ork to dig what appeared to be a wide
trench. The leader himself threw off his mantle, took a spade, and
laboured with energy, bringing the whole force of his powerful muscles
to bear on his humble toil. All worked in profound silence, nor paused
in their labour except now and then to listen, like men to whom danger
had taught some caution.

Whilst the men went on with their digging, Lycidas strained his eyes to
distinguish the outlines of a group at some paces' distance, which
doubtless, though separated from them, belonged to the same party as
those so actively employed before him. Two forms appeared to be seated
on the ground in a spot evidently chosen for its seclusion; one of them
was clothed in dark garments, the other was shrouded in a large white
linen veil. Other figures in white seemed to be stretched upon the
ground in repose. Lycidas watched this silent group for hours, and all
remained motionless as marble, save that ever and anon the dark female
figure slightly swayed backwards and forwards with a rocking motion,
and that several times the veiled head was turned with a quick
movement, as of alarm, when the breeze rustled in the olives a little
more loudly than usual, or bore sounds from the city to the woman's
sensitive ear.

Meanwhile the work of digging proceeded steadily, and the mound of
earth thrown out grew large, for the arms of those who laboured were
strong and willing, and no man paused either to rest or to speak save
once. It was almost a relief to Lycidas to hear at last the sound of a
human voice from one of those phantom-like toilers by night. He who
spoke was the fiercest-looking of the band, with something of the
wildness of Ishmael's race on features whose high strongly-marked
outlines showed the Hebrew cast of countenance in its most exaggerated
type.

"There's more thunder in the air," he observed, resting for a minute on
his spade, and addressing himself to him whom Lycidas had mentally
named "the Hebrew prince," on account of his commanding height and
noble demeanour, and the deference with which his order had been
received.

No answer was returned to the remark, and the wild-looking Jew spoke
again,--

"Have you heard that Apelles starts to-morrow for Modin, charged with a
mission from the tyrant to compel its inhabitants to do sacrifice to
one of his accursed idol-gods?"

"Is it so? then ere daybreak I set out for Modin," was the reply.

"It may be that the venerable