Читать книгу Mother of Jesus - Ilia Grinberg - Страница 10

Because of the early heat, the shepherds of Joachim have already driven off the cattle north of Zipori. There, in places, among ravines covered with forests, goats and sheep could still find areas of dried grass. The workers hoped that the young chief would return with provisions the day after leaving the city. After a couple of days, alarmed by the long absence of the governor, Judas, the old shepherd, who usually replaced John, came to Joachim to report on the work done and at the same time find out where John was with the provisions. The shepherd was lucky. In the house he found the owner himself. Something he did not work out with companions, and they moved the trip for a week. Out of boredom, Joachim decided to repair the wheel of the cart himself. It turned out he was bad, so he cursed the most black words. The appearance of John the Deputy distracted from the unreported repair. And it would be better not to distract. It quickly became clear that no one had seen the senior shepherd since the day he went to see Mary, or to get bread for the workers, as you like.

Having interrogated his wife and daughter with intercourse, Joachim walked around the neighbors to find out if anyone had seen the guy. Baker Yehuda, who lived two houses on the right hand of Joachim, recalled that when he was returning from the market that day selling the bread he had baked during the night, he turned to his brother, who, as everyone knows, delivers him flour. And for this he, the baker, did not go through the city, but made a circle from the outside of the dilapidated fortress wall. Having loaded several sacks of flour on the wagon, he headed home, and the esteemed Joachim knows that the shortest path from the brother-miller’s house to his house lies just past the olive garden belonging to the esteemed Joachim. It was then that he, Yehuda, noticed a hurrying guy somewhere.

“I, dear Joachim, called him. And why not to call, not to ask how are you? But John did not speak to me. Yes, young people today went, the older ones do not respect at all. So, he just waved his hand at me and said that he was in a hurry. And where, dear, the young man to hurry, if he has all his life ahead? In general, he left, but almost ran away. Where did you go? To the north gone. And where to go, dear Joachim, if there is not a single village on that side for half a day?”

“So, neither why nor where does he go? The wool merchant clarified.”

“ I say, ran as if as if his bee had bitten in the ass. Listen, Joachim, I now recall this meeting, and this is what I think, something happened to him. I ask him, how are you, where is he in such a hurry, well, I thought, let's chat. Why not? So he looked at me, as if he had not recognized, and his eyes were running around, looking in front of something. Dear Joachim, I want to ask you something else, but does he always walk with you with a weapon? Or not?”

“Why should he now weapons, if they are very close to the city?”

“I do not know. Why did he need a knife for some reason? I still thought about everything, what seemed so strange to me in him? Remembered now! He kept his hand on the handle of the knife. The knife in the sheath, the sheath is so beautiful, embroidered with pebbles, and attached to the belt. So I don’t know, maybe someone who got into the habit of milking your goats without asking, or what kind of beast appeared, so he worried about the goatlings. In general, the neighbor, unclean business. It would be necessary to understand.”

“Thank you Yehuda, at least now I know which way to look for him. Thank.”

Having quickly assembled, loading a cart of bread and other products for the workers, Joachim and Jude went to the flock. The two most experienced shepherdswere left to look after the animals. With the rest went on a search, a little beginning of light. Judah organized the search for the elder shepherd quickly and professionally, as if he was looking for no man, but a sheep who had lost the herd. The master's cart was straightened out, taken onto the others by an ass, another one was loaded with a bag of provisions for several days, and with the maximum speed that these calm animals were capable of, headed in the direction indicated by the baker.

However, having traveled about three hundred meters, Judas recalled Joachim to the side and said:

“Master, what do you think, but should we look around your garden?” If he, as the respected hostess and master's daughter say, left them before lunch, and, as you learned, in the city he didn’t visit anyone else, then that means he immediately went out of town. So, he walked along the street to the wall, went through the gap, and then immediately your olives. Maybe there in the grove what happened? Moreover, the baker met him near the garden. And you can't see anything from the street, even if you want, right? Let's take a look there, maybe we’ll find some traces, but no, we still need to search from there anyway.”

“I can immediately see the shepherd, you know who, where he could get rid of the flock and which way to go,” Joakim answered the offer of the worker and shouted to the others. “Back to the city. Search start from my olive groves.”

In the grove, the shepherds almost immediately discovered the parking of the robbers. After inspection, Judas reported to the owner:

“Two men, one is very large. It seems that they spent the night here, in the morning they cooked food, the lamb was roasted on a fire. John could see the smoke and try to chase them away, protecting the property of the owner. The hostess said that he was excited by something. Probably between the two and they had a quarrel. Then he ran into your house, for weapons. Or he wanted to warn you that he was leaving. If so, then we will find him close. If we find it far away, the events did not develop completely, however, the fact that it is no longer alive in any case is like drinking.”

“Do you found anything else?” he shouted to the other workers who had turned into trackers.

“Nothing” they answered. “Nothing. The fire, of course, is clearly visible. And the rest ... There was no rain, the soil is dry, why are there notice. It is clear that slept. Scraps, embers. Everything.”

“Command, Judah,” said Joachim to the old shepherd. “You are a specialist in such matters, observant, maybe on dry land what trace you will see.”

“No, master. I looked around. I will not say anything more” he answered. “Listen to me all. I walk in the middle, the rest on the right and on the left. Take distance so as to see each other. Do not trudge, but do not run. Turn the head in both directions, maybe you will notice. I will go where I would go myself, and where, for certain, I followed the path of this couple. And further. I turn left, everything left. I'm right and all right. So that the strip, which we will examine, will not change. All is clear?” - he glanced at the owner, waiting for agreement. And when he nodded, he said: “With god.”