the villages along the
shore, to hear from his lips the story of the siege.

As soon, then, as he went down to the fishing village, and told the
young men who had determined to leave for Gamala that he thought
badly of such action--but that he intended to raise a band, and
take to the mountains and harass the Romans--they eagerly agreed to
follow him, and to obey his orders. There were eight of them, and
John at once made them take an oath of obedience and fellowship;
swearing in all things to obey his orders, to be true to each other
to death, to be ready to give their lives, when called upon, for
the destruction of the Romans; and never, if they fell into the
hands of the enemy, to betray the secrets of the band, whatever
might be the tortures to which they were exposed.

John could have obtained more than eight men in the village, but he
would only take quite young men.

"I want only men who can undergo fatigue and watching; who can
climb mountains, and run as fast as the Roman horse can gallop.
Besides, for work like this it is necessary that there should be
one leader, and that he should be promptly obeyed. If I take older
men, they will naturally wish to have a voice in the ordering of
things. I have seen enough of military matters to know that, for
prompt decision and swift execution, one head--and one head
only--is necessary. Besides, we may find difficulties in the way of
getting food and, at first, I wish for only a small band. If
success attends us, we shall increase rapidly. Twenty will be quite
enough, to begin with."

As soon as the eight young men--of whom all but two were under
twenty years old--had taken the oath, they started at once to the
villages round.

"Do each of you gather in two, but no more," John said; "and let
them be those whom you know to be strong and active. Do not bring
more; and if four of you bring but one, so much the better. If you
find many more eager to join, you can tell them that we will send
for them, when the time comes, to increase our numbers; and pray
them to abide here, and not to go into Gamala.

"Let each bring his arms and a bag of meal; and meet me, tomorrow
evening at sundown, on the Hieromax River, three miles below
Capitolias--that will be opposite to Abila, which lies on the
mountain side. Let all travel singly, for the Roman horse may be
about. However, as we shall be walking east, while Gamala lies to
the west of south, they will not take us--should we c