"
Accordingly Miriam was led from the marble stand into an office annexed
to the receiving-house, whither she was followed by the auctioneer and
by Nehushta and her servant, whose backs, it was now observed, bent
beneath the weight of the baskets that were strapped upon them. Here the
door was locked, and with the help of her attendant Nehushta loosened
her basket, letting it fall upon the table with a sigh of relief.
"Take it and count," he said to the auctioneer, untying the lid.
He lifted it and there met his eye a layer of lettuces neatly packed.
"By Venus!" he began in a fury.
"Softly, friend, softly," said Nehushta, "these lettuces are of a kind
which only grow in yellow soil. Look," and lifting the vegetables she
revealed beneath row upon row of gold coin. "Examine it before you
count," she said.
He did so by biting pieces at hazard with his teeth and causing them to
ring upon the marble table.
"It is good," he said.
"Quite so. Then count."
So he and the clerk counted, even to the bottom of the basket, which was
found to contain gold to the value of over eleven hundred sestertia.
"So far well," he said, "but that is not enough."
The buyer beckoned to the man with her who stood in the corner, his face
hidden by the shadow, and he dragged forward the second basket, which he
had already unstrapped from his shoulders.
Pages:
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460