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hours each morning, but the rest of the time she was in Sala’s charge.
    She told him she wanted to see the town and the waterfront, and he borrowed one of his sister’s cloaks and veils and took her around the various houses and gardens. He even sneaked her down to the waterfront, where women were not allowed. She stood for a few short minutes on a wharf, where she could see the great merchant ships riding at anchor. But she could not get him to take her for a ride on a boat. Women did not go on boats, he told her, and that was that.
    Rahab thought this was a stupid rule, but she held her tongue. She did not want to say anything to alienate Sala. He was the most interesting person she had ever met and she loved being with him. He had traveled to Egypt and Ugarit and Damascus, places Rahab had scarcely heard of. She hung on his every word as he described these exotic locales. He also told her about some of the things that had happened to him when he was there. Some of his stories were funny and she would laugh delightedly, loving the way his smiling brown eyes met hers.
    Sala was the only son, and his father was grooming him to take over the shipping business when he was older. Rahab was impressed to learn that Sala had learned how to add up numbers and keep books. He had even learned to read. Lord Nahshon was a learned man and he had taught Sala all the great stories of their religion.
    Rahab had heard some of the stories of Baal and Asherah and the other gods and goddesses of Canaan, but Sala said Lord Nahshon had his stories written down on papyrus scrolls and he read them out loud once a week to all the men of the town. From what Rahab could gather, this was what the Israelites did for worship. They did not have temples; they got together and listened to the stories of their faith and discussed them. Sala had learned to read so he could take his father’s place in this duty as well. It was a position that had long been in their family.
    Rahab loved to watch Sala’s face as he talked about his Israelite ancestors and how they had learned about their god. He looked so concentrated and intense, as if his very insides were glowing with the power of his words. She could tell that his god, Elohim, meant a great deal to him, that he believed in Elohim with all his heart.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” he said to her one day as they sat together in the garden enjoying the early afternoon sun. “You have given me an excuse to take a holiday from work.”
    “I like being here too.” Rahab had just finished two seemingly endless hours of sewing with his sisters and his mother. “I don’t think your mother likes me, though. She took away the shirt I was supposed to be hemming today and ripped all the stitches out. Truly, my work was not that bad. But she gave me an unpleasant look and handed me a dish towel to work on.”
    His mouth twitched but he didn’t respond.
    Rahab went on, “I don’t think your sisters like me either. They look at me as if I were some kind of strange creature from another world.”
    “That’s not true. My sister Leah thinks you’re wonderful. She was so impressed when I told her about your escape from the slavers. She’s sure she could never be as brave as that. She said you must come from a family of great warriors.”
    Great warriors . Rahab snorted. “I hope you told her my family are farmers—not warriors—and certainly not rich merchants like your family. We don’t have servants like your mother does. My father and my brothers work in the vineyards and the fields, and my mother and my sisters-in-law work to feed and clothe all of us. We’re busy all the time.”
    Amusement gleamed in Sala’s eyes. “What do you do, Rahab? Clearly you do not spend your time sewing.”
    “Oh, I do a little of this and a little of that,” Rahab replied, waving her hand. “I help whoever needs help at the moment. I am the youngest, you see, and my father doesn’t want me to work too hard. My