 thereafter in the fields and around the well In the town 
 and even in the homes of the townspeople. 
 
 During the next few days David was alone with 
 the flock, but his heart and soul were so full of new 
 
 ideas that he could not suffer himself to be idle a 
 
 41 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 moment. He practised throwing stones with his sling, 
 till, as his father had said of his elder brothers, he 
 could hit the mark within a hair's breadth. He was 
 fond of playing the harp and singing the songs he had 
 learned from other shepherds, and he delighted to 
 compose songs of his own. His harp always went 
 with him wherever he was stationed. One day an 
 accident happened to the instrument, making it use- 
 less. He was almost glad after his first grief, for he 
 could now find employment in making a new one. 
 
 He went to work with such tools and materials as 
 he had at hand. When the sheep rested in the shade 
 at noon, or fed quietly in the cool of the day, he sat 
 near them carving, shaping, experimenting, fitting the 
 strings, and humming strains of song. 
 
 Previous to his meeting with the man of God he 
 had made his songs about the dawn, the sunset, birds, 
 flowers, or about his flock, but now he had a new song 
 in his heart, and his mind was busy with it. As the 
 harp grew under his skilful fingers, he could scarcely 
 wait for its completion, that he might touch the chords 
 and sing to the music the words he had composed. It 
 was nearly night when he finished it. He laid it care- 
 fully inside his tent, while he counted the sheep and 
 lambs, and secured them in the fold. Then, taking 
 the new harp in his hand, he stood on a little eminence 
 
 near by, and sang : 
 
 42 
 
He Was Fond of Playing the Habp 
 
A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 I was small among my brothers, 
 
 I was the youngest in my father's house. 
 
 I was feeding my father's sheep. 
 
 And who hath told it to the Lord ? 
 
 He is the Lord, He heareth. 
 
 His messenger came and took me, 
 
 From my father's flocks he took me. 
 
 And anointed me with oil. 
 
 My brothers were beautiful and tall, 
 
 But the Lord was not pleased with them. 
 
 " A very pretty song, by my sacred beard," cried 
 a voice, breaking the stillness that followed the clos- 
 ing strain. " Thou art a minstrel." 
 
 So engrossed had David been in his song that he 
 had been conscious of nothing else. Startled by the 
 voice, he turned and saw Doeg's ugly face and heavy, 
 ungainly form close by. He felt chagrin at having 
 allowed himself to be surprised in this manner, partic- 
 ularly as he had woven much into his song that he 
 would rather no one had heard. 
 
 " So thou wast anointed," Doeg continued good- 
 naturedly. " 0, thou needst not blush, the whole 
 village knows how thou wast honored. How could 
 thy mother keep it to herself? " 
 
 " I am sure I am not worthy of such honor," David 
 said, hardly knowing how to take Doeg's bantering 
 manner, and heartily glad he had said nothing in his 
 song about being king. 
 
 " Thy modesty adorns thee like a king's crown," 
 
 43 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 said Doeg, seating himself upon a large stone and 
 placing his bundle and staff beside him. 
 
 " Art thou making a journey? " David asked, see- 
 ing the bundle and deeming it wise to ignore Doeg's 
 remark about a king's crown. 
 
 " Yes, I am going back to GIbeah, my old home." 
 
 "That is where our king holds his court!" ex- 
 claimed David, betraying more excitement than he 
 realized. 
 
 Doeg did not fail to note every changing expres- 
 sion of the boy's face from beneath the heavy black 
 lashes of his long narrow eyes. 
 
 " Yes," he answered at length, " I used to serve 
 his father and him before he was king, and I have just 
 been sent for to take charge of his flocks, to be chief 
 shepherd." 
 
 "Well, thou art in luck! " said David, looking at 
 the man with increasing interest. " What would I 
 give if I might serve the king, or even see him. Is 
 he as handsome as people say? " 
 
 " O yes, as men judge beauty. I suppose King 
 Saul is the handsomest man in all the land, and as to 
 height, he is head and shoulders above common men. 
 His hair shames the raven's wing for blackness, and 
 his eyes could pierce thee through." 
 
 " If I might only see him ! " murmured David. 
 
 " It may be I shall have a chance to speak with the 
 king about thee. Come, take thy harp and speed 
 
A FRIEND AT COURT 
 
 Doeg on his journey with a song. Surely thou hast 
 made up a song about killing the lion by this time." 
 
 Blushing, David confessed that he had composed 
 a song about killing the lion. He struck a few chords 
 boldly on his new harp and sang: 
 
 Once a Hon fierce entered the fold 
 
 Where lay my lambs. 
 Bearing one in his mouth he sought to flee, 
 
 But went not far. 
 I seized him, drove him with great strength 
 
 Upon the earth, 
 And in the Lord's name I slew him. 
 Thus perish all mine enemies ! 
 
 " Most charming, by my beard I Yet it seemeth 
 to me there is something lacking. Thy lion is dead 
 enough, but why not finish the tail? Thou hadst him 
 by it fairly enough, and didst cause his ruin thereby." 
 
 " It would not be fit poetry if I explained it allj" 
 laughed the shepherd boy. 
 
 " I know nothing about thy poetic fitness, but I 
 should have told the tale more fully and so, according 
 to my idea, more fitly. But thy singing is sweet, and 
 thy words fair, as far as they go. What fashion of 
 harp is this? " 
 
 " It is one that I made myself, O Doeg, for the 
 one I had before was broken." 
 
 " Thou hast a cunning hand at shaping. Well, 
 I must be gone, and I will remember thee, David, be- 
 fore the king, should occasion permit." 
 
 45 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 David had a feeling of distrust toward Doeg, 
 which he could not explain, for he was no more 
 suspicious than his brother Eliab, and yet his heart 
 sang for joy as he watched the burly fellow going 
 down the hill, staff in hand, for he knew of no one 
 but Doeg who could bring him to the notice of the 
 king. If King Saul trusted Doeg enough to make 
 him chief shepherd of his flocks, why should not he 
 put faith in him? 
 
 " The Lord be with thee, Doeg," he called heartily 
 across the space. 
 
 46 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE MINSTREL 
 
 |ING Saul was ill in his palace at GIbeah, 
 his native city. The medicines which the 
 court physicians prescribed proved of no 
 avail. His malady only increased. It was a curious 
 disease, baffling in its nature. Often for several days 
 at a time it would seem to have left him entirely, and 
 he would be his natural self, handsome, light-hearted, 
 full of generous impulses, and eager to promote the 
 welfare of his subjects. In a moment a cloud would 
 settle upon his spirit, and he would sink to the lowest 
 depths of melancholy and despair. At such times his 
 family and intimate friends were half afraid of him, 
 and his servants used the utmost caution, lest they 
 offend him in any matter, for at the slightest cause 
 he would fly into a most violent passion and hurl any- 
 thing within his reach at whoever was unfortunate 
 enough to incur his displeasure. Sometimes his fierce 
 and ungovernable passion seemed to stifle him, and 
 he would fall down wherever he happened to be, 
 choking and half suffocating in convulsions most 
 terrible to witness. 
 
 Things were in this lamentable state when, one day, 
 
 47 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 a Stranger arrived at the palace, and craved audience 
 of the king. After some delay he was admitted to 
 the chamber where the king sat upon a magnificent 
 couch with some of his chief men around him. He 
 was in a very disagreeable mood, for he had that day 
 learned from the mouth of his messengers of losses 
 among his flocks. Some camels and asses had been 
 driven off by a band of robbers, a number of sheep 
 had been destroyed by wild beasts, and others had 
 perished for lack of water. When the stranger 
 entered, the chief herdsman, on his knees, his fore- 
 head pressed against the marble floor and his bare 
 toes sticking out piteously in the rear, was making the 
 wildest excuses for his neglect and equally extrav- 
 agant promises to do better in the future. As soon 
 as the king's angry gaze alighted upon the new-comer, 
 his brow cleared. He recognized a former trusted 
 servant of Kish, his father. The evil face with its 
 veiled, impenetrable expression and the glossy beard 
 hiding the cruel mouth had not changed in the least. 
 To the distracted king it was like the face of an 
 angel, for in Doeg he saw the salvation of his flocks 
 and herds. 
 
 King Saul's ruling characteristic was to act first 
 and think afterwards, and so, as might be expected, he 
 was constantly making mistakes and getting himself 
 into serious difiiculties. He had chosen for his ser- 
 vants men conspicuous for personal beauty as well as 
 
 48 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 for size and strength. Doeg, in spite of his " sacred " 
 beard, was far from handsome. Therefore he had 
 been despised by Saul in the first flush of his kingship, 
 and had been given no office. Doeg never forgot a 
 slight, and that he had not been considered by Saul 
 had made him vindictive. It was not out of love for 
 his king, as he pretended, that he came to court, but 
 in reality to see if he could devise means of bringing 
 David and the king together. He had a malicious 
 desire to see what would be the result of their ac- 
 quaintance. He knew more about the affairs of state 
 than any man in the kingdom aside from Judge 
 Samuel. Having made a shrewd guess as to the 
 reason of the visit of the man of God to the house 
 of Jesse, he determined to amuse himself at the ex- 
 pense of kings and king-makers, and at the same time 
 mayhap find some chance to satisfy his desire for 
 revenge. 
 
 " Thou art Doeg, my father's steward," cried the 
 king, impulsively rising from his couch and pushing 
 aside the chief herdsman, who tumbled over and 
 crawled hastily out of the way, " The sight of thee, 
 Doeg, is like a lamp unto my feet. Thou art come at 
 the right time to hold up the hands of thy king. Be- 
 hold the wretched man who hath been wasting my 
 substance ! Take him away, guards, lest I pierce him 
 through as he lies. Put him in chains, till I see 
 what may be done with him." 
 
 49 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 The chief herdsman squirmed convulsively at this, 
 and his bare toes twisted themselves together in a 
 helpless way. The guards seized him and were about 
 to bear him off, when the king commanded, " Halt, 
 till he gives an account of his stewardship." 
 
 With many tears and violent protestations of 
 innocence the poor man gave a stammering account 
 of the number and situation of the various herds of 
 sheep, goats, asses, camels, and kine, with the names 
 of the shepherds In charge. Then he was led away. 
 
 Doeg knew more about the causes of the chief 
 herdsman's losses than he did himself, for he had 
 adroitly paved the way for his own entrance at court 
 through the poor fellow's downfall, and, if the truth 
 must be told, knew so much about the driving off of 
 the camels and asses as to be able the next day to 
 send after them and bring them back, much to his own 
 honor and glory. Saul in his eagerness heaped offices 
 upon Doeg. He made him keeper of the royal mules, 
 steward of the house servants, and constable to his 
 own royal person. So this odd man, not a Hebrew 
 but an alien by birth, gained a footing in the very 
 stronghold of the kingdom, and became the friend 
 and adviser of the king. 
 
 Still the king's heart was heavy with burdens none 
 knew of. He had grievously offended the judge, 
 Samuel, whose counsel he respected much more than 
 
 his conduct on certain occasions implied. Left to 
 
 50 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 himself, he found that he knew far less about the 
 management of a kingdom than he had supposed. 
 The game was becoming complex, and he did not 
 know which way to move his men. Almost in despair, 
 he went to the priests, as was the custom in matters 
 of importance, and asked them to inquire of God 
 what was best to do. This they did repeatedly, but 
 no answer came, and the miserable king felt that 
 God had deserted him because of his sins. 
 
 Through the long nights he tossed on his bed and 
 tried to sleep, in the hope that a cheering dream might 
 visit him. But in vain. Under this mental strain, 
 which his physicians knew nothing about, his condi- 
 tion became alarming. They held a consultation, and 
 the chief physician came and knelt before him. 
 
 " Well, what now? " the monarch asked, glower- 
 ing. 
 
 " Let my lord the king send for a man skilful in 
 playing on the harp and In the singing of hymns, that 
 he may drive away the king's melancholy with music." 
 
 " Betake thyself to the millstones if thou art so 
 fond of music I " yelled the king, savagely, making a 
 sudden lunge after his spear, and frightening the 
 chief physician so that he nearly tumbled over in 
 trying to get out of the way. He made so ridiculous 
 an appearance that the king was forced to laugh in 
 spite of himself, but when some of the courtiers 
 laughed too, he glowered at them, and became sullen 
 
 51 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 again. For some time there was no sound in the 
 court save the splashing of the fountains and the 
 fluttering and cooing of two white doves. Then, 
 jerking out his words after the manner of a spoilt 
 and passionate child, the king commanded, 
 
 " Search me out a man." 
 
 At that Doeg, who happened to be present, said, 
 " Thy servant hath seen a young man in the city of 
 Bethlehem, a son of Jesse. He is no more than a 
 child in age, but handsome and skilled in playing on 
 the harp and in singing. He singeth like the wild 
 birds, without training, and he hath great strength. 
 Thy servant hath seen him rend a lion. He will 
 charm away the king's melancholy if any one can. 
 He is a shepherd lad, and tendeth his father's sheep." 
 
 " Send and fetch this wonderful youth," said the 
 king, gloomily, fingering the great spear that always 
 stood at his side. " According to thy story, Doeg, 
 a king's court would become him better than the tend- 
 ing of sheep." 
 
 " Thou sayest it, my lord," Doeg answered with 
 an easy grace that astonished the other courtiers. 
 Doeg was the only man among them all not afraid 
 of the tyrant king, and he was respected by the king 
 accordingly. 
 
 The palace had three courts and a great number of 
 rooms. It was two stories high, and had upper and 
 lower balconies opening on the courts. The largest 
 
 52 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 of these courts was the king's reception room, and 
 there most of the day he reclined on his ivory couch, 
 surrounded by servants and courtiers. During the 
 heat of the day a heavy awning was drawn over the 
 opening between the roofs, where at other times the 
 blue sky appeared. Fountains played, the marble 
 floor was thickly covered with carpets, and at the 
 sides low broad divans had been placed with richly 
 embroidered pillows set up against the wall. 
 
 One afternoon, a few days after Doeg had had 
 orders to send for the son of Jesse, two little black- 
 eyed girls, one about twelve, the other about fourteen 
 years old, tiptoed softly out from an Inner room to 
 one of the upper balconies, which overlooked this 
 court. They were the king's two young daughters. 
 They had heard that a minstrel had arrived at the 
 palace to sing for their father, and when their nurse 
 fell asleep, as she usually did about the middle of the 
 afternoon, they slipped away from her, and crept out 
 to the balcony, where they thought they might hear 
 the music. They had discovered a small opening In 
 a seam of the draperies that screened the balcony, 
 through which they could look. 
 
 " Let me see ! " whispered the younger girl, im- 
 patiently, after they had been taking turns a while, 
 for the opening was so small that only one could look 
 
 at a time. 
 
 53 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " O, thou dost want to look all the time ! Hast 
 thou fallen In love at a glance? " returned the other. 
 
 " Just one peep, Merab " pursued the first. " He 
 will be gone I Listen ! They call him David. What 
 a sweet name ! How he sings ! O, I shall be jealous 
 of thee I I shall, indeed ! " 
 
 " Well, look then, thou silly Michal ! I shall tell 
 nurse thou art quite enamored of the minstrel boy. 
 Then thou wilt feel ashamed." 
 
 "Thou art a naughty sister I" whispered little 
 Princess Michal, the tears rising in her soft black 
 eyes. " If thou tellest, we shall never have the chance 
 of coming here again, and we shall be so lonesome 
 with nothing to amuse us — only to embroider, em- 
 broider the cushions, all day, and I always hurt my 
 fingers with the needle." 
 
 " Thou needst not cry, Michal. Thou knowest I 
 would not tell," said the Princess Merab, softening 
 at sight of the tears. " I shall tell nurse how thou 
 hatest to sew the cushions, and we shall tease our 
 brother Jonathan to bring the minstrel to the inner 
 court, to sing for us. Is he there yet, Michal? " 
 
 " O yes, I forgot. It is thy turn. Didst thou ever 
 see such hair, Merab, and such a fair skin? I verily 
 believe his eyes are blue! Canst thou tell, Merab, 
 from here if his eyes are blue? " 
 
 " No, but he fingers his harp like a master of music. 
 
 Look again if thou wouldst see him once more, while 
 
 64 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 I run to nurse. She is calling us, and do thou hurry 
 and come as soon as thou hast seen the last of him." 
 
 " Mcrab, Mcrab, he is not going to sing any more. 
 He is going out of the court with Jonathan I " cried 
 Michal after her departing sister. 
 
 " Where is thy sister? " cried the nurse, sharply, 
 as Princess Mcrab ran up behind her and clapped 
 both hands over her eyes. " What is thy trick now ? 
 Art thou not ashamed to tease thy poor old nurse? 
 CJall thy sister and go sit by the fountain with thy 
 sewing. Thy mother will chide me for letting thee 
 be idle." 
 
 "Michal I Michal 1" cried Merab, noisily, dan- 
 cing this way and that. " I think, nurse, she has run 
 on ahead. Get the work and come on to the foun- 
 tain." 
 
 The woman meekly gathered up the embroidery 
 materials and trudged after the Princess Merab, who 
 was already half way down-stairs, when the Princess 
 Michal dashed past her like a little sprite and joined 
 her sister. Such performances went to the old lady's 
 head and made her dizzy. She dropped down on 
 the step for a moment to collect her senses, muttering 
 something about " the heedless pranks of those chil- 
 dren." 
 
 Michal put her arms around Merab's neck, and 
 whispered in her ear, " Our father called him back, 
 Merab, before he got to the door, and he has made 
 
 55 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 him his armor-bearer. Now he will stay here, and 
 we may see him often." 
 
 " Hush ! there is nurse with the embroidery." 
 
 " I don't want to sew, nurse ! It hurts my fingers." 
 
 " But thou wilt never learn to do it and not hurt 
 
 thy fingers, if thou wilt not practise. Put thy needle 
 
 in so. Have a care I Do not bend it ! There, it is 
 
 broken ! " 
 
 " Never mind, nurse," said Michal, sweetly. 
 " Don't trouble to go up-stairs after another. It is 
 too hot to sew to-day anyway. Let us play with the 
 doves. Come, Merab ! " And away skipped these 
 two lively maidens, scattering the work as they went. 
 They threw themselves down on the carpets near the 
 fountain, each calling the names of her particular pets. 
 Half a dozen came fluttering down to Merab, but 
 only one to Michal. " I have only one love," she 
 whispered in Merab's ear. 
 
 " And he is a red-headed shepherd boy," answered 
 Merab, teasingly. 
 
 " He is my father's armor-bearer," said Michal, 
 complacently, rolling over on her back, and letting 
 the dove balance himself on her uplifted hands. 
 Merab did not look quite happy, though her doves 
 perched on her head and nestled in her arms in a very 
 affectionate manner. " Thou dost always want the 
 best of everything," she said after a while. 
 
 " Thou canst have Joseph now and Amos too, if 
 56 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 thou carest for them. I will have no one but David 
 any more," said Michal. 
 
 " Keep thy David, and thy Joseph, and thy Amos 
 too! I will have no second-hand loves!" cried 
 Merab, angrily. " There are a dozen lads I could 
 name handsomer than any in Jonathan's guard." 
 
 Just then their mother stepped from her door upon 
 the lower balcony, almost on a level with the court. 
 
 " Stop talking about your loves," she said, looking 
 very much amused. " Your father will select husbands 
 for you when you are old enough. You are too young 
 to think of such things now. Nurse ! Nurse ! Why 
 are my daughters idle ? Set them to work. Come ! 
 Come!" 
 
 " As I live, O Queen, they would not sew, and 
 Princess Michal hath broken another needle." 
 
 "What! Another? Michal, thou art a careless 
 girl ! Hast thou any more needles, nurse? " 
 
 " But two, O Queen." 
 
 " Send a maid for one. Thou needst not climb the 
 stairs." 
 
 In a very short time the two sisters were embroider- 
 ing as diligently as if they had never had another 
 thought, and looking as demure as two young kittens. 
 Their stately mother, in her rich jewels and flowing 
 draperies, sat near and kept an eye on them. Strings 
 of pearls were twisted in the heavy coils of her dark 
 hair. She had removed her silk outer robe because 
 
 57 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 of the heat, and the soft linen gown underneath had 
 short flowing sleeves, and crossed low on the breast, 
 showing her arms and throat glittering with jewels. 
 
 The princesses wore long white slips cut round in 
 the neck, with loose sleeves and little over-robes of 
 many colors, embroidered. All had on daintily em- 
 broidered house sandals. 
 
 While they were sitting there, Prince Jonathan 
 came in, leading the shepherd boy David, who blushed 
 brightly in the presence of the ladies. His tawny 
 curls hung thick against his cheeks and throat, and he 
 looked very handsome and sturdy in his shepherd's 
 clothes, with his harp in his hand. 
 
 " This is my mother, and these are my sisters," 
 Prince Jonathan explained. " Mother, this is David, 
 the son of Jesse of Bethlehem, and he hath come to 
 our court to divert the mind of the king from the 
 troubles that oppress it. Our father is vastly pleased 
 with him, and hath made him his armor-bearer, and 
 he is to sing and play on his harp every day for him. 
 As for me, I have said to David, ' Thou shalt be my 
 brother.' " 
 
 " That is well, my son. He is a comely youth, 
 and we welcome him to our court. We shall hear 
 some of his music with pleasure, shall we not, my 
 daughters? " 
 
 " Yes indeed, my mother," they both answered, 
 nodding their pretty heads violently. 
 
 58 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 So David stood up and threw his curls back, ran 
 his fingers across the strings of his harp, and sang: 
 
 Praise waiteth for Thee, O God. 
 Thou visitest the earth and blessest it. 
 The pastures are clothed with flocks, 
 The valleys are covered with corn. 
 The little hills rejoice on every side; 
 They shout for joy, they also sing. 
 
 " It is beautiful! " exclaimed Princess MichaL 
 
 " I think so too," cried Princess Merab, 
 
 " He made his harp himself," explained Prince 
 Jonathan. " Is he not skilful? " 
 
 " It is quite wonderful," said the mother, smiling 
 at David as he stood blushing again at so much praise. 
 
 " Where didst thou learn the beautiful song? " 
 ventured Princess MIchal. 
 
 " It was in the summer when thy servant had taken 
 his flocks high up into the mountains that the song 
 came to him." 
 
 " Didst thou make it up thyself? " 
 
 " Yes, the words and the music." 
 
