by G. A. Henty
Chapter 10: Captives.
John was received with great joy by his father; who had alreadyheard the story brought by the injured member of the band fromGamala, and was filled with pride that his son should so havedistinguished himself. He at once agreed to John's proposal that heshould start, on the following day, to fetch the women from Neve,as there was no longer any fear of trouble from the Romans. Galileewas completely subdued and, whatever events might take place inJudea, those in the north would be unaffected by them.
The day after his return, then, John set out with Jonas for Neve.John charged his companion on no account to say anything of theirdoings at the siege of Gamala; and as communication was difficult,and they had not heard from Simon since John had left him, hisfriends at Neve were not aware that he had been absent from thefarm. Martha and Mary were delighted to see him, and to hear thatall was well at home. They had been greatly alarmed at the news ofthe slaughter of the fishermen on the lake, fearing that John mighthave gone across to Tarichea with some of his friends in thevillage. Their fears on this head, however, abated as time passedon and they did not hear from Simon; who, they felt assured, wouldhave brought the news to Martha, had aught happened to their son.
They had mourned over the siege and massacre of Gamala, and hadbeen filled with joy when the news had arrived, three days before,that the Roman army had marched away to take up its quarters forthe winter; and they had looked for the summons, which Johnbrought, for their return home.
"And does your father think, John, that there will be trouble againin the spring? Shall we have to leave home again, as soon as thewinter is past?"
"He hopes not, mother. Gamala was the only town on this side of theJordan that resisted the Roman authority and, as all theterritories of Agrippa are now peaceful, there is no reason why theRomans should enter these again; and indeed, all Galilee has nowsurrendered. As Vespasian moved towards the sea, deputies came tohim from every town and village; and I think, now, that there willbe no more trouble there."
"It has been terrible enough, my son. What tens of thousands of menhave perished, what destruction has been wrought! We have beenmourning, for months now, for the woes which have fallen upon ourpeople."
"It has been most terrible, mother; and yet, it might have beenworse. Nigh a hundred and fifty thousand have fallen, at Gadara,Jotapata, Japha, Tarichea, and Gamala; besides those who were slainin the villages that had been sacked, and destroyed. Still,considering all things, it might have been worse and, were it allover now--did no more dangers threaten our nation--we might evenrejoice that no greater evils have befallen us, for our revoltagainst Rome. But what has been done is but a preparation for thesiege of Jerusalem.
"However, do not let us begin to mourn over the future. The stormhas, for the present, passed away from us and, whatever misfortuneshave befallen our countrymen, we have happily escaped. The farmstands uninjured, and no harm has come to any of us."
"And all the villagers have escaped, John? Did none of ourneighbors go out in their boats to Tarichea? We feared, when weheard of the sea fight, that some must have fallen."
"No, mother. Fortunately, they listened to the counsels of myfather, who implored them not to put out on the lake for that, didthey do so, they would only bring misfortune and ruin uponthemselves."
"And have you heard, John," Mary asked, "anything of the championwho they say has arisen? We have heard all sorts of tales ofhim--how he harassed the Romans before Gamala and, with hisfollowers, burned their camp one night and well nigh destroyedthem; and how, when he goes into the fight, the Roman javelins dropoff without harming him; and how, when he strikes, the Romans fallbefore his blows like wheat before a sickle."
John burst into a laugh.
"I wonder, Mary, that the reports didn't say also that he could flythrough the air when he chose; could render himself invisible tothe enemy; and could, by a wave of his hand, destroy them as thehosts of Sennacherib were destroyed. The Romans were harassedsomewhat, at Gamala, by John and his followers, who crept intotheir camp at night and set it on fire, and had a few skirmisheswith their working parties; but when you have said that, you havesaid all that there is to say about it."
"That is not like you, John," Mary said, indignantly, for the talesthat had circulated through the province had fired her imagination."Everyone is talking of what he has done. He, alone of all ourleaders, has checked the Romans; and has shown wisdom, as well asvalor, in fighting. I should have thought you would have been oneof the first to praise him. Everyone is talking about him and,since we heard of what he has been doing, mother and I pray forhim, daily, as we pray for you and your father; and now you want tomake out he has done nothing."
"I do not want to make out that he has done nothing, Mary, fordoubtless the Lord has been with him, and has enabled him to givesome trouble to the Romans; but I was laughing at the fables youhave heard about him, and at the reports which had converted hisskirmishes with the Romans into all sorts of marvelous actions."
"I believe they were marvelous actions," Mary said. "Why shouldwhat people say be all wrong?
"We believe in him, don't we, mother?"
"Yes, Mary. It is true that the tales we have heard may be, as Johnsays, exaggerated; but assuredly this new champion of our peoplemust be a man of wisdom and valor, and I see not why, as God raisedup champions for Israel in the old time, he should not do so now,when our need is so great."
"There is no reason, mother," John said, more quietly, "but I fearthat the champion of Israel is not yet forthcoming. We have heardof the doings of this John and, as I said, he has merely had someskirmishes with the Romans--his band being too small to admit ofany regular fighting. He interrupted their work, and gave them sometrouble; and his men, creeping down into the camp, set it on fire,and so caused them a good deal of loss; but more than this cannotbe said of him."
"At any rate," Mary said disdainfully, "he has done more than yourJosephus, John--for he brought ruin on all who took his advice, andwent into the cities he had fortified. It may please you to makelittle of what this champion has done. Others do not think so.Everywhere he is talked of, and praised--the old men are talking ofhim, the Jewish maidens are singing songs in his honor. I heardthem, yesterday, gathered round a well near Neve. His father mustrejoice, and his mother be proud of him, if they are alive.
