She had been promised that this day she should be taken up the Old Tower, and so great was her longing for the scent of the free air and the sight of the blue sky that she had scarcely closed her eyes this night.
"Have patience, lady," said Nehushta, "have patience.

We cannot start until the Essenes have finished their prayers to the sun, which, down in this black hole, they worship more earnestly than ever." So Miriam waited, though she would eat nothing, till at length Ithiel came and led them past the cistern up the stairs to the store or treasure chamber, where the trap-door stood wide, since, except in case of some danger, they had no need to shut it.

Next, they reached the door of solid stone which Ithiel showed her how to open, and entered the base of the massive building.

There, far above her, Miriam saw the sky again, red from the lights of morning, and at the sight of it clapped her hands and called aloud.
"Hush!" said Ithiel.

"These walls are thick, yet it is not safe to raise a voice of joy in Jerusalem, that home of a thousand miseries, lest, perchance, some should hear it through a cleft in the masonry, and cause search to be made for the singer.