– It is easier now to understand what he meant, the other man said to himself.
– Did you know him well? Barabbas enquired.
– Yes, indeed. Indeed, I did. I was with him from the very first moment he began up there amongst us.
– Oh, did he come from the same part as you?
– And since then I've been with him the whole time, wherever he went.
– Why?
– Why? What a question! It's easy to see you don't know him.
– What do you mean?
– Well, you see, he had power over one. A remarkable power. He would merely say to one: follow me, and one had to follow. There was nothing else to be done. Such was his power. If you had known him you would have experienced it. You too would simply have followed him.
Barabbas sat for a moment in silence. Then he said:
– Yes, he must have been an extraordinary man, if all you say is true. But surely the fact that he was crucified proved that he had no special power?
– Oh no, you're wrong there. I thought so too at first-and that's what is so terrible. That I could believe such a thing for one moment! But now I think I understand the meaning of his shameful death, now that I've thought things over a bit and talked to the others, who are more at home with the scriptures. You see, it's like this, he had to suffer all this, although he was innocent, he even had to descend into hell for our sakes. But he shall return and manifest all his glory. He is to rise again from the dead! We are quite sure of it.
– Rise from the dead? What nonsense!
– It's not nonsense. Indeed he will. Many even think it will be tomorrow morning, for that is the third day. He is supposed to have said that he would remain in hell for three days, though /never heard him say so. But that's what he is supposed to have said. And at sunrise tomorrow…
Barabbas gave a shrug.
– Don't you believe it?
– No.
– No, no… How can you…? You who have never known him. But many of us believe. And why shouldn't he rise again himself when he has raised so many from the dead?
– Raised from the dead? That he never did!
– Yes, indeed. I've seen it with my own eyes.
– Is it really true?
– Of course it's true. Indeed it is. So he has power, all right. He has power to do anything, provided he wants to. If only he had used it for his own sake, but that he has never done. And why did he let himself be crucified if he had so much power…? Yes, yes, I know… But it's not easy to grasp, I grant you. I am a simple man, you see, it's not easy to understand all this, you may be sure.
– Are you not sure that he will rise again?
– Yes, yes, of course I am. I am quite sure it's true what they say. That the Master is to return and reveal himself to us in all his power and glory. I am quite certain of that, and they know the scriptures much better than I do. It will be a great moment. They even say that then the new age will begin, the happy age when the Son of Man will reign in his kingdom.
– The Son of Man?
– Yes. That's what he called himself.
– The Son of Man…?
– Yes. So he said. But some believe… No, I can't say it.
Barabbas moved closer to him.
– What do they believe?
– They believe… that he is God's own son.
– God's son!
– Yes… But surely that can't be true, it's almost enough to make one afraid. I would really much rather he came back as he was.
Barabbas was quite worked up.
– How can they talk like that! he burst out. The son of God! The son of God crucified! Don't you see that's impossible!
– I said that it can't be true. And I'll gladly say it again if you like.
– What sort of lunatics are they who believe that? Barabbas went on, and the scar under his eye turned dark red, as it always did when there was anything the matter. The son of God! Of course he wasn't! Do you imagine the son of God comes down onto the earth? And starts going around preaching in your native countryside!
– Oh… why not? It's possible. As likely there as anywhere else. It's a humble part of the world, to be sure, but he had to begin somewhere.
The big fellow looked so ingenuous that Barabbas was inclined to smile, but he was far too worked up. He twisted and turned and twitched at his goat-hair mantle the whole time as though it had slipped off one shoulder, which it hadn't.
– And the wonders that occurred at his death, the other man said, have you thought of them?
– What wonders?
– Don't you know that it grew dark when he died?
Barabbas glanced away and rubbed his eyes for a moment.
– And that the earth quaked and the hill of Golgotha was rent asunder where the cross stood?
– It certainly was not! You've just made all that up! How do you know it was rent asunder? Were you there?
A sudden change came over the big man. He looked uncertainly at Barabbas and then down on the ground.
– No, no, I know nothing about it. I cannot testify to it, he stammered. And for a long time he sat silent, sighing deeply.
At last, laying his hand on Barabbas's arm, he said:
– You see… I was not with my Master when he suffered and died. By then I had taken to my heels. Forsaken him and fled. And before that I had even denied him. That is the very worst of all-that I denied him. How can he forgive me, if he returns? What shall I say, what shall I answer when he asks me about it?
And hiding his great bearded face in his hands, he rocked to and fro.
– How could I do such a thing, how is it possible for one to do such a thing…?
The bright-blue eyes were full of tears when at last he raised his head again and looked at the other man.
– You asked what was troubling me. Now you know. Now you know the kind of man I am. And my Lord and Master knows even better. I am a poor, miserable wretch. Do you think he can forgive me?
Barabbas answered that he thought so. He was not particularly interested in what the other man told him, but he said it all the same, partly by way of assent and pardy because he could not help liking this man who sat there accusing himself Hke any criminal, though he had done nothing. Who hasn't let somebody else down in one way or another?
The man gripped his hand and held it tightly in his.
– Do you think so? Do you think so? he repeated in a thick voice.
At that moment a group of men walked past outside in the street. When they caught sight of the big red-haired man and saw who it was he sat talking to and holding by the hand, they started as though unable to believe their eyes. They hurried forward, and although approaching the shabbily dressed man in a curiously respectful way they burst out:
– Don't you know who that man is?
– No, he answered truthfully, I don't know. But he is a kind-hearted man and we have had a good talk together.
– Don't you know that it was in place of him that the Master was crucified?
The big man released Barabbas's hand and looked from one to the other, unable to conceal his dismay. The newcomers showed their feelings even more plainly, breathing violently in agitation.
Barabbas had got to his feet and was standing with his back turned so that his face was no longer visible.
– Get thee hence, thou reprobate! they said to him fiercely.
And pulling his mantle about him, Barabbas walked off down the street alone without looking back.
The girl with the hare-lip was unable to sleep. She lay looking up at the stars and thought of what was soon to come to pass. No, she did not want to fall asleep, she wanted to keep watch this night.
She was lying on some twigs and straw she had gathered in a hollow outside the Dung Gate, and around her she could hear the sick groaning and moving restlessly in their sleep and the tinkle of the leper's bells, the one who sometimes got up and walked about because of the pain. The stench of the large refuse-heaps filled the whole valley and made it difficult to breathe, but she was so used to it that she no longer noticed it. No one here noticed it any longer.