The leader., 1905-03-18


BY the banks Of the lEuphrates. MINI
rod Is hot on the trail He has begun
the hunt Of his life. He will have the
blood Of Eber. No prey has ever es-
capped his relentless, tireless pursuit.
No obstacles have ever been met which
have not been overcome and victory
claimed And now, IS he to know de-
feat? Is the great Nimrod the mighty
hunter, the ruler of Kingdoms, the con-
queror of nations, to be set at naught?
Not he!
Spies sent out during the night had
returned bearing tidings Of the where
abouts Of the prophet and declaring
that they were able to lead Nimrod
thither. They assured their leader that
his presence was not known, for the
only one whom they had met on the
journey had been pierced by their
spears and left dying by the roadside.
Dead men reveal. no secrets! There
would be no difficulty in taking Eber
completely by surprise. But they had
also brought the disconcerting news
that the latest orders which Nimrod
had given in reference to the taxing
of the land and the transportation of
certain tribes to distant province and
the giving of the land to some Of his
favored followers had not been obeyed.
The people were all excitedly discuss
ing the latest message of Eber, and
felt that it was a message from God.
Hence the sudden burst Of rage of MIN
rod and his fierce avowal which fairly
made his followers quake.
Plans were quickly laid, and the
body of men were soon moving rapid
" forward
In the hamlet towards which they
were journeying, Eber, all unconscious
Of the proximity of his deadly foe, was
sitting peacefully conferring with a
group of earnest men who had sent
for him that they might learn more
fully in regard to the latest revelation.
The conference ended, Eber arose to
CO.
.And do you not fear the wrath of
the mighty Nimrod?' asked one of the
group.
Nay, why should I when / am in
Gods hands?" quietly replied Eber.
Gods plans never miscarry, His
words never fall"
So saying he bade the friends good
by, and started along the pathway
which led OFF in the direction from
which Nimrod and his men were COM
ting. Little did he think that every
step which he took brought him nearer
the clutches of Nimrod Little did the
friends whom he had just left behind
realize the peril into which he was
plnnging.
Onward moves the prophet, and
nearer and nearer draw Nimrod and
his men. Were it not for the heavy
foliage on either hand and the wind
ing pathway they would be in full
view of each other, now. The sound
of the approaching footsteps catches
the prophets ear, and he pauses to
listen. At that instant off to one side
he hears low, faint moan
Following the direction of the sound
he plunged eagerly into the dense
shrubbery, for no cry of distress ever
came to his ear but found him anxious
and ready to help. There on the
ground before him he saw by the dim
light which crept in an uncertain and
Pickering way through the interlacings
of the thick foliage, the form of man.
STOPPING over him and being absorbed
completely in the task of reviving the
man if possible, he did not note the
| passage of footsteps along the path.
way. He could detect no heartbeats.
The man was dead. 1t must have been
his last expiring moan which he had
heard He opened his garments and
found the cruel wounds made by the
spears Murder had been done, he
thought, by robbers and he would
hurry back to the village and summon
help.
All, had the dead man only been able
to speak, how he might have warned
him! But, all unconscious of danger,
Eber hurried back in the direction
from which he had but so recently
come, and had not The eagerness Of the
band of men to capture the quarry
which they thought awaited them
given wings to their feet, he would
have overtaken them
AS he drew near the village an un-
usual commotion smote on his ear.
There were shouts and curses, groans
and means, and just as he reached the
scene there was terrible crash and
part of the rude brick building fell,
crushing those within What did it all
mean? Lying about on the ground he
noticed several inert forms, and bend
ing over the one nearest to him he dis
covered it was one of the friends to
whom he had such short time before
said his farewells. AS he turned him
over and raised his head the wounded
man opened his eyes.
An amazed and startled look sprang.
to his face, and he gasped between the
paroxysms of pain:
In the Lords name, Eber, where did
you come from?"
Then as he realized his friends dan
ger, he cried:
"Flee. Eber, feel Nimrod and his
men have come to take you. They will
| kill you! Leave me and escape!p
But with sublime composure and
perfect trust, Eber replied:
My place is with those in need, and
here stay. But how came this to pass?''
And while Eber bent down his ear, his
friend with his dying breath rehearsed
the story of how, short time after Eber
had departed, Nimrod and his men had
come to the house. and being enraged at
the statement that Eber had gone, and
doubling its truth, they had searched the
premises and not finding him they had
fallen upon them and pierced them with
many wounds. Then, beside himself with
rage, Nimrod with his men had again
entered the house. believing that In
some secret recess Eber lay hid. In the
frenzy Of the search the powerful MINI