Then while she ate she heard all their story. It
seemed that more than a year ago the Romans, marching on Jericho, had
fallen upon their village and put a number of them to death, seizing
others as slaves. Thereon the remnant fled to Jerusalem, where many more
perished, for, being peaceable folk, all the factions robbed and slew
them. Seeing, at last, that to live at large in the city would be to
doom themselves to extinction, and yet not daring to leave it, they
sought a refuge in this underground place, of which, as it chanced, one
of their brethren had the secret. This he had inherited from his father,
so that it was known to no other living man.
Here by degrees they laid up a great store of provisions of all sorts,
of charcoal for burning, and other necessaries, carrying into the place
also clothes, bedding, cooking utensils and even some rough furniture.
These preparations being made, the fifty of them who remained removed
themselves to the vaults where now they had already dwelt three months,
and here, so far as was possible, continued to practise the rules of
their order. Miriam asked how they kept their health in this darkness,
to which they replied that sometimes they went out by that path
which she had just followed, and mingled with the people in the city,
returning to their hole at night.
Pages:
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250