Jonas was in high spirits as they started from the farm. He was
leaving no friends behind and, so long as he had John with him, he
was perfectly contented. He was delighted to be on the move again
for, although he had worked steadily in getting in the harvest,
regular labor was distasteful to him and, accustomed as he had been
to wander, for weeks, free and unchecked with his goats among the
mountains, the regular life and order of the farm were irksome to
him.
John, on the other hand, was silent; replying briefly to the boy's
questions. He felt the danger of the enterprise upon which he had
embarked, and his responsibility as leader; and the thought of the
grief which his father and mother would feel, did ought befall him,
weighed on his mind. Presently, however, he roused himself.
"Now, Jonas, you must keep a sharp lookout round for, if we see any
Roman soldiers in the distance, I must hide my sword and buckler
before they discover us, and you must stow away your sling and
pouch; then we will walk quietly on. If they question us, we are
going to stay with friends at Capitolias and, as there will be
nothing suspicious about us, they will not interfere with us. After
they have passed on, we will go back for our arms. We are not
traveling in the direction of Gamala, and they will have no reason
to doubt our story."
They did not, however, meet any of the parties of Roman horse who
were scouring the country, carrying off grain and cattle for the
use of the army; and they arrived, in the afternoon, on the bank of
the Hieromax. Upon the other side of the river rose the steep
slopes of Mount Galaad, high up on whose side was perched the
little town of Abila.
"Here we can wait, Jonas. We are nearly opposite the town. The
others will, doubtless, soon be here."
It was not long before the band made their appearance, coming along
in twos and threes as they had met on the river bank. By sunset the
last had arrived, and John found that each of his first recruits
had brought two others.
He looked with satisfaction at the band. The greater part of them
had been fishermen. All were strong and active; and John saw that
his order that young men, only, should be taken had been obeyed,
for not one of them was over the age of twenty-three and, as he had
laid it down, as an absolute rule, all were unmarried. All were,
like himself, armed with sword and buckler; and several had brought
with them bags with javelin heads, to be fitted to staves, later
on. All their faces bore a look of determination and, at the same
time, of gladness.
The massacre on the lake had excited the inhabitants of the shore
to fury, and even those who had hitherto held back from the
national cause were now eager to fight against the Romans; but many
shrunk from going to Gamala--which was, indeed, already as full of
fighting men as it could hold--and John's proposal to form a band,
for warfare in the mountains, had exactly suited the more
adventurous spirits.
All present were known to John, personally. Many of them were sons
of friends of Simon; and the others he had met at village
gatherings, or when fishing on the lake. There were warm greetings,
as each accession to the party arrived; and each member of the band
felt his spirits rise higher, at finding that so many of those he
knew, personally, were to be his comrades in the enterprise.
When the last comer had arrived, John said:
"We will now be moving forward. We had best get well up the
mountain, before night falls. It matters not much where we camp,
tonight; tomorrow we can choose a good spot for our headquarters."
It being now the height of the dry season, the river was low, and
they had no difficulty in wading across. Then they struck up the
hill, to the right of Abila, until they had fairly entered the
forests which clothed the lower slopes of the mountains. Then John
gave the word for a halt.
Dead wood was soon collected, and a fire made. Cakes of meal were
baked in the ashes and, after these had been eaten, the party lay
round the fire and, a few minutes later, John rose to his feet.
Illustration: John Incites his Countrymen to Harass the Romans.
"You all know the reason for which we are gathered together here.
We all long for vengeance on the oppressors of our country, the
murderers of our kinsmen and friends, the men who carry off our
women to shame and slavery in Rome. We are all ready to die, for
our country and our God; but we would fain die doing as much harm
to the Romans as we can, fighting like freemen in the open, instead
of rats slaughtered in a cage. That is why, instead of going into
Gamala, we have gathered here.