"What do they say down by the lake, Jonas, of this captain? Are notthe tales we have heard believed, there?"
"I have heard nothing about the Roman javelins not harming him,"Jonas said; "but he certainly got safely out of the hands of theRomans, when they had well-nigh taken him; and all say that he isbrave and prudent, and men have great confidence and trust in him."
"Ridiculous, Jonas!" John exclaimed angrily, and Mary and hismother looked at him in surprise.
"Truly, John," his mother said, "what Mary said is just. This isnot like you. I should have thought you would have been one of thefirst to admire this new leader, seeing that he is fighting in theway I have heard you advocate as being that in which the Romansshould be fought, instead of the Jews being shut up in the cities."
"Quite so, mother! No doubt he is adopting the proper way offighting, and therefore has naturally had some success. I am onlysaying that he has done nothing wonderful; but has given the Romanssome trouble by refusing to fight, and by merely trying to harassthem. If there were a thousand men who would gather small bandstogether, and harass the Romans night and day in the same manner,they would render it well-nigh impossible for them to make anyprogress. As it was, he merely aided in delaying the fall of Gamalaby a day or two.
"And now, let us talk of something else. Our father has succeededin getting in the principal part of the harvest, but I fear thatthis year you will be short of fruit. We have had no time to gatherin the figs, and they have all fallen from the trees; and althoughwe have made enough wine for our own use, there will be but littleto sell."
"It matters not at all," Martha said. "God has been very mercifultowards us and, so that
we have but bread to eat and water todrink, until next harvest, we shall have nothing to repine about,when ruin and destruction have fallen upon so many."
That evening, when Mary and Martha had retired to their apartments,the former, who had been very silent all the evening, said:
"I cannot understand, mother, why John speaks so coldly of thedoings of this brave leader; and why he was almost angry at ourpraises of him. It seems altogether unlike him."
"It is unlike him, Mary; but you must never be surprised at men,they do not like to hear each other praised; and though I shouldhave thought, from what I know of my son, that he was above thefeeling of jealousy, I cannot but think that he showed some signsof that feeling today."
"But it seems absurd, mother. I can understand John being jealousof any one his own age who surpassed him in any exercises--though Inever saw him so for, when in rowing on the lake, or in shootingwith bows and arrows, or in other sports, some of our neighbors'sons have surpassed him, he never seemed to mind at all; and itseems almost absurd to think that he could be jealous of a greatleader, who has done brave deeds for our people."
"It does seem so, Mary, and I wonder myself; but it has been everone of our national faults to be jealous of our leaders. From thetime the people vexed Moses and Aaron, in the wilderness, it hasever been the same. I grieve to see it in John, who hasdistinguished himself greatly for his age, and of whom we areproud; but no one is perfect, my child, and you must not troublebecause you find that your betrothed husband is not free from allweaknesses."
"I don't expect him to be free from all weaknesses, mother; butthis is one of the last weaknesses I should have expected to findin him, and it troubles me. When everything seemed so dark, it wasa pleasure to think that a hero, perhaps a deliverer, had arisen;and now John seems to say that he has done nothing."
"My dear child," Martha said, "something may have occurred to vexJohn on the way and, when men are put out, they will often show itin the strangest manner. Probably John will, another time, speakjust as warmly in praise of our new leader as you would, yourself."
"Perhaps it may be so, mother," Mary assented. "I can hardlybelieve that John is jealous--it does seem so unlike himself."
"I would not speak on the subject again, Mary, if I were you;unless he, himself, brings it up. A wise woman keeps silence onsubjects which may lead to disagreement. You will learn, when youhave married, that this is the easiest and best way."
"I suppose so, mother," Mary said, in a tone of disappointment;"but somehow it never seemed to me, before, that John and I couldhave any subject on which there would be disagreement."
"My dear Mary," Martha said, smiling, "John and you are bothmortal; and although you may truly love each other--and will, Itrust, be very happy as husband and wife--subjects will occur uponwhich you will differ; and then, as you know, the wisest plan isfor the wife to be silent. It is the wife's duty always to give wayto the husband."
Mary gave a little shrug of her shoulders, as if to intimate thatshe did not regard altogether favorably this view of a wife'sduties; however, she said no more, but kissed Martha, and retiredto bed.
The next morning they started early, and journeyed to Capitolias,where they stayed at the house of some friends. In the evening, thetalk again turned upon the new leader, who had burned the Romancamp. When they did so, John at once made some excuse, and wentout. He regretted, now, that he had not at once told his motherwhat he had been doing. He had intended, in the first place, togive her a little surprise; but had no idea of the exaggeratedreports that had been spread about and, when Mary broke out intopraise of the unknown leader, it seemed to him that it would havebeen absurd to say that he, himself, was the person of whom she hadformed so fantastically exalted an opinion. Not having said so atfirst, he did not see how he could say so, afterwards; and so leftthe matter as it stood, until they should return home.
While John was out, he heard news which caused him some uneasiness.It was said that parties of Roman horse, from Scythopolis, had beenscouring the country; burning many villages--under the pretext thatsome Roman soldiers, who had straggled away marauding on their ownaccount, had been killed by the peasants--slaughtering the people,and carrying off as slaves such young women and men as were likelyto fetch good prices.
