CHAPTER XX
THE MERCHANT DEMETRIUS
When on that fateful night in the Old Tower Miriam sprang forward tostrike the lantern from the hand of the Jew, Nehushta, who was bendingover the fallen Marcus and dragging at his body, did not even see thatshe had left the door.
With an effort, the slope of the rocky passage beyond favouring her, shehalf-drew, half-lifted the Roman through the entrance. Then it was, asshe straightened herself a little to take breath, that she heard thethud of the rock door closing behind her. Still, as it was dark, she didnot guess that Miriam was parted from them, for she said:
"Ah! into what troubles do not these men lead us poor women. Well, justin time, and I think that none of them saw us."
There was no answer. Sound could not pierce that wall and the place wassilent as a tomb.
"Lady! In the Name of Christ, where are you, lady?" asked Nehushta ina piercing whisper, and the echoes of the gallery answered--"Where areyou, lady?"
Just then Marcus awoke.
"What has chanced? What place is this, Miriam?" he asked.
"This has chanced," answered Nehushta in the same awful voice. "We arein the passage leading to the vaults; Miriam is in the hands of the Jewsin the Old Tower, and the door is shut between us. Accursed Roman! tosave your life she has sacrificed herself. Without doubt she sprang fromthe door to dash the lantern from the hand of the Jew, and before shecould return again it had swung home. Now they will crucify her becauseshe rescued you--a Roman."
"Don't talk, woman," broke in Marcus savagely, "open the door. I amstill a man, I can still fight, or," he added with a groan, rememberingthat he had no sword, "at the least I can die for her."
"I cannot," gasped Nehushta. "She had the iron that lifts the secretlatch. If you had kept your sword, Roman, it might perhaps have served,but that has gone also."
"Break it down," said Marcus. "Come, I will help."
"Yes, yes, Roman, you will help to break down three feet of solidstone."
Then began that hideous scene whereof something has been said. Nehushtastrove to reach the latch with her fingers. Marcus, standing upon onefoot, strove to shake the stone with his shoulder, the black, silentstone that never so much as stirred. Yet they worked madly, their breathcoming in great gasps, knowing that the work was in vain, and that evenif they could open the door, by now it would be to find Miriam gone,or at the best to be taken themselves. Suddenly Marcus ceased from hislabour.
"Lost!" he moaned, "and for my sake. O ye gods! for my sake." Thendown he fell, his harness clattering on the rocky step, and lay there,muttering and laughing foolishly.
Nehushta ceased also, gasping: "The Lord help you, Miriam, for I cannot.Oh! after all these years to lose you thus, and because of that man!"and she glared through the darkness towards the fallen Marcus, thinkingin her heart that she would kill him.
"Nay," she said to herself, "she loved him, and did she know it mightpain her. Better kill myself; yes, and if I were sure that she is deadthis, sin or no sin, I would do."
As she sat thus, helpless, hopeless, she saw a light coming up the stairtowards them. It was borne by Ithiel. Nehushta rose and faced him.
"Praise be to God! there you are at length," he said. "Thrice have Ibeen up this stair wondering why Miriam did not come."
"Brother Ithiel," answered Nehushta, "Miriam will come no more; sheis gone, leaving us in exchange this man Marcus, the Roman prefect ofHorse."
"What do you mean? What do you mean?" he gasped. "Where is Miriam?"
"In the hands of the Jews," she answered. Then she told him all thatstory.
"There is nothing to be done," he moaned when she had finished. "To openthe door now would be but to reveal the secret of our hiding-place tothe Jews or to the Romans, either of whom would put us to the sword, theJews for food, the Romans because we are Jews. We can only leave her toGod and protect ourselves."
"Had I my will," answered Nehushta, "I would leave myself to God andstill strive to protect her. Yet you are right, seeing that many livescannot be risked for the sake of one girl. But what of this man?"
"We will do our best for him," answered Ithiel, "for so she whosacrificed herself for his sake would have wished. Also years ago he wasour guest and befriended us. Stay here a while and I will bring men tocarry him to the vault."
So Ithiel went away to return with sundry of the brethren, who liftedMarcus and bore him down the stairs and passages to that darksomechamber where Miriam had slept, while other brethren shut the trap-door,and loosened the roof of the passage, blocking it with stone so thatwithout great labour none could pass that path for ever.