 " How couldst thou, and thou only a shepherd 
 boy? " 
 
 " Because, when thy servant looked down and saw 
 
 the sheep and the lambs feeding on all the little hills 
 
 below, and saw the reapers in the fields in the valleys 
 
 putting the grain into bundles, and the laborers in 
 
 59 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 the vineyards cutting the stems of purple grapes, his 
 heart began to sing of itself. Many others can make 
 songs. The people sing as they work gathering in the 
 grain. They call to each other from hilltop to hill- 
 top. The shepherds call to each other in song. Even 
 the little children sing. It is not anything very won- 
 derful to make up a song." 
 
 " O, but Jonathan hath told us what Doeg, the new 
 steward, says, that all the shepherds declare that 
 David, the son of Jesse, is the sweetest singer of them 
 all," said Michal, archly. 
 
 " Doeg is very kind to bring so good a report of 
 thy servant," said David, modestly. 
 
 Soon Prince Jonathan led David away to tell him 
 about his new duties as armor-bearer to the king. 
 Doeg, who was in the outer court, chuckled when he 
 saw David meeting with so much favor. 
 
 " I am playing with kings, and it is great sport," 
 he said to himself. " These kings are puppets in my 
 hands, and yet," he sighed, " in after years, when 
 Saul and David are remembered, perhaps Doeg will 
 be forgotten. But I shall keep friendship with both. 
 If Saul should kill David in a fit of anger, I shall still 
 have Saul, and if Judge Samuel should overthrow this 
 tall, handsome king of his, and succeed in putting the 
 shepherd boy in his place, I shall still have a king on 
 
 my side. In these days a man that would better his 
 
 60 
 
THE MINSTREL 
 
 fortune must be ready to fall either way. I am the 
 king's constable, and he tells me all his secrets. Judge 
 Samuel hath forsaken him, so why should not I influ- 
 ence him as I please ? Come, let us see what we can 
 bring about I " 
 
 61 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 OEG began to plot and plan and exercise 
 his sinister influence in the counsels of 
 King Saul, and no one dared oppose him, 
 because the king favored him, and showered honors 
 upon him. A messenger was sent to Jesse, David's 
 father in Bethlehem, to inform him that the king de- 
 sired to keep David at court to be his armor-bearer 
 and to divert his mind with music. 
 
 Months passed before the boy thought much about 
 going home. He was enchanted with the life he led 
 in the palace. The rough edges seemed to have been 
 taken off from everything. He could but look in 
 wonder at the two fair daughters of the king and at 
 their mother. His own mother and sisters often 
 decked their persons with as many jewels as the 
 women of the royal family, but colored glass beads 
 are quite different from pearls and fine gold. He had 
 been used to the sight of hands roughened and 
 browned by toil. Here the taper fingers and the 
 rounded arms were so smooth and fair that they 
 seemed too beautiful for any use except to be looked 
 
 at and admired. 
 
 62 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 The princesses, Merab and MIchal, were so well 
 guarded that David never caught a glimpse of either 
 except on the rare occasions when Prince Jonathan 
 took him to the inner court at their mother's request, 
 to sing for them. There he always found something 
 that frightened him more than wild beasts or a fierce 
 storm in the mountains or an angry king. It was 
 nothing less than the admiring glances that flashed 
 from the dark eyes of the two little maids. He never 
 spoke to them unless they asked him questions, and his 
 modesty pleased both them and their mother. 
 
 Prince Jonathan, the king's eldest son, and David 
 became fast friends. They were together on every 
 possible occasion, and when anyone wished to express 
 a great friendship, he said, " as Jonathan's love for 
 David," or " as David's love for Jonathan." 
 
 Sometimes when David lay on his bed at night in 
 the palace, he would wonder if it were not all a 
 dream. He half expected, when he opened his eyes, 
 to see the stars above him and the hills around, and 
 to hear the lambs bleating in the fold. Instead, there 
 were the rich bed-curtains, the rugs and cushions, and 
 all the luxuries of a king's palace. 
 
 For a while the king seemed to love David very 
 much. He sent for him every day, to come and play 
 on his harp and sing. Saul's health improved, and 
 as he grew better he began to busy himself with the 
 affairs of state. He sought all through his kingdom 
 
 63 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 for able-bodied men to join his army and for men both 
 handsome and valiant to be in his body-guard. So 
 occupied, he forgot all about the young shepherd boy 
 that had sung and played him back to health. Saul 
 always forgot people when he had no more need of 
 them. David sat by Prince Jonathan at the king's 
 table at meals, but the king took no notice of him. 
 It was his habit to talk with Abner, the commander- 
 in-chief of his army, or to sit thinking. One day, 
 when they were sitting at supper, one of King Saul's 
 spies rushed in and fell down on his face at his feet, 
 exclaiming: "The Philistines ire gathering their 
 armies together against us, to destroy us. They are 
 like the sands of the sea, O king." 
 
 David's heart leaped for joy. Now, he thought, he 
 should be able to show them that he could do some- 
 thing besides singing and playing the harp. Prince 
 Jonathan had told him of his own exploits with the 
 Philistines, and he longed to go against the enemy as 
 Jonathan had done many times. As the king's armor- 
 bearer he would have a chance to be in the very front 
 of the battle, and the king and Jonathan and all the 
 royal family would know that he was brave. Then 
 King Saul would remember him again. 
 
 When Doeg, steward of the household slaves, 
 keeper of the royal mules, chief of the herdsmen, and 
 constable to the king, saw that King Saul was well 
 again, and David was forgotten, he began to think that 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 with his help King Saul might do very well without 
 Judge Samuel or the Lord. Even if Samuel had 
 planned to make David king, and of that Doeg was 
 not quite sure, the boy was too young yet to lead 
 armies to battle. Would it not be better if David 
 went back to his sheep? Doeg decided very quickly 
 that it would be a good idea to get David out of the 
 way before he had a chance to go into battle or show 
 any bravery before the king, to call him back to re- 
 membrance in the royal mind. How should he ac- 
 complish this? A way presented itself at once. 
 
 The king was busy sending messengers into all parts 
 of the land, to summon all able-bodied men that were 
 not released by the provisions of the law from duty 
 in the army, to come to Gibeah and join his forces for 
 the purpose of conquering the Philistines. The crafty 
 Doeg whispered into the ear of Abner, the captain 
 of the king's host of warriors, and said, " The 
 patriarch Jesse, of the city of Bethlehem, hath many 
 stalwart sons. Choose thou some of them, O Abner." 
 
 Doeg thought that if some of the elder sons of Jesse 
 went to the war, David would be called back home to 
 tend the sheep. And so it happened. It was not long 
 before a king's messenger arrived in Bethlehem, and 
 three of David's brothers were chosen to go to war 
 against the Philistines, among them Eliab, the eldest. 
 The old man Jesse charged the brothers many times 
 while they were preparing to go away, to send his 
 
 3 65 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 youngest son David back, if such a thing were pos- 
 sible. 
 
 One day Abner said to Doeg : " Three of the sons 
 of Jesse of Bethlehem are with us, and they are fine, 
 strong men, and since thou hast the ear of the king in 
 household matters, I pray thou wilt gain permission 
 for the minstrel boy David, who hath in times past 
 charmed the king with his music, to go out and see 
 his brothers where they are in camp, for they have 
 asked this favor." ! 
 
 This pleased Doeg vastly, and, pretending to be 
 very kind and considerate, he Informed David that 
 his brothers were in the camp, and he gave him per- 
 mission to go out and see them and inquire about the 
 health of his family. Full of joy the boy hurried 
 away, and was not long in finding his brothers among 
 the soldiers. 
 
 " Is everything well at home, and are my father 
 and mother comfortable?" David inquired the 
 moment he had greeted them dutifully, as a younger 
 brother should. 
 
 " Our father is bowed down with grief," exclaimed 
 Eliab. " We three have been taken from him to fight 
 in King Saul's army, and there is no one to care for 
 the flocks. Go to the king and tell him all, and 
 plead with him to send thee home to thy father and 
 thy mother. Thou art the smallest in thy father's 
 house, and he mourns for thee without ceasing." 
 
 66 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 David promised to do all that his brothers wished, 
 and he parted from them, and went and found Prince 
 Jonathan, and told him how matters stood. Then 
 Jonathan went to his royal father and asked him 
 if David might go home, since three of his older 
 brothers were already in the field. 
 
 "David! Who is David?" inquired the king, 
 absently. 
 
 " Why, David ! The minstrel that hath diverted 
 thee many times with his sweet music." 
 
 " David, the minstrel I Why dost thou trouble me 
 with such trifling matters? Bid him be gone, if he 
 will, to his sheep-cotes again, and give thy attention to 
 the troops. We must attend to the business of war. 
 We have no time to play with children and hear them 
 sing and play on toy harps." 
 
 So David went home, though in his heart he longed 
 to stay and take part in the coming battle. Was he 
 not strong? Had he not killed the lion that would 
 have carried away one of his lambs? But when he 
 reached home, and his old father and mother clasped 
 him in their arms, and kissed him, and wept over him, 
 and all the household seemed so glad to welcome him 
 back, and he saw how much his help was needed there, 
 he could not regret having returned. 
 
 It was the middle of the harvest when he got there, 
 and the women and children with the men that had 
 not been drafted into the army, principally young lads 
 
 67 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 and old men, were gathering in the great purple 
 clusters of grapes, drying quantities for raisins and 
 treading out the rich fruit in the wine-presses. 
 
 David took his flock of sheep and lambs and went 
 up into the high places of the mountains, where the 
 cool breezes blew, and the pasture was fresh and 
 green. But even there news from the battle-field 
 where his brothers were came to him often, and 
 eagerly he listened to thrilling stories about hand-to- 
 hand encounters between picked men of the Philis- 
 tines and Saul's army, and skirmishes between de- 
 tachments of the armies, and about Prince Jonathan's 
 brave exploits. Each soldier was obliged to furnish 
 his own rations as far as possible, and the servants and 
 young lads left at home had to run every few days to 
 the camp where the army lay, to carry provisions to 
 the soldiers. These messengers brought frequent 
 news of how the war went and of the welfare of the 
 sons of Jesse. 
 
 Yet David was alone most of the time, guarding 
 his flock, with only his beloved harp for company. 
 He was in the midst of nature's solitudes, and he saw 
 visions and dreamed dreams, and was not afraid. In 
 the still nights, when the stars gleamed like spikes of 
 fire in the deep blue, cloudless sky, he would stand 
 among his sheep and lambs and pour out his heart in 
 song. Often the keepers of other flocks saw his 
 sturdy, boyish figure on some mountain slope above 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 them, his harp in his hand and his tawny curls blown 
 back by the wind, the sunlight flecking them with 
 points of fire, and they could hear his sweet, clear 
 voice giving answering songs to their own. 
 
 He never doubted the words of the man of God, 
 that he was to be king. Somehow, some time, he 
 knew it would come to pass, when he should have 
 grown to mature manhood, and Saul should have 
 died. But he kept all these thoughts deep in his heart. 
 He practised day after day with his sling shot until 
 he could hit the mark every time. All through the 
 still nights he walked among his sheep and lambs and 
 kept a sharp watch for intruders, and during the heat 
 of the day he would sleep in some shady spot, for he 
 knew that it was not the manner of wild beasts to 
 prowl about after their food in the bright sunshine. 
 
 One dark night he was thinking of King Saul, of 
 his dear friend Prince Jonathan, and of the young 
 princesses, Michal and Merab, and all that must be 
 going on in the king's house and in the soldiers' camp, 
 and he walked up and down in front of the sleeping 
 flock, and pretended that the sheep were soldiers at 
 rest, and he was on guard. His eyes pierced every 
 dark thicket, and his ears caught the slightest sound. 
 Suddenly he thought he saw something move along 
 the edge of the cliff, a big stealthy body, which crept 
 along inch by inch, and made no sound. David's 
 
 69 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 blood leaped In his veins, and every muscle grew tense 
 and hard. Here was an enemy, and he must show 
 what kind of fighting man he was. No lamb should 
 be torn from his flock this time, even though the 
 whole army of the Philistines came upon them. 
 
 By its slow, swinging motion David knew in a 
 moment that it was a bear, and as it came nearer and 
 passed out of the shadow of the bushes, its shaggy 
 coat glistened a dark brown color in the moonlight. 
 
 " She hath crept down out of the Syrian mountains 
 in search of water and to satisfy her hunger with what- 
 ever prey she can discover," thought the shepherd 
 youth. He stood motionless upon a little eminence 
 in the narrow pathway, with his heavy shepherd's 
 staff in his hand, and he kept saying to himself, " The 
 Lord is my strength, the Lord is my strength." 
 
 The creature had not scented him, because the 
 wind was blowing towards him, and, standing with- 
 out motion, he must have seemed so like an inanimate 
 thing, a ledge of rock or a tree, that the little, sharp, 
 roving eyes did not discover him till she was close 
 upon him. Then, with a sudden low growl of rage, 
 she reared upon her hind legs, to throw herself upon 
 the enemy that confronted her. But David was too 
 quick for her. His staff came down with crushing 
 force upon her widely extended jaws, breaking the 
 lower one. Again she reared herself, roaring W4th 
 
 70 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 pain and rage, and again David's staff descended un- 
 erringly across the bridge of her nose. Furious now, 
 she rose again and again, blood streaming from mouth 
 and eyes, only to feel blow after blow rain upon her 
 head, before she could bring her powerful claws into 
 action, or get near enough to fold her adversary in a 
 crushing embrace. Finally she fell upon her knees as 
 it were, stunned for an instant. David leaped upon 
 her back, and, grasping the shaggy hair of her neck, 
 he twisted her head around, till he heard the bones 
 crack. The bear rolled over, and he slipped quickly 
 out of reach of her last convulsive struggles. In a 
 moment or two she lay still at his feet. 
 
 In the joy of his youth and strength the boy ex- 
 claimed, " So perish all mine enemies I " He looked 
 up to the hills rising about him wrapped in shadows, 
 with the moonlight outlining here and there a bold 
 projection or a sturdy tree, and it seemed wonder- 
 ful to him that he, a boy, alone, with only a shep- 
 herd's staff in his hand, should have killed a bear, 
 made savage with hunger and thirst, and he felt that 
 God had answered his prayer, and put strength into 
 his body and courage into his heart. He looked 
 around at the sheep, undisturbed, and the lambs 
 softly bleating in the fold. Then, after a while, be- 
 cause his heart was so glad and thankful that he must 
 sing for joy, he went to a little cleft in the rocks where 
 
 71 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 he kept his harp, and, taking it out, he stood by the 
 bear in the soft moonlight, and sang : 
 
 I will not be afraid even in tlie dark night, 
 
 The Lord giveth me strength, and my staff is a strong sword in my 
 
 hand. 
 The Lord is my keeper, even as I am the keeper of these sheep. 
 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given me unto the teeth of the lion 
 
 or unto the teeth of the bear. 
 
 As soon as it was light, David skinned the bear, 
 and prepared the skin for curing. He intended to 
 take it to his mother, that she might spread it over 
 her couch. As he worked, he thought about every- 
 thing that had happened to him during the past few 
 months. He was very happy, for it seemed to him 
 that he would some time see King Saul again, and his 
 dear friend Prince Jonathan, and little, bright-eyed 
 Princess Michal, who was always in his mind some- 
 how, even when other things and people were crowd- 
 ing in too. Often he thought of Judge Samuel, with 
 his vigorous, old face, framed In white curling hair 
 and long flowing beard. He could feel the touch of 
 the strong hands upon his head, could smell the per- 
 fume of the oil again, and could even hear Judge 
 Samuel say : " Be righteous and obedient to His com- 
 mands, and thou shalt overcome all thine enemies. 
 Remember, God hath chosen thee to be king of thy 
 people." 
 
 Thinking more and more about these things while 
 he was alone with the sheep, he began to believe that 
 
 72 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 God had sent the lion and the bear to test his courage, 
 and his heart sang for pure joy to think that he had 
 not failed. Yes, David was very happy there in the 
 mountains with his sheep, but he sometimes wished 
 some traveler would pass that way, and bring him 
 news of the war, and tell him how his brothers were 
 faring. He would have been glad to see even the 
 ugly face of Doeg and hear his ready gossip about 
 affairs in the court and camp, but for many days 
 nobody came. Most of the able men were gone to 
 the war, and those that were left had double work 
 in the vineyards and gardens. The people did not 
 sing at their work so much as formerly. When they 
 did sing, it was in a doleful strain, and they took no 
 pleasure in answering one another from point to point 
 as in times of peace. 
 
 David did not lack tasks to do. All through the 
 hours of the night he must be alert and watchful. 
 In tie daytime he must lead the sheep to fresh 
 pastures and to brooks whfere they might drink. Some- 
 times he must carry back to the fold, in his shepherd's 
 bag or in his arms, the little lambs that were too 
 young and weak to walk far. 
 
 One evening, when he was gathering his flock and 
 making all safe for the night, he saw a solitary figure 
 approaching from below. Eagerly he watched, and 
 when the man was within hearing, he called, " Who 
 art thou ? " 
 
 73 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " I am Jehu, the son of ZImri," came the answer, 
 " and Jesse, thy father, hath sent me to take charge 
 of the flock. He bids thee run home as soon as it 
 is light in the morning and take provisions to thy 
 brothers in the camp." 
 
 " Come up, O Jehu," called David, gladly, and he 
 could not wait for Jehu to come up, but ran down the 
 grassy slope to meet him. 
 
 It was a most unusual thing for Jesse, David's 
 father, to hire a keeper to tend his sheep, but his 
 three eldest sons were gone to the war, and it was 
 necessary to send some one to them with food. David 
 knew the way, and he was of course the one to go. 
 Indeed, he was so eager to go that he started before 
 sunrise, carrying his harp and the skin of the Syrian 
 bear. Little did he think then that he should never 
 spend another night alone with the flocks in the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 When David reached his home in Bethlehem, his 
 father and mother, glad to see him, hugged and kissed 
 him by turns. Then they had to hear about the kill- 
 ing of the bear, and when Hannah, Ehab's wife, ran 
 to the well for a pitcher of water, she proudly told 
 the story to all the townspeople gathered there : how 
 David, the " little one," had killed a Syrian bear in 
 the mountains, and had brought the skin home to 
 his mother. 
 
 The servants were busy preparing the provisions 
 
 74 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 David was to carry to his brothers, and when every- 
 thing was ready, Jesse called his son, and said : " Take 
 now for thy brothers these ten loaves of bread and all 
 the parched corn thou canst carry, and take these ten 
 little cheeses, which Hannah hath made out of milk, 
 as a gift unto the captain of their thousand, and run 
 to the camp where thy brothers are. Look how they 
 fare, see if they be firm and strong of body as when 
 they went away, and if their eyes are bright and their 
 color good. And take their pledge, my son. Bring 
 to thy father a lock of the hair of each, that I may 
 know my sons are alive and well. And bring me news 
 of the war, and find out if there be any hope that it 
 will soon be over. The Lord be with thee, David, 
 and bring thee safe home again, for thou art the 
 youngest son of thy father and mother and the delight 
 of our hearts in our old age." 
 
 David loaded himself with all the parched corn 
 and bread and cheese he could carry, and over his 
 shoulder, on top of the load, he slung his harp. He 
 could not think of going without that. Then he 
 kissed his father and mother good-by, and bade all 
 the household farewell, and started on his journey. 
 
 Many people of the town greeted the handsome 
 youth as he passed them, and many wanted to hear 
 more about his fight with the bear. Some wished to 
 send messages to their loved ones in the army or 
 ask David to bring back pledges of their safety. Old 
 
 75 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 eyes looked after the youth with tears in them, and 
 young eyes smiled at him until he was gone out of 
 sight, beyond the gates of the town, down the terraced 
 slope and away. 
 
 76 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 A CHAMPION 
 
 S he approached the camp, he saw the 
 troops drawn up in battle array, and his 
 heart beat fast, for he felt sure they were 
 about to attack the enemy. He left the food he had 
 brought with those in charge of the provisions in the 
 rear of the camp, and ran on to find his brothers, up 
 to the summit of the hill where the army stood. The 
 hill sloped abruptly to a narrow valley, and directly 
 opposite, on a similar hill, stood the army of the 
 Philistines, also drawn up in battle array. 
 
 He discovered his brothers near the front. While 
 he stood talking with them, he heard a loud shout, 
 which seemed to come from the very depths of the 
 earth, " Give me a man of you that will fight with 
 me!" 
 
 He looked down, and there, striding through the 
 middle of the valley, was a man of gigantic stature, 
 seeming to the vision of the astonished shepherd boy 
 as tall as two men and proportionately bulky. A 
 great brass helmet covered his head, and a coat of 
 mail protected his huge body. His legs were en- 
 cased in greaves of brass, and a target of brass was 
 fastened between his shoulders at the back. A spear, 
 
 77 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 SO heavy that no man but himself could wield it, 
 rested across his shoulder. David ran forward in 
 youthful eagerness. " Who is this giant? " he asked 
 of one of the soldiers near him. 
 
 " Hast thou not heard of Goliath of Gath? " re- 
 turned the soldier. " He is the champion of the 
 Philistines. Every morning and evening he comes 
 out and defies the army of King Saul, and challenges 
 us to send out a man to fight him. But we have no 
 champion to send against him." 
 
 At this moment the giant's voice thundered again 
 from the mouth of his brass helmet: " Men of 
 Israel, why are ye come out to set your battle in array? 
 Choose ye a man and let him come down to me. 
 Give me a man that we may fight together. If he 
 be able to kill me, then we will be your servants and 
 serve you ; but if I kill him, ye shall be our servants 
 and serve us." 
 
 David's wrath was aroused. He seemed to see 
 the lion springing at his throat again. " What! " he 
 exclaimed, " shall this heathen defy the armies of 
 our king? I will go forth to meet him." 
 
 " That thou shalt not ! " cried Eliab. " Thou wilt 
 go back to thy father and to thy flocks. Why camest 
 thou down hither? With whom hast thou left those 
 few poor sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride 
 and the naughtiness of thy heart. Thou art come 
 
 down to see the battle." 
 
 78 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 David felt ashamed for a moment, smarting under 
 the rebuke, but the voice of the giant, again taunting 
 the army with having no man fit to send against him, 
 rang in his ears like a personal challenge. He turned 
 from Eliab, and began to talk with other soldiers. 
 