He told his mother what he had heard; and asked her whether she didnot think that it would be better to stay where they were, for atime, or return to Neve. But Martha was anxious to be at home,again; and the friend with whom they were stopping said that thesereports were a week old, and that doubtless the Romans had returnedto their camp. She determined, therefore, that she and Mary wouldcontinue their journey; but that the maids should remain with theirfriend, at Capitolias, until the Roman excursions ceased.
They accordingly set out in the morning, as before--the two womenriding, and John and Jonas walking by the side of the donkeys.Following the road by the side of the Hieromax they kept on,without meeting anything to cause alarm, until they reached theangle of the stream, where the road to Hippos branched off fromthat which followed the river down to Tarichea. They had gone but ashort distance, when they saw a cloud of dust rising along the roadin front of them, and the sparkle of arms in the sun.
"Turn aside, mother," John exclaimed. "Those must be the Romansahead."
Turning aside, they rode towards some gardens and orchards at nogreat distance but, before they reached them, two Roman soldiersseparated themselves from the rest, and galloped after them.
"Fly, John!" Martha said, hurriedly. "You and Jonas can escape."
"It would only ensure evil to you if we did, mother. No, we willkeep together."
The Roman soldiers rode up, and roughly ordered the party toaccompany them back to the main body, which consisted of fifty men.The leader, a young officer whose garments and armor showed that hebelonged to a family of importance, rode forward a few paces tomeet them.
"Some more of this accursed race of rebels!" he exclaimed.
"We are quiet travelers," John said, "journeying from Capitolias toTarichea. We have harmed no one, my lord."
"You are all the same," the Roman said, scowling. "You speak usfair one day, and stab us in the back the next.
"Pomponius," he said to a sergeant, "put these two lads with therest. They ought to fetch a good price, for they are strong andactive. As to the girl, I will make a present of her, to thegeneral, to send to his wife in Rome. She is the prettiest Jewess Ihave seen, since I entered the country. The old woman can go. Sheis of no use to anyone."
Illustration: Mary and the Hebrew Women in the Hands of the Romans.
Martha threw her arms round Mary; and would have striven to resist,with her feeble strength, the carrying out of the order, when Johnsaid in Hebrew:
"Mother, you will ruin us all, and lose your own life! Go homequietly, and trust to me to save Mary."
The habit of submitting to her husband's will, which Martha hadpracticed all her life, asserted itself. She embraced Marypassionately, and drew aside as the Roman soldiers approached; andthen, tottering away a short distance, sank weeping on the ground.Mary shed no tear but, pale as death, walked by the side of asoldier, who led her to the rear of the cavalcade, where four orfive other young women were standing, in dejected attitudes.
John and Jonas were similarly placed, with some young men, in themidst of the Roman soldiers. Their hands were tied behind them, andthe troop resumed its way. They were traveling by the road alongwhich the little party had just come. Whenever a house or smallvillage was seen, half of the troop galloped off. Flames were soonseen to rise, and parties of wretched captives were driven in.
When about halfway to Capitolias, the troop halted. The horses wereturned into a field of ripe corn, to feed. Half the men sat down toa meal, while the remainder stood on guard over the captives. Johnhad whispered to Jonas to work his hands so as to loosen his cords,if possible; and the lad, whose bones were very small, soon saidthat he could slip the ropes off without difficulty.
It was harder
work for John and, indeed, while on the march he didnot venture to exert himself, fearing that the movements would benoticed by his guards. But when they halted, he got into the middleof the group of captives, and tried his best to loosen the cords.Jonas was close beside him.
"It is of no use, Jonas," he said. "The cords are cutting into myflesh, and they will not yield in the slightest."
"Let me try, John.
"Stand round close," Jonas said to the other captives, in Hebrew."I want to loosen my friend's knots. If he can get away, he willbring rescue to you all."
The others moved so as to completely cover the movements of Jonas;and the lad, stooping down, applied his teeth to the knot in John'scords, and soon succeeded in loosening it.
"That will be enough, Jonas. I can draw my hand through, now."
Jonas again stood up.
"When I make an effort to escape, Jonas, do you dash between thehorsemen, and run for it. In the confusion you will get a start,and they will not overtake you until you are across the river. Onceon the hill, you are safe. If you remain behind and I get away, aslikely as not one of the soldiers would send a javelin through you,as being my companion."
After half an hour's halt, the Romans again mounted their horsesand turned to retrace their steps. Two Romans rode on either sideof the captives, who were about fifty in number; and John graduallymade his way to the front of the party, between the two leadinghorsemen.
The officer, talking to his sergeant, rode a few paces ahead, inthe middle of the road. Since the cords had been loosened, John hadcontinued to work his fingers until the circulation was restored.Suddenly he slipped his hands from their fastenings, gave threebounds forward, and vaulted on to the back of the horse behind theofficer. He had drawn the knife which had been hidden in hisgirdle; and he threw one arm round the officer, while he struck theknife deep into the horse's flank. The animal reared in the air andthen, at a second application of the knife, sprang forward at thetop of his speed, before the astonished Roman knew what hadhappened. John held him in his arms like a vice and, exerting allhis strength, lifted him from the saddle and hurled him headlong tothe ground; where he lay, bleeding and insensible.
John had now time to look round. Struck with astonishment at thesudden incident which had passed under their eyes, the Romans had,at first, instinctively reined in their horses. The sergeant hadbeen the first to recover himself and, shouting to the five leadingsoldiers on each side to follow him, had spurred in pursuit, justas his officer was hurled to the ground. But John was already somefifty yards away, and felt sure that he could not be overtaken.