Here in this silent, sunless vault for many, many days Marcus lay sickwith a brain fever, of which, had it not been for the skilful nursingof Nehushta and of the leeches among the Essenes, he must certainlyhave died. But these leeches, who were very clever, doctored the deepsword-cut in his head, removing with little iron hooks the fragments ofbone which pressed upon his brain, and dressing that wound and anotherin his knee with salves.
Meanwhile, they learned by their spies that both the Temple and MountSion had fallen. Also they heard of the trial of Miriam and of herexposure on the Gate Nicanor, but of what happened to her afterwardsthey could gather nothing. So they mourned her as dead.
Now, their food being at length exhausted and the watch of the Romanshaving relaxed, they determined, those who were left of them, for somehad died and Ithiel himself was very ill, to attempt to escape from thehateful vaults that had sheltered them for all these months. A questionarose as to what was to be done with Marcus, now but a shadow of a man,who still wandered somewhat in his mind, but who had passed the worst ofhis sickness and seemed like to live. Some were for abandoning him; somefor sending him back to the Romans; but Nehushta showed that it would bewise to keep him as a hostage, so that if they were attacked they mightproduce him and in return for their care, perhaps buy their lives. Inthe end they agreed upon this course, not so much for what they mightgain by it, but because they knew that it would have pleased the lostmaid whom they called their Queen, who had perished to save this man.
So it came about that upon a certain night of rain and storm, when nonewere stirring, a number of men with faces white as lepers, of the hue,indeed, of roots that have pushed in the dark, might have been seentravelling down the cavern quarries, now tenanted only by the corpsesof those who had perished there from starvation, and so through the holebeneath the wall into the free air. With them went litters bearing theirsick, and among the sick, Ithiel and Marcus. None hindered their flight,for the Romans had deserted this part of the ruined city and wereencamped around the towers in the neighbourhood of Mount Sion, wheresome few Jews still held out.
Thus it happened that by morning they were well on the road to Jericho,which, always a desert country, was now quite devoid of life. On theywent, living on roots and such little food as still remained to them,to Jericho itself, where they found nothing but a ruin haunted by afew starving wretches. Thence they travelled to their own village, todiscover that, for the most part, this also had been burnt. But certaincaverns in the hillside behind, which they used as store-houses,remained, and undiscovered in them a secret stock of corn and wine thatgave them food.
Here, then, they camped and set to work to sow the fields which noRomans or robbers had been able to destroy, and so lived hardly, butunmolested, till at length the first harvest came and with it plenty.
In this dry and wholesome air Marcus recovered rapidly, who by naturewas very strong. When first his wits returned to him he recognisedNehushta, and asked her what had chanced. She told him all she knew, andthat she believed Miriam to be dead, tidings which caused him tofall into a deep melancholy. Meanwhile, the Essenes treated him withkindness, but let him understand that he was their prisoner. Nor if hehad wished it, and they had given him leave to go, could he have leftthem at that time, seeing that the slightest of his hurts proved to bethe worst, since the spear or sword-cut having penetrated to the joi
ntand let out the oil, the wound in his knee would heal only by very slowdegrees, and for many weeks left him so lame that he could not walkwithout a crutch. So here he sat by the banks of the Jordan, mourningthe past and well-nigh hopeless for the future.
Thus in solitude, tended by Nehushta, who now had grown very grim andold, and by the poor remnant of the Essenes, Marcus passed four or fivemiserable months. As he grew stronger he would limp down to the villagewhere his hosts were engaged in rebuilding some of their dwellings, andsit in the garden of the house that was once occupied by Miriam. Now itwas but an overgrown place, yet among the pomegranate bushes still stoodthat shed which she had used as a workshop, and in it, lying here andthere as they had fallen, some of her unfinished marbles, among them oneof himself which she began and cast aside before she executed that bustwhich Nero had named divine and set him to guard in the Temple at Rome.To Marcus it was a sad place, haunted by a thousand memories, yet heloved it because those memories were all of Miriam.
