Part 34 (1/2)
After some hours, he roused himself and descended to the room now occupied by the remnant of the band. Jonas and ten others, alone, were gathered there. Some had thrown themselves down on the ground.
Some sat in att.i.tudes of utter dejection. Several were bleeding from wounds received in the desperate fight of the morning. Others were badly burned in the desperate efforts they had made to extinguish the flames. Exhausted by want of food, worn out by their exertions, filled with despair at the failure of their last hopes, the members of the little band scarce looked up when their leader entered.
”My friends,” he said, ”listen to me, if but for the last time. We, at least, have nothing to reproach ourselves with. We have fought for the Temple, to the last; and if we failed to save it, it is because it was the will of G.o.d that it should perish. At any rate, our duty is done. G.o.d has not given us our lives, and preserved them through so many fights, that we should throw them away. It is our duty, now, to save our lives, if we can. Now that the Temple has fallen, we are called upon to do no more fighting.
”Let the bands of John of Gischala, and Simon, fight to the last.
They are as wild beasts, inclosed in the snare of the hunter; and they merit a thousand deaths, for it is they who have brought Jerusalem to this pa.s.s, they who have robbed and murdered the population, they who have destroyed the granaries which would have enabled the city to exist for years, they who refused the terms by which the Temple might have been saved, they who have caused its destruction in spite of the efforts of t.i.tus to preserve it. They are the authors of all this ruin and woe. They have lived as wild beasts, so let them die!
”But there is no reason why we should die with them, for their guilt is not upon our heads. We have done our duty in fighting for the Temple, and have robbed and injured none. Therefore, I say, let us save our lives.”
”Would you surrender to the Romans?” one of the band asked, indignantly. ”Do you, whom we have followed, counsel us to become traitors?”
”It is not treachery to surrender, when one can no longer resist,”
John said, quietly. ”But I am not thinking of surrendering. I am thinking of pa.s.sing out of the city, into the country around.
”But first, let us eat. I see you look surprised but, although the store we brought hither is long since exhausted, there is still a last reserve. I bought it, with all the money that I had with me, from one of Simon's men, upon the day when we came hither from the lower town. He had gained it, doubtless, in wanton robbery for, at that time, the fighting men had plenty of food; but as it was his, I bought it, thinking that the time might come when one meal might mean life to many of us. I have never touched it, but it remains where I hid it, in my chamber. I will fetch it, now.”
John ascended to his chamber, and brought down a bag containing about fifteen pounds of flour.
”Let us make bread of this,” he said. ”It will give us each a good meal, now; and there will be enough left to provide food for each, during the first day's journey.”
The exhausted men seemed inspired with new life, at the sight of the food. No thought of asking how they were to pa.s.s through the Roman lines occurred to them. The idea of satisfying their hunger overpowered all other feelings.
The door was closed to keep out intruders. Dough was made, and a fire kindled with pieces of wood dry as tinder, so that no smoke should attract the eye of those who were constantly on the lookout for such a sign that some family were engaged in cooking. The flat dough cakes were placed over the glowing embers, the whole having been divided into twenty-four portions. Some of the men would hardly wait until their portions were baked; but John urged upon them that, were they to eat it in a half-cooked state, the consequences might be very serious, after their prolonged fast.
Still, none of them could resist breaking off little pieces, to stay their craving.
”Let us eat slowly,” John said, when the food was ready. ”The more slowly we eat, the further it will go. When it is eaten, we will take a sleep for four hours, to regain our strength. There is no fear of our being called upon to aid in the defence. The Romans must be as exhausted as we are; and they will need thought, and preparation, before they attack our last stronghold, which is far stronger than any they have yet taken. If we had food, we could hold Mount Zion against them for months.”
As soon as the meal was over, all lay down to sleep. None had asked any question as to how their escape was to be effected. The unexpected meal, which John's forethought had prepared for them, had revived all their confidence in him; and they were ready to follow him, wherever he might take them.
It was night when John called them to awake, but the glare of the vast pile of the burning Temple lit up every object. The brightness almost equalled that of day.
”It is time,” John said, as the men rose to their feet and grasped their arms. ”I trust that we shall have no occasion to use weapons; but we will carry them so that, if we should fall into the hands of the Romans, we may fall fighting, and not die by the torments that they inflict upon those who fall into their hands. If I could obtain a hearing, so as to be brought before t.i.tus, he might give us our lives; but I will not trust to that. In the first place, they would cut us down like hunted animals, did they come upon us; and in the second, I would not, now, owe my life to the clemency of the Romans.”
A fierce a.s.sent was given by his followers.
”Now,” John went on, ”let each take his piece of bread, and put it in his bosom. Leave your bucklers and javelins behind you, but take your swords.
”Jonas, bring a brand from the fire.
”Now, let us be off.”
None of those with him, except Jonas, had the least idea where he was going; but he had instructed the lad in the secret of the pit and, one day, had taken him down the pa.s.sages to the aqueduct.
”You and I found safety before, Jonas, together, and I trust may do so again; but should anything happen to me, you will now have the means of escape.”
”If you die, I will die with you, master,” Jonas said.
And indeed, in the fights he had always kept close to John, following every movement, and ready to dash forward when his leader was attacked by more than one enemy; springing upon them like a wildcat, and burying his knife in their throats. It was to his watchful protection and ready aid that John owed it that he had pa.s.sed through so many combats, comparatively unharmed.