He had remarked the horse ridden by the officer, while they wereeating; and saw that it was of far higher blood and swifter pacethan any of those ridden by the soldiers. His own weight, too, wasfar less than that of the heavy-armed men in pursuit of him and,with a shout of scornful defiance, and a wave of his hand, hecontinued his course. Before a mile had been passed he had left hispursuers far in the rear and, seeing the hopelessness of thepursuit, they presently reined up and returned to the main body.
Jonas had carried out John's instructions and, the instant thelatter sprang on the officer, he slipped under the belly of thehorse next to him and ran, at the top of his speed, for the river.It was but a hundred yards away, and he had gone three quarters thedistance before any of the soldiers--confused at the attack upontheir officer, doubtful whether the whole of the captives were notabout to fall upon them, and without orders how to act, set out inpursuit.
Jonas plunged into the stream, dived to the other side, and thensprang forward again, just as three or four soldiers reached thebank he had left. Their javelins were hurled after him, but withouteffect and, with a shout of triumph, he sprang up the hillside, andwas soon safe from pursuit.
As soon as he saw that the Romans had turned back, John sprang fromhis horse, unstrapped the heavy armor which covered its chest andsides, and flung it away; and then, mounting, resumed his course.At the first house he came to he borrowed a shepherd's horn and, ashe approached the first village, sounded his signal for the assembly.
Two or three young men ran out from their houses, as he dashed up;for there was not a village in those parts from which some of theyoung men had not gone up to the mountains to join him, after thefall of Gamala, and all were ready to follow him anywhere. Herapidly gave them orders to go to all the villages round; andinstruct the young men to assemble, with all speed possible, attheir old trysting place near Jabez Galaad; and to spread the newsas they went, some from each village being sent as messengers toothers. Then he pursued his way at full speed and, by sunset, hadissued his orders in some twenty villages.
Being convinced that, by night, a sufficient number of men wouldhave gathered in the mountain for his purpose, he rode back to theriver, swam his horse across; and then, leaving it to shift foritself, made his way up the mountain. Some seventy or eighty menhad already arrived at the appointed place, and fresh parties werecoming in every minute. Jonas was already there, John havingarranged with him to watch the movements of the Romans until thesun set, and then to bring word to the place of meeting as to theirmovements.
"Well, Jonas, what is your news?"
"The Romans have halted, for the night, at a spot about a mile thisside of where we left them. They remained where they were, untilthe party who had ridden after you returned; then they went slowlyback, after having made a litter with their spears, on which fourof them carried the officer you threw from his horse--what a crashhe made! I heard the clang of his arms, as I was running. Theystopped near one of the villages they burned as we went past; andwhen I turned to make my way here their fires were burning, sothere's no doubt they mean to halt there for the night."
"That is good news, indeed!" John said. "Before morning we willrouse them up in a way they little expect."
John's followers arrived eager for the fight, for the news of thedevastations committed by this party of Romans had roused the wholedistrict to fury. As a rule the Romans, except when actually on acampaign, abstained from all ill treatment of the inhabitants--theorders against plundering and injuring the people being here, as inother countries held by the Roman arms, very stringent. In thepresent case, there was no doubt that Roman soldiers had beenkilled; but these had brought their fate upon themselves, by theirill treatment and insult of the villagers, and no notice would havebeen taken of the slaying of men while acting in disobedience oforders, had it not been that they belonged to the company ofServilius Maro.
He was a young noble, possessed of great influence in Rome, and ofa ferocious and cruel disposition; and he had urged the general sostrongly to allow him to go out, to inflict punishment upon thecountry people, that consent had reluctantly been given. But evenat this time, although the Jews were not aware of it, a messengerwas on his way to Servilius with peremptory orders to him to returnat once to Scythopolis, as most serious reports as to his crueltyto peaceful inhabitants had come to the general's ears.
But that message Servilius was never to receive. By midnight,upwards of four hundred men had gathered at the rendezvous in themountains. John divided the force into four bodies, and gave eachtheir orders as to the part that they were to take; and thenmarched down the hill, crossed the river, and advanced towards theRoman bivouac.
When within a quarter of a mile of the fires, the band broke upinto sections and proceeded to surround the enemy. When eachcompany reached the position John had marked out for it, the menbegan to crawl slowly forward towards the Romans. John sounded anote on his horn and, with a shout, the whole band rushed to theirfeet and charged down upon the enemy. Before the latter couldspring to their feet, and mount their horses, the Jews were amongthem.
John, with a picked band of twenty men, at once made his way to thecenter of the camp; where the captives, ignorant of the cause ofthis sudden alarm, stood huddled together. Placing his men aroundthem, to prevent any Roman soldier injuring them, John joined inthe fray.
It was short. Taken by surprise, unable to get
together and form inorder of defense, the Roman soldiers were surrounded and cut down,each man fighting stubbornly to the last. One of the first to fallwas their leader who, springing to his feet at the alarm, hadrushed just as he was, without helmet or armor, among his soldiers,and was stabbed in a dozen places before he had time to draw hissword.
The moment the conflict was over, and the last Roman had fallen,John ordered his men to disperse, at once.
"Regain your homes before morning," he said. "There may be otherparties of Romans out, and it is as well that none, even of yourfriends, should see you return; and then the Romans will have noclue as to those who have taken part in this night's business. Takenot any of their arms, or spoils. We have fought for vengeance, andto relieve our friends, not for plunder. It is well that the Romansshould see that, when they hear of the disaster and march out tobury the dead."
