y in the path
she made.

Once out, she turned in a bewildered manner this way and that. What
refuge, now, for her, indeed, but the cavern under the ruin and the
care of Hesper, until the end which should swallow them all!

A trembling hand was laid on her arm.

She whirled, expecting to find Philadelphus. Beside her, his old face
radiant with emotion, stood Momus!

Chapter XXI

THE FAITHFUL SERVANT

Within the Roman lines was a bent and deformed figure of an old waif
that the soldiers had picked up attempting to run the lines into
Jerusalem the second day after the siege had been laid about the Holy
City.

The old man, though wrinkled and twisted and bowed, had fought with
such terrible savagery and had incontinently laid in the dust in
succession three of the camp's best fighting-men, that the Roman
soldiers, for ever partizan to the strong man, had finally with great
difficulty succeeded in trussing the old belligerent and had brought
him before Titus.

There they laid the twisted old burden before the young general and
shamelessly told how he, thrice the age of the vanquished men, had
finished them with despatch.

It was evident that the old man was a Jew; it became also apparent
that he was dumb and partly deaf, and further to their amazement and
admiration, they discovered that his right leg and arm were too stiff
for ordinary use and that he had done his wonderful execution with
terrific left limbs.

This saved his life and gave him a partial liberty. Titus, however,
admitted to Carus that the old man's distress at being kept out of
Jerusalem was pitiable enough to urge the young general to deport him
and get him out of sight.

For it was manifest that the old minotaur was in deep trouble. But his
paralyzed tongue would not serve him, and his menial ignorance had not
provided him with the means of telling his desire by writing. Titus
was unable to understand from his signs anything further than that he
wished to get into the city. The young general in one of his outbursts
of generosity would have permitted this, but that Nicanor happened in
at an evil moment and drew such pictures of calamitous effect in
passing the old servant into Jerusalem that Titus was forced
reluctantly and irritably to be convinced of the folly of his
kindness. So here, through the terrible days of the siege, old Momus
at times desperate and savage, at others piteously suppliant, wore on
the sentries' peace of mind