"Then go! Let it be so.... Leave me, if thou canst!"
Tears flowed no longer down her furrowed cheeks; her arms fell rigid,
with a heart-broken gesture, to her sides. She waited. All were
silent.
"O Lord, help me ... inspire me!" Juventinus prayed in terrible
distress.
"He who will follow Me, and will not hate father and mother, wife and
children, brother and sister, and even his own life, can never be My
disciple!"
These words were recited by Didimus, turning for the last time towards
Juventinus--
"Remain in the world! Thou hast rejected Christ! Be accursed in this
age and in the age to come!"
"No, no! Cast me not out, father! I am on your side. Lord, here am
I," exclaimed Juventinus following his master.
His mother made no arresting movement; not a muscle of her face
stirred; but when the noise of his footsteps died away a hoarse sob
heaved her breast and she fell into a swoon.
"Open--in the name of the most holy Emperor Constantius!"
It was the summons of soldiery sent by the prefect to hunt the Sabæan
rebels, on the denunciation of the patrician mother of Juventinus.
With a powerful lever the soldiers attempted to prise open the door of
the _columbarium_, shaking the edifice on its foundations. The little
silver urns vibrated plaintively under the blows. Half of the door
gave way.
Anatolius, Myrrha, and Arsinoë rushed into the inner gallery. The
Christians hurried along the narrow passages like ants disturbed in
their mound, making for all the secret outlets communicating with the
quarry. But Arsinoë and Myrrha, unfamiliar with the exact situation of
the galleries, lost their way in the labyrinth and at last reached the
lowest floor of all at a depth of fifty cubits under ground. It became
difficult to breathe; muddy water lay under foot. The flame of the
lamps became dim and almost blew out. Putrid miasmas filled the air.
Myrrha felt her head swim and gradually lost consciousness.
Anatolius took her in his arms. At every step they feared to encounter
the legionaries; all the outlets might be blocked and sealed up; they
were running the risk of being buried alive.