midday
he called out to a passenger along the bank , and was told he must hasten , for the Essenes did not receive anybody after sunset : which may or may not be true , he muttered , as he pursued his way , his eyes attracted and amused by the long shadow that himself and his mule projected over the wintry earth . He was tempted to tickle the animal 's long ears with a view to altering the silhouette , and then his thoughts ran on into the cenoby and what might befall him yonder ; for that must be it , he said , looking forward and discovering a small village on the lower slopes of the hills , on the ground shelving down towards the river . His mule , scenting food and rest , began to trot , though very tired , and half-an-hour afterwards Joseph rode into a collection of huts , grouped -- but without design -- round a central building which he judged to be an assembly hall whither the curators , of whom he had heard , met for the transaction of the business of the community . And no doubt , he said , it serves for a refectory , for the midday meal which gathers all the brethren for the breaking of bread . As he was thinking of these things , one of the brethren laid hands on the bridle and asked him whom he might be wishing to see ; to which question Joseph answered : the Head . The brother replied : so be it ; and tethered the mule to a post at the corner of the central hut , begging Joseph to enter and seat himself on one of the benches , of which there were many , and a table long enough to seat some fifty or sixty . He recognised the place he was in as the refectory , where the rite of the breaking of bread was accomplished .