"I am the youngest among you; but I have so far assumed the
leadership because, in the first place, I have been much with
Josephus, who--although he may now, most unworthily, have gone over
to the Romans to save his life--was yet a wise governor, and a
great leader. From him, I have learned much of the Romans. In the
second place, I have seen more of their warfare than any of you,
having passed through the terrible siege of Jotapata. Lastly, I
believe that God, having saved me almost alone of all the host that
defended the town, has intended me as an instrument for his
service.
"Therefore have I taken upon myself the command, in the first
place, of this band; but at the same time, if you think that I am
too young, and would rather place another at your head, I will
stand aside, and release from their oath those who have already
sworn. I am not self seeking. I crave not the leadership over you,
and will obey whomsoever you may choose for your chief. But to
whomsoever is the leader, prompt obedience must be given; for there
must, even in a band like this, be order and discipline. We work
for a common good, but we must yield to the direction of one will,
and one head.
"Now, what say you? I will walk away, to leave you free to consult
one with another; and will abide by your decision, whatever it be.
Only the decision, once made, must be adhered to. There must be no
after grumbling, no hesitation or drawing back. You must have
absolute confidence, and give absolute obedience, to him whom you
choose. For only so can we hope to succeed in our enterprises."
John had gone but a short way among the trees, when he was called
back again. All had come prepared to follow him. His father had
always been a man of weight and position among the villagers on the
shore and, democratic as were the Jewish institutions, there was
yet a certain respect paid to those of position above their
fellows. John's experience and, especially, his escape from
Jotapata, seemed specially to mark him as one destined to play an
important part. And his quiet resolute bearing, now--the feeling
that he knew what was to be done, and how to do it; that he was, in
fact, their natural leader--came home to all, and it was with
sincerity that they assured him that they accepted him as their
leader.
"Very well," John said, quietly. "Then let those who have not
already taken the oath stand up, and do so."
This was done, and John then said:
"Now, I will tell you more of my plans; although these, of course,
cannot be in any way settled until we see how things turn out. It
is by watching for opportunities and seizing the right moment,
only, that we can hope for success. We are all ready to give our
lives for our country, but we do not wish to throw them away. We
want each of us to do as much as possible. We want to live, so as
to share in the defense of the Temple; therefore, we have to
combine prudence with daring.
"As for an attack upon any strong body of Roman troops, it would be
impossible--unless they attempt to follow us among the mountains.
One of our first duties will be to learn the country well, so that
we may know where to defend ourselves, should they come up after
us; where, from eminences, we can cast down rocks upon them; where
there are crags which we can climb, but up which their heavy-armed
soldiers cannot follow us. This is our first task for, as yet, they
have not commenced the siege of Gamala. When they do so, we must
draw down near them and hide ourselves, mark the position of their
camp, see how their tents are arranged, and where their sentries
are placed.
"Then we can begin work: sometimes falling upon their guards; at
other times creeping in past their sentries, scattering through the
camp and, at a given signal, firing their tents with the brands
from their fires; slaying those who first rush out, and then making
off again to the hills.
"Then, too, they will be sending great numbers of men up the hills,
to cut timber and branches for their embankments, their
breastworks, and the construction of the wattles to protect their
machines. We shall be in hiding and, when a party of men separates
from the rest, we will fall upon these; we will harass their
workers from a distance, always avoiding a regular combat, but
hindering their work, and wearing them out. Thus we may do better
service, to the defenders of Gamala, than if we were within the
walls.
"At present we have only swords, but we must get bows and arrows.
It would not have been safe to have carried them across the plains;
but we can procure them at Abila, or Jabez Galaad. I fear that we
shall not be able to interfere with the provisioning of the
army--for upon the plains we shall have no chance with their
cavalry--but, here in these mountains, stretching away over Peraea
into Arabia and Moab, we can laugh at pursuit by the Romans; and
even Agrippa's light-armed Arabs will have difficulty in following
us, and of them we need have little fear. At Jotapata we proved
ourselves a match for the Romans; and their light-armed troops will
not care to venture against us, alone, as they will not know our
numbers, and will fear being led into ambushes.
