"So near the gate and no building thereon? It were a place for one of these outer palaces."
He had paused to fasten the buckle of his bridle and he looked again upon the hill, and now shriek after shriek of utter agony came to his ears from beyond the crest of the ascent. Voice answered unto voice, and he shuddered as he heard, but a man in armor came slowly down the slope.
"In the name of the procurator!" shouted Lysias. "Is this the Joppa road?"
"Art thou of his messengers?" said the soldier. "If thou art, thine ears will tell thee that a score of his enemies are on the wood. This place of skulls will soon smell but badly under this hot sun. Ride on, for this is thy right road."
"This, then, is the hill of crucifixion?" asked Lysias.
"Any place will do," said the soldier, "but the procurator humoreth the Jews and will set up no crosses in the city. The day may come when we will nail them in their temple and set up there an image of Jupiter. They troubled Pontius mightily when we did but carry our eagles to the temple gate, as if one god were not as good as another. What care I for gods!"
Loudly rang again the piercing shrieks while he was speaking, and his hard face widened into a grim smile, as if the sounds pleased him. But Lysias shuddered and his blood ran cold, and he wheeled away to gallop out of hearing of those terrible outcries.
"No Roman may be crucified," he exclaimed. "These are not Romans. To them all other men are less than brutes. I will watch that captain of the temple; but whither should I flee from the pursuit of a procurator's executioner?"
Under such fear as this dwelt all who were governed by the servants of Cæsar, and yet it was said that the common people were more sure of justice than from any other rulers if they remained quiet and paid all taxes without murmuring.
"I will risk all!" shouted Lysias, "if I may but once more look into the blue eyes of my Sapphira, for I know she loveth me!"