10. CHAPTER X.
THE LIGHT IN THE SKY.
AT a certain hour in the evening the shouting and stir of the people
in and about the khan ceased; at the same time, every Israelite, if
not already upon his feet, arose, solemnized his face, looked
towards Jerusalem, crossed his hands upon his breast, and prayed;
for it was the sacred ninth hour, when sacrifices were offered in
the temple on Moriah, and God was supposed to be there. When the hands
of the worshippers fell down, the commotion broke forth again;
everybody hastened to bread, or to make his pallet. A little later the
lights were put out, and there was silence, and then sleep.
* * * * *
About midnight some one on the roof cried, "What light is that in
the sky? Awake, brethren, awake and see!"
The people, half asleep, sat up and looked; then they became
wide-awake, though wonder-struck. And the stir spread to the court
below, and into the lewens; soon the entire tenantry of the house
and court and enclosure were out gazing at the sky.
And this was what they saw. A ray of light, beginning at a height
immeasurably beyond the nearest stars, and dropping obliquely to the
earth; at its top, a diminishing point; at its base, many furlongs
in width; its sides blending softly with the darkness of the night;
its core a roseate electrical splendour. The apparition seemed to rest
on the nearest mountain south-east of the town, making a pale corona
along the line of the summit. The khan was touched luminously, so that
those upon the roof saw each other's faces, all filled with wonder.
Steadily, through minutes, the ray lingered, and then the wonder
changed to awe and fear; the timid trembled; the boldest spoke in
whispers.
"Saw you ever the like?" asked one.
"It seems just over the mountain there. I cannot tell what it is,
nor did I ever see anything like it," was the answer.
"Can it be that a star has burst and fallen?" asked another, his
tongue faltering.
"When a star falls, its light goes out."
"I have it!" cried one, confidently. "The shepherds have seen a
lion, and made fires to keep him from the flocks."
The men next the speaker drew a breath of relief, and said, "Yes,
that is it! The flocks were grazing in the valley over there to-day."
A bystander dispelled the comfort.
"No, no! Though all the wood in all the valleys of Judah was brought
together in one pile and fired, the blaze would not throw a light so
strong and high."
After that there was silence on the house-top, broken but once again
while the mystery continued.
"Brethren!" exclaimed a Jew of venerable mien, "what we see is the
ladder our father Jacob saw in his dream. Blessed be the Lord God of
our fathers!"