you could not carry
her upon your shoulder; for the passages are, in many places, but
just high enough for you to pass under without stooping. At any
rate, she can walk for a time."

It was not long, however, before the child, weakened by its
illness, began to drag behind; and John swung her up on to his
back. The marks, he found, were easily made out; and in half an
hour they arrived at the entrance to the conduit. Here they were
forced to walk, slowly. In some places the water, owing to the
channel having sunk, deepened to the knee; at other times stones
had fallen from the roof, and impeded their passage; and it was
nearly two hours before they reached the arched chamber, at the
termination of the conduit. There was a stone pavement round the
edge of the pool, and upon this they sat down to rest, for an hour,
for both John and the woman were exhausted by the labor they had
undergone.

"It is time for me to be moving," the woman said, rising. "It must
be nigh midnight, and I must be some miles on my way before
morning. The child has walked but a short distance, yet; and will
do her best, now, when she knows that those wicked Romans will kill
her--and her mother--if they catch them.

"Won't you, Mariamne?"

The child nodded. The Romans were the bogey with which Jewish
children had, for the last five years, been frightened; and she
announced her intention of walking till her feet fell off.

"I will carry you, as much as I can," her mother said, "but it can
only be for a short distance at a time; for I, too, am weak, and
your weight is too much for me.

"And now, God bless you, my friend," she said, turning to John;
"and may He keep you safe through the dangers of the siege, and
lead you to your home and parents again!"

They made their way to the end of the passage together; climbed
over the rubbish, which nearly blocked the entrance; crawled
through the hole, and found themselves in the outer air. Thick low
bushes covered the ground around them, and no sound was to be
heard.

John rose to his feet, and looked round. Behind him, at the
distance of more than a quarter of a mile, the light of the Roman
watch fires showed where the legions were encamped. Beyond and
above could be seen, here and there, a light in the city. No sound
was to be heard, save the occasional call of a Roman sentinel. On
the other side, all was dark; for the working parties always
returned to camp, at night, in readiness to repel any s