"There is one question which we have to consider, and that is food;
as to flesh, we shall have it in abundance. There will be many
flocks of goats, belonging to those in Gamala, straying among the
mountains without an owner; therefore of goats' milk and flesh we
can take abundance, but there will be a scarcity of grain. I have
some money with me, with which we can purchase it at Abila, and the
villages. As for Jabez Galaad, it is too close to Gamala; and the
Romans will probably ascend the hill and destroy it, or place a
guard there. At any rate, the money will be sufficient to purchase
meal for us, for some time--much longer, probably, than Gamala will
be able to hold out--and when that has fallen, it will be time to
arrange about the future. Only let us take nothing without payment;
let us not be like the robber bands, which prey upon the people,
until they long for the Romans as masters.
"Only we must remember that, while we desire now to do the Romans
as much harm as possible, this is but the beginning of our work;
and that we must save ourselves for the future. Gamala is but one
town; and we shall have plenty of opportunities for striking at the
enemy, in the future. We have put our hands to the plow now and, so
long as the war lasts, we will not look back. It may be that our
example may lead others to follow it and, in that case, the Romans'
difficulties will thicken, every day. Were there scores of bands of
determined men, like us, hanging around them; ready to attack small
bodies, whenever they venture away from their camps to gather in
provisions and forage, and to harass them, at night, by constant
alarms, we could wear them out.
"Only, we must always avoid a pitched battle. In irregular fighting
we are as good as they--better, for we can move more quickly--but
when it comes to fighting in order of battle, we have no chance
with them, whatever. Their cavalry, the other day outside Tarichea,
were like wolves among a flock of sheep. Nothing but disaster can
come of fighting in the plain. Every people should fight in the way
that suits them best, and an attempt to meet an enemy in their own
way of fighting is sure to lead to disaster. Let the Roman keep the
plain, with his cavalry and his heavy infantry; let the Jew, light
footed and swift, keep to the hills. He is as much superior, there,
as is the Roman in the plains.
"And now, we must establish signals. We will get horns, at Abila;
and I will fix upon signals. One long note will mean, gather to me;
two, fall back gradually; three, retire at once with all speed, to
the spot agreed upon, before setting out in the morning. Two short
notes will mean, advance and attack in the manner arranged; one
short note, oft repeated, will tell you the Romans are advancing,
sound your horns--for it were well that each provided himself with
a cow's horn, so that the signals can be repeated. If we are
scattered over a hillside among the trees, and the Romans hear
horns sounded in many quarters, they will think that there must be
a large body of men assembled. This will make them slow and
cautious in all their movements; will force many to stand prepared,
with their arms, to guard those at work; and will altogether
confuse and puzzle them.
"And now, we will lie down and sleep; as soon as it is dawn, we
will be on foot again."
The next two days were spent in exploring that part of the
mountains: examining the direction, and extent, of each valley and
ravine; seeing where steep precipices afforded an opportunity for
rolling down rocks upon an enemy passing along the valley, or
trying to storm the height; in searching for pools in dried
watercourses; and in deciding upon a spot favorable for the camp.
They fixed upon a spot high up on the mountains, two miles east of
Abila, as their headquarters. It was in a pass between two peaks,
and gave them the option of descending either to the north or
south, or of skirting along the mountains towards the sources of
the Jabbok river, and thence crossing the Hermon range beyond the
limits of Peraea.
Jonas was sent, the first thing, to discover whether the Romans had
taken possession of Jabez Galaad; which lay but five miles from
Gamala, and on the southern side of the range of hills on whose
western spur Gamala was built. He returned, in a short time, saying
that he had found the inhabitants in a state of great alarm; for
that a Roman force could be seen, coming up the road from the
plain. Most of the fighting men of the town were in Gamala; the
rest, with the young women, were leaving, so that only old people
and children would be found in the town when the Romans arrived.