The men were already crowding round the captives, relieving themfrom their bonds and, in many cases, embracing and weeping on theirnecks, for among them were many friends and relations of therescuing party.
John soon found Mary.
"Is this a miracle you have performed, John?" the girl said. "Canit be true that our captors have been slain, and that we are free?"
"Yes, dear, we can continue our journey."
"But how has it happened, John; how has it all come about?"
"Jonas and I escaped, as I suppose you know, Mary."
"There was a great confusion and stir upon the road," Mary said,"but I did not know what had happened, until we got here. Then someof the men said that two of the captives had escaped; and that oneof them jumped on to the horse of the officer and overthrew him,and had ridden off. They said they were both young and, as I missedyou both from among the party, I thought it must have been you.
"But how did all these men come together?"
"I rode round the country, calling upon the young men in thevillages to take up arms, to rescue their friends who had beencarried away captive into slavery, and to revenge the destructionwhich this band of ruffians had caused. There were plenty of bravemen ready to undertake the task and, as you see, we have carried itout.
"And now, Mary, we had best be going. You see, the others aredispersing fast; and it is as well to be as far from here, bymorning, as possible. A troop of Roman horse may come along,journeying between Scythopolis and Capitolias; and if they cameupon this camp, they might scour all the country."
"I am ready, John. What a fate you have saved me from! I haveseemed in a dream, ever since the Romans met us this afternoon. Ihave tried to think of what my life was going to be, but could not.When we got here I tried to weep, but no tears would come. I havebeen sitting there, as still and cold as if frozen, till I heardthe notes of a horn.
"Oh, John, do you know John of Gamala was there?"
"How do you know, Mary?" John asked, in surprise.
"One of the young men who was a captive was lying near, and heleaped to his feet when the horn sounded, and shouted, 'There isJohn of Gamala's horn; we are saved.' Did you know he was withyou?"
"Yes, I knew he was," John said.
"You won't say anything against him, again," Mary said. "Why didyou not bring him here to us, that we might thank him?"
"Certainly I will not say anything against him, in future, Mary.
"And now, let us be going. I am very anxious about my poor mother.We will follow the road to the spot where we left her. By the timewe get there, morning will be breaking. We will inquire for her, atevery village we pass through; for I am sure she cannot have gonefar. The Romans did not take the asses but, even with them, shecould not have traveled far, and probably took shelter at the firstplace which she came to."
This proved to be the case. At the first village they arrived atafter passing the spot at which they had been taken captives, theyheard that, late the evening before, a woman had arrived in soredistress. She was leading two asses, which she seemed too feeble tomount. She stated that her son and daughter had been carried awayby the Romans; and she had been received, for the night, in theprincipal house in the village.
Martha's delight, when John and Mary entered the house where shehad been sheltered, was beyond words. She fell on their neck andkissed them, with broken sentences of thankfulness to God at theirdeliverance; and it was some time before she was sufficiently calmto hear how their escape had been effected, by the night attackupon the Romans by the country people. She was scarcely surprisedwhen she heard that John had effected his escape, and summoned thepeople to rise to rescue them.
"You told me to trust to you to save Mary, John; and I have kept onsaying your words, over and over again, to myself. It seemed to meas if I did not quite understand them, and yet there was comfort inthem. I could not even think what you could do to help Mary; andyet it appeared as if you, yourself, must have some hope."
As soon as Martha was sufficiently recovered from her emotions toresume their journey, the party again started. They made a detourto avoid Hippos for, as John said, there might be inquiries as toeveryone who was noticed coming from the direction of the scene ofthe struggle. They made many halts by the way, for Martha wasscarcely able to retain her seat on the donkey, and even Mary wasgreatly shaken by the event of her captivity and rescue. During theheat of the day they remained under the shade of some trees, andthe sun was setting when they approached the farm.
Simon and the men hurried out, when the sound of the asses' feetwas heard. Martha burst into tears, as he assisted her to alight.
"What ails you, wife? I trust that no evil has befallen you by theway. Where are the maids?
"Why, Mary, my child, you look pale, too!"
"No wonder, uncle, that aunt is shaken, and that I look pale. ForJohn, and I, and Jonas were taken captives by the Romans, whocarried us off to sell as slaves, leaving poor mother behind."
"And how then have you escaped, child?"
"John and Jonas got away from them, and raised all the country; forthe Romans had done much harm, killing, and carrying away captives,and burning. So when he called them the men took up arms, and fellupon the Romans at night and slew them all, and rescued me, andsome fifty other captives who had fallen into their hands."
Simon asked no further questions, for the time, but helped Marthainto the house, and then handed her over to the care of Mary and,half an hour later, she had recovered sufficiently to return to theroom; and sit there, holding Simon's hand in quiet happiness, andwatching Mary as she resumed her accustomed tasks, and assisted oldIsaac in preparing supper.
"Everything looks just as it was, mother. I could hardly havebelieved things would have got on so well, without me to look afterthem. And there are quantities of grapes on the vines, still. Theyare too ripe for wine, but they will last us, for eating, formonths, and that is ever so much better than making them intowine--"
She stopped, for Simon had taken his place at the head of thetable; and offered up thanks, in the name of the whole household,for the mercies that had been vouchsafed to them; and especiallythat they were all, once again, assembled together in their house,without there being one vacant place.
Then the meal began. While it was eaten, many questions were asked,on both sides; Simon inquiring about his brother-in-law, and hisfamily, and the life they had led at the farm; Martha asking aftertheir neighbors--who had suffered, and who had escaped without lossor harm. When Isaac and the men retired, Jonas rose also to go, butSimon stopped him.
