"Then go," said Gallus, "and be back by nightfall, remembering that if
you fail, in place of liberty you travel to Rome, whence you will return
no more."
"My lord, I go," answered the woman, beating her forehead with her hand
and bowing herself from their presence.
By nightfall she was back again with the tidings that no Christians
seemed to be left in Tyre; all had fled to Pella, or elsewhere. Of the
Essenes, however, she had found one, a minor brother of the name of
Samuel, who, on hearing that Miriam was the captive, and receiving the
watchword, said that he would visit the camp after dark, although he
greatly feared that this might be some snare set to catch him.
After dark he came accordingly, and was led by the old woman, who waited
outside to meet him, to the tent where Miriam sat with Gallus. This
Samuel proved to be a brother of the lowest order of the Essenes, whom,
although he knew of her, Miriam had never seen. He had been absent from
the village by the Jordan at the time of the flight of the sect, having
come to Tyre by leave of the Court to bid farewell to his mother, who
was on her deathbed. Hearing that the brethren had fled, and his mother
being still alive, he had remained in Tyre instead of seeking to rejoin
them at Jerusalem, thus escaping the terrors of the siege.
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