Jonas also brought word that Vespasian's whole army was moving
against Gamala.
John had given Jonas money, before he started, to purchase bows and
arrows. He had brought back bows for the whole party, and as many
arrows as he could carry.
"I paid nothing for them," he said, as he threw them down. "The man
who sold them was praying those who were leaving the town to take
them--for he thought that, if the Romans found them in his house,
they would destroy it--but no one listened. All were too busy, in
carrying off such of their household goods as they could take, to
burden themselves further; so he gladly gave me as many as I could
take. I carried off nearly all his bows; and I left him breaking up
the rest, and his store of arrows, in order to burn them before the
Romans arrived.
"A boy, carrying a bag of arrowheads, came with me some little
distance. I paid the man for them, and they are now hidden in the
forest. You can fetch them when you will, but I could not carry
more with me than I have got."
"You have done well, Jonas," John said, as the men seized each a
bow, and divided the arrows among them; and then stood waiting,
expecting orders from John to proceed, at once, to harass the Roman
column as it ascended the hill.
John said, in answer to their looks:
"We will not meddle with them, today. Did we shoot at them, they
would suppose that we belonged to Jabez Galaad; and would, in
revenge, destroy the town and all those they may find within it;
and our first essay against them would bring destruction upon
thousands of our countrymen."
The others saw the justness of his reasoning, and their faith in
him as their leader was strengthened by his calmness, and readiness
of decision.
"Is the bag of arrowheads heavy, Jonas?"
"It is as much as the boy, who was about my own age, could carry,"
Jonas replied.
"Then do you, Phineas, and you, Simeon, go with Jonas to the place
where the bag is hidden, and carry it to the place we have fixed
upon for our camp. If, on the way, you come across a herd of goats,
shoot two or three of them and take them with you, and get fires
ready. The day is getting on, but we will go across the mountains,
and see where the Romans are pitching their camp and, by sunset, we
will be with you."
Making their way along the mountain the band came, after an hour's
walking, to a point where they could obtain a view of Gamala. The
city stood on the western extremity of the hill which, after
sloping gradually down, rose suddenly in a sharp ridge like the
hump of a camel--from which the town had its name, Gamala. On both
sides, this rock ended abruptly in a precipitous chasm; in which
ran the two branches of the Hieromax, which met at the lower end of
the ridge, and ran together into the end of the lake at Tarichea,
three miles away.
Thus, Gamala was only accessible from behind, where the ridge
joined the mountains. Across this neck of land a deep fosse had
been dug, so as to cut off all approach. The houses were crowded
thickly on the steep slope of the ridge, which was so abrupt that
the houses seemed to overhang one another. On the southern crag,
which was of immense height, was the citadel of the town. There was
a spring, supplying abundance of water, within the walls. Had it
been defended by a garrison as brave and numerous as that of
Jotapata, it would have been well-nigh impregnable; but Cheres and
Joseph, who commanded, had none of the genius of Josephus, although
they were brave and determined.
The city was crowded with fugitives from all parts; and had
already, for seven months, resisted a besieging force which Agrippa
had sent against it. It was impossible to blockade the whole
circuit of the town; but Vespasian took possession of all the
neighboring heights, and established his camp, with that of the
Fifteenth Legion, on the hill facing the city to the east. The
Fifth Legion threw up works, opposite the center of the city; while
the Tenth set to work to fill up ditches and ravines, in order to
facilitate the approaches.
Agrippa approached the wall, to persuade the inhabitants to
surrender; but was struck on the right elbow by a stone from a
sling, and forced to retire. This insult to the native king, who
came in the character of an ambassador, enraged the Romans; and
they set about the operations for the siege with great vigor. In
spite of the efforts of the Jews, the fosse which protected the
wall on the east was speedily filled up; and the Romans then began,
as at Jotapata, to raise an embankment facing the wall.