"Remain with us, Jonas. Your life has been strangely cast in thatof John's, and I would that, henceforth, you take your place as oneof the family. You saved his life at Jotapata, and you willhenceforth be as an adopted son to me.
"Martha, I know that you will spare some of your affection for thelad, who is as a younger brother to John; and who would, Ibelieve--nay I feel sure--if need be, give his life for hisfriend."
"I would do so, indeed," Jonas said, simply. "He found me anoutcast, whom none cared for. He has treated me like a brother, andI would gladly die for him."
Martha said a few kind words to Jonas, whose quiet and somewhatsubdued manner, and whose evident affection for John, had greatlypleased her; and Mary gave him a little nod, which signified thatshe gladly accepted him as one of the family.
"And now, Martha," Simon said, "you have not yet told me how proudyou must feel, in the doings of our son. Our friends here are neverweary of congratulating me; and truly I feel thankful that a son ofmine should have done such deeds, and that the Lord should havechosen him, to use him as an instrument of his will."
"My dear father," John interrupted, "I have told you that there isnothing at all out of the way in what we have done. Jonas and theothers did just as much as I did, and methinks that some of themmake much more than is needful of our skirmishes, and praise mebecause in so doing they praise themselves, who did as much as Idid."
"But I do not understand you, Simon," Martha said. "I know thatJohn fought bravely at Jotapata, and that it was marvelous that heand Jonas escaped, when so many fell. Is it this that you arespeaking of?"
"What! Has John said nothing about what he has been doing, since?"Simon asked, in surprise.
"No, father, I said nothing about it," John said, before his mothercould speak. "I thought, in the first place, that you would like totell them; and in the next, the people there had heard suchmagnified reports that I could not, for very shame, lay claim to bethe hero they had pictured to themselves."
"But what has he done?" Martha asked, more and more surprised;while Mary, at his last words, sprang to her feet, and stoodlooking at him with an intent and eager face.
"He should have told you, Martha," Simon said. "It is no lightthing that this son of ours has done. Young as he is, the eyes ofthe people are upon them. For with a small band, which he gatheredhere, he harassed the enemy several days and, boldly entering theircamp, destroyed it by fire."
"Oh, John!" Mary said, in a low voice; while Martha exclaimed:
"What! Is the John, of whom we have heard so much--the young man,of whom the people speak as their future leader--our boy? Youcannot mean it, Simon!"
"There is no mistake about it, Martha. The lad came to me; and saidhe thought that, with a small band, he could cause much trouble tothe Romans. So I told him he could go, not knowing whether he spokefrom the restlessness of youth, or because it was the will of theLord that he should go and fight for the country. Indeed, it seemedto many that his marvelous escape from Jotapata showed that God hadneed of him. So I did not withstand him. There were many from thevillages round who were ready to join themselves to him, and followhim, for the fame of his escape had made him much talked of.
"So he went, with twenty-four followers and, of course, Jonas here;and truly he did, as all men say, great things. And though he savednot Gamala--as indeed could not have been done, save by a miracleof God, with so small a band--he did much and, by the burning oftheir camp, not only struck a heavy blow upon the Romans, but heinspired the people with hope.
"Before, it seemed that to resist the Romans was to bring certaindestruction upon those who adventured it; now men see that withprudence, united with bravery, much may be done and, in the spring,John will be followed by a great gathering of fighting men, fromall the country round."
Martha sat, in speechless surprise, looking at her son.
"My dear mother," John said, "what I told you before, when you werepraising the unknown John, is equally true now that it is John yourson. We acted with common sense which, so far, no one seems to haveexercised in our struggle with the Romans. We just kept out oftheir reach, and took good care never to come to actual blows withthem. We constantly threatened them; and compelled them, who knewnothing of our numbers or strength, to cease working.
"As to the burning their camp, of course there was a certain amountof danger in it, but one cannot make war without danger. We creptthrough their sentries into the camp, in the night, and set it onfire; and then made our escape, as best we could. As only one ofour number was killed; and he from falling over a precipice, andnot by the sword of the Romans, you see the peril could not havebeen very great.
"It was just as I said, that because we did not throw away ourlives, but were prudent and cautious, we succeeded. People havemade a great fuss about it, because it is the only success, howeversmall, that we have gained over the Romans but, as my father says,it has certainly had a good effect. It has excited a feeling ofhopefulness and, in the spring, many will take the field with thebelief that, after all, the Romans are not invincible; and thatthose who fight against them are not merely throwing away theirlives."
It was some time before Martha could realize that the hero, ofwhich she had heard so much, was the quiet lad standing beforeher--her own son John.
"Simon," she said, at last, "morning and night I have prayed God toprotect him of whom we heard so much, little thinking that it wasmy own son I was praying for. Tonight, I will thank him that he hasso blessed me. Assuredly, God's hand is with him. The dangers hehas run and the success that he has gained may, as he says, bemagnified by report; nevertheless he has assuredly withstood theRomans, even as David went out against Goliath. Tomorrow I willhear more of this; but I feel shaken with the journey, and withthis strange news.
"Come, Mary, let us to bed!"
But Mary had already stolen away, without having said a singleword, after her first exclamation.
John was at work soon after daybreak, next morning, for there wasmuch to be done. The men were plowing up the stubble, ready for thesowing, Jonas had gone off, with Isaac, to drive in some cattlefrom the hills; and John set to work to dig up a patch of gardenground, near the house. He had not been long at work, when he sawMary approaching. She came along quietly and slowly, with a stepaltogether unlike her own.