 " What shall be done to the man that killeth this 
 Philistine giant? " he questioned. " I have been 
 tending my father's flocks in the mountains, and we 
 have had no news of the war for many days In my 
 town." 
 
 " Why, the king will do great things for the man 
 that killeth Goliath. He will heap great riches upon 
 him, and will give him his daughter in marriage, and 
 will make his father's house free In Israel." 
 
 "Tell the king that David, the son of Jesse, will 
 accept the challenge, and will go out to meet this 
 Philistine. Who is he that he should stand there In 
 the valley hurling defiance at the armies of my lord 
 the king? " 
 
 " Give me a man to fight with me," bellowed the 
 Philistine giant. " Ye dogs of Hebrews, have ye no 
 man among you? " 
 
 The soldiers were gathering around David as he 
 stood, his reddish curls blowing back in the wind, his 
 shepherd's bag, in which he had carried some of the 
 provisions for his brothers, hung over his shoulder. 
 The three of them had managed to keep near him, 
 and now Ellab clutched him by the shoulder, exclaim- 
 
 79 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 ing: " He is a mere stripling, a naughty child. How 
 should he fight this Philistine? " 
 
 " To the king with the youth ! " shouted some of 
 the soldiers. " We have a champion." 
 
 " He is the youngest son of Jesse, our father," 
 pleaded Eliab, now thoroughly alarmed, " and should 
 any harm come to him, I and my brothers will be 
 held responsible." 
 
 " To the king with him 1 To the king with him I " 
 cried the soldiers, almost carrying David along. 
 Some of them ran on ahead shouting, " A champion ! 
 David ! David, the son of Jesse I " 
 
 The news that a champion had offered himself 
 traveled fast, and before they reached the camp mes- 
 sengers came running to meet them, bidding them 
 bring David before King Saul at once. In a few 
 moments the shepherd youth found himself ushered 
 into the royal presence without ceremony of any kind. 
 
 King Saul was nearly a giant himself, being almost 
 
 seven feet in height. He looked with considerable 
 
 curiosity at David as he ran up, and he did not know 
 
 him. Nearly a year had passed since the boy had 
 
 gone back to his sheep in the mountains, and in that 
 
 time his beard had begun to grow. He was not a 
 
 boy any longer, but a well-grown youth. Neither 
 
 did the king remember David's name. He had been 
 
 a very sick man when David played and sang for him, 
 
 80 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 and he had not fixed the happenings of those days 
 firmly in his mind. 
 
 David exclaimed impetuously: "O king, let not 
 thy heart fail because of this giant of Gath. Thy 
 servant will go down and fight with him and kill 
 him." 
 
 King Saul smiled grimly. " My son, thou art but 
 a youth," he said. " Thy beard is scarcely grown." 
 
 " Thy servant is very strong and very quick," 
 pleaded David, trying to make his muscular young 
 body look as tall as possible. 
 
 The king shook his head despondently. " Thou 
 art not able to go against this Philistine, to fight with 
 him," he said, " for thou art but a youth, and he is 
 a man of war from his youth." 
 
 David answered back so boldly that those gathered 
 around could not help but take courage: " Thy ser- 
 vant was keeping his father's sheep in the mountains 
 near Bethlehem, and once there came a lion out of his 
 den in the caves of the rocks, and took a lamb from 
 the fold. And thy servant smote the lion and slew 
 him, and seized him by his beard, and twisted his 
 neck and broke it, and delivered the lamb alive out of 
 his jaws. With my hands alone I slew the lion. O 
 king, thy servant had no weapon." 
 
 The soldiers began to nod their heads approvingly 
 and whisper to each other: "This David is a 
 sturdy youth." — " See how well-knit he is." — " If his 
 ~ 81 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Strength is equal to his courage, we could not ask for 
 a better champion." 
 
 And David told the king still more about his ex- 
 ploits, not in a boasting manner, but as if beseeching 
 the privilege of fighting with the Philistine : "And not 
 many days ago there came a bear creeping stealthily 
 along in the shadow of the rocks, trying to enter the 
 fold where lay my lambs, and thy servant went out 
 after the bear, and when he rose against me, I slew 
 him, as I did the lion. O king, thy servant slew both 
 the lion and the bear, and this Goliath shall be as 
 one of them. Let no man's heart fail because of this 
 giant." 
 
 Still King Saul hesitated. It seemed so impossible 
 a thing that a mere boy could go out against a mighty 
 man of war and actually kill him. Would it not make 
 the tribes of people round about them laugh and 
 deride the Hebrews, if they should send out a child 
 to fight their battles? 
 
 Doeg, who had been here and there all the time 
 ordering the king's household, was very well aware 
 of all that was taking place. He was not well pleased 
 to see David back again. He would rather have had 
 him remain in the hills of Bethlehem tending his 
 father's sheep. He saw that the boy had great 
 strength of character as well as bodily strength and 
 courage, and might very easily win the favor of King 
 Saul. Perhaps Saul would make David keeper of his 
 
 82 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 house and of his flocks and herds, and Doeg would 
 fall from the high position he held in the kingdom. 
 Doeg was very well off, thanks to his own cunning, 
 and he did not want to be supplanted by a shepherd 
 boy, even though the boy had been honored by Judge 
 Samuel. He thought it would be to his own interest 
 to advise King Saul to permit David to go against 
 the giant. He would surely be killed and out of the 
 way. So he whispered into the king's ear: 
 
 " My lord, O king, this youth speaks the truth. 
 I myself, with these eyes, saw him kill the lion, and 
 I doubt not that he killed the bear also. Let him go 
 out against this Philistine. If he kill him, it will be 
 well for thee and thy kingdom, and if he be slain, 
 what matters it? He is only a shepherd boy." 
 
 " I believe thou art right, Doeg," replied the king, 
 and, turning to David, he said : " Thou art but a 
 youth. Art thou not afraid to go out against this 
 Philistine? " 
 
 " The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of 
 the lion and out of the paw of the bear, will deliver 
 me out of the hand of this giant." 
 
 " Go, then, and the Lord be with thee." 
 
 The soldiers began to cheer and to shout David's 
 name. The Philistine army on the brow of the 
 opposite hill wondered what the noise in the Hebrew 
 camp was about, and if they had found a champion at 
 last. The giant Goliath strode up and down the 
 
 83 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 valley between the armies, clanking his brazen armor, 
 brandishing his huge sword, and bellowing from time 
 to time at the top of his voice, " Choose ye a man 
 and let him come down to me." 
 
 " Put on my armor," said King Saul to David, 
 " and take my sword in thy hand." 
 
 Now all was eager excitement in the Hebrew camp. 
 King Saul fitted the helmet on David's head with his 
 own hands, adjusted the corselet and the other parts 
 of the armor, and put his own sword in his hand. 
 
 Eliab and the other two brothers of David man- 
 aged to push their way through the crowding soldiers, 
 and they saw their youngest brother trying to walk 
 about in his suit of mail. Not daring to petition the 
 king, they made one more effort to save him from 
 what they thought would be certain death, by raising 
 a laugh at his awkward appearance, in the hope that 
 the king would see the utter uselessness of sending 
 him against the giant. 
 
 " He hath never worn armor," said the soldiers, 
 half in pity. " He will be like a worm in Goliath's 
 path," and their hearts began to fail again. 
 
 " O king, I cannot go with these," David exclaimed 
 at length. " I pray thee, give me leave to go in my 
 own way." 
 
 " Put them off and go as thou wilt," said the king. 
 
 His brothers looked on helplessly, while David put 
 ofF the king's splendid armor, and hung his shepherd's 
 
 84 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 bag around his neck again. It must have seemed a 
 joke to the grim men of war, to see him go to a little 
 brook close by and take from it five smooth stones, 
 which he put into the bag after taking out his sling. 
 Armed only with these and his staff, he advanced 
 down the slope to meet the giant. King Saul watched 
 him as he went, and inquired of the captain of his 
 army, " Abner, whose son is this youth? " 
 
 " As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell," Abner 
 replied. 
 
 " Inquire thou whose son the stripling is," said 
 the king. 
 
 The great clumsy giant stood stock still, in surprise, 
 at sight of the red-cheeked youth coming toward him. 
 When the idea had penetrated his thick Intelligence, 
 that this boy had really come to fight him, he was 
 greatly incensed. 
 
 " Dost thou take me for a dog and not a man, 
 that thou comest to me with sticks and stones? " he 
 bellowed. 
 
 " No, not for a dog, but for a creature worse than 
 a dog," replied David, unabashed, and the hearts of 
 the Hebrew soldiers pulsed with hope once more. 
 
 " Come to me, thou stripling, and I will give thy 
 flesh to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the 
 field," thundered the giant, almost beside himself 
 with rage. 
 
 " Thou comest to me with a sword and with a 
 
 85 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 spear and with a shield, but the God of the Hebrews 
 is my armor. It is better than thine. This day I 
 will smite thee, and cut off thy head, and give thy 
 body to the dogs. This day, O Goliath, the Lord 
 will deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee, 
 and take thy head from thee." 
 
 David spoke with so much assurance that King 
 Saul's whole army began to take courage, and the 
 Philistines to feel a trifle uneasy about the result of 
 the contest; but Goliath, who was rather stupid, as 
 giants are apt to be, had no doubt but that he should 
 kill the boy. He started to run toward David, but 
 his armor was too ponderous even for his vast bulk, 
 and he could scarcely increase his speed from the 
 leisurely stride which had so impressed King Saul's 
 men. He pretended to feel such disdain for this 
 champion of the Hebrews that he would take his 
 time, and, indeed, there would have been no doubt 
 of his killing him, had David come within reach of 
 the heavy spear. 
 
 Saul's troops began to jeer at Goliath as he con- 
 tinued to stride up and down ponderously. The fore- 
 head of the giant, framed in the helmet, left a small 
 part between the eyes exposed, forming an excellent 
 target for a youth who could sling stones straight 
 enough to hit the mark within a hair's breadth. 
 
 David took a stone out of his bag, and fitted it in 
 the sling as he ran to meet his lumbering foe. The 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 watching soldiers on either side saw the sling whirl 
 over David's head, and they saw the stone shoot 
 straight from the sling, glide through the air, and 
 strike the giant full in the forehead. An instant later 
 he reeled and fell forward upon his face. 
 
 A great shout of triumph burst from the army of 
 the Hebrews, and mingled with it came gasping cries 
 and howls of dismay from the Philistines. Then all 
 was still again. David was running swiftly toward 
 the fallen champion, his eyes shining, his cheeks glow- 
 ing red, and his hair flying. Arrived at the prostrate 
 form, he leaped upon it, stood upright an instant, 
 then stooped, and drew the giant's huge sword out of 
 its sheath at his side. Not a sound was heard from 
 the opposing armies while he lifted the sword, and 
 cut off the head of Goliath of Gath, and held it up 
 in one hand. 
 
 Then shout after shout rent the air from the He- 
 brew side. Seeing their champion dead, the Philis- 
 tines became panic-stricken, and fled in the greatest 
 disorder, the Hebrew host close upon their heels, 
 shouting their victory. It was a complete rout, and 
 many of the Philistines were killed. All the stores 
 in their camps were taken by the Hebrew soldiers, 
 and brought across the valley, where the huge body 
 of Goliath still lay, to King Saul in the Hebrew camp. 
 Everybody was talking about David and his won- 
 derful skill and courage, and King Saul, in spite of 
 
 87 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 the fact that David had done him such great service, 
 began to feel jealous. He asked Abner again to 
 find out whose son David was. 
 
 " There he cometh now," Abner said. " He hath 
 girt on the sword of Goliath, and hath the head in 
 his hands, and lo ! Prince Jonathan is with him, and 
 other men follow with the brazen armor of the 
 Philistine." 
 
 " Go and meet him, and bring him to me." 
 
 So Abner went and brought David to the king, and 
 David laid the head of Goliath on the grass at the 
 king's feet. It rolled over so that its ghastly, sunken 
 eyes looked up at him. Fighting men in those days 
 were not startled by such sights, and Saul looked at 
 the face of his enemy with grim satisfaction. 
 
 " The lad hath spoilt his beauty, by my beard ! " 
 said the gruff voice of Doeg, as its owner shouldered 
 his way to the front. 
 
 " To my eye he had far less beauty than size to 
 boast of," said the king. 
 
 " The stone is set like a jewel in his crown," Doeg 
 observed. 
 
 " It was skilfully done," the king answered, and, 
 turning to the blushing David, he asked, " Whose 
 son art thou, young man? " 
 
 " I am the son of Jesse of Bethlehem," replied 
 
 David, " even thy servant David, who did sing and 
 
 88 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 play on the harp before thee in times past, and divert 
 thy mind." 
 
 " What! The minstrel? " King Saul passed his 
 hand across his forehead in a puzzled fashion. " Now 
 I do remember thee, but thy beard is growing, and 
 thy face is changed somewhat from the roundness of 
 childhood. Besides I should have supposed thy hands 
 fitted to hold the harp and play upon it, not for the 
 wielding of weapons of war. We will keep thee now 
 in our household, David, to sing to us in time of peace 
 and to fight with us and for us in time of war." 
 
 The king ceased to speak, and Prince Jonathan, 
 his son, who had stood by his side, threw his arms 
 around David's neck and kissed him, exclaiming, " I 
 loved thee as a minstrel boy, and even then I called 
 thee brother. Now we shall make a covenant 
 together, and thou shalt be my brother in real fact. 
 My father, grant me permission to take David to my 
 own tent." 
 
 " I see thou lovest the youth, Jonathan. Take him 
 and do what thou wilt for him." 
 
 The two young men went away, with their arms 
 about each other, to Prince Jonathan's tent. Here 
 the young prince stripped off the robe he wore and 
 made David put it on, and he gave him his bow and 
 his sword and the girdle that held his sword at his 
 side. It was considered a great honor to receive any 
 part of the dress that had been worn by a king or by 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 his eldest son. When the king's household and the 
 soldiers heard how David had been honored, they 
 began to treat him with the greatest respect. Indeed, 
 they were all spellbound with admiration for this 
 young, handsome warrior. 
 
 King Saul was a proud, passionate, vindictive man. 
 He knew that he had not obeyed Judge Samuel in 
 the government of the kingdom, and Samuel's words 
 at their last meeting were always ringing in his ears : 
 " The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from 
 thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine 
 that is better than thou." Now the Hebrews had 
 won a great victory, but whose victory was it, Saul's 
 or David's? The remembrance of all that he had 
 promised to the man that should go down and kill 
 Goliath of Gath angered him. Why had he ever 
 promised so much ? Riches, his daughter in marriage, 
 and that his father's house should be free in Israel! 
 All this he had promised. Would the youth David 
 claim all these things? If he did, was it necessary 
 that he should grant them, even if he had made such 
 an ofFer when his kingdom was threatened by the 
 enemy ? 
 
 He thought of consulting Abner, the captain of 
 
 his host, but Abner was an honest, straightforward 
 
 man. He would not consider it right that the king 
 
 should not keep his promise, even though he might 
 
 not say so. 
 
 90 
 
A CHAMPION 
 
 That night King Saul was nervous and sleepless, 
 lying in his tent in the middle of the camp, with the 
 soldiers sleeping in a wide circle around him, and all 
 the stuff they had taken from the Philistines packed 
 and ready to load upon the camels in the morning, 
 when they would begin their triumphal march home 
 from the war. 
 
 David had not thought of claiming any reward 
 for his brave act, and yet, as he slept under the 
 open sky by the side of Prince Jonathan, he dreamed 
 of Princess Michal, the king's younger daughter. 
 
 91 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 A JEALOUS KING 
 
 N the early morning the army got into 
 motion. Having been victorious, all the 
 soldiers stood erect and marched proudly. 
 In the front rank was King Saul, tall and handsome, 
 from his shoulders and upward taller than all the 
 rest. At his right hand marched the young champion, 
 David, with Prince Jonathan, and at his left stout 
 Abner, captain of the host. Doeg led the long line 
 of camels, gaily caparisoned and loaded with the bag- 
 gage. Altogether the array was imposing enough to 
 inspire the hearts of the populace along the line of 
 march with wildest enthusiasm. 
 
 News of the killing of Goliath and of the sub- 
 sequent victory had spread to all the towns along 
 the route, with glowing accounts of David's beauty 
 and youthfulness. His fair complexion and his au- 
 burn hair were easy to describe and easy to recognize. 
 As the army passed town after town, bands of women 
 and children, according to custom, came out to honor 
 the returning warriors. They formed triumphal pro- 
 cessions, singing and dancing and playing upon instru- 
 ments. Many of the young girls and children wore 
 
 92 
 
A JEALOUS KING 
 
 garlands of flowers. It was most gratifying to the 
 soldiers to be so honored. 
 
 The greatest interest centered upon David. Every- 
 one wanted to see David, the shepherd boy, who had 
 slain the terrible champion of the Philistines, Goliath 
 of Gath. King Saul began to feel jealous from the 
 first, because more attention and praise were given to 
 David than to himself, and when the women began to 
 sing, " King Saul hath slain his thousands, and David 
 hath slain his ten thousands," he eyed David with 
 secret and malignant hatred. Even at the gate of 
 the royal city GIbeah the same song burst from the 
 lips of the women, " King Saul hath slain his thou- 
 sands, and David hath slain his ten thousands." 
 
 "What more can he have, but the kingdom?" 
 thought King Saul, and the great victory they cele- 
 brated turned to bitterness in his heart. He was not 
 generous enough to share honors with anyone, and 
 he was suspicious and sensitive. 
 
 They entered the city gate. The open spaces, the 
 narrow streets, and even the roofs of the houses 
 swarmed with women and children, old people and 
 servants, all those who had remained within the city 
 during the absence of the army. All were in gayest 
 holiday attire, and in the midst of them marched the 
 victorious army. The bands of women winding in 
 and out everywhere sang again and again, and 
 
 93 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 answered one another in song, " Saul hath slain his 
 thousands, and David his ten thousands." 
 
 King Saul began to look exceedingly displeased. 
 His eyes glared wildly, and the hand that held his 
 spear shook as if palsied. He called Docg, and said 
 to him, " They have ascribed unto David ten thou- 
 sands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands, 
 and what can he have more, but the kingdom? " 
 
 " O king, the women are smitten with his beauty," 
 snarled Doeg, and King Saul eyed David again with 
 hatred and suspicion. 
 
 All that day and most of the night were given up 
 to singing and dancing and feasting in celebration of 
 the great victory over the Philistines. David's name 
 was on every lip, and he was openly praised, no 
 matter which way he turned. Even the king's 
 daughters, Merab and Michal, with their attending 
 maidens, cast sly, admiring glances at the youth, and 
 sang, " David hath slain his ten thousands." It was 
 bitterness to the king, who had always wanted all the 
 praise for himself, and who had reason to feel that 
 his position as king was not so secure as he might 
 have wished it to be. 
 
 The next day King Saul sat In the inner court of 
 his house, and refused audience to all. It was whis- 
 pered about that he had been seized with an attack of 
 his former distressing illness, such as he had had 
 when David played for him on the harp and sang to 
 
 94 
 
A JEALOUS KING 
 
 him. David heard about the king's distress of spirit, 
 and, having no suspicion that he himself was the 
 cause, he took his harp and went to the court to 
 divert the royal mind as he had done in times past. 
 He slipped in quietly, and stood by the wall opposite 
 the king, who lay half reclining upon an ivory couch, 
 with a javelin in his right hand. A frenzied, evil 
 look sat upon his face. 
 
 The instant King Saul saw David, the thought 
 came to him, " I will smite him even to the wall with 
 this javelin." Almost swifter than thought the 
 weapon sped from the royal hand. But it did not pin 
 David to the wall as was intended, for with a quick 
 motion the youth avoided its deadly stroke, and it 
 fell harmless. Still unsuspicious of the king's real 
 intention, and hoping to calm him and bring him 
 into a happier mood, David began to play again the 
 sweetest music he knew. 
 
 King Saul's hand was unerring in the hurling of the 
 javelin, and he could not understand how he had 
 missed. He grew more frenzied at having failed in 
 his intention, and, seizing another javelin, he tried 
 once more to fix the minstrel to the wall with it, but 
 again he missed, and now, thoroughly alarmed, David 
 hurried out of the court. The king lay for some time 
 staring at the wall where the object of his jealous 
 hatred had stood, and then he whispered, his athletic 
 
 95 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 frame shaken with fright, " The Lord is with David, 
 and hath departed from me." 
 
 David went straight to Prince Jonathan and told 
 him all that had occurred, and, alarmed for his friend, 
 Jonathan would not let him play before the king, his 
 father, again, but kept him with him as much as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 A day or two later King Saul sent for Doeg, and 
 said to him, " How is our champion David behav- 
 ing?" 
 
 " David behaveth himself wisely in all his ways, 
 and all the people love him because he goeth out and 
 in among them and flattereth them. He is a discreet 
 youth, and attendeth well to his own interests. Thy 
 servant knoweth somewhat of him. I pray thee, bid 
 Abner and thy son Jonathan eye him watchfully." 
 
 " Send Abner to me. I will confer with him about 
 the lad." 
 
 Doeg turned to go, but he hesitated, as if he still 
 had something on his mind. 
 
 " Speak, if thou hast something more to say," the 
 king exclaimed, irritated because Doeg had not gone 
 at once to summon Abner. 
 
 The king's constable put on an inscrutable look. 
 " Who hath the king's interests more at heart than 
 thy servant Doeg? " he asked. 
 
 " I command thee to speak out ! " cried King Saul, 
 getting more and more angry, and shivering, as he 
 
A JEALOUS KING 
 
 often did when Doeg stood near him, simply because 
 the latter was so ugly of feature that the king could 
 not bear to look at him. 
 
 " Well, then, my lord king, the people are murmur- 
 ing because King Saul hath not fulfilled his promises 
 to their mighty champion David, to make him rich 
 and give him his daughter in marriage and to make 
 his father's house free in Israel." 
 
 A frenzied look leapt into the king's eyes, and 
 his handsome face took on an expression not pleasant 
 to look at. 
 
 "The people!" he exclaimed. "Shall I divide 
 this kingdom of Israel with a shepherd lad to please 
 the people? " 
 
 " Far be it from thy servant to advise the king in 
 so weighty a matter," Doeg returned smoothly, " and 
 yet the people are to be taken account of. They 
 know that David hath just returned from laying the 
 great sword of Goliath of Gath up before the Lord 
 in Nob, the city of the priests." 
 
