Here officers were waiting who took charge of her, giving to
Gallus a written receipt for her person. Then, either because he would
not trust himself to bid her farewell, or because he did not think it
wise to do so in the presence of the officers, Gallus turned and left
her without a word.
"Come on, girl," said a man, but a secretary, looking up from his
tablets, called to him:
"Gently there with that lot, or you will hear about it. She is
Pearl-Maiden, the captive who made the quarrel between the Caesars and
Domitian, of which all Rome is talking. Gently, I tell you, gently, for
many free princesses are worth less to-day."
Hearing this, the man bowed to Miriam, almost with reverence, and
begged her to follow him to a place that had been set apart for her. She
obeyed, passing through a great number of people, of whom all she could
see in the gloom of the breaking dawn was that, like herself, they were
captives, to a little chamber where she was left alone watching the
light grow through the lattice, and listening to the hum of voices
that rose without, mingled now and again with sobs and wails of grief.
Presently the door opened and a servant entered with bread on a platter
and milk in an earthenware vessel.
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