"Answer! Dost thou promise to provide the Herod with three hundred thousand drachmæ which shall be paid unto Cæsar's treasury?"
"I promise to place the prince where he will provide himself with three hundred thousand drachmæ. If he pay it not unto Cæsar, the fault shall be his, not mine."
"Will the Essenes do it?"
"It shall be done," Marsyas replied, his composure unshaken by the menace implied in the questioning.
"Capito, what thinkest thou?" Vitellius demanded.
The old collector shuffled his slippered feet, and his antique treble took on an argumentative tone.
"Cæsar wants his money, not a slave; I want the emperor's commendation, not his blame. But let us bind this young Jew to this."
Vitellius motioned to an orderly. "Send hither a notary; and let us take down this Jew's promise. Now, Herod, speak up. There are no rules of an order to bind you. Where shall you get this money?"
"Of two sources," Agrippa declared, unblushing. "From the young man himself and from the Essenes."
"If you had so many moneyers, why have you not paid your debt long ago?"