"Why, Mary, is that you?" he said, as she approached. "Why, Miriamherself could not walk slower.
"Are you ill this morning, child?" he asked, with a change ofvoice, as he saw how pale she was looking.
Mary did not speak until she came quite close; then she stopped,and looked at him with eyes full of tears.
"Oh, John," she began, "what can I say?"
"Why, my dear Mary, what on earth is the matter with you?" he said,throwing down his spade, and taking her hands in his.
"I am so unhappy, John."
"Unhappy!" John repeated. "What is making you unhappy, child?"
"It is so dreadful," she said, "to think that I, who ought to haveknown you so well--I, your betrothed wife--have been thinking thatyou were so mean as to be jealous; for I did think it was that,John, when you made light of the doings of the hero I had beenthinking about so much, and would not allow that he had doneanything particular. I thought that you were jealous, John; and nowI know what you have done, and why you spoke so, I feel I amaltogether unworthy of you."
"Well, Mary, I never thought you were a little goose, before. Whatnonsense you are talking! It was only natural you should havethought I was jealous; and I should have been jealous, if it hadbeen anyone else you were praising so much. It was my fault, fornot telling you at once. Concealments are always stupid; but I hadthought that it would give you a pleasant surprise, when you gothome, to hear about it; but instead of causing you pleasure, I havecaused you pain. I was not vexed, in the slightest; I was ratheramused, when you answered me so curtly."
"I think it was cruel of you, John, to let me go on thinking badlyof you, and showing yourself in so unworthy a light. That does notmake it any the less wrong of me. I ought to have believed in you."
"You are making a mountain out of a molehill, Mary, and I won'thear any such nonsense. You heard an absurd story, as to whatsomeone had been doing, and you naturally made a hero of him. Youwere hurt by my speaking slightingly of this hero of yours, andnaturally thought I was jealous at hearing such praises of anotherfrom my betrothed wife. It was all perfectly natural. I was not inthe least offended with you, or put out in any way; except that Iwas vexed with myself for not telling you, at once, that all thesefables related to your cousin John
.
"Now, dry your eyes, and don't think any more about it. Go and picktwo of the finest bunches of grapes you can find, and we will eatthem together."
But it was some time before Mary recovered her brightness. Thechanges which the last few months had made almost depressed her. Itwas but a year ago that John and she had been boy and girl,together; now he had become a man, had done great deeds, was lookedupon by many as one chosen for the deliverance of the nation. Maryfelt that she, too, had aged; but the change in her was as nothingto that in her old playfellow. It was but a year ago she had beengravely advising him; treating him, sometimes, as if she had beenthe elder.
She would have treated him now, if he would have let her, withsomething of the deference and respect which a Jewish maiden wouldusually pay to a betrothed husband--one who was shortly to becomeher lord. But the first time he detected this manner, John simplylaughed at her, and said:
"My dear Mary, do not let us have any nonsense of this sort. Wehave been always equals, you and I; friends and companions. Youknow, just as well as I do, that in all matters which we have hadin common, you have always had quite as much sense as I and, on agreat many matters, more sense.
"Nothing has occurred since then to alter that. I have grown into ayoung man, you into a young woman; but we have advanced equally. Onmatters concerning warfare, I have gained a good deal of knowledge;in other matters, doubtless, you have gained knowledge. And if,dear, it is God's will that I pass through the troubles and dangersthat lie before us, and we become man and wife, I trust that weshall always be the friends and comrades that we have been, as boyand girl together.
"It is all very well, when young men and maidens have seen nothingof each other until their parents bring them together as man andwife, for the bride to affect a deep respect--which I have not theleast doubt she is generally far from feeling, in her heart--forthe man to whom she is given. Happily, this has not been the waywith us. We have learned to know each other well; and to know that,beyond the difference in strength which a man has over a woman,there is no difference between us--that one will rule the house,and the other will rule the farm, but that in all things, I trust,we shall be companions and equals. I do hope, Mary, that there willbe no change in our ways, the few months we have to be together,now.
"In the spring, I go up to help to defend Jerusalem; and it is nouse hiding the fact from ourselves that there is but little chanceof my returning. We know what has befallen those who have,hitherto, defended cities against the Romans; and what has happenedat Jotapata, and Gamala, will probably happen at Jerusalem. But forthis reason, let us have no change; let us be as brother and sisterto one another, as we have been, all along. If God brings me backsafe to you, and you become my wife, there will be plenty of timeto settle exactly how much deference you shall pay me; but I shallexpect that, when the novelty of affecting the wifely obedience,which is enjoined upon the females of our race, is past, you willbe quite ready to take up that equality which is, after all, therule in practice."
"I shall remember your words," Mary said, saucily, "when the timecomes. It may be you will regret your expressions about equality,some day."
So, during the winter, Mary tried to be bright and cheerful; andMartha, whose heart was filled with anxiety as to the dangers andtrials which lay before them--Jerusalem and the Temple threatened,and John away, engaged in desperate enterprises--often wondered toherself, when she heard the girl's merry laugh as she talked withJohn, and saw how completely she seemed to put aside every sort ofanxiety; but she did not know how Mary often spent the entire nightin weeping and prayer, and how hard was her struggle to keep up thebrave appearance which was, she knew, a pleasure to John.
