accustomed to leave future anxieties to be cared for in the future. But
at the camp he encountered a grief which belonged to the present;
surprised, angry, and troubled, he learned that Ephraim had secretly left
the tent, telling no one whither he was going. A hurried investigation
drew out the information that the youth had been seen on the road to
Tanis, and Hosea hastily bade his trusty shield-bearer search the city
for the youth and, if he found him, to order him to follow his uncle to
Succoth.

After the chief had said farewell to his men, he set off, attended only
by his old groom. He was pleased to have the adone--[Corresponding to
the rank of adjutant.]--and subaltern officers who had been with him, the
stern warriors, with whom he had shared everything in war and peace, in
want and privation, show so plainly the pain of parting. Tears streamed
down the bronzed cheeks of many a man who had grown grey in warfare, as
he clasped his hand for the last time. Many a bearded lip was pressed to
the hem of his robe, to his feet, and to the sleek skin of the noble
Libyan steed which, pressing forward with arching neck only to be curbed
by its rider's strength, bore him through the ranks. For the first time
since his mother's death his own eyes grew dim, as shouts of farewell
rang warmly and loudly from the manly breasts of his soldiers.

Never before had he so deeply realized how firmly he was bound to these
men, and how he loved his noble profession.

Yet the duty he was now fulfilling was also great and glorious, and the
God who had absolved him from his oath and smoothed the way for him to
obey his father's commands as a true and upright man, would perhaps bring
him back to his comrades in arms, whose cordial farewell he still fancied
he heard long after he was out of reach of their voices.