Its waters did not reach higher than
her middle, and soon she was standing on the shore and climbing the
sandhills that lay beyond. At their summit she turned to look, and lo!
yonder where the galley was, already a great pillar of fire shot up to
heaven, for there was much oil in the hold and it burnt furiously.
"Farewell!" she cried, "farewell!"
Then, weeping bitterly, Nehushta walked on inland.
CHAPTER V
MIRIAM IS ENTHRONED
Presently Nehushta found herself out of sight of the sea and among
cultivated land, for here were vines and fig trees grown in gardens
fenced with stone walls; also patches of ripening barley and of wheat
in the ear, much trodden down as though horses had been feeding there.
Beyond these gardens she came to a ridge, and saw beneath her a village
of many houses of green brick, some of which seemed to have been
destroyed by fire. Into this village she walked boldly, and there the
first sight that met her eyes was that of sundry dead bodies, upon which
dogs were feeding.
On she went up the main street, till she saw a woman peeping at her over
a garden wall.
"What has chanced here?" asked Nehushta, in the Syrian tongue.
"The Romans! the Romans! the Romans!" wailed the woman.
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