 " What is the least that I can do ? " questioned the 
 king, abruptly. 
 
 "If my lord the king will permit his servant to 
 speak freely, this would I do: I would send this 
 David away from the court, where he holds under 
 his spell all the principal persons, including the king's 
 son and even his daughters, and I would make him 
 captain over a thousand men. This will seem to be a 
 4 97 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 great honor in the eyes of the people, and — it will 
 be a post of danger, O king. He is very young to 
 marry. Let the people forget this part of the king's 
 promise for a time, and perhaps there may be no 
 occasion to fulfil it." 
 
 Doeg spoke softly and soothingly in the king's ear. 
 The royal anger diminished, and a gratified smile took 
 its place. 
 
 " Thou art the keeper of my house, Doeg," de- 
 clared King Saul. " Now bid Abner come to me," 
 
 Doeg went out, chuckling behind his glossy black 
 beard, and thinking to himself: "O King Saul, I 
 will yet make thee and David play at snaring each 
 other. By my sacred beard, this is a better game of 
 kings than most men can play. So thou wilt shiver, 
 O king, because a man of ugly countenance standeth 
 near to thee? We will make David's beauty cause 
 thee to shiver even more." 
 
 When the faithful Abner came. King Saul spoke 
 impetuously and as if moved by the most honorable 
 motives in the world: " Abner, thou art captain of 
 my host, and worthy of the honor the oifice confers. 
 What shall we do for this favorite of the people, 
 young David, the son of Jesse, who killed the Philis- 
 tine giant? Would it meet with thy approval to 
 make him captain over a thousand men? " 
 
 " It would strengthen the power of my lord the 
 king over his enemies, and would suitably honor the 
 
 98 
 
A JEALOUS KING 
 
 young man for his bravery," replied Abner, who took 
 a very practical view of everything, and never looked 
 for unworthy motives in anyone, least of all his king. 
 
 " See thou to it," said the king, and Abner went 
 out to find David and tell him the good news, that he 
 was made captain over a thousand men in the king's 
 army. 
 
 The Philistines were so badly beaten that they did 
 not gather strength enough for another war for some 
 time. David and his men made occasional raids into 
 the enemy's country with comparatively little danger. 
 His office gave him a still stronger hold upon the 
 affections of the people, and the spies of King Saul 
 brought him daily news of the increasing popularity 
 of the young captain. Again the monarch took coun- 
 sel with his constable Doeg: " This young man's 
 popularity must not increase. What shall I do? " 
 
 " Let my lord the king tempt the young man to 
 greater efforts, to give additional proofs of his 
 valor," advised Doeg. " Give him an object to be 
 gained, and then he will go out and provoke our 
 enemies, the Philistines, to a battle, and, being at the 
 front as captain, he will surely be killed; for they seek 
 to avenge themselves for the killing of their champion 
 Goliath." 
 
 This seemed so easy a solution of the problem that 
 
 the king wondered he had not thought of it himself. 
 
 99 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " With what thing shall we tempt him, Doeg? " 
 he asked, very much pleased. 
 
 " Let the king's daughter tempt him," Doeg sug- 
 gested. 
 
 " That is a very good idea," exclaimed the king. 
 " Send Captain David to me, and send also my elder 
 daughter, the Princess Merab." 
 
 Doeg carried the messages promptly, and very 
 soon Princess Merab stood blushing at the king's 
 right hand, and David stood equally embarrassed at 
 his left. It was the first time King Saul had seen 
 David since he had tried to pin him to the wall with 
 his javelin. Now he looked smiling and handsome, 
 and David was much too young and inexperienced in 
 reading the characters of men to detect the base mo- 
 tive behind the smiles. The king made no reference to 
 the unpleasant affair of the javelins. Smilingly he 
 said: " Thy king greeteth thee, David. Behold my 
 elder daughter, Princess Merab, her will I give to 
 thee for thy wife. Only be thou valiant for me and 
 fight the Lord's battles." 
 
 " Who am I? and what have I done, and what is 
 my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in- 
 law to the king? " David stammered. 
 
 " It is my will and a just reward for thy bravery," 
 said the king. 
 
 It was soon known everywhere that David and the 
 king's elder daughter, Princess Merab, were to be 
 
 100 
 
A JEALOUS KING 
 
 married, and wherever the young man went, the 
 people shouted, " Hail to the king's son-in-law that 
 is to be I " 
 
 But there were no battles, and nothing happened 
 to put David's life in danger. Indeed, the young 
 man did not seem to seek to do any brave act that 
 could be told in praise of him to the king or to his 
 promised bride. King Saul grew more and more rest- 
 less and melancholy, with occasional fits of anger, 
 while the preparations for the wedding went on in 
 the royal household. A few days before the time set 
 for the wedding, he sent for Doeg, and when the 
 constable arrived in his presence, he found the mon- 
 arch in a rage terrible to witness. 
 
 " What kind of evil advice didst thou give me? " 
 King Saul demanded. " Didst thou not promise me 
 that David should go forth in the forefront of the 
 battle, and should fall beneath the hand of the Philis- 
 tines? If he showeth no spirit now, will he do any 
 better when he is the king's son-in-law? " 
 
 By stealthily creeping about behind draperies and 
 listening to private conversations between King Saul's 
 young daughters and by adroit questioning of their 
 nurse, Doeg had verified what he had for some time 
 suspected, that the Princess Michal, the king's 
 younger daughter, loved David, and that David 
 loved her. He had also found out that Princess 
 Merab was wildly in love with a young man named 
 
 101 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Adriel, a member of the king's guard. He explained 
 all this to the king, and the fickle monarch began to 
 laugh and clap his hands. 
 
 " Thou art the first bearer of such news, Doeg. 
 Mind not thy king's hasty temper. Thou knowest 
 my mind is troubled over many things. It is well 
 thou hast told me this, and it doth not displease me, 
 for between thee and me, Doeg, we may be able to 
 make this maid a sure snare unto him. I will send 
 him into further dangers, that he may win her, where 
 his life may be taken in battle, without my hand upon 
 him. Let the hand of the Philistines be upon him, 
 O Doeg." 
 
 " Even so, my king." 
 
 " And that the elder daughter may be first married, 
 according to our custom, send for this Adriel and put 
 the wedding garments upon him, and we will celebrate 
 the marriage this night between him and my daughter. 
 Princess Merab. But say nothing to anyone. Simply 
 bring Adriel instead of David as the bridegroom." 
 
 102 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 ULL of his new project, King Saul called 
 Abner, the captain of his host, and told 
 him to send David with some of his thou- 
 sand men out Into the Philistines' country as scouts, 
 to find out if there were any signs of the enemy's 
 getting together again for war, and what parts of the 
 land were least protected. 
 
 As soon as he received the command, David began 
 to pick out his men, four in all, and make his prepara- 
 tions. Prince Jonathan insisted upon going with him, 
 and the company of six, dressed as shepherds hunting 
 for lost cattle, were soon on the march. 
 
 When King Saul learned that his son Jonathan had 
 gone too, he flew into a passion, but he recovered his 
 cheerfulness as soon as he thought of the game he was 
 about to play with David. 
 
 The third day from the time the detachment started 
 to spy out the enemy's country was the one set as the 
 wedding day of Captain David and the king's eldest 
 daughter, Princess Merab. 
 
 " It seems strange," said Prince Jonathan, " that 
 the king, my father, should have sent thee out into the 
 
 103 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 land of the Philistines on this expedition, when the 
 third day from now is thy wedding day. Perhaps he 
 forgot. He hath had some returns of his old malady, 
 as thou knowest, and when he is sick, he gets things 
 all wrong and confused. But we shall return in good 
 time, David. Nothing could make me happier than 
 to see thee married to my sister." 
 
 " Truly, Jonathan, I am not great enough or rich 
 enough or wise enough to become the king's son-in- 
 law," said David, " but I will obey the king's com- 
 mand and spy out this land." 
 
 " We can spy out a good portion in two days," 
 returned Jonathan, " and I, thy brother, will be re- 
 sponsible for bringing thee home for thy wedding day. 
 Here are six of us. We will divide up in pairs, 
 and go in three different directions. Each two shall 
 travel for a day, and then take a day for the return, 
 so that near sunset of the second day we may meet 
 agam on this spot where the Philistine's land borders 
 our land. Then we will go back with all our infor- 
 mation and discoveries to my father. We will spy 
 out the land so well that my father can no longer 
 doubt thy faith on any point." 
 
 " Thou art a good brother, Jonathan," said David. 
 " Sometimes I think that, were it not for thee and 
 thy love, I should ask the king to send me back again 
 to my sheep in Bethlehem, and to my old father and 
 mother, who mourn for me, because I am their young- 
 
 104 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 est son and I am away from their sight. Since I 
 came to take my brothers' pledges and bring them 
 food to eat, I have not returned. Now my brothers 
 are gone back again to till their land, but my parents 
 look for me, and I do not come." 
 
 " But they will be proud to have thee the king's 
 son-in-law, and my father, when he understands thy 
 good heart, will not fail to shower honors and riches 
 upon thee." 
 
 David laughed happily. He was young and full 
 of hope. Prince Jonathan was not much older, and 
 they made a glorious holiday of spying out the Philis- 
 tines' land. Each two men traveled for a day, slept 
 where they could, and then traveled back for a day, 
 so that at sunset of the second day they arrived once 
 more at the place from which they had started. 
 Each party had had adventures and narrow escapes 
 from discovery, and they had plenty to talk about 
 as they went back together toward the royal city. 
 By the time they neared the gates, they had formed 
 plans for a raid upon certain points in the rich 
 country of the Philistines. 
 
 "What is the sound of rejoicing that I hear?" 
 exclaimed Prince Jonathan as they came closer to 
 the city. 
 
 " I hear music, I hear the sound of tab rets and 
 harps and cymbals," cried David. 
 
 " Let the fleetest of you run ahead and find out 
 105 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 the cause of this rejoicing," Prince Jonathan com- 
 manded. 
 
 So the fleetest man ran ahead, and before the 
 others reached the gates, he came running back again. 
 
 " It is a marriage," he announced, " and lo ! I 
 saw the bridegroom, and he is our friend Adriel, one 
 of King Saul's guards, whom we know, and he was 
 leading by the hand the Princess Merab, the king's 
 elder daughter." 
 
 " Thou art wrong," Prince Jonathan declared 
 angrily, " this thing cannot be." 
 
 " I saw Adrlel's face, O prince, by the light of 
 the wedding lamps that the people carried in the 
 procession." 
 
 " But to-morrow my sister is to be married with 
 fitting ceremony to our captain, David, the son of 
 Jesse of Bethlehem." 
 
 " But hear ye not the people shouting? " 
 
 They were at the gate now, and they heard plainly 
 the shouts of the people : " Hail to the bridegroom 
 and to the bride ! Hail to Adriel, the king's guard, 
 and to Princess Merab, the king's elder daughter." 
 
 They could not get near the wedding party, but 
 they saw that the procession was going In the direc- 
 tion of Adriel's house, where they knew the wedding 
 feast must be spread. It was plain that the fickle 
 monarch had broken his pledge to David. Prince 
 Jonathan felt so mortified at the action of his royal 
 
 106 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 father that he hung his head, and grew red with 
 shame, feehng that David had every right to be 
 angry at being treated with such indignity. 
 
 But David began to laugh, and would not take 
 the matter seriously. " Why art thou so cast down 
 in thy looks, my brother Jonathan?" he asked. 
 " Hath not the king a right to be of one will to-day 
 and of another to-morrow? Who am I, to be the 
 king's son-in-law? Let me serve the king in any way 
 that he wills. Let me provoke no anger and raise 
 no quarrel." 
 
 " My father is afflicted with a disease of the mind 
 that causes him to imagine things about people that 
 are not true," excused Prince Jonathan, for he loved 
 his father. " Thou wilt not lay this thing up against 
 him, David." 
 
 " I will lay up nothing against the king," David 
 promised. 
 
 " Sometimes I fear that the influence of Doeg, the 
 steward of our household, is not good for my father, 
 and yet he is the only one that hath the ear of my 
 father at all times," Jonathan went on. " Even 
 Abner hesitates to speak out his mind or to advise, 
 but this Doeg is never backward about it. But he is 
 an Edomite, not an Israelite, and it seemeth not good 
 to me to trust all the secrets of the government to one 
 not of our people." 
 
 " I have sometimes felt distrustful of Doeg, and 
 107 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 yet I know not that he hath anything against me," 
 said David, musingly, and after a moment he added, 
 " and it was he who first brought me to the notice 
 of King Saul, because he knew that I had a little skill 
 with the harp and in singing." 
 
 " And thou didst please my father for a time," 
 said Prince Jonathan, leaving the discussion of Doeg 
 for the more intimate affairs of David, " but he tires 
 of things quickly, and he is easily made jealous. He 
 was in a desperate state when first thou camest to him, 
 and that he should cast the javelins at thee, and 
 should promise thee my sister in marriage, and not 
 fulfil his pledge, seem to me signs of the return of the 
 disease of mind he had then, rather than of a wicked 
 heart. Have patience with my father, David, for 
 my sake." 
 
 " I had not thought of anything else but serving 
 him the best I can," David replied. " But since thou 
 lovest me, Jonathan, I will confide to thee a secret that 
 lieth very deep in my heart. It is thy younger sister, 
 Princess Michal, that I love, and I have reason to 
 think that she loveth me." 
 
 " O my brother," Prince Jonathan exclaimed 
 
 gladly, " then things will surely come about all right. 
 
 My father will surely give thee Michal, my younger 
 
 sister." 
 
 " Perhaps it may be so," returned David, his hand- 
 les 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 some face all aglow with hope. " I will perform any 
 service for her sake." 
 
 " Let us say nothing until the wedding feast is 
 over," advised Prince Jonathan, " and then I will 
 approach my father for thee. But we should speak 
 softly of these matters, for we know not who may be 
 listening. Our steward and keeper of the royal mind 
 maketh it his duty to be everywhere at all times." 
 
 As Prince Jonathan finished speaking, a dark figure 
 glided away from behind the two young men, and 
 mingled with the crowd. It was Doeg. 
 
 The marriage feast continued for seven nights ac- 
 cording to custom, but David and Prince Jonathan 
 kept their secret together. Doeg, having heard from 
 David's own lips that he was ready to perform any 
 service for the Princess Michal's sake, told it to the 
 king, who had been feeling wretched and melancholy 
 because the young captain had shown no resentment 
 of the way he had been treated. The news pleased 
 King Saul. 
 
 " I will make the maiden a snare unto him," he 
 declared. " Go thou to David and say, ' Thou shalt 
 surely be the king's son-in-law.' Commune with him 
 secretly, O Doeg, and say, ' Behold, the king hath 
 delight in thee, and all his servants love thee, and the 
 king desires thee to be his son-in-law.' " 
 
 " What service shall I require of him, O king? 
 
 Fear not to make it as heavy as thou wilt, so that he 
 
 109 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 may fall this time by the hand of the Philistines, as 
 thou desirest." 
 
 " Yes, O Doeg, the hand of the Philistines shall 
 be against him, and not my hand. This shalt thou say 
 to David : ' The king desireth not any dowry, but 
 that thou shalt kill an hundred Philistines, and bring 
 him a sure pledge of the number.' Send him this 
 message, and delay not." 
 
 As Doeg went out with his ugly smile only half 
 hidden in his black, curly beard, the king's eyes fol- 
 lowed him with loathing in them. " Why do I not 
 kill thee," he thought, " and be rid of the evil 
 counsels thou art constantly putting into my head, 
 instead of desiring to kill this handsome youth, who 
 overcame the Philistine giant, and constantly shows 
 me his faith and devotion, no matter which way I 
 turn my hand toward him ? Jonathan loveth him, 
 and the people love him. Why not I ? " 
 
 Then the small, sharp voice of jealousy spoke 
 somewhere in the king's brain: "Hath not Doeg 
 told thee that Judge Samuel intendeth to make this 
 David king in thy place ? Because Samuel hath cast 
 thee off and refuseth to speak to the Lord for thee, 
 wilt thou give thyself to the usurper ? Arouse thee ! 
 Let no David stand in thy way 1 " King Saul failed 
 to remember that it was his own headstrong pride 
 that had caused Judge Samuel to turn away from 
 him, and he pitied himself, as an over-indulgent father 
 
 110 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 pities a spoilt child. He always tried to think of 
 things to please himself in every way possible and to 
 draw all the praise to himself. The people were 
 beginning to notice this and to be displeased with it. 
 
 Doeg went out to the camp where David was with 
 his thousand fighting men, explaining to them the 
 general lay of the land in the Philistines' country, 
 in which he and Prince Jonathan and the four picked 
 men had been on a scouting expedition the week be- 
 fore. Doeg took David aside, and told him what the 
 king had said: "Behold the king hath delight in 
 thee, and all his servants love thee. Now, therefore, 
 be the king's son-in-law, for it hath come to the ear 
 of the king that thou lovest the Princess Michal, 
 his daughter." 
 
 The heart of the young soldier began to thump 
 wildly in his breast in spite of himself, but he answered 
 as calmly as he could, " Seemeth it to thee a small 
 thing, O Doeg, to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am 
 poor and but lightly esteemed? " 
 
 " Let not small matters trouble thee, David," said 
 Doeg, pompously. " The king said, ' Thus shall ye 
 say to David : The king desireth not any dowry, but 
 that thou shalt slaughter an hundred of the Philis- 
 tines, that he may be avenged of his enemies.' " 
 
 David could not hide his happiness. " Tell the 
 
 king, O Doeg, to be pf good cheer, for I will avenge 
 
 111 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 him of his enemies, and will put to the sword even 
 more of these Philistines than he hath asked." 
 
 " That I doubt not," said Doeg, in his most flatter- 
 ing manner. " Did I not see thee kill a lion with 
 thy naked hands when thou wast yet beardless? 
 There is none like thee in Israel." 
 
 " I will do my very best," said David, earnestly. 
 " What length of time shall I have in which to ac- 
 complish this thing? " 
 
 " On the morning of the fourth day thou shalt 
 report thy adventure and thy success." 
 
 " Sooner than that, O Doeg," laughed David. 
 
 Doeg went back to King Saul, and told him how 
 eagerly David had taken up with the terms offered. 
 " He is even now preparing for the invasion," he 
 said, " but acting hastily, as he is, and blinded by his 
 love for thy daughter, the Princess Michal, he will 
 be at the mercy of the Philistines, and is almost sure 
 to be mortally hurt upon the battle-field." 
 
 While David was making his preparations for raid- 
 ing the Philistines' land, seeing that the weapons of 
 the soldiers were sharp, and that they had provisions 
 enough. Prince Jonathan came into his tent. 
 
 " It has all come to pass, Jonathan. The king, 
 thy father, hath set me a task whereby I shall win 
 the Princess Michal, and I go forth this night. I 
 thank thee, Jonathan, for bringing thy father to this 
 
 mind." 
 
 112 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 " Thank me not, David. I had nothing to do with 
 this thing. My father hath been in such a state that 
 I have not dared approach him on any subject for 
 three days. He hath seen no one but Doeg." 
 
 " Doeg brought me the message." 
 
 " This stranger hath my father's ear, but not I," 
 said Jonathan, gloomily. " I will assist thee in thy 
 task. What is it?" 
 
 " That I kill an hundred Philistines." 
 
 " Come, we shall double the number, and this time 
 my father shall keep his word. It will be best not to 
 let my father know that I go with thee. That might 
 anger him again." 
 
 As soon as it was dark, David, with Prince Jona- 
 than and a large detachment of picked men, went 
 silently marching across the borders into the enemy's 
 country. About midnight they fell upon a camp of 
 the Philistines, sleeping without any guards on duty. 
 The battle was short and decisive, and, as Jonathan 
 had said, they doubled the number required by King 
 Saul, and carried the trophies of the slain back with 
 them. 
 
 When the news was brought to the king in the 
 early morning, that David and his men stood at the 
 palace gate with two hundred heads of the Philis- 
 tines, he was seized with a paroxysm of rage and 
 despair. His handsome face became distorted, and 
 
 the servants ran as far from him as they could, lest 
 
 113 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 he kill them. With a mighty effort he pulled him- 
 self together somewhat, and ordered David to come 
 before him. Ruddy and handsome, the young fellow 
 came in and stood before the monarch, who, shaking 
 like a leaf in the wind, sat with his crown on his head 
 and his spear in his hand. 
 
 " The Lord is with thee, David," said the king. 
 David bowed low, and kissed the king's hand. 
 
 " How many Philistines did I say? " 
 
 " An hundred, O king." 
 
 " And how many heads hast thou brought? " 
 
 " Two hundred, O king. And now may thy servant 
 find favor in thy sight, for I love Princess Michal." 
 
 " Let the marriage be heralded," said the king, 
 " and now out of my presence, every one but Doeg." 
 
 David and the Princess Michal were married at 
 once, lest the king change his mind, and they were 
 given a beautiful house to live in, built fairly on top 
 of the city wall. David was now indeed the king's 
 son-in-law, and the king was afraid of him — afraid, 
 because David succeeded in everything he undertook, 
 and because the people loved him ; afraid, because he 
 dreamed by day and by night, whether waking or 
 sleeping, that David was to be king in his place. 
 
 Having been defeated so many times by the He- 
 brews, the Philistines began to gather their strength 
 again in good earnest. Their princes and lords called 
 their fighting men togellher for a new war. David 
 
 1'14 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 showed himself wiser in dealing with them than all 
 those that served the king, but this only made King 
 Saul more jealous. He heard nothing but praises of 
 David and accounts of his brave exploits all day long. 
 At first the people had been very enthusiastic over the 
 king that Judge Samuel had given to them, who, look- 
 ing brave and strong and handsome, had gone out to 
 lead them against their enemies. Now he sat in his 
 palace and feared to leave the Inner court, while 
 David led them to battle. It was said that the king 
 was ill of a strange malady, which baffled the physi- 
 cians that came to study his case. 
 
 One day the king ordered the physicians out of his 
 sight on pain of death, and sent for Jonathan, Abner, 
 and Doeg in secret conference. To these he confided 
 his fears, that David had aspirations to the throne, 
 and commanded them, for the safety of his kingdom 
 and for the sake of Prince Jonathan's succession, to 
 have him put to death. Prince Jonathan dared not 
 contradict the king's passionate words, but, as soon 
 as he could get away, he ran to David and told him, 
 " King Saul, my father, seeketh to kill thee. Now 
 hide thyself in a secret place until morning, and I 
 shall talk with my father about thee." 
 
