by the Roman arms, very stringent. In the
present case, there was no doubt that Roman soldiers had been
killed; but these had brought their fate upon themselves, by their
ill treatment and insult of the villagers, and no notice would have
been taken of the slaying of men while acting in disobedience of
orders, had it not been that they belonged to the company of
Servilius Maro.

He was a young noble, possessed of great influence in Rome, and of
a ferocious and cruel disposition; and he had urged the general so
strongly to allow him to go out, to inflict punishment upon the
country people, that consent had reluctantly been given. But even
at this time, although the Jews were not aware of it, a messenger
was on his way to Servilius with peremptory orders to him to return
at once to Scythopolis, as most serious reports as to his cruelty
to peaceful inhabitants had come to the general's ears.

But that message Servilius was never to receive. By midnight,
upwards of four hundred men had gathered at the rendezvous in the
mountains. John divided the force into four bodies, and gave each
their orders as to the part that they were to take; and then
marched down the hill, crossed the river, and advanced towards the
Roman bivouac.

When within a quarter of a mile of the fires, the band broke up
into sections and proceeded to surround the enemy. When each
company reached the position John had marked out for it, the men
began to crawl slowly forward towards the Romans. John sounded a
note on his horn and, with a shout, the whole band rushed to their
feet and charged down upon the enemy. Before the latter could
spring to their feet, and mount their horses, the Jews were among
them.

John, with a picked band of twenty men, at once made his way to the
center of the camp; where the captives, ignorant of the cause of
this sudden alarm, stood huddled together. Placing his men around
them, to prevent any Roman soldier injuring them, John joined in
the fray.

It was short. Taken by surprise, unable to get together and form in
order of defense, the Roman soldiers were surrounded and cut down,
each man fighting stubbornly to the last. One of the first to fall
was their leader who, springing to his feet at the alarm, had
rushed just as he was, without helmet or armor, among his soldiers,
and was stabbed in a dozen places before he had time to draw his
sword.

The moment the conflict was over, and the last Roman had fallen,
John orde