"Go away," he said roughly, "you are not a buyer."
"I may be if the stuff is good enough," she replied, slipping a gold
coin into his hand.
"Pass in, old lady, pass in," and in another second the door had closed
behind her, and Nehushta found herself among the slaves.
In this building the light was already so low that torches were burning
for the convenience of visitors. By the flare of them Nehushta saw
the unfortunate captives--there were but fifteen--seated upon marble
benches, while slave women moved from the one to the other, washing
their hands and feet and faces in scented water, brushing and tying
their hair and removing the dust of the procession from their robes,
so that they might look more comely to the eyes of the purchasers. Also
there were present a fair number of bidders, twenty or thirty of them,
who strolled from girl to girl discussing the points of each and at
times asking them to stand up, or turn round, or show their arms
and ankles, that they might judge of them better. At the moment when
Nehushta entered one of these, a fat man with greasy curls who looked
like an Eastern, was endeavouring to persuade a dark and splendid Jewess
to let him see her foot. Pretending not to understand she sat still and
sullen, till at length he stooped down and lifted her robe. Then in
an instant the girl dealt him such a kick in the face that amidst the
laughter of the spectators he rolled backwards on the floor, whence he
rose with a cut and bloody forehead.
"Very good, my beauty, very good," he muttered in a savage voice,
"before twelve hours are over you shall pay for that."
But again the girl sat sullen and motionless, pretending not to
understand.
Most of the public, however, were gathered about Miriam, who sat upon a
chair by herself, her hands folded, her head bent down, a very picture
of pitiful, outraged modesty. One by one as their turns came and the
attendant suffered them to approach, the men advanced and examined her
closely, though Nehushta noted that none of them were allowed to touch
her with their hands. Placing herself at the end of the line she watched
with all her eyes and listened with all her ears. Soon she had her
reward. A tall man, dressed like a merchant of Egypt, went up to Miriam
and bent over her.
"Silence!" said the attendant. "I am ordered to suffer none to speak to
the slave who is called Pearl-Maiden. Move on, sir, move on."
The man lifted his head, and although in
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