The day after the Romans had established their camp, John and his
followers advanced along the mountain until they could look down
upon it and, for a long time, watched the Romans at work, and
learned all the details of the camp.
"You must fix them in your minds," John said, "in order that, even
on a dark night, you may be able to make your way about it without
difficulty; so that you may be able, after striking a blow, to fly
directly to the mountain--for any who get confused, and miss their
way, will assuredly be killed. You see, the enemy have placed a
strong guard, halfway up the hillside, in order to protect
themselves from surprise; but it will be possible, by moving down
to the streams, and then mounting again, to reach the camp without
passing through them. And by the same way we must make our retreat
for, if we succeed in setting the camp on fire, the flames will
enable the guard on the mountains to see us approaching them.
"I had hoped that we might be able to penetrate, unobserved, to the
tent of Vespasian, and to slay him and some of his generals but, by
the bustle that we see round that tower on the hillside, and by the
strong force of cavalry picketed round it, it is evident that he
has taken up his quarters there and, indeed, from the top of the
tower he can look down upon the town, and on all that is passing
there, and issue his directions to his troops accordingly; so we
must give up that idea. Another time, we may be more fortunate.
"But see, a great number of troops are ascending the hill towards
us, doubtless to cut timber for their works. As soon as they are at
work, we will attack them."
The party retired into the forest and, as soon as they heard the
sound of the Roman axes, they crept quietly forward; moving
noiselessly, with their sandaled feet, among the trees. When within
a short distance of the Romans, John ordered them to halt; and
crept forward, with Jonas, to reconnoiter. There was little fear of
their being heard, for several hundred men were at work, felling
trees; a line of sentries, at ten paces apart, standing under arms
to prevent a surprise. The Romans were working too thickly to
permit of any successful action, by so small a party; and John saw
that the idea of an attack must be abandoned, and that he must
confine himself, for the present, to harassing the sentries.
Rejoining his men, he told them what he had discovered; and bade
them scatter along the line and, crawling up under the protection
of the trees, to approach as near as they could to the line of
sentries; and then to shoot at them--or at the workmen, many of
whom, having thrown off their heavy armor to enable them the better
to work, offered more favorable marks for the arrows than the
sentries--whose faces, only, were exposed.
They were on no account to come to close quarters with the Romans.
If the latter advanced, they were instantly to retire, approaching
again as soon as the Romans recommenced their work; and so to
continue, until he blew the signal for them to draw off,
altogether. They were not to begin until they heard his signal for
attack.
After allowing some little time to elapse for the men to get into
position, John blew his horn. A moment, and cries and shouts were
heard along the whole Roman line. The sound of chopping instantly
ceased, and the Roman trumpets blew to arms.
John had advanced sufficiently near to see the Roman workmen before he
gave the signal. Jonas was a little in advance of him and, as the horn
sounded, he saw him step out from behind a tree, whirl his sling round
his head and discharge a stone and, almost simultaneously, a Roman
sentinel, some forty paces away, fell with a crash upon the ground.
The Roman soldiers who had retained their armor ran instantly
forward, to support their sentries. The others hastily buckled on
their breastplates, caught up their bucklers and helmets, and
joined their comrades. Arrows continued to fall among them from
their invisible foes and, although most of these fell harmless from
their armor, several soldiers fell, in addition to the seven or
eight who had been killed by the first volley.
The centurion in command soon saw that the number of his assailants
was small but, afraid of being drawn into an ambush, he hesitated
to give orders for an advance; but dispatched a messenger instantly
to camp, contenting himself with throwing out strong parties a
hundred yards in advance of his line. These now became the objects
of attack, while arrows ceased to fall among the main body of the
troops.