Titus, said rumour, having accomplished the utter destruction ofJerusalem, had moved his army to Caesarea or Berytus, where he passed thewinter season in celebrating games in the amphitheatres. These he madesplendid by the slaughter of vast numbers of Jewish prisoners, who wereforced to fight against each other, or, after the cruel Roman fashion,exposed to the attacks of ravenous wild beasts. But although he thoughtof doing so, Marcus had no means of communicating with Titus, and wasstill too lame to attempt escape. Could he have found any, indeed, tomake use of them might have brought destruction upon the Essenes, whohad treated him kindly and saved his life. Also among the Romans it wasa disgrace for a soldier, and especially for an officer of high rank, tobe made prisoner, and he was loth to expose his own shame. As Gallus hadtold Miriam, no Roman should be taken alive. So Marcus attempted to donothing, but waited, sick at heart, for whatever fate fortune might sendhim. Indeed, had he been quite sure that Miriam was dead, he, who wasdisgraced and a captive, would have slain himself and followed her. Butalthough none doubted her death--except Nehushta--his spirit did nottell him that this was so. Thus it came about that Marcus lived on amongthe Essenes till his health and strength came back to him, as it wasappointed that he should do until the time came for him to act. Atlength that time came.
When Samuel, the Essene, left Tyre, bearing the letter and the ring ofMiriam, he journeyed to Jerusalem to find the Holy City but a heapof ruins, haunted by hyaenas and birds of prey that feasted on theinnumerable dead. Still, faithful to his trust, he strove to discoverthat entrance to the caverns of which Miriam had told him, and to thisend hovered day by day upon the north side of the city near to the oldDamascus Gate. The hole he could not find, for there were thousands ofstones behind which jackals had burrowed, and how was he to know whichof these openings led to caverns, nor were there any left to direct him.Still, Samuel searched and waited in the hope that one day an Essenemight appear who would guide him to the hiding-place of the brethren.But no Essene appeared, for the good reason that they had fled already.In the end he was seized by a patrol of Roman soldiers who had observedhim hovering about the place and questioned him very strictly as to hisbusiness. He replied that it was to gather herbs for food, whereon theirofficer said that they would find him food and with it some usefulwork. So they took him and pressed him into a gang of captives who wereengaged in pulling down the walls, that Jerusalem might nevermore becomea fortified city. In this gang he was forced to labour for over fourmonths, receiving only his daily bread in payment, and with it manyblows and hard words, until at last he found an opportunity to make hisescape.
Now among his fellow-slaves was a man whose brother belonged to theOrder of the Essenes, and from him he learned that they had gone backto Jordan. So thither Samuel started, having Miriam's ring still hiddensafely about his person. Reaching the place without further accident hedeclared himself to the Essenes, who received him with joy, which wasnot to be wondered at, since he was able to tell them that Miriam, whomthey named their Queen and believed to be dead, was still alive. Heasked them if they had a Roman prisoner called Marcus hidden awayamong them, and when they answered that this was so, said that he hada message from Miriam which he was charged to deliver to him. Then theyled him to the garden where her workshop had been, telling him thatthere he would find the Roman.
Marcus was seated in the garden, basking in the sunshine, and with himNehushta. They were talking of Miriam--indeed, they spoke of littleelse.
"Alas! although I seem to know her yet alive, I fear that she must bedead," Marcus was saying. "It is not possible that she could have livedthrough that night of the burning of the Temple."
"It does not seem possible," answered Nehushta, "yet I believe that shedid live--as in your heart you believe also. I do not think it wasfated that any Christian should perish in that war, since it has beenprophesied otherwise."
"Prove it to me, woman, and I should be inclined to become a Christian,but of prophecies and such vague talk I am weary."
"You will become a Christian when your heart is touched and not before,"answered Nehushta sharply. "That light is from within."
As she spoke the bushes parted and they saw the Essene, Samuel, standingin front of them.
"Whom do you seek, man?" asked Nehushta, who did not know him.
"I seek the noble Roman, Marcus," he answered, "for whom I have amessage. Is that he?"
"I am he," said Marcus, "and now, who sent you and what is yourmessage?"
"The Queen of the Essenes, whose name is Miriam, sent me," replied theman.
Now both of them sprang to their feet.
"What token do you bear?" asked Marcus in a slow, restrained voice, "forknow, we thought that lady dead."
"This," he answered, and drawing the ring from his robe he handed it tohim, adding, "Do you acknowledge the token?"
"I acknowledge it. There is no such other ring. Have you aught else?"
