Daughter of Deliverance by Gilbert Morris Page B

“I don’t know what’s going to become of you.”
    â€œI’m going to do well enough. I’m a good trader. I know how to do the other fellow before he does me.”
    â€œDo you think that’s honest?”
    â€œOf course it’s honest. Let him watch out for himself. That’s what I say when I trade with people. Of course, I don’t say that to their faces.” Achan grinned broadly, his smooth face beaming. “You and I have got the right idea about religion. Ardon spends too much time with the priests and the scribes.”
    Something about the conversation made Othniel uneasy. He did not like to hear anybody talk as lightly about God as Achan did. He had a genuine affection for the round little man and his family, but he knew Achan’s reputation as a sharp trader, and his word was not always good. He was not terribly dishonest, but he was still not above taking advantage of people.
    â€œI don’t agree with you. I think Ardon’s a good man. He does a lot better than I do.”
    â€œAh, but he’s afraid of God. He’s afraid if he commits a sin, God’ll send down a lightning bolt and kill him.”
    â€œWell, God’s done that before. You’ve heard the history of our people. Remember how the plagues came when we disobeyed God?”
    â€œThat was a long time ago. Now me, I have an arrangement with God.”
    Othniel stared at Achan. “What do you mean, ‘an arrangement’? How can you have an arrangement with God?”
    â€œWell, I do the best I can, and that’s all any man can do.”
    â€œThere’s something wrong with that kind of thinking. And besides, you don’t do the best you can.”
    â€œWell, I do fairly well. I’m no worse than others. God won’t strike me down. I’m a sinner, but then we all are, Othniel. After all, we’re all God has to work with. A man doesn’t live very long,” he said woefully, “so that’s why I say eat all you can, drink all you can, enjoy life today. Have the priest make the sacrifices, and that’s it.”
    â€œThere’s got to be more to it than that, Achan.”
    â€œNo, there’s not. There’s only a little deal I’ve been trying to make with that thief over from the tribe of Benjamin. He thinks he’s going to do me in, but I’ll show him. And I’ll show you how to handle life so you get the most out of it!”
    ****
    Ardon made poor time. The sun was nearly down by the time he got to the Amalachite village. He had brought only a dozen sheep, but that was because sheep were hard to drive. They were prone to wander, and now he kicked one of them with irritation, yelling, “Get on! You’re the stupidest sheep I ever saw, and that goes for the rest of you!”
    Ardon laughed at himself. “I must be going crazy talking to sheep. Everybody knows they’re the stupidest animals in the world.”
    As he approached the village, he saw a figure coming toward him, and his eyes narrowed. It was a young woman with jet-black hair and dark, lustrous eyes. She wore the garb of the desert people, which was a simple frock, and he saw that she was wearing rings on all her fingers and one in her nose.
    â€œGreetings, stranger,” she said. “You’re out late.”
    â€œIt’s been a hard trip. I’m trying to find Abib.”
    â€œThat’s my father. He’s the chief of this village. My name is Keli.”
    â€œI’m here to trade with your father.”
    â€œI’ll take you to him. Have you had a long journey?”
    The young woman strolled along beside Ardon. The sun was casting its reddish beams down, and Ardon saw that she was well-formed and had a ready smile. He compared all women with his sister Ariel, and he realized what he had not realized before, that this woman, even though she came from a wild tribe, was a rose of the desert. He found himself