Trembling in terror, Galen hoped no one could see him as he hid under Goliath’s abandoned shield. His eyes quickly adjusted from the bright daylight to the shadow under the shield. His drumming heart seemed as if it might burst through his ribs as he waited for the onrushing Israelites.

At first he heard only their war cries and the fading shrieks of the terrorized Philistine warriors as they tried to escape the pursuing Israelites.

It had all happened so fast that Galen had a hard time believing what he had just seen. Goliath the giant was dead, brought down by a shepherd boy armed only with a sling and a stone. The Philistine soldiers, who’d just witnessed their champion’s defeat, were running away in panic. Galen hadn’t dreamed that the Israelites with their inferior weapons would chase mighty warriors with their iron and bronze ones. But it was happening just as Reuben had predicted.

Galen heard the thud of countless running feet rushing toward his hiding place. The ground trembled where he lay facedown, helpless and alone. A dreadful thought exploded in his brain: What if one of those Israelites stops and picks up this shield?

The idea was so frightening that Galen cried out to the God of the shepherd boy, to the God of Reuben. He called to the God whose name he didn’t know but in whose power and might he now believed. “Save me!”

It was all he could think to do as the first wave of Israelite soldiers flowed around Goliath’s fallen shield. Galen pressed his face against the earth and tried to hold his breath as the horde of victorious, shouting Israelites thundered past him.

He could hear the distinctive twang of bowstrings as they released their arrows at the fleeing Philistines. He caught the short grunt of exertion as Israelites hurled spears and javelins.

The shriek of wounded and dying men mingled with the noise of wooden spears being splintered by bronze and iron swords. This told Galen that hand-to-hand combat had begun between the foremost Israelites and the Philistine stragglers.

In a vain effort to shut out the awful clash of battle and the shouts of victor and victim, Galen clapped both hands over his ears and prayed he would survive.

He didn’t know how long he stayed that way, but gradually he became aware that the battle sounds were fading into the distance. He took both hands from his ears, cocked his head, and listened.

There was no doubt; the noise of battle was getting fainter as the Israelites hotly pursued the Philistines. Scarcely daring to believe he had been spared, he felt his racing pulse slow as apprehension ebbed away. For the first time he thought of Zik and his other friends. Had they survived? Or were they sprawled out there on the bloody ground?

Slowly, carefully, with great effort, Galen lifted the edge of Goliath’s shield up and allowed a sliver of light into his shelter. The combatants had all vanished beyond a small hill, but dropped weapons and human casualties littered the area where the Philistine camp had been. The sight caused a wave of nausea to wash over Galen. He closed his eyes until the feeling passed.

When he opened them again, he saw nobody left standing. With a heavy sigh, Galen started to push up on the heavy shield so he could slide out. But then he stopped. Off to his right, where he hadn’t looked before, two Israelite soldiers were heading straight toward his hiding place!

Galen sucked in his breath and dropped the edge of the shield. The welcoming soft darkness quickly engulfed him as his heart again started racing. He curled up in a tight little ball and suppressed a moan.

While the Israelite soldiers were still some distance away, Galen heard one speak in a deep voice.

“I can hardly wait to take whatever valuables Goliath has on him.”

Galen swallowed hard as the two voices passed him some distance away. He heard the second soldier speak.

“I still don’t think we should be doing this. We’ll be in big trouble if our commander finds out we slipped away to strip the slain before the fight was over.”

Galen noticed that this soldier spoke in a thin voice that suggested he might be a much younger man.

“Stop complaining!” the one with the deep voice growled. “Just be thankful we’ve got first pick of all these bronze and iron weapons. There! See that sword? Take it for yourself.”

Galen had to strain to catch the other man’s reply as both soldiers moved away from the fallen shield.

“Maybe I will. I can also use that bronze javelin over there, and that spear with the iron point.”

His friend laughed. “You’ll be so loaded down, you’ll hardly be able to walk. Remember, we have to carry all this somewhere and hide it until it’s safe to come back. I’m going to wait for whatever Goliath’s got on him.”

Galen strained hard to hear what else was said, but he guessed the men had come to where the giant had fallen. He heard the faint clink of Goliath’s mail armor and the murmur of the scavengers’ voices. Galen wondered if he dared try to slip away but decided it was too risky. He couldn’t outrun a thrown spear or an arrow.

Moments later Galen regretted that decision when he heard the men walking back toward him. He began to tremble as they drew close enough for him to understand their words.

The younger man asked, “Where do you think we can hide all this for a while?”

“Over there looks like a good place.”

Over where? Galen wondered, hoping they weren’t going to come anywhere near him. But when the deep-voiced man spoke again, Galen knew his hope was in vain. The man was definitely coming toward where he was hiding.

The same man said, “We deserved getting first choice of these things because it’s the only reward we’ll get. Well, except for Goliath falling into our hands.”

The younger man laughed. “Our hands? For forty days you and I stood and quaked with fright just as all the rest of our people did before David came along.”

David? Galen thought from under the shield. Could that be the name of the shepherd who killed Goliath?

“That boy was a real surprise,” the older man agreed with a chuckle. “You should have seen him when he came into camp with some roasted grain and loaves of bread for our commander. That was just shortly before Goliath shouted his usual challenge.”

Galen licked his lips, realizing that the man’s voice was now much closer than before. Galen guessed the men were slowly moving his way, still looting the slain. They’ll want Goliath’s shield if they see it! Galen thought, and his trembling increased. If the Israelites picked up the shield, would they strike him down or make him a slave?

The younger man said doubtfully, “I heard that David had come to see his brothers, who are in our unit.”

“Yes, he did,” the Israelite soldier answered. “I was standing near him when he greeted his brothers. That was when our people began shouting war cries and calling for us to form our lines facing Goliath, who had come out to taunt us.”

“I wish I’d seen that part,” the young soldier replied wistfully.

“If you had, you would never have forgotten it,” his comrade answered. “Goliath shouted as usual, and our men turned and ran from him in fear. Well, of course I didn’t. I’ve seen too many battles to do that.”

Galen listened in fascination and yet with dread, because the Israelites were now definitely drawing closer to his hiding place.

The deep-voiced man continued, “David watched Goliath shout across the valley, and then he turned to me and some others standing there. He asked who was this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? Just at that moment, David’s older brother Eliab walked up and heard him. He was angry and accused David of coming to see the battle.”

“Is that when he was taken to see King Saul?”

“No, not right then, because David protested and said that wasn’t why he had come. But someone overheard him and ran to tell Saul. I followed along and was present when David told the king that he would go and fight Goliath.”

Galen cringed as the sound of footsteps neared. He swallowed hard and felt his mouth go dry with fear.

“So I heard,” the younger soldier replied. “But is it true that finally Saul agreed and put his own armor on David?”

“Oh, that’s true. You know that Saul stands a head taller than all the rest of us, so it was really comical to see David trying to walk with all of Saul’s armor on, including his bronze helmet. Anyway, David took it all off and even handed back Saul’s sword. Then he went down to the brook and picked up some stones.”

“I saw him do that,” the younger man declared. “But why did he take five stones? He only needed one —”

Galen stiffened in alarm as the speaker suddenly broke off his sentence. What happened? he wondered.

“What are you looking at?” the man with the deep voice asked.

“That’s Goliath’s shield!” the younger soldier cried.

“It was his,” his friend replied. “Now it’s mine!”

Galen’s skin crawled at the sound of a few hurried footsteps and then the sight of large fingers slipping under the edge of the shield just inches from his face!