When he came to the olive-grove they were gone! The sun was
already high, and his people had departed hours ago. In the hurry
and bustle of breaking camp each of the parents had supposed that the
Boy was with the other, or with some of the friends and neighbors,
or perhaps running along the hillside above them as he used to do.
So they went their way cheerfully, not knowing that they had left
their son behind. This is how it came to pass that he was lost.
IV
HOW THE BOY WENT HIS WAY
When the Boy saw what had happened he was surprised and troubled,
but not frightened. He did not know what to do. He might hasten
after them, but he could not tell which way to go. He was not even
sure that they had gone home; for they had talked of paying a visit
to their relatives in the south before returning to Nazareth; and
some of the remaining pilgrims to whom he turned for news of his
people said that they had taken the southern road from the Mount
of Olives, going toward Bethlehem.
The Boy was at a loss, but he was not disheartened, nor even cast
down.
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