He was not much at home, being often absent for days together.Strangers came and went, frequently. John had long conversationswith them; and sometimes went away with them, and did not returnfor three or four days. No questions were asked, by his parents, asto these visitors or his absence. They knew that they had referenceto what they considered his mission; and as, when he returned home,he evidently wished to lay aside all thought of other things, andto devote himself to his life with them, they asked no questions asto what he was doing.
He spoke, sometimes, of these things to Mary, when they weretogether alone. She knew that numbers of young men were onlywaiting his signal to join him; that parties of them met him amongthe hills, and were there organized into companies, each withofficers of their own choice over them; and that, unknown to theRomans at Scythopolis, there were daily held, throughout thecountry on both sides of the Jordan, meetings where men practicedwith their arms, improved their skill with the bow and arrow, andlearned to obey the various signals of the bugle, which John hadnow elaborated.
John was resolute in refusing to accept any men with wives andfamilies. There were other leaders, he said, under whom these couldfight; he was determined to have none but men who were ready tosacrifice their lives, and without the care of others dependentupon them. He was ready to accept youths of fifteen, as well as menof five-and-twenty; believing that, in point of courage, the onewere equal to the other. But each candidate had to be introduced byothers, who vouched for his activity, hardihood, and courage.
One of his objects was to avoid increasing his band to too greatdimensions. The number of those ready to go up to defend Jerusalem,and eager to enroll themselves as followers of this newleader--whose mission was now generally believed in, in that partof the country--was very large; but John knew that a multitudewould be unwieldy; that he would find it impossible to carry out,with thousands of men, tactics dependent for success upon celerityof movement; and, moreover, that did he arrive in Jerusalem with sogreat a following, he would at once become an object of jealousy tothe leaders of the factions there.
He therefore limited the number to four hundred men; urging uponall others who presented themselves, or sent messages to him, toform themselves into similar bands; to choose leaders, and to actas independent bodies, hanging upon the rear of the Romans,harassing them with frequent night alarms, cutting off theirconvoys, attacking their working parties; and always avoidingencounters with strong bodies of the Romans, by retreating into thehills. He said that, although he would not receive more men intohis own force than he thought could be easily handled, he should beglad to act in concert with the other leaders so that, at times,the bands might all unite in a common enterprise; and especiallythat, if they entered Jerusalem, they might hold together, and thusbe enabled to keep aloof from the parties of John of Gischala, orEleazar, who were contending for the mastery of the city.
His advice was taken, and several bands similar to his own wereformed; but their leaders felt that they needed the prestige andauthority which John had gained, and that their followers would notobey their orders with the faith which was inspired, in the membersof John's own band, by their belief in his special mission. Theirrepresentations on this subject were so urgent that John, at theirrequest, attended a meeting at which ten of these chiefs werepresent.
It was held in a farmhouse, not far from the spot where Gamala hadstood. John was embarrassed at the respect which these men, all ofthem several years older than himself, paid him; but he acceptedthe position quietly, for he felt that the belief that existed, asto his having a special mission, added greatly to his power ofutility. He listened to their representations as to their want ofauthority, and to the rivalries and jealousies which alreadyexisted among those who had enrolled themselves. When they hadfinished, he said:
"I have been thinking the matter well over. I am convinced that itis absolutely necessary that none of the commands shall exceed thenumbers I have fixed upon--namely, four hundred men, divided intoeight companies, each with a captain--but at the same time, I donot see any reasons why all our corps should not be nominally underone leader. If, then, you think it will strengthen your position, Iam ready to accept the general leadership, and to appoint you eachas commanders of your troops. Then you will hold my commissions;and I will support you, in your commands, wit
h any authority I mayhave.
"At the same time you will understand that you will, in reality,act altogether independently of me; save and except when, it seemsto me, that we can unite in any enterprise. If we enter Jerusalem,we will then hold together for mutual protection from the factions;but even there you will each command independently for, did Iassume a general command, it would excite the jealousy of theleaders of the factions, and we should be forced to take part inthe civil strife which is devastating the city."
A cordial consent to this proposition was given by the otherleaders, who said that the knowledge that they were John's officerswould add immensely to their authority; and would also raise thecourage and devotion of their men, who would not believe that theywere being led to victory, unless they were acting under the ordersof John, himself.
"Remember," John said, "that if misfortune befalls us, I have neverlaid claim to any divine commission. We are all agents of God, andit may be that he has specially chosen me as one of hisinstruments; but this I cannot say, beyond the fact that, so far, Ihave been carried safely through great dangers, and have beenenabled to win successes over the Romans. But I do not set up as aspecially-appointed leader.
"I say this for two reasons: in the first place, that you shouldnot think that I am claiming authority and command on grounds whichmay not be justified; and in the second place that, if I shouldfall early in the fighting, others should not be disheartened, andbelieve that the Lord has deserted them.
"I am but a lad among you, and I recognize that it is God who hasso strangely brought me into eminence but, having done that much,he may now choose some other instrument. If this should be so--if,as may well be, one of you should obtain far greater success thanmay attend me--I shall be only too glad to lay aside this authorityover the rest, with which you are willing to invest me, and tofollow him as cheerfully as you now propose to follow me."
The meeting soon afterwards broke up, and the news that John ofGamala--as he was generally called, from the success he had gainedover the Romans before that town--had assumed the supreme commandof the various bands which were being raised, in eastern Galileeand on the east of Jordan, spread rapidly; and greatly increasedthe popular feeling of hope, and confidence. Fresh bands wereformed, the leaders all receiving their appointments from him.Before the spring arrived, there were twenty bands formed andorganized, in readiness to march down towards Jerusalem, as soon asthe Roman legions got into motion.