THE great congregation stirred uneasily, and a few of the younger worshippers timidly raised their eyes, curious to learn the cause of the delay.
The heavy pall of incense smoke, torn like a decaying tapestry, had drifted through the corridors, and yet the veil was not parted. Save for the flickering lights on the golden candlestick, there was no evidence that a service was in progress.
Though the elder Jews remained with bowed heads and downcast eyes, their curiosity had supplanted their devotion quite as thoroughly as the same impulse had led their juniors to look up anxiously toward the veil, the parting of which had been expected while the smoke of incense still hung in clouds above the waiting congregation.