"Methinks that thou wouldst make this man King of the Jews and then come and conquer Him," he rejoined, half jokingly, yet glancing furtively at the Procurator.
"Nay, Caiaphas, I swear to thee it is not so; I know not whence He cometh, nor what or who He is; but this I do maintain, that I see no sin in Him deserving death."
"He hath said that He is God; therefore He is a blasphemer, and, according to our law, He ought to die," said Caiaphas.
"Your law, your law," retorted Pilate pettishly; "it is with thee the beginning and the end of all things; yet ye know it can be upset at will. What sayest thou about that robber whom thou forgavest all his sins, because he brought thee a basket of ortolans overladen with fat and buried in vine leaves as sacrifice?"
"He that dwelleth about the altar must feed by the altar," said the High Priest unctuously.
"Mayhap, Caiaphas," answered Pontius Pilate, roaring with merriment; "but 't was in fasting time, 't was in fasting time. Thou seest, Caiaphas, that I hear overmuch. Oh, Tiberius did laugh when I did narrate the tale!"
"Didst thou tell Tiberius?" The words were rushed out almost with dismay.
"No harm is done, I assure thee, my good Caiaphas. Tiberius laughed a long space; then he said, 'Had I known, I would have sent him a bottle of Falernian to wash them down.'"
" 'T is some vile falsehood invented in the market place," said Caiaphas angrily. "I wonder, great