John moved round the flank, till he gained a position whence he
could observe the camp. The trumpets above had been heard there,
and the troops had already taken up their position under arms. As
he looked on, he saw the messenger run up to a party of mounted
officers. A minute later a trumpet sounded, and a strong body of
Arabian archers advanced, at a run, up the slope. John at once
withdrew to his first position, and sounded the order for instant
retreat; and then, hurrying back half a mile, sounded the note for
his followers to assemble at the spot where he was standing.
In a few minutes, all had joined him. They were in high spirits at
the success of this first skirmish; and wondered why they had been
so suddenly called off, when the Romans had shown no signs of
advancing against them.
"There are fully a thousand Arab archers in the forest, by this
time," John said. "They are as fleet of foot as we are, and it
would be madness to remain. We have stopped their work, for a time;
and have killed many, without a scratch to ourselves. That is well
enough, for today. Tomorrow we will beat them up, again."
At daybreak, two of the party were sent forward to the edge of the
wood, to see with what force the Romans went out to work. They
brought back the report that they were accompanied by a strong body
of archers; and that, as soon as they reached the forest, the
archers were scattered in front of them for a long distance, and
that it would be impossible to approach them, unobserved.
On the previous afternoon, John had dispatched Jonas to Abila, and
he had returned with a number of cows' horns. Round the fire in the
evening, the men had set to work to pierce the points with heated
arrowheads, and had converted them into instruments capable of
giving a deep, prolonged sound. On the return of the scouts, John
set his men in motion.
"We cannot fight them, today, but we can hinder their work. We will
scatter through the forest and, as we approach them, each is to
sound his horn; and continue to do so, from time to time. The
Romans will think that a great force is advancing against them."
This was done, with the effect John had anticipated. Hearing the
sound of horns, all over the mountainside, the Romans concluded
that a great force was advancing to attack them; and the archers
were at once recalled. The troops all stood to arms and, for
several hours, remained waiting an attack. Then, after strong
bodies of heavy-armed troops--preceded by the archers, skirmishing
before them--had pushed some distance into the forest without
meeting with an enemy, the work recommenced; a considerable number
still standing to their arms, as protectors to the rest.
Although a certain amount of time had been gained, for the city, by
the interruption of the work of bringing in timber, John had
undertaken these sham attacks rather with the purpose of
accustoming his band to work together, and to give them confidence,
than with the view of troubling the Romans. In this he was
perfectly successful. The band, when they reached their camp, that
evening, were in high spirits. They had, for two days, puzzled and
baffled a large Roman force; had inflicted some loss upon them, and
forced them to desist from their work. They were pleased with
themselves, and their leader; and had lost much of the dread of the
Romans which the capture of Jotapata, Japha, and Tarichea, and the
tales of their cruelty and ferocity, had excited among the whole
population.
A reverse, at the commencement of their work, would have been
fatal; and John had felt that, however earnest the men were, in
their determination to die fighting for their country, the loss of
a few of their number at the outset would have so dispirited the
rest that the probability was that the band would disperse--or
would, at any rate, be unwilling to undertake any desperate
operation. But in their present mood they were ready for any
enterprise upon which he might lead them; and he, accordingly, told
them that he should abstain, next day, from a continuance of his
attacks upon the working party; but that, at night, he would carry
out the design of setting fire to their camp.
Accordingly, the following day, the Romans pursued their work
unmolested; although they still continued the precaution of keeping
a force of archers, and parties of heavy-armed troops, in advance
of those working in the wood. John did not move till the afternoon;
and then, descending the hill to the right, he skirted along in the
lower forest until within two miles of Gamala. Here he halted until
nightfall.
While waiting for the hour of action, he gave final instructions to
his men, and assigned to them the order in which they should ascend
from the river towards the rear of the camp. When they approached
the spot where they would probably find Roman sentries posted, they
were to advance singly, crawling along upon the ground. Those who
first went through were to keep straight on until they reached the
further end of the camp; stopping, as near as they could judge,
fifty paces apart. They were then to wait for half an hour, so as
to be sure that all would have gained their allotted positions.
