In chapter 16 of The Bronze Bow, why does Daniel feel misgivings about sending Joel into town? Is he being consistent? That is, does he expect more...

In Chapter 16, Daniel has been sent to Joel with a message from Rosh. The message is an assignment to gain information Rosh wants that presumably will help in Rosh's campaign to overthrow Roman rule. Daniel has misgivings on two levels. The first reason is that he fears the assignment could get Joel into trouble. While Joel is as committed to overthrowing the Romans as Daniel is--all three friends, Daniel, Joel, and Thracia, have taken...

In Chapter 16, Daniel has been sent to Joel with a message from Rosh. The message is an assignment to gain information Rosh wants that presumably will help in Rosh's campaign to overthrow Roman rule. Daniel has misgivings on two levels. The first reason is that he fears the assignment could get Joel into trouble. While Joel is as committed to overthrowing the Romans as Daniel is--all three friends, Daniel, Joel, and Thracia, have taken a vow to do so--Daniel realizes that now that it has come to taking outright action, Joel has a lot more to lose than Daniel does. Joel belongs to an influential family, and he could be putting his own welfare as well as his family's in jeopardy. As Daniel explains, "I'm a nobody. You have your future to think of, and your father and mother--and Thacia." So far, this is not inconsistent on Daniel's part because a definite difference exists between Joel and Daniel with respect to the worst that could happen if the mission went wrong. Later in the chapter, though, Daniel has another misgiving. He wonders whether the intelligence that Rosh has sent Joel to gather really has a purpose in the cause of overthrowing Rome. Rosh wants names of wealthy Jews who will be attending a certain banquet. Daniel "could not see why Rosh wanted the names," and here he begins to doubt Rosh. This is an inconsistency on Daniel's part--one that he does not want to admit to Thacia--or even to himself.