 So David hid away In a secret place that he knew 
 of, and Prince Jonathan went to the king. He found 
 him In deep dejection, sitting with his head bowed 
 and his face drawn with anxiety. He talked with him 
 
 115 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 about David, beginning with the killing of Goliath of 
 Gath, and showing how David's works had been good 
 in every case. 
 
 " He took his life into his hand, and slew the 
 Philistine," Jonathan pleaded. " Thou sawest it, 
 my father, and didst rejoice. Then why wouldst 
 thou slay David without a cause? He hath raided 
 the enemy's country repeatedly with success, and only 
 lately hath he brought thee two hundred heads of the 
 Philistines as a dowry for Princess Michal. I pray 
 thee, my father, put these evil thoughts against David 
 out of thy mind." 
 
 Suddenly the king began to weep, and he turned to 
 the prince, exclaiming: "As the Lord liveth, he 
 shall not be slain. Call my son-in-law to me, and let 
 us be friends together as in times past, and bid him 
 bring his harp, and sing to me, and divert this evil 
 spirit that is upon me. Never shall I raise my hand 
 against David, my son-in-law, again. I swear it." 
 
 Prince Jonathan went and brought David to the 
 king, and the three discussed affairs, and David played 
 and sang again, while the king rested on his ivory 
 couch. Then, for a few days, his majesty seemed 
 to gain in health and strength, physically and mentally. 
 
 The princes of the Philistines had brought together 
 
 a considerable army, and King Saul went out with 
 
 David against them, and gained a great victory. But 
 
 again jealousy spoiled the victory for the king. Be- 
 
 116 
 
A BROKEN PLEDGE 
 
 cause David had made so many invasions into that 
 country, the Philistines, some of them, had taken 
 him for the king, and they had shouted " King 
 David I " instead of " King Saul ! " when they caught 
 sight of him in the battle. All the king's old fears 
 and his hatred of David returned. He forgot his 
 pledges to his son Jonathan. " Now this David 
 must die," he thought, " and since the weapons of the 
 enemy seem powerless to hurt him, I will slay him 
 with my own hands." 
 
 The king had grown quiet and cunning, and he told 
 his plans to no one this time, not even to Doeg. He 
 pretended to have a great affection for David, and 
 when they were in the royal city again, he ordered 
 him to sing and play for him in the evening, in the 
 palace garden on the roof. Here rows of brilliant- 
 hued carnations surrounded the battlements, and 
 fountains sparkled, even small trees were growing 
 there. It was an enchanting spot, especially in the 
 cool of the day, when David brought his harp, and 
 stood leaning against the wall opposite the king, who 
 lay on his canopied couch in a sheltered place. In the 
 middle of his song David saw the king put his hand 
 stealthily behind him, and the next instant a javelin 
 gleamed In his hand, which he hurled with great 
 force. The young man sprang aside, and the spear 
 drove itself into the wall where he had stood. 
 
 Seeing that the king had turned against him again, 
 117 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 David fled with all possible haste. Another spear 
 followed, which barely missed his head as he went 
 down the stairs. He left the palace instantly, and 
 went to his own house. 
 
 118 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 3^^^ HE Princess Michal, David's young and 
 ■RrKt^ pretty wife, though she had loved her 
 ^^Se^l handsome father all through her child- 
 hood, was now greatly in dread of him, fearing that 
 in a fit of passion he would hurt or kill her husband. 
 When she saw David running in, pale and agitated, 
 she cried out in alarm, " What evil hath befallen thee, 
 David?" 
 
 David folded her in his arms, and kissed her. 
 
 " It is the king, my father, I know it Is." 
 
 " Thy father twice lifted his hand against me this 
 night, and just missed pinning me to the wall with 
 a javelin. He hath surely turned his face against me, 
 and I know not what wrong I have done." 
 
 " O my husband," sobbed Michal, clinging to him, 
 " where is Jonathan ? He can tell us what to do, for 
 I feel in my heart that this is the end of peace between 
 thee and my father. He will send after thee and 
 tear thee out of my arms. Listen! Some one is 
 knocking at the door." 
 
 She ran to the window and looked down. " It is 
 Jonathan ! Jonathan ! " she cried, and hurried to 
 let him in. 
 
 119 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " We have still a friend in Jonathan," said David, 
 smiling, " and while we have such a friend all is not 
 lost." 
 
 "What IS our father's state of mind?" asked 
 Michal, anxiously. 
 
 " He goeth from one paroxysm into another, and 
 he will not hear sense or reason. The javelin sticketh 
 in the wall where he hurled it. He hath ordered the 
 street before this house to be patrolled until morning, 
 when David is to be slain." 
 
 " Slain ! Then the vile soldiers that do my father's 
 bidding shall slay me too," cried Michal, clinging 
 desperately to David again. 
 
 " Let them take me before the king, and let me 
 be judged in the presence of the elders, and if fault 
 is found in me, let me die," said David. 
 
 " What hast thou done but fight the king's battles 
 and win glory for him? " sobbed poor little Michal. 
 
 " My father is beyond self-control," said Prince 
 Jonathan. " He would discover a fault where there 
 is none. Let not the sun find thee here when it rises, 
 David. I have thought of a way to save thee, and 
 the Lord is with thee, David. Take courage ! Soldiers 
 are patrolling the street, and other soldiers are at the 
 city gate, to see that thou dost not pass out that way; 
 but no one is guarding the little window over the wall, 
 and it will soon be dark." 
 
 Princess Michal's face brightened, though her tears 
 
 120 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 Still fell fast. She began to see a ray of hope for 
 David. 
 
 " Is there a rope in the house ? " asked Jonathan. 
 
 " Yes, there is one, and it is stout and long," and 
 the Princess Michal ran and brought it. Jonathan 
 fastened one end around a beam inside the little win- 
 dow over the wall. Then he tied several knots in the 
 length of It, to grasp hold of In slipping down, and he 
 coiled it all up under the window. 
 
 " When thou art gone," said Jonathan, " Michal 
 shall place a log in the bed to look like a man, and 
 when the soldiers enter the house in the morning, she 
 must tell them that David is sick, and she must hold 
 them off as long as she possibly can, so that David 
 may get far away, to a place of safety. I shall go 
 down Into the street, and engage the soldiers in con- 
 versation, and as soon as I am gone, do as I have 
 said." 
 
 "But where is he going?" Michal pleaded pite- 
 ously. " Where can my husband go and be safe ? " 
 
 " I shall go to Judge Samuel, who Is living retired, 
 superintending the school of the prophets in the 
 little hamlet of Naloth, near Ramah," declared 
 David, with sudden inspiration. 
 
 " That Is just the place, and my father will never 
 
 dare take thee from Judge Samuel," agreed Jonathan. 
 
 " Remain there until my father's passion abates, and 
 
 remember that Jonathan is thy friend and brother 
 
 121 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 always. We have no time to lose, for if my father 
 find thee here in the morning, thou art a dead man. 
 The Lord be with thee, David." 
 
 A moment more and Prince Jonathan was gone out 
 into the street, and the Princess Michal was clinging 
 to David in a last farewell. Then he put her away, 
 and let the rope slide out of the window, down the 
 side of the wall. She watched him drop, hand over 
 hand, to the ground, and then the darkness swallowed 
 him. She gave herself no time to indulge in her 
 heart-breaking grief, for she could not tell what 
 moment the soldiers might come to take David and 
 kill him. The king might, become too impatient for 
 the execution of this deed to wait even until morning. 
 Quickly she took a log, and placed it on the divan, 
 to represent the body of a man. Then she took the 
 pillow of goat's hair from the back- of the divan, 
 and arranged it as the head of the man, spreading the 
 goat's hair so that it lay tumbled on the pillow like 
 a man's hair. Over this she spread a large mantle, 
 using all her skill to make the whole look like a man 
 asleep and well covered with a mantle. 
 
 The Princess Michal did not sleep that night. She 
 listened at the window for the measured trfead of 
 soldiers in the street, and sometimes she smiled 
 faintly, to think how dismayed they would be in the 
 morning to find their supposed prisoner gone. She 
 
 went often to the divan and rearranged the log and 
 
 122 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 the goat's hair pillow and the mantle, trying to make 
 sure that they looked like David asleep there. When 
 she heard the knocking at the door in the early 
 morning and heard a voice call, " Open in the king's 
 name," she went to the lattice in front, and asked 
 what was wanted. 
 
 " The king desireth the presence of his sonrin-law, 
 and commands that he open the door and come forth 
 and proceed to him at once." 
 
 " David, my husband, is sick in his bed." 
 
 " Open the door and let us see the king's son-in- 
 law sick in his bed, that we may tell it to the king." 
 
 The Princess Michal saw that she must obey. She 
 went down and opened the door, and Doeg entered 
 with several armed soldiers. 
 
 " Come ye thus armed to the house of the king's 
 daughter? " she exclaimed, hoping to keep them back 
 yet a few moments. 
 
 " We are here by order of the king, thy father," 
 said the burly Doeg. " Where is thy husband sick in 
 his bed?" 
 
 The princess stood in the doorway of the sleepmg- 
 room, which she had darkened as much as possible, 
 and faced Doeg and the soldiers. 
 
 *' The king's son-in-law hath been sick all night 
 in his bed, as I have told thee," she said firmly, " and 
 now he sleeps from weariness. Go to the king, my 
 
 123 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 father, and say to him that David will come as soon 
 as he is able." 
 
 Docg hesitated, looking over her head into the 
 darkened room, where he thought he could see David 
 lying on the divan, with his hair tumbled in disorder 
 over the pillow. 
 
 " Hast thou forgotten thy respect to the king's 
 daughter? " exclaimed the princess, " Be gone to my 
 father with the message, and chase the rabble out of 
 the street as thou goest, that he may rest." 
 
 " Do ye guard the house till I send to the king," 
 said Doeg to the soldiers, who retreated to the street, 
 where a crowd was already gathering. 
 
 A messenger ran quickly to the palace, and told 
 King Saul that David was sick in his bed, but before 
 he had his message fairly out of his mouth, the 
 frenzied monarch shouted, " Bring my son-in-law 
 up to me in his bed, that I may slay him." This com- 
 mand was carried back to Doeg. 
 
 Even the king's daughter was disregarded now, 
 and It v/as with ill-concealed satisfaction that Doeg 
 brushed past her, and made a way for the soldiers. 
 The moment he reached the side of the divan, he 
 saw the trick that had been played, and, jerking off 
 the mantle, disclosed the log and the goat's hair 
 pillow. 
 
 As the soldiers could not bring David to the king, 
 because he was not there, they brought the Princess 
 
 124 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 Michal to her father, and told him how she had 
 tricked them. 
 
 He looked mournfully at the princess and said, 
 " Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine 
 enemy, that he is escaped? " 
 
 " David Is not thine enemy, O my father," pleaded 
 Princess Michal. " He Is thy loyal subject." 
 
 But the king commanded her to keep silent, and 
 gave orders to Doeg to see that she was not permitted 
 to leave the palace. 
 
 David was a fleet runner, and before morning 
 dawned he had crossed the country to Naioth, and 
 was safely housed with the old Judge Samuel, whom 
 he had not seen since he parted from him on that 
 memorable morning at the foot of the hill of Bethle- 
 hem. He told the good old man all that had hap- 
 pened to him since, and the great trouble he was In. 
 
 " Thou art not safe even here with me," the judge 
 said, when he had heard all. " Prosperity and power 
 have turned Saul's head, and made a tyrant of him. 
 I think he would not dare do me personal injury, but 
 he might not hesitate to take thee from my charge, 
 if he found thee here. Yet, this is the school where 
 he himself was educated under my. guidance, and if 
 he still cherlsheth tender recollections of that time, he 
 may leave thee unmolested, and when his fury Is 
 spent he may think better of his intentions." 
 
 So David remained with Judge Samuel in the 
 
 125 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 school of the prophets, where a part of King Saul's 
 young manhood had been spent in the study of the 
 laws of his country, both religious and civil, and 
 David was installed as a pupil among a hundred or 
 more other young men. An important part of each 
 day's work v/as the study of music and the singing of 
 hymns. There was a large choir, to which David 
 was admitted without delay. He very quickly learned 
 the melodies, and his sweet, clear voice could be heard 
 above all the rest. 
 
 This was a wonderful time for David. He forgot 
 his troubles while he was pouring out his soul in song. 
 For a brief time all his former life seemed forgotten, 
 and nothing in the future troubled him. He became 
 a great favorite with the young priests and students, 
 as he always did with people wherever he went. But 
 this peace and rest were not to last long. 
 
 Doeg soon found out David's hiding-place, and 
 informed the king, who immediately sent messengers 
 to take his son-in-law and bring him back to court. 
 
 One day, when the students were singing the hymns, 
 and the old judge, with his white flowing locks and 
 his saintly face, stood in his place before the choir, 
 with uplifted hands, directing, there was a commo- 
 tion at the doorway of the school room, and officers 
 of the king were seen to enter. 
 
 The aged teacher observed them, and he knew 
 well enough upon what business they had come, but 
 
 126 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 he went on directing, solemnly and reverently, as if 
 the anthems the young men were singing were of so 
 sacred a nature that they must not be interrupted 
 even by the king's messengers. 
 
 David's singing was well known ,in the camp of the 
 soldiers of King Saul's army, and now they heard his 
 superb voice attuned in harmony with all the rest, 
 leading them in the beautiful music that rose and fell, 
 now low and vibrant, now tumultuous. The rough 
 soldiers were spellbound. These were the men who 
 sang and called to one another from hilltop to hilltop 
 in the harvest time at home, when there was peace 
 instead of war. Moved by the resistless impulse of 
 the music, they joined in singing the praises of God. 
 In great swelling waves it filled the room. It was a 
 new song, which David himself had made, and the 
 choir was trying it for the first time. It began ; 
 
 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth 
 His handiwork. 
 
 The soldiers forgot the errand upon which they 
 had been sent by King Saul, and went back without 
 David. It was a strange thing, but these men were 
 so overcome by the music they had heard and taken 
 part in that they could think of nothing else and re- 
 member nothing else for several hours. 
 
 " Where is my son-in-law? " King Saul demanded. 
 They looked at each other helplessly, and one stam- 
 mered, " He is singing in the sacred choir, O king." 
 
 127 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " Why have ye not brought him before me, as I 
 commanded? " 
 
 " The spirit of the Lord was upon us, and we 
 could not take him," faltered another. The others 
 nodded their heads. " Yes, O king, the spirit of the 
 Lord moved in our hearts, and we did sing also." 
 
 " Cast these unworthy servants into prison and 
 send others," commanded the king, in deep disgust. 
 
 Other messengers were sent the next day, and they 
 arrived, like the first, at the time of the choir singing. 
 In their ears rang a voice they knew, David's voice, 
 and it sang with the harps and other instruments ac- 
 companying : 
 
 Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed ; He will hear him 
 from His holy heaven. 
 
 Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will remember 
 the name of the Lord, our God. 
 
 Then, according to custom, all the voices took up 
 the new verse and sang it, and a wonderful impulse 
 made the soldiers sing too. A great volume of praise 
 filled the school room again, and these soldiers too 
 forgot that they had come to take David, the king's 
 son-in-law, and went back without him, lifting their 
 faces to the sky as they walked. So they came to 
 the king, whose anger blazed even before he saw 
 them, for Doeg had informed him that they were 
 coming without David. 
 
 "Where have ye left my son-in-law?" he thun- 
 dered. 
 
 128 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 " He remains singing In the sacred choir at Naloth, 
 
 king," replied the leader of the troop. 
 
 " And why have ye not brought him before me, as 
 
 1 commanded? " 
 
 " O king, the spirit of the Lord came upon us, and 
 we also sang." 
 
 " Ye shall sing another song now," exclaimed the 
 frenzied monarch. " Cast them Into prison and send 
 others." 
 
 This time the constable Doeg picked the mes- 
 sengers with care. He sent the roughest fighting men 
 in King Saul's guard, men known to scoff at sacred 
 music and very unlikely to be Influenced by the reli- 
 gious exercises of the school. It was already known 
 that the others had failed in their duty, and were In 
 prison, and these men set out upon their journey 
 pledged to accomplish the task Intrusted to them. 
 Hours passed, while the king waited and raged up and 
 down the court of his palace, having only one thought 
 in his mind, to get David in his power. 
 
 At last a runner came with the startling news, " The 
 servants of the king stand in the school of the prophets 
 singing the sacred songs, as the other two bands of 
 messengers did." 
 
 " Are all my servants fools? " exclaimed the king, 
 in desperate rage and disappointment. " Now I will 
 take my enemy with my own hands," and he put on 
 his armor and took his spear In his hand and went out 
 
 S 129 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 of the palace. He left the royal city, striding fiercely 
 at first, with no other thought than to take David ; but 
 as the air blew upon him, and he saw the sheep feed- 
 ing in the pastures, and the blue sky above, he began 
 to wonder what it was that had made his messengers 
 behave as they had. He came to a great well in the 
 countryside, where the people were continually com- 
 ing for water, and as he sat and rested there, no one 
 recognizing him, he heard them talking about the 
 school of the prophets in Naioth, and of the festival 
 of song that was going on there. He spoke to one 
 of them and asked, " Is Judge Samuel at Naioth? " 
 
 " Yes, and David, the king's son-in-law, is with 
 him, and we hear such singing as we never heard 
 before." 
 
 " What is the occasion of this special music? " 
 
 " We know not, but whoever enters the school, the 
 spirit of the Lord comes upon him, and he sings with 
 the choir. We have even seen the king's soldiers 
 enter there, and we have heard them sing." 
 
 The king walked on, and all at once it came over 
 him with a rush of feeling, that once he had been a 
 member of that choir, and he had learned the sacred 
 hymns and exercises. Some of the old melodies came 
 back to him as he went along, and he could not help 
 chanting them. When he was far off, he could hear 
 the voices of the young men singing, and he lifted up 
 
 his own voice with theirs, and went along the road 
 
 130 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 singing. He came at last to the door of the school, 
 and saw the rows of long-gowned young men with 
 musical instruments in their hands, psalteries, tabrets, 
 pipes, and harps; and he beheld the white-haired 
 judge, whom he had not seen since that day when he 
 had laid hold of his mantle and torn it, and the judge 
 had said, " The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel 
 from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor 
 of thine that is better than thou." 
 
 Remorse seized upon King Saul's heart, and a 
 frenzy of exaltation possessed him. He tore off his 
 armor and cast it down, and threw aside the rich robe 
 that he wore, and took his place in the choir with the 
 young men, and sang with them with all his power, 
 until he fell down upon the floor in a sort of trance. 
 There he lay for several hours. 
 
 Judge Samuel was deeply moved, but he advised 
 David to leave the school without delay, for the 
 king's enmity might remain unchanged when he came 
 out of his religious trance. 
 
 Resolved to see once more those he loved best, 
 David went with all haste back to the royal city, to 
 see Prince Jonathan. He came in secretly at night- 
 fall, and had the good fortune to find his friend with- 
 out trouble, and he told him all that had happened at 
 the school. 
 
 " What have I done, Jonathan? What is my sin 
 before thy father, that he seeketh my life? " asked 
 
 131 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 David, brokenly, as they clasped each other's hands. 
 
 " Take courage, brother," said the prince. " Per- 
 haps the Lord hath wrought a change in my father's 
 heart, and he will pursue thee qo more." 
 
 " But what is my sin before thy father, that he 
 seeketh my life continually? " David pleaded. 
 
 " I know not what it is, but thou shalt not die. My 
 father doeth nothing, either great or small, but that 
 he shows it to me, and why should he hide this thing 
 from me? I tell thee, David, it is not true that he 
 meant to kill thee. He desired to bring thee back to 
 the court." 
 
 " Then how dost thou account for his throwing the 
 javelin at me and sending to take me in my bed? " 
 
 " Thou knowest his affliction, David, and that we 
 all do fear him at times." 
 
 " I know it, but thou art not in danger of thy 
 life with him, while I — as truly as the Lord liveth, 
 Jonathan — if I stay here thou shalt either see me 
 killed or hear of my death from others. Thy father 
 knoweth that thou and I we are sworn friends, and he 
 hath kept this thing from thee, lest it grieve thee. 
 I tell thee, there is but a step between me and death." 
 
 " I fear it is even so," said Jonathan, sadly. " Ask 
 me anything thou wilt, and if it is within my power, 
 I will do it for thee." 
 
 " I believe thou lovest me, Jonathan, even as I 
 love thee, and for thy sake and Michal's sake I will 
 
 132 
 
THE SCHOOL OF THE PROPHETS 
 
 make one more effort to be reconciled to thy father. 
 To-morrow Is the new moon, and I should not fail 
 to sit with the king at dinner, but let me go and hide 
 myself in the field just beyond the place where we 
 have been together so often to practise shooting with 
 the bow. If thy father miss me at all, or ask why 
 I am absent, say that I am gone to my own city to 
 visit my people. If he say, ' It is well that he went,' 
 take it as a good sign, but if he be angry, then be 
 sure that evil is determined by him, and that all 
 his feelings of remorse have passed from him." 
 
 Prince Jonathan stood silent for a moment. It was 
 hard for him to believe, in spite of all that had 
 happened, that his father was of so cruel, vindictive, 
 jealous a nature. 
 
 " Deal kindly with me in this matter," said David, 
 earnestly. " Forget not our covenant together that 
 we made ; but, Jonathan, if I have done any wrong, 
 slay me thyself, and do not bring me to thy father." 
 
 " Let us go out into the field," said Prince Jona- 
 than, impulsively, and they left the city together, 
 walking silently side by side until they reached the 
 field. Then the prince said, " David, my brother, 
 if I knew certainly that evil was determined against 
 thee by my father, I would surely tell thee, for I love 
 thee as my own soul, and I call God as my witness 
 
 that I will never break my promise to thee. I will 
 
 133 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 find out my father's inmost soul, whether he meaneth 
 good or evil to thee." 
 
 "And what If thy father answer thee roughly? 
 Who shall tell me?" 
 
