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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/37576-0.txt b/37576-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..77d9cec --- /dev/null +++ b/37576-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15939 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Hope, by Robert H. Fuller + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Golden Hope + A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great + +Author: Robert H. Fuller + +Release Date: September 30, 2011 [EBook #37576] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HOPE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + _A STORY OF THE TIME OF + KING ALEXANDER THE GREAT_ + + + +BY + +ROBERT H. FULLER + + + + +NEW YORK + +GROSSET & DUNLAP + +PUBLISHERS + + + + +Copyright, 1905, + +By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + +Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1905. Reprinted May, 1906. + + + + +Norwood Press + +J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. + +Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. + + + + +"_For what was all his war in Asia after the death of Philippus, but +tempests, extreme heats, wonderful deep rivers, marvellous high +mountains, monstrous beasts for greatness to behold, wild savage +fashions of life, change and alteration of governors upon every +occasion, yea treasons and rebellions of some? At the beginning of his +voyage, Greece did yet lay their heads together, for the remembrance of +the wars that Philippus made upon them: the towns gathered together: +Macedonia inclined to some change and alteration: divers people far and +near lay in wait to see what their neighbours would do: the gold and +silver of Persia flowing in the orators' purses, and governors of the +people did raise up Peloponnese: Philippus' treasure and coffers were +empty, and the debts were great. In despite of all these troubles, and +in the middest of his poverty, a young man, but newly come to man's +estate, durst in his mind think of the conquest of Asia, yea of the +empire of the whole world, with thirty thousand footmen and five +thousand horse, ... howbeit he was furnished with magnanimity, with +temperance, with wisdom, and valour: being more holpen in this martial +enterprise, with that he had learned of his tutor Aristotle, than with +that which his father Philippus had left him.... In Alexander's +actions they see, that his valiantness is gentle, his gentleness +valiant: his liberality, husbandry, his choler soon down, his loves +temperate, his pastimes not idle, and his travels gracious. What is he +that hath mingled feasting with wars, and military expeditions with +sports? Who hath intermingled in the middest of his besieging of +towns: and in the middest of skirmishes and fights, sports, banquets, +and wedding songs? Who was ever more enemy to those that did wrong, +nor more gracious to the afflicted? Who was ever more cruel to those +that fought, or more just unto suppliants?_" + +--NORTH'S _Plutarch_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. THREE FRIENDS MEET + II. WARNING FROM THE GODS + III. ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + IV. THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + V. THE BANQUET + VI. SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + VII. THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + VIII. THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + IX. THE DOOM OF THEBES + X. CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + XI. THAIS + XII. MENA READS A LETTER + XIII. THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + XIV. ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + XV. THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + XVI. IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + XVII. THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + XVIII. GREEK AND BARBARIAN + XIX. THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + XX. MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + XXI. PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + XXII. THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + XXIII. IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + XXIV. THE GORDIAN KNOT + XXV. BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + XXVI. THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + XXVII. NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + XXVIII. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + XXIX. THE SLUICE GATE + XXX. LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + XXXI. ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + XXXII. THE WORLD AT STAKE + XXXIII. THE CHESTNUT MARE + XXXIV. IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + XXXV. PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + XXXVI. TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + XXXVII. THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + XXXVIII. MENA REVEALS A SECRET + XXXIX. JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + XL. THE GAP OF DEATH + XLI. PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + XLII. A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + XLIII. THI KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + XLIV. THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + XLV. MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + XLVI. THE PASSING OF A GOD + XLVII. SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + XLVIII. THAIS GIVES A FEAST + XLIX. CHARES FINDS REST + L. PROMISES FULFILLED + LI. AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THREE FRIENDS MEET + +Athens was rousing herself from sleep. The beams of the morning sun +bathed the rugged sides of Mount Hymettus and lightened the dark +foliage that clothed the nearer wooded slopes of Lycabettus. The low, +flat-roofed houses of the city were still nothing more than blurred +masses of gray in the shadow; but presently a ray touched the point of +Athene's spear, and the flood of orange light flowed over the +Acropolis. Its temples and statues were enveloped in a radiance which +fused the rich, harmonious colors of column and cornice and melted the +massive outlines into a resplendent whole, rising immortal from the +gloom at its base. + +Thin curls of smoke mounted here and there above the housetops, +straight up toward the limitless turquoise vault of the sky. The +vivifying freshness of the new-born day was in the air. + +There was a clatter of hoofs in the Street of Pericles, and two young +men, followed by three mounted servants, swung into view. + +"By Zeus, Leonidas!" cried the foremost of the riders, drawing rein and +pointing to the Acropolis, "that is worth riding all night to see!" + +"You mean the sunrise?" the other asked, also coming to a halt. +"Pshaw! You may see that any day without sitting up for it." + +"Not I!" said his companion, laughing. "I love the lamps too well." + +Leonidas shrugged his square shoulders. "It's not the lamps you love, +Chares," he returned dryly. "But why are we idling here? Unless we +make haste, Clearchus will be out of bed before we can surprise him." + +"Come on, then!" Chares cried, urging his tired horse. "By Heracles! +what's that?" + +The three servants had ridden forward in advance of their masters. +From the direction they had taken, the young men heard a confusion of +angry voices, mingled with oaths. In another moment they saw that the +street was blocked by a gorgeous litter borne on the shoulders of four +sturdy slaves and surrounded by a dozen more, some of whom carried +torches which burned pale in the morning light. The litter-bearers had +refused to draw aside, and the guard was attempting to turn the +horsemen back. Evidently some youth had been overtaken at his revelry +by the dawn and was now being carried home by slaves who had followed +his example at the wine-cup. + +A bustling little man, with close-cropped hair and the sharp-nosed face +of a fox, was shaking his sword in the faces of the riders. + +"Back with you! Back!" he shouted. "Do you seek to halt the noble +Phradates? Back, while you may!" + +The curtains of the litter parted, and a young man's face, crimson with +wrath and wine, appeared at the opening. He wore upon his head a +wreath of wilted roses, which had slipped sidewise over one ear. + +"What is the matter, Mena?" he called thickly. "Cut the rascals down!" + +The three servants hesitated, looking back to their masters for +instructions. + +"Here is sport!" Chares cried, his eyes sparkling. "Let us ride +through them! They need a lesson." + +Leonidas made no answer, but shook his bridle rein free and plunged his +spurs into the flanks of his horse. + +"Way! Way!" Chares cried in a mighty voice, as they thundered down +upon the obstinate group. "Follow us, my lads!" he shouted to the +servants as he swept past. + +The officious man with the sharp nose dropped his sword and scrambled +up the steps of a house, but before the rest could follow his example +the five horsemen were among them, and they were rolling under foot +with their torches. Chares swerved his horse skilfully against the +litter in such a manner that it was overturned. Its occupant pitched +head foremost into the street, and the litter fell on top of him, +burying him beneath a mass of curtains and silken cushions, among which +he struggled like some gigantic insect caught in a web. + +"You shall pay for this!" he gasped from the wreckage, shaking his fist +after the little cavalcade. "I am Phradates!" + +Chares laughed until the street echoed, and even Leonidas could not +forbear a smile when he glanced back upon the havoc their passage had +caused. + +"We must ask Clearchus who this fellow is," Chares said. "Here is the +house." + +He sprang down in front of a dwelling of white marble and ran to the +gate. + +"Hola!" he shouted. "Let us in! Do you intend to keep your master's +guests all day at his door? Open, then!" + +After a slight delay there was a sound of falling bars, and the grating +swung back, revealing a drowsy slave in the entrance. + +"Is it you, my master? Enter; you are welcome," the man said, bowing +before Chares. + +"Is Clearchus awake?" Chares demanded eagerly. + +"I think not, sir," the slave replied. + +"Then we will rouse him!" Chares cried, running across the outer court +and into the house. Leonidas followed more deliberately, leaving the +attendants to care for the horses. + +Chares did not stop to return the greeting of the slave who opened the +house door for him, but dashed through the corridor that led to the +inner court, shouting at the top of his voice: "Clearchus! Wake up, +sluggard, and feed the hungry, or the Gods will turn their faces from +you! Dreamer, where art thou?" + +Just as he emerged from the corridor to the spacious inner court, the +young man came suddenly upon a fresh-faced slave girl, who was busied +with some early duties about the broad cistern filled with lotus +flowers. + +"Aphrodite, as I live!" Chares cried, throwing his arms about her and +kissing her on the lips with a smack. The girl fled, laughing and +blushing, to the women's quarters, and at the same moment the master of +the house, awakened by the uproar, appeared on the threshold of his +chamber. + +"Chares!" he cried, coming forward with outstretched hands. "Who else +could it be, indeed!" + +"Oh, Clearchus," Chares said, "what hardships and perils we have passed +to reach thee!" + +"And here is Leonidas," said the Athenian, freeing himself from the +embrace of Chares as the second of his guests entered the court. "Both +my brothers here! For this I owe a sacrifice of thanksgiving which I +shall not fail to pay. But what fortunate chance brings you to Athens?" + +"We were sitting quietly enough in Thebes, talking of you," Leonidas +replied, "when this madcap declared that he would not live another day +without seeing you and that he intended to make you give him breakfast. +Piso, who was with us, fell into dispute with him, offering to wager +twenty minæ that we could not ride here before midday. Chares +maintained that he would wake you this morning or forfeit the stake, +and here we are." + +"And so you have ridden all night?" Clearchus asked. + +"All night, amid dangers and darkness, only to see you!" Chares replied +gayly, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder. "And now, have +you anything to eat in the house? I am like a famished wolf." + +"Come with me," Clearchus said, leading the way into a large room +opening from the left of the court. The sunlight streamed in from the +garden outside, over rich Persian carpets which covered the floor. The +walls were frescoed with scenes from the Iliad of Homer, drawn with +marvellous skill. Painted statuettes stood in niches of stone. Chairs +and tables of ebony, cypress, and cedar were scattered through the +room, and soft couches invited rest. Clearchus struck a bell, and a +grave man of middle age appeared in the doorway. + +"Send us food, Cleon," Clearchus said. + +The steward withdrew, and two younger slaves entered. They quickly +divested Chares and Leonidas of their riding cloaks and swords and +washed their hands in bowls of scented water, drying them upon linen +towels. They were followed by other slaves bearing trays of cold fowl, +bread, and wine. + +"This seems like getting home," Chares exclaimed, throwing himself upon +one of the couches and leaning back luxuriously upon the cushions of +down which the slaves hastened to arrange behind him while he helped +himself to food from the table. "By the Gods, Clearchus, unless you +stop growing handsome, PhÅ“bus will be jealous of you!" + +The Athenian flushed like a girl. He was a clean-cut, clear-eyed young +man, hardly more than twenty-one years old, with a face and figure that +might have served as a model for Phidias himself. Although slender, +his form was graceful, with the ease that comes only from well-trained +muscles. Brown curls covered his head, and the glance of his dark eyes +was steady and straightforward, with a singular earnestness. His +expression was thoughtful and his mouth betrayed a sensitive delicacy. + +His parents had died when he was still a lad. His father, Cleanor, +bequeathed to him an immense fortune, amassed in the mines, which had +been managed by his uncle, Ariston, until he became of age. His wealth +made him envied by the fashionable young men of Athens, but he had few +friends among them. He cared nothing for their drinking-bouts, +cock-fights, and gaming, and he had no ambition in politics except to +do his duty as a citizen of Athens. Deep in his heart he worshipped +the city and her glorious achievements, especially those of the +intellect, with fanatical devotion. + +Chares, too, belonged to a family of wealth and influence, for his +father, Jason, had been one of the foremost men in Thebes. In height +he stood more than six feet, and the knotted muscles of his arms +indicated enormous strength. He was buoyant, light-hearted, +irresponsible, and pleasure-loving. His affection for the Athenian, +whom he had known from boyhood, was the strongest impulse in him. + +They had first met Leonidas at the Olympic Games, where he won the +laurel crown in the chariot race, and they had there admitted him to +their friendship. Different as they were from each other, there seemed +little in common between either of them and the swarthy Lacedæmonian +who lay eating silently while they chattered gossip of mutual +acquaintances. Leonidas was rather below the middle stature, all bone +and sinew, practised in arms, and inured to hardships from his +childhood by the unbending discipline of Sparta. His dark hair grew +low down on his forehead and his black eyes were set deep under +overhanging brows. He neither shared nor wished to understand the +delight which Clearchus felt in a perfect statue or a masterpiece of +painting. He scorned the philosophers and poets. Upon the +questionable pleasures to which Chares gave his days and nights, he +looked with good-natured contempt. The narrow prejudices of his +country were ingrained too deeply in his character to be disturbed by +any change of surroundings. He valued more highly the consciousness +that in his veins ran a few drops of the blood of the Lion of +Thermopylæ than all the riches of the world. + +In each of the three young men who met in the house of Clearchus were +typified many of the characteristics of the states to which they +belonged. Athens, Thebes, and Sparta in turn had held the supremacy in +the little peninsula to which the civilized world was confined. +Contrasted as they were, there was still a bond between them that had +been welded by centuries of association. + +"Tell me," Clearchus said, after their hunger had been somewhat +appeased, "what is the news of Thebes? Are the Macedonians still +perched in the Cadmea?" + +"They are," Chares replied lazily. "We are still in the grasp of the +barbarian; but our plotters are at work and they tell me that soon we +shall break it." + +"Do you mean they are planning revolt?" Clearchus asked eagerly. + +"Don't get excited," the Theban responded. "It will give you +indigestion. They have revolted already, thanks to the gold your city +sent them, and the barbarians are eating their corn in the citadel just +at present, waiting for something to turn up." + +"But that means war, Chares," Clearchus exclaimed. + +"Well," Chares replied, "that will give Leonidas a chance to clear the +rust from his sword. You know he is in the market." + +"That is true," the Spartan said in response to Clearchus' glance of +inquiry. "No man can live on air. I follow my profession where there +is work to be done." + +There was nothing disgraceful in this avowal. If his own country was +at peace, a Greek soldier might sell his sword to the highest bidder, +as did Xenophon, without reproach. + +"And I suppose you, too, will be fighting, Chares?" said Clearchus. + +"As to that, I don't know," the Theban answered, stretching himself +with a yawn. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen to us would be +to have the Macedonian conquer and rule. It would put an end to our +own wars. If matters go on as they have been going, all three of us +may be trying to cut each other's throats before the month is out." + +"No," Clearchus exclaimed, "that cannot be, because you must promise me +to stay here and drink at my wedding feast at the next new moon." + +"What, Clearchus! you are going to be married?" Chares cried, springing +from his couch. "Who is she?" + +"Artemisia, daughter of Theorus," Clearchus answered. "She is the most +beautiful--" + +"Ho, Cleon, Cleon! Where are you?" Chares shouted at the top of his +voice. "Cleon, I say!" + +The steward ran into the room in alarm. + +"Bring wine of Cyprus, quickly!" Chares cried, waving his arms. + +Cleon vanished with a smile, and Chares hastened to embrace his friend +with a fervor that threatened to crack his ribs. Leonidas grasped him +warmly by the hand, and both showered congratulations upon him. + +"We pledge thee!" Chares cried, taking the wine that Cleon brought in a +great beaker of carved silver and raising it to his lips, after +spilling a portion of its contents in libation. + +"May the Gods give thee happiness!" Leonidas said, drinking deep in his +turn. + +"Neither war, famine, nor pestilence shall take us from thee until thou +art married," Chares cried, half in jest. "We swear it, Leonidas, by +the head of Zeus!" + +"We swear it!" the Spartan echoed, and each of them again pressed the +young man's hand. + +"I expected no less of you," Clearchus said, smiling into the faces of +his companions. "It makes my heart glad to know that you will be with +me. But after your long ride you must both be used up. I will leave +you to get an hour or two of sleep before the Assembly which has been +called for this afternoon to hear what Demosthenes has to say upon our +policy toward Macedon. You will want to hear him, of course." + +"Go, Clearchus," Chares said, laughing. "That is a long speech to tell +us that you would like to be rid of us while you go to your Artemisia. +Come back in time for the bath, that's all." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +WARNING FROM THE GODS + +A few miles west of Athens, in the suburb of Academe, dwelt Melissa, +aunt and guardian of Artemisia. She was an invalid, bedridden for the +greater part of the year, and she had chosen to live in the country +that she might not be disturbed by the city noises. She had never +married, and no departure from the routine of her well-ordered house +was permitted. She loved her niece; but she was not sorry to have her +marry, because, as she said, her own hold upon life was so uncertain, +and besides, the match was a brilliant one. + +Her household consisted of Philox, her steward, who had managed her +affairs for a score of years, Tolmon, her gardener, and a dozen women +slaves who, like their mistress, had passed the prime of life. + +In Melissa's old-fashioned garden Artemisia, with two little slave +girls to help her, was at work over a hedge of roses. She had not yet +reached her nineteenth year. Her soft, light brown hair was gathered +in a knot at the back of her head, showing the graceful curve of the +nape of her neck and half revealing the little pink lobes of her ears. +Her forehead was low and smooth and broad, with delicately arched +brows, a shade darker than her hair. Her eyes were blue and the color +in her cheeks was heightened by her exertions in bringing the straying +rose stems into place. The folds of her pure white chiton left her +warm arms bare to the shoulder and defined the youthful lines of her +supple figure. As she stooped among the flowers, handling them with +gentle touches, she seemed preoccupied, and her glance continually +wandered from her task. + +Agile as monkeys, the slave girls darted about her, pelting each other +with blossoms and uttering peals of shrill laughter. Their short white +tunics made their swarthy skins darker by contrast. + +The garden was set in a tiny meadow beside the river Cephissus. It was +shut in on both sides by groves of olive and fig trees, against whose +dark foliage gleamed the marble front of the house to which it +belonged. The sunlight swept the smooth emerald of the turf, touched +the brilliant hues of the flowers, and flashed back from the rippling +river beyond. + +"Oh, mistress, there's a beautiful butterfly! Oh, please, may I catch +him?" cried one of the little girls. + +"Hush, chatterbox," said Artemisia; "come and help me here." + +"Ouch, that awful thorn! Look, mistress, how my finger bleeds," the +other girl said, holding up her small brown hand. + +"Will you never end your nonsense?" the young woman asked in affected +despair. "See, Proxena, we have not half finished." + +"Don't be angry with us, mistress; see who's coming!" Proxena cried, +taking her wounded finger from her mouth and pointing with it toward +the house. + +Clearchus must have ridden fast to arrive so soon after leaving his +friends. Artemisia, hastily plucking a half-blown rose, went forward +to meet him, while the little slave girls remained behind, peeping +slyly with sidelong glances and whispering to each other while they +pretended to busy themselves with their work. + +"Greeting, Artemisia, my Life!" Clearchus said, taking her hands in his. + +"Greeting, Clearchus; I am glad to see thee," she replied. + +"How beautiful thou art and how fortunate am I, my darling," the young +man said radiantly. "Dost thou love me, Artemisia?" + +"Thou knowest well that I do, Clearchus," she answered reproachfully. +"Why dost thou ask?" + +"For the joy of hearing thee say it once more," he said, laughing. +"There is nothing the Gods can give that could be sweeter or more +precious to me, and to add the last touch to my happiness, Chares and +Leonidas came this morning and have promised to stay until our wedding." + +They had been strolling toward the grove at the edge of the meadow, +where a bench of carved stone, overhung with trailing vines, was set in +the shade in such a position as to permit its occupants to look out +over the garden and the river. They sat down side by side and +Clearchus slipped his arm about Artemisia's waist. Evidently, with the +subtle sense of a lover, he detected a lack of responsiveness, for he +bent forward and gazed anxiously into her face. He saw that it was +troubled. + +"What is the matter, my dearest?" he asked in sudden alarm. + +She hesitated for a moment. "Oh, Clearchus, I fear that we are too +happy," she said at last in reply. + +"Why do you say that?" he asked, drawing her closer to him. "Why +should any of the Gods wish us harm? We have not failed in paying them +honor, and we have transgressed in nothing." + +Artemisia hid her face in her hands and her head drooped against his +shoulder. He held her still closer and kissed the soft coils of her +hair, awaiting an explanation. + +"What is it, Artemisia?" he asked quietly. "You are tired and nervous +and overwrought, and some foolish fancy has crept into your heart to +trouble you. Tell me, my dearest; thou canst have no sorrow that is +not mine as well as thine." + +"Clearchus, my husband," she said, without moving from her position or +lifting her face, "thou art strong and I am but a weak girl. Whatever +may come, I shall always be thankful that thou didst love me. I am +thine--heart and mind, body and spirit, here and in the +hereafter--forever." + +"Why dost thou speak so, my Soul?" Clearchus asked in alarm. "What has +happened? Surely we shall be married at the new moon." + +"I do not know, Clearchus--all that I know is that I love thee and +shall love thee always. A warning from the Gods has been sent to me." + +She lifted her face and clasped her hands in her lap. Her eyes were +wet and her lips were tremulous as those of a helpless child who awaits +a blow. + +"What was it, my Life?" Clearchus asked gently. + +"I was in a strange house," she replied, looking straight before her as +though she could see the things that she described. "It was a house of +many rooms, some filled with lights and some so dark I could not tell +what was in them. I heard the sound of voices, of laughter, and of +weeping, but I could see nobody. Thou wert there, I knew, and I was +seeking thee with my heart full of terror; for something told me I +would not find thee. It was dreadful--dreadful, Clearchus!" + +She paused and clung to him for a moment as though in fear of being +torn from his side. + +"I do not know how long I wandered through passages and chambers," she +resumed, "but at last I reached a corridor that had rows of pillars on +either side. At the end was a crimson curtain, beyond which men and +women were talking. As I stood hesitating in the empty corridor, +suddenly I heard thy voice among the rest. I could not mistake it, +Clearchus. Joy filled my heart. Thou didst not know I was there nor +what peril I was in. I felt that I had but to lift the curtain--thou +wouldst see me and I would be saved. I ran forward, crying out to +thee; but before I reached the curtain, rough men came from between the +pillars and thrust me back, drowning my voice with shouting and +laughter. I threw myself on my knees before them and prayed them not +to stop me. They answered in words that I could not understand. My +heart was breaking, Clearchus! The light beyond the crimson curtain +grew dim, and outside I could hear a roaring like a great storm. The +pillars were shaken and the walls crumbled, and I woke crying thy name." + +The young man's face had grown unusually grave and thoughtful as he +listened to the recital of the dream. No man or woman of his time who +believed in anything ever thought of doubting that the visions of sleep +were divine communications to mortals. Statesmen directed the course +of nations and generals planned their campaigns in accordance with the +interpretation of these revelations. + +"What does it mean, Clearchus? You are wiser than I," Artemisia said +anxiously. "If I am separated from thee, I shall die." + +"The men who halted you seemed to be barbarians?" Clearchus asked +thoughtfully. + +"Thus they seemed," she replied. "I could not understand their speech, +and their clothes were not our fashion." + +"I know not what it means, Artemisia," Clearchus said at last. "We are +in the hands of the Gods. I shall ask the protection of Artemis and +offer her a sacrifice. To-morrow we must be married. I do not dare to +wait for the new moon, for I must be near you to protect you. Then, +whatever may come, we will meet it together." + +"Perhaps the dream was meant for me alone," Artemisia said tenderly. +"I cannot bear to bring you into danger." + +"Hush, Artemisia!" Clearchus said reprovingly. "I would rather a +thousand times die with thee than live without thee." + +With a sigh, she let her head rest on his shoulder. + +"I care not what may happen so that thou art with me," she said; "then +I can feel no fear." + +"Artemisia," Clearchus said suddenly, "go not out again to-day. I +shall tell Philox to guard thee well until to-morrow. Hast thou told +Melissa of the dream?" + +"No, for I wished to tell thee first and she is so easily frightened," +Artemisia said. + +"Then say nothing to her about it," the young man replied. + +One of the little slave girls ran up to them at this moment and stood +before them, twisting her fingers together and waiting to be spoken to. + +"What is it, Proxena?" Artemisia asked. + +"The morning meal is waiting, mistress," said the child, and sped away +again. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + +Ariston, uncle of Clearchus and formerly guardian of his fortune, sat +at his work-table before a mass of papyri closely written with +memoranda and accounts. His house stood by itself in a quarter of the +city that had once been fashionable but now was occupied chiefly by the +poorer class of citizens. Its front was without windows and its stone +walls were yellowed and stained with age. Its seclusion seemed to be +emphasized by the bustle of life that surrounded it and in which it had +no part. + +The room in which Ariston sat was evidently used as an office, for rows +of metal-bound boxes of various shapes and sizes were piled along its +walls. A statuette of Hermes stood in one corner upon its pedestal, +and its sightless eyes seemed bent upon the thin, gray face of the old +man as he leaned with his elbows upon the top of the table, polished by +long use. Lines of care and anxiety showed themselves at the corners +of his mouth and about his restless eyes. The light of the swinging +lamp that illuminated the small room, even in the daytime, made shadowy +hollows at his temples and beneath his cheek-bones. + +Little was known of the personal concerns of the old man in Athens. +Although he mingled with the other citizens without apparent reserve, +he never discussed his own affairs. The general impression was that he +was a good Athenian who had been faithful to the trust reposed in him, +and who had won a modest competence of his own for the support of his +age. This idea was encouraged by the parsimonious habits of his life +and by the trifling but cautious ventures that he sometimes made in the +commercial activity of the city. His most conspicuous characteristic, +in the minds of his acquaintances, was his mania for gathering +information concerning not only Athens and Greece, but distant lands +and strange peoples as well. This was looked upon as a harmless and +even useful occupation, and it accounted for his evident fondness at +times for the company of strangers, who, no doubt, contributed to the +satisfaction of his curiosity. + +Great would have been the astonishment if some orator had announced to +the Athenian Assembly that the humble old man was really one of the +richest citizens of Athens, as well as the best informed concerning the +plans and hopes of the rulers of the world and of the probable current +of coming events. Laughter would have greeted the assertion that much +of the merchandise which found its way to the Piræus belonged to him +and that the profits realized from the sale of silks and spices, corn +and ivory, went into his coffers. Yet these statements would have been +true a year before. In Athens the rich were required to contribute to +the public charges in proportion to their wealth, and the saving that +Ariston was able to effect by making his investments abroad and +concealing them through various stratagems from the knowledge of his +neighbors was sufficient, in his opinion, to compensate him for the +trouble and the risks that such a course involved. He would rather +have suffered his fingers to be hacked off one by one than part with +the heavy, shining bars of gold that his prudence and foresight had +amassed. + +If the history of each separate coin and bar could have been told, it +would have revealed secrets which their master had forced himself to +forget. Some of them were the price of flesh and blood; some had been +gained by violence upon the seas or among the trackless wastes of the +desert; some had been won at the expense of honor and truth; for in his +earlier years Ariston had been both bold and unscrupulous in his +cunning, and his craving for riches had always been insatiable. As his +years and his wealth increased he became more circumspect and +conservative. He even sought to expiate some of his earlier faults by +furtive sacrifices to the Gods, and especially to Hermes, whose image +he cherished. + +But the Gods had turned their faces from him, and his repentance, if +repentance it could be called, had been unavailing. Misfortune had +come upon him, and calamity seemed always to be lying in wait for him. +If his vessels put to sea, they were sunk in storms or captured by +pirates. His factories and warehouses were burned; his caravans were +lost; his debtors defaulted; and if he purchased a cargo of corn, its +price at the Piræus was certain to be less than the price he had paid +for it in the Hellespont. One after another the precious bars which +had cost him so much to obtain were sent to save doubtful ventures and +losing investments, until at last all were gone. Sitting in his dingy +room, on the day of the arrival of Chares and Leonidas at the house of +Clearchus, he was at last in a worldly sense what his neighbors thought +him to be; and the marble face of Hermes, with its painted eyes, smiled +malignly at him from its corner. + +But there was still hope left to him. Although the widespread web of +his enterprises had been rent and torn by misfortune, there yet +remained enough to build upon securely if he had but a few more of the +yellow bars to tide over his present distress. Without them he might +keep afloat for a few months longer; but the end would be utter ruin. +At least he still owned the great dyeing establishment in Tyre, which +had never failed to yield him a handsome revenue. He recalled how he +had taken it from Cepheus for one-fourth its real value. It was no +concern of his that Cepheus had stolen it from young Phradates. What +did the details of the transaction matter now, since they were known +only to himself and to Cepheus, who would not be likely to reveal them, +and to Mena the Egyptian, the young man's steward? Mena had stolen so +much himself from the spendthrift that he would never dare to tell what +he knew. And yet the fellow had it in his power to rob Ariston of the +last remnant of his fortune. + +A discreet knock interrupted Ariston's reflections. He brushed his +parchments and papyri hastily into an open box that stood beside his +chair and closed the lid. "Enter!" he commanded. + +An aged slave opened the door. "Mena, of Tyre," he said. + +Cold sweat broke out on Ariston's forehead, but he gave no outward sign +of his consternation. "Bring him hither," he directed. + +The Egyptian, who had been watching the sluggish goldfish floating in +the weed-grown cistern of the court, entered the room with an air of +importance. He turned his alert face, with its sharp, inquiring +features, upon Ariston. + +"Greeting!" he said, extending his hand. "It is long since we have +seen thee in Tyre." + +"Yes," Ariston replied, leading him to a seat opposite his own, "I am +getting too old for travel." + +"You have indeed grown older since I saw you last," Mena said, looking +at him attentively. "I hope it is not because Fortune has been unkind." + +Ariston winced, and the change in his expression was not lost upon the +shrewd Egyptian. + +"What brings you here?" he asked, shifting the subject. + +"We are travelling, my beloved master and I," Mena answered. + +"Phradates is with you, then?" the old man asked with an alarm that he +was unable to conceal. + +The steward paused before he answered, gazing at Ariston with eyes half +closed and a faint smile upon his lips. + +"Phradates is here," he said at last. "I know of what you are +thinking. We have been friends too long to have secrets from each +other. You need have no fear. Cepheus is dead and I have too many +causes to despise Phradates to take his part." + +He paused again and suddenly his face became convulsed with a spasm of +hatred. + +"I could strangle him!" he cried, clenching his hands as though he felt +his master's throat beneath his fingers. + +Ariston breathed more freely. At any rate, his property in Tyre was +safe. + +"Why don't you do it, then?" he asked coolly. + +"Because the time has not yet come!" Mena replied fiercely. "For every +insult that he has given me and for every blow that he has made me +feel, he shall suffer tenfold! His fortune is dwindling, and in the +end it will be mine. Then let him ask Mena for aid!" + +"I did not know that you had so much courage," Ariston remarked. + +"I have not watched you in vain," Mena replied, "and it is to you that +I now come for assistance." + +"To me!" Ariston exclaimed. + +"To you," Mena repeated. "Be not alarmed, for what I have to propose +will be for our mutual benefit. Phradates has been throwing money +right and left since we set out from Tyre. Great sums he spent in +Crete and still greater in Corinth. Since his arrival here he has been +fleeced without mercy. You will understand that I have tried to +protect him, but merely to save him from injury. He might have lost +his life only this morning had I not been there to guard him from an +attack by two desperate characters with a crowd of slaves, who set upon +us while we were returning from the dice. Luckily, I succeeded in +beating them off, but the noble Phradates was thrown from his chair and +his noble nose was battered. Soon he will be in want of more money. +Of the property that remains to him, he has quarries on Lebanon, which +employ a thousand slaves, silk mills in Old Tyre, where as many more +are kept busy, and a score of ships in the trade with Carthage. He +believes the value of the quarries and the mills to be only half what +it really is and reports have been made to him that two-thirds of the +vessels of his fleet have been lost. All this he will pledge for +anything that it will bring when he learns that his money is gone. It +is for us to get possession of that pledge. I have a few talents, but +not enough. I will take care that the loan is never repaid and our +success is certain. What do you say?" + +Ariston looked at the statue of Hermes. It was a fancy of his that he +could draw either a favorable or an adverse augury from the expression +on the face of the God as it showed in the wavering light of the lamp. +He could detect no change in the mocking smile that seemed to hover +about the marble lips. It left him with no conclusion. + +"What you have told me," he said to Mena, "makes it necessary for me to +tell you something in return. I am a ruined man." + +"Ruined! You!" Mena exclaimed incredulously. + +"It is true," Ariston replied. "Of all that I had, nothing remains to +me intact except the dye-house in Tyre and a small fleet of corn ships +that has but now arrived from the Euxine. The worst is that I have +debts that must be met if I am to save other ventures." + +"But you have the property of your nephew to draw upon," Mena suggested. + +"I had it," the old man said, "but it was turned over to him more than +a year ago. Since then all my losses have befallen." + +"But you are his heir," the Egyptian replied meaningly. "Is he +married?" + +"No; but he soon will be," Ariston replied. + +The two men exchanged glances, reading each other's thoughts in their +eyes. Neither cared to put into words what was in his mind. + +"Leave it to me," Ariston said at last. "I think it can be managed. +Clearchus knows nothing of my affairs, and if I can once more get +control of the property all will be well. I think we may safely assume +that he will not marry. For the rest, we must wait and see. Let us +talk of this pledge that Phradates is to make for our security." + +He produced his tablets and a stylus and the conspirators were soon +buried in a mass of calculations. When Mena took his leave, every +detail had been arranged. + +Hardly had Mena disappeared in the direction of the Agora when a man of +unusual stature, with brawny arms and a heavy black beard, turned into +the street in which Ariston lived and stood staring doubtfully about +him. There was a hint of the sea in his sunburned face and rough +garments. + +"If you are looking for the Piræus, my friend, you will not find it +here," said a fruit dealer who chanced to meet him. + +"What do you know of the Piræus, grasshopper?" returned the stranger, +halting and looking at the merchant with contempt. "I am searching for +the house of Ariston, son of Xenas. Do you know where in this accursed +street it is?" + +"Tut, tut; fair words, my friend," the merchant replied, carefully +keeping his distance. "What do you want with Ariston?" + +"That is his affair and mine, but not yours," growled the stranger. + +"I'll warrant it is nothing good," the fruit dealer said, "but you will +find his house at the end of the street, near the wall." + +Without stopping to thank him, the stranger strode on in the direction +that he had indicated. The merchant stood for a moment gazing after +him, wondering whence he came and what he wanted; but finding no answer +to these questions in his own mind, he shook his head like a man who is +assured of the existence of something that should not be and continued +on his way to his shop in the Agora to relate his suspicions. + +Ariston himself came to the door in response to the stranger's knock. +He was admitted at once and without a word. Ariston led him in silence +to his own room and seated him in the chair that Mena had occupied half +an hour before. Instead of summoning a slave, the old man went himself +to fetch a flask of wine and a trencher of bread and cheese. + +"Can it be done?" he asked in an eager voice, leaning forward in his +favorite attitude with his elbows on the table while the other ate and +drank. + +"It can be done, but it will not be easy," his guest replied. + +"Not easy to carry off a woman who has only slaves to guard her?" +Ariston exclaimed. "Are your men cowards, then, Syphax?" + +"No, my men and I are not cowards, old Skinflint," Syphax said, "but +you may as well understand now that we do not intend to risk our lives +for nothing." + +He delivered this speech with the blustering air of a bully, gazing +boldly into the old man's face. Ariston, naturally of small stature, +looked more than ever shrunken and withered in contrast with his +companion; but at the sound of the other's threatening tone, his face +hardened and there came a cold gleam into his eyes. + +"I am glad you are not afraid, Syphax," he said in a voice so soft that +it sounded almost caressing. "Have you forgotten Medon? Your eyes saw +his death. He was a brave man, too, your old chief. I think I can +hear him yet as he called upon the Gods in his torture. They could not +help him. Poor Medon!" + +The face of Syphax paled under its tan at the recollection that Ariston +had conjured up and an involuntary shudder ran through him. His bold +eyes wavered before the persistent stare of the little old man, whom he +could have crushed in one of his hands. + +"What are you willing to pay?" he asked hoarsely, pushing away his food +half finished. + +"You would do it for nothing, if I asked you, Syphax," the old man +replied, still in the same soft voice, "but I have no wish to be hard +with you. This is a matter in which I have a deep interest and I am +willing to pay well for it. When you have taken her safely on board, +you will sail to Halicarnassus, where you will search out Iphicrates, +son of Conon, and give him this letter. If he finds you have done your +work well, he will pay you a talent in silver. But if the girl has +been harmed in any way, not a drachma will you get and worse will +befall you than befell Medon." + +"The work is worth five times as much," Syphax grumbled with downcast +eyes, "but I suppose I have no choice." + +"None, my dear Syphax, and I am a poor man," said Ariston. "Let us +regard the matter as settled. Now, how do you intend to proceed?" + +Syphax roused himself like a man whose professional skill has been +called upon. + +"The house stands thus," he said, indicating its position on the table +with a huge finger. "On this side is the grove where I and a dozen of +my men will lie hidden with the litter. One of my fellows will scale +the roof and let himself down inside. He will open the door to us and +the thing will be over in a moment." + +"Where will you embark?" the old man asked, nodding approval. + +"My ship will be lying off-shore with a boat in waiting. We will carry +her in the litter to this spot, about two stadia beyond the Piræus, +which we shall have to pass. We shall make the attack soon after the +middle watch of the night when the moon will be low." + +"You should have been a general, Syphax," the old man said. "You have +a better head for strategy than most of those the Athenians employ. Go +to your work and forget nothing. I must attend the Assembly, where +Demosthenes is to stir up the citizens against Alexander, son of +Philip. They say the boy is dead." + +"Alexander dead!" Syphax exclaimed. + +"The story is that he was killed by the Illyrians, and Demosthenes has +a man who saw him die," Ariston replied indifferently. "I think the +man is lying and that Demosthenes knows it. But these affairs have +nothing to do with you. Be off to your business." + +When the adventurer had gone, Ariston returned to his room and prepared +to write. From his expression of content, it was evident that he was +satisfied with what had been done. + +"To Iphicrates, son of Conon," his letter ran. "I am sending to you +Syphax, a freebooter from Rhodes, who will deliver to you a young +woman. You will take her into your house and guard her with care until +you hear from me again. Syphax will present to you an order for a +talent of silver. Defer the payment until you have the girl, and then +do with him as you will. As a pirate and a robber, he has richly +merited death. May the Gods protect you." + +As Ariston was carefully sealing this letter, a gaunt, sour-visaged +woman entered the room. She was his wife and the one person on earth +in whom he had confidence. Like most secretive men with whom duplicity +is a daily study, he sometimes felt the need of telling the truth, if +only to note the effect of his schemes upon another's mind. But even +to his wife, whose covetousness was equal to his own, he never revealed +all that was in his brain. Her lonely life was spent in a constant +endeavor to piece out from what he imparted to her the full extent of +his plans. She admired his intellect, but deep in her heart she feared +him, and, womanlike, she was tormented by the suspicion that somewhere +she had a rival to whom he told what he concealed from her. The +consciousness of her own deficiency of charms made her manner all the +more harsh and forbidding. As soon as she entered the room she noted +that he was in an easy mood, and she made haste to take advantage of it. + +"Who were these men?" she asked. "What are you about now?" + +"Affairs of state, Xanthe, that are not for women to know," he said +mockingly. + +"All that concerns you concerns me," she replied. "Am I to do the work +of a slave here like a mole in the dark? Who are these women you were +talking of with that evil-looking man?" + +"So you were listening!" Ariston said with a frown. + +"Yes, I was, if you must know it," Xanthe said defiantly. "Do you +think I am to know nothing? If you had consulted more freely with me +before, we would not now be the paupers that we are, and many times I +have told you this, but you will not listen to me because I am a woman." + +There was something in this remonstrance that made an impression upon +Ariston's mind, smarting as he was over the loss of his fortune. It +might have been better, after all, if he had told her more. + +"We were talking of only one woman," he said, with an impulse of +frankness. "She is Artemisia." + +"Artemisia!" Xanthe exclaimed. "Don't try to deceive me. Why should +you wish Artemisia to be carried off? Is not Clearchus to make her his +wife?" + +"It is for that very reason," Ariston replied. "I do not wish him to +do so." + +"Why not?" Xanthe demanded in a tone of suspicion. + +"Sit down and let us talk rationally," Ariston said. "Suppose they +marry and have children. His property would be lost to us forever." + +"That is true," Xanthe assented. "I had not thought of that, and we +need it so much more than he. If he should die, would it belong to us?" + +"It would," her husband answered, "and now you know why I wish to +prevent the marriage." + +He rose, and she aided him to adjust the folds of his himation. + +"I am going to the Assembly," he said. "If we have war with Macedon, +the price of corn will advance. Look to the house and let none enter +while I am away." + +It was not until after he had gone that Xanthe began to wonder how she +and Ariston were to profit by preventing the marriage, since their +nephew would still be alive and in the possession of his property. It +could not be that Ariston intended to have him slain. She shuddered at +the thought, for she was fond of Clearchus, and he had always been kind +to her. Besides, such a crime could not be committed without almost +certain detection. Ariston must have formed some other scheme for +bringing about his object. She reproached herself for not having +questioned him on this point while he was in a frame of mind to answer. +The opportunity might not occur again and she could only guess at what +was to come. The half-confidence that he had given her left her more +watchful and suspicious than ever. + +Syphax meantime had found his way back to the Agora and was about to +enter a wine-shop when he felt some one pluck him by the elbow. +Glancing back, his eyes met those of Mena. + +"Ah, my fox," he exclaimed, "what brings you to Athens?" + +"Necessity and my master," Mena replied. "And you?" + +Syphax shook his head and made as if to move away, but Mena was not to +be denied. An hour later they were still together, sitting side by +side in a corner of the wine-shop, and it was fortunate for Ariston +that the Egyptian was his ally instead of his enemy, for all that +Syphax could tell, he knew. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + +In the Theatre of Dionysus the citizens of Athens were gathering for +the purpose of deciding whether to break their treaty with Macedon and +by one stroke revenge upon Alexander the wrongs and humiliations that +his father had made them suffer. Ariston walked through the spacious +Agora, surrounded by colonnades and embellished by the statues of +heroes and the Gods. The shopkeepers and merchants were closing their +places of business and joining in the human tide that was setting all +in the same direction. + +Everywhere Ariston heard repeated the assertion that Alexander was +dead. The news was announced in tones of joy, and invariably it was +accompanied by an expression of desire for war while the enemy was +still unprepared. There seemed to be only one opinion among the +people. It was manifested in the clamor of gay and careless confusion +that betrayed the nervous tension of the throng. + +Ariston's face became more thoughtful as he proceeded. He had no doubt +of what the Assembly would do if unchecked, and he foresaw the downfall +of his plans. A declaration of war with Macedon would be fatal. +Whatever the issue of such a conflict might be, it would certainly +delay Alexander's invasion of Persia and keep Clearchus at home. He +must be rid of Clearchus at all hazards, and without violence. + +Moreover, he knew that the report of Alexander's death was false. It +was impossible that any person in Athens should have been able to +obtain information later than that which had been brought to him. He +felt assured that the young king was fighting his way out of Illyria, +with every prospect of escape, and that the report of his death had +been started by Demosthenes as a stratagem to dispose the minds of the +people to war. By preventing the success of this plan, he reflected, +he would not only be serving his own ends, but also performing a public +service. Such a coincidence had happened rarely enough in his career. + +But he knew it would be useless to attempt any contradiction of the +report at that moment. He was too thoroughly acquainted with the +characteristics of his countrymen to think of it. They wished to +believe and they would not allow that wish to be thwarted. He must +watch and wait. + +Pushing through the chattering crowd, he entered the Theatre. Before +him, in a great semicircle, hewn partly out of the solid rock of the +southeastern pitch of the Acropolis, he saw row on row and tier above +tier of his fellow-citizens,--the brilliant, unstable, cowardly, +heroic, passionate, generous, cruel democracy of Athens. Above them +towered the crag which they had crowned with triumphs of art and +architecture beyond the power of the world to equal, guarded by the +wonderful Athene, whose creator they had sent to die in prison. On the +left the great temple of Olympian Zeus raised its massive fluted +columns. In the Theatre where they sat their fathers had hissed or +applauded the masterpieces of tragedy and comedy. The babel of talk +and of light-hearted laughter, the shifting of many-hued garments under +the intense blue arch of the sky, reminded Ariston of the fickle sunlit +waves of the Ægean. + +The cloud that for years had overshadowed Athens had been removed. +Philip, the tenacious, subtle, resourceful monarch of barbarous +Macedon, had fallen under the dagger of Pausanias, who had doubtless +been inspired by the Gods to punish him for his crimes against the +Athenians. Little by little, with a purpose that never swerved, he had +made himself master of their fairest possessions. Time and again they +had sought to shake him off with brief outbursts of restless fury; but +he held what he had won, and in the lull that followed the storm he had +never failed to creep nearer to their citadel. His advance seemed to +them as inevitable as fate. + +Now he was gone, resigning his power and his ambitions to his son, +Alexander, a boy of twenty years, whom all Athens knew as a foolish and +rash youth. After laying claim to the honors that his father had +forced the states of Hellas to bestow upon him, he had marched into the +unknown wilderness of the north with his army and there had perished. +His fate had been told only in rumors at first, but had not Demosthenes +talked with a fugitive from the Macedonian camp, who had seen him fall +beneath a stone? Every Athenian felt that the time had come to place +the name of his city once more at the head of the civilized world. +Already the Thebans, aided by their subsidies, had risen against the +barbarian garrison and had shut the Macedonians in the Cadmea. The +reverses of the past had been forgotten and the lively imaginations of +the Athenians had carried them halfway to the goal of their hopes. + +Ariston gazed about him at the shifting throng as though in search of +some one. The priests of Ceres, Athene, and Zeus stood talking in +groups with the officials of the city, or had already taken their +places in the cushioned marble arm-chairs, with curved backs, that +formed the first row of seats. Presently the old man caught sight of +Clearchus, and his friends, Chares and Leonidas. With them sat a young +man of singular appearance whom Ariston did not recognize. He wore a +splendid mantle of purple, embroidered with gold, a profusion of rings +flashed upon his fingers, and the odor of costly perfumes hung about +him like a cloud. It seemed as though he sought in his costume to make +up for the deficiencies of nature, for in figure he was short and +stout, with legs and arms of disproportionate slenderness, and his +narrow eyes were set beneath a square forehead from the top of which +the hair had been shaved. + +"Greeting, uncle," Clearchus said cordially, as the old man forced his +way toward them. + +Ariston sat down on the broad marble step in the space that Clearchus +made for him. He found himself between his nephew and the stranger. + +"This is Aristotle of Stagira, but more recently of Pella," Clearchus +said. "He can talk to you by the hour, if he chooses, about Alexander, +whom you so much admire." + +"Is he really dead, as they say he is?" Ariston asked doubtfully. + +"I do not know," lisped Aristotle. "It is his habit always to expose +himself in battle." + +"Can he make himself master of Hellas?" Ariston asked again. + +"Only the Gods can answer that," Aristotle replied. "It is safe to say +that what human ambition can accomplish, he will do. He was my pupil, +and there are those who maintain that he knows more than his master!" + +Although the philosopher spoke with a smile, there was a trace of irony +in his tone that did not escape the alert Athenian. + +"You hear that?" he cried, turning to Clearchus. "Here is a boy who +begins by conquering his instructor. Where will he end?" + +"They say he has ended already, up there among the savages," Chares +said lazily. + +"I'll lay you a box of Assyrian ointment that Alexander is still +alive," Aristotle said. + +"It's a wager," the Theban cried. "And the box shall be of gold." + +"There goes Callicles. Hi, there, old Twenty Per Cent!" cried a youth +who was sitting in front of them. + +"By the Styx, I wish I had what I owe him!" Chares remarked fervently. + +A young man with oiled and curled ringlets, wearing a long silken robe, +and carrying a cane inlaid with mother-of-pearl, pushed toward them, +followed by a slave laden with cushions for him to sit upon. + +"Do you know what Phocus has done now?" he asked in an affected voice. + +"No," said Chares, coldly. + +"He happened to go to the Lyceum the other day, and he overheard +Theodorus, the atheist, say that if it was praiseworthy to ransom a +friend from the enemy, it would also be commendable to rescue a +sweetheart from bondage. What does he do but buy Tryphonia her freedom +from old Mnemon. He vows that he will marry her." + +Having imparted this bit of gossip, the youth lounged away to repeat it. + +"Who is that young man with the red chiton?" Leonidas asked. + +"He is Ctesippus, son of Chabrias," Clearchus replied. "He has spent +twenty thousand talents of gold since his father died--he and Phocus +together. He thinks he knows more about war than his father knew. He +drives poor Phocion almost distracted with his advice whenever there is +a campaign; and Phocion endures it because he is his father's son." + +Throughout the Theatre rose the hum of gossip and malicious small talk. +Chares listened with indolent contempt. Leonidas studied the faces of +the men who had won distinction in war, such as Diopethes, Menestheus, +and Leosthenes, whom Clearchus pointed out to him. Aristotle continued +to lisp to Ariston concerning Macedon. The attention of the crowd was +diverted by the arrival of the Lexiarchs with their scarlet cords. +Stretching them across the narrow streets, they had been driving the +stragglers into the Assembly like sheep. The laggard whose garments +showed a trace of the dye with which the cords were covered was forced +to pay a fine. + +"Look; there's Phaon with the red stripe on his back!" Chares cried, +standing up to get a better view. + +A roar of laughter greeted the victim as he entered and his name was +repeated from all sides. + +"Were you asleep, Phaon? Did your wife keep you at home? You should +drink less wine in the morning!" shouted his acquaintances. + +Another unfortunate came to divert attention from Phaon, and still +others, until all the citizens were accounted for. The tumult was +succeeded by a hush as the white-robed priests solemnly advanced into +the open space in the middle of the semicircle, carrying a bleating +lamb. After an invocation to Athene, they cut the animal's throat +before the altar and sprinkled its blood in every direction upon the +pavement. The oldest of the priests then stood forth, raised his +hands, and looking upward, cried the accustomed formula:-- + +"May the Gods pursue to destruction, with all his race, that man who +shall act, speak, or plot anything against this State!" + +The priests then slowly withdrew, and a herald mounted the bema to +announce, on behalf of the Proedri, the occasion of the Assembly. He +declared the question to be whether the treaty with Macedon should be +maintained or set aside, and he added that the Senate of the Areopagus +had referred the matter to the decision of the people without +expressing its opinion. + +He was followed by a second herald, representing the Epistate, who, +with a loud voice, called upon any citizen above the age of fifty years +to speak his mind, others to follow in accordance with their ages. As +he ceased and descended, all eyes were turned toward a portion of the +Theatre where sat a gray-haired man, with shoulders slightly stooped, a +sloping forehead, and a retreating chin, partly hidden by a +close-cropped beard. + +"Demosthenes! Demosthenes!" came from every part of the horseshoe. + +The man to whom Athens turned in this crisis of her affairs sat unmoved +and apparently oblivious to the demand of the crowd. Accustomed as +they were to the oratorical combats of the Theatre, the citizens +understood that Demosthenes had determined to reserve to himself the +advantage of speaking last. They turned, therefore, to his chief +opponent and called upon Æschines. + +With an affectation of carelessness, Æschines ascended the bema and +plunged at once into his argument, like a man who speaks what first +occurs to his mind. The burden of his contention was that Athens was +bound by her oath to observe her treaty with Macedon. To break it, he +declared, would be to sink to the depth of dishonor and to make the +name of the city a byword throughout the world. As he elaborated point +after point in his reasoning, all tending to confirm and enforce his +conclusions, it was plain that he was making an impression in spite of +the fact that all who heard him knew that he had been in Philip's pay. +He painted in dark colors the cost and danger of the war that would +follow the violation of the treaty and closed with a florid appeal for +constancy and forbearance, which he called the first of virtues. + +He was succeeded by the dandy, Demades, whose robes of embroidered +linen trailed upon the ground, but who sustained the argument against +war with sledge-hammer blows of rhetoric. Glaucippus, Eubulus, +Aristophon, and other orators, less famous, sat nodding their heads +among their pupils and admirers, who clustered about them criticising +or commending each period that fell from the lips of the speakers. + +Watching the effect of the speeches, the partisans of Demosthenes, +fearful that it might be disastrous to permit his opponents to hold the +attention of the people any longer, renewed their shouts for him. The +Assembly joined them. It had heard enough of the peace party, and it +was eager to know how Demosthenes would answer. + +There had been hardly any cessation of the talk and laughter. Many +persons even moved about through the audience, chatting with their +friends, and the Scythians, whose duty it was to maintain order, did +not venture to interfere with them. Everywhere there was talk of the +advantages of peace. The fever for war had cooled before the logic of +oratory. Ariston, keenly attentive to all that was passing, was among +those who left his place and wandered about the amphitheatre, pausing +here and there to exchange a few words with an acquaintance. Behind +him, like a ripple on the surface of a lake, there spread through the +crowd the news that the story of Alexander's death was a falsehood +contrived by the friends of Macedon to entrap the republic into war. + +Before the old man had returned to his seat, the contradiction had +reached Demosthenes, elaborated into every semblance of truth. He saw +that it was believed and that he had been robbed of the main theme of +his speech; for he could not prove that Alexander was dead. In +response to the cries of the multitude, he rose, and there was no +pretence in the reluctance with which he walked with head bent toward +the benia, considering what he should say. As he ascended, the +shouting died away, and for the first time there was absolute stillness +in the Theatre. + +"Athenians!" he began, in a voice of moderate pitch, but of a resonant +tone that carried it to all parts of the circle, "by all means we +should agree with those who so strenuously advise an exact adherence to +our oaths and treaties--if they really believe what they say. For +nothing is more in accord with the character of democracy than the +maintenance of justice and honesty. But let not the men who urge us to +be honest, embarrass us and our deliberations by harangues which their +own actions contradict." + +Ariston glanced about him with alarm, which was intensified as the +orator, with consummate skill, built up the argument that, having bound +himself by the treaty to maintain the liberties of Greece, Alexander +had violated his oath by reinstating the tyrants of Messene and by +disregarding other specific clauses. Artfully exaggerating the +Macedonian aggressiveness, recalling by flattering allusions the great +days of Athens, raising the hope of victory if war should be declared, +Demosthenes presented the situation to the Assembly in such a light as +to make it seem that Athens not only had a right to take up arms +against Macedon, but that it was her plain duty to begin the attack. +This impression grew out of his words without apparent effort to convey +it. There was nothing in his speech to indicate that he was a special +pleader presenting only one side of the case. He seemed the +personification of candor and fairness. As his voice and gestures +became more animated, and the flood of his marvellous eloquence swept +over them, it appeared to his fellow-citizens that the men who had +given expression to the desire for peace must be charlatans or worse, +who had been bribed by Macedonian gold, as in fact many of them had +been, to betray them into the hands of the enemy. In words that none +but he knew how to choose, he raised the spectre that had been laid by +the death of Philip and made it more threatening than it had ever been +before. + +Under the magic spell of his voice old thoughts and feelings stirred +and woke in the hearts of the Athenians. For an hour they became once +more the men of Platæa and Salamis and of the hundred bloody fields +upon which they had measured their strength with that of their ancient +foes from the Peloponnesus. Their former greatness of soul flamed up +like a flash from a dying fire. + +While Demosthenes spoke, not a word was uttered in the group around +Clearchus. The young man sat with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, +tingling with a desire to sacrifice life itself, if need there were, to +revenge the wrongs of Athens and crush the insolent Macedonian. +Leonidas listened with hands clenched and with every nerve at tension, +like a hound of pure race straining at his leash toward the quarry. +Aristotle was gravely attentive, and even Chares, though he could not +be aroused from his lazy pose, followed the oration with evident +enjoyment. + +When Demosthenes ended and came down from the bema, the Assembly drew a +long breath, and instantly each man fell to discussing with his +neighbor what was best to be decided. Suddenly they realized with +astonishment that Demosthenes had failed to propose any decree and that +they had nothing before them upon which they might vote. + +"I thought he was going to tell us how Alexander died!" Demades sneered. + +"What has become of his witness of whom we have heard so much?" a +leather-dealer asked. + +"He is afraid to propose war! He has offered no decree!" another +citizen cried. + +These questions and a hundred others were discussed on every side with +a violence that swept away all semblance of dignity or restraint. The +factions quarrelled like children, and more than once came to blows in +their eagerness, making it necessary for the Scythians of the public +guard to separate them. At last the herald of the Epistate demanded in +due form whether the Assembly desired any decree to be proposed. Far +less than the required number of six thousand hands were raised in the +affirmative, and the gathering was dissolved, eddying out of the +enclosure in turbulent disorder. + +"Is that all?" asked Chares, rising and stretching himself with a yawn. + +"That is all," Clearchus replied sadly. + +"With a phalanx of ten thousand brave men I could take your Acropolis," +Leonidas remarked, measuring the height above his head. + +"Yes, but where could you find them?" Aristotle said. + +"Who knows? Perhaps in the camp of Alexander," the Spartan replied. + +Ariston had slipped away into the crowd. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BANQUET + +On their way from the Theatre, Clearchus informed his friends of his +decision to be married on the morrow. + +"Then we must feast to-night!" Chares cried promptly. + +"Very well," Clearchus said, "but you will have to make the +arrangements for me, as I have other things to do." + +"Aristotle will take charge of the food and wine," said the Theban, +eagerly, "if he is willing to assume such a responsibility; and I will +provide the entertainment and send out the invitations. What do you +say?" + +"Good," Clearchus replied; "that is, if Aristotle agrees." + +"I am willing," said the Stagirite. + +"It is settled, then," Chares declared. "Come, Leonidas, I shall need +your help. Let us get to work." + +It was hardly sunset when the guests who had been bidden by Chares +began to assemble at the house of Clearchus. A crimson awning had been +drawn over the peristylium and the soft light of scores of lamps shone +upward against it. Shrubs and flowering plants partly hid the marble +columns. Medean carpets had been spread upon the floor. The tables, +each with its soft couch, had been arranged in two parallel lines, +joined at one end by those set for the host and the most honored of the +guests. At the farther end of the space thus enclosed a fountain flung +up a stream that sparkled with variegated colors. + +All had been prepared under the direction of Aristotle in such a manner +as to gratify the senses without jarring upon the most sensitive taste. +The masses of color and the contrasts of light and shade were grouped +with subtle skill to create a pleasing impression. Slaves walked +noiselessly across the hall, appearing and vanishing in the wall of +foliage, bearing dishes of gold and of silver and flagons filled with +rare wines. Softly, as from a distance, sounded the music of flutes +and citharse. + +Clearchus and his guests, crowned with wreaths of myrtle, reclined upon +the couches. Their talk ran chiefly upon the events of the day and the +contest of oratory in the Assembly. + +"You Athenians ought to pass a law banishing all your speakers," Chares +drawled. "Then there might be some chance that you would adopt a +policy and stick to it. As it is, the infernal skill of these men +makes you believe first one thing and then another, until you end by +not knowing what to think." + +"You mean we have plenty of counsellors but no counsel," Clearchus +replied. + +"That's it, exactly," Chares said. "And that man, Demosthenes, will +bring you to grief yet, some day." + +"All your states have had their turn of power," Aristotle said, "and +none has been able to keep it. There is another day coming and it will +be the day of the Macedonian. He dreams of making you all one." + +"Let him keep away from my country with his dreams," Leonidas remarked. + +"There spoke the lion!" laughed Clearchus. "Stubborn to the last." + +"Did you hear what old Phocion said when he came out of the Theatre?" +asked a young man with a shrill voice who sat on the right. + +"No; what was it?" Clearchus inquired. + +"Demosthenes wanted to know what he thought of his oration," the +narrator said. "You know Demosthenes likes to hear himself praised and +he would almost give his right hand for a compliment from Phocion, the +'pruner of his periods,' as he calls him. 'It was only indifferent,' +the old fellow told him, 'but good enough to cost you your life.' You +should have seen how pale Demosthenes grew; but Phocion put his hand on +his shoulder and said, 'Never mind; for this once, I think I can save +thee.'" + +"They say Phocion is an honest man," Chares remarked. + +"So he is," Aristotle replied. "And one of few." + +The young men who had assembled to honor the occasion listened eagerly +to every word that fell from the lips of the man whose keen deductions +and daring speculations had begun to open new pathways in every branch +of human wisdom. The rivalry between the philosophers in Athens was +even more keen than that between the orators, and each had his school +of partisans and defenders. + +"Honesty is truth," said Porphyry, a young follower of Xenocrates, who +had succeeded Plato in the Academy. "But what is truth? Have you +Peripatetics discovered it yet?" + +"We are seeking, at least," Aristotle replied dryly, feeling that an +attempt was being made to entrap him. + +"Democritus holds that truth does not exist," Porphyry ventured, +unabashed. + +"Yes, and Protagoras maintains that we are the measure of all things +and that everything is true or false, as we will," the Stagirite +rejoined. "They are unfortunate, for if there were no truth, there +would be no world. As for the Sceptics, they have not the courage of +their doctrines; for which of them, being in Libya and conceiving +himself to be in Athens, would think of trying to walk into the Odeum? +And when they fall sick, do they not summon a physician instead of +trusting to some person who is ignorant of healing to cure them? Those +who search for truth with their eyes and hands only shall never find +it, for there are truths which are none the less true because we cannot +see nor feel them, and these are the greatest of all." + +"We might know the truth at last if we could find out what animates +nature," Clearchus said. "Why do flowers grow and bloom? Why do birds +fly and fishes swim?" + +"The marble statues of the Parthenon would have remained blocks of +stone forever had not Phidias cut them out," Aristotle responded. "It +was Empedocles who taught us that earth, air, fire, and water must form +the limits of our knowledge; but who believes him now?" + +"Do you hold, then, with Anaxagoras of Clazomene, that all things are +directed by a divine mind?" Porphyry asked. + +This question was followed by a sudden hush while Aristotle considered +his answer. All present had heard whispers that the Stagirite in his +teaching was introducing new Gods and denying the power of the old +divinities. This was the crime for which Socrates had been put to +death and Pericles himself had found it difficult to save Aspasia from +the same fate when a similar charge was preferred against her. +Aristotle felt his danger, for he knew that the jealous and powerful +priesthood would be glad to catch him tripping, as indeed it did in +later years. + +"It was Hermotimus, I think, who first proposed that doctrine," he said +slowly, "and I have noticed that Anaxagoras employs it only when no +other explanation of what he sees is left him." + +There was a murmur of applause at this reply, which suggested the +necessity for supposing the existence of an overruling intelligence +without committing the philosopher to such a belief. The young +Academician seemed crestfallen, but by common consent the topic was +abandoned as too dangerous and the conversation became more general. + +Clearchus could not wholly conceal the anxiety that filled his mind. +He started at every unexpected sound and turned his face toward the +entrance, where he had posted a slave with orders to bring him word +instantly should any message for him arrive. His mood did not escape +his friends, who, without knowing the reason for it, urged wine upon +him in the hope of raising his spirits and for the same reason +themselves drank more freely than usual. + +Chares had promised something new in the way of amusement, but he +refused to tell what it was to be. Consequently there was a flutter of +expectation when the attendants removed the last course, washing the +hands of the guests for the seventh time, and leaving only wine and +sweetmeats before them. + +First came a Scythian with a trained bear, which performed a series of +familiar tricks. Aristotle watched the animal with the most minute +attention, directing notice to several of its characteristics and +explaining their meaning. The music then struck into a louder and +livelier air and six young girls, in floating garments of brilliant +hue, performed a graceful dance of intricate figure. There was no +novelty in this and Chares became the target for good-natured +reproaches, which he received smilingly. The dancing girls gave place +to a swarthy Indian juggler, whose feats of magic delighted the +spectators and evoked cries of wonder and admiration. + +As the juggler retired gravely, it was noticed that Aristotle, unused +to so much wine, had dropped quietly off to sleep. By command of +Clearchus, two stalwart slaves carried him away to bed, while his +companions at the board drank his health. + +"All this is very well, Chares," Porphyry complained, "but I thought +you were going to show us something new." + +"Pour a libation to Aphrodite!" the Theban replied, sprinkling a few +drops from his goblet and draining what remained. + +The others followed his example, nothing loath. + +From behind a mass of blossoms came a young woman and stood before the +sparkling fountain with her chin slightly raised and a smile upon her +lips. She wore a chiton of shimmering, transparent fabric from the +looms of Amorgos. The coils of her tawny hair were held in place by +jewelled pins which were her only adornment. There was a confident +expression of sensuous content on her face and a slight smile parted +her lips as she saw the involuntary admiration that she inspired. + +Through the golden cobweb that covered without hiding it, her firm +flesh glowed warmly. The curves of her shoulders and breast and the +rounded fulness of her lithe limbs were as perfect as a statue. As +Clearchus gazed upon her with the delight in pure beauty which was so +strong in him, he was beset by an elusive sense of familiarity for +which he tried in vain to find some explanation. He was certain that +he had never seen the girl before. Had there been nothing else to +assure him of this, he knew that he never would have forgotten her +eyes. Like the eyes of a predatory animal, they shot back the light in +reflected gleams of fleeting topaz. + +Crouched at her side lay a leopard, his body pressed flat against the +rich carpet in which her white feet were buried. He wore a golden +collar with a slender chain, the end of which she held between her +fingers. The beast glanced restlessly from side to side in his strange +surroundings, twitching his tail with nervous uneasiness. + +In the light that bathed her from head to foot, the young woman posed +for a moment to allow the spectators to feel the full effect of her +beauty. + +"Thais! Thais!" cried several of the guests, in accents of intense +astonishment. + +"Is it really Thais?" Clearchus asked, turning to Chares. "How did you +ever persuade her to come?" + +The Theban smiled, but made no reply. Thais had only recently begun to +attract attention, but her fame had already eclipsed that of other +popular favorites in Athens. Sculptors and painters had declared her +the most beautiful woman in all Hellas. Poets had made verses in her +honor, likening her to Hebe and Aphrodite. Her house was thronged +daily with the youth of fashion. She had become the latest sensation +in a city greedy for all that was new. + +Little was known of her beyond the fact that she had been reared and +educated in all the accomplishments of her profession by old Eunomus, +one of the most skilful of all the Athenian dealers in flesh and blood. +Where he had found her he refused to tell. Everybody had heard that +Alcmæon had purchased her freedom a short time before his death, paying +Eunomus half her weight in gold, and that he had made comfortable +provision for her when his last illness seized him and he knew that he +must die. The only regret that he had expressed was that he must leave +her behind him. + +Left in an independent position, Thais had shown herself capricious. +None of the young men who hung about her could boast of any successes. +A few had ruined themselves in their efforts to gain her favor, and one +had even drunk hemlock and crept to her door to die. Clearchus, +although he had never before seen her, had heard enough of her to feel +astonished at her presence. He could not understand how Chares had +been able to induce her to come, like a mere dancing girl, for their +amusement, unless he had offered her an enormous sum of money. Knowing +the reckless character of his friend, the thought alarmed him. + +"You have ruined yourself!" he whispered to the Theban. "What did you +promise the woman?" + +"Not an obol, on my honor, O youth of simple heart!" Chares replied, +laughing. + +"Then how did you get her to come?" Clearchus asked. "You do not know +her." + +"I invited her," Chares replied; "and she accepted. I suppose it was a +woman's whim. I did not ask her." + +Slaves ran forward with a number of sword blades set in blocks of wood +in such a manner as to enable them to stand upright. These they +arranged symmetrically upon the carpet at equal distances from each +other, so as to form a lozenge pattern with its point toward Thais. +Dropping the end of the chain by which she held the leopard, as the +music changed to a rhythmic cadence, the young woman began to tread in +and out between the swords. Her movements were so light and graceful +that she seemed hardly to touch the carpet, threading her way from side +to side to the quickening measure. The leopard crept closer to the +line of steel and watched her with glowing eyes. Faster and faster +grew the measure, and faster grew her motions, until she was whirling +among the blades, which flickered like blue flames as her shadow +intercepted the light. A misstep would have sent her down to her death +upon one of the points which she seemed to regard no more than if they +had been so many flowers. The company watched her with a suspense that +was breathless. Suddenly the music ceased, and she stood before them +unharmed at the upper point of the lozenge. There was a glow on her +cheeks and her bosom panted from her exertions. The guests broke into +cries of admiration, casting their wreaths of myrtle at her feet; but +she had eyes only for Chares, who lay looking at her with a lazy smile. +She frowned and bit her lip. + +"Did I not do it well?" she demanded. + +"Excellently well," Chares replied. + +"Is that all?" she asked in a tone of disappointment. + +Before he could make any reply there came a frantic knocking at the +door outside the house. Clearchus started forward with an exclamation +of alarm. The man whom he had placed on guard ran in, terror stricken, +followed by Tolman, one of the slaves from Melissa's house in Academe. + +"Oh, my master!" Tolman cried, throwing himself at the feet of +Clearchus. + +"Artemisia!" the young man demanded. + +"They have carried her off," Tolman said, "and Philox, the steward, is +slain!" + +"Horses, Cleon! Bring swords and armor!" Clearchus shouted. + +"Who has done this?" Chares asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied; "we were forewarned; but it would be +better for them had they never been born." + +"Fetch me a jar of water," Chares cried, pushing aside the guests, who +had left their places and were crowding around Clearchus to learn the +news. When a slave brought a jar of cold water, the Theban plunged his +head into it to clear his brain and shook off the drops from his yellow +hair. "Now my armor!" he said. + +Leonidas was already occupied in putting on the light accoutrement of a +horseman, and, although he said nothing, there was a look of expectant +joy on his harsh face. + +Thais, who had drawn to one side, stood for a moment, and then seeing +that she had been forgotten, slipped away unnoticed. Some of the +guests hastened to their homes to arm themselves and follow the three +friends, while others remained behind to discuss the event. Clearchus +said a hasty farewell, and in a few moments from the arrival of the +slave the three young men, followed by Cleon, were racing down to the +city gate. + +Into the open country they dashed, Clearchus leading the way, while the +others spurred madly in their effort to keep pace with him. The sun +had not yet risen when they wheeled into the gateway and drew rein at +Melissa's villa. The place seemed deserted, for the terrified servants +had closed and barred the doors, fearing a renewal of the attack. It +was several minutes before they were able to gain an entrance. + +The frightened women pressed around Clearchus, wailing and beating +their breasts and trying all at once to tell him the story of what had +happened. The young man waved them aside and ran to the room where +Philox lay. The faithful old steward had received a dagger thrust in +the breast and was unconscious. Clearchus then sought Melissa; but in +the extremity of her fright she had locked herself in her apartments +and refused to open the door. + +Finding that nothing was to be learned in that quarter, Clearchus +sternly commanded the women to be silent and answer his questions. +Trembling, they obeyed, and he managed to make them tell how the +marauders had scaled the walls of the house with a ladder and how +Philox had fallen while trying to prevent them from admitting their +confederates. They had pillaged the house of everything that they +could carry. Artemisia had fainted when they laid their hands upon her +to take her away, but they had placed her in a litter which they seemed +to have ready for the purpose. As nearly as the women were able to +judge, they had gone southward, and as soon as they were out of sight, +Tolman had ridden to the city to give the alarm. + +"They are making for the harbor," Leonidas cried. "We shall catch them +yet!" + +Clearchus felt two small cold hands clasp his own, and glancing down he +saw Proxena, one of Artemisia's little slave girls, with her +tear-stained face upturned to his. + +"Please, master," she sobbed, "bring back our mistress, Artemisia!" + +The young Athenian could not speak, but he lifted the child quickly and +kissed her. In another moment they were off in the pursuit. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + +Clearchus led the way through brake and thicket and across tilled +fields, bearing off slightly to the southwest so as to avoid the Long +Walls that joined the city to the Piræus, where he knew the robbers +would not dare to venture. They crossed the winding Cephissus by the +Sacred Way, skirting the hills that overlook the harbor. It seemed +hours to the young man before they emerged upon the brow of a slope +that fell away to the rocky beach. + +Directly below them was a small inlet from which a boat filled with men +was putting out toward a weather-beaten galley that lay a short +distance offshore. + +"There she is!" Chares cried, pointing to a blotch of white in the bow +of the boat. + +"We are too late!" Clearchus groaned, as he measured with his eye the +widening gap between the boat and the shore. Despair and helpless rage +surged up in his heart as they dashed recklessly down the slope. + +"Come back!" he shouted desperately. "Twenty talents of ransom!" + +The distance was too great for his words to be distinguished, although +his voice evidently reached the boat. Artemisia heard it and stretched +her arms toward him. She struggled to rise, but the sailors held her +in her seat. The steersman turned his bearded face toward the shore +and shouted out a rough command. The boat continued on toward the +galley, whose sails were already spread for flight. + +"They are not all gone!" Leonidas cried eagerly. "See there!" + +A second boat lay in the inlet with its nose in the sand, while its +crew hurriedly stowed away the litter. As Clearchus looked, they +completed this task and prepared to push off. + +The three young men leaped from their horses, but the boat was now +launched. One of the mariners waded into the water, pushing at her +stern to give her headway, while the others got out their oars. + +"You come too late, idlers!" the seamen cried mockingly as their +pursuers leaped down over the rocks to the narrow strip of sand that +fringed the inlet. "You should rise earlier in the morning." + +The man who had been pushing at the stern of the boat was up to his +waist in water. "Pull me in, lads, she has way enough!" he said; but +as he gathered himself to spring, Leonidas plunged in after him and +clutched him by the ankle. Paying no more attention to his struggles +than he would have given to those of some fish that he had taken, the +Spartan dragged the spluttering wretch back to the beach. The crew of +the boat hesitated for a moment as though doubtful whether to attempt a +rescue, but Leonidas settled their doubts by thrusting his sword into +the man's throat. + +A cry of rage and a volley of threats came from the boat as the sailors +witnessed the fate of their comrade. In giving vent to their +indignation, they lost valuable seconds of time. So narrow was the +inlet that the boat was still within easy javelin cast of the shore. +Clearchus ran along the beach abreast of it, promising a fabulous +reward to the men who should bring back the captive. + +"Seek the girl in the slave markets," was all the reply that he could +get, "and see that you come not too late a second time!" + +"I promise that you shall not be punished!" the Athenian cried in +despair. "At least lend us your boat, or take us with you to the +galley." + +"If you want our boat, come out and get it!" one of the sailors cried +in derision. + +The words were still on his lips when a great stone fell into the water +close beside the prow, dashing the spray into the faces of the crew. +Clearchus looked up in astonishment and saw Chares standing on the +crest of the ledge of rock that rose behind the strip of sand. The +Theban held another huge and jagged missile poised above his head. +With a mighty effort he hurled it at the boat. Uttering cries of +terror the sailors attempted to sheer out of the way, but in their +confusion, their splashing oars neutralized each other. The great +stone, which a man of ordinary strength could not have moved, turned +ponderously in the air and struck the gunwale amidships with a crash +that tore out the planks in splinters. In an instant the boat filled +and went down, leaving the crew struggling among the floating fragments +of the litter. + +Several of the men, who seemed unable to swim, disappeared beneath the +surface. Others struck out for the beach, only to meet death on the +swords of Chares and Clearchus on one side, and of Leonidas, who had +run around to the opposite shore of the bay to intercept those who +sought to escape in that direction. + +One man only, a fellow of powerful frame, seeing the fate that awaited +him on land, swam boldly for the open sea, preferring to take his +chance of being picked up there rather than face death upon the sand. + +"Leave him to me!" Chares cried, stripping off his chiton. + +Without hesitation, he plunged into the sea, holding his sword in his +left hand and swimming with his right. + +"Take him alive!" Clearchus shouted. "We may learn something from him!" + +The chase was short, for although the Theban carried a weapon, the +sailor was encumbered by his garments. + +"Wait, my friend, I have something to say to thee," Chares said, +pricking the man with his sword point. + +Like a wild beast, the sailor turned in desperation as though to make a +struggle for his life. He looked with bloodshot eyes into the Theban's +smiling face. + +"You have only one chance of seeing to-morrow's sun," Chares said +coolly. "Swim before me to the shore and make up your mind on the way +to tell all that you know of what has happened." + +"Will you spare my life?" the man asked. + +"That depends," Chares replied, "but I promise you that I will not +spare it unless you obey without question." + +"There is no help for it," the man muttered, and he swam sullenly back +to the beach, where Leonidas quickly secured his arms behind him. + +"There is still a chance of capturing the galley," the Spartan said to +Clearchus. "Ride quickly to the Piræus and hire a vessel to put out +after her. We will bring this fellow in." + +Clearchus dashed away toward the harbor, but, as it happened, there was +no vessel that could take up the chase with any chance of success. The +galley was running before a fresh southwest wind, and although still +visible, she was already distant. Of the ships in port, some were +newly arrived and were heavily laden, while others were discharging +their cargoes. Clearchus offered any price to the captain who should +overtake the fugitive and bring Artemisia back, but the offer was made +in vain. The best that he could do was to charter six of the swiftest +ships that were available to take up the pursuit as soon as they could +be made ready. + +While he was concluding these arrangements, Chares and Leonidas arrived +with the prisoner. The man said that the galley had just returned from +a piratical cruise on the coast of Lucania and was under the command of +Syphax. He had joined the crew at Locri, he said, and knew nothing +about the abduction excepting that they were all to be well paid for +it. He was unable to tell what port the galley expected to make after +leaving Attica. + +Although he was examined later under torture, the man could reveal no +more. He was thrown into prison to be used as a witness against his +companions should they be caught. The last of the vessels that +Clearchus sent on the chase was out of the harbor before nightfall, and +the young man, feeling that he had done all that he could do, rode back +to the city overwhelmed by his loss. Chares and Leonidas sought in +vain to comfort him. His self-reproach at having left Artemisia +unguarded after the warning of the dream was too poignant. He shut +himself up to avoid the acquaintances who flocked about him to offer +their sympathy and to learn the details of his sorrow. They questioned +the slaves when they found the doors closed against them and then ran +to tell what they had learned in the baths, the barber shops, and the +gaming houses, greedy of gossip. Ariston, after making certain that +his part in the plot had not been discovered, came to visit his nephew +and was admitted. + +"We have no defence against the will of the Gods when it falls heavily +upon us save one," he said. + +"What is that?" Clearchus asked. + +"Patience," the old man responded. + +"Patience!" Clearchus exclaimed, striding back and forth with clenched +fists. "Yes, I will have patience! I will have patience to seek +Artemisia to the ends of the world until I have found her! And I will +have patience until every man who is concerned in this attack upon us +has paid for it with his life. I will be patient!" + +Ariston blanched at this outburst, but immediately recovered himself. +"Alas! What can you do alone?" he asked mournfully. + +"He will not be alone, for Chares and I will be with him," Leonidas +said quietly. "We have sworn it." + +"I will not advise against it," Ariston said with a sigh. "But it may +be that the galleys you have sent out will bring the robbers back. You +must not forget that you have duties to the State. The times are +troubled and your fortune is great." + +"My own affairs must come first at present," Clearchus said bluntly. +"As for my fortune, of what use is it to me without Artemisia? I must +ask you to take charge of it once more for me. I shall give you full +power, and if I come not back I desire that it shall be devoted to the +public good as you may see fit." + +"I am an old man," Ariston said, with mock hesitation, "but I cannot +refuse the trust under the circumstances if you require it of me. Yet, +why dost thou leave Athens?" + +"How can I remain here?" Clearchus exclaimed. "My suffering is too +great. But I knew you would not refuse me," he added in a calmer +voice, clasping his uncle by the hand. + +"Doubtless they have carried her to some one of the Eastern cities," +Ariston said reflectively. "That is where this Syphax would most +naturally go, as it seems his hope is to get money. I will write to +such friends as I have there to be on the watch." + +Clearchus groaned. "It will be too late, I fear, before thy letters +can reach them," he said. "I know not what to do nor where to turn." + +"Here is Aristotle; let us consult him," Chares said as the philosopher +entered. + +Aristotle listened attentively while Clearchus and his friends related +all the circumstances of Artemisia's abduction. He asked many +questions regarding the particulars of the dream of warning that had +preceded the attack. + +"Some things we know and others we can guess," he said at last. "Only +the Gods know all. The world is wide. I pity thee, Clearchus, my +friend, with all my heart, and I wish that I might aid thee. It is +clear that the warning came from Artemis. I advise thee to seek +counsel from PhÅ“bus, her brother. Thou art not an unworthy disciple +of his, for thy heart is pure and thy hands are clean. Thou lovest the +poets and music. Go to him with faith and perhaps he will aid thee." + +Hope appeared upon the face of the young Athenian. "I will go," he +said. "The great God himself loved Daphne and lost her. He may take +compassion on me. Chares shall remain here and set all things in order +so that we may act quickly if a sign should be given. Will you come +with me, Leonidas, to Delphi?" + +"I will," said the Spartan, "and let us go at once; for I can see that +thy heart is sick." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + +Clearchus and Leonidas rode out of Attica across the olive-bearing +plains, and up the rugged spurs and ridges which flank the mountain of +Cithæron, upon whose rocky slopes Antiope wailed as an infant, and the +rash Pentheus was torn to pieces by women to the end that the power of +Dionysius might be established. They halted for a brief space at the +fortress of Phyle, the key that had opened to Thrasybulus his native +land and enabled him to give it freedom. Leonidas admired the great +walls built of square blocks of stone laid one upon another without +mortar and fitted so exactly that the joints would scarcely be seen. + +Teleon, captain of the guard which was stationed at this gateway, was a +friend of Clearchus. He gave them bread and wine, while the young +Athenian told him of his misfortune. After expressing his sympathy, +Teleon inquired eagerly for the news of Athens. + +"Will the Assembly send troops to the aid of PhÅ“nix and Prothytes, +who have raised the revolt in Thebes?" he asked. "You know they now +hold the city, and my spies tell me that they are preparing for any +attack that may be made upon them." + +Clearchus gave him an account of the indecisive meeting of the Assembly +on the preceding day. + +"All Athens believes the boy king is dead," he said, referring to +Alexander. "What is your opinion, Teleon?" + +"That, too, is the belief in Thebes," the captain replied. "I know +not; but if it proves to be so, Thebes is free." + +"And if not?" Clearchus asked. + +"If not, there will be fighting," Teleon predicted, "and may Zeus +inspire the Macedonian to attack us here!" + +From the slope beyond Phyle the young man saw the BÅ“otian plain +spread out before them, and beyond, in the purple distance, the rocky +ramparts of Phocis. There, glowing rose-colored in the evening light, +shone the snow-clad crest of Parnassus. Clearchus' heart swelled as he +looked upon the goal in which his hope was centred. + +"We must be there to-morrow," he said eagerly. + +"The God will not run away!" Leonidas replied. + +They plunged down the mountain slope into the shadows, which deepened +under the plane trees as they advanced, until the winding track was +almost hidden before them. The moon rose as they emerged upon the +plain that had so often drunk the life-blood of Hellas. At Thespiæ +their horses could go no further, and they halted for the night. + +Although the road from Thebes was better, they had purposely avoided +the city, fearing that the disturbances there might delay them. They +found Thespiæ full of rumors of the Theban uprising. Some said that +the Macedonians in the Cadmea had been put to the sword; others that +the peace party had gained the upper hand and was awaiting the arrival +of Alexander. Leonidas, who listened eagerly to all that was said, was +surprised to find that the report of the young king's death was +discredited in the town. There were even men who insisted that he was +on his way through Thessaly at the head of his army, ready to strike. + +The Spartan sighed and looked wistfully over his shoulder in the +direction of Thebes as they took horse at sunrise. At evening, +begrimed with dust, they toiled up the last ascent that led to Delphi, +the terraced city among the sacred cliffs--the Navel of the World. + +As Clearchus gazed upward at the twin columns of the Phædriades rising +side by side a thousand feet above the temple in the cool gray +twilight, the fever of anxiety in his blood left him and his pulses +beat more slowly. The strong masonry of the outer wall, which enclosed +and seemed to hold from slipping down the mountain side the buildings +clustered about the lofty terrace, on which the temple stood close +under the towering cliffs, shut in the shrine that for centuries all +Hellas had looked upon as hallowed. Awe came upon him in the presence +of the great Mystery. There were scoffers in Athens who laughed at all +religion. There were philosophers in the world who taught that the +existence of the Gods was a foolish dream. Why had PhÅ“bus permitted +the Phocians to seize his treasure and to profane his altar, they +asked, if he really existed? + +Clearchus put the same question to himself as he looked down upon the +Cirrhæan fields that had been consecrated to the God and condemned to +lie waste forever in his honor. The Phocians had desecrated them by +cultivation. When condemned by the Amphictyons at the instance of +their enemies, the Thebans, they had seized the shrine and the +treasure-houses. Though they had prospered for a time, in the end +Philomelus and Onomarchus had been slain and the Phocians broken and +scattered. The sacrilege had been punished, but Philip had been +brought into Hellas as the champion of the God and the chief instrument +of his wrath. Thebes had been placed beneath his feet. + +What was to be the end? Was the fate of the city that had driven the +Phocians to their crime to be worse than that of their victims? +Clearchus, as he thought of these things, was chilled with an +indefinable dread of the Invisible Presence whose home was among the +silent and Titanic crags that made the utmost triumphs of human art and +skill laid at their feet seem as transitory as the work of children +fashioned in sand. He felt that here the mighty purpose of the Unseen +was being worked out, deliberate and irresistible, before which the +races of men were as nothing. + +They did not enter the city that night, but turned aside to the house +of Eresthenes, who had been a guest-friend of Clearchus' father. The +old man was overjoyed to see them. After the evening meal he sought +the priests of the temple and brought back word that the oracle might +be consulted next day if the sacrifice proved propitious. + +Clearchus slept soundly. In the morning he purified himself, according +to the rule, in the clear, cold waters of the Castalian Font hung about +with votive offerings in marble and bronze placed there by grateful +pilgrims to the shrine. Eresthenes gave him fresh garments, with the +garland of olive and the fillet of wool which suppliants were required +to put on. + +Guided by the old man, the two friends ascended the wide marble +staircase that led to the great stone platform at the southeast corner +of the lower terrace, where ceremonial processions were accustomed to +form before entering the sacred enclosure. Passing through the gate, +they advanced between treasure-houses upon which the most famous +sculptors of the world had lavished their skill. Among these and the +dwellings of the priests and the chief men of the place were set scores +of columns and statues, the offerings of centuries from kings and +princes. Across the lower terrace the way led them to the next higher, +with a sharp turn to the right at the great stone sphinx which guarded +the passage through the second wall. They continued up the slope to +the final platform, on which the temple stood resplendent with color. + +Entering between the great columns, Eresthenes and Leonidas left +Clearchus to the care of the priests--grave men of advanced age who +were under the direction of Agias. They led the Athenian to the +apartment of the chief priest, a venerable minister whose age had +passed one hundred years. He sat in his marble arm-chair, propped by +cushions. His white beard flowed over his breast, and his thin hands +lay crossed in his lap. He raised his dim eyes and fixed them upon the +face of his visitor. + +"What wilt thou, Thrasybulus, who comest back to me from beyond the +tomb?" he asked in a quavering voice. + +The attendant priests glanced at each other in surprise, but none of +them dared to reply. + +"Speak, Thrasybulus; I am an old man," the chief priest said. + +"Thrasybulus has been dead these fifty years, Father," Agias said. +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, who comes as a suppliant to the +oracle." + +"He is like Thrasybulus!" the old man muttered, bowing his head. "It +seems but yesterday that he stood before me." He paused for a moment +and then continued with an effort: "Art thou pure of heart? Art thou +free from the sins of the flesh?" + +"I am," Clearchus replied firmly. + +"Then pass into the presence of the God who knoweth all and who doth +not forget!" said the patriarch, closing his eyes wearily. + +Clearchus bowed and was about to turn away, when the old man roused +himself once more. + +"Come hither, boy, and let me look at thee!" he said. "My sight is +growing dim." + +Clearchus knelt at his feet, and the aged priest placed his hand on his +head, stroking his hair and peering into his face. + +"So like Thrasybulus! It was only yesterday!" he said to himself. +"The storm comes and the world is changing. Thou shalt see thrones +made empty and nations perish; but the God will remain until a greater +cometh. Clearchus art thou called? It may be so; but to me thou art +Thrasybulus. Go thy ways. The God will be kind to thee." + +Although the other priests were evidently struck by this unusual scene, +they made no comment, but led Clearchus into the dim interior of the +temple. On every hand, between the columns and against the walls, +gleamed statues and vessels of precious metals, exquisite in design and +workmanship, that the Phocians had not dared to remove from the house +itself of the God. Before them stood a group of young women in snowy +robes with fillets in their hair. They were chanting a hymn of slow +and solemn measure. + +They ceased their chant as the priests entered with Clearchus, and two +of them advanced, leading between them one of the three priestesses of +the temple. The Pythia was a woman of middle age, slender of figure, +with large gray eyes that seemed to look at Clearchus without seeing +him. Her thin cheeks still retained the fresh color of youth, and her +lips, of a deep red, moved gently as though she were whispering to +herself. + +Looking about him with eyes grown accustomed to the semidarkness, +Clearchus saw a slightly raised platform of white marble toward the +rear of the temple. Three shallow steps led to a broad slab, in the +middle of which was a cleft. Through this orifice curled a pale, +fleeting vapor, which rose like transparent smoke for the height of a +man above the platform before it vanished. It came from the stone in +puffs and spirals which swayed, now this way, now that, with a +peculiarly irregular and capricious impulse like the balancing of a +coiled serpent. + +Over the cleft was set a low tripod, the legs of which were formed of +intertwined snakes wrought in gold so cunningly that every scale seemed +reproduced in the bright metal. The jewelled eyes of the reptiles +twinkled through the vapor which alternately hid and revealed them. + +Slowly and solemnly the priestesses led the Pythia to the foot of the +platform, where they gave her hands to two of the most venerable of the +priests, whose office it was to conduct her to the tripod. Her lips +formed themselves into a smile as she mounted the steps and the women +resumed their chanting. + +As she took her place upon the tripod and the priests descended, +leaving her alone, a sudden thunderstorm burst above the towering crags +which overhung the shrine. The wind roared down between the Phædriades +with mighty strength, and a crash of thunder, leaping and reverberating +from rock to cliff, shook the temple to its foundations. + +"Zeus is speaking to the son of Latona!" murmured Agias, and all bowed +their heads in reverence. + +Filled as he was with awe, Clearchus felt reassured by the calm +demeanor of the priests. He fixed his eyes on the Pythia, who remained +seated on the tripod with her hands loosely folded in her lap, +oblivious alike to the storm and to her surroundings. The chill vapor +seemed to grow more dense. At times it hid her entirely, wrapping her +in its cold embrace. The color deepened in her cheeks and the smile +left her parted lips. With dilated pupils she gazed over the heads of +the little group before her. Gradually her face assumed a troubled +expression and her tongue began to frame broken words and fragmentary +sentences the purport of which Clearchus could not understand. +Suddenly she half raised her hands as though she would cover her eyes +and her face contracted as with a spasm of pain. + +"Evohe! PhÅ“bus!" she cried in a wailing voice. + +"Ask thy question--the God is here!" Agias whispered, pushing Clearchus +toward the platform. + +The young man found himself standing alone in the dread Presence, +gazing upon the Pythia, who was no longer a woman, but an instrument in +the hands of the God. The vapor curled about her and encircled her in +swiftly changing, fantastic forms. Her gray eyes looked out into his, +fixed and steadfast, and the tension of the influence which possessed +her convulsed her features. Dead silence reigned throughout the vast +and shadowy interior of the temple. + +Clearchus tried to frame the question that he had prepared but the +words refused to come. The awe of his surroundings paralyzed his +speech. + +Suddenly the dear, wistful face of his love seemed to appear to him +amid the folds of the rolling mist, filled with sorrow and yearning. +His fear left him. All else, even life itself, was as nothing before +the fierce desire of his heart. + +"Where shall I find Artemisia?" he cried, stretching out his arms +before the whirling cloud which hid the priestess in its embrace. + +There was a moment of suspense, in which he could hear the dull rushing +of the torrent that filled the sluices, overflowing with the rain, on +either side of the temple. The priests leaned forward attentively to +catch the reply, each holding a tablet of wax and a stylus with which +to record any words that the Pythia might utter. Clearchus stood +motionless, his arms still outstretched, gazing with straining eyes +upon the lips of the priestess. She writhed upon the tripod as though +in agony. Her eyes were set and glassy and a slight foam showed itself +upon her mouth. Then came her voice, strained and strange, through the +eddies of the vapor:-- + +"Seek in the track of the Whirlwind--there shalt thou find thy Beloved!" + +Her eyes closed, and a shuddering sigh issued from her bosom. The two +priests who had placed her upon the tripod hastened forward and bore +her from the platform. She had lost consciousness completely. Her +head drooped upon her shoulder and her face was as pale as death. The +old men gave her in charge of the women, who ran forward to receive her +and quickly carried her into their own apartments. + +A great joy filled Clearchus. "She is safe! She is safe! And I shall +find her!" he said to himself, following the silent priests out of the +temple. As they passed out into the portico he looked back over his +shoulder at the platform where the God had manifested himself. The +swift storm had swept over and the sun was shining again. A gleam of +his light fell upon the curling mist and Clearchus saw it tinged with +the prismatic colors of the rainbow. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + +Leonidas and Eresthenes stood in the portico of the temple awaiting the +return of Clearchus. + +"All is well!" the young man cried, throwing his arms around Leonidas +in the excess of his joy. + +"Shall we find her?" the Spartan asked anxiously. + +"Yes; the God has promised it," Clearchus replied. + +"Where is she?" Leonidas asked quickly. + +Clearchus hesitated and his face fell. The oracle had not told him +where she was. + +"What did the God mean when he spoke of the Whirlwind's track?" he +asked, turning to the priests. + +"We know no more than thou," Agias replied. "The answer given to thee +is more definite than any we have had in these later times. That is a +good omen. Be content and doubtless the God will choose his own way to +make all clear to thee." + +Clearchus was troubled, but he thanked the priests and arranged for the +bestowal of an offering of ten talents of gold. He was about to take +his leave when a man with mud-stained garments came running up the +steep incline to the temple. He was one of the agents or messengers +that the priests maintained in every large city of Greece to keep them +informed of events. The knowledge which they brought, added to that +which came with visitors to the oracle from all parts of the world, +made Delphi the centre of intelligence and enabled the servants of the +God, if need there was, to supplement his answers from their own +understanding. + +The man halted breathless before the white-clad group that stood in the +sunlight between the columns awaiting him. + +"It is Cimon," Agias said. "What news dost thou bring--speak!" + +"Alexander is before the walls of Thebes with his army!" the messenger +panted. + +"Whence came he?" Agias demanded. + +"Out of the mountains of Thessaly--like a whirlwind!" Cimon replied. +"Before men had time to learn of his approach, he was there." + +"Like a whirlwind, you say?" Agias repeated, glancing at Clearchus. + +"Like a whirlwind, indeed," the messenger replied, "and panic holds the +city!" + +"Thy question is answered, my son," said Agias, quietly. + +Clearchus was amazed. He had believed that the words of the Pythia +were to be taken in their literal sense, and he had resolved to consult +Aristotle in the matter on his return to Athens. But when Agias called +his attention to the reply of the messenger, who could have had no +knowledge of the prophecy, he could not doubt that a metaphor had been +intended. The plans of the young Macedonian monarch at once acquired a +new and intense interest in his mind and he listened eagerly to Cimon's +story. + +"The Thebans are divided," said the messenger. "They know not whether +to surrender their city and earn their pardon, or to give defiance to +the young king. The last they had heard of him was that he had been +slain in battle at Pelium by the blow of a club. You know already that +the citizens rose when PhÅ“nix and Prothytes came back from Athens +and that they besieged the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea. Athens +sent money and promised an army. The BÅ“otarchs ordered the walls to +be made strong and a barricade to be built inside so that even if the +walls should fall, they would still be able to defend themselves. +Fugitives from Onchestris brought the first news that Alexander and his +army were there. Even then the city would not believe it was the +Hegemon himself, but maintained that it must be Antipater or the +Lyncestian namesake of the king. For how, they asked, could the dead +come to life?" + +"Nothing is beyond the power of the Gods," Agias said sententiously. + +"We expected a swift attack," Cimon continued, "but it was not until +the next day that the army came within sight of the city and encamped +north of the walls. The Thebans sent their cavalry and light troops to +meet them. This was only a skirmish, but the soldiers brought word +that Alexander, indeed, was there. Some of them who knew him had seen +him directing the Macedonian troops. + +"We found this to be true when the Macedonians moved their camp around +to the main gate. The soldiers of the garrison in the Cadmea +recognized their king and cried out to us that Alexander had come to +avenge them. Still he did not attack, but sent a herald to say that he +would forgive all that had been done if the city would yield itself and +send him PhÅ“nix and Prothytes to be punished." + +"And what was the answer?" Agias asked. + +"There were many who favored accepting the terms," Cimon replied, +"especially since aid from Athens had been cut off; but the exiles who +had returned to raise the revolt declared that the king was afraid. +Should he have the boldness to attack the walls, they promised that he +would be beaten and that Thebes would send a garrison to Pella instead +of having one in the Cadmea." + +"They are desperate men," the old priest said. + +"But they won the people," Cimon replied, "and it was resolved to +fight. So matters stood when I slipped out of the northern gate last +night to bring you word." + +"You have done well, Cimon," Agias said. "Dost thou think the city +will escape?" + +"That I cannot tell," the messenger answered. "It has corn enough for +a siege; but Alexander's army contains thirty thousand footmen and a +troop of horse, besides ballistæ and battering-rams which they were +setting up when I left." + +"The walls are strong," Agias said, reflecting. "Well, go to thy rest. +Thou hast need of it." + +Clearchus and his friends had enough to talk about as they walked down +from the temple. + +"One thing is certain," said the young Athenian. "We must go at once +to Thebes." + +"That we must do if only to see the fighting," Leonidas replied. + +"What if the Dragon's Teeth should win?" Eresthenes suggested. + +"They cannot," Leonidas said. "The man who could make the march that +Alexander made is a general as well as a king. There is no Epaminondas +in Thebes now." + +"What will become of Chares' mother and his family if the city falls?" +Clearchus exclaimed, stopping short. + +"Have I not heard him say that his father formed a guest-friendship +with Philip when the Macedonian was left in Thebes as a hostage?" +Leonidas replied. + +"Yes," Clearchus admitted, "but that may be forgotten by his son if all +they say concerning Philip's death be true." + +"Then we must remind him," Leonidas said, "and that is another reason +why we must go to Thebes." + +Eresthenes gave the young men a cordial good-speed when they left him +in the morning to set out for the beleaguered city. They descended +from the mountains and entered the fertile plains of BÅ“otia, through +which they rode all day without finding a sign of war. The farmers +went about their work and the shepherds were pasturing their flocks as +peacefully as though there were no such things as armies and slaughter. +More than once they stopped to ask news of the siege, but the people of +the plain could tell them nothing. Many of them had not heard that +Alexander was before the city; others had indeed heard the rumor, but +convinced that they themselves were safe, they took no interest in it. + +Evening was drawing on and they had approached to within a few miles of +the city when they met a rider whose horse was dripping with sweat. + +"Ho, there; what news of Thebes?" Leonidas shouted as he passed. + +The man looked at them, but made no answer. He bent low on the neck of +his horse and his cloak flew out behind him like the wings of a huge +bird. + +"There has been a battle," Leonidas said. "Was he Theban or +Macedonian?" + +Burning with impatience, they urged their horses to the crest of a low +hill, where they came suddenly upon half a dozen cavalrymen, who had +halted in a small grove to bind up a wound which one of their number +had received in the shoulder. + +"What has happened?" Leonidas asked, drawing rein beside them. + +"Know you not that the city has fallen?" one of the soldiers replied. +"The accursed Macedonians forced us in through the gates and came in +with us. Not a soul is left alive in Thebes, and my wife and children +were there!" + +"And that is where you should be," the Spartan replied contemptuously. + +The poor fellow burst into tears at this reproach as he thought of the +fate of his little family. Clearchus, touched by his grief, drew out +his purse and gave it to him. + +"If they are still living, this may aid you to ransom them," he said. + +As the two friends proceeded they now began to meet other bands of +fugitives straggling along the road. Most of them fled silently, often +looking back over their shoulders as if in dread of pursuit. + +"Cowards!" said Leonidas, scornfully. + +"Life is sweet to all of us," Clearchus remonstrated, thinking of +Artemisia. + +"To such as these it should be bitter!" the Spartan replied. + +They were rounding a turn in the road as he spoke, and before the words +were well out of his mouth they found themselves entangled in a rabble +of horsemen, who were retreating before a fierce attack. + +"In here, quickly!" Leonidas cried, urging his horse back among the +trees beside the road. + +They had barely time to gain this shelter before the rush of plunging +horses and shouting men went past them. The Thebans were evidently +making a desperate attempt to rally, and just beyond the spot where the +two were concealed they halted, wheeled, and stood at bay. + +But before they had accomplished this manÅ“uvre the foremost of the +pursuers, headed by a young man riding a powerful chestnut horse, swept +into sight. The leader, in his excitement, had distanced his troop. +Clearchus and Leonidas, who, from their position in the elbow of the +road, were able to see in both directions, realized that he was +galloping straight into an ambush. Leonidas started forward to warn +him, but it was too late. The Thebans had regained their order, and +with a wild shout they charged back around the curve. + +Either the unexpectedness of the onset caused the chestnut to swerve, +or his rider tried to pull him up too suddenly, for he stumbled and +went to his knees. The young man was pitched headforemost into the +underbrush and fell almost at the feet of Leonidas. + +Some of the Theban troopers saw the accident and rushed upon him with +cries of triumph. They were confronted by Leonidas and Clearchus, who +stood over the prostrate figure with drawn swords. Surprise caused the +Thebans to hesitate, and this saved the lives of all three; for the +Macedonian riders, thundering down upon the Thebans at full speed, +struck them and tore them to pieces. Horse and man went down before +that fierce charge, which left nothing behind excepting the dead and a +handful of wounded, whose cries for mercy were cut short by a +sword-thrust. The survivors fled without looking behind them. + +"Where is Ptolemy?" shouted one of the Macedonians, a bearded man who +seemed to be second in command. "Who has seen the captain?" + +"He rode in advance," one of the troopers replied. + +"If we do not bring him back, we shall have to answer for it to the +king, and you know what that means," the first man said. + +"He is here!" Clearchus called from the thicket. + +The bearded lieutenant and several others hastily dismounted and +carried their captain out into the road. He was still unconscious. + +"Who are you?" the lieutenant demanded gruffly, looking at the two +young men with suspicion. + +"I am Clearchus of Athens, and this is Leonidas of Sparta," Clearchus +replied. + +"Of Athens!" the man said sneeringly. "Go back to your city and tell +the cowards who live there that we are coming!" + +"As you came once before--with Xerxes!" the young Athenian answered +quickly. + +The lieutenant's face grew livid and he whipped out his sword. + +"Cut their throats! Kill them!" the troopers cried angrily, pressing +closer. + +Like a flash, Leonidas bestrode the form of the captain, sword in hand. + +"I am of Sparta!" he cried boastfully. "My country never saw the face +of Philip, nor shall it look upon that of his son, who calls himself +the Hegemon of all Hellas. Put away your swords, or here is one whose +funeral you will celebrate to-morrow!" + +He placed the point of his blade at the captain's throat as he spoke. +The men of Macedon dared not move. + +"Listen to reason!" Clearchus said hastily. "We are without armor, as +you see. We saved the life of your captain, and we are on our way to +Thebes to see Alexander on matters of importance. Take us with you and +let your king deal with us. This is no time nor place for brawling." + +"You are right," the lieutenant said sullenly. "Let it be as you say." + +He sheathed his sword, and the others followed his example, though with +an ill grace. The captain had begun to recover his senses. His skull +must have been tough to have resisted the shock of his fall without +cracking. + +"Why are you letting me lie here?" he demanded. "Where is the enemy?" + +"Scattered and gone, excepting these that you see," the lieutenant +replied, pointing to the bodies. + +"Then get me on a horse and back to camp," the captain ordered. + +As they rode the lieutenant explained the presence of Clearchus and +Leonidas. The captain frankly gave them thanks when he learned that +they had protected him while he lay helpless. + +"I am Ptolemy," he said, "and since you desire to see Alexander, I will +take you to him. I owe you much and the day may come when I shall be +able to repay you." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE DOOM OF THEBES + +The plain where once the sons of Niobe lay weltering had borne its last +harvest of slaughter. On every side Leonidas and Clearchus noted the +ghastly evidences of battle. Darkness fell before Ptolemy's troop +reached the shattered gates of Thebes. Men with torches in their hands +wandered through the streets strewn with corpses, seeking plunder among +the dead or searching for the bodies of friends. Neither sex nor age +had been spared when Perdiccas hewed his way into the city. The very +altars of the Gods were crimsoned with the vengeance taken by the +Phocians, the Platæans, and the BÅ“otians for the centuries of cruel +oppression that they had suffered from the rapacious brood of the +Dragon. + +Mothers lay dabbled in blood, with their infants beside them, struck +down in flight. The market-place was heaped with bodies, showing how +desperate had been the final stand of the Theban soldiers. The streets +were littered with household gear that had been dragged in wantonness +from despoiled homes. + +The plundering was not yet finished. Bands of soldiers were still +searching for booty in the remoter quarters of the city, where their +progress could be traced by the sound of their drunken laughter, +mingled with the screams of their victims. + +Macedonian guards paced the walls and cut off all hope of escape. The +wretched inhabitants, driven into the highways, sought concealment in +dark angles and narrow lanes, cowering in silence. + +Here and there a woman, rendered desperate by her anguish, walked with +dishevelled hair, heedless of insult, seeking her children among the +slain in the hope that she might find them still alive. + +Clearchus felt his heart grow faint at the thought that Artemisia might +be exposed to the frightful chances of such a sack. PhÅ“bus himself, +he thought, might be unable to protect her, since here the temples of +the Gods had been profaned. An old man in priestly robes stood out +before them with trembling hands upraised. + +"Vengeance, O Zeus!" he cried aloud. "Vengeance upon those who have +violated the sanctuary of Dionysus, thy son! May they--" + +"Silence, Graybeard!" growled a soldier, striking him across the mouth +with his fist. + +The old man reeled from the blow and shrank away into the shadow. + +"You'll choke if you ever try to drink wine again, Glaucis!" a comrade +cried, laughing. + +"Dionysus will forgive me soon enough for a sacrifice," Glaucis +returned. "Never fear!" + +Ptolemy learned that Alexander had gone to the Cadmea and thither he +led Clearchus and Leonidas after he had dismissed his men, eager to +take their share in the pillage. They found the young king in a large, +bare room in the lower part of the citadel. He had not yet laid aside +his armor, which was dented and scratched by use. + +When they entered, he was giving orders to his captains, who stood +grouped about him. Clearchus looked at him with eager interest. He +saw a well-proportioned, athletic figure, no taller than his own. The +handsome beardless face glowed with the warm blood of youth and a smile +parted the full red lips. There was no trace of fatigue in the young +king's attitude, despite the labors of the day, and his movements were +alert and decisive. He looked even more youthful than his twenty-one +years as he stood among his leaders, some of whom were veterans of +Philip's campaigns, grizzled with service. But in spite of his youth, +there was a confidence in his bearing that left no doubt of who was +master. + +Clearchus felt himself strangely drawn to the young man whom all +Hellas, with the exception of Sparta, acknowledged as its champion, and +who was about to assail that great power beyond the Hellespont, whose +limits were unknown and before whom Greece had stood in dread since the +days of Great Cyrus. The Athenian found the "boy king" very different +from the arrogant, mean-spirited upstart that the orators of his city +had painted him. + +"Stop the plundering," Alexander said to his captains. "Even the +BÅ“otians must be satisfied by this time. Let the men go back to the +camp, and see that order is maintained. The Ætolians and the Elæans +are on the march and reënforcements are coming from Athens. There may +be more work to do to-morrow." + +As the officers left him to execute his commands, Alexander turned to +Ptolemy with hands outstretched. + +"I am glad to see you safe!" he said. "You charged bravely before the +gate, and I feared that something might have happened that would +deprive me of your aid when we march into Persia." + +Ptolemy's bronzed face reddened with pleasure as he heard the praise of +the young king. + +"I went in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry," he said. + +"Is it likely that any of those who escaped will be able to rally?" +Alexander asked. + +"They are scattered in every direction and think only of flight," +Ptolemy replied. + +"That is well," Alexander said. "We shall be the better able to deal +with the others when they come. Who are these that you have brought to +me?" + +He turned toward the two young men, who had been standing at a little +distance, and looked them frankly in the eyes. + +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, and this, Leonidas of Sparta," Ptolemy +replied, presenting them in turn. + +Alexander's face clouded at the names of the two most powerful of the +states that opposed him in Greece, and Ptolemy hastened to add: "They +saved my life when my horse stumbled in the pursuit, and they have a +request to make of you." + +"You have done me a great service," Alexander said kindly. "What is it +that you desire?" + +"We ask clemency for the family of Jason, on behalf of Chares, his son, +whom we left behind in Athens," Clearchus replied. + +"And why is he not in Thebes?" Alexander asked quickly. + +"Because he did not know that you were coming," Clearchus said. "Had +he been aware of the danger, he would not have been absent. We heard +of your arrival while we were in Delphi, and we made all haste to +remind you that Jason was a guest-friend of your father, Philip." + +"Orders have been given that the guest-friends of Macedon shall be +spared, both in their lives and their property," Alexander replied. +"What did you in Delphi?" + +Clearchus told him briefly how Artemisia had been stolen and of the +response of the oracle. + +"Love must be a strong passion," the young king said thoughtfully. + +"I would give all that I possess to recover Artemisia," Clearchus +replied. "Nor would I be willing to exchange my hope of finding her +for the wisdom of Aristotle or even for the hopes of Alexander." + +"So you know Aristotle," Alexander said. "He is a wonderful man. Were +I not Alexander, I would envy him." He looked curiously at Clearchus as +he spoke, as though he were considering something that he did not +understand. "So that is what they call love," he continued, "and I and +my army are the Whirlwind of which the God spoke." He beckoned to an +attendant. "Call Aristander!" he said. + +He made Clearchus repeat his story to the famous soothsayer. +Aristander listened attentively, stroking his chin with the tips of his +fingers as his custom was. + +"What do you think of it?" Alexander asked, when Clearchus had +finished. Everybody knew the confidence that he placed in the words of +the prophet and that he never took an important step against his advice. + +"Full credit must be given to the oracle," Aristander said, turning his +blue eyes upon the young king, "and I think that the priests of the +temple were right in their interpretation, since the message brought +and the title given could have had no other meaning. As the maid was +carried away by sea, she was probably taken to some island or to one of +the cities on the coast of Asia. The Whirlwind's track must needs lead +thither, and since the maid is to be set free, it is clear that the +Whirlwind shall prevail." + +"Then the oracle is propitious!" Alexander exclaimed. "What is your +plan?" he added to Clearchus. + +"I shall obey the oracle and follow in thy track," the Athenian +replied. "If thou wilt permit me, I myself will become a part of the +Whirlwind." + +Alexander looked at him with the unquenchable fire of enthusiasm in his +eyes. + +"Thou art welcome!" he said. "And you, my friend of stubborn Sparta?" +he continued to Leonidas. + +"I go with Clearchus," the Spartan responded briefly. + +"You shall be of my Companions," Alexander cried, placing his hand upon +a shoulder of each. "The world grows old and we have been wasting our +strength in foolish quarrels with each other while the tiger has been +lying there across the water, waiting to devour us. We shall show him +that the spirit of Hellas still lives, although Troy has fallen, and we +will do deeds that shall be sung by some new Homer as worthy too of a +place beside those of Achilles and Ajax and Agamemnon. Yes, and we +will bring back a fleece more precious than that which the Argonauts +sought. I promise you that the Whirlwind's track shall be long enough +and broad enough to lead you to your heart's desire, whatever it may +be. Ptolemy, I count these men among my friends and I give them into +your charge." + +Clearchus and Leonidas felt their hearts swell at the young king's +words and his lofty generosity, but before they could thank him, they +were interrupted by a commotion at the door. + +"Out of the way! I will see him! I care not how late it is," an angry +voice exclaimed. + +"It is Chares, son of Jason," Clearchus said. "How comes he here?" + +Alexander quietly signed to the guard, and the Theban strode into the +room, clad in armor that clashed noisily as he walked. He looked +neither to the right nor left, but went straight to Alexander. + +"I am come to remind the King of Macedon of the ties of hospitality," +he said boldly, in a voice more fitted to a demand than a petition. + +Alexander measured his great stature with admiration in his glance, +noting that the armor, gold-inlaid, was crusted with mud and grime like +his own. + +"Thy name might be Hector," he said. + +The Theban, ignorant of the young king's train of thought and of what +had gone before, imagined that he saw mockery in this remark. His face +flushed darkly. + +"My name is Chares!" he said haughtily. "Jason, my father, was the +friend of Epaminondas, who furnished thy father with the weapons that +thou hast used against us this day. I come not to thee on my own +behalf, but on that of my mother and sisters, who were shut in here +when the attack came." + +"You are too late!" the young king said composedly. + +Chares staggered and his face blanched. "Too late!" he exclaimed +hoarsely. "Does Alexander, then, make war upon women?" + +"I say you came too late," Alexander replied, "and doubly so; for your +friends, here, were more prompt than you, and yet even they were tardy." + +"My friends!" Chares cried in bewilderment, seeing Leonidas and +Clearchus for the first time. + +"Alexander speaks the truth," Clearchus said quickly. "We are all too +late, because he had already given orders for the safety of your +family." + +"I ask your forgiveness; I spoke without understanding," Chares said, +turning to the king. + +"Thou hast courage," Alexander said with a smile, "but I would not +choose thee as my envoy on a delicate mission. Thou wert not here to +defend thy home?" + +"Because I knew not that there was need," Chares admitted. "I am +sorry." + +"And I am glad," the young king rejoined, "for hadst thou been inside +the walls, I fear I might have lost men whom I cannot spare. Didst +thou come from Athens?" + +"I left Athens with the army," Chares answered, "but it halted on the +frontier when news arrived that Thebes had fallen." + +"Then there will be no more fighting!" Alexander exclaimed, turning to +Ptolemy. "I am glad of it. Greet thy mother for me, Chares, and tell +her to fear nothing. Ptolemy will conduct you." + +Escorted by the Macedonian captain, the three friends descended from +the citadel. Order had been restored in the city as though by magic. +Only the military patrols and the bodies of the dead remained in the +streets. The living had been driven into their houses, taking the +wounded with them. The plunderers had retired to the camp outside the +walls. + +Chares strode eagerly in advance, asking many questions regarding the +experiences of his friends in Delphi. The house of Jason, a mansion +built near the northern end of the city, had been saved by its location +from the desperate fighting that had taken place about the southern +gate and in the market-place. They found a guard stationed at the door. + +"You see that the king is as good as his word," Ptolemy said. "You +will find nothing disturbed here." + +"How could he have remembered his friends in the heat of the attack?" +Chares asked. + +"He forgets nothing," the captain replied, "neither friend nor enemy." + +Chares urged the Macedonian to enter, but Ptolemy declined on the +ground of fatigue and left them. The slave at the gate went wild with +joy when he caught sight of his young master. He had been waiting in +momentary expectation of being summoned forth to the death that he was +convinced awaited everybody in the city. + +Chares hastened to the women's court, where he found his mother and +sisters robed in white and surrounded by their maids, who were trying +to spin, although their fingers trembled so that they could hardly hold +the distaff. The widow of Jason, a woman with silvery hair and a face +that was still beautiful, sat calmly in the midst of the group, +awaiting with quiet courage what might befall. She rose with composure +to greet her son and his companions. + +"You are safe, mother!" Chares exclaimed, clasping her in his arms. +"Alexander has given his word that you shall be unharmed!" + +"You have seen him?" she returned. "That is well. You may go to your +rest. Nothing shall harm you," she added, dismissing her maidens. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + +What was to be the fate of Thebes? The minds of the wretched +inhabitants of the city were diverted from their sorrows as they asked +each other this question on the morning after the battle. The dead had +been removed from the streets. The wounded had been cared for. The +enemy had withdrawn outside the walls, after posting guards in +sufficient numbers to suppress any rising that the Thebans might be +desperate enough to attempt. + +All eyes were directed toward the Cadmea, within whose gray walls the +punishment that was to be visited upon the city was being discussed. +One citizen suggested that a heavy fine would be exacted. Another +declared he had heard that the Thebans would be forbidden to bear arms. +A dozen similar conjectures were made and canvassed before news came +from the Cadmea that Alexander had left the Phocians, the Platæans, and +the BÅ“otians, his allies, to impose the sentence. This announcement +was received in gloomy silence; for more than one Theban recalled how +his city in her day of pride had blotted out Orchomenus and Platæa and +sold their people into bondage. + +The anxious watchers in the streets at last saw a stir in the crowd +that waited outside the gates of the citadel. The portals opened, and +the victorious generals, surrounded by waving standards, came out and +began to descend from the rock. The spectators below saw the Thebans +scatter before them, tossing their arms above their heads and rending +their garments. A hush full of dread fell upon the city. + +"Thebes must perish! Her walls must go down!" cried one from above +with a despairing gesture. + +"We are to be sold for slaves!" shouted another, halting upon a parapet +and making a trumpet of his hands. + +The tidings were received with incredulity, followed by stupefaction. +The blow had fallen, and it was worse than even the least sanguine +prophet had predicted. The generals, as they rode toward the gates of +the city, were followed by men who fell on their knees and begged for +quarter. No heed was paid to their prayers, and the escort of soldiers +thrust them back with jeers. + +Alexander remained in the Cadmea, where Chares and a handful of the +most prominent Thebans, who had been able to establish guest-friendship +with the royal house of Macedon, sought him to intercede for the city. +They found him alone, sitting with his chin in his hand. They recalled +to him the glorious deeds of Thebes, dwelt upon the misery that the +sentence would inflict upon the innocent, and warned him that all +Hellas would reproach him if he permitted it to be carried into effect. +They admitted the fault of the city and asked forgiveness. + +The young king heard them through without stirring. + +"All that you have said to me," he replied when they had finished, "I +have already said to myself. Thebes has been false to her oath. I +pardoned her as did Philip, my father. The sentence is not mine, but +that of my allies, and what cause they have, you know. Can I ask them +to forget?" + +Terror ran with the news through all Greece. The Athenians, the +Ætolians, and the Elæans, who had encouraged the rebellion with money +and promises of further aid, hastily recalled their troops and sent +ambassadors to sue for mercy. Demosthenes was chosen to plead for +Athens, but when he had advanced on his journey as far as Mount +Cithæron, his courage failed him and he turned back. The young king +sent a messenger to Athens calling upon the Athenians to deliver eight +of their orators who had been foremost in stirring up the people +against Macedon, and the name of Demosthenes stood at the head of the +list. + +In the Assembly that was called to consider this demand Demosthenes won +the day by repeating the fable of how once the wolves asked the sheep +to deliver to them their watch-dogs and how, when the demand had been +granted, they fell upon the defenceless flock. But so great was the +fear of Alexander among the people that they might, after all, have +sent the orators to Thebes had not the men who were threatened hired +Demades with a fee of five talents to offer himself as an intermediary. +The offer was accepted and Alexander yielded. + +The escape of Demosthenes through the intercession of his inveterate +enemy and the mysterious disappearance of Thais were the talk of the +city when Chares arrived with his two friends, bringing his family with +him. Clearchus received them into his house, where they were to remain +during his absence from Athens in search of Artemisia, following the +directions of the oracle. Ariston was much disappointed when his +nephew refused to exact any rental from his friend. He had taken +charge of Clearchus' fortune again, and it grieved him that any +possible source of income should be neglected. But Clearchus knew that +Chares had need of all his resources; for his mother had drawn up a +list of the friends of the family who had been forced to remain in +Thebes, telling him that he must purchase them and thus save them from +slavery, even if it should take all they possessed in the world. As +the list was long, Clearchus deemed it wise not only to place his house +at the disposal of Jason's widow, but to make provision for its +maintenance out of his own income while he should be away. + +He paid no attention to the grumbling of his uncle, who affected to +look upon this generosity as little short of madness. He said so much +to dissuade the young man from his plan, that Clearchus at last was +forced to remonstrate with him. + +"One would think that you were on the brink of ruin," he said, "instead +of being one of the richest men in Athens, if reports that I have begun +to hear lately are true." + +"Who says that?" Ariston demanded sharply. "He lies, whoever repeats +such things. Whenever you hear it, if you love me, say that it is not +true. If such stories should get to be believed, that accursed +Demosthenes will be forcing me to fit out a trireme for some of his +wild schemes. The times are so troubled that what little I have been +able to save by my frugality for the support of my age I am likely to +lose." + +He was not unwilling to have his nephew believe that he was at least +moderately rich, for had Clearchus known the straits his uncle was in, +his suspicions might have been aroused. With his mind full of the loss +of Artemisia, there was small chance that he would discover anything. + +Like vultures upon a deserted field of battle the slave-dealers +gathered at the great market of flesh and blood at Thebes. The sale of +the population of the city had been delayed so as to insure a good +attendance; for Alexander had need of the money that it was expected to +yield with which to defray the cost of his expedition against the Great +King. Speculators, traffickers by wholesale, and agents from every +considerable mart in the world, to say nothing of amateurs, flocked to +the city. It was not so much the fact that thirty thousand men and +women were to be offered and the consequent probability of low prices +that drew them as the quality of the victims. It was easy enough to +purchase slaves in almost any number, but there was a vast difference +between ignorant barbarians, captured in distant raids, and the +population of one of the oldest and most cultured of the Grecian +cities. And no comparison was to be made between girls who had been +destined to slavery from their cradles and the Theban maidens reared in +the shelter of luxury and ease. + +It had been expected that it would take several days to dispose of the +prisoners, but so numerous were the buyers that the Macedonians decided +to attempt it in one day. For greater convenience, the captives were +separated into companies of about five hundred and brought out upon the +plain before the city, where most of the dealers had pitched their +tents. Each division was guarded by a squad of soldiers commanded by +an officer, whose duty it was to conduct the auction of the group under +his care. + +No outcry was permitted among the hapless population. Mothers clasped +their children in their arms, weeping softly over them. Some awaited +their fate with sullen resignation. Others looked for a prodigy to +restore them to freedom and their city. A report had gone abroad that +Dionysus would appear in person and forbid the sale. On all sides rose +the murmur of his name in tones of entreaty or reproach. With anxious +eyes, the believers scanned the sky and the barren hillsides for some +sign, they knew not what. None was vouchsafed. Their God had deserted +them. + +In order that the friends whom he was to ransom might not be lost in +the confusion, Chares had obtained consent that they be assembled in +one group. They came last out of the city, clad in garments of +mourning and moving in heavy-footed procession. Lest he should raise +false hopes, Chares had made a secret of his plans. The prisoners +fully expected to pass into the possession of strangers. Old men of +grave face and dignified bearing, who had spent their lives in the +service of the city and whose names were known throughout Greece, led +the way. Behind them walked their women, proud of bearing and +accustomed to the privileges of rank and wealth. Some of the matrons +led daughters who looked with terror upon the strange scenes that met +their eyes. Orphaned children clung to each other in fear, while here +and there new-made widows, whose husbands had been slain when the +strength and vigor of the city were cut off in a day, walked sadly and +alone. + +When all had been herded within the ring formed by the guard, the +Macedonian captain who was to conduct the sale of the group that +contained Chares' friends mounted briskly upon a block of stone and +announced the terms prescribed for buyers. Payment was to be made in +all cases in cash, and the purchaser was to have immediate possession. +Chares took a position facing the auctioneer in a knot of dealers who +were searching for some fortunate speculation. These men looked upon +the unhappy Thebans with professional keenness, exchanging comments +among themselves. + +"That's a fine old fellow with the white beard," said one. "He looks +as though he might have money out at interest somewhere." + +"Probably he's only a philosopher," another said scornfully. "For my +part, I shall buy that thin one. He has been living on bread and water +all his life and he must have a snug sum buried. Trust me to make him +dig it up!" + +"There seem to be some marketable girls here," observed a third. "I +find the Medes will pay a better price for them if they have a pedigree +as well as good looks." + +Mena, the Egyptian, prying about through the crowd, examined the +captives with speculative eyes. Suddenly he caught sight of a figure +that caused him to stop and stare. It was that of a young woman, +veiled, who seemed to be seeking to conceal herself behind the other +prisoners. + +"Who is she?" he asked of one of the guard when he had recovered from +his astonishment. + +"She is down on our list as Maia, daughter of Thales," the man replied. + +Mena seemed puzzled. "I must find out more about this," he said to +himself, taking his stand at a point of vantage. "Besides, there may +be a chance here to turn a profitable investment." + +The chatter ceased as the captain opened a roll of papyrus containing +the names of the prisoners and announced that the sale was about to +begin. The old man with the white beard was the first to be brought +forward. He proved to have been one of the BÅ“otarchs. + +"How much am I offered for him?" the captain cried. "He is old, but +his wisdom is all the greater for that." + +"Five drachmæ!" shouted a countryman in a patched and faded cloak. "He +gave a decision against me once in a lawsuit." + +Everybody laughed at this reason for making a bid, but the farmer +seemed in deadly earnest. + +"Five minæ!" Chares said quietly. There was no other bid and the sale +was made. + +Then came a slender girl with yellow hair and blue eyes that were +swollen with weeping. Her chiton of fine linen clung in graceful folds +to her slim figure, and she trembled so violently that she could +scarcely stand. + +"She ought to fill out well if she lives," said one of the merchants, +stroking his beard, while he examined her carefully. "But it's always +a risk to buy them so young." + +"She might be trained to dance," said Mena, who had elbowed his way +into the crowd. "It's worth trying if she goes cheap. Fifty drachmæ!" + +"Five minæ!" Chares said again. + +"That's ten times what she is worth!" Mena exclaimed, turning angrily +upon the Theban. "Are you trying to prevent honest men from making a +living?" + +"Let honest men speak for themselves," Chares retorted. + +The laugh that followed filled the Egyptian with rage. He was cunning +enough to wait until Chares had made several more purchases, and at +prices far above the market value of the captives. Mena guessed that +the Theban intended to outbid all who opposed him. He resolved to be +revenged by making him pay dearly for his purchases. It happened that +the next offering was a man whose name was not on Chares' list. Out of +mere good nature he bid two hundred and fifty drachmæ for him. + +"Five minæ!" the Egyptian shouted, doubling the bid with the intention +of forcing Chares to go higher. + +But Chares was silent, and no other bidder appeared. Mena, who did not +have the money that he had offered, shifted uneasily, looking at Chares. + +"I see you have some sense," he cried at last. "You are afraid to bid +against me!" + +Chares made no reply. + +"He is yours," the auctioneer said, addressing Mena. "Step this way +with your money!" + +"Wait!" screamed the Egyptian. "I withdraw the bid! The man is lame!" + +"Do you mean to accuse me of trying to cheat you?" roared the +Macedonian captain. + +"Perhaps you didn't notice it," the Egyptian faltered. + +"Away with him!" cried the soldier. + +While the prisoner was being awarded to Chares, two men led Mena out of +the circle, amid the jeers of the spectators. At a safe distance, +under pretence of seeing whether he really had the money he had +offered, they took from him all that he possessed and divided it +between themselves before they let him go. + +"I'll make him sorry for this!" Mena said, shaking his fist at Chares. +"I know what I know; but why do they call her Maia?" + +Burning with rage, the Egyptian slunk away in search of his master, +Phradates, whom he found wandering idly among the scattered groups of +captives. + +"Oh, Phradates, thou hast been insulted!" Mena cried, breathlessly. + +"How so, dog?" Phradates demanded, his face darkening as he spoke. + +The PhÅ“nician's figure was tall and well knit, although the +profusion of jewels and golden chains that he wore, and his garments of +rich silk, woven with gold thread, gave him an effeminate look. His +face might have been handsome had it not been marred by an expression +of haughty insolence which betrayed the weakness upon which Mena +intended to play. + +He had been sent into Greece by Azemilcus and the Tyrian Council in the +guise of a rich young man on his travels, but with the real object of +discovering the plans and strength of Alexander. Tyre was nominally +tributary to the Great King, but the only sign of her dependence was +the payment of a small annual tribute. In all matters of moment she +managed her own affairs. It was important, therefore, for her rulers +to have exact knowledge of what was going forward in Greece, so that +they might shape their course as seemed best for their own advantage. + +Mena noted the flush on his master's cheek and foresaw the success of +his scheme of revenge. + +"It occurred to my poor mind," he explained volubly, "that your +Highness would be pleased with a slave from this city of rats, which, +nevertheless, contains some charming maidens. I learned that they had +assembled all the prisoners of gentle birth in one place together. I +went there and examined them for you. Among them I found a girl of +rare beauty and when I asked concerning her, they told me she was Maia, +daughter of Thales, one of the chief men in the city. Such a form as +she has!--with hair like copper and a glance that would--" + +"Will you never finish?" Phradates asked angrily. + +"I chose her for your Highness and gave command that she be reserved +until I could find you to claim her," Mena continued. "But it seems a +Theban, whom they call Chares, had resolved to buy her for himself. I +told him that I had spoken for the girl in your name. 'Let the Tyrian +hound go back to his dye-vats,' he said. 'The girl is mine and he +shall not have her while I have an obol left!' He said much more +against the people of Tyre and yourself in particular that I will not +offend your Highness by repeating. I am sorry that I lost the girl, +for there is no other like her among the captives." + +"Where is she?" Phradates demanded abruptly. + +"If your Highness will deign to follow, I will conduct you to her," +Mena replied with alacrity. + +"Lead on!" Phradates commanded. "And then fetch quickly the gold we +borrowed from the old Athenian." + +Chares had purchased all the prisoners on his list excepting the girl +called Maia, and the soldiers were leading her forward when Mena and +Phradates arrived. The young woman's face and head were muffled in a +silken scarf, and her figure was concealed beneath a cloak. + +"Give place!" cried Mena, bustling officiously into the crowd. "Make +way for the noble Phradates!" + +One of the soldiers raised the scarf long enough for the PhÅ“nician +to see the young woman's face. Her beauty evidently made a deep +impression upon him, for his expression changed and he seemed hardly +able to take his eyes from her. + +"Where is this Chares?" he inquired, at last, staring about him. + +Mena indicated the Theban with a nod, and then, noticing that all eyes +were turned upon his master, he bawled out: "Make room for Phradates of +the royal blood of Tyre!" + +"Do you want to sell him?" asked the auctioneer. + +The PhÅ“nician's face became purple and he turned angrily upon Mena, +but the alert Egyptian had slipped away to fetch the gold. + +"Three talents for the girl!" Phradates cried. + +"Five talents!" Chares answered. + +The spectators, who had long ago ceased to think of bidding against the +Theban, drew a deep breath and looked from one contestant to the other. +Maia alone seemed indifferent. A tress of her hair had fallen upon her +shoulder. She twisted it back into place. Chares had not seen her +face when the soldier lifted her veil and his attention was now centred +upon his opponent. + +"Seven talents!" Phradates shouted, fixing his eyes defiantly upon +Chares. + +"Eight!" the Theban answered, without hesitation. + +This was more than all the other captives in the group had brought. +The crowd began to hum with excitement. Phradates looked over his +shoulder and saw Mena leading four slaves who carried bags of gold. + +"Ten talents!" he cried. + +"All bids must be paid in cash," the auctioneer said warningly. + +Every face was turned toward Chares, who had called his steward and was +consulting with him. "How much have we left?" the Theban asked. The +man made a rapid calculation on his tablets. + +"You have ten talents and thirty minæ," he replied. "That is the end." + +"I bid ten talents and thirty minæ," Chares said promptly, addressing +the auctioneer. + +It was evident to all that he could go no further. Would Phradates be +able to outbid him? The PhÅ“nician hesitated and turned to Mena. + +"He has won," the slave whispered. "You have only ten talents. If you +had beaten him, we should have starved to death." + +"Then we will starve!" Phradates replied. "I demand that the gold be +weighed!" + +"You have that right," the auctioneer admitted. "Bring out the scales." + +The scales were brought and the gold was poured into the broad pans +which hung suspended from their framework of wood. The glittering +heaps increased until each pan overflowed with the precious coins and +ingots. When all was in readiness for the test, they held a fortune +such as few men in all Greece possessed. The spectators devoured it +with their eyes, pressing against the soldiers in the hope of getting a +better view. The maiden, Maia, who was the object of the rivalry, was +forgotten. + +The scales oscillated slowly and at last settled deliberately on the +side toward Chares. The tale was correct and his last thirty minæ had +given him the victory. The crowd broke into a cheer. + +"Are you satisfied?" asked the Macedonian captain. + +"No!" Phradates shouted. A red spot glowed on his cheeks and his +fingers trembled as he stripped off his rings and his chains of gold. +He placed the ornaments on his side of the scales. "I bid thirteen +talents," he declared. + +"Payments are to be made in money," Chares remonstrated. "Who can tell +what these trinkets are worth?" + +"We may accept them at a true valuation," the captain decided. + +He summoned a jeweller of Corinth, who examined the rings with care, +and announced his readiness to take them at a sum sufficient to make up +the total of the PhÅ“nician's offer. + +"Phradates wins!" shouted the spectators, cheering the Tyrian with all +the enthusiasm that they had shown to his rival a moment before. + +The Theban stood silent. He had nothing more to offer. He raged +inwardly at his defeat, for he felt that his honor was involved. While +he stood hesitating, nobody seemed to notice a young Macedonian soldier +of athletic figure and fresh complexion who had stopped on the +outskirts of the crowd and stood listening, with his head slightly +inclined to one side. + +Suddenly Chares strode forward and threw his sword upon the scales. +The weight of the steel caused the balance to sway decisively toward +him. + +"I bid fifteen talents!" he cried. "Let my sword make up the weight of +gold that is lacking." + +Phradates laughed mockingly. "Let me have the girl," he said. "It is +time to end this child's play. There is no place in the world where a +sword is worth three talents." + +"Except here," a voice behind him said quietly. + +Phradates turned, and his eyes met those of the soldier who had been +lingering on the edge of the ring of spectators. + +"Here!" the PhÅ“nician exclaimed angrily. "And who is there here to +give such a price for it?" + +"I will," the soldier replied with a smile. + +"You will, indeed!" Phradates echoed. "And who are you?" + +"My name is Alexander," the soldier said. + +Phradates turned to the crowd, which had fallen back a little and now +stood strangely silent. + +"Who is this insolent fellow?" he cried. "Why do you allow him to +interfere here?" he demanded of the captain. + +The captain made no reply, and nobody in the throng ventured to answer. +Phradates felt deserted. He stood with Chares and the soldier beside +the gold-laden scales, beyond which waited Maia, with her eyes fixed +upon the face of the newcomer. + +"Is there no fair dealing in this land of thieves?" Phradates cried, +losing his temper absolutely. "The girl is mine! Deliver her to me in +accordance with your agreement and let me go. You have your price and +it is enough!" + +He made a step forward as though to seize Maia, but the soldier blocked +his path. + +"I am Alexander, as I told you," he said, slightly raising his voice. +"I will tell you more. You are Phradates of Tyre, sent here by your +king and your Council to spy out my strength and learn my plans. You +have used the eyes and ears of your slaves. Take what you have learned +to King Azemilcus, and with it take also this message: Alexander, King +of Macedon, sends word that he is coming with his companions to offer +sacrifice to Heracles in his temple, known in the city of Tyre as the +temple of Melkarth. Let him prepare the altar." + +Phradates read in the faces of the crowd that the youth who spoke so +confidently to him was indeed the king. Nevertheless, he could not +wholly stifle his rage. + +"Has your army wings, Macedonian?" he asked insolently. "The walls of +Tyre are both high and strong." + +"What is the fate of spies in your country?" Alexander replied. "You +are spared to bear my message. Must I choose another?" + +There was something in the tone of these words that brought Phradates +to his senses like a plunge into cold water. + +"We shall meet elsewhere," he said, casting a look of hatred at Chares, +who stood smiling at his discomfiture. + +"If we do not, I shall never cease to regret it," the Theban replied. + +Mena had been hurriedly putting his master's gold into the sacks in +which he had brought it. The waiting slaves took it up and followed +Phradates back to his tent. + +"What was it all about?" Alexander asked, glancing from Chares to Maia. + +"I wished to buy her as a present to my mother, as I have bought nearly +five hundred of our friends to-day," Chares replied. + +Alexander took up the sword from the scales and drew it from its sheath. + +"It is a good blade," he said, "and I would not deem its price too high +if your arm was to wield it in my cause." + +"Was not that included in the purchase?" Chares asked, surprised. "I +have made my bargain and I will live up to it." + +"No," said Alexander, gently, "I will not have such an arm at a price. +I am no Cyrus to attack the power of Persia with hired weapons. The +spirit and the hope that goes with us are not to be bought with gold. +Come to me at Pella, if you will, with Clearchus and the Spartan, as +soon as your affairs will permit. But if you come, let it be of your +free will and not in payment of a debt." + +"I will come," Chares said simply. + +Day was drawing to a close over the plain where the people of Thebes +had paid the final penalty for their rebellion. The multitude that had +assembled to witness the last scene was melting away. Some of the +unfortunates had found friends like Chares to rescue them; but the +greater part of the thousands who were sold that day had become the +property of strangers. On every side rose the sound of wailing and +lamentation. Wives clung sobbing to their husbands until torn from +them by their masters. Children wept for mothers they would see no +more. + +In the gathering twilight camp-fires began to glow. Slave-dealers +bargained and chaffered over their purchases. Melancholy processions +moved away into the darkness. Men fettered together gazed back +silently but with bursting hearts upon the dark mass of the Cadmea, +where it rose, black and huge, against the crimson sky. The air +reverberated with the crash of falling houses and walls as the soldiers +labored by the light of torches to level the city to the earth. A pall +of dust and smoke hung suspended above them. Thebes had become a +memory. + +The captives purchased by Chares had been led away by his attendants as +fast as each sale was made. When Alexander and the Macedonian soldiers +moved off he was left alone with Maia. He had scarcely glanced at her +during his duel with Phradates. She stood before him now with bent +head, submissively, and he fancied that she was drooping from weariness. + +"Come," he said kindly, extending his hand toward her. + +The girl did not move, but as he approached she raised the scarf that +hid her face and her eyes met his. + +"Thais!" he exclaimed. "How did you get here? Where is Maia?" + +There was a tone of displeasure in his voice, and the smile faded from +the young woman's lips. + +"Maia is safe enough," she returned, raising her head proudly. + +"But where is she?" he persisted. + +She hesitated and her eyes fell. A warm flush mounted to her cheeks. + +"I bought her place," she murmured, "and you have bought me." + +The Theban stared a moment in bewilderment, but as her meaning dawned +upon him he threw back his head and laughed, a little recklessly. +Thais bit her lip and then suddenly burst into tears. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THAIS + +Chares sat in the house of Thais in Athens, idly watching the lithe +motions of the tame leopard as it worried an ivory ball. Its mistress +lay at full length on a low couch of sandalwood looking at the Theban +with eyes half closed. + +"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. + +"What do you mean?" he replied. + +"Am I not your slave?" she said softly. "Have you not ruined yourself +to buy me?" + +"That is true," he said, stroking his chin and examining her +reflectively. "You are my most costly possession!" + +"Well?" she insisted. + +"And I shall not be here to guard you," he continued. "Who knows what +may happen?" + +She drew through her slender fingers the silken fringe of the crimson +shawl that was twisted about her waist. + +"You have not asked me why I went to Thebes," she said at last. + +"No," he replied, looking at her inquiringly. + +"I wanted to see Maia," she said, looking at him innocently. "I had +heard so much of her beauty." + +"Oh," he said, smiling. "What did you think of her?" + +"I did not see her," Thais replied. "Is she beautiful?" + +"Let me see," Chares said, studying the walls as though in an effort to +remember. "She has black hair and her eyes too are dark, I think. Her +forehead is low and broad and her nose is straight. Perhaps her mouth +might be thought a little too wide, but her chin is beautifully rounded +and her shoulders and neck are perfect. Yes, I think she might be +called beautiful." + +"Chares," Thais said timidly, "do you love her?" + +Chares laughed. "How can a man make love without an obol that he can +call his own?" he replied. + +"Are you wholly ruined, then?" she asked. + +"I haven't enough left to buy you a singing thrush," he replied gayly. + +"But you have me and all that is mine," she said softly. + +"Not even you!" he answered. He drew a scroll from the folds of his +chiton and tossed it into her lap. She opened it slowly and read a +release legally executed, giving her back her freedom and placing her +in the enjoyment of all her possessions. Chares watched her with an +expectant smile as her eyes followed the written lines. When she had +ended, she raised herself on her elbow and gazed earnestly at him for a +moment with dilated eyes. Then, without a word, she buried her face in +the cushions and her form was shaken with sobs. As the scroll fell +from her hand the leopard pounced upon it and began tearing it with his +teeth. + +"What is the matter with you, Thais?" Chares asked in a tone of +displeasure. + +"Why did you buy me?" she replied, without lifting her head. + +"To save you from falling into the hands of the PhÅ“nician, of +course," he replied impatiently. + +"Then I wish you had not done it," she sobbed. + +"Listen to reason, Thais!" Chares said in a graver tone. "It is I who +am no longer free. I have sold my sword and I am in bonds to the +Macedonian." + +He paused, but she made no answer, although her weeping ceased. + +"Were it not so," he continued, "why should I stay here? This is not +my city and these are not my people. I have neither, now that Thebes +is no more. Clearchus and Leonidas are going with Alexander, as I have +told you. Would you have me lag behind? There will be fighting and +danger, glory and spoil. Shall I not share them?" + +"You may be killed," Thais said faintly, showing her tear-stained face. + +"Zeus grant that it be not until I have met Phradates on the field of +battle!" he exclaimed. + +"Is there nothing, then, that you care for in Athens?" she asked +dolefully. + +"Thou knowest well that I love thee, Thais," he replied. "Thou knowest +that it will tear my heart to leave thee behind. But it is the Gods +who have decided for us and we have no choice. Were there no other +reason for my going, Clearchus will have need of me in his search for +Artemisia, and that would be enough to forbid my remaining here." + +"Then I will go, too!" Thais cried, leaping from the couch and standing +defiantly before him. + +Chares returned her look with an indulgent smile. Her exquisitely +moulded form was outlined under the clinging folds of her garment. Her +tiny feet, with their pink little heels, looked as though they had +never rested upon the earth. Her hair fell about her rounded neck and +dimpled shoulders like spun copper. Her red lips and pearly teeth +seemed made to feast on dainties. Physically she was as sensitive and +delicate as a child; but her eyes shone with a fire that betrayed +indomitable spirit. + +"What will you do when it snows?" the Theban asked mockingly. + +She threw herself down on her knees on the floor beside him, taking his +hand in hers and pressing it against her glowing cheek. + +"Chares! Chares! My master! I love thee!" she murmured. "The blind +God at whose power I laughed so often when I was in his mother's +service has stricken me through the heart. My soul is naked before +thee. I cannot have thee leave me. If thou dost, I shall die. I will +go to the ends of the earth with thee. I will suffer hardships to be +near thee. Thou art all I have. I am thy slave, and I do not wish to +be free." + +Chares felt her tears upon his hand. He lifted her face and kissed her. + +Suddenly she sprang to her feet and began to pace backward and forward +on the many-colored carpet that was spread upon the floor. The leopard +stopped tearing at the parchment and followed her with his eyes. + +"Is it my fault that I am--what I am?" she cried. "Am I to blame +because my life has not been like that of other women? They are +shielded from the world and ignorant of what is good and what is bad. +Have I committed a fault in fulfilling the will of the Gods, from whom +there is no escape? For the evil done by others must I pay the +penalty?" + +"Of course not," Chares said consolingly, scarcely knowing what she +meant or how to answer her. Her passion took him by surprise. She +stood before him glowing in every limb with youth and beauty, her chin +raised and her lips parted in scorn, as though defying the world to +accuse her. + +"Who cast me adrift?" she went on vehemently. "You talk of going into +Asia to aid Clearchus in his search for Artemisia. Very well, I will +go with you and search too, for I also wish to find Artemisia. She is +my sister!" + +"What do you mean, Thais? Are you mad?" Chares exclaimed. + +"It is the truth," she replied. "I forced old Eunomus to tell me only +last night. He has the proofs and he has promised to deliver them to +me, for a certain sum, of course. I am the daughter of Theorus, who +caused me to be exposed because I was a girl. The old pander found me, +as he has found many another in his time, and--and--he made of me what +you see me." + +She threw herself once more upon the couch to ease her grief among the +crimson cushions. Chares knew not what to say. He distrusted the +story told by Eunomus, for he knew the wretch was capable of doing +anything for money. But, after all, what if the tale were true? He +was fond of Thais, of course. How could a man help being fond of a +young and beautiful woman who loved him? There was Aspasia, who had +ruled Athens and all Hellas through Pericles. There was the son of +Phocion, who had actually married a girl no better than Thais. Still, +what had been could not be changed; and even if Thais was the daughter +of Theorus, that fact could make no difference. + +Thais raised her head from the pillows as though she had read his +thoughts. Her eyes were softened with tears. + +"Is it my fault," she pleaded, "that my sister has the love of an +honorable man and will be married to him, while I--I can never hope for +such a marriage? I know it, Chares, and I do not ask it. All I ask is +that you will permit me to go with you. I am tired, since I knew you, +of my life here. Without meaning to do so, you have opened my eyes to +new things. I am what I am; but, in spite of all, I am still a +woman--more a woman perhaps, than Artemisia, my sister, whom I have +never seen. Let me go with you, Chares, to share your dangers and your +glory, to nurse you if you are wounded, and to stand beside your +funeral pyre and watch my heart turn to ashes if you are killed. I +cannot bear to be left behind. The weariness and the waiting would +surely kill me. Let me go with thee, my Life, for I think neither of +us will see Athens again." + +Chares felt deep pity for the unfortunate girl stir in his heart. The +strength of his emotion troubled his careless nature. + +"There, there," he said, anxious to pacify her. "Don't make gloomy +predictions. You shall come." + +She nestled into his arms and laid her head upon his shoulder. + +"I shall never know greater happiness," she said, with a sigh of +content; and then, changing her tone, "They say the women of the Medes +are very beautiful. You will not make me jealous, will you, Chares?" + +He laughed and kissed her, looking into her eyes. "Small need have you +to fear the Medean women!" he said. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MENA READS A LETTER + +"They have gone," said Ariston, on his return home one evening. + +"Who have gone?" his wife inquired. + +"Clearchus and his two friends, Chares and the Spartan," the old man +replied. "They set out for Pella this afternoon to join the Macedonian +army. Fortune has smiled upon us once more and I think there will be a +turn in our affairs." + +Ariston made no attempt to hide his satisfaction. His shoulders no +longer stooped, and his step was light. A hundred schemes were running +through his head for repairing the disasters that had brought him so +low. For all practical purposes he was again the richest man in +Athens, and with the gold at his command he imagined that it would be +easy for him to regain his feet. + +"You must be cautious," Xanthe said anxiously. "You know that at any +time Clearchus may demand an account." + +"Yes, but he will not," Ariston replied, pinching her withered cheek. +"He will never return to trouble us. I have news of what the Great +King is doing and unless the Gods themselves interfere to save +Alexander, he will be crushed as soon as he has crossed the Hellespont. +The Persians will meet him there in such numbers that there can be no +escape for him. None who follow him will return. By Hermes, I feel +almost young again!" + +He entered his workroom briskly and sat down at the table. Producing a +roll of papyrus, he broke the seal, slipped off the wrapping, and +spread the document out before him. + +"Iphicrates to Ariston," he read. "Greeting: I have obeyed your +instructions. Syphax brought me the girl. I dismissed him with +promises after she had told me that she had no complaint to make +against him. I am convinced that he is a rogue and that he will live +to be crucified. For Artemisia, she remains in my household. I have +told her that I am awaiting a suitable opportunity to send her back to +Athens; but I have put her off from time to time with excuses. She has +lost flesh since she came hither, and if she is to be sold, I think it +would be best not to delay too long, as her value will be less than if +she were offered now. She has written many letters, which I promised +to forward for her. One of these I send you with this; the others have +been destroyed. + +"It is expensive for me to maintain her as you directed. It has cost +me already one talent and twenty drachmæ, which leaves me in your debt +six talents, eleven drachmæ, and thirty minæ. Please make this +correction in our account. + +"There is talk here that Alexander, the Macedonian, is preparing to +lead an army against this city. Nobody doubts that he will be +defeated, since Parmenio could accomplish nothing. Memnon, the +Rhodian, has been here, strengthening the fortifications and exercising +the soldiers, but of this there is no need; for all the armies of +Greece could not take this place, even though they should invest it by +land and sea. May the Gods keep you in good health! Farewell." + +"He has cheated me out of a talent, at least!" Ariston muttered. "The +old skinflint!" + +He turned his attention to a second roll of papyrus, which had been +enclosed in the first. + +"My Beloved," it ran. "Why hast thou not answered the letters I have +sent thee, or come thyself to take me home? Clearchus, my Life, I know +thou hast not forgotten me, although it seems ages since I last saw +thee. Each day I watch and wait for a word from thee, only one little +word, but none has come. I try to keep up my courage, thinking that +perhaps thou art seeking me elsewhere and that thou hast not received +my letters. I do not doubt thee, Clearchus, but I am weary of waiting +for thee and my heart is sick. When shall I hear thy voice and see thy +face again? I pray each night and morning to Artemis to give thee back +to me. My love, my love, may the Gods, who know all things, keep thee +safe! While I live, I am thine. Farewell." + +A smile played about the corners of Ariston's thin lips as he thrust +the papyrus into the flame of the lamp and held it over the brazier +until it was consumed. He did the same with the epistle that +Iphicrates had sent to him, and then plunged into his accounts. + +Xanthe had never been quick-witted, and the monotonous round of her +labors had dulled even her natural perceptions. At the bottom of her +heart she believed her husband to be the cleverest man in the world. +She did not pretend to fathom his schemes. The twistings and windings +of his subtle mind confused and bewildered her, and she had no thread +by which to trace the labyrinth. While she had long ago ceased to try +to follow him, the fact that she did not know all that he was doing +tended to make her suspicious, and her distrust, as is usual with women +of limited intelligence, took the form of jealousy. + +In their forty years of married life Ariston had never given her the +slightest cause for such an emotion. Among his few weaknesses there +was none for women, whom he despised as mere machines or treated as +commodities. But notwithstanding its lack of result, Xanthe, year +after year, maintained her vigil, ever seeking what she most dreaded to +find. + +Of late her husband's cares and advancing age had given her a feeling +of security, but the revival of his spirits at the departure of his +nephew sent her mind back again to the well-worn track. Could it be +that he was deceiving her after all? + +This idea laid siege to her thoughts with recurrent insistence. What +had she to attract so brilliant a man? Her mirror showed her a +wrinkled brow and hollow cheeks. She turned away from it with +bitterness in her heart. The wonder was that he had ever loved her; +but that was years ago. She could not blame him if he sought a younger +and fairer companion for his hours of relaxation. Other men did the +same, and men were all alike. + +Tormenting herself with these thoughts, the unfortunate woman passed a +sleepless night, and rose determined to know the worst. As soon as +Ariston had gone out, she entered his workroom. Her search brought her +at last to the brazier, where she found the charred fragments of the +letters from Halicarnassus. Unluckily one corner of Artemisia's +missive to Clearchus had not been wholly burned. She bore it in +triumph to her own apartments and set herself to the task of +deciphering its contents. The very fact that her husband had sought to +burn the letter was enough in her excited frame of mind to convince her +that her suspicions were correct. It remained only to establish the +proof. + +She succeeded in making out a few words, but she could derive no +meaning from them. Study them as she would, her skill failed her. The +tantalizing thought that knowledge was within her grasp and eluding her +filled her with rage. She was still puzzling over the fragment when +she was interrupted by a knocking at the door. On the threshold stood +the sharp-faced Egyptian whom she had so often seen with her husband. + +"Is Ariston here?" he demanded. + +She told him that her husband was away from home. + +"Then I will wait for him," Mena returned coolly, pushing past her into +the house. "He told me to see him without fail and he will soon be +here." + +There was no help for it now that he was inside the house. Xanthe led +him to a bench beside the cistern and gave him fruit and wine. The +thought occurred to her that he might be able to read the riddle that +had baffled her. There could be no harm in showing him the fragment, +she reasoned, since it could tell him nothing, although to her it could +reveal so much. The temptation was strong, and after all the +opportunity was too good to be lost. + +"Can you read this for me?" she asked, placing the blackened papyrus +before him. + +He took it up and studied it curiously. + +"Where did you find it?" he demanded, shifting his beadlike eyes +quickly to hers. + +"The wind blew it into the court, here," she stammered, taken aback by +the question. "I wondered what it might be." + +His glance continued to rest upon her face for an instant before it +went back to the fragment. It was easy enough for him to read them +both, and a malicious smile twitched his mouth as he understood that +Ariston had a jealous wife. The idea struck him as distinctly +ridiculous. More in idleness than with any direct purpose, excepting +that of making mischief, he determined to humor her mood. + +"It is difficult to understand," he said, looking carefully at the +papyrus, "as it seems to have been burned. But here it says: 'When +shall I hear thy voice and see thy face?' and here: 'While I live, I am +thine.' It sounds like a poet, but the writing is that of a woman. +You seem to have surprised some romantic love affair. You probably +have some amorous youth among your neighbors whom a girl is foolish +enough to adore." + +Xanthe's forebodings had suddenly become realities. Ariston, then, was +deceiving her, and she had not been mistaken in him. Of that, she was +now certain. He had probably always deceived her and she had been a +fool ever to believe him. Her world seemed coming to an end. + +"Why do you say that the letter was sent to a young man?" she asked. +"Might it not have been an old one?" + +"I dare say," the Egyptian replied carelessly. "Old men are often the +worst in these matters." + +"This girl, whoever she may be, seems very much in love with him," +Xanthe remarked. + +"No doubt," Mena said, watching her with increasing amusement, "and +probably he has a wife of his own. Why else should he burn the letter?" + +Xanthe winced at this thrust, although she had no idea that Mena had +fathomed what was in her mind. "At any rate, he cannot marry her," she +said, as though thinking aloud. + +"The old one might die, you know," Mena suggested. "Such things have +been known to happen at the right moment." + +These words were accompanied by a look so full of meaning that poor +Xanthe felt a chill of apprehension. She did not trust herself to say +more, but carried away the fragment to her own room, where she +concealed it. + +Mena's hint had fallen upon fertile ground. She went over the +situation again and again in her mind, coming always to the same +conclusion. That Ariston was carrying on an intrigue with some girl +was now certain; for it never occurred to her that the letter might not +have been intended for him. It seemed certain to her also that her +husband would seek to rid himself of her so that he might marry her +rival. Mena was right. Such things had happened more than once and +poison was the easiest way. If she should die, who was there to ask +what had caused her death? Nobody. She began to take infinite +precautions regarding her food, tasting nothing that she had not +herself prepared; yet she felt that she was in hourly danger in spite +of all she could do. When nothing happened to her, she concluded that +her husband's failure to attempt her life was due solely to the fact +that his plans were not yet ripe. When all was ready, he would kill +her and flee with Clearchus' fortune to some distant land, where he +could meet the abandoned creature upon whom his affections had fallen. +She knew only too well that he was capable of anything in the +furtherance of his selfish schemes. Thus her folly led her on until at +last she came to regard her imaginings as truth confirmed. But if she +was to be murdered, she thought, at least she would prevent him from +enjoying the fruit of his wickedness. She would write to Clearchus and +tell him all. + +When she had reached this conclusion, she lost no time in carrying it +into execution. But it was long since she had used the stylus and she +was forced to confine herself to the barest outline of what she wished +to say. After many failures, she finally produced the following:-- + +"Clearchus: Iphicrates has Artemisia in Halicamassus. My husband is a +beast who wants to poison me. If you hear that I am dead, you will +know why, and I hope you will see that he is punished. Go to +Halicamassus, and when you get her, keep her safe. Iphicrates is a +wicked man and he should be killed. If my husband does not poison me, +make no accusation against him." + +Xanthe sealed this letter and hid it away until a chance should offer +to send it to her nephew. She felt much easier, as though the fact +that she had written it were in some way surety for her safety. +Several weeks passed before she found the opportunity for which she had +been looking. At last she learned that Callias, son of a widow of her +acquaintance, had joined a mercenary troop that was being raised in +Athens. She gave the letter to his mother to be delivered to Clearchus +in Pella, but Callias, having received part of his pay in advance, +could not tear himself away from his friends in Athens until the gold +was spent. Consequently the letter was not delivered until after +Macedon and Persia had met at the Granicus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + +It was a clear, bright spring day when the three friends rode into +Pella. The new sap was beginning to swell the buds, and the fresh +green of the grass was gleaming hopefully on sunny slopes. Chares had +been singing snatches of love songs since early morning when they set +out on the last stage of their journey. Even Clearchus forgot his +anxiety in the thought that he was drawing nearer to Artemisia, and the +grim Leonidas had smiled more than once at the sallies of the +light-hearted Theban. + +In the Macedonian capital on every side was the stir of animation and +preparation. Recruits were being drilled for the army. Messengers +were hastening hither and thither. Ambassadors were coming and going +with their trains. They gazed with admiration at the solid buildings, +designed with a stately magnificence which, in its own way, was as +impressive as the marble embodiments of Athenian genius. Everywhere +were the evidences of a young and strong people, buoyant, +self-confident, energetic, and fearless. No idlers blocked the +streets. Every man had something to do and was doing it. The tide of +vigorous life flowed strong through the city as in the veins of a young +oak tree. + +It was not strange that Pella should have swarmed with activity on that +day in spring. Within the boundaries of the rugged little state, half +Hellenic and half barbarian, a vast project, supported by a sublime +confidence, was taking shape. It had been formed and nursed by the +crafty and far-seeing Philip, whether as a possibility or as a stroke +of policy to bring Hellas under his control none could say. Now it had +suddenly become a reality. The great empire of Persia, which covered +the world from the shores of the Euxine to the sources of the Nile, and +from the Ægean to limits undefined, beyond the regions of mystery +through which the Indus flowed, was to be invaded. It had endured for +centuries as an immense and impregnable power. Fierce tribes dwelt in +the fastnesses of its snow-clad mountains, numberless caravans crept +across its scorching deserts, gigantic cities flourished upon its +fertile plains. Nations were lost among the uncounted millions of its +population. Its wealth surpassed the power of imagining, and about the +throne of the Great King, whose slightest wish was the unchangeable law +of all this vast dominion, stood tens of thousands of the bravest +warriors in the world, ready at a sign to lay down their lives for him. + +What had Persia to fear from the handful of peasants turned soldiers +who had made a boy their king? Why should Darius feel any uneasiness +concerning the projects of a rash young man who already owed more than +he could pay? To be sure, he had made himself the Hegemon of Hellas, +with the exception of Sparta, but everybody knew that he had forced the +older states to bestow the title upon him against their will and that +they were waiting only until his back should be turned to fall upon +him. With the slender resources at his command, how could he hope to +hold Greece in subjection and at the same time to subdue an empire +which had more Hellenic mercenaries alone upon its pay-roll than the +sum total of his entire army? Surely, the Great King must be himself +despised if he did not look with contempt upon such mad ambition. + +Something of the force of this reasoning assailed the mind of Clearchus +as he lay down that night on the hard pallet that had been assigned to +him by Ptolemy in the barracks of the Companion Cavalry. The immensity +of the obstacles to be overcome oppressed him, and he began once more +to doubt whether, after all, there could be any hope of success for the +young king. He fell asleep, to see in his dreams the pale face of +Artemisia framed in her unbound hair. + +His mind was still clouded with misgiving when he went next morning +with Chares and Leonidas to pay his respects at the palace; but they +were dispelled like mists before the morning sun when he stood face to +face with Alexander. In the inspiring presence of the young leader no +doubts could live. He radiated confidence as a fire radiates warmth. +Every glance of his sympathetic eyes, every tone of his voice, revealed +a certainty of the future that was beyond peradventure. + +The palace was the centre of the activity that was filling the city. +Generals and captains, agents, princes, hostages, ambassadors, and +messengers swarmed in its halls. Here stood the gray-haired Antipater, +who had been appointed by Alexander regent of Macedon and guardian of +Greece during his absence, talking with citizens of Corinth who had +come to consult him concerning proposed changes in their civil +government. There was old Parmenio, fresh from his campaign in Mysia, +giving his orders for the disposition of a company of mercenaries who +had arrived that morning. + +There were travellers from the Far East, who had been summoned to tell +what they knew of the cities, rivers, and mountains through which the +Macedonian march would lie and of the character of the peoples who were +to be encountered. There were contractors for horses and supplies +anxious to provide the army with subsistence. There were soothsayers +and philosophers, slaves, attendants, and courtiers; and among them +all, with banter, jest, and laughter, walked the young nobles of +Macedon, bosom friends of the king, who had defied Philip for his sake +and were now reaping their reward. There were Hephæstion, son of +Amyntas, Philotas, son of Parmenio, Clitus, Crateras, Polysperchon, +Demetrius, Ptolemy, and a score of others, in spirits as brave as their +attire, as though they were about to start upon a holiday excursion +instead of a desperate venture into the unknown. + +Alexander recognized the three friends immediately and gave them +cordial greeting. + +"So you have come to follow the Whirlwind," he said, laughing, as +though the simile pleased him. "It will soon be launched now." + +"We have come to take any service that you may give us," Chares replied. + +"You are enrolled in the Companion Cavalry," Alexander informed them. + +They gave him their thanks for this mark of favor, for the Companions +contained the flower of the kingdom, young men of distinguished +families, who were admitted freely into Alexander's confidence as his +friends. + +"I have just been giving away the security for my debts," Alexander +said, smiling at Chares. "I saw you spend your last obol to purchase +the liberty of your friends at Thebes. You trusted to the chance of +war to bring your fortune back to you, but I have gone further than +you, for I have staked my honor. As you see me, I am worth some +thirteen hundred talents less than nothing." + +"But what have you left for yourself?" the Theban asked. + +"My hopes," Alexander replied. + +"They say the Medes have gold in plenty," Leonidas observed +reflectively. + +"Never fear," Alexander replied, laughing. "What are our debts of +to-day in comparison with our riches of to-morrow? The Companions are +all following my example. We set out with only our swords and our +courage--and our golden hope!" + +Again he laughed, and calling Philotas to him he turned to Clearchus. + +"The queen, my mother," he said, "has heard the story of Artemisia and +of what they told you at Delphi. She desires to see you. Philotas +will take you to her." + +Philotas led the way through courts and colonnades to the women's wing +of the palace, where Olympias held sway. As they went, Clearchus +recalled all he had heard of Alexander's mother--how it was averred +that a great serpent was her familiar, and the tales of her passionate +and revengeful nature that had caused her to order the babe of +Cleopatra, who had supplanted her in the affections of her husband, to +be torn from the arms of its mother and killed in her sight before she +herself was slain. He had heard also of her devotion to religious +mysteries and especially of her skill in the secret rites of the +Egyptian magicians. + +As they neared the queen's apartments, Clearchus was astonished to hear +a woman's voice raised in anger, followed by the sound of blows and +pitiful cries for mercy. He paused in embarrassment, but Philotas drew +him on. + +"Do not be disturbed," said his guide; "the queen is probably +chastising one of her slaves." + +He ushered the young Athenian into a large room furnished with +luxurious magnificence. Before them stood Olympias, with a rod of +ebony in her grasp, and at her feet upon the silken carpet crouched a +weeping girl with bare white shoulders, marked with red where the rod +had fallen. The queen turned upon them with blazing anger in her great +black eyes and the wrathful color on her cheeks. + +"Who enters here unbidden?" she demanded sternly, and then in a milder +tone she added: "Is it you, Philotas? These girls will kill me yet +with their stupidity. I wish I could drown them all in the sea! Ah!" + +She swung up the rod and brought it down upon a great vase of +PhÅ“nician glass, which flew into a thousand fragments. She laughed +and threw the rod from her. + +"There, now I feel better!" she exclaimed, drawing a long breath. "You +may go, Chloe. Dry your eyes, child; you shall have your freedom. Who +is this whom you have brought me, Philotas?" + +"It is Clearchus, the Athenian, whom the king sends," Philotas answered. + +"I remember," she said quickly, turning to Clearchus. "You were robbed +of your sweetheart. Do you love her very much?" + +"I love her better than my life," Clearchus replied simply. + +"Will you never grow weary of her and cast her off, as Philip did me?" +she persisted. + +"If I find her, I will never willingly let her go out of my sight +again," the young man declared. + +"But did not the Pythia tell you that you would find her if you +followed my son?" she inquired. + +"The oracle instructed me to follow the Whirlwind," Clearchus said, + +"Tell me about it," Olympias commanded, seating herself upon a couch. +She made him relate his experience with the oracle in the minutest +detail, asking many questions that indicated her lively curiosity. She +then inquired of Artemisia's personal appearance, her age, and family. + +"Wait here for me," she said finally, and left them alone in the room. + +"She seems hardly older than Alexander," Clearchus remarked. + +"Appearances are sometimes deceitful," Philotas replied dryly, +"especially when they are assisted by art." + +The queen was absent for more than half an hour. She seemed tired when +she returned. + +"I have consulted the Gods," she said, "and you will find her if your +heart remains true and strong. The priestess of Apollo told the truth." + +"I thank you for giving me this consolation," Clearchus said eagerly, +hoping that she would tell him more; but she began pacing thoughtfully +backward and forward, with bent head, apparently forgetful of his +presence. + +Suddenly she stopped before him and smiled, rather wistfully he +thought. He almost fancied that there were tears under the fringe of +her dark lashes. "Farewell," she said. "May the Gods protect you--and +Alexander, my son." + +She resumed her walk, and the young man left the apartment in silence. +Clearchus tried in vain to analyze the strange impression that she had +made upon him, but for many days her smile, half sad, and her +mysterious dark eyes, with the living spark in their depths, continued +to haunt him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + +Upon Bucephalus, whose proud spirit he alone had known how to tame, +Alexander led his army out of Pella. The great charger tossed his head +and uttered a shrill neigh, which sounded like a trumpet-call of +defiance to the whole world, as he issued forth from the gate of the +city. Many a Macedonian wife and mother, standing upon the walls, +dashed the tears from her eyes that day as her gaze followed the lines +of the troops, striving until the last to distinguish the form that +perhaps she would see no more. + +The young king drew aside, with his captains about him, upon a low hill +a short distance from the city. The sunlight flashed upon his gilded +armor and upon the double white plume that swept his shoulders. With +swelling hearts, the men saluted him as they marched by, horse and +foot, squadron and company, thirty thousand in all. The bronzed faces +of the veterans of Philip's wars lighted up as they heard his son call +one or another of them by name, and the countenances of the younger +soldiers flushed with pride and pleasure at his smile of approval. +Last came the baggage and provision trains and the great siege engines, +lumbering after the army on creaking wheels. + +Alexander turned to Antipater and gave him his hand. "I would that +thou, too, wert coming with us to share in our victories," he said. +"Remember, all our trust is in thee. Be just and firm." + +"I will remember," the old general replied, his stern face softening. +"Return when and how thou wilt; thou shalt find all as thou hast left +it to-day." + +Alexander turned to go, but a cry of "The queen!" caused him to halt. +A chariot drawn by foaming horses drew up before him. He sprang from +his horse and ran forward to receive Olympias in his arms. + +"My son! My son!" she cried, looking into his face with streaming eyes. + +"Hush!" he said gently. "Do not forget that you are the queen!" + +"But I am still a woman and thy mother," she replied. "How can I +suffer thee to leave me?" + +"I will send for thee from Babylon," he said consolingly. + +"Thou goest to victory and to glory," she said. "Of that I have no +fear; but thy mother's heart is filled with sorrow! Kiss me yet again!" + +Alexander embraced her and led her back to the chariot. He stood +looking after her with bared head, until, escorted by Antipater, she +disappeared in the city gate. His heart went out to the jealous, fiery +woman's spirit, whose great love for him made her ever faultless in his +eyes. Something told him, as it had told her, although neither had +confessed it, that they would never look upon each other again. + +In another moment he was astride of Bucephalus and off after the army. +Clearchus, riding with Chares and Leonidas in their company of the +Companions, saw him dash past with a smile on his eager face. + +Along the northern shore of the Ægean, and always within sight of its +blue waters, they marched for twenty days until they crossed the Melas +and came to the Hellespont, beyond which they could see the mountains +of Phrygia, with the snow-capped summit of Mount Ida towering above the +rest. Before them, across the strait, lay the promised land. Wheeling +south to Sestos, they met the fleet that had kept them company along +the coast. There Alexander left Parmenio to take the army over to +Abydos, while he pushed on with the Companions to Elæus. + +He himself steered the foremost of the ships that carried them across +the strait to Ilium. In mid-channel they offered sacrifice to Poseidon +and the Nereids, and as they neared Cape Segeium the king hurled his +javelin upon the sand, and leaping into the water in full armor, dashed +forward to the Persian beach. From every ship rose cries of emulation +as the Companions plunged in after him and strove with each other to +see which of them should first follow him to the shore. + +Upon the battle-field where the terrible Achilles had raged among the +Trojans when the Greeks of olden time sought revenge for Helen's +immortal shame, the Companions celebrated with feasting and with games +the fame of the Homeric heroes. These exercises, filling their minds +with thoughts of wondrous deeds, were a fitting prelude for the mighty +task that lay before them. + +Through their camp the rumor ran from sources none could trace that +beyond the mountains lay the Persian host in countless numbers. +Arsites, Phrygia's satrap, and the cruel Spithridates, ruler of Lydia +and Ionia, were said to be in command. Memnon of Rhodes, the story +went, was at the head of an Hellenic mercenary force more numerous than +Alexander's entire army. + +No attempt was made to check the spread of these tidings. If the +thought of possible defeat crossed the mind of any of the Companions, +he was careful not to give it utterance. In their talk around their +camp-fires they assumed that the first battle was already won and their +plans ran forward into the heart of Persia. What mattered it whether +the enemy was many or few? Had not the Ten Thousand, whose exploits +Xenophon related, shown to the world that one Greek soldier was better +than a hundred barbarians? + +But in the intervals of the celebration Alexander talked long with +Ptolemy. The truth was, they knew not what preparations had been made +to receive them nor what force had been sent against them. The scouts +who had gone out weeks in advance had either failed to return or could +not tell them what they wished to know. + +Clearchus was sitting with Leonidas discussing Xenophon's account of +the death of Cyrus when a messenger brought them word that the king +desired to see them. They followed at once to Alexander's tent, where +they found Chares awaiting them. + +"You have heard the rumors of the enemy's advance," Alexander began. +"I wish to know how strong he is in both horse and foot, how many +Greeks he has with him, where they will fight in the line, and who are +the commanders. To win this information will be the first service of +danger and difficulty in the campaign. Which of you is willing to +undertake it?" + +"I am!" cried the three young men with one voice. + +"Why not send us all?" Clearchus said. "Then if one of us falls, two +will remain, and if two are lost, the third may still be able to reach +you." + +"Be it so," Alexander replied, smiling. "We shall join the army at +once and march along the coast, as you see upon this map, to the +Granicus. There I think you should be able to rejoin me and there I +shall look for you." + +He rolled up the map and handed it to Leonidas. "This may serve for +your guidance," he said. "I shall place you under no instructions, for +I do not think you need them." + +He rose and shook each of them by the hand. "Farewell," he said, "and +be not rash, for I shall have need of you hereafter." + +Some of the Macedonians cast envious eyes at them as they came out of +the pavilion. Young Glycippus, who was in the same company with them, +joined them as they passed. + +"What is going on?" he asked. + +"The king wanted to ask me whether I thought Ajax or Achilles was the +better fighter," Chares answered gravely. + +"What did you tell him?" Glycippus inquired. + +"I told him that Ajax, in my opinion, was the better with the sword," +the Theban said. "He did not like it because, you know, he claims +descent from the son of Thetis." + +"Yes," the young man said eagerly. "And he has taken Achilles' armor +from the temple here, leaving his own in its place." + +"He had it on while he was talking with us," Chares said. "It fits him +well enough. You know he has ordered Ilium to be rebuilt." + +"Has he?" cried Glycippus. "That is news," and he hurried off to tell +it. + +"That, at least, has the merit of being true," Chares said. "Ptolemy +told me while I was waiting for you." + +"First of all we must choose a leader," Clearchus said when they were +alone in their tent. "I vote for Leonidas." + +"And so do I," Chares added heartily, clapping the Spartan on the back. + +Leonidas protested, but his friends refused to give way, pointing out +that to him Alexander had given the map. They persuaded him at last to +yield. + +"My idea is that we shall go as peltasts and as though we were seeking +the Persian camp to take service under Memnon," he said. "Get rid of +that gaudy armor of yours, Chares." + +"What, must I part with my mail?" the Theban exclaimed, glancing down +at the glittering links that covered his broad breast. He was +inordinately proud of this display. "What shall I do with it?" he +asked dolefully. + +"Throw it into the sea," Leonidas suggested in an uncompromising tone. + +"Some rascal is sure to steal it if I leave it here," Chares grumbled, +as he divested himself of the armor. + +At nightfall the three slipped out of the camp in the guise of +light-armed footmen, each with a round shield at his back, two javelins +in his hand, and a short sword at his side. As soon as they were safe +from observation Leonidas struck out briskly for the northern slopes of +Mount Ida, and they quickly vanished into the darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + +Through her window in the house of Iphicrates in Halicarnassus, +Artemisia could see the blue waters of the harbor and beyond them the +massive gray walls of the Royal Citadel. For weeks she had watched the +merchant ships coming and going, bringing their freights from Tyre and +Egypt and even from beyond the Pillars of Heracles, and many times had +her eyes filled with tears at the thought that perhaps one or another +of them might be bound for the Piræus. She imagined Clearchus +questioning the master and the sailors on their arrival at the port of +Athens, seeking to learn from them whether they had seen in their +wanderings the ship that had borne her away. + +At times her sorrow was made more bitter by doubts that forced +themselves upon her mind in spite of her repeated resolve not to admit +them. They whispered that Clearchus had given her up for lost and had +forgotten her. Perhaps at first, they said, he had been eager in his +search; but when all his efforts were in vain and he could find no +trace of her, he had become gradually resigned to her loss, occupied as +he was with the cares of his estate. Why else had he paid no heed to +her letters? + +When such evil ideas tormented her, Artemisia could no longer endure +the sight of the glancing sails and the quivering waters of the harbor. +She hid her face in her hands and her embroidery slipped unheeded to +the floor. + +But always she put the black thoughts from her and turned again to her +faith in her lover. He was brave and true. It could not be that he +had forgotten. It must be that her letters had never reached him. +Then she pictured him wandering in distant lands in search of her, or +sailing from city to city in hope of finding the men who had taken her +away. When in this mood, she would watch every sail as it emerged from +the misty distance in the belief that it might be bringing him to her +at last. But as the days went by her cheeks lost their roundness and +shadows darkened beneath her eyes. Her gaze grew more wistful and +unconsciously more hopeless as she looked out upon the harbor, and more +and more her hands lay idle in her lap. + +Day after day her thoughts trod the same round. "He will come to-day," +she said to herself in the morning. "Surely, to-day he is coming." +Her pulses quickened at every footfall, and she started at every +strange voice. When twilight fell and he had not come she whispered to +herself: "He will come to-morrow!" but to-morrow faded into yesterday +and he came not. + +Gradually her gentle spirit lost its courage and its hope under the +repeated buffets of disappointment. She drooped like a flower whose +roots can find no water, and even her nightly prayer to Artemis, the +Virgin Goddess, failed at last to bring peace to her troubled mind. + +One morning she was aroused from the lethargy into which she had fallen +by a change in the scene with which she had become so monotonously +familiar. Instead of the usual merchant ships, the harbor was filled +with warlike vessels with brazen beaks and banks of oars on either +side. The wharves were covered with soldiers in armor. Hundreds of +men were unloading bales and boxes which were being carried to the +Acropolis, to the Citadel of Salmacis, or to the Royal Citadel. + +The streets were filled with strange men, some of them wearing cloaks +of gay color, with plumed helmets, others in shining coats of mail, +with swords at their sides. Throughout the city rose the hum of +activity and the bustle of preparation. Artemisia, ignorant of the +invasion of Alexander, wondered what the reason could be. She imagined +that the barbarians might be planning another attack upon Greece, and +she reflected that this might bring Clearchus into danger. All her +thoughts and all her hopes centred in him. + +In the midst of her conjectures some one knocked at her door. She had +found it necessary to keep it fastened as a precaution against the +unexpected entrances of Iphicrates. He came into the room with a smile +on his fat face, glancing furtively from side to side out of his +restless little eyes, which always reminded her of the eyes of a pig. +He sat down wheezing from the exertion of his climb. His neck carried +a triple roll of fat at the back and his bullet head looked like a mere +knob affixed to the shapeless mass of his body. + +Artemisia attributed to his unfortunate physical appearance the +nameless aversion that she felt for him, and she sought to overcome it, +for he had always been considerate of her. + +"City is full of soldiers," he gasped, wiping his forehead. + +"Is there to be war?" Artemisia asked. + +"They say Alexander will try to cross the Hellespont," he replied, +attempting a shrug. + +"And will he come here?" she inquired. + +He caught the eagerness in her voice and his eyes grew cunning among +their wrinkles. "Perhaps," he replied. "Who can tell? These Asiatic +dogs laugh at him, but they may find themselves mistaken. We Greeks +know how to fight." + +"Why are they sending their army here?" she persisted. + +"It is Memnon of Rhodes," he told her. "He is a great general, but the +Persians do not trust him. He is on his way to the north with his +troops." + +"Can you not send me back to Athens before the war begins?" Artemisia +pleaded. + +"My dear child," he exclaimed with a gesture of despair, "it is +impossible. All my plans have failed. The war has already begun. The +Persian fleet holds the sea, and if you attempted to leave now, you +would be captured and sold as a slave. You know how I have tried to +grant your wish. Only yesterday I thought that at last I had found the +vessel for which I had been looking, and I had hoped to earn your +gratitude. But now--all is at an end while the war lasts. If they +overthrow the Macedonians in the north, it will be short." + +"I do not wish it," Artemisia said decisively. "I prefer to remain +here. I hope that Alexander will win, and when he comes, I shall be +free." + +"You are free now," Iphicrates said reproachfully. "You know that I +have kept you in seclusion only for your own safety and that I have +done all I could do to console you." + +"Yes, yes; I know," she replied hastily. "I have no complaint to make +against you. You have tried to be kind." + +"If the Macedonians should come after all, you may be able to repay +me," Iphicrates continued, reaching the real purpose of his visit. "In +time of war men are likely to judge hastily, and it may be that old +Iphicrates will have to look to you for protection as you have looked +to him." + +"What have you to fear?" Artemisia asked in surprise. "And why do you +think that I may be able to protect you?" + +"It is possible that some of your countrymen may be with the army," he +replied evasively. "But they may not come here, even if they win in +the north." + +He rose with some difficulty from his chair. "Is there anything you +want?" he inquired. "You know that if I can give it to you, you have +only to ask." + +"There is nothing," Artemisia said, and the mockery of her answer +struck her to the heart. + +Artemisia's mind was diverted for a time by the activity in the city, +which seemed at least to portend a change; but soon the novelty wore +off, and although the soldiers did not go away, she fell once more into +the listless mood against which she found it so difficult to struggle. + +When she least expected it, the change came. A disturbance arose in +the narrow street before the house which led up from the harbor. There +was a medley of cries and shouting, and Artemisia, leaning from her +window, saw the street below her filled with a throng of men who had +met in conflicting currents at the turn of the way. In the midst of +the press lay a litter, whose gilded frame was curtained with crimson +silk. It had been overturned by collision with a chariot in which one +of the generals had been proceeding toward the harbor. Beside the +litter Artemisia saw the form of a young woman. Her robe was of +shimmering saffron, and her copper-colored hair, broken from its coil, +lay spread upon the pavement. + +While she looked, the general, whose chariot had been the cause of the +mishap, descended and stood beside the prostrate figure. Glancing +about him in evident embarrassment, his eyes met her own as she leaned +from the casement. Brief as the meeting was, she felt the piercing +power and directness of his glance. He turned quickly to his escort +and gave a brief command, motioning toward the house of Iphicrates as +he spoke. As he resumed his place in his chariot, the soldiers lifted +the unconscious woman into the litter and bore it to the door of the +house, followed by a curious crowd. + +Artemisia heard them enter and the sound of voices, among which she +recognized that of Iphicrates raised in whining protest. + +"I have no room for her here," he cried. + +"Then you will make room," was the rough reply. "It is Memnon who +gives the order, do you understand? He directed that the young woman +who lives here should care for her. Where is she?" + +"There is no young woman here," Iphicrates replied glibly. "The +general must have been mistaken." + +"Lying will not help you," the soldier replied. "I saw her myself. +Call her quickly if you want to save your skin." + +Artemisia did not wait to be summoned. She descended the stairs and +went in among the soldiers. + +"Carry her to the room above, and I will see that she is cared for," +she said quietly. + +The young captain to whom the execution of Memnon's order had been +entrusted looked at her with frank admiration. + +"By Zeus!" he said, "I wish I had been run over myself. Take her up, +litter and all," he added to his men, "and be quick about it." + +With some difficulty the soldiers carried the litter with its burden up +the staircase. + +"If he makes any trouble for you on account of this, report it to the +general," the captain said to Artemisia, indicating Iphicrates with a +nod. "And tell her when she recovers," he continued, nodding toward +the litter, "that Memnon desired to express his regrets." + +Without waiting for an answer, he wheeled and tramped down the stairs, +followed by his men. Artemisia was already bending over the young +woman. There was a bruise where the back of her head had struck the +pavement, but otherwise she seemed to have escaped unhurt. Her +wonderfully thick hair had evidently broken the force of the blow. She +recovered her senses at the first touch of the cold water with which +Artemisia bathed her temples. + +"Where am I?" she asked, opening her eyes. + +"You are safe and with friends," Artemisia assured her. + +"Am I much hurt?" she asked, without attempting to move. + +"I think not," Artemisia said. "Your head is bruised." + +"Is my face scarred?" was the next question. + +"It is not even scratched," Artemisia replied, smiling. + +The strange woman's lips parted in a responsive smile. "Then it might +have been worse," she said. + +With Artemisia's assistance she walked to a couch, where the young girl +made her comfortable with pillows. Presently, under Artemisia's +ministrations, she fell asleep. Artemisia sat watching her even +breathing and wondering who she could be. A great ruby flamed upon her +finger, and heavy chains of gold encircled her white throat. Her tiny +feet were shod with silken sandals and her yellow chiton disclosed the +rounded grace of her delicate limbs and the willowy suppleness of her +figure. She must be some great lady, in spite of her youth, Artemisia +thought, innocently, and she felt drawn to her in a manner that she +hardly understood. If only she would stay, she would be a friend in +whom confidence might be placed and whose sympathy would be a help. +But of course she would go away as soon as she was able to move. +Artemisia sighed in her loneliness. + +When the stranger woke, however, she seemed in no hurry to go. She +declared that the pain in her head had left her, and, turning lazily on +her side, she studied her surroundings. + +"Whose house is this?" she asked. + +"It belongs to Iphicrates," Artemisia said. + +"To Iphicrates?" the strange woman replied with sudden interest and in +evident astonishment. "And--are you his daughter?" + +"No; I am of Athens; my name is Artemisia," the girl replied. + +Her companion's head fell back among the pillows and her gaze rested +upon Artemisia's face. So intent was the look that Artemisia grew +uncomfortable under it. + +"Why do you look at me so strangely?" she asked at last. + +"Pardon me," the other replied, letting her eyes fall. "I have heard +of you." + +"Then you, too, are of Athens?" the girl cried joyfully, throwing +herself on her knees beside the couch and taking the strange woman's +hand. "You have heard of Clearchus? Is he--living?" + +"He is living, and he loves thee," the stranger replied, as though +reading what was in her mind. + +A great gladness rushed through Artemisia's being. An immeasurable +load was suddenly lifted from her heart. She put her face down upon +the edge of the couch and wept for sheer gratitude. The strange woman +said nothing, but her hand rested lightly on the soft brown hair, and +she stroked the bent head with gentle fingers. + +The door opened without noise, and the bulk of Iphicrates advanced +gradually into the room. As his cunning eyes took in the scene before +him an anxious look overspread his face. + +"I came to see if you were better," he muttered, in a tone of apology. + +The strange woman raised her body slightly on the couch and extended +her hand toward the door. + +"Go!" she said briefly. + +Iphicrates hesitated and cleared his throat, trying to meet the +scornful gaze directed upon him. Finally he mustered up his courage +with an effort. + +"This is my house," he said doggedly. + +"Go," the stranger repeated in a tone of unutterable contempt. "Must I +speak again?" + +Iphicrates slowly turned and went, slinking from the room before the +blaze of her anger like a beaten hound. + +"Why are you so hard upon him?" Artemisia asked. + +"Because he deserves it," the stranger said. "Has he not held you +captive here?" + +"Who art thou who knowest so much of my affairs?" the girl demanded +suddenly. + +"I am thy--" The word "sister" trembled upon her tongue, but she +checked it. "I am thy protectress," she said. "Men call me Thais." + +A blush rose to her cheek as she uttered the name and felt the clear +blue eyes of the young girl upon her own. + +"Thais?" Artemisia repeated, searching in her memory. "I have heard +the name in Athens, but I forget when and where. I think they said you +were beautiful, and indeed you are." + +"Is that all they said of me?" Thais returned. + +"I think that is all; I do not remember more," Artemisia replied. + +Thais felt relieved. Her sister would learn soon enough who and what +she was. She hoped that when the knowledge came Artemisia would love +her enough to grant her forgiveness. She had broken with her old life. +Why drag it with her wherever she went? + +"Why did you come here?" Artemisia continued. + +"I came in search of you, and the Gods have given you to me," Thais +said. + +Artemisia nestled beside her companion on the broad couch while Thais +told her of all that had happened in Athens since she had been carried +away by Syphax and his crew. In her narration she omitted the feast in +the house of Clearchus and passed lightly over details that might have +given Artemisia a clew to her identity. She described Clearchus' +despair at her loss and his vain effort to find some trace of her. She +told how he had consulted the oracle and of her own adventure in Thebes +when Chares had given his fortune to save her from Phradates. Then the +young men had joined the army and left her alone in Athens. + +"Chares consented that I should meet him here," she went on. "He said +that women would not be allowed to follow the army to its first battle. +It is there the greatest danger lies; for if they win there, they will +hold all the western provinces of the Persian empire." + +"And if they lose?" Artemisia asked anxiously. + +"If they lose," Thais replied slowly, "then we shall return to Athens. +But they will not. The Gods are faithful to their promises. I had +intended to wait until the battle had been fought, but Mena, the same +who set Phradates upon me in Thebes, found me out. From him I +discovered that you were here in the care of Iphicrates, and I came." + +Artemisia kissed her. "I would have died if you had not come," she +said simply. "But how did Mena know where I was?" + +"He would not tell me and I did not wait to learn," Thais said. + +"Will he not find out where you have gone and inform Phradates?" the +young girl suggested. "Would it not be better to leave this house and +conceal ourselves somewhere?" + +"I have thought of that," Thais replied. "I cannot leave the city, +since I am to meet Chares here; and if we were to go to some other +house, Iphicrates would know where we were. The Rhodian general sent +me here and Iphicrates fears me. As for Phradates," Thais smiled +slightly, "we need not try to avoid him, for he loves me. He is my +slave." + +"Do you love Chares much?" Artemisia asked. + +Thais threw her arms around her and crushed her in a fierce embrace. +"Love him!" she cried. "To the last drop of my blood--in every fibre +of my body! He is my God! If I lay dead before him, my eyes would see +him, as they do now." + +"I think you love him as much as I love Clearchus, only differently," +Artemisia said. "Does he love you?" + +"As much as he can," Thais replied. "There will always be more of the +boy than the man in him; but he loves me more than any other." + +Thais rose and went to the litter, where, from its hiding place among +the cushions, she drew forth a bag of leather which she emptied upon +the couch. Artemisia uttered a cry of delight. Rubies, emeralds, +diamonds, sapphires, and gems of turquoise lay spread before her in a +glittering heap. + +"There is our fortune," Thais said. "We shall not want, at least for +the present." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + +Sometimes running and sometimes walking, Leonidas led Clearchus and +Chares all night through the foot-hills of Mount Ida. It was not until +day was breaking and they were thoroughly exhausted that he halted at a +spot well advanced upon the northeastern slopes of the great mountain. +They found themselves at the bottom of a rocky ravine, shaded by +evergreens, through which trickled a shallow brook. + +"Let us eat and sleep," Leonidas said, and in ten minutes they were +lying wrapped in their cloaks in the shelter of a thicket. + +Leonidas was awake and had aroused his friends before noon. Although +the country was wild and thinly settled, they pushed forward with +caution, fearing that they might stumble upon some Persian outpost. +For the same reason, they skirted the hillsides instead of keeping to +the valleys, where it would have been easier to advance, and the wisdom +of this precaution was made manifest before they had gone far. The +keen eyes of Leonidas caught a drift of smoke above the tree-tops. +Advancing cautiously along a ridge, they found an abrupt declivity +which permitted them to look down upon a camp-fire about which were +gathered twenty or thirty men. + +From the variety of their weapons and costumes, the Spartan judged them +to be shepherds and farmers who had been sent out by the Persian +commanders as scouts. They were under the command of an officer who +wore a conical cap, linen trousers, and a flowing garment of yellow and +blue, with wide sleeves. In his hand he carried a whip of rawhide, and +his only other weapon was a dagger which he wore at his waist. The +party had evidently halted for its midday meal. + +Seeing that the Persians did not suspect their presence, the three +spies crept behind a huge bowlder which had fallen from the face of the +cliff behind them and hung poised on a ledge above the camp. They +hoped to learn something from the talk of the men around the fire, but +their conversation seemed to be carried on in a dialect with which they +were not familiar. While Leonidas and Clearchus were watching, one on +either side of the rock, Chares, crouched behind it, began idly to +examine the mass of stone. It was taller than the stature of a man and +shaped like a rough sphere. Ferns grew from its crevices and around +its base, showing that it had hung there for years. It was separated +from the cliff by a narrow passage, and its outer side overhung the +ledge upon which it had been caught. + +Chares measured the great rock with his eye and then quietly stretched +himself down upon the ledge behind it, with his feet against the cliff +and his shoulders against the stone. As he put forth his enormous +strength, slowly a crack appeared in the earth at the base of the +stone. The delicate plumes of fern that grew from the moss on its +summit began to nod gently, although the air was still. The crack +widened and there was a sound of the snapping of slender roots. +Clearchus and Leonidas, intent upon the scene below, noticed nothing. +Suddenly the great bowlder seemed to start forward of its own motion. +It hung balanced for an instant and then plunged from the ledge, +bounding down the steep hillside with long leaps, rending everything in +its path. + +With shouts of alarm, the soldiers scattered in every direction, but +their leader tripped on the long skirt of his gaudy robe and fell face +downward beside the fire. Before he could rise, the great stone was +upon him. It rolled over his prostrate form and came to rest. + +Leonidas turned to discover what had happened and saw Chares lying with +his head in the hole where the stone had been, shaking with laughter. +Without losing a moment, the Spartan dragged him to his feet and ran +swiftly back along the way they had come. It was impossible to avoid +being seen. There was a cry from below, and half a dozen arrows struck +against the cliff about them as they passed. Luckily, they succeeded +in gaining shelter in safety. + +The Spartan's face was pale with anger. "If you had done that in my +country, nothing could save you!" he said to Chares. + +"Why? What have I done?" the Theban asked in surprise. + +"You have endangered the safety of the whole army and run the risk of +bringing the expedition to failure," Leonidas answered hotly. "I say +nothing of ourselves, but we have been seen, and what you have done to +no purpose may cost us our lives." + +"That is true," the Theban said, filled with remorse. "I didn't stop +to think." + +"You made me leader," Leonidas continued bitterly. "If I am to lead, +you must obey my orders. If not, lead on yourself, and I will show you +how to obey." + +Clearchus peered down into the ravine and saw the Persians gathered +about the motionless body of their chief, debating with many +gesticulations. + +"They are not thinking of pursuit," he said. "Come, I will answer for +Chares that he will be more careful in future. Let it pass. We have +no time to lose." + +The Spartan made no reply, but turned and led the way once more toward +the east. They did not halt again until the mountain was at their +backs, its peaks cutting a giant silhouette of purple in the crimson +evening sky. After a brief rest they struck out along a water-course +which brought them at daybreak to a larger stream that they judged to +be the Granicus. + +As they advanced, the hills became smaller and the country more open. +They met several companies of the Persians, some with wagon trains and +some on foraging expeditions; but when they explained that they were +Greek mercenaries on their way to join Memnon, they were permitted to +pass unmolested, since it was extremely unlikely that any of the +Macedonians could have advanced so far inland. Finally, late in the +afternoon, they reached an opening between the hills which gave them +sight of a broad, rolling plain, through which the river ran like a +band of silver. Far away they could see the tents of the Persian camp, +spread out like a white city, and, a little to the right, a dark +square, which they took to be the earthwork surrounding the camp of the +Greek mercenaries. Although the Persians made use of the Greeks, they +were so jealous of them that they always made them camp apart. +Encounters between them were not uncommon, even when they were fighting +in the same cause. + +Descending to the plain, the three friends lost sight of the camp, but +they took the river for their guide, knowing that it must bring them to +their destination. They passed farms and cottages, from which the +women peeped curiously at them, the men having been drafted into the +army. They were emerging from a pasture behind a farm-house rather +larger and more prosperous-looking than its neighbors, when they heard +a commotion in which they distinguished the shouting of Greeks. +Running forward, they found two foraging parties from the rival camps +in angry dispute for the possession of a drove of cattle. The Greeks +had found the cattle and were about to drive them away when the Persian +party came up and demanded them. + +Words led to blows. The Greeks were heavily outnumbered, and although +they fought stubbornly, it was clear that they would be unable to hold +their ground. + +"Here is our chance," Leonidas cried. "Memnon! Memnon!" + +He drew his sword and rushed into the conflict, with Clearchus and +Chares behind him, shouting at the top of their lungs. The Greeks, +encouraged by their unexpected succor, made a stand, while the +Persians, not knowing how large a force was upon them, ceased to follow +up their advantage. + +"Drive in the sheep with the cattle," Chares cried, catching up a heavy +stake from a hayrick and swinging it around his head with both hands. +"Don't let them escape!" He brought the stake down upon the Persian +heads like a gigantic flail. + +Leonidas and Clearchus forced themselves into the thick of the fight, +thrusting and hewing with their swords. The Greek foragers, regaining +their courage, ran in after them. The Persians were unable to +withstand the charge. They broke and fled down the road toward their +camp in disorder, leaving half a dozen of their number upon the field. + +"Praise be to Zeus, the Preserver!" said the lochagos, or captain, who +was in command of the mercenaries. "Where did you come from?" + +"From Antandrus," Leonidas replied promptly, "to join the army of +Memnon." + +"By the horn of Dionysus, you came in time!" the captain cried, wiping +his sword. "But I have been long away from home. Is it the fashion +there now to fight with stakes for weapons?" + +He looked at Chares, whose mighty onslaught had aroused the admiration +of the soldiers. + +"It is the fashion there, as it always has been, to fight with whatever +comes to hand when Greeks are in danger," Chares said with dignity. +"But do you suppose, now, that there is a skin of wine in that house?" + +"No harm in looking," the captain replied. "Get the cattle together if +you expect to eat before you sleep," he added to his men and led the +way into the house. + +There were only women inside--the farmer's wife and two daughters, all +in a flutter of fear. Chares, ignorant of their language, began by +kissing each of them, which served somewhat to dispel their alarm. +When the captain produced a bag of gold pieces and announced that he +would pay for everything they took, they became quite at ease and +readily brought the skin of wine that Chares demanded. + +Having finished the wine in great good humor and settled their account, +the party set off to the camp, driving the cattle before them. Around +their camp-fire that night the three Companions learned all there was +to know of the Persian army. Under Memnon, there were nearly twenty +thousand Greek mercenaries drawn from the entire Hellenic world and +including thieves, fugitives, murderers, and runaway slaves. The +Persian force was equal in number to the army of Alexander and +consisted mainly of cavalry. It was made up of picked men, the best +troops of the empire. With the satraps Arsites and Spithridates were +many of the great nobles of the realm, among them Atizyes, satrap of +Greater Phrygia, Mithrobarzanes, hipparch of Cappadocia, Omares, and +others who were renowned for their bravery and high standing with the +Great King. + +"They think it will be a holiday affair," the honest captain said +contemptuously. "We Greeks know better. They are encumbered with wine +and women for the feast that they intend to celebrate after they have +won their victory, and they are already quarrelling among themselves +for places at the board; but their greatest contention is over what +shall be done with Alexander when he is led before Darius, loaded with +chains, to answer for his boldness. They have invented more new +punishments than would destroy the entire army." + +"Why are they so certain of winning?" Clearchus asked. "I have heard +the Macedonians are good fighters." + +"So they are," the captain replied heartily; "but the best troops of +Persia are here, and the young nobles cannot bring themselves to +believe that common men can stand against them. Why, they are even +predicting that the army of Alexander will run away before a blow has +been struck." + +"You don't seem to care over much for our friends," Chares remarked +with a yawn. + +"Nor they for us," the captain said. "You saw what happened this +afternoon. They think they can get along without us and they do not +intend to let us have any share in the victory if they can help it. I +believe we shall win if it is true that Alexander has only half as many +men as we; but they will never win without our assistance." + +"I suppose we shall fight in the centre," Clearchus suggested. + +"I don't know," the captain exclaimed. "Nobody seems to know. If they +take Memnon's advice, they will not risk all on a battle now. There is +no need of it. All we have to do is to fall back, leaving nothing to +eat behind us, and the Macedonians will starve to death. But the +nobles will not listen to reason. They want glory, and so they insist +upon a battle where the advantage will be all with the other side. +They called Memnon a coward in the council this afternoon for proposing +to retreat, and now they are at it again over yonder." + +He pointed to a gayly colored pavilion in the middle of the Persian +camp, where the council feast was being held. It looked like a +strange, gigantic mushroom, glowing with interior light. + +"They even jeer at us for throwing up breastworks," the captain added +bitterly. "They have left their own camp defenceless, to show how +brave they are. Perhaps they will be glad enough to take refuge in +ours before they are through!" + +"We must find out what the decision of the council is," Leonidas +whispered, as they rolled themselves in their cloaks, "and then the +next thing will be to get away." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + +It was after midnight when the council ended and the generals returned +to the mercenary camp. Chares and Clearchus had long been slumbering, +but Leonidas, feeling his responsibility as leader, had deemed it his +duty not to yield to his fatigue until the camp was still. + +The story of what had occurred in the council spread quickly through +the mercenary army next morning. Memnon had returned in a rage. He +had warned the satraps of their folly in expecting an easy victory and +had advised them again to fall back, laying waste the country as they +went, so that the Macedonians would be forced to give battle on +disadvantageous terms and when they had been disheartened by privation. + +This suggestion had been treated with scorn by the Persians. They had +taunted Memnon with cowardice and the satrap Arsites had flatly refused +to permit a single house in his province to be destroyed. + +"If the Greeks wish to earn their pay without fighting," he had said, +"let them stand idly by and see how brave men can conquer." + +Thereupon all the Persian nobles had shouted assent and it had been +decided to proceed without delay to crush the invasion by forcing a +battle. + +This was the news that was told through the camp of the Greeks and +discussed with bitter comment by groups of soldiers. + +"I wish I was back with my wife and children," said a sturdy Locrian. +"These dogs know nothing of war." + +"I shall stay here, no matter what they do," remarked an Athenian, with +a shrug. "Hemlock does not agree with me." + +"Wait until the phalanx strikes them," said a hoplite from Syracuse. +"I'll wager that the date-eaters will sing a different song when the +sarissa begins to tickle their ribs." + +"You would suppose that these fellows would like to see the barbarians +beaten," Chares muttered to Clearchus. + +"Hush," said Leonidas. "We know all that we came to learn. What we +have to do now, is to get out as soon as we can. The army cannot be +far away and unless we can reach it before it arrives, the day may be +lost. If we give the Persians time, they may yet change their minds. +All depends upon an immediate attack, while their forces are divided. +We must get away at once. How are we to manage it?" + +"Why, walk away, of course," Chares said. "Who is to stop us?" + +"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody +shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into +a brawl with the Persians." + +"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus +proposed. + +"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find +our friend, the captain." + +It happened that the same foraging party that they had joined the day +before was going out again. Leonidas asked permission to join it. + +"You have not yet been enrolled," the grizzled captain objected, "but +come along if you wish; we may need the big fellow with the stake. +I'll leave three of my men behind and you can take their places." + +Leonidas breathed more freely when they were out of the camp, with the +most dangerous part of the mission accomplished. They were forced to +cross the Granicus and to walk five or six miles on the other side +before they met with any success in their search for provisions. At +last they discovered a flock of sheep, of which they took possession. +All was in readiness for the return march when Leonidas, Chares, and +Clearchus approached the captain. + +"We have decided that we will not join the army," Leonidas announced. +"We have seen enough of this war. We are going back to the coast." + +"I don't know about that," the captain said, scratching his head. + +"We are not enrolled," Leonidas reminded him. + +"That is true," said the honest fellow, "but you have been in the camp." + +"Well, we are not going back," the Spartan said deliberately. "Are you +going to try to force us? There are thirteen of you and only three of +us, but if you want a fight, you can have it. We don't intend to risk +our lives for such leaders as Arsites. Which shall it be--shall we go, +or shall we fight for it?" + +"Let them go," interposed one of the soldiers who had drawn near to +learn what the controversy was about. "They saved us yesterday. I +have half a mind to go with them myself. I would if I had my pay." + +"Yes, let them go, if they wish," others chimed in. "They are not +enrolled." + +"Farewell," Leonidas said, sheathing his sword and extending his hand +to the captain. "You can say we were killed in a skirmish with the +Persians if you like." + +"That's it, I'll say you were killed," the captain exclaimed in a tone +of relief, clasping the proffered hand. "Only, you will not come +back?" he asked doubtfully. + +"Never fear," cried Chares, giving him a slap on the back that almost +felled him to the ground. "If we do, we'll swear you told the truth." + +So they turned north and passed on, while the remainder of the party +drove in the sheep to camp. + +It was mid-afternoon when they separated from the mercenary company, +and they had no means of knowing how many miles they would have to +travel before they fell in with the Macedonian army. + +"Now for it," cried Leonidas, swinging his shield over his shoulder. +"Come on!" + +Before they had gone far, they found themselves descending a long slope +toward what seemed to be a wide stretch of marshland extending as far +as they could see. It was covered with long, dry rushes, which rustled +and bent before the strong breeze. The brown expanse apparently had +once been a lake, for in the distance they could catch the gleam of +water; but the greater part of the basin had dried, and the reeds had +sprung up as the water receded. + +"It looks like a swamp," Clearchus said, anxiously scanning the plain. +"How are we to pass?" + +"It seems dry enough now," Leonidas replied. "We will cross it if we +can find no better way; but let us look first for a road." + +Facing to the east, they skirted the edge of the rushes for more than a +mile without finding an opening or coming within sight of the end. + +"I'm afraid we shall have to try to get through," Leonidas said at +last, halting on a tongue of land which extended some distance into the +marsh. "We can't afford to waste much more time." + +The question was decided for them in a manner that left them no choice. +As they stood in doubt, shouts came from their rear, and turning, they +saw a company of horsemen at the top of the slope, half a mile away, +bearing down upon them at a breakneck gallop. Their long lances and +flowing garments showed them to be Persians. + +"You were right in saying that we had no time to waste, Leonidas," +Chares exclaimed. "What are you going to do about this? I am anxious +to take orders." + +For answer, the Spartan set off at a run for the marsh. It was evident +that the Persians had seen them and were aiming to attack them at a +distance from the camps, where the affair would remain undiscovered. + +With the wind blowing in their faces, the three young men plunged in +among the reeds. The dry stalks met above their heads and whistled +about their ears. + +"Go first!" commanded Leonidas, standing aside for Chares to pass. + +The Theban took the lead, tearing like a wild bull through the +crackling stems. Clearchus followed at his heels and Leonidas brought +up the rear, retaining for himself the post of danger. Although their +figures were hidden, they knew their pursuers would have no trouble in +following them, for they left a broad trail, and, moreover, the +elevation of the backs of their horses would enable the barbarians +easily to mark their progress by the waving of the rushes. + +For a mile and two miles the race continued without a word being +spoken. The Persians had ridden headlong into the marsh after them and +were slowly gaining upon them, although the speed of their horses was +checked by the rushes, which caused them to stumble, and by the +softness of the ground, into which their hoofs sank to the fetlock at +every stride. + +Clearchus was panting for breath and he heard Leonidas breathing hard +behind him. Sweat streamed from the face and neck of Chares, who broke +the path. The Athenian knew that the pace could not be maintained much +longer. + +Still another half mile they struggled on with the endless brown walls +of reeds before them and around them. Long ago they had cast away +their javelins and their shields, which caught in the reeds and +hindered them. Even if they could find a barrier behind which to make +a stand, they knew they would have no chance for their lives against +the enemy, who outnumbered them six to one and had the advantage of +being mounted. + +Clearchus thought of Artemisia, and his temples throbbed with anguish +as he nerved himself to fresh effort. Was he never to see her again? +His bones would bleach in the middle of that vast morass and she would +not know. He thought of the high-spirited young king who had sent them +to obtain information that might save his army from destruction and the +hopes of Greece from ruin. On them alone might depend the result of +the battle that was to be fought and the destiny of two nations. + +He saw Chares stumble once and again. His own muscles were benumbed by +the long strain. The shouting at their backs was growing louder and +more near and he could hear the thudding of the hoofs upon the spongy, +black soil. + +"Stop!" Leonidas gasped behind him, and looking over his shoulder, +Clearchus saw that the Spartan had fallen to his knees. + +"Back, Chares," he shouted. "The end has come!" + +The Theban halted and they both ran back to Leonidas, drawing their +swords with a fierce determination to defend themselves to the last. + +"Beat down the rushes!" Leonidas cried hoarsely. "Let in the wind!" + +They saw that he held his flints in his hands and that a tiny blaze was +flickering up from a heap of rushes which he had crushed into a +tinder-like mass. + +They understood his plan and hope returned to them. Like madmen, they +trampled the reeds to the right and left. A puff of wind came through +and caught the darting tongue of fire. It leaped upward so suddenly +that the Spartan's hair was singed before he had time to draw back. In +an instant, it seemed, a sheet of flame flung itself into the air above +the reed-tops, casting off a thin swirl of bluish smoke. With +incredible swiftness the fire swept from them straight down upon their +pursuers, leaving behind it a rapidly widening wake of black. + +"Scatter it!" cried Leonidas, seizing the blazing reeds and throwing +them in every direction. The others followed his example, spreading +the fire as far as they could to the right and left so as to make it +impossible for the Persians to evade it by avoiding its path. + +As soon as the barbarians saw the first smoke, they halted, hesitated +for a moment, and then turned wildly back in the hope of escaping by +the way they had come. The Greeks had taken a position on the charred +ground, where they themselves were safe from the flames, and were +awaiting the result, sword in hand. + +The conflagration, as it gathered headway, seemed to become a monster +animated by a living spirit. One broad sheet of flame swept high into +the air, roaring like a hungry beast, and throwing up clouds of smoke +that hid the southern sky. With deadly swiftness it devoured the lake +of reeds before it, leaving behind a bare and level plain of ashes from +which here and there rose smoky spirals. It seemed to create a +scorching gale stronger even than the wind that had fanned it into +life. It rushed forward by great leaps and bounds, pausing now and +then over some especially tempting thicket of reeds, and then starting +up far in advance. + +In vain the three young men tried to learn what had become of the +pursuers upon whom Leonidas had let loose their terrible ally. +Grasping their swords, they stood back to back amid the drifting smoke, +striving to look beyond the flaming wall. The wave of fire reached the +slope from which they had fled, lingered there for a few moments, and +then vanished as quickly almost as it had sprung into existence. The +smoke blew away over the uplands in a bellying cloud. Gazing through +its rifts, they could see nothing of the Persians. They seemed to have +disappeared as completely as though the earth had swallowed them. + +"Where are they?" exclaimed Clearchus in bewilderment. + +"They must have escaped," Leonidas replied. + +"No, by Zeus, I see them!" Chares cried, pointing to a group of +blackened mounds about halfway from where they stood to the edge of the +marsh. + +One of the mounds stirred as he spoke, and they saw that he was right. +It was one of the horses. The animal tried to raise itself on its fore +legs, gave a scream of agony, and fell back among the cinders. + +Without a word, the three Companions turned away. While the fire had +fled rapidly before the wind, it had made little progress in other +directions. It was still eating into the rushes behind them and on +either side and they were surrounded by it, excepting where it had +swept back to the slope. To return in that direction would be to run +new risk of capture. They were prisoners. + +They looked at each other. Their faces and garments were black with +smoke and ashes. + +"What would they say if they could see you in the Agora in Athens +looking like that?" Chares asked of Clearchus. + +"They would ask me the price of charcoal, I suppose," the Athenian +replied, laughing. + +They moved slowly after the receding fire, choosing their path with +caution and halting every few yards to wait until the ground had cooled. + +"We shall not get out in time!" Leonidas groaned. + +"Don't be too sure," Clearchus cried. "Look at that." He extended his +hand, upon which a drop of water had fallen. + +"Rain!" cried the Spartan, joyfully. "The Gods be thanked!" + +It was rain, indeed. The drops were falling all around them, making +little puffs in the hot ashes and hissing on the embers. The wind +shifted further to the east and brought a refreshing dampness to their +faces, crimsoned by the stifling atmosphere which they had been forced +to breathe. There was a muttering of thunder, then a nearer crash +overhead, and they saw the storm striding across the plain in a long, +sweeping curve. They lifted their faces to it and drew deep breaths, +letting the water trickle through their hair and down their bodies. +Steam rose from the blackened expanse all about them. Gaps began to +appear in the hissing circle of fire. The red tongues flickered and +went out. + +"There is yet time," Leonidas cried, and in a few moments they were +once more among the reeds, heading for the northern margin of the swamp. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GREEK AND BARBARIAN + +Alexander was riding upon Bucephalus, with Parmenio at his side. +Behind them rode the light-hearted pages and the grave generals, +followed by the Companions and the infantry, winding like an enormous +snake along the road that led southward to the Granicus. + +The young king seemed preoccupied. He glanced restlessly to the right +and left where scouting parties were beating the country to guard +against surprise and in the hope of finding some trace of the enemy. + +"The Persians cannot be far away now," he said to Parmenio. "Do you +think they will wait for us?" + +"If they were wise, they would fall back and draw us away from our +supplies," the old general replied. + +"They must fight," Alexander exclaimed. + +"I have no doubt they will," Parmenio answered, with the shadow of a +smile upon his lips. + +Alexander glanced sharply at him and was silent, riding with bent head +as though debating with himself. There was something in the veteran's +tone that jarred upon him. + +"I wish Leonidas, Chares, and Clearchus were here," he said at last. + +"Perhaps they have taken service under Memnon," Parmenio suggested +dryly. + +"Is there none that you trust?" Alexander said sharply. "They are not +deserters; but they may have been killed." + +"That is possible," the old man replied. + +"I care not so much for the Persians," Alexander continued, "but I +would like to know how many men Memnon has and what spirit they are in." + +A small party of the scouting horsemen appeared before them in the road. + +"It is Amyntas himself," Alexander said, catching sight of them. "What +has the Lyncestian found?" + +"Either stragglers or prisoners," Parmenio replied, shading his eyes +with his palms. "They seem to be negroes." + +"We will put them to the torture," Alexander said, with satisfaction. +"They may be able to tell something of what we wish to know." + +He urged Bucephalus forward to meet the skirmishers, who halted to +await his arrival. + +"What have you here, Amyntas?" he asked. + +"Three men who seemed to be wandering about the Country," Amyntas +replied. "They are Greeks, but they refuse to give any account of +themselves excepting to Alexander." + +One of the three prisoners, short and strong of build, stood forward +and saluted. Alexander looked hard at him and then at the other two. +His face cleared and he laughed aloud. + +"Order a halt," he said. "Let the men rest and eat. Leave the +prisoners to me." + +He gave his horse to a groom and led the way to a wide-spreading oak +tree a short distance from the road. + +"I thought you had been either killed or captured," he said to the +prisoners. "Leonidas, what have you learned?" + +"Everything," the Spartan replied. + +"How many soldiers has Memnon?" the young king asked. + +"Twenty thousand," was the reply. + +"Will they fight?" Alexander inquired. + +"No, because the Persians will not let them," Leonidas said. "Memnon +advised a retreat, but the satraps laughed in his face and gave him +permission to watch them win the battle." + +"What think you of that, Parmenio?" Alexander exclaimed. "He gave them +the same advice you would have given had you been there. They have +refused it. The day is ours!" + +With hasty questions he brought out the whole story of the expedition. +The plan of battle formed itself in his mind as he listened, walking +back and forth before them. His eyes flashed and his cheeks glowed red. + +"You have done well," he said to the three friends, when they had +finished. "Your horses are waiting for you. Refresh yourselves and +put on your armor, for you will need it before the sun goes down." + +"I hope nobody has stolen my breastplate," Chares muttered. + +Alexander continued to pace backward and forward with his head inclined +a little to the left, as was his wont when in thought. Parmenio +watched him closely, but did not venture to speak. Amyntas, who had +ridden forward after surrendering his prisoners, now returned at a +gallop. + +"The barbarians await us on the opposite side of the river," he said. + +"Your prisoners have already told me," Alexander replied. "Is the +stream fordable?" + +"Not directly in front of their line," the cavalryman replied. "There +is shallow water above and below them, but the stream is swift." + +"Call the council," Alexander said quietly, turning to Parmenio. + +Heralds bore the order down the road beside which the army lay at rest. +The commanders left their stations and came forward, singly and in +groups, gathering about their leader. In few words he set the +situation before them. + +"Shall we attack them now or to-morrow?" he asked. + +"Let us fight now!" the captains shouted. + +But Parmenio frowned and shook his head. "My advice is to wait," he +said boldly. "Already it is late and we must cross the river to reach +the enemy. They have chosen their own ground. The men are weary with +their march." + +"No, no!" the younger men shouted. + +"As for the river," Alexander replied, "the Hellespont would blush for +shame if we stood waiting on the banks of such a stream as this after +having crossed the other. It is true that we have little time, and +that is the more reason that we should make the most of it. We will +fight now." + +His decision was received with a burst of cheers. He waited with a +smile until the clamor of approval had ceased. + +"Comrades and Macedonians!" he continued, "we are about to face the +Mede. If we win here, we win all. I say to you that we shall win. I +ask you only to be worthy of yourselves. Fight this day as the heroes +fought before the walls of Ilium. Their shades are with us. Your +names shall be linked forever with theirs. Here we shall reap the +first harvest of our hope." + +"Lead us, Alexander! We shall win!" the captains shouted. + +They ran back to spread the news among the soldiers, who received it +with such enthusiasm that even the anxious face of Parmenio brightened. +In another half hour the army was again in motion with Alexander in the +van, wearing the helmet with the white plumes that swept his shoulders. + +When they reached the river, they saw the Persians drawn up on the +opposite bank in a long, deep line. The front of the enemy was gay +with banners flaunting in the sun and resplendent with the +multi-colored finery of the Persian lords. The Greeks could hear the +braying of their trumpets and the shouts of their commanders as the +dense masses of their cavalry wheeled into position to meet the attack. +At sight of Alexander a high-pitched, long-drawn cry ran from one end +of their line to the other, rising and falling in derision. + +There was no answer from the Greeks. The young king drew aside to a +point of vantage and threw a rapid glance at the barbarian host. He +saw that the river before them broadened into a pool, over whose quiet +surface the swallows were skimming. Immediately in front of him the +water foamed and gurgled over a shallow, and a similar break ended the +pool below. The opposite bank rose steeply from the water's edge to +the wide declivity upon which the Persians had taken their stand. +Behind them Memnon's mercenaries had been posted as a reserve and to be +spectators of the punishment which the barbarians were to inflict upon +their countrymen. + +"Leonidas was right," Alexander exclaimed, pointing to the mercenaries. +"See, we shall not have to meet the spears of the Greeks. Form the +line, Parmenio." + +Squadron and company emerged from the road and wheeled into their +positions in silence under the direction of their captains. Clearchus, +Chares, and Leonidas were riding with Ptolemy's troop when a page +sought them and they saw Alexander beckoning. + +"Do not forget that you are to fight with Alexander to-day," he said, +as they rode up. + +Leonidas flushed with pride and Chares threw a satisfied glance at the +gorgeous breastplate which he had recovered safely. They took their +places in the cluster of young Macedonians behind the king. + +Amyntas, with his light horsemen, was posted on the extreme right, +beyond the left of the Persian line. Ptolemy, with the heavy cavalry, +stood next, and Alexander, with seven squadrons of the Companions, the +best and bravest of his army, supported him on the left. Then came the +terrible phalanx, rank on rank, its sarissas standing up to four times +the height of a man, like a giant field of corn. Farther down the +river, in the left wing, where Parmenio commanded, was the dashing +Thessalian horse, with the riders of Thrace and the Greek allies, +supported by other squadrons of foot-soldiers. + +Quickly and calmly, as though forming for a parade, the line extended +itself and stood still. Behind its centre the catapults and ballistæ +were posted, with their strings tightened and their great arms drawn +back, ready to hurl their bolts or to discharge their missiles. + +A sudden hush fell on both sides of the river. The jeers of the +Persians died away and their banners stirred lazily in the light air. +The Macedonians stood facing them like an army of statues. Alexander +touched his horse with the spur and rode slowly down the line alone to +see that all was in readiness. As he passed he spoke to the captains, +calling them by name. + +"Nicanor," he said, "let your men prove themselves men once more +to-day! Perdiccas, fight for the honor of Hellas! CÅ“nus, there are +no cowards among your followers; fight now as you never fought before! +Remember Macedon!" + +So the young king reached the left of the array, where he gave his +final instructions to Parmenio, and galloped back to his place on the +right with his double white plume streaming behind him. + +Gazing across the narrow stream, the veterans of Macedon saw the pride +of Persia awaiting their onset. The great struggle for which they had +been making ready through years of toil was about to be brought to an +issue. There rose before them a vision of the farms and villages among +the rugged Macedonian hills where their wives and children awaited +them. They set their teeth upon the thought that defeat would leave +the road to their homes unguarded. They pictured the shame of +returning as hunted fugitives, with the barbarians at their heels--how +sullen Sparta would exult and fickle Athens blaze up in revolt. It +would be better to die there on the banks of the foreign river than to +incur such disgrace. + +To all minds came the thought that the fate of the world was hanging in +the balance, and all eyes turned to Alexander. The young king, cool +and confident, had regained his position at the head of the Agema. He +raised his hand and away on the right the army heard the clear notes of +a trumpet sounding the charge. + +Amyntas, with his gallant lancers, galloped down the slope and dashed +into the river, which foamed about the knees of the plunging horses. + +Again the trumpet-call quavered in the air, and Ptolemy's squadrons +followed Amyntas with a clanking of armor and a jangling of scabbards. + +On the opposite shore the Persians raised their fierce, defiant shout +and rushed eagerly forward to meet the charge. A flight of arrows rose +from the archers posted upon the hillside in their rear and converged +in a glittering shower upon the ford. + +Then along the dreaded phalanx of the Greeks ran a swelling murmur. +The forest of sarissas began to move toward the river. Louder rose the +chant until it drowned the clash of arms and the shouts of the +barbarian host. It was the solemn pæan from twelve thousand bearded +throats, calling upon the Gods of Hellas for their aid. The hearts of +the Greeks in the mercenary camp on the heights across the river +tightened as the deep-toned chorus rolled up to them and for a time +they avoided looking into each other's eyes. + +Enormous darts, ponderous balls of lead, and jagged stones were hurled +against the Persian line from the death-dealing engines in the rear of +the Greek position. Amyntas was struggling hand to hand in the foaming +ford. The battle was joined. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + +Again and yet again Amyntas was thrust back from the other shore, +slippery with mud and clay, while deadly gusts of arrows and javelins +beat upon him. Jealous of glory, the young Persian nobles crowded with +reckless daring to the brink and overwhelmed him by the weight of their +numbers. But they could not drive him off. He clung to the attack +with the stubborn tenacity that knows not defeat, refusing to abandon +the stream, although his lines were broken and his men were falling +around him. + +Alexander, watching the battle like a hawk, saw the desperate situation +into which he had thrown Amyntas. "Enyalius!" he shouted, calling upon +the God of War by the name that the Homeric heroes had used before +Ilium; "Enyalius! Follow me, Macedonians!" + +The Agema swept down the slope behind the waving plumes of white and +struck the river into foam. The disordered ranks of Amyntas raised a +breathless cheer as it passed, heading straight for the thickest of the +fight. There was a splintering of shafts, a crash of steel upon steel, +and from the fierce vortex of the battle rose cries of rage and agony. + +Clearchus fastened his eyes upon the double white plume which fluttered +before them. He heard the cry "Alexander! Alexander!" run from lip to +lip through the Persian host and saw its squadrons rushing down to meet +the onset. + +A lean, swarthy man, wearing a head-dress that glittered with jewels, +aimed a blow at him with his curved sword. The Athenian threw himself +back upon his horse to avoid the stroke and thrust the man through the +side with his lance. + +Alexander was fighting in the foremost rank amid a flashing circle of +steel. The Persian courtiers threw themselves upon the Macedonian +spears in their eagerness to reach the king and win the honors which +they knew would be bestowed upon the fortunate man who should slay him. +The young leader seemed heedless of his danger. Twice he spurred his +horse up the treacherous bank and twice he was hurled back. The river, +from shore to shore, was filled with soldiers fending off as best they +might the merciless rain of darts and arrows. The moment was critical. +Unless the Agema could gain footing on the Persian side, the day was +lost. + +"We must end this," roared Chares above the turmoil. "Down with them! +Alexander!" + +He drove his bloody spur deep into the flank of his powerful steed. +The tortured animal leaped at the bank and staggered upward against the +living wall that barred the way. A score of swords struck at him, and +the polished shield that the Theban held above his head rang beneath +the blows that were showered upon it. The great roan gained the top of +the bank, but a spearman buried a javelin in his broad chest and his +knees gave way. As he fell, Chares leaped from his back and stood firm. + +"Alexander!" he cried again, in a mighty voice that rose above the din +of conflict like the roar of a lion at bay. His long sword, so heavy +that a man of ordinary strength could hardly wield it, though he used +both hands, swept on this side and on that in whistling circles. Down +went horse and rider before it like grain within the compass of a +sickle. For a moment a space was cleared, and in the next the double +plume of white flaunted before his eyes as Alexander passed him, and +the Theban knew that the shore had been won. The Agema, like a wedge, +struck far into the Persian ranks and held there, driven home by the +weight of troops behind it. + +Mithridates, son-in-law of Darius, infuriated by this success, ordered +a charge which should sweep the Macedonians back into the river. +Followed by Rhoisakes, his brother, and by a throng of nobles he hurled +himself upon the stubborn mountaineers, aiming straight for Alexander. +Chares, who was in the path of the avalanche, was swept aside. His +shield was shattered upon his arm by the blow of a mace which also +broke the fastenings of his helmet. A shout of warning rose from the +Agema as it wheeled to face the attack. With sword upraised, +Mithridates rushed upon Alexander; but the king's tough lance pierced +the scales of his armor before he could deliver his stroke. The prince +fell from his horse and rolled beneath the flying hoofs. Rhoisakes, +thundering behind him, aimed a blow with his keen battle-axe which +shore away the king's crest and half the double plume. At the same +moment the satrap Spithridates attacked Alexander from behind, but +before his arm could fall, dark Clitus, with an upward stroke, severed +his wrist so that his hand, still grasping his hilt, leaped into the +air. Rhoisakes met his brother's fate upon Alexander's spear. Dismay +filled the Persian ranks. The charge was broken. "Enyalius!" +Alexander shouted, and the Agema thundered up the slope against the +disordered barbarians. + +Clearchus and Leonidas fought close behind Alexander. The Athenian was +never afterward able to recall the details of that desperate struggle. +His remembrance was a confused blur of thrust and parry, of shouting +and confusion. Suddenly, out of the shifting throng, the proud, +flushed face of Phradates appeared to him as in a dream. The young +man's gaze was fixed and he seemed to be striving to extricate his +horse from the press that hemmed him in. Struck by the expression of +rage and hate that convulsed his features, Clearchus followed the +direction of his glance and saw Chares, with bare head and on foot, +holding two adversaries in check with his sword. Blood flowed from a +wound upon his cheek, reddening his shoulder and dimming the lustre of +his armor. He had been left behind by the cavalry, and the space +around him was clear except for the two riders, who had thought to find +him an easy victim. + +Clearchus read the thought in the dark face of the PhÅ“nician. +Phradates had recognized his rival and was bent upon taking him at a +disadvantage. The Athenian turned to warn Chares of his peril, but +Phradates shot out of the crowd in advance of him and spurred down upon +his enemy, bending low upon the neck of his fleet Arabian horse. + +"Ho, Chares! Guard thyself!" Clearchus shouted, realizing that he +would be too late. + +The cry reached the ears of the Theban, who turned his head for an +instant and saw Phradates rushing upon him. He leaped forward and +hewed one of his adversaries from the back of his horse. The other +closed in, aiming a blow with his sword that Chares had barely time to +catch upon his own blade. The shoulder of the leaping horse hurtled +against him, causing him to stagger and drop his point. + +"I have thee, dog!" screamed Phradates. + +So intent was the PhÅ“nician upon his ignoble revenge that he had not +seen Clearchus, spurring desperately to overtake him. The Athenian +heard his shout of triumph and his heart failed. + +"I cannot reach him in time!" he groaned. + +In a few more strides, Chares would be at the mercy of his foe. +Phradates raised his arm to strike at the defenceless head. There was +one chance of stopping him and one only. Clearchus hurled his sword at +the PhÅ“nician. The hilt of the whirling blade struck Phradates on +the arm with such force that, with a cry of pain, he let fall the sword +from his benumbed fingers. + +"Not this time, PhÅ“nician!" Chares shouted, as Phradates swooped +past him. "Go back to Tyre and await my coming; for I follow!" + +Clearchus leaped down from his horse and recovered his sword with the +intention of pursuing Phradates, but he saw at a glance that the +attempt would be useless. The PhÅ“nician, unarmed as he was, fled +toward the Persian lines too fast to be overtaken. + +He looked around for the second of the two horsemen with whom Chares +had been engaged when Phradates attacked him, but the man was nowhere +to be seen. He turned to his friend and embraced him. + +"You were just in time," Chares said. + +"Thank the Gods!" Clearchus replied. "This is no place to die. I +think the battle is ours." + +Phradates, riding at full speed, passed through the Persian lines and +galloped up the slope. Here and there a Persian horseman saw him go +and followed. Others, and still others, joined the flight until, like +a dam that goes down before the swollen current of a river in spring, +the barbarian squadrons wavered and broke, streaming up the hill +disordered and panic-stricken, with death at their heels. Their only +thought was to save themselves. + +Slaughter took the place of conflict. Grim and silent the Macedonian +cavalry and the Thessalian horse rode among the fugitives with swords +that knew no mercy. In that disastrous rout the pride of Persia's +chivalry was dragged in the dust, and the courtier deemed himself +fortunate who escaped to tell of his own dishonor. + +Past the camp of the despised Greek mercenaries who had been bidden to +watch the defenders of the Great King conquer or die, ran the barbarian +rabble, with the wolves of Macedon tearing at their flanks. Southward +they fled, leaving behind a broad track of the wounded and the dying, +and scattering as they went until no semblance of the Persian army +remained. Sweet in their ears at last was the music of the trumpet +notes that withdrew the pursuit and left them free to take breath. + +The mercenaries stood before their camp, unmoved amid the panic, +awaiting the command to fight or flee. The order never came. Memnon +had fought beside the Persian generals and had been swept away with +them, leaving his army to its fate. Below them the Greeks saw the +Macedonian phalanx re-forming its ranks, with the cavalry, of which +they had none, upon its wings. + +"Why should we die for these cowards?" they said, one to another. +"They have deserted us and we are free." + +They stretched out their hands in supplication toward Alexander. + +"Grant us our lives, O king!" they cried. + +"They surrender," Parmenio said. "They are ready to join us. Why not +accept them? It will cost many lives to punish them." + +Alexander's brow darkened. "They are traitors to Greece," he said. "I +will have none in my army who has raised his hand against his country." + +The deep phalanx rolled onward to the chant of the pæan, and the +despairing mercenaries knew that they could expect no quarter. + +"Let us die like Greeks, since we must die," their captains exhorted. +"There is no escape for us." + +The phalanx dashed upon them with a rending shock. The long sarissas +tore through their ranks; but they stood firm, giving blow for blow, +and calling upon each other not to disgrace their name. They even +forced the veterans of Macedon to recoil, and the phalanx surged back +like a mighty wave that dashes itself against a sounding cliff and +returns with renewed strength. + +Had only the foot-soldiers, with whom they could fight on equal terms, +been arrayed against them, the issue might have remained in doubt; but +the cavalry, against which they had no defence, fell upon their rear +ranks with terrible effect. Their squares were broken; their captains +fell; disordered and without guidance, they went down before lance and +sword, fighting to the last. + +Alexander's horse was killed under him while he was leading the cavalry +charge upon the left, and for the second time that day he narrowly +escaped with his life. + +"They fought like men," he said sadly to Ptolemy. "I wish they had +been with us instead of against us, for they were Greeks." + +He gave command to stop the carnage. Where the mercenary line had +stood the dead lay in heaps, friend and foe together. A few of the +mercenaries who had been cut off from the main body by the cavalry had +succeeded in making their escape; but of the twenty thousand whom +Memnon had led, eighteen thousand never left that bloody field. At +least, they had shown the barbarians how to die. + +"It will be harder for Darius to hire Greeks to fight for him after +this," Chares remarked, as he reined in his horse beside his two +friends and dismounted. + +"They were of our race, after all," Clearchus said, regretfully. + +"They were not cowards," Chares assented, nodding his head in approval, +"and we have lost more men than we could spare. Here is a fellow, now, +who might have amounted to something." + +He pointed to the body of a young man who lay with his broken sword +beside him. His pale face was calm and his wide eyes stared upward at +the crimson evening sky. His corselet had been broken, disclosing the +end of a thin roll of papyrus. Chares drew it out and broke the seals. + +"He may have been a poet," he said, handing the roll to Clearchus. +"Read it!" + +The Athenian glanced at the writing and uttered a quick exclamation. + +"Artemisia is in Halicarnassus!" he cried. + +"What do you mean?" Chares demanded. + +"This is a letter from Xanthe to me," Clearchus said, and he proceeded +to read the lines that his unhappy aunt had written with so much toil. + +"Who is this Iphicrates?" Leonidas asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied eagerly, "but if it be the will of the +Gods we shall learn. Let us seek the king at once!" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + +Mena, the Egyptian, had found a good excuse for remaining in Athens +during the fighting, but after the battle of the Granicus Phradates had +summoned him to Halicarnassus. He was sitting in a wine-shop, +discussing topics of moment with his host. His restless mind, ever on +the alert for intelligence that he might turn to account, was gathering +information concerning the city. + +"Memnon is an able general," he said. "If they had let him lead, the +war would have been over by this time." + +"I wish they had, then," the host replied, drawing his cup. "That +battle on the Granicus came near to ruining me, there were so many of +my debtors who did not return." + +"You can make up your loss by raising your prices when the siege begins +here," the Egyptian observed. + +"Do you think there will be a siege?" the other asked anxiously. + +"Of course," Mena replied. "Do you expect Alexander to turn back now +that the northern provinces are his? But with Memnon here, he will +have his trouble for his pains." + +"I don't know," the shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "They say these +Macedonians are wonderful fighters, and I am not sure, after all, that +I want to see them beaten. Blood is thicker than water, and this is a +Greek city, when all is said, even though it pays tribute to Darius. I +can't see how we should be worse off under Alexander than we are now. +The Persians are robbers, and my grandfather was a BÅ“otian." + +"Would you have the city surrender?" Mena demanded, in affected +surprise. + +"No, of course not," the shopkeeper said hastily, taking his cue from +his customer, after the manner of his kind. "No, I would never +surrender, for our walls are so strong and high that the Macedonians +will never get through them; but we might make terms," he added +cautiously. + +His embarrassment was relieved by a boy who came to tell him that two +strangers who had just entered the shop desired to speak with him. He +excused himself to the Egyptian, whose sharp eyes followed him as he +went to obey the summons. He could not suppress a start of surprise +when he saw who had sent it. The two men had taken their places at a +remote table, evidently not wishing to be remarked. They wore the garb +of light-armed foot-soldiers and their accoutrement seemed much the +worse for rough usage. One of them was of great size and strength, +with blue eyes and yellow hair which curled about his temples. The +other was smaller and more delicate in appearance. The cunning +Egyptian recognized them in an instant. They were Clearchus and Chares. + +Mena knew the two young men had set out with the army of Alexander, and +that they must have had some purpose in coming to Halicarnassus. +Either they had found some clew, he thought, to Artemisia's hiding +place, or they had been sent forward from the army as spies. He +gradually shifted his position so that he might watch their +conversation with the host without danger of being recognized. Their +talk lasted long enough for Chares to drain a huge measure of wine, +after which the keeper of the shop bowed them out and returned to Mena. + +"They were two Athenians," he said. "They wanted to know where +Iphicrates lives." + +"Who is Iphicrates?" Mena asked innocently. + +"He is an old rascal who makes his living out of the necessities of +others," the shopkeeper replied. "I dare say they want to borrow money +from him. They will have to pay well for it!" + +"Did they say they wanted money?" queried Mena. + +"No, they did not say why they wished to see him," was the reply. + +The wily Mena drew from his companion all that he knew about +Iphicrates. He found the house without difficulty and easily learned +the details of the accident that had befallen Thais. With this +information and with what he already knew of Artemisia's disappearance, +he soon found out all the rest. + +"Chares and Clearchus will attempt to rescue the two women," he +reflected. "If they succeed, Clearchus will return to Athens and +Ariston will be stripped of all he has. He will undoubtedly be thrown +into prison besides. That must not happen, now, at any rate. Chares +will probably go with Clearchus, and my worthy master will lose, not +only his revenge, but the girl that he makes himself such a fool over. +Of course he would blame me for that. This Iphicrates is a +money-lender, therefore he must have money. Let me see." + +Mena's further cogitations led him to Phradates, whom he found playing +at the dice with a party of mercenary captains, who were robbing him +without shame. The Egyptian drew him aside. + +"I will deliver Chares into thy hands to-night," he said, "and give +thee Thais to-morrow." + +"Are you drunk?" Phradates asked bluntly. + +"I mean exactly what I say," Mena replied with dignity, and he related +all that he had discovered. + +"My turn has come sooner than I expected," Phradates cried exultingly. +He lost no time in seeking Memnon, with whom he held a long +consultation. + +Save for the military patrols, the streets of Halicarnassus were +deserted that night when Chares and Clearchus approached the dwelling +of Iphicrates. They kept the darker side of the way and advanced with +caution, halting at every sound. They had laid aside their weapons, +which they knew would be useless in case of attack and which might +excite suspicion should they be noticed. In front of the house they +stopped to listen. Not a sound broke the stillness and nobody was in +sight. In one of the upper windows a light was burning. + +"She is there!" Clearchus said, pointing to the gleam. + +"How shall we make her understand who we are?" Chares asked. + +Clearchus picked up a pebble from the street and tossed it at the +window. The first trial failed, but at the second the stone entered +the opening. + +"Back now until we see her!" the Theban said, drawing Clearchus into an +angle of the opposite wall. + +In a moment a woman's head, with hair unbound, appeared at the window +against the light. + +"It is Artemisia!" Clearchus cried, unable to control himself in the +rush of his joy. He started forward and stood in the full moonlight +with his arms outstretched. + +"Artemisia!" he called softly. + +"Clearchus, my love, is it thou?" she replied, in the same tone. + +"Yes, we have come to save thee," he answered. "Canst thou come to us?" + +"I will try," she said. "Thais is here with me." + +She vanished from the window, and Clearchus advanced eagerly toward the +door. Before he had taken three steps a score of men seemed to rise +out of the ground around him. The trap set by Phradates had been +sprung. + +"Seize them!" the Tyrian cried in a shrill voice. + +In an instant, Clearchus had been overcome. Chares, who had remained +in the angle of shadow, sprang forward with a cry of rage. He reached +Phradates before the soldiers could stop him, and dealt the Tyrian a +blow that sent him down in an inanimate heap ten yards away; but, as he +did so, a dozen men leaped upon him and bore him to the earth. + +Clearchus was struggling like a madman with his captors, but to no +purpose. + +"They have us," the Theban said coolly. "Let us show ourselves men." + +With a groan Clearchus submitted; and the guard, having bound their +arms behind them, dragged them to their feet. + +"At least, that PhÅ“nician coward has his deserts," Chares exclaimed +with a laugh, glancing at the senseless form of his enemy. "I hope I +have killed him!" + +Part of the guard marched them quickly away, while the rest remained +behind to care for Phradates. As long as the house could be seen, +Clearchus kept his eyes upon the window, hoping for another glimpse of +Artemisia, but he saw her not. + +It was necessary for the soldiers who had stayed behind with Phradates +to summon a physician before he could be brought back to consciousness. +His life had been saved by the fact that he threw up his right hand to +protect himself from Chares' terrible blow. The bones of his wrist had +been broken and splintered so badly that the physician doubted whether +he would ever be able to use his hand again. + +In the morning Iphicrates received orders to join the citizen levy that +had been raised to defend the walls of the city; and Phradates, with a +retinue of slaves and attendants, took possession of the house. The +money-lender protested bitterly against the service demanded of him, +but his entreaties were in vain. He had not even time to make +provision for the security of his valuables before he was hurried away, +and he was forced to accept the assistance which the sympathetic Mena +pressed upon him. He revealed to the Egyptian, with many lamentations, +the hiding-places of his hoard, promising to reward him liberally if he +would bring it to him. Mena found not only the gold of which +Iphicrates had spoken, but much more that had been so cunningly +concealed in the walls of the house that Iphicrates had deemed it +unnecessary to allude to it. So expeditious was Mena's search that he +was able to report to Iphicrates, before nightfall, that the soldiers +had anticipated him and had carried everything away. + +"I am ruined!" cried the wretched man, turning pale and wiping the +drops from his brow. "The savings of a lifetime of toil have been +taken from me! Ah, the robbers! Would that I had them here before me!" + +"Take hope," Mena replied soothingly. "The fortunes of war may bring +thee more than thou hast lost, and it is better, at any rate, that thy +gold should have fallen into the hands of thy friends rather than into +those of the Macedonians." + +"I have no friends," Iphicrates wailed. "I will appeal to Memnon +himself!" + +"Give yourself no concern about that," the Egyptian replied hastily. +"I have already complained to my master, and he has promised to see +that the soldiers are punished. He is generous, and he feels that it +was partly his fault that this misfortune has come upon thee." + +Iphicrates clasped his hand and thanked him with tears. Mena left him +to his drill and hastened to make provision for the secret conveyance +of the gold to Tyre. Phradates remained in ignorance of the whole +transaction, having matters of more importance to occupy his thoughts +than the ruin of an old miser. + +Artemisia passed the night in an agony of suspense and weeping. Thais +did her utmost to comfort her, though her own heart was scarcely less +troubled than that of her younger companion. It was by representing +that, weak as they were, they might be the only persons in the city who +could aid Clearchus and Chares, and that they must not abandon +themselves to despair that she finally persuaded Artemisia to sleep. +While she talked, her swift mind was busy with plans. She had heard +that the Persian officials were venal, and that anything in the empire +might be had for a price. She knew that the purchase of a general or a +viceroy was beyond her means, but she hoped that the jailers who had +the two young men in charge, whoever they were, might be bribed by her +jewels to let them escape. It was with a kind of exaltation that she +made a mental account of the gems, thinking that the price she had paid +for them might not have been in vain. The question that most occupied +her mind was what temper Phradates would be in, for she doubted not +that he would seek to take advantage of her situation. Finding +Artemisia quiet at last, she lay down and resolutely closed her eyes. + +As soon as the Tyrian had occupied the house, his slaves brought food +and wine in his name to the young women. Thais accepted it. + +"Tell thy master that we have no women to dress us," she said. + +"How can you receive anything from that man?" Artemisia exclaimed +indignantly, when the slaves had gone. + +"If I had my wish, I would drive this through his heart," Thais +replied, catching up a small dagger that she sometimes carried in her +bosom. "My desire to aid Chares and Clearchus is no less strong than +thine; but we are women and we must fight as we can, not as we would. +So hide thy grief if thou canst, for it will win pity neither for them +nor for thee." + +Artemisia looked at her splendid beauty, heightened by the smouldering +fire in her eyes. "I feel that I am a child," she said, embracing her. +"I know nothing of the world and I am afraid. I will trust thee in all +things." + +Thais returned her caress. "Our lovers are in the net," she said, "but +you remember in the story that it was the mouse that freed the lion. +If Phradates sends us the women, he is still my slave, though we are in +his power, and we may hope. Now, let us eat." + +They had scarcely finished when Mena knocked at the door and ushered in +two women of Cyprus, with gleaming black eyes and slender, agile forms. +"My master, the noble Phradates, sends you these," he said, bowing low +before Thais. + +"Phradates hath our thanks," she replied gravely. "Tell him that we +hope to express our gratitude to him in person." + +Mena withdrew, and Thais immediately commanded the women to dress her +and Artemisia. To this task she gave her whole attention, directing +every step with the minutest care, to the least fold of the saffron +chiton. She chose for her adornment a topaz necklace that seemed to +sparkle with inward fire. Artemisia she robed simply in white, with a +white rose in her soft, brown hair. + +There was an unwonted stir in the house. Slaves came and went with +messages. The sound of men's voices rose from below. Thais was +restless and uneasy. She paced backward and forward, stopping now and +then before the polished mirror to examine once more the lustrous coils +of her hair, or the arrangement of her silken chiton. She seemed +expectant, and at every footfall turned her face toward the door; but +the morning wore on, and Phradates did not come. Finally she sent one +of the Cyprian women down, on pretence of fetching water, to learn what +was going on. The woman returned with the news that the Tyrian was +there, but of Chares and Clearchus she could learn nothing. + +Thais hesitated for a moment. "Go down again," she said at last, "and +tell Phradates that we are ready to receive him." + +The woman took the message, but she came back almost immediately, +saying that Phradates had left the house. + +Thais stamped her foot. "Then we must wait," she said regretfully. "O +that I were a man this day!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + +The morning sun, shining from a cloudless sky, danced upon the rippling +harbor before the eyes of the two prisoners as they were led to the +Royal Citadel where Memnon had established himself. The Rhodian had +been placed in command of all the western border of the empire after +the disaster on the Granicus, and his authority was nominally supreme. + +They were conducted to an antechamber of the council room to await +their turn. They found themselves surrounded by a throng in which the +Greeks far outnumbered the barbarians. Sullen looks were levelled at +them by the officers who came and went. Ephialtes, who had been exiled +from Athens, smiled at them mockingly. Neoptolemus, the Lyncestian, +and Amyntas, son of Antiochus, who had been concerned in the murder of +Philip, Thrasybulus, and others who had become exiles from their native +land for various crimes, passed them in the crowd of civil and military +officials whose faces and garb indicated the widely scattered races +that they represented. + +"See," Clearchus said to Chares. "There goes the Tyrian!" + +Phradates was making his way through the hall, holding his head high +and ignoring the salutes that were offered to him. He wore a +magnificent cloak of purple, under which he concealed his maimed right +arm, and his spurs clanked on the marble floor. + +"They are the same spurs he used to get away with from the battle," +Chares observed. "He seems to be a person of some importance here, and +that will do us no good." + +"He has us this time safely enough," Clearchus said bitterly. + +"That is true," Chares replied. "I wish I had struck him harder! His +head must be of iron." + +"Do you think the oracle was accomplished when we found Artemisia?" +Clearchus inquired anxiously. + +"I do not know," the Theban replied, "but only PhÅ“bus can save us +now." + +"Come along," the captain of the guard said roughly, "the general is +waiting for you." + +He led them into the council room, where Memnon sat behind a table +littered with documents. With him were Orontobates, Phradates, and a +few of the higher officers. The famous Rhodian raised his head from +the letter that he had been reading and looked keenly at the two young +men. + +"You are charged with being spies of the Macedonian," he said abruptly. +"What have you to reply?" + +"It is not true," Chares answered. "We are here on private business +alone." + +"He lies!" Phradates broke in. "I saw them both at Thebes in the army +of Alexander, and again in the battle of the Granicus. They are spies!" + +"What he says is partly true," Chares replied coolly, "but it also true +that we are not spies and that he knows it. We have left the army of +Alexander." + +"Why did you come here?" Memnon asked. + +"We came in search of Artemisia, a young woman of Athens," Clearchus +said. "She was stolen before the war began. We followed the army in +obedience to the oracle at Delphi for the purpose of finding her. When +we learned that she was here, we came hither to seek her." + +"It is all false," Phradates cried. "Put them to the torture and they +will reveal the truth!" + +"Spoken like a PhÅ“nician," Chares said scornfully, "but it is only +among savages that they torture free men. Do you remember, Tyrian, +what was done to you when you came as a spy to Thebes?" + +Phradates bit his lip and was silent. + +"Alexander sent thee back to Tyre," Chares continued, "and he gave thee +a message to deliver to thy king, Azemilcus. Hast thou forgotten it? +He told thee to bid him prepare the altar in the temple of Heracles, +for that he was coming with his army to make sacrifice there. He is on +his way." + +Chares spoke boldly, and the threat conveyed in his words had an +evident effect upon the minds of the men who heard him. Many of them, +like Phradates, had seen with their own eyes the impetuous charge of +the Macedonians across the Granicus, and they knew in their hearts that +the Great King had no troops that could have withstood it. Sardis, +Ephesus, Miletus, and all the Carian cities in the north had fallen, +and the mutterings of the approaching storm were all about them. Would +the great walls of Halicarnassus, upon which they had been toiling, +give them shelter? Misgiving seized their minds, and they looked +questioningly at each other and at Memnon. None could read what was +passing in the thoughts of the wily Rhodian, but no doubt he reflected +upon the jealousy of the Persians, his masters, which had forbidden him +to lead his Greeks into the battle of the Granicus and which still +encompassed him, all the more vigilant because of his promotion. He +must have thought, too, of his wife and children, hostages in the hands +of Darius. He knew that Clearchus and Chares had told the truth. +Would it not be well to have two young men of influence in Greece and +on terms of intimacy with Alexander to speak for him in case of need? + +With his eyes on Memnon's furrowed face, Clearchus, with the subtle +intelligence of an Athenian, divined something of what was passing in +his mind. + +"Say no more," he whispered to Chares. "He will save us if he can." + +Memnon at last raised his head and glanced about him. "I am inclined +to think that the story these men tell is true," he said deliberately. + +An angry murmur rose from the crowd, and Phradates' face flushed darkly. + +"Who was the girl in the litter?" said Ephialtes. "Was she this +Artemisia whom they were seeking?" + +There was a sneer in the exile's tone that brought the blood to Chares' +cheek. + +"She was not," he answered. "She was Thais. You may have seen her, +Ephialtes, before they drove you from Athens." + +"Thais?" Thrasybulus said. "Why not send for her? She may be able to +tell whether these speak truth or falsehood." + +"Let her be brought before us," Memnon commanded. "Remove the +prisoners until she comes. My Lord Orontobates, I wish to consult with +you concerning the disposition of the fleet." + +Clearchus and Chares were conducted back to the antechamber, while a +tall, handsome man, wearing the headdress and insignia of a Persian +noble of high rank, bent beside the Rhodian over a map which showed the +coast on either side of the city. Although Memnon had been made +general and civil governor of the western provinces, he well knew that +Orontobates had been placed beside him to watch every act of his, and +that the Great King was bound, even though it might be against his own +judgment, to take the word of the Persian before that of the mercenary. +It was no wonder that the brow of the general was thoughtful and his +face careworn, surrounded as he was by traps and pitfalls, and with the +terrible army that he had been chosen to defeat drawing hourly more +near. + +They were still studying headland and bay when Thais and her escort +arrived. As if by accident, she took her position full in the sunlight +that streamed in through a lofty window cut in the gray stone wall of +the fortress. There was a stir of surprise in the room as she entered, +and the gaze of every man was bent upon her. The bright flood touched +the coils of her hair and filled them with changing gleams. It bathed +her face in a rich glow, warm and delicate as the blush upon the petals +of a rose. The folds of her chiton, leaving bare the rounded grace of +her neck and the swell of her bosom, swept down to her little white +feet, shod with saffron sandals, and revealed the firm curves of her +figure, youthful, erect, and elastic as a wand of willow. The yellow +light sparkled and ran through the topaz chain that rose and fell with +her breathing. + +As she stood there, a butterfly danced in upon the sunlight, fluttered +about her head, and finally settled upon her hair, slowly opening and +shutting its red-brown wings, mottled with darker spots. Like a sudden +breeze in a ripened field of grain, a whisper of admiration and +superstitious wonder ran through the room. Thais raised her eyes, and +the shadow of a smile parted her crimson lips, showing the pearly gleam +of her teeth. + +Thus for a moment she stood in the sunlight before the gaze of the +assemblage that thronged about the Rhodian general. The flower of her +womanhood seemed to exhale a nameless, sensuous fascination, like the +strange perfume of a rare exotic, the spell of which was longing and +desire. + +"Bring in the prisoners," Memnon said. + +Clearchus and Chares were led into the room before Thais. She turned +to them with a swift warning in her glance that stopped the words of +protest on the lips of the Theban. + +"Leave them to me," her eyes seemed to say. + +"Do you know these men?" Memnon asked courteously. + +"I know them," she assented, in a voice that sounded singularly sweet +and timid. "They are Chares, who was of Thebes, and Clearchus, of +Athens." + +"Can you tell what brought them here?" Memnon asked. + +"They left Athens in search of Artemisia, as all Athens knows," Thais +returned. + +Her answer had substantiated the story of the prisoners. Memnon turned +inquiringly to Orontobates. + +"It may be that this is some trick," the Persian said softly, in his +own tongue. "Who knows that they have not concerted this story for +this occasion?" + +"My lord's suspicion is just," Thais returned, smiling upon Orontobates +and addressing him in his own language; "but he will observe that I +have not seen these men since they left Athens, and, indeed, I did not +know they were here." + +"Then why did you come here yourself?" Orontobates asked, returning her +smile. + +"I came because I learned that Artemisia was here, and I, too, wished +to find her," Thais replied. + +Orontobates shook his head incredulously. "If this young woman, for +whom all Athens seems to be seeking, is here in Halicarnassus, +doubtless she can be found," he remarked. + +"My lord is right," Thais said quietly, "for I have found her." + +"Shall we send for her?" Memnon asked, turning to Orontobates, who sat +thoughtfully stroking his beard, "or shall we set the prisoners free?" + +"Thou knowest that Darius commanded us to send him our captives, so +that he might learn for himself concerning the Macedonians," the +Persian replied. "We have had few to send, and I think he would like +to question these men. By their own confession, they have been in +Alexander's army. Dost thou not think it might be well to obey the +command relating to them?" + +Memnon saw that if he refused he might be charged with disobedience to +the Great King, whose lightest word was law, and he could not afford to +take the risk. + +"Thy words are wise," he said smoothly, hiding the anger that he felt +at the Persian's interference. "It shall be as thou hast said. Take +away the prisoners," he added to the guard, "and let them be sent +to-night to Babylon with the messenger who is to carry my letters to +King Darius, my master,--may he live forever!" + +"It is well," said Orontobates, with a shade of mockery in his voice. + +Clearchus' face grew pale. The thought that Artemisia was so near and +that he was about to be separated from her, perhaps forever, without +being permitted to see her again, was a blow under which he staggered. + +"Why send us both?" Chares demanded, restraining himself with an +effort. "I know all that Clearchus knows, and I will tell it freely to +the Great King if you will let him go free." + +"Two are better than one," Orontobates said. "Thou wilt tell what thou +knowest, whether freely or not." + +"Take them away," Memnon said harshly, "and see that they speak with +nobody before their departure." + +Thais followed them with her eyes to the door, where Chares turned his +head and smiled at her. She gave him back the smile bravely; but as he +passed out of her sight her face changed and became like marble. Her +eyes sought those of Orontobates, and she spoke to him in an even voice +that vibrated with the intensity of her passion. + +"I am a woman, O Persian," she said, "but I say to thee and to thy +master that if harm befalls either of these men, the proudest palaces +of thy kings shall be their funeral pyre." + +A dead hush followed this defiance, and all eyes were turned upon the +Persian in expectation of an outbreak; but Orontobates merely smiled +upon her as though she were a petulant child and turned again to the +study of the maps spread out before him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + +Silent and thoughtful in the midst of the swarthy Arabian guard +commanded by Nathan the Israelite, who bore Memnon's letters to the +Great King, Clearchus and Chares rode out of the eastern gate of +Halicarnassus. Even the Theban's buoyant nature for once was subdued. +They were going to what seemed certain death, and they were leaving +behind them those they loved most on earth. + +To Clearchus this thought was unbearable. He cared not what happened, +now that the last hope of rescuing Artemisia was gone. What would +become of her? Who could aid her now? He rode with his head sunk on +his breast, seeing and hearing nothing of what went on around him. A +low fever filled his veins, dulling his senses and leaving him only +half conscious of their situation. At times he imagined it was all a +dream, from which he would awake, still free to continue the search for +his lost love. Then a realization of the truth would return to him, +and he groaned aloud in his despair. + +The response of the oracle of Delphi, which had supported him, now +seemed like a mockery. It had been fulfilled, he thought, when in +truth he found Artemisia in the track that Alexander's army was to +follow. The Gods had made him their sport, and he fancied them smiling +down from the heavens upon his agony. The light of the sun became +hateful to him. + +So he rode, mile after mile and day after day, in listless and inert +abandonment to his fate. Who could resist the will of the Gods? He +ate almost nothing, and his strength wasted visibly, while lines of +suffering deepened on his face. + +In vain Chares sought to rouse him. He returned patient answers to the +arguments of the Theban, but his power of effort was gone. In the +first stages of their journey Chares watched over him constantly to +prevent him from destroying himself in his despair. + +Through Lycia, Pisidia, and Cilicia they passed, finding fresh relays +of horses at each station along the great highway that had been +established by the predecessors of Darius. Through the Amanic Gates +they galloped at last, and paused at Thapsacus, on the banks of the +mighty Euphrates, where, more than a century and a half before, the Ten +Thousand had halted in their desperate dash upon Babylon. + +Chares had long ago recovered his cheerful temper. Of what lay before +them when they reached the Persian capital he had ceased to think. The +condition of Clearchus, and the fact that they had advanced so far +toward the heart of the Persian empire, made escape practically +impossible. The Theban was regarded rather as a comrade than an enemy +by the Arabs of the guard, and his unfailing good nature made the long +journey seem less wearisome. + +With Nathan he had formed a solid friendship. The young Israelite, +browned by the sun and wind, was naturally taciturn and inclined to +silence. His form was active and sinewy, and his muscles seemed always +on the alert. In his dark eyes burned the mystic intelligence and +indomitable earnestness of his race. He rode usually in advance of the +little troop, and, although often he seemed wrapped in contemplation, +nothing ever escaped him. The contrast between him and the careless, +talkative Theban, with his laughing blue eyes and yellow hair, was as +complete as possible; and it may have been this very difference in +their temperaments that drew them together. + +Nathan showed an extraordinary interest in all that related to +Alexander, even in his personal appearance and what he had said on this +or that occasion. He would listen by the hour while Chares talked of +the young Macedonian king, his people, and his court. No suspicion +entered the Theban's mind that Nathan was seeking information for the +use of his superiors in Babylon. He would have dismissed such a +thought as unjust. The Israelite inquired little about Alexander's +army, and seemed rather desirous of forming in his own mind a portrait +of the young leader. That he reflected deeply upon what Chares told +him was shown by the questions that he asked from time to time for the +purpose of enabling him to fill out some incomplete detail. + +Chares sometimes wondered whether the interest that Nathan displayed in +Alexander could have any religious bearing. He had heard from +Aristotle of the mysterious and peculiar belief of the Israelites, who +worshipped only one God, and who would not suffer an image of Him to be +set up in their temple; but his ideas regarding their faith were +confused with stories of a hundred other equally insignificant tribes. + +His attention was aroused one day by a sudden change in the young +Israelite. He became both restless and abstracted. Often he returned +no answer to the questions that the Theban put to him, and there seemed +to be an unusual luminous depth in his dark eyes. At times his lips +moved as though he were conversing with unseen companions. There was a +strangeness in his actions and expression that caused even the heedless +Theban to feel a vague uneasiness. Toward nightfall, Clearchus, as +though drawn by some undefinable bond of sympathy, rode forward and +took his place beside Nathan. It was the first time that this had +happened since they left Halicarnassus, and Chares watched them with +amazement. Neither spoke, but each appeared conscious of the other's +presence, and Chares imagined that there was more animation in +Clearchus' glance when they halted for the night. At the same time he +had a dim sense that something was going on between them that he could +not understand. + +After the evening meal Nathan sat before the tent that he always +occupied with his two prisoners when they spent the night away from +human habitation. Clearchus lay beside him, with his head resting on +his hand. The Arabs were sleeping in a group beside the tethered +horses. + +In the measureless depths of the sky the great stars blazed with a +steady light. Strange cries of night birds came from the broad river, +sweeping silently past them in the darkness. The howl of a jackal +sounded faintly in the distance. + +Nathan's face was turned toward the south, as though his eyes could see +there the walls of the city in whose narrow streets he had played with +his companions as a boy. Presently he began to speak. + +"He will requite His enemies and those who scorn Him," the Israelite +said. "Terrible is His wrath!" + +"Is He more powerful than Zeus?" said Clearchus, seeming to comprehend +what Nathan meant. + +"Yea," Nathan answered solemnly. "Thy Gods are as nothing before Him. +Baal He overthrew in Babylon with all his brood." + +"I have heard that it was the Persians and not thy people who smote +Nebuchadnezzar," Clearchus replied. "Is He the God of the Persians, +too?" + +"They paid Him honor under the name of Ormazd," the Israelite replied. +"While they were faithful to Him, nothing could stand against them; but +they have turned their faces from Him, and their time has come. He +hath weighed them in His balance, one by one--Chaldean, Egyptian, +Assyrian, PhÅ“nician, and Mede. He hath given the victory into their +hands; and one by one hath He smitten them until they were humbled in +the dust. There is no God but God." + +"What hath He done for thee?" the Athenian asked. + +"He hath delivered me out of the snares of mine enemies," Nathan +replied earnestly, "even when they compassed me about in wrath. Once +and again hath He brought my people out of bondage because they +worshipped Him alone. He hath made good His promise. He hath never +failed us in our hour of need. By the mouths of His holy men hath He +given us knowledge of that which is to come; and now once more He will +show to the sons of men His wrath and His favor. He shall put down the +mighty from their seats." + +Chares saw that Nathan's hands were trembling as they lay clasped upon +his knees and that drops of moisture glistened upon his forehead. + +"His word was given to Daniel, viceroy of the Great King, Belshazzar, +in the palace at Susa by the waters of the river Ulai in the time of my +fathers' fathers," the Israelite continued. "The mysteries of the +future were laid bare to him by Gabriel, Jehovah's servant; and behold, +he saw standing before the river, a ram with two horns; and the two +horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came +up last. He saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, +so that no beasts might stand against him. Neither was there any that +could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and +became great. Lo, these are the words of Daniel, the viceroy. + +"And as he stood considering, behold, an he goat came from the West on +the face of the whole earth and he touched not the ground. And the he +goat had a great horn between his eyes; and that was thy king, who +cometh. And while Daniel looked, he saw the he goat come close to the +ram and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast +him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that +could deliver the ram from him. These things were seen of Daniel in +olden times; and the hour is at hand." + +There was silence for a moment, and then Clearchus said slowly:-- + +"If it is written that Alexander shall overthrow the Great King, why +dost thou lead us captives to Babylon?" + +"I know not," Nathan replied, "but the command was laid upon me, and it +is Jehovah's will that I should obey. Were it not so, He would have +told me. How can we know His ways? Who are we that we should question +His wisdom? Yet in the end, I have faith that it will be well with +thee; for to Him nothing is impossible." + +It was long before Clearchus closed his eyes in sleep that night. He +lay looking upward at the tranquil and steadfast stars and revolving in +his mind the words of the Israelite. Could it be that a Divinity +greater than all others existed in the universe, whose will ruled all +things? The idea took possession of him, and at the same time hope was +renewed in his breast. The Gods whom he had honored had deserted him; +perhaps the God of Israel could help him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + +Long before Nathan with his captives reached the Persian capital, the +sentinels upon the towers of Halicarnassus gave warning of the approach +of Alexander's army. Fresh from the storming of stubborn Miletus, the +Macedonians advanced against the lofty walls which sheltered the army +of Memnon, nearly as numerous as their own. At the first alarm the +braying of trumpets sounded through the city, and soldiers filled the +streets, marching quickly towards the Mylasan Gate. + +Iphicrates, perched high on the walls with the corps of citizen +defenders to which he belonged, watched the regular troops making ready +for their sally. He held a spear in his hand and a sword was buckled +about his fat sides. + +"I wish I was with them," said a youth beside him, little more than a +boy, gazing down upon the array. + +"It's cooler up here--and safer too," the old money-lender muttered, +wiping his brow. + +"They will cut the Macedonians to pieces," the boy exclaimed, "and I +shall have no part in the victory." + +"Patience!" Iphicrates answered. "Thy chance will come, perhaps." + +The boy turned and looked outward towards the attacking army. "They +have stopped," he cried. "They are afraid!" + +Iphicrates shaded his eyes with his hand. The Macedonians indeed had +halted amid the clouds of dust that their feet had raised and they +seemed to be in some confusion. At that moment the gate was thrown +open and the garrison emerged in a wide, glittering column. The walls +rang with cheers. The column advanced, wheeled, and deployed in a +long, deep line, confronting the enemy. It was evidently Memnon's plan +to strike a blow that might prove decisive while the Macedonians were +still wearied from their march and before they were able to form. His +archers sent a flight of arrows towards the Macedonian ranks and his +spearmen prepared to charge. + +Then behind the dust-cloud rose a sound that seemed to the watchers +upon the walls like the murmur of a mighty river. The advance guard of +the Macedonians scattered, and in its place appeared the solid front of +the phalanx with its forest of sarissas. + +"What are they singing?" asked the boy, gazing wide-eyed upon the +changing scene. + +"It is the pæan; they are calling upon the Gods," Iphicrates replied, +again mopping his face. + +"It is like a tragedy in a theatre," the boy said, catching his breath +in the intensity of his excitement. "Look! Who is that?" + +Across the front of the Macedonians rode a man upon a great black horse +that curvetted and tossed the foam from his bit. The rider's armor +flashed through the dust and his white plumes nodded from his helmet. + +"That must be Alexander himself," Iphicrates replied. "Ah, here they +come!" + +Louder rose the pæan as the phalanx swept forward. The space that +divided the two armies seemed to shrink away until they almost touched. +Then, as with one impulse, the sarissas of the foremost Macedonian +ranks dropped forward, until their points were level with the breasts +of the foe, and were driven home by the impulse of the charge. The +lines of the defenders bent, swayed, and broke. Order gave place to +confusion. Here and there small parties began to run back toward the +gate they had left so bravely half an hour before. + +"We are beaten!" sobbed the boy on the wall. + +"It is cooler up here," Iphicrates replied mechanically. A chill ran +through his bulk as though he already felt the edge of the swords that +were rising and falling in the hands of the victors. + +The swiftest of the fugitives, throwing away their weapons, had already +dashed panting through the gate. Others crowded behind them, and the +opening quickly became choked by a mass of men who trampled each other +in their eagerness to get inside the walls. The cavalry and +light-armed troops of the Macedonians pressed close at their heels, +giving them no respite from their terror. + +Of the army of Halicarnassus hardly a remnant would have escaped had +not the rain of missiles and arrows from the walls checked the +Macedonian advance. As soon as the enemy was within range the order +was given to the archers and slingers, of whom there were thousands +posted upon the ramparts. They showered stones and arrows upon the +pursuing force, and the catapults sent huge darts buzzing down among +the close-packed squadrons. + +The boy beside Iphicrates was twanging away with his bow as fast as he +could fit his arrows to the cord. + +"I hit one!" he cried, following the course of a shaft with his eyes. +"I saw him fall! He went right over backward!" + +He began shooting again with renewed ardor. + +Meantime a few squadrons of the bravest men in Memnon's forces rallied +and made a brief stand before the gate. They succeeded in halting the +Macedonians long enough to enable their comrades to swarm through to +safety; but soon they were swept off their feet and hurled back toward +the battlements. To their dismay, they found the great gate closed +against them. They were cut down as they ran hither and thither, +seeking in vain for a place of refuge. + +Iphicrates watched the butchery with horrible fascination. His face +was mottled, and the spear in his hand shook like a blade of corn. + +"Cowards!" cried the boy with flashing eyes, "why did they not let them +in?" + +A shout of warning sounded along the crest of the wall. The Macedonian +slingers and archers had turned their weapons against it, and they +swept the parapet with a deadly storm that drove the defenders to +shelter. The hissing of the arrows and the humming of the balls of +lead from the slings filled the air. The boy beside Iphicrates uttered +a cry, threw up his arms, and fell with a red mark on his forehead. + +"Mother!" he murmured, and lay still. + +Iphicrates dropped to his hands and knees and crawled away, shaking +with the palsy of fear. + +There was little sleep in Halicarnassus that night. Soldier and +citizen labored together, and morning found them still toiling upon the +walls, preparing for what they knew was to come. The city was in the +iron grip of the siege. + +By day and by night the great walls crumbled before the unremitting +assaults of the enemy. The Macedonians filled in the wide ditch, +raised mounds and towers, and burrowed beneath the foundations of the +defences like moles. There was no lack of provisions in the city, for +Memnon's fleet came and went with nothing to oppose it, bringing corn +and supplies as they were needed. It had been the hope of the +inhabitants that Alexander would withdraw when he had measured the +difficulty of the task before him. They had ground for the belief that +disturbances might be fomented in Greece that would cause him to turn +his attention to that quarter. But their plans miscarried. Antipater +held Greece with a firm hand and the siege continued. + +No man was permitted to lay aside his armor, for the Macedonians +attacked at every hour. Again and again the city was roused in the +dead of night by the crash of falling battlements, and the defenders +were obliged to guard some new breach while they repaired the damage as +best they might. They made frequent sallies, attacking the formidable +engines that had been constructed by the enemy. Several of them were +destroyed in this way, but they were replaced by new ones more powerful +than their predecessors. + +Orontobates sent urgent messages to his master, Darius, telling him of +the desperate situation and begging for succor; but none came. What +was one city, rich and populous though it might be, to a monarch who +counted his cities by the thousand? The brave garrison was left to its +fate, fighting obstinately against its doom. The faces of the men grew +haggard with watching and anxiety. Custom and order were forgotten. +Rich and poor, slave and freeman, labored side by side against the +inevitable; and ever, like men swimming against the current, they felt +the resistless pressure bearing them down. + +Artemisia and Thais, shut up in the house of Iphicrates, awaited the +result of the siege. The younger woman was overcome at first when she +learned that Clearchus was to be sent to Babylon, but Thais managed to +convince her that he was in no danger, and a message that was brought +to them before the siege began went far to revive her hope. One of the +Cyprian women came back from the market with a basket of grapes. She +said that a young man had followed her and asked her whether she did +not belong to Thais. She replied that she did. + +"Then tell her," the stranger said, "that Nathan the Israelite bids her +have no fear." + +With that, he vanished in the crowd, and she brought the message. + +They learned without much difficulty who Nathan was, and the mysterious +message consoled them. Artemisia spoke of it with a childlike faith +that touched Thais' heart. + +"When they return, they will rejoin the army of Alexander," she said. +"If we could only escape to the Macedonians." + +"We shall manage it in some way," Thais replied. "Leave it to me." + +Phradates, whose broken wrist prevented him from taking part in the +fighting, came often to visit them. He had never forgotten his glimpse +of the face of Thais as it appeared in the great slave market before +the ruined city of Thebes. His defeat that day was rendered more +bitter in the recollection by the thought that she had been a witness +of it. The face had haunted him until it had become a part of his +life. After her return to Athens he had dogged her footsteps until he +was called away to join the army of the satraps. + +When he saw her again before Memnon's tribunal, the fascination of her +beauty took complete possession of him. His anger against Chares was +forgotten, and he was even glad when his rival was sent to Babylon +instead of being condemned to death. He believed that the Theban would +never come back, and the execution of the prisoners in Halicarnassus +might have proved an insurmountable barrier between him and Thais. + +Phradates knew that he had the young woman in his power, but he could +not bring himself to make use of this advantage. He would not force a +triumph; he must have a complete surrender. Day by day he hoped to +obtain it. He found a half promise in her words, a suggestion of +tenderness in her manner, and at times an implied appeal to his +generosity that made his hope almost a certainty. When he grew +impatient, the fear of losing her entirely restrained him. Thus he +fell more and more completely under her domination, like a man who sips +a narcotic, yielding by little and little to its power, until his will +to resist is gone, and he gives himself wholly to its subtle +intoxication, unwittingly a captive. + +After one of her interviews with him, Thais often threw herself down, +disgusted with the part that she was forced to play. She grew angry at +Artemisia's failure to understand the necessity of what she was doing. +When the smile faded from her lips as the door closed upon the +PhÅ“nician, she found Artemisia's eyes fixed upon her in sorrowful +reproach. + +"Why do you look at me like that?" she exclaimed petulantly. "Speak +out, if you must!" + +Artemisia bent her head and remained silent. + +"Do you think I love him?" Thais demanded scornfully, coming close to +her. "Do you believe that I am false to Chares? Tell me, if you do." + +"I do not," Artemisia replied hesitatingly. "Only it seems to me--" + +"It seems to you that I do it too well," Thais exclaimed, completing +her thought. "What would you do if you were shut up with an untamed +tiger? You may give thanks to your Artemis in your innocence that I +have been able so far to hold this one in check." + +"Forgive me," Artemisia cried, embracing her. "I know you must, and +yet--I am sorry for it, my sister." + +Artemisia often made use of this title, never dreaming how true it was, +and it always awakened a pang of tenderness in Thais' heart. She +returned the embrace and forgave her, although she felt that Artemisia +could not really understand, try as she might. + +"I wish the siege would end!" Thais said wearily. "If you knew how +much I loathe all this, you would have more pity." + +Her wish was granted at last. Even the most hopeful inhabitant of the +city understood that neither flesh nor stone could hold out much longer +against the dogged Macedonian assault. Memnon knew that unless the +battering rams and catapults could be destroyed the city must fall. +There were breaches in the massive walls and the great towers were +tottering. If he could gain a little more time, reinforcements might +arrive and compel Alexander to raise the siege. Mustering his best +remaining troops, he poured them out of the Triple Gate and through the +gaps in the wall upon the works of the enemy. The attack was repulsed +without accomplishing its object; and when the garrison sought to +regain the defences, scores were slain at the wall and hundreds more in +the moat, where they were precipitated by the breaking of the bridge +leading to the gate. + +It was plain that the end was at hand. The Rhodian felt that the city +was at the mercy of the young king, and he hastened to take advantage +of the respite that Alexander's forbearance allowed him. At midnight +after this last defeat the evacuation began. The troops were withdrawn +to the Royal Citadel and to the Salmacis, where they could still remain +in touch with their ships. The greater part of the population fled to +the harbor and sought escape in the merchant vessels which were putting +to sea. Azemilcus, king of Tyre, who had been acting with the fleet, +made ready a trireme in which to send home the wounded among the +Tyrians. He placed it under the command of Phradates. + +Thais learned from the slave women that the young PhÅ“nician was +making ready to depart in haste. + +"If we are to escape, we must do it now," she said hurriedly to +Artemisia. "He will try to take us with him." + +"Can we not refuse to go?" Artemisia replied. + +"No," Thais responded. "To refuse him would be to open his eyes, and +he would certainly take us by force. Flight is our only hope." + +She gathered her jewels into a packet and placed it in her bosom. She +then ordered the women to muffle them in long cloaks that concealed +their faces. + +"Go down and find out who is there," she said. + +One of the women brought word that Phradates had gone to the harbor to +see that all was in readiness, and that Mena was also absent. Thais +led the way boldly down the stairs and out of the house, followed by +Artemisia and the two women. The slaves who were at work below stared +at them, but in the absence of their master none ventured to stop them. +They gained the street in safety, and were immediately swept away in +the clamoring, terror-stricken streams of fugitives who were pouring +toward the harbor. A lofty tower that had been built beside the Triple +Gate was on fire. The flames roared up the sides of the structure, +bursting from its windows and loopholes, and converting it into a +gigantic torch. They spread quickly to the houses nearest the walls, +sending volumes of reddened smoke rolling over the harbor. The howling +of dogs mingled with the shouts of men and the wailing of women who +clasped their children to their breasts. + +Iphicrates left the walls with his comrades in arms and plunged into +the crowded streets. He had intended to seek his own house in the hope +of finding some remains of his hoard untouched; but the panic seized +him, and he changed his direction. He determined to gain the Royal +Citadel, which he knew was to be defended against the Macedonians. +Thinking only of his own safety, he forced his way through the press, +pushing women and children aside in his haste. Blinded by the terror +that possessed him, he took no heed of a small, dark-skinned man with +sharp features who reeled back from the thrust of his elbow. Even if +he had noticed that the figure fell in behind him, following his +footsteps like a shadow, he would have taken him only for one of the +fugitives. + +Steeped in the contagion of fear, the money-lender hardly noticed where +he went. He soon became exhausted by his struggle with the crowd, and +he heaved a sigh of relief when he found himself at last in a street +that was comparatively deserted. He overlooked the fact that the few +persons whom he met were hurrying the other way, and it was not until +he was brought to a halt by a blank wall that he recognized his +surroundings. He had entered a road from which there was no outlet. + +He halted in dismay. The shadow behind him glided into a doorway and +crouched out of sight. The street was hemmed in by tall buildings that +had been emptied of their tenants, and the light of the burning tower +flickered redly upon the upper walls, increasing the gloom below. A +sense of loneliness and desertion smote him. He felt himself suddenly +cut off from human companionship. His heart beat thickly and heavily. +He seemed to be strangling under the oppression of a nameless and +deadly horror. + +He turned and rushed back in the direction whence he had come. As he +passed the doorway within which the shadow had disappeared, a light +form bounded out upon him. There was a flash of steel; a lean arm was +thrust forward and seemed to touch him lightly on the back beneath his +shoulder. He fell upon his face with a choking cry; the shadow leaped +over him, fled, and vanished, leaving him motionless where he lay. + +Thais and Artemisia were borne forward in the crowd without power to +choose the direction of their flight. In the frantic masses of +humanity, all fighting toward the harbor, they saw women and children +trampled underfoot; and they clung to each other in desperation, +knowing that if they fell, they would never be able to rise. The +maddened crowd swept them on to the wharves, where the agitated waters +of the harbor spread before them like a lake of blood in the glare of +the conflagration. + +Utterly bewildered and unable to extricate themselves, the young women +were drawn hither and thither by the eddies of the mob as it rushed +feverishly from one vessel to another, seeking means of escape. +Suddenly they found themselves wedged in before a double line of +soldiers drawn up before the gangway of a trireme, the sides of which +loomed dark above their heads. Torches shed a smoky light upon the +agonized faces of the throng, held at bay by the spears of the guard. +Warning shouts rose from the darkness, followed by a swaying motion of +the crowd which divided before the rush of a compact body of men making +toward the vessel. Thais and Artemisia felt themselves crushed forward +against the living barrier until they could hardly breathe. They heard +the shouting and cursing of the soldiers advancing from the rear into +the circle of torchlight. The pressure became unbearable. They had +given themselves up for lost, when, before they knew what was taking +place, they were seized and borne upward. Thais recovered her senses +to find herself seated upon the deck of the trireme, with Artemisia's +head in her lap. + +"Why did you run away?" asked a familiar voice reproachfully. + +She looked up and saw Phradates standing before her. "It is fate!" +flashed through her mind. + +"We thought you had deserted us, and we were frightened," she replied. + +"I searched everywhere for you," he said. "Astarte must have guided +you here." + +He turned and commanded the sailors to cast off. The great vessel +swung slowly from the wharf, leaving behind the mass of unhappy +fugitives, some of whom cursed her, while others stretched out their +arms toward her, praying to the last to be taken on board. Artemisia +was revived by the cooler air of the harbor. + +"Where are we?" she asked faintly, opening her blue eyes. + +"We are on the PhÅ“nician trireme, bound, I suppose, for Tyre," Thais +answered bitterly. "No, it was not my doing," she continued, replying +to her sister's glance of surprise and question. "I had no more part +in it than you this time. It is the will of the Gods." + +The trireme pointed her brazen beak toward the entrance of the harbor. +The banks of oars which fringed her sides in three rows, one above the +other, like the legs of some gigantic water insect, caught the waves, +and the panic-stricken city began to glide away from her stern. A +fishing boat, laden with fugitives, drifted across her path. The sharp +prow struck the side of the hapless little craft and cut through it +like a knife. For a brief moment the screams of women and children +rose out of the darkness, and then the voices were stifled. + +Artemisia hid her face on Thais' shoulder and wept; but Thais, gazing +back on the fiery city, saw the great tower reel and fall, clothed in +flame from base to summit. The roar of turmoil and terror sounded in +her ears, and she smiled. The red light danced in her eyes, making +them gleam like opals as she turned them upon Phradates. + +"They say thy city hath strong walls, PhÅ“nician," she said. "Thou +wilt have to build them still stronger, I think." + +"They are strong," Phradates answered proudly; "but we shall not need +them, for between us and Alexander stand a million men, ready to lay +down their lives for their king." + +Thais raised her white arm and extended it toward the stricken city. + +"What shall withstand the Whirlwind?" she said. + +In the stern of the trireme sat Mena, gazing thoughtfully back at the +city and wiping the stains from the blade of his dagger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE GORDIAN KNOT + +Alexander kept the anniversary of his departure from Macedon in the +city of Gordium, surrounded by his army, on the wind-swept uplands of +Phrygia. He reached the place through the drifted snows that blocked +the passes of the Taurus and the rugged hills of Pisidia, subduing on +his way the tribes that had held them for ages, to whom the Great King +himself had deemed it wise to render tribute in exchange for peace. + +Looking backward, the young leader of men saw the Ægean coast and all +the territory west of the mountains subject to his rule. To the rich +and prosperous Grecian cities by the sea he had restored their ancient +rights, and the hostages of the barbarians thronged his camp. He had +made a beginning, and his heart had confidence in the end. + +Parmenio came from Sardis, bringing the troops that had wintered there, +with the siege train and abundance of supplies. Alexander resolved to +rest until the roads should be settled so that he might strike another +blow. In games and feasting and martial exercises his army passed the +breathing space permitted before the onslaught. The camp was filled +with jests devised by the detachments that under Alexander had +conquered stubborn Salagassus, at the expense of the men who had been +idling in Sardis and who were accused of having grown white-faced and +soft in their luxury. Parmenio's men, in turn, took their revenge in +quips levelled at the young married men, who had been allowed to go to +their homes across the Hellespont and who now returned, bringing the +latest news and gossip of Pella and squadrons of eager recruits. + +Leonidas had risen high in the favor of the young king, who had seen +his courage tested in the winter campaign. He had become one of the +Table Companions, with command of a squadron of cavalry, and even the +proud young Macedonian nobles, jealous of intrusion, had ceased to look +down upon him as an outsider and had taken him into their circle. Of +all the stories told in the camp, none was more often repeated than +that which related how the Spartan had held the light-armed troops when +they were taken in ambush by the fierce mountaineers before Salagassus, +until Alexander could lead the phalanx to their rescue. + +But Leonidas showed no elation. On the contrary, he seemed more grim +and taciturn than ever. Gladly would he have given both favor and +command if he could have seen Clearchus and Chares ride into camp +unharmed. Since they started for Halicarnassus, he had heard nothing +of them, and it was the general opinion in the army that they were +lost. The Spartan had few friends and none to take the place of these +two. His grief for them was the deeper because he would not show it. +Though it gnawed at his heart like the stolen fox, he gave no sign. +One night, at table, the jest turned upon Amyntas, who had purchased +gilded armor. + +"You are as vain as Chares the Theban," one of the Thessalian officers +said to him, laughing. + +Leonidas sought the man out next day. "You have insulted my friend, +who is not here. I think you are sorry for it," he said quietly. + +The young captain laughed, looking down upon the Spartan from his six +feet of stature. + +"You think too much," he replied contemptuously. + +With a bound, Leonidas caught him by the throat in a grip that was like +that of a bulldog's jaws. In vain the Thessalian sought to break his +hold. His face grew black and his tongue protruded. + +"I think you are sorry," Leonidas repeated coolly. + +The other, feeling his senses leaving him, made an affirmative motion, +and the hands that gripped his throat relaxed. + +"Thou shouldst speak no ill of those who cannot answer," the Spartan +said, turning away and leaving the young man to recover his breath. + +When this incident reached the ears of Alexander, as everything that +happened in the camp was sure to do, the king smiled. + +"I suppose you would serve me in the same fashion if I should be +unfortunate enough to make such a jest," he said. + +"The king does not mock brave men," Leonidas replied. + +Alexander laid his hand on the Spartan's shoulder. "I am Alexander," +he said, "but I envy Chares and Clearchus. I wish I had such a friend +as they have." + +"Thou hast many," the Spartan replied. "Wrong them not; but thou hast +small need of mortal friends since the Gods are with thee." + +"That is true," Alexander said simply. He knew that nine-tenths of the +army believed indeed that the Gods had taken him under their +protection. He seemed to them, in fact, to be himself almost like one +of the immortals in the beauty of his face and form, his perfect +courage, and his unerring judgment. While the graybeards at home, the +philosophers and statesmen, were predicting failure for him and +demonstrating by precedent and logic that his success was impossible, +he had succeeded. Already he had wrested from the Great King the +colonies of Greece that for centuries had groaned under Persian +oppression, and while he had not yet stood face to face with the mighty +power that he had attacked, he had confounded the prophets of evil and +proved their wisdom to be no better than folly. When his captains +looked into his face, ruddy with youth and strength, his smooth brow, +unmarked by a line of care, and felt the charm of his glance, +remembering what he had done, it was impossible for them to think that +he was only a man like themselves. + +So when it became known, after the preparations for the southward march +in search of the Great King had been completed, that Alexander had +determined to attempt the loosening of the knot that King Gordius had +bound, there were few of his followers who doubted that he would +accomplish it. For ages this knot had defied all attempts to guess its +secret. The farmer, Gordius, driving his oxen into the city, found +himself suddenly raised to the throne. Tradition told how he had tied +the neap of his cart to the porphyry shaft in the midst of the temple +and how it had been declared that whoso should unbind it should become +lord of all Asia. In the reign of King Midas, his son, friend of the +great God Dionysus, whose touch had changed the sands of the Pactolus +to gold, many had essayed the task and had failed. In subsequent years +a long line of ambitious princes and scheming kings had made the +attempt, seeking to propitiate the God with rich gifts, but none had +succeeded. More lately, few had tried the knot, for the Great King +watched the shrine, and those who were bold enough to tempt Fortune +there soon found themselves summoned to his court, where they were +taught how unwise it was for the weak to aspire to the dominions of the +strong. + +It was knowledge of all this that led the soldiers to regard +Alexander's trial of the knot as no less important than a great battle. +If the knot should yield to him, there would no longer be any doubt of +what the Gods intended. + +Parmenio, with the caution born of age, shook his head when the king +told him of his project. + +"What will you gain?" he asked. "The army already has complete +confidence in you, and if you fail, some of it will be lost." + +"Dost thou believe we shall conquer Darius?" Alexander demanded. + +"With the aid of the Gods, I think we shall," Parmenio replied. + +"And dost thou not believe in the prophecy regarding the knot?" +Alexander asked again. + +Parmenio hesitated and looked confused. "It is very old," he said at +last, "and we know not whence it came." + +"Thy faith is weak," the young leader said severely. "Fear not; the +cord shall be loosed." + +Before the ancient temple the army was drawn up in long lines, archers +and slingers, spearmen and cavalry, find the phalanx in companies and +squadrons. Alexander, mounted on Bucephalus, rode slowly along the +ranks, splendid in his armor, with the double plume of white brushing +his shoulders on either side. He halted before the temple, where the +robed priests stood ready to receive him. Every eye was upon him as he +leaped to the ground and turned his face to the army. + +"I go to test the prophecy, whether it be true or false," he cried, in +a clear voice. "Wait thou my return." + +Followed by his generals and by Aristander, the soothsayer, he entered +the portals of the temple after the priests. They led him to the spot +where the cart was fastened to the pillar. Its rude construction +indicated its great age. Its wheels were sections of a tree trunk cut +across. Its body was carved with strange figures of forgotten Gods and +monsters, colored with pigment that time had dimmed. Its long neap was +tied at the end to the shaft of stone with strips of cornel bark, brown +and stiff with age and intertwined in curious folds that left no ends +visible. + +Alexander looked to the chief priest. "What is the prophecy?" he +demanded. + +The old man unrolled a parchment written over with dim characters, and +read. + +"To that man who shall loose the knot bound by King Gordius under +direction of the high Gods," he quavered, "shall be given the realm of +Asia from the southern ocean to the seas of the North. Once only may +the trial be made. Thus saith the God." + +Outside the temple the soldiers stood silent in their ranks awaiting +the result. As the aged priest ceased reading and rolled up the +parchment, Alexander drew closer to the magic knot and examined it, +while the others fell back in a wide circle. Between the priests there +passed a covert glance of understanding as though they said to each +other, "Here is another who will fail, and more gifts will come!" The +young king saw that no man could ever disentangle the convolutions of +the fastening without tearing the bark. Avoiding even a pretence of +attempting the impossible, he drew his sword. The astonished priests +started forward with a cry of protest, but before they could interfere, +the flashing blade fell and the neap of the ancient cart clattered to +the stone floor. + +"The knot is loosed," Alexander said quietly, sheathing his sword. + +"The God greets thee, Lord of Asia!" the chief priest declared in a +solemn tone, bowing his head. + +Rushing out of the temple, the generals repeated Alexander's words to +the army. + +"The knot is loosed! The knot is loosed! We shall conquer!" ran the +joyful cry through all the ranks, and the young king, listening within +the temple, knew that the hour for decisive action was at hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + +Clearchus and Chares gazed with wonder upon the mighty walls of +Babylon, raising their sheer height from the surface of the Euphrates +until the soldiers who paced the lofty parapet seemed like pygmies +against the sky. The little cavalcade, stained with weeks of travel, +entered the city through a long archway tunnelled in the wall and +flanked on either side by enormous winged lions carved in granite. + +Nathan reported to the captain of the gate, who detailed a lieutenant +to escort him to the palace. Chares snorted his disgust as the young +man took his place at the head of the troop. His beardless face was +touched with paint, and his eyebrows were darkened with pigment. His +hands were white and soft. His flowing robe of blue silk swept +downward on either side below his feet, which were encased in buskins +with long points. He glanced superciliously at the two prisoners. + +"See that they do not try to get away here in the city," he lisped to +Nathan. "It might be hard to find them--there is such a dirty rabble +here since the Great King himself decided to take the field." + +"Have no fear," Nathan replied quietly. + +"Fear?" the lieutenant laughed. "That word, as you will find, is not +known here. Ride behind me and let your men surround these two dogs." + +He adjusted his long robe and inhaled a breath of perfume from a flask +of scent that he carried in his left hand while he gathered up his +reins with the other. Chares could restrain himself no longer. + +"So we are dogs, are we?" he roared, so suddenly that the lieutenant +almost fell from his horse. "Has no one told you that we Greeks have +to be fed? Lead on, or I will make half a meal off thy miserable +carcass, though how magpie will agree with me, I know not." + +"Seize him! Seize him! He talks treason!" screamed the lieutenant, +scarce knowing what he said. He looked at Nathan's men, who made no +move to obey, but the gleam of their white teeth as they smiled at his +agitation brought him to his senses. With an air of offended dignity, +he set his horse in motion, and the little troop clattered away into +the city. + +Inside the vast circumference of the wall they found streets along +which stood magnificent dwellings surrounded by trees and gardens. So +ample was the enclosure that ground enough remained unoccupied between +the houses to sustain the population, if necessary, upon its harvests. +Great temples reared their towers above the roofs. Gay chariots and +gilded litters passed or met them. Now and then a curious glance was +directed toward them, but beyond this they seemed to attract no +attention. Everybody was too intent upon his own business or pleasure +to give more than a passing thought to the sun-browned soldiers who +rode wearily behind the brightly accoutred lieutenant of the guard. + +As they advanced the streets became narrower and the houses stood close +together, with no space between them for gardens. Shops and bazaars +appeared on either hand, filled with a bustling, chaffering throng. +The young Greeks saw a strange medley of nations. Swarthy Egyptians +elbowed dusky merchants from beyond the Indus. PhÅ“nicians and Jews +drove bargains with large-limbed, blue-eyed men of the North, who wore +shaggy skins upon their shoulders and carried long swords at their +belts. This part of the city was given over entirely to foreigners, +for among the Persians the old belief still prevailed that no man could +buy or sell without being dishonest, and falsehood was held in +religious abhorrence by the conquerors of the Medes. + +Darius was collecting the host which he purposed to lead against +Alexander and with which he intended to crush the adventurous invader. +Military trappings were to be seen everywhere. The summons of the +Great King had brought within the walls an enormous influx of strangers +from every corner of the empire. + +Chares and Clearchus aroused more curiosity as they rode through the +narrower streets of the commercial quarter, where they were forced to +proceed more slowly because of the throngs. They were soon recognized +as of the race of the enemy. + +"See the Greeks!" cried a bare-legged urchin in a shrill voice. + +"By Ormazd, that is a big one!" said a soldier in a lounging group, +pointing to Chares. + +"Granicus! Granicus! Kill the Greeks!" a woman screamed from the top +of one of the flat-roofed houses. + +Her imprecation caused a stir among the idlers, who pressed forward to +learn what was the matter and to obtain a better view. The rumor ran +that there was to be fighting, and customers poured out of booth and +bazaar to see it. They came good-naturedly, but in such numbers that +they quickly blocked the way and brought the troop to a halt. Some +mischievous boys began to pelt the horses with pebbles, causing them to +rear and plunge. One of the animals kicked a man in the crowd, who +struck at the rider with his staff. The Arab lunged back with the butt +of his lance. The crowd drew out of the way, jeering and laughing. + +Meanwhile the woman on the roof continued her cry. "Kill the Greeks!" +she screamed. "Slay them! Remember the Granicus, where they slew my +son!" + +Her words were taken up and repeated by other women who leaned from the +house-tops on either side of the street. The crowd continued to +gather, those behind pushing the foremost against the plunging horses. +Several were trampled upon. + +"Go away," commanded the lieutenant. "Stand back, you hounds; these +are prisoners for the king." + +"Prisoners!" howled the mob. "Kill the prisoners! Burn the murderers! +They would assassinate the king!" + +The crowd showed signs of becoming inflamed. Some of the bolder +spirits made a rush for the horsemen, seeking to pull them down and +break the circle that the Arabs had formed about the two Greeks. The +impact swept the little party into an angle between two houses, from +which there was no escape save through the multitude. The women began +to shower sticks and tiles upon them from the roofs. It became +necessary for them to raise their shields to protect their heads from +the missiles. + +Nathan turned to the lieutenant, who, with a blanched face, had shrunk +back against the wall. + +"Do you intend to stay here?" he demanded sternly. "Draw your sword +and lead us. We must cut our way out. My prisoners are for Darius and +not for these." + +"They are too many," the lieutenant whined, with chattering teeth. + +"Then give him your sword, since you are afraid to use it," Nathan +said, pointing to Chares. The Theban snatched the weapon from the +young man's hand. + +A javelin hissed through the air, cast by some soldier in the throng, +and stood quivering in the beams behind their heads. Clearchus pulled +it out and took possession of it. + +The mob still held back, agitated by conflicting currents. The idlers +who had instigated the attack in a spirit of wantonness had no stomach +for fighting, and were struggling backward through the press, seeking a +safe distance. Their places were taken by reckless and half-drunken +soldiers, who had grown weary of inactivity in the city and were eager +for any excitement, even though they obtained it at the risk of their +lives. Many of them were little more than savages whose innate +ferocity was aroused by the mere sight of blood. Some had received +cuts and bruises when the rush was made. The voice of the mob changed +from a tone of banter to a menacing cry for revenge. + +Nathan saw that the non-combatants had succeeded in extricating +themselves, and that the men who now faced them carried weapons in +their hands and were preparing to use them. The situation was +perilous. His handful of soldiers were outnumbered by more than a +hundred to one. The mob was momentarily being reënforced from the +wine-shops and the alleys that honeycombed the district. It was plain +that there was no escape unless rescue should come quickly. + +He raised himself on his horse and anxiously scanned the faces of the +crowd that had pressed back out of harm's way and now stood in +expectant silence. He knew that through the years that had passed +since the Captivity, many thousands of his race had continued to dwell +in Babylon and that the trade of the city was chiefly in their hands. +He saw their keen dark eyes looking on indifferently from beneath the +awnings that shaded the entrances of their shops. To them he +determined to appeal. + +"Israel! Israel!" he shouted, raising his open palm above his head. +"In the name of Jehovah, I call upon thee! To the rescue!" + +His cry rang clear in the momentary hush of expectation and reached the +ears for which it was intended. Upon the outskirts of the mob men +turned to their neighbors. "He is one of us! We must save him!" they +said, one to another. "Israel! Israel!" The rallying shout spread +through the dense masses of men into streets where Nathan's voice had +not penetrated. It ran like a spark in a field of dry corn. Bearded +men and dark-skinned youths left their occupations and sprang forward, +snatching up such weapons as they found nearest to their hands. There +was a second shifting of the crowd as they pushed their way toward the +front, pressing in a great circle upon the ring of soldiers who were +hemming Nathan in. + +This ring was composed mainly of the fiercest and wildest fighting men +in all the Persian Empire. It represented the extremes of the Great +King's dominions. Yellow-haired Scyths, clad in the skins of animals, +stood side by side with gigantic negroes from the mysterious forests of +Ethiopia. Their language was unknown to each other, but they had been +brought together into a fleeting comradeship by the irresistible and +savage desire which, they held in common for excitement and slaughter. + +The Jews attacked this formidable band without hesitation, hurling +fragments of stone, earthen pots, and even the merchandise that had +been displayed in the shops. The unexpected assault caused a momentary +diversion. The Scyths and Ethiopians turned and charged into the +crowd, striking with their swords and war clubs indiscriminately at +friend and foe. Chares tossed the long hair back from his eyes. + +"Your friends came just in time," he said to Nathan, "but it would be +ungrateful for us to let them fight alone. Forward, Clearchus!" + +With the Athenian at his side, he swung his horse into the street and +dashed upon the nearest of the Scyths, a giant whose voice had been +bellowing encouragement to his companions. The lieutenant's gilded +sword fell upon the knotted cords of the man's neck, and he went down +like some great tree in his own northern forests. His long blade +slipped from his hand, and the Theban, stooping from the back of his +horse and holding by the mane, caught it up. + +"Ha!" Chares cried, swinging the heavy weapon above his head, "now we +can get at them." + +The Arabs, headed by Nathan, had followed the Greeks and were fighting +beside them in a compact body. The Jews outside the circle had come to +close quarters and were hacking and thrusting with daggers and +butchers' knives. Their charge had been so sudden that the Scyths were +nearly broken, but they recovered themselves almost instantly. A +species of madness seemed to possess them. They closed in like a pack +of wolves, fighting with each other to get near enough to strike a blow. + +News of the outbreak had spread far into the city. From every side, +thousands drew toward the scene of the battle, driving in the crowds +that were seeking to keep their distance. They pressed upon the Jews +and forced them helplessly against the weapons of their enemies. The +number of the Scyths was momentarily increased by the arrival of their +friends. + +Nathan saw that the fight was hopeless. The Israelites, badly armed +and undisciplined, were melting away. The only chance of escape lay in +regaining the angle in the wall where they had first taken refuge, and +from which they might be able to enter one of the houses. + +Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever +was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through +bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus +fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack +in the rear. + +"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must +seek the wall!" + +"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are +coming. I wish Alexander were here!" + +He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of +Clearchus' lance. + +"This is better than Granicus," he panted, as the man rolled upon the +ground. + +Clearchus made no reply, and Chares saw that his face was drawn and +pale. It was clear that he was becoming exhausted. The Theban was +filled with sudden alarm. + +"To the wall!" he cried, wheeling his horse. "Bear up for a little +yet, and we will show these beasts how Greeks can die!" + +They recovered their position with difficulty, followed by the howling +Scyths and negroes. Half the Arab escort had been killed, and Nathan +was bleeding from a wound in the thigh, though he still fought +gallantly. Chares alone was both unwearied and unscathed. He seemed +endowed with the strength of ten men as he faced the fierce onset. His +aspect as he turned at bay with uplifted sword caused the Scyths for an +instant to hesitate. Then they charged, clustering around the little +band like a swarm of angry bees, pushing each other forward and +striking over one another's shoulders. It was clear that the conflict +could not last much longer. Nathan knew that, once they were down in +that seething and raging mob, they would meet a frightful death. His +flesh shuddered at the thought of what was to come. + +"Down with them! Down with the Greek dogs! They give way!" yelled the +mob. + +Clearchus glanced at the sea of distorted faces, white, yellow, and +black, and saw thousands of eyes glaring hungrily at them. A strange +indifference took possession of him. Why should he strive? What +mattered it now whether the God of Nathan was mightier than the Gods of +Greece? Not even the Gods could save them. If Artemisia were dead, he +would meet her presently in the Elysian Fields. If she were living, +sooner or later she would join him in the land of shades beyond Styx. +There he would tell her how his heart had suffered. It was easier to +die than to live, since now he must die. + +"It is finished, Chares; we will go together," he called to the Theban. + +"Not until I get this one!" Chares replied grimly, nodding toward a man +who crouched before him just beyond the reach of his sword. + +The squat figure was bent for a spring. The man wore a leopard skin +across his muscular shoulders and his little green eyes were fastened +ferociously upon the Theban, watching for an opening. Clearchus +thought he had never seen anything more repulsive than the flat, broad +face, with its strong, yellow teeth showing like fangs. As he looked +he heard Nathan's voice beside him. + +"O Lord, my God, save now Thy servant, if such be Thy will; for without +Thee, I perish!" cried the Israelite, in an accent of despair. + +"Here he comes!" Chares shouted. + +The figure of the crouching Scyth bounded forward, and his bright +sword, keen as a razor, flashed in the air. + +"I have him!" Chares cried exultingly. His long blade hissed downward +as he spoke, and the ugly round head rolled in the dirt. The stroke +was followed by a roar of rage from the Scyths, among whom the man had +evidently been a leader of importance. + +"Come on!" the Theban called to them, tauntingly. "Cowards, why do you +wait?" + +The challenge seemed to goad them to desperation. They came with a +rush in which they threw aside all caution. The remnant of the little +troop was hurled violently backward. Chares' sword rose and fell +without a pause; Nathan and the men who remained to him cut and thrust +at the faces of their foes; and even Clearchus, roused by the instinct +of self-preservation, plied his javelin. The end had come, and nothing +remained but to die bravely. + +It seemed to Clearchus that they would be able to hold out for only a +moment longer, when without apparent, reason the attack suddenly +slackened. The Scyths drew back, leaving a circle of dead and wounded +under the wall. The mass of humanity that blocked the street swayed +and gave way with a roar of warning and of fear. The mob was all in +motion. It seemed to be fleeing before some danger, the nature of +which the objects of its attack were unable to guess. It rushed past +the angle in the wall where Nathan and his prisoners had taken refuge, +carrying the struggling Scyths along with it. + +"What is happening?" Clearchus gasped. + +Nathan was too nearly exhausted to reply. He shook his head as a sign +that he did not know, but the answer was not long delayed. + +The beat of trampling hoofs and the thunder of rolling wheels was +mingled with the roar of panic, and in an instant the street was filled +from side to side with close ranks of wild-looking horsemen. + +"Way for Bessus! Make way for the noble viceroy!" they shouted, +striking right and left with their rawhide whips. + +They rode into the mob with reckless indifference, and all who were +unfortunate enough to be unable to get out of their way were trampled +under the hoofs of the galloping horses. + +"They are the Bactrians," Nathan panted. "We are saved." + +From their sheltering angle, the Greeks watched the horsemen go past. +Every man seemed an athlete, and the riders sat upon the backs of their +horses as though they had grown there. Behind them, after a brief +interval, rumbled a heavy war chariot drawn by four black steeds. In +this ponderous vehicle, beside the charioteer, stood a corpulent man, +with an enormously thick neck and a heavy jaw that gave an aspect of +sternness to his dark face. He paid no heed to the lifeless forms over +which the wheels of his chariot rolled, and he seemed deaf to the cries +of pain uttered by the wretches who had been maimed beneath the hoofs +of his guard. Clearchus' eyes for a moment met those of the viceroy +and he felt a chill strike through him, as though he had touched some +monstrous reptile unawares. + +The passage of the Bactrians effectually cleared the street, but Nathan +deemed it wise to fall in behind them lest the attack should be +renewed. As they were about to start, a thought occurred to Chares. + +"Where is the lieutenant?" he asked. + +"He is there," Nathan replied, pointing to a heap of the slain. + +The body of the young man lay a little apart from the rest, with the +paint still on its cheeks and a gaping wound in its chest. + +"So his cowardice did not save him," Chares said. "Let us go." + +"Come, then," Nathan replied, and behind the chariot of Bessus, they +arrived at the gates which gave entrance to the enclosure in which +stood the royal palace. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + +At the approach of Bessus the great bronze gates in the palace wall +swung wide, and he rode through them, followed by his Bactrians. +Nathan halted at the entrance, which he found in charge of a guard of +his own race. The gray-haired captain in command rushed forward with a +cry of joy. + +"Where hast thou been?" he cried, embracing Nathan as he dismounted. +"Art thou sound and whole?" + +"Nearly so," Nathan replied, showing the cut on his thigh, which +fortunately was not deep and had ceased to bleed. "How is it with +Israel?" + +They walked apart, talking in low tones. The Arabs and the two +prisoners threw themselves on the turf inside the gate and waited. +Through the swaying branches of the trees they could catch glimpses of +the massive walls of many buildings standing in stately magnificence +amid the verdure. At a distance, above roof and tree-top, rose the +famous Hanging Gardens of the Great King, built in terraces, gay with +wonderful flowers and strange plants brought from the ends of the +world. Crystal streams flashed in waterfalls from the summit, +following winding artificial channels, beside which stood statues of +marble. + +The two Greeks noticed that Nathan and the captain glanced at them from +time to time as they talked, and they felt that they were the subjects +of the conference. Finally Nathan came toward them, bringing the +captain with him. + +"This is Ezra," he said. "He knows what I know. Obey him in all +things. When the time comes, I shall be near; but now I must leave +you." + +He offered his hand and the two Greeks shook it warmly. Then with a +word to his Arabs, who followed him with their horses, he led the way +down a side path and vanished in the thickets. + +"Where is he going?" Clearchus asked. + +"To the barracks," Ezra replied. "Darius keeps a guard here of ten +thousand men, who are known as the Immortals, because their ranks are +always full." + +"The palace is almost a city," Clearchus said, looking about him with +curiosity. "We have many cities at home that are smaller." + +"It has need to be," Ezra replied. "The Great King usually has fifteen +thousand guests at his table, and the number now is greater because he +is preparing for war." + +"Will he really take the field, then?" Chares asked. + +"He is mustering his army," the captain answered, "and he will lead it +to battle. The result is in the hands of God." + +"I could tell thee, Jew, what the result will be," Chares said dryly. +"By Dionysus, what a place to plunder! Where are you going to take us?" + +"I shall deliver you to Boupares, governor of the palace, who has +charge of the prisoners and of the hostages," Ezra said. "So long as +you make no attempt to escape, you will have a considerable amount of +freedom. There are some of our people among the guards, and one +especially named Joel, who will tell you of what is being done. Of +yourselves you can accomplish nothing; but we can do much. You are to +leave everything to us. Joel you may trust, but it will be your part +to wait in patience." + +"When shall we be summoned before the king?" Clearchus asked. + +"Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps a month from now, and possibly not at all," +Ezra replied. "It is never known in advance what he will do." + +So the two friends passed into their captivity in the palace of Darius. +As Ezra had said, their confinement did not prove a hardship to them. +They were placed with hundreds of others in a remote wing near the +river wall. They had baths, a large court for games and exercise, and +abundance of slaves to provide for their wants. The Israelites among +their guards supplied them privately with the news of the court. The +winter months passed pleasantly enough, considering their situation. +Clearchus, whose mind was filled with doubt concerning the fate of +Artemisia, had his days of gloom and despair; but there was nothing to +be done, and the light-hearted resignation of Chares saved him from +utter despondency. + +Of the numerous company held by Boupares to await the pleasure of the +Great King, many knew not why they had been brought thither. Some of +them had been there for years. Others received the royal summons on +the morrow of their arrival and did not return. There were princes +from the distant East, who had been suspected of a desire to throw off +the Persian yoke; there were adventurers from Athens, merchants from +Sicily, dusky chieftains from the sources of the Nile--a strange +mixture of tongues and races, in, which every part of the huge, +unwieldy empire was represented. + +"I feel as though we were in the cave of Polyphemus," Clearchus said. +"Who can tell whose turn will come next?" + +"At any rate, the king is not a Cyclops--he cannot eat us," Chares +replied. "Here comes Joel; now we shall get the latest news." + +The young man approached them with the affectation of carelessness that +it was necessary to assume to disarm suspicion. The palace swarmed +with the Eyes and Ears of the king, spies and informers whose identity +was unknown even to the most trusted of the courtiers. He must be +cunning indeed who could frame and bring to fruition a plot that could +escape their observation. A word from one of them, even though founded +upon suspicion, often brought death. + +"Well?" Chares said, when Joel reached at last the spot where they were +standing, out of hearing of the others. "Repeat for us the murmurs of +this whispering gallery." + +"It is in fact a gallery in which every whisper is heard," the Hebrew +said, smiling. "But there is great news to-day; Pharnaces has been +condemned to death, and all his family must die with him." + +"What has he done?" Clearchus asked. "Is he not one of the most +powerful of the nobles and a favorite with the king?" + +"Yes," Joel replied, "and why the sentence was passed no one knows +excepting the king himself." + +"But will he have no trial?" Clearchus persisted. "Will they not tell +him what charge is laid against him?" + +Joel shrugged his shoulders. "The sentence has been passed," he said, +"and not even the Great King, who made it, can change it now. We have +been trying to discover what the accusation was. Pharnaces wanted to +be viceroy of Bactria, and he had been gathering evidence with which to +destroy Bessus. It must be that Bessus managed to reach the king +first; but what means he had of accomplishing this, we do not know. +Perhaps he bribed one of the king's Eyes. It must have cost him +something, but Bessus could do it if any one. If he did not work +through the spies, he may have persuaded the Magi to discover some +treason in the stars and then to accuse Pharnaces. Bessus is on good +terms with the Medean priests, for he lets them do what they like in +his province." + +"This Bessus must be a dangerous man," Clearchus said. + +"Only because he has force and daring," Joel replied. "He does what +every other man would like to do. There is not a satrap or viceroy in +the empire who does not desire his neighbor's ruin. It has been worse +since these fire-worshipping priests began to get back into favor +again. Our wise men say that it was an evil day for the kings of this +land when they allowed these men to wean their minds from Ormazd and +set up their idols in Babylon. But now there is no God too false to +obtain worship here. Even Baal and Astarte have their temples, and +they are beginning to bring in the Egyptian brood of deities. The cup +is filling fast, and they must drink it when Jehovah wills." + +The young man's voice sank to a tone of awe as he pronounced the +dreadful name, and he glanced about him as though he half expected a +thunderbolt to fall. It did not escape the Athenian perception of +Clearchus that the Jew seemed to regard the terrible presence as real +and actual. His earnestness formed a striking contrast with his usual +affectation of the easy and cynical manner of the court. + +"We laugh and jest here in the palace," he went on, "but each man's +hand is against his neighbor. Faith and honor are lost. Servants +betray their masters and sons lead their parents to death. What knows +the Great King of all this? He lives behind a screen, where thieves +and rascals make him their tool. These plotters play upon him as they +do upon Sisygambis, the queen mother, who has almost as much power as +her son; or upon Statira, his queen, the most beautiful of women. The +gynæceum is a nest of intrigues. His stewards and keepers and +cup-bearers have each their price, and they do not scruple to take it. +A whisper or a look may send a man to his death. Give me a chance with +a sword in my hand and let me see the man who strikes me! I hate this +treacherous game in the dark!" + +"Well spoken, my lad!" Chares said. "But what about this queen, +Statira--is she so very beautiful?" + +"They say she is the fairest woman in the world," Joel answered, "and +that the Great King is the handsomest of men. I have never seen her, +or I would not be here now. It is death to look upon the face of one +of the king's women, even by accident." + +"They seem to be very particular!" Chares grumbled. + +"I dare say they have their reasons," Joel said. "But I have not told +you all the news. The king has had a dream, and he believes that the +Gods have promised him the victory over Alexander. The Chaldeans have +told him so." + +"What was the dream?" Clearchus asked uneasily. + +"It was proclaimed this morning," Joel said. "Darius dreamed that when +he had come within sight of the Macedonians, their army suddenly burst +into flame and all the troops were consumed, so that nothing but their +ashes remained where they had been. And then he thought he saw +Alexander, dressed like one of the lords of the household, standing +ready to serve him. But when he went into the Temple of Baal, +Alexander vanished utterly and was seen no more. From this the learned +men of the Chaldeans say that Baal will give the battle to Darius and +will remove Alexander from his way. So the king has ordered sacrifices +to Baal and has promised him a great temple of stone after the victory." + +Clearchus looked troubled, and even Chares shook his head. + +"Wait," Joel went on eagerly, noticing their concern. "I have told you +the interpretation of the Chaldeans. Our wise men have also considered +the dream, and they read it differently. They say that the army on +fire means that the Macedonians shall win great glory, and that the +appearance of Alexander as a lord of the household, in the same dress +that Darius wore before he became king, signifies that he will gain +victories, as Darius did. This is the interpretation of the priests of +our race, to whom are revealed the things that are to be." + +"I know not which is right," Clearchus said, "but I wish Aristander was +here." + +"Nathan bade me tell you to have no fear," Joel said confidently. "He +also wished me to tell you that Phradates the Tyrian has come to court." + +"Phradates here!" Chares exclaimed. "Why did you not say so before? +There will be trouble for us." + +"Nathan talked with the PhÅ“nician and learned much," Joel continued. +"Halicarnassus has fallen and Memnon is dead. Phradates is seeking +command of the fleet for Azemilcus, the Tyrian king." + +"Did Nathan say nothing of Artemisia and Thais?" Clearchus inquired, in +a trembling voice. + +"Oh, yes," said Joel, "I had forgotten. He told me to say that +Phradates had carried them by force to Tyre in his galley after the +fall of Halicarnassus and that he is in love with Thais. This he +learned from one of our people who was with the Tyrian; and he learned +further that as yet no harm has befallen the young women." + +"We must go!" Clearchus exclaimed. "Tell Nathan so at once. Tell him +that if he cannot release us, we will release ourselves. We must be on +our way to Tyre to-morrow." + +"Quietly," Chares said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. +"Not so loud. You forget!" + +"Did you not hear what he said?" Clearchus demanded impatiently. +"Artemisia is in Tyre and in the power of Phradates!" + +"So is Thais, and she is in the greater danger," Chares said, "if what +Joel tells us is true; but we shall never see either of them again +unless we are discreet." + +There was a stir in the great hall of the building as the inmates +gathered from the various smaller apartments. "The king has sent a +summons!" Joel said, hastening away. + +"Do not forget my message," Clearchus insisted. + +"I will deliver it," Joel responded over his shoulder. + +Chares and Clearchus joined the main body of prisoners, who were +assembled in the hall. They found there Boupares himself, with scribes +bearing the register of the inmates of the place. The governor +scrutinized the lists with care, selecting from among them the names of +prisoners, who were called by a crier. Each man, as he heard his name, +stepped forward to await the directions of Boupares. + +"Amyntas of Macedon!" shouted the crier, and a small, thin man with a +sallow face stood out from the rest. + +"Charidemus of Corinth!" the crier called. + +"They are asking only for the Greeks," remarked a tall Assyrian. + +"Maybe our turn has come," Clearchus said. + +"Clearchus of Athens!" the crier shouted. "Chares of Thebes!" + +The two young men advanced and joined the waiting group. + +"That is all," Boupares said, handing the lists to the scribes. +"Follow me to the audience chamber." + +Through the long, pillared courts and vast halls of the palace he +conducted the prisoners. On every side were evidences of the +expenditure of limitless wealth and measureless labor. Row after row +of polished columns sprang a hundred feet to the echoing roof. Great +sculptures adorned the walls. The floors were inlaid with mosaics of +variegated pattern. Thousands of attendants came and went among the +crowds of courtiers. + +At last they arrived at the audience chamber and were admitted. Here +the talk and laughter ceased and voices sank to a whisper. They were +in the presence of the Great King, the most powerful and absolute of +all monarchs. The walls of the lofty apartment were covered with +plates of gold for half their height, and above these were paintings in +which the king was depicted slaying lions in hand-to-hand combat, or +driving his enemies before him in his war chariot. Between the pillars +hung rich curtains of crimson, green, and violet, and the floor was +hidden beneath silken carpets. + +At the end of the room, under a purple canopy, stood a throne of gold +and ivory, inlaid with precious stones. The perfume of myrrh and +frankincense filled the air. + +Standing before the throne, from which he had just arisen, the Greeks +beheld Darius, the last of the Archæmenian kings. His tall, well-built +figure was clad in a long Medean robe of rich silk, purple, embroidered +with gold, and confined at the waist by a broad girdle of gold, from +which hung his dagger in its sheath of lapis lazuli. His feet were +shod in yellow shoes with long points. On his head he wore the +citaris, which he alone might wear, with the royal diadem of blue and +white. Jewels flashed in his ears, and about his neck hung a heavy +collar of great rubies and pearls. + +Never, Clearchus thought, had he seen a face more handsome and haughty +than that of Darius, as he stood before his throne, with his blue eyes +and light brown beard, carefully trimmed. He looked like what he +was--the master of the world. His expression, although full of +dignity, was slightly weary as he listened to the petition of a man who +knelt before him, with bowed head, in the attitude of a suppliant. + +With a scarcely perceptible movement of his hand, the king dismissed +the petitioner, who rose to his feet and walked backward, with his head +still bowed, to a group of officials who stood at one side of the +apartment. Chares gripped Clearchus by the arm. + +"It is Phradates!" he said. + +It was indeed the PhÅ“nician, who had doubtless been pressing the +suit of Azemilcus for command of the Ægean fleet. His proud face was +humbled, and drops of perspiration stood on his forehead. The king +turned his eyes slowly to the Greeks and made a sign to Boupares to +advance. The nobles who were ranged on either side of the throne, the +king's fan and cup bearers, his generals and the master of his +household, remained with stolid faces. + +Boupares prostrated himself before the throne, kissing the floor. + +"Are these the Greeks for whom I sent thee?" the king asked +indifferently. + +"They are, my lord," Boupares replied. + +"Let them come near," Darius said. + +Some of the prisoners prostrated themselves before the king as they had +seen Boupares do. Others remained standing, and among these were +Clearchus and Chares. Darius looked at them, and a slight frown +appeared upon his brow. + +"Who are they?" he asked, turning to Boupares. + +The governor designated each of the captives by name, adding a few +particulars by way of identification. + +"Clearchus, an Athenian, and Chares, a Theban," he said. "They have +served in the army of the Macedonian, and they were sent to the king +from Halicarnassus by Memnon." + +"Why have they been permitted to live?" Darius demanded, his face +darkening at the name of the lost city. + +"Because Memnon believed they could give the king information," +Boupares answered humbly, "and when captured they had left the army of +Alexander." + +"What manner of man is this Alexander?" Darius asked, turning his face +to the Greeks. + +"He is a king," Chares answered quietly. + +"How can he hope to meet me, with his handful of men?" Darius asked +again. + +"He remembers Cyrus, thy ancestor," Chares replied boldly. + +These answers made an evident impression on Darius, whose face lost its +listless expression. Many questions he put to the Greeks, who made no +attempt to conceal anything from him, knowing that others could give +him the information that he desired if they refused, and that refusal +would mean immediate death. Finally the king could think of nothing +more to ask. + +"I am about to march against thy Alexander," he said. "Who will win +the victory?" + +"Victory is the gift of the Gods, O king," Clearchus said quickly. +"Dost thou wish flattery, or a frank reply, without concealment?" + +"Speak freely," Darius said, raising his head in pride. + +"Then, unless thou canst make thy army equal to his in discipline and +spirit, thy numbers will not avail," the Athenian said. + +Darius' face flushed, and a murmur of protest rose from the watchful +courtiers. + +"Is that thy opinion, too?" the king asked, turning to Chares. + +"The ocean himself must break upon the rock," the Theban said. + +"And thine?" the king continued, addressing Charidemus, the Corinthian. + +"It is, O king," Charidemus replied. + +Phradates had been watching the face of Darius. He had recognized his +enemies as soon as they entered the audience chamber and had resolved +to deal them a blow if the chance presented itself. When he saw the +frown on the brow of the king and caught the gleam of anger in his eye, +he believed he might safely act. He stepped forward and again +prostrated himself at the steps of the throne. + +"Speak!" said Darius, looking down upon him. + +"My lord, I know these men for spies," he said. "I was in +Halicarnassus when they were captured just before I received the wound +that so nearly cost me my life. Memnon, for reasons that I do not +presume to guess, wished to save them. They mock at thee and seek to +create doubt of the promise that the Gods have given thee by spreading +fear of the result among thy men. Every Greek well knows that +Alexander cannot stand against thee and that he will never dare to meet +thee in battle." + +Phradates had cunningly formed his speech so as to assign a motive to +the adverse predictions of the Greeks which would save the pride of the +king, and yet, if he accepted it, would leave only one course open to +him. Darius did not hesitate. + +"They are spies!" he said angrily to Boupares. "Why did you bring them +to me? Take them away and let them be questioned under the torture. +Perhaps then they will tell the truth." + +Darius turned, and Phradates shot a look of triumph at the two friends. +Chares shook off the hand of the guard and was about to speak when +Clearchus checked him. + +"Silence," he whispered earnestly, "or we shall both be killed at once!" + +Chares controlled himself with an effort, and the guards, under the +direction of the crestfallen Boupares, led them away. Instead of +conducting them to their former quarters, Boupares ordered that they be +confined in the dungeons that lay beyond. These were built in a +structure of massive masonry and consisted of cells with heavily barred +doors at which sentries were stationed. Into one of the darkest of the +cells they were thrust, and the grating was bolted behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + +Clearchus and Chares shivered in the chill of the dungeon. By the +glimmer of light that entered through a narrow opening above their +heads, they saw that the place was quite bare. There was nothing but +the stone floor under their feet and the four stone walls that shut +them in. + +"What think you, Chares?" Clearchus said, with the shadow of a smile. +"Nathan will never be able to rescue us from here." + +"It does not look hopeful," the Theban replied, "but let us see." + +He made a careful examination of the walls, finding everywhere the +solid stone unbroken. The only openings in the cell were the tiny +window and the door. The window was out of reach and so narrow that +not even a cat could have squeezed through. Chares halted at the door +and examined the bars. They were of hammered iron, as thick as the +shaft of a lance, and rendered stronger by two cross-bars, welded from +side to side. The Theban tested them gently with his hands and shook +his head. + +"The blacksmith who forged them was a good workman," he said. + +At that moment they heard the step of the sentry outside in the +passageway. The man carried at his girdle a bunch of great keys that +rattled as he walked. He was armed with a short spear with a long, +keen blade. He halted at the door of the cell. + +"What are you doing there?" he said gruffly to Chares. "Get back!" + +"No need to be angry, my friend," Chares returned good-naturedly, +falling back from the door. "What are you going to do to us?" + +The jailer's brutish face assumed an expression of pleasure that was +evidently unfeigned. + +"You know you are to be tortured to-morrow," he said, "and we do those +things thoroughly here. I shall help. They could not get along +without me." + +"I suppose you are used to it," Chares ventured. + +"My father taught me," the man replied proudly. "There is none in the +empire better with the rack than I. And he showed me how to draw the +band about a man's forehead until his eyes stick out of his head and +his skull cracks like an egg, and all without killing him. Very few +know the secret." + +"And when you are through with the torture, what then?" asked Chares. + +"Why, then you will die by the boat," the jailer replied. + +"Do you mean we shall be drowned?" Chares inquired. + +The jailer laughed harshly. "That would be too easy," he said. "Death +by the boat has nothing to do with the water, as you will find. They +will place you in the shallop with your head, arms, and feet outside. +Then they will cover you with honey and place another boat upside down +over you. This will leave your head and hands free through the holes. +The ants and the flies are fond of honey. I have known men to live a +week in their snug wooden jackets; but they usually go crazy after a +few days, when the ants begin to eat them." + +"That is very interesting," Chares remarked. "When will they begin the +torture?" + +"To-morrow morning," the man replied, "and I advise you to get a sound +sleep; you will be able to stand the pain better." + +He passed on down the corridor, humming to himself as though his mind +were filled with pleasant thoughts. + +"That is a nice prospect," Chares said, turning away from the grating. +"I wonder what Nathan intends to do?" + +"We can only wait," Clearchus replied. "I think we had better pretend +that we are asleep, so that your friend the sentinel will at least let +us alone." + +They stretched themselves upon the stone floor and waited, talking in +whispers. With nightfall, the prison grew utterly dark, excepting in +the corridor, where the surly guard lighted oil lamps, set at intervals +in niches in the wall. These made brief spaces of light in the gloomy +passageway, through which the man went and came with monotonous tread. +There was silence in that part of the prison where they were, +indicating that the other condemned cells were vacant. For a time the +sound of voices reached them faintly through the slit in the wall, but +these gradually ceased as the night advanced. + +One of the lamps had been set directly opposite their cell, but its +feeble glimmer hardly extended to the bars of their cage, although it +rendered objects in the corridor dimly distinct. + +Hour followed hour, and each seemed like a week to the young Athenian. +Chares, overcome by drowsiness, had fallen asleep at his side. +Clearchus wondered at the careless nature of his friend that permitted +him to close his eyes in the face of so horrible a death. He had no +doubt that Nathan would seek to rescue them, but he knew not when nor +how. Perhaps he would attempt intercession with Darius. Perhaps he +would defer the trial until the morning. What if he should fail? +Clearchus was far from being a coward, but his nerves shrank from the +thought of the torture and the lingering agony that would follow before +death came to set them free. The very idea of death, since now he knew +that Artemisia was living and in need of him, filled his heart with +anguish. + +As he lay gazing into the corridor, with his head upon his hand, he +recalled her face as it had appeared to him in the happy garden in +Academe, with the sunlight on her hair and the color of the wild rose +in her cheeks. He remembered how her blue eyes had looked into his +with sweet wistfulness and how the tears dimmed them when she told him +of the fears that had beset her. The tears rose to his own eyes at the +remembrance, and he ground his teeth as he thought of his helplessness. +Why had he not trusted the prevision of her finer perceptions, half +ethereal as they were? Why had he not remained to defend her and to +prevent the train of misfortunes which had followed? + +The sentinel paused at the door of the cell for a moment in passing. +He noted the deep breathing of Chares and resumed his march with a +yawn. Clearchus listened, mechanically counting his steps until he +should reach the spot where they were to turn. Suddenly a sound came +to his ears that caused him to sit up and listen intently. There were +other footfalls in the corridor. They were advancing in the track of +the sentinel from the direction of the entrance. + +The Athenian's pulses bounded. Help had come. He stretched out his +hand to rouse Chares, but in an instant he reflected that there was +evidently no effort at concealment on the part of the newcomer. The +steps were careless and deliberate. Probably they were made by another +guard, who had come to relieve the bloodthirsty wretch outside. His +hope sank as suddenly as it had arisen and he let his hand fall. + +"Why should I awaken him?" he thought. "Let him sleep." + +Slowly the steps advanced. Clearchus crept to the door of the cell and +peered out through the grating. A man's figure was approaching along +the passage. It was Nathan. Clearchus rose quickly to his feet and +shook Chares by the shoulder. + +"Silence!" he whispered. + +The Theban rubbed his eyes and stretched his great limbs. + +"Where am I?" he muttered. "Oh, yes, I remember. What has happened?" + +"Nathan is here," Clearchus said. + +Chares was on his feet with a bound, and both stood listening +breathlessly. + +Nathan had reached the dim circle of light before their cell. His keen +black eyes were glancing to the right and left at the dark gratings. + +"We are here!" Clearchus whispered through the bars. + +The Israelite turned his face toward them and smiled, trying to +distinguish them in the darkness. In his hand he carried a roll of +papyrus. + +"Be ready!" he said, in a scarcely audible tone. + +"Who are you?" the sentinel demanded, catching sight of Nathan for the +first time. + +Nathan halted close to the bars of the cell and awaited his approach +without reply. + +"What are you doing here?" the man asked gruffly as he approached. + +"I have an order for you," Nathan replied coolly, unrolling the papyrus +as he spoke. "Read it." + +The man took the papyrus in his hand and looked at it. Then he glanced +cunningly at Nathan. + +"What does it mean?" he growled, handing it back. "I cannot read." + +This was evidently a contingency that had not entered into Nathan's +calculations. + +"It is signed by Boupares--here, do you see!" he said, holding the +writing under the jailer's nose. + +"Well, what then?" the man asked suspiciously. + +"It is an order," Nathan continued. "You are to deliver the Greek +prisoners to me immediately." + +"What are you going to do with them?" the jailer asked. + +"Boupares desires to talk with them before they are examined," Nathan +explained. + +"I shall not give them up," the jailer replied, with the air of a man +who has made up his mind. "If Boupares wishes to see them, let him +come here. They were sent to me under the seal of the king himself, +and this order of yours has no seal. Do you think I want to be boiled +alive as my comrade was last month? I can hear his yells yet, for I +helped to do it. You can tell Boupares what I have said, and now be +off." + +Like most ignorant men when they think, or pretend to think, that they +are being imposed upon, the jailer raised his voice to a bullying +shout. Nathan looked apprehensively over his shoulder toward the +entrance of the prison. The harsh tone echoed between the narrow walls +and might be easily heard at the gate, where several men were stationed. + +"Give me your keys," he said quietly. "You know the penalty for +disobeying an order." + +The jailer stepped to the door of the cell and stood defiantly, with +his back against the bars. + +"I will not give them!" he said. + +From within the cell the man's figure was outlined against the light of +the lamp. Chares moved forward in the darkness behind him with +noiseless tread, and his fingers closed suddenly around the jailer's +throat. The wretch gasped once and threw up his chin, struggling +convulsively to free himself from the iron clutch that encircled his +neck. His struggles were in vain. The Theban drew him silently back +against the bars. His feet scuffled on the stone floor, and his short +spear clattered from his hand. + +"Take the keys," Clearchus whispered. + +Nathan quickly detached the keys from the jailer's belt and unlocked +the door of the cell. Clearchus slipped through the open door, picking +up the jailer's spear as he went. Chares relaxed his hold, and the +man's body slipped in a huddled heap to the floor. + +"Come," said the Israelite. "We have no time to lose." + +What he said was true. From the direction of the entrance came the +sound of voices and the flickering of a torch danced upon the walls. + +"Neshak! Ho, Neshak, where are you?" called a voice. + +"They are seeking the jailer," Nathan whispered. "Come!" + +He darted down the corridor into the darkness, with the two Greeks at +his heels. At the end of a dozen yards they turned quickly to the +left, up a flight of stairs, and then through other passageways, until +they reached a second short stairway and emerged upon the roof. + +They stood panting and listening beside the head of the stair. Above +them the wide arch of the sky was sown with stars. From the black +opening at their feet came a confused sound of cries and shouting. + +"They have found the jailer's body," Nathan said. "I fear we are lost. +It shall be as Jehovah wills!" + +He drew a short sword from its sheath at his side. + +"Is there no other way to the roof?" Clearchus asked. + +"No other way," Nathan replied; "but how can we hope to hold this +against them?" + +The Athenian looked about him. The roof was built of huge slabs of +stone, fitted together without mortar, and there was nothing that might +serve as even a temporary barricade. + +"If we could only raise one of these," he said, stooping over one of +the slabs. + +"Not ten men could do it," Nathan replied, shaking his head. + +"Let us see," said Chares. + +He thrust his fingers under the stone and set his feet wide apart. The +muscles of his back and arms rose in ridges. The veins of his neck +swelled like knotted cords. The great stone stirred in its bed. + +Clearchus and Nathan dropped their weapons and bent eagerly to assist +him. The ponderous mass heaved slowly upward, tilting toward the +opening that led to the stairway. From the sound of the voices within +they knew that their pursuers were close at hand. + +"Life or death!" groaned Chares, the sweat streaming from his body like +rain. "Now!" + +The mighty stone rose inch by inch upon its edge, standing higher than +the heads of the three men, who were now behind and beneath it. Their +pursuers had evidently halted on the stairs, expecting the opening to +the roof to be defended. Puzzled by the silence, they seemed to be +concerting a plan of attack. Suddenly they sprang upward with a shout, +thrusting forward their spears and crowding for the aperture. + +The great slab stood upright, balancing on its lower end. While a man +might draw breath, it hung motionless, and then it toppled over upon +the opening from the stairs. + +The foremost of the pursuers saw it and with inarticulate cries sought +to retreat. They were too late. The heavy mass crashed down upon +their heads and covered the opening. Nathan and Clearchus fell forward +with it and lay gasping. Chares swayed upon his feet and his head +reeled. The blood dripped from the ends of his fingers, where it had +burst from beneath his nails. Faintly from under the stone issued +cries of agony, as though some of the guard had been caught there and +held fast by mangled limbs. + +Nathan staggered to his feet and groped for his sword. "Now for the +wall," he cried. "We may yet escape!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + +As Clearchus lay upon the broad slab, the voices of his friends seemed +to him faint and far away. He tried to rise, but a strange languor +weighed him down. Chares seized him and dragged him to his feet. + +"Wake up!" cried the Theban. "We still have a chance. You tremble +like a girl." + +Clearchus gathered his senses with an effort of will, and the two +Greeks followed Nathan across the roof toward the great wall, against +which the prison was built. + +Nathan led them straight to the foot of a narrow flight of steps, +roughly hewn in the masonry and scarcely discernible a few yards away. +Up these he climbed with the agility of a cat. Clearchus, still faint +and dizzy, hesitated for a moment, gazing at the sheer height that +towered above his head. + +"Forward!" Chares cried behind him. "It is our only hope." + +Clearchus set his feet in the narrow steps and followed Nathan, +carrying the jailer's spear in his left hand and clinging to each +projection with his right. More than once his feet slipped and Chares +saved him from falling. The steps wound upward almost perpendicularly, +and it was evident that they were rarely used, for in places the soft +brick had crumbled, leaving wide gaps. + +"Look up!" Chares cried desperately, as Clearchus halted at one of +these dangerous points. "Look up--and remember Artemisia, whom thou +alone canst save!" + +He had touched the right chord at last. The Athenian's brain cleared +at the mention of Artemisia's peril, and he forgot his own. The wall +no longer seemed to waver before his eyes. All doubt of his ability to +pass where Nathan had passed before him vanished from his mind, and he +gained the top with an even pulse. + +They paused for a moment to get their bearings. Far beneath them they +saw the starlight trembling on the broad sweep of the Euphrates, beyond +which for miles lay a level country, dotted with trees and fields. +Behind them spread the sleeping city, an endless succession of roofs +and towers. Here and there a torch glimmered like a firefly. The +crest of the wall, upon which they stood and where four chariots might +have been driven abreast without crowding, was apparently deserted. + +The sound of shouting rose from the direction of the prison. They saw +a cluster of torches issue from the main entrance and scatter in every +direction. + +"They are giving the alarm," Nathan said, "but I think we shall have +time to disappoint them. There is a rope waiting for us where the +river touches the wall, and at its lower end we shall find a boat." + +The river was several hundred yards distant from the spot where they +stood. Before they could reach the place where the rope was concealed, +they must traverse nearly a quarter of a mile. Between them and safety +stood one of the guard-houses built for the sentries whose duty it was +to patrol the wall night and day. Still worse, they must pass the +entrance of a broad flight of steps that led downward into the city and +formed the usual means of ascent to the top of the wall. + +It had been Nathan's plan to come up by these steps and gain the rope +without passing the guard-house. The obstinacy of the jailer had +disarranged everything. It was of the first importance that they +should reach the rope before the sentinels on the wall could learn what +had happened, or the guards from below could mount. + +Like shadows they sped along the top of the wall, holding as near as +possible to the outer edge so as not to be seen from the city. Outside +the guard-house a sentry stood, craning his neck to see what was going +on beneath him to cause all the shouting. They stole by behind his +back without arousing his attention. + +They had fled past the head of the stairway and were congratulating +themselves on their good fortune when they came suddenly face to face +with a returning sentry, slowly pacing his beat. The man was as much +surprised as they and seemed in doubt as to whether they were friends +or foes. Before he could make up his mind, Chares gripped him by the +throat and the broad blade of the jailer's spear buried itself in his +heart. He had uttered no cry. Chares dragged the body under the +parapet that had been built where the wall overhung the river to +protect the defenders from the archers who might be sent to attack the +city from ships. + +Crouching in the shadow of this elevation, they went on at a slackened +pace, expecting every moment to come upon the rope. It was nowhere to +be found. The shouting from the city now came clearly up from the +staircase as the guards ascended. Finally Nathan paused and looked +doubtfully about him. + +"It should be very near here," he said, "but I do not see it." + +"Then there is nothing for it but to take as many of them with us as we +can," Chares said, rising to his full height. "Zeus, how my back +aches! I hate this skulking." + +Apparently the sentinel at the guard-house whom they had passed +understood at last what was the matter. He roused the rest of the +guard. Clearchus and Nathan pulled Chares down into the shadow. They +were so near that they could hear what was said. + +"Captives have escaped! They are coming up by the prison stairway!" +the man told his companions in an excited voice. "They are asking us +to stop them. Boupares himself is on his way up." + +The men came tumbling out of the guard-house and ran to the inner edge +of the wall, shouting down with much gesticulation that they would meet +the fugitives. Then they hastened back toward the prison. + +"Much good that will do them," Chares laughed. + +"We have still a few moments," Clearchus said. "Where was the rope to +be?" + +"Here--opposite the Tower of Baal," Nathan replied. + +"Look on the outside of the wall; it may be there," the Athenian +suggested. + +Nathan climbed upon the parapet and looked over. + +"Here it is," he cried joyfully. "Follow me!" + +As he spoke, he slipped over the edge of the wall and vanished. + +"Follow him, Chares," Clearchus said. "Go quickly!" + +"You first," the Theban answered doggedly. + +"No," Clearchus answered with firmness. "It is my turn to guard the +rear. I shall not stir until you are over the wall." + +"Very well, have your way," Chares replied. + +He vaulted upon the parapet and looked down. The rope had been +attached to a bar of iron driven firmly into the bricks near the +coping, and it dangled from between his feet into the gulf beneath him. +The cord seemed slender to sustain his weight, but there was no time in +which to test it. Swinging himself over the edge, he grasped the bar +and then the rope, letting himself down hand over hand, with his feet +against the rough surface of the wall. From the twitching of the cord +in his hands, he knew that Nathan had not yet reached the bottom. He +wondered how long it would be before the rope would break and send him +headlong into the dark abyss. + +Clearchus, left alone behind the parapet, flattened his body in the +shadow and waited. He had seen Chares begin his descent, and he knew +that the rope would not sustain the weight of all three at the same +time. He resolved to allow Chares an opportunity to reach the foot of +the wall before he himself started down. He counted upon the mistake +that the sentries had made, in going back to the prison staircase in +their search, to give him time. + +Hardly had Chares disappeared before a company of soldiers, with +torches in their hands, emerged from the head of the great stairway. +The glare searched every corner on top of the wall, and the Athenian +saw that concealment was no longer possible. + +He knew that he must act promptly. The faces of the new arrivals were +turned toward the sentinels, who were still engaged in searching about +the prison stairway. It could be only a few moments before the +futility of further effort in that direction must become evident to +them, and the hunt would turn toward where he lay. + +Should he attempt to gain the great staircase and slip into the city, +where the Israelites might hide him, at least for a time? It would be +impossible to evade the soldiers who were still coming up. He +dismissed the idea from his mind. + +Possibly he could escape along the southern stretch of wall. Beyond +him at a distance there seemed to be a bridge, or causeway, connecting +the wall with the enormous mass of earth and bricks that upheld the +Hanging Gardens. The groves of palms and the tangle of shrubbery that +crowned the Gardens might conceal him, even though the place was within +the precincts of the palace itself. + +He was about to try this plan and had already partly risen to put it +into execution, when he saw the guard turning out at a station between +him and the causeway. His chance of flight in that direction was cut +off. + +He could hear the chafing of the rope against the bricks on the other +side of the parapet. Chares was still lowering himself toward the +river. To try the rope now would be not only to endanger the lives of +his two friends by overstraining the cord, but to reveal their mode of +escape and expose them to certain death, since the guard would lose no +time in cutting it. + +Clearchus felt that he had been caught in a trap from which there was +no outlet. He thought of the words the jailer had used in describing +the death allotted to them. He thought of Artemisia, defenceless in +Tyre. A vision of the life he had hoped to lead in the pleasant city +of his birth, with her at his side, flitted through his mind. The Gods +had bestowed upon him the hope of happiness that was not to be +fulfilled. Chares would tell Artemisia how he died. At least she +would know that he had given his life for his friend. + +So ran the young man's thoughts as he lay awaiting the moment of +discovery. His mind was made up. They would never take him back to +the prison. Perhaps his friends might recover his body and give it +burial amid the groves beyond the river. + +Although the time seemed long, in reality only a few minutes passed +before the portly form of Boupares, supported on either side by a +stalwart soldier, appeared upon the platform at the head of the broad +stair. The governor was out of breath and also out of patience. The +knowledge that he would find it difficult to account for the loss of +the prisoners weighed upon his mind. + +The guards crowded about him with explanations and excuses. No trace +could be found of the fugitives, they told him. It was certain they +had not reached the top of the wall. If they had, they must have +wings, since they had disappeared, leaving no trace. + +"Search, you dogs!" Boupares gasped. "A thousand darics to the man who +finds them!" + +The moment was at hand. Clearchus unclasped the fibula that fastened +the chiton upon his shoulder and drew his feet out of his sandals. + +There was a cry from one of the guards. He had found the body of the +sentinel. A group gathered about it to see. It was proof that the +fugitives had passed along the wall, and all eyes were directed toward +the Athenian's hiding-place. + +Clearchus let fall his garments and with a bound gained the top of the +parapet. The red light of the torches shone full upon his naked +figure, gleaming against the dark sky, as perfect in every line as the +form of PhÅ“bus Apollo. For an instant the soldiers were dumb with +astonishment and superstitious dread. The shape had appeared where +there had been nothing a moment before. It seemed to them that it must +be that of a God. Then one of them caught sight of the abandoned +chiton and the spell was broken. + +"Seize him! Strike him down!" they cried. + +"Take him alive!" bellowed Boupares. + +Clearchus turned his back upon them and gave a single glance at the +wide sweep of water that eddied and gurgled at the foot of the great +wall, how far below him he dared not guess. A javelin hissed past him +and was swallowed by the darkness. With muscles as firm as steel, he +took two steps forward and shot out from the dizzy height. + +He heard the cry of astonishment and involuntary alarm from the +soldiers behind him. The light of the torches flashed in his eyes, and +then fled suddenly upward. + +He looked down upon the wrinkled surface of the river. The impetus of +his leap had carried him out beyond the slope of the wall, and he saw +that he would strike the water as he had planned, instead of being +dashed to pieces. + +The rushing air blinded him like a mighty wind. He heard its roar in +his ears. Mechanically he pressed the palms of his hands together +below his head, and stiffened and straightened his body so that it +might offer no surface of resistance in the plunge. Then he knew no +more. + +Faintly the cry of the guards floated downward. Their torches twinkled +over the parapet. Chares, who, with aching arms, was clinging to the +last few fathoms of the rope, looked upward. So did Nathan, pausing in +his task of fitting a pair of oars to the rowlocks of a small boat that +he had pushed out from the wall. + +They saw the form of Clearchus as it shot downward from the sky. They +saw it strike the water not twenty feet from them, leaving a circle of +foam, with hardly a splash to mark where it had fallen, so straight and +true was its descent. + +Chares let the end of the rope slip through his hands and leaped into +the boat. With a few rapid strokes Nathan brought the little craft to +the centre of the widening ripple, where the bubbles were still rising. +Both leaned over the gunwale, straining their eyes for sight of the +body in the dark water. + +A minute passed, and another, while they held their breath. Then +Nathan uttered a cry. + +"There he is!" he shouted, pointing downward. + +It was only a glimmer of white under the ripple, which showed for an +instant and was gone; but Chares plunged from the boat and disappeared +beneath the surface. When he rose, he held the body of his friend +across his arm, hanging limp and apparently lifeless. Nathan drew it +into the boat and then helped Chares to his place in the stern. + +"Is he dead, think you?" the Theban asked, taking the form across his +knees as though it were that of a child. + +"There is no mark on him; he may be only stunned," Nathan replied, +resuming his oars. + +Chares gazed at the pale face, with the dripping hair streaming back +from its temples, and, bending forward, placed his ear over the heart. + +"It beats," he cried. "He lives! Pull away, Nathan, and let the +jackals howl!" + +Arrows and javelins struck the water around the boat, but there was +little danger from the marksmen above, unless some missile should find +them by chance. The craft was almost indistinguishable from the top of +the wall. + +Nathan worked hard at the oars, while Chares rolled the body of +Clearchus on his knees. Then he rubbed the pale limbs briskly and by +no means gently until the blood began to circulate again. At last +Clearchus opened his eyes and drew a deep breath. + +"Is this the Styx?" he asked faintly. "Is the story true then, after +all?" + +"Not yet," Chares replied, with a laugh. "Your time has not yet come. +You are dreaming." + +Clearchus turned his head and saw the precipice of the mighty wall, +rising black toward the stars and crowned with the red glow of the +torches. + +"Did I dive from there?" he asked wonderingly; "or is that, too, a +dream?" + +"It is no dream," Chares replied, "but a deed that will be told +throughout the army for the Companions to envy. Give me the oars, +Nathan; I need exercise." + +Nathan yielded the oars, and the tough blades bent as the Theban threw +his weight upon them. The boat sped through the water toward a grove +of trees that stood like a patch of darker shadow on the other shore. +From behind they could hear the clank of levers, and they knew the +river-gate was being opened. Boupares had ordered pursuit; but they +were a mile away before the first of the biremes shot out from the +portal. A few minutes more and they had reached the friendly grove and +entered the mouth of one of the numerous canals which formed a network +through the plain as complicated as the Cretan labyrinth. + +"Now let them search," said Nathan. "I would not stand in Boupares' +shoes to-morrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE SLUICE GATE + +Cautiously and in silence they threaded their way from one branch of +the canal to another, through the fields of grain and vegetables that +spread like a vast garden for miles across the low country. Here and +there along the banks were farmers' huts, and occasionally they passed +through the estate of a Persian landowner who followed agriculture as +the noblest pursuit in which a man could engage, according to the +teachings of his religion. In many places the canal was shut in on +both sides by reeds which reached a height of ten, or even fifteen, +feet. + +They had proceeded for perhaps two hours and had made so many turns +that the Greeks had long ago lost all idea of direction, when they +reached a cluster of date-palms. Nathan guided the boat to a +landing-place, and they stepped ashore. + +"Jonathan, are you there?" he called softly. + +"I am here," replied a guarded voice, and from among the trees stood +forth the figure of an old man. "Pull your boat ashore and follow me," +he said briefly. + +They lifted the boat out of the canal and concealed it carefully among +the rushes. The old man conducted them along a narrow path which +brought them to a group of farm buildings, among which stood a large +country house. They entered by the rear and passed through several +dark passages until they came to a door, before which Jonathan halted +and knocked. A deep voice from within bade them enter. They found +themselves in a large, dimly lighted room, the walls of which were +lined with cases filled with rolls of papyrus. On a long table stood a +shaded lamp among scattered papyri, half unrolled, and the materials +for writing. + +A man of venerable appearance, with a spreading white beard, which +reached his girdle, rose from the table to greet them. + +"This is Nehemiah, whose ancestor was Daniel the prophet, viceroy of +Babylon," Nathan said. "These are the Greeks, Clearchus of Athens and +Chares of Thebes, concerning whom I wrote thee," he added, turning to +the old man. + +"You are welcome in this house," Nehemiah said gravely. "Jonathan, +bring food and wine." + +He gathered the manuscripts tenderly from the table and laid them away, +setting chairs for his guests. While the refreshment was being +prepared Nathan related the adventures of their escape, to which the +old man listened with close attention. + +"Thou hast done well," Nehemiah said, when Nathan came to the end. "I +have been considering that which thou told me, of the vision of the +viceroy in the third year of Belshazzar, at Susa, by the River Ulai, +and verily do I believe that thou art right. The rough he-goat is come +out of the West, and for the kingdom of Persia, the time of its end is +at hand. I have examined the writings of Daniel, in which, as Gabriel +ordered him, he shut up the vision two hundred years ago. The kingdom +of Israel is bound to the Archæmenian line; but if thou canst win for +thy people the favor of the he-goat, thou mayst be the means of saving +them." + +"I shall try," Nathan replied simply. + +"Thou wilt understand," Nehemiah continued, addressing himself to +Clearchus, "that if I am to aid you, it must be done in secret. It is +evident that you are in need of rest," he added, glancing at Chares, +who was nodding over the golden goblet that he had emptied. "A hue and +cry will be raised for you, but I think I can keep you safe until you +have gained strength for your long journey." + +Having dismissed Jonathan, he took up the lamp and led them to a hidden +chamber in the upper part of the house, where he left them. They fell +asleep at daybreak and woke at nightfall. After they had eaten, +Nehemiah provided them with fresh garments and with horses of the +Nisæan breed, the fleetest in his stable, and gave them weapons. He +also furnished them with money for their flight. + +"My men have brought me word from the city of your escape," he said, +"and the Great King is filled with wrath. Ten of the guard were +crucified this morning at the gates; but Boupares so far has not been +arrested. All the court is talking about Clearchus' plunge from the +wall. It is thought that Beltis herself must have borne him up, and it +is even said that the Goddess was seen in the air beside him. Her +priests will make the most of it, and, should you be taken, this may be +turned to account." + +"What knowest thou of the pursuit, father?" Nathan asked. + +"They have sent out a thousand horsemen to search the plain on this +side of the river," the old man replied. "Thou wilt use caution and +hold to the unfrequented ways until the chase slackens. For the rest, +put thy trust in the Most High. He will save thee out of their hands +if He so wills it. Farewell." + +They rode into the night under the stars, bearing away from the river, +and keeping to paths known to Nathan among the reeds and groves. At +frequent intervals they came upon one or another of the canals which +intersected the plain in all directions. Chares and Clearchus were +filled with wonder at the enormous amount of labor that had been +expended in digging the great ditches which carried the water of the +river for irrigating the plain, and at the system of reservoirs by +which it was stored for the dry season. Some of these formed lakes of +considerable size, dammed by great gates built of timber that could be +raised or lowered by means of levers. + +As they proceeded westward toward the desert which lay between them and +the land of Israel, the level country was broken by low ridges and +hills, between which wound the canals. Vegetation became less +luxuriant and the houses less frequent. + +Twice at the beginning of their ride they heard parties of horsemen +near them, whom they took to be detachments of the searchers. Once +they turned aside into a crossroad just in time to avoid a meeting. +But as they approached nearer to the border between the waste and the +cultivated bottom lands, no sounds reached their ears excepting the +trampling of their own horses, and they began to hope that they had +left their pursuers behind. + +"Tell me, Clearchus," Chares said, after a period of reflection, "is +there any truth in what they say about you?" + +"What do you mean?" Clearchus replied. + +"Why, about this Beltis, you know. Is it true that you are a modern +Endymion?" + +"I don't know anything about her," Clearchus said. + +"I thought you had more confidence in me," the Theban continued +reproachfully. "If you think I shall say anything about it when we +reach Tyre, you are mistaken. I hope I know enough to hold my tongue +about such delicate matters. Is she as handsome as they say she is?" + +"Listen!" whispered Nathan, holding up his hand and drawing rein. + +The others came to a halt. They had been riding up a shallow valley +along one of the canals. Beside them rose a low ridge which separated +them from the next depression. Beyond this ridge they could hear the +beating of hoofs and the jingling of bridles. From the sound they +judged that twenty or thirty horsemen were advancing in a direction +parallel to their own. + +"The roads join half a mile farther on," Nathan whispered. "It is more +than likely that they will turn back along this one." + +"Then we must make a dash for it and get there first," Chares said. +"Come on, I feel as though a race would do me good!" + +"We might cross the ridge and fall in behind them," Clearchus suggested. + +"Don't spoil sport; and besides, they would surely see us," Chares +replied. "Forward! Is not thy Beltis with us?" + +Without waiting for a reply he struck in his spurs and darted forward, +with the others thundering at his heels. The party beyond the ridge, +hearing the hoof-beats, also broke into a gallop, evidently being +acquainted with the fact that the roads converged. Their horses, +however, were no match for the Nisæans. Neck and neck, with long, even +strides, they raced up the road and swept past the meeting point while +the pursuers were still a hundred yards away. + +Nathan looked back and recognized the uniform of the palace guard. The +detachment consisted of men who, he knew, were both brave and skilful, +and who would not relinquish the chase while a chance of success +remained. Their numbers made it impossible to think of facing them. +There was nothing for it but to keep on. + +Beyond the point where the roads joined the ridges became higher and +steeper, drawing together until there was barely room for the track +beside the canal. It was no longer practicable to leave the valley, +because to climb the acclivity that shut them in on either side would +have been difficult work for a footman, and it was out of the question +for horses. The gorge turned and twisted between the hills. Although +Nathan had never travelled this road before, he drew comfort from the +fact that the canal still flowed sluggishly beside them. It must lead +them eventually, he believed, to more open country. + +They had ridden a little more than a mile through this defile, which +seemed once to have been the bed of a stream, when Chares, who was in +the lead, drew up with a cry of dismay. Further progress was barred by +a steep dam of earth and stone. In the middle of the dam was the usual +gate, built of heavy timbers and planks. The water spurted through the +cracks into the bed of the canal. + +"It looks as though we should have to make a stand here," the Theban +cried. "We cannot surmount this." + +"Are you anxious to die?" Clearchus said. "They would get above us on +the banks and spear us like so many frogs." + +Nathan had thrown himself from his horse. He ran to the gate. As he +had expected, he found a narrow foot-path leading upward beside it. + +"Come along," he cried. "Here is a way up. Leave the horses where +they are." + +Down the valley behind them they could hear the shouting of the guards, +racing with each other in the narrow road in their eagerness to claim +the great reward that Boupares had offered for the capture of the +fugitives. + +Clearchus and Chares dismounted and scrambled after Nathan up the path. +Their horses, deserted by their riders in the darkness, neighed shrilly +and strove to follow, digging their hoofs into the sand and gravel, +which fell in showers into the canal. + +At the top of the path a large reservoir spread placidly far to the +right and left in a basin surrounded by low hills. + +Nathan ran to the gate and knocked out the wooden pins that held it in +place. It rose a few inches, and the water began to gush and gurgle +beneath it. The Israelite seized a lever and thrust it into its notch, +calling to Clearchus and Chares to do the same on the other side. + +The pursuit had almost reached the foot of the gate when the leader of +the detachment, a young man with a handsome face, saw that his horse +was splashing through the rising water and realized the danger that +threatened them. He gave a sharp command to halt. He glanced quickly +forward, and then back along the way they had come, as though +considering what course to take. + +No time was allowed him for decision. Nathan, Clearchus, and Chares +strained at the levers. + +With a sharp creak the heavy gate was loosened, and the flood that +rushed beneath it helped to force it upward. + +Roaring angrily, the water foamed into the gorge, filling it from side +to side with a torrent ten feet deep that dashed impatiently against +the walls of the tortuous channel. + +The guardsmen had no chance to escape. Like men of straw, they were +lifted, horse and rider together, whirled over and over, and swept down +the valley on the crest of the yellow wave. Their cries were choked in +the rush of the water. + +Nathan and Clearchus dropped their levers and stood gazing at the +surface of the turbid stream. Chares joined them. + +"It is a pity," he said regretfully. "They deserved a better death. I +wish we could have had a bout with them; but it may be all for the +best. Let them go as a sacrifice to My Lady Beltis. By Dionysus, she +has given us back our horses, too! Look here!" + +One of the Nisæans had gained the top of the dam and another was close +behind him. The third had been overtaken by the flood and was +struggling piteously for a foothold with his fore feet. Chares caught +him by the bit and dragged him up to safety. They mounted and struck +off at random among the hills, seeking to get as far away as possible +before daylight should break. + +This was the only direct encounter that they had with the soldiers of +the pursuit. Skirting the desert, they made their way northward and +westward until all danger of capture had passed. Once, in seeking to +cross an arm of the sandy waste, they went astray and nearly perished +from thirst. On another occasion they were surrounded by a band of +robbers, from whom they barely escaped. This last adventure took place +on the eastern slope of Mount Amanus on the borders of Cilicia, where +they arrived after a month of wandering. It was here that they began +once more to hear the name of Alexander and to feel the currents of the +mighty storm that was gathering on the flank of the empire of Darius. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + +Down from the Phrygian plateau, through a land that glowed with the +touch of autumn, marched the Macedonian host, with Alexander at its +head. On a clear October night the army halted at the foot of the +rugged and forbidding crags of the Taurus. Leonidas with his cavalry +troop followed the young king in the attack upon the Cilician Gates, +which scattered the guard stationed there and opened the way into the +satrapy of Cilicia. + +From one of the captives taken at the pass, Alexander learned that the +satrap Arsames had planned to plunder the city of Tarsus and retreat +into Syria with his spoil. While the main body of the troops was still +filing through the pass, he gathered a chosen body of cavalry and light +infantry and swooped like a falcon upon the town. The Spartan rode +that day at the head of his squadron for fifty miles; and Arsames, +abandoning all thought of plunder, deemed himself fortunate to escape +with his garrison. + +It was here that Alexander fell ill from bathing in the icy waters of +the Cydnus, and the rumor spread through the army that his life was in +danger. Grief and anxiety pervaded the camp. The toughest of the +veterans, with tears in their eyes, gathered before the house in which +he lay, demanding news of his condition. The physicians came and went +with grave faces and in silence. + +Although his fever ran high, Alexander insisted upon receiving his +friends as usual and attending to his affairs. One day came a letter +from Parmenio, who had been sent forward with a strong detachment to +secure the southern pass into Syria through the Amanic range. The +young king read it thoughtfully, and Leonidas noticed that he thrust it +under his pillow without discussing its contents as his custom was. + +A conference of the physicians was being held to consider the king's +malady, for it was evident that some decisive measure must be taken if +the fever was to be checked. In this consultation a dispute arose +between Philip of Acarnania and the other physicians. Philip +maintained that a strong remedy should be given, but when he named the +potion that he proposed to administer, his colleagues declared that +they would have no part in it, holding the opinion that the drugs would +surely kill the patient. + +Hearing the voices raised in controversy, Alexander demanded the +reason. He called the doctors before him and listened to all they had +to say. + +"Will this draught of which you speak enable me to ride Bucephalus in +three days?" he asked of Philip. + +"I will answer for it," the Acarnanian replied. + +"Compound it, then, for me," the young king said. "When it is ready, I +will take it." + +He turned his face away and the physicians left him. During the +interval of waiting he talked with Clitus, Philotas, Leonidas, and +others of his Companions concerning the Trojan war, but, noting their +evident anxiety, he broke off to rally them upon it. + +"Do not think," he said, laughing, "that we have come so far and +endured so much to stop here. There is many a campaign yet before us." + +When Philip came, bringing an earthen bowl containing a liquid which +steamed with an odor of spices, he raised himself on his couch and drew +Parmenio's letter from under his pillow. As he took the bowl from the +physician, he handed him the letter. + +"Read it!" he said quietly, setting the potion to his lips. + +With his eyes on Philip he slowly drank the medicine. The physician +glanced at the letter and grew pale, but he returned Alexander's gaze +without flinching. + +"Drink and be of good cheer," he said. "I tell thee this after having +read this charge against me." + +He returned the letter as he spoke. + +"I have drunk already," Alexander replied; and then, turning to Clitus, +he bade him read what Parmenio had written. + +"Beware of Philip, your physician," the letter ran. "I am informed +that he hath been bribed by the Great King with the promise of a +thousand talents and the hand of his daughter to poison thee. I beg of +thee to take nothing that he may offer." + +Scowling brows were turned toward the physician, who was busying +himself unconcernedly in heaping fresh coverings upon his patient. + +"Let no man interfere," Alexander said sternly. "Where I have placed +my trust, no other shall doubt." + +This warning was sufficient to restrain the Companions, even when they +saw their leader lying like a dead man beneath the blankets, with +closed lids and a pulse that was scarcely perceptible. But Philip +never moved his watchful eyes from the pale face, and when he saw drops +of perspiration rolling down the forehead a slight smile of +satisfaction appeared upon his lips. His confidence and the faith that +the young king had placed in him had been justified; for an hour later +Alexander came out of his faintness, and, although weak, the fever had +left him. He was able next day to show himself to the soldiers, and a +few days later to lead them against the bandits who infested the +southern part of the province, routing them from their fastnesses and +scattering to the four corners of the earth those who escaped the +sword. On his return he received news that Ptolemy and Astander had +defeated Orontobates and captured the Salmacis and the Royal Citadel of +Halicarnassus. He celebrated this victory and his recovery with +sacrifice and games after the ancient manner. + +Suddenly across the country like wildfire spread the news that Darius +was approaching with an army so great that none might count its +numbers. When inquiry was made, no man could tell whence the story had +come. Alexander questioned many who were brought before him, but all +gave him the same answer. + +"The Great King is coming," they said. "Where he is we know not, nor +when he will be here. All that we can say is that he is on the way, +for the Syrians told us, and they learned it from the travellers and +traders of the South." + +Then came a shape of man who had once been a Corinthian. His tongue +had been cut out and his ears and nose shaved away. He could only nod +his head and weep when they asked him of the approach of the Persian +monarch. + +Alexander sent for Leonidas. The Spartan came with an impassive face, +and stood awaiting his orders. + +"They say Darius is on the march," he said. "Where he is and of what +his army consists, no one can tell me. Choose what men you like and go +to Parmenio at the Syrian Gates, where I purpose to join him with the +army as soon as the march can be made. Find the Persian and bring me +word there of the things that I should know." + +"It shall be done," Leonidas replied. + +On the evening of the fourth day after the order had been given, +Leonidas, with fifteen men of his troop, whose courage had been tested +in the campaign against the Pisidians, took leave of Parmenio and rode +out upon the rolling plains beyond the Syrian Gates. He had learned +that Darius was at Sochi, two days' march away, but when he arrived +there, he found only hills and fields from which the harvests had been +stripped as if by locusts, and a city where starvation reigned. + +Here he learned much of the numbers and character of the host that had +left such a track of desolation. From Sochi he bore away toward the +left and the mountains, and on the third day overtook the Persian +horde, whose camp-fires stretched for miles across the plain. + +Although thousands of camp followers and women had been left behind in +Damascus in charge of Cophenes, together with the greater part of the +luxurious equipage of the courtiers, and of the treasure in gold and +silver, which six hundred mules and three hundred camels could scarcely +carry, there still remained an enormous train in the rear of the army. + +Leonidas soon ascertained everything concerning the army of Darius and +its composition that it was necessary for him to know; but he was +astonished to find that the Great King had passed beyond the Syrian +Gates, near which Alexander had expected to find him, and that he was +still marching northward. This march puzzled the Spartan. It carried +the Persian army each day farther from its base of supplies at +Damascus, and apparently did not give the Great King a better battle +ground than the one he had left behind at Sochi. He determined to keep +the army in sight, at least until he had reached the Amanic Gates. +There was the only other entrance from Syria into Cilicia, and through +them Leonidas planned to carry the information that he had gathered to +Alexander, who would be awaiting him in the southern pass. As the +Persian horde advanced, he found that he was being pressed toward the +wooded slopes of the mountain range. At last, as the enemy showed no +intention of halting, he resolved to strike for the Amanic Gates, not +daring to delay his report longer. + +He soon became entangled among the rocky spurs and ravines. At last he +believed that he had reached the pass, and advanced far into the +mountains before some shepherds told him of his mistake. Following +their directions, he crossed a lofty ridge and descended into the true +pass on the evening of the second day after his departure from the +Persian army. Darkness overtook him, and he was forced to encamp +halfway up the precipitous slope of the valley. Before sunrise next +day he roused his men and led them down toward the broad road below, +which followed a watercourse. + +In their descent, Leonidas and his men entered a belt of timber that +for a short time hid the road from their view. They burst their way +through the undergrowth, to find themselves face to face with a troop +of horsemen whom Leonidas recognized at once as belonging to the army +of Darius. + +"The Persians have entered the pass," was the thought that flashed +through his mind before he considered his own danger. That Darius +would seek to enter Cilicia instead of accepting battle upon the Syrian +plains was a possibility that had never even been discussed in the +Macedonian councils. Leonidas realized that if Alexander had carried +out his plan of marching to the Syrian Gates, far to the southward, the +Persian army was about to place itself between him and the territory +that he had conquered, cutting off his line of retreat. The safety of +the Macedonians might depend upon his reaching Alexander in time to +give him warning. + +He gave a rapid glance at the Persians who confronted him. There were +thirty or forty of them. Far below he caught a glimpse of the plain, +where miles of troops, horse and foot, were crawling like ants toward +the pass. The enemy gave him no time to see more. They raised an +exultant shout and dashed upon him with lowered lances. Although +Leonidas and his men fought with desperation, the Spartan realized that +they were not strong enough to hold their ground. The mere weight of +their opponents forced them back, inch by inch, until their horses were +struggling on the brink of the slope to the bed of the stream. + +"Let us die where we stand!" Leonidas shouted. "Remember that we are +Greeks! Forward, forward!" + +He plunged in among the Persians, thrusting at their faces, and his men +were enabled to gain a few feet in the space that he had cleared. The +relief was only momentary, for the Persians surrounded them on three +sides and the chasm was in their rear. + +The captain of the Persian troop had not mingled in the contest. +Hovering in the background, he urged on his men, taking care to keep +out of danger. Leonidas saw him as he wheeled, raising his arm to give +a command. The sun flashed upon the glittering links of his gilded +corselet. The Spartan hurled his lance at the mark with all the +strength in his body. Straight flew the point of steel and split the +brazen links, like a bolt from a catapult. The captain toppled from +his horse and lay with his face in the dust. It was a final effort. A +few moments more and all would be over. + +Suddenly from the glen out of which Leonidas and his men had emerged +rode a man upon a powerful black charger. In his hand he carried a +lance of unusual length. His yellow hair tossed about his shoulders, +and his blue eyes turned eagerly toward the righting. + +"Leonidas!" he shouted. "Strike home! We are here!" + +Behind him rode two companions. At sight of them the Spartan's brow +cleared. + +"Chares! Clearchus!" he cried. + +Their coming turned the tide of the conflict. The Persians, ignorant +of how many more might be following them, turned and fled down the pass +before the new arrivals could strike a blow. + +Leonidas embraced his friends. Of the Greeks who had fallen, only one, +a young man of Caria, who had been stunned by a blow from a mace, was +still alive. Clearchus caught his horse, and they lifted him upon its +back. + +"What brings you here?" Chares asked of Leonidas. "Where is Alexander?" + +"That I will tell you later," the Spartan replied. "Look yonder!" + +He pointed over the tree-tops on the lower slopes at the innumerable +host that was creeping toward the mountain side. + +"The Persians are about to cross the pass," he said. "Alexander and +the army are in danger of being cut off, and we alone can save them." + +"If Darius crosses the pass, it will be in our footsteps," Chares said. +"Let us be off." + +Of the men who had followed Leonidas down the mountain at daybreak, +only four remained. + +"Lead on, Leonidas," Clearchus said. "You are in command again." + +The Spartan turned his horse's head up the pass and the others fell in +behind him. They rode unchallenged, for the defile had not yet been +occupied by the Persian force. From every new elevation they could see +the endless lines of infantry and cavalry slowly drawing together far +below them, until they passed at noon through a narrow way between +lofty and beetling cliffs, and saw Cilicia lying before them, with the +blue horizon of the sea in the distant southwest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + +In the second watch of the night, the Macedonian outposts challenged +four men whose horses were flecked with foam. The strangers came from +the direction of Issus, along the narrow and rugged road that led +southward through the Syrian Gates, between the mountains and the sea. +Alexander had led his army that day through the pass, and it was +encamped at Myriandrus. In the moonlight the sentinels saw that the +strangers were grimy with dust and that their faces were grim and gray +with fatigue. + +"I am Leonidas, of the Companions," said one of the riders who seemed +to be the leader. "Lead me to the general in charge." + +They were conducted to Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who immediately +recognized Leonidas. He greeted Chares and Clearchus with surprise. +The Spartan led him aside. + +"Darius is at Issus," he said. + +Ptolemy stared at him incredulously. + +"The Persians behind us!" he exclaimed. "You must be dreaming!" + +"No," Leonidas replied. "All day we have fled before them." + +"The king must know at once," Ptolemy said. "Follow me." + +He led the way through the sleeping camp to Alexander's tent, in which +a lamp was burning. A sentinel stood before it in full armor. + +"What is your business?" he demanded. + +"I must speak with the king," Ptolemy replied. + +"The king left orders that he must not be disturbed. Wait until the +morning," the man said calmly. + +"I will take the responsibility," Ptolemy retorted angrily. "Stand +aside!" + +"You cannot pass," the soldier answered, without moving. + +"What is this?" Alexander inquired, raising the curtain of the tent. +He held in his hand a copy of the Iliad, in which he had been reading. +"Is it you, Ptolemy--and Leonidas? Enter." + +They followed him into the tent, which contained nothing save his +weapons and a couch spread upon the ground. + +"Clearchus and Chares back again!" the young king cried in a tone of +satisfaction. "You have much to tell me; but first I must hear what +Leonidas brings." + +"Darius and his army have passed the Amanic Gates and are now at +Issus," Leonidas said briefly. + +The smile left Alexander's lips. + +"How many men has he?" he asked. + +"Five hundred thousand, of whom thirty thousand are mercenaries of +Greek blood," Leonidas answered. + +"They are in our rear," Alexander said, half to himself. He began to +pace backward and forward, with his hands behind his back and his head +inclined slightly toward his left shoulder. Although the startling +news brought to him by the Spartan had taken him wholly by surprise, +his decision was swift. Before he had made three turnings, his entire +plan of campaign had been changed. + +"The Gods have delivered them into our hands!" he said in a tone of +conviction. "I dared not expect such good fortune. In the narrow +plain of Issus, their army will defeat itself. The victory is ours." + +His face was radiant and he spoke joyously, like a man whose mind has +been relieved of a great anxiety; but his eyes were fastened upon the +face of Ptolemy. Alexander had not failed to note the expression of +apprehension that his lieutenant wore. He saw it vanish before the +warmth of his own confidence. He felt that he would be able to avert +any feeling of panic that might arise in the army at the unexpected +turn of events. + +"This is good news you bring," he said to Leonidas, "and I am repaid +for waiting." + +He glanced sharply at the sunken eyes and bloodless lips of the Spartan +and spoke to the sentinel. + +"Tell them to bring food and wine at once," he commanded. + +The young king's eyes fell upon Nathan, apparently for the first time. + +"Who is this?" he asked. "Come forward." + +The Israelite had been standing in the background, watching Alexander's +face with a gaze of peculiar intensity. + +"This is Nathan, who led us captive from Halicarnassus," Clearchus +replied. "He saved us when we were condemned to death in Babylon, and +his aid enabled us to assist Leonidas in escaping from the Persians so +as to bring you his news. He wishes to take service under you, and at +your leisure to tell you of certain prophecies concerning you that were +inspired by the God of Israel." + +"It is well," Alexander said. "He will serve with you and Chares in +the squadron that Leonidas commands. Ptolemy, send a thousand of your +men to hold the pass behind us, until we come." + +Alexander insisted that the young men should eat the food that was +brought into the tent in obedience to his order. While they were +satisfying their hunger, he plied them with questions concerning Darius +and his army, the character of his men and their commanders, and the +formation and resources of the country about Babylon. It was late when +he finally permitted them to retire. + +In the morning Alexander called a general council of his leaders to +impart to them the information that Leonidas had brought. He gave it +without comment, foreseeing that its first effect would be to arouse +uncertainty and dismay that must be overcome before the men would be +fit for battle. + +The council was held in the open air in front of Alexander's tent. +There came the captains of the Companions and of the phalanx and the +generals of the allies. About them pressed the rank and file of the +army, curious to learn the cause of the summons. Parmenio stood beside +Alexander, his furrowed face grave with thought. + +All eyes were turned upon the countenance of the young king, glowing +with confidence and enthusiasm. + +"Darius and his army are behind you, at Issus," he announced. "I have +called you together to learn your opinions as to what we should do. +Let each speak freely." + +For a moment the soldiers stood in silence, looking doubtfully at each +other. Then a murmur of uneasiness rose among them. They had expected +to find the enemy on the Syrian plains, and behold, he was in their +rear. + +"Parmenio," Alexander said, "what is your mind?" + +"We must fight," the old general replied, carefully and slowly. "The +Persians are between us and our homes. They can enslave the Greek +cities of the coast that we have set free. But they are so many that +they cannot wait. Hunger will force them to attack us on our own +ground. Let us wait until that time comes and then give them battle." + +His words caused a brief stir of approval, but the great mass of men +remained silent. + +"What is your advice, Ptolemy, son of Lagus?" Alexander demanded. + +"It is true that Darius is in our rear," Ptolemy responded, "but it is +also true that we are between him and his empire, that we have come to +conquer. Let us march upon Babylon and take the city. The road lies +open before us." + +A shout arose and a clashing of swords upon shields. It was evident +that Ptolemy's rashness found more favor than Parmenio's caution. + +One after another the generals and captains gave their opinions, some +agreeing with the older leader and some with the younger. When all had +spoken Alexander seemed to meditate for a moment. + +"O men of Hellas!" he cried, raising his head and looking into their +eyes, "we came to avenge the ancient wrongs that these barbarians +inflicted upon our fathers. Remember Darius, son of Hystaspes; how he +brought his ships to your coasts and was defeated at Marathon. +Remember Xerxes and the victory of Salamis. Never in the memory of man +have we been free from Persian attack; and when they no longer dared to +face us, they have sent their gold to corrupt our leaders and turn us +one against the other. For these insults and injuries, their empire is +forfeit; for the Gods have grown weary of their treachery. + +"What has happened when we met them, sword in hand? In the long list +of their attacks upon us, they have had nothing but defeat. Did not +the Ten Thousand march to the very gates of Babylon? + +"I say to you that the Gods have wearied of the barbarian. We were +marching to meet Darius upon the plain, where the vast number of his +army might have encompassed us. We were willing to allow him to choose +his own ground, but the Gods would not have it so. They have blinded +his eyes and led him to us almost as a sacrifice. Nothing remains but +to strike the blow. + +"O men of Macedon, my friends and companions, liberators of Greece, the +hour of our triumph is near. At the Granicus we overthrew the army of +a viceroy; now we are to meet the army of the Great King himself. + +"It is Persia that awaits our onset at Issus. There have the Gods +assembled the might and power of the empire and it stands like corn +ripe for the reaper. The sheaves of this harvest shall be of gold that +the barbarians have gathered for us as bees gather honey. + +"Heroes of Hellas! from your iron hands none can wrest victory unless +you will it! For yourselves and your children you are about to win +fame that shall endure through the ages. I have never led you to +defeat, and now I promise you the victory!" + +Dead silence reigned while Alexander artfully made his appeal to the +immemorial hatred of Persia, pointed out the advantage that Darius had +given them, and raised the hope of fame and spoil. As he finished, a +cry rent the air that showed he knew his men. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" they shouted. "Lead us!" + +With swelling hearts, the generals and captains pressed forward to +grasp his hand and swear to lay down their lives for him. He greeted +them each by name, reminding them of their bravest deeds and making +each man feel that the result of the battle might depend upon him +alone. The council broke up, spreading its enthusiasm through the +camp. On all sides the soldiers fell to polishing their weapons and +boasting of what they would do when they faced the army of Darius. + +That day was devoted to preparation. Alexander had sent a scouting +party of picked men to sail up the coast and learn the disposition of +the enemy's force. This expedition returned at nightfall and reported +that the wounded and invalid soldiers who had been left in Issus had +been cruelly slain by order of Darius and their bodies impaled along +the shore. Rage filled the army at this news and hardened the resolve +of the men to die rather than forego their victory and revenge. + +The trumpets sounded at the first flush of dawn, and by sunrise the +army was flowing back through the Syrian Gates to the field where the +fate of the world was to be decided. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE WORLD AT STAKE + +With the sea on their left and the mountain cliffs on their right, +Clearchus and Nathan rode on either side of Chares in the front rank of +the squadron of Companion cavalry commanded by Leonidas. The crisp +November air and the excitement of the coming battle made their blood +tingle and raised their spirits to a pitch of reckless gayety. The +Spartan rode in advance, without turning his head or moving a muscle +under the fire of jokes that Chares directed at him. + +Presently the cliffs ended and the mountain barrier curved away inland, +leaving a plain of greensward and shingle, flooded with sunlight. + +"There they are!" Clearchus cried eagerly. + +Straight before them, perhaps three miles away, they saw a confused +mass of gleaming banners and the glint of countless spears. The +shallow Pinarus, flowing down from the mountains, rippled across the +level, and on its further bank, where the ground was high, the Great +King had taken his stand. For a mile and a half, from the hills to the +sea, the plain was blocked by a living rampart, gay with the pomp of +Oriental splendor. + +As the squadrons of Macedonian cavalry emerged from the pass, they +wheeled to the right and formed their line close to the lower slopes of +the mountain. + +"Here come the men of Thessaly," Chares cried. + +Their plumes fluttering in the breeze, the Thessalian horse poured out +of the pass and ranged themselves behind the Companions. + +Then the phalanx appeared, marching rank after rank, with the precision +of a machine. The lancers under Protomachus and Aristo's Pæonians, who +had been thrown forward in advance of the cavalry, raised a shout as +the scarred veterans, each holding his long sarissa erect and bearing +his heavy shield across his shoulder, followed the proud Agema. + +While the phalanx was forming on the left of the cavalry there was a +movement among the Persians. + +"They are coming!" Chares shouted. + +Clearchus and Nathan saw a large body of horse and foot advance across +the river. Although in numbers they exceeded the entire Macedonian +army, their departure from the main body of the Persians seemed to make +no diminution in its size. They halted as soon as they had crossed the +stream and from the host beyond came the bray of trumpets and the +hoarse murmur of many voices. + +"They are taking their positions," Nathan said. "They will not attack." + +His conjecture proved correct, for in half an hour the troops that had +advanced fell back again across the river through openings that had +been left for them in the wings of the main force, and the glittering +front of the Persian army was revealed, drawn up in battle array. + +The Macedonians had continued to advance slowly across the plain, +forming as they went, so that only half a mile now separated them from +the Persians. Nathan's eyes sought the centre of the enemy's line. + +"There he is!" he exclaimed, pointing with his finger. + +Clearchus followed the direction he indicated and saw a blotch of +variegated color, above which fluttered many standards. + +"Who is it?" he asked. + +"Darius," Nathan replied. "You can see his Medean robe of +purple--there, just beneath that golden banner." + +"What troop is that about him?" inquired Chares. + +"They are the princes and the nobles of the court," the Israelite +answered. "Oxathres, the Great King's brother commands them." + +"I wonder whether Phradates is there!" Clearchus said. + +"I hope so!" Chares exclaimed, in a voice that came from his heart. + +"There, in front of Darius, are his Greek mercenaries," Nathan +continued. "Leonidas told the truth when he said there were thirty +thousand of them. Those heavy-armed troops on each side of the centre +are the Cardaces. And, look, there is the cavalry, there on the beach. +That is the flower of the Persian army. Nabazarnes leads it." + +"We met some of those blossoms at the Granicus," Chares remarked. "It +did not take them long to wither; but there is a whole garden of them +yonder, and our line seems rather slender compared with theirs." + +The Persian horse was massed on the smooth, hard beach in an enormous +wedge which looked as though it might be able, by weight alone, to +scatter the squadrons of Greek cavalry under Parmenio which were +opposing it on the left wing of the Macedonian army. Evidently this +discrepancy had struck the attention of Alexander, for, while Chares +spoke, the Thessalians quietly left their places in the line and +trotted around behind the phalanx to reënforce the allies. + +"There goes the sickle that will reap the roses of Darius," Chares +said, gazing after them longingly. "PhÅ“bus! I wish I were with +them!" + +"You will find plenty to do here," Clearchus said. "There are a few +men over there on the hill who will have to be cared for." + +He pointed to the slope on the right, where some twenty thousand of the +Cardaces were drawn up, far in advance of the Persian line, near the +foot of the mountain. + +"They intend to try our flank when we advance," the Theban observed. +"I didn't know the Persians had so much sense." + +"They are going to get a little exercise first," Clearchus said as the +flare of trumpets sounded down the line. + +Immediately a body of light-armed foot-soldiers and cavalry detached +itself from the right wing and advanced up the hill toward the +Cardaces. The eyes of both armies were upon them and a cheer ran along +the Macedonian ranks, from the hillside to the sea. + +The Cardaces wavered slightly. They had evidently not expected so +prompt an attack. The leaders of the Macedonian force could be seen +riding or running in advance of the various divisions, and the men +followed as steadily as though the charge were merely an exercise +drill. They paused to send a flight of arrows and stones among the +Cardaces, who, being armed only with lances and swords, had no means of +replying. To charge down the hill meant that they would be annihilated +by the Macedonian army. To remain where they were was to be slain +piecemeal by the darts and arrows. They began to retire slowly upward +out of the zone of fire. + +Their retreat was greeted from the Macedonian lines by a roar that +sounded like the booming of the surf upon the rocks. The peltasts and +archers continued to press them until they had been forced into a +position where they were no longer a menace to the rear of the army. +The light-armed troops were then recalled, leaving two squadrons of +Companions, containing about three hundred men, to hold the twenty +thousand in check if they should attempt a charge. They performed the +task imposed upon them. Nothing more was heard of the isolated +Cardaces that day. + +As the detachment returned down the hill and resumed its place in the +ranks, the commotion in the long, thin line that stretched away to the +sea gradually ceased. The soldiers stood motionless behind their +captains. + +Alexander, riding Bucephalus, gave his final commands to Parmenio on +the beach where the Thessalians waited with the allied cavalry to meet +the attack of the Persian horse. Then he turned and came slowly up +along the line, drawing rein here and there to speak a word of +confidence and encouragement. His double white plume floated over his +shoulders, and the sunlight flashed upon his coat of mail. + +When he reached the right wing he addressed the Companions with his +familiar smile. + +"Do not forget," he said, "that a part of your accustomed duty is to +set an example to the rest. I shall lead the Agema. Keep near me, for +I may need you. Whether we win or lose, let it be with glory." + +He turned his face toward the Persians and scanned with care the dense +masses of troops who stood waiting beyond the Pinarus, in lines so deep +that he could not see their rear. His eyes lingered upon the centre, +where Darius, his rival for the mastery of the world, was standing. On +the left of the Great King, the course of the stream bent backward, and +the formation of the Persian army followed its course. The left of the +Greek mercenaries, upon whom Darius relied to win the battle, rested in +this elbow of the river. + +"There is the vital spot," Alexander said. "If we can gain a foothold +on that bank, have no fear of what may happen elsewhere. It will be +easier than it was at the Granicus." + +"The cavalry is coming," said Clitus, pointing toward the beach. + +Alexander turned and saw the gayly caparisoned squadrons of the Persian +right dashing into the river. The foam splashed about the knees of the +horses and a forest of lances waved and tossed in the air. + +"There is work for Parmenio," the young king remarked as the head of +the column gained the shore. + +He glanced once more along the Persian front, but the movement on the +beach did not extend to the main force. It was clear that Darius +intended to compel him to begin the infantry battle. + +Alexander cantered down to the right of the phalanx, where he +dismounted and placed himself at the head of the Agema. On the beach +the Thessalians met the shock of the tremendous body of cavalry that +had been launched against them. The impact bore them back, but even +that rushing avalanche of horses and men could not break them. It +dashed against their wall of steel, recoiled, and rolled on again, in +successive waves, continually strengthened from the rear as fresh +squadrons crossed the stream. + +The Macedonian line quivered with eagerness. A page darted from +Alexander's side along the front of the phalanx and spoke a word to +Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Another sped to the Companions. + +"Advance," he cried, "and charge when the king leads! This is the +order!" + +"Here we go!" cried Chares, clapping Nathan on the back with a blow +that nearly hurled him from his horse. "Stick to Leonidas! He will +find the best of the fighting for us, or we will drown him in the +river!" + +"The phalanx is moving!" Clearchus cried with shining eyes. + +A dull throbbing beat through the air and the heavy centre started +slowly forward, each man touching the arm of his neighbor and keeping +step in parade order. The cadence of voices began to mingle with the +drum beat and the wild music of the trumpets. + +As they advanced, Clearchus gazed eagerly at the Persian line, every +nerve stretched to the point of physical pain. He saw in the centre +the ranks of the Greek mercenaries, ten times as deep as those of the +phalanx, standing grim and motionless, in strange contrast with the +restless flutter of the heterogeneous masses that surrounded them on +three sides. He blushed to think that, when Persia stood at bay, +Greeks could be found to range themselves with her against their own +country. The thought passed through his mind that Alexander was right +after all, and that Demosthenes and those who aided him to fan the +flame of hostility to Macedon at home were really acting the part of +traitors, not only to Athens, but to all Greece. + +He turned his eyes to Alexander, whose plumes shone in the front rank +of the Agema. This had now almost reached the Pinarus. Suddenly from +the phalanx rose the deep-toned pæan, summoning the Gods of Hellas to +protect their own. The mighty chant drowned the throbbing of the drums +and the uproar of the battle on the beach. As it rose and swelled, it +filled the plain and rolled back in echoes from the mountain sides. +There was something in it stern and inflexible, that thrilled +Clearchus' heart and lifted him to the plane of self-forgetfulness. + +The Agema reached the river. The pæan gave way to a wild shout as the +slow advance of the phalanx changed to a rush, and the Macedonian line +dashed into the rain of javelins, darts, and arrows that was poured +upon it from the Persian side of the stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +THE CHESTNUT MARE + +The phalanx swept into the shallow bed of the river. The Greek +mercenaries who confronted it on the western bank, nerved by the hope +of gaining the immense reward promised by the Great King, and knowing +that his eyes were upon them, met its shock with courage. Clearchus +heard the fierce shouts with which they closed and saw the line of the +phalanx bend and sway as it pressed upward to gain a foothold. + +"Hot work," cried Chares, who was galloping beside him. "By Zeus, the +king leads!" + +Alexander, surrounded by young men whose hearts were as high as his +own, struck the left of the stubborn mercenary line where the curve in +the river half exposed its flank. The Agema split its way in between +the files, tearing asunder everything before it. + +"Follow the Whirlwind!" shouted Clearchus; but his voice was lost in +the wild cry of the charge. + +Clearchus was conscious of being carried swiftly forward without +guidance or volition of his own. The water of the Pinarus splashed in +his face. A blaze of color spread confusedly before his eyes where the +Persians stood awaiting the charge on the terrace above. An arrow +struck his breast and rebounded from his armor. Javelins fell all +around him. + +"Now!" he heard the voice of Chares shouting. "Now for it!" and his +horse began scrambling up the bank with the others. + +On his right and left the Companions rushed upward like a torrent. He +grasped his lance more firmly, but he had no occasion to use it. The +Persians gave way, crumpling back upon each other in a disordered mob. +Behind them in vain their captains plied the terrible knotted whips +with which they sought to hold the men to their work. + +Showers of darts and arrows continued to fall from the rear, striking +friend and foe without distinction, but the Persian troops who were +directly exposed to the Macedonian attack huddled together like sheep. +They were prevented from fleeing only by the fact that they were hemmed +in by the dense ranks of their own host. Through them the Companions +raged at will, clearing a space into which the archers and slingers +pressed with shouts of triumph. + +Above the turmoil the Macedonian trumpets rang out high and clear, and, +in obedience to their command, the Companions swerved to the left, +leaving the light-armed troops to hold what they had gained. Clearchus +saw that their charge had torn away the support from the left of the +Greek mercenary cohorts, leaving them wholly unprotected. He caught +sight of the Agema and the other hypaspists, struggling hand to hand +with the mercenaries, and beyond them the phalanx, which he was +surprised to find had not yet succeeded in gaining a lodgement on the +west bank of the river. + +"There's something worth fighting," Chares cried to Nathan, waving his +lance at the mercenaries. "They are Greeks," he added proudly. "Come +on, and we will show you what a real battle is like." + +The Companions had partially regained the order which they had lost in +the charge. They now faced the mercenary flank at right angles to the +front of both armies. Again the trumpet notes launched them forward. +Again the wild cheer arose, ending in a grinding shock. The momentum +of the charge carried the Companions far into the exposed flank of the +mercenaries; but this time no panic and no yielding followed. Although +hard pressed in front by the furious and unremitting onslaught of the +Agema and the hypaspists, where Clearchus again caught the gleam of +Alexander's floating plumes, the hirelings stood their ground until +death overcame them. Facing half about, they met as well as they could +the attack of the Companions to which the cowardice of their allies had +laid them open. But not even their courage could save them, +unsupported and without generalship as they were, from the impetuous +determination of Alexander. + +Into the living wall the Macedonians hewed their way, foot by foot. +Alexander raged like a tiger, knowing that here the battle was to be +lost or won. The phalanx was all but broken. Away on the beach the +Thessalians had been borne back by the impenetrable masses of the +Persian cavalry and were holding the enemy in check only by a series of +desperate and reckless charges. At that moment Darius was triumphant +everywhere excepting at the bloody curve in the river where Alexander +led in person. + +It seemed to Clearchus that for hours they were locked in that +desperate struggle without being able to advance. His lance was broken +and the hand in which he held his sword was numb. Beside him he saw +the broad shoulders of Chares heave and fall as he delivered his blows. +The lust of battle seemed to flame in the Theban's veins like a fever. +Again and again the mercenaries leaped upon him to pull him down. His +sword was everywhere. + +"He is mad!" thought Clearchus, and so indeed he seemed. + +Nathan fought beside him, cool and wary, parrying and thrusting with +sinews of steel. His eyes glowed with excitement held in check, and a +flush tinged the sunburned olive of his cheek. + +Little by little, the Companions worked their way toward the +hypaspists, until at last the cavalry and the foot fought side by side, +with Alexander at their head. So fierce was the conflict that flesh +and blood could not long sustain it. The flank attack finally threw +the left of the mercenaries into confusion, which gradually extended +until the ranks that opposed the phalanx began to waver. A mighty +quiver ran through the hireling force. Its resistance weakened and it +gave ground. + +With a wild shout the phalanx rushed up the river bank. The mercenary +lines were hurled backward. The wall was broken. + +Among the swirling eddies of men and plunging horses, Clearchus found +himself close to Alexander. He saw the young king, sword in hand, his +armor dimmed with dust and blood, pause for a moment with heaving +breast to note the final charge of the phalanx. As soon as he saw the +straightened lines and caught sight of the sarissas rising above the +river bank, followed by the grim faces of his veterans, he turned and +directed his gaze in the opposite direction, toward Darius. + +The Great King had not shifted his ground since the beginning of the +battle. He still stood, erect and proud, in the golden chariot with +its four white steeds, whose jewelled bridles were held by slaves. His +long robe, in folds of lustrous purple, floated from his shoulders. In +his hand he held an idle bow, inlaid with pearl. He looked unmoved +upon the slaughter that was going on before his eyes, but when the +mercenary line gave way, he turned to his brother Oxathres. + +"Is that the courage of which these Greeks boast so much?" he asked. + +Oxathres shrugged his shoulders. + +"They are dogs," he replied. "Wait until the Macedonian has spent his +strength upon them, and we will show him what it is to meet Persian +steel. Look yonder, O king!" + +He waved his hand toward the sea beach, where the Persian cavalry had +pushed Parmenio and the Thessalians back from the river's mouth. + +"So will we do to them here," he said contemptuously. + +A cupbearer brought Darius a goblet, gleaming with precious stones and +filled with the wine that only the royal lips might taste. The Great +King drank it deliberately and turned again to the battle. + +"What is that handful of horsemen there on the left?" he asked. + +"They are called the Companion cavalry," Oxathres answered. "They are +said to be brave men." + +"Who is leading them?" Darius asked again. + +"Alexander, who wears the white plumes," his brother replied. "He is +mounting. They are about to charge." + +"Will he dare to attack us here?" Darius queried anxiously. + +"Grant, O Beltis, that he may!" Oxathres said fervently. "Then we +shall have him at our mercy." + +"What shall I do with him when he has been captured?" Darius asked. + +"O king, may you live forever!" Oxathres exclaimed. "Many have fallen +this day. Crucify him beside his fellow-robbers on the shore as a +warning to all the world." + +"Could I so treat a king?" Darius asked doubtfully. + +"Thou couldst treat him so, for he is no true king," Oxathres urged. +"Thou knowest the stories of his birth." + +"So then shall it be," Darius said. "Give the necessary orders." + +At that moment the steward of the king's household forced his way +through the nobles and prostrated himself, kissing the dust before the +chariot. + +"Speak," Darius commanded. + +"O king of kings!" the man said, "Sisygambis, thy mother, and the Queen +Statira sent me to know if thou wert safe, and to ask when thou wilt +return to them." + +"Tell them to have no fear," Darius said confidently. "Let them make +ready to attend the banquet in my pavilion at the going down of the +sun." + +Darius glanced again at the Companions, who were forming for the charge +under cover of the advancing phalanx, and let his eyes sweep slowly +over his own forces. Around him stood princes and governors of +provinces, satraps, viceroys, and generals. His personal guard of ten +thousand horse was drawn up on either side, while in front of him, so +disposed as not to obstruct his view of the battle, were ranged the +Immortals, ten thousand of the bravest soldiers of his empire. + +In an open space behind his chariot stood a group of white-robed +priests around a massive altar of silver from which rose the pale blue +perfumed smoke of the eternal fire. Mithra, Darius believed, would +never forsake his votaries or permit his fire to be extinguished. + +"They are coming," the Great King said tranquilly, having completed his +inspection. "Look, Oxathres, Baal has stricken them with madness!" + +He leaned forward in his chariot, fixing his eyes upon the white plumes +that his brother had said distinguished his rival. Between him and the +Macedonians stood a solid barrier of men, every one of whom was ready +to die if by so doing he could save his master so much as a scratch. + +"If they will persist in their folly," Oxathres said, "let them come." + +The Companions tore their way through the remnant of the mercenary +line. Onward they came, trampling and scattering a squadron of Scyths +as if their weapons had been the toys of children. They reached the +Immortals. Darius drew a breath of relief. There they must stop at +last. + +But no! The white plumes still advanced, and behind them came a +widening stream of horses and men. It seemed as though nothing could +stand against them. The Immortals were scattered like chaff from a +threshing-floor. + +Oxathres changed color. He turned and spoke to his trumpeter. The +brazen note that followed warned the nobles to make ready for a charge. +The heart of many a silk-robed courtier who had been boasting all day +of the deeds he would do when his chance came grew sick at the sound. +The time had come. + +Darius hastily dismounted from his heavy chariot, leaving his mantle +behind him, and took his place in another chariot, drawn by two horses +only and more easily manageable. At a sign from Oxathres, a groom +advanced, leading a beautiful chestnut mare, who tossed her head with +distended nostrils, neighing for her foal, which had purposely been +left behind beyond the Amanic Gates in Syria. The groom took his place +in silence beside the chariot. + +"Shall I lead the charge?" Darius asked. + +"Thy servants beg of thee not to deprive them of the glory that awaits +them," Oxathres replied. + +Darius waved his hand in assent. Already the nobles in the outer +circle of the royal guard were struggling for their lives with the +Companions. The charge had been delayed too long and there was no time +now to make it. Nothing was left but defence. + +Darius saw the white plume tossing like a fleck of foam on the crest of +an advancing wave. He fitted an arrow to his bow and drew it to the +head. The loosened shaft struck the satrap Arsames and passed through +his body. + +Princes and nobles fought breast to breast with the sons of Macedonian +herdsmen. There was no longer question of rank or power, of birth or +riches, but only of who had the braver heart and the stronger arm. The +eminence on which the Great King had posted himself to witness the +punishment of the invaders at his leisure was clothed in slaughter. +His favorites were rolling in the dust under the feet of their maddened +horses. For the first time in his life, the monarch looked in the face +of peril, and his spirit quailed before the test. + +Out of the struggle Oxathres came galloping, breathless and with blood +upon his armor. + +"Save thyself, brother!" he cried, forgetting the royal titles in his +haste. "The battle is lost! Mount and fly while there is yet time!" + +Darius sprang from his chariot and threw himself upon the back of the +chestnut mare, whose silken flanks trembled with excitement. A bound +and she was beside the smoking altar, from which the priests had +already fled. In her ears rang the anxious call of her foal, and the +brute instinct of her mother-love saved that day the King of Kings, who +was leaving his own wife and children and the queen his mother to the +mercy of his enemies. + +Straight as an arrow, leaping every obstacle that came in her way, the +mare darted through the confused squadrons of the reserves toward the +Amanic Gates. Behind her thundered prince and satrap, each intent upon +saving himself at whatever cost. + +"The king flees! The king flees!" The cry rose in a hundred tongues +throughout the Persian host. The tens of thousands of troops who had +not been called upon to strike a blow because there had been no room +for them in the fighting line melted away as if by magic. The plain +was filled with men streaming toward the mountains or the sea, seeking +some place of refuge. Here a body of Scyths, clad in shuggy skins, +retreated sullenly; there a band of dark-skinned Libyans ran like a +herd of frightened cattle, casting away their clubs and stone-tipped +spears; Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, Assyrians, fled in panic, each man +seeking to place his neighbor behind him. Collisions were frequent, +and more than one unfortunate was hacked down because he stood in the +way of some savage comrade in arms. + +The men who were actually engaged in fighting did not at first perceive +that they were being left to their fate. As soon as they discovered +the desertion of the reserves, many of them threw down their weapons +and sued for mercy. A portion of the Greek mercenaries alone +maintained a semblance of discipline, though broken into several +bodies. They fell back, still facing their enemies, toward the +seashore, in search of ships to carry them away. + +To the Persian cavalry, that had borne back Parmenio, the news of +defeat came last of all. They alone still held an advantage, and it +was bitter for them to be forced to abandon it. But without support +they were powerless. The phalanx wheeled in upon them, threatening to +drive them into the sea. Finally they too relinquished hope and joined +the rout. + +Then through all the plain and up the mountain slopes rode squadrons of +Macedonian horse, cutting down the fugitives. The Thessalians there +took merciless revenge for their losses. The earth was encumbered with +corpses. + +When the trumpets at nightfall recalled the scattered and weary bands +of executioners, nothing of the vast army of Darius remained on the +plain excepting the spoil and the dead, over whom the jackals snarled +and howled. And down the Syrian slope of the pass, bathed in sweat, +galloped the fleet-limbed chestnut mare, with Darius upon her back. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + +On the night after the battle, rough soldiers of the phalanx slept in +garments of fine wool wrought with gold, clasping in their hands +necklaces of jewels in which the glow of the camp-fires danced and +flashed. Chares had decked himself in a long cloak of scarlet, upon +which strange patterns were worked in silver. A collar of emeralds +encircled his arm, and bracelets of gold gleamed upon his wrists. + +"These are for Thais," he said proudly, opening a strip of linen and +displaying to Clearchus a collection of gems that sparkled with varying +hues. + +"You are a barbarian at heart," the Athenian said. "Come, let us join +the king. Leonidas waits for us." + +Alexander sat upon his foam-streaked horse in the golden glow of the +sunset. He had removed his white-plumed helmet, and the cool air +bathed his temples. There was a new flash of pride in his eyes as he +gazed upon the field of his triumph. The last orders had been given, +the wounded had been cared for, and Parmenio had been despatched to +Damascus, with a swift body of horse, to take possession of the Persian +stores and treasure before they could be removed. + +"Now let Demosthenes put on mourning!" Alexander exclaimed. "Come, let +us see what provision Darius has made for us." + +Followed by his Table Companions, he led the way toward the great +pavilion, which none had dared to enter before him. At the entrance +stood the chariot from which the Great King had looked upon the wreck +of his hopes. + +"Here is the royal mantle," Alexander remarked, spreading out the +purple robe, stiff with gold. He tossed it back into the chariot, +which he ordered to be removed. + +Like a troop of boys, the Macedonians entered the great pavilion. +Light from a hundred lamps filled the tent. Rich carpets had been +spread upon the ground, and embroidered hangings divided the interior +into a succession of rooms destined for the use of the Great King. +From one to another Alexander led the way, making no attempt to conceal +his wonder at the evidences of luxury that he there encountered for the +first time. + +In the first apartment, they found a wardrobe consisting of suits of +armor inlaid with gold and silver; garments of silk and linen; helmets, +shoes, parasols, mirrors, and a litter of utensils the uses of which +were unknown to the Companions. + +"I wonder what my old governor, Leonidas, would say to this?" Alexander +cried. "He would never allow me clothing enough to keep me warm in +winter." + +Next they entered the treasure-chamber, filled with chests of cedar, +bound with iron and brass. Several of these chests had been forced +open, apparently by faithless slaves; but the rapidity of the +Macedonian victory had not allowed them to carry away more than a very +small part of the treasure. The boxes contained golden coins bearing +the stamp of Darius, and evidently fresh from the mint. + +"Here is balm for the wounded," Alexander said, lifting a handful of +the coins and permitting them to fall back in a glittering stream. + +Beyond this, they found the bed upon which Darius was to have reposed +from the fatigues of the day. It was a mass of down, covered with silk +and linen of the finest texture, and hung with silken curtains, fringed +with gold. Adjoining the bedchamber was the scented bath in an +enormous vessel of solid gold. Near it stood rows of crystal vases and +jars of PhÅ“nician glass, containing unguents and rare perfumes, +compounded of priceless ingredients after formulæ known only to the +body-servants of the Persian kings. + +"This is what gave us the battle," Alexander said, pointing to the +enervating array. + +He pushed aside the last curtain and stood in the banquet room. Along +its sides tables had been spread, flanked by rich couches and covered +with dishes of massive gold and silver. At one side of the room was a +canopied couch, higher and more magnificent than the others. The +tables had been prepared before the flight of the attendants. Royal +wine sparkled in goblets of crystal and beakers of gold. Hephæstion +found the kitchen and reported that all the materials for the feast +were in readiness. + +"Let our cooks take charge of them," Alexander said. "I bid you all to +sup with me here to-night." + +This idea was received with eager applause and in an hour the +preparations had been made. The Macedonians, wearing garlands of oak +leaves, stretched themselves upon the gorgeous couches and partook of +the strange dishes that were set before them by the pages. Goblets +were filled and emptied and beakers were drained. Each man began to +relate the deeds of valor he had performed on the battle-field, +explaining in great detail how, but for him, the day would have been +lost. Alexander alone, who had led them to victory, had nothing to say +of himself, though he talked with Ptolemy, son of Lagus, Perdiccas, and +Philotas of the mistakes that Darius had made. + +Aching muscles and smarting wounds were forgotten under the influence +of the wine and in the vainglorious rehearsal of the battle. The +Macedonians began to feel that the world lay at their feet, and their +minds were uplifted by dreams of endless conquest. The pavilion rang +with laughter and was filled with the babel of tongues. + +Suddenly, amid the jesting, the voices of women raised in lamentation +penetrated the tent. The merriment was hushed, and every head was +turned toward the sounds. Alexander despatched a page to learn the +cause and the lad breathlessly brought word that Sisygambis, the Great +King's mother, and Statira, his wife, were bewailing his death. + +"Come, Hephæstion," Alexander said gravely, rising from the royal +couch. "Let us reassure them." + +Looks of intelligence and furtive smiles were exchanged as the two +young men left the pavilion; but none dared venture upon open comment. +From the beginning of war, the women of the vanquished had been counted +as part of the victor's spoil. + +Following the direction of the sorrowful sounds, Alexander discovered a +smaller pavilion in the rear of the first. At its doorway stood a dark +and stalwart figure, erect and motionless as a statue. + +Upon the approach of the young king, the silent guardian fell with his +face to the earth and remained motionless. + +"Who art thou?" Alexander asked, looking down upon him. + +"I am Tireus," the man replied. "I guard the women." + +"Why didst thou not save thyself when thy master fled?" the young king +inquired. + +"Because the women could not flee," Tireus replied simply. + +Alexander reflected for a moment. "Rise!" he said at last. "Had thy +master possessed more servants like thee, he would not have lost his +empire. Thou art chief eunuch. Keep thy charge, and if any molest +thee, make thy complaint to me. Go now and ask if Alexander may be +admitted." + +Tireus had risen, but instead of obeying, he fell again upon his knees, +stretching his hands toward Alexander in supplication that he dared not +put into words. + +"Go," Alexander said, understanding his meaning. "They have nothing to +fear." + +Tireus went, returning in a moment to draw aside the curtain so that +the young king might enter. The wailing had ceased. + +Alexander and Hephæstion found themselves under a silken canopy of +crimson. The floor of the pavilion was covered with thick carpets, +woven in bright colors and laid one upon another. Silver lamps +suspended from above diffused a soft light. + +Huddled together in the middle of the tent upon heaps of cushions lay a +crowd of women in attitudes of despair. Their white arms and shoulders +gleamed through their dishevelled hair. Their eyes were heavy with +weeping. They seemed like a flock of doves that had been caught in a +snare and were awaiting with palpitating breasts the coming of the +fowler. + +A woman of mature years rose from the group and threw herself at the +feet of Hephæstion, mistaking him for the king, because he was taller +than Alexander and still wore his armor. She was Sisygambis, the queen +mother. + +"Mercy!" she cried, with streaming eyes. "Thou hast slain my son. +Have pity upon his mother and his innocent wife." + +"I am not the king!" Hephæstion exclaimed, hastily stepping back. + +"I am blinded by my sorrow!" Sisygambis replied, turning to Alexander +in confusion. "Pardon me, I pray thee, in the name of thy own mother, +Olympias!" + +Alexander stooped and raised her gently by the hand. + +"Thy son lives," he said. "Be not alarmed that you mistook my friend +for me, for Hephæstion is also an Alexander." + +Sisygambis looked earnestly into the boyish face before her. + +"Is Darius still alive?" she asked beseechingly. "Is it true? I am +his mother. Do not deceive me!" + +"He is alive and he is free," the young king replied. "He escaped into +Syria." + +With a cry of joy, Statira rose from among her women, clasping in her +hand the chubby fist of her child. The heavy masses of her dark hair +framed a face of pure oval. The color flooded her cheeks, and her eyes +shone in fathomless depths of mystery and life. As his glance met +hers, Alexander was conscious of a thrill such as he had never felt +before. His pulses were disturbed, and he felt his face flush. With +an effort he mastered the unaccustomed emotion. + +"Alexander does not make war upon women," he said quietly. "For your +own sakes, I must carry you with me; but you are as safe as though you +were still in your palace in Babylon. Your household shall remain with +you. Command as freely as you did yesterday, and fear nothing." + +"How shall we repay you?" Statira exclaimed, attempting to kneel at his +feet. + +"By ceasing to grieve," he replied. "Remember that you are still a +queen." + +The infant son of Darius looked at him with round eyes of wonder. +Alexander took the child in his arms and kissed him. + +"Come, Hephæstion," he said, turning to go. The Macedonian, whose gaze +had been fixed upon Statira with an intensity that rendered him +oblivious to everything else, roused himself and followed. As they +passed from the pavilion, they heard a murmur of women's voices in +silvery notes of astonishment and admiration. + +Alexander was silent and thoughtful when he resumed his place at the +head of the banquet table. The Companions were impatient to learn the +details of his visit. + +"Is the queen as beautiful as they say?" Perdiccas ventured at last. + +The young king frowned slightly, and the hand in which he held his +goblet trembled. + +"Whoever in future speaks to me of the beauty of Statira, wife of +Darius," he said, "that man is no longer my friend. Let it be known to +the army that she is to be treated with all the respect due to a queen. +He who forgets shall be punished." + +He glanced at Hephæstion, who flushed and looked another way. For a +moment there was silence in the tent, and then the laughter and talk +flowed on as though nothing had occurred to interrupt them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + +Phradates stood on the broad stone wharf in the Sidonian Harbor of +Tyre, amid a group of young men whose costly garments and jewelled +fingers showed them to belong to the rich families of the richest city +in the world. Upon the edge of the wharf were gathered a score of +older men, clad in sombre robes, over which spread their silvery +beards. They wore close-fitting caps and heavy golden chains. Each +carried a short rod of ebony and ivory as a token of authority. They +were the elders, members of the council of King Azemilcus, who was +absent with the fleet of Autophradates, the Persian admiral. + +The basin of the harbor formed a deep bay, shut in on the seaward side +by lofty walls, built of huge blocks of squared stone laid in gypsum. +On the right, facing north, was a narrow opening in the barrier, +forming a passage flanked by long breakwaters. The circumference of +the harbor was ringed by a succession of stone wharves, where hundreds +of merchant vessels were moored, their sails furled against their +masts. They were discharging their cargoes or taking on lading for new +voyages. Lines of men, half naked, ran backward and forward between +the ships and the great warehouses, carrying bales upon their heads. +The sailors, chanting monotonous songs, were emptying the holds of the +ships or storing away the fresh cargoes. + +"There's an old tub that looks as though she had seen service," cried +one of the young men. "Let us see where she has been." + +They strolled across to a vessel whose weather-beaten sides and patched +sails told of rough usage. + +"Whence came you?" demanded the youth, addressing the brown-faced +master, who stood at the gangway, superintending the discharge of his +cargo. + +"From the Cassiterides," the man replied. + +"Where are they?" the youth asked, gazing at the bright ingots of tin +that the sailors were dragging to the deck. + +"They are in the western seas," the master answered, "so far that +Carthage seems but a stone's throw away. Three months we were beaten +northward by storms, and the waves of the great ocean ran higher than +the walls of the city. At last we came to the land of long days, where +the men have yellow hair and blue eyes and the women are more beautiful +than light. By the favor of Baal, we were enabled to obtain a store of +amber that is created there by the sun, in exchange for beads of glass. +This we dedicated to the God, and after we had got our tin on board, he +brought us back under his protection." + +The young men listened, open-mouthed. From their boyhood, they had +been accustomed to drink in such tales of mystery and wonder along the +wharves of the city, nursing the bold spirit of adventure that was born +in every PhÅ“nician. They plied the master with questions. What +monsters of the sea had he seen? What were the customs of the men of +the North? Was it true that they devoured strangers who fell into +their hands? The mariner told them of enormous water snakes and +dragons, but his marvellous tales were interrupted by a cry from the +walls, where lookouts were always posted to scan the sea. The state +trireme had been sighted. She was returning from Sidon, bringing +Prince Hur and the ambassadors whom the council had despatched to +Alexander. The council was now awaiting their return. + +At the signal from the walls, work was suspended throughout the city +and the population crowded to the harbor. Merchants with their tablets +clasped in their hands, dyers with their arms stained to the elbow, +metal workers, artisans, laborers, and soldiers of the garrison, +thronged to the water front by thousands to learn the answer of the +Macedonian. A vast murmur of expectation and speculation rose from the +people. + +Presently, through the entrance of the harbor, the trireme could be +seen, making for the opening between the sea-walls, over which the +waves were dashing in spurts of white spray. Urged by its three banks +of oars, rising and falling in unison, the vessel ran swiftly into the +harbor. + +Headed by Prince Hur, the son of Azemilcus, the ambassadors were +standing grave and silent upon the deck. At sight of their anxious +faces a hush fell upon the crowd. The pilot gave a sharp command, the +oars churned backward in the water, and the long trireme swung into her +mooring. The ambassadors descended to the wharf and spoke in low tones +to the elders of the council. + +Was it peace or war? War! The news ran through the crowd and into the +city as ripples spread across the face of a pool when a stone falls. +Turmoil and confusion followed. What had Alexander said? Would the +other PhÅ“nician cities join with Tyre to repel him? + +They had deserted her. Tyre must stand alone. Strato, son of +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, had surrendered. Byblos had capitulated. +Sidon had opened her gates to the Macedonians. + +"We offered submission according to our instructions," said the chief +of the ambassadors, to the council. "Alexander accepted it and bade us +tell you it was his purpose to offer sacrifice in the temple of +Melkarth, who, he says, is really Heracles, and his ancestor. We +replied that Tyre could not admit strangers within her walls, but that +Melkarth had an older temple on the mainland, where he might offer +sacrifice. 'Tell your council,' he said, 'that I and my army will +offer sacrifice to Melkarth upon his altar within the walls of New +Tyre. Bid them make ready the temple. It is for them to say what the +victims shall be.' That was all." + +"You did well; let us consider," said Mochus, the eldest of the council. + +They walked in slow and silent procession to the palace of the king in +the southern quarter of the town and disappeared within its gates. + +The city continued to seethe like a huge caldron. Its unwonted stir +attracted the attention of Thais and Artemisia, on the housetop, where +they had gone as usual to take the air after midday. The two young +women stood side by side, close to the parapet of the roof, looking +down into the narrow streets, where men came and went like ants whose +nest has been disturbed. The strong sea-breeze blew out Thais' crimson +robe into gleaming folds, and the sun glistened upon the burnished +copper of her hair. Rich color glowed in her cheeks and in her scarlet +lips. The immortal vitality of the salt breeze and of the crisply +curling waves seemed in her. She laughed aloud. + +"I wonder what is the matter?" she said. "These PhÅ“nicians are +afraid of their own shadows." + +Artemisia smiled. Her chiton of fine white wool, edged with purple, +outlining her figure, indicated that it had lost some of its roundness. +Her face was pale; blue veins showed through the transparent skin of +her temples. + +"I hope it means something good for us," she said, slipping her arm +around her sister's waist. "When shall we get away from this hateful +city?" + +"The time will come, child," Thais said soothingly. "You shall see him +again; I know it." + +It was a conversation that had been repeated many times. Artemisia +drew a sigh that caught in her throat in a little sob. + +"Oh, Thais, if I could feel his strong arms around me only once," she +said, "I think I could die in thankfulness." + +"Do not talk of dying," Thais replied reprovingly. "See, the world is +beautiful!" + +They stood in silence for a moment, gazing at the scene, which was +indeed beautiful, as Thais had said. On three sides the sea flashed +and sparkled with white-capped waves before the southwest wind. On the +east a channel, half a mile in width, divided the mainland from the +island upon which the new city was built. Beyond the strait lay the +city of Old Tyre, with its wide circle of walls. There, as in the new +town, thousands of pieces of cloth--linen, woollen, cotton, and +silk--fresh from the vats of the dyers, were hung to dry in the sun. +The juice of the shell-fish had lent them rich hues of blue, violet, +crimson, scarlet, and the peculiar shade of purple known as "royal" +that for ages had made the city famous. Hundreds of fishing and +trading vessels were drawn up along the wharves or upon the beach. + +Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, +clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, +and sumach. Its mighty barrier stretched north and south into the +misty distance, leaving always between its base and the shore a narrow +strip of level land that was given up to tillage. + +From the elevation where they stood, the young women looked upon other +roofs, filling the space inside the walls, which rose from the sea for +one hundred and fifty feet, with towers at every curve and angle. They +could see the Sidonian Harbor on their right and the Egyptian Harbor +opposite to it on their left, both crowded with masts and connected by +a canal spanned by movable bridges. + +Before them rose the towers and cupolas of the Temple of Melkarth, and +near it the wide Eurychorus, or market-place. Farther south was the +huge dome of the Temple of Baal, and there, too, was the royal palace, +with its many terraces crowned by a lofty citadel. Agenor's Temple was +on the north, overlooking the Sidonian Harbor. Near the western wall +was an oasis of verdure which marked the gardens attached to the +voluptuous Temple of Astarte, where, through the foliage of palm and +rhododendron, shone the marble columns of her habitation. + +Phradates had caused a striped awning to be erected upon the roof. +Beneath this was spread a gay Babylonian carpet, with couches and +silken cushions. Shrubs and flowering plants stood in great vases of +stone, screening the enclosure from the eyes of the curious. All the +other housetops of the quarter were occupied in a similar manner, thus +enabling the population to escape the heat of the lower levels, from +which the breeze was excluded by the height of the walls. The space +inside the city was so crowded that the houses rose many stories, and, +excepting those belonging to wealthy persons, each sheltered scores of +families. + +"It is a proud city," Thais said musingly. + +"Yes," Artemisia replied. "Proud, and cruel, and heartless!" + +She shivered as she spoke. Thais beckoned to one of the women, who +stood at a respectful distance, talking in low tones with a slender, +dark-skinned man, whose cunning eyes gleamed like those of a rat. He +was Mena the Egyptian. + +"Fetch a wrap," Thais said to the slave girl who answered her summons. + +The girl brought a shawl of cashmere and laid it around Artemisia's +shoulders. + +"Something tells me that our captivity will soon be over," Thais said. +"Things cannot last much longer as they are." + +There was a meaning in her words that Artemisia did not grasp. Since +the flight from Halicarnassus, they had been confined in the house of +Phradates, whose passion for Thais had increased until it burned like +fever in his veins. The end must have come long ago had it not been +for the frequent absences that had been forced upon the young man by +the needs of the city and the commands of the Great King. As matters +stood, even Thais' resources had been taxed to hold him in check. +Hitherto she had fed him with hopes, playing upon his weaknesses and +keeping him in a state of subjection from which she knew surrender +would set him free. She made a gesture of impatience and began walking +up and down between rows of young orange trees. + +"I don't know what has come over me," she said. "I am as restless as +one of the sea-gulls yonder." + +She listened a moment to the cries and commotion in the streets. + +"Mena!" she cried. "Come here!" + +The Egyptian advanced slowly, with an indefinable insolence in his +bearing. + +"Find out what is causing all this excitement in the city and bring me +word," Thais said. + +"Why should my lady be interested?" Mena replied coolly, with a smile +that showed his white teeth. + +Thais wheeled as though she had been stung. She looked at the Egyptian +with head erect, and there was something in her eyes that caused his to +fall before them. + +"Mena," she said softly, "do not think that, because you are set to +watch me, you are my master. Go, or I swear by Astoreth that you shall +be flayed alive from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet." + +Mena gasped, and moistened his dry lips with his tongue. + +"Pardon," he stammered. "I did not mean--" + +"I know well what you meant," Thais returned. "Go!" + +He turned and went. Thais grasped a branch of the shrubbery and tore +it away, crumpling the leaves in her hands and scattering them in a +bruised shower at her feet. + +"How long must I put up with the insolence of this slave and his +master?" she exclaimed. The opalescent animal light gleamed in her +eyes as she turned them northward, and she paced backward and forward +with impatient strides like a captive lioness. "I hate them!" she +cried. "How many times have I been tempted to end it!" + +She thrust her hand into her bosom and drew out her tiny dagger, whose +hilt was studded with rubies that sparkled like drops of blood. + +"Hush, Thais, some one is coming!" Artemisia said. + +Thais quickly hid the dagger and turned to greet Phradates. He came +forward with a smile, and the smile with which she met him had no trace +in it of the anger that had so shaken her but a moment before. + +"Great news!" the young man cried. "Alexander is coming!" + +Artemisia caught her breath, and for an instant her head swam. + +"Tell us," Thais said. "We are dying to hear all about it. You know +we have had no news since the battle of Issus, where the Great King, as +you call him, was beaten by one who seems to be greater." + +There was a spice of malice in her voice that evidently annoyed the +PhÅ“nician. + +"Yes, through the treachery of the Greeks," he replied, frowning. +"Darius will depend upon his own people next time, and you will see +then what will happen." + +"But what has Alexander been doing since the battle?" Thais asked. + +"He might have advanced upon Babylon with nobody to oppose him," +Phradates said. "Of course, he would not have been able to capture the +city, but at least he will never have a better chance to try it. He +was afraid to make the attempt. He has been marching down the coast +instead, and there has been no more fighting, because all the northern +cities have surrendered to him." + +"Well?" Thais said, listening with parted lips. + +"In the absence of King Azemilcus," the PhÅ“nician continued, "the +council deemed it best to offer terms for the present. They sent an +embassy, accompanied by the prince, to tell Alexander that he had +nothing to fear from Tyre so long as he did not interfere with us." + +"What was his reply?" Thais demanded quickly. + +"What do you suppose?" Phradates said. "He had the impudence to +announce that Melkarth was the same as your Heracles, and that as +Heracles was of his family, he proposed to offer sacrifice in the +temple here. The embassy told him flatly that Tyre had never admitted +the Persians, and that we should not admit him. Everybody knows that +if we should let him in here, he would do what he did in Ephesus when +he took possession of the city under pretence of offering sacrifice to +Artemis." + +"But where is Darius?" Thais asked. + +"He is in Babylon," said Phradates. "He sent a letter to Alexander +after the battle of Issus, asking freedom for his wife and family. He +wrote as one king to another, proposing peace and alliance; but your +Alexander, to his sorrow, refused the terms. He pretends that he has +already conquered all Asia, and he had the boldness to tell the Great +King that he would liberate Statira and her children if Darius would +come as a suppliant to ask it." + +"The Gods fight with him," Thais said, after a pause. "It would be +better for Tyre to open her gates." + +The young PhÅ“nician laughed scornfully. + +"The walls of Tyre will crumble and fall into the sea before he offers +his sacrifice," he exclaimed. "I will wager anything I possess against +your looking-glass that he will weary of his task before a stone has +been loosened." + +"You do not know Alexander," Thais replied. + +"Thais," the young man said earnestly, "I will wager what is more +precious to me than gold. Thou knowest that I love thee." + +"You have told me so," she replied demurely. + +"You have been for months in my power," he went on, "and I have not +sought to force your inclination. Let us now abide by the result of +the siege that Alexander is threatening. On the day that he gives over +his attempt to enter Tyre, thou shalt be mine. Until that day comes I +shall ask nothing of thee. Is it a bargain?" + +"You will not keep your promise," Thais said doubtfully. Her +reluctance made the young man more eager. + +"Mena!" he called, "bring wine and two doves at once." + +When the Egyptian returned, Phradates said to Thais, "See, I am ready +to bind myself by oath if thou wilt do likewise." + +"I am ready," Thais replied. + +The sacrifice was made and the mutual bond was completed. As the blood +of the doves trickled upon the stones, Phradates called Astarte to +witness his covenant. Thais drew a breath of relief, for she knew that +no PhÅ“nician, even the most depraved, would dare to disregard such +an oath. + +The sun went down in crimson splendor, and lamps began to twinkle in +the city. Still the council prolonged its deliberations, and still the +anxious merchants waited outside the doors of the palace to learn its +decision. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + +The entire population of Tyre was at work before dawn on the day +following the return of the ambassadors. The council had decided to +accept Alexander's challenge. As the first measure of preparation, it +ordered the abandonment of the Old City on the mainland and the removal +of its residents to the New City. In order to make room for them, a +fleet was to be sent to Carthage, carrying women and children. This +fleet was to return with such aid as the strong colony of the West +might be willing to give. + +Huge flatboats and a multitude of smaller craft plied backward and +forward between the harbors and the mainland. The brilliant stuffs +that had been hanging in the sun were gathered into bales. Here was a +boat laden with the contents of a glass factory: huge amphoræ, delicate +vases, cylinders, scarabs, beads, and amulets of a hundred iridescent +hues. Beside it came another vessel, carrying a freight of iron, +bronze, and copper, wrought into armor and household furnishings. +Other ships brought Syrian cotton and embroideries; white wool and wine +of Helbon; corn, honey, balm, and oil from Israel; ivory, ebony, +spices, and perfumes from Arabia; lead and tin from the mines of Spain; +cedar chests filled with Babylonian embroideries; elephant, lion, +leopard, and deer skins from Africa. These precious commodities were +stored in the warehouses. + +All the public granaries were filled to overflowing, and what grain +could not be brought away was destroyed. At the close of the second +day, the ancient parent city, from which had sprung such a brood of +flourishing daughters, and which more than once had defied the might of +the great empire beyond the mountain, lay deserted. Silence and +foreboding pervaded the New City as the Tyrians looked across the +strait at the empty houses in which many of them had been cradled. + +There was little time for despondency. The labor of preparation had +been only begun, and the task of making ready the vessels destined for +Carthage went forward briskly. + +A swift galley was sent to King Azemilcus, who immediately deserted the +Persian fleet with all his ships and returned to take charge of the +defence of the city. His arrival was the signal for great rejoicing, +for his warships would insure command of the sea to Tyre, since +Alexander had none with which to oppose them. + +At last the departure of the fleet destined for Carthage could be +delayed no longer. The scouting ships brought word that the Macedonian +army had left Sidon and taken up its march southward. Thousands of +women and children, accompanied by the aged and infirm, crowded aboard +the merchant vessels that had been pressed into service. Husbands said +farewell to their wives, and fathers took their children in their arms +for perhaps the last time. One by one the ships were towed out of the +harbor and spread their sails for their long flight to the West. The +streets were filled with weeping. + +Not all the women and children were sent away, even of the better +class; for, in spite of the precautions taken by the council, no Tyrian +believed that the city was really in danger. Its possession of the sea +would prevent famine, and even if Alexander should succeed in reaching +its walls, he would never be able to break through them. + +While the slanting sails of the departing fleet still glimmered on the +horizon, the watchers on the walls of Tyre saw the sun glinting from +the armor of the Macedonian array. Presently bands of horsemen dashed +up to the walls of the Old City, circled around them, and rode boldly +through the open gates. They seemed astonished to find the place +deserted. The PhÅ“nicians hurled shouts of derision at them from the +walls across the water, scornfully inviting them to try the strait. + +Thais' lip curled as she watched this demonstration. She stood +motionless among the whispering leaves which hedged the roof of +Phradates' house, gazing intently at the advancing army. + +"Will they ever be able to cross to us?" Artemisia said. + +"There come the Companion cavalry!" Thais exclaimed, shading her eyes. + +The troop made a brave showing as it advanced toward the Old City with +flying pennants, the manes of the horses tossing free. + +"And there is the phalanx!" Artemisia cried, clasping her hands. + +The lines emerged, rank after rank, from the dust-clouds. Behind them +came more cavalry and then the light-armed troops, followed by wagons +and a long train of pack animals. The streets of the Old City became +animated again, though not with PhÅ“nicians. The soldiers swarmed +through the houses, choosing their quarters and freeing themselves from +their burdens. Smoke began to curl up from the chimneys. + +A group of men came down to the water front and made a long survey of +the walls of the New City. Thais fixed her eyes upon them, leaning +over the parapet. Suddenly she caught Artemisia's arm. + +"I see him!" she cried. "There he is." + +"Who is it? Where?" Artemisia asked, bewildered. + +"Chares!" Thais replied. "Do you see that crimson cloak and his yellow +hair? O my hero!" + +Artemisia trembled and her cheek grew pale. + +"If that is Chares, then Clearchus must be there too," she faltered. +"Oh, Thais, are you sure?" + +She strove to look, but the tears that dimmed her eyes prevented her +from seeing anything clearly. + +"I am certain," Thais replied. "Who else could it be? There is no +other in the army so strong and handsome as he. Look! he is signalling +to us." + +The figure in crimson stood forward from the rest, his cloak, inflated +by the wind, swelling back from his shoulders. He waved his hand +toward the city. Thais tore off her saffron shawl and waved it in +return, forgetting that, while he stood alone, to him she was one of +thousands who were moving on the walls and the house-tops. + +"I suppose you would bring them over if you could!" sneered a voice +behind her. It was Phradates, who had approached unnoticed. + +"Can you blame me if I want to win my wager?" Thais replied, smiling. + +"I am half sorry I made it," the PhÅ“nician said sullenly. + +Thais saw that he was angry and she leaned toward him until he felt her +warm breath upon his cheek. + +"If I lose, I will pay!" she whispered, in a tone that only he could +hear. + +A dark flush mounted to his cheek. + +"It will not be long," he returned confidently. + +"I would not be too sure of that," she replied, with a blush, giving +him a sidelong glance under her lashes. + +Phradates could not understand why he had not long ago given free rein +to his passion. More than once he had called himself a fool for his +forbearance and resolved in his own mind to end it; but when the time +came for putting his plans into execution, he found them halted by an +indefinable barrier that he could not break. It surprised him that +this could have happened. All his life it had never occurred to him to +restrain himself. He was master of one of the greatest fortunes in +Tyre, and with him to wish was to have. Moreover, he had learned +Thais' history, so far as it was generally known, and it seemed to him +ridiculous that an Athenian dancing girl should succeed so long in +holding him at arm's length. But now he must keep his oath. + +Next day, and for many days thereafter, Tyre sat and watched the slow +development of the scheme that had been laid for her destruction. She +saw the Macedonian army tear down the walls of the Old City and convey +them, block by block, to the water front, where they were cast into the +sea. Soon the beginning of a broad causeway began to jut out from the +shore, pointing like a huge finger at the angle of the city wall, +midway between the two harbors, which was nearest to the mainland. +Detachments of soldiers brought in squads of men from the surrounding +country, who were set at work with the army upon the mole. Piles of +cedar were driven into the sand. Earth was brought in baskets and +poured over the stones. When the waves washed it away, trees were +dragged from the mountain side and thrown in with their leaves and +branches to hold it in place. Acres of rushes were cut and laid upon +the soil to bind it. Foot by foot the causeway lengthened. On the +shore could be seen men building towers and battering rams, catapults, +and ballistæ. + +Alexander's figure became so familiar to the Tyrians that even the +children could point him out. He was seen everywhere, overlooking and +superintending the work in all its details. One day he was missed, and +the next, smoke was observed drifting up from the rocky fastnesses of +Lebanon, which the Tyrians knew had been held for centuries by untamed +robber bands, who had exacted toll from their caravans and even from +the convoys of the Great King. Their spies on shore brought them word +that the robbers had attacked Alexander's scouting parties and he had +gone to punish them. Tyre laughed at the idea that he could take the +impregnable strongholds among the crags, but the columns of smoke +continued to rise farther and farther back among the mountains; and +when Alexander reappeared on the mole, at the end of a week, the news +came that the robbers had been harried and hunted out of their caves +until not a vestige of them remained. Tyre wondered, and a vague +uneasiness crept into the city. + +The mole had advanced almost within bow-shot of the wall when the city +woke from its lethargy of contempt and began to bestir itself. Towers +were erected on the wall opposite the causeway, and the wall itself was +raised. The engineers and their workmen, whose skill was famed +throughout the world, fashioned new machines for repelling the expected +attack. + +When the Macedonians had covered more than half the distance between +the shore and the wall, the PhÅ“nicians began to resist their +advance. The catapults were brought into play. These were great bows +of tough wood, set in a solid framework. The strings of twisted gut +were drawn back by a windlass, and huge arrows, made of iron and +weighing two or three hundred pounds, were fitted to the groove +prepared for them. The string was released by drawing a trigger as in +a cross-bow, and the missile sped to the mark. + +The catapults were reënforced by the ballistæ. In a frame of heavy +beams an arm was set, with a great spoon at one end, while the other +was held firmly in twisted cords. By means of a rope wound about a +roller the arm was drawn back, and a stone or a ball of metal was +placed in the spoon. Suddenly freed, the arm flew up until it was +halted by a cross-beam of the framework, when the missile left it and +hurtled through the air toward the mole. + +While darts and stones were showered upon the causeway from the walls, +vessels attacked it from both harbors, filled with archers and +slingers, who drove the workmen back. Tyre was jubilant. Alexander, +she thought, must now surely abandon his foolish enterprise. + +Work on the causeway was indeed halted for a time, but only long enough +to permit the Macedonians to contrive means of defence. Two great +towers were built and pushed out to the end of the mole. These were +tall enough to dominate the wall. They were provided with catapults +and ballistæ, with which to answer and silence those of the Tyrians, +and were manned by soldiers, who from their height were able to reach +the decks of the triremes that were sent to annoy them. For further +protection, palisades of timber and movable breastworks were +constructed on the mole, and pushed forward as it advanced. + +Work was resumed, and the long causeway crept nearer and nearer to the +city. By order of the council, under cover of night, sponge and pearl +divers were sent to the mole in small vessels. With cords in their +hands they plunged into the water and fastened them to the foundation +stones of the mole, which the crews on board the boats pulled away. + +But in spite of all these devices, the mole continued to lengthen. + +Still the Tyrians remained confident. The council hit upon a plan to +destroy the towers, and when all was ready the people flocked to the +walls to witness its execution. Artemisia and Thais watched from the +roof, where, day after day, for weeks, they had counted the inches of +progress made on the mole and calculated how long it would be before +the structure could reach the wall. + +"See!" cried Artemisia. "They are going to try to burn the towers." + +An old transport, that had been used for carrying horses, emerged +clumsily from the Sidonian Harbor, towed between two triremes. The +wide deck was heaped with dry wood, which had been saturated with +bitumen and intermixed with straw. From the yards of the masts +caldrons filled with sulphur, naphtha, and oil were suspended by +chains. Upon the deck stood rows of naked men, each holding in his +hand a blazing torch. + +Slowly and laboriously the ship was guided through the choppy sea to a +point directly to windward of the end of the mole. A strong northwest +breeze sang through her rigging, and her stern had been filled with +ballast until her bow stood almost out of the water. Sailors went +aloft and set two small sails to give her headway. The triremes cast +off, and she swam straight for the northern tower. + +The two women had watched the preparations with the most intense +excitement. As the fire-ship neared the mole, gathering speed as she +went, they saw a volley of huge stones shoot from the towers in her +direction. + +"They are trying to sink her," Thais said breathlessly. + +"Zeus grant that they may succeed!" cried Artemisia. + +Some of the stones struck the ship, scattering her load of +combustibles; but they failed to check her approach. The best marksmen +in the army strove to pick off her crew. The divers raised shields, +from which the arrows harmlessly rebounded. + +When the ship had come within a few fathoms of the mole, the men on +board of her scattered blazing oil into the caldrons swinging from her +yards and thrust their torches into the heaps of material that lay upon +her deck. Then they plunged into the sea and swam back to the city. +The steersman followed, and the next instant the transport, sending +before her a roaring banner of flame, ran high upon the mole at the +foot of the northern tower. + +A mighty shout arose from the walls of Tyre as the spectators saw the +flames wrap themselves around the tower, shrivelling up the green skins +of cattle that had been hung to protect it. The soldiers swarmed down +through the smoke and fire like rats, leaping from the lower stories in +their haste. In a moment the lofty structure was sending out red +tongues from every loophole and window. A great cloud of black smoke +rolled from the end of the mole toward the shore. + +Thais and Artemisia saw the Greeks driven back from the towers and from +the defences which had protected the work. Presently the fire attacked +these and ran across to the second tower. The transport still lay with +her nose in the rocks, belching flames that were streaked with green +and blue and white as they fed upon the various substances which had +been stored in her hull. + +Dashing down from the windward side, the Tyrian vessels tore away such +of the work as had escaped the conflagration, while the bowmen on their +decks sent flights of arrows upon the huddled workmen who had been +forced back by the heat and smoke. The towers fell one after the other +with a crash into the sea, which hissed into steam as the glowing +timbers sank. In an hour nothing was left at the end of the causeway +but the blackened ruin and part of the transport, through whose ribs +the waves washed. + +"The time is at hand," Phradates said to Thais, with a smile full of +meaning. + +"Not yet," she exclaimed, smiling. "The siege has only begun. I told +you you did not know Alexander." + +Nevertheless, secretly her heart was full of misgivings, and the slave +women who waited upon her that night found her hard to please. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + +Tyre was delirious with joy over the success of the attack on the +towers, for the city was convinced that now, at last, the Macedonians +would depart. Feasts were given in the great houses, processions wound +through the streets, and sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in all +the temples. In order to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, +twenty Macedonian prisoners were put to death upon the walls with +lingering tortures, and their mangled bodies were cast into the sea. +Hourly the Tyrians expected to see the besieging army evacuate Old Tyre +and march away. + +Their rage knew no bounds when a boat bearing two heralds put out from +the shore and entered the Sidonian Harbor. The young men whom it +contained, Galas and Cleanor, pages of Alexander and members of +distinguished Macedonian families, were greeted with jeers by the +people. They were escorted by a strong guard to the royal palace, +where King Azemilcus and the council awaited them. + +They bore themselves calmly and proudly under the insults of the mob +and the hostile scrutiny of the council. They met without fear the +gaze of the Tyrian king, who sat upon his throne in the chamber of +state. The light fell upon the old man's cunning and wrinkled face and +touched the heads of the councillors, some silvery white and others +showing hardly a trace of gray. Their eyes, in which cruelty lurked +like a coiled snake, were fixed upon the heralds. The king opened his +thin lips. + +"Speak!" he said softly. + +"Alexander, lord of Asia, sends his greeting to King Azemilcus and the +people of Tyre," Galas began in a clear voice. "He calls upon you to +surrender your city into his hands." + +A murmur rose like a growl from the council. King Azemilcus stroked +his chin gently with his jewelled fingers, as if to hide the smile that +played about his mouth. + +"If ye do not this," Galas continued, raising his head, "Alexander, +lord of Asia, bids me say that for thy walls, they shall become as the +walls of Thebes, thy city shall be given to plunder, and the sea-gull +shall build his nest in thy harbors. If ye would find mercy for your +wives and your children, for yourselves and your possessions, ye must +seek it now." + +He ceased and stood awaiting their answer. There was dead silence in +the chamber. Azemilcus continued to stroke his chin, glancing at the +youths and then at his advisers with an amused expression in his eyes. + +"You may retire," he said at last, "while we consider what reply we +shall send." + +The youths were conducted to an anteroom, while the lean king laid +before the council the jest that he had been revolving in his mind. It +was received with approbation, and the reply to Alexander was written +upon parchment in two copies, one for each of the heralds. When all +was in readiness the council rose. + +"Come with us," Azemilcus said to the heralds. "We desire to show you +our city before we send you back to Alexander." + +Talking pleasantly, he led the way through the citadel to the top of +the wall, pointing out the temples and the various objects of interest +as they went. The boys looked down with wonder from the dizzy height +upon the sea, crawling and lapping far below them. They examined the +engines of war and the piles of ammunition that had been assembled upon +the landward side of the defences. Upon the mainland they could see +their comrades and the gangs of laborers at work upon the mole. + +They scarcely noticed that soldiers and citizens were gathering about +them, occupying every point of vantage and pressing forward with nods +and winks as if to a spectacle where a humorous surprise was in store. + +"And now," Azemilcus said, smiling pleasantly upon the two heralds, +"you shall hear our answer to the king." + +He beckoned to a scribe, who stepped forward and read from a parchment +so that all might hear. + +"King Azemilcus and the people of Tyre greet Alexander the Pretender," +read the scribe. "If he be lord of Asia, Tyre is his. Let him come +and take it." + +The two boys looked blankly at the king, and a great shout of laughter +went up from the multitude upon the wall. At another sign from +Azemilcus, two soldiers roughly seized each of the heralds. + +"What does this mean?" Galas demanded indignantly. + +"Be not angry," Azemilcus replied, still with his soft smile. "We have +wasted so much time in sight-seeing that no doubt Alexander is growing +impatient. We will send you back to him more quickly than you came, so +that his anger may be turned from us." + +Amid shouts of delight from the crowd, the heralds were bound hand and +foot with cords. Their knees were drawn up to their chests and lashed +there so as to make their bodies as compact as possible. Finally a +copy of the reply to Alexander was attached to their right hands. + +"King of Tyre!" Galas said, when the soldiers had done their work, "you +have broken the faith of nations. For our death, if for nothing else, +shall your city fall and become an evil memory among men. Even your +Gods shall withdraw from you. Farewell!" + +Neither of the lads had uttered a cry as the rawhide thongs, drawn too +tightly, cut into their flesh. Galas turned his head as well as he +could and spoke to his younger companion. + +"Cleanor, we have been friends," he said. "Now we are about to die. +Be brave for the honor of Macedon! I go with you." + +"Do not fear, Galas; I promise," the other replied, and no more words +passed between them. + +The soldiers were busily preparing two of the immense ballistæ. +Inserting levers in holes in the ends of the rollers, they turned the +wooden cylinders backward, slowly winding up the rope that was attached +to the casting arm and drawing it back into a horizontal position. The +tough rope strained and the framework of beams creaked as the great +arms were forced into place. + +When the wide spoons of wrought iron were ready, the boys were lifted +and placed in them. The spectators, irritated because the victims did +not beg for mercy, howled threats and insults at them. This abuse +brought no response, and fearful lest the courage of the lads might +create a bad impression, Azemilcus ended the sport by ordering the +ballistæ to be discharged. + +Throwing their weight suddenly upon the cords that drew the triggers, +the soldiers released the arms of the machines, which sprang upward and +crashed against the cross-beams. The bodies of the heralds, hurled +with frightful velocity into the air, shot outward and upward. Galas +fell upon the end of the mole. Cleanor was dashed to pieces on the +jagged rocks beside him. + +A savage outcry rang from the wall across to the Macedonian camp. +Soldiers ran forward and took up the two bodies, bearing them tenderly +to the shore. + +"Alexander has his answer!" Azemilcus said, with a chuckle. "Let us go +to dinner." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +MENA REVEALS A SECRET + +On the night after the slaughter of the heralds, the galleys sent to +Carthage returned with a courteous message that it would be impossible +for the colony to send assistance. Ambassadors who had been despatched +to other PhÅ“nician towns, demanding aid, were equally unsuccessful. +Tyre must stand or fall alone. Her brood turned its back upon her. + +This indifference created a disagreeable feeling in the city. The joy +over the destruction of the Macedonian works was transformed into +uneasiness. Instead of abandoning the siege, the army of Alexander had +begun a new mole, twice as wide as the first, and so directed that the +wash of the waves, which before had been a serious obstacle, was +rendered harmless. It was apparent that the young king intended to +keep his word. + +Several of the inhabitants of the city reported that in dreams they had +seen the great bronze image of Melkarth rise from its seat in his +temple and stretch its hands over the walls toward the Macedonian camp, +calling upon Alexander to enter. There was a consultation of the +priests. The enormous statue was bound with chains to the pillars of +the temple and huge spikes were driven through its feet into the floor. +Nevertheless, the Tyrians were apprehensive and spoke of Melkarth as +"the Alexandrine." The ominous words of the herald, Galas, when he +declared that the Gods of Tyre would desert her, were remembered and +repeated. The people began to think that perhaps they had gone too far. + +Time failed to remove this impression. The new mole continued to +advance, and one hazy afternoon the watchmen on the walls caught sight +of a fleet of warships approaching from the north. The flag of Sidon +fluttered from their masts and the beleaguered city concluded that at +last reinforcements had been sent. But instead of entering the +Sidonian Harbor, the vessels sheered off and came to anchor in front of +the Macedonian camp. + +The gloom of the city deepened when Enylus, king of Byblos, and +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, added their fleets to that of Sidon. All +three were PhÅ“nician cities. Rhodes sent ten ships and Cyprus later +added one hundred and twenty, under command of Prytagoras. + +For every Tyrian ship, Alexander now had three; and among them were +vessels of the largest size, some with four banks of oars and some even +with five. They were manned by sailors of PhÅ“nician stock, whose +skill upon the water equalled that of the Tyrians themselves. As soon +as the fleet had gathered, it sailed in battle order toward the mouth +of the Sidonian Harbor, from which the Tyrian navy came out to meet it. +But when Azemilcus saw the overwhelming force opposed to him, his heart +failed, and he gave the order to retreat into the harbor, the entrance +of which he caused to be blocked with huge chains behind which were +moored as many Tyrian vessels as would lie in the passage side by side. + +Tyre was no longer mistress of the sea. She stood forsaken amid the +waters, gray and deserted, like a lioness in her last refuge, +encompassed by the hunters. The mole crept ever nearer to the wall, +and Macedonian captains, cruising around the city, gazed hungrily at +the battlements. + +The inhabitants understood that nothing but a miracle could save the +city. They turned to their Gods. In ancient times they had never +failed in the observance of their worship, but as they waxed strong and +gained knowledge of the world, scepticism had found a lodgement in +their hearts. The ceremonials had been neglected by many who either +did not believe or had grown careless. The offerings diminished. More +than once the sacrifice of the first-born to Baal-Moloch had been +omitted. The worship of Astoreth, it is true, had been maintained; but +it was clear that the Goddess was not powerful enough to rescue them. +Baal was angry and must be propitiated. + +Phradates became more and more downcast and sullen as misfortune +gathered about the city. The cruelty that was a part of his +PhÅ“nician heritage rose to the surface. His slaves were lashed for +the slightest fault, or even for no fault at all. Some of them he +ordered put to death. Terror filled the great house, with its spacious +rooms hung with embroideries, beautiful with paintings and statues, its +rare glass, and its treasures of gold and of amber. + +One evening, when a languid southern breeze stirred the silken +curtains, the young PhÅ“nician entered the apartments occupied by +Artemisia and Thais. Artemisia sat by the window, gazing at the +brilliant stars that seemed so near and yet so immeasurably far away. +The two young women had been talking of Chares and Clearchus; but a +silence had fallen between them. Thais lay on a couch of cedar, +burying her fingers in the thick fur of a Persian cat, which purred +with half-shut eyes under her caress. + +Phradates threw himself into a chair in an attitude of weariness and +dejection. Thais shot a glance at him and went on stroking the cat. + +"Do you believe in the Gods?" the young man asked. + +"Artemisia does," Thais replied lazily, with a tantalizing smile. + +"Why?" Phradates demanded, turning to the younger sister. + +Artemisia turned her eyes wonderingly upon his troubled face. + +"I cannot tell you," she replied slowly, as though searching for a +reason. "I have always believed in them and I have passed through many +dangers unharmed. I think Artemis has protected me, for I love her. I +have no fear, since I am in her hands." + +"We do not worship her," Phradates said. "With us, the moon belongs to +Astoreth, who is the same as your Aphrodite, and she has lost her +power." + +"Are you sure of that?" Thais asked. + +The young man looked at her and his expression changed. + +"I am sure of nothing," he said thickly. + +"Except?" Thais suggested, looking into his eyes and leaning forward on +her arm so that the necklace of pearls slid across her bosom, half +revealed under the folds of her robe. + +"Except that I love you!" he responded. + +Thais fell back upon her cushions and began again to stroke the cat. + +"You should not insult the Goddess," she said. + +"By Melkarth, I think you are she!" Phradates cried. + +"Perhaps," she admitted, smiling and nodding her head. + +Phradates stared at her for a moment as though he half believed it, and +then, rising abruptly, left the room. His brain seemed obscured. He +could think of nothing but his love for her. The emotion that +possessed him mastered every faculty, and even the approaching ruin of +the city seemed trivial in comparison with it. Yet there was his oath! + +At the door of his chamber he encountered Mena. + +"Master, the council is sitting," the Egyptian said. + +"What is that to me?" Phradates replied harshly. + +"They have decided to offer sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," Mena continued, +following him into the apartment. + +"They should have thought of that before," said Phradates. "Where will +they find children now fit for an offering? They have all been sent to +Carthage. No wonder Moloch is angry." + +"This has been considered by the council," Mena continued. "Esmun, the +chief priest, has told them that there are still enough of the +first-born left among the Jews, who, as you know, refused to send their +families away." + +"But the Jews will not give them as a willing sacrifice, and without +that it will be of no avail," Phradates replied impatiently. "Why do +you tell me all this?" + +"The council intends to find means of forcing them to make the +sacrifice willingly," Mena persisted; "but Esmun declares that this +will not be enough to calm the God. Baal demands a virgin of noble +birth to be given to him before he will aid the city." + +Phradates laughed. "Where do they expect to find her?" he asked +scornfully. + +"She must be pure and beautiful," Mena continued. "It is announced +that he who will bring such an offering will do the city a great +service." + +"What do you mean? Speak out, dog!" Phradates exclaimed, catching an +undertone of significance in the Egyptian's voice. + +"Thou hast such a maiden," the slave said hesitatingly. + +"Thais!" the young man cried. "Never. The city may perish first! +Have you dared to suggest this?" + +He drew his dagger and made a step toward Mena, who cowered before him +with hand uplifted. + +"No, no; not Thais," he hastened to say. "Think, master, how could she +meet the conditions? Not Thais!" + +Phradates paused with the dagger still in his hand. + +"Wait until you have heard me?" the slave continued, in a whining +voice. "It was not Thais, but the Athenian maiden, who was in my +thoughts." + +"No!" Phradates thundered; "does not Thais love her as her own sister?" + +"Consider for a moment," Mena urged insinuatingly, watching the young +man's face with cunning eyes. "Hast thou not been generous toward +these captives?" + +"What of that?" the Tyrian asked. + +"And they have betrayed thee by entrapping thee into an oath," Mena +said. "I would not have thee break it; but what will not the Lady +Astoreth grant to him who saves her shrine from pollution and +destruction? She will release thee from thy vow." + +He paused to note the effect of his words. Phradates remained silent +and thoughtful. + +"It is not for me, a slave, to tell thee what thou shouldst do," Mena +went on, "but it has seemed to me that there has lately been a spell +upon thy mind. Thou art not now what thou wast a month ago. What the +cause is and what must be the cure, thou knowest; but thou art bound by +thy oath." + +Again he paused, but as Phradates showed no sign of resentment, he +continued. + +"Master, thou canst not win thy wager," he said. "Tyre is lost. It +may be next week, and it may not be until next year; but the Macedonian +is too deeply engaged here to withdraw. There is no hope excepting +through the Gods alone, who might send a pestilence upon our enemies if +they so willed it. Thou knowest that the battering rams are pounding +upon the wall, and that they have already weakened it. On the southern +side it cannot stand much longer unless something happens to put an end +to the attack. Obtain release from thy vow before it is too late. Our +time may be short." + +Phradates shuddered and covered his face with his hands. + +"I think Thais really loves thee," the Egyptian continued artfully. +"It is the presence of the other that restrains her, because she is +ashamed to show her love before her. If Artemisia were away, she would +grieve, it is true, but she would recover. It is not needful that thou +shouldst give her up. The priests take whom they will for sacrifice. +Thou mightest even defend her, which would commend thee to Thais and +earn her gratitude." + +"Get thee gone!" Phradates shouted, suddenly springing to his feet. + +Mena fled noiselessly down the stairs and out of the house. Once in +the street, he clapped his hands together and laughed. + +"I will show them what it is to insult Mena!" he cried. + +He made his way through the narrow streets and across the canal to the +southern part of the city, beyond the Temple of Baal. The slow and +regular beat of the great rams, at work upon the massive wall, throbbed +in the air. Mena plunged into a network of lanes, in which the houses +had a meaner look than in the quarter he had left behind. He proceeded +cautiously, halting from time to time as though he feared that he might +be followed. Finally, under the shadow of the wall, he reached a low +house within which lights were burning. He pushed open the door and +entered. The room in which he found himself was filled with men, young +and old, who sat at tables upon which stood flagons of red wine. Some +of the company were engaged in earnest discussion across the tables. +In one corner a sea captain was relating the strange adventures of a +distant voyage. Elsewhere men exchanged jests and laughter over their +wine. While the occupants of the room bore a general resemblance in +feature to the PhÅ“nicians, a glance was sufficient to show that they +were not of PhÅ“nician blood, and the language they spoke was Hebrew. + +There was a momentary hush when Mena appeared, but apparently he was +known, for the interrupted talk immediately flowed on again. A man of +middle age, whose black, crisp beard was streaked with gray, came +forward to welcome the Egyptian. + +"Which wine will you have to-night?" he asked, conducting him to a +table where already a younger man was sitting. + +"The wine of Cyprus," Mena cried. "You are as gay here to-night, +Simon, as though there were no such place in the world as Macedon." + +Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Would our tears mend the walls?" he +asked. "What is to be, will be." + +He went to fetch the wine, and Mena turned to his companion at the +table. + +"Where have you been, Joel?" he asked. "I have not seen you for a +week. One would say that you had been on shore, if it were possible to +get there." + +He directed his shrewd glance at the young man. Joel laughed, and his +dark eyes rested upon those of the Egyptian. He had an easy +distinction of manner, acquired at the court of Darius. After the +escape of Nathan, Chares, and Clearchus, his company had marched with +the Great King; but it had been detailed to help guard the women and +the treasure left behind at Damascus while the army went on to +destruction at Issus. After the defeat, he visited Jerusalem and then +came to Tyre, where he had relatives. + +"What would you give to know where I have been?" he demanded mockingly. + +"Perhaps I know already," the cunning Egyptian replied. "Why is it +that the Jews are so indifferent to the siege? Why do they expect to +escape the sword or the slave-market when the walls fall? Tell me +that." + +Simon returned with the wine, which he set before Mena. While the Jews +knew him to be a slave, they did not disdain to associate with him, +because his influence over Phradates was so great that he was a bondman +only in name. Besides, he had more than once given them information of +value, and they were not accustomed to neglect any means of defence. + +Joel paused and seemed to reflect before he answered. + +"Perhaps it is because we are under the protection of Jehovah," he +replied at last. "If He does not save us, nothing can." + +"Bah!" Mena exclaimed. "Perhaps He can save your first-born from +Baal-Moloch!" + +"What do you mean?" Joel returned quickly. + +"I thought you Jews knew everything," the Egyptian said. "Have you not +heard what Esmun told the council? He has warned them that nothing but +a sacrifice can save the city, and the council has authorized it. +Where can they find children excepting here?" + +"Is this true?" Joel demanded. + +"It is true!" Mena declared. + +Joel rose from the table and whispered to Simon, who ran to the chief +priest. Messengers were sent to verify the news. They brought +confirmation and the additional intelligence that the sacrifice would +take place on the second day. Meantime Joel had returned to his place, +where Mena, as usual, had begun to grow garrulous with his wine. + +"You know those two Greek girls my fool of a master holds in his +house?" he asked. + +"What are they called--Thais and Artemisia? You told me of them," Joel +responded. "What of them?" + +"Thais promised to have me flayed alive," Mena remarked. + +"Well?" the young Hebrew said. + +"So I am going to have Artemisia included in the sacrifice to Moloch," +the slave said coolly. + +Joel started but instantly restrained himself. + +"What has that to do with Thais' promise?" he asked. + +"Thais loves her," Mena explained. "No doubt she will be glad to see +her in Moloch's arms!" + +"How did you manage it?" Joel inquired carelessly. + +"Why, I told you of the oath that Thais got from Phradates," Mena said. +"Well, I have convinced him that the only way in which he can win Thais +and at the same time obtain release from his oath is by having +Artemisia burned." + +The Egyptian laughed at his own cleverness. Joel sat making rings on +the table with the foot of his wine-glass. + +"And what do you think?" Mena continued, recovering himself. "The fool +threatened to stab me for it. But he'll do it, never fear. There is a +long score between him and me. Unless I am mistaken, the time is at +hand when we shall have the reckoning. There is one house in Tyre +where the Macedonians, when they come, will get little plunder. Come +then to Memphis, and you will find Mena, with slaves of his own--and I +would not be surprised if Thais was among them. Flayed alive, indeed!" + +"Let us have wine!" Joel cried, making an almost imperceptible sign to +Simon that meant the substitution of a stronger vintage. The wine was +brought, glowing like liquid amber in the flagon. In half an hour Mena +was incoherently trying to explain that he knew the Jews were in +correspondence with Alexander's camp, although he could not tell how, +and begging Joel not to forget him when the city fell. A little +longer, and two servants carried him to the house of Phradates. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + +As soon as he was rid of the Egyptian, Joel beckoned to Simon. + +"I must go ashore to-night," he said. "The women are in danger, and if +anything is to be done to save them, it must be done now." + +"The moon is shining; it will be dangerous," Simon said doubtfully. + +"That cannot be helped; I must go," the young man declared. + +Simon made no further remonstrance. He took up a lamp and led the way +down a flight of stone stairs to the cellar, where great amphoræ of +wine, covered with dust and cobwebs, stood in the darkness. Picking +his way between them, he advanced to the end of the cellar, where he +gave the lamp to Joel while he rolled aside one of the jars. Then, +with some difficulty, he raised the slab upon which it had stood, +revealing a narrow opening in the floor and another flight of steps. +Down these they passed to a small chamber hewn in the rock. Around its +sides ran a stone platform not more than three feet in width, and the +remainder of the floor space was occupied by a pool of water. + +When the wall of the city was built, its base had been laid in such a +manner as to bridge a natural fissure in the rock below the water line. +Why this opening had been left, Simon did not know. Possibly it had +been the intention of the architects to make it the outlet of a sewer. +If so, the plan had been abandoned, but the opening had been allowed to +remain. + +Standing on the ledge of stone, Joel stripped off his clothing and +removed his sandals. Simon took from a niche a small jar of oil and +rubbed him with the contents from head to foot, at the same time +instructing him how to proceed. + +"When shall you return?" he asked. + +"To-night, if I can," Joel replied. "If not, then to-morrow night in +the third watch. Farewell!" + +"Farewell!" Simon replied, stepping back and raising his lamp so that +its light fell upon the pool. + +Joel drew in a long breath, clasped his hands, and plunged +head-foremost into the water. Simon placed the young man's clothing in +the niche, put away the oil jar, and ascended to the first cellar. He +did not close the opening in the floor, but arranged the amphoræ so as +to conceal it, and returned to the room above. + +The impetus of Joel's plunge carried him the length of the pool and +into the fissure under the wall. He struck out vigorously, mindful of +Simon's instructions, and knowing that if his breath should fail while +he was below the masonry, nothing could save him. With the tips of his +fingers he could feel the sides of the passage, and presently he became +aware of a motion in the water caused by the underwash of the waves +outside. His head seemed bursting, and there was a ringing in his +ears. He felt that he must suffocate unless he could get air. He +began to swim upward through the water, dreading each moment to feel +his head strike the stones. What if the passage had been closed? None +had passed through it for years, and the defenders of the city were +constantly throwing down blocks of stone outside the walls. Something +grazed his back. He threw his arms upward, but his hands found no +obstruction. He had cleared the entrance. + +He lay on the surface of the water filling his lungs again and again, +and gazing up at the stars above the gray height of the wall against +whose grim base the swell lazily washed. Half an hour later one of the +watch on a quinquereme that lay off the mouth of the Egyptian Harbor to +prevent the escape of any of the Tyrian vessels heard a voice under the +stern and saw the white gleam of Joel's shoulders in the water. + +There was no sound in the Macedonian camp save the monotonous cries of +the sentinels when the young Israelite stepped from a small boat and +climbed the southern slope of the mole. He looked back and saw Tyre, +standing in the sea like an island raised upon cliffs of stone and +crowned with a circle of light. + +He made his way into the Old City, now hardly more than a bare ruin +since houses and temples had been tumbled into the strait to lengthen +the causeway. He had been provided with the pass-word, and with the +assistance of the sentries he had little difficulty in finding the tent +that he sought. He lifted the flap and entered. Inside he could hear +the breathing of sleeping men, dominated by a tremendous snore that +sounded as though it must come from the throat of a giant. + +"Peace be unto thee!" Joel cried, stumbling over the legs of one of the +sleepers. + +"Thieves!" cried a stentorian voice, and the snoring suddenly ceased. + +"It is I--Joel," the young man hastily announced. + +"Joel!" exclaimed the voice of Nathan in the darkness. "How came you +here?" + +He slipped out of the tent and returned in a moment, blowing upon a +brand from a smouldering camp-fire. With this he lighted an oil lamp +that swung from the central pole of the tent. Then he threw his arms +around the young man and embraced him heartily. + +Joel saw Clearchus and the lazy bulk of Chares, who looked at him +sleepily with his head propped on his elbow. There was another man in +the tent whom he did not know--a man with firm shoulders and a square +jaw, who stood glowering at him with a sword in his hand. + +"Put it away, Leonidas," Clearchus said, laughing. "This is no Tyrian, +but our little jailer in Babylon. How came you here?" + +"I came from Tyre," Joel answered. + +"From Tyre!" echoed Nathan and Clearchus. "How did you escape?" + +"I swam under the wall," Joel said, "and I bring you bad news." + +"Artemisia!" Clearchus cried. "Is she dead?" + +"As yet she is unharmed," Joel replied. + +"What is it, then? Speak!" Clearchus cried. + +Joel repeated what Mena had told him. + +"Is it possible to return by the way you came?" Clearchus demanded. + +"It is possible for a good swimmer, but it is dangerous," Joel replied. + +"I shall return with you at once," Clearchus announced, and began to +belt on his sword. + +"You are mad, Clearchus," Leonidas said, raising the flap of the tent. +"Dawn is breaking. It would be broad daylight before you could reach +the walls." + +"I am going, nevertheless," Clearchus answered calmly, continuing his +preparations. + +"Do you think we are going to let you go alone?" Chares roared. "No, +by Zeus; I am going, too! I have something I wish to say to Thais." + +He proceeded to arm himself, adjusting with care a breastplate inlaid +with gold. + +"Wait!" cried Nathan. "I have a better plan. When does this sacrifice +take place?" + +"It was to be on the second day," Joel replied. "That will be +to-morrow." + +"Then we have another night before us," Nathan said. "Do you think my +people in Tyre will surrender their first-born to Moloch? Not while +Jehovah reigns will they do that, nor will Jehovah permit the +sacrifice. It would be folly to think of entering the city now. We +should be discovered, and all would be ruined. We can enter at +nightfall, if need be, and my people will join us to save their own. +Let us consult Alexander. It may be that he will order the attack and +that Jehovah will give Tyre into his hands to-day. At any rate, if it +is a question of dying, we can die to-morrow as well as now." + +Leonidas nodded. "You are right," he said. + +"Are you satisfied, Clearchus?" Chares asked. + +"Let it be as you will," the Athenian responded. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE GAP OF DEATH + +Alexander listened to Joel's story and questioned him closely regarding +the disposition of affairs in the city. He learned that supplies were +running low and that already the garrison was on half rations. Joel +assured him that the feeling of discouragement and despair was +universal in the city. + +"We will attack to-day," Alexander said to Clearchus, who stood waiting +in a fever of anxiety. "If we can break the walls, Baal-Moloch will be +cheated of his sacrifice, but Melkarth will have his fill." + +The fleet put forth from both sides of the mole, the oars of the rowers +flashing in the sun. The great towers on the end of the mole, which +now extended to the wall of the city, were filled with men who showered +arrows and javelins upon the garrison so as to protect the huge +battering rams at work below. These engines consisted of heavy beams, +one hundred feet long, ending in great rams' heads of bronze. They +were suspended by chains from a framework that permitted them to swing +freely. As many men as could grasp the short cords attached to the +sides of a beam labored to keep it oscillating with a regular motion. +With each downward swing, the bronze head, with its twisted horns, +dashed against the wall. The impact ground the stones to powder, but +the wall was so thick and so strongly built that its joints remained +firm. + +Alexander was reluctant to admit that the mole which he had constructed +with so much expenditure of time and labor was useless, and he +therefore kept the towers in action and the rams at work; but his real +hope of taking the city now lay elsewhere. The wall on the seaward +side, where no attack had been deemed possible, was less solid than +toward the land. Tests made by floating rams had shown that a breach +was practicable on the southwest and it was to this spot that the +attack was directed. + +The Cyprian ships hovered about the northern side of the city. Some +threatened the mouth of the Sidonian Harbor, while others sent flights +of arrows over the walls. The fortress was encircled by a menacing +ring of vessels, which kept the attention of the garrison occupied, +while Alexander prepared for the assault, which was to be made at a +point where the masonry already showed cracks, and some of the stones +had been pushed out of place. + +Towed by quinqueremes, the floating forts that the Macedonians had +built were brought slowly around to the southern wall. Some carried +ballistæ and catapults and stores of darts and stones. Others had +rams, scaling ladders, iron hooks, and siege implements of all kinds. +All were provided with shields to protect the men from missiles from +the walls. + +One by one they swung into position and came to anchor. The catapults +and ballistæ were placed two hundred yards from the wall, so as to +afford space for the flight of their projectiles. The ships of war +moved backward and forward, while the archers and slingers swept the +towers and ramparts with a hissing hail of lead and steel. + +Under cover of this protection, the rams and siege vessels pushed +forward. Their crews made them fast to projections in the wall, and +soon the regular throbbing crash of the rams was heard, pounding on the +masonry. The vessels with the ladders and scaling implements lay +waiting, with the bravest men in the army ready to spring to the +assault as soon as a breach should be opened. + +The July sun lay warm on the heaving sea, and the heat rose in +shimmering waves from the wall. Around and within the city the +shouting of men, the thudding of the rams, the creaking of the +machines, and the crash of stones cast by the ballistæ filled the air. + +The garrison brought its engines along the broad parapet within range +of the ships, and hurled great blocks of stone at the besieging fleet. +Several of the smaller vessels were sunk. Sometimes the stones met in +the air and burst into fragments. The attack upon the wall was not +relaxed. Finally a block was sufficiently exposed to permit the +grappling-irons to be fastened to its inner angles. Strong ropes were +attached to it and carried out to a quinquereme. The rowers bent to +their work, and the ropes lifted, dripping, from the water. The block +held fast for a moment, and then came out of its bed like a cork out of +a bottle, rolling with a splash into the sea. + +Amid the triumphant shouts of the Macedonians, a flatboat was pushed +forward and a hundred men attacked the weakened wall with levers and +bars of irons. Some of them were crushed by the rocks toppled down +upon them from above, others were pierced by arrows; but when they +withdrew, a wide cavity yawned where they had been, exposing the inner +courses of masonry. + +After them came the largest and heaviest of the rams. Under its +tremendous blows the cavity deepened and widened until the wall above +it began to tremble. It swayed, crumbled, and at last with a mighty +roar it fell, burying the ram and half the men who had been working it +under tons of broken stone. The Macedonians, gazing through the gap +that was opened, saw the Temple of Baal-Moloch, with its dome and +towers, rising gloomily among the cypress trees that surrounded it. + +With one impulse, the vessels carrying the shield-bearing guards and +the veterans of the Agema rushed in toward the breach. The soldiers +leaped ashore. Order was impossible upon such an insecure footing as +the tumbled blocks afforded. Every man clung where he could, advancing +step by step, and protecting himself by holding his shield above his +head. + +The Tyrians from the ends of the broken wall and from the top of the +slope where the gap had been made sent down flights of darts and +arrows. In order to repel the storming party, they even loosened +portions of the wall that still held firm and hurled them down upon the +enemy. + +Still the Macedonians pressed upward in the hope of winning the breach, +and holding it until reinforcements could arrive. Ptolemy, son of +Lagus, and Black Clitus fought in the foremost ranks. Beside them +Leonidas plied his sword, and with him were Clearchus and Chares. + +"Ho, comrades! Beware the stone!" the Theban shouted, as a loosened +block rushed toward them down the slope. + +Leonidas started aside, but his foot slipped and he fell to his knees. +Chares caught his arm and dragged him away. The fragment grazed him as +it hurtled past. + +"Forward, men of Macedon!" Ptolemy cried. "Alexander is watching you." + +A breathless cheer from the struggling ranks behind him told him that +the soldiers were doing their best. The stones of the fallen wall, +slippery with blood, rocked beneath their feet. Some of the men were +caught in crevices between the blocks and their lives were crushed out, +or they were held there until a javelin put an end to their misery. +But those who escaped this peril pressed upward like wolves when the +quarry is in sight. The exasperation of all the long months of the +siege, the accumulation of countless insults, and the joy of the battle +filled their hearts. + +Leaping upon a swaying stone that raised him above the heads of his +companions, Chares held his shield aloft to deflect the darts and +arrows that fell upon it as thickly as the drops of a shower. + +"Ohe!" he cried down the slope. "Come on! The victory is ours!" + +Clearchus bounded up beside him, his face pale with eagerness, and +stared into the city. + +"Where is she? Where is she?" he cried, panting. + +Chares laughed. "Did you expect she would be waiting for you at the +top?" he asked. "You will have to wait until we get inside." + +The Athenian gazed at the lofty buildings, whose walls were pierced by +hundreds of windows. If he only knew where to look! From the +housetops fluttered countless scarfs of yellow, blue, and red. Any one +of them might be hers. He was bewildered. + +The wall had fallen outward, leaving about twenty feet of its base +standing on the side toward the city. Companies of Tyrian soldiers ran +toward the breach. They placed ladders against the foot of the broken +wall and scrambled up into the gap like a swarm of ants to meet the +Macedonians. Ptolemy saw them coming and uttered a joyful cry. + +"Here they are," he shouted. "Melkarth, take thy sacrifice of dogs!" + +A conflict without quarter began on the crest of the gap. The Tyrians +fought with desperation, knowing that if the enemy once gained a +lodgement in the city they were lost. But in vain they hurled +themselves upon the head of the column, where Ptolemy and Clitus, +Chares and Clearchus, and a hundred more received them with the deadly +upward thrust of their swords, against which no armor was proof. There +was no longer room for the Tyrians in the breach. Those who had +ascended last were forced back, leaping or falling in their armor, the +weight of which broke their bones. Mingled with the living, the dead +began to drop back through the breach. The shouts of the victors +carried panic into the streets. + +Tyre lay at the mercy of Macedon. Looking down into the city, Ptolemy +saw the Tyrians hastily constructing barricades of furniture, casks, +litters, and such material as they were able to drag quickly together. + +"Do they think that will save them, now that we hold this?" he said to +Clitus. + +Clearchus leaned against a stone with great joy in his heart. Tyre had +been won and Artemisia was saved. The sight of Moloch's dark temple no +longer chilled his blood. Baal must look elsewhere for victims. The +weary months of longing were at an end. + +So desperate had been the struggle in the breach that the Macedonians +had forgotten all else. It was not until the pause before the final +charge into the city that they began to notice the rolling clouds of +black smoke that were drawing together toward the gap along those +portions of the wall that remained standing. It rose in dark masses +against the sky, blotting out the sun as it spread seaward from the +parapet. Under its gloomy canopy men were swarming in long processions +upon the top of the wall toward the gap, bearing caldrons of iron and +copper suspended from yokes across their shoulders. + +"See! They are going to provide us with shade," Clitus said. + +Ptolemy looked, and his expression changed to one of alarm. + +"Pitch and bitumen!" he exclaimed. "The men will never be able to +stand it!" + +A caldron rolled down into the gap, followed by another and another, +scattering their blazing contents as they came. Wherever the bitumen +fell it continued to burn, giving out smoke in stifling volumes. In a +few minutes the gap was obscured by suffocating clouds in which the +Macedonians groped blindly. Every stone was covered with a coating of +the blazing substances. Showers of molten lead and burning oil +descended from the walls. The bitumen ate into the flesh of the +soldiers. The lead and oil burned out their eyes. Many of them fled +like living torches down the slope and plunged into the sea. The gap +had become untenable. + +Ptolemy saw that it would be impossible for reënforcements to reach +him. He shook his sword at the city through the drifting smoke. +"Another day!" he shouted, and, turning, plunged down the blazing path. + +Clearchus stood dazed as he saw his comrades turn back. + +"Come!" Chares shouted. "Do you want to be burned to death?" + +"Cowards!" Clearchus cried, "why do you fly? Do you not see that Tyre +is yours?" + +He made a step toward the edge of the wall and would have leaped down +into the city had not Chares caught him with an iron grasp. + +"Leonidas!" cried the Theban. + +"Here!" the voice of Leonidas replied, and he appeared through the +smoke, smothering a patch of blazing pitch that had fallen upon his +bare shoulder. + +"Clearchus has gone crazy," Chares said. "Help me to carry him down." + +"You shall not!" the Athenian cried. "Traitors! Set me free!" + +Leonidas calmly twisted the sword out of his hand and threw it aside. +They lifted him between them, despite his struggles. Suddenly his +muscles relaxed and his head fell backward. + +"That's right," Chares said. "He has fainted. We can carry him better +so." + +He threw the limp form over his shoulder and strode after Leonidas into +the black curtain, which had become so dense that it was impossible for +sight to penetrate it in any direction. Sulphur and pepper had been +mixed in the caldrons, giving the smoke a pungent, choking quality. +Stumbling over jagged blocks of stone, and tripping upon the bodies of +the dead, Chares, with Clearchus in his arms, followed Leonidas through +that vale of death. Blinded and gasping, they staggered to the edge of +the water. They were the last to come alive out of the smoke. They +were drawn upon one of the siege boats, and lay there until the +unwieldy vessel was towed out into the clear sunshine and safety. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + +Prince Hur, son of Azemilcus, sat in his house, which opened from the +courtyard of the palace. In figure he was undersized, like his father, +with a delicate face and thin white hands, on one of which glittered a +great ruby. Instead of the mocking smile that the king was accustomed +to wear, his expression was grave and serious. + +With him were Esmun, chief priest of Baal-Moloch, on whose fat +countenance, with its pendulous jowls, sloth struggled with greed, and +Ariston, the Athenian. Ariston's thin form was thinner and his face +more worn than on the day when he watched his nephew, Clearchus, ride +out of Athens, leaving him guardian of his fortune. He had made free +use of this wealth, as he had planned, to save the remnants of his own; +but mischance had continued to follow him in everything he attempted. +So heavy were his losses that he rejoiced when he learned that +Clearchus had been sent to Babylon a prisoner. The young man's return +to the army filled him with despair. Involved as he was, only one hope +remained. He would dispose of his great dye-works in Tyre, and the +proceeds of the sale would enable him to make a last attempt to save +himself. While he was in Tyre, he also would collect the loan that he +had been forced to make to Phradates, and that the PhÅ“nician had +never repaid. If this plan failed, he would have to choose between +death and the punishment that would be visited upon the betrayal of his +trust. Therefore he had come to Tyre, and there, by a final stroke of +misfortune, he had been imprisoned by the siege. + +"I fear there is not much hope for us," Prince Hur said. "Even though +we succeed in beating off these attacks, as we did to-day, sooner or +later we shall starve." + +"Hast thou, too, lost faith in the power of Baal?" Esmun asked, in a +tone of reproof. + +"I believe in him as much as you do yourself," the prince said. + +"I may have deserved that reproach," the priest replied sadly. "To my +shame, I confess it; but if I have allowed the name of Baal to be +lightly spoken in my presence, it was not because I did not believe. I +thought that he was able to defend himself, as indeed he is. I say to +you now that I know his power. It has been shown over and over again. +If it should please him to save Tyre in her extremity, he will do it. +We shall know after the sacrifice." + +"There will be no sacrifice," the prince said quietly. + +Esmun stared at him open-mouthed, and Ariston started sharply. The +Athenian was the first to recover himself. + +"What does your Highness mean?" he asked. "Doubtless you speak in +jest." + +"I sent for you because I am in need of your advice," the prince +continued gravely. "You are both men of the world and fitted to aid me +with your counsel; but what I am about to tell you must not be +repeated, even to yourselves. Do you swear to keep the secret, no +matter what my decision may be?" + +"We swear it," Ariston replied. + +"And you?" the prince said to Esmun. + +"By the head of Baal!" the priest declared. + +"Azemilcus has resolved to deliver the city," the prince said, bending +forward and speaking in a tone scarcely above a whisper. + +For an instant both his hearers were silent. Ariston comprehended in a +flash that surrender would mean his ruin, since it would involve the +loss of his property. Esmun was too astonished to think. + +"What will the king receive in return?" the Athenian inquired. + +"His life," Hur replied. "He knows well that the city must be +destroyed, and that his people will be sold into slavery." + +Esmun groaned. He saw himself torn from his life of ease, +Baal-Moloch's temple in ruins, and nothing left for him but years of +servitude. + +"How will the surrender be made?" Ariston asked. + +"The king will order the fleets out of both harbors," the prince +explained. "They will be destroyed, and care will be taken to leave +the harbor entrances unguarded." + +"Does Alexander know this?" Esmun demanded. + +"Not yet," said the prince. "I am to go to him to-night with the +chancellor to make him the offer." + +"Then you have consented to it?" the priest said. + +"I was not asked to consent," the prince replied bitterly. "You know +that the king is not in the habit of consulting me." + +"Yet he proposes to take your inheritance from you!" Esmun exclaimed. +"If Baal intervenes, the city will be saved and you will be its king." + +"Does the council know?" Ariston asked. + +"It does not," Hur replied. + +"There is only one course open to you," Esmun declared, roused as he +had not been since the long struggle that ended in raising him above +his rivals and placing him in a position that gave him almost as much +power as the king himself. "Go with the chancellor, since to refuse +now would arouse suspicion. Get proof of the king's treachery and lay +it at once before the council and the generals. Azemilcus will be +dealt with according to their will, and you will be made king in his +stead. That you may leave to me if you can obtain the proof; but it +must be strong." + +"There would be no difficulty concerning the proof," the prince said +doubtfully. "We are to bring Macedonians back with us to act as a +guard for the king. They will be concealed in the palace so that they +will be able to insure his safety when the city falls. Their presence +will be proof enough." + +"Would it not be better to lay the whole affair before the council +now?" Ariston suggested. + +"No," said Esmun decisively. "The king would deny everything. He +would accuse Hur of seeking his throne, and he would be believed. We +must have the proof." + +"I do not like to raise my hand against my father," Hur said +hesitatingly. + +"Tyre is in danger," Esmun said solemnly. "It is your duty to save her +if you can, and this duty comes before any tie of blood. It is I, +chief servant of Baal, who tell you this." + +"I shall not shrink," the prince responded, with sudden decision. + +The sun was setting before the three completed the details of their +plan. When Ariston left the prince, he was so wrapped in thought that +he did not recognize the brutal face of Syphax, who passed him with +three or four others of his own kind. + +"Do you see that man?" the broken freebooter exclaimed, directing the +attention of his companions to the retreating form. "I have a +settlement to make with him. It was he who scattered my crew and +brought me to what I am. I have sought him far, and now the Fates have +given him to me. He shall pay the reckoning!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + +Although they had been repulsed, the Macedonians returned to their +camp, confident that Tyre could not much longer stand against them. +Alexander ordered the sacrifice of a black bull to PhÅ“bus. After a +careful examination of the entrails, Aristander, the soothsayer, sought +the king and spoke to him in private. + +"Tyre will fall before the month ends," he said. "PhÅ“bus has +promised it." + +"But the month will end to-morrow," Alexander replied, in astonishment. + +"Nevertheless, there can be no doubt," Aristander declared. "To-morrow +thou wilt be in possession of the city." + +"Let us see what the army thinks," the king returned. + +The news soon spread through the camp. Some of the soldiers rejoiced +as though the promise had already been fulfilled, while others refused +to believe, declaring that the thing was impossible. In order to save +the God from discredit, Alexander issued a proclamation extending the +month three days beyond its accustomed term. With this the army was +satisfied. + +Clearchus gave way to an agony of disappointment when he regained +consciousness to find himself on the siege boat with the walls of Tyre +receding from him. Chares and Leonidas were obliged at first to +prevent him by force from throwing himself into the sea. It was only +when the Theban reminded him that it was still possible for them to +enter the city that he became calmer. He was for seeking the passage +through which Joel had emerged as soon as day ended, but the young +Israelite convinced him that such an attempt would surely be +frustrated. The breach in the wall was only a short distance from the +passage and workmen would be engaged there, to say nothing of the guard +that would certainly be established. He consented finally to yield to +his friends and await the third watch of the night. This delay would +permit them to get a few hours of rest. + +The sun went down in flaming glory, casting the long shadow of the +Tyrian walls across the Macedonian camp. The thin smoke of a thousand +fires rose lazily in the quiet The soldiers ceased to recount their +escapes in the dreadful breach and stretched themselves on the ground. +Only in Alexander's tent a light continued to glow. + +In the middle of the second watch, a small boat crept in from the +purple shadows of the sea and grated on the sand. Two men stepped out +and turned their faces toward the camp. By their features and dress +they were PhÅ“nicians. Of the first sentinel they met, they demanded +to be led to Alexander, and the reasons they gave caused the captain of +the guard to grant their request. + +The captain emerged from the king's tent at the end of half an hour and +hurried away in the darkness. He brought back with him Clearchus, +Chares, Leonidas, Nathan, and Joel. The Theban was rubbing his eyes +and yawning over his interrupted slumbers. + +"What is all this about?" he grumbled. "Have we not done enough for +one day? I wish this cursed city was in the bottom of the sea!" + +"It is by the king's order," the captain reminded him. + +They found Alexander stretched upon his couch and the two PhÅ“nicians +seated before him. From the expression of the king's eyes as they +sought his, Clearchus knew that something of moment was in his mind, +and his pale face brightened. + +One of the strangers was Prince Hur, son of King Azemilcus. The young +man seemed ill at ease, and his fingers played constantly with the +golden chain that he wore as a member of the council. His companion +was older and more composed. His lips were thin and his eyes were keen +and penetrating. + +"Comrades," Alexander said, using the term that endeared him to every +soldier in his army, "I have a dangerous service to ask of you. King +Azemilcus has dreamed that his city is about to fall, and we know that +his dream is true. He has sent his son and his chancellor to us to ask +his life, and it has been granted to him. But many things may happen +when the blood is hot with fighting, and it is necessary that +Macedonians be with him when we enter. Therefore I wish you to go to +him and guard him when the time arrives. You may conduct him to the +Temple of Melkarth, which will be set aside as a sanctuary. + +"It has been promised that you shall pass unharmed into the city and +remain there in the palace until I come. If this promise is not kept, +Azemilcus and all his family are to be crucified upon the walls as a +warning to those who may wish to break faith with Alexander." + +The young king looked keenly at the PhÅ“nicians. The prince lowered +his eyes and moved uneasily. + +"There is one thing more," Alexander continued. "If any of you have +friends in the city whom you desire to protect, it is made a condition +of the safety of Azemilcus that he shall aid you by every means in his +power." + +He glanced meaningly at Clearchus as he uttered these words, and the +young man's heart bounded with renewed hope. + +They left the tent in silence. The captain of the guard accompanied +them to the boat. + +"Azemilcus is betraying his city," Chares whispered. + +"We shall save Artemisia and rescue Thais," Clearchus replied, gripping +the arm of his friend. + +They entered the boat and rowed silently to the Egyptian Harbor. The +towering height of the wall swallowed the little craft in its shadow +and no sentinel challenged them. They bent their heads as they glided +under the great guard-chains that stretched across the entrance of the +harbor, and threading their way among the shipping, they reached the +landing and disembarked. + +Keeping to the left, the chancellor led them toward the palace. More +than once they were forced to step aside to avoid the heaps of ruins +that told of the work done by the ballistæ. As they advanced, the +great bulk of the palace rose before them above the wall, to which it +was joined and of which it formed a part. As they advanced, the +chancellor was careful to keep in the deepest shadow, and his hand +shook as he fitted the key into a small door in the palace wall. + +"We are safe!" he said to the prince as the door closed behind them. + +"Very well," the young man replied, yawning; "I am going to bed." + +He turned abruptly into a lateral passage and disappeared. The +chancellor seemed in doubt for a moment whether to call him back, but +he decided to let him go. + +"Follow me," he said to the Macedonians. + +They groped their way upward after him along a winding stair that +seemed to be built into the city wall. This slow progress continued +for many minutes without a glimmer of light until they reached what +appeared to be a windowless chamber. There the chancellor left them, +bidding them wait until he had notified the king of their arrival. + +He was absent so long that Leonidas began to grow uneasy. He found the +chamber destitute of furniture and without doors save that by which +they had entered and that by which the chancellor had left them. Both +were now secured. This had been accomplished without attracting their +attention and it added to their uneasiness. + +"We are like owls in a cage," Nathan said. "We can do nothing but +wait." + +"I do not like it," Leonidas replied. + +"Nonsense," Chares remarked. "They brought us here for a purpose and +we are of more use to them alive than dead. Do you suppose that +Azemilcus is anxious to be crucified?" + +"Perhaps not," the Spartan replied, "but it maybe that he has changed +his mind. If he does not send for us soon, I think we had better try +the door." + +Clearchus said nothing, but he paced impatiently back and forth across +the narrow room, pausing at every sound. The night was passing and the +hour for the sacrifice to Moloch was drawing nearer. Shut up in the +palace, they would be powerless to save Artemisia. The moments seemed +hours to him. At last he could bear the suspense no longer. + +"We should never have permitted the chancellor to leave us!" he said, +and, striding to the door, he began to beat upon it with the hilt of +his sword until the metal of which it was composed rang like a bell. + +There was no response. The others joined him, raising a tumult loud +enough to be heard throughout the palace, but even then some time +elapsed before the bars were removed and the door swung open. The +chancellor had returned alone, his face white and scared in the +flickering light of the lamp that he had set upon the stone floor while +he worked at the bars. + +"Silence, or we are all lost!" he whispered imploringly, taking up the +lamp with a hand that trembled so that the oil spilled upon the floor. +"Do you want to invite death?" + +"Don't talk to us of silence!" bellowed Chares, threatening the old man +with his sword. "What do you mean by shutting us up here? You have +yet to learn that it is not wise to keep the soldiers of Alexander +waiting. Take us to your king." + +"Yes, yes!" muttered the chancellor with chattering teeth. "Follow me; +but in the name of Baal keep silence! I fear they have heard you +already." + +"Little I care if they have, whoever they are," the Theban exclaimed, +stalking after the chancellor, sword in hand. "If you try any more of +your tricks, your head goes off like a chicken's." + +They made several turns in the passage, ascended a last short flight of +steps, and came to a second door, which their guide pushed open. They +followed him into a large room, hung with woven tapestries, carpeted +with silken rugs, and strewn with luxurious divans. It was on the +southern side of the palace, with windows that looked out across the +wall toward the sea. The light of the lamps was already yielding to +the gray dawn which silvered the surface of the water. + +With his back to the window stood Azemilcus, king of the doomed city. +His thin white hair straggled from under a close-fitting cap to the +diamond collar which encircled his wrinkled throat. A gorgeous robe of +crimson hid his shrunken figure. He looked old and feeble, but his +eyes were as bright as jewels set in the head of a mummy. + +"Welcome, gentlemen!" he said quietly, stretching forth a wasted hand +toward Chares, who was striding toward him with anger in his face. "I +must ask your pardon for your detention; but we are prisoners here, +like yourselves." + +Astonishment halted the Theban, who stood staring at the king as though +he had not heard aright. Clearchus stepped forward. + +"What do you mean? Who has made you a prisoner?" he asked sharply. + +The small king smiled with irony on his lips. + +"I fear it can be only the prince, my son," he replied. + +"The same one who helped to bring us here and who left us as soon as we +entered the palace?" Clearchus demanded. + +"Yes," Azemilcus answered, crossing his hands and hiding them in the +wide sleeves of his robe. "He is not sharp-witted, my son; and it +turns out that he still has hopes of saving Tyre so that he may reign +here in my place. You see what they have been doing." + +He stepped back and waved his hand toward the window. Beneath them was +the breach that had been so desperately attacked and defended. The +Tyrians had raised a new wall, nearly as thick and as high as the city +wall itself. It formed a half-circle inside the gap, joining the main +wall at either end, so that an attacking force, seeking to storm the +breach, would be caught as in the bend of a bow. Swarms of men were +still at work there by the light of torches. + +The Athenian's heart sank. It seemed to him impossible that after the +defeat of the preceding day, a second attack could succeed when the +breach had been repaired. They were inside the city, it was true, but +they were only five against forty thousand. + +For a moment there was silence in the room. The bitter smile still +rested on the thin lips of the old king. The chancellor stood +nervously rubbing his knuckles, first with one hand and then with the +other. Leonidas examined the wall and the new work with an eye that +took in every detail. He turned to the king. + +"You know that if you try to deceive us, we will kill you," he said +quietly. + +"Well?" the king replied, still with his thin smile. + +"You say that it is your son who has shut you up," Leonidas continued. +"Why do you think so?" + +"Because he alone, besides this man, knew that I had summoned you," the +king said. + +Leonidas looked at the chancellor, whose ashen face grew a shade paler +under his scrutiny. + +"You were about to betray your city and your son has betrayed you," the +Spartan said. + +"That is a harsh way to put it," Azemilcus answered. "The city was +lost already." + +"Is it lost now?" Leonidas demanded, pointing to the new wall. + +"Yes," said the old king. "To-day, to-morrow, next month, it will +fall. The Gods have deserted us. The boy told me they would." + +"It is not surprising that the Gods have deserted you," the Spartan +observed. "But your son, who has conspired against you, knows that we +are here." + +"Yes," the king admitted. + +"And you kept us shut up while you were considering whether there was +not some way of getting rid of us so that we might not be found and +used as proof of your treachery," Leonidas continued. "You were ready +to sacrifice us, who had come to save you, so that you might prove your +son a liar and defeat his attempt." + +Azemilcus made no reply, but the smile left his lips and he glanced +furtively from side to side. Chares muttered some words in his throat +that sounded like a curse. + +"You are speaking to a king," Azemilcus said at last, drawing himself +up with an assumption of dignity and trying to meet the eyes of his +questioner. + +"I am speaking to a fool!" Leonidas replied contemptuously. "In order +to profit by his double perfidy, your son must have proof against you. +Who will believe him unless we are found? It will be his first care to +produce us, and if he can do this, there will be no hope left for you. +Every moment that you kept us behind that door brought you nearer to +death." + +He paused, and Azemilcus made no reply; but his smile came back and his +eyes wandered toward a table where a great flagon of wine had been set. + +"There may yet be time to save ourselves and you," Leonidas continued. +"If you can get rid of us for the present, you will have nothing to +fear. You can deny your son's story and it will be attributed to a +clumsy plot to overthrow you. Is there no way out of the palace that +is not guarded?" + +"None that I know," the king replied. + +The chancellor uttered a clucking sound in his throat that seemed +involuntary. Leonidas gripped him by the shoulder. + +"Do you know a way?" he cried. "Speak quickly." + +The chancellor went down on his knees and raised his hands in +supplication. + +"Mercy!" he wailed. "Mercy! I know--I have heard of a way!" + +"Where does it lead?" Leonidas demanded fiercely. + +"To the Temple of our Lord, Baal-Moloch," the old man whimpered. + +King Azemilcus looked at his chancellor with his keen eyes and +sarcastic smile. + +"Now I understand many things," he remarked dryly. + +"Oh, my master, I took them!" the chancellor cried, with tears rolling +down his cheeks. "Esmun made me do it. He said Moloch demanded them." + +"My rubies," the king said musingly. "Well, never mind. We will talk +of them hereafter." + +"What is one piece of treachery, more or less, to you?" Leonidas said +roughly. "Remain here. Should you escape your son, we will seek you, +if we can, when those come whom you cannot escape. If we do not +return, fly to the Temple of Melkarth and embrace his knees that you +may be spared. Farewell!" + +He dragged the chancellor to his feet. The man was shaking so that he +could hardly stand. Below them in the palace they could hear the tramp +of ascending footsteps and the sound of voices. + +"They are coming; we cannot remain here," Nathan cried. + +Leonidas snatched up the flagon of wine and hastily filled a golden cup +that he offered to the chancellor. + +"Drink this," he said. "It will give you strength." + +Instead of taking the cup, the chancellor uttered a choking cry and +pushed it from him. + +"Not that!" he gasped. "See, I am strong! I will lead you!" + +He seemed indeed to have recovered from his weakness, for he stepped +briskly toward the door by which they had entered. Leonidas looked at +him and then at the wine spilled upon the floor. + +"Poisoned!" he exclaimed, and such a blaze of wrath gleamed in his eye +that the old king shrank back. + +"So this was your plan for getting rid of us!" the Spartan said. + +His grasp tightened about the hilt of his sword, and for an instant he +hesitated; but the tramp of the soldiers was close at hand and he +reflected that a dead king could not betray Tyre. He sheathed his +sword and darted into the passage after his companions. Azemilcus made +fast the door behind them and let the draperies fall over it. Then he +turned with his mocking smile to face his accusers. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +THE KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + +Azemilcus walked to the window and stood there leaning against the +frame. Day was breaking, sullen and gray, in a wrack of flying clouds, +and the uneasy moaning of the sea sounded in his ears. + +There Hur and Esmun, panting from their long climb, found him standing. +The prince carried a drawn sword in his hand and he glanced quickly +from side to side as he burst into the room. Behind him came Ariston +and a guard of twenty or thirty soldiers, headed by one of the generals +of the garrison. Hur had expected to find the Greeks. He saw only his +father, leaning wearily in the window. He stood abashed, looking at +Esmun as if for advice. + +The old king remained motionless until all had entered, and then he +turned slowly and faced them. The lines of his countenance, deepened +by months of anxiety, told of the strain he had passed through, and his +shrunken frame seemed aged and feeble in its magnificent robe of state. +His eyes met theirs steadily and frankly, yet with a look of sadness as +he gave them his greeting. + +"Welcome, my son and gentlemen," he said. "You come early to seek your +king; but in these times I know that ceremony must be disregarded. +What news do you bring?" + +The authority in his tone and the dignity of his bearing, which most of +the men who stood before him had been accustomed from boyhood to +respect, had their effect. The soldiers, who knew nothing of the plot, +stared wonderingly about them. Ariston had prudently halted near the +door, and he now edged still farther into the background. + +"Come, gentlemen!" the king said, finding that none replied to his +question. "What is the news that brings you hither at this hour? Do +not fear to tell me, since it is the lot of kings to share the dangers +and sorrows of their people. Have I not done it for nearly fifty +years?" + +He smiled somewhat sadly and waved his thin hand with a gesture that +seemed to dismiss all that he had done for the city as something for +which he required no return of gratitude. + +"Do not hesitate," he continued, "because you would spare me. It is +true that in all that now threatens us I have more to lose than you. I +am ready, as you know, to sacrifice even life itself if that would save +the city. Is it concerning the offering to Baal-Moloch that you desire +to consult me?" + +He addressed himself to Esmun, recognizing in the priest the man from +whom he had most to fear. He had scarcely glanced at his son, who +stood helpless, raging inwardly to find himself presenting the +appearance of a culprit caught in some fault, instead of the avenger +that he had expected to be. Esmun looked at the prince and saw that +nothing was to be expected from him. He took up the situation boldly, +relying upon his sacred office to protect him. + +"It is true that I wished to consult you concerning the sacrifice to +Baal-Moloch, whom I serve," he said, "but we had still another reason +for coming. We have been informed that a plot against your life has +been conceived. It was told to us that certain Greeks had been brought +into the city by the treachery of your enemies, and we made all haste +to summon this guard to protect you in case of need. It is said that +the assassins are even now in the palace. If anything should happen to +your Highness, then, indeed, the city might despair. In guarding thy +safety, we guard the safety of all." + +The two men looked into each other's eyes. The king read the threat +that lay behind Esmun's words and he took up the challenge. + +"Why should they seek to destroy a man whose days are fast nearing +their close?" he asked. "The death of one of these soldiers would +profit them more, since it would leave one less dauntless heart for +them to conquer. It seems to me that the alarm is needless, although I +thank you for your care; and yet, I will not conceal from you that +there may after all be some basis for the story you have heard. Within +the week, the crown rubies have been stolen, and it is clear that I +have some unfaithful servants. Perhaps they have brought in the Greeks +to prevent detection and the punishment they deserve. Search the +palace, and if the assassins are found, we will make an example of +them." + +Esmun's heavy face quivered when the king spoke of the rubies, for his +words were accompanied by a look full of significance. He knew that +the Greeks were in the city, but the willingness of the king to have +the search made indicated that they were no longer in the palace. He +racked his brains to think what had become of them. + +Ariston slipped out of the door and stole softly down the stairs. The +astute Athenian saw that the counterplot had collapsed. + +"You, my son, and you, Esmun, will remain with me while the guard makes +the search," the king said coolly, "and let us eat, for there is much +to be done to-day." + +He engaged the priest in talk regarding the details of the sacrifice to +Baal while the soldiers dispersed through the palace and slaves brought +food. To Hur he did not speak. The general in charge of the guard at +last returned, saying that no trace of the presence of strangers in the +palace could be discovered. He knew nothing of the secret passages, +and the prince did not venture, in his father's presence, to reveal +them. Esmun, with the theft of the rubies in his mind, dared not +betray his knowledge of their existence. + +"It is as I thought," the king said, dismissing the guard. "I thank +you for your zeal." + +The slaves had already withdrawn, since it was unlawful for any who had +not been initiated to be present while the mysteries of the worship of +Baal were being discussed. + +"You seem downcast, my son!" the king said when he was left alone with +Hur and the priest. He took his seat at the table, upon which the food +had been placed, and motioned them to a seat opposite to him. "You +will never be a king," he continued, "until you learn how to conquer +failure. I have noted a certain nervousness in you of late. You +should overcome it. Misfortune is half disarmed when you meet her in a +cheerful spirit." + +Hur let his eyes fall, but he made no reply. Esmun kept his gaze on +the king's face. + +"Come!" Azemilcus said in the same bantering tone, "you do not eat. +You should leave the welfare of the city to me. You thought you knew, +when you did not. You should remember that kings do not always reveal +their purposes." + +He filled his cup from the great flagon and pushed it toward them. + +"Let us drink to the safety of Tyre," he said. + +"To that I say amen," Esmun exclaimed, "and may the curse of Baal rest +upon all who seek to betray her!" + +"So say I--be they high or low!" Hur echoed boldly. + +The old king's eyes sparkled and he looked at them with the mocking +smile that they knew so well. + +"Drink, then!" he said, spilling a few drops from his cup upon the +floor as a libation. + +The others followed his example, Esmun with a muttered word of +invocation, and both drank off what remained. The king was seized by a +violent fit of coughing that shook his withered frame and forced him to +set his cup down untasted. As he did so Esmun rose to his feet. + +The face of the priest was convulsed and purple and his eyes seemed +starting from his head. He raised his clenched hands and made a +tottering step toward the king as though he would strike him with his +fists. He struggled to speak, but no words issued from his throat. He +reeled blindly and crashed down across the table like a slain bullock, +overturning it in his fall. His eyes rolled up in his head and he lay +motionless. + +The prince did not rise from his chair, but his fingers gripped +convulsively the carved arms of ebony and he writhed in agony. + +"Father!" he gasped. + +His form stiffened, his head fell back, and a slight foam appeared on +his lips. + +Azemilcus drew the skirts of his robe around him and stepped carefully +across the litter caused by the wreck of the table, with its linen +cloth stained in the spilled wine that flowed from the shattered +flagon. He walked quietly to the door and vanished between the crimson +curtains, leaving the two dead men alone in the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + +While Azemilcus was dealing with his enemies in his own way, the +wretched chancellor, shaking in every limb, conducted the Macedonians +back through the secret passage by which he had brought them to the +presence of the king. Descending the winding stairs, they reached the +street level, where the old man opened a hidden door that led into a +narrow subterranean gallery. They followed this for what seemed to +them a long distance in a stagnant atmosphere, heavy with dampness. It +brought them at last to a slab of stone, from which hung a ring of iron. + +Chares was forced to exert all his strength to turn this stone upon its +pivot. They emerged from the passage into a small room with walls of +rough masonry and a door that was closed by a black curtain. At the +request of the chancellor, the lamp was extinguished. + +"Where are we?" Leonidas demanded. + +"In the Temple of Baal," the old man whispered. "This room is little +used by the priests. They live on the other side." + +The Spartan raised the curtain and looked into the gloomy interior of +the temple. It was deserted and silent. + +"What shall we do with this man?" he asked, turning to his companions, +and indicating the chancellor. + +"We have no further use for him," Chares replied, placing his hand +suggestively upon his sword-hilt. + +"Spare me!" the chancellor cried, falling upon his knees. "I will tell +where the rubies are, and a great store of jewels besides. They are +under the image of Baal. Do not take my life!" + +"He might betray us if we let him go," Leonidas said, paying no +attention to his supplications. + +"I swear to you on the head of Baal that I will not," the old man cried +piteously. + +"If he should betray us," Clearchus observed, "his own life would be +forfeit, because we should reveal the part he had in bringing us into +the city." + +"Very well; you have most at stake," the Spartan said. "Let him go." + +The chancellor did not wait for further permission. He disappeared +into the passage like an old gray rat escaped from a trap. + +"I am half sorry we spared him after all," Leonidas said regretfully. +"Let us see where we are." + +They passed through the curtained door and into the temple. Twilight +reigned beneath the lofty dome where the bats were still flitting. +This semi-darkness was artfully preserved so that the fire, which was +the essential feature of the worship of Baal-Moloch, might be visible +and effective during the sacrifices. + +The Greeks found themselves in a vast hall of oblong shape. They were +standing upon a platform of stone, raised for the height of a man above +the main floor, to which a flight of broad and shallow steps descended. +A huge dark mass stood before them exactly under the dome, the sides of +which were pierced by narrow slits that admitted the light of day. +This mass was the misshapen idol of Baal. The God was represented by a +hollow statue of iron and bronze, sitting upon a throne. Its long arms +terminated in hands that rested with palms upturned beside its knees. +Its enormous head was inclined slightly forward, and the expression +upon its face was so cruel and malignant that Clearchus felt his blood +chilled as he gazed upon it and thought of the hecatombs of innocent +victims whose lives had been sacrificed to its ferocity. + +There were larger and more splendid images of Baal in other +PhÅ“nician cities, but none that was so venerated. It had been +brought from the Temple of Baal-Moloch in the Old City on the mainland, +where for centuries it had been the guardian of the place, receiving +its sacrifices each year. In the old days even the first-born of the +royal blood had been lifted in those blackened arms and rolled upon the +iron knees to be roasted alive. The terrible face leaned above with +distended nostrils, as though to inhale the odor of burning flesh, and +thousands of mothers had watched its dreadful smile through the smoke +with songs of praise on their lips and death in their hearts, while +their babies writhed in agony in the pitiless embrace. Baal would +accept no unwilling sacrifice, and the mother whose child was torn from +her breast to be given to the God, not only lost her infant but was +disgraced forever if she showed emotion while the rite was being +performed. + +In spite of themselves, the Macedonians were oppressed by a kind of +superstitious dread as they looked at the grim visage that seemed to +sneer down upon them. + +The great portals of the temple, at the other end of the hall, were +closed. On either side were rows of dark columns upholding the roof, +which was painted to represent the heavens. Dim shapes of monsters, +half beast and half human, appeared upon the walls. + +The Greeks made a circuit of the temple but found no means of egress. +There were several anterooms similar to the one to which the +subterranean passage had led them. These contained vestments, the +implements used in the ceremonials, and a store of scented wood, dry as +tinder, that furnished fuel for the sacrifices. In one of the rooms +was a door which Joel believed connected with the building in which the +priests were housed. The walls around the platform were draped with +heavy hangings of black that formed a background for the image. + +"Let us take counsel," Nathan said, casting a look of hatred at the +idol. "Jehovah will not permit this monster to triumph over Him." + +They withdrew into their recess to consider a plan of action. + +"One thing is certain," Leonidas said. "Alone we can never prevent the +sacrifice." + +"My people will help us," Nathan said. "They will not give up their +first-born without fighting." + +"How many are they?" Clearchus asked. + +"There are ten thousand of them in the city," Joel replied; "but they +are not armed, excepting those who have been drafted to the defence of +the walls." + +"I have more faith in Alexander than I have in your people," Chares +said bluntly. "He will be in the city before this day ends, unless the +Gods have misled old Aristander." + +"But will he come in time?" Leonidas asked. "Let Nathan and Joel go to +the Israelites and rouse them to resist. Tell them that Alexander is +coming and that he will protect them. We three will stay here and +await the result." + +To this the others gave their assent. It seemed a desperate chance, +but it was all they had. There was a small window in the antechamber, +high up in the wall. Nathan climbed up to it on the shoulders of the +Greeks and looked through. + +"There is nothing on this side but the cypress garden," he said. +"Farewell; you may be sure that we shall return, though we come alone." + +He slipped through the window and dropped upon the turf outside. Joel +followed him. The three Greeks, left alone in the temple, looked into +each other's faces and Clearchus grasped his companions by the hand. + +"You have placed your lives in peril for me," he said with emotion. +"Zeus grant that they be not demanded of you!" + +"Pshaw!" Chares exclaimed, "are not our lives always in peril? If we +must die, we shall die; and we are not permitted to choose where or +how. When the Ferryman calls, we must go. For my part, if thou +wouldst repay me, let me sleep, for my head is nodding." + +Clearchus smiled, understanding his friend's aversion to any display of +feeling. He embraced the Theban, who calmly lay down upon the stone +floor; his eyes closed, and he began to snore gently. + +Leonidas, whose tough frame defied fatigue, and Clearchus, whose mind +was in a torment of doubt and suspense, stationed themselves behind the +curtain that hid the door and waited, talking in whispers. They could +hear the patter of raindrops and by the rising wind outside they knew +that a storm was breaking over the city. Its breath entered through +the slits in the dome, causing the dark hangings to sway against the +wall. The gloomy temple seemed to be filled with mysterious +murmurings. Some drops fell upon the image of Baal and ran glistening +down the bronze head and broad, sleek shoulders. + +Nathan and Joel made their way through the cypress thickets and scaled +the wall of the temple garden. They found themselves in a narrow +street which led them to a broader thoroughfare, where men were +hurrying to and fro in the rain. Soldiers of the garrison, weary and +hollow-eyed, were going to the defences. Citizens whose uneasy rest +had been cut short by the tension of dread were early abroad in search +of news. + +"What of the enemy?" one of them asked of a soldier who was returning +from the walls. + +"They are coming out to attack," the soldier replied. "Their ships +have already left the shore, and the stones will soon be falling about +your ears." + +"How much longer?" the citizen asked, with a groan. + +"Ask that of the Gods," the soldier replied indifferently; "but I think +the end will be soon, unless Moloch relents." + +Joel and Nathan passed on, their appearance attracting no attention in +a city where there were so many of their race. + +"Hasten!" Nathan said. "Alexander is coming!" + +As they advanced toward the quarter occupied by the Israelites, the +streets became filled with people, nearly all of whom seemed to be +drawn in the same direction that they themselves were taking. They +fell in with a man who strode on with knitted brows and lips +compressed. By his appearance he was a Hebrew, and Nathan addressed +him in the Hebrew tongue. + +"Whither goest thou?" he asked. + +"To save the innocent from slaughter," the man replied fiercely. "Come +with me if ye are men!" + +"We will come with thee," Nathan said. + +"There are the priests!" Joel exclaimed. + +Half a dozen of the ministers of Baal, surrounded by a guard of +soldiers, came down a cross street. They carried in their hands small +bundles of short cords with which to bind the limbs of their victims. +The crowd gave way before them, gazing at their black robes and stern, +fanatical faces with curiosity mingled with dread. + +"May the curse of the Most High rest upon them!" the stranger cried, +shaking his fist. + +He began to run in the direction of the open square used by the +Israelites as a market-place. Nathan and Joel raced after him. The +clamor of voices raised in bitter lamentation reached them. They found +the square choked with a surging mass of men and women who clasped +little children to their breasts, seeking to protect them. The rain +beat in their faces and the gusty wind tossed their garments. Some +called upon their God, raising their hands toward heaven. Others +shrieked the names of their offspring who had already been torn from +them. Every house in the quarter was filled with weeping and cries of +despair. The priests of Baal went hither and thither, seizing their +prey in the name of the law wherever they found it. + +Nathan and Joel halted at the edge of the square. The priests were +searching through the crowd, many of them concealing a tiny burden +beneath their robes of office. Feeble wailings betrayed the nature of +these bundles. They were the children of the Israelites, bound hand +and foot for the sacrifice. + +While the young men stood looking, one of the priests discovered a +woman who crouched upon the ground with her face hidden in her +dishevelled hair. He grasped her roughly by the shoulder and drew her +back, disclosing the fact that she had been shielding her baby beneath +her bosom. The child raised its dimpled hands and tried to touch its +mother's wet cheeks. The priest seized them and tore the infant from +her. She clutched the skirt of his robe and followed him on her knees +through the mire, begging piteously for the child. + +"You have so many already," she said, "and he is all I have! Surely +Baal does not require my little one. He will be appeased. Give him +back to me!" + +The priest turned and struck her upturned face with his clenched hand. +She uttered a cry of anguish and released his robe, falling back +senseless to the earth. + +An inarticulate sound burst from the lips of the man who had guided +Nathan and Joel to the market-place. + +"O Lord, my God!" he shouted, raising his hands to the leaden sky. "I +had two children to be the staff and prop of my old age. Wilt Thou +suffer them to be taken from me? We have remained faithful to Thee; is +this to be our reward?" + +Nathan was about to spring upon the guard that surrounded the priests +before him when the tall figure of an old man strode into the square. +His gaunt frame was clad in sackcloth, and his long white hair and +beard were blown in the wind. He walked erect, without the aid of the +staff which he carried in his hand. There was an air of authority and +even of majesty in his bearing. The men and women nearest to him fell +upon their knees and stretched their hands toward him in supplication. +He did not glance at them and he seemed not to hear their prayers. His +stern eyes swept the market-place and he spoke in a resonant voice that +rose above the tumult and caused it to die away. + +"Why do ye lament, men of Israel?" he cried. "Cease now your weeping +and rejoice. For Tyre is fallen! Her hour is come!" + +"It is Pethuel, chief priest of the synagogue," Joel whispered to +Nathan, who was watching the old man with glowing eyes. + +"Hearken unto me, O ye of little faith!" Pethuel continued, and the +silence spread until his words could be heard throughout the square. +"The worshipper of idols is cast down. The day of clouds and thick +darkness is at hand. Lo! they waxed a strong and a mighty people. The +cities of the world feared them, and their ships followed the trackless +wastes of the sea. There was none like to them in their greatness. + +"Unto some they said, 'Go!' and unto others they said, 'Come!' Verily, +their strength was like that of the lion, and they rejoiced in their +vessels of gold and silver. It seemed to them that there would be no +ending. + +"And lo! the end is upon them. They are cast down; their walls are +overthrown, and their city is become a place of desolation. Thus saith +the Lord God unto me, His servant, that I may tell it to my people and +bid them rejoice! + +"He has delivered them out of the hands of their enemies as a bird from +the net of the fowler. I said unto the Lord, 'Behold, the city of +abominations hath laid her hand upon Thy servants! In the olden time, +did she spoil Israel and Juda and the pleasant valleys, wasting them +with fire and sword. Then did Thy vengeance fall upon her, until of +her strong walls not one stone remained upon another. But now she +presseth sore upon Thy people; wherefore help us, O Lord!' + +"Hear ye, men of Israel! Out of the darkness came a Voice like the +rushing of a mighty wind and the sound of many waters, and it filled +mine ears, saying: 'I am the Lord God of Hosts. Inasmuch as ye have +been faithful unto Me and have bowed not before the work of man's +hands, therefore will I hearken unto you. She has sown the wind, and +she shall reap the whirlwind. Her fortresses and her strong places +shall be spoiled. The weak shall perish with the strong, and the +mighty shall not deliver himself. I will give her daughters to ruin +and her children shall be wanderers among the nations. This will I do +for My people, that they be not put to scorn. Say to them: "Take each +man his sword and let him slay; for who shall withstand the wrath of +the Most High?"'" + +To Nathan it seemed that the veil that separates the seen from the +unseen had been rent away. The voice that rang in his ears was no +longer the voice of Pethuel, but that of his Maker. He felt himself +lifted up beyond the region of doubt, and a great gladness filled his +heart. + +Pethuel paused before him and looked at him with a gaze that pierced +him through like fire. The old man raised his staff and touched him on +the shoulder. It seemed to Nathan an act of consecration. + +"Lead thou them!" Pethuel cried in a loud voice. "It is the command of +the Lord, thy God." + +A compelling Power, greater than himself, seized upon the young +Israelite. He no longer had any volition of his own. He became an +instrument. + +"Follow me, men of Israel!" he shouted, drawing his sword. "Jehovah +gives the heathen into our hands!" + +The hush was broken, and a great cry went up from the densely packed +market-place. With one impulse, the crowd fell upon the soldiers and +priests who still remained in the square, the greater part having +already retreated toward the Temple of Baal-Moloch. The PhÅ“nicians, +greatly outnumbered, were able to make but a brief resistance. Nathan +sprang forward and cut down the nearest soldier. In the rush that +followed him, the guard was swept away, scattered, and destroyed +singly. A score of children were rescued. The priests were trampled +to the earth and torn limb from limb. The square resounded with savage +cries. The Israelites had been roused to frenzy. The word of God was +upon them. + +"To the temple!" Nathan shouted. The cry ran through the mob which +surged into the narrow streets leading to the shrine of Baal-Moloch, +bearing down all before it. The frightened priests heard it coming and +sent messengers to the walls, demanding succor. Azemilcus ordered +soldiers to be detached to quell the disturbance, and the defence of +the city was still further weakened. + +The fighting in the streets became desperate. The Israelites scattered +and, by circuitous routes, pressed toward the temple. They mounted to +the roofs, hurling all kinds of missiles from a great height upon the +heads of the guards. The rain fell in blinding sheets. It seemed to +the Tyrians that the entire Hebrew population of the city had suddenly +gone mad. Ties of association were forgotten, and men who had been +friends for years struggled for each other's lives. + +The tumult spread in every direction. The soldiers were forced to fall +back and form a ring of defence around the temple. Even then, they had +much ado to hold the crowd at bay, for the Israelites charged against +them without ceasing, recklessly throwing away their lives upon the +hedge of steel. + +Great stones dropped from the sky continually. Friend and foe were +crushed beneath them. When they struck the walls of the houses, they +left gaping fissures through which the interior could be seen. They +came from the engines upon the Macedonian ships that were renewing the +attack upon the city. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + +Artemisia and Thais looked from their window at the scud of flying +clouds and beneath them the Macedonian fleet assembling south of the +city. Thais' eyes danced with excitement, and Artemisia's cheeks were +flushed. + +"This time we shall win!" Thais exclaimed, throwing her arms about her +companion. "You are beautiful this morning, Artemisia; Clearchus will +be pleased with you." + +The color in Artemisia's cheeks deepened and a happy smile parted her +lips. + +"I shall make him leave the army," she said. "Of course I am proud of +his bravery; but, after all, there are better things than to be always +killing other men." + +She raised her chin with a charming affectation of pride. "He is an +Athenian, you know," she added. + +Thais frowned. She found in Artemisia's words an implied reflection +upon Chares. + +"Don't be silly," she replied. "Do you want to make him one of those +curled idiots who spend their time in company with philosophers, +chasing shadows or trying to find out why crabs walk sidewise? You +would wake up some day and find that one of them had proved to him that +there is no such thing as love. Or perhaps you would rather have him a +dandy, with race-horses and a score of dancing girls to amuse himself +with! Let him be a man, Artemisia; let him love you and fight his +enemies with all his heart. For my part, if Chares talks of deserting +Alexander, he may look elsewhere for some one to love him; for I shall +not." + +Artemisia listened to this outburst; but she shook her head, and a soft +light shone in her eyes. + +"You want power and splendor," she said "but I would rather be alone +with Clearchus in a desert than sit beside him upon the throne of +Darius. I will have no rival in his heart." + +"And with half a dozen children around you," Thais said scornfully. +"You might as well complete the picture." + +"Yes," Artemisia answered bravely, though she blushed as she said it, +"if the Gods permit it; and if the first is a boy, he shall be named +Chares." + +Thais turned swiftly and kissed her, all her anger gone in a moment. + +"There, sister, I did not mean it," she said. "May the Gods give us +both our hearts' desire!" + +She clapped her hands, and the tiring women who had been awaiting the +summons entered. + +"Give me my saffron chiton," she cried, "and my topaz necklace. We +shall have visitors to-day, girls." + +She seated herself before a large mirror while the women dressed her +hair and robed her as she had directed. They could not hide their +admiration when their task was finished and she stood before them like +a living image of gold. + +But Artemisia chose a linen robe of pure white, unrelieved by color. +The spotless purity of her dress set off the delicate flush upon her +cheeks and the soft brown of her hair. + +So eager were the young women that they were scarcely able to taste the +fruit and cakes that the servants set before them. They kept jumping +up and running to the window to see what progress the Macedonian fleet +was making, and whether the attack had begun. + +"What a storm!" Artemisia exclaimed. "I wish it would stop; it hides +the ships." + +"Zeus is fighting on our side to-day," Thais replied gayly, as a long +growl of thunder shook the walls of the house. "Tell me, what is going +on in the city?" she added, turning to a Cretan maiden among the women. +The girl was beautiful in face and figure, although her expression was +one of sadness. She had once ruled as favorite of Phradates, and it +was whispered in the household that she still loved him, in spite of +the fact that she had had a score of successors since her brief day of +ascendency. + +"They are preparing a sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," she replied, "in the +hope of persuading him to aid them." + +"What is this sacrifice? I have never seen one," Thais asked. + +"I do not know," the girl said. "There has been none since I came to +Tyre." + +"I know, mistress," another of the women volunteered. She was a +Syrian, with a supple figure and bright black eyes, who had been a +slave from her infancy. + +"Describe it, then," Thais said. + +"Baal-Moloch is the most powerful God in the world," the woman said +volubly. "His image is made of iron, and is terrible to look upon." +She shivered as she spoke. "I never saw it but once, and that was when +the Babylonian king threatened to make war upon us. We offered +sacrifice to prevent it, and Moloch would not permit him to come. The +priests went about the city and took the children--even the little +babies--and carried them away to the temple. When the doors were +opened, we could see Baal sitting there in the darkness. There was a +fire inside of him, and his eyes glowed at us. He reached his hands +down, and the priests gave him the children, one by one, and he lifted +them up and devoured them. It was awful to think of those little +children!" + +Artemisia listened with an expression of horror on her face. + +"I do not see where they are going to get the children now," Thais +remarked. "They have all been sent away." + +"They are taking the children of the Israelites who remained here," the +Syrian explained, "and they say--at least, Mena says--they are going to +sacrifice a virgin, too. Ugh! I don't want to see it." + +"Little good will it do them!" Thais exclaimed. "Not even Baal can +save their city now." + +"Hush!" the Syrian said, affrighted. "He is a great God." + +Sounds of commotion and of hurried footsteps in the lower halls of the +house interrupted them. Thais listened. + +"Go and see what it is," she commanded. + +The Syrian went, and in a moment came flying back into the room with +terror on her face. + +"Oh, my mistress!" she cried. "Why did you speak so of Moloch? His +priests are in the house! Save us!" + +"Silence!" Thais exclaimed, rising to her feet. "You shall not be +harmed." + +She raised her head proudly and faced the doorway, while the slave +women huddled behind her with frightened eyes. Artemisia stood beside +her, trying to emulate her courage; but a strange sinking laid hold +upon her heart, and a mist swam before her eyes. + +There was a rush of feet outside, and four black-robed men, followed by +a guard of soldiers, entered. Their leader was a man of stern and +grave expression, whose eyes seemed to glow in his pale face with the +power of his compelling will. He was Hiram, who had been chosen +hastily to act as chief priest when Esmun failed to return from the +royal palace. His ascetic countenance contrasted strongly with the +gross faces of his followers, brutalized by self-indulgence. The other +priests both feared and hated him, for it was said that Baal had +endowed him with powers that were beyond the understanding of man. + +"What seek ye here?" Thais demanded, flashing a haughty glance at the +zealot. + +He paid no heed to her and made no answer. His dark eyes caught those +of her companion and held them. + +"Artemisia!" he said, in a solemn voice that sounded like a summons, +"our Lord, Baal-Moloch, the Saviour, awaits thee! Come with us to his +temple." + +To Artemisia the words sounded far away; yet she heard them distinctly, +and they seemed to leave her no choice but to obey. A deep sense of +peace crept over her as she looked into the fathomless eyes of the +priest, that were fixed steadfastly upon hers, and from which she could +not withdraw her own. Dimly she felt that never again should she see +Clearchus or behold the land of Attica. Never should she hear his +beloved voice or feel his arms around her, clasping her close to his +breast. It was the will of the Gods. Everything earthly seemed to +recede and fall away from her as in a dream, leaving her alone with the +grim priest, her master. They two were floating upon a mighty current +that was bearing them, she knew not whither. She was at peace, and all +was ended. The terror she had felt a few moments before had left her. +It seemed remote and long ago, and she smiled to think of it and of how +foolish it had been. + +Hiram saw her form droop and her muscles relax, and these signs of his +victory did not escape him. The expression of his face did not change, +however, and he still kept his eyes fastened upon hers. The sombre +figures of his subordinates stood motionless beside him, and the +soldiers of his guard, lean and weather-worn, blocked the doorway, +glancing now at the two young women and now at the slave girls cowering +in the background. + +"Come with me!" Hiram said quietly, stretching his strong hand toward +Artemisia. + +She made an uncertain step toward him, but Thais caught her by the arm +and drew her back. + +"What do you mean by this mummery?" she cried, with blazing eyes. "Get +thee gone and tell thy God that Artemisia is not for him!" + +"Chafe not, daughter," Hiram replied calmly. "The will of Baal must be +obeyed. There can be no escape." + +"You shall not have her!" Thais cried. "Your creed demands a willing +sacrifice!" + +"And she is willing," the priest said, in the same even tone. + +"She is not!" Thais said. + +"Follow me!" Hiram exclaimed, slightly raising his voice. + +Artemisia made a feeble effort to obey, and Thais felt the arm that she +held draw away from her grasp. + +"Sorcerer!" she cried desperately, retaining her hold, "she is not +willing of her own will. Release her from thy spell!" + +"She is willing," Hiram repeated, "and thou shalt see her place herself +voluntarily in the hands of the Giver of Life." + +He made a slight sign, and the three priests who followed him stepped +forward. One of them twisted Thais' hand from Artemisia's arm, +retaining her wrist in his clutch, while another seized her on the +opposite side, rendering her helpless. The third took Artemisia gently +by the hand. She offered no resistance, but suffered herself to be led +down the marble stairs with wide-open eyes that seemed to see nothing. +Thais followed between her captors. Her face was pale to the lips, and +yellow flames danced in her eyes. + +"Priest of Baal!" she said, "thou hast shown no mercy and none shalt +thou receive--neither thou nor thy God!" + +"Blaspheme not," Hiram said; "the vengeance of our Lord is bitter." + +"More bitter still shall be the vengeance of men," Thais exclaimed in +her despair, "and they are now beating at the walls who shall make thee +feel it!" + +Hiram made no reply. If he felt a misgiving, his face did not betray +it. He led the way with measured tread down the staircase, followed by +his two captives and by the guard. + +"Artemisia!" Thais cried in anguish, "speak to me!" + +Artemisia made no response, nor did she turn her head. It was evident +that she had not heard. Laying aside her pride, Thais determined to +make a final effort. When they reached the deserted entrance hall, she +raised her voice. + +"Phradates! Phradates!" she cried. "Save us from these men!" + +Her cry echoed through the recesses of the hall, but it brought no +response. + +"Phradates!" Thais called again as the outer doors swung back, +revealing the wind-swept street. + +This time a figure emerged from the marble columns. It was that of +Mena the Egyptian, who advanced with a malicious smile upon his sharp +face. + +"My master is upon the walls," he said impudently, though he bowed low. +"He is fighting to save the city from your friends." + +Something of the suppressed triumph in his bearing struck the attention +of Thais, agitated as she was. + +"Is this thy work?" she demanded, looking at him between narrowing +eyelids. "Thou shalt pay for it, slave, upon the cross, to the last +drop of thy blood!" + +"Thou dost me too much honor," Mena replied, bowing again in mock +humility. + +"Come," said one of Thais' captors, roughly. "Baal must not be kept +waiting." + +The slanting rain smote their faces as they emerged into the street, +where throngs of men and women were crowding toward the Temple of +Moloch. On this side, as yet, nothing could be seen of the fierce +conflict that was raging for the possession of the children in the +Hebrew quarter. The sounds of it were lost in the rushing of the wind +and the crashing of the thunder. + +The people of Tyre hastened forward in silence and with bowed heads. A +nameless dread possessed them. Amid the confusion wrought by man and +the elements, friends and neighbors touched shoulders without a glance +of recognition. A weight of oppression seemed to dull their minds and +restrict their lungs. They were like creatures that listen furtively +in hidden terror to catch the forewarning of some catastrophe, the +nature of which they know not. All bonds were dissolved. Husbands +became separated from their wives in the press and made no attempt to +rejoin them. + +Even the priests of Moloch who followed Hiram were affected by the +universal uneasiness, and Thais felt the hands that clasped her wrists +tremble. Hiram himself walked gravely and slowly, apparently oblivious +of what was going on about him. He seemed indifferent alike to the +pelting of the storm and the danger from falling stones. A mass of +rock plunged into the crowd close before him, crushing a man beneath +its ponderous weight. The step of the pontiff did not waver, and he +passed the spot without so much as a glance at the mangled body pinned +down by the missile. His consciousness of the protection of Moloch +freed him from all sense of personal danger. + +The people made way for him in silence, huddling to the sides of the +street and closing in after the soldiers had passed. Artemisia walked +with her eyes upon the sombre figure that strode before her. Her face +was as colorless as the linen chiton that clung to her figure in the +rain, disclosing the maidenly outline of her bosom. Her breathing was +even and regular, as though she were sleeping with open eyes. + +Anger raged in Thais' breast as in that of a lioness, bound with +chains, which sees her cubs taken from her. She knew the hopelessness +of struggling with her captors, for even if she could free herself, she +would still be powerless to rescue Artemisia. + +Around the gloomy temple stood thousands of men and women, mournfully +and silently waiting in the rain for the procession to enter. The +great bronze doors stood open, revealing the dark interior of the +building, where a few torches cast a flickering light upon the face of +the monstrous idol, whose cruel features seemed to be twisting +themselves with hideous grimaces. + +Streamers of pale blue smoke were drawn through the apertures over the +head of the image by the wind, and the inside of the temple was filled +with a smoky haze that increased the obscurity. This came from the +fire of scented wood that the priests had kindled in the body of the +idol. They fed it continually from behind; and the faint smoke, rising +from carefully disposed openings in the breast and shoulders of the +figure, partially veiling its face, added to the mystery and solemnity +of the ceremony. + +As Hiram approached the entrance, two lines of black-robed priests +issued silently to right and left, pushing back the crowd and forming a +lane which led up the two flights of shallow stone steps to the +doorway. The spectators reverently bowed their heads. Their faith in +the power of Baal, bred in them from infancy, was strong upon them, and +deep was their fear of his wrath. Many times had he listened to their +prayers, and more than once had he refused to listen, permitting the +calamity that they besought him to avert. But never since he had +become their God, at a time beyond the limit of tradition, had they +gone to him in such dreadful extremity. Would he intervene, or would +he leave them to their fate? + +All eyes were turned to the impassive face of Hiram, searching there +for an answer to the question that was in every mind. The chief priest +gave no sign. He paced slowly into the open space between the ranks of +the priests, his black vestments fluttering about him in voluminous +folds. His eyes looked straight forward into the temple, seeking the +face of Baal. In his footsteps walked Artemisia, her head now drooping +slightly, like a flower cut from its stem. The priests began a slow +chant, so low that its words of praise could hardly be understood. + +Halfway up the second flight of steps, behind the row of priests, +Pethuel appeared in the crowd. He had managed somehow to reach the +temple in advance of his flock. The rain glistened upon his white hair +and snowy beard. Pressing forward as Hiram advanced, he raised his +voice above the mystic words of the chant. + +"Priest of Baal!" he cried to his rival, "thy God is fled! Behold, his +image shall be broken in thy temple. The wrath of the Lord God of +Hosts is upon you; for the cup of Tyre's iniquities runneth over!" + +He ceased and a murmur ran through the crowd; but no hand was raised +against the old man. The priests looked at Hiram, who passed on +without so much as turning his eyes, and they continued their chant. +Not even when the brother who walked beside Artemisia was struck down +by an arrow on the threshold of the temple did Hiram pause. The shaft, +falling obliquely, buried itself between its victim's shoulders, and he +fell upon his face in his death agony. His comrades lifted him quickly +and bore him out of sight; but the people continued to gaze at the +stain of blood upon the stones where he had fallen. + +As Artemisia and Thais vanished in the doorway, the sounds of conflict +caused by the rising of the Hebrews reached the temple. + +"It is Alexander!" said one to another in the crowd, and because of the +words of Pethuel, the cry was more easily believed. Panic seized upon +the multitude. Thousands of those who had assembled fled back to their +homes. Others ran toward the royal palace, and still others sought the +harbors. Scores found refuge in the temple, fighting with each other +to enter first through the wide doorway. The dread that had weighed +them down had taken shape. The evil was upon them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +THE PASSING OF A GOD + +Inside the Temple of Baal-Moloch the chant of the priests swelled to a +triumphant hymn of praise. The throbbing of drums and the droning of +strange musical instruments increased the volume of sound. It drowned +the uproar of the conflict between the guards and the Israelites, who +had reached the gardens of the temple, and it rose above the wailing of +the infants destined for the sacrifice. The children were held by the +priests, who formed in a deep semicircle before the idol. The throng +of devotees filled the body of the temple beyond their line and the dim +reaches of the arcades behind the rows of columns. + +The pungent smell of smoke from the sacrificial fire was mingled with +the odor of incense that floated from censors swung by neophytes clad +in robes of scarlet. + +Amid the crowd that burst into the temple in such numbers as to forbid +all semblance of the usual ceremonial order, rose the image of the +Giver of Life and its Destroyer, gigantic and terrible. Its broad +breast glowed dull red, and a spurt of flame issued from its sneering +lips like a fiery tongue. The terror that had driven the people into +the temple gave way to awe when they found themselves in the presence +of the God. Many of the votaries fell upon their faces before the +colossal figure; others stretched their hands toward it in an agony of +supplication. Sharp cries pierced the maddening pulsations of the +music. The gusts of the storm, entering through the opening in the +temple roof, drove the smoke in eddies through the obscurity. + +Hiram walked straight to the idol and prostrated himself upon the +lowest of the steps that rose to the platform on which it stood. He +remained for a moment in silent prayer, and then, rising, he stretched +forth his arms and repeated the ancient formula that always preceded +the sacrifice, calling upon the God by the numerous titles that +signified his manifold attributes. + +Artemisia stood behind him, within the half-circle of priests who held +back the eager crowd. Her white garments gleamed pure and spotless +against the background of their sombre official robes. Her head was +slightly bowed, and her hands were clasped lightly before her. She +seemed utterly oblivious of her surroundings and the terrible fate that +awaited her. Thais, firmly held by the priests who had brought her to +the temple, was stationed by her captors on the left hand of Baal, in a +position that prevented her eyes from meeting Artemisia's gaze. The +angry color had faded from her cheeks. She realized at last that +Artemisia was lost and that she herself must endure the agony of seeing +her perish. Her face had grown haggard and drawn. + +"Spare her, priest of Moloch!" she cried desperately, as Hiram ended +his invocation. "Her death cannot save thy city. Give her back to me, +and I promise thee thy safety and the safety of thy order. If thou +needs must sacrifice a woman, let me be the victim. I am fairer than +she, and I will be more acceptable to thy God. See, I beg her life at +thy hands!" + +She would have thrown herself upon her knees, but the priests +restrained her. Hiram made no reply and paid no heed to her appeal. +Ascending the steps with a firm tread, he stood between the feet of the +idol and turned to the multitude, extending his hands over Artemisia's +head with the palms downward. The chant ceased and the music died +away. Only the frightened sobbing of the infants, whom the assistants +sought in vain to quiet, broke the silence within the temple. Hiram +began to speak in a solemn and impressive voice. + +"We bring thee, O Lord, a maiden, pure in heart," he said. "We have +sinned against thee in our pride; upon her head we place our sins; take +thou her and forgive!" + +He paused, and a wailing cry of supplication rose throughout the temple. + +"We have neglected thy worship," Hiram went on. "Upon her head be our +neglect; take her and forgive! We have done those things that are +forbidden; upon her head be our disobedience to thy law; take her and +accept our atonement! We have disregarded our oaths; upon her head be +our perfidy; receive her in quittance of our debt to thee. Pardon us, +O Lord, in this our sacrifice to thee, all our many sins against thee, +and protect us out of thy mercy in this hour of our great peril!" + +At the conclusion of the recital, he turned again to the God. The arms +of the idol slowly sank and extended themselves until the outstretched +palms were brought together before the iron knees a few feet from the +floor. + +"Artemisia!" the chief priest called imperatively. + +With faltering steps she obeyed his command, advancing slowly until she +stood before the broad palms that seemed to tremble with impatience to +clasp her form. In the deadly hush of expectancy, the fierce cries of +the Israelites, struggling with the soldiers outside the temple, could +be distinctly heard. Hiram saw that haste was necessary if the +sacrifice was to be accomplished. + +"Dost thou give thyself willingly for the sins of Tyre?" he demanded, +confident of his power. + +Before she could answer a shriek rang through the temple. + +"Deny him, Artemisia, my sister!" Thais cried. "He is a sorcerer. Do +not--" + +Her voice was roughly stifled by the priests, her captors, but a +questioning murmur rose from the crowd. + +"Answer!" Hiram said sternly, bending all the strength of his merciless +will upon her. + +"Artemisia! Do not answer!" cried another voice. It was the voice of +a man, and it rang strong and clear, though it vibrated with anxiety. +It seemed to issue from the dark recesses behind the idol. A stir of +astonishment broke the spell that had imposed silence upon the +worshippers. Every eye strove to pierce the gloom of the sanctuary. +Hiram started, and his pallid face grew a shade paler. + +"Artemisia!" came the clear voice again. "Dost thou not hear me?" + +Artemisia's eyes left those of the chief priest and looked beyond him +eagerly into the darkness. The mask of impassiveness faded from her +face. Her lips parted. + +"Clearchus!" she cried. "Where art thou? Save me! Save me!" + +She threw up her arms with a despairing gesture, and sank upon the +platform beneath the terrible hands that were stretched to seize her. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" shouted Chares out of the darkness. "Down +with the dogs!" + +The words were followed by a cry of mortal agony from one of the +priests whose duty it was to feed the fire that roared inside the idol. +The Tyrians heard the sound of a brief commotion in the rear of the +temple, they saw the gleam of armor and of weapons, and the dark +hangings that veiled the innermost shrine were rent from the walls. +Armed men rushed across the platform and leaped down among the priests, +hewing at the holy ministers with flashing swords. + +In the obscurity, the Tyrians fancied that an entire company of +Macedonians was upon them. Those who had sought refuge there from the +Hebrew mob forgot the dangers that awaited them outside and surged +toward the entrance. But the Israelites had scattered the soldiers in +the gardens, and they charged the doors just as the assemblage +attempted to force its way out. The fugitives from the terrors of the +temple were struck down in heaps upon the threshold. + +Hiram alone retained his presence of mind. He had implicit faith in +the power of the terrible deity, in whose service he had spent the +greater part of his life, and absolute confidence in the efficacy of +sacrifice. When he saw Artemisia fall and heard Chares' battle-cry, he +knew that all was lost unless the offering could be consummated. + +Unmindful of his own danger, he bounded forward and raised the slim, +unconscious form in his arms. Quickly he laid it upon the iron palms, +with a muttered prayer. There was a sound of creaking chains, and the +hands ascended slowly, bearing upward the slender figure. One bare, +white arm hung inertly between the iron fingers, and the snowy chiton +shone through the smoke against the dark bulk of the monstrous image. + +Clearchus sprang out of the darkness and saw Artemisia raised aloft in +that pitiless grasp. She was already beyond his reach. A cold sweat +broke out upon his body. He stood for an instant transfixed with +dread, unable even to cry out. Every heart-beat brought her nearer to +that glowing metal surface, whose terrible heat he could feel upon his +face where he stood. + +Hiram stepped forward to the edge of the platform and stretched out his +arms. The glare of religious madness shone in his eyes. + +"Peace, peace!" he cried to the struggling and shrieking mob, frantic +with fear. "Baal-Moloch accepts the sacrifice. Peace! Profane not +his temple!" + +His voice was drowned in a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the sky +across from mountain to sea. Before it died, a huge mass of rock, +hurled from an engine of the Macedonian fleet, crashed through one of +the openings in the dome of the temple. The ponderous missile struck +the masonry and bounded backward and downward in a shower of dislodged +stones upon the inclined head of the idol. + +Moloch seemed to rise from his throne, as though about to stride from +the platform. His iron arms flew apart, and the grim colossus lurched +forward down the steps, and fell with a clang of metal upon the marble +floor. + +A sharp cry rose from the struggling crowd. Those who witnessed the +downfall of the sacred image stood in doubt, unable to believe their +eyes. The Israelites, unaware of what had happened, took advantage of +the moment to overcome the slight opposition of the Tyrians who still +faced them. They rushed into the temple, crying aloud for the +restoration of their children. + +In the wild confusion of their onslaught, many of the infants were +trampled to death. Others were killed by the priests, who seemed +crazed by the fall of their idol. At first they stood stupefied. +Hiram's voice was no longer heard. They called upon him in vain. +Finally one of them ran to the fragments of the prostrate image. +Bending above it, he saw the distorted face of the chief priest gazing +up into his own. The unfortunate man had been caught beneath the +breast of the God to whom he had offered so many innocents, and his +crushed body was being slowly roasted under the red-hot metal. + +"Moloch has taken him!" the priest shouted, tossing his arms in the air. + +He ran into the crowd, and, seizing one of the infants by the heels, +dashed out its brains against a pillar. His example was followed by +others no less frantic than himself. + +"Strike, brothers!" he cried. "Baal has fallen! The end is at--" + +Before he could finish the sentence, Leonidas' sword pierced his +throat, and he fell upon the body of the child that he had slain. + +Down the dim arcade, behind the pillars, strode the Spartan and Chares, +hacking and thrusting at the black-robed minions of Moloch. They +showed no mercy. Neither prayer nor entreaty availed. They sought the +priests through the terrified crowd, and dragged them from every place +of concealment, until of all who had been in the temple not one +remained alive. + +With the crash of the stone as it smote the idol, Clearchus realized +what had happened. He saw the iron arms drop, and he leaped forward in +time to snatch Artemisia from their embrace. The hot iron grazed his +body as the image fell. Artemisia's pale, sweet face lay upon his +shoulder, and he clasped her close to his breast. In the revulsion +from his despair he felt his muscles endowed with strength. + +He smiled to see his friends dash past him, and he looked smilingly +upon the clamorous crowd in which every man fought for his life. One +of the priests, whose face had been gashed to the bone, rushed upon +him, with hands extended, and tried to tear Artemisia from his arms. +The man was unarmed, and Clearchus thrust him through the breast. He +sank and died without a moan. + +Amid the fragments of Moloch's image, the fire that had been kindled in +the iron bosom flickered with blue and crimson tongues of flame. + +Suddenly the crowd was split by a rush from the great doorway, and +Clearchus saw Nathan leading the Israelites into the temple. With the +name of Jehovah upon their lips, the swarthy, black-eyed Hebrews poured +in, smiting the Tyrians and beating them down with merciless strokes in +the delirium of their exaltation. They swept through the temple like +wolves through a sheepfold. The floor was heaped with the dead, and +the stones were slippery with blood. Nathan recognized the Athenian +and sprang to his side, shouting to his followers to strike and spare +not. + +Into the midst of the confusion rushed the Hebrew women, seeking the +children who had been taken from them. The uproar of conflict gave way +to the lamentations of mothers whose infants had been slaughtered. +Others, more fortunate, sat with their babes in their arms, kissing +them and feeling them over to discover whether they had been hurt. One +young wife sat upon the steps at Clearchus' feet with her first-born +and only child. Nathan recognized her as the woman who had been struck +down by the priest in the market-place. The baby had been strangled +and was dead. + +"Hush!" she said, in a crooning voice, and, covering the child's head +with her garment, she pressed its lips to her breast. For an instant +she sat there, but the chill of the waxen mouth struck through her +heart. She gave a startled glance at the baby's face, and then sprang +up with a scream of despair and rushed out of the temple into the +tempest, with the poor little body clasped in her arms. + +Nathan called to Chares and Leonidas. "Alexander is on the wall," he +said. "The streets are filled with the Tyrians. We must escape as we +came. Listen!" + +He held up his hand, and the Greeks became aware of a dull roaring that +filled the city like the humming of a gigantic hive of bees. + +"Even here we shall not be safe," Nathan continued. "Let us seek the +secret passage." + +"Chares!" cried one from among the women, and Thais ran forward, with +her saffron robe torn so that half her perfect breast was exposed. She +carried a dagger in her hand, and its blade was red; but her face shone +with joy. The weapon fell from her grasp as she sprang to the Theban, +who lifted her like a child in his arms and kissed her. + +"Come," he said, as he set her down, "let us go." + +Turning their backs upon the throng of the living and the dead, they +descended into the secret passage and closed the entrance behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + +King Azemilcus stood at a window of his chamber, with the aged +chancellor at his side, looking out across the parapet of the wall. +They were alone in the room, for the king had ordered his guard to +await his commands in an outer apartment. The window opened directly +upon the top of the wall, to which the royal palace was joined. Often +during his long reign had the old king stood there, revolving his +schemes in his cunning brain, while the salt breeze cooled his temples. + +Beneath his feet the stones trembled with the shock of the great +battering rams that were enlarging the breach in the wall west of the +palace. In his ears sounded the tumult of the attack upon the two +harbors, where the Macedonian triremes were seeking to break the +barriers of chains. He saw the Tyrian soldiers upon the battlements, +fighting against hope, with the valor of desperation. + +The roar of falling masonry told him that the rams had done their work. +The breach had become a wide gap, extending beyond the ends of the +inner wall that had been built to block the assault. The vessels lying +in wait drew nearer. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones, great +and small, swept the defences. Troop-ships, provided with drawbridges +at their prows, closed in at the breach. The bridges fell, and streams +of men in armor began to flow across them. They gained the breach and +held it. They scaled the slope of fallen blocks and reached the top of +the wall. The Tyrians were forced backward or hurled into the sea. + +"That must be Alexander," the king remarked, noting the irresistible +vigor of the assault. + +"Yes," the chancellor replied, "those are his plumes." + +Alexander indeed was leading the charge along the wall toward the +palace, fighting in the forefront as his custom was, while the +shield-bearing guards pressed forward where he led. Their triumphant +voices shouted his name. At one of the towers upon the wall, between +the breach and the palace, the Tyrians made a stand, seeking to check +the advance of their foes. The Macedonians hunted them out and drove +them to the next tower. The battle raged in mid-air, and the bodies of +the slain fell either into the sea on one side or into the streets of +the city on the other. + +"They will enter here," Azemilcus said. "I think it is time to go." + +"It is time!" the chancellor echoed, gazing upon the slaughter like a +man under the spell of a horrible fascination. + +The king led the way into the large hall where the guard was stationed. +It consisted of a company of a hundred men under the command of a young +captain whose bronzed face and steady gaze showed that he was a veteran +in service despite his youth. He had been pacing backward and forward +before his men, who stood at attention along the wall. At sight of +Azemilcus he paused and saluted. The old king placed a thin hand upon +his shoulder. + +"I am going to the Temple of Melkarth," he said. "Escort me thither." + +The young man shook off the royal hand as though he felt contaminated +by its touch. + +"Does your Majesty really mean to seek refuge with the Alexandrine?" he +asked indignantly. + +"Yes," the king replied, "and I command you to come with me." + +"Then I refuse!" the soldier exclaimed. "I have two brothers yonder on +the wall, if they be still alive. The Macedonians will try to enter +the palace, and if they succeed, the city is lost. Go you to +Melkarth's temple if you will; but you go alone. We remain here." + +Azemilcus looked at the handsome face, flushed with anger, and his +inscrutable smile played about his lips. + +"Thy father was my friend, and I have loved thee," he said. "I would +save thee if I could, but youth is hot and hasty; have thy will if thou +must." + +He began to descend the broad staircase, followed by the trembling +chancellor. + +"There goes Tyre!" the young captain cried bitterly, "selfish and +treacherous to the last. To the windows! We may yet save him +honorably, though he does not deserve it." + +They reached the seaward side of the palace in time to receive the +remnants of the Tyrian companies that had vainly striven to defend the +wall. The captain's brothers were not among the fugitives. + +It had seemed to the young officer that the entrances to the palace +from the wall might be held by a few men against any force that could +be brought up; but it was not within human power to resist the onrush +of the Macedonians. The captain was slain by Ptolemy; half his men +fell with him, and the others fled down through the palace to the +streets with the Macedonians at their heels. + +The noise of the battle spread from the palace through the city. There +was the clash of steel and the hoarse shouting of men at barricades; +screams of women in fear and sharp cries of command mingled with the +trampling of many feet. Save for the obstinate guard, the palace had +been left unprotected by the crafty old king, who was awaiting his +conqueror in the sanctuary of Melkarth's temple. Alexander led the way +into the city with Hephæstion and Philotas. Ptolemy, Perdiccas, +Clitus, Peithon, Glaucias, Meleager, Polysperchon, and a score more of +his Companions and captains swept after him, heading the scarred +veterans of Philip's wars,--phalangites, archers and javelin throwers, +Thessalian cavalry riders, and heavy-armed mercenaries. + +Then in the city of Tyre, whose name for centuries had been a synonym +for power and pride, began a slaughter which lasted until nightfall. +Alexander ordered that the Israelites should not be molested and that +none should enter with violence the Temple of Melkarth; but he did not +seek to forbid his followers from taking revenge for the rigors and +hardships of the long siege. + +At first the Tyrians fought desperately from street to street and from +square to square, falling back from one barrier to another; but this +resistance served only to whet the rage that drove the Macedonians on. +Fresh troops constantly landed from the fleet and poured in through the +palace. The breach in the wall became a gateway. The pitiless +squadrons hunted the defenders from lane and housetop, cutting them to +pieces. + +In the Sidonian Harbor, seven ships were hastily manned, the chains +were let down, and the crews made a dash for the open sea. They were +snapped up by the Cretan vessels which lay in wait beyond the +breakwater. Three of them were sunk, and the rest were forced to +surrender. + +In the house of Phradates the terrified slaves locked and barred the +doors by direction of Mena. The master was fighting on the walls. +More than once parties of Macedonian soldiers demanded that the gates +be opened, but when no response was given, thinking perhaps that the +house was deserted and tempted by easier spoil, they passed on. At +last came a Tyrian cry for admittance. Mena looked from the wicket and +saw Phradates, supported by two soldiers. His face was pale and his +helmet had been shattered. + +"Open!" cried the soldiers. "Your master has been wounded." + +Several of the slaves started forward and laid their hands upon the +bars, but the Egyptian pushed them back. + +"There is no longer master or slave in Tyre," he said. "Each man must +think first of himself." + +At the suggestion of Phradates the soldiers bore him to the rear of the +house, where there was a small door leading to the kitchens. It was +opened by a white-haired crone, whose eyes were blinded with tears. + +"Bring him in," she cried. "I am his nurse." + +"Take him, then," the soldiers said roughly, irritated by the delay. +"He owes us fifty darics for bringing him off, and we have our own to +save." + +Upheld by the trembling arms of the old woman, Phradates staggered +across the threshold. He could no longer feel the earth beneath his +feet. If he could only rest a little! + +"Is it you, mother?" he asked faintly. "I must sleep." + +"Yes, yes, master," the old woman replied through her sobs, "but not +here. Come to your own chamber." + +She tried to urge him toward the banqueting hall, but his steps grew +more uncertain and his weight became too great for her feeble strength. + +"Mena!" she called. "Mena, here is your master. Come and help him!" + +The Egyptian ran in furiously and closed the door that she had left +open in her anxiety. + +"Do you want to have us all killed?" he demanded, turning upon the old +woman. "Take that, my master, for the beatings you have given me!" + +He plunged his dagger into the young man's defenceless side, and +Phradates sank to the floor. + +"Thais!" he muttered, "where art thou?" + +The old woman uttered a quivering cry and fell upon her knees beside +him, trying with her robe to stop the flow of blood. Mena ran back to +the front of the house, leaving her alone with the body. + +"Speak to me! Speak to me!" she wailed, not knowing what she said; but +Phradates made no reply. + +Tyre was in a turmoil of riot and license. The real fighting was at an +end, but the soldiers were everywhere pillaging and drinking. Costly +fabrics were trampled in the mud of the gutters. Rare vases and +priceless statuary were shattered upon the pavements. Rough +Thessalians ransacked the houses of rich merchants for gold and gems, +destroying with laughter and jests what they did not want. The stifled +screams of women mingled with their voices. Here a soldier emerged +from a great house with his arms full of rich silks. Another shouted +to him that a hoard of gold had been discovered close at hand, and he +straightway dropped his burden that he might get his share of the more +convenient plunder. There a man who had found a huge tusk of ivory +tried to carry it away on his shoulder, while his comrades wrestled +with him for it, uttering shouts of laughter as their fingers slipped +upon its polished surface. Sometimes swords were drawn and blood +flowed over a bag of gold or a necklace of pearls. Bands of +mercenaries paraded with wine-skins on their backs, singing the hymns +of Dionysus and squirting the precious vintage into each other's faces. +Gorged with blood, the army glutted itself in a delirium of indulgence. + +In the universal license the baser elements of the city's population +joined in the pillage with none to hinder, for the Macedonians were too +intent upon their revenge to heed them. Like Mena, slaves rose against +their masters, and entire families were slain for the sake of plunder +or to requite harsh treatment. The prisons were broken open and their +inmates set at liberty. The sailors about the harbors, who had been +kept inactive by the blockade of the fleet, desperate men from all +quarters of the sea, satisfied their ferocious appetites at will. In +the frenzied carnival of lust and slaughter, neither age nor innocence +was spared. + +The swirl of the battle drew Syphax and his companions from their +haunts among the great warehouses near the waterside, where they had +been drinking. The bloated face of the freebooter grew purple with +eagerness as he heard the sounds of conflict and of panic spread +through the city. + +"Ho, comrades!" he shouted, "to-day we pay ourselves for all we have +had to endure from Fortune! The spoil lies ready for us." + +"Break open the warehouses and load a ship with ivory and silk," cried +one of his followers. + +"You are a fool," Syphax replied contemptuously. "We should be sunk +before we could get out of the harbor. Take nothing but gold and +jewels. We can hide them until the time comes to escape. Look there!" + +An old man, a member of the council, came running toward them, glancing +back over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. Syphax grasped +him by the arm and tore the heavy golden chain of office from his neck. +The man made no resistance, but fled away without a word as soon as he +was released. + +"This is what we want," Syphax cried, holding up the shining links. +"Be bold and follow me." + +He set off toward a part of the city that the Macedonians seemed not +yet to have penetrated. It was a quarter where many wealthy houses +stood, and the sailors were fortunate enough to arrive among the first +of the marauders. In half an hour, each of them had collected a +fortune in gold and precious stones. There was blood upon the hands of +Syphax and one of his men had a cut across his forehead when they came +out of the last house, carrying their spoil in small, heavy bundles. +The city was in its death-throes. From harbor to harbor it had become +a vast shambles. + +"Let us get back to the warehouses and bury what we have," one of the +seamen said. + +Syphax looked about him, and his glance fell upon the house where he +had seen Ariston enter. In their immediate vicinity there was yet no +sign of the enemy. A cruel gleam entered the pirate's bloodshot eyes. + +"Now that we are rich," he cried, "it is no more than fair that we +should pay our debts. I have one yonder that must be discharged, and +to you I resign my share of whatever of value we may find inside." + +"Lead on, then, but hasten," the sailors answered. + +Syphax found the door bolted, as he had expected. His men battered it +in with stones and rushed into the entrance hall. The place seemed +deserted. The sailors scattered through the house in search of booty, +but Syphax sought only his enemy. + +The terrified family had taken refuge in an alcove on the third floor +of the house. There one of the sailors found them and summoned his +chief with a joyful shout. Ariston and his host stood at the entrance +of the recess, with swords in their hands to defend the women, a mother +and three daughters, who cowered behind them in the shadow with two +slave girls only, the rest of the household having fled. The sailors +laughed at the two feeble old men who dared to oppose them. + +"Spare our lives and you shall each receive five thousand talents of +gold," Ariston cried. "I am Ariston of Athens, and I pledge myself to +the payment." + +"We know what the pledges of Ariston are worth!" Syphax replied, his +face convulsed with hate and rage. + +"We are lost, my friend," Ariston said, in a low voice, to his host, +recognizing the pirate. + +"You bade me once to remember Medon," Syphax bellowed. "I bid thee now +to remember him and the silver talent thou wert to give me for what was +done in Athens. I have had no luck since; and now thou shalt pay for +all!" He rushed upon Ariston, who tried to defend himself; but the +pirate easily disarmed him and dragged him out into the room. The +master of the house fell beneath a shower of blows. + +"Now for the harbor! Our time is short," Syphax shouted, hurrying +Ariston with him down the stairs. + +The screaming and prayers of the women mingled with sounds of brutal +merriment told him that his order was unheeded. + +"Do you hear?" he roared. "Come, I tell you, before it is too late!" + +This time two of the wretches obeyed him, bursting from the room with +loud guffaws. The others straggled after them, but several minutes +elapsed before they were all assembled for the sally. + +"Why not do it here?" one of the sailors asked, indicating Ariston, +whose arm Syphax held in a firm grasp. + +"Because I intend to make him remember Medon," the freebooter answered +savagely. "You shall see sport when we reach the harbor." + +A cold sweat covered Ariston's forehead, but he made no sound. His ear +had caught the trampling of feet, and he hoped yet for rescue. + +The sailors emerged into the street and turned toward the harbor. Just +as they reached the first corner, a company of Thessalians, in pursuit +of a few Tyrian fugitives, ran into them. No questions were asked. +The swords of the cavalrymen were already out, and they drove them into +the bodies of the men who were unfortunate enough to block their way. + +Syphax alone had time to drop his booty and draw his sword. He saw +that there was no escape. + +"Thou hast been my evil genius," he cried to Ariston, "but at any rate +thou shalt go with me to the Styx." + +He plunged his sword into the old man's side. Before he could withdraw +it, a Thessalian blade cleft his skull. Murderer and victim fell +together. + +The storm had blown over. The sinking sun shone crimson upon the +twisted clouds far across the sky. In the quarter where the Israelites +dwelt, amid the mourning and rejoicing, Pethuel, the high priest, +raised his hands to heaven. + +"Give thanks to Jehovah!" he cried. "Our enemies have fallen and they +that mocked Him are no more! Blessed be the name of the Lord!