he must be another prophet which he denied calling on heaven to witness that he was not one whereupon he was mistaken for a great sinner and heard that however great his repentance it would avail him nothing for the was gone away with his joseph thinking that he had left the s in the desert began to argue that this could not be and at the man bringing others round him till he was hemmed into a circle of ridicule among the multitude many were of the same faith as joseph himself and these drew him out of the circle and explained to him that the in the river for several hours till � unable to bear the cold any longer � he had gone away his teeth chattering with the ff j mm i the joseph repeated but before he could inquire came running along the bank saying they had sins to repent and on hearing that the s v � � � v the brook was gone and would not return that day they began to tell each other stories of the great cloud that was seen in the east bearing within it a chariot and from the chariot angels were seen descending all the morning with flaming swords in their hands get thee they shouted and and pushed to and fro � a multitude of brown faces and noses of bony shoulders and striped shirts get thee before sunset everybody was crying and joseph watched the floating from their as they fled on what errand he asked in search of the or the new not the new was the answer he got back for leaves to john but why doesn t joseph asked since he is a of the if be good for him it is good enough for another and so the multitude seemed to think and were confounded till one amongst them said that might not be endowed with the gift of or have accepted from john for a purpose it having been that the would have a but who asked many voices together has said that is the some maintaining that was the lesser prophet but this was not agreeable to all some having for reasons unknown to joseph ranged themselves already alongside of believing him to be greater than john yet not the prophet promised to and these came to blows with the others who looked upon john as the and as the one whom john had called to his standard a � nothing fists were striving in the air and � thrusting himself between two � joseph begged them to tell him if john s was from the yea yea he heard from all sides the shepherd of the brotherhood � that one who follows their flocks over the hills but not being sure of his mission he has gone into the desert to wait for a sign an but one that was the brook seldom in the more often to be met on the hills with his flocks a shepherd joseph asked yea and it was among the hills that john met him and seeing a prophet in him spoke to him and seeing that another prophet was risen up in had thrown his away and gone to the president to ask for leave to preach the of repentance unto men for the grand day is at hand joseph having heard this before only tidings of the new prophet when a woman pressing forward shouted a pleasant voice to hear on the mountain side said she and another added the hills will seem lonely without his gait a great cried a third but why did he come to john for knowing himself to be the greater prophet a question that started them all again and crying one against the other that repentance was necessary or else the lord would desert them or choose another race these are irksome a man said to joseph but come with me and i ll tell thee much about him no better shepherd than he ever ranged the hills i wouldn t have thee forget mate another man said that he s gone without leaving us his great cure for true for thee mate answered the first for a great forgetfulness has been on him this time past a great cure certainly which he might have left us and the twain fell to discussing their several for another shepherd came by and passed the remark that knew the hills like one born them but neither could tell whence he came nor did they know if he brought the cure for with him or learnt it at the the brotherhood has secrets that it is forbidden to tell i be with thee on this matter said another shepherd that wherever he goes he ll be a prize to a master for the he has been through will stand to him the last of this chatter that came to joseph s ears was that could do as much with sheep as any man since and � satisfied with this knowledge � he took the brook his leave of the certain that must have been i among the for many years before god called to him to leave dogs and to follow john whom he began to recognise as greater than himself but whom he was destined to as john s own in the joseph s own eyes he remembered how saw john in a vision plunging into of and there was none for the men along these banks bore witness to the that joseph would have seen for himself if he had started a little earlier nor could the who came to john for be other than the young shepherd whom joseph had seen at the beginning of his walking with the president in deep converse the president apparently trying to him from some project joseph could not remember having heard anyone speak so familiarly or so 