"He dies!" said Johannes, and drew his sword. "Forward!"
He was the first to enter the passage of the aqueduct.
"Paukares and Gubazes, take the Jew between you. At the first suspicion, down with him!"
And so, now creeping on all fours, now stooping and cautiously feeling their way, in complete obscurity, the Armenians slid and crept after Johannes, taking care not to make any noise with their weapons.
All at once Johannes cried in a low voice:
"Hold the Jew! down with him! Enemies! Arms! No, no; let him alone!" he added quickly. "It was only a snake that rustled past me. Forward!"
"Now to the right," said the Jew; "here the passage leads into the temple."
"What lies here?--bones?--a skeleton! I can bear it no longer! The mouldy smell suffocates me! Help!" sighed one of the men.
"Let him lie! Forward!" ordered Johannes. "I see a star!"
"It is the daylight in Neapolis," said Jochem; "only a few steps more."