single file, they began to climb the hill.
John placed himself in the middle of the line, in order to have a
central position when the attack began. As soon as they reached the
top of the slope, they lay down and, one by one, crawled forward
into the darkness; two or three minutes being allowed to elapse
between the departure of each man. They could hear the call of the
Roman sentries as they answered each other, every half hour; and
knew that the line was but a hundred yards or so in front of them.
The night was very dark, and no sudden shout proclaimed that those
ahead had been noticed.

When John's turn came to advance, Jonas was to follow next behind
him. All had left their bows, arrows, bucklers, and swords behind
them, and carried only their knives; for they had not come to
fight, and the knives were required only for cutting the tent ropes
or, in case of discovery, to enable them to take a life or two
before they fell, fighting. Each had sworn to kill himself, if he
found escape impossible, in order to escape a death by torture if
he fell alive into the hands of the Romans.

John, on approaching the line of sentries, was guided by sound,
only, in trying to avoid them. He could not see their figures; but
could hear the sound of their footsteps, and the clash of their
arms, as they tramped a few yards backwards and forwards. He was,
like his comrades, stripped to the waist--having only on a short
garment, reaching halfway down the knee--as it was upon speed, and
activity, that his life would depend.

Without interruption, he crawled through the lines of sentries and
continued his course until he was, as near as he could tell,
opposite the center of the long line of tents; then he lay quiet,
watching the setting of the star. No sound was heard from the camp
in front; although from down the hillside beyond it came a confused
noise, as of a host of men at work; and the glare of many fires
reddened the skies for, there, five thousand men were at work
raising the embankment against the doomed city; while the archers
and slingers maintained a never-ceasing conflict, of missiles, with
the defenders on the walls.

The star seemed, to John, as if it hung on its course; so long was
it in sinking to the horizon. But at last it sank; and John,
crawling noiselessly forward, made his way into the Roman camp. It
was arranged with wide and regular streets, laid out with
mechanical accuracy. Here and there, in front of a tent