 " I win come to thee. Hide thyself, and on the 
 third day from this come to the great stone in the 
 field, where we have practised our exercises and 
 keep hidden behind it. I will come with only one 
 servant, and will shoot three arrows at the mark. 
 If I say these words to the lad, ' The arrows are on 
 this side of thee, take them,' then come out to me, 
 for all Is well. But if I say to him, ' The arrows are 
 beyond thee,' go, and the Lord keep thee, for there 
 will be no safety for thee here with my father. But 
 the Lord will be between me and thee forever." 
 
 So they parted. Prince Jonathan went back to 
 the city, and David to a lonely hiding-place among the 
 rocks and bushes In the field. 
 
 The king returned from the school of the prophets, 
 and when the new moon appeared, he sat down to 
 dinner upon his seat by the wall. Abner, the captain 
 of the king's host, sat next to him, and Prince Jona- 
 than was near, but David's place was empty. 
 
 134 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 |N the first day of the new moon the king 
 said nothing about his son-in-law, but by 
 the second day he had persuaded himself 
 that David should have come to the table, and should 
 have believed that his king had meant peace to him 
 by going to the school of the prophets and singing 
 with the disciples. The king tried to persuade him- 
 self that he really had meant peace, and David's re- 
 maining away, he thought, showed lack of faith in 
 his motives. That he had done very little to inspire 
 David with faith in him, he did not consider. He 
 was a man who wanted to do as he pleased, get all 
 the praise, and have all his mistakes overlooked. 
 Though he should have known that David would 
 naturally hesitate about coming to the- feast after 
 the surly treatment his king had accorded to him, 
 his suspicions were aroused more than ever before, 
 and he felt sure now that David was laying plans to 
 get possession of the kingdom. 
 
 Soon after they were seated, he said abruptly to 
 Jonathan, " Why is the son of Jesse absent from the 
 feast to-day and yesterday? " 
 
 135 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " David earnestly asked leave of me to run down 
 to Bethlehem, his city, for he said, ' There is a yearly 
 sacrifice there for all my family, and my brother hath 
 commanded me to be there,' " replied Prince Jona- 
 than. 
 
 This was true, though David had not gone to the 
 gathering of his family, but was waiting in the field 
 for word from the prince. 
 
 King Saul's anger was aroused against his son, 
 and his rage grew beyond control in a moment. His 
 eyes glared as he cried out: " Do I not know that 
 thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to be thine own 
 companion? Thou art an enemy to thy father's 
 peace and thine own. As long as the son of Jesse is 
 upon the ground, thou shalt not be established nor 
 thy kingdom. Send and fetch him unto me, for he 
 shall surely die." 
 
 *' O my father, why shall he be slain ? What hath 
 he done?" demanded Jonathan, rising in his place, 
 his eyes flashing. 
 
 Words no longer sufficed to express the king's 
 wrath. He seized his javelin, and made a powerful 
 lunge at Jonathan. Had it not been for the inter- 
 ference of Abner and others, he would have killed his 
 own son. 
 
 Jonathan left the table in fierce anger, without tast- 
 ing a mouthful of food. He loved his misguided 
 father, and he knew that his father loved him more 
 
 136 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 than anyone else on earth, yet he had lifted up his 
 hand to kill him. He could not sleep that night for 
 grief, because his father had sought to kill him, and 
 because David was condemned to death. Before day- 
 light he left the city with a little servant lad, to keep 
 his promise to David. As he often went to practise 
 at athletic exercises at about that hour, his going 
 forth aroused no comment. 
 
 Arrived at the appointed place, he said to the 
 little lad, " Run now and find out the arrows which 
 I shoot." The youngster ran, and the prince shot 
 the arrows beyond him, and then called out loudly, 
 as he had agreed with David, " The arrows are be- 
 yond thee." 
 
 David, hearing this in his hiding-place, knew that 
 there was no more peace for him, and that he must 
 find some better place of concealment at once, or lose 
 his head to the jealous king. 
 
 Prince Jonathan, feeling that he must see David 
 and speak to him once more, sent the servant back 
 to the city with the bow and arrows, while he walked 
 on to the great stone. On coming near, he called 
 David, who rose up from behind it, looking worn 
 and disheveled, for he had spent two days in that 
 wild place. 
 
 Jonathan threw his arms around him, and they 
 kissed each other, and for a while their tears fell so 
 fast that they could neither of them speak. This 
 
 137 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 seemed the end of everything to the young men, who 
 loved each other so dearly. When the prince could 
 find his voice at last, he said, " God is with thee, 
 David. He will not forsake thee, and thou wilt over- 
 come thy enemies as the judge hath told thee, even 
 though my father be one of them. Only remember 
 this, if anything happens and I die, show kindness 
 to my children, and preserve their lives. I give up my 
 claim to the throne to thee, for I know thou art 
 more worthy, and I will be second in the kingdom. 
 But I must be with the king to the last. He is my 
 father." 
 
 " The Lord shall deal with us and with the king 
 thy father," said David, brokenly, " but on thy part, 
 Jonathan, promise me that thou wilt comfort and 
 encourage thy little sister, Michal, my wife," and 
 again David's tears fell fast. 
 
 " Hast thou any plan in thy mind? " asked Jona- 
 than, after he had promised to watch over Princess 
 Michal. 
 
 " I will go first to Nob, the city of the priests, 
 where I laid up the sword of Goliath before the Lord, 
 and perhaps they will give it to me, seeing my neces- 
 sity, that I may not be defenseless. Thereafter the 
 wilderness, and then — I know not what." 
 
 After repeated promises and vows of friendship, 
 the two young men parted, for they both knew the 
 danger to David if he remained longer in the vicinity 
 
 138 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 of the king. Having made a quick decision to go to 
 Nob, the city of the priests, and try to get the sword 
 of Goliath, David started for that place with all 
 possible haste, thinking as he went along what to 
 say to the priests, and how he would explain his needs. 
 He was afraid that if he told them all about his 
 trouble with the king, they might hesitate to help 
 him; and if they helped him knowing of his separa- 
 tion from King Saul, he was afraid they might be 
 put to death by the king in his anger, should he find 
 it out. 
 
 When he reached the city of Nob, and arrived at 
 the priests' house, he had made up his mind, and he 
 said: " I am on a secret business, and have left the 
 royal city in such haste that I had no time to provide 
 myself with food or a weapon." 
 
 The priest Ahimelech was afraid, for the troubles 
 between David and King Saul were known to some 
 extent through the land, and he asked David, " Why 
 art thou alone, and no man with thee? " 
 
 " I have sent my servants to other points," said 
 David, " and now wilt thou do the king's servant a 
 kindness, and give me what bread thou hast at hand ? " 
 
 " There is no common bread, but only hallowed 
 bread, which is made for the priests alone," replied 
 Ahimelech, much troubled, " and yet every law should 
 yield to the law of mercy. Take what thou art in 
 need of, O David." 
 
 139 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Very thankfully David took the bread, and put 
 It in his bag, to carry it with him. Then he asked, 
 " Hast thou a sword or a spear that I may take? " 
 
 " No," replied Ahimelech, " we have no weapons." 
 
 At that moment Abiathar, the priest's son, came in 
 and saw David, and he greeted him joyfully, for he 
 knew him. When he found out what David wanted, 
 he said, " There is one sword here, even the great 
 sword of the giant, Goliath of Gath, whom thou didst 
 kill. And who is a better man to carry it in time of 
 necessity than our champion David, who took it from 
 the Philistines?" 
 
 " Surely it is here, O David," said Ahimelech, 
 " wrapped up in a cloth, since thou thyself didst 
 dedicate it to the Lord. Take that if thou wilt. 
 There is no other." 
 
 " There Is none like, that," said David. " Give it 
 to me." 
 
 David, though not above average height, was a 
 powerfully built, muscular young man, as his exploits 
 have shown. He girded on the heavy sword of 
 Goliath with perfect ease, and was thanking the priest 
 and preparing to go, when he saw a figure pass like 
 a shadow behind the linen draperies at the farther 
 end of the room. A moment later the evil face of 
 Doeg appeared at the opening. A flash of recogni- 
 tion from David's eyes was met by a returning one 
 
 from Doeg, and the face vanished on the instant. 
 
 140 
 
A Moment Latbb the Evil Face of Doeg Appeared at the Opening 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 David had not learned that Doeg had led the 
 soldiers who tried to take him prisoner in his bed, 
 and he had always counted him as one of his friends, 
 though he had sometimes felt uncertain of his good 
 faith, and he knew that Prince Jonathan did not fully 
 trust him. Any idea that Doeg was his friend was 
 now dispelled. David felt sure that he would report 
 his visit to the priests' house to the king. It was near 
 night, and he hastened to put a safe distance between 
 himself and Nob. 
 
 He was now a wanderer in good earnest. He 
 dared not go to his home in Bethlehem. He even 
 feared that the king might wreak vengeance on his 
 innocent family there, his old father and mother, and 
 his brothers with their children. Turning his steps 
 toward the wilderness, as the wild, uncultivated part 
 of the country was called, he was soon out of imme- 
 diate danger, among the rocks and caves of the moun- 
 tains, and yet not many miles from Bethlehem. 
 
 He went to a cave he had sometimes visited when 
 near the place In the summer time with his flocks. 
 Its opening was high up on the mountain side, and 
 approached by a ledge of rocks. After searching 
 its recesses carefully, to be sure there were no wild 
 beasts in it, he made up his mind that he could live 
 very well there with his good sword for protection, 
 his cloak for a covering at night, with grapes and wild 
 fruits all around him and plenty of game to snare. 
 
 141 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Being used to outdoor life, he saw no hardship in all 
 this, except that he was hunted from his home and 
 friends like a wild beast, and dared live in no other 
 way. But it was lonesome without even the sheep 
 for company, and each day as it passed seemed longer 
 and more dreary than the one before. 
 
 King Saul heard conflicting stories concerning 
 David's flight, and spies brought him word that the 
 young man was now in this part of the country and 
 now in that, collecting forces and men about him. 
 The servants attached to Saul personally, with the 
 exception of Doeg, who was an Edomite, were all 
 Benjamites, that is, men of his own tribe in the king- 
 dom of Palestine. One day he led them out to a 
 pleasant grove on the top of a small hill, and they sat 
 there under a canopy in the shade, according to the 
 custom of kings and princes in that beautiful climate, 
 discussing matters of state. The king held his spear 
 in his hand, and the men stood around him ready to 
 do his slightest bidding. Doeg was chief spokesman, 
 and as he was the steward of the servants and in the 
 favor of the king, they all stood greatly in awe of 
 him. As usual the king was irritable and complained 
 about everything. 
 
 " Where is this son of Jesse? " he asked petulantly, 
 
 " Who hath heard of him lately? " 
 
 " I heard that David went to King Achish in 
 142 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 Gath," said one, " and that the king feared him 
 because of Goliath, and would not entertain him." 
 " It was told me," said another, " that thy son-in- 
 law hath gone to the land of Moab, whence came his 
 grandmother Ruth, and that he hath taken his father 
 and mother there." 
 
 "Is he not fortified with his men in the watch- 
 tower of Mizpeh in Moab ? " questioned a third. 
 
 The king listened gloomily. " Hear now, ye Ben- 
 jamites," he reproached, " perhaps the son of Jesse 
 will give everyone of you fields and vineyards and 
 make you all captains of thousands and captains of 
 hundreds, because no one of you hath told me the 
 truth, that my son Jonathan hath made a league with 
 the son of Jesse." 
 
 No one made answer, for who would have dared 
 accuse the prince even if they had heard it? The 
 king glowered, first on one, then on another, across 
 his spear. " All of you have conspired against me, 
 and there is none that is sorry for me, or telleth me 
 that Jonathan hath stirred up my son-in-law against 
 me, to make him lie in wait for me, as he doth this 
 day." 
 
 Still no one answered the king's complaining ac- 
 cusations, but Doeg began to fondle his glossy beard 
 and to look as if he could say something if he would. 
 
 " Can none of you speak a word? " said the king, 
 petulantly. 
 
 143 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Then Doeg answered, as one who spoke when he 
 willed and kept silent when he willed, not like the 
 others, who looked afraid either to speak or to keep 
 silent. " I saw the son of Jesse at Nob, the city of 
 the priests, with Ahimelech the priest, on a day not 
 long ago when I went thither to perform a vow." 
 
 The king started up excitedly. " With Ahimelech, 
 the sonof Ahitub? " 
 
 " Yes, O king, and Ahimelech gave him victuals 
 to carry with him on a journey, and the sword of 
 Goliath, the Philistine, to gird at his side, and he in- 
 quired of the Lord for him as to the direction he 
 should take." 
 
 " Why hast thou not spoken before, O Doeg? " 
 
 " Was it for Doeg to enlighten the king upon a 
 family matter, the telling of which lay within the 
 duty of Prince Jonathan? " 
 
 " Hath my son known of this thing and informed 
 me not? " 
 
 " Thy servant inferred that the prince knew the 
 intention? of the son of Jesse, for on the day of the 
 feast of the new moon, when he left the king's table 
 in anger, he did hold an interview with the king's 
 son-in-law in the practice field beyond the city." 
 
 " How knowest thou, O Doeg? " 
 
 " There is a discreet lad in the service of Prince 
 
 Jonathan who runneth after his arrows in the practice 
 
 field." 
 
 144 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 " Behold the duty of a son to his father, O Ben- 
 jamites," cried the king, in a voice so terrible that 
 they all trembled. Only Doeg was calm and self- 
 possessed, exulting in his power over the king and 
 ready to meet any mood that possessed the royal 
 mind. The king behaved like an angry child. The 
 pity was that he must be obeyed, whether his demands 
 were just or not. 
 
 " Send and call Ahimelech the priest to me," he 
 commanded, " and all his father's house and all the 
 priests that are in Nob. We shall make an example 
 of these unworthy servants." 
 
 The king laughed for the first time in days, and 
 his servants laughed with him, not daring to do other- 
 wise. Guards were dispatched to summon the un- 
 fortunate priests before King Saul, whose wrath in- 
 creased from moment to moment. 
 
 The priests came at the summons, driven along the 
 highway by the soldiers like sheep. Only one of the 
 priests that lived in Nob failed to come at the king's 
 bidding, Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, who had 
 remembered to give David the great sword of Goliath. 
 
 A rumor that David was a fugitive from the king 
 had reached the priests' city, and knowing what a 
 quarrel between the king and David might mean to 
 the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, Abiathar had gone 
 
 there to give the family information of all that he 
 
 145 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 knew and to warn them to be on their guard. On 
 that very day the king's guard came to Nob. 
 
 The priests were brought before King Saul, who 
 sat in state with his crown on his head and his spear 
 in his hand, looking like a grim monument to ven- 
 geance. 
 
 He disdained to call Ahimelech by name, but he 
 thundered, " Hear now, thou son of Ahitub ! " 
 
 The priest answered meekly, " Here I am, my lord, 
 O king." 
 
 " Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the 
 son of Jesse? It seems that thou hast given him 
 bread and the sword of Goliath, and hast inquired 
 of God for him, to strengthen him to lie in wait for 
 me and rise against me when he so desireth." 
 
 " Thou hast been misinformed, O king, for who is 
 so faithful among all thy servants as David, the 
 king's son-in-law, who goeth and cometh at thy 
 bidding, and is honored in thy house? And if I in- 
 quired of the Lord for him, I knew not that he was 
 an outcast from thee." 
 
 The king's hand shook with the spear in it when he 
 heard David praised, and his voice trembled with 
 wrath as he said: 
 
 " Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou and all 
 thy father's house." 
 
 He turned to the soldiers of his own guard stand- 
 ing around him and commanded them, 
 
 146 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 " Turn ye and slay the priests of the Lord, because 
 their hand is against us, and is with David, and be- 
 cause they knew when David fled, and did not tell it 
 to me." 
 
 Not a hand was lifted, not a soldier moved in his 
 place, and threateningly the king repeated his com- 
 mand. 
 
 Then the chief of the guard said: " O king, we 
 dare not bring the blood of the priests of God upon 
 our hands. Behold this Edomite, let him perform 
 the king's command." 
 
 The king wheeled furiously around toward Doeg 
 then, and commanded him to slay the priests, and 
 Doeg did not refuse, but struck down every one of 
 them in turn, while the guard looked on. 
 
 Even then King Saul was not satisfied. He sent 
 Doeg with other soldiers, less scrupulous than those 
 of his guard, to destroy Nob, the city of the priests, 
 with every living thing in it. And this was done. 
 Only Abiathar of the whole city escaped. 
 
 One morning David, having arisen from his bed of 
 dried grass and leaves in the cave in the mountains, 
 stood in the doorway watching the sunrise gilding the 
 hilltops, when he discovered three figures making their 
 way cautiously up the mountain side. Thinking them 
 to be his enemies and servants of the king, he kept 
 out of sight, but as they came nearer he recognized 
 
 among them Abiathar, the son of the priest, who 
 
 147 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 had given him bread and the sword. He rushed out 
 to meet them, and found that the other two were 
 young men with whom he had become acquainted 
 during his short stay at the school of the prophets. 
 Abiathar fell down at his feet, sobbing and moaning 
 as if he had lost all his friends, and this, we know, 
 was the case. As soon as he could speak, he told 
 all that had happened to his father and the priests 
 and the city of Nob, and the reason of his own 
 escape, how he had gone on that day to Bethlehem 
 to give the house of Jesse information about David. 
 
 " I alone have escaped," moaned the unhappy 
 young priest again. " They are all dead, even the 
 little ones. Doeg, the Edomite, the keeper of the 
 king's afFairs, was in the priests' house that day to 
 perform a vow, and he must have seen what took 
 place between thee and my father and me." 
 
 " I knew it that day," groaned David, " when I 
 saw the face of Doeg, the Edomite, peering at me 
 from an opening in the draperies, that he would surely 
 tell King Saul. I have caused the death of the whole 
 of thy father's house. Who performed this deed, 
 O Abiathar? " 
 
 " Doeg and his followers undertook it gladly. 
 The king's soldiers refused to lift their hands against 
 them." 
 
 " Doeg ! I have often felt suspicious of him, for 
 
 he hath sometimes an evil look, which one cannot 
 
 148 
 
THE SWORD OF GOLIATH 
 
 understand, but I could not have believed even he 
 could be so cruel, so lost to all feelings of humanity. 
 It is through thy father's kindness to me that all this 
 hath happened. We will join our fortunes, Abiathar, 
 and do what seemeth best to us. But why have the 
 warrior Abishai and the student Gad joined thee in 
 thy flight ? Are ye also in trouble, my friends ? " 
 
 " Abiathar came to us at the school," said Gad, 
 " and when he had told the story, and that thou wast 
 a fugitive in the mountains, we could not help coming 
 to thee, to join our fortunes to thine and help thee, 
 if possible." 
 
 " Then the Lord hath not forgotten me, but hath 
 sent me friends," said David, clasping their hands, 
 while the tears ran down his cheeks. 
 
 " Thou must send for thy family and friends," 
 Gad continued. " No connection of thine is safe 
 now from the king's wrath. He hath sworn enmity 
 against them all. They must come to thee. I have 
 already sent messengers to friends of mine, who will 
 join us here as soon as they can, and fight on thy side." 
 " A troop of my own intimate friends in the army 
 will also be here, to aid thee," declared Abishai, who 
 was a famous warrior. 
 
 " I can only thank you now, my men," David 
 answered, " for your love and kindness to me, but if 
 ever David, the son of Jesse, hath power to do what 
 he will, you shall be rewarded." 
 
 149 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 N the course of a few days David's father 
 and mother and all his brothers and their 
 families came to the retreat in the moun- 
 tains, and in a few weeks' time his number of fighting 
 men had increased to four hundred, many of whom 
 were in disfavor with the tyrannical king, and almost 
 as much in danger of their lives as he. Everyone 
 that was in debt or in distress, or was discontented, 
 came to David In the cave in the mountains, and he 
 became their captain. 
 
 They led a free life, and did not mind the hardships 
 they had to endure in the least ; but life without home 
 comforts was hard on the feeble old man Jesse and 
 his equally helpless wife. David hardly knew what 
 to do with his father and mother, but at length he 
 made up his mind, in spite of the danger of the under- 
 taking, to make a journey to an adjoining kingdom, 
 and ask protection of the king of that country for 
 them, till his own fortunes should be more secure. 
 He felt that he had some claim on the king of Moab, 
 for his great-grandmother Ruth, whose memory was 
 
 honored among them, was a native of that country. 
 
 150 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 He was obliged to travel In disguise, but he ac- 
 complished the mission safely, was received kindly 
 by the king, and left his aged parents in his charge. 
 After that he felt free to go with his band of 
 warriors whithersoever fortune or duty led him. 
 Learning that a certain town not far from his strong- 
 hold was besieged by their old enemies, the Philis- 
 tines, he led his men to its relief, drove the enemy 
 off, and camped near the town, till the people had 
 gathered in their harvest of grain and fruits. The 
 king heard of this adventure, and, thinking he surely 
 had his enemy in his power, ordered troops to the 
 little town to capture him, but just as they were 
 starting, word came that David with his band had 
 departed. Wherever King Saul and his soldiers 
 sought after the fugitives, they were told that David 
 and his men had just left for some other place. 
 
 In some way Jonathan found out that they were 
 hidden in a forest in the wilderness of Ziph. He 
 told no one, not even a servant, but, disguising him- 
 self as a shepherd in search of lost cattle, he went 
 to David in the woods. 
 
 Imagine David's surprise when the king's son 
 appeared before him. They threw their arms around 
 each other, and wept for joy at seeing each other 
 again after months of separation. 
 
 " I could not refrain from seeing thee once more," 
 
 said Jonathan, " when I found out where thou wast 
 
 151 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 hidden. But fear not, for the hand of my father 
 shall not find thee, and thou shalt surely be king 
 some day, and I shall be next unto thee, and this 
 also my father knoweth. I know what hath in- 
 creased my father's melancholy and his hatred of 
 thee. He hath told me that years ago, before he 
 ever saw thy face, Judge Samuel became displeased 
 with him, because he disobeyed some of the com- 
 mands that he had had from the Lord, and Samuel 
 warned him that his kingdom would not stand. He 
 hath seen the judge only once since then, when he 
 thought to take thee at the school of the prophets, 
 and dared not, because of old recollections, and be- 
 cause of the remorse that held him back for a little 
 while. He hath told me also that God speaks to 
 him no more, either through the priests or by dreams, 
 and thinkest thou if God had forsaken thee, thou 
 couldst stand alone? " 
 
 " May He never forsake me," said David, fer- 
 vently. " My heart bleeds for thy father. He is the 
 king, and whatever happens in the future I shall 
 never raise my hand against him. I would support 
 him in his authority as long as he lives, if he would 
 let me. That thou knowest." 
 