Then, when they saw a certain star sink below the horizon (a method
of calculating time to which all were accustomed) they were to
creep forward into the Roman camp; and each to make his way, as
noiselessly as possible, until he came within a few paces of one of
the smoldering fires of the Romans, and to wait until they heard a
single note from John's horn.
Each was at once to spring forward, seize a lighted brand and fire
the nearest tent; and then to crawl away--cutting, as they went,
the ropes of the tents, so as to bring them down, and create as
much confusion as possible. Then, either by crawling or, if
discovered, by leaping to their feet and making a sudden rush, all
were to make their way down to the river again; to follow its banks
for half a mile, and then wait in a body for an hour. At the end of
that time they were to make their way back to their camp in the
mountain; certain, by that time, that all who were alive would have
rejoined them. Should he himself not be with the party, they were
at once to proceed to the election of another leader.
At about ten o'clock they again moved forward and, descending to
the river, followed its banks until they arrived at the spot they
had fixed on; then, in single file, they began to climb the hill.
John placed himself in the middle of the line, in order to have a
central position when the attack began. As soon as they reached the
top of the slope, they lay down and, one by one, crawled forward
into the darkness; two or three minutes being allowed to elapse
between the departure of each man. They could hear the call of the
Roman sentries as they answered each other, every half hour; and
knew that the line was but a hundred yards or so in front of them.
The night was very dark, and no sudden shout proclaimed that those
ahead had been noticed.
When John's turn came to advance, Jonas was to follow next behind
him. All had left their bows, arrows, bucklers, and swords behind
them, and carried only their knives; for they had not come to
fight, and the knives were required only for cutting the tent ropes
or, in case of discovery, to enable them to take a life or two
before they fell, fighting. Each had sworn to kill himself, if he
found escape impossible, in order to escape a death by torture if
he fell alive into the hands of the Romans.
John, on approaching the line of sentries, was guided by sound,
only, in trying to avoid them. He could not see their figures; but
could hear the sound of their footsteps, and the clash of their
arms, as they tramped a few yards backwards and forwards. He was,
like his comrades, stripped to the waist--having only on a short
garment, reaching halfway down the knee--as it was upon speed, and
activity, that his life would depend.
Without interruption, he crawled through the lines of sentries and
continued his course until he was, as near as he could tell,
opposite the center of the long line of tents; then he lay quiet,
watching the setting of the star. No sound was heard from the camp
in front; although from down the hillside beyond it came a confused
noise, as of a host of men at work; and the glare of many fires
reddened the skies for, there, five thousand men were at work
raising the embankment against the doomed city; while the archers
and slingers maintained a never-ceasing conflict, of missiles, with
the defenders on the walls.
The star seemed, to John, as if it hung on its course; so long was
it in sinking to the horizon. But at last it sank; and John,
crawling noiselessly forward, made his way into the Roman camp. It
was arranged with wide and regular streets, laid out with
mechanical accuracy. Here and there, in front of a tent of a
commanding officer, sentries paced to and fro; the sound of their
footsteps and the clash of their arms, each time they turned,
giving warning of their positions. In the center of the streets the
fires--round which the soldiers had, shortly before, been
gathered--still glowed and flickered for, although the days were
hot, the cold at night rendered fires desirable; and there was an
abundance of fuel to be obtained, from the hills.
John crawled along with the greatest care. He had no fear of being
seen, but had he come roughly against a tent-rope he might have
brought out some wakeful occupant of the tent to see who was
moving.
He continued his course until he found himself opposite a fire, in
which some of the brands were burning brightly; while there was no
sentry on guard, within a distance of fifty yards. So far,
everything had gone well; neither in passing through the lines of
the sentries, nor in making their way into the camp, had any of the
band been observed. It was certain now that some, at least, would
succeed in setting fire to the tents, before they were discovered;
and the wind, which was blowing briskly from the mountains, would
speedily spread the flames; and a heavy blow would be inflicted
upon the enemy.