"I had a letter, but it is lost. The Roman soldiers robbed me of my robein which it was sewn, and I never saw it more. But the ring I saved byhiding it in my mouth while they searched me."
Marcus groaned, but Nehushta said quickly:
"Did she give you no message? Tell us your story and be swift."
So he told them all.
"How long was this ago?" asked Nehushta.
"Nearly five months. For a hundred and twenty days I was kept as a slaveat Jerusalem, labouring at the levelling of the walls."
"Five months," said Marcus. "Tell me, do you know whether Titus hassailed?"
"I heard that he had departed from Alexandria on his road to Rome."
"Miriam will walk in his Triumph, and afterwards be sold as a slave!Woman, there is no time to lose," said Marcus.
"None," answered Nehushta; "still, there is time to thank this faithfulmessenger."
"Ay," said Marcus. "Man, what reward do you seek? Whatever it be itshall be paid to you who have endured so much. Yes, it shall be paid,though here and now I have no money."
"I seek no reward," replied the Essene, "who have but fulfilled mypromise and done my duty."
"Yet Heaven shall reward you," said Nehushta. "And now let us hence toIthiel."
Back they went swiftly to the caves that were occupied by the Essenesduring the rebuilding of their houses. In a little cabin that wasopen to the air lay Ithiel. The old man was on his death-bed, for age,hardship, and anxiety had done their work with him, so that now he wasunable to stand, but reclined upon a pallet awaiting his release. To himthey told their story.
"God is merciful," he said, when he had heard it. "I feared that shemight be dead, for in the presence of so much desolation, my faith growsweak."
"It may be so," answered Marcus, "but your merciful God will allow thismaiden to be set up in the Forum at Rome and sold to the highest bidder.It would have been better that she perished on the gate Nicanor."
"Perhaps this same God," answered Ithiel with a faint smile, "willdeliver her from that fate, as He has delivered her from many others.Now what
do you seek, my lord Marcus?"
"I seek liberty, which hitherto you have refused to me, Ithiel. I musttravel to Rome as fast as ships and horses can carry me. I desire tobe present at that auction of the captives. At least, I am rich and canpurchase Miriam--unless I am too late."
"Purchase her to be your slave?"
"Nay, to be my wife."
"She will not marry you; you are not a Christian."
"Then, if she asks it, to set her free. Man, would it not be better thatshe should fall into my hands than into those of the first passer-by whochances to take a fancy to her face?"
"Yes, I think it is better," answered Ithiel, "though who am I that Ishould judge? Let the Court be summoned and at once. This matter must belaid before them. If you should purchase her and she desires it, do youpromise that you will set her free?"
"I promise it."
Ithiel looked at him strangely and said: "Good, but in the hour oftemptation, if it should come, see that you do not forget your word."
So the Court was called together, not the full hundred that used to sitin the great hall, but a bare score of the survivors of the Essenes, andto them the brother, Samuel, repeated his tale. To them also Marcus madehis petition for freedom, that he might journey to Rome with Nehushta,and if it were possible, deliver Miriam from her bonds. Now, some ofthe more timid of the Essenes spoke against the release of so valuablea hostage upon the chance of his being able to aid Miriam, but Ithielcried from his litter:
"What! Would you allow our own advantage to prevail against the hopethat this maiden, who is loved by everyone of us, may be saved? Shameupon the thought. Let the Roman go upon his errand, since we cannot."
So in the end they agreed to let him go, and, as he had none, evenprovided money for his faring out of their scanty, secret store,trusting that he might find opportunity to repay it in time to come.
That night Marcus and Nehushta bade farewell to Ithiel.
"I am dying," said the old Essene. "Before ever you can set foot in Romethe breath will be out of my body, and beneath the desert sand I shalllie at peace--who desire peace. Yet, say to Miriam, my niece, that myspirit will watch over her spirit, awaiting its coming in a land wherethere are no more wars and tribulations, and that, meanwhile, I who loveher bid her to be of good cheer and to fear nothing."
So they parted from Ithiel and travelled upon horses to Joppa, Marcusdisguising his name and rank lest some officer among the Romansshould detain him. Here by good fortune they found a ship sailing forAlexandria, and in the port of Alexandria a merchant vessel bound forRhegium, in which they took passage, none asking them who they might be.