The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1907-01-12

Surely OF all THIS great pie WHICH
will turn into the treasury they viii
not miss this one wedge Of gold"
But It all belongs to the Lord"
came back the answer in his heart.
and again the words Of Joshua echoed
In his ears:
Keep yourselves from the accursed
thing lest We make yourselves &C.
cursed"
Impatient with himself over his 70
proving conscience, Achan stopped
and began gathering the silver and
gold In piles, saying as he did so:
mo one else, dare say, will bring
SO much treasure into the tabernacle
to-day as /. Why, there is almost
more here than can carry"
In his search for something suitable
in which to place the gold and silver
his eyes fell upon an exquisite gar
ment.
THAT must have belonged to the
king himself" he exclaimed. feeling
its soft texture and noting the delicate
golden embroidery which like lace
work covered the entire garment.
AS he continued gathering the treas
ure together, his thought was upon
that wedge Of gold and that fine gar
ment, and somehow, these two did
not get into the bundle which he was
preparing to deliver to the priests.
The temptation had come, and in
stead of turning from 1t resolutely, he
dallied with 1t and let covetous eyes
and heart fix themselves upon these
treasures. And ere he had finished
gathering the gold and silver for the
treasury of the Lord, he had persuad-
ed himself that that wedge of gold
and that garment really belonged to
him for his loyalty for turning In
such goodly sum. 1t never would
be known, and as he placed the gold
and the garment within the folds OF
his own clothing his avarice grew and
he placed some of the silver there.
also. Then, shouldering his burden.
he made his way back to camp and
presented himself before the door Of
the tabernacle, where the priest re-
ceived his Offering.
|
sought the seclusion Of his own tent
whether the priest suspected him. for
he asked whether this were all. How
that gold and silver and garment hid
den within his clothing seemed to
weigh him down. Feveishly he dug
deep in the ground underneath his
tent and placed the treasure there.
and when 1t was done and the earth
replaced, he breathed sigh of relief
and went about his usual tasks of the
camp.
That night his slumbers were dis
turbed by frightful dreams and he
seemed to see Joshua pointing his &C.
cusing finger at him and saying, in a
voice of thunder:
Where Is the accursed thing?
Where is the accursed thing?"
Once he started up and would have
gone and made confession. but he
turned back and called himself fool,
saying that no one could know what
he had done.
The next day all was excitement in
the camp, for Joshua had called for
volunteers to go up against the city OF
Al.
1--WE can take the city easily" spoke
out confidently the men who had been
up to spy upon the place.
Achan heard the words, and there
echoed in his heart the words of
Joshua:
Lest We make the camp Of Israel
a curse, and trouble It."
ooh, bother" he exclaimed under
his breath. what difference can the
little gold and silver l have in m,
tent make with these my brethren in
their fight upon ALP"
And silently and half sullenly, for
his heart was greatly troubled over
this thing which he had done, he
watched the little company of 5000
picked men depart in full confid ence
for All. He wanted to shout after the
men not to go, but the thought of the
gold within his tent and the desire to
keep the same held his tongue. No
he would not tell. None should ever
know.
In his troubled condition Achan wan
dered of from the camp, and It was
late in the evening when he returned
He found the camp in disorder, and
the people weeping, and he learned
that deefat had been met at All, and
SO Of his brethren had been slain.
"Was he responsible?" he asked
himself. and then as quickly he tried
to defend himself and persuade his
troubled conscience that he had done
nothing wrong. "And none shall know
of the gold" he added.
He was reused from his troubled
thoughts by the crier passing through
the camp saying:
"This is the word Of Joshua, call.
ing upon the people to sanctify them.
selves against the morrow, for thus
saith the Lord God of Israel: There
is an accursed thing in the midst OF
thee, o Israeli. thou canst not stand
before thine nemies until ye take away
the accursed thing from among you.'
Achan listened with blanchina
cheek, and great fear seized his
heart. Every eye seemed to be
turned upon him as he passed through
the camp and sought the seclusion Of
r. I'M .