When first she recognised Javan in the garden, she thought that he might have been employed by her father to escort her out of the city to meet him in some safe place; and she listened with mingled anxiety and fear, until she found from his conversation with Naomi that he had escaped as a fugitive from the Roman camp, and not come as an emissary from the centurion. And when she heard the story of his wanderings, and knew how long a period had elapsed since he left the camp, though relieved from the dread of being recalled from Jerusalem, she again felt anxious and surprised at her brother's long silence, and feared that his messengers must have been unfaithful, or that his letters had been intercepted by the way. While she was minutely interrogating Javan concerning her father and brother, Zadok drew the rabbi aside, and communicated to him his reasons for consenting to keep secret from the zealous young Pharisee the fact of his sister's conversion to Christianity and with some difficulty he obtained Joazer's concurrence to the plan. The fanatical rabbi burned to disclose the whole story of Naomi's crimes to her brother; for he fully anticipated that he should then have Javan's support and assistance in bringing about those harsh measures which he had vainly pressed upon her parents, as most likely to conduce to her restoration. It was therefore with a bad grace that he agreed to allow a further period for the trial of gentle treatment, and consented to meet and converse with the delinquent, in the presence of her brother, with the same freedom and cordiality that had marked his manner towards her in former days. These two learned but mistaken men then rejoined the party, and listened with considerable interest to Javan's account of the forces and discipline of the Roman army, and also to as much as he thought proper to disclose of Simon's projects. He had left his adopted leader in Idumea, and had entered Jerusalem as a spy upon the Zealot party. His design was to incline as many of the influential men as he could induce to listen to him, to invite Simon into the city, and make him their chief, in opposition to John of Gischala, and when he considered affairs in a proper state for the appearance of the son of Gioras at the gates of Jerusalem, he had promised to send him intelligence by a trusty messenger, or himself to go into Idumea, and summon him to be the deliverer of his country.