 " I know thy heart, David, but swear to me once 
 more that thou wilt never forget our vows. Some- 
 thing tells me that I shall never see thee again, my 
 brother." 
 
 1B2 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 " The Lord our God is witness between us that I 
 do not forget," said David, brokenly. 
 
 So they renewed their covenant together, there 
 under the trees of the forest, and again Jonathan 
 promised to watch over the Princess Michal, who 
 would not be comforted, because David was an out- 
 cast from the king's house and a fugitive in his own 
 land. 
 
 " Doth she ever remember me? " David asked. 
 
 " Every day I see tears in her eyes, and every day 
 she asks for news of thee," said Jonathan. 
 
 Tears choked their farewells, and Jonathan went 
 away, escorted for a short distance by some of David's 
 guards. 
 
 Growing more and more determined to hunt David 
 down and destroy him and his family, root and 
 branch. King Saul called all the fighting men of that 
 section of the country together for war. He told 
 them that he was preparing to attack the Philistines 
 again, but his hidden reason was that he wanted a 
 force large enough to besiege David and his men in 
 their stronghold in the woods and mountains, though 
 King Saul could not find out where David was en- 
 camped. David's friends, however, sent the fugitive 
 frequent news of the movements of the royal forces. 
 
 Hearing that King Saul and his army were en- 
 camped in their vicinity, the men of Ziph sent mes- 
 sengers to him, telling him, " Thy son-in-law is hld- 
 
 153 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 ing himself in the strongholds in these woods. Come 
 down, O king, according to the desire of thy soul, and 
 we will deliver him into thy hand." 
 
 King Saul was overjoyed. At last his enemy was 
 to be delivered into his hand. He wanted to make 
 very sure of his victim, so he said to the messengers : 
 " Go back arid take note of all the lurking-places 
 where the son of Jesse hideth himself, and come ye 
 again and tell me certainly, and I will go with you. 
 If he be in this land, I will search for him through the 
 length and breadth of it. And the Lord shall bless 
 the sons of Ziph, because they have had compassion 
 on the king, and have delivered his enemy into his 
 hands." 
 
 So the messengers, feeling very important, went on 
 before, and led King Saul and his soldiers to the 
 wilderness of Ziph. But behold, again David was 
 gone, and neither the men of Ziph nor King Saul 
 and his soldiers could find him. 
 
 Time after time the king thought he could put his 
 hand upon David, but he was gone like a partridge 
 in the bushes, without leaving a trace of his where- 
 abouts. At last, however, he succeeded in driving 
 him and his entire band up into a mountain and sur- 
 rounding them. King Saul's victory over his son-in- 
 law now seemed sure. He had but to draw his circle 
 a little tighter and strike the blow, then there would 
 
 be but one king in Israel, and that King Saul. 
 
 154 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 When civil wars destroy the peace of any country, 
 the enemies on the outside find opportunities they 
 could never get otherwise. So the Philistines', who 
 had always coveted the rich farming land of Palestine, 
 now that they saw King Saul giving all his energy to 
 hunting down his own son-in-law, took this occasion 
 to fall suddenly upon the borders. Frightened run- 
 ners brought the news into King Saul's camp, and 
 consternation reigned. 
 
 " While thou art besieging thine own son-in-law, 
 O king, the Philistine host is besieging thee in like 
 manner from without," exclaimed Abner, the cap- 
 tain of the king's army. 
 
 This was bitterness to King Saul, to be reproached 
 by his chief officer. Yet he could not help but see 
 the necessity of withdrawing his forces from the pur- 
 suit of his personal foe, to go against the enemies of 
 the whole country of Palestine. 
 
 David and his little band had resolved to contest 
 every point and stand together to the last ditch, 
 though every one should fall in an unequal contest. 
 They were amazed to see King Saul's men forming 
 into line and marching away in great haste. They 
 lost no time in retreating to a stronghold that David 
 had heard of, in an immense cave near the western 
 shore of the Dead Sea. It was situated in a wild 
 ravine full of caves and sepulchers. There were foun- 
 tains of sweet water and an abundance of wild fruits. 
 
 155 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 The mountain goats sprang lightly from clifF to cliff. 
 There were abandoned sheep-cotes around the mouth 
 of the cave. These they repaired and used for their 
 own flocks, for they had managed to collect a few 
 sheep and goats, which furnished them milk for their 
 daily food as well as meat occasionally. 
 
 In this place they enjoyed several weeks' rest, and 
 hither David's spies brought news that King Saul 
 had won a great victory over the Philistines, and was 
 returning with three thousand picked men, to take 
 David in his stronghold. Then David sent out other 
 spies, and they came back and confirmed the report 
 of the first. King Saul was come in very deed, with 
 three thousand chosen men at his back, and they were 
 pitching their tents and laying out their camp on a hill 
 not far distant. They were so near that from certain 
 sheltered points of their stronghold, David and his 
 men could easily watch their movements without being 
 seen themselves. The cave in which they were lodged 
 was large enough to hold all the men, but the open- 
 ing, being small, gave no evidence of the space within. 
 The sheep and goats lay all around within and with- 
 out the opening. 
 
 The restless spirit of the king could not brook a 
 moment's delay, and he started alone up a narrow 
 path on the side of the cliff, which chanced to lead to 
 the very spot where his quarry lay hidden. The 
 
 156 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 watchers saw him approaching, and they took the 
 news to David. 
 
 "Thy enemy is coming, even the king that seeketh 
 thy life. Look how he cometh on, unsuspecting, like 
 a lion into a strong net." 
 
 Great excitement prevailed in the cave, though the 
 men spoke in whispers, and moved about noiselessly. 
 
 " Thou mayest avenge thyself, David," said the 
 student Gad, who had developed warlike propensities 
 during his sojourn in the mountains. 
 
 " Do him the honor to cut off his head with the 
 sword of Goliath," said the warrior Abishai, jocosely. 
 " There he cometh in at the cave's mouth among the 
 sheep. Now is thy time ! " 
 
 " God putteth him in thy way," was the pious re- 
 mark of the young priest Abiathar. 
 
 The king, on entering the cave from the daylight, 
 could scarcely see a hand's breadth before his face, 
 but the men standing silently in its deep recesses, 
 having been there some time, were accustomed to the 
 darkness, and could see perfectly well. They watched 
 eagerly for the propitious moment, when David 
 should step forward and behead his royal foe with 
 one blow of Goliath's sword. His majesty groped 
 about among the sheep for a few moments, as if ex- 
 pecting to find a keeper, for he had no doubt but 
 that they belonged to some mountain shepherd. Pres- 
 ently he composed himself, as if to rest, and, being in 
 
 157 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 reality greatly fatigued, he fell almost immediately 
 into a sound sleep. 
 
 " Now is thy time ! " whispered Abishai to David, 
 and David went forward, sword in hand, while they 
 craned their necks to see. The blow was quickly given 
 and dexterously, and he returned to his men bearing 
 a strip of the king's cloak in his hand. 
 
 " I tell ye now, my men," he said, facing their aston- 
 ished gaze, " neither at this time nor at any future 
 time shall my hand be raised against the life of the 
 king. He may die of his malady, or he may die in 
 battle against his enemies, or the hand of the Lord 
 may be upon him, but not mine. It repenteth me 
 now that I have done so much and offered insult to 
 my king. Ye shall none of you raise a weapon against 
 him. Let him go free. It is my wish." 
 
 Many fingers fairly ached to string a bow and send 
 an arrow Into the heart of the sleeping king, for his 
 cruel tyranny had been the cause of much suffering 
 among his subjects, but David's wish was law. The 
 king awoke after some time and left the cave, un- 
 molested. He had gone only a little way down the 
 path, when David followed, bidding his men keep 
 out of sight. He stood in the sheep-cote in front of 
 the cave's mouth, and called, 
 
 "My lord the king!" 
 
 The monarch faced around suddenly, astonishment 
 158 
 
s 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 and consternation written in every line of his care- 
 worn face. 
 
 " O my father," David cried out, " why dost thou 
 listen to wicked men, when they tell thee David 
 seeketh to hurt thee? Why art thou suspicious of 
 thy best friends ? Words may be either false or true, 
 but actions speak louder than words. See, my father, 
 yea, see this piece of thy cloak in my hand, and when 
 I cut it off, I could as easily have done the same to 
 thy head. If thou hadst found me in thy power, 
 wouldst thou have let thy opportunity slip ? My men 
 bade me kill thee, but my heart spared thee. I have 
 not sinned against thee, O king, my father, yet thou 
 huntest my very soul, to take it. Thou wouldst kill 
 me without cause. But my hand shall never be upon 
 thee in any case. The Lord shall judge between thee 
 and me and deliver me out of thy hand." 
 
 " Is this thy voice, my son David? " burst in agony 
 from the king's lips. His giant frame, taller than 
 that of other men from the shoulders up, was con- 
 vulsed with sobs. For several moments he could not 
 control his voice enough to speak. At last he said, 
 " Thou hast rewarded me good for evil, for what 
 other man, if he found his enemy, would let him go 
 away safe ? Thou art far better than I. Now I know 
 that thou shalt surely be king over all Israel. The 
 Lord is on thy side, and I am left alone, because of 
 
 my sins. But swear to me now, David, my son, that 
 
 159 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 when thou art king in my place, thou wilt not, for 
 that I have done thee evil, destroy my children." 
 
 " I swear to save and preserve thy house," David 
 answered, deeply moved. 
 
 The king went back to his troops, and, without 
 explaining anything, ordered the campaign to be given 
 up and the men to return home. 
 
 But the crafty Doeg put spies upon David's track, 
 and he worked constantly to move the king to further 
 action against his son-in-law. Knowing that David 
 and his followers were still in the caves in the moun- 
 tains, he persuaded the king to make another expedi- 
 tion, this time with a small force, which might pene- 
 trate the mountain country undiscovered. To this 
 Saul at last agreed. 
 
 One morning, when the birds and other woodland 
 creatures were just beginning to stir, David and 
 Abiathar the priest, with the warrior Abishai and the 
 student Gad, were sitting in the back part of a cave, 
 planning together what to do. Abishai, who was on 
 guard, espied shepherds climbing up and apparently 
 searching for lost sheep. They had come so quietly 
 that they were very near when the warrior discovered 
 them. Abishai signaled quickly to David and the 
 others to keep silence until the strangers passed by. 
 
 Directly in front of the cave the shepherds paused, 
 and the men within heard a voice say : " Desist from 
 fruitless search here, for, behold, a spider hath 
 
 160 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 woven her web clear across the opening, sure proof 
 that none hath entered lately." 
 
 " That was the voice of my lord the king," said 
 David, when the shepherds were beyond reach of his 
 voice, " and only yesterday I expressed a doubt of 
 God's wisdom in creating a thing so apparently use- 
 less as a spider. How wonderful are His works ! " 
 
 King Saul, for he it was in truth, with his body- 
 guard, disguised as shepherds, left the mountain 
 heights without having discovered David. 
 
 On the way to the royal city they were met by a 
 messenger, running to bring the news that Samuel, 
 the just judge, whom the king feared, the man of 
 God, whom the people loved, was dead. The whole 
 nation mourned for him. Many of their sons had 
 been educated in his schools, many had received alms 
 at his hands, many had had their wrongs righted by 
 his wise judgment. The king mourned with the 
 people, for now the time was past when he could 
 bring about reconciliation with Judge Samuel. 
 
 After the days of mourning were over, Doeg, the 
 mischief-maker, began to whisper into the king's 
 willing ear, that now the judge was gone, and David 
 had his own head, there would be trouble. 
 
 " He may not," said Doeg, " lay his own hands on 
 thee to harm thee, but his followers have no such 
 scruples. They are constantly increasing. Thy life 
 
 is not safe a moment. Thou mayest be murdered in 
 6 161 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 thy bed. And why give up thy son's succession to the 
 throne ? Let the king gather his forces and hunt this 
 would-be usurper to the death." 
 
 So the king was over-persuaded. He gathered a 
 large army, and went chasing after his son-in-law 
 again. David was in the wilderness with his band. 
 He had left the cave, for he considered it no longer 
 a safe place for him after the king had found it out. 
 He sat in his tent one day with Abishai, the great 
 fighting man, when a spy brought the intelligence that 
 the king with his army lay encamped a few hours' 
 journey from them. 
 
 " Tell not this news to anyone," David com- 
 manded, " but go back to thy watch." 
 
 Then he asked Abishai if he would like to go with 
 him to visit the king's camp by night. Abishai said 
 he would like nothing better than such an adventure. 
 
 They set off soon after dark, and reached the camp 
 
 shortly after midnight. The night was dark, but they 
 
 could easily distinguish the setting of the camp, with 
 
 the king's tent in the center. Every soul seemed to 
 
 be wrapped in profoundest slumber. David and his 
 
 companion made their way cautiously to the king's 
 
 tent, often stepping over the bodies of the sleeping 
 
 men. They entered and sought out the spot on which 
 
 King Saul lay with Abner and the armed men around 
 
 him. In spite of the darkness, they knew which one 
 
 162 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 was the king, by the spear that stuck straight up in the 
 ground at his head. 
 
 " Let us pin him to the earth with his own spear," 
 whispered Abishai. " I shall not have to strike the 
 second time, I promise thee." 
 
 " Nay, Abishai, thou art a good friend and lovest 
 my interest, but I will not let thee do this wicked 
 thing. Let the Lord smite him, or let him perish in 
 battle." 
 
 " I pray thee, David, let me kill him as he lies. 
 Thou art too soft-hearted for thine own interest. 
 Doth he not hunt thee as if thou wert a partridge in 
 the mountains? " 
 
 " Touch him not, he shall live out his span. Who 
 may put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and 
 be guiltless ? But take the spear at his head and the 
 bottle of water that standeth by his bolster, and let 
 us go." 
 
 " It must be as thou wilt, I suppose, but I am of 
 a mind to be angry with thee for letting such a chance 
 pass by," Abishai declared. " Here, put th&,t fellow's 
 ax at his feet, and hang this bow in a tree. Let us 
 leave plenty of marks of our visit." 
 
 " I will help thee at that game right heartily, so 
 thou injurest no one," returned David. 
 
 So they played all manner of pranks on the sleep- 
 ing soldiers as they passed through the camp, and 
 
 went away without having aroused anybody. After 
 
 163 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 crossing the brook and ascending a steep hill, they 
 stopped and looked back. It was still very dark. 
 
 " I have a mind to call out to them and affright 
 them," said David. 
 
 " Do thus," said the man of war. 
 
 David made a trumpet with his hands. 
 
 " Abner I Abner ! Abner ! " he called, as loud as 
 he could. " Wilt thou not answer, Abner? " 
 
 " Who calleth Abner? " came the reply after a 
 moment. 
 
 " Ho, Abner ! Abner ! Is thy lord the king safe? " 
 David cried back. 
 
 " Who art thou that criest to the king? " 
 
 " Ho, Abner, art thou not a valiant man? Who 
 is so brave as thou in the kingdom of Israel? " 
 
 "Who calleth Abner?" 
 
 " Abner! Abner! Wherefore hast thou not kept 
 thy lord the king in safety? Just now there came 
 one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. 
 How is it that thou sleepest? Ho, Abner! What 
 ails thee, Abner? " 
 
 " Who is it that calleth Abner? " 
 
 " Thou art worthy to die, Abner, because thou hast 
 not guarded thy master, the Lord's anointed. Look 
 now and see where the king's spear is, and his bottle 
 of water that stood at his bolster, and thou wilt 
 learn what mighty misfortune thy lord the king hath 
 escaped." 
 
 164 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 By this time the king had roused himself from his 
 deep sleep. " It is David's voice," he cried to Abner, 
 and then he called aloud, " Is this thy voice, my son 
 David?" 
 
 Then David replied from the hilltop: " It is my 
 voice, my lord, O king. Wherefore dost thou pursue 
 after me ? What have I done ? What evil is in mine 
 hand? Why doth the king of Israel hunt after his 
 son David, as one hunteth a partridge in the moun- 
 tains? " 
 
 " O my son David, I have played the fool and 
 I have sinned, but I will do thee no more harm," 
 exclaimed King Saul, contritely. 
 
 The whole camp was now awake and groping 
 about in the darkness, to find misplaced weapons and 
 articles of clothing. The king perceived that David 
 had been in the camp, and again had had it in his 
 power to take his life, but had spared it. He was 
 humbled once more, and he called back again through 
 the darkness, " Return to thine own home, David ! 
 I will never molest thee again, for thou hast spared 
 my life these two times." 
 
 " Let one of thy young men come over and fetch 
 the king's spear and the bottle of water," David 
 answered. " He will find them here on a great 
 stone." 
 
 " I will not molest thee, David," called the king 
 
 again. " Thou hast spared my life this night. Thou 
 
 165 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 shalt do great things. Blessed be thou, my son 
 David." 
 
 " Trust the king no more," counseled the warrior 
 Abishai. " Put no faith in his promises. He hath 
 set his heart to kill thee." 
 
 " That is true, Abishai," said David, sadly. " I 
 shall perish one day by the hand of King Saul. To- 
 night the king repenteth the wrongs he hath done 
 me, but to-morrow he will follow evil counselors 
 again. There is nothing to do now but escape into 
 the land of the Philistines. Then King Saul will 
 despair of finding me, and so I shall escape from 
 him." 
 
 David and Abishai went back to their own camp, 
 and before it was light they were on the march into 
 the land of the Philistines, with the band, now num- 
 bering six hundred fighting men, and the women and 
 children and all the stufF. They marched to a place 
 called Gath, where lived King Achish, who was 
 friendly to David. Achish had been very much 
 pleased at hearing about some of David's exploits, 
 and his good opinion was confirmed when he met the 
 young man. He gave him a pleasant country town, 
 called Ziklag, to live in with his soldiers and their 
 families. Knowing that David was at war with his 
 own people, he thought that he might win him over 
 to be permanently on the Philistines' side. 
 
 David and his men had lived in Ziklag for more 
 
 166 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 than a year, and had brought all their possessions 
 thither and a goodly number of camels and cattle. 
 King Saul did not dare cross the borders of the 
 Philistines, to look for David, but the Philistines be- 
 gan to gather their armies together, to go against 
 Saul once more. So King Achish, wishing to furnish 
 a large and imposing army from his part of the 
 country, came to David, and said: 
 
 " Thou wilt surely take thy band of warriors and 
 go into battle with us against King Saul, our common 
 enemy ? " 
 
 " Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do," 
 said David, readily. 
 
 " That is well," replied Achish, very much pleased, 
 " and if we win the battle, I will reward thee greatly. 
 The troops will be assembled at Gath. Do thou 
 march there with thy men on the morrow." 
 
 " Wouldst thou lead us to fight against our own 
 people ? " inquired the warrior Ablshai anxiously 
 after King Achish was gone. 
 
 " We cannot do otherwise than appear willing to 
 do so," replied David, " but something will take place 
 to prevent our shedding the blood of our own kins- 
 men, thou wilt see." 
 
 So David and all his soldiers marched to Gath 
 the next day, as David had promised, but the princes 
 of the Philistines were not so friendly as King Achish 
 had been. They were suspicious of the young man, 
 
 167 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 who was the hero of the famous battle with Goliath. 
 Immediately some of the princes of the Philistines 
 took King Achish aside, and asked him what he had 
 brought the Hebrews for. 
 
 " Why," explained the king, " this is David, who 
 has been driven out of his own land by King Saul. 
 He hath lived in the town of Ziklag, which I gave 
 him, for a year, and I have no fault to find with him. 
 He will fight on our side." 
 
 " Never believe that," cried the chief lord of the 
 princes, angrily. " Make this fellow return with his 
 fighting men to the town thou gavest him. Is not this 
 David, of whom they tell us the Hebrew women sang, 
 ' Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thou- 
 sands? ' See what sturdy fellows he hath with him. 
 As soon as they get into the thick of the fight, they 
 will join their own people against us, and David will 
 become reconciled to King Saul with the heads of 
 our men." 
 
 King Achish went back to David and told him 
 how the princes of the Philistines felt about having the 
 Hebrews fight with them. David was very glad in his 
 heart that he would not have to fight against his own 
 people, but, wanting to keep friends with Achish, he 
 said, "What have I done? Why may I not go 
 with my men to fight against the enemies of my lord 
 the king? " 
 
 " I know thou art good, David," returned King 
 
 168 
 
A PARTRIDGE IN THE MOUNTAINS 
 
 Achish, " but the princes of the Philistines say thou 
 shalt not go, and so it will be best for thee to march 
 back to Ziklag as soon as it is light." 
 
 Very gladly David marched back to his little city 
 with his men. 
 
 " I told thee we should not have to fight against 
 our own people," he said to Abishai. 
 
 On the third day of the march, as they approached 
 the town that had become dear to their hearts, be- 
 cause it held their loved ones, they saw smoke ascend- 
 ing from it, from all parts at once it seemed. 
 
 169 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 HE soldiers broke ranks and rushed on in 
 
 The whole town lay in ruins. 
 All the houses were burnt, and the smoke that arose 
 was from the sticks that were yet smouldering. There 
 was nothing alive left in the town, either great or 
 small. The women and children were gone, and the 
 camels and all the cattle and the sheep. In their first 
 anger and despair, the soldiers wanted to stone David 
 for leading them to Gath to fight for the Philistines 
 against their own people, and leaving their families 
 and possessions unprotected ; but Abiathar, the young 
 priest, the warrior Abishai, and the student Gad stood 
 by him, and together they calmed the excited soldiers, 
 and made them listen to reason. 
 
 " Come, my brave fellows," shouted Abishai, " no- 
 body is killed, our wives and children are safe. You 
 do not see dead bodies anywhere, do you ? They have 
 been carried off alive by the enemy. Let us follow and 
 rescue them, and get back our goods as well ! " 
 
 Thus encouraged, the men stopped their useless 
 
 weeping, and went in pursuit. The trail was not hard 
 
 170 
 
THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 to follow, and they soon came upon a young man- 
 servant lying in a field. He was able to give them 
 some information. They found that he belonged 
 to the enemy that had destroyed their city, and his 
 master had left him behind in the field, because he 
 was sick, and could not march. He had had nothing 
 to eat nor a drop of water for three days. The 
 student Gad hurried to bring him some water, and 
 the warrior Abishai gave him a cake of figs and some 
 raisins out of his own store of provisions, and very 
 soon he was able to talk freely. David questioned 
 him, and he said: 
 
 " The Amalekites made an invasion through all 
 this part of the country, and I was with my master, 
 and we burnt Ziklag to the ground, and took away 
 all the women and children and all the cattle and 
 camels and the stuff in the houses. The Amalekites 
 had information from their spies, that David and 
 all his fighting men were going to join the forces of 
 the Philistines and leave Ziklag unprotected." 
 
 " Dost thou know which way they went? Canst 
 thou lead us down to this company? " 
 
 The young man fell on his knees, exclaiming: 
 " Swear not to kill me nor deliver me into the hands 
 of my master again, and I will lead thee down, and 
 I will be thy servant." 
 
 When David had assured the poor fellow that he 
 would be protected, he led the way in the direction 
 
 171 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 which he knew the cavalcade had taken. David and 
 his men marched with great caution, and at twilight 
 they came upon the camp, spread out over a large 
 piece of ground. The spoilers were eating and drink- 
 ing and dancing and rejoicing over the great spoil 
 they had secured. None had been left on guard. 
 David's forces fell upon them so unexpectedly that 
 they offered no resistance whatever. A few of the 
 younger men ran to the camels, which were feeding 
 in another section of the camp, mounted them, and 
 escaped. All the rest were cut down before they could 
 arm themselves. 
 
 The wives of the men and their sons and daughters 
 were found safe with the stolen goods, and also a 
 considerable number of cattle and camels, and an 
 abundance of goods that had belonged to the maraud- 
 ing party. David and his band made a triumphal 
 march back to their village, with more possessions 
 than they had ever had before. They began at once 
 to build up their burnt dwellings and to put everything 
 in order, and out of the treasure taken from the 
 enemy David sent a present to all his friends In the 
 vicinity of Ziklag who had been kind to him In past 
 times. To every place where he and his followers 
 were wont to go and be received kindly, he sent a gift. 
 
 During this time the lords of the Philistines were 
 gathering their forces by hundreds and by thousands 
 and putting their army into battle array against the 
 
 172 
 
THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 Hebrews. They knew that Judge Samuel, upon whom 
 King Saul and his people had depended so much for 
 guidance, was dead. They knew that King Saul was 
 losing favor and the love of his people, and that the 
 kingdom was divided, because of the trouble between 
 the king and his son-in-law. It was a very good time 
 to make war, they thought, and with every chance of 
 winning. 
 
 King Saul was overwhelmed with fear and perplex- 
 ity. He had the war trumpets sounded in every part 
 of his kingdom, to call all the fighting men together, 
 and then he wished, O how he wished, that his good 
 friend Judge Samuel were alive. He had reached 
 the point where his proud spirit was ready to obey 
 the commands of the Lord, if only the commands 
 were made known to him. The poor king had always 
 trusted in his own strength, or followed the advice 
 of evil men, because it pleased him, and now he was 
 in terrible despair, because he had no one to depend 
 upon. 
 
 Many months had passed since he had consulted 
 
 any of the priests of God, and they had no love for 
 
 him. He had caused many of their number living 
 
 in the priests' city of Nob to be killed, because David 
 
 had received food there and the sword of Goliath. 
 
 Nevertheless, in this extremity he called in the priests, 
 
 and besought them to pray to God for him and find 
 
 out what he must do to save his people from the 
 
 173 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Philistines. And the priests prayed to God, not for 
 love of King Saul, but because the danger to all the 
 people was very great and very near. Every hour 
 added to the host of the enemy gathering around 
 them. But God did not answer any of their prayers, 
 and they could give the king no hope and no advice. 
 
 In those days all the people put great faith in 
 dreams, and, failing to get any help from the priests, 
 the king vainly besought the Lord to come to him, 
 if only in a dream, and tell him what to do. But no 
 saving dream came to him during the short hours of 
 his troubled sleep. Disappointed in this too, his dark, 
 superstitious spirit resolved in desperation to seek a 
 fortune-teller or witch. But here there was another 
 difficulty. He himself had caused all the enchanters, 
 consulters of spirits, and witches to be put to death. 
 If there were any left, they were living against his 
 supreme command, and condemned to death, should 
 they be discovered. And yet King Saul resolved to 
 find out if any such person lived in the land. He 
 called Abner, the captain of his host, and said, " Seek 
 me out a woman who can call up the spirits of the 
 dead, that I may go to her and inquire what to do." 
 
 " O king, thou didst destroy out of the land all 
 such as call up the spirits, and all witches and such as 
 deal in the arts of magic. How shall I find such a 
 woman? " 
 
 174 
 
THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 Abner turned pale, and his voice trembled. The 
 king noticed it even in his own distress. 
 
 " Why dost thou turn pale and tremble in all thy 
 bones, O Abner?" he exclaimed. "Thou hast cer- 
 tain knowledge of some witch or diviner. I command 
 thee to speak out." 
 
 Abner fell upon his knees before the king, and 
 pleaded : " Swear unto me, O king, as I have served 
 thee faithfully all these years, to spare the life of this 
 woman, if I bring thee unto her." 
 
 " As the Lord liveth, O Abner, no harm shall come 
 unto this woman, whoever she may be. But what is 
 she to thee, O Abner?" 
 
 " She is my mother." 
 
 "Thy mother!" 
 
 " It is the truth, O king, as the Lord liveth. When 
 thou didst command all such to be killed, then I took 
 my mother and hid her in a cave in the mountains 
 at Endor. She is called the Witch of Endor and 
 sometimes the Cave-Dwelling Woman." 
 
 " Fear not, O Abner. Shall the king in his ex- 
 tremity bring the law upon the woman thy mother, 
 or upon thee, the faithful captain of my host, and 
 so destroy the last chance of help that he hath ? Take 
 me to her." 
 
 With this assurance from the king, Abner arose 
 from his knees. 
 
 " In order to reach the cave where she lives, we 
 
 175 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 must pass over the shoulder of the ridge upon which 
 the Philistines are encamped," he explained. 
 
 " We shall disguise ourselves as shepherds," said 
 the king. " Call thou one servant to go with us, and 
 tell no one else, and bring shepherds' clothes for all 
 of us. We have no time to lose." 
 
 At midnight there came a knocking at the door 
 of the cave in the mountain-side over the ridge where 
 the Philistines' army lay, and when the Witch of 
 Endor opened it cautiously, to find out who was call- 
 ing upon her so late, she saw three shepherds, one 
 head and shoulders taller than the other two, but she 
 did not recognize Abner, her son, for he was well 
 disguised. He changed his voice too when he spoke 
 to her, and said, " We are three shepherds, who have 
 heard of the special powers ascribed unto thee, and 
 we desire to question thee." 
 
 The witch opened the door wider, and the three 
 entered a cavernous room, lighted only by one little 
 lamp standing on a shelf of rock. 
 
 " What Is your will, O travelers? " she asked, look- 
 ing sharply first at one and then at the other, to find 
 out what sort of men they were. 
 
 " Bring up him whom I shall name unto thee," 
 said the king. 
 
 " But thou knowest what King Saul hath done," 
 she replied, " how he hath destroyed all such as I, and 
 all who call up the spirits of the dead and read the 
 
 176 
 
THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 future things. Now, why shouldst thou lay a snare 
 for my Hfe, to cause me to die? " 
 
 " I swear unto thee, as the Lord liveth, there shall 
 no punishment happen unto thee for this thing." 
 
 The witch seemed satisfied, and she asked, " Whom 
 shall I bring up unto thee, O tall traveler? " 
 
 " Bring me up the spirit of Samuel," returned the 
 king. 
 
 The woman started visibly in surprise. Who in 
 all the land would dare call for the spirit of Judge 
 Samuel? She felt that she was entertaining some 
 illustrious visitor. 
 
 The small lamp burnt so dimly that the room was 
 very dark as she proceeded with her incantations, and 
 finally called in a loud voice, " O Samuel, I bid thee 
 arise." 
 
 She repeated the command three times. The king 
 and Abner and the servant had fallen prostrate upon 
 their faces on the floor of the cave. When she had 
 called three times, she uttered a loud exclamation of 
 alarm, and, turning upon the prostrate king, she cried 
 out: "Why hast thou deceived me? Thou art 
 King Saul." 
 
 " Be not afraid," answered the trembling king. 
 "What seest thou?" 
 
 " I see an old man of glorious personage. He 
 hath flowing white hair, which falls upon each side 
 
 177 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 of his face, and a white beard. He is appareled in 
 a priest's mantle, and he seemeth divine." 
 
 The king knew that this must be the spirit of Judge 
 Samuel, and trembling more and more, with his 
 kingly face pressed to the ground, he heard the well- 
 remembered voice of Samuel, saying, 
 
 " Saul, Saul, why hast thou disquieted me, to bring 
 me up? " 
 
 In agony of soul the king answered: " I am sore 
 distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, 
 and God Is departed from me, and answereth me no 
 more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore 
 I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto 
 me what I shall do." 
 
 *' Wherefore, then, dost thou ask of me, seeing 
 the Lord Is departed from thee, and is become thine 
 enemy? Hear, O Saul! The Lord hath rent the 
 kingdom out of thine hand and given it to thy 
 neighbor, even to David, because thou didst not obey 
 the voice of the Lord. The Lord also shall deliver 
 the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines, and 
 "to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons fall In battle." 
 
 As the spirit finished these ominous words, the 
 stricken king fell at full length, fainting, to the floor, 
 and terror filled the heart of the poor Witch of 
 Endor, but great pity for King Saul rose within her. 
 Abner and his servant were lifting the king up, and 
 Abner, forgetting to disguise his voice, groaned out, 
 
 178 
 
'Why Hast Thou Disouieted Me, to Being Me up ?' 
 
THE WITCH OF ENDOR 
 
 " He hath eaten nothing all day nor yet this night, 
 and this forecast of his misfortune hath overcome 
 him." 
 
 " Abner, my son ! " exclaimed the witch. 
 
 " Yes, thy son, O my mother, and we are in the 
 midst of terrible times. Prepare what food thou hast, 
 to revive thy king, for we must go back to the camp, 
 and set the battle in array in the morning." 
 
 The witch prepared meat and bread as quickly 
 as she could, and they urged the king to eat. 
 
 " I will eat and strengthen myself for the battle," 
 he said at length, " for I must lead my host against 
 the Philistines to-morrow. Thou wilt survive me, 
 O Abner I Tell my people that I, with my sons, died 
 as brave men should." 
 
 When they had finished eating, they left the Witch 
 of Endor, and went back over the mountains, past the 
 camp of the enemy, and reached their own camp 
 before daylight. 
 
 179 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 HE rising sun looked upon two armies 
 I drawn up for battle, the Israelitish army 
 ?2l near the heights of Mount Gilboa, and the 
 Philistine hosts spread out in seemingly endless rank 
 and file, with their iron chariots and war-horses below 
 them. 
 
 There were great numbers of skilled archers in the 
 Philistine army, and they picked off the Israelitish 
 soldiers at a distance before they came to close com- 
 bat, and this threw the Israelites into a panic and great 
 disorder. 
 
 They retreated up into the heights of Mount 
 Gilboa, and attempted to rally themselves, but in 
 vain. King Saul and his three sons, of whom Jona- 
 than was the eldest, fought like heroes, and the king's 
 armor-bearer, who was the son of Doeg, kept as close 
 as he could to his master in the fight. The Philis- 
 tines directed their attack mainly against the quarter 
 where they were stationed. Jonathan and his two 
 brothers, rushing Into the thickest of the fight to de- 
 fend the king, their father, were overwhelmed by 
 numbers, and slain one after another. 
 
 180 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 Still the mighty King Saul, head and shoulders 
 above his men, fought with desperation, determined 
 to sell his life dearly. The iron chariots of the foe, 
 with sharp, two-edged swords sticking out of the 
 spokes of the wheels, dealt death with every revolu- 
 tion, and the brave Hebrew soldiers were slain by 
 hundreds and by thousands in their own mountain 
 heights. 
 
 At last King Saul fell, exhausted with fatigue and 
 the loss of blood from many wounds received from 
 the arrows of the enemy. He had seen his three sons 
 fall before him in the battle, and he knew that his 
 own time was close at hand. Unable to fight any 
 longer, he feared to be taken alive by the enemy. He 
 called to his armor-bearer, " Draw thy sword and 
 thrust me through therewith, lest these Philistines take 
 me alive." 
 
 But the armor-bearer hesitated to draw the sword 
 and give his king the fatal stroke. Then King Saul 
 took a short sword, and leaned upon the point, and 
 fell upon it himself. 
 
 When the son of Doeg saw that the king was dead 
 and the Philistines closing in upon every spot, he fell 
 upon his own sword, and died beside his king. So 
 King Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer all 
 died that same day together, in the fierce battle on 
 Mount Gilboa, and the Philistines won a great 
 victory. 
 
 181 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 Doeg, the chief steward of the king's household, 
 constable to the king, and keeper of the royal mules, 
 was in the great battle too, armed with a great sword, 
 the one with which he had killed the priests of Nob 
 at King Saul's command, but he took care to keep 
 out of the thick of it. In the morning, just before the 
 battle, he had heard from the king and Abner about 
 their visit to the Witch of Endor and its result. He 
 had held to the interests of King Saul as long as they 
 benefited him, and kept him in his high position, but 
 when he saw the king and his sons fallen in battle, 
 he knew that he must win favor with David, or all 
 would be lost for him. A plan occurred to him there 
 upon the battle-field, and he decided to carry it out. 
 All the Israelites had fled, or had been killed, and as 
 it was growing dark, the Philistines withdrew their 
 men from the field, to rest until morning before 
 stripping the bodies of the dead Israelites upon the 
 battle-field. Then Doeg crept down to where the 
 body of King Saul lay stretched out, surrounded by 
 his slain sons and the fallen soldiers. For a moment, 
 seeing his masters so humbled, this man, who had 
 proved true to no one, felt ashamed, because he had 
 not fought beside the king and his sons. " But," he 
 muttered, " in that case I should now be even as they 
 are," and he took the crown that still encircled the 
 temples of the dead monarch and the bracelet upon 
 
 182 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 his arm above the elbow, and started Immediately 
 to run to David In Zlklag. 
 
 As he turned, his foot caught under one of the dead 
 bodies, and, stooping to save himself from a fall, he 
 saw beneath him the face of his own son, Saul's 
 armor-bearer. Horrified, he exclaimed, " Foolish 
 youth I Did I not tell thee to fall back to the rear? " 
 He stooped to lift the lifeless form and carry It 
 away, but, hearing the voices of Philistine soldiers 
 on the slope below, he knew that he had no time to do 
 more than save himself. Clutching his sword and the 
 crown and bracelet, he sped away Into the darkness. 
 
 It was on the third day after David and his six 
 
 hundred fighting men had returned from their 
 
 slaughter of the Amalekites, and brought back their 
 
 families, who had been stolen away from them, that 
 
 Doeg entered the little city with his clothing torn 
 
 and earth on his head as a sign of deep grief. At 
 
 sight of the king's steward in such a plight, David 
 
 at once surmised the worst, and asked him quickly, 
 
 " From whence comest thou, O Doeg? " 
 
 " Out of the camp of Israel I am escaped." 
 
 " How went the battle, I pray thee? " 
 
 "The people are fled from the battle, O son of 
 
 Jesse, and many of them are fallen, and King Saul, 
 
 and Jonathan, his son, and his two other sons, and the 
 
 king's armor-bearer, even my own son, are dead also." 
 
 183 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 " How knowest thou that King Saul and Jonathan, 
 his son, be dead? " 
 
 " I was in the battle upon Mount Gilboa, O David, 
 and the battle turned against the Hebrews, and, be- 
 hold, the king leaned upon his spear, wounded, and 
 the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after 
 him, and he looked behind him, and saw me, and 
 called unto me, and I answered, ' Here am L' " 
 
 " And then what, O Doeg? " 
 
 " Then he said unto me, ' Stand upon me, I pray 
 thee, and slay me, for the anguish of death is upon 
 me, and yet my life is whole in me.' So I stood upon 
 him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could 
 not live after he was fallen, and I took the crown that 
 was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his 
 arm, and have brought them unto thee, my lord." 
 
 David put out his hand, and took the king's crown 
 and the bracelet, and then he said, " How was it 
 thou wast not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to 
 destroy the Lord's anointed? It were better thou 
 hadst died beside him." 
 
 Doeg's teeth began to chatter in his head at this 
 question and at David's stern look, but he managed to 
 stammer, " I did think thou wouldst applaud the 
 deed, O David, for knowest thou not that thou art 
 now the king of Israel? " 
 
 But David began to weep and mourn for King 
 Saul and Prince Jonathan, and he called one of his 
 
 184 
 
THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 young men to go near to Doeg and smite him to death. 
 
 " But I am thy friend, O David," cried Doeg. 
 " Remember it was I that first sent for thee to come 
 to Saul's court when thou wast a minstrel boy." 
 
 " Take his sword from him," David commanded, 
 and instantly the young soldier took the great sword 
 from Doeg's hand. 
 
 " Perchance it is the same with which thou didst 
 slay the priests of Nob," continued David. 
 
 " It is the same," returned Doeg, stolidly, giving 
 up all hope. 
 
 " It is the right weapon for thine execution," said 
 David, at the same time giving a sign to the soldier to 
 cut off Doeg's head. 
 
 The poor wretch, realizing that his last hour had 
 come, looked helplessly around, while the men formed 
 a circle enclosing Doeg and his executioner, the latter 
 a stalwart young fellow. Doeg trembled so that his 
 knees knocked together, for he saw that he had for- 
 feited his own life in trying to win David's favor by 
 saying that he had destroyed King Saul. He might 
 as easily have told the truth of the matter, that 
 King Saul had fallen upon his own sword, and so 
 died; but he had thought to win more favor from 
 David by saying that he had struck the final blow him- 
 self. 
 
 "Dost thou remember little Ben?" asked the 
 young soldier of Doeg. " And dost thou remember 
 
 185 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 the day thou didst frighten him and hurt him, there 
 by the vineyards on the hillside of Bethlehem, when 
 he was running to his master David in the field? I 
 see recognition in thy hateful eyes. Yes, I was that 
 little slave." 
 
 " Do thy work quickly," was Doeg's stoical answer, 
 and, bending his neck, he received the blow that cut 
 off his head. So died the man who had tried to play 
 with kings and move them to his will. 
 
 David felt no triumph over the fact that he had in 
 his possession the king's crown and bracelet, or that 
 the death of Saul and Jonathan left a way to the 
 throne open for him. He thought only of the grace 
 and beauty and nobility of King Saul when his mind 
 was unclouded, and of the love of Jonathan, which 
 had never failed him, and he cried out: "The 
 beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. How 
 are the mighty fallen ! " 
 
 His friends tried in vain to comfort him. Realiz- 
 ing the disgrace it was for the Hebrew soldiers to 
 have thrown away their shields and fled before the 
 enemy, he wept the more, and he rent his garments, 
 and exclaimed : " Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there 
 be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor 
 fields of, corn any more, for there the shield of the 
 mighty is vilely cast away. There fell the Lord's 
 anointed, even though the bow of Jonathan turned 
 not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. 
 
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THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 " Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in 
 their lives, and in their death they were not divided. 
 They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger 
 than lions. How are the mighty fallen in the midst 
 of the battle ! 
 
 " O Jonathan, thou art slain ! I am distressed for 
 thee, my brother Jonathan. How are the mighty 
 fallen and the weapons of war perished ! " 
 
 Soon after the battle of Mount Gilboa and the 
 death of King Saul and his three sons, David was 
 anointed king over a part of the people. King Saul 
 had left one son yet alive, and Abner, the captain of 
 his host, supported this son, and made him king over 
 the other part. So for a while there were two kings 
 in the land, and frequent wars occurred between the 
 two factions. David's wife Michal was guarded by 
 the king, her brother, and was not permitted to return 
 to King David, her husband, but David sent for his 
 father and mother in the land of Moab, and brought 
 them to live with him. 
 
 The new king, whom Abner supported so loyally, 
 was of a jealous disposition, like his father. Finally 
 Abner gave him up, and offered to go over to David's 
 side, and help him make a united kingdom. Im- 
 mediately King David sent a servant to Abner with 
 this message : " Well, I will join hands with thee 
 upon one condition : Bring to me, when thou comest, 
 
 187 
 
THE GAME OF DOEG 
 
 my wife MIchal, King Saul's daughter, for whose 
 dowry I gave two hundred heads of the Philistines." 
 
 So Abner, who was very powerful in the land, sent 
 and brought the Princess Michal, with all her retinue 
 of servants and ladies in waiting, back to her husband, 
 who had not seen her since that fateful night when 
 she let him down from the little window over the 
 city wall. That was a day of rejoicing in David's 
 house. 
 
 In the course of time all the Hebrew people ac- 
 knowledged David as their king, but he never forgot 
 his love for Prince Jonathan, and he wrote a song 
 to his memory and called it the " Song of the Bow." 
 And in after years when the young men practised 
 archery through all the beautiful hills and valleys of 
 Palestine, they sang the " Song of the Bow." 
 
 Then, when little children came to live in the house 
 of David and Michal, the king would take them in his 
 arms, or they would gather close around him, and he 
 would sing brave songs to them, recounting the 
 exploits of his youth. They ran something like this : 
 
 I was small amongst my brothers, 
 And the youngest in my father's house ; 
 I was feeding my father's sheep. 
 
 In the Lord's name I slew a lion and a bear. 
 
 My hands made a harp, and my fingers fitted a psaltery, 
 
 And who shall tell it to the Lord? 
 
 He is the Lord, He heareth. 
 
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THE BATTLE OF MOUNT GILBOA 
 
 He sent His messenger, and took me from my 
 
 father's flocks, 
 And anointed me with oil of His anointing. 
 My brethren were beautiful and tall. 
 But the Lord was not well pleased with them. 
 
 I went out to meet the Philistine, 
 
 And he cursed me by his idols ; 
 
 But I drew his own sword and beheaded him, 
 
 And made all the people of Israel shout for joy. 
 
 189