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +THAIS GIVES A FEAST + +Down in the secret passage the fugitives from the Temple of Moloch +could hear no sound of the battle. Leonidas had snatched one of the +perfumed censers from the hand of a quaking neophyte, and this shed a +glimmer of light as he led the way. + +Artemisia came to her senses to find herself clasped in her lover's +arms. + +"Clearchus!" she murmured, "may the Gods grant that this be not a +dream." + +"It is no dream, my beloved!" the young man answered. "I have found +thee at last." + +"Dear heart, I have longed for thee so!" she said, with a little sigh +of content, as her arms stole around his neck. + +Clearchus bent his head, and their lips met in the darkness. Thais +heard the murmur of their voices. + +"Oh, I have lost my sandal--and I am cold!" she exclaimed, in a tone of +distress. "Chares, I am afraid you will have to carry me." + +"You are so heavy," the Theban said, taking her in his arms. + +"There, be careful, sir, or I shall make you set me down again," she +cried. + +Leonidas uttered a sound that was something between a snort and a grunt +and signified disdain, whereupon Chares laughed until the narrow +passage rang. + +Before they reached the palace it was in full possession of the +Macedonians. They entered the room where the young men had left +Azemilcus the night before, and found a portion of the squadron +belonging to Leonidas busily searching there for plunder. The men +stood open-mouthed when their captain appeared from behind the +hangings. They looked like schoolboys caught in a forbidden frolic. + +"Where is the king?" the Spartan demanded sternly. + +"He is fighting down there," one of the soldiers replied, pointing from +the window. + +Leonidas glanced down upon the city and saw the conflict raging in the +streets. + +"Then what are you doing here?" he asked harshly. "Fall in!" + +"I will go with you," Nathan said. "I must seek my people." + +"You will find us here when you come back," Chares cried after them. +"We will fight no more to-day." + +Leonidas overtook Alexander stamping out the last sparks of resistance +in the northern part of the city. The young king, still glowing with +the ardor of battle, greeted him with a smile. + +"Are Clearchus and Chares safe?" he asked. + +"They await you in the royal palace with Artemisia and Thais," the +Spartan replied. + +"Good!" Alexander cried. "This will have to be celebrated. Let us see +what has become of Azemilcus." + +He led the way to the Temple of Melkarth, which was filled with +fugitives and suppliants. The general feeling in the city that the God +was on the side of the Macedonians had led many to seek his protection +when no other remained. Some of them were even striving to remove the +chains with which the image had been bound to the pillars. + +Azemilcus and the chancellor came forward, surrounded by the priests of +the temple. The two kings, one withered and shrunken and old, his +brain cankered by the cynical knowledge of experience, and the other, +in the fulness of his vigorous youth and generous enthusiasms, looked +into each other's eyes. Alexander's face was grave and stern, but the +mocking smile still hovered about the lips of the older man. + +"What have you to say?" Alexander said at last. + +"I have been a king," Azemilcus replied, "but I am a king no longer. +What is your will?" + +"You may live," Alexander replied coldly, "but you have never been a +king. Where is your son?" + +"He is dead," the old king answered, and his eyes wavered. + +"I would rather be in his place than in thine," Alexander said shortly. +"Follow me." + +Azemilcus shrugged his shoulders and gathered his robe more closely +around him. To all who had sought refuge in the temple Alexander +granted safety, and then, having issued the necessary orders regarding +the city, he turned back to the palace. + +The streets were encumbered with the dead. The bodies lay in heaps +behind the broken barricades or scattered between them, where the +fugitives had been stricken as they fled before the fury of the +Macedonian charge. A wounded Tyrian raised himself on his elbow while +the two kings passed, cursed Azemilcus, and died. + +In the council room of the palace Alexander demanded from the +chancellor an accounting of the public treasure of Tyre, an enormous +sum in gold and silver, and gave it into the custody of his own +treasurer. There, too, he received the reports of his captains, and +with marvellous quickness despatched the business that they brought +before him. The greater part of the army he ordered back to the camp +on the mainland. + +When nothing more remained to be done, he turned to Leonidas. + +"Where are thy friends?" he asked. "They seem to have forgotten me." + +"I will fetch them," the Spartan replied. + +He ran to the apartment where he had left the lovers, and burst in, to +find them nestled among the cushions, telling each other of all they +had endured. + +"Come," he cried. "The king has asked for you." + +"Tell him that we will come presently," Chares said, but Thais promptly +boxed his ears and slipped out of the arm that encircled her waist. + +"I don't suppose there is a woman in the palace to smooth my hair," she +exclaimed. + +"Do you think Alexander will look at you?" Chares asked. "He has more +important things to think about, indeed." + +Nevertheless, Artemisia and Thais made Leonidas wait five minutes while +they aided each other to make the best appearance possible under the +circumstances, before they followed him to the great council chamber. +Artemisia entered shyly, casting down her eyes before the bold glances +of so many men; but Thais walked beside Chares with head erect, her red +lips parted in a smile, and a gleam of excitement dancing in her eyes. + +With the license that Alexander permitted, the captains raised a shout +of welcome when Chares and Clearchus appeared. Before Artemisia could +catch her breath, she was standing in front of Alexander, and Clearchus +was presenting her to him. + +"She looks like a rosebud when the dew is on it," Clitus whispered to +Hephæstion. + +"Don't be sentimental," the favorite answered. "When did you become a +poet?" + +"Not until this minute," Clitus replied. + +Alexander himself was not free from embarrassment when he greeted +Artemisia, for he knew nothing of women, not yet having met Roxana; but +he took her hand and praised the bravery of Clearchus, at which she +blushed and smiled. + +Thais looked the young king frankly in the face. "We bid you welcome +to Tyre," she said. + +There was something in the unconquerable vitality of her gaze that +reminded him of his mother, although Olympias' eyes were dark and the +eyes of this girl were yellow, if any color could be assigned to them +that seemed a blend of all. + +"It was worth fighting for," he said, returning her look with +unconcealed admiration. "But sometimes I wish I were not Alexander," +he added, turning to Chares with a smile. + +"And I thank the Gods that thou art indeed Alexander," the Theban +replied, drawing Thais closer to him. + +The young king seemed to fall into a momentary revery, but it passed +quickly. + +"You four shall be my guests to-night," he exclaimed. "Azemilcus will +provide the feast." + +"Do not trust him," Chares said, in a low voice. "He tried to poison +us." + +"If that be so, we will eat elsewhere," Alexander answered, frowning +and looking askance at the Tyrian. + +"If you will permit me to manage it," Thais said, "Phradates shall +furnish the feast." + +"Who is he?" Alexander asked. + +"He was our captor here," Thais replied, "and he is a man of some good +qualities, though he has others also." + +"He is the messenger whom you sent from Thebes to carry word to King +Azemilcus of your coming," Clearchus explained. + +"I remember," Alexander said. "I would like to see him again and ask +him whether he delivered the message. So be it, then." + +Bidding the Companions follow, Alexander suffered Thais to lead him to +the house of Phradates. It was still closed and silent, but Chares and +Clearchus beat upon the door with their sword-hilts and demanded +admittance in the name of Alexander. Mena, recognizing the king +through the wicket, thought it best to open, since he knew that +resistance would be in vain. The door swung back, and he prostrated +himself at Alexander's feet. + +"Welcome, O son of Philip," he said. "The house of my master and all +that was his belong to the Conqueror of the Earth." + +"Where is he that he does not himself receive me?" Alexander demanded. + +"Alas, he is dead!" the Egyptian answered. "He received a fatal wound +while fighting on the walls, and they brought him home. He died in my +arms." + +Mena affected to wipe tears from his eyes as he told of his master's +end. + +"It is a lie!" the old nurse screamed, from among the slaves clustered +in the back of the hall. They tried to stifle her voice, but Alexander +commanded her to come forward. + +"What happened?" he asked briefly. + +The old woman sank upon her knees and raised her hands in supplication. + +"I was his nurse," she said, in her cracked and broken voice. "They +brought him wounded to this door, and Mena--this man here--would not +permit him to enter. He was not always kind to me, but I loved him; +for how often when he was little have I held him in my arms! So I +stole away and brought him in by another door, thinking to save him, +for he was so weak from his wound. And then Mena stabbed him, and he +died. Vengeance, O king; thou art strong!" + +"Thou shalt have it," Alexander said sternly. "Is this true, dog?" + +Mena tried to deny, but he could not speak. His face turned ashen. + +"I promised this man that he should be crucified," Thais said softly. + +"Then let it be done now," Alexander said. + +He motioned to his guard, who seized the Egyptian and held him fast. +"Were others concerned in this?" he demanded of the nurse. + +"No others, my lord," the woman replied. + +"Then let them have no fear," he said. "They shall be unharmed. I +give them and this house to Thais." + +"Mercy! Mercy!" cried Mena, finding his voice at last. "It is all a +lie!" + +"Take him away," Alexander said. "I see you know how to punish," he +added, turning to Thais. + +"I thank the king, both for that and for his gift to me," she replied +demurely. "I was sold at Thebes." + +By her order the slaves conducted Alexander to the bath and waited upon +the Companions who began to arrive. She caused the body of Phradates +to be carried to his own chamber, where it was left in the care of the +old nurse. With the aid of Artemisia, she superintended the +preparations for the feast, giving especial care to the selection of +the wines and to the decoration of the hall in which the tables were +spread. + +Masses of oak leaves from the gardens of Melkarth's temple hid the +columns, and from among them shone hundreds of lamps and torches, +shedding their light upon the platters of gold and trenchers of silver, +interspersed with flagons of colored glass of the finest workmanship, +that weighed down the tables. The couches were covered with silks of +many hues and piled with yielding cushions. + +Pyramids of flowers from the roofs of the houses were disposed upon the +tables, and for each guest a wreath was prepared. The warm, +perfume-laden air throbbed with the music of flutes breathed upon by +invisible musicians. + +Thais had caused soldiers to be sent to the Temple of Astoreth, where +the priestesses, with many lamentations, supplied them with pheasants +from the sacred flock, and these, with abundance of fish from the +harbors, pastries, and sweetmeats, disguised the poverty of the larder. +Alexander was accustomed afterward to drive his cooks and stewards to +despair by commanding them to provide a banquet like the one that Thais +had given; for, try as hard as they might, he never could be brought to +give his approval, but persisted in declaring that the feast of Thais +remained unequalled. + +The secret was that there never after came a time when the young king +was so well satisfied with himself and his fortune, when his friends +were so inspired, and when the future held so much promise. The battle +of Issus had been won, and the strongest fortress in the world had been +taken. The shores of the sea, from the Hellespont to the Nile, had +been conquered and held. Alexander knew then that no power on earth +could stand against him. He foresaw the overthrow of Darius and the +spread of his own dominion to the confines of the world. Great +thoughts and limitless projects were stirring in his mind. He felt +himself half a God, and he wondered at his own power. There was yet no +bitterness of anxiety to contaminate the pleasure of anticipation, +which always in ambitious hearts so much exceeds that of realization. + +The feelings that animated the young leader were shared in greater or +less degree by his followers. Even Hephæstion forgot to sulk because +his place on the right of the king had been given to Artemisia. Thais +sat on his left, and beyond her reclined the lazy bulk of Chares. Each +man looked his neighbor frankly in the face, sure of his sympathy, and +all felt toward Alexander an affection and generous admiration in which +there was no selfish thought. + +What wonder that, in after years, when suspicion and insidious pride +had poisoned the mind of the young king, and when the free-hearted +soldiers there gathered together had fallen away from each other, each +hoping evil to his comrade that he himself might profit thereby,--what +wonder that Alexander remembered the feast of Thais as the happiest of +his life? But of the sorrows that were to come none then knew or even +guessed, unless it was old Aristander, to whom all paid honor because +his prophecy of the fall of Tyre, that the king himself had deemed +impossible, had been fulfilled. And even Aristander was cheerful that +night beyond his custom, forgetting the future in the present. + +So the young men rejoiced in their strength, in their hopes, and in the +honest affection that warmed their hearts toward each other. The hall +was filled with laughter, and their jesting left no scars. The wine +expanded and stimulated their minds instead of their passions, and when +Callisthenes, at Alexander's request, recited the immortal description +of the fall of Troy, the majestic periods of the epic drew tears of +emotion to their eyes, and every man of them became a hero. + +"If I were to bid thee crave a gift at my hands, what would it be?" +Alexander asked of Artemisia. + +She blushed, and her glance sought Clearchus. + +"It would be one of thy soldiers, O king," she replied softly. + +"That is much to ask of a general," Alexander said, affecting +hesitation. "I would rather you had demanded his weight in gold; but +which one?" + +"Here he is," said Artemisia, blushing still more deeply and laying her +hand in that of the Athenian. + +"I suppose I must give him to thee," the young king said. "Let the +chief priest of Melkarth be summoned." + +"I will fetch him myself," Clearchus cried, leaping from his couch, and +he hurriedly left the hall amid the approving laughter of the company. + +The priest was found, the marriage contract drawn and signed, and while +Alexander joined their hands, the words were spoken that made Clearchus +and Artemisia one. The captains rose to their feet, each with a +brimming goblet, and they drank the health of the bride with a cheer +such as they had not given since they charged the squadrons of Darius. +With heart-felt freedom they showered good wishes upon their comrade, +and loud were their protests when Alexander broke up the feast to +return to the royal palace. + +Leonidas remained, with a few men of his troop, to guard the house, and +he and Chares sat for hours with a flagon of wine between them, talking +of all that had passed since the day when they rode at dawn into Athens +in search of Clearchus. + +In the lofty chamber where Artemisia and Thais had spent so many weary +days waiting for the coming of deliverance, Artemisia stood with +Clearchus at the window that looked toward the Macedonian camp. The +cloud-wrack had vanished, and the sky was thickly sown with great stars +that seemed to look down upon them with friendly gaze. The young man's +arm clasped his bride warm and close, and her dear head rested against +his breast. He kissed the soft coils of her hair; but she lifted her +lips to his, and he saw that her blue eyes were swimming with tears of +happiness. + + +Leonidas, who had gone about his duties long before his friends were +stirring next morning, returned at midday and placed in Artemisia's +hands a mysterious package. + +"This is Moloch's gift," he said. + +When Artemisia opened it, out poured a magnificent double necklace of +rubies, so large and pure that she could not help kissing him, at which +the Spartan blushed like a boy. + +"I found them under the idol," he said. "For once, the chancellor told +the truth." + + + + +CHAPTER LXIX + +CHARES FINDS REST + +Again Alexander and Darius stood face to face, this time upon the plain +of Nineveh at Gaugamela, the Camel's House, beyond the swift Tigris. +Chares and Leonidas felt the chill of autumn in the air as they +strolled out upon the earthen ramparts that sheltered the Macedonian +camp. The wide plain below them, where they knew the Persian host was +assembled, was shrouded in mist. + +Both were silent, and both were thinking of Clearchus, whom they had +left behind in Egypt, in the new city that Alexander had founded at the +mouth of the Nile, giving it his own name. There he was building the +house that was to shelter him and Artemisia amid its gardens, within +sight and sound of the sea; for when he learned of the wreck of his +fortune, he had no desire to return to Athens. + +"We shall soon know who is master," the Spartan said, gazing toward the +mist-wrapped plain. + +Chares followed his look indifferently, yawned, and stretched his arms. + +"I believe I would rather go back to sleep than fight," he said. "I +don't know what has come over me." + +Leonidas shot him a quick glance, and it seemed to him that the +Theban's face had aged and grown grave over night. + +"I wonder what Clearchus and Artemisia and little Chares are doing," +Chares went on. "I would like to see them again. May the Gods give +them happiness!" + +"Yes, and I shall be happy too when you have built your palace beside +them," Leonidas replied. "It will have to be a palace, for Thais will +be satisfied with nothing less." + +Chares smiled a little sadly and shook his head. + +"That is not for me," he said. "I shall never have a home and children +of my own." + +"Nonsense!" the Spartan replied decisively. "What is to become of +Thais, then?" + +"I know not," Chares said reflectively. "Watch over her, Leonidas, if +I am not there to do it. She loves me." + +"You talk like a sick man," Leonidas exclaimed, "yet you were never +better. What is the matter with you?" + +"Who can speak of to-morrow?" Chares replied. "You know, Leonidas, +that I am not afraid, and yet somehow I care not. You and Clearchus I +must leave sometime, and whenever that time comes, it will be a regret +to me; and Thais, of course, will grieve; but she will recover. She is +not like Artemisia. I think something is lacking in me. I have taken +pleasure in life, but I am tired of everything. My city exists no +more. Perhaps I am being punished for taking service under the man who +destroyed it. I do not know--or care. Let be what will be." + +"When you hear the trumpet, you will forget all this folly," Leonidas +said impatiently. "You are young and you have everything to live for. +That palace will be built yet; and when our heads are gray, we shall be +sitting there, telling each other of this battle. See, they are +waiting for us. They have been there all night." + +The mist was lifting in undulating billows and twisted scarfs of vapor, +floating away into the upper air. Before them was mustered the might +of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Away to the left and +right spread the army of the Great King, a wilderness of bright plumes +and glittering helmets. The spear-points, emerging from the mist, +caught the rays of the sun like diamonds. Rank on rank they stood, so +deep that the young men could not distinguish where the files ceased. +Far on their right was the Bactrian cavalry and the Persian horse under +the cruel viceroy Bessus, who had unwittingly saved Chares and +Clearchus from the Babylonian mob. They could make out the banners of +the Susians, the Albanians, the Hyrcanians, the fierce Parthians, the +Syrians, the Arachotians, the Cadusians, the Babylonian levies, the +haughty Medes, the dusky squadrons from beyond the Indus, the warriors +from the shores of the Red Sea, the Mesopotamians, the Armenians, the +Cappadocians, and the mongrel tribes of mixed blood. From the +flaunting banners they could read the muster-roll of the nations that +bowed to the will of Darius. + +In advance of the first rank stood a line of huge, swaying brown bulks. +They were the royal elephants, stationed there to drive a pathway +through the Macedonian army for the Great King. Leonidas wondered at +their number and size. On both sides of them stretched rows of +chariots, with axles and neaps that terminated in long, curved +scythe-blades. Behind the elephants was the royal squadron of ten +thousand picked riders, and in its rear Darius had stationed himself, +surrounded by his kinsmen, and protected on either side by bodies of +Greek mercenaries. All the plain in front of the vast array had been +made as level as a floor, so that the chariots might find no obstacle +in their advance. + +"This will be the last battle," Chares said indifferently. "If we win +here, the empire is ours." + +"We shall win!" Leonidas exclaimed. + +"I'm not so sure of that," Chares said, measuring the host of the enemy +with his eye. "There are more of them than there were at Issus, and +here they have room to move." + +A trumpet sent its bold notes from the Macedonian camp. The call was +taken up by others, rose, and died away. Presently the first squadron +of the phalanx wheeled out upon the plain, and began marching slowly +and in silence down the gentle slope toward the Persian van. + +"We must get into our armor," Chares said, and the two friends hastened +down from the rampart. + +The camp was swarming like a great beehive. Rough shouts of greeting, +jests, and salutations were heard on every side as the soldiers hurried +to join their commands. The army was in high spirits at the prospect +of a decisive grapple, but the heaviness that oppressed Chares' mind +refused to yield to the general enthusiasm. He made his way through +the crowds to the purple pavilion set apart for Sisygambis, the mother +of Darius, and his children. The beautiful Statira was no longer +there. She had died in her captivity. + +"I wish to speak with Thais," Chares said to the eunuch who guarded the +door. + +He was admitted to an anteroom of the tent while a slave carried his +message. Thais answered the summons quickly. A proud smile parted her +lips when she saw the powerful form of the Theban, clad in resplendent +armor; but it vanished when she looked into his face. + +He took her hands and bent down to kiss her, while the plumes of his +helmet fell about their heads. + +"I have but a moment," he said. "Farewell, Thais; you have loved me +better than I deserved." + +"Chares!" she exclaimed, with a sinking of the heart that caused her +voice to flutter. "Why do you speak to me like this? I have loved you +and I do love you with all my heart--with all my heart! Never have I +loved another, and I never shall. Without you I should die!" + +She stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck. "You are all I +have!" she cried, with a sob. + +"Thais," he said, holding her close, "if I come not back to you, +promise me that you will accept what the Gods send. They are wiser +than we." + +To Thais it seemed as though the world was slipping away from her. He +had gone to battle before, and she well knew its chances; but he was so +brave and strong that she had never really feared for him and for +herself. What would become of her without him? She remembered what +she had been before she knew him. The future would be worse than a +void. The thought of it stabbed her heart like a knife. + +"If you come not back!" she cried, clinging to him with all her +strength. "But you will come back, Chares--tell me that you will! +Tell me that you will come back for my sake. I cannot let you go!" + +"I will come back if the Gods permit it," he said, kissing her once +more, "but promise me, my love, for the time is short." + +A trumpet sounded, and Thais understood that he must leave her. + +"I promise," she said hastily, "but, O my heart, guard thyself in the +battle; for it is thy life and mine thou bearest!" + +She felt his arms press her closely and tenderly, and then he was gone. +She turned slowly back to the inner rooms of the pavilion, where the +queen mother sat with her little grandson in her lap. Sisygambis had +taken a fancy to her, especially since the death of her +daughter-in-law, whom Thais had tended in her illness. She turned her +face toward her, stamped with traces of sorrow. + +"What is happening?" she asked. + +"They are marching out to battle," Thais replied. + +"My son is there!" the queen said. "May Astoreth have him in her care. +But whichever way the battle goes, either I or thou must weep. Our +hearts are their playthings!" + +As the Companions emerged from the camp, they passed through the ranks +of the Thracian infantry, left behind to protect it, and saw the +phalanx forming on the plain. They swung into the battle line on its +right, behind the archers and the javelin men. The Persians overlapped +them on both flanks by half a mile. + +Never had Chares seen Alexander so confidently at ease as when he rode +along the line in his bright armor, his white plumes nodding as he +looked to see that all was in readiness. His eye was clear and his +brow was untroubled in the face of those tremendous odds, although he +knew that his fate depended upon the issue of that day. He took his +place beside Clitus on the extreme right wing of the army, with the +squadrons of Glaucias behind him. + +There was a stir in the Persian host, and the terrible scythed +chariots, drawn by horses that were lashed to madness, bounded forward +across the interval that separated the two armies. At the same time +the elephants began to move, and the Persian centre advanced to the +attack. + +Chares had hardly time to note this movement before the Bactrian and +Scythian cavalry under Bessus swept down upon the Companions. +Alexander ordered MÅ“nidas and the Greek mercenary cavalry to meet +the charge. The Greeks galloped bravely to oppose the onset, but the +rush of the Bactrians scattered them like chaff. The PÅ“onian +cavalry under Aristo was then sent forward with better success. The +wild troops of Bessus were curbed and forced back for a space, and +Chares could see the bull-necked viceroy raging among them in a frantic +endeavor to make them stand. Finding all his efforts in vain, he +ordered the main body of the Bactrian cavalry, fourteen thousand in +all, to charge. They left their place in the left of the Persian line +and thundered down upon the PÅ“onians like an avalanche. + +Not until then did Alexander turn his face to the impatient Companions. +He raised his hand as a signal to make ready. Each man gathered his +bridle reins more firmly, and tightened his grasp on his spear. A page +scurried back to Aretes, who had been posted in the rear of the main +line as a protection to the flank, telling him to charge with his +splendid lancers. Then the Companions rushed forward, with Alexander +at their head, and with their plumes fluttering like foam on the crest +of a wave. + +Squadron by squadron, they tore into the enemy's lines, while Scyth and +Bactrian went down before them. Swift and deadly as a falcon, Aretes +swooped upon Bessus' flank, throwing it into confusion. But the +viceroy refused to yield, and the stubborn righting continued. + +Meantime the dreaded scythe-bearing chariots had neared the phalanx, +which it was their task to break. The soldiers clashed their spear +butts against their shields with a clangor that frightened many of the +horses beyond control. The light-footed skirmishers in advance of the +line shot their arrows into the sides of the animals, or risked their +lives to sever the traces of their harness. Some of the horses wheeled +and galloped back into the Persian horde. Others were killed upon the +sarissas that pierced their necks. A few of the chariots reached the +line, that opened hastily to let them through, and both horses and +charioteers were slain at leisure in the rear. + +The elephants, from which the Great King had hoped so much, proved as +useless as the chariots. Bewildered in the clamor raised by the +phalanx, and maddened by the wounds inflicted upon them by the archers, +they rushed about the field, trumpeting wildly, and trampling the +Persians in their search for escape. Darius saw them, and his brow +clouded. + +With the first stride of his horse when the Companions charged, Chares +felt his heart leap and the glow of joy in battle warm his veins. +Misgiving and foreboding fell from him. He struck with mighty blows, +spurring his horse forward into the Bactrian ranks until he could go no +further. When his squadron fell back to give place to another, he +refused to follow it, but remained there, fighting until the fresh +troop in its charge surrounded him and bore him forward. Even when the +Bactrians began to give way, and Alexander, leaving them to Aretes, +directed the trumpeters to draw off the Companions, the Theban would +not go. The young king, who happened to be near, spoke to him sharply. + +"Obey orders!" he said. "You shall have your fill of fighting." + +Chares reluctantly complied. His eyes were bloodshot and his face +flushed like that of a drunken man. To ease the throbbing of his +temples, he loosed his helmet and threw it upon the ground. + +Alexander's eye, keen as a hawk's, glanced along the front of the +Persian line, and his heart leaped as he saw a wide break in the ranks +just at the left of the centre, where Darius stood in his chariot. The +Susians had shifted slightly toward Bessus, in order to give him their +support, and a gap had opened between them and the Greek mercenaries +who guarded the Great King on that side. The Macedonians had been +ordered to fight in silence, so that the trumpets might be heard, and +now their varied notes rang across the field. At the first signal, the +hypaspists under Nicanor detached themselves from the line and came +forward at a run. Another call, another, and another, brought the +veterans of the phalanx swinging in behind them. Rank on rank, the +tough fighting men of CÅ“nas, Perdiccas, Meleager, and Polyspherchon +fell in with the rapid precision of cool discipline, forming a solid +column that fronted toward the gap. + +Alexander gave the word to the Companions to place themselves at the +head of this enormous wedge, and then, with a shout that rolled far +across the plain, it hurled itself against the Persian line. Into the +gap rode the Companions, and after them pressed the heavy infantry. +The matchless horsemen struck at the heart of the Persian host; the +resistless charge of the men who followed them tore wide the wound. + +Close to the snowy plumes that floated from Alexander's helmet in the +front rank of the Companions streamed the yellow hair of Chares. The +Theban fought with the strength of fury. His sword rose and fell, and +every blow carried a death wound. A strange sense of unreality +possessed him. He seemed to be fighting in a dream. Suddenly, through +the dust and confusion of the trampled field, he caught sight of the +figure of Darius, and every sense became acute. The Great King, +wearing the royal robe of purple over his armor, stood erect in his +chariot, shooting arrows into the Macedonian column. Between him and +the Companions stood ten thousand Greek mercenaries. + +Chares was seized by an overmastering and unreasoning rage against the +tall, handsome man who had brought the vast horde together to oppose +them. + +"Darius! Darius!" he shouted, and spurred his horse so fiercely that +the animal leaped forward, carrying his rider far into the mercenary +cohorts. Alexander and the foremost of the Companions, among them +Leonidas, pressed in after him. The Spartan shouted to him to be +cautious, but he might as well have warned the wind. To right and left +swung the terrible sword, and every bound of the frantic horse carried +him farther forward. The ranks of the mercenaries were cleft apart. +From every side blows were aimed at him, but the hireling troops were +prevented by those who came after from closing around him. + +Chares saw nothing but the pale face of the Great King. A sword gashed +his thigh, but he did not feel the wound. An arrow pierced his +shoulder. He snapped off the shaft so that it might not interfere with +the sweep of his arm. + +Darius looked toward the left, and his eyes met those of the Theban. +He saw the strokes that were rained upon his armor; he saw the darts +that were aimed at him. At every breath it seemed that he must go +down, and yet onward he came, and his gaze never left the royal +chariot. The Great King noticed that his lips were stained with bloody +froth and that his hair was roped and matted with sweat. A chill +settled about the monarch's heart. It seemed to him that the +yellow-headed giant, whom nothing could stay, would surely reach him; +and yet he was incapable of movement. Like a man bound hand and foot +by a nightmare, he stood awaiting his end. The man was now so near +that he fancied he could hear the panting of his breath. The warning +cries of his kinsmen sounded in his ears, and he knew that they were +trying to throw themselves before him. Of all the Macedonian army he +feared only this one enemy. Would he succeed in reaching the chariot? +No! His horse had swerved aside. Darius saw him grasp a javelin that +was being thrust at his breast, and wrest it from the hands of the man +who held it. He was about to cast. The Great King could see the +glitter of the point of steel. Something grazed his arm, and the haft +of the weapon quivered across his heart, its blade buried in the side +of his charioteer. + +Darius drew a shuddering breath of relief, and opened his eyes. He saw +the great roan steed that bore his foe rear high above the heads of his +guard. Its fore legs struck aimlessly at the air, and the face of its +rider was hidden in its tossing mane. Then, with a scream of agony, +the horse fell backward, and a hundred mercenaries swarmed upon him, +thrusting and thrusting with their short swords. + +The Great King was saved; but he knew that the battle, upon which he +had staked all, was lost. He saw the eager faces of the Companions, +and beyond them the solid wall of the phalanx, sweeping nearer, like a +resistless tide. He stepped across the body of his charioteer and +mounted a horse. Before his feet were in the stirrups he heard the +ominous cry, "The king flees!" that had run before the rout at Issus, +and by the time he reached the spot where the rear guard of his army +should have been, the dust-cloud raised by hurrying hoofs and flying +feet obscured the sun. + +Slowly, from among the dead, Chares raised himself, and gazed with +dimming eyes toward the place where the Great King had stood. Only the +broken chariot and the dead were there, but far away he saw the ebbing +tide of the battle. A smile flickered upon his lips, his head sank +upon the side of his brave horse, and his blue eyes closed. "Sleep and +rest!" he thought, and the darkness swept over him. + + + + +CHAPTER L + +PROMISES FULFILLED + +In the great Hall of Xerxes, in Persepolis, the city whose streets had +never been trodden by the feet of an enemy since the first Cyrus +overthrew the Medes and founded the Achæmenian line, Alexander feasted +with his friends. Two months had passed since the empire that Cyrus +won had been wrested from Darius at Gaugamela. Susa had fallen, and +the might of Persia was shattered forever. + +Terrace above terrace, from the limpid waters of the Araxes, fed +eternally by mountain snows, rose the wonderful palaces upon which the +revenues of generations had been lavished. There the grandeur and +majesty of the masters of more than half the world had bloomed into +visible form. There Cyrus and his successors had been accustomed to +seek refuge from the summer heat, and to lay aside the cares of empire +for luxurious days amid the myriad blossoms of their gardens and the +fairer flowers of their effeminate courts. + +The huge monoliths of the Hall of the Hundred Columns reared themselves +from their hewn platform of stone. Around them were grouped the +palaces of Cyrus and of Xerxes, of Artaxerxes and Darius, built of rare +woods and polished marble, brought from distant quarries with infinite +labor, that the eyes of the Great Kings might take delight therein. +Each monarch had striven to outdo his predecessor in beauty and +magnificence. + +Broad staircases, guarded by colossal figures of soldiers, connected +terraces, upheld by retaining walls upon which were sculptured enormous +lions and bulls. + +The palaces themselves were large enough to give an army lodgement. +Their walls and ceilings were adorned with paintings commemorating the +triumphs of the kings in war and in the chase. Upon the sides of the +Hall of Xerxes, where the Macedonian captains were gathered at tables +laden with vessels of solid gold, the petulant monarch, who had +chastised the Hellespont with rods and who had given the temples of +Athens to the flames, was represented in his hunting chariot, receiving +the charge of a wounded lion. In the light of countless torches, the +great paintings, the hangings, and the carpets spread upon the floor +formed a background of rich color for the snowy garments of the +banqueters. + +Statues of ebony, lapis-lazuli, marble, and jade, brought from many a +captured city, gleamed against the lofty wainscoting of golden plates, +wrought into strange reliefs. + +Alexander reclined upon a raised couch, covered with priceless +Babylonian embroidery. In front of him the tables were arranged in the +form of an oblong, stretching the length of the hall, and beside them +lolled the veterans, crowned with wreaths of flowers whose perfume +mingled with the heavy scent of unguents and incense. There were many +women at the feast, each sitting beside her chosen lord. Some of them +had been taken as captives. Others, released from the bondage of the +harem, had formed willing alliances with the conquerors. They were +admitted to the banquet on terms of equality with the men, according to +the Macedonian fashion, and their light laughter, the brilliancy of +their eyes, and the flashing of the jewels with which they were +plentifully adorned lent a finishing touch of brightness to the scene. + +But the beauty of the fairest representatives of a race famed for its +beauty paled before that of Thais, whose gilded chair was set next to +the couch of Ptolemy on Alexander's left. It was not so much the +perfect grace of her form or the proud poise or her head, with its +masses of tawny hair, that gave her distinction, as the spirit that +shone in her eyes. Beautiful as she was, she had changed since the +death of Chares. There was a suggestion of imperious hardness in her +glance; she was less womanly, but more fascinating. The hearts of men +turned to wax as they gazed upon her, even though something indefinable +warned them that their longing would find no response in her heart. +Yet warm vitality seemed to radiate from her, and the quick blood came +and went under her clear skin with each changing emotion. + +Habituated to the stiff formalities of the Persian court, the deft +slaves who attended the Macedonians were astonished at the freedom of +their manners. All the skill of the royal cooks was expended to +prepare the feast. Scores of delicate dishes were brought in and set +before the Greeks, but the master of the kitchens was in despair at +their lack of appreciation. They devoured what was offered to them, it +was true, but without a sign of the gastronomical discussion in which +the Persian nobles were wont to indulge. The wine, however, was not +spared, and the keeper of the royal cellars groaned over the havoc +wrought among his precious amphoræ. The provision for a twelvemonth +was exhausted, and still the thirst of the strangers seemed unabated. +In the last and most ancient of the Persian capitals they were +celebrating their triumph in their own way, and it was the way of men +whose vices were as strong as their virtues. + +The conversation, animated from the first, became livelier as the +banquet progressed. The soldiers called to each other from table to +table, pledging each other in goblets of amber and ruby wine as costly +as amber and rubies. Faces were flushed and eyes grew bright. The +stately hall echoed with laughter, in which the musical voices of the +women joined. Old stories were told again, and time-worn jokes took on +the attraction of novelty. The women provoked their guerdon of homage, +and it was paid to them on hand and lip with frank generosity. The +brains of even the stoutest members of the company were whirling, and +some of the more susceptible to the influence of the wine began to slip +unsteadily away, amid the jeers of their comrades, in the hope that the +cool outer air would drive off their giddiness and enable them to see +the end. Those who remained were all talking at once, boasting of +their deeds, with none to listen. + +Alexander, weary of the din, called suddenly upon Callisthenes to speak +in praise of the Greeks. The orator rose slowly from his place and +strode out into the open space between the tables. + +"To whom shall I speak?" he demanded, gazing about him with an +expression of disgust upon the babbling captains. "They are all mad +with vanity and wine." + +"Speak then to Xerxes," Alexander replied, pointing to the wall, from +which the royal portrait seemed to look down upon them with a sneer. + +Callisthenes obeyed. At first his voice was unheeded; but as his +apostrophe gathered force, the chatter of talk died away around him, +and all eyes were turned upon him. + +Calling upon the dead king by name, he magnified his power and told how +he had gathered the nations to the invasion of Hellas. The failure of +his attempt he attributed to the jealousy of the Gods, who would not +permit destruction to fall upon the country that was to produce +Alexander. He described the heroic stand of the Spartans at +Thermopylæ, and the victory of Salamis; and as he dwelt upon the +bravery of the Greeks in the face of those overwhelming odds, the hall +rang with the cheers of men who themselves knew what it was to fight +and to conquer. + +"By thy command, O Xerxes!" the orator cried, extending his open palm +toward the portrait, "Hellas was made to blush in the flames that +devoured the temples of her Gods upon the Athenian Acropolis; but the +life of man is brief, while the Gods die not nor do they forget. Look +down from thy chariot! Alexander, the defender and avenger of Hellas, +holds thy dominions, and the nations that owned thy sway are bowed at +his feet. Turn not thy face away; for the fire with which thou didst +insult and offend the Gods of Hellas hath flamed across all Persia, +until it hath reached thee at last!" + +The rage that had been gathering in the breasts of the Macedonians at +the recital of the wrongs that Greece had suffered could be repressed +no longer. Clitus leaped to his feet and hurled his golden beaker at +the painted face of Xerxes. In an instant the hall was in an uproar. +The company rose with one accord and turned to Alexander, shouting for +revenge. To their inflamed minds it seemed as though the injuries +inflicted by Xerxes were of yesterday. The contagion caught the young +king, who sprang from his couch and stood gazing around him, seeking +some means of satisfying the desire for vengeance that swelled his +heart. + +Thais had been watching his face with lips slightly parted and a +strangely intent look in her eyes, as though waiting for the moment to +carry into execution some project that she had formed in her mind. +While Alexander stood hesitating, she seized a blazing torch from its +socket in one of the columns. + +"He burned our temples--let fire be his punishment!" she whispered, +thrusting the torch into Alexander's grasp. + +"The Gods shall be avenged!" he cried, accepting her plan without +hesitation; for the wine he had drunk and the maddening clamor of his +followers had gone to his head. + +He thrust the lighted torch against the draperies that hung behind him. +A cry of horror burst from the slaves and attendants as the flame +caught the heavy folds and ran upward in leaping spirals; but the cry +was lost in the fierce triumphant shout of the captains. Every man +grasped a torch and ran to spread the conflagration. The great Hall of +Xerxes was enveloped in flame and smoke so quickly that the +incendiaries themselves had barely time to escape. + +Rushing from the doorways with the torches in their hands, the +Macedonians hastened from palace to palace, scattering destruction. +Clouds of smoke, glowing red above the leaping flames, rose over the +marvellous structures that had been reared with so much toil. Tower +and terrace, porch and portico, were transformed into roaring furnaces +in whose heat the great columns cracked and fell with a noise like the +rumbling of thunder. The lofty ceilings crashed down upon wonders of +art and precious fabrics. The plates of beaten gold that lined the +walls melted and ran into crevices which opened in the marble floor. +Of the slaves, some perished in the flames; others fled with booty +snatched from the ruin; still others ran wildly into the darkness, +crying that the Macedonians were preparing to put to the sword all who +dwelt in the pleasant valley. + +The banqueters, driven back by the heat, watched the conflagration with +shouts of joy while it slowly burned itself out, leaving only the gaunt +and blackened skeletons of the group of palaces that had been the +delight of the Great Kings. + +Thais stood beside Ptolemy, beneath the wide branches of an oak where +the glare of the flames she had kindled threw her figure into strong +relief against the blackness. She held herself proudly erect, and a +slight smile curved her lips as she saw the banners of flame leap +upward toward the stars. + +"Why did you do it?" the Macedonian asked, with an accent of respect +that seemed out of place in a camp where women were held so cheap. + +"I did it because of a promise that I gave to Orontobates when I was a +captive in Halicarnassus," Thais replied. "I like to keep my word." + +Something in her tone prevented the soldier, bold as he was, from +asking her what the promise had been. She had already taught him when +to remain silent, and he had learned that he must either submit or +abandon hope of winning her. As he stood, drinking in her beauty, +revealed in a new aspect by the firelight, he was puzzled to see her +head droop, while two tears slowly gathered upon her lashes. + +"Farewell, Chares, my lover!" she was saying to herself. "Upon thy +funeral pyre my heart, too, is turning to ashes!" + +"Thais," Ptolemy whispered, moved by her emotion without knowing its +cause, "do not forget that I love thee!" + +"I do not forget," she replied, "nor have I forgotten another promise +that I made; for I think the Gods have sent thee to me. To-morrow I +will be thy wife; and when this war has reached its end, thou shalt +reign in Alexandria over Egypt with me at thy side." + +"Thais!" Ptolemy exclaimed, clasping her at last in his arms. + +So Thais, the Athenian dancing girl, kept her pledge; but through the +length and breadth of the land ran the news that the home of the Great +Kings had been laid in ashes, and men knew that, though Darius still +lived, his power indeed was gone forever. + + + + +CHAPTER LI + +AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + +Clearchus and Artemisia were walking in the garden of their home in +Alexandria. Between the trunks of the trees, at a distance, they could +see the roofs and towers of the populous city, and across the blue +water, which began where the slopes of verdure ended, they could watch +the white sails of ships bringing trade from all parts of the world. +Ten years had passed since the palaces of Persepolis had crumbled into +ashes. Alexander had been dead three years, and his body lay in the +royal tomb at the mouth of the Nile, whither Ptolemy had brought it +from Babylon, when the empire was divided among the Macedonian generals +and he came to rule over Egypt in place of the rapacious Cleomenes. + +Artemisia's figure had lost some of its girlish grace, but her blue +eyes retained their clearness and her cheeks the delicate flush of her +youth. Clearchus, too, was heavier than he had been when he fought +among the Companions under Alexander, whom men were beginning to call +"the Great." + +At a turn in the path Artemisia placed her hand upon his arm and +checked him. The silvery voices of children came from a sunlit glade +among the shrubbery. They saw a boy of eleven years, clad in a short +white tunic that left his arms and legs free, shooting with blunt +arrows at a target that hung against a tree. Two little girls stood +watching him, and after each shot they ran with eager laughter to find +the arrow and fetch it back to him. Their fair hair gleamed in the +sun. Artemisia's eyes sought those of her husband, and a smile of +mother love transfigured her face. + +"I am almost afraid to be so happy," she murmured. + +Clearchus laughed. "You need not fear, my heart," he replied. "Do not +the Gods owe us something? They are generous." + +They heard a step on the gravel behind them, and Leonidas advanced with +a smile and hands outstretched. He had changed little, excepting that +a few gray hairs appeared at his temples and the lines of his face had +deepened. + +"Welcome, comrade!" Clearchus cried, running forward to meet him. +"Whence come you? What news?" + +"I come from the council in Syria," Leonidas answered, "and as for +news, there has been another division of the world." + +"And Ptolemy?" Clearchus asked anxiously. + +"He retains Egypt," the Spartan said. "Antipater is regent, with +Macedonia and all Greece; Seleucus gets the satrapy of Babylon; and +Antigonus, Susiana, besides what he had." + +"I hope we shall have peace at last," Artemisia said, glancing toward +the children. + +"We shall have peace here, at all events," Leonidas said grimly. "None +of the generals is desirous of sharing the fate of Perdiccas." + +They sat down beneath a vine-grown trellis while Leonidas told them of +the events that had led to the new distribution of the empire, +describing the jealousies of the leaders and the ferment of revolt that +was working in Greece. + +"When will they stop killing each other?" Artemisia said sadly. "Has +not each of them more than enough without trying to rob the others? +Leave them to their quarrels, Leonidas; there is room enough for +another house here beside us, and we will find you a mistress for it." + +Leonidas shook his head and sipped the wine that a slave had brought +for his refreshment. He knew that she referred to the site that they +had reserved for Chares and Thais. + +"It is too late," he replied, half regretfully. "As we have lived, so +we must die." + +Artemisia slipped her hand within that of Clearchus, while the Spartan +followed with his eyes the glancing sails of a vessel whose prow was +turned toward the north and the rugged hillsides of his native land. +Their reflections were interrupted by the children, who had tired of +their play and were seeking new diversion. + +"Ho! Uncle Leonidas," shouted the boy, swooping down upon the Spartan. +"Where did you come from? Tell me about the death of King Darius!" + +He sat down beside Leonidas and composed himself to listen. The little +girls took Artemisia prisoner and led her away to see a nest they had +found, in which, they assured her, were funny little birds with no +feathers on their wings. Leonidas, his eyes still on the receding +ship, began the story that he had often told before. He related how +the army came to Ecbatana, the gem of cities, with its seven walls each +of a different color from the others, and each rising higher than the +one outside it, and how they found that the Great King had fled up into +the snow-capped mountains that overlook the Caspian Sea. He had with +him Bessus, the treacherous; Oxathres, his own brother; Artabazus, the +first nobleman of Persia, who commanded the Greek mercenaries; and a +score more of the generals and viceroys who still remained constant to +his fortune. He told how Darius wished to stand and fight among the +rugged passes, but the others would not allow it; how Artabazus, +suspecting their perfidy, besought him to trust himself to his Greeks, +to which the Great King consented for the morrow; and how that night +Bessus fettered him with golden chains and made him a prisoner in his +litter. + +The boy listened with sparkling eyes intent upon the Spartan's face, +while Leonidas described how Alexander, finding the Persians ever +fleeing before him, had left the foot-soldiers behind and struck out +with the Companions across the desert to intercept them. The lad held +his breath as he followed the desperate ride over the burning sands, +where one by one the horses stumbled and fell, gasping, until only +seventy riders remained. His cheeks flushed when he heard how a +soldier had brought water to Alexander in his helmet, and how the young +king, thirsty as he was, refused to moisten his lips because there was +not enough for all. + +Then came the charge of the seventy weary Macedonians in the gray of +the morning upon the camp of the sleeping Persians and the +panic-stricken flight of the cowardly army before them, too frightened +even to look back. And there they found the Great King lying in his +litter, stabbed through and through by the order of Bessus, who had +hoped thus to win the favor of Alexander. + +"And that was the end of Darius," the Spartan concluded. "Alexander +was sorry for his death, and he spread his own cloak over him as he lay +there; but I think it was better for him to die then than to live +subject to another, remembering his former power. He was unfortunate +in this, that he was not killed in battle, as all brave men should wish +to be. He had an opportunity for that at Gaugamela, but he threw it +away." + +A picture rose before the Spartan's memory of Chares, lying with his +broad shoulders against the side of his horse amid the dead, with a +smile upon his lips, and he sighed. + +"You have never yet told me what became of Bessus," the boy said +coaxingly. "Is he still alive?" + +"No," Leonidas replied, his face darkening. "He was betrayed in his +turn, and Alexander ordered him to be killed in the manner of the +Scyths when they punish traitors." + +"What is that?" the boy asked. + +"I shall not tell you," Leonidas said grimly, "but it was too good for +him!" + +"There is Thais," Clearchus exclaimed. "Run and fetch your mother," he +added to his son. + +They rose and went to meet Thais, who was advancing slowly down an +avenue of trees. Two enormous black eunuchs held a broad parasol above +her head, and other slaves followed her, both men and maids, forming a +train of escort. When she saw Clearchus and Leonidas, she spoke a word +to her attendants, who halted, and she came forward alone. The +sunlight, sifting through the branches that formed a green arch over +her head, touched the burnished coils of her hair, flashing from hidden +jewels and glancing upon the shimmering silk of her robes. + +"She is more beautiful than ever," Leonidas said, gazing at her with +admiration. + +"Yes, and she rules Ptolemy in everything," Clearchus replied. + +"My friends!" Thais exclaimed, giving them her hands. "It makes my +heart glad to see you; but where is Artemisia?" + +"I have sent for her," Clearchus replied. + +"Before she comes," Thais said, seating herself beneath the trellis and +lowering her voice, "I must tell you something. The proofs for which I +sent to Athens have arrived, and there can no longer be any doubt that +we are sisters." + +"She will be overjoyed," Clearchus said. + +"I shall not tell her," Thais replied. + +"Why not?" Leonidas asked bluntly. "You are a queen now, or will be +one soon, and nobody thinks of--of the past." + +"It is precisely because I intend to be a queen that I shall not tell +her," Thais continued. "She could not love me more if she knew, and I +will not be the means of bringing danger upon her or her children. We +know the fate that awaits the kinsmen of princes. Did not Olympias +cause Cleopatra to be slain with her babe in her arms? Has not Roxana +murdered Statira, and is not Roxana herself, with the young Alexander, +held in captivity? Nevertheless, I will tell her if you desire, and it +shall be proclaimed throughout Egypt." + +"May the Gods forbid!" Clearchus exclaimed. "You are right, Thais. It +must not be told." + +"Then I will destroy the proofs," she said, "and remain, as I have +been, the first of my race." + +All three were silent, thinking of the future, and Thais smiled +faintly, as though at that moment she were conscious of the wonderful +power that was to descend through her daughters, until it attained its +perfection in the irresistible charm of that Cleopatra who was to see +the conquerors of the world at her feet. Yet she sighed as her eyes +met those of Clearchus. + +"If only Chares were here!" she murmured. + +"We know," the Athenian answered gravely, "and we do not blame you, +since all of us must bow to the will of the Gods." + +"I thank you," she said simply. "You have both been kind to me." + +Artemisia joined them, holding one of her girls by either hand, while +young Chares followed with his bow, concerning which he wished to +consult Leonidas. There, in the vine-grown arbor, they sat talking +until the shadows began to lengthen, and the afternoon drew to its +close. Thais rose, lithe and graceful as an animal of the desert, and +the slaves, who had been watching her, in a bright-colored group, from +beneath the trees, scrambled to their feet. + +"Come, Leonidas, the cares of state await us," she said. "Remember +that you are a general now, and I am almost a queen, while these two +have nothing to do but waste their time in being happy." + +"You will come again to-morrow?" Artemisia said, embracing her. + +"Perhaps," replied Thais, and she moved away down the avenue with the +Spartan, toward the retinue of slaves who stood waiting to surround her. + +Clearchus and Artemisia watched them until the foliage hid them from +sight, and then turned toward the house. Artemisia noticed that a rose +bush, weighted with flowers, had swayed across the path, and she +stooped to put it back into place. Clearchus slipped his arm about her +waist and kissed her. + +"Silly!" she said, blushing, "everybody will see you." + +"That cannot be helped," he retorted. "You looked then just as you +looked in the garden in Academe that morning when I found you among +your roses--and I think I love you more now than I did then." + +"We love each other more," Artemisia said softly, "because we did not +know then what it would be to lose each other." + + + + + THE GROSSET & DUNLAP + ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS + OF FAMOUS BOOKS + +The following books are large 12mo volumes 5-¾x8-¼ inches in size, are +printed on laid paper of the highest grade, and bound in cloth, with +elaborate decorative covers. 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Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/37576-0.zip b/37576-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..718ea99 --- /dev/null +++ b/37576-0.zip diff --git a/37576-8.txt b/37576-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4feef53 --- /dev/null +++ b/37576-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15945 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Hope, by Robert H. Fuller + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Golden Hope + A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great + +Author: Robert H. Fuller + +Release Date: September 30, 2011 [EBook #37576] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HOPE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: In this text file, "[oe]" represents the +oe-ligature character] + + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + _A STORY OF THE TIME OF + KING ALEXANDER THE GREAT_ + + + +BY + +ROBERT H. FULLER + + + + +NEW YORK + +GROSSET & DUNLAP + +PUBLISHERS + + + + +Copyright, 1905, + +By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + +Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1905. Reprinted May, 1906. + + + + +Norwood Press + +J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. + +Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. + + + + +"_For what was all his war in Asia after the death of Philippus, but +tempests, extreme heats, wonderful deep rivers, marvellous high +mountains, monstrous beasts for greatness to behold, wild savage +fashions of life, change and alteration of governors upon every +occasion, yea treasons and rebellions of some? At the beginning of his +voyage, Greece did yet lay their heads together, for the remembrance of +the wars that Philippus made upon them: the towns gathered together: +Macedonia inclined to some change and alteration: divers people far and +near lay in wait to see what their neighbours would do: the gold and +silver of Persia flowing in the orators' purses, and governors of the +people did raise up Peloponnese: Philippus' treasure and coffers were +empty, and the debts were great. In despite of all these troubles, and +in the middest of his poverty, a young man, but newly come to man's +estate, durst in his mind think of the conquest of Asia, yea of the +empire of the whole world, with thirty thousand footmen and five +thousand horse, ... howbeit he was furnished with magnanimity, with +temperance, with wisdom, and valour: being more holpen in this martial +enterprise, with that he had learned of his tutor Aristotle, than with +that which his father Philippus had left him.... In Alexander's +actions they see, that his valiantness is gentle, his gentleness +valiant: his liberality, husbandry, his choler soon down, his loves +temperate, his pastimes not idle, and his travels gracious. What is he +that hath mingled feasting with wars, and military expeditions with +sports? Who hath intermingled in the middest of his besieging of +towns: and in the middest of skirmishes and fights, sports, banquets, +and wedding songs? Who was ever more enemy to those that did wrong, +nor more gracious to the afflicted? Who was ever more cruel to those +that fought, or more just unto suppliants?_" + +--NORTH'S _Plutarch_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. THREE FRIENDS MEET + II. WARNING FROM THE GODS + III. ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + IV. THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + V. THE BANQUET + VI. SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + VII. THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + VIII. THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + IX. THE DOOM OF THEBES + X. CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + XI. THAIS + XII. MENA READS A LETTER + XIII. THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + XIV. ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + XV. THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + XVI. IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + XVII. THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + XVIII. GREEK AND BARBARIAN + XIX. THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + XX. MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + XXI. PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + XXII. THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + XXIII. IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + XXIV. THE GORDIAN KNOT + XXV. BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + XXVI. THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + XXVII. NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + XXVIII. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + XXIX. THE SLUICE GATE + XXX. LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + XXXI. ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + XXXII. THE WORLD AT STAKE + XXXIII. THE CHESTNUT MARE + XXXIV. IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + XXXV. PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + XXXVI. TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + XXXVII. THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + XXXVIII. MENA REVEALS A SECRET + XXXIX. JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + XL. THE GAP OF DEATH + XLI. PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + XLII. A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + XLIII. THI KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + XLIV. THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + XLV. MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + XLVI. THE PASSING OF A GOD + XLVII. SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + XLVIII. THAIS GIVES A FEAST + XLIX. CHARES FINDS REST + L. PROMISES FULFILLED + LI. AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THREE FRIENDS MEET + +Athens was rousing herself from sleep. The beams of the morning sun +bathed the rugged sides of Mount Hymettus and lightened the dark +foliage that clothed the nearer wooded slopes of Lycabettus. The low, +flat-roofed houses of the city were still nothing more than blurred +masses of gray in the shadow; but presently a ray touched the point of +Athene's spear, and the flood of orange light flowed over the +Acropolis. Its temples and statues were enveloped in a radiance which +fused the rich, harmonious colors of column and cornice and melted the +massive outlines into a resplendent whole, rising immortal from the +gloom at its base. + +Thin curls of smoke mounted here and there above the housetops, +straight up toward the limitless turquoise vault of the sky. The +vivifying freshness of the new-born day was in the air. + +There was a clatter of hoofs in the Street of Pericles, and two young +men, followed by three mounted servants, swung into view. + +"By Zeus, Leonidas!" cried the foremost of the riders, drawing rein and +pointing to the Acropolis, "that is worth riding all night to see!" + +"You mean the sunrise?" the other asked, also coming to a halt. +"Pshaw! You may see that any day without sitting up for it." + +"Not I!" said his companion, laughing. "I love the lamps too well." + +Leonidas shrugged his square shoulders. "It's not the lamps you love, +Chares," he returned dryly. "But why are we idling here? Unless we +make haste, Clearchus will be out of bed before we can surprise him." + +"Come on, then!" Chares cried, urging his tired horse. "By Heracles! +what's that?" + +The three servants had ridden forward in advance of their masters. +From the direction they had taken, the young men heard a confusion of +angry voices, mingled with oaths. In another moment they saw that the +street was blocked by a gorgeous litter borne on the shoulders of four +sturdy slaves and surrounded by a dozen more, some of whom carried +torches which burned pale in the morning light. The litter-bearers had +refused to draw aside, and the guard was attempting to turn the +horsemen back. Evidently some youth had been overtaken at his revelry +by the dawn and was now being carried home by slaves who had followed +his example at the wine-cup. + +A bustling little man, with close-cropped hair and the sharp-nosed face +of a fox, was shaking his sword in the faces of the riders. + +"Back with you! Back!" he shouted. "Do you seek to halt the noble +Phradates? Back, while you may!" + +The curtains of the litter parted, and a young man's face, crimson with +wrath and wine, appeared at the opening. He wore upon his head a +wreath of wilted roses, which had slipped sidewise over one ear. + +"What is the matter, Mena?" he called thickly. "Cut the rascals down!" + +The three servants hesitated, looking back to their masters for +instructions. + +"Here is sport!" Chares cried, his eyes sparkling. "Let us ride +through them! They need a lesson." + +Leonidas made no answer, but shook his bridle rein free and plunged his +spurs into the flanks of his horse. + +"Way! Way!" Chares cried in a mighty voice, as they thundered down +upon the obstinate group. "Follow us, my lads!" he shouted to the +servants as he swept past. + +The officious man with the sharp nose dropped his sword and scrambled +up the steps of a house, but before the rest could follow his example +the five horsemen were among them, and they were rolling under foot +with their torches. Chares swerved his horse skilfully against the +litter in such a manner that it was overturned. Its occupant pitched +head foremost into the street, and the litter fell on top of him, +burying him beneath a mass of curtains and silken cushions, among which +he struggled like some gigantic insect caught in a web. + +"You shall pay for this!" he gasped from the wreckage, shaking his fist +after the little cavalcade. "I am Phradates!" + +Chares laughed until the street echoed, and even Leonidas could not +forbear a smile when he glanced back upon the havoc their passage had +caused. + +"We must ask Clearchus who this fellow is," Chares said. "Here is the +house." + +He sprang down in front of a dwelling of white marble and ran to the +gate. + +"Hola!" he shouted. "Let us in! Do you intend to keep your master's +guests all day at his door? Open, then!" + +After a slight delay there was a sound of falling bars, and the grating +swung back, revealing a drowsy slave in the entrance. + +"Is it you, my master? Enter; you are welcome," the man said, bowing +before Chares. + +"Is Clearchus awake?" Chares demanded eagerly. + +"I think not, sir," the slave replied. + +"Then we will rouse him!" Chares cried, running across the outer court +and into the house. Leonidas followed more deliberately, leaving the +attendants to care for the horses. + +Chares did not stop to return the greeting of the slave who opened the +house door for him, but dashed through the corridor that led to the +inner court, shouting at the top of his voice: "Clearchus! Wake up, +sluggard, and feed the hungry, or the Gods will turn their faces from +you! Dreamer, where art thou?" + +Just as he emerged from the corridor to the spacious inner court, the +young man came suddenly upon a fresh-faced slave girl, who was busied +with some early duties about the broad cistern filled with lotus +flowers. + +"Aphrodite, as I live!" Chares cried, throwing his arms about her and +kissing her on the lips with a smack. The girl fled, laughing and +blushing, to the women's quarters, and at the same moment the master of +the house, awakened by the uproar, appeared on the threshold of his +chamber. + +"Chares!" he cried, coming forward with outstretched hands. "Who else +could it be, indeed!" + +"Oh, Clearchus," Chares said, "what hardships and perils we have passed +to reach thee!" + +"And here is Leonidas," said the Athenian, freeing himself from the +embrace of Chares as the second of his guests entered the court. "Both +my brothers here! For this I owe a sacrifice of thanksgiving which I +shall not fail to pay. But what fortunate chance brings you to Athens?" + +"We were sitting quietly enough in Thebes, talking of you," Leonidas +replied, "when this madcap declared that he would not live another day +without seeing you and that he intended to make you give him breakfast. +Piso, who was with us, fell into dispute with him, offering to wager +twenty minæ that we could not ride here before midday. Chares +maintained that he would wake you this morning or forfeit the stake, +and here we are." + +"And so you have ridden all night?" Clearchus asked. + +"All night, amid dangers and darkness, only to see you!" Chares replied +gayly, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder. "And now, have +you anything to eat in the house? I am like a famished wolf." + +"Come with me," Clearchus said, leading the way into a large room +opening from the left of the court. The sunlight streamed in from the +garden outside, over rich Persian carpets which covered the floor. The +walls were frescoed with scenes from the Iliad of Homer, drawn with +marvellous skill. Painted statuettes stood in niches of stone. Chairs +and tables of ebony, cypress, and cedar were scattered through the +room, and soft couches invited rest. Clearchus struck a bell, and a +grave man of middle age appeared in the doorway. + +"Send us food, Cleon," Clearchus said. + +The steward withdrew, and two younger slaves entered. They quickly +divested Chares and Leonidas of their riding cloaks and swords and +washed their hands in bowls of scented water, drying them upon linen +towels. They were followed by other slaves bearing trays of cold fowl, +bread, and wine. + +"This seems like getting home," Chares exclaimed, throwing himself upon +one of the couches and leaning back luxuriously upon the cushions of +down which the slaves hastened to arrange behind him while he helped +himself to food from the table. "By the Gods, Clearchus, unless you +stop growing handsome, Ph[oe]bus will be jealous of you!" + +The Athenian flushed like a girl. He was a clean-cut, clear-eyed young +man, hardly more than twenty-one years old, with a face and figure that +might have served as a model for Phidias himself. Although slender, +his form was graceful, with the ease that comes only from well-trained +muscles. Brown curls covered his head, and the glance of his dark eyes +was steady and straightforward, with a singular earnestness. His +expression was thoughtful and his mouth betrayed a sensitive delicacy. + +His parents had died when he was still a lad. His father, Cleanor, +bequeathed to him an immense fortune, amassed in the mines, which had +been managed by his uncle, Ariston, until he became of age. His wealth +made him envied by the fashionable young men of Athens, but he had few +friends among them. He cared nothing for their drinking-bouts, +cock-fights, and gaming, and he had no ambition in politics except to +do his duty as a citizen of Athens. Deep in his heart he worshipped +the city and her glorious achievements, especially those of the +intellect, with fanatical devotion. + +Chares, too, belonged to a family of wealth and influence, for his +father, Jason, had been one of the foremost men in Thebes. In height +he stood more than six feet, and the knotted muscles of his arms +indicated enormous strength. He was buoyant, light-hearted, +irresponsible, and pleasure-loving. His affection for the Athenian, +whom he had known from boyhood, was the strongest impulse in him. + +They had first met Leonidas at the Olympic Games, where he won the +laurel crown in the chariot race, and they had there admitted him to +their friendship. Different as they were from each other, there seemed +little in common between either of them and the swarthy Lacedæmonian +who lay eating silently while they chattered gossip of mutual +acquaintances. Leonidas was rather below the middle stature, all bone +and sinew, practised in arms, and inured to hardships from his +childhood by the unbending discipline of Sparta. His dark hair grew +low down on his forehead and his black eyes were set deep under +overhanging brows. He neither shared nor wished to understand the +delight which Clearchus felt in a perfect statue or a masterpiece of +painting. He scorned the philosophers and poets. Upon the +questionable pleasures to which Chares gave his days and nights, he +looked with good-natured contempt. The narrow prejudices of his +country were ingrained too deeply in his character to be disturbed by +any change of surroundings. He valued more highly the consciousness +that in his veins ran a few drops of the blood of the Lion of +Thermopylæ than all the riches of the world. + +In each of the three young men who met in the house of Clearchus were +typified many of the characteristics of the states to which they +belonged. Athens, Thebes, and Sparta in turn had held the supremacy in +the little peninsula to which the civilized world was confined. +Contrasted as they were, there was still a bond between them that had +been welded by centuries of association. + +"Tell me," Clearchus said, after their hunger had been somewhat +appeased, "what is the news of Thebes? Are the Macedonians still +perched in the Cadmea?" + +"They are," Chares replied lazily. "We are still in the grasp of the +barbarian; but our plotters are at work and they tell me that soon we +shall break it." + +"Do you mean they are planning revolt?" Clearchus asked eagerly. + +"Don't get excited," the Theban responded. "It will give you +indigestion. They have revolted already, thanks to the gold your city +sent them, and the barbarians are eating their corn in the citadel just +at present, waiting for something to turn up." + +"But that means war, Chares," Clearchus exclaimed. + +"Well," Chares replied, "that will give Leonidas a chance to clear the +rust from his sword. You know he is in the market." + +"That is true," the Spartan said in response to Clearchus' glance of +inquiry. "No man can live on air. I follow my profession where there +is work to be done." + +There was nothing disgraceful in this avowal. If his own country was +at peace, a Greek soldier might sell his sword to the highest bidder, +as did Xenophon, without reproach. + +"And I suppose you, too, will be fighting, Chares?" said Clearchus. + +"As to that, I don't know," the Theban answered, stretching himself +with a yawn. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen to us would be +to have the Macedonian conquer and rule. It would put an end to our +own wars. If matters go on as they have been going, all three of us +may be trying to cut each other's throats before the month is out." + +"No," Clearchus exclaimed, "that cannot be, because you must promise me +to stay here and drink at my wedding feast at the next new moon." + +"What, Clearchus! you are going to be married?" Chares cried, springing +from his couch. "Who is she?" + +"Artemisia, daughter of Theorus," Clearchus answered. "She is the most +beautiful--" + +"Ho, Cleon, Cleon! Where are you?" Chares shouted at the top of his +voice. "Cleon, I say!" + +The steward ran into the room in alarm. + +"Bring wine of Cyprus, quickly!" Chares cried, waving his arms. + +Cleon vanished with a smile, and Chares hastened to embrace his friend +with a fervor that threatened to crack his ribs. Leonidas grasped him +warmly by the hand, and both showered congratulations upon him. + +"We pledge thee!" Chares cried, taking the wine that Cleon brought in a +great beaker of carved silver and raising it to his lips, after +spilling a portion of its contents in libation. + +"May the Gods give thee happiness!" Leonidas said, drinking deep in his +turn. + +"Neither war, famine, nor pestilence shall take us from thee until thou +art married," Chares cried, half in jest. "We swear it, Leonidas, by +the head of Zeus!" + +"We swear it!" the Spartan echoed, and each of them again pressed the +young man's hand. + +"I expected no less of you," Clearchus said, smiling into the faces of +his companions. "It makes my heart glad to know that you will be with +me. But after your long ride you must both be used up. I will leave +you to get an hour or two of sleep before the Assembly which has been +called for this afternoon to hear what Demosthenes has to say upon our +policy toward Macedon. You will want to hear him, of course." + +"Go, Clearchus," Chares said, laughing. "That is a long speech to tell +us that you would like to be rid of us while you go to your Artemisia. +Come back in time for the bath, that's all." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +WARNING FROM THE GODS + +A few miles west of Athens, in the suburb of Academe, dwelt Melissa, +aunt and guardian of Artemisia. She was an invalid, bedridden for the +greater part of the year, and she had chosen to live in the country +that she might not be disturbed by the city noises. She had never +married, and no departure from the routine of her well-ordered house +was permitted. She loved her niece; but she was not sorry to have her +marry, because, as she said, her own hold upon life was so uncertain, +and besides, the match was a brilliant one. + +Her household consisted of Philox, her steward, who had managed her +affairs for a score of years, Tolmon, her gardener, and a dozen women +slaves who, like their mistress, had passed the prime of life. + +In Melissa's old-fashioned garden Artemisia, with two little slave +girls to help her, was at work over a hedge of roses. She had not yet +reached her nineteenth year. Her soft, light brown hair was gathered +in a knot at the back of her head, showing the graceful curve of the +nape of her neck and half revealing the little pink lobes of her ears. +Her forehead was low and smooth and broad, with delicately arched +brows, a shade darker than her hair. Her eyes were blue and the color +in her cheeks was heightened by her exertions in bringing the straying +rose stems into place. The folds of her pure white chiton left her +warm arms bare to the shoulder and defined the youthful lines of her +supple figure. As she stooped among the flowers, handling them with +gentle touches, she seemed preoccupied, and her glance continually +wandered from her task. + +Agile as monkeys, the slave girls darted about her, pelting each other +with blossoms and uttering peals of shrill laughter. Their short white +tunics made their swarthy skins darker by contrast. + +The garden was set in a tiny meadow beside the river Cephissus. It was +shut in on both sides by groves of olive and fig trees, against whose +dark foliage gleamed the marble front of the house to which it +belonged. The sunlight swept the smooth emerald of the turf, touched +the brilliant hues of the flowers, and flashed back from the rippling +river beyond. + +"Oh, mistress, there's a beautiful butterfly! Oh, please, may I catch +him?" cried one of the little girls. + +"Hush, chatterbox," said Artemisia; "come and help me here." + +"Ouch, that awful thorn! Look, mistress, how my finger bleeds," the +other girl said, holding up her small brown hand. + +"Will you never end your nonsense?" the young woman asked in affected +despair. "See, Proxena, we have not half finished." + +"Don't be angry with us, mistress; see who's coming!" Proxena cried, +taking her wounded finger from her mouth and pointing with it toward +the house. + +Clearchus must have ridden fast to arrive so soon after leaving his +friends. Artemisia, hastily plucking a half-blown rose, went forward +to meet him, while the little slave girls remained behind, peeping +slyly with sidelong glances and whispering to each other while they +pretended to busy themselves with their work. + +"Greeting, Artemisia, my Life!" Clearchus said, taking her hands in his. + +"Greeting, Clearchus; I am glad to see thee," she replied. + +"How beautiful thou art and how fortunate am I, my darling," the young +man said radiantly. "Dost thou love me, Artemisia?" + +"Thou knowest well that I do, Clearchus," she answered reproachfully. +"Why dost thou ask?" + +"For the joy of hearing thee say it once more," he said, laughing. +"There is nothing the Gods can give that could be sweeter or more +precious to me, and to add the last touch to my happiness, Chares and +Leonidas came this morning and have promised to stay until our wedding." + +They had been strolling toward the grove at the edge of the meadow, +where a bench of carved stone, overhung with trailing vines, was set in +the shade in such a position as to permit its occupants to look out +over the garden and the river. They sat down side by side and +Clearchus slipped his arm about Artemisia's waist. Evidently, with the +subtle sense of a lover, he detected a lack of responsiveness, for he +bent forward and gazed anxiously into her face. He saw that it was +troubled. + +"What is the matter, my dearest?" he asked in sudden alarm. + +She hesitated for a moment. "Oh, Clearchus, I fear that we are too +happy," she said at last in reply. + +"Why do you say that?" he asked, drawing her closer to him. "Why +should any of the Gods wish us harm? We have not failed in paying them +honor, and we have transgressed in nothing." + +Artemisia hid her face in her hands and her head drooped against his +shoulder. He held her still closer and kissed the soft coils of her +hair, awaiting an explanation. + +"What is it, Artemisia?" he asked quietly. "You are tired and nervous +and overwrought, and some foolish fancy has crept into your heart to +trouble you. Tell me, my dearest; thou canst have no sorrow that is +not mine as well as thine." + +"Clearchus, my husband," she said, without moving from her position or +lifting her face, "thou art strong and I am but a weak girl. Whatever +may come, I shall always be thankful that thou didst love me. I am +thine--heart and mind, body and spirit, here and in the +hereafter--forever." + +"Why dost thou speak so, my Soul?" Clearchus asked in alarm. "What has +happened? Surely we shall be married at the new moon." + +"I do not know, Clearchus--all that I know is that I love thee and +shall love thee always. A warning from the Gods has been sent to me." + +She lifted her face and clasped her hands in her lap. Her eyes were +wet and her lips were tremulous as those of a helpless child who awaits +a blow. + +"What was it, my Life?" Clearchus asked gently. + +"I was in a strange house," she replied, looking straight before her as +though she could see the things that she described. "It was a house of +many rooms, some filled with lights and some so dark I could not tell +what was in them. I heard the sound of voices, of laughter, and of +weeping, but I could see nobody. Thou wert there, I knew, and I was +seeking thee with my heart full of terror; for something told me I +would not find thee. It was dreadful--dreadful, Clearchus!" + +She paused and clung to him for a moment as though in fear of being +torn from his side. + +"I do not know how long I wandered through passages and chambers," she +resumed, "but at last I reached a corridor that had rows of pillars on +either side. At the end was a crimson curtain, beyond which men and +women were talking. As I stood hesitating in the empty corridor, +suddenly I heard thy voice among the rest. I could not mistake it, +Clearchus. Joy filled my heart. Thou didst not know I was there nor +what peril I was in. I felt that I had but to lift the curtain--thou +wouldst see me and I would be saved. I ran forward, crying out to +thee; but before I reached the curtain, rough men came from between the +pillars and thrust me back, drowning my voice with shouting and +laughter. I threw myself on my knees before them and prayed them not +to stop me. They answered in words that I could not understand. My +heart was breaking, Clearchus! The light beyond the crimson curtain +grew dim, and outside I could hear a roaring like a great storm. The +pillars were shaken and the walls crumbled, and I woke crying thy name." + +The young man's face had grown unusually grave and thoughtful as he +listened to the recital of the dream. No man or woman of his time who +believed in anything ever thought of doubting that the visions of sleep +were divine communications to mortals. Statesmen directed the course +of nations and generals planned their campaigns in accordance with the +interpretation of these revelations. + +"What does it mean, Clearchus? You are wiser than I," Artemisia said +anxiously. "If I am separated from thee, I shall die." + +"The men who halted you seemed to be barbarians?" Clearchus asked +thoughtfully. + +"Thus they seemed," she replied. "I could not understand their speech, +and their clothes were not our fashion." + +"I know not what it means, Artemisia," Clearchus said at last. "We are +in the hands of the Gods. I shall ask the protection of Artemis and +offer her a sacrifice. To-morrow we must be married. I do not dare to +wait for the new moon, for I must be near you to protect you. Then, +whatever may come, we will meet it together." + +"Perhaps the dream was meant for me alone," Artemisia said tenderly. +"I cannot bear to bring you into danger." + +"Hush, Artemisia!" Clearchus said reprovingly. "I would rather a +thousand times die with thee than live without thee." + +With a sigh, she let her head rest on his shoulder. + +"I care not what may happen so that thou art with me," she said; "then +I can feel no fear." + +"Artemisia," Clearchus said suddenly, "go not out again to-day. I +shall tell Philox to guard thee well until to-morrow. Hast thou told +Melissa of the dream?" + +"No, for I wished to tell thee first and she is so easily frightened," +Artemisia said. + +"Then say nothing to her about it," the young man replied. + +One of the little slave girls ran up to them at this moment and stood +before them, twisting her fingers together and waiting to be spoken to. + +"What is it, Proxena?" Artemisia asked. + +"The morning meal is waiting, mistress," said the child, and sped away +again. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + +Ariston, uncle of Clearchus and formerly guardian of his fortune, sat +at his work-table before a mass of papyri closely written with +memoranda and accounts. His house stood by itself in a quarter of the +city that had once been fashionable but now was occupied chiefly by the +poorer class of citizens. Its front was without windows and its stone +walls were yellowed and stained with age. Its seclusion seemed to be +emphasized by the bustle of life that surrounded it and in which it had +no part. + +The room in which Ariston sat was evidently used as an office, for rows +of metal-bound boxes of various shapes and sizes were piled along its +walls. A statuette of Hermes stood in one corner upon its pedestal, +and its sightless eyes seemed bent upon the thin, gray face of the old +man as he leaned with his elbows upon the top of the table, polished by +long use. Lines of care and anxiety showed themselves at the corners +of his mouth and about his restless eyes. The light of the swinging +lamp that illuminated the small room, even in the daytime, made shadowy +hollows at his temples and beneath his cheek-bones. + +Little was known of the personal concerns of the old man in Athens. +Although he mingled with the other citizens without apparent reserve, +he never discussed his own affairs. The general impression was that he +was a good Athenian who had been faithful to the trust reposed in him, +and who had won a modest competence of his own for the support of his +age. This idea was encouraged by the parsimonious habits of his life +and by the trifling but cautious ventures that he sometimes made in the +commercial activity of the city. His most conspicuous characteristic, +in the minds of his acquaintances, was his mania for gathering +information concerning not only Athens and Greece, but distant lands +and strange peoples as well. This was looked upon as a harmless and +even useful occupation, and it accounted for his evident fondness at +times for the company of strangers, who, no doubt, contributed to the +satisfaction of his curiosity. + +Great would have been the astonishment if some orator had announced to +the Athenian Assembly that the humble old man was really one of the +richest citizens of Athens, as well as the best informed concerning the +plans and hopes of the rulers of the world and of the probable current +of coming events. Laughter would have greeted the assertion that much +of the merchandise which found its way to the Piræus belonged to him +and that the profits realized from the sale of silks and spices, corn +and ivory, went into his coffers. Yet these statements would have been +true a year before. In Athens the rich were required to contribute to +the public charges in proportion to their wealth, and the saving that +Ariston was able to effect by making his investments abroad and +concealing them through various stratagems from the knowledge of his +neighbors was sufficient, in his opinion, to compensate him for the +trouble and the risks that such a course involved. He would rather +have suffered his fingers to be hacked off one by one than part with +the heavy, shining bars of gold that his prudence and foresight had +amassed. + +If the history of each separate coin and bar could have been told, it +would have revealed secrets which their master had forced himself to +forget. Some of them were the price of flesh and blood; some had been +gained by violence upon the seas or among the trackless wastes of the +desert; some had been won at the expense of honor and truth; for in his +earlier years Ariston had been both bold and unscrupulous in his +cunning, and his craving for riches had always been insatiable. As his +years and his wealth increased he became more circumspect and +conservative. He even sought to expiate some of his earlier faults by +furtive sacrifices to the Gods, and especially to Hermes, whose image +he cherished. + +But the Gods had turned their faces from him, and his repentance, if +repentance it could be called, had been unavailing. Misfortune had +come upon him, and calamity seemed always to be lying in wait for him. +If his vessels put to sea, they were sunk in storms or captured by +pirates. His factories and warehouses were burned; his caravans were +lost; his debtors defaulted; and if he purchased a cargo of corn, its +price at the Piræus was certain to be less than the price he had paid +for it in the Hellespont. One after another the precious bars which +had cost him so much to obtain were sent to save doubtful ventures and +losing investments, until at last all were gone. Sitting in his dingy +room, on the day of the arrival of Chares and Leonidas at the house of +Clearchus, he was at last in a worldly sense what his neighbors thought +him to be; and the marble face of Hermes, with its painted eyes, smiled +malignly at him from its corner. + +But there was still hope left to him. Although the widespread web of +his enterprises had been rent and torn by misfortune, there yet +remained enough to build upon securely if he had but a few more of the +yellow bars to tide over his present distress. Without them he might +keep afloat for a few months longer; but the end would be utter ruin. +At least he still owned the great dyeing establishment in Tyre, which +had never failed to yield him a handsome revenue. He recalled how he +had taken it from Cepheus for one-fourth its real value. It was no +concern of his that Cepheus had stolen it from young Phradates. What +did the details of the transaction matter now, since they were known +only to himself and to Cepheus, who would not be likely to reveal them, +and to Mena the Egyptian, the young man's steward? Mena had stolen so +much himself from the spendthrift that he would never dare to tell what +he knew. And yet the fellow had it in his power to rob Ariston of the +last remnant of his fortune. + +A discreet knock interrupted Ariston's reflections. He brushed his +parchments and papyri hastily into an open box that stood beside his +chair and closed the lid. "Enter!" he commanded. + +An aged slave opened the door. "Mena, of Tyre," he said. + +Cold sweat broke out on Ariston's forehead, but he gave no outward sign +of his consternation. "Bring him hither," he directed. + +The Egyptian, who had been watching the sluggish goldfish floating in +the weed-grown cistern of the court, entered the room with an air of +importance. He turned his alert face, with its sharp, inquiring +features, upon Ariston. + +"Greeting!" he said, extending his hand. "It is long since we have +seen thee in Tyre." + +"Yes," Ariston replied, leading him to a seat opposite his own, "I am +getting too old for travel." + +"You have indeed grown older since I saw you last," Mena said, looking +at him attentively. "I hope it is not because Fortune has been unkind." + +Ariston winced, and the change in his expression was not lost upon the +shrewd Egyptian. + +"What brings you here?" he asked, shifting the subject. + +"We are travelling, my beloved master and I," Mena answered. + +"Phradates is with you, then?" the old man asked with an alarm that he +was unable to conceal. + +The steward paused before he answered, gazing at Ariston with eyes half +closed and a faint smile upon his lips. + +"Phradates is here," he said at last. "I know of what you are +thinking. We have been friends too long to have secrets from each +other. You need have no fear. Cepheus is dead and I have too many +causes to despise Phradates to take his part." + +He paused again and suddenly his face became convulsed with a spasm of +hatred. + +"I could strangle him!" he cried, clenching his hands as though he felt +his master's throat beneath his fingers. + +Ariston breathed more freely. At any rate, his property in Tyre was +safe. + +"Why don't you do it, then?" he asked coolly. + +"Because the time has not yet come!" Mena replied fiercely. "For every +insult that he has given me and for every blow that he has made me +feel, he shall suffer tenfold! His fortune is dwindling, and in the +end it will be mine. Then let him ask Mena for aid!" + +"I did not know that you had so much courage," Ariston remarked. + +"I have not watched you in vain," Mena replied, "and it is to you that +I now come for assistance." + +"To me!" Ariston exclaimed. + +"To you," Mena repeated. "Be not alarmed, for what I have to propose +will be for our mutual benefit. Phradates has been throwing money +right and left since we set out from Tyre. Great sums he spent in +Crete and still greater in Corinth. Since his arrival here he has been +fleeced without mercy. You will understand that I have tried to +protect him, but merely to save him from injury. He might have lost +his life only this morning had I not been there to guard him from an +attack by two desperate characters with a crowd of slaves, who set upon +us while we were returning from the dice. Luckily, I succeeded in +beating them off, but the noble Phradates was thrown from his chair and +his noble nose was battered. Soon he will be in want of more money. +Of the property that remains to him, he has quarries on Lebanon, which +employ a thousand slaves, silk mills in Old Tyre, where as many more +are kept busy, and a score of ships in the trade with Carthage. He +believes the value of the quarries and the mills to be only half what +it really is and reports have been made to him that two-thirds of the +vessels of his fleet have been lost. All this he will pledge for +anything that it will bring when he learns that his money is gone. It +is for us to get possession of that pledge. I have a few talents, but +not enough. I will take care that the loan is never repaid and our +success is certain. What do you say?" + +Ariston looked at the statue of Hermes. It was a fancy of his that he +could draw either a favorable or an adverse augury from the expression +on the face of the God as it showed in the wavering light of the lamp. +He could detect no change in the mocking smile that seemed to hover +about the marble lips. It left him with no conclusion. + +"What you have told me," he said to Mena, "makes it necessary for me to +tell you something in return. I am a ruined man." + +"Ruined! You!" Mena exclaimed incredulously. + +"It is true," Ariston replied. "Of all that I had, nothing remains to +me intact except the dye-house in Tyre and a small fleet of corn ships +that has but now arrived from the Euxine. The worst is that I have +debts that must be met if I am to save other ventures." + +"But you have the property of your nephew to draw upon," Mena suggested. + +"I had it," the old man said, "but it was turned over to him more than +a year ago. Since then all my losses have befallen." + +"But you are his heir," the Egyptian replied meaningly. "Is he +married?" + +"No; but he soon will be," Ariston replied. + +The two men exchanged glances, reading each other's thoughts in their +eyes. Neither cared to put into words what was in his mind. + +"Leave it to me," Ariston said at last. "I think it can be managed. +Clearchus knows nothing of my affairs, and if I can once more get +control of the property all will be well. I think we may safely assume +that he will not marry. For the rest, we must wait and see. Let us +talk of this pledge that Phradates is to make for our security." + +He produced his tablets and a stylus and the conspirators were soon +buried in a mass of calculations. When Mena took his leave, every +detail had been arranged. + +Hardly had Mena disappeared in the direction of the Agora when a man of +unusual stature, with brawny arms and a heavy black beard, turned into +the street in which Ariston lived and stood staring doubtfully about +him. There was a hint of the sea in his sunburned face and rough +garments. + +"If you are looking for the Piræus, my friend, you will not find it +here," said a fruit dealer who chanced to meet him. + +"What do you know of the Piræus, grasshopper?" returned the stranger, +halting and looking at the merchant with contempt. "I am searching for +the house of Ariston, son of Xenas. Do you know where in this accursed +street it is?" + +"Tut, tut; fair words, my friend," the merchant replied, carefully +keeping his distance. "What do you want with Ariston?" + +"That is his affair and mine, but not yours," growled the stranger. + +"I'll warrant it is nothing good," the fruit dealer said, "but you will +find his house at the end of the street, near the wall." + +Without stopping to thank him, the stranger strode on in the direction +that he had indicated. The merchant stood for a moment gazing after +him, wondering whence he came and what he wanted; but finding no answer +to these questions in his own mind, he shook his head like a man who is +assured of the existence of something that should not be and continued +on his way to his shop in the Agora to relate his suspicions. + +Ariston himself came to the door in response to the stranger's knock. +He was admitted at once and without a word. Ariston led him in silence +to his own room and seated him in the chair that Mena had occupied half +an hour before. Instead of summoning a slave, the old man went himself +to fetch a flask of wine and a trencher of bread and cheese. + +"Can it be done?" he asked in an eager voice, leaning forward in his +favorite attitude with his elbows on the table while the other ate and +drank. + +"It can be done, but it will not be easy," his guest replied. + +"Not easy to carry off a woman who has only slaves to guard her?" +Ariston exclaimed. "Are your men cowards, then, Syphax?" + +"No, my men and I are not cowards, old Skinflint," Syphax said, "but +you may as well understand now that we do not intend to risk our lives +for nothing." + +He delivered this speech with the blustering air of a bully, gazing +boldly into the old man's face. Ariston, naturally of small stature, +looked more than ever shrunken and withered in contrast with his +companion; but at the sound of the other's threatening tone, his face +hardened and there came a cold gleam into his eyes. + +"I am glad you are not afraid, Syphax," he said in a voice so soft that +it sounded almost caressing. "Have you forgotten Medon? Your eyes saw +his death. He was a brave man, too, your old chief. I think I can +hear him yet as he called upon the Gods in his torture. They could not +help him. Poor Medon!" + +The face of Syphax paled under its tan at the recollection that Ariston +had conjured up and an involuntary shudder ran through him. His bold +eyes wavered before the persistent stare of the little old man, whom he +could have crushed in one of his hands. + +"What are you willing to pay?" he asked hoarsely, pushing away his food +half finished. + +"You would do it for nothing, if I asked you, Syphax," the old man +replied, still in the same soft voice, "but I have no wish to be hard +with you. This is a matter in which I have a deep interest and I am +willing to pay well for it. When you have taken her safely on board, +you will sail to Halicarnassus, where you will search out Iphicrates, +son of Conon, and give him this letter. If he finds you have done your +work well, he will pay you a talent in silver. But if the girl has +been harmed in any way, not a drachma will you get and worse will +befall you than befell Medon." + +"The work is worth five times as much," Syphax grumbled with downcast +eyes, "but I suppose I have no choice." + +"None, my dear Syphax, and I am a poor man," said Ariston. "Let us +regard the matter as settled. Now, how do you intend to proceed?" + +Syphax roused himself like a man whose professional skill has been +called upon. + +"The house stands thus," he said, indicating its position on the table +with a huge finger. "On this side is the grove where I and a dozen of +my men will lie hidden with the litter. One of my fellows will scale +the roof and let himself down inside. He will open the door to us and +the thing will be over in a moment." + +"Where will you embark?" the old man asked, nodding approval. + +"My ship will be lying off-shore with a boat in waiting. We will carry +her in the litter to this spot, about two stadia beyond the Piræus, +which we shall have to pass. We shall make the attack soon after the +middle watch of the night when the moon will be low." + +"You should have been a general, Syphax," the old man said. "You have +a better head for strategy than most of those the Athenians employ. Go +to your work and forget nothing. I must attend the Assembly, where +Demosthenes is to stir up the citizens against Alexander, son of +Philip. They say the boy is dead." + +"Alexander dead!" Syphax exclaimed. + +"The story is that he was killed by the Illyrians, and Demosthenes has +a man who saw him die," Ariston replied indifferently. "I think the +man is lying and that Demosthenes knows it. But these affairs have +nothing to do with you. Be off to your business." + +When the adventurer had gone, Ariston returned to his room and prepared +to write. From his expression of content, it was evident that he was +satisfied with what had been done. + +"To Iphicrates, son of Conon," his letter ran. "I am sending to you +Syphax, a freebooter from Rhodes, who will deliver to you a young +woman. You will take her into your house and guard her with care until +you hear from me again. Syphax will present to you an order for a +talent of silver. Defer the payment until you have the girl, and then +do with him as you will. As a pirate and a robber, he has richly +merited death. May the Gods protect you." + +As Ariston was carefully sealing this letter, a gaunt, sour-visaged +woman entered the room. She was his wife and the one person on earth +in whom he had confidence. Like most secretive men with whom duplicity +is a daily study, he sometimes felt the need of telling the truth, if +only to note the effect of his schemes upon another's mind. But even +to his wife, whose covetousness was equal to his own, he never revealed +all that was in his brain. Her lonely life was spent in a constant +endeavor to piece out from what he imparted to her the full extent of +his plans. She admired his intellect, but deep in her heart she feared +him, and, womanlike, she was tormented by the suspicion that somewhere +she had a rival to whom he told what he concealed from her. The +consciousness of her own deficiency of charms made her manner all the +more harsh and forbidding. As soon as she entered the room she noted +that he was in an easy mood, and she made haste to take advantage of it. + +"Who were these men?" she asked. "What are you about now?" + +"Affairs of state, Xanthe, that are not for women to know," he said +mockingly. + +"All that concerns you concerns me," she replied. "Am I to do the work +of a slave here like a mole in the dark? Who are these women you were +talking of with that evil-looking man?" + +"So you were listening!" Ariston said with a frown. + +"Yes, I was, if you must know it," Xanthe said defiantly. "Do you +think I am to know nothing? If you had consulted more freely with me +before, we would not now be the paupers that we are, and many times I +have told you this, but you will not listen to me because I am a woman." + +There was something in this remonstrance that made an impression upon +Ariston's mind, smarting as he was over the loss of his fortune. It +might have been better, after all, if he had told her more. + +"We were talking of only one woman," he said, with an impulse of +frankness. "She is Artemisia." + +"Artemisia!" Xanthe exclaimed. "Don't try to deceive me. Why should +you wish Artemisia to be carried off? Is not Clearchus to make her his +wife?" + +"It is for that very reason," Ariston replied. "I do not wish him to +do so." + +"Why not?" Xanthe demanded in a tone of suspicion. + +"Sit down and let us talk rationally," Ariston said. "Suppose they +marry and have children. His property would be lost to us forever." + +"That is true," Xanthe assented. "I had not thought of that, and we +need it so much more than he. If he should die, would it belong to us?" + +"It would," her husband answered, "and now you know why I wish to +prevent the marriage." + +He rose, and she aided him to adjust the folds of his himation. + +"I am going to the Assembly," he said. "If we have war with Macedon, +the price of corn will advance. Look to the house and let none enter +while I am away." + +It was not until after he had gone that Xanthe began to wonder how she +and Ariston were to profit by preventing the marriage, since their +nephew would still be alive and in the possession of his property. It +could not be that Ariston intended to have him slain. She shuddered at +the thought, for she was fond of Clearchus, and he had always been kind +to her. Besides, such a crime could not be committed without almost +certain detection. Ariston must have formed some other scheme for +bringing about his object. She reproached herself for not having +questioned him on this point while he was in a frame of mind to answer. +The opportunity might not occur again and she could only guess at what +was to come. The half-confidence that he had given her left her more +watchful and suspicious than ever. + +Syphax meantime had found his way back to the Agora and was about to +enter a wine-shop when he felt some one pluck him by the elbow. +Glancing back, his eyes met those of Mena. + +"Ah, my fox," he exclaimed, "what brings you to Athens?" + +"Necessity and my master," Mena replied. "And you?" + +Syphax shook his head and made as if to move away, but Mena was not to +be denied. An hour later they were still together, sitting side by +side in a corner of the wine-shop, and it was fortunate for Ariston +that the Egyptian was his ally instead of his enemy, for all that +Syphax could tell, he knew. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + +In the Theatre of Dionysus the citizens of Athens were gathering for +the purpose of deciding whether to break their treaty with Macedon and +by one stroke revenge upon Alexander the wrongs and humiliations that +his father had made them suffer. Ariston walked through the spacious +Agora, surrounded by colonnades and embellished by the statues of +heroes and the Gods. The shopkeepers and merchants were closing their +places of business and joining in the human tide that was setting all +in the same direction. + +Everywhere Ariston heard repeated the assertion that Alexander was +dead. The news was announced in tones of joy, and invariably it was +accompanied by an expression of desire for war while the enemy was +still unprepared. There seemed to be only one opinion among the +people. It was manifested in the clamor of gay and careless confusion +that betrayed the nervous tension of the throng. + +Ariston's face became more thoughtful as he proceeded. He had no doubt +of what the Assembly would do if unchecked, and he foresaw the downfall +of his plans. A declaration of war with Macedon would be fatal. +Whatever the issue of such a conflict might be, it would certainly +delay Alexander's invasion of Persia and keep Clearchus at home. He +must be rid of Clearchus at all hazards, and without violence. + +Moreover, he knew that the report of Alexander's death was false. It +was impossible that any person in Athens should have been able to +obtain information later than that which had been brought to him. He +felt assured that the young king was fighting his way out of Illyria, +with every prospect of escape, and that the report of his death had +been started by Demosthenes as a stratagem to dispose the minds of the +people to war. By preventing the success of this plan, he reflected, +he would not only be serving his own ends, but also performing a public +service. Such a coincidence had happened rarely enough in his career. + +But he knew it would be useless to attempt any contradiction of the +report at that moment. He was too thoroughly acquainted with the +characteristics of his countrymen to think of it. They wished to +believe and they would not allow that wish to be thwarted. He must +watch and wait. + +Pushing through the chattering crowd, he entered the Theatre. Before +him, in a great semicircle, hewn partly out of the solid rock of the +southeastern pitch of the Acropolis, he saw row on row and tier above +tier of his fellow-citizens,--the brilliant, unstable, cowardly, +heroic, passionate, generous, cruel democracy of Athens. Above them +towered the crag which they had crowned with triumphs of art and +architecture beyond the power of the world to equal, guarded by the +wonderful Athene, whose creator they had sent to die in prison. On the +left the great temple of Olympian Zeus raised its massive fluted +columns. In the Theatre where they sat their fathers had hissed or +applauded the masterpieces of tragedy and comedy. The babel of talk +and of light-hearted laughter, the shifting of many-hued garments under +the intense blue arch of the sky, reminded Ariston of the fickle sunlit +waves of the Ægean. + +The cloud that for years had overshadowed Athens had been removed. +Philip, the tenacious, subtle, resourceful monarch of barbarous +Macedon, had fallen under the dagger of Pausanias, who had doubtless +been inspired by the Gods to punish him for his crimes against the +Athenians. Little by little, with a purpose that never swerved, he had +made himself master of their fairest possessions. Time and again they +had sought to shake him off with brief outbursts of restless fury; but +he held what he had won, and in the lull that followed the storm he had +never failed to creep nearer to their citadel. His advance seemed to +them as inevitable as fate. + +Now he was gone, resigning his power and his ambitions to his son, +Alexander, a boy of twenty years, whom all Athens knew as a foolish and +rash youth. After laying claim to the honors that his father had +forced the states of Hellas to bestow upon him, he had marched into the +unknown wilderness of the north with his army and there had perished. +His fate had been told only in rumors at first, but had not Demosthenes +talked with a fugitive from the Macedonian camp, who had seen him fall +beneath a stone? Every Athenian felt that the time had come to place +the name of his city once more at the head of the civilized world. +Already the Thebans, aided by their subsidies, had risen against the +barbarian garrison and had shut the Macedonians in the Cadmea. The +reverses of the past had been forgotten and the lively imaginations of +the Athenians had carried them halfway to the goal of their hopes. + +Ariston gazed about him at the shifting throng as though in search of +some one. The priests of Ceres, Athene, and Zeus stood talking in +groups with the officials of the city, or had already taken their +places in the cushioned marble arm-chairs, with curved backs, that +formed the first row of seats. Presently the old man caught sight of +Clearchus, and his friends, Chares and Leonidas. With them sat a young +man of singular appearance whom Ariston did not recognize. He wore a +splendid mantle of purple, embroidered with gold, a profusion of rings +flashed upon his fingers, and the odor of costly perfumes hung about +him like a cloud. It seemed as though he sought in his costume to make +up for the deficiencies of nature, for in figure he was short and +stout, with legs and arms of disproportionate slenderness, and his +narrow eyes were set beneath a square forehead from the top of which +the hair had been shaved. + +"Greeting, uncle," Clearchus said cordially, as the old man forced his +way toward them. + +Ariston sat down on the broad marble step in the space that Clearchus +made for him. He found himself between his nephew and the stranger. + +"This is Aristotle of Stagira, but more recently of Pella," Clearchus +said. "He can talk to you by the hour, if he chooses, about Alexander, +whom you so much admire." + +"Is he really dead, as they say he is?" Ariston asked doubtfully. + +"I do not know," lisped Aristotle. "It is his habit always to expose +himself in battle." + +"Can he make himself master of Hellas?" Ariston asked again. + +"Only the Gods can answer that," Aristotle replied. "It is safe to say +that what human ambition can accomplish, he will do. He was my pupil, +and there are those who maintain that he knows more than his master!" + +Although the philosopher spoke with a smile, there was a trace of irony +in his tone that did not escape the alert Athenian. + +"You hear that?" he cried, turning to Clearchus. "Here is a boy who +begins by conquering his instructor. Where will he end?" + +"They say he has ended already, up there among the savages," Chares +said lazily. + +"I'll lay you a box of Assyrian ointment that Alexander is still +alive," Aristotle said. + +"It's a wager," the Theban cried. "And the box shall be of gold." + +"There goes Callicles. Hi, there, old Twenty Per Cent!" cried a youth +who was sitting in front of them. + +"By the Styx, I wish I had what I owe him!" Chares remarked fervently. + +A young man with oiled and curled ringlets, wearing a long silken robe, +and carrying a cane inlaid with mother-of-pearl, pushed toward them, +followed by a slave laden with cushions for him to sit upon. + +"Do you know what Phocus has done now?" he asked in an affected voice. + +"No," said Chares, coldly. + +"He happened to go to the Lyceum the other day, and he overheard +Theodorus, the atheist, say that if it was praiseworthy to ransom a +friend from the enemy, it would also be commendable to rescue a +sweetheart from bondage. What does he do but buy Tryphonia her freedom +from old Mnemon. He vows that he will marry her." + +Having imparted this bit of gossip, the youth lounged away to repeat it. + +"Who is that young man with the red chiton?" Leonidas asked. + +"He is Ctesippus, son of Chabrias," Clearchus replied. "He has spent +twenty thousand talents of gold since his father died--he and Phocus +together. He thinks he knows more about war than his father knew. He +drives poor Phocion almost distracted with his advice whenever there is +a campaign; and Phocion endures it because he is his father's son." + +Throughout the Theatre rose the hum of gossip and malicious small talk. +Chares listened with indolent contempt. Leonidas studied the faces of +the men who had won distinction in war, such as Diopethes, Menestheus, +and Leosthenes, whom Clearchus pointed out to him. Aristotle continued +to lisp to Ariston concerning Macedon. The attention of the crowd was +diverted by the arrival of the Lexiarchs with their scarlet cords. +Stretching them across the narrow streets, they had been driving the +stragglers into the Assembly like sheep. The laggard whose garments +showed a trace of the dye with which the cords were covered was forced +to pay a fine. + +"Look; there's Phaon with the red stripe on his back!" Chares cried, +standing up to get a better view. + +A roar of laughter greeted the victim as he entered and his name was +repeated from all sides. + +"Were you asleep, Phaon? Did your wife keep you at home? You should +drink less wine in the morning!" shouted his acquaintances. + +Another unfortunate came to divert attention from Phaon, and still +others, until all the citizens were accounted for. The tumult was +succeeded by a hush as the white-robed priests solemnly advanced into +the open space in the middle of the semicircle, carrying a bleating +lamb. After an invocation to Athene, they cut the animal's throat +before the altar and sprinkled its blood in every direction upon the +pavement. The oldest of the priests then stood forth, raised his +hands, and looking upward, cried the accustomed formula:-- + +"May the Gods pursue to destruction, with all his race, that man who +shall act, speak, or plot anything against this State!" + +The priests then slowly withdrew, and a herald mounted the bema to +announce, on behalf of the Proedri, the occasion of the Assembly. He +declared the question to be whether the treaty with Macedon should be +maintained or set aside, and he added that the Senate of the Areopagus +had referred the matter to the decision of the people without +expressing its opinion. + +He was followed by a second herald, representing the Epistate, who, +with a loud voice, called upon any citizen above the age of fifty years +to speak his mind, others to follow in accordance with their ages. As +he ceased and descended, all eyes were turned toward a portion of the +Theatre where sat a gray-haired man, with shoulders slightly stooped, a +sloping forehead, and a retreating chin, partly hidden by a +close-cropped beard. + +"Demosthenes! Demosthenes!" came from every part of the horseshoe. + +The man to whom Athens turned in this crisis of her affairs sat unmoved +and apparently oblivious to the demand of the crowd. Accustomed as +they were to the oratorical combats of the Theatre, the citizens +understood that Demosthenes had determined to reserve to himself the +advantage of speaking last. They turned, therefore, to his chief +opponent and called upon Æschines. + +With an affectation of carelessness, Æschines ascended the bema and +plunged at once into his argument, like a man who speaks what first +occurs to his mind. The burden of his contention was that Athens was +bound by her oath to observe her treaty with Macedon. To break it, he +declared, would be to sink to the depth of dishonor and to make the +name of the city a byword throughout the world. As he elaborated point +after point in his reasoning, all tending to confirm and enforce his +conclusions, it was plain that he was making an impression in spite of +the fact that all who heard him knew that he had been in Philip's pay. +He painted in dark colors the cost and danger of the war that would +follow the violation of the treaty and closed with a florid appeal for +constancy and forbearance, which he called the first of virtues. + +He was succeeded by the dandy, Demades, whose robes of embroidered +linen trailed upon the ground, but who sustained the argument against +war with sledge-hammer blows of rhetoric. Glaucippus, Eubulus, +Aristophon, and other orators, less famous, sat nodding their heads +among their pupils and admirers, who clustered about them criticising +or commending each period that fell from the lips of the speakers. + +Watching the effect of the speeches, the partisans of Demosthenes, +fearful that it might be disastrous to permit his opponents to hold the +attention of the people any longer, renewed their shouts for him. The +Assembly joined them. It had heard enough of the peace party, and it +was eager to know how Demosthenes would answer. + +There had been hardly any cessation of the talk and laughter. Many +persons even moved about through the audience, chatting with their +friends, and the Scythians, whose duty it was to maintain order, did +not venture to interfere with them. Everywhere there was talk of the +advantages of peace. The fever for war had cooled before the logic of +oratory. Ariston, keenly attentive to all that was passing, was among +those who left his place and wandered about the amphitheatre, pausing +here and there to exchange a few words with an acquaintance. Behind +him, like a ripple on the surface of a lake, there spread through the +crowd the news that the story of Alexander's death was a falsehood +contrived by the friends of Macedon to entrap the republic into war. + +Before the old man had returned to his seat, the contradiction had +reached Demosthenes, elaborated into every semblance of truth. He saw +that it was believed and that he had been robbed of the main theme of +his speech; for he could not prove that Alexander was dead. In +response to the cries of the multitude, he rose, and there was no +pretence in the reluctance with which he walked with head bent toward +the benia, considering what he should say. As he ascended, the +shouting died away, and for the first time there was absolute stillness +in the Theatre. + +"Athenians!" he began, in a voice of moderate pitch, but of a resonant +tone that carried it to all parts of the circle, "by all means we +should agree with those who so strenuously advise an exact adherence to +our oaths and treaties--if they really believe what they say. For +nothing is more in accord with the character of democracy than the +maintenance of justice and honesty. But let not the men who urge us to +be honest, embarrass us and our deliberations by harangues which their +own actions contradict." + +Ariston glanced about him with alarm, which was intensified as the +orator, with consummate skill, built up the argument that, having bound +himself by the treaty to maintain the liberties of Greece, Alexander +had violated his oath by reinstating the tyrants of Messene and by +disregarding other specific clauses. Artfully exaggerating the +Macedonian aggressiveness, recalling by flattering allusions the great +days of Athens, raising the hope of victory if war should be declared, +Demosthenes presented the situation to the Assembly in such a light as +to make it seem that Athens not only had a right to take up arms +against Macedon, but that it was her plain duty to begin the attack. +This impression grew out of his words without apparent effort to convey +it. There was nothing in his speech to indicate that he was a special +pleader presenting only one side of the case. He seemed the +personification of candor and fairness. As his voice and gestures +became more animated, and the flood of his marvellous eloquence swept +over them, it appeared to his fellow-citizens that the men who had +given expression to the desire for peace must be charlatans or worse, +who had been bribed by Macedonian gold, as in fact many of them had +been, to betray them into the hands of the enemy. In words that none +but he knew how to choose, he raised the spectre that had been laid by +the death of Philip and made it more threatening than it had ever been +before. + +Under the magic spell of his voice old thoughts and feelings stirred +and woke in the hearts of the Athenians. For an hour they became once +more the men of Platæa and Salamis and of the hundred bloody fields +upon which they had measured their strength with that of their ancient +foes from the Peloponnesus. Their former greatness of soul flamed up +like a flash from a dying fire. + +While Demosthenes spoke, not a word was uttered in the group around +Clearchus. The young man sat with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, +tingling with a desire to sacrifice life itself, if need there were, to +revenge the wrongs of Athens and crush the insolent Macedonian. +Leonidas listened with hands clenched and with every nerve at tension, +like a hound of pure race straining at his leash toward the quarry. +Aristotle was gravely attentive, and even Chares, though he could not +be aroused from his lazy pose, followed the oration with evident +enjoyment. + +When Demosthenes ended and came down from the bema, the Assembly drew a +long breath, and instantly each man fell to discussing with his +neighbor what was best to be decided. Suddenly they realized with +astonishment that Demosthenes had failed to propose any decree and that +they had nothing before them upon which they might vote. + +"I thought he was going to tell us how Alexander died!" Demades sneered. + +"What has become of his witness of whom we have heard so much?" a +leather-dealer asked. + +"He is afraid to propose war! He has offered no decree!" another +citizen cried. + +These questions and a hundred others were discussed on every side with +a violence that swept away all semblance of dignity or restraint. The +factions quarrelled like children, and more than once came to blows in +their eagerness, making it necessary for the Scythians of the public +guard to separate them. At last the herald of the Epistate demanded in +due form whether the Assembly desired any decree to be proposed. Far +less than the required number of six thousand hands were raised in the +affirmative, and the gathering was dissolved, eddying out of the +enclosure in turbulent disorder. + +"Is that all?" asked Chares, rising and stretching himself with a yawn. + +"That is all," Clearchus replied sadly. + +"With a phalanx of ten thousand brave men I could take your Acropolis," +Leonidas remarked, measuring the height above his head. + +"Yes, but where could you find them?" Aristotle said. + +"Who knows? Perhaps in the camp of Alexander," the Spartan replied. + +Ariston had slipped away into the crowd. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BANQUET + +On their way from the Theatre, Clearchus informed his friends of his +decision to be married on the morrow. + +"Then we must feast to-night!" Chares cried promptly. + +"Very well," Clearchus said, "but you will have to make the +arrangements for me, as I have other things to do." + +"Aristotle will take charge of the food and wine," said the Theban, +eagerly, "if he is willing to assume such a responsibility; and I will +provide the entertainment and send out the invitations. What do you +say?" + +"Good," Clearchus replied; "that is, if Aristotle agrees." + +"I am willing," said the Stagirite. + +"It is settled, then," Chares declared. "Come, Leonidas, I shall need +your help. Let us get to work." + +It was hardly sunset when the guests who had been bidden by Chares +began to assemble at the house of Clearchus. A crimson awning had been +drawn over the peristylium and the soft light of scores of lamps shone +upward against it. Shrubs and flowering plants partly hid the marble +columns. Medean carpets had been spread upon the floor. The tables, +each with its soft couch, had been arranged in two parallel lines, +joined at one end by those set for the host and the most honored of the +guests. At the farther end of the space thus enclosed a fountain flung +up a stream that sparkled with variegated colors. + +All had been prepared under the direction of Aristotle in such a manner +as to gratify the senses without jarring upon the most sensitive taste. +The masses of color and the contrasts of light and shade were grouped +with subtle skill to create a pleasing impression. Slaves walked +noiselessly across the hall, appearing and vanishing in the wall of +foliage, bearing dishes of gold and of silver and flagons filled with +rare wines. Softly, as from a distance, sounded the music of flutes +and citharse. + +Clearchus and his guests, crowned with wreaths of myrtle, reclined upon +the couches. Their talk ran chiefly upon the events of the day and the +contest of oratory in the Assembly. + +"You Athenians ought to pass a law banishing all your speakers," Chares +drawled. "Then there might be some chance that you would adopt a +policy and stick to it. As it is, the infernal skill of these men +makes you believe first one thing and then another, until you end by +not knowing what to think." + +"You mean we have plenty of counsellors but no counsel," Clearchus +replied. + +"That's it, exactly," Chares said. "And that man, Demosthenes, will +bring you to grief yet, some day." + +"All your states have had their turn of power," Aristotle said, "and +none has been able to keep it. There is another day coming and it will +be the day of the Macedonian. He dreams of making you all one." + +"Let him keep away from my country with his dreams," Leonidas remarked. + +"There spoke the lion!" laughed Clearchus. "Stubborn to the last." + +"Did you hear what old Phocion said when he came out of the Theatre?" +asked a young man with a shrill voice who sat on the right. + +"No; what was it?" Clearchus inquired. + +"Demosthenes wanted to know what he thought of his oration," the +narrator said. "You know Demosthenes likes to hear himself praised and +he would almost give his right hand for a compliment from Phocion, the +'pruner of his periods,' as he calls him. 'It was only indifferent,' +the old fellow told him, 'but good enough to cost you your life.' You +should have seen how pale Demosthenes grew; but Phocion put his hand on +his shoulder and said, 'Never mind; for this once, I think I can save +thee.'" + +"They say Phocion is an honest man," Chares remarked. + +"So he is," Aristotle replied. "And one of few." + +The young men who had assembled to honor the occasion listened eagerly +to every word that fell from the lips of the man whose keen deductions +and daring speculations had begun to open new pathways in every branch +of human wisdom. The rivalry between the philosophers in Athens was +even more keen than that between the orators, and each had his school +of partisans and defenders. + +"Honesty is truth," said Porphyry, a young follower of Xenocrates, who +had succeeded Plato in the Academy. "But what is truth? Have you +Peripatetics discovered it yet?" + +"We are seeking, at least," Aristotle replied dryly, feeling that an +attempt was being made to entrap him. + +"Democritus holds that truth does not exist," Porphyry ventured, +unabashed. + +"Yes, and Protagoras maintains that we are the measure of all things +and that everything is true or false, as we will," the Stagirite +rejoined. "They are unfortunate, for if there were no truth, there +would be no world. As for the Sceptics, they have not the courage of +their doctrines; for which of them, being in Libya and conceiving +himself to be in Athens, would think of trying to walk into the Odeum? +And when they fall sick, do they not summon a physician instead of +trusting to some person who is ignorant of healing to cure them? Those +who search for truth with their eyes and hands only shall never find +it, for there are truths which are none the less true because we cannot +see nor feel them, and these are the greatest of all." + +"We might know the truth at last if we could find out what animates +nature," Clearchus said. "Why do flowers grow and bloom? Why do birds +fly and fishes swim?" + +"The marble statues of the Parthenon would have remained blocks of +stone forever had not Phidias cut them out," Aristotle responded. "It +was Empedocles who taught us that earth, air, fire, and water must form +the limits of our knowledge; but who believes him now?" + +"Do you hold, then, with Anaxagoras of Clazomene, that all things are +directed by a divine mind?" Porphyry asked. + +This question was followed by a sudden hush while Aristotle considered +his answer. All present had heard whispers that the Stagirite in his +teaching was introducing new Gods and denying the power of the old +divinities. This was the crime for which Socrates had been put to +death and Pericles himself had found it difficult to save Aspasia from +the same fate when a similar charge was preferred against her. +Aristotle felt his danger, for he knew that the jealous and powerful +priesthood would be glad to catch him tripping, as indeed it did in +later years. + +"It was Hermotimus, I think, who first proposed that doctrine," he said +slowly, "and I have noticed that Anaxagoras employs it only when no +other explanation of what he sees is left him." + +There was a murmur of applause at this reply, which suggested the +necessity for supposing the existence of an overruling intelligence +without committing the philosopher to such a belief. The young +Academician seemed crestfallen, but by common consent the topic was +abandoned as too dangerous and the conversation became more general. + +Clearchus could not wholly conceal the anxiety that filled his mind. +He started at every unexpected sound and turned his face toward the +entrance, where he had posted a slave with orders to bring him word +instantly should any message for him arrive. His mood did not escape +his friends, who, without knowing the reason for it, urged wine upon +him in the hope of raising his spirits and for the same reason +themselves drank more freely than usual. + +Chares had promised something new in the way of amusement, but he +refused to tell what it was to be. Consequently there was a flutter of +expectation when the attendants removed the last course, washing the +hands of the guests for the seventh time, and leaving only wine and +sweetmeats before them. + +First came a Scythian with a trained bear, which performed a series of +familiar tricks. Aristotle watched the animal with the most minute +attention, directing notice to several of its characteristics and +explaining their meaning. The music then struck into a louder and +livelier air and six young girls, in floating garments of brilliant +hue, performed a graceful dance of intricate figure. There was no +novelty in this and Chares became the target for good-natured +reproaches, which he received smilingly. The dancing girls gave place +to a swarthy Indian juggler, whose feats of magic delighted the +spectators and evoked cries of wonder and admiration. + +As the juggler retired gravely, it was noticed that Aristotle, unused +to so much wine, had dropped quietly off to sleep. By command of +Clearchus, two stalwart slaves carried him away to bed, while his +companions at the board drank his health. + +"All this is very well, Chares," Porphyry complained, "but I thought +you were going to show us something new." + +"Pour a libation to Aphrodite!" the Theban replied, sprinkling a few +drops from his goblet and draining what remained. + +The others followed his example, nothing loath. + +From behind a mass of blossoms came a young woman and stood before the +sparkling fountain with her chin slightly raised and a smile upon her +lips. She wore a chiton of shimmering, transparent fabric from the +looms of Amorgos. The coils of her tawny hair were held in place by +jewelled pins which were her only adornment. There was a confident +expression of sensuous content on her face and a slight smile parted +her lips as she saw the involuntary admiration that she inspired. + +Through the golden cobweb that covered without hiding it, her firm +flesh glowed warmly. The curves of her shoulders and breast and the +rounded fulness of her lithe limbs were as perfect as a statue. As +Clearchus gazed upon her with the delight in pure beauty which was so +strong in him, he was beset by an elusive sense of familiarity for +which he tried in vain to find some explanation. He was certain that +he had never seen the girl before. Had there been nothing else to +assure him of this, he knew that he never would have forgotten her +eyes. Like the eyes of a predatory animal, they shot back the light in +reflected gleams of fleeting topaz. + +Crouched at her side lay a leopard, his body pressed flat against the +rich carpet in which her white feet were buried. He wore a golden +collar with a slender chain, the end of which she held between her +fingers. The beast glanced restlessly from side to side in his strange +surroundings, twitching his tail with nervous uneasiness. + +In the light that bathed her from head to foot, the young woman posed +for a moment to allow the spectators to feel the full effect of her +beauty. + +"Thais! Thais!" cried several of the guests, in accents of intense +astonishment. + +"Is it really Thais?" Clearchus asked, turning to Chares. "How did you +ever persuade her to come?" + +The Theban smiled, but made no reply. Thais had only recently begun to +attract attention, but her fame had already eclipsed that of other +popular favorites in Athens. Sculptors and painters had declared her +the most beautiful woman in all Hellas. Poets had made verses in her +honor, likening her to Hebe and Aphrodite. Her house was thronged +daily with the youth of fashion. She had become the latest sensation +in a city greedy for all that was new. + +Little was known of her beyond the fact that she had been reared and +educated in all the accomplishments of her profession by old Eunomus, +one of the most skilful of all the Athenian dealers in flesh and blood. +Where he had found her he refused to tell. Everybody had heard that +Alcmæon had purchased her freedom a short time before his death, paying +Eunomus half her weight in gold, and that he had made comfortable +provision for her when his last illness seized him and he knew that he +must die. The only regret that he had expressed was that he must leave +her behind him. + +Left in an independent position, Thais had shown herself capricious. +None of the young men who hung about her could boast of any successes. +A few had ruined themselves in their efforts to gain her favor, and one +had even drunk hemlock and crept to her door to die. Clearchus, +although he had never before seen her, had heard enough of her to feel +astonished at her presence. He could not understand how Chares had +been able to induce her to come, like a mere dancing girl, for their +amusement, unless he had offered her an enormous sum of money. Knowing +the reckless character of his friend, the thought alarmed him. + +"You have ruined yourself!" he whispered to the Theban. "What did you +promise the woman?" + +"Not an obol, on my honor, O youth of simple heart!" Chares replied, +laughing. + +"Then how did you get her to come?" Clearchus asked. "You do not know +her." + +"I invited her," Chares replied; "and she accepted. I suppose it was a +woman's whim. I did not ask her." + +Slaves ran forward with a number of sword blades set in blocks of wood +in such a manner as to enable them to stand upright. These they +arranged symmetrically upon the carpet at equal distances from each +other, so as to form a lozenge pattern with its point toward Thais. +Dropping the end of the chain by which she held the leopard, as the +music changed to a rhythmic cadence, the young woman began to tread in +and out between the swords. Her movements were so light and graceful +that she seemed hardly to touch the carpet, threading her way from side +to side to the quickening measure. The leopard crept closer to the +line of steel and watched her with glowing eyes. Faster and faster +grew the measure, and faster grew her motions, until she was whirling +among the blades, which flickered like blue flames as her shadow +intercepted the light. A misstep would have sent her down to her death +upon one of the points which she seemed to regard no more than if they +had been so many flowers. The company watched her with a suspense that +was breathless. Suddenly the music ceased, and she stood before them +unharmed at the upper point of the lozenge. There was a glow on her +cheeks and her bosom panted from her exertions. The guests broke into +cries of admiration, casting their wreaths of myrtle at her feet; but +she had eyes only for Chares, who lay looking at her with a lazy smile. +She frowned and bit her lip. + +"Did I not do it well?" she demanded. + +"Excellently well," Chares replied. + +"Is that all?" she asked in a tone of disappointment. + +Before he could make any reply there came a frantic knocking at the +door outside the house. Clearchus started forward with an exclamation +of alarm. The man whom he had placed on guard ran in, terror stricken, +followed by Tolman, one of the slaves from Melissa's house in Academe. + +"Oh, my master!" Tolman cried, throwing himself at the feet of +Clearchus. + +"Artemisia!" the young man demanded. + +"They have carried her off," Tolman said, "and Philox, the steward, is +slain!" + +"Horses, Cleon! Bring swords and armor!" Clearchus shouted. + +"Who has done this?" Chares asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied; "we were forewarned; but it would be +better for them had they never been born." + +"Fetch me a jar of water," Chares cried, pushing aside the guests, who +had left their places and were crowding around Clearchus to learn the +news. When a slave brought a jar of cold water, the Theban plunged his +head into it to clear his brain and shook off the drops from his yellow +hair. "Now my armor!" he said. + +Leonidas was already occupied in putting on the light accoutrement of a +horseman, and, although he said nothing, there was a look of expectant +joy on his harsh face. + +Thais, who had drawn to one side, stood for a moment, and then seeing +that she had been forgotten, slipped away unnoticed. Some of the +guests hastened to their homes to arm themselves and follow the three +friends, while others remained behind to discuss the event. Clearchus +said a hasty farewell, and in a few moments from the arrival of the +slave the three young men, followed by Cleon, were racing down to the +city gate. + +Into the open country they dashed, Clearchus leading the way, while the +others spurred madly in their effort to keep pace with him. The sun +had not yet risen when they wheeled into the gateway and drew rein at +Melissa's villa. The place seemed deserted, for the terrified servants +had closed and barred the doors, fearing a renewal of the attack. It +was several minutes before they were able to gain an entrance. + +The frightened women pressed around Clearchus, wailing and beating +their breasts and trying all at once to tell him the story of what had +happened. The young man waved them aside and ran to the room where +Philox lay. The faithful old steward had received a dagger thrust in +the breast and was unconscious. Clearchus then sought Melissa; but in +the extremity of her fright she had locked herself in her apartments +and refused to open the door. + +Finding that nothing was to be learned in that quarter, Clearchus +sternly commanded the women to be silent and answer his questions. +Trembling, they obeyed, and he managed to make them tell how the +marauders had scaled the walls of the house with a ladder and how +Philox had fallen while trying to prevent them from admitting their +confederates. They had pillaged the house of everything that they +could carry. Artemisia had fainted when they laid their hands upon her +to take her away, but they had placed her in a litter which they seemed +to have ready for the purpose. As nearly as the women were able to +judge, they had gone southward, and as soon as they were out of sight, +Tolman had ridden to the city to give the alarm. + +"They are making for the harbor," Leonidas cried. "We shall catch them +yet!" + +Clearchus felt two small cold hands clasp his own, and glancing down he +saw Proxena, one of Artemisia's little slave girls, with her +tear-stained face upturned to his. + +"Please, master," she sobbed, "bring back our mistress, Artemisia!" + +The young Athenian could not speak, but he lifted the child quickly and +kissed her. In another moment they were off in the pursuit. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + +Clearchus led the way through brake and thicket and across tilled +fields, bearing off slightly to the southwest so as to avoid the Long +Walls that joined the city to the Piræus, where he knew the robbers +would not dare to venture. They crossed the winding Cephissus by the +Sacred Way, skirting the hills that overlook the harbor. It seemed +hours to the young man before they emerged upon the brow of a slope +that fell away to the rocky beach. + +Directly below them was a small inlet from which a boat filled with men +was putting out toward a weather-beaten galley that lay a short +distance offshore. + +"There she is!" Chares cried, pointing to a blotch of white in the bow +of the boat. + +"We are too late!" Clearchus groaned, as he measured with his eye the +widening gap between the boat and the shore. Despair and helpless rage +surged up in his heart as they dashed recklessly down the slope. + +"Come back!" he shouted desperately. "Twenty talents of ransom!" + +The distance was too great for his words to be distinguished, although +his voice evidently reached the boat. Artemisia heard it and stretched +her arms toward him. She struggled to rise, but the sailors held her +in her seat. The steersman turned his bearded face toward the shore +and shouted out a rough command. The boat continued on toward the +galley, whose sails were already spread for flight. + +"They are not all gone!" Leonidas cried eagerly. "See there!" + +A second boat lay in the inlet with its nose in the sand, while its +crew hurriedly stowed away the litter. As Clearchus looked, they +completed this task and prepared to push off. + +The three young men leaped from their horses, but the boat was now +launched. One of the mariners waded into the water, pushing at her +stern to give her headway, while the others got out their oars. + +"You come too late, idlers!" the seamen cried mockingly as their +pursuers leaped down over the rocks to the narrow strip of sand that +fringed the inlet. "You should rise earlier in the morning." + +The man who had been pushing at the stern of the boat was up to his +waist in water. "Pull me in, lads, she has way enough!" he said; but +as he gathered himself to spring, Leonidas plunged in after him and +clutched him by the ankle. Paying no more attention to his struggles +than he would have given to those of some fish that he had taken, the +Spartan dragged the spluttering wretch back to the beach. The crew of +the boat hesitated for a moment as though doubtful whether to attempt a +rescue, but Leonidas settled their doubts by thrusting his sword into +the man's throat. + +A cry of rage and a volley of threats came from the boat as the sailors +witnessed the fate of their comrade. In giving vent to their +indignation, they lost valuable seconds of time. So narrow was the +inlet that the boat was still within easy javelin cast of the shore. +Clearchus ran along the beach abreast of it, promising a fabulous +reward to the men who should bring back the captive. + +"Seek the girl in the slave markets," was all the reply that he could +get, "and see that you come not too late a second time!" + +"I promise that you shall not be punished!" the Athenian cried in +despair. "At least lend us your boat, or take us with you to the +galley." + +"If you want our boat, come out and get it!" one of the sailors cried +in derision. + +The words were still on his lips when a great stone fell into the water +close beside the prow, dashing the spray into the faces of the crew. +Clearchus looked up in astonishment and saw Chares standing on the +crest of the ledge of rock that rose behind the strip of sand. The +Theban held another huge and jagged missile poised above his head. +With a mighty effort he hurled it at the boat. Uttering cries of +terror the sailors attempted to sheer out of the way, but in their +confusion, their splashing oars neutralized each other. The great +stone, which a man of ordinary strength could not have moved, turned +ponderously in the air and struck the gunwale amidships with a crash +that tore out the planks in splinters. In an instant the boat filled +and went down, leaving the crew struggling among the floating fragments +of the litter. + +Several of the men, who seemed unable to swim, disappeared beneath the +surface. Others struck out for the beach, only to meet death on the +swords of Chares and Clearchus on one side, and of Leonidas, who had +run around to the opposite shore of the bay to intercept those who +sought to escape in that direction. + +One man only, a fellow of powerful frame, seeing the fate that awaited +him on land, swam boldly for the open sea, preferring to take his +chance of being picked up there rather than face death upon the sand. + +"Leave him to me!" Chares cried, stripping off his chiton. + +Without hesitation, he plunged into the sea, holding his sword in his +left hand and swimming with his right. + +"Take him alive!" Clearchus shouted. "We may learn something from him!" + +The chase was short, for although the Theban carried a weapon, the +sailor was encumbered by his garments. + +"Wait, my friend, I have something to say to thee," Chares said, +pricking the man with his sword point. + +Like a wild beast, the sailor turned in desperation as though to make a +struggle for his life. He looked with bloodshot eyes into the Theban's +smiling face. + +"You have only one chance of seeing to-morrow's sun," Chares said +coolly. "Swim before me to the shore and make up your mind on the way +to tell all that you know of what has happened." + +"Will you spare my life?" the man asked. + +"That depends," Chares replied, "but I promise you that I will not +spare it unless you obey without question." + +"There is no help for it," the man muttered, and he swam sullenly back +to the beach, where Leonidas quickly secured his arms behind him. + +"There is still a chance of capturing the galley," the Spartan said to +Clearchus. "Ride quickly to the Piræus and hire a vessel to put out +after her. We will bring this fellow in." + +Clearchus dashed away toward the harbor, but, as it happened, there was +no vessel that could take up the chase with any chance of success. The +galley was running before a fresh southwest wind, and although still +visible, she was already distant. Of the ships in port, some were +newly arrived and were heavily laden, while others were discharging +their cargoes. Clearchus offered any price to the captain who should +overtake the fugitive and bring Artemisia back, but the offer was made +in vain. The best that he could do was to charter six of the swiftest +ships that were available to take up the pursuit as soon as they could +be made ready. + +While he was concluding these arrangements, Chares and Leonidas arrived +with the prisoner. The man said that the galley had just returned from +a piratical cruise on the coast of Lucania and was under the command of +Syphax. He had joined the crew at Locri, he said, and knew nothing +about the abduction excepting that they were all to be well paid for +it. He was unable to tell what port the galley expected to make after +leaving Attica. + +Although he was examined later under torture, the man could reveal no +more. He was thrown into prison to be used as a witness against his +companions should they be caught. The last of the vessels that +Clearchus sent on the chase was out of the harbor before nightfall, and +the young man, feeling that he had done all that he could do, rode back +to the city overwhelmed by his loss. Chares and Leonidas sought in +vain to comfort him. His self-reproach at having left Artemisia +unguarded after the warning of the dream was too poignant. He shut +himself up to avoid the acquaintances who flocked about him to offer +their sympathy and to learn the details of his sorrow. They questioned +the slaves when they found the doors closed against them and then ran +to tell what they had learned in the baths, the barber shops, and the +gaming houses, greedy of gossip. Ariston, after making certain that +his part in the plot had not been discovered, came to visit his nephew +and was admitted. + +"We have no defence against the will of the Gods when it falls heavily +upon us save one," he said. + +"What is that?" Clearchus asked. + +"Patience," the old man responded. + +"Patience!" Clearchus exclaimed, striding back and forth with clenched +fists. "Yes, I will have patience! I will have patience to seek +Artemisia to the ends of the world until I have found her! And I will +have patience until every man who is concerned in this attack upon us +has paid for it with his life. I will be patient!" + +Ariston blanched at this outburst, but immediately recovered himself. +"Alas! What can you do alone?" he asked mournfully. + +"He will not be alone, for Chares and I will be with him," Leonidas +said quietly. "We have sworn it." + +"I will not advise against it," Ariston said with a sigh. "But it may +be that the galleys you have sent out will bring the robbers back. You +must not forget that you have duties to the State. The times are +troubled and your fortune is great." + +"My own affairs must come first at present," Clearchus said bluntly. +"As for my fortune, of what use is it to me without Artemisia? I must +ask you to take charge of it once more for me. I shall give you full +power, and if I come not back I desire that it shall be devoted to the +public good as you may see fit." + +"I am an old man," Ariston said, with mock hesitation, "but I cannot +refuse the trust under the circumstances if you require it of me. Yet, +why dost thou leave Athens?" + +"How can I remain here?" Clearchus exclaimed. "My suffering is too +great. But I knew you would not refuse me," he added in a calmer +voice, clasping his uncle by the hand. + +"Doubtless they have carried her to some one of the Eastern cities," +Ariston said reflectively. "That is where this Syphax would most +naturally go, as it seems his hope is to get money. I will write to +such friends as I have there to be on the watch." + +Clearchus groaned. "It will be too late, I fear, before thy letters +can reach them," he said. "I know not what to do nor where to turn." + +"Here is Aristotle; let us consult him," Chares said as the philosopher +entered. + +Aristotle listened attentively while Clearchus and his friends related +all the circumstances of Artemisia's abduction. He asked many +questions regarding the particulars of the dream of warning that had +preceded the attack. + +"Some things we know and others we can guess," he said at last. "Only +the Gods know all. The world is wide. I pity thee, Clearchus, my +friend, with all my heart, and I wish that I might aid thee. It is +clear that the warning came from Artemis. I advise thee to seek +counsel from Ph[oe]bus, her brother. Thou art not an unworthy disciple +of his, for thy heart is pure and thy hands are clean. Thou lovest the +poets and music. Go to him with faith and perhaps he will aid thee." + +Hope appeared upon the face of the young Athenian. "I will go," he +said. "The great God himself loved Daphne and lost her. He may take +compassion on me. Chares shall remain here and set all things in order +so that we may act quickly if a sign should be given. Will you come +with me, Leonidas, to Delphi?" + +"I will," said the Spartan, "and let us go at once; for I can see that +thy heart is sick." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + +Clearchus and Leonidas rode out of Attica across the olive-bearing +plains, and up the rugged spurs and ridges which flank the mountain of +Cithæron, upon whose rocky slopes Antiope wailed as an infant, and the +rash Pentheus was torn to pieces by women to the end that the power of +Dionysius might be established. They halted for a brief space at the +fortress of Phyle, the key that had opened to Thrasybulus his native +land and enabled him to give it freedom. Leonidas admired the great +walls built of square blocks of stone laid one upon another without +mortar and fitted so exactly that the joints would scarcely be seen. + +Teleon, captain of the guard which was stationed at this gateway, was a +friend of Clearchus. He gave them bread and wine, while the young +Athenian told him of his misfortune. After expressing his sympathy, +Teleon inquired eagerly for the news of Athens. + +"Will the Assembly send troops to the aid of Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes, +who have raised the revolt in Thebes?" he asked. "You know they now +hold the city, and my spies tell me that they are preparing for any +attack that may be made upon them." + +Clearchus gave him an account of the indecisive meeting of the Assembly +on the preceding day. + +"All Athens believes the boy king is dead," he said, referring to +Alexander. "What is your opinion, Teleon?" + +"That, too, is the belief in Thebes," the captain replied. "I know +not; but if it proves to be so, Thebes is free." + +"And if not?" Clearchus asked. + +"If not, there will be fighting," Teleon predicted, "and may Zeus +inspire the Macedonian to attack us here!" + +From the slope beyond Phyle the young man saw the B[oe]otian plain +spread out before them, and beyond, in the purple distance, the rocky +ramparts of Phocis. There, glowing rose-colored in the evening light, +shone the snow-clad crest of Parnassus. Clearchus' heart swelled as he +looked upon the goal in which his hope was centred. + +"We must be there to-morrow," he said eagerly. + +"The God will not run away!" Leonidas replied. + +They plunged down the mountain slope into the shadows, which deepened +under the plane trees as they advanced, until the winding track was +almost hidden before them. The moon rose as they emerged upon the +plain that had so often drunk the life-blood of Hellas. At Thespiæ +their horses could go no further, and they halted for the night. + +Although the road from Thebes was better, they had purposely avoided +the city, fearing that the disturbances there might delay them. They +found Thespiæ full of rumors of the Theban uprising. Some said that +the Macedonians in the Cadmea had been put to the sword; others that +the peace party had gained the upper hand and was awaiting the arrival +of Alexander. Leonidas, who listened eagerly to all that was said, was +surprised to find that the report of the young king's death was +discredited in the town. There were even men who insisted that he was +on his way through Thessaly at the head of his army, ready to strike. + +The Spartan sighed and looked wistfully over his shoulder in the +direction of Thebes as they took horse at sunrise. At evening, +begrimed with dust, they toiled up the last ascent that led to Delphi, +the terraced city among the sacred cliffs--the Navel of the World. + +As Clearchus gazed upward at the twin columns of the Phædriades rising +side by side a thousand feet above the temple in the cool gray +twilight, the fever of anxiety in his blood left him and his pulses +beat more slowly. The strong masonry of the outer wall, which enclosed +and seemed to hold from slipping down the mountain side the buildings +clustered about the lofty terrace, on which the temple stood close +under the towering cliffs, shut in the shrine that for centuries all +Hellas had looked upon as hallowed. Awe came upon him in the presence +of the great Mystery. There were scoffers in Athens who laughed at all +religion. There were philosophers in the world who taught that the +existence of the Gods was a foolish dream. Why had Ph[oe]bus permitted +the Phocians to seize his treasure and to profane his altar, they +asked, if he really existed? + +Clearchus put the same question to himself as he looked down upon the +Cirrhæan fields that had been consecrated to the God and condemned to +lie waste forever in his honor. The Phocians had desecrated them by +cultivation. When condemned by the Amphictyons at the instance of +their enemies, the Thebans, they had seized the shrine and the +treasure-houses. Though they had prospered for a time, in the end +Philomelus and Onomarchus had been slain and the Phocians broken and +scattered. The sacrilege had been punished, but Philip had been +brought into Hellas as the champion of the God and the chief instrument +of his wrath. Thebes had been placed beneath his feet. + +What was to be the end? Was the fate of the city that had driven the +Phocians to their crime to be worse than that of their victims? +Clearchus, as he thought of these things, was chilled with an +indefinable dread of the Invisible Presence whose home was among the +silent and Titanic crags that made the utmost triumphs of human art and +skill laid at their feet seem as transitory as the work of children +fashioned in sand. He felt that here the mighty purpose of the Unseen +was being worked out, deliberate and irresistible, before which the +races of men were as nothing. + +They did not enter the city that night, but turned aside to the house +of Eresthenes, who had been a guest-friend of Clearchus' father. The +old man was overjoyed to see them. After the evening meal he sought +the priests of the temple and brought back word that the oracle might +be consulted next day if the sacrifice proved propitious. + +Clearchus slept soundly. In the morning he purified himself, according +to the rule, in the clear, cold waters of the Castalian Font hung about +with votive offerings in marble and bronze placed there by grateful +pilgrims to the shrine. Eresthenes gave him fresh garments, with the +garland of olive and the fillet of wool which suppliants were required +to put on. + +Guided by the old man, the two friends ascended the wide marble +staircase that led to the great stone platform at the southeast corner +of the lower terrace, where ceremonial processions were accustomed to +form before entering the sacred enclosure. Passing through the gate, +they advanced between treasure-houses upon which the most famous +sculptors of the world had lavished their skill. Among these and the +dwellings of the priests and the chief men of the place were set scores +of columns and statues, the offerings of centuries from kings and +princes. Across the lower terrace the way led them to the next higher, +with a sharp turn to the right at the great stone sphinx which guarded +the passage through the second wall. They continued up the slope to +the final platform, on which the temple stood resplendent with color. + +Entering between the great columns, Eresthenes and Leonidas left +Clearchus to the care of the priests--grave men of advanced age who +were under the direction of Agias. They led the Athenian to the +apartment of the chief priest, a venerable minister whose age had +passed one hundred years. He sat in his marble arm-chair, propped by +cushions. His white beard flowed over his breast, and his thin hands +lay crossed in his lap. He raised his dim eyes and fixed them upon the +face of his visitor. + +"What wilt thou, Thrasybulus, who comest back to me from beyond the +tomb?" he asked in a quavering voice. + +The attendant priests glanced at each other in surprise, but none of +them dared to reply. + +"Speak, Thrasybulus; I am an old man," the chief priest said. + +"Thrasybulus has been dead these fifty years, Father," Agias said. +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, who comes as a suppliant to the +oracle." + +"He is like Thrasybulus!" the old man muttered, bowing his head. "It +seems but yesterday that he stood before me." He paused for a moment +and then continued with an effort: "Art thou pure of heart? Art thou +free from the sins of the flesh?" + +"I am," Clearchus replied firmly. + +"Then pass into the presence of the God who knoweth all and who doth +not forget!" said the patriarch, closing his eyes wearily. + +Clearchus bowed and was about to turn away, when the old man roused +himself once more. + +"Come hither, boy, and let me look at thee!" he said. "My sight is +growing dim." + +Clearchus knelt at his feet, and the aged priest placed his hand on his +head, stroking his hair and peering into his face. + +"So like Thrasybulus! It was only yesterday!" he said to himself. +"The storm comes and the world is changing. Thou shalt see thrones +made empty and nations perish; but the God will remain until a greater +cometh. Clearchus art thou called? It may be so; but to me thou art +Thrasybulus. Go thy ways. The God will be kind to thee." + +Although the other priests were evidently struck by this unusual scene, +they made no comment, but led Clearchus into the dim interior of the +temple. On every hand, between the columns and against the walls, +gleamed statues and vessels of precious metals, exquisite in design and +workmanship, that the Phocians had not dared to remove from the house +itself of the God. Before them stood a group of young women in snowy +robes with fillets in their hair. They were chanting a hymn of slow +and solemn measure. + +They ceased their chant as the priests entered with Clearchus, and two +of them advanced, leading between them one of the three priestesses of +the temple. The Pythia was a woman of middle age, slender of figure, +with large gray eyes that seemed to look at Clearchus without seeing +him. Her thin cheeks still retained the fresh color of youth, and her +lips, of a deep red, moved gently as though she were whispering to +herself. + +Looking about him with eyes grown accustomed to the semidarkness, +Clearchus saw a slightly raised platform of white marble toward the +rear of the temple. Three shallow steps led to a broad slab, in the +middle of which was a cleft. Through this orifice curled a pale, +fleeting vapor, which rose like transparent smoke for the height of a +man above the platform before it vanished. It came from the stone in +puffs and spirals which swayed, now this way, now that, with a +peculiarly irregular and capricious impulse like the balancing of a +coiled serpent. + +Over the cleft was set a low tripod, the legs of which were formed of +intertwined snakes wrought in gold so cunningly that every scale seemed +reproduced in the bright metal. The jewelled eyes of the reptiles +twinkled through the vapor which alternately hid and revealed them. + +Slowly and solemnly the priestesses led the Pythia to the foot of the +platform, where they gave her hands to two of the most venerable of the +priests, whose office it was to conduct her to the tripod. Her lips +formed themselves into a smile as she mounted the steps and the women +resumed their chanting. + +As she took her place upon the tripod and the priests descended, +leaving her alone, a sudden thunderstorm burst above the towering crags +which overhung the shrine. The wind roared down between the Phædriades +with mighty strength, and a crash of thunder, leaping and reverberating +from rock to cliff, shook the temple to its foundations. + +"Zeus is speaking to the son of Latona!" murmured Agias, and all bowed +their heads in reverence. + +Filled as he was with awe, Clearchus felt reassured by the calm +demeanor of the priests. He fixed his eyes on the Pythia, who remained +seated on the tripod with her hands loosely folded in her lap, +oblivious alike to the storm and to her surroundings. The chill vapor +seemed to grow more dense. At times it hid her entirely, wrapping her +in its cold embrace. The color deepened in her cheeks and the smile +left her parted lips. With dilated pupils she gazed over the heads of +the little group before her. Gradually her face assumed a troubled +expression and her tongue began to frame broken words and fragmentary +sentences the purport of which Clearchus could not understand. +Suddenly she half raised her hands as though she would cover her eyes +and her face contracted as with a spasm of pain. + +"Evohe! Ph[oe]bus!" she cried in a wailing voice. + +"Ask thy question--the God is here!" Agias whispered, pushing Clearchus +toward the platform. + +The young man found himself standing alone in the dread Presence, +gazing upon the Pythia, who was no longer a woman, but an instrument in +the hands of the God. The vapor curled about her and encircled her in +swiftly changing, fantastic forms. Her gray eyes looked out into his, +fixed and steadfast, and the tension of the influence which possessed +her convulsed her features. Dead silence reigned throughout the vast +and shadowy interior of the temple. + +Clearchus tried to frame the question that he had prepared but the +words refused to come. The awe of his surroundings paralyzed his +speech. + +Suddenly the dear, wistful face of his love seemed to appear to him +amid the folds of the rolling mist, filled with sorrow and yearning. +His fear left him. All else, even life itself, was as nothing before +the fierce desire of his heart. + +"Where shall I find Artemisia?" he cried, stretching out his arms +before the whirling cloud which hid the priestess in its embrace. + +There was a moment of suspense, in which he could hear the dull rushing +of the torrent that filled the sluices, overflowing with the rain, on +either side of the temple. The priests leaned forward attentively to +catch the reply, each holding a tablet of wax and a stylus with which +to record any words that the Pythia might utter. Clearchus stood +motionless, his arms still outstretched, gazing with straining eyes +upon the lips of the priestess. She writhed upon the tripod as though +in agony. Her eyes were set and glassy and a slight foam showed itself +upon her mouth. Then came her voice, strained and strange, through the +eddies of the vapor:-- + +"Seek in the track of the Whirlwind--there shalt thou find thy Beloved!" + +Her eyes closed, and a shuddering sigh issued from her bosom. The two +priests who had placed her upon the tripod hastened forward and bore +her from the platform. She had lost consciousness completely. Her +head drooped upon her shoulder and her face was as pale as death. The +old men gave her in charge of the women, who ran forward to receive her +and quickly carried her into their own apartments. + +A great joy filled Clearchus. "She is safe! She is safe! And I shall +find her!" he said to himself, following the silent priests out of the +temple. As they passed out into the portico he looked back over his +shoulder at the platform where the God had manifested himself. The +swift storm had swept over and the sun was shining again. A gleam of +his light fell upon the curling mist and Clearchus saw it tinged with +the prismatic colors of the rainbow. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + +Leonidas and Eresthenes stood in the portico of the temple awaiting the +return of Clearchus. + +"All is well!" the young man cried, throwing his arms around Leonidas +in the excess of his joy. + +"Shall we find her?" the Spartan asked anxiously. + +"Yes; the God has promised it," Clearchus replied. + +"Where is she?" Leonidas asked quickly. + +Clearchus hesitated and his face fell. The oracle had not told him +where she was. + +"What did the God mean when he spoke of the Whirlwind's track?" he +asked, turning to the priests. + +"We know no more than thou," Agias replied. "The answer given to thee +is more definite than any we have had in these later times. That is a +good omen. Be content and doubtless the God will choose his own way to +make all clear to thee." + +Clearchus was troubled, but he thanked the priests and arranged for the +bestowal of an offering of ten talents of gold. He was about to take +his leave when a man with mud-stained garments came running up the +steep incline to the temple. He was one of the agents or messengers +that the priests maintained in every large city of Greece to keep them +informed of events. The knowledge which they brought, added to that +which came with visitors to the oracle from all parts of the world, +made Delphi the centre of intelligence and enabled the servants of the +God, if need there was, to supplement his answers from their own +understanding. + +The man halted breathless before the white-clad group that stood in the +sunlight between the columns awaiting him. + +"It is Cimon," Agias said. "What news dost thou bring--speak!" + +"Alexander is before the walls of Thebes with his army!" the messenger +panted. + +"Whence came he?" Agias demanded. + +"Out of the mountains of Thessaly--like a whirlwind!" Cimon replied. +"Before men had time to learn of his approach, he was there." + +"Like a whirlwind, you say?" Agias repeated, glancing at Clearchus. + +"Like a whirlwind, indeed," the messenger replied, "and panic holds the +city!" + +"Thy question is answered, my son," said Agias, quietly. + +Clearchus was amazed. He had believed that the words of the Pythia +were to be taken in their literal sense, and he had resolved to consult +Aristotle in the matter on his return to Athens. But when Agias called +his attention to the reply of the messenger, who could have had no +knowledge of the prophecy, he could not doubt that a metaphor had been +intended. The plans of the young Macedonian monarch at once acquired a +new and intense interest in his mind and he listened eagerly to Cimon's +story. + +"The Thebans are divided," said the messenger. "They know not whether +to surrender their city and earn their pardon, or to give defiance to +the young king. The last they had heard of him was that he had been +slain in battle at Pelium by the blow of a club. You know already that +the citizens rose when Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes came back from Athens +and that they besieged the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea. Athens +sent money and promised an army. The B[oe]otarchs ordered the walls to +be made strong and a barricade to be built inside so that even if the +walls should fall, they would still be able to defend themselves. +Fugitives from Onchestris brought the first news that Alexander and his +army were there. Even then the city would not believe it was the +Hegemon himself, but maintained that it must be Antipater or the +Lyncestian namesake of the king. For how, they asked, could the dead +come to life?" + +"Nothing is beyond the power of the Gods," Agias said sententiously. + +"We expected a swift attack," Cimon continued, "but it was not until +the next day that the army came within sight of the city and encamped +north of the walls. The Thebans sent their cavalry and light troops to +meet them. This was only a skirmish, but the soldiers brought word +that Alexander, indeed, was there. Some of them who knew him had seen +him directing the Macedonian troops. + +"We found this to be true when the Macedonians moved their camp around +to the main gate. The soldiers of the garrison in the Cadmea +recognized their king and cried out to us that Alexander had come to +avenge them. Still he did not attack, but sent a herald to say that he +would forgive all that had been done if the city would yield itself and +send him Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes to be punished." + +"And what was the answer?" Agias asked. + +"There were many who favored accepting the terms," Cimon replied, +"especially since aid from Athens had been cut off; but the exiles who +had returned to raise the revolt declared that the king was afraid. +Should he have the boldness to attack the walls, they promised that he +would be beaten and that Thebes would send a garrison to Pella instead +of having one in the Cadmea." + +"They are desperate men," the old priest said. + +"But they won the people," Cimon replied, "and it was resolved to +fight. So matters stood when I slipped out of the northern gate last +night to bring you word." + +"You have done well, Cimon," Agias said. "Dost thou think the city +will escape?" + +"That I cannot tell," the messenger answered. "It has corn enough for +a siege; but Alexander's army contains thirty thousand footmen and a +troop of horse, besides ballistæ and battering-rams which they were +setting up when I left." + +"The walls are strong," Agias said, reflecting. "Well, go to thy rest. +Thou hast need of it." + +Clearchus and his friends had enough to talk about as they walked down +from the temple. + +"One thing is certain," said the young Athenian. "We must go at once +to Thebes." + +"That we must do if only to see the fighting," Leonidas replied. + +"What if the Dragon's Teeth should win?" Eresthenes suggested. + +"They cannot," Leonidas said. "The man who could make the march that +Alexander made is a general as well as a king. There is no Epaminondas +in Thebes now." + +"What will become of Chares' mother and his family if the city falls?" +Clearchus exclaimed, stopping short. + +"Have I not heard him say that his father formed a guest-friendship +with Philip when the Macedonian was left in Thebes as a hostage?" +Leonidas replied. + +"Yes," Clearchus admitted, "but that may be forgotten by his son if all +they say concerning Philip's death be true." + +"Then we must remind him," Leonidas said, "and that is another reason +why we must go to Thebes." + +Eresthenes gave the young men a cordial good-speed when they left him +in the morning to set out for the beleaguered city. They descended +from the mountains and entered the fertile plains of B[oe]otia, through +which they rode all day without finding a sign of war. The farmers +went about their work and the shepherds were pasturing their flocks as +peacefully as though there were no such things as armies and slaughter. +More than once they stopped to ask news of the siege, but the people of +the plain could tell them nothing. Many of them had not heard that +Alexander was before the city; others had indeed heard the rumor, but +convinced that they themselves were safe, they took no interest in it. + +Evening was drawing on and they had approached to within a few miles of +the city when they met a rider whose horse was dripping with sweat. + +"Ho, there; what news of Thebes?" Leonidas shouted as he passed. + +The man looked at them, but made no answer. He bent low on the neck of +his horse and his cloak flew out behind him like the wings of a huge +bird. + +"There has been a battle," Leonidas said. "Was he Theban or +Macedonian?" + +Burning with impatience, they urged their horses to the crest of a low +hill, where they came suddenly upon half a dozen cavalrymen, who had +halted in a small grove to bind up a wound which one of their number +had received in the shoulder. + +"What has happened?" Leonidas asked, drawing rein beside them. + +"Know you not that the city has fallen?" one of the soldiers replied. +"The accursed Macedonians forced us in through the gates and came in +with us. Not a soul is left alive in Thebes, and my wife and children +were there!" + +"And that is where you should be," the Spartan replied contemptuously. + +The poor fellow burst into tears at this reproach as he thought of the +fate of his little family. Clearchus, touched by his grief, drew out +his purse and gave it to him. + +"If they are still living, this may aid you to ransom them," he said. + +As the two friends proceeded they now began to meet other bands of +fugitives straggling along the road. Most of them fled silently, often +looking back over their shoulders as if in dread of pursuit. + +"Cowards!" said Leonidas, scornfully. + +"Life is sweet to all of us," Clearchus remonstrated, thinking of +Artemisia. + +"To such as these it should be bitter!" the Spartan replied. + +They were rounding a turn in the road as he spoke, and before the words +were well out of his mouth they found themselves entangled in a rabble +of horsemen, who were retreating before a fierce attack. + +"In here, quickly!" Leonidas cried, urging his horse back among the +trees beside the road. + +They had barely time to gain this shelter before the rush of plunging +horses and shouting men went past them. The Thebans were evidently +making a desperate attempt to rally, and just beyond the spot where the +two were concealed they halted, wheeled, and stood at bay. + +But before they had accomplished this man[oe]uvre the foremost of the +pursuers, headed by a young man riding a powerful chestnut horse, swept +into sight. The leader, in his excitement, had distanced his troop. +Clearchus and Leonidas, who, from their position in the elbow of the +road, were able to see in both directions, realized that he was +galloping straight into an ambush. Leonidas started forward to warn +him, but it was too late. The Thebans had regained their order, and +with a wild shout they charged back around the curve. + +Either the unexpectedness of the onset caused the chestnut to swerve, +or his rider tried to pull him up too suddenly, for he stumbled and +went to his knees. The young man was pitched headforemost into the +underbrush and fell almost at the feet of Leonidas. + +Some of the Theban troopers saw the accident and rushed upon him with +cries of triumph. They were confronted by Leonidas and Clearchus, who +stood over the prostrate figure with drawn swords. Surprise caused the +Thebans to hesitate, and this saved the lives of all three; for the +Macedonian riders, thundering down upon the Thebans at full speed, +struck them and tore them to pieces. Horse and man went down before +that fierce charge, which left nothing behind excepting the dead and a +handful of wounded, whose cries for mercy were cut short by a +sword-thrust. The survivors fled without looking behind them. + +"Where is Ptolemy?" shouted one of the Macedonians, a bearded man who +seemed to be second in command. "Who has seen the captain?" + +"He rode in advance," one of the troopers replied. + +"If we do not bring him back, we shall have to answer for it to the +king, and you know what that means," the first man said. + +"He is here!" Clearchus called from the thicket. + +The bearded lieutenant and several others hastily dismounted and +carried their captain out into the road. He was still unconscious. + +"Who are you?" the lieutenant demanded gruffly, looking at the two +young men with suspicion. + +"I am Clearchus of Athens, and this is Leonidas of Sparta," Clearchus +replied. + +"Of Athens!" the man said sneeringly. "Go back to your city and tell +the cowards who live there that we are coming!" + +"As you came once before--with Xerxes!" the young Athenian answered +quickly. + +The lieutenant's face grew livid and he whipped out his sword. + +"Cut their throats! Kill them!" the troopers cried angrily, pressing +closer. + +Like a flash, Leonidas bestrode the form of the captain, sword in hand. + +"I am of Sparta!" he cried boastfully. "My country never saw the face +of Philip, nor shall it look upon that of his son, who calls himself +the Hegemon of all Hellas. Put away your swords, or here is one whose +funeral you will celebrate to-morrow!" + +He placed the point of his blade at the captain's throat as he spoke. +The men of Macedon dared not move. + +"Listen to reason!" Clearchus said hastily. "We are without armor, as +you see. We saved the life of your captain, and we are on our way to +Thebes to see Alexander on matters of importance. Take us with you and +let your king deal with us. This is no time nor place for brawling." + +"You are right," the lieutenant said sullenly. "Let it be as you say." + +He sheathed his sword, and the others followed his example, though with +an ill grace. The captain had begun to recover his senses. His skull +must have been tough to have resisted the shock of his fall without +cracking. + +"Why are you letting me lie here?" he demanded. "Where is the enemy?" + +"Scattered and gone, excepting these that you see," the lieutenant +replied, pointing to the bodies. + +"Then get me on a horse and back to camp," the captain ordered. + +As they rode the lieutenant explained the presence of Clearchus and +Leonidas. The captain frankly gave them thanks when he learned that +they had protected him while he lay helpless. + +"I am Ptolemy," he said, "and since you desire to see Alexander, I will +take you to him. I owe you much and the day may come when I shall be +able to repay you." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE DOOM OF THEBES + +The plain where once the sons of Niobe lay weltering had borne its last +harvest of slaughter. On every side Leonidas and Clearchus noted the +ghastly evidences of battle. Darkness fell before Ptolemy's troop +reached the shattered gates of Thebes. Men with torches in their hands +wandered through the streets strewn with corpses, seeking plunder among +the dead or searching for the bodies of friends. Neither sex nor age +had been spared when Perdiccas hewed his way into the city. The very +altars of the Gods were crimsoned with the vengeance taken by the +Phocians, the Platæans, and the B[oe]otians for the centuries of cruel +oppression that they had suffered from the rapacious brood of the +Dragon. + +Mothers lay dabbled in blood, with their infants beside them, struck +down in flight. The market-place was heaped with bodies, showing how +desperate had been the final stand of the Theban soldiers. The streets +were littered with household gear that had been dragged in wantonness +from despoiled homes. + +The plundering was not yet finished. Bands of soldiers were still +searching for booty in the remoter quarters of the city, where their +progress could be traced by the sound of their drunken laughter, +mingled with the screams of their victims. + +Macedonian guards paced the walls and cut off all hope of escape. The +wretched inhabitants, driven into the highways, sought concealment in +dark angles and narrow lanes, cowering in silence. + +Here and there a woman, rendered desperate by her anguish, walked with +dishevelled hair, heedless of insult, seeking her children among the +slain in the hope that she might find them still alive. + +Clearchus felt his heart grow faint at the thought that Artemisia might +be exposed to the frightful chances of such a sack. Ph[oe]bus himself, +he thought, might be unable to protect her, since here the temples of +the Gods had been profaned. An old man in priestly robes stood out +before them with trembling hands upraised. + +"Vengeance, O Zeus!" he cried aloud. "Vengeance upon those who have +violated the sanctuary of Dionysus, thy son! May they--" + +"Silence, Graybeard!" growled a soldier, striking him across the mouth +with his fist. + +The old man reeled from the blow and shrank away into the shadow. + +"You'll choke if you ever try to drink wine again, Glaucis!" a comrade +cried, laughing. + +"Dionysus will forgive me soon enough for a sacrifice," Glaucis +returned. "Never fear!" + +Ptolemy learned that Alexander had gone to the Cadmea and thither he +led Clearchus and Leonidas after he had dismissed his men, eager to +take their share in the pillage. They found the young king in a large, +bare room in the lower part of the citadel. He had not yet laid aside +his armor, which was dented and scratched by use. + +When they entered, he was giving orders to his captains, who stood +grouped about him. Clearchus looked at him with eager interest. He +saw a well-proportioned, athletic figure, no taller than his own. The +handsome beardless face glowed with the warm blood of youth and a smile +parted the full red lips. There was no trace of fatigue in the young +king's attitude, despite the labors of the day, and his movements were +alert and decisive. He looked even more youthful than his twenty-one +years as he stood among his leaders, some of whom were veterans of +Philip's campaigns, grizzled with service. But in spite of his youth, +there was a confidence in his bearing that left no doubt of who was +master. + +Clearchus felt himself strangely drawn to the young man whom all +Hellas, with the exception of Sparta, acknowledged as its champion, and +who was about to assail that great power beyond the Hellespont, whose +limits were unknown and before whom Greece had stood in dread since the +days of Great Cyrus. The Athenian found the "boy king" very different +from the arrogant, mean-spirited upstart that the orators of his city +had painted him. + +"Stop the plundering," Alexander said to his captains. "Even the +B[oe]otians must be satisfied by this time. Let the men go back to the +camp, and see that order is maintained. The Ætolians and the Elæans +are on the march and reënforcements are coming from Athens. There may +be more work to do to-morrow." + +As the officers left him to execute his commands, Alexander turned to +Ptolemy with hands outstretched. + +"I am glad to see you safe!" he said. "You charged bravely before the +gate, and I feared that something might have happened that would +deprive me of your aid when we march into Persia." + +Ptolemy's bronzed face reddened with pleasure as he heard the praise of +the young king. + +"I went in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry," he said. + +"Is it likely that any of those who escaped will be able to rally?" +Alexander asked. + +"They are scattered in every direction and think only of flight," +Ptolemy replied. + +"That is well," Alexander said. "We shall be the better able to deal +with the others when they come. Who are these that you have brought to +me?" + +He turned toward the two young men, who had been standing at a little +distance, and looked them frankly in the eyes. + +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, and this, Leonidas of Sparta," Ptolemy +replied, presenting them in turn. + +Alexander's face clouded at the names of the two most powerful of the +states that opposed him in Greece, and Ptolemy hastened to add: "They +saved my life when my horse stumbled in the pursuit, and they have a +request to make of you." + +"You have done me a great service," Alexander said kindly. "What is it +that you desire?" + +"We ask clemency for the family of Jason, on behalf of Chares, his son, +whom we left behind in Athens," Clearchus replied. + +"And why is he not in Thebes?" Alexander asked quickly. + +"Because he did not know that you were coming," Clearchus said. "Had +he been aware of the danger, he would not have been absent. We heard +of your arrival while we were in Delphi, and we made all haste to +remind you that Jason was a guest-friend of your father, Philip." + +"Orders have been given that the guest-friends of Macedon shall be +spared, both in their lives and their property," Alexander replied. +"What did you in Delphi?" + +Clearchus told him briefly how Artemisia had been stolen and of the +response of the oracle. + +"Love must be a strong passion," the young king said thoughtfully. + +"I would give all that I possess to recover Artemisia," Clearchus +replied. "Nor would I be willing to exchange my hope of finding her +for the wisdom of Aristotle or even for the hopes of Alexander." + +"So you know Aristotle," Alexander said. "He is a wonderful man. Were +I not Alexander, I would envy him." He looked curiously at Clearchus as +he spoke, as though he were considering something that he did not +understand. "So that is what they call love," he continued, "and I and +my army are the Whirlwind of which the God spoke." He beckoned to an +attendant. "Call Aristander!" he said. + +He made Clearchus repeat his story to the famous soothsayer. +Aristander listened attentively, stroking his chin with the tips of his +fingers as his custom was. + +"What do you think of it?" Alexander asked, when Clearchus had +finished. Everybody knew the confidence that he placed in the words of +the prophet and that he never took an important step against his advice. + +"Full credit must be given to the oracle," Aristander said, turning his +blue eyes upon the young king, "and I think that the priests of the +temple were right in their interpretation, since the message brought +and the title given could have had no other meaning. As the maid was +carried away by sea, she was probably taken to some island or to one of +the cities on the coast of Asia. The Whirlwind's track must needs lead +thither, and since the maid is to be set free, it is clear that the +Whirlwind shall prevail." + +"Then the oracle is propitious!" Alexander exclaimed. "What is your +plan?" he added to Clearchus. + +"I shall obey the oracle and follow in thy track," the Athenian +replied. "If thou wilt permit me, I myself will become a part of the +Whirlwind." + +Alexander looked at him with the unquenchable fire of enthusiasm in his +eyes. + +"Thou art welcome!" he said. "And you, my friend of stubborn Sparta?" +he continued to Leonidas. + +"I go with Clearchus," the Spartan responded briefly. + +"You shall be of my Companions," Alexander cried, placing his hand upon +a shoulder of each. "The world grows old and we have been wasting our +strength in foolish quarrels with each other while the tiger has been +lying there across the water, waiting to devour us. We shall show him +that the spirit of Hellas still lives, although Troy has fallen, and we +will do deeds that shall be sung by some new Homer as worthy too of a +place beside those of Achilles and Ajax and Agamemnon. Yes, and we +will bring back a fleece more precious than that which the Argonauts +sought. I promise you that the Whirlwind's track shall be long enough +and broad enough to lead you to your heart's desire, whatever it may +be. Ptolemy, I count these men among my friends and I give them into +your charge." + +Clearchus and Leonidas felt their hearts swell at the young king's +words and his lofty generosity, but before they could thank him, they +were interrupted by a commotion at the door. + +"Out of the way! I will see him! I care not how late it is," an angry +voice exclaimed. + +"It is Chares, son of Jason," Clearchus said. "How comes he here?" + +Alexander quietly signed to the guard, and the Theban strode into the +room, clad in armor that clashed noisily as he walked. He looked +neither to the right nor left, but went straight to Alexander. + +"I am come to remind the King of Macedon of the ties of hospitality," +he said boldly, in a voice more fitted to a demand than a petition. + +Alexander measured his great stature with admiration in his glance, +noting that the armor, gold-inlaid, was crusted with mud and grime like +his own. + +"Thy name might be Hector," he said. + +The Theban, ignorant of the young king's train of thought and of what +had gone before, imagined that he saw mockery in this remark. His face +flushed darkly. + +"My name is Chares!" he said haughtily. "Jason, my father, was the +friend of Epaminondas, who furnished thy father with the weapons that +thou hast used against us this day. I come not to thee on my own +behalf, but on that of my mother and sisters, who were shut in here +when the attack came." + +"You are too late!" the young king said composedly. + +Chares staggered and his face blanched. "Too late!" he exclaimed +hoarsely. "Does Alexander, then, make war upon women?" + +"I say you came too late," Alexander replied, "and doubly so; for your +friends, here, were more prompt than you, and yet even they were tardy." + +"My friends!" Chares cried in bewilderment, seeing Leonidas and +Clearchus for the first time. + +"Alexander speaks the truth," Clearchus said quickly. "We are all too +late, because he had already given orders for the safety of your +family." + +"I ask your forgiveness; I spoke without understanding," Chares said, +turning to the king. + +"Thou hast courage," Alexander said with a smile, "but I would not +choose thee as my envoy on a delicate mission. Thou wert not here to +defend thy home?" + +"Because I knew not that there was need," Chares admitted. "I am +sorry." + +"And I am glad," the young king rejoined, "for hadst thou been inside +the walls, I fear I might have lost men whom I cannot spare. Didst +thou come from Athens?" + +"I left Athens with the army," Chares answered, "but it halted on the +frontier when news arrived that Thebes had fallen." + +"Then there will be no more fighting!" Alexander exclaimed, turning to +Ptolemy. "I am glad of it. Greet thy mother for me, Chares, and tell +her to fear nothing. Ptolemy will conduct you." + +Escorted by the Macedonian captain, the three friends descended from +the citadel. Order had been restored in the city as though by magic. +Only the military patrols and the bodies of the dead remained in the +streets. The living had been driven into their houses, taking the +wounded with them. The plunderers had retired to the camp outside the +walls. + +Chares strode eagerly in advance, asking many questions regarding the +experiences of his friends in Delphi. The house of Jason, a mansion +built near the northern end of the city, had been saved by its location +from the desperate fighting that had taken place about the southern +gate and in the market-place. They found a guard stationed at the door. + +"You see that the king is as good as his word," Ptolemy said. "You +will find nothing disturbed here." + +"How could he have remembered his friends in the heat of the attack?" +Chares asked. + +"He forgets nothing," the captain replied, "neither friend nor enemy." + +Chares urged the Macedonian to enter, but Ptolemy declined on the +ground of fatigue and left them. The slave at the gate went wild with +joy when he caught sight of his young master. He had been waiting in +momentary expectation of being summoned forth to the death that he was +convinced awaited everybody in the city. + +Chares hastened to the women's court, where he found his mother and +sisters robed in white and surrounded by their maids, who were trying +to spin, although their fingers trembled so that they could hardly hold +the distaff. The widow of Jason, a woman with silvery hair and a face +that was still beautiful, sat calmly in the midst of the group, +awaiting with quiet courage what might befall. She rose with composure +to greet her son and his companions. + +"You are safe, mother!" Chares exclaimed, clasping her in his arms. +"Alexander has given his word that you shall be unharmed!" + +"You have seen him?" she returned. "That is well. You may go to your +rest. Nothing shall harm you," she added, dismissing her maidens. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + +What was to be the fate of Thebes? The minds of the wretched +inhabitants of the city were diverted from their sorrows as they asked +each other this question on the morning after the battle. The dead had +been removed from the streets. The wounded had been cared for. The +enemy had withdrawn outside the walls, after posting guards in +sufficient numbers to suppress any rising that the Thebans might be +desperate enough to attempt. + +All eyes were directed toward the Cadmea, within whose gray walls the +punishment that was to be visited upon the city was being discussed. +One citizen suggested that a heavy fine would be exacted. Another +declared he had heard that the Thebans would be forbidden to bear arms. +A dozen similar conjectures were made and canvassed before news came +from the Cadmea that Alexander had left the Phocians, the Platæans, and +the B[oe]otians, his allies, to impose the sentence. This announcement +was received in gloomy silence; for more than one Theban recalled how +his city in her day of pride had blotted out Orchomenus and Platæa and +sold their people into bondage. + +The anxious watchers in the streets at last saw a stir in the crowd +that waited outside the gates of the citadel. The portals opened, and +the victorious generals, surrounded by waving standards, came out and +began to descend from the rock. The spectators below saw the Thebans +scatter before them, tossing their arms above their heads and rending +their garments. A hush full of dread fell upon the city. + +"Thebes must perish! Her walls must go down!" cried one from above +with a despairing gesture. + +"We are to be sold for slaves!" shouted another, halting upon a parapet +and making a trumpet of his hands. + +The tidings were received with incredulity, followed by stupefaction. +The blow had fallen, and it was worse than even the least sanguine +prophet had predicted. The generals, as they rode toward the gates of +the city, were followed by men who fell on their knees and begged for +quarter. No heed was paid to their prayers, and the escort of soldiers +thrust them back with jeers. + +Alexander remained in the Cadmea, where Chares and a handful of the +most prominent Thebans, who had been able to establish guest-friendship +with the royal house of Macedon, sought him to intercede for the city. +They found him alone, sitting with his chin in his hand. They recalled +to him the glorious deeds of Thebes, dwelt upon the misery that the +sentence would inflict upon the innocent, and warned him that all +Hellas would reproach him if he permitted it to be carried into effect. +They admitted the fault of the city and asked forgiveness. + +The young king heard them through without stirring. + +"All that you have said to me," he replied when they had finished, "I +have already said to myself. Thebes has been false to her oath. I +pardoned her as did Philip, my father. The sentence is not mine, but +that of my allies, and what cause they have, you know. Can I ask them +to forget?" + +Terror ran with the news through all Greece. The Athenians, the +Ætolians, and the Elæans, who had encouraged the rebellion with money +and promises of further aid, hastily recalled their troops and sent +ambassadors to sue for mercy. Demosthenes was chosen to plead for +Athens, but when he had advanced on his journey as far as Mount +Cithæron, his courage failed him and he turned back. The young king +sent a messenger to Athens calling upon the Athenians to deliver eight +of their orators who had been foremost in stirring up the people +against Macedon, and the name of Demosthenes stood at the head of the +list. + +In the Assembly that was called to consider this demand Demosthenes won +the day by repeating the fable of how once the wolves asked the sheep +to deliver to them their watch-dogs and how, when the demand had been +granted, they fell upon the defenceless flock. But so great was the +fear of Alexander among the people that they might, after all, have +sent the orators to Thebes had not the men who were threatened hired +Demades with a fee of five talents to offer himself as an intermediary. +The offer was accepted and Alexander yielded. + +The escape of Demosthenes through the intercession of his inveterate +enemy and the mysterious disappearance of Thais were the talk of the +city when Chares arrived with his two friends, bringing his family with +him. Clearchus received them into his house, where they were to remain +during his absence from Athens in search of Artemisia, following the +directions of the oracle. Ariston was much disappointed when his +nephew refused to exact any rental from his friend. He had taken +charge of Clearchus' fortune again, and it grieved him that any +possible source of income should be neglected. But Clearchus knew that +Chares had need of all his resources; for his mother had drawn up a +list of the friends of the family who had been forced to remain in +Thebes, telling him that he must purchase them and thus save them from +slavery, even if it should take all they possessed in the world. As +the list was long, Clearchus deemed it wise not only to place his house +at the disposal of Jason's widow, but to make provision for its +maintenance out of his own income while he should be away. + +He paid no attention to the grumbling of his uncle, who affected to +look upon this generosity as little short of madness. He said so much +to dissuade the young man from his plan, that Clearchus at last was +forced to remonstrate with him. + +"One would think that you were on the brink of ruin," he said, "instead +of being one of the richest men in Athens, if reports that I have begun +to hear lately are true." + +"Who says that?" Ariston demanded sharply. "He lies, whoever repeats +such things. Whenever you hear it, if you love me, say that it is not +true. If such stories should get to be believed, that accursed +Demosthenes will be forcing me to fit out a trireme for some of his +wild schemes. The times are so troubled that what little I have been +able to save by my frugality for the support of my age I am likely to +lose." + +He was not unwilling to have his nephew believe that he was at least +moderately rich, for had Clearchus known the straits his uncle was in, +his suspicions might have been aroused. With his mind full of the loss +of Artemisia, there was small chance that he would discover anything. + +Like vultures upon a deserted field of battle the slave-dealers +gathered at the great market of flesh and blood at Thebes. The sale of +the population of the city had been delayed so as to insure a good +attendance; for Alexander had need of the money that it was expected to +yield with which to defray the cost of his expedition against the Great +King. Speculators, traffickers by wholesale, and agents from every +considerable mart in the world, to say nothing of amateurs, flocked to +the city. It was not so much the fact that thirty thousand men and +women were to be offered and the consequent probability of low prices +that drew them as the quality of the victims. It was easy enough to +purchase slaves in almost any number, but there was a vast difference +between ignorant barbarians, captured in distant raids, and the +population of one of the oldest and most cultured of the Grecian +cities. And no comparison was to be made between girls who had been +destined to slavery from their cradles and the Theban maidens reared in +the shelter of luxury and ease. + +It had been expected that it would take several days to dispose of the +prisoners, but so numerous were the buyers that the Macedonians decided +to attempt it in one day. For greater convenience, the captives were +separated into companies of about five hundred and brought out upon the +plain before the city, where most of the dealers had pitched their +tents. Each division was guarded by a squad of soldiers commanded by +an officer, whose duty it was to conduct the auction of the group under +his care. + +No outcry was permitted among the hapless population. Mothers clasped +their children in their arms, weeping softly over them. Some awaited +their fate with sullen resignation. Others looked for a prodigy to +restore them to freedom and their city. A report had gone abroad that +Dionysus would appear in person and forbid the sale. On all sides rose +the murmur of his name in tones of entreaty or reproach. With anxious +eyes, the believers scanned the sky and the barren hillsides for some +sign, they knew not what. None was vouchsafed. Their God had deserted +them. + +In order that the friends whom he was to ransom might not be lost in +the confusion, Chares had obtained consent that they be assembled in +one group. They came last out of the city, clad in garments of +mourning and moving in heavy-footed procession. Lest he should raise +false hopes, Chares had made a secret of his plans. The prisoners +fully expected to pass into the possession of strangers. Old men of +grave face and dignified bearing, who had spent their lives in the +service of the city and whose names were known throughout Greece, led +the way. Behind them walked their women, proud of bearing and +accustomed to the privileges of rank and wealth. Some of the matrons +led daughters who looked with terror upon the strange scenes that met +their eyes. Orphaned children clung to each other in fear, while here +and there new-made widows, whose husbands had been slain when the +strength and vigor of the city were cut off in a day, walked sadly and +alone. + +When all had been herded within the ring formed by the guard, the +Macedonian captain who was to conduct the sale of the group that +contained Chares' friends mounted briskly upon a block of stone and +announced the terms prescribed for buyers. Payment was to be made in +all cases in cash, and the purchaser was to have immediate possession. +Chares took a position facing the auctioneer in a knot of dealers who +were searching for some fortunate speculation. These men looked upon +the unhappy Thebans with professional keenness, exchanging comments +among themselves. + +"That's a fine old fellow with the white beard," said one. "He looks +as though he might have money out at interest somewhere." + +"Probably he's only a philosopher," another said scornfully. "For my +part, I shall buy that thin one. He has been living on bread and water +all his life and he must have a snug sum buried. Trust me to make him +dig it up!" + +"There seem to be some marketable girls here," observed a third. "I +find the Medes will pay a better price for them if they have a pedigree +as well as good looks." + +Mena, the Egyptian, prying about through the crowd, examined the +captives with speculative eyes. Suddenly he caught sight of a figure +that caused him to stop and stare. It was that of a young woman, +veiled, who seemed to be seeking to conceal herself behind the other +prisoners. + +"Who is she?" he asked of one of the guard when he had recovered from +his astonishment. + +"She is down on our list as Maia, daughter of Thales," the man replied. + +Mena seemed puzzled. "I must find out more about this," he said to +himself, taking his stand at a point of vantage. "Besides, there may +be a chance here to turn a profitable investment." + +The chatter ceased as the captain opened a roll of papyrus containing +the names of the prisoners and announced that the sale was about to +begin. The old man with the white beard was the first to be brought +forward. He proved to have been one of the B[oe]otarchs. + +"How much am I offered for him?" the captain cried. "He is old, but +his wisdom is all the greater for that." + +"Five drachmæ!" shouted a countryman in a patched and faded cloak. "He +gave a decision against me once in a lawsuit." + +Everybody laughed at this reason for making a bid, but the farmer +seemed in deadly earnest. + +"Five minæ!" Chares said quietly. There was no other bid and the sale +was made. + +Then came a slender girl with yellow hair and blue eyes that were +swollen with weeping. Her chiton of fine linen clung in graceful folds +to her slim figure, and she trembled so violently that she could +scarcely stand. + +"She ought to fill out well if she lives," said one of the merchants, +stroking his beard, while he examined her carefully. "But it's always +a risk to buy them so young." + +"She might be trained to dance," said Mena, who had elbowed his way +into the crowd. "It's worth trying if she goes cheap. Fifty drachmæ!" + +"Five minæ!" Chares said again. + +"That's ten times what she is worth!" Mena exclaimed, turning angrily +upon the Theban. "Are you trying to prevent honest men from making a +living?" + +"Let honest men speak for themselves," Chares retorted. + +The laugh that followed filled the Egyptian with rage. He was cunning +enough to wait until Chares had made several more purchases, and at +prices far above the market value of the captives. Mena guessed that +the Theban intended to outbid all who opposed him. He resolved to be +revenged by making him pay dearly for his purchases. It happened that +the next offering was a man whose name was not on Chares' list. Out of +mere good nature he bid two hundred and fifty drachmæ for him. + +"Five minæ!" the Egyptian shouted, doubling the bid with the intention +of forcing Chares to go higher. + +But Chares was silent, and no other bidder appeared. Mena, who did not +have the money that he had offered, shifted uneasily, looking at Chares. + +"I see you have some sense," he cried at last. "You are afraid to bid +against me!" + +Chares made no reply. + +"He is yours," the auctioneer said, addressing Mena. "Step this way +with your money!" + +"Wait!" screamed the Egyptian. "I withdraw the bid! The man is lame!" + +"Do you mean to accuse me of trying to cheat you?" roared the +Macedonian captain. + +"Perhaps you didn't notice it," the Egyptian faltered. + +"Away with him!" cried the soldier. + +While the prisoner was being awarded to Chares, two men led Mena out of +the circle, amid the jeers of the spectators. At a safe distance, +under pretence of seeing whether he really had the money he had +offered, they took from him all that he possessed and divided it +between themselves before they let him go. + +"I'll make him sorry for this!" Mena said, shaking his fist at Chares. +"I know what I know; but why do they call her Maia?" + +Burning with rage, the Egyptian slunk away in search of his master, +Phradates, whom he found wandering idly among the scattered groups of +captives. + +"Oh, Phradates, thou hast been insulted!" Mena cried, breathlessly. + +"How so, dog?" Phradates demanded, his face darkening as he spoke. + +The Ph[oe]nician's figure was tall and well knit, although the +profusion of jewels and golden chains that he wore, and his garments of +rich silk, woven with gold thread, gave him an effeminate look. His +face might have been handsome had it not been marred by an expression +of haughty insolence which betrayed the weakness upon which Mena +intended to play. + +He had been sent into Greece by Azemilcus and the Tyrian Council in the +guise of a rich young man on his travels, but with the real object of +discovering the plans and strength of Alexander. Tyre was nominally +tributary to the Great King, but the only sign of her dependence was +the payment of a small annual tribute. In all matters of moment she +managed her own affairs. It was important, therefore, for her rulers +to have exact knowledge of what was going forward in Greece, so that +they might shape their course as seemed best for their own advantage. + +Mena noted the flush on his master's cheek and foresaw the success of +his scheme of revenge. + +"It occurred to my poor mind," he explained volubly, "that your +Highness would be pleased with a slave from this city of rats, which, +nevertheless, contains some charming maidens. I learned that they had +assembled all the prisoners of gentle birth in one place together. I +went there and examined them for you. Among them I found a girl of +rare beauty and when I asked concerning her, they told me she was Maia, +daughter of Thales, one of the chief men in the city. Such a form as +she has!--with hair like copper and a glance that would--" + +"Will you never finish?" Phradates asked angrily. + +"I chose her for your Highness and gave command that she be reserved +until I could find you to claim her," Mena continued. "But it seems a +Theban, whom they call Chares, had resolved to buy her for himself. I +told him that I had spoken for the girl in your name. 'Let the Tyrian +hound go back to his dye-vats,' he said. 'The girl is mine and he +shall not have her while I have an obol left!' He said much more +against the people of Tyre and yourself in particular that I will not +offend your Highness by repeating. I am sorry that I lost the girl, +for there is no other like her among the captives." + +"Where is she?" Phradates demanded abruptly. + +"If your Highness will deign to follow, I will conduct you to her," +Mena replied with alacrity. + +"Lead on!" Phradates commanded. "And then fetch quickly the gold we +borrowed from the old Athenian." + +Chares had purchased all the prisoners on his list excepting the girl +called Maia, and the soldiers were leading her forward when Mena and +Phradates arrived. The young woman's face and head were muffled in a +silken scarf, and her figure was concealed beneath a cloak. + +"Give place!" cried Mena, bustling officiously into the crowd. "Make +way for the noble Phradates!" + +One of the soldiers raised the scarf long enough for the Ph[oe]nician +to see the young woman's face. Her beauty evidently made a deep +impression upon him, for his expression changed and he seemed hardly +able to take his eyes from her. + +"Where is this Chares?" he inquired, at last, staring about him. + +Mena indicated the Theban with a nod, and then, noticing that all eyes +were turned upon his master, he bawled out: "Make room for Phradates of +the royal blood of Tyre!" + +"Do you want to sell him?" asked the auctioneer. + +The Ph[oe]nician's face became purple and he turned angrily upon Mena, +but the alert Egyptian had slipped away to fetch the gold. + +"Three talents for the girl!" Phradates cried. + +"Five talents!" Chares answered. + +The spectators, who had long ago ceased to think of bidding against the +Theban, drew a deep breath and looked from one contestant to the other. +Maia alone seemed indifferent. A tress of her hair had fallen upon her +shoulder. She twisted it back into place. Chares had not seen her +face when the soldier lifted her veil and his attention was now centred +upon his opponent. + +"Seven talents!" Phradates shouted, fixing his eyes defiantly upon +Chares. + +"Eight!" the Theban answered, without hesitation. + +This was more than all the other captives in the group had brought. +The crowd began to hum with excitement. Phradates looked over his +shoulder and saw Mena leading four slaves who carried bags of gold. + +"Ten talents!" he cried. + +"All bids must be paid in cash," the auctioneer said warningly. + +Every face was turned toward Chares, who had called his steward and was +consulting with him. "How much have we left?" the Theban asked. The +man made a rapid calculation on his tablets. + +"You have ten talents and thirty minæ," he replied. "That is the end." + +"I bid ten talents and thirty minæ," Chares said promptly, addressing +the auctioneer. + +It was evident to all that he could go no further. Would Phradates be +able to outbid him? The Ph[oe]nician hesitated and turned to Mena. + +"He has won," the slave whispered. "You have only ten talents. If you +had beaten him, we should have starved to death." + +"Then we will starve!" Phradates replied. "I demand that the gold be +weighed!" + +"You have that right," the auctioneer admitted. "Bring out the scales." + +The scales were brought and the gold was poured into the broad pans +which hung suspended from their framework of wood. The glittering +heaps increased until each pan overflowed with the precious coins and +ingots. When all was in readiness for the test, they held a fortune +such as few men in all Greece possessed. The spectators devoured it +with their eyes, pressing against the soldiers in the hope of getting a +better view. The maiden, Maia, who was the object of the rivalry, was +forgotten. + +The scales oscillated slowly and at last settled deliberately on the +side toward Chares. The tale was correct and his last thirty minæ had +given him the victory. The crowd broke into a cheer. + +"Are you satisfied?" asked the Macedonian captain. + +"No!" Phradates shouted. A red spot glowed on his cheeks and his +fingers trembled as he stripped off his rings and his chains of gold. +He placed the ornaments on his side of the scales. "I bid thirteen +talents," he declared. + +"Payments are to be made in money," Chares remonstrated. "Who can tell +what these trinkets are worth?" + +"We may accept them at a true valuation," the captain decided. + +He summoned a jeweller of Corinth, who examined the rings with care, +and announced his readiness to take them at a sum sufficient to make up +the total of the Ph[oe]nician's offer. + +"Phradates wins!" shouted the spectators, cheering the Tyrian with all +the enthusiasm that they had shown to his rival a moment before. + +The Theban stood silent. He had nothing more to offer. He raged +inwardly at his defeat, for he felt that his honor was involved. While +he stood hesitating, nobody seemed to notice a young Macedonian soldier +of athletic figure and fresh complexion who had stopped on the +outskirts of the crowd and stood listening, with his head slightly +inclined to one side. + +Suddenly Chares strode forward and threw his sword upon the scales. +The weight of the steel caused the balance to sway decisively toward +him. + +"I bid fifteen talents!" he cried. "Let my sword make up the weight of +gold that is lacking." + +Phradates laughed mockingly. "Let me have the girl," he said. "It is +time to end this child's play. There is no place in the world where a +sword is worth three talents." + +"Except here," a voice behind him said quietly. + +Phradates turned, and his eyes met those of the soldier who had been +lingering on the edge of the ring of spectators. + +"Here!" the Ph[oe]nician exclaimed angrily. "And who is there here to +give such a price for it?" + +"I will," the soldier replied with a smile. + +"You will, indeed!" Phradates echoed. "And who are you?" + +"My name is Alexander," the soldier said. + +Phradates turned to the crowd, which had fallen back a little and now +stood strangely silent. + +"Who is this insolent fellow?" he cried. "Why do you allow him to +interfere here?" he demanded of the captain. + +The captain made no reply, and nobody in the throng ventured to answer. +Phradates felt deserted. He stood with Chares and the soldier beside +the gold-laden scales, beyond which waited Maia, with her eyes fixed +upon the face of the newcomer. + +"Is there no fair dealing in this land of thieves?" Phradates cried, +losing his temper absolutely. "The girl is mine! Deliver her to me in +accordance with your agreement and let me go. You have your price and +it is enough!" + +He made a step forward as though to seize Maia, but the soldier blocked +his path. + +"I am Alexander, as I told you," he said, slightly raising his voice. +"I will tell you more. You are Phradates of Tyre, sent here by your +king and your Council to spy out my strength and learn my plans. You +have used the eyes and ears of your slaves. Take what you have learned +to King Azemilcus, and with it take also this message: Alexander, King +of Macedon, sends word that he is coming with his companions to offer +sacrifice to Heracles in his temple, known in the city of Tyre as the +temple of Melkarth. Let him prepare the altar." + +Phradates read in the faces of the crowd that the youth who spoke so +confidently to him was indeed the king. Nevertheless, he could not +wholly stifle his rage. + +"Has your army wings, Macedonian?" he asked insolently. "The walls of +Tyre are both high and strong." + +"What is the fate of spies in your country?" Alexander replied. "You +are spared to bear my message. Must I choose another?" + +There was something in the tone of these words that brought Phradates +to his senses like a plunge into cold water. + +"We shall meet elsewhere," he said, casting a look of hatred at Chares, +who stood smiling at his discomfiture. + +"If we do not, I shall never cease to regret it," the Theban replied. + +Mena had been hurriedly putting his master's gold into the sacks in +which he had brought it. The waiting slaves took it up and followed +Phradates back to his tent. + +"What was it all about?" Alexander asked, glancing from Chares to Maia. + +"I wished to buy her as a present to my mother, as I have bought nearly +five hundred of our friends to-day," Chares replied. + +Alexander took up the sword from the scales and drew it from its sheath. + +"It is a good blade," he said, "and I would not deem its price too high +if your arm was to wield it in my cause." + +"Was not that included in the purchase?" Chares asked, surprised. "I +have made my bargain and I will live up to it." + +"No," said Alexander, gently, "I will not have such an arm at a price. +I am no Cyrus to attack the power of Persia with hired weapons. The +spirit and the hope that goes with us are not to be bought with gold. +Come to me at Pella, if you will, with Clearchus and the Spartan, as +soon as your affairs will permit. But if you come, let it be of your +free will and not in payment of a debt." + +"I will come," Chares said simply. + +Day was drawing to a close over the plain where the people of Thebes +had paid the final penalty for their rebellion. The multitude that had +assembled to witness the last scene was melting away. Some of the +unfortunates had found friends like Chares to rescue them; but the +greater part of the thousands who were sold that day had become the +property of strangers. On every side rose the sound of wailing and +lamentation. Wives clung sobbing to their husbands until torn from +them by their masters. Children wept for mothers they would see no +more. + +In the gathering twilight camp-fires began to glow. Slave-dealers +bargained and chaffered over their purchases. Melancholy processions +moved away into the darkness. Men fettered together gazed back +silently but with bursting hearts upon the dark mass of the Cadmea, +where it rose, black and huge, against the crimson sky. The air +reverberated with the crash of falling houses and walls as the soldiers +labored by the light of torches to level the city to the earth. A pall +of dust and smoke hung suspended above them. Thebes had become a +memory. + +The captives purchased by Chares had been led away by his attendants as +fast as each sale was made. When Alexander and the Macedonian soldiers +moved off he was left alone with Maia. He had scarcely glanced at her +during his duel with Phradates. She stood before him now with bent +head, submissively, and he fancied that she was drooping from weariness. + +"Come," he said kindly, extending his hand toward her. + +The girl did not move, but as he approached she raised the scarf that +hid her face and her eyes met his. + +"Thais!" he exclaimed. "How did you get here? Where is Maia?" + +There was a tone of displeasure in his voice, and the smile faded from +the young woman's lips. + +"Maia is safe enough," she returned, raising her head proudly. + +"But where is she?" he persisted. + +She hesitated and her eyes fell. A warm flush mounted to her cheeks. + +"I bought her place," she murmured, "and you have bought me." + +The Theban stared a moment in bewilderment, but as her meaning dawned +upon him he threw back his head and laughed, a little recklessly. +Thais bit her lip and then suddenly burst into tears. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THAIS + +Chares sat in the house of Thais in Athens, idly watching the lithe +motions of the tame leopard as it worried an ivory ball. Its mistress +lay at full length on a low couch of sandalwood looking at the Theban +with eyes half closed. + +"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. + +"What do you mean?" he replied. + +"Am I not your slave?" she said softly. "Have you not ruined yourself +to buy me?" + +"That is true," he said, stroking his chin and examining her +reflectively. "You are my most costly possession!" + +"Well?" she insisted. + +"And I shall not be here to guard you," he continued. "Who knows what +may happen?" + +She drew through her slender fingers the silken fringe of the crimson +shawl that was twisted about her waist. + +"You have not asked me why I went to Thebes," she said at last. + +"No," he replied, looking at her inquiringly. + +"I wanted to see Maia," she said, looking at him innocently. "I had +heard so much of her beauty." + +"Oh," he said, smiling. "What did you think of her?" + +"I did not see her," Thais replied. "Is she beautiful?" + +"Let me see," Chares said, studying the walls as though in an effort to +remember. "She has black hair and her eyes too are dark, I think. Her +forehead is low and broad and her nose is straight. Perhaps her mouth +might be thought a little too wide, but her chin is beautifully rounded +and her shoulders and neck are perfect. Yes, I think she might be +called beautiful." + +"Chares," Thais said timidly, "do you love her?" + +Chares laughed. "How can a man make love without an obol that he can +call his own?" he replied. + +"Are you wholly ruined, then?" she asked. + +"I haven't enough left to buy you a singing thrush," he replied gayly. + +"But you have me and all that is mine," she said softly. + +"Not even you!" he answered. He drew a scroll from the folds of his +chiton and tossed it into her lap. She opened it slowly and read a +release legally executed, giving her back her freedom and placing her +in the enjoyment of all her possessions. Chares watched her with an +expectant smile as her eyes followed the written lines. When she had +ended, she raised herself on her elbow and gazed earnestly at him for a +moment with dilated eyes. Then, without a word, she buried her face in +the cushions and her form was shaken with sobs. As the scroll fell +from her hand the leopard pounced upon it and began tearing it with his +teeth. + +"What is the matter with you, Thais?" Chares asked in a tone of +displeasure. + +"Why did you buy me?" she replied, without lifting her head. + +"To save you from falling into the hands of the Ph[oe]nician, of +course," he replied impatiently. + +"Then I wish you had not done it," she sobbed. + +"Listen to reason, Thais!" Chares said in a graver tone. "It is I who +am no longer free. I have sold my sword and I am in bonds to the +Macedonian." + +He paused, but she made no answer, although her weeping ceased. + +"Were it not so," he continued, "why should I stay here? This is not +my city and these are not my people. I have neither, now that Thebes +is no more. Clearchus and Leonidas are going with Alexander, as I have +told you. Would you have me lag behind? There will be fighting and +danger, glory and spoil. Shall I not share them?" + +"You may be killed," Thais said faintly, showing her tear-stained face. + +"Zeus grant that it be not until I have met Phradates on the field of +battle!" he exclaimed. + +"Is there nothing, then, that you care for in Athens?" she asked +dolefully. + +"Thou knowest well that I love thee, Thais," he replied. "Thou knowest +that it will tear my heart to leave thee behind. But it is the Gods +who have decided for us and we have no choice. Were there no other +reason for my going, Clearchus will have need of me in his search for +Artemisia, and that would be enough to forbid my remaining here." + +"Then I will go, too!" Thais cried, leaping from the couch and standing +defiantly before him. + +Chares returned her look with an indulgent smile. Her exquisitely +moulded form was outlined under the clinging folds of her garment. Her +tiny feet, with their pink little heels, looked as though they had +never rested upon the earth. Her hair fell about her rounded neck and +dimpled shoulders like spun copper. Her red lips and pearly teeth +seemed made to feast on dainties. Physically she was as sensitive and +delicate as a child; but her eyes shone with a fire that betrayed +indomitable spirit. + +"What will you do when it snows?" the Theban asked mockingly. + +She threw herself down on her knees on the floor beside him, taking his +hand in hers and pressing it against her glowing cheek. + +"Chares! Chares! My master! I love thee!" she murmured. "The blind +God at whose power I laughed so often when I was in his mother's +service has stricken me through the heart. My soul is naked before +thee. I cannot have thee leave me. If thou dost, I shall die. I will +go to the ends of the earth with thee. I will suffer hardships to be +near thee. Thou art all I have. I am thy slave, and I do not wish to +be free." + +Chares felt her tears upon his hand. He lifted her face and kissed her. + +Suddenly she sprang to her feet and began to pace backward and forward +on the many-colored carpet that was spread upon the floor. The leopard +stopped tearing at the parchment and followed her with his eyes. + +"Is it my fault that I am--what I am?" she cried. "Am I to blame +because my life has not been like that of other women? They are +shielded from the world and ignorant of what is good and what is bad. +Have I committed a fault in fulfilling the will of the Gods, from whom +there is no escape? For the evil done by others must I pay the +penalty?" + +"Of course not," Chares said consolingly, scarcely knowing what she +meant or how to answer her. Her passion took him by surprise. She +stood before him glowing in every limb with youth and beauty, her chin +raised and her lips parted in scorn, as though defying the world to +accuse her. + +"Who cast me adrift?" she went on vehemently. "You talk of going into +Asia to aid Clearchus in his search for Artemisia. Very well, I will +go with you and search too, for I also wish to find Artemisia. She is +my sister!" + +"What do you mean, Thais? Are you mad?" Chares exclaimed. + +"It is the truth," she replied. "I forced old Eunomus to tell me only +last night. He has the proofs and he has promised to deliver them to +me, for a certain sum, of course. I am the daughter of Theorus, who +caused me to be exposed because I was a girl. The old pander found me, +as he has found many another in his time, and--and--he made of me what +you see me." + +She threw herself once more upon the couch to ease her grief among the +crimson cushions. Chares knew not what to say. He distrusted the +story told by Eunomus, for he knew the wretch was capable of doing +anything for money. But, after all, what if the tale were true? He +was fond of Thais, of course. How could a man help being fond of a +young and beautiful woman who loved him? There was Aspasia, who had +ruled Athens and all Hellas through Pericles. There was the son of +Phocion, who had actually married a girl no better than Thais. Still, +what had been could not be changed; and even if Thais was the daughter +of Theorus, that fact could make no difference. + +Thais raised her head from the pillows as though she had read his +thoughts. Her eyes were softened with tears. + +"Is it my fault," she pleaded, "that my sister has the love of an +honorable man and will be married to him, while I--I can never hope for +such a marriage? I know it, Chares, and I do not ask it. All I ask is +that you will permit me to go with you. I am tired, since I knew you, +of my life here. Without meaning to do so, you have opened my eyes to +new things. I am what I am; but, in spite of all, I am still a +woman--more a woman perhaps, than Artemisia, my sister, whom I have +never seen. Let me go with you, Chares, to share your dangers and your +glory, to nurse you if you are wounded, and to stand beside your +funeral pyre and watch my heart turn to ashes if you are killed. I +cannot bear to be left behind. The weariness and the waiting would +surely kill me. Let me go with thee, my Life, for I think neither of +us will see Athens again." + +Chares felt deep pity for the unfortunate girl stir in his heart. The +strength of his emotion troubled his careless nature. + +"There, there," he said, anxious to pacify her. "Don't make gloomy +predictions. You shall come." + +She nestled into his arms and laid her head upon his shoulder. + +"I shall never know greater happiness," she said, with a sigh of +content; and then, changing her tone, "They say the women of the Medes +are very beautiful. You will not make me jealous, will you, Chares?" + +He laughed and kissed her, looking into her eyes. "Small need have you +to fear the Medean women!" he said. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MENA READS A LETTER + +"They have gone," said Ariston, on his return home one evening. + +"Who have gone?" his wife inquired. + +"Clearchus and his two friends, Chares and the Spartan," the old man +replied. "They set out for Pella this afternoon to join the Macedonian +army. Fortune has smiled upon us once more and I think there will be a +turn in our affairs." + +Ariston made no attempt to hide his satisfaction. His shoulders no +longer stooped, and his step was light. A hundred schemes were running +through his head for repairing the disasters that had brought him so +low. For all practical purposes he was again the richest man in +Athens, and with the gold at his command he imagined that it would be +easy for him to regain his feet. + +"You must be cautious," Xanthe said anxiously. "You know that at any +time Clearchus may demand an account." + +"Yes, but he will not," Ariston replied, pinching her withered cheek. +"He will never return to trouble us. I have news of what the Great +King is doing and unless the Gods themselves interfere to save +Alexander, he will be crushed as soon as he has crossed the Hellespont. +The Persians will meet him there in such numbers that there can be no +escape for him. None who follow him will return. By Hermes, I feel +almost young again!" + +He entered his workroom briskly and sat down at the table. Producing a +roll of papyrus, he broke the seal, slipped off the wrapping, and +spread the document out before him. + +"Iphicrates to Ariston," he read. "Greeting: I have obeyed your +instructions. Syphax brought me the girl. I dismissed him with +promises after she had told me that she had no complaint to make +against him. I am convinced that he is a rogue and that he will live +to be crucified. For Artemisia, she remains in my household. I have +told her that I am awaiting a suitable opportunity to send her back to +Athens; but I have put her off from time to time with excuses. She has +lost flesh since she came hither, and if she is to be sold, I think it +would be best not to delay too long, as her value will be less than if +she were offered now. She has written many letters, which I promised +to forward for her. One of these I send you with this; the others have +been destroyed. + +"It is expensive for me to maintain her as you directed. It has cost +me already one talent and twenty drachmæ, which leaves me in your debt +six talents, eleven drachmæ, and thirty minæ. Please make this +correction in our account. + +"There is talk here that Alexander, the Macedonian, is preparing to +lead an army against this city. Nobody doubts that he will be +defeated, since Parmenio could accomplish nothing. Memnon, the +Rhodian, has been here, strengthening the fortifications and exercising +the soldiers, but of this there is no need; for all the armies of +Greece could not take this place, even though they should invest it by +land and sea. May the Gods keep you in good health! Farewell." + +"He has cheated me out of a talent, at least!" Ariston muttered. "The +old skinflint!" + +He turned his attention to a second roll of papyrus, which had been +enclosed in the first. + +"My Beloved," it ran. "Why hast thou not answered the letters I have +sent thee, or come thyself to take me home? Clearchus, my Life, I know +thou hast not forgotten me, although it seems ages since I last saw +thee. Each day I watch and wait for a word from thee, only one little +word, but none has come. I try to keep up my courage, thinking that +perhaps thou art seeking me elsewhere and that thou hast not received +my letters. I do not doubt thee, Clearchus, but I am weary of waiting +for thee and my heart is sick. When shall I hear thy voice and see thy +face again? I pray each night and morning to Artemis to give thee back +to me. My love, my love, may the Gods, who know all things, keep thee +safe! While I live, I am thine. Farewell." + +A smile played about the corners of Ariston's thin lips as he thrust +the papyrus into the flame of the lamp and held it over the brazier +until it was consumed. He did the same with the epistle that +Iphicrates had sent to him, and then plunged into his accounts. + +Xanthe had never been quick-witted, and the monotonous round of her +labors had dulled even her natural perceptions. At the bottom of her +heart she believed her husband to be the cleverest man in the world. +She did not pretend to fathom his schemes. The twistings and windings +of his subtle mind confused and bewildered her, and she had no thread +by which to trace the labyrinth. While she had long ago ceased to try +to follow him, the fact that she did not know all that he was doing +tended to make her suspicious, and her distrust, as is usual with women +of limited intelligence, took the form of jealousy. + +In their forty years of married life Ariston had never given her the +slightest cause for such an emotion. Among his few weaknesses there +was none for women, whom he despised as mere machines or treated as +commodities. But notwithstanding its lack of result, Xanthe, year +after year, maintained her vigil, ever seeking what she most dreaded to +find. + +Of late her husband's cares and advancing age had given her a feeling +of security, but the revival of his spirits at the departure of his +nephew sent her mind back again to the well-worn track. Could it be +that he was deceiving her after all? + +This idea laid siege to her thoughts with recurrent insistence. What +had she to attract so brilliant a man? Her mirror showed her a +wrinkled brow and hollow cheeks. She turned away from it with +bitterness in her heart. The wonder was that he had ever loved her; +but that was years ago. She could not blame him if he sought a younger +and fairer companion for his hours of relaxation. Other men did the +same, and men were all alike. + +Tormenting herself with these thoughts, the unfortunate woman passed a +sleepless night, and rose determined to know the worst. As soon as +Ariston had gone out, she entered his workroom. Her search brought her +at last to the brazier, where she found the charred fragments of the +letters from Halicarnassus. Unluckily one corner of Artemisia's +missive to Clearchus had not been wholly burned. She bore it in +triumph to her own apartments and set herself to the task of +deciphering its contents. The very fact that her husband had sought to +burn the letter was enough in her excited frame of mind to convince her +that her suspicions were correct. It remained only to establish the +proof. + +She succeeded in making out a few words, but she could derive no +meaning from them. Study them as she would, her skill failed her. The +tantalizing thought that knowledge was within her grasp and eluding her +filled her with rage. She was still puzzling over the fragment when +she was interrupted by a knocking at the door. On the threshold stood +the sharp-faced Egyptian whom she had so often seen with her husband. + +"Is Ariston here?" he demanded. + +She told him that her husband was away from home. + +"Then I will wait for him," Mena returned coolly, pushing past her into +the house. "He told me to see him without fail and he will soon be +here." + +There was no help for it now that he was inside the house. Xanthe led +him to a bench beside the cistern and gave him fruit and wine. The +thought occurred to her that he might be able to read the riddle that +had baffled her. There could be no harm in showing him the fragment, +she reasoned, since it could tell him nothing, although to her it could +reveal so much. The temptation was strong, and after all the +opportunity was too good to be lost. + +"Can you read this for me?" she asked, placing the blackened papyrus +before him. + +He took it up and studied it curiously. + +"Where did you find it?" he demanded, shifting his beadlike eyes +quickly to hers. + +"The wind blew it into the court, here," she stammered, taken aback by +the question. "I wondered what it might be." + +His glance continued to rest upon her face for an instant before it +went back to the fragment. It was easy enough for him to read them +both, and a malicious smile twitched his mouth as he understood that +Ariston had a jealous wife. The idea struck him as distinctly +ridiculous. More in idleness than with any direct purpose, excepting +that of making mischief, he determined to humor her mood. + +"It is difficult to understand," he said, looking carefully at the +papyrus, "as it seems to have been burned. But here it says: 'When +shall I hear thy voice and see thy face?' and here: 'While I live, I am +thine.' It sounds like a poet, but the writing is that of a woman. +You seem to have surprised some romantic love affair. You probably +have some amorous youth among your neighbors whom a girl is foolish +enough to adore." + +Xanthe's forebodings had suddenly become realities. Ariston, then, was +deceiving her, and she had not been mistaken in him. Of that, she was +now certain. He had probably always deceived her and she had been a +fool ever to believe him. Her world seemed coming to an end. + +"Why do you say that the letter was sent to a young man?" she asked. +"Might it not have been an old one?" + +"I dare say," the Egyptian replied carelessly. "Old men are often the +worst in these matters." + +"This girl, whoever she may be, seems very much in love with him," +Xanthe remarked. + +"No doubt," Mena said, watching her with increasing amusement, "and +probably he has a wife of his own. Why else should he burn the letter?" + +Xanthe winced at this thrust, although she had no idea that Mena had +fathomed what was in her mind. "At any rate, he cannot marry her," she +said, as though thinking aloud. + +"The old one might die, you know," Mena suggested. "Such things have +been known to happen at the right moment." + +These words were accompanied by a look so full of meaning that poor +Xanthe felt a chill of apprehension. She did not trust herself to say +more, but carried away the fragment to her own room, where she +concealed it. + +Mena's hint had fallen upon fertile ground. She went over the +situation again and again in her mind, coming always to the same +conclusion. That Ariston was carrying on an intrigue with some girl +was now certain; for it never occurred to her that the letter might not +have been intended for him. It seemed certain to her also that her +husband would seek to rid himself of her so that he might marry her +rival. Mena was right. Such things had happened more than once and +poison was the easiest way. If she should die, who was there to ask +what had caused her death? Nobody. She began to take infinite +precautions regarding her food, tasting nothing that she had not +herself prepared; yet she felt that she was in hourly danger in spite +of all she could do. When nothing happened to her, she concluded that +her husband's failure to attempt her life was due solely to the fact +that his plans were not yet ripe. When all was ready, he would kill +her and flee with Clearchus' fortune to some distant land, where he +could meet the abandoned creature upon whom his affections had fallen. +She knew only too well that he was capable of anything in the +furtherance of his selfish schemes. Thus her folly led her on until at +last she came to regard her imaginings as truth confirmed. But if she +was to be murdered, she thought, at least she would prevent him from +enjoying the fruit of his wickedness. She would write to Clearchus and +tell him all. + +When she had reached this conclusion, she lost no time in carrying it +into execution. But it was long since she had used the stylus and she +was forced to confine herself to the barest outline of what she wished +to say. After many failures, she finally produced the following:-- + +"Clearchus: Iphicrates has Artemisia in Halicamassus. My husband is a +beast who wants to poison me. If you hear that I am dead, you will +know why, and I hope you will see that he is punished. Go to +Halicamassus, and when you get her, keep her safe. Iphicrates is a +wicked man and he should be killed. If my husband does not poison me, +make no accusation against him." + +Xanthe sealed this letter and hid it away until a chance should offer +to send it to her nephew. She felt much easier, as though the fact +that she had written it were in some way surety for her safety. +Several weeks passed before she found the opportunity for which she had +been looking. At last she learned that Callias, son of a widow of her +acquaintance, had joined a mercenary troop that was being raised in +Athens. She gave the letter to his mother to be delivered to Clearchus +in Pella, but Callias, having received part of his pay in advance, +could not tear himself away from his friends in Athens until the gold +was spent. Consequently the letter was not delivered until after +Macedon and Persia had met at the Granicus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + +It was a clear, bright spring day when the three friends rode into +Pella. The new sap was beginning to swell the buds, and the fresh +green of the grass was gleaming hopefully on sunny slopes. Chares had +been singing snatches of love songs since early morning when they set +out on the last stage of their journey. Even Clearchus forgot his +anxiety in the thought that he was drawing nearer to Artemisia, and the +grim Leonidas had smiled more than once at the sallies of the +light-hearted Theban. + +In the Macedonian capital on every side was the stir of animation and +preparation. Recruits were being drilled for the army. Messengers +were hastening hither and thither. Ambassadors were coming and going +with their trains. They gazed with admiration at the solid buildings, +designed with a stately magnificence which, in its own way, was as +impressive as the marble embodiments of Athenian genius. Everywhere +were the evidences of a young and strong people, buoyant, +self-confident, energetic, and fearless. No idlers blocked the +streets. Every man had something to do and was doing it. The tide of +vigorous life flowed strong through the city as in the veins of a young +oak tree. + +It was not strange that Pella should have swarmed with activity on that +day in spring. Within the boundaries of the rugged little state, half +Hellenic and half barbarian, a vast project, supported by a sublime +confidence, was taking shape. It had been formed and nursed by the +crafty and far-seeing Philip, whether as a possibility or as a stroke +of policy to bring Hellas under his control none could say. Now it had +suddenly become a reality. The great empire of Persia, which covered +the world from the shores of the Euxine to the sources of the Nile, and +from the Ægean to limits undefined, beyond the regions of mystery +through which the Indus flowed, was to be invaded. It had endured for +centuries as an immense and impregnable power. Fierce tribes dwelt in +the fastnesses of its snow-clad mountains, numberless caravans crept +across its scorching deserts, gigantic cities flourished upon its +fertile plains. Nations were lost among the uncounted millions of its +population. Its wealth surpassed the power of imagining, and about the +throne of the Great King, whose slightest wish was the unchangeable law +of all this vast dominion, stood tens of thousands of the bravest +warriors in the world, ready at a sign to lay down their lives for him. + +What had Persia to fear from the handful of peasants turned soldiers +who had made a boy their king? Why should Darius feel any uneasiness +concerning the projects of a rash young man who already owed more than +he could pay? To be sure, he had made himself the Hegemon of Hellas, +with the exception of Sparta, but everybody knew that he had forced the +older states to bestow the title upon him against their will and that +they were waiting only until his back should be turned to fall upon +him. With the slender resources at his command, how could he hope to +hold Greece in subjection and at the same time to subdue an empire +which had more Hellenic mercenaries alone upon its pay-roll than the +sum total of his entire army? Surely, the Great King must be himself +despised if he did not look with contempt upon such mad ambition. + +Something of the force of this reasoning assailed the mind of Clearchus +as he lay down that night on the hard pallet that had been assigned to +him by Ptolemy in the barracks of the Companion Cavalry. The immensity +of the obstacles to be overcome oppressed him, and he began once more +to doubt whether, after all, there could be any hope of success for the +young king. He fell asleep, to see in his dreams the pale face of +Artemisia framed in her unbound hair. + +His mind was still clouded with misgiving when he went next morning +with Chares and Leonidas to pay his respects at the palace; but they +were dispelled like mists before the morning sun when he stood face to +face with Alexander. In the inspiring presence of the young leader no +doubts could live. He radiated confidence as a fire radiates warmth. +Every glance of his sympathetic eyes, every tone of his voice, revealed +a certainty of the future that was beyond peradventure. + +The palace was the centre of the activity that was filling the city. +Generals and captains, agents, princes, hostages, ambassadors, and +messengers swarmed in its halls. Here stood the gray-haired Antipater, +who had been appointed by Alexander regent of Macedon and guardian of +Greece during his absence, talking with citizens of Corinth who had +come to consult him concerning proposed changes in their civil +government. There was old Parmenio, fresh from his campaign in Mysia, +giving his orders for the disposition of a company of mercenaries who +had arrived that morning. + +There were travellers from the Far East, who had been summoned to tell +what they knew of the cities, rivers, and mountains through which the +Macedonian march would lie and of the character of the peoples who were +to be encountered. There were contractors for horses and supplies +anxious to provide the army with subsistence. There were soothsayers +and philosophers, slaves, attendants, and courtiers; and among them +all, with banter, jest, and laughter, walked the young nobles of +Macedon, bosom friends of the king, who had defied Philip for his sake +and were now reaping their reward. There were Hephæstion, son of +Amyntas, Philotas, son of Parmenio, Clitus, Crateras, Polysperchon, +Demetrius, Ptolemy, and a score of others, in spirits as brave as their +attire, as though they were about to start upon a holiday excursion +instead of a desperate venture into the unknown. + +Alexander recognized the three friends immediately and gave them +cordial greeting. + +"So you have come to follow the Whirlwind," he said, laughing, as +though the simile pleased him. "It will soon be launched now." + +"We have come to take any service that you may give us," Chares replied. + +"You are enrolled in the Companion Cavalry," Alexander informed them. + +They gave him their thanks for this mark of favor, for the Companions +contained the flower of the kingdom, young men of distinguished +families, who were admitted freely into Alexander's confidence as his +friends. + +"I have just been giving away the security for my debts," Alexander +said, smiling at Chares. "I saw you spend your last obol to purchase +the liberty of your friends at Thebes. You trusted to the chance of +war to bring your fortune back to you, but I have gone further than +you, for I have staked my honor. As you see me, I am worth some +thirteen hundred talents less than nothing." + +"But what have you left for yourself?" the Theban asked. + +"My hopes," Alexander replied. + +"They say the Medes have gold in plenty," Leonidas observed +reflectively. + +"Never fear," Alexander replied, laughing. "What are our debts of +to-day in comparison with our riches of to-morrow? The Companions are +all following my example. We set out with only our swords and our +courage--and our golden hope!" + +Again he laughed, and calling Philotas to him he turned to Clearchus. + +"The queen, my mother," he said, "has heard the story of Artemisia and +of what they told you at Delphi. She desires to see you. Philotas +will take you to her." + +Philotas led the way through courts and colonnades to the women's wing +of the palace, where Olympias held sway. As they went, Clearchus +recalled all he had heard of Alexander's mother--how it was averred +that a great serpent was her familiar, and the tales of her passionate +and revengeful nature that had caused her to order the babe of +Cleopatra, who had supplanted her in the affections of her husband, to +be torn from the arms of its mother and killed in her sight before she +herself was slain. He had heard also of her devotion to religious +mysteries and especially of her skill in the secret rites of the +Egyptian magicians. + +As they neared the queen's apartments, Clearchus was astonished to hear +a woman's voice raised in anger, followed by the sound of blows and +pitiful cries for mercy. He paused in embarrassment, but Philotas drew +him on. + +"Do not be disturbed," said his guide; "the queen is probably +chastising one of her slaves." + +He ushered the young Athenian into a large room furnished with +luxurious magnificence. Before them stood Olympias, with a rod of +ebony in her grasp, and at her feet upon the silken carpet crouched a +weeping girl with bare white shoulders, marked with red where the rod +had fallen. The queen turned upon them with blazing anger in her great +black eyes and the wrathful color on her cheeks. + +"Who enters here unbidden?" she demanded sternly, and then in a milder +tone she added: "Is it you, Philotas? These girls will kill me yet +with their stupidity. I wish I could drown them all in the sea! Ah!" + +She swung up the rod and brought it down upon a great vase of +Ph[oe]nician glass, which flew into a thousand fragments. She laughed +and threw the rod from her. + +"There, now I feel better!" she exclaimed, drawing a long breath. "You +may go, Chloe. Dry your eyes, child; you shall have your freedom. Who +is this whom you have brought me, Philotas?" + +"It is Clearchus, the Athenian, whom the king sends," Philotas answered. + +"I remember," she said quickly, turning to Clearchus. "You were robbed +of your sweetheart. Do you love her very much?" + +"I love her better than my life," Clearchus replied simply. + +"Will you never grow weary of her and cast her off, as Philip did me?" +she persisted. + +"If I find her, I will never willingly let her go out of my sight +again," the young man declared. + +"But did not the Pythia tell you that you would find her if you +followed my son?" she inquired. + +"The oracle instructed me to follow the Whirlwind," Clearchus said, + +"Tell me about it," Olympias commanded, seating herself upon a couch. +She made him relate his experience with the oracle in the minutest +detail, asking many questions that indicated her lively curiosity. She +then inquired of Artemisia's personal appearance, her age, and family. + +"Wait here for me," she said finally, and left them alone in the room. + +"She seems hardly older than Alexander," Clearchus remarked. + +"Appearances are sometimes deceitful," Philotas replied dryly, +"especially when they are assisted by art." + +The queen was absent for more than half an hour. She seemed tired when +she returned. + +"I have consulted the Gods," she said, "and you will find her if your +heart remains true and strong. The priestess of Apollo told the truth." + +"I thank you for giving me this consolation," Clearchus said eagerly, +hoping that she would tell him more; but she began pacing thoughtfully +backward and forward, with bent head, apparently forgetful of his +presence. + +Suddenly she stopped before him and smiled, rather wistfully he +thought. He almost fancied that there were tears under the fringe of +her dark lashes. "Farewell," she said. "May the Gods protect you--and +Alexander, my son." + +She resumed her walk, and the young man left the apartment in silence. +Clearchus tried in vain to analyze the strange impression that she had +made upon him, but for many days her smile, half sad, and her +mysterious dark eyes, with the living spark in their depths, continued +to haunt him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + +Upon Bucephalus, whose proud spirit he alone had known how to tame, +Alexander led his army out of Pella. The great charger tossed his head +and uttered a shrill neigh, which sounded like a trumpet-call of +defiance to the whole world, as he issued forth from the gate of the +city. Many a Macedonian wife and mother, standing upon the walls, +dashed the tears from her eyes that day as her gaze followed the lines +of the troops, striving until the last to distinguish the form that +perhaps she would see no more. + +The young king drew aside, with his captains about him, upon a low hill +a short distance from the city. The sunlight flashed upon his gilded +armor and upon the double white plume that swept his shoulders. With +swelling hearts, the men saluted him as they marched by, horse and +foot, squadron and company, thirty thousand in all. The bronzed faces +of the veterans of Philip's wars lighted up as they heard his son call +one or another of them by name, and the countenances of the younger +soldiers flushed with pride and pleasure at his smile of approval. +Last came the baggage and provision trains and the great siege engines, +lumbering after the army on creaking wheels. + +Alexander turned to Antipater and gave him his hand. "I would that +thou, too, wert coming with us to share in our victories," he said. +"Remember, all our trust is in thee. Be just and firm." + +"I will remember," the old general replied, his stern face softening. +"Return when and how thou wilt; thou shalt find all as thou hast left +it to-day." + +Alexander turned to go, but a cry of "The queen!" caused him to halt. +A chariot drawn by foaming horses drew up before him. He sprang from +his horse and ran forward to receive Olympias in his arms. + +"My son! My son!" she cried, looking into his face with streaming eyes. + +"Hush!" he said gently. "Do not forget that you are the queen!" + +"But I am still a woman and thy mother," she replied. "How can I +suffer thee to leave me?" + +"I will send for thee from Babylon," he said consolingly. + +"Thou goest to victory and to glory," she said. "Of that I have no +fear; but thy mother's heart is filled with sorrow! Kiss me yet again!" + +Alexander embraced her and led her back to the chariot. He stood +looking after her with bared head, until, escorted by Antipater, she +disappeared in the city gate. His heart went out to the jealous, fiery +woman's spirit, whose great love for him made her ever faultless in his +eyes. Something told him, as it had told her, although neither had +confessed it, that they would never look upon each other again. + +In another moment he was astride of Bucephalus and off after the army. +Clearchus, riding with Chares and Leonidas in their company of the +Companions, saw him dash past with a smile on his eager face. + +Along the northern shore of the Ægean, and always within sight of its +blue waters, they marched for twenty days until they crossed the Melas +and came to the Hellespont, beyond which they could see the mountains +of Phrygia, with the snow-capped summit of Mount Ida towering above the +rest. Before them, across the strait, lay the promised land. Wheeling +south to Sestos, they met the fleet that had kept them company along +the coast. There Alexander left Parmenio to take the army over to +Abydos, while he pushed on with the Companions to Elæus. + +He himself steered the foremost of the ships that carried them across +the strait to Ilium. In mid-channel they offered sacrifice to Poseidon +and the Nereids, and as they neared Cape Segeium the king hurled his +javelin upon the sand, and leaping into the water in full armor, dashed +forward to the Persian beach. From every ship rose cries of emulation +as the Companions plunged in after him and strove with each other to +see which of them should first follow him to the shore. + +Upon the battle-field where the terrible Achilles had raged among the +Trojans when the Greeks of olden time sought revenge for Helen's +immortal shame, the Companions celebrated with feasting and with games +the fame of the Homeric heroes. These exercises, filling their minds +with thoughts of wondrous deeds, were a fitting prelude for the mighty +task that lay before them. + +Through their camp the rumor ran from sources none could trace that +beyond the mountains lay the Persian host in countless numbers. +Arsites, Phrygia's satrap, and the cruel Spithridates, ruler of Lydia +and Ionia, were said to be in command. Memnon of Rhodes, the story +went, was at the head of an Hellenic mercenary force more numerous than +Alexander's entire army. + +No attempt was made to check the spread of these tidings. If the +thought of possible defeat crossed the mind of any of the Companions, +he was careful not to give it utterance. In their talk around their +camp-fires they assumed that the first battle was already won and their +plans ran forward into the heart of Persia. What mattered it whether +the enemy was many or few? Had not the Ten Thousand, whose exploits +Xenophon related, shown to the world that one Greek soldier was better +than a hundred barbarians? + +But in the intervals of the celebration Alexander talked long with +Ptolemy. The truth was, they knew not what preparations had been made +to receive them nor what force had been sent against them. The scouts +who had gone out weeks in advance had either failed to return or could +not tell them what they wished to know. + +Clearchus was sitting with Leonidas discussing Xenophon's account of +the death of Cyrus when a messenger brought them word that the king +desired to see them. They followed at once to Alexander's tent, where +they found Chares awaiting them. + +"You have heard the rumors of the enemy's advance," Alexander began. +"I wish to know how strong he is in both horse and foot, how many +Greeks he has with him, where they will fight in the line, and who are +the commanders. To win this information will be the first service of +danger and difficulty in the campaign. Which of you is willing to +undertake it?" + +"I am!" cried the three young men with one voice. + +"Why not send us all?" Clearchus said. "Then if one of us falls, two +will remain, and if two are lost, the third may still be able to reach +you." + +"Be it so," Alexander replied, smiling. "We shall join the army at +once and march along the coast, as you see upon this map, to the +Granicus. There I think you should be able to rejoin me and there I +shall look for you." + +He rolled up the map and handed it to Leonidas. "This may serve for +your guidance," he said. "I shall place you under no instructions, for +I do not think you need them." + +He rose and shook each of them by the hand. "Farewell," he said, "and +be not rash, for I shall have need of you hereafter." + +Some of the Macedonians cast envious eyes at them as they came out of +the pavilion. Young Glycippus, who was in the same company with them, +joined them as they passed. + +"What is going on?" he asked. + +"The king wanted to ask me whether I thought Ajax or Achilles was the +better fighter," Chares answered gravely. + +"What did you tell him?" Glycippus inquired. + +"I told him that Ajax, in my opinion, was the better with the sword," +the Theban said. "He did not like it because, you know, he claims +descent from the son of Thetis." + +"Yes," the young man said eagerly. "And he has taken Achilles' armor +from the temple here, leaving his own in its place." + +"He had it on while he was talking with us," Chares said. "It fits him +well enough. You know he has ordered Ilium to be rebuilt." + +"Has he?" cried Glycippus. "That is news," and he hurried off to tell +it. + +"That, at least, has the merit of being true," Chares said. "Ptolemy +told me while I was waiting for you." + +"First of all we must choose a leader," Clearchus said when they were +alone in their tent. "I vote for Leonidas." + +"And so do I," Chares added heartily, clapping the Spartan on the back. + +Leonidas protested, but his friends refused to give way, pointing out +that to him Alexander had given the map. They persuaded him at last to +yield. + +"My idea is that we shall go as peltasts and as though we were seeking +the Persian camp to take service under Memnon," he said. "Get rid of +that gaudy armor of yours, Chares." + +"What, must I part with my mail?" the Theban exclaimed, glancing down +at the glittering links that covered his broad breast. He was +inordinately proud of this display. "What shall I do with it?" he +asked dolefully. + +"Throw it into the sea," Leonidas suggested in an uncompromising tone. + +"Some rascal is sure to steal it if I leave it here," Chares grumbled, +as he divested himself of the armor. + +At nightfall the three slipped out of the camp in the guise of +light-armed footmen, each with a round shield at his back, two javelins +in his hand, and a short sword at his side. As soon as they were safe +from observation Leonidas struck out briskly for the northern slopes of +Mount Ida, and they quickly vanished into the darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + +Through her window in the house of Iphicrates in Halicarnassus, +Artemisia could see the blue waters of the harbor and beyond them the +massive gray walls of the Royal Citadel. For weeks she had watched the +merchant ships coming and going, bringing their freights from Tyre and +Egypt and even from beyond the Pillars of Heracles, and many times had +her eyes filled with tears at the thought that perhaps one or another +of them might be bound for the Piræus. She imagined Clearchus +questioning the master and the sailors on their arrival at the port of +Athens, seeking to learn from them whether they had seen in their +wanderings the ship that had borne her away. + +At times her sorrow was made more bitter by doubts that forced +themselves upon her mind in spite of her repeated resolve not to admit +them. They whispered that Clearchus had given her up for lost and had +forgotten her. Perhaps at first, they said, he had been eager in his +search; but when all his efforts were in vain and he could find no +trace of her, he had become gradually resigned to her loss, occupied as +he was with the cares of his estate. Why else had he paid no heed to +her letters? + +When such evil ideas tormented her, Artemisia could no longer endure +the sight of the glancing sails and the quivering waters of the harbor. +She hid her face in her hands and her embroidery slipped unheeded to +the floor. + +But always she put the black thoughts from her and turned again to her +faith in her lover. He was brave and true. It could not be that he +had forgotten. It must be that her letters had never reached him. +Then she pictured him wandering in distant lands in search of her, or +sailing from city to city in hope of finding the men who had taken her +away. When in this mood, she would watch every sail as it emerged from +the misty distance in the belief that it might be bringing him to her +at last. But as the days went by her cheeks lost their roundness and +shadows darkened beneath her eyes. Her gaze grew more wistful and +unconsciously more hopeless as she looked out upon the harbor, and more +and more her hands lay idle in her lap. + +Day after day her thoughts trod the same round. "He will come to-day," +she said to herself in the morning. "Surely, to-day he is coming." +Her pulses quickened at every footfall, and she started at every +strange voice. When twilight fell and he had not come she whispered to +herself: "He will come to-morrow!" but to-morrow faded into yesterday +and he came not. + +Gradually her gentle spirit lost its courage and its hope under the +repeated buffets of disappointment. She drooped like a flower whose +roots can find no water, and even her nightly prayer to Artemis, the +Virgin Goddess, failed at last to bring peace to her troubled mind. + +One morning she was aroused from the lethargy into which she had fallen +by a change in the scene with which she had become so monotonously +familiar. Instead of the usual merchant ships, the harbor was filled +with warlike vessels with brazen beaks and banks of oars on either +side. The wharves were covered with soldiers in armor. Hundreds of +men were unloading bales and boxes which were being carried to the +Acropolis, to the Citadel of Salmacis, or to the Royal Citadel. + +The streets were filled with strange men, some of them wearing cloaks +of gay color, with plumed helmets, others in shining coats of mail, +with swords at their sides. Throughout the city rose the hum of +activity and the bustle of preparation. Artemisia, ignorant of the +invasion of Alexander, wondered what the reason could be. She imagined +that the barbarians might be planning another attack upon Greece, and +she reflected that this might bring Clearchus into danger. All her +thoughts and all her hopes centred in him. + +In the midst of her conjectures some one knocked at her door. She had +found it necessary to keep it fastened as a precaution against the +unexpected entrances of Iphicrates. He came into the room with a smile +on his fat face, glancing furtively from side to side out of his +restless little eyes, which always reminded her of the eyes of a pig. +He sat down wheezing from the exertion of his climb. His neck carried +a triple roll of fat at the back and his bullet head looked like a mere +knob affixed to the shapeless mass of his body. + +Artemisia attributed to his unfortunate physical appearance the +nameless aversion that she felt for him, and she sought to overcome it, +for he had always been considerate of her. + +"City is full of soldiers," he gasped, wiping his forehead. + +"Is there to be war?" Artemisia asked. + +"They say Alexander will try to cross the Hellespont," he replied, +attempting a shrug. + +"And will he come here?" she inquired. + +He caught the eagerness in her voice and his eyes grew cunning among +their wrinkles. "Perhaps," he replied. "Who can tell? These Asiatic +dogs laugh at him, but they may find themselves mistaken. We Greeks +know how to fight." + +"Why are they sending their army here?" she persisted. + +"It is Memnon of Rhodes," he told her. "He is a great general, but the +Persians do not trust him. He is on his way to the north with his +troops." + +"Can you not send me back to Athens before the war begins?" Artemisia +pleaded. + +"My dear child," he exclaimed with a gesture of despair, "it is +impossible. All my plans have failed. The war has already begun. The +Persian fleet holds the sea, and if you attempted to leave now, you +would be captured and sold as a slave. You know how I have tried to +grant your wish. Only yesterday I thought that at last I had found the +vessel for which I had been looking, and I had hoped to earn your +gratitude. But now--all is at an end while the war lasts. If they +overthrow the Macedonians in the north, it will be short." + +"I do not wish it," Artemisia said decisively. "I prefer to remain +here. I hope that Alexander will win, and when he comes, I shall be +free." + +"You are free now," Iphicrates said reproachfully. "You know that I +have kept you in seclusion only for your own safety and that I have +done all I could do to console you." + +"Yes, yes; I know," she replied hastily. "I have no complaint to make +against you. You have tried to be kind." + +"If the Macedonians should come after all, you may be able to repay +me," Iphicrates continued, reaching the real purpose of his visit. "In +time of war men are likely to judge hastily, and it may be that old +Iphicrates will have to look to you for protection as you have looked +to him." + +"What have you to fear?" Artemisia asked in surprise. "And why do you +think that I may be able to protect you?" + +"It is possible that some of your countrymen may be with the army," he +replied evasively. "But they may not come here, even if they win in +the north." + +He rose with some difficulty from his chair. "Is there anything you +want?" he inquired. "You know that if I can give it to you, you have +only to ask." + +"There is nothing," Artemisia said, and the mockery of her answer +struck her to the heart. + +Artemisia's mind was diverted for a time by the activity in the city, +which seemed at least to portend a change; but soon the novelty wore +off, and although the soldiers did not go away, she fell once more into +the listless mood against which she found it so difficult to struggle. + +When she least expected it, the change came. A disturbance arose in +the narrow street before the house which led up from the harbor. There +was a medley of cries and shouting, and Artemisia, leaning from her +window, saw the street below her filled with a throng of men who had +met in conflicting currents at the turn of the way. In the midst of +the press lay a litter, whose gilded frame was curtained with crimson +silk. It had been overturned by collision with a chariot in which one +of the generals had been proceeding toward the harbor. Beside the +litter Artemisia saw the form of a young woman. Her robe was of +shimmering saffron, and her copper-colored hair, broken from its coil, +lay spread upon the pavement. + +While she looked, the general, whose chariot had been the cause of the +mishap, descended and stood beside the prostrate figure. Glancing +about him in evident embarrassment, his eyes met her own as she leaned +from the casement. Brief as the meeting was, she felt the piercing +power and directness of his glance. He turned quickly to his escort +and gave a brief command, motioning toward the house of Iphicrates as +he spoke. As he resumed his place in his chariot, the soldiers lifted +the unconscious woman into the litter and bore it to the door of the +house, followed by a curious crowd. + +Artemisia heard them enter and the sound of voices, among which she +recognized that of Iphicrates raised in whining protest. + +"I have no room for her here," he cried. + +"Then you will make room," was the rough reply. "It is Memnon who +gives the order, do you understand? He directed that the young woman +who lives here should care for her. Where is she?" + +"There is no young woman here," Iphicrates replied glibly. "The +general must have been mistaken." + +"Lying will not help you," the soldier replied. "I saw her myself. +Call her quickly if you want to save your skin." + +Artemisia did not wait to be summoned. She descended the stairs and +went in among the soldiers. + +"Carry her to the room above, and I will see that she is cared for," +she said quietly. + +The young captain to whom the execution of Memnon's order had been +entrusted looked at her with frank admiration. + +"By Zeus!" he said, "I wish I had been run over myself. Take her up, +litter and all," he added to his men, "and be quick about it." + +With some difficulty the soldiers carried the litter with its burden up +the staircase. + +"If he makes any trouble for you on account of this, report it to the +general," the captain said to Artemisia, indicating Iphicrates with a +nod. "And tell her when she recovers," he continued, nodding toward +the litter, "that Memnon desired to express his regrets." + +Without waiting for an answer, he wheeled and tramped down the stairs, +followed by his men. Artemisia was already bending over the young +woman. There was a bruise where the back of her head had struck the +pavement, but otherwise she seemed to have escaped unhurt. Her +wonderfully thick hair had evidently broken the force of the blow. She +recovered her senses at the first touch of the cold water with which +Artemisia bathed her temples. + +"Where am I?" she asked, opening her eyes. + +"You are safe and with friends," Artemisia assured her. + +"Am I much hurt?" she asked, without attempting to move. + +"I think not," Artemisia said. "Your head is bruised." + +"Is my face scarred?" was the next question. + +"It is not even scratched," Artemisia replied, smiling. + +The strange woman's lips parted in a responsive smile. "Then it might +have been worse," she said. + +With Artemisia's assistance she walked to a couch, where the young girl +made her comfortable with pillows. Presently, under Artemisia's +ministrations, she fell asleep. Artemisia sat watching her even +breathing and wondering who she could be. A great ruby flamed upon her +finger, and heavy chains of gold encircled her white throat. Her tiny +feet were shod with silken sandals and her yellow chiton disclosed the +rounded grace of her delicate limbs and the willowy suppleness of her +figure. She must be some great lady, in spite of her youth, Artemisia +thought, innocently, and she felt drawn to her in a manner that she +hardly understood. If only she would stay, she would be a friend in +whom confidence might be placed and whose sympathy would be a help. +But of course she would go away as soon as she was able to move. +Artemisia sighed in her loneliness. + +When the stranger woke, however, she seemed in no hurry to go. She +declared that the pain in her head had left her, and, turning lazily on +her side, she studied her surroundings. + +"Whose house is this?" she asked. + +"It belongs to Iphicrates," Artemisia said. + +"To Iphicrates?" the strange woman replied with sudden interest and in +evident astonishment. "And--are you his daughter?" + +"No; I am of Athens; my name is Artemisia," the girl replied. + +Her companion's head fell back among the pillows and her gaze rested +upon Artemisia's face. So intent was the look that Artemisia grew +uncomfortable under it. + +"Why do you look at me so strangely?" she asked at last. + +"Pardon me," the other replied, letting her eyes fall. "I have heard +of you." + +"Then you, too, are of Athens?" the girl cried joyfully, throwing +herself on her knees beside the couch and taking the strange woman's +hand. "You have heard of Clearchus? Is he--living?" + +"He is living, and he loves thee," the stranger replied, as though +reading what was in her mind. + +A great gladness rushed through Artemisia's being. An immeasurable +load was suddenly lifted from her heart. She put her face down upon +the edge of the couch and wept for sheer gratitude. The strange woman +said nothing, but her hand rested lightly on the soft brown hair, and +she stroked the bent head with gentle fingers. + +The door opened without noise, and the bulk of Iphicrates advanced +gradually into the room. As his cunning eyes took in the scene before +him an anxious look overspread his face. + +"I came to see if you were better," he muttered, in a tone of apology. + +The strange woman raised her body slightly on the couch and extended +her hand toward the door. + +"Go!" she said briefly. + +Iphicrates hesitated and cleared his throat, trying to meet the +scornful gaze directed upon him. Finally he mustered up his courage +with an effort. + +"This is my house," he said doggedly. + +"Go," the stranger repeated in a tone of unutterable contempt. "Must I +speak again?" + +Iphicrates slowly turned and went, slinking from the room before the +blaze of her anger like a beaten hound. + +"Why are you so hard upon him?" Artemisia asked. + +"Because he deserves it," the stranger said. "Has he not held you +captive here?" + +"Who art thou who knowest so much of my affairs?" the girl demanded +suddenly. + +"I am thy--" The word "sister" trembled upon her tongue, but she +checked it. "I am thy protectress," she said. "Men call me Thais." + +A blush rose to her cheek as she uttered the name and felt the clear +blue eyes of the young girl upon her own. + +"Thais?" Artemisia repeated, searching in her memory. "I have heard +the name in Athens, but I forget when and where. I think they said you +were beautiful, and indeed you are." + +"Is that all they said of me?" Thais returned. + +"I think that is all; I do not remember more," Artemisia replied. + +Thais felt relieved. Her sister would learn soon enough who and what +she was. She hoped that when the knowledge came Artemisia would love +her enough to grant her forgiveness. She had broken with her old life. +Why drag it with her wherever she went? + +"Why did you come here?" Artemisia continued. + +"I came in search of you, and the Gods have given you to me," Thais +said. + +Artemisia nestled beside her companion on the broad couch while Thais +told her of all that had happened in Athens since she had been carried +away by Syphax and his crew. In her narration she omitted the feast in +the house of Clearchus and passed lightly over details that might have +given Artemisia a clew to her identity. She described Clearchus' +despair at her loss and his vain effort to find some trace of her. She +told how he had consulted the oracle and of her own adventure in Thebes +when Chares had given his fortune to save her from Phradates. Then the +young men had joined the army and left her alone in Athens. + +"Chares consented that I should meet him here," she went on. "He said +that women would not be allowed to follow the army to its first battle. +It is there the greatest danger lies; for if they win there, they will +hold all the western provinces of the Persian empire." + +"And if they lose?" Artemisia asked anxiously. + +"If they lose," Thais replied slowly, "then we shall return to Athens. +But they will not. The Gods are faithful to their promises. I had +intended to wait until the battle had been fought, but Mena, the same +who set Phradates upon me in Thebes, found me out. From him I +discovered that you were here in the care of Iphicrates, and I came." + +Artemisia kissed her. "I would have died if you had not come," she +said simply. "But how did Mena know where I was?" + +"He would not tell me and I did not wait to learn," Thais said. + +"Will he not find out where you have gone and inform Phradates?" the +young girl suggested. "Would it not be better to leave this house and +conceal ourselves somewhere?" + +"I have thought of that," Thais replied. "I cannot leave the city, +since I am to meet Chares here; and if we were to go to some other +house, Iphicrates would know where we were. The Rhodian general sent +me here and Iphicrates fears me. As for Phradates," Thais smiled +slightly, "we need not try to avoid him, for he loves me. He is my +slave." + +"Do you love Chares much?" Artemisia asked. + +Thais threw her arms around her and crushed her in a fierce embrace. +"Love him!" she cried. "To the last drop of my blood--in every fibre +of my body! He is my God! If I lay dead before him, my eyes would see +him, as they do now." + +"I think you love him as much as I love Clearchus, only differently," +Artemisia said. "Does he love you?" + +"As much as he can," Thais replied. "There will always be more of the +boy than the man in him; but he loves me more than any other." + +Thais rose and went to the litter, where, from its hiding place among +the cushions, she drew forth a bag of leather which she emptied upon +the couch. Artemisia uttered a cry of delight. Rubies, emeralds, +diamonds, sapphires, and gems of turquoise lay spread before her in a +glittering heap. + +"There is our fortune," Thais said. "We shall not want, at least for +the present." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + +Sometimes running and sometimes walking, Leonidas led Clearchus and +Chares all night through the foot-hills of Mount Ida. It was not until +day was breaking and they were thoroughly exhausted that he halted at a +spot well advanced upon the northeastern slopes of the great mountain. +They found themselves at the bottom of a rocky ravine, shaded by +evergreens, through which trickled a shallow brook. + +"Let us eat and sleep," Leonidas said, and in ten minutes they were +lying wrapped in their cloaks in the shelter of a thicket. + +Leonidas was awake and had aroused his friends before noon. Although +the country was wild and thinly settled, they pushed forward with +caution, fearing that they might stumble upon some Persian outpost. +For the same reason, they skirted the hillsides instead of keeping to +the valleys, where it would have been easier to advance, and the wisdom +of this precaution was made manifest before they had gone far. The +keen eyes of Leonidas caught a drift of smoke above the tree-tops. +Advancing cautiously along a ridge, they found an abrupt declivity +which permitted them to look down upon a camp-fire about which were +gathered twenty or thirty men. + +From the variety of their weapons and costumes, the Spartan judged them +to be shepherds and farmers who had been sent out by the Persian +commanders as scouts. They were under the command of an officer who +wore a conical cap, linen trousers, and a flowing garment of yellow and +blue, with wide sleeves. In his hand he carried a whip of rawhide, and +his only other weapon was a dagger which he wore at his waist. The +party had evidently halted for its midday meal. + +Seeing that the Persians did not suspect their presence, the three +spies crept behind a huge bowlder which had fallen from the face of the +cliff behind them and hung poised on a ledge above the camp. They +hoped to learn something from the talk of the men around the fire, but +their conversation seemed to be carried on in a dialect with which they +were not familiar. While Leonidas and Clearchus were watching, one on +either side of the rock, Chares, crouched behind it, began idly to +examine the mass of stone. It was taller than the stature of a man and +shaped like a rough sphere. Ferns grew from its crevices and around +its base, showing that it had hung there for years. It was separated +from the cliff by a narrow passage, and its outer side overhung the +ledge upon which it had been caught. + +Chares measured the great rock with his eye and then quietly stretched +himself down upon the ledge behind it, with his feet against the cliff +and his shoulders against the stone. As he put forth his enormous +strength, slowly a crack appeared in the earth at the base of the +stone. The delicate plumes of fern that grew from the moss on its +summit began to nod gently, although the air was still. The crack +widened and there was a sound of the snapping of slender roots. +Clearchus and Leonidas, intent upon the scene below, noticed nothing. +Suddenly the great bowlder seemed to start forward of its own motion. +It hung balanced for an instant and then plunged from the ledge, +bounding down the steep hillside with long leaps, rending everything in +its path. + +With shouts of alarm, the soldiers scattered in every direction, but +their leader tripped on the long skirt of his gaudy robe and fell face +downward beside the fire. Before he could rise, the great stone was +upon him. It rolled over his prostrate form and came to rest. + +Leonidas turned to discover what had happened and saw Chares lying with +his head in the hole where the stone had been, shaking with laughter. +Without losing a moment, the Spartan dragged him to his feet and ran +swiftly back along the way they had come. It was impossible to avoid +being seen. There was a cry from below, and half a dozen arrows struck +against the cliff about them as they passed. Luckily, they succeeded +in gaining shelter in safety. + +The Spartan's face was pale with anger. "If you had done that in my +country, nothing could save you!" he said to Chares. + +"Why? What have I done?" the Theban asked in surprise. + +"You have endangered the safety of the whole army and run the risk of +bringing the expedition to failure," Leonidas answered hotly. "I say +nothing of ourselves, but we have been seen, and what you have done to +no purpose may cost us our lives." + +"That is true," the Theban said, filled with remorse. "I didn't stop +to think." + +"You made me leader," Leonidas continued bitterly. "If I am to lead, +you must obey my orders. If not, lead on yourself, and I will show you +how to obey." + +Clearchus peered down into the ravine and saw the Persians gathered +about the motionless body of their chief, debating with many +gesticulations. + +"They are not thinking of pursuit," he said. "Come, I will answer for +Chares that he will be more careful in future. Let it pass. We have +no time to lose." + +The Spartan made no reply, but turned and led the way once more toward +the east. They did not halt again until the mountain was at their +backs, its peaks cutting a giant silhouette of purple in the crimson +evening sky. After a brief rest they struck out along a water-course +which brought them at daybreak to a larger stream that they judged to +be the Granicus. + +As they advanced, the hills became smaller and the country more open. +They met several companies of the Persians, some with wagon trains and +some on foraging expeditions; but when they explained that they were +Greek mercenaries on their way to join Memnon, they were permitted to +pass unmolested, since it was extremely unlikely that any of the +Macedonians could have advanced so far inland. Finally, late in the +afternoon, they reached an opening between the hills which gave them +sight of a broad, rolling plain, through which the river ran like a +band of silver. Far away they could see the tents of the Persian camp, +spread out like a white city, and, a little to the right, a dark +square, which they took to be the earthwork surrounding the camp of the +Greek mercenaries. Although the Persians made use of the Greeks, they +were so jealous of them that they always made them camp apart. +Encounters between them were not uncommon, even when they were fighting +in the same cause. + +Descending to the plain, the three friends lost sight of the camp, but +they took the river for their guide, knowing that it must bring them to +their destination. They passed farms and cottages, from which the +women peeped curiously at them, the men having been drafted into the +army. They were emerging from a pasture behind a farm-house rather +larger and more prosperous-looking than its neighbors, when they heard +a commotion in which they distinguished the shouting of Greeks. +Running forward, they found two foraging parties from the rival camps +in angry dispute for the possession of a drove of cattle. The Greeks +had found the cattle and were about to drive them away when the Persian +party came up and demanded them. + +Words led to blows. The Greeks were heavily outnumbered, and although +they fought stubbornly, it was clear that they would be unable to hold +their ground. + +"Here is our chance," Leonidas cried. "Memnon! Memnon!" + +He drew his sword and rushed into the conflict, with Clearchus and +Chares behind him, shouting at the top of their lungs. The Greeks, +encouraged by their unexpected succor, made a stand, while the +Persians, not knowing how large a force was upon them, ceased to follow +up their advantage. + +"Drive in the sheep with the cattle," Chares cried, catching up a heavy +stake from a hayrick and swinging it around his head with both hands. +"Don't let them escape!" He brought the stake down upon the Persian +heads like a gigantic flail. + +Leonidas and Clearchus forced themselves into the thick of the fight, +thrusting and hewing with their swords. The Greek foragers, regaining +their courage, ran in after them. The Persians were unable to +withstand the charge. They broke and fled down the road toward their +camp in disorder, leaving half a dozen of their number upon the field. + +"Praise be to Zeus, the Preserver!" said the lochagos, or captain, who +was in command of the mercenaries. "Where did you come from?" + +"From Antandrus," Leonidas replied promptly, "to join the army of +Memnon." + +"By the horn of Dionysus, you came in time!" the captain cried, wiping +his sword. "But I have been long away from home. Is it the fashion +there now to fight with stakes for weapons?" + +He looked at Chares, whose mighty onslaught had aroused the admiration +of the soldiers. + +"It is the fashion there, as it always has been, to fight with whatever +comes to hand when Greeks are in danger," Chares said with dignity. +"But do you suppose, now, that there is a skin of wine in that house?" + +"No harm in looking," the captain replied. "Get the cattle together if +you expect to eat before you sleep," he added to his men and led the +way into the house. + +There were only women inside--the farmer's wife and two daughters, all +in a flutter of fear. Chares, ignorant of their language, began by +kissing each of them, which served somewhat to dispel their alarm. +When the captain produced a bag of gold pieces and announced that he +would pay for everything they took, they became quite at ease and +readily brought the skin of wine that Chares demanded. + +Having finished the wine in great good humor and settled their account, +the party set off to the camp, driving the cattle before them. Around +their camp-fire that night the three Companions learned all there was +to know of the Persian army. Under Memnon, there were nearly twenty +thousand Greek mercenaries drawn from the entire Hellenic world and +including thieves, fugitives, murderers, and runaway slaves. The +Persian force was equal in number to the army of Alexander and +consisted mainly of cavalry. It was made up of picked men, the best +troops of the empire. With the satraps Arsites and Spithridates were +many of the great nobles of the realm, among them Atizyes, satrap of +Greater Phrygia, Mithrobarzanes, hipparch of Cappadocia, Omares, and +others who were renowned for their bravery and high standing with the +Great King. + +"They think it will be a holiday affair," the honest captain said +contemptuously. "We Greeks know better. They are encumbered with wine +and women for the feast that they intend to celebrate after they have +won their victory, and they are already quarrelling among themselves +for places at the board; but their greatest contention is over what +shall be done with Alexander when he is led before Darius, loaded with +chains, to answer for his boldness. They have invented more new +punishments than would destroy the entire army." + +"Why are they so certain of winning?" Clearchus asked. "I have heard +the Macedonians are good fighters." + +"So they are," the captain replied heartily; "but the best troops of +Persia are here, and the young nobles cannot bring themselves to +believe that common men can stand against them. Why, they are even +predicting that the army of Alexander will run away before a blow has +been struck." + +"You don't seem to care over much for our friends," Chares remarked +with a yawn. + +"Nor they for us," the captain said. "You saw what happened this +afternoon. They think they can get along without us and they do not +intend to let us have any share in the victory if they can help it. I +believe we shall win if it is true that Alexander has only half as many +men as we; but they will never win without our assistance." + +"I suppose we shall fight in the centre," Clearchus suggested. + +"I don't know," the captain exclaimed. "Nobody seems to know. If they +take Memnon's advice, they will not risk all on a battle now. There is +no need of it. All we have to do is to fall back, leaving nothing to +eat behind us, and the Macedonians will starve to death. But the +nobles will not listen to reason. They want glory, and so they insist +upon a battle where the advantage will be all with the other side. +They called Memnon a coward in the council this afternoon for proposing +to retreat, and now they are at it again over yonder." + +He pointed to a gayly colored pavilion in the middle of the Persian +camp, where the council feast was being held. It looked like a +strange, gigantic mushroom, glowing with interior light. + +"They even jeer at us for throwing up breastworks," the captain added +bitterly. "They have left their own camp defenceless, to show how +brave they are. Perhaps they will be glad enough to take refuge in +ours before they are through!" + +"We must find out what the decision of the council is," Leonidas +whispered, as they rolled themselves in their cloaks, "and then the +next thing will be to get away." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + +It was after midnight when the council ended and the generals returned +to the mercenary camp. Chares and Clearchus had long been slumbering, +but Leonidas, feeling his responsibility as leader, had deemed it his +duty not to yield to his fatigue until the camp was still. + +The story of what had occurred in the council spread quickly through +the mercenary army next morning. Memnon had returned in a rage. He +had warned the satraps of their folly in expecting an easy victory and +had advised them again to fall back, laying waste the country as they +went, so that the Macedonians would be forced to give battle on +disadvantageous terms and when they had been disheartened by privation. + +This suggestion had been treated with scorn by the Persians. They had +taunted Memnon with cowardice and the satrap Arsites had flatly refused +to permit a single house in his province to be destroyed. + +"If the Greeks wish to earn their pay without fighting," he had said, +"let them stand idly by and see how brave men can conquer." + +Thereupon all the Persian nobles had shouted assent and it had been +decided to proceed without delay to crush the invasion by forcing a +battle. + +This was the news that was told through the camp of the Greeks and +discussed with bitter comment by groups of soldiers. + +"I wish I was back with my wife and children," said a sturdy Locrian. +"These dogs know nothing of war." + +"I shall stay here, no matter what they do," remarked an Athenian, with +a shrug. "Hemlock does not agree with me." + +"Wait until the phalanx strikes them," said a hoplite from Syracuse. +"I'll wager that the date-eaters will sing a different song when the +sarissa begins to tickle their ribs." + +"You would suppose that these fellows would like to see the barbarians +beaten," Chares muttered to Clearchus. + +"Hush," said Leonidas. "We know all that we came to learn. What we +have to do now, is to get out as soon as we can. The army cannot be +far away and unless we can reach it before it arrives, the day may be +lost. If we give the Persians time, they may yet change their minds. +All depends upon an immediate attack, while their forces are divided. +We must get away at once. How are we to manage it?" + +"Why, walk away, of course," Chares said. "Who is to stop us?" + +"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody +shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into +a brawl with the Persians." + +"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus +proposed. + +"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find +our friend, the captain." + +It happened that the same foraging party that they had joined the day +before was going out again. Leonidas asked permission to join it. + +"You have not yet been enrolled," the grizzled captain objected, "but +come along if you wish; we may need the big fellow with the stake. +I'll leave three of my men behind and you can take their places." + +Leonidas breathed more freely when they were out of the camp, with the +most dangerous part of the mission accomplished. They were forced to +cross the Granicus and to walk five or six miles on the other side +before they met with any success in their search for provisions. At +last they discovered a flock of sheep, of which they took possession. +All was in readiness for the return march when Leonidas, Chares, and +Clearchus approached the captain. + +"We have decided that we will not join the army," Leonidas announced. +"We have seen enough of this war. We are going back to the coast." + +"I don't know about that," the captain said, scratching his head. + +"We are not enrolled," Leonidas reminded him. + +"That is true," said the honest fellow, "but you have been in the camp." + +"Well, we are not going back," the Spartan said deliberately. "Are you +going to try to force us? There are thirteen of you and only three of +us, but if you want a fight, you can have it. We don't intend to risk +our lives for such leaders as Arsites. Which shall it be--shall we go, +or shall we fight for it?" + +"Let them go," interposed one of the soldiers who had drawn near to +learn what the controversy was about. "They saved us yesterday. I +have half a mind to go with them myself. I would if I had my pay." + +"Yes, let them go, if they wish," others chimed in. "They are not +enrolled." + +"Farewell," Leonidas said, sheathing his sword and extending his hand +to the captain. "You can say we were killed in a skirmish with the +Persians if you like." + +"That's it, I'll say you were killed," the captain exclaimed in a tone +of relief, clasping the proffered hand. "Only, you will not come +back?" he asked doubtfully. + +"Never fear," cried Chares, giving him a slap on the back that almost +felled him to the ground. "If we do, we'll swear you told the truth." + +So they turned north and passed on, while the remainder of the party +drove in the sheep to camp. + +It was mid-afternoon when they separated from the mercenary company, +and they had no means of knowing how many miles they would have to +travel before they fell in with the Macedonian army. + +"Now for it," cried Leonidas, swinging his shield over his shoulder. +"Come on!" + +Before they had gone far, they found themselves descending a long slope +toward what seemed to be a wide stretch of marshland extending as far +as they could see. It was covered with long, dry rushes, which rustled +and bent before the strong breeze. The brown expanse apparently had +once been a lake, for in the distance they could catch the gleam of +water; but the greater part of the basin had dried, and the reeds had +sprung up as the water receded. + +"It looks like a swamp," Clearchus said, anxiously scanning the plain. +"How are we to pass?" + +"It seems dry enough now," Leonidas replied. "We will cross it if we +can find no better way; but let us look first for a road." + +Facing to the east, they skirted the edge of the rushes for more than a +mile without finding an opening or coming within sight of the end. + +"I'm afraid we shall have to try to get through," Leonidas said at +last, halting on a tongue of land which extended some distance into the +marsh. "We can't afford to waste much more time." + +The question was decided for them in a manner that left them no choice. +As they stood in doubt, shouts came from their rear, and turning, they +saw a company of horsemen at the top of the slope, half a mile away, +bearing down upon them at a breakneck gallop. Their long lances and +flowing garments showed them to be Persians. + +"You were right in saying that we had no time to waste, Leonidas," +Chares exclaimed. "What are you going to do about this? I am anxious +to take orders." + +For answer, the Spartan set off at a run for the marsh. It was evident +that the Persians had seen them and were aiming to attack them at a +distance from the camps, where the affair would remain undiscovered. + +With the wind blowing in their faces, the three young men plunged in +among the reeds. The dry stalks met above their heads and whistled +about their ears. + +"Go first!" commanded Leonidas, standing aside for Chares to pass. + +The Theban took the lead, tearing like a wild bull through the +crackling stems. Clearchus followed at his heels and Leonidas brought +up the rear, retaining for himself the post of danger. Although their +figures were hidden, they knew their pursuers would have no trouble in +following them, for they left a broad trail, and, moreover, the +elevation of the backs of their horses would enable the barbarians +easily to mark their progress by the waving of the rushes. + +For a mile and two miles the race continued without a word being +spoken. The Persians had ridden headlong into the marsh after them and +were slowly gaining upon them, although the speed of their horses was +checked by the rushes, which caused them to stumble, and by the +softness of the ground, into which their hoofs sank to the fetlock at +every stride. + +Clearchus was panting for breath and he heard Leonidas breathing hard +behind him. Sweat streamed from the face and neck of Chares, who broke +the path. The Athenian knew that the pace could not be maintained much +longer. + +Still another half mile they struggled on with the endless brown walls +of reeds before them and around them. Long ago they had cast away +their javelins and their shields, which caught in the reeds and +hindered them. Even if they could find a barrier behind which to make +a stand, they knew they would have no chance for their lives against +the enemy, who outnumbered them six to one and had the advantage of +being mounted. + +Clearchus thought of Artemisia, and his temples throbbed with anguish +as he nerved himself to fresh effort. Was he never to see her again? +His bones would bleach in the middle of that vast morass and she would +not know. He thought of the high-spirited young king who had sent them +to obtain information that might save his army from destruction and the +hopes of Greece from ruin. On them alone might depend the result of +the battle that was to be fought and the destiny of two nations. + +He saw Chares stumble once and again. His own muscles were benumbed by +the long strain. The shouting at their backs was growing louder and +more near and he could hear the thudding of the hoofs upon the spongy, +black soil. + +"Stop!" Leonidas gasped behind him, and looking over his shoulder, +Clearchus saw that the Spartan had fallen to his knees. + +"Back, Chares," he shouted. "The end has come!" + +The Theban halted and they both ran back to Leonidas, drawing their +swords with a fierce determination to defend themselves to the last. + +"Beat down the rushes!" Leonidas cried hoarsely. "Let in the wind!" + +They saw that he held his flints in his hands and that a tiny blaze was +flickering up from a heap of rushes which he had crushed into a +tinder-like mass. + +They understood his plan and hope returned to them. Like madmen, they +trampled the reeds to the right and left. A puff of wind came through +and caught the darting tongue of fire. It leaped upward so suddenly +that the Spartan's hair was singed before he had time to draw back. In +an instant, it seemed, a sheet of flame flung itself into the air above +the reed-tops, casting off a thin swirl of bluish smoke. With +incredible swiftness the fire swept from them straight down upon their +pursuers, leaving behind it a rapidly widening wake of black. + +"Scatter it!" cried Leonidas, seizing the blazing reeds and throwing +them in every direction. The others followed his example, spreading +the fire as far as they could to the right and left so as to make it +impossible for the Persians to evade it by avoiding its path. + +As soon as the barbarians saw the first smoke, they halted, hesitated +for a moment, and then turned wildly back in the hope of escaping by +the way they had come. The Greeks had taken a position on the charred +ground, where they themselves were safe from the flames, and were +awaiting the result, sword in hand. + +The conflagration, as it gathered headway, seemed to become a monster +animated by a living spirit. One broad sheet of flame swept high into +the air, roaring like a hungry beast, and throwing up clouds of smoke +that hid the southern sky. With deadly swiftness it devoured the lake +of reeds before it, leaving behind a bare and level plain of ashes from +which here and there rose smoky spirals. It seemed to create a +scorching gale stronger even than the wind that had fanned it into +life. It rushed forward by great leaps and bounds, pausing now and +then over some especially tempting thicket of reeds, and then starting +up far in advance. + +In vain the three young men tried to learn what had become of the +pursuers upon whom Leonidas had let loose their terrible ally. +Grasping their swords, they stood back to back amid the drifting smoke, +striving to look beyond the flaming wall. The wave of fire reached the +slope from which they had fled, lingered there for a few moments, and +then vanished as quickly almost as it had sprung into existence. The +smoke blew away over the uplands in a bellying cloud. Gazing through +its rifts, they could see nothing of the Persians. They seemed to have +disappeared as completely as though the earth had swallowed them. + +"Where are they?" exclaimed Clearchus in bewilderment. + +"They must have escaped," Leonidas replied. + +"No, by Zeus, I see them!" Chares cried, pointing to a group of +blackened mounds about halfway from where they stood to the edge of the +marsh. + +One of the mounds stirred as he spoke, and they saw that he was right. +It was one of the horses. The animal tried to raise itself on its fore +legs, gave a scream of agony, and fell back among the cinders. + +Without a word, the three Companions turned away. While the fire had +fled rapidly before the wind, it had made little progress in other +directions. It was still eating into the rushes behind them and on +either side and they were surrounded by it, excepting where it had +swept back to the slope. To return in that direction would be to run +new risk of capture. They were prisoners. + +They looked at each other. Their faces and garments were black with +smoke and ashes. + +"What would they say if they could see you in the Agora in Athens +looking like that?" Chares asked of Clearchus. + +"They would ask me the price of charcoal, I suppose," the Athenian +replied, laughing. + +They moved slowly after the receding fire, choosing their path with +caution and halting every few yards to wait until the ground had cooled. + +"We shall not get out in time!" Leonidas groaned. + +"Don't be too sure," Clearchus cried. "Look at that." He extended his +hand, upon which a drop of water had fallen. + +"Rain!" cried the Spartan, joyfully. "The Gods be thanked!" + +It was rain, indeed. The drops were falling all around them, making +little puffs in the hot ashes and hissing on the embers. The wind +shifted further to the east and brought a refreshing dampness to their +faces, crimsoned by the stifling atmosphere which they had been forced +to breathe. There was a muttering of thunder, then a nearer crash +overhead, and they saw the storm striding across the plain in a long, +sweeping curve. They lifted their faces to it and drew deep breaths, +letting the water trickle through their hair and down their bodies. +Steam rose from the blackened expanse all about them. Gaps began to +appear in the hissing circle of fire. The red tongues flickered and +went out. + +"There is yet time," Leonidas cried, and in a few moments they were +once more among the reeds, heading for the northern margin of the swamp. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GREEK AND BARBARIAN + +Alexander was riding upon Bucephalus, with Parmenio at his side. +Behind them rode the light-hearted pages and the grave generals, +followed by the Companions and the infantry, winding like an enormous +snake along the road that led southward to the Granicus. + +The young king seemed preoccupied. He glanced restlessly to the right +and left where scouting parties were beating the country to guard +against surprise and in the hope of finding some trace of the enemy. + +"The Persians cannot be far away now," he said to Parmenio. "Do you +think they will wait for us?" + +"If they were wise, they would fall back and draw us away from our +supplies," the old general replied. + +"They must fight," Alexander exclaimed. + +"I have no doubt they will," Parmenio answered, with the shadow of a +smile upon his lips. + +Alexander glanced sharply at him and was silent, riding with bent head +as though debating with himself. There was something in the veteran's +tone that jarred upon him. + +"I wish Leonidas, Chares, and Clearchus were here," he said at last. + +"Perhaps they have taken service under Memnon," Parmenio suggested +dryly. + +"Is there none that you trust?" Alexander said sharply. "They are not +deserters; but they may have been killed." + +"That is possible," the old man replied. + +"I care not so much for the Persians," Alexander continued, "but I +would like to know how many men Memnon has and what spirit they are in." + +A small party of the scouting horsemen appeared before them in the road. + +"It is Amyntas himself," Alexander said, catching sight of them. "What +has the Lyncestian found?" + +"Either stragglers or prisoners," Parmenio replied, shading his eyes +with his palms. "They seem to be negroes." + +"We will put them to the torture," Alexander said, with satisfaction. +"They may be able to tell something of what we wish to know." + +He urged Bucephalus forward to meet the skirmishers, who halted to +await his arrival. + +"What have you here, Amyntas?" he asked. + +"Three men who seemed to be wandering about the Country," Amyntas +replied. "They are Greeks, but they refuse to give any account of +themselves excepting to Alexander." + +One of the three prisoners, short and strong of build, stood forward +and saluted. Alexander looked hard at him and then at the other two. +His face cleared and he laughed aloud. + +"Order a halt," he said. "Let the men rest and eat. Leave the +prisoners to me." + +He gave his horse to a groom and led the way to a wide-spreading oak +tree a short distance from the road. + +"I thought you had been either killed or captured," he said to the +prisoners. "Leonidas, what have you learned?" + +"Everything," the Spartan replied. + +"How many soldiers has Memnon?" the young king asked. + +"Twenty thousand," was the reply. + +"Will they fight?" Alexander inquired. + +"No, because the Persians will not let them," Leonidas said. "Memnon +advised a retreat, but the satraps laughed in his face and gave him +permission to watch them win the battle." + +"What think you of that, Parmenio?" Alexander exclaimed. "He gave them +the same advice you would have given had you been there. They have +refused it. The day is ours!" + +With hasty questions he brought out the whole story of the expedition. +The plan of battle formed itself in his mind as he listened, walking +back and forth before them. His eyes flashed and his cheeks glowed red. + +"You have done well," he said to the three friends, when they had +finished. "Your horses are waiting for you. Refresh yourselves and +put on your armor, for you will need it before the sun goes down." + +"I hope nobody has stolen my breastplate," Chares muttered. + +Alexander continued to pace backward and forward with his head inclined +a little to the left, as was his wont when in thought. Parmenio +watched him closely, but did not venture to speak. Amyntas, who had +ridden forward after surrendering his prisoners, now returned at a +gallop. + +"The barbarians await us on the opposite side of the river," he said. + +"Your prisoners have already told me," Alexander replied. "Is the +stream fordable?" + +"Not directly in front of their line," the cavalryman replied. "There +is shallow water above and below them, but the stream is swift." + +"Call the council," Alexander said quietly, turning to Parmenio. + +Heralds bore the order down the road beside which the army lay at rest. +The commanders left their stations and came forward, singly and in +groups, gathering about their leader. In few words he set the +situation before them. + +"Shall we attack them now or to-morrow?" he asked. + +"Let us fight now!" the captains shouted. + +But Parmenio frowned and shook his head. "My advice is to wait," he +said boldly. "Already it is late and we must cross the river to reach +the enemy. They have chosen their own ground. The men are weary with +their march." + +"No, no!" the younger men shouted. + +"As for the river," Alexander replied, "the Hellespont would blush for +shame if we stood waiting on the banks of such a stream as this after +having crossed the other. It is true that we have little time, and +that is the more reason that we should make the most of it. We will +fight now." + +His decision was received with a burst of cheers. He waited with a +smile until the clamor of approval had ceased. + +"Comrades and Macedonians!" he continued, "we are about to face the +Mede. If we win here, we win all. I say to you that we shall win. I +ask you only to be worthy of yourselves. Fight this day as the heroes +fought before the walls of Ilium. Their shades are with us. Your +names shall be linked forever with theirs. Here we shall reap the +first harvest of our hope." + +"Lead us, Alexander! We shall win!" the captains shouted. + +They ran back to spread the news among the soldiers, who received it +with such enthusiasm that even the anxious face of Parmenio brightened. +In another half hour the army was again in motion with Alexander in the +van, wearing the helmet with the white plumes that swept his shoulders. + +When they reached the river, they saw the Persians drawn up on the +opposite bank in a long, deep line. The front of the enemy was gay +with banners flaunting in the sun and resplendent with the +multi-colored finery of the Persian lords. The Greeks could hear the +braying of their trumpets and the shouts of their commanders as the +dense masses of their cavalry wheeled into position to meet the attack. +At sight of Alexander a high-pitched, long-drawn cry ran from one end +of their line to the other, rising and falling in derision. + +There was no answer from the Greeks. The young king drew aside to a +point of vantage and threw a rapid glance at the barbarian host. He +saw that the river before them broadened into a pool, over whose quiet +surface the swallows were skimming. Immediately in front of him the +water foamed and gurgled over a shallow, and a similar break ended the +pool below. The opposite bank rose steeply from the water's edge to +the wide declivity upon which the Persians had taken their stand. +Behind them Memnon's mercenaries had been posted as a reserve and to be +spectators of the punishment which the barbarians were to inflict upon +their countrymen. + +"Leonidas was right," Alexander exclaimed, pointing to the mercenaries. +"See, we shall not have to meet the spears of the Greeks. Form the +line, Parmenio." + +Squadron and company emerged from the road and wheeled into their +positions in silence under the direction of their captains. Clearchus, +Chares, and Leonidas were riding with Ptolemy's troop when a page +sought them and they saw Alexander beckoning. + +"Do not forget that you are to fight with Alexander to-day," he said, +as they rode up. + +Leonidas flushed with pride and Chares threw a satisfied glance at the +gorgeous breastplate which he had recovered safely. They took their +places in the cluster of young Macedonians behind the king. + +Amyntas, with his light horsemen, was posted on the extreme right, +beyond the left of the Persian line. Ptolemy, with the heavy cavalry, +stood next, and Alexander, with seven squadrons of the Companions, the +best and bravest of his army, supported him on the left. Then came the +terrible phalanx, rank on rank, its sarissas standing up to four times +the height of a man, like a giant field of corn. Farther down the +river, in the left wing, where Parmenio commanded, was the dashing +Thessalian horse, with the riders of Thrace and the Greek allies, +supported by other squadrons of foot-soldiers. + +Quickly and calmly, as though forming for a parade, the line extended +itself and stood still. Behind its centre the catapults and ballistæ +were posted, with their strings tightened and their great arms drawn +back, ready to hurl their bolts or to discharge their missiles. + +A sudden hush fell on both sides of the river. The jeers of the +Persians died away and their banners stirred lazily in the light air. +The Macedonians stood facing them like an army of statues. Alexander +touched his horse with the spur and rode slowly down the line alone to +see that all was in readiness. As he passed he spoke to the captains, +calling them by name. + +"Nicanor," he said, "let your men prove themselves men once more +to-day! Perdiccas, fight for the honor of Hellas! C[oe]nus, there are +no cowards among your followers; fight now as you never fought before! +Remember Macedon!" + +So the young king reached the left of the array, where he gave his +final instructions to Parmenio, and galloped back to his place on the +right with his double white plume streaming behind him. + +Gazing across the narrow stream, the veterans of Macedon saw the pride +of Persia awaiting their onset. The great struggle for which they had +been making ready through years of toil was about to be brought to an +issue. There rose before them a vision of the farms and villages among +the rugged Macedonian hills where their wives and children awaited +them. They set their teeth upon the thought that defeat would leave +the road to their homes unguarded. They pictured the shame of +returning as hunted fugitives, with the barbarians at their heels--how +sullen Sparta would exult and fickle Athens blaze up in revolt. It +would be better to die there on the banks of the foreign river than to +incur such disgrace. + +To all minds came the thought that the fate of the world was hanging in +the balance, and all eyes turned to Alexander. The young king, cool +and confident, had regained his position at the head of the Agema. He +raised his hand and away on the right the army heard the clear notes of +a trumpet sounding the charge. + +Amyntas, with his gallant lancers, galloped down the slope and dashed +into the river, which foamed about the knees of the plunging horses. + +Again the trumpet-call quavered in the air, and Ptolemy's squadrons +followed Amyntas with a clanking of armor and a jangling of scabbards. + +On the opposite shore the Persians raised their fierce, defiant shout +and rushed eagerly forward to meet the charge. A flight of arrows rose +from the archers posted upon the hillside in their rear and converged +in a glittering shower upon the ford. + +Then along the dreaded phalanx of the Greeks ran a swelling murmur. +The forest of sarissas began to move toward the river. Louder rose the +chant until it drowned the clash of arms and the shouts of the +barbarian host. It was the solemn pæan from twelve thousand bearded +throats, calling upon the Gods of Hellas for their aid. The hearts of +the Greeks in the mercenary camp on the heights across the river +tightened as the deep-toned chorus rolled up to them and for a time +they avoided looking into each other's eyes. + +Enormous darts, ponderous balls of lead, and jagged stones were hurled +against the Persian line from the death-dealing engines in the rear of +the Greek position. Amyntas was struggling hand to hand in the foaming +ford. The battle was joined. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + +Again and yet again Amyntas was thrust back from the other shore, +slippery with mud and clay, while deadly gusts of arrows and javelins +beat upon him. Jealous of glory, the young Persian nobles crowded with +reckless daring to the brink and overwhelmed him by the weight of their +numbers. But they could not drive him off. He clung to the attack +with the stubborn tenacity that knows not defeat, refusing to abandon +the stream, although his lines were broken and his men were falling +around him. + +Alexander, watching the battle like a hawk, saw the desperate situation +into which he had thrown Amyntas. "Enyalius!" he shouted, calling upon +the God of War by the name that the Homeric heroes had used before +Ilium; "Enyalius! Follow me, Macedonians!" + +The Agema swept down the slope behind the waving plumes of white and +struck the river into foam. The disordered ranks of Amyntas raised a +breathless cheer as it passed, heading straight for the thickest of the +fight. There was a splintering of shafts, a crash of steel upon steel, +and from the fierce vortex of the battle rose cries of rage and agony. + +Clearchus fastened his eyes upon the double white plume which fluttered +before them. He heard the cry "Alexander! Alexander!" run from lip to +lip through the Persian host and saw its squadrons rushing down to meet +the onset. + +A lean, swarthy man, wearing a head-dress that glittered with jewels, +aimed a blow at him with his curved sword. The Athenian threw himself +back upon his horse to avoid the stroke and thrust the man through the +side with his lance. + +Alexander was fighting in the foremost rank amid a flashing circle of +steel. The Persian courtiers threw themselves upon the Macedonian +spears in their eagerness to reach the king and win the honors which +they knew would be bestowed upon the fortunate man who should slay him. +The young leader seemed heedless of his danger. Twice he spurred his +horse up the treacherous bank and twice he was hurled back. The river, +from shore to shore, was filled with soldiers fending off as best they +might the merciless rain of darts and arrows. The moment was critical. +Unless the Agema could gain footing on the Persian side, the day was +lost. + +"We must end this," roared Chares above the turmoil. "Down with them! +Alexander!" + +He drove his bloody spur deep into the flank of his powerful steed. +The tortured animal leaped at the bank and staggered upward against the +living wall that barred the way. A score of swords struck at him, and +the polished shield that the Theban held above his head rang beneath +the blows that were showered upon it. The great roan gained the top of +the bank, but a spearman buried a javelin in his broad chest and his +knees gave way. As he fell, Chares leaped from his back and stood firm. + +"Alexander!" he cried again, in a mighty voice that rose above the din +of conflict like the roar of a lion at bay. His long sword, so heavy +that a man of ordinary strength could hardly wield it, though he used +both hands, swept on this side and on that in whistling circles. Down +went horse and rider before it like grain within the compass of a +sickle. For a moment a space was cleared, and in the next the double +plume of white flaunted before his eyes as Alexander passed him, and +the Theban knew that the shore had been won. The Agema, like a wedge, +struck far into the Persian ranks and held there, driven home by the +weight of troops behind it. + +Mithridates, son-in-law of Darius, infuriated by this success, ordered +a charge which should sweep the Macedonians back into the river. +Followed by Rhoisakes, his brother, and by a throng of nobles he hurled +himself upon the stubborn mountaineers, aiming straight for Alexander. +Chares, who was in the path of the avalanche, was swept aside. His +shield was shattered upon his arm by the blow of a mace which also +broke the fastenings of his helmet. A shout of warning rose from the +Agema as it wheeled to face the attack. With sword upraised, +Mithridates rushed upon Alexander; but the king's tough lance pierced +the scales of his armor before he could deliver his stroke. The prince +fell from his horse and rolled beneath the flying hoofs. Rhoisakes, +thundering behind him, aimed a blow with his keen battle-axe which +shore away the king's crest and half the double plume. At the same +moment the satrap Spithridates attacked Alexander from behind, but +before his arm could fall, dark Clitus, with an upward stroke, severed +his wrist so that his hand, still grasping his hilt, leaped into the +air. Rhoisakes met his brother's fate upon Alexander's spear. Dismay +filled the Persian ranks. The charge was broken. "Enyalius!" +Alexander shouted, and the Agema thundered up the slope against the +disordered barbarians. + +Clearchus and Leonidas fought close behind Alexander. The Athenian was +never afterward able to recall the details of that desperate struggle. +His remembrance was a confused blur of thrust and parry, of shouting +and confusion. Suddenly, out of the shifting throng, the proud, +flushed face of Phradates appeared to him as in a dream. The young +man's gaze was fixed and he seemed to be striving to extricate his +horse from the press that hemmed him in. Struck by the expression of +rage and hate that convulsed his features, Clearchus followed the +direction of his glance and saw Chares, with bare head and on foot, +holding two adversaries in check with his sword. Blood flowed from a +wound upon his cheek, reddening his shoulder and dimming the lustre of +his armor. He had been left behind by the cavalry, and the space +around him was clear except for the two riders, who had thought to find +him an easy victim. + +Clearchus read the thought in the dark face of the Ph[oe]nician. +Phradates had recognized his rival and was bent upon taking him at a +disadvantage. The Athenian turned to warn Chares of his peril, but +Phradates shot out of the crowd in advance of him and spurred down upon +his enemy, bending low upon the neck of his fleet Arabian horse. + +"Ho, Chares! Guard thyself!" Clearchus shouted, realizing that he +would be too late. + +The cry reached the ears of the Theban, who turned his head for an +instant and saw Phradates rushing upon him. He leaped forward and +hewed one of his adversaries from the back of his horse. The other +closed in, aiming a blow with his sword that Chares had barely time to +catch upon his own blade. The shoulder of the leaping horse hurtled +against him, causing him to stagger and drop his point. + +"I have thee, dog!" screamed Phradates. + +So intent was the Ph[oe]nician upon his ignoble revenge that he had not +seen Clearchus, spurring desperately to overtake him. The Athenian +heard his shout of triumph and his heart failed. + +"I cannot reach him in time!" he groaned. + +In a few more strides, Chares would be at the mercy of his foe. +Phradates raised his arm to strike at the defenceless head. There was +one chance of stopping him and one only. Clearchus hurled his sword at +the Ph[oe]nician. The hilt of the whirling blade struck Phradates on +the arm with such force that, with a cry of pain, he let fall the sword +from his benumbed fingers. + +"Not this time, Ph[oe]nician!" Chares shouted, as Phradates swooped +past him. "Go back to Tyre and await my coming; for I follow!" + +Clearchus leaped down from his horse and recovered his sword with the +intention of pursuing Phradates, but he saw at a glance that the +attempt would be useless. The Ph[oe]nician, unarmed as he was, fled +toward the Persian lines too fast to be overtaken. + +He looked around for the second of the two horsemen with whom Chares +had been engaged when Phradates attacked him, but the man was nowhere +to be seen. He turned to his friend and embraced him. + +"You were just in time," Chares said. + +"Thank the Gods!" Clearchus replied. "This is no place to die. I +think the battle is ours." + +Phradates, riding at full speed, passed through the Persian lines and +galloped up the slope. Here and there a Persian horseman saw him go +and followed. Others, and still others, joined the flight until, like +a dam that goes down before the swollen current of a river in spring, +the barbarian squadrons wavered and broke, streaming up the hill +disordered and panic-stricken, with death at their heels. Their only +thought was to save themselves. + +Slaughter took the place of conflict. Grim and silent the Macedonian +cavalry and the Thessalian horse rode among the fugitives with swords +that knew no mercy. In that disastrous rout the pride of Persia's +chivalry was dragged in the dust, and the courtier deemed himself +fortunate who escaped to tell of his own dishonor. + +Past the camp of the despised Greek mercenaries who had been bidden to +watch the defenders of the Great King conquer or die, ran the barbarian +rabble, with the wolves of Macedon tearing at their flanks. Southward +they fled, leaving behind a broad track of the wounded and the dying, +and scattering as they went until no semblance of the Persian army +remained. Sweet in their ears at last was the music of the trumpet +notes that withdrew the pursuit and left them free to take breath. + +The mercenaries stood before their camp, unmoved amid the panic, +awaiting the command to fight or flee. The order never came. Memnon +had fought beside the Persian generals and had been swept away with +them, leaving his army to its fate. Below them the Greeks saw the +Macedonian phalanx re-forming its ranks, with the cavalry, of which +they had none, upon its wings. + +"Why should we die for these cowards?" they said, one to another. +"They have deserted us and we are free." + +They stretched out their hands in supplication toward Alexander. + +"Grant us our lives, O king!" they cried. + +"They surrender," Parmenio said. "They are ready to join us. Why not +accept them? It will cost many lives to punish them." + +Alexander's brow darkened. "They are traitors to Greece," he said. "I +will have none in my army who has raised his hand against his country." + +The deep phalanx rolled onward to the chant of the pæan, and the +despairing mercenaries knew that they could expect no quarter. + +"Let us die like Greeks, since we must die," their captains exhorted. +"There is no escape for us." + +The phalanx dashed upon them with a rending shock. The long sarissas +tore through their ranks; but they stood firm, giving blow for blow, +and calling upon each other not to disgrace their name. They even +forced the veterans of Macedon to recoil, and the phalanx surged back +like a mighty wave that dashes itself against a sounding cliff and +returns with renewed strength. + +Had only the foot-soldiers, with whom they could fight on equal terms, +been arrayed against them, the issue might have remained in doubt; but +the cavalry, against which they had no defence, fell upon their rear +ranks with terrible effect. Their squares were broken; their captains +fell; disordered and without guidance, they went down before lance and +sword, fighting to the last. + +Alexander's horse was killed under him while he was leading the cavalry +charge upon the left, and for the second time that day he narrowly +escaped with his life. + +"They fought like men," he said sadly to Ptolemy. "I wish they had +been with us instead of against us, for they were Greeks." + +He gave command to stop the carnage. Where the mercenary line had +stood the dead lay in heaps, friend and foe together. A few of the +mercenaries who had been cut off from the main body by the cavalry had +succeeded in making their escape; but of the twenty thousand whom +Memnon had led, eighteen thousand never left that bloody field. At +least, they had shown the barbarians how to die. + +"It will be harder for Darius to hire Greeks to fight for him after +this," Chares remarked, as he reined in his horse beside his two +friends and dismounted. + +"They were of our race, after all," Clearchus said, regretfully. + +"They were not cowards," Chares assented, nodding his head in approval, +"and we have lost more men than we could spare. Here is a fellow, now, +who might have amounted to something." + +He pointed to the body of a young man who lay with his broken sword +beside him. His pale face was calm and his wide eyes stared upward at +the crimson evening sky. His corselet had been broken, disclosing the +end of a thin roll of papyrus. Chares drew it out and broke the seals. + +"He may have been a poet," he said, handing the roll to Clearchus. +"Read it!" + +The Athenian glanced at the writing and uttered a quick exclamation. + +"Artemisia is in Halicarnassus!" he cried. + +"What do you mean?" Chares demanded. + +"This is a letter from Xanthe to me," Clearchus said, and he proceeded +to read the lines that his unhappy aunt had written with so much toil. + +"Who is this Iphicrates?" Leonidas asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied eagerly, "but if it be the will of the +Gods we shall learn. Let us seek the king at once!" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + +Mena, the Egyptian, had found a good excuse for remaining in Athens +during the fighting, but after the battle of the Granicus Phradates had +summoned him to Halicarnassus. He was sitting in a wine-shop, +discussing topics of moment with his host. His restless mind, ever on +the alert for intelligence that he might turn to account, was gathering +information concerning the city. + +"Memnon is an able general," he said. "If they had let him lead, the +war would have been over by this time." + +"I wish they had, then," the host replied, drawing his cup. "That +battle on the Granicus came near to ruining me, there were so many of +my debtors who did not return." + +"You can make up your loss by raising your prices when the siege begins +here," the Egyptian observed. + +"Do you think there will be a siege?" the other asked anxiously. + +"Of course," Mena replied. "Do you expect Alexander to turn back now +that the northern provinces are his? But with Memnon here, he will +have his trouble for his pains." + +"I don't know," the shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "They say these +Macedonians are wonderful fighters, and I am not sure, after all, that +I want to see them beaten. Blood is thicker than water, and this is a +Greek city, when all is said, even though it pays tribute to Darius. I +can't see how we should be worse off under Alexander than we are now. +The Persians are robbers, and my grandfather was a B[oe]otian." + +"Would you have the city surrender?" Mena demanded, in affected +surprise. + +"No, of course not," the shopkeeper said hastily, taking his cue from +his customer, after the manner of his kind. "No, I would never +surrender, for our walls are so strong and high that the Macedonians +will never get through them; but we might make terms," he added +cautiously. + +His embarrassment was relieved by a boy who came to tell him that two +strangers who had just entered the shop desired to speak with him. He +excused himself to the Egyptian, whose sharp eyes followed him as he +went to obey the summons. He could not suppress a start of surprise +when he saw who had sent it. The two men had taken their places at a +remote table, evidently not wishing to be remarked. They wore the garb +of light-armed foot-soldiers and their accoutrement seemed much the +worse for rough usage. One of them was of great size and strength, +with blue eyes and yellow hair which curled about his temples. The +other was smaller and more delicate in appearance. The cunning +Egyptian recognized them in an instant. They were Clearchus and Chares. + +Mena knew the two young men had set out with the army of Alexander, and +that they must have had some purpose in coming to Halicarnassus. +Either they had found some clew, he thought, to Artemisia's hiding +place, or they had been sent forward from the army as spies. He +gradually shifted his position so that he might watch their +conversation with the host without danger of being recognized. Their +talk lasted long enough for Chares to drain a huge measure of wine, +after which the keeper of the shop bowed them out and returned to Mena. + +"They were two Athenians," he said. "They wanted to know where +Iphicrates lives." + +"Who is Iphicrates?" Mena asked innocently. + +"He is an old rascal who makes his living out of the necessities of +others," the shopkeeper replied. "I dare say they want to borrow money +from him. They will have to pay well for it!" + +"Did they say they wanted money?" queried Mena. + +"No, they did not say why they wished to see him," was the reply. + +The wily Mena drew from his companion all that he knew about +Iphicrates. He found the house without difficulty and easily learned +the details of the accident that had befallen Thais. With this +information and with what he already knew of Artemisia's disappearance, +he soon found out all the rest. + +"Chares and Clearchus will attempt to rescue the two women," he +reflected. "If they succeed, Clearchus will return to Athens and +Ariston will be stripped of all he has. He will undoubtedly be thrown +into prison besides. That must not happen, now, at any rate. Chares +will probably go with Clearchus, and my worthy master will lose, not +only his revenge, but the girl that he makes himself such a fool over. +Of course he would blame me for that. This Iphicrates is a +money-lender, therefore he must have money. Let me see." + +Mena's further cogitations led him to Phradates, whom he found playing +at the dice with a party of mercenary captains, who were robbing him +without shame. The Egyptian drew him aside. + +"I will deliver Chares into thy hands to-night," he said, "and give +thee Thais to-morrow." + +"Are you drunk?" Phradates asked bluntly. + +"I mean exactly what I say," Mena replied with dignity, and he related +all that he had discovered. + +"My turn has come sooner than I expected," Phradates cried exultingly. +He lost no time in seeking Memnon, with whom he held a long +consultation. + +Save for the military patrols, the streets of Halicarnassus were +deserted that night when Chares and Clearchus approached the dwelling +of Iphicrates. They kept the darker side of the way and advanced with +caution, halting at every sound. They had laid aside their weapons, +which they knew would be useless in case of attack and which might +excite suspicion should they be noticed. In front of the house they +stopped to listen. Not a sound broke the stillness and nobody was in +sight. In one of the upper windows a light was burning. + +"She is there!" Clearchus said, pointing to the gleam. + +"How shall we make her understand who we are?" Chares asked. + +Clearchus picked up a pebble from the street and tossed it at the +window. The first trial failed, but at the second the stone entered +the opening. + +"Back now until we see her!" the Theban said, drawing Clearchus into an +angle of the opposite wall. + +In a moment a woman's head, with hair unbound, appeared at the window +against the light. + +"It is Artemisia!" Clearchus cried, unable to control himself in the +rush of his joy. He started forward and stood in the full moonlight +with his arms outstretched. + +"Artemisia!" he called softly. + +"Clearchus, my love, is it thou?" she replied, in the same tone. + +"Yes, we have come to save thee," he answered. "Canst thou come to us?" + +"I will try," she said. "Thais is here with me." + +She vanished from the window, and Clearchus advanced eagerly toward the +door. Before he had taken three steps a score of men seemed to rise +out of the ground around him. The trap set by Phradates had been +sprung. + +"Seize them!" the Tyrian cried in a shrill voice. + +In an instant, Clearchus had been overcome. Chares, who had remained +in the angle of shadow, sprang forward with a cry of rage. He reached +Phradates before the soldiers could stop him, and dealt the Tyrian a +blow that sent him down in an inanimate heap ten yards away; but, as he +did so, a dozen men leaped upon him and bore him to the earth. + +Clearchus was struggling like a madman with his captors, but to no +purpose. + +"They have us," the Theban said coolly. "Let us show ourselves men." + +With a groan Clearchus submitted; and the guard, having bound their +arms behind them, dragged them to their feet. + +"At least, that Ph[oe]nician coward has his deserts," Chares exclaimed +with a laugh, glancing at the senseless form of his enemy. "I hope I +have killed him!" + +Part of the guard marched them quickly away, while the rest remained +behind to care for Phradates. As long as the house could be seen, +Clearchus kept his eyes upon the window, hoping for another glimpse of +Artemisia, but he saw her not. + +It was necessary for the soldiers who had stayed behind with Phradates +to summon a physician before he could be brought back to consciousness. +His life had been saved by the fact that he threw up his right hand to +protect himself from Chares' terrible blow. The bones of his wrist had +been broken and splintered so badly that the physician doubted whether +he would ever be able to use his hand again. + +In the morning Iphicrates received orders to join the citizen levy that +had been raised to defend the walls of the city; and Phradates, with a +retinue of slaves and attendants, took possession of the house. The +money-lender protested bitterly against the service demanded of him, +but his entreaties were in vain. He had not even time to make +provision for the security of his valuables before he was hurried away, +and he was forced to accept the assistance which the sympathetic Mena +pressed upon him. He revealed to the Egyptian, with many lamentations, +the hiding-places of his hoard, promising to reward him liberally if he +would bring it to him. Mena found not only the gold of which +Iphicrates had spoken, but much more that had been so cunningly +concealed in the walls of the house that Iphicrates had deemed it +unnecessary to allude to it. So expeditious was Mena's search that he +was able to report to Iphicrates, before nightfall, that the soldiers +had anticipated him and had carried everything away. + +"I am ruined!" cried the wretched man, turning pale and wiping the +drops from his brow. "The savings of a lifetime of toil have been +taken from me! Ah, the robbers! Would that I had them here before me!" + +"Take hope," Mena replied soothingly. "The fortunes of war may bring +thee more than thou hast lost, and it is better, at any rate, that thy +gold should have fallen into the hands of thy friends rather than into +those of the Macedonians." + +"I have no friends," Iphicrates wailed. "I will appeal to Memnon +himself!" + +"Give yourself no concern about that," the Egyptian replied hastily. +"I have already complained to my master, and he has promised to see +that the soldiers are punished. He is generous, and he feels that it +was partly his fault that this misfortune has come upon thee." + +Iphicrates clasped his hand and thanked him with tears. Mena left him +to his drill and hastened to make provision for the secret conveyance +of the gold to Tyre. Phradates remained in ignorance of the whole +transaction, having matters of more importance to occupy his thoughts +than the ruin of an old miser. + +Artemisia passed the night in an agony of suspense and weeping. Thais +did her utmost to comfort her, though her own heart was scarcely less +troubled than that of her younger companion. It was by representing +that, weak as they were, they might be the only persons in the city who +could aid Clearchus and Chares, and that they must not abandon +themselves to despair that she finally persuaded Artemisia to sleep. +While she talked, her swift mind was busy with plans. She had heard +that the Persian officials were venal, and that anything in the empire +might be had for a price. She knew that the purchase of a general or a +viceroy was beyond her means, but she hoped that the jailers who had +the two young men in charge, whoever they were, might be bribed by her +jewels to let them escape. It was with a kind of exaltation that she +made a mental account of the gems, thinking that the price she had paid +for them might not have been in vain. The question that most occupied +her mind was what temper Phradates would be in, for she doubted not +that he would seek to take advantage of her situation. Finding +Artemisia quiet at last, she lay down and resolutely closed her eyes. + +As soon as the Tyrian had occupied the house, his slaves brought food +and wine in his name to the young women. Thais accepted it. + +"Tell thy master that we have no women to dress us," she said. + +"How can you receive anything from that man?" Artemisia exclaimed +indignantly, when the slaves had gone. + +"If I had my wish, I would drive this through his heart," Thais +replied, catching up a small dagger that she sometimes carried in her +bosom. "My desire to aid Chares and Clearchus is no less strong than +thine; but we are women and we must fight as we can, not as we would. +So hide thy grief if thou canst, for it will win pity neither for them +nor for thee." + +Artemisia looked at her splendid beauty, heightened by the smouldering +fire in her eyes. "I feel that I am a child," she said, embracing her. +"I know nothing of the world and I am afraid. I will trust thee in all +things." + +Thais returned her caress. "Our lovers are in the net," she said, "but +you remember in the story that it was the mouse that freed the lion. +If Phradates sends us the women, he is still my slave, though we are in +his power, and we may hope. Now, let us eat." + +They had scarcely finished when Mena knocked at the door and ushered in +two women of Cyprus, with gleaming black eyes and slender, agile forms. +"My master, the noble Phradates, sends you these," he said, bowing low +before Thais. + +"Phradates hath our thanks," she replied gravely. "Tell him that we +hope to express our gratitude to him in person." + +Mena withdrew, and Thais immediately commanded the women to dress her +and Artemisia. To this task she gave her whole attention, directing +every step with the minutest care, to the least fold of the saffron +chiton. She chose for her adornment a topaz necklace that seemed to +sparkle with inward fire. Artemisia she robed simply in white, with a +white rose in her soft, brown hair. + +There was an unwonted stir in the house. Slaves came and went with +messages. The sound of men's voices rose from below. Thais was +restless and uneasy. She paced backward and forward, stopping now and +then before the polished mirror to examine once more the lustrous coils +of her hair, or the arrangement of her silken chiton. She seemed +expectant, and at every footfall turned her face toward the door; but +the morning wore on, and Phradates did not come. Finally she sent one +of the Cyprian women down, on pretence of fetching water, to learn what +was going on. The woman returned with the news that the Tyrian was +there, but of Chares and Clearchus she could learn nothing. + +Thais hesitated for a moment. "Go down again," she said at last, "and +tell Phradates that we are ready to receive him." + +The woman took the message, but she came back almost immediately, +saying that Phradates had left the house. + +Thais stamped her foot. "Then we must wait," she said regretfully. "O +that I were a man this day!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + +The morning sun, shining from a cloudless sky, danced upon the rippling +harbor before the eyes of the two prisoners as they were led to the +Royal Citadel where Memnon had established himself. The Rhodian had +been placed in command of all the western border of the empire after +the disaster on the Granicus, and his authority was nominally supreme. + +They were conducted to an antechamber of the council room to await +their turn. They found themselves surrounded by a throng in which the +Greeks far outnumbered the barbarians. Sullen looks were levelled at +them by the officers who came and went. Ephialtes, who had been exiled +from Athens, smiled at them mockingly. Neoptolemus, the Lyncestian, +and Amyntas, son of Antiochus, who had been concerned in the murder of +Philip, Thrasybulus, and others who had become exiles from their native +land for various crimes, passed them in the crowd of civil and military +officials whose faces and garb indicated the widely scattered races +that they represented. + +"See," Clearchus said to Chares. "There goes the Tyrian!" + +Phradates was making his way through the hall, holding his head high +and ignoring the salutes that were offered to him. He wore a +magnificent cloak of purple, under which he concealed his maimed right +arm, and his spurs clanked on the marble floor. + +"They are the same spurs he used to get away with from the battle," +Chares observed. "He seems to be a person of some importance here, and +that will do us no good." + +"He has us this time safely enough," Clearchus said bitterly. + +"That is true," Chares replied. "I wish I had struck him harder! His +head must be of iron." + +"Do you think the oracle was accomplished when we found Artemisia?" +Clearchus inquired anxiously. + +"I do not know," the Theban replied, "but only Ph[oe]bus can save us +now." + +"Come along," the captain of the guard said roughly, "the general is +waiting for you." + +He led them into the council room, where Memnon sat behind a table +littered with documents. With him were Orontobates, Phradates, and a +few of the higher officers. The famous Rhodian raised his head from +the letter that he had been reading and looked keenly at the two young +men. + +"You are charged with being spies of the Macedonian," he said abruptly. +"What have you to reply?" + +"It is not true," Chares answered. "We are here on private business +alone." + +"He lies!" Phradates broke in. "I saw them both at Thebes in the army +of Alexander, and again in the battle of the Granicus. They are spies!" + +"What he says is partly true," Chares replied coolly, "but it also true +that we are not spies and that he knows it. We have left the army of +Alexander." + +"Why did you come here?" Memnon asked. + +"We came in search of Artemisia, a young woman of Athens," Clearchus +said. "She was stolen before the war began. We followed the army in +obedience to the oracle at Delphi for the purpose of finding her. When +we learned that she was here, we came hither to seek her." + +"It is all false," Phradates cried. "Put them to the torture and they +will reveal the truth!" + +"Spoken like a Ph[oe]nician," Chares said scornfully, "but it is only +among savages that they torture free men. Do you remember, Tyrian, +what was done to you when you came as a spy to Thebes?" + +Phradates bit his lip and was silent. + +"Alexander sent thee back to Tyre," Chares continued, "and he gave thee +a message to deliver to thy king, Azemilcus. Hast thou forgotten it? +He told thee to bid him prepare the altar in the temple of Heracles, +for that he was coming with his army to make sacrifice there. He is on +his way." + +Chares spoke boldly, and the threat conveyed in his words had an +evident effect upon the minds of the men who heard him. Many of them, +like Phradates, had seen with their own eyes the impetuous charge of +the Macedonians across the Granicus, and they knew in their hearts that +the Great King had no troops that could have withstood it. Sardis, +Ephesus, Miletus, and all the Carian cities in the north had fallen, +and the mutterings of the approaching storm were all about them. Would +the great walls of Halicarnassus, upon which they had been toiling, +give them shelter? Misgiving seized their minds, and they looked +questioningly at each other and at Memnon. None could read what was +passing in the thoughts of the wily Rhodian, but no doubt he reflected +upon the jealousy of the Persians, his masters, which had forbidden him +to lead his Greeks into the battle of the Granicus and which still +encompassed him, all the more vigilant because of his promotion. He +must have thought, too, of his wife and children, hostages in the hands +of Darius. He knew that Clearchus and Chares had told the truth. +Would it not be well to have two young men of influence in Greece and +on terms of intimacy with Alexander to speak for him in case of need? + +With his eyes on Memnon's furrowed face, Clearchus, with the subtle +intelligence of an Athenian, divined something of what was passing in +his mind. + +"Say no more," he whispered to Chares. "He will save us if he can." + +Memnon at last raised his head and glanced about him. "I am inclined +to think that the story these men tell is true," he said deliberately. + +An angry murmur rose from the crowd, and Phradates' face flushed darkly. + +"Who was the girl in the litter?" said Ephialtes. "Was she this +Artemisia whom they were seeking?" + +There was a sneer in the exile's tone that brought the blood to Chares' +cheek. + +"She was not," he answered. "She was Thais. You may have seen her, +Ephialtes, before they drove you from Athens." + +"Thais?" Thrasybulus said. "Why not send for her? She may be able to +tell whether these speak truth or falsehood." + +"Let her be brought before us," Memnon commanded. "Remove the +prisoners until she comes. My Lord Orontobates, I wish to consult with +you concerning the disposition of the fleet." + +Clearchus and Chares were conducted back to the antechamber, while a +tall, handsome man, wearing the headdress and insignia of a Persian +noble of high rank, bent beside the Rhodian over a map which showed the +coast on either side of the city. Although Memnon had been made +general and civil governor of the western provinces, he well knew that +Orontobates had been placed beside him to watch every act of his, and +that the Great King was bound, even though it might be against his own +judgment, to take the word of the Persian before that of the mercenary. +It was no wonder that the brow of the general was thoughtful and his +face careworn, surrounded as he was by traps and pitfalls, and with the +terrible army that he had been chosen to defeat drawing hourly more +near. + +They were still studying headland and bay when Thais and her escort +arrived. As if by accident, she took her position full in the sunlight +that streamed in through a lofty window cut in the gray stone wall of +the fortress. There was a stir of surprise in the room as she entered, +and the gaze of every man was bent upon her. The bright flood touched +the coils of her hair and filled them with changing gleams. It bathed +her face in a rich glow, warm and delicate as the blush upon the petals +of a rose. The folds of her chiton, leaving bare the rounded grace of +her neck and the swell of her bosom, swept down to her little white +feet, shod with saffron sandals, and revealed the firm curves of her +figure, youthful, erect, and elastic as a wand of willow. The yellow +light sparkled and ran through the topaz chain that rose and fell with +her breathing. + +As she stood there, a butterfly danced in upon the sunlight, fluttered +about her head, and finally settled upon her hair, slowly opening and +shutting its red-brown wings, mottled with darker spots. Like a sudden +breeze in a ripened field of grain, a whisper of admiration and +superstitious wonder ran through the room. Thais raised her eyes, and +the shadow of a smile parted her crimson lips, showing the pearly gleam +of her teeth. + +Thus for a moment she stood in the sunlight before the gaze of the +assemblage that thronged about the Rhodian general. The flower of her +womanhood seemed to exhale a nameless, sensuous fascination, like the +strange perfume of a rare exotic, the spell of which was longing and +desire. + +"Bring in the prisoners," Memnon said. + +Clearchus and Chares were led into the room before Thais. She turned +to them with a swift warning in her glance that stopped the words of +protest on the lips of the Theban. + +"Leave them to me," her eyes seemed to say. + +"Do you know these men?" Memnon asked courteously. + +"I know them," she assented, in a voice that sounded singularly sweet +and timid. "They are Chares, who was of Thebes, and Clearchus, of +Athens." + +"Can you tell what brought them here?" Memnon asked. + +"They left Athens in search of Artemisia, as all Athens knows," Thais +returned. + +Her answer had substantiated the story of the prisoners. Memnon turned +inquiringly to Orontobates. + +"It may be that this is some trick," the Persian said softly, in his +own tongue. "Who knows that they have not concerted this story for +this occasion?" + +"My lord's suspicion is just," Thais returned, smiling upon Orontobates +and addressing him in his own language; "but he will observe that I +have not seen these men since they left Athens, and, indeed, I did not +know they were here." + +"Then why did you come here yourself?" Orontobates asked, returning her +smile. + +"I came because I learned that Artemisia was here, and I, too, wished +to find her," Thais replied. + +Orontobates shook his head incredulously. "If this young woman, for +whom all Athens seems to be seeking, is here in Halicarnassus, +doubtless she can be found," he remarked. + +"My lord is right," Thais said quietly, "for I have found her." + +"Shall we send for her?" Memnon asked, turning to Orontobates, who sat +thoughtfully stroking his beard, "or shall we set the prisoners free?" + +"Thou knowest that Darius commanded us to send him our captives, so +that he might learn for himself concerning the Macedonians," the +Persian replied. "We have had few to send, and I think he would like +to question these men. By their own confession, they have been in +Alexander's army. Dost thou not think it might be well to obey the +command relating to them?" + +Memnon saw that if he refused he might be charged with disobedience to +the Great King, whose lightest word was law, and he could not afford to +take the risk. + +"Thy words are wise," he said smoothly, hiding the anger that he felt +at the Persian's interference. "It shall be as thou hast said. Take +away the prisoners," he added to the guard, "and let them be sent +to-night to Babylon with the messenger who is to carry my letters to +King Darius, my master,--may he live forever!" + +"It is well," said Orontobates, with a shade of mockery in his voice. + +Clearchus' face grew pale. The thought that Artemisia was so near and +that he was about to be separated from her, perhaps forever, without +being permitted to see her again, was a blow under which he staggered. + +"Why send us both?" Chares demanded, restraining himself with an +effort. "I know all that Clearchus knows, and I will tell it freely to +the Great King if you will let him go free." + +"Two are better than one," Orontobates said. "Thou wilt tell what thou +knowest, whether freely or not." + +"Take them away," Memnon said harshly, "and see that they speak with +nobody before their departure." + +Thais followed them with her eyes to the door, where Chares turned his +head and smiled at her. She gave him back the smile bravely; but as he +passed out of her sight her face changed and became like marble. Her +eyes sought those of Orontobates, and she spoke to him in an even voice +that vibrated with the intensity of her passion. + +"I am a woman, O Persian," she said, "but I say to thee and to thy +master that if harm befalls either of these men, the proudest palaces +of thy kings shall be their funeral pyre." + +A dead hush followed this defiance, and all eyes were turned upon the +Persian in expectation of an outbreak; but Orontobates merely smiled +upon her as though she were a petulant child and turned again to the +study of the maps spread out before him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + +Silent and thoughtful in the midst of the swarthy Arabian guard +commanded by Nathan the Israelite, who bore Memnon's letters to the +Great King, Clearchus and Chares rode out of the eastern gate of +Halicarnassus. Even the Theban's buoyant nature for once was subdued. +They were going to what seemed certain death, and they were leaving +behind them those they loved most on earth. + +To Clearchus this thought was unbearable. He cared not what happened, +now that the last hope of rescuing Artemisia was gone. What would +become of her? Who could aid her now? He rode with his head sunk on +his breast, seeing and hearing nothing of what went on around him. A +low fever filled his veins, dulling his senses and leaving him only +half conscious of their situation. At times he imagined it was all a +dream, from which he would awake, still free to continue the search for +his lost love. Then a realization of the truth would return to him, +and he groaned aloud in his despair. + +The response of the oracle of Delphi, which had supported him, now +seemed like a mockery. It had been fulfilled, he thought, when in +truth he found Artemisia in the track that Alexander's army was to +follow. The Gods had made him their sport, and he fancied them smiling +down from the heavens upon his agony. The light of the sun became +hateful to him. + +So he rode, mile after mile and day after day, in listless and inert +abandonment to his fate. Who could resist the will of the Gods? He +ate almost nothing, and his strength wasted visibly, while lines of +suffering deepened on his face. + +In vain Chares sought to rouse him. He returned patient answers to the +arguments of the Theban, but his power of effort was gone. In the +first stages of their journey Chares watched over him constantly to +prevent him from destroying himself in his despair. + +Through Lycia, Pisidia, and Cilicia they passed, finding fresh relays +of horses at each station along the great highway that had been +established by the predecessors of Darius. Through the Amanic Gates +they galloped at last, and paused at Thapsacus, on the banks of the +mighty Euphrates, where, more than a century and a half before, the Ten +Thousand had halted in their desperate dash upon Babylon. + +Chares had long ago recovered his cheerful temper. Of what lay before +them when they reached the Persian capital he had ceased to think. The +condition of Clearchus, and the fact that they had advanced so far +toward the heart of the Persian empire, made escape practically +impossible. The Theban was regarded rather as a comrade than an enemy +by the Arabs of the guard, and his unfailing good nature made the long +journey seem less wearisome. + +With Nathan he had formed a solid friendship. The young Israelite, +browned by the sun and wind, was naturally taciturn and inclined to +silence. His form was active and sinewy, and his muscles seemed always +on the alert. In his dark eyes burned the mystic intelligence and +indomitable earnestness of his race. He rode usually in advance of the +little troop, and, although often he seemed wrapped in contemplation, +nothing ever escaped him. The contrast between him and the careless, +talkative Theban, with his laughing blue eyes and yellow hair, was as +complete as possible; and it may have been this very difference in +their temperaments that drew them together. + +Nathan showed an extraordinary interest in all that related to +Alexander, even in his personal appearance and what he had said on this +or that occasion. He would listen by the hour while Chares talked of +the young Macedonian king, his people, and his court. No suspicion +entered the Theban's mind that Nathan was seeking information for the +use of his superiors in Babylon. He would have dismissed such a +thought as unjust. The Israelite inquired little about Alexander's +army, and seemed rather desirous of forming in his own mind a portrait +of the young leader. That he reflected deeply upon what Chares told +him was shown by the questions that he asked from time to time for the +purpose of enabling him to fill out some incomplete detail. + +Chares sometimes wondered whether the interest that Nathan displayed in +Alexander could have any religious bearing. He had heard from +Aristotle of the mysterious and peculiar belief of the Israelites, who +worshipped only one God, and who would not suffer an image of Him to be +set up in their temple; but his ideas regarding their faith were +confused with stories of a hundred other equally insignificant tribes. + +His attention was aroused one day by a sudden change in the young +Israelite. He became both restless and abstracted. Often he returned +no answer to the questions that the Theban put to him, and there seemed +to be an unusual luminous depth in his dark eyes. At times his lips +moved as though he were conversing with unseen companions. There was a +strangeness in his actions and expression that caused even the heedless +Theban to feel a vague uneasiness. Toward nightfall, Clearchus, as +though drawn by some undefinable bond of sympathy, rode forward and +took his place beside Nathan. It was the first time that this had +happened since they left Halicarnassus, and Chares watched them with +amazement. Neither spoke, but each appeared conscious of the other's +presence, and Chares imagined that there was more animation in +Clearchus' glance when they halted for the night. At the same time he +had a dim sense that something was going on between them that he could +not understand. + +After the evening meal Nathan sat before the tent that he always +occupied with his two prisoners when they spent the night away from +human habitation. Clearchus lay beside him, with his head resting on +his hand. The Arabs were sleeping in a group beside the tethered +horses. + +In the measureless depths of the sky the great stars blazed with a +steady light. Strange cries of night birds came from the broad river, +sweeping silently past them in the darkness. The howl of a jackal +sounded faintly in the distance. + +Nathan's face was turned toward the south, as though his eyes could see +there the walls of the city in whose narrow streets he had played with +his companions as a boy. Presently he began to speak. + +"He will requite His enemies and those who scorn Him," the Israelite +said. "Terrible is His wrath!" + +"Is He more powerful than Zeus?" said Clearchus, seeming to comprehend +what Nathan meant. + +"Yea," Nathan answered solemnly. "Thy Gods are as nothing before Him. +Baal He overthrew in Babylon with all his brood." + +"I have heard that it was the Persians and not thy people who smote +Nebuchadnezzar," Clearchus replied. "Is He the God of the Persians, +too?" + +"They paid Him honor under the name of Ormazd," the Israelite replied. +"While they were faithful to Him, nothing could stand against them; but +they have turned their faces from Him, and their time has come. He +hath weighed them in His balance, one by one--Chaldean, Egyptian, +Assyrian, Ph[oe]nician, and Mede. He hath given the victory into their +hands; and one by one hath He smitten them until they were humbled in +the dust. There is no God but God." + +"What hath He done for thee?" the Athenian asked. + +"He hath delivered me out of the snares of mine enemies," Nathan +replied earnestly, "even when they compassed me about in wrath. Once +and again hath He brought my people out of bondage because they +worshipped Him alone. He hath made good His promise. He hath never +failed us in our hour of need. By the mouths of His holy men hath He +given us knowledge of that which is to come; and now once more He will +show to the sons of men His wrath and His favor. He shall put down the +mighty from their seats." + +Chares saw that Nathan's hands were trembling as they lay clasped upon +his knees and that drops of moisture glistened upon his forehead. + +"His word was given to Daniel, viceroy of the Great King, Belshazzar, +in the palace at Susa by the waters of the river Ulai in the time of my +fathers' fathers," the Israelite continued. "The mysteries of the +future were laid bare to him by Gabriel, Jehovah's servant; and behold, +he saw standing before the river, a ram with two horns; and the two +horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came +up last. He saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, +so that no beasts might stand against him. Neither was there any that +could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and +became great. Lo, these are the words of Daniel, the viceroy. + +"And as he stood considering, behold, an he goat came from the West on +the face of the whole earth and he touched not the ground. And the he +goat had a great horn between his eyes; and that was thy king, who +cometh. And while Daniel looked, he saw the he goat come close to the +ram and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast +him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that +could deliver the ram from him. These things were seen of Daniel in +olden times; and the hour is at hand." + +There was silence for a moment, and then Clearchus said slowly:-- + +"If it is written that Alexander shall overthrow the Great King, why +dost thou lead us captives to Babylon?" + +"I know not," Nathan replied, "but the command was laid upon me, and it +is Jehovah's will that I should obey. Were it not so, He would have +told me. How can we know His ways? Who are we that we should question +His wisdom? Yet in the end, I have faith that it will be well with +thee; for to Him nothing is impossible." + +It was long before Clearchus closed his eyes in sleep that night. He +lay looking upward at the tranquil and steadfast stars and revolving in +his mind the words of the Israelite. Could it be that a Divinity +greater than all others existed in the universe, whose will ruled all +things? The idea took possession of him, and at the same time hope was +renewed in his breast. The Gods whom he had honored had deserted him; +perhaps the God of Israel could help him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + +Long before Nathan with his captives reached the Persian capital, the +sentinels upon the towers of Halicarnassus gave warning of the approach +of Alexander's army. Fresh from the storming of stubborn Miletus, the +Macedonians advanced against the lofty walls which sheltered the army +of Memnon, nearly as numerous as their own. At the first alarm the +braying of trumpets sounded through the city, and soldiers filled the +streets, marching quickly towards the Mylasan Gate. + +Iphicrates, perched high on the walls with the corps of citizen +defenders to which he belonged, watched the regular troops making ready +for their sally. He held a spear in his hand and a sword was buckled +about his fat sides. + +"I wish I was with them," said a youth beside him, little more than a +boy, gazing down upon the array. + +"It's cooler up here--and safer too," the old money-lender muttered, +wiping his brow. + +"They will cut the Macedonians to pieces," the boy exclaimed, "and I +shall have no part in the victory." + +"Patience!" Iphicrates answered. "Thy chance will come, perhaps." + +The boy turned and looked outward towards the attacking army. "They +have stopped," he cried. "They are afraid!" + +Iphicrates shaded his eyes with his hand. The Macedonians indeed had +halted amid the clouds of dust that their feet had raised and they +seemed to be in some confusion. At that moment the gate was thrown +open and the garrison emerged in a wide, glittering column. The walls +rang with cheers. The column advanced, wheeled, and deployed in a +long, deep line, confronting the enemy. It was evidently Memnon's plan +to strike a blow that might prove decisive while the Macedonians were +still wearied from their march and before they were able to form. His +archers sent a flight of arrows towards the Macedonian ranks and his +spearmen prepared to charge. + +Then behind the dust-cloud rose a sound that seemed to the watchers +upon the walls like the murmur of a mighty river. The advance guard of +the Macedonians scattered, and in its place appeared the solid front of +the phalanx with its forest of sarissas. + +"What are they singing?" asked the boy, gazing wide-eyed upon the +changing scene. + +"It is the pæan; they are calling upon the Gods," Iphicrates replied, +again mopping his face. + +"It is like a tragedy in a theatre," the boy said, catching his breath +in the intensity of his excitement. "Look! Who is that?" + +Across the front of the Macedonians rode a man upon a great black horse +that curvetted and tossed the foam from his bit. The rider's armor +flashed through the dust and his white plumes nodded from his helmet. + +"That must be Alexander himself," Iphicrates replied. "Ah, here they +come!" + +Louder rose the pæan as the phalanx swept forward. The space that +divided the two armies seemed to shrink away until they almost touched. +Then, as with one impulse, the sarissas of the foremost Macedonian +ranks dropped forward, until their points were level with the breasts +of the foe, and were driven home by the impulse of the charge. The +lines of the defenders bent, swayed, and broke. Order gave place to +confusion. Here and there small parties began to run back toward the +gate they had left so bravely half an hour before. + +"We are beaten!" sobbed the boy on the wall. + +"It is cooler up here," Iphicrates replied mechanically. A chill ran +through his bulk as though he already felt the edge of the swords that +were rising and falling in the hands of the victors. + +The swiftest of the fugitives, throwing away their weapons, had already +dashed panting through the gate. Others crowded behind them, and the +opening quickly became choked by a mass of men who trampled each other +in their eagerness to get inside the walls. The cavalry and +light-armed troops of the Macedonians pressed close at their heels, +giving them no respite from their terror. + +Of the army of Halicarnassus hardly a remnant would have escaped had +not the rain of missiles and arrows from the walls checked the +Macedonian advance. As soon as the enemy was within range the order +was given to the archers and slingers, of whom there were thousands +posted upon the ramparts. They showered stones and arrows upon the +pursuing force, and the catapults sent huge darts buzzing down among +the close-packed squadrons. + +The boy beside Iphicrates was twanging away with his bow as fast as he +could fit his arrows to the cord. + +"I hit one!" he cried, following the course of a shaft with his eyes. +"I saw him fall! He went right over backward!" + +He began shooting again with renewed ardor. + +Meantime a few squadrons of the bravest men in Memnon's forces rallied +and made a brief stand before the gate. They succeeded in halting the +Macedonians long enough to enable their comrades to swarm through to +safety; but soon they were swept off their feet and hurled back toward +the battlements. To their dismay, they found the great gate closed +against them. They were cut down as they ran hither and thither, +seeking in vain for a place of refuge. + +Iphicrates watched the butchery with horrible fascination. His face +was mottled, and the spear in his hand shook like a blade of corn. + +"Cowards!" cried the boy with flashing eyes, "why did they not let them +in?" + +A shout of warning sounded along the crest of the wall. The Macedonian +slingers and archers had turned their weapons against it, and they +swept the parapet with a deadly storm that drove the defenders to +shelter. The hissing of the arrows and the humming of the balls of +lead from the slings filled the air. The boy beside Iphicrates uttered +a cry, threw up his arms, and fell with a red mark on his forehead. + +"Mother!" he murmured, and lay still. + +Iphicrates dropped to his hands and knees and crawled away, shaking +with the palsy of fear. + +There was little sleep in Halicarnassus that night. Soldier and +citizen labored together, and morning found them still toiling upon the +walls, preparing for what they knew was to come. The city was in the +iron grip of the siege. + +By day and by night the great walls crumbled before the unremitting +assaults of the enemy. The Macedonians filled in the wide ditch, +raised mounds and towers, and burrowed beneath the foundations of the +defences like moles. There was no lack of provisions in the city, for +Memnon's fleet came and went with nothing to oppose it, bringing corn +and supplies as they were needed. It had been the hope of the +inhabitants that Alexander would withdraw when he had measured the +difficulty of the task before him. They had ground for the belief that +disturbances might be fomented in Greece that would cause him to turn +his attention to that quarter. But their plans miscarried. Antipater +held Greece with a firm hand and the siege continued. + +No man was permitted to lay aside his armor, for the Macedonians +attacked at every hour. Again and again the city was roused in the +dead of night by the crash of falling battlements, and the defenders +were obliged to guard some new breach while they repaired the damage as +best they might. They made frequent sallies, attacking the formidable +engines that had been constructed by the enemy. Several of them were +destroyed in this way, but they were replaced by new ones more powerful +than their predecessors. + +Orontobates sent urgent messages to his master, Darius, telling him of +the desperate situation and begging for succor; but none came. What +was one city, rich and populous though it might be, to a monarch who +counted his cities by the thousand? The brave garrison was left to its +fate, fighting obstinately against its doom. The faces of the men grew +haggard with watching and anxiety. Custom and order were forgotten. +Rich and poor, slave and freeman, labored side by side against the +inevitable; and ever, like men swimming against the current, they felt +the resistless pressure bearing them down. + +Artemisia and Thais, shut up in the house of Iphicrates, awaited the +result of the siege. The younger woman was overcome at first when she +learned that Clearchus was to be sent to Babylon, but Thais managed to +convince her that he was in no danger, and a message that was brought +to them before the siege began went far to revive her hope. One of the +Cyprian women came back from the market with a basket of grapes. She +said that a young man had followed her and asked her whether she did +not belong to Thais. She replied that she did. + +"Then tell her," the stranger said, "that Nathan the Israelite bids her +have no fear." + +With that, he vanished in the crowd, and she brought the message. + +They learned without much difficulty who Nathan was, and the mysterious +message consoled them. Artemisia spoke of it with a childlike faith +that touched Thais' heart. + +"When they return, they will rejoin the army of Alexander," she said. +"If we could only escape to the Macedonians." + +"We shall manage it in some way," Thais replied. "Leave it to me." + +Phradates, whose broken wrist prevented him from taking part in the +fighting, came often to visit them. He had never forgotten his glimpse +of the face of Thais as it appeared in the great slave market before +the ruined city of Thebes. His defeat that day was rendered more +bitter in the recollection by the thought that she had been a witness +of it. The face had haunted him until it had become a part of his +life. After her return to Athens he had dogged her footsteps until he +was called away to join the army of the satraps. + +When he saw her again before Memnon's tribunal, the fascination of her +beauty took complete possession of him. His anger against Chares was +forgotten, and he was even glad when his rival was sent to Babylon +instead of being condemned to death. He believed that the Theban would +never come back, and the execution of the prisoners in Halicarnassus +might have proved an insurmountable barrier between him and Thais. + +Phradates knew that he had the young woman in his power, but he could +not bring himself to make use of this advantage. He would not force a +triumph; he must have a complete surrender. Day by day he hoped to +obtain it. He found a half promise in her words, a suggestion of +tenderness in her manner, and at times an implied appeal to his +generosity that made his hope almost a certainty. When he grew +impatient, the fear of losing her entirely restrained him. Thus he +fell more and more completely under her domination, like a man who sips +a narcotic, yielding by little and little to its power, until his will +to resist is gone, and he gives himself wholly to its subtle +intoxication, unwittingly a captive. + +After one of her interviews with him, Thais often threw herself down, +disgusted with the part that she was forced to play. She grew angry at +Artemisia's failure to understand the necessity of what she was doing. +When the smile faded from her lips as the door closed upon the +Ph[oe]nician, she found Artemisia's eyes fixed upon her in sorrowful +reproach. + +"Why do you look at me like that?" she exclaimed petulantly. "Speak +out, if you must!" + +Artemisia bent her head and remained silent. + +"Do you think I love him?" Thais demanded scornfully, coming close to +her. "Do you believe that I am false to Chares? Tell me, if you do." + +"I do not," Artemisia replied hesitatingly. "Only it seems to me--" + +"It seems to you that I do it too well," Thais exclaimed, completing +her thought. "What would you do if you were shut up with an untamed +tiger? You may give thanks to your Artemis in your innocence that I +have been able so far to hold this one in check." + +"Forgive me," Artemisia cried, embracing her. "I know you must, and +yet--I am sorry for it, my sister." + +Artemisia often made use of this title, never dreaming how true it was, +and it always awakened a pang of tenderness in Thais' heart. She +returned the embrace and forgave her, although she felt that Artemisia +could not really understand, try as she might. + +"I wish the siege would end!" Thais said wearily. "If you knew how +much I loathe all this, you would have more pity." + +Her wish was granted at last. Even the most hopeful inhabitant of the +city understood that neither flesh nor stone could hold out much longer +against the dogged Macedonian assault. Memnon knew that unless the +battering rams and catapults could be destroyed the city must fall. +There were breaches in the massive walls and the great towers were +tottering. If he could gain a little more time, reinforcements might +arrive and compel Alexander to raise the siege. Mustering his best +remaining troops, he poured them out of the Triple Gate and through the +gaps in the wall upon the works of the enemy. The attack was repulsed +without accomplishing its object; and when the garrison sought to +regain the defences, scores were slain at the wall and hundreds more in +the moat, where they were precipitated by the breaking of the bridge +leading to the gate. + +It was plain that the end was at hand. The Rhodian felt that the city +was at the mercy of the young king, and he hastened to take advantage +of the respite that Alexander's forbearance allowed him. At midnight +after this last defeat the evacuation began. The troops were withdrawn +to the Royal Citadel and to the Salmacis, where they could still remain +in touch with their ships. The greater part of the population fled to +the harbor and sought escape in the merchant vessels which were putting +to sea. Azemilcus, king of Tyre, who had been acting with the fleet, +made ready a trireme in which to send home the wounded among the +Tyrians. He placed it under the command of Phradates. + +Thais learned from the slave women that the young Ph[oe]nician was +making ready to depart in haste. + +"If we are to escape, we must do it now," she said hurriedly to +Artemisia. "He will try to take us with him." + +"Can we not refuse to go?" Artemisia replied. + +"No," Thais responded. "To refuse him would be to open his eyes, and +he would certainly take us by force. Flight is our only hope." + +She gathered her jewels into a packet and placed it in her bosom. She +then ordered the women to muffle them in long cloaks that concealed +their faces. + +"Go down and find out who is there," she said. + +One of the women brought word that Phradates had gone to the harbor to +see that all was in readiness, and that Mena was also absent. Thais +led the way boldly down the stairs and out of the house, followed by +Artemisia and the two women. The slaves who were at work below stared +at them, but in the absence of their master none ventured to stop them. +They gained the street in safety, and were immediately swept away in +the clamoring, terror-stricken streams of fugitives who were pouring +toward the harbor. A lofty tower that had been built beside the Triple +Gate was on fire. The flames roared up the sides of the structure, +bursting from its windows and loopholes, and converting it into a +gigantic torch. They spread quickly to the houses nearest the walls, +sending volumes of reddened smoke rolling over the harbor. The howling +of dogs mingled with the shouts of men and the wailing of women who +clasped their children to their breasts. + +Iphicrates left the walls with his comrades in arms and plunged into +the crowded streets. He had intended to seek his own house in the hope +of finding some remains of his hoard untouched; but the panic seized +him, and he changed his direction. He determined to gain the Royal +Citadel, which he knew was to be defended against the Macedonians. +Thinking only of his own safety, he forced his way through the press, +pushing women and children aside in his haste. Blinded by the terror +that possessed him, he took no heed of a small, dark-skinned man with +sharp features who reeled back from the thrust of his elbow. Even if +he had noticed that the figure fell in behind him, following his +footsteps like a shadow, he would have taken him only for one of the +fugitives. + +Steeped in the contagion of fear, the money-lender hardly noticed where +he went. He soon became exhausted by his struggle with the crowd, and +he heaved a sigh of relief when he found himself at last in a street +that was comparatively deserted. He overlooked the fact that the few +persons whom he met were hurrying the other way, and it was not until +he was brought to a halt by a blank wall that he recognized his +surroundings. He had entered a road from which there was no outlet. + +He halted in dismay. The shadow behind him glided into a doorway and +crouched out of sight. The street was hemmed in by tall buildings that +had been emptied of their tenants, and the light of the burning tower +flickered redly upon the upper walls, increasing the gloom below. A +sense of loneliness and desertion smote him. He felt himself suddenly +cut off from human companionship. His heart beat thickly and heavily. +He seemed to be strangling under the oppression of a nameless and +deadly horror. + +He turned and rushed back in the direction whence he had come. As he +passed the doorway within which the shadow had disappeared, a light +form bounded out upon him. There was a flash of steel; a lean arm was +thrust forward and seemed to touch him lightly on the back beneath his +shoulder. He fell upon his face with a choking cry; the shadow leaped +over him, fled, and vanished, leaving him motionless where he lay. + +Thais and Artemisia were borne forward in the crowd without power to +choose the direction of their flight. In the frantic masses of +humanity, all fighting toward the harbor, they saw women and children +trampled underfoot; and they clung to each other in desperation, +knowing that if they fell, they would never be able to rise. The +maddened crowd swept them on to the wharves, where the agitated waters +of the harbor spread before them like a lake of blood in the glare of +the conflagration. + +Utterly bewildered and unable to extricate themselves, the young women +were drawn hither and thither by the eddies of the mob as it rushed +feverishly from one vessel to another, seeking means of escape. +Suddenly they found themselves wedged in before a double line of +soldiers drawn up before the gangway of a trireme, the sides of which +loomed dark above their heads. Torches shed a smoky light upon the +agonized faces of the throng, held at bay by the spears of the guard. +Warning shouts rose from the darkness, followed by a swaying motion of +the crowd which divided before the rush of a compact body of men making +toward the vessel. Thais and Artemisia felt themselves crushed forward +against the living barrier until they could hardly breathe. They heard +the shouting and cursing of the soldiers advancing from the rear into +the circle of torchlight. The pressure became unbearable. They had +given themselves up for lost, when, before they knew what was taking +place, they were seized and borne upward. Thais recovered her senses +to find herself seated upon the deck of the trireme, with Artemisia's +head in her lap. + +"Why did you run away?" asked a familiar voice reproachfully. + +She looked up and saw Phradates standing before her. "It is fate!" +flashed through her mind. + +"We thought you had deserted us, and we were frightened," she replied. + +"I searched everywhere for you," he said. "Astarte must have guided +you here." + +He turned and commanded the sailors to cast off. The great vessel +swung slowly from the wharf, leaving behind the mass of unhappy +fugitives, some of whom cursed her, while others stretched out their +arms toward her, praying to the last to be taken on board. Artemisia +was revived by the cooler air of the harbor. + +"Where are we?" she asked faintly, opening her blue eyes. + +"We are on the Ph[oe]nician trireme, bound, I suppose, for Tyre," Thais +answered bitterly. "No, it was not my doing," she continued, replying +to her sister's glance of surprise and question. "I had no more part +in it than you this time. It is the will of the Gods." + +The trireme pointed her brazen beak toward the entrance of the harbor. +The banks of oars which fringed her sides in three rows, one above the +other, like the legs of some gigantic water insect, caught the waves, +and the panic-stricken city began to glide away from her stern. A +fishing boat, laden with fugitives, drifted across her path. The sharp +prow struck the side of the hapless little craft and cut through it +like a knife. For a brief moment the screams of women and children +rose out of the darkness, and then the voices were stifled. + +Artemisia hid her face on Thais' shoulder and wept; but Thais, gazing +back on the fiery city, saw the great tower reel and fall, clothed in +flame from base to summit. The roar of turmoil and terror sounded in +her ears, and she smiled. The red light danced in her eyes, making +them gleam like opals as she turned them upon Phradates. + +"They say thy city hath strong walls, Ph[oe]nician," she said. "Thou +wilt have to build them still stronger, I think." + +"They are strong," Phradates answered proudly; "but we shall not need +them, for between us and Alexander stand a million men, ready to lay +down their lives for their king." + +Thais raised her white arm and extended it toward the stricken city. + +"What shall withstand the Whirlwind?" she said. + +In the stern of the trireme sat Mena, gazing thoughtfully back at the +city and wiping the stains from the blade of his dagger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE GORDIAN KNOT + +Alexander kept the anniversary of his departure from Macedon in the +city of Gordium, surrounded by his army, on the wind-swept uplands of +Phrygia. He reached the place through the drifted snows that blocked +the passes of the Taurus and the rugged hills of Pisidia, subduing on +his way the tribes that had held them for ages, to whom the Great King +himself had deemed it wise to render tribute in exchange for peace. + +Looking backward, the young leader of men saw the Ægean coast and all +the territory west of the mountains subject to his rule. To the rich +and prosperous Grecian cities by the sea he had restored their ancient +rights, and the hostages of the barbarians thronged his camp. He had +made a beginning, and his heart had confidence in the end. + +Parmenio came from Sardis, bringing the troops that had wintered there, +with the siege train and abundance of supplies. Alexander resolved to +rest until the roads should be settled so that he might strike another +blow. In games and feasting and martial exercises his army passed the +breathing space permitted before the onslaught. The camp was filled +with jests devised by the detachments that under Alexander had +conquered stubborn Salagassus, at the expense of the men who had been +idling in Sardis and who were accused of having grown white-faced and +soft in their luxury. Parmenio's men, in turn, took their revenge in +quips levelled at the young married men, who had been allowed to go to +their homes across the Hellespont and who now returned, bringing the +latest news and gossip of Pella and squadrons of eager recruits. + +Leonidas had risen high in the favor of the young king, who had seen +his courage tested in the winter campaign. He had become one of the +Table Companions, with command of a squadron of cavalry, and even the +proud young Macedonian nobles, jealous of intrusion, had ceased to look +down upon him as an outsider and had taken him into their circle. Of +all the stories told in the camp, none was more often repeated than +that which related how the Spartan had held the light-armed troops when +they were taken in ambush by the fierce mountaineers before Salagassus, +until Alexander could lead the phalanx to their rescue. + +But Leonidas showed no elation. On the contrary, he seemed more grim +and taciturn than ever. Gladly would he have given both favor and +command if he could have seen Clearchus and Chares ride into camp +unharmed. Since they started for Halicarnassus, he had heard nothing +of them, and it was the general opinion in the army that they were +lost. The Spartan had few friends and none to take the place of these +two. His grief for them was the deeper because he would not show it. +Though it gnawed at his heart like the stolen fox, he gave no sign. +One night, at table, the jest turned upon Amyntas, who had purchased +gilded armor. + +"You are as vain as Chares the Theban," one of the Thessalian officers +said to him, laughing. + +Leonidas sought the man out next day. "You have insulted my friend, +who is not here. I think you are sorry for it," he said quietly. + +The young captain laughed, looking down upon the Spartan from his six +feet of stature. + +"You think too much," he replied contemptuously. + +With a bound, Leonidas caught him by the throat in a grip that was like +that of a bulldog's jaws. In vain the Thessalian sought to break his +hold. His face grew black and his tongue protruded. + +"I think you are sorry," Leonidas repeated coolly. + +The other, feeling his senses leaving him, made an affirmative motion, +and the hands that gripped his throat relaxed. + +"Thou shouldst speak no ill of those who cannot answer," the Spartan +said, turning away and leaving the young man to recover his breath. + +When this incident reached the ears of Alexander, as everything that +happened in the camp was sure to do, the king smiled. + +"I suppose you would serve me in the same fashion if I should be +unfortunate enough to make such a jest," he said. + +"The king does not mock brave men," Leonidas replied. + +Alexander laid his hand on the Spartan's shoulder. "I am Alexander," +he said, "but I envy Chares and Clearchus. I wish I had such a friend +as they have." + +"Thou hast many," the Spartan replied. "Wrong them not; but thou hast +small need of mortal friends since the Gods are with thee." + +"That is true," Alexander said simply. He knew that nine-tenths of the +army believed indeed that the Gods had taken him under their +protection. He seemed to them, in fact, to be himself almost like one +of the immortals in the beauty of his face and form, his perfect +courage, and his unerring judgment. While the graybeards at home, the +philosophers and statesmen, were predicting failure for him and +demonstrating by precedent and logic that his success was impossible, +he had succeeded. Already he had wrested from the Great King the +colonies of Greece that for centuries had groaned under Persian +oppression, and while he had not yet stood face to face with the mighty +power that he had attacked, he had confounded the prophets of evil and +proved their wisdom to be no better than folly. When his captains +looked into his face, ruddy with youth and strength, his smooth brow, +unmarked by a line of care, and felt the charm of his glance, +remembering what he had done, it was impossible for them to think that +he was only a man like themselves. + +So when it became known, after the preparations for the southward march +in search of the Great King had been completed, that Alexander had +determined to attempt the loosening of the knot that King Gordius had +bound, there were few of his followers who doubted that he would +accomplish it. For ages this knot had defied all attempts to guess its +secret. The farmer, Gordius, driving his oxen into the city, found +himself suddenly raised to the throne. Tradition told how he had tied +the neap of his cart to the porphyry shaft in the midst of the temple +and how it had been declared that whoso should unbind it should become +lord of all Asia. In the reign of King Midas, his son, friend of the +great God Dionysus, whose touch had changed the sands of the Pactolus +to gold, many had essayed the task and had failed. In subsequent years +a long line of ambitious princes and scheming kings had made the +attempt, seeking to propitiate the God with rich gifts, but none had +succeeded. More lately, few had tried the knot, for the Great King +watched the shrine, and those who were bold enough to tempt Fortune +there soon found themselves summoned to his court, where they were +taught how unwise it was for the weak to aspire to the dominions of the +strong. + +It was knowledge of all this that led the soldiers to regard +Alexander's trial of the knot as no less important than a great battle. +If the knot should yield to him, there would no longer be any doubt of +what the Gods intended. + +Parmenio, with the caution born of age, shook his head when the king +told him of his project. + +"What will you gain?" he asked. "The army already has complete +confidence in you, and if you fail, some of it will be lost." + +"Dost thou believe we shall conquer Darius?" Alexander demanded. + +"With the aid of the Gods, I think we shall," Parmenio replied. + +"And dost thou not believe in the prophecy regarding the knot?" +Alexander asked again. + +Parmenio hesitated and looked confused. "It is very old," he said at +last, "and we know not whence it came." + +"Thy faith is weak," the young leader said severely. "Fear not; the +cord shall be loosed." + +Before the ancient temple the army was drawn up in long lines, archers +and slingers, spearmen and cavalry, find the phalanx in companies and +squadrons. Alexander, mounted on Bucephalus, rode slowly along the +ranks, splendid in his armor, with the double plume of white brushing +his shoulders on either side. He halted before the temple, where the +robed priests stood ready to receive him. Every eye was upon him as he +leaped to the ground and turned his face to the army. + +"I go to test the prophecy, whether it be true or false," he cried, in +a clear voice. "Wait thou my return." + +Followed by his generals and by Aristander, the soothsayer, he entered +the portals of the temple after the priests. They led him to the spot +where the cart was fastened to the pillar. Its rude construction +indicated its great age. Its wheels were sections of a tree trunk cut +across. Its body was carved with strange figures of forgotten Gods and +monsters, colored with pigment that time had dimmed. Its long neap was +tied at the end to the shaft of stone with strips of cornel bark, brown +and stiff with age and intertwined in curious folds that left no ends +visible. + +Alexander looked to the chief priest. "What is the prophecy?" he +demanded. + +The old man unrolled a parchment written over with dim characters, and +read. + +"To that man who shall loose the knot bound by King Gordius under +direction of the high Gods," he quavered, "shall be given the realm of +Asia from the southern ocean to the seas of the North. Once only may +the trial be made. Thus saith the God." + +Outside the temple the soldiers stood silent in their ranks awaiting +the result. As the aged priest ceased reading and rolled up the +parchment, Alexander drew closer to the magic knot and examined it, +while the others fell back in a wide circle. Between the priests there +passed a covert glance of understanding as though they said to each +other, "Here is another who will fail, and more gifts will come!" The +young king saw that no man could ever disentangle the convolutions of +the fastening without tearing the bark. Avoiding even a pretence of +attempting the impossible, he drew his sword. The astonished priests +started forward with a cry of protest, but before they could interfere, +the flashing blade fell and the neap of the ancient cart clattered to +the stone floor. + +"The knot is loosed," Alexander said quietly, sheathing his sword. + +"The God greets thee, Lord of Asia!" the chief priest declared in a +solemn tone, bowing his head. + +Rushing out of the temple, the generals repeated Alexander's words to +the army. + +"The knot is loosed! The knot is loosed! We shall conquer!" ran the +joyful cry through all the ranks, and the young king, listening within +the temple, knew that the hour for decisive action was at hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + +Clearchus and Chares gazed with wonder upon the mighty walls of +Babylon, raising their sheer height from the surface of the Euphrates +until the soldiers who paced the lofty parapet seemed like pygmies +against the sky. The little cavalcade, stained with weeks of travel, +entered the city through a long archway tunnelled in the wall and +flanked on either side by enormous winged lions carved in granite. + +Nathan reported to the captain of the gate, who detailed a lieutenant +to escort him to the palace. Chares snorted his disgust as the young +man took his place at the head of the troop. His beardless face was +touched with paint, and his eyebrows were darkened with pigment. His +hands were white and soft. His flowing robe of blue silk swept +downward on either side below his feet, which were encased in buskins +with long points. He glanced superciliously at the two prisoners. + +"See that they do not try to get away here in the city," he lisped to +Nathan. "It might be hard to find them--there is such a dirty rabble +here since the Great King himself decided to take the field." + +"Have no fear," Nathan replied quietly. + +"Fear?" the lieutenant laughed. "That word, as you will find, is not +known here. Ride behind me and let your men surround these two dogs." + +He adjusted his long robe and inhaled a breath of perfume from a flask +of scent that he carried in his left hand while he gathered up his +reins with the other. Chares could restrain himself no longer. + +"So we are dogs, are we?" he roared, so suddenly that the lieutenant +almost fell from his horse. "Has no one told you that we Greeks have +to be fed? Lead on, or I will make half a meal off thy miserable +carcass, though how magpie will agree with me, I know not." + +"Seize him! Seize him! He talks treason!" screamed the lieutenant, +scarce knowing what he said. He looked at Nathan's men, who made no +move to obey, but the gleam of their white teeth as they smiled at his +agitation brought him to his senses. With an air of offended dignity, +he set his horse in motion, and the little troop clattered away into +the city. + +Inside the vast circumference of the wall they found streets along +which stood magnificent dwellings surrounded by trees and gardens. So +ample was the enclosure that ground enough remained unoccupied between +the houses to sustain the population, if necessary, upon its harvests. +Great temples reared their towers above the roofs. Gay chariots and +gilded litters passed or met them. Now and then a curious glance was +directed toward them, but beyond this they seemed to attract no +attention. Everybody was too intent upon his own business or pleasure +to give more than a passing thought to the sun-browned soldiers who +rode wearily behind the brightly accoutred lieutenant of the guard. + +As they advanced the streets became narrower and the houses stood close +together, with no space between them for gardens. Shops and bazaars +appeared on either hand, filled with a bustling, chaffering throng. +The young Greeks saw a strange medley of nations. Swarthy Egyptians +elbowed dusky merchants from beyond the Indus. Ph[oe]nicians and Jews +drove bargains with large-limbed, blue-eyed men of the North, who wore +shaggy skins upon their shoulders and carried long swords at their +belts. This part of the city was given over entirely to foreigners, +for among the Persians the old belief still prevailed that no man could +buy or sell without being dishonest, and falsehood was held in +religious abhorrence by the conquerors of the Medes. + +Darius was collecting the host which he purposed to lead against +Alexander and with which he intended to crush the adventurous invader. +Military trappings were to be seen everywhere. The summons of the +Great King had brought within the walls an enormous influx of strangers +from every corner of the empire. + +Chares and Clearchus aroused more curiosity as they rode through the +narrower streets of the commercial quarter, where they were forced to +proceed more slowly because of the throngs. They were soon recognized +as of the race of the enemy. + +"See the Greeks!" cried a bare-legged urchin in a shrill voice. + +"By Ormazd, that is a big one!" said a soldier in a lounging group, +pointing to Chares. + +"Granicus! Granicus! Kill the Greeks!" a woman screamed from the top +of one of the flat-roofed houses. + +Her imprecation caused a stir among the idlers, who pressed forward to +learn what was the matter and to obtain a better view. The rumor ran +that there was to be fighting, and customers poured out of booth and +bazaar to see it. They came good-naturedly, but in such numbers that +they quickly blocked the way and brought the troop to a halt. Some +mischievous boys began to pelt the horses with pebbles, causing them to +rear and plunge. One of the animals kicked a man in the crowd, who +struck at the rider with his staff. The Arab lunged back with the butt +of his lance. The crowd drew out of the way, jeering and laughing. + +Meanwhile the woman on the roof continued her cry. "Kill the Greeks!" +she screamed. "Slay them! Remember the Granicus, where they slew my +son!" + +Her words were taken up and repeated by other women who leaned from the +house-tops on either side of the street. The crowd continued to +gather, those behind pushing the foremost against the plunging horses. +Several were trampled upon. + +"Go away," commanded the lieutenant. "Stand back, you hounds; these +are prisoners for the king." + +"Prisoners!" howled the mob. "Kill the prisoners! Burn the murderers! +They would assassinate the king!" + +The crowd showed signs of becoming inflamed. Some of the bolder +spirits made a rush for the horsemen, seeking to pull them down and +break the circle that the Arabs had formed about the two Greeks. The +impact swept the little party into an angle between two houses, from +which there was no escape save through the multitude. The women began +to shower sticks and tiles upon them from the roofs. It became +necessary for them to raise their shields to protect their heads from +the missiles. + +Nathan turned to the lieutenant, who, with a blanched face, had shrunk +back against the wall. + +"Do you intend to stay here?" he demanded sternly. "Draw your sword +and lead us. We must cut our way out. My prisoners are for Darius and +not for these." + +"They are too many," the lieutenant whined, with chattering teeth. + +"Then give him your sword, since you are afraid to use it," Nathan +said, pointing to Chares. The Theban snatched the weapon from the +young man's hand. + +A javelin hissed through the air, cast by some soldier in the throng, +and stood quivering in the beams behind their heads. Clearchus pulled +it out and took possession of it. + +The mob still held back, agitated by conflicting currents. The idlers +who had instigated the attack in a spirit of wantonness had no stomach +for fighting, and were struggling backward through the press, seeking a +safe distance. Their places were taken by reckless and half-drunken +soldiers, who had grown weary of inactivity in the city and were eager +for any excitement, even though they obtained it at the risk of their +lives. Many of them were little more than savages whose innate +ferocity was aroused by the mere sight of blood. Some had received +cuts and bruises when the rush was made. The voice of the mob changed +from a tone of banter to a menacing cry for revenge. + +Nathan saw that the non-combatants had succeeded in extricating +themselves, and that the men who now faced them carried weapons in +their hands and were preparing to use them. The situation was +perilous. His handful of soldiers were outnumbered by more than a +hundred to one. The mob was momentarily being reënforced from the +wine-shops and the alleys that honeycombed the district. It was plain +that there was no escape unless rescue should come quickly. + +He raised himself on his horse and anxiously scanned the faces of the +crowd that had pressed back out of harm's way and now stood in +expectant silence. He knew that through the years that had passed +since the Captivity, many thousands of his race had continued to dwell +in Babylon and that the trade of the city was chiefly in their hands. +He saw their keen dark eyes looking on indifferently from beneath the +awnings that shaded the entrances of their shops. To them he +determined to appeal. + +"Israel! Israel!" he shouted, raising his open palm above his head. +"In the name of Jehovah, I call upon thee! To the rescue!" + +His cry rang clear in the momentary hush of expectation and reached the +ears for which it was intended. Upon the outskirts of the mob men +turned to their neighbors. "He is one of us! We must save him!" they +said, one to another. "Israel! Israel!" The rallying shout spread +through the dense masses of men into streets where Nathan's voice had +not penetrated. It ran like a spark in a field of dry corn. Bearded +men and dark-skinned youths left their occupations and sprang forward, +snatching up such weapons as they found nearest to their hands. There +was a second shifting of the crowd as they pushed their way toward the +front, pressing in a great circle upon the ring of soldiers who were +hemming Nathan in. + +This ring was composed mainly of the fiercest and wildest fighting men +in all the Persian Empire. It represented the extremes of the Great +King's dominions. Yellow-haired Scyths, clad in the skins of animals, +stood side by side with gigantic negroes from the mysterious forests of +Ethiopia. Their language was unknown to each other, but they had been +brought together into a fleeting comradeship by the irresistible and +savage desire which, they held in common for excitement and slaughter. + +The Jews attacked this formidable band without hesitation, hurling +fragments of stone, earthen pots, and even the merchandise that had +been displayed in the shops. The unexpected assault caused a momentary +diversion. The Scyths and Ethiopians turned and charged into the +crowd, striking with their swords and war clubs indiscriminately at +friend and foe. Chares tossed the long hair back from his eyes. + +"Your friends came just in time," he said to Nathan, "but it would be +ungrateful for us to let them fight alone. Forward, Clearchus!" + +With the Athenian at his side, he swung his horse into the street and +dashed upon the nearest of the Scyths, a giant whose voice had been +bellowing encouragement to his companions. The lieutenant's gilded +sword fell upon the knotted cords of the man's neck, and he went down +like some great tree in his own northern forests. His long blade +slipped from his hand, and the Theban, stooping from the back of his +horse and holding by the mane, caught it up. + +"Ha!" Chares cried, swinging the heavy weapon above his head, "now we +can get at them." + +The Arabs, headed by Nathan, had followed the Greeks and were fighting +beside them in a compact body. The Jews outside the circle had come to +close quarters and were hacking and thrusting with daggers and +butchers' knives. Their charge had been so sudden that the Scyths were +nearly broken, but they recovered themselves almost instantly. A +species of madness seemed to possess them. They closed in like a pack +of wolves, fighting with each other to get near enough to strike a blow. + +News of the outbreak had spread far into the city. From every side, +thousands drew toward the scene of the battle, driving in the crowds +that were seeking to keep their distance. They pressed upon the Jews +and forced them helplessly against the weapons of their enemies. The +number of the Scyths was momentarily increased by the arrival of their +friends. + +Nathan saw that the fight was hopeless. The Israelites, badly armed +and undisciplined, were melting away. The only chance of escape lay in +regaining the angle in the wall where they had first taken refuge, and +from which they might be able to enter one of the houses. + +Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever +was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through +bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus +fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack +in the rear. + +"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must +seek the wall!" + +"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are +coming. I wish Alexander were here!" + +He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of +Clearchus' lance. + +"This is better than Granicus," he panted, as the man rolled upon the +ground. + +Clearchus made no reply, and Chares saw that his face was drawn and +pale. It was clear that he was becoming exhausted. The Theban was +filled with sudden alarm. + +"To the wall!" he cried, wheeling his horse. "Bear up for a little +yet, and we will show these beasts how Greeks can die!" + +They recovered their position with difficulty, followed by the howling +Scyths and negroes. Half the Arab escort had been killed, and Nathan +was bleeding from a wound in the thigh, though he still fought +gallantly. Chares alone was both unwearied and unscathed. He seemed +endowed with the strength of ten men as he faced the fierce onset. His +aspect as he turned at bay with uplifted sword caused the Scyths for an +instant to hesitate. Then they charged, clustering around the little +band like a swarm of angry bees, pushing each other forward and +striking over one another's shoulders. It was clear that the conflict +could not last much longer. Nathan knew that, once they were down in +that seething and raging mob, they would meet a frightful death. His +flesh shuddered at the thought of what was to come. + +"Down with them! Down with the Greek dogs! They give way!" yelled the +mob. + +Clearchus glanced at the sea of distorted faces, white, yellow, and +black, and saw thousands of eyes glaring hungrily at them. A strange +indifference took possession of him. Why should he strive? What +mattered it now whether the God of Nathan was mightier than the Gods of +Greece? Not even the Gods could save them. If Artemisia were dead, he +would meet her presently in the Elysian Fields. If she were living, +sooner or later she would join him in the land of shades beyond Styx. +There he would tell her how his heart had suffered. It was easier to +die than to live, since now he must die. + +"It is finished, Chares; we will go together," he called to the Theban. + +"Not until I get this one!" Chares replied grimly, nodding toward a man +who crouched before him just beyond the reach of his sword. + +The squat figure was bent for a spring. The man wore a leopard skin +across his muscular shoulders and his little green eyes were fastened +ferociously upon the Theban, watching for an opening. Clearchus +thought he had never seen anything more repulsive than the flat, broad +face, with its strong, yellow teeth showing like fangs. As he looked +he heard Nathan's voice beside him. + +"O Lord, my God, save now Thy servant, if such be Thy will; for without +Thee, I perish!" cried the Israelite, in an accent of despair. + +"Here he comes!" Chares shouted. + +The figure of the crouching Scyth bounded forward, and his bright +sword, keen as a razor, flashed in the air. + +"I have him!" Chares cried exultingly. His long blade hissed downward +as he spoke, and the ugly round head rolled in the dirt. The stroke +was followed by a roar of rage from the Scyths, among whom the man had +evidently been a leader of importance. + +"Come on!" the Theban called to them, tauntingly. "Cowards, why do you +wait?" + +The challenge seemed to goad them to desperation. They came with a +rush in which they threw aside all caution. The remnant of the little +troop was hurled violently backward. Chares' sword rose and fell +without a pause; Nathan and the men who remained to him cut and thrust +at the faces of their foes; and even Clearchus, roused by the instinct +of self-preservation, plied his javelin. The end had come, and nothing +remained but to die bravely. + +It seemed to Clearchus that they would be able to hold out for only a +moment longer, when without apparent, reason the attack suddenly +slackened. The Scyths drew back, leaving a circle of dead and wounded +under the wall. The mass of humanity that blocked the street swayed +and gave way with a roar of warning and of fear. The mob was all in +motion. It seemed to be fleeing before some danger, the nature of +which the objects of its attack were unable to guess. It rushed past +the angle in the wall where Nathan and his prisoners had taken refuge, +carrying the struggling Scyths along with it. + +"What is happening?" Clearchus gasped. + +Nathan was too nearly exhausted to reply. He shook his head as a sign +that he did not know, but the answer was not long delayed. + +The beat of trampling hoofs and the thunder of rolling wheels was +mingled with the roar of panic, and in an instant the street was filled +from side to side with close ranks of wild-looking horsemen. + +"Way for Bessus! Make way for the noble viceroy!" they shouted, +striking right and left with their rawhide whips. + +They rode into the mob with reckless indifference, and all who were +unfortunate enough to be unable to get out of their way were trampled +under the hoofs of the galloping horses. + +"They are the Bactrians," Nathan panted. "We are saved." + +From their sheltering angle, the Greeks watched the horsemen go past. +Every man seemed an athlete, and the riders sat upon the backs of their +horses as though they had grown there. Behind them, after a brief +interval, rumbled a heavy war chariot drawn by four black steeds. In +this ponderous vehicle, beside the charioteer, stood a corpulent man, +with an enormously thick neck and a heavy jaw that gave an aspect of +sternness to his dark face. He paid no heed to the lifeless forms over +which the wheels of his chariot rolled, and he seemed deaf to the cries +of pain uttered by the wretches who had been maimed beneath the hoofs +of his guard. Clearchus' eyes for a moment met those of the viceroy +and he felt a chill strike through him, as though he had touched some +monstrous reptile unawares. + +The passage of the Bactrians effectually cleared the street, but Nathan +deemed it wise to fall in behind them lest the attack should be +renewed. As they were about to start, a thought occurred to Chares. + +"Where is the lieutenant?" he asked. + +"He is there," Nathan replied, pointing to a heap of the slain. + +The body of the young man lay a little apart from the rest, with the +paint still on its cheeks and a gaping wound in its chest. + +"So his cowardice did not save him," Chares said. "Let us go." + +"Come, then," Nathan replied, and behind the chariot of Bessus, they +arrived at the gates which gave entrance to the enclosure in which +stood the royal palace. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + +At the approach of Bessus the great bronze gates in the palace wall +swung wide, and he rode through them, followed by his Bactrians. +Nathan halted at the entrance, which he found in charge of a guard of +his own race. The gray-haired captain in command rushed forward with a +cry of joy. + +"Where hast thou been?" he cried, embracing Nathan as he dismounted. +"Art thou sound and whole?" + +"Nearly so," Nathan replied, showing the cut on his thigh, which +fortunately was not deep and had ceased to bleed. "How is it with +Israel?" + +They walked apart, talking in low tones. The Arabs and the two +prisoners threw themselves on the turf inside the gate and waited. +Through the swaying branches of the trees they could catch glimpses of +the massive walls of many buildings standing in stately magnificence +amid the verdure. At a distance, above roof and tree-top, rose the +famous Hanging Gardens of the Great King, built in terraces, gay with +wonderful flowers and strange plants brought from the ends of the +world. Crystal streams flashed in waterfalls from the summit, +following winding artificial channels, beside which stood statues of +marble. + +The two Greeks noticed that Nathan and the captain glanced at them from +time to time as they talked, and they felt that they were the subjects +of the conference. Finally Nathan came toward them, bringing the +captain with him. + +"This is Ezra," he said. "He knows what I know. Obey him in all +things. When the time comes, I shall be near; but now I must leave +you." + +He offered his hand and the two Greeks shook it warmly. Then with a +word to his Arabs, who followed him with their horses, he led the way +down a side path and vanished in the thickets. + +"Where is he going?" Clearchus asked. + +"To the barracks," Ezra replied. "Darius keeps a guard here of ten +thousand men, who are known as the Immortals, because their ranks are +always full." + +"The palace is almost a city," Clearchus said, looking about him with +curiosity. "We have many cities at home that are smaller." + +"It has need to be," Ezra replied. "The Great King usually has fifteen +thousand guests at his table, and the number now is greater because he +is preparing for war." + +"Will he really take the field, then?" Chares asked. + +"He is mustering his army," the captain answered, "and he will lead it +to battle. The result is in the hands of God." + +"I could tell thee, Jew, what the result will be," Chares said dryly. +"By Dionysus, what a place to plunder! Where are you going to take us?" + +"I shall deliver you to Boupares, governor of the palace, who has +charge of the prisoners and of the hostages," Ezra said. "So long as +you make no attempt to escape, you will have a considerable amount of +freedom. There are some of our people among the guards, and one +especially named Joel, who will tell you of what is being done. Of +yourselves you can accomplish nothing; but we can do much. You are to +leave everything to us. Joel you may trust, but it will be your part +to wait in patience." + +"When shall we be summoned before the king?" Clearchus asked. + +"Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps a month from now, and possibly not at all," +Ezra replied. "It is never known in advance what he will do." + +So the two friends passed into their captivity in the palace of Darius. +As Ezra had said, their confinement did not prove a hardship to them. +They were placed with hundreds of others in a remote wing near the +river wall. They had baths, a large court for games and exercise, and +abundance of slaves to provide for their wants. The Israelites among +their guards supplied them privately with the news of the court. The +winter months passed pleasantly enough, considering their situation. +Clearchus, whose mind was filled with doubt concerning the fate of +Artemisia, had his days of gloom and despair; but there was nothing to +be done, and the light-hearted resignation of Chares saved him from +utter despondency. + +Of the numerous company held by Boupares to await the pleasure of the +Great King, many knew not why they had been brought thither. Some of +them had been there for years. Others received the royal summons on +the morrow of their arrival and did not return. There were princes +from the distant East, who had been suspected of a desire to throw off +the Persian yoke; there were adventurers from Athens, merchants from +Sicily, dusky chieftains from the sources of the Nile--a strange +mixture of tongues and races, in, which every part of the huge, +unwieldy empire was represented. + +"I feel as though we were in the cave of Polyphemus," Clearchus said. +"Who can tell whose turn will come next?" + +"At any rate, the king is not a Cyclops--he cannot eat us," Chares +replied. "Here comes Joel; now we shall get the latest news." + +The young man approached them with the affectation of carelessness that +it was necessary to assume to disarm suspicion. The palace swarmed +with the Eyes and Ears of the king, spies and informers whose identity +was unknown even to the most trusted of the courtiers. He must be +cunning indeed who could frame and bring to fruition a plot that could +escape their observation. A word from one of them, even though founded +upon suspicion, often brought death. + +"Well?" Chares said, when Joel reached at last the spot where they were +standing, out of hearing of the others. "Repeat for us the murmurs of +this whispering gallery." + +"It is in fact a gallery in which every whisper is heard," the Hebrew +said, smiling. "But there is great news to-day; Pharnaces has been +condemned to death, and all his family must die with him." + +"What has he done?" Clearchus asked. "Is he not one of the most +powerful of the nobles and a favorite with the king?" + +"Yes," Joel replied, "and why the sentence was passed no one knows +excepting the king himself." + +"But will he have no trial?" Clearchus persisted. "Will they not tell +him what charge is laid against him?" + +Joel shrugged his shoulders. "The sentence has been passed," he said, +"and not even the Great King, who made it, can change it now. We have +been trying to discover what the accusation was. Pharnaces wanted to +be viceroy of Bactria, and he had been gathering evidence with which to +destroy Bessus. It must be that Bessus managed to reach the king +first; but what means he had of accomplishing this, we do not know. +Perhaps he bribed one of the king's Eyes. It must have cost him +something, but Bessus could do it if any one. If he did not work +through the spies, he may have persuaded the Magi to discover some +treason in the stars and then to accuse Pharnaces. Bessus is on good +terms with the Medean priests, for he lets them do what they like in +his province." + +"This Bessus must be a dangerous man," Clearchus said. + +"Only because he has force and daring," Joel replied. "He does what +every other man would like to do. There is not a satrap or viceroy in +the empire who does not desire his neighbor's ruin. It has been worse +since these fire-worshipping priests began to get back into favor +again. Our wise men say that it was an evil day for the kings of this +land when they allowed these men to wean their minds from Ormazd and +set up their idols in Babylon. But now there is no God too false to +obtain worship here. Even Baal and Astarte have their temples, and +they are beginning to bring in the Egyptian brood of deities. The cup +is filling fast, and they must drink it when Jehovah wills." + +The young man's voice sank to a tone of awe as he pronounced the +dreadful name, and he glanced about him as though he half expected a +thunderbolt to fall. It did not escape the Athenian perception of +Clearchus that the Jew seemed to regard the terrible presence as real +and actual. His earnestness formed a striking contrast with his usual +affectation of the easy and cynical manner of the court. + +"We laugh and jest here in the palace," he went on, "but each man's +hand is against his neighbor. Faith and honor are lost. Servants +betray their masters and sons lead their parents to death. What knows +the Great King of all this? He lives behind a screen, where thieves +and rascals make him their tool. These plotters play upon him as they +do upon Sisygambis, the queen mother, who has almost as much power as +her son; or upon Statira, his queen, the most beautiful of women. The +gynæceum is a nest of intrigues. His stewards and keepers and +cup-bearers have each their price, and they do not scruple to take it. +A whisper or a look may send a man to his death. Give me a chance with +a sword in my hand and let me see the man who strikes me! I hate this +treacherous game in the dark!" + +"Well spoken, my lad!" Chares said. "But what about this queen, +Statira--is she so very beautiful?" + +"They say she is the fairest woman in the world," Joel answered, "and +that the Great King is the handsomest of men. I have never seen her, +or I would not be here now. It is death to look upon the face of one +of the king's women, even by accident." + +"They seem to be very particular!" Chares grumbled. + +"I dare say they have their reasons," Joel said. "But I have not told +you all the news. The king has had a dream, and he believes that the +Gods have promised him the victory over Alexander. The Chaldeans have +told him so." + +"What was the dream?" Clearchus asked uneasily. + +"It was proclaimed this morning," Joel said. "Darius dreamed that when +he had come within sight of the Macedonians, their army suddenly burst +into flame and all the troops were consumed, so that nothing but their +ashes remained where they had been. And then he thought he saw +Alexander, dressed like one of the lords of the household, standing +ready to serve him. But when he went into the Temple of Baal, +Alexander vanished utterly and was seen no more. From this the learned +men of the Chaldeans say that Baal will give the battle to Darius and +will remove Alexander from his way. So the king has ordered sacrifices +to Baal and has promised him a great temple of stone after the victory." + +Clearchus looked troubled, and even Chares shook his head. + +"Wait," Joel went on eagerly, noticing their concern. "I have told you +the interpretation of the Chaldeans. Our wise men have also considered +the dream, and they read it differently. They say that the army on +fire means that the Macedonians shall win great glory, and that the +appearance of Alexander as a lord of the household, in the same dress +that Darius wore before he became king, signifies that he will gain +victories, as Darius did. This is the interpretation of the priests of +our race, to whom are revealed the things that are to be." + +"I know not which is right," Clearchus said, "but I wish Aristander was +here." + +"Nathan bade me tell you to have no fear," Joel said confidently. "He +also wished me to tell you that Phradates the Tyrian has come to court." + +"Phradates here!" Chares exclaimed. "Why did you not say so before? +There will be trouble for us." + +"Nathan talked with the Ph[oe]nician and learned much," Joel continued. +"Halicarnassus has fallen and Memnon is dead. Phradates is seeking +command of the fleet for Azemilcus, the Tyrian king." + +"Did Nathan say nothing of Artemisia and Thais?" Clearchus inquired, in +a trembling voice. + +"Oh, yes," said Joel, "I had forgotten. He told me to say that +Phradates had carried them by force to Tyre in his galley after the +fall of Halicarnassus and that he is in love with Thais. This he +learned from one of our people who was with the Tyrian; and he learned +further that as yet no harm has befallen the young women." + +"We must go!" Clearchus exclaimed. "Tell Nathan so at once. Tell him +that if he cannot release us, we will release ourselves. We must be on +our way to Tyre to-morrow." + +"Quietly," Chares said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. +"Not so loud. You forget!" + +"Did you not hear what he said?" Clearchus demanded impatiently. +"Artemisia is in Tyre and in the power of Phradates!" + +"So is Thais, and she is in the greater danger," Chares said, "if what +Joel tells us is true; but we shall never see either of them again +unless we are discreet." + +There was a stir in the great hall of the building as the inmates +gathered from the various smaller apartments. "The king has sent a +summons!" Joel said, hastening away. + +"Do not forget my message," Clearchus insisted. + +"I will deliver it," Joel responded over his shoulder. + +Chares and Clearchus joined the main body of prisoners, who were +assembled in the hall. They found there Boupares himself, with scribes +bearing the register of the inmates of the place. The governor +scrutinized the lists with care, selecting from among them the names of +prisoners, who were called by a crier. Each man, as he heard his name, +stepped forward to await the directions of Boupares. + +"Amyntas of Macedon!" shouted the crier, and a small, thin man with a +sallow face stood out from the rest. + +"Charidemus of Corinth!" the crier called. + +"They are asking only for the Greeks," remarked a tall Assyrian. + +"Maybe our turn has come," Clearchus said. + +"Clearchus of Athens!" the crier shouted. "Chares of Thebes!" + +The two young men advanced and joined the waiting group. + +"That is all," Boupares said, handing the lists to the scribes. +"Follow me to the audience chamber." + +Through the long, pillared courts and vast halls of the palace he +conducted the prisoners. On every side were evidences of the +expenditure of limitless wealth and measureless labor. Row after row +of polished columns sprang a hundred feet to the echoing roof. Great +sculptures adorned the walls. The floors were inlaid with mosaics of +variegated pattern. Thousands of attendants came and went among the +crowds of courtiers. + +At last they arrived at the audience chamber and were admitted. Here +the talk and laughter ceased and voices sank to a whisper. They were +in the presence of the Great King, the most powerful and absolute of +all monarchs. The walls of the lofty apartment were covered with +plates of gold for half their height, and above these were paintings in +which the king was depicted slaying lions in hand-to-hand combat, or +driving his enemies before him in his war chariot. Between the pillars +hung rich curtains of crimson, green, and violet, and the floor was +hidden beneath silken carpets. + +At the end of the room, under a purple canopy, stood a throne of gold +and ivory, inlaid with precious stones. The perfume of myrrh and +frankincense filled the air. + +Standing before the throne, from which he had just arisen, the Greeks +beheld Darius, the last of the Archæmenian kings. His tall, well-built +figure was clad in a long Medean robe of rich silk, purple, embroidered +with gold, and confined at the waist by a broad girdle of gold, from +which hung his dagger in its sheath of lapis lazuli. His feet were +shod in yellow shoes with long points. On his head he wore the +citaris, which he alone might wear, with the royal diadem of blue and +white. Jewels flashed in his ears, and about his neck hung a heavy +collar of great rubies and pearls. + +Never, Clearchus thought, had he seen a face more handsome and haughty +than that of Darius, as he stood before his throne, with his blue eyes +and light brown beard, carefully trimmed. He looked like what he +was--the master of the world. His expression, although full of +dignity, was slightly weary as he listened to the petition of a man who +knelt before him, with bowed head, in the attitude of a suppliant. + +With a scarcely perceptible movement of his hand, the king dismissed +the petitioner, who rose to his feet and walked backward, with his head +still bowed, to a group of officials who stood at one side of the +apartment. Chares gripped Clearchus by the arm. + +"It is Phradates!" he said. + +It was indeed the Ph[oe]nician, who had doubtless been pressing the +suit of Azemilcus for command of the Ægean fleet. His proud face was +humbled, and drops of perspiration stood on his forehead. The king +turned his eyes slowly to the Greeks and made a sign to Boupares to +advance. The nobles who were ranged on either side of the throne, the +king's fan and cup bearers, his generals and the master of his +household, remained with stolid faces. + +Boupares prostrated himself before the throne, kissing the floor. + +"Are these the Greeks for whom I sent thee?" the king asked +indifferently. + +"They are, my lord," Boupares replied. + +"Let them come near," Darius said. + +Some of the prisoners prostrated themselves before the king as they had +seen Boupares do. Others remained standing, and among these were +Clearchus and Chares. Darius looked at them, and a slight frown +appeared upon his brow. + +"Who are they?" he asked, turning to Boupares. + +The governor designated each of the captives by name, adding a few +particulars by way of identification. + +"Clearchus, an Athenian, and Chares, a Theban," he said. "They have +served in the army of the Macedonian, and they were sent to the king +from Halicarnassus by Memnon." + +"Why have they been permitted to live?" Darius demanded, his face +darkening at the name of the lost city. + +"Because Memnon believed they could give the king information," +Boupares answered humbly, "and when captured they had left the army of +Alexander." + +"What manner of man is this Alexander?" Darius asked, turning his face +to the Greeks. + +"He is a king," Chares answered quietly. + +"How can he hope to meet me, with his handful of men?" Darius asked +again. + +"He remembers Cyrus, thy ancestor," Chares replied boldly. + +These answers made an evident impression on Darius, whose face lost its +listless expression. Many questions he put to the Greeks, who made no +attempt to conceal anything from him, knowing that others could give +him the information that he desired if they refused, and that refusal +would mean immediate death. Finally the king could think of nothing +more to ask. + +"I am about to march against thy Alexander," he said. "Who will win +the victory?" + +"Victory is the gift of the Gods, O king," Clearchus said quickly. +"Dost thou wish flattery, or a frank reply, without concealment?" + +"Speak freely," Darius said, raising his head in pride. + +"Then, unless thou canst make thy army equal to his in discipline and +spirit, thy numbers will not avail," the Athenian said. + +Darius' face flushed, and a murmur of protest rose from the watchful +courtiers. + +"Is that thy opinion, too?" the king asked, turning to Chares. + +"The ocean himself must break upon the rock," the Theban said. + +"And thine?" the king continued, addressing Charidemus, the Corinthian. + +"It is, O king," Charidemus replied. + +Phradates had been watching the face of Darius. He had recognized his +enemies as soon as they entered the audience chamber and had resolved +to deal them a blow if the chance presented itself. When he saw the +frown on the brow of the king and caught the gleam of anger in his eye, +he believed he might safely act. He stepped forward and again +prostrated himself at the steps of the throne. + +"Speak!" said Darius, looking down upon him. + +"My lord, I know these men for spies," he said. "I was in +Halicarnassus when they were captured just before I received the wound +that so nearly cost me my life. Memnon, for reasons that I do not +presume to guess, wished to save them. They mock at thee and seek to +create doubt of the promise that the Gods have given thee by spreading +fear of the result among thy men. Every Greek well knows that +Alexander cannot stand against thee and that he will never dare to meet +thee in battle." + +Phradates had cunningly formed his speech so as to assign a motive to +the adverse predictions of the Greeks which would save the pride of the +king, and yet, if he accepted it, would leave only one course open to +him. Darius did not hesitate. + +"They are spies!" he said angrily to Boupares. "Why did you bring them +to me? Take them away and let them be questioned under the torture. +Perhaps then they will tell the truth." + +Darius turned, and Phradates shot a look of triumph at the two friends. +Chares shook off the hand of the guard and was about to speak when +Clearchus checked him. + +"Silence," he whispered earnestly, "or we shall both be killed at once!" + +Chares controlled himself with an effort, and the guards, under the +direction of the crestfallen Boupares, led them away. Instead of +conducting them to their former quarters, Boupares ordered that they be +confined in the dungeons that lay beyond. These were built in a +structure of massive masonry and consisted of cells with heavily barred +doors at which sentries were stationed. Into one of the darkest of the +cells they were thrust, and the grating was bolted behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + +Clearchus and Chares shivered in the chill of the dungeon. By the +glimmer of light that entered through a narrow opening above their +heads, they saw that the place was quite bare. There was nothing but +the stone floor under their feet and the four stone walls that shut +them in. + +"What think you, Chares?" Clearchus said, with the shadow of a smile. +"Nathan will never be able to rescue us from here." + +"It does not look hopeful," the Theban replied, "but let us see." + +He made a careful examination of the walls, finding everywhere the +solid stone unbroken. The only openings in the cell were the tiny +window and the door. The window was out of reach and so narrow that +not even a cat could have squeezed through. Chares halted at the door +and examined the bars. They were of hammered iron, as thick as the +shaft of a lance, and rendered stronger by two cross-bars, welded from +side to side. The Theban tested them gently with his hands and shook +his head. + +"The blacksmith who forged them was a good workman," he said. + +At that moment they heard the step of the sentry outside in the +passageway. The man carried at his girdle a bunch of great keys that +rattled as he walked. He was armed with a short spear with a long, +keen blade. He halted at the door of the cell. + +"What are you doing there?" he said gruffly to Chares. "Get back!" + +"No need to be angry, my friend," Chares returned good-naturedly, +falling back from the door. "What are you going to do to us?" + +The jailer's brutish face assumed an expression of pleasure that was +evidently unfeigned. + +"You know you are to be tortured to-morrow," he said, "and we do those +things thoroughly here. I shall help. They could not get along +without me." + +"I suppose you are used to it," Chares ventured. + +"My father taught me," the man replied proudly. "There is none in the +empire better with the rack than I. And he showed me how to draw the +band about a man's forehead until his eyes stick out of his head and +his skull cracks like an egg, and all without killing him. Very few +know the secret." + +"And when you are through with the torture, what then?" asked Chares. + +"Why, then you will die by the boat," the jailer replied. + +"Do you mean we shall be drowned?" Chares inquired. + +The jailer laughed harshly. "That would be too easy," he said. "Death +by the boat has nothing to do with the water, as you will find. They +will place you in the shallop with your head, arms, and feet outside. +Then they will cover you with honey and place another boat upside down +over you. This will leave your head and hands free through the holes. +The ants and the flies are fond of honey. I have known men to live a +week in their snug wooden jackets; but they usually go crazy after a +few days, when the ants begin to eat them." + +"That is very interesting," Chares remarked. "When will they begin the +torture?" + +"To-morrow morning," the man replied, "and I advise you to get a sound +sleep; you will be able to stand the pain better." + +He passed on down the corridor, humming to himself as though his mind +were filled with pleasant thoughts. + +"That is a nice prospect," Chares said, turning away from the grating. +"I wonder what Nathan intends to do?" + +"We can only wait," Clearchus replied. "I think we had better pretend +that we are asleep, so that your friend the sentinel will at least let +us alone." + +They stretched themselves upon the stone floor and waited, talking in +whispers. With nightfall, the prison grew utterly dark, excepting in +the corridor, where the surly guard lighted oil lamps, set at intervals +in niches in the wall. These made brief spaces of light in the gloomy +passageway, through which the man went and came with monotonous tread. +There was silence in that part of the prison where they were, +indicating that the other condemned cells were vacant. For a time the +sound of voices reached them faintly through the slit in the wall, but +these gradually ceased as the night advanced. + +One of the lamps had been set directly opposite their cell, but its +feeble glimmer hardly extended to the bars of their cage, although it +rendered objects in the corridor dimly distinct. + +Hour followed hour, and each seemed like a week to the young Athenian. +Chares, overcome by drowsiness, had fallen asleep at his side. +Clearchus wondered at the careless nature of his friend that permitted +him to close his eyes in the face of so horrible a death. He had no +doubt that Nathan would seek to rescue them, but he knew not when nor +how. Perhaps he would attempt intercession with Darius. Perhaps he +would defer the trial until the morning. What if he should fail? +Clearchus was far from being a coward, but his nerves shrank from the +thought of the torture and the lingering agony that would follow before +death came to set them free. The very idea of death, since now he knew +that Artemisia was living and in need of him, filled his heart with +anguish. + +As he lay gazing into the corridor, with his head upon his hand, he +recalled her face as it had appeared to him in the happy garden in +Academe, with the sunlight on her hair and the color of the wild rose +in her cheeks. He remembered how her blue eyes had looked into his +with sweet wistfulness and how the tears dimmed them when she told him +of the fears that had beset her. The tears rose to his own eyes at the +remembrance, and he ground his teeth as he thought of his helplessness. +Why had he not trusted the prevision of her finer perceptions, half +ethereal as they were? Why had he not remained to defend her and to +prevent the train of misfortunes which had followed? + +The sentinel paused at the door of the cell for a moment in passing. +He noted the deep breathing of Chares and resumed his march with a +yawn. Clearchus listened, mechanically counting his steps until he +should reach the spot where they were to turn. Suddenly a sound came +to his ears that caused him to sit up and listen intently. There were +other footfalls in the corridor. They were advancing in the track of +the sentinel from the direction of the entrance. + +The Athenian's pulses bounded. Help had come. He stretched out his +hand to rouse Chares, but in an instant he reflected that there was +evidently no effort at concealment on the part of the newcomer. The +steps were careless and deliberate. Probably they were made by another +guard, who had come to relieve the bloodthirsty wretch outside. His +hope sank as suddenly as it had arisen and he let his hand fall. + +"Why should I awaken him?" he thought. "Let him sleep." + +Slowly the steps advanced. Clearchus crept to the door of the cell and +peered out through the grating. A man's figure was approaching along +the passage. It was Nathan. Clearchus rose quickly to his feet and +shook Chares by the shoulder. + +"Silence!" he whispered. + +The Theban rubbed his eyes and stretched his great limbs. + +"Where am I?" he muttered. "Oh, yes, I remember. What has happened?" + +"Nathan is here," Clearchus said. + +Chares was on his feet with a bound, and both stood listening +breathlessly. + +Nathan had reached the dim circle of light before their cell. His keen +black eyes were glancing to the right and left at the dark gratings. + +"We are here!" Clearchus whispered through the bars. + +The Israelite turned his face toward them and smiled, trying to +distinguish them in the darkness. In his hand he carried a roll of +papyrus. + +"Be ready!" he said, in a scarcely audible tone. + +"Who are you?" the sentinel demanded, catching sight of Nathan for the +first time. + +Nathan halted close to the bars of the cell and awaited his approach +without reply. + +"What are you doing here?" the man asked gruffly as he approached. + +"I have an order for you," Nathan replied coolly, unrolling the papyrus +as he spoke. "Read it." + +The man took the papyrus in his hand and looked at it. Then he glanced +cunningly at Nathan. + +"What does it mean?" he growled, handing it back. "I cannot read." + +This was evidently a contingency that had not entered into Nathan's +calculations. + +"It is signed by Boupares--here, do you see!" he said, holding the +writing under the jailer's nose. + +"Well, what then?" the man asked suspiciously. + +"It is an order," Nathan continued. "You are to deliver the Greek +prisoners to me immediately." + +"What are you going to do with them?" the jailer asked. + +"Boupares desires to talk with them before they are examined," Nathan +explained. + +"I shall not give them up," the jailer replied, with the air of a man +who has made up his mind. "If Boupares wishes to see them, let him +come here. They were sent to me under the seal of the king himself, +and this order of yours has no seal. Do you think I want to be boiled +alive as my comrade was last month? I can hear his yells yet, for I +helped to do it. You can tell Boupares what I have said, and now be +off." + +Like most ignorant men when they think, or pretend to think, that they +are being imposed upon, the jailer raised his voice to a bullying +shout. Nathan looked apprehensively over his shoulder toward the +entrance of the prison. The harsh tone echoed between the narrow walls +and might be easily heard at the gate, where several men were stationed. + +"Give me your keys," he said quietly. "You know the penalty for +disobeying an order." + +The jailer stepped to the door of the cell and stood defiantly, with +his back against the bars. + +"I will not give them!" he said. + +From within the cell the man's figure was outlined against the light of +the lamp. Chares moved forward in the darkness behind him with +noiseless tread, and his fingers closed suddenly around the jailer's +throat. The wretch gasped once and threw up his chin, struggling +convulsively to free himself from the iron clutch that encircled his +neck. His struggles were in vain. The Theban drew him silently back +against the bars. His feet scuffled on the stone floor, and his short +spear clattered from his hand. + +"Take the keys," Clearchus whispered. + +Nathan quickly detached the keys from the jailer's belt and unlocked +the door of the cell. Clearchus slipped through the open door, picking +up the jailer's spear as he went. Chares relaxed his hold, and the +man's body slipped in a huddled heap to the floor. + +"Come," said the Israelite. "We have no time to lose." + +What he said was true. From the direction of the entrance came the +sound of voices and the flickering of a torch danced upon the walls. + +"Neshak! Ho, Neshak, where are you?" called a voice. + +"They are seeking the jailer," Nathan whispered. "Come!" + +He darted down the corridor into the darkness, with the two Greeks at +his heels. At the end of a dozen yards they turned quickly to the +left, up a flight of stairs, and then through other passageways, until +they reached a second short stairway and emerged upon the roof. + +They stood panting and listening beside the head of the stair. Above +them the wide arch of the sky was sown with stars. From the black +opening at their feet came a confused sound of cries and shouting. + +"They have found the jailer's body," Nathan said. "I fear we are lost. +It shall be as Jehovah wills!" + +He drew a short sword from its sheath at his side. + +"Is there no other way to the roof?" Clearchus asked. + +"No other way," Nathan replied; "but how can we hope to hold this +against them?" + +The Athenian looked about him. The roof was built of huge slabs of +stone, fitted together without mortar, and there was nothing that might +serve as even a temporary barricade. + +"If we could only raise one of these," he said, stooping over one of +the slabs. + +"Not ten men could do it," Nathan replied, shaking his head. + +"Let us see," said Chares. + +He thrust his fingers under the stone and set his feet wide apart. The +muscles of his back and arms rose in ridges. The veins of his neck +swelled like knotted cords. The great stone stirred in its bed. + +Clearchus and Nathan dropped their weapons and bent eagerly to assist +him. The ponderous mass heaved slowly upward, tilting toward the +opening that led to the stairway. From the sound of the voices within +they knew that their pursuers were close at hand. + +"Life or death!" groaned Chares, the sweat streaming from his body like +rain. "Now!" + +The mighty stone rose inch by inch upon its edge, standing higher than +the heads of the three men, who were now behind and beneath it. Their +pursuers had evidently halted on the stairs, expecting the opening to +the roof to be defended. Puzzled by the silence, they seemed to be +concerting a plan of attack. Suddenly they sprang upward with a shout, +thrusting forward their spears and crowding for the aperture. + +The great slab stood upright, balancing on its lower end. While a man +might draw breath, it hung motionless, and then it toppled over upon +the opening from the stairs. + +The foremost of the pursuers saw it and with inarticulate cries sought +to retreat. They were too late. The heavy mass crashed down upon +their heads and covered the opening. Nathan and Clearchus fell forward +with it and lay gasping. Chares swayed upon his feet and his head +reeled. The blood dripped from the ends of his fingers, where it had +burst from beneath his nails. Faintly from under the stone issued +cries of agony, as though some of the guard had been caught there and +held fast by mangled limbs. + +Nathan staggered to his feet and groped for his sword. "Now for the +wall," he cried. "We may yet escape!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + +As Clearchus lay upon the broad slab, the voices of his friends seemed +to him faint and far away. He tried to rise, but a strange languor +weighed him down. Chares seized him and dragged him to his feet. + +"Wake up!" cried the Theban. "We still have a chance. You tremble +like a girl." + +Clearchus gathered his senses with an effort of will, and the two +Greeks followed Nathan across the roof toward the great wall, against +which the prison was built. + +Nathan led them straight to the foot of a narrow flight of steps, +roughly hewn in the masonry and scarcely discernible a few yards away. +Up these he climbed with the agility of a cat. Clearchus, still faint +and dizzy, hesitated for a moment, gazing at the sheer height that +towered above his head. + +"Forward!" Chares cried behind him. "It is our only hope." + +Clearchus set his feet in the narrow steps and followed Nathan, +carrying the jailer's spear in his left hand and clinging to each +projection with his right. More than once his feet slipped and Chares +saved him from falling. The steps wound upward almost perpendicularly, +and it was evident that they were rarely used, for in places the soft +brick had crumbled, leaving wide gaps. + +"Look up!" Chares cried desperately, as Clearchus halted at one of +these dangerous points. "Look up--and remember Artemisia, whom thou +alone canst save!" + +He had touched the right chord at last. The Athenian's brain cleared +at the mention of Artemisia's peril, and he forgot his own. The wall +no longer seemed to waver before his eyes. All doubt of his ability to +pass where Nathan had passed before him vanished from his mind, and he +gained the top with an even pulse. + +They paused for a moment to get their bearings. Far beneath them they +saw the starlight trembling on the broad sweep of the Euphrates, beyond +which for miles lay a level country, dotted with trees and fields. +Behind them spread the sleeping city, an endless succession of roofs +and towers. Here and there a torch glimmered like a firefly. The +crest of the wall, upon which they stood and where four chariots might +have been driven abreast without crowding, was apparently deserted. + +The sound of shouting rose from the direction of the prison. They saw +a cluster of torches issue from the main entrance and scatter in every +direction. + +"They are giving the alarm," Nathan said, "but I think we shall have +time to disappoint them. There is a rope waiting for us where the +river touches the wall, and at its lower end we shall find a boat." + +The river was several hundred yards distant from the spot where they +stood. Before they could reach the place where the rope was concealed, +they must traverse nearly a quarter of a mile. Between them and safety +stood one of the guard-houses built for the sentries whose duty it was +to patrol the wall night and day. Still worse, they must pass the +entrance of a broad flight of steps that led downward into the city and +formed the usual means of ascent to the top of the wall. + +It had been Nathan's plan to come up by these steps and gain the rope +without passing the guard-house. The obstinacy of the jailer had +disarranged everything. It was of the first importance that they +should reach the rope before the sentinels on the wall could learn what +had happened, or the guards from below could mount. + +Like shadows they sped along the top of the wall, holding as near as +possible to the outer edge so as not to be seen from the city. Outside +the guard-house a sentry stood, craning his neck to see what was going +on beneath him to cause all the shouting. They stole by behind his +back without arousing his attention. + +They had fled past the head of the stairway and were congratulating +themselves on their good fortune when they came suddenly face to face +with a returning sentry, slowly pacing his beat. The man was as much +surprised as they and seemed in doubt as to whether they were friends +or foes. Before he could make up his mind, Chares gripped him by the +throat and the broad blade of the jailer's spear buried itself in his +heart. He had uttered no cry. Chares dragged the body under the +parapet that had been built where the wall overhung the river to +protect the defenders from the archers who might be sent to attack the +city from ships. + +Crouching in the shadow of this elevation, they went on at a slackened +pace, expecting every moment to come upon the rope. It was nowhere to +be found. The shouting from the city now came clearly up from the +staircase as the guards ascended. Finally Nathan paused and looked +doubtfully about him. + +"It should be very near here," he said, "but I do not see it." + +"Then there is nothing for it but to take as many of them with us as we +can," Chares said, rising to his full height. "Zeus, how my back +aches! I hate this skulking." + +Apparently the sentinel at the guard-house whom they had passed +understood at last what was the matter. He roused the rest of the +guard. Clearchus and Nathan pulled Chares down into the shadow. They +were so near that they could hear what was said. + +"Captives have escaped! They are coming up by the prison stairway!" +the man told his companions in an excited voice. "They are asking us +to stop them. Boupares himself is on his way up." + +The men came tumbling out of the guard-house and ran to the inner edge +of the wall, shouting down with much gesticulation that they would meet +the fugitives. Then they hastened back toward the prison. + +"Much good that will do them," Chares laughed. + +"We have still a few moments," Clearchus said. "Where was the rope to +be?" + +"Here--opposite the Tower of Baal," Nathan replied. + +"Look on the outside of the wall; it may be there," the Athenian +suggested. + +Nathan climbed upon the parapet and looked over. + +"Here it is," he cried joyfully. "Follow me!" + +As he spoke, he slipped over the edge of the wall and vanished. + +"Follow him, Chares," Clearchus said. "Go quickly!" + +"You first," the Theban answered doggedly. + +"No," Clearchus answered with firmness. "It is my turn to guard the +rear. I shall not stir until you are over the wall." + +"Very well, have your way," Chares replied. + +He vaulted upon the parapet and looked down. The rope had been +attached to a bar of iron driven firmly into the bricks near the +coping, and it dangled from between his feet into the gulf beneath him. +The cord seemed slender to sustain his weight, but there was no time in +which to test it. Swinging himself over the edge, he grasped the bar +and then the rope, letting himself down hand over hand, with his feet +against the rough surface of the wall. From the twitching of the cord +in his hands, he knew that Nathan had not yet reached the bottom. He +wondered how long it would be before the rope would break and send him +headlong into the dark abyss. + +Clearchus, left alone behind the parapet, flattened his body in the +shadow and waited. He had seen Chares begin his descent, and he knew +that the rope would not sustain the weight of all three at the same +time. He resolved to allow Chares an opportunity to reach the foot of +the wall before he himself started down. He counted upon the mistake +that the sentries had made, in going back to the prison staircase in +their search, to give him time. + +Hardly had Chares disappeared before a company of soldiers, with +torches in their hands, emerged from the head of the great stairway. +The glare searched every corner on top of the wall, and the Athenian +saw that concealment was no longer possible. + +He knew that he must act promptly. The faces of the new arrivals were +turned toward the sentinels, who were still engaged in searching about +the prison stairway. It could be only a few moments before the +futility of further effort in that direction must become evident to +them, and the hunt would turn toward where he lay. + +Should he attempt to gain the great staircase and slip into the city, +where the Israelites might hide him, at least for a time? It would be +impossible to evade the soldiers who were still coming up. He +dismissed the idea from his mind. + +Possibly he could escape along the southern stretch of wall. Beyond +him at a distance there seemed to be a bridge, or causeway, connecting +the wall with the enormous mass of earth and bricks that upheld the +Hanging Gardens. The groves of palms and the tangle of shrubbery that +crowned the Gardens might conceal him, even though the place was within +the precincts of the palace itself. + +He was about to try this plan and had already partly risen to put it +into execution, when he saw the guard turning out at a station between +him and the causeway. His chance of flight in that direction was cut +off. + +He could hear the chafing of the rope against the bricks on the other +side of the parapet. Chares was still lowering himself toward the +river. To try the rope now would be not only to endanger the lives of +his two friends by overstraining the cord, but to reveal their mode of +escape and expose them to certain death, since the guard would lose no +time in cutting it. + +Clearchus felt that he had been caught in a trap from which there was +no outlet. He thought of the words the jailer had used in describing +the death allotted to them. He thought of Artemisia, defenceless in +Tyre. A vision of the life he had hoped to lead in the pleasant city +of his birth, with her at his side, flitted through his mind. The Gods +had bestowed upon him the hope of happiness that was not to be +fulfilled. Chares would tell Artemisia how he died. At least she +would know that he had given his life for his friend. + +So ran the young man's thoughts as he lay awaiting the moment of +discovery. His mind was made up. They would never take him back to +the prison. Perhaps his friends might recover his body and give it +burial amid the groves beyond the river. + +Although the time seemed long, in reality only a few minutes passed +before the portly form of Boupares, supported on either side by a +stalwart soldier, appeared upon the platform at the head of the broad +stair. The governor was out of breath and also out of patience. The +knowledge that he would find it difficult to account for the loss of +the prisoners weighed upon his mind. + +The guards crowded about him with explanations and excuses. No trace +could be found of the fugitives, they told him. It was certain they +had not reached the top of the wall. If they had, they must have +wings, since they had disappeared, leaving no trace. + +"Search, you dogs!" Boupares gasped. "A thousand darics to the man who +finds them!" + +The moment was at hand. Clearchus unclasped the fibula that fastened +the chiton upon his shoulder and drew his feet out of his sandals. + +There was a cry from one of the guards. He had found the body of the +sentinel. A group gathered about it to see. It was proof that the +fugitives had passed along the wall, and all eyes were directed toward +the Athenian's hiding-place. + +Clearchus let fall his garments and with a bound gained the top of the +parapet. The red light of the torches shone full upon his naked +figure, gleaming against the dark sky, as perfect in every line as the +form of Ph[oe]bus Apollo. For an instant the soldiers were dumb with +astonishment and superstitious dread. The shape had appeared where +there had been nothing a moment before. It seemed to them that it must +be that of a God. Then one of them caught sight of the abandoned +chiton and the spell was broken. + +"Seize him! Strike him down!" they cried. + +"Take him alive!" bellowed Boupares. + +Clearchus turned his back upon them and gave a single glance at the +wide sweep of water that eddied and gurgled at the foot of the great +wall, how far below him he dared not guess. A javelin hissed past him +and was swallowed by the darkness. With muscles as firm as steel, he +took two steps forward and shot out from the dizzy height. + +He heard the cry of astonishment and involuntary alarm from the +soldiers behind him. The light of the torches flashed in his eyes, and +then fled suddenly upward. + +He looked down upon the wrinkled surface of the river. The impetus of +his leap had carried him out beyond the slope of the wall, and he saw +that he would strike the water as he had planned, instead of being +dashed to pieces. + +The rushing air blinded him like a mighty wind. He heard its roar in +his ears. Mechanically he pressed the palms of his hands together +below his head, and stiffened and straightened his body so that it +might offer no surface of resistance in the plunge. Then he knew no +more. + +Faintly the cry of the guards floated downward. Their torches twinkled +over the parapet. Chares, who, with aching arms, was clinging to the +last few fathoms of the rope, looked upward. So did Nathan, pausing in +his task of fitting a pair of oars to the rowlocks of a small boat that +he had pushed out from the wall. + +They saw the form of Clearchus as it shot downward from the sky. They +saw it strike the water not twenty feet from them, leaving a circle of +foam, with hardly a splash to mark where it had fallen, so straight and +true was its descent. + +Chares let the end of the rope slip through his hands and leaped into +the boat. With a few rapid strokes Nathan brought the little craft to +the centre of the widening ripple, where the bubbles were still rising. +Both leaned over the gunwale, straining their eyes for sight of the +body in the dark water. + +A minute passed, and another, while they held their breath. Then +Nathan uttered a cry. + +"There he is!" he shouted, pointing downward. + +It was only a glimmer of white under the ripple, which showed for an +instant and was gone; but Chares plunged from the boat and disappeared +beneath the surface. When he rose, he held the body of his friend +across his arm, hanging limp and apparently lifeless. Nathan drew it +into the boat and then helped Chares to his place in the stern. + +"Is he dead, think you?" the Theban asked, taking the form across his +knees as though it were that of a child. + +"There is no mark on him; he may be only stunned," Nathan replied, +resuming his oars. + +Chares gazed at the pale face, with the dripping hair streaming back +from its temples, and, bending forward, placed his ear over the heart. + +"It beats," he cried. "He lives! Pull away, Nathan, and let the +jackals howl!" + +Arrows and javelins struck the water around the boat, but there was +little danger from the marksmen above, unless some missile should find +them by chance. The craft was almost indistinguishable from the top of +the wall. + +Nathan worked hard at the oars, while Chares rolled the body of +Clearchus on his knees. Then he rubbed the pale limbs briskly and by +no means gently until the blood began to circulate again. At last +Clearchus opened his eyes and drew a deep breath. + +"Is this the Styx?" he asked faintly. "Is the story true then, after +all?" + +"Not yet," Chares replied, with a laugh. "Your time has not yet come. +You are dreaming." + +Clearchus turned his head and saw the precipice of the mighty wall, +rising black toward the stars and crowned with the red glow of the +torches. + +"Did I dive from there?" he asked wonderingly; "or is that, too, a +dream?" + +"It is no dream," Chares replied, "but a deed that will be told +throughout the army for the Companions to envy. Give me the oars, +Nathan; I need exercise." + +Nathan yielded the oars, and the tough blades bent as the Theban threw +his weight upon them. The boat sped through the water toward a grove +of trees that stood like a patch of darker shadow on the other shore. +From behind they could hear the clank of levers, and they knew the +river-gate was being opened. Boupares had ordered pursuit; but they +were a mile away before the first of the biremes shot out from the +portal. A few minutes more and they had reached the friendly grove and +entered the mouth of one of the numerous canals which formed a network +through the plain as complicated as the Cretan labyrinth. + +"Now let them search," said Nathan. "I would not stand in Boupares' +shoes to-morrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE SLUICE GATE + +Cautiously and in silence they threaded their way from one branch of +the canal to another, through the fields of grain and vegetables that +spread like a vast garden for miles across the low country. Here and +there along the banks were farmers' huts, and occasionally they passed +through the estate of a Persian landowner who followed agriculture as +the noblest pursuit in which a man could engage, according to the +teachings of his religion. In many places the canal was shut in on +both sides by reeds which reached a height of ten, or even fifteen, +feet. + +They had proceeded for perhaps two hours and had made so many turns +that the Greeks had long ago lost all idea of direction, when they +reached a cluster of date-palms. Nathan guided the boat to a +landing-place, and they stepped ashore. + +"Jonathan, are you there?" he called softly. + +"I am here," replied a guarded voice, and from among the trees stood +forth the figure of an old man. "Pull your boat ashore and follow me," +he said briefly. + +They lifted the boat out of the canal and concealed it carefully among +the rushes. The old man conducted them along a narrow path which +brought them to a group of farm buildings, among which stood a large +country house. They entered by the rear and passed through several +dark passages until they came to a door, before which Jonathan halted +and knocked. A deep voice from within bade them enter. They found +themselves in a large, dimly lighted room, the walls of which were +lined with cases filled with rolls of papyrus. On a long table stood a +shaded lamp among scattered papyri, half unrolled, and the materials +for writing. + +A man of venerable appearance, with a spreading white beard, which +reached his girdle, rose from the table to greet them. + +"This is Nehemiah, whose ancestor was Daniel the prophet, viceroy of +Babylon," Nathan said. "These are the Greeks, Clearchus of Athens and +Chares of Thebes, concerning whom I wrote thee," he added, turning to +the old man. + +"You are welcome in this house," Nehemiah said gravely. "Jonathan, +bring food and wine." + +He gathered the manuscripts tenderly from the table and laid them away, +setting chairs for his guests. While the refreshment was being +prepared Nathan related the adventures of their escape, to which the +old man listened with close attention. + +"Thou hast done well," Nehemiah said, when Nathan came to the end. "I +have been considering that which thou told me, of the vision of the +viceroy in the third year of Belshazzar, at Susa, by the River Ulai, +and verily do I believe that thou art right. The rough he-goat is come +out of the West, and for the kingdom of Persia, the time of its end is +at hand. I have examined the writings of Daniel, in which, as Gabriel +ordered him, he shut up the vision two hundred years ago. The kingdom +of Israel is bound to the Archæmenian line; but if thou canst win for +thy people the favor of the he-goat, thou mayst be the means of saving +them." + +"I shall try," Nathan replied simply. + +"Thou wilt understand," Nehemiah continued, addressing himself to +Clearchus, "that if I am to aid you, it must be done in secret. It is +evident that you are in need of rest," he added, glancing at Chares, +who was nodding over the golden goblet that he had emptied. "A hue and +cry will be raised for you, but I think I can keep you safe until you +have gained strength for your long journey." + +Having dismissed Jonathan, he took up the lamp and led them to a hidden +chamber in the upper part of the house, where he left them. They fell +asleep at daybreak and woke at nightfall. After they had eaten, +Nehemiah provided them with fresh garments and with horses of the +Nisæan breed, the fleetest in his stable, and gave them weapons. He +also furnished them with money for their flight. + +"My men have brought me word from the city of your escape," he said, +"and the Great King is filled with wrath. Ten of the guard were +crucified this morning at the gates; but Boupares so far has not been +arrested. All the court is talking about Clearchus' plunge from the +wall. It is thought that Beltis herself must have borne him up, and it +is even said that the Goddess was seen in the air beside him. Her +priests will make the most of it, and, should you be taken, this may be +turned to account." + +"What knowest thou of the pursuit, father?" Nathan asked. + +"They have sent out a thousand horsemen to search the plain on this +side of the river," the old man replied. "Thou wilt use caution and +hold to the unfrequented ways until the chase slackens. For the rest, +put thy trust in the Most High. He will save thee out of their hands +if He so wills it. Farewell." + +They rode into the night under the stars, bearing away from the river, +and keeping to paths known to Nathan among the reeds and groves. At +frequent intervals they came upon one or another of the canals which +intersected the plain in all directions. Chares and Clearchus were +filled with wonder at the enormous amount of labor that had been +expended in digging the great ditches which carried the water of the +river for irrigating the plain, and at the system of reservoirs by +which it was stored for the dry season. Some of these formed lakes of +considerable size, dammed by great gates built of timber that could be +raised or lowered by means of levers. + +As they proceeded westward toward the desert which lay between them and +the land of Israel, the level country was broken by low ridges and +hills, between which wound the canals. Vegetation became less +luxuriant and the houses less frequent. + +Twice at the beginning of their ride they heard parties of horsemen +near them, whom they took to be detachments of the searchers. Once +they turned aside into a crossroad just in time to avoid a meeting. +But as they approached nearer to the border between the waste and the +cultivated bottom lands, no sounds reached their ears excepting the +trampling of their own horses, and they began to hope that they had +left their pursuers behind. + +"Tell me, Clearchus," Chares said, after a period of reflection, "is +there any truth in what they say about you?" + +"What do you mean?" Clearchus replied. + +"Why, about this Beltis, you know. Is it true that you are a modern +Endymion?" + +"I don't know anything about her," Clearchus said. + +"I thought you had more confidence in me," the Theban continued +reproachfully. "If you think I shall say anything about it when we +reach Tyre, you are mistaken. I hope I know enough to hold my tongue +about such delicate matters. Is she as handsome as they say she is?" + +"Listen!" whispered Nathan, holding up his hand and drawing rein. + +The others came to a halt. They had been riding up a shallow valley +along one of the canals. Beside them rose a low ridge which separated +them from the next depression. Beyond this ridge they could hear the +beating of hoofs and the jingling of bridles. From the sound they +judged that twenty or thirty horsemen were advancing in a direction +parallel to their own. + +"The roads join half a mile farther on," Nathan whispered. "It is more +than likely that they will turn back along this one." + +"Then we must make a dash for it and get there first," Chares said. +"Come on, I feel as though a race would do me good!" + +"We might cross the ridge and fall in behind them," Clearchus suggested. + +"Don't spoil sport; and besides, they would surely see us," Chares +replied. "Forward! Is not thy Beltis with us?" + +Without waiting for a reply he struck in his spurs and darted forward, +with the others thundering at his heels. The party beyond the ridge, +hearing the hoof-beats, also broke into a gallop, evidently being +acquainted with the fact that the roads converged. Their horses, +however, were no match for the Nisæans. Neck and neck, with long, even +strides, they raced up the road and swept past the meeting point while +the pursuers were still a hundred yards away. + +Nathan looked back and recognized the uniform of the palace guard. The +detachment consisted of men who, he knew, were both brave and skilful, +and who would not relinquish the chase while a chance of success +remained. Their numbers made it impossible to think of facing them. +There was nothing for it but to keep on. + +Beyond the point where the roads joined the ridges became higher and +steeper, drawing together until there was barely room for the track +beside the canal. It was no longer practicable to leave the valley, +because to climb the acclivity that shut them in on either side would +have been difficult work for a footman, and it was out of the question +for horses. The gorge turned and twisted between the hills. Although +Nathan had never travelled this road before, he drew comfort from the +fact that the canal still flowed sluggishly beside them. It must lead +them eventually, he believed, to more open country. + +They had ridden a little more than a mile through this defile, which +seemed once to have been the bed of a stream, when Chares, who was in +the lead, drew up with a cry of dismay. Further progress was barred by +a steep dam of earth and stone. In the middle of the dam was the usual +gate, built of heavy timbers and planks. The water spurted through the +cracks into the bed of the canal. + +"It looks as though we should have to make a stand here," the Theban +cried. "We cannot surmount this." + +"Are you anxious to die?" Clearchus said. "They would get above us on +the banks and spear us like so many frogs." + +Nathan had thrown himself from his horse. He ran to the gate. As he +had expected, he found a narrow foot-path leading upward beside it. + +"Come along," he cried. "Here is a way up. Leave the horses where +they are." + +Down the valley behind them they could hear the shouting of the guards, +racing with each other in the narrow road in their eagerness to claim +the great reward that Boupares had offered for the capture of the +fugitives. + +Clearchus and Chares dismounted and scrambled after Nathan up the path. +Their horses, deserted by their riders in the darkness, neighed shrilly +and strove to follow, digging their hoofs into the sand and gravel, +which fell in showers into the canal. + +At the top of the path a large reservoir spread placidly far to the +right and left in a basin surrounded by low hills. + +Nathan ran to the gate and knocked out the wooden pins that held it in +place. It rose a few inches, and the water began to gush and gurgle +beneath it. The Israelite seized a lever and thrust it into its notch, +calling to Clearchus and Chares to do the same on the other side. + +The pursuit had almost reached the foot of the gate when the leader of +the detachment, a young man with a handsome face, saw that his horse +was splashing through the rising water and realized the danger that +threatened them. He gave a sharp command to halt. He glanced quickly +forward, and then back along the way they had come, as though +considering what course to take. + +No time was allowed him for decision. Nathan, Clearchus, and Chares +strained at the levers. + +With a sharp creak the heavy gate was loosened, and the flood that +rushed beneath it helped to force it upward. + +Roaring angrily, the water foamed into the gorge, filling it from side +to side with a torrent ten feet deep that dashed impatiently against +the walls of the tortuous channel. + +The guardsmen had no chance to escape. Like men of straw, they were +lifted, horse and rider together, whirled over and over, and swept down +the valley on the crest of the yellow wave. Their cries were choked in +the rush of the water. + +Nathan and Clearchus dropped their levers and stood gazing at the +surface of the turbid stream. Chares joined them. + +"It is a pity," he said regretfully. "They deserved a better death. I +wish we could have had a bout with them; but it may be all for the +best. Let them go as a sacrifice to My Lady Beltis. By Dionysus, she +has given us back our horses, too! Look here!" + +One of the Nisæans had gained the top of the dam and another was close +behind him. The third had been overtaken by the flood and was +struggling piteously for a foothold with his fore feet. Chares caught +him by the bit and dragged him up to safety. They mounted and struck +off at random among the hills, seeking to get as far away as possible +before daylight should break. + +This was the only direct encounter that they had with the soldiers of +the pursuit. Skirting the desert, they made their way northward and +westward until all danger of capture had passed. Once, in seeking to +cross an arm of the sandy waste, they went astray and nearly perished +from thirst. On another occasion they were surrounded by a band of +robbers, from whom they barely escaped. This last adventure took place +on the eastern slope of Mount Amanus on the borders of Cilicia, where +they arrived after a month of wandering. It was here that they began +once more to hear the name of Alexander and to feel the currents of the +mighty storm that was gathering on the flank of the empire of Darius. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + +Down from the Phrygian plateau, through a land that glowed with the +touch of autumn, marched the Macedonian host, with Alexander at its +head. On a clear October night the army halted at the foot of the +rugged and forbidding crags of the Taurus. Leonidas with his cavalry +troop followed the young king in the attack upon the Cilician Gates, +which scattered the guard stationed there and opened the way into the +satrapy of Cilicia. + +From one of the captives taken at the pass, Alexander learned that the +satrap Arsames had planned to plunder the city of Tarsus and retreat +into Syria with his spoil. While the main body of the troops was still +filing through the pass, he gathered a chosen body of cavalry and light +infantry and swooped like a falcon upon the town. The Spartan rode +that day at the head of his squadron for fifty miles; and Arsames, +abandoning all thought of plunder, deemed himself fortunate to escape +with his garrison. + +It was here that Alexander fell ill from bathing in the icy waters of +the Cydnus, and the rumor spread through the army that his life was in +danger. Grief and anxiety pervaded the camp. The toughest of the +veterans, with tears in their eyes, gathered before the house in which +he lay, demanding news of his condition. The physicians came and went +with grave faces and in silence. + +Although his fever ran high, Alexander insisted upon receiving his +friends as usual and attending to his affairs. One day came a letter +from Parmenio, who had been sent forward with a strong detachment to +secure the southern pass into Syria through the Amanic range. The +young king read it thoughtfully, and Leonidas noticed that he thrust it +under his pillow without discussing its contents as his custom was. + +A conference of the physicians was being held to consider the king's +malady, for it was evident that some decisive measure must be taken if +the fever was to be checked. In this consultation a dispute arose +between Philip of Acarnania and the other physicians. Philip +maintained that a strong remedy should be given, but when he named the +potion that he proposed to administer, his colleagues declared that +they would have no part in it, holding the opinion that the drugs would +surely kill the patient. + +Hearing the voices raised in controversy, Alexander demanded the +reason. He called the doctors before him and listened to all they had +to say. + +"Will this draught of which you speak enable me to ride Bucephalus in +three days?" he asked of Philip. + +"I will answer for it," the Acarnanian replied. + +"Compound it, then, for me," the young king said. "When it is ready, I +will take it." + +He turned his face away and the physicians left him. During the +interval of waiting he talked with Clitus, Philotas, Leonidas, and +others of his Companions concerning the Trojan war, but, noting their +evident anxiety, he broke off to rally them upon it. + +"Do not think," he said, laughing, "that we have come so far and +endured so much to stop here. There is many a campaign yet before us." + +When Philip came, bringing an earthen bowl containing a liquid which +steamed with an odor of spices, he raised himself on his couch and drew +Parmenio's letter from under his pillow. As he took the bowl from the +physician, he handed him the letter. + +"Read it!" he said quietly, setting the potion to his lips. + +With his eyes on Philip he slowly drank the medicine. The physician +glanced at the letter and grew pale, but he returned Alexander's gaze +without flinching. + +"Drink and be of good cheer," he said. "I tell thee this after having +read this charge against me." + +He returned the letter as he spoke. + +"I have drunk already," Alexander replied; and then, turning to Clitus, +he bade him read what Parmenio had written. + +"Beware of Philip, your physician," the letter ran. "I am informed +that he hath been bribed by the Great King with the promise of a +thousand talents and the hand of his daughter to poison thee. I beg of +thee to take nothing that he may offer." + +Scowling brows were turned toward the physician, who was busying +himself unconcernedly in heaping fresh coverings upon his patient. + +"Let no man interfere," Alexander said sternly. "Where I have placed +my trust, no other shall doubt." + +This warning was sufficient to restrain the Companions, even when they +saw their leader lying like a dead man beneath the blankets, with +closed lids and a pulse that was scarcely perceptible. But Philip +never moved his watchful eyes from the pale face, and when he saw drops +of perspiration rolling down the forehead a slight smile of +satisfaction appeared upon his lips. His confidence and the faith that +the young king had placed in him had been justified; for an hour later +Alexander came out of his faintness, and, although weak, the fever had +left him. He was able next day to show himself to the soldiers, and a +few days later to lead them against the bandits who infested the +southern part of the province, routing them from their fastnesses and +scattering to the four corners of the earth those who escaped the +sword. On his return he received news that Ptolemy and Astander had +defeated Orontobates and captured the Salmacis and the Royal Citadel of +Halicarnassus. He celebrated this victory and his recovery with +sacrifice and games after the ancient manner. + +Suddenly across the country like wildfire spread the news that Darius +was approaching with an army so great that none might count its +numbers. When inquiry was made, no man could tell whence the story had +come. Alexander questioned many who were brought before him, but all +gave him the same answer. + +"The Great King is coming," they said. "Where he is we know not, nor +when he will be here. All that we can say is that he is on the way, +for the Syrians told us, and they learned it from the travellers and +traders of the South." + +Then came a shape of man who had once been a Corinthian. His tongue +had been cut out and his ears and nose shaved away. He could only nod +his head and weep when they asked him of the approach of the Persian +monarch. + +Alexander sent for Leonidas. The Spartan came with an impassive face, +and stood awaiting his orders. + +"They say Darius is on the march," he said. "Where he is and of what +his army consists, no one can tell me. Choose what men you like and go +to Parmenio at the Syrian Gates, where I purpose to join him with the +army as soon as the march can be made. Find the Persian and bring me +word there of the things that I should know." + +"It shall be done," Leonidas replied. + +On the evening of the fourth day after the order had been given, +Leonidas, with fifteen men of his troop, whose courage had been tested +in the campaign against the Pisidians, took leave of Parmenio and rode +out upon the rolling plains beyond the Syrian Gates. He had learned +that Darius was at Sochi, two days' march away, but when he arrived +there, he found only hills and fields from which the harvests had been +stripped as if by locusts, and a city where starvation reigned. + +Here he learned much of the numbers and character of the host that had +left such a track of desolation. From Sochi he bore away toward the +left and the mountains, and on the third day overtook the Persian +horde, whose camp-fires stretched for miles across the plain. + +Although thousands of camp followers and women had been left behind in +Damascus in charge of Cophenes, together with the greater part of the +luxurious equipage of the courtiers, and of the treasure in gold and +silver, which six hundred mules and three hundred camels could scarcely +carry, there still remained an enormous train in the rear of the army. + +Leonidas soon ascertained everything concerning the army of Darius and +its composition that it was necessary for him to know; but he was +astonished to find that the Great King had passed beyond the Syrian +Gates, near which Alexander had expected to find him, and that he was +still marching northward. This march puzzled the Spartan. It carried +the Persian army each day farther from its base of supplies at +Damascus, and apparently did not give the Great King a better battle +ground than the one he had left behind at Sochi. He determined to keep +the army in sight, at least until he had reached the Amanic Gates. +There was the only other entrance from Syria into Cilicia, and through +them Leonidas planned to carry the information that he had gathered to +Alexander, who would be awaiting him in the southern pass. As the +Persian horde advanced, he found that he was being pressed toward the +wooded slopes of the mountain range. At last, as the enemy showed no +intention of halting, he resolved to strike for the Amanic Gates, not +daring to delay his report longer. + +He soon became entangled among the rocky spurs and ravines. At last he +believed that he had reached the pass, and advanced far into the +mountains before some shepherds told him of his mistake. Following +their directions, he crossed a lofty ridge and descended into the true +pass on the evening of the second day after his departure from the +Persian army. Darkness overtook him, and he was forced to encamp +halfway up the precipitous slope of the valley. Before sunrise next +day he roused his men and led them down toward the broad road below, +which followed a watercourse. + +In their descent, Leonidas and his men entered a belt of timber that +for a short time hid the road from their view. They burst their way +through the undergrowth, to find themselves face to face with a troop +of horsemen whom Leonidas recognized at once as belonging to the army +of Darius. + +"The Persians have entered the pass," was the thought that flashed +through his mind before he considered his own danger. That Darius +would seek to enter Cilicia instead of accepting battle upon the Syrian +plains was a possibility that had never even been discussed in the +Macedonian councils. Leonidas realized that if Alexander had carried +out his plan of marching to the Syrian Gates, far to the southward, the +Persian army was about to place itself between him and the territory +that he had conquered, cutting off his line of retreat. The safety of +the Macedonians might depend upon his reaching Alexander in time to +give him warning. + +He gave a rapid glance at the Persians who confronted him. There were +thirty or forty of them. Far below he caught a glimpse of the plain, +where miles of troops, horse and foot, were crawling like ants toward +the pass. The enemy gave him no time to see more. They raised an +exultant shout and dashed upon him with lowered lances. Although +Leonidas and his men fought with desperation, the Spartan realized that +they were not strong enough to hold their ground. The mere weight of +their opponents forced them back, inch by inch, until their horses were +struggling on the brink of the slope to the bed of the stream. + +"Let us die where we stand!" Leonidas shouted. "Remember that we are +Greeks! Forward, forward!" + +He plunged in among the Persians, thrusting at their faces, and his men +were enabled to gain a few feet in the space that he had cleared. The +relief was only momentary, for the Persians surrounded them on three +sides and the chasm was in their rear. + +The captain of the Persian troop had not mingled in the contest. +Hovering in the background, he urged on his men, taking care to keep +out of danger. Leonidas saw him as he wheeled, raising his arm to give +a command. The sun flashed upon the glittering links of his gilded +corselet. The Spartan hurled his lance at the mark with all the +strength in his body. Straight flew the point of steel and split the +brazen links, like a bolt from a catapult. The captain toppled from +his horse and lay with his face in the dust. It was a final effort. A +few moments more and all would be over. + +Suddenly from the glen out of which Leonidas and his men had emerged +rode a man upon a powerful black charger. In his hand he carried a +lance of unusual length. His yellow hair tossed about his shoulders, +and his blue eyes turned eagerly toward the righting. + +"Leonidas!" he shouted. "Strike home! We are here!" + +Behind him rode two companions. At sight of them the Spartan's brow +cleared. + +"Chares! Clearchus!" he cried. + +Their coming turned the tide of the conflict. The Persians, ignorant +of how many more might be following them, turned and fled down the pass +before the new arrivals could strike a blow. + +Leonidas embraced his friends. Of the Greeks who had fallen, only one, +a young man of Caria, who had been stunned by a blow from a mace, was +still alive. Clearchus caught his horse, and they lifted him upon its +back. + +"What brings you here?" Chares asked of Leonidas. "Where is Alexander?" + +"That I will tell you later," the Spartan replied. "Look yonder!" + +He pointed over the tree-tops on the lower slopes at the innumerable +host that was creeping toward the mountain side. + +"The Persians are about to cross the pass," he said. "Alexander and +the army are in danger of being cut off, and we alone can save them." + +"If Darius crosses the pass, it will be in our footsteps," Chares said. +"Let us be off." + +Of the men who had followed Leonidas down the mountain at daybreak, +only four remained. + +"Lead on, Leonidas," Clearchus said. "You are in command again." + +The Spartan turned his horse's head up the pass and the others fell in +behind him. They rode unchallenged, for the defile had not yet been +occupied by the Persian force. From every new elevation they could see +the endless lines of infantry and cavalry slowly drawing together far +below them, until they passed at noon through a narrow way between +lofty and beetling cliffs, and saw Cilicia lying before them, with the +blue horizon of the sea in the distant southwest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + +In the second watch of the night, the Macedonian outposts challenged +four men whose horses were flecked with foam. The strangers came from +the direction of Issus, along the narrow and rugged road that led +southward through the Syrian Gates, between the mountains and the sea. +Alexander had led his army that day through the pass, and it was +encamped at Myriandrus. In the moonlight the sentinels saw that the +strangers were grimy with dust and that their faces were grim and gray +with fatigue. + +"I am Leonidas, of the Companions," said one of the riders who seemed +to be the leader. "Lead me to the general in charge." + +They were conducted to Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who immediately +recognized Leonidas. He greeted Chares and Clearchus with surprise. +The Spartan led him aside. + +"Darius is at Issus," he said. + +Ptolemy stared at him incredulously. + +"The Persians behind us!" he exclaimed. "You must be dreaming!" + +"No," Leonidas replied. "All day we have fled before them." + +"The king must know at once," Ptolemy said. "Follow me." + +He led the way through the sleeping camp to Alexander's tent, in which +a lamp was burning. A sentinel stood before it in full armor. + +"What is your business?" he demanded. + +"I must speak with the king," Ptolemy replied. + +"The king left orders that he must not be disturbed. Wait until the +morning," the man said calmly. + +"I will take the responsibility," Ptolemy retorted angrily. "Stand +aside!" + +"You cannot pass," the soldier answered, without moving. + +"What is this?" Alexander inquired, raising the curtain of the tent. +He held in his hand a copy of the Iliad, in which he had been reading. +"Is it you, Ptolemy--and Leonidas? Enter." + +They followed him into the tent, which contained nothing save his +weapons and a couch spread upon the ground. + +"Clearchus and Chares back again!" the young king cried in a tone of +satisfaction. "You have much to tell me; but first I must hear what +Leonidas brings." + +"Darius and his army have passed the Amanic Gates and are now at +Issus," Leonidas said briefly. + +The smile left Alexander's lips. + +"How many men has he?" he asked. + +"Five hundred thousand, of whom thirty thousand are mercenaries of +Greek blood," Leonidas answered. + +"They are in our rear," Alexander said, half to himself. He began to +pace backward and forward, with his hands behind his back and his head +inclined slightly toward his left shoulder. Although the startling +news brought to him by the Spartan had taken him wholly by surprise, +his decision was swift. Before he had made three turnings, his entire +plan of campaign had been changed. + +"The Gods have delivered them into our hands!" he said in a tone of +conviction. "I dared not expect such good fortune. In the narrow +plain of Issus, their army will defeat itself. The victory is ours." + +His face was radiant and he spoke joyously, like a man whose mind has +been relieved of a great anxiety; but his eyes were fastened upon the +face of Ptolemy. Alexander had not failed to note the expression of +apprehension that his lieutenant wore. He saw it vanish before the +warmth of his own confidence. He felt that he would be able to avert +any feeling of panic that might arise in the army at the unexpected +turn of events. + +"This is good news you bring," he said to Leonidas, "and I am repaid +for waiting." + +He glanced sharply at the sunken eyes and bloodless lips of the Spartan +and spoke to the sentinel. + +"Tell them to bring food and wine at once," he commanded. + +The young king's eyes fell upon Nathan, apparently for the first time. + +"Who is this?" he asked. "Come forward." + +The Israelite had been standing in the background, watching Alexander's +face with a gaze of peculiar intensity. + +"This is Nathan, who led us captive from Halicarnassus," Clearchus +replied. "He saved us when we were condemned to death in Babylon, and +his aid enabled us to assist Leonidas in escaping from the Persians so +as to bring you his news. He wishes to take service under you, and at +your leisure to tell you of certain prophecies concerning you that were +inspired by the God of Israel." + +"It is well," Alexander said. "He will serve with you and Chares in +the squadron that Leonidas commands. Ptolemy, send a thousand of your +men to hold the pass behind us, until we come." + +Alexander insisted that the young men should eat the food that was +brought into the tent in obedience to his order. While they were +satisfying their hunger, he plied them with questions concerning Darius +and his army, the character of his men and their commanders, and the +formation and resources of the country about Babylon. It was late when +he finally permitted them to retire. + +In the morning Alexander called a general council of his leaders to +impart to them the information that Leonidas had brought. He gave it +without comment, foreseeing that its first effect would be to arouse +uncertainty and dismay that must be overcome before the men would be +fit for battle. + +The council was held in the open air in front of Alexander's tent. +There came the captains of the Companions and of the phalanx and the +generals of the allies. About them pressed the rank and file of the +army, curious to learn the cause of the summons. Parmenio stood beside +Alexander, his furrowed face grave with thought. + +All eyes were turned upon the countenance of the young king, glowing +with confidence and enthusiasm. + +"Darius and his army are behind you, at Issus," he announced. "I have +called you together to learn your opinions as to what we should do. +Let each speak freely." + +For a moment the soldiers stood in silence, looking doubtfully at each +other. Then a murmur of uneasiness rose among them. They had expected +to find the enemy on the Syrian plains, and behold, he was in their +rear. + +"Parmenio," Alexander said, "what is your mind?" + +"We must fight," the old general replied, carefully and slowly. "The +Persians are between us and our homes. They can enslave the Greek +cities of the coast that we have set free. But they are so many that +they cannot wait. Hunger will force them to attack us on our own +ground. Let us wait until that time comes and then give them battle." + +His words caused a brief stir of approval, but the great mass of men +remained silent. + +"What is your advice, Ptolemy, son of Lagus?" Alexander demanded. + +"It is true that Darius is in our rear," Ptolemy responded, "but it is +also true that we are between him and his empire, that we have come to +conquer. Let us march upon Babylon and take the city. The road lies +open before us." + +A shout arose and a clashing of swords upon shields. It was evident +that Ptolemy's rashness found more favor than Parmenio's caution. + +One after another the generals and captains gave their opinions, some +agreeing with the older leader and some with the younger. When all had +spoken Alexander seemed to meditate for a moment. + +"O men of Hellas!" he cried, raising his head and looking into their +eyes, "we came to avenge the ancient wrongs that these barbarians +inflicted upon our fathers. Remember Darius, son of Hystaspes; how he +brought his ships to your coasts and was defeated at Marathon. +Remember Xerxes and the victory of Salamis. Never in the memory of man +have we been free from Persian attack; and when they no longer dared to +face us, they have sent their gold to corrupt our leaders and turn us +one against the other. For these insults and injuries, their empire is +forfeit; for the Gods have grown weary of their treachery. + +"What has happened when we met them, sword in hand? In the long list +of their attacks upon us, they have had nothing but defeat. Did not +the Ten Thousand march to the very gates of Babylon? + +"I say to you that the Gods have wearied of the barbarian. We were +marching to meet Darius upon the plain, where the vast number of his +army might have encompassed us. We were willing to allow him to choose +his own ground, but the Gods would not have it so. They have blinded +his eyes and led him to us almost as a sacrifice. Nothing remains but +to strike the blow. + +"O men of Macedon, my friends and companions, liberators of Greece, the +hour of our triumph is near. At the Granicus we overthrew the army of +a viceroy; now we are to meet the army of the Great King himself. + +"It is Persia that awaits our onset at Issus. There have the Gods +assembled the might and power of the empire and it stands like corn +ripe for the reaper. The sheaves of this harvest shall be of gold that +the barbarians have gathered for us as bees gather honey. + +"Heroes of Hellas! from your iron hands none can wrest victory unless +you will it! For yourselves and your children you are about to win +fame that shall endure through the ages. I have never led you to +defeat, and now I promise you the victory!" + +Dead silence reigned while Alexander artfully made his appeal to the +immemorial hatred of Persia, pointed out the advantage that Darius had +given them, and raised the hope of fame and spoil. As he finished, a +cry rent the air that showed he knew his men. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" they shouted. "Lead us!" + +With swelling hearts, the generals and captains pressed forward to +grasp his hand and swear to lay down their lives for him. He greeted +them each by name, reminding them of their bravest deeds and making +each man feel that the result of the battle might depend upon him +alone. The council broke up, spreading its enthusiasm through the +camp. On all sides the soldiers fell to polishing their weapons and +boasting of what they would do when they faced the army of Darius. + +That day was devoted to preparation. Alexander had sent a scouting +party of picked men to sail up the coast and learn the disposition of +the enemy's force. This expedition returned at nightfall and reported +that the wounded and invalid soldiers who had been left in Issus had +been cruelly slain by order of Darius and their bodies impaled along +the shore. Rage filled the army at this news and hardened the resolve +of the men to die rather than forego their victory and revenge. + +The trumpets sounded at the first flush of dawn, and by sunrise the +army was flowing back through the Syrian Gates to the field where the +fate of the world was to be decided. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE WORLD AT STAKE + +With the sea on their left and the mountain cliffs on their right, +Clearchus and Nathan rode on either side of Chares in the front rank of +the squadron of Companion cavalry commanded by Leonidas. The crisp +November air and the excitement of the coming battle made their blood +tingle and raised their spirits to a pitch of reckless gayety. The +Spartan rode in advance, without turning his head or moving a muscle +under the fire of jokes that Chares directed at him. + +Presently the cliffs ended and the mountain barrier curved away inland, +leaving a plain of greensward and shingle, flooded with sunlight. + +"There they are!" Clearchus cried eagerly. + +Straight before them, perhaps three miles away, they saw a confused +mass of gleaming banners and the glint of countless spears. The +shallow Pinarus, flowing down from the mountains, rippled across the +level, and on its further bank, where the ground was high, the Great +King had taken his stand. For a mile and a half, from the hills to the +sea, the plain was blocked by a living rampart, gay with the pomp of +Oriental splendor. + +As the squadrons of Macedonian cavalry emerged from the pass, they +wheeled to the right and formed their line close to the lower slopes of +the mountain. + +"Here come the men of Thessaly," Chares cried. + +Their plumes fluttering in the breeze, the Thessalian horse poured out +of the pass and ranged themselves behind the Companions. + +Then the phalanx appeared, marching rank after rank, with the precision +of a machine. The lancers under Protomachus and Aristo's Pæonians, who +had been thrown forward in advance of the cavalry, raised a shout as +the scarred veterans, each holding his long sarissa erect and bearing +his heavy shield across his shoulder, followed the proud Agema. + +While the phalanx was forming on the left of the cavalry there was a +movement among the Persians. + +"They are coming!" Chares shouted. + +Clearchus and Nathan saw a large body of horse and foot advance across +the river. Although in numbers they exceeded the entire Macedonian +army, their departure from the main body of the Persians seemed to make +no diminution in its size. They halted as soon as they had crossed the +stream and from the host beyond came the bray of trumpets and the +hoarse murmur of many voices. + +"They are taking their positions," Nathan said. "They will not attack." + +His conjecture proved correct, for in half an hour the troops that had +advanced fell back again across the river through openings that had +been left for them in the wings of the main force, and the glittering +front of the Persian army was revealed, drawn up in battle array. + +The Macedonians had continued to advance slowly across the plain, +forming as they went, so that only half a mile now separated them from +the Persians. Nathan's eyes sought the centre of the enemy's line. + +"There he is!" he exclaimed, pointing with his finger. + +Clearchus followed the direction he indicated and saw a blotch of +variegated color, above which fluttered many standards. + +"Who is it?" he asked. + +"Darius," Nathan replied. "You can see his Medean robe of +purple--there, just beneath that golden banner." + +"What troop is that about him?" inquired Chares. + +"They are the princes and the nobles of the court," the Israelite +answered. "Oxathres, the Great King's brother commands them." + +"I wonder whether Phradates is there!" Clearchus said. + +"I hope so!" Chares exclaimed, in a voice that came from his heart. + +"There, in front of Darius, are his Greek mercenaries," Nathan +continued. "Leonidas told the truth when he said there were thirty +thousand of them. Those heavy-armed troops on each side of the centre +are the Cardaces. And, look, there is the cavalry, there on the beach. +That is the flower of the Persian army. Nabazarnes leads it." + +"We met some of those blossoms at the Granicus," Chares remarked. "It +did not take them long to wither; but there is a whole garden of them +yonder, and our line seems rather slender compared with theirs." + +The Persian horse was massed on the smooth, hard beach in an enormous +wedge which looked as though it might be able, by weight alone, to +scatter the squadrons of Greek cavalry under Parmenio which were +opposing it on the left wing of the Macedonian army. Evidently this +discrepancy had struck the attention of Alexander, for, while Chares +spoke, the Thessalians quietly left their places in the line and +trotted around behind the phalanx to reënforce the allies. + +"There goes the sickle that will reap the roses of Darius," Chares +said, gazing after them longingly. "Ph[oe]bus! I wish I were with +them!" + +"You will find plenty to do here," Clearchus said. "There are a few +men over there on the hill who will have to be cared for." + +He pointed to the slope on the right, where some twenty thousand of the +Cardaces were drawn up, far in advance of the Persian line, near the +foot of the mountain. + +"They intend to try our flank when we advance," the Theban observed. +"I didn't know the Persians had so much sense." + +"They are going to get a little exercise first," Clearchus said as the +flare of trumpets sounded down the line. + +Immediately a body of light-armed foot-soldiers and cavalry detached +itself from the right wing and advanced up the hill toward the +Cardaces. The eyes of both armies were upon them and a cheer ran along +the Macedonian ranks, from the hillside to the sea. + +The Cardaces wavered slightly. They had evidently not expected so +prompt an attack. The leaders of the Macedonian force could be seen +riding or running in advance of the various divisions, and the men +followed as steadily as though the charge were merely an exercise +drill. They paused to send a flight of arrows and stones among the +Cardaces, who, being armed only with lances and swords, had no means of +replying. To charge down the hill meant that they would be annihilated +by the Macedonian army. To remain where they were was to be slain +piecemeal by the darts and arrows. They began to retire slowly upward +out of the zone of fire. + +Their retreat was greeted from the Macedonian lines by a roar that +sounded like the booming of the surf upon the rocks. The peltasts and +archers continued to press them until they had been forced into a +position where they were no longer a menace to the rear of the army. +The light-armed troops were then recalled, leaving two squadrons of +Companions, containing about three hundred men, to hold the twenty +thousand in check if they should attempt a charge. They performed the +task imposed upon them. Nothing more was heard of the isolated +Cardaces that day. + +As the detachment returned down the hill and resumed its place in the +ranks, the commotion in the long, thin line that stretched away to the +sea gradually ceased. The soldiers stood motionless behind their +captains. + +Alexander, riding Bucephalus, gave his final commands to Parmenio on +the beach where the Thessalians waited with the allied cavalry to meet +the attack of the Persian horse. Then he turned and came slowly up +along the line, drawing rein here and there to speak a word of +confidence and encouragement. His double white plume floated over his +shoulders, and the sunlight flashed upon his coat of mail. + +When he reached the right wing he addressed the Companions with his +familiar smile. + +"Do not forget," he said, "that a part of your accustomed duty is to +set an example to the rest. I shall lead the Agema. Keep near me, for +I may need you. Whether we win or lose, let it be with glory." + +He turned his face toward the Persians and scanned with care the dense +masses of troops who stood waiting beyond the Pinarus, in lines so deep +that he could not see their rear. His eyes lingered upon the centre, +where Darius, his rival for the mastery of the world, was standing. On +the left of the Great King, the course of the stream bent backward, and +the formation of the Persian army followed its course. The left of the +Greek mercenaries, upon whom Darius relied to win the battle, rested in +this elbow of the river. + +"There is the vital spot," Alexander said. "If we can gain a foothold +on that bank, have no fear of what may happen elsewhere. It will be +easier than it was at the Granicus." + +"The cavalry is coming," said Clitus, pointing toward the beach. + +Alexander turned and saw the gayly caparisoned squadrons of the Persian +right dashing into the river. The foam splashed about the knees of the +horses and a forest of lances waved and tossed in the air. + +"There is work for Parmenio," the young king remarked as the head of +the column gained the shore. + +He glanced once more along the Persian front, but the movement on the +beach did not extend to the main force. It was clear that Darius +intended to compel him to begin the infantry battle. + +Alexander cantered down to the right of the phalanx, where he +dismounted and placed himself at the head of the Agema. On the beach +the Thessalians met the shock of the tremendous body of cavalry that +had been launched against them. The impact bore them back, but even +that rushing avalanche of horses and men could not break them. It +dashed against their wall of steel, recoiled, and rolled on again, in +successive waves, continually strengthened from the rear as fresh +squadrons crossed the stream. + +The Macedonian line quivered with eagerness. A page darted from +Alexander's side along the front of the phalanx and spoke a word to +Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Another sped to the Companions. + +"Advance," he cried, "and charge when the king leads! This is the +order!" + +"Here we go!" cried Chares, clapping Nathan on the back with a blow +that nearly hurled him from his horse. "Stick to Leonidas! He will +find the best of the fighting for us, or we will drown him in the +river!" + +"The phalanx is moving!" Clearchus cried with shining eyes. + +A dull throbbing beat through the air and the heavy centre started +slowly forward, each man touching the arm of his neighbor and keeping +step in parade order. The cadence of voices began to mingle with the +drum beat and the wild music of the trumpets. + +As they advanced, Clearchus gazed eagerly at the Persian line, every +nerve stretched to the point of physical pain. He saw in the centre +the ranks of the Greek mercenaries, ten times as deep as those of the +phalanx, standing grim and motionless, in strange contrast with the +restless flutter of the heterogeneous masses that surrounded them on +three sides. He blushed to think that, when Persia stood at bay, +Greeks could be found to range themselves with her against their own +country. The thought passed through his mind that Alexander was right +after all, and that Demosthenes and those who aided him to fan the +flame of hostility to Macedon at home were really acting the part of +traitors, not only to Athens, but to all Greece. + +He turned his eyes to Alexander, whose plumes shone in the front rank +of the Agema. This had now almost reached the Pinarus. Suddenly from +the phalanx rose the deep-toned pæan, summoning the Gods of Hellas to +protect their own. The mighty chant drowned the throbbing of the drums +and the uproar of the battle on the beach. As it rose and swelled, it +filled the plain and rolled back in echoes from the mountain sides. +There was something in it stern and inflexible, that thrilled +Clearchus' heart and lifted him to the plane of self-forgetfulness. + +The Agema reached the river. The pæan gave way to a wild shout as the +slow advance of the phalanx changed to a rush, and the Macedonian line +dashed into the rain of javelins, darts, and arrows that was poured +upon it from the Persian side of the stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +THE CHESTNUT MARE + +The phalanx swept into the shallow bed of the river. The Greek +mercenaries who confronted it on the western bank, nerved by the hope +of gaining the immense reward promised by the Great King, and knowing +that his eyes were upon them, met its shock with courage. Clearchus +heard the fierce shouts with which they closed and saw the line of the +phalanx bend and sway as it pressed upward to gain a foothold. + +"Hot work," cried Chares, who was galloping beside him. "By Zeus, the +king leads!" + +Alexander, surrounded by young men whose hearts were as high as his +own, struck the left of the stubborn mercenary line where the curve in +the river half exposed its flank. The Agema split its way in between +the files, tearing asunder everything before it. + +"Follow the Whirlwind!" shouted Clearchus; but his voice was lost in +the wild cry of the charge. + +Clearchus was conscious of being carried swiftly forward without +guidance or volition of his own. The water of the Pinarus splashed in +his face. A blaze of color spread confusedly before his eyes where the +Persians stood awaiting the charge on the terrace above. An arrow +struck his breast and rebounded from his armor. Javelins fell all +around him. + +"Now!" he heard the voice of Chares shouting. "Now for it!" and his +horse began scrambling up the bank with the others. + +On his right and left the Companions rushed upward like a torrent. He +grasped his lance more firmly, but he had no occasion to use it. The +Persians gave way, crumpling back upon each other in a disordered mob. +Behind them in vain their captains plied the terrible knotted whips +with which they sought to hold the men to their work. + +Showers of darts and arrows continued to fall from the rear, striking +friend and foe without distinction, but the Persian troops who were +directly exposed to the Macedonian attack huddled together like sheep. +They were prevented from fleeing only by the fact that they were hemmed +in by the dense ranks of their own host. Through them the Companions +raged at will, clearing a space into which the archers and slingers +pressed with shouts of triumph. + +Above the turmoil the Macedonian trumpets rang out high and clear, and, +in obedience to their command, the Companions swerved to the left, +leaving the light-armed troops to hold what they had gained. Clearchus +saw that their charge had torn away the support from the left of the +Greek mercenary cohorts, leaving them wholly unprotected. He caught +sight of the Agema and the other hypaspists, struggling hand to hand +with the mercenaries, and beyond them the phalanx, which he was +surprised to find had not yet succeeded in gaining a lodgement on the +west bank of the river. + +"There's something worth fighting," Chares cried to Nathan, waving his +lance at the mercenaries. "They are Greeks," he added proudly. "Come +on, and we will show you what a real battle is like." + +The Companions had partially regained the order which they had lost in +the charge. They now faced the mercenary flank at right angles to the +front of both armies. Again the trumpet notes launched them forward. +Again the wild cheer arose, ending in a grinding shock. The momentum +of the charge carried the Companions far into the exposed flank of the +mercenaries; but this time no panic and no yielding followed. Although +hard pressed in front by the furious and unremitting onslaught of the +Agema and the hypaspists, where Clearchus again caught the gleam of +Alexander's floating plumes, the hirelings stood their ground until +death overcame them. Facing half about, they met as well as they could +the attack of the Companions to which the cowardice of their allies had +laid them open. But not even their courage could save them, +unsupported and without generalship as they were, from the impetuous +determination of Alexander. + +Into the living wall the Macedonians hewed their way, foot by foot. +Alexander raged like a tiger, knowing that here the battle was to be +lost or won. The phalanx was all but broken. Away on the beach the +Thessalians had been borne back by the impenetrable masses of the +Persian cavalry and were holding the enemy in check only by a series of +desperate and reckless charges. At that moment Darius was triumphant +everywhere excepting at the bloody curve in the river where Alexander +led in person. + +It seemed to Clearchus that for hours they were locked in that +desperate struggle without being able to advance. His lance was broken +and the hand in which he held his sword was numb. Beside him he saw +the broad shoulders of Chares heave and fall as he delivered his blows. +The lust of battle seemed to flame in the Theban's veins like a fever. +Again and again the mercenaries leaped upon him to pull him down. His +sword was everywhere. + +"He is mad!" thought Clearchus, and so indeed he seemed. + +Nathan fought beside him, cool and wary, parrying and thrusting with +sinews of steel. His eyes glowed with excitement held in check, and a +flush tinged the sunburned olive of his cheek. + +Little by little, the Companions worked their way toward the +hypaspists, until at last the cavalry and the foot fought side by side, +with Alexander at their head. So fierce was the conflict that flesh +and blood could not long sustain it. The flank attack finally threw +the left of the mercenaries into confusion, which gradually extended +until the ranks that opposed the phalanx began to waver. A mighty +quiver ran through the hireling force. Its resistance weakened and it +gave ground. + +With a wild shout the phalanx rushed up the river bank. The mercenary +lines were hurled backward. The wall was broken. + +Among the swirling eddies of men and plunging horses, Clearchus found +himself close to Alexander. He saw the young king, sword in hand, his +armor dimmed with dust and blood, pause for a moment with heaving +breast to note the final charge of the phalanx. As soon as he saw the +straightened lines and caught sight of the sarissas rising above the +river bank, followed by the grim faces of his veterans, he turned and +directed his gaze in the opposite direction, toward Darius. + +The Great King had not shifted his ground since the beginning of the +battle. He still stood, erect and proud, in the golden chariot with +its four white steeds, whose jewelled bridles were held by slaves. His +long robe, in folds of lustrous purple, floated from his shoulders. In +his hand he held an idle bow, inlaid with pearl. He looked unmoved +upon the slaughter that was going on before his eyes, but when the +mercenary line gave way, he turned to his brother Oxathres. + +"Is that the courage of which these Greeks boast so much?" he asked. + +Oxathres shrugged his shoulders. + +"They are dogs," he replied. "Wait until the Macedonian has spent his +strength upon them, and we will show him what it is to meet Persian +steel. Look yonder, O king!" + +He waved his hand toward the sea beach, where the Persian cavalry had +pushed Parmenio and the Thessalians back from the river's mouth. + +"So will we do to them here," he said contemptuously. + +A cupbearer brought Darius a goblet, gleaming with precious stones and +filled with the wine that only the royal lips might taste. The Great +King drank it deliberately and turned again to the battle. + +"What is that handful of horsemen there on the left?" he asked. + +"They are called the Companion cavalry," Oxathres answered. "They are +said to be brave men." + +"Who is leading them?" Darius asked again. + +"Alexander, who wears the white plumes," his brother replied. "He is +mounting. They are about to charge." + +"Will he dare to attack us here?" Darius queried anxiously. + +"Grant, O Beltis, that he may!" Oxathres said fervently. "Then we +shall have him at our mercy." + +"What shall I do with him when he has been captured?" Darius asked. + +"O king, may you live forever!" Oxathres exclaimed. "Many have fallen +this day. Crucify him beside his fellow-robbers on the shore as a +warning to all the world." + +"Could I so treat a king?" Darius asked doubtfully. + +"Thou couldst treat him so, for he is no true king," Oxathres urged. +"Thou knowest the stories of his birth." + +"So then shall it be," Darius said. "Give the necessary orders." + +At that moment the steward of the king's household forced his way +through the nobles and prostrated himself, kissing the dust before the +chariot. + +"Speak," Darius commanded. + +"O king of kings!" the man said, "Sisygambis, thy mother, and the Queen +Statira sent me to know if thou wert safe, and to ask when thou wilt +return to them." + +"Tell them to have no fear," Darius said confidently. "Let them make +ready to attend the banquet in my pavilion at the going down of the +sun." + +Darius glanced again at the Companions, who were forming for the charge +under cover of the advancing phalanx, and let his eyes sweep slowly +over his own forces. Around him stood princes and governors of +provinces, satraps, viceroys, and generals. His personal guard of ten +thousand horse was drawn up on either side, while in front of him, so +disposed as not to obstruct his view of the battle, were ranged the +Immortals, ten thousand of the bravest soldiers of his empire. + +In an open space behind his chariot stood a group of white-robed +priests around a massive altar of silver from which rose the pale blue +perfumed smoke of the eternal fire. Mithra, Darius believed, would +never forsake his votaries or permit his fire to be extinguished. + +"They are coming," the Great King said tranquilly, having completed his +inspection. "Look, Oxathres, Baal has stricken them with madness!" + +He leaned forward in his chariot, fixing his eyes upon the white plumes +that his brother had said distinguished his rival. Between him and the +Macedonians stood a solid barrier of men, every one of whom was ready +to die if by so doing he could save his master so much as a scratch. + +"If they will persist in their folly," Oxathres said, "let them come." + +The Companions tore their way through the remnant of the mercenary +line. Onward they came, trampling and scattering a squadron of Scyths +as if their weapons had been the toys of children. They reached the +Immortals. Darius drew a breath of relief. There they must stop at +last. + +But no! The white plumes still advanced, and behind them came a +widening stream of horses and men. It seemed as though nothing could +stand against them. The Immortals were scattered like chaff from a +threshing-floor. + +Oxathres changed color. He turned and spoke to his trumpeter. The +brazen note that followed warned the nobles to make ready for a charge. +The heart of many a silk-robed courtier who had been boasting all day +of the deeds he would do when his chance came grew sick at the sound. +The time had come. + +Darius hastily dismounted from his heavy chariot, leaving his mantle +behind him, and took his place in another chariot, drawn by two horses +only and more easily manageable. At a sign from Oxathres, a groom +advanced, leading a beautiful chestnut mare, who tossed her head with +distended nostrils, neighing for her foal, which had purposely been +left behind beyond the Amanic Gates in Syria. The groom took his place +in silence beside the chariot. + +"Shall I lead the charge?" Darius asked. + +"Thy servants beg of thee not to deprive them of the glory that awaits +them," Oxathres replied. + +Darius waved his hand in assent. Already the nobles in the outer +circle of the royal guard were struggling for their lives with the +Companions. The charge had been delayed too long and there was no time +now to make it. Nothing was left but defence. + +Darius saw the white plume tossing like a fleck of foam on the crest of +an advancing wave. He fitted an arrow to his bow and drew it to the +head. The loosened shaft struck the satrap Arsames and passed through +his body. + +Princes and nobles fought breast to breast with the sons of Macedonian +herdsmen. There was no longer question of rank or power, of birth or +riches, but only of who had the braver heart and the stronger arm. The +eminence on which the Great King had posted himself to witness the +punishment of the invaders at his leisure was clothed in slaughter. +His favorites were rolling in the dust under the feet of their maddened +horses. For the first time in his life, the monarch looked in the face +of peril, and his spirit quailed before the test. + +Out of the struggle Oxathres came galloping, breathless and with blood +upon his armor. + +"Save thyself, brother!" he cried, forgetting the royal titles in his +haste. "The battle is lost! Mount and fly while there is yet time!" + +Darius sprang from his chariot and threw himself upon the back of the +chestnut mare, whose silken flanks trembled with excitement. A bound +and she was beside the smoking altar, from which the priests had +already fled. In her ears rang the anxious call of her foal, and the +brute instinct of her mother-love saved that day the King of Kings, who +was leaving his own wife and children and the queen his mother to the +mercy of his enemies. + +Straight as an arrow, leaping every obstacle that came in her way, the +mare darted through the confused squadrons of the reserves toward the +Amanic Gates. Behind her thundered prince and satrap, each intent upon +saving himself at whatever cost. + +"The king flees! The king flees!" The cry rose in a hundred tongues +throughout the Persian host. The tens of thousands of troops who had +not been called upon to strike a blow because there had been no room +for them in the fighting line melted away as if by magic. The plain +was filled with men streaming toward the mountains or the sea, seeking +some place of refuge. Here a body of Scyths, clad in shuggy skins, +retreated sullenly; there a band of dark-skinned Libyans ran like a +herd of frightened cattle, casting away their clubs and stone-tipped +spears; Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, Assyrians, fled in panic, each man +seeking to place his neighbor behind him. Collisions were frequent, +and more than one unfortunate was hacked down because he stood in the +way of some savage comrade in arms. + +The men who were actually engaged in fighting did not at first perceive +that they were being left to their fate. As soon as they discovered +the desertion of the reserves, many of them threw down their weapons +and sued for mercy. A portion of the Greek mercenaries alone +maintained a semblance of discipline, though broken into several +bodies. They fell back, still facing their enemies, toward the +seashore, in search of ships to carry them away. + +To the Persian cavalry, that had borne back Parmenio, the news of +defeat came last of all. They alone still held an advantage, and it +was bitter for them to be forced to abandon it. But without support +they were powerless. The phalanx wheeled in upon them, threatening to +drive them into the sea. Finally they too relinquished hope and joined +the rout. + +Then through all the plain and up the mountain slopes rode squadrons of +Macedonian horse, cutting down the fugitives. The Thessalians there +took merciless revenge for their losses. The earth was encumbered with +corpses. + +When the trumpets at nightfall recalled the scattered and weary bands +of executioners, nothing of the vast army of Darius remained on the +plain excepting the spoil and the dead, over whom the jackals snarled +and howled. And down the Syrian slope of the pass, bathed in sweat, +galloped the fleet-limbed chestnut mare, with Darius upon her back. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + +On the night after the battle, rough soldiers of the phalanx slept in +garments of fine wool wrought with gold, clasping in their hands +necklaces of jewels in which the glow of the camp-fires danced and +flashed. Chares had decked himself in a long cloak of scarlet, upon +which strange patterns were worked in silver. A collar of emeralds +encircled his arm, and bracelets of gold gleamed upon his wrists. + +"These are for Thais," he said proudly, opening a strip of linen and +displaying to Clearchus a collection of gems that sparkled with varying +hues. + +"You are a barbarian at heart," the Athenian said. "Come, let us join +the king. Leonidas waits for us." + +Alexander sat upon his foam-streaked horse in the golden glow of the +sunset. He had removed his white-plumed helmet, and the cool air +bathed his temples. There was a new flash of pride in his eyes as he +gazed upon the field of his triumph. The last orders had been given, +the wounded had been cared for, and Parmenio had been despatched to +Damascus, with a swift body of horse, to take possession of the Persian +stores and treasure before they could be removed. + +"Now let Demosthenes put on mourning!" Alexander exclaimed. "Come, let +us see what provision Darius has made for us." + +Followed by his Table Companions, he led the way toward the great +pavilion, which none had dared to enter before him. At the entrance +stood the chariot from which the Great King had looked upon the wreck +of his hopes. + +"Here is the royal mantle," Alexander remarked, spreading out the +purple robe, stiff with gold. He tossed it back into the chariot, +which he ordered to be removed. + +Like a troop of boys, the Macedonians entered the great pavilion. +Light from a hundred lamps filled the tent. Rich carpets had been +spread upon the ground, and embroidered hangings divided the interior +into a succession of rooms destined for the use of the Great King. +From one to another Alexander led the way, making no attempt to conceal +his wonder at the evidences of luxury that he there encountered for the +first time. + +In the first apartment, they found a wardrobe consisting of suits of +armor inlaid with gold and silver; garments of silk and linen; helmets, +shoes, parasols, mirrors, and a litter of utensils the uses of which +were unknown to the Companions. + +"I wonder what my old governor, Leonidas, would say to this?" Alexander +cried. "He would never allow me clothing enough to keep me warm in +winter." + +Next they entered the treasure-chamber, filled with chests of cedar, +bound with iron and brass. Several of these chests had been forced +open, apparently by faithless slaves; but the rapidity of the +Macedonian victory had not allowed them to carry away more than a very +small part of the treasure. The boxes contained golden coins bearing +the stamp of Darius, and evidently fresh from the mint. + +"Here is balm for the wounded," Alexander said, lifting a handful of +the coins and permitting them to fall back in a glittering stream. + +Beyond this, they found the bed upon which Darius was to have reposed +from the fatigues of the day. It was a mass of down, covered with silk +and linen of the finest texture, and hung with silken curtains, fringed +with gold. Adjoining the bedchamber was the scented bath in an +enormous vessel of solid gold. Near it stood rows of crystal vases and +jars of Ph[oe]nician glass, containing unguents and rare perfumes, +compounded of priceless ingredients after formulæ known only to the +body-servants of the Persian kings. + +"This is what gave us the battle," Alexander said, pointing to the +enervating array. + +He pushed aside the last curtain and stood in the banquet room. Along +its sides tables had been spread, flanked by rich couches and covered +with dishes of massive gold and silver. At one side of the room was a +canopied couch, higher and more magnificent than the others. The +tables had been prepared before the flight of the attendants. Royal +wine sparkled in goblets of crystal and beakers of gold. Hephæstion +found the kitchen and reported that all the materials for the feast +were in readiness. + +"Let our cooks take charge of them," Alexander said. "I bid you all to +sup with me here to-night." + +This idea was received with eager applause and in an hour the +preparations had been made. The Macedonians, wearing garlands of oak +leaves, stretched themselves upon the gorgeous couches and partook of +the strange dishes that were set before them by the pages. Goblets +were filled and emptied and beakers were drained. Each man began to +relate the deeds of valor he had performed on the battle-field, +explaining in great detail how, but for him, the day would have been +lost. Alexander alone, who had led them to victory, had nothing to say +of himself, though he talked with Ptolemy, son of Lagus, Perdiccas, and +Philotas of the mistakes that Darius had made. + +Aching muscles and smarting wounds were forgotten under the influence +of the wine and in the vainglorious rehearsal of the battle. The +Macedonians began to feel that the world lay at their feet, and their +minds were uplifted by dreams of endless conquest. The pavilion rang +with laughter and was filled with the babel of tongues. + +Suddenly, amid the jesting, the voices of women raised in lamentation +penetrated the tent. The merriment was hushed, and every head was +turned toward the sounds. Alexander despatched a page to learn the +cause and the lad breathlessly brought word that Sisygambis, the Great +King's mother, and Statira, his wife, were bewailing his death. + +"Come, Hephæstion," Alexander said gravely, rising from the royal +couch. "Let us reassure them." + +Looks of intelligence and furtive smiles were exchanged as the two +young men left the pavilion; but none dared venture upon open comment. +From the beginning of war, the women of the vanquished had been counted +as part of the victor's spoil. + +Following the direction of the sorrowful sounds, Alexander discovered a +smaller pavilion in the rear of the first. At its doorway stood a dark +and stalwart figure, erect and motionless as a statue. + +Upon the approach of the young king, the silent guardian fell with his +face to the earth and remained motionless. + +"Who art thou?" Alexander asked, looking down upon him. + +"I am Tireus," the man replied. "I guard the women." + +"Why didst thou not save thyself when thy master fled?" the young king +inquired. + +"Because the women could not flee," Tireus replied simply. + +Alexander reflected for a moment. "Rise!" he said at last. "Had thy +master possessed more servants like thee, he would not have lost his +empire. Thou art chief eunuch. Keep thy charge, and if any molest +thee, make thy complaint to me. Go now and ask if Alexander may be +admitted." + +Tireus had risen, but instead of obeying, he fell again upon his knees, +stretching his hands toward Alexander in supplication that he dared not +put into words. + +"Go," Alexander said, understanding his meaning. "They have nothing to +fear." + +Tireus went, returning in a moment to draw aside the curtain so that +the young king might enter. The wailing had ceased. + +Alexander and Hephæstion found themselves under a silken canopy of +crimson. The floor of the pavilion was covered with thick carpets, +woven in bright colors and laid one upon another. Silver lamps +suspended from above diffused a soft light. + +Huddled together in the middle of the tent upon heaps of cushions lay a +crowd of women in attitudes of despair. Their white arms and shoulders +gleamed through their dishevelled hair. Their eyes were heavy with +weeping. They seemed like a flock of doves that had been caught in a +snare and were awaiting with palpitating breasts the coming of the +fowler. + +A woman of mature years rose from the group and threw herself at the +feet of Hephæstion, mistaking him for the king, because he was taller +than Alexander and still wore his armor. She was Sisygambis, the queen +mother. + +"Mercy!" she cried, with streaming eyes. "Thou hast slain my son. +Have pity upon his mother and his innocent wife." + +"I am not the king!" Hephæstion exclaimed, hastily stepping back. + +"I am blinded by my sorrow!" Sisygambis replied, turning to Alexander +in confusion. "Pardon me, I pray thee, in the name of thy own mother, +Olympias!" + +Alexander stooped and raised her gently by the hand. + +"Thy son lives," he said. "Be not alarmed that you mistook my friend +for me, for Hephæstion is also an Alexander." + +Sisygambis looked earnestly into the boyish face before her. + +"Is Darius still alive?" she asked beseechingly. "Is it true? I am +his mother. Do not deceive me!" + +"He is alive and he is free," the young king replied. "He escaped into +Syria." + +With a cry of joy, Statira rose from among her women, clasping in her +hand the chubby fist of her child. The heavy masses of her dark hair +framed a face of pure oval. The color flooded her cheeks, and her eyes +shone in fathomless depths of mystery and life. As his glance met +hers, Alexander was conscious of a thrill such as he had never felt +before. His pulses were disturbed, and he felt his face flush. With +an effort he mastered the unaccustomed emotion. + +"Alexander does not make war upon women," he said quietly. "For your +own sakes, I must carry you with me; but you are as safe as though you +were still in your palace in Babylon. Your household shall remain with +you. Command as freely as you did yesterday, and fear nothing." + +"How shall we repay you?" Statira exclaimed, attempting to kneel at his +feet. + +"By ceasing to grieve," he replied. "Remember that you are still a +queen." + +The infant son of Darius looked at him with round eyes of wonder. +Alexander took the child in his arms and kissed him. + +"Come, Hephæstion," he said, turning to go. The Macedonian, whose gaze +had been fixed upon Statira with an intensity that rendered him +oblivious to everything else, roused himself and followed. As they +passed from the pavilion, they heard a murmur of women's voices in +silvery notes of astonishment and admiration. + +Alexander was silent and thoughtful when he resumed his place at the +head of the banquet table. The Companions were impatient to learn the +details of his visit. + +"Is the queen as beautiful as they say?" Perdiccas ventured at last. + +The young king frowned slightly, and the hand in which he held his +goblet trembled. + +"Whoever in future speaks to me of the beauty of Statira, wife of +Darius," he said, "that man is no longer my friend. Let it be known to +the army that she is to be treated with all the respect due to a queen. +He who forgets shall be punished." + +He glanced at Hephæstion, who flushed and looked another way. For a +moment there was silence in the tent, and then the laughter and talk +flowed on as though nothing had occurred to interrupt them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + +Phradates stood on the broad stone wharf in the Sidonian Harbor of +Tyre, amid a group of young men whose costly garments and jewelled +fingers showed them to belong to the rich families of the richest city +in the world. Upon the edge of the wharf were gathered a score of +older men, clad in sombre robes, over which spread their silvery +beards. They wore close-fitting caps and heavy golden chains. Each +carried a short rod of ebony and ivory as a token of authority. They +were the elders, members of the council of King Azemilcus, who was +absent with the fleet of Autophradates, the Persian admiral. + +The basin of the harbor formed a deep bay, shut in on the seaward side +by lofty walls, built of huge blocks of squared stone laid in gypsum. +On the right, facing north, was a narrow opening in the barrier, +forming a passage flanked by long breakwaters. The circumference of +the harbor was ringed by a succession of stone wharves, where hundreds +of merchant vessels were moored, their sails furled against their +masts. They were discharging their cargoes or taking on lading for new +voyages. Lines of men, half naked, ran backward and forward between +the ships and the great warehouses, carrying bales upon their heads. +The sailors, chanting monotonous songs, were emptying the holds of the +ships or storing away the fresh cargoes. + +"There's an old tub that looks as though she had seen service," cried +one of the young men. "Let us see where she has been." + +They strolled across to a vessel whose weather-beaten sides and patched +sails told of rough usage. + +"Whence came you?" demanded the youth, addressing the brown-faced +master, who stood at the gangway, superintending the discharge of his +cargo. + +"From the Cassiterides," the man replied. + +"Where are they?" the youth asked, gazing at the bright ingots of tin +that the sailors were dragging to the deck. + +"They are in the western seas," the master answered, "so far that +Carthage seems but a stone's throw away. Three months we were beaten +northward by storms, and the waves of the great ocean ran higher than +the walls of the city. At last we came to the land of long days, where +the men have yellow hair and blue eyes and the women are more beautiful +than light. By the favor of Baal, we were enabled to obtain a store of +amber that is created there by the sun, in exchange for beads of glass. +This we dedicated to the God, and after we had got our tin on board, he +brought us back under his protection." + +The young men listened, open-mouthed. From their boyhood, they had +been accustomed to drink in such tales of mystery and wonder along the +wharves of the city, nursing the bold spirit of adventure that was born +in every Ph[oe]nician. They plied the master with questions. What +monsters of the sea had he seen? What were the customs of the men of +the North? Was it true that they devoured strangers who fell into +their hands? The mariner told them of enormous water snakes and +dragons, but his marvellous tales were interrupted by a cry from the +walls, where lookouts were always posted to scan the sea. The state +trireme had been sighted. She was returning from Sidon, bringing +Prince Hur and the ambassadors whom the council had despatched to +Alexander. The council was now awaiting their return. + +At the signal from the walls, work was suspended throughout the city +and the population crowded to the harbor. Merchants with their tablets +clasped in their hands, dyers with their arms stained to the elbow, +metal workers, artisans, laborers, and soldiers of the garrison, +thronged to the water front by thousands to learn the answer of the +Macedonian. A vast murmur of expectation and speculation rose from the +people. + +Presently, through the entrance of the harbor, the trireme could be +seen, making for the opening between the sea-walls, over which the +waves were dashing in spurts of white spray. Urged by its three banks +of oars, rising and falling in unison, the vessel ran swiftly into the +harbor. + +Headed by Prince Hur, the son of Azemilcus, the ambassadors were +standing grave and silent upon the deck. At sight of their anxious +faces a hush fell upon the crowd. The pilot gave a sharp command, the +oars churned backward in the water, and the long trireme swung into her +mooring. The ambassadors descended to the wharf and spoke in low tones +to the elders of the council. + +Was it peace or war? War! The news ran through the crowd and into the +city as ripples spread across the face of a pool when a stone falls. +Turmoil and confusion followed. What had Alexander said? Would the +other Ph[oe]nician cities join with Tyre to repel him? + +They had deserted her. Tyre must stand alone. Strato, son of +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, had surrendered. Byblos had capitulated. +Sidon had opened her gates to the Macedonians. + +"We offered submission according to our instructions," said the chief +of the ambassadors, to the council. "Alexander accepted it and bade us +tell you it was his purpose to offer sacrifice in the temple of +Melkarth, who, he says, is really Heracles, and his ancestor. We +replied that Tyre could not admit strangers within her walls, but that +Melkarth had an older temple on the mainland, where he might offer +sacrifice. 'Tell your council,' he said, 'that I and my army will +offer sacrifice to Melkarth upon his altar within the walls of New +Tyre. Bid them make ready the temple. It is for them to say what the +victims shall be.' That was all." + +"You did well; let us consider," said Mochus, the eldest of the council. + +They walked in slow and silent procession to the palace of the king in +the southern quarter of the town and disappeared within its gates. + +The city continued to seethe like a huge caldron. Its unwonted stir +attracted the attention of Thais and Artemisia, on the housetop, where +they had gone as usual to take the air after midday. The two young +women stood side by side, close to the parapet of the roof, looking +down into the narrow streets, where men came and went like ants whose +nest has been disturbed. The strong sea-breeze blew out Thais' crimson +robe into gleaming folds, and the sun glistened upon the burnished +copper of her hair. Rich color glowed in her cheeks and in her scarlet +lips. The immortal vitality of the salt breeze and of the crisply +curling waves seemed in her. She laughed aloud. + +"I wonder what is the matter?" she said. "These Ph[oe]nicians are +afraid of their own shadows." + +Artemisia smiled. Her chiton of fine white wool, edged with purple, +outlining her figure, indicated that it had lost some of its roundness. +Her face was pale; blue veins showed through the transparent skin of +her temples. + +"I hope it means something good for us," she said, slipping her arm +around her sister's waist. "When shall we get away from this hateful +city?" + +"The time will come, child," Thais said soothingly. "You shall see him +again; I know it." + +It was a conversation that had been repeated many times. Artemisia +drew a sigh that caught in her throat in a little sob. + +"Oh, Thais, if I could feel his strong arms around me only once," she +said, "I think I could die in thankfulness." + +"Do not talk of dying," Thais replied reprovingly. "See, the world is +beautiful!" + +They stood in silence for a moment, gazing at the scene, which was +indeed beautiful, as Thais had said. On three sides the sea flashed +and sparkled with white-capped waves before the southwest wind. On the +east a channel, half a mile in width, divided the mainland from the +island upon which the new city was built. Beyond the strait lay the +city of Old Tyre, with its wide circle of walls. There, as in the new +town, thousands of pieces of cloth--linen, woollen, cotton, and +silk--fresh from the vats of the dyers, were hung to dry in the sun. +The juice of the shell-fish had lent them rich hues of blue, violet, +crimson, scarlet, and the peculiar shade of purple known as "royal" +that for ages had made the city famous. Hundreds of fishing and +trading vessels were drawn up along the wharves or upon the beach. + +Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, +clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, +and sumach. Its mighty barrier stretched north and south into the +misty distance, leaving always between its base and the shore a narrow +strip of level land that was given up to tillage. + +From the elevation where they stood, the young women looked upon other +roofs, filling the space inside the walls, which rose from the sea for +one hundred and fifty feet, with towers at every curve and angle. They +could see the Sidonian Harbor on their right and the Egyptian Harbor +opposite to it on their left, both crowded with masts and connected by +a canal spanned by movable bridges. + +Before them rose the towers and cupolas of the Temple of Melkarth, and +near it the wide Eurychorus, or market-place. Farther south was the +huge dome of the Temple of Baal, and there, too, was the royal palace, +with its many terraces crowned by a lofty citadel. Agenor's Temple was +on the north, overlooking the Sidonian Harbor. Near the western wall +was an oasis of verdure which marked the gardens attached to the +voluptuous Temple of Astarte, where, through the foliage of palm and +rhododendron, shone the marble columns of her habitation. + +Phradates had caused a striped awning to be erected upon the roof. +Beneath this was spread a gay Babylonian carpet, with couches and +silken cushions. Shrubs and flowering plants stood in great vases of +stone, screening the enclosure from the eyes of the curious. All the +other housetops of the quarter were occupied in a similar manner, thus +enabling the population to escape the heat of the lower levels, from +which the breeze was excluded by the height of the walls. The space +inside the city was so crowded that the houses rose many stories, and, +excepting those belonging to wealthy persons, each sheltered scores of +families. + +"It is a proud city," Thais said musingly. + +"Yes," Artemisia replied. "Proud, and cruel, and heartless!" + +She shivered as she spoke. Thais beckoned to one of the women, who +stood at a respectful distance, talking in low tones with a slender, +dark-skinned man, whose cunning eyes gleamed like those of a rat. He +was Mena the Egyptian. + +"Fetch a wrap," Thais said to the slave girl who answered her summons. + +The girl brought a shawl of cashmere and laid it around Artemisia's +shoulders. + +"Something tells me that our captivity will soon be over," Thais said. +"Things cannot last much longer as they are." + +There was a meaning in her words that Artemisia did not grasp. Since +the flight from Halicarnassus, they had been confined in the house of +Phradates, whose passion for Thais had increased until it burned like +fever in his veins. The end must have come long ago had it not been +for the frequent absences that had been forced upon the young man by +the needs of the city and the commands of the Great King. As matters +stood, even Thais' resources had been taxed to hold him in check. +Hitherto she had fed him with hopes, playing upon his weaknesses and +keeping him in a state of subjection from which she knew surrender +would set him free. She made a gesture of impatience and began walking +up and down between rows of young orange trees. + +"I don't know what has come over me," she said. "I am as restless as +one of the sea-gulls yonder." + +She listened a moment to the cries and commotion in the streets. + +"Mena!" she cried. "Come here!" + +The Egyptian advanced slowly, with an indefinable insolence in his +bearing. + +"Find out what is causing all this excitement in the city and bring me +word," Thais said. + +"Why should my lady be interested?" Mena replied coolly, with a smile +that showed his white teeth. + +Thais wheeled as though she had been stung. She looked at the Egyptian +with head erect, and there was something in her eyes that caused his to +fall before them. + +"Mena," she said softly, "do not think that, because you are set to +watch me, you are my master. Go, or I swear by Astoreth that you shall +be flayed alive from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet." + +Mena gasped, and moistened his dry lips with his tongue. + +"Pardon," he stammered. "I did not mean--" + +"I know well what you meant," Thais returned. "Go!" + +He turned and went. Thais grasped a branch of the shrubbery and tore +it away, crumpling the leaves in her hands and scattering them in a +bruised shower at her feet. + +"How long must I put up with the insolence of this slave and his +master?" she exclaimed. The opalescent animal light gleamed in her +eyes as she turned them northward, and she paced backward and forward +with impatient strides like a captive lioness. "I hate them!" she +cried. "How many times have I been tempted to end it!" + +She thrust her hand into her bosom and drew out her tiny dagger, whose +hilt was studded with rubies that sparkled like drops of blood. + +"Hush, Thais, some one is coming!" Artemisia said. + +Thais quickly hid the dagger and turned to greet Phradates. He came +forward with a smile, and the smile with which she met him had no trace +in it of the anger that had so shaken her but a moment before. + +"Great news!" the young man cried. "Alexander is coming!" + +Artemisia caught her breath, and for an instant her head swam. + +"Tell us," Thais said. "We are dying to hear all about it. You know +we have had no news since the battle of Issus, where the Great King, as +you call him, was beaten by one who seems to be greater." + +There was a spice of malice in her voice that evidently annoyed the +Ph[oe]nician. + +"Yes, through the treachery of the Greeks," he replied, frowning. +"Darius will depend upon his own people next time, and you will see +then what will happen." + +"But what has Alexander been doing since the battle?" Thais asked. + +"He might have advanced upon Babylon with nobody to oppose him," +Phradates said. "Of course, he would not have been able to capture the +city, but at least he will never have a better chance to try it. He +was afraid to make the attempt. He has been marching down the coast +instead, and there has been no more fighting, because all the northern +cities have surrendered to him." + +"Well?" Thais said, listening with parted lips. + +"In the absence of King Azemilcus," the Ph[oe]nician continued, "the +council deemed it best to offer terms for the present. They sent an +embassy, accompanied by the prince, to tell Alexander that he had +nothing to fear from Tyre so long as he did not interfere with us." + +"What was his reply?" Thais demanded quickly. + +"What do you suppose?" Phradates said. "He had the impudence to +announce that Melkarth was the same as your Heracles, and that as +Heracles was of his family, he proposed to offer sacrifice in the +temple here. The embassy told him flatly that Tyre had never admitted +the Persians, and that we should not admit him. Everybody knows that +if we should let him in here, he would do what he did in Ephesus when +he took possession of the city under pretence of offering sacrifice to +Artemis." + +"But where is Darius?" Thais asked. + +"He is in Babylon," said Phradates. "He sent a letter to Alexander +after the battle of Issus, asking freedom for his wife and family. He +wrote as one king to another, proposing peace and alliance; but your +Alexander, to his sorrow, refused the terms. He pretends that he has +already conquered all Asia, and he had the boldness to tell the Great +King that he would liberate Statira and her children if Darius would +come as a suppliant to ask it." + +"The Gods fight with him," Thais said, after a pause. "It would be +better for Tyre to open her gates." + +The young Ph[oe]nician laughed scornfully. + +"The walls of Tyre will crumble and fall into the sea before he offers +his sacrifice," he exclaimed. "I will wager anything I possess against +your looking-glass that he will weary of his task before a stone has +been loosened." + +"You do not know Alexander," Thais replied. + +"Thais," the young man said earnestly, "I will wager what is more +precious to me than gold. Thou knowest that I love thee." + +"You have told me so," she replied demurely. + +"You have been for months in my power," he went on, "and I have not +sought to force your inclination. Let us now abide by the result of +the siege that Alexander is threatening. On the day that he gives over +his attempt to enter Tyre, thou shalt be mine. Until that day comes I +shall ask nothing of thee. Is it a bargain?" + +"You will not keep your promise," Thais said doubtfully. Her +reluctance made the young man more eager. + +"Mena!" he called, "bring wine and two doves at once." + +When the Egyptian returned, Phradates said to Thais, "See, I am ready +to bind myself by oath if thou wilt do likewise." + +"I am ready," Thais replied. + +The sacrifice was made and the mutual bond was completed. As the blood +of the doves trickled upon the stones, Phradates called Astarte to +witness his covenant. Thais drew a breath of relief, for she knew that +no Ph[oe]nician, even the most depraved, would dare to disregard such +an oath. + +The sun went down in crimson splendor, and lamps began to twinkle in +the city. Still the council prolonged its deliberations, and still the +anxious merchants waited outside the doors of the palace to learn its +decision. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + +The entire population of Tyre was at work before dawn on the day +following the return of the ambassadors. The council had decided to +accept Alexander's challenge. As the first measure of preparation, it +ordered the abandonment of the Old City on the mainland and the removal +of its residents to the New City. In order to make room for them, a +fleet was to be sent to Carthage, carrying women and children. This +fleet was to return with such aid as the strong colony of the West +might be willing to give. + +Huge flatboats and a multitude of smaller craft plied backward and +forward between the harbors and the mainland. The brilliant stuffs +that had been hanging in the sun were gathered into bales. Here was a +boat laden with the contents of a glass factory: huge amphoræ, delicate +vases, cylinders, scarabs, beads, and amulets of a hundred iridescent +hues. Beside it came another vessel, carrying a freight of iron, +bronze, and copper, wrought into armor and household furnishings. +Other ships brought Syrian cotton and embroideries; white wool and wine +of Helbon; corn, honey, balm, and oil from Israel; ivory, ebony, +spices, and perfumes from Arabia; lead and tin from the mines of Spain; +cedar chests filled with Babylonian embroideries; elephant, lion, +leopard, and deer skins from Africa. These precious commodities were +stored in the warehouses. + +All the public granaries were filled to overflowing, and what grain +could not be brought away was destroyed. At the close of the second +day, the ancient parent city, from which had sprung such a brood of +flourishing daughters, and which more than once had defied the might of +the great empire beyond the mountain, lay deserted. Silence and +foreboding pervaded the New City as the Tyrians looked across the +strait at the empty houses in which many of them had been cradled. + +There was little time for despondency. The labor of preparation had +been only begun, and the task of making ready the vessels destined for +Carthage went forward briskly. + +A swift galley was sent to King Azemilcus, who immediately deserted the +Persian fleet with all his ships and returned to take charge of the +defence of the city. His arrival was the signal for great rejoicing, +for his warships would insure command of the sea to Tyre, since +Alexander had none with which to oppose them. + +At last the departure of the fleet destined for Carthage could be +delayed no longer. The scouting ships brought word that the Macedonian +army had left Sidon and taken up its march southward. Thousands of +women and children, accompanied by the aged and infirm, crowded aboard +the merchant vessels that had been pressed into service. Husbands said +farewell to their wives, and fathers took their children in their arms +for perhaps the last time. One by one the ships were towed out of the +harbor and spread their sails for their long flight to the West. The +streets were filled with weeping. + +Not all the women and children were sent away, even of the better +class; for, in spite of the precautions taken by the council, no Tyrian +believed that the city was really in danger. Its possession of the sea +would prevent famine, and even if Alexander should succeed in reaching +its walls, he would never be able to break through them. + +While the slanting sails of the departing fleet still glimmered on the +horizon, the watchers on the walls of Tyre saw the sun glinting from +the armor of the Macedonian array. Presently bands of horsemen dashed +up to the walls of the Old City, circled around them, and rode boldly +through the open gates. They seemed astonished to find the place +deserted. The Ph[oe]nicians hurled shouts of derision at them from the +walls across the water, scornfully inviting them to try the strait. + +Thais' lip curled as she watched this demonstration. She stood +motionless among the whispering leaves which hedged the roof of +Phradates' house, gazing intently at the advancing army. + +"Will they ever be able to cross to us?" Artemisia said. + +"There come the Companion cavalry!" Thais exclaimed, shading her eyes. + +The troop made a brave showing as it advanced toward the Old City with +flying pennants, the manes of the horses tossing free. + +"And there is the phalanx!" Artemisia cried, clasping her hands. + +The lines emerged, rank after rank, from the dust-clouds. Behind them +came more cavalry and then the light-armed troops, followed by wagons +and a long train of pack animals. The streets of the Old City became +animated again, though not with Ph[oe]nicians. The soldiers swarmed +through the houses, choosing their quarters and freeing themselves from +their burdens. Smoke began to curl up from the chimneys. + +A group of men came down to the water front and made a long survey of +the walls of the New City. Thais fixed her eyes upon them, leaning +over the parapet. Suddenly she caught Artemisia's arm. + +"I see him!" she cried. "There he is." + +"Who is it? Where?" Artemisia asked, bewildered. + +"Chares!" Thais replied. "Do you see that crimson cloak and his yellow +hair? O my hero!" + +Artemisia trembled and her cheek grew pale. + +"If that is Chares, then Clearchus must be there too," she faltered. +"Oh, Thais, are you sure?" + +She strove to look, but the tears that dimmed her eyes prevented her +from seeing anything clearly. + +"I am certain," Thais replied. "Who else could it be? There is no +other in the army so strong and handsome as he. Look! he is signalling +to us." + +The figure in crimson stood forward from the rest, his cloak, inflated +by the wind, swelling back from his shoulders. He waved his hand +toward the city. Thais tore off her saffron shawl and waved it in +return, forgetting that, while he stood alone, to him she was one of +thousands who were moving on the walls and the house-tops. + +"I suppose you would bring them over if you could!" sneered a voice +behind her. It was Phradates, who had approached unnoticed. + +"Can you blame me if I want to win my wager?" Thais replied, smiling. + +"I am half sorry I made it," the Ph[oe]nician said sullenly. + +Thais saw that he was angry and she leaned toward him until he felt her +warm breath upon his cheek. + +"If I lose, I will pay!" she whispered, in a tone that only he could +hear. + +A dark flush mounted to his cheek. + +"It will not be long," he returned confidently. + +"I would not be too sure of that," she replied, with a blush, giving +him a sidelong glance under her lashes. + +Phradates could not understand why he had not long ago given free rein +to his passion. More than once he had called himself a fool for his +forbearance and resolved in his own mind to end it; but when the time +came for putting his plans into execution, he found them halted by an +indefinable barrier that he could not break. It surprised him that +this could have happened. All his life it had never occurred to him to +restrain himself. He was master of one of the greatest fortunes in +Tyre, and with him to wish was to have. Moreover, he had learned +Thais' history, so far as it was generally known, and it seemed to him +ridiculous that an Athenian dancing girl should succeed so long in +holding him at arm's length. But now he must keep his oath. + +Next day, and for many days thereafter, Tyre sat and watched the slow +development of the scheme that had been laid for her destruction. She +saw the Macedonian army tear down the walls of the Old City and convey +them, block by block, to the water front, where they were cast into the +sea. Soon the beginning of a broad causeway began to jut out from the +shore, pointing like a huge finger at the angle of the city wall, +midway between the two harbors, which was nearest to the mainland. +Detachments of soldiers brought in squads of men from the surrounding +country, who were set at work with the army upon the mole. Piles of +cedar were driven into the sand. Earth was brought in baskets and +poured over the stones. When the waves washed it away, trees were +dragged from the mountain side and thrown in with their leaves and +branches to hold it in place. Acres of rushes were cut and laid upon +the soil to bind it. Foot by foot the causeway lengthened. On the +shore could be seen men building towers and battering rams, catapults, +and ballistæ. + +Alexander's figure became so familiar to the Tyrians that even the +children could point him out. He was seen everywhere, overlooking and +superintending the work in all its details. One day he was missed, and +the next, smoke was observed drifting up from the rocky fastnesses of +Lebanon, which the Tyrians knew had been held for centuries by untamed +robber bands, who had exacted toll from their caravans and even from +the convoys of the Great King. Their spies on shore brought them word +that the robbers had attacked Alexander's scouting parties and he had +gone to punish them. Tyre laughed at the idea that he could take the +impregnable strongholds among the crags, but the columns of smoke +continued to rise farther and farther back among the mountains; and +when Alexander reappeared on the mole, at the end of a week, the news +came that the robbers had been harried and hunted out of their caves +until not a vestige of them remained. Tyre wondered, and a vague +uneasiness crept into the city. + +The mole had advanced almost within bow-shot of the wall when the city +woke from its lethargy of contempt and began to bestir itself. Towers +were erected on the wall opposite the causeway, and the wall itself was +raised. The engineers and their workmen, whose skill was famed +throughout the world, fashioned new machines for repelling the expected +attack. + +When the Macedonians had covered more than half the distance between +the shore and the wall, the Ph[oe]nicians began to resist their +advance. The catapults were brought into play. These were great bows +of tough wood, set in a solid framework. The strings of twisted gut +were drawn back by a windlass, and huge arrows, made of iron and +weighing two or three hundred pounds, were fitted to the groove +prepared for them. The string was released by drawing a trigger as in +a cross-bow, and the missile sped to the mark. + +The catapults were reënforced by the ballistæ. In a frame of heavy +beams an arm was set, with a great spoon at one end, while the other +was held firmly in twisted cords. By means of a rope wound about a +roller the arm was drawn back, and a stone or a ball of metal was +placed in the spoon. Suddenly freed, the arm flew up until it was +halted by a cross-beam of the framework, when the missile left it and +hurtled through the air toward the mole. + +While darts and stones were showered upon the causeway from the walls, +vessels attacked it from both harbors, filled with archers and +slingers, who drove the workmen back. Tyre was jubilant. Alexander, +she thought, must now surely abandon his foolish enterprise. + +Work on the causeway was indeed halted for a time, but only long enough +to permit the Macedonians to contrive means of defence. Two great +towers were built and pushed out to the end of the mole. These were +tall enough to dominate the wall. They were provided with catapults +and ballistæ, with which to answer and silence those of the Tyrians, +and were manned by soldiers, who from their height were able to reach +the decks of the triremes that were sent to annoy them. For further +protection, palisades of timber and movable breastworks were +constructed on the mole, and pushed forward as it advanced. + +Work was resumed, and the long causeway crept nearer and nearer to the +city. By order of the council, under cover of night, sponge and pearl +divers were sent to the mole in small vessels. With cords in their +hands they plunged into the water and fastened them to the foundation +stones of the mole, which the crews on board the boats pulled away. + +But in spite of all these devices, the mole continued to lengthen. + +Still the Tyrians remained confident. The council hit upon a plan to +destroy the towers, and when all was ready the people flocked to the +walls to witness its execution. Artemisia and Thais watched from the +roof, where, day after day, for weeks, they had counted the inches of +progress made on the mole and calculated how long it would be before +the structure could reach the wall. + +"See!" cried Artemisia. "They are going to try to burn the towers." + +An old transport, that had been used for carrying horses, emerged +clumsily from the Sidonian Harbor, towed between two triremes. The +wide deck was heaped with dry wood, which had been saturated with +bitumen and intermixed with straw. From the yards of the masts +caldrons filled with sulphur, naphtha, and oil were suspended by +chains. Upon the deck stood rows of naked men, each holding in his +hand a blazing torch. + +Slowly and laboriously the ship was guided through the choppy sea to a +point directly to windward of the end of the mole. A strong northwest +breeze sang through her rigging, and her stern had been filled with +ballast until her bow stood almost out of the water. Sailors went +aloft and set two small sails to give her headway. The triremes cast +off, and she swam straight for the northern tower. + +The two women had watched the preparations with the most intense +excitement. As the fire-ship neared the mole, gathering speed as she +went, they saw a volley of huge stones shoot from the towers in her +direction. + +"They are trying to sink her," Thais said breathlessly. + +"Zeus grant that they may succeed!" cried Artemisia. + +Some of the stones struck the ship, scattering her load of +combustibles; but they failed to check her approach. The best marksmen +in the army strove to pick off her crew. The divers raised shields, +from which the arrows harmlessly rebounded. + +When the ship had come within a few fathoms of the mole, the men on +board of her scattered blazing oil into the caldrons swinging from her +yards and thrust their torches into the heaps of material that lay upon +her deck. Then they plunged into the sea and swam back to the city. +The steersman followed, and the next instant the transport, sending +before her a roaring banner of flame, ran high upon the mole at the +foot of the northern tower. + +A mighty shout arose from the walls of Tyre as the spectators saw the +flames wrap themselves around the tower, shrivelling up the green skins +of cattle that had been hung to protect it. The soldiers swarmed down +through the smoke and fire like rats, leaping from the lower stories in +their haste. In a moment the lofty structure was sending out red +tongues from every loophole and window. A great cloud of black smoke +rolled from the end of the mole toward the shore. + +Thais and Artemisia saw the Greeks driven back from the towers and from +the defences which had protected the work. Presently the fire attacked +these and ran across to the second tower. The transport still lay with +her nose in the rocks, belching flames that were streaked with green +and blue and white as they fed upon the various substances which had +been stored in her hull. + +Dashing down from the windward side, the Tyrian vessels tore away such +of the work as had escaped the conflagration, while the bowmen on their +decks sent flights of arrows upon the huddled workmen who had been +forced back by the heat and smoke. The towers fell one after the other +with a crash into the sea, which hissed into steam as the glowing +timbers sank. In an hour nothing was left at the end of the causeway +but the blackened ruin and part of the transport, through whose ribs +the waves washed. + +"The time is at hand," Phradates said to Thais, with a smile full of +meaning. + +"Not yet," she exclaimed, smiling. "The siege has only begun. I told +you you did not know Alexander." + +Nevertheless, secretly her heart was full of misgivings, and the slave +women who waited upon her that night found her hard to please. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + +Tyre was delirious with joy over the success of the attack on the +towers, for the city was convinced that now, at last, the Macedonians +would depart. Feasts were given in the great houses, processions wound +through the streets, and sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in all +the temples. In order to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, +twenty Macedonian prisoners were put to death upon the walls with +lingering tortures, and their mangled bodies were cast into the sea. +Hourly the Tyrians expected to see the besieging army evacuate Old Tyre +and march away. + +Their rage knew no bounds when a boat bearing two heralds put out from +the shore and entered the Sidonian Harbor. The young men whom it +contained, Galas and Cleanor, pages of Alexander and members of +distinguished Macedonian families, were greeted with jeers by the +people. They were escorted by a strong guard to the royal palace, +where King Azemilcus and the council awaited them. + +They bore themselves calmly and proudly under the insults of the mob +and the hostile scrutiny of the council. They met without fear the +gaze of the Tyrian king, who sat upon his throne in the chamber of +state. The light fell upon the old man's cunning and wrinkled face and +touched the heads of the councillors, some silvery white and others +showing hardly a trace of gray. Their eyes, in which cruelty lurked +like a coiled snake, were fixed upon the heralds. The king opened his +thin lips. + +"Speak!" he said softly. + +"Alexander, lord of Asia, sends his greeting to King Azemilcus and the +people of Tyre," Galas began in a clear voice. "He calls upon you to +surrender your city into his hands." + +A murmur rose like a growl from the council. King Azemilcus stroked +his chin gently with his jewelled fingers, as if to hide the smile that +played about his mouth. + +"If ye do not this," Galas continued, raising his head, "Alexander, +lord of Asia, bids me say that for thy walls, they shall become as the +walls of Thebes, thy city shall be given to plunder, and the sea-gull +shall build his nest in thy harbors. If ye would find mercy for your +wives and your children, for yourselves and your possessions, ye must +seek it now." + +He ceased and stood awaiting their answer. There was dead silence in +the chamber. Azemilcus continued to stroke his chin, glancing at the +youths and then at his advisers with an amused expression in his eyes. + +"You may retire," he said at last, "while we consider what reply we +shall send." + +The youths were conducted to an anteroom, while the lean king laid +before the council the jest that he had been revolving in his mind. It +was received with approbation, and the reply to Alexander was written +upon parchment in two copies, one for each of the heralds. When all +was in readiness the council rose. + +"Come with us," Azemilcus said to the heralds. "We desire to show you +our city before we send you back to Alexander." + +Talking pleasantly, he led the way through the citadel to the top of +the wall, pointing out the temples and the various objects of interest +as they went. The boys looked down with wonder from the dizzy height +upon the sea, crawling and lapping far below them. They examined the +engines of war and the piles of ammunition that had been assembled upon +the landward side of the defences. Upon the mainland they could see +their comrades and the gangs of laborers at work upon the mole. + +They scarcely noticed that soldiers and citizens were gathering about +them, occupying every point of vantage and pressing forward with nods +and winks as if to a spectacle where a humorous surprise was in store. + +"And now," Azemilcus said, smiling pleasantly upon the two heralds, +"you shall hear our answer to the king." + +He beckoned to a scribe, who stepped forward and read from a parchment +so that all might hear. + +"King Azemilcus and the people of Tyre greet Alexander the Pretender," +read the scribe. "If he be lord of Asia, Tyre is his. Let him come +and take it." + +The two boys looked blankly at the king, and a great shout of laughter +went up from the multitude upon the wall. At another sign from +Azemilcus, two soldiers roughly seized each of the heralds. + +"What does this mean?" Galas demanded indignantly. + +"Be not angry," Azemilcus replied, still with his soft smile. "We have +wasted so much time in sight-seeing that no doubt Alexander is growing +impatient. We will send you back to him more quickly than you came, so +that his anger may be turned from us." + +Amid shouts of delight from the crowd, the heralds were bound hand and +foot with cords. Their knees were drawn up to their chests and lashed +there so as to make their bodies as compact as possible. Finally a +copy of the reply to Alexander was attached to their right hands. + +"King of Tyre!" Galas said, when the soldiers had done their work, "you +have broken the faith of nations. For our death, if for nothing else, +shall your city fall and become an evil memory among men. Even your +Gods shall withdraw from you. Farewell!" + +Neither of the lads had uttered a cry as the rawhide thongs, drawn too +tightly, cut into their flesh. Galas turned his head as well as he +could and spoke to his younger companion. + +"Cleanor, we have been friends," he said. "Now we are about to die. +Be brave for the honor of Macedon! I go with you." + +"Do not fear, Galas; I promise," the other replied, and no more words +passed between them. + +The soldiers were busily preparing two of the immense ballistæ. +Inserting levers in holes in the ends of the rollers, they turned the +wooden cylinders backward, slowly winding up the rope that was attached +to the casting arm and drawing it back into a horizontal position. The +tough rope strained and the framework of beams creaked as the great +arms were forced into place. + +When the wide spoons of wrought iron were ready, the boys were lifted +and placed in them. The spectators, irritated because the victims did +not beg for mercy, howled threats and insults at them. This abuse +brought no response, and fearful lest the courage of the lads might +create a bad impression, Azemilcus ended the sport by ordering the +ballistæ to be discharged. + +Throwing their weight suddenly upon the cords that drew the triggers, +the soldiers released the arms of the machines, which sprang upward and +crashed against the cross-beams. The bodies of the heralds, hurled +with frightful velocity into the air, shot outward and upward. Galas +fell upon the end of the mole. Cleanor was dashed to pieces on the +jagged rocks beside him. + +A savage outcry rang from the wall across to the Macedonian camp. +Soldiers ran forward and took up the two bodies, bearing them tenderly +to the shore. + +"Alexander has his answer!" Azemilcus said, with a chuckle. "Let us go +to dinner." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +MENA REVEALS A SECRET + +On the night after the slaughter of the heralds, the galleys sent to +Carthage returned with a courteous message that it would be impossible +for the colony to send assistance. Ambassadors who had been despatched +to other Ph[oe]nician towns, demanding aid, were equally unsuccessful. +Tyre must stand or fall alone. Her brood turned its back upon her. + +This indifference created a disagreeable feeling in the city. The joy +over the destruction of the Macedonian works was transformed into +uneasiness. Instead of abandoning the siege, the army of Alexander had +begun a new mole, twice as wide as the first, and so directed that the +wash of the waves, which before had been a serious obstacle, was +rendered harmless. It was apparent that the young king intended to +keep his word. + +Several of the inhabitants of the city reported that in dreams they had +seen the great bronze image of Melkarth rise from its seat in his +temple and stretch its hands over the walls toward the Macedonian camp, +calling upon Alexander to enter. There was a consultation of the +priests. The enormous statue was bound with chains to the pillars of +the temple and huge spikes were driven through its feet into the floor. +Nevertheless, the Tyrians were apprehensive and spoke of Melkarth as +"the Alexandrine." The ominous words of the herald, Galas, when he +declared that the Gods of Tyre would desert her, were remembered and +repeated. The people began to think that perhaps they had gone too far. + +Time failed to remove this impression. The new mole continued to +advance, and one hazy afternoon the watchmen on the walls caught sight +of a fleet of warships approaching from the north. The flag of Sidon +fluttered from their masts and the beleaguered city concluded that at +last reinforcements had been sent. But instead of entering the +Sidonian Harbor, the vessels sheered off and came to anchor in front of +the Macedonian camp. + +The gloom of the city deepened when Enylus, king of Byblos, and +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, added their fleets to that of Sidon. All +three were Ph[oe]nician cities. Rhodes sent ten ships and Cyprus later +added one hundred and twenty, under command of Prytagoras. + +For every Tyrian ship, Alexander now had three; and among them were +vessels of the largest size, some with four banks of oars and some even +with five. They were manned by sailors of Ph[oe]nician stock, whose +skill upon the water equalled that of the Tyrians themselves. As soon +as the fleet had gathered, it sailed in battle order toward the mouth +of the Sidonian Harbor, from which the Tyrian navy came out to meet it. +But when Azemilcus saw the overwhelming force opposed to him, his heart +failed, and he gave the order to retreat into the harbor, the entrance +of which he caused to be blocked with huge chains behind which were +moored as many Tyrian vessels as would lie in the passage side by side. + +Tyre was no longer mistress of the sea. She stood forsaken amid the +waters, gray and deserted, like a lioness in her last refuge, +encompassed by the hunters. The mole crept ever nearer to the wall, +and Macedonian captains, cruising around the city, gazed hungrily at +the battlements. + +The inhabitants understood that nothing but a miracle could save the +city. They turned to their Gods. In ancient times they had never +failed in the observance of their worship, but as they waxed strong and +gained knowledge of the world, scepticism had found a lodgement in +their hearts. The ceremonials had been neglected by many who either +did not believe or had grown careless. The offerings diminished. More +than once the sacrifice of the first-born to Baal-Moloch had been +omitted. The worship of Astoreth, it is true, had been maintained; but +it was clear that the Goddess was not powerful enough to rescue them. +Baal was angry and must be propitiated. + +Phradates became more and more downcast and sullen as misfortune +gathered about the city. The cruelty that was a part of his +Ph[oe]nician heritage rose to the surface. His slaves were lashed for +the slightest fault, or even for no fault at all. Some of them he +ordered put to death. Terror filled the great house, with its spacious +rooms hung with embroideries, beautiful with paintings and statues, its +rare glass, and its treasures of gold and of amber. + +One evening, when a languid southern breeze stirred the silken +curtains, the young Ph[oe]nician entered the apartments occupied by +Artemisia and Thais. Artemisia sat by the window, gazing at the +brilliant stars that seemed so near and yet so immeasurably far away. +The two young women had been talking of Chares and Clearchus; but a +silence had fallen between them. Thais lay on a couch of cedar, +burying her fingers in the thick fur of a Persian cat, which purred +with half-shut eyes under her caress. + +Phradates threw himself into a chair in an attitude of weariness and +dejection. Thais shot a glance at him and went on stroking the cat. + +"Do you believe in the Gods?" the young man asked. + +"Artemisia does," Thais replied lazily, with a tantalizing smile. + +"Why?" Phradates demanded, turning to the younger sister. + +Artemisia turned her eyes wonderingly upon his troubled face. + +"I cannot tell you," she replied slowly, as though searching for a +reason. "I have always believed in them and I have passed through many +dangers unharmed. I think Artemis has protected me, for I love her. I +have no fear, since I am in her hands." + +"We do not worship her," Phradates said. "With us, the moon belongs to +Astoreth, who is the same as your Aphrodite, and she has lost her +power." + +"Are you sure of that?" Thais asked. + +The young man looked at her and his expression changed. + +"I am sure of nothing," he said thickly. + +"Except?" Thais suggested, looking into his eyes and leaning forward on +her arm so that the necklace of pearls slid across her bosom, half +revealed under the folds of her robe. + +"Except that I love you!" he responded. + +Thais fell back upon her cushions and began again to stroke the cat. + +"You should not insult the Goddess," she said. + +"By Melkarth, I think you are she!" Phradates cried. + +"Perhaps," she admitted, smiling and nodding her head. + +Phradates stared at her for a moment as though he half believed it, and +then, rising abruptly, left the room. His brain seemed obscured. He +could think of nothing but his love for her. The emotion that +possessed him mastered every faculty, and even the approaching ruin of +the city seemed trivial in comparison with it. Yet there was his oath! + +At the door of his chamber he encountered Mena. + +"Master, the council is sitting," the Egyptian said. + +"What is that to me?" Phradates replied harshly. + +"They have decided to offer sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," Mena continued, +following him into the apartment. + +"They should have thought of that before," said Phradates. "Where will +they find children now fit for an offering? They have all been sent to +Carthage. No wonder Moloch is angry." + +"This has been considered by the council," Mena continued. "Esmun, the +chief priest, has told them that there are still enough of the +first-born left among the Jews, who, as you know, refused to send their +families away." + +"But the Jews will not give them as a willing sacrifice, and without +that it will be of no avail," Phradates replied impatiently. "Why do +you tell me all this?" + +"The council intends to find means of forcing them to make the +sacrifice willingly," Mena persisted; "but Esmun declares that this +will not be enough to calm the God. Baal demands a virgin of noble +birth to be given to him before he will aid the city." + +Phradates laughed. "Where do they expect to find her?" he asked +scornfully. + +"She must be pure and beautiful," Mena continued. "It is announced +that he who will bring such an offering will do the city a great +service." + +"What do you mean? Speak out, dog!" Phradates exclaimed, catching an +undertone of significance in the Egyptian's voice. + +"Thou hast such a maiden," the slave said hesitatingly. + +"Thais!" the young man cried. "Never. The city may perish first! +Have you dared to suggest this?" + +He drew his dagger and made a step toward Mena, who cowered before him +with hand uplifted. + +"No, no; not Thais," he hastened to say. "Think, master, how could she +meet the conditions? Not Thais!" + +Phradates paused with the dagger still in his hand. + +"Wait until you have heard me?" the slave continued, in a whining +voice. "It was not Thais, but the Athenian maiden, who was in my +thoughts." + +"No!" Phradates thundered; "does not Thais love her as her own sister?" + +"Consider for a moment," Mena urged insinuatingly, watching the young +man's face with cunning eyes. "Hast thou not been generous toward +these captives?" + +"What of that?" the Tyrian asked. + +"And they have betrayed thee by entrapping thee into an oath," Mena +said. "I would not have thee break it; but what will not the Lady +Astoreth grant to him who saves her shrine from pollution and +destruction? She will release thee from thy vow." + +He paused to note the effect of his words. Phradates remained silent +and thoughtful. + +"It is not for me, a slave, to tell thee what thou shouldst do," Mena +went on, "but it has seemed to me that there has lately been a spell +upon thy mind. Thou art not now what thou wast a month ago. What the +cause is and what must be the cure, thou knowest; but thou art bound by +thy oath." + +Again he paused, but as Phradates showed no sign of resentment, he +continued. + +"Master, thou canst not win thy wager," he said. "Tyre is lost. It +may be next week, and it may not be until next year; but the Macedonian +is too deeply engaged here to withdraw. There is no hope excepting +through the Gods alone, who might send a pestilence upon our enemies if +they so willed it. Thou knowest that the battering rams are pounding +upon the wall, and that they have already weakened it. On the southern +side it cannot stand much longer unless something happens to put an end +to the attack. Obtain release from thy vow before it is too late. Our +time may be short." + +Phradates shuddered and covered his face with his hands. + +"I think Thais really loves thee," the Egyptian continued artfully. +"It is the presence of the other that restrains her, because she is +ashamed to show her love before her. If Artemisia were away, she would +grieve, it is true, but she would recover. It is not needful that thou +shouldst give her up. The priests take whom they will for sacrifice. +Thou mightest even defend her, which would commend thee to Thais and +earn her gratitude." + +"Get thee gone!" Phradates shouted, suddenly springing to his feet. + +Mena fled noiselessly down the stairs and out of the house. Once in +the street, he clapped his hands together and laughed. + +"I will show them what it is to insult Mena!" he cried. + +He made his way through the narrow streets and across the canal to the +southern part of the city, beyond the Temple of Baal. The slow and +regular beat of the great rams, at work upon the massive wall, throbbed +in the air. Mena plunged into a network of lanes, in which the houses +had a meaner look than in the quarter he had left behind. He proceeded +cautiously, halting from time to time as though he feared that he might +be followed. Finally, under the shadow of the wall, he reached a low +house within which lights were burning. He pushed open the door and +entered. The room in which he found himself was filled with men, young +and old, who sat at tables upon which stood flagons of red wine. Some +of the company were engaged in earnest discussion across the tables. +In one corner a sea captain was relating the strange adventures of a +distant voyage. Elsewhere men exchanged jests and laughter over their +wine. While the occupants of the room bore a general resemblance in +feature to the Ph[oe]nicians, a glance was sufficient to show that they +were not of Ph[oe]nician blood, and the language they spoke was Hebrew. + +There was a momentary hush when Mena appeared, but apparently he was +known, for the interrupted talk immediately flowed on again. A man of +middle age, whose black, crisp beard was streaked with gray, came +forward to welcome the Egyptian. + +"Which wine will you have to-night?" he asked, conducting him to a +table where already a younger man was sitting. + +"The wine of Cyprus," Mena cried. "You are as gay here to-night, +Simon, as though there were no such place in the world as Macedon." + +Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Would our tears mend the walls?" he +asked. "What is to be, will be." + +He went to fetch the wine, and Mena turned to his companion at the +table. + +"Where have you been, Joel?" he asked. "I have not seen you for a +week. One would say that you had been on shore, if it were possible to +get there." + +He directed his shrewd glance at the young man. Joel laughed, and his +dark eyes rested upon those of the Egyptian. He had an easy +distinction of manner, acquired at the court of Darius. After the +escape of Nathan, Chares, and Clearchus, his company had marched with +the Great King; but it had been detailed to help guard the women and +the treasure left behind at Damascus while the army went on to +destruction at Issus. After the defeat, he visited Jerusalem and then +came to Tyre, where he had relatives. + +"What would you give to know where I have been?" he demanded mockingly. + +"Perhaps I know already," the cunning Egyptian replied. "Why is it +that the Jews are so indifferent to the siege? Why do they expect to +escape the sword or the slave-market when the walls fall? Tell me +that." + +Simon returned with the wine, which he set before Mena. While the Jews +knew him to be a slave, they did not disdain to associate with him, +because his influence over Phradates was so great that he was a bondman +only in name. Besides, he had more than once given them information of +value, and they were not accustomed to neglect any means of defence. + +Joel paused and seemed to reflect before he answered. + +"Perhaps it is because we are under the protection of Jehovah," he +replied at last. "If He does not save us, nothing can." + +"Bah!" Mena exclaimed. "Perhaps He can save your first-born from +Baal-Moloch!" + +"What do you mean?" Joel returned quickly. + +"I thought you Jews knew everything," the Egyptian said. "Have you not +heard what Esmun told the council? He has warned them that nothing but +a sacrifice can save the city, and the council has authorized it. +Where can they find children excepting here?" + +"Is this true?" Joel demanded. + +"It is true!" Mena declared. + +Joel rose from the table and whispered to Simon, who ran to the chief +priest. Messengers were sent to verify the news. They brought +confirmation and the additional intelligence that the sacrifice would +take place on the second day. Meantime Joel had returned to his place, +where Mena, as usual, had begun to grow garrulous with his wine. + +"You know those two Greek girls my fool of a master holds in his +house?" he asked. + +"What are they called--Thais and Artemisia? You told me of them," Joel +responded. "What of them?" + +"Thais promised to have me flayed alive," Mena remarked. + +"Well?" the young Hebrew said. + +"So I am going to have Artemisia included in the sacrifice to Moloch," +the slave said coolly. + +Joel started but instantly restrained himself. + +"What has that to do with Thais' promise?" he asked. + +"Thais loves her," Mena explained. "No doubt she will be glad to see +her in Moloch's arms!" + +"How did you manage it?" Joel inquired carelessly. + +"Why, I told you of the oath that Thais got from Phradates," Mena said. +"Well, I have convinced him that the only way in which he can win Thais +and at the same time obtain release from his oath is by having +Artemisia burned." + +The Egyptian laughed at his own cleverness. Joel sat making rings on +the table with the foot of his wine-glass. + +"And what do you think?" Mena continued, recovering himself. "The fool +threatened to stab me for it. But he'll do it, never fear. There is a +long score between him and me. Unless I am mistaken, the time is at +hand when we shall have the reckoning. There is one house in Tyre +where the Macedonians, when they come, will get little plunder. Come +then to Memphis, and you will find Mena, with slaves of his own--and I +would not be surprised if Thais was among them. Flayed alive, indeed!" + +"Let us have wine!" Joel cried, making an almost imperceptible sign to +Simon that meant the substitution of a stronger vintage. The wine was +brought, glowing like liquid amber in the flagon. In half an hour Mena +was incoherently trying to explain that he knew the Jews were in +correspondence with Alexander's camp, although he could not tell how, +and begging Joel not to forget him when the city fell. A little +longer, and two servants carried him to the house of Phradates. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + +As soon as he was rid of the Egyptian, Joel beckoned to Simon. + +"I must go ashore to-night," he said. "The women are in danger, and if +anything is to be done to save them, it must be done now." + +"The moon is shining; it will be dangerous," Simon said doubtfully. + +"That cannot be helped; I must go," the young man declared. + +Simon made no further remonstrance. He took up a lamp and led the way +down a flight of stone stairs to the cellar, where great amphoræ of +wine, covered with dust and cobwebs, stood in the darkness. Picking +his way between them, he advanced to the end of the cellar, where he +gave the lamp to Joel while he rolled aside one of the jars. Then, +with some difficulty, he raised the slab upon which it had stood, +revealing a narrow opening in the floor and another flight of steps. +Down these they passed to a small chamber hewn in the rock. Around its +sides ran a stone platform not more than three feet in width, and the +remainder of the floor space was occupied by a pool of water. + +When the wall of the city was built, its base had been laid in such a +manner as to bridge a natural fissure in the rock below the water line. +Why this opening had been left, Simon did not know. Possibly it had +been the intention of the architects to make it the outlet of a sewer. +If so, the plan had been abandoned, but the opening had been allowed to +remain. + +Standing on the ledge of stone, Joel stripped off his clothing and +removed his sandals. Simon took from a niche a small jar of oil and +rubbed him with the contents from head to foot, at the same time +instructing him how to proceed. + +"When shall you return?" he asked. + +"To-night, if I can," Joel replied. "If not, then to-morrow night in +the third watch. Farewell!" + +"Farewell!" Simon replied, stepping back and raising his lamp so that +its light fell upon the pool. + +Joel drew in a long breath, clasped his hands, and plunged +head-foremost into the water. Simon placed the young man's clothing in +the niche, put away the oil jar, and ascended to the first cellar. He +did not close the opening in the floor, but arranged the amphoræ so as +to conceal it, and returned to the room above. + +The impetus of Joel's plunge carried him the length of the pool and +into the fissure under the wall. He struck out vigorously, mindful of +Simon's instructions, and knowing that if his breath should fail while +he was below the masonry, nothing could save him. With the tips of his +fingers he could feel the sides of the passage, and presently he became +aware of a motion in the water caused by the underwash of the waves +outside. His head seemed bursting, and there was a ringing in his +ears. He felt that he must suffocate unless he could get air. He +began to swim upward through the water, dreading each moment to feel +his head strike the stones. What if the passage had been closed? None +had passed through it for years, and the defenders of the city were +constantly throwing down blocks of stone outside the walls. Something +grazed his back. He threw his arms upward, but his hands found no +obstruction. He had cleared the entrance. + +He lay on the surface of the water filling his lungs again and again, +and gazing up at the stars above the gray height of the wall against +whose grim base the swell lazily washed. Half an hour later one of the +watch on a quinquereme that lay off the mouth of the Egyptian Harbor to +prevent the escape of any of the Tyrian vessels heard a voice under the +stern and saw the white gleam of Joel's shoulders in the water. + +There was no sound in the Macedonian camp save the monotonous cries of +the sentinels when the young Israelite stepped from a small boat and +climbed the southern slope of the mole. He looked back and saw Tyre, +standing in the sea like an island raised upon cliffs of stone and +crowned with a circle of light. + +He made his way into the Old City, now hardly more than a bare ruin +since houses and temples had been tumbled into the strait to lengthen +the causeway. He had been provided with the pass-word, and with the +assistance of the sentries he had little difficulty in finding the tent +that he sought. He lifted the flap and entered. Inside he could hear +the breathing of sleeping men, dominated by a tremendous snore that +sounded as though it must come from the throat of a giant. + +"Peace be unto thee!" Joel cried, stumbling over the legs of one of the +sleepers. + +"Thieves!" cried a stentorian voice, and the snoring suddenly ceased. + +"It is I--Joel," the young man hastily announced. + +"Joel!" exclaimed the voice of Nathan in the darkness. "How came you +here?" + +He slipped out of the tent and returned in a moment, blowing upon a +brand from a smouldering camp-fire. With this he lighted an oil lamp +that swung from the central pole of the tent. Then he threw his arms +around the young man and embraced him heartily. + +Joel saw Clearchus and the lazy bulk of Chares, who looked at him +sleepily with his head propped on his elbow. There was another man in +the tent whom he did not know--a man with firm shoulders and a square +jaw, who stood glowering at him with a sword in his hand. + +"Put it away, Leonidas," Clearchus said, laughing. "This is no Tyrian, +but our little jailer in Babylon. How came you here?" + +"I came from Tyre," Joel answered. + +"From Tyre!" echoed Nathan and Clearchus. "How did you escape?" + +"I swam under the wall," Joel said, "and I bring you bad news." + +"Artemisia!" Clearchus cried. "Is she dead?" + +"As yet she is unharmed," Joel replied. + +"What is it, then? Speak!" Clearchus cried. + +Joel repeated what Mena had told him. + +"Is it possible to return by the way you came?" Clearchus demanded. + +"It is possible for a good swimmer, but it is dangerous," Joel replied. + +"I shall return with you at once," Clearchus announced, and began to +belt on his sword. + +"You are mad, Clearchus," Leonidas said, raising the flap of the tent. +"Dawn is breaking. It would be broad daylight before you could reach +the walls." + +"I am going, nevertheless," Clearchus answered calmly, continuing his +preparations. + +"Do you think we are going to let you go alone?" Chares roared. "No, +by Zeus; I am going, too! I have something I wish to say to Thais." + +He proceeded to arm himself, adjusting with care a breastplate inlaid +with gold. + +"Wait!" cried Nathan. "I have a better plan. When does this sacrifice +take place?" + +"It was to be on the second day," Joel replied. "That will be +to-morrow." + +"Then we have another night before us," Nathan said. "Do you think my +people in Tyre will surrender their first-born to Moloch? Not while +Jehovah reigns will they do that, nor will Jehovah permit the +sacrifice. It would be folly to think of entering the city now. We +should be discovered, and all would be ruined. We can enter at +nightfall, if need be, and my people will join us to save their own. +Let us consult Alexander. It may be that he will order the attack and +that Jehovah will give Tyre into his hands to-day. At any rate, if it +is a question of dying, we can die to-morrow as well as now." + +Leonidas nodded. "You are right," he said. + +"Are you satisfied, Clearchus?" Chares asked. + +"Let it be as you will," the Athenian responded. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE GAP OF DEATH + +Alexander listened to Joel's story and questioned him closely regarding +the disposition of affairs in the city. He learned that supplies were +running low and that already the garrison was on half rations. Joel +assured him that the feeling of discouragement and despair was +universal in the city. + +"We will attack to-day," Alexander said to Clearchus, who stood waiting +in a fever of anxiety. "If we can break the walls, Baal-Moloch will be +cheated of his sacrifice, but Melkarth will have his fill." + +The fleet put forth from both sides of the mole, the oars of the rowers +flashing in the sun. The great towers on the end of the mole, which +now extended to the wall of the city, were filled with men who showered +arrows and javelins upon the garrison so as to protect the huge +battering rams at work below. These engines consisted of heavy beams, +one hundred feet long, ending in great rams' heads of bronze. They +were suspended by chains from a framework that permitted them to swing +freely. As many men as could grasp the short cords attached to the +sides of a beam labored to keep it oscillating with a regular motion. +With each downward swing, the bronze head, with its twisted horns, +dashed against the wall. The impact ground the stones to powder, but +the wall was so thick and so strongly built that its joints remained +firm. + +Alexander was reluctant to admit that the mole which he had constructed +with so much expenditure of time and labor was useless, and he +therefore kept the towers in action and the rams at work; but his real +hope of taking the city now lay elsewhere. The wall on the seaward +side, where no attack had been deemed possible, was less solid than +toward the land. Tests made by floating rams had shown that a breach +was practicable on the southwest and it was to this spot that the +attack was directed. + +The Cyprian ships hovered about the northern side of the city. Some +threatened the mouth of the Sidonian Harbor, while others sent flights +of arrows over the walls. The fortress was encircled by a menacing +ring of vessels, which kept the attention of the garrison occupied, +while Alexander prepared for the assault, which was to be made at a +point where the masonry already showed cracks, and some of the stones +had been pushed out of place. + +Towed by quinqueremes, the floating forts that the Macedonians had +built were brought slowly around to the southern wall. Some carried +ballistæ and catapults and stores of darts and stones. Others had +rams, scaling ladders, iron hooks, and siege implements of all kinds. +All were provided with shields to protect the men from missiles from +the walls. + +One by one they swung into position and came to anchor. The catapults +and ballistæ were placed two hundred yards from the wall, so as to +afford space for the flight of their projectiles. The ships of war +moved backward and forward, while the archers and slingers swept the +towers and ramparts with a hissing hail of lead and steel. + +Under cover of this protection, the rams and siege vessels pushed +forward. Their crews made them fast to projections in the wall, and +soon the regular throbbing crash of the rams was heard, pounding on the +masonry. The vessels with the ladders and scaling implements lay +waiting, with the bravest men in the army ready to spring to the +assault as soon as a breach should be opened. + +The July sun lay warm on the heaving sea, and the heat rose in +shimmering waves from the wall. Around and within the city the +shouting of men, the thudding of the rams, the creaking of the +machines, and the crash of stones cast by the ballistæ filled the air. + +The garrison brought its engines along the broad parapet within range +of the ships, and hurled great blocks of stone at the besieging fleet. +Several of the smaller vessels were sunk. Sometimes the stones met in +the air and burst into fragments. The attack upon the wall was not +relaxed. Finally a block was sufficiently exposed to permit the +grappling-irons to be fastened to its inner angles. Strong ropes were +attached to it and carried out to a quinquereme. The rowers bent to +their work, and the ropes lifted, dripping, from the water. The block +held fast for a moment, and then came out of its bed like a cork out of +a bottle, rolling with a splash into the sea. + +Amid the triumphant shouts of the Macedonians, a flatboat was pushed +forward and a hundred men attacked the weakened wall with levers and +bars of irons. Some of them were crushed by the rocks toppled down +upon them from above, others were pierced by arrows; but when they +withdrew, a wide cavity yawned where they had been, exposing the inner +courses of masonry. + +After them came the largest and heaviest of the rams. Under its +tremendous blows the cavity deepened and widened until the wall above +it began to tremble. It swayed, crumbled, and at last with a mighty +roar it fell, burying the ram and half the men who had been working it +under tons of broken stone. The Macedonians, gazing through the gap +that was opened, saw the Temple of Baal-Moloch, with its dome and +towers, rising gloomily among the cypress trees that surrounded it. + +With one impulse, the vessels carrying the shield-bearing guards and +the veterans of the Agema rushed in toward the breach. The soldiers +leaped ashore. Order was impossible upon such an insecure footing as +the tumbled blocks afforded. Every man clung where he could, advancing +step by step, and protecting himself by holding his shield above his +head. + +The Tyrians from the ends of the broken wall and from the top of the +slope where the gap had been made sent down flights of darts and +arrows. In order to repel the storming party, they even loosened +portions of the wall that still held firm and hurled them down upon the +enemy. + +Still the Macedonians pressed upward in the hope of winning the breach, +and holding it until reinforcements could arrive. Ptolemy, son of +Lagus, and Black Clitus fought in the foremost ranks. Beside them +Leonidas plied his sword, and with him were Clearchus and Chares. + +"Ho, comrades! Beware the stone!" the Theban shouted, as a loosened +block rushed toward them down the slope. + +Leonidas started aside, but his foot slipped and he fell to his knees. +Chares caught his arm and dragged him away. The fragment grazed him as +it hurtled past. + +"Forward, men of Macedon!" Ptolemy cried. "Alexander is watching you." + +A breathless cheer from the struggling ranks behind him told him that +the soldiers were doing their best. The stones of the fallen wall, +slippery with blood, rocked beneath their feet. Some of the men were +caught in crevices between the blocks and their lives were crushed out, +or they were held there until a javelin put an end to their misery. +But those who escaped this peril pressed upward like wolves when the +quarry is in sight. The exasperation of all the long months of the +siege, the accumulation of countless insults, and the joy of the battle +filled their hearts. + +Leaping upon a swaying stone that raised him above the heads of his +companions, Chares held his shield aloft to deflect the darts and +arrows that fell upon it as thickly as the drops of a shower. + +"Ohe!" he cried down the slope. "Come on! The victory is ours!" + +Clearchus bounded up beside him, his face pale with eagerness, and +stared into the city. + +"Where is she? Where is she?" he cried, panting. + +Chares laughed. "Did you expect she would be waiting for you at the +top?" he asked. "You will have to wait until we get inside." + +The Athenian gazed at the lofty buildings, whose walls were pierced by +hundreds of windows. If he only knew where to look! From the +housetops fluttered countless scarfs of yellow, blue, and red. Any one +of them might be hers. He was bewildered. + +The wall had fallen outward, leaving about twenty feet of its base +standing on the side toward the city. Companies of Tyrian soldiers ran +toward the breach. They placed ladders against the foot of the broken +wall and scrambled up into the gap like a swarm of ants to meet the +Macedonians. Ptolemy saw them coming and uttered a joyful cry. + +"Here they are," he shouted. "Melkarth, take thy sacrifice of dogs!" + +A conflict without quarter began on the crest of the gap. The Tyrians +fought with desperation, knowing that if the enemy once gained a +lodgement in the city they were lost. But in vain they hurled +themselves upon the head of the column, where Ptolemy and Clitus, +Chares and Clearchus, and a hundred more received them with the deadly +upward thrust of their swords, against which no armor was proof. There +was no longer room for the Tyrians in the breach. Those who had +ascended last were forced back, leaping or falling in their armor, the +weight of which broke their bones. Mingled with the living, the dead +began to drop back through the breach. The shouts of the victors +carried panic into the streets. + +Tyre lay at the mercy of Macedon. Looking down into the city, Ptolemy +saw the Tyrians hastily constructing barricades of furniture, casks, +litters, and such material as they were able to drag quickly together. + +"Do they think that will save them, now that we hold this?" he said to +Clitus. + +Clearchus leaned against a stone with great joy in his heart. Tyre had +been won and Artemisia was saved. The sight of Moloch's dark temple no +longer chilled his blood. Baal must look elsewhere for victims. The +weary months of longing were at an end. + +So desperate had been the struggle in the breach that the Macedonians +had forgotten all else. It was not until the pause before the final +charge into the city that they began to notice the rolling clouds of +black smoke that were drawing together toward the gap along those +portions of the wall that remained standing. It rose in dark masses +against the sky, blotting out the sun as it spread seaward from the +parapet. Under its gloomy canopy men were swarming in long processions +upon the top of the wall toward the gap, bearing caldrons of iron and +copper suspended from yokes across their shoulders. + +"See! They are going to provide us with shade," Clitus said. + +Ptolemy looked, and his expression changed to one of alarm. + +"Pitch and bitumen!" he exclaimed. "The men will never be able to +stand it!" + +A caldron rolled down into the gap, followed by another and another, +scattering their blazing contents as they came. Wherever the bitumen +fell it continued to burn, giving out smoke in stifling volumes. In a +few minutes the gap was obscured by suffocating clouds in which the +Macedonians groped blindly. Every stone was covered with a coating of +the blazing substances. Showers of molten lead and burning oil +descended from the walls. The bitumen ate into the flesh of the +soldiers. The lead and oil burned out their eyes. Many of them fled +like living torches down the slope and plunged into the sea. The gap +had become untenable. + +Ptolemy saw that it would be impossible for reënforcements to reach +him. He shook his sword at the city through the drifting smoke. +"Another day!" he shouted, and, turning, plunged down the blazing path. + +Clearchus stood dazed as he saw his comrades turn back. + +"Come!" Chares shouted. "Do you want to be burned to death?" + +"Cowards!" Clearchus cried, "why do you fly? Do you not see that Tyre +is yours?" + +He made a step toward the edge of the wall and would have leaped down +into the city had not Chares caught him with an iron grasp. + +"Leonidas!" cried the Theban. + +"Here!" the voice of Leonidas replied, and he appeared through the +smoke, smothering a patch of blazing pitch that had fallen upon his +bare shoulder. + +"Clearchus has gone crazy," Chares said. "Help me to carry him down." + +"You shall not!" the Athenian cried. "Traitors! Set me free!" + +Leonidas calmly twisted the sword out of his hand and threw it aside. +They lifted him between them, despite his struggles. Suddenly his +muscles relaxed and his head fell backward. + +"That's right," Chares said. "He has fainted. We can carry him better +so." + +He threw the limp form over his shoulder and strode after Leonidas into +the black curtain, which had become so dense that it was impossible for +sight to penetrate it in any direction. Sulphur and pepper had been +mixed in the caldrons, giving the smoke a pungent, choking quality. +Stumbling over jagged blocks of stone, and tripping upon the bodies of +the dead, Chares, with Clearchus in his arms, followed Leonidas through +that vale of death. Blinded and gasping, they staggered to the edge of +the water. They were the last to come alive out of the smoke. They +were drawn upon one of the siege boats, and lay there until the +unwieldy vessel was towed out into the clear sunshine and safety. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + +Prince Hur, son of Azemilcus, sat in his house, which opened from the +courtyard of the palace. In figure he was undersized, like his father, +with a delicate face and thin white hands, on one of which glittered a +great ruby. Instead of the mocking smile that the king was accustomed +to wear, his expression was grave and serious. + +With him were Esmun, chief priest of Baal-Moloch, on whose fat +countenance, with its pendulous jowls, sloth struggled with greed, and +Ariston, the Athenian. Ariston's thin form was thinner and his face +more worn than on the day when he watched his nephew, Clearchus, ride +out of Athens, leaving him guardian of his fortune. He had made free +use of this wealth, as he had planned, to save the remnants of his own; +but mischance had continued to follow him in everything he attempted. +So heavy were his losses that he rejoiced when he learned that +Clearchus had been sent to Babylon a prisoner. The young man's return +to the army filled him with despair. Involved as he was, only one hope +remained. He would dispose of his great dye-works in Tyre, and the +proceeds of the sale would enable him to make a last attempt to save +himself. While he was in Tyre, he also would collect the loan that he +had been forced to make to Phradates, and that the Ph[oe]nician had +never repaid. If this plan failed, he would have to choose between +death and the punishment that would be visited upon the betrayal of his +trust. Therefore he had come to Tyre, and there, by a final stroke of +misfortune, he had been imprisoned by the siege. + +"I fear there is not much hope for us," Prince Hur said. "Even though +we succeed in beating off these attacks, as we did to-day, sooner or +later we shall starve." + +"Hast thou, too, lost faith in the power of Baal?" Esmun asked, in a +tone of reproof. + +"I believe in him as much as you do yourself," the prince said. + +"I may have deserved that reproach," the priest replied sadly. "To my +shame, I confess it; but if I have allowed the name of Baal to be +lightly spoken in my presence, it was not because I did not believe. I +thought that he was able to defend himself, as indeed he is. I say to +you now that I know his power. It has been shown over and over again. +If it should please him to save Tyre in her extremity, he will do it. +We shall know after the sacrifice." + +"There will be no sacrifice," the prince said quietly. + +Esmun stared at him open-mouthed, and Ariston started sharply. The +Athenian was the first to recover himself. + +"What does your Highness mean?" he asked. "Doubtless you speak in +jest." + +"I sent for you because I am in need of your advice," the prince +continued gravely. "You are both men of the world and fitted to aid me +with your counsel; but what I am about to tell you must not be +repeated, even to yourselves. Do you swear to keep the secret, no +matter what my decision may be?" + +"We swear it," Ariston replied. + +"And you?" the prince said to Esmun. + +"By the head of Baal!" the priest declared. + +"Azemilcus has resolved to deliver the city," the prince said, bending +forward and speaking in a tone scarcely above a whisper. + +For an instant both his hearers were silent. Ariston comprehended in a +flash that surrender would mean his ruin, since it would involve the +loss of his property. Esmun was too astonished to think. + +"What will the king receive in return?" the Athenian inquired. + +"His life," Hur replied. "He knows well that the city must be +destroyed, and that his people will be sold into slavery." + +Esmun groaned. He saw himself torn from his life of ease, +Baal-Moloch's temple in ruins, and nothing left for him but years of +servitude. + +"How will the surrender be made?" Ariston asked. + +"The king will order the fleets out of both harbors," the prince +explained. "They will be destroyed, and care will be taken to leave +the harbor entrances unguarded." + +"Does Alexander know this?" Esmun demanded. + +"Not yet," said the prince. "I am to go to him to-night with the +chancellor to make him the offer." + +"Then you have consented to it?" the priest said. + +"I was not asked to consent," the prince replied bitterly. "You know +that the king is not in the habit of consulting me." + +"Yet he proposes to take your inheritance from you!" Esmun exclaimed. +"If Baal intervenes, the city will be saved and you will be its king." + +"Does the council know?" Ariston asked. + +"It does not," Hur replied. + +"There is only one course open to you," Esmun declared, roused as he +had not been since the long struggle that ended in raising him above +his rivals and placing him in a position that gave him almost as much +power as the king himself. "Go with the chancellor, since to refuse +now would arouse suspicion. Get proof of the king's treachery and lay +it at once before the council and the generals. Azemilcus will be +dealt with according to their will, and you will be made king in his +stead. That you may leave to me if you can obtain the proof; but it +must be strong." + +"There would be no difficulty concerning the proof," the prince said +doubtfully. "We are to bring Macedonians back with us to act as a +guard for the king. They will be concealed in the palace so that they +will be able to insure his safety when the city falls. Their presence +will be proof enough." + +"Would it not be better to lay the whole affair before the council +now?" Ariston suggested. + +"No," said Esmun decisively. "The king would deny everything. He +would accuse Hur of seeking his throne, and he would be believed. We +must have the proof." + +"I do not like to raise my hand against my father," Hur said +hesitatingly. + +"Tyre is in danger," Esmun said solemnly. "It is your duty to save her +if you can, and this duty comes before any tie of blood. It is I, +chief servant of Baal, who tell you this." + +"I shall not shrink," the prince responded, with sudden decision. + +The sun was setting before the three completed the details of their +plan. When Ariston left the prince, he was so wrapped in thought that +he did not recognize the brutal face of Syphax, who passed him with +three or four others of his own kind. + +"Do you see that man?" the broken freebooter exclaimed, directing the +attention of his companions to the retreating form. "I have a +settlement to make with him. It was he who scattered my crew and +brought me to what I am. I have sought him far, and now the Fates have +given him to me. He shall pay the reckoning!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + +Although they had been repulsed, the Macedonians returned to their +camp, confident that Tyre could not much longer stand against them. +Alexander ordered the sacrifice of a black bull to Ph[oe]bus. After a +careful examination of the entrails, Aristander, the soothsayer, sought +the king and spoke to him in private. + +"Tyre will fall before the month ends," he said. "Ph[oe]bus has +promised it." + +"But the month will end to-morrow," Alexander replied, in astonishment. + +"Nevertheless, there can be no doubt," Aristander declared. "To-morrow +thou wilt be in possession of the city." + +"Let us see what the army thinks," the king returned. + +The news soon spread through the camp. Some of the soldiers rejoiced +as though the promise had already been fulfilled, while others refused +to believe, declaring that the thing was impossible. In order to save +the God from discredit, Alexander issued a proclamation extending the +month three days beyond its accustomed term. With this the army was +satisfied. + +Clearchus gave way to an agony of disappointment when he regained +consciousness to find himself on the siege boat with the walls of Tyre +receding from him. Chares and Leonidas were obliged at first to +prevent him by force from throwing himself into the sea. It was only +when the Theban reminded him that it was still possible for them to +enter the city that he became calmer. He was for seeking the passage +through which Joel had emerged as soon as day ended, but the young +Israelite convinced him that such an attempt would surely be +frustrated. The breach in the wall was only a short distance from the +passage and workmen would be engaged there, to say nothing of the guard +that would certainly be established. He consented finally to yield to +his friends and await the third watch of the night. This delay would +permit them to get a few hours of rest. + +The sun went down in flaming glory, casting the long shadow of the +Tyrian walls across the Macedonian camp. The thin smoke of a thousand +fires rose lazily in the quiet The soldiers ceased to recount their +escapes in the dreadful breach and stretched themselves on the ground. +Only in Alexander's tent a light continued to glow. + +In the middle of the second watch, a small boat crept in from the +purple shadows of the sea and grated on the sand. Two men stepped out +and turned their faces toward the camp. By their features and dress +they were Ph[oe]nicians. Of the first sentinel they met, they demanded +to be led to Alexander, and the reasons they gave caused the captain of +the guard to grant their request. + +The captain emerged from the king's tent at the end of half an hour and +hurried away in the darkness. He brought back with him Clearchus, +Chares, Leonidas, Nathan, and Joel. The Theban was rubbing his eyes +and yawning over his interrupted slumbers. + +"What is all this about?" he grumbled. "Have we not done enough for +one day? I wish this cursed city was in the bottom of the sea!" + +"It is by the king's order," the captain reminded him. + +They found Alexander stretched upon his couch and the two Ph[oe]nicians +seated before him. From the expression of the king's eyes as they +sought his, Clearchus knew that something of moment was in his mind, +and his pale face brightened. + +One of the strangers was Prince Hur, son of King Azemilcus. The young +man seemed ill at ease, and his fingers played constantly with the +golden chain that he wore as a member of the council. His companion +was older and more composed. His lips were thin and his eyes were keen +and penetrating. + +"Comrades," Alexander said, using the term that endeared him to every +soldier in his army, "I have a dangerous service to ask of you. King +Azemilcus has dreamed that his city is about to fall, and we know that +his dream is true. He has sent his son and his chancellor to us to ask +his life, and it has been granted to him. But many things may happen +when the blood is hot with fighting, and it is necessary that +Macedonians be with him when we enter. Therefore I wish you to go to +him and guard him when the time arrives. You may conduct him to the +Temple of Melkarth, which will be set aside as a sanctuary. + +"It has been promised that you shall pass unharmed into the city and +remain there in the palace until I come. If this promise is not kept, +Azemilcus and all his family are to be crucified upon the walls as a +warning to those who may wish to break faith with Alexander." + +The young king looked keenly at the Ph[oe]nicians. The prince lowered +his eyes and moved uneasily. + +"There is one thing more," Alexander continued. "If any of you have +friends in the city whom you desire to protect, it is made a condition +of the safety of Azemilcus that he shall aid you by every means in his +power." + +He glanced meaningly at Clearchus as he uttered these words, and the +young man's heart bounded with renewed hope. + +They left the tent in silence. The captain of the guard accompanied +them to the boat. + +"Azemilcus is betraying his city," Chares whispered. + +"We shall save Artemisia and rescue Thais," Clearchus replied, gripping +the arm of his friend. + +They entered the boat and rowed silently to the Egyptian Harbor. The +towering height of the wall swallowed the little craft in its shadow +and no sentinel challenged them. They bent their heads as they glided +under the great guard-chains that stretched across the entrance of the +harbor, and threading their way among the shipping, they reached the +landing and disembarked. + +Keeping to the left, the chancellor led them toward the palace. More +than once they were forced to step aside to avoid the heaps of ruins +that told of the work done by the ballistæ. As they advanced, the +great bulk of the palace rose before them above the wall, to which it +was joined and of which it formed a part. As they advanced, the +chancellor was careful to keep in the deepest shadow, and his hand +shook as he fitted the key into a small door in the palace wall. + +"We are safe!" he said to the prince as the door closed behind them. + +"Very well," the young man replied, yawning; "I am going to bed." + +He turned abruptly into a lateral passage and disappeared. The +chancellor seemed in doubt for a moment whether to call him back, but +he decided to let him go. + +"Follow me," he said to the Macedonians. + +They groped their way upward after him along a winding stair that +seemed to be built into the city wall. This slow progress continued +for many minutes without a glimmer of light until they reached what +appeared to be a windowless chamber. There the chancellor left them, +bidding them wait until he had notified the king of their arrival. + +He was absent so long that Leonidas began to grow uneasy. He found the +chamber destitute of furniture and without doors save that by which +they had entered and that by which the chancellor had left them. Both +were now secured. This had been accomplished without attracting their +attention and it added to their uneasiness. + +"We are like owls in a cage," Nathan said. "We can do nothing but +wait." + +"I do not like it," Leonidas replied. + +"Nonsense," Chares remarked. "They brought us here for a purpose and +we are of more use to them alive than dead. Do you suppose that +Azemilcus is anxious to be crucified?" + +"Perhaps not," the Spartan replied, "but it maybe that he has changed +his mind. If he does not send for us soon, I think we had better try +the door." + +Clearchus said nothing, but he paced impatiently back and forth across +the narrow room, pausing at every sound. The night was passing and the +hour for the sacrifice to Moloch was drawing nearer. Shut up in the +palace, they would be powerless to save Artemisia. The moments seemed +hours to him. At last he could bear the suspense no longer. + +"We should never have permitted the chancellor to leave us!" he said, +and, striding to the door, he began to beat upon it with the hilt of +his sword until the metal of which it was composed rang like a bell. + +There was no response. The others joined him, raising a tumult loud +enough to be heard throughout the palace, but even then some time +elapsed before the bars were removed and the door swung open. The +chancellor had returned alone, his face white and scared in the +flickering light of the lamp that he had set upon the stone floor while +he worked at the bars. + +"Silence, or we are all lost!" he whispered imploringly, taking up the +lamp with a hand that trembled so that the oil spilled upon the floor. +"Do you want to invite death?" + +"Don't talk to us of silence!" bellowed Chares, threatening the old man +with his sword. "What do you mean by shutting us up here? You have +yet to learn that it is not wise to keep the soldiers of Alexander +waiting. Take us to your king." + +"Yes, yes!" muttered the chancellor with chattering teeth. "Follow me; +but in the name of Baal keep silence! I fear they have heard you +already." + +"Little I care if they have, whoever they are," the Theban exclaimed, +stalking after the chancellor, sword in hand. "If you try any more of +your tricks, your head goes off like a chicken's." + +They made several turns in the passage, ascended a last short flight of +steps, and came to a second door, which their guide pushed open. They +followed him into a large room, hung with woven tapestries, carpeted +with silken rugs, and strewn with luxurious divans. It was on the +southern side of the palace, with windows that looked out across the +wall toward the sea. The light of the lamps was already yielding to +the gray dawn which silvered the surface of the water. + +With his back to the window stood Azemilcus, king of the doomed city. +His thin white hair straggled from under a close-fitting cap to the +diamond collar which encircled his wrinkled throat. A gorgeous robe of +crimson hid his shrunken figure. He looked old and feeble, but his +eyes were as bright as jewels set in the head of a mummy. + +"Welcome, gentlemen!" he said quietly, stretching forth a wasted hand +toward Chares, who was striding toward him with anger in his face. "I +must ask your pardon for your detention; but we are prisoners here, +like yourselves." + +Astonishment halted the Theban, who stood staring at the king as though +he had not heard aright. Clearchus stepped forward. + +"What do you mean? Who has made you a prisoner?" he asked sharply. + +The small king smiled with irony on his lips. + +"I fear it can be only the prince, my son," he replied. + +"The same one who helped to bring us here and who left us as soon as we +entered the palace?" Clearchus demanded. + +"Yes," Azemilcus answered, crossing his hands and hiding them in the +wide sleeves of his robe. "He is not sharp-witted, my son; and it +turns out that he still has hopes of saving Tyre so that he may reign +here in my place. You see what they have been doing." + +He stepped back and waved his hand toward the window. Beneath them was +the breach that had been so desperately attacked and defended. The +Tyrians had raised a new wall, nearly as thick and as high as the city +wall itself. It formed a half-circle inside the gap, joining the main +wall at either end, so that an attacking force, seeking to storm the +breach, would be caught as in the bend of a bow. Swarms of men were +still at work there by the light of torches. + +The Athenian's heart sank. It seemed to him impossible that after the +defeat of the preceding day, a second attack could succeed when the +breach had been repaired. They were inside the city, it was true, but +they were only five against forty thousand. + +For a moment there was silence in the room. The bitter smile still +rested on the thin lips of the old king. The chancellor stood +nervously rubbing his knuckles, first with one hand and then with the +other. Leonidas examined the wall and the new work with an eye that +took in every detail. He turned to the king. + +"You know that if you try to deceive us, we will kill you," he said +quietly. + +"Well?" the king replied, still with his thin smile. + +"You say that it is your son who has shut you up," Leonidas continued. +"Why do you think so?" + +"Because he alone, besides this man, knew that I had summoned you," the +king said. + +Leonidas looked at the chancellor, whose ashen face grew a shade paler +under his scrutiny. + +"You were about to betray your city and your son has betrayed you," the +Spartan said. + +"That is a harsh way to put it," Azemilcus answered. "The city was +lost already." + +"Is it lost now?" Leonidas demanded, pointing to the new wall. + +"Yes," said the old king. "To-day, to-morrow, next month, it will +fall. The Gods have deserted us. The boy told me they would." + +"It is not surprising that the Gods have deserted you," the Spartan +observed. "But your son, who has conspired against you, knows that we +are here." + +"Yes," the king admitted. + +"And you kept us shut up while you were considering whether there was +not some way of getting rid of us so that we might not be found and +used as proof of your treachery," Leonidas continued. "You were ready +to sacrifice us, who had come to save you, so that you might prove your +son a liar and defeat his attempt." + +Azemilcus made no reply, but the smile left his lips and he glanced +furtively from side to side. Chares muttered some words in his throat +that sounded like a curse. + +"You are speaking to a king," Azemilcus said at last, drawing himself +up with an assumption of dignity and trying to meet the eyes of his +questioner. + +"I am speaking to a fool!" Leonidas replied contemptuously. "In order +to profit by his double perfidy, your son must have proof against you. +Who will believe him unless we are found? It will be his first care to +produce us, and if he can do this, there will be no hope left for you. +Every moment that you kept us behind that door brought you nearer to +death." + +He paused, and Azemilcus made no reply; but his smile came back and his +eyes wandered toward a table where a great flagon of wine had been set. + +"There may yet be time to save ourselves and you," Leonidas continued. +"If you can get rid of us for the present, you will have nothing to +fear. You can deny your son's story and it will be attributed to a +clumsy plot to overthrow you. Is there no way out of the palace that +is not guarded?" + +"None that I know," the king replied. + +The chancellor uttered a clucking sound in his throat that seemed +involuntary. Leonidas gripped him by the shoulder. + +"Do you know a way?" he cried. "Speak quickly." + +The chancellor went down on his knees and raised his hands in +supplication. + +"Mercy!" he wailed. "Mercy! I know--I have heard of a way!" + +"Where does it lead?" Leonidas demanded fiercely. + +"To the Temple of our Lord, Baal-Moloch," the old man whimpered. + +King Azemilcus looked at his chancellor with his keen eyes and +sarcastic smile. + +"Now I understand many things," he remarked dryly. + +"Oh, my master, I took them!" the chancellor cried, with tears rolling +down his cheeks. "Esmun made me do it. He said Moloch demanded them." + +"My rubies," the king said musingly. "Well, never mind. We will talk +of them hereafter." + +"What is one piece of treachery, more or less, to you?" Leonidas said +roughly. "Remain here. Should you escape your son, we will seek you, +if we can, when those come whom you cannot escape. If we do not +return, fly to the Temple of Melkarth and embrace his knees that you +may be spared. Farewell!" + +He dragged the chancellor to his feet. The man was shaking so that he +could hardly stand. Below them in the palace they could hear the tramp +of ascending footsteps and the sound of voices. + +"They are coming; we cannot remain here," Nathan cried. + +Leonidas snatched up the flagon of wine and hastily filled a golden cup +that he offered to the chancellor. + +"Drink this," he said. "It will give you strength." + +Instead of taking the cup, the chancellor uttered a choking cry and +pushed it from him. + +"Not that!" he gasped. "See, I am strong! I will lead you!" + +He seemed indeed to have recovered from his weakness, for he stepped +briskly toward the door by which they had entered. Leonidas looked at +him and then at the wine spilled upon the floor. + +"Poisoned!" he exclaimed, and such a blaze of wrath gleamed in his eye +that the old king shrank back. + +"So this was your plan for getting rid of us!" the Spartan said. + +His grasp tightened about the hilt of his sword, and for an instant he +hesitated; but the tramp of the soldiers was close at hand and he +reflected that a dead king could not betray Tyre. He sheathed his +sword and darted into the passage after his companions. Azemilcus made +fast the door behind them and let the draperies fall over it. Then he +turned with his mocking smile to face his accusers. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +THE KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + +Azemilcus walked to the window and stood there leaning against the +frame. Day was breaking, sullen and gray, in a wrack of flying clouds, +and the uneasy moaning of the sea sounded in his ears. + +There Hur and Esmun, panting from their long climb, found him standing. +The prince carried a drawn sword in his hand and he glanced quickly +from side to side as he burst into the room. Behind him came Ariston +and a guard of twenty or thirty soldiers, headed by one of the generals +of the garrison. Hur had expected to find the Greeks. He saw only his +father, leaning wearily in the window. He stood abashed, looking at +Esmun as if for advice. + +The old king remained motionless until all had entered, and then he +turned slowly and faced them. The lines of his countenance, deepened +by months of anxiety, told of the strain he had passed through, and his +shrunken frame seemed aged and feeble in its magnificent robe of state. +His eyes met theirs steadily and frankly, yet with a look of sadness as +he gave them his greeting. + +"Welcome, my son and gentlemen," he said. "You come early to seek your +king; but in these times I know that ceremony must be disregarded. +What news do you bring?" + +The authority in his tone and the dignity of his bearing, which most of +the men who stood before him had been accustomed from boyhood to +respect, had their effect. The soldiers, who knew nothing of the plot, +stared wonderingly about them. Ariston had prudently halted near the +door, and he now edged still farther into the background. + +"Come, gentlemen!" the king said, finding that none replied to his +question. "What is the news that brings you hither at this hour? Do +not fear to tell me, since it is the lot of kings to share the dangers +and sorrows of their people. Have I not done it for nearly fifty +years?" + +He smiled somewhat sadly and waved his thin hand with a gesture that +seemed to dismiss all that he had done for the city as something for +which he required no return of gratitude. + +"Do not hesitate," he continued, "because you would spare me. It is +true that in all that now threatens us I have more to lose than you. I +am ready, as you know, to sacrifice even life itself if that would save +the city. Is it concerning the offering to Baal-Moloch that you desire +to consult me?" + +He addressed himself to Esmun, recognizing in the priest the man from +whom he had most to fear. He had scarcely glanced at his son, who +stood helpless, raging inwardly to find himself presenting the +appearance of a culprit caught in some fault, instead of the avenger +that he had expected to be. Esmun looked at the prince and saw that +nothing was to be expected from him. He took up the situation boldly, +relying upon his sacred office to protect him. + +"It is true that I wished to consult you concerning the sacrifice to +Baal-Moloch, whom I serve," he said, "but we had still another reason +for coming. We have been informed that a plot against your life has +been conceived. It was told to us that certain Greeks had been brought +into the city by the treachery of your enemies, and we made all haste +to summon this guard to protect you in case of need. It is said that +the assassins are even now in the palace. If anything should happen to +your Highness, then, indeed, the city might despair. In guarding thy +safety, we guard the safety of all." + +The two men looked into each other's eyes. The king read the threat +that lay behind Esmun's words and he took up the challenge. + +"Why should they seek to destroy a man whose days are fast nearing +their close?" he asked. "The death of one of these soldiers would +profit them more, since it would leave one less dauntless heart for +them to conquer. It seems to me that the alarm is needless, although I +thank you for your care; and yet, I will not conceal from you that +there may after all be some basis for the story you have heard. Within +the week, the crown rubies have been stolen, and it is clear that I +have some unfaithful servants. Perhaps they have brought in the Greeks +to prevent detection and the punishment they deserve. Search the +palace, and if the assassins are found, we will make an example of +them." + +Esmun's heavy face quivered when the king spoke of the rubies, for his +words were accompanied by a look full of significance. He knew that +the Greeks were in the city, but the willingness of the king to have +the search made indicated that they were no longer in the palace. He +racked his brains to think what had become of them. + +Ariston slipped out of the door and stole softly down the stairs. The +astute Athenian saw that the counterplot had collapsed. + +"You, my son, and you, Esmun, will remain with me while the guard makes +the search," the king said coolly, "and let us eat, for there is much +to be done to-day." + +He engaged the priest in talk regarding the details of the sacrifice to +Baal while the soldiers dispersed through the palace and slaves brought +food. To Hur he did not speak. The general in charge of the guard at +last returned, saying that no trace of the presence of strangers in the +palace could be discovered. He knew nothing of the secret passages, +and the prince did not venture, in his father's presence, to reveal +them. Esmun, with the theft of the rubies in his mind, dared not +betray his knowledge of their existence. + +"It is as I thought," the king said, dismissing the guard. "I thank +you for your zeal." + +The slaves had already withdrawn, since it was unlawful for any who had +not been initiated to be present while the mysteries of the worship of +Baal were being discussed. + +"You seem downcast, my son!" the king said when he was left alone with +Hur and the priest. He took his seat at the table, upon which the food +had been placed, and motioned them to a seat opposite to him. "You +will never be a king," he continued, "until you learn how to conquer +failure. I have noted a certain nervousness in you of late. You +should overcome it. Misfortune is half disarmed when you meet her in a +cheerful spirit." + +Hur let his eyes fall, but he made no reply. Esmun kept his gaze on +the king's face. + +"Come!" Azemilcus said in the same bantering tone, "you do not eat. +You should leave the welfare of the city to me. You thought you knew, +when you did not. You should remember that kings do not always reveal +their purposes." + +He filled his cup from the great flagon and pushed it toward them. + +"Let us drink to the safety of Tyre," he said. + +"To that I say amen," Esmun exclaimed, "and may the curse of Baal rest +upon all who seek to betray her!" + +"So say I--be they high or low!" Hur echoed boldly. + +The old king's eyes sparkled and he looked at them with the mocking +smile that they knew so well. + +"Drink, then!" he said, spilling a few drops from his cup upon the +floor as a libation. + +The others followed his example, Esmun with a muttered word of +invocation, and both drank off what remained. The king was seized by a +violent fit of coughing that shook his withered frame and forced him to +set his cup down untasted. As he did so Esmun rose to his feet. + +The face of the priest was convulsed and purple and his eyes seemed +starting from his head. He raised his clenched hands and made a +tottering step toward the king as though he would strike him with his +fists. He struggled to speak, but no words issued from his throat. He +reeled blindly and crashed down across the table like a slain bullock, +overturning it in his fall. His eyes rolled up in his head and he lay +motionless. + +The prince did not rise from his chair, but his fingers gripped +convulsively the carved arms of ebony and he writhed in agony. + +"Father!" he gasped. + +His form stiffened, his head fell back, and a slight foam appeared on +his lips. + +Azemilcus drew the skirts of his robe around him and stepped carefully +across the litter caused by the wreck of the table, with its linen +cloth stained in the spilled wine that flowed from the shattered +flagon. He walked quietly to the door and vanished between the crimson +curtains, leaving the two dead men alone in the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + +While Azemilcus was dealing with his enemies in his own way, the +wretched chancellor, shaking in every limb, conducted the Macedonians +back through the secret passage by which he had brought them to the +presence of the king. Descending the winding stairs, they reached the +street level, where the old man opened a hidden door that led into a +narrow subterranean gallery. They followed this for what seemed to +them a long distance in a stagnant atmosphere, heavy with dampness. It +brought them at last to a slab of stone, from which hung a ring of iron. + +Chares was forced to exert all his strength to turn this stone upon its +pivot. They emerged from the passage into a small room with walls of +rough masonry and a door that was closed by a black curtain. At the +request of the chancellor, the lamp was extinguished. + +"Where are we?" Leonidas demanded. + +"In the Temple of Baal," the old man whispered. "This room is little +used by the priests. They live on the other side." + +The Spartan raised the curtain and looked into the gloomy interior of +the temple. It was deserted and silent. + +"What shall we do with this man?" he asked, turning to his companions, +and indicating the chancellor. + +"We have no further use for him," Chares replied, placing his hand +suggestively upon his sword-hilt. + +"Spare me!" the chancellor cried, falling upon his knees. "I will tell +where the rubies are, and a great store of jewels besides. They are +under the image of Baal. Do not take my life!" + +"He might betray us if we let him go," Leonidas said, paying no +attention to his supplications. + +"I swear to you on the head of Baal that I will not," the old man cried +piteously. + +"If he should betray us," Clearchus observed, "his own life would be +forfeit, because we should reveal the part he had in bringing us into +the city." + +"Very well; you have most at stake," the Spartan said. "Let him go." + +The chancellor did not wait for further permission. He disappeared +into the passage like an old gray rat escaped from a trap. + +"I am half sorry we spared him after all," Leonidas said regretfully. +"Let us see where we are." + +They passed through the curtained door and into the temple. Twilight +reigned beneath the lofty dome where the bats were still flitting. +This semi-darkness was artfully preserved so that the fire, which was +the essential feature of the worship of Baal-Moloch, might be visible +and effective during the sacrifices. + +The Greeks found themselves in a vast hall of oblong shape. They were +standing upon a platform of stone, raised for the height of a man above +the main floor, to which a flight of broad and shallow steps descended. +A huge dark mass stood before them exactly under the dome, the sides of +which were pierced by narrow slits that admitted the light of day. +This mass was the misshapen idol of Baal. The God was represented by a +hollow statue of iron and bronze, sitting upon a throne. Its long arms +terminated in hands that rested with palms upturned beside its knees. +Its enormous head was inclined slightly forward, and the expression +upon its face was so cruel and malignant that Clearchus felt his blood +chilled as he gazed upon it and thought of the hecatombs of innocent +victims whose lives had been sacrificed to its ferocity. + +There were larger and more splendid images of Baal in other +Ph[oe]nician cities, but none that was so venerated. It had been +brought from the Temple of Baal-Moloch in the Old City on the mainland, +where for centuries it had been the guardian of the place, receiving +its sacrifices each year. In the old days even the first-born of the +royal blood had been lifted in those blackened arms and rolled upon the +iron knees to be roasted alive. The terrible face leaned above with +distended nostrils, as though to inhale the odor of burning flesh, and +thousands of mothers had watched its dreadful smile through the smoke +with songs of praise on their lips and death in their hearts, while +their babies writhed in agony in the pitiless embrace. Baal would +accept no unwilling sacrifice, and the mother whose child was torn from +her breast to be given to the God, not only lost her infant but was +disgraced forever if she showed emotion while the rite was being +performed. + +In spite of themselves, the Macedonians were oppressed by a kind of +superstitious dread as they looked at the grim visage that seemed to +sneer down upon them. + +The great portals of the temple, at the other end of the hall, were +closed. On either side were rows of dark columns upholding the roof, +which was painted to represent the heavens. Dim shapes of monsters, +half beast and half human, appeared upon the walls. + +The Greeks made a circuit of the temple but found no means of egress. +There were several anterooms similar to the one to which the +subterranean passage had led them. These contained vestments, the +implements used in the ceremonials, and a store of scented wood, dry as +tinder, that furnished fuel for the sacrifices. In one of the rooms +was a door which Joel believed connected with the building in which the +priests were housed. The walls around the platform were draped with +heavy hangings of black that formed a background for the image. + +"Let us take counsel," Nathan said, casting a look of hatred at the +idol. "Jehovah will not permit this monster to triumph over Him." + +They withdrew into their recess to consider a plan of action. + +"One thing is certain," Leonidas said. "Alone we can never prevent the +sacrifice." + +"My people will help us," Nathan said. "They will not give up their +first-born without fighting." + +"How many are they?" Clearchus asked. + +"There are ten thousand of them in the city," Joel replied; "but they +are not armed, excepting those who have been drafted to the defence of +the walls." + +"I have more faith in Alexander than I have in your people," Chares +said bluntly. "He will be in the city before this day ends, unless the +Gods have misled old Aristander." + +"But will he come in time?" Leonidas asked. "Let Nathan and Joel go to +the Israelites and rouse them to resist. Tell them that Alexander is +coming and that he will protect them. We three will stay here and +await the result." + +To this the others gave their assent. It seemed a desperate chance, +but it was all they had. There was a small window in the antechamber, +high up in the wall. Nathan climbed up to it on the shoulders of the +Greeks and looked through. + +"There is nothing on this side but the cypress garden," he said. +"Farewell; you may be sure that we shall return, though we come alone." + +He slipped through the window and dropped upon the turf outside. Joel +followed him. The three Greeks, left alone in the temple, looked into +each other's faces and Clearchus grasped his companions by the hand. + +"You have placed your lives in peril for me," he said with emotion. +"Zeus grant that they be not demanded of you!" + +"Pshaw!" Chares exclaimed, "are not our lives always in peril? If we +must die, we shall die; and we are not permitted to choose where or +how. When the Ferryman calls, we must go. For my part, if thou +wouldst repay me, let me sleep, for my head is nodding." + +Clearchus smiled, understanding his friend's aversion to any display of +feeling. He embraced the Theban, who calmly lay down upon the stone +floor; his eyes closed, and he began to snore gently. + +Leonidas, whose tough frame defied fatigue, and Clearchus, whose mind +was in a torment of doubt and suspense, stationed themselves behind the +curtain that hid the door and waited, talking in whispers. They could +hear the patter of raindrops and by the rising wind outside they knew +that a storm was breaking over the city. Its breath entered through +the slits in the dome, causing the dark hangings to sway against the +wall. The gloomy temple seemed to be filled with mysterious +murmurings. Some drops fell upon the image of Baal and ran glistening +down the bronze head and broad, sleek shoulders. + +Nathan and Joel made their way through the cypress thickets and scaled +the wall of the temple garden. They found themselves in a narrow +street which led them to a broader thoroughfare, where men were +hurrying to and fro in the rain. Soldiers of the garrison, weary and +hollow-eyed, were going to the defences. Citizens whose uneasy rest +had been cut short by the tension of dread were early abroad in search +of news. + +"What of the enemy?" one of them asked of a soldier who was returning +from the walls. + +"They are coming out to attack," the soldier replied. "Their ships +have already left the shore, and the stones will soon be falling about +your ears." + +"How much longer?" the citizen asked, with a groan. + +"Ask that of the Gods," the soldier replied indifferently; "but I think +the end will be soon, unless Moloch relents." + +Joel and Nathan passed on, their appearance attracting no attention in +a city where there were so many of their race. + +"Hasten!" Nathan said. "Alexander is coming!" + +As they advanced toward the quarter occupied by the Israelites, the +streets became filled with people, nearly all of whom seemed to be +drawn in the same direction that they themselves were taking. They +fell in with a man who strode on with knitted brows and lips +compressed. By his appearance he was a Hebrew, and Nathan addressed +him in the Hebrew tongue. + +"Whither goest thou?" he asked. + +"To save the innocent from slaughter," the man replied fiercely. "Come +with me if ye are men!" + +"We will come with thee," Nathan said. + +"There are the priests!" Joel exclaimed. + +Half a dozen of the ministers of Baal, surrounded by a guard of +soldiers, came down a cross street. They carried in their hands small +bundles of short cords with which to bind the limbs of their victims. +The crowd gave way before them, gazing at their black robes and stern, +fanatical faces with curiosity mingled with dread. + +"May the curse of the Most High rest upon them!" the stranger cried, +shaking his fist. + +He began to run in the direction of the open square used by the +Israelites as a market-place. Nathan and Joel raced after him. The +clamor of voices raised in bitter lamentation reached them. They found +the square choked with a surging mass of men and women who clasped +little children to their breasts, seeking to protect them. The rain +beat in their faces and the gusty wind tossed their garments. Some +called upon their God, raising their hands toward heaven. Others +shrieked the names of their offspring who had already been torn from +them. Every house in the quarter was filled with weeping and cries of +despair. The priests of Baal went hither and thither, seizing their +prey in the name of the law wherever they found it. + +Nathan and Joel halted at the edge of the square. The priests were +searching through the crowd, many of them concealing a tiny burden +beneath their robes of office. Feeble wailings betrayed the nature of +these bundles. They were the children of the Israelites, bound hand +and foot for the sacrifice. + +While the young men stood looking, one of the priests discovered a +woman who crouched upon the ground with her face hidden in her +dishevelled hair. He grasped her roughly by the shoulder and drew her +back, disclosing the fact that she had been shielding her baby beneath +her bosom. The child raised its dimpled hands and tried to touch its +mother's wet cheeks. The priest seized them and tore the infant from +her. She clutched the skirt of his robe and followed him on her knees +through the mire, begging piteously for the child. + +"You have so many already," she said, "and he is all I have! Surely +Baal does not require my little one. He will be appeased. Give him +back to me!" + +The priest turned and struck her upturned face with his clenched hand. +She uttered a cry of anguish and released his robe, falling back +senseless to the earth. + +An inarticulate sound burst from the lips of the man who had guided +Nathan and Joel to the market-place. + +"O Lord, my God!" he shouted, raising his hands to the leaden sky. "I +had two children to be the staff and prop of my old age. Wilt Thou +suffer them to be taken from me? We have remained faithful to Thee; is +this to be our reward?" + +Nathan was about to spring upon the guard that surrounded the priests +before him when the tall figure of an old man strode into the square. +His gaunt frame was clad in sackcloth, and his long white hair and +beard were blown in the wind. He walked erect, without the aid of the +staff which he carried in his hand. There was an air of authority and +even of majesty in his bearing. The men and women nearest to him fell +upon their knees and stretched their hands toward him in supplication. +He did not glance at them and he seemed not to hear their prayers. His +stern eyes swept the market-place and he spoke in a resonant voice that +rose above the tumult and caused it to die away. + +"Why do ye lament, men of Israel?" he cried. "Cease now your weeping +and rejoice. For Tyre is fallen! Her hour is come!" + +"It is Pethuel, chief priest of the synagogue," Joel whispered to +Nathan, who was watching the old man with glowing eyes. + +"Hearken unto me, O ye of little faith!" Pethuel continued, and the +silence spread until his words could be heard throughout the square. +"The worshipper of idols is cast down. The day of clouds and thick +darkness is at hand. Lo! they waxed a strong and a mighty people. The +cities of the world feared them, and their ships followed the trackless +wastes of the sea. There was none like to them in their greatness. + +"Unto some they said, 'Go!' and unto others they said, 'Come!' Verily, +their strength was like that of the lion, and they rejoiced in their +vessels of gold and silver. It seemed to them that there would be no +ending. + +"And lo! the end is upon them. They are cast down; their walls are +overthrown, and their city is become a place of desolation. Thus saith +the Lord God unto me, His servant, that I may tell it to my people and +bid them rejoice! + +"He has delivered them out of the hands of their enemies as a bird from +the net of the fowler. I said unto the Lord, 'Behold, the city of +abominations hath laid her hand upon Thy servants! In the olden time, +did she spoil Israel and Juda and the pleasant valleys, wasting them +with fire and sword. Then did Thy vengeance fall upon her, until of +her strong walls not one stone remained upon another. But now she +presseth sore upon Thy people; wherefore help us, O Lord!' + +"Hear ye, men of Israel! Out of the darkness came a Voice like the +rushing of a mighty wind and the sound of many waters, and it filled +mine ears, saying: 'I am the Lord God of Hosts. Inasmuch as ye have +been faithful unto Me and have bowed not before the work of man's +hands, therefore will I hearken unto you. She has sown the wind, and +she shall reap the whirlwind. Her fortresses and her strong places +shall be spoiled. The weak shall perish with the strong, and the +mighty shall not deliver himself. I will give her daughters to ruin +and her children shall be wanderers among the nations. This will I do +for My people, that they be not put to scorn. Say to them: "Take each +man his sword and let him slay; for who shall withstand the wrath of +the Most High?"'" + +To Nathan it seemed that the veil that separates the seen from the +unseen had been rent away. The voice that rang in his ears was no +longer the voice of Pethuel, but that of his Maker. He felt himself +lifted up beyond the region of doubt, and a great gladness filled his +heart. + +Pethuel paused before him and looked at him with a gaze that pierced +him through like fire. The old man raised his staff and touched him on +the shoulder. It seemed to Nathan an act of consecration. + +"Lead thou them!" Pethuel cried in a loud voice. "It is the command of +the Lord, thy God." + +A compelling Power, greater than himself, seized upon the young +Israelite. He no longer had any volition of his own. He became an +instrument. + +"Follow me, men of Israel!" he shouted, drawing his sword. "Jehovah +gives the heathen into our hands!" + +The hush was broken, and a great cry went up from the densely packed +market-place. With one impulse, the crowd fell upon the soldiers and +priests who still remained in the square, the greater part having +already retreated toward the Temple of Baal-Moloch. The Ph[oe]nicians, +greatly outnumbered, were able to make but a brief resistance. Nathan +sprang forward and cut down the nearest soldier. In the rush that +followed him, the guard was swept away, scattered, and destroyed +singly. A score of children were rescued. The priests were trampled +to the earth and torn limb from limb. The square resounded with savage +cries. The Israelites had been roused to frenzy. The word of God was +upon them. + +"To the temple!" Nathan shouted. The cry ran through the mob which +surged into the narrow streets leading to the shrine of Baal-Moloch, +bearing down all before it. The frightened priests heard it coming and +sent messengers to the walls, demanding succor. Azemilcus ordered +soldiers to be detached to quell the disturbance, and the defence of +the city was still further weakened. + +The fighting in the streets became desperate. The Israelites scattered +and, by circuitous routes, pressed toward the temple. They mounted to +the roofs, hurling all kinds of missiles from a great height upon the +heads of the guards. The rain fell in blinding sheets. It seemed to +the Tyrians that the entire Hebrew population of the city had suddenly +gone mad. Ties of association were forgotten, and men who had been +friends for years struggled for each other's lives. + +The tumult spread in every direction. The soldiers were forced to fall +back and form a ring of defence around the temple. Even then, they had +much ado to hold the crowd at bay, for the Israelites charged against +them without ceasing, recklessly throwing away their lives upon the +hedge of steel. + +Great stones dropped from the sky continually. Friend and foe were +crushed beneath them. When they struck the walls of the houses, they +left gaping fissures through which the interior could be seen. They +came from the engines upon the Macedonian ships that were renewing the +attack upon the city. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + +Artemisia and Thais looked from their window at the scud of flying +clouds and beneath them the Macedonian fleet assembling south of the +city. Thais' eyes danced with excitement, and Artemisia's cheeks were +flushed. + +"This time we shall win!" Thais exclaimed, throwing her arms about her +companion. "You are beautiful this morning, Artemisia; Clearchus will +be pleased with you." + +The color in Artemisia's cheeks deepened and a happy smile parted her +lips. + +"I shall make him leave the army," she said. "Of course I am proud of +his bravery; but, after all, there are better things than to be always +killing other men." + +She raised her chin with a charming affectation of pride. "He is an +Athenian, you know," she added. + +Thais frowned. She found in Artemisia's words an implied reflection +upon Chares. + +"Don't be silly," she replied. "Do you want to make him one of those +curled idiots who spend their time in company with philosophers, +chasing shadows or trying to find out why crabs walk sidewise? You +would wake up some day and find that one of them had proved to him that +there is no such thing as love. Or perhaps you would rather have him a +dandy, with race-horses and a score of dancing girls to amuse himself +with! Let him be a man, Artemisia; let him love you and fight his +enemies with all his heart. For my part, if Chares talks of deserting +Alexander, he may look elsewhere for some one to love him; for I shall +not." + +Artemisia listened to this outburst; but she shook her head, and a soft +light shone in her eyes. + +"You want power and splendor," she said "but I would rather be alone +with Clearchus in a desert than sit beside him upon the throne of +Darius. I will have no rival in his heart." + +"And with half a dozen children around you," Thais said scornfully. +"You might as well complete the picture." + +"Yes," Artemisia answered bravely, though she blushed as she said it, +"if the Gods permit it; and if the first is a boy, he shall be named +Chares." + +Thais turned swiftly and kissed her, all her anger gone in a moment. + +"There, sister, I did not mean it," she said. "May the Gods give us +both our hearts' desire!" + +She clapped her hands, and the tiring women who had been awaiting the +summons entered. + +"Give me my saffron chiton," she cried, "and my topaz necklace. We +shall have visitors to-day, girls." + +She seated herself before a large mirror while the women dressed her +hair and robed her as she had directed. They could not hide their +admiration when their task was finished and she stood before them like +a living image of gold. + +But Artemisia chose a linen robe of pure white, unrelieved by color. +The spotless purity of her dress set off the delicate flush upon her +cheeks and the soft brown of her hair. + +So eager were the young women that they were scarcely able to taste the +fruit and cakes that the servants set before them. They kept jumping +up and running to the window to see what progress the Macedonian fleet +was making, and whether the attack had begun. + +"What a storm!" Artemisia exclaimed. "I wish it would stop; it hides +the ships." + +"Zeus is fighting on our side to-day," Thais replied gayly, as a long +growl of thunder shook the walls of the house. "Tell me, what is going +on in the city?" she added, turning to a Cretan maiden among the women. +The girl was beautiful in face and figure, although her expression was +one of sadness. She had once ruled as favorite of Phradates, and it +was whispered in the household that she still loved him, in spite of +the fact that she had had a score of successors since her brief day of +ascendency. + +"They are preparing a sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," she replied, "in the +hope of persuading him to aid them." + +"What is this sacrifice? I have never seen one," Thais asked. + +"I do not know," the girl said. "There has been none since I came to +Tyre." + +"I know, mistress," another of the women volunteered. She was a +Syrian, with a supple figure and bright black eyes, who had been a +slave from her infancy. + +"Describe it, then," Thais said. + +"Baal-Moloch is the most powerful God in the world," the woman said +volubly. "His image is made of iron, and is terrible to look upon." +She shivered as she spoke. "I never saw it but once, and that was when +the Babylonian king threatened to make war upon us. We offered +sacrifice to prevent it, and Moloch would not permit him to come. The +priests went about the city and took the children--even the little +babies--and carried them away to the temple. When the doors were +opened, we could see Baal sitting there in the darkness. There was a +fire inside of him, and his eyes glowed at us. He reached his hands +down, and the priests gave him the children, one by one, and he lifted +them up and devoured them. It was awful to think of those little +children!" + +Artemisia listened with an expression of horror on her face. + +"I do not see where they are going to get the children now," Thais +remarked. "They have all been sent away." + +"They are taking the children of the Israelites who remained here," the +Syrian explained, "and they say--at least, Mena says--they are going to +sacrifice a virgin, too. Ugh! I don't want to see it." + +"Little good will it do them!" Thais exclaimed. "Not even Baal can +save their city now." + +"Hush!" the Syrian said, affrighted. "He is a great God." + +Sounds of commotion and of hurried footsteps in the lower halls of the +house interrupted them. Thais listened. + +"Go and see what it is," she commanded. + +The Syrian went, and in a moment came flying back into the room with +terror on her face. + +"Oh, my mistress!" she cried. "Why did you speak so of Moloch? His +priests are in the house! Save us!" + +"Silence!" Thais exclaimed, rising to her feet. "You shall not be +harmed." + +She raised her head proudly and faced the doorway, while the slave +women huddled behind her with frightened eyes. Artemisia stood beside +her, trying to emulate her courage; but a strange sinking laid hold +upon her heart, and a mist swam before her eyes. + +There was a rush of feet outside, and four black-robed men, followed by +a guard of soldiers, entered. Their leader was a man of stern and +grave expression, whose eyes seemed to glow in his pale face with the +power of his compelling will. He was Hiram, who had been chosen +hastily to act as chief priest when Esmun failed to return from the +royal palace. His ascetic countenance contrasted strongly with the +gross faces of his followers, brutalized by self-indulgence. The other +priests both feared and hated him, for it was said that Baal had +endowed him with powers that were beyond the understanding of man. + +"What seek ye here?" Thais demanded, flashing a haughty glance at the +zealot. + +He paid no heed to her and made no answer. His dark eyes caught those +of her companion and held them. + +"Artemisia!" he said, in a solemn voice that sounded like a summons, +"our Lord, Baal-Moloch, the Saviour, awaits thee! Come with us to his +temple." + +To Artemisia the words sounded far away; yet she heard them distinctly, +and they seemed to leave her no choice but to obey. A deep sense of +peace crept over her as she looked into the fathomless eyes of the +priest, that were fixed steadfastly upon hers, and from which she could +not withdraw her own. Dimly she felt that never again should she see +Clearchus or behold the land of Attica. Never should she hear his +beloved voice or feel his arms around her, clasping her close to his +breast. It was the will of the Gods. Everything earthly seemed to +recede and fall away from her as in a dream, leaving her alone with the +grim priest, her master. They two were floating upon a mighty current +that was bearing them, she knew not whither. She was at peace, and all +was ended. The terror she had felt a few moments before had left her. +It seemed remote and long ago, and she smiled to think of it and of how +foolish it had been. + +Hiram saw her form droop and her muscles relax, and these signs of his +victory did not escape him. The expression of his face did not change, +however, and he still kept his eyes fastened upon hers. The sombre +figures of his subordinates stood motionless beside him, and the +soldiers of his guard, lean and weather-worn, blocked the doorway, +glancing now at the two young women and now at the slave girls cowering +in the background. + +"Come with me!" Hiram said quietly, stretching his strong hand toward +Artemisia. + +She made an uncertain step toward him, but Thais caught her by the arm +and drew her back. + +"What do you mean by this mummery?" she cried, with blazing eyes. "Get +thee gone and tell thy God that Artemisia is not for him!" + +"Chafe not, daughter," Hiram replied calmly. "The will of Baal must be +obeyed. There can be no escape." + +"You shall not have her!" Thais cried. "Your creed demands a willing +sacrifice!" + +"And she is willing," the priest said, in the same even tone. + +"She is not!" Thais said. + +"Follow me!" Hiram exclaimed, slightly raising his voice. + +Artemisia made a feeble effort to obey, and Thais felt the arm that she +held draw away from her grasp. + +"Sorcerer!" she cried desperately, retaining her hold, "she is not +willing of her own will. Release her from thy spell!" + +"She is willing," Hiram repeated, "and thou shalt see her place herself +voluntarily in the hands of the Giver of Life." + +He made a slight sign, and the three priests who followed him stepped +forward. One of them twisted Thais' hand from Artemisia's arm, +retaining her wrist in his clutch, while another seized her on the +opposite side, rendering her helpless. The third took Artemisia gently +by the hand. She offered no resistance, but suffered herself to be led +down the marble stairs with wide-open eyes that seemed to see nothing. +Thais followed between her captors. Her face was pale to the lips, and +yellow flames danced in her eyes. + +"Priest of Baal!" she said, "thou hast shown no mercy and none shalt +thou receive--neither thou nor thy God!" + +"Blaspheme not," Hiram said; "the vengeance of our Lord is bitter." + +"More bitter still shall be the vengeance of men," Thais exclaimed in +her despair, "and they are now beating at the walls who shall make thee +feel it!" + +Hiram made no reply. If he felt a misgiving, his face did not betray +it. He led the way with measured tread down the staircase, followed by +his two captives and by the guard. + +"Artemisia!" Thais cried in anguish, "speak to me!" + +Artemisia made no response, nor did she turn her head. It was evident +that she had not heard. Laying aside her pride, Thais determined to +make a final effort. When they reached the deserted entrance hall, she +raised her voice. + +"Phradates! Phradates!" she cried. "Save us from these men!" + +Her cry echoed through the recesses of the hall, but it brought no +response. + +"Phradates!" Thais called again as the outer doors swung back, +revealing the wind-swept street. + +This time a figure emerged from the marble columns. It was that of +Mena the Egyptian, who advanced with a malicious smile upon his sharp +face. + +"My master is upon the walls," he said impudently, though he bowed low. +"He is fighting to save the city from your friends." + +Something of the suppressed triumph in his bearing struck the attention +of Thais, agitated as she was. + +"Is this thy work?" she demanded, looking at him between narrowing +eyelids. "Thou shalt pay for it, slave, upon the cross, to the last +drop of thy blood!" + +"Thou dost me too much honor," Mena replied, bowing again in mock +humility. + +"Come," said one of Thais' captors, roughly. "Baal must not be kept +waiting." + +The slanting rain smote their faces as they emerged into the street, +where throngs of men and women were crowding toward the Temple of +Moloch. On this side, as yet, nothing could be seen of the fierce +conflict that was raging for the possession of the children in the +Hebrew quarter. The sounds of it were lost in the rushing of the wind +and the crashing of the thunder. + +The people of Tyre hastened forward in silence and with bowed heads. A +nameless dread possessed them. Amid the confusion wrought by man and +the elements, friends and neighbors touched shoulders without a glance +of recognition. A weight of oppression seemed to dull their minds and +restrict their lungs. They were like creatures that listen furtively +in hidden terror to catch the forewarning of some catastrophe, the +nature of which they know not. All bonds were dissolved. Husbands +became separated from their wives in the press and made no attempt to +rejoin them. + +Even the priests of Moloch who followed Hiram were affected by the +universal uneasiness, and Thais felt the hands that clasped her wrists +tremble. Hiram himself walked gravely and slowly, apparently oblivious +of what was going on about him. He seemed indifferent alike to the +pelting of the storm and the danger from falling stones. A mass of +rock plunged into the crowd close before him, crushing a man beneath +its ponderous weight. The step of the pontiff did not waver, and he +passed the spot without so much as a glance at the mangled body pinned +down by the missile. His consciousness of the protection of Moloch +freed him from all sense of personal danger. + +The people made way for him in silence, huddling to the sides of the +street and closing in after the soldiers had passed. Artemisia walked +with her eyes upon the sombre figure that strode before her. Her face +was as colorless as the linen chiton that clung to her figure in the +rain, disclosing the maidenly outline of her bosom. Her breathing was +even and regular, as though she were sleeping with open eyes. + +Anger raged in Thais' breast as in that of a lioness, bound with +chains, which sees her cubs taken from her. She knew the hopelessness +of struggling with her captors, for even if she could free herself, she +would still be powerless to rescue Artemisia. + +Around the gloomy temple stood thousands of men and women, mournfully +and silently waiting in the rain for the procession to enter. The +great bronze doors stood open, revealing the dark interior of the +building, where a few torches cast a flickering light upon the face of +the monstrous idol, whose cruel features seemed to be twisting +themselves with hideous grimaces. + +Streamers of pale blue smoke were drawn through the apertures over the +head of the image by the wind, and the inside of the temple was filled +with a smoky haze that increased the obscurity. This came from the +fire of scented wood that the priests had kindled in the body of the +idol. They fed it continually from behind; and the faint smoke, rising +from carefully disposed openings in the breast and shoulders of the +figure, partially veiling its face, added to the mystery and solemnity +of the ceremony. + +As Hiram approached the entrance, two lines of black-robed priests +issued silently to right and left, pushing back the crowd and forming a +lane which led up the two flights of shallow stone steps to the +doorway. The spectators reverently bowed their heads. Their faith in +the power of Baal, bred in them from infancy, was strong upon them, and +deep was their fear of his wrath. Many times had he listened to their +prayers, and more than once had he refused to listen, permitting the +calamity that they besought him to avert. But never since he had +become their God, at a time beyond the limit of tradition, had they +gone to him in such dreadful extremity. Would he intervene, or would +he leave them to their fate? + +All eyes were turned to the impassive face of Hiram, searching there +for an answer to the question that was in every mind. The chief priest +gave no sign. He paced slowly into the open space between the ranks of +the priests, his black vestments fluttering about him in voluminous +folds. His eyes looked straight forward into the temple, seeking the +face of Baal. In his footsteps walked Artemisia, her head now drooping +slightly, like a flower cut from its stem. The priests began a slow +chant, so low that its words of praise could hardly be understood. + +Halfway up the second flight of steps, behind the row of priests, +Pethuel appeared in the crowd. He had managed somehow to reach the +temple in advance of his flock. The rain glistened upon his white hair +and snowy beard. Pressing forward as Hiram advanced, he raised his +voice above the mystic words of the chant. + +"Priest of Baal!" he cried to his rival, "thy God is fled! Behold, his +image shall be broken in thy temple. The wrath of the Lord God of +Hosts is upon you; for the cup of Tyre's iniquities runneth over!" + +He ceased and a murmur ran through the crowd; but no hand was raised +against the old man. The priests looked at Hiram, who passed on +without so much as turning his eyes, and they continued their chant. +Not even when the brother who walked beside Artemisia was struck down +by an arrow on the threshold of the temple did Hiram pause. The shaft, +falling obliquely, buried itself between its victim's shoulders, and he +fell upon his face in his death agony. His comrades lifted him quickly +and bore him out of sight; but the people continued to gaze at the +stain of blood upon the stones where he had fallen. + +As Artemisia and Thais vanished in the doorway, the sounds of conflict +caused by the rising of the Hebrews reached the temple. + +"It is Alexander!" said one to another in the crowd, and because of the +words of Pethuel, the cry was more easily believed. Panic seized upon +the multitude. Thousands of those who had assembled fled back to their +homes. Others ran toward the royal palace, and still others sought the +harbors. Scores found refuge in the temple, fighting with each other +to enter first through the wide doorway. The dread that had weighed +them down had taken shape. The evil was upon them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +THE PASSING OF A GOD + +Inside the Temple of Baal-Moloch the chant of the priests swelled to a +triumphant hymn of praise. The throbbing of drums and the droning of +strange musical instruments increased the volume of sound. It drowned +the uproar of the conflict between the guards and the Israelites, who +had reached the gardens of the temple, and it rose above the wailing of +the infants destined for the sacrifice. The children were held by the +priests, who formed in a deep semicircle before the idol. The throng +of devotees filled the body of the temple beyond their line and the dim +reaches of the arcades behind the rows of columns. + +The pungent smell of smoke from the sacrificial fire was mingled with +the odor of incense that floated from censors swung by neophytes clad +in robes of scarlet. + +Amid the crowd that burst into the temple in such numbers as to forbid +all semblance of the usual ceremonial order, rose the image of the +Giver of Life and its Destroyer, gigantic and terrible. Its broad +breast glowed dull red, and a spurt of flame issued from its sneering +lips like a fiery tongue. The terror that had driven the people into +the temple gave way to awe when they found themselves in the presence +of the God. Many of the votaries fell upon their faces before the +colossal figure; others stretched their hands toward it in an agony of +supplication. Sharp cries pierced the maddening pulsations of the +music. The gusts of the storm, entering through the opening in the +temple roof, drove the smoke in eddies through the obscurity. + +Hiram walked straight to the idol and prostrated himself upon the +lowest of the steps that rose to the platform on which it stood. He +remained for a moment in silent prayer, and then, rising, he stretched +forth his arms and repeated the ancient formula that always preceded +the sacrifice, calling upon the God by the numerous titles that +signified his manifold attributes. + +Artemisia stood behind him, within the half-circle of priests who held +back the eager crowd. Her white garments gleamed pure and spotless +against the background of their sombre official robes. Her head was +slightly bowed, and her hands were clasped lightly before her. She +seemed utterly oblivious of her surroundings and the terrible fate that +awaited her. Thais, firmly held by the priests who had brought her to +the temple, was stationed by her captors on the left hand of Baal, in a +position that prevented her eyes from meeting Artemisia's gaze. The +angry color had faded from her cheeks. She realized at last that +Artemisia was lost and that she herself must endure the agony of seeing +her perish. Her face had grown haggard and drawn. + +"Spare her, priest of Moloch!" she cried desperately, as Hiram ended +his invocation. "Her death cannot save thy city. Give her back to me, +and I promise thee thy safety and the safety of thy order. If thou +needs must sacrifice a woman, let me be the victim. I am fairer than +she, and I will be more acceptable to thy God. See, I beg her life at +thy hands!" + +She would have thrown herself upon her knees, but the priests +restrained her. Hiram made no reply and paid no heed to her appeal. +Ascending the steps with a firm tread, he stood between the feet of the +idol and turned to the multitude, extending his hands over Artemisia's +head with the palms downward. The chant ceased and the music died +away. Only the frightened sobbing of the infants, whom the assistants +sought in vain to quiet, broke the silence within the temple. Hiram +began to speak in a solemn and impressive voice. + +"We bring thee, O Lord, a maiden, pure in heart," he said. "We have +sinned against thee in our pride; upon her head we place our sins; take +thou her and forgive!" + +He paused, and a wailing cry of supplication rose throughout the temple. + +"We have neglected thy worship," Hiram went on. "Upon her head be our +neglect; take her and forgive! We have done those things that are +forbidden; upon her head be our disobedience to thy law; take her and +accept our atonement! We have disregarded our oaths; upon her head be +our perfidy; receive her in quittance of our debt to thee. Pardon us, +O Lord, in this our sacrifice to thee, all our many sins against thee, +and protect us out of thy mercy in this hour of our great peril!" + +At the conclusion of the recital, he turned again to the God. The arms +of the idol slowly sank and extended themselves until the outstretched +palms were brought together before the iron knees a few feet from the +floor. + +"Artemisia!" the chief priest called imperatively. + +With faltering steps she obeyed his command, advancing slowly until she +stood before the broad palms that seemed to tremble with impatience to +clasp her form. In the deadly hush of expectancy, the fierce cries of +the Israelites, struggling with the soldiers outside the temple, could +be distinctly heard. Hiram saw that haste was necessary if the +sacrifice was to be accomplished. + +"Dost thou give thyself willingly for the sins of Tyre?" he demanded, +confident of his power. + +Before she could answer a shriek rang through the temple. + +"Deny him, Artemisia, my sister!" Thais cried. "He is a sorcerer. Do +not--" + +Her voice was roughly stifled by the priests, her captors, but a +questioning murmur rose from the crowd. + +"Answer!" Hiram said sternly, bending all the strength of his merciless +will upon her. + +"Artemisia! Do not answer!" cried another voice. It was the voice of +a man, and it rang strong and clear, though it vibrated with anxiety. +It seemed to issue from the dark recesses behind the idol. A stir of +astonishment broke the spell that had imposed silence upon the +worshippers. Every eye strove to pierce the gloom of the sanctuary. +Hiram started, and his pallid face grew a shade paler. + +"Artemisia!" came the clear voice again. "Dost thou not hear me?" + +Artemisia's eyes left those of the chief priest and looked beyond him +eagerly into the darkness. The mask of impassiveness faded from her +face. Her lips parted. + +"Clearchus!" she cried. "Where art thou? Save me! Save me!" + +She threw up her arms with a despairing gesture, and sank upon the +platform beneath the terrible hands that were stretched to seize her. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" shouted Chares out of the darkness. "Down +with the dogs!" + +The words were followed by a cry of mortal agony from one of the +priests whose duty it was to feed the fire that roared inside the idol. +The Tyrians heard the sound of a brief commotion in the rear of the +temple, they saw the gleam of armor and of weapons, and the dark +hangings that veiled the innermost shrine were rent from the walls. +Armed men rushed across the platform and leaped down among the priests, +hewing at the holy ministers with flashing swords. + +In the obscurity, the Tyrians fancied that an entire company of +Macedonians was upon them. Those who had sought refuge there from the +Hebrew mob forgot the dangers that awaited them outside and surged +toward the entrance. But the Israelites had scattered the soldiers in +the gardens, and they charged the doors just as the assemblage +attempted to force its way out. The fugitives from the terrors of the +temple were struck down in heaps upon the threshold. + +Hiram alone retained his presence of mind. He had implicit faith in +the power of the terrible deity, in whose service he had spent the +greater part of his life, and absolute confidence in the efficacy of +sacrifice. When he saw Artemisia fall and heard Chares' battle-cry, he +knew that all was lost unless the offering could be consummated. + +Unmindful of his own danger, he bounded forward and raised the slim, +unconscious form in his arms. Quickly he laid it upon the iron palms, +with a muttered prayer. There was a sound of creaking chains, and the +hands ascended slowly, bearing upward the slender figure. One bare, +white arm hung inertly between the iron fingers, and the snowy chiton +shone through the smoke against the dark bulk of the monstrous image. + +Clearchus sprang out of the darkness and saw Artemisia raised aloft in +that pitiless grasp. She was already beyond his reach. A cold sweat +broke out upon his body. He stood for an instant transfixed with +dread, unable even to cry out. Every heart-beat brought her nearer to +that glowing metal surface, whose terrible heat he could feel upon his +face where he stood. + +Hiram stepped forward to the edge of the platform and stretched out his +arms. The glare of religious madness shone in his eyes. + +"Peace, peace!" he cried to the struggling and shrieking mob, frantic +with fear. "Baal-Moloch accepts the sacrifice. Peace! Profane not +his temple!" + +His voice was drowned in a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the sky +across from mountain to sea. Before it died, a huge mass of rock, +hurled from an engine of the Macedonian fleet, crashed through one of +the openings in the dome of the temple. The ponderous missile struck +the masonry and bounded backward and downward in a shower of dislodged +stones upon the inclined head of the idol. + +Moloch seemed to rise from his throne, as though about to stride from +the platform. His iron arms flew apart, and the grim colossus lurched +forward down the steps, and fell with a clang of metal upon the marble +floor. + +A sharp cry rose from the struggling crowd. Those who witnessed the +downfall of the sacred image stood in doubt, unable to believe their +eyes. The Israelites, unaware of what had happened, took advantage of +the moment to overcome the slight opposition of the Tyrians who still +faced them. They rushed into the temple, crying aloud for the +restoration of their children. + +In the wild confusion of their onslaught, many of the infants were +trampled to death. Others were killed by the priests, who seemed +crazed by the fall of their idol. At first they stood stupefied. +Hiram's voice was no longer heard. They called upon him in vain. +Finally one of them ran to the fragments of the prostrate image. +Bending above it, he saw the distorted face of the chief priest gazing +up into his own. The unfortunate man had been caught beneath the +breast of the God to whom he had offered so many innocents, and his +crushed body was being slowly roasted under the red-hot metal. + +"Moloch has taken him!" the priest shouted, tossing his arms in the air. + +He ran into the crowd, and, seizing one of the infants by the heels, +dashed out its brains against a pillar. His example was followed by +others no less frantic than himself. + +"Strike, brothers!" he cried. "Baal has fallen! The end is at--" + +Before he could finish the sentence, Leonidas' sword pierced his +throat, and he fell upon the body of the child that he had slain. + +Down the dim arcade, behind the pillars, strode the Spartan and Chares, +hacking and thrusting at the black-robed minions of Moloch. They +showed no mercy. Neither prayer nor entreaty availed. They sought the +priests through the terrified crowd, and dragged them from every place +of concealment, until of all who had been in the temple not one +remained alive. + +With the crash of the stone as it smote the idol, Clearchus realized +what had happened. He saw the iron arms drop, and he leaped forward in +time to snatch Artemisia from their embrace. The hot iron grazed his +body as the image fell. Artemisia's pale, sweet face lay upon his +shoulder, and he clasped her close to his breast. In the revulsion +from his despair he felt his muscles endowed with strength. + +He smiled to see his friends dash past him, and he looked smilingly +upon the clamorous crowd in which every man fought for his life. One +of the priests, whose face had been gashed to the bone, rushed upon +him, with hands extended, and tried to tear Artemisia from his arms. +The man was unarmed, and Clearchus thrust him through the breast. He +sank and died without a moan. + +Amid the fragments of Moloch's image, the fire that had been kindled in +the iron bosom flickered with blue and crimson tongues of flame. + +Suddenly the crowd was split by a rush from the great doorway, and +Clearchus saw Nathan leading the Israelites into the temple. With the +name of Jehovah upon their lips, the swarthy, black-eyed Hebrews poured +in, smiting the Tyrians and beating them down with merciless strokes in +the delirium of their exaltation. They swept through the temple like +wolves through a sheepfold. The floor was heaped with the dead, and +the stones were slippery with blood. Nathan recognized the Athenian +and sprang to his side, shouting to his followers to strike and spare +not. + +Into the midst of the confusion rushed the Hebrew women, seeking the +children who had been taken from them. The uproar of conflict gave way +to the lamentations of mothers whose infants had been slaughtered. +Others, more fortunate, sat with their babes in their arms, kissing +them and feeling them over to discover whether they had been hurt. One +young wife sat upon the steps at Clearchus' feet with her first-born +and only child. Nathan recognized her as the woman who had been struck +down by the priest in the market-place. The baby had been strangled +and was dead. + +"Hush!" she said, in a crooning voice, and, covering the child's head +with her garment, she pressed its lips to her breast. For an instant +she sat there, but the chill of the waxen mouth struck through her +heart. She gave a startled glance at the baby's face, and then sprang +up with a scream of despair and rushed out of the temple into the +tempest, with the poor little body clasped in her arms. + +Nathan called to Chares and Leonidas. "Alexander is on the wall," he +said. "The streets are filled with the Tyrians. We must escape as we +came. Listen!" + +He held up his hand, and the Greeks became aware of a dull roaring that +filled the city like the humming of a gigantic hive of bees. + +"Even here we shall not be safe," Nathan continued. "Let us seek the +secret passage." + +"Chares!" cried one from among the women, and Thais ran forward, with +her saffron robe torn so that half her perfect breast was exposed. She +carried a dagger in her hand, and its blade was red; but her face shone +with joy. The weapon fell from her grasp as she sprang to the Theban, +who lifted her like a child in his arms and kissed her. + +"Come," he said, as he set her down, "let us go." + +Turning their backs upon the throng of the living and the dead, they +descended into the secret passage and closed the entrance behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + +King Azemilcus stood at a window of his chamber, with the aged +chancellor at his side, looking out across the parapet of the wall. +They were alone in the room, for the king had ordered his guard to +await his commands in an outer apartment. The window opened directly +upon the top of the wall, to which the royal palace was joined. Often +during his long reign had the old king stood there, revolving his +schemes in his cunning brain, while the salt breeze cooled his temples. + +Beneath his feet the stones trembled with the shock of the great +battering rams that were enlarging the breach in the wall west of the +palace. In his ears sounded the tumult of the attack upon the two +harbors, where the Macedonian triremes were seeking to break the +barriers of chains. He saw the Tyrian soldiers upon the battlements, +fighting against hope, with the valor of desperation. + +The roar of falling masonry told him that the rams had done their work. +The breach had become a wide gap, extending beyond the ends of the +inner wall that had been built to block the assault. The vessels lying +in wait drew nearer. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones, great +and small, swept the defences. Troop-ships, provided with drawbridges +at their prows, closed in at the breach. The bridges fell, and streams +of men in armor began to flow across them. They gained the breach and +held it. They scaled the slope of fallen blocks and reached the top of +the wall. The Tyrians were forced backward or hurled into the sea. + +"That must be Alexander," the king remarked, noting the irresistible +vigor of the assault. + +"Yes," the chancellor replied, "those are his plumes." + +Alexander indeed was leading the charge along the wall toward the +palace, fighting in the forefront as his custom was, while the +shield-bearing guards pressed forward where he led. Their triumphant +voices shouted his name. At one of the towers upon the wall, between +the breach and the palace, the Tyrians made a stand, seeking to check +the advance of their foes. The Macedonians hunted them out and drove +them to the next tower. The battle raged in mid-air, and the bodies of +the slain fell either into the sea on one side or into the streets of +the city on the other. + +"They will enter here," Azemilcus said. "I think it is time to go." + +"It is time!" the chancellor echoed, gazing upon the slaughter like a +man under the spell of a horrible fascination. + +The king led the way into the large hall where the guard was stationed. +It consisted of a company of a hundred men under the command of a young +captain whose bronzed face and steady gaze showed that he was a veteran +in service despite his youth. He had been pacing backward and forward +before his men, who stood at attention along the wall. At sight of +Azemilcus he paused and saluted. The old king placed a thin hand upon +his shoulder. + +"I am going to the Temple of Melkarth," he said. "Escort me thither." + +The young man shook off the royal hand as though he felt contaminated +by its touch. + +"Does your Majesty really mean to seek refuge with the Alexandrine?" he +asked indignantly. + +"Yes," the king replied, "and I command you to come with me." + +"Then I refuse!" the soldier exclaimed. "I have two brothers yonder on +the wall, if they be still alive. The Macedonians will try to enter +the palace, and if they succeed, the city is lost. Go you to +Melkarth's temple if you will; but you go alone. We remain here." + +Azemilcus looked at the handsome face, flushed with anger, and his +inscrutable smile played about his lips. + +"Thy father was my friend, and I have loved thee," he said. "I would +save thee if I could, but youth is hot and hasty; have thy will if thou +must." + +He began to descend the broad staircase, followed by the trembling +chancellor. + +"There goes Tyre!" the young captain cried bitterly, "selfish and +treacherous to the last. To the windows! We may yet save him +honorably, though he does not deserve it." + +They reached the seaward side of the palace in time to receive the +remnants of the Tyrian companies that had vainly striven to defend the +wall. The captain's brothers were not among the fugitives. + +It had seemed to the young officer that the entrances to the palace +from the wall might be held by a few men against any force that could +be brought up; but it was not within human power to resist the onrush +of the Macedonians. The captain was slain by Ptolemy; half his men +fell with him, and the others fled down through the palace to the +streets with the Macedonians at their heels. + +The noise of the battle spread from the palace through the city. There +was the clash of steel and the hoarse shouting of men at barricades; +screams of women in fear and sharp cries of command mingled with the +trampling of many feet. Save for the obstinate guard, the palace had +been left unprotected by the crafty old king, who was awaiting his +conqueror in the sanctuary of Melkarth's temple. Alexander led the way +into the city with Hephæstion and Philotas. Ptolemy, Perdiccas, +Clitus, Peithon, Glaucias, Meleager, Polysperchon, and a score more of +his Companions and captains swept after him, heading the scarred +veterans of Philip's wars,--phalangites, archers and javelin throwers, +Thessalian cavalry riders, and heavy-armed mercenaries. + +Then in the city of Tyre, whose name for centuries had been a synonym +for power and pride, began a slaughter which lasted until nightfall. +Alexander ordered that the Israelites should not be molested and that +none should enter with violence the Temple of Melkarth; but he did not +seek to forbid his followers from taking revenge for the rigors and +hardships of the long siege. + +At first the Tyrians fought desperately from street to street and from +square to square, falling back from one barrier to another; but this +resistance served only to whet the rage that drove the Macedonians on. +Fresh troops constantly landed from the fleet and poured in through the +palace. The breach in the wall became a gateway. The pitiless +squadrons hunted the defenders from lane and housetop, cutting them to +pieces. + +In the Sidonian Harbor, seven ships were hastily manned, the chains +were let down, and the crews made a dash for the open sea. They were +snapped up by the Cretan vessels which lay in wait beyond the +breakwater. Three of them were sunk, and the rest were forced to +surrender. + +In the house of Phradates the terrified slaves locked and barred the +doors by direction of Mena. The master was fighting on the walls. +More than once parties of Macedonian soldiers demanded that the gates +be opened, but when no response was given, thinking perhaps that the +house was deserted and tempted by easier spoil, they passed on. At +last came a Tyrian cry for admittance. Mena looked from the wicket and +saw Phradates, supported by two soldiers. His face was pale and his +helmet had been shattered. + +"Open!" cried the soldiers. "Your master has been wounded." + +Several of the slaves started forward and laid their hands upon the +bars, but the Egyptian pushed them back. + +"There is no longer master or slave in Tyre," he said. "Each man must +think first of himself." + +At the suggestion of Phradates the soldiers bore him to the rear of the +house, where there was a small door leading to the kitchens. It was +opened by a white-haired crone, whose eyes were blinded with tears. + +"Bring him in," she cried. "I am his nurse." + +"Take him, then," the soldiers said roughly, irritated by the delay. +"He owes us fifty darics for bringing him off, and we have our own to +save." + +Upheld by the trembling arms of the old woman, Phradates staggered +across the threshold. He could no longer feel the earth beneath his +feet. If he could only rest a little! + +"Is it you, mother?" he asked faintly. "I must sleep." + +"Yes, yes, master," the old woman replied through her sobs, "but not +here. Come to your own chamber." + +She tried to urge him toward the banqueting hall, but his steps grew +more uncertain and his weight became too great for her feeble strength. + +"Mena!" she called. "Mena, here is your master. Come and help him!" + +The Egyptian ran in furiously and closed the door that she had left +open in her anxiety. + +"Do you want to have us all killed?" he demanded, turning upon the old +woman. "Take that, my master, for the beatings you have given me!" + +He plunged his dagger into the young man's defenceless side, and +Phradates sank to the floor. + +"Thais!" he muttered, "where art thou?" + +The old woman uttered a quivering cry and fell upon her knees beside +him, trying with her robe to stop the flow of blood. Mena ran back to +the front of the house, leaving her alone with the body. + +"Speak to me! Speak to me!" she wailed, not knowing what she said; but +Phradates made no reply. + +Tyre was in a turmoil of riot and license. The real fighting was at an +end, but the soldiers were everywhere pillaging and drinking. Costly +fabrics were trampled in the mud of the gutters. Rare vases and +priceless statuary were shattered upon the pavements. Rough +Thessalians ransacked the houses of rich merchants for gold and gems, +destroying with laughter and jests what they did not want. The stifled +screams of women mingled with their voices. Here a soldier emerged +from a great house with his arms full of rich silks. Another shouted +to him that a hoard of gold had been discovered close at hand, and he +straightway dropped his burden that he might get his share of the more +convenient plunder. There a man who had found a huge tusk of ivory +tried to carry it away on his shoulder, while his comrades wrestled +with him for it, uttering shouts of laughter as their fingers slipped +upon its polished surface. Sometimes swords were drawn and blood +flowed over a bag of gold or a necklace of pearls. Bands of +mercenaries paraded with wine-skins on their backs, singing the hymns +of Dionysus and squirting the precious vintage into each other's faces. +Gorged with blood, the army glutted itself in a delirium of indulgence. + +In the universal license the baser elements of the city's population +joined in the pillage with none to hinder, for the Macedonians were too +intent upon their revenge to heed them. Like Mena, slaves rose against +their masters, and entire families were slain for the sake of plunder +or to requite harsh treatment. The prisons were broken open and their +inmates set at liberty. The sailors about the harbors, who had been +kept inactive by the blockade of the fleet, desperate men from all +quarters of the sea, satisfied their ferocious appetites at will. In +the frenzied carnival of lust and slaughter, neither age nor innocence +was spared. + +The swirl of the battle drew Syphax and his companions from their +haunts among the great warehouses near the waterside, where they had +been drinking. The bloated face of the freebooter grew purple with +eagerness as he heard the sounds of conflict and of panic spread +through the city. + +"Ho, comrades!" he shouted, "to-day we pay ourselves for all we have +had to endure from Fortune! The spoil lies ready for us." + +"Break open the warehouses and load a ship with ivory and silk," cried +one of his followers. + +"You are a fool," Syphax replied contemptuously. "We should be sunk +before we could get out of the harbor. Take nothing but gold and +jewels. We can hide them until the time comes to escape. Look there!" + +An old man, a member of the council, came running toward them, glancing +back over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. Syphax grasped +him by the arm and tore the heavy golden chain of office from his neck. +The man made no resistance, but fled away without a word as soon as he +was released. + +"This is what we want," Syphax cried, holding up the shining links. +"Be bold and follow me." + +He set off toward a part of the city that the Macedonians seemed not +yet to have penetrated. It was a quarter where many wealthy houses +stood, and the sailors were fortunate enough to arrive among the first +of the marauders. In half an hour, each of them had collected a +fortune in gold and precious stones. There was blood upon the hands of +Syphax and one of his men had a cut across his forehead when they came +out of the last house, carrying their spoil in small, heavy bundles. +The city was in its death-throes. From harbor to harbor it had become +a vast shambles. + +"Let us get back to the warehouses and bury what we have," one of the +seamen said. + +Syphax looked about him, and his glance fell upon the house where he +had seen Ariston enter. In their immediate vicinity there was yet no +sign of the enemy. A cruel gleam entered the pirate's bloodshot eyes. + +"Now that we are rich," he cried, "it is no more than fair that we +should pay our debts. I have one yonder that must be discharged, and +to you I resign my share of whatever of value we may find inside." + +"Lead on, then, but hasten," the sailors answered. + +Syphax found the door bolted, as he had expected. His men battered it +in with stones and rushed into the entrance hall. The place seemed +deserted. The sailors scattered through the house in search of booty, +but Syphax sought only his enemy. + +The terrified family had taken refuge in an alcove on the third floor +of the house. There one of the sailors found them and summoned his +chief with a joyful shout. Ariston and his host stood at the entrance +of the recess, with swords in their hands to defend the women, a mother +and three daughters, who cowered behind them in the shadow with two +slave girls only, the rest of the household having fled. The sailors +laughed at the two feeble old men who dared to oppose them. + +"Spare our lives and you shall each receive five thousand talents of +gold," Ariston cried. "I am Ariston of Athens, and I pledge myself to +the payment." + +"We know what the pledges of Ariston are worth!" Syphax replied, his +face convulsed with hate and rage. + +"We are lost, my friend," Ariston said, in a low voice, to his host, +recognizing the pirate. + +"You bade me once to remember Medon," Syphax bellowed. "I bid thee now +to remember him and the silver talent thou wert to give me for what was +done in Athens. I have had no luck since; and now thou shalt pay for +all!" He rushed upon Ariston, who tried to defend himself; but the +pirate easily disarmed him and dragged him out into the room. The +master of the house fell beneath a shower of blows. + +"Now for the harbor! Our time is short," Syphax shouted, hurrying +Ariston with him down the stairs. + +The screaming and prayers of the women mingled with sounds of brutal +merriment told him that his order was unheeded. + +"Do you hear?" he roared. "Come, I tell you, before it is too late!" + +This time two of the wretches obeyed him, bursting from the room with +loud guffaws. The others straggled after them, but several minutes +elapsed before they were all assembled for the sally. + +"Why not do it here?" one of the sailors asked, indicating Ariston, +whose arm Syphax held in a firm grasp. + +"Because I intend to make him remember Medon," the freebooter answered +savagely. "You shall see sport when we reach the harbor." + +A cold sweat covered Ariston's forehead, but he made no sound. His ear +had caught the trampling of feet, and he hoped yet for rescue. + +The sailors emerged into the street and turned toward the harbor. Just +as they reached the first corner, a company of Thessalians, in pursuit +of a few Tyrian fugitives, ran into them. No questions were asked. +The swords of the cavalrymen were already out, and they drove them into +the bodies of the men who were unfortunate enough to block their way. + +Syphax alone had time to drop his booty and draw his sword. He saw +that there was no escape. + +"Thou hast been my evil genius," he cried to Ariston, "but at any rate +thou shalt go with me to the Styx." + +He plunged his sword into the old man's side. Before he could withdraw +it, a Thessalian blade cleft his skull. Murderer and victim fell +together. + +The storm had blown over. The sinking sun shone crimson upon the +twisted clouds far across the sky. In the quarter where the Israelites +dwelt, amid the mourning and rejoicing, Pethuel, the high priest, +raised his hands to heaven. + +"Give thanks to Jehovah!" he cried. "Our enemies have fallen and they +that mocked Him are no more! Blessed be the name of the Lord!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +THAIS GIVES A FEAST + +Down in the secret passage the fugitives from the Temple of Moloch +could hear no sound of the battle. Leonidas had snatched one of the +perfumed censers from the hand of a quaking neophyte, and this shed a +glimmer of light as he led the way. + +Artemisia came to her senses to find herself clasped in her lover's +arms. + +"Clearchus!" she murmured, "may the Gods grant that this be not a +dream." + +"It is no dream, my beloved!" the young man answered. "I have found +thee at last." + +"Dear heart, I have longed for thee so!" she said, with a little sigh +of content, as her arms stole around his neck. + +Clearchus bent his head, and their lips met in the darkness. Thais +heard the murmur of their voices. + +"Oh, I have lost my sandal--and I am cold!" she exclaimed, in a tone of +distress. "Chares, I am afraid you will have to carry me." + +"You are so heavy," the Theban said, taking her in his arms. + +"There, be careful, sir, or I shall make you set me down again," she +cried. + +Leonidas uttered a sound that was something between a snort and a grunt +and signified disdain, whereupon Chares laughed until the narrow +passage rang. + +Before they reached the palace it was in full possession of the +Macedonians. They entered the room where the young men had left +Azemilcus the night before, and found a portion of the squadron +belonging to Leonidas busily searching there for plunder. The men +stood open-mouthed when their captain appeared from behind the +hangings. They looked like schoolboys caught in a forbidden frolic. + +"Where is the king?" the Spartan demanded sternly. + +"He is fighting down there," one of the soldiers replied, pointing from +the window. + +Leonidas glanced down upon the city and saw the conflict raging in the +streets. + +"Then what are you doing here?" he asked harshly. "Fall in!" + +"I will go with you," Nathan said. "I must seek my people." + +"You will find us here when you come back," Chares cried after them. +"We will fight no more to-day." + +Leonidas overtook Alexander stamping out the last sparks of resistance +in the northern part of the city. The young king, still glowing with +the ardor of battle, greeted him with a smile. + +"Are Clearchus and Chares safe?" he asked. + +"They await you in the royal palace with Artemisia and Thais," the +Spartan replied. + +"Good!" Alexander cried. "This will have to be celebrated. Let us see +what has become of Azemilcus." + +He led the way to the Temple of Melkarth, which was filled with +fugitives and suppliants. The general feeling in the city that the God +was on the side of the Macedonians had led many to seek his protection +when no other remained. Some of them were even striving to remove the +chains with which the image had been bound to the pillars. + +Azemilcus and the chancellor came forward, surrounded by the priests of +the temple. The two kings, one withered and shrunken and old, his +brain cankered by the cynical knowledge of experience, and the other, +in the fulness of his vigorous youth and generous enthusiasms, looked +into each other's eyes. Alexander's face was grave and stern, but the +mocking smile still hovered about the lips of the older man. + +"What have you to say?" Alexander said at last. + +"I have been a king," Azemilcus replied, "but I am a king no longer. +What is your will?" + +"You may live," Alexander replied coldly, "but you have never been a +king. Where is your son?" + +"He is dead," the old king answered, and his eyes wavered. + +"I would rather be in his place than in thine," Alexander said shortly. +"Follow me." + +Azemilcus shrugged his shoulders and gathered his robe more closely +around him. To all who had sought refuge in the temple Alexander +granted safety, and then, having issued the necessary orders regarding +the city, he turned back to the palace. + +The streets were encumbered with the dead. The bodies lay in heaps +behind the broken barricades or scattered between them, where the +fugitives had been stricken as they fled before the fury of the +Macedonian charge. A wounded Tyrian raised himself on his elbow while +the two kings passed, cursed Azemilcus, and died. + +In the council room of the palace Alexander demanded from the +chancellor an accounting of the public treasure of Tyre, an enormous +sum in gold and silver, and gave it into the custody of his own +treasurer. There, too, he received the reports of his captains, and +with marvellous quickness despatched the business that they brought +before him. The greater part of the army he ordered back to the camp +on the mainland. + +When nothing more remained to be done, he turned to Leonidas. + +"Where are thy friends?" he asked. "They seem to have forgotten me." + +"I will fetch them," the Spartan replied. + +He ran to the apartment where he had left the lovers, and burst in, to +find them nestled among the cushions, telling each other of all they +had endured. + +"Come," he cried. "The king has asked for you." + +"Tell him that we will come presently," Chares said, but Thais promptly +boxed his ears and slipped out of the arm that encircled her waist. + +"I don't suppose there is a woman in the palace to smooth my hair," she +exclaimed. + +"Do you think Alexander will look at you?" Chares asked. "He has more +important things to think about, indeed." + +Nevertheless, Artemisia and Thais made Leonidas wait five minutes while +they aided each other to make the best appearance possible under the +circumstances, before they followed him to the great council chamber. +Artemisia entered shyly, casting down her eyes before the bold glances +of so many men; but Thais walked beside Chares with head erect, her red +lips parted in a smile, and a gleam of excitement dancing in her eyes. + +With the license that Alexander permitted, the captains raised a shout +of welcome when Chares and Clearchus appeared. Before Artemisia could +catch her breath, she was standing in front of Alexander, and Clearchus +was presenting her to him. + +"She looks like a rosebud when the dew is on it," Clitus whispered to +Hephæstion. + +"Don't be sentimental," the favorite answered. "When did you become a +poet?" + +"Not until this minute," Clitus replied. + +Alexander himself was not free from embarrassment when he greeted +Artemisia, for he knew nothing of women, not yet having met Roxana; but +he took her hand and praised the bravery of Clearchus, at which she +blushed and smiled. + +Thais looked the young king frankly in the face. "We bid you welcome +to Tyre," she said. + +There was something in the unconquerable vitality of her gaze that +reminded him of his mother, although Olympias' eyes were dark and the +eyes of this girl were yellow, if any color could be assigned to them +that seemed a blend of all. + +"It was worth fighting for," he said, returning her look with +unconcealed admiration. "But sometimes I wish I were not Alexander," +he added, turning to Chares with a smile. + +"And I thank the Gods that thou art indeed Alexander," the Theban +replied, drawing Thais closer to him. + +The young king seemed to fall into a momentary revery, but it passed +quickly. + +"You four shall be my guests to-night," he exclaimed. "Azemilcus will +provide the feast." + +"Do not trust him," Chares said, in a low voice. "He tried to poison +us." + +"If that be so, we will eat elsewhere," Alexander answered, frowning +and looking askance at the Tyrian. + +"If you will permit me to manage it," Thais said, "Phradates shall +furnish the feast." + +"Who is he?" Alexander asked. + +"He was our captor here," Thais replied, "and he is a man of some good +qualities, though he has others also." + +"He is the messenger whom you sent from Thebes to carry word to King +Azemilcus of your coming," Clearchus explained. + +"I remember," Alexander said. "I would like to see him again and ask +him whether he delivered the message. So be it, then." + +Bidding the Companions follow, Alexander suffered Thais to lead him to +the house of Phradates. It was still closed and silent, but Chares and +Clearchus beat upon the door with their sword-hilts and demanded +admittance in the name of Alexander. Mena, recognizing the king +through the wicket, thought it best to open, since he knew that +resistance would be in vain. The door swung back, and he prostrated +himself at Alexander's feet. + +"Welcome, O son of Philip," he said. "The house of my master and all +that was his belong to the Conqueror of the Earth." + +"Where is he that he does not himself receive me?" Alexander demanded. + +"Alas, he is dead!" the Egyptian answered. "He received a fatal wound +while fighting on the walls, and they brought him home. He died in my +arms." + +Mena affected to wipe tears from his eyes as he told of his master's +end. + +"It is a lie!" the old nurse screamed, from among the slaves clustered +in the back of the hall. They tried to stifle her voice, but Alexander +commanded her to come forward. + +"What happened?" he asked briefly. + +The old woman sank upon her knees and raised her hands in supplication. + +"I was his nurse," she said, in her cracked and broken voice. "They +brought him wounded to this door, and Mena--this man here--would not +permit him to enter. He was not always kind to me, but I loved him; +for how often when he was little have I held him in my arms! So I +stole away and brought him in by another door, thinking to save him, +for he was so weak from his wound. And then Mena stabbed him, and he +died. Vengeance, O king; thou art strong!" + +"Thou shalt have it," Alexander said sternly. "Is this true, dog?" + +Mena tried to deny, but he could not speak. His face turned ashen. + +"I promised this man that he should be crucified," Thais said softly. + +"Then let it be done now," Alexander said. + +He motioned to his guard, who seized the Egyptian and held him fast. +"Were others concerned in this?" he demanded of the nurse. + +"No others, my lord," the woman replied. + +"Then let them have no fear," he said. "They shall be unharmed. I +give them and this house to Thais." + +"Mercy! Mercy!" cried Mena, finding his voice at last. "It is all a +lie!" + +"Take him away," Alexander said. "I see you know how to punish," he +added, turning to Thais. + +"I thank the king, both for that and for his gift to me," she replied +demurely. "I was sold at Thebes." + +By her order the slaves conducted Alexander to the bath and waited upon +the Companions who began to arrive. She caused the body of Phradates +to be carried to his own chamber, where it was left in the care of the +old nurse. With the aid of Artemisia, she superintended the +preparations for the feast, giving especial care to the selection of +the wines and to the decoration of the hall in which the tables were +spread. + +Masses of oak leaves from the gardens of Melkarth's temple hid the +columns, and from among them shone hundreds of lamps and torches, +shedding their light upon the platters of gold and trenchers of silver, +interspersed with flagons of colored glass of the finest workmanship, +that weighed down the tables. The couches were covered with silks of +many hues and piled with yielding cushions. + +Pyramids of flowers from the roofs of the houses were disposed upon the +tables, and for each guest a wreath was prepared. The warm, +perfume-laden air throbbed with the music of flutes breathed upon by +invisible musicians. + +Thais had caused soldiers to be sent to the Temple of Astoreth, where +the priestesses, with many lamentations, supplied them with pheasants +from the sacred flock, and these, with abundance of fish from the +harbors, pastries, and sweetmeats, disguised the poverty of the larder. +Alexander was accustomed afterward to drive his cooks and stewards to +despair by commanding them to provide a banquet like the one that Thais +had given; for, try as hard as they might, he never could be brought to +give his approval, but persisted in declaring that the feast of Thais +remained unequalled. + +The secret was that there never after came a time when the young king +was so well satisfied with himself and his fortune, when his friends +were so inspired, and when the future held so much promise. The battle +of Issus had been won, and the strongest fortress in the world had been +taken. The shores of the sea, from the Hellespont to the Nile, had +been conquered and held. Alexander knew then that no power on earth +could stand against him. He foresaw the overthrow of Darius and the +spread of his own dominion to the confines of the world. Great +thoughts and limitless projects were stirring in his mind. He felt +himself half a God, and he wondered at his own power. There was yet no +bitterness of anxiety to contaminate the pleasure of anticipation, +which always in ambitious hearts so much exceeds that of realization. + +The feelings that animated the young leader were shared in greater or +less degree by his followers. Even Hephæstion forgot to sulk because +his place on the right of the king had been given to Artemisia. Thais +sat on his left, and beyond her reclined the lazy bulk of Chares. Each +man looked his neighbor frankly in the face, sure of his sympathy, and +all felt toward Alexander an affection and generous admiration in which +there was no selfish thought. + +What wonder that, in after years, when suspicion and insidious pride +had poisoned the mind of the young king, and when the free-hearted +soldiers there gathered together had fallen away from each other, each +hoping evil to his comrade that he himself might profit thereby,--what +wonder that Alexander remembered the feast of Thais as the happiest of +his life? But of the sorrows that were to come none then knew or even +guessed, unless it was old Aristander, to whom all paid honor because +his prophecy of the fall of Tyre, that the king himself had deemed +impossible, had been fulfilled. And even Aristander was cheerful that +night beyond his custom, forgetting the future in the present. + +So the young men rejoiced in their strength, in their hopes, and in the +honest affection that warmed their hearts toward each other. The hall +was filled with laughter, and their jesting left no scars. The wine +expanded and stimulated their minds instead of their passions, and when +Callisthenes, at Alexander's request, recited the immortal description +of the fall of Troy, the majestic periods of the epic drew tears of +emotion to their eyes, and every man of them became a hero. + +"If I were to bid thee crave a gift at my hands, what would it be?" +Alexander asked of Artemisia. + +She blushed, and her glance sought Clearchus. + +"It would be one of thy soldiers, O king," she replied softly. + +"That is much to ask of a general," Alexander said, affecting +hesitation. "I would rather you had demanded his weight in gold; but +which one?" + +"Here he is," said Artemisia, blushing still more deeply and laying her +hand in that of the Athenian. + +"I suppose I must give him to thee," the young king said. "Let the +chief priest of Melkarth be summoned." + +"I will fetch him myself," Clearchus cried, leaping from his couch, and +he hurriedly left the hall amid the approving laughter of the company. + +The priest was found, the marriage contract drawn and signed, and while +Alexander joined their hands, the words were spoken that made Clearchus +and Artemisia one. The captains rose to their feet, each with a +brimming goblet, and they drank the health of the bride with a cheer +such as they had not given since they charged the squadrons of Darius. +With heart-felt freedom they showered good wishes upon their comrade, +and loud were their protests when Alexander broke up the feast to +return to the royal palace. + +Leonidas remained, with a few men of his troop, to guard the house, and +he and Chares sat for hours with a flagon of wine between them, talking +of all that had passed since the day when they rode at dawn into Athens +in search of Clearchus. + +In the lofty chamber where Artemisia and Thais had spent so many weary +days waiting for the coming of deliverance, Artemisia stood with +Clearchus at the window that looked toward the Macedonian camp. The +cloud-wrack had vanished, and the sky was thickly sown with great stars +that seemed to look down upon them with friendly gaze. The young man's +arm clasped his bride warm and close, and her dear head rested against +his breast. He kissed the soft coils of her hair; but she lifted her +lips to his, and he saw that her blue eyes were swimming with tears of +happiness. + + +Leonidas, who had gone about his duties long before his friends were +stirring next morning, returned at midday and placed in Artemisia's +hands a mysterious package. + +"This is Moloch's gift," he said. + +When Artemisia opened it, out poured a magnificent double necklace of +rubies, so large and pure that she could not help kissing him, at which +the Spartan blushed like a boy. + +"I found them under the idol," he said. "For once, the chancellor told +the truth." + + + + +CHAPTER LXIX + +CHARES FINDS REST + +Again Alexander and Darius stood face to face, this time upon the plain +of Nineveh at Gaugamela, the Camel's House, beyond the swift Tigris. +Chares and Leonidas felt the chill of autumn in the air as they +strolled out upon the earthen ramparts that sheltered the Macedonian +camp. The wide plain below them, where they knew the Persian host was +assembled, was shrouded in mist. + +Both were silent, and both were thinking of Clearchus, whom they had +left behind in Egypt, in the new city that Alexander had founded at the +mouth of the Nile, giving it his own name. There he was building the +house that was to shelter him and Artemisia amid its gardens, within +sight and sound of the sea; for when he learned of the wreck of his +fortune, he had no desire to return to Athens. + +"We shall soon know who is master," the Spartan said, gazing toward the +mist-wrapped plain. + +Chares followed his look indifferently, yawned, and stretched his arms. + +"I believe I would rather go back to sleep than fight," he said. "I +don't know what has come over me." + +Leonidas shot him a quick glance, and it seemed to him that the +Theban's face had aged and grown grave over night. + +"I wonder what Clearchus and Artemisia and little Chares are doing," +Chares went on. "I would like to see them again. May the Gods give +them happiness!" + +"Yes, and I shall be happy too when you have built your palace beside +them," Leonidas replied. "It will have to be a palace, for Thais will +be satisfied with nothing less." + +Chares smiled a little sadly and shook his head. + +"That is not for me," he said. "I shall never have a home and children +of my own." + +"Nonsense!" the Spartan replied decisively. "What is to become of +Thais, then?" + +"I know not," Chares said reflectively. "Watch over her, Leonidas, if +I am not there to do it. She loves me." + +"You talk like a sick man," Leonidas exclaimed, "yet you were never +better. What is the matter with you?" + +"Who can speak of to-morrow?" Chares replied. "You know, Leonidas, +that I am not afraid, and yet somehow I care not. You and Clearchus I +must leave sometime, and whenever that time comes, it will be a regret +to me; and Thais, of course, will grieve; but she will recover. She is +not like Artemisia. I think something is lacking in me. I have taken +pleasure in life, but I am tired of everything. My city exists no +more. Perhaps I am being punished for taking service under the man who +destroyed it. I do not know--or care. Let be what will be." + +"When you hear the trumpet, you will forget all this folly," Leonidas +said impatiently. "You are young and you have everything to live for. +That palace will be built yet; and when our heads are gray, we shall be +sitting there, telling each other of this battle. See, they are +waiting for us. They have been there all night." + +The mist was lifting in undulating billows and twisted scarfs of vapor, +floating away into the upper air. Before them was mustered the might +of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Away to the left and +right spread the army of the Great King, a wilderness of bright plumes +and glittering helmets. The spear-points, emerging from the mist, +caught the rays of the sun like diamonds. Rank on rank they stood, so +deep that the young men could not distinguish where the files ceased. +Far on their right was the Bactrian cavalry and the Persian horse under +the cruel viceroy Bessus, who had unwittingly saved Chares and +Clearchus from the Babylonian mob. They could make out the banners of +the Susians, the Albanians, the Hyrcanians, the fierce Parthians, the +Syrians, the Arachotians, the Cadusians, the Babylonian levies, the +haughty Medes, the dusky squadrons from beyond the Indus, the warriors +from the shores of the Red Sea, the Mesopotamians, the Armenians, the +Cappadocians, and the mongrel tribes of mixed blood. From the +flaunting banners they could read the muster-roll of the nations that +bowed to the will of Darius. + +In advance of the first rank stood a line of huge, swaying brown bulks. +They were the royal elephants, stationed there to drive a pathway +through the Macedonian army for the Great King. Leonidas wondered at +their number and size. On both sides of them stretched rows of +chariots, with axles and neaps that terminated in long, curved +scythe-blades. Behind the elephants was the royal squadron of ten +thousand picked riders, and in its rear Darius had stationed himself, +surrounded by his kinsmen, and protected on either side by bodies of +Greek mercenaries. All the plain in front of the vast array had been +made as level as a floor, so that the chariots might find no obstacle +in their advance. + +"This will be the last battle," Chares said indifferently. "If we win +here, the empire is ours." + +"We shall win!" Leonidas exclaimed. + +"I'm not so sure of that," Chares said, measuring the host of the enemy +with his eye. "There are more of them than there were at Issus, and +here they have room to move." + +A trumpet sent its bold notes from the Macedonian camp. The call was +taken up by others, rose, and died away. Presently the first squadron +of the phalanx wheeled out upon the plain, and began marching slowly +and in silence down the gentle slope toward the Persian van. + +"We must get into our armor," Chares said, and the two friends hastened +down from the rampart. + +The camp was swarming like a great beehive. Rough shouts of greeting, +jests, and salutations were heard on every side as the soldiers hurried +to join their commands. The army was in high spirits at the prospect +of a decisive grapple, but the heaviness that oppressed Chares' mind +refused to yield to the general enthusiasm. He made his way through +the crowds to the purple pavilion set apart for Sisygambis, the mother +of Darius, and his children. The beautiful Statira was no longer +there. She had died in her captivity. + +"I wish to speak with Thais," Chares said to the eunuch who guarded the +door. + +He was admitted to an anteroom of the tent while a slave carried his +message. Thais answered the summons quickly. A proud smile parted her +lips when she saw the powerful form of the Theban, clad in resplendent +armor; but it vanished when she looked into his face. + +He took her hands and bent down to kiss her, while the plumes of his +helmet fell about their heads. + +"I have but a moment," he said. "Farewell, Thais; you have loved me +better than I deserved." + +"Chares!" she exclaimed, with a sinking of the heart that caused her +voice to flutter. "Why do you speak to me like this? I have loved you +and I do love you with all my heart--with all my heart! Never have I +loved another, and I never shall. Without you I should die!" + +She stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck. "You are all I +have!" she cried, with a sob. + +"Thais," he said, holding her close, "if I come not back to you, +promise me that you will accept what the Gods send. They are wiser +than we." + +To Thais it seemed as though the world was slipping away from her. He +had gone to battle before, and she well knew its chances; but he was so +brave and strong that she had never really feared for him and for +herself. What would become of her without him? She remembered what +she had been before she knew him. The future would be worse than a +void. The thought of it stabbed her heart like a knife. + +"If you come not back!" she cried, clinging to him with all her +strength. "But you will come back, Chares--tell me that you will! +Tell me that you will come back for my sake. I cannot let you go!" + +"I will come back if the Gods permit it," he said, kissing her once +more, "but promise me, my love, for the time is short." + +A trumpet sounded, and Thais understood that he must leave her. + +"I promise," she said hastily, "but, O my heart, guard thyself in the +battle; for it is thy life and mine thou bearest!" + +She felt his arms press her closely and tenderly, and then he was gone. +She turned slowly back to the inner rooms of the pavilion, where the +queen mother sat with her little grandson in her lap. Sisygambis had +taken a fancy to her, especially since the death of her +daughter-in-law, whom Thais had tended in her illness. She turned her +face toward her, stamped with traces of sorrow. + +"What is happening?" she asked. + +"They are marching out to battle," Thais replied. + +"My son is there!" the queen said. "May Astoreth have him in her care. +But whichever way the battle goes, either I or thou must weep. Our +hearts are their playthings!" + +As the Companions emerged from the camp, they passed through the ranks +of the Thracian infantry, left behind to protect it, and saw the +phalanx forming on the plain. They swung into the battle line on its +right, behind the archers and the javelin men. The Persians overlapped +them on both flanks by half a mile. + +Never had Chares seen Alexander so confidently at ease as when he rode +along the line in his bright armor, his white plumes nodding as he +looked to see that all was in readiness. His eye was clear and his +brow was untroubled in the face of those tremendous odds, although he +knew that his fate depended upon the issue of that day. He took his +place beside Clitus on the extreme right wing of the army, with the +squadrons of Glaucias behind him. + +There was a stir in the Persian host, and the terrible scythed +chariots, drawn by horses that were lashed to madness, bounded forward +across the interval that separated the two armies. At the same time +the elephants began to move, and the Persian centre advanced to the +attack. + +Chares had hardly time to note this movement before the Bactrian and +Scythian cavalry under Bessus swept down upon the Companions. +Alexander ordered M[oe]nidas and the Greek mercenary cavalry to meet +the charge. The Greeks galloped bravely to oppose the onset, but the +rush of the Bactrians scattered them like chaff. The P[oe]onian +cavalry under Aristo was then sent forward with better success. The +wild troops of Bessus were curbed and forced back for a space, and +Chares could see the bull-necked viceroy raging among them in a frantic +endeavor to make them stand. Finding all his efforts in vain, he +ordered the main body of the Bactrian cavalry, fourteen thousand in +all, to charge. They left their place in the left of the Persian line +and thundered down upon the P[oe]onians like an avalanche. + +Not until then did Alexander turn his face to the impatient Companions. +He raised his hand as a signal to make ready. Each man gathered his +bridle reins more firmly, and tightened his grasp on his spear. A page +scurried back to Aretes, who had been posted in the rear of the main +line as a protection to the flank, telling him to charge with his +splendid lancers. Then the Companions rushed forward, with Alexander +at their head, and with their plumes fluttering like foam on the crest +of a wave. + +Squadron by squadron, they tore into the enemy's lines, while Scyth and +Bactrian went down before them. Swift and deadly as a falcon, Aretes +swooped upon Bessus' flank, throwing it into confusion. But the +viceroy refused to yield, and the stubborn righting continued. + +Meantime the dreaded scythe-bearing chariots had neared the phalanx, +which it was their task to break. The soldiers clashed their spear +butts against their shields with a clangor that frightened many of the +horses beyond control. The light-footed skirmishers in advance of the +line shot their arrows into the sides of the animals, or risked their +lives to sever the traces of their harness. Some of the horses wheeled +and galloped back into the Persian horde. Others were killed upon the +sarissas that pierced their necks. A few of the chariots reached the +line, that opened hastily to let them through, and both horses and +charioteers were slain at leisure in the rear. + +The elephants, from which the Great King had hoped so much, proved as +useless as the chariots. Bewildered in the clamor raised by the +phalanx, and maddened by the wounds inflicted upon them by the archers, +they rushed about the field, trumpeting wildly, and trampling the +Persians in their search for escape. Darius saw them, and his brow +clouded. + +With the first stride of his horse when the Companions charged, Chares +felt his heart leap and the glow of joy in battle warm his veins. +Misgiving and foreboding fell from him. He struck with mighty blows, +spurring his horse forward into the Bactrian ranks until he could go no +further. When his squadron fell back to give place to another, he +refused to follow it, but remained there, fighting until the fresh +troop in its charge surrounded him and bore him forward. Even when the +Bactrians began to give way, and Alexander, leaving them to Aretes, +directed the trumpeters to draw off the Companions, the Theban would +not go. The young king, who happened to be near, spoke to him sharply. + +"Obey orders!" he said. "You shall have your fill of fighting." + +Chares reluctantly complied. His eyes were bloodshot and his face +flushed like that of a drunken man. To ease the throbbing of his +temples, he loosed his helmet and threw it upon the ground. + +Alexander's eye, keen as a hawk's, glanced along the front of the +Persian line, and his heart leaped as he saw a wide break in the ranks +just at the left of the centre, where Darius stood in his chariot. The +Susians had shifted slightly toward Bessus, in order to give him their +support, and a gap had opened between them and the Greek mercenaries +who guarded the Great King on that side. The Macedonians had been +ordered to fight in silence, so that the trumpets might be heard, and +now their varied notes rang across the field. At the first signal, the +hypaspists under Nicanor detached themselves from the line and came +forward at a run. Another call, another, and another, brought the +veterans of the phalanx swinging in behind them. Rank on rank, the +tough fighting men of C[oe]nas, Perdiccas, Meleager, and Polyspherchon +fell in with the rapid precision of cool discipline, forming a solid +column that fronted toward the gap. + +Alexander gave the word to the Companions to place themselves at the +head of this enormous wedge, and then, with a shout that rolled far +across the plain, it hurled itself against the Persian line. Into the +gap rode the Companions, and after them pressed the heavy infantry. +The matchless horsemen struck at the heart of the Persian host; the +resistless charge of the men who followed them tore wide the wound. + +Close to the snowy plumes that floated from Alexander's helmet in the +front rank of the Companions streamed the yellow hair of Chares. The +Theban fought with the strength of fury. His sword rose and fell, and +every blow carried a death wound. A strange sense of unreality +possessed him. He seemed to be fighting in a dream. Suddenly, through +the dust and confusion of the trampled field, he caught sight of the +figure of Darius, and every sense became acute. The Great King, +wearing the royal robe of purple over his armor, stood erect in his +chariot, shooting arrows into the Macedonian column. Between him and +the Companions stood ten thousand Greek mercenaries. + +Chares was seized by an overmastering and unreasoning rage against the +tall, handsome man who had brought the vast horde together to oppose +them. + +"Darius! Darius!" he shouted, and spurred his horse so fiercely that +the animal leaped forward, carrying his rider far into the mercenary +cohorts. Alexander and the foremost of the Companions, among them +Leonidas, pressed in after him. The Spartan shouted to him to be +cautious, but he might as well have warned the wind. To right and left +swung the terrible sword, and every bound of the frantic horse carried +him farther forward. The ranks of the mercenaries were cleft apart. +From every side blows were aimed at him, but the hireling troops were +prevented by those who came after from closing around him. + +Chares saw nothing but the pale face of the Great King. A sword gashed +his thigh, but he did not feel the wound. An arrow pierced his +shoulder. He snapped off the shaft so that it might not interfere with +the sweep of his arm. + +Darius looked toward the left, and his eyes met those of the Theban. +He saw the strokes that were rained upon his armor; he saw the darts +that were aimed at him. At every breath it seemed that he must go +down, and yet onward he came, and his gaze never left the royal +chariot. The Great King noticed that his lips were stained with bloody +froth and that his hair was roped and matted with sweat. A chill +settled about the monarch's heart. It seemed to him that the +yellow-headed giant, whom nothing could stay, would surely reach him; +and yet he was incapable of movement. Like a man bound hand and foot +by a nightmare, he stood awaiting his end. The man was now so near +that he fancied he could hear the panting of his breath. The warning +cries of his kinsmen sounded in his ears, and he knew that they were +trying to throw themselves before him. Of all the Macedonian army he +feared only this one enemy. Would he succeed in reaching the chariot? +No! His horse had swerved aside. Darius saw him grasp a javelin that +was being thrust at his breast, and wrest it from the hands of the man +who held it. He was about to cast. The Great King could see the +glitter of the point of steel. Something grazed his arm, and the haft +of the weapon quivered across his heart, its blade buried in the side +of his charioteer. + +Darius drew a shuddering breath of relief, and opened his eyes. He saw +the great roan steed that bore his foe rear high above the heads of his +guard. Its fore legs struck aimlessly at the air, and the face of its +rider was hidden in its tossing mane. Then, with a scream of agony, +the horse fell backward, and a hundred mercenaries swarmed upon him, +thrusting and thrusting with their short swords. + +The Great King was saved; but he knew that the battle, upon which he +had staked all, was lost. He saw the eager faces of the Companions, +and beyond them the solid wall of the phalanx, sweeping nearer, like a +resistless tide. He stepped across the body of his charioteer and +mounted a horse. Before his feet were in the stirrups he heard the +ominous cry, "The king flees!" that had run before the rout at Issus, +and by the time he reached the spot where the rear guard of his army +should have been, the dust-cloud raised by hurrying hoofs and flying +feet obscured the sun. + +Slowly, from among the dead, Chares raised himself, and gazed with +dimming eyes toward the place where the Great King had stood. Only the +broken chariot and the dead were there, but far away he saw the ebbing +tide of the battle. A smile flickered upon his lips, his head sank +upon the side of his brave horse, and his blue eyes closed. "Sleep and +rest!" he thought, and the darkness swept over him. + + + + +CHAPTER L + +PROMISES FULFILLED + +In the great Hall of Xerxes, in Persepolis, the city whose streets had +never been trodden by the feet of an enemy since the first Cyrus +overthrew the Medes and founded the Achæmenian line, Alexander feasted +with his friends. Two months had passed since the empire that Cyrus +won had been wrested from Darius at Gaugamela. Susa had fallen, and +the might of Persia was shattered forever. + +Terrace above terrace, from the limpid waters of the Araxes, fed +eternally by mountain snows, rose the wonderful palaces upon which the +revenues of generations had been lavished. There the grandeur and +majesty of the masters of more than half the world had bloomed into +visible form. There Cyrus and his successors had been accustomed to +seek refuge from the summer heat, and to lay aside the cares of empire +for luxurious days amid the myriad blossoms of their gardens and the +fairer flowers of their effeminate courts. + +The huge monoliths of the Hall of the Hundred Columns reared themselves +from their hewn platform of stone. Around them were grouped the +palaces of Cyrus and of Xerxes, of Artaxerxes and Darius, built of rare +woods and polished marble, brought from distant quarries with infinite +labor, that the eyes of the Great Kings might take delight therein. +Each monarch had striven to outdo his predecessor in beauty and +magnificence. + +Broad staircases, guarded by colossal figures of soldiers, connected +terraces, upheld by retaining walls upon which were sculptured enormous +lions and bulls. + +The palaces themselves were large enough to give an army lodgement. +Their walls and ceilings were adorned with paintings commemorating the +triumphs of the kings in war and in the chase. Upon the sides of the +Hall of Xerxes, where the Macedonian captains were gathered at tables +laden with vessels of solid gold, the petulant monarch, who had +chastised the Hellespont with rods and who had given the temples of +Athens to the flames, was represented in his hunting chariot, receiving +the charge of a wounded lion. In the light of countless torches, the +great paintings, the hangings, and the carpets spread upon the floor +formed a background of rich color for the snowy garments of the +banqueters. + +Statues of ebony, lapis-lazuli, marble, and jade, brought from many a +captured city, gleamed against the lofty wainscoting of golden plates, +wrought into strange reliefs. + +Alexander reclined upon a raised couch, covered with priceless +Babylonian embroidery. In front of him the tables were arranged in the +form of an oblong, stretching the length of the hall, and beside them +lolled the veterans, crowned with wreaths of flowers whose perfume +mingled with the heavy scent of unguents and incense. There were many +women at the feast, each sitting beside her chosen lord. Some of them +had been taken as captives. Others, released from the bondage of the +harem, had formed willing alliances with the conquerors. They were +admitted to the banquet on terms of equality with the men, according to +the Macedonian fashion, and their light laughter, the brilliancy of +their eyes, and the flashing of the jewels with which they were +plentifully adorned lent a finishing touch of brightness to the scene. + +But the beauty of the fairest representatives of a race famed for its +beauty paled before that of Thais, whose gilded chair was set next to +the couch of Ptolemy on Alexander's left. It was not so much the +perfect grace of her form or the proud poise or her head, with its +masses of tawny hair, that gave her distinction, as the spirit that +shone in her eyes. Beautiful as she was, she had changed since the +death of Chares. There was a suggestion of imperious hardness in her +glance; she was less womanly, but more fascinating. The hearts of men +turned to wax as they gazed upon her, even though something indefinable +warned them that their longing would find no response in her heart. +Yet warm vitality seemed to radiate from her, and the quick blood came +and went under her clear skin with each changing emotion. + +Habituated to the stiff formalities of the Persian court, the deft +slaves who attended the Macedonians were astonished at the freedom of +their manners. All the skill of the royal cooks was expended to +prepare the feast. Scores of delicate dishes were brought in and set +before the Greeks, but the master of the kitchens was in despair at +their lack of appreciation. They devoured what was offered to them, it +was true, but without a sign of the gastronomical discussion in which +the Persian nobles were wont to indulge. The wine, however, was not +spared, and the keeper of the royal cellars groaned over the havoc +wrought among his precious amphoræ. The provision for a twelvemonth +was exhausted, and still the thirst of the strangers seemed unabated. +In the last and most ancient of the Persian capitals they were +celebrating their triumph in their own way, and it was the way of men +whose vices were as strong as their virtues. + +The conversation, animated from the first, became livelier as the +banquet progressed. The soldiers called to each other from table to +table, pledging each other in goblets of amber and ruby wine as costly +as amber and rubies. Faces were flushed and eyes grew bright. The +stately hall echoed with laughter, in which the musical voices of the +women joined. Old stories were told again, and time-worn jokes took on +the attraction of novelty. The women provoked their guerdon of homage, +and it was paid to them on hand and lip with frank generosity. The +brains of even the stoutest members of the company were whirling, and +some of the more susceptible to the influence of the wine began to slip +unsteadily away, amid the jeers of their comrades, in the hope that the +cool outer air would drive off their giddiness and enable them to see +the end. Those who remained were all talking at once, boasting of +their deeds, with none to listen. + +Alexander, weary of the din, called suddenly upon Callisthenes to speak +in praise of the Greeks. The orator rose slowly from his place and +strode out into the open space between the tables. + +"To whom shall I speak?" he demanded, gazing about him with an +expression of disgust upon the babbling captains. "They are all mad +with vanity and wine." + +"Speak then to Xerxes," Alexander replied, pointing to the wall, from +which the royal portrait seemed to look down upon them with a sneer. + +Callisthenes obeyed. At first his voice was unheeded; but as his +apostrophe gathered force, the chatter of talk died away around him, +and all eyes were turned upon him. + +Calling upon the dead king by name, he magnified his power and told how +he had gathered the nations to the invasion of Hellas. The failure of +his attempt he attributed to the jealousy of the Gods, who would not +permit destruction to fall upon the country that was to produce +Alexander. He described the heroic stand of the Spartans at +Thermopylæ, and the victory of Salamis; and as he dwelt upon the +bravery of the Greeks in the face of those overwhelming odds, the hall +rang with the cheers of men who themselves knew what it was to fight +and to conquer. + +"By thy command, O Xerxes!" the orator cried, extending his open palm +toward the portrait, "Hellas was made to blush in the flames that +devoured the temples of her Gods upon the Athenian Acropolis; but the +life of man is brief, while the Gods die not nor do they forget. Look +down from thy chariot! Alexander, the defender and avenger of Hellas, +holds thy dominions, and the nations that owned thy sway are bowed at +his feet. Turn not thy face away; for the fire with which thou didst +insult and offend the Gods of Hellas hath flamed across all Persia, +until it hath reached thee at last!" + +The rage that had been gathering in the breasts of the Macedonians at +the recital of the wrongs that Greece had suffered could be repressed +no longer. Clitus leaped to his feet and hurled his golden beaker at +the painted face of Xerxes. In an instant the hall was in an uproar. +The company rose with one accord and turned to Alexander, shouting for +revenge. To their inflamed minds it seemed as though the injuries +inflicted by Xerxes were of yesterday. The contagion caught the young +king, who sprang from his couch and stood gazing around him, seeking +some means of satisfying the desire for vengeance that swelled his +heart. + +Thais had been watching his face with lips slightly parted and a +strangely intent look in her eyes, as though waiting for the moment to +carry into execution some project that she had formed in her mind. +While Alexander stood hesitating, she seized a blazing torch from its +socket in one of the columns. + +"He burned our temples--let fire be his punishment!" she whispered, +thrusting the torch into Alexander's grasp. + +"The Gods shall be avenged!" he cried, accepting her plan without +hesitation; for the wine he had drunk and the maddening clamor of his +followers had gone to his head. + +He thrust the lighted torch against the draperies that hung behind him. +A cry of horror burst from the slaves and attendants as the flame +caught the heavy folds and ran upward in leaping spirals; but the cry +was lost in the fierce triumphant shout of the captains. Every man +grasped a torch and ran to spread the conflagration. The great Hall of +Xerxes was enveloped in flame and smoke so quickly that the +incendiaries themselves had barely time to escape. + +Rushing from the doorways with the torches in their hands, the +Macedonians hastened from palace to palace, scattering destruction. +Clouds of smoke, glowing red above the leaping flames, rose over the +marvellous structures that had been reared with so much toil. Tower +and terrace, porch and portico, were transformed into roaring furnaces +in whose heat the great columns cracked and fell with a noise like the +rumbling of thunder. The lofty ceilings crashed down upon wonders of +art and precious fabrics. The plates of beaten gold that lined the +walls melted and ran into crevices which opened in the marble floor. +Of the slaves, some perished in the flames; others fled with booty +snatched from the ruin; still others ran wildly into the darkness, +crying that the Macedonians were preparing to put to the sword all who +dwelt in the pleasant valley. + +The banqueters, driven back by the heat, watched the conflagration with +shouts of joy while it slowly burned itself out, leaving only the gaunt +and blackened skeletons of the group of palaces that had been the +delight of the Great Kings. + +Thais stood beside Ptolemy, beneath the wide branches of an oak where +the glare of the flames she had kindled threw her figure into strong +relief against the blackness. She held herself proudly erect, and a +slight smile curved her lips as she saw the banners of flame leap +upward toward the stars. + +"Why did you do it?" the Macedonian asked, with an accent of respect +that seemed out of place in a camp where women were held so cheap. + +"I did it because of a promise that I gave to Orontobates when I was a +captive in Halicarnassus," Thais replied. "I like to keep my word." + +Something in her tone prevented the soldier, bold as he was, from +asking her what the promise had been. She had already taught him when +to remain silent, and he had learned that he must either submit or +abandon hope of winning her. As he stood, drinking in her beauty, +revealed in a new aspect by the firelight, he was puzzled to see her +head droop, while two tears slowly gathered upon her lashes. + +"Farewell, Chares, my lover!" she was saying to herself. "Upon thy +funeral pyre my heart, too, is turning to ashes!" + +"Thais," Ptolemy whispered, moved by her emotion without knowing its +cause, "do not forget that I love thee!" + +"I do not forget," she replied, "nor have I forgotten another promise +that I made; for I think the Gods have sent thee to me. To-morrow I +will be thy wife; and when this war has reached its end, thou shalt +reign in Alexandria over Egypt with me at thy side." + +"Thais!" Ptolemy exclaimed, clasping her at last in his arms. + +So Thais, the Athenian dancing girl, kept her pledge; but through the +length and breadth of the land ran the news that the home of the Great +Kings had been laid in ashes, and men knew that, though Darius still +lived, his power indeed was gone forever. + + + + +CHAPTER LI + +AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + +Clearchus and Artemisia were walking in the garden of their home in +Alexandria. Between the trunks of the trees, at a distance, they could +see the roofs and towers of the populous city, and across the blue +water, which began where the slopes of verdure ended, they could watch +the white sails of ships bringing trade from all parts of the world. +Ten years had passed since the palaces of Persepolis had crumbled into +ashes. Alexander had been dead three years, and his body lay in the +royal tomb at the mouth of the Nile, whither Ptolemy had brought it +from Babylon, when the empire was divided among the Macedonian generals +and he came to rule over Egypt in place of the rapacious Cleomenes. + +Artemisia's figure had lost some of its girlish grace, but her blue +eyes retained their clearness and her cheeks the delicate flush of her +youth. Clearchus, too, was heavier than he had been when he fought +among the Companions under Alexander, whom men were beginning to call +"the Great." + +At a turn in the path Artemisia placed her hand upon his arm and +checked him. The silvery voices of children came from a sunlit glade +among the shrubbery. They saw a boy of eleven years, clad in a short +white tunic that left his arms and legs free, shooting with blunt +arrows at a target that hung against a tree. Two little girls stood +watching him, and after each shot they ran with eager laughter to find +the arrow and fetch it back to him. Their fair hair gleamed in the +sun. Artemisia's eyes sought those of her husband, and a smile of +mother love transfigured her face. + +"I am almost afraid to be so happy," she murmured. + +Clearchus laughed. "You need not fear, my heart," he replied. "Do not +the Gods owe us something? They are generous." + +They heard a step on the gravel behind them, and Leonidas advanced with +a smile and hands outstretched. He had changed little, excepting that +a few gray hairs appeared at his temples and the lines of his face had +deepened. + +"Welcome, comrade!" Clearchus cried, running forward to meet him. +"Whence come you? What news?" + +"I come from the council in Syria," Leonidas answered, "and as for +news, there has been another division of the world." + +"And Ptolemy?" Clearchus asked anxiously. + +"He retains Egypt," the Spartan said. "Antipater is regent, with +Macedonia and all Greece; Seleucus gets the satrapy of Babylon; and +Antigonus, Susiana, besides what he had." + +"I hope we shall have peace at last," Artemisia said, glancing toward +the children. + +"We shall have peace here, at all events," Leonidas said grimly. "None +of the generals is desirous of sharing the fate of Perdiccas." + +They sat down beneath a vine-grown trellis while Leonidas told them of +the events that had led to the new distribution of the empire, +describing the jealousies of the leaders and the ferment of revolt that +was working in Greece. + +"When will they stop killing each other?" Artemisia said sadly. "Has +not each of them more than enough without trying to rob the others? +Leave them to their quarrels, Leonidas; there is room enough for +another house here beside us, and we will find you a mistress for it." + +Leonidas shook his head and sipped the wine that a slave had brought +for his refreshment. He knew that she referred to the site that they +had reserved for Chares and Thais. + +"It is too late," he replied, half regretfully. "As we have lived, so +we must die." + +Artemisia slipped her hand within that of Clearchus, while the Spartan +followed with his eyes the glancing sails of a vessel whose prow was +turned toward the north and the rugged hillsides of his native land. +Their reflections were interrupted by the children, who had tired of +their play and were seeking new diversion. + +"Ho! Uncle Leonidas," shouted the boy, swooping down upon the Spartan. +"Where did you come from? Tell me about the death of King Darius!" + +He sat down beside Leonidas and composed himself to listen. The little +girls took Artemisia prisoner and led her away to see a nest they had +found, in which, they assured her, were funny little birds with no +feathers on their wings. Leonidas, his eyes still on the receding +ship, began the story that he had often told before. He related how +the army came to Ecbatana, the gem of cities, with its seven walls each +of a different color from the others, and each rising higher than the +one outside it, and how they found that the Great King had fled up into +the snow-capped mountains that overlook the Caspian Sea. He had with +him Bessus, the treacherous; Oxathres, his own brother; Artabazus, the +first nobleman of Persia, who commanded the Greek mercenaries; and a +score more of the generals and viceroys who still remained constant to +his fortune. He told how Darius wished to stand and fight among the +rugged passes, but the others would not allow it; how Artabazus, +suspecting their perfidy, besought him to trust himself to his Greeks, +to which the Great King consented for the morrow; and how that night +Bessus fettered him with golden chains and made him a prisoner in his +litter. + +The boy listened with sparkling eyes intent upon the Spartan's face, +while Leonidas described how Alexander, finding the Persians ever +fleeing before him, had left the foot-soldiers behind and struck out +with the Companions across the desert to intercept them. The lad held +his breath as he followed the desperate ride over the burning sands, +where one by one the horses stumbled and fell, gasping, until only +seventy riders remained. His cheeks flushed when he heard how a +soldier had brought water to Alexander in his helmet, and how the young +king, thirsty as he was, refused to moisten his lips because there was +not enough for all. + +Then came the charge of the seventy weary Macedonians in the gray of +the morning upon the camp of the sleeping Persians and the +panic-stricken flight of the cowardly army before them, too frightened +even to look back. And there they found the Great King lying in his +litter, stabbed through and through by the order of Bessus, who had +hoped thus to win the favor of Alexander. + +"And that was the end of Darius," the Spartan concluded. "Alexander +was sorry for his death, and he spread his own cloak over him as he lay +there; but I think it was better for him to die then than to live +subject to another, remembering his former power. He was unfortunate +in this, that he was not killed in battle, as all brave men should wish +to be. He had an opportunity for that at Gaugamela, but he threw it +away." + +A picture rose before the Spartan's memory of Chares, lying with his +broad shoulders against the side of his horse amid the dead, with a +smile upon his lips, and he sighed. + +"You have never yet told me what became of Bessus," the boy said +coaxingly. "Is he still alive?" + +"No," Leonidas replied, his face darkening. "He was betrayed in his +turn, and Alexander ordered him to be killed in the manner of the +Scyths when they punish traitors." + +"What is that?" the boy asked. + +"I shall not tell you," Leonidas said grimly, "but it was too good for +him!" + +"There is Thais," Clearchus exclaimed. "Run and fetch your mother," he +added to his son. + +They rose and went to meet Thais, who was advancing slowly down an +avenue of trees. Two enormous black eunuchs held a broad parasol above +her head, and other slaves followed her, both men and maids, forming a +train of escort. When she saw Clearchus and Leonidas, she spoke a word +to her attendants, who halted, and she came forward alone. The +sunlight, sifting through the branches that formed a green arch over +her head, touched the burnished coils of her hair, flashing from hidden +jewels and glancing upon the shimmering silk of her robes. + +"She is more beautiful than ever," Leonidas said, gazing at her with +admiration. + +"Yes, and she rules Ptolemy in everything," Clearchus replied. + +"My friends!" Thais exclaimed, giving them her hands. "It makes my +heart glad to see you; but where is Artemisia?" + +"I have sent for her," Clearchus replied. + +"Before she comes," Thais said, seating herself beneath the trellis and +lowering her voice, "I must tell you something. The proofs for which I +sent to Athens have arrived, and there can no longer be any doubt that +we are sisters." + +"She will be overjoyed," Clearchus said. + +"I shall not tell her," Thais replied. + +"Why not?" Leonidas asked bluntly. "You are a queen now, or will be +one soon, and nobody thinks of--of the past." + +"It is precisely because I intend to be a queen that I shall not tell +her," Thais continued. "She could not love me more if she knew, and I +will not be the means of bringing danger upon her or her children. We +know the fate that awaits the kinsmen of princes. Did not Olympias +cause Cleopatra to be slain with her babe in her arms? Has not Roxana +murdered Statira, and is not Roxana herself, with the young Alexander, +held in captivity? Nevertheless, I will tell her if you desire, and it +shall be proclaimed throughout Egypt." + +"May the Gods forbid!" Clearchus exclaimed. "You are right, Thais. It +must not be told." + +"Then I will destroy the proofs," she said, "and remain, as I have +been, the first of my race." + +All three were silent, thinking of the future, and Thais smiled +faintly, as though at that moment she were conscious of the wonderful +power that was to descend through her daughters, until it attained its +perfection in the irresistible charm of that Cleopatra who was to see +the conquerors of the world at her feet. Yet she sighed as her eyes +met those of Clearchus. + +"If only Chares were here!" she murmured. + +"We know," the Athenian answered gravely, "and we do not blame you, +since all of us must bow to the will of the Gods." + +"I thank you," she said simply. "You have both been kind to me." + +Artemisia joined them, holding one of her girls by either hand, while +young Chares followed with his bow, concerning which he wished to +consult Leonidas. There, in the vine-grown arbor, they sat talking +until the shadows began to lengthen, and the afternoon drew to its +close. Thais rose, lithe and graceful as an animal of the desert, and +the slaves, who had been watching her, in a bright-colored group, from +beneath the trees, scrambled to their feet. + +"Come, Leonidas, the cares of state await us," she said. "Remember +that you are a general now, and I am almost a queen, while these two +have nothing to do but waste their time in being happy." + +"You will come again to-morrow?" Artemisia said, embracing her. + +"Perhaps," replied Thais, and she moved away down the avenue with the +Spartan, toward the retinue of slaves who stood waiting to surround her. + +Clearchus and Artemisia watched them until the foliage hid them from +sight, and then turned toward the house. Artemisia noticed that a rose +bush, weighted with flowers, had swayed across the path, and she +stooped to put it back into place. Clearchus slipped his arm about her +waist and kissed her. + +"Silly!" she said, blushing, "everybody will see you." + +"That cannot be helped," he retorted. "You looked then just as you +looked in the garden in Academe that morning when I found you among +your roses--and I think I love you more now than I did then." + +"We love each other more," Artemisia said softly, "because we did not +know then what it would be to lose each other." + + + + + THE GROSSET & DUNLAP + ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS + OF FAMOUS BOOKS + +The following books are large 12mo volumes 5-¾x8-¼ inches in size, are +printed on laid paper of the highest grade, and bound in cloth, with +elaborate decorative covers. 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Fuller +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +P.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +P.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +P.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +P.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +P.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +P.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Hope, by Robert H. Fuller + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Golden Hope + A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great + +Author: Robert H. Fuller + +Release Date: September 30, 2011 [EBook #37576] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HOPE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t1"> +THE GOLDEN HOPE +</P> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +<I>A STORY OF THE TIME OF<BR> +KING ALEXANDER THE GREAT</I><BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +BY +</P> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +ROBERT H. FULLER +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t3"> +NEW YORK +<BR> +GROSSET & DUNLAP +<BR> +PUBLISHERS +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +Copyright, 1905, +<BR> +By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. +<BR><BR> +Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1905. Reprinted May, 1906. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t4"> +Norwood Press +<BR> +J. S. Cushing & Co.—Berwick & Smith Co. +<BR> +Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P> +"<I>For what was all his war in Asia after the death of Philippus, but +tempests, extreme heats, wonderful deep rivers, marvellous high +mountains, monstrous beasts for greatness to behold, wild savage +fashions of life, change and alteration of governors upon every +occasion, yea treasons and rebellions of some? At the beginning of his +voyage, Greece did yet lay their heads together, for the remembrance of +the wars that Philippus made upon them: the towns gathered together: +Macedonia inclined to some change and alteration: divers people far and +near lay in wait to see what their neighbours would do: the gold and +silver of Persia flowing in the orators' purses, and governors of the +people did raise up Peloponnese: Philippus' treasure and coffers were +empty, and the debts were great. In despite of all these troubles, and +in the middest of his poverty, a young man, but newly come to man's +estate, durst in his mind think of the conquest of Asia, yea of the +empire of the whole world, with thirty thousand footmen and five +thousand horse, ... howbeit he was furnished with magnanimity, with +temperance, with wisdom, and valour: being more holpen in this martial +enterprise, with that he had learned of his tutor Aristotle, than with +that which his father Philippus had left him.... In Alexander's +actions they see, that his valiantness is gentle, his gentleness +valiant: his liberality, husbandry, his choler soon down, his loves +temperate, his pastimes not idle, and his travels gracious. What is he +that hath mingled feasting with wars, and military expeditions with +sports? Who hath intermingled in the middest of his besieging of +towns: and in the middest of skirmishes and fights, sports, banquets, +and wedding songs? Who was ever more enemy to those that did wrong, +nor more gracious to the afflicted? Who was ever more cruel to those +that fought, or more just unto suppliants?</I>" +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +—NORTH'S <I>Plutarch</I>. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +CONTENTS +</P> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THREE FRIENDS MEET</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">WARNING FROM THE GODS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">ARISTON LAYS A PLOT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE BANQUET</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">THE DOOM OF THEBES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">THAIS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">MENA READS A LETTER</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">ACROSS THE HELLESPONT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">THAIS AND ARTEMISIA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">GREEK AND BARBARIAN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">PHRADATES TRIUMPHS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">THE GORDIAN KNOT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap27">NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap28">BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap29">THE SLUICE GATE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap30">LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap31">ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap32">THE WORLD AT STAKE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap33">THE CHESTNUT MARE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap34">IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap35">PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap36">TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap37">THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap38">MENA REVEALS A SECRET</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap39">JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XL. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap40">THE GAP OF DEATH</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap41">PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap42">A TRAITOR IN PURPLE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap43">THI KING TAKES HIS REVENGE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap44">THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap45">MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap46">THE PASSING OF A GOD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap47">SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap48">THAIS GIVES A FEAST</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap49">CHARES FINDS REST</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">L. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap50">PROMISES FULFILLED</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">LI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap51">AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<P CLASS="t2"> +THE GOLDEN HOPE +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THREE FRIENDS MEET +</H4> + +<P> +Athens was rousing herself from sleep. The beams of the morning sun +bathed the rugged sides of Mount Hymettus and lightened the dark +foliage that clothed the nearer wooded slopes of Lycabettus. The low, +flat-roofed houses of the city were still nothing more than blurred +masses of gray in the shadow; but presently a ray touched the point of +Athene's spear, and the flood of orange light flowed over the +Acropolis. Its temples and statues were enveloped in a radiance which +fused the rich, harmonious colors of column and cornice and melted the +massive outlines into a resplendent whole, rising immortal from the +gloom at its base. +</P> + +<P> +Thin curls of smoke mounted here and there above the housetops, +straight up toward the limitless turquoise vault of the sky. The +vivifying freshness of the new-born day was in the air. +</P> + +<P> +There was a clatter of hoofs in the Street of Pericles, and two young +men, followed by three mounted servants, swung into view. +</P> + +<P> +"By Zeus, Leonidas!" cried the foremost of the riders, drawing rein and +pointing to the Acropolis, "that is worth riding all night to see!" +</P> + +<P> +"You mean the sunrise?" the other asked, also coming to a halt. +"Pshaw! You may see that any day without sitting up for it." +</P> + +<P> +"Not I!" said his companion, laughing. "I love the lamps too well." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas shrugged his square shoulders. "It's not the lamps you love, +Chares," he returned dryly. "But why are we idling here? Unless we +make haste, Clearchus will be out of bed before we can surprise him." +</P> + +<P> +"Come on, then!" Chares cried, urging his tired horse. "By Heracles! +what's that?" +</P> + +<P> +The three servants had ridden forward in advance of their masters. +From the direction they had taken, the young men heard a confusion of +angry voices, mingled with oaths. In another moment they saw that the +street was blocked by a gorgeous litter borne on the shoulders of four +sturdy slaves and surrounded by a dozen more, some of whom carried +torches which burned pale in the morning light. The litter-bearers had +refused to draw aside, and the guard was attempting to turn the +horsemen back. Evidently some youth had been overtaken at his revelry +by the dawn and was now being carried home by slaves who had followed +his example at the wine-cup. +</P> + +<P> +A bustling little man, with close-cropped hair and the sharp-nosed face +of a fox, was shaking his sword in the faces of the riders. +</P> + +<P> +"Back with you! Back!" he shouted. "Do you seek to halt the noble +Phradates? Back, while you may!" +</P> + +<P> +The curtains of the litter parted, and a young man's face, crimson with +wrath and wine, appeared at the opening. He wore upon his head a +wreath of wilted roses, which had slipped sidewise over one ear. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter, Mena?" he called thickly. "Cut the rascals down!" +</P> + +<P> +The three servants hesitated, looking back to their masters for +instructions. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is sport!" Chares cried, his eyes sparkling. "Let us ride +through them! They need a lesson." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas made no answer, but shook his bridle rein free and plunged his +spurs into the flanks of his horse. +</P> + +<P> +"Way! Way!" Chares cried in a mighty voice, as they thundered down +upon the obstinate group. "Follow us, my lads!" he shouted to the +servants as he swept past. +</P> + +<P> +The officious man with the sharp nose dropped his sword and scrambled +up the steps of a house, but before the rest could follow his example +the five horsemen were among them, and they were rolling under foot +with their torches. Chares swerved his horse skilfully against the +litter in such a manner that it was overturned. Its occupant pitched +head foremost into the street, and the litter fell on top of him, +burying him beneath a mass of curtains and silken cushions, among which +he struggled like some gigantic insect caught in a web. +</P> + +<P> +"You shall pay for this!" he gasped from the wreckage, shaking his fist +after the little cavalcade. "I am Phradates!" +</P> + +<P> +Chares laughed until the street echoed, and even Leonidas could not +forbear a smile when he glanced back upon the havoc their passage had +caused. +</P> + +<P> +"We must ask Clearchus who this fellow is," Chares said. "Here is the +house." +</P> + +<P> +He sprang down in front of a dwelling of white marble and ran to the +gate. +</P> + +<P> +"Hola!" he shouted. "Let us in! Do you intend to keep your master's +guests all day at his door? Open, then!" +</P> + +<P> +After a slight delay there was a sound of falling bars, and the grating +swung back, revealing a drowsy slave in the entrance. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it you, my master? Enter; you are welcome," the man said, bowing +before Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Is Clearchus awake?" Chares demanded eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"I think not, sir," the slave replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will rouse him!" Chares cried, running across the outer court +and into the house. Leonidas followed more deliberately, leaving the +attendants to care for the horses. +</P> + +<P> +Chares did not stop to return the greeting of the slave who opened the +house door for him, but dashed through the corridor that led to the +inner court, shouting at the top of his voice: "Clearchus! Wake up, +sluggard, and feed the hungry, or the Gods will turn their faces from +you! Dreamer, where art thou?" +</P> + +<P> +Just as he emerged from the corridor to the spacious inner court, the +young man came suddenly upon a fresh-faced slave girl, who was busied +with some early duties about the broad cistern filled with lotus +flowers. +</P> + +<P> +"Aphrodite, as I live!" Chares cried, throwing his arms about her and +kissing her on the lips with a smack. The girl fled, laughing and +blushing, to the women's quarters, and at the same moment the master of +the house, awakened by the uproar, appeared on the threshold of his +chamber. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares!" he cried, coming forward with outstretched hands. "Who else +could it be, indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Clearchus," Chares said, "what hardships and perils we have passed +to reach thee!" +</P> + +<P> +"And here is Leonidas," said the Athenian, freeing himself from the +embrace of Chares as the second of his guests entered the court. "Both +my brothers here! For this I owe a sacrifice of thanksgiving which I +shall not fail to pay. But what fortunate chance brings you to Athens?" +</P> + +<P> +"We were sitting quietly enough in Thebes, talking of you," Leonidas +replied, "when this madcap declared that he would not live another day +without seeing you and that he intended to make you give him breakfast. +Piso, who was with us, fell into dispute with him, offering to wager +twenty minæ that we could not ride here before midday. Chares +maintained that he would wake you this morning or forfeit the stake, +and here we are." +</P> + +<P> +"And so you have ridden all night?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"All night, amid dangers and darkness, only to see you!" Chares replied +gayly, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder. "And now, have +you anything to eat in the house? I am like a famished wolf." +</P> + +<P> +"Come with me," Clearchus said, leading the way into a large room +opening from the left of the court. The sunlight streamed in from the +garden outside, over rich Persian carpets which covered the floor. The +walls were frescoed with scenes from the Iliad of Homer, drawn with +marvellous skill. Painted statuettes stood in niches of stone. Chairs +and tables of ebony, cypress, and cedar were scattered through the +room, and soft couches invited rest. Clearchus struck a bell, and a +grave man of middle age appeared in the doorway. +</P> + +<P> +"Send us food, Cleon," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +The steward withdrew, and two younger slaves entered. They quickly +divested Chares and Leonidas of their riding cloaks and swords and +washed their hands in bowls of scented water, drying them upon linen +towels. They were followed by other slaves bearing trays of cold fowl, +bread, and wine. +</P> + +<P> +"This seems like getting home," Chares exclaimed, throwing himself upon +one of the couches and leaning back luxuriously upon the cushions of +down which the slaves hastened to arrange behind him while he helped +himself to food from the table. "By the Gods, Clearchus, unless you +stop growing handsome, Phœbus will be jealous of you!" +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian flushed like a girl. He was a clean-cut, clear-eyed young +man, hardly more than twenty-one years old, with a face and figure that +might have served as a model for Phidias himself. Although slender, +his form was graceful, with the ease that comes only from well-trained +muscles. Brown curls covered his head, and the glance of his dark eyes +was steady and straightforward, with a singular earnestness. His +expression was thoughtful and his mouth betrayed a sensitive delicacy. +</P> + +<P> +His parents had died when he was still a lad. His father, Cleanor, +bequeathed to him an immense fortune, amassed in the mines, which had +been managed by his uncle, Ariston, until he became of age. His wealth +made him envied by the fashionable young men of Athens, but he had few +friends among them. He cared nothing for their drinking-bouts, +cock-fights, and gaming, and he had no ambition in politics except to +do his duty as a citizen of Athens. Deep in his heart he worshipped +the city and her glorious achievements, especially those of the +intellect, with fanatical devotion. +</P> + +<P> +Chares, too, belonged to a family of wealth and influence, for his +father, Jason, had been one of the foremost men in Thebes. In height +he stood more than six feet, and the knotted muscles of his arms +indicated enormous strength. He was buoyant, light-hearted, +irresponsible, and pleasure-loving. His affection for the Athenian, +whom he had known from boyhood, was the strongest impulse in him. +</P> + +<P> +They had first met Leonidas at the Olympic Games, where he won the +laurel crown in the chariot race, and they had there admitted him to +their friendship. Different as they were from each other, there seemed +little in common between either of them and the swarthy Lacedæmonian +who lay eating silently while they chattered gossip of mutual +acquaintances. Leonidas was rather below the middle stature, all bone +and sinew, practised in arms, and inured to hardships from his +childhood by the unbending discipline of Sparta. His dark hair grew +low down on his forehead and his black eyes were set deep under +overhanging brows. He neither shared nor wished to understand the +delight which Clearchus felt in a perfect statue or a masterpiece of +painting. He scorned the philosophers and poets. Upon the +questionable pleasures to which Chares gave his days and nights, he +looked with good-natured contempt. The narrow prejudices of his +country were ingrained too deeply in his character to be disturbed by +any change of surroundings. He valued more highly the consciousness +that in his veins ran a few drops of the blood of the Lion of +Thermopylæ than all the riches of the world. +</P> + +<P> +In each of the three young men who met in the house of Clearchus were +typified many of the characteristics of the states to which they +belonged. Athens, Thebes, and Sparta in turn had held the supremacy in +the little peninsula to which the civilized world was confined. +Contrasted as they were, there was still a bond between them that had +been welded by centuries of association. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me," Clearchus said, after their hunger had been somewhat +appeased, "what is the news of Thebes? Are the Macedonians still +perched in the Cadmea?" +</P> + +<P> +"They are," Chares replied lazily. "We are still in the grasp of the +barbarian; but our plotters are at work and they tell me that soon we +shall break it." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean they are planning revolt?" Clearchus asked eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't get excited," the Theban responded. "It will give you +indigestion. They have revolted already, thanks to the gold your city +sent them, and the barbarians are eating their corn in the citadel just +at present, waiting for something to turn up." +</P> + +<P> +"But that means war, Chares," Clearchus exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," Chares replied, "that will give Leonidas a chance to clear the +rust from his sword. You know he is in the market." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," the Spartan said in response to Clearchus' glance of +inquiry. "No man can live on air. I follow my profession where there +is work to be done." +</P> + +<P> +There was nothing disgraceful in this avowal. If his own country was +at peace, a Greek soldier might sell his sword to the highest bidder, +as did Xenophon, without reproach. +</P> + +<P> +"And I suppose you, too, will be fighting, Chares?" said Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"As to that, I don't know," the Theban answered, stretching himself +with a yawn. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen to us would be +to have the Macedonian conquer and rule. It would put an end to our +own wars. If matters go on as they have been going, all three of us +may be trying to cut each other's throats before the month is out." +</P> + +<P> +"No," Clearchus exclaimed, "that cannot be, because you must promise me +to stay here and drink at my wedding feast at the next new moon." +</P> + +<P> +"What, Clearchus! you are going to be married?" Chares cried, springing +from his couch. "Who is she?" +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia, daughter of Theorus," Clearchus answered. "She is the most +beautiful—" +</P> + +<P> +"Ho, Cleon, Cleon! Where are you?" Chares shouted at the top of his +voice. "Cleon, I say!" +</P> + +<P> +The steward ran into the room in alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring wine of Cyprus, quickly!" Chares cried, waving his arms. +</P> + +<P> +Cleon vanished with a smile, and Chares hastened to embrace his friend +with a fervor that threatened to crack his ribs. Leonidas grasped him +warmly by the hand, and both showered congratulations upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"We pledge thee!" Chares cried, taking the wine that Cleon brought in a +great beaker of carved silver and raising it to his lips, after +spilling a portion of its contents in libation. +</P> + +<P> +"May the Gods give thee happiness!" Leonidas said, drinking deep in his +turn. +</P> + +<P> +"Neither war, famine, nor pestilence shall take us from thee until thou +art married," Chares cried, half in jest. "We swear it, Leonidas, by +the head of Zeus!" +</P> + +<P> +"We swear it!" the Spartan echoed, and each of them again pressed the +young man's hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I expected no less of you," Clearchus said, smiling into the faces of +his companions. "It makes my heart glad to know that you will be with +me. But after your long ride you must both be used up. I will leave +you to get an hour or two of sleep before the Assembly which has been +called for this afternoon to hear what Demosthenes has to say upon our +policy toward Macedon. You will want to hear him, of course." +</P> + +<P> +"Go, Clearchus," Chares said, laughing. "That is a long speech to tell +us that you would like to be rid of us while you go to your Artemisia. +Come back in time for the bath, that's all." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WARNING FROM THE GODS +</H4> + +<P> +A few miles west of Athens, in the suburb of Academe, dwelt Melissa, +aunt and guardian of Artemisia. She was an invalid, bedridden for the +greater part of the year, and she had chosen to live in the country +that she might not be disturbed by the city noises. She had never +married, and no departure from the routine of her well-ordered house +was permitted. She loved her niece; but she was not sorry to have her +marry, because, as she said, her own hold upon life was so uncertain, +and besides, the match was a brilliant one. +</P> + +<P> +Her household consisted of Philox, her steward, who had managed her +affairs for a score of years, Tolmon, her gardener, and a dozen women +slaves who, like their mistress, had passed the prime of life. +</P> + +<P> +In Melissa's old-fashioned garden Artemisia, with two little slave +girls to help her, was at work over a hedge of roses. She had not yet +reached her nineteenth year. Her soft, light brown hair was gathered +in a knot at the back of her head, showing the graceful curve of the +nape of her neck and half revealing the little pink lobes of her ears. +Her forehead was low and smooth and broad, with delicately arched +brows, a shade darker than her hair. Her eyes were blue and the color +in her cheeks was heightened by her exertions in bringing the straying +rose stems into place. The folds of her pure white chiton left her +warm arms bare to the shoulder and defined the youthful lines of her +supple figure. As she stooped among the flowers, handling them with +gentle touches, she seemed preoccupied, and her glance continually +wandered from her task. +</P> + +<P> +Agile as monkeys, the slave girls darted about her, pelting each other +with blossoms and uttering peals of shrill laughter. Their short white +tunics made their swarthy skins darker by contrast. +</P> + +<P> +The garden was set in a tiny meadow beside the river Cephissus. It was +shut in on both sides by groves of olive and fig trees, against whose +dark foliage gleamed the marble front of the house to which it +belonged. The sunlight swept the smooth emerald of the turf, touched +the brilliant hues of the flowers, and flashed back from the rippling +river beyond. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, mistress, there's a beautiful butterfly! Oh, please, may I catch +him?" cried one of the little girls. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, chatterbox," said Artemisia; "come and help me here." +</P> + +<P> +"Ouch, that awful thorn! Look, mistress, how my finger bleeds," the +other girl said, holding up her small brown hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you never end your nonsense?" the young woman asked in affected +despair. "See, Proxena, we have not half finished." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be angry with us, mistress; see who's coming!" Proxena cried, +taking her wounded finger from her mouth and pointing with it toward +the house. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus must have ridden fast to arrive so soon after leaving his +friends. Artemisia, hastily plucking a half-blown rose, went forward +to meet him, while the little slave girls remained behind, peeping +slyly with sidelong glances and whispering to each other while they +pretended to busy themselves with their work. +</P> + +<P> +"Greeting, Artemisia, my Life!" Clearchus said, taking her hands in his. +</P> + +<P> +"Greeting, Clearchus; I am glad to see thee," she replied. +</P> + +<P> +"How beautiful thou art and how fortunate am I, my darling," the young +man said radiantly. "Dost thou love me, Artemisia?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thou knowest well that I do, Clearchus," she answered reproachfully. +"Why dost thou ask?" +</P> + +<P> +"For the joy of hearing thee say it once more," he said, laughing. +"There is nothing the Gods can give that could be sweeter or more +precious to me, and to add the last touch to my happiness, Chares and +Leonidas came this morning and have promised to stay until our wedding." +</P> + +<P> +They had been strolling toward the grove at the edge of the meadow, +where a bench of carved stone, overhung with trailing vines, was set in +the shade in such a position as to permit its occupants to look out +over the garden and the river. They sat down side by side and +Clearchus slipped his arm about Artemisia's waist. Evidently, with the +subtle sense of a lover, he detected a lack of responsiveness, for he +bent forward and gazed anxiously into her face. He saw that it was +troubled. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter, my dearest?" he asked in sudden alarm. +</P> + +<P> +She hesitated for a moment. "Oh, Clearchus, I fear that we are too +happy," she said at last in reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you say that?" he asked, drawing her closer to him. "Why +should any of the Gods wish us harm? We have not failed in paying them +honor, and we have transgressed in nothing." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia hid her face in her hands and her head drooped against his +shoulder. He held her still closer and kissed the soft coils of her +hair, awaiting an explanation. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Artemisia?" he asked quietly. "You are tired and nervous +and overwrought, and some foolish fancy has crept into your heart to +trouble you. Tell me, my dearest; thou canst have no sorrow that is +not mine as well as thine." +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus, my husband," she said, without moving from her position or +lifting her face, "thou art strong and I am but a weak girl. Whatever +may come, I shall always be thankful that thou didst love me. I am +thine—heart and mind, body and spirit, here and in the +hereafter—forever." +</P> + +<P> +"Why dost thou speak so, my Soul?" Clearchus asked in alarm. "What has +happened? Surely we shall be married at the new moon." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know, Clearchus—all that I know is that I love thee and +shall love thee always. A warning from the Gods has been sent to me." +</P> + +<P> +She lifted her face and clasped her hands in her lap. Her eyes were +wet and her lips were tremulous as those of a helpless child who awaits +a blow. +</P> + +<P> +"What was it, my Life?" Clearchus asked gently. +</P> + +<P> +"I was in a strange house," she replied, looking straight before her as +though she could see the things that she described. "It was a house of +many rooms, some filled with lights and some so dark I could not tell +what was in them. I heard the sound of voices, of laughter, and of +weeping, but I could see nobody. Thou wert there, I knew, and I was +seeking thee with my heart full of terror; for something told me I +would not find thee. It was dreadful—dreadful, Clearchus!" +</P> + +<P> +She paused and clung to him for a moment as though in fear of being +torn from his side. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know how long I wandered through passages and chambers," she +resumed, "but at last I reached a corridor that had rows of pillars on +either side. At the end was a crimson curtain, beyond which men and +women were talking. As I stood hesitating in the empty corridor, +suddenly I heard thy voice among the rest. I could not mistake it, +Clearchus. Joy filled my heart. Thou didst not know I was there nor +what peril I was in. I felt that I had but to lift the curtain—thou +wouldst see me and I would be saved. I ran forward, crying out to +thee; but before I reached the curtain, rough men came from between the +pillars and thrust me back, drowning my voice with shouting and +laughter. I threw myself on my knees before them and prayed them not +to stop me. They answered in words that I could not understand. My +heart was breaking, Clearchus! The light beyond the crimson curtain +grew dim, and outside I could hear a roaring like a great storm. The +pillars were shaken and the walls crumbled, and I woke crying thy name." +</P> + +<P> +The young man's face had grown unusually grave and thoughtful as he +listened to the recital of the dream. No man or woman of his time who +believed in anything ever thought of doubting that the visions of sleep +were divine communications to mortals. Statesmen directed the course +of nations and generals planned their campaigns in accordance with the +interpretation of these revelations. +</P> + +<P> +"What does it mean, Clearchus? You are wiser than I," Artemisia said +anxiously. "If I am separated from thee, I shall die." +</P> + +<P> +"The men who halted you seemed to be barbarians?" Clearchus asked +thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Thus they seemed," she replied. "I could not understand their speech, +and their clothes were not our fashion." +</P> + +<P> +"I know not what it means, Artemisia," Clearchus said at last. "We are +in the hands of the Gods. I shall ask the protection of Artemis and +offer her a sacrifice. To-morrow we must be married. I do not dare to +wait for the new moon, for I must be near you to protect you. Then, +whatever may come, we will meet it together." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps the dream was meant for me alone," Artemisia said tenderly. +"I cannot bear to bring you into danger." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, Artemisia!" Clearchus said reprovingly. "I would rather a +thousand times die with thee than live without thee." +</P> + +<P> +With a sigh, she let her head rest on his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"I care not what may happen so that thou art with me," she said; "then +I can feel no fear." +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia," Clearchus said suddenly, "go not out again to-day. I +shall tell Philox to guard thee well until to-morrow. Hast thou told +Melissa of the dream?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, for I wished to tell thee first and she is so easily frightened," +Artemisia said. +</P> + +<P> +"Then say nothing to her about it," the young man replied. +</P> + +<P> +One of the little slave girls ran up to them at this moment and stood +before them, twisting her fingers together and waiting to be spoken to. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Proxena?" Artemisia asked. +</P> + +<P> +"The morning meal is waiting, mistress," said the child, and sped away +again. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ARISTON LAYS A PLOT +</H4> + +<P> +Ariston, uncle of Clearchus and formerly guardian of his fortune, sat +at his work-table before a mass of papyri closely written with +memoranda and accounts. His house stood by itself in a quarter of the +city that had once been fashionable but now was occupied chiefly by the +poorer class of citizens. Its front was without windows and its stone +walls were yellowed and stained with age. Its seclusion seemed to be +emphasized by the bustle of life that surrounded it and in which it had +no part. +</P> + +<P> +The room in which Ariston sat was evidently used as an office, for rows +of metal-bound boxes of various shapes and sizes were piled along its +walls. A statuette of Hermes stood in one corner upon its pedestal, +and its sightless eyes seemed bent upon the thin, gray face of the old +man as he leaned with his elbows upon the top of the table, polished by +long use. Lines of care and anxiety showed themselves at the corners +of his mouth and about his restless eyes. The light of the swinging +lamp that illuminated the small room, even in the daytime, made shadowy +hollows at his temples and beneath his cheek-bones. +</P> + +<P> +Little was known of the personal concerns of the old man in Athens. +Although he mingled with the other citizens without apparent reserve, +he never discussed his own affairs. The general impression was that he +was a good Athenian who had been faithful to the trust reposed in him, +and who had won a modest competence of his own for the support of his +age. This idea was encouraged by the parsimonious habits of his life +and by the trifling but cautious ventures that he sometimes made in the +commercial activity of the city. His most conspicuous characteristic, +in the minds of his acquaintances, was his mania for gathering +information concerning not only Athens and Greece, but distant lands +and strange peoples as well. This was looked upon as a harmless and +even useful occupation, and it accounted for his evident fondness at +times for the company of strangers, who, no doubt, contributed to the +satisfaction of his curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +Great would have been the astonishment if some orator had announced to +the Athenian Assembly that the humble old man was really one of the +richest citizens of Athens, as well as the best informed concerning the +plans and hopes of the rulers of the world and of the probable current +of coming events. Laughter would have greeted the assertion that much +of the merchandise which found its way to the Piræus belonged to him +and that the profits realized from the sale of silks and spices, corn +and ivory, went into his coffers. Yet these statements would have been +true a year before. In Athens the rich were required to contribute to +the public charges in proportion to their wealth, and the saving that +Ariston was able to effect by making his investments abroad and +concealing them through various stratagems from the knowledge of his +neighbors was sufficient, in his opinion, to compensate him for the +trouble and the risks that such a course involved. He would rather +have suffered his fingers to be hacked off one by one than part with +the heavy, shining bars of gold that his prudence and foresight had +amassed. +</P> + +<P> +If the history of each separate coin and bar could have been told, it +would have revealed secrets which their master had forced himself to +forget. Some of them were the price of flesh and blood; some had been +gained by violence upon the seas or among the trackless wastes of the +desert; some had been won at the expense of honor and truth; for in his +earlier years Ariston had been both bold and unscrupulous in his +cunning, and his craving for riches had always been insatiable. As his +years and his wealth increased he became more circumspect and +conservative. He even sought to expiate some of his earlier faults by +furtive sacrifices to the Gods, and especially to Hermes, whose image +he cherished. +</P> + +<P> +But the Gods had turned their faces from him, and his repentance, if +repentance it could be called, had been unavailing. Misfortune had +come upon him, and calamity seemed always to be lying in wait for him. +If his vessels put to sea, they were sunk in storms or captured by +pirates. His factories and warehouses were burned; his caravans were +lost; his debtors defaulted; and if he purchased a cargo of corn, its +price at the Piræus was certain to be less than the price he had paid +for it in the Hellespont. One after another the precious bars which +had cost him so much to obtain were sent to save doubtful ventures and +losing investments, until at last all were gone. Sitting in his dingy +room, on the day of the arrival of Chares and Leonidas at the house of +Clearchus, he was at last in a worldly sense what his neighbors thought +him to be; and the marble face of Hermes, with its painted eyes, smiled +malignly at him from its corner. +</P> + +<P> +But there was still hope left to him. Although the widespread web of +his enterprises had been rent and torn by misfortune, there yet +remained enough to build upon securely if he had but a few more of the +yellow bars to tide over his present distress. Without them he might +keep afloat for a few months longer; but the end would be utter ruin. +At least he still owned the great dyeing establishment in Tyre, which +had never failed to yield him a handsome revenue. He recalled how he +had taken it from Cepheus for one-fourth its real value. It was no +concern of his that Cepheus had stolen it from young Phradates. What +did the details of the transaction matter now, since they were known +only to himself and to Cepheus, who would not be likely to reveal them, +and to Mena the Egyptian, the young man's steward? Mena had stolen so +much himself from the spendthrift that he would never dare to tell what +he knew. And yet the fellow had it in his power to rob Ariston of the +last remnant of his fortune. +</P> + +<P> +A discreet knock interrupted Ariston's reflections. He brushed his +parchments and papyri hastily into an open box that stood beside his +chair and closed the lid. "Enter!" he commanded. +</P> + +<P> +An aged slave opened the door. "Mena, of Tyre," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Cold sweat broke out on Ariston's forehead, but he gave no outward sign +of his consternation. "Bring him hither," he directed. +</P> + +<P> +The Egyptian, who had been watching the sluggish goldfish floating in +the weed-grown cistern of the court, entered the room with an air of +importance. He turned his alert face, with its sharp, inquiring +features, upon Ariston. +</P> + +<P> +"Greeting!" he said, extending his hand. "It is long since we have +seen thee in Tyre." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Ariston replied, leading him to a seat opposite his own, "I am +getting too old for travel." +</P> + +<P> +"You have indeed grown older since I saw you last," Mena said, looking +at him attentively. "I hope it is not because Fortune has been unkind." +</P> + +<P> +Ariston winced, and the change in his expression was not lost upon the +shrewd Egyptian. +</P> + +<P> +"What brings you here?" he asked, shifting the subject. +</P> + +<P> +"We are travelling, my beloved master and I," Mena answered. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates is with you, then?" the old man asked with an alarm that he +was unable to conceal. +</P> + +<P> +The steward paused before he answered, gazing at Ariston with eyes half +closed and a faint smile upon his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates is here," he said at last. "I know of what you are +thinking. We have been friends too long to have secrets from each +other. You need have no fear. Cepheus is dead and I have too many +causes to despise Phradates to take his part." +</P> + +<P> +He paused again and suddenly his face became convulsed with a spasm of +hatred. +</P> + +<P> +"I could strangle him!" he cried, clenching his hands as though he felt +his master's throat beneath his fingers. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston breathed more freely. At any rate, his property in Tyre was +safe. +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you do it, then?" he asked coolly. +</P> + +<P> +"Because the time has not yet come!" Mena replied fiercely. "For every +insult that he has given me and for every blow that he has made me +feel, he shall suffer tenfold! His fortune is dwindling, and in the +end it will be mine. Then let him ask Mena for aid!" +</P> + +<P> +"I did not know that you had so much courage," Ariston remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"I have not watched you in vain," Mena replied, "and it is to you that +I now come for assistance." +</P> + +<P> +"To me!" Ariston exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"To you," Mena repeated. "Be not alarmed, for what I have to propose +will be for our mutual benefit. Phradates has been throwing money +right and left since we set out from Tyre. Great sums he spent in +Crete and still greater in Corinth. Since his arrival here he has been +fleeced without mercy. You will understand that I have tried to +protect him, but merely to save him from injury. He might have lost +his life only this morning had I not been there to guard him from an +attack by two desperate characters with a crowd of slaves, who set upon +us while we were returning from the dice. Luckily, I succeeded in +beating them off, but the noble Phradates was thrown from his chair and +his noble nose was battered. Soon he will be in want of more money. +Of the property that remains to him, he has quarries on Lebanon, which +employ a thousand slaves, silk mills in Old Tyre, where as many more +are kept busy, and a score of ships in the trade with Carthage. He +believes the value of the quarries and the mills to be only half what +it really is and reports have been made to him that two-thirds of the +vessels of his fleet have been lost. All this he will pledge for +anything that it will bring when he learns that his money is gone. It +is for us to get possession of that pledge. I have a few talents, but +not enough. I will take care that the loan is never repaid and our +success is certain. What do you say?" +</P> + +<P> +Ariston looked at the statue of Hermes. It was a fancy of his that he +could draw either a favorable or an adverse augury from the expression +on the face of the God as it showed in the wavering light of the lamp. +He could detect no change in the mocking smile that seemed to hover +about the marble lips. It left him with no conclusion. +</P> + +<P> +"What you have told me," he said to Mena, "makes it necessary for me to +tell you something in return. I am a ruined man." +</P> + +<P> +"Ruined! You!" Mena exclaimed incredulously. +</P> + +<P> +"It is true," Ariston replied. "Of all that I had, nothing remains to +me intact except the dye-house in Tyre and a small fleet of corn ships +that has but now arrived from the Euxine. The worst is that I have +debts that must be met if I am to save other ventures." +</P> + +<P> +"But you have the property of your nephew to draw upon," Mena suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"I had it," the old man said, "but it was turned over to him more than +a year ago. Since then all my losses have befallen." +</P> + +<P> +"But you are his heir," the Egyptian replied meaningly. "Is he +married?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; but he soon will be," Ariston replied. +</P> + +<P> +The two men exchanged glances, reading each other's thoughts in their +eyes. Neither cared to put into words what was in his mind. +</P> + +<P> +"Leave it to me," Ariston said at last. "I think it can be managed. +Clearchus knows nothing of my affairs, and if I can once more get +control of the property all will be well. I think we may safely assume +that he will not marry. For the rest, we must wait and see. Let us +talk of this pledge that Phradates is to make for our security." +</P> + +<P> +He produced his tablets and a stylus and the conspirators were soon +buried in a mass of calculations. When Mena took his leave, every +detail had been arranged. +</P> + +<P> +Hardly had Mena disappeared in the direction of the Agora when a man of +unusual stature, with brawny arms and a heavy black beard, turned into +the street in which Ariston lived and stood staring doubtfully about +him. There was a hint of the sea in his sunburned face and rough +garments. +</P> + +<P> +"If you are looking for the Piræus, my friend, you will not find it +here," said a fruit dealer who chanced to meet him. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you know of the Piræus, grasshopper?" returned the stranger, +halting and looking at the merchant with contempt. "I am searching for +the house of Ariston, son of Xenas. Do you know where in this accursed +street it is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tut, tut; fair words, my friend," the merchant replied, carefully +keeping his distance. "What do you want with Ariston?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is his affair and mine, but not yours," growled the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll warrant it is nothing good," the fruit dealer said, "but you will +find his house at the end of the street, near the wall." +</P> + +<P> +Without stopping to thank him, the stranger strode on in the direction +that he had indicated. The merchant stood for a moment gazing after +him, wondering whence he came and what he wanted; but finding no answer +to these questions in his own mind, he shook his head like a man who is +assured of the existence of something that should not be and continued +on his way to his shop in the Agora to relate his suspicions. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston himself came to the door in response to the stranger's knock. +He was admitted at once and without a word. Ariston led him in silence +to his own room and seated him in the chair that Mena had occupied half +an hour before. Instead of summoning a slave, the old man went himself +to fetch a flask of wine and a trencher of bread and cheese. +</P> + +<P> +"Can it be done?" he asked in an eager voice, leaning forward in his +favorite attitude with his elbows on the table while the other ate and +drank. +</P> + +<P> +"It can be done, but it will not be easy," his guest replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Not easy to carry off a woman who has only slaves to guard her?" +Ariston exclaimed. "Are your men cowards, then, Syphax?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, my men and I are not cowards, old Skinflint," Syphax said, "but +you may as well understand now that we do not intend to risk our lives +for nothing." +</P> + +<P> +He delivered this speech with the blustering air of a bully, gazing +boldly into the old man's face. Ariston, naturally of small stature, +looked more than ever shrunken and withered in contrast with his +companion; but at the sound of the other's threatening tone, his face +hardened and there came a cold gleam into his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you are not afraid, Syphax," he said in a voice so soft that +it sounded almost caressing. "Have you forgotten Medon? Your eyes saw +his death. He was a brave man, too, your old chief. I think I can +hear him yet as he called upon the Gods in his torture. They could not +help him. Poor Medon!" +</P> + +<P> +The face of Syphax paled under its tan at the recollection that Ariston +had conjured up and an involuntary shudder ran through him. His bold +eyes wavered before the persistent stare of the little old man, whom he +could have crushed in one of his hands. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you willing to pay?" he asked hoarsely, pushing away his food +half finished. +</P> + +<P> +"You would do it for nothing, if I asked you, Syphax," the old man +replied, still in the same soft voice, "but I have no wish to be hard +with you. This is a matter in which I have a deep interest and I am +willing to pay well for it. When you have taken her safely on board, +you will sail to Halicarnassus, where you will search out Iphicrates, +son of Conon, and give him this letter. If he finds you have done your +work well, he will pay you a talent in silver. But if the girl has +been harmed in any way, not a drachma will you get and worse will +befall you than befell Medon." +</P> + +<P> +"The work is worth five times as much," Syphax grumbled with downcast +eyes, "but I suppose I have no choice." +</P> + +<P> +"None, my dear Syphax, and I am a poor man," said Ariston. "Let us +regard the matter as settled. Now, how do you intend to proceed?" +</P> + +<P> +Syphax roused himself like a man whose professional skill has been +called upon. +</P> + +<P> +"The house stands thus," he said, indicating its position on the table +with a huge finger. "On this side is the grove where I and a dozen of +my men will lie hidden with the litter. One of my fellows will scale +the roof and let himself down inside. He will open the door to us and +the thing will be over in a moment." +</P> + +<P> +"Where will you embark?" the old man asked, nodding approval. +</P> + +<P> +"My ship will be lying off-shore with a boat in waiting. We will carry +her in the litter to this spot, about two stadia beyond the Piræus, +which we shall have to pass. We shall make the attack soon after the +middle watch of the night when the moon will be low." +</P> + +<P> +"You should have been a general, Syphax," the old man said. "You have +a better head for strategy than most of those the Athenians employ. Go +to your work and forget nothing. I must attend the Assembly, where +Demosthenes is to stir up the citizens against Alexander, son of +Philip. They say the boy is dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander dead!" Syphax exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"The story is that he was killed by the Illyrians, and Demosthenes has +a man who saw him die," Ariston replied indifferently. "I think the +man is lying and that Demosthenes knows it. But these affairs have +nothing to do with you. Be off to your business." +</P> + +<P> +When the adventurer had gone, Ariston returned to his room and prepared +to write. From his expression of content, it was evident that he was +satisfied with what had been done. +</P> + +<P> +"To Iphicrates, son of Conon," his letter ran. "I am sending to you +Syphax, a freebooter from Rhodes, who will deliver to you a young +woman. You will take her into your house and guard her with care until +you hear from me again. Syphax will present to you an order for a +talent of silver. Defer the payment until you have the girl, and then +do with him as you will. As a pirate and a robber, he has richly +merited death. May the Gods protect you." +</P> + +<P> +As Ariston was carefully sealing this letter, a gaunt, sour-visaged +woman entered the room. She was his wife and the one person on earth +in whom he had confidence. Like most secretive men with whom duplicity +is a daily study, he sometimes felt the need of telling the truth, if +only to note the effect of his schemes upon another's mind. But even +to his wife, whose covetousness was equal to his own, he never revealed +all that was in his brain. Her lonely life was spent in a constant +endeavor to piece out from what he imparted to her the full extent of +his plans. She admired his intellect, but deep in her heart she feared +him, and, womanlike, she was tormented by the suspicion that somewhere +she had a rival to whom he told what he concealed from her. The +consciousness of her own deficiency of charms made her manner all the +more harsh and forbidding. As soon as she entered the room she noted +that he was in an easy mood, and she made haste to take advantage of it. +</P> + +<P> +"Who were these men?" she asked. "What are you about now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Affairs of state, Xanthe, that are not for women to know," he said +mockingly. +</P> + +<P> +"All that concerns you concerns me," she replied. "Am I to do the work +of a slave here like a mole in the dark? Who are these women you were +talking of with that evil-looking man?" +</P> + +<P> +"So you were listening!" Ariston said with a frown. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I was, if you must know it," Xanthe said defiantly. "Do you +think I am to know nothing? If you had consulted more freely with me +before, we would not now be the paupers that we are, and many times I +have told you this, but you will not listen to me because I am a woman." +</P> + +<P> +There was something in this remonstrance that made an impression upon +Ariston's mind, smarting as he was over the loss of his fortune. It +might have been better, after all, if he had told her more. +</P> + +<P> +"We were talking of only one woman," he said, with an impulse of +frankness. "She is Artemisia." +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" Xanthe exclaimed. "Don't try to deceive me. Why should +you wish Artemisia to be carried off? Is not Clearchus to make her his +wife?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is for that very reason," Ariston replied. "I do not wish him to +do so." +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" Xanthe demanded in a tone of suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down and let us talk rationally," Ariston said. "Suppose they +marry and have children. His property would be lost to us forever." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," Xanthe assented. "I had not thought of that, and we +need it so much more than he. If he should die, would it belong to us?" +</P> + +<P> +"It would," her husband answered, "and now you know why I wish to +prevent the marriage." +</P> + +<P> +He rose, and she aided him to adjust the folds of his himation. +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to the Assembly," he said. "If we have war with Macedon, +the price of corn will advance. Look to the house and let none enter +while I am away." +</P> + +<P> +It was not until after he had gone that Xanthe began to wonder how she +and Ariston were to profit by preventing the marriage, since their +nephew would still be alive and in the possession of his property. It +could not be that Ariston intended to have him slain. She shuddered at +the thought, for she was fond of Clearchus, and he had always been kind +to her. Besides, such a crime could not be committed without almost +certain detection. Ariston must have formed some other scheme for +bringing about his object. She reproached herself for not having +questioned him on this point while he was in a frame of mind to answer. +The opportunity might not occur again and she could only guess at what +was to come. The half-confidence that he had given her left her more +watchful and suspicious than ever. +</P> + +<P> +Syphax meantime had found his way back to the Agora and was about to +enter a wine-shop when he felt some one pluck him by the elbow. +Glancing back, his eyes met those of Mena. +</P> + +<P> +"Ah, my fox," he exclaimed, "what brings you to Athens?" +</P> + +<P> +"Necessity and my master," Mena replied. "And you?" +</P> + +<P> +Syphax shook his head and made as if to move away, but Mena was not to +be denied. An hour later they were still together, sitting side by +side in a corner of the wine-shop, and it was fortunate for Ariston +that the Egyptian was his ally instead of his enemy, for all that +Syphax could tell, he knew. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES +</H4> + +<P> +In the Theatre of Dionysus the citizens of Athens were gathering for +the purpose of deciding whether to break their treaty with Macedon and +by one stroke revenge upon Alexander the wrongs and humiliations that +his father had made them suffer. Ariston walked through the spacious +Agora, surrounded by colonnades and embellished by the statues of +heroes and the Gods. The shopkeepers and merchants were closing their +places of business and joining in the human tide that was setting all +in the same direction. +</P> + +<P> +Everywhere Ariston heard repeated the assertion that Alexander was +dead. The news was announced in tones of joy, and invariably it was +accompanied by an expression of desire for war while the enemy was +still unprepared. There seemed to be only one opinion among the +people. It was manifested in the clamor of gay and careless confusion +that betrayed the nervous tension of the throng. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston's face became more thoughtful as he proceeded. He had no doubt +of what the Assembly would do if unchecked, and he foresaw the downfall +of his plans. A declaration of war with Macedon would be fatal. +Whatever the issue of such a conflict might be, it would certainly +delay Alexander's invasion of Persia and keep Clearchus at home. He +must be rid of Clearchus at all hazards, and without violence. +</P> + +<P> +Moreover, he knew that the report of Alexander's death was false. It +was impossible that any person in Athens should have been able to +obtain information later than that which had been brought to him. He +felt assured that the young king was fighting his way out of Illyria, +with every prospect of escape, and that the report of his death had +been started by Demosthenes as a stratagem to dispose the minds of the +people to war. By preventing the success of this plan, he reflected, +he would not only be serving his own ends, but also performing a public +service. Such a coincidence had happened rarely enough in his career. +</P> + +<P> +But he knew it would be useless to attempt any contradiction of the +report at that moment. He was too thoroughly acquainted with the +characteristics of his countrymen to think of it. They wished to +believe and they would not allow that wish to be thwarted. He must +watch and wait. +</P> + +<P> +Pushing through the chattering crowd, he entered the Theatre. Before +him, in a great semicircle, hewn partly out of the solid rock of the +southeastern pitch of the Acropolis, he saw row on row and tier above +tier of his fellow-citizens,—the brilliant, unstable, cowardly, +heroic, passionate, generous, cruel democracy of Athens. Above them +towered the crag which they had crowned with triumphs of art and +architecture beyond the power of the world to equal, guarded by the +wonderful Athene, whose creator they had sent to die in prison. On the +left the great temple of Olympian Zeus raised its massive fluted +columns. In the Theatre where they sat their fathers had hissed or +applauded the masterpieces of tragedy and comedy. The babel of talk +and of light-hearted laughter, the shifting of many-hued garments under +the intense blue arch of the sky, reminded Ariston of the fickle sunlit +waves of the Ægean. +</P> + +<P> +The cloud that for years had overshadowed Athens had been removed. +Philip, the tenacious, subtle, resourceful monarch of barbarous +Macedon, had fallen under the dagger of Pausanias, who had doubtless +been inspired by the Gods to punish him for his crimes against the +Athenians. Little by little, with a purpose that never swerved, he had +made himself master of their fairest possessions. Time and again they +had sought to shake him off with brief outbursts of restless fury; but +he held what he had won, and in the lull that followed the storm he had +never failed to creep nearer to their citadel. His advance seemed to +them as inevitable as fate. +</P> + +<P> +Now he was gone, resigning his power and his ambitions to his son, +Alexander, a boy of twenty years, whom all Athens knew as a foolish and +rash youth. After laying claim to the honors that his father had +forced the states of Hellas to bestow upon him, he had marched into the +unknown wilderness of the north with his army and there had perished. +His fate had been told only in rumors at first, but had not Demosthenes +talked with a fugitive from the Macedonian camp, who had seen him fall +beneath a stone? Every Athenian felt that the time had come to place +the name of his city once more at the head of the civilized world. +Already the Thebans, aided by their subsidies, had risen against the +barbarian garrison and had shut the Macedonians in the Cadmea. The +reverses of the past had been forgotten and the lively imaginations of +the Athenians had carried them halfway to the goal of their hopes. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston gazed about him at the shifting throng as though in search of +some one. The priests of Ceres, Athene, and Zeus stood talking in +groups with the officials of the city, or had already taken their +places in the cushioned marble arm-chairs, with curved backs, that +formed the first row of seats. Presently the old man caught sight of +Clearchus, and his friends, Chares and Leonidas. With them sat a young +man of singular appearance whom Ariston did not recognize. He wore a +splendid mantle of purple, embroidered with gold, a profusion of rings +flashed upon his fingers, and the odor of costly perfumes hung about +him like a cloud. It seemed as though he sought in his costume to make +up for the deficiencies of nature, for in figure he was short and +stout, with legs and arms of disproportionate slenderness, and his +narrow eyes were set beneath a square forehead from the top of which +the hair had been shaved. +</P> + +<P> +"Greeting, uncle," Clearchus said cordially, as the old man forced his +way toward them. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston sat down on the broad marble step in the space that Clearchus +made for him. He found himself between his nephew and the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Aristotle of Stagira, but more recently of Pella," Clearchus +said. "He can talk to you by the hour, if he chooses, about Alexander, +whom you so much admire." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he really dead, as they say he is?" Ariston asked doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," lisped Aristotle. "It is his habit always to expose +himself in battle." +</P> + +<P> +"Can he make himself master of Hellas?" Ariston asked again. +</P> + +<P> +"Only the Gods can answer that," Aristotle replied. "It is safe to say +that what human ambition can accomplish, he will do. He was my pupil, +and there are those who maintain that he knows more than his master!" +</P> + +<P> +Although the philosopher spoke with a smile, there was a trace of irony +in his tone that did not escape the alert Athenian. +</P> + +<P> +"You hear that?" he cried, turning to Clearchus. "Here is a boy who +begins by conquering his instructor. Where will he end?" +</P> + +<P> +"They say he has ended already, up there among the savages," Chares +said lazily. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll lay you a box of Assyrian ointment that Alexander is still +alive," Aristotle said. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a wager," the Theban cried. "And the box shall be of gold." +</P> + +<P> +"There goes Callicles. Hi, there, old Twenty Per Cent!" cried a youth +who was sitting in front of them. +</P> + +<P> +"By the Styx, I wish I had what I owe him!" Chares remarked fervently. +</P> + +<P> +A young man with oiled and curled ringlets, wearing a long silken robe, +and carrying a cane inlaid with mother-of-pearl, pushed toward them, +followed by a slave laden with cushions for him to sit upon. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know what Phocus has done now?" he asked in an affected voice. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Chares, coldly. +</P> + +<P> +"He happened to go to the Lyceum the other day, and he overheard +Theodorus, the atheist, say that if it was praiseworthy to ransom a +friend from the enemy, it would also be commendable to rescue a +sweetheart from bondage. What does he do but buy Tryphonia her freedom +from old Mnemon. He vows that he will marry her." +</P> + +<P> +Having imparted this bit of gossip, the youth lounged away to repeat it. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is that young man with the red chiton?" Leonidas asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is Ctesippus, son of Chabrias," Clearchus replied. "He has spent +twenty thousand talents of gold since his father died—he and Phocus +together. He thinks he knows more about war than his father knew. He +drives poor Phocion almost distracted with his advice whenever there is +a campaign; and Phocion endures it because he is his father's son." +</P> + +<P> +Throughout the Theatre rose the hum of gossip and malicious small talk. +Chares listened with indolent contempt. Leonidas studied the faces of +the men who had won distinction in war, such as Diopethes, Menestheus, +and Leosthenes, whom Clearchus pointed out to him. Aristotle continued +to lisp to Ariston concerning Macedon. The attention of the crowd was +diverted by the arrival of the Lexiarchs with their scarlet cords. +Stretching them across the narrow streets, they had been driving the +stragglers into the Assembly like sheep. The laggard whose garments +showed a trace of the dye with which the cords were covered was forced +to pay a fine. +</P> + +<P> +"Look; there's Phaon with the red stripe on his back!" Chares cried, +standing up to get a better view. +</P> + +<P> +A roar of laughter greeted the victim as he entered and his name was +repeated from all sides. +</P> + +<P> +"Were you asleep, Phaon? Did your wife keep you at home? You should +drink less wine in the morning!" shouted his acquaintances. +</P> + +<P> +Another unfortunate came to divert attention from Phaon, and still +others, until all the citizens were accounted for. The tumult was +succeeded by a hush as the white-robed priests solemnly advanced into +the open space in the middle of the semicircle, carrying a bleating +lamb. After an invocation to Athene, they cut the animal's throat +before the altar and sprinkled its blood in every direction upon the +pavement. The oldest of the priests then stood forth, raised his +hands, and looking upward, cried the accustomed formula:— +</P> + +<P> +"May the Gods pursue to destruction, with all his race, that man who +shall act, speak, or plot anything against this State!" +</P> + +<P> +The priests then slowly withdrew, and a herald mounted the bema to +announce, on behalf of the Proedri, the occasion of the Assembly. He +declared the question to be whether the treaty with Macedon should be +maintained or set aside, and he added that the Senate of the Areopagus +had referred the matter to the decision of the people without +expressing its opinion. +</P> + +<P> +He was followed by a second herald, representing the Epistate, who, +with a loud voice, called upon any citizen above the age of fifty years +to speak his mind, others to follow in accordance with their ages. As +he ceased and descended, all eyes were turned toward a portion of the +Theatre where sat a gray-haired man, with shoulders slightly stooped, a +sloping forehead, and a retreating chin, partly hidden by a +close-cropped beard. +</P> + +<P> +"Demosthenes! Demosthenes!" came from every part of the horseshoe. +</P> + +<P> +The man to whom Athens turned in this crisis of her affairs sat unmoved +and apparently oblivious to the demand of the crowd. Accustomed as +they were to the oratorical combats of the Theatre, the citizens +understood that Demosthenes had determined to reserve to himself the +advantage of speaking last. They turned, therefore, to his chief +opponent and called upon Æschines. +</P> + +<P> +With an affectation of carelessness, Æschines ascended the bema and +plunged at once into his argument, like a man who speaks what first +occurs to his mind. The burden of his contention was that Athens was +bound by her oath to observe her treaty with Macedon. To break it, he +declared, would be to sink to the depth of dishonor and to make the +name of the city a byword throughout the world. As he elaborated point +after point in his reasoning, all tending to confirm and enforce his +conclusions, it was plain that he was making an impression in spite of +the fact that all who heard him knew that he had been in Philip's pay. +He painted in dark colors the cost and danger of the war that would +follow the violation of the treaty and closed with a florid appeal for +constancy and forbearance, which he called the first of virtues. +</P> + +<P> +He was succeeded by the dandy, Demades, whose robes of embroidered +linen trailed upon the ground, but who sustained the argument against +war with sledge-hammer blows of rhetoric. Glaucippus, Eubulus, +Aristophon, and other orators, less famous, sat nodding their heads +among their pupils and admirers, who clustered about them criticising +or commending each period that fell from the lips of the speakers. +</P> + +<P> +Watching the effect of the speeches, the partisans of Demosthenes, +fearful that it might be disastrous to permit his opponents to hold the +attention of the people any longer, renewed their shouts for him. The +Assembly joined them. It had heard enough of the peace party, and it +was eager to know how Demosthenes would answer. +</P> + +<P> +There had been hardly any cessation of the talk and laughter. Many +persons even moved about through the audience, chatting with their +friends, and the Scythians, whose duty it was to maintain order, did +not venture to interfere with them. Everywhere there was talk of the +advantages of peace. The fever for war had cooled before the logic of +oratory. Ariston, keenly attentive to all that was passing, was among +those who left his place and wandered about the amphitheatre, pausing +here and there to exchange a few words with an acquaintance. Behind +him, like a ripple on the surface of a lake, there spread through the +crowd the news that the story of Alexander's death was a falsehood +contrived by the friends of Macedon to entrap the republic into war. +</P> + +<P> +Before the old man had returned to his seat, the contradiction had +reached Demosthenes, elaborated into every semblance of truth. He saw +that it was believed and that he had been robbed of the main theme of +his speech; for he could not prove that Alexander was dead. In +response to the cries of the multitude, he rose, and there was no +pretence in the reluctance with which he walked with head bent toward +the benia, considering what he should say. As he ascended, the +shouting died away, and for the first time there was absolute stillness +in the Theatre. +</P> + +<P> +"Athenians!" he began, in a voice of moderate pitch, but of a resonant +tone that carried it to all parts of the circle, "by all means we +should agree with those who so strenuously advise an exact adherence to +our oaths and treaties—if they really believe what they say. For +nothing is more in accord with the character of democracy than the +maintenance of justice and honesty. But let not the men who urge us to +be honest, embarrass us and our deliberations by harangues which their +own actions contradict." +</P> + +<P> +Ariston glanced about him with alarm, which was intensified as the +orator, with consummate skill, built up the argument that, having bound +himself by the treaty to maintain the liberties of Greece, Alexander +had violated his oath by reinstating the tyrants of Messene and by +disregarding other specific clauses. Artfully exaggerating the +Macedonian aggressiveness, recalling by flattering allusions the great +days of Athens, raising the hope of victory if war should be declared, +Demosthenes presented the situation to the Assembly in such a light as +to make it seem that Athens not only had a right to take up arms +against Macedon, but that it was her plain duty to begin the attack. +This impression grew out of his words without apparent effort to convey +it. There was nothing in his speech to indicate that he was a special +pleader presenting only one side of the case. He seemed the +personification of candor and fairness. As his voice and gestures +became more animated, and the flood of his marvellous eloquence swept +over them, it appeared to his fellow-citizens that the men who had +given expression to the desire for peace must be charlatans or worse, +who had been bribed by Macedonian gold, as in fact many of them had +been, to betray them into the hands of the enemy. In words that none +but he knew how to choose, he raised the spectre that had been laid by +the death of Philip and made it more threatening than it had ever been +before. +</P> + +<P> +Under the magic spell of his voice old thoughts and feelings stirred +and woke in the hearts of the Athenians. For an hour they became once +more the men of Platæa and Salamis and of the hundred bloody fields +upon which they had measured their strength with that of their ancient +foes from the Peloponnesus. Their former greatness of soul flamed up +like a flash from a dying fire. +</P> + +<P> +While Demosthenes spoke, not a word was uttered in the group around +Clearchus. The young man sat with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, +tingling with a desire to sacrifice life itself, if need there were, to +revenge the wrongs of Athens and crush the insolent Macedonian. +Leonidas listened with hands clenched and with every nerve at tension, +like a hound of pure race straining at his leash toward the quarry. +Aristotle was gravely attentive, and even Chares, though he could not +be aroused from his lazy pose, followed the oration with evident +enjoyment. +</P> + +<P> +When Demosthenes ended and came down from the bema, the Assembly drew a +long breath, and instantly each man fell to discussing with his +neighbor what was best to be decided. Suddenly they realized with +astonishment that Demosthenes had failed to propose any decree and that +they had nothing before them upon which they might vote. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought he was going to tell us how Alexander died!" Demades sneered. +</P> + +<P> +"What has become of his witness of whom we have heard so much?" a +leather-dealer asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is afraid to propose war! He has offered no decree!" another +citizen cried. +</P> + +<P> +These questions and a hundred others were discussed on every side with +a violence that swept away all semblance of dignity or restraint. The +factions quarrelled like children, and more than once came to blows in +their eagerness, making it necessary for the Scythians of the public +guard to separate them. At last the herald of the Epistate demanded in +due form whether the Assembly desired any decree to be proposed. Far +less than the required number of six thousand hands were raised in the +affirmative, and the gathering was dissolved, eddying out of the +enclosure in turbulent disorder. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that all?" asked Chares, rising and stretching himself with a yawn. +</P> + +<P> +"That is all," Clearchus replied sadly. +</P> + +<P> +"With a phalanx of ten thousand brave men I could take your Acropolis," +Leonidas remarked, measuring the height above his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but where could you find them?" Aristotle said. +</P> + +<P> +"Who knows? Perhaps in the camp of Alexander," the Spartan replied. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston had slipped away into the crowd. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE BANQUET +</H4> + +<P> +On their way from the Theatre, Clearchus informed his friends of his +decision to be married on the morrow. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must feast to-night!" Chares cried promptly. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," Clearchus said, "but you will have to make the +arrangements for me, as I have other things to do." +</P> + +<P> +"Aristotle will take charge of the food and wine," said the Theban, +eagerly, "if he is willing to assume such a responsibility; and I will +provide the entertainment and send out the invitations. What do you +say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Good," Clearchus replied; "that is, if Aristotle agrees." +</P> + +<P> +"I am willing," said the Stagirite. +</P> + +<P> +"It is settled, then," Chares declared. "Come, Leonidas, I shall need +your help. Let us get to work." +</P> + +<P> +It was hardly sunset when the guests who had been bidden by Chares +began to assemble at the house of Clearchus. A crimson awning had been +drawn over the peristylium and the soft light of scores of lamps shone +upward against it. Shrubs and flowering plants partly hid the marble +columns. Medean carpets had been spread upon the floor. The tables, +each with its soft couch, had been arranged in two parallel lines, +joined at one end by those set for the host and the most honored of the +guests. At the farther end of the space thus enclosed a fountain flung +up a stream that sparkled with variegated colors. +</P> + +<P> +All had been prepared under the direction of Aristotle in such a manner +as to gratify the senses without jarring upon the most sensitive taste. +The masses of color and the contrasts of light and shade were grouped +with subtle skill to create a pleasing impression. Slaves walked +noiselessly across the hall, appearing and vanishing in the wall of +foliage, bearing dishes of gold and of silver and flagons filled with +rare wines. Softly, as from a distance, sounded the music of flutes +and citharse. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and his guests, crowned with wreaths of myrtle, reclined upon +the couches. Their talk ran chiefly upon the events of the day and the +contest of oratory in the Assembly. +</P> + +<P> +"You Athenians ought to pass a law banishing all your speakers," Chares +drawled. "Then there might be some chance that you would adopt a +policy and stick to it. As it is, the infernal skill of these men +makes you believe first one thing and then another, until you end by +not knowing what to think." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean we have plenty of counsellors but no counsel," Clearchus +replied. +</P> + +<P> +"That's it, exactly," Chares said. "And that man, Demosthenes, will +bring you to grief yet, some day." +</P> + +<P> +"All your states have had their turn of power," Aristotle said, "and +none has been able to keep it. There is another day coming and it will +be the day of the Macedonian. He dreams of making you all one." +</P> + +<P> +"Let him keep away from my country with his dreams," Leonidas remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"There spoke the lion!" laughed Clearchus. "Stubborn to the last." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you hear what old Phocion said when he came out of the Theatre?" +asked a young man with a shrill voice who sat on the right. +</P> + +<P> +"No; what was it?" Clearchus inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"Demosthenes wanted to know what he thought of his oration," the +narrator said. "You know Demosthenes likes to hear himself praised and +he would almost give his right hand for a compliment from Phocion, the +'pruner of his periods,' as he calls him. 'It was only indifferent,' +the old fellow told him, 'but good enough to cost you your life.' You +should have seen how pale Demosthenes grew; but Phocion put his hand on +his shoulder and said, 'Never mind; for this once, I think I can save +thee.'" +</P> + +<P> +"They say Phocion is an honest man," Chares remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"So he is," Aristotle replied. "And one of few." +</P> + +<P> +The young men who had assembled to honor the occasion listened eagerly +to every word that fell from the lips of the man whose keen deductions +and daring speculations had begun to open new pathways in every branch +of human wisdom. The rivalry between the philosophers in Athens was +even more keen than that between the orators, and each had his school +of partisans and defenders. +</P> + +<P> +"Honesty is truth," said Porphyry, a young follower of Xenocrates, who +had succeeded Plato in the Academy. "But what is truth? Have you +Peripatetics discovered it yet?" +</P> + +<P> +"We are seeking, at least," Aristotle replied dryly, feeling that an +attempt was being made to entrap him. +</P> + +<P> +"Democritus holds that truth does not exist," Porphyry ventured, +unabashed. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and Protagoras maintains that we are the measure of all things +and that everything is true or false, as we will," the Stagirite +rejoined. "They are unfortunate, for if there were no truth, there +would be no world. As for the Sceptics, they have not the courage of +their doctrines; for which of them, being in Libya and conceiving +himself to be in Athens, would think of trying to walk into the Odeum? +And when they fall sick, do they not summon a physician instead of +trusting to some person who is ignorant of healing to cure them? Those +who search for truth with their eyes and hands only shall never find +it, for there are truths which are none the less true because we cannot +see nor feel them, and these are the greatest of all." +</P> + +<P> +"We might know the truth at last if we could find out what animates +nature," Clearchus said. "Why do flowers grow and bloom? Why do birds +fly and fishes swim?" +</P> + +<P> +"The marble statues of the Parthenon would have remained blocks of +stone forever had not Phidias cut them out," Aristotle responded. "It +was Empedocles who taught us that earth, air, fire, and water must form +the limits of our knowledge; but who believes him now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Do you hold, then, with Anaxagoras of Clazomene, that all things are +directed by a divine mind?" Porphyry asked. +</P> + +<P> +This question was followed by a sudden hush while Aristotle considered +his answer. All present had heard whispers that the Stagirite in his +teaching was introducing new Gods and denying the power of the old +divinities. This was the crime for which Socrates had been put to +death and Pericles himself had found it difficult to save Aspasia from +the same fate when a similar charge was preferred against her. +Aristotle felt his danger, for he knew that the jealous and powerful +priesthood would be glad to catch him tripping, as indeed it did in +later years. +</P> + +<P> +"It was Hermotimus, I think, who first proposed that doctrine," he said +slowly, "and I have noticed that Anaxagoras employs it only when no +other explanation of what he sees is left him." +</P> + +<P> +There was a murmur of applause at this reply, which suggested the +necessity for supposing the existence of an overruling intelligence +without committing the philosopher to such a belief. The young +Academician seemed crestfallen, but by common consent the topic was +abandoned as too dangerous and the conversation became more general. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus could not wholly conceal the anxiety that filled his mind. +He started at every unexpected sound and turned his face toward the +entrance, where he had posted a slave with orders to bring him word +instantly should any message for him arrive. His mood did not escape +his friends, who, without knowing the reason for it, urged wine upon +him in the hope of raising his spirits and for the same reason +themselves drank more freely than usual. +</P> + +<P> +Chares had promised something new in the way of amusement, but he +refused to tell what it was to be. Consequently there was a flutter of +expectation when the attendants removed the last course, washing the +hands of the guests for the seventh time, and leaving only wine and +sweetmeats before them. +</P> + +<P> +First came a Scythian with a trained bear, which performed a series of +familiar tricks. Aristotle watched the animal with the most minute +attention, directing notice to several of its characteristics and +explaining their meaning. The music then struck into a louder and +livelier air and six young girls, in floating garments of brilliant +hue, performed a graceful dance of intricate figure. There was no +novelty in this and Chares became the target for good-natured +reproaches, which he received smilingly. The dancing girls gave place +to a swarthy Indian juggler, whose feats of magic delighted the +spectators and evoked cries of wonder and admiration. +</P> + +<P> +As the juggler retired gravely, it was noticed that Aristotle, unused +to so much wine, had dropped quietly off to sleep. By command of +Clearchus, two stalwart slaves carried him away to bed, while his +companions at the board drank his health. +</P> + +<P> +"All this is very well, Chares," Porphyry complained, "but I thought +you were going to show us something new." +</P> + +<P> +"Pour a libation to Aphrodite!" the Theban replied, sprinkling a few +drops from his goblet and draining what remained. +</P> + +<P> +The others followed his example, nothing loath. +</P> + +<P> +From behind a mass of blossoms came a young woman and stood before the +sparkling fountain with her chin slightly raised and a smile upon her +lips. She wore a chiton of shimmering, transparent fabric from the +looms of Amorgos. The coils of her tawny hair were held in place by +jewelled pins which were her only adornment. There was a confident +expression of sensuous content on her face and a slight smile parted +her lips as she saw the involuntary admiration that she inspired. +</P> + +<P> +Through the golden cobweb that covered without hiding it, her firm +flesh glowed warmly. The curves of her shoulders and breast and the +rounded fulness of her lithe limbs were as perfect as a statue. As +Clearchus gazed upon her with the delight in pure beauty which was so +strong in him, he was beset by an elusive sense of familiarity for +which he tried in vain to find some explanation. He was certain that +he had never seen the girl before. Had there been nothing else to +assure him of this, he knew that he never would have forgotten her +eyes. Like the eyes of a predatory animal, they shot back the light in +reflected gleams of fleeting topaz. +</P> + +<P> +Crouched at her side lay a leopard, his body pressed flat against the +rich carpet in which her white feet were buried. He wore a golden +collar with a slender chain, the end of which she held between her +fingers. The beast glanced restlessly from side to side in his strange +surroundings, twitching his tail with nervous uneasiness. +</P> + +<P> +In the light that bathed her from head to foot, the young woman posed +for a moment to allow the spectators to feel the full effect of her +beauty. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais! Thais!" cried several of the guests, in accents of intense +astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it really Thais?" Clearchus asked, turning to Chares. "How did you +ever persuade her to come?" +</P> + +<P> +The Theban smiled, but made no reply. Thais had only recently begun to +attract attention, but her fame had already eclipsed that of other +popular favorites in Athens. Sculptors and painters had declared her +the most beautiful woman in all Hellas. Poets had made verses in her +honor, likening her to Hebe and Aphrodite. Her house was thronged +daily with the youth of fashion. She had become the latest sensation +in a city greedy for all that was new. +</P> + +<P> +Little was known of her beyond the fact that she had been reared and +educated in all the accomplishments of her profession by old Eunomus, +one of the most skilful of all the Athenian dealers in flesh and blood. +Where he had found her he refused to tell. Everybody had heard that +Alcmæon had purchased her freedom a short time before his death, paying +Eunomus half her weight in gold, and that he had made comfortable +provision for her when his last illness seized him and he knew that he +must die. The only regret that he had expressed was that he must leave +her behind him. +</P> + +<P> +Left in an independent position, Thais had shown herself capricious. +None of the young men who hung about her could boast of any successes. +A few had ruined themselves in their efforts to gain her favor, and one +had even drunk hemlock and crept to her door to die. Clearchus, +although he had never before seen her, had heard enough of her to feel +astonished at her presence. He could not understand how Chares had +been able to induce her to come, like a mere dancing girl, for their +amusement, unless he had offered her an enormous sum of money. Knowing +the reckless character of his friend, the thought alarmed him. +</P> + +<P> +"You have ruined yourself!" he whispered to the Theban. "What did you +promise the woman?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not an obol, on my honor, O youth of simple heart!" Chares replied, +laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"Then how did you get her to come?" Clearchus asked. "You do not know +her." +</P> + +<P> +"I invited her," Chares replied; "and she accepted. I suppose it was a +woman's whim. I did not ask her." +</P> + +<P> +Slaves ran forward with a number of sword blades set in blocks of wood +in such a manner as to enable them to stand upright. These they +arranged symmetrically upon the carpet at equal distances from each +other, so as to form a lozenge pattern with its point toward Thais. +Dropping the end of the chain by which she held the leopard, as the +music changed to a rhythmic cadence, the young woman began to tread in +and out between the swords. Her movements were so light and graceful +that she seemed hardly to touch the carpet, threading her way from side +to side to the quickening measure. The leopard crept closer to the +line of steel and watched her with glowing eyes. Faster and faster +grew the measure, and faster grew her motions, until she was whirling +among the blades, which flickered like blue flames as her shadow +intercepted the light. A misstep would have sent her down to her death +upon one of the points which she seemed to regard no more than if they +had been so many flowers. The company watched her with a suspense that +was breathless. Suddenly the music ceased, and she stood before them +unharmed at the upper point of the lozenge. There was a glow on her +cheeks and her bosom panted from her exertions. The guests broke into +cries of admiration, casting their wreaths of myrtle at her feet; but +she had eyes only for Chares, who lay looking at her with a lazy smile. +She frowned and bit her lip. +</P> + +<P> +"Did I not do it well?" she demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Excellently well," Chares replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that all?" she asked in a tone of disappointment. +</P> + +<P> +Before he could make any reply there came a frantic knocking at the +door outside the house. Clearchus started forward with an exclamation +of alarm. The man whom he had placed on guard ran in, terror stricken, +followed by Tolman, one of the slaves from Melissa's house in Academe. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my master!" Tolman cried, throwing himself at the feet of +Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" the young man demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"They have carried her off," Tolman said, "and Philox, the steward, is +slain!" +</P> + +<P> +"Horses, Cleon! Bring swords and armor!" Clearchus shouted. +</P> + +<P> +"Who has done this?" Chares asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I know not," Clearchus replied; "we were forewarned; but it would be +better for them had they never been born." +</P> + +<P> +"Fetch me a jar of water," Chares cried, pushing aside the guests, who +had left their places and were crowding around Clearchus to learn the +news. When a slave brought a jar of cold water, the Theban plunged his +head into it to clear his brain and shook off the drops from his yellow +hair. "Now my armor!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas was already occupied in putting on the light accoutrement of a +horseman, and, although he said nothing, there was a look of expectant +joy on his harsh face. +</P> + +<P> +Thais, who had drawn to one side, stood for a moment, and then seeing +that she had been forgotten, slipped away unnoticed. Some of the +guests hastened to their homes to arm themselves and follow the three +friends, while others remained behind to discuss the event. Clearchus +said a hasty farewell, and in a few moments from the arrival of the +slave the three young men, followed by Cleon, were racing down to the +city gate. +</P> + +<P> +Into the open country they dashed, Clearchus leading the way, while the +others spurred madly in their effort to keep pace with him. The sun +had not yet risen when they wheeled into the gateway and drew rein at +Melissa's villa. The place seemed deserted, for the terrified servants +had closed and barred the doors, fearing a renewal of the attack. It +was several minutes before they were able to gain an entrance. +</P> + +<P> +The frightened women pressed around Clearchus, wailing and beating +their breasts and trying all at once to tell him the story of what had +happened. The young man waved them aside and ran to the room where +Philox lay. The faithful old steward had received a dagger thrust in +the breast and was unconscious. Clearchus then sought Melissa; but in +the extremity of her fright she had locked herself in her apartments +and refused to open the door. +</P> + +<P> +Finding that nothing was to be learned in that quarter, Clearchus +sternly commanded the women to be silent and answer his questions. +Trembling, they obeyed, and he managed to make them tell how the +marauders had scaled the walls of the house with a ladder and how +Philox had fallen while trying to prevent them from admitting their +confederates. They had pillaged the house of everything that they +could carry. Artemisia had fainted when they laid their hands upon her +to take her away, but they had placed her in a litter which they seemed +to have ready for the purpose. As nearly as the women were able to +judge, they had gone southward, and as soon as they were out of sight, +Tolman had ridden to the city to give the alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"They are making for the harbor," Leonidas cried. "We shall catch them +yet!" +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus felt two small cold hands clasp his own, and glancing down he +saw Proxena, one of Artemisia's little slave girls, with her +tear-stained face upturned to his. +</P> + +<P> +"Please, master," she sobbed, "bring back our mistress, Artemisia!" +</P> + +<P> +The young Athenian could not speak, but he lifted the child quickly and +kissed her. In another moment they were off in the pursuit. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD +</H4> + +<P> +Clearchus led the way through brake and thicket and across tilled +fields, bearing off slightly to the southwest so as to avoid the Long +Walls that joined the city to the Piræus, where he knew the robbers +would not dare to venture. They crossed the winding Cephissus by the +Sacred Way, skirting the hills that overlook the harbor. It seemed +hours to the young man before they emerged upon the brow of a slope +that fell away to the rocky beach. +</P> + +<P> +Directly below them was a small inlet from which a boat filled with men +was putting out toward a weather-beaten galley that lay a short +distance offshore. +</P> + +<P> +"There she is!" Chares cried, pointing to a blotch of white in the bow +of the boat. +</P> + +<P> +"We are too late!" Clearchus groaned, as he measured with his eye the +widening gap between the boat and the shore. Despair and helpless rage +surged up in his heart as they dashed recklessly down the slope. +</P> + +<P> +"Come back!" he shouted desperately. "Twenty talents of ransom!" +</P> + +<P> +The distance was too great for his words to be distinguished, although +his voice evidently reached the boat. Artemisia heard it and stretched +her arms toward him. She struggled to rise, but the sailors held her +in her seat. The steersman turned his bearded face toward the shore +and shouted out a rough command. The boat continued on toward the +galley, whose sails were already spread for flight. +</P> + +<P> +"They are not all gone!" Leonidas cried eagerly. "See there!" +</P> + +<P> +A second boat lay in the inlet with its nose in the sand, while its +crew hurriedly stowed away the litter. As Clearchus looked, they +completed this task and prepared to push off. +</P> + +<P> +The three young men leaped from their horses, but the boat was now +launched. One of the mariners waded into the water, pushing at her +stern to give her headway, while the others got out their oars. +</P> + +<P> +"You come too late, idlers!" the seamen cried mockingly as their +pursuers leaped down over the rocks to the narrow strip of sand that +fringed the inlet. "You should rise earlier in the morning." +</P> + +<P> +The man who had been pushing at the stern of the boat was up to his +waist in water. "Pull me in, lads, she has way enough!" he said; but +as he gathered himself to spring, Leonidas plunged in after him and +clutched him by the ankle. Paying no more attention to his struggles +than he would have given to those of some fish that he had taken, the +Spartan dragged the spluttering wretch back to the beach. The crew of +the boat hesitated for a moment as though doubtful whether to attempt a +rescue, but Leonidas settled their doubts by thrusting his sword into +the man's throat. +</P> + +<P> +A cry of rage and a volley of threats came from the boat as the sailors +witnessed the fate of their comrade. In giving vent to their +indignation, they lost valuable seconds of time. So narrow was the +inlet that the boat was still within easy javelin cast of the shore. +Clearchus ran along the beach abreast of it, promising a fabulous +reward to the men who should bring back the captive. +</P> + +<P> +"Seek the girl in the slave markets," was all the reply that he could +get, "and see that you come not too late a second time!" +</P> + +<P> +"I promise that you shall not be punished!" the Athenian cried in +despair. "At least lend us your boat, or take us with you to the +galley." +</P> + +<P> +"If you want our boat, come out and get it!" one of the sailors cried +in derision. +</P> + +<P> +The words were still on his lips when a great stone fell into the water +close beside the prow, dashing the spray into the faces of the crew. +Clearchus looked up in astonishment and saw Chares standing on the +crest of the ledge of rock that rose behind the strip of sand. The +Theban held another huge and jagged missile poised above his head. +With a mighty effort he hurled it at the boat. Uttering cries of +terror the sailors attempted to sheer out of the way, but in their +confusion, their splashing oars neutralized each other. The great +stone, which a man of ordinary strength could not have moved, turned +ponderously in the air and struck the gunwale amidships with a crash +that tore out the planks in splinters. In an instant the boat filled +and went down, leaving the crew struggling among the floating fragments +of the litter. +</P> + +<P> +Several of the men, who seemed unable to swim, disappeared beneath the +surface. Others struck out for the beach, only to meet death on the +swords of Chares and Clearchus on one side, and of Leonidas, who had +run around to the opposite shore of the bay to intercept those who +sought to escape in that direction. +</P> + +<P> +One man only, a fellow of powerful frame, seeing the fate that awaited +him on land, swam boldly for the open sea, preferring to take his +chance of being picked up there rather than face death upon the sand. +</P> + +<P> +"Leave him to me!" Chares cried, stripping off his chiton. +</P> + +<P> +Without hesitation, he plunged into the sea, holding his sword in his +left hand and swimming with his right. +</P> + +<P> +"Take him alive!" Clearchus shouted. "We may learn something from him!" +</P> + +<P> +The chase was short, for although the Theban carried a weapon, the +sailor was encumbered by his garments. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait, my friend, I have something to say to thee," Chares said, +pricking the man with his sword point. +</P> + +<P> +Like a wild beast, the sailor turned in desperation as though to make a +struggle for his life. He looked with bloodshot eyes into the Theban's +smiling face. +</P> + +<P> +"You have only one chance of seeing to-morrow's sun," Chares said +coolly. "Swim before me to the shore and make up your mind on the way +to tell all that you know of what has happened." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you spare my life?" the man asked. +</P> + +<P> +"That depends," Chares replied, "but I promise you that I will not +spare it unless you obey without question." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no help for it," the man muttered, and he swam sullenly back +to the beach, where Leonidas quickly secured his arms behind him. +</P> + +<P> +"There is still a chance of capturing the galley," the Spartan said to +Clearchus. "Ride quickly to the Piræus and hire a vessel to put out +after her. We will bring this fellow in." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus dashed away toward the harbor, but, as it happened, there was +no vessel that could take up the chase with any chance of success. The +galley was running before a fresh southwest wind, and although still +visible, she was already distant. Of the ships in port, some were +newly arrived and were heavily laden, while others were discharging +their cargoes. Clearchus offered any price to the captain who should +overtake the fugitive and bring Artemisia back, but the offer was made +in vain. The best that he could do was to charter six of the swiftest +ships that were available to take up the pursuit as soon as they could +be made ready. +</P> + +<P> +While he was concluding these arrangements, Chares and Leonidas arrived +with the prisoner. The man said that the galley had just returned from +a piratical cruise on the coast of Lucania and was under the command of +Syphax. He had joined the crew at Locri, he said, and knew nothing +about the abduction excepting that they were all to be well paid for +it. He was unable to tell what port the galley expected to make after +leaving Attica. +</P> + +<P> +Although he was examined later under torture, the man could reveal no +more. He was thrown into prison to be used as a witness against his +companions should they be caught. The last of the vessels that +Clearchus sent on the chase was out of the harbor before nightfall, and +the young man, feeling that he had done all that he could do, rode back +to the city overwhelmed by his loss. Chares and Leonidas sought in +vain to comfort him. His self-reproach at having left Artemisia +unguarded after the warning of the dream was too poignant. He shut +himself up to avoid the acquaintances who flocked about him to offer +their sympathy and to learn the details of his sorrow. They questioned +the slaves when they found the doors closed against them and then ran +to tell what they had learned in the baths, the barber shops, and the +gaming houses, greedy of gossip. Ariston, after making certain that +his part in the plot had not been discovered, came to visit his nephew +and was admitted. +</P> + +<P> +"We have no defence against the will of the Gods when it falls heavily +upon us save one," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Patience," the old man responded. +</P> + +<P> +"Patience!" Clearchus exclaimed, striding back and forth with clenched +fists. "Yes, I will have patience! I will have patience to seek +Artemisia to the ends of the world until I have found her! And I will +have patience until every man who is concerned in this attack upon us +has paid for it with his life. I will be patient!" +</P> + +<P> +Ariston blanched at this outburst, but immediately recovered himself. +"Alas! What can you do alone?" he asked mournfully. +</P> + +<P> +"He will not be alone, for Chares and I will be with him," Leonidas +said quietly. "We have sworn it." +</P> + +<P> +"I will not advise against it," Ariston said with a sigh. "But it may +be that the galleys you have sent out will bring the robbers back. You +must not forget that you have duties to the State. The times are +troubled and your fortune is great." +</P> + +<P> +"My own affairs must come first at present," Clearchus said bluntly. +"As for my fortune, of what use is it to me without Artemisia? I must +ask you to take charge of it once more for me. I shall give you full +power, and if I come not back I desire that it shall be devoted to the +public good as you may see fit." +</P> + +<P> +"I am an old man," Ariston said, with mock hesitation, "but I cannot +refuse the trust under the circumstances if you require it of me. Yet, +why dost thou leave Athens?" +</P> + +<P> +"How can I remain here?" Clearchus exclaimed. "My suffering is too +great. But I knew you would not refuse me," he added in a calmer +voice, clasping his uncle by the hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Doubtless they have carried her to some one of the Eastern cities," +Ariston said reflectively. "That is where this Syphax would most +naturally go, as it seems his hope is to get money. I will write to +such friends as I have there to be on the watch." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus groaned. "It will be too late, I fear, before thy letters +can reach them," he said. "I know not what to do nor where to turn." +</P> + +<P> +"Here is Aristotle; let us consult him," Chares said as the philosopher +entered. +</P> + +<P> +Aristotle listened attentively while Clearchus and his friends related +all the circumstances of Artemisia's abduction. He asked many +questions regarding the particulars of the dream of warning that had +preceded the attack. +</P> + +<P> +"Some things we know and others we can guess," he said at last. "Only +the Gods know all. The world is wide. I pity thee, Clearchus, my +friend, with all my heart, and I wish that I might aid thee. It is +clear that the warning came from Artemis. I advise thee to seek +counsel from Phœbus, her brother. Thou art not an unworthy disciple +of his, for thy heart is pure and thy hands are clean. Thou lovest the +poets and music. Go to him with faith and perhaps he will aid thee." +</P> + +<P> +Hope appeared upon the face of the young Athenian. "I will go," he +said. "The great God himself loved Daphne and lost her. He may take +compassion on me. Chares shall remain here and set all things in order +so that we may act quickly if a sign should be given. Will you come +with me, Leonidas, to Delphi?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will," said the Spartan, "and let us go at once; for I can see that +thy heart is sick." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE +</H4> + +<P> +Clearchus and Leonidas rode out of Attica across the olive-bearing +plains, and up the rugged spurs and ridges which flank the mountain of +Cithæron, upon whose rocky slopes Antiope wailed as an infant, and the +rash Pentheus was torn to pieces by women to the end that the power of +Dionysius might be established. They halted for a brief space at the +fortress of Phyle, the key that had opened to Thrasybulus his native +land and enabled him to give it freedom. Leonidas admired the great +walls built of square blocks of stone laid one upon another without +mortar and fitted so exactly that the joints would scarcely be seen. +</P> + +<P> +Teleon, captain of the guard which was stationed at this gateway, was a +friend of Clearchus. He gave them bread and wine, while the young +Athenian told him of his misfortune. After expressing his sympathy, +Teleon inquired eagerly for the news of Athens. +</P> + +<P> +"Will the Assembly send troops to the aid of Phœnix and Prothytes, +who have raised the revolt in Thebes?" he asked. "You know they now +hold the city, and my spies tell me that they are preparing for any +attack that may be made upon them." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus gave him an account of the indecisive meeting of the Assembly +on the preceding day. +</P> + +<P> +"All Athens believes the boy king is dead," he said, referring to +Alexander. "What is your opinion, Teleon?" +</P> + +<P> +"That, too, is the belief in Thebes," the captain replied. "I know +not; but if it proves to be so, Thebes is free." +</P> + +<P> +"And if not?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"If not, there will be fighting," Teleon predicted, "and may Zeus +inspire the Macedonian to attack us here!" +</P> + +<P> +From the slope beyond Phyle the young man saw the Bœotian plain +spread out before them, and beyond, in the purple distance, the rocky +ramparts of Phocis. There, glowing rose-colored in the evening light, +shone the snow-clad crest of Parnassus. Clearchus' heart swelled as he +looked upon the goal in which his hope was centred. +</P> + +<P> +"We must be there to-morrow," he said eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"The God will not run away!" Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +They plunged down the mountain slope into the shadows, which deepened +under the plane trees as they advanced, until the winding track was +almost hidden before them. The moon rose as they emerged upon the +plain that had so often drunk the life-blood of Hellas. At Thespiæ +their horses could go no further, and they halted for the night. +</P> + +<P> +Although the road from Thebes was better, they had purposely avoided +the city, fearing that the disturbances there might delay them. They +found Thespiæ full of rumors of the Theban uprising. Some said that +the Macedonians in the Cadmea had been put to the sword; others that +the peace party had gained the upper hand and was awaiting the arrival +of Alexander. Leonidas, who listened eagerly to all that was said, was +surprised to find that the report of the young king's death was +discredited in the town. There were even men who insisted that he was +on his way through Thessaly at the head of his army, ready to strike. +</P> + +<P> +The Spartan sighed and looked wistfully over his shoulder in the +direction of Thebes as they took horse at sunrise. At evening, +begrimed with dust, they toiled up the last ascent that led to Delphi, +the terraced city among the sacred cliffs—the Navel of the World. +</P> + +<P> +As Clearchus gazed upward at the twin columns of the Phædriades rising +side by side a thousand feet above the temple in the cool gray +twilight, the fever of anxiety in his blood left him and his pulses +beat more slowly. The strong masonry of the outer wall, which enclosed +and seemed to hold from slipping down the mountain side the buildings +clustered about the lofty terrace, on which the temple stood close +under the towering cliffs, shut in the shrine that for centuries all +Hellas had looked upon as hallowed. Awe came upon him in the presence +of the great Mystery. There were scoffers in Athens who laughed at all +religion. There were philosophers in the world who taught that the +existence of the Gods was a foolish dream. Why had Phœbus permitted +the Phocians to seize his treasure and to profane his altar, they +asked, if he really existed? +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus put the same question to himself as he looked down upon the +Cirrhæan fields that had been consecrated to the God and condemned to +lie waste forever in his honor. The Phocians had desecrated them by +cultivation. When condemned by the Amphictyons at the instance of +their enemies, the Thebans, they had seized the shrine and the +treasure-houses. Though they had prospered for a time, in the end +Philomelus and Onomarchus had been slain and the Phocians broken and +scattered. The sacrilege had been punished, but Philip had been +brought into Hellas as the champion of the God and the chief instrument +of his wrath. Thebes had been placed beneath his feet. +</P> + +<P> +What was to be the end? Was the fate of the city that had driven the +Phocians to their crime to be worse than that of their victims? +Clearchus, as he thought of these things, was chilled with an +indefinable dread of the Invisible Presence whose home was among the +silent and Titanic crags that made the utmost triumphs of human art and +skill laid at their feet seem as transitory as the work of children +fashioned in sand. He felt that here the mighty purpose of the Unseen +was being worked out, deliberate and irresistible, before which the +races of men were as nothing. +</P> + +<P> +They did not enter the city that night, but turned aside to the house +of Eresthenes, who had been a guest-friend of Clearchus' father. The +old man was overjoyed to see them. After the evening meal he sought +the priests of the temple and brought back word that the oracle might +be consulted next day if the sacrifice proved propitious. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus slept soundly. In the morning he purified himself, according +to the rule, in the clear, cold waters of the Castalian Font hung about +with votive offerings in marble and bronze placed there by grateful +pilgrims to the shrine. Eresthenes gave him fresh garments, with the +garland of olive and the fillet of wool which suppliants were required +to put on. +</P> + +<P> +Guided by the old man, the two friends ascended the wide marble +staircase that led to the great stone platform at the southeast corner +of the lower terrace, where ceremonial processions were accustomed to +form before entering the sacred enclosure. Passing through the gate, +they advanced between treasure-houses upon which the most famous +sculptors of the world had lavished their skill. Among these and the +dwellings of the priests and the chief men of the place were set scores +of columns and statues, the offerings of centuries from kings and +princes. Across the lower terrace the way led them to the next higher, +with a sharp turn to the right at the great stone sphinx which guarded +the passage through the second wall. They continued up the slope to +the final platform, on which the temple stood resplendent with color. +</P> + +<P> +Entering between the great columns, Eresthenes and Leonidas left +Clearchus to the care of the priests—grave men of advanced age who +were under the direction of Agias. They led the Athenian to the +apartment of the chief priest, a venerable minister whose age had +passed one hundred years. He sat in his marble arm-chair, propped by +cushions. His white beard flowed over his breast, and his thin hands +lay crossed in his lap. He raised his dim eyes and fixed them upon the +face of his visitor. +</P> + +<P> +"What wilt thou, Thrasybulus, who comest back to me from beyond the +tomb?" he asked in a quavering voice. +</P> + +<P> +The attendant priests glanced at each other in surprise, but none of +them dared to reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak, Thrasybulus; I am an old man," the chief priest said. +</P> + +<P> +"Thrasybulus has been dead these fifty years, Father," Agias said. +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, who comes as a suppliant to the +oracle." +</P> + +<P> +"He is like Thrasybulus!" the old man muttered, bowing his head. "It +seems but yesterday that he stood before me." He paused for a moment +and then continued with an effort: "Art thou pure of heart? Art thou +free from the sins of the flesh?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am," Clearchus replied firmly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then pass into the presence of the God who knoweth all and who doth +not forget!" said the patriarch, closing his eyes wearily. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus bowed and was about to turn away, when the old man roused +himself once more. +</P> + +<P> +"Come hither, boy, and let me look at thee!" he said. "My sight is +growing dim." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus knelt at his feet, and the aged priest placed his hand on his +head, stroking his hair and peering into his face. +</P> + +<P> +"So like Thrasybulus! It was only yesterday!" he said to himself. +"The storm comes and the world is changing. Thou shalt see thrones +made empty and nations perish; but the God will remain until a greater +cometh. Clearchus art thou called? It may be so; but to me thou art +Thrasybulus. Go thy ways. The God will be kind to thee." +</P> + +<P> +Although the other priests were evidently struck by this unusual scene, +they made no comment, but led Clearchus into the dim interior of the +temple. On every hand, between the columns and against the walls, +gleamed statues and vessels of precious metals, exquisite in design and +workmanship, that the Phocians had not dared to remove from the house +itself of the God. Before them stood a group of young women in snowy +robes with fillets in their hair. They were chanting a hymn of slow +and solemn measure. +</P> + +<P> +They ceased their chant as the priests entered with Clearchus, and two +of them advanced, leading between them one of the three priestesses of +the temple. The Pythia was a woman of middle age, slender of figure, +with large gray eyes that seemed to look at Clearchus without seeing +him. Her thin cheeks still retained the fresh color of youth, and her +lips, of a deep red, moved gently as though she were whispering to +herself. +</P> + +<P> +Looking about him with eyes grown accustomed to the semidarkness, +Clearchus saw a slightly raised platform of white marble toward the +rear of the temple. Three shallow steps led to a broad slab, in the +middle of which was a cleft. Through this orifice curled a pale, +fleeting vapor, which rose like transparent smoke for the height of a +man above the platform before it vanished. It came from the stone in +puffs and spirals which swayed, now this way, now that, with a +peculiarly irregular and capricious impulse like the balancing of a +coiled serpent. +</P> + +<P> +Over the cleft was set a low tripod, the legs of which were formed of +intertwined snakes wrought in gold so cunningly that every scale seemed +reproduced in the bright metal. The jewelled eyes of the reptiles +twinkled through the vapor which alternately hid and revealed them. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly and solemnly the priestesses led the Pythia to the foot of the +platform, where they gave her hands to two of the most venerable of the +priests, whose office it was to conduct her to the tripod. Her lips +formed themselves into a smile as she mounted the steps and the women +resumed their chanting. +</P> + +<P> +As she took her place upon the tripod and the priests descended, +leaving her alone, a sudden thunderstorm burst above the towering crags +which overhung the shrine. The wind roared down between the Phædriades +with mighty strength, and a crash of thunder, leaping and reverberating +from rock to cliff, shook the temple to its foundations. +</P> + +<P> +"Zeus is speaking to the son of Latona!" murmured Agias, and all bowed +their heads in reverence. +</P> + +<P> +Filled as he was with awe, Clearchus felt reassured by the calm +demeanor of the priests. He fixed his eyes on the Pythia, who remained +seated on the tripod with her hands loosely folded in her lap, +oblivious alike to the storm and to her surroundings. The chill vapor +seemed to grow more dense. At times it hid her entirely, wrapping her +in its cold embrace. The color deepened in her cheeks and the smile +left her parted lips. With dilated pupils she gazed over the heads of +the little group before her. Gradually her face assumed a troubled +expression and her tongue began to frame broken words and fragmentary +sentences the purport of which Clearchus could not understand. +Suddenly she half raised her hands as though she would cover her eyes +and her face contracted as with a spasm of pain. +</P> + +<P> +"Evohe! Phœbus!" she cried in a wailing voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask thy question—the God is here!" Agias whispered, pushing Clearchus +toward the platform. +</P> + +<P> +The young man found himself standing alone in the dread Presence, +gazing upon the Pythia, who was no longer a woman, but an instrument in +the hands of the God. The vapor curled about her and encircled her in +swiftly changing, fantastic forms. Her gray eyes looked out into his, +fixed and steadfast, and the tension of the influence which possessed +her convulsed her features. Dead silence reigned throughout the vast +and shadowy interior of the temple. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus tried to frame the question that he had prepared but the +words refused to come. The awe of his surroundings paralyzed his +speech. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the dear, wistful face of his love seemed to appear to him +amid the folds of the rolling mist, filled with sorrow and yearning. +His fear left him. All else, even life itself, was as nothing before +the fierce desire of his heart. +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall I find Artemisia?" he cried, stretching out his arms +before the whirling cloud which hid the priestess in its embrace. +</P> + +<P> +There was a moment of suspense, in which he could hear the dull rushing +of the torrent that filled the sluices, overflowing with the rain, on +either side of the temple. The priests leaned forward attentively to +catch the reply, each holding a tablet of wax and a stylus with which +to record any words that the Pythia might utter. Clearchus stood +motionless, his arms still outstretched, gazing with straining eyes +upon the lips of the priestess. She writhed upon the tripod as though +in agony. Her eyes were set and glassy and a slight foam showed itself +upon her mouth. Then came her voice, strained and strange, through the +eddies of the vapor:— +</P> + +<P> +"Seek in the track of the Whirlwind—there shalt thou find thy Beloved!" +</P> + +<P> +Her eyes closed, and a shuddering sigh issued from her bosom. The two +priests who had placed her upon the tripod hastened forward and bore +her from the platform. She had lost consciousness completely. Her +head drooped upon her shoulder and her face was as pale as death. The +old men gave her in charge of the women, who ran forward to receive her +and quickly carried her into their own apartments. +</P> + +<P> +A great joy filled Clearchus. "She is safe! She is safe! And I shall +find her!" he said to himself, following the silent priests out of the +temple. As they passed out into the portico he looked back over his +shoulder at the platform where the God had manifested himself. The +swift storm had swept over and the sun was shining again. A gleam of +his light fell upon the curling mist and Clearchus saw it tinged with +the prismatic colors of the rainbow. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS +</H4> + +<P> +Leonidas and Eresthenes stood in the portico of the temple awaiting the +return of Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"All is well!" the young man cried, throwing his arms around Leonidas +in the excess of his joy. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we find her?" the Spartan asked anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; the God has promised it," Clearchus replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is she?" Leonidas asked quickly. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus hesitated and his face fell. The oracle had not told him +where she was. +</P> + +<P> +"What did the God mean when he spoke of the Whirlwind's track?" he +asked, turning to the priests. +</P> + +<P> +"We know no more than thou," Agias replied. "The answer given to thee +is more definite than any we have had in these later times. That is a +good omen. Be content and doubtless the God will choose his own way to +make all clear to thee." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was troubled, but he thanked the priests and arranged for the +bestowal of an offering of ten talents of gold. He was about to take +his leave when a man with mud-stained garments came running up the +steep incline to the temple. He was one of the agents or messengers +that the priests maintained in every large city of Greece to keep them +informed of events. The knowledge which they brought, added to that +which came with visitors to the oracle from all parts of the world, +made Delphi the centre of intelligence and enabled the servants of the +God, if need there was, to supplement his answers from their own +understanding. +</P> + +<P> +The man halted breathless before the white-clad group that stood in the +sunlight between the columns awaiting him. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Cimon," Agias said. "What news dost thou bring—speak!" +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander is before the walls of Thebes with his army!" the messenger +panted. +</P> + +<P> +"Whence came he?" Agias demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the mountains of Thessaly—like a whirlwind!" Cimon replied. +"Before men had time to learn of his approach, he was there." +</P> + +<P> +"Like a whirlwind, you say?" Agias repeated, glancing at Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"Like a whirlwind, indeed," the messenger replied, "and panic holds the +city!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thy question is answered, my son," said Agias, quietly. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was amazed. He had believed that the words of the Pythia +were to be taken in their literal sense, and he had resolved to consult +Aristotle in the matter on his return to Athens. But when Agias called +his attention to the reply of the messenger, who could have had no +knowledge of the prophecy, he could not doubt that a metaphor had been +intended. The plans of the young Macedonian monarch at once acquired a +new and intense interest in his mind and he listened eagerly to Cimon's +story. +</P> + +<P> +"The Thebans are divided," said the messenger. "They know not whether +to surrender their city and earn their pardon, or to give defiance to +the young king. The last they had heard of him was that he had been +slain in battle at Pelium by the blow of a club. You know already that +the citizens rose when Phœnix and Prothytes came back from Athens +and that they besieged the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea. Athens +sent money and promised an army. The Bœotarchs ordered the walls to +be made strong and a barricade to be built inside so that even if the +walls should fall, they would still be able to defend themselves. +Fugitives from Onchestris brought the first news that Alexander and his +army were there. Even then the city would not believe it was the +Hegemon himself, but maintained that it must be Antipater or the +Lyncestian namesake of the king. For how, they asked, could the dead +come to life?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing is beyond the power of the Gods," Agias said sententiously. +</P> + +<P> +"We expected a swift attack," Cimon continued, "but it was not until +the next day that the army came within sight of the city and encamped +north of the walls. The Thebans sent their cavalry and light troops to +meet them. This was only a skirmish, but the soldiers brought word +that Alexander, indeed, was there. Some of them who knew him had seen +him directing the Macedonian troops. +</P> + +<P> +"We found this to be true when the Macedonians moved their camp around +to the main gate. The soldiers of the garrison in the Cadmea +recognized their king and cried out to us that Alexander had come to +avenge them. Still he did not attack, but sent a herald to say that he +would forgive all that had been done if the city would yield itself and +send him Phœnix and Prothytes to be punished." +</P> + +<P> +"And what was the answer?" Agias asked. +</P> + +<P> +"There were many who favored accepting the terms," Cimon replied, +"especially since aid from Athens had been cut off; but the exiles who +had returned to raise the revolt declared that the king was afraid. +Should he have the boldness to attack the walls, they promised that he +would be beaten and that Thebes would send a garrison to Pella instead +of having one in the Cadmea." +</P> + +<P> +"They are desperate men," the old priest said. +</P> + +<P> +"But they won the people," Cimon replied, "and it was resolved to +fight. So matters stood when I slipped out of the northern gate last +night to bring you word." +</P> + +<P> +"You have done well, Cimon," Agias said. "Dost thou think the city +will escape?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I cannot tell," the messenger answered. "It has corn enough for +a siege; but Alexander's army contains thirty thousand footmen and a +troop of horse, besides ballistæ and battering-rams which they were +setting up when I left." +</P> + +<P> +"The walls are strong," Agias said, reflecting. "Well, go to thy rest. +Thou hast need of it." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and his friends had enough to talk about as they walked down +from the temple. +</P> + +<P> +"One thing is certain," said the young Athenian. "We must go at once +to Thebes." +</P> + +<P> +"That we must do if only to see the fighting," Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +"What if the Dragon's Teeth should win?" Eresthenes suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"They cannot," Leonidas said. "The man who could make the march that +Alexander made is a general as well as a king. There is no Epaminondas +in Thebes now." +</P> + +<P> +"What will become of Chares' mother and his family if the city falls?" +Clearchus exclaimed, stopping short. +</P> + +<P> +"Have I not heard him say that his father formed a guest-friendship +with Philip when the Macedonian was left in Thebes as a hostage?" +Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Clearchus admitted, "but that may be forgotten by his son if all +they say concerning Philip's death be true." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must remind him," Leonidas said, "and that is another reason +why we must go to Thebes." +</P> + +<P> +Eresthenes gave the young men a cordial good-speed when they left him +in the morning to set out for the beleaguered city. They descended +from the mountains and entered the fertile plains of Bœotia, through +which they rode all day without finding a sign of war. The farmers +went about their work and the shepherds were pasturing their flocks as +peacefully as though there were no such things as armies and slaughter. +More than once they stopped to ask news of the siege, but the people of +the plain could tell them nothing. Many of them had not heard that +Alexander was before the city; others had indeed heard the rumor, but +convinced that they themselves were safe, they took no interest in it. +</P> + +<P> +Evening was drawing on and they had approached to within a few miles of +the city when they met a rider whose horse was dripping with sweat. +</P> + +<P> +"Ho, there; what news of Thebes?" Leonidas shouted as he passed. +</P> + +<P> +The man looked at them, but made no answer. He bent low on the neck of +his horse and his cloak flew out behind him like the wings of a huge +bird. +</P> + +<P> +"There has been a battle," Leonidas said. "Was he Theban or +Macedonian?" +</P> + +<P> +Burning with impatience, they urged their horses to the crest of a low +hill, where they came suddenly upon half a dozen cavalrymen, who had +halted in a small grove to bind up a wound which one of their number +had received in the shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened?" Leonidas asked, drawing rein beside them. +</P> + +<P> +"Know you not that the city has fallen?" one of the soldiers replied. +"The accursed Macedonians forced us in through the gates and came in +with us. Not a soul is left alive in Thebes, and my wife and children +were there!" +</P> + +<P> +"And that is where you should be," the Spartan replied contemptuously. +</P> + +<P> +The poor fellow burst into tears at this reproach as he thought of the +fate of his little family. Clearchus, touched by his grief, drew out +his purse and gave it to him. +</P> + +<P> +"If they are still living, this may aid you to ransom them," he said. +</P> + +<P> +As the two friends proceeded they now began to meet other bands of +fugitives straggling along the road. Most of them fled silently, often +looking back over their shoulders as if in dread of pursuit. +</P> + +<P> +"Cowards!" said Leonidas, scornfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Life is sweet to all of us," Clearchus remonstrated, thinking of +Artemisia. +</P> + +<P> +"To such as these it should be bitter!" the Spartan replied. +</P> + +<P> +They were rounding a turn in the road as he spoke, and before the words +were well out of his mouth they found themselves entangled in a rabble +of horsemen, who were retreating before a fierce attack. +</P> + +<P> +"In here, quickly!" Leonidas cried, urging his horse back among the +trees beside the road. +</P> + +<P> +They had barely time to gain this shelter before the rush of plunging +horses and shouting men went past them. The Thebans were evidently +making a desperate attempt to rally, and just beyond the spot where the +two were concealed they halted, wheeled, and stood at bay. +</P> + +<P> +But before they had accomplished this manœuvre the foremost of the +pursuers, headed by a young man riding a powerful chestnut horse, swept +into sight. The leader, in his excitement, had distanced his troop. +Clearchus and Leonidas, who, from their position in the elbow of the +road, were able to see in both directions, realized that he was +galloping straight into an ambush. Leonidas started forward to warn +him, but it was too late. The Thebans had regained their order, and +with a wild shout they charged back around the curve. +</P> + +<P> +Either the unexpectedness of the onset caused the chestnut to swerve, +or his rider tried to pull him up too suddenly, for he stumbled and +went to his knees. The young man was pitched headforemost into the +underbrush and fell almost at the feet of Leonidas. +</P> + +<P> +Some of the Theban troopers saw the accident and rushed upon him with +cries of triumph. They were confronted by Leonidas and Clearchus, who +stood over the prostrate figure with drawn swords. Surprise caused the +Thebans to hesitate, and this saved the lives of all three; for the +Macedonian riders, thundering down upon the Thebans at full speed, +struck them and tore them to pieces. Horse and man went down before +that fierce charge, which left nothing behind excepting the dead and a +handful of wounded, whose cries for mercy were cut short by a +sword-thrust. The survivors fled without looking behind them. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Ptolemy?" shouted one of the Macedonians, a bearded man who +seemed to be second in command. "Who has seen the captain?" +</P> + +<P> +"He rode in advance," one of the troopers replied. +</P> + +<P> +"If we do not bring him back, we shall have to answer for it to the +king, and you know what that means," the first man said. +</P> + +<P> +"He is here!" Clearchus called from the thicket. +</P> + +<P> +The bearded lieutenant and several others hastily dismounted and +carried their captain out into the road. He was still unconscious. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" the lieutenant demanded gruffly, looking at the two +young men with suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Clearchus of Athens, and this is Leonidas of Sparta," Clearchus +replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Of Athens!" the man said sneeringly. "Go back to your city and tell +the cowards who live there that we are coming!" +</P> + +<P> +"As you came once before—with Xerxes!" the young Athenian answered +quickly. +</P> + +<P> +The lieutenant's face grew livid and he whipped out his sword. +</P> + +<P> +"Cut their throats! Kill them!" the troopers cried angrily, pressing +closer. +</P> + +<P> +Like a flash, Leonidas bestrode the form of the captain, sword in hand. +</P> + +<P> +"I am of Sparta!" he cried boastfully. "My country never saw the face +of Philip, nor shall it look upon that of his son, who calls himself +the Hegemon of all Hellas. Put away your swords, or here is one whose +funeral you will celebrate to-morrow!" +</P> + +<P> +He placed the point of his blade at the captain's throat as he spoke. +The men of Macedon dared not move. +</P> + +<P> +"Listen to reason!" Clearchus said hastily. "We are without armor, as +you see. We saved the life of your captain, and we are on our way to +Thebes to see Alexander on matters of importance. Take us with you and +let your king deal with us. This is no time nor place for brawling." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right," the lieutenant said sullenly. "Let it be as you say." +</P> + +<P> +He sheathed his sword, and the others followed his example, though with +an ill grace. The captain had begun to recover his senses. His skull +must have been tough to have resisted the shock of his fall without +cracking. +</P> + +<P> +"Why are you letting me lie here?" he demanded. "Where is the enemy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Scattered and gone, excepting these that you see," the lieutenant +replied, pointing to the bodies. +</P> + +<P> +"Then get me on a horse and back to camp," the captain ordered. +</P> + +<P> +As they rode the lieutenant explained the presence of Clearchus and +Leonidas. The captain frankly gave them thanks when he learned that +they had protected him while he lay helpless. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Ptolemy," he said, "and since you desire to see Alexander, I will +take you to him. I owe you much and the day may come when I shall be +able to repay you." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE DOOM OF THEBES +</H4> + +<P> +The plain where once the sons of Niobe lay weltering had borne its last +harvest of slaughter. On every side Leonidas and Clearchus noted the +ghastly evidences of battle. Darkness fell before Ptolemy's troop +reached the shattered gates of Thebes. Men with torches in their hands +wandered through the streets strewn with corpses, seeking plunder among +the dead or searching for the bodies of friends. Neither sex nor age +had been spared when Perdiccas hewed his way into the city. The very +altars of the Gods were crimsoned with the vengeance taken by the +Phocians, the Platæans, and the Bœotians for the centuries of cruel +oppression that they had suffered from the rapacious brood of the +Dragon. +</P> + +<P> +Mothers lay dabbled in blood, with their infants beside them, struck +down in flight. The market-place was heaped with bodies, showing how +desperate had been the final stand of the Theban soldiers. The streets +were littered with household gear that had been dragged in wantonness +from despoiled homes. +</P> + +<P> +The plundering was not yet finished. Bands of soldiers were still +searching for booty in the remoter quarters of the city, where their +progress could be traced by the sound of their drunken laughter, +mingled with the screams of their victims. +</P> + +<P> +Macedonian guards paced the walls and cut off all hope of escape. The +wretched inhabitants, driven into the highways, sought concealment in +dark angles and narrow lanes, cowering in silence. +</P> + +<P> +Here and there a woman, rendered desperate by her anguish, walked with +dishevelled hair, heedless of insult, seeking her children among the +slain in the hope that she might find them still alive. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus felt his heart grow faint at the thought that Artemisia might +be exposed to the frightful chances of such a sack. Phœbus himself, +he thought, might be unable to protect her, since here the temples of +the Gods had been profaned. An old man in priestly robes stood out +before them with trembling hands upraised. +</P> + +<P> +"Vengeance, O Zeus!" he cried aloud. "Vengeance upon those who have +violated the sanctuary of Dionysus, thy son! May they—" +</P> + +<P> +"Silence, Graybeard!" growled a soldier, striking him across the mouth +with his fist. +</P> + +<P> +The old man reeled from the blow and shrank away into the shadow. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll choke if you ever try to drink wine again, Glaucis!" a comrade +cried, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"Dionysus will forgive me soon enough for a sacrifice," Glaucis +returned. "Never fear!" +</P> + +<P> +Ptolemy learned that Alexander had gone to the Cadmea and thither he +led Clearchus and Leonidas after he had dismissed his men, eager to +take their share in the pillage. They found the young king in a large, +bare room in the lower part of the citadel. He had not yet laid aside +his armor, which was dented and scratched by use. +</P> + +<P> +When they entered, he was giving orders to his captains, who stood +grouped about him. Clearchus looked at him with eager interest. He +saw a well-proportioned, athletic figure, no taller than his own. The +handsome beardless face glowed with the warm blood of youth and a smile +parted the full red lips. There was no trace of fatigue in the young +king's attitude, despite the labors of the day, and his movements were +alert and decisive. He looked even more youthful than his twenty-one +years as he stood among his leaders, some of whom were veterans of +Philip's campaigns, grizzled with service. But in spite of his youth, +there was a confidence in his bearing that left no doubt of who was +master. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus felt himself strangely drawn to the young man whom all +Hellas, with the exception of Sparta, acknowledged as its champion, and +who was about to assail that great power beyond the Hellespont, whose +limits were unknown and before whom Greece had stood in dread since the +days of Great Cyrus. The Athenian found the "boy king" very different +from the arrogant, mean-spirited upstart that the orators of his city +had painted him. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop the plundering," Alexander said to his captains. "Even the +Bœotians must be satisfied by this time. Let the men go back to the +camp, and see that order is maintained. The Ætolians and the Elæans +are on the march and reënforcements are coming from Athens. There may +be more work to do to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +As the officers left him to execute his commands, Alexander turned to +Ptolemy with hands outstretched. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to see you safe!" he said. "You charged bravely before the +gate, and I feared that something might have happened that would +deprive me of your aid when we march into Persia." +</P> + +<P> +Ptolemy's bronzed face reddened with pleasure as he heard the praise of +the young king. +</P> + +<P> +"I went in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it likely that any of those who escaped will be able to rally?" +Alexander asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They are scattered in every direction and think only of flight," +Ptolemy replied. +</P> + +<P> +"That is well," Alexander said. "We shall be the better able to deal +with the others when they come. Who are these that you have brought to +me?" +</P> + +<P> +He turned toward the two young men, who had been standing at a little +distance, and looked them frankly in the eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, and this, Leonidas of Sparta," Ptolemy +replied, presenting them in turn. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander's face clouded at the names of the two most powerful of the +states that opposed him in Greece, and Ptolemy hastened to add: "They +saved my life when my horse stumbled in the pursuit, and they have a +request to make of you." +</P> + +<P> +"You have done me a great service," Alexander said kindly. "What is it +that you desire?" +</P> + +<P> +"We ask clemency for the family of Jason, on behalf of Chares, his son, +whom we left behind in Athens," Clearchus replied. +</P> + +<P> +"And why is he not in Thebes?" Alexander asked quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Because he did not know that you were coming," Clearchus said. "Had +he been aware of the danger, he would not have been absent. We heard +of your arrival while we were in Delphi, and we made all haste to +remind you that Jason was a guest-friend of your father, Philip." +</P> + +<P> +"Orders have been given that the guest-friends of Macedon shall be +spared, both in their lives and their property," Alexander replied. +"What did you in Delphi?" +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus told him briefly how Artemisia had been stolen and of the +response of the oracle. +</P> + +<P> +"Love must be a strong passion," the young king said thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I would give all that I possess to recover Artemisia," Clearchus +replied. "Nor would I be willing to exchange my hope of finding her +for the wisdom of Aristotle or even for the hopes of Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +"So you know Aristotle," Alexander said. "He is a wonderful man. Were +I not Alexander, I would envy him." He looked curiously at Clearchus as +he spoke, as though he were considering something that he did not +understand. "So that is what they call love," he continued, "and I and +my army are the Whirlwind of which the God spoke." He beckoned to an +attendant. "Call Aristander!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +He made Clearchus repeat his story to the famous soothsayer. +Aristander listened attentively, stroking his chin with the tips of his +fingers as his custom was. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of it?" Alexander asked, when Clearchus had +finished. Everybody knew the confidence that he placed in the words of +the prophet and that he never took an important step against his advice. +</P> + +<P> +"Full credit must be given to the oracle," Aristander said, turning his +blue eyes upon the young king, "and I think that the priests of the +temple were right in their interpretation, since the message brought +and the title given could have had no other meaning. As the maid was +carried away by sea, she was probably taken to some island or to one of +the cities on the coast of Asia. The Whirlwind's track must needs lead +thither, and since the maid is to be set free, it is clear that the +Whirlwind shall prevail." +</P> + +<P> +"Then the oracle is propitious!" Alexander exclaimed. "What is your +plan?" he added to Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall obey the oracle and follow in thy track," the Athenian +replied. "If thou wilt permit me, I myself will become a part of the +Whirlwind." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander looked at him with the unquenchable fire of enthusiasm in his +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art welcome!" he said. "And you, my friend of stubborn Sparta?" +he continued to Leonidas. +</P> + +<P> +"I go with Clearchus," the Spartan responded briefly. +</P> + +<P> +"You shall be of my Companions," Alexander cried, placing his hand upon +a shoulder of each. "The world grows old and we have been wasting our +strength in foolish quarrels with each other while the tiger has been +lying there across the water, waiting to devour us. We shall show him +that the spirit of Hellas still lives, although Troy has fallen, and we +will do deeds that shall be sung by some new Homer as worthy too of a +place beside those of Achilles and Ajax and Agamemnon. Yes, and we +will bring back a fleece more precious than that which the Argonauts +sought. I promise you that the Whirlwind's track shall be long enough +and broad enough to lead you to your heart's desire, whatever it may +be. Ptolemy, I count these men among my friends and I give them into +your charge." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Leonidas felt their hearts swell at the young king's +words and his lofty generosity, but before they could thank him, they +were interrupted by a commotion at the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the way! I will see him! I care not how late it is," an angry +voice exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Chares, son of Jason," Clearchus said. "How comes he here?" +</P> + +<P> +Alexander quietly signed to the guard, and the Theban strode into the +room, clad in armor that clashed noisily as he walked. He looked +neither to the right nor left, but went straight to Alexander. +</P> + +<P> +"I am come to remind the King of Macedon of the ties of hospitality," +he said boldly, in a voice more fitted to a demand than a petition. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander measured his great stature with admiration in his glance, +noting that the armor, gold-inlaid, was crusted with mud and grime like +his own. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy name might be Hector," he said. +</P> + +<P> +The Theban, ignorant of the young king's train of thought and of what +had gone before, imagined that he saw mockery in this remark. His face +flushed darkly. +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Chares!" he said haughtily. "Jason, my father, was the +friend of Epaminondas, who furnished thy father with the weapons that +thou hast used against us this day. I come not to thee on my own +behalf, but on that of my mother and sisters, who were shut in here +when the attack came." +</P> + +<P> +"You are too late!" the young king said composedly. +</P> + +<P> +Chares staggered and his face blanched. "Too late!" he exclaimed +hoarsely. "Does Alexander, then, make war upon women?" +</P> + +<P> +"I say you came too late," Alexander replied, "and doubly so; for your +friends, here, were more prompt than you, and yet even they were tardy." +</P> + +<P> +"My friends!" Chares cried in bewilderment, seeing Leonidas and +Clearchus for the first time. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander speaks the truth," Clearchus said quickly. "We are all too +late, because he had already given orders for the safety of your +family." +</P> + +<P> +"I ask your forgiveness; I spoke without understanding," Chares said, +turning to the king. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast courage," Alexander said with a smile, "but I would not +choose thee as my envoy on a delicate mission. Thou wert not here to +defend thy home?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because I knew not that there was need," Chares admitted. "I am +sorry." +</P> + +<P> +"And I am glad," the young king rejoined, "for hadst thou been inside +the walls, I fear I might have lost men whom I cannot spare. Didst +thou come from Athens?" +</P> + +<P> +"I left Athens with the army," Chares answered, "but it halted on the +frontier when news arrived that Thebes had fallen." +</P> + +<P> +"Then there will be no more fighting!" Alexander exclaimed, turning to +Ptolemy. "I am glad of it. Greet thy mother for me, Chares, and tell +her to fear nothing. Ptolemy will conduct you." +</P> + +<P> +Escorted by the Macedonian captain, the three friends descended from +the citadel. Order had been restored in the city as though by magic. +Only the military patrols and the bodies of the dead remained in the +streets. The living had been driven into their houses, taking the +wounded with them. The plunderers had retired to the camp outside the +walls. +</P> + +<P> +Chares strode eagerly in advance, asking many questions regarding the +experiences of his friends in Delphi. The house of Jason, a mansion +built near the northern end of the city, had been saved by its location +from the desperate fighting that had taken place about the southern +gate and in the market-place. They found a guard stationed at the door. +</P> + +<P> +"You see that the king is as good as his word," Ptolemy said. "You +will find nothing disturbed here." +</P> + +<P> +"How could he have remembered his friends in the heat of the attack?" +Chares asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He forgets nothing," the captain replied, "neither friend nor enemy." +</P> + +<P> +Chares urged the Macedonian to enter, but Ptolemy declined on the +ground of fatigue and left them. The slave at the gate went wild with +joy when he caught sight of his young master. He had been waiting in +momentary expectation of being summoned forth to the death that he was +convinced awaited everybody in the city. +</P> + +<P> +Chares hastened to the women's court, where he found his mother and +sisters robed in white and surrounded by their maids, who were trying +to spin, although their fingers trembled so that they could hardly hold +the distaff. The widow of Jason, a woman with silvery hair and a face +that was still beautiful, sat calmly in the midst of the group, +awaiting with quiet courage what might befall. She rose with composure +to greet her son and his companions. +</P> + +<P> +"You are safe, mother!" Chares exclaimed, clasping her in his arms. +"Alexander has given his word that you shall be unharmed!" +</P> + +<P> +"You have seen him?" she returned. "That is well. You may go to your +rest. Nothing shall harm you," she added, dismissing her maidens. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD +</H4> + +<P> +What was to be the fate of Thebes? The minds of the wretched +inhabitants of the city were diverted from their sorrows as they asked +each other this question on the morning after the battle. The dead had +been removed from the streets. The wounded had been cared for. The +enemy had withdrawn outside the walls, after posting guards in +sufficient numbers to suppress any rising that the Thebans might be +desperate enough to attempt. +</P> + +<P> +All eyes were directed toward the Cadmea, within whose gray walls the +punishment that was to be visited upon the city was being discussed. +One citizen suggested that a heavy fine would be exacted. Another +declared he had heard that the Thebans would be forbidden to bear arms. +A dozen similar conjectures were made and canvassed before news came +from the Cadmea that Alexander had left the Phocians, the Platæans, and +the Bœotians, his allies, to impose the sentence. This announcement +was received in gloomy silence; for more than one Theban recalled how +his city in her day of pride had blotted out Orchomenus and Platæa and +sold their people into bondage. +</P> + +<P> +The anxious watchers in the streets at last saw a stir in the crowd +that waited outside the gates of the citadel. The portals opened, and +the victorious generals, surrounded by waving standards, came out and +began to descend from the rock. The spectators below saw the Thebans +scatter before them, tossing their arms above their heads and rending +their garments. A hush full of dread fell upon the city. +</P> + +<P> +"Thebes must perish! Her walls must go down!" cried one from above +with a despairing gesture. +</P> + +<P> +"We are to be sold for slaves!" shouted another, halting upon a parapet +and making a trumpet of his hands. +</P> + +<P> +The tidings were received with incredulity, followed by stupefaction. +The blow had fallen, and it was worse than even the least sanguine +prophet had predicted. The generals, as they rode toward the gates of +the city, were followed by men who fell on their knees and begged for +quarter. No heed was paid to their prayers, and the escort of soldiers +thrust them back with jeers. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander remained in the Cadmea, where Chares and a handful of the +most prominent Thebans, who had been able to establish guest-friendship +with the royal house of Macedon, sought him to intercede for the city. +They found him alone, sitting with his chin in his hand. They recalled +to him the glorious deeds of Thebes, dwelt upon the misery that the +sentence would inflict upon the innocent, and warned him that all +Hellas would reproach him if he permitted it to be carried into effect. +They admitted the fault of the city and asked forgiveness. +</P> + +<P> +The young king heard them through without stirring. +</P> + +<P> +"All that you have said to me," he replied when they had finished, "I +have already said to myself. Thebes has been false to her oath. I +pardoned her as did Philip, my father. The sentence is not mine, but +that of my allies, and what cause they have, you know. Can I ask them +to forget?" +</P> + +<P> +Terror ran with the news through all Greece. The Athenians, the +Ætolians, and the Elæans, who had encouraged the rebellion with money +and promises of further aid, hastily recalled their troops and sent +ambassadors to sue for mercy. Demosthenes was chosen to plead for +Athens, but when he had advanced on his journey as far as Mount +Cithæron, his courage failed him and he turned back. The young king +sent a messenger to Athens calling upon the Athenians to deliver eight +of their orators who had been foremost in stirring up the people +against Macedon, and the name of Demosthenes stood at the head of the +list. +</P> + +<P> +In the Assembly that was called to consider this demand Demosthenes won +the day by repeating the fable of how once the wolves asked the sheep +to deliver to them their watch-dogs and how, when the demand had been +granted, they fell upon the defenceless flock. But so great was the +fear of Alexander among the people that they might, after all, have +sent the orators to Thebes had not the men who were threatened hired +Demades with a fee of five talents to offer himself as an intermediary. +The offer was accepted and Alexander yielded. +</P> + +<P> +The escape of Demosthenes through the intercession of his inveterate +enemy and the mysterious disappearance of Thais were the talk of the +city when Chares arrived with his two friends, bringing his family with +him. Clearchus received them into his house, where they were to remain +during his absence from Athens in search of Artemisia, following the +directions of the oracle. Ariston was much disappointed when his +nephew refused to exact any rental from his friend. He had taken +charge of Clearchus' fortune again, and it grieved him that any +possible source of income should be neglected. But Clearchus knew that +Chares had need of all his resources; for his mother had drawn up a +list of the friends of the family who had been forced to remain in +Thebes, telling him that he must purchase them and thus save them from +slavery, even if it should take all they possessed in the world. As +the list was long, Clearchus deemed it wise not only to place his house +at the disposal of Jason's widow, but to make provision for its +maintenance out of his own income while he should be away. +</P> + +<P> +He paid no attention to the grumbling of his uncle, who affected to +look upon this generosity as little short of madness. He said so much +to dissuade the young man from his plan, that Clearchus at last was +forced to remonstrate with him. +</P> + +<P> +"One would think that you were on the brink of ruin," he said, "instead +of being one of the richest men in Athens, if reports that I have begun +to hear lately are true." +</P> + +<P> +"Who says that?" Ariston demanded sharply. "He lies, whoever repeats +such things. Whenever you hear it, if you love me, say that it is not +true. If such stories should get to be believed, that accursed +Demosthenes will be forcing me to fit out a trireme for some of his +wild schemes. The times are so troubled that what little I have been +able to save by my frugality for the support of my age I am likely to +lose." +</P> + +<P> +He was not unwilling to have his nephew believe that he was at least +moderately rich, for had Clearchus known the straits his uncle was in, +his suspicions might have been aroused. With his mind full of the loss +of Artemisia, there was small chance that he would discover anything. +</P> + +<P> +Like vultures upon a deserted field of battle the slave-dealers +gathered at the great market of flesh and blood at Thebes. The sale of +the population of the city had been delayed so as to insure a good +attendance; for Alexander had need of the money that it was expected to +yield with which to defray the cost of his expedition against the Great +King. Speculators, traffickers by wholesale, and agents from every +considerable mart in the world, to say nothing of amateurs, flocked to +the city. It was not so much the fact that thirty thousand men and +women were to be offered and the consequent probability of low prices +that drew them as the quality of the victims. It was easy enough to +purchase slaves in almost any number, but there was a vast difference +between ignorant barbarians, captured in distant raids, and the +population of one of the oldest and most cultured of the Grecian +cities. And no comparison was to be made between girls who had been +destined to slavery from their cradles and the Theban maidens reared in +the shelter of luxury and ease. +</P> + +<P> +It had been expected that it would take several days to dispose of the +prisoners, but so numerous were the buyers that the Macedonians decided +to attempt it in one day. For greater convenience, the captives were +separated into companies of about five hundred and brought out upon the +plain before the city, where most of the dealers had pitched their +tents. Each division was guarded by a squad of soldiers commanded by +an officer, whose duty it was to conduct the auction of the group under +his care. +</P> + +<P> +No outcry was permitted among the hapless population. Mothers clasped +their children in their arms, weeping softly over them. Some awaited +their fate with sullen resignation. Others looked for a prodigy to +restore them to freedom and their city. A report had gone abroad that +Dionysus would appear in person and forbid the sale. On all sides rose +the murmur of his name in tones of entreaty or reproach. With anxious +eyes, the believers scanned the sky and the barren hillsides for some +sign, they knew not what. None was vouchsafed. Their God had deserted +them. +</P> + +<P> +In order that the friends whom he was to ransom might not be lost in +the confusion, Chares had obtained consent that they be assembled in +one group. They came last out of the city, clad in garments of +mourning and moving in heavy-footed procession. Lest he should raise +false hopes, Chares had made a secret of his plans. The prisoners +fully expected to pass into the possession of strangers. Old men of +grave face and dignified bearing, who had spent their lives in the +service of the city and whose names were known throughout Greece, led +the way. Behind them walked their women, proud of bearing and +accustomed to the privileges of rank and wealth. Some of the matrons +led daughters who looked with terror upon the strange scenes that met +their eyes. Orphaned children clung to each other in fear, while here +and there new-made widows, whose husbands had been slain when the +strength and vigor of the city were cut off in a day, walked sadly and +alone. +</P> + +<P> +When all had been herded within the ring formed by the guard, the +Macedonian captain who was to conduct the sale of the group that +contained Chares' friends mounted briskly upon a block of stone and +announced the terms prescribed for buyers. Payment was to be made in +all cases in cash, and the purchaser was to have immediate possession. +Chares took a position facing the auctioneer in a knot of dealers who +were searching for some fortunate speculation. These men looked upon +the unhappy Thebans with professional keenness, exchanging comments +among themselves. +</P> + +<P> +"That's a fine old fellow with the white beard," said one. "He looks +as though he might have money out at interest somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably he's only a philosopher," another said scornfully. "For my +part, I shall buy that thin one. He has been living on bread and water +all his life and he must have a snug sum buried. Trust me to make him +dig it up!" +</P> + +<P> +"There seem to be some marketable girls here," observed a third. "I +find the Medes will pay a better price for them if they have a pedigree +as well as good looks." +</P> + +<P> +Mena, the Egyptian, prying about through the crowd, examined the +captives with speculative eyes. Suddenly he caught sight of a figure +that caused him to stop and stare. It was that of a young woman, +veiled, who seemed to be seeking to conceal herself behind the other +prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is she?" he asked of one of the guard when he had recovered from +his astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"She is down on our list as Maia, daughter of Thales," the man replied. +</P> + +<P> +Mena seemed puzzled. "I must find out more about this," he said to +himself, taking his stand at a point of vantage. "Besides, there may +be a chance here to turn a profitable investment." +</P> + +<P> +The chatter ceased as the captain opened a roll of papyrus containing +the names of the prisoners and announced that the sale was about to +begin. The old man with the white beard was the first to be brought +forward. He proved to have been one of the Bœotarchs. +</P> + +<P> +"How much am I offered for him?" the captain cried. "He is old, but +his wisdom is all the greater for that." +</P> + +<P> +"Five drachmæ!" shouted a countryman in a patched and faded cloak. "He +gave a decision against me once in a lawsuit." +</P> + +<P> +Everybody laughed at this reason for making a bid, but the farmer +seemed in deadly earnest. +</P> + +<P> +"Five minæ!" Chares said quietly. There was no other bid and the sale +was made. +</P> + +<P> +Then came a slender girl with yellow hair and blue eyes that were +swollen with weeping. Her chiton of fine linen clung in graceful folds +to her slim figure, and she trembled so violently that she could +scarcely stand. +</P> + +<P> +"She ought to fill out well if she lives," said one of the merchants, +stroking his beard, while he examined her carefully. "But it's always +a risk to buy them so young." +</P> + +<P> +"She might be trained to dance," said Mena, who had elbowed his way +into the crowd. "It's worth trying if she goes cheap. Fifty drachmæ!" +</P> + +<P> +"Five minæ!" Chares said again. +</P> + +<P> +"That's ten times what she is worth!" Mena exclaimed, turning angrily +upon the Theban. "Are you trying to prevent honest men from making a +living?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let honest men speak for themselves," Chares retorted. +</P> + +<P> +The laugh that followed filled the Egyptian with rage. He was cunning +enough to wait until Chares had made several more purchases, and at +prices far above the market value of the captives. Mena guessed that +the Theban intended to outbid all who opposed him. He resolved to be +revenged by making him pay dearly for his purchases. It happened that +the next offering was a man whose name was not on Chares' list. Out of +mere good nature he bid two hundred and fifty drachmæ for him. +</P> + +<P> +"Five minæ!" the Egyptian shouted, doubling the bid with the intention +of forcing Chares to go higher. +</P> + +<P> +But Chares was silent, and no other bidder appeared. Mena, who did not +have the money that he had offered, shifted uneasily, looking at Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"I see you have some sense," he cried at last. "You are afraid to bid +against me!" +</P> + +<P> +Chares made no reply. +</P> + +<P> +"He is yours," the auctioneer said, addressing Mena. "Step this way +with your money!" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" screamed the Egyptian. "I withdraw the bid! The man is lame!" +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean to accuse me of trying to cheat you?" roared the +Macedonian captain. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you didn't notice it," the Egyptian faltered. +</P> + +<P> +"Away with him!" cried the soldier. +</P> + +<P> +While the prisoner was being awarded to Chares, two men led Mena out of +the circle, amid the jeers of the spectators. At a safe distance, +under pretence of seeing whether he really had the money he had +offered, they took from him all that he possessed and divided it +between themselves before they let him go. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll make him sorry for this!" Mena said, shaking his fist at Chares. +"I know what I know; but why do they call her Maia?" +</P> + +<P> +Burning with rage, the Egyptian slunk away in search of his master, +Phradates, whom he found wandering idly among the scattered groups of +captives. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Phradates, thou hast been insulted!" Mena cried, breathlessly. +</P> + +<P> +"How so, dog?" Phradates demanded, his face darkening as he spoke. +</P> + +<P> +The Phœnician's figure was tall and well knit, although the +profusion of jewels and golden chains that he wore, and his garments of +rich silk, woven with gold thread, gave him an effeminate look. His +face might have been handsome had it not been marred by an expression +of haughty insolence which betrayed the weakness upon which Mena +intended to play. +</P> + +<P> +He had been sent into Greece by Azemilcus and the Tyrian Council in the +guise of a rich young man on his travels, but with the real object of +discovering the plans and strength of Alexander. Tyre was nominally +tributary to the Great King, but the only sign of her dependence was +the payment of a small annual tribute. In all matters of moment she +managed her own affairs. It was important, therefore, for her rulers +to have exact knowledge of what was going forward in Greece, so that +they might shape their course as seemed best for their own advantage. +</P> + +<P> +Mena noted the flush on his master's cheek and foresaw the success of +his scheme of revenge. +</P> + +<P> +"It occurred to my poor mind," he explained volubly, "that your +Highness would be pleased with a slave from this city of rats, which, +nevertheless, contains some charming maidens. I learned that they had +assembled all the prisoners of gentle birth in one place together. I +went there and examined them for you. Among them I found a girl of +rare beauty and when I asked concerning her, they told me she was Maia, +daughter of Thales, one of the chief men in the city. Such a form as +she has!—with hair like copper and a glance that would—" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you never finish?" Phradates asked angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"I chose her for your Highness and gave command that she be reserved +until I could find you to claim her," Mena continued. "But it seems a +Theban, whom they call Chares, had resolved to buy her for himself. I +told him that I had spoken for the girl in your name. 'Let the Tyrian +hound go back to his dye-vats,' he said. 'The girl is mine and he +shall not have her while I have an obol left!' He said much more +against the people of Tyre and yourself in particular that I will not +offend your Highness by repeating. I am sorry that I lost the girl, +for there is no other like her among the captives." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is she?" Phradates demanded abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"If your Highness will deign to follow, I will conduct you to her," +Mena replied with alacrity. +</P> + +<P> +"Lead on!" Phradates commanded. "And then fetch quickly the gold we +borrowed from the old Athenian." +</P> + +<P> +Chares had purchased all the prisoners on his list excepting the girl +called Maia, and the soldiers were leading her forward when Mena and +Phradates arrived. The young woman's face and head were muffled in a +silken scarf, and her figure was concealed beneath a cloak. +</P> + +<P> +"Give place!" cried Mena, bustling officiously into the crowd. "Make +way for the noble Phradates!" +</P> + +<P> +One of the soldiers raised the scarf long enough for the Phœnician +to see the young woman's face. Her beauty evidently made a deep +impression upon him, for his expression changed and he seemed hardly +able to take his eyes from her. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is this Chares?" he inquired, at last, staring about him. +</P> + +<P> +Mena indicated the Theban with a nod, and then, noticing that all eyes +were turned upon his master, he bawled out: "Make room for Phradates of +the royal blood of Tyre!" +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to sell him?" asked the auctioneer. +</P> + +<P> +The Phœnician's face became purple and he turned angrily upon Mena, +but the alert Egyptian had slipped away to fetch the gold. +</P> + +<P> +"Three talents for the girl!" Phradates cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Five talents!" Chares answered. +</P> + +<P> +The spectators, who had long ago ceased to think of bidding against the +Theban, drew a deep breath and looked from one contestant to the other. +Maia alone seemed indifferent. A tress of her hair had fallen upon her +shoulder. She twisted it back into place. Chares had not seen her +face when the soldier lifted her veil and his attention was now centred +upon his opponent. +</P> + +<P> +"Seven talents!" Phradates shouted, fixing his eyes defiantly upon +Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Eight!" the Theban answered, without hesitation. +</P> + +<P> +This was more than all the other captives in the group had brought. +The crowd began to hum with excitement. Phradates looked over his +shoulder and saw Mena leading four slaves who carried bags of gold. +</P> + +<P> +"Ten talents!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +"All bids must be paid in cash," the auctioneer said warningly. +</P> + +<P> +Every face was turned toward Chares, who had called his steward and was +consulting with him. "How much have we left?" the Theban asked. The +man made a rapid calculation on his tablets. +</P> + +<P> +"You have ten talents and thirty minæ," he replied. "That is the end." +</P> + +<P> +"I bid ten talents and thirty minæ," Chares said promptly, addressing +the auctioneer. +</P> + +<P> +It was evident to all that he could go no further. Would Phradates be +able to outbid him? The Phœnician hesitated and turned to Mena. +</P> + +<P> +"He has won," the slave whispered. "You have only ten talents. If you +had beaten him, we should have starved to death." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will starve!" Phradates replied. "I demand that the gold be +weighed!" +</P> + +<P> +"You have that right," the auctioneer admitted. "Bring out the scales." +</P> + +<P> +The scales were brought and the gold was poured into the broad pans +which hung suspended from their framework of wood. The glittering +heaps increased until each pan overflowed with the precious coins and +ingots. When all was in readiness for the test, they held a fortune +such as few men in all Greece possessed. The spectators devoured it +with their eyes, pressing against the soldiers in the hope of getting a +better view. The maiden, Maia, who was the object of the rivalry, was +forgotten. +</P> + +<P> +The scales oscillated slowly and at last settled deliberately on the +side toward Chares. The tale was correct and his last thirty minæ had +given him the victory. The crowd broke into a cheer. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you satisfied?" asked the Macedonian captain. +</P> + +<P> +"No!" Phradates shouted. A red spot glowed on his cheeks and his +fingers trembled as he stripped off his rings and his chains of gold. +He placed the ornaments on his side of the scales. "I bid thirteen +talents," he declared. +</P> + +<P> +"Payments are to be made in money," Chares remonstrated. "Who can tell +what these trinkets are worth?" +</P> + +<P> +"We may accept them at a true valuation," the captain decided. +</P> + +<P> +He summoned a jeweller of Corinth, who examined the rings with care, +and announced his readiness to take them at a sum sufficient to make up +the total of the Phœnician's offer. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates wins!" shouted the spectators, cheering the Tyrian with all +the enthusiasm that they had shown to his rival a moment before. +</P> + +<P> +The Theban stood silent. He had nothing more to offer. He raged +inwardly at his defeat, for he felt that his honor was involved. While +he stood hesitating, nobody seemed to notice a young Macedonian soldier +of athletic figure and fresh complexion who had stopped on the +outskirts of the crowd and stood listening, with his head slightly +inclined to one side. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Chares strode forward and threw his sword upon the scales. +The weight of the steel caused the balance to sway decisively toward +him. +</P> + +<P> +"I bid fifteen talents!" he cried. "Let my sword make up the weight of +gold that is lacking." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates laughed mockingly. "Let me have the girl," he said. "It is +time to end this child's play. There is no place in the world where a +sword is worth three talents." +</P> + +<P> +"Except here," a voice behind him said quietly. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates turned, and his eyes met those of the soldier who had been +lingering on the edge of the ring of spectators. +</P> + +<P> +"Here!" the Phœnician exclaimed angrily. "And who is there here to +give such a price for it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will," the soldier replied with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"You will, indeed!" Phradates echoed. "And who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Alexander," the soldier said. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates turned to the crowd, which had fallen back a little and now +stood strangely silent. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is this insolent fellow?" he cried. "Why do you allow him to +interfere here?" he demanded of the captain. +</P> + +<P> +The captain made no reply, and nobody in the throng ventured to answer. +Phradates felt deserted. He stood with Chares and the soldier beside +the gold-laden scales, beyond which waited Maia, with her eyes fixed +upon the face of the newcomer. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there no fair dealing in this land of thieves?" Phradates cried, +losing his temper absolutely. "The girl is mine! Deliver her to me in +accordance with your agreement and let me go. You have your price and +it is enough!" +</P> + +<P> +He made a step forward as though to seize Maia, but the soldier blocked +his path. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Alexander, as I told you," he said, slightly raising his voice. +"I will tell you more. You are Phradates of Tyre, sent here by your +king and your Council to spy out my strength and learn my plans. You +have used the eyes and ears of your slaves. Take what you have learned +to King Azemilcus, and with it take also this message: Alexander, King +of Macedon, sends word that he is coming with his companions to offer +sacrifice to Heracles in his temple, known in the city of Tyre as the +temple of Melkarth. Let him prepare the altar." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates read in the faces of the crowd that the youth who spoke so +confidently to him was indeed the king. Nevertheless, he could not +wholly stifle his rage. +</P> + +<P> +"Has your army wings, Macedonian?" he asked insolently. "The walls of +Tyre are both high and strong." +</P> + +<P> +"What is the fate of spies in your country?" Alexander replied. "You +are spared to bear my message. Must I choose another?" +</P> + +<P> +There was something in the tone of these words that brought Phradates +to his senses like a plunge into cold water. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall meet elsewhere," he said, casting a look of hatred at Chares, +who stood smiling at his discomfiture. +</P> + +<P> +"If we do not, I shall never cease to regret it," the Theban replied. +</P> + +<P> +Mena had been hurriedly putting his master's gold into the sacks in +which he had brought it. The waiting slaves took it up and followed +Phradates back to his tent. +</P> + +<P> +"What was it all about?" Alexander asked, glancing from Chares to Maia. +</P> + +<P> +"I wished to buy her as a present to my mother, as I have bought nearly +five hundred of our friends to-day," Chares replied. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander took up the sword from the scales and drew it from its sheath. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a good blade," he said, "and I would not deem its price too high +if your arm was to wield it in my cause." +</P> + +<P> +"Was not that included in the purchase?" Chares asked, surprised. "I +have made my bargain and I will live up to it." +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Alexander, gently, "I will not have such an arm at a price. +I am no Cyrus to attack the power of Persia with hired weapons. The +spirit and the hope that goes with us are not to be bought with gold. +Come to me at Pella, if you will, with Clearchus and the Spartan, as +soon as your affairs will permit. But if you come, let it be of your +free will and not in payment of a debt." +</P> + +<P> +"I will come," Chares said simply. +</P> + +<P> +Day was drawing to a close over the plain where the people of Thebes +had paid the final penalty for their rebellion. The multitude that had +assembled to witness the last scene was melting away. Some of the +unfortunates had found friends like Chares to rescue them; but the +greater part of the thousands who were sold that day had become the +property of strangers. On every side rose the sound of wailing and +lamentation. Wives clung sobbing to their husbands until torn from +them by their masters. Children wept for mothers they would see no +more. +</P> + +<P> +In the gathering twilight camp-fires began to glow. Slave-dealers +bargained and chaffered over their purchases. Melancholy processions +moved away into the darkness. Men fettered together gazed back +silently but with bursting hearts upon the dark mass of the Cadmea, +where it rose, black and huge, against the crimson sky. The air +reverberated with the crash of falling houses and walls as the soldiers +labored by the light of torches to level the city to the earth. A pall +of dust and smoke hung suspended above them. Thebes had become a +memory. +</P> + +<P> +The captives purchased by Chares had been led away by his attendants as +fast as each sale was made. When Alexander and the Macedonian soldiers +moved off he was left alone with Maia. He had scarcely glanced at her +during his duel with Phradates. She stood before him now with bent +head, submissively, and he fancied that she was drooping from weariness. +</P> + +<P> +"Come," he said kindly, extending his hand toward her. +</P> + +<P> +The girl did not move, but as he approached she raised the scarf that +hid her face and her eyes met his. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais!" he exclaimed. "How did you get here? Where is Maia?" +</P> + +<P> +There was a tone of displeasure in his voice, and the smile faded from +the young woman's lips. +</P> + +<P> +"Maia is safe enough," she returned, raising her head proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"But where is she?" he persisted. +</P> + +<P> +She hesitated and her eyes fell. A warm flush mounted to her cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"I bought her place," she murmured, "and you have bought me." +</P> + +<P> +The Theban stared a moment in bewilderment, but as her meaning dawned +upon him he threw back his head and laughed, a little recklessly. +Thais bit her lip and then suddenly burst into tears. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THAIS +</H4> + +<P> +Chares sat in the house of Thais in Athens, idly watching the lithe +motions of the tame leopard as it worried an ivory ball. Its mistress +lay at full length on a low couch of sandalwood looking at the Theban +with eyes half closed. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" he replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I not your slave?" she said softly. "Have you not ruined yourself +to buy me?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," he said, stroking his chin and examining her +reflectively. "You are my most costly possession!" +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" she insisted. +</P> + +<P> +"And I shall not be here to guard you," he continued. "Who knows what +may happen?" +</P> + +<P> +She drew through her slender fingers the silken fringe of the crimson +shawl that was twisted about her waist. +</P> + +<P> +"You have not asked me why I went to Thebes," she said at last. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he replied, looking at her inquiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"I wanted to see Maia," she said, looking at him innocently. "I had +heard so much of her beauty." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh," he said, smiling. "What did you think of her?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did not see her," Thais replied. "Is she beautiful?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see," Chares said, studying the walls as though in an effort to +remember. "She has black hair and her eyes too are dark, I think. Her +forehead is low and broad and her nose is straight. Perhaps her mouth +might be thought a little too wide, but her chin is beautifully rounded +and her shoulders and neck are perfect. Yes, I think she might be +called beautiful." +</P> + +<P> +"Chares," Thais said timidly, "do you love her?" +</P> + +<P> +Chares laughed. "How can a man make love without an obol that he can +call his own?" he replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you wholly ruined, then?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't enough left to buy you a singing thrush," he replied gayly. +</P> + +<P> +"But you have me and all that is mine," she said softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not even you!" he answered. He drew a scroll from the folds of his +chiton and tossed it into her lap. She opened it slowly and read a +release legally executed, giving her back her freedom and placing her +in the enjoyment of all her possessions. Chares watched her with an +expectant smile as her eyes followed the written lines. When she had +ended, she raised herself on her elbow and gazed earnestly at him for a +moment with dilated eyes. Then, without a word, she buried her face in +the cushions and her form was shaken with sobs. As the scroll fell +from her hand the leopard pounced upon it and began tearing it with his +teeth. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the matter with you, Thais?" Chares asked in a tone of +displeasure. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you buy me?" she replied, without lifting her head. +</P> + +<P> +"To save you from falling into the hands of the Phœnician, of +course," he replied impatiently. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I wish you had not done it," she sobbed. +</P> + +<P> +"Listen to reason, Thais!" Chares said in a graver tone. "It is I who +am no longer free. I have sold my sword and I am in bonds to the +Macedonian." +</P> + +<P> +He paused, but she made no answer, although her weeping ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"Were it not so," he continued, "why should I stay here? This is not +my city and these are not my people. I have neither, now that Thebes +is no more. Clearchus and Leonidas are going with Alexander, as I have +told you. Would you have me lag behind? There will be fighting and +danger, glory and spoil. Shall I not share them?" +</P> + +<P> +"You may be killed," Thais said faintly, showing her tear-stained face. +</P> + +<P> +"Zeus grant that it be not until I have met Phradates on the field of +battle!" he exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there nothing, then, that you care for in Athens?" she asked +dolefully. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou knowest well that I love thee, Thais," he replied. "Thou knowest +that it will tear my heart to leave thee behind. But it is the Gods +who have decided for us and we have no choice. Were there no other +reason for my going, Clearchus will have need of me in his search for +Artemisia, and that would be enough to forbid my remaining here." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will go, too!" Thais cried, leaping from the couch and standing +defiantly before him. +</P> + +<P> +Chares returned her look with an indulgent smile. Her exquisitely +moulded form was outlined under the clinging folds of her garment. Her +tiny feet, with their pink little heels, looked as though they had +never rested upon the earth. Her hair fell about her rounded neck and +dimpled shoulders like spun copper. Her red lips and pearly teeth +seemed made to feast on dainties. Physically she was as sensitive and +delicate as a child; but her eyes shone with a fire that betrayed +indomitable spirit. +</P> + +<P> +"What will you do when it snows?" the Theban asked mockingly. +</P> + +<P> +She threw herself down on her knees on the floor beside him, taking his +hand in hers and pressing it against her glowing cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares! Chares! My master! I love thee!" she murmured. "The blind +God at whose power I laughed so often when I was in his mother's +service has stricken me through the heart. My soul is naked before +thee. I cannot have thee leave me. If thou dost, I shall die. I will +go to the ends of the earth with thee. I will suffer hardships to be +near thee. Thou art all I have. I am thy slave, and I do not wish to +be free." +</P> + +<P> +Chares felt her tears upon his hand. He lifted her face and kissed her. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly she sprang to her feet and began to pace backward and forward +on the many-colored carpet that was spread upon the floor. The leopard +stopped tearing at the parchment and followed her with his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it my fault that I am—what I am?" she cried. "Am I to blame +because my life has not been like that of other women? They are +shielded from the world and ignorant of what is good and what is bad. +Have I committed a fault in fulfilling the will of the Gods, from whom +there is no escape? For the evil done by others must I pay the +penalty?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not," Chares said consolingly, scarcely knowing what she +meant or how to answer her. Her passion took him by surprise. She +stood before him glowing in every limb with youth and beauty, her chin +raised and her lips parted in scorn, as though defying the world to +accuse her. +</P> + +<P> +"Who cast me adrift?" she went on vehemently. "You talk of going into +Asia to aid Clearchus in his search for Artemisia. Very well, I will +go with you and search too, for I also wish to find Artemisia. She is +my sister!" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean, Thais? Are you mad?" Chares exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"It is the truth," she replied. "I forced old Eunomus to tell me only +last night. He has the proofs and he has promised to deliver them to +me, for a certain sum, of course. I am the daughter of Theorus, who +caused me to be exposed because I was a girl. The old pander found me, +as he has found many another in his time, and—and—he made of me what +you see me." +</P> + +<P> +She threw herself once more upon the couch to ease her grief among the +crimson cushions. Chares knew not what to say. He distrusted the +story told by Eunomus, for he knew the wretch was capable of doing +anything for money. But, after all, what if the tale were true? He +was fond of Thais, of course. How could a man help being fond of a +young and beautiful woman who loved him? There was Aspasia, who had +ruled Athens and all Hellas through Pericles. There was the son of +Phocion, who had actually married a girl no better than Thais. Still, +what had been could not be changed; and even if Thais was the daughter +of Theorus, that fact could make no difference. +</P> + +<P> +Thais raised her head from the pillows as though she had read his +thoughts. Her eyes were softened with tears. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it my fault," she pleaded, "that my sister has the love of an +honorable man and will be married to him, while I—I can never hope for +such a marriage? I know it, Chares, and I do not ask it. All I ask is +that you will permit me to go with you. I am tired, since I knew you, +of my life here. Without meaning to do so, you have opened my eyes to +new things. I am what I am; but, in spite of all, I am still a +woman—more a woman perhaps, than Artemisia, my sister, whom I have +never seen. Let me go with you, Chares, to share your dangers and your +glory, to nurse you if you are wounded, and to stand beside your +funeral pyre and watch my heart turn to ashes if you are killed. I +cannot bear to be left behind. The weariness and the waiting would +surely kill me. Let me go with thee, my Life, for I think neither of +us will see Athens again." +</P> + +<P> +Chares felt deep pity for the unfortunate girl stir in his heart. The +strength of his emotion troubled his careless nature. +</P> + +<P> +"There, there," he said, anxious to pacify her. "Don't make gloomy +predictions. You shall come." +</P> + +<P> +She nestled into his arms and laid her head upon his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall never know greater happiness," she said, with a sigh of +content; and then, changing her tone, "They say the women of the Medes +are very beautiful. You will not make me jealous, will you, Chares?" +</P> + +<P> +He laughed and kissed her, looking into her eyes. "Small need have you +to fear the Medean women!" he said. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +MENA READS A LETTER +</H4> + +<P> +"They have gone," said Ariston, on his return home one evening. +</P> + +<P> +"Who have gone?" his wife inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus and his two friends, Chares and the Spartan," the old man +replied. "They set out for Pella this afternoon to join the Macedonian +army. Fortune has smiled upon us once more and I think there will be a +turn in our affairs." +</P> + +<P> +Ariston made no attempt to hide his satisfaction. His shoulders no +longer stooped, and his step was light. A hundred schemes were running +through his head for repairing the disasters that had brought him so +low. For all practical purposes he was again the richest man in +Athens, and with the gold at his command he imagined that it would be +easy for him to regain his feet. +</P> + +<P> +"You must be cautious," Xanthe said anxiously. "You know that at any +time Clearchus may demand an account." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but he will not," Ariston replied, pinching her withered cheek. +"He will never return to trouble us. I have news of what the Great +King is doing and unless the Gods themselves interfere to save +Alexander, he will be crushed as soon as he has crossed the Hellespont. +The Persians will meet him there in such numbers that there can be no +escape for him. None who follow him will return. By Hermes, I feel +almost young again!" +</P> + +<P> +He entered his workroom briskly and sat down at the table. Producing a +roll of papyrus, he broke the seal, slipped off the wrapping, and +spread the document out before him. +</P> + +<P> +"Iphicrates to Ariston," he read. "Greeting: I have obeyed your +instructions. Syphax brought me the girl. I dismissed him with +promises after she had told me that she had no complaint to make +against him. I am convinced that he is a rogue and that he will live +to be crucified. For Artemisia, she remains in my household. I have +told her that I am awaiting a suitable opportunity to send her back to +Athens; but I have put her off from time to time with excuses. She has +lost flesh since she came hither, and if she is to be sold, I think it +would be best not to delay too long, as her value will be less than if +she were offered now. She has written many letters, which I promised +to forward for her. One of these I send you with this; the others have +been destroyed. +</P> + +<P> +"It is expensive for me to maintain her as you directed. It has cost +me already one talent and twenty drachmæ, which leaves me in your debt +six talents, eleven drachmæ, and thirty minæ. Please make this +correction in our account. +</P> + +<P> +"There is talk here that Alexander, the Macedonian, is preparing to +lead an army against this city. Nobody doubts that he will be +defeated, since Parmenio could accomplish nothing. Memnon, the +Rhodian, has been here, strengthening the fortifications and exercising +the soldiers, but of this there is no need; for all the armies of +Greece could not take this place, even though they should invest it by +land and sea. May the Gods keep you in good health! Farewell." +</P> + +<P> +"He has cheated me out of a talent, at least!" Ariston muttered. "The +old skinflint!" +</P> + +<P> +He turned his attention to a second roll of papyrus, which had been +enclosed in the first. +</P> + +<P> +"My Beloved," it ran. "Why hast thou not answered the letters I have +sent thee, or come thyself to take me home? Clearchus, my Life, I know +thou hast not forgotten me, although it seems ages since I last saw +thee. Each day I watch and wait for a word from thee, only one little +word, but none has come. I try to keep up my courage, thinking that +perhaps thou art seeking me elsewhere and that thou hast not received +my letters. I do not doubt thee, Clearchus, but I am weary of waiting +for thee and my heart is sick. When shall I hear thy voice and see thy +face again? I pray each night and morning to Artemis to give thee back +to me. My love, my love, may the Gods, who know all things, keep thee +safe! While I live, I am thine. Farewell." +</P> + +<P> +A smile played about the corners of Ariston's thin lips as he thrust +the papyrus into the flame of the lamp and held it over the brazier +until it was consumed. He did the same with the epistle that +Iphicrates had sent to him, and then plunged into his accounts. +</P> + +<P> +Xanthe had never been quick-witted, and the monotonous round of her +labors had dulled even her natural perceptions. At the bottom of her +heart she believed her husband to be the cleverest man in the world. +She did not pretend to fathom his schemes. The twistings and windings +of his subtle mind confused and bewildered her, and she had no thread +by which to trace the labyrinth. While she had long ago ceased to try +to follow him, the fact that she did not know all that he was doing +tended to make her suspicious, and her distrust, as is usual with women +of limited intelligence, took the form of jealousy. +</P> + +<P> +In their forty years of married life Ariston had never given her the +slightest cause for such an emotion. Among his few weaknesses there +was none for women, whom he despised as mere machines or treated as +commodities. But notwithstanding its lack of result, Xanthe, year +after year, maintained her vigil, ever seeking what she most dreaded to +find. +</P> + +<P> +Of late her husband's cares and advancing age had given her a feeling +of security, but the revival of his spirits at the departure of his +nephew sent her mind back again to the well-worn track. Could it be +that he was deceiving her after all? +</P> + +<P> +This idea laid siege to her thoughts with recurrent insistence. What +had she to attract so brilliant a man? Her mirror showed her a +wrinkled brow and hollow cheeks. She turned away from it with +bitterness in her heart. The wonder was that he had ever loved her; +but that was years ago. She could not blame him if he sought a younger +and fairer companion for his hours of relaxation. Other men did the +same, and men were all alike. +</P> + +<P> +Tormenting herself with these thoughts, the unfortunate woman passed a +sleepless night, and rose determined to know the worst. As soon as +Ariston had gone out, she entered his workroom. Her search brought her +at last to the brazier, where she found the charred fragments of the +letters from Halicarnassus. Unluckily one corner of Artemisia's +missive to Clearchus had not been wholly burned. She bore it in +triumph to her own apartments and set herself to the task of +deciphering its contents. The very fact that her husband had sought to +burn the letter was enough in her excited frame of mind to convince her +that her suspicions were correct. It remained only to establish the +proof. +</P> + +<P> +She succeeded in making out a few words, but she could derive no +meaning from them. Study them as she would, her skill failed her. The +tantalizing thought that knowledge was within her grasp and eluding her +filled her with rage. She was still puzzling over the fragment when +she was interrupted by a knocking at the door. On the threshold stood +the sharp-faced Egyptian whom she had so often seen with her husband. +</P> + +<P> +"Is Ariston here?" he demanded. +</P> + +<P> +She told him that her husband was away from home. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will wait for him," Mena returned coolly, pushing past her into +the house. "He told me to see him without fail and he will soon be +here." +</P> + +<P> +There was no help for it now that he was inside the house. Xanthe led +him to a bench beside the cistern and gave him fruit and wine. The +thought occurred to her that he might be able to read the riddle that +had baffled her. There could be no harm in showing him the fragment, +she reasoned, since it could tell him nothing, although to her it could +reveal so much. The temptation was strong, and after all the +opportunity was too good to be lost. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you read this for me?" she asked, placing the blackened papyrus +before him. +</P> + +<P> +He took it up and studied it curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you find it?" he demanded, shifting his beadlike eyes +quickly to hers. +</P> + +<P> +"The wind blew it into the court, here," she stammered, taken aback by +the question. "I wondered what it might be." +</P> + +<P> +His glance continued to rest upon her face for an instant before it +went back to the fragment. It was easy enough for him to read them +both, and a malicious smile twitched his mouth as he understood that +Ariston had a jealous wife. The idea struck him as distinctly +ridiculous. More in idleness than with any direct purpose, excepting +that of making mischief, he determined to humor her mood. +</P> + +<P> +"It is difficult to understand," he said, looking carefully at the +papyrus, "as it seems to have been burned. But here it says: 'When +shall I hear thy voice and see thy face?' and here: 'While I live, I am +thine.' It sounds like a poet, but the writing is that of a woman. +You seem to have surprised some romantic love affair. You probably +have some amorous youth among your neighbors whom a girl is foolish +enough to adore." +</P> + +<P> +Xanthe's forebodings had suddenly become realities. Ariston, then, was +deceiving her, and she had not been mistaken in him. Of that, she was +now certain. He had probably always deceived her and she had been a +fool ever to believe him. Her world seemed coming to an end. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you say that the letter was sent to a young man?" she asked. +"Might it not have been an old one?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dare say," the Egyptian replied carelessly. "Old men are often the +worst in these matters." +</P> + +<P> +"This girl, whoever she may be, seems very much in love with him," +Xanthe remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt," Mena said, watching her with increasing amusement, "and +probably he has a wife of his own. Why else should he burn the letter?" +</P> + +<P> +Xanthe winced at this thrust, although she had no idea that Mena had +fathomed what was in her mind. "At any rate, he cannot marry her," she +said, as though thinking aloud. +</P> + +<P> +"The old one might die, you know," Mena suggested. "Such things have +been known to happen at the right moment." +</P> + +<P> +These words were accompanied by a look so full of meaning that poor +Xanthe felt a chill of apprehension. She did not trust herself to say +more, but carried away the fragment to her own room, where she +concealed it. +</P> + +<P> +Mena's hint had fallen upon fertile ground. She went over the +situation again and again in her mind, coming always to the same +conclusion. That Ariston was carrying on an intrigue with some girl +was now certain; for it never occurred to her that the letter might not +have been intended for him. It seemed certain to her also that her +husband would seek to rid himself of her so that he might marry her +rival. Mena was right. Such things had happened more than once and +poison was the easiest way. If she should die, who was there to ask +what had caused her death? Nobody. She began to take infinite +precautions regarding her food, tasting nothing that she had not +herself prepared; yet she felt that she was in hourly danger in spite +of all she could do. When nothing happened to her, she concluded that +her husband's failure to attempt her life was due solely to the fact +that his plans were not yet ripe. When all was ready, he would kill +her and flee with Clearchus' fortune to some distant land, where he +could meet the abandoned creature upon whom his affections had fallen. +She knew only too well that he was capable of anything in the +furtherance of his selfish schemes. Thus her folly led her on until at +last she came to regard her imaginings as truth confirmed. But if she +was to be murdered, she thought, at least she would prevent him from +enjoying the fruit of his wickedness. She would write to Clearchus and +tell him all. +</P> + +<P> +When she had reached this conclusion, she lost no time in carrying it +into execution. But it was long since she had used the stylus and she +was forced to confine herself to the barest outline of what she wished +to say. After many failures, she finally produced the following:— +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus: Iphicrates has Artemisia in Halicamassus. My husband is a +beast who wants to poison me. If you hear that I am dead, you will +know why, and I hope you will see that he is punished. Go to +Halicamassus, and when you get her, keep her safe. Iphicrates is a +wicked man and he should be killed. If my husband does not poison me, +make no accusation against him." +</P> + +<P> +Xanthe sealed this letter and hid it away until a chance should offer +to send it to her nephew. She felt much easier, as though the fact +that she had written it were in some way surety for her safety. +Several weeks passed before she found the opportunity for which she had +been looking. At last she learned that Callias, son of a widow of her +acquaintance, had joined a mercenary troop that was being raised in +Athens. She gave the letter to his mother to be delivered to Clearchus +in Pella, but Callias, having received part of his pay in advance, +could not tear himself away from his friends in Athens until the gold +was spent. Consequently the letter was not delivered until after +Macedon and Persia had met at the Granicus. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE +</H4> + +<P> +It was a clear, bright spring day when the three friends rode into +Pella. The new sap was beginning to swell the buds, and the fresh +green of the grass was gleaming hopefully on sunny slopes. Chares had +been singing snatches of love songs since early morning when they set +out on the last stage of their journey. Even Clearchus forgot his +anxiety in the thought that he was drawing nearer to Artemisia, and the +grim Leonidas had smiled more than once at the sallies of the +light-hearted Theban. +</P> + +<P> +In the Macedonian capital on every side was the stir of animation and +preparation. Recruits were being drilled for the army. Messengers +were hastening hither and thither. Ambassadors were coming and going +with their trains. They gazed with admiration at the solid buildings, +designed with a stately magnificence which, in its own way, was as +impressive as the marble embodiments of Athenian genius. Everywhere +were the evidences of a young and strong people, buoyant, +self-confident, energetic, and fearless. No idlers blocked the +streets. Every man had something to do and was doing it. The tide of +vigorous life flowed strong through the city as in the veins of a young +oak tree. +</P> + +<P> +It was not strange that Pella should have swarmed with activity on that +day in spring. Within the boundaries of the rugged little state, half +Hellenic and half barbarian, a vast project, supported by a sublime +confidence, was taking shape. It had been formed and nursed by the +crafty and far-seeing Philip, whether as a possibility or as a stroke +of policy to bring Hellas under his control none could say. Now it had +suddenly become a reality. The great empire of Persia, which covered +the world from the shores of the Euxine to the sources of the Nile, and +from the Ægean to limits undefined, beyond the regions of mystery +through which the Indus flowed, was to be invaded. It had endured for +centuries as an immense and impregnable power. Fierce tribes dwelt in +the fastnesses of its snow-clad mountains, numberless caravans crept +across its scorching deserts, gigantic cities flourished upon its +fertile plains. Nations were lost among the uncounted millions of its +population. Its wealth surpassed the power of imagining, and about the +throne of the Great King, whose slightest wish was the unchangeable law +of all this vast dominion, stood tens of thousands of the bravest +warriors in the world, ready at a sign to lay down their lives for him. +</P> + +<P> +What had Persia to fear from the handful of peasants turned soldiers +who had made a boy their king? Why should Darius feel any uneasiness +concerning the projects of a rash young man who already owed more than +he could pay? To be sure, he had made himself the Hegemon of Hellas, +with the exception of Sparta, but everybody knew that he had forced the +older states to bestow the title upon him against their will and that +they were waiting only until his back should be turned to fall upon +him. With the slender resources at his command, how could he hope to +hold Greece in subjection and at the same time to subdue an empire +which had more Hellenic mercenaries alone upon its pay-roll than the +sum total of his entire army? Surely, the Great King must be himself +despised if he did not look with contempt upon such mad ambition. +</P> + +<P> +Something of the force of this reasoning assailed the mind of Clearchus +as he lay down that night on the hard pallet that had been assigned to +him by Ptolemy in the barracks of the Companion Cavalry. The immensity +of the obstacles to be overcome oppressed him, and he began once more +to doubt whether, after all, there could be any hope of success for the +young king. He fell asleep, to see in his dreams the pale face of +Artemisia framed in her unbound hair. +</P> + +<P> +His mind was still clouded with misgiving when he went next morning +with Chares and Leonidas to pay his respects at the palace; but they +were dispelled like mists before the morning sun when he stood face to +face with Alexander. In the inspiring presence of the young leader no +doubts could live. He radiated confidence as a fire radiates warmth. +Every glance of his sympathetic eyes, every tone of his voice, revealed +a certainty of the future that was beyond peradventure. +</P> + +<P> +The palace was the centre of the activity that was filling the city. +Generals and captains, agents, princes, hostages, ambassadors, and +messengers swarmed in its halls. Here stood the gray-haired Antipater, +who had been appointed by Alexander regent of Macedon and guardian of +Greece during his absence, talking with citizens of Corinth who had +come to consult him concerning proposed changes in their civil +government. There was old Parmenio, fresh from his campaign in Mysia, +giving his orders for the disposition of a company of mercenaries who +had arrived that morning. +</P> + +<P> +There were travellers from the Far East, who had been summoned to tell +what they knew of the cities, rivers, and mountains through which the +Macedonian march would lie and of the character of the peoples who were +to be encountered. There were contractors for horses and supplies +anxious to provide the army with subsistence. There were soothsayers +and philosophers, slaves, attendants, and courtiers; and among them +all, with banter, jest, and laughter, walked the young nobles of +Macedon, bosom friends of the king, who had defied Philip for his sake +and were now reaping their reward. There were Hephæstion, son of +Amyntas, Philotas, son of Parmenio, Clitus, Crateras, Polysperchon, +Demetrius, Ptolemy, and a score of others, in spirits as brave as their +attire, as though they were about to start upon a holiday excursion +instead of a desperate venture into the unknown. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander recognized the three friends immediately and gave them +cordial greeting. +</P> + +<P> +"So you have come to follow the Whirlwind," he said, laughing, as +though the simile pleased him. "It will soon be launched now." +</P> + +<P> +"We have come to take any service that you may give us," Chares replied. +</P> + +<P> +"You are enrolled in the Companion Cavalry," Alexander informed them. +</P> + +<P> +They gave him their thanks for this mark of favor, for the Companions +contained the flower of the kingdom, young men of distinguished +families, who were admitted freely into Alexander's confidence as his +friends. +</P> + +<P> +"I have just been giving away the security for my debts," Alexander +said, smiling at Chares. "I saw you spend your last obol to purchase +the liberty of your friends at Thebes. You trusted to the chance of +war to bring your fortune back to you, but I have gone further than +you, for I have staked my honor. As you see me, I am worth some +thirteen hundred talents less than nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"But what have you left for yourself?" the Theban asked. +</P> + +<P> +"My hopes," Alexander replied. +</P> + +<P> +"They say the Medes have gold in plenty," Leonidas observed +reflectively. +</P> + +<P> +"Never fear," Alexander replied, laughing. "What are our debts of +to-day in comparison with our riches of to-morrow? The Companions are +all following my example. We set out with only our swords and our +courage—and our golden hope!" +</P> + +<P> +Again he laughed, and calling Philotas to him he turned to Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"The queen, my mother," he said, "has heard the story of Artemisia and +of what they told you at Delphi. She desires to see you. Philotas +will take you to her." +</P> + +<P> +Philotas led the way through courts and colonnades to the women's wing +of the palace, where Olympias held sway. As they went, Clearchus +recalled all he had heard of Alexander's mother—how it was averred +that a great serpent was her familiar, and the tales of her passionate +and revengeful nature that had caused her to order the babe of +Cleopatra, who had supplanted her in the affections of her husband, to +be torn from the arms of its mother and killed in her sight before she +herself was slain. He had heard also of her devotion to religious +mysteries and especially of her skill in the secret rites of the +Egyptian magicians. +</P> + +<P> +As they neared the queen's apartments, Clearchus was astonished to hear +a woman's voice raised in anger, followed by the sound of blows and +pitiful cries for mercy. He paused in embarrassment, but Philotas drew +him on. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not be disturbed," said his guide; "the queen is probably +chastising one of her slaves." +</P> + +<P> +He ushered the young Athenian into a large room furnished with +luxurious magnificence. Before them stood Olympias, with a rod of +ebony in her grasp, and at her feet upon the silken carpet crouched a +weeping girl with bare white shoulders, marked with red where the rod +had fallen. The queen turned upon them with blazing anger in her great +black eyes and the wrathful color on her cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"Who enters here unbidden?" she demanded sternly, and then in a milder +tone she added: "Is it you, Philotas? These girls will kill me yet +with their stupidity. I wish I could drown them all in the sea! Ah!" +</P> + +<P> +She swung up the rod and brought it down upon a great vase of +Phœnician glass, which flew into a thousand fragments. She laughed +and threw the rod from her. +</P> + +<P> +"There, now I feel better!" she exclaimed, drawing a long breath. "You +may go, Chloe. Dry your eyes, child; you shall have your freedom. Who +is this whom you have brought me, Philotas?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is Clearchus, the Athenian, whom the king sends," Philotas answered. +</P> + +<P> +"I remember," she said quickly, turning to Clearchus. "You were robbed +of your sweetheart. Do you love her very much?" +</P> + +<P> +"I love her better than my life," Clearchus replied simply. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you never grow weary of her and cast her off, as Philip did me?" +she persisted. +</P> + +<P> +"If I find her, I will never willingly let her go out of my sight +again," the young man declared. +</P> + +<P> +"But did not the Pythia tell you that you would find her if you +followed my son?" she inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"The oracle instructed me to follow the Whirlwind," Clearchus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me about it," Olympias commanded, seating herself upon a couch. +She made him relate his experience with the oracle in the minutest +detail, asking many questions that indicated her lively curiosity. She +then inquired of Artemisia's personal appearance, her age, and family. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait here for me," she said finally, and left them alone in the room. +</P> + +<P> +"She seems hardly older than Alexander," Clearchus remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"Appearances are sometimes deceitful," Philotas replied dryly, +"especially when they are assisted by art." +</P> + +<P> +The queen was absent for more than half an hour. She seemed tired when +she returned. +</P> + +<P> +"I have consulted the Gods," she said, "and you will find her if your +heart remains true and strong. The priestess of Apollo told the truth." +</P> + +<P> +"I thank you for giving me this consolation," Clearchus said eagerly, +hoping that she would tell him more; but she began pacing thoughtfully +backward and forward, with bent head, apparently forgetful of his +presence. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly she stopped before him and smiled, rather wistfully he +thought. He almost fancied that there were tears under the fringe of +her dark lashes. "Farewell," she said. "May the Gods protect you—and +Alexander, my son." +</P> + +<P> +She resumed her walk, and the young man left the apartment in silence. +Clearchus tried in vain to analyze the strange impression that she had +made upon him, but for many days her smile, half sad, and her +mysterious dark eyes, with the living spark in their depths, continued +to haunt him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ACROSS THE HELLESPONT +</H4> + +<P> +Upon Bucephalus, whose proud spirit he alone had known how to tame, +Alexander led his army out of Pella. The great charger tossed his head +and uttered a shrill neigh, which sounded like a trumpet-call of +defiance to the whole world, as he issued forth from the gate of the +city. Many a Macedonian wife and mother, standing upon the walls, +dashed the tears from her eyes that day as her gaze followed the lines +of the troops, striving until the last to distinguish the form that +perhaps she would see no more. +</P> + +<P> +The young king drew aside, with his captains about him, upon a low hill +a short distance from the city. The sunlight flashed upon his gilded +armor and upon the double white plume that swept his shoulders. With +swelling hearts, the men saluted him as they marched by, horse and +foot, squadron and company, thirty thousand in all. The bronzed faces +of the veterans of Philip's wars lighted up as they heard his son call +one or another of them by name, and the countenances of the younger +soldiers flushed with pride and pleasure at his smile of approval. +Last came the baggage and provision trains and the great siege engines, +lumbering after the army on creaking wheels. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander turned to Antipater and gave him his hand. "I would that +thou, too, wert coming with us to share in our victories," he said. +"Remember, all our trust is in thee. Be just and firm." +</P> + +<P> +"I will remember," the old general replied, his stern face softening. +"Return when and how thou wilt; thou shalt find all as thou hast left +it to-day." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander turned to go, but a cry of "The queen!" caused him to halt. +A chariot drawn by foaming horses drew up before him. He sprang from +his horse and ran forward to receive Olympias in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"My son! My son!" she cried, looking into his face with streaming eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" he said gently. "Do not forget that you are the queen!" +</P> + +<P> +"But I am still a woman and thy mother," she replied. "How can I +suffer thee to leave me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will send for thee from Babylon," he said consolingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou goest to victory and to glory," she said. "Of that I have no +fear; but thy mother's heart is filled with sorrow! Kiss me yet again!" +</P> + +<P> +Alexander embraced her and led her back to the chariot. He stood +looking after her with bared head, until, escorted by Antipater, she +disappeared in the city gate. His heart went out to the jealous, fiery +woman's spirit, whose great love for him made her ever faultless in his +eyes. Something told him, as it had told her, although neither had +confessed it, that they would never look upon each other again. +</P> + +<P> +In another moment he was astride of Bucephalus and off after the army. +Clearchus, riding with Chares and Leonidas in their company of the +Companions, saw him dash past with a smile on his eager face. +</P> + +<P> +Along the northern shore of the Ægean, and always within sight of its +blue waters, they marched for twenty days until they crossed the Melas +and came to the Hellespont, beyond which they could see the mountains +of Phrygia, with the snow-capped summit of Mount Ida towering above the +rest. Before them, across the strait, lay the promised land. Wheeling +south to Sestos, they met the fleet that had kept them company along +the coast. There Alexander left Parmenio to take the army over to +Abydos, while he pushed on with the Companions to Elæus. +</P> + +<P> +He himself steered the foremost of the ships that carried them across +the strait to Ilium. In mid-channel they offered sacrifice to Poseidon +and the Nereids, and as they neared Cape Segeium the king hurled his +javelin upon the sand, and leaping into the water in full armor, dashed +forward to the Persian beach. From every ship rose cries of emulation +as the Companions plunged in after him and strove with each other to +see which of them should first follow him to the shore. +</P> + +<P> +Upon the battle-field where the terrible Achilles had raged among the +Trojans when the Greeks of olden time sought revenge for Helen's +immortal shame, the Companions celebrated with feasting and with games +the fame of the Homeric heroes. These exercises, filling their minds +with thoughts of wondrous deeds, were a fitting prelude for the mighty +task that lay before them. +</P> + +<P> +Through their camp the rumor ran from sources none could trace that +beyond the mountains lay the Persian host in countless numbers. +Arsites, Phrygia's satrap, and the cruel Spithridates, ruler of Lydia +and Ionia, were said to be in command. Memnon of Rhodes, the story +went, was at the head of an Hellenic mercenary force more numerous than +Alexander's entire army. +</P> + +<P> +No attempt was made to check the spread of these tidings. If the +thought of possible defeat crossed the mind of any of the Companions, +he was careful not to give it utterance. In their talk around their +camp-fires they assumed that the first battle was already won and their +plans ran forward into the heart of Persia. What mattered it whether +the enemy was many or few? Had not the Ten Thousand, whose exploits +Xenophon related, shown to the world that one Greek soldier was better +than a hundred barbarians? +</P> + +<P> +But in the intervals of the celebration Alexander talked long with +Ptolemy. The truth was, they knew not what preparations had been made +to receive them nor what force had been sent against them. The scouts +who had gone out weeks in advance had either failed to return or could +not tell them what they wished to know. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was sitting with Leonidas discussing Xenophon's account of +the death of Cyrus when a messenger brought them word that the king +desired to see them. They followed at once to Alexander's tent, where +they found Chares awaiting them. +</P> + +<P> +"You have heard the rumors of the enemy's advance," Alexander began. +"I wish to know how strong he is in both horse and foot, how many +Greeks he has with him, where they will fight in the line, and who are +the commanders. To win this information will be the first service of +danger and difficulty in the campaign. Which of you is willing to +undertake it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am!" cried the three young men with one voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not send us all?" Clearchus said. "Then if one of us falls, two +will remain, and if two are lost, the third may still be able to reach +you." +</P> + +<P> +"Be it so," Alexander replied, smiling. "We shall join the army at +once and march along the coast, as you see upon this map, to the +Granicus. There I think you should be able to rejoin me and there I +shall look for you." +</P> + +<P> +He rolled up the map and handed it to Leonidas. "This may serve for +your guidance," he said. "I shall place you under no instructions, for +I do not think you need them." +</P> + +<P> +He rose and shook each of them by the hand. "Farewell," he said, "and +be not rash, for I shall have need of you hereafter." +</P> + +<P> +Some of the Macedonians cast envious eyes at them as they came out of +the pavilion. Young Glycippus, who was in the same company with them, +joined them as they passed. +</P> + +<P> +"What is going on?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"The king wanted to ask me whether I thought Ajax or Achilles was the +better fighter," Chares answered gravely. +</P> + +<P> +"What did you tell him?" Glycippus inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"I told him that Ajax, in my opinion, was the better with the sword," +the Theban said. "He did not like it because, you know, he claims +descent from the son of Thetis." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," the young man said eagerly. "And he has taken Achilles' armor +from the temple here, leaving his own in its place." +</P> + +<P> +"He had it on while he was talking with us," Chares said. "It fits him +well enough. You know he has ordered Ilium to be rebuilt." +</P> + +<P> +"Has he?" cried Glycippus. "That is news," and he hurried off to tell +it. +</P> + +<P> +"That, at least, has the merit of being true," Chares said. "Ptolemy +told me while I was waiting for you." +</P> + +<P> +"First of all we must choose a leader," Clearchus said when they were +alone in their tent. "I vote for Leonidas." +</P> + +<P> +"And so do I," Chares added heartily, clapping the Spartan on the back. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas protested, but his friends refused to give way, pointing out +that to him Alexander had given the map. They persuaded him at last to +yield. +</P> + +<P> +"My idea is that we shall go as peltasts and as though we were seeking +the Persian camp to take service under Memnon," he said. "Get rid of +that gaudy armor of yours, Chares." +</P> + +<P> +"What, must I part with my mail?" the Theban exclaimed, glancing down +at the glittering links that covered his broad breast. He was +inordinately proud of this display. "What shall I do with it?" he +asked dolefully. +</P> + +<P> +"Throw it into the sea," Leonidas suggested in an uncompromising tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Some rascal is sure to steal it if I leave it here," Chares grumbled, +as he divested himself of the armor. +</P> + +<P> +At nightfall the three slipped out of the camp in the guise of +light-armed footmen, each with a round shield at his back, two javelins +in his hand, and a short sword at his side. As soon as they were safe +from observation Leonidas struck out briskly for the northern slopes of +Mount Ida, and they quickly vanished into the darkness. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THAIS AND ARTEMISIA +</H4> + +<P> +Through her window in the house of Iphicrates in Halicarnassus, +Artemisia could see the blue waters of the harbor and beyond them the +massive gray walls of the Royal Citadel. For weeks she had watched the +merchant ships coming and going, bringing their freights from Tyre and +Egypt and even from beyond the Pillars of Heracles, and many times had +her eyes filled with tears at the thought that perhaps one or another +of them might be bound for the Piræus. She imagined Clearchus +questioning the master and the sailors on their arrival at the port of +Athens, seeking to learn from them whether they had seen in their +wanderings the ship that had borne her away. +</P> + +<P> +At times her sorrow was made more bitter by doubts that forced +themselves upon her mind in spite of her repeated resolve not to admit +them. They whispered that Clearchus had given her up for lost and had +forgotten her. Perhaps at first, they said, he had been eager in his +search; but when all his efforts were in vain and he could find no +trace of her, he had become gradually resigned to her loss, occupied as +he was with the cares of his estate. Why else had he paid no heed to +her letters? +</P> + +<P> +When such evil ideas tormented her, Artemisia could no longer endure +the sight of the glancing sails and the quivering waters of the harbor. +She hid her face in her hands and her embroidery slipped unheeded to +the floor. +</P> + +<P> +But always she put the black thoughts from her and turned again to her +faith in her lover. He was brave and true. It could not be that he +had forgotten. It must be that her letters had never reached him. +Then she pictured him wandering in distant lands in search of her, or +sailing from city to city in hope of finding the men who had taken her +away. When in this mood, she would watch every sail as it emerged from +the misty distance in the belief that it might be bringing him to her +at last. But as the days went by her cheeks lost their roundness and +shadows darkened beneath her eyes. Her gaze grew more wistful and +unconsciously more hopeless as she looked out upon the harbor, and more +and more her hands lay idle in her lap. +</P> + +<P> +Day after day her thoughts trod the same round. "He will come to-day," +she said to herself in the morning. "Surely, to-day he is coming." +Her pulses quickened at every footfall, and she started at every +strange voice. When twilight fell and he had not come she whispered to +herself: "He will come to-morrow!" but to-morrow faded into yesterday +and he came not. +</P> + +<P> +Gradually her gentle spirit lost its courage and its hope under the +repeated buffets of disappointment. She drooped like a flower whose +roots can find no water, and even her nightly prayer to Artemis, the +Virgin Goddess, failed at last to bring peace to her troubled mind. +</P> + +<P> +One morning she was aroused from the lethargy into which she had fallen +by a change in the scene with which she had become so monotonously +familiar. Instead of the usual merchant ships, the harbor was filled +with warlike vessels with brazen beaks and banks of oars on either +side. The wharves were covered with soldiers in armor. Hundreds of +men were unloading bales and boxes which were being carried to the +Acropolis, to the Citadel of Salmacis, or to the Royal Citadel. +</P> + +<P> +The streets were filled with strange men, some of them wearing cloaks +of gay color, with plumed helmets, others in shining coats of mail, +with swords at their sides. Throughout the city rose the hum of +activity and the bustle of preparation. Artemisia, ignorant of the +invasion of Alexander, wondered what the reason could be. She imagined +that the barbarians might be planning another attack upon Greece, and +she reflected that this might bring Clearchus into danger. All her +thoughts and all her hopes centred in him. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of her conjectures some one knocked at her door. She had +found it necessary to keep it fastened as a precaution against the +unexpected entrances of Iphicrates. He came into the room with a smile +on his fat face, glancing furtively from side to side out of his +restless little eyes, which always reminded her of the eyes of a pig. +He sat down wheezing from the exertion of his climb. His neck carried +a triple roll of fat at the back and his bullet head looked like a mere +knob affixed to the shapeless mass of his body. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia attributed to his unfortunate physical appearance the +nameless aversion that she felt for him, and she sought to overcome it, +for he had always been considerate of her. +</P> + +<P> +"City is full of soldiers," he gasped, wiping his forehead. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there to be war?" Artemisia asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They say Alexander will try to cross the Hellespont," he replied, +attempting a shrug. +</P> + +<P> +"And will he come here?" she inquired. +</P> + +<P> +He caught the eagerness in her voice and his eyes grew cunning among +their wrinkles. "Perhaps," he replied. "Who can tell? These Asiatic +dogs laugh at him, but they may find themselves mistaken. We Greeks +know how to fight." +</P> + +<P> +"Why are they sending their army here?" she persisted. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Memnon of Rhodes," he told her. "He is a great general, but the +Persians do not trust him. He is on his way to the north with his +troops." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you not send me back to Athens before the war begins?" Artemisia +pleaded. +</P> + +<P> +"My dear child," he exclaimed with a gesture of despair, "it is +impossible. All my plans have failed. The war has already begun. The +Persian fleet holds the sea, and if you attempted to leave now, you +would be captured and sold as a slave. You know how I have tried to +grant your wish. Only yesterday I thought that at last I had found the +vessel for which I had been looking, and I had hoped to earn your +gratitude. But now—all is at an end while the war lasts. If they +overthrow the Macedonians in the north, it will be short." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not wish it," Artemisia said decisively. "I prefer to remain +here. I hope that Alexander will win, and when he comes, I shall be +free." +</P> + +<P> +"You are free now," Iphicrates said reproachfully. "You know that I +have kept you in seclusion only for your own safety and that I have +done all I could do to console you." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes; I know," she replied hastily. "I have no complaint to make +against you. You have tried to be kind." +</P> + +<P> +"If the Macedonians should come after all, you may be able to repay +me," Iphicrates continued, reaching the real purpose of his visit. "In +time of war men are likely to judge hastily, and it may be that old +Iphicrates will have to look to you for protection as you have looked +to him." +</P> + +<P> +"What have you to fear?" Artemisia asked in surprise. "And why do you +think that I may be able to protect you?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is possible that some of your countrymen may be with the army," he +replied evasively. "But they may not come here, even if they win in +the north." +</P> + +<P> +He rose with some difficulty from his chair. "Is there anything you +want?" he inquired. "You know that if I can give it to you, you have +only to ask." +</P> + +<P> +"There is nothing," Artemisia said, and the mockery of her answer +struck her to the heart. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia's mind was diverted for a time by the activity in the city, +which seemed at least to portend a change; but soon the novelty wore +off, and although the soldiers did not go away, she fell once more into +the listless mood against which she found it so difficult to struggle. +</P> + +<P> +When she least expected it, the change came. A disturbance arose in +the narrow street before the house which led up from the harbor. There +was a medley of cries and shouting, and Artemisia, leaning from her +window, saw the street below her filled with a throng of men who had +met in conflicting currents at the turn of the way. In the midst of +the press lay a litter, whose gilded frame was curtained with crimson +silk. It had been overturned by collision with a chariot in which one +of the generals had been proceeding toward the harbor. Beside the +litter Artemisia saw the form of a young woman. Her robe was of +shimmering saffron, and her copper-colored hair, broken from its coil, +lay spread upon the pavement. +</P> + +<P> +While she looked, the general, whose chariot had been the cause of the +mishap, descended and stood beside the prostrate figure. Glancing +about him in evident embarrassment, his eyes met her own as she leaned +from the casement. Brief as the meeting was, she felt the piercing +power and directness of his glance. He turned quickly to his escort +and gave a brief command, motioning toward the house of Iphicrates as +he spoke. As he resumed his place in his chariot, the soldiers lifted +the unconscious woman into the litter and bore it to the door of the +house, followed by a curious crowd. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia heard them enter and the sound of voices, among which she +recognized that of Iphicrates raised in whining protest. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no room for her here," he cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you will make room," was the rough reply. "It is Memnon who +gives the order, do you understand? He directed that the young woman +who lives here should care for her. Where is she?" +</P> + +<P> +"There is no young woman here," Iphicrates replied glibly. "The +general must have been mistaken." +</P> + +<P> +"Lying will not help you," the soldier replied. "I saw her myself. +Call her quickly if you want to save your skin." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia did not wait to be summoned. She descended the stairs and +went in among the soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"Carry her to the room above, and I will see that she is cared for," +she said quietly. +</P> + +<P> +The young captain to whom the execution of Memnon's order had been +entrusted looked at her with frank admiration. +</P> + +<P> +"By Zeus!" he said, "I wish I had been run over myself. Take her up, +litter and all," he added to his men, "and be quick about it." +</P> + +<P> +With some difficulty the soldiers carried the litter with its burden up +the staircase. +</P> + +<P> +"If he makes any trouble for you on account of this, report it to the +general," the captain said to Artemisia, indicating Iphicrates with a +nod. "And tell her when she recovers," he continued, nodding toward +the litter, "that Memnon desired to express his regrets." +</P> + +<P> +Without waiting for an answer, he wheeled and tramped down the stairs, +followed by his men. Artemisia was already bending over the young +woman. There was a bruise where the back of her head had struck the +pavement, but otherwise she seemed to have escaped unhurt. Her +wonderfully thick hair had evidently broken the force of the blow. She +recovered her senses at the first touch of the cold water with which +Artemisia bathed her temples. +</P> + +<P> +"Where am I?" she asked, opening her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You are safe and with friends," Artemisia assured her. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I much hurt?" she asked, without attempting to move. +</P> + +<P> +"I think not," Artemisia said. "Your head is bruised." +</P> + +<P> +"Is my face scarred?" was the next question. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not even scratched," Artemisia replied, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +The strange woman's lips parted in a responsive smile. "Then it might +have been worse," she said. +</P> + +<P> +With Artemisia's assistance she walked to a couch, where the young girl +made her comfortable with pillows. Presently, under Artemisia's +ministrations, she fell asleep. Artemisia sat watching her even +breathing and wondering who she could be. A great ruby flamed upon her +finger, and heavy chains of gold encircled her white throat. Her tiny +feet were shod with silken sandals and her yellow chiton disclosed the +rounded grace of her delicate limbs and the willowy suppleness of her +figure. She must be some great lady, in spite of her youth, Artemisia +thought, innocently, and she felt drawn to her in a manner that she +hardly understood. If only she would stay, she would be a friend in +whom confidence might be placed and whose sympathy would be a help. +But of course she would go away as soon as she was able to move. +Artemisia sighed in her loneliness. +</P> + +<P> +When the stranger woke, however, she seemed in no hurry to go. She +declared that the pain in her head had left her, and, turning lazily on +her side, she studied her surroundings. +</P> + +<P> +"Whose house is this?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"It belongs to Iphicrates," Artemisia said. +</P> + +<P> +"To Iphicrates?" the strange woman replied with sudden interest and in +evident astonishment. "And—are you his daughter?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I am of Athens; my name is Artemisia," the girl replied. +</P> + +<P> +Her companion's head fell back among the pillows and her gaze rested +upon Artemisia's face. So intent was the look that Artemisia grew +uncomfortable under it. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you look at me so strangely?" she asked at last. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon me," the other replied, letting her eyes fall. "I have heard +of you." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you, too, are of Athens?" the girl cried joyfully, throwing +herself on her knees beside the couch and taking the strange woman's +hand. "You have heard of Clearchus? Is he—living?" +</P> + +<P> +"He is living, and he loves thee," the stranger replied, as though +reading what was in her mind. +</P> + +<P> +A great gladness rushed through Artemisia's being. An immeasurable +load was suddenly lifted from her heart. She put her face down upon +the edge of the couch and wept for sheer gratitude. The strange woman +said nothing, but her hand rested lightly on the soft brown hair, and +she stroked the bent head with gentle fingers. +</P> + +<P> +The door opened without noise, and the bulk of Iphicrates advanced +gradually into the room. As his cunning eyes took in the scene before +him an anxious look overspread his face. +</P> + +<P> +"I came to see if you were better," he muttered, in a tone of apology. +</P> + +<P> +The strange woman raised her body slightly on the couch and extended +her hand toward the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Go!" she said briefly. +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates hesitated and cleared his throat, trying to meet the +scornful gaze directed upon him. Finally he mustered up his courage +with an effort. +</P> + +<P> +"This is my house," he said doggedly. +</P> + +<P> +"Go," the stranger repeated in a tone of unutterable contempt. "Must I +speak again?" +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates slowly turned and went, slinking from the room before the +blaze of her anger like a beaten hound. +</P> + +<P> +"Why are you so hard upon him?" Artemisia asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Because he deserves it," the stranger said. "Has he not held you +captive here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who art thou who knowest so much of my affairs?" the girl demanded +suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am thy—" The word "sister" trembled upon her tongue, but she +checked it. "I am thy protectress," she said. "Men call me Thais." +</P> + +<P> +A blush rose to her cheek as she uttered the name and felt the clear +blue eyes of the young girl upon her own. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais?" Artemisia repeated, searching in her memory. "I have heard +the name in Athens, but I forget when and where. I think they said you +were beautiful, and indeed you are." +</P> + +<P> +"Is that all they said of me?" Thais returned. +</P> + +<P> +"I think that is all; I do not remember more," Artemisia replied. +</P> + +<P> +Thais felt relieved. Her sister would learn soon enough who and what +she was. She hoped that when the knowledge came Artemisia would love +her enough to grant her forgiveness. She had broken with her old life. +Why drag it with her wherever she went? +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you come here?" Artemisia continued. +</P> + +<P> +"I came in search of you, and the Gods have given you to me," Thais +said. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia nestled beside her companion on the broad couch while Thais +told her of all that had happened in Athens since she had been carried +away by Syphax and his crew. In her narration she omitted the feast in +the house of Clearchus and passed lightly over details that might have +given Artemisia a clew to her identity. She described Clearchus' +despair at her loss and his vain effort to find some trace of her. She +told how he had consulted the oracle and of her own adventure in Thebes +when Chares had given his fortune to save her from Phradates. Then the +young men had joined the army and left her alone in Athens. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares consented that I should meet him here," she went on. "He said +that women would not be allowed to follow the army to its first battle. +It is there the greatest danger lies; for if they win there, they will +hold all the western provinces of the Persian empire." +</P> + +<P> +"And if they lose?" Artemisia asked anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"If they lose," Thais replied slowly, "then we shall return to Athens. +But they will not. The Gods are faithful to their promises. I had +intended to wait until the battle had been fought, but Mena, the same +who set Phradates upon me in Thebes, found me out. From him I +discovered that you were here in the care of Iphicrates, and I came." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia kissed her. "I would have died if you had not come," she +said simply. "But how did Mena know where I was?" +</P> + +<P> +"He would not tell me and I did not wait to learn," Thais said. +</P> + +<P> +"Will he not find out where you have gone and inform Phradates?" the +young girl suggested. "Would it not be better to leave this house and +conceal ourselves somewhere?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have thought of that," Thais replied. "I cannot leave the city, +since I am to meet Chares here; and if we were to go to some other +house, Iphicrates would know where we were. The Rhodian general sent +me here and Iphicrates fears me. As for Phradates," Thais smiled +slightly, "we need not try to avoid him, for he loves me. He is my +slave." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you love Chares much?" Artemisia asked. +</P> + +<P> +Thais threw her arms around her and crushed her in a fierce embrace. +"Love him!" she cried. "To the last drop of my blood—in every fibre +of my body! He is my God! If I lay dead before him, my eyes would see +him, as they do now." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you love him as much as I love Clearchus, only differently," +Artemisia said. "Does he love you?" +</P> + +<P> +"As much as he can," Thais replied. "There will always be more of the +boy than the man in him; but he loves me more than any other." +</P> + +<P> +Thais rose and went to the litter, where, from its hiding place among +the cushions, she drew forth a bag of leather which she emptied upon +the couch. Artemisia uttered a cry of delight. Rubies, emeralds, +diamonds, sapphires, and gems of turquoise lay spread before her in a +glittering heap. +</P> + +<P> +"There is our fortune," Thais said. "We shall not want, at least for +the present." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES +</H4> + +<P> +Sometimes running and sometimes walking, Leonidas led Clearchus and +Chares all night through the foot-hills of Mount Ida. It was not until +day was breaking and they were thoroughly exhausted that he halted at a +spot well advanced upon the northeastern slopes of the great mountain. +They found themselves at the bottom of a rocky ravine, shaded by +evergreens, through which trickled a shallow brook. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us eat and sleep," Leonidas said, and in ten minutes they were +lying wrapped in their cloaks in the shelter of a thicket. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas was awake and had aroused his friends before noon. Although +the country was wild and thinly settled, they pushed forward with +caution, fearing that they might stumble upon some Persian outpost. +For the same reason, they skirted the hillsides instead of keeping to +the valleys, where it would have been easier to advance, and the wisdom +of this precaution was made manifest before they had gone far. The +keen eyes of Leonidas caught a drift of smoke above the tree-tops. +Advancing cautiously along a ridge, they found an abrupt declivity +which permitted them to look down upon a camp-fire about which were +gathered twenty or thirty men. +</P> + +<P> +From the variety of their weapons and costumes, the Spartan judged them +to be shepherds and farmers who had been sent out by the Persian +commanders as scouts. They were under the command of an officer who +wore a conical cap, linen trousers, and a flowing garment of yellow and +blue, with wide sleeves. In his hand he carried a whip of rawhide, and +his only other weapon was a dagger which he wore at his waist. The +party had evidently halted for its midday meal. +</P> + +<P> +Seeing that the Persians did not suspect their presence, the three +spies crept behind a huge bowlder which had fallen from the face of the +cliff behind them and hung poised on a ledge above the camp. They +hoped to learn something from the talk of the men around the fire, but +their conversation seemed to be carried on in a dialect with which they +were not familiar. While Leonidas and Clearchus were watching, one on +either side of the rock, Chares, crouched behind it, began idly to +examine the mass of stone. It was taller than the stature of a man and +shaped like a rough sphere. Ferns grew from its crevices and around +its base, showing that it had hung there for years. It was separated +from the cliff by a narrow passage, and its outer side overhung the +ledge upon which it had been caught. +</P> + +<P> +Chares measured the great rock with his eye and then quietly stretched +himself down upon the ledge behind it, with his feet against the cliff +and his shoulders against the stone. As he put forth his enormous +strength, slowly a crack appeared in the earth at the base of the +stone. The delicate plumes of fern that grew from the moss on its +summit began to nod gently, although the air was still. The crack +widened and there was a sound of the snapping of slender roots. +Clearchus and Leonidas, intent upon the scene below, noticed nothing. +Suddenly the great bowlder seemed to start forward of its own motion. +It hung balanced for an instant and then plunged from the ledge, +bounding down the steep hillside with long leaps, rending everything in +its path. +</P> + +<P> +With shouts of alarm, the soldiers scattered in every direction, but +their leader tripped on the long skirt of his gaudy robe and fell face +downward beside the fire. Before he could rise, the great stone was +upon him. It rolled over his prostrate form and came to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas turned to discover what had happened and saw Chares lying with +his head in the hole where the stone had been, shaking with laughter. +Without losing a moment, the Spartan dragged him to his feet and ran +swiftly back along the way they had come. It was impossible to avoid +being seen. There was a cry from below, and half a dozen arrows struck +against the cliff about them as they passed. Luckily, they succeeded +in gaining shelter in safety. +</P> + +<P> +The Spartan's face was pale with anger. "If you had done that in my +country, nothing could save you!" he said to Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Why? What have I done?" the Theban asked in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"You have endangered the safety of the whole army and run the risk of +bringing the expedition to failure," Leonidas answered hotly. "I say +nothing of ourselves, but we have been seen, and what you have done to +no purpose may cost us our lives." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," the Theban said, filled with remorse. "I didn't stop +to think." +</P> + +<P> +"You made me leader," Leonidas continued bitterly. "If I am to lead, +you must obey my orders. If not, lead on yourself, and I will show you +how to obey." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus peered down into the ravine and saw the Persians gathered +about the motionless body of their chief, debating with many +gesticulations. +</P> + +<P> +"They are not thinking of pursuit," he said. "Come, I will answer for +Chares that he will be more careful in future. Let it pass. We have +no time to lose." +</P> + +<P> +The Spartan made no reply, but turned and led the way once more toward +the east. They did not halt again until the mountain was at their +backs, its peaks cutting a giant silhouette of purple in the crimson +evening sky. After a brief rest they struck out along a water-course +which brought them at daybreak to a larger stream that they judged to +be the Granicus. +</P> + +<P> +As they advanced, the hills became smaller and the country more open. +They met several companies of the Persians, some with wagon trains and +some on foraging expeditions; but when they explained that they were +Greek mercenaries on their way to join Memnon, they were permitted to +pass unmolested, since it was extremely unlikely that any of the +Macedonians could have advanced so far inland. Finally, late in the +afternoon, they reached an opening between the hills which gave them +sight of a broad, rolling plain, through which the river ran like a +band of silver. Far away they could see the tents of the Persian camp, +spread out like a white city, and, a little to the right, a dark +square, which they took to be the earthwork surrounding the camp of the +Greek mercenaries. Although the Persians made use of the Greeks, they +were so jealous of them that they always made them camp apart. +Encounters between them were not uncommon, even when they were fighting +in the same cause. +</P> + +<P> +Descending to the plain, the three friends lost sight of the camp, but +they took the river for their guide, knowing that it must bring them to +their destination. They passed farms and cottages, from which the +women peeped curiously at them, the men having been drafted into the +army. They were emerging from a pasture behind a farm-house rather +larger and more prosperous-looking than its neighbors, when they heard +a commotion in which they distinguished the shouting of Greeks. +Running forward, they found two foraging parties from the rival camps +in angry dispute for the possession of a drove of cattle. The Greeks +had found the cattle and were about to drive them away when the Persian +party came up and demanded them. +</P> + +<P> +Words led to blows. The Greeks were heavily outnumbered, and although +they fought stubbornly, it was clear that they would be unable to hold +their ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is our chance," Leonidas cried. "Memnon! Memnon!" +</P> + +<P> +He drew his sword and rushed into the conflict, with Clearchus and +Chares behind him, shouting at the top of their lungs. The Greeks, +encouraged by their unexpected succor, made a stand, while the +Persians, not knowing how large a force was upon them, ceased to follow +up their advantage. +</P> + +<P> +"Drive in the sheep with the cattle," Chares cried, catching up a heavy +stake from a hayrick and swinging it around his head with both hands. +"Don't let them escape!" He brought the stake down upon the Persian +heads like a gigantic flail. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas and Clearchus forced themselves into the thick of the fight, +thrusting and hewing with their swords. The Greek foragers, regaining +their courage, ran in after them. The Persians were unable to +withstand the charge. They broke and fled down the road toward their +camp in disorder, leaving half a dozen of their number upon the field. +</P> + +<P> +"Praise be to Zeus, the Preserver!" said the lochagos, or captain, who +was in command of the mercenaries. "Where did you come from?" +</P> + +<P> +"From Antandrus," Leonidas replied promptly, "to join the army of +Memnon." +</P> + +<P> +"By the horn of Dionysus, you came in time!" the captain cried, wiping +his sword. "But I have been long away from home. Is it the fashion +there now to fight with stakes for weapons?" +</P> + +<P> +He looked at Chares, whose mighty onslaught had aroused the admiration +of the soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"It is the fashion there, as it always has been, to fight with whatever +comes to hand when Greeks are in danger," Chares said with dignity. +"But do you suppose, now, that there is a skin of wine in that house?" +</P> + +<P> +"No harm in looking," the captain replied. "Get the cattle together if +you expect to eat before you sleep," he added to his men and led the +way into the house. +</P> + +<P> +There were only women inside—the farmer's wife and two daughters, all +in a flutter of fear. Chares, ignorant of their language, began by +kissing each of them, which served somewhat to dispel their alarm. +When the captain produced a bag of gold pieces and announced that he +would pay for everything they took, they became quite at ease and +readily brought the skin of wine that Chares demanded. +</P> + +<P> +Having finished the wine in great good humor and settled their account, +the party set off to the camp, driving the cattle before them. Around +their camp-fire that night the three Companions learned all there was +to know of the Persian army. Under Memnon, there were nearly twenty +thousand Greek mercenaries drawn from the entire Hellenic world and +including thieves, fugitives, murderers, and runaway slaves. The +Persian force was equal in number to the army of Alexander and +consisted mainly of cavalry. It was made up of picked men, the best +troops of the empire. With the satraps Arsites and Spithridates were +many of the great nobles of the realm, among them Atizyes, satrap of +Greater Phrygia, Mithrobarzanes, hipparch of Cappadocia, Omares, and +others who were renowned for their bravery and high standing with the +Great King. +</P> + +<P> +"They think it will be a holiday affair," the honest captain said +contemptuously. "We Greeks know better. They are encumbered with wine +and women for the feast that they intend to celebrate after they have +won their victory, and they are already quarrelling among themselves +for places at the board; but their greatest contention is over what +shall be done with Alexander when he is led before Darius, loaded with +chains, to answer for his boldness. They have invented more new +punishments than would destroy the entire army." +</P> + +<P> +"Why are they so certain of winning?" Clearchus asked. "I have heard +the Macedonians are good fighters." +</P> + +<P> +"So they are," the captain replied heartily; "but the best troops of +Persia are here, and the young nobles cannot bring themselves to +believe that common men can stand against them. Why, they are even +predicting that the army of Alexander will run away before a blow has +been struck." +</P> + +<P> +"You don't seem to care over much for our friends," Chares remarked +with a yawn. +</P> + +<P> +"Nor they for us," the captain said. "You saw what happened this +afternoon. They think they can get along without us and they do not +intend to let us have any share in the victory if they can help it. I +believe we shall win if it is true that Alexander has only half as many +men as we; but they will never win without our assistance." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose we shall fight in the centre," Clearchus suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," the captain exclaimed. "Nobody seems to know. If they +take Memnon's advice, they will not risk all on a battle now. There is +no need of it. All we have to do is to fall back, leaving nothing to +eat behind us, and the Macedonians will starve to death. But the +nobles will not listen to reason. They want glory, and so they insist +upon a battle where the advantage will be all with the other side. +They called Memnon a coward in the council this afternoon for proposing +to retreat, and now they are at it again over yonder." +</P> + +<P> +He pointed to a gayly colored pavilion in the middle of the Persian +camp, where the council feast was being held. It looked like a +strange, gigantic mushroom, glowing with interior light. +</P> + +<P> +"They even jeer at us for throwing up breastworks," the captain added +bitterly. "They have left their own camp defenceless, to show how +brave they are. Perhaps they will be glad enough to take refuge in +ours before they are through!" +</P> + +<P> +"We must find out what the decision of the council is," Leonidas +whispered, as they rolled themselves in their cloaks, "and then the +next thing will be to get away." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH +</H4> + +<P> +It was after midnight when the council ended and the generals returned +to the mercenary camp. Chares and Clearchus had long been slumbering, +but Leonidas, feeling his responsibility as leader, had deemed it his +duty not to yield to his fatigue until the camp was still. +</P> + +<P> +The story of what had occurred in the council spread quickly through +the mercenary army next morning. Memnon had returned in a rage. He +had warned the satraps of their folly in expecting an easy victory and +had advised them again to fall back, laying waste the country as they +went, so that the Macedonians would be forced to give battle on +disadvantageous terms and when they had been disheartened by privation. +</P> + +<P> +This suggestion had been treated with scorn by the Persians. They had +taunted Memnon with cowardice and the satrap Arsites had flatly refused +to permit a single house in his province to be destroyed. +</P> + +<P> +"If the Greeks wish to earn their pay without fighting," he had said, +"let them stand idly by and see how brave men can conquer." +</P> + +<P> +Thereupon all the Persian nobles had shouted assent and it had been +decided to proceed without delay to crush the invasion by forcing a +battle. +</P> + +<P> +This was the news that was told through the camp of the Greeks and +discussed with bitter comment by groups of soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I was back with my wife and children," said a sturdy Locrian. +"These dogs know nothing of war." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall stay here, no matter what they do," remarked an Athenian, with +a shrug. "Hemlock does not agree with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait until the phalanx strikes them," said a hoplite from Syracuse. +"I'll wager that the date-eaters will sing a different song when the +sarissa begins to tickle their ribs." +</P> + +<P> +"You would suppose that these fellows would like to see the barbarians +beaten," Chares muttered to Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush," said Leonidas. "We know all that we came to learn. What we +have to do now, is to get out as soon as we can. The army cannot be +far away and unless we can reach it before it arrives, the day may be +lost. If we give the Persians time, they may yet change their minds. +All depends upon an immediate attack, while their forces are divided. +We must get away at once. How are we to manage it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, walk away, of course," Chares said. "Who is to stop us?" +</P> + +<P> +"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody +shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into +a brawl with the Persians." +</P> + +<P> +"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus +proposed. +</P> + +<P> +"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find +our friend, the captain." +</P> + +<P> +It happened that the same foraging party that they had joined the day +before was going out again. Leonidas asked permission to join it. +</P> + +<P> +"You have not yet been enrolled," the grizzled captain objected, "but +come along if you wish; we may need the big fellow with the stake. +I'll leave three of my men behind and you can take their places." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas breathed more freely when they were out of the camp, with the +most dangerous part of the mission accomplished. They were forced to +cross the Granicus and to walk five or six miles on the other side +before they met with any success in their search for provisions. At +last they discovered a flock of sheep, of which they took possession. +All was in readiness for the return march when Leonidas, Chares, and +Clearchus approached the captain. +</P> + +<P> +"We have decided that we will not join the army," Leonidas announced. +"We have seen enough of this war. We are going back to the coast." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know about that," the captain said, scratching his head. +</P> + +<P> +"We are not enrolled," Leonidas reminded him. +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," said the honest fellow, "but you have been in the camp." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, we are not going back," the Spartan said deliberately. "Are you +going to try to force us? There are thirteen of you and only three of +us, but if you want a fight, you can have it. We don't intend to risk +our lives for such leaders as Arsites. Which shall it be—shall we go, +or shall we fight for it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Let them go," interposed one of the soldiers who had drawn near to +learn what the controversy was about. "They saved us yesterday. I +have half a mind to go with them myself. I would if I had my pay." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, let them go, if they wish," others chimed in. "They are not +enrolled." +</P> + +<P> +"Farewell," Leonidas said, sheathing his sword and extending his hand +to the captain. "You can say we were killed in a skirmish with the +Persians if you like." +</P> + +<P> +"That's it, I'll say you were killed," the captain exclaimed in a tone +of relief, clasping the proffered hand. "Only, you will not come +back?" he asked doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Never fear," cried Chares, giving him a slap on the back that almost +felled him to the ground. "If we do, we'll swear you told the truth." +</P> + +<P> +So they turned north and passed on, while the remainder of the party +drove in the sheep to camp. +</P> + +<P> +It was mid-afternoon when they separated from the mercenary company, +and they had no means of knowing how many miles they would have to +travel before they fell in with the Macedonian army. +</P> + +<P> +"Now for it," cried Leonidas, swinging his shield over his shoulder. +"Come on!" +</P> + +<P> +Before they had gone far, they found themselves descending a long slope +toward what seemed to be a wide stretch of marshland extending as far +as they could see. It was covered with long, dry rushes, which rustled +and bent before the strong breeze. The brown expanse apparently had +once been a lake, for in the distance they could catch the gleam of +water; but the greater part of the basin had dried, and the reeds had +sprung up as the water receded. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks like a swamp," Clearchus said, anxiously scanning the plain. +"How are we to pass?" +</P> + +<P> +"It seems dry enough now," Leonidas replied. "We will cross it if we +can find no better way; but let us look first for a road." +</P> + +<P> +Facing to the east, they skirted the edge of the rushes for more than a +mile without finding an opening or coming within sight of the end. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm afraid we shall have to try to get through," Leonidas said at +last, halting on a tongue of land which extended some distance into the +marsh. "We can't afford to waste much more time." +</P> + +<P> +The question was decided for them in a manner that left them no choice. +As they stood in doubt, shouts came from their rear, and turning, they +saw a company of horsemen at the top of the slope, half a mile away, +bearing down upon them at a breakneck gallop. Their long lances and +flowing garments showed them to be Persians. +</P> + +<P> +"You were right in saying that we had no time to waste, Leonidas," +Chares exclaimed. "What are you going to do about this? I am anxious +to take orders." +</P> + +<P> +For answer, the Spartan set off at a run for the marsh. It was evident +that the Persians had seen them and were aiming to attack them at a +distance from the camps, where the affair would remain undiscovered. +</P> + +<P> +With the wind blowing in their faces, the three young men plunged in +among the reeds. The dry stalks met above their heads and whistled +about their ears. +</P> + +<P> +"Go first!" commanded Leonidas, standing aside for Chares to pass. +</P> + +<P> +The Theban took the lead, tearing like a wild bull through the +crackling stems. Clearchus followed at his heels and Leonidas brought +up the rear, retaining for himself the post of danger. Although their +figures were hidden, they knew their pursuers would have no trouble in +following them, for they left a broad trail, and, moreover, the +elevation of the backs of their horses would enable the barbarians +easily to mark their progress by the waving of the rushes. +</P> + +<P> +For a mile and two miles the race continued without a word being +spoken. The Persians had ridden headlong into the marsh after them and +were slowly gaining upon them, although the speed of their horses was +checked by the rushes, which caused them to stumble, and by the +softness of the ground, into which their hoofs sank to the fetlock at +every stride. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was panting for breath and he heard Leonidas breathing hard +behind him. Sweat streamed from the face and neck of Chares, who broke +the path. The Athenian knew that the pace could not be maintained much +longer. +</P> + +<P> +Still another half mile they struggled on with the endless brown walls +of reeds before them and around them. Long ago they had cast away +their javelins and their shields, which caught in the reeds and +hindered them. Even if they could find a barrier behind which to make +a stand, they knew they would have no chance for their lives against +the enemy, who outnumbered them six to one and had the advantage of +being mounted. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus thought of Artemisia, and his temples throbbed with anguish +as he nerved himself to fresh effort. Was he never to see her again? +His bones would bleach in the middle of that vast morass and she would +not know. He thought of the high-spirited young king who had sent them +to obtain information that might save his army from destruction and the +hopes of Greece from ruin. On them alone might depend the result of +the battle that was to be fought and the destiny of two nations. +</P> + +<P> +He saw Chares stumble once and again. His own muscles were benumbed by +the long strain. The shouting at their backs was growing louder and +more near and he could hear the thudding of the hoofs upon the spongy, +black soil. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop!" Leonidas gasped behind him, and looking over his shoulder, +Clearchus saw that the Spartan had fallen to his knees. +</P> + +<P> +"Back, Chares," he shouted. "The end has come!" +</P> + +<P> +The Theban halted and they both ran back to Leonidas, drawing their +swords with a fierce determination to defend themselves to the last. +</P> + +<P> +"Beat down the rushes!" Leonidas cried hoarsely. "Let in the wind!" +</P> + +<P> +They saw that he held his flints in his hands and that a tiny blaze was +flickering up from a heap of rushes which he had crushed into a +tinder-like mass. +</P> + +<P> +They understood his plan and hope returned to them. Like madmen, they +trampled the reeds to the right and left. A puff of wind came through +and caught the darting tongue of fire. It leaped upward so suddenly +that the Spartan's hair was singed before he had time to draw back. In +an instant, it seemed, a sheet of flame flung itself into the air above +the reed-tops, casting off a thin swirl of bluish smoke. With +incredible swiftness the fire swept from them straight down upon their +pursuers, leaving behind it a rapidly widening wake of black. +</P> + +<P> +"Scatter it!" cried Leonidas, seizing the blazing reeds and throwing +them in every direction. The others followed his example, spreading +the fire as far as they could to the right and left so as to make it +impossible for the Persians to evade it by avoiding its path. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the barbarians saw the first smoke, they halted, hesitated +for a moment, and then turned wildly back in the hope of escaping by +the way they had come. The Greeks had taken a position on the charred +ground, where they themselves were safe from the flames, and were +awaiting the result, sword in hand. +</P> + +<P> +The conflagration, as it gathered headway, seemed to become a monster +animated by a living spirit. One broad sheet of flame swept high into +the air, roaring like a hungry beast, and throwing up clouds of smoke +that hid the southern sky. With deadly swiftness it devoured the lake +of reeds before it, leaving behind a bare and level plain of ashes from +which here and there rose smoky spirals. It seemed to create a +scorching gale stronger even than the wind that had fanned it into +life. It rushed forward by great leaps and bounds, pausing now and +then over some especially tempting thicket of reeds, and then starting +up far in advance. +</P> + +<P> +In vain the three young men tried to learn what had become of the +pursuers upon whom Leonidas had let loose their terrible ally. +Grasping their swords, they stood back to back amid the drifting smoke, +striving to look beyond the flaming wall. The wave of fire reached the +slope from which they had fled, lingered there for a few moments, and +then vanished as quickly almost as it had sprung into existence. The +smoke blew away over the uplands in a bellying cloud. Gazing through +its rifts, they could see nothing of the Persians. They seemed to have +disappeared as completely as though the earth had swallowed them. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they?" exclaimed Clearchus in bewilderment. +</P> + +<P> +"They must have escaped," Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +"No, by Zeus, I see them!" Chares cried, pointing to a group of +blackened mounds about halfway from where they stood to the edge of the +marsh. +</P> + +<P> +One of the mounds stirred as he spoke, and they saw that he was right. +It was one of the horses. The animal tried to raise itself on its fore +legs, gave a scream of agony, and fell back among the cinders. +</P> + +<P> +Without a word, the three Companions turned away. While the fire had +fled rapidly before the wind, it had made little progress in other +directions. It was still eating into the rushes behind them and on +either side and they were surrounded by it, excepting where it had +swept back to the slope. To return in that direction would be to run +new risk of capture. They were prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +They looked at each other. Their faces and garments were black with +smoke and ashes. +</P> + +<P> +"What would they say if they could see you in the Agora in Athens +looking like that?" Chares asked of Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"They would ask me the price of charcoal, I suppose," the Athenian +replied, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +They moved slowly after the receding fire, choosing their path with +caution and halting every few yards to wait until the ground had cooled. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall not get out in time!" Leonidas groaned. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be too sure," Clearchus cried. "Look at that." He extended his +hand, upon which a drop of water had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +"Rain!" cried the Spartan, joyfully. "The Gods be thanked!" +</P> + +<P> +It was rain, indeed. The drops were falling all around them, making +little puffs in the hot ashes and hissing on the embers. The wind +shifted further to the east and brought a refreshing dampness to their +faces, crimsoned by the stifling atmosphere which they had been forced +to breathe. There was a muttering of thunder, then a nearer crash +overhead, and they saw the storm striding across the plain in a long, +sweeping curve. They lifted their faces to it and drew deep breaths, +letting the water trickle through their hair and down their bodies. +Steam rose from the blackened expanse all about them. Gaps began to +appear in the hissing circle of fire. The red tongues flickered and +went out. +</P> + +<P> +"There is yet time," Leonidas cried, and in a few moments they were +once more among the reeds, heading for the northern margin of the swamp. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +GREEK AND BARBARIAN +</H4> + +<P> +Alexander was riding upon Bucephalus, with Parmenio at his side. +Behind them rode the light-hearted pages and the grave generals, +followed by the Companions and the infantry, winding like an enormous +snake along the road that led southward to the Granicus. +</P> + +<P> +The young king seemed preoccupied. He glanced restlessly to the right +and left where scouting parties were beating the country to guard +against surprise and in the hope of finding some trace of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"The Persians cannot be far away now," he said to Parmenio. "Do you +think they will wait for us?" +</P> + +<P> +"If they were wise, they would fall back and draw us away from our +supplies," the old general replied. +</P> + +<P> +"They must fight," Alexander exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no doubt they will," Parmenio answered, with the shadow of a +smile upon his lips. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander glanced sharply at him and was silent, riding with bent head +as though debating with himself. There was something in the veteran's +tone that jarred upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish Leonidas, Chares, and Clearchus were here," he said at last. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps they have taken service under Memnon," Parmenio suggested +dryly. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there none that you trust?" Alexander said sharply. "They are not +deserters; but they may have been killed." +</P> + +<P> +"That is possible," the old man replied. +</P> + +<P> +"I care not so much for the Persians," Alexander continued, "but I +would like to know how many men Memnon has and what spirit they are in." +</P> + +<P> +A small party of the scouting horsemen appeared before them in the road. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Amyntas himself," Alexander said, catching sight of them. "What +has the Lyncestian found?" +</P> + +<P> +"Either stragglers or prisoners," Parmenio replied, shading his eyes +with his palms. "They seem to be negroes." +</P> + +<P> +"We will put them to the torture," Alexander said, with satisfaction. +"They may be able to tell something of what we wish to know." +</P> + +<P> +He urged Bucephalus forward to meet the skirmishers, who halted to +await his arrival. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you here, Amyntas?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Three men who seemed to be wandering about the Country," Amyntas +replied. "They are Greeks, but they refuse to give any account of +themselves excepting to Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +One of the three prisoners, short and strong of build, stood forward +and saluted. Alexander looked hard at him and then at the other two. +His face cleared and he laughed aloud. +</P> + +<P> +"Order a halt," he said. "Let the men rest and eat. Leave the +prisoners to me." +</P> + +<P> +He gave his horse to a groom and led the way to a wide-spreading oak +tree a short distance from the road. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you had been either killed or captured," he said to the +prisoners. "Leonidas, what have you learned?" +</P> + +<P> +"Everything," the Spartan replied. +</P> + +<P> +"How many soldiers has Memnon?" the young king asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Twenty thousand," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Will they fight?" Alexander inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"No, because the Persians will not let them," Leonidas said. "Memnon +advised a retreat, but the satraps laughed in his face and gave him +permission to watch them win the battle." +</P> + +<P> +"What think you of that, Parmenio?" Alexander exclaimed. "He gave them +the same advice you would have given had you been there. They have +refused it. The day is ours!" +</P> + +<P> +With hasty questions he brought out the whole story of the expedition. +The plan of battle formed itself in his mind as he listened, walking +back and forth before them. His eyes flashed and his cheeks glowed red. +</P> + +<P> +"You have done well," he said to the three friends, when they had +finished. "Your horses are waiting for you. Refresh yourselves and +put on your armor, for you will need it before the sun goes down." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope nobody has stolen my breastplate," Chares muttered. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander continued to pace backward and forward with his head inclined +a little to the left, as was his wont when in thought. Parmenio +watched him closely, but did not venture to speak. Amyntas, who had +ridden forward after surrendering his prisoners, now returned at a +gallop. +</P> + +<P> +"The barbarians await us on the opposite side of the river," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Your prisoners have already told me," Alexander replied. "Is the +stream fordable?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not directly in front of their line," the cavalryman replied. "There +is shallow water above and below them, but the stream is swift." +</P> + +<P> +"Call the council," Alexander said quietly, turning to Parmenio. +</P> + +<P> +Heralds bore the order down the road beside which the army lay at rest. +The commanders left their stations and came forward, singly and in +groups, gathering about their leader. In few words he set the +situation before them. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we attack them now or to-morrow?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us fight now!" the captains shouted. +</P> + +<P> +But Parmenio frowned and shook his head. "My advice is to wait," he +said boldly. "Already it is late and we must cross the river to reach +the enemy. They have chosen their own ground. The men are weary with +their march." +</P> + +<P> +"No, no!" the younger men shouted. +</P> + +<P> +"As for the river," Alexander replied, "the Hellespont would blush for +shame if we stood waiting on the banks of such a stream as this after +having crossed the other. It is true that we have little time, and +that is the more reason that we should make the most of it. We will +fight now." +</P> + +<P> +His decision was received with a burst of cheers. He waited with a +smile until the clamor of approval had ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"Comrades and Macedonians!" he continued, "we are about to face the +Mede. If we win here, we win all. I say to you that we shall win. I +ask you only to be worthy of yourselves. Fight this day as the heroes +fought before the walls of Ilium. Their shades are with us. Your +names shall be linked forever with theirs. Here we shall reap the +first harvest of our hope." +</P> + +<P> +"Lead us, Alexander! We shall win!" the captains shouted. +</P> + +<P> +They ran back to spread the news among the soldiers, who received it +with such enthusiasm that even the anxious face of Parmenio brightened. +In another half hour the army was again in motion with Alexander in the +van, wearing the helmet with the white plumes that swept his shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the river, they saw the Persians drawn up on the +opposite bank in a long, deep line. The front of the enemy was gay +with banners flaunting in the sun and resplendent with the +multi-colored finery of the Persian lords. The Greeks could hear the +braying of their trumpets and the shouts of their commanders as the +dense masses of their cavalry wheeled into position to meet the attack. +At sight of Alexander a high-pitched, long-drawn cry ran from one end +of their line to the other, rising and falling in derision. +</P> + +<P> +There was no answer from the Greeks. The young king drew aside to a +point of vantage and threw a rapid glance at the barbarian host. He +saw that the river before them broadened into a pool, over whose quiet +surface the swallows were skimming. Immediately in front of him the +water foamed and gurgled over a shallow, and a similar break ended the +pool below. The opposite bank rose steeply from the water's edge to +the wide declivity upon which the Persians had taken their stand. +Behind them Memnon's mercenaries had been posted as a reserve and to be +spectators of the punishment which the barbarians were to inflict upon +their countrymen. +</P> + +<P> +"Leonidas was right," Alexander exclaimed, pointing to the mercenaries. +"See, we shall not have to meet the spears of the Greeks. Form the +line, Parmenio." +</P> + +<P> +Squadron and company emerged from the road and wheeled into their +positions in silence under the direction of their captains. Clearchus, +Chares, and Leonidas were riding with Ptolemy's troop when a page +sought them and they saw Alexander beckoning. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not forget that you are to fight with Alexander to-day," he said, +as they rode up. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas flushed with pride and Chares threw a satisfied glance at the +gorgeous breastplate which he had recovered safely. They took their +places in the cluster of young Macedonians behind the king. +</P> + +<P> +Amyntas, with his light horsemen, was posted on the extreme right, +beyond the left of the Persian line. Ptolemy, with the heavy cavalry, +stood next, and Alexander, with seven squadrons of the Companions, the +best and bravest of his army, supported him on the left. Then came the +terrible phalanx, rank on rank, its sarissas standing up to four times +the height of a man, like a giant field of corn. Farther down the +river, in the left wing, where Parmenio commanded, was the dashing +Thessalian horse, with the riders of Thrace and the Greek allies, +supported by other squadrons of foot-soldiers. +</P> + +<P> +Quickly and calmly, as though forming for a parade, the line extended +itself and stood still. Behind its centre the catapults and ballistæ +were posted, with their strings tightened and their great arms drawn +back, ready to hurl their bolts or to discharge their missiles. +</P> + +<P> +A sudden hush fell on both sides of the river. The jeers of the +Persians died away and their banners stirred lazily in the light air. +The Macedonians stood facing them like an army of statues. Alexander +touched his horse with the spur and rode slowly down the line alone to +see that all was in readiness. As he passed he spoke to the captains, +calling them by name. +</P> + +<P> +"Nicanor," he said, "let your men prove themselves men once more +to-day! Perdiccas, fight for the honor of Hellas! Cœnus, there are +no cowards among your followers; fight now as you never fought before! +Remember Macedon!" +</P> + +<P> +So the young king reached the left of the array, where he gave his +final instructions to Parmenio, and galloped back to his place on the +right with his double white plume streaming behind him. +</P> + +<P> +Gazing across the narrow stream, the veterans of Macedon saw the pride +of Persia awaiting their onset. The great struggle for which they had +been making ready through years of toil was about to be brought to an +issue. There rose before them a vision of the farms and villages among +the rugged Macedonian hills where their wives and children awaited +them. They set their teeth upon the thought that defeat would leave +the road to their homes unguarded. They pictured the shame of +returning as hunted fugitives, with the barbarians at their heels—how +sullen Sparta would exult and fickle Athens blaze up in revolt. It +would be better to die there on the banks of the foreign river than to +incur such disgrace. +</P> + +<P> +To all minds came the thought that the fate of the world was hanging in +the balance, and all eyes turned to Alexander. The young king, cool +and confident, had regained his position at the head of the Agema. He +raised his hand and away on the right the army heard the clear notes of +a trumpet sounding the charge. +</P> + +<P> +Amyntas, with his gallant lancers, galloped down the slope and dashed +into the river, which foamed about the knees of the plunging horses. +</P> + +<P> +Again the trumpet-call quavered in the air, and Ptolemy's squadrons +followed Amyntas with a clanking of armor and a jangling of scabbards. +</P> + +<P> +On the opposite shore the Persians raised their fierce, defiant shout +and rushed eagerly forward to meet the charge. A flight of arrows rose +from the archers posted upon the hillside in their rear and converged +in a glittering shower upon the ford. +</P> + +<P> +Then along the dreaded phalanx of the Greeks ran a swelling murmur. +The forest of sarissas began to move toward the river. Louder rose the +chant until it drowned the clash of arms and the shouts of the +barbarian host. It was the solemn pæan from twelve thousand bearded +throats, calling upon the Gods of Hellas for their aid. The hearts of +the Greeks in the mercenary camp on the heights across the river +tightened as the deep-toned chorus rolled up to them and for a time +they avoided looking into each other's eyes. +</P> + +<P> +Enormous darts, ponderous balls of lead, and jagged stones were hurled +against the Persian line from the death-dealing engines in the rear of +the Greek position. Amyntas was struggling hand to hand in the foaming +ford. The battle was joined. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS +</H4> + +<P> +Again and yet again Amyntas was thrust back from the other shore, +slippery with mud and clay, while deadly gusts of arrows and javelins +beat upon him. Jealous of glory, the young Persian nobles crowded with +reckless daring to the brink and overwhelmed him by the weight of their +numbers. But they could not drive him off. He clung to the attack +with the stubborn tenacity that knows not defeat, refusing to abandon +the stream, although his lines were broken and his men were falling +around him. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander, watching the battle like a hawk, saw the desperate situation +into which he had thrown Amyntas. "Enyalius!" he shouted, calling upon +the God of War by the name that the Homeric heroes had used before +Ilium; "Enyalius! Follow me, Macedonians!" +</P> + +<P> +The Agema swept down the slope behind the waving plumes of white and +struck the river into foam. The disordered ranks of Amyntas raised a +breathless cheer as it passed, heading straight for the thickest of the +fight. There was a splintering of shafts, a crash of steel upon steel, +and from the fierce vortex of the battle rose cries of rage and agony. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus fastened his eyes upon the double white plume which fluttered +before them. He heard the cry "Alexander! Alexander!" run from lip to +lip through the Persian host and saw its squadrons rushing down to meet +the onset. +</P> + +<P> +A lean, swarthy man, wearing a head-dress that glittered with jewels, +aimed a blow at him with his curved sword. The Athenian threw himself +back upon his horse to avoid the stroke and thrust the man through the +side with his lance. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander was fighting in the foremost rank amid a flashing circle of +steel. The Persian courtiers threw themselves upon the Macedonian +spears in their eagerness to reach the king and win the honors which +they knew would be bestowed upon the fortunate man who should slay him. +The young leader seemed heedless of his danger. Twice he spurred his +horse up the treacherous bank and twice he was hurled back. The river, +from shore to shore, was filled with soldiers fending off as best they +might the merciless rain of darts and arrows. The moment was critical. +Unless the Agema could gain footing on the Persian side, the day was +lost. +</P> + +<P> +"We must end this," roared Chares above the turmoil. "Down with them! +Alexander!" +</P> + +<P> +He drove his bloody spur deep into the flank of his powerful steed. +The tortured animal leaped at the bank and staggered upward against the +living wall that barred the way. A score of swords struck at him, and +the polished shield that the Theban held above his head rang beneath +the blows that were showered upon it. The great roan gained the top of +the bank, but a spearman buried a javelin in his broad chest and his +knees gave way. As he fell, Chares leaped from his back and stood firm. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander!" he cried again, in a mighty voice that rose above the din +of conflict like the roar of a lion at bay. His long sword, so heavy +that a man of ordinary strength could hardly wield it, though he used +both hands, swept on this side and on that in whistling circles. Down +went horse and rider before it like grain within the compass of a +sickle. For a moment a space was cleared, and in the next the double +plume of white flaunted before his eyes as Alexander passed him, and +the Theban knew that the shore had been won. The Agema, like a wedge, +struck far into the Persian ranks and held there, driven home by the +weight of troops behind it. +</P> + +<P> +Mithridates, son-in-law of Darius, infuriated by this success, ordered +a charge which should sweep the Macedonians back into the river. +Followed by Rhoisakes, his brother, and by a throng of nobles he hurled +himself upon the stubborn mountaineers, aiming straight for Alexander. +Chares, who was in the path of the avalanche, was swept aside. His +shield was shattered upon his arm by the blow of a mace which also +broke the fastenings of his helmet. A shout of warning rose from the +Agema as it wheeled to face the attack. With sword upraised, +Mithridates rushed upon Alexander; but the king's tough lance pierced +the scales of his armor before he could deliver his stroke. The prince +fell from his horse and rolled beneath the flying hoofs. Rhoisakes, +thundering behind him, aimed a blow with his keen battle-axe which +shore away the king's crest and half the double plume. At the same +moment the satrap Spithridates attacked Alexander from behind, but +before his arm could fall, dark Clitus, with an upward stroke, severed +his wrist so that his hand, still grasping his hilt, leaped into the +air. Rhoisakes met his brother's fate upon Alexander's spear. Dismay +filled the Persian ranks. The charge was broken. "Enyalius!" +Alexander shouted, and the Agema thundered up the slope against the +disordered barbarians. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Leonidas fought close behind Alexander. The Athenian was +never afterward able to recall the details of that desperate struggle. +His remembrance was a confused blur of thrust and parry, of shouting +and confusion. Suddenly, out of the shifting throng, the proud, +flushed face of Phradates appeared to him as in a dream. The young +man's gaze was fixed and he seemed to be striving to extricate his +horse from the press that hemmed him in. Struck by the expression of +rage and hate that convulsed his features, Clearchus followed the +direction of his glance and saw Chares, with bare head and on foot, +holding two adversaries in check with his sword. Blood flowed from a +wound upon his cheek, reddening his shoulder and dimming the lustre of +his armor. He had been left behind by the cavalry, and the space +around him was clear except for the two riders, who had thought to find +him an easy victim. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus read the thought in the dark face of the Phœnician. +Phradates had recognized his rival and was bent upon taking him at a +disadvantage. The Athenian turned to warn Chares of his peril, but +Phradates shot out of the crowd in advance of him and spurred down upon +his enemy, bending low upon the neck of his fleet Arabian horse. +</P> + +<P> +"Ho, Chares! Guard thyself!" Clearchus shouted, realizing that he +would be too late. +</P> + +<P> +The cry reached the ears of the Theban, who turned his head for an +instant and saw Phradates rushing upon him. He leaped forward and +hewed one of his adversaries from the back of his horse. The other +closed in, aiming a blow with his sword that Chares had barely time to +catch upon his own blade. The shoulder of the leaping horse hurtled +against him, causing him to stagger and drop his point. +</P> + +<P> +"I have thee, dog!" screamed Phradates. +</P> + +<P> +So intent was the Phœnician upon his ignoble revenge that he had not +seen Clearchus, spurring desperately to overtake him. The Athenian +heard his shout of triumph and his heart failed. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot reach him in time!" he groaned. +</P> + +<P> +In a few more strides, Chares would be at the mercy of his foe. +Phradates raised his arm to strike at the defenceless head. There was +one chance of stopping him and one only. Clearchus hurled his sword at +the Phœnician. The hilt of the whirling blade struck Phradates on +the arm with such force that, with a cry of pain, he let fall the sword +from his benumbed fingers. +</P> + +<P> +"Not this time, Phœnician!" Chares shouted, as Phradates swooped +past him. "Go back to Tyre and await my coming; for I follow!" +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus leaped down from his horse and recovered his sword with the +intention of pursuing Phradates, but he saw at a glance that the +attempt would be useless. The Phœnician, unarmed as he was, fled +toward the Persian lines too fast to be overtaken. +</P> + +<P> +He looked around for the second of the two horsemen with whom Chares +had been engaged when Phradates attacked him, but the man was nowhere +to be seen. He turned to his friend and embraced him. +</P> + +<P> +"You were just in time," Chares said. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank the Gods!" Clearchus replied. "This is no place to die. I +think the battle is ours." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates, riding at full speed, passed through the Persian lines and +galloped up the slope. Here and there a Persian horseman saw him go +and followed. Others, and still others, joined the flight until, like +a dam that goes down before the swollen current of a river in spring, +the barbarian squadrons wavered and broke, streaming up the hill +disordered and panic-stricken, with death at their heels. Their only +thought was to save themselves. +</P> + +<P> +Slaughter took the place of conflict. Grim and silent the Macedonian +cavalry and the Thessalian horse rode among the fugitives with swords +that knew no mercy. In that disastrous rout the pride of Persia's +chivalry was dragged in the dust, and the courtier deemed himself +fortunate who escaped to tell of his own dishonor. +</P> + +<P> +Past the camp of the despised Greek mercenaries who had been bidden to +watch the defenders of the Great King conquer or die, ran the barbarian +rabble, with the wolves of Macedon tearing at their flanks. Southward +they fled, leaving behind a broad track of the wounded and the dying, +and scattering as they went until no semblance of the Persian army +remained. Sweet in their ears at last was the music of the trumpet +notes that withdrew the pursuit and left them free to take breath. +</P> + +<P> +The mercenaries stood before their camp, unmoved amid the panic, +awaiting the command to fight or flee. The order never came. Memnon +had fought beside the Persian generals and had been swept away with +them, leaving his army to its fate. Below them the Greeks saw the +Macedonian phalanx re-forming its ranks, with the cavalry, of which +they had none, upon its wings. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should we die for these cowards?" they said, one to another. +"They have deserted us and we are free." +</P> + +<P> +They stretched out their hands in supplication toward Alexander. +</P> + +<P> +"Grant us our lives, O king!" they cried. +</P> + +<P> +"They surrender," Parmenio said. "They are ready to join us. Why not +accept them? It will cost many lives to punish them." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander's brow darkened. "They are traitors to Greece," he said. "I +will have none in my army who has raised his hand against his country." +</P> + +<P> +The deep phalanx rolled onward to the chant of the pæan, and the +despairing mercenaries knew that they could expect no quarter. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us die like Greeks, since we must die," their captains exhorted. +"There is no escape for us." +</P> + +<P> +The phalanx dashed upon them with a rending shock. The long sarissas +tore through their ranks; but they stood firm, giving blow for blow, +and calling upon each other not to disgrace their name. They even +forced the veterans of Macedon to recoil, and the phalanx surged back +like a mighty wave that dashes itself against a sounding cliff and +returns with renewed strength. +</P> + +<P> +Had only the foot-soldiers, with whom they could fight on equal terms, +been arrayed against them, the issue might have remained in doubt; but +the cavalry, against which they had no defence, fell upon their rear +ranks with terrible effect. Their squares were broken; their captains +fell; disordered and without guidance, they went down before lance and +sword, fighting to the last. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander's horse was killed under him while he was leading the cavalry +charge upon the left, and for the second time that day he narrowly +escaped with his life. +</P> + +<P> +"They fought like men," he said sadly to Ptolemy. "I wish they had +been with us instead of against us, for they were Greeks." +</P> + +<P> +He gave command to stop the carnage. Where the mercenary line had +stood the dead lay in heaps, friend and foe together. A few of the +mercenaries who had been cut off from the main body by the cavalry had +succeeded in making their escape; but of the twenty thousand whom +Memnon had led, eighteen thousand never left that bloody field. At +least, they had shown the barbarians how to die. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be harder for Darius to hire Greeks to fight for him after +this," Chares remarked, as he reined in his horse beside his two +friends and dismounted. +</P> + +<P> +"They were of our race, after all," Clearchus said, regretfully. +</P> + +<P> +"They were not cowards," Chares assented, nodding his head in approval, +"and we have lost more men than we could spare. Here is a fellow, now, +who might have amounted to something." +</P> + +<P> +He pointed to the body of a young man who lay with his broken sword +beside him. His pale face was calm and his wide eyes stared upward at +the crimson evening sky. His corselet had been broken, disclosing the +end of a thin roll of papyrus. Chares drew it out and broke the seals. +</P> + +<P> +"He may have been a poet," he said, handing the roll to Clearchus. +"Read it!" +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian glanced at the writing and uttered a quick exclamation. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia is in Halicarnassus!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" Chares demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"This is a letter from Xanthe to me," Clearchus said, and he proceeded +to read the lines that his unhappy aunt had written with so much toil. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is this Iphicrates?" Leonidas asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I know not," Clearchus replied eagerly, "but if it be the will of the +Gods we shall learn. Let us seek the king at once!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY +</H4> + +<P> +Mena, the Egyptian, had found a good excuse for remaining in Athens +during the fighting, but after the battle of the Granicus Phradates had +summoned him to Halicarnassus. He was sitting in a wine-shop, +discussing topics of moment with his host. His restless mind, ever on +the alert for intelligence that he might turn to account, was gathering +information concerning the city. +</P> + +<P> +"Memnon is an able general," he said. "If they had let him lead, the +war would have been over by this time." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish they had, then," the host replied, drawing his cup. "That +battle on the Granicus came near to ruining me, there were so many of +my debtors who did not return." +</P> + +<P> +"You can make up your loss by raising your prices when the siege begins +here," the Egyptian observed. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think there will be a siege?" the other asked anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course," Mena replied. "Do you expect Alexander to turn back now +that the northern provinces are his? But with Memnon here, he will +have his trouble for his pains." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," the shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "They say these +Macedonians are wonderful fighters, and I am not sure, after all, that +I want to see them beaten. Blood is thicker than water, and this is a +Greek city, when all is said, even though it pays tribute to Darius. I +can't see how we should be worse off under Alexander than we are now. +The Persians are robbers, and my grandfather was a Bœotian." +</P> + +<P> +"Would you have the city surrender?" Mena demanded, in affected +surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"No, of course not," the shopkeeper said hastily, taking his cue from +his customer, after the manner of his kind. "No, I would never +surrender, for our walls are so strong and high that the Macedonians +will never get through them; but we might make terms," he added +cautiously. +</P> + +<P> +His embarrassment was relieved by a boy who came to tell him that two +strangers who had just entered the shop desired to speak with him. He +excused himself to the Egyptian, whose sharp eyes followed him as he +went to obey the summons. He could not suppress a start of surprise +when he saw who had sent it. The two men had taken their places at a +remote table, evidently not wishing to be remarked. They wore the garb +of light-armed foot-soldiers and their accoutrement seemed much the +worse for rough usage. One of them was of great size and strength, +with blue eyes and yellow hair which curled about his temples. The +other was smaller and more delicate in appearance. The cunning +Egyptian recognized them in an instant. They were Clearchus and Chares. +</P> + +<P> +Mena knew the two young men had set out with the army of Alexander, and +that they must have had some purpose in coming to Halicarnassus. +Either they had found some clew, he thought, to Artemisia's hiding +place, or they had been sent forward from the army as spies. He +gradually shifted his position so that he might watch their +conversation with the host without danger of being recognized. Their +talk lasted long enough for Chares to drain a huge measure of wine, +after which the keeper of the shop bowed them out and returned to Mena. +</P> + +<P> +"They were two Athenians," he said. "They wanted to know where +Iphicrates lives." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is Iphicrates?" Mena asked innocently. +</P> + +<P> +"He is an old rascal who makes his living out of the necessities of +others," the shopkeeper replied. "I dare say they want to borrow money +from him. They will have to pay well for it!" +</P> + +<P> +"Did they say they wanted money?" queried Mena. +</P> + +<P> +"No, they did not say why they wished to see him," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +The wily Mena drew from his companion all that he knew about +Iphicrates. He found the house without difficulty and easily learned +the details of the accident that had befallen Thais. With this +information and with what he already knew of Artemisia's disappearance, +he soon found out all the rest. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares and Clearchus will attempt to rescue the two women," he +reflected. "If they succeed, Clearchus will return to Athens and +Ariston will be stripped of all he has. He will undoubtedly be thrown +into prison besides. That must not happen, now, at any rate. Chares +will probably go with Clearchus, and my worthy master will lose, not +only his revenge, but the girl that he makes himself such a fool over. +Of course he would blame me for that. This Iphicrates is a +money-lender, therefore he must have money. Let me see." +</P> + +<P> +Mena's further cogitations led him to Phradates, whom he found playing +at the dice with a party of mercenary captains, who were robbing him +without shame. The Egyptian drew him aside. +</P> + +<P> +"I will deliver Chares into thy hands to-night," he said, "and give +thee Thais to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you drunk?" Phradates asked bluntly. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean exactly what I say," Mena replied with dignity, and he related +all that he had discovered. +</P> + +<P> +"My turn has come sooner than I expected," Phradates cried exultingly. +He lost no time in seeking Memnon, with whom he held a long +consultation. +</P> + +<P> +Save for the military patrols, the streets of Halicarnassus were +deserted that night when Chares and Clearchus approached the dwelling +of Iphicrates. They kept the darker side of the way and advanced with +caution, halting at every sound. They had laid aside their weapons, +which they knew would be useless in case of attack and which might +excite suspicion should they be noticed. In front of the house they +stopped to listen. Not a sound broke the stillness and nobody was in +sight. In one of the upper windows a light was burning. +</P> + +<P> +"She is there!" Clearchus said, pointing to the gleam. +</P> + +<P> +"How shall we make her understand who we are?" Chares asked. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus picked up a pebble from the street and tossed it at the +window. The first trial failed, but at the second the stone entered +the opening. +</P> + +<P> +"Back now until we see her!" the Theban said, drawing Clearchus into an +angle of the opposite wall. +</P> + +<P> +In a moment a woman's head, with hair unbound, appeared at the window +against the light. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Artemisia!" Clearchus cried, unable to control himself in the +rush of his joy. He started forward and stood in the full moonlight +with his arms outstretched. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" he called softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus, my love, is it thou?" she replied, in the same tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we have come to save thee," he answered. "Canst thou come to us?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will try," she said. "Thais is here with me." +</P> + +<P> +She vanished from the window, and Clearchus advanced eagerly toward the +door. Before he had taken three steps a score of men seemed to rise +out of the ground around him. The trap set by Phradates had been +sprung. +</P> + +<P> +"Seize them!" the Tyrian cried in a shrill voice. +</P> + +<P> +In an instant, Clearchus had been overcome. Chares, who had remained +in the angle of shadow, sprang forward with a cry of rage. He reached +Phradates before the soldiers could stop him, and dealt the Tyrian a +blow that sent him down in an inanimate heap ten yards away; but, as he +did so, a dozen men leaped upon him and bore him to the earth. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was struggling like a madman with his captors, but to no +purpose. +</P> + +<P> +"They have us," the Theban said coolly. "Let us show ourselves men." +</P> + +<P> +With a groan Clearchus submitted; and the guard, having bound their +arms behind them, dragged them to their feet. +</P> + +<P> +"At least, that Phœnician coward has his deserts," Chares exclaimed +with a laugh, glancing at the senseless form of his enemy. "I hope I +have killed him!" +</P> + +<P> +Part of the guard marched them quickly away, while the rest remained +behind to care for Phradates. As long as the house could be seen, +Clearchus kept his eyes upon the window, hoping for another glimpse of +Artemisia, but he saw her not. +</P> + +<P> +It was necessary for the soldiers who had stayed behind with Phradates +to summon a physician before he could be brought back to consciousness. +His life had been saved by the fact that he threw up his right hand to +protect himself from Chares' terrible blow. The bones of his wrist had +been broken and splintered so badly that the physician doubted whether +he would ever be able to use his hand again. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning Iphicrates received orders to join the citizen levy that +had been raised to defend the walls of the city; and Phradates, with a +retinue of slaves and attendants, took possession of the house. The +money-lender protested bitterly against the service demanded of him, +but his entreaties were in vain. He had not even time to make +provision for the security of his valuables before he was hurried away, +and he was forced to accept the assistance which the sympathetic Mena +pressed upon him. He revealed to the Egyptian, with many lamentations, +the hiding-places of his hoard, promising to reward him liberally if he +would bring it to him. Mena found not only the gold of which +Iphicrates had spoken, but much more that had been so cunningly +concealed in the walls of the house that Iphicrates had deemed it +unnecessary to allude to it. So expeditious was Mena's search that he +was able to report to Iphicrates, before nightfall, that the soldiers +had anticipated him and had carried everything away. +</P> + +<P> +"I am ruined!" cried the wretched man, turning pale and wiping the +drops from his brow. "The savings of a lifetime of toil have been +taken from me! Ah, the robbers! Would that I had them here before me!" +</P> + +<P> +"Take hope," Mena replied soothingly. "The fortunes of war may bring +thee more than thou hast lost, and it is better, at any rate, that thy +gold should have fallen into the hands of thy friends rather than into +those of the Macedonians." +</P> + +<P> +"I have no friends," Iphicrates wailed. "I will appeal to Memnon +himself!" +</P> + +<P> +"Give yourself no concern about that," the Egyptian replied hastily. +"I have already complained to my master, and he has promised to see +that the soldiers are punished. He is generous, and he feels that it +was partly his fault that this misfortune has come upon thee." +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates clasped his hand and thanked him with tears. Mena left him +to his drill and hastened to make provision for the secret conveyance +of the gold to Tyre. Phradates remained in ignorance of the whole +transaction, having matters of more importance to occupy his thoughts +than the ruin of an old miser. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia passed the night in an agony of suspense and weeping. Thais +did her utmost to comfort her, though her own heart was scarcely less +troubled than that of her younger companion. It was by representing +that, weak as they were, they might be the only persons in the city who +could aid Clearchus and Chares, and that they must not abandon +themselves to despair that she finally persuaded Artemisia to sleep. +While she talked, her swift mind was busy with plans. She had heard +that the Persian officials were venal, and that anything in the empire +might be had for a price. She knew that the purchase of a general or a +viceroy was beyond her means, but she hoped that the jailers who had +the two young men in charge, whoever they were, might be bribed by her +jewels to let them escape. It was with a kind of exaltation that she +made a mental account of the gems, thinking that the price she had paid +for them might not have been in vain. The question that most occupied +her mind was what temper Phradates would be in, for she doubted not +that he would seek to take advantage of her situation. Finding +Artemisia quiet at last, she lay down and resolutely closed her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the Tyrian had occupied the house, his slaves brought food +and wine in his name to the young women. Thais accepted it. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell thy master that we have no women to dress us," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"How can you receive anything from that man?" Artemisia exclaimed +indignantly, when the slaves had gone. +</P> + +<P> +"If I had my wish, I would drive this through his heart," Thais +replied, catching up a small dagger that she sometimes carried in her +bosom. "My desire to aid Chares and Clearchus is no less strong than +thine; but we are women and we must fight as we can, not as we would. +So hide thy grief if thou canst, for it will win pity neither for them +nor for thee." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia looked at her splendid beauty, heightened by the smouldering +fire in her eyes. "I feel that I am a child," she said, embracing her. +"I know nothing of the world and I am afraid. I will trust thee in all +things." +</P> + +<P> +Thais returned her caress. "Our lovers are in the net," she said, "but +you remember in the story that it was the mouse that freed the lion. +If Phradates sends us the women, he is still my slave, though we are in +his power, and we may hope. Now, let us eat." +</P> + +<P> +They had scarcely finished when Mena knocked at the door and ushered in +two women of Cyprus, with gleaming black eyes and slender, agile forms. +"My master, the noble Phradates, sends you these," he said, bowing low +before Thais. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates hath our thanks," she replied gravely. "Tell him that we +hope to express our gratitude to him in person." +</P> + +<P> +Mena withdrew, and Thais immediately commanded the women to dress her +and Artemisia. To this task she gave her whole attention, directing +every step with the minutest care, to the least fold of the saffron +chiton. She chose for her adornment a topaz necklace that seemed to +sparkle with inward fire. Artemisia she robed simply in white, with a +white rose in her soft, brown hair. +</P> + +<P> +There was an unwonted stir in the house. Slaves came and went with +messages. The sound of men's voices rose from below. Thais was +restless and uneasy. She paced backward and forward, stopping now and +then before the polished mirror to examine once more the lustrous coils +of her hair, or the arrangement of her silken chiton. She seemed +expectant, and at every footfall turned her face toward the door; but +the morning wore on, and Phradates did not come. Finally she sent one +of the Cyprian women down, on pretence of fetching water, to learn what +was going on. The woman returned with the news that the Tyrian was +there, but of Chares and Clearchus she could learn nothing. +</P> + +<P> +Thais hesitated for a moment. "Go down again," she said at last, "and +tell Phradates that we are ready to receive him." +</P> + +<P> +The woman took the message, but she came back almost immediately, +saying that Phradates had left the house. +</P> + +<P> +Thais stamped her foot. "Then we must wait," she said regretfully. "O +that I were a man this day!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PHRADATES TRIUMPHS +</H4> + +<P> +The morning sun, shining from a cloudless sky, danced upon the rippling +harbor before the eyes of the two prisoners as they were led to the +Royal Citadel where Memnon had established himself. The Rhodian had +been placed in command of all the western border of the empire after +the disaster on the Granicus, and his authority was nominally supreme. +</P> + +<P> +They were conducted to an antechamber of the council room to await +their turn. They found themselves surrounded by a throng in which the +Greeks far outnumbered the barbarians. Sullen looks were levelled at +them by the officers who came and went. Ephialtes, who had been exiled +from Athens, smiled at them mockingly. Neoptolemus, the Lyncestian, +and Amyntas, son of Antiochus, who had been concerned in the murder of +Philip, Thrasybulus, and others who had become exiles from their native +land for various crimes, passed them in the crowd of civil and military +officials whose faces and garb indicated the widely scattered races +that they represented. +</P> + +<P> +"See," Clearchus said to Chares. "There goes the Tyrian!" +</P> + +<P> +Phradates was making his way through the hall, holding his head high +and ignoring the salutes that were offered to him. He wore a +magnificent cloak of purple, under which he concealed his maimed right +arm, and his spurs clanked on the marble floor. +</P> + +<P> +"They are the same spurs he used to get away with from the battle," +Chares observed. "He seems to be a person of some importance here, and +that will do us no good." +</P> + +<P> +"He has us this time safely enough," Clearchus said bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," Chares replied. "I wish I had struck him harder! His +head must be of iron." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think the oracle was accomplished when we found Artemisia?" +Clearchus inquired anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," the Theban replied, "but only Phœbus can save us +now." +</P> + +<P> +"Come along," the captain of the guard said roughly, "the general is +waiting for you." +</P> + +<P> +He led them into the council room, where Memnon sat behind a table +littered with documents. With him were Orontobates, Phradates, and a +few of the higher officers. The famous Rhodian raised his head from +the letter that he had been reading and looked keenly at the two young +men. +</P> + +<P> +"You are charged with being spies of the Macedonian," he said abruptly. +"What have you to reply?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is not true," Chares answered. "We are here on private business +alone." +</P> + +<P> +"He lies!" Phradates broke in. "I saw them both at Thebes in the army +of Alexander, and again in the battle of the Granicus. They are spies!" +</P> + +<P> +"What he says is partly true," Chares replied coolly, "but it also true +that we are not spies and that he knows it. We have left the army of +Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you come here?" Memnon asked. +</P> + +<P> +"We came in search of Artemisia, a young woman of Athens," Clearchus +said. "She was stolen before the war began. We followed the army in +obedience to the oracle at Delphi for the purpose of finding her. When +we learned that she was here, we came hither to seek her." +</P> + +<P> +"It is all false," Phradates cried. "Put them to the torture and they +will reveal the truth!" +</P> + +<P> +"Spoken like a Phœnician," Chares said scornfully, "but it is only +among savages that they torture free men. Do you remember, Tyrian, +what was done to you when you came as a spy to Thebes?" +</P> + +<P> +Phradates bit his lip and was silent. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander sent thee back to Tyre," Chares continued, "and he gave thee +a message to deliver to thy king, Azemilcus. Hast thou forgotten it? +He told thee to bid him prepare the altar in the temple of Heracles, +for that he was coming with his army to make sacrifice there. He is on +his way." +</P> + +<P> +Chares spoke boldly, and the threat conveyed in his words had an +evident effect upon the minds of the men who heard him. Many of them, +like Phradates, had seen with their own eyes the impetuous charge of +the Macedonians across the Granicus, and they knew in their hearts that +the Great King had no troops that could have withstood it. Sardis, +Ephesus, Miletus, and all the Carian cities in the north had fallen, +and the mutterings of the approaching storm were all about them. Would +the great walls of Halicarnassus, upon which they had been toiling, +give them shelter? Misgiving seized their minds, and they looked +questioningly at each other and at Memnon. None could read what was +passing in the thoughts of the wily Rhodian, but no doubt he reflected +upon the jealousy of the Persians, his masters, which had forbidden him +to lead his Greeks into the battle of the Granicus and which still +encompassed him, all the more vigilant because of his promotion. He +must have thought, too, of his wife and children, hostages in the hands +of Darius. He knew that Clearchus and Chares had told the truth. +Would it not be well to have two young men of influence in Greece and +on terms of intimacy with Alexander to speak for him in case of need? +</P> + +<P> +With his eyes on Memnon's furrowed face, Clearchus, with the subtle +intelligence of an Athenian, divined something of what was passing in +his mind. +</P> + +<P> +"Say no more," he whispered to Chares. "He will save us if he can." +</P> + +<P> +Memnon at last raised his head and glanced about him. "I am inclined +to think that the story these men tell is true," he said deliberately. +</P> + +<P> +An angry murmur rose from the crowd, and Phradates' face flushed darkly. +</P> + +<P> +"Who was the girl in the litter?" said Ephialtes. "Was she this +Artemisia whom they were seeking?" +</P> + +<P> +There was a sneer in the exile's tone that brought the blood to Chares' +cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"She was not," he answered. "She was Thais. You may have seen her, +Ephialtes, before they drove you from Athens." +</P> + +<P> +"Thais?" Thrasybulus said. "Why not send for her? She may be able to +tell whether these speak truth or falsehood." +</P> + +<P> +"Let her be brought before us," Memnon commanded. "Remove the +prisoners until she comes. My Lord Orontobates, I wish to consult with +you concerning the disposition of the fleet." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Chares were conducted back to the antechamber, while a +tall, handsome man, wearing the headdress and insignia of a Persian +noble of high rank, bent beside the Rhodian over a map which showed the +coast on either side of the city. Although Memnon had been made +general and civil governor of the western provinces, he well knew that +Orontobates had been placed beside him to watch every act of his, and +that the Great King was bound, even though it might be against his own +judgment, to take the word of the Persian before that of the mercenary. +It was no wonder that the brow of the general was thoughtful and his +face careworn, surrounded as he was by traps and pitfalls, and with the +terrible army that he had been chosen to defeat drawing hourly more +near. +</P> + +<P> +They were still studying headland and bay when Thais and her escort +arrived. As if by accident, she took her position full in the sunlight +that streamed in through a lofty window cut in the gray stone wall of +the fortress. There was a stir of surprise in the room as she entered, +and the gaze of every man was bent upon her. The bright flood touched +the coils of her hair and filled them with changing gleams. It bathed +her face in a rich glow, warm and delicate as the blush upon the petals +of a rose. The folds of her chiton, leaving bare the rounded grace of +her neck and the swell of her bosom, swept down to her little white +feet, shod with saffron sandals, and revealed the firm curves of her +figure, youthful, erect, and elastic as a wand of willow. The yellow +light sparkled and ran through the topaz chain that rose and fell with +her breathing. +</P> + +<P> +As she stood there, a butterfly danced in upon the sunlight, fluttered +about her head, and finally settled upon her hair, slowly opening and +shutting its red-brown wings, mottled with darker spots. Like a sudden +breeze in a ripened field of grain, a whisper of admiration and +superstitious wonder ran through the room. Thais raised her eyes, and +the shadow of a smile parted her crimson lips, showing the pearly gleam +of her teeth. +</P> + +<P> +Thus for a moment she stood in the sunlight before the gaze of the +assemblage that thronged about the Rhodian general. The flower of her +womanhood seemed to exhale a nameless, sensuous fascination, like the +strange perfume of a rare exotic, the spell of which was longing and +desire. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring in the prisoners," Memnon said. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Chares were led into the room before Thais. She turned +to them with a swift warning in her glance that stopped the words of +protest on the lips of the Theban. +</P> + +<P> +"Leave them to me," her eyes seemed to say. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know these men?" Memnon asked courteously. +</P> + +<P> +"I know them," she assented, in a voice that sounded singularly sweet +and timid. "They are Chares, who was of Thebes, and Clearchus, of +Athens." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you tell what brought them here?" Memnon asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They left Athens in search of Artemisia, as all Athens knows," Thais +returned. +</P> + +<P> +Her answer had substantiated the story of the prisoners. Memnon turned +inquiringly to Orontobates. +</P> + +<P> +"It may be that this is some trick," the Persian said softly, in his +own tongue. "Who knows that they have not concerted this story for +this occasion?" +</P> + +<P> +"My lord's suspicion is just," Thais returned, smiling upon Orontobates +and addressing him in his own language; "but he will observe that I +have not seen these men since they left Athens, and, indeed, I did not +know they were here." +</P> + +<P> +"Then why did you come here yourself?" Orontobates asked, returning her +smile. +</P> + +<P> +"I came because I learned that Artemisia was here, and I, too, wished +to find her," Thais replied. +</P> + +<P> +Orontobates shook his head incredulously. "If this young woman, for +whom all Athens seems to be seeking, is here in Halicarnassus, +doubtless she can be found," he remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"My lord is right," Thais said quietly, "for I have found her." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we send for her?" Memnon asked, turning to Orontobates, who sat +thoughtfully stroking his beard, "or shall we set the prisoners free?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thou knowest that Darius commanded us to send him our captives, so +that he might learn for himself concerning the Macedonians," the +Persian replied. "We have had few to send, and I think he would like +to question these men. By their own confession, they have been in +Alexander's army. Dost thou not think it might be well to obey the +command relating to them?" +</P> + +<P> +Memnon saw that if he refused he might be charged with disobedience to +the Great King, whose lightest word was law, and he could not afford to +take the risk. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy words are wise," he said smoothly, hiding the anger that he felt +at the Persian's interference. "It shall be as thou hast said. Take +away the prisoners," he added to the guard, "and let them be sent +to-night to Babylon with the messenger who is to carry my letters to +King Darius, my master,—may he live forever!" +</P> + +<P> +"It is well," said Orontobates, with a shade of mockery in his voice. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus' face grew pale. The thought that Artemisia was so near and +that he was about to be separated from her, perhaps forever, without +being permitted to see her again, was a blow under which he staggered. +</P> + +<P> +"Why send us both?" Chares demanded, restraining himself with an +effort. "I know all that Clearchus knows, and I will tell it freely to +the Great King if you will let him go free." +</P> + +<P> +"Two are better than one," Orontobates said. "Thou wilt tell what thou +knowest, whether freely or not." +</P> + +<P> +"Take them away," Memnon said harshly, "and see that they speak with +nobody before their departure." +</P> + +<P> +Thais followed them with her eyes to the door, where Chares turned his +head and smiled at her. She gave him back the smile bravely; but as he +passed out of her sight her face changed and became like marble. Her +eyes sought those of Orontobates, and she spoke to him in an even voice +that vibrated with the intensity of her passion. +</P> + +<P> +"I am a woman, O Persian," she said, "but I say to thee and to thy +master that if harm befalls either of these men, the proudest palaces +of thy kings shall be their funeral pyre." +</P> + +<P> +A dead hush followed this defiance, and all eyes were turned upon the +Persian in expectation of an outbreak; but Orontobates merely smiled +upon her as though she were a petulant child and turned again to the +study of the maps spread out before him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY +</H4> + +<P> +Silent and thoughtful in the midst of the swarthy Arabian guard +commanded by Nathan the Israelite, who bore Memnon's letters to the +Great King, Clearchus and Chares rode out of the eastern gate of +Halicarnassus. Even the Theban's buoyant nature for once was subdued. +They were going to what seemed certain death, and they were leaving +behind them those they loved most on earth. +</P> + +<P> +To Clearchus this thought was unbearable. He cared not what happened, +now that the last hope of rescuing Artemisia was gone. What would +become of her? Who could aid her now? He rode with his head sunk on +his breast, seeing and hearing nothing of what went on around him. A +low fever filled his veins, dulling his senses and leaving him only +half conscious of their situation. At times he imagined it was all a +dream, from which he would awake, still free to continue the search for +his lost love. Then a realization of the truth would return to him, +and he groaned aloud in his despair. +</P> + +<P> +The response of the oracle of Delphi, which had supported him, now +seemed like a mockery. It had been fulfilled, he thought, when in +truth he found Artemisia in the track that Alexander's army was to +follow. The Gods had made him their sport, and he fancied them smiling +down from the heavens upon his agony. The light of the sun became +hateful to him. +</P> + +<P> +So he rode, mile after mile and day after day, in listless and inert +abandonment to his fate. Who could resist the will of the Gods? He +ate almost nothing, and his strength wasted visibly, while lines of +suffering deepened on his face. +</P> + +<P> +In vain Chares sought to rouse him. He returned patient answers to the +arguments of the Theban, but his power of effort was gone. In the +first stages of their journey Chares watched over him constantly to +prevent him from destroying himself in his despair. +</P> + +<P> +Through Lycia, Pisidia, and Cilicia they passed, finding fresh relays +of horses at each station along the great highway that had been +established by the predecessors of Darius. Through the Amanic Gates +they galloped at last, and paused at Thapsacus, on the banks of the +mighty Euphrates, where, more than a century and a half before, the Ten +Thousand had halted in their desperate dash upon Babylon. +</P> + +<P> +Chares had long ago recovered his cheerful temper. Of what lay before +them when they reached the Persian capital he had ceased to think. The +condition of Clearchus, and the fact that they had advanced so far +toward the heart of the Persian empire, made escape practically +impossible. The Theban was regarded rather as a comrade than an enemy +by the Arabs of the guard, and his unfailing good nature made the long +journey seem less wearisome. +</P> + +<P> +With Nathan he had formed a solid friendship. The young Israelite, +browned by the sun and wind, was naturally taciturn and inclined to +silence. His form was active and sinewy, and his muscles seemed always +on the alert. In his dark eyes burned the mystic intelligence and +indomitable earnestness of his race. He rode usually in advance of the +little troop, and, although often he seemed wrapped in contemplation, +nothing ever escaped him. The contrast between him and the careless, +talkative Theban, with his laughing blue eyes and yellow hair, was as +complete as possible; and it may have been this very difference in +their temperaments that drew them together. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan showed an extraordinary interest in all that related to +Alexander, even in his personal appearance and what he had said on this +or that occasion. He would listen by the hour while Chares talked of +the young Macedonian king, his people, and his court. No suspicion +entered the Theban's mind that Nathan was seeking information for the +use of his superiors in Babylon. He would have dismissed such a +thought as unjust. The Israelite inquired little about Alexander's +army, and seemed rather desirous of forming in his own mind a portrait +of the young leader. That he reflected deeply upon what Chares told +him was shown by the questions that he asked from time to time for the +purpose of enabling him to fill out some incomplete detail. +</P> + +<P> +Chares sometimes wondered whether the interest that Nathan displayed in +Alexander could have any religious bearing. He had heard from +Aristotle of the mysterious and peculiar belief of the Israelites, who +worshipped only one God, and who would not suffer an image of Him to be +set up in their temple; but his ideas regarding their faith were +confused with stories of a hundred other equally insignificant tribes. +</P> + +<P> +His attention was aroused one day by a sudden change in the young +Israelite. He became both restless and abstracted. Often he returned +no answer to the questions that the Theban put to him, and there seemed +to be an unusual luminous depth in his dark eyes. At times his lips +moved as though he were conversing with unseen companions. There was a +strangeness in his actions and expression that caused even the heedless +Theban to feel a vague uneasiness. Toward nightfall, Clearchus, as +though drawn by some undefinable bond of sympathy, rode forward and +took his place beside Nathan. It was the first time that this had +happened since they left Halicarnassus, and Chares watched them with +amazement. Neither spoke, but each appeared conscious of the other's +presence, and Chares imagined that there was more animation in +Clearchus' glance when they halted for the night. At the same time he +had a dim sense that something was going on between them that he could +not understand. +</P> + +<P> +After the evening meal Nathan sat before the tent that he always +occupied with his two prisoners when they spent the night away from +human habitation. Clearchus lay beside him, with his head resting on +his hand. The Arabs were sleeping in a group beside the tethered +horses. +</P> + +<P> +In the measureless depths of the sky the great stars blazed with a +steady light. Strange cries of night birds came from the broad river, +sweeping silently past them in the darkness. The howl of a jackal +sounded faintly in the distance. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan's face was turned toward the south, as though his eyes could see +there the walls of the city in whose narrow streets he had played with +his companions as a boy. Presently he began to speak. +</P> + +<P> +"He will requite His enemies and those who scorn Him," the Israelite +said. "Terrible is His wrath!" +</P> + +<P> +"Is He more powerful than Zeus?" said Clearchus, seeming to comprehend +what Nathan meant. +</P> + +<P> +"Yea," Nathan answered solemnly. "Thy Gods are as nothing before Him. +Baal He overthrew in Babylon with all his brood." +</P> + +<P> +"I have heard that it was the Persians and not thy people who smote +Nebuchadnezzar," Clearchus replied. "Is He the God of the Persians, +too?" +</P> + +<P> +"They paid Him honor under the name of Ormazd," the Israelite replied. +"While they were faithful to Him, nothing could stand against them; but +they have turned their faces from Him, and their time has come. He +hath weighed them in His balance, one by one—Chaldean, Egyptian, +Assyrian, Phœnician, and Mede. He hath given the victory into their +hands; and one by one hath He smitten them until they were humbled in +the dust. There is no God but God." +</P> + +<P> +"What hath He done for thee?" the Athenian asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He hath delivered me out of the snares of mine enemies," Nathan +replied earnestly, "even when they compassed me about in wrath. Once +and again hath He brought my people out of bondage because they +worshipped Him alone. He hath made good His promise. He hath never +failed us in our hour of need. By the mouths of His holy men hath He +given us knowledge of that which is to come; and now once more He will +show to the sons of men His wrath and His favor. He shall put down the +mighty from their seats." +</P> + +<P> +Chares saw that Nathan's hands were trembling as they lay clasped upon +his knees and that drops of moisture glistened upon his forehead. +</P> + +<P> +"His word was given to Daniel, viceroy of the Great King, Belshazzar, +in the palace at Susa by the waters of the river Ulai in the time of my +fathers' fathers," the Israelite continued. "The mysteries of the +future were laid bare to him by Gabriel, Jehovah's servant; and behold, +he saw standing before the river, a ram with two horns; and the two +horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came +up last. He saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, +so that no beasts might stand against him. Neither was there any that +could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and +became great. Lo, these are the words of Daniel, the viceroy. +</P> + +<P> +"And as he stood considering, behold, an he goat came from the West on +the face of the whole earth and he touched not the ground. And the he +goat had a great horn between his eyes; and that was thy king, who +cometh. And while Daniel looked, he saw the he goat come close to the +ram and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast +him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that +could deliver the ram from him. These things were seen of Daniel in +olden times; and the hour is at hand." +</P> + +<P> +There was silence for a moment, and then Clearchus said slowly:— +</P> + +<P> +"If it is written that Alexander shall overthrow the Great King, why +dost thou lead us captives to Babylon?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know not," Nathan replied, "but the command was laid upon me, and it +is Jehovah's will that I should obey. Were it not so, He would have +told me. How can we know His ways? Who are we that we should question +His wisdom? Yet in the end, I have faith that it will be well with +thee; for to Him nothing is impossible." +</P> + +<P> +It was long before Clearchus closed his eyes in sleep that night. He +lay looking upward at the tranquil and steadfast stars and revolving in +his mind the words of the Israelite. Could it be that a Divinity +greater than all others existed in the universe, whose will ruled all +things? The idea took possession of him, and at the same time hope was +renewed in his breast. The Gods whom he had honored had deserted him; +perhaps the God of Israel could help him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK +</H4> + +<P> +Long before Nathan with his captives reached the Persian capital, the +sentinels upon the towers of Halicarnassus gave warning of the approach +of Alexander's army. Fresh from the storming of stubborn Miletus, the +Macedonians advanced against the lofty walls which sheltered the army +of Memnon, nearly as numerous as their own. At the first alarm the +braying of trumpets sounded through the city, and soldiers filled the +streets, marching quickly towards the Mylasan Gate. +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates, perched high on the walls with the corps of citizen +defenders to which he belonged, watched the regular troops making ready +for their sally. He held a spear in his hand and a sword was buckled +about his fat sides. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I was with them," said a youth beside him, little more than a +boy, gazing down upon the array. +</P> + +<P> +"It's cooler up here—and safer too," the old money-lender muttered, +wiping his brow. +</P> + +<P> +"They will cut the Macedonians to pieces," the boy exclaimed, "and I +shall have no part in the victory." +</P> + +<P> +"Patience!" Iphicrates answered. "Thy chance will come, perhaps." +</P> + +<P> +The boy turned and looked outward towards the attacking army. "They +have stopped," he cried. "They are afraid!" +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates shaded his eyes with his hand. The Macedonians indeed had +halted amid the clouds of dust that their feet had raised and they +seemed to be in some confusion. At that moment the gate was thrown +open and the garrison emerged in a wide, glittering column. The walls +rang with cheers. The column advanced, wheeled, and deployed in a +long, deep line, confronting the enemy. It was evidently Memnon's plan +to strike a blow that might prove decisive while the Macedonians were +still wearied from their march and before they were able to form. His +archers sent a flight of arrows towards the Macedonian ranks and his +spearmen prepared to charge. +</P> + +<P> +Then behind the dust-cloud rose a sound that seemed to the watchers +upon the walls like the murmur of a mighty river. The advance guard of +the Macedonians scattered, and in its place appeared the solid front of +the phalanx with its forest of sarissas. +</P> + +<P> +"What are they singing?" asked the boy, gazing wide-eyed upon the +changing scene. +</P> + +<P> +"It is the pæan; they are calling upon the Gods," Iphicrates replied, +again mopping his face. +</P> + +<P> +"It is like a tragedy in a theatre," the boy said, catching his breath +in the intensity of his excitement. "Look! Who is that?" +</P> + +<P> +Across the front of the Macedonians rode a man upon a great black horse +that curvetted and tossed the foam from his bit. The rider's armor +flashed through the dust and his white plumes nodded from his helmet. +</P> + +<P> +"That must be Alexander himself," Iphicrates replied. "Ah, here they +come!" +</P> + +<P> +Louder rose the pæan as the phalanx swept forward. The space that +divided the two armies seemed to shrink away until they almost touched. +Then, as with one impulse, the sarissas of the foremost Macedonian +ranks dropped forward, until their points were level with the breasts +of the foe, and were driven home by the impulse of the charge. The +lines of the defenders bent, swayed, and broke. Order gave place to +confusion. Here and there small parties began to run back toward the +gate they had left so bravely half an hour before. +</P> + +<P> +"We are beaten!" sobbed the boy on the wall. +</P> + +<P> +"It is cooler up here," Iphicrates replied mechanically. A chill ran +through his bulk as though he already felt the edge of the swords that +were rising and falling in the hands of the victors. +</P> + +<P> +The swiftest of the fugitives, throwing away their weapons, had already +dashed panting through the gate. Others crowded behind them, and the +opening quickly became choked by a mass of men who trampled each other +in their eagerness to get inside the walls. The cavalry and +light-armed troops of the Macedonians pressed close at their heels, +giving them no respite from their terror. +</P> + +<P> +Of the army of Halicarnassus hardly a remnant would have escaped had +not the rain of missiles and arrows from the walls checked the +Macedonian advance. As soon as the enemy was within range the order +was given to the archers and slingers, of whom there were thousands +posted upon the ramparts. They showered stones and arrows upon the +pursuing force, and the catapults sent huge darts buzzing down among +the close-packed squadrons. +</P> + +<P> +The boy beside Iphicrates was twanging away with his bow as fast as he +could fit his arrows to the cord. +</P> + +<P> +"I hit one!" he cried, following the course of a shaft with his eyes. +"I saw him fall! He went right over backward!" +</P> + +<P> +He began shooting again with renewed ardor. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime a few squadrons of the bravest men in Memnon's forces rallied +and made a brief stand before the gate. They succeeded in halting the +Macedonians long enough to enable their comrades to swarm through to +safety; but soon they were swept off their feet and hurled back toward +the battlements. To their dismay, they found the great gate closed +against them. They were cut down as they ran hither and thither, +seeking in vain for a place of refuge. +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates watched the butchery with horrible fascination. His face +was mottled, and the spear in his hand shook like a blade of corn. +</P> + +<P> +"Cowards!" cried the boy with flashing eyes, "why did they not let them +in?" +</P> + +<P> +A shout of warning sounded along the crest of the wall. The Macedonian +slingers and archers had turned their weapons against it, and they +swept the parapet with a deadly storm that drove the defenders to +shelter. The hissing of the arrows and the humming of the balls of +lead from the slings filled the air. The boy beside Iphicrates uttered +a cry, threw up his arms, and fell with a red mark on his forehead. +</P> + +<P> +"Mother!" he murmured, and lay still. +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates dropped to his hands and knees and crawled away, shaking +with the palsy of fear. +</P> + +<P> +There was little sleep in Halicarnassus that night. Soldier and +citizen labored together, and morning found them still toiling upon the +walls, preparing for what they knew was to come. The city was in the +iron grip of the siege. +</P> + +<P> +By day and by night the great walls crumbled before the unremitting +assaults of the enemy. The Macedonians filled in the wide ditch, +raised mounds and towers, and burrowed beneath the foundations of the +defences like moles. There was no lack of provisions in the city, for +Memnon's fleet came and went with nothing to oppose it, bringing corn +and supplies as they were needed. It had been the hope of the +inhabitants that Alexander would withdraw when he had measured the +difficulty of the task before him. They had ground for the belief that +disturbances might be fomented in Greece that would cause him to turn +his attention to that quarter. But their plans miscarried. Antipater +held Greece with a firm hand and the siege continued. +</P> + +<P> +No man was permitted to lay aside his armor, for the Macedonians +attacked at every hour. Again and again the city was roused in the +dead of night by the crash of falling battlements, and the defenders +were obliged to guard some new breach while they repaired the damage as +best they might. They made frequent sallies, attacking the formidable +engines that had been constructed by the enemy. Several of them were +destroyed in this way, but they were replaced by new ones more powerful +than their predecessors. +</P> + +<P> +Orontobates sent urgent messages to his master, Darius, telling him of +the desperate situation and begging for succor; but none came. What +was one city, rich and populous though it might be, to a monarch who +counted his cities by the thousand? The brave garrison was left to its +fate, fighting obstinately against its doom. The faces of the men grew +haggard with watching and anxiety. Custom and order were forgotten. +Rich and poor, slave and freeman, labored side by side against the +inevitable; and ever, like men swimming against the current, they felt +the resistless pressure bearing them down. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia and Thais, shut up in the house of Iphicrates, awaited the +result of the siege. The younger woman was overcome at first when she +learned that Clearchus was to be sent to Babylon, but Thais managed to +convince her that he was in no danger, and a message that was brought +to them before the siege began went far to revive her hope. One of the +Cyprian women came back from the market with a basket of grapes. She +said that a young man had followed her and asked her whether she did +not belong to Thais. She replied that she did. +</P> + +<P> +"Then tell her," the stranger said, "that Nathan the Israelite bids her +have no fear." +</P> + +<P> +With that, he vanished in the crowd, and she brought the message. +</P> + +<P> +They learned without much difficulty who Nathan was, and the mysterious +message consoled them. Artemisia spoke of it with a childlike faith +that touched Thais' heart. +</P> + +<P> +"When they return, they will rejoin the army of Alexander," she said. +"If we could only escape to the Macedonians." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall manage it in some way," Thais replied. "Leave it to me." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates, whose broken wrist prevented him from taking part in the +fighting, came often to visit them. He had never forgotten his glimpse +of the face of Thais as it appeared in the great slave market before +the ruined city of Thebes. His defeat that day was rendered more +bitter in the recollection by the thought that she had been a witness +of it. The face had haunted him until it had become a part of his +life. After her return to Athens he had dogged her footsteps until he +was called away to join the army of the satraps. +</P> + +<P> +When he saw her again before Memnon's tribunal, the fascination of her +beauty took complete possession of him. His anger against Chares was +forgotten, and he was even glad when his rival was sent to Babylon +instead of being condemned to death. He believed that the Theban would +never come back, and the execution of the prisoners in Halicarnassus +might have proved an insurmountable barrier between him and Thais. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates knew that he had the young woman in his power, but he could +not bring himself to make use of this advantage. He would not force a +triumph; he must have a complete surrender. Day by day he hoped to +obtain it. He found a half promise in her words, a suggestion of +tenderness in her manner, and at times an implied appeal to his +generosity that made his hope almost a certainty. When he grew +impatient, the fear of losing her entirely restrained him. Thus he +fell more and more completely under her domination, like a man who sips +a narcotic, yielding by little and little to its power, until his will +to resist is gone, and he gives himself wholly to its subtle +intoxication, unwittingly a captive. +</P> + +<P> +After one of her interviews with him, Thais often threw herself down, +disgusted with the part that she was forced to play. She grew angry at +Artemisia's failure to understand the necessity of what she was doing. +When the smile faded from her lips as the door closed upon the +Phœnician, she found Artemisia's eyes fixed upon her in sorrowful +reproach. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you look at me like that?" she exclaimed petulantly. "Speak +out, if you must!" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia bent her head and remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think I love him?" Thais demanded scornfully, coming close to +her. "Do you believe that I am false to Chares? Tell me, if you do." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not," Artemisia replied hesitatingly. "Only it seems to me—" +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to you that I do it too well," Thais exclaimed, completing +her thought. "What would you do if you were shut up with an untamed +tiger? You may give thanks to your Artemis in your innocence that I +have been able so far to hold this one in check." +</P> + +<P> +"Forgive me," Artemisia cried, embracing her. "I know you must, and +yet—I am sorry for it, my sister." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia often made use of this title, never dreaming how true it was, +and it always awakened a pang of tenderness in Thais' heart. She +returned the embrace and forgave her, although she felt that Artemisia +could not really understand, try as she might. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish the siege would end!" Thais said wearily. "If you knew how +much I loathe all this, you would have more pity." +</P> + +<P> +Her wish was granted at last. Even the most hopeful inhabitant of the +city understood that neither flesh nor stone could hold out much longer +against the dogged Macedonian assault. Memnon knew that unless the +battering rams and catapults could be destroyed the city must fall. +There were breaches in the massive walls and the great towers were +tottering. If he could gain a little more time, reinforcements might +arrive and compel Alexander to raise the siege. Mustering his best +remaining troops, he poured them out of the Triple Gate and through the +gaps in the wall upon the works of the enemy. The attack was repulsed +without accomplishing its object; and when the garrison sought to +regain the defences, scores were slain at the wall and hundreds more in +the moat, where they were precipitated by the breaking of the bridge +leading to the gate. +</P> + +<P> +It was plain that the end was at hand. The Rhodian felt that the city +was at the mercy of the young king, and he hastened to take advantage +of the respite that Alexander's forbearance allowed him. At midnight +after this last defeat the evacuation began. The troops were withdrawn +to the Royal Citadel and to the Salmacis, where they could still remain +in touch with their ships. The greater part of the population fled to +the harbor and sought escape in the merchant vessels which were putting +to sea. Azemilcus, king of Tyre, who had been acting with the fleet, +made ready a trireme in which to send home the wounded among the +Tyrians. He placed it under the command of Phradates. +</P> + +<P> +Thais learned from the slave women that the young Phœnician was +making ready to depart in haste. +</P> + +<P> +"If we are to escape, we must do it now," she said hurriedly to +Artemisia. "He will try to take us with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Can we not refuse to go?" Artemisia replied. +</P> + +<P> +"No," Thais responded. "To refuse him would be to open his eyes, and +he would certainly take us by force. Flight is our only hope." +</P> + +<P> +She gathered her jewels into a packet and placed it in her bosom. She +then ordered the women to muffle them in long cloaks that concealed +their faces. +</P> + +<P> +"Go down and find out who is there," she said. +</P> + +<P> +One of the women brought word that Phradates had gone to the harbor to +see that all was in readiness, and that Mena was also absent. Thais +led the way boldly down the stairs and out of the house, followed by +Artemisia and the two women. The slaves who were at work below stared +at them, but in the absence of their master none ventured to stop them. +They gained the street in safety, and were immediately swept away in +the clamoring, terror-stricken streams of fugitives who were pouring +toward the harbor. A lofty tower that had been built beside the Triple +Gate was on fire. The flames roared up the sides of the structure, +bursting from its windows and loopholes, and converting it into a +gigantic torch. They spread quickly to the houses nearest the walls, +sending volumes of reddened smoke rolling over the harbor. The howling +of dogs mingled with the shouts of men and the wailing of women who +clasped their children to their breasts. +</P> + +<P> +Iphicrates left the walls with his comrades in arms and plunged into +the crowded streets. He had intended to seek his own house in the hope +of finding some remains of his hoard untouched; but the panic seized +him, and he changed his direction. He determined to gain the Royal +Citadel, which he knew was to be defended against the Macedonians. +Thinking only of his own safety, he forced his way through the press, +pushing women and children aside in his haste. Blinded by the terror +that possessed him, he took no heed of a small, dark-skinned man with +sharp features who reeled back from the thrust of his elbow. Even if +he had noticed that the figure fell in behind him, following his +footsteps like a shadow, he would have taken him only for one of the +fugitives. +</P> + +<P> +Steeped in the contagion of fear, the money-lender hardly noticed where +he went. He soon became exhausted by his struggle with the crowd, and +he heaved a sigh of relief when he found himself at last in a street +that was comparatively deserted. He overlooked the fact that the few +persons whom he met were hurrying the other way, and it was not until +he was brought to a halt by a blank wall that he recognized his +surroundings. He had entered a road from which there was no outlet. +</P> + +<P> +He halted in dismay. The shadow behind him glided into a doorway and +crouched out of sight. The street was hemmed in by tall buildings that +had been emptied of their tenants, and the light of the burning tower +flickered redly upon the upper walls, increasing the gloom below. A +sense of loneliness and desertion smote him. He felt himself suddenly +cut off from human companionship. His heart beat thickly and heavily. +He seemed to be strangling under the oppression of a nameless and +deadly horror. +</P> + +<P> +He turned and rushed back in the direction whence he had come. As he +passed the doorway within which the shadow had disappeared, a light +form bounded out upon him. There was a flash of steel; a lean arm was +thrust forward and seemed to touch him lightly on the back beneath his +shoulder. He fell upon his face with a choking cry; the shadow leaped +over him, fled, and vanished, leaving him motionless where he lay. +</P> + +<P> +Thais and Artemisia were borne forward in the crowd without power to +choose the direction of their flight. In the frantic masses of +humanity, all fighting toward the harbor, they saw women and children +trampled underfoot; and they clung to each other in desperation, +knowing that if they fell, they would never be able to rise. The +maddened crowd swept them on to the wharves, where the agitated waters +of the harbor spread before them like a lake of blood in the glare of +the conflagration. +</P> + +<P> +Utterly bewildered and unable to extricate themselves, the young women +were drawn hither and thither by the eddies of the mob as it rushed +feverishly from one vessel to another, seeking means of escape. +Suddenly they found themselves wedged in before a double line of +soldiers drawn up before the gangway of a trireme, the sides of which +loomed dark above their heads. Torches shed a smoky light upon the +agonized faces of the throng, held at bay by the spears of the guard. +Warning shouts rose from the darkness, followed by a swaying motion of +the crowd which divided before the rush of a compact body of men making +toward the vessel. Thais and Artemisia felt themselves crushed forward +against the living barrier until they could hardly breathe. They heard +the shouting and cursing of the soldiers advancing from the rear into +the circle of torchlight. The pressure became unbearable. They had +given themselves up for lost, when, before they knew what was taking +place, they were seized and borne upward. Thais recovered her senses +to find herself seated upon the deck of the trireme, with Artemisia's +head in her lap. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you run away?" asked a familiar voice reproachfully. +</P> + +<P> +She looked up and saw Phradates standing before her. "It is fate!" +flashed through her mind. +</P> + +<P> +"We thought you had deserted us, and we were frightened," she replied. +</P> + +<P> +"I searched everywhere for you," he said. "Astarte must have guided +you here." +</P> + +<P> +He turned and commanded the sailors to cast off. The great vessel +swung slowly from the wharf, leaving behind the mass of unhappy +fugitives, some of whom cursed her, while others stretched out their +arms toward her, praying to the last to be taken on board. Artemisia +was revived by the cooler air of the harbor. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are we?" she asked faintly, opening her blue eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"We are on the Phœnician trireme, bound, I suppose, for Tyre," Thais +answered bitterly. "No, it was not my doing," she continued, replying +to her sister's glance of surprise and question. "I had no more part +in it than you this time. It is the will of the Gods." +</P> + +<P> +The trireme pointed her brazen beak toward the entrance of the harbor. +The banks of oars which fringed her sides in three rows, one above the +other, like the legs of some gigantic water insect, caught the waves, +and the panic-stricken city began to glide away from her stern. A +fishing boat, laden with fugitives, drifted across her path. The sharp +prow struck the side of the hapless little craft and cut through it +like a knife. For a brief moment the screams of women and children +rose out of the darkness, and then the voices were stifled. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia hid her face on Thais' shoulder and wept; but Thais, gazing +back on the fiery city, saw the great tower reel and fall, clothed in +flame from base to summit. The roar of turmoil and terror sounded in +her ears, and she smiled. The red light danced in her eyes, making +them gleam like opals as she turned them upon Phradates. +</P> + +<P> +"They say thy city hath strong walls, Phœnician," she said. "Thou +wilt have to build them still stronger, I think." +</P> + +<P> +"They are strong," Phradates answered proudly; "but we shall not need +them, for between us and Alexander stand a million men, ready to lay +down their lives for their king." +</P> + +<P> +Thais raised her white arm and extended it toward the stricken city. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall withstand the Whirlwind?" she said. +</P> + +<P> +In the stern of the trireme sat Mena, gazing thoughtfully back at the +city and wiping the stains from the blade of his dagger. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE GORDIAN KNOT +</H4> + +<P> +Alexander kept the anniversary of his departure from Macedon in the +city of Gordium, surrounded by his army, on the wind-swept uplands of +Phrygia. He reached the place through the drifted snows that blocked +the passes of the Taurus and the rugged hills of Pisidia, subduing on +his way the tribes that had held them for ages, to whom the Great King +himself had deemed it wise to render tribute in exchange for peace. +</P> + +<P> +Looking backward, the young leader of men saw the Ægean coast and all +the territory west of the mountains subject to his rule. To the rich +and prosperous Grecian cities by the sea he had restored their ancient +rights, and the hostages of the barbarians thronged his camp. He had +made a beginning, and his heart had confidence in the end. +</P> + +<P> +Parmenio came from Sardis, bringing the troops that had wintered there, +with the siege train and abundance of supplies. Alexander resolved to +rest until the roads should be settled so that he might strike another +blow. In games and feasting and martial exercises his army passed the +breathing space permitted before the onslaught. The camp was filled +with jests devised by the detachments that under Alexander had +conquered stubborn Salagassus, at the expense of the men who had been +idling in Sardis and who were accused of having grown white-faced and +soft in their luxury. Parmenio's men, in turn, took their revenge in +quips levelled at the young married men, who had been allowed to go to +their homes across the Hellespont and who now returned, bringing the +latest news and gossip of Pella and squadrons of eager recruits. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas had risen high in the favor of the young king, who had seen +his courage tested in the winter campaign. He had become one of the +Table Companions, with command of a squadron of cavalry, and even the +proud young Macedonian nobles, jealous of intrusion, had ceased to look +down upon him as an outsider and had taken him into their circle. Of +all the stories told in the camp, none was more often repeated than +that which related how the Spartan had held the light-armed troops when +they were taken in ambush by the fierce mountaineers before Salagassus, +until Alexander could lead the phalanx to their rescue. +</P> + +<P> +But Leonidas showed no elation. On the contrary, he seemed more grim +and taciturn than ever. Gladly would he have given both favor and +command if he could have seen Clearchus and Chares ride into camp +unharmed. Since they started for Halicarnassus, he had heard nothing +of them, and it was the general opinion in the army that they were +lost. The Spartan had few friends and none to take the place of these +two. His grief for them was the deeper because he would not show it. +Though it gnawed at his heart like the stolen fox, he gave no sign. +One night, at table, the jest turned upon Amyntas, who had purchased +gilded armor. +</P> + +<P> +"You are as vain as Chares the Theban," one of the Thessalian officers +said to him, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas sought the man out next day. "You have insulted my friend, +who is not here. I think you are sorry for it," he said quietly. +</P> + +<P> +The young captain laughed, looking down upon the Spartan from his six +feet of stature. +</P> + +<P> +"You think too much," he replied contemptuously. +</P> + +<P> +With a bound, Leonidas caught him by the throat in a grip that was like +that of a bulldog's jaws. In vain the Thessalian sought to break his +hold. His face grew black and his tongue protruded. +</P> + +<P> +"I think you are sorry," Leonidas repeated coolly. +</P> + +<P> +The other, feeling his senses leaving him, made an affirmative motion, +and the hands that gripped his throat relaxed. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou shouldst speak no ill of those who cannot answer," the Spartan +said, turning away and leaving the young man to recover his breath. +</P> + +<P> +When this incident reached the ears of Alexander, as everything that +happened in the camp was sure to do, the king smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you would serve me in the same fashion if I should be +unfortunate enough to make such a jest," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"The king does not mock brave men," Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander laid his hand on the Spartan's shoulder. "I am Alexander," +he said, "but I envy Chares and Clearchus. I wish I had such a friend +as they have." +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast many," the Spartan replied. "Wrong them not; but thou hast +small need of mortal friends since the Gods are with thee." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true," Alexander said simply. He knew that nine-tenths of the +army believed indeed that the Gods had taken him under their +protection. He seemed to them, in fact, to be himself almost like one +of the immortals in the beauty of his face and form, his perfect +courage, and his unerring judgment. While the graybeards at home, the +philosophers and statesmen, were predicting failure for him and +demonstrating by precedent and logic that his success was impossible, +he had succeeded. Already he had wrested from the Great King the +colonies of Greece that for centuries had groaned under Persian +oppression, and while he had not yet stood face to face with the mighty +power that he had attacked, he had confounded the prophets of evil and +proved their wisdom to be no better than folly. When his captains +looked into his face, ruddy with youth and strength, his smooth brow, +unmarked by a line of care, and felt the charm of his glance, +remembering what he had done, it was impossible for them to think that +he was only a man like themselves. +</P> + +<P> +So when it became known, after the preparations for the southward march +in search of the Great King had been completed, that Alexander had +determined to attempt the loosening of the knot that King Gordius had +bound, there were few of his followers who doubted that he would +accomplish it. For ages this knot had defied all attempts to guess its +secret. The farmer, Gordius, driving his oxen into the city, found +himself suddenly raised to the throne. Tradition told how he had tied +the neap of his cart to the porphyry shaft in the midst of the temple +and how it had been declared that whoso should unbind it should become +lord of all Asia. In the reign of King Midas, his son, friend of the +great God Dionysus, whose touch had changed the sands of the Pactolus +to gold, many had essayed the task and had failed. In subsequent years +a long line of ambitious princes and scheming kings had made the +attempt, seeking to propitiate the God with rich gifts, but none had +succeeded. More lately, few had tried the knot, for the Great King +watched the shrine, and those who were bold enough to tempt Fortune +there soon found themselves summoned to his court, where they were +taught how unwise it was for the weak to aspire to the dominions of the +strong. +</P> + +<P> +It was knowledge of all this that led the soldiers to regard +Alexander's trial of the knot as no less important than a great battle. +If the knot should yield to him, there would no longer be any doubt of +what the Gods intended. +</P> + +<P> +Parmenio, with the caution born of age, shook his head when the king +told him of his project. +</P> + +<P> +"What will you gain?" he asked. "The army already has complete +confidence in you, and if you fail, some of it will be lost." +</P> + +<P> +"Dost thou believe we shall conquer Darius?" Alexander demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"With the aid of the Gods, I think we shall," Parmenio replied. +</P> + +<P> +"And dost thou not believe in the prophecy regarding the knot?" +Alexander asked again. +</P> + +<P> +Parmenio hesitated and looked confused. "It is very old," he said at +last, "and we know not whence it came." +</P> + +<P> +"Thy faith is weak," the young leader said severely. "Fear not; the +cord shall be loosed." +</P> + +<P> +Before the ancient temple the army was drawn up in long lines, archers +and slingers, spearmen and cavalry, find the phalanx in companies and +squadrons. Alexander, mounted on Bucephalus, rode slowly along the +ranks, splendid in his armor, with the double plume of white brushing +his shoulders on either side. He halted before the temple, where the +robed priests stood ready to receive him. Every eye was upon him as he +leaped to the ground and turned his face to the army. +</P> + +<P> +"I go to test the prophecy, whether it be true or false," he cried, in +a clear voice. "Wait thou my return." +</P> + +<P> +Followed by his generals and by Aristander, the soothsayer, he entered +the portals of the temple after the priests. They led him to the spot +where the cart was fastened to the pillar. Its rude construction +indicated its great age. Its wheels were sections of a tree trunk cut +across. Its body was carved with strange figures of forgotten Gods and +monsters, colored with pigment that time had dimmed. Its long neap was +tied at the end to the shaft of stone with strips of cornel bark, brown +and stiff with age and intertwined in curious folds that left no ends +visible. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander looked to the chief priest. "What is the prophecy?" he +demanded. +</P> + +<P> +The old man unrolled a parchment written over with dim characters, and +read. +</P> + +<P> +"To that man who shall loose the knot bound by King Gordius under +direction of the high Gods," he quavered, "shall be given the realm of +Asia from the southern ocean to the seas of the North. Once only may +the trial be made. Thus saith the God." +</P> + +<P> +Outside the temple the soldiers stood silent in their ranks awaiting +the result. As the aged priest ceased reading and rolled up the +parchment, Alexander drew closer to the magic knot and examined it, +while the others fell back in a wide circle. Between the priests there +passed a covert glance of understanding as though they said to each +other, "Here is another who will fail, and more gifts will come!" The +young king saw that no man could ever disentangle the convolutions of +the fastening without tearing the bark. Avoiding even a pretence of +attempting the impossible, he drew his sword. The astonished priests +started forward with a cry of protest, but before they could interfere, +the flashing blade fell and the neap of the ancient cart clattered to +the stone floor. +</P> + +<P> +"The knot is loosed," Alexander said quietly, sheathing his sword. +</P> + +<P> +"The God greets thee, Lord of Asia!" the chief priest declared in a +solemn tone, bowing his head. +</P> + +<P> +Rushing out of the temple, the generals repeated Alexander's words to +the army. +</P> + +<P> +"The knot is loosed! The knot is loosed! We shall conquer!" ran the +joyful cry through all the ranks, and the young king, listening within +the temple, knew that the hour for decisive action was at hand. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON +</H4> + +<P> +Clearchus and Chares gazed with wonder upon the mighty walls of +Babylon, raising their sheer height from the surface of the Euphrates +until the soldiers who paced the lofty parapet seemed like pygmies +against the sky. The little cavalcade, stained with weeks of travel, +entered the city through a long archway tunnelled in the wall and +flanked on either side by enormous winged lions carved in granite. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan reported to the captain of the gate, who detailed a lieutenant +to escort him to the palace. Chares snorted his disgust as the young +man took his place at the head of the troop. His beardless face was +touched with paint, and his eyebrows were darkened with pigment. His +hands were white and soft. His flowing robe of blue silk swept +downward on either side below his feet, which were encased in buskins +with long points. He glanced superciliously at the two prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +"See that they do not try to get away here in the city," he lisped to +Nathan. "It might be hard to find them—there is such a dirty rabble +here since the Great King himself decided to take the field." +</P> + +<P> +"Have no fear," Nathan replied quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"Fear?" the lieutenant laughed. "That word, as you will find, is not +known here. Ride behind me and let your men surround these two dogs." +</P> + +<P> +He adjusted his long robe and inhaled a breath of perfume from a flask +of scent that he carried in his left hand while he gathered up his +reins with the other. Chares could restrain himself no longer. +</P> + +<P> +"So we are dogs, are we?" he roared, so suddenly that the lieutenant +almost fell from his horse. "Has no one told you that we Greeks have +to be fed? Lead on, or I will make half a meal off thy miserable +carcass, though how magpie will agree with me, I know not." +</P> + +<P> +"Seize him! Seize him! He talks treason!" screamed the lieutenant, +scarce knowing what he said. He looked at Nathan's men, who made no +move to obey, but the gleam of their white teeth as they smiled at his +agitation brought him to his senses. With an air of offended dignity, +he set his horse in motion, and the little troop clattered away into +the city. +</P> + +<P> +Inside the vast circumference of the wall they found streets along +which stood magnificent dwellings surrounded by trees and gardens. So +ample was the enclosure that ground enough remained unoccupied between +the houses to sustain the population, if necessary, upon its harvests. +Great temples reared their towers above the roofs. Gay chariots and +gilded litters passed or met them. Now and then a curious glance was +directed toward them, but beyond this they seemed to attract no +attention. Everybody was too intent upon his own business or pleasure +to give more than a passing thought to the sun-browned soldiers who +rode wearily behind the brightly accoutred lieutenant of the guard. +</P> + +<P> +As they advanced the streets became narrower and the houses stood close +together, with no space between them for gardens. Shops and bazaars +appeared on either hand, filled with a bustling, chaffering throng. +The young Greeks saw a strange medley of nations. Swarthy Egyptians +elbowed dusky merchants from beyond the Indus. Phœnicians and Jews +drove bargains with large-limbed, blue-eyed men of the North, who wore +shaggy skins upon their shoulders and carried long swords at their +belts. This part of the city was given over entirely to foreigners, +for among the Persians the old belief still prevailed that no man could +buy or sell without being dishonest, and falsehood was held in +religious abhorrence by the conquerors of the Medes. +</P> + +<P> +Darius was collecting the host which he purposed to lead against +Alexander and with which he intended to crush the adventurous invader. +Military trappings were to be seen everywhere. The summons of the +Great King had brought within the walls an enormous influx of strangers +from every corner of the empire. +</P> + +<P> +Chares and Clearchus aroused more curiosity as they rode through the +narrower streets of the commercial quarter, where they were forced to +proceed more slowly because of the throngs. They were soon recognized +as of the race of the enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"See the Greeks!" cried a bare-legged urchin in a shrill voice. +</P> + +<P> +"By Ormazd, that is a big one!" said a soldier in a lounging group, +pointing to Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Granicus! Granicus! Kill the Greeks!" a woman screamed from the top +of one of the flat-roofed houses. +</P> + +<P> +Her imprecation caused a stir among the idlers, who pressed forward to +learn what was the matter and to obtain a better view. The rumor ran +that there was to be fighting, and customers poured out of booth and +bazaar to see it. They came good-naturedly, but in such numbers that +they quickly blocked the way and brought the troop to a halt. Some +mischievous boys began to pelt the horses with pebbles, causing them to +rear and plunge. One of the animals kicked a man in the crowd, who +struck at the rider with his staff. The Arab lunged back with the butt +of his lance. The crowd drew out of the way, jeering and laughing. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the woman on the roof continued her cry. "Kill the Greeks!" +she screamed. "Slay them! Remember the Granicus, where they slew my +son!" +</P> + +<P> +Her words were taken up and repeated by other women who leaned from the +house-tops on either side of the street. The crowd continued to +gather, those behind pushing the foremost against the plunging horses. +Several were trampled upon. +</P> + +<P> +"Go away," commanded the lieutenant. "Stand back, you hounds; these +are prisoners for the king." +</P> + +<P> +"Prisoners!" howled the mob. "Kill the prisoners! Burn the murderers! +They would assassinate the king!" +</P> + +<P> +The crowd showed signs of becoming inflamed. Some of the bolder +spirits made a rush for the horsemen, seeking to pull them down and +break the circle that the Arabs had formed about the two Greeks. The +impact swept the little party into an angle between two houses, from +which there was no escape save through the multitude. The women began +to shower sticks and tiles upon them from the roofs. It became +necessary for them to raise their shields to protect their heads from +the missiles. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan turned to the lieutenant, who, with a blanched face, had shrunk +back against the wall. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you intend to stay here?" he demanded sternly. "Draw your sword +and lead us. We must cut our way out. My prisoners are for Darius and +not for these." +</P> + +<P> +"They are too many," the lieutenant whined, with chattering teeth. +</P> + +<P> +"Then give him your sword, since you are afraid to use it," Nathan +said, pointing to Chares. The Theban snatched the weapon from the +young man's hand. +</P> + +<P> +A javelin hissed through the air, cast by some soldier in the throng, +and stood quivering in the beams behind their heads. Clearchus pulled +it out and took possession of it. +</P> + +<P> +The mob still held back, agitated by conflicting currents. The idlers +who had instigated the attack in a spirit of wantonness had no stomach +for fighting, and were struggling backward through the press, seeking a +safe distance. Their places were taken by reckless and half-drunken +soldiers, who had grown weary of inactivity in the city and were eager +for any excitement, even though they obtained it at the risk of their +lives. Many of them were little more than savages whose innate +ferocity was aroused by the mere sight of blood. Some had received +cuts and bruises when the rush was made. The voice of the mob changed +from a tone of banter to a menacing cry for revenge. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan saw that the non-combatants had succeeded in extricating +themselves, and that the men who now faced them carried weapons in +their hands and were preparing to use them. The situation was +perilous. His handful of soldiers were outnumbered by more than a +hundred to one. The mob was momentarily being reënforced from the +wine-shops and the alleys that honeycombed the district. It was plain +that there was no escape unless rescue should come quickly. +</P> + +<P> +He raised himself on his horse and anxiously scanned the faces of the +crowd that had pressed back out of harm's way and now stood in +expectant silence. He knew that through the years that had passed +since the Captivity, many thousands of his race had continued to dwell +in Babylon and that the trade of the city was chiefly in their hands. +He saw their keen dark eyes looking on indifferently from beneath the +awnings that shaded the entrances of their shops. To them he +determined to appeal. +</P> + +<P> +"Israel! Israel!" he shouted, raising his open palm above his head. +"In the name of Jehovah, I call upon thee! To the rescue!" +</P> + +<P> +His cry rang clear in the momentary hush of expectation and reached the +ears for which it was intended. Upon the outskirts of the mob men +turned to their neighbors. "He is one of us! We must save him!" they +said, one to another. "Israel! Israel!" The rallying shout spread +through the dense masses of men into streets where Nathan's voice had +not penetrated. It ran like a spark in a field of dry corn. Bearded +men and dark-skinned youths left their occupations and sprang forward, +snatching up such weapons as they found nearest to their hands. There +was a second shifting of the crowd as they pushed their way toward the +front, pressing in a great circle upon the ring of soldiers who were +hemming Nathan in. +</P> + +<P> +This ring was composed mainly of the fiercest and wildest fighting men +in all the Persian Empire. It represented the extremes of the Great +King's dominions. Yellow-haired Scyths, clad in the skins of animals, +stood side by side with gigantic negroes from the mysterious forests of +Ethiopia. Their language was unknown to each other, but they had been +brought together into a fleeting comradeship by the irresistible and +savage desire which, they held in common for excitement and slaughter. +</P> + +<P> +The Jews attacked this formidable band without hesitation, hurling +fragments of stone, earthen pots, and even the merchandise that had +been displayed in the shops. The unexpected assault caused a momentary +diversion. The Scyths and Ethiopians turned and charged into the +crowd, striking with their swords and war clubs indiscriminately at +friend and foe. Chares tossed the long hair back from his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Your friends came just in time," he said to Nathan, "but it would be +ungrateful for us to let them fight alone. Forward, Clearchus!" +</P> + +<P> +With the Athenian at his side, he swung his horse into the street and +dashed upon the nearest of the Scyths, a giant whose voice had been +bellowing encouragement to his companions. The lieutenant's gilded +sword fell upon the knotted cords of the man's neck, and he went down +like some great tree in his own northern forests. His long blade +slipped from his hand, and the Theban, stooping from the back of his +horse and holding by the mane, caught it up. +</P> + +<P> +"Ha!" Chares cried, swinging the heavy weapon above his head, "now we +can get at them." +</P> + +<P> +The Arabs, headed by Nathan, had followed the Greeks and were fighting +beside them in a compact body. The Jews outside the circle had come to +close quarters and were hacking and thrusting with daggers and +butchers' knives. Their charge had been so sudden that the Scyths were +nearly broken, but they recovered themselves almost instantly. A +species of madness seemed to possess them. They closed in like a pack +of wolves, fighting with each other to get near enough to strike a blow. +</P> + +<P> +News of the outbreak had spread far into the city. From every side, +thousands drew toward the scene of the battle, driving in the crowds +that were seeking to keep their distance. They pressed upon the Jews +and forced them helplessly against the weapons of their enemies. The +number of the Scyths was momentarily increased by the arrival of their +friends. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan saw that the fight was hopeless. The Israelites, badly armed +and undisciplined, were melting away. The only chance of escape lay in +regaining the angle in the wall where they had first taken refuge, and +from which they might be able to enter one of the houses. +</P> + +<P> +Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever +was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through +bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus +fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack +in the rear. +</P> + +<P> +"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must +seek the wall!" +</P> + +<P> +"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are +coming. I wish Alexander were here!" +</P> + +<P> +He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of +Clearchus' lance. +</P> + +<P> +"This is better than Granicus," he panted, as the man rolled upon the +ground. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus made no reply, and Chares saw that his face was drawn and +pale. It was clear that he was becoming exhausted. The Theban was +filled with sudden alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"To the wall!" he cried, wheeling his horse. "Bear up for a little +yet, and we will show these beasts how Greeks can die!" +</P> + +<P> +They recovered their position with difficulty, followed by the howling +Scyths and negroes. Half the Arab escort had been killed, and Nathan +was bleeding from a wound in the thigh, though he still fought +gallantly. Chares alone was both unwearied and unscathed. He seemed +endowed with the strength of ten men as he faced the fierce onset. His +aspect as he turned at bay with uplifted sword caused the Scyths for an +instant to hesitate. Then they charged, clustering around the little +band like a swarm of angry bees, pushing each other forward and +striking over one another's shoulders. It was clear that the conflict +could not last much longer. Nathan knew that, once they were down in +that seething and raging mob, they would meet a frightful death. His +flesh shuddered at the thought of what was to come. +</P> + +<P> +"Down with them! Down with the Greek dogs! They give way!" yelled the +mob. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus glanced at the sea of distorted faces, white, yellow, and +black, and saw thousands of eyes glaring hungrily at them. A strange +indifference took possession of him. Why should he strive? What +mattered it now whether the God of Nathan was mightier than the Gods of +Greece? Not even the Gods could save them. If Artemisia were dead, he +would meet her presently in the Elysian Fields. If she were living, +sooner or later she would join him in the land of shades beyond Styx. +There he would tell her how his heart had suffered. It was easier to +die than to live, since now he must die. +</P> + +<P> +"It is finished, Chares; we will go together," he called to the Theban. +</P> + +<P> +"Not until I get this one!" Chares replied grimly, nodding toward a man +who crouched before him just beyond the reach of his sword. +</P> + +<P> +The squat figure was bent for a spring. The man wore a leopard skin +across his muscular shoulders and his little green eyes were fastened +ferociously upon the Theban, watching for an opening. Clearchus +thought he had never seen anything more repulsive than the flat, broad +face, with its strong, yellow teeth showing like fangs. As he looked +he heard Nathan's voice beside him. +</P> + +<P> +"O Lord, my God, save now Thy servant, if such be Thy will; for without +Thee, I perish!" cried the Israelite, in an accent of despair. +</P> + +<P> +"Here he comes!" Chares shouted. +</P> + +<P> +The figure of the crouching Scyth bounded forward, and his bright +sword, keen as a razor, flashed in the air. +</P> + +<P> +"I have him!" Chares cried exultingly. His long blade hissed downward +as he spoke, and the ugly round head rolled in the dirt. The stroke +was followed by a roar of rage from the Scyths, among whom the man had +evidently been a leader of importance. +</P> + +<P> +"Come on!" the Theban called to them, tauntingly. "Cowards, why do you +wait?" +</P> + +<P> +The challenge seemed to goad them to desperation. They came with a +rush in which they threw aside all caution. The remnant of the little +troop was hurled violently backward. Chares' sword rose and fell +without a pause; Nathan and the men who remained to him cut and thrust +at the faces of their foes; and even Clearchus, roused by the instinct +of self-preservation, plied his javelin. The end had come, and nothing +remained but to die bravely. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Clearchus that they would be able to hold out for only a +moment longer, when without apparent, reason the attack suddenly +slackened. The Scyths drew back, leaving a circle of dead and wounded +under the wall. The mass of humanity that blocked the street swayed +and gave way with a roar of warning and of fear. The mob was all in +motion. It seemed to be fleeing before some danger, the nature of +which the objects of its attack were unable to guess. It rushed past +the angle in the wall where Nathan and his prisoners had taken refuge, +carrying the struggling Scyths along with it. +</P> + +<P> +"What is happening?" Clearchus gasped. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan was too nearly exhausted to reply. He shook his head as a sign +that he did not know, but the answer was not long delayed. +</P> + +<P> +The beat of trampling hoofs and the thunder of rolling wheels was +mingled with the roar of panic, and in an instant the street was filled +from side to side with close ranks of wild-looking horsemen. +</P> + +<P> +"Way for Bessus! Make way for the noble viceroy!" they shouted, +striking right and left with their rawhide whips. +</P> + +<P> +They rode into the mob with reckless indifference, and all who were +unfortunate enough to be unable to get out of their way were trampled +under the hoofs of the galloping horses. +</P> + +<P> +"They are the Bactrians," Nathan panted. "We are saved." +</P> + +<P> +From their sheltering angle, the Greeks watched the horsemen go past. +Every man seemed an athlete, and the riders sat upon the backs of their +horses as though they had grown there. Behind them, after a brief +interval, rumbled a heavy war chariot drawn by four black steeds. In +this ponderous vehicle, beside the charioteer, stood a corpulent man, +with an enormously thick neck and a heavy jaw that gave an aspect of +sternness to his dark face. He paid no heed to the lifeless forms over +which the wheels of his chariot rolled, and he seemed deaf to the cries +of pain uttered by the wretches who had been maimed beneath the hoofs +of his guard. Clearchus' eyes for a moment met those of the viceroy +and he felt a chill strike through him, as though he had touched some +monstrous reptile unawares. +</P> + +<P> +The passage of the Bactrians effectually cleared the street, but Nathan +deemed it wise to fall in behind them lest the attack should be +renewed. As they were about to start, a thought occurred to Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the lieutenant?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is there," Nathan replied, pointing to a heap of the slain. +</P> + +<P> +The body of the young man lay a little apart from the rest, with the +paint still on its cheeks and a gaping wound in its chest. +</P> + +<P> +"So his cowardice did not save him," Chares said. "Let us go." +</P> + +<P> +"Come, then," Nathan replied, and behind the chariot of Bessus, they +arrived at the gates which gave entrance to the enclosure in which +stood the royal palace. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY +</H4> + +<P> +At the approach of Bessus the great bronze gates in the palace wall +swung wide, and he rode through them, followed by his Bactrians. +Nathan halted at the entrance, which he found in charge of a guard of +his own race. The gray-haired captain in command rushed forward with a +cry of joy. +</P> + +<P> +"Where hast thou been?" he cried, embracing Nathan as he dismounted. +"Art thou sound and whole?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nearly so," Nathan replied, showing the cut on his thigh, which +fortunately was not deep and had ceased to bleed. "How is it with +Israel?" +</P> + +<P> +They walked apart, talking in low tones. The Arabs and the two +prisoners threw themselves on the turf inside the gate and waited. +Through the swaying branches of the trees they could catch glimpses of +the massive walls of many buildings standing in stately magnificence +amid the verdure. At a distance, above roof and tree-top, rose the +famous Hanging Gardens of the Great King, built in terraces, gay with +wonderful flowers and strange plants brought from the ends of the +world. Crystal streams flashed in waterfalls from the summit, +following winding artificial channels, beside which stood statues of +marble. +</P> + +<P> +The two Greeks noticed that Nathan and the captain glanced at them from +time to time as they talked, and they felt that they were the subjects +of the conference. Finally Nathan came toward them, bringing the +captain with him. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Ezra," he said. "He knows what I know. Obey him in all +things. When the time comes, I shall be near; but now I must leave +you." +</P> + +<P> +He offered his hand and the two Greeks shook it warmly. Then with a +word to his Arabs, who followed him with their horses, he led the way +down a side path and vanished in the thickets. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he going?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"To the barracks," Ezra replied. "Darius keeps a guard here of ten +thousand men, who are known as the Immortals, because their ranks are +always full." +</P> + +<P> +"The palace is almost a city," Clearchus said, looking about him with +curiosity. "We have many cities at home that are smaller." +</P> + +<P> +"It has need to be," Ezra replied. "The Great King usually has fifteen +thousand guests at his table, and the number now is greater because he +is preparing for war." +</P> + +<P> +"Will he really take the field, then?" Chares asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is mustering his army," the captain answered, "and he will lead it +to battle. The result is in the hands of God." +</P> + +<P> +"I could tell thee, Jew, what the result will be," Chares said dryly. +"By Dionysus, what a place to plunder! Where are you going to take us?" +</P> + +<P> +"I shall deliver you to Boupares, governor of the palace, who has +charge of the prisoners and of the hostages," Ezra said. "So long as +you make no attempt to escape, you will have a considerable amount of +freedom. There are some of our people among the guards, and one +especially named Joel, who will tell you of what is being done. Of +yourselves you can accomplish nothing; but we can do much. You are to +leave everything to us. Joel you may trust, but it will be your part +to wait in patience." +</P> + +<P> +"When shall we be summoned before the king?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps a month from now, and possibly not at all," +Ezra replied. "It is never known in advance what he will do." +</P> + +<P> +So the two friends passed into their captivity in the palace of Darius. +As Ezra had said, their confinement did not prove a hardship to them. +They were placed with hundreds of others in a remote wing near the +river wall. They had baths, a large court for games and exercise, and +abundance of slaves to provide for their wants. The Israelites among +their guards supplied them privately with the news of the court. The +winter months passed pleasantly enough, considering their situation. +Clearchus, whose mind was filled with doubt concerning the fate of +Artemisia, had his days of gloom and despair; but there was nothing to +be done, and the light-hearted resignation of Chares saved him from +utter despondency. +</P> + +<P> +Of the numerous company held by Boupares to await the pleasure of the +Great King, many knew not why they had been brought thither. Some of +them had been there for years. Others received the royal summons on +the morrow of their arrival and did not return. There were princes +from the distant East, who had been suspected of a desire to throw off +the Persian yoke; there were adventurers from Athens, merchants from +Sicily, dusky chieftains from the sources of the Nile—a strange +mixture of tongues and races, in, which every part of the huge, +unwieldy empire was represented. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel as though we were in the cave of Polyphemus," Clearchus said. +"Who can tell whose turn will come next?" +</P> + +<P> +"At any rate, the king is not a Cyclops—he cannot eat us," Chares +replied. "Here comes Joel; now we shall get the latest news." +</P> + +<P> +The young man approached them with the affectation of carelessness that +it was necessary to assume to disarm suspicion. The palace swarmed +with the Eyes and Ears of the king, spies and informers whose identity +was unknown even to the most trusted of the courtiers. He must be +cunning indeed who could frame and bring to fruition a plot that could +escape their observation. A word from one of them, even though founded +upon suspicion, often brought death. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" Chares said, when Joel reached at last the spot where they were +standing, out of hearing of the others. "Repeat for us the murmurs of +this whispering gallery." +</P> + +<P> +"It is in fact a gallery in which every whisper is heard," the Hebrew +said, smiling. "But there is great news to-day; Pharnaces has been +condemned to death, and all his family must die with him." +</P> + +<P> +"What has he done?" Clearchus asked. "Is he not one of the most +powerful of the nobles and a favorite with the king?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Joel replied, "and why the sentence was passed no one knows +excepting the king himself." +</P> + +<P> +"But will he have no trial?" Clearchus persisted. "Will they not tell +him what charge is laid against him?" +</P> + +<P> +Joel shrugged his shoulders. "The sentence has been passed," he said, +"and not even the Great King, who made it, can change it now. We have +been trying to discover what the accusation was. Pharnaces wanted to +be viceroy of Bactria, and he had been gathering evidence with which to +destroy Bessus. It must be that Bessus managed to reach the king +first; but what means he had of accomplishing this, we do not know. +Perhaps he bribed one of the king's Eyes. It must have cost him +something, but Bessus could do it if any one. If he did not work +through the spies, he may have persuaded the Magi to discover some +treason in the stars and then to accuse Pharnaces. Bessus is on good +terms with the Medean priests, for he lets them do what they like in +his province." +</P> + +<P> +"This Bessus must be a dangerous man," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +"Only because he has force and daring," Joel replied. "He does what +every other man would like to do. There is not a satrap or viceroy in +the empire who does not desire his neighbor's ruin. It has been worse +since these fire-worshipping priests began to get back into favor +again. Our wise men say that it was an evil day for the kings of this +land when they allowed these men to wean their minds from Ormazd and +set up their idols in Babylon. But now there is no God too false to +obtain worship here. Even Baal and Astarte have their temples, and +they are beginning to bring in the Egyptian brood of deities. The cup +is filling fast, and they must drink it when Jehovah wills." +</P> + +<P> +The young man's voice sank to a tone of awe as he pronounced the +dreadful name, and he glanced about him as though he half expected a +thunderbolt to fall. It did not escape the Athenian perception of +Clearchus that the Jew seemed to regard the terrible presence as real +and actual. His earnestness formed a striking contrast with his usual +affectation of the easy and cynical manner of the court. +</P> + +<P> +"We laugh and jest here in the palace," he went on, "but each man's +hand is against his neighbor. Faith and honor are lost. Servants +betray their masters and sons lead their parents to death. What knows +the Great King of all this? He lives behind a screen, where thieves +and rascals make him their tool. These plotters play upon him as they +do upon Sisygambis, the queen mother, who has almost as much power as +her son; or upon Statira, his queen, the most beautiful of women. The +gynæceum is a nest of intrigues. His stewards and keepers and +cup-bearers have each their price, and they do not scruple to take it. +A whisper or a look may send a man to his death. Give me a chance with +a sword in my hand and let me see the man who strikes me! I hate this +treacherous game in the dark!" +</P> + +<P> +"Well spoken, my lad!" Chares said. "But what about this queen, +Statira—is she so very beautiful?" +</P> + +<P> +"They say she is the fairest woman in the world," Joel answered, "and +that the Great King is the handsomest of men. I have never seen her, +or I would not be here now. It is death to look upon the face of one +of the king's women, even by accident." +</P> + +<P> +"They seem to be very particular!" Chares grumbled. +</P> + +<P> +"I dare say they have their reasons," Joel said. "But I have not told +you all the news. The king has had a dream, and he believes that the +Gods have promised him the victory over Alexander. The Chaldeans have +told him so." +</P> + +<P> +"What was the dream?" Clearchus asked uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"It was proclaimed this morning," Joel said. "Darius dreamed that when +he had come within sight of the Macedonians, their army suddenly burst +into flame and all the troops were consumed, so that nothing but their +ashes remained where they had been. And then he thought he saw +Alexander, dressed like one of the lords of the household, standing +ready to serve him. But when he went into the Temple of Baal, +Alexander vanished utterly and was seen no more. From this the learned +men of the Chaldeans say that Baal will give the battle to Darius and +will remove Alexander from his way. So the king has ordered sacrifices +to Baal and has promised him a great temple of stone after the victory." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus looked troubled, and even Chares shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait," Joel went on eagerly, noticing their concern. "I have told you +the interpretation of the Chaldeans. Our wise men have also considered +the dream, and they read it differently. They say that the army on +fire means that the Macedonians shall win great glory, and that the +appearance of Alexander as a lord of the household, in the same dress +that Darius wore before he became king, signifies that he will gain +victories, as Darius did. This is the interpretation of the priests of +our race, to whom are revealed the things that are to be." +</P> + +<P> +"I know not which is right," Clearchus said, "but I wish Aristander was +here." +</P> + +<P> +"Nathan bade me tell you to have no fear," Joel said confidently. "He +also wished me to tell you that Phradates the Tyrian has come to court." +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates here!" Chares exclaimed. "Why did you not say so before? +There will be trouble for us." +</P> + +<P> +"Nathan talked with the Phœnician and learned much," Joel continued. +"Halicarnassus has fallen and Memnon is dead. Phradates is seeking +command of the fleet for Azemilcus, the Tyrian king." +</P> + +<P> +"Did Nathan say nothing of Artemisia and Thais?" Clearchus inquired, in +a trembling voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes," said Joel, "I had forgotten. He told me to say that +Phradates had carried them by force to Tyre in his galley after the +fall of Halicarnassus and that he is in love with Thais. This he +learned from one of our people who was with the Tyrian; and he learned +further that as yet no harm has befallen the young women." +</P> + +<P> +"We must go!" Clearchus exclaimed. "Tell Nathan so at once. Tell him +that if he cannot release us, we will release ourselves. We must be on +our way to Tyre to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Quietly," Chares said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. +"Not so loud. You forget!" +</P> + +<P> +"Did you not hear what he said?" Clearchus demanded impatiently. +"Artemisia is in Tyre and in the power of Phradates!" +</P> + +<P> +"So is Thais, and she is in the greater danger," Chares said, "if what +Joel tells us is true; but we shall never see either of them again +unless we are discreet." +</P> + +<P> +There was a stir in the great hall of the building as the inmates +gathered from the various smaller apartments. "The king has sent a +summons!" Joel said, hastening away. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not forget my message," Clearchus insisted. +</P> + +<P> +"I will deliver it," Joel responded over his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +Chares and Clearchus joined the main body of prisoners, who were +assembled in the hall. They found there Boupares himself, with scribes +bearing the register of the inmates of the place. The governor +scrutinized the lists with care, selecting from among them the names of +prisoners, who were called by a crier. Each man, as he heard his name, +stepped forward to await the directions of Boupares. +</P> + +<P> +"Amyntas of Macedon!" shouted the crier, and a small, thin man with a +sallow face stood out from the rest. +</P> + +<P> +"Charidemus of Corinth!" the crier called. +</P> + +<P> +"They are asking only for the Greeks," remarked a tall Assyrian. +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe our turn has come," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus of Athens!" the crier shouted. "Chares of Thebes!" +</P> + +<P> +The two young men advanced and joined the waiting group. +</P> + +<P> +"That is all," Boupares said, handing the lists to the scribes. +"Follow me to the audience chamber." +</P> + +<P> +Through the long, pillared courts and vast halls of the palace he +conducted the prisoners. On every side were evidences of the +expenditure of limitless wealth and measureless labor. Row after row +of polished columns sprang a hundred feet to the echoing roof. Great +sculptures adorned the walls. The floors were inlaid with mosaics of +variegated pattern. Thousands of attendants came and went among the +crowds of courtiers. +</P> + +<P> +At last they arrived at the audience chamber and were admitted. Here +the talk and laughter ceased and voices sank to a whisper. They were +in the presence of the Great King, the most powerful and absolute of +all monarchs. The walls of the lofty apartment were covered with +plates of gold for half their height, and above these were paintings in +which the king was depicted slaying lions in hand-to-hand combat, or +driving his enemies before him in his war chariot. Between the pillars +hung rich curtains of crimson, green, and violet, and the floor was +hidden beneath silken carpets. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of the room, under a purple canopy, stood a throne of gold +and ivory, inlaid with precious stones. The perfume of myrrh and +frankincense filled the air. +</P> + +<P> +Standing before the throne, from which he had just arisen, the Greeks +beheld Darius, the last of the Archæmenian kings. His tall, well-built +figure was clad in a long Medean robe of rich silk, purple, embroidered +with gold, and confined at the waist by a broad girdle of gold, from +which hung his dagger in its sheath of lapis lazuli. His feet were +shod in yellow shoes with long points. On his head he wore the +citaris, which he alone might wear, with the royal diadem of blue and +white. Jewels flashed in his ears, and about his neck hung a heavy +collar of great rubies and pearls. +</P> + +<P> +Never, Clearchus thought, had he seen a face more handsome and haughty +than that of Darius, as he stood before his throne, with his blue eyes +and light brown beard, carefully trimmed. He looked like what he +was—the master of the world. His expression, although full of +dignity, was slightly weary as he listened to the petition of a man who +knelt before him, with bowed head, in the attitude of a suppliant. +</P> + +<P> +With a scarcely perceptible movement of his hand, the king dismissed +the petitioner, who rose to his feet and walked backward, with his head +still bowed, to a group of officials who stood at one side of the +apartment. Chares gripped Clearchus by the arm. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Phradates!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +It was indeed the Phœnician, who had doubtless been pressing the +suit of Azemilcus for command of the Ægean fleet. His proud face was +humbled, and drops of perspiration stood on his forehead. The king +turned his eyes slowly to the Greeks and made a sign to Boupares to +advance. The nobles who were ranged on either side of the throne, the +king's fan and cup bearers, his generals and the master of his +household, remained with stolid faces. +</P> + +<P> +Boupares prostrated himself before the throne, kissing the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Are these the Greeks for whom I sent thee?" the king asked +indifferently. +</P> + +<P> +"They are, my lord," Boupares replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Let them come near," Darius said. +</P> + +<P> +Some of the prisoners prostrated themselves before the king as they had +seen Boupares do. Others remained standing, and among these were +Clearchus and Chares. Darius looked at them, and a slight frown +appeared upon his brow. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are they?" he asked, turning to Boupares. +</P> + +<P> +The governor designated each of the captives by name, adding a few +particulars by way of identification. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus, an Athenian, and Chares, a Theban," he said. "They have +served in the army of the Macedonian, and they were sent to the king +from Halicarnassus by Memnon." +</P> + +<P> +"Why have they been permitted to live?" Darius demanded, his face +darkening at the name of the lost city. +</P> + +<P> +"Because Memnon believed they could give the king information," +Boupares answered humbly, "and when captured they had left the army of +Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +"What manner of man is this Alexander?" Darius asked, turning his face +to the Greeks. +</P> + +<P> +"He is a king," Chares answered quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"How can he hope to meet me, with his handful of men?" Darius asked +again. +</P> + +<P> +"He remembers Cyrus, thy ancestor," Chares replied boldly. +</P> + +<P> +These answers made an evident impression on Darius, whose face lost its +listless expression. Many questions he put to the Greeks, who made no +attempt to conceal anything from him, knowing that others could give +him the information that he desired if they refused, and that refusal +would mean immediate death. Finally the king could think of nothing +more to ask. +</P> + +<P> +"I am about to march against thy Alexander," he said. "Who will win +the victory?" +</P> + +<P> +"Victory is the gift of the Gods, O king," Clearchus said quickly. +"Dost thou wish flattery, or a frank reply, without concealment?" +</P> + +<P> +"Speak freely," Darius said, raising his head in pride. +</P> + +<P> +"Then, unless thou canst make thy army equal to his in discipline and +spirit, thy numbers will not avail," the Athenian said. +</P> + +<P> +Darius' face flushed, and a murmur of protest rose from the watchful +courtiers. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that thy opinion, too?" the king asked, turning to Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"The ocean himself must break upon the rock," the Theban said. +</P> + +<P> +"And thine?" the king continued, addressing Charidemus, the Corinthian. +</P> + +<P> +"It is, O king," Charidemus replied. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates had been watching the face of Darius. He had recognized his +enemies as soon as they entered the audience chamber and had resolved +to deal them a blow if the chance presented itself. When he saw the +frown on the brow of the king and caught the gleam of anger in his eye, +he believed he might safely act. He stepped forward and again +prostrated himself at the steps of the throne. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak!" said Darius, looking down upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"My lord, I know these men for spies," he said. "I was in +Halicarnassus when they were captured just before I received the wound +that so nearly cost me my life. Memnon, for reasons that I do not +presume to guess, wished to save them. They mock at thee and seek to +create doubt of the promise that the Gods have given thee by spreading +fear of the result among thy men. Every Greek well knows that +Alexander cannot stand against thee and that he will never dare to meet +thee in battle." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates had cunningly formed his speech so as to assign a motive to +the adverse predictions of the Greeks which would save the pride of the +king, and yet, if he accepted it, would leave only one course open to +him. Darius did not hesitate. +</P> + +<P> +"They are spies!" he said angrily to Boupares. "Why did you bring them +to me? Take them away and let them be questioned under the torture. +Perhaps then they will tell the truth." +</P> + +<P> +Darius turned, and Phradates shot a look of triumph at the two friends. +Chares shook off the hand of the guard and was about to speak when +Clearchus checked him. +</P> + +<P> +"Silence," he whispered earnestly, "or we shall both be killed at once!" +</P> + +<P> +Chares controlled himself with an effort, and the guards, under the +direction of the crestfallen Boupares, led them away. Instead of +conducting them to their former quarters, Boupares ordered that they be +confined in the dungeons that lay beyond. These were built in a +structure of massive masonry and consisted of cells with heavily barred +doors at which sentries were stationed. Into one of the darkest of the +cells they were thrust, and the grating was bolted behind them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap27"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD +</H4> + +<P> +Clearchus and Chares shivered in the chill of the dungeon. By the +glimmer of light that entered through a narrow opening above their +heads, they saw that the place was quite bare. There was nothing but +the stone floor under their feet and the four stone walls that shut +them in. +</P> + +<P> +"What think you, Chares?" Clearchus said, with the shadow of a smile. +"Nathan will never be able to rescue us from here." +</P> + +<P> +"It does not look hopeful," the Theban replied, "but let us see." +</P> + +<P> +He made a careful examination of the walls, finding everywhere the +solid stone unbroken. The only openings in the cell were the tiny +window and the door. The window was out of reach and so narrow that +not even a cat could have squeezed through. Chares halted at the door +and examined the bars. They were of hammered iron, as thick as the +shaft of a lance, and rendered stronger by two cross-bars, welded from +side to side. The Theban tested them gently with his hands and shook +his head. +</P> + +<P> +"The blacksmith who forged them was a good workman," he said. +</P> + +<P> +At that moment they heard the step of the sentry outside in the +passageway. The man carried at his girdle a bunch of great keys that +rattled as he walked. He was armed with a short spear with a long, +keen blade. He halted at the door of the cell. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing there?" he said gruffly to Chares. "Get back!" +</P> + +<P> +"No need to be angry, my friend," Chares returned good-naturedly, +falling back from the door. "What are you going to do to us?" +</P> + +<P> +The jailer's brutish face assumed an expression of pleasure that was +evidently unfeigned. +</P> + +<P> +"You know you are to be tortured to-morrow," he said, "and we do those +things thoroughly here. I shall help. They could not get along +without me." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you are used to it," Chares ventured. +</P> + +<P> +"My father taught me," the man replied proudly. "There is none in the +empire better with the rack than I. And he showed me how to draw the +band about a man's forehead until his eyes stick out of his head and +his skull cracks like an egg, and all without killing him. Very few +know the secret." +</P> + +<P> +"And when you are through with the torture, what then?" asked Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, then you will die by the boat," the jailer replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean we shall be drowned?" Chares inquired. +</P> + +<P> +The jailer laughed harshly. "That would be too easy," he said. "Death +by the boat has nothing to do with the water, as you will find. They +will place you in the shallop with your head, arms, and feet outside. +Then they will cover you with honey and place another boat upside down +over you. This will leave your head and hands free through the holes. +The ants and the flies are fond of honey. I have known men to live a +week in their snug wooden jackets; but they usually go crazy after a +few days, when the ants begin to eat them." +</P> + +<P> +"That is very interesting," Chares remarked. "When will they begin the +torture?" +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow morning," the man replied, "and I advise you to get a sound +sleep; you will be able to stand the pain better." +</P> + +<P> +He passed on down the corridor, humming to himself as though his mind +were filled with pleasant thoughts. +</P> + +<P> +"That is a nice prospect," Chares said, turning away from the grating. +"I wonder what Nathan intends to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"We can only wait," Clearchus replied. "I think we had better pretend +that we are asleep, so that your friend the sentinel will at least let +us alone." +</P> + +<P> +They stretched themselves upon the stone floor and waited, talking in +whispers. With nightfall, the prison grew utterly dark, excepting in +the corridor, where the surly guard lighted oil lamps, set at intervals +in niches in the wall. These made brief spaces of light in the gloomy +passageway, through which the man went and came with monotonous tread. +There was silence in that part of the prison where they were, +indicating that the other condemned cells were vacant. For a time the +sound of voices reached them faintly through the slit in the wall, but +these gradually ceased as the night advanced. +</P> + +<P> +One of the lamps had been set directly opposite their cell, but its +feeble glimmer hardly extended to the bars of their cage, although it +rendered objects in the corridor dimly distinct. +</P> + +<P> +Hour followed hour, and each seemed like a week to the young Athenian. +Chares, overcome by drowsiness, had fallen asleep at his side. +Clearchus wondered at the careless nature of his friend that permitted +him to close his eyes in the face of so horrible a death. He had no +doubt that Nathan would seek to rescue them, but he knew not when nor +how. Perhaps he would attempt intercession with Darius. Perhaps he +would defer the trial until the morning. What if he should fail? +Clearchus was far from being a coward, but his nerves shrank from the +thought of the torture and the lingering agony that would follow before +death came to set them free. The very idea of death, since now he knew +that Artemisia was living and in need of him, filled his heart with +anguish. +</P> + +<P> +As he lay gazing into the corridor, with his head upon his hand, he +recalled her face as it had appeared to him in the happy garden in +Academe, with the sunlight on her hair and the color of the wild rose +in her cheeks. He remembered how her blue eyes had looked into his +with sweet wistfulness and how the tears dimmed them when she told him +of the fears that had beset her. The tears rose to his own eyes at the +remembrance, and he ground his teeth as he thought of his helplessness. +Why had he not trusted the prevision of her finer perceptions, half +ethereal as they were? Why had he not remained to defend her and to +prevent the train of misfortunes which had followed? +</P> + +<P> +The sentinel paused at the door of the cell for a moment in passing. +He noted the deep breathing of Chares and resumed his march with a +yawn. Clearchus listened, mechanically counting his steps until he +should reach the spot where they were to turn. Suddenly a sound came +to his ears that caused him to sit up and listen intently. There were +other footfalls in the corridor. They were advancing in the track of +the sentinel from the direction of the entrance. +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian's pulses bounded. Help had come. He stretched out his +hand to rouse Chares, but in an instant he reflected that there was +evidently no effort at concealment on the part of the newcomer. The +steps were careless and deliberate. Probably they were made by another +guard, who had come to relieve the bloodthirsty wretch outside. His +hope sank as suddenly as it had arisen and he let his hand fall. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should I awaken him?" he thought. "Let him sleep." +</P> + +<P> +Slowly the steps advanced. Clearchus crept to the door of the cell and +peered out through the grating. A man's figure was approaching along +the passage. It was Nathan. Clearchus rose quickly to his feet and +shook Chares by the shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Silence!" he whispered. +</P> + +<P> +The Theban rubbed his eyes and stretched his great limbs. +</P> + +<P> +"Where am I?" he muttered. "Oh, yes, I remember. What has happened?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nathan is here," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +Chares was on his feet with a bound, and both stood listening +breathlessly. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan had reached the dim circle of light before their cell. His keen +black eyes were glancing to the right and left at the dark gratings. +</P> + +<P> +"We are here!" Clearchus whispered through the bars. +</P> + +<P> +The Israelite turned his face toward them and smiled, trying to +distinguish them in the darkness. In his hand he carried a roll of +papyrus. +</P> + +<P> +"Be ready!" he said, in a scarcely audible tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" the sentinel demanded, catching sight of Nathan for the +first time. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan halted close to the bars of the cell and awaited his approach +without reply. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you doing here?" the man asked gruffly as he approached. +</P> + +<P> +"I have an order for you," Nathan replied coolly, unrolling the papyrus +as he spoke. "Read it." +</P> + +<P> +The man took the papyrus in his hand and looked at it. Then he glanced +cunningly at Nathan. +</P> + +<P> +"What does it mean?" he growled, handing it back. "I cannot read." +</P> + +<P> +This was evidently a contingency that had not entered into Nathan's +calculations. +</P> + +<P> +"It is signed by Boupares—here, do you see!" he said, holding the +writing under the jailer's nose. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what then?" the man asked suspiciously. +</P> + +<P> +"It is an order," Nathan continued. "You are to deliver the Greek +prisoners to me immediately." +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do with them?" the jailer asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Boupares desires to talk with them before they are examined," Nathan +explained. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not give them up," the jailer replied, with the air of a man +who has made up his mind. "If Boupares wishes to see them, let him +come here. They were sent to me under the seal of the king himself, +and this order of yours has no seal. Do you think I want to be boiled +alive as my comrade was last month? I can hear his yells yet, for I +helped to do it. You can tell Boupares what I have said, and now be +off." +</P> + +<P> +Like most ignorant men when they think, or pretend to think, that they +are being imposed upon, the jailer raised his voice to a bullying +shout. Nathan looked apprehensively over his shoulder toward the +entrance of the prison. The harsh tone echoed between the narrow walls +and might be easily heard at the gate, where several men were stationed. +</P> + +<P> +"Give me your keys," he said quietly. "You know the penalty for +disobeying an order." +</P> + +<P> +The jailer stepped to the door of the cell and stood defiantly, with +his back against the bars. +</P> + +<P> +"I will not give them!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +From within the cell the man's figure was outlined against the light of +the lamp. Chares moved forward in the darkness behind him with +noiseless tread, and his fingers closed suddenly around the jailer's +throat. The wretch gasped once and threw up his chin, struggling +convulsively to free himself from the iron clutch that encircled his +neck. His struggles were in vain. The Theban drew him silently back +against the bars. His feet scuffled on the stone floor, and his short +spear clattered from his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Take the keys," Clearchus whispered. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan quickly detached the keys from the jailer's belt and unlocked +the door of the cell. Clearchus slipped through the open door, picking +up the jailer's spear as he went. Chares relaxed his hold, and the +man's body slipped in a huddled heap to the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Come," said the Israelite. "We have no time to lose." +</P> + +<P> +What he said was true. From the direction of the entrance came the +sound of voices and the flickering of a torch danced upon the walls. +</P> + +<P> +"Neshak! Ho, Neshak, where are you?" called a voice. +</P> + +<P> +"They are seeking the jailer," Nathan whispered. "Come!" +</P> + +<P> +He darted down the corridor into the darkness, with the two Greeks at +his heels. At the end of a dozen yards they turned quickly to the +left, up a flight of stairs, and then through other passageways, until +they reached a second short stairway and emerged upon the roof. +</P> + +<P> +They stood panting and listening beside the head of the stair. Above +them the wide arch of the sky was sown with stars. From the black +opening at their feet came a confused sound of cries and shouting. +</P> + +<P> +"They have found the jailer's body," Nathan said. "I fear we are lost. +It shall be as Jehovah wills!" +</P> + +<P> +He drew a short sword from its sheath at his side. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there no other way to the roof?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No other way," Nathan replied; "but how can we hope to hold this +against them?" +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian looked about him. The roof was built of huge slabs of +stone, fitted together without mortar, and there was nothing that might +serve as even a temporary barricade. +</P> + +<P> +"If we could only raise one of these," he said, stooping over one of +the slabs. +</P> + +<P> +"Not ten men could do it," Nathan replied, shaking his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us see," said Chares. +</P> + +<P> +He thrust his fingers under the stone and set his feet wide apart. The +muscles of his back and arms rose in ridges. The veins of his neck +swelled like knotted cords. The great stone stirred in its bed. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Nathan dropped their weapons and bent eagerly to assist +him. The ponderous mass heaved slowly upward, tilting toward the +opening that led to the stairway. From the sound of the voices within +they knew that their pursuers were close at hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Life or death!" groaned Chares, the sweat streaming from his body like +rain. "Now!" +</P> + +<P> +The mighty stone rose inch by inch upon its edge, standing higher than +the heads of the three men, who were now behind and beneath it. Their +pursuers had evidently halted on the stairs, expecting the opening to +the roof to be defended. Puzzled by the silence, they seemed to be +concerting a plan of attack. Suddenly they sprang upward with a shout, +thrusting forward their spears and crowding for the aperture. +</P> + +<P> +The great slab stood upright, balancing on its lower end. While a man +might draw breath, it hung motionless, and then it toppled over upon +the opening from the stairs. +</P> + +<P> +The foremost of the pursuers saw it and with inarticulate cries sought +to retreat. They were too late. The heavy mass crashed down upon +their heads and covered the opening. Nathan and Clearchus fell forward +with it and lay gasping. Chares swayed upon his feet and his head +reeled. The blood dripped from the ends of his fingers, where it had +burst from beneath his nails. Faintly from under the stone issued +cries of agony, as though some of the guard had been caught there and +held fast by mangled limbs. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan staggered to his feet and groped for his sword. "Now for the +wall," he cried. "We may yet escape!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap28"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY +</H4> + +<P> +As Clearchus lay upon the broad slab, the voices of his friends seemed +to him faint and far away. He tried to rise, but a strange languor +weighed him down. Chares seized him and dragged him to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Wake up!" cried the Theban. "We still have a chance. You tremble +like a girl." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus gathered his senses with an effort of will, and the two +Greeks followed Nathan across the roof toward the great wall, against +which the prison was built. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan led them straight to the foot of a narrow flight of steps, +roughly hewn in the masonry and scarcely discernible a few yards away. +Up these he climbed with the agility of a cat. Clearchus, still faint +and dizzy, hesitated for a moment, gazing at the sheer height that +towered above his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward!" Chares cried behind him. "It is our only hope." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus set his feet in the narrow steps and followed Nathan, +carrying the jailer's spear in his left hand and clinging to each +projection with his right. More than once his feet slipped and Chares +saved him from falling. The steps wound upward almost perpendicularly, +and it was evident that they were rarely used, for in places the soft +brick had crumbled, leaving wide gaps. +</P> + +<P> +"Look up!" Chares cried desperately, as Clearchus halted at one of +these dangerous points. "Look up—and remember Artemisia, whom thou +alone canst save!" +</P> + +<P> +He had touched the right chord at last. The Athenian's brain cleared +at the mention of Artemisia's peril, and he forgot his own. The wall +no longer seemed to waver before his eyes. All doubt of his ability to +pass where Nathan had passed before him vanished from his mind, and he +gained the top with an even pulse. +</P> + +<P> +They paused for a moment to get their bearings. Far beneath them they +saw the starlight trembling on the broad sweep of the Euphrates, beyond +which for miles lay a level country, dotted with trees and fields. +Behind them spread the sleeping city, an endless succession of roofs +and towers. Here and there a torch glimmered like a firefly. The +crest of the wall, upon which they stood and where four chariots might +have been driven abreast without crowding, was apparently deserted. +</P> + +<P> +The sound of shouting rose from the direction of the prison. They saw +a cluster of torches issue from the main entrance and scatter in every +direction. +</P> + +<P> +"They are giving the alarm," Nathan said, "but I think we shall have +time to disappoint them. There is a rope waiting for us where the +river touches the wall, and at its lower end we shall find a boat." +</P> + +<P> +The river was several hundred yards distant from the spot where they +stood. Before they could reach the place where the rope was concealed, +they must traverse nearly a quarter of a mile. Between them and safety +stood one of the guard-houses built for the sentries whose duty it was +to patrol the wall night and day. Still worse, they must pass the +entrance of a broad flight of steps that led downward into the city and +formed the usual means of ascent to the top of the wall. +</P> + +<P> +It had been Nathan's plan to come up by these steps and gain the rope +without passing the guard-house. The obstinacy of the jailer had +disarranged everything. It was of the first importance that they +should reach the rope before the sentinels on the wall could learn what +had happened, or the guards from below could mount. +</P> + +<P> +Like shadows they sped along the top of the wall, holding as near as +possible to the outer edge so as not to be seen from the city. Outside +the guard-house a sentry stood, craning his neck to see what was going +on beneath him to cause all the shouting. They stole by behind his +back without arousing his attention. +</P> + +<P> +They had fled past the head of the stairway and were congratulating +themselves on their good fortune when they came suddenly face to face +with a returning sentry, slowly pacing his beat. The man was as much +surprised as they and seemed in doubt as to whether they were friends +or foes. Before he could make up his mind, Chares gripped him by the +throat and the broad blade of the jailer's spear buried itself in his +heart. He had uttered no cry. Chares dragged the body under the +parapet that had been built where the wall overhung the river to +protect the defenders from the archers who might be sent to attack the +city from ships. +</P> + +<P> +Crouching in the shadow of this elevation, they went on at a slackened +pace, expecting every moment to come upon the rope. It was nowhere to +be found. The shouting from the city now came clearly up from the +staircase as the guards ascended. Finally Nathan paused and looked +doubtfully about him. +</P> + +<P> +"It should be very near here," he said, "but I do not see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then there is nothing for it but to take as many of them with us as we +can," Chares said, rising to his full height. "Zeus, how my back +aches! I hate this skulking." +</P> + +<P> +Apparently the sentinel at the guard-house whom they had passed +understood at last what was the matter. He roused the rest of the +guard. Clearchus and Nathan pulled Chares down into the shadow. They +were so near that they could hear what was said. +</P> + +<P> +"Captives have escaped! They are coming up by the prison stairway!" +the man told his companions in an excited voice. "They are asking us +to stop them. Boupares himself is on his way up." +</P> + +<P> +The men came tumbling out of the guard-house and ran to the inner edge +of the wall, shouting down with much gesticulation that they would meet +the fugitives. Then they hastened back toward the prison. +</P> + +<P> +"Much good that will do them," Chares laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"We have still a few moments," Clearchus said. "Where was the rope to +be?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here—opposite the Tower of Baal," Nathan replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Look on the outside of the wall; it may be there," the Athenian +suggested. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan climbed upon the parapet and looked over. +</P> + +<P> +"Here it is," he cried joyfully. "Follow me!" +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke, he slipped over the edge of the wall and vanished. +</P> + +<P> +"Follow him, Chares," Clearchus said. "Go quickly!" +</P> + +<P> +"You first," the Theban answered doggedly. +</P> + +<P> +"No," Clearchus answered with firmness. "It is my turn to guard the +rear. I shall not stir until you are over the wall." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, have your way," Chares replied. +</P> + +<P> +He vaulted upon the parapet and looked down. The rope had been +attached to a bar of iron driven firmly into the bricks near the +coping, and it dangled from between his feet into the gulf beneath him. +The cord seemed slender to sustain his weight, but there was no time in +which to test it. Swinging himself over the edge, he grasped the bar +and then the rope, letting himself down hand over hand, with his feet +against the rough surface of the wall. From the twitching of the cord +in his hands, he knew that Nathan had not yet reached the bottom. He +wondered how long it would be before the rope would break and send him +headlong into the dark abyss. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus, left alone behind the parapet, flattened his body in the +shadow and waited. He had seen Chares begin his descent, and he knew +that the rope would not sustain the weight of all three at the same +time. He resolved to allow Chares an opportunity to reach the foot of +the wall before he himself started down. He counted upon the mistake +that the sentries had made, in going back to the prison staircase in +their search, to give him time. +</P> + +<P> +Hardly had Chares disappeared before a company of soldiers, with +torches in their hands, emerged from the head of the great stairway. +The glare searched every corner on top of the wall, and the Athenian +saw that concealment was no longer possible. +</P> + +<P> +He knew that he must act promptly. The faces of the new arrivals were +turned toward the sentinels, who were still engaged in searching about +the prison stairway. It could be only a few moments before the +futility of further effort in that direction must become evident to +them, and the hunt would turn toward where he lay. +</P> + +<P> +Should he attempt to gain the great staircase and slip into the city, +where the Israelites might hide him, at least for a time? It would be +impossible to evade the soldiers who were still coming up. He +dismissed the idea from his mind. +</P> + +<P> +Possibly he could escape along the southern stretch of wall. Beyond +him at a distance there seemed to be a bridge, or causeway, connecting +the wall with the enormous mass of earth and bricks that upheld the +Hanging Gardens. The groves of palms and the tangle of shrubbery that +crowned the Gardens might conceal him, even though the place was within +the precincts of the palace itself. +</P> + +<P> +He was about to try this plan and had already partly risen to put it +into execution, when he saw the guard turning out at a station between +him and the causeway. His chance of flight in that direction was cut +off. +</P> + +<P> +He could hear the chafing of the rope against the bricks on the other +side of the parapet. Chares was still lowering himself toward the +river. To try the rope now would be not only to endanger the lives of +his two friends by overstraining the cord, but to reveal their mode of +escape and expose them to certain death, since the guard would lose no +time in cutting it. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus felt that he had been caught in a trap from which there was +no outlet. He thought of the words the jailer had used in describing +the death allotted to them. He thought of Artemisia, defenceless in +Tyre. A vision of the life he had hoped to lead in the pleasant city +of his birth, with her at his side, flitted through his mind. The Gods +had bestowed upon him the hope of happiness that was not to be +fulfilled. Chares would tell Artemisia how he died. At least she +would know that he had given his life for his friend. +</P> + +<P> +So ran the young man's thoughts as he lay awaiting the moment of +discovery. His mind was made up. They would never take him back to +the prison. Perhaps his friends might recover his body and give it +burial amid the groves beyond the river. +</P> + +<P> +Although the time seemed long, in reality only a few minutes passed +before the portly form of Boupares, supported on either side by a +stalwart soldier, appeared upon the platform at the head of the broad +stair. The governor was out of breath and also out of patience. The +knowledge that he would find it difficult to account for the loss of +the prisoners weighed upon his mind. +</P> + +<P> +The guards crowded about him with explanations and excuses. No trace +could be found of the fugitives, they told him. It was certain they +had not reached the top of the wall. If they had, they must have +wings, since they had disappeared, leaving no trace. +</P> + +<P> +"Search, you dogs!" Boupares gasped. "A thousand darics to the man who +finds them!" +</P> + +<P> +The moment was at hand. Clearchus unclasped the fibula that fastened +the chiton upon his shoulder and drew his feet out of his sandals. +</P> + +<P> +There was a cry from one of the guards. He had found the body of the +sentinel. A group gathered about it to see. It was proof that the +fugitives had passed along the wall, and all eyes were directed toward +the Athenian's hiding-place. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus let fall his garments and with a bound gained the top of the +parapet. The red light of the torches shone full upon his naked +figure, gleaming against the dark sky, as perfect in every line as the +form of Phœbus Apollo. For an instant the soldiers were dumb with +astonishment and superstitious dread. The shape had appeared where +there had been nothing a moment before. It seemed to them that it must +be that of a God. Then one of them caught sight of the abandoned +chiton and the spell was broken. +</P> + +<P> +"Seize him! Strike him down!" they cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Take him alive!" bellowed Boupares. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus turned his back upon them and gave a single glance at the +wide sweep of water that eddied and gurgled at the foot of the great +wall, how far below him he dared not guess. A javelin hissed past him +and was swallowed by the darkness. With muscles as firm as steel, he +took two steps forward and shot out from the dizzy height. +</P> + +<P> +He heard the cry of astonishment and involuntary alarm from the +soldiers behind him. The light of the torches flashed in his eyes, and +then fled suddenly upward. +</P> + +<P> +He looked down upon the wrinkled surface of the river. The impetus of +his leap had carried him out beyond the slope of the wall, and he saw +that he would strike the water as he had planned, instead of being +dashed to pieces. +</P> + +<P> +The rushing air blinded him like a mighty wind. He heard its roar in +his ears. Mechanically he pressed the palms of his hands together +below his head, and stiffened and straightened his body so that it +might offer no surface of resistance in the plunge. Then he knew no +more. +</P> + +<P> +Faintly the cry of the guards floated downward. Their torches twinkled +over the parapet. Chares, who, with aching arms, was clinging to the +last few fathoms of the rope, looked upward. So did Nathan, pausing in +his task of fitting a pair of oars to the rowlocks of a small boat that +he had pushed out from the wall. +</P> + +<P> +They saw the form of Clearchus as it shot downward from the sky. They +saw it strike the water not twenty feet from them, leaving a circle of +foam, with hardly a splash to mark where it had fallen, so straight and +true was its descent. +</P> + +<P> +Chares let the end of the rope slip through his hands and leaped into +the boat. With a few rapid strokes Nathan brought the little craft to +the centre of the widening ripple, where the bubbles were still rising. +Both leaned over the gunwale, straining their eyes for sight of the +body in the dark water. +</P> + +<P> +A minute passed, and another, while they held their breath. Then +Nathan uttered a cry. +</P> + +<P> +"There he is!" he shouted, pointing downward. +</P> + +<P> +It was only a glimmer of white under the ripple, which showed for an +instant and was gone; but Chares plunged from the boat and disappeared +beneath the surface. When he rose, he held the body of his friend +across his arm, hanging limp and apparently lifeless. Nathan drew it +into the boat and then helped Chares to his place in the stern. +</P> + +<P> +"Is he dead, think you?" the Theban asked, taking the form across his +knees as though it were that of a child. +</P> + +<P> +"There is no mark on him; he may be only stunned," Nathan replied, +resuming his oars. +</P> + +<P> +Chares gazed at the pale face, with the dripping hair streaming back +from its temples, and, bending forward, placed his ear over the heart. +</P> + +<P> +"It beats," he cried. "He lives! Pull away, Nathan, and let the +jackals howl!" +</P> + +<P> +Arrows and javelins struck the water around the boat, but there was +little danger from the marksmen above, unless some missile should find +them by chance. The craft was almost indistinguishable from the top of +the wall. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan worked hard at the oars, while Chares rolled the body of +Clearchus on his knees. Then he rubbed the pale limbs briskly and by +no means gently until the blood began to circulate again. At last +Clearchus opened his eyes and drew a deep breath. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this the Styx?" he asked faintly. "Is the story true then, after +all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," Chares replied, with a laugh. "Your time has not yet come. +You are dreaming." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus turned his head and saw the precipice of the mighty wall, +rising black toward the stars and crowned with the red glow of the +torches. +</P> + +<P> +"Did I dive from there?" he asked wonderingly; "or is that, too, a +dream?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is no dream," Chares replied, "but a deed that will be told +throughout the army for the Companions to envy. Give me the oars, +Nathan; I need exercise." +</P> + +<P> +Nathan yielded the oars, and the tough blades bent as the Theban threw +his weight upon them. The boat sped through the water toward a grove +of trees that stood like a patch of darker shadow on the other shore. +From behind they could hear the clank of levers, and they knew the +river-gate was being opened. Boupares had ordered pursuit; but they +were a mile away before the first of the biremes shot out from the +portal. A few minutes more and they had reached the friendly grove and +entered the mouth of one of the numerous canals which formed a network +through the plain as complicated as the Cretan labyrinth. +</P> + +<P> +"Now let them search," said Nathan. "I would not stand in Boupares' +shoes to-morrow!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap29"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE SLUICE GATE +</H4> + +<P> +Cautiously and in silence they threaded their way from one branch of +the canal to another, through the fields of grain and vegetables that +spread like a vast garden for miles across the low country. Here and +there along the banks were farmers' huts, and occasionally they passed +through the estate of a Persian landowner who followed agriculture as +the noblest pursuit in which a man could engage, according to the +teachings of his religion. In many places the canal was shut in on +both sides by reeds which reached a height of ten, or even fifteen, +feet. +</P> + +<P> +They had proceeded for perhaps two hours and had made so many turns +that the Greeks had long ago lost all idea of direction, when they +reached a cluster of date-palms. Nathan guided the boat to a +landing-place, and they stepped ashore. +</P> + +<P> +"Jonathan, are you there?" he called softly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am here," replied a guarded voice, and from among the trees stood +forth the figure of an old man. "Pull your boat ashore and follow me," +he said briefly. +</P> + +<P> +They lifted the boat out of the canal and concealed it carefully among +the rushes. The old man conducted them along a narrow path which +brought them to a group of farm buildings, among which stood a large +country house. They entered by the rear and passed through several +dark passages until they came to a door, before which Jonathan halted +and knocked. A deep voice from within bade them enter. They found +themselves in a large, dimly lighted room, the walls of which were +lined with cases filled with rolls of papyrus. On a long table stood a +shaded lamp among scattered papyri, half unrolled, and the materials +for writing. +</P> + +<P> +A man of venerable appearance, with a spreading white beard, which +reached his girdle, rose from the table to greet them. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Nehemiah, whose ancestor was Daniel the prophet, viceroy of +Babylon," Nathan said. "These are the Greeks, Clearchus of Athens and +Chares of Thebes, concerning whom I wrote thee," he added, turning to +the old man. +</P> + +<P> +"You are welcome in this house," Nehemiah said gravely. "Jonathan, +bring food and wine." +</P> + +<P> +He gathered the manuscripts tenderly from the table and laid them away, +setting chairs for his guests. While the refreshment was being +prepared Nathan related the adventures of their escape, to which the +old man listened with close attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast done well," Nehemiah said, when Nathan came to the end. "I +have been considering that which thou told me, of the vision of the +viceroy in the third year of Belshazzar, at Susa, by the River Ulai, +and verily do I believe that thou art right. The rough he-goat is come +out of the West, and for the kingdom of Persia, the time of its end is +at hand. I have examined the writings of Daniel, in which, as Gabriel +ordered him, he shut up the vision two hundred years ago. The kingdom +of Israel is bound to the Archæmenian line; but if thou canst win for +thy people the favor of the he-goat, thou mayst be the means of saving +them." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall try," Nathan replied simply. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou wilt understand," Nehemiah continued, addressing himself to +Clearchus, "that if I am to aid you, it must be done in secret. It is +evident that you are in need of rest," he added, glancing at Chares, +who was nodding over the golden goblet that he had emptied. "A hue and +cry will be raised for you, but I think I can keep you safe until you +have gained strength for your long journey." +</P> + +<P> +Having dismissed Jonathan, he took up the lamp and led them to a hidden +chamber in the upper part of the house, where he left them. They fell +asleep at daybreak and woke at nightfall. After they had eaten, +Nehemiah provided them with fresh garments and with horses of the +Nisæan breed, the fleetest in his stable, and gave them weapons. He +also furnished them with money for their flight. +</P> + +<P> +"My men have brought me word from the city of your escape," he said, +"and the Great King is filled with wrath. Ten of the guard were +crucified this morning at the gates; but Boupares so far has not been +arrested. All the court is talking about Clearchus' plunge from the +wall. It is thought that Beltis herself must have borne him up, and it +is even said that the Goddess was seen in the air beside him. Her +priests will make the most of it, and, should you be taken, this may be +turned to account." +</P> + +<P> +"What knowest thou of the pursuit, father?" Nathan asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They have sent out a thousand horsemen to search the plain on this +side of the river," the old man replied. "Thou wilt use caution and +hold to the unfrequented ways until the chase slackens. For the rest, +put thy trust in the Most High. He will save thee out of their hands +if He so wills it. Farewell." +</P> + +<P> +They rode into the night under the stars, bearing away from the river, +and keeping to paths known to Nathan among the reeds and groves. At +frequent intervals they came upon one or another of the canals which +intersected the plain in all directions. Chares and Clearchus were +filled with wonder at the enormous amount of labor that had been +expended in digging the great ditches which carried the water of the +river for irrigating the plain, and at the system of reservoirs by +which it was stored for the dry season. Some of these formed lakes of +considerable size, dammed by great gates built of timber that could be +raised or lowered by means of levers. +</P> + +<P> +As they proceeded westward toward the desert which lay between them and +the land of Israel, the level country was broken by low ridges and +hills, between which wound the canals. Vegetation became less +luxuriant and the houses less frequent. +</P> + +<P> +Twice at the beginning of their ride they heard parties of horsemen +near them, whom they took to be detachments of the searchers. Once +they turned aside into a crossroad just in time to avoid a meeting. +But as they approached nearer to the border between the waste and the +cultivated bottom lands, no sounds reached their ears excepting the +trampling of their own horses, and they began to hope that they had +left their pursuers behind. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me, Clearchus," Chares said, after a period of reflection, "is +there any truth in what they say about you?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" Clearchus replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, about this Beltis, you know. Is it true that you are a modern +Endymion?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know anything about her," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you had more confidence in me," the Theban continued +reproachfully. "If you think I shall say anything about it when we +reach Tyre, you are mistaken. I hope I know enough to hold my tongue +about such delicate matters. Is she as handsome as they say she is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Listen!" whispered Nathan, holding up his hand and drawing rein. +</P> + +<P> +The others came to a halt. They had been riding up a shallow valley +along one of the canals. Beside them rose a low ridge which separated +them from the next depression. Beyond this ridge they could hear the +beating of hoofs and the jingling of bridles. From the sound they +judged that twenty or thirty horsemen were advancing in a direction +parallel to their own. +</P> + +<P> +"The roads join half a mile farther on," Nathan whispered. "It is more +than likely that they will turn back along this one." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we must make a dash for it and get there first," Chares said. +"Come on, I feel as though a race would do me good!" +</P> + +<P> +"We might cross the ridge and fall in behind them," Clearchus suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't spoil sport; and besides, they would surely see us," Chares +replied. "Forward! Is not thy Beltis with us?" +</P> + +<P> +Without waiting for a reply he struck in his spurs and darted forward, +with the others thundering at his heels. The party beyond the ridge, +hearing the hoof-beats, also broke into a gallop, evidently being +acquainted with the fact that the roads converged. Their horses, +however, were no match for the Nisæans. Neck and neck, with long, even +strides, they raced up the road and swept past the meeting point while +the pursuers were still a hundred yards away. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan looked back and recognized the uniform of the palace guard. The +detachment consisted of men who, he knew, were both brave and skilful, +and who would not relinquish the chase while a chance of success +remained. Their numbers made it impossible to think of facing them. +There was nothing for it but to keep on. +</P> + +<P> +Beyond the point where the roads joined the ridges became higher and +steeper, drawing together until there was barely room for the track +beside the canal. It was no longer practicable to leave the valley, +because to climb the acclivity that shut them in on either side would +have been difficult work for a footman, and it was out of the question +for horses. The gorge turned and twisted between the hills. Although +Nathan had never travelled this road before, he drew comfort from the +fact that the canal still flowed sluggishly beside them. It must lead +them eventually, he believed, to more open country. +</P> + +<P> +They had ridden a little more than a mile through this defile, which +seemed once to have been the bed of a stream, when Chares, who was in +the lead, drew up with a cry of dismay. Further progress was barred by +a steep dam of earth and stone. In the middle of the dam was the usual +gate, built of heavy timbers and planks. The water spurted through the +cracks into the bed of the canal. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks as though we should have to make a stand here," the Theban +cried. "We cannot surmount this." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you anxious to die?" Clearchus said. "They would get above us on +the banks and spear us like so many frogs." +</P> + +<P> +Nathan had thrown himself from his horse. He ran to the gate. As he +had expected, he found a narrow foot-path leading upward beside it. +</P> + +<P> +"Come along," he cried. "Here is a way up. Leave the horses where +they are." +</P> + +<P> +Down the valley behind them they could hear the shouting of the guards, +racing with each other in the narrow road in their eagerness to claim +the great reward that Boupares had offered for the capture of the +fugitives. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Chares dismounted and scrambled after Nathan up the path. +Their horses, deserted by their riders in the darkness, neighed shrilly +and strove to follow, digging their hoofs into the sand and gravel, +which fell in showers into the canal. +</P> + +<P> +At the top of the path a large reservoir spread placidly far to the +right and left in a basin surrounded by low hills. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan ran to the gate and knocked out the wooden pins that held it in +place. It rose a few inches, and the water began to gush and gurgle +beneath it. The Israelite seized a lever and thrust it into its notch, +calling to Clearchus and Chares to do the same on the other side. +</P> + +<P> +The pursuit had almost reached the foot of the gate when the leader of +the detachment, a young man with a handsome face, saw that his horse +was splashing through the rising water and realized the danger that +threatened them. He gave a sharp command to halt. He glanced quickly +forward, and then back along the way they had come, as though +considering what course to take. +</P> + +<P> +No time was allowed him for decision. Nathan, Clearchus, and Chares +strained at the levers. +</P> + +<P> +With a sharp creak the heavy gate was loosened, and the flood that +rushed beneath it helped to force it upward. +</P> + +<P> +Roaring angrily, the water foamed into the gorge, filling it from side +to side with a torrent ten feet deep that dashed impatiently against +the walls of the tortuous channel. +</P> + +<P> +The guardsmen had no chance to escape. Like men of straw, they were +lifted, horse and rider together, whirled over and over, and swept down +the valley on the crest of the yellow wave. Their cries were choked in +the rush of the water. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan and Clearchus dropped their levers and stood gazing at the +surface of the turbid stream. Chares joined them. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a pity," he said regretfully. "They deserved a better death. I +wish we could have had a bout with them; but it may be all for the +best. Let them go as a sacrifice to My Lady Beltis. By Dionysus, she +has given us back our horses, too! Look here!" +</P> + +<P> +One of the Nisæans had gained the top of the dam and another was close +behind him. The third had been overtaken by the flood and was +struggling piteously for a foothold with his fore feet. Chares caught +him by the bit and dragged him up to safety. They mounted and struck +off at random among the hills, seeking to get as far away as possible +before daylight should break. +</P> + +<P> +This was the only direct encounter that they had with the soldiers of +the pursuit. Skirting the desert, they made their way northward and +westward until all danger of capture had passed. Once, in seeking to +cross an arm of the sandy waste, they went astray and nearly perished +from thirst. On another occasion they were surrounded by a band of +robbers, from whom they barely escaped. This last adventure took place +on the eastern slope of Mount Amanus on the borders of Cilicia, where +they arrived after a month of wandering. It was here that they began +once more to hear the name of Alexander and to feel the currents of the +mighty storm that was gathering on the flank of the empire of Darius. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap30"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION +</H4> + +<P> +Down from the Phrygian plateau, through a land that glowed with the +touch of autumn, marched the Macedonian host, with Alexander at its +head. On a clear October night the army halted at the foot of the +rugged and forbidding crags of the Taurus. Leonidas with his cavalry +troop followed the young king in the attack upon the Cilician Gates, +which scattered the guard stationed there and opened the way into the +satrapy of Cilicia. +</P> + +<P> +From one of the captives taken at the pass, Alexander learned that the +satrap Arsames had planned to plunder the city of Tarsus and retreat +into Syria with his spoil. While the main body of the troops was still +filing through the pass, he gathered a chosen body of cavalry and light +infantry and swooped like a falcon upon the town. The Spartan rode +that day at the head of his squadron for fifty miles; and Arsames, +abandoning all thought of plunder, deemed himself fortunate to escape +with his garrison. +</P> + +<P> +It was here that Alexander fell ill from bathing in the icy waters of +the Cydnus, and the rumor spread through the army that his life was in +danger. Grief and anxiety pervaded the camp. The toughest of the +veterans, with tears in their eyes, gathered before the house in which +he lay, demanding news of his condition. The physicians came and went +with grave faces and in silence. +</P> + +<P> +Although his fever ran high, Alexander insisted upon receiving his +friends as usual and attending to his affairs. One day came a letter +from Parmenio, who had been sent forward with a strong detachment to +secure the southern pass into Syria through the Amanic range. The +young king read it thoughtfully, and Leonidas noticed that he thrust it +under his pillow without discussing its contents as his custom was. +</P> + +<P> +A conference of the physicians was being held to consider the king's +malady, for it was evident that some decisive measure must be taken if +the fever was to be checked. In this consultation a dispute arose +between Philip of Acarnania and the other physicians. Philip +maintained that a strong remedy should be given, but when he named the +potion that he proposed to administer, his colleagues declared that +they would have no part in it, holding the opinion that the drugs would +surely kill the patient. +</P> + +<P> +Hearing the voices raised in controversy, Alexander demanded the +reason. He called the doctors before him and listened to all they had +to say. +</P> + +<P> +"Will this draught of which you speak enable me to ride Bucephalus in +three days?" he asked of Philip. +</P> + +<P> +"I will answer for it," the Acarnanian replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Compound it, then, for me," the young king said. "When it is ready, I +will take it." +</P> + +<P> +He turned his face away and the physicians left him. During the +interval of waiting he talked with Clitus, Philotas, Leonidas, and +others of his Companions concerning the Trojan war, but, noting their +evident anxiety, he broke off to rally them upon it. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not think," he said, laughing, "that we have come so far and +endured so much to stop here. There is many a campaign yet before us." +</P> + +<P> +When Philip came, bringing an earthen bowl containing a liquid which +steamed with an odor of spices, he raised himself on his couch and drew +Parmenio's letter from under his pillow. As he took the bowl from the +physician, he handed him the letter. +</P> + +<P> +"Read it!" he said quietly, setting the potion to his lips. +</P> + +<P> +With his eyes on Philip he slowly drank the medicine. The physician +glanced at the letter and grew pale, but he returned Alexander's gaze +without flinching. +</P> + +<P> +"Drink and be of good cheer," he said. "I tell thee this after having +read this charge against me." +</P> + +<P> +He returned the letter as he spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"I have drunk already," Alexander replied; and then, turning to Clitus, +he bade him read what Parmenio had written. +</P> + +<P> +"Beware of Philip, your physician," the letter ran. "I am informed +that he hath been bribed by the Great King with the promise of a +thousand talents and the hand of his daughter to poison thee. I beg of +thee to take nothing that he may offer." +</P> + +<P> +Scowling brows were turned toward the physician, who was busying +himself unconcernedly in heaping fresh coverings upon his patient. +</P> + +<P> +"Let no man interfere," Alexander said sternly. "Where I have placed +my trust, no other shall doubt." +</P> + +<P> +This warning was sufficient to restrain the Companions, even when they +saw their leader lying like a dead man beneath the blankets, with +closed lids and a pulse that was scarcely perceptible. But Philip +never moved his watchful eyes from the pale face, and when he saw drops +of perspiration rolling down the forehead a slight smile of +satisfaction appeared upon his lips. His confidence and the faith that +the young king had placed in him had been justified; for an hour later +Alexander came out of his faintness, and, although weak, the fever had +left him. He was able next day to show himself to the soldiers, and a +few days later to lead them against the bandits who infested the +southern part of the province, routing them from their fastnesses and +scattering to the four corners of the earth those who escaped the +sword. On his return he received news that Ptolemy and Astander had +defeated Orontobates and captured the Salmacis and the Royal Citadel of +Halicarnassus. He celebrated this victory and his recovery with +sacrifice and games after the ancient manner. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly across the country like wildfire spread the news that Darius +was approaching with an army so great that none might count its +numbers. When inquiry was made, no man could tell whence the story had +come. Alexander questioned many who were brought before him, but all +gave him the same answer. +</P> + +<P> +"The Great King is coming," they said. "Where he is we know not, nor +when he will be here. All that we can say is that he is on the way, +for the Syrians told us, and they learned it from the travellers and +traders of the South." +</P> + +<P> +Then came a shape of man who had once been a Corinthian. His tongue +had been cut out and his ears and nose shaved away. He could only nod +his head and weep when they asked him of the approach of the Persian +monarch. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander sent for Leonidas. The Spartan came with an impassive face, +and stood awaiting his orders. +</P> + +<P> +"They say Darius is on the march," he said. "Where he is and of what +his army consists, no one can tell me. Choose what men you like and go +to Parmenio at the Syrian Gates, where I purpose to join him with the +army as soon as the march can be made. Find the Persian and bring me +word there of the things that I should know." +</P> + +<P> +"It shall be done," Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +On the evening of the fourth day after the order had been given, +Leonidas, with fifteen men of his troop, whose courage had been tested +in the campaign against the Pisidians, took leave of Parmenio and rode +out upon the rolling plains beyond the Syrian Gates. He had learned +that Darius was at Sochi, two days' march away, but when he arrived +there, he found only hills and fields from which the harvests had been +stripped as if by locusts, and a city where starvation reigned. +</P> + +<P> +Here he learned much of the numbers and character of the host that had +left such a track of desolation. From Sochi he bore away toward the +left and the mountains, and on the third day overtook the Persian +horde, whose camp-fires stretched for miles across the plain. +</P> + +<P> +Although thousands of camp followers and women had been left behind in +Damascus in charge of Cophenes, together with the greater part of the +luxurious equipage of the courtiers, and of the treasure in gold and +silver, which six hundred mules and three hundred camels could scarcely +carry, there still remained an enormous train in the rear of the army. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas soon ascertained everything concerning the army of Darius and +its composition that it was necessary for him to know; but he was +astonished to find that the Great King had passed beyond the Syrian +Gates, near which Alexander had expected to find him, and that he was +still marching northward. This march puzzled the Spartan. It carried +the Persian army each day farther from its base of supplies at +Damascus, and apparently did not give the Great King a better battle +ground than the one he had left behind at Sochi. He determined to keep +the army in sight, at least until he had reached the Amanic Gates. +There was the only other entrance from Syria into Cilicia, and through +them Leonidas planned to carry the information that he had gathered to +Alexander, who would be awaiting him in the southern pass. As the +Persian horde advanced, he found that he was being pressed toward the +wooded slopes of the mountain range. At last, as the enemy showed no +intention of halting, he resolved to strike for the Amanic Gates, not +daring to delay his report longer. +</P> + +<P> +He soon became entangled among the rocky spurs and ravines. At last he +believed that he had reached the pass, and advanced far into the +mountains before some shepherds told him of his mistake. Following +their directions, he crossed a lofty ridge and descended into the true +pass on the evening of the second day after his departure from the +Persian army. Darkness overtook him, and he was forced to encamp +halfway up the precipitous slope of the valley. Before sunrise next +day he roused his men and led them down toward the broad road below, +which followed a watercourse. +</P> + +<P> +In their descent, Leonidas and his men entered a belt of timber that +for a short time hid the road from their view. They burst their way +through the undergrowth, to find themselves face to face with a troop +of horsemen whom Leonidas recognized at once as belonging to the army +of Darius. +</P> + +<P> +"The Persians have entered the pass," was the thought that flashed +through his mind before he considered his own danger. That Darius +would seek to enter Cilicia instead of accepting battle upon the Syrian +plains was a possibility that had never even been discussed in the +Macedonian councils. Leonidas realized that if Alexander had carried +out his plan of marching to the Syrian Gates, far to the southward, the +Persian army was about to place itself between him and the territory +that he had conquered, cutting off his line of retreat. The safety of +the Macedonians might depend upon his reaching Alexander in time to +give him warning. +</P> + +<P> +He gave a rapid glance at the Persians who confronted him. There were +thirty or forty of them. Far below he caught a glimpse of the plain, +where miles of troops, horse and foot, were crawling like ants toward +the pass. The enemy gave him no time to see more. They raised an +exultant shout and dashed upon him with lowered lances. Although +Leonidas and his men fought with desperation, the Spartan realized that +they were not strong enough to hold their ground. The mere weight of +their opponents forced them back, inch by inch, until their horses were +struggling on the brink of the slope to the bed of the stream. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us die where we stand!" Leonidas shouted. "Remember that we are +Greeks! Forward, forward!" +</P> + +<P> +He plunged in among the Persians, thrusting at their faces, and his men +were enabled to gain a few feet in the space that he had cleared. The +relief was only momentary, for the Persians surrounded them on three +sides and the chasm was in their rear. +</P> + +<P> +The captain of the Persian troop had not mingled in the contest. +Hovering in the background, he urged on his men, taking care to keep +out of danger. Leonidas saw him as he wheeled, raising his arm to give +a command. The sun flashed upon the glittering links of his gilded +corselet. The Spartan hurled his lance at the mark with all the +strength in his body. Straight flew the point of steel and split the +brazen links, like a bolt from a catapult. The captain toppled from +his horse and lay with his face in the dust. It was a final effort. A +few moments more and all would be over. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly from the glen out of which Leonidas and his men had emerged +rode a man upon a powerful black charger. In his hand he carried a +lance of unusual length. His yellow hair tossed about his shoulders, +and his blue eyes turned eagerly toward the righting. +</P> + +<P> +"Leonidas!" he shouted. "Strike home! We are here!" +</P> + +<P> +Behind him rode two companions. At sight of them the Spartan's brow +cleared. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares! Clearchus!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +Their coming turned the tide of the conflict. The Persians, ignorant +of how many more might be following them, turned and fled down the pass +before the new arrivals could strike a blow. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas embraced his friends. Of the Greeks who had fallen, only one, +a young man of Caria, who had been stunned by a blow from a mace, was +still alive. Clearchus caught his horse, and they lifted him upon its +back. +</P> + +<P> +"What brings you here?" Chares asked of Leonidas. "Where is Alexander?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I will tell you later," the Spartan replied. "Look yonder!" +</P> + +<P> +He pointed over the tree-tops on the lower slopes at the innumerable +host that was creeping toward the mountain side. +</P> + +<P> +"The Persians are about to cross the pass," he said. "Alexander and +the army are in danger of being cut off, and we alone can save them." +</P> + +<P> +"If Darius crosses the pass, it will be in our footsteps," Chares said. +"Let us be off." +</P> + +<P> +Of the men who had followed Leonidas down the mountain at daybreak, +only four remained. +</P> + +<P> +"Lead on, Leonidas," Clearchus said. "You are in command again." +</P> + +<P> +The Spartan turned his horse's head up the pass and the others fell in +behind him. They rode unchallenged, for the defile had not yet been +occupied by the Persian force. From every new elevation they could see +the endless lines of infantry and cavalry slowly drawing together far +below them, until they passed at noon through a narrow way between +lofty and beetling cliffs, and saw Cilicia lying before them, with the +blue horizon of the sea in the distant southwest. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap31"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED +</H4> + +<P> +In the second watch of the night, the Macedonian outposts challenged +four men whose horses were flecked with foam. The strangers came from +the direction of Issus, along the narrow and rugged road that led +southward through the Syrian Gates, between the mountains and the sea. +Alexander had led his army that day through the pass, and it was +encamped at Myriandrus. In the moonlight the sentinels saw that the +strangers were grimy with dust and that their faces were grim and gray +with fatigue. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Leonidas, of the Companions," said one of the riders who seemed +to be the leader. "Lead me to the general in charge." +</P> + +<P> +They were conducted to Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who immediately +recognized Leonidas. He greeted Chares and Clearchus with surprise. +The Spartan led him aside. +</P> + +<P> +"Darius is at Issus," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Ptolemy stared at him incredulously. +</P> + +<P> +"The Persians behind us!" he exclaimed. "You must be dreaming!" +</P> + +<P> +"No," Leonidas replied. "All day we have fled before them." +</P> + +<P> +"The king must know at once," Ptolemy said. "Follow me." +</P> + +<P> +He led the way through the sleeping camp to Alexander's tent, in which +a lamp was burning. A sentinel stood before it in full armor. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your business?" he demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"I must speak with the king," Ptolemy replied. +</P> + +<P> +"The king left orders that he must not be disturbed. Wait until the +morning," the man said calmly. +</P> + +<P> +"I will take the responsibility," Ptolemy retorted angrily. "Stand +aside!" +</P> + +<P> +"You cannot pass," the soldier answered, without moving. +</P> + +<P> +"What is this?" Alexander inquired, raising the curtain of the tent. +He held in his hand a copy of the Iliad, in which he had been reading. +"Is it you, Ptolemy—and Leonidas? Enter." +</P> + +<P> +They followed him into the tent, which contained nothing save his +weapons and a couch spread upon the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus and Chares back again!" the young king cried in a tone of +satisfaction. "You have much to tell me; but first I must hear what +Leonidas brings." +</P> + +<P> +"Darius and his army have passed the Amanic Gates and are now at +Issus," Leonidas said briefly. +</P> + +<P> +The smile left Alexander's lips. +</P> + +<P> +"How many men has he?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Five hundred thousand, of whom thirty thousand are mercenaries of +Greek blood," Leonidas answered. +</P> + +<P> +"They are in our rear," Alexander said, half to himself. He began to +pace backward and forward, with his hands behind his back and his head +inclined slightly toward his left shoulder. Although the startling +news brought to him by the Spartan had taken him wholly by surprise, +his decision was swift. Before he had made three turnings, his entire +plan of campaign had been changed. +</P> + +<P> +"The Gods have delivered them into our hands!" he said in a tone of +conviction. "I dared not expect such good fortune. In the narrow +plain of Issus, their army will defeat itself. The victory is ours." +</P> + +<P> +His face was radiant and he spoke joyously, like a man whose mind has +been relieved of a great anxiety; but his eyes were fastened upon the +face of Ptolemy. Alexander had not failed to note the expression of +apprehension that his lieutenant wore. He saw it vanish before the +warmth of his own confidence. He felt that he would be able to avert +any feeling of panic that might arise in the army at the unexpected +turn of events. +</P> + +<P> +"This is good news you bring," he said to Leonidas, "and I am repaid +for waiting." +</P> + +<P> +He glanced sharply at the sunken eyes and bloodless lips of the Spartan +and spoke to the sentinel. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell them to bring food and wine at once," he commanded. +</P> + +<P> +The young king's eyes fell upon Nathan, apparently for the first time. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is this?" he asked. "Come forward." +</P> + +<P> +The Israelite had been standing in the background, watching Alexander's +face with a gaze of peculiar intensity. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Nathan, who led us captive from Halicarnassus," Clearchus +replied. "He saved us when we were condemned to death in Babylon, and +his aid enabled us to assist Leonidas in escaping from the Persians so +as to bring you his news. He wishes to take service under you, and at +your leisure to tell you of certain prophecies concerning you that were +inspired by the God of Israel." +</P> + +<P> +"It is well," Alexander said. "He will serve with you and Chares in +the squadron that Leonidas commands. Ptolemy, send a thousand of your +men to hold the pass behind us, until we come." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander insisted that the young men should eat the food that was +brought into the tent in obedience to his order. While they were +satisfying their hunger, he plied them with questions concerning Darius +and his army, the character of his men and their commanders, and the +formation and resources of the country about Babylon. It was late when +he finally permitted them to retire. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning Alexander called a general council of his leaders to +impart to them the information that Leonidas had brought. He gave it +without comment, foreseeing that its first effect would be to arouse +uncertainty and dismay that must be overcome before the men would be +fit for battle. +</P> + +<P> +The council was held in the open air in front of Alexander's tent. +There came the captains of the Companions and of the phalanx and the +generals of the allies. About them pressed the rank and file of the +army, curious to learn the cause of the summons. Parmenio stood beside +Alexander, his furrowed face grave with thought. +</P> + +<P> +All eyes were turned upon the countenance of the young king, glowing +with confidence and enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +"Darius and his army are behind you, at Issus," he announced. "I have +called you together to learn your opinions as to what we should do. +Let each speak freely." +</P> + +<P> +For a moment the soldiers stood in silence, looking doubtfully at each +other. Then a murmur of uneasiness rose among them. They had expected +to find the enemy on the Syrian plains, and behold, he was in their +rear. +</P> + +<P> +"Parmenio," Alexander said, "what is your mind?" +</P> + +<P> +"We must fight," the old general replied, carefully and slowly. "The +Persians are between us and our homes. They can enslave the Greek +cities of the coast that we have set free. But they are so many that +they cannot wait. Hunger will force them to attack us on our own +ground. Let us wait until that time comes and then give them battle." +</P> + +<P> +His words caused a brief stir of approval, but the great mass of men +remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your advice, Ptolemy, son of Lagus?" Alexander demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"It is true that Darius is in our rear," Ptolemy responded, "but it is +also true that we are between him and his empire, that we have come to +conquer. Let us march upon Babylon and take the city. The road lies +open before us." +</P> + +<P> +A shout arose and a clashing of swords upon shields. It was evident +that Ptolemy's rashness found more favor than Parmenio's caution. +</P> + +<P> +One after another the generals and captains gave their opinions, some +agreeing with the older leader and some with the younger. When all had +spoken Alexander seemed to meditate for a moment. +</P> + +<P> +"O men of Hellas!" he cried, raising his head and looking into their +eyes, "we came to avenge the ancient wrongs that these barbarians +inflicted upon our fathers. Remember Darius, son of Hystaspes; how he +brought his ships to your coasts and was defeated at Marathon. +Remember Xerxes and the victory of Salamis. Never in the memory of man +have we been free from Persian attack; and when they no longer dared to +face us, they have sent their gold to corrupt our leaders and turn us +one against the other. For these insults and injuries, their empire is +forfeit; for the Gods have grown weary of their treachery. +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened when we met them, sword in hand? In the long list +of their attacks upon us, they have had nothing but defeat. Did not +the Ten Thousand march to the very gates of Babylon? +</P> + +<P> +"I say to you that the Gods have wearied of the barbarian. We were +marching to meet Darius upon the plain, where the vast number of his +army might have encompassed us. We were willing to allow him to choose +his own ground, but the Gods would not have it so. They have blinded +his eyes and led him to us almost as a sacrifice. Nothing remains but +to strike the blow. +</P> + +<P> +"O men of Macedon, my friends and companions, liberators of Greece, the +hour of our triumph is near. At the Granicus we overthrew the army of +a viceroy; now we are to meet the army of the Great King himself. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Persia that awaits our onset at Issus. There have the Gods +assembled the might and power of the empire and it stands like corn +ripe for the reaper. The sheaves of this harvest shall be of gold that +the barbarians have gathered for us as bees gather honey. +</P> + +<P> +"Heroes of Hellas! from your iron hands none can wrest victory unless +you will it! For yourselves and your children you are about to win +fame that shall endure through the ages. I have never led you to +defeat, and now I promise you the victory!" +</P> + +<P> +Dead silence reigned while Alexander artfully made his appeal to the +immemorial hatred of Persia, pointed out the advantage that Darius had +given them, and raised the hope of fame and spoil. As he finished, a +cry rent the air that showed he knew his men. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander! Alexander!" they shouted. "Lead us!" +</P> + +<P> +With swelling hearts, the generals and captains pressed forward to +grasp his hand and swear to lay down their lives for him. He greeted +them each by name, reminding them of their bravest deeds and making +each man feel that the result of the battle might depend upon him +alone. The council broke up, spreading its enthusiasm through the +camp. On all sides the soldiers fell to polishing their weapons and +boasting of what they would do when they faced the army of Darius. +</P> + +<P> +That day was devoted to preparation. Alexander had sent a scouting +party of picked men to sail up the coast and learn the disposition of +the enemy's force. This expedition returned at nightfall and reported +that the wounded and invalid soldiers who had been left in Issus had +been cruelly slain by order of Darius and their bodies impaled along +the shore. Rage filled the army at this news and hardened the resolve +of the men to die rather than forego their victory and revenge. +</P> + +<P> +The trumpets sounded at the first flush of dawn, and by sunrise the +army was flowing back through the Syrian Gates to the field where the +fate of the world was to be decided. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap32"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE WORLD AT STAKE +</H4> + +<P> +With the sea on their left and the mountain cliffs on their right, +Clearchus and Nathan rode on either side of Chares in the front rank of +the squadron of Companion cavalry commanded by Leonidas. The crisp +November air and the excitement of the coming battle made their blood +tingle and raised their spirits to a pitch of reckless gayety. The +Spartan rode in advance, without turning his head or moving a muscle +under the fire of jokes that Chares directed at him. +</P> + +<P> +Presently the cliffs ended and the mountain barrier curved away inland, +leaving a plain of greensward and shingle, flooded with sunlight. +</P> + +<P> +"There they are!" Clearchus cried eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +Straight before them, perhaps three miles away, they saw a confused +mass of gleaming banners and the glint of countless spears. The +shallow Pinarus, flowing down from the mountains, rippled across the +level, and on its further bank, where the ground was high, the Great +King had taken his stand. For a mile and a half, from the hills to the +sea, the plain was blocked by a living rampart, gay with the pomp of +Oriental splendor. +</P> + +<P> +As the squadrons of Macedonian cavalry emerged from the pass, they +wheeled to the right and formed their line close to the lower slopes of +the mountain. +</P> + +<P> +"Here come the men of Thessaly," Chares cried. +</P> + +<P> +Their plumes fluttering in the breeze, the Thessalian horse poured out +of the pass and ranged themselves behind the Companions. +</P> + +<P> +Then the phalanx appeared, marching rank after rank, with the precision +of a machine. The lancers under Protomachus and Aristo's Pæonians, who +had been thrown forward in advance of the cavalry, raised a shout as +the scarred veterans, each holding his long sarissa erect and bearing +his heavy shield across his shoulder, followed the proud Agema. +</P> + +<P> +While the phalanx was forming on the left of the cavalry there was a +movement among the Persians. +</P> + +<P> +"They are coming!" Chares shouted. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Nathan saw a large body of horse and foot advance across +the river. Although in numbers they exceeded the entire Macedonian +army, their departure from the main body of the Persians seemed to make +no diminution in its size. They halted as soon as they had crossed the +stream and from the host beyond came the bray of trumpets and the +hoarse murmur of many voices. +</P> + +<P> +"They are taking their positions," Nathan said. "They will not attack." +</P> + +<P> +His conjecture proved correct, for in half an hour the troops that had +advanced fell back again across the river through openings that had +been left for them in the wings of the main force, and the glittering +front of the Persian army was revealed, drawn up in battle array. +</P> + +<P> +The Macedonians had continued to advance slowly across the plain, +forming as they went, so that only half a mile now separated them from +the Persians. Nathan's eyes sought the centre of the enemy's line. +</P> + +<P> +"There he is!" he exclaimed, pointing with his finger. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus followed the direction he indicated and saw a blotch of +variegated color, above which fluttered many standards. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is it?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Darius," Nathan replied. "You can see his Medean robe of +purple—there, just beneath that golden banner." +</P> + +<P> +"What troop is that about him?" inquired Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"They are the princes and the nobles of the court," the Israelite +answered. "Oxathres, the Great King's brother commands them." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder whether Phradates is there!" Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so!" Chares exclaimed, in a voice that came from his heart. +</P> + +<P> +"There, in front of Darius, are his Greek mercenaries," Nathan +continued. "Leonidas told the truth when he said there were thirty +thousand of them. Those heavy-armed troops on each side of the centre +are the Cardaces. And, look, there is the cavalry, there on the beach. +That is the flower of the Persian army. Nabazarnes leads it." +</P> + +<P> +"We met some of those blossoms at the Granicus," Chares remarked. "It +did not take them long to wither; but there is a whole garden of them +yonder, and our line seems rather slender compared with theirs." +</P> + +<P> +The Persian horse was massed on the smooth, hard beach in an enormous +wedge which looked as though it might be able, by weight alone, to +scatter the squadrons of Greek cavalry under Parmenio which were +opposing it on the left wing of the Macedonian army. Evidently this +discrepancy had struck the attention of Alexander, for, while Chares +spoke, the Thessalians quietly left their places in the line and +trotted around behind the phalanx to reënforce the allies. +</P> + +<P> +"There goes the sickle that will reap the roses of Darius," Chares +said, gazing after them longingly. "Phœbus! I wish I were with +them!" +</P> + +<P> +"You will find plenty to do here," Clearchus said. "There are a few +men over there on the hill who will have to be cared for." +</P> + +<P> +He pointed to the slope on the right, where some twenty thousand of the +Cardaces were drawn up, far in advance of the Persian line, near the +foot of the mountain. +</P> + +<P> +"They intend to try our flank when we advance," the Theban observed. +"I didn't know the Persians had so much sense." +</P> + +<P> +"They are going to get a little exercise first," Clearchus said as the +flare of trumpets sounded down the line. +</P> + +<P> +Immediately a body of light-armed foot-soldiers and cavalry detached +itself from the right wing and advanced up the hill toward the +Cardaces. The eyes of both armies were upon them and a cheer ran along +the Macedonian ranks, from the hillside to the sea. +</P> + +<P> +The Cardaces wavered slightly. They had evidently not expected so +prompt an attack. The leaders of the Macedonian force could be seen +riding or running in advance of the various divisions, and the men +followed as steadily as though the charge were merely an exercise +drill. They paused to send a flight of arrows and stones among the +Cardaces, who, being armed only with lances and swords, had no means of +replying. To charge down the hill meant that they would be annihilated +by the Macedonian army. To remain where they were was to be slain +piecemeal by the darts and arrows. They began to retire slowly upward +out of the zone of fire. +</P> + +<P> +Their retreat was greeted from the Macedonian lines by a roar that +sounded like the booming of the surf upon the rocks. The peltasts and +archers continued to press them until they had been forced into a +position where they were no longer a menace to the rear of the army. +The light-armed troops were then recalled, leaving two squadrons of +Companions, containing about three hundred men, to hold the twenty +thousand in check if they should attempt a charge. They performed the +task imposed upon them. Nothing more was heard of the isolated +Cardaces that day. +</P> + +<P> +As the detachment returned down the hill and resumed its place in the +ranks, the commotion in the long, thin line that stretched away to the +sea gradually ceased. The soldiers stood motionless behind their +captains. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander, riding Bucephalus, gave his final commands to Parmenio on +the beach where the Thessalians waited with the allied cavalry to meet +the attack of the Persian horse. Then he turned and came slowly up +along the line, drawing rein here and there to speak a word of +confidence and encouragement. His double white plume floated over his +shoulders, and the sunlight flashed upon his coat of mail. +</P> + +<P> +When he reached the right wing he addressed the Companions with his +familiar smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not forget," he said, "that a part of your accustomed duty is to +set an example to the rest. I shall lead the Agema. Keep near me, for +I may need you. Whether we win or lose, let it be with glory." +</P> + +<P> +He turned his face toward the Persians and scanned with care the dense +masses of troops who stood waiting beyond the Pinarus, in lines so deep +that he could not see their rear. His eyes lingered upon the centre, +where Darius, his rival for the mastery of the world, was standing. On +the left of the Great King, the course of the stream bent backward, and +the formation of the Persian army followed its course. The left of the +Greek mercenaries, upon whom Darius relied to win the battle, rested in +this elbow of the river. +</P> + +<P> +"There is the vital spot," Alexander said. "If we can gain a foothold +on that bank, have no fear of what may happen elsewhere. It will be +easier than it was at the Granicus." +</P> + +<P> +"The cavalry is coming," said Clitus, pointing toward the beach. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander turned and saw the gayly caparisoned squadrons of the Persian +right dashing into the river. The foam splashed about the knees of the +horses and a forest of lances waved and tossed in the air. +</P> + +<P> +"There is work for Parmenio," the young king remarked as the head of +the column gained the shore. +</P> + +<P> +He glanced once more along the Persian front, but the movement on the +beach did not extend to the main force. It was clear that Darius +intended to compel him to begin the infantry battle. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander cantered down to the right of the phalanx, where he +dismounted and placed himself at the head of the Agema. On the beach +the Thessalians met the shock of the tremendous body of cavalry that +had been launched against them. The impact bore them back, but even +that rushing avalanche of horses and men could not break them. It +dashed against their wall of steel, recoiled, and rolled on again, in +successive waves, continually strengthened from the rear as fresh +squadrons crossed the stream. +</P> + +<P> +The Macedonian line quivered with eagerness. A page darted from +Alexander's side along the front of the phalanx and spoke a word to +Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Another sped to the Companions. +</P> + +<P> +"Advance," he cried, "and charge when the king leads! This is the +order!" +</P> + +<P> +"Here we go!" cried Chares, clapping Nathan on the back with a blow +that nearly hurled him from his horse. "Stick to Leonidas! He will +find the best of the fighting for us, or we will drown him in the +river!" +</P> + +<P> +"The phalanx is moving!" Clearchus cried with shining eyes. +</P> + +<P> +A dull throbbing beat through the air and the heavy centre started +slowly forward, each man touching the arm of his neighbor and keeping +step in parade order. The cadence of voices began to mingle with the +drum beat and the wild music of the trumpets. +</P> + +<P> +As they advanced, Clearchus gazed eagerly at the Persian line, every +nerve stretched to the point of physical pain. He saw in the centre +the ranks of the Greek mercenaries, ten times as deep as those of the +phalanx, standing grim and motionless, in strange contrast with the +restless flutter of the heterogeneous masses that surrounded them on +three sides. He blushed to think that, when Persia stood at bay, +Greeks could be found to range themselves with her against their own +country. The thought passed through his mind that Alexander was right +after all, and that Demosthenes and those who aided him to fan the +flame of hostility to Macedon at home were really acting the part of +traitors, not only to Athens, but to all Greece. +</P> + +<P> +He turned his eyes to Alexander, whose plumes shone in the front rank +of the Agema. This had now almost reached the Pinarus. Suddenly from +the phalanx rose the deep-toned pæan, summoning the Gods of Hellas to +protect their own. The mighty chant drowned the throbbing of the drums +and the uproar of the battle on the beach. As it rose and swelled, it +filled the plain and rolled back in echoes from the mountain sides. +There was something in it stern and inflexible, that thrilled +Clearchus' heart and lifted him to the plane of self-forgetfulness. +</P> + +<P> +The Agema reached the river. The pæan gave way to a wild shout as the +slow advance of the phalanx changed to a rush, and the Macedonian line +dashed into the rain of javelins, darts, and arrows that was poured +upon it from the Persian side of the stream. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap33"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHESTNUT MARE +</H4> + +<P> +The phalanx swept into the shallow bed of the river. The Greek +mercenaries who confronted it on the western bank, nerved by the hope +of gaining the immense reward promised by the Great King, and knowing +that his eyes were upon them, met its shock with courage. Clearchus +heard the fierce shouts with which they closed and saw the line of the +phalanx bend and sway as it pressed upward to gain a foothold. +</P> + +<P> +"Hot work," cried Chares, who was galloping beside him. "By Zeus, the +king leads!" +</P> + +<P> +Alexander, surrounded by young men whose hearts were as high as his +own, struck the left of the stubborn mercenary line where the curve in +the river half exposed its flank. The Agema split its way in between +the files, tearing asunder everything before it. +</P> + +<P> +"Follow the Whirlwind!" shouted Clearchus; but his voice was lost in +the wild cry of the charge. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus was conscious of being carried swiftly forward without +guidance or volition of his own. The water of the Pinarus splashed in +his face. A blaze of color spread confusedly before his eyes where the +Persians stood awaiting the charge on the terrace above. An arrow +struck his breast and rebounded from his armor. Javelins fell all +around him. +</P> + +<P> +"Now!" he heard the voice of Chares shouting. "Now for it!" and his +horse began scrambling up the bank with the others. +</P> + +<P> +On his right and left the Companions rushed upward like a torrent. He +grasped his lance more firmly, but he had no occasion to use it. The +Persians gave way, crumpling back upon each other in a disordered mob. +Behind them in vain their captains plied the terrible knotted whips +with which they sought to hold the men to their work. +</P> + +<P> +Showers of darts and arrows continued to fall from the rear, striking +friend and foe without distinction, but the Persian troops who were +directly exposed to the Macedonian attack huddled together like sheep. +They were prevented from fleeing only by the fact that they were hemmed +in by the dense ranks of their own host. Through them the Companions +raged at will, clearing a space into which the archers and slingers +pressed with shouts of triumph. +</P> + +<P> +Above the turmoil the Macedonian trumpets rang out high and clear, and, +in obedience to their command, the Companions swerved to the left, +leaving the light-armed troops to hold what they had gained. Clearchus +saw that their charge had torn away the support from the left of the +Greek mercenary cohorts, leaving them wholly unprotected. He caught +sight of the Agema and the other hypaspists, struggling hand to hand +with the mercenaries, and beyond them the phalanx, which he was +surprised to find had not yet succeeded in gaining a lodgement on the +west bank of the river. +</P> + +<P> +"There's something worth fighting," Chares cried to Nathan, waving his +lance at the mercenaries. "They are Greeks," he added proudly. "Come +on, and we will show you what a real battle is like." +</P> + +<P> +The Companions had partially regained the order which they had lost in +the charge. They now faced the mercenary flank at right angles to the +front of both armies. Again the trumpet notes launched them forward. +Again the wild cheer arose, ending in a grinding shock. The momentum +of the charge carried the Companions far into the exposed flank of the +mercenaries; but this time no panic and no yielding followed. Although +hard pressed in front by the furious and unremitting onslaught of the +Agema and the hypaspists, where Clearchus again caught the gleam of +Alexander's floating plumes, the hirelings stood their ground until +death overcame them. Facing half about, they met as well as they could +the attack of the Companions to which the cowardice of their allies had +laid them open. But not even their courage could save them, +unsupported and without generalship as they were, from the impetuous +determination of Alexander. +</P> + +<P> +Into the living wall the Macedonians hewed their way, foot by foot. +Alexander raged like a tiger, knowing that here the battle was to be +lost or won. The phalanx was all but broken. Away on the beach the +Thessalians had been borne back by the impenetrable masses of the +Persian cavalry and were holding the enemy in check only by a series of +desperate and reckless charges. At that moment Darius was triumphant +everywhere excepting at the bloody curve in the river where Alexander +led in person. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to Clearchus that for hours they were locked in that +desperate struggle without being able to advance. His lance was broken +and the hand in which he held his sword was numb. Beside him he saw +the broad shoulders of Chares heave and fall as he delivered his blows. +The lust of battle seemed to flame in the Theban's veins like a fever. +Again and again the mercenaries leaped upon him to pull him down. His +sword was everywhere. +</P> + +<P> +"He is mad!" thought Clearchus, and so indeed he seemed. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan fought beside him, cool and wary, parrying and thrusting with +sinews of steel. His eyes glowed with excitement held in check, and a +flush tinged the sunburned olive of his cheek. +</P> + +<P> +Little by little, the Companions worked their way toward the +hypaspists, until at last the cavalry and the foot fought side by side, +with Alexander at their head. So fierce was the conflict that flesh +and blood could not long sustain it. The flank attack finally threw +the left of the mercenaries into confusion, which gradually extended +until the ranks that opposed the phalanx began to waver. A mighty +quiver ran through the hireling force. Its resistance weakened and it +gave ground. +</P> + +<P> +With a wild shout the phalanx rushed up the river bank. The mercenary +lines were hurled backward. The wall was broken. +</P> + +<P> +Among the swirling eddies of men and plunging horses, Clearchus found +himself close to Alexander. He saw the young king, sword in hand, his +armor dimmed with dust and blood, pause for a moment with heaving +breast to note the final charge of the phalanx. As soon as he saw the +straightened lines and caught sight of the sarissas rising above the +river bank, followed by the grim faces of his veterans, he turned and +directed his gaze in the opposite direction, toward Darius. +</P> + +<P> +The Great King had not shifted his ground since the beginning of the +battle. He still stood, erect and proud, in the golden chariot with +its four white steeds, whose jewelled bridles were held by slaves. His +long robe, in folds of lustrous purple, floated from his shoulders. In +his hand he held an idle bow, inlaid with pearl. He looked unmoved +upon the slaughter that was going on before his eyes, but when the +mercenary line gave way, he turned to his brother Oxathres. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that the courage of which these Greeks boast so much?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +Oxathres shrugged his shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"They are dogs," he replied. "Wait until the Macedonian has spent his +strength upon them, and we will show him what it is to meet Persian +steel. Look yonder, O king!" +</P> + +<P> +He waved his hand toward the sea beach, where the Persian cavalry had +pushed Parmenio and the Thessalians back from the river's mouth. +</P> + +<P> +"So will we do to them here," he said contemptuously. +</P> + +<P> +A cupbearer brought Darius a goblet, gleaming with precious stones and +filled with the wine that only the royal lips might taste. The Great +King drank it deliberately and turned again to the battle. +</P> + +<P> +"What is that handful of horsemen there on the left?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They are called the Companion cavalry," Oxathres answered. "They are +said to be brave men." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is leading them?" Darius asked again. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander, who wears the white plumes," his brother replied. "He is +mounting. They are about to charge." +</P> + +<P> +"Will he dare to attack us here?" Darius queried anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Grant, O Beltis, that he may!" Oxathres said fervently. "Then we +shall have him at our mercy." +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do with him when he has been captured?" Darius asked. +</P> + +<P> +"O king, may you live forever!" Oxathres exclaimed. "Many have fallen +this day. Crucify him beside his fellow-robbers on the shore as a +warning to all the world." +</P> + +<P> +"Could I so treat a king?" Darius asked doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou couldst treat him so, for he is no true king," Oxathres urged. +"Thou knowest the stories of his birth." +</P> + +<P> +"So then shall it be," Darius said. "Give the necessary orders." +</P> + +<P> +At that moment the steward of the king's household forced his way +through the nobles and prostrated himself, kissing the dust before the +chariot. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak," Darius commanded. +</P> + +<P> +"O king of kings!" the man said, "Sisygambis, thy mother, and the Queen +Statira sent me to know if thou wert safe, and to ask when thou wilt +return to them." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell them to have no fear," Darius said confidently. "Let them make +ready to attend the banquet in my pavilion at the going down of the +sun." +</P> + +<P> +Darius glanced again at the Companions, who were forming for the charge +under cover of the advancing phalanx, and let his eyes sweep slowly +over his own forces. Around him stood princes and governors of +provinces, satraps, viceroys, and generals. His personal guard of ten +thousand horse was drawn up on either side, while in front of him, so +disposed as not to obstruct his view of the battle, were ranged the +Immortals, ten thousand of the bravest soldiers of his empire. +</P> + +<P> +In an open space behind his chariot stood a group of white-robed +priests around a massive altar of silver from which rose the pale blue +perfumed smoke of the eternal fire. Mithra, Darius believed, would +never forsake his votaries or permit his fire to be extinguished. +</P> + +<P> +"They are coming," the Great King said tranquilly, having completed his +inspection. "Look, Oxathres, Baal has stricken them with madness!" +</P> + +<P> +He leaned forward in his chariot, fixing his eyes upon the white plumes +that his brother had said distinguished his rival. Between him and the +Macedonians stood a solid barrier of men, every one of whom was ready +to die if by so doing he could save his master so much as a scratch. +</P> + +<P> +"If they will persist in their folly," Oxathres said, "let them come." +</P> + +<P> +The Companions tore their way through the remnant of the mercenary +line. Onward they came, trampling and scattering a squadron of Scyths +as if their weapons had been the toys of children. They reached the +Immortals. Darius drew a breath of relief. There they must stop at +last. +</P> + +<P> +But no! The white plumes still advanced, and behind them came a +widening stream of horses and men. It seemed as though nothing could +stand against them. The Immortals were scattered like chaff from a +threshing-floor. +</P> + +<P> +Oxathres changed color. He turned and spoke to his trumpeter. The +brazen note that followed warned the nobles to make ready for a charge. +The heart of many a silk-robed courtier who had been boasting all day +of the deeds he would do when his chance came grew sick at the sound. +The time had come. +</P> + +<P> +Darius hastily dismounted from his heavy chariot, leaving his mantle +behind him, and took his place in another chariot, drawn by two horses +only and more easily manageable. At a sign from Oxathres, a groom +advanced, leading a beautiful chestnut mare, who tossed her head with +distended nostrils, neighing for her foal, which had purposely been +left behind beyond the Amanic Gates in Syria. The groom took his place +in silence beside the chariot. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I lead the charge?" Darius asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy servants beg of thee not to deprive them of the glory that awaits +them," Oxathres replied. +</P> + +<P> +Darius waved his hand in assent. Already the nobles in the outer +circle of the royal guard were struggling for their lives with the +Companions. The charge had been delayed too long and there was no time +now to make it. Nothing was left but defence. +</P> + +<P> +Darius saw the white plume tossing like a fleck of foam on the crest of +an advancing wave. He fitted an arrow to his bow and drew it to the +head. The loosened shaft struck the satrap Arsames and passed through +his body. +</P> + +<P> +Princes and nobles fought breast to breast with the sons of Macedonian +herdsmen. There was no longer question of rank or power, of birth or +riches, but only of who had the braver heart and the stronger arm. The +eminence on which the Great King had posted himself to witness the +punishment of the invaders at his leisure was clothed in slaughter. +His favorites were rolling in the dust under the feet of their maddened +horses. For the first time in his life, the monarch looked in the face +of peril, and his spirit quailed before the test. +</P> + +<P> +Out of the struggle Oxathres came galloping, breathless and with blood +upon his armor. +</P> + +<P> +"Save thyself, brother!" he cried, forgetting the royal titles in his +haste. "The battle is lost! Mount and fly while there is yet time!" +</P> + +<P> +Darius sprang from his chariot and threw himself upon the back of the +chestnut mare, whose silken flanks trembled with excitement. A bound +and she was beside the smoking altar, from which the priests had +already fled. In her ears rang the anxious call of her foal, and the +brute instinct of her mother-love saved that day the King of Kings, who +was leaving his own wife and children and the queen his mother to the +mercy of his enemies. +</P> + +<P> +Straight as an arrow, leaping every obstacle that came in her way, the +mare darted through the confused squadrons of the reserves toward the +Amanic Gates. Behind her thundered prince and satrap, each intent upon +saving himself at whatever cost. +</P> + +<P> +"The king flees! The king flees!" The cry rose in a hundred tongues +throughout the Persian host. The tens of thousands of troops who had +not been called upon to strike a blow because there had been no room +for them in the fighting line melted away as if by magic. The plain +was filled with men streaming toward the mountains or the sea, seeking +some place of refuge. Here a body of Scyths, clad in shuggy skins, +retreated sullenly; there a band of dark-skinned Libyans ran like a +herd of frightened cattle, casting away their clubs and stone-tipped +spears; Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, Assyrians, fled in panic, each man +seeking to place his neighbor behind him. Collisions were frequent, +and more than one unfortunate was hacked down because he stood in the +way of some savage comrade in arms. +</P> + +<P> +The men who were actually engaged in fighting did not at first perceive +that they were being left to their fate. As soon as they discovered +the desertion of the reserves, many of them threw down their weapons +and sued for mercy. A portion of the Greek mercenaries alone +maintained a semblance of discipline, though broken into several +bodies. They fell back, still facing their enemies, toward the +seashore, in search of ships to carry them away. +</P> + +<P> +To the Persian cavalry, that had borne back Parmenio, the news of +defeat came last of all. They alone still held an advantage, and it +was bitter for them to be forced to abandon it. But without support +they were powerless. The phalanx wheeled in upon them, threatening to +drive them into the sea. Finally they too relinquished hope and joined +the rout. +</P> + +<P> +Then through all the plain and up the mountain slopes rode squadrons of +Macedonian horse, cutting down the fugitives. The Thessalians there +took merciless revenge for their losses. The earth was encumbered with +corpses. +</P> + +<P> +When the trumpets at nightfall recalled the scattered and weary bands +of executioners, nothing of the vast army of Darius remained on the +plain excepting the spoil and the dead, over whom the jackals snarled +and howled. And down the Syrian slope of the pass, bathed in sweat, +galloped the fleet-limbed chestnut mare, with Darius upon her back. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap34"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS +</H4> + +<P> +On the night after the battle, rough soldiers of the phalanx slept in +garments of fine wool wrought with gold, clasping in their hands +necklaces of jewels in which the glow of the camp-fires danced and +flashed. Chares had decked himself in a long cloak of scarlet, upon +which strange patterns were worked in silver. A collar of emeralds +encircled his arm, and bracelets of gold gleamed upon his wrists. +</P> + +<P> +"These are for Thais," he said proudly, opening a strip of linen and +displaying to Clearchus a collection of gems that sparkled with varying +hues. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a barbarian at heart," the Athenian said. "Come, let us join +the king. Leonidas waits for us." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander sat upon his foam-streaked horse in the golden glow of the +sunset. He had removed his white-plumed helmet, and the cool air +bathed his temples. There was a new flash of pride in his eyes as he +gazed upon the field of his triumph. The last orders had been given, +the wounded had been cared for, and Parmenio had been despatched to +Damascus, with a swift body of horse, to take possession of the Persian +stores and treasure before they could be removed. +</P> + +<P> +"Now let Demosthenes put on mourning!" Alexander exclaimed. "Come, let +us see what provision Darius has made for us." +</P> + +<P> +Followed by his Table Companions, he led the way toward the great +pavilion, which none had dared to enter before him. At the entrance +stood the chariot from which the Great King had looked upon the wreck +of his hopes. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is the royal mantle," Alexander remarked, spreading out the +purple robe, stiff with gold. He tossed it back into the chariot, +which he ordered to be removed. +</P> + +<P> +Like a troop of boys, the Macedonians entered the great pavilion. +Light from a hundred lamps filled the tent. Rich carpets had been +spread upon the ground, and embroidered hangings divided the interior +into a succession of rooms destined for the use of the Great King. +From one to another Alexander led the way, making no attempt to conceal +his wonder at the evidences of luxury that he there encountered for the +first time. +</P> + +<P> +In the first apartment, they found a wardrobe consisting of suits of +armor inlaid with gold and silver; garments of silk and linen; helmets, +shoes, parasols, mirrors, and a litter of utensils the uses of which +were unknown to the Companions. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what my old governor, Leonidas, would say to this?" Alexander +cried. "He would never allow me clothing enough to keep me warm in +winter." +</P> + +<P> +Next they entered the treasure-chamber, filled with chests of cedar, +bound with iron and brass. Several of these chests had been forced +open, apparently by faithless slaves; but the rapidity of the +Macedonian victory had not allowed them to carry away more than a very +small part of the treasure. The boxes contained golden coins bearing +the stamp of Darius, and evidently fresh from the mint. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is balm for the wounded," Alexander said, lifting a handful of +the coins and permitting them to fall back in a glittering stream. +</P> + +<P> +Beyond this, they found the bed upon which Darius was to have reposed +from the fatigues of the day. It was a mass of down, covered with silk +and linen of the finest texture, and hung with silken curtains, fringed +with gold. Adjoining the bedchamber was the scented bath in an +enormous vessel of solid gold. Near it stood rows of crystal vases and +jars of Phœnician glass, containing unguents and rare perfumes, +compounded of priceless ingredients after formulæ known only to the +body-servants of the Persian kings. +</P> + +<P> +"This is what gave us the battle," Alexander said, pointing to the +enervating array. +</P> + +<P> +He pushed aside the last curtain and stood in the banquet room. Along +its sides tables had been spread, flanked by rich couches and covered +with dishes of massive gold and silver. At one side of the room was a +canopied couch, higher and more magnificent than the others. The +tables had been prepared before the flight of the attendants. Royal +wine sparkled in goblets of crystal and beakers of gold. Hephæstion +found the kitchen and reported that all the materials for the feast +were in readiness. +</P> + +<P> +"Let our cooks take charge of them," Alexander said. "I bid you all to +sup with me here to-night." +</P> + +<P> +This idea was received with eager applause and in an hour the +preparations had been made. The Macedonians, wearing garlands of oak +leaves, stretched themselves upon the gorgeous couches and partook of +the strange dishes that were set before them by the pages. Goblets +were filled and emptied and beakers were drained. Each man began to +relate the deeds of valor he had performed on the battle-field, +explaining in great detail how, but for him, the day would have been +lost. Alexander alone, who had led them to victory, had nothing to say +of himself, though he talked with Ptolemy, son of Lagus, Perdiccas, and +Philotas of the mistakes that Darius had made. +</P> + +<P> +Aching muscles and smarting wounds were forgotten under the influence +of the wine and in the vainglorious rehearsal of the battle. The +Macedonians began to feel that the world lay at their feet, and their +minds were uplifted by dreams of endless conquest. The pavilion rang +with laughter and was filled with the babel of tongues. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly, amid the jesting, the voices of women raised in lamentation +penetrated the tent. The merriment was hushed, and every head was +turned toward the sounds. Alexander despatched a page to learn the +cause and the lad breathlessly brought word that Sisygambis, the Great +King's mother, and Statira, his wife, were bewailing his death. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, Hephæstion," Alexander said gravely, rising from the royal +couch. "Let us reassure them." +</P> + +<P> +Looks of intelligence and furtive smiles were exchanged as the two +young men left the pavilion; but none dared venture upon open comment. +From the beginning of war, the women of the vanquished had been counted +as part of the victor's spoil. +</P> + +<P> +Following the direction of the sorrowful sounds, Alexander discovered a +smaller pavilion in the rear of the first. At its doorway stood a dark +and stalwart figure, erect and motionless as a statue. +</P> + +<P> +Upon the approach of the young king, the silent guardian fell with his +face to the earth and remained motionless. +</P> + +<P> +"Who art thou?" Alexander asked, looking down upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Tireus," the man replied. "I guard the women." +</P> + +<P> +"Why didst thou not save thyself when thy master fled?" the young king +inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"Because the women could not flee," Tireus replied simply. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander reflected for a moment. "Rise!" he said at last. "Had thy +master possessed more servants like thee, he would not have lost his +empire. Thou art chief eunuch. Keep thy charge, and if any molest +thee, make thy complaint to me. Go now and ask if Alexander may be +admitted." +</P> + +<P> +Tireus had risen, but instead of obeying, he fell again upon his knees, +stretching his hands toward Alexander in supplication that he dared not +put into words. +</P> + +<P> +"Go," Alexander said, understanding his meaning. "They have nothing to +fear." +</P> + +<P> +Tireus went, returning in a moment to draw aside the curtain so that +the young king might enter. The wailing had ceased. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander and Hephæstion found themselves under a silken canopy of +crimson. The floor of the pavilion was covered with thick carpets, +woven in bright colors and laid one upon another. Silver lamps +suspended from above diffused a soft light. +</P> + +<P> +Huddled together in the middle of the tent upon heaps of cushions lay a +crowd of women in attitudes of despair. Their white arms and shoulders +gleamed through their dishevelled hair. Their eyes were heavy with +weeping. They seemed like a flock of doves that had been caught in a +snare and were awaiting with palpitating breasts the coming of the +fowler. +</P> + +<P> +A woman of mature years rose from the group and threw herself at the +feet of Hephæstion, mistaking him for the king, because he was taller +than Alexander and still wore his armor. She was Sisygambis, the queen +mother. +</P> + +<P> +"Mercy!" she cried, with streaming eyes. "Thou hast slain my son. +Have pity upon his mother and his innocent wife." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not the king!" Hephæstion exclaimed, hastily stepping back. +</P> + +<P> +"I am blinded by my sorrow!" Sisygambis replied, turning to Alexander +in confusion. "Pardon me, I pray thee, in the name of thy own mother, +Olympias!" +</P> + +<P> +Alexander stooped and raised her gently by the hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy son lives," he said. "Be not alarmed that you mistook my friend +for me, for Hephæstion is also an Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +Sisygambis looked earnestly into the boyish face before her. +</P> + +<P> +"Is Darius still alive?" she asked beseechingly. "Is it true? I am +his mother. Do not deceive me!" +</P> + +<P> +"He is alive and he is free," the young king replied. "He escaped into +Syria." +</P> + +<P> +With a cry of joy, Statira rose from among her women, clasping in her +hand the chubby fist of her child. The heavy masses of her dark hair +framed a face of pure oval. The color flooded her cheeks, and her eyes +shone in fathomless depths of mystery and life. As his glance met +hers, Alexander was conscious of a thrill such as he had never felt +before. His pulses were disturbed, and he felt his face flush. With +an effort he mastered the unaccustomed emotion. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander does not make war upon women," he said quietly. "For your +own sakes, I must carry you with me; but you are as safe as though you +were still in your palace in Babylon. Your household shall remain with +you. Command as freely as you did yesterday, and fear nothing." +</P> + +<P> +"How shall we repay you?" Statira exclaimed, attempting to kneel at his +feet. +</P> + +<P> +"By ceasing to grieve," he replied. "Remember that you are still a +queen." +</P> + +<P> +The infant son of Darius looked at him with round eyes of wonder. +Alexander took the child in his arms and kissed him. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, Hephæstion," he said, turning to go. The Macedonian, whose gaze +had been fixed upon Statira with an intensity that rendered him +oblivious to everything else, roused himself and followed. As they +passed from the pavilion, they heard a murmur of women's voices in +silvery notes of astonishment and admiration. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander was silent and thoughtful when he resumed his place at the +head of the banquet table. The Companions were impatient to learn the +details of his visit. +</P> + +<P> +"Is the queen as beautiful as they say?" Perdiccas ventured at last. +</P> + +<P> +The young king frowned slightly, and the hand in which he held his +goblet trembled. +</P> + +<P> +"Whoever in future speaks to me of the beauty of Statira, wife of +Darius," he said, "that man is no longer my friend. Let it be known to +the army that she is to be treated with all the respect due to a queen. +He who forgets shall be punished." +</P> + +<P> +He glanced at Hephæstion, who flushed and looked another way. For a +moment there was silence in the tent, and then the laughter and talk +flowed on as though nothing had occurred to interrupt them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap35"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER +</H4> + +<P> +Phradates stood on the broad stone wharf in the Sidonian Harbor of +Tyre, amid a group of young men whose costly garments and jewelled +fingers showed them to belong to the rich families of the richest city +in the world. Upon the edge of the wharf were gathered a score of +older men, clad in sombre robes, over which spread their silvery +beards. They wore close-fitting caps and heavy golden chains. Each +carried a short rod of ebony and ivory as a token of authority. They +were the elders, members of the council of King Azemilcus, who was +absent with the fleet of Autophradates, the Persian admiral. +</P> + +<P> +The basin of the harbor formed a deep bay, shut in on the seaward side +by lofty walls, built of huge blocks of squared stone laid in gypsum. +On the right, facing north, was a narrow opening in the barrier, +forming a passage flanked by long breakwaters. The circumference of +the harbor was ringed by a succession of stone wharves, where hundreds +of merchant vessels were moored, their sails furled against their +masts. They were discharging their cargoes or taking on lading for new +voyages. Lines of men, half naked, ran backward and forward between +the ships and the great warehouses, carrying bales upon their heads. +The sailors, chanting monotonous songs, were emptying the holds of the +ships or storing away the fresh cargoes. +</P> + +<P> +"There's an old tub that looks as though she had seen service," cried +one of the young men. "Let us see where she has been." +</P> + +<P> +They strolled across to a vessel whose weather-beaten sides and patched +sails told of rough usage. +</P> + +<P> +"Whence came you?" demanded the youth, addressing the brown-faced +master, who stood at the gangway, superintending the discharge of his +cargo. +</P> + +<P> +"From the Cassiterides," the man replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are they?" the youth asked, gazing at the bright ingots of tin +that the sailors were dragging to the deck. +</P> + +<P> +"They are in the western seas," the master answered, "so far that +Carthage seems but a stone's throw away. Three months we were beaten +northward by storms, and the waves of the great ocean ran higher than +the walls of the city. At last we came to the land of long days, where +the men have yellow hair and blue eyes and the women are more beautiful +than light. By the favor of Baal, we were enabled to obtain a store of +amber that is created there by the sun, in exchange for beads of glass. +This we dedicated to the God, and after we had got our tin on board, he +brought us back under his protection." +</P> + +<P> +The young men listened, open-mouthed. From their boyhood, they had +been accustomed to drink in such tales of mystery and wonder along the +wharves of the city, nursing the bold spirit of adventure that was born +in every Phœnician. They plied the master with questions. What +monsters of the sea had he seen? What were the customs of the men of +the North? Was it true that they devoured strangers who fell into +their hands? The mariner told them of enormous water snakes and +dragons, but his marvellous tales were interrupted by a cry from the +walls, where lookouts were always posted to scan the sea. The state +trireme had been sighted. She was returning from Sidon, bringing +Prince Hur and the ambassadors whom the council had despatched to +Alexander. The council was now awaiting their return. +</P> + +<P> +At the signal from the walls, work was suspended throughout the city +and the population crowded to the harbor. Merchants with their tablets +clasped in their hands, dyers with their arms stained to the elbow, +metal workers, artisans, laborers, and soldiers of the garrison, +thronged to the water front by thousands to learn the answer of the +Macedonian. A vast murmur of expectation and speculation rose from the +people. +</P> + +<P> +Presently, through the entrance of the harbor, the trireme could be +seen, making for the opening between the sea-walls, over which the +waves were dashing in spurts of white spray. Urged by its three banks +of oars, rising and falling in unison, the vessel ran swiftly into the +harbor. +</P> + +<P> +Headed by Prince Hur, the son of Azemilcus, the ambassadors were +standing grave and silent upon the deck. At sight of their anxious +faces a hush fell upon the crowd. The pilot gave a sharp command, the +oars churned backward in the water, and the long trireme swung into her +mooring. The ambassadors descended to the wharf and spoke in low tones +to the elders of the council. +</P> + +<P> +Was it peace or war? War! The news ran through the crowd and into the +city as ripples spread across the face of a pool when a stone falls. +Turmoil and confusion followed. What had Alexander said? Would the +other Phœnician cities join with Tyre to repel him? +</P> + +<P> +They had deserted her. Tyre must stand alone. Strato, son of +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, had surrendered. Byblos had capitulated. +Sidon had opened her gates to the Macedonians. +</P> + +<P> +"We offered submission according to our instructions," said the chief +of the ambassadors, to the council. "Alexander accepted it and bade us +tell you it was his purpose to offer sacrifice in the temple of +Melkarth, who, he says, is really Heracles, and his ancestor. We +replied that Tyre could not admit strangers within her walls, but that +Melkarth had an older temple on the mainland, where he might offer +sacrifice. 'Tell your council,' he said, 'that I and my army will +offer sacrifice to Melkarth upon his altar within the walls of New +Tyre. Bid them make ready the temple. It is for them to say what the +victims shall be.' That was all." +</P> + +<P> +"You did well; let us consider," said Mochus, the eldest of the council. +</P> + +<P> +They walked in slow and silent procession to the palace of the king in +the southern quarter of the town and disappeared within its gates. +</P> + +<P> +The city continued to seethe like a huge caldron. Its unwonted stir +attracted the attention of Thais and Artemisia, on the housetop, where +they had gone as usual to take the air after midday. The two young +women stood side by side, close to the parapet of the roof, looking +down into the narrow streets, where men came and went like ants whose +nest has been disturbed. The strong sea-breeze blew out Thais' crimson +robe into gleaming folds, and the sun glistened upon the burnished +copper of her hair. Rich color glowed in her cheeks and in her scarlet +lips. The immortal vitality of the salt breeze and of the crisply +curling waves seemed in her. She laughed aloud. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what is the matter?" she said. "These Phœnicians are +afraid of their own shadows." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia smiled. Her chiton of fine white wool, edged with purple, +outlining her figure, indicated that it had lost some of its roundness. +Her face was pale; blue veins showed through the transparent skin of +her temples. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope it means something good for us," she said, slipping her arm +around her sister's waist. "When shall we get away from this hateful +city?" +</P> + +<P> +"The time will come, child," Thais said soothingly. "You shall see him +again; I know it." +</P> + +<P> +It was a conversation that had been repeated many times. Artemisia +drew a sigh that caught in her throat in a little sob. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, Thais, if I could feel his strong arms around me only once," she +said, "I think I could die in thankfulness." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not talk of dying," Thais replied reprovingly. "See, the world is +beautiful!" +</P> + +<P> +They stood in silence for a moment, gazing at the scene, which was +indeed beautiful, as Thais had said. On three sides the sea flashed +and sparkled with white-capped waves before the southwest wind. On the +east a channel, half a mile in width, divided the mainland from the +island upon which the new city was built. Beyond the strait lay the +city of Old Tyre, with its wide circle of walls. There, as in the new +town, thousands of pieces of cloth—linen, woollen, cotton, and +silk—fresh from the vats of the dyers, were hung to dry in the sun. +The juice of the shell-fish had lent them rich hues of blue, violet, +crimson, scarlet, and the peculiar shade of purple known as "royal" +that for ages had made the city famous. Hundreds of fishing and +trading vessels were drawn up along the wharves or upon the beach. +</P> + +<P> +Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, +clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, +and sumach. Its mighty barrier stretched north and south into the +misty distance, leaving always between its base and the shore a narrow +strip of level land that was given up to tillage. +</P> + +<P> +From the elevation where they stood, the young women looked upon other +roofs, filling the space inside the walls, which rose from the sea for +one hundred and fifty feet, with towers at every curve and angle. They +could see the Sidonian Harbor on their right and the Egyptian Harbor +opposite to it on their left, both crowded with masts and connected by +a canal spanned by movable bridges. +</P> + +<P> +Before them rose the towers and cupolas of the Temple of Melkarth, and +near it the wide Eurychorus, or market-place. Farther south was the +huge dome of the Temple of Baal, and there, too, was the royal palace, +with its many terraces crowned by a lofty citadel. Agenor's Temple was +on the north, overlooking the Sidonian Harbor. Near the western wall +was an oasis of verdure which marked the gardens attached to the +voluptuous Temple of Astarte, where, through the foliage of palm and +rhododendron, shone the marble columns of her habitation. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates had caused a striped awning to be erected upon the roof. +Beneath this was spread a gay Babylonian carpet, with couches and +silken cushions. Shrubs and flowering plants stood in great vases of +stone, screening the enclosure from the eyes of the curious. All the +other housetops of the quarter were occupied in a similar manner, thus +enabling the population to escape the heat of the lower levels, from +which the breeze was excluded by the height of the walls. The space +inside the city was so crowded that the houses rose many stories, and, +excepting those belonging to wealthy persons, each sheltered scores of +families. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a proud city," Thais said musingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Artemisia replied. "Proud, and cruel, and heartless!" +</P> + +<P> +She shivered as she spoke. Thais beckoned to one of the women, who +stood at a respectful distance, talking in low tones with a slender, +dark-skinned man, whose cunning eyes gleamed like those of a rat. He +was Mena the Egyptian. +</P> + +<P> +"Fetch a wrap," Thais said to the slave girl who answered her summons. +</P> + +<P> +The girl brought a shawl of cashmere and laid it around Artemisia's +shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"Something tells me that our captivity will soon be over," Thais said. +"Things cannot last much longer as they are." +</P> + +<P> +There was a meaning in her words that Artemisia did not grasp. Since +the flight from Halicarnassus, they had been confined in the house of +Phradates, whose passion for Thais had increased until it burned like +fever in his veins. The end must have come long ago had it not been +for the frequent absences that had been forced upon the young man by +the needs of the city and the commands of the Great King. As matters +stood, even Thais' resources had been taxed to hold him in check. +Hitherto she had fed him with hopes, playing upon his weaknesses and +keeping him in a state of subjection from which she knew surrender +would set him free. She made a gesture of impatience and began walking +up and down between rows of young orange trees. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what has come over me," she said. "I am as restless as +one of the sea-gulls yonder." +</P> + +<P> +She listened a moment to the cries and commotion in the streets. +</P> + +<P> +"Mena!" she cried. "Come here!" +</P> + +<P> +The Egyptian advanced slowly, with an indefinable insolence in his +bearing. +</P> + +<P> +"Find out what is causing all this excitement in the city and bring me +word," Thais said. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should my lady be interested?" Mena replied coolly, with a smile +that showed his white teeth. +</P> + +<P> +Thais wheeled as though she had been stung. She looked at the Egyptian +with head erect, and there was something in her eyes that caused his to +fall before them. +</P> + +<P> +"Mena," she said softly, "do not think that, because you are set to +watch me, you are my master. Go, or I swear by Astoreth that you shall +be flayed alive from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet." +</P> + +<P> +Mena gasped, and moistened his dry lips with his tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"Pardon," he stammered. "I did not mean—" +</P> + +<P> +"I know well what you meant," Thais returned. "Go!" +</P> + +<P> +He turned and went. Thais grasped a branch of the shrubbery and tore +it away, crumpling the leaves in her hands and scattering them in a +bruised shower at her feet. +</P> + +<P> +"How long must I put up with the insolence of this slave and his +master?" she exclaimed. The opalescent animal light gleamed in her +eyes as she turned them northward, and she paced backward and forward +with impatient strides like a captive lioness. "I hate them!" she +cried. "How many times have I been tempted to end it!" +</P> + +<P> +She thrust her hand into her bosom and drew out her tiny dagger, whose +hilt was studded with rubies that sparkled like drops of blood. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, Thais, some one is coming!" Artemisia said. +</P> + +<P> +Thais quickly hid the dagger and turned to greet Phradates. He came +forward with a smile, and the smile with which she met him had no trace +in it of the anger that had so shaken her but a moment before. +</P> + +<P> +"Great news!" the young man cried. "Alexander is coming!" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia caught her breath, and for an instant her head swam. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell us," Thais said. "We are dying to hear all about it. You know +we have had no news since the battle of Issus, where the Great King, as +you call him, was beaten by one who seems to be greater." +</P> + +<P> +There was a spice of malice in her voice that evidently annoyed the +Phœnician. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, through the treachery of the Greeks," he replied, frowning. +"Darius will depend upon his own people next time, and you will see +then what will happen." +</P> + +<P> +"But what has Alexander been doing since the battle?" Thais asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He might have advanced upon Babylon with nobody to oppose him," +Phradates said. "Of course, he would not have been able to capture the +city, but at least he will never have a better chance to try it. He +was afraid to make the attempt. He has been marching down the coast +instead, and there has been no more fighting, because all the northern +cities have surrendered to him." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" Thais said, listening with parted lips. +</P> + +<P> +"In the absence of King Azemilcus," the Phœnician continued, "the +council deemed it best to offer terms for the present. They sent an +embassy, accompanied by the prince, to tell Alexander that he had +nothing to fear from Tyre so long as he did not interfere with us." +</P> + +<P> +"What was his reply?" Thais demanded quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose?" Phradates said. "He had the impudence to +announce that Melkarth was the same as your Heracles, and that as +Heracles was of his family, he proposed to offer sacrifice in the +temple here. The embassy told him flatly that Tyre had never admitted +the Persians, and that we should not admit him. Everybody knows that +if we should let him in here, he would do what he did in Ephesus when +he took possession of the city under pretence of offering sacrifice to +Artemis." +</P> + +<P> +"But where is Darius?" Thais asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He is in Babylon," said Phradates. "He sent a letter to Alexander +after the battle of Issus, asking freedom for his wife and family. He +wrote as one king to another, proposing peace and alliance; but your +Alexander, to his sorrow, refused the terms. He pretends that he has +already conquered all Asia, and he had the boldness to tell the Great +King that he would liberate Statira and her children if Darius would +come as a suppliant to ask it." +</P> + +<P> +"The Gods fight with him," Thais said, after a pause. "It would be +better for Tyre to open her gates." +</P> + +<P> +The young Phœnician laughed scornfully. +</P> + +<P> +"The walls of Tyre will crumble and fall into the sea before he offers +his sacrifice," he exclaimed. "I will wager anything I possess against +your looking-glass that he will weary of his task before a stone has +been loosened." +</P> + +<P> +"You do not know Alexander," Thais replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais," the young man said earnestly, "I will wager what is more +precious to me than gold. Thou knowest that I love thee." +</P> + +<P> +"You have told me so," she replied demurely. +</P> + +<P> +"You have been for months in my power," he went on, "and I have not +sought to force your inclination. Let us now abide by the result of +the siege that Alexander is threatening. On the day that he gives over +his attempt to enter Tyre, thou shalt be mine. Until that day comes I +shall ask nothing of thee. Is it a bargain?" +</P> + +<P> +"You will not keep your promise," Thais said doubtfully. Her +reluctance made the young man more eager. +</P> + +<P> +"Mena!" he called, "bring wine and two doves at once." +</P> + +<P> +When the Egyptian returned, Phradates said to Thais, "See, I am ready +to bind myself by oath if thou wilt do likewise." +</P> + +<P> +"I am ready," Thais replied. +</P> + +<P> +The sacrifice was made and the mutual bond was completed. As the blood +of the doves trickled upon the stones, Phradates called Astarte to +witness his covenant. Thais drew a breath of relief, for she knew that +no Phœnician, even the most depraved, would dare to disregard such +an oath. +</P> + +<P> +The sun went down in crimson splendor, and lamps began to twinkle in +the city. Still the council prolonged its deliberations, and still the +anxious merchants waited outside the doors of the palace to learn its +decision. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap36"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE +</H4> + +<P> +The entire population of Tyre was at work before dawn on the day +following the return of the ambassadors. The council had decided to +accept Alexander's challenge. As the first measure of preparation, it +ordered the abandonment of the Old City on the mainland and the removal +of its residents to the New City. In order to make room for them, a +fleet was to be sent to Carthage, carrying women and children. This +fleet was to return with such aid as the strong colony of the West +might be willing to give. +</P> + +<P> +Huge flatboats and a multitude of smaller craft plied backward and +forward between the harbors and the mainland. The brilliant stuffs +that had been hanging in the sun were gathered into bales. Here was a +boat laden with the contents of a glass factory: huge amphoræ, delicate +vases, cylinders, scarabs, beads, and amulets of a hundred iridescent +hues. Beside it came another vessel, carrying a freight of iron, +bronze, and copper, wrought into armor and household furnishings. +Other ships brought Syrian cotton and embroideries; white wool and wine +of Helbon; corn, honey, balm, and oil from Israel; ivory, ebony, +spices, and perfumes from Arabia; lead and tin from the mines of Spain; +cedar chests filled with Babylonian embroideries; elephant, lion, +leopard, and deer skins from Africa. These precious commodities were +stored in the warehouses. +</P> + +<P> +All the public granaries were filled to overflowing, and what grain +could not be brought away was destroyed. At the close of the second +day, the ancient parent city, from which had sprung such a brood of +flourishing daughters, and which more than once had defied the might of +the great empire beyond the mountain, lay deserted. Silence and +foreboding pervaded the New City as the Tyrians looked across the +strait at the empty houses in which many of them had been cradled. +</P> + +<P> +There was little time for despondency. The labor of preparation had +been only begun, and the task of making ready the vessels destined for +Carthage went forward briskly. +</P> + +<P> +A swift galley was sent to King Azemilcus, who immediately deserted the +Persian fleet with all his ships and returned to take charge of the +defence of the city. His arrival was the signal for great rejoicing, +for his warships would insure command of the sea to Tyre, since +Alexander had none with which to oppose them. +</P> + +<P> +At last the departure of the fleet destined for Carthage could be +delayed no longer. The scouting ships brought word that the Macedonian +army had left Sidon and taken up its march southward. Thousands of +women and children, accompanied by the aged and infirm, crowded aboard +the merchant vessels that had been pressed into service. Husbands said +farewell to their wives, and fathers took their children in their arms +for perhaps the last time. One by one the ships were towed out of the +harbor and spread their sails for their long flight to the West. The +streets were filled with weeping. +</P> + +<P> +Not all the women and children were sent away, even of the better +class; for, in spite of the precautions taken by the council, no Tyrian +believed that the city was really in danger. Its possession of the sea +would prevent famine, and even if Alexander should succeed in reaching +its walls, he would never be able to break through them. +</P> + +<P> +While the slanting sails of the departing fleet still glimmered on the +horizon, the watchers on the walls of Tyre saw the sun glinting from +the armor of the Macedonian array. Presently bands of horsemen dashed +up to the walls of the Old City, circled around them, and rode boldly +through the open gates. They seemed astonished to find the place +deserted. The Phœnicians hurled shouts of derision at them from the +walls across the water, scornfully inviting them to try the strait. +</P> + +<P> +Thais' lip curled as she watched this demonstration. She stood +motionless among the whispering leaves which hedged the roof of +Phradates' house, gazing intently at the advancing army. +</P> + +<P> +"Will they ever be able to cross to us?" Artemisia said. +</P> + +<P> +"There come the Companion cavalry!" Thais exclaimed, shading her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +The troop made a brave showing as it advanced toward the Old City with +flying pennants, the manes of the horses tossing free. +</P> + +<P> +"And there is the phalanx!" Artemisia cried, clasping her hands. +</P> + +<P> +The lines emerged, rank after rank, from the dust-clouds. Behind them +came more cavalry and then the light-armed troops, followed by wagons +and a long train of pack animals. The streets of the Old City became +animated again, though not with Phœnicians. The soldiers swarmed +through the houses, choosing their quarters and freeing themselves from +their burdens. Smoke began to curl up from the chimneys. +</P> + +<P> +A group of men came down to the water front and made a long survey of +the walls of the New City. Thais fixed her eyes upon them, leaning +over the parapet. Suddenly she caught Artemisia's arm. +</P> + +<P> +"I see him!" she cried. "There he is." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is it? Where?" Artemisia asked, bewildered. +</P> + +<P> +"Chares!" Thais replied. "Do you see that crimson cloak and his yellow +hair? O my hero!" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia trembled and her cheek grew pale. +</P> + +<P> +"If that is Chares, then Clearchus must be there too," she faltered. +"Oh, Thais, are you sure?" +</P> + +<P> +She strove to look, but the tears that dimmed her eyes prevented her +from seeing anything clearly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am certain," Thais replied. "Who else could it be? There is no +other in the army so strong and handsome as he. Look! he is signalling +to us." +</P> + +<P> +The figure in crimson stood forward from the rest, his cloak, inflated +by the wind, swelling back from his shoulders. He waved his hand +toward the city. Thais tore off her saffron shawl and waved it in +return, forgetting that, while he stood alone, to him she was one of +thousands who were moving on the walls and the house-tops. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you would bring them over if you could!" sneered a voice +behind her. It was Phradates, who had approached unnoticed. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you blame me if I want to win my wager?" Thais replied, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"I am half sorry I made it," the Phœnician said sullenly. +</P> + +<P> +Thais saw that he was angry and she leaned toward him until he felt her +warm breath upon his cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"If I lose, I will pay!" she whispered, in a tone that only he could +hear. +</P> + +<P> +A dark flush mounted to his cheek. +</P> + +<P> +"It will not be long," he returned confidently. +</P> + +<P> +"I would not be too sure of that," she replied, with a blush, giving +him a sidelong glance under her lashes. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates could not understand why he had not long ago given free rein +to his passion. More than once he had called himself a fool for his +forbearance and resolved in his own mind to end it; but when the time +came for putting his plans into execution, he found them halted by an +indefinable barrier that he could not break. It surprised him that +this could have happened. All his life it had never occurred to him to +restrain himself. He was master of one of the greatest fortunes in +Tyre, and with him to wish was to have. Moreover, he had learned +Thais' history, so far as it was generally known, and it seemed to him +ridiculous that an Athenian dancing girl should succeed so long in +holding him at arm's length. But now he must keep his oath. +</P> + +<P> +Next day, and for many days thereafter, Tyre sat and watched the slow +development of the scheme that had been laid for her destruction. She +saw the Macedonian army tear down the walls of the Old City and convey +them, block by block, to the water front, where they were cast into the +sea. Soon the beginning of a broad causeway began to jut out from the +shore, pointing like a huge finger at the angle of the city wall, +midway between the two harbors, which was nearest to the mainland. +Detachments of soldiers brought in squads of men from the surrounding +country, who were set at work with the army upon the mole. Piles of +cedar were driven into the sand. Earth was brought in baskets and +poured over the stones. When the waves washed it away, trees were +dragged from the mountain side and thrown in with their leaves and +branches to hold it in place. Acres of rushes were cut and laid upon +the soil to bind it. Foot by foot the causeway lengthened. On the +shore could be seen men building towers and battering rams, catapults, +and ballistæ. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander's figure became so familiar to the Tyrians that even the +children could point him out. He was seen everywhere, overlooking and +superintending the work in all its details. One day he was missed, and +the next, smoke was observed drifting up from the rocky fastnesses of +Lebanon, which the Tyrians knew had been held for centuries by untamed +robber bands, who had exacted toll from their caravans and even from +the convoys of the Great King. Their spies on shore brought them word +that the robbers had attacked Alexander's scouting parties and he had +gone to punish them. Tyre laughed at the idea that he could take the +impregnable strongholds among the crags, but the columns of smoke +continued to rise farther and farther back among the mountains; and +when Alexander reappeared on the mole, at the end of a week, the news +came that the robbers had been harried and hunted out of their caves +until not a vestige of them remained. Tyre wondered, and a vague +uneasiness crept into the city. +</P> + +<P> +The mole had advanced almost within bow-shot of the wall when the city +woke from its lethargy of contempt and began to bestir itself. Towers +were erected on the wall opposite the causeway, and the wall itself was +raised. The engineers and their workmen, whose skill was famed +throughout the world, fashioned new machines for repelling the expected +attack. +</P> + +<P> +When the Macedonians had covered more than half the distance between +the shore and the wall, the Phœnicians began to resist their +advance. The catapults were brought into play. These were great bows +of tough wood, set in a solid framework. The strings of twisted gut +were drawn back by a windlass, and huge arrows, made of iron and +weighing two or three hundred pounds, were fitted to the groove +prepared for them. The string was released by drawing a trigger as in +a cross-bow, and the missile sped to the mark. +</P> + +<P> +The catapults were reënforced by the ballistæ. In a frame of heavy +beams an arm was set, with a great spoon at one end, while the other +was held firmly in twisted cords. By means of a rope wound about a +roller the arm was drawn back, and a stone or a ball of metal was +placed in the spoon. Suddenly freed, the arm flew up until it was +halted by a cross-beam of the framework, when the missile left it and +hurtled through the air toward the mole. +</P> + +<P> +While darts and stones were showered upon the causeway from the walls, +vessels attacked it from both harbors, filled with archers and +slingers, who drove the workmen back. Tyre was jubilant. Alexander, +she thought, must now surely abandon his foolish enterprise. +</P> + +<P> +Work on the causeway was indeed halted for a time, but only long enough +to permit the Macedonians to contrive means of defence. Two great +towers were built and pushed out to the end of the mole. These were +tall enough to dominate the wall. They were provided with catapults +and ballistæ, with which to answer and silence those of the Tyrians, +and were manned by soldiers, who from their height were able to reach +the decks of the triremes that were sent to annoy them. For further +protection, palisades of timber and movable breastworks were +constructed on the mole, and pushed forward as it advanced. +</P> + +<P> +Work was resumed, and the long causeway crept nearer and nearer to the +city. By order of the council, under cover of night, sponge and pearl +divers were sent to the mole in small vessels. With cords in their +hands they plunged into the water and fastened them to the foundation +stones of the mole, which the crews on board the boats pulled away. +</P> + +<P> +But in spite of all these devices, the mole continued to lengthen. +</P> + +<P> +Still the Tyrians remained confident. The council hit upon a plan to +destroy the towers, and when all was ready the people flocked to the +walls to witness its execution. Artemisia and Thais watched from the +roof, where, day after day, for weeks, they had counted the inches of +progress made on the mole and calculated how long it would be before +the structure could reach the wall. +</P> + +<P> +"See!" cried Artemisia. "They are going to try to burn the towers." +</P> + +<P> +An old transport, that had been used for carrying horses, emerged +clumsily from the Sidonian Harbor, towed between two triremes. The +wide deck was heaped with dry wood, which had been saturated with +bitumen and intermixed with straw. From the yards of the masts +caldrons filled with sulphur, naphtha, and oil were suspended by +chains. Upon the deck stood rows of naked men, each holding in his +hand a blazing torch. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly and laboriously the ship was guided through the choppy sea to a +point directly to windward of the end of the mole. A strong northwest +breeze sang through her rigging, and her stern had been filled with +ballast until her bow stood almost out of the water. Sailors went +aloft and set two small sails to give her headway. The triremes cast +off, and she swam straight for the northern tower. +</P> + +<P> +The two women had watched the preparations with the most intense +excitement. As the fire-ship neared the mole, gathering speed as she +went, they saw a volley of huge stones shoot from the towers in her +direction. +</P> + +<P> +"They are trying to sink her," Thais said breathlessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Zeus grant that they may succeed!" cried Artemisia. +</P> + +<P> +Some of the stones struck the ship, scattering her load of +combustibles; but they failed to check her approach. The best marksmen +in the army strove to pick off her crew. The divers raised shields, +from which the arrows harmlessly rebounded. +</P> + +<P> +When the ship had come within a few fathoms of the mole, the men on +board of her scattered blazing oil into the caldrons swinging from her +yards and thrust their torches into the heaps of material that lay upon +her deck. Then they plunged into the sea and swam back to the city. +The steersman followed, and the next instant the transport, sending +before her a roaring banner of flame, ran high upon the mole at the +foot of the northern tower. +</P> + +<P> +A mighty shout arose from the walls of Tyre as the spectators saw the +flames wrap themselves around the tower, shrivelling up the green skins +of cattle that had been hung to protect it. The soldiers swarmed down +through the smoke and fire like rats, leaping from the lower stories in +their haste. In a moment the lofty structure was sending out red +tongues from every loophole and window. A great cloud of black smoke +rolled from the end of the mole toward the shore. +</P> + +<P> +Thais and Artemisia saw the Greeks driven back from the towers and from +the defences which had protected the work. Presently the fire attacked +these and ran across to the second tower. The transport still lay with +her nose in the rocks, belching flames that were streaked with green +and blue and white as they fed upon the various substances which had +been stored in her hull. +</P> + +<P> +Dashing down from the windward side, the Tyrian vessels tore away such +of the work as had escaped the conflagration, while the bowmen on their +decks sent flights of arrows upon the huddled workmen who had been +forced back by the heat and smoke. The towers fell one after the other +with a crash into the sea, which hissed into steam as the glowing +timbers sank. In an hour nothing was left at the end of the causeway +but the blackened ruin and part of the transport, through whose ribs +the waves washed. +</P> + +<P> +"The time is at hand," Phradates said to Thais, with a smile full of +meaning. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," she exclaimed, smiling. "The siege has only begun. I told +you you did not know Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless, secretly her heart was full of misgivings, and the slave +women who waited upon her that night found her hard to please. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap37"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS +</H4> + +<P> +Tyre was delirious with joy over the success of the attack on the +towers, for the city was convinced that now, at last, the Macedonians +would depart. Feasts were given in the great houses, processions wound +through the streets, and sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in all +the temples. In order to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, +twenty Macedonian prisoners were put to death upon the walls with +lingering tortures, and their mangled bodies were cast into the sea. +Hourly the Tyrians expected to see the besieging army evacuate Old Tyre +and march away. +</P> + +<P> +Their rage knew no bounds when a boat bearing two heralds put out from +the shore and entered the Sidonian Harbor. The young men whom it +contained, Galas and Cleanor, pages of Alexander and members of +distinguished Macedonian families, were greeted with jeers by the +people. They were escorted by a strong guard to the royal palace, +where King Azemilcus and the council awaited them. +</P> + +<P> +They bore themselves calmly and proudly under the insults of the mob +and the hostile scrutiny of the council. They met without fear the +gaze of the Tyrian king, who sat upon his throne in the chamber of +state. The light fell upon the old man's cunning and wrinkled face and +touched the heads of the councillors, some silvery white and others +showing hardly a trace of gray. Their eyes, in which cruelty lurked +like a coiled snake, were fixed upon the heralds. The king opened his +thin lips. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak!" he said softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander, lord of Asia, sends his greeting to King Azemilcus and the +people of Tyre," Galas began in a clear voice. "He calls upon you to +surrender your city into his hands." +</P> + +<P> +A murmur rose like a growl from the council. King Azemilcus stroked +his chin gently with his jewelled fingers, as if to hide the smile that +played about his mouth. +</P> + +<P> +"If ye do not this," Galas continued, raising his head, "Alexander, +lord of Asia, bids me say that for thy walls, they shall become as the +walls of Thebes, thy city shall be given to plunder, and the sea-gull +shall build his nest in thy harbors. If ye would find mercy for your +wives and your children, for yourselves and your possessions, ye must +seek it now." +</P> + +<P> +He ceased and stood awaiting their answer. There was dead silence in +the chamber. Azemilcus continued to stroke his chin, glancing at the +youths and then at his advisers with an amused expression in his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You may retire," he said at last, "while we consider what reply we +shall send." +</P> + +<P> +The youths were conducted to an anteroom, while the lean king laid +before the council the jest that he had been revolving in his mind. It +was received with approbation, and the reply to Alexander was written +upon parchment in two copies, one for each of the heralds. When all +was in readiness the council rose. +</P> + +<P> +"Come with us," Azemilcus said to the heralds. "We desire to show you +our city before we send you back to Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +Talking pleasantly, he led the way through the citadel to the top of +the wall, pointing out the temples and the various objects of interest +as they went. The boys looked down with wonder from the dizzy height +upon the sea, crawling and lapping far below them. They examined the +engines of war and the piles of ammunition that had been assembled upon +the landward side of the defences. Upon the mainland they could see +their comrades and the gangs of laborers at work upon the mole. +</P> + +<P> +They scarcely noticed that soldiers and citizens were gathering about +them, occupying every point of vantage and pressing forward with nods +and winks as if to a spectacle where a humorous surprise was in store. +</P> + +<P> +"And now," Azemilcus said, smiling pleasantly upon the two heralds, +"you shall hear our answer to the king." +</P> + +<P> +He beckoned to a scribe, who stepped forward and read from a parchment +so that all might hear. +</P> + +<P> +"King Azemilcus and the people of Tyre greet Alexander the Pretender," +read the scribe. "If he be lord of Asia, Tyre is his. Let him come +and take it." +</P> + +<P> +The two boys looked blankly at the king, and a great shout of laughter +went up from the multitude upon the wall. At another sign from +Azemilcus, two soldiers roughly seized each of the heralds. +</P> + +<P> +"What does this mean?" Galas demanded indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Be not angry," Azemilcus replied, still with his soft smile. "We have +wasted so much time in sight-seeing that no doubt Alexander is growing +impatient. We will send you back to him more quickly than you came, so +that his anger may be turned from us." +</P> + +<P> +Amid shouts of delight from the crowd, the heralds were bound hand and +foot with cords. Their knees were drawn up to their chests and lashed +there so as to make their bodies as compact as possible. Finally a +copy of the reply to Alexander was attached to their right hands. +</P> + +<P> +"King of Tyre!" Galas said, when the soldiers had done their work, "you +have broken the faith of nations. For our death, if for nothing else, +shall your city fall and become an evil memory among men. Even your +Gods shall withdraw from you. Farewell!" +</P> + +<P> +Neither of the lads had uttered a cry as the rawhide thongs, drawn too +tightly, cut into their flesh. Galas turned his head as well as he +could and spoke to his younger companion. +</P> + +<P> +"Cleanor, we have been friends," he said. "Now we are about to die. +Be brave for the honor of Macedon! I go with you." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not fear, Galas; I promise," the other replied, and no more words +passed between them. +</P> + +<P> +The soldiers were busily preparing two of the immense ballistæ. +Inserting levers in holes in the ends of the rollers, they turned the +wooden cylinders backward, slowly winding up the rope that was attached +to the casting arm and drawing it back into a horizontal position. The +tough rope strained and the framework of beams creaked as the great +arms were forced into place. +</P> + +<P> +When the wide spoons of wrought iron were ready, the boys were lifted +and placed in them. The spectators, irritated because the victims did +not beg for mercy, howled threats and insults at them. This abuse +brought no response, and fearful lest the courage of the lads might +create a bad impression, Azemilcus ended the sport by ordering the +ballistæ to be discharged. +</P> + +<P> +Throwing their weight suddenly upon the cords that drew the triggers, +the soldiers released the arms of the machines, which sprang upward and +crashed against the cross-beams. The bodies of the heralds, hurled +with frightful velocity into the air, shot outward and upward. Galas +fell upon the end of the mole. Cleanor was dashed to pieces on the +jagged rocks beside him. +</P> + +<P> +A savage outcry rang from the wall across to the Macedonian camp. +Soldiers ran forward and took up the two bodies, bearing them tenderly +to the shore. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander has his answer!" Azemilcus said, with a chuckle. "Let us go +to dinner." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap38"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +MENA REVEALS A SECRET +</H4> + +<P> +On the night after the slaughter of the heralds, the galleys sent to +Carthage returned with a courteous message that it would be impossible +for the colony to send assistance. Ambassadors who had been despatched +to other Phœnician towns, demanding aid, were equally unsuccessful. +Tyre must stand or fall alone. Her brood turned its back upon her. +</P> + +<P> +This indifference created a disagreeable feeling in the city. The joy +over the destruction of the Macedonian works was transformed into +uneasiness. Instead of abandoning the siege, the army of Alexander had +begun a new mole, twice as wide as the first, and so directed that the +wash of the waves, which before had been a serious obstacle, was +rendered harmless. It was apparent that the young king intended to +keep his word. +</P> + +<P> +Several of the inhabitants of the city reported that in dreams they had +seen the great bronze image of Melkarth rise from its seat in his +temple and stretch its hands over the walls toward the Macedonian camp, +calling upon Alexander to enter. There was a consultation of the +priests. The enormous statue was bound with chains to the pillars of +the temple and huge spikes were driven through its feet into the floor. +Nevertheless, the Tyrians were apprehensive and spoke of Melkarth as +"the Alexandrine." The ominous words of the herald, Galas, when he +declared that the Gods of Tyre would desert her, were remembered and +repeated. The people began to think that perhaps they had gone too far. +</P> + +<P> +Time failed to remove this impression. The new mole continued to +advance, and one hazy afternoon the watchmen on the walls caught sight +of a fleet of warships approaching from the north. The flag of Sidon +fluttered from their masts and the beleaguered city concluded that at +last reinforcements had been sent. But instead of entering the +Sidonian Harbor, the vessels sheered off and came to anchor in front of +the Macedonian camp. +</P> + +<P> +The gloom of the city deepened when Enylus, king of Byblos, and +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, added their fleets to that of Sidon. All +three were Phœnician cities. Rhodes sent ten ships and Cyprus later +added one hundred and twenty, under command of Prytagoras. +</P> + +<P> +For every Tyrian ship, Alexander now had three; and among them were +vessels of the largest size, some with four banks of oars and some even +with five. They were manned by sailors of Phœnician stock, whose +skill upon the water equalled that of the Tyrians themselves. As soon +as the fleet had gathered, it sailed in battle order toward the mouth +of the Sidonian Harbor, from which the Tyrian navy came out to meet it. +But when Azemilcus saw the overwhelming force opposed to him, his heart +failed, and he gave the order to retreat into the harbor, the entrance +of which he caused to be blocked with huge chains behind which were +moored as many Tyrian vessels as would lie in the passage side by side. +</P> + +<P> +Tyre was no longer mistress of the sea. She stood forsaken amid the +waters, gray and deserted, like a lioness in her last refuge, +encompassed by the hunters. The mole crept ever nearer to the wall, +and Macedonian captains, cruising around the city, gazed hungrily at +the battlements. +</P> + +<P> +The inhabitants understood that nothing but a miracle could save the +city. They turned to their Gods. In ancient times they had never +failed in the observance of their worship, but as they waxed strong and +gained knowledge of the world, scepticism had found a lodgement in +their hearts. The ceremonials had been neglected by many who either +did not believe or had grown careless. The offerings diminished. More +than once the sacrifice of the first-born to Baal-Moloch had been +omitted. The worship of Astoreth, it is true, had been maintained; but +it was clear that the Goddess was not powerful enough to rescue them. +Baal was angry and must be propitiated. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates became more and more downcast and sullen as misfortune +gathered about the city. The cruelty that was a part of his +Phœnician heritage rose to the surface. His slaves were lashed for +the slightest fault, or even for no fault at all. Some of them he +ordered put to death. Terror filled the great house, with its spacious +rooms hung with embroideries, beautiful with paintings and statues, its +rare glass, and its treasures of gold and of amber. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, when a languid southern breeze stirred the silken +curtains, the young Phœnician entered the apartments occupied by +Artemisia and Thais. Artemisia sat by the window, gazing at the +brilliant stars that seemed so near and yet so immeasurably far away. +The two young women had been talking of Chares and Clearchus; but a +silence had fallen between them. Thais lay on a couch of cedar, +burying her fingers in the thick fur of a Persian cat, which purred +with half-shut eyes under her caress. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates threw himself into a chair in an attitude of weariness and +dejection. Thais shot a glance at him and went on stroking the cat. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you believe in the Gods?" the young man asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia does," Thais replied lazily, with a tantalizing smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" Phradates demanded, turning to the younger sister. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia turned her eyes wonderingly upon his troubled face. +</P> + +<P> +"I cannot tell you," she replied slowly, as though searching for a +reason. "I have always believed in them and I have passed through many +dangers unharmed. I think Artemis has protected me, for I love her. I +have no fear, since I am in her hands." +</P> + +<P> +"We do not worship her," Phradates said. "With us, the moon belongs to +Astoreth, who is the same as your Aphrodite, and she has lost her +power." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure of that?" Thais asked. +</P> + +<P> +The young man looked at her and his expression changed. +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure of nothing," he said thickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Except?" Thais suggested, looking into his eyes and leaning forward on +her arm so that the necklace of pearls slid across her bosom, half +revealed under the folds of her robe. +</P> + +<P> +"Except that I love you!" he responded. +</P> + +<P> +Thais fell back upon her cushions and began again to stroke the cat. +</P> + +<P> +"You should not insult the Goddess," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"By Melkarth, I think you are she!" Phradates cried. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps," she admitted, smiling and nodding her head. +</P> + +<P> +Phradates stared at her for a moment as though he half believed it, and +then, rising abruptly, left the room. His brain seemed obscured. He +could think of nothing but his love for her. The emotion that +possessed him mastered every faculty, and even the approaching ruin of +the city seemed trivial in comparison with it. Yet there was his oath! +</P> + +<P> +At the door of his chamber he encountered Mena. +</P> + +<P> +"Master, the council is sitting," the Egyptian said. +</P> + +<P> +"What is that to me?" Phradates replied harshly. +</P> + +<P> +"They have decided to offer sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," Mena continued, +following him into the apartment. +</P> + +<P> +"They should have thought of that before," said Phradates. "Where will +they find children now fit for an offering? They have all been sent to +Carthage. No wonder Moloch is angry." +</P> + +<P> +"This has been considered by the council," Mena continued. "Esmun, the +chief priest, has told them that there are still enough of the +first-born left among the Jews, who, as you know, refused to send their +families away." +</P> + +<P> +"But the Jews will not give them as a willing sacrifice, and without +that it will be of no avail," Phradates replied impatiently. "Why do +you tell me all this?" +</P> + +<P> +"The council intends to find means of forcing them to make the +sacrifice willingly," Mena persisted; "but Esmun declares that this +will not be enough to calm the God. Baal demands a virgin of noble +birth to be given to him before he will aid the city." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates laughed. "Where do they expect to find her?" he asked +scornfully. +</P> + +<P> +"She must be pure and beautiful," Mena continued. "It is announced +that he who will bring such an offering will do the city a great +service." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean? Speak out, dog!" Phradates exclaimed, catching an +undertone of significance in the Egyptian's voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast such a maiden," the slave said hesitatingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais!" the young man cried. "Never. The city may perish first! +Have you dared to suggest this?" +</P> + +<P> +He drew his dagger and made a step toward Mena, who cowered before him +with hand uplifted. +</P> + +<P> +"No, no; not Thais," he hastened to say. "Think, master, how could she +meet the conditions? Not Thais!" +</P> + +<P> +Phradates paused with the dagger still in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait until you have heard me?" the slave continued, in a whining +voice. "It was not Thais, but the Athenian maiden, who was in my +thoughts." +</P> + +<P> +"No!" Phradates thundered; "does not Thais love her as her own sister?" +</P> + +<P> +"Consider for a moment," Mena urged insinuatingly, watching the young +man's face with cunning eyes. "Hast thou not been generous toward +these captives?" +</P> + +<P> +"What of that?" the Tyrian asked. +</P> + +<P> +"And they have betrayed thee by entrapping thee into an oath," Mena +said. "I would not have thee break it; but what will not the Lady +Astoreth grant to him who saves her shrine from pollution and +destruction? She will release thee from thy vow." +</P> + +<P> +He paused to note the effect of his words. Phradates remained silent +and thoughtful. +</P> + +<P> +"It is not for me, a slave, to tell thee what thou shouldst do," Mena +went on, "but it has seemed to me that there has lately been a spell +upon thy mind. Thou art not now what thou wast a month ago. What the +cause is and what must be the cure, thou knowest; but thou art bound by +thy oath." +</P> + +<P> +Again he paused, but as Phradates showed no sign of resentment, he +continued. +</P> + +<P> +"Master, thou canst not win thy wager," he said. "Tyre is lost. It +may be next week, and it may not be until next year; but the Macedonian +is too deeply engaged here to withdraw. There is no hope excepting +through the Gods alone, who might send a pestilence upon our enemies if +they so willed it. Thou knowest that the battering rams are pounding +upon the wall, and that they have already weakened it. On the southern +side it cannot stand much longer unless something happens to put an end +to the attack. Obtain release from thy vow before it is too late. Our +time may be short." +</P> + +<P> +Phradates shuddered and covered his face with his hands. +</P> + +<P> +"I think Thais really loves thee," the Egyptian continued artfully. +"It is the presence of the other that restrains her, because she is +ashamed to show her love before her. If Artemisia were away, she would +grieve, it is true, but she would recover. It is not needful that thou +shouldst give her up. The priests take whom they will for sacrifice. +Thou mightest even defend her, which would commend thee to Thais and +earn her gratitude." +</P> + +<P> +"Get thee gone!" Phradates shouted, suddenly springing to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +Mena fled noiselessly down the stairs and out of the house. Once in +the street, he clapped his hands together and laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I will show them what it is to insult Mena!" he cried. +</P> + +<P> +He made his way through the narrow streets and across the canal to the +southern part of the city, beyond the Temple of Baal. The slow and +regular beat of the great rams, at work upon the massive wall, throbbed +in the air. Mena plunged into a network of lanes, in which the houses +had a meaner look than in the quarter he had left behind. He proceeded +cautiously, halting from time to time as though he feared that he might +be followed. Finally, under the shadow of the wall, he reached a low +house within which lights were burning. He pushed open the door and +entered. The room in which he found himself was filled with men, young +and old, who sat at tables upon which stood flagons of red wine. Some +of the company were engaged in earnest discussion across the tables. +In one corner a sea captain was relating the strange adventures of a +distant voyage. Elsewhere men exchanged jests and laughter over their +wine. While the occupants of the room bore a general resemblance in +feature to the Phœnicians, a glance was sufficient to show that they +were not of Phœnician blood, and the language they spoke was Hebrew. +</P> + +<P> +There was a momentary hush when Mena appeared, but apparently he was +known, for the interrupted talk immediately flowed on again. A man of +middle age, whose black, crisp beard was streaked with gray, came +forward to welcome the Egyptian. +</P> + +<P> +"Which wine will you have to-night?" he asked, conducting him to a +table where already a younger man was sitting. +</P> + +<P> +"The wine of Cyprus," Mena cried. "You are as gay here to-night, +Simon, as though there were no such place in the world as Macedon." +</P> + +<P> +Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Would our tears mend the walls?" he +asked. "What is to be, will be." +</P> + +<P> +He went to fetch the wine, and Mena turned to his companion at the +table. +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you been, Joel?" he asked. "I have not seen you for a +week. One would say that you had been on shore, if it were possible to +get there." +</P> + +<P> +He directed his shrewd glance at the young man. Joel laughed, and his +dark eyes rested upon those of the Egyptian. He had an easy +distinction of manner, acquired at the court of Darius. After the +escape of Nathan, Chares, and Clearchus, his company had marched with +the Great King; but it had been detailed to help guard the women and +the treasure left behind at Damascus while the army went on to +destruction at Issus. After the defeat, he visited Jerusalem and then +came to Tyre, where he had relatives. +</P> + +<P> +"What would you give to know where I have been?" he demanded mockingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I know already," the cunning Egyptian replied. "Why is it +that the Jews are so indifferent to the siege? Why do they expect to +escape the sword or the slave-market when the walls fall? Tell me +that." +</P> + +<P> +Simon returned with the wine, which he set before Mena. While the Jews +knew him to be a slave, they did not disdain to associate with him, +because his influence over Phradates was so great that he was a bondman +only in name. Besides, he had more than once given them information of +value, and they were not accustomed to neglect any means of defence. +</P> + +<P> +Joel paused and seemed to reflect before he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps it is because we are under the protection of Jehovah," he +replied at last. "If He does not save us, nothing can." +</P> + +<P> +"Bah!" Mena exclaimed. "Perhaps He can save your first-born from +Baal-Moloch!" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" Joel returned quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you Jews knew everything," the Egyptian said. "Have you not +heard what Esmun told the council? He has warned them that nothing but +a sacrifice can save the city, and the council has authorized it. +Where can they find children excepting here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is this true?" Joel demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"It is true!" Mena declared. +</P> + +<P> +Joel rose from the table and whispered to Simon, who ran to the chief +priest. Messengers were sent to verify the news. They brought +confirmation and the additional intelligence that the sacrifice would +take place on the second day. Meantime Joel had returned to his place, +where Mena, as usual, had begun to grow garrulous with his wine. +</P> + +<P> +"You know those two Greek girls my fool of a master holds in his +house?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"What are they called—Thais and Artemisia? You told me of them," Joel +responded. "What of them?" +</P> + +<P> +"Thais promised to have me flayed alive," Mena remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" the young Hebrew said. +</P> + +<P> +"So I am going to have Artemisia included in the sacrifice to Moloch," +the slave said coolly. +</P> + +<P> +Joel started but instantly restrained himself. +</P> + +<P> +"What has that to do with Thais' promise?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais loves her," Mena explained. "No doubt she will be glad to see +her in Moloch's arms!" +</P> + +<P> +"How did you manage it?" Joel inquired carelessly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, I told you of the oath that Thais got from Phradates," Mena said. +"Well, I have convinced him that the only way in which he can win Thais +and at the same time obtain release from his oath is by having +Artemisia burned." +</P> + +<P> +The Egyptian laughed at his own cleverness. Joel sat making rings on +the table with the foot of his wine-glass. +</P> + +<P> +"And what do you think?" Mena continued, recovering himself. "The fool +threatened to stab me for it. But he'll do it, never fear. There is a +long score between him and me. Unless I am mistaken, the time is at +hand when we shall have the reckoning. There is one house in Tyre +where the Macedonians, when they come, will get little plunder. Come +then to Memphis, and you will find Mena, with slaves of his own—and I +would not be surprised if Thais was among them. Flayed alive, indeed!" +</P> + +<P> +"Let us have wine!" Joel cried, making an almost imperceptible sign to +Simon that meant the substitution of a stronger vintage. The wine was +brought, glowing like liquid amber in the flagon. In half an hour Mena +was incoherently trying to explain that he knew the Jews were in +correspondence with Alexander's camp, although he could not tell how, +and begging Joel not to forget him when the city fell. A little +longer, and two servants carried him to the house of Phradates. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap39"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS +</H4> + +<P> +As soon as he was rid of the Egyptian, Joel beckoned to Simon. +</P> + +<P> +"I must go ashore to-night," he said. "The women are in danger, and if +anything is to be done to save them, it must be done now." +</P> + +<P> +"The moon is shining; it will be dangerous," Simon said doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"That cannot be helped; I must go," the young man declared. +</P> + +<P> +Simon made no further remonstrance. He took up a lamp and led the way +down a flight of stone stairs to the cellar, where great amphoræ of +wine, covered with dust and cobwebs, stood in the darkness. Picking +his way between them, he advanced to the end of the cellar, where he +gave the lamp to Joel while he rolled aside one of the jars. Then, +with some difficulty, he raised the slab upon which it had stood, +revealing a narrow opening in the floor and another flight of steps. +Down these they passed to a small chamber hewn in the rock. Around its +sides ran a stone platform not more than three feet in width, and the +remainder of the floor space was occupied by a pool of water. +</P> + +<P> +When the wall of the city was built, its base had been laid in such a +manner as to bridge a natural fissure in the rock below the water line. +Why this opening had been left, Simon did not know. Possibly it had +been the intention of the architects to make it the outlet of a sewer. +If so, the plan had been abandoned, but the opening had been allowed to +remain. +</P> + +<P> +Standing on the ledge of stone, Joel stripped off his clothing and +removed his sandals. Simon took from a niche a small jar of oil and +rubbed him with the contents from head to foot, at the same time +instructing him how to proceed. +</P> + +<P> +"When shall you return?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"To-night, if I can," Joel replied. "If not, then to-morrow night in +the third watch. Farewell!" +</P> + +<P> +"Farewell!" Simon replied, stepping back and raising his lamp so that +its light fell upon the pool. +</P> + +<P> +Joel drew in a long breath, clasped his hands, and plunged +head-foremost into the water. Simon placed the young man's clothing in +the niche, put away the oil jar, and ascended to the first cellar. He +did not close the opening in the floor, but arranged the amphoræ so as +to conceal it, and returned to the room above. +</P> + +<P> +The impetus of Joel's plunge carried him the length of the pool and +into the fissure under the wall. He struck out vigorously, mindful of +Simon's instructions, and knowing that if his breath should fail while +he was below the masonry, nothing could save him. With the tips of his +fingers he could feel the sides of the passage, and presently he became +aware of a motion in the water caused by the underwash of the waves +outside. His head seemed bursting, and there was a ringing in his +ears. He felt that he must suffocate unless he could get air. He +began to swim upward through the water, dreading each moment to feel +his head strike the stones. What if the passage had been closed? None +had passed through it for years, and the defenders of the city were +constantly throwing down blocks of stone outside the walls. Something +grazed his back. He threw his arms upward, but his hands found no +obstruction. He had cleared the entrance. +</P> + +<P> +He lay on the surface of the water filling his lungs again and again, +and gazing up at the stars above the gray height of the wall against +whose grim base the swell lazily washed. Half an hour later one of the +watch on a quinquereme that lay off the mouth of the Egyptian Harbor to +prevent the escape of any of the Tyrian vessels heard a voice under the +stern and saw the white gleam of Joel's shoulders in the water. +</P> + +<P> +There was no sound in the Macedonian camp save the monotonous cries of +the sentinels when the young Israelite stepped from a small boat and +climbed the southern slope of the mole. He looked back and saw Tyre, +standing in the sea like an island raised upon cliffs of stone and +crowned with a circle of light. +</P> + +<P> +He made his way into the Old City, now hardly more than a bare ruin +since houses and temples had been tumbled into the strait to lengthen +the causeway. He had been provided with the pass-word, and with the +assistance of the sentries he had little difficulty in finding the tent +that he sought. He lifted the flap and entered. Inside he could hear +the breathing of sleeping men, dominated by a tremendous snore that +sounded as though it must come from the throat of a giant. +</P> + +<P> +"Peace be unto thee!" Joel cried, stumbling over the legs of one of the +sleepers. +</P> + +<P> +"Thieves!" cried a stentorian voice, and the snoring suddenly ceased. +</P> + +<P> +"It is I—Joel," the young man hastily announced. +</P> + +<P> +"Joel!" exclaimed the voice of Nathan in the darkness. "How came you +here?" +</P> + +<P> +He slipped out of the tent and returned in a moment, blowing upon a +brand from a smouldering camp-fire. With this he lighted an oil lamp +that swung from the central pole of the tent. Then he threw his arms +around the young man and embraced him heartily. +</P> + +<P> +Joel saw Clearchus and the lazy bulk of Chares, who looked at him +sleepily with his head propped on his elbow. There was another man in +the tent whom he did not know—a man with firm shoulders and a square +jaw, who stood glowering at him with a sword in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Put it away, Leonidas," Clearchus said, laughing. "This is no Tyrian, +but our little jailer in Babylon. How came you here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I came from Tyre," Joel answered. +</P> + +<P> +"From Tyre!" echoed Nathan and Clearchus. "How did you escape?" +</P> + +<P> +"I swam under the wall," Joel said, "and I bring you bad news." +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" Clearchus cried. "Is she dead?" +</P> + +<P> +"As yet she is unharmed," Joel replied. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, then? Speak!" Clearchus cried. +</P> + +<P> +Joel repeated what Mena had told him. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it possible to return by the way you came?" Clearchus demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"It is possible for a good swimmer, but it is dangerous," Joel replied. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall return with you at once," Clearchus announced, and began to +belt on his sword. +</P> + +<P> +"You are mad, Clearchus," Leonidas said, raising the flap of the tent. +"Dawn is breaking. It would be broad daylight before you could reach +the walls." +</P> + +<P> +"I am going, nevertheless," Clearchus answered calmly, continuing his +preparations. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think we are going to let you go alone?" Chares roared. "No, +by Zeus; I am going, too! I have something I wish to say to Thais." +</P> + +<P> +He proceeded to arm himself, adjusting with care a breastplate inlaid +with gold. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait!" cried Nathan. "I have a better plan. When does this sacrifice +take place?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was to be on the second day," Joel replied. "That will be +to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we have another night before us," Nathan said. "Do you think my +people in Tyre will surrender their first-born to Moloch? Not while +Jehovah reigns will they do that, nor will Jehovah permit the +sacrifice. It would be folly to think of entering the city now. We +should be discovered, and all would be ruined. We can enter at +nightfall, if need be, and my people will join us to save their own. +Let us consult Alexander. It may be that he will order the attack and +that Jehovah will give Tyre into his hands to-day. At any rate, if it +is a question of dying, we can die to-morrow as well as now." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas nodded. "You are right," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you satisfied, Clearchus?" Chares asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Let it be as you will," the Athenian responded. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap40"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XL +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE GAP OF DEATH +</H4> + +<P> +Alexander listened to Joel's story and questioned him closely regarding +the disposition of affairs in the city. He learned that supplies were +running low and that already the garrison was on half rations. Joel +assured him that the feeling of discouragement and despair was +universal in the city. +</P> + +<P> +"We will attack to-day," Alexander said to Clearchus, who stood waiting +in a fever of anxiety. "If we can break the walls, Baal-Moloch will be +cheated of his sacrifice, but Melkarth will have his fill." +</P> + +<P> +The fleet put forth from both sides of the mole, the oars of the rowers +flashing in the sun. The great towers on the end of the mole, which +now extended to the wall of the city, were filled with men who showered +arrows and javelins upon the garrison so as to protect the huge +battering rams at work below. These engines consisted of heavy beams, +one hundred feet long, ending in great rams' heads of bronze. They +were suspended by chains from a framework that permitted them to swing +freely. As many men as could grasp the short cords attached to the +sides of a beam labored to keep it oscillating with a regular motion. +With each downward swing, the bronze head, with its twisted horns, +dashed against the wall. The impact ground the stones to powder, but +the wall was so thick and so strongly built that its joints remained +firm. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander was reluctant to admit that the mole which he had constructed +with so much expenditure of time and labor was useless, and he +therefore kept the towers in action and the rams at work; but his real +hope of taking the city now lay elsewhere. The wall on the seaward +side, where no attack had been deemed possible, was less solid than +toward the land. Tests made by floating rams had shown that a breach +was practicable on the southwest and it was to this spot that the +attack was directed. +</P> + +<P> +The Cyprian ships hovered about the northern side of the city. Some +threatened the mouth of the Sidonian Harbor, while others sent flights +of arrows over the walls. The fortress was encircled by a menacing +ring of vessels, which kept the attention of the garrison occupied, +while Alexander prepared for the assault, which was to be made at a +point where the masonry already showed cracks, and some of the stones +had been pushed out of place. +</P> + +<P> +Towed by quinqueremes, the floating forts that the Macedonians had +built were brought slowly around to the southern wall. Some carried +ballistæ and catapults and stores of darts and stones. Others had +rams, scaling ladders, iron hooks, and siege implements of all kinds. +All were provided with shields to protect the men from missiles from +the walls. +</P> + +<P> +One by one they swung into position and came to anchor. The catapults +and ballistæ were placed two hundred yards from the wall, so as to +afford space for the flight of their projectiles. The ships of war +moved backward and forward, while the archers and slingers swept the +towers and ramparts with a hissing hail of lead and steel. +</P> + +<P> +Under cover of this protection, the rams and siege vessels pushed +forward. Their crews made them fast to projections in the wall, and +soon the regular throbbing crash of the rams was heard, pounding on the +masonry. The vessels with the ladders and scaling implements lay +waiting, with the bravest men in the army ready to spring to the +assault as soon as a breach should be opened. +</P> + +<P> +The July sun lay warm on the heaving sea, and the heat rose in +shimmering waves from the wall. Around and within the city the +shouting of men, the thudding of the rams, the creaking of the +machines, and the crash of stones cast by the ballistæ filled the air. +</P> + +<P> +The garrison brought its engines along the broad parapet within range +of the ships, and hurled great blocks of stone at the besieging fleet. +Several of the smaller vessels were sunk. Sometimes the stones met in +the air and burst into fragments. The attack upon the wall was not +relaxed. Finally a block was sufficiently exposed to permit the +grappling-irons to be fastened to its inner angles. Strong ropes were +attached to it and carried out to a quinquereme. The rowers bent to +their work, and the ropes lifted, dripping, from the water. The block +held fast for a moment, and then came out of its bed like a cork out of +a bottle, rolling with a splash into the sea. +</P> + +<P> +Amid the triumphant shouts of the Macedonians, a flatboat was pushed +forward and a hundred men attacked the weakened wall with levers and +bars of irons. Some of them were crushed by the rocks toppled down +upon them from above, others were pierced by arrows; but when they +withdrew, a wide cavity yawned where they had been, exposing the inner +courses of masonry. +</P> + +<P> +After them came the largest and heaviest of the rams. Under its +tremendous blows the cavity deepened and widened until the wall above +it began to tremble. It swayed, crumbled, and at last with a mighty +roar it fell, burying the ram and half the men who had been working it +under tons of broken stone. The Macedonians, gazing through the gap +that was opened, saw the Temple of Baal-Moloch, with its dome and +towers, rising gloomily among the cypress trees that surrounded it. +</P> + +<P> +With one impulse, the vessels carrying the shield-bearing guards and +the veterans of the Agema rushed in toward the breach. The soldiers +leaped ashore. Order was impossible upon such an insecure footing as +the tumbled blocks afforded. Every man clung where he could, advancing +step by step, and protecting himself by holding his shield above his +head. +</P> + +<P> +The Tyrians from the ends of the broken wall and from the top of the +slope where the gap had been made sent down flights of darts and +arrows. In order to repel the storming party, they even loosened +portions of the wall that still held firm and hurled them down upon the +enemy. +</P> + +<P> +Still the Macedonians pressed upward in the hope of winning the breach, +and holding it until reinforcements could arrive. Ptolemy, son of +Lagus, and Black Clitus fought in the foremost ranks. Beside them +Leonidas plied his sword, and with him were Clearchus and Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Ho, comrades! Beware the stone!" the Theban shouted, as a loosened +block rushed toward them down the slope. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas started aside, but his foot slipped and he fell to his knees. +Chares caught his arm and dragged him away. The fragment grazed him as +it hurtled past. +</P> + +<P> +"Forward, men of Macedon!" Ptolemy cried. "Alexander is watching you." +</P> + +<P> +A breathless cheer from the struggling ranks behind him told him that +the soldiers were doing their best. The stones of the fallen wall, +slippery with blood, rocked beneath their feet. Some of the men were +caught in crevices between the blocks and their lives were crushed out, +or they were held there until a javelin put an end to their misery. +But those who escaped this peril pressed upward like wolves when the +quarry is in sight. The exasperation of all the long months of the +siege, the accumulation of countless insults, and the joy of the battle +filled their hearts. +</P> + +<P> +Leaping upon a swaying stone that raised him above the heads of his +companions, Chares held his shield aloft to deflect the darts and +arrows that fell upon it as thickly as the drops of a shower. +</P> + +<P> +"Ohe!" he cried down the slope. "Come on! The victory is ours!" +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus bounded up beside him, his face pale with eagerness, and +stared into the city. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is she? Where is she?" he cried, panting. +</P> + +<P> +Chares laughed. "Did you expect she would be waiting for you at the +top?" he asked. "You will have to wait until we get inside." +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian gazed at the lofty buildings, whose walls were pierced by +hundreds of windows. If he only knew where to look! From the +housetops fluttered countless scarfs of yellow, blue, and red. Any one +of them might be hers. He was bewildered. +</P> + +<P> +The wall had fallen outward, leaving about twenty feet of its base +standing on the side toward the city. Companies of Tyrian soldiers ran +toward the breach. They placed ladders against the foot of the broken +wall and scrambled up into the gap like a swarm of ants to meet the +Macedonians. Ptolemy saw them coming and uttered a joyful cry. +</P> + +<P> +"Here they are," he shouted. "Melkarth, take thy sacrifice of dogs!" +</P> + +<P> +A conflict without quarter began on the crest of the gap. The Tyrians +fought with desperation, knowing that if the enemy once gained a +lodgement in the city they were lost. But in vain they hurled +themselves upon the head of the column, where Ptolemy and Clitus, +Chares and Clearchus, and a hundred more received them with the deadly +upward thrust of their swords, against which no armor was proof. There +was no longer room for the Tyrians in the breach. Those who had +ascended last were forced back, leaping or falling in their armor, the +weight of which broke their bones. Mingled with the living, the dead +began to drop back through the breach. The shouts of the victors +carried panic into the streets. +</P> + +<P> +Tyre lay at the mercy of Macedon. Looking down into the city, Ptolemy +saw the Tyrians hastily constructing barricades of furniture, casks, +litters, and such material as they were able to drag quickly together. +</P> + +<P> +"Do they think that will save them, now that we hold this?" he said to +Clitus. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus leaned against a stone with great joy in his heart. Tyre had +been won and Artemisia was saved. The sight of Moloch's dark temple no +longer chilled his blood. Baal must look elsewhere for victims. The +weary months of longing were at an end. +</P> + +<P> +So desperate had been the struggle in the breach that the Macedonians +had forgotten all else. It was not until the pause before the final +charge into the city that they began to notice the rolling clouds of +black smoke that were drawing together toward the gap along those +portions of the wall that remained standing. It rose in dark masses +against the sky, blotting out the sun as it spread seaward from the +parapet. Under its gloomy canopy men were swarming in long processions +upon the top of the wall toward the gap, bearing caldrons of iron and +copper suspended from yokes across their shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"See! They are going to provide us with shade," Clitus said. +</P> + +<P> +Ptolemy looked, and his expression changed to one of alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"Pitch and bitumen!" he exclaimed. "The men will never be able to +stand it!" +</P> + +<P> +A caldron rolled down into the gap, followed by another and another, +scattering their blazing contents as they came. Wherever the bitumen +fell it continued to burn, giving out smoke in stifling volumes. In a +few minutes the gap was obscured by suffocating clouds in which the +Macedonians groped blindly. Every stone was covered with a coating of +the blazing substances. Showers of molten lead and burning oil +descended from the walls. The bitumen ate into the flesh of the +soldiers. The lead and oil burned out their eyes. Many of them fled +like living torches down the slope and plunged into the sea. The gap +had become untenable. +</P> + +<P> +Ptolemy saw that it would be impossible for reënforcements to reach +him. He shook his sword at the city through the drifting smoke. +"Another day!" he shouted, and, turning, plunged down the blazing path. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus stood dazed as he saw his comrades turn back. +</P> + +<P> +"Come!" Chares shouted. "Do you want to be burned to death?" +</P> + +<P> +"Cowards!" Clearchus cried, "why do you fly? Do you not see that Tyre +is yours?" +</P> + +<P> +He made a step toward the edge of the wall and would have leaped down +into the city had not Chares caught him with an iron grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Leonidas!" cried the Theban. +</P> + +<P> +"Here!" the voice of Leonidas replied, and he appeared through the +smoke, smothering a patch of blazing pitch that had fallen upon his +bare shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus has gone crazy," Chares said. "Help me to carry him down." +</P> + +<P> +"You shall not!" the Athenian cried. "Traitors! Set me free!" +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas calmly twisted the sword out of his hand and threw it aside. +They lifted him between them, despite his struggles. Suddenly his +muscles relaxed and his head fell backward. +</P> + +<P> +"That's right," Chares said. "He has fainted. We can carry him better +so." +</P> + +<P> +He threw the limp form over his shoulder and strode after Leonidas into +the black curtain, which had become so dense that it was impossible for +sight to penetrate it in any direction. Sulphur and pepper had been +mixed in the caldrons, giving the smoke a pungent, choking quality. +Stumbling over jagged blocks of stone, and tripping upon the bodies of +the dead, Chares, with Clearchus in his arms, followed Leonidas through +that vale of death. Blinded and gasping, they staggered to the edge of +the water. They were the last to come alive out of the smoke. They +were drawn upon one of the siege boats, and lay there until the +unwieldy vessel was towed out into the clear sunshine and safety. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap41"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT +</H4> + +<P> +Prince Hur, son of Azemilcus, sat in his house, which opened from the +courtyard of the palace. In figure he was undersized, like his father, +with a delicate face and thin white hands, on one of which glittered a +great ruby. Instead of the mocking smile that the king was accustomed +to wear, his expression was grave and serious. +</P> + +<P> +With him were Esmun, chief priest of Baal-Moloch, on whose fat +countenance, with its pendulous jowls, sloth struggled with greed, and +Ariston, the Athenian. Ariston's thin form was thinner and his face +more worn than on the day when he watched his nephew, Clearchus, ride +out of Athens, leaving him guardian of his fortune. He had made free +use of this wealth, as he had planned, to save the remnants of his own; +but mischance had continued to follow him in everything he attempted. +So heavy were his losses that he rejoiced when he learned that +Clearchus had been sent to Babylon a prisoner. The young man's return +to the army filled him with despair. Involved as he was, only one hope +remained. He would dispose of his great dye-works in Tyre, and the +proceeds of the sale would enable him to make a last attempt to save +himself. While he was in Tyre, he also would collect the loan that he +had been forced to make to Phradates, and that the Phœnician had +never repaid. If this plan failed, he would have to choose between +death and the punishment that would be visited upon the betrayal of his +trust. Therefore he had come to Tyre, and there, by a final stroke of +misfortune, he had been imprisoned by the siege. +</P> + +<P> +"I fear there is not much hope for us," Prince Hur said. "Even though +we succeed in beating off these attacks, as we did to-day, sooner or +later we shall starve." +</P> + +<P> +"Hast thou, too, lost faith in the power of Baal?" Esmun asked, in a +tone of reproof. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe in him as much as you do yourself," the prince said. +</P> + +<P> +"I may have deserved that reproach," the priest replied sadly. "To my +shame, I confess it; but if I have allowed the name of Baal to be +lightly spoken in my presence, it was not because I did not believe. I +thought that he was able to defend himself, as indeed he is. I say to +you now that I know his power. It has been shown over and over again. +If it should please him to save Tyre in her extremity, he will do it. +We shall know after the sacrifice." +</P> + +<P> +"There will be no sacrifice," the prince said quietly. +</P> + +<P> +Esmun stared at him open-mouthed, and Ariston started sharply. The +Athenian was the first to recover himself. +</P> + +<P> +"What does your Highness mean?" he asked. "Doubtless you speak in +jest." +</P> + +<P> +"I sent for you because I am in need of your advice," the prince +continued gravely. "You are both men of the world and fitted to aid me +with your counsel; but what I am about to tell you must not be +repeated, even to yourselves. Do you swear to keep the secret, no +matter what my decision may be?" +</P> + +<P> +"We swear it," Ariston replied. +</P> + +<P> +"And you?" the prince said to Esmun. +</P> + +<P> +"By the head of Baal!" the priest declared. +</P> + +<P> +"Azemilcus has resolved to deliver the city," the prince said, bending +forward and speaking in a tone scarcely above a whisper. +</P> + +<P> +For an instant both his hearers were silent. Ariston comprehended in a +flash that surrender would mean his ruin, since it would involve the +loss of his property. Esmun was too astonished to think. +</P> + +<P> +"What will the king receive in return?" the Athenian inquired. +</P> + +<P> +"His life," Hur replied. "He knows well that the city must be +destroyed, and that his people will be sold into slavery." +</P> + +<P> +Esmun groaned. He saw himself torn from his life of ease, +Baal-Moloch's temple in ruins, and nothing left for him but years of +servitude. +</P> + +<P> +"How will the surrender be made?" Ariston asked. +</P> + +<P> +"The king will order the fleets out of both harbors," the prince +explained. "They will be destroyed, and care will be taken to leave +the harbor entrances unguarded." +</P> + +<P> +"Does Alexander know this?" Esmun demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," said the prince. "I am to go to him to-night with the +chancellor to make him the offer." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you have consented to it?" the priest said. +</P> + +<P> +"I was not asked to consent," the prince replied bitterly. "You know +that the king is not in the habit of consulting me." +</P> + +<P> +"Yet he proposes to take your inheritance from you!" Esmun exclaimed. +"If Baal intervenes, the city will be saved and you will be its king." +</P> + +<P> +"Does the council know?" Ariston asked. +</P> + +<P> +"It does not," Hur replied. +</P> + +<P> +"There is only one course open to you," Esmun declared, roused as he +had not been since the long struggle that ended in raising him above +his rivals and placing him in a position that gave him almost as much +power as the king himself. "Go with the chancellor, since to refuse +now would arouse suspicion. Get proof of the king's treachery and lay +it at once before the council and the generals. Azemilcus will be +dealt with according to their will, and you will be made king in his +stead. That you may leave to me if you can obtain the proof; but it +must be strong." +</P> + +<P> +"There would be no difficulty concerning the proof," the prince said +doubtfully. "We are to bring Macedonians back with us to act as a +guard for the king. They will be concealed in the palace so that they +will be able to insure his safety when the city falls. Their presence +will be proof enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Would it not be better to lay the whole affair before the council +now?" Ariston suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Esmun decisively. "The king would deny everything. He +would accuse Hur of seeking his throne, and he would be believed. We +must have the proof." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not like to raise my hand against my father," Hur said +hesitatingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Tyre is in danger," Esmun said solemnly. "It is your duty to save her +if you can, and this duty comes before any tie of blood. It is I, +chief servant of Baal, who tell you this." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not shrink," the prince responded, with sudden decision. +</P> + +<P> +The sun was setting before the three completed the details of their +plan. When Ariston left the prince, he was so wrapped in thought that +he did not recognize the brutal face of Syphax, who passed him with +three or four others of his own kind. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you see that man?" the broken freebooter exclaimed, directing the +attention of his companions to the retreating form. "I have a +settlement to make with him. It was he who scattered my crew and +brought me to what I am. I have sought him far, and now the Fates have +given him to me. He shall pay the reckoning!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap42"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A TRAITOR IN PURPLE +</H4> + +<P> +Although they had been repulsed, the Macedonians returned to their +camp, confident that Tyre could not much longer stand against them. +Alexander ordered the sacrifice of a black bull to Phœbus. After a +careful examination of the entrails, Aristander, the soothsayer, sought +the king and spoke to him in private. +</P> + +<P> +"Tyre will fall before the month ends," he said. "Phœbus has +promised it." +</P> + +<P> +"But the month will end to-morrow," Alexander replied, in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"Nevertheless, there can be no doubt," Aristander declared. "To-morrow +thou wilt be in possession of the city." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us see what the army thinks," the king returned. +</P> + +<P> +The news soon spread through the camp. Some of the soldiers rejoiced +as though the promise had already been fulfilled, while others refused +to believe, declaring that the thing was impossible. In order to save +the God from discredit, Alexander issued a proclamation extending the +month three days beyond its accustomed term. With this the army was +satisfied. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus gave way to an agony of disappointment when he regained +consciousness to find himself on the siege boat with the walls of Tyre +receding from him. Chares and Leonidas were obliged at first to +prevent him by force from throwing himself into the sea. It was only +when the Theban reminded him that it was still possible for them to +enter the city that he became calmer. He was for seeking the passage +through which Joel had emerged as soon as day ended, but the young +Israelite convinced him that such an attempt would surely be +frustrated. The breach in the wall was only a short distance from the +passage and workmen would be engaged there, to say nothing of the guard +that would certainly be established. He consented finally to yield to +his friends and await the third watch of the night. This delay would +permit them to get a few hours of rest. +</P> + +<P> +The sun went down in flaming glory, casting the long shadow of the +Tyrian walls across the Macedonian camp. The thin smoke of a thousand +fires rose lazily in the quiet The soldiers ceased to recount their +escapes in the dreadful breach and stretched themselves on the ground. +Only in Alexander's tent a light continued to glow. +</P> + +<P> +In the middle of the second watch, a small boat crept in from the +purple shadows of the sea and grated on the sand. Two men stepped out +and turned their faces toward the camp. By their features and dress +they were Phœnicians. Of the first sentinel they met, they demanded +to be led to Alexander, and the reasons they gave caused the captain of +the guard to grant their request. +</P> + +<P> +The captain emerged from the king's tent at the end of half an hour and +hurried away in the darkness. He brought back with him Clearchus, +Chares, Leonidas, Nathan, and Joel. The Theban was rubbing his eyes +and yawning over his interrupted slumbers. +</P> + +<P> +"What is all this about?" he grumbled. "Have we not done enough for +one day? I wish this cursed city was in the bottom of the sea!" +</P> + +<P> +"It is by the king's order," the captain reminded him. +</P> + +<P> +They found Alexander stretched upon his couch and the two Phœnicians +seated before him. From the expression of the king's eyes as they +sought his, Clearchus knew that something of moment was in his mind, +and his pale face brightened. +</P> + +<P> +One of the strangers was Prince Hur, son of King Azemilcus. The young +man seemed ill at ease, and his fingers played constantly with the +golden chain that he wore as a member of the council. His companion +was older and more composed. His lips were thin and his eyes were keen +and penetrating. +</P> + +<P> +"Comrades," Alexander said, using the term that endeared him to every +soldier in his army, "I have a dangerous service to ask of you. King +Azemilcus has dreamed that his city is about to fall, and we know that +his dream is true. He has sent his son and his chancellor to us to ask +his life, and it has been granted to him. But many things may happen +when the blood is hot with fighting, and it is necessary that +Macedonians be with him when we enter. Therefore I wish you to go to +him and guard him when the time arrives. You may conduct him to the +Temple of Melkarth, which will be set aside as a sanctuary. +</P> + +<P> +"It has been promised that you shall pass unharmed into the city and +remain there in the palace until I come. If this promise is not kept, +Azemilcus and all his family are to be crucified upon the walls as a +warning to those who may wish to break faith with Alexander." +</P> + +<P> +The young king looked keenly at the Phœnicians. The prince lowered +his eyes and moved uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"There is one thing more," Alexander continued. "If any of you have +friends in the city whom you desire to protect, it is made a condition +of the safety of Azemilcus that he shall aid you by every means in his +power." +</P> + +<P> +He glanced meaningly at Clearchus as he uttered these words, and the +young man's heart bounded with renewed hope. +</P> + +<P> +They left the tent in silence. The captain of the guard accompanied +them to the boat. +</P> + +<P> +"Azemilcus is betraying his city," Chares whispered. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall save Artemisia and rescue Thais," Clearchus replied, gripping +the arm of his friend. +</P> + +<P> +They entered the boat and rowed silently to the Egyptian Harbor. The +towering height of the wall swallowed the little craft in its shadow +and no sentinel challenged them. They bent their heads as they glided +under the great guard-chains that stretched across the entrance of the +harbor, and threading their way among the shipping, they reached the +landing and disembarked. +</P> + +<P> +Keeping to the left, the chancellor led them toward the palace. More +than once they were forced to step aside to avoid the heaps of ruins +that told of the work done by the ballistæ. As they advanced, the +great bulk of the palace rose before them above the wall, to which it +was joined and of which it formed a part. As they advanced, the +chancellor was careful to keep in the deepest shadow, and his hand +shook as he fitted the key into a small door in the palace wall. +</P> + +<P> +"We are safe!" he said to the prince as the door closed behind them. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well," the young man replied, yawning; "I am going to bed." +</P> + +<P> +He turned abruptly into a lateral passage and disappeared. The +chancellor seemed in doubt for a moment whether to call him back, but +he decided to let him go. +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me," he said to the Macedonians. +</P> + +<P> +They groped their way upward after him along a winding stair that +seemed to be built into the city wall. This slow progress continued +for many minutes without a glimmer of light until they reached what +appeared to be a windowless chamber. There the chancellor left them, +bidding them wait until he had notified the king of their arrival. +</P> + +<P> +He was absent so long that Leonidas began to grow uneasy. He found the +chamber destitute of furniture and without doors save that by which +they had entered and that by which the chancellor had left them. Both +were now secured. This had been accomplished without attracting their +attention and it added to their uneasiness. +</P> + +<P> +"We are like owls in a cage," Nathan said. "We can do nothing but +wait." +</P> + +<P> +"I do not like it," Leonidas replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense," Chares remarked. "They brought us here for a purpose and +we are of more use to them alive than dead. Do you suppose that +Azemilcus is anxious to be crucified?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not," the Spartan replied, "but it maybe that he has changed +his mind. If he does not send for us soon, I think we had better try +the door." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus said nothing, but he paced impatiently back and forth across +the narrow room, pausing at every sound. The night was passing and the +hour for the sacrifice to Moloch was drawing nearer. Shut up in the +palace, they would be powerless to save Artemisia. The moments seemed +hours to him. At last he could bear the suspense no longer. +</P> + +<P> +"We should never have permitted the chancellor to leave us!" he said, +and, striding to the door, he began to beat upon it with the hilt of +his sword until the metal of which it was composed rang like a bell. +</P> + +<P> +There was no response. The others joined him, raising a tumult loud +enough to be heard throughout the palace, but even then some time +elapsed before the bars were removed and the door swung open. The +chancellor had returned alone, his face white and scared in the +flickering light of the lamp that he had set upon the stone floor while +he worked at the bars. +</P> + +<P> +"Silence, or we are all lost!" he whispered imploringly, taking up the +lamp with a hand that trembled so that the oil spilled upon the floor. +"Do you want to invite death?" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't talk to us of silence!" bellowed Chares, threatening the old man +with his sword. "What do you mean by shutting us up here? You have +yet to learn that it is not wise to keep the soldiers of Alexander +waiting. Take us to your king." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes!" muttered the chancellor with chattering teeth. "Follow me; +but in the name of Baal keep silence! I fear they have heard you +already." +</P> + +<P> +"Little I care if they have, whoever they are," the Theban exclaimed, +stalking after the chancellor, sword in hand. "If you try any more of +your tricks, your head goes off like a chicken's." +</P> + +<P> +They made several turns in the passage, ascended a last short flight of +steps, and came to a second door, which their guide pushed open. They +followed him into a large room, hung with woven tapestries, carpeted +with silken rugs, and strewn with luxurious divans. It was on the +southern side of the palace, with windows that looked out across the +wall toward the sea. The light of the lamps was already yielding to +the gray dawn which silvered the surface of the water. +</P> + +<P> +With his back to the window stood Azemilcus, king of the doomed city. +His thin white hair straggled from under a close-fitting cap to the +diamond collar which encircled his wrinkled throat. A gorgeous robe of +crimson hid his shrunken figure. He looked old and feeble, but his +eyes were as bright as jewels set in the head of a mummy. +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, gentlemen!" he said quietly, stretching forth a wasted hand +toward Chares, who was striding toward him with anger in his face. "I +must ask your pardon for your detention; but we are prisoners here, +like yourselves." +</P> + +<P> +Astonishment halted the Theban, who stood staring at the king as though +he had not heard aright. Clearchus stepped forward. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean? Who has made you a prisoner?" he asked sharply. +</P> + +<P> +The small king smiled with irony on his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"I fear it can be only the prince, my son," he replied. +</P> + +<P> +"The same one who helped to bring us here and who left us as soon as we +entered the palace?" Clearchus demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Azemilcus answered, crossing his hands and hiding them in the +wide sleeves of his robe. "He is not sharp-witted, my son; and it +turns out that he still has hopes of saving Tyre so that he may reign +here in my place. You see what they have been doing." +</P> + +<P> +He stepped back and waved his hand toward the window. Beneath them was +the breach that had been so desperately attacked and defended. The +Tyrians had raised a new wall, nearly as thick and as high as the city +wall itself. It formed a half-circle inside the gap, joining the main +wall at either end, so that an attacking force, seeking to storm the +breach, would be caught as in the bend of a bow. Swarms of men were +still at work there by the light of torches. +</P> + +<P> +The Athenian's heart sank. It seemed to him impossible that after the +defeat of the preceding day, a second attack could succeed when the +breach had been repaired. They were inside the city, it was true, but +they were only five against forty thousand. +</P> + +<P> +For a moment there was silence in the room. The bitter smile still +rested on the thin lips of the old king. The chancellor stood +nervously rubbing his knuckles, first with one hand and then with the +other. Leonidas examined the wall and the new work with an eye that +took in every detail. He turned to the king. +</P> + +<P> +"You know that if you try to deceive us, we will kill you," he said +quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" the king replied, still with his thin smile. +</P> + +<P> +"You say that it is your son who has shut you up," Leonidas continued. +"Why do you think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because he alone, besides this man, knew that I had summoned you," the +king said. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas looked at the chancellor, whose ashen face grew a shade paler +under his scrutiny. +</P> + +<P> +"You were about to betray your city and your son has betrayed you," the +Spartan said. +</P> + +<P> +"That is a harsh way to put it," Azemilcus answered. "The city was +lost already." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it lost now?" Leonidas demanded, pointing to the new wall. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said the old king. "To-day, to-morrow, next month, it will +fall. The Gods have deserted us. The boy told me they would." +</P> + +<P> +"It is not surprising that the Gods have deserted you," the Spartan +observed. "But your son, who has conspired against you, knows that we +are here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," the king admitted. +</P> + +<P> +"And you kept us shut up while you were considering whether there was +not some way of getting rid of us so that we might not be found and +used as proof of your treachery," Leonidas continued. "You were ready +to sacrifice us, who had come to save you, so that you might prove your +son a liar and defeat his attempt." +</P> + +<P> +Azemilcus made no reply, but the smile left his lips and he glanced +furtively from side to side. Chares muttered some words in his throat +that sounded like a curse. +</P> + +<P> +"You are speaking to a king," Azemilcus said at last, drawing himself +up with an assumption of dignity and trying to meet the eyes of his +questioner. +</P> + +<P> +"I am speaking to a fool!" Leonidas replied contemptuously. "In order +to profit by his double perfidy, your son must have proof against you. +Who will believe him unless we are found? It will be his first care to +produce us, and if he can do this, there will be no hope left for you. +Every moment that you kept us behind that door brought you nearer to +death." +</P> + +<P> +He paused, and Azemilcus made no reply; but his smile came back and his +eyes wandered toward a table where a great flagon of wine had been set. +</P> + +<P> +"There may yet be time to save ourselves and you," Leonidas continued. +"If you can get rid of us for the present, you will have nothing to +fear. You can deny your son's story and it will be attributed to a +clumsy plot to overthrow you. Is there no way out of the palace that +is not guarded?" +</P> + +<P> +"None that I know," the king replied. +</P> + +<P> +The chancellor uttered a clucking sound in his throat that seemed +involuntary. Leonidas gripped him by the shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know a way?" he cried. "Speak quickly." +</P> + +<P> +The chancellor went down on his knees and raised his hands in +supplication. +</P> + +<P> +"Mercy!" he wailed. "Mercy! I know—I have heard of a way!" +</P> + +<P> +"Where does it lead?" Leonidas demanded fiercely. +</P> + +<P> +"To the Temple of our Lord, Baal-Moloch," the old man whimpered. +</P> + +<P> +King Azemilcus looked at his chancellor with his keen eyes and +sarcastic smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Now I understand many things," he remarked dryly. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my master, I took them!" the chancellor cried, with tears rolling +down his cheeks. "Esmun made me do it. He said Moloch demanded them." +</P> + +<P> +"My rubies," the king said musingly. "Well, never mind. We will talk +of them hereafter." +</P> + +<P> +"What is one piece of treachery, more or less, to you?" Leonidas said +roughly. "Remain here. Should you escape your son, we will seek you, +if we can, when those come whom you cannot escape. If we do not +return, fly to the Temple of Melkarth and embrace his knees that you +may be spared. Farewell!" +</P> + +<P> +He dragged the chancellor to his feet. The man was shaking so that he +could hardly stand. Below them in the palace they could hear the tramp +of ascending footsteps and the sound of voices. +</P> + +<P> +"They are coming; we cannot remain here," Nathan cried. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas snatched up the flagon of wine and hastily filled a golden cup +that he offered to the chancellor. +</P> + +<P> +"Drink this," he said. "It will give you strength." +</P> + +<P> +Instead of taking the cup, the chancellor uttered a choking cry and +pushed it from him. +</P> + +<P> +"Not that!" he gasped. "See, I am strong! I will lead you!" +</P> + +<P> +He seemed indeed to have recovered from his weakness, for he stepped +briskly toward the door by which they had entered. Leonidas looked at +him and then at the wine spilled upon the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Poisoned!" he exclaimed, and such a blaze of wrath gleamed in his eye +that the old king shrank back. +</P> + +<P> +"So this was your plan for getting rid of us!" the Spartan said. +</P> + +<P> +His grasp tightened about the hilt of his sword, and for an instant he +hesitated; but the tramp of the soldiers was close at hand and he +reflected that a dead king could not betray Tyre. He sheathed his +sword and darted into the passage after his companions. Azemilcus made +fast the door behind them and let the draperies fall over it. Then he +turned with his mocking smile to face his accusers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap43"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE KING TAKES HIS REVENGE +</H4> + +<P> +Azemilcus walked to the window and stood there leaning against the +frame. Day was breaking, sullen and gray, in a wrack of flying clouds, +and the uneasy moaning of the sea sounded in his ears. +</P> + +<P> +There Hur and Esmun, panting from their long climb, found him standing. +The prince carried a drawn sword in his hand and he glanced quickly +from side to side as he burst into the room. Behind him came Ariston +and a guard of twenty or thirty soldiers, headed by one of the generals +of the garrison. Hur had expected to find the Greeks. He saw only his +father, leaning wearily in the window. He stood abashed, looking at +Esmun as if for advice. +</P> + +<P> +The old king remained motionless until all had entered, and then he +turned slowly and faced them. The lines of his countenance, deepened +by months of anxiety, told of the strain he had passed through, and his +shrunken frame seemed aged and feeble in its magnificent robe of state. +His eyes met theirs steadily and frankly, yet with a look of sadness as +he gave them his greeting. +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, my son and gentlemen," he said. "You come early to seek your +king; but in these times I know that ceremony must be disregarded. +What news do you bring?" +</P> + +<P> +The authority in his tone and the dignity of his bearing, which most of +the men who stood before him had been accustomed from boyhood to +respect, had their effect. The soldiers, who knew nothing of the plot, +stared wonderingly about them. Ariston had prudently halted near the +door, and he now edged still farther into the background. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, gentlemen!" the king said, finding that none replied to his +question. "What is the news that brings you hither at this hour? Do +not fear to tell me, since it is the lot of kings to share the dangers +and sorrows of their people. Have I not done it for nearly fifty +years?" +</P> + +<P> +He smiled somewhat sadly and waved his thin hand with a gesture that +seemed to dismiss all that he had done for the city as something for +which he required no return of gratitude. +</P> + +<P> +"Do not hesitate," he continued, "because you would spare me. It is +true that in all that now threatens us I have more to lose than you. I +am ready, as you know, to sacrifice even life itself if that would save +the city. Is it concerning the offering to Baal-Moloch that you desire +to consult me?" +</P> + +<P> +He addressed himself to Esmun, recognizing in the priest the man from +whom he had most to fear. He had scarcely glanced at his son, who +stood helpless, raging inwardly to find himself presenting the +appearance of a culprit caught in some fault, instead of the avenger +that he had expected to be. Esmun looked at the prince and saw that +nothing was to be expected from him. He took up the situation boldly, +relying upon his sacred office to protect him. +</P> + +<P> +"It is true that I wished to consult you concerning the sacrifice to +Baal-Moloch, whom I serve," he said, "but we had still another reason +for coming. We have been informed that a plot against your life has +been conceived. It was told to us that certain Greeks had been brought +into the city by the treachery of your enemies, and we made all haste +to summon this guard to protect you in case of need. It is said that +the assassins are even now in the palace. If anything should happen to +your Highness, then, indeed, the city might despair. In guarding thy +safety, we guard the safety of all." +</P> + +<P> +The two men looked into each other's eyes. The king read the threat +that lay behind Esmun's words and he took up the challenge. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should they seek to destroy a man whose days are fast nearing +their close?" he asked. "The death of one of these soldiers would +profit them more, since it would leave one less dauntless heart for +them to conquer. It seems to me that the alarm is needless, although I +thank you for your care; and yet, I will not conceal from you that +there may after all be some basis for the story you have heard. Within +the week, the crown rubies have been stolen, and it is clear that I +have some unfaithful servants. Perhaps they have brought in the Greeks +to prevent detection and the punishment they deserve. Search the +palace, and if the assassins are found, we will make an example of +them." +</P> + +<P> +Esmun's heavy face quivered when the king spoke of the rubies, for his +words were accompanied by a look full of significance. He knew that +the Greeks were in the city, but the willingness of the king to have +the search made indicated that they were no longer in the palace. He +racked his brains to think what had become of them. +</P> + +<P> +Ariston slipped out of the door and stole softly down the stairs. The +astute Athenian saw that the counterplot had collapsed. +</P> + +<P> +"You, my son, and you, Esmun, will remain with me while the guard makes +the search," the king said coolly, "and let us eat, for there is much +to be done to-day." +</P> + +<P> +He engaged the priest in talk regarding the details of the sacrifice to +Baal while the soldiers dispersed through the palace and slaves brought +food. To Hur he did not speak. The general in charge of the guard at +last returned, saying that no trace of the presence of strangers in the +palace could be discovered. He knew nothing of the secret passages, +and the prince did not venture, in his father's presence, to reveal +them. Esmun, with the theft of the rubies in his mind, dared not +betray his knowledge of their existence. +</P> + +<P> +"It is as I thought," the king said, dismissing the guard. "I thank +you for your zeal." +</P> + +<P> +The slaves had already withdrawn, since it was unlawful for any who had +not been initiated to be present while the mysteries of the worship of +Baal were being discussed. +</P> + +<P> +"You seem downcast, my son!" the king said when he was left alone with +Hur and the priest. He took his seat at the table, upon which the food +had been placed, and motioned them to a seat opposite to him. "You +will never be a king," he continued, "until you learn how to conquer +failure. I have noted a certain nervousness in you of late. You +should overcome it. Misfortune is half disarmed when you meet her in a +cheerful spirit." +</P> + +<P> +Hur let his eyes fall, but he made no reply. Esmun kept his gaze on +the king's face. +</P> + +<P> +"Come!" Azemilcus said in the same bantering tone, "you do not eat. +You should leave the welfare of the city to me. You thought you knew, +when you did not. You should remember that kings do not always reveal +their purposes." +</P> + +<P> +He filled his cup from the great flagon and pushed it toward them. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us drink to the safety of Tyre," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"To that I say amen," Esmun exclaimed, "and may the curse of Baal rest +upon all who seek to betray her!" +</P> + +<P> +"So say I—be they high or low!" Hur echoed boldly. +</P> + +<P> +The old king's eyes sparkled and he looked at them with the mocking +smile that they knew so well. +</P> + +<P> +"Drink, then!" he said, spilling a few drops from his cup upon the +floor as a libation. +</P> + +<P> +The others followed his example, Esmun with a muttered word of +invocation, and both drank off what remained. The king was seized by a +violent fit of coughing that shook his withered frame and forced him to +set his cup down untasted. As he did so Esmun rose to his feet. +</P> + +<P> +The face of the priest was convulsed and purple and his eyes seemed +starting from his head. He raised his clenched hands and made a +tottering step toward the king as though he would strike him with his +fists. He struggled to speak, but no words issued from his throat. He +reeled blindly and crashed down across the table like a slain bullock, +overturning it in his fall. His eyes rolled up in his head and he lay +motionless. +</P> + +<P> +The prince did not rise from his chair, but his fingers gripped +convulsively the carved arms of ebony and he writhed in agony. +</P> + +<P> +"Father!" he gasped. +</P> + +<P> +His form stiffened, his head fell back, and a slight foam appeared on +his lips. +</P> + +<P> +Azemilcus drew the skirts of his robe around him and stepped carefully +across the litter caused by the wreck of the table, with its linen +cloth stained in the spilled wine that flowed from the shattered +flagon. He walked quietly to the door and vanished between the crimson +curtains, leaving the two dead men alone in the room. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap44"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLIV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES +</H4> + +<P> +While Azemilcus was dealing with his enemies in his own way, the +wretched chancellor, shaking in every limb, conducted the Macedonians +back through the secret passage by which he had brought them to the +presence of the king. Descending the winding stairs, they reached the +street level, where the old man opened a hidden door that led into a +narrow subterranean gallery. They followed this for what seemed to +them a long distance in a stagnant atmosphere, heavy with dampness. It +brought them at last to a slab of stone, from which hung a ring of iron. +</P> + +<P> +Chares was forced to exert all his strength to turn this stone upon its +pivot. They emerged from the passage into a small room with walls of +rough masonry and a door that was closed by a black curtain. At the +request of the chancellor, the lamp was extinguished. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are we?" Leonidas demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"In the Temple of Baal," the old man whispered. "This room is little +used by the priests. They live on the other side." +</P> + +<P> +The Spartan raised the curtain and looked into the gloomy interior of +the temple. It was deserted and silent. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do with this man?" he asked, turning to his companions, +and indicating the chancellor. +</P> + +<P> +"We have no further use for him," Chares replied, placing his hand +suggestively upon his sword-hilt. +</P> + +<P> +"Spare me!" the chancellor cried, falling upon his knees. "I will tell +where the rubies are, and a great store of jewels besides. They are +under the image of Baal. Do not take my life!" +</P> + +<P> +"He might betray us if we let him go," Leonidas said, paying no +attention to his supplications. +</P> + +<P> +"I swear to you on the head of Baal that I will not," the old man cried +piteously. +</P> + +<P> +"If he should betray us," Clearchus observed, "his own life would be +forfeit, because we should reveal the part he had in bringing us into +the city." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well; you have most at stake," the Spartan said. "Let him go." +</P> + +<P> +The chancellor did not wait for further permission. He disappeared +into the passage like an old gray rat escaped from a trap. +</P> + +<P> +"I am half sorry we spared him after all," Leonidas said regretfully. +"Let us see where we are." +</P> + +<P> +They passed through the curtained door and into the temple. Twilight +reigned beneath the lofty dome where the bats were still flitting. +This semi-darkness was artfully preserved so that the fire, which was +the essential feature of the worship of Baal-Moloch, might be visible +and effective during the sacrifices. +</P> + +<P> +The Greeks found themselves in a vast hall of oblong shape. They were +standing upon a platform of stone, raised for the height of a man above +the main floor, to which a flight of broad and shallow steps descended. +A huge dark mass stood before them exactly under the dome, the sides of +which were pierced by narrow slits that admitted the light of day. +This mass was the misshapen idol of Baal. The God was represented by a +hollow statue of iron and bronze, sitting upon a throne. Its long arms +terminated in hands that rested with palms upturned beside its knees. +Its enormous head was inclined slightly forward, and the expression +upon its face was so cruel and malignant that Clearchus felt his blood +chilled as he gazed upon it and thought of the hecatombs of innocent +victims whose lives had been sacrificed to its ferocity. +</P> + +<P> +There were larger and more splendid images of Baal in other +Phœnician cities, but none that was so venerated. It had been +brought from the Temple of Baal-Moloch in the Old City on the mainland, +where for centuries it had been the guardian of the place, receiving +its sacrifices each year. In the old days even the first-born of the +royal blood had been lifted in those blackened arms and rolled upon the +iron knees to be roasted alive. The terrible face leaned above with +distended nostrils, as though to inhale the odor of burning flesh, and +thousands of mothers had watched its dreadful smile through the smoke +with songs of praise on their lips and death in their hearts, while +their babies writhed in agony in the pitiless embrace. Baal would +accept no unwilling sacrifice, and the mother whose child was torn from +her breast to be given to the God, not only lost her infant but was +disgraced forever if she showed emotion while the rite was being +performed. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of themselves, the Macedonians were oppressed by a kind of +superstitious dread as they looked at the grim visage that seemed to +sneer down upon them. +</P> + +<P> +The great portals of the temple, at the other end of the hall, were +closed. On either side were rows of dark columns upholding the roof, +which was painted to represent the heavens. Dim shapes of monsters, +half beast and half human, appeared upon the walls. +</P> + +<P> +The Greeks made a circuit of the temple but found no means of egress. +There were several anterooms similar to the one to which the +subterranean passage had led them. These contained vestments, the +implements used in the ceremonials, and a store of scented wood, dry as +tinder, that furnished fuel for the sacrifices. In one of the rooms +was a door which Joel believed connected with the building in which the +priests were housed. The walls around the platform were draped with +heavy hangings of black that formed a background for the image. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us take counsel," Nathan said, casting a look of hatred at the +idol. "Jehovah will not permit this monster to triumph over Him." +</P> + +<P> +They withdrew into their recess to consider a plan of action. +</P> + +<P> +"One thing is certain," Leonidas said. "Alone we can never prevent the +sacrifice." +</P> + +<P> +"My people will help us," Nathan said. "They will not give up their +first-born without fighting." +</P> + +<P> +"How many are they?" Clearchus asked. +</P> + +<P> +"There are ten thousand of them in the city," Joel replied; "but they +are not armed, excepting those who have been drafted to the defence of +the walls." +</P> + +<P> +"I have more faith in Alexander than I have in your people," Chares +said bluntly. "He will be in the city before this day ends, unless the +Gods have misled old Aristander." +</P> + +<P> +"But will he come in time?" Leonidas asked. "Let Nathan and Joel go to +the Israelites and rouse them to resist. Tell them that Alexander is +coming and that he will protect them. We three will stay here and +await the result." +</P> + +<P> +To this the others gave their assent. It seemed a desperate chance, +but it was all they had. There was a small window in the antechamber, +high up in the wall. Nathan climbed up to it on the shoulders of the +Greeks and looked through. +</P> + +<P> +"There is nothing on this side but the cypress garden," he said. +"Farewell; you may be sure that we shall return, though we come alone." +</P> + +<P> +He slipped through the window and dropped upon the turf outside. Joel +followed him. The three Greeks, left alone in the temple, looked into +each other's faces and Clearchus grasped his companions by the hand. +</P> + +<P> +"You have placed your lives in peril for me," he said with emotion. +"Zeus grant that they be not demanded of you!" +</P> + +<P> +"Pshaw!" Chares exclaimed, "are not our lives always in peril? If we +must die, we shall die; and we are not permitted to choose where or +how. When the Ferryman calls, we must go. For my part, if thou +wouldst repay me, let me sleep, for my head is nodding." +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus smiled, understanding his friend's aversion to any display of +feeling. He embraced the Theban, who calmly lay down upon the stone +floor; his eyes closed, and he began to snore gently. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas, whose tough frame defied fatigue, and Clearchus, whose mind +was in a torment of doubt and suspense, stationed themselves behind the +curtain that hid the door and waited, talking in whispers. They could +hear the patter of raindrops and by the rising wind outside they knew +that a storm was breaking over the city. Its breath entered through +the slits in the dome, causing the dark hangings to sway against the +wall. The gloomy temple seemed to be filled with mysterious +murmurings. Some drops fell upon the image of Baal and ran glistening +down the bronze head and broad, sleek shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan and Joel made their way through the cypress thickets and scaled +the wall of the temple garden. They found themselves in a narrow +street which led them to a broader thoroughfare, where men were +hurrying to and fro in the rain. Soldiers of the garrison, weary and +hollow-eyed, were going to the defences. Citizens whose uneasy rest +had been cut short by the tension of dread were early abroad in search +of news. +</P> + +<P> +"What of the enemy?" one of them asked of a soldier who was returning +from the walls. +</P> + +<P> +"They are coming out to attack," the soldier replied. "Their ships +have already left the shore, and the stones will soon be falling about +your ears." +</P> + +<P> +"How much longer?" the citizen asked, with a groan. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask that of the Gods," the soldier replied indifferently; "but I think +the end will be soon, unless Moloch relents." +</P> + +<P> +Joel and Nathan passed on, their appearance attracting no attention in +a city where there were so many of their race. +</P> + +<P> +"Hasten!" Nathan said. "Alexander is coming!" +</P> + +<P> +As they advanced toward the quarter occupied by the Israelites, the +streets became filled with people, nearly all of whom seemed to be +drawn in the same direction that they themselves were taking. They +fell in with a man who strode on with knitted brows and lips +compressed. By his appearance he was a Hebrew, and Nathan addressed +him in the Hebrew tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"Whither goest thou?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"To save the innocent from slaughter," the man replied fiercely. "Come +with me if ye are men!" +</P> + +<P> +"We will come with thee," Nathan said. +</P> + +<P> +"There are the priests!" Joel exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +Half a dozen of the ministers of Baal, surrounded by a guard of +soldiers, came down a cross street. They carried in their hands small +bundles of short cords with which to bind the limbs of their victims. +The crowd gave way before them, gazing at their black robes and stern, +fanatical faces with curiosity mingled with dread. +</P> + +<P> +"May the curse of the Most High rest upon them!" the stranger cried, +shaking his fist. +</P> + +<P> +He began to run in the direction of the open square used by the +Israelites as a market-place. Nathan and Joel raced after him. The +clamor of voices raised in bitter lamentation reached them. They found +the square choked with a surging mass of men and women who clasped +little children to their breasts, seeking to protect them. The rain +beat in their faces and the gusty wind tossed their garments. Some +called upon their God, raising their hands toward heaven. Others +shrieked the names of their offspring who had already been torn from +them. Every house in the quarter was filled with weeping and cries of +despair. The priests of Baal went hither and thither, seizing their +prey in the name of the law wherever they found it. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan and Joel halted at the edge of the square. The priests were +searching through the crowd, many of them concealing a tiny burden +beneath their robes of office. Feeble wailings betrayed the nature of +these bundles. They were the children of the Israelites, bound hand +and foot for the sacrifice. +</P> + +<P> +While the young men stood looking, one of the priests discovered a +woman who crouched upon the ground with her face hidden in her +dishevelled hair. He grasped her roughly by the shoulder and drew her +back, disclosing the fact that she had been shielding her baby beneath +her bosom. The child raised its dimpled hands and tried to touch its +mother's wet cheeks. The priest seized them and tore the infant from +her. She clutched the skirt of his robe and followed him on her knees +through the mire, begging piteously for the child. +</P> + +<P> +"You have so many already," she said, "and he is all I have! Surely +Baal does not require my little one. He will be appeased. Give him +back to me!" +</P> + +<P> +The priest turned and struck her upturned face with his clenched hand. +She uttered a cry of anguish and released his robe, falling back +senseless to the earth. +</P> + +<P> +An inarticulate sound burst from the lips of the man who had guided +Nathan and Joel to the market-place. +</P> + +<P> +"O Lord, my God!" he shouted, raising his hands to the leaden sky. "I +had two children to be the staff and prop of my old age. Wilt Thou +suffer them to be taken from me? We have remained faithful to Thee; is +this to be our reward?" +</P> + +<P> +Nathan was about to spring upon the guard that surrounded the priests +before him when the tall figure of an old man strode into the square. +His gaunt frame was clad in sackcloth, and his long white hair and +beard were blown in the wind. He walked erect, without the aid of the +staff which he carried in his hand. There was an air of authority and +even of majesty in his bearing. The men and women nearest to him fell +upon their knees and stretched their hands toward him in supplication. +He did not glance at them and he seemed not to hear their prayers. His +stern eyes swept the market-place and he spoke in a resonant voice that +rose above the tumult and caused it to die away. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do ye lament, men of Israel?" he cried. "Cease now your weeping +and rejoice. For Tyre is fallen! Her hour is come!" +</P> + +<P> +"It is Pethuel, chief priest of the synagogue," Joel whispered to +Nathan, who was watching the old man with glowing eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Hearken unto me, O ye of little faith!" Pethuel continued, and the +silence spread until his words could be heard throughout the square. +"The worshipper of idols is cast down. The day of clouds and thick +darkness is at hand. Lo! they waxed a strong and a mighty people. The +cities of the world feared them, and their ships followed the trackless +wastes of the sea. There was none like to them in their greatness. +</P> + +<P> +"Unto some they said, 'Go!' and unto others they said, 'Come!' Verily, +their strength was like that of the lion, and they rejoiced in their +vessels of gold and silver. It seemed to them that there would be no +ending. +</P> + +<P> +"And lo! the end is upon them. They are cast down; their walls are +overthrown, and their city is become a place of desolation. Thus saith +the Lord God unto me, His servant, that I may tell it to my people and +bid them rejoice! +</P> + +<P> +"He has delivered them out of the hands of their enemies as a bird from +the net of the fowler. I said unto the Lord, 'Behold, the city of +abominations hath laid her hand upon Thy servants! In the olden time, +did she spoil Israel and Juda and the pleasant valleys, wasting them +with fire and sword. Then did Thy vengeance fall upon her, until of +her strong walls not one stone remained upon another. But now she +presseth sore upon Thy people; wherefore help us, O Lord!' +</P> + +<P> +"Hear ye, men of Israel! Out of the darkness came a Voice like the +rushing of a mighty wind and the sound of many waters, and it filled +mine ears, saying: 'I am the Lord God of Hosts. Inasmuch as ye have +been faithful unto Me and have bowed not before the work of man's +hands, therefore will I hearken unto you. She has sown the wind, and +she shall reap the whirlwind. Her fortresses and her strong places +shall be spoiled. The weak shall perish with the strong, and the +mighty shall not deliver himself. I will give her daughters to ruin +and her children shall be wanderers among the nations. This will I do +for My people, that they be not put to scorn. Say to them: "Take each +man his sword and let him slay; for who shall withstand the wrath of +the Most High?"'" +</P> + +<P> +To Nathan it seemed that the veil that separates the seen from the +unseen had been rent away. The voice that rang in his ears was no +longer the voice of Pethuel, but that of his Maker. He felt himself +lifted up beyond the region of doubt, and a great gladness filled his +heart. +</P> + +<P> +Pethuel paused before him and looked at him with a gaze that pierced +him through like fire. The old man raised his staff and touched him on +the shoulder. It seemed to Nathan an act of consecration. +</P> + +<P> +"Lead thou them!" Pethuel cried in a loud voice. "It is the command of +the Lord, thy God." +</P> + +<P> +A compelling Power, greater than himself, seized upon the young +Israelite. He no longer had any volition of his own. He became an +instrument. +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me, men of Israel!" he shouted, drawing his sword. "Jehovah +gives the heathen into our hands!" +</P> + +<P> +The hush was broken, and a great cry went up from the densely packed +market-place. With one impulse, the crowd fell upon the soldiers and +priests who still remained in the square, the greater part having +already retreated toward the Temple of Baal-Moloch. The Phœnicians, +greatly outnumbered, were able to make but a brief resistance. Nathan +sprang forward and cut down the nearest soldier. In the rush that +followed him, the guard was swept away, scattered, and destroyed +singly. A score of children were rescued. The priests were trampled +to the earth and torn limb from limb. The square resounded with savage +cries. The Israelites had been roused to frenzy. The word of God was +upon them. +</P> + +<P> +"To the temple!" Nathan shouted. The cry ran through the mob which +surged into the narrow streets leading to the shrine of Baal-Moloch, +bearing down all before it. The frightened priests heard it coming and +sent messengers to the walls, demanding succor. Azemilcus ordered +soldiers to be detached to quell the disturbance, and the defence of +the city was still further weakened. +</P> + +<P> +The fighting in the streets became desperate. The Israelites scattered +and, by circuitous routes, pressed toward the temple. They mounted to +the roofs, hurling all kinds of missiles from a great height upon the +heads of the guards. The rain fell in blinding sheets. It seemed to +the Tyrians that the entire Hebrew population of the city had suddenly +gone mad. Ties of association were forgotten, and men who had been +friends for years struggled for each other's lives. +</P> + +<P> +The tumult spread in every direction. The soldiers were forced to fall +back and form a ring of defence around the temple. Even then, they had +much ado to hold the crowd at bay, for the Israelites charged against +them without ceasing, recklessly throwing away their lives upon the +hedge of steel. +</P> + +<P> +Great stones dropped from the sky continually. Friend and foe were +crushed beneath them. When they struck the walls of the houses, they +left gaping fissures through which the interior could be seen. They +came from the engines upon the Macedonian ships that were renewing the +attack upon the city. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap45"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE +</H4> + +<P> +Artemisia and Thais looked from their window at the scud of flying +clouds and beneath them the Macedonian fleet assembling south of the +city. Thais' eyes danced with excitement, and Artemisia's cheeks were +flushed. +</P> + +<P> +"This time we shall win!" Thais exclaimed, throwing her arms about her +companion. "You are beautiful this morning, Artemisia; Clearchus will +be pleased with you." +</P> + +<P> +The color in Artemisia's cheeks deepened and a happy smile parted her +lips. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall make him leave the army," she said. "Of course I am proud of +his bravery; but, after all, there are better things than to be always +killing other men." +</P> + +<P> +She raised her chin with a charming affectation of pride. "He is an +Athenian, you know," she added. +</P> + +<P> +Thais frowned. She found in Artemisia's words an implied reflection +upon Chares. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be silly," she replied. "Do you want to make him one of those +curled idiots who spend their time in company with philosophers, +chasing shadows or trying to find out why crabs walk sidewise? You +would wake up some day and find that one of them had proved to him that +there is no such thing as love. Or perhaps you would rather have him a +dandy, with race-horses and a score of dancing girls to amuse himself +with! Let him be a man, Artemisia; let him love you and fight his +enemies with all his heart. For my part, if Chares talks of deserting +Alexander, he may look elsewhere for some one to love him; for I shall +not." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia listened to this outburst; but she shook her head, and a soft +light shone in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"You want power and splendor," she said "but I would rather be alone +with Clearchus in a desert than sit beside him upon the throne of +Darius. I will have no rival in his heart." +</P> + +<P> +"And with half a dozen children around you," Thais said scornfully. +"You might as well complete the picture." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," Artemisia answered bravely, though she blushed as she said it, +"if the Gods permit it; and if the first is a boy, he shall be named +Chares." +</P> + +<P> +Thais turned swiftly and kissed her, all her anger gone in a moment. +</P> + +<P> +"There, sister, I did not mean it," she said. "May the Gods give us +both our hearts' desire!" +</P> + +<P> +She clapped her hands, and the tiring women who had been awaiting the +summons entered. +</P> + +<P> +"Give me my saffron chiton," she cried, "and my topaz necklace. We +shall have visitors to-day, girls." +</P> + +<P> +She seated herself before a large mirror while the women dressed her +hair and robed her as she had directed. They could not hide their +admiration when their task was finished and she stood before them like +a living image of gold. +</P> + +<P> +But Artemisia chose a linen robe of pure white, unrelieved by color. +The spotless purity of her dress set off the delicate flush upon her +cheeks and the soft brown of her hair. +</P> + +<P> +So eager were the young women that they were scarcely able to taste the +fruit and cakes that the servants set before them. They kept jumping +up and running to the window to see what progress the Macedonian fleet +was making, and whether the attack had begun. +</P> + +<P> +"What a storm!" Artemisia exclaimed. "I wish it would stop; it hides +the ships." +</P> + +<P> +"Zeus is fighting on our side to-day," Thais replied gayly, as a long +growl of thunder shook the walls of the house. "Tell me, what is going +on in the city?" she added, turning to a Cretan maiden among the women. +The girl was beautiful in face and figure, although her expression was +one of sadness. She had once ruled as favorite of Phradates, and it +was whispered in the household that she still loved him, in spite of +the fact that she had had a score of successors since her brief day of +ascendency. +</P> + +<P> +"They are preparing a sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," she replied, "in the +hope of persuading him to aid them." +</P> + +<P> +"What is this sacrifice? I have never seen one," Thais asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not know," the girl said. "There has been none since I came to +Tyre." +</P> + +<P> +"I know, mistress," another of the women volunteered. She was a +Syrian, with a supple figure and bright black eyes, who had been a +slave from her infancy. +</P> + +<P> +"Describe it, then," Thais said. +</P> + +<P> +"Baal-Moloch is the most powerful God in the world," the woman said +volubly. "His image is made of iron, and is terrible to look upon." +She shivered as she spoke. "I never saw it but once, and that was when +the Babylonian king threatened to make war upon us. We offered +sacrifice to prevent it, and Moloch would not permit him to come. The +priests went about the city and took the children—even the little +babies—and carried them away to the temple. When the doors were +opened, we could see Baal sitting there in the darkness. There was a +fire inside of him, and his eyes glowed at us. He reached his hands +down, and the priests gave him the children, one by one, and he lifted +them up and devoured them. It was awful to think of those little +children!" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia listened with an expression of horror on her face. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not see where they are going to get the children now," Thais +remarked. "They have all been sent away." +</P> + +<P> +"They are taking the children of the Israelites who remained here," the +Syrian explained, "and they say—at least, Mena says—they are going to +sacrifice a virgin, too. Ugh! I don't want to see it." +</P> + +<P> +"Little good will it do them!" Thais exclaimed. "Not even Baal can +save their city now." +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" the Syrian said, affrighted. "He is a great God." +</P> + +<P> +Sounds of commotion and of hurried footsteps in the lower halls of the +house interrupted them. Thais listened. +</P> + +<P> +"Go and see what it is," she commanded. +</P> + +<P> +The Syrian went, and in a moment came flying back into the room with +terror on her face. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, my mistress!" she cried. "Why did you speak so of Moloch? His +priests are in the house! Save us!" +</P> + +<P> +"Silence!" Thais exclaimed, rising to her feet. "You shall not be +harmed." +</P> + +<P> +She raised her head proudly and faced the doorway, while the slave +women huddled behind her with frightened eyes. Artemisia stood beside +her, trying to emulate her courage; but a strange sinking laid hold +upon her heart, and a mist swam before her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +There was a rush of feet outside, and four black-robed men, followed by +a guard of soldiers, entered. Their leader was a man of stern and +grave expression, whose eyes seemed to glow in his pale face with the +power of his compelling will. He was Hiram, who had been chosen +hastily to act as chief priest when Esmun failed to return from the +royal palace. His ascetic countenance contrasted strongly with the +gross faces of his followers, brutalized by self-indulgence. The other +priests both feared and hated him, for it was said that Baal had +endowed him with powers that were beyond the understanding of man. +</P> + +<P> +"What seek ye here?" Thais demanded, flashing a haughty glance at the +zealot. +</P> + +<P> +He paid no heed to her and made no answer. His dark eyes caught those +of her companion and held them. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" he said, in a solemn voice that sounded like a summons, +"our Lord, Baal-Moloch, the Saviour, awaits thee! Come with us to his +temple." +</P> + +<P> +To Artemisia the words sounded far away; yet she heard them distinctly, +and they seemed to leave her no choice but to obey. A deep sense of +peace crept over her as she looked into the fathomless eyes of the +priest, that were fixed steadfastly upon hers, and from which she could +not withdraw her own. Dimly she felt that never again should she see +Clearchus or behold the land of Attica. Never should she hear his +beloved voice or feel his arms around her, clasping her close to his +breast. It was the will of the Gods. Everything earthly seemed to +recede and fall away from her as in a dream, leaving her alone with the +grim priest, her master. They two were floating upon a mighty current +that was bearing them, she knew not whither. She was at peace, and all +was ended. The terror she had felt a few moments before had left her. +It seemed remote and long ago, and she smiled to think of it and of how +foolish it had been. +</P> + +<P> +Hiram saw her form droop and her muscles relax, and these signs of his +victory did not escape him. The expression of his face did not change, +however, and he still kept his eyes fastened upon hers. The sombre +figures of his subordinates stood motionless beside him, and the +soldiers of his guard, lean and weather-worn, blocked the doorway, +glancing now at the two young women and now at the slave girls cowering +in the background. +</P> + +<P> +"Come with me!" Hiram said quietly, stretching his strong hand toward +Artemisia. +</P> + +<P> +She made an uncertain step toward him, but Thais caught her by the arm +and drew her back. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by this mummery?" she cried, with blazing eyes. "Get +thee gone and tell thy God that Artemisia is not for him!" +</P> + +<P> +"Chafe not, daughter," Hiram replied calmly. "The will of Baal must be +obeyed. There can be no escape." +</P> + +<P> +"You shall not have her!" Thais cried. "Your creed demands a willing +sacrifice!" +</P> + +<P> +"And she is willing," the priest said, in the same even tone. +</P> + +<P> +"She is not!" Thais said. +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me!" Hiram exclaimed, slightly raising his voice. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia made a feeble effort to obey, and Thais felt the arm that she +held draw away from her grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Sorcerer!" she cried desperately, retaining her hold, "she is not +willing of her own will. Release her from thy spell!" +</P> + +<P> +"She is willing," Hiram repeated, "and thou shalt see her place herself +voluntarily in the hands of the Giver of Life." +</P> + +<P> +He made a slight sign, and the three priests who followed him stepped +forward. One of them twisted Thais' hand from Artemisia's arm, +retaining her wrist in his clutch, while another seized her on the +opposite side, rendering her helpless. The third took Artemisia gently +by the hand. She offered no resistance, but suffered herself to be led +down the marble stairs with wide-open eyes that seemed to see nothing. +Thais followed between her captors. Her face was pale to the lips, and +yellow flames danced in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Priest of Baal!" she said, "thou hast shown no mercy and none shalt +thou receive—neither thou nor thy God!" +</P> + +<P> +"Blaspheme not," Hiram said; "the vengeance of our Lord is bitter." +</P> + +<P> +"More bitter still shall be the vengeance of men," Thais exclaimed in +her despair, "and they are now beating at the walls who shall make thee +feel it!" +</P> + +<P> +Hiram made no reply. If he felt a misgiving, his face did not betray +it. He led the way with measured tread down the staircase, followed by +his two captives and by the guard. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" Thais cried in anguish, "speak to me!" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia made no response, nor did she turn her head. It was evident +that she had not heard. Laying aside her pride, Thais determined to +make a final effort. When they reached the deserted entrance hall, she +raised her voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates! Phradates!" she cried. "Save us from these men!" +</P> + +<P> +Her cry echoed through the recesses of the hall, but it brought no +response. +</P> + +<P> +"Phradates!" Thais called again as the outer doors swung back, +revealing the wind-swept street. +</P> + +<P> +This time a figure emerged from the marble columns. It was that of +Mena the Egyptian, who advanced with a malicious smile upon his sharp +face. +</P> + +<P> +"My master is upon the walls," he said impudently, though he bowed low. +"He is fighting to save the city from your friends." +</P> + +<P> +Something of the suppressed triumph in his bearing struck the attention +of Thais, agitated as she was. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this thy work?" she demanded, looking at him between narrowing +eyelids. "Thou shalt pay for it, slave, upon the cross, to the last +drop of thy blood!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thou dost me too much honor," Mena replied, bowing again in mock +humility. +</P> + +<P> +"Come," said one of Thais' captors, roughly. "Baal must not be kept +waiting." +</P> + +<P> +The slanting rain smote their faces as they emerged into the street, +where throngs of men and women were crowding toward the Temple of +Moloch. On this side, as yet, nothing could be seen of the fierce +conflict that was raging for the possession of the children in the +Hebrew quarter. The sounds of it were lost in the rushing of the wind +and the crashing of the thunder. +</P> + +<P> +The people of Tyre hastened forward in silence and with bowed heads. A +nameless dread possessed them. Amid the confusion wrought by man and +the elements, friends and neighbors touched shoulders without a glance +of recognition. A weight of oppression seemed to dull their minds and +restrict their lungs. They were like creatures that listen furtively +in hidden terror to catch the forewarning of some catastrophe, the +nature of which they know not. All bonds were dissolved. Husbands +became separated from their wives in the press and made no attempt to +rejoin them. +</P> + +<P> +Even the priests of Moloch who followed Hiram were affected by the +universal uneasiness, and Thais felt the hands that clasped her wrists +tremble. Hiram himself walked gravely and slowly, apparently oblivious +of what was going on about him. He seemed indifferent alike to the +pelting of the storm and the danger from falling stones. A mass of +rock plunged into the crowd close before him, crushing a man beneath +its ponderous weight. The step of the pontiff did not waver, and he +passed the spot without so much as a glance at the mangled body pinned +down by the missile. His consciousness of the protection of Moloch +freed him from all sense of personal danger. +</P> + +<P> +The people made way for him in silence, huddling to the sides of the +street and closing in after the soldiers had passed. Artemisia walked +with her eyes upon the sombre figure that strode before her. Her face +was as colorless as the linen chiton that clung to her figure in the +rain, disclosing the maidenly outline of her bosom. Her breathing was +even and regular, as though she were sleeping with open eyes. +</P> + +<P> +Anger raged in Thais' breast as in that of a lioness, bound with +chains, which sees her cubs taken from her. She knew the hopelessness +of struggling with her captors, for even if she could free herself, she +would still be powerless to rescue Artemisia. +</P> + +<P> +Around the gloomy temple stood thousands of men and women, mournfully +and silently waiting in the rain for the procession to enter. The +great bronze doors stood open, revealing the dark interior of the +building, where a few torches cast a flickering light upon the face of +the monstrous idol, whose cruel features seemed to be twisting +themselves with hideous grimaces. +</P> + +<P> +Streamers of pale blue smoke were drawn through the apertures over the +head of the image by the wind, and the inside of the temple was filled +with a smoky haze that increased the obscurity. This came from the +fire of scented wood that the priests had kindled in the body of the +idol. They fed it continually from behind; and the faint smoke, rising +from carefully disposed openings in the breast and shoulders of the +figure, partially veiling its face, added to the mystery and solemnity +of the ceremony. +</P> + +<P> +As Hiram approached the entrance, two lines of black-robed priests +issued silently to right and left, pushing back the crowd and forming a +lane which led up the two flights of shallow stone steps to the +doorway. The spectators reverently bowed their heads. Their faith in +the power of Baal, bred in them from infancy, was strong upon them, and +deep was their fear of his wrath. Many times had he listened to their +prayers, and more than once had he refused to listen, permitting the +calamity that they besought him to avert. But never since he had +become their God, at a time beyond the limit of tradition, had they +gone to him in such dreadful extremity. Would he intervene, or would +he leave them to their fate? +</P> + +<P> +All eyes were turned to the impassive face of Hiram, searching there +for an answer to the question that was in every mind. The chief priest +gave no sign. He paced slowly into the open space between the ranks of +the priests, his black vestments fluttering about him in voluminous +folds. His eyes looked straight forward into the temple, seeking the +face of Baal. In his footsteps walked Artemisia, her head now drooping +slightly, like a flower cut from its stem. The priests began a slow +chant, so low that its words of praise could hardly be understood. +</P> + +<P> +Halfway up the second flight of steps, behind the row of priests, +Pethuel appeared in the crowd. He had managed somehow to reach the +temple in advance of his flock. The rain glistened upon his white hair +and snowy beard. Pressing forward as Hiram advanced, he raised his +voice above the mystic words of the chant. +</P> + +<P> +"Priest of Baal!" he cried to his rival, "thy God is fled! Behold, his +image shall be broken in thy temple. The wrath of the Lord God of +Hosts is upon you; for the cup of Tyre's iniquities runneth over!" +</P> + +<P> +He ceased and a murmur ran through the crowd; but no hand was raised +against the old man. The priests looked at Hiram, who passed on +without so much as turning his eyes, and they continued their chant. +Not even when the brother who walked beside Artemisia was struck down +by an arrow on the threshold of the temple did Hiram pause. The shaft, +falling obliquely, buried itself between its victim's shoulders, and he +fell upon his face in his death agony. His comrades lifted him quickly +and bore him out of sight; but the people continued to gaze at the +stain of blood upon the stones where he had fallen. +</P> + +<P> +As Artemisia and Thais vanished in the doorway, the sounds of conflict +caused by the rising of the Hebrews reached the temple. +</P> + +<P> +"It is Alexander!" said one to another in the crowd, and because of the +words of Pethuel, the cry was more easily believed. Panic seized upon +the multitude. Thousands of those who had assembled fled back to their +homes. Others ran toward the royal palace, and still others sought the +harbors. Scores found refuge in the temple, fighting with each other +to enter first through the wide doorway. The dread that had weighed +them down had taken shape. The evil was upon them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap46"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE PASSING OF A GOD +</H4> + +<P> +Inside the Temple of Baal-Moloch the chant of the priests swelled to a +triumphant hymn of praise. The throbbing of drums and the droning of +strange musical instruments increased the volume of sound. It drowned +the uproar of the conflict between the guards and the Israelites, who +had reached the gardens of the temple, and it rose above the wailing of +the infants destined for the sacrifice. The children were held by the +priests, who formed in a deep semicircle before the idol. The throng +of devotees filled the body of the temple beyond their line and the dim +reaches of the arcades behind the rows of columns. +</P> + +<P> +The pungent smell of smoke from the sacrificial fire was mingled with +the odor of incense that floated from censors swung by neophytes clad +in robes of scarlet. +</P> + +<P> +Amid the crowd that burst into the temple in such numbers as to forbid +all semblance of the usual ceremonial order, rose the image of the +Giver of Life and its Destroyer, gigantic and terrible. Its broad +breast glowed dull red, and a spurt of flame issued from its sneering +lips like a fiery tongue. The terror that had driven the people into +the temple gave way to awe when they found themselves in the presence +of the God. Many of the votaries fell upon their faces before the +colossal figure; others stretched their hands toward it in an agony of +supplication. Sharp cries pierced the maddening pulsations of the +music. The gusts of the storm, entering through the opening in the +temple roof, drove the smoke in eddies through the obscurity. +</P> + +<P> +Hiram walked straight to the idol and prostrated himself upon the +lowest of the steps that rose to the platform on which it stood. He +remained for a moment in silent prayer, and then, rising, he stretched +forth his arms and repeated the ancient formula that always preceded +the sacrifice, calling upon the God by the numerous titles that +signified his manifold attributes. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia stood behind him, within the half-circle of priests who held +back the eager crowd. Her white garments gleamed pure and spotless +against the background of their sombre official robes. Her head was +slightly bowed, and her hands were clasped lightly before her. She +seemed utterly oblivious of her surroundings and the terrible fate that +awaited her. Thais, firmly held by the priests who had brought her to +the temple, was stationed by her captors on the left hand of Baal, in a +position that prevented her eyes from meeting Artemisia's gaze. The +angry color had faded from her cheeks. She realized at last that +Artemisia was lost and that she herself must endure the agony of seeing +her perish. Her face had grown haggard and drawn. +</P> + +<P> +"Spare her, priest of Moloch!" she cried desperately, as Hiram ended +his invocation. "Her death cannot save thy city. Give her back to me, +and I promise thee thy safety and the safety of thy order. If thou +needs must sacrifice a woman, let me be the victim. I am fairer than +she, and I will be more acceptable to thy God. See, I beg her life at +thy hands!" +</P> + +<P> +She would have thrown herself upon her knees, but the priests +restrained her. Hiram made no reply and paid no heed to her appeal. +Ascending the steps with a firm tread, he stood between the feet of the +idol and turned to the multitude, extending his hands over Artemisia's +head with the palms downward. The chant ceased and the music died +away. Only the frightened sobbing of the infants, whom the assistants +sought in vain to quiet, broke the silence within the temple. Hiram +began to speak in a solemn and impressive voice. +</P> + +<P> +"We bring thee, O Lord, a maiden, pure in heart," he said. "We have +sinned against thee in our pride; upon her head we place our sins; take +thou her and forgive!" +</P> + +<P> +He paused, and a wailing cry of supplication rose throughout the temple. +</P> + +<P> +"We have neglected thy worship," Hiram went on. "Upon her head be our +neglect; take her and forgive! We have done those things that are +forbidden; upon her head be our disobedience to thy law; take her and +accept our atonement! We have disregarded our oaths; upon her head be +our perfidy; receive her in quittance of our debt to thee. Pardon us, +O Lord, in this our sacrifice to thee, all our many sins against thee, +and protect us out of thy mercy in this hour of our great peril!" +</P> + +<P> +At the conclusion of the recital, he turned again to the God. The arms +of the idol slowly sank and extended themselves until the outstretched +palms were brought together before the iron knees a few feet from the +floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" the chief priest called imperatively. +</P> + +<P> +With faltering steps she obeyed his command, advancing slowly until she +stood before the broad palms that seemed to tremble with impatience to +clasp her form. In the deadly hush of expectancy, the fierce cries of +the Israelites, struggling with the soldiers outside the temple, could +be distinctly heard. Hiram saw that haste was necessary if the +sacrifice was to be accomplished. +</P> + +<P> +"Dost thou give thyself willingly for the sins of Tyre?" he demanded, +confident of his power. +</P> + +<P> +Before she could answer a shriek rang through the temple. +</P> + +<P> +"Deny him, Artemisia, my sister!" Thais cried. "He is a sorcerer. Do +not—" +</P> + +<P> +Her voice was roughly stifled by the priests, her captors, but a +questioning murmur rose from the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"Answer!" Hiram said sternly, bending all the strength of his merciless +will upon her. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia! Do not answer!" cried another voice. It was the voice of +a man, and it rang strong and clear, though it vibrated with anxiety. +It seemed to issue from the dark recesses behind the idol. A stir of +astonishment broke the spell that had imposed silence upon the +worshippers. Every eye strove to pierce the gloom of the sanctuary. +Hiram started, and his pallid face grew a shade paler. +</P> + +<P> +"Artemisia!" came the clear voice again. "Dost thou not hear me?" +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia's eyes left those of the chief priest and looked beyond him +eagerly into the darkness. The mask of impassiveness faded from her +face. Her lips parted. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus!" she cried. "Where art thou? Save me! Save me!" +</P> + +<P> +She threw up her arms with a despairing gesture, and sank upon the +platform beneath the terrible hands that were stretched to seize her. +</P> + +<P> +"Alexander! Alexander!" shouted Chares out of the darkness. "Down +with the dogs!" +</P> + +<P> +The words were followed by a cry of mortal agony from one of the +priests whose duty it was to feed the fire that roared inside the idol. +The Tyrians heard the sound of a brief commotion in the rear of the +temple, they saw the gleam of armor and of weapons, and the dark +hangings that veiled the innermost shrine were rent from the walls. +Armed men rushed across the platform and leaped down among the priests, +hewing at the holy ministers with flashing swords. +</P> + +<P> +In the obscurity, the Tyrians fancied that an entire company of +Macedonians was upon them. Those who had sought refuge there from the +Hebrew mob forgot the dangers that awaited them outside and surged +toward the entrance. But the Israelites had scattered the soldiers in +the gardens, and they charged the doors just as the assemblage +attempted to force its way out. The fugitives from the terrors of the +temple were struck down in heaps upon the threshold. +</P> + +<P> +Hiram alone retained his presence of mind. He had implicit faith in +the power of the terrible deity, in whose service he had spent the +greater part of his life, and absolute confidence in the efficacy of +sacrifice. When he saw Artemisia fall and heard Chares' battle-cry, he +knew that all was lost unless the offering could be consummated. +</P> + +<P> +Unmindful of his own danger, he bounded forward and raised the slim, +unconscious form in his arms. Quickly he laid it upon the iron palms, +with a muttered prayer. There was a sound of creaking chains, and the +hands ascended slowly, bearing upward the slender figure. One bare, +white arm hung inertly between the iron fingers, and the snowy chiton +shone through the smoke against the dark bulk of the monstrous image. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus sprang out of the darkness and saw Artemisia raised aloft in +that pitiless grasp. She was already beyond his reach. A cold sweat +broke out upon his body. He stood for an instant transfixed with +dread, unable even to cry out. Every heart-beat brought her nearer to +that glowing metal surface, whose terrible heat he could feel upon his +face where he stood. +</P> + +<P> +Hiram stepped forward to the edge of the platform and stretched out his +arms. The glare of religious madness shone in his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Peace, peace!" he cried to the struggling and shrieking mob, frantic +with fear. "Baal-Moloch accepts the sacrifice. Peace! Profane not +his temple!" +</P> + +<P> +His voice was drowned in a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the sky +across from mountain to sea. Before it died, a huge mass of rock, +hurled from an engine of the Macedonian fleet, crashed through one of +the openings in the dome of the temple. The ponderous missile struck +the masonry and bounded backward and downward in a shower of dislodged +stones upon the inclined head of the idol. +</P> + +<P> +Moloch seemed to rise from his throne, as though about to stride from +the platform. His iron arms flew apart, and the grim colossus lurched +forward down the steps, and fell with a clang of metal upon the marble +floor. +</P> + +<P> +A sharp cry rose from the struggling crowd. Those who witnessed the +downfall of the sacred image stood in doubt, unable to believe their +eyes. The Israelites, unaware of what had happened, took advantage of +the moment to overcome the slight opposition of the Tyrians who still +faced them. They rushed into the temple, crying aloud for the +restoration of their children. +</P> + +<P> +In the wild confusion of their onslaught, many of the infants were +trampled to death. Others were killed by the priests, who seemed +crazed by the fall of their idol. At first they stood stupefied. +Hiram's voice was no longer heard. They called upon him in vain. +Finally one of them ran to the fragments of the prostrate image. +Bending above it, he saw the distorted face of the chief priest gazing +up into his own. The unfortunate man had been caught beneath the +breast of the God to whom he had offered so many innocents, and his +crushed body was being slowly roasted under the red-hot metal. +</P> + +<P> +"Moloch has taken him!" the priest shouted, tossing his arms in the air. +</P> + +<P> +He ran into the crowd, and, seizing one of the infants by the heels, +dashed out its brains against a pillar. His example was followed by +others no less frantic than himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Strike, brothers!" he cried. "Baal has fallen! The end is at—" +</P> + +<P> +Before he could finish the sentence, Leonidas' sword pierced his +throat, and he fell upon the body of the child that he had slain. +</P> + +<P> +Down the dim arcade, behind the pillars, strode the Spartan and Chares, +hacking and thrusting at the black-robed minions of Moloch. They +showed no mercy. Neither prayer nor entreaty availed. They sought the +priests through the terrified crowd, and dragged them from every place +of concealment, until of all who had been in the temple not one +remained alive. +</P> + +<P> +With the crash of the stone as it smote the idol, Clearchus realized +what had happened. He saw the iron arms drop, and he leaped forward in +time to snatch Artemisia from their embrace. The hot iron grazed his +body as the image fell. Artemisia's pale, sweet face lay upon his +shoulder, and he clasped her close to his breast. In the revulsion +from his despair he felt his muscles endowed with strength. +</P> + +<P> +He smiled to see his friends dash past him, and he looked smilingly +upon the clamorous crowd in which every man fought for his life. One +of the priests, whose face had been gashed to the bone, rushed upon +him, with hands extended, and tried to tear Artemisia from his arms. +The man was unarmed, and Clearchus thrust him through the breast. He +sank and died without a moan. +</P> + +<P> +Amid the fragments of Moloch's image, the fire that had been kindled in +the iron bosom flickered with blue and crimson tongues of flame. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the crowd was split by a rush from the great doorway, and +Clearchus saw Nathan leading the Israelites into the temple. With the +name of Jehovah upon their lips, the swarthy, black-eyed Hebrews poured +in, smiting the Tyrians and beating them down with merciless strokes in +the delirium of their exaltation. They swept through the temple like +wolves through a sheepfold. The floor was heaped with the dead, and +the stones were slippery with blood. Nathan recognized the Athenian +and sprang to his side, shouting to his followers to strike and spare +not. +</P> + +<P> +Into the midst of the confusion rushed the Hebrew women, seeking the +children who had been taken from them. The uproar of conflict gave way +to the lamentations of mothers whose infants had been slaughtered. +Others, more fortunate, sat with their babes in their arms, kissing +them and feeling them over to discover whether they had been hurt. One +young wife sat upon the steps at Clearchus' feet with her first-born +and only child. Nathan recognized her as the woman who had been struck +down by the priest in the market-place. The baby had been strangled +and was dead. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush!" she said, in a crooning voice, and, covering the child's head +with her garment, she pressed its lips to her breast. For an instant +she sat there, but the chill of the waxen mouth struck through her +heart. She gave a startled glance at the baby's face, and then sprang +up with a scream of despair and rushed out of the temple into the +tempest, with the poor little body clasped in her arms. +</P> + +<P> +Nathan called to Chares and Leonidas. "Alexander is on the wall," he +said. "The streets are filled with the Tyrians. We must escape as we +came. Listen!" +</P> + +<P> +He held up his hand, and the Greeks became aware of a dull roaring that +filled the city like the humming of a gigantic hive of bees. +</P> + +<P> +"Even here we shall not be safe," Nathan continued. "Let us seek the +secret passage." +</P> + +<P> +"Chares!" cried one from among the women, and Thais ran forward, with +her saffron robe torn so that half her perfect breast was exposed. She +carried a dagger in her hand, and its blade was red; but her face shone +with joy. The weapon fell from her grasp as she sprang to the Theban, +who lifted her like a child in his arms and kissed her. +</P> + +<P> +"Come," he said, as he set her down, "let us go." +</P> + +<P> +Turning their backs upon the throng of the living and the dead, they +descended into the secret passage and closed the entrance behind them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap47"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT +</H4> + +<P> +King Azemilcus stood at a window of his chamber, with the aged +chancellor at his side, looking out across the parapet of the wall. +They were alone in the room, for the king had ordered his guard to +await his commands in an outer apartment. The window opened directly +upon the top of the wall, to which the royal palace was joined. Often +during his long reign had the old king stood there, revolving his +schemes in his cunning brain, while the salt breeze cooled his temples. +</P> + +<P> +Beneath his feet the stones trembled with the shock of the great +battering rams that were enlarging the breach in the wall west of the +palace. In his ears sounded the tumult of the attack upon the two +harbors, where the Macedonian triremes were seeking to break the +barriers of chains. He saw the Tyrian soldiers upon the battlements, +fighting against hope, with the valor of desperation. +</P> + +<P> +The roar of falling masonry told him that the rams had done their work. +The breach had become a wide gap, extending beyond the ends of the +inner wall that had been built to block the assault. The vessels lying +in wait drew nearer. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones, great +and small, swept the defences. Troop-ships, provided with drawbridges +at their prows, closed in at the breach. The bridges fell, and streams +of men in armor began to flow across them. They gained the breach and +held it. They scaled the slope of fallen blocks and reached the top of +the wall. The Tyrians were forced backward or hurled into the sea. +</P> + +<P> +"That must be Alexander," the king remarked, noting the irresistible +vigor of the assault. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," the chancellor replied, "those are his plumes." +</P> + +<P> +Alexander indeed was leading the charge along the wall toward the +palace, fighting in the forefront as his custom was, while the +shield-bearing guards pressed forward where he led. Their triumphant +voices shouted his name. At one of the towers upon the wall, between +the breach and the palace, the Tyrians made a stand, seeking to check +the advance of their foes. The Macedonians hunted them out and drove +them to the next tower. The battle raged in mid-air, and the bodies of +the slain fell either into the sea on one side or into the streets of +the city on the other. +</P> + +<P> +"They will enter here," Azemilcus said. "I think it is time to go." +</P> + +<P> +"It is time!" the chancellor echoed, gazing upon the slaughter like a +man under the spell of a horrible fascination. +</P> + +<P> +The king led the way into the large hall where the guard was stationed. +It consisted of a company of a hundred men under the command of a young +captain whose bronzed face and steady gaze showed that he was a veteran +in service despite his youth. He had been pacing backward and forward +before his men, who stood at attention along the wall. At sight of +Azemilcus he paused and saluted. The old king placed a thin hand upon +his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to the Temple of Melkarth," he said. "Escort me thither." +</P> + +<P> +The young man shook off the royal hand as though he felt contaminated +by its touch. +</P> + +<P> +"Does your Majesty really mean to seek refuge with the Alexandrine?" he +asked indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," the king replied, "and I command you to come with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I refuse!" the soldier exclaimed. "I have two brothers yonder on +the wall, if they be still alive. The Macedonians will try to enter +the palace, and if they succeed, the city is lost. Go you to +Melkarth's temple if you will; but you go alone. We remain here." +</P> + +<P> +Azemilcus looked at the handsome face, flushed with anger, and his +inscrutable smile played about his lips. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy father was my friend, and I have loved thee," he said. "I would +save thee if I could, but youth is hot and hasty; have thy will if thou +must." +</P> + +<P> +He began to descend the broad staircase, followed by the trembling +chancellor. +</P> + +<P> +"There goes Tyre!" the young captain cried bitterly, "selfish and +treacherous to the last. To the windows! We may yet save him +honorably, though he does not deserve it." +</P> + +<P> +They reached the seaward side of the palace in time to receive the +remnants of the Tyrian companies that had vainly striven to defend the +wall. The captain's brothers were not among the fugitives. +</P> + +<P> +It had seemed to the young officer that the entrances to the palace +from the wall might be held by a few men against any force that could +be brought up; but it was not within human power to resist the onrush +of the Macedonians. The captain was slain by Ptolemy; half his men +fell with him, and the others fled down through the palace to the +streets with the Macedonians at their heels. +</P> + +<P> +The noise of the battle spread from the palace through the city. There +was the clash of steel and the hoarse shouting of men at barricades; +screams of women in fear and sharp cries of command mingled with the +trampling of many feet. Save for the obstinate guard, the palace had +been left unprotected by the crafty old king, who was awaiting his +conqueror in the sanctuary of Melkarth's temple. Alexander led the way +into the city with Hephæstion and Philotas. Ptolemy, Perdiccas, +Clitus, Peithon, Glaucias, Meleager, Polysperchon, and a score more of +his Companions and captains swept after him, heading the scarred +veterans of Philip's wars,—phalangites, archers and javelin throwers, +Thessalian cavalry riders, and heavy-armed mercenaries. +</P> + +<P> +Then in the city of Tyre, whose name for centuries had been a synonym +for power and pride, began a slaughter which lasted until nightfall. +Alexander ordered that the Israelites should not be molested and that +none should enter with violence the Temple of Melkarth; but he did not +seek to forbid his followers from taking revenge for the rigors and +hardships of the long siege. +</P> + +<P> +At first the Tyrians fought desperately from street to street and from +square to square, falling back from one barrier to another; but this +resistance served only to whet the rage that drove the Macedonians on. +Fresh troops constantly landed from the fleet and poured in through the +palace. The breach in the wall became a gateway. The pitiless +squadrons hunted the defenders from lane and housetop, cutting them to +pieces. +</P> + +<P> +In the Sidonian Harbor, seven ships were hastily manned, the chains +were let down, and the crews made a dash for the open sea. They were +snapped up by the Cretan vessels which lay in wait beyond the +breakwater. Three of them were sunk, and the rest were forced to +surrender. +</P> + +<P> +In the house of Phradates the terrified slaves locked and barred the +doors by direction of Mena. The master was fighting on the walls. +More than once parties of Macedonian soldiers demanded that the gates +be opened, but when no response was given, thinking perhaps that the +house was deserted and tempted by easier spoil, they passed on. At +last came a Tyrian cry for admittance. Mena looked from the wicket and +saw Phradates, supported by two soldiers. His face was pale and his +helmet had been shattered. +</P> + +<P> +"Open!" cried the soldiers. "Your master has been wounded." +</P> + +<P> +Several of the slaves started forward and laid their hands upon the +bars, but the Egyptian pushed them back. +</P> + +<P> +"There is no longer master or slave in Tyre," he said. "Each man must +think first of himself." +</P> + +<P> +At the suggestion of Phradates the soldiers bore him to the rear of the +house, where there was a small door leading to the kitchens. It was +opened by a white-haired crone, whose eyes were blinded with tears. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring him in," she cried. "I am his nurse." +</P> + +<P> +"Take him, then," the soldiers said roughly, irritated by the delay. +"He owes us fifty darics for bringing him off, and we have our own to +save." +</P> + +<P> +Upheld by the trembling arms of the old woman, Phradates staggered +across the threshold. He could no longer feel the earth beneath his +feet. If he could only rest a little! +</P> + +<P> +"Is it you, mother?" he asked faintly. "I must sleep." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes, master," the old woman replied through her sobs, "but not +here. Come to your own chamber." +</P> + +<P> +She tried to urge him toward the banqueting hall, but his steps grew +more uncertain and his weight became too great for her feeble strength. +</P> + +<P> +"Mena!" she called. "Mena, here is your master. Come and help him!" +</P> + +<P> +The Egyptian ran in furiously and closed the door that she had left +open in her anxiety. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to have us all killed?" he demanded, turning upon the old +woman. "Take that, my master, for the beatings you have given me!" +</P> + +<P> +He plunged his dagger into the young man's defenceless side, and +Phradates sank to the floor. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais!" he muttered, "where art thou?" +</P> + +<P> +The old woman uttered a quivering cry and fell upon her knees beside +him, trying with her robe to stop the flow of blood. Mena ran back to +the front of the house, leaving her alone with the body. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak to me! Speak to me!" she wailed, not knowing what she said; but +Phradates made no reply. +</P> + +<P> +Tyre was in a turmoil of riot and license. The real fighting was at an +end, but the soldiers were everywhere pillaging and drinking. Costly +fabrics were trampled in the mud of the gutters. Rare vases and +priceless statuary were shattered upon the pavements. Rough +Thessalians ransacked the houses of rich merchants for gold and gems, +destroying with laughter and jests what they did not want. The stifled +screams of women mingled with their voices. Here a soldier emerged +from a great house with his arms full of rich silks. Another shouted +to him that a hoard of gold had been discovered close at hand, and he +straightway dropped his burden that he might get his share of the more +convenient plunder. There a man who had found a huge tusk of ivory +tried to carry it away on his shoulder, while his comrades wrestled +with him for it, uttering shouts of laughter as their fingers slipped +upon its polished surface. Sometimes swords were drawn and blood +flowed over a bag of gold or a necklace of pearls. Bands of +mercenaries paraded with wine-skins on their backs, singing the hymns +of Dionysus and squirting the precious vintage into each other's faces. +Gorged with blood, the army glutted itself in a delirium of indulgence. +</P> + +<P> +In the universal license the baser elements of the city's population +joined in the pillage with none to hinder, for the Macedonians were too +intent upon their revenge to heed them. Like Mena, slaves rose against +their masters, and entire families were slain for the sake of plunder +or to requite harsh treatment. The prisons were broken open and their +inmates set at liberty. The sailors about the harbors, who had been +kept inactive by the blockade of the fleet, desperate men from all +quarters of the sea, satisfied their ferocious appetites at will. In +the frenzied carnival of lust and slaughter, neither age nor innocence +was spared. +</P> + +<P> +The swirl of the battle drew Syphax and his companions from their +haunts among the great warehouses near the waterside, where they had +been drinking. The bloated face of the freebooter grew purple with +eagerness as he heard the sounds of conflict and of panic spread +through the city. +</P> + +<P> +"Ho, comrades!" he shouted, "to-day we pay ourselves for all we have +had to endure from Fortune! The spoil lies ready for us." +</P> + +<P> +"Break open the warehouses and load a ship with ivory and silk," cried +one of his followers. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a fool," Syphax replied contemptuously. "We should be sunk +before we could get out of the harbor. Take nothing but gold and +jewels. We can hide them until the time comes to escape. Look there!" +</P> + +<P> +An old man, a member of the council, came running toward them, glancing +back over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. Syphax grasped +him by the arm and tore the heavy golden chain of office from his neck. +The man made no resistance, but fled away without a word as soon as he +was released. +</P> + +<P> +"This is what we want," Syphax cried, holding up the shining links. +"Be bold and follow me." +</P> + +<P> +He set off toward a part of the city that the Macedonians seemed not +yet to have penetrated. It was a quarter where many wealthy houses +stood, and the sailors were fortunate enough to arrive among the first +of the marauders. In half an hour, each of them had collected a +fortune in gold and precious stones. There was blood upon the hands of +Syphax and one of his men had a cut across his forehead when they came +out of the last house, carrying their spoil in small, heavy bundles. +The city was in its death-throes. From harbor to harbor it had become +a vast shambles. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us get back to the warehouses and bury what we have," one of the +seamen said. +</P> + +<P> +Syphax looked about him, and his glance fell upon the house where he +had seen Ariston enter. In their immediate vicinity there was yet no +sign of the enemy. A cruel gleam entered the pirate's bloodshot eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Now that we are rich," he cried, "it is no more than fair that we +should pay our debts. I have one yonder that must be discharged, and +to you I resign my share of whatever of value we may find inside." +</P> + +<P> +"Lead on, then, but hasten," the sailors answered. +</P> + +<P> +Syphax found the door bolted, as he had expected. His men battered it +in with stones and rushed into the entrance hall. The place seemed +deserted. The sailors scattered through the house in search of booty, +but Syphax sought only his enemy. +</P> + +<P> +The terrified family had taken refuge in an alcove on the third floor +of the house. There one of the sailors found them and summoned his +chief with a joyful shout. Ariston and his host stood at the entrance +of the recess, with swords in their hands to defend the women, a mother +and three daughters, who cowered behind them in the shadow with two +slave girls only, the rest of the household having fled. The sailors +laughed at the two feeble old men who dared to oppose them. +</P> + +<P> +"Spare our lives and you shall each receive five thousand talents of +gold," Ariston cried. "I am Ariston of Athens, and I pledge myself to +the payment." +</P> + +<P> +"We know what the pledges of Ariston are worth!" Syphax replied, his +face convulsed with hate and rage. +</P> + +<P> +"We are lost, my friend," Ariston said, in a low voice, to his host, +recognizing the pirate. +</P> + +<P> +"You bade me once to remember Medon," Syphax bellowed. "I bid thee now +to remember him and the silver talent thou wert to give me for what was +done in Athens. I have had no luck since; and now thou shalt pay for +all!" He rushed upon Ariston, who tried to defend himself; but the +pirate easily disarmed him and dragged him out into the room. The +master of the house fell beneath a shower of blows. +</P> + +<P> +"Now for the harbor! Our time is short," Syphax shouted, hurrying +Ariston with him down the stairs. +</P> + +<P> +The screaming and prayers of the women mingled with sounds of brutal +merriment told him that his order was unheeded. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you hear?" he roared. "Come, I tell you, before it is too late!" +</P> + +<P> +This time two of the wretches obeyed him, bursting from the room with +loud guffaws. The others straggled after them, but several minutes +elapsed before they were all assembled for the sally. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not do it here?" one of the sailors asked, indicating Ariston, +whose arm Syphax held in a firm grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I intend to make him remember Medon," the freebooter answered +savagely. "You shall see sport when we reach the harbor." +</P> + +<P> +A cold sweat covered Ariston's forehead, but he made no sound. His ear +had caught the trampling of feet, and he hoped yet for rescue. +</P> + +<P> +The sailors emerged into the street and turned toward the harbor. Just +as they reached the first corner, a company of Thessalians, in pursuit +of a few Tyrian fugitives, ran into them. No questions were asked. +The swords of the cavalrymen were already out, and they drove them into +the bodies of the men who were unfortunate enough to block their way. +</P> + +<P> +Syphax alone had time to drop his booty and draw his sword. He saw +that there was no escape. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast been my evil genius," he cried to Ariston, "but at any rate +thou shalt go with me to the Styx." +</P> + +<P> +He plunged his sword into the old man's side. Before he could withdraw +it, a Thessalian blade cleft his skull. Murderer and victim fell +together. +</P> + +<P> +The storm had blown over. The sinking sun shone crimson upon the +twisted clouds far across the sky. In the quarter where the Israelites +dwelt, amid the mourning and rejoicing, Pethuel, the high priest, +raised his hands to heaven. +</P> + +<P> +"Give thanks to Jehovah!" he cried. "Our enemies have fallen and they +that mocked Him are no more! Blessed be the name of the Lord!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap48"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THAIS GIVES A FEAST +</H4> + +<P> +Down in the secret passage the fugitives from the Temple of Moloch +could hear no sound of the battle. Leonidas had snatched one of the +perfumed censers from the hand of a quaking neophyte, and this shed a +glimmer of light as he led the way. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia came to her senses to find herself clasped in her lover's +arms. +</P> + +<P> +"Clearchus!" she murmured, "may the Gods grant that this be not a +dream." +</P> + +<P> +"It is no dream, my beloved!" the young man answered. "I have found +thee at last." +</P> + +<P> +"Dear heart, I have longed for thee so!" she said, with a little sigh +of content, as her arms stole around his neck. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus bent his head, and their lips met in the darkness. Thais +heard the murmur of their voices. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I have lost my sandal—and I am cold!" she exclaimed, in a tone of +distress. "Chares, I am afraid you will have to carry me." +</P> + +<P> +"You are so heavy," the Theban said, taking her in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"There, be careful, sir, or I shall make you set me down again," she +cried. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas uttered a sound that was something between a snort and a grunt +and signified disdain, whereupon Chares laughed until the narrow +passage rang. +</P> + +<P> +Before they reached the palace it was in full possession of the +Macedonians. They entered the room where the young men had left +Azemilcus the night before, and found a portion of the squadron +belonging to Leonidas busily searching there for plunder. The men +stood open-mouthed when their captain appeared from behind the +hangings. They looked like schoolboys caught in a forbidden frolic. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the king?" the Spartan demanded sternly. +</P> + +<P> +"He is fighting down there," one of the soldiers replied, pointing from +the window. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas glanced down upon the city and saw the conflict raging in the +streets. +</P> + +<P> +"Then what are you doing here?" he asked harshly. "Fall in!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will go with you," Nathan said. "I must seek my people." +</P> + +<P> +"You will find us here when you come back," Chares cried after them. +"We will fight no more to-day." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas overtook Alexander stamping out the last sparks of resistance +in the northern part of the city. The young king, still glowing with +the ardor of battle, greeted him with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Are Clearchus and Chares safe?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They await you in the royal palace with Artemisia and Thais," the +Spartan replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" Alexander cried. "This will have to be celebrated. Let us see +what has become of Azemilcus." +</P> + +<P> +He led the way to the Temple of Melkarth, which was filled with +fugitives and suppliants. The general feeling in the city that the God +was on the side of the Macedonians had led many to seek his protection +when no other remained. Some of them were even striving to remove the +chains with which the image had been bound to the pillars. +</P> + +<P> +Azemilcus and the chancellor came forward, surrounded by the priests of +the temple. The two kings, one withered and shrunken and old, his +brain cankered by the cynical knowledge of experience, and the other, +in the fulness of his vigorous youth and generous enthusiasms, looked +into each other's eyes. Alexander's face was grave and stern, but the +mocking smile still hovered about the lips of the older man. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you to say?" Alexander said at last. +</P> + +<P> +"I have been a king," Azemilcus replied, "but I am a king no longer. +What is your will?" +</P> + +<P> +"You may live," Alexander replied coldly, "but you have never been a +king. Where is your son?" +</P> + +<P> +"He is dead," the old king answered, and his eyes wavered. +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather be in his place than in thine," Alexander said shortly. +"Follow me." +</P> + +<P> +Azemilcus shrugged his shoulders and gathered his robe more closely +around him. To all who had sought refuge in the temple Alexander +granted safety, and then, having issued the necessary orders regarding +the city, he turned back to the palace. +</P> + +<P> +The streets were encumbered with the dead. The bodies lay in heaps +behind the broken barricades or scattered between them, where the +fugitives had been stricken as they fled before the fury of the +Macedonian charge. A wounded Tyrian raised himself on his elbow while +the two kings passed, cursed Azemilcus, and died. +</P> + +<P> +In the council room of the palace Alexander demanded from the +chancellor an accounting of the public treasure of Tyre, an enormous +sum in gold and silver, and gave it into the custody of his own +treasurer. There, too, he received the reports of his captains, and +with marvellous quickness despatched the business that they brought +before him. The greater part of the army he ordered back to the camp +on the mainland. +</P> + +<P> +When nothing more remained to be done, he turned to Leonidas. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are thy friends?" he asked. "They seem to have forgotten me." +</P> + +<P> +"I will fetch them," the Spartan replied. +</P> + +<P> +He ran to the apartment where he had left the lovers, and burst in, to +find them nestled among the cushions, telling each other of all they +had endured. +</P> + +<P> +"Come," he cried. "The king has asked for you." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell him that we will come presently," Chares said, but Thais promptly +boxed his ears and slipped out of the arm that encircled her waist. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't suppose there is a woman in the palace to smooth my hair," she +exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think Alexander will look at you?" Chares asked. "He has more +important things to think about, indeed." +</P> + +<P> +Nevertheless, Artemisia and Thais made Leonidas wait five minutes while +they aided each other to make the best appearance possible under the +circumstances, before they followed him to the great council chamber. +Artemisia entered shyly, casting down her eyes before the bold glances +of so many men; but Thais walked beside Chares with head erect, her red +lips parted in a smile, and a gleam of excitement dancing in her eyes. +</P> + +<P> +With the license that Alexander permitted, the captains raised a shout +of welcome when Chares and Clearchus appeared. Before Artemisia could +catch her breath, she was standing in front of Alexander, and Clearchus +was presenting her to him. +</P> + +<P> +"She looks like a rosebud when the dew is on it," Clitus whispered to +Hephæstion. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be sentimental," the favorite answered. "When did you become a +poet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not until this minute," Clitus replied. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander himself was not free from embarrassment when he greeted +Artemisia, for he knew nothing of women, not yet having met Roxana; but +he took her hand and praised the bravery of Clearchus, at which she +blushed and smiled. +</P> + +<P> +Thais looked the young king frankly in the face. "We bid you welcome +to Tyre," she said. +</P> + +<P> +There was something in the unconquerable vitality of her gaze that +reminded him of his mother, although Olympias' eyes were dark and the +eyes of this girl were yellow, if any color could be assigned to them +that seemed a blend of all. +</P> + +<P> +"It was worth fighting for," he said, returning her look with +unconcealed admiration. "But sometimes I wish I were not Alexander," +he added, turning to Chares with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"And I thank the Gods that thou art indeed Alexander," the Theban +replied, drawing Thais closer to him. +</P> + +<P> +The young king seemed to fall into a momentary revery, but it passed +quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"You four shall be my guests to-night," he exclaimed. "Azemilcus will +provide the feast." +</P> + +<P> +"Do not trust him," Chares said, in a low voice. "He tried to poison +us." +</P> + +<P> +"If that be so, we will eat elsewhere," Alexander answered, frowning +and looking askance at the Tyrian. +</P> + +<P> +"If you will permit me to manage it," Thais said, "Phradates shall +furnish the feast." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is he?" Alexander asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He was our captor here," Thais replied, "and he is a man of some good +qualities, though he has others also." +</P> + +<P> +"He is the messenger whom you sent from Thebes to carry word to King +Azemilcus of your coming," Clearchus explained. +</P> + +<P> +"I remember," Alexander said. "I would like to see him again and ask +him whether he delivered the message. So be it, then." +</P> + +<P> +Bidding the Companions follow, Alexander suffered Thais to lead him to +the house of Phradates. It was still closed and silent, but Chares and +Clearchus beat upon the door with their sword-hilts and demanded +admittance in the name of Alexander. Mena, recognizing the king +through the wicket, thought it best to open, since he knew that +resistance would be in vain. The door swung back, and he prostrated +himself at Alexander's feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, O son of Philip," he said. "The house of my master and all +that was his belong to the Conqueror of the Earth." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he that he does not himself receive me?" Alexander demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"Alas, he is dead!" the Egyptian answered. "He received a fatal wound +while fighting on the walls, and they brought him home. He died in my +arms." +</P> + +<P> +Mena affected to wipe tears from his eyes as he told of his master's +end. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a lie!" the old nurse screamed, from among the slaves clustered +in the back of the hall. They tried to stifle her voice, but Alexander +commanded her to come forward. +</P> + +<P> +"What happened?" he asked briefly. +</P> + +<P> +The old woman sank upon her knees and raised her hands in supplication. +</P> + +<P> +"I was his nurse," she said, in her cracked and broken voice. "They +brought him wounded to this door, and Mena—this man here—would not +permit him to enter. He was not always kind to me, but I loved him; +for how often when he was little have I held him in my arms! So I +stole away and brought him in by another door, thinking to save him, +for he was so weak from his wound. And then Mena stabbed him, and he +died. Vengeance, O king; thou art strong!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thou shalt have it," Alexander said sternly. "Is this true, dog?" +</P> + +<P> +Mena tried to deny, but he could not speak. His face turned ashen. +</P> + +<P> +"I promised this man that he should be crucified," Thais said softly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then let it be done now," Alexander said. +</P> + +<P> +He motioned to his guard, who seized the Egyptian and held him fast. +"Were others concerned in this?" he demanded of the nurse. +</P> + +<P> +"No others, my lord," the woman replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Then let them have no fear," he said. "They shall be unharmed. I +give them and this house to Thais." +</P> + +<P> +"Mercy! Mercy!" cried Mena, finding his voice at last. "It is all a +lie!" +</P> + +<P> +"Take him away," Alexander said. "I see you know how to punish," he +added, turning to Thais. +</P> + +<P> +"I thank the king, both for that and for his gift to me," she replied +demurely. "I was sold at Thebes." +</P> + +<P> +By her order the slaves conducted Alexander to the bath and waited upon +the Companions who began to arrive. She caused the body of Phradates +to be carried to his own chamber, where it was left in the care of the +old nurse. With the aid of Artemisia, she superintended the +preparations for the feast, giving especial care to the selection of +the wines and to the decoration of the hall in which the tables were +spread. +</P> + +<P> +Masses of oak leaves from the gardens of Melkarth's temple hid the +columns, and from among them shone hundreds of lamps and torches, +shedding their light upon the platters of gold and trenchers of silver, +interspersed with flagons of colored glass of the finest workmanship, +that weighed down the tables. The couches were covered with silks of +many hues and piled with yielding cushions. +</P> + +<P> +Pyramids of flowers from the roofs of the houses were disposed upon the +tables, and for each guest a wreath was prepared. The warm, +perfume-laden air throbbed with the music of flutes breathed upon by +invisible musicians. +</P> + +<P> +Thais had caused soldiers to be sent to the Temple of Astoreth, where +the priestesses, with many lamentations, supplied them with pheasants +from the sacred flock, and these, with abundance of fish from the +harbors, pastries, and sweetmeats, disguised the poverty of the larder. +Alexander was accustomed afterward to drive his cooks and stewards to +despair by commanding them to provide a banquet like the one that Thais +had given; for, try as hard as they might, he never could be brought to +give his approval, but persisted in declaring that the feast of Thais +remained unequalled. +</P> + +<P> +The secret was that there never after came a time when the young king +was so well satisfied with himself and his fortune, when his friends +were so inspired, and when the future held so much promise. The battle +of Issus had been won, and the strongest fortress in the world had been +taken. The shores of the sea, from the Hellespont to the Nile, had +been conquered and held. Alexander knew then that no power on earth +could stand against him. He foresaw the overthrow of Darius and the +spread of his own dominion to the confines of the world. Great +thoughts and limitless projects were stirring in his mind. He felt +himself half a God, and he wondered at his own power. There was yet no +bitterness of anxiety to contaminate the pleasure of anticipation, +which always in ambitious hearts so much exceeds that of realization. +</P> + +<P> +The feelings that animated the young leader were shared in greater or +less degree by his followers. Even Hephæstion forgot to sulk because +his place on the right of the king had been given to Artemisia. Thais +sat on his left, and beyond her reclined the lazy bulk of Chares. Each +man looked his neighbor frankly in the face, sure of his sympathy, and +all felt toward Alexander an affection and generous admiration in which +there was no selfish thought. +</P> + +<P> +What wonder that, in after years, when suspicion and insidious pride +had poisoned the mind of the young king, and when the free-hearted +soldiers there gathered together had fallen away from each other, each +hoping evil to his comrade that he himself might profit thereby,—what +wonder that Alexander remembered the feast of Thais as the happiest of +his life? But of the sorrows that were to come none then knew or even +guessed, unless it was old Aristander, to whom all paid honor because +his prophecy of the fall of Tyre, that the king himself had deemed +impossible, had been fulfilled. And even Aristander was cheerful that +night beyond his custom, forgetting the future in the present. +</P> + +<P> +So the young men rejoiced in their strength, in their hopes, and in the +honest affection that warmed their hearts toward each other. The hall +was filled with laughter, and their jesting left no scars. The wine +expanded and stimulated their minds instead of their passions, and when +Callisthenes, at Alexander's request, recited the immortal description +of the fall of Troy, the majestic periods of the epic drew tears of +emotion to their eyes, and every man of them became a hero. +</P> + +<P> +"If I were to bid thee crave a gift at my hands, what would it be?" +Alexander asked of Artemisia. +</P> + +<P> +She blushed, and her glance sought Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"It would be one of thy soldiers, O king," she replied softly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is much to ask of a general," Alexander said, affecting +hesitation. "I would rather you had demanded his weight in gold; but +which one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here he is," said Artemisia, blushing still more deeply and laying her +hand in that of the Athenian. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I must give him to thee," the young king said. "Let the +chief priest of Melkarth be summoned." +</P> + +<P> +"I will fetch him myself," Clearchus cried, leaping from his couch, and +he hurriedly left the hall amid the approving laughter of the company. +</P> + +<P> +The priest was found, the marriage contract drawn and signed, and while +Alexander joined their hands, the words were spoken that made Clearchus +and Artemisia one. The captains rose to their feet, each with a +brimming goblet, and they drank the health of the bride with a cheer +such as they had not given since they charged the squadrons of Darius. +With heart-felt freedom they showered good wishes upon their comrade, +and loud were their protests when Alexander broke up the feast to +return to the royal palace. +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas remained, with a few men of his troop, to guard the house, and +he and Chares sat for hours with a flagon of wine between them, talking +of all that had passed since the day when they rode at dawn into Athens +in search of Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +In the lofty chamber where Artemisia and Thais had spent so many weary +days waiting for the coming of deliverance, Artemisia stood with +Clearchus at the window that looked toward the Macedonian camp. The +cloud-wrack had vanished, and the sky was thickly sown with great stars +that seemed to look down upon them with friendly gaze. The young man's +arm clasped his bride warm and close, and her dear head rested against +his breast. He kissed the soft coils of her hair; but she lifted her +lips to his, and he saw that her blue eyes were swimming with tears of +happiness. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Leonidas, who had gone about his duties long before his friends were +stirring next morning, returned at midday and placed in Artemisia's +hands a mysterious package. +</P> + +<P> +"This is Moloch's gift," he said. +</P> + +<P> +When Artemisia opened it, out poured a magnificent double necklace of +rubies, so large and pure that she could not help kissing him, at which +the Spartan blushed like a boy. +</P> + +<P> +"I found them under the idol," he said. "For once, the chancellor told +the truth." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap49"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER LXIX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHARES FINDS REST +</H4> + +<P> +Again Alexander and Darius stood face to face, this time upon the plain +of Nineveh at Gaugamela, the Camel's House, beyond the swift Tigris. +Chares and Leonidas felt the chill of autumn in the air as they +strolled out upon the earthen ramparts that sheltered the Macedonian +camp. The wide plain below them, where they knew the Persian host was +assembled, was shrouded in mist. +</P> + +<P> +Both were silent, and both were thinking of Clearchus, whom they had +left behind in Egypt, in the new city that Alexander had founded at the +mouth of the Nile, giving it his own name. There he was building the +house that was to shelter him and Artemisia amid its gardens, within +sight and sound of the sea; for when he learned of the wreck of his +fortune, he had no desire to return to Athens. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall soon know who is master," the Spartan said, gazing toward the +mist-wrapped plain. +</P> + +<P> +Chares followed his look indifferently, yawned, and stretched his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe I would rather go back to sleep than fight," he said. "I +don't know what has come over me." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas shot him a quick glance, and it seemed to him that the +Theban's face had aged and grown grave over night. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what Clearchus and Artemisia and little Chares are doing," +Chares went on. "I would like to see them again. May the Gods give +them happiness!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and I shall be happy too when you have built your palace beside +them," Leonidas replied. "It will have to be a palace, for Thais will +be satisfied with nothing less." +</P> + +<P> +Chares smiled a little sadly and shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"That is not for me," he said. "I shall never have a home and children +of my own." +</P> + +<P> +"Nonsense!" the Spartan replied decisively. "What is to become of +Thais, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I know not," Chares said reflectively. "Watch over her, Leonidas, if +I am not there to do it. She loves me." +</P> + +<P> +"You talk like a sick man," Leonidas exclaimed, "yet you were never +better. What is the matter with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Who can speak of to-morrow?" Chares replied. "You know, Leonidas, +that I am not afraid, and yet somehow I care not. You and Clearchus I +must leave sometime, and whenever that time comes, it will be a regret +to me; and Thais, of course, will grieve; but she will recover. She is +not like Artemisia. I think something is lacking in me. I have taken +pleasure in life, but I am tired of everything. My city exists no +more. Perhaps I am being punished for taking service under the man who +destroyed it. I do not know—or care. Let be what will be." +</P> + +<P> +"When you hear the trumpet, you will forget all this folly," Leonidas +said impatiently. "You are young and you have everything to live for. +That palace will be built yet; and when our heads are gray, we shall be +sitting there, telling each other of this battle. See, they are +waiting for us. They have been there all night." +</P> + +<P> +The mist was lifting in undulating billows and twisted scarfs of vapor, +floating away into the upper air. Before them was mustered the might +of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Away to the left and +right spread the army of the Great King, a wilderness of bright plumes +and glittering helmets. The spear-points, emerging from the mist, +caught the rays of the sun like diamonds. Rank on rank they stood, so +deep that the young men could not distinguish where the files ceased. +Far on their right was the Bactrian cavalry and the Persian horse under +the cruel viceroy Bessus, who had unwittingly saved Chares and +Clearchus from the Babylonian mob. They could make out the banners of +the Susians, the Albanians, the Hyrcanians, the fierce Parthians, the +Syrians, the Arachotians, the Cadusians, the Babylonian levies, the +haughty Medes, the dusky squadrons from beyond the Indus, the warriors +from the shores of the Red Sea, the Mesopotamians, the Armenians, the +Cappadocians, and the mongrel tribes of mixed blood. From the +flaunting banners they could read the muster-roll of the nations that +bowed to the will of Darius. +</P> + +<P> +In advance of the first rank stood a line of huge, swaying brown bulks. +They were the royal elephants, stationed there to drive a pathway +through the Macedonian army for the Great King. Leonidas wondered at +their number and size. On both sides of them stretched rows of +chariots, with axles and neaps that terminated in long, curved +scythe-blades. Behind the elephants was the royal squadron of ten +thousand picked riders, and in its rear Darius had stationed himself, +surrounded by his kinsmen, and protected on either side by bodies of +Greek mercenaries. All the plain in front of the vast array had been +made as level as a floor, so that the chariots might find no obstacle +in their advance. +</P> + +<P> +"This will be the last battle," Chares said indifferently. "If we win +here, the empire is ours." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall win!" Leonidas exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not so sure of that," Chares said, measuring the host of the enemy +with his eye. "There are more of them than there were at Issus, and +here they have room to move." +</P> + +<P> +A trumpet sent its bold notes from the Macedonian camp. The call was +taken up by others, rose, and died away. Presently the first squadron +of the phalanx wheeled out upon the plain, and began marching slowly +and in silence down the gentle slope toward the Persian van. +</P> + +<P> +"We must get into our armor," Chares said, and the two friends hastened +down from the rampart. +</P> + +<P> +The camp was swarming like a great beehive. Rough shouts of greeting, +jests, and salutations were heard on every side as the soldiers hurried +to join their commands. The army was in high spirits at the prospect +of a decisive grapple, but the heaviness that oppressed Chares' mind +refused to yield to the general enthusiasm. He made his way through +the crowds to the purple pavilion set apart for Sisygambis, the mother +of Darius, and his children. The beautiful Statira was no longer +there. She had died in her captivity. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish to speak with Thais," Chares said to the eunuch who guarded the +door. +</P> + +<P> +He was admitted to an anteroom of the tent while a slave carried his +message. Thais answered the summons quickly. A proud smile parted her +lips when she saw the powerful form of the Theban, clad in resplendent +armor; but it vanished when she looked into his face. +</P> + +<P> +He took her hands and bent down to kiss her, while the plumes of his +helmet fell about their heads. +</P> + +<P> +"I have but a moment," he said. "Farewell, Thais; you have loved me +better than I deserved." +</P> + +<P> +"Chares!" she exclaimed, with a sinking of the heart that caused her +voice to flutter. "Why do you speak to me like this? I have loved you +and I do love you with all my heart—with all my heart! Never have I +loved another, and I never shall. Without you I should die!" +</P> + +<P> +She stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck. "You are all I +have!" she cried, with a sob. +</P> + +<P> +"Thais," he said, holding her close, "if I come not back to you, +promise me that you will accept what the Gods send. They are wiser +than we." +</P> + +<P> +To Thais it seemed as though the world was slipping away from her. He +had gone to battle before, and she well knew its chances; but he was so +brave and strong that she had never really feared for him and for +herself. What would become of her without him? She remembered what +she had been before she knew him. The future would be worse than a +void. The thought of it stabbed her heart like a knife. +</P> + +<P> +"If you come not back!" she cried, clinging to him with all her +strength. "But you will come back, Chares—tell me that you will! +Tell me that you will come back for my sake. I cannot let you go!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will come back if the Gods permit it," he said, kissing her once +more, "but promise me, my love, for the time is short." +</P> + +<P> +A trumpet sounded, and Thais understood that he must leave her. +</P> + +<P> +"I promise," she said hastily, "but, O my heart, guard thyself in the +battle; for it is thy life and mine thou bearest!" +</P> + +<P> +She felt his arms press her closely and tenderly, and then he was gone. +She turned slowly back to the inner rooms of the pavilion, where the +queen mother sat with her little grandson in her lap. Sisygambis had +taken a fancy to her, especially since the death of her +daughter-in-law, whom Thais had tended in her illness. She turned her +face toward her, stamped with traces of sorrow. +</P> + +<P> +"What is happening?" she asked. +</P> + +<P> +"They are marching out to battle," Thais replied. +</P> + +<P> +"My son is there!" the queen said. "May Astoreth have him in her care. +But whichever way the battle goes, either I or thou must weep. Our +hearts are their playthings!" +</P> + +<P> +As the Companions emerged from the camp, they passed through the ranks +of the Thracian infantry, left behind to protect it, and saw the +phalanx forming on the plain. They swung into the battle line on its +right, behind the archers and the javelin men. The Persians overlapped +them on both flanks by half a mile. +</P> + +<P> +Never had Chares seen Alexander so confidently at ease as when he rode +along the line in his bright armor, his white plumes nodding as he +looked to see that all was in readiness. His eye was clear and his +brow was untroubled in the face of those tremendous odds, although he +knew that his fate depended upon the issue of that day. He took his +place beside Clitus on the extreme right wing of the army, with the +squadrons of Glaucias behind him. +</P> + +<P> +There was a stir in the Persian host, and the terrible scythed +chariots, drawn by horses that were lashed to madness, bounded forward +across the interval that separated the two armies. At the same time +the elephants began to move, and the Persian centre advanced to the +attack. +</P> + +<P> +Chares had hardly time to note this movement before the Bactrian and +Scythian cavalry under Bessus swept down upon the Companions. +Alexander ordered Mœnidas and the Greek mercenary cavalry to meet +the charge. The Greeks galloped bravely to oppose the onset, but the +rush of the Bactrians scattered them like chaff. The Pœonian +cavalry under Aristo was then sent forward with better success. The +wild troops of Bessus were curbed and forced back for a space, and +Chares could see the bull-necked viceroy raging among them in a frantic +endeavor to make them stand. Finding all his efforts in vain, he +ordered the main body of the Bactrian cavalry, fourteen thousand in +all, to charge. They left their place in the left of the Persian line +and thundered down upon the Pœonians like an avalanche. +</P> + +<P> +Not until then did Alexander turn his face to the impatient Companions. +He raised his hand as a signal to make ready. Each man gathered his +bridle reins more firmly, and tightened his grasp on his spear. A page +scurried back to Aretes, who had been posted in the rear of the main +line as a protection to the flank, telling him to charge with his +splendid lancers. Then the Companions rushed forward, with Alexander +at their head, and with their plumes fluttering like foam on the crest +of a wave. +</P> + +<P> +Squadron by squadron, they tore into the enemy's lines, while Scyth and +Bactrian went down before them. Swift and deadly as a falcon, Aretes +swooped upon Bessus' flank, throwing it into confusion. But the +viceroy refused to yield, and the stubborn righting continued. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime the dreaded scythe-bearing chariots had neared the phalanx, +which it was their task to break. The soldiers clashed their spear +butts against their shields with a clangor that frightened many of the +horses beyond control. The light-footed skirmishers in advance of the +line shot their arrows into the sides of the animals, or risked their +lives to sever the traces of their harness. Some of the horses wheeled +and galloped back into the Persian horde. Others were killed upon the +sarissas that pierced their necks. A few of the chariots reached the +line, that opened hastily to let them through, and both horses and +charioteers were slain at leisure in the rear. +</P> + +<P> +The elephants, from which the Great King had hoped so much, proved as +useless as the chariots. Bewildered in the clamor raised by the +phalanx, and maddened by the wounds inflicted upon them by the archers, +they rushed about the field, trumpeting wildly, and trampling the +Persians in their search for escape. Darius saw them, and his brow +clouded. +</P> + +<P> +With the first stride of his horse when the Companions charged, Chares +felt his heart leap and the glow of joy in battle warm his veins. +Misgiving and foreboding fell from him. He struck with mighty blows, +spurring his horse forward into the Bactrian ranks until he could go no +further. When his squadron fell back to give place to another, he +refused to follow it, but remained there, fighting until the fresh +troop in its charge surrounded him and bore him forward. Even when the +Bactrians began to give way, and Alexander, leaving them to Aretes, +directed the trumpeters to draw off the Companions, the Theban would +not go. The young king, who happened to be near, spoke to him sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Obey orders!" he said. "You shall have your fill of fighting." +</P> + +<P> +Chares reluctantly complied. His eyes were bloodshot and his face +flushed like that of a drunken man. To ease the throbbing of his +temples, he loosed his helmet and threw it upon the ground. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander's eye, keen as a hawk's, glanced along the front of the +Persian line, and his heart leaped as he saw a wide break in the ranks +just at the left of the centre, where Darius stood in his chariot. The +Susians had shifted slightly toward Bessus, in order to give him their +support, and a gap had opened between them and the Greek mercenaries +who guarded the Great King on that side. The Macedonians had been +ordered to fight in silence, so that the trumpets might be heard, and +now their varied notes rang across the field. At the first signal, the +hypaspists under Nicanor detached themselves from the line and came +forward at a run. Another call, another, and another, brought the +veterans of the phalanx swinging in behind them. Rank on rank, the +tough fighting men of Cœnas, Perdiccas, Meleager, and Polyspherchon +fell in with the rapid precision of cool discipline, forming a solid +column that fronted toward the gap. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander gave the word to the Companions to place themselves at the +head of this enormous wedge, and then, with a shout that rolled far +across the plain, it hurled itself against the Persian line. Into the +gap rode the Companions, and after them pressed the heavy infantry. +The matchless horsemen struck at the heart of the Persian host; the +resistless charge of the men who followed them tore wide the wound. +</P> + +<P> +Close to the snowy plumes that floated from Alexander's helmet in the +front rank of the Companions streamed the yellow hair of Chares. The +Theban fought with the strength of fury. His sword rose and fell, and +every blow carried a death wound. A strange sense of unreality +possessed him. He seemed to be fighting in a dream. Suddenly, through +the dust and confusion of the trampled field, he caught sight of the +figure of Darius, and every sense became acute. The Great King, +wearing the royal robe of purple over his armor, stood erect in his +chariot, shooting arrows into the Macedonian column. Between him and +the Companions stood ten thousand Greek mercenaries. +</P> + +<P> +Chares was seized by an overmastering and unreasoning rage against the +tall, handsome man who had brought the vast horde together to oppose +them. +</P> + +<P> +"Darius! Darius!" he shouted, and spurred his horse so fiercely that +the animal leaped forward, carrying his rider far into the mercenary +cohorts. Alexander and the foremost of the Companions, among them +Leonidas, pressed in after him. The Spartan shouted to him to be +cautious, but he might as well have warned the wind. To right and left +swung the terrible sword, and every bound of the frantic horse carried +him farther forward. The ranks of the mercenaries were cleft apart. +From every side blows were aimed at him, but the hireling troops were +prevented by those who came after from closing around him. +</P> + +<P> +Chares saw nothing but the pale face of the Great King. A sword gashed +his thigh, but he did not feel the wound. An arrow pierced his +shoulder. He snapped off the shaft so that it might not interfere with +the sweep of his arm. +</P> + +<P> +Darius looked toward the left, and his eyes met those of the Theban. +He saw the strokes that were rained upon his armor; he saw the darts +that were aimed at him. At every breath it seemed that he must go +down, and yet onward he came, and his gaze never left the royal +chariot. The Great King noticed that his lips were stained with bloody +froth and that his hair was roped and matted with sweat. A chill +settled about the monarch's heart. It seemed to him that the +yellow-headed giant, whom nothing could stay, would surely reach him; +and yet he was incapable of movement. Like a man bound hand and foot +by a nightmare, he stood awaiting his end. The man was now so near +that he fancied he could hear the panting of his breath. The warning +cries of his kinsmen sounded in his ears, and he knew that they were +trying to throw themselves before him. Of all the Macedonian army he +feared only this one enemy. Would he succeed in reaching the chariot? +No! His horse had swerved aside. Darius saw him grasp a javelin that +was being thrust at his breast, and wrest it from the hands of the man +who held it. He was about to cast. The Great King could see the +glitter of the point of steel. Something grazed his arm, and the haft +of the weapon quivered across his heart, its blade buried in the side +of his charioteer. +</P> + +<P> +Darius drew a shuddering breath of relief, and opened his eyes. He saw +the great roan steed that bore his foe rear high above the heads of his +guard. Its fore legs struck aimlessly at the air, and the face of its +rider was hidden in its tossing mane. Then, with a scream of agony, +the horse fell backward, and a hundred mercenaries swarmed upon him, +thrusting and thrusting with their short swords. +</P> + +<P> +The Great King was saved; but he knew that the battle, upon which he +had staked all, was lost. He saw the eager faces of the Companions, +and beyond them the solid wall of the phalanx, sweeping nearer, like a +resistless tide. He stepped across the body of his charioteer and +mounted a horse. Before his feet were in the stirrups he heard the +ominous cry, "The king flees!" that had run before the rout at Issus, +and by the time he reached the spot where the rear guard of his army +should have been, the dust-cloud raised by hurrying hoofs and flying +feet obscured the sun. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly, from among the dead, Chares raised himself, and gazed with +dimming eyes toward the place where the Great King had stood. Only the +broken chariot and the dead were there, but far away he saw the ebbing +tide of the battle. A smile flickered upon his lips, his head sank +upon the side of his brave horse, and his blue eyes closed. "Sleep and +rest!" he thought, and the darkness swept over him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap50"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER L +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +PROMISES FULFILLED +</H4> + +<P> +In the great Hall of Xerxes, in Persepolis, the city whose streets had +never been trodden by the feet of an enemy since the first Cyrus +overthrew the Medes and founded the Achæmenian line, Alexander feasted +with his friends. Two months had passed since the empire that Cyrus +won had been wrested from Darius at Gaugamela. Susa had fallen, and +the might of Persia was shattered forever. +</P> + +<P> +Terrace above terrace, from the limpid waters of the Araxes, fed +eternally by mountain snows, rose the wonderful palaces upon which the +revenues of generations had been lavished. There the grandeur and +majesty of the masters of more than half the world had bloomed into +visible form. There Cyrus and his successors had been accustomed to +seek refuge from the summer heat, and to lay aside the cares of empire +for luxurious days amid the myriad blossoms of their gardens and the +fairer flowers of their effeminate courts. +</P> + +<P> +The huge monoliths of the Hall of the Hundred Columns reared themselves +from their hewn platform of stone. Around them were grouped the +palaces of Cyrus and of Xerxes, of Artaxerxes and Darius, built of rare +woods and polished marble, brought from distant quarries with infinite +labor, that the eyes of the Great Kings might take delight therein. +Each monarch had striven to outdo his predecessor in beauty and +magnificence. +</P> + +<P> +Broad staircases, guarded by colossal figures of soldiers, connected +terraces, upheld by retaining walls upon which were sculptured enormous +lions and bulls. +</P> + +<P> +The palaces themselves were large enough to give an army lodgement. +Their walls and ceilings were adorned with paintings commemorating the +triumphs of the kings in war and in the chase. Upon the sides of the +Hall of Xerxes, where the Macedonian captains were gathered at tables +laden with vessels of solid gold, the petulant monarch, who had +chastised the Hellespont with rods and who had given the temples of +Athens to the flames, was represented in his hunting chariot, receiving +the charge of a wounded lion. In the light of countless torches, the +great paintings, the hangings, and the carpets spread upon the floor +formed a background of rich color for the snowy garments of the +banqueters. +</P> + +<P> +Statues of ebony, lapis-lazuli, marble, and jade, brought from many a +captured city, gleamed against the lofty wainscoting of golden plates, +wrought into strange reliefs. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander reclined upon a raised couch, covered with priceless +Babylonian embroidery. In front of him the tables were arranged in the +form of an oblong, stretching the length of the hall, and beside them +lolled the veterans, crowned with wreaths of flowers whose perfume +mingled with the heavy scent of unguents and incense. There were many +women at the feast, each sitting beside her chosen lord. Some of them +had been taken as captives. Others, released from the bondage of the +harem, had formed willing alliances with the conquerors. They were +admitted to the banquet on terms of equality with the men, according to +the Macedonian fashion, and their light laughter, the brilliancy of +their eyes, and the flashing of the jewels with which they were +plentifully adorned lent a finishing touch of brightness to the scene. +</P> + +<P> +But the beauty of the fairest representatives of a race famed for its +beauty paled before that of Thais, whose gilded chair was set next to +the couch of Ptolemy on Alexander's left. It was not so much the +perfect grace of her form or the proud poise or her head, with its +masses of tawny hair, that gave her distinction, as the spirit that +shone in her eyes. Beautiful as she was, she had changed since the +death of Chares. There was a suggestion of imperious hardness in her +glance; she was less womanly, but more fascinating. The hearts of men +turned to wax as they gazed upon her, even though something indefinable +warned them that their longing would find no response in her heart. +Yet warm vitality seemed to radiate from her, and the quick blood came +and went under her clear skin with each changing emotion. +</P> + +<P> +Habituated to the stiff formalities of the Persian court, the deft +slaves who attended the Macedonians were astonished at the freedom of +their manners. All the skill of the royal cooks was expended to +prepare the feast. Scores of delicate dishes were brought in and set +before the Greeks, but the master of the kitchens was in despair at +their lack of appreciation. They devoured what was offered to them, it +was true, but without a sign of the gastronomical discussion in which +the Persian nobles were wont to indulge. The wine, however, was not +spared, and the keeper of the royal cellars groaned over the havoc +wrought among his precious amphoræ. The provision for a twelvemonth +was exhausted, and still the thirst of the strangers seemed unabated. +In the last and most ancient of the Persian capitals they were +celebrating their triumph in their own way, and it was the way of men +whose vices were as strong as their virtues. +</P> + +<P> +The conversation, animated from the first, became livelier as the +banquet progressed. The soldiers called to each other from table to +table, pledging each other in goblets of amber and ruby wine as costly +as amber and rubies. Faces were flushed and eyes grew bright. The +stately hall echoed with laughter, in which the musical voices of the +women joined. Old stories were told again, and time-worn jokes took on +the attraction of novelty. The women provoked their guerdon of homage, +and it was paid to them on hand and lip with frank generosity. The +brains of even the stoutest members of the company were whirling, and +some of the more susceptible to the influence of the wine began to slip +unsteadily away, amid the jeers of their comrades, in the hope that the +cool outer air would drive off their giddiness and enable them to see +the end. Those who remained were all talking at once, boasting of +their deeds, with none to listen. +</P> + +<P> +Alexander, weary of the din, called suddenly upon Callisthenes to speak +in praise of the Greeks. The orator rose slowly from his place and +strode out into the open space between the tables. +</P> + +<P> +"To whom shall I speak?" he demanded, gazing about him with an +expression of disgust upon the babbling captains. "They are all mad +with vanity and wine." +</P> + +<P> +"Speak then to Xerxes," Alexander replied, pointing to the wall, from +which the royal portrait seemed to look down upon them with a sneer. +</P> + +<P> +Callisthenes obeyed. At first his voice was unheeded; but as his +apostrophe gathered force, the chatter of talk died away around him, +and all eyes were turned upon him. +</P> + +<P> +Calling upon the dead king by name, he magnified his power and told how +he had gathered the nations to the invasion of Hellas. The failure of +his attempt he attributed to the jealousy of the Gods, who would not +permit destruction to fall upon the country that was to produce +Alexander. He described the heroic stand of the Spartans at +Thermopylæ, and the victory of Salamis; and as he dwelt upon the +bravery of the Greeks in the face of those overwhelming odds, the hall +rang with the cheers of men who themselves knew what it was to fight +and to conquer. +</P> + +<P> +"By thy command, O Xerxes!" the orator cried, extending his open palm +toward the portrait, "Hellas was made to blush in the flames that +devoured the temples of her Gods upon the Athenian Acropolis; but the +life of man is brief, while the Gods die not nor do they forget. Look +down from thy chariot! Alexander, the defender and avenger of Hellas, +holds thy dominions, and the nations that owned thy sway are bowed at +his feet. Turn not thy face away; for the fire with which thou didst +insult and offend the Gods of Hellas hath flamed across all Persia, +until it hath reached thee at last!" +</P> + +<P> +The rage that had been gathering in the breasts of the Macedonians at +the recital of the wrongs that Greece had suffered could be repressed +no longer. Clitus leaped to his feet and hurled his golden beaker at +the painted face of Xerxes. In an instant the hall was in an uproar. +The company rose with one accord and turned to Alexander, shouting for +revenge. To their inflamed minds it seemed as though the injuries +inflicted by Xerxes were of yesterday. The contagion caught the young +king, who sprang from his couch and stood gazing around him, seeking +some means of satisfying the desire for vengeance that swelled his +heart. +</P> + +<P> +Thais had been watching his face with lips slightly parted and a +strangely intent look in her eyes, as though waiting for the moment to +carry into execution some project that she had formed in her mind. +While Alexander stood hesitating, she seized a blazing torch from its +socket in one of the columns. +</P> + +<P> +"He burned our temples—let fire be his punishment!" she whispered, +thrusting the torch into Alexander's grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"The Gods shall be avenged!" he cried, accepting her plan without +hesitation; for the wine he had drunk and the maddening clamor of his +followers had gone to his head. +</P> + +<P> +He thrust the lighted torch against the draperies that hung behind him. +A cry of horror burst from the slaves and attendants as the flame +caught the heavy folds and ran upward in leaping spirals; but the cry +was lost in the fierce triumphant shout of the captains. Every man +grasped a torch and ran to spread the conflagration. The great Hall of +Xerxes was enveloped in flame and smoke so quickly that the +incendiaries themselves had barely time to escape. +</P> + +<P> +Rushing from the doorways with the torches in their hands, the +Macedonians hastened from palace to palace, scattering destruction. +Clouds of smoke, glowing red above the leaping flames, rose over the +marvellous structures that had been reared with so much toil. Tower +and terrace, porch and portico, were transformed into roaring furnaces +in whose heat the great columns cracked and fell with a noise like the +rumbling of thunder. The lofty ceilings crashed down upon wonders of +art and precious fabrics. The plates of beaten gold that lined the +walls melted and ran into crevices which opened in the marble floor. +Of the slaves, some perished in the flames; others fled with booty +snatched from the ruin; still others ran wildly into the darkness, +crying that the Macedonians were preparing to put to the sword all who +dwelt in the pleasant valley. +</P> + +<P> +The banqueters, driven back by the heat, watched the conflagration with +shouts of joy while it slowly burned itself out, leaving only the gaunt +and blackened skeletons of the group of palaces that had been the +delight of the Great Kings. +</P> + +<P> +Thais stood beside Ptolemy, beneath the wide branches of an oak where +the glare of the flames she had kindled threw her figure into strong +relief against the blackness. She held herself proudly erect, and a +slight smile curved her lips as she saw the banners of flame leap +upward toward the stars. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you do it?" the Macedonian asked, with an accent of respect +that seemed out of place in a camp where women were held so cheap. +</P> + +<P> +"I did it because of a promise that I gave to Orontobates when I was a +captive in Halicarnassus," Thais replied. "I like to keep my word." +</P> + +<P> +Something in her tone prevented the soldier, bold as he was, from +asking her what the promise had been. She had already taught him when +to remain silent, and he had learned that he must either submit or +abandon hope of winning her. As he stood, drinking in her beauty, +revealed in a new aspect by the firelight, he was puzzled to see her +head droop, while two tears slowly gathered upon her lashes. +</P> + +<P> +"Farewell, Chares, my lover!" she was saying to herself. "Upon thy +funeral pyre my heart, too, is turning to ashes!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thais," Ptolemy whispered, moved by her emotion without knowing its +cause, "do not forget that I love thee!" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not forget," she replied, "nor have I forgotten another promise +that I made; for I think the Gods have sent thee to me. To-morrow I +will be thy wife; and when this war has reached its end, thou shalt +reign in Alexandria over Egypt with me at thy side." +</P> + +<P> +"Thais!" Ptolemy exclaimed, clasping her at last in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +So Thais, the Athenian dancing girl, kept her pledge; but through the +length and breadth of the land ran the news that the home of the Great +Kings had been laid in ashes, and men knew that, though Darius still +lived, his power indeed was gone forever. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap51"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER LI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE +</H4> + +<P> +Clearchus and Artemisia were walking in the garden of their home in +Alexandria. Between the trunks of the trees, at a distance, they could +see the roofs and towers of the populous city, and across the blue +water, which began where the slopes of verdure ended, they could watch +the white sails of ships bringing trade from all parts of the world. +Ten years had passed since the palaces of Persepolis had crumbled into +ashes. Alexander had been dead three years, and his body lay in the +royal tomb at the mouth of the Nile, whither Ptolemy had brought it +from Babylon, when the empire was divided among the Macedonian generals +and he came to rule over Egypt in place of the rapacious Cleomenes. +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia's figure had lost some of its girlish grace, but her blue +eyes retained their clearness and her cheeks the delicate flush of her +youth. Clearchus, too, was heavier than he had been when he fought +among the Companions under Alexander, whom men were beginning to call +"the Great." +</P> + +<P> +At a turn in the path Artemisia placed her hand upon his arm and +checked him. The silvery voices of children came from a sunlit glade +among the shrubbery. They saw a boy of eleven years, clad in a short +white tunic that left his arms and legs free, shooting with blunt +arrows at a target that hung against a tree. Two little girls stood +watching him, and after each shot they ran with eager laughter to find +the arrow and fetch it back to him. Their fair hair gleamed in the +sun. Artemisia's eyes sought those of her husband, and a smile of +mother love transfigured her face. +</P> + +<P> +"I am almost afraid to be so happy," she murmured. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus laughed. "You need not fear, my heart," he replied. "Do not +the Gods owe us something? They are generous." +</P> + +<P> +They heard a step on the gravel behind them, and Leonidas advanced with +a smile and hands outstretched. He had changed little, excepting that +a few gray hairs appeared at his temples and the lines of his face had +deepened. +</P> + +<P> +"Welcome, comrade!" Clearchus cried, running forward to meet him. +"Whence come you? What news?" +</P> + +<P> +"I come from the council in Syria," Leonidas answered, "and as for +news, there has been another division of the world." +</P> + +<P> +"And Ptolemy?" Clearchus asked anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"He retains Egypt," the Spartan said. "Antipater is regent, with +Macedonia and all Greece; Seleucus gets the satrapy of Babylon; and +Antigonus, Susiana, besides what he had." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope we shall have peace at last," Artemisia said, glancing toward +the children. +</P> + +<P> +"We shall have peace here, at all events," Leonidas said grimly. "None +of the generals is desirous of sharing the fate of Perdiccas." +</P> + +<P> +They sat down beneath a vine-grown trellis while Leonidas told them of +the events that had led to the new distribution of the empire, +describing the jealousies of the leaders and the ferment of revolt that +was working in Greece. +</P> + +<P> +"When will they stop killing each other?" Artemisia said sadly. "Has +not each of them more than enough without trying to rob the others? +Leave them to their quarrels, Leonidas; there is room enough for +another house here beside us, and we will find you a mistress for it." +</P> + +<P> +Leonidas shook his head and sipped the wine that a slave had brought +for his refreshment. He knew that she referred to the site that they +had reserved for Chares and Thais. +</P> + +<P> +"It is too late," he replied, half regretfully. "As we have lived, so +we must die." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia slipped her hand within that of Clearchus, while the Spartan +followed with his eyes the glancing sails of a vessel whose prow was +turned toward the north and the rugged hillsides of his native land. +Their reflections were interrupted by the children, who had tired of +their play and were seeking new diversion. +</P> + +<P> +"Ho! Uncle Leonidas," shouted the boy, swooping down upon the Spartan. +"Where did you come from? Tell me about the death of King Darius!" +</P> + +<P> +He sat down beside Leonidas and composed himself to listen. The little +girls took Artemisia prisoner and led her away to see a nest they had +found, in which, they assured her, were funny little birds with no +feathers on their wings. Leonidas, his eyes still on the receding +ship, began the story that he had often told before. He related how +the army came to Ecbatana, the gem of cities, with its seven walls each +of a different color from the others, and each rising higher than the +one outside it, and how they found that the Great King had fled up into +the snow-capped mountains that overlook the Caspian Sea. He had with +him Bessus, the treacherous; Oxathres, his own brother; Artabazus, the +first nobleman of Persia, who commanded the Greek mercenaries; and a +score more of the generals and viceroys who still remained constant to +his fortune. He told how Darius wished to stand and fight among the +rugged passes, but the others would not allow it; how Artabazus, +suspecting their perfidy, besought him to trust himself to his Greeks, +to which the Great King consented for the morrow; and how that night +Bessus fettered him with golden chains and made him a prisoner in his +litter. +</P> + +<P> +The boy listened with sparkling eyes intent upon the Spartan's face, +while Leonidas described how Alexander, finding the Persians ever +fleeing before him, had left the foot-soldiers behind and struck out +with the Companions across the desert to intercept them. The lad held +his breath as he followed the desperate ride over the burning sands, +where one by one the horses stumbled and fell, gasping, until only +seventy riders remained. His cheeks flushed when he heard how a +soldier had brought water to Alexander in his helmet, and how the young +king, thirsty as he was, refused to moisten his lips because there was +not enough for all. +</P> + +<P> +Then came the charge of the seventy weary Macedonians in the gray of +the morning upon the camp of the sleeping Persians and the +panic-stricken flight of the cowardly army before them, too frightened +even to look back. And there they found the Great King lying in his +litter, stabbed through and through by the order of Bessus, who had +hoped thus to win the favor of Alexander. +</P> + +<P> +"And that was the end of Darius," the Spartan concluded. "Alexander +was sorry for his death, and he spread his own cloak over him as he lay +there; but I think it was better for him to die then than to live +subject to another, remembering his former power. He was unfortunate +in this, that he was not killed in battle, as all brave men should wish +to be. He had an opportunity for that at Gaugamela, but he threw it +away." +</P> + +<P> +A picture rose before the Spartan's memory of Chares, lying with his +broad shoulders against the side of his horse amid the dead, with a +smile upon his lips, and he sighed. +</P> + +<P> +"You have never yet told me what became of Bessus," the boy said +coaxingly. "Is he still alive?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," Leonidas replied, his face darkening. "He was betrayed in his +turn, and Alexander ordered him to be killed in the manner of the +Scyths when they punish traitors." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" the boy asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not tell you," Leonidas said grimly, "but it was too good for +him!" +</P> + +<P> +"There is Thais," Clearchus exclaimed. "Run and fetch your mother," he +added to his son. +</P> + +<P> +They rose and went to meet Thais, who was advancing slowly down an +avenue of trees. Two enormous black eunuchs held a broad parasol above +her head, and other slaves followed her, both men and maids, forming a +train of escort. When she saw Clearchus and Leonidas, she spoke a word +to her attendants, who halted, and she came forward alone. The +sunlight, sifting through the branches that formed a green arch over +her head, touched the burnished coils of her hair, flashing from hidden +jewels and glancing upon the shimmering silk of her robes. +</P> + +<P> +"She is more beautiful than ever," Leonidas said, gazing at her with +admiration. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and she rules Ptolemy in everything," Clearchus replied. +</P> + +<P> +"My friends!" Thais exclaimed, giving them her hands. "It makes my +heart glad to see you; but where is Artemisia?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have sent for her," Clearchus replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Before she comes," Thais said, seating herself beneath the trellis and +lowering her voice, "I must tell you something. The proofs for which I +sent to Athens have arrived, and there can no longer be any doubt that +we are sisters." +</P> + +<P> +"She will be overjoyed," Clearchus said. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall not tell her," Thais replied. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" Leonidas asked bluntly. "You are a queen now, or will be +one soon, and nobody thinks of—of the past." +</P> + +<P> +"It is precisely because I intend to be a queen that I shall not tell +her," Thais continued. "She could not love me more if she knew, and I +will not be the means of bringing danger upon her or her children. We +know the fate that awaits the kinsmen of princes. Did not Olympias +cause Cleopatra to be slain with her babe in her arms? Has not Roxana +murdered Statira, and is not Roxana herself, with the young Alexander, +held in captivity? Nevertheless, I will tell her if you desire, and it +shall be proclaimed throughout Egypt." +</P> + +<P> +"May the Gods forbid!" Clearchus exclaimed. "You are right, Thais. It +must not be told." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will destroy the proofs," she said, "and remain, as I have +been, the first of my race." +</P> + +<P> +All three were silent, thinking of the future, and Thais smiled +faintly, as though at that moment she were conscious of the wonderful +power that was to descend through her daughters, until it attained its +perfection in the irresistible charm of that Cleopatra who was to see +the conquerors of the world at her feet. Yet she sighed as her eyes +met those of Clearchus. +</P> + +<P> +"If only Chares were here!" she murmured. +</P> + +<P> +"We know," the Athenian answered gravely, "and we do not blame you, +since all of us must bow to the will of the Gods." +</P> + +<P> +"I thank you," she said simply. "You have both been kind to me." +</P> + +<P> +Artemisia joined them, holding one of her girls by either hand, while +young Chares followed with his bow, concerning which he wished to +consult Leonidas. There, in the vine-grown arbor, they sat talking +until the shadows began to lengthen, and the afternoon drew to its +close. Thais rose, lithe and graceful as an animal of the desert, and +the slaves, who had been watching her, in a bright-colored group, from +beneath the trees, scrambled to their feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Come, Leonidas, the cares of state await us," she said. "Remember +that you are a general now, and I am almost a queen, while these two +have nothing to do but waste their time in being happy." +</P> + +<P> +"You will come again to-morrow?" Artemisia said, embracing her. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps," replied Thais, and she moved away down the avenue with the +Spartan, toward the retinue of slaves who stood waiting to surround her. +</P> + +<P> +Clearchus and Artemisia watched them until the foliage hid them from +sight, and then turned toward the house. Artemisia noticed that a rose +bush, weighted with flowers, had swayed across the path, and she +stooped to put it back into place. Clearchus slipped his arm about her +waist and kissed her. +</P> + +<P> +"Silly!" she said, blushing, "everybody will see you." +</P> + +<P> +"That cannot be helped," he retorted. "You looked then just as you +looked in the garden in Academe that morning when I found you among +your roses—and I think I love you more now than I did then." +</P> + +<P> +"We love each other more," Artemisia said softly, "because we did not +know then what it would be to lose each other." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<HR> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap52"></A> + +<P CLASS="t2"> + THE GROSSET & DUNLAP<BR> +ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS<BR> +OF FAMOUS BOOKS +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +The following books are large 12mo volumes 5-¾x8-¼ inches in size, are +printed on laid paper of the highest grade, and bound in cloth, with +elaborate decorative covers. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Golden Hope + A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great + +Author: Robert H. Fuller + +Release Date: September 30, 2011 [EBook #37576] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GOLDEN HOPE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Transcriber's note: In this text file, "[oe]" represents the +oe-ligature character] + + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + _A STORY OF THE TIME OF + KING ALEXANDER THE GREAT_ + + + +BY + +ROBERT H. FULLER + + + + +NEW YORK + +GROSSET & DUNLAP + +PUBLISHERS + + + + +Copyright, 1905, + +By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. + + +Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1905. Reprinted May, 1906. + + + + +Norwood Press + +J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith Co. + +Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. + + + + +"_For what was all his war in Asia after the death of Philippus, but +tempests, extreme heats, wonderful deep rivers, marvellous high +mountains, monstrous beasts for greatness to behold, wild savage +fashions of life, change and alteration of governors upon every +occasion, yea treasons and rebellions of some? At the beginning of his +voyage, Greece did yet lay their heads together, for the remembrance of +the wars that Philippus made upon them: the towns gathered together: +Macedonia inclined to some change and alteration: divers people far and +near lay in wait to see what their neighbours would do: the gold and +silver of Persia flowing in the orators' purses, and governors of the +people did raise up Peloponnese: Philippus' treasure and coffers were +empty, and the debts were great. In despite of all these troubles, and +in the middest of his poverty, a young man, but newly come to man's +estate, durst in his mind think of the conquest of Asia, yea of the +empire of the whole world, with thirty thousand footmen and five +thousand horse, ... howbeit he was furnished with magnanimity, with +temperance, with wisdom, and valour: being more holpen in this martial +enterprise, with that he had learned of his tutor Aristotle, than with +that which his father Philippus had left him.... In Alexander's +actions they see, that his valiantness is gentle, his gentleness +valiant: his liberality, husbandry, his choler soon down, his loves +temperate, his pastimes not idle, and his travels gracious. What is he +that hath mingled feasting with wars, and military expeditions with +sports? Who hath intermingled in the middest of his besieging of +towns: and in the middest of skirmishes and fights, sports, banquets, +and wedding songs? Who was ever more enemy to those that did wrong, +nor more gracious to the afflicted? Who was ever more cruel to those +that fought, or more just unto suppliants?_" + +--NORTH'S _Plutarch_. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. THREE FRIENDS MEET + II. WARNING FROM THE GODS + III. ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + IV. THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + V. THE BANQUET + VI. SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + VII. THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + VIII. THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + IX. THE DOOM OF THEBES + X. CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + XI. THAIS + XII. MENA READS A LETTER + XIII. THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + XIV. ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + XV. THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + XVI. IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + XVII. THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + XVIII. GREEK AND BARBARIAN + XIX. THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + XX. MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + XXI. PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + XXII. THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + XXIII. IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + XXIV. THE GORDIAN KNOT + XXV. BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + XXVI. THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + XXVII. NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + XXVIII. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + XXIX. THE SLUICE GATE + XXX. LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + XXXI. ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + XXXII. THE WORLD AT STAKE + XXXIII. THE CHESTNUT MARE + XXXIV. IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + XXXV. PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + XXXVI. TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + XXXVII. THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + XXXVIII. MENA REVEALS A SECRET + XXXIX. JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + XL. THE GAP OF DEATH + XLI. PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + XLII. A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + XLIII. THI KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + XLIV. THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + XLV. MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + XLVI. THE PASSING OF A GOD + XLVII. SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + XLVIII. THAIS GIVES A FEAST + XLIX. CHARES FINDS REST + L. PROMISES FULFILLED + LI. AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + + + + +THE GOLDEN HOPE + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THREE FRIENDS MEET + +Athens was rousing herself from sleep. The beams of the morning sun +bathed the rugged sides of Mount Hymettus and lightened the dark +foliage that clothed the nearer wooded slopes of Lycabettus. The low, +flat-roofed houses of the city were still nothing more than blurred +masses of gray in the shadow; but presently a ray touched the point of +Athene's spear, and the flood of orange light flowed over the +Acropolis. Its temples and statues were enveloped in a radiance which +fused the rich, harmonious colors of column and cornice and melted the +massive outlines into a resplendent whole, rising immortal from the +gloom at its base. + +Thin curls of smoke mounted here and there above the housetops, +straight up toward the limitless turquoise vault of the sky. The +vivifying freshness of the new-born day was in the air. + +There was a clatter of hoofs in the Street of Pericles, and two young +men, followed by three mounted servants, swung into view. + +"By Zeus, Leonidas!" cried the foremost of the riders, drawing rein and +pointing to the Acropolis, "that is worth riding all night to see!" + +"You mean the sunrise?" the other asked, also coming to a halt. +"Pshaw! You may see that any day without sitting up for it." + +"Not I!" said his companion, laughing. "I love the lamps too well." + +Leonidas shrugged his square shoulders. "It's not the lamps you love, +Chares," he returned dryly. "But why are we idling here? Unless we +make haste, Clearchus will be out of bed before we can surprise him." + +"Come on, then!" Chares cried, urging his tired horse. "By Heracles! +what's that?" + +The three servants had ridden forward in advance of their masters. +From the direction they had taken, the young men heard a confusion of +angry voices, mingled with oaths. In another moment they saw that the +street was blocked by a gorgeous litter borne on the shoulders of four +sturdy slaves and surrounded by a dozen more, some of whom carried +torches which burned pale in the morning light. The litter-bearers had +refused to draw aside, and the guard was attempting to turn the +horsemen back. Evidently some youth had been overtaken at his revelry +by the dawn and was now being carried home by slaves who had followed +his example at the wine-cup. + +A bustling little man, with close-cropped hair and the sharp-nosed face +of a fox, was shaking his sword in the faces of the riders. + +"Back with you! Back!" he shouted. "Do you seek to halt the noble +Phradates? Back, while you may!" + +The curtains of the litter parted, and a young man's face, crimson with +wrath and wine, appeared at the opening. He wore upon his head a +wreath of wilted roses, which had slipped sidewise over one ear. + +"What is the matter, Mena?" he called thickly. "Cut the rascals down!" + +The three servants hesitated, looking back to their masters for +instructions. + +"Here is sport!" Chares cried, his eyes sparkling. "Let us ride +through them! They need a lesson." + +Leonidas made no answer, but shook his bridle rein free and plunged his +spurs into the flanks of his horse. + +"Way! Way!" Chares cried in a mighty voice, as they thundered down +upon the obstinate group. "Follow us, my lads!" he shouted to the +servants as he swept past. + +The officious man with the sharp nose dropped his sword and scrambled +up the steps of a house, but before the rest could follow his example +the five horsemen were among them, and they were rolling under foot +with their torches. Chares swerved his horse skilfully against the +litter in such a manner that it was overturned. Its occupant pitched +head foremost into the street, and the litter fell on top of him, +burying him beneath a mass of curtains and silken cushions, among which +he struggled like some gigantic insect caught in a web. + +"You shall pay for this!" he gasped from the wreckage, shaking his fist +after the little cavalcade. "I am Phradates!" + +Chares laughed until the street echoed, and even Leonidas could not +forbear a smile when he glanced back upon the havoc their passage had +caused. + +"We must ask Clearchus who this fellow is," Chares said. "Here is the +house." + +He sprang down in front of a dwelling of white marble and ran to the +gate. + +"Hola!" he shouted. "Let us in! Do you intend to keep your master's +guests all day at his door? Open, then!" + +After a slight delay there was a sound of falling bars, and the grating +swung back, revealing a drowsy slave in the entrance. + +"Is it you, my master? Enter; you are welcome," the man said, bowing +before Chares. + +"Is Clearchus awake?" Chares demanded eagerly. + +"I think not, sir," the slave replied. + +"Then we will rouse him!" Chares cried, running across the outer court +and into the house. Leonidas followed more deliberately, leaving the +attendants to care for the horses. + +Chares did not stop to return the greeting of the slave who opened the +house door for him, but dashed through the corridor that led to the +inner court, shouting at the top of his voice: "Clearchus! Wake up, +sluggard, and feed the hungry, or the Gods will turn their faces from +you! Dreamer, where art thou?" + +Just as he emerged from the corridor to the spacious inner court, the +young man came suddenly upon a fresh-faced slave girl, who was busied +with some early duties about the broad cistern filled with lotus +flowers. + +"Aphrodite, as I live!" Chares cried, throwing his arms about her and +kissing her on the lips with a smack. The girl fled, laughing and +blushing, to the women's quarters, and at the same moment the master of +the house, awakened by the uproar, appeared on the threshold of his +chamber. + +"Chares!" he cried, coming forward with outstretched hands. "Who else +could it be, indeed!" + +"Oh, Clearchus," Chares said, "what hardships and perils we have passed +to reach thee!" + +"And here is Leonidas," said the Athenian, freeing himself from the +embrace of Chares as the second of his guests entered the court. "Both +my brothers here! For this I owe a sacrifice of thanksgiving which I +shall not fail to pay. But what fortunate chance brings you to Athens?" + +"We were sitting quietly enough in Thebes, talking of you," Leonidas +replied, "when this madcap declared that he would not live another day +without seeing you and that he intended to make you give him breakfast. +Piso, who was with us, fell into dispute with him, offering to wager +twenty minae that we could not ride here before midday. Chares +maintained that he would wake you this morning or forfeit the stake, +and here we are." + +"And so you have ridden all night?" Clearchus asked. + +"All night, amid dangers and darkness, only to see you!" Chares replied +gayly, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder. "And now, have +you anything to eat in the house? I am like a famished wolf." + +"Come with me," Clearchus said, leading the way into a large room +opening from the left of the court. The sunlight streamed in from the +garden outside, over rich Persian carpets which covered the floor. The +walls were frescoed with scenes from the Iliad of Homer, drawn with +marvellous skill. Painted statuettes stood in niches of stone. Chairs +and tables of ebony, cypress, and cedar were scattered through the +room, and soft couches invited rest. Clearchus struck a bell, and a +grave man of middle age appeared in the doorway. + +"Send us food, Cleon," Clearchus said. + +The steward withdrew, and two younger slaves entered. They quickly +divested Chares and Leonidas of their riding cloaks and swords and +washed their hands in bowls of scented water, drying them upon linen +towels. They were followed by other slaves bearing trays of cold fowl, +bread, and wine. + +"This seems like getting home," Chares exclaimed, throwing himself upon +one of the couches and leaning back luxuriously upon the cushions of +down which the slaves hastened to arrange behind him while he helped +himself to food from the table. "By the Gods, Clearchus, unless you +stop growing handsome, Ph[oe]bus will be jealous of you!" + +The Athenian flushed like a girl. He was a clean-cut, clear-eyed young +man, hardly more than twenty-one years old, with a face and figure that +might have served as a model for Phidias himself. Although slender, +his form was graceful, with the ease that comes only from well-trained +muscles. Brown curls covered his head, and the glance of his dark eyes +was steady and straightforward, with a singular earnestness. His +expression was thoughtful and his mouth betrayed a sensitive delicacy. + +His parents had died when he was still a lad. His father, Cleanor, +bequeathed to him an immense fortune, amassed in the mines, which had +been managed by his uncle, Ariston, until he became of age. His wealth +made him envied by the fashionable young men of Athens, but he had few +friends among them. He cared nothing for their drinking-bouts, +cock-fights, and gaming, and he had no ambition in politics except to +do his duty as a citizen of Athens. Deep in his heart he worshipped +the city and her glorious achievements, especially those of the +intellect, with fanatical devotion. + +Chares, too, belonged to a family of wealth and influence, for his +father, Jason, had been one of the foremost men in Thebes. In height +he stood more than six feet, and the knotted muscles of his arms +indicated enormous strength. He was buoyant, light-hearted, +irresponsible, and pleasure-loving. His affection for the Athenian, +whom he had known from boyhood, was the strongest impulse in him. + +They had first met Leonidas at the Olympic Games, where he won the +laurel crown in the chariot race, and they had there admitted him to +their friendship. Different as they were from each other, there seemed +little in common between either of them and the swarthy Lacedaemonian +who lay eating silently while they chattered gossip of mutual +acquaintances. Leonidas was rather below the middle stature, all bone +and sinew, practised in arms, and inured to hardships from his +childhood by the unbending discipline of Sparta. His dark hair grew +low down on his forehead and his black eyes were set deep under +overhanging brows. He neither shared nor wished to understand the +delight which Clearchus felt in a perfect statue or a masterpiece of +painting. He scorned the philosophers and poets. Upon the +questionable pleasures to which Chares gave his days and nights, he +looked with good-natured contempt. The narrow prejudices of his +country were ingrained too deeply in his character to be disturbed by +any change of surroundings. He valued more highly the consciousness +that in his veins ran a few drops of the blood of the Lion of +Thermopylae than all the riches of the world. + +In each of the three young men who met in the house of Clearchus were +typified many of the characteristics of the states to which they +belonged. Athens, Thebes, and Sparta in turn had held the supremacy in +the little peninsula to which the civilized world was confined. +Contrasted as they were, there was still a bond between them that had +been welded by centuries of association. + +"Tell me," Clearchus said, after their hunger had been somewhat +appeased, "what is the news of Thebes? Are the Macedonians still +perched in the Cadmea?" + +"They are," Chares replied lazily. "We are still in the grasp of the +barbarian; but our plotters are at work and they tell me that soon we +shall break it." + +"Do you mean they are planning revolt?" Clearchus asked eagerly. + +"Don't get excited," the Theban responded. "It will give you +indigestion. They have revolted already, thanks to the gold your city +sent them, and the barbarians are eating their corn in the citadel just +at present, waiting for something to turn up." + +"But that means war, Chares," Clearchus exclaimed. + +"Well," Chares replied, "that will give Leonidas a chance to clear the +rust from his sword. You know he is in the market." + +"That is true," the Spartan said in response to Clearchus' glance of +inquiry. "No man can live on air. I follow my profession where there +is work to be done." + +There was nothing disgraceful in this avowal. If his own country was +at peace, a Greek soldier might sell his sword to the highest bidder, +as did Xenophon, without reproach. + +"And I suppose you, too, will be fighting, Chares?" said Clearchus. + +"As to that, I don't know," the Theban answered, stretching himself +with a yawn. "Perhaps the best thing that could happen to us would be +to have the Macedonian conquer and rule. It would put an end to our +own wars. If matters go on as they have been going, all three of us +may be trying to cut each other's throats before the month is out." + +"No," Clearchus exclaimed, "that cannot be, because you must promise me +to stay here and drink at my wedding feast at the next new moon." + +"What, Clearchus! you are going to be married?" Chares cried, springing +from his couch. "Who is she?" + +"Artemisia, daughter of Theorus," Clearchus answered. "She is the most +beautiful--" + +"Ho, Cleon, Cleon! Where are you?" Chares shouted at the top of his +voice. "Cleon, I say!" + +The steward ran into the room in alarm. + +"Bring wine of Cyprus, quickly!" Chares cried, waving his arms. + +Cleon vanished with a smile, and Chares hastened to embrace his friend +with a fervor that threatened to crack his ribs. Leonidas grasped him +warmly by the hand, and both showered congratulations upon him. + +"We pledge thee!" Chares cried, taking the wine that Cleon brought in a +great beaker of carved silver and raising it to his lips, after +spilling a portion of its contents in libation. + +"May the Gods give thee happiness!" Leonidas said, drinking deep in his +turn. + +"Neither war, famine, nor pestilence shall take us from thee until thou +art married," Chares cried, half in jest. "We swear it, Leonidas, by +the head of Zeus!" + +"We swear it!" the Spartan echoed, and each of them again pressed the +young man's hand. + +"I expected no less of you," Clearchus said, smiling into the faces of +his companions. "It makes my heart glad to know that you will be with +me. But after your long ride you must both be used up. I will leave +you to get an hour or two of sleep before the Assembly which has been +called for this afternoon to hear what Demosthenes has to say upon our +policy toward Macedon. You will want to hear him, of course." + +"Go, Clearchus," Chares said, laughing. "That is a long speech to tell +us that you would like to be rid of us while you go to your Artemisia. +Come back in time for the bath, that's all." + + + + +CHAPTER II + +WARNING FROM THE GODS + +A few miles west of Athens, in the suburb of Academe, dwelt Melissa, +aunt and guardian of Artemisia. She was an invalid, bedridden for the +greater part of the year, and she had chosen to live in the country +that she might not be disturbed by the city noises. She had never +married, and no departure from the routine of her well-ordered house +was permitted. She loved her niece; but she was not sorry to have her +marry, because, as she said, her own hold upon life was so uncertain, +and besides, the match was a brilliant one. + +Her household consisted of Philox, her steward, who had managed her +affairs for a score of years, Tolmon, her gardener, and a dozen women +slaves who, like their mistress, had passed the prime of life. + +In Melissa's old-fashioned garden Artemisia, with two little slave +girls to help her, was at work over a hedge of roses. She had not yet +reached her nineteenth year. Her soft, light brown hair was gathered +in a knot at the back of her head, showing the graceful curve of the +nape of her neck and half revealing the little pink lobes of her ears. +Her forehead was low and smooth and broad, with delicately arched +brows, a shade darker than her hair. Her eyes were blue and the color +in her cheeks was heightened by her exertions in bringing the straying +rose stems into place. The folds of her pure white chiton left her +warm arms bare to the shoulder and defined the youthful lines of her +supple figure. As she stooped among the flowers, handling them with +gentle touches, she seemed preoccupied, and her glance continually +wandered from her task. + +Agile as monkeys, the slave girls darted about her, pelting each other +with blossoms and uttering peals of shrill laughter. Their short white +tunics made their swarthy skins darker by contrast. + +The garden was set in a tiny meadow beside the river Cephissus. It was +shut in on both sides by groves of olive and fig trees, against whose +dark foliage gleamed the marble front of the house to which it +belonged. The sunlight swept the smooth emerald of the turf, touched +the brilliant hues of the flowers, and flashed back from the rippling +river beyond. + +"Oh, mistress, there's a beautiful butterfly! Oh, please, may I catch +him?" cried one of the little girls. + +"Hush, chatterbox," said Artemisia; "come and help me here." + +"Ouch, that awful thorn! Look, mistress, how my finger bleeds," the +other girl said, holding up her small brown hand. + +"Will you never end your nonsense?" the young woman asked in affected +despair. "See, Proxena, we have not half finished." + +"Don't be angry with us, mistress; see who's coming!" Proxena cried, +taking her wounded finger from her mouth and pointing with it toward +the house. + +Clearchus must have ridden fast to arrive so soon after leaving his +friends. Artemisia, hastily plucking a half-blown rose, went forward +to meet him, while the little slave girls remained behind, peeping +slyly with sidelong glances and whispering to each other while they +pretended to busy themselves with their work. + +"Greeting, Artemisia, my Life!" Clearchus said, taking her hands in his. + +"Greeting, Clearchus; I am glad to see thee," she replied. + +"How beautiful thou art and how fortunate am I, my darling," the young +man said radiantly. "Dost thou love me, Artemisia?" + +"Thou knowest well that I do, Clearchus," she answered reproachfully. +"Why dost thou ask?" + +"For the joy of hearing thee say it once more," he said, laughing. +"There is nothing the Gods can give that could be sweeter or more +precious to me, and to add the last touch to my happiness, Chares and +Leonidas came this morning and have promised to stay until our wedding." + +They had been strolling toward the grove at the edge of the meadow, +where a bench of carved stone, overhung with trailing vines, was set in +the shade in such a position as to permit its occupants to look out +over the garden and the river. They sat down side by side and +Clearchus slipped his arm about Artemisia's waist. Evidently, with the +subtle sense of a lover, he detected a lack of responsiveness, for he +bent forward and gazed anxiously into her face. He saw that it was +troubled. + +"What is the matter, my dearest?" he asked in sudden alarm. + +She hesitated for a moment. "Oh, Clearchus, I fear that we are too +happy," she said at last in reply. + +"Why do you say that?" he asked, drawing her closer to him. "Why +should any of the Gods wish us harm? We have not failed in paying them +honor, and we have transgressed in nothing." + +Artemisia hid her face in her hands and her head drooped against his +shoulder. He held her still closer and kissed the soft coils of her +hair, awaiting an explanation. + +"What is it, Artemisia?" he asked quietly. "You are tired and nervous +and overwrought, and some foolish fancy has crept into your heart to +trouble you. Tell me, my dearest; thou canst have no sorrow that is +not mine as well as thine." + +"Clearchus, my husband," she said, without moving from her position or +lifting her face, "thou art strong and I am but a weak girl. Whatever +may come, I shall always be thankful that thou didst love me. I am +thine--heart and mind, body and spirit, here and in the +hereafter--forever." + +"Why dost thou speak so, my Soul?" Clearchus asked in alarm. "What has +happened? Surely we shall be married at the new moon." + +"I do not know, Clearchus--all that I know is that I love thee and +shall love thee always. A warning from the Gods has been sent to me." + +She lifted her face and clasped her hands in her lap. Her eyes were +wet and her lips were tremulous as those of a helpless child who awaits +a blow. + +"What was it, my Life?" Clearchus asked gently. + +"I was in a strange house," she replied, looking straight before her as +though she could see the things that she described. "It was a house of +many rooms, some filled with lights and some so dark I could not tell +what was in them. I heard the sound of voices, of laughter, and of +weeping, but I could see nobody. Thou wert there, I knew, and I was +seeking thee with my heart full of terror; for something told me I +would not find thee. It was dreadful--dreadful, Clearchus!" + +She paused and clung to him for a moment as though in fear of being +torn from his side. + +"I do not know how long I wandered through passages and chambers," she +resumed, "but at last I reached a corridor that had rows of pillars on +either side. At the end was a crimson curtain, beyond which men and +women were talking. As I stood hesitating in the empty corridor, +suddenly I heard thy voice among the rest. I could not mistake it, +Clearchus. Joy filled my heart. Thou didst not know I was there nor +what peril I was in. I felt that I had but to lift the curtain--thou +wouldst see me and I would be saved. I ran forward, crying out to +thee; but before I reached the curtain, rough men came from between the +pillars and thrust me back, drowning my voice with shouting and +laughter. I threw myself on my knees before them and prayed them not +to stop me. They answered in words that I could not understand. My +heart was breaking, Clearchus! The light beyond the crimson curtain +grew dim, and outside I could hear a roaring like a great storm. The +pillars were shaken and the walls crumbled, and I woke crying thy name." + +The young man's face had grown unusually grave and thoughtful as he +listened to the recital of the dream. No man or woman of his time who +believed in anything ever thought of doubting that the visions of sleep +were divine communications to mortals. Statesmen directed the course +of nations and generals planned their campaigns in accordance with the +interpretation of these revelations. + +"What does it mean, Clearchus? You are wiser than I," Artemisia said +anxiously. "If I am separated from thee, I shall die." + +"The men who halted you seemed to be barbarians?" Clearchus asked +thoughtfully. + +"Thus they seemed," she replied. "I could not understand their speech, +and their clothes were not our fashion." + +"I know not what it means, Artemisia," Clearchus said at last. "We are +in the hands of the Gods. I shall ask the protection of Artemis and +offer her a sacrifice. To-morrow we must be married. I do not dare to +wait for the new moon, for I must be near you to protect you. Then, +whatever may come, we will meet it together." + +"Perhaps the dream was meant for me alone," Artemisia said tenderly. +"I cannot bear to bring you into danger." + +"Hush, Artemisia!" Clearchus said reprovingly. "I would rather a +thousand times die with thee than live without thee." + +With a sigh, she let her head rest on his shoulder. + +"I care not what may happen so that thou art with me," she said; "then +I can feel no fear." + +"Artemisia," Clearchus said suddenly, "go not out again to-day. I +shall tell Philox to guard thee well until to-morrow. Hast thou told +Melissa of the dream?" + +"No, for I wished to tell thee first and she is so easily frightened," +Artemisia said. + +"Then say nothing to her about it," the young man replied. + +One of the little slave girls ran up to them at this moment and stood +before them, twisting her fingers together and waiting to be spoken to. + +"What is it, Proxena?" Artemisia asked. + +"The morning meal is waiting, mistress," said the child, and sped away +again. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARISTON LAYS A PLOT + +Ariston, uncle of Clearchus and formerly guardian of his fortune, sat +at his work-table before a mass of papyri closely written with +memoranda and accounts. His house stood by itself in a quarter of the +city that had once been fashionable but now was occupied chiefly by the +poorer class of citizens. Its front was without windows and its stone +walls were yellowed and stained with age. Its seclusion seemed to be +emphasized by the bustle of life that surrounded it and in which it had +no part. + +The room in which Ariston sat was evidently used as an office, for rows +of metal-bound boxes of various shapes and sizes were piled along its +walls. A statuette of Hermes stood in one corner upon its pedestal, +and its sightless eyes seemed bent upon the thin, gray face of the old +man as he leaned with his elbows upon the top of the table, polished by +long use. Lines of care and anxiety showed themselves at the corners +of his mouth and about his restless eyes. The light of the swinging +lamp that illuminated the small room, even in the daytime, made shadowy +hollows at his temples and beneath his cheek-bones. + +Little was known of the personal concerns of the old man in Athens. +Although he mingled with the other citizens without apparent reserve, +he never discussed his own affairs. The general impression was that he +was a good Athenian who had been faithful to the trust reposed in him, +and who had won a modest competence of his own for the support of his +age. This idea was encouraged by the parsimonious habits of his life +and by the trifling but cautious ventures that he sometimes made in the +commercial activity of the city. His most conspicuous characteristic, +in the minds of his acquaintances, was his mania for gathering +information concerning not only Athens and Greece, but distant lands +and strange peoples as well. This was looked upon as a harmless and +even useful occupation, and it accounted for his evident fondness at +times for the company of strangers, who, no doubt, contributed to the +satisfaction of his curiosity. + +Great would have been the astonishment if some orator had announced to +the Athenian Assembly that the humble old man was really one of the +richest citizens of Athens, as well as the best informed concerning the +plans and hopes of the rulers of the world and of the probable current +of coming events. Laughter would have greeted the assertion that much +of the merchandise which found its way to the Piraeus belonged to him +and that the profits realized from the sale of silks and spices, corn +and ivory, went into his coffers. Yet these statements would have been +true a year before. In Athens the rich were required to contribute to +the public charges in proportion to their wealth, and the saving that +Ariston was able to effect by making his investments abroad and +concealing them through various stratagems from the knowledge of his +neighbors was sufficient, in his opinion, to compensate him for the +trouble and the risks that such a course involved. He would rather +have suffered his fingers to be hacked off one by one than part with +the heavy, shining bars of gold that his prudence and foresight had +amassed. + +If the history of each separate coin and bar could have been told, it +would have revealed secrets which their master had forced himself to +forget. Some of them were the price of flesh and blood; some had been +gained by violence upon the seas or among the trackless wastes of the +desert; some had been won at the expense of honor and truth; for in his +earlier years Ariston had been both bold and unscrupulous in his +cunning, and his craving for riches had always been insatiable. As his +years and his wealth increased he became more circumspect and +conservative. He even sought to expiate some of his earlier faults by +furtive sacrifices to the Gods, and especially to Hermes, whose image +he cherished. + +But the Gods had turned their faces from him, and his repentance, if +repentance it could be called, had been unavailing. Misfortune had +come upon him, and calamity seemed always to be lying in wait for him. +If his vessels put to sea, they were sunk in storms or captured by +pirates. His factories and warehouses were burned; his caravans were +lost; his debtors defaulted; and if he purchased a cargo of corn, its +price at the Piraeus was certain to be less than the price he had paid +for it in the Hellespont. One after another the precious bars which +had cost him so much to obtain were sent to save doubtful ventures and +losing investments, until at last all were gone. Sitting in his dingy +room, on the day of the arrival of Chares and Leonidas at the house of +Clearchus, he was at last in a worldly sense what his neighbors thought +him to be; and the marble face of Hermes, with its painted eyes, smiled +malignly at him from its corner. + +But there was still hope left to him. Although the widespread web of +his enterprises had been rent and torn by misfortune, there yet +remained enough to build upon securely if he had but a few more of the +yellow bars to tide over his present distress. Without them he might +keep afloat for a few months longer; but the end would be utter ruin. +At least he still owned the great dyeing establishment in Tyre, which +had never failed to yield him a handsome revenue. He recalled how he +had taken it from Cepheus for one-fourth its real value. It was no +concern of his that Cepheus had stolen it from young Phradates. What +did the details of the transaction matter now, since they were known +only to himself and to Cepheus, who would not be likely to reveal them, +and to Mena the Egyptian, the young man's steward? Mena had stolen so +much himself from the spendthrift that he would never dare to tell what +he knew. And yet the fellow had it in his power to rob Ariston of the +last remnant of his fortune. + +A discreet knock interrupted Ariston's reflections. He brushed his +parchments and papyri hastily into an open box that stood beside his +chair and closed the lid. "Enter!" he commanded. + +An aged slave opened the door. "Mena, of Tyre," he said. + +Cold sweat broke out on Ariston's forehead, but he gave no outward sign +of his consternation. "Bring him hither," he directed. + +The Egyptian, who had been watching the sluggish goldfish floating in +the weed-grown cistern of the court, entered the room with an air of +importance. He turned his alert face, with its sharp, inquiring +features, upon Ariston. + +"Greeting!" he said, extending his hand. "It is long since we have +seen thee in Tyre." + +"Yes," Ariston replied, leading him to a seat opposite his own, "I am +getting too old for travel." + +"You have indeed grown older since I saw you last," Mena said, looking +at him attentively. "I hope it is not because Fortune has been unkind." + +Ariston winced, and the change in his expression was not lost upon the +shrewd Egyptian. + +"What brings you here?" he asked, shifting the subject. + +"We are travelling, my beloved master and I," Mena answered. + +"Phradates is with you, then?" the old man asked with an alarm that he +was unable to conceal. + +The steward paused before he answered, gazing at Ariston with eyes half +closed and a faint smile upon his lips. + +"Phradates is here," he said at last. "I know of what you are +thinking. We have been friends too long to have secrets from each +other. You need have no fear. Cepheus is dead and I have too many +causes to despise Phradates to take his part." + +He paused again and suddenly his face became convulsed with a spasm of +hatred. + +"I could strangle him!" he cried, clenching his hands as though he felt +his master's throat beneath his fingers. + +Ariston breathed more freely. At any rate, his property in Tyre was +safe. + +"Why don't you do it, then?" he asked coolly. + +"Because the time has not yet come!" Mena replied fiercely. "For every +insult that he has given me and for every blow that he has made me +feel, he shall suffer tenfold! His fortune is dwindling, and in the +end it will be mine. Then let him ask Mena for aid!" + +"I did not know that you had so much courage," Ariston remarked. + +"I have not watched you in vain," Mena replied, "and it is to you that +I now come for assistance." + +"To me!" Ariston exclaimed. + +"To you," Mena repeated. "Be not alarmed, for what I have to propose +will be for our mutual benefit. Phradates has been throwing money +right and left since we set out from Tyre. Great sums he spent in +Crete and still greater in Corinth. Since his arrival here he has been +fleeced without mercy. You will understand that I have tried to +protect him, but merely to save him from injury. He might have lost +his life only this morning had I not been there to guard him from an +attack by two desperate characters with a crowd of slaves, who set upon +us while we were returning from the dice. Luckily, I succeeded in +beating them off, but the noble Phradates was thrown from his chair and +his noble nose was battered. Soon he will be in want of more money. +Of the property that remains to him, he has quarries on Lebanon, which +employ a thousand slaves, silk mills in Old Tyre, where as many more +are kept busy, and a score of ships in the trade with Carthage. He +believes the value of the quarries and the mills to be only half what +it really is and reports have been made to him that two-thirds of the +vessels of his fleet have been lost. All this he will pledge for +anything that it will bring when he learns that his money is gone. It +is for us to get possession of that pledge. I have a few talents, but +not enough. I will take care that the loan is never repaid and our +success is certain. What do you say?" + +Ariston looked at the statue of Hermes. It was a fancy of his that he +could draw either a favorable or an adverse augury from the expression +on the face of the God as it showed in the wavering light of the lamp. +He could detect no change in the mocking smile that seemed to hover +about the marble lips. It left him with no conclusion. + +"What you have told me," he said to Mena, "makes it necessary for me to +tell you something in return. I am a ruined man." + +"Ruined! You!" Mena exclaimed incredulously. + +"It is true," Ariston replied. "Of all that I had, nothing remains to +me intact except the dye-house in Tyre and a small fleet of corn ships +that has but now arrived from the Euxine. The worst is that I have +debts that must be met if I am to save other ventures." + +"But you have the property of your nephew to draw upon," Mena suggested. + +"I had it," the old man said, "but it was turned over to him more than +a year ago. Since then all my losses have befallen." + +"But you are his heir," the Egyptian replied meaningly. "Is he +married?" + +"No; but he soon will be," Ariston replied. + +The two men exchanged glances, reading each other's thoughts in their +eyes. Neither cared to put into words what was in his mind. + +"Leave it to me," Ariston said at last. "I think it can be managed. +Clearchus knows nothing of my affairs, and if I can once more get +control of the property all will be well. I think we may safely assume +that he will not marry. For the rest, we must wait and see. Let us +talk of this pledge that Phradates is to make for our security." + +He produced his tablets and a stylus and the conspirators were soon +buried in a mass of calculations. When Mena took his leave, every +detail had been arranged. + +Hardly had Mena disappeared in the direction of the Agora when a man of +unusual stature, with brawny arms and a heavy black beard, turned into +the street in which Ariston lived and stood staring doubtfully about +him. There was a hint of the sea in his sunburned face and rough +garments. + +"If you are looking for the Piraeus, my friend, you will not find it +here," said a fruit dealer who chanced to meet him. + +"What do you know of the Piraeus, grasshopper?" returned the stranger, +halting and looking at the merchant with contempt. "I am searching for +the house of Ariston, son of Xenas. Do you know where in this accursed +street it is?" + +"Tut, tut; fair words, my friend," the merchant replied, carefully +keeping his distance. "What do you want with Ariston?" + +"That is his affair and mine, but not yours," growled the stranger. + +"I'll warrant it is nothing good," the fruit dealer said, "but you will +find his house at the end of the street, near the wall." + +Without stopping to thank him, the stranger strode on in the direction +that he had indicated. The merchant stood for a moment gazing after +him, wondering whence he came and what he wanted; but finding no answer +to these questions in his own mind, he shook his head like a man who is +assured of the existence of something that should not be and continued +on his way to his shop in the Agora to relate his suspicions. + +Ariston himself came to the door in response to the stranger's knock. +He was admitted at once and without a word. Ariston led him in silence +to his own room and seated him in the chair that Mena had occupied half +an hour before. Instead of summoning a slave, the old man went himself +to fetch a flask of wine and a trencher of bread and cheese. + +"Can it be done?" he asked in an eager voice, leaning forward in his +favorite attitude with his elbows on the table while the other ate and +drank. + +"It can be done, but it will not be easy," his guest replied. + +"Not easy to carry off a woman who has only slaves to guard her?" +Ariston exclaimed. "Are your men cowards, then, Syphax?" + +"No, my men and I are not cowards, old Skinflint," Syphax said, "but +you may as well understand now that we do not intend to risk our lives +for nothing." + +He delivered this speech with the blustering air of a bully, gazing +boldly into the old man's face. Ariston, naturally of small stature, +looked more than ever shrunken and withered in contrast with his +companion; but at the sound of the other's threatening tone, his face +hardened and there came a cold gleam into his eyes. + +"I am glad you are not afraid, Syphax," he said in a voice so soft that +it sounded almost caressing. "Have you forgotten Medon? Your eyes saw +his death. He was a brave man, too, your old chief. I think I can +hear him yet as he called upon the Gods in his torture. They could not +help him. Poor Medon!" + +The face of Syphax paled under its tan at the recollection that Ariston +had conjured up and an involuntary shudder ran through him. His bold +eyes wavered before the persistent stare of the little old man, whom he +could have crushed in one of his hands. + +"What are you willing to pay?" he asked hoarsely, pushing away his food +half finished. + +"You would do it for nothing, if I asked you, Syphax," the old man +replied, still in the same soft voice, "but I have no wish to be hard +with you. This is a matter in which I have a deep interest and I am +willing to pay well for it. When you have taken her safely on board, +you will sail to Halicarnassus, where you will search out Iphicrates, +son of Conon, and give him this letter. If he finds you have done your +work well, he will pay you a talent in silver. But if the girl has +been harmed in any way, not a drachma will you get and worse will +befall you than befell Medon." + +"The work is worth five times as much," Syphax grumbled with downcast +eyes, "but I suppose I have no choice." + +"None, my dear Syphax, and I am a poor man," said Ariston. "Let us +regard the matter as settled. Now, how do you intend to proceed?" + +Syphax roused himself like a man whose professional skill has been +called upon. + +"The house stands thus," he said, indicating its position on the table +with a huge finger. "On this side is the grove where I and a dozen of +my men will lie hidden with the litter. One of my fellows will scale +the roof and let himself down inside. He will open the door to us and +the thing will be over in a moment." + +"Where will you embark?" the old man asked, nodding approval. + +"My ship will be lying off-shore with a boat in waiting. We will carry +her in the litter to this spot, about two stadia beyond the Piraeus, +which we shall have to pass. We shall make the attack soon after the +middle watch of the night when the moon will be low." + +"You should have been a general, Syphax," the old man said. "You have +a better head for strategy than most of those the Athenians employ. Go +to your work and forget nothing. I must attend the Assembly, where +Demosthenes is to stir up the citizens against Alexander, son of +Philip. They say the boy is dead." + +"Alexander dead!" Syphax exclaimed. + +"The story is that he was killed by the Illyrians, and Demosthenes has +a man who saw him die," Ariston replied indifferently. "I think the +man is lying and that Demosthenes knows it. But these affairs have +nothing to do with you. Be off to your business." + +When the adventurer had gone, Ariston returned to his room and prepared +to write. From his expression of content, it was evident that he was +satisfied with what had been done. + +"To Iphicrates, son of Conon," his letter ran. "I am sending to you +Syphax, a freebooter from Rhodes, who will deliver to you a young +woman. You will take her into your house and guard her with care until +you hear from me again. Syphax will present to you an order for a +talent of silver. Defer the payment until you have the girl, and then +do with him as you will. As a pirate and a robber, he has richly +merited death. May the Gods protect you." + +As Ariston was carefully sealing this letter, a gaunt, sour-visaged +woman entered the room. She was his wife and the one person on earth +in whom he had confidence. Like most secretive men with whom duplicity +is a daily study, he sometimes felt the need of telling the truth, if +only to note the effect of his schemes upon another's mind. But even +to his wife, whose covetousness was equal to his own, he never revealed +all that was in his brain. Her lonely life was spent in a constant +endeavor to piece out from what he imparted to her the full extent of +his plans. She admired his intellect, but deep in her heart she feared +him, and, womanlike, she was tormented by the suspicion that somewhere +she had a rival to whom he told what he concealed from her. The +consciousness of her own deficiency of charms made her manner all the +more harsh and forbidding. As soon as she entered the room she noted +that he was in an easy mood, and she made haste to take advantage of it. + +"Who were these men?" she asked. "What are you about now?" + +"Affairs of state, Xanthe, that are not for women to know," he said +mockingly. + +"All that concerns you concerns me," she replied. "Am I to do the work +of a slave here like a mole in the dark? Who are these women you were +talking of with that evil-looking man?" + +"So you were listening!" Ariston said with a frown. + +"Yes, I was, if you must know it," Xanthe said defiantly. "Do you +think I am to know nothing? If you had consulted more freely with me +before, we would not now be the paupers that we are, and many times I +have told you this, but you will not listen to me because I am a woman." + +There was something in this remonstrance that made an impression upon +Ariston's mind, smarting as he was over the loss of his fortune. It +might have been better, after all, if he had told her more. + +"We were talking of only one woman," he said, with an impulse of +frankness. "She is Artemisia." + +"Artemisia!" Xanthe exclaimed. "Don't try to deceive me. Why should +you wish Artemisia to be carried off? Is not Clearchus to make her his +wife?" + +"It is for that very reason," Ariston replied. "I do not wish him to +do so." + +"Why not?" Xanthe demanded in a tone of suspicion. + +"Sit down and let us talk rationally," Ariston said. "Suppose they +marry and have children. His property would be lost to us forever." + +"That is true," Xanthe assented. "I had not thought of that, and we +need it so much more than he. If he should die, would it belong to us?" + +"It would," her husband answered, "and now you know why I wish to +prevent the marriage." + +He rose, and she aided him to adjust the folds of his himation. + +"I am going to the Assembly," he said. "If we have war with Macedon, +the price of corn will advance. Look to the house and let none enter +while I am away." + +It was not until after he had gone that Xanthe began to wonder how she +and Ariston were to profit by preventing the marriage, since their +nephew would still be alive and in the possession of his property. It +could not be that Ariston intended to have him slain. She shuddered at +the thought, for she was fond of Clearchus, and he had always been kind +to her. Besides, such a crime could not be committed without almost +certain detection. Ariston must have formed some other scheme for +bringing about his object. She reproached herself for not having +questioned him on this point while he was in a frame of mind to answer. +The opportunity might not occur again and she could only guess at what +was to come. The half-confidence that he had given her left her more +watchful and suspicious than ever. + +Syphax meantime had found his way back to the Agora and was about to +enter a wine-shop when he felt some one pluck him by the elbow. +Glancing back, his eyes met those of Mena. + +"Ah, my fox," he exclaimed, "what brings you to Athens?" + +"Necessity and my master," Mena replied. "And you?" + +Syphax shook his head and made as if to move away, but Mena was not to +be denied. An hour later they were still together, sitting side by +side in a corner of the wine-shop, and it was fortunate for Ariston +that the Egyptian was his ally instead of his enemy, for all that +Syphax could tell, he knew. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE VOICE OF DEMOSTHENES + +In the Theatre of Dionysus the citizens of Athens were gathering for +the purpose of deciding whether to break their treaty with Macedon and +by one stroke revenge upon Alexander the wrongs and humiliations that +his father had made them suffer. Ariston walked through the spacious +Agora, surrounded by colonnades and embellished by the statues of +heroes and the Gods. The shopkeepers and merchants were closing their +places of business and joining in the human tide that was setting all +in the same direction. + +Everywhere Ariston heard repeated the assertion that Alexander was +dead. The news was announced in tones of joy, and invariably it was +accompanied by an expression of desire for war while the enemy was +still unprepared. There seemed to be only one opinion among the +people. It was manifested in the clamor of gay and careless confusion +that betrayed the nervous tension of the throng. + +Ariston's face became more thoughtful as he proceeded. He had no doubt +of what the Assembly would do if unchecked, and he foresaw the downfall +of his plans. A declaration of war with Macedon would be fatal. +Whatever the issue of such a conflict might be, it would certainly +delay Alexander's invasion of Persia and keep Clearchus at home. He +must be rid of Clearchus at all hazards, and without violence. + +Moreover, he knew that the report of Alexander's death was false. It +was impossible that any person in Athens should have been able to +obtain information later than that which had been brought to him. He +felt assured that the young king was fighting his way out of Illyria, +with every prospect of escape, and that the report of his death had +been started by Demosthenes as a stratagem to dispose the minds of the +people to war. By preventing the success of this plan, he reflected, +he would not only be serving his own ends, but also performing a public +service. Such a coincidence had happened rarely enough in his career. + +But he knew it would be useless to attempt any contradiction of the +report at that moment. He was too thoroughly acquainted with the +characteristics of his countrymen to think of it. They wished to +believe and they would not allow that wish to be thwarted. He must +watch and wait. + +Pushing through the chattering crowd, he entered the Theatre. Before +him, in a great semicircle, hewn partly out of the solid rock of the +southeastern pitch of the Acropolis, he saw row on row and tier above +tier of his fellow-citizens,--the brilliant, unstable, cowardly, +heroic, passionate, generous, cruel democracy of Athens. Above them +towered the crag which they had crowned with triumphs of art and +architecture beyond the power of the world to equal, guarded by the +wonderful Athene, whose creator they had sent to die in prison. On the +left the great temple of Olympian Zeus raised its massive fluted +columns. In the Theatre where they sat their fathers had hissed or +applauded the masterpieces of tragedy and comedy. The babel of talk +and of light-hearted laughter, the shifting of many-hued garments under +the intense blue arch of the sky, reminded Ariston of the fickle sunlit +waves of the AEgean. + +The cloud that for years had overshadowed Athens had been removed. +Philip, the tenacious, subtle, resourceful monarch of barbarous +Macedon, had fallen under the dagger of Pausanias, who had doubtless +been inspired by the Gods to punish him for his crimes against the +Athenians. Little by little, with a purpose that never swerved, he had +made himself master of their fairest possessions. Time and again they +had sought to shake him off with brief outbursts of restless fury; but +he held what he had won, and in the lull that followed the storm he had +never failed to creep nearer to their citadel. His advance seemed to +them as inevitable as fate. + +Now he was gone, resigning his power and his ambitions to his son, +Alexander, a boy of twenty years, whom all Athens knew as a foolish and +rash youth. After laying claim to the honors that his father had +forced the states of Hellas to bestow upon him, he had marched into the +unknown wilderness of the north with his army and there had perished. +His fate had been told only in rumors at first, but had not Demosthenes +talked with a fugitive from the Macedonian camp, who had seen him fall +beneath a stone? Every Athenian felt that the time had come to place +the name of his city once more at the head of the civilized world. +Already the Thebans, aided by their subsidies, had risen against the +barbarian garrison and had shut the Macedonians in the Cadmea. The +reverses of the past had been forgotten and the lively imaginations of +the Athenians had carried them halfway to the goal of their hopes. + +Ariston gazed about him at the shifting throng as though in search of +some one. The priests of Ceres, Athene, and Zeus stood talking in +groups with the officials of the city, or had already taken their +places in the cushioned marble arm-chairs, with curved backs, that +formed the first row of seats. Presently the old man caught sight of +Clearchus, and his friends, Chares and Leonidas. With them sat a young +man of singular appearance whom Ariston did not recognize. He wore a +splendid mantle of purple, embroidered with gold, a profusion of rings +flashed upon his fingers, and the odor of costly perfumes hung about +him like a cloud. It seemed as though he sought in his costume to make +up for the deficiencies of nature, for in figure he was short and +stout, with legs and arms of disproportionate slenderness, and his +narrow eyes were set beneath a square forehead from the top of which +the hair had been shaved. + +"Greeting, uncle," Clearchus said cordially, as the old man forced his +way toward them. + +Ariston sat down on the broad marble step in the space that Clearchus +made for him. He found himself between his nephew and the stranger. + +"This is Aristotle of Stagira, but more recently of Pella," Clearchus +said. "He can talk to you by the hour, if he chooses, about Alexander, +whom you so much admire." + +"Is he really dead, as they say he is?" Ariston asked doubtfully. + +"I do not know," lisped Aristotle. "It is his habit always to expose +himself in battle." + +"Can he make himself master of Hellas?" Ariston asked again. + +"Only the Gods can answer that," Aristotle replied. "It is safe to say +that what human ambition can accomplish, he will do. He was my pupil, +and there are those who maintain that he knows more than his master!" + +Although the philosopher spoke with a smile, there was a trace of irony +in his tone that did not escape the alert Athenian. + +"You hear that?" he cried, turning to Clearchus. "Here is a boy who +begins by conquering his instructor. Where will he end?" + +"They say he has ended already, up there among the savages," Chares +said lazily. + +"I'll lay you a box of Assyrian ointment that Alexander is still +alive," Aristotle said. + +"It's a wager," the Theban cried. "And the box shall be of gold." + +"There goes Callicles. Hi, there, old Twenty Per Cent!" cried a youth +who was sitting in front of them. + +"By the Styx, I wish I had what I owe him!" Chares remarked fervently. + +A young man with oiled and curled ringlets, wearing a long silken robe, +and carrying a cane inlaid with mother-of-pearl, pushed toward them, +followed by a slave laden with cushions for him to sit upon. + +"Do you know what Phocus has done now?" he asked in an affected voice. + +"No," said Chares, coldly. + +"He happened to go to the Lyceum the other day, and he overheard +Theodorus, the atheist, say that if it was praiseworthy to ransom a +friend from the enemy, it would also be commendable to rescue a +sweetheart from bondage. What does he do but buy Tryphonia her freedom +from old Mnemon. He vows that he will marry her." + +Having imparted this bit of gossip, the youth lounged away to repeat it. + +"Who is that young man with the red chiton?" Leonidas asked. + +"He is Ctesippus, son of Chabrias," Clearchus replied. "He has spent +twenty thousand talents of gold since his father died--he and Phocus +together. He thinks he knows more about war than his father knew. He +drives poor Phocion almost distracted with his advice whenever there is +a campaign; and Phocion endures it because he is his father's son." + +Throughout the Theatre rose the hum of gossip and malicious small talk. +Chares listened with indolent contempt. Leonidas studied the faces of +the men who had won distinction in war, such as Diopethes, Menestheus, +and Leosthenes, whom Clearchus pointed out to him. Aristotle continued +to lisp to Ariston concerning Macedon. The attention of the crowd was +diverted by the arrival of the Lexiarchs with their scarlet cords. +Stretching them across the narrow streets, they had been driving the +stragglers into the Assembly like sheep. The laggard whose garments +showed a trace of the dye with which the cords were covered was forced +to pay a fine. + +"Look; there's Phaon with the red stripe on his back!" Chares cried, +standing up to get a better view. + +A roar of laughter greeted the victim as he entered and his name was +repeated from all sides. + +"Were you asleep, Phaon? Did your wife keep you at home? You should +drink less wine in the morning!" shouted his acquaintances. + +Another unfortunate came to divert attention from Phaon, and still +others, until all the citizens were accounted for. The tumult was +succeeded by a hush as the white-robed priests solemnly advanced into +the open space in the middle of the semicircle, carrying a bleating +lamb. After an invocation to Athene, they cut the animal's throat +before the altar and sprinkled its blood in every direction upon the +pavement. The oldest of the priests then stood forth, raised his +hands, and looking upward, cried the accustomed formula:-- + +"May the Gods pursue to destruction, with all his race, that man who +shall act, speak, or plot anything against this State!" + +The priests then slowly withdrew, and a herald mounted the bema to +announce, on behalf of the Proedri, the occasion of the Assembly. He +declared the question to be whether the treaty with Macedon should be +maintained or set aside, and he added that the Senate of the Areopagus +had referred the matter to the decision of the people without +expressing its opinion. + +He was followed by a second herald, representing the Epistate, who, +with a loud voice, called upon any citizen above the age of fifty years +to speak his mind, others to follow in accordance with their ages. As +he ceased and descended, all eyes were turned toward a portion of the +Theatre where sat a gray-haired man, with shoulders slightly stooped, a +sloping forehead, and a retreating chin, partly hidden by a +close-cropped beard. + +"Demosthenes! Demosthenes!" came from every part of the horseshoe. + +The man to whom Athens turned in this crisis of her affairs sat unmoved +and apparently oblivious to the demand of the crowd. Accustomed as +they were to the oratorical combats of the Theatre, the citizens +understood that Demosthenes had determined to reserve to himself the +advantage of speaking last. They turned, therefore, to his chief +opponent and called upon AEschines. + +With an affectation of carelessness, AEschines ascended the bema and +plunged at once into his argument, like a man who speaks what first +occurs to his mind. The burden of his contention was that Athens was +bound by her oath to observe her treaty with Macedon. To break it, he +declared, would be to sink to the depth of dishonor and to make the +name of the city a byword throughout the world. As he elaborated point +after point in his reasoning, all tending to confirm and enforce his +conclusions, it was plain that he was making an impression in spite of +the fact that all who heard him knew that he had been in Philip's pay. +He painted in dark colors the cost and danger of the war that would +follow the violation of the treaty and closed with a florid appeal for +constancy and forbearance, which he called the first of virtues. + +He was succeeded by the dandy, Demades, whose robes of embroidered +linen trailed upon the ground, but who sustained the argument against +war with sledge-hammer blows of rhetoric. Glaucippus, Eubulus, +Aristophon, and other orators, less famous, sat nodding their heads +among their pupils and admirers, who clustered about them criticising +or commending each period that fell from the lips of the speakers. + +Watching the effect of the speeches, the partisans of Demosthenes, +fearful that it might be disastrous to permit his opponents to hold the +attention of the people any longer, renewed their shouts for him. The +Assembly joined them. It had heard enough of the peace party, and it +was eager to know how Demosthenes would answer. + +There had been hardly any cessation of the talk and laughter. Many +persons even moved about through the audience, chatting with their +friends, and the Scythians, whose duty it was to maintain order, did +not venture to interfere with them. Everywhere there was talk of the +advantages of peace. The fever for war had cooled before the logic of +oratory. Ariston, keenly attentive to all that was passing, was among +those who left his place and wandered about the amphitheatre, pausing +here and there to exchange a few words with an acquaintance. Behind +him, like a ripple on the surface of a lake, there spread through the +crowd the news that the story of Alexander's death was a falsehood +contrived by the friends of Macedon to entrap the republic into war. + +Before the old man had returned to his seat, the contradiction had +reached Demosthenes, elaborated into every semblance of truth. He saw +that it was believed and that he had been robbed of the main theme of +his speech; for he could not prove that Alexander was dead. In +response to the cries of the multitude, he rose, and there was no +pretence in the reluctance with which he walked with head bent toward +the benia, considering what he should say. As he ascended, the +shouting died away, and for the first time there was absolute stillness +in the Theatre. + +"Athenians!" he began, in a voice of moderate pitch, but of a resonant +tone that carried it to all parts of the circle, "by all means we +should agree with those who so strenuously advise an exact adherence to +our oaths and treaties--if they really believe what they say. For +nothing is more in accord with the character of democracy than the +maintenance of justice and honesty. But let not the men who urge us to +be honest, embarrass us and our deliberations by harangues which their +own actions contradict." + +Ariston glanced about him with alarm, which was intensified as the +orator, with consummate skill, built up the argument that, having bound +himself by the treaty to maintain the liberties of Greece, Alexander +had violated his oath by reinstating the tyrants of Messene and by +disregarding other specific clauses. Artfully exaggerating the +Macedonian aggressiveness, recalling by flattering allusions the great +days of Athens, raising the hope of victory if war should be declared, +Demosthenes presented the situation to the Assembly in such a light as +to make it seem that Athens not only had a right to take up arms +against Macedon, but that it was her plain duty to begin the attack. +This impression grew out of his words without apparent effort to convey +it. There was nothing in his speech to indicate that he was a special +pleader presenting only one side of the case. He seemed the +personification of candor and fairness. As his voice and gestures +became more animated, and the flood of his marvellous eloquence swept +over them, it appeared to his fellow-citizens that the men who had +given expression to the desire for peace must be charlatans or worse, +who had been bribed by Macedonian gold, as in fact many of them had +been, to betray them into the hands of the enemy. In words that none +but he knew how to choose, he raised the spectre that had been laid by +the death of Philip and made it more threatening than it had ever been +before. + +Under the magic spell of his voice old thoughts and feelings stirred +and woke in the hearts of the Athenians. For an hour they became once +more the men of Plataea and Salamis and of the hundred bloody fields +upon which they had measured their strength with that of their ancient +foes from the Peloponnesus. Their former greatness of soul flamed up +like a flash from a dying fire. + +While Demosthenes spoke, not a word was uttered in the group around +Clearchus. The young man sat with flushed cheeks and shining eyes, +tingling with a desire to sacrifice life itself, if need there were, to +revenge the wrongs of Athens and crush the insolent Macedonian. +Leonidas listened with hands clenched and with every nerve at tension, +like a hound of pure race straining at his leash toward the quarry. +Aristotle was gravely attentive, and even Chares, though he could not +be aroused from his lazy pose, followed the oration with evident +enjoyment. + +When Demosthenes ended and came down from the bema, the Assembly drew a +long breath, and instantly each man fell to discussing with his +neighbor what was best to be decided. Suddenly they realized with +astonishment that Demosthenes had failed to propose any decree and that +they had nothing before them upon which they might vote. + +"I thought he was going to tell us how Alexander died!" Demades sneered. + +"What has become of his witness of whom we have heard so much?" a +leather-dealer asked. + +"He is afraid to propose war! He has offered no decree!" another +citizen cried. + +These questions and a hundred others were discussed on every side with +a violence that swept away all semblance of dignity or restraint. The +factions quarrelled like children, and more than once came to blows in +their eagerness, making it necessary for the Scythians of the public +guard to separate them. At last the herald of the Epistate demanded in +due form whether the Assembly desired any decree to be proposed. Far +less than the required number of six thousand hands were raised in the +affirmative, and the gathering was dissolved, eddying out of the +enclosure in turbulent disorder. + +"Is that all?" asked Chares, rising and stretching himself with a yawn. + +"That is all," Clearchus replied sadly. + +"With a phalanx of ten thousand brave men I could take your Acropolis," +Leonidas remarked, measuring the height above his head. + +"Yes, but where could you find them?" Aristotle said. + +"Who knows? Perhaps in the camp of Alexander," the Spartan replied. + +Ariston had slipped away into the crowd. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BANQUET + +On their way from the Theatre, Clearchus informed his friends of his +decision to be married on the morrow. + +"Then we must feast to-night!" Chares cried promptly. + +"Very well," Clearchus said, "but you will have to make the +arrangements for me, as I have other things to do." + +"Aristotle will take charge of the food and wine," said the Theban, +eagerly, "if he is willing to assume such a responsibility; and I will +provide the entertainment and send out the invitations. What do you +say?" + +"Good," Clearchus replied; "that is, if Aristotle agrees." + +"I am willing," said the Stagirite. + +"It is settled, then," Chares declared. "Come, Leonidas, I shall need +your help. Let us get to work." + +It was hardly sunset when the guests who had been bidden by Chares +began to assemble at the house of Clearchus. A crimson awning had been +drawn over the peristylium and the soft light of scores of lamps shone +upward against it. Shrubs and flowering plants partly hid the marble +columns. Medean carpets had been spread upon the floor. The tables, +each with its soft couch, had been arranged in two parallel lines, +joined at one end by those set for the host and the most honored of the +guests. At the farther end of the space thus enclosed a fountain flung +up a stream that sparkled with variegated colors. + +All had been prepared under the direction of Aristotle in such a manner +as to gratify the senses without jarring upon the most sensitive taste. +The masses of color and the contrasts of light and shade were grouped +with subtle skill to create a pleasing impression. Slaves walked +noiselessly across the hall, appearing and vanishing in the wall of +foliage, bearing dishes of gold and of silver and flagons filled with +rare wines. Softly, as from a distance, sounded the music of flutes +and citharse. + +Clearchus and his guests, crowned with wreaths of myrtle, reclined upon +the couches. Their talk ran chiefly upon the events of the day and the +contest of oratory in the Assembly. + +"You Athenians ought to pass a law banishing all your speakers," Chares +drawled. "Then there might be some chance that you would adopt a +policy and stick to it. As it is, the infernal skill of these men +makes you believe first one thing and then another, until you end by +not knowing what to think." + +"You mean we have plenty of counsellors but no counsel," Clearchus +replied. + +"That's it, exactly," Chares said. "And that man, Demosthenes, will +bring you to grief yet, some day." + +"All your states have had their turn of power," Aristotle said, "and +none has been able to keep it. There is another day coming and it will +be the day of the Macedonian. He dreams of making you all one." + +"Let him keep away from my country with his dreams," Leonidas remarked. + +"There spoke the lion!" laughed Clearchus. "Stubborn to the last." + +"Did you hear what old Phocion said when he came out of the Theatre?" +asked a young man with a shrill voice who sat on the right. + +"No; what was it?" Clearchus inquired. + +"Demosthenes wanted to know what he thought of his oration," the +narrator said. "You know Demosthenes likes to hear himself praised and +he would almost give his right hand for a compliment from Phocion, the +'pruner of his periods,' as he calls him. 'It was only indifferent,' +the old fellow told him, 'but good enough to cost you your life.' You +should have seen how pale Demosthenes grew; but Phocion put his hand on +his shoulder and said, 'Never mind; for this once, I think I can save +thee.'" + +"They say Phocion is an honest man," Chares remarked. + +"So he is," Aristotle replied. "And one of few." + +The young men who had assembled to honor the occasion listened eagerly +to every word that fell from the lips of the man whose keen deductions +and daring speculations had begun to open new pathways in every branch +of human wisdom. The rivalry between the philosophers in Athens was +even more keen than that between the orators, and each had his school +of partisans and defenders. + +"Honesty is truth," said Porphyry, a young follower of Xenocrates, who +had succeeded Plato in the Academy. "But what is truth? Have you +Peripatetics discovered it yet?" + +"We are seeking, at least," Aristotle replied dryly, feeling that an +attempt was being made to entrap him. + +"Democritus holds that truth does not exist," Porphyry ventured, +unabashed. + +"Yes, and Protagoras maintains that we are the measure of all things +and that everything is true or false, as we will," the Stagirite +rejoined. "They are unfortunate, for if there were no truth, there +would be no world. As for the Sceptics, they have not the courage of +their doctrines; for which of them, being in Libya and conceiving +himself to be in Athens, would think of trying to walk into the Odeum? +And when they fall sick, do they not summon a physician instead of +trusting to some person who is ignorant of healing to cure them? Those +who search for truth with their eyes and hands only shall never find +it, for there are truths which are none the less true because we cannot +see nor feel them, and these are the greatest of all." + +"We might know the truth at last if we could find out what animates +nature," Clearchus said. "Why do flowers grow and bloom? Why do birds +fly and fishes swim?" + +"The marble statues of the Parthenon would have remained blocks of +stone forever had not Phidias cut them out," Aristotle responded. "It +was Empedocles who taught us that earth, air, fire, and water must form +the limits of our knowledge; but who believes him now?" + +"Do you hold, then, with Anaxagoras of Clazomene, that all things are +directed by a divine mind?" Porphyry asked. + +This question was followed by a sudden hush while Aristotle considered +his answer. All present had heard whispers that the Stagirite in his +teaching was introducing new Gods and denying the power of the old +divinities. This was the crime for which Socrates had been put to +death and Pericles himself had found it difficult to save Aspasia from +the same fate when a similar charge was preferred against her. +Aristotle felt his danger, for he knew that the jealous and powerful +priesthood would be glad to catch him tripping, as indeed it did in +later years. + +"It was Hermotimus, I think, who first proposed that doctrine," he said +slowly, "and I have noticed that Anaxagoras employs it only when no +other explanation of what he sees is left him." + +There was a murmur of applause at this reply, which suggested the +necessity for supposing the existence of an overruling intelligence +without committing the philosopher to such a belief. The young +Academician seemed crestfallen, but by common consent the topic was +abandoned as too dangerous and the conversation became more general. + +Clearchus could not wholly conceal the anxiety that filled his mind. +He started at every unexpected sound and turned his face toward the +entrance, where he had posted a slave with orders to bring him word +instantly should any message for him arrive. His mood did not escape +his friends, who, without knowing the reason for it, urged wine upon +him in the hope of raising his spirits and for the same reason +themselves drank more freely than usual. + +Chares had promised something new in the way of amusement, but he +refused to tell what it was to be. Consequently there was a flutter of +expectation when the attendants removed the last course, washing the +hands of the guests for the seventh time, and leaving only wine and +sweetmeats before them. + +First came a Scythian with a trained bear, which performed a series of +familiar tricks. Aristotle watched the animal with the most minute +attention, directing notice to several of its characteristics and +explaining their meaning. The music then struck into a louder and +livelier air and six young girls, in floating garments of brilliant +hue, performed a graceful dance of intricate figure. There was no +novelty in this and Chares became the target for good-natured +reproaches, which he received smilingly. The dancing girls gave place +to a swarthy Indian juggler, whose feats of magic delighted the +spectators and evoked cries of wonder and admiration. + +As the juggler retired gravely, it was noticed that Aristotle, unused +to so much wine, had dropped quietly off to sleep. By command of +Clearchus, two stalwart slaves carried him away to bed, while his +companions at the board drank his health. + +"All this is very well, Chares," Porphyry complained, "but I thought +you were going to show us something new." + +"Pour a libation to Aphrodite!" the Theban replied, sprinkling a few +drops from his goblet and draining what remained. + +The others followed his example, nothing loath. + +From behind a mass of blossoms came a young woman and stood before the +sparkling fountain with her chin slightly raised and a smile upon her +lips. She wore a chiton of shimmering, transparent fabric from the +looms of Amorgos. The coils of her tawny hair were held in place by +jewelled pins which were her only adornment. There was a confident +expression of sensuous content on her face and a slight smile parted +her lips as she saw the involuntary admiration that she inspired. + +Through the golden cobweb that covered without hiding it, her firm +flesh glowed warmly. The curves of her shoulders and breast and the +rounded fulness of her lithe limbs were as perfect as a statue. As +Clearchus gazed upon her with the delight in pure beauty which was so +strong in him, he was beset by an elusive sense of familiarity for +which he tried in vain to find some explanation. He was certain that +he had never seen the girl before. Had there been nothing else to +assure him of this, he knew that he never would have forgotten her +eyes. Like the eyes of a predatory animal, they shot back the light in +reflected gleams of fleeting topaz. + +Crouched at her side lay a leopard, his body pressed flat against the +rich carpet in which her white feet were buried. He wore a golden +collar with a slender chain, the end of which she held between her +fingers. The beast glanced restlessly from side to side in his strange +surroundings, twitching his tail with nervous uneasiness. + +In the light that bathed her from head to foot, the young woman posed +for a moment to allow the spectators to feel the full effect of her +beauty. + +"Thais! Thais!" cried several of the guests, in accents of intense +astonishment. + +"Is it really Thais?" Clearchus asked, turning to Chares. "How did you +ever persuade her to come?" + +The Theban smiled, but made no reply. Thais had only recently begun to +attract attention, but her fame had already eclipsed that of other +popular favorites in Athens. Sculptors and painters had declared her +the most beautiful woman in all Hellas. Poets had made verses in her +honor, likening her to Hebe and Aphrodite. Her house was thronged +daily with the youth of fashion. She had become the latest sensation +in a city greedy for all that was new. + +Little was known of her beyond the fact that she had been reared and +educated in all the accomplishments of her profession by old Eunomus, +one of the most skilful of all the Athenian dealers in flesh and blood. +Where he had found her he refused to tell. Everybody had heard that +Alcmaeon had purchased her freedom a short time before his death, paying +Eunomus half her weight in gold, and that he had made comfortable +provision for her when his last illness seized him and he knew that he +must die. The only regret that he had expressed was that he must leave +her behind him. + +Left in an independent position, Thais had shown herself capricious. +None of the young men who hung about her could boast of any successes. +A few had ruined themselves in their efforts to gain her favor, and one +had even drunk hemlock and crept to her door to die. Clearchus, +although he had never before seen her, had heard enough of her to feel +astonished at her presence. He could not understand how Chares had +been able to induce her to come, like a mere dancing girl, for their +amusement, unless he had offered her an enormous sum of money. Knowing +the reckless character of his friend, the thought alarmed him. + +"You have ruined yourself!" he whispered to the Theban. "What did you +promise the woman?" + +"Not an obol, on my honor, O youth of simple heart!" Chares replied, +laughing. + +"Then how did you get her to come?" Clearchus asked. "You do not know +her." + +"I invited her," Chares replied; "and she accepted. I suppose it was a +woman's whim. I did not ask her." + +Slaves ran forward with a number of sword blades set in blocks of wood +in such a manner as to enable them to stand upright. These they +arranged symmetrically upon the carpet at equal distances from each +other, so as to form a lozenge pattern with its point toward Thais. +Dropping the end of the chain by which she held the leopard, as the +music changed to a rhythmic cadence, the young woman began to tread in +and out between the swords. Her movements were so light and graceful +that she seemed hardly to touch the carpet, threading her way from side +to side to the quickening measure. The leopard crept closer to the +line of steel and watched her with glowing eyes. Faster and faster +grew the measure, and faster grew her motions, until she was whirling +among the blades, which flickered like blue flames as her shadow +intercepted the light. A misstep would have sent her down to her death +upon one of the points which she seemed to regard no more than if they +had been so many flowers. The company watched her with a suspense that +was breathless. Suddenly the music ceased, and she stood before them +unharmed at the upper point of the lozenge. There was a glow on her +cheeks and her bosom panted from her exertions. The guests broke into +cries of admiration, casting their wreaths of myrtle at her feet; but +she had eyes only for Chares, who lay looking at her with a lazy smile. +She frowned and bit her lip. + +"Did I not do it well?" she demanded. + +"Excellently well," Chares replied. + +"Is that all?" she asked in a tone of disappointment. + +Before he could make any reply there came a frantic knocking at the +door outside the house. Clearchus started forward with an exclamation +of alarm. The man whom he had placed on guard ran in, terror stricken, +followed by Tolman, one of the slaves from Melissa's house in Academe. + +"Oh, my master!" Tolman cried, throwing himself at the feet of +Clearchus. + +"Artemisia!" the young man demanded. + +"They have carried her off," Tolman said, "and Philox, the steward, is +slain!" + +"Horses, Cleon! Bring swords and armor!" Clearchus shouted. + +"Who has done this?" Chares asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied; "we were forewarned; but it would be +better for them had they never been born." + +"Fetch me a jar of water," Chares cried, pushing aside the guests, who +had left their places and were crowding around Clearchus to learn the +news. When a slave brought a jar of cold water, the Theban plunged his +head into it to clear his brain and shook off the drops from his yellow +hair. "Now my armor!" he said. + +Leonidas was already occupied in putting on the light accoutrement of a +horseman, and, although he said nothing, there was a look of expectant +joy on his harsh face. + +Thais, who had drawn to one side, stood for a moment, and then seeing +that she had been forgotten, slipped away unnoticed. Some of the +guests hastened to their homes to arm themselves and follow the three +friends, while others remained behind to discuss the event. Clearchus +said a hasty farewell, and in a few moments from the arrival of the +slave the three young men, followed by Cleon, were racing down to the +city gate. + +Into the open country they dashed, Clearchus leading the way, while the +others spurred madly in their effort to keep pace with him. The sun +had not yet risen when they wheeled into the gateway and drew rein at +Melissa's villa. The place seemed deserted, for the terrified servants +had closed and barred the doors, fearing a renewal of the attack. It +was several minutes before they were able to gain an entrance. + +The frightened women pressed around Clearchus, wailing and beating +their breasts and trying all at once to tell him the story of what had +happened. The young man waved them aside and ran to the room where +Philox lay. The faithful old steward had received a dagger thrust in +the breast and was unconscious. Clearchus then sought Melissa; but in +the extremity of her fright she had locked herself in her apartments +and refused to open the door. + +Finding that nothing was to be learned in that quarter, Clearchus +sternly commanded the women to be silent and answer his questions. +Trembling, they obeyed, and he managed to make them tell how the +marauders had scaled the walls of the house with a ladder and how +Philox had fallen while trying to prevent them from admitting their +confederates. They had pillaged the house of everything that they +could carry. Artemisia had fainted when they laid their hands upon her +to take her away, but they had placed her in a litter which they seemed +to have ready for the purpose. As nearly as the women were able to +judge, they had gone southward, and as soon as they were out of sight, +Tolman had ridden to the city to give the alarm. + +"They are making for the harbor," Leonidas cried. "We shall catch them +yet!" + +Clearchus felt two small cold hands clasp his own, and glancing down he +saw Proxena, one of Artemisia's little slave girls, with her +tear-stained face upturned to his. + +"Please, master," she sobbed, "bring back our mistress, Artemisia!" + +The young Athenian could not speak, but he lifted the child quickly and +kissed her. In another moment they were off in the pursuit. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SYPHAX EARNS HIS REWARD + +Clearchus led the way through brake and thicket and across tilled +fields, bearing off slightly to the southwest so as to avoid the Long +Walls that joined the city to the Piraeus, where he knew the robbers +would not dare to venture. They crossed the winding Cephissus by the +Sacred Way, skirting the hills that overlook the harbor. It seemed +hours to the young man before they emerged upon the brow of a slope +that fell away to the rocky beach. + +Directly below them was a small inlet from which a boat filled with men +was putting out toward a weather-beaten galley that lay a short +distance offshore. + +"There she is!" Chares cried, pointing to a blotch of white in the bow +of the boat. + +"We are too late!" Clearchus groaned, as he measured with his eye the +widening gap between the boat and the shore. Despair and helpless rage +surged up in his heart as they dashed recklessly down the slope. + +"Come back!" he shouted desperately. "Twenty talents of ransom!" + +The distance was too great for his words to be distinguished, although +his voice evidently reached the boat. Artemisia heard it and stretched +her arms toward him. She struggled to rise, but the sailors held her +in her seat. The steersman turned his bearded face toward the shore +and shouted out a rough command. The boat continued on toward the +galley, whose sails were already spread for flight. + +"They are not all gone!" Leonidas cried eagerly. "See there!" + +A second boat lay in the inlet with its nose in the sand, while its +crew hurriedly stowed away the litter. As Clearchus looked, they +completed this task and prepared to push off. + +The three young men leaped from their horses, but the boat was now +launched. One of the mariners waded into the water, pushing at her +stern to give her headway, while the others got out their oars. + +"You come too late, idlers!" the seamen cried mockingly as their +pursuers leaped down over the rocks to the narrow strip of sand that +fringed the inlet. "You should rise earlier in the morning." + +The man who had been pushing at the stern of the boat was up to his +waist in water. "Pull me in, lads, she has way enough!" he said; but +as he gathered himself to spring, Leonidas plunged in after him and +clutched him by the ankle. Paying no more attention to his struggles +than he would have given to those of some fish that he had taken, the +Spartan dragged the spluttering wretch back to the beach. The crew of +the boat hesitated for a moment as though doubtful whether to attempt a +rescue, but Leonidas settled their doubts by thrusting his sword into +the man's throat. + +A cry of rage and a volley of threats came from the boat as the sailors +witnessed the fate of their comrade. In giving vent to their +indignation, they lost valuable seconds of time. So narrow was the +inlet that the boat was still within easy javelin cast of the shore. +Clearchus ran along the beach abreast of it, promising a fabulous +reward to the men who should bring back the captive. + +"Seek the girl in the slave markets," was all the reply that he could +get, "and see that you come not too late a second time!" + +"I promise that you shall not be punished!" the Athenian cried in +despair. "At least lend us your boat, or take us with you to the +galley." + +"If you want our boat, come out and get it!" one of the sailors cried +in derision. + +The words were still on his lips when a great stone fell into the water +close beside the prow, dashing the spray into the faces of the crew. +Clearchus looked up in astonishment and saw Chares standing on the +crest of the ledge of rock that rose behind the strip of sand. The +Theban held another huge and jagged missile poised above his head. +With a mighty effort he hurled it at the boat. Uttering cries of +terror the sailors attempted to sheer out of the way, but in their +confusion, their splashing oars neutralized each other. The great +stone, which a man of ordinary strength could not have moved, turned +ponderously in the air and struck the gunwale amidships with a crash +that tore out the planks in splinters. In an instant the boat filled +and went down, leaving the crew struggling among the floating fragments +of the litter. + +Several of the men, who seemed unable to swim, disappeared beneath the +surface. Others struck out for the beach, only to meet death on the +swords of Chares and Clearchus on one side, and of Leonidas, who had +run around to the opposite shore of the bay to intercept those who +sought to escape in that direction. + +One man only, a fellow of powerful frame, seeing the fate that awaited +him on land, swam boldly for the open sea, preferring to take his +chance of being picked up there rather than face death upon the sand. + +"Leave him to me!" Chares cried, stripping off his chiton. + +Without hesitation, he plunged into the sea, holding his sword in his +left hand and swimming with his right. + +"Take him alive!" Clearchus shouted. "We may learn something from him!" + +The chase was short, for although the Theban carried a weapon, the +sailor was encumbered by his garments. + +"Wait, my friend, I have something to say to thee," Chares said, +pricking the man with his sword point. + +Like a wild beast, the sailor turned in desperation as though to make a +struggle for his life. He looked with bloodshot eyes into the Theban's +smiling face. + +"You have only one chance of seeing to-morrow's sun," Chares said +coolly. "Swim before me to the shore and make up your mind on the way +to tell all that you know of what has happened." + +"Will you spare my life?" the man asked. + +"That depends," Chares replied, "but I promise you that I will not +spare it unless you obey without question." + +"There is no help for it," the man muttered, and he swam sullenly back +to the beach, where Leonidas quickly secured his arms behind him. + +"There is still a chance of capturing the galley," the Spartan said to +Clearchus. "Ride quickly to the Piraeus and hire a vessel to put out +after her. We will bring this fellow in." + +Clearchus dashed away toward the harbor, but, as it happened, there was +no vessel that could take up the chase with any chance of success. The +galley was running before a fresh southwest wind, and although still +visible, she was already distant. Of the ships in port, some were +newly arrived and were heavily laden, while others were discharging +their cargoes. Clearchus offered any price to the captain who should +overtake the fugitive and bring Artemisia back, but the offer was made +in vain. The best that he could do was to charter six of the swiftest +ships that were available to take up the pursuit as soon as they could +be made ready. + +While he was concluding these arrangements, Chares and Leonidas arrived +with the prisoner. The man said that the galley had just returned from +a piratical cruise on the coast of Lucania and was under the command of +Syphax. He had joined the crew at Locri, he said, and knew nothing +about the abduction excepting that they were all to be well paid for +it. He was unable to tell what port the galley expected to make after +leaving Attica. + +Although he was examined later under torture, the man could reveal no +more. He was thrown into prison to be used as a witness against his +companions should they be caught. The last of the vessels that +Clearchus sent on the chase was out of the harbor before nightfall, and +the young man, feeling that he had done all that he could do, rode back +to the city overwhelmed by his loss. Chares and Leonidas sought in +vain to comfort him. His self-reproach at having left Artemisia +unguarded after the warning of the dream was too poignant. He shut +himself up to avoid the acquaintances who flocked about him to offer +their sympathy and to learn the details of his sorrow. They questioned +the slaves when they found the doors closed against them and then ran +to tell what they had learned in the baths, the barber shops, and the +gaming houses, greedy of gossip. Ariston, after making certain that +his part in the plot had not been discovered, came to visit his nephew +and was admitted. + +"We have no defence against the will of the Gods when it falls heavily +upon us save one," he said. + +"What is that?" Clearchus asked. + +"Patience," the old man responded. + +"Patience!" Clearchus exclaimed, striding back and forth with clenched +fists. "Yes, I will have patience! I will have patience to seek +Artemisia to the ends of the world until I have found her! And I will +have patience until every man who is concerned in this attack upon us +has paid for it with his life. I will be patient!" + +Ariston blanched at this outburst, but immediately recovered himself. +"Alas! What can you do alone?" he asked mournfully. + +"He will not be alone, for Chares and I will be with him," Leonidas +said quietly. "We have sworn it." + +"I will not advise against it," Ariston said with a sigh. "But it may +be that the galleys you have sent out will bring the robbers back. You +must not forget that you have duties to the State. The times are +troubled and your fortune is great." + +"My own affairs must come first at present," Clearchus said bluntly. +"As for my fortune, of what use is it to me without Artemisia? I must +ask you to take charge of it once more for me. I shall give you full +power, and if I come not back I desire that it shall be devoted to the +public good as you may see fit." + +"I am an old man," Ariston said, with mock hesitation, "but I cannot +refuse the trust under the circumstances if you require it of me. Yet, +why dost thou leave Athens?" + +"How can I remain here?" Clearchus exclaimed. "My suffering is too +great. But I knew you would not refuse me," he added in a calmer +voice, clasping his uncle by the hand. + +"Doubtless they have carried her to some one of the Eastern cities," +Ariston said reflectively. "That is where this Syphax would most +naturally go, as it seems his hope is to get money. I will write to +such friends as I have there to be on the watch." + +Clearchus groaned. "It will be too late, I fear, before thy letters +can reach them," he said. "I know not what to do nor where to turn." + +"Here is Aristotle; let us consult him," Chares said as the philosopher +entered. + +Aristotle listened attentively while Clearchus and his friends related +all the circumstances of Artemisia's abduction. He asked many +questions regarding the particulars of the dream of warning that had +preceded the attack. + +"Some things we know and others we can guess," he said at last. "Only +the Gods know all. The world is wide. I pity thee, Clearchus, my +friend, with all my heart, and I wish that I might aid thee. It is +clear that the warning came from Artemis. I advise thee to seek +counsel from Ph[oe]bus, her brother. Thou art not an unworthy disciple +of his, for thy heart is pure and thy hands are clean. Thou lovest the +poets and music. Go to him with faith and perhaps he will aid thee." + +Hope appeared upon the face of the young Athenian. "I will go," he +said. "The great God himself loved Daphne and lost her. He may take +compassion on me. Chares shall remain here and set all things in order +so that we may act quickly if a sign should be given. Will you come +with me, Leonidas, to Delphi?" + +"I will," said the Spartan, "and let us go at once; for I can see that +thy heart is sick." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RESPONSE OF THE ORACLE + +Clearchus and Leonidas rode out of Attica across the olive-bearing +plains, and up the rugged spurs and ridges which flank the mountain of +Cithaeron, upon whose rocky slopes Antiope wailed as an infant, and the +rash Pentheus was torn to pieces by women to the end that the power of +Dionysius might be established. They halted for a brief space at the +fortress of Phyle, the key that had opened to Thrasybulus his native +land and enabled him to give it freedom. Leonidas admired the great +walls built of square blocks of stone laid one upon another without +mortar and fitted so exactly that the joints would scarcely be seen. + +Teleon, captain of the guard which was stationed at this gateway, was a +friend of Clearchus. He gave them bread and wine, while the young +Athenian told him of his misfortune. After expressing his sympathy, +Teleon inquired eagerly for the news of Athens. + +"Will the Assembly send troops to the aid of Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes, +who have raised the revolt in Thebes?" he asked. "You know they now +hold the city, and my spies tell me that they are preparing for any +attack that may be made upon them." + +Clearchus gave him an account of the indecisive meeting of the Assembly +on the preceding day. + +"All Athens believes the boy king is dead," he said, referring to +Alexander. "What is your opinion, Teleon?" + +"That, too, is the belief in Thebes," the captain replied. "I know +not; but if it proves to be so, Thebes is free." + +"And if not?" Clearchus asked. + +"If not, there will be fighting," Teleon predicted, "and may Zeus +inspire the Macedonian to attack us here!" + +From the slope beyond Phyle the young man saw the B[oe]otian plain +spread out before them, and beyond, in the purple distance, the rocky +ramparts of Phocis. There, glowing rose-colored in the evening light, +shone the snow-clad crest of Parnassus. Clearchus' heart swelled as he +looked upon the goal in which his hope was centred. + +"We must be there to-morrow," he said eagerly. + +"The God will not run away!" Leonidas replied. + +They plunged down the mountain slope into the shadows, which deepened +under the plane trees as they advanced, until the winding track was +almost hidden before them. The moon rose as they emerged upon the +plain that had so often drunk the life-blood of Hellas. At Thespiae +their horses could go no further, and they halted for the night. + +Although the road from Thebes was better, they had purposely avoided +the city, fearing that the disturbances there might delay them. They +found Thespiae full of rumors of the Theban uprising. Some said that +the Macedonians in the Cadmea had been put to the sword; others that +the peace party had gained the upper hand and was awaiting the arrival +of Alexander. Leonidas, who listened eagerly to all that was said, was +surprised to find that the report of the young king's death was +discredited in the town. There were even men who insisted that he was +on his way through Thessaly at the head of his army, ready to strike. + +The Spartan sighed and looked wistfully over his shoulder in the +direction of Thebes as they took horse at sunrise. At evening, +begrimed with dust, they toiled up the last ascent that led to Delphi, +the terraced city among the sacred cliffs--the Navel of the World. + +As Clearchus gazed upward at the twin columns of the Phaedriades rising +side by side a thousand feet above the temple in the cool gray +twilight, the fever of anxiety in his blood left him and his pulses +beat more slowly. The strong masonry of the outer wall, which enclosed +and seemed to hold from slipping down the mountain side the buildings +clustered about the lofty terrace, on which the temple stood close +under the towering cliffs, shut in the shrine that for centuries all +Hellas had looked upon as hallowed. Awe came upon him in the presence +of the great Mystery. There were scoffers in Athens who laughed at all +religion. There were philosophers in the world who taught that the +existence of the Gods was a foolish dream. Why had Ph[oe]bus permitted +the Phocians to seize his treasure and to profane his altar, they +asked, if he really existed? + +Clearchus put the same question to himself as he looked down upon the +Cirrhaean fields that had been consecrated to the God and condemned to +lie waste forever in his honor. The Phocians had desecrated them by +cultivation. When condemned by the Amphictyons at the instance of +their enemies, the Thebans, they had seized the shrine and the +treasure-houses. Though they had prospered for a time, in the end +Philomelus and Onomarchus had been slain and the Phocians broken and +scattered. The sacrilege had been punished, but Philip had been +brought into Hellas as the champion of the God and the chief instrument +of his wrath. Thebes had been placed beneath his feet. + +What was to be the end? Was the fate of the city that had driven the +Phocians to their crime to be worse than that of their victims? +Clearchus, as he thought of these things, was chilled with an +indefinable dread of the Invisible Presence whose home was among the +silent and Titanic crags that made the utmost triumphs of human art and +skill laid at their feet seem as transitory as the work of children +fashioned in sand. He felt that here the mighty purpose of the Unseen +was being worked out, deliberate and irresistible, before which the +races of men were as nothing. + +They did not enter the city that night, but turned aside to the house +of Eresthenes, who had been a guest-friend of Clearchus' father. The +old man was overjoyed to see them. After the evening meal he sought +the priests of the temple and brought back word that the oracle might +be consulted next day if the sacrifice proved propitious. + +Clearchus slept soundly. In the morning he purified himself, according +to the rule, in the clear, cold waters of the Castalian Font hung about +with votive offerings in marble and bronze placed there by grateful +pilgrims to the shrine. Eresthenes gave him fresh garments, with the +garland of olive and the fillet of wool which suppliants were required +to put on. + +Guided by the old man, the two friends ascended the wide marble +staircase that led to the great stone platform at the southeast corner +of the lower terrace, where ceremonial processions were accustomed to +form before entering the sacred enclosure. Passing through the gate, +they advanced between treasure-houses upon which the most famous +sculptors of the world had lavished their skill. Among these and the +dwellings of the priests and the chief men of the place were set scores +of columns and statues, the offerings of centuries from kings and +princes. Across the lower terrace the way led them to the next higher, +with a sharp turn to the right at the great stone sphinx which guarded +the passage through the second wall. They continued up the slope to +the final platform, on which the temple stood resplendent with color. + +Entering between the great columns, Eresthenes and Leonidas left +Clearchus to the care of the priests--grave men of advanced age who +were under the direction of Agias. They led the Athenian to the +apartment of the chief priest, a venerable minister whose age had +passed one hundred years. He sat in his marble arm-chair, propped by +cushions. His white beard flowed over his breast, and his thin hands +lay crossed in his lap. He raised his dim eyes and fixed them upon the +face of his visitor. + +"What wilt thou, Thrasybulus, who comest back to me from beyond the +tomb?" he asked in a quavering voice. + +The attendant priests glanced at each other in surprise, but none of +them dared to reply. + +"Speak, Thrasybulus; I am an old man," the chief priest said. + +"Thrasybulus has been dead these fifty years, Father," Agias said. +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, who comes as a suppliant to the +oracle." + +"He is like Thrasybulus!" the old man muttered, bowing his head. "It +seems but yesterday that he stood before me." He paused for a moment +and then continued with an effort: "Art thou pure of heart? Art thou +free from the sins of the flesh?" + +"I am," Clearchus replied firmly. + +"Then pass into the presence of the God who knoweth all and who doth +not forget!" said the patriarch, closing his eyes wearily. + +Clearchus bowed and was about to turn away, when the old man roused +himself once more. + +"Come hither, boy, and let me look at thee!" he said. "My sight is +growing dim." + +Clearchus knelt at his feet, and the aged priest placed his hand on his +head, stroking his hair and peering into his face. + +"So like Thrasybulus! It was only yesterday!" he said to himself. +"The storm comes and the world is changing. Thou shalt see thrones +made empty and nations perish; but the God will remain until a greater +cometh. Clearchus art thou called? It may be so; but to me thou art +Thrasybulus. Go thy ways. The God will be kind to thee." + +Although the other priests were evidently struck by this unusual scene, +they made no comment, but led Clearchus into the dim interior of the +temple. On every hand, between the columns and against the walls, +gleamed statues and vessels of precious metals, exquisite in design and +workmanship, that the Phocians had not dared to remove from the house +itself of the God. Before them stood a group of young women in snowy +robes with fillets in their hair. They were chanting a hymn of slow +and solemn measure. + +They ceased their chant as the priests entered with Clearchus, and two +of them advanced, leading between them one of the three priestesses of +the temple. The Pythia was a woman of middle age, slender of figure, +with large gray eyes that seemed to look at Clearchus without seeing +him. Her thin cheeks still retained the fresh color of youth, and her +lips, of a deep red, moved gently as though she were whispering to +herself. + +Looking about him with eyes grown accustomed to the semidarkness, +Clearchus saw a slightly raised platform of white marble toward the +rear of the temple. Three shallow steps led to a broad slab, in the +middle of which was a cleft. Through this orifice curled a pale, +fleeting vapor, which rose like transparent smoke for the height of a +man above the platform before it vanished. It came from the stone in +puffs and spirals which swayed, now this way, now that, with a +peculiarly irregular and capricious impulse like the balancing of a +coiled serpent. + +Over the cleft was set a low tripod, the legs of which were formed of +intertwined snakes wrought in gold so cunningly that every scale seemed +reproduced in the bright metal. The jewelled eyes of the reptiles +twinkled through the vapor which alternately hid and revealed them. + +Slowly and solemnly the priestesses led the Pythia to the foot of the +platform, where they gave her hands to two of the most venerable of the +priests, whose office it was to conduct her to the tripod. Her lips +formed themselves into a smile as she mounted the steps and the women +resumed their chanting. + +As she took her place upon the tripod and the priests descended, +leaving her alone, a sudden thunderstorm burst above the towering crags +which overhung the shrine. The wind roared down between the Phaedriades +with mighty strength, and a crash of thunder, leaping and reverberating +from rock to cliff, shook the temple to its foundations. + +"Zeus is speaking to the son of Latona!" murmured Agias, and all bowed +their heads in reverence. + +Filled as he was with awe, Clearchus felt reassured by the calm +demeanor of the priests. He fixed his eyes on the Pythia, who remained +seated on the tripod with her hands loosely folded in her lap, +oblivious alike to the storm and to her surroundings. The chill vapor +seemed to grow more dense. At times it hid her entirely, wrapping her +in its cold embrace. The color deepened in her cheeks and the smile +left her parted lips. With dilated pupils she gazed over the heads of +the little group before her. Gradually her face assumed a troubled +expression and her tongue began to frame broken words and fragmentary +sentences the purport of which Clearchus could not understand. +Suddenly she half raised her hands as though she would cover her eyes +and her face contracted as with a spasm of pain. + +"Evohe! Ph[oe]bus!" she cried in a wailing voice. + +"Ask thy question--the God is here!" Agias whispered, pushing Clearchus +toward the platform. + +The young man found himself standing alone in the dread Presence, +gazing upon the Pythia, who was no longer a woman, but an instrument in +the hands of the God. The vapor curled about her and encircled her in +swiftly changing, fantastic forms. Her gray eyes looked out into his, +fixed and steadfast, and the tension of the influence which possessed +her convulsed her features. Dead silence reigned throughout the vast +and shadowy interior of the temple. + +Clearchus tried to frame the question that he had prepared but the +words refused to come. The awe of his surroundings paralyzed his +speech. + +Suddenly the dear, wistful face of his love seemed to appear to him +amid the folds of the rolling mist, filled with sorrow and yearning. +His fear left him. All else, even life itself, was as nothing before +the fierce desire of his heart. + +"Where shall I find Artemisia?" he cried, stretching out his arms +before the whirling cloud which hid the priestess in its embrace. + +There was a moment of suspense, in which he could hear the dull rushing +of the torrent that filled the sluices, overflowing with the rain, on +either side of the temple. The priests leaned forward attentively to +catch the reply, each holding a tablet of wax and a stylus with which +to record any words that the Pythia might utter. Clearchus stood +motionless, his arms still outstretched, gazing with straining eyes +upon the lips of the priestess. She writhed upon the tripod as though +in agony. Her eyes were set and glassy and a slight foam showed itself +upon her mouth. Then came her voice, strained and strange, through the +eddies of the vapor:-- + +"Seek in the track of the Whirlwind--there shalt thou find thy Beloved!" + +Her eyes closed, and a shuddering sigh issued from her bosom. The two +priests who had placed her upon the tripod hastened forward and bore +her from the platform. She had lost consciousness completely. Her +head drooped upon her shoulder and her face was as pale as death. The +old men gave her in charge of the women, who ran forward to receive her +and quickly carried her into their own apartments. + +A great joy filled Clearchus. "She is safe! She is safe! And I shall +find her!" he said to himself, following the silent priests out of the +temple. As they passed out into the portico he looked back over his +shoulder at the platform where the God had manifested himself. The +swift storm had swept over and the sun was shining again. A gleam of +his light fell upon the curling mist and Clearchus saw it tinged with +the prismatic colors of the rainbow. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS + +Leonidas and Eresthenes stood in the portico of the temple awaiting the +return of Clearchus. + +"All is well!" the young man cried, throwing his arms around Leonidas +in the excess of his joy. + +"Shall we find her?" the Spartan asked anxiously. + +"Yes; the God has promised it," Clearchus replied. + +"Where is she?" Leonidas asked quickly. + +Clearchus hesitated and his face fell. The oracle had not told him +where she was. + +"What did the God mean when he spoke of the Whirlwind's track?" he +asked, turning to the priests. + +"We know no more than thou," Agias replied. "The answer given to thee +is more definite than any we have had in these later times. That is a +good omen. Be content and doubtless the God will choose his own way to +make all clear to thee." + +Clearchus was troubled, but he thanked the priests and arranged for the +bestowal of an offering of ten talents of gold. He was about to take +his leave when a man with mud-stained garments came running up the +steep incline to the temple. He was one of the agents or messengers +that the priests maintained in every large city of Greece to keep them +informed of events. The knowledge which they brought, added to that +which came with visitors to the oracle from all parts of the world, +made Delphi the centre of intelligence and enabled the servants of the +God, if need there was, to supplement his answers from their own +understanding. + +The man halted breathless before the white-clad group that stood in the +sunlight between the columns awaiting him. + +"It is Cimon," Agias said. "What news dost thou bring--speak!" + +"Alexander is before the walls of Thebes with his army!" the messenger +panted. + +"Whence came he?" Agias demanded. + +"Out of the mountains of Thessaly--like a whirlwind!" Cimon replied. +"Before men had time to learn of his approach, he was there." + +"Like a whirlwind, you say?" Agias repeated, glancing at Clearchus. + +"Like a whirlwind, indeed," the messenger replied, "and panic holds the +city!" + +"Thy question is answered, my son," said Agias, quietly. + +Clearchus was amazed. He had believed that the words of the Pythia +were to be taken in their literal sense, and he had resolved to consult +Aristotle in the matter on his return to Athens. But when Agias called +his attention to the reply of the messenger, who could have had no +knowledge of the prophecy, he could not doubt that a metaphor had been +intended. The plans of the young Macedonian monarch at once acquired a +new and intense interest in his mind and he listened eagerly to Cimon's +story. + +"The Thebans are divided," said the messenger. "They know not whether +to surrender their city and earn their pardon, or to give defiance to +the young king. The last they had heard of him was that he had been +slain in battle at Pelium by the blow of a club. You know already that +the citizens rose when Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes came back from Athens +and that they besieged the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea. Athens +sent money and promised an army. The B[oe]otarchs ordered the walls to +be made strong and a barricade to be built inside so that even if the +walls should fall, they would still be able to defend themselves. +Fugitives from Onchestris brought the first news that Alexander and his +army were there. Even then the city would not believe it was the +Hegemon himself, but maintained that it must be Antipater or the +Lyncestian namesake of the king. For how, they asked, could the dead +come to life?" + +"Nothing is beyond the power of the Gods," Agias said sententiously. + +"We expected a swift attack," Cimon continued, "but it was not until +the next day that the army came within sight of the city and encamped +north of the walls. The Thebans sent their cavalry and light troops to +meet them. This was only a skirmish, but the soldiers brought word +that Alexander, indeed, was there. Some of them who knew him had seen +him directing the Macedonian troops. + +"We found this to be true when the Macedonians moved their camp around +to the main gate. The soldiers of the garrison in the Cadmea +recognized their king and cried out to us that Alexander had come to +avenge them. Still he did not attack, but sent a herald to say that he +would forgive all that had been done if the city would yield itself and +send him Ph[oe]nix and Prothytes to be punished." + +"And what was the answer?" Agias asked. + +"There were many who favored accepting the terms," Cimon replied, +"especially since aid from Athens had been cut off; but the exiles who +had returned to raise the revolt declared that the king was afraid. +Should he have the boldness to attack the walls, they promised that he +would be beaten and that Thebes would send a garrison to Pella instead +of having one in the Cadmea." + +"They are desperate men," the old priest said. + +"But they won the people," Cimon replied, "and it was resolved to +fight. So matters stood when I slipped out of the northern gate last +night to bring you word." + +"You have done well, Cimon," Agias said. "Dost thou think the city +will escape?" + +"That I cannot tell," the messenger answered. "It has corn enough for +a siege; but Alexander's army contains thirty thousand footmen and a +troop of horse, besides ballistae and battering-rams which they were +setting up when I left." + +"The walls are strong," Agias said, reflecting. "Well, go to thy rest. +Thou hast need of it." + +Clearchus and his friends had enough to talk about as they walked down +from the temple. + +"One thing is certain," said the young Athenian. "We must go at once +to Thebes." + +"That we must do if only to see the fighting," Leonidas replied. + +"What if the Dragon's Teeth should win?" Eresthenes suggested. + +"They cannot," Leonidas said. "The man who could make the march that +Alexander made is a general as well as a king. There is no Epaminondas +in Thebes now." + +"What will become of Chares' mother and his family if the city falls?" +Clearchus exclaimed, stopping short. + +"Have I not heard him say that his father formed a guest-friendship +with Philip when the Macedonian was left in Thebes as a hostage?" +Leonidas replied. + +"Yes," Clearchus admitted, "but that may be forgotten by his son if all +they say concerning Philip's death be true." + +"Then we must remind him," Leonidas said, "and that is another reason +why we must go to Thebes." + +Eresthenes gave the young men a cordial good-speed when they left him +in the morning to set out for the beleaguered city. They descended +from the mountains and entered the fertile plains of B[oe]otia, through +which they rode all day without finding a sign of war. The farmers +went about their work and the shepherds were pasturing their flocks as +peacefully as though there were no such things as armies and slaughter. +More than once they stopped to ask news of the siege, but the people of +the plain could tell them nothing. Many of them had not heard that +Alexander was before the city; others had indeed heard the rumor, but +convinced that they themselves were safe, they took no interest in it. + +Evening was drawing on and they had approached to within a few miles of +the city when they met a rider whose horse was dripping with sweat. + +"Ho, there; what news of Thebes?" Leonidas shouted as he passed. + +The man looked at them, but made no answer. He bent low on the neck of +his horse and his cloak flew out behind him like the wings of a huge +bird. + +"There has been a battle," Leonidas said. "Was he Theban or +Macedonian?" + +Burning with impatience, they urged their horses to the crest of a low +hill, where they came suddenly upon half a dozen cavalrymen, who had +halted in a small grove to bind up a wound which one of their number +had received in the shoulder. + +"What has happened?" Leonidas asked, drawing rein beside them. + +"Know you not that the city has fallen?" one of the soldiers replied. +"The accursed Macedonians forced us in through the gates and came in +with us. Not a soul is left alive in Thebes, and my wife and children +were there!" + +"And that is where you should be," the Spartan replied contemptuously. + +The poor fellow burst into tears at this reproach as he thought of the +fate of his little family. Clearchus, touched by his grief, drew out +his purse and gave it to him. + +"If they are still living, this may aid you to ransom them," he said. + +As the two friends proceeded they now began to meet other bands of +fugitives straggling along the road. Most of them fled silently, often +looking back over their shoulders as if in dread of pursuit. + +"Cowards!" said Leonidas, scornfully. + +"Life is sweet to all of us," Clearchus remonstrated, thinking of +Artemisia. + +"To such as these it should be bitter!" the Spartan replied. + +They were rounding a turn in the road as he spoke, and before the words +were well out of his mouth they found themselves entangled in a rabble +of horsemen, who were retreating before a fierce attack. + +"In here, quickly!" Leonidas cried, urging his horse back among the +trees beside the road. + +They had barely time to gain this shelter before the rush of plunging +horses and shouting men went past them. The Thebans were evidently +making a desperate attempt to rally, and just beyond the spot where the +two were concealed they halted, wheeled, and stood at bay. + +But before they had accomplished this man[oe]uvre the foremost of the +pursuers, headed by a young man riding a powerful chestnut horse, swept +into sight. The leader, in his excitement, had distanced his troop. +Clearchus and Leonidas, who, from their position in the elbow of the +road, were able to see in both directions, realized that he was +galloping straight into an ambush. Leonidas started forward to warn +him, but it was too late. The Thebans had regained their order, and +with a wild shout they charged back around the curve. + +Either the unexpectedness of the onset caused the chestnut to swerve, +or his rider tried to pull him up too suddenly, for he stumbled and +went to his knees. The young man was pitched headforemost into the +underbrush and fell almost at the feet of Leonidas. + +Some of the Theban troopers saw the accident and rushed upon him with +cries of triumph. They were confronted by Leonidas and Clearchus, who +stood over the prostrate figure with drawn swords. Surprise caused the +Thebans to hesitate, and this saved the lives of all three; for the +Macedonian riders, thundering down upon the Thebans at full speed, +struck them and tore them to pieces. Horse and man went down before +that fierce charge, which left nothing behind excepting the dead and a +handful of wounded, whose cries for mercy were cut short by a +sword-thrust. The survivors fled without looking behind them. + +"Where is Ptolemy?" shouted one of the Macedonians, a bearded man who +seemed to be second in command. "Who has seen the captain?" + +"He rode in advance," one of the troopers replied. + +"If we do not bring him back, we shall have to answer for it to the +king, and you know what that means," the first man said. + +"He is here!" Clearchus called from the thicket. + +The bearded lieutenant and several others hastily dismounted and +carried their captain out into the road. He was still unconscious. + +"Who are you?" the lieutenant demanded gruffly, looking at the two +young men with suspicion. + +"I am Clearchus of Athens, and this is Leonidas of Sparta," Clearchus +replied. + +"Of Athens!" the man said sneeringly. "Go back to your city and tell +the cowards who live there that we are coming!" + +"As you came once before--with Xerxes!" the young Athenian answered +quickly. + +The lieutenant's face grew livid and he whipped out his sword. + +"Cut their throats! Kill them!" the troopers cried angrily, pressing +closer. + +Like a flash, Leonidas bestrode the form of the captain, sword in hand. + +"I am of Sparta!" he cried boastfully. "My country never saw the face +of Philip, nor shall it look upon that of his son, who calls himself +the Hegemon of all Hellas. Put away your swords, or here is one whose +funeral you will celebrate to-morrow!" + +He placed the point of his blade at the captain's throat as he spoke. +The men of Macedon dared not move. + +"Listen to reason!" Clearchus said hastily. "We are without armor, as +you see. We saved the life of your captain, and we are on our way to +Thebes to see Alexander on matters of importance. Take us with you and +let your king deal with us. This is no time nor place for brawling." + +"You are right," the lieutenant said sullenly. "Let it be as you say." + +He sheathed his sword, and the others followed his example, though with +an ill grace. The captain had begun to recover his senses. His skull +must have been tough to have resisted the shock of his fall without +cracking. + +"Why are you letting me lie here?" he demanded. "Where is the enemy?" + +"Scattered and gone, excepting these that you see," the lieutenant +replied, pointing to the bodies. + +"Then get me on a horse and back to camp," the captain ordered. + +As they rode the lieutenant explained the presence of Clearchus and +Leonidas. The captain frankly gave them thanks when he learned that +they had protected him while he lay helpless. + +"I am Ptolemy," he said, "and since you desire to see Alexander, I will +take you to him. I owe you much and the day may come when I shall be +able to repay you." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE DOOM OF THEBES + +The plain where once the sons of Niobe lay weltering had borne its last +harvest of slaughter. On every side Leonidas and Clearchus noted the +ghastly evidences of battle. Darkness fell before Ptolemy's troop +reached the shattered gates of Thebes. Men with torches in their hands +wandered through the streets strewn with corpses, seeking plunder among +the dead or searching for the bodies of friends. Neither sex nor age +had been spared when Perdiccas hewed his way into the city. The very +altars of the Gods were crimsoned with the vengeance taken by the +Phocians, the Plataeans, and the B[oe]otians for the centuries of cruel +oppression that they had suffered from the rapacious brood of the +Dragon. + +Mothers lay dabbled in blood, with their infants beside them, struck +down in flight. The market-place was heaped with bodies, showing how +desperate had been the final stand of the Theban soldiers. The streets +were littered with household gear that had been dragged in wantonness +from despoiled homes. + +The plundering was not yet finished. Bands of soldiers were still +searching for booty in the remoter quarters of the city, where their +progress could be traced by the sound of their drunken laughter, +mingled with the screams of their victims. + +Macedonian guards paced the walls and cut off all hope of escape. The +wretched inhabitants, driven into the highways, sought concealment in +dark angles and narrow lanes, cowering in silence. + +Here and there a woman, rendered desperate by her anguish, walked with +dishevelled hair, heedless of insult, seeking her children among the +slain in the hope that she might find them still alive. + +Clearchus felt his heart grow faint at the thought that Artemisia might +be exposed to the frightful chances of such a sack. Ph[oe]bus himself, +he thought, might be unable to protect her, since here the temples of +the Gods had been profaned. An old man in priestly robes stood out +before them with trembling hands upraised. + +"Vengeance, O Zeus!" he cried aloud. "Vengeance upon those who have +violated the sanctuary of Dionysus, thy son! May they--" + +"Silence, Graybeard!" growled a soldier, striking him across the mouth +with his fist. + +The old man reeled from the blow and shrank away into the shadow. + +"You'll choke if you ever try to drink wine again, Glaucis!" a comrade +cried, laughing. + +"Dionysus will forgive me soon enough for a sacrifice," Glaucis +returned. "Never fear!" + +Ptolemy learned that Alexander had gone to the Cadmea and thither he +led Clearchus and Leonidas after he had dismissed his men, eager to +take their share in the pillage. They found the young king in a large, +bare room in the lower part of the citadel. He had not yet laid aside +his armor, which was dented and scratched by use. + +When they entered, he was giving orders to his captains, who stood +grouped about him. Clearchus looked at him with eager interest. He +saw a well-proportioned, athletic figure, no taller than his own. The +handsome beardless face glowed with the warm blood of youth and a smile +parted the full red lips. There was no trace of fatigue in the young +king's attitude, despite the labors of the day, and his movements were +alert and decisive. He looked even more youthful than his twenty-one +years as he stood among his leaders, some of whom were veterans of +Philip's campaigns, grizzled with service. But in spite of his youth, +there was a confidence in his bearing that left no doubt of who was +master. + +Clearchus felt himself strangely drawn to the young man whom all +Hellas, with the exception of Sparta, acknowledged as its champion, and +who was about to assail that great power beyond the Hellespont, whose +limits were unknown and before whom Greece had stood in dread since the +days of Great Cyrus. The Athenian found the "boy king" very different +from the arrogant, mean-spirited upstart that the orators of his city +had painted him. + +"Stop the plundering," Alexander said to his captains. "Even the +B[oe]otians must be satisfied by this time. Let the men go back to the +camp, and see that order is maintained. The AEtolians and the Elaeans +are on the march and reenforcements are coming from Athens. There may +be more work to do to-morrow." + +As the officers left him to execute his commands, Alexander turned to +Ptolemy with hands outstretched. + +"I am glad to see you safe!" he said. "You charged bravely before the +gate, and I feared that something might have happened that would +deprive me of your aid when we march into Persia." + +Ptolemy's bronzed face reddened with pleasure as he heard the praise of +the young king. + +"I went in pursuit of the enemy's cavalry," he said. + +"Is it likely that any of those who escaped will be able to rally?" +Alexander asked. + +"They are scattered in every direction and think only of flight," +Ptolemy replied. + +"That is well," Alexander said. "We shall be the better able to deal +with the others when they come. Who are these that you have brought to +me?" + +He turned toward the two young men, who had been standing at a little +distance, and looked them frankly in the eyes. + +"This is Clearchus, an Athenian, and this, Leonidas of Sparta," Ptolemy +replied, presenting them in turn. + +Alexander's face clouded at the names of the two most powerful of the +states that opposed him in Greece, and Ptolemy hastened to add: "They +saved my life when my horse stumbled in the pursuit, and they have a +request to make of you." + +"You have done me a great service," Alexander said kindly. "What is it +that you desire?" + +"We ask clemency for the family of Jason, on behalf of Chares, his son, +whom we left behind in Athens," Clearchus replied. + +"And why is he not in Thebes?" Alexander asked quickly. + +"Because he did not know that you were coming," Clearchus said. "Had +he been aware of the danger, he would not have been absent. We heard +of your arrival while we were in Delphi, and we made all haste to +remind you that Jason was a guest-friend of your father, Philip." + +"Orders have been given that the guest-friends of Macedon shall be +spared, both in their lives and their property," Alexander replied. +"What did you in Delphi?" + +Clearchus told him briefly how Artemisia had been stolen and of the +response of the oracle. + +"Love must be a strong passion," the young king said thoughtfully. + +"I would give all that I possess to recover Artemisia," Clearchus +replied. "Nor would I be willing to exchange my hope of finding her +for the wisdom of Aristotle or even for the hopes of Alexander." + +"So you know Aristotle," Alexander said. "He is a wonderful man. Were +I not Alexander, I would envy him." He looked curiously at Clearchus as +he spoke, as though he were considering something that he did not +understand. "So that is what they call love," he continued, "and I and +my army are the Whirlwind of which the God spoke." He beckoned to an +attendant. "Call Aristander!" he said. + +He made Clearchus repeat his story to the famous soothsayer. +Aristander listened attentively, stroking his chin with the tips of his +fingers as his custom was. + +"What do you think of it?" Alexander asked, when Clearchus had +finished. Everybody knew the confidence that he placed in the words of +the prophet and that he never took an important step against his advice. + +"Full credit must be given to the oracle," Aristander said, turning his +blue eyes upon the young king, "and I think that the priests of the +temple were right in their interpretation, since the message brought +and the title given could have had no other meaning. As the maid was +carried away by sea, she was probably taken to some island or to one of +the cities on the coast of Asia. The Whirlwind's track must needs lead +thither, and since the maid is to be set free, it is clear that the +Whirlwind shall prevail." + +"Then the oracle is propitious!" Alexander exclaimed. "What is your +plan?" he added to Clearchus. + +"I shall obey the oracle and follow in thy track," the Athenian +replied. "If thou wilt permit me, I myself will become a part of the +Whirlwind." + +Alexander looked at him with the unquenchable fire of enthusiasm in his +eyes. + +"Thou art welcome!" he said. "And you, my friend of stubborn Sparta?" +he continued to Leonidas. + +"I go with Clearchus," the Spartan responded briefly. + +"You shall be of my Companions," Alexander cried, placing his hand upon +a shoulder of each. "The world grows old and we have been wasting our +strength in foolish quarrels with each other while the tiger has been +lying there across the water, waiting to devour us. We shall show him +that the spirit of Hellas still lives, although Troy has fallen, and we +will do deeds that shall be sung by some new Homer as worthy too of a +place beside those of Achilles and Ajax and Agamemnon. Yes, and we +will bring back a fleece more precious than that which the Argonauts +sought. I promise you that the Whirlwind's track shall be long enough +and broad enough to lead you to your heart's desire, whatever it may +be. Ptolemy, I count these men among my friends and I give them into +your charge." + +Clearchus and Leonidas felt their hearts swell at the young king's +words and his lofty generosity, but before they could thank him, they +were interrupted by a commotion at the door. + +"Out of the way! I will see him! I care not how late it is," an angry +voice exclaimed. + +"It is Chares, son of Jason," Clearchus said. "How comes he here?" + +Alexander quietly signed to the guard, and the Theban strode into the +room, clad in armor that clashed noisily as he walked. He looked +neither to the right nor left, but went straight to Alexander. + +"I am come to remind the King of Macedon of the ties of hospitality," +he said boldly, in a voice more fitted to a demand than a petition. + +Alexander measured his great stature with admiration in his glance, +noting that the armor, gold-inlaid, was crusted with mud and grime like +his own. + +"Thy name might be Hector," he said. + +The Theban, ignorant of the young king's train of thought and of what +had gone before, imagined that he saw mockery in this remark. His face +flushed darkly. + +"My name is Chares!" he said haughtily. "Jason, my father, was the +friend of Epaminondas, who furnished thy father with the weapons that +thou hast used against us this day. I come not to thee on my own +behalf, but on that of my mother and sisters, who were shut in here +when the attack came." + +"You are too late!" the young king said composedly. + +Chares staggered and his face blanched. "Too late!" he exclaimed +hoarsely. "Does Alexander, then, make war upon women?" + +"I say you came too late," Alexander replied, "and doubly so; for your +friends, here, were more prompt than you, and yet even they were tardy." + +"My friends!" Chares cried in bewilderment, seeing Leonidas and +Clearchus for the first time. + +"Alexander speaks the truth," Clearchus said quickly. "We are all too +late, because he had already given orders for the safety of your +family." + +"I ask your forgiveness; I spoke without understanding," Chares said, +turning to the king. + +"Thou hast courage," Alexander said with a smile, "but I would not +choose thee as my envoy on a delicate mission. Thou wert not here to +defend thy home?" + +"Because I knew not that there was need," Chares admitted. "I am +sorry." + +"And I am glad," the young king rejoined, "for hadst thou been inside +the walls, I fear I might have lost men whom I cannot spare. Didst +thou come from Athens?" + +"I left Athens with the army," Chares answered, "but it halted on the +frontier when news arrived that Thebes had fallen." + +"Then there will be no more fighting!" Alexander exclaimed, turning to +Ptolemy. "I am glad of it. Greet thy mother for me, Chares, and tell +her to fear nothing. Ptolemy will conduct you." + +Escorted by the Macedonian captain, the three friends descended from +the citadel. Order had been restored in the city as though by magic. +Only the military patrols and the bodies of the dead remained in the +streets. The living had been driven into their houses, taking the +wounded with them. The plunderers had retired to the camp outside the +walls. + +Chares strode eagerly in advance, asking many questions regarding the +experiences of his friends in Delphi. The house of Jason, a mansion +built near the northern end of the city, had been saved by its location +from the desperate fighting that had taken place about the southern +gate and in the market-place. They found a guard stationed at the door. + +"You see that the king is as good as his word," Ptolemy said. "You +will find nothing disturbed here." + +"How could he have remembered his friends in the heat of the attack?" +Chares asked. + +"He forgets nothing," the captain replied, "neither friend nor enemy." + +Chares urged the Macedonian to enter, but Ptolemy declined on the +ground of fatigue and left them. The slave at the gate went wild with +joy when he caught sight of his young master. He had been waiting in +momentary expectation of being summoned forth to the death that he was +convinced awaited everybody in the city. + +Chares hastened to the women's court, where he found his mother and +sisters robed in white and surrounded by their maids, who were trying +to spin, although their fingers trembled so that they could hardly hold +the distaff. The widow of Jason, a woman with silvery hair and a face +that was still beautiful, sat calmly in the midst of the group, +awaiting with quiet courage what might befall. She rose with composure +to greet her son and his companions. + +"You are safe, mother!" Chares exclaimed, clasping her in his arms. +"Alexander has given his word that you shall be unharmed!" + +"You have seen him?" she returned. "That is well. You may go to your +rest. Nothing shall harm you," she added, dismissing her maidens. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +CHARES BARTERS HIS SWORD + +What was to be the fate of Thebes? The minds of the wretched +inhabitants of the city were diverted from their sorrows as they asked +each other this question on the morning after the battle. The dead had +been removed from the streets. The wounded had been cared for. The +enemy had withdrawn outside the walls, after posting guards in +sufficient numbers to suppress any rising that the Thebans might be +desperate enough to attempt. + +All eyes were directed toward the Cadmea, within whose gray walls the +punishment that was to be visited upon the city was being discussed. +One citizen suggested that a heavy fine would be exacted. Another +declared he had heard that the Thebans would be forbidden to bear arms. +A dozen similar conjectures were made and canvassed before news came +from the Cadmea that Alexander had left the Phocians, the Plataeans, and +the B[oe]otians, his allies, to impose the sentence. This announcement +was received in gloomy silence; for more than one Theban recalled how +his city in her day of pride had blotted out Orchomenus and Plataea and +sold their people into bondage. + +The anxious watchers in the streets at last saw a stir in the crowd +that waited outside the gates of the citadel. The portals opened, and +the victorious generals, surrounded by waving standards, came out and +began to descend from the rock. The spectators below saw the Thebans +scatter before them, tossing their arms above their heads and rending +their garments. A hush full of dread fell upon the city. + +"Thebes must perish! Her walls must go down!" cried one from above +with a despairing gesture. + +"We are to be sold for slaves!" shouted another, halting upon a parapet +and making a trumpet of his hands. + +The tidings were received with incredulity, followed by stupefaction. +The blow had fallen, and it was worse than even the least sanguine +prophet had predicted. The generals, as they rode toward the gates of +the city, were followed by men who fell on their knees and begged for +quarter. No heed was paid to their prayers, and the escort of soldiers +thrust them back with jeers. + +Alexander remained in the Cadmea, where Chares and a handful of the +most prominent Thebans, who had been able to establish guest-friendship +with the royal house of Macedon, sought him to intercede for the city. +They found him alone, sitting with his chin in his hand. They recalled +to him the glorious deeds of Thebes, dwelt upon the misery that the +sentence would inflict upon the innocent, and warned him that all +Hellas would reproach him if he permitted it to be carried into effect. +They admitted the fault of the city and asked forgiveness. + +The young king heard them through without stirring. + +"All that you have said to me," he replied when they had finished, "I +have already said to myself. Thebes has been false to her oath. I +pardoned her as did Philip, my father. The sentence is not mine, but +that of my allies, and what cause they have, you know. Can I ask them +to forget?" + +Terror ran with the news through all Greece. The Athenians, the +AEtolians, and the Elaeans, who had encouraged the rebellion with money +and promises of further aid, hastily recalled their troops and sent +ambassadors to sue for mercy. Demosthenes was chosen to plead for +Athens, but when he had advanced on his journey as far as Mount +Cithaeron, his courage failed him and he turned back. The young king +sent a messenger to Athens calling upon the Athenians to deliver eight +of their orators who had been foremost in stirring up the people +against Macedon, and the name of Demosthenes stood at the head of the +list. + +In the Assembly that was called to consider this demand Demosthenes won +the day by repeating the fable of how once the wolves asked the sheep +to deliver to them their watch-dogs and how, when the demand had been +granted, they fell upon the defenceless flock. But so great was the +fear of Alexander among the people that they might, after all, have +sent the orators to Thebes had not the men who were threatened hired +Demades with a fee of five talents to offer himself as an intermediary. +The offer was accepted and Alexander yielded. + +The escape of Demosthenes through the intercession of his inveterate +enemy and the mysterious disappearance of Thais were the talk of the +city when Chares arrived with his two friends, bringing his family with +him. Clearchus received them into his house, where they were to remain +during his absence from Athens in search of Artemisia, following the +directions of the oracle. Ariston was much disappointed when his +nephew refused to exact any rental from his friend. He had taken +charge of Clearchus' fortune again, and it grieved him that any +possible source of income should be neglected. But Clearchus knew that +Chares had need of all his resources; for his mother had drawn up a +list of the friends of the family who had been forced to remain in +Thebes, telling him that he must purchase them and thus save them from +slavery, even if it should take all they possessed in the world. As +the list was long, Clearchus deemed it wise not only to place his house +at the disposal of Jason's widow, but to make provision for its +maintenance out of his own income while he should be away. + +He paid no attention to the grumbling of his uncle, who affected to +look upon this generosity as little short of madness. He said so much +to dissuade the young man from his plan, that Clearchus at last was +forced to remonstrate with him. + +"One would think that you were on the brink of ruin," he said, "instead +of being one of the richest men in Athens, if reports that I have begun +to hear lately are true." + +"Who says that?" Ariston demanded sharply. "He lies, whoever repeats +such things. Whenever you hear it, if you love me, say that it is not +true. If such stories should get to be believed, that accursed +Demosthenes will be forcing me to fit out a trireme for some of his +wild schemes. The times are so troubled that what little I have been +able to save by my frugality for the support of my age I am likely to +lose." + +He was not unwilling to have his nephew believe that he was at least +moderately rich, for had Clearchus known the straits his uncle was in, +his suspicions might have been aroused. With his mind full of the loss +of Artemisia, there was small chance that he would discover anything. + +Like vultures upon a deserted field of battle the slave-dealers +gathered at the great market of flesh and blood at Thebes. The sale of +the population of the city had been delayed so as to insure a good +attendance; for Alexander had need of the money that it was expected to +yield with which to defray the cost of his expedition against the Great +King. Speculators, traffickers by wholesale, and agents from every +considerable mart in the world, to say nothing of amateurs, flocked to +the city. It was not so much the fact that thirty thousand men and +women were to be offered and the consequent probability of low prices +that drew them as the quality of the victims. It was easy enough to +purchase slaves in almost any number, but there was a vast difference +between ignorant barbarians, captured in distant raids, and the +population of one of the oldest and most cultured of the Grecian +cities. And no comparison was to be made between girls who had been +destined to slavery from their cradles and the Theban maidens reared in +the shelter of luxury and ease. + +It had been expected that it would take several days to dispose of the +prisoners, but so numerous were the buyers that the Macedonians decided +to attempt it in one day. For greater convenience, the captives were +separated into companies of about five hundred and brought out upon the +plain before the city, where most of the dealers had pitched their +tents. Each division was guarded by a squad of soldiers commanded by +an officer, whose duty it was to conduct the auction of the group under +his care. + +No outcry was permitted among the hapless population. Mothers clasped +their children in their arms, weeping softly over them. Some awaited +their fate with sullen resignation. Others looked for a prodigy to +restore them to freedom and their city. A report had gone abroad that +Dionysus would appear in person and forbid the sale. On all sides rose +the murmur of his name in tones of entreaty or reproach. With anxious +eyes, the believers scanned the sky and the barren hillsides for some +sign, they knew not what. None was vouchsafed. Their God had deserted +them. + +In order that the friends whom he was to ransom might not be lost in +the confusion, Chares had obtained consent that they be assembled in +one group. They came last out of the city, clad in garments of +mourning and moving in heavy-footed procession. Lest he should raise +false hopes, Chares had made a secret of his plans. The prisoners +fully expected to pass into the possession of strangers. Old men of +grave face and dignified bearing, who had spent their lives in the +service of the city and whose names were known throughout Greece, led +the way. Behind them walked their women, proud of bearing and +accustomed to the privileges of rank and wealth. Some of the matrons +led daughters who looked with terror upon the strange scenes that met +their eyes. Orphaned children clung to each other in fear, while here +and there new-made widows, whose husbands had been slain when the +strength and vigor of the city were cut off in a day, walked sadly and +alone. + +When all had been herded within the ring formed by the guard, the +Macedonian captain who was to conduct the sale of the group that +contained Chares' friends mounted briskly upon a block of stone and +announced the terms prescribed for buyers. Payment was to be made in +all cases in cash, and the purchaser was to have immediate possession. +Chares took a position facing the auctioneer in a knot of dealers who +were searching for some fortunate speculation. These men looked upon +the unhappy Thebans with professional keenness, exchanging comments +among themselves. + +"That's a fine old fellow with the white beard," said one. "He looks +as though he might have money out at interest somewhere." + +"Probably he's only a philosopher," another said scornfully. "For my +part, I shall buy that thin one. He has been living on bread and water +all his life and he must have a snug sum buried. Trust me to make him +dig it up!" + +"There seem to be some marketable girls here," observed a third. "I +find the Medes will pay a better price for them if they have a pedigree +as well as good looks." + +Mena, the Egyptian, prying about through the crowd, examined the +captives with speculative eyes. Suddenly he caught sight of a figure +that caused him to stop and stare. It was that of a young woman, +veiled, who seemed to be seeking to conceal herself behind the other +prisoners. + +"Who is she?" he asked of one of the guard when he had recovered from +his astonishment. + +"She is down on our list as Maia, daughter of Thales," the man replied. + +Mena seemed puzzled. "I must find out more about this," he said to +himself, taking his stand at a point of vantage. "Besides, there may +be a chance here to turn a profitable investment." + +The chatter ceased as the captain opened a roll of papyrus containing +the names of the prisoners and announced that the sale was about to +begin. The old man with the white beard was the first to be brought +forward. He proved to have been one of the B[oe]otarchs. + +"How much am I offered for him?" the captain cried. "He is old, but +his wisdom is all the greater for that." + +"Five drachmae!" shouted a countryman in a patched and faded cloak. "He +gave a decision against me once in a lawsuit." + +Everybody laughed at this reason for making a bid, but the farmer +seemed in deadly earnest. + +"Five minae!" Chares said quietly. There was no other bid and the sale +was made. + +Then came a slender girl with yellow hair and blue eyes that were +swollen with weeping. Her chiton of fine linen clung in graceful folds +to her slim figure, and she trembled so violently that she could +scarcely stand. + +"She ought to fill out well if she lives," said one of the merchants, +stroking his beard, while he examined her carefully. "But it's always +a risk to buy them so young." + +"She might be trained to dance," said Mena, who had elbowed his way +into the crowd. "It's worth trying if she goes cheap. Fifty drachmae!" + +"Five minae!" Chares said again. + +"That's ten times what she is worth!" Mena exclaimed, turning angrily +upon the Theban. "Are you trying to prevent honest men from making a +living?" + +"Let honest men speak for themselves," Chares retorted. + +The laugh that followed filled the Egyptian with rage. He was cunning +enough to wait until Chares had made several more purchases, and at +prices far above the market value of the captives. Mena guessed that +the Theban intended to outbid all who opposed him. He resolved to be +revenged by making him pay dearly for his purchases. It happened that +the next offering was a man whose name was not on Chares' list. Out of +mere good nature he bid two hundred and fifty drachmae for him. + +"Five minae!" the Egyptian shouted, doubling the bid with the intention +of forcing Chares to go higher. + +But Chares was silent, and no other bidder appeared. Mena, who did not +have the money that he had offered, shifted uneasily, looking at Chares. + +"I see you have some sense," he cried at last. "You are afraid to bid +against me!" + +Chares made no reply. + +"He is yours," the auctioneer said, addressing Mena. "Step this way +with your money!" + +"Wait!" screamed the Egyptian. "I withdraw the bid! The man is lame!" + +"Do you mean to accuse me of trying to cheat you?" roared the +Macedonian captain. + +"Perhaps you didn't notice it," the Egyptian faltered. + +"Away with him!" cried the soldier. + +While the prisoner was being awarded to Chares, two men led Mena out of +the circle, amid the jeers of the spectators. At a safe distance, +under pretence of seeing whether he really had the money he had +offered, they took from him all that he possessed and divided it +between themselves before they let him go. + +"I'll make him sorry for this!" Mena said, shaking his fist at Chares. +"I know what I know; but why do they call her Maia?" + +Burning with rage, the Egyptian slunk away in search of his master, +Phradates, whom he found wandering idly among the scattered groups of +captives. + +"Oh, Phradates, thou hast been insulted!" Mena cried, breathlessly. + +"How so, dog?" Phradates demanded, his face darkening as he spoke. + +The Ph[oe]nician's figure was tall and well knit, although the +profusion of jewels and golden chains that he wore, and his garments of +rich silk, woven with gold thread, gave him an effeminate look. His +face might have been handsome had it not been marred by an expression +of haughty insolence which betrayed the weakness upon which Mena +intended to play. + +He had been sent into Greece by Azemilcus and the Tyrian Council in the +guise of a rich young man on his travels, but with the real object of +discovering the plans and strength of Alexander. Tyre was nominally +tributary to the Great King, but the only sign of her dependence was +the payment of a small annual tribute. In all matters of moment she +managed her own affairs. It was important, therefore, for her rulers +to have exact knowledge of what was going forward in Greece, so that +they might shape their course as seemed best for their own advantage. + +Mena noted the flush on his master's cheek and foresaw the success of +his scheme of revenge. + +"It occurred to my poor mind," he explained volubly, "that your +Highness would be pleased with a slave from this city of rats, which, +nevertheless, contains some charming maidens. I learned that they had +assembled all the prisoners of gentle birth in one place together. I +went there and examined them for you. Among them I found a girl of +rare beauty and when I asked concerning her, they told me she was Maia, +daughter of Thales, one of the chief men in the city. Such a form as +she has!--with hair like copper and a glance that would--" + +"Will you never finish?" Phradates asked angrily. + +"I chose her for your Highness and gave command that she be reserved +until I could find you to claim her," Mena continued. "But it seems a +Theban, whom they call Chares, had resolved to buy her for himself. I +told him that I had spoken for the girl in your name. 'Let the Tyrian +hound go back to his dye-vats,' he said. 'The girl is mine and he +shall not have her while I have an obol left!' He said much more +against the people of Tyre and yourself in particular that I will not +offend your Highness by repeating. I am sorry that I lost the girl, +for there is no other like her among the captives." + +"Where is she?" Phradates demanded abruptly. + +"If your Highness will deign to follow, I will conduct you to her," +Mena replied with alacrity. + +"Lead on!" Phradates commanded. "And then fetch quickly the gold we +borrowed from the old Athenian." + +Chares had purchased all the prisoners on his list excepting the girl +called Maia, and the soldiers were leading her forward when Mena and +Phradates arrived. The young woman's face and head were muffled in a +silken scarf, and her figure was concealed beneath a cloak. + +"Give place!" cried Mena, bustling officiously into the crowd. "Make +way for the noble Phradates!" + +One of the soldiers raised the scarf long enough for the Ph[oe]nician +to see the young woman's face. Her beauty evidently made a deep +impression upon him, for his expression changed and he seemed hardly +able to take his eyes from her. + +"Where is this Chares?" he inquired, at last, staring about him. + +Mena indicated the Theban with a nod, and then, noticing that all eyes +were turned upon his master, he bawled out: "Make room for Phradates of +the royal blood of Tyre!" + +"Do you want to sell him?" asked the auctioneer. + +The Ph[oe]nician's face became purple and he turned angrily upon Mena, +but the alert Egyptian had slipped away to fetch the gold. + +"Three talents for the girl!" Phradates cried. + +"Five talents!" Chares answered. + +The spectators, who had long ago ceased to think of bidding against the +Theban, drew a deep breath and looked from one contestant to the other. +Maia alone seemed indifferent. A tress of her hair had fallen upon her +shoulder. She twisted it back into place. Chares had not seen her +face when the soldier lifted her veil and his attention was now centred +upon his opponent. + +"Seven talents!" Phradates shouted, fixing his eyes defiantly upon +Chares. + +"Eight!" the Theban answered, without hesitation. + +This was more than all the other captives in the group had brought. +The crowd began to hum with excitement. Phradates looked over his +shoulder and saw Mena leading four slaves who carried bags of gold. + +"Ten talents!" he cried. + +"All bids must be paid in cash," the auctioneer said warningly. + +Every face was turned toward Chares, who had called his steward and was +consulting with him. "How much have we left?" the Theban asked. The +man made a rapid calculation on his tablets. + +"You have ten talents and thirty minae," he replied. "That is the end." + +"I bid ten talents and thirty minae," Chares said promptly, addressing +the auctioneer. + +It was evident to all that he could go no further. Would Phradates be +able to outbid him? The Ph[oe]nician hesitated and turned to Mena. + +"He has won," the slave whispered. "You have only ten talents. If you +had beaten him, we should have starved to death." + +"Then we will starve!" Phradates replied. "I demand that the gold be +weighed!" + +"You have that right," the auctioneer admitted. "Bring out the scales." + +The scales were brought and the gold was poured into the broad pans +which hung suspended from their framework of wood. The glittering +heaps increased until each pan overflowed with the precious coins and +ingots. When all was in readiness for the test, they held a fortune +such as few men in all Greece possessed. The spectators devoured it +with their eyes, pressing against the soldiers in the hope of getting a +better view. The maiden, Maia, who was the object of the rivalry, was +forgotten. + +The scales oscillated slowly and at last settled deliberately on the +side toward Chares. The tale was correct and his last thirty minae had +given him the victory. The crowd broke into a cheer. + +"Are you satisfied?" asked the Macedonian captain. + +"No!" Phradates shouted. A red spot glowed on his cheeks and his +fingers trembled as he stripped off his rings and his chains of gold. +He placed the ornaments on his side of the scales. "I bid thirteen +talents," he declared. + +"Payments are to be made in money," Chares remonstrated. "Who can tell +what these trinkets are worth?" + +"We may accept them at a true valuation," the captain decided. + +He summoned a jeweller of Corinth, who examined the rings with care, +and announced his readiness to take them at a sum sufficient to make up +the total of the Ph[oe]nician's offer. + +"Phradates wins!" shouted the spectators, cheering the Tyrian with all +the enthusiasm that they had shown to his rival a moment before. + +The Theban stood silent. He had nothing more to offer. He raged +inwardly at his defeat, for he felt that his honor was involved. While +he stood hesitating, nobody seemed to notice a young Macedonian soldier +of athletic figure and fresh complexion who had stopped on the +outskirts of the crowd and stood listening, with his head slightly +inclined to one side. + +Suddenly Chares strode forward and threw his sword upon the scales. +The weight of the steel caused the balance to sway decisively toward +him. + +"I bid fifteen talents!" he cried. "Let my sword make up the weight of +gold that is lacking." + +Phradates laughed mockingly. "Let me have the girl," he said. "It is +time to end this child's play. There is no place in the world where a +sword is worth three talents." + +"Except here," a voice behind him said quietly. + +Phradates turned, and his eyes met those of the soldier who had been +lingering on the edge of the ring of spectators. + +"Here!" the Ph[oe]nician exclaimed angrily. "And who is there here to +give such a price for it?" + +"I will," the soldier replied with a smile. + +"You will, indeed!" Phradates echoed. "And who are you?" + +"My name is Alexander," the soldier said. + +Phradates turned to the crowd, which had fallen back a little and now +stood strangely silent. + +"Who is this insolent fellow?" he cried. "Why do you allow him to +interfere here?" he demanded of the captain. + +The captain made no reply, and nobody in the throng ventured to answer. +Phradates felt deserted. He stood with Chares and the soldier beside +the gold-laden scales, beyond which waited Maia, with her eyes fixed +upon the face of the newcomer. + +"Is there no fair dealing in this land of thieves?" Phradates cried, +losing his temper absolutely. "The girl is mine! Deliver her to me in +accordance with your agreement and let me go. You have your price and +it is enough!" + +He made a step forward as though to seize Maia, but the soldier blocked +his path. + +"I am Alexander, as I told you," he said, slightly raising his voice. +"I will tell you more. You are Phradates of Tyre, sent here by your +king and your Council to spy out my strength and learn my plans. You +have used the eyes and ears of your slaves. Take what you have learned +to King Azemilcus, and with it take also this message: Alexander, King +of Macedon, sends word that he is coming with his companions to offer +sacrifice to Heracles in his temple, known in the city of Tyre as the +temple of Melkarth. Let him prepare the altar." + +Phradates read in the faces of the crowd that the youth who spoke so +confidently to him was indeed the king. Nevertheless, he could not +wholly stifle his rage. + +"Has your army wings, Macedonian?" he asked insolently. "The walls of +Tyre are both high and strong." + +"What is the fate of spies in your country?" Alexander replied. "You +are spared to bear my message. Must I choose another?" + +There was something in the tone of these words that brought Phradates +to his senses like a plunge into cold water. + +"We shall meet elsewhere," he said, casting a look of hatred at Chares, +who stood smiling at his discomfiture. + +"If we do not, I shall never cease to regret it," the Theban replied. + +Mena had been hurriedly putting his master's gold into the sacks in +which he had brought it. The waiting slaves took it up and followed +Phradates back to his tent. + +"What was it all about?" Alexander asked, glancing from Chares to Maia. + +"I wished to buy her as a present to my mother, as I have bought nearly +five hundred of our friends to-day," Chares replied. + +Alexander took up the sword from the scales and drew it from its sheath. + +"It is a good blade," he said, "and I would not deem its price too high +if your arm was to wield it in my cause." + +"Was not that included in the purchase?" Chares asked, surprised. "I +have made my bargain and I will live up to it." + +"No," said Alexander, gently, "I will not have such an arm at a price. +I am no Cyrus to attack the power of Persia with hired weapons. The +spirit and the hope that goes with us are not to be bought with gold. +Come to me at Pella, if you will, with Clearchus and the Spartan, as +soon as your affairs will permit. But if you come, let it be of your +free will and not in payment of a debt." + +"I will come," Chares said simply. + +Day was drawing to a close over the plain where the people of Thebes +had paid the final penalty for their rebellion. The multitude that had +assembled to witness the last scene was melting away. Some of the +unfortunates had found friends like Chares to rescue them; but the +greater part of the thousands who were sold that day had become the +property of strangers. On every side rose the sound of wailing and +lamentation. Wives clung sobbing to their husbands until torn from +them by their masters. Children wept for mothers they would see no +more. + +In the gathering twilight camp-fires began to glow. Slave-dealers +bargained and chaffered over their purchases. Melancholy processions +moved away into the darkness. Men fettered together gazed back +silently but with bursting hearts upon the dark mass of the Cadmea, +where it rose, black and huge, against the crimson sky. The air +reverberated with the crash of falling houses and walls as the soldiers +labored by the light of torches to level the city to the earth. A pall +of dust and smoke hung suspended above them. Thebes had become a +memory. + +The captives purchased by Chares had been led away by his attendants as +fast as each sale was made. When Alexander and the Macedonian soldiers +moved off he was left alone with Maia. He had scarcely glanced at her +during his duel with Phradates. She stood before him now with bent +head, submissively, and he fancied that she was drooping from weariness. + +"Come," he said kindly, extending his hand toward her. + +The girl did not move, but as he approached she raised the scarf that +hid her face and her eyes met his. + +"Thais!" he exclaimed. "How did you get here? Where is Maia?" + +There was a tone of displeasure in his voice, and the smile faded from +the young woman's lips. + +"Maia is safe enough," she returned, raising her head proudly. + +"But where is she?" he persisted. + +She hesitated and her eyes fell. A warm flush mounted to her cheeks. + +"I bought her place," she murmured, "and you have bought me." + +The Theban stared a moment in bewilderment, but as her meaning dawned +upon him he threw back his head and laughed, a little recklessly. +Thais bit her lip and then suddenly burst into tears. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THAIS + +Chares sat in the house of Thais in Athens, idly watching the lithe +motions of the tame leopard as it worried an ivory ball. Its mistress +lay at full length on a low couch of sandalwood looking at the Theban +with eyes half closed. + +"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. + +"What do you mean?" he replied. + +"Am I not your slave?" she said softly. "Have you not ruined yourself +to buy me?" + +"That is true," he said, stroking his chin and examining her +reflectively. "You are my most costly possession!" + +"Well?" she insisted. + +"And I shall not be here to guard you," he continued. "Who knows what +may happen?" + +She drew through her slender fingers the silken fringe of the crimson +shawl that was twisted about her waist. + +"You have not asked me why I went to Thebes," she said at last. + +"No," he replied, looking at her inquiringly. + +"I wanted to see Maia," she said, looking at him innocently. "I had +heard so much of her beauty." + +"Oh," he said, smiling. "What did you think of her?" + +"I did not see her," Thais replied. "Is she beautiful?" + +"Let me see," Chares said, studying the walls as though in an effort to +remember. "She has black hair and her eyes too are dark, I think. Her +forehead is low and broad and her nose is straight. Perhaps her mouth +might be thought a little too wide, but her chin is beautifully rounded +and her shoulders and neck are perfect. Yes, I think she might be +called beautiful." + +"Chares," Thais said timidly, "do you love her?" + +Chares laughed. "How can a man make love without an obol that he can +call his own?" he replied. + +"Are you wholly ruined, then?" she asked. + +"I haven't enough left to buy you a singing thrush," he replied gayly. + +"But you have me and all that is mine," she said softly. + +"Not even you!" he answered. He drew a scroll from the folds of his +chiton and tossed it into her lap. She opened it slowly and read a +release legally executed, giving her back her freedom and placing her +in the enjoyment of all her possessions. Chares watched her with an +expectant smile as her eyes followed the written lines. When she had +ended, she raised herself on her elbow and gazed earnestly at him for a +moment with dilated eyes. Then, without a word, she buried her face in +the cushions and her form was shaken with sobs. As the scroll fell +from her hand the leopard pounced upon it and began tearing it with his +teeth. + +"What is the matter with you, Thais?" Chares asked in a tone of +displeasure. + +"Why did you buy me?" she replied, without lifting her head. + +"To save you from falling into the hands of the Ph[oe]nician, of +course," he replied impatiently. + +"Then I wish you had not done it," she sobbed. + +"Listen to reason, Thais!" Chares said in a graver tone. "It is I who +am no longer free. I have sold my sword and I am in bonds to the +Macedonian." + +He paused, but she made no answer, although her weeping ceased. + +"Were it not so," he continued, "why should I stay here? This is not +my city and these are not my people. I have neither, now that Thebes +is no more. Clearchus and Leonidas are going with Alexander, as I have +told you. Would you have me lag behind? There will be fighting and +danger, glory and spoil. Shall I not share them?" + +"You may be killed," Thais said faintly, showing her tear-stained face. + +"Zeus grant that it be not until I have met Phradates on the field of +battle!" he exclaimed. + +"Is there nothing, then, that you care for in Athens?" she asked +dolefully. + +"Thou knowest well that I love thee, Thais," he replied. "Thou knowest +that it will tear my heart to leave thee behind. But it is the Gods +who have decided for us and we have no choice. Were there no other +reason for my going, Clearchus will have need of me in his search for +Artemisia, and that would be enough to forbid my remaining here." + +"Then I will go, too!" Thais cried, leaping from the couch and standing +defiantly before him. + +Chares returned her look with an indulgent smile. Her exquisitely +moulded form was outlined under the clinging folds of her garment. Her +tiny feet, with their pink little heels, looked as though they had +never rested upon the earth. Her hair fell about her rounded neck and +dimpled shoulders like spun copper. Her red lips and pearly teeth +seemed made to feast on dainties. Physically she was as sensitive and +delicate as a child; but her eyes shone with a fire that betrayed +indomitable spirit. + +"What will you do when it snows?" the Theban asked mockingly. + +She threw herself down on her knees on the floor beside him, taking his +hand in hers and pressing it against her glowing cheek. + +"Chares! Chares! My master! I love thee!" she murmured. "The blind +God at whose power I laughed so often when I was in his mother's +service has stricken me through the heart. My soul is naked before +thee. I cannot have thee leave me. If thou dost, I shall die. I will +go to the ends of the earth with thee. I will suffer hardships to be +near thee. Thou art all I have. I am thy slave, and I do not wish to +be free." + +Chares felt her tears upon his hand. He lifted her face and kissed her. + +Suddenly she sprang to her feet and began to pace backward and forward +on the many-colored carpet that was spread upon the floor. The leopard +stopped tearing at the parchment and followed her with his eyes. + +"Is it my fault that I am--what I am?" she cried. "Am I to blame +because my life has not been like that of other women? They are +shielded from the world and ignorant of what is good and what is bad. +Have I committed a fault in fulfilling the will of the Gods, from whom +there is no escape? For the evil done by others must I pay the +penalty?" + +"Of course not," Chares said consolingly, scarcely knowing what she +meant or how to answer her. Her passion took him by surprise. She +stood before him glowing in every limb with youth and beauty, her chin +raised and her lips parted in scorn, as though defying the world to +accuse her. + +"Who cast me adrift?" she went on vehemently. "You talk of going into +Asia to aid Clearchus in his search for Artemisia. Very well, I will +go with you and search too, for I also wish to find Artemisia. She is +my sister!" + +"What do you mean, Thais? Are you mad?" Chares exclaimed. + +"It is the truth," she replied. "I forced old Eunomus to tell me only +last night. He has the proofs and he has promised to deliver them to +me, for a certain sum, of course. I am the daughter of Theorus, who +caused me to be exposed because I was a girl. The old pander found me, +as he has found many another in his time, and--and--he made of me what +you see me." + +She threw herself once more upon the couch to ease her grief among the +crimson cushions. Chares knew not what to say. He distrusted the +story told by Eunomus, for he knew the wretch was capable of doing +anything for money. But, after all, what if the tale were true? He +was fond of Thais, of course. How could a man help being fond of a +young and beautiful woman who loved him? There was Aspasia, who had +ruled Athens and all Hellas through Pericles. There was the son of +Phocion, who had actually married a girl no better than Thais. Still, +what had been could not be changed; and even if Thais was the daughter +of Theorus, that fact could make no difference. + +Thais raised her head from the pillows as though she had read his +thoughts. Her eyes were softened with tears. + +"Is it my fault," she pleaded, "that my sister has the love of an +honorable man and will be married to him, while I--I can never hope for +such a marriage? I know it, Chares, and I do not ask it. All I ask is +that you will permit me to go with you. I am tired, since I knew you, +of my life here. Without meaning to do so, you have opened my eyes to +new things. I am what I am; but, in spite of all, I am still a +woman--more a woman perhaps, than Artemisia, my sister, whom I have +never seen. Let me go with you, Chares, to share your dangers and your +glory, to nurse you if you are wounded, and to stand beside your +funeral pyre and watch my heart turn to ashes if you are killed. I +cannot bear to be left behind. The weariness and the waiting would +surely kill me. Let me go with thee, my Life, for I think neither of +us will see Athens again." + +Chares felt deep pity for the unfortunate girl stir in his heart. The +strength of his emotion troubled his careless nature. + +"There, there," he said, anxious to pacify her. "Don't make gloomy +predictions. You shall come." + +She nestled into his arms and laid her head upon his shoulder. + +"I shall never know greater happiness," she said, with a sigh of +content; and then, changing her tone, "They say the women of the Medes +are very beautiful. You will not make me jealous, will you, Chares?" + +He laughed and kissed her, looking into her eyes. "Small need have you +to fear the Medean women!" he said. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +MENA READS A LETTER + +"They have gone," said Ariston, on his return home one evening. + +"Who have gone?" his wife inquired. + +"Clearchus and his two friends, Chares and the Spartan," the old man +replied. "They set out for Pella this afternoon to join the Macedonian +army. Fortune has smiled upon us once more and I think there will be a +turn in our affairs." + +Ariston made no attempt to hide his satisfaction. His shoulders no +longer stooped, and his step was light. A hundred schemes were running +through his head for repairing the disasters that had brought him so +low. For all practical purposes he was again the richest man in +Athens, and with the gold at his command he imagined that it would be +easy for him to regain his feet. + +"You must be cautious," Xanthe said anxiously. "You know that at any +time Clearchus may demand an account." + +"Yes, but he will not," Ariston replied, pinching her withered cheek. +"He will never return to trouble us. I have news of what the Great +King is doing and unless the Gods themselves interfere to save +Alexander, he will be crushed as soon as he has crossed the Hellespont. +The Persians will meet him there in such numbers that there can be no +escape for him. None who follow him will return. By Hermes, I feel +almost young again!" + +He entered his workroom briskly and sat down at the table. Producing a +roll of papyrus, he broke the seal, slipped off the wrapping, and +spread the document out before him. + +"Iphicrates to Ariston," he read. "Greeting: I have obeyed your +instructions. Syphax brought me the girl. I dismissed him with +promises after she had told me that she had no complaint to make +against him. I am convinced that he is a rogue and that he will live +to be crucified. For Artemisia, she remains in my household. I have +told her that I am awaiting a suitable opportunity to send her back to +Athens; but I have put her off from time to time with excuses. She has +lost flesh since she came hither, and if she is to be sold, I think it +would be best not to delay too long, as her value will be less than if +she were offered now. She has written many letters, which I promised +to forward for her. One of these I send you with this; the others have +been destroyed. + +"It is expensive for me to maintain her as you directed. It has cost +me already one talent and twenty drachmae, which leaves me in your debt +six talents, eleven drachmae, and thirty minae. Please make this +correction in our account. + +"There is talk here that Alexander, the Macedonian, is preparing to +lead an army against this city. Nobody doubts that he will be +defeated, since Parmenio could accomplish nothing. Memnon, the +Rhodian, has been here, strengthening the fortifications and exercising +the soldiers, but of this there is no need; for all the armies of +Greece could not take this place, even though they should invest it by +land and sea. May the Gods keep you in good health! Farewell." + +"He has cheated me out of a talent, at least!" Ariston muttered. "The +old skinflint!" + +He turned his attention to a second roll of papyrus, which had been +enclosed in the first. + +"My Beloved," it ran. "Why hast thou not answered the letters I have +sent thee, or come thyself to take me home? Clearchus, my Life, I know +thou hast not forgotten me, although it seems ages since I last saw +thee. Each day I watch and wait for a word from thee, only one little +word, but none has come. I try to keep up my courage, thinking that +perhaps thou art seeking me elsewhere and that thou hast not received +my letters. I do not doubt thee, Clearchus, but I am weary of waiting +for thee and my heart is sick. When shall I hear thy voice and see thy +face again? I pray each night and morning to Artemis to give thee back +to me. My love, my love, may the Gods, who know all things, keep thee +safe! While I live, I am thine. Farewell." + +A smile played about the corners of Ariston's thin lips as he thrust +the papyrus into the flame of the lamp and held it over the brazier +until it was consumed. He did the same with the epistle that +Iphicrates had sent to him, and then plunged into his accounts. + +Xanthe had never been quick-witted, and the monotonous round of her +labors had dulled even her natural perceptions. At the bottom of her +heart she believed her husband to be the cleverest man in the world. +She did not pretend to fathom his schemes. The twistings and windings +of his subtle mind confused and bewildered her, and she had no thread +by which to trace the labyrinth. While she had long ago ceased to try +to follow him, the fact that she did not know all that he was doing +tended to make her suspicious, and her distrust, as is usual with women +of limited intelligence, took the form of jealousy. + +In their forty years of married life Ariston had never given her the +slightest cause for such an emotion. Among his few weaknesses there +was none for women, whom he despised as mere machines or treated as +commodities. But notwithstanding its lack of result, Xanthe, year +after year, maintained her vigil, ever seeking what she most dreaded to +find. + +Of late her husband's cares and advancing age had given her a feeling +of security, but the revival of his spirits at the departure of his +nephew sent her mind back again to the well-worn track. Could it be +that he was deceiving her after all? + +This idea laid siege to her thoughts with recurrent insistence. What +had she to attract so brilliant a man? Her mirror showed her a +wrinkled brow and hollow cheeks. She turned away from it with +bitterness in her heart. The wonder was that he had ever loved her; +but that was years ago. She could not blame him if he sought a younger +and fairer companion for his hours of relaxation. Other men did the +same, and men were all alike. + +Tormenting herself with these thoughts, the unfortunate woman passed a +sleepless night, and rose determined to know the worst. As soon as +Ariston had gone out, she entered his workroom. Her search brought her +at last to the brazier, where she found the charred fragments of the +letters from Halicarnassus. Unluckily one corner of Artemisia's +missive to Clearchus had not been wholly burned. She bore it in +triumph to her own apartments and set herself to the task of +deciphering its contents. The very fact that her husband had sought to +burn the letter was enough in her excited frame of mind to convince her +that her suspicions were correct. It remained only to establish the +proof. + +She succeeded in making out a few words, but she could derive no +meaning from them. Study them as she would, her skill failed her. The +tantalizing thought that knowledge was within her grasp and eluding her +filled her with rage. She was still puzzling over the fragment when +she was interrupted by a knocking at the door. On the threshold stood +the sharp-faced Egyptian whom she had so often seen with her husband. + +"Is Ariston here?" he demanded. + +She told him that her husband was away from home. + +"Then I will wait for him," Mena returned coolly, pushing past her into +the house. "He told me to see him without fail and he will soon be +here." + +There was no help for it now that he was inside the house. Xanthe led +him to a bench beside the cistern and gave him fruit and wine. The +thought occurred to her that he might be able to read the riddle that +had baffled her. There could be no harm in showing him the fragment, +she reasoned, since it could tell him nothing, although to her it could +reveal so much. The temptation was strong, and after all the +opportunity was too good to be lost. + +"Can you read this for me?" she asked, placing the blackened papyrus +before him. + +He took it up and studied it curiously. + +"Where did you find it?" he demanded, shifting his beadlike eyes +quickly to hers. + +"The wind blew it into the court, here," she stammered, taken aback by +the question. "I wondered what it might be." + +His glance continued to rest upon her face for an instant before it +went back to the fragment. It was easy enough for him to read them +both, and a malicious smile twitched his mouth as he understood that +Ariston had a jealous wife. The idea struck him as distinctly +ridiculous. More in idleness than with any direct purpose, excepting +that of making mischief, he determined to humor her mood. + +"It is difficult to understand," he said, looking carefully at the +papyrus, "as it seems to have been burned. But here it says: 'When +shall I hear thy voice and see thy face?' and here: 'While I live, I am +thine.' It sounds like a poet, but the writing is that of a woman. +You seem to have surprised some romantic love affair. You probably +have some amorous youth among your neighbors whom a girl is foolish +enough to adore." + +Xanthe's forebodings had suddenly become realities. Ariston, then, was +deceiving her, and she had not been mistaken in him. Of that, she was +now certain. He had probably always deceived her and she had been a +fool ever to believe him. Her world seemed coming to an end. + +"Why do you say that the letter was sent to a young man?" she asked. +"Might it not have been an old one?" + +"I dare say," the Egyptian replied carelessly. "Old men are often the +worst in these matters." + +"This girl, whoever she may be, seems very much in love with him," +Xanthe remarked. + +"No doubt," Mena said, watching her with increasing amusement, "and +probably he has a wife of his own. Why else should he burn the letter?" + +Xanthe winced at this thrust, although she had no idea that Mena had +fathomed what was in her mind. "At any rate, he cannot marry her," she +said, as though thinking aloud. + +"The old one might die, you know," Mena suggested. "Such things have +been known to happen at the right moment." + +These words were accompanied by a look so full of meaning that poor +Xanthe felt a chill of apprehension. She did not trust herself to say +more, but carried away the fragment to her own room, where she +concealed it. + +Mena's hint had fallen upon fertile ground. She went over the +situation again and again in her mind, coming always to the same +conclusion. That Ariston was carrying on an intrigue with some girl +was now certain; for it never occurred to her that the letter might not +have been intended for him. It seemed certain to her also that her +husband would seek to rid himself of her so that he might marry her +rival. Mena was right. Such things had happened more than once and +poison was the easiest way. If she should die, who was there to ask +what had caused her death? Nobody. She began to take infinite +precautions regarding her food, tasting nothing that she had not +herself prepared; yet she felt that she was in hourly danger in spite +of all she could do. When nothing happened to her, she concluded that +her husband's failure to attempt her life was due solely to the fact +that his plans were not yet ripe. When all was ready, he would kill +her and flee with Clearchus' fortune to some distant land, where he +could meet the abandoned creature upon whom his affections had fallen. +She knew only too well that he was capable of anything in the +furtherance of his selfish schemes. Thus her folly led her on until at +last she came to regard her imaginings as truth confirmed. But if she +was to be murdered, she thought, at least she would prevent him from +enjoying the fruit of his wickedness. She would write to Clearchus and +tell him all. + +When she had reached this conclusion, she lost no time in carrying it +into execution. But it was long since she had used the stylus and she +was forced to confine herself to the barest outline of what she wished +to say. After many failures, she finally produced the following:-- + +"Clearchus: Iphicrates has Artemisia in Halicamassus. My husband is a +beast who wants to poison me. If you hear that I am dead, you will +know why, and I hope you will see that he is punished. Go to +Halicamassus, and when you get her, keep her safe. Iphicrates is a +wicked man and he should be killed. If my husband does not poison me, +make no accusation against him." + +Xanthe sealed this letter and hid it away until a chance should offer +to send it to her nephew. She felt much easier, as though the fact +that she had written it were in some way surety for her safety. +Several weeks passed before she found the opportunity for which she had +been looking. At last she learned that Callias, son of a widow of her +acquaintance, had joined a mercenary troop that was being raised in +Athens. She gave the letter to his mother to be delivered to Clearchus +in Pella, but Callias, having received part of his pay in advance, +could not tear himself away from his friends in Athens until the gold +was spent. Consequently the letter was not delivered until after +Macedon and Persia had met at the Granicus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE + +It was a clear, bright spring day when the three friends rode into +Pella. The new sap was beginning to swell the buds, and the fresh +green of the grass was gleaming hopefully on sunny slopes. Chares had +been singing snatches of love songs since early morning when they set +out on the last stage of their journey. Even Clearchus forgot his +anxiety in the thought that he was drawing nearer to Artemisia, and the +grim Leonidas had smiled more than once at the sallies of the +light-hearted Theban. + +In the Macedonian capital on every side was the stir of animation and +preparation. Recruits were being drilled for the army. Messengers +were hastening hither and thither. Ambassadors were coming and going +with their trains. They gazed with admiration at the solid buildings, +designed with a stately magnificence which, in its own way, was as +impressive as the marble embodiments of Athenian genius. Everywhere +were the evidences of a young and strong people, buoyant, +self-confident, energetic, and fearless. No idlers blocked the +streets. Every man had something to do and was doing it. The tide of +vigorous life flowed strong through the city as in the veins of a young +oak tree. + +It was not strange that Pella should have swarmed with activity on that +day in spring. Within the boundaries of the rugged little state, half +Hellenic and half barbarian, a vast project, supported by a sublime +confidence, was taking shape. It had been formed and nursed by the +crafty and far-seeing Philip, whether as a possibility or as a stroke +of policy to bring Hellas under his control none could say. Now it had +suddenly become a reality. The great empire of Persia, which covered +the world from the shores of the Euxine to the sources of the Nile, and +from the AEgean to limits undefined, beyond the regions of mystery +through which the Indus flowed, was to be invaded. It had endured for +centuries as an immense and impregnable power. Fierce tribes dwelt in +the fastnesses of its snow-clad mountains, numberless caravans crept +across its scorching deserts, gigantic cities flourished upon its +fertile plains. Nations were lost among the uncounted millions of its +population. Its wealth surpassed the power of imagining, and about the +throne of the Great King, whose slightest wish was the unchangeable law +of all this vast dominion, stood tens of thousands of the bravest +warriors in the world, ready at a sign to lay down their lives for him. + +What had Persia to fear from the handful of peasants turned soldiers +who had made a boy their king? Why should Darius feel any uneasiness +concerning the projects of a rash young man who already owed more than +he could pay? To be sure, he had made himself the Hegemon of Hellas, +with the exception of Sparta, but everybody knew that he had forced the +older states to bestow the title upon him against their will and that +they were waiting only until his back should be turned to fall upon +him. With the slender resources at his command, how could he hope to +hold Greece in subjection and at the same time to subdue an empire +which had more Hellenic mercenaries alone upon its pay-roll than the +sum total of his entire army? Surely, the Great King must be himself +despised if he did not look with contempt upon such mad ambition. + +Something of the force of this reasoning assailed the mind of Clearchus +as he lay down that night on the hard pallet that had been assigned to +him by Ptolemy in the barracks of the Companion Cavalry. The immensity +of the obstacles to be overcome oppressed him, and he began once more +to doubt whether, after all, there could be any hope of success for the +young king. He fell asleep, to see in his dreams the pale face of +Artemisia framed in her unbound hair. + +His mind was still clouded with misgiving when he went next morning +with Chares and Leonidas to pay his respects at the palace; but they +were dispelled like mists before the morning sun when he stood face to +face with Alexander. In the inspiring presence of the young leader no +doubts could live. He radiated confidence as a fire radiates warmth. +Every glance of his sympathetic eyes, every tone of his voice, revealed +a certainty of the future that was beyond peradventure. + +The palace was the centre of the activity that was filling the city. +Generals and captains, agents, princes, hostages, ambassadors, and +messengers swarmed in its halls. Here stood the gray-haired Antipater, +who had been appointed by Alexander regent of Macedon and guardian of +Greece during his absence, talking with citizens of Corinth who had +come to consult him concerning proposed changes in their civil +government. There was old Parmenio, fresh from his campaign in Mysia, +giving his orders for the disposition of a company of mercenaries who +had arrived that morning. + +There were travellers from the Far East, who had been summoned to tell +what they knew of the cities, rivers, and mountains through which the +Macedonian march would lie and of the character of the peoples who were +to be encountered. There were contractors for horses and supplies +anxious to provide the army with subsistence. There were soothsayers +and philosophers, slaves, attendants, and courtiers; and among them +all, with banter, jest, and laughter, walked the young nobles of +Macedon, bosom friends of the king, who had defied Philip for his sake +and were now reaping their reward. There were Hephaestion, son of +Amyntas, Philotas, son of Parmenio, Clitus, Crateras, Polysperchon, +Demetrius, Ptolemy, and a score of others, in spirits as brave as their +attire, as though they were about to start upon a holiday excursion +instead of a desperate venture into the unknown. + +Alexander recognized the three friends immediately and gave them +cordial greeting. + +"So you have come to follow the Whirlwind," he said, laughing, as +though the simile pleased him. "It will soon be launched now." + +"We have come to take any service that you may give us," Chares replied. + +"You are enrolled in the Companion Cavalry," Alexander informed them. + +They gave him their thanks for this mark of favor, for the Companions +contained the flower of the kingdom, young men of distinguished +families, who were admitted freely into Alexander's confidence as his +friends. + +"I have just been giving away the security for my debts," Alexander +said, smiling at Chares. "I saw you spend your last obol to purchase +the liberty of your friends at Thebes. You trusted to the chance of +war to bring your fortune back to you, but I have gone further than +you, for I have staked my honor. As you see me, I am worth some +thirteen hundred talents less than nothing." + +"But what have you left for yourself?" the Theban asked. + +"My hopes," Alexander replied. + +"They say the Medes have gold in plenty," Leonidas observed +reflectively. + +"Never fear," Alexander replied, laughing. "What are our debts of +to-day in comparison with our riches of to-morrow? The Companions are +all following my example. We set out with only our swords and our +courage--and our golden hope!" + +Again he laughed, and calling Philotas to him he turned to Clearchus. + +"The queen, my mother," he said, "has heard the story of Artemisia and +of what they told you at Delphi. She desires to see you. Philotas +will take you to her." + +Philotas led the way through courts and colonnades to the women's wing +of the palace, where Olympias held sway. As they went, Clearchus +recalled all he had heard of Alexander's mother--how it was averred +that a great serpent was her familiar, and the tales of her passionate +and revengeful nature that had caused her to order the babe of +Cleopatra, who had supplanted her in the affections of her husband, to +be torn from the arms of its mother and killed in her sight before she +herself was slain. He had heard also of her devotion to religious +mysteries and especially of her skill in the secret rites of the +Egyptian magicians. + +As they neared the queen's apartments, Clearchus was astonished to hear +a woman's voice raised in anger, followed by the sound of blows and +pitiful cries for mercy. He paused in embarrassment, but Philotas drew +him on. + +"Do not be disturbed," said his guide; "the queen is probably +chastising one of her slaves." + +He ushered the young Athenian into a large room furnished with +luxurious magnificence. Before them stood Olympias, with a rod of +ebony in her grasp, and at her feet upon the silken carpet crouched a +weeping girl with bare white shoulders, marked with red where the rod +had fallen. The queen turned upon them with blazing anger in her great +black eyes and the wrathful color on her cheeks. + +"Who enters here unbidden?" she demanded sternly, and then in a milder +tone she added: "Is it you, Philotas? These girls will kill me yet +with their stupidity. I wish I could drown them all in the sea! Ah!" + +She swung up the rod and brought it down upon a great vase of +Ph[oe]nician glass, which flew into a thousand fragments. She laughed +and threw the rod from her. + +"There, now I feel better!" she exclaimed, drawing a long breath. "You +may go, Chloe. Dry your eyes, child; you shall have your freedom. Who +is this whom you have brought me, Philotas?" + +"It is Clearchus, the Athenian, whom the king sends," Philotas answered. + +"I remember," she said quickly, turning to Clearchus. "You were robbed +of your sweetheart. Do you love her very much?" + +"I love her better than my life," Clearchus replied simply. + +"Will you never grow weary of her and cast her off, as Philip did me?" +she persisted. + +"If I find her, I will never willingly let her go out of my sight +again," the young man declared. + +"But did not the Pythia tell you that you would find her if you +followed my son?" she inquired. + +"The oracle instructed me to follow the Whirlwind," Clearchus said, + +"Tell me about it," Olympias commanded, seating herself upon a couch. +She made him relate his experience with the oracle in the minutest +detail, asking many questions that indicated her lively curiosity. She +then inquired of Artemisia's personal appearance, her age, and family. + +"Wait here for me," she said finally, and left them alone in the room. + +"She seems hardly older than Alexander," Clearchus remarked. + +"Appearances are sometimes deceitful," Philotas replied dryly, +"especially when they are assisted by art." + +The queen was absent for more than half an hour. She seemed tired when +she returned. + +"I have consulted the Gods," she said, "and you will find her if your +heart remains true and strong. The priestess of Apollo told the truth." + +"I thank you for giving me this consolation," Clearchus said eagerly, +hoping that she would tell him more; but she began pacing thoughtfully +backward and forward, with bent head, apparently forgetful of his +presence. + +Suddenly she stopped before him and smiled, rather wistfully he +thought. He almost fancied that there were tears under the fringe of +her dark lashes. "Farewell," she said. "May the Gods protect you--and +Alexander, my son." + +She resumed her walk, and the young man left the apartment in silence. +Clearchus tried in vain to analyze the strange impression that she had +made upon him, but for many days her smile, half sad, and her +mysterious dark eyes, with the living spark in their depths, continued +to haunt him. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ACROSS THE HELLESPONT + +Upon Bucephalus, whose proud spirit he alone had known how to tame, +Alexander led his army out of Pella. The great charger tossed his head +and uttered a shrill neigh, which sounded like a trumpet-call of +defiance to the whole world, as he issued forth from the gate of the +city. Many a Macedonian wife and mother, standing upon the walls, +dashed the tears from her eyes that day as her gaze followed the lines +of the troops, striving until the last to distinguish the form that +perhaps she would see no more. + +The young king drew aside, with his captains about him, upon a low hill +a short distance from the city. The sunlight flashed upon his gilded +armor and upon the double white plume that swept his shoulders. With +swelling hearts, the men saluted him as they marched by, horse and +foot, squadron and company, thirty thousand in all. The bronzed faces +of the veterans of Philip's wars lighted up as they heard his son call +one or another of them by name, and the countenances of the younger +soldiers flushed with pride and pleasure at his smile of approval. +Last came the baggage and provision trains and the great siege engines, +lumbering after the army on creaking wheels. + +Alexander turned to Antipater and gave him his hand. "I would that +thou, too, wert coming with us to share in our victories," he said. +"Remember, all our trust is in thee. Be just and firm." + +"I will remember," the old general replied, his stern face softening. +"Return when and how thou wilt; thou shalt find all as thou hast left +it to-day." + +Alexander turned to go, but a cry of "The queen!" caused him to halt. +A chariot drawn by foaming horses drew up before him. He sprang from +his horse and ran forward to receive Olympias in his arms. + +"My son! My son!" she cried, looking into his face with streaming eyes. + +"Hush!" he said gently. "Do not forget that you are the queen!" + +"But I am still a woman and thy mother," she replied. "How can I +suffer thee to leave me?" + +"I will send for thee from Babylon," he said consolingly. + +"Thou goest to victory and to glory," she said. "Of that I have no +fear; but thy mother's heart is filled with sorrow! Kiss me yet again!" + +Alexander embraced her and led her back to the chariot. He stood +looking after her with bared head, until, escorted by Antipater, she +disappeared in the city gate. His heart went out to the jealous, fiery +woman's spirit, whose great love for him made her ever faultless in his +eyes. Something told him, as it had told her, although neither had +confessed it, that they would never look upon each other again. + +In another moment he was astride of Bucephalus and off after the army. +Clearchus, riding with Chares and Leonidas in their company of the +Companions, saw him dash past with a smile on his eager face. + +Along the northern shore of the AEgean, and always within sight of its +blue waters, they marched for twenty days until they crossed the Melas +and came to the Hellespont, beyond which they could see the mountains +of Phrygia, with the snow-capped summit of Mount Ida towering above the +rest. Before them, across the strait, lay the promised land. Wheeling +south to Sestos, they met the fleet that had kept them company along +the coast. There Alexander left Parmenio to take the army over to +Abydos, while he pushed on with the Companions to Elaeus. + +He himself steered the foremost of the ships that carried them across +the strait to Ilium. In mid-channel they offered sacrifice to Poseidon +and the Nereids, and as they neared Cape Segeium the king hurled his +javelin upon the sand, and leaping into the water in full armor, dashed +forward to the Persian beach. From every ship rose cries of emulation +as the Companions plunged in after him and strove with each other to +see which of them should first follow him to the shore. + +Upon the battle-field where the terrible Achilles had raged among the +Trojans when the Greeks of olden time sought revenge for Helen's +immortal shame, the Companions celebrated with feasting and with games +the fame of the Homeric heroes. These exercises, filling their minds +with thoughts of wondrous deeds, were a fitting prelude for the mighty +task that lay before them. + +Through their camp the rumor ran from sources none could trace that +beyond the mountains lay the Persian host in countless numbers. +Arsites, Phrygia's satrap, and the cruel Spithridates, ruler of Lydia +and Ionia, were said to be in command. Memnon of Rhodes, the story +went, was at the head of an Hellenic mercenary force more numerous than +Alexander's entire army. + +No attempt was made to check the spread of these tidings. If the +thought of possible defeat crossed the mind of any of the Companions, +he was careful not to give it utterance. In their talk around their +camp-fires they assumed that the first battle was already won and their +plans ran forward into the heart of Persia. What mattered it whether +the enemy was many or few? Had not the Ten Thousand, whose exploits +Xenophon related, shown to the world that one Greek soldier was better +than a hundred barbarians? + +But in the intervals of the celebration Alexander talked long with +Ptolemy. The truth was, they knew not what preparations had been made +to receive them nor what force had been sent against them. The scouts +who had gone out weeks in advance had either failed to return or could +not tell them what they wished to know. + +Clearchus was sitting with Leonidas discussing Xenophon's account of +the death of Cyrus when a messenger brought them word that the king +desired to see them. They followed at once to Alexander's tent, where +they found Chares awaiting them. + +"You have heard the rumors of the enemy's advance," Alexander began. +"I wish to know how strong he is in both horse and foot, how many +Greeks he has with him, where they will fight in the line, and who are +the commanders. To win this information will be the first service of +danger and difficulty in the campaign. Which of you is willing to +undertake it?" + +"I am!" cried the three young men with one voice. + +"Why not send us all?" Clearchus said. "Then if one of us falls, two +will remain, and if two are lost, the third may still be able to reach +you." + +"Be it so," Alexander replied, smiling. "We shall join the army at +once and march along the coast, as you see upon this map, to the +Granicus. There I think you should be able to rejoin me and there I +shall look for you." + +He rolled up the map and handed it to Leonidas. "This may serve for +your guidance," he said. "I shall place you under no instructions, for +I do not think you need them." + +He rose and shook each of them by the hand. "Farewell," he said, "and +be not rash, for I shall have need of you hereafter." + +Some of the Macedonians cast envious eyes at them as they came out of +the pavilion. Young Glycippus, who was in the same company with them, +joined them as they passed. + +"What is going on?" he asked. + +"The king wanted to ask me whether I thought Ajax or Achilles was the +better fighter," Chares answered gravely. + +"What did you tell him?" Glycippus inquired. + +"I told him that Ajax, in my opinion, was the better with the sword," +the Theban said. "He did not like it because, you know, he claims +descent from the son of Thetis." + +"Yes," the young man said eagerly. "And he has taken Achilles' armor +from the temple here, leaving his own in its place." + +"He had it on while he was talking with us," Chares said. "It fits him +well enough. You know he has ordered Ilium to be rebuilt." + +"Has he?" cried Glycippus. "That is news," and he hurried off to tell +it. + +"That, at least, has the merit of being true," Chares said. "Ptolemy +told me while I was waiting for you." + +"First of all we must choose a leader," Clearchus said when they were +alone in their tent. "I vote for Leonidas." + +"And so do I," Chares added heartily, clapping the Spartan on the back. + +Leonidas protested, but his friends refused to give way, pointing out +that to him Alexander had given the map. They persuaded him at last to +yield. + +"My idea is that we shall go as peltasts and as though we were seeking +the Persian camp to take service under Memnon," he said. "Get rid of +that gaudy armor of yours, Chares." + +"What, must I part with my mail?" the Theban exclaimed, glancing down +at the glittering links that covered his broad breast. He was +inordinately proud of this display. "What shall I do with it?" he +asked dolefully. + +"Throw it into the sea," Leonidas suggested in an uncompromising tone. + +"Some rascal is sure to steal it if I leave it here," Chares grumbled, +as he divested himself of the armor. + +At nightfall the three slipped out of the camp in the guise of +light-armed footmen, each with a round shield at his back, two javelins +in his hand, and a short sword at his side. As soon as they were safe +from observation Leonidas struck out briskly for the northern slopes of +Mount Ida, and they quickly vanished into the darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THAIS AND ARTEMISIA + +Through her window in the house of Iphicrates in Halicarnassus, +Artemisia could see the blue waters of the harbor and beyond them the +massive gray walls of the Royal Citadel. For weeks she had watched the +merchant ships coming and going, bringing their freights from Tyre and +Egypt and even from beyond the Pillars of Heracles, and many times had +her eyes filled with tears at the thought that perhaps one or another +of them might be bound for the Piraeus. She imagined Clearchus +questioning the master and the sailors on their arrival at the port of +Athens, seeking to learn from them whether they had seen in their +wanderings the ship that had borne her away. + +At times her sorrow was made more bitter by doubts that forced +themselves upon her mind in spite of her repeated resolve not to admit +them. They whispered that Clearchus had given her up for lost and had +forgotten her. Perhaps at first, they said, he had been eager in his +search; but when all his efforts were in vain and he could find no +trace of her, he had become gradually resigned to her loss, occupied as +he was with the cares of his estate. Why else had he paid no heed to +her letters? + +When such evil ideas tormented her, Artemisia could no longer endure +the sight of the glancing sails and the quivering waters of the harbor. +She hid her face in her hands and her embroidery slipped unheeded to +the floor. + +But always she put the black thoughts from her and turned again to her +faith in her lover. He was brave and true. It could not be that he +had forgotten. It must be that her letters had never reached him. +Then she pictured him wandering in distant lands in search of her, or +sailing from city to city in hope of finding the men who had taken her +away. When in this mood, she would watch every sail as it emerged from +the misty distance in the belief that it might be bringing him to her +at last. But as the days went by her cheeks lost their roundness and +shadows darkened beneath her eyes. Her gaze grew more wistful and +unconsciously more hopeless as she looked out upon the harbor, and more +and more her hands lay idle in her lap. + +Day after day her thoughts trod the same round. "He will come to-day," +she said to herself in the morning. "Surely, to-day he is coming." +Her pulses quickened at every footfall, and she started at every +strange voice. When twilight fell and he had not come she whispered to +herself: "He will come to-morrow!" but to-morrow faded into yesterday +and he came not. + +Gradually her gentle spirit lost its courage and its hope under the +repeated buffets of disappointment. She drooped like a flower whose +roots can find no water, and even her nightly prayer to Artemis, the +Virgin Goddess, failed at last to bring peace to her troubled mind. + +One morning she was aroused from the lethargy into which she had fallen +by a change in the scene with which she had become so monotonously +familiar. Instead of the usual merchant ships, the harbor was filled +with warlike vessels with brazen beaks and banks of oars on either +side. The wharves were covered with soldiers in armor. Hundreds of +men were unloading bales and boxes which were being carried to the +Acropolis, to the Citadel of Salmacis, or to the Royal Citadel. + +The streets were filled with strange men, some of them wearing cloaks +of gay color, with plumed helmets, others in shining coats of mail, +with swords at their sides. Throughout the city rose the hum of +activity and the bustle of preparation. Artemisia, ignorant of the +invasion of Alexander, wondered what the reason could be. She imagined +that the barbarians might be planning another attack upon Greece, and +she reflected that this might bring Clearchus into danger. All her +thoughts and all her hopes centred in him. + +In the midst of her conjectures some one knocked at her door. She had +found it necessary to keep it fastened as a precaution against the +unexpected entrances of Iphicrates. He came into the room with a smile +on his fat face, glancing furtively from side to side out of his +restless little eyes, which always reminded her of the eyes of a pig. +He sat down wheezing from the exertion of his climb. His neck carried +a triple roll of fat at the back and his bullet head looked like a mere +knob affixed to the shapeless mass of his body. + +Artemisia attributed to his unfortunate physical appearance the +nameless aversion that she felt for him, and she sought to overcome it, +for he had always been considerate of her. + +"City is full of soldiers," he gasped, wiping his forehead. + +"Is there to be war?" Artemisia asked. + +"They say Alexander will try to cross the Hellespont," he replied, +attempting a shrug. + +"And will he come here?" she inquired. + +He caught the eagerness in her voice and his eyes grew cunning among +their wrinkles. "Perhaps," he replied. "Who can tell? These Asiatic +dogs laugh at him, but they may find themselves mistaken. We Greeks +know how to fight." + +"Why are they sending their army here?" she persisted. + +"It is Memnon of Rhodes," he told her. "He is a great general, but the +Persians do not trust him. He is on his way to the north with his +troops." + +"Can you not send me back to Athens before the war begins?" Artemisia +pleaded. + +"My dear child," he exclaimed with a gesture of despair, "it is +impossible. All my plans have failed. The war has already begun. The +Persian fleet holds the sea, and if you attempted to leave now, you +would be captured and sold as a slave. You know how I have tried to +grant your wish. Only yesterday I thought that at last I had found the +vessel for which I had been looking, and I had hoped to earn your +gratitude. But now--all is at an end while the war lasts. If they +overthrow the Macedonians in the north, it will be short." + +"I do not wish it," Artemisia said decisively. "I prefer to remain +here. I hope that Alexander will win, and when he comes, I shall be +free." + +"You are free now," Iphicrates said reproachfully. "You know that I +have kept you in seclusion only for your own safety and that I have +done all I could do to console you." + +"Yes, yes; I know," she replied hastily. "I have no complaint to make +against you. You have tried to be kind." + +"If the Macedonians should come after all, you may be able to repay +me," Iphicrates continued, reaching the real purpose of his visit. "In +time of war men are likely to judge hastily, and it may be that old +Iphicrates will have to look to you for protection as you have looked +to him." + +"What have you to fear?" Artemisia asked in surprise. "And why do you +think that I may be able to protect you?" + +"It is possible that some of your countrymen may be with the army," he +replied evasively. "But they may not come here, even if they win in +the north." + +He rose with some difficulty from his chair. "Is there anything you +want?" he inquired. "You know that if I can give it to you, you have +only to ask." + +"There is nothing," Artemisia said, and the mockery of her answer +struck her to the heart. + +Artemisia's mind was diverted for a time by the activity in the city, +which seemed at least to portend a change; but soon the novelty wore +off, and although the soldiers did not go away, she fell once more into +the listless mood against which she found it so difficult to struggle. + +When she least expected it, the change came. A disturbance arose in +the narrow street before the house which led up from the harbor. There +was a medley of cries and shouting, and Artemisia, leaning from her +window, saw the street below her filled with a throng of men who had +met in conflicting currents at the turn of the way. In the midst of +the press lay a litter, whose gilded frame was curtained with crimson +silk. It had been overturned by collision with a chariot in which one +of the generals had been proceeding toward the harbor. Beside the +litter Artemisia saw the form of a young woman. Her robe was of +shimmering saffron, and her copper-colored hair, broken from its coil, +lay spread upon the pavement. + +While she looked, the general, whose chariot had been the cause of the +mishap, descended and stood beside the prostrate figure. Glancing +about him in evident embarrassment, his eyes met her own as she leaned +from the casement. Brief as the meeting was, she felt the piercing +power and directness of his glance. He turned quickly to his escort +and gave a brief command, motioning toward the house of Iphicrates as +he spoke. As he resumed his place in his chariot, the soldiers lifted +the unconscious woman into the litter and bore it to the door of the +house, followed by a curious crowd. + +Artemisia heard them enter and the sound of voices, among which she +recognized that of Iphicrates raised in whining protest. + +"I have no room for her here," he cried. + +"Then you will make room," was the rough reply. "It is Memnon who +gives the order, do you understand? He directed that the young woman +who lives here should care for her. Where is she?" + +"There is no young woman here," Iphicrates replied glibly. "The +general must have been mistaken." + +"Lying will not help you," the soldier replied. "I saw her myself. +Call her quickly if you want to save your skin." + +Artemisia did not wait to be summoned. She descended the stairs and +went in among the soldiers. + +"Carry her to the room above, and I will see that she is cared for," +she said quietly. + +The young captain to whom the execution of Memnon's order had been +entrusted looked at her with frank admiration. + +"By Zeus!" he said, "I wish I had been run over myself. Take her up, +litter and all," he added to his men, "and be quick about it." + +With some difficulty the soldiers carried the litter with its burden up +the staircase. + +"If he makes any trouble for you on account of this, report it to the +general," the captain said to Artemisia, indicating Iphicrates with a +nod. "And tell her when she recovers," he continued, nodding toward +the litter, "that Memnon desired to express his regrets." + +Without waiting for an answer, he wheeled and tramped down the stairs, +followed by his men. Artemisia was already bending over the young +woman. There was a bruise where the back of her head had struck the +pavement, but otherwise she seemed to have escaped unhurt. Her +wonderfully thick hair had evidently broken the force of the blow. She +recovered her senses at the first touch of the cold water with which +Artemisia bathed her temples. + +"Where am I?" she asked, opening her eyes. + +"You are safe and with friends," Artemisia assured her. + +"Am I much hurt?" she asked, without attempting to move. + +"I think not," Artemisia said. "Your head is bruised." + +"Is my face scarred?" was the next question. + +"It is not even scratched," Artemisia replied, smiling. + +The strange woman's lips parted in a responsive smile. "Then it might +have been worse," she said. + +With Artemisia's assistance she walked to a couch, where the young girl +made her comfortable with pillows. Presently, under Artemisia's +ministrations, she fell asleep. Artemisia sat watching her even +breathing and wondering who she could be. A great ruby flamed upon her +finger, and heavy chains of gold encircled her white throat. Her tiny +feet were shod with silken sandals and her yellow chiton disclosed the +rounded grace of her delicate limbs and the willowy suppleness of her +figure. She must be some great lady, in spite of her youth, Artemisia +thought, innocently, and she felt drawn to her in a manner that she +hardly understood. If only she would stay, she would be a friend in +whom confidence might be placed and whose sympathy would be a help. +But of course she would go away as soon as she was able to move. +Artemisia sighed in her loneliness. + +When the stranger woke, however, she seemed in no hurry to go. She +declared that the pain in her head had left her, and, turning lazily on +her side, she studied her surroundings. + +"Whose house is this?" she asked. + +"It belongs to Iphicrates," Artemisia said. + +"To Iphicrates?" the strange woman replied with sudden interest and in +evident astonishment. "And--are you his daughter?" + +"No; I am of Athens; my name is Artemisia," the girl replied. + +Her companion's head fell back among the pillows and her gaze rested +upon Artemisia's face. So intent was the look that Artemisia grew +uncomfortable under it. + +"Why do you look at me so strangely?" she asked at last. + +"Pardon me," the other replied, letting her eyes fall. "I have heard +of you." + +"Then you, too, are of Athens?" the girl cried joyfully, throwing +herself on her knees beside the couch and taking the strange woman's +hand. "You have heard of Clearchus? Is he--living?" + +"He is living, and he loves thee," the stranger replied, as though +reading what was in her mind. + +A great gladness rushed through Artemisia's being. An immeasurable +load was suddenly lifted from her heart. She put her face down upon +the edge of the couch and wept for sheer gratitude. The strange woman +said nothing, but her hand rested lightly on the soft brown hair, and +she stroked the bent head with gentle fingers. + +The door opened without noise, and the bulk of Iphicrates advanced +gradually into the room. As his cunning eyes took in the scene before +him an anxious look overspread his face. + +"I came to see if you were better," he muttered, in a tone of apology. + +The strange woman raised her body slightly on the couch and extended +her hand toward the door. + +"Go!" she said briefly. + +Iphicrates hesitated and cleared his throat, trying to meet the +scornful gaze directed upon him. Finally he mustered up his courage +with an effort. + +"This is my house," he said doggedly. + +"Go," the stranger repeated in a tone of unutterable contempt. "Must I +speak again?" + +Iphicrates slowly turned and went, slinking from the room before the +blaze of her anger like a beaten hound. + +"Why are you so hard upon him?" Artemisia asked. + +"Because he deserves it," the stranger said. "Has he not held you +captive here?" + +"Who art thou who knowest so much of my affairs?" the girl demanded +suddenly. + +"I am thy--" The word "sister" trembled upon her tongue, but she +checked it. "I am thy protectress," she said. "Men call me Thais." + +A blush rose to her cheek as she uttered the name and felt the clear +blue eyes of the young girl upon her own. + +"Thais?" Artemisia repeated, searching in her memory. "I have heard +the name in Athens, but I forget when and where. I think they said you +were beautiful, and indeed you are." + +"Is that all they said of me?" Thais returned. + +"I think that is all; I do not remember more," Artemisia replied. + +Thais felt relieved. Her sister would learn soon enough who and what +she was. She hoped that when the knowledge came Artemisia would love +her enough to grant her forgiveness. She had broken with her old life. +Why drag it with her wherever she went? + +"Why did you come here?" Artemisia continued. + +"I came in search of you, and the Gods have given you to me," Thais +said. + +Artemisia nestled beside her companion on the broad couch while Thais +told her of all that had happened in Athens since she had been carried +away by Syphax and his crew. In her narration she omitted the feast in +the house of Clearchus and passed lightly over details that might have +given Artemisia a clew to her identity. She described Clearchus' +despair at her loss and his vain effort to find some trace of her. She +told how he had consulted the oracle and of her own adventure in Thebes +when Chares had given his fortune to save her from Phradates. Then the +young men had joined the army and left her alone in Athens. + +"Chares consented that I should meet him here," she went on. "He said +that women would not be allowed to follow the army to its first battle. +It is there the greatest danger lies; for if they win there, they will +hold all the western provinces of the Persian empire." + +"And if they lose?" Artemisia asked anxiously. + +"If they lose," Thais replied slowly, "then we shall return to Athens. +But they will not. The Gods are faithful to their promises. I had +intended to wait until the battle had been fought, but Mena, the same +who set Phradates upon me in Thebes, found me out. From him I +discovered that you were here in the care of Iphicrates, and I came." + +Artemisia kissed her. "I would have died if you had not come," she +said simply. "But how did Mena know where I was?" + +"He would not tell me and I did not wait to learn," Thais said. + +"Will he not find out where you have gone and inform Phradates?" the +young girl suggested. "Would it not be better to leave this house and +conceal ourselves somewhere?" + +"I have thought of that," Thais replied. "I cannot leave the city, +since I am to meet Chares here; and if we were to go to some other +house, Iphicrates would know where we were. The Rhodian general sent +me here and Iphicrates fears me. As for Phradates," Thais smiled +slightly, "we need not try to avoid him, for he loves me. He is my +slave." + +"Do you love Chares much?" Artemisia asked. + +Thais threw her arms around her and crushed her in a fierce embrace. +"Love him!" she cried. "To the last drop of my blood--in every fibre +of my body! He is my God! If I lay dead before him, my eyes would see +him, as they do now." + +"I think you love him as much as I love Clearchus, only differently," +Artemisia said. "Does he love you?" + +"As much as he can," Thais replied. "There will always be more of the +boy than the man in him; but he loves me more than any other." + +Thais rose and went to the litter, where, from its hiding place among +the cushions, she drew forth a bag of leather which she emptied upon +the couch. Artemisia uttered a cry of delight. Rubies, emeralds, +diamonds, sapphires, and gems of turquoise lay spread before her in a +glittering heap. + +"There is our fortune," Thais said. "We shall not want, at least for +the present." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +IN THE CAMP OF THE MERCENARIES + +Sometimes running and sometimes walking, Leonidas led Clearchus and +Chares all night through the foot-hills of Mount Ida. It was not until +day was breaking and they were thoroughly exhausted that he halted at a +spot well advanced upon the northeastern slopes of the great mountain. +They found themselves at the bottom of a rocky ravine, shaded by +evergreens, through which trickled a shallow brook. + +"Let us eat and sleep," Leonidas said, and in ten minutes they were +lying wrapped in their cloaks in the shelter of a thicket. + +Leonidas was awake and had aroused his friends before noon. Although +the country was wild and thinly settled, they pushed forward with +caution, fearing that they might stumble upon some Persian outpost. +For the same reason, they skirted the hillsides instead of keeping to +the valleys, where it would have been easier to advance, and the wisdom +of this precaution was made manifest before they had gone far. The +keen eyes of Leonidas caught a drift of smoke above the tree-tops. +Advancing cautiously along a ridge, they found an abrupt declivity +which permitted them to look down upon a camp-fire about which were +gathered twenty or thirty men. + +From the variety of their weapons and costumes, the Spartan judged them +to be shepherds and farmers who had been sent out by the Persian +commanders as scouts. They were under the command of an officer who +wore a conical cap, linen trousers, and a flowing garment of yellow and +blue, with wide sleeves. In his hand he carried a whip of rawhide, and +his only other weapon was a dagger which he wore at his waist. The +party had evidently halted for its midday meal. + +Seeing that the Persians did not suspect their presence, the three +spies crept behind a huge bowlder which had fallen from the face of the +cliff behind them and hung poised on a ledge above the camp. They +hoped to learn something from the talk of the men around the fire, but +their conversation seemed to be carried on in a dialect with which they +were not familiar. While Leonidas and Clearchus were watching, one on +either side of the rock, Chares, crouched behind it, began idly to +examine the mass of stone. It was taller than the stature of a man and +shaped like a rough sphere. Ferns grew from its crevices and around +its base, showing that it had hung there for years. It was separated +from the cliff by a narrow passage, and its outer side overhung the +ledge upon which it had been caught. + +Chares measured the great rock with his eye and then quietly stretched +himself down upon the ledge behind it, with his feet against the cliff +and his shoulders against the stone. As he put forth his enormous +strength, slowly a crack appeared in the earth at the base of the +stone. The delicate plumes of fern that grew from the moss on its +summit began to nod gently, although the air was still. The crack +widened and there was a sound of the snapping of slender roots. +Clearchus and Leonidas, intent upon the scene below, noticed nothing. +Suddenly the great bowlder seemed to start forward of its own motion. +It hung balanced for an instant and then plunged from the ledge, +bounding down the steep hillside with long leaps, rending everything in +its path. + +With shouts of alarm, the soldiers scattered in every direction, but +their leader tripped on the long skirt of his gaudy robe and fell face +downward beside the fire. Before he could rise, the great stone was +upon him. It rolled over his prostrate form and came to rest. + +Leonidas turned to discover what had happened and saw Chares lying with +his head in the hole where the stone had been, shaking with laughter. +Without losing a moment, the Spartan dragged him to his feet and ran +swiftly back along the way they had come. It was impossible to avoid +being seen. There was a cry from below, and half a dozen arrows struck +against the cliff about them as they passed. Luckily, they succeeded +in gaining shelter in safety. + +The Spartan's face was pale with anger. "If you had done that in my +country, nothing could save you!" he said to Chares. + +"Why? What have I done?" the Theban asked in surprise. + +"You have endangered the safety of the whole army and run the risk of +bringing the expedition to failure," Leonidas answered hotly. "I say +nothing of ourselves, but we have been seen, and what you have done to +no purpose may cost us our lives." + +"That is true," the Theban said, filled with remorse. "I didn't stop +to think." + +"You made me leader," Leonidas continued bitterly. "If I am to lead, +you must obey my orders. If not, lead on yourself, and I will show you +how to obey." + +Clearchus peered down into the ravine and saw the Persians gathered +about the motionless body of their chief, debating with many +gesticulations. + +"They are not thinking of pursuit," he said. "Come, I will answer for +Chares that he will be more careful in future. Let it pass. We have +no time to lose." + +The Spartan made no reply, but turned and led the way once more toward +the east. They did not halt again until the mountain was at their +backs, its peaks cutting a giant silhouette of purple in the crimson +evening sky. After a brief rest they struck out along a water-course +which brought them at daybreak to a larger stream that they judged to +be the Granicus. + +As they advanced, the hills became smaller and the country more open. +They met several companies of the Persians, some with wagon trains and +some on foraging expeditions; but when they explained that they were +Greek mercenaries on their way to join Memnon, they were permitted to +pass unmolested, since it was extremely unlikely that any of the +Macedonians could have advanced so far inland. Finally, late in the +afternoon, they reached an opening between the hills which gave them +sight of a broad, rolling plain, through which the river ran like a +band of silver. Far away they could see the tents of the Persian camp, +spread out like a white city, and, a little to the right, a dark +square, which they took to be the earthwork surrounding the camp of the +Greek mercenaries. Although the Persians made use of the Greeks, they +were so jealous of them that they always made them camp apart. +Encounters between them were not uncommon, even when they were fighting +in the same cause. + +Descending to the plain, the three friends lost sight of the camp, but +they took the river for their guide, knowing that it must bring them to +their destination. They passed farms and cottages, from which the +women peeped curiously at them, the men having been drafted into the +army. They were emerging from a pasture behind a farm-house rather +larger and more prosperous-looking than its neighbors, when they heard +a commotion in which they distinguished the shouting of Greeks. +Running forward, they found two foraging parties from the rival camps +in angry dispute for the possession of a drove of cattle. The Greeks +had found the cattle and were about to drive them away when the Persian +party came up and demanded them. + +Words led to blows. The Greeks were heavily outnumbered, and although +they fought stubbornly, it was clear that they would be unable to hold +their ground. + +"Here is our chance," Leonidas cried. "Memnon! Memnon!" + +He drew his sword and rushed into the conflict, with Clearchus and +Chares behind him, shouting at the top of their lungs. The Greeks, +encouraged by their unexpected succor, made a stand, while the +Persians, not knowing how large a force was upon them, ceased to follow +up their advantage. + +"Drive in the sheep with the cattle," Chares cried, catching up a heavy +stake from a hayrick and swinging it around his head with both hands. +"Don't let them escape!" He brought the stake down upon the Persian +heads like a gigantic flail. + +Leonidas and Clearchus forced themselves into the thick of the fight, +thrusting and hewing with their swords. The Greek foragers, regaining +their courage, ran in after them. The Persians were unable to +withstand the charge. They broke and fled down the road toward their +camp in disorder, leaving half a dozen of their number upon the field. + +"Praise be to Zeus, the Preserver!" said the lochagos, or captain, who +was in command of the mercenaries. "Where did you come from?" + +"From Antandrus," Leonidas replied promptly, "to join the army of +Memnon." + +"By the horn of Dionysus, you came in time!" the captain cried, wiping +his sword. "But I have been long away from home. Is it the fashion +there now to fight with stakes for weapons?" + +He looked at Chares, whose mighty onslaught had aroused the admiration +of the soldiers. + +"It is the fashion there, as it always has been, to fight with whatever +comes to hand when Greeks are in danger," Chares said with dignity. +"But do you suppose, now, that there is a skin of wine in that house?" + +"No harm in looking," the captain replied. "Get the cattle together if +you expect to eat before you sleep," he added to his men and led the +way into the house. + +There were only women inside--the farmer's wife and two daughters, all +in a flutter of fear. Chares, ignorant of their language, began by +kissing each of them, which served somewhat to dispel their alarm. +When the captain produced a bag of gold pieces and announced that he +would pay for everything they took, they became quite at ease and +readily brought the skin of wine that Chares demanded. + +Having finished the wine in great good humor and settled their account, +the party set off to the camp, driving the cattle before them. Around +their camp-fire that night the three Companions learned all there was +to know of the Persian army. Under Memnon, there were nearly twenty +thousand Greek mercenaries drawn from the entire Hellenic world and +including thieves, fugitives, murderers, and runaway slaves. The +Persian force was equal in number to the army of Alexander and +consisted mainly of cavalry. It was made up of picked men, the best +troops of the empire. With the satraps Arsites and Spithridates were +many of the great nobles of the realm, among them Atizyes, satrap of +Greater Phrygia, Mithrobarzanes, hipparch of Cappadocia, Omares, and +others who were renowned for their bravery and high standing with the +Great King. + +"They think it will be a holiday affair," the honest captain said +contemptuously. "We Greeks know better. They are encumbered with wine +and women for the feast that they intend to celebrate after they have +won their victory, and they are already quarrelling among themselves +for places at the board; but their greatest contention is over what +shall be done with Alexander when he is led before Darius, loaded with +chains, to answer for his boldness. They have invented more new +punishments than would destroy the entire army." + +"Why are they so certain of winning?" Clearchus asked. "I have heard +the Macedonians are good fighters." + +"So they are," the captain replied heartily; "but the best troops of +Persia are here, and the young nobles cannot bring themselves to +believe that common men can stand against them. Why, they are even +predicting that the army of Alexander will run away before a blow has +been struck." + +"You don't seem to care over much for our friends," Chares remarked +with a yawn. + +"Nor they for us," the captain said. "You saw what happened this +afternoon. They think they can get along without us and they do not +intend to let us have any share in the victory if they can help it. I +believe we shall win if it is true that Alexander has only half as many +men as we; but they will never win without our assistance." + +"I suppose we shall fight in the centre," Clearchus suggested. + +"I don't know," the captain exclaimed. "Nobody seems to know. If they +take Memnon's advice, they will not risk all on a battle now. There is +no need of it. All we have to do is to fall back, leaving nothing to +eat behind us, and the Macedonians will starve to death. But the +nobles will not listen to reason. They want glory, and so they insist +upon a battle where the advantage will be all with the other side. +They called Memnon a coward in the council this afternoon for proposing +to retreat, and now they are at it again over yonder." + +He pointed to a gayly colored pavilion in the middle of the Persian +camp, where the council feast was being held. It looked like a +strange, gigantic mushroom, glowing with interior light. + +"They even jeer at us for throwing up breastworks," the captain added +bitterly. "They have left their own camp defenceless, to show how +brave they are. Perhaps they will be glad enough to take refuge in +ours before they are through!" + +"We must find out what the decision of the council is," Leonidas +whispered, as they rolled themselves in their cloaks, "and then the +next thing will be to get away." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE TRAGEDY OF THE MARSH + +It was after midnight when the council ended and the generals returned +to the mercenary camp. Chares and Clearchus had long been slumbering, +but Leonidas, feeling his responsibility as leader, had deemed it his +duty not to yield to his fatigue until the camp was still. + +The story of what had occurred in the council spread quickly through +the mercenary army next morning. Memnon had returned in a rage. He +had warned the satraps of their folly in expecting an easy victory and +had advised them again to fall back, laying waste the country as they +went, so that the Macedonians would be forced to give battle on +disadvantageous terms and when they had been disheartened by privation. + +This suggestion had been treated with scorn by the Persians. They had +taunted Memnon with cowardice and the satrap Arsites had flatly refused +to permit a single house in his province to be destroyed. + +"If the Greeks wish to earn their pay without fighting," he had said, +"let them stand idly by and see how brave men can conquer." + +Thereupon all the Persian nobles had shouted assent and it had been +decided to proceed without delay to crush the invasion by forcing a +battle. + +This was the news that was told through the camp of the Greeks and +discussed with bitter comment by groups of soldiers. + +"I wish I was back with my wife and children," said a sturdy Locrian. +"These dogs know nothing of war." + +"I shall stay here, no matter what they do," remarked an Athenian, with +a shrug. "Hemlock does not agree with me." + +"Wait until the phalanx strikes them," said a hoplite from Syracuse. +"I'll wager that the date-eaters will sing a different song when the +sarissa begins to tickle their ribs." + +"You would suppose that these fellows would like to see the barbarians +beaten," Chares muttered to Clearchus. + +"Hush," said Leonidas. "We know all that we came to learn. What we +have to do now, is to get out as soon as we can. The army cannot be +far away and unless we can reach it before it arrives, the day may be +lost. If we give the Persians time, they may yet change their minds. +All depends upon an immediate attack, while their forces are divided. +We must get away at once. How are we to manage it?" + +"Why, walk away, of course," Chares said. "Who is to stop us?" + +"That will not do," Leonidas replied. "You know the order that nobody +shall straggle from the camp. There is too much danger of getting into +a brawl with the Persians." + +"If a foraging party is going out, we might join it," Clearchus +proposed. + +"That is worth trying," the Spartan assented; "wait here until I find +our friend, the captain." + +It happened that the same foraging party that they had joined the day +before was going out again. Leonidas asked permission to join it. + +"You have not yet been enrolled," the grizzled captain objected, "but +come along if you wish; we may need the big fellow with the stake. +I'll leave three of my men behind and you can take their places." + +Leonidas breathed more freely when they were out of the camp, with the +most dangerous part of the mission accomplished. They were forced to +cross the Granicus and to walk five or six miles on the other side +before they met with any success in their search for provisions. At +last they discovered a flock of sheep, of which they took possession. +All was in readiness for the return march when Leonidas, Chares, and +Clearchus approached the captain. + +"We have decided that we will not join the army," Leonidas announced. +"We have seen enough of this war. We are going back to the coast." + +"I don't know about that," the captain said, scratching his head. + +"We are not enrolled," Leonidas reminded him. + +"That is true," said the honest fellow, "but you have been in the camp." + +"Well, we are not going back," the Spartan said deliberately. "Are you +going to try to force us? There are thirteen of you and only three of +us, but if you want a fight, you can have it. We don't intend to risk +our lives for such leaders as Arsites. Which shall it be--shall we go, +or shall we fight for it?" + +"Let them go," interposed one of the soldiers who had drawn near to +learn what the controversy was about. "They saved us yesterday. I +have half a mind to go with them myself. I would if I had my pay." + +"Yes, let them go, if they wish," others chimed in. "They are not +enrolled." + +"Farewell," Leonidas said, sheathing his sword and extending his hand +to the captain. "You can say we were killed in a skirmish with the +Persians if you like." + +"That's it, I'll say you were killed," the captain exclaimed in a tone +of relief, clasping the proffered hand. "Only, you will not come +back?" he asked doubtfully. + +"Never fear," cried Chares, giving him a slap on the back that almost +felled him to the ground. "If we do, we'll swear you told the truth." + +So they turned north and passed on, while the remainder of the party +drove in the sheep to camp. + +It was mid-afternoon when they separated from the mercenary company, +and they had no means of knowing how many miles they would have to +travel before they fell in with the Macedonian army. + +"Now for it," cried Leonidas, swinging his shield over his shoulder. +"Come on!" + +Before they had gone far, they found themselves descending a long slope +toward what seemed to be a wide stretch of marshland extending as far +as they could see. It was covered with long, dry rushes, which rustled +and bent before the strong breeze. The brown expanse apparently had +once been a lake, for in the distance they could catch the gleam of +water; but the greater part of the basin had dried, and the reeds had +sprung up as the water receded. + +"It looks like a swamp," Clearchus said, anxiously scanning the plain. +"How are we to pass?" + +"It seems dry enough now," Leonidas replied. "We will cross it if we +can find no better way; but let us look first for a road." + +Facing to the east, they skirted the edge of the rushes for more than a +mile without finding an opening or coming within sight of the end. + +"I'm afraid we shall have to try to get through," Leonidas said at +last, halting on a tongue of land which extended some distance into the +marsh. "We can't afford to waste much more time." + +The question was decided for them in a manner that left them no choice. +As they stood in doubt, shouts came from their rear, and turning, they +saw a company of horsemen at the top of the slope, half a mile away, +bearing down upon them at a breakneck gallop. Their long lances and +flowing garments showed them to be Persians. + +"You were right in saying that we had no time to waste, Leonidas," +Chares exclaimed. "What are you going to do about this? I am anxious +to take orders." + +For answer, the Spartan set off at a run for the marsh. It was evident +that the Persians had seen them and were aiming to attack them at a +distance from the camps, where the affair would remain undiscovered. + +With the wind blowing in their faces, the three young men plunged in +among the reeds. The dry stalks met above their heads and whistled +about their ears. + +"Go first!" commanded Leonidas, standing aside for Chares to pass. + +The Theban took the lead, tearing like a wild bull through the +crackling stems. Clearchus followed at his heels and Leonidas brought +up the rear, retaining for himself the post of danger. Although their +figures were hidden, they knew their pursuers would have no trouble in +following them, for they left a broad trail, and, moreover, the +elevation of the backs of their horses would enable the barbarians +easily to mark their progress by the waving of the rushes. + +For a mile and two miles the race continued without a word being +spoken. The Persians had ridden headlong into the marsh after them and +were slowly gaining upon them, although the speed of their horses was +checked by the rushes, which caused them to stumble, and by the +softness of the ground, into which their hoofs sank to the fetlock at +every stride. + +Clearchus was panting for breath and he heard Leonidas breathing hard +behind him. Sweat streamed from the face and neck of Chares, who broke +the path. The Athenian knew that the pace could not be maintained much +longer. + +Still another half mile they struggled on with the endless brown walls +of reeds before them and around them. Long ago they had cast away +their javelins and their shields, which caught in the reeds and +hindered them. Even if they could find a barrier behind which to make +a stand, they knew they would have no chance for their lives against +the enemy, who outnumbered them six to one and had the advantage of +being mounted. + +Clearchus thought of Artemisia, and his temples throbbed with anguish +as he nerved himself to fresh effort. Was he never to see her again? +His bones would bleach in the middle of that vast morass and she would +not know. He thought of the high-spirited young king who had sent them +to obtain information that might save his army from destruction and the +hopes of Greece from ruin. On them alone might depend the result of +the battle that was to be fought and the destiny of two nations. + +He saw Chares stumble once and again. His own muscles were benumbed by +the long strain. The shouting at their backs was growing louder and +more near and he could hear the thudding of the hoofs upon the spongy, +black soil. + +"Stop!" Leonidas gasped behind him, and looking over his shoulder, +Clearchus saw that the Spartan had fallen to his knees. + +"Back, Chares," he shouted. "The end has come!" + +The Theban halted and they both ran back to Leonidas, drawing their +swords with a fierce determination to defend themselves to the last. + +"Beat down the rushes!" Leonidas cried hoarsely. "Let in the wind!" + +They saw that he held his flints in his hands and that a tiny blaze was +flickering up from a heap of rushes which he had crushed into a +tinder-like mass. + +They understood his plan and hope returned to them. Like madmen, they +trampled the reeds to the right and left. A puff of wind came through +and caught the darting tongue of fire. It leaped upward so suddenly +that the Spartan's hair was singed before he had time to draw back. In +an instant, it seemed, a sheet of flame flung itself into the air above +the reed-tops, casting off a thin swirl of bluish smoke. With +incredible swiftness the fire swept from them straight down upon their +pursuers, leaving behind it a rapidly widening wake of black. + +"Scatter it!" cried Leonidas, seizing the blazing reeds and throwing +them in every direction. The others followed his example, spreading +the fire as far as they could to the right and left so as to make it +impossible for the Persians to evade it by avoiding its path. + +As soon as the barbarians saw the first smoke, they halted, hesitated +for a moment, and then turned wildly back in the hope of escaping by +the way they had come. The Greeks had taken a position on the charred +ground, where they themselves were safe from the flames, and were +awaiting the result, sword in hand. + +The conflagration, as it gathered headway, seemed to become a monster +animated by a living spirit. One broad sheet of flame swept high into +the air, roaring like a hungry beast, and throwing up clouds of smoke +that hid the southern sky. With deadly swiftness it devoured the lake +of reeds before it, leaving behind a bare and level plain of ashes from +which here and there rose smoky spirals. It seemed to create a +scorching gale stronger even than the wind that had fanned it into +life. It rushed forward by great leaps and bounds, pausing now and +then over some especially tempting thicket of reeds, and then starting +up far in advance. + +In vain the three young men tried to learn what had become of the +pursuers upon whom Leonidas had let loose their terrible ally. +Grasping their swords, they stood back to back amid the drifting smoke, +striving to look beyond the flaming wall. The wave of fire reached the +slope from which they had fled, lingered there for a few moments, and +then vanished as quickly almost as it had sprung into existence. The +smoke blew away over the uplands in a bellying cloud. Gazing through +its rifts, they could see nothing of the Persians. They seemed to have +disappeared as completely as though the earth had swallowed them. + +"Where are they?" exclaimed Clearchus in bewilderment. + +"They must have escaped," Leonidas replied. + +"No, by Zeus, I see them!" Chares cried, pointing to a group of +blackened mounds about halfway from where they stood to the edge of the +marsh. + +One of the mounds stirred as he spoke, and they saw that he was right. +It was one of the horses. The animal tried to raise itself on its fore +legs, gave a scream of agony, and fell back among the cinders. + +Without a word, the three Companions turned away. While the fire had +fled rapidly before the wind, it had made little progress in other +directions. It was still eating into the rushes behind them and on +either side and they were surrounded by it, excepting where it had +swept back to the slope. To return in that direction would be to run +new risk of capture. They were prisoners. + +They looked at each other. Their faces and garments were black with +smoke and ashes. + +"What would they say if they could see you in the Agora in Athens +looking like that?" Chares asked of Clearchus. + +"They would ask me the price of charcoal, I suppose," the Athenian +replied, laughing. + +They moved slowly after the receding fire, choosing their path with +caution and halting every few yards to wait until the ground had cooled. + +"We shall not get out in time!" Leonidas groaned. + +"Don't be too sure," Clearchus cried. "Look at that." He extended his +hand, upon which a drop of water had fallen. + +"Rain!" cried the Spartan, joyfully. "The Gods be thanked!" + +It was rain, indeed. The drops were falling all around them, making +little puffs in the hot ashes and hissing on the embers. The wind +shifted further to the east and brought a refreshing dampness to their +faces, crimsoned by the stifling atmosphere which they had been forced +to breathe. There was a muttering of thunder, then a nearer crash +overhead, and they saw the storm striding across the plain in a long, +sweeping curve. They lifted their faces to it and drew deep breaths, +letting the water trickle through their hair and down their bodies. +Steam rose from the blackened expanse all about them. Gaps began to +appear in the hissing circle of fire. The red tongues flickered and +went out. + +"There is yet time," Leonidas cried, and in a few moments they were +once more among the reeds, heading for the northern margin of the swamp. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GREEK AND BARBARIAN + +Alexander was riding upon Bucephalus, with Parmenio at his side. +Behind them rode the light-hearted pages and the grave generals, +followed by the Companions and the infantry, winding like an enormous +snake along the road that led southward to the Granicus. + +The young king seemed preoccupied. He glanced restlessly to the right +and left where scouting parties were beating the country to guard +against surprise and in the hope of finding some trace of the enemy. + +"The Persians cannot be far away now," he said to Parmenio. "Do you +think they will wait for us?" + +"If they were wise, they would fall back and draw us away from our +supplies," the old general replied. + +"They must fight," Alexander exclaimed. + +"I have no doubt they will," Parmenio answered, with the shadow of a +smile upon his lips. + +Alexander glanced sharply at him and was silent, riding with bent head +as though debating with himself. There was something in the veteran's +tone that jarred upon him. + +"I wish Leonidas, Chares, and Clearchus were here," he said at last. + +"Perhaps they have taken service under Memnon," Parmenio suggested +dryly. + +"Is there none that you trust?" Alexander said sharply. "They are not +deserters; but they may have been killed." + +"That is possible," the old man replied. + +"I care not so much for the Persians," Alexander continued, "but I +would like to know how many men Memnon has and what spirit they are in." + +A small party of the scouting horsemen appeared before them in the road. + +"It is Amyntas himself," Alexander said, catching sight of them. "What +has the Lyncestian found?" + +"Either stragglers or prisoners," Parmenio replied, shading his eyes +with his palms. "They seem to be negroes." + +"We will put them to the torture," Alexander said, with satisfaction. +"They may be able to tell something of what we wish to know." + +He urged Bucephalus forward to meet the skirmishers, who halted to +await his arrival. + +"What have you here, Amyntas?" he asked. + +"Three men who seemed to be wandering about the Country," Amyntas +replied. "They are Greeks, but they refuse to give any account of +themselves excepting to Alexander." + +One of the three prisoners, short and strong of build, stood forward +and saluted. Alexander looked hard at him and then at the other two. +His face cleared and he laughed aloud. + +"Order a halt," he said. "Let the men rest and eat. Leave the +prisoners to me." + +He gave his horse to a groom and led the way to a wide-spreading oak +tree a short distance from the road. + +"I thought you had been either killed or captured," he said to the +prisoners. "Leonidas, what have you learned?" + +"Everything," the Spartan replied. + +"How many soldiers has Memnon?" the young king asked. + +"Twenty thousand," was the reply. + +"Will they fight?" Alexander inquired. + +"No, because the Persians will not let them," Leonidas said. "Memnon +advised a retreat, but the satraps laughed in his face and gave him +permission to watch them win the battle." + +"What think you of that, Parmenio?" Alexander exclaimed. "He gave them +the same advice you would have given had you been there. They have +refused it. The day is ours!" + +With hasty questions he brought out the whole story of the expedition. +The plan of battle formed itself in his mind as he listened, walking +back and forth before them. His eyes flashed and his cheeks glowed red. + +"You have done well," he said to the three friends, when they had +finished. "Your horses are waiting for you. Refresh yourselves and +put on your armor, for you will need it before the sun goes down." + +"I hope nobody has stolen my breastplate," Chares muttered. + +Alexander continued to pace backward and forward with his head inclined +a little to the left, as was his wont when in thought. Parmenio +watched him closely, but did not venture to speak. Amyntas, who had +ridden forward after surrendering his prisoners, now returned at a +gallop. + +"The barbarians await us on the opposite side of the river," he said. + +"Your prisoners have already told me," Alexander replied. "Is the +stream fordable?" + +"Not directly in front of their line," the cavalryman replied. "There +is shallow water above and below them, but the stream is swift." + +"Call the council," Alexander said quietly, turning to Parmenio. + +Heralds bore the order down the road beside which the army lay at rest. +The commanders left their stations and came forward, singly and in +groups, gathering about their leader. In few words he set the +situation before them. + +"Shall we attack them now or to-morrow?" he asked. + +"Let us fight now!" the captains shouted. + +But Parmenio frowned and shook his head. "My advice is to wait," he +said boldly. "Already it is late and we must cross the river to reach +the enemy. They have chosen their own ground. The men are weary with +their march." + +"No, no!" the younger men shouted. + +"As for the river," Alexander replied, "the Hellespont would blush for +shame if we stood waiting on the banks of such a stream as this after +having crossed the other. It is true that we have little time, and +that is the more reason that we should make the most of it. We will +fight now." + +His decision was received with a burst of cheers. He waited with a +smile until the clamor of approval had ceased. + +"Comrades and Macedonians!" he continued, "we are about to face the +Mede. If we win here, we win all. I say to you that we shall win. I +ask you only to be worthy of yourselves. Fight this day as the heroes +fought before the walls of Ilium. Their shades are with us. Your +names shall be linked forever with theirs. Here we shall reap the +first harvest of our hope." + +"Lead us, Alexander! We shall win!" the captains shouted. + +They ran back to spread the news among the soldiers, who received it +with such enthusiasm that even the anxious face of Parmenio brightened. +In another half hour the army was again in motion with Alexander in the +van, wearing the helmet with the white plumes that swept his shoulders. + +When they reached the river, they saw the Persians drawn up on the +opposite bank in a long, deep line. The front of the enemy was gay +with banners flaunting in the sun and resplendent with the +multi-colored finery of the Persian lords. The Greeks could hear the +braying of their trumpets and the shouts of their commanders as the +dense masses of their cavalry wheeled into position to meet the attack. +At sight of Alexander a high-pitched, long-drawn cry ran from one end +of their line to the other, rising and falling in derision. + +There was no answer from the Greeks. The young king drew aside to a +point of vantage and threw a rapid glance at the barbarian host. He +saw that the river before them broadened into a pool, over whose quiet +surface the swallows were skimming. Immediately in front of him the +water foamed and gurgled over a shallow, and a similar break ended the +pool below. The opposite bank rose steeply from the water's edge to +the wide declivity upon which the Persians had taken their stand. +Behind them Memnon's mercenaries had been posted as a reserve and to be +spectators of the punishment which the barbarians were to inflict upon +their countrymen. + +"Leonidas was right," Alexander exclaimed, pointing to the mercenaries. +"See, we shall not have to meet the spears of the Greeks. Form the +line, Parmenio." + +Squadron and company emerged from the road and wheeled into their +positions in silence under the direction of their captains. Clearchus, +Chares, and Leonidas were riding with Ptolemy's troop when a page +sought them and they saw Alexander beckoning. + +"Do not forget that you are to fight with Alexander to-day," he said, +as they rode up. + +Leonidas flushed with pride and Chares threw a satisfied glance at the +gorgeous breastplate which he had recovered safely. They took their +places in the cluster of young Macedonians behind the king. + +Amyntas, with his light horsemen, was posted on the extreme right, +beyond the left of the Persian line. Ptolemy, with the heavy cavalry, +stood next, and Alexander, with seven squadrons of the Companions, the +best and bravest of his army, supported him on the left. Then came the +terrible phalanx, rank on rank, its sarissas standing up to four times +the height of a man, like a giant field of corn. Farther down the +river, in the left wing, where Parmenio commanded, was the dashing +Thessalian horse, with the riders of Thrace and the Greek allies, +supported by other squadrons of foot-soldiers. + +Quickly and calmly, as though forming for a parade, the line extended +itself and stood still. Behind its centre the catapults and ballistae +were posted, with their strings tightened and their great arms drawn +back, ready to hurl their bolts or to discharge their missiles. + +A sudden hush fell on both sides of the river. The jeers of the +Persians died away and their banners stirred lazily in the light air. +The Macedonians stood facing them like an army of statues. Alexander +touched his horse with the spur and rode slowly down the line alone to +see that all was in readiness. As he passed he spoke to the captains, +calling them by name. + +"Nicanor," he said, "let your men prove themselves men once more +to-day! Perdiccas, fight for the honor of Hellas! C[oe]nus, there are +no cowards among your followers; fight now as you never fought before! +Remember Macedon!" + +So the young king reached the left of the array, where he gave his +final instructions to Parmenio, and galloped back to his place on the +right with his double white plume streaming behind him. + +Gazing across the narrow stream, the veterans of Macedon saw the pride +of Persia awaiting their onset. The great struggle for which they had +been making ready through years of toil was about to be brought to an +issue. There rose before them a vision of the farms and villages among +the rugged Macedonian hills where their wives and children awaited +them. They set their teeth upon the thought that defeat would leave +the road to their homes unguarded. They pictured the shame of +returning as hunted fugitives, with the barbarians at their heels--how +sullen Sparta would exult and fickle Athens blaze up in revolt. It +would be better to die there on the banks of the foreign river than to +incur such disgrace. + +To all minds came the thought that the fate of the world was hanging in +the balance, and all eyes turned to Alexander. The young king, cool +and confident, had regained his position at the head of the Agema. He +raised his hand and away on the right the army heard the clear notes of +a trumpet sounding the charge. + +Amyntas, with his gallant lancers, galloped down the slope and dashed +into the river, which foamed about the knees of the plunging horses. + +Again the trumpet-call quavered in the air, and Ptolemy's squadrons +followed Amyntas with a clanking of armor and a jangling of scabbards. + +On the opposite shore the Persians raised their fierce, defiant shout +and rushed eagerly forward to meet the charge. A flight of arrows rose +from the archers posted upon the hillside in their rear and converged +in a glittering shower upon the ford. + +Then along the dreaded phalanx of the Greeks ran a swelling murmur. +The forest of sarissas began to move toward the river. Louder rose the +chant until it drowned the clash of arms and the shouts of the +barbarian host. It was the solemn paean from twelve thousand bearded +throats, calling upon the Gods of Hellas for their aid. The hearts of +the Greeks in the mercenary camp on the heights across the river +tightened as the deep-toned chorus rolled up to them and for a time +they avoided looking into each other's eyes. + +Enormous darts, ponderous balls of lead, and jagged stones were hurled +against the Persian line from the death-dealing engines in the rear of +the Greek position. Amyntas was struggling hand to hand in the foaming +ford. The battle was joined. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE ROUT OF THE SATRAPS + +Again and yet again Amyntas was thrust back from the other shore, +slippery with mud and clay, while deadly gusts of arrows and javelins +beat upon him. Jealous of glory, the young Persian nobles crowded with +reckless daring to the brink and overwhelmed him by the weight of their +numbers. But they could not drive him off. He clung to the attack +with the stubborn tenacity that knows not defeat, refusing to abandon +the stream, although his lines were broken and his men were falling +around him. + +Alexander, watching the battle like a hawk, saw the desperate situation +into which he had thrown Amyntas. "Enyalius!" he shouted, calling upon +the God of War by the name that the Homeric heroes had used before +Ilium; "Enyalius! Follow me, Macedonians!" + +The Agema swept down the slope behind the waving plumes of white and +struck the river into foam. The disordered ranks of Amyntas raised a +breathless cheer as it passed, heading straight for the thickest of the +fight. There was a splintering of shafts, a crash of steel upon steel, +and from the fierce vortex of the battle rose cries of rage and agony. + +Clearchus fastened his eyes upon the double white plume which fluttered +before them. He heard the cry "Alexander! Alexander!" run from lip to +lip through the Persian host and saw its squadrons rushing down to meet +the onset. + +A lean, swarthy man, wearing a head-dress that glittered with jewels, +aimed a blow at him with his curved sword. The Athenian threw himself +back upon his horse to avoid the stroke and thrust the man through the +side with his lance. + +Alexander was fighting in the foremost rank amid a flashing circle of +steel. The Persian courtiers threw themselves upon the Macedonian +spears in their eagerness to reach the king and win the honors which +they knew would be bestowed upon the fortunate man who should slay him. +The young leader seemed heedless of his danger. Twice he spurred his +horse up the treacherous bank and twice he was hurled back. The river, +from shore to shore, was filled with soldiers fending off as best they +might the merciless rain of darts and arrows. The moment was critical. +Unless the Agema could gain footing on the Persian side, the day was +lost. + +"We must end this," roared Chares above the turmoil. "Down with them! +Alexander!" + +He drove his bloody spur deep into the flank of his powerful steed. +The tortured animal leaped at the bank and staggered upward against the +living wall that barred the way. A score of swords struck at him, and +the polished shield that the Theban held above his head rang beneath +the blows that were showered upon it. The great roan gained the top of +the bank, but a spearman buried a javelin in his broad chest and his +knees gave way. As he fell, Chares leaped from his back and stood firm. + +"Alexander!" he cried again, in a mighty voice that rose above the din +of conflict like the roar of a lion at bay. His long sword, so heavy +that a man of ordinary strength could hardly wield it, though he used +both hands, swept on this side and on that in whistling circles. Down +went horse and rider before it like grain within the compass of a +sickle. For a moment a space was cleared, and in the next the double +plume of white flaunted before his eyes as Alexander passed him, and +the Theban knew that the shore had been won. The Agema, like a wedge, +struck far into the Persian ranks and held there, driven home by the +weight of troops behind it. + +Mithridates, son-in-law of Darius, infuriated by this success, ordered +a charge which should sweep the Macedonians back into the river. +Followed by Rhoisakes, his brother, and by a throng of nobles he hurled +himself upon the stubborn mountaineers, aiming straight for Alexander. +Chares, who was in the path of the avalanche, was swept aside. His +shield was shattered upon his arm by the blow of a mace which also +broke the fastenings of his helmet. A shout of warning rose from the +Agema as it wheeled to face the attack. With sword upraised, +Mithridates rushed upon Alexander; but the king's tough lance pierced +the scales of his armor before he could deliver his stroke. The prince +fell from his horse and rolled beneath the flying hoofs. Rhoisakes, +thundering behind him, aimed a blow with his keen battle-axe which +shore away the king's crest and half the double plume. At the same +moment the satrap Spithridates attacked Alexander from behind, but +before his arm could fall, dark Clitus, with an upward stroke, severed +his wrist so that his hand, still grasping his hilt, leaped into the +air. Rhoisakes met his brother's fate upon Alexander's spear. Dismay +filled the Persian ranks. The charge was broken. "Enyalius!" +Alexander shouted, and the Agema thundered up the slope against the +disordered barbarians. + +Clearchus and Leonidas fought close behind Alexander. The Athenian was +never afterward able to recall the details of that desperate struggle. +His remembrance was a confused blur of thrust and parry, of shouting +and confusion. Suddenly, out of the shifting throng, the proud, +flushed face of Phradates appeared to him as in a dream. The young +man's gaze was fixed and he seemed to be striving to extricate his +horse from the press that hemmed him in. Struck by the expression of +rage and hate that convulsed his features, Clearchus followed the +direction of his glance and saw Chares, with bare head and on foot, +holding two adversaries in check with his sword. Blood flowed from a +wound upon his cheek, reddening his shoulder and dimming the lustre of +his armor. He had been left behind by the cavalry, and the space +around him was clear except for the two riders, who had thought to find +him an easy victim. + +Clearchus read the thought in the dark face of the Ph[oe]nician. +Phradates had recognized his rival and was bent upon taking him at a +disadvantage. The Athenian turned to warn Chares of his peril, but +Phradates shot out of the crowd in advance of him and spurred down upon +his enemy, bending low upon the neck of his fleet Arabian horse. + +"Ho, Chares! Guard thyself!" Clearchus shouted, realizing that he +would be too late. + +The cry reached the ears of the Theban, who turned his head for an +instant and saw Phradates rushing upon him. He leaped forward and +hewed one of his adversaries from the back of his horse. The other +closed in, aiming a blow with his sword that Chares had barely time to +catch upon his own blade. The shoulder of the leaping horse hurtled +against him, causing him to stagger and drop his point. + +"I have thee, dog!" screamed Phradates. + +So intent was the Ph[oe]nician upon his ignoble revenge that he had not +seen Clearchus, spurring desperately to overtake him. The Athenian +heard his shout of triumph and his heart failed. + +"I cannot reach him in time!" he groaned. + +In a few more strides, Chares would be at the mercy of his foe. +Phradates raised his arm to strike at the defenceless head. There was +one chance of stopping him and one only. Clearchus hurled his sword at +the Ph[oe]nician. The hilt of the whirling blade struck Phradates on +the arm with such force that, with a cry of pain, he let fall the sword +from his benumbed fingers. + +"Not this time, Ph[oe]nician!" Chares shouted, as Phradates swooped +past him. "Go back to Tyre and await my coming; for I follow!" + +Clearchus leaped down from his horse and recovered his sword with the +intention of pursuing Phradates, but he saw at a glance that the +attempt would be useless. The Ph[oe]nician, unarmed as he was, fled +toward the Persian lines too fast to be overtaken. + +He looked around for the second of the two horsemen with whom Chares +had been engaged when Phradates attacked him, but the man was nowhere +to be seen. He turned to his friend and embraced him. + +"You were just in time," Chares said. + +"Thank the Gods!" Clearchus replied. "This is no place to die. I +think the battle is ours." + +Phradates, riding at full speed, passed through the Persian lines and +galloped up the slope. Here and there a Persian horseman saw him go +and followed. Others, and still others, joined the flight until, like +a dam that goes down before the swollen current of a river in spring, +the barbarian squadrons wavered and broke, streaming up the hill +disordered and panic-stricken, with death at their heels. Their only +thought was to save themselves. + +Slaughter took the place of conflict. Grim and silent the Macedonian +cavalry and the Thessalian horse rode among the fugitives with swords +that knew no mercy. In that disastrous rout the pride of Persia's +chivalry was dragged in the dust, and the courtier deemed himself +fortunate who escaped to tell of his own dishonor. + +Past the camp of the despised Greek mercenaries who had been bidden to +watch the defenders of the Great King conquer or die, ran the barbarian +rabble, with the wolves of Macedon tearing at their flanks. Southward +they fled, leaving behind a broad track of the wounded and the dying, +and scattering as they went until no semblance of the Persian army +remained. Sweet in their ears at last was the music of the trumpet +notes that withdrew the pursuit and left them free to take breath. + +The mercenaries stood before their camp, unmoved amid the panic, +awaiting the command to fight or flee. The order never came. Memnon +had fought beside the Persian generals and had been swept away with +them, leaving his army to its fate. Below them the Greeks saw the +Macedonian phalanx re-forming its ranks, with the cavalry, of which +they had none, upon its wings. + +"Why should we die for these cowards?" they said, one to another. +"They have deserted us and we are free." + +They stretched out their hands in supplication toward Alexander. + +"Grant us our lives, O king!" they cried. + +"They surrender," Parmenio said. "They are ready to join us. Why not +accept them? It will cost many lives to punish them." + +Alexander's brow darkened. "They are traitors to Greece," he said. "I +will have none in my army who has raised his hand against his country." + +The deep phalanx rolled onward to the chant of the paean, and the +despairing mercenaries knew that they could expect no quarter. + +"Let us die like Greeks, since we must die," their captains exhorted. +"There is no escape for us." + +The phalanx dashed upon them with a rending shock. The long sarissas +tore through their ranks; but they stood firm, giving blow for blow, +and calling upon each other not to disgrace their name. They even +forced the veterans of Macedon to recoil, and the phalanx surged back +like a mighty wave that dashes itself against a sounding cliff and +returns with renewed strength. + +Had only the foot-soldiers, with whom they could fight on equal terms, +been arrayed against them, the issue might have remained in doubt; but +the cavalry, against which they had no defence, fell upon their rear +ranks with terrible effect. Their squares were broken; their captains +fell; disordered and without guidance, they went down before lance and +sword, fighting to the last. + +Alexander's horse was killed under him while he was leading the cavalry +charge upon the left, and for the second time that day he narrowly +escaped with his life. + +"They fought like men," he said sadly to Ptolemy. "I wish they had +been with us instead of against us, for they were Greeks." + +He gave command to stop the carnage. Where the mercenary line had +stood the dead lay in heaps, friend and foe together. A few of the +mercenaries who had been cut off from the main body by the cavalry had +succeeded in making their escape; but of the twenty thousand whom +Memnon had led, eighteen thousand never left that bloody field. At +least, they had shown the barbarians how to die. + +"It will be harder for Darius to hire Greeks to fight for him after +this," Chares remarked, as he reined in his horse beside his two +friends and dismounted. + +"They were of our race, after all," Clearchus said, regretfully. + +"They were not cowards," Chares assented, nodding his head in approval, +"and we have lost more men than we could spare. Here is a fellow, now, +who might have amounted to something." + +He pointed to the body of a young man who lay with his broken sword +beside him. His pale face was calm and his wide eyes stared upward at +the crimson evening sky. His corselet had been broken, disclosing the +end of a thin roll of papyrus. Chares drew it out and broke the seals. + +"He may have been a poet," he said, handing the roll to Clearchus. +"Read it!" + +The Athenian glanced at the writing and uttered a quick exclamation. + +"Artemisia is in Halicarnassus!" he cried. + +"What do you mean?" Chares demanded. + +"This is a letter from Xanthe to me," Clearchus said, and he proceeded +to read the lines that his unhappy aunt had written with so much toil. + +"Who is this Iphicrates?" Leonidas asked. + +"I know not," Clearchus replied eagerly, "but if it be the will of the +Gods we shall learn. Let us seek the king at once!" + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +MENA MAKES A DISCOVERY + +Mena, the Egyptian, had found a good excuse for remaining in Athens +during the fighting, but after the battle of the Granicus Phradates had +summoned him to Halicarnassus. He was sitting in a wine-shop, +discussing topics of moment with his host. His restless mind, ever on +the alert for intelligence that he might turn to account, was gathering +information concerning the city. + +"Memnon is an able general," he said. "If they had let him lead, the +war would have been over by this time." + +"I wish they had, then," the host replied, drawing his cup. "That +battle on the Granicus came near to ruining me, there were so many of +my debtors who did not return." + +"You can make up your loss by raising your prices when the siege begins +here," the Egyptian observed. + +"Do you think there will be a siege?" the other asked anxiously. + +"Of course," Mena replied. "Do you expect Alexander to turn back now +that the northern provinces are his? But with Memnon here, he will +have his trouble for his pains." + +"I don't know," the shopkeeper said, shaking his head. "They say these +Macedonians are wonderful fighters, and I am not sure, after all, that +I want to see them beaten. Blood is thicker than water, and this is a +Greek city, when all is said, even though it pays tribute to Darius. I +can't see how we should be worse off under Alexander than we are now. +The Persians are robbers, and my grandfather was a B[oe]otian." + +"Would you have the city surrender?" Mena demanded, in affected +surprise. + +"No, of course not," the shopkeeper said hastily, taking his cue from +his customer, after the manner of his kind. "No, I would never +surrender, for our walls are so strong and high that the Macedonians +will never get through them; but we might make terms," he added +cautiously. + +His embarrassment was relieved by a boy who came to tell him that two +strangers who had just entered the shop desired to speak with him. He +excused himself to the Egyptian, whose sharp eyes followed him as he +went to obey the summons. He could not suppress a start of surprise +when he saw who had sent it. The two men had taken their places at a +remote table, evidently not wishing to be remarked. They wore the garb +of light-armed foot-soldiers and their accoutrement seemed much the +worse for rough usage. One of them was of great size and strength, +with blue eyes and yellow hair which curled about his temples. The +other was smaller and more delicate in appearance. The cunning +Egyptian recognized them in an instant. They were Clearchus and Chares. + +Mena knew the two young men had set out with the army of Alexander, and +that they must have had some purpose in coming to Halicarnassus. +Either they had found some clew, he thought, to Artemisia's hiding +place, or they had been sent forward from the army as spies. He +gradually shifted his position so that he might watch their +conversation with the host without danger of being recognized. Their +talk lasted long enough for Chares to drain a huge measure of wine, +after which the keeper of the shop bowed them out and returned to Mena. + +"They were two Athenians," he said. "They wanted to know where +Iphicrates lives." + +"Who is Iphicrates?" Mena asked innocently. + +"He is an old rascal who makes his living out of the necessities of +others," the shopkeeper replied. "I dare say they want to borrow money +from him. They will have to pay well for it!" + +"Did they say they wanted money?" queried Mena. + +"No, they did not say why they wished to see him," was the reply. + +The wily Mena drew from his companion all that he knew about +Iphicrates. He found the house without difficulty and easily learned +the details of the accident that had befallen Thais. With this +information and with what he already knew of Artemisia's disappearance, +he soon found out all the rest. + +"Chares and Clearchus will attempt to rescue the two women," he +reflected. "If they succeed, Clearchus will return to Athens and +Ariston will be stripped of all he has. He will undoubtedly be thrown +into prison besides. That must not happen, now, at any rate. Chares +will probably go with Clearchus, and my worthy master will lose, not +only his revenge, but the girl that he makes himself such a fool over. +Of course he would blame me for that. This Iphicrates is a +money-lender, therefore he must have money. Let me see." + +Mena's further cogitations led him to Phradates, whom he found playing +at the dice with a party of mercenary captains, who were robbing him +without shame. The Egyptian drew him aside. + +"I will deliver Chares into thy hands to-night," he said, "and give +thee Thais to-morrow." + +"Are you drunk?" Phradates asked bluntly. + +"I mean exactly what I say," Mena replied with dignity, and he related +all that he had discovered. + +"My turn has come sooner than I expected," Phradates cried exultingly. +He lost no time in seeking Memnon, with whom he held a long +consultation. + +Save for the military patrols, the streets of Halicarnassus were +deserted that night when Chares and Clearchus approached the dwelling +of Iphicrates. They kept the darker side of the way and advanced with +caution, halting at every sound. They had laid aside their weapons, +which they knew would be useless in case of attack and which might +excite suspicion should they be noticed. In front of the house they +stopped to listen. Not a sound broke the stillness and nobody was in +sight. In one of the upper windows a light was burning. + +"She is there!" Clearchus said, pointing to the gleam. + +"How shall we make her understand who we are?" Chares asked. + +Clearchus picked up a pebble from the street and tossed it at the +window. The first trial failed, but at the second the stone entered +the opening. + +"Back now until we see her!" the Theban said, drawing Clearchus into an +angle of the opposite wall. + +In a moment a woman's head, with hair unbound, appeared at the window +against the light. + +"It is Artemisia!" Clearchus cried, unable to control himself in the +rush of his joy. He started forward and stood in the full moonlight +with his arms outstretched. + +"Artemisia!" he called softly. + +"Clearchus, my love, is it thou?" she replied, in the same tone. + +"Yes, we have come to save thee," he answered. "Canst thou come to us?" + +"I will try," she said. "Thais is here with me." + +She vanished from the window, and Clearchus advanced eagerly toward the +door. Before he had taken three steps a score of men seemed to rise +out of the ground around him. The trap set by Phradates had been +sprung. + +"Seize them!" the Tyrian cried in a shrill voice. + +In an instant, Clearchus had been overcome. Chares, who had remained +in the angle of shadow, sprang forward with a cry of rage. He reached +Phradates before the soldiers could stop him, and dealt the Tyrian a +blow that sent him down in an inanimate heap ten yards away; but, as he +did so, a dozen men leaped upon him and bore him to the earth. + +Clearchus was struggling like a madman with his captors, but to no +purpose. + +"They have us," the Theban said coolly. "Let us show ourselves men." + +With a groan Clearchus submitted; and the guard, having bound their +arms behind them, dragged them to their feet. + +"At least, that Ph[oe]nician coward has his deserts," Chares exclaimed +with a laugh, glancing at the senseless form of his enemy. "I hope I +have killed him!" + +Part of the guard marched them quickly away, while the rest remained +behind to care for Phradates. As long as the house could be seen, +Clearchus kept his eyes upon the window, hoping for another glimpse of +Artemisia, but he saw her not. + +It was necessary for the soldiers who had stayed behind with Phradates +to summon a physician before he could be brought back to consciousness. +His life had been saved by the fact that he threw up his right hand to +protect himself from Chares' terrible blow. The bones of his wrist had +been broken and splintered so badly that the physician doubted whether +he would ever be able to use his hand again. + +In the morning Iphicrates received orders to join the citizen levy that +had been raised to defend the walls of the city; and Phradates, with a +retinue of slaves and attendants, took possession of the house. The +money-lender protested bitterly against the service demanded of him, +but his entreaties were in vain. He had not even time to make +provision for the security of his valuables before he was hurried away, +and he was forced to accept the assistance which the sympathetic Mena +pressed upon him. He revealed to the Egyptian, with many lamentations, +the hiding-places of his hoard, promising to reward him liberally if he +would bring it to him. Mena found not only the gold of which +Iphicrates had spoken, but much more that had been so cunningly +concealed in the walls of the house that Iphicrates had deemed it +unnecessary to allude to it. So expeditious was Mena's search that he +was able to report to Iphicrates, before nightfall, that the soldiers +had anticipated him and had carried everything away. + +"I am ruined!" cried the wretched man, turning pale and wiping the +drops from his brow. "The savings of a lifetime of toil have been +taken from me! Ah, the robbers! Would that I had them here before me!" + +"Take hope," Mena replied soothingly. "The fortunes of war may bring +thee more than thou hast lost, and it is better, at any rate, that thy +gold should have fallen into the hands of thy friends rather than into +those of the Macedonians." + +"I have no friends," Iphicrates wailed. "I will appeal to Memnon +himself!" + +"Give yourself no concern about that," the Egyptian replied hastily. +"I have already complained to my master, and he has promised to see +that the soldiers are punished. He is generous, and he feels that it +was partly his fault that this misfortune has come upon thee." + +Iphicrates clasped his hand and thanked him with tears. Mena left him +to his drill and hastened to make provision for the secret conveyance +of the gold to Tyre. Phradates remained in ignorance of the whole +transaction, having matters of more importance to occupy his thoughts +than the ruin of an old miser. + +Artemisia passed the night in an agony of suspense and weeping. Thais +did her utmost to comfort her, though her own heart was scarcely less +troubled than that of her younger companion. It was by representing +that, weak as they were, they might be the only persons in the city who +could aid Clearchus and Chares, and that they must not abandon +themselves to despair that she finally persuaded Artemisia to sleep. +While she talked, her swift mind was busy with plans. She had heard +that the Persian officials were venal, and that anything in the empire +might be had for a price. She knew that the purchase of a general or a +viceroy was beyond her means, but she hoped that the jailers who had +the two young men in charge, whoever they were, might be bribed by her +jewels to let them escape. It was with a kind of exaltation that she +made a mental account of the gems, thinking that the price she had paid +for them might not have been in vain. The question that most occupied +her mind was what temper Phradates would be in, for she doubted not +that he would seek to take advantage of her situation. Finding +Artemisia quiet at last, she lay down and resolutely closed her eyes. + +As soon as the Tyrian had occupied the house, his slaves brought food +and wine in his name to the young women. Thais accepted it. + +"Tell thy master that we have no women to dress us," she said. + +"How can you receive anything from that man?" Artemisia exclaimed +indignantly, when the slaves had gone. + +"If I had my wish, I would drive this through his heart," Thais +replied, catching up a small dagger that she sometimes carried in her +bosom. "My desire to aid Chares and Clearchus is no less strong than +thine; but we are women and we must fight as we can, not as we would. +So hide thy grief if thou canst, for it will win pity neither for them +nor for thee." + +Artemisia looked at her splendid beauty, heightened by the smouldering +fire in her eyes. "I feel that I am a child," she said, embracing her. +"I know nothing of the world and I am afraid. I will trust thee in all +things." + +Thais returned her caress. "Our lovers are in the net," she said, "but +you remember in the story that it was the mouse that freed the lion. +If Phradates sends us the women, he is still my slave, though we are in +his power, and we may hope. Now, let us eat." + +They had scarcely finished when Mena knocked at the door and ushered in +two women of Cyprus, with gleaming black eyes and slender, agile forms. +"My master, the noble Phradates, sends you these," he said, bowing low +before Thais. + +"Phradates hath our thanks," she replied gravely. "Tell him that we +hope to express our gratitude to him in person." + +Mena withdrew, and Thais immediately commanded the women to dress her +and Artemisia. To this task she gave her whole attention, directing +every step with the minutest care, to the least fold of the saffron +chiton. She chose for her adornment a topaz necklace that seemed to +sparkle with inward fire. Artemisia she robed simply in white, with a +white rose in her soft, brown hair. + +There was an unwonted stir in the house. Slaves came and went with +messages. The sound of men's voices rose from below. Thais was +restless and uneasy. She paced backward and forward, stopping now and +then before the polished mirror to examine once more the lustrous coils +of her hair, or the arrangement of her silken chiton. She seemed +expectant, and at every footfall turned her face toward the door; but +the morning wore on, and Phradates did not come. Finally she sent one +of the Cyprian women down, on pretence of fetching water, to learn what +was going on. The woman returned with the news that the Tyrian was +there, but of Chares and Clearchus she could learn nothing. + +Thais hesitated for a moment. "Go down again," she said at last, "and +tell Phradates that we are ready to receive him." + +The woman took the message, but she came back almost immediately, +saying that Phradates had left the house. + +Thais stamped her foot. "Then we must wait," she said regretfully. "O +that I were a man this day!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +PHRADATES TRIUMPHS + +The morning sun, shining from a cloudless sky, danced upon the rippling +harbor before the eyes of the two prisoners as they were led to the +Royal Citadel where Memnon had established himself. The Rhodian had +been placed in command of all the western border of the empire after +the disaster on the Granicus, and his authority was nominally supreme. + +They were conducted to an antechamber of the council room to await +their turn. They found themselves surrounded by a throng in which the +Greeks far outnumbered the barbarians. Sullen looks were levelled at +them by the officers who came and went. Ephialtes, who had been exiled +from Athens, smiled at them mockingly. Neoptolemus, the Lyncestian, +and Amyntas, son of Antiochus, who had been concerned in the murder of +Philip, Thrasybulus, and others who had become exiles from their native +land for various crimes, passed them in the crowd of civil and military +officials whose faces and garb indicated the widely scattered races +that they represented. + +"See," Clearchus said to Chares. "There goes the Tyrian!" + +Phradates was making his way through the hall, holding his head high +and ignoring the salutes that were offered to him. He wore a +magnificent cloak of purple, under which he concealed his maimed right +arm, and his spurs clanked on the marble floor. + +"They are the same spurs he used to get away with from the battle," +Chares observed. "He seems to be a person of some importance here, and +that will do us no good." + +"He has us this time safely enough," Clearchus said bitterly. + +"That is true," Chares replied. "I wish I had struck him harder! His +head must be of iron." + +"Do you think the oracle was accomplished when we found Artemisia?" +Clearchus inquired anxiously. + +"I do not know," the Theban replied, "but only Ph[oe]bus can save us +now." + +"Come along," the captain of the guard said roughly, "the general is +waiting for you." + +He led them into the council room, where Memnon sat behind a table +littered with documents. With him were Orontobates, Phradates, and a +few of the higher officers. The famous Rhodian raised his head from +the letter that he had been reading and looked keenly at the two young +men. + +"You are charged with being spies of the Macedonian," he said abruptly. +"What have you to reply?" + +"It is not true," Chares answered. "We are here on private business +alone." + +"He lies!" Phradates broke in. "I saw them both at Thebes in the army +of Alexander, and again in the battle of the Granicus. They are spies!" + +"What he says is partly true," Chares replied coolly, "but it also true +that we are not spies and that he knows it. We have left the army of +Alexander." + +"Why did you come here?" Memnon asked. + +"We came in search of Artemisia, a young woman of Athens," Clearchus +said. "She was stolen before the war began. We followed the army in +obedience to the oracle at Delphi for the purpose of finding her. When +we learned that she was here, we came hither to seek her." + +"It is all false," Phradates cried. "Put them to the torture and they +will reveal the truth!" + +"Spoken like a Ph[oe]nician," Chares said scornfully, "but it is only +among savages that they torture free men. Do you remember, Tyrian, +what was done to you when you came as a spy to Thebes?" + +Phradates bit his lip and was silent. + +"Alexander sent thee back to Tyre," Chares continued, "and he gave thee +a message to deliver to thy king, Azemilcus. Hast thou forgotten it? +He told thee to bid him prepare the altar in the temple of Heracles, +for that he was coming with his army to make sacrifice there. He is on +his way." + +Chares spoke boldly, and the threat conveyed in his words had an +evident effect upon the minds of the men who heard him. Many of them, +like Phradates, had seen with their own eyes the impetuous charge of +the Macedonians across the Granicus, and they knew in their hearts that +the Great King had no troops that could have withstood it. Sardis, +Ephesus, Miletus, and all the Carian cities in the north had fallen, +and the mutterings of the approaching storm were all about them. Would +the great walls of Halicarnassus, upon which they had been toiling, +give them shelter? Misgiving seized their minds, and they looked +questioningly at each other and at Memnon. None could read what was +passing in the thoughts of the wily Rhodian, but no doubt he reflected +upon the jealousy of the Persians, his masters, which had forbidden him +to lead his Greeks into the battle of the Granicus and which still +encompassed him, all the more vigilant because of his promotion. He +must have thought, too, of his wife and children, hostages in the hands +of Darius. He knew that Clearchus and Chares had told the truth. +Would it not be well to have two young men of influence in Greece and +on terms of intimacy with Alexander to speak for him in case of need? + +With his eyes on Memnon's furrowed face, Clearchus, with the subtle +intelligence of an Athenian, divined something of what was passing in +his mind. + +"Say no more," he whispered to Chares. "He will save us if he can." + +Memnon at last raised his head and glanced about him. "I am inclined +to think that the story these men tell is true," he said deliberately. + +An angry murmur rose from the crowd, and Phradates' face flushed darkly. + +"Who was the girl in the litter?" said Ephialtes. "Was she this +Artemisia whom they were seeking?" + +There was a sneer in the exile's tone that brought the blood to Chares' +cheek. + +"She was not," he answered. "She was Thais. You may have seen her, +Ephialtes, before they drove you from Athens." + +"Thais?" Thrasybulus said. "Why not send for her? She may be able to +tell whether these speak truth or falsehood." + +"Let her be brought before us," Memnon commanded. "Remove the +prisoners until she comes. My Lord Orontobates, I wish to consult with +you concerning the disposition of the fleet." + +Clearchus and Chares were conducted back to the antechamber, while a +tall, handsome man, wearing the headdress and insignia of a Persian +noble of high rank, bent beside the Rhodian over a map which showed the +coast on either side of the city. Although Memnon had been made +general and civil governor of the western provinces, he well knew that +Orontobates had been placed beside him to watch every act of his, and +that the Great King was bound, even though it might be against his own +judgment, to take the word of the Persian before that of the mercenary. +It was no wonder that the brow of the general was thoughtful and his +face careworn, surrounded as he was by traps and pitfalls, and with the +terrible army that he had been chosen to defeat drawing hourly more +near. + +They were still studying headland and bay when Thais and her escort +arrived. As if by accident, she took her position full in the sunlight +that streamed in through a lofty window cut in the gray stone wall of +the fortress. There was a stir of surprise in the room as she entered, +and the gaze of every man was bent upon her. The bright flood touched +the coils of her hair and filled them with changing gleams. It bathed +her face in a rich glow, warm and delicate as the blush upon the petals +of a rose. The folds of her chiton, leaving bare the rounded grace of +her neck and the swell of her bosom, swept down to her little white +feet, shod with saffron sandals, and revealed the firm curves of her +figure, youthful, erect, and elastic as a wand of willow. The yellow +light sparkled and ran through the topaz chain that rose and fell with +her breathing. + +As she stood there, a butterfly danced in upon the sunlight, fluttered +about her head, and finally settled upon her hair, slowly opening and +shutting its red-brown wings, mottled with darker spots. Like a sudden +breeze in a ripened field of grain, a whisper of admiration and +superstitious wonder ran through the room. Thais raised her eyes, and +the shadow of a smile parted her crimson lips, showing the pearly gleam +of her teeth. + +Thus for a moment she stood in the sunlight before the gaze of the +assemblage that thronged about the Rhodian general. The flower of her +womanhood seemed to exhale a nameless, sensuous fascination, like the +strange perfume of a rare exotic, the spell of which was longing and +desire. + +"Bring in the prisoners," Memnon said. + +Clearchus and Chares were led into the room before Thais. She turned +to them with a swift warning in her glance that stopped the words of +protest on the lips of the Theban. + +"Leave them to me," her eyes seemed to say. + +"Do you know these men?" Memnon asked courteously. + +"I know them," she assented, in a voice that sounded singularly sweet +and timid. "They are Chares, who was of Thebes, and Clearchus, of +Athens." + +"Can you tell what brought them here?" Memnon asked. + +"They left Athens in search of Artemisia, as all Athens knows," Thais +returned. + +Her answer had substantiated the story of the prisoners. Memnon turned +inquiringly to Orontobates. + +"It may be that this is some trick," the Persian said softly, in his +own tongue. "Who knows that they have not concerted this story for +this occasion?" + +"My lord's suspicion is just," Thais returned, smiling upon Orontobates +and addressing him in his own language; "but he will observe that I +have not seen these men since they left Athens, and, indeed, I did not +know they were here." + +"Then why did you come here yourself?" Orontobates asked, returning her +smile. + +"I came because I learned that Artemisia was here, and I, too, wished +to find her," Thais replied. + +Orontobates shook his head incredulously. "If this young woman, for +whom all Athens seems to be seeking, is here in Halicarnassus, +doubtless she can be found," he remarked. + +"My lord is right," Thais said quietly, "for I have found her." + +"Shall we send for her?" Memnon asked, turning to Orontobates, who sat +thoughtfully stroking his beard, "or shall we set the prisoners free?" + +"Thou knowest that Darius commanded us to send him our captives, so +that he might learn for himself concerning the Macedonians," the +Persian replied. "We have had few to send, and I think he would like +to question these men. By their own confession, they have been in +Alexander's army. Dost thou not think it might be well to obey the +command relating to them?" + +Memnon saw that if he refused he might be charged with disobedience to +the Great King, whose lightest word was law, and he could not afford to +take the risk. + +"Thy words are wise," he said smoothly, hiding the anger that he felt +at the Persian's interference. "It shall be as thou hast said. Take +away the prisoners," he added to the guard, "and let them be sent +to-night to Babylon with the messenger who is to carry my letters to +King Darius, my master,--may he live forever!" + +"It is well," said Orontobates, with a shade of mockery in his voice. + +Clearchus' face grew pale. The thought that Artemisia was so near and +that he was about to be separated from her, perhaps forever, without +being permitted to see her again, was a blow under which he staggered. + +"Why send us both?" Chares demanded, restraining himself with an +effort. "I know all that Clearchus knows, and I will tell it freely to +the Great King if you will let him go free." + +"Two are better than one," Orontobates said. "Thou wilt tell what thou +knowest, whether freely or not." + +"Take them away," Memnon said harshly, "and see that they speak with +nobody before their departure." + +Thais followed them with her eyes to the door, where Chares turned his +head and smiled at her. She gave him back the smile bravely; but as he +passed out of her sight her face changed and became like marble. Her +eyes sought those of Orontobates, and she spoke to him in an even voice +that vibrated with the intensity of her passion. + +"I am a woman, O Persian," she said, "but I say to thee and to thy +master that if harm befalls either of these men, the proudest palaces +of thy kings shall be their funeral pyre." + +A dead hush followed this defiance, and all eyes were turned upon the +Persian in expectation of an outbreak; but Orontobates merely smiled +upon her as though she were a petulant child and turned again to the +study of the maps spread out before him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE VISION OF DANIEL, THE VICEROY + +Silent and thoughtful in the midst of the swarthy Arabian guard +commanded by Nathan the Israelite, who bore Memnon's letters to the +Great King, Clearchus and Chares rode out of the eastern gate of +Halicarnassus. Even the Theban's buoyant nature for once was subdued. +They were going to what seemed certain death, and they were leaving +behind them those they loved most on earth. + +To Clearchus this thought was unbearable. He cared not what happened, +now that the last hope of rescuing Artemisia was gone. What would +become of her? Who could aid her now? He rode with his head sunk on +his breast, seeing and hearing nothing of what went on around him. A +low fever filled his veins, dulling his senses and leaving him only +half conscious of their situation. At times he imagined it was all a +dream, from which he would awake, still free to continue the search for +his lost love. Then a realization of the truth would return to him, +and he groaned aloud in his despair. + +The response of the oracle of Delphi, which had supported him, now +seemed like a mockery. It had been fulfilled, he thought, when in +truth he found Artemisia in the track that Alexander's army was to +follow. The Gods had made him their sport, and he fancied them smiling +down from the heavens upon his agony. The light of the sun became +hateful to him. + +So he rode, mile after mile and day after day, in listless and inert +abandonment to his fate. Who could resist the will of the Gods? He +ate almost nothing, and his strength wasted visibly, while lines of +suffering deepened on his face. + +In vain Chares sought to rouse him. He returned patient answers to the +arguments of the Theban, but his power of effort was gone. In the +first stages of their journey Chares watched over him constantly to +prevent him from destroying himself in his despair. + +Through Lycia, Pisidia, and Cilicia they passed, finding fresh relays +of horses at each station along the great highway that had been +established by the predecessors of Darius. Through the Amanic Gates +they galloped at last, and paused at Thapsacus, on the banks of the +mighty Euphrates, where, more than a century and a half before, the Ten +Thousand had halted in their desperate dash upon Babylon. + +Chares had long ago recovered his cheerful temper. Of what lay before +them when they reached the Persian capital he had ceased to think. The +condition of Clearchus, and the fact that they had advanced so far +toward the heart of the Persian empire, made escape practically +impossible. The Theban was regarded rather as a comrade than an enemy +by the Arabs of the guard, and his unfailing good nature made the long +journey seem less wearisome. + +With Nathan he had formed a solid friendship. The young Israelite, +browned by the sun and wind, was naturally taciturn and inclined to +silence. His form was active and sinewy, and his muscles seemed always +on the alert. In his dark eyes burned the mystic intelligence and +indomitable earnestness of his race. He rode usually in advance of the +little troop, and, although often he seemed wrapped in contemplation, +nothing ever escaped him. The contrast between him and the careless, +talkative Theban, with his laughing blue eyes and yellow hair, was as +complete as possible; and it may have been this very difference in +their temperaments that drew them together. + +Nathan showed an extraordinary interest in all that related to +Alexander, even in his personal appearance and what he had said on this +or that occasion. He would listen by the hour while Chares talked of +the young Macedonian king, his people, and his court. No suspicion +entered the Theban's mind that Nathan was seeking information for the +use of his superiors in Babylon. He would have dismissed such a +thought as unjust. The Israelite inquired little about Alexander's +army, and seemed rather desirous of forming in his own mind a portrait +of the young leader. That he reflected deeply upon what Chares told +him was shown by the questions that he asked from time to time for the +purpose of enabling him to fill out some incomplete detail. + +Chares sometimes wondered whether the interest that Nathan displayed in +Alexander could have any religious bearing. He had heard from +Aristotle of the mysterious and peculiar belief of the Israelites, who +worshipped only one God, and who would not suffer an image of Him to be +set up in their temple; but his ideas regarding their faith were +confused with stories of a hundred other equally insignificant tribes. + +His attention was aroused one day by a sudden change in the young +Israelite. He became both restless and abstracted. Often he returned +no answer to the questions that the Theban put to him, and there seemed +to be an unusual luminous depth in his dark eyes. At times his lips +moved as though he were conversing with unseen companions. There was a +strangeness in his actions and expression that caused even the heedless +Theban to feel a vague uneasiness. Toward nightfall, Clearchus, as +though drawn by some undefinable bond of sympathy, rode forward and +took his place beside Nathan. It was the first time that this had +happened since they left Halicarnassus, and Chares watched them with +amazement. Neither spoke, but each appeared conscious of the other's +presence, and Chares imagined that there was more animation in +Clearchus' glance when they halted for the night. At the same time he +had a dim sense that something was going on between them that he could +not understand. + +After the evening meal Nathan sat before the tent that he always +occupied with his two prisoners when they spent the night away from +human habitation. Clearchus lay beside him, with his head resting on +his hand. The Arabs were sleeping in a group beside the tethered +horses. + +In the measureless depths of the sky the great stars blazed with a +steady light. Strange cries of night birds came from the broad river, +sweeping silently past them in the darkness. The howl of a jackal +sounded faintly in the distance. + +Nathan's face was turned toward the south, as though his eyes could see +there the walls of the city in whose narrow streets he had played with +his companions as a boy. Presently he began to speak. + +"He will requite His enemies and those who scorn Him," the Israelite +said. "Terrible is His wrath!" + +"Is He more powerful than Zeus?" said Clearchus, seeming to comprehend +what Nathan meant. + +"Yea," Nathan answered solemnly. "Thy Gods are as nothing before Him. +Baal He overthrew in Babylon with all his brood." + +"I have heard that it was the Persians and not thy people who smote +Nebuchadnezzar," Clearchus replied. "Is He the God of the Persians, +too?" + +"They paid Him honor under the name of Ormazd," the Israelite replied. +"While they were faithful to Him, nothing could stand against them; but +they have turned their faces from Him, and their time has come. He +hath weighed them in His balance, one by one--Chaldean, Egyptian, +Assyrian, Ph[oe]nician, and Mede. He hath given the victory into their +hands; and one by one hath He smitten them until they were humbled in +the dust. There is no God but God." + +"What hath He done for thee?" the Athenian asked. + +"He hath delivered me out of the snares of mine enemies," Nathan +replied earnestly, "even when they compassed me about in wrath. Once +and again hath He brought my people out of bondage because they +worshipped Him alone. He hath made good His promise. He hath never +failed us in our hour of need. By the mouths of His holy men hath He +given us knowledge of that which is to come; and now once more He will +show to the sons of men His wrath and His favor. He shall put down the +mighty from their seats." + +Chares saw that Nathan's hands were trembling as they lay clasped upon +his knees and that drops of moisture glistened upon his forehead. + +"His word was given to Daniel, viceroy of the Great King, Belshazzar, +in the palace at Susa by the waters of the river Ulai in the time of my +fathers' fathers," the Israelite continued. "The mysteries of the +future were laid bare to him by Gabriel, Jehovah's servant; and behold, +he saw standing before the river, a ram with two horns; and the two +horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came +up last. He saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, +so that no beasts might stand against him. Neither was there any that +could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will and +became great. Lo, these are the words of Daniel, the viceroy. + +"And as he stood considering, behold, an he goat came from the West on +the face of the whole earth and he touched not the ground. And the he +goat had a great horn between his eyes; and that was thy king, who +cometh. And while Daniel looked, he saw the he goat come close to the +ram and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast +him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that +could deliver the ram from him. These things were seen of Daniel in +olden times; and the hour is at hand." + +There was silence for a moment, and then Clearchus said slowly:-- + +"If it is written that Alexander shall overthrow the Great King, why +dost thou lead us captives to Babylon?" + +"I know not," Nathan replied, "but the command was laid upon me, and it +is Jehovah's will that I should obey. Were it not so, He would have +told me. How can we know His ways? Who are we that we should question +His wisdom? Yet in the end, I have faith that it will be well with +thee; for to Him nothing is impossible." + +It was long before Clearchus closed his eyes in sleep that night. He +lay looking upward at the tranquil and steadfast stars and revolving in +his mind the words of the Israelite. Could it be that a Divinity +greater than all others existed in the universe, whose will ruled all +things? The idea took possession of him, and at the same time hope was +renewed in his breast. The Gods whom he had honored had deserted him; +perhaps the God of Israel could help him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +IN THE WHIRLWIND'S TRACK + +Long before Nathan with his captives reached the Persian capital, the +sentinels upon the towers of Halicarnassus gave warning of the approach +of Alexander's army. Fresh from the storming of stubborn Miletus, the +Macedonians advanced against the lofty walls which sheltered the army +of Memnon, nearly as numerous as their own. At the first alarm the +braying of trumpets sounded through the city, and soldiers filled the +streets, marching quickly towards the Mylasan Gate. + +Iphicrates, perched high on the walls with the corps of citizen +defenders to which he belonged, watched the regular troops making ready +for their sally. He held a spear in his hand and a sword was buckled +about his fat sides. + +"I wish I was with them," said a youth beside him, little more than a +boy, gazing down upon the array. + +"It's cooler up here--and safer too," the old money-lender muttered, +wiping his brow. + +"They will cut the Macedonians to pieces," the boy exclaimed, "and I +shall have no part in the victory." + +"Patience!" Iphicrates answered. "Thy chance will come, perhaps." + +The boy turned and looked outward towards the attacking army. "They +have stopped," he cried. "They are afraid!" + +Iphicrates shaded his eyes with his hand. The Macedonians indeed had +halted amid the clouds of dust that their feet had raised and they +seemed to be in some confusion. At that moment the gate was thrown +open and the garrison emerged in a wide, glittering column. The walls +rang with cheers. The column advanced, wheeled, and deployed in a +long, deep line, confronting the enemy. It was evidently Memnon's plan +to strike a blow that might prove decisive while the Macedonians were +still wearied from their march and before they were able to form. His +archers sent a flight of arrows towards the Macedonian ranks and his +spearmen prepared to charge. + +Then behind the dust-cloud rose a sound that seemed to the watchers +upon the walls like the murmur of a mighty river. The advance guard of +the Macedonians scattered, and in its place appeared the solid front of +the phalanx with its forest of sarissas. + +"What are they singing?" asked the boy, gazing wide-eyed upon the +changing scene. + +"It is the paean; they are calling upon the Gods," Iphicrates replied, +again mopping his face. + +"It is like a tragedy in a theatre," the boy said, catching his breath +in the intensity of his excitement. "Look! Who is that?" + +Across the front of the Macedonians rode a man upon a great black horse +that curvetted and tossed the foam from his bit. The rider's armor +flashed through the dust and his white plumes nodded from his helmet. + +"That must be Alexander himself," Iphicrates replied. "Ah, here they +come!" + +Louder rose the paean as the phalanx swept forward. The space that +divided the two armies seemed to shrink away until they almost touched. +Then, as with one impulse, the sarissas of the foremost Macedonian +ranks dropped forward, until their points were level with the breasts +of the foe, and were driven home by the impulse of the charge. The +lines of the defenders bent, swayed, and broke. Order gave place to +confusion. Here and there small parties began to run back toward the +gate they had left so bravely half an hour before. + +"We are beaten!" sobbed the boy on the wall. + +"It is cooler up here," Iphicrates replied mechanically. A chill ran +through his bulk as though he already felt the edge of the swords that +were rising and falling in the hands of the victors. + +The swiftest of the fugitives, throwing away their weapons, had already +dashed panting through the gate. Others crowded behind them, and the +opening quickly became choked by a mass of men who trampled each other +in their eagerness to get inside the walls. The cavalry and +light-armed troops of the Macedonians pressed close at their heels, +giving them no respite from their terror. + +Of the army of Halicarnassus hardly a remnant would have escaped had +not the rain of missiles and arrows from the walls checked the +Macedonian advance. As soon as the enemy was within range the order +was given to the archers and slingers, of whom there were thousands +posted upon the ramparts. They showered stones and arrows upon the +pursuing force, and the catapults sent huge darts buzzing down among +the close-packed squadrons. + +The boy beside Iphicrates was twanging away with his bow as fast as he +could fit his arrows to the cord. + +"I hit one!" he cried, following the course of a shaft with his eyes. +"I saw him fall! He went right over backward!" + +He began shooting again with renewed ardor. + +Meantime a few squadrons of the bravest men in Memnon's forces rallied +and made a brief stand before the gate. They succeeded in halting the +Macedonians long enough to enable their comrades to swarm through to +safety; but soon they were swept off their feet and hurled back toward +the battlements. To their dismay, they found the great gate closed +against them. They were cut down as they ran hither and thither, +seeking in vain for a place of refuge. + +Iphicrates watched the butchery with horrible fascination. His face +was mottled, and the spear in his hand shook like a blade of corn. + +"Cowards!" cried the boy with flashing eyes, "why did they not let them +in?" + +A shout of warning sounded along the crest of the wall. The Macedonian +slingers and archers had turned their weapons against it, and they +swept the parapet with a deadly storm that drove the defenders to +shelter. The hissing of the arrows and the humming of the balls of +lead from the slings filled the air. The boy beside Iphicrates uttered +a cry, threw up his arms, and fell with a red mark on his forehead. + +"Mother!" he murmured, and lay still. + +Iphicrates dropped to his hands and knees and crawled away, shaking +with the palsy of fear. + +There was little sleep in Halicarnassus that night. Soldier and +citizen labored together, and morning found them still toiling upon the +walls, preparing for what they knew was to come. The city was in the +iron grip of the siege. + +By day and by night the great walls crumbled before the unremitting +assaults of the enemy. The Macedonians filled in the wide ditch, +raised mounds and towers, and burrowed beneath the foundations of the +defences like moles. There was no lack of provisions in the city, for +Memnon's fleet came and went with nothing to oppose it, bringing corn +and supplies as they were needed. It had been the hope of the +inhabitants that Alexander would withdraw when he had measured the +difficulty of the task before him. They had ground for the belief that +disturbances might be fomented in Greece that would cause him to turn +his attention to that quarter. But their plans miscarried. Antipater +held Greece with a firm hand and the siege continued. + +No man was permitted to lay aside his armor, for the Macedonians +attacked at every hour. Again and again the city was roused in the +dead of night by the crash of falling battlements, and the defenders +were obliged to guard some new breach while they repaired the damage as +best they might. They made frequent sallies, attacking the formidable +engines that had been constructed by the enemy. Several of them were +destroyed in this way, but they were replaced by new ones more powerful +than their predecessors. + +Orontobates sent urgent messages to his master, Darius, telling him of +the desperate situation and begging for succor; but none came. What +was one city, rich and populous though it might be, to a monarch who +counted his cities by the thousand? The brave garrison was left to its +fate, fighting obstinately against its doom. The faces of the men grew +haggard with watching and anxiety. Custom and order were forgotten. +Rich and poor, slave and freeman, labored side by side against the +inevitable; and ever, like men swimming against the current, they felt +the resistless pressure bearing them down. + +Artemisia and Thais, shut up in the house of Iphicrates, awaited the +result of the siege. The younger woman was overcome at first when she +learned that Clearchus was to be sent to Babylon, but Thais managed to +convince her that he was in no danger, and a message that was brought +to them before the siege began went far to revive her hope. One of the +Cyprian women came back from the market with a basket of grapes. She +said that a young man had followed her and asked her whether she did +not belong to Thais. She replied that she did. + +"Then tell her," the stranger said, "that Nathan the Israelite bids her +have no fear." + +With that, he vanished in the crowd, and she brought the message. + +They learned without much difficulty who Nathan was, and the mysterious +message consoled them. Artemisia spoke of it with a childlike faith +that touched Thais' heart. + +"When they return, they will rejoin the army of Alexander," she said. +"If we could only escape to the Macedonians." + +"We shall manage it in some way," Thais replied. "Leave it to me." + +Phradates, whose broken wrist prevented him from taking part in the +fighting, came often to visit them. He had never forgotten his glimpse +of the face of Thais as it appeared in the great slave market before +the ruined city of Thebes. His defeat that day was rendered more +bitter in the recollection by the thought that she had been a witness +of it. The face had haunted him until it had become a part of his +life. After her return to Athens he had dogged her footsteps until he +was called away to join the army of the satraps. + +When he saw her again before Memnon's tribunal, the fascination of her +beauty took complete possession of him. His anger against Chares was +forgotten, and he was even glad when his rival was sent to Babylon +instead of being condemned to death. He believed that the Theban would +never come back, and the execution of the prisoners in Halicarnassus +might have proved an insurmountable barrier between him and Thais. + +Phradates knew that he had the young woman in his power, but he could +not bring himself to make use of this advantage. He would not force a +triumph; he must have a complete surrender. Day by day he hoped to +obtain it. He found a half promise in her words, a suggestion of +tenderness in her manner, and at times an implied appeal to his +generosity that made his hope almost a certainty. When he grew +impatient, the fear of losing her entirely restrained him. Thus he +fell more and more completely under her domination, like a man who sips +a narcotic, yielding by little and little to its power, until his will +to resist is gone, and he gives himself wholly to its subtle +intoxication, unwittingly a captive. + +After one of her interviews with him, Thais often threw herself down, +disgusted with the part that she was forced to play. She grew angry at +Artemisia's failure to understand the necessity of what she was doing. +When the smile faded from her lips as the door closed upon the +Ph[oe]nician, she found Artemisia's eyes fixed upon her in sorrowful +reproach. + +"Why do you look at me like that?" she exclaimed petulantly. "Speak +out, if you must!" + +Artemisia bent her head and remained silent. + +"Do you think I love him?" Thais demanded scornfully, coming close to +her. "Do you believe that I am false to Chares? Tell me, if you do." + +"I do not," Artemisia replied hesitatingly. "Only it seems to me--" + +"It seems to you that I do it too well," Thais exclaimed, completing +her thought. "What would you do if you were shut up with an untamed +tiger? You may give thanks to your Artemis in your innocence that I +have been able so far to hold this one in check." + +"Forgive me," Artemisia cried, embracing her. "I know you must, and +yet--I am sorry for it, my sister." + +Artemisia often made use of this title, never dreaming how true it was, +and it always awakened a pang of tenderness in Thais' heart. She +returned the embrace and forgave her, although she felt that Artemisia +could not really understand, try as she might. + +"I wish the siege would end!" Thais said wearily. "If you knew how +much I loathe all this, you would have more pity." + +Her wish was granted at last. Even the most hopeful inhabitant of the +city understood that neither flesh nor stone could hold out much longer +against the dogged Macedonian assault. Memnon knew that unless the +battering rams and catapults could be destroyed the city must fall. +There were breaches in the massive walls and the great towers were +tottering. If he could gain a little more time, reinforcements might +arrive and compel Alexander to raise the siege. Mustering his best +remaining troops, he poured them out of the Triple Gate and through the +gaps in the wall upon the works of the enemy. The attack was repulsed +without accomplishing its object; and when the garrison sought to +regain the defences, scores were slain at the wall and hundreds more in +the moat, where they were precipitated by the breaking of the bridge +leading to the gate. + +It was plain that the end was at hand. The Rhodian felt that the city +was at the mercy of the young king, and he hastened to take advantage +of the respite that Alexander's forbearance allowed him. At midnight +after this last defeat the evacuation began. The troops were withdrawn +to the Royal Citadel and to the Salmacis, where they could still remain +in touch with their ships. The greater part of the population fled to +the harbor and sought escape in the merchant vessels which were putting +to sea. Azemilcus, king of Tyre, who had been acting with the fleet, +made ready a trireme in which to send home the wounded among the +Tyrians. He placed it under the command of Phradates. + +Thais learned from the slave women that the young Ph[oe]nician was +making ready to depart in haste. + +"If we are to escape, we must do it now," she said hurriedly to +Artemisia. "He will try to take us with him." + +"Can we not refuse to go?" Artemisia replied. + +"No," Thais responded. "To refuse him would be to open his eyes, and +he would certainly take us by force. Flight is our only hope." + +She gathered her jewels into a packet and placed it in her bosom. She +then ordered the women to muffle them in long cloaks that concealed +their faces. + +"Go down and find out who is there," she said. + +One of the women brought word that Phradates had gone to the harbor to +see that all was in readiness, and that Mena was also absent. Thais +led the way boldly down the stairs and out of the house, followed by +Artemisia and the two women. The slaves who were at work below stared +at them, but in the absence of their master none ventured to stop them. +They gained the street in safety, and were immediately swept away in +the clamoring, terror-stricken streams of fugitives who were pouring +toward the harbor. A lofty tower that had been built beside the Triple +Gate was on fire. The flames roared up the sides of the structure, +bursting from its windows and loopholes, and converting it into a +gigantic torch. They spread quickly to the houses nearest the walls, +sending volumes of reddened smoke rolling over the harbor. The howling +of dogs mingled with the shouts of men and the wailing of women who +clasped their children to their breasts. + +Iphicrates left the walls with his comrades in arms and plunged into +the crowded streets. He had intended to seek his own house in the hope +of finding some remains of his hoard untouched; but the panic seized +him, and he changed his direction. He determined to gain the Royal +Citadel, which he knew was to be defended against the Macedonians. +Thinking only of his own safety, he forced his way through the press, +pushing women and children aside in his haste. Blinded by the terror +that possessed him, he took no heed of a small, dark-skinned man with +sharp features who reeled back from the thrust of his elbow. Even if +he had noticed that the figure fell in behind him, following his +footsteps like a shadow, he would have taken him only for one of the +fugitives. + +Steeped in the contagion of fear, the money-lender hardly noticed where +he went. He soon became exhausted by his struggle with the crowd, and +he heaved a sigh of relief when he found himself at last in a street +that was comparatively deserted. He overlooked the fact that the few +persons whom he met were hurrying the other way, and it was not until +he was brought to a halt by a blank wall that he recognized his +surroundings. He had entered a road from which there was no outlet. + +He halted in dismay. The shadow behind him glided into a doorway and +crouched out of sight. The street was hemmed in by tall buildings that +had been emptied of their tenants, and the light of the burning tower +flickered redly upon the upper walls, increasing the gloom below. A +sense of loneliness and desertion smote him. He felt himself suddenly +cut off from human companionship. His heart beat thickly and heavily. +He seemed to be strangling under the oppression of a nameless and +deadly horror. + +He turned and rushed back in the direction whence he had come. As he +passed the doorway within which the shadow had disappeared, a light +form bounded out upon him. There was a flash of steel; a lean arm was +thrust forward and seemed to touch him lightly on the back beneath his +shoulder. He fell upon his face with a choking cry; the shadow leaped +over him, fled, and vanished, leaving him motionless where he lay. + +Thais and Artemisia were borne forward in the crowd without power to +choose the direction of their flight. In the frantic masses of +humanity, all fighting toward the harbor, they saw women and children +trampled underfoot; and they clung to each other in desperation, +knowing that if they fell, they would never be able to rise. The +maddened crowd swept them on to the wharves, where the agitated waters +of the harbor spread before them like a lake of blood in the glare of +the conflagration. + +Utterly bewildered and unable to extricate themselves, the young women +were drawn hither and thither by the eddies of the mob as it rushed +feverishly from one vessel to another, seeking means of escape. +Suddenly they found themselves wedged in before a double line of +soldiers drawn up before the gangway of a trireme, the sides of which +loomed dark above their heads. Torches shed a smoky light upon the +agonized faces of the throng, held at bay by the spears of the guard. +Warning shouts rose from the darkness, followed by a swaying motion of +the crowd which divided before the rush of a compact body of men making +toward the vessel. Thais and Artemisia felt themselves crushed forward +against the living barrier until they could hardly breathe. They heard +the shouting and cursing of the soldiers advancing from the rear into +the circle of torchlight. The pressure became unbearable. They had +given themselves up for lost, when, before they knew what was taking +place, they were seized and borne upward. Thais recovered her senses +to find herself seated upon the deck of the trireme, with Artemisia's +head in her lap. + +"Why did you run away?" asked a familiar voice reproachfully. + +She looked up and saw Phradates standing before her. "It is fate!" +flashed through her mind. + +"We thought you had deserted us, and we were frightened," she replied. + +"I searched everywhere for you," he said. "Astarte must have guided +you here." + +He turned and commanded the sailors to cast off. The great vessel +swung slowly from the wharf, leaving behind the mass of unhappy +fugitives, some of whom cursed her, while others stretched out their +arms toward her, praying to the last to be taken on board. Artemisia +was revived by the cooler air of the harbor. + +"Where are we?" she asked faintly, opening her blue eyes. + +"We are on the Ph[oe]nician trireme, bound, I suppose, for Tyre," Thais +answered bitterly. "No, it was not my doing," she continued, replying +to her sister's glance of surprise and question. "I had no more part +in it than you this time. It is the will of the Gods." + +The trireme pointed her brazen beak toward the entrance of the harbor. +The banks of oars which fringed her sides in three rows, one above the +other, like the legs of some gigantic water insect, caught the waves, +and the panic-stricken city began to glide away from her stern. A +fishing boat, laden with fugitives, drifted across her path. The sharp +prow struck the side of the hapless little craft and cut through it +like a knife. For a brief moment the screams of women and children +rose out of the darkness, and then the voices were stifled. + +Artemisia hid her face on Thais' shoulder and wept; but Thais, gazing +back on the fiery city, saw the great tower reel and fall, clothed in +flame from base to summit. The roar of turmoil and terror sounded in +her ears, and she smiled. The red light danced in her eyes, making +them gleam like opals as she turned them upon Phradates. + +"They say thy city hath strong walls, Ph[oe]nician," she said. "Thou +wilt have to build them still stronger, I think." + +"They are strong," Phradates answered proudly; "but we shall not need +them, for between us and Alexander stand a million men, ready to lay +down their lives for their king." + +Thais raised her white arm and extended it toward the stricken city. + +"What shall withstand the Whirlwind?" she said. + +In the stern of the trireme sat Mena, gazing thoughtfully back at the +city and wiping the stains from the blade of his dagger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE GORDIAN KNOT + +Alexander kept the anniversary of his departure from Macedon in the +city of Gordium, surrounded by his army, on the wind-swept uplands of +Phrygia. He reached the place through the drifted snows that blocked +the passes of the Taurus and the rugged hills of Pisidia, subduing on +his way the tribes that had held them for ages, to whom the Great King +himself had deemed it wise to render tribute in exchange for peace. + +Looking backward, the young leader of men saw the AEgean coast and all +the territory west of the mountains subject to his rule. To the rich +and prosperous Grecian cities by the sea he had restored their ancient +rights, and the hostages of the barbarians thronged his camp. He had +made a beginning, and his heart had confidence in the end. + +Parmenio came from Sardis, bringing the troops that had wintered there, +with the siege train and abundance of supplies. Alexander resolved to +rest until the roads should be settled so that he might strike another +blow. In games and feasting and martial exercises his army passed the +breathing space permitted before the onslaught. The camp was filled +with jests devised by the detachments that under Alexander had +conquered stubborn Salagassus, at the expense of the men who had been +idling in Sardis and who were accused of having grown white-faced and +soft in their luxury. Parmenio's men, in turn, took their revenge in +quips levelled at the young married men, who had been allowed to go to +their homes across the Hellespont and who now returned, bringing the +latest news and gossip of Pella and squadrons of eager recruits. + +Leonidas had risen high in the favor of the young king, who had seen +his courage tested in the winter campaign. He had become one of the +Table Companions, with command of a squadron of cavalry, and even the +proud young Macedonian nobles, jealous of intrusion, had ceased to look +down upon him as an outsider and had taken him into their circle. Of +all the stories told in the camp, none was more often repeated than +that which related how the Spartan had held the light-armed troops when +they were taken in ambush by the fierce mountaineers before Salagassus, +until Alexander could lead the phalanx to their rescue. + +But Leonidas showed no elation. On the contrary, he seemed more grim +and taciturn than ever. Gladly would he have given both favor and +command if he could have seen Clearchus and Chares ride into camp +unharmed. Since they started for Halicarnassus, he had heard nothing +of them, and it was the general opinion in the army that they were +lost. The Spartan had few friends and none to take the place of these +two. His grief for them was the deeper because he would not show it. +Though it gnawed at his heart like the stolen fox, he gave no sign. +One night, at table, the jest turned upon Amyntas, who had purchased +gilded armor. + +"You are as vain as Chares the Theban," one of the Thessalian officers +said to him, laughing. + +Leonidas sought the man out next day. "You have insulted my friend, +who is not here. I think you are sorry for it," he said quietly. + +The young captain laughed, looking down upon the Spartan from his six +feet of stature. + +"You think too much," he replied contemptuously. + +With a bound, Leonidas caught him by the throat in a grip that was like +that of a bulldog's jaws. In vain the Thessalian sought to break his +hold. His face grew black and his tongue protruded. + +"I think you are sorry," Leonidas repeated coolly. + +The other, feeling his senses leaving him, made an affirmative motion, +and the hands that gripped his throat relaxed. + +"Thou shouldst speak no ill of those who cannot answer," the Spartan +said, turning away and leaving the young man to recover his breath. + +When this incident reached the ears of Alexander, as everything that +happened in the camp was sure to do, the king smiled. + +"I suppose you would serve me in the same fashion if I should be +unfortunate enough to make such a jest," he said. + +"The king does not mock brave men," Leonidas replied. + +Alexander laid his hand on the Spartan's shoulder. "I am Alexander," +he said, "but I envy Chares and Clearchus. I wish I had such a friend +as they have." + +"Thou hast many," the Spartan replied. "Wrong them not; but thou hast +small need of mortal friends since the Gods are with thee." + +"That is true," Alexander said simply. He knew that nine-tenths of the +army believed indeed that the Gods had taken him under their +protection. He seemed to them, in fact, to be himself almost like one +of the immortals in the beauty of his face and form, his perfect +courage, and his unerring judgment. While the graybeards at home, the +philosophers and statesmen, were predicting failure for him and +demonstrating by precedent and logic that his success was impossible, +he had succeeded. Already he had wrested from the Great King the +colonies of Greece that for centuries had groaned under Persian +oppression, and while he had not yet stood face to face with the mighty +power that he had attacked, he had confounded the prophets of evil and +proved their wisdom to be no better than folly. When his captains +looked into his face, ruddy with youth and strength, his smooth brow, +unmarked by a line of care, and felt the charm of his glance, +remembering what he had done, it was impossible for them to think that +he was only a man like themselves. + +So when it became known, after the preparations for the southward march +in search of the Great King had been completed, that Alexander had +determined to attempt the loosening of the knot that King Gordius had +bound, there were few of his followers who doubted that he would +accomplish it. For ages this knot had defied all attempts to guess its +secret. The farmer, Gordius, driving his oxen into the city, found +himself suddenly raised to the throne. Tradition told how he had tied +the neap of his cart to the porphyry shaft in the midst of the temple +and how it had been declared that whoso should unbind it should become +lord of all Asia. In the reign of King Midas, his son, friend of the +great God Dionysus, whose touch had changed the sands of the Pactolus +to gold, many had essayed the task and had failed. In subsequent years +a long line of ambitious princes and scheming kings had made the +attempt, seeking to propitiate the God with rich gifts, but none had +succeeded. More lately, few had tried the knot, for the Great King +watched the shrine, and those who were bold enough to tempt Fortune +there soon found themselves summoned to his court, where they were +taught how unwise it was for the weak to aspire to the dominions of the +strong. + +It was knowledge of all this that led the soldiers to regard +Alexander's trial of the knot as no less important than a great battle. +If the knot should yield to him, there would no longer be any doubt of +what the Gods intended. + +Parmenio, with the caution born of age, shook his head when the king +told him of his project. + +"What will you gain?" he asked. "The army already has complete +confidence in you, and if you fail, some of it will be lost." + +"Dost thou believe we shall conquer Darius?" Alexander demanded. + +"With the aid of the Gods, I think we shall," Parmenio replied. + +"And dost thou not believe in the prophecy regarding the knot?" +Alexander asked again. + +Parmenio hesitated and looked confused. "It is very old," he said at +last, "and we know not whence it came." + +"Thy faith is weak," the young leader said severely. "Fear not; the +cord shall be loosed." + +Before the ancient temple the army was drawn up in long lines, archers +and slingers, spearmen and cavalry, find the phalanx in companies and +squadrons. Alexander, mounted on Bucephalus, rode slowly along the +ranks, splendid in his armor, with the double plume of white brushing +his shoulders on either side. He halted before the temple, where the +robed priests stood ready to receive him. Every eye was upon him as he +leaped to the ground and turned his face to the army. + +"I go to test the prophecy, whether it be true or false," he cried, in +a clear voice. "Wait thou my return." + +Followed by his generals and by Aristander, the soothsayer, he entered +the portals of the temple after the priests. They led him to the spot +where the cart was fastened to the pillar. Its rude construction +indicated its great age. Its wheels were sections of a tree trunk cut +across. Its body was carved with strange figures of forgotten Gods and +monsters, colored with pigment that time had dimmed. Its long neap was +tied at the end to the shaft of stone with strips of cornel bark, brown +and stiff with age and intertwined in curious folds that left no ends +visible. + +Alexander looked to the chief priest. "What is the prophecy?" he +demanded. + +The old man unrolled a parchment written over with dim characters, and +read. + +"To that man who shall loose the knot bound by King Gordius under +direction of the high Gods," he quavered, "shall be given the realm of +Asia from the southern ocean to the seas of the North. Once only may +the trial be made. Thus saith the God." + +Outside the temple the soldiers stood silent in their ranks awaiting +the result. As the aged priest ceased reading and rolled up the +parchment, Alexander drew closer to the magic knot and examined it, +while the others fell back in a wide circle. Between the priests there +passed a covert glance of understanding as though they said to each +other, "Here is another who will fail, and more gifts will come!" The +young king saw that no man could ever disentangle the convolutions of +the fastening without tearing the bark. Avoiding even a pretence of +attempting the impossible, he drew his sword. The astonished priests +started forward with a cry of protest, but before they could interfere, +the flashing blade fell and the neap of the ancient cart clattered to +the stone floor. + +"The knot is loosed," Alexander said quietly, sheathing his sword. + +"The God greets thee, Lord of Asia!" the chief priest declared in a +solemn tone, bowing his head. + +Rushing out of the temple, the generals repeated Alexander's words to +the army. + +"The knot is loosed! The knot is loosed! We shall conquer!" ran the +joyful cry through all the ranks, and the young king, listening within +the temple, knew that the hour for decisive action was at hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +BESSUS COMES TO BABYLON + +Clearchus and Chares gazed with wonder upon the mighty walls of +Babylon, raising their sheer height from the surface of the Euphrates +until the soldiers who paced the lofty parapet seemed like pygmies +against the sky. The little cavalcade, stained with weeks of travel, +entered the city through a long archway tunnelled in the wall and +flanked on either side by enormous winged lions carved in granite. + +Nathan reported to the captain of the gate, who detailed a lieutenant +to escort him to the palace. Chares snorted his disgust as the young +man took his place at the head of the troop. His beardless face was +touched with paint, and his eyebrows were darkened with pigment. His +hands were white and soft. His flowing robe of blue silk swept +downward on either side below his feet, which were encased in buskins +with long points. He glanced superciliously at the two prisoners. + +"See that they do not try to get away here in the city," he lisped to +Nathan. "It might be hard to find them--there is such a dirty rabble +here since the Great King himself decided to take the field." + +"Have no fear," Nathan replied quietly. + +"Fear?" the lieutenant laughed. "That word, as you will find, is not +known here. Ride behind me and let your men surround these two dogs." + +He adjusted his long robe and inhaled a breath of perfume from a flask +of scent that he carried in his left hand while he gathered up his +reins with the other. Chares could restrain himself no longer. + +"So we are dogs, are we?" he roared, so suddenly that the lieutenant +almost fell from his horse. "Has no one told you that we Greeks have +to be fed? Lead on, or I will make half a meal off thy miserable +carcass, though how magpie will agree with me, I know not." + +"Seize him! Seize him! He talks treason!" screamed the lieutenant, +scarce knowing what he said. He looked at Nathan's men, who made no +move to obey, but the gleam of their white teeth as they smiled at his +agitation brought him to his senses. With an air of offended dignity, +he set his horse in motion, and the little troop clattered away into +the city. + +Inside the vast circumference of the wall they found streets along +which stood magnificent dwellings surrounded by trees and gardens. So +ample was the enclosure that ground enough remained unoccupied between +the houses to sustain the population, if necessary, upon its harvests. +Great temples reared their towers above the roofs. Gay chariots and +gilded litters passed or met them. Now and then a curious glance was +directed toward them, but beyond this they seemed to attract no +attention. Everybody was too intent upon his own business or pleasure +to give more than a passing thought to the sun-browned soldiers who +rode wearily behind the brightly accoutred lieutenant of the guard. + +As they advanced the streets became narrower and the houses stood close +together, with no space between them for gardens. Shops and bazaars +appeared on either hand, filled with a bustling, chaffering throng. +The young Greeks saw a strange medley of nations. Swarthy Egyptians +elbowed dusky merchants from beyond the Indus. Ph[oe]nicians and Jews +drove bargains with large-limbed, blue-eyed men of the North, who wore +shaggy skins upon their shoulders and carried long swords at their +belts. This part of the city was given over entirely to foreigners, +for among the Persians the old belief still prevailed that no man could +buy or sell without being dishonest, and falsehood was held in +religious abhorrence by the conquerors of the Medes. + +Darius was collecting the host which he purposed to lead against +Alexander and with which he intended to crush the adventurous invader. +Military trappings were to be seen everywhere. The summons of the +Great King had brought within the walls an enormous influx of strangers +from every corner of the empire. + +Chares and Clearchus aroused more curiosity as they rode through the +narrower streets of the commercial quarter, where they were forced to +proceed more slowly because of the throngs. They were soon recognized +as of the race of the enemy. + +"See the Greeks!" cried a bare-legged urchin in a shrill voice. + +"By Ormazd, that is a big one!" said a soldier in a lounging group, +pointing to Chares. + +"Granicus! Granicus! Kill the Greeks!" a woman screamed from the top +of one of the flat-roofed houses. + +Her imprecation caused a stir among the idlers, who pressed forward to +learn what was the matter and to obtain a better view. The rumor ran +that there was to be fighting, and customers poured out of booth and +bazaar to see it. They came good-naturedly, but in such numbers that +they quickly blocked the way and brought the troop to a halt. Some +mischievous boys began to pelt the horses with pebbles, causing them to +rear and plunge. One of the animals kicked a man in the crowd, who +struck at the rider with his staff. The Arab lunged back with the butt +of his lance. The crowd drew out of the way, jeering and laughing. + +Meanwhile the woman on the roof continued her cry. "Kill the Greeks!" +she screamed. "Slay them! Remember the Granicus, where they slew my +son!" + +Her words were taken up and repeated by other women who leaned from the +house-tops on either side of the street. The crowd continued to +gather, those behind pushing the foremost against the plunging horses. +Several were trampled upon. + +"Go away," commanded the lieutenant. "Stand back, you hounds; these +are prisoners for the king." + +"Prisoners!" howled the mob. "Kill the prisoners! Burn the murderers! +They would assassinate the king!" + +The crowd showed signs of becoming inflamed. Some of the bolder +spirits made a rush for the horsemen, seeking to pull them down and +break the circle that the Arabs had formed about the two Greeks. The +impact swept the little party into an angle between two houses, from +which there was no escape save through the multitude. The women began +to shower sticks and tiles upon them from the roofs. It became +necessary for them to raise their shields to protect their heads from +the missiles. + +Nathan turned to the lieutenant, who, with a blanched face, had shrunk +back against the wall. + +"Do you intend to stay here?" he demanded sternly. "Draw your sword +and lead us. We must cut our way out. My prisoners are for Darius and +not for these." + +"They are too many," the lieutenant whined, with chattering teeth. + +"Then give him your sword, since you are afraid to use it," Nathan +said, pointing to Chares. The Theban snatched the weapon from the +young man's hand. + +A javelin hissed through the air, cast by some soldier in the throng, +and stood quivering in the beams behind their heads. Clearchus pulled +it out and took possession of it. + +The mob still held back, agitated by conflicting currents. The idlers +who had instigated the attack in a spirit of wantonness had no stomach +for fighting, and were struggling backward through the press, seeking a +safe distance. Their places were taken by reckless and half-drunken +soldiers, who had grown weary of inactivity in the city and were eager +for any excitement, even though they obtained it at the risk of their +lives. Many of them were little more than savages whose innate +ferocity was aroused by the mere sight of blood. Some had received +cuts and bruises when the rush was made. The voice of the mob changed +from a tone of banter to a menacing cry for revenge. + +Nathan saw that the non-combatants had succeeded in extricating +themselves, and that the men who now faced them carried weapons in +their hands and were preparing to use them. The situation was +perilous. His handful of soldiers were outnumbered by more than a +hundred to one. The mob was momentarily being reenforced from the +wine-shops and the alleys that honeycombed the district. It was plain +that there was no escape unless rescue should come quickly. + +He raised himself on his horse and anxiously scanned the faces of the +crowd that had pressed back out of harm's way and now stood in +expectant silence. He knew that through the years that had passed +since the Captivity, many thousands of his race had continued to dwell +in Babylon and that the trade of the city was chiefly in their hands. +He saw their keen dark eyes looking on indifferently from beneath the +awnings that shaded the entrances of their shops. To them he +determined to appeal. + +"Israel! Israel!" he shouted, raising his open palm above his head. +"In the name of Jehovah, I call upon thee! To the rescue!" + +His cry rang clear in the momentary hush of expectation and reached the +ears for which it was intended. Upon the outskirts of the mob men +turned to their neighbors. "He is one of us! We must save him!" they +said, one to another. "Israel! Israel!" The rallying shout spread +through the dense masses of men into streets where Nathan's voice had +not penetrated. It ran like a spark in a field of dry corn. Bearded +men and dark-skinned youths left their occupations and sprang forward, +snatching up such weapons as they found nearest to their hands. There +was a second shifting of the crowd as they pushed their way toward the +front, pressing in a great circle upon the ring of soldiers who were +hemming Nathan in. + +This ring was composed mainly of the fiercest and wildest fighting men +in all the Persian Empire. It represented the extremes of the Great +King's dominions. Yellow-haired Scyths, clad in the skins of animals, +stood side by side with gigantic negroes from the mysterious forests of +Ethiopia. Their language was unknown to each other, but they had been +brought together into a fleeting comradeship by the irresistible and +savage desire which, they held in common for excitement and slaughter. + +The Jews attacked this formidable band without hesitation, hurling +fragments of stone, earthen pots, and even the merchandise that had +been displayed in the shops. The unexpected assault caused a momentary +diversion. The Scyths and Ethiopians turned and charged into the +crowd, striking with their swords and war clubs indiscriminately at +friend and foe. Chares tossed the long hair back from his eyes. + +"Your friends came just in time," he said to Nathan, "but it would be +ungrateful for us to let them fight alone. Forward, Clearchus!" + +With the Athenian at his side, he swung his horse into the street and +dashed upon the nearest of the Scyths, a giant whose voice had been +bellowing encouragement to his companions. The lieutenant's gilded +sword fell upon the knotted cords of the man's neck, and he went down +like some great tree in his own northern forests. His long blade +slipped from his hand, and the Theban, stooping from the back of his +horse and holding by the mane, caught it up. + +"Ha!" Chares cried, swinging the heavy weapon above his head, "now we +can get at them." + +The Arabs, headed by Nathan, had followed the Greeks and were fighting +beside them in a compact body. The Jews outside the circle had come to +close quarters and were hacking and thrusting with daggers and +butchers' knives. Their charge had been so sudden that the Scyths were +nearly broken, but they recovered themselves almost instantly. A +species of madness seemed to possess them. They closed in like a pack +of wolves, fighting with each other to get near enough to strike a blow. + +News of the outbreak had spread far into the city. From every side, +thousands drew toward the scene of the battle, driving in the crowds +that were seeking to keep their distance. They pressed upon the Jews +and forced them helplessly against the weapons of their enemies. The +number of the Scyths was momentarily increased by the arrival of their +friends. + +Nathan saw that the fight was hopeless. The Israelites, badly armed +and undisciplined, were melting away. The only chance of escape lay in +regaining the angle in the wall where they had first taken refuge, and +from which they might be able to enter one of the houses. + +Chares was wielding the great Scythian sword with both hands. Whoever +was thrust within its sweep went down. Its tempered edge shore through +bone and metal, and no parry availed to turn it aside. Clearchus +fought at his shoulder with his javelin, protecting him against attack +in the rear. + +"Back!" Nathan shouted to them. "We cannot face the odds. We must +seek the wall!" + +"You are right," Chares answered without turning his head. "We are +coming. I wish Alexander were here!" + +He cut down a negro who had succeeded in getting within the thrust of +Clearchus' lance. + +"This is better than Granicus," he panted, as the man rolled upon the +ground. + +Clearchus made no reply, and Chares saw that his face was drawn and +pale. It was clear that he was becoming exhausted. The Theban was +filled with sudden alarm. + +"To the wall!" he cried, wheeling his horse. "Bear up for a little +yet, and we will show these beasts how Greeks can die!" + +They recovered their position with difficulty, followed by the howling +Scyths and negroes. Half the Arab escort had been killed, and Nathan +was bleeding from a wound in the thigh, though he still fought +gallantly. Chares alone was both unwearied and unscathed. He seemed +endowed with the strength of ten men as he faced the fierce onset. His +aspect as he turned at bay with uplifted sword caused the Scyths for an +instant to hesitate. Then they charged, clustering around the little +band like a swarm of angry bees, pushing each other forward and +striking over one another's shoulders. It was clear that the conflict +could not last much longer. Nathan knew that, once they were down in +that seething and raging mob, they would meet a frightful death. His +flesh shuddered at the thought of what was to come. + +"Down with them! Down with the Greek dogs! They give way!" yelled the +mob. + +Clearchus glanced at the sea of distorted faces, white, yellow, and +black, and saw thousands of eyes glaring hungrily at them. A strange +indifference took possession of him. Why should he strive? What +mattered it now whether the God of Nathan was mightier than the Gods of +Greece? Not even the Gods could save them. If Artemisia were dead, he +would meet her presently in the Elysian Fields. If she were living, +sooner or later she would join him in the land of shades beyond Styx. +There he would tell her how his heart had suffered. It was easier to +die than to live, since now he must die. + +"It is finished, Chares; we will go together," he called to the Theban. + +"Not until I get this one!" Chares replied grimly, nodding toward a man +who crouched before him just beyond the reach of his sword. + +The squat figure was bent for a spring. The man wore a leopard skin +across his muscular shoulders and his little green eyes were fastened +ferociously upon the Theban, watching for an opening. Clearchus +thought he had never seen anything more repulsive than the flat, broad +face, with its strong, yellow teeth showing like fangs. As he looked +he heard Nathan's voice beside him. + +"O Lord, my God, save now Thy servant, if such be Thy will; for without +Thee, I perish!" cried the Israelite, in an accent of despair. + +"Here he comes!" Chares shouted. + +The figure of the crouching Scyth bounded forward, and his bright +sword, keen as a razor, flashed in the air. + +"I have him!" Chares cried exultingly. His long blade hissed downward +as he spoke, and the ugly round head rolled in the dirt. The stroke +was followed by a roar of rage from the Scyths, among whom the man had +evidently been a leader of importance. + +"Come on!" the Theban called to them, tauntingly. "Cowards, why do you +wait?" + +The challenge seemed to goad them to desperation. They came with a +rush in which they threw aside all caution. The remnant of the little +troop was hurled violently backward. Chares' sword rose and fell +without a pause; Nathan and the men who remained to him cut and thrust +at the faces of their foes; and even Clearchus, roused by the instinct +of self-preservation, plied his javelin. The end had come, and nothing +remained but to die bravely. + +It seemed to Clearchus that they would be able to hold out for only a +moment longer, when without apparent, reason the attack suddenly +slackened. The Scyths drew back, leaving a circle of dead and wounded +under the wall. The mass of humanity that blocked the street swayed +and gave way with a roar of warning and of fear. The mob was all in +motion. It seemed to be fleeing before some danger, the nature of +which the objects of its attack were unable to guess. It rushed past +the angle in the wall where Nathan and his prisoners had taken refuge, +carrying the struggling Scyths along with it. + +"What is happening?" Clearchus gasped. + +Nathan was too nearly exhausted to reply. He shook his head as a sign +that he did not know, but the answer was not long delayed. + +The beat of trampling hoofs and the thunder of rolling wheels was +mingled with the roar of panic, and in an instant the street was filled +from side to side with close ranks of wild-looking horsemen. + +"Way for Bessus! Make way for the noble viceroy!" they shouted, +striking right and left with their rawhide whips. + +They rode into the mob with reckless indifference, and all who were +unfortunate enough to be unable to get out of their way were trampled +under the hoofs of the galloping horses. + +"They are the Bactrians," Nathan panted. "We are saved." + +From their sheltering angle, the Greeks watched the horsemen go past. +Every man seemed an athlete, and the riders sat upon the backs of their +horses as though they had grown there. Behind them, after a brief +interval, rumbled a heavy war chariot drawn by four black steeds. In +this ponderous vehicle, beside the charioteer, stood a corpulent man, +with an enormously thick neck and a heavy jaw that gave an aspect of +sternness to his dark face. He paid no heed to the lifeless forms over +which the wheels of his chariot rolled, and he seemed deaf to the cries +of pain uttered by the wretches who had been maimed beneath the hoofs +of his guard. Clearchus' eyes for a moment met those of the viceroy +and he felt a chill strike through him, as though he had touched some +monstrous reptile unawares. + +The passage of the Bactrians effectually cleared the street, but Nathan +deemed it wise to fall in behind them lest the attack should be +renewed. As they were about to start, a thought occurred to Chares. + +"Where is the lieutenant?" he asked. + +"He is there," Nathan replied, pointing to a heap of the slain. + +The body of the young man lay a little apart from the rest, with the +paint still on its cheeks and a gaping wound in its chest. + +"So his cowardice did not save him," Chares said. "Let us go." + +"Come, then," Nathan replied, and behind the chariot of Bessus, they +arrived at the gates which gave entrance to the enclosure in which +stood the royal palace. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE GREAT KING IS ANGRY + +At the approach of Bessus the great bronze gates in the palace wall +swung wide, and he rode through them, followed by his Bactrians. +Nathan halted at the entrance, which he found in charge of a guard of +his own race. The gray-haired captain in command rushed forward with a +cry of joy. + +"Where hast thou been?" he cried, embracing Nathan as he dismounted. +"Art thou sound and whole?" + +"Nearly so," Nathan replied, showing the cut on his thigh, which +fortunately was not deep and had ceased to bleed. "How is it with +Israel?" + +They walked apart, talking in low tones. The Arabs and the two +prisoners threw themselves on the turf inside the gate and waited. +Through the swaying branches of the trees they could catch glimpses of +the massive walls of many buildings standing in stately magnificence +amid the verdure. At a distance, above roof and tree-top, rose the +famous Hanging Gardens of the Great King, built in terraces, gay with +wonderful flowers and strange plants brought from the ends of the +world. Crystal streams flashed in waterfalls from the summit, +following winding artificial channels, beside which stood statues of +marble. + +The two Greeks noticed that Nathan and the captain glanced at them from +time to time as they talked, and they felt that they were the subjects +of the conference. Finally Nathan came toward them, bringing the +captain with him. + +"This is Ezra," he said. "He knows what I know. Obey him in all +things. When the time comes, I shall be near; but now I must leave +you." + +He offered his hand and the two Greeks shook it warmly. Then with a +word to his Arabs, who followed him with their horses, he led the way +down a side path and vanished in the thickets. + +"Where is he going?" Clearchus asked. + +"To the barracks," Ezra replied. "Darius keeps a guard here of ten +thousand men, who are known as the Immortals, because their ranks are +always full." + +"The palace is almost a city," Clearchus said, looking about him with +curiosity. "We have many cities at home that are smaller." + +"It has need to be," Ezra replied. "The Great King usually has fifteen +thousand guests at his table, and the number now is greater because he +is preparing for war." + +"Will he really take the field, then?" Chares asked. + +"He is mustering his army," the captain answered, "and he will lead it +to battle. The result is in the hands of God." + +"I could tell thee, Jew, what the result will be," Chares said dryly. +"By Dionysus, what a place to plunder! Where are you going to take us?" + +"I shall deliver you to Boupares, governor of the palace, who has +charge of the prisoners and of the hostages," Ezra said. "So long as +you make no attempt to escape, you will have a considerable amount of +freedom. There are some of our people among the guards, and one +especially named Joel, who will tell you of what is being done. Of +yourselves you can accomplish nothing; but we can do much. You are to +leave everything to us. Joel you may trust, but it will be your part +to wait in patience." + +"When shall we be summoned before the king?" Clearchus asked. + +"Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps a month from now, and possibly not at all," +Ezra replied. "It is never known in advance what he will do." + +So the two friends passed into their captivity in the palace of Darius. +As Ezra had said, their confinement did not prove a hardship to them. +They were placed with hundreds of others in a remote wing near the +river wall. They had baths, a large court for games and exercise, and +abundance of slaves to provide for their wants. The Israelites among +their guards supplied them privately with the news of the court. The +winter months passed pleasantly enough, considering their situation. +Clearchus, whose mind was filled with doubt concerning the fate of +Artemisia, had his days of gloom and despair; but there was nothing to +be done, and the light-hearted resignation of Chares saved him from +utter despondency. + +Of the numerous company held by Boupares to await the pleasure of the +Great King, many knew not why they had been brought thither. Some of +them had been there for years. Others received the royal summons on +the morrow of their arrival and did not return. There were princes +from the distant East, who had been suspected of a desire to throw off +the Persian yoke; there were adventurers from Athens, merchants from +Sicily, dusky chieftains from the sources of the Nile--a strange +mixture of tongues and races, in, which every part of the huge, +unwieldy empire was represented. + +"I feel as though we were in the cave of Polyphemus," Clearchus said. +"Who can tell whose turn will come next?" + +"At any rate, the king is not a Cyclops--he cannot eat us," Chares +replied. "Here comes Joel; now we shall get the latest news." + +The young man approached them with the affectation of carelessness that +it was necessary to assume to disarm suspicion. The palace swarmed +with the Eyes and Ears of the king, spies and informers whose identity +was unknown even to the most trusted of the courtiers. He must be +cunning indeed who could frame and bring to fruition a plot that could +escape their observation. A word from one of them, even though founded +upon suspicion, often brought death. + +"Well?" Chares said, when Joel reached at last the spot where they were +standing, out of hearing of the others. "Repeat for us the murmurs of +this whispering gallery." + +"It is in fact a gallery in which every whisper is heard," the Hebrew +said, smiling. "But there is great news to-day; Pharnaces has been +condemned to death, and all his family must die with him." + +"What has he done?" Clearchus asked. "Is he not one of the most +powerful of the nobles and a favorite with the king?" + +"Yes," Joel replied, "and why the sentence was passed no one knows +excepting the king himself." + +"But will he have no trial?" Clearchus persisted. "Will they not tell +him what charge is laid against him?" + +Joel shrugged his shoulders. "The sentence has been passed," he said, +"and not even the Great King, who made it, can change it now. We have +been trying to discover what the accusation was. Pharnaces wanted to +be viceroy of Bactria, and he had been gathering evidence with which to +destroy Bessus. It must be that Bessus managed to reach the king +first; but what means he had of accomplishing this, we do not know. +Perhaps he bribed one of the king's Eyes. It must have cost him +something, but Bessus could do it if any one. If he did not work +through the spies, he may have persuaded the Magi to discover some +treason in the stars and then to accuse Pharnaces. Bessus is on good +terms with the Medean priests, for he lets them do what they like in +his province." + +"This Bessus must be a dangerous man," Clearchus said. + +"Only because he has force and daring," Joel replied. "He does what +every other man would like to do. There is not a satrap or viceroy in +the empire who does not desire his neighbor's ruin. It has been worse +since these fire-worshipping priests began to get back into favor +again. Our wise men say that it was an evil day for the kings of this +land when they allowed these men to wean their minds from Ormazd and +set up their idols in Babylon. But now there is no God too false to +obtain worship here. Even Baal and Astarte have their temples, and +they are beginning to bring in the Egyptian brood of deities. The cup +is filling fast, and they must drink it when Jehovah wills." + +The young man's voice sank to a tone of awe as he pronounced the +dreadful name, and he glanced about him as though he half expected a +thunderbolt to fall. It did not escape the Athenian perception of +Clearchus that the Jew seemed to regard the terrible presence as real +and actual. His earnestness formed a striking contrast with his usual +affectation of the easy and cynical manner of the court. + +"We laugh and jest here in the palace," he went on, "but each man's +hand is against his neighbor. Faith and honor are lost. Servants +betray their masters and sons lead their parents to death. What knows +the Great King of all this? He lives behind a screen, where thieves +and rascals make him their tool. These plotters play upon him as they +do upon Sisygambis, the queen mother, who has almost as much power as +her son; or upon Statira, his queen, the most beautiful of women. The +gynaeceum is a nest of intrigues. His stewards and keepers and +cup-bearers have each their price, and they do not scruple to take it. +A whisper or a look may send a man to his death. Give me a chance with +a sword in my hand and let me see the man who strikes me! I hate this +treacherous game in the dark!" + +"Well spoken, my lad!" Chares said. "But what about this queen, +Statira--is she so very beautiful?" + +"They say she is the fairest woman in the world," Joel answered, "and +that the Great King is the handsomest of men. I have never seen her, +or I would not be here now. It is death to look upon the face of one +of the king's women, even by accident." + +"They seem to be very particular!" Chares grumbled. + +"I dare say they have their reasons," Joel said. "But I have not told +you all the news. The king has had a dream, and he believes that the +Gods have promised him the victory over Alexander. The Chaldeans have +told him so." + +"What was the dream?" Clearchus asked uneasily. + +"It was proclaimed this morning," Joel said. "Darius dreamed that when +he had come within sight of the Macedonians, their army suddenly burst +into flame and all the troops were consumed, so that nothing but their +ashes remained where they had been. And then he thought he saw +Alexander, dressed like one of the lords of the household, standing +ready to serve him. But when he went into the Temple of Baal, +Alexander vanished utterly and was seen no more. From this the learned +men of the Chaldeans say that Baal will give the battle to Darius and +will remove Alexander from his way. So the king has ordered sacrifices +to Baal and has promised him a great temple of stone after the victory." + +Clearchus looked troubled, and even Chares shook his head. + +"Wait," Joel went on eagerly, noticing their concern. "I have told you +the interpretation of the Chaldeans. Our wise men have also considered +the dream, and they read it differently. They say that the army on +fire means that the Macedonians shall win great glory, and that the +appearance of Alexander as a lord of the household, in the same dress +that Darius wore before he became king, signifies that he will gain +victories, as Darius did. This is the interpretation of the priests of +our race, to whom are revealed the things that are to be." + +"I know not which is right," Clearchus said, "but I wish Aristander was +here." + +"Nathan bade me tell you to have no fear," Joel said confidently. "He +also wished me to tell you that Phradates the Tyrian has come to court." + +"Phradates here!" Chares exclaimed. "Why did you not say so before? +There will be trouble for us." + +"Nathan talked with the Ph[oe]nician and learned much," Joel continued. +"Halicarnassus has fallen and Memnon is dead. Phradates is seeking +command of the fleet for Azemilcus, the Tyrian king." + +"Did Nathan say nothing of Artemisia and Thais?" Clearchus inquired, in +a trembling voice. + +"Oh, yes," said Joel, "I had forgotten. He told me to say that +Phradates had carried them by force to Tyre in his galley after the +fall of Halicarnassus and that he is in love with Thais. This he +learned from one of our people who was with the Tyrian; and he learned +further that as yet no harm has befallen the young women." + +"We must go!" Clearchus exclaimed. "Tell Nathan so at once. Tell him +that if he cannot release us, we will release ourselves. We must be on +our way to Tyre to-morrow." + +"Quietly," Chares said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. +"Not so loud. You forget!" + +"Did you not hear what he said?" Clearchus demanded impatiently. +"Artemisia is in Tyre and in the power of Phradates!" + +"So is Thais, and she is in the greater danger," Chares said, "if what +Joel tells us is true; but we shall never see either of them again +unless we are discreet." + +There was a stir in the great hall of the building as the inmates +gathered from the various smaller apartments. "The king has sent a +summons!" Joel said, hastening away. + +"Do not forget my message," Clearchus insisted. + +"I will deliver it," Joel responded over his shoulder. + +Chares and Clearchus joined the main body of prisoners, who were +assembled in the hall. They found there Boupares himself, with scribes +bearing the register of the inmates of the place. The governor +scrutinized the lists with care, selecting from among them the names of +prisoners, who were called by a crier. Each man, as he heard his name, +stepped forward to await the directions of Boupares. + +"Amyntas of Macedon!" shouted the crier, and a small, thin man with a +sallow face stood out from the rest. + +"Charidemus of Corinth!" the crier called. + +"They are asking only for the Greeks," remarked a tall Assyrian. + +"Maybe our turn has come," Clearchus said. + +"Clearchus of Athens!" the crier shouted. "Chares of Thebes!" + +The two young men advanced and joined the waiting group. + +"That is all," Boupares said, handing the lists to the scribes. +"Follow me to the audience chamber." + +Through the long, pillared courts and vast halls of the palace he +conducted the prisoners. On every side were evidences of the +expenditure of limitless wealth and measureless labor. Row after row +of polished columns sprang a hundred feet to the echoing roof. Great +sculptures adorned the walls. The floors were inlaid with mosaics of +variegated pattern. Thousands of attendants came and went among the +crowds of courtiers. + +At last they arrived at the audience chamber and were admitted. Here +the talk and laughter ceased and voices sank to a whisper. They were +in the presence of the Great King, the most powerful and absolute of +all monarchs. The walls of the lofty apartment were covered with +plates of gold for half their height, and above these were paintings in +which the king was depicted slaying lions in hand-to-hand combat, or +driving his enemies before him in his war chariot. Between the pillars +hung rich curtains of crimson, green, and violet, and the floor was +hidden beneath silken carpets. + +At the end of the room, under a purple canopy, stood a throne of gold +and ivory, inlaid with precious stones. The perfume of myrrh and +frankincense filled the air. + +Standing before the throne, from which he had just arisen, the Greeks +beheld Darius, the last of the Archaemenian kings. His tall, well-built +figure was clad in a long Medean robe of rich silk, purple, embroidered +with gold, and confined at the waist by a broad girdle of gold, from +which hung his dagger in its sheath of lapis lazuli. His feet were +shod in yellow shoes with long points. On his head he wore the +citaris, which he alone might wear, with the royal diadem of blue and +white. Jewels flashed in his ears, and about his neck hung a heavy +collar of great rubies and pearls. + +Never, Clearchus thought, had he seen a face more handsome and haughty +than that of Darius, as he stood before his throne, with his blue eyes +and light brown beard, carefully trimmed. He looked like what he +was--the master of the world. His expression, although full of +dignity, was slightly weary as he listened to the petition of a man who +knelt before him, with bowed head, in the attitude of a suppliant. + +With a scarcely perceptible movement of his hand, the king dismissed +the petitioner, who rose to his feet and walked backward, with his head +still bowed, to a group of officials who stood at one side of the +apartment. Chares gripped Clearchus by the arm. + +"It is Phradates!" he said. + +It was indeed the Ph[oe]nician, who had doubtless been pressing the +suit of Azemilcus for command of the AEgean fleet. His proud face was +humbled, and drops of perspiration stood on his forehead. The king +turned his eyes slowly to the Greeks and made a sign to Boupares to +advance. The nobles who were ranged on either side of the throne, the +king's fan and cup bearers, his generals and the master of his +household, remained with stolid faces. + +Boupares prostrated himself before the throne, kissing the floor. + +"Are these the Greeks for whom I sent thee?" the king asked +indifferently. + +"They are, my lord," Boupares replied. + +"Let them come near," Darius said. + +Some of the prisoners prostrated themselves before the king as they had +seen Boupares do. Others remained standing, and among these were +Clearchus and Chares. Darius looked at them, and a slight frown +appeared upon his brow. + +"Who are they?" he asked, turning to Boupares. + +The governor designated each of the captives by name, adding a few +particulars by way of identification. + +"Clearchus, an Athenian, and Chares, a Theban," he said. "They have +served in the army of the Macedonian, and they were sent to the king +from Halicarnassus by Memnon." + +"Why have they been permitted to live?" Darius demanded, his face +darkening at the name of the lost city. + +"Because Memnon believed they could give the king information," +Boupares answered humbly, "and when captured they had left the army of +Alexander." + +"What manner of man is this Alexander?" Darius asked, turning his face +to the Greeks. + +"He is a king," Chares answered quietly. + +"How can he hope to meet me, with his handful of men?" Darius asked +again. + +"He remembers Cyrus, thy ancestor," Chares replied boldly. + +These answers made an evident impression on Darius, whose face lost its +listless expression. Many questions he put to the Greeks, who made no +attempt to conceal anything from him, knowing that others could give +him the information that he desired if they refused, and that refusal +would mean immediate death. Finally the king could think of nothing +more to ask. + +"I am about to march against thy Alexander," he said. "Who will win +the victory?" + +"Victory is the gift of the Gods, O king," Clearchus said quickly. +"Dost thou wish flattery, or a frank reply, without concealment?" + +"Speak freely," Darius said, raising his head in pride. + +"Then, unless thou canst make thy army equal to his in discipline and +spirit, thy numbers will not avail," the Athenian said. + +Darius' face flushed, and a murmur of protest rose from the watchful +courtiers. + +"Is that thy opinion, too?" the king asked, turning to Chares. + +"The ocean himself must break upon the rock," the Theban said. + +"And thine?" the king continued, addressing Charidemus, the Corinthian. + +"It is, O king," Charidemus replied. + +Phradates had been watching the face of Darius. He had recognized his +enemies as soon as they entered the audience chamber and had resolved +to deal them a blow if the chance presented itself. When he saw the +frown on the brow of the king and caught the gleam of anger in his eye, +he believed he might safely act. He stepped forward and again +prostrated himself at the steps of the throne. + +"Speak!" said Darius, looking down upon him. + +"My lord, I know these men for spies," he said. "I was in +Halicarnassus when they were captured just before I received the wound +that so nearly cost me my life. Memnon, for reasons that I do not +presume to guess, wished to save them. They mock at thee and seek to +create doubt of the promise that the Gods have given thee by spreading +fear of the result among thy men. Every Greek well knows that +Alexander cannot stand against thee and that he will never dare to meet +thee in battle." + +Phradates had cunningly formed his speech so as to assign a motive to +the adverse predictions of the Greeks which would save the pride of the +king, and yet, if he accepted it, would leave only one course open to +him. Darius did not hesitate. + +"They are spies!" he said angrily to Boupares. "Why did you bring them +to me? Take them away and let them be questioned under the torture. +Perhaps then they will tell the truth." + +Darius turned, and Phradates shot a look of triumph at the two friends. +Chares shook off the hand of the guard and was about to speak when +Clearchus checked him. + +"Silence," he whispered earnestly, "or we shall both be killed at once!" + +Chares controlled himself with an effort, and the guards, under the +direction of the crestfallen Boupares, led them away. Instead of +conducting them to their former quarters, Boupares ordered that they be +confined in the dungeons that lay beyond. These were built in a +structure of massive masonry and consisted of cells with heavily barred +doors at which sentries were stationed. Into one of the darkest of the +cells they were thrust, and the grating was bolted behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +NATHAN KEEPS HIS WORD + +Clearchus and Chares shivered in the chill of the dungeon. By the +glimmer of light that entered through a narrow opening above their +heads, they saw that the place was quite bare. There was nothing but +the stone floor under their feet and the four stone walls that shut +them in. + +"What think you, Chares?" Clearchus said, with the shadow of a smile. +"Nathan will never be able to rescue us from here." + +"It does not look hopeful," the Theban replied, "but let us see." + +He made a careful examination of the walls, finding everywhere the +solid stone unbroken. The only openings in the cell were the tiny +window and the door. The window was out of reach and so narrow that +not even a cat could have squeezed through. Chares halted at the door +and examined the bars. They were of hammered iron, as thick as the +shaft of a lance, and rendered stronger by two cross-bars, welded from +side to side. The Theban tested them gently with his hands and shook +his head. + +"The blacksmith who forged them was a good workman," he said. + +At that moment they heard the step of the sentry outside in the +passageway. The man carried at his girdle a bunch of great keys that +rattled as he walked. He was armed with a short spear with a long, +keen blade. He halted at the door of the cell. + +"What are you doing there?" he said gruffly to Chares. "Get back!" + +"No need to be angry, my friend," Chares returned good-naturedly, +falling back from the door. "What are you going to do to us?" + +The jailer's brutish face assumed an expression of pleasure that was +evidently unfeigned. + +"You know you are to be tortured to-morrow," he said, "and we do those +things thoroughly here. I shall help. They could not get along +without me." + +"I suppose you are used to it," Chares ventured. + +"My father taught me," the man replied proudly. "There is none in the +empire better with the rack than I. And he showed me how to draw the +band about a man's forehead until his eyes stick out of his head and +his skull cracks like an egg, and all without killing him. Very few +know the secret." + +"And when you are through with the torture, what then?" asked Chares. + +"Why, then you will die by the boat," the jailer replied. + +"Do you mean we shall be drowned?" Chares inquired. + +The jailer laughed harshly. "That would be too easy," he said. "Death +by the boat has nothing to do with the water, as you will find. They +will place you in the shallop with your head, arms, and feet outside. +Then they will cover you with honey and place another boat upside down +over you. This will leave your head and hands free through the holes. +The ants and the flies are fond of honey. I have known men to live a +week in their snug wooden jackets; but they usually go crazy after a +few days, when the ants begin to eat them." + +"That is very interesting," Chares remarked. "When will they begin the +torture?" + +"To-morrow morning," the man replied, "and I advise you to get a sound +sleep; you will be able to stand the pain better." + +He passed on down the corridor, humming to himself as though his mind +were filled with pleasant thoughts. + +"That is a nice prospect," Chares said, turning away from the grating. +"I wonder what Nathan intends to do?" + +"We can only wait," Clearchus replied. "I think we had better pretend +that we are asleep, so that your friend the sentinel will at least let +us alone." + +They stretched themselves upon the stone floor and waited, talking in +whispers. With nightfall, the prison grew utterly dark, excepting in +the corridor, where the surly guard lighted oil lamps, set at intervals +in niches in the wall. These made brief spaces of light in the gloomy +passageway, through which the man went and came with monotonous tread. +There was silence in that part of the prison where they were, +indicating that the other condemned cells were vacant. For a time the +sound of voices reached them faintly through the slit in the wall, but +these gradually ceased as the night advanced. + +One of the lamps had been set directly opposite their cell, but its +feeble glimmer hardly extended to the bars of their cage, although it +rendered objects in the corridor dimly distinct. + +Hour followed hour, and each seemed like a week to the young Athenian. +Chares, overcome by drowsiness, had fallen asleep at his side. +Clearchus wondered at the careless nature of his friend that permitted +him to close his eyes in the face of so horrible a death. He had no +doubt that Nathan would seek to rescue them, but he knew not when nor +how. Perhaps he would attempt intercession with Darius. Perhaps he +would defer the trial until the morning. What if he should fail? +Clearchus was far from being a coward, but his nerves shrank from the +thought of the torture and the lingering agony that would follow before +death came to set them free. The very idea of death, since now he knew +that Artemisia was living and in need of him, filled his heart with +anguish. + +As he lay gazing into the corridor, with his head upon his hand, he +recalled her face as it had appeared to him in the happy garden in +Academe, with the sunlight on her hair and the color of the wild rose +in her cheeks. He remembered how her blue eyes had looked into his +with sweet wistfulness and how the tears dimmed them when she told him +of the fears that had beset her. The tears rose to his own eyes at the +remembrance, and he ground his teeth as he thought of his helplessness. +Why had he not trusted the prevision of her finer perceptions, half +ethereal as they were? Why had he not remained to defend her and to +prevent the train of misfortunes which had followed? + +The sentinel paused at the door of the cell for a moment in passing. +He noted the deep breathing of Chares and resumed his march with a +yawn. Clearchus listened, mechanically counting his steps until he +should reach the spot where they were to turn. Suddenly a sound came +to his ears that caused him to sit up and listen intently. There were +other footfalls in the corridor. They were advancing in the track of +the sentinel from the direction of the entrance. + +The Athenian's pulses bounded. Help had come. He stretched out his +hand to rouse Chares, but in an instant he reflected that there was +evidently no effort at concealment on the part of the newcomer. The +steps were careless and deliberate. Probably they were made by another +guard, who had come to relieve the bloodthirsty wretch outside. His +hope sank as suddenly as it had arisen and he let his hand fall. + +"Why should I awaken him?" he thought. "Let him sleep." + +Slowly the steps advanced. Clearchus crept to the door of the cell and +peered out through the grating. A man's figure was approaching along +the passage. It was Nathan. Clearchus rose quickly to his feet and +shook Chares by the shoulder. + +"Silence!" he whispered. + +The Theban rubbed his eyes and stretched his great limbs. + +"Where am I?" he muttered. "Oh, yes, I remember. What has happened?" + +"Nathan is here," Clearchus said. + +Chares was on his feet with a bound, and both stood listening +breathlessly. + +Nathan had reached the dim circle of light before their cell. His keen +black eyes were glancing to the right and left at the dark gratings. + +"We are here!" Clearchus whispered through the bars. + +The Israelite turned his face toward them and smiled, trying to +distinguish them in the darkness. In his hand he carried a roll of +papyrus. + +"Be ready!" he said, in a scarcely audible tone. + +"Who are you?" the sentinel demanded, catching sight of Nathan for the +first time. + +Nathan halted close to the bars of the cell and awaited his approach +without reply. + +"What are you doing here?" the man asked gruffly as he approached. + +"I have an order for you," Nathan replied coolly, unrolling the papyrus +as he spoke. "Read it." + +The man took the papyrus in his hand and looked at it. Then he glanced +cunningly at Nathan. + +"What does it mean?" he growled, handing it back. "I cannot read." + +This was evidently a contingency that had not entered into Nathan's +calculations. + +"It is signed by Boupares--here, do you see!" he said, holding the +writing under the jailer's nose. + +"Well, what then?" the man asked suspiciously. + +"It is an order," Nathan continued. "You are to deliver the Greek +prisoners to me immediately." + +"What are you going to do with them?" the jailer asked. + +"Boupares desires to talk with them before they are examined," Nathan +explained. + +"I shall not give them up," the jailer replied, with the air of a man +who has made up his mind. "If Boupares wishes to see them, let him +come here. They were sent to me under the seal of the king himself, +and this order of yours has no seal. Do you think I want to be boiled +alive as my comrade was last month? I can hear his yells yet, for I +helped to do it. You can tell Boupares what I have said, and now be +off." + +Like most ignorant men when they think, or pretend to think, that they +are being imposed upon, the jailer raised his voice to a bullying +shout. Nathan looked apprehensively over his shoulder toward the +entrance of the prison. The harsh tone echoed between the narrow walls +and might be easily heard at the gate, where several men were stationed. + +"Give me your keys," he said quietly. "You know the penalty for +disobeying an order." + +The jailer stepped to the door of the cell and stood defiantly, with +his back against the bars. + +"I will not give them!" he said. + +From within the cell the man's figure was outlined against the light of +the lamp. Chares moved forward in the darkness behind him with +noiseless tread, and his fingers closed suddenly around the jailer's +throat. The wretch gasped once and threw up his chin, struggling +convulsively to free himself from the iron clutch that encircled his +neck. His struggles were in vain. The Theban drew him silently back +against the bars. His feet scuffled on the stone floor, and his short +spear clattered from his hand. + +"Take the keys," Clearchus whispered. + +Nathan quickly detached the keys from the jailer's belt and unlocked +the door of the cell. Clearchus slipped through the open door, picking +up the jailer's spear as he went. Chares relaxed his hold, and the +man's body slipped in a huddled heap to the floor. + +"Come," said the Israelite. "We have no time to lose." + +What he said was true. From the direction of the entrance came the +sound of voices and the flickering of a torch danced upon the walls. + +"Neshak! Ho, Neshak, where are you?" called a voice. + +"They are seeking the jailer," Nathan whispered. "Come!" + +He darted down the corridor into the darkness, with the two Greeks at +his heels. At the end of a dozen yards they turned quickly to the +left, up a flight of stairs, and then through other passageways, until +they reached a second short stairway and emerged upon the roof. + +They stood panting and listening beside the head of the stair. Above +them the wide arch of the sky was sown with stars. From the black +opening at their feet came a confused sound of cries and shouting. + +"They have found the jailer's body," Nathan said. "I fear we are lost. +It shall be as Jehovah wills!" + +He drew a short sword from its sheath at his side. + +"Is there no other way to the roof?" Clearchus asked. + +"No other way," Nathan replied; "but how can we hope to hold this +against them?" + +The Athenian looked about him. The roof was built of huge slabs of +stone, fitted together without mortar, and there was nothing that might +serve as even a temporary barricade. + +"If we could only raise one of these," he said, stooping over one of +the slabs. + +"Not ten men could do it," Nathan replied, shaking his head. + +"Let us see," said Chares. + +He thrust his fingers under the stone and set his feet wide apart. The +muscles of his back and arms rose in ridges. The veins of his neck +swelled like knotted cords. The great stone stirred in its bed. + +Clearchus and Nathan dropped their weapons and bent eagerly to assist +him. The ponderous mass heaved slowly upward, tilting toward the +opening that led to the stairway. From the sound of the voices within +they knew that their pursuers were close at hand. + +"Life or death!" groaned Chares, the sweat streaming from his body like +rain. "Now!" + +The mighty stone rose inch by inch upon its edge, standing higher than +the heads of the three men, who were now behind and beneath it. Their +pursuers had evidently halted on the stairs, expecting the opening to +the roof to be defended. Puzzled by the silence, they seemed to be +concerting a plan of attack. Suddenly they sprang upward with a shout, +thrusting forward their spears and crowding for the aperture. + +The great slab stood upright, balancing on its lower end. While a man +might draw breath, it hung motionless, and then it toppled over upon +the opening from the stairs. + +The foremost of the pursuers saw it and with inarticulate cries sought +to retreat. They were too late. The heavy mass crashed down upon +their heads and covered the opening. Nathan and Clearchus fell forward +with it and lay gasping. Chares swayed upon his feet and his head +reeled. The blood dripped from the ends of his fingers, where it had +burst from beneath his nails. Faintly from under the stone issued +cries of agony, as though some of the guard had been caught there and +held fast by mangled limbs. + +Nathan staggered to his feet and groped for his sword. "Now for the +wall," he cried. "We may yet escape!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY + +As Clearchus lay upon the broad slab, the voices of his friends seemed +to him faint and far away. He tried to rise, but a strange languor +weighed him down. Chares seized him and dragged him to his feet. + +"Wake up!" cried the Theban. "We still have a chance. You tremble +like a girl." + +Clearchus gathered his senses with an effort of will, and the two +Greeks followed Nathan across the roof toward the great wall, against +which the prison was built. + +Nathan led them straight to the foot of a narrow flight of steps, +roughly hewn in the masonry and scarcely discernible a few yards away. +Up these he climbed with the agility of a cat. Clearchus, still faint +and dizzy, hesitated for a moment, gazing at the sheer height that +towered above his head. + +"Forward!" Chares cried behind him. "It is our only hope." + +Clearchus set his feet in the narrow steps and followed Nathan, +carrying the jailer's spear in his left hand and clinging to each +projection with his right. More than once his feet slipped and Chares +saved him from falling. The steps wound upward almost perpendicularly, +and it was evident that they were rarely used, for in places the soft +brick had crumbled, leaving wide gaps. + +"Look up!" Chares cried desperately, as Clearchus halted at one of +these dangerous points. "Look up--and remember Artemisia, whom thou +alone canst save!" + +He had touched the right chord at last. The Athenian's brain cleared +at the mention of Artemisia's peril, and he forgot his own. The wall +no longer seemed to waver before his eyes. All doubt of his ability to +pass where Nathan had passed before him vanished from his mind, and he +gained the top with an even pulse. + +They paused for a moment to get their bearings. Far beneath them they +saw the starlight trembling on the broad sweep of the Euphrates, beyond +which for miles lay a level country, dotted with trees and fields. +Behind them spread the sleeping city, an endless succession of roofs +and towers. Here and there a torch glimmered like a firefly. The +crest of the wall, upon which they stood and where four chariots might +have been driven abreast without crowding, was apparently deserted. + +The sound of shouting rose from the direction of the prison. They saw +a cluster of torches issue from the main entrance and scatter in every +direction. + +"They are giving the alarm," Nathan said, "but I think we shall have +time to disappoint them. There is a rope waiting for us where the +river touches the wall, and at its lower end we shall find a boat." + +The river was several hundred yards distant from the spot where they +stood. Before they could reach the place where the rope was concealed, +they must traverse nearly a quarter of a mile. Between them and safety +stood one of the guard-houses built for the sentries whose duty it was +to patrol the wall night and day. Still worse, they must pass the +entrance of a broad flight of steps that led downward into the city and +formed the usual means of ascent to the top of the wall. + +It had been Nathan's plan to come up by these steps and gain the rope +without passing the guard-house. The obstinacy of the jailer had +disarranged everything. It was of the first importance that they +should reach the rope before the sentinels on the wall could learn what +had happened, or the guards from below could mount. + +Like shadows they sped along the top of the wall, holding as near as +possible to the outer edge so as not to be seen from the city. Outside +the guard-house a sentry stood, craning his neck to see what was going +on beneath him to cause all the shouting. They stole by behind his +back without arousing his attention. + +They had fled past the head of the stairway and were congratulating +themselves on their good fortune when they came suddenly face to face +with a returning sentry, slowly pacing his beat. The man was as much +surprised as they and seemed in doubt as to whether they were friends +or foes. Before he could make up his mind, Chares gripped him by the +throat and the broad blade of the jailer's spear buried itself in his +heart. He had uttered no cry. Chares dragged the body under the +parapet that had been built where the wall overhung the river to +protect the defenders from the archers who might be sent to attack the +city from ships. + +Crouching in the shadow of this elevation, they went on at a slackened +pace, expecting every moment to come upon the rope. It was nowhere to +be found. The shouting from the city now came clearly up from the +staircase as the guards ascended. Finally Nathan paused and looked +doubtfully about him. + +"It should be very near here," he said, "but I do not see it." + +"Then there is nothing for it but to take as many of them with us as we +can," Chares said, rising to his full height. "Zeus, how my back +aches! I hate this skulking." + +Apparently the sentinel at the guard-house whom they had passed +understood at last what was the matter. He roused the rest of the +guard. Clearchus and Nathan pulled Chares down into the shadow. They +were so near that they could hear what was said. + +"Captives have escaped! They are coming up by the prison stairway!" +the man told his companions in an excited voice. "They are asking us +to stop them. Boupares himself is on his way up." + +The men came tumbling out of the guard-house and ran to the inner edge +of the wall, shouting down with much gesticulation that they would meet +the fugitives. Then they hastened back toward the prison. + +"Much good that will do them," Chares laughed. + +"We have still a few moments," Clearchus said. "Where was the rope to +be?" + +"Here--opposite the Tower of Baal," Nathan replied. + +"Look on the outside of the wall; it may be there," the Athenian +suggested. + +Nathan climbed upon the parapet and looked over. + +"Here it is," he cried joyfully. "Follow me!" + +As he spoke, he slipped over the edge of the wall and vanished. + +"Follow him, Chares," Clearchus said. "Go quickly!" + +"You first," the Theban answered doggedly. + +"No," Clearchus answered with firmness. "It is my turn to guard the +rear. I shall not stir until you are over the wall." + +"Very well, have your way," Chares replied. + +He vaulted upon the parapet and looked down. The rope had been +attached to a bar of iron driven firmly into the bricks near the +coping, and it dangled from between his feet into the gulf beneath him. +The cord seemed slender to sustain his weight, but there was no time in +which to test it. Swinging himself over the edge, he grasped the bar +and then the rope, letting himself down hand over hand, with his feet +against the rough surface of the wall. From the twitching of the cord +in his hands, he knew that Nathan had not yet reached the bottom. He +wondered how long it would be before the rope would break and send him +headlong into the dark abyss. + +Clearchus, left alone behind the parapet, flattened his body in the +shadow and waited. He had seen Chares begin his descent, and he knew +that the rope would not sustain the weight of all three at the same +time. He resolved to allow Chares an opportunity to reach the foot of +the wall before he himself started down. He counted upon the mistake +that the sentries had made, in going back to the prison staircase in +their search, to give him time. + +Hardly had Chares disappeared before a company of soldiers, with +torches in their hands, emerged from the head of the great stairway. +The glare searched every corner on top of the wall, and the Athenian +saw that concealment was no longer possible. + +He knew that he must act promptly. The faces of the new arrivals were +turned toward the sentinels, who were still engaged in searching about +the prison stairway. It could be only a few moments before the +futility of further effort in that direction must become evident to +them, and the hunt would turn toward where he lay. + +Should he attempt to gain the great staircase and slip into the city, +where the Israelites might hide him, at least for a time? It would be +impossible to evade the soldiers who were still coming up. He +dismissed the idea from his mind. + +Possibly he could escape along the southern stretch of wall. Beyond +him at a distance there seemed to be a bridge, or causeway, connecting +the wall with the enormous mass of earth and bricks that upheld the +Hanging Gardens. The groves of palms and the tangle of shrubbery that +crowned the Gardens might conceal him, even though the place was within +the precincts of the palace itself. + +He was about to try this plan and had already partly risen to put it +into execution, when he saw the guard turning out at a station between +him and the causeway. His chance of flight in that direction was cut +off. + +He could hear the chafing of the rope against the bricks on the other +side of the parapet. Chares was still lowering himself toward the +river. To try the rope now would be not only to endanger the lives of +his two friends by overstraining the cord, but to reveal their mode of +escape and expose them to certain death, since the guard would lose no +time in cutting it. + +Clearchus felt that he had been caught in a trap from which there was +no outlet. He thought of the words the jailer had used in describing +the death allotted to them. He thought of Artemisia, defenceless in +Tyre. A vision of the life he had hoped to lead in the pleasant city +of his birth, with her at his side, flitted through his mind. The Gods +had bestowed upon him the hope of happiness that was not to be +fulfilled. Chares would tell Artemisia how he died. At least she +would know that he had given his life for his friend. + +So ran the young man's thoughts as he lay awaiting the moment of +discovery. His mind was made up. They would never take him back to +the prison. Perhaps his friends might recover his body and give it +burial amid the groves beyond the river. + +Although the time seemed long, in reality only a few minutes passed +before the portly form of Boupares, supported on either side by a +stalwart soldier, appeared upon the platform at the head of the broad +stair. The governor was out of breath and also out of patience. The +knowledge that he would find it difficult to account for the loss of +the prisoners weighed upon his mind. + +The guards crowded about him with explanations and excuses. No trace +could be found of the fugitives, they told him. It was certain they +had not reached the top of the wall. If they had, they must have +wings, since they had disappeared, leaving no trace. + +"Search, you dogs!" Boupares gasped. "A thousand darics to the man who +finds them!" + +The moment was at hand. Clearchus unclasped the fibula that fastened +the chiton upon his shoulder and drew his feet out of his sandals. + +There was a cry from one of the guards. He had found the body of the +sentinel. A group gathered about it to see. It was proof that the +fugitives had passed along the wall, and all eyes were directed toward +the Athenian's hiding-place. + +Clearchus let fall his garments and with a bound gained the top of the +parapet. The red light of the torches shone full upon his naked +figure, gleaming against the dark sky, as perfect in every line as the +form of Ph[oe]bus Apollo. For an instant the soldiers were dumb with +astonishment and superstitious dread. The shape had appeared where +there had been nothing a moment before. It seemed to them that it must +be that of a God. Then one of them caught sight of the abandoned +chiton and the spell was broken. + +"Seize him! Strike him down!" they cried. + +"Take him alive!" bellowed Boupares. + +Clearchus turned his back upon them and gave a single glance at the +wide sweep of water that eddied and gurgled at the foot of the great +wall, how far below him he dared not guess. A javelin hissed past him +and was swallowed by the darkness. With muscles as firm as steel, he +took two steps forward and shot out from the dizzy height. + +He heard the cry of astonishment and involuntary alarm from the +soldiers behind him. The light of the torches flashed in his eyes, and +then fled suddenly upward. + +He looked down upon the wrinkled surface of the river. The impetus of +his leap had carried him out beyond the slope of the wall, and he saw +that he would strike the water as he had planned, instead of being +dashed to pieces. + +The rushing air blinded him like a mighty wind. He heard its roar in +his ears. Mechanically he pressed the palms of his hands together +below his head, and stiffened and straightened his body so that it +might offer no surface of resistance in the plunge. Then he knew no +more. + +Faintly the cry of the guards floated downward. Their torches twinkled +over the parapet. Chares, who, with aching arms, was clinging to the +last few fathoms of the rope, looked upward. So did Nathan, pausing in +his task of fitting a pair of oars to the rowlocks of a small boat that +he had pushed out from the wall. + +They saw the form of Clearchus as it shot downward from the sky. They +saw it strike the water not twenty feet from them, leaving a circle of +foam, with hardly a splash to mark where it had fallen, so straight and +true was its descent. + +Chares let the end of the rope slip through his hands and leaped into +the boat. With a few rapid strokes Nathan brought the little craft to +the centre of the widening ripple, where the bubbles were still rising. +Both leaned over the gunwale, straining their eyes for sight of the +body in the dark water. + +A minute passed, and another, while they held their breath. Then +Nathan uttered a cry. + +"There he is!" he shouted, pointing downward. + +It was only a glimmer of white under the ripple, which showed for an +instant and was gone; but Chares plunged from the boat and disappeared +beneath the surface. When he rose, he held the body of his friend +across his arm, hanging limp and apparently lifeless. Nathan drew it +into the boat and then helped Chares to his place in the stern. + +"Is he dead, think you?" the Theban asked, taking the form across his +knees as though it were that of a child. + +"There is no mark on him; he may be only stunned," Nathan replied, +resuming his oars. + +Chares gazed at the pale face, with the dripping hair streaming back +from its temples, and, bending forward, placed his ear over the heart. + +"It beats," he cried. "He lives! Pull away, Nathan, and let the +jackals howl!" + +Arrows and javelins struck the water around the boat, but there was +little danger from the marksmen above, unless some missile should find +them by chance. The craft was almost indistinguishable from the top of +the wall. + +Nathan worked hard at the oars, while Chares rolled the body of +Clearchus on his knees. Then he rubbed the pale limbs briskly and by +no means gently until the blood began to circulate again. At last +Clearchus opened his eyes and drew a deep breath. + +"Is this the Styx?" he asked faintly. "Is the story true then, after +all?" + +"Not yet," Chares replied, with a laugh. "Your time has not yet come. +You are dreaming." + +Clearchus turned his head and saw the precipice of the mighty wall, +rising black toward the stars and crowned with the red glow of the +torches. + +"Did I dive from there?" he asked wonderingly; "or is that, too, a +dream?" + +"It is no dream," Chares replied, "but a deed that will be told +throughout the army for the Companions to envy. Give me the oars, +Nathan; I need exercise." + +Nathan yielded the oars, and the tough blades bent as the Theban threw +his weight upon them. The boat sped through the water toward a grove +of trees that stood like a patch of darker shadow on the other shore. +From behind they could hear the clank of levers, and they knew the +river-gate was being opened. Boupares had ordered pursuit; but they +were a mile away before the first of the biremes shot out from the +portal. A few minutes more and they had reached the friendly grove and +entered the mouth of one of the numerous canals which formed a network +through the plain as complicated as the Cretan labyrinth. + +"Now let them search," said Nathan. "I would not stand in Boupares' +shoes to-morrow!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +THE SLUICE GATE + +Cautiously and in silence they threaded their way from one branch of +the canal to another, through the fields of grain and vegetables that +spread like a vast garden for miles across the low country. Here and +there along the banks were farmers' huts, and occasionally they passed +through the estate of a Persian landowner who followed agriculture as +the noblest pursuit in which a man could engage, according to the +teachings of his religion. In many places the canal was shut in on +both sides by reeds which reached a height of ten, or even fifteen, +feet. + +They had proceeded for perhaps two hours and had made so many turns +that the Greeks had long ago lost all idea of direction, when they +reached a cluster of date-palms. Nathan guided the boat to a +landing-place, and they stepped ashore. + +"Jonathan, are you there?" he called softly. + +"I am here," replied a guarded voice, and from among the trees stood +forth the figure of an old man. "Pull your boat ashore and follow me," +he said briefly. + +They lifted the boat out of the canal and concealed it carefully among +the rushes. The old man conducted them along a narrow path which +brought them to a group of farm buildings, among which stood a large +country house. They entered by the rear and passed through several +dark passages until they came to a door, before which Jonathan halted +and knocked. A deep voice from within bade them enter. They found +themselves in a large, dimly lighted room, the walls of which were +lined with cases filled with rolls of papyrus. On a long table stood a +shaded lamp among scattered papyri, half unrolled, and the materials +for writing. + +A man of venerable appearance, with a spreading white beard, which +reached his girdle, rose from the table to greet them. + +"This is Nehemiah, whose ancestor was Daniel the prophet, viceroy of +Babylon," Nathan said. "These are the Greeks, Clearchus of Athens and +Chares of Thebes, concerning whom I wrote thee," he added, turning to +the old man. + +"You are welcome in this house," Nehemiah said gravely. "Jonathan, +bring food and wine." + +He gathered the manuscripts tenderly from the table and laid them away, +setting chairs for his guests. While the refreshment was being +prepared Nathan related the adventures of their escape, to which the +old man listened with close attention. + +"Thou hast done well," Nehemiah said, when Nathan came to the end. "I +have been considering that which thou told me, of the vision of the +viceroy in the third year of Belshazzar, at Susa, by the River Ulai, +and verily do I believe that thou art right. The rough he-goat is come +out of the West, and for the kingdom of Persia, the time of its end is +at hand. I have examined the writings of Daniel, in which, as Gabriel +ordered him, he shut up the vision two hundred years ago. The kingdom +of Israel is bound to the Archaemenian line; but if thou canst win for +thy people the favor of the he-goat, thou mayst be the means of saving +them." + +"I shall try," Nathan replied simply. + +"Thou wilt understand," Nehemiah continued, addressing himself to +Clearchus, "that if I am to aid you, it must be done in secret. It is +evident that you are in need of rest," he added, glancing at Chares, +who was nodding over the golden goblet that he had emptied. "A hue and +cry will be raised for you, but I think I can keep you safe until you +have gained strength for your long journey." + +Having dismissed Jonathan, he took up the lamp and led them to a hidden +chamber in the upper part of the house, where he left them. They fell +asleep at daybreak and woke at nightfall. After they had eaten, +Nehemiah provided them with fresh garments and with horses of the +Nisaean breed, the fleetest in his stable, and gave them weapons. He +also furnished them with money for their flight. + +"My men have brought me word from the city of your escape," he said, +"and the Great King is filled with wrath. Ten of the guard were +crucified this morning at the gates; but Boupares so far has not been +arrested. All the court is talking about Clearchus' plunge from the +wall. It is thought that Beltis herself must have borne him up, and it +is even said that the Goddess was seen in the air beside him. Her +priests will make the most of it, and, should you be taken, this may be +turned to account." + +"What knowest thou of the pursuit, father?" Nathan asked. + +"They have sent out a thousand horsemen to search the plain on this +side of the river," the old man replied. "Thou wilt use caution and +hold to the unfrequented ways until the chase slackens. For the rest, +put thy trust in the Most High. He will save thee out of their hands +if He so wills it. Farewell." + +They rode into the night under the stars, bearing away from the river, +and keeping to paths known to Nathan among the reeds and groves. At +frequent intervals they came upon one or another of the canals which +intersected the plain in all directions. Chares and Clearchus were +filled with wonder at the enormous amount of labor that had been +expended in digging the great ditches which carried the water of the +river for irrigating the plain, and at the system of reservoirs by +which it was stored for the dry season. Some of these formed lakes of +considerable size, dammed by great gates built of timber that could be +raised or lowered by means of levers. + +As they proceeded westward toward the desert which lay between them and +the land of Israel, the level country was broken by low ridges and +hills, between which wound the canals. Vegetation became less +luxuriant and the houses less frequent. + +Twice at the beginning of their ride they heard parties of horsemen +near them, whom they took to be detachments of the searchers. Once +they turned aside into a crossroad just in time to avoid a meeting. +But as they approached nearer to the border between the waste and the +cultivated bottom lands, no sounds reached their ears excepting the +trampling of their own horses, and they began to hope that they had +left their pursuers behind. + +"Tell me, Clearchus," Chares said, after a period of reflection, "is +there any truth in what they say about you?" + +"What do you mean?" Clearchus replied. + +"Why, about this Beltis, you know. Is it true that you are a modern +Endymion?" + +"I don't know anything about her," Clearchus said. + +"I thought you had more confidence in me," the Theban continued +reproachfully. "If you think I shall say anything about it when we +reach Tyre, you are mistaken. I hope I know enough to hold my tongue +about such delicate matters. Is she as handsome as they say she is?" + +"Listen!" whispered Nathan, holding up his hand and drawing rein. + +The others came to a halt. They had been riding up a shallow valley +along one of the canals. Beside them rose a low ridge which separated +them from the next depression. Beyond this ridge they could hear the +beating of hoofs and the jingling of bridles. From the sound they +judged that twenty or thirty horsemen were advancing in a direction +parallel to their own. + +"The roads join half a mile farther on," Nathan whispered. "It is more +than likely that they will turn back along this one." + +"Then we must make a dash for it and get there first," Chares said. +"Come on, I feel as though a race would do me good!" + +"We might cross the ridge and fall in behind them," Clearchus suggested. + +"Don't spoil sport; and besides, they would surely see us," Chares +replied. "Forward! Is not thy Beltis with us?" + +Without waiting for a reply he struck in his spurs and darted forward, +with the others thundering at his heels. The party beyond the ridge, +hearing the hoof-beats, also broke into a gallop, evidently being +acquainted with the fact that the roads converged. Their horses, +however, were no match for the Nisaeans. Neck and neck, with long, even +strides, they raced up the road and swept past the meeting point while +the pursuers were still a hundred yards away. + +Nathan looked back and recognized the uniform of the palace guard. The +detachment consisted of men who, he knew, were both brave and skilful, +and who would not relinquish the chase while a chance of success +remained. Their numbers made it impossible to think of facing them. +There was nothing for it but to keep on. + +Beyond the point where the roads joined the ridges became higher and +steeper, drawing together until there was barely room for the track +beside the canal. It was no longer practicable to leave the valley, +because to climb the acclivity that shut them in on either side would +have been difficult work for a footman, and it was out of the question +for horses. The gorge turned and twisted between the hills. Although +Nathan had never travelled this road before, he drew comfort from the +fact that the canal still flowed sluggishly beside them. It must lead +them eventually, he believed, to more open country. + +They had ridden a little more than a mile through this defile, which +seemed once to have been the bed of a stream, when Chares, who was in +the lead, drew up with a cry of dismay. Further progress was barred by +a steep dam of earth and stone. In the middle of the dam was the usual +gate, built of heavy timbers and planks. The water spurted through the +cracks into the bed of the canal. + +"It looks as though we should have to make a stand here," the Theban +cried. "We cannot surmount this." + +"Are you anxious to die?" Clearchus said. "They would get above us on +the banks and spear us like so many frogs." + +Nathan had thrown himself from his horse. He ran to the gate. As he +had expected, he found a narrow foot-path leading upward beside it. + +"Come along," he cried. "Here is a way up. Leave the horses where +they are." + +Down the valley behind them they could hear the shouting of the guards, +racing with each other in the narrow road in their eagerness to claim +the great reward that Boupares had offered for the capture of the +fugitives. + +Clearchus and Chares dismounted and scrambled after Nathan up the path. +Their horses, deserted by their riders in the darkness, neighed shrilly +and strove to follow, digging their hoofs into the sand and gravel, +which fell in showers into the canal. + +At the top of the path a large reservoir spread placidly far to the +right and left in a basin surrounded by low hills. + +Nathan ran to the gate and knocked out the wooden pins that held it in +place. It rose a few inches, and the water began to gush and gurgle +beneath it. The Israelite seized a lever and thrust it into its notch, +calling to Clearchus and Chares to do the same on the other side. + +The pursuit had almost reached the foot of the gate when the leader of +the detachment, a young man with a handsome face, saw that his horse +was splashing through the rising water and realized the danger that +threatened them. He gave a sharp command to halt. He glanced quickly +forward, and then back along the way they had come, as though +considering what course to take. + +No time was allowed him for decision. Nathan, Clearchus, and Chares +strained at the levers. + +With a sharp creak the heavy gate was loosened, and the flood that +rushed beneath it helped to force it upward. + +Roaring angrily, the water foamed into the gorge, filling it from side +to side with a torrent ten feet deep that dashed impatiently against +the walls of the tortuous channel. + +The guardsmen had no chance to escape. Like men of straw, they were +lifted, horse and rider together, whirled over and over, and swept down +the valley on the crest of the yellow wave. Their cries were choked in +the rush of the water. + +Nathan and Clearchus dropped their levers and stood gazing at the +surface of the turbid stream. Chares joined them. + +"It is a pity," he said regretfully. "They deserved a better death. I +wish we could have had a bout with them; but it may be all for the +best. Let them go as a sacrifice to My Lady Beltis. By Dionysus, she +has given us back our horses, too! Look here!" + +One of the Nisaeans had gained the top of the dam and another was close +behind him. The third had been overtaken by the flood and was +struggling piteously for a foothold with his fore feet. Chares caught +him by the bit and dragged him up to safety. They mounted and struck +off at random among the hills, seeking to get as far away as possible +before daylight should break. + +This was the only direct encounter that they had with the soldiers of +the pursuit. Skirting the desert, they made their way northward and +westward until all danger of capture had passed. Once, in seeking to +cross an arm of the sandy waste, they went astray and nearly perished +from thirst. On another occasion they were surrounded by a band of +robbers, from whom they barely escaped. This last adventure took place +on the eastern slope of Mount Amanus on the borders of Cilicia, where +they arrived after a month of wandering. It was here that they began +once more to hear the name of Alexander and to feel the currents of the +mighty storm that was gathering on the flank of the empire of Darius. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +LEONIDAS UNDERTAKES A MISSION + +Down from the Phrygian plateau, through a land that glowed with the +touch of autumn, marched the Macedonian host, with Alexander at its +head. On a clear October night the army halted at the foot of the +rugged and forbidding crags of the Taurus. Leonidas with his cavalry +troop followed the young king in the attack upon the Cilician Gates, +which scattered the guard stationed there and opened the way into the +satrapy of Cilicia. + +From one of the captives taken at the pass, Alexander learned that the +satrap Arsames had planned to plunder the city of Tarsus and retreat +into Syria with his spoil. While the main body of the troops was still +filing through the pass, he gathered a chosen body of cavalry and light +infantry and swooped like a falcon upon the town. The Spartan rode +that day at the head of his squadron for fifty miles; and Arsames, +abandoning all thought of plunder, deemed himself fortunate to escape +with his garrison. + +It was here that Alexander fell ill from bathing in the icy waters of +the Cydnus, and the rumor spread through the army that his life was in +danger. Grief and anxiety pervaded the camp. The toughest of the +veterans, with tears in their eyes, gathered before the house in which +he lay, demanding news of his condition. The physicians came and went +with grave faces and in silence. + +Although his fever ran high, Alexander insisted upon receiving his +friends as usual and attending to his affairs. One day came a letter +from Parmenio, who had been sent forward with a strong detachment to +secure the southern pass into Syria through the Amanic range. The +young king read it thoughtfully, and Leonidas noticed that he thrust it +under his pillow without discussing its contents as his custom was. + +A conference of the physicians was being held to consider the king's +malady, for it was evident that some decisive measure must be taken if +the fever was to be checked. In this consultation a dispute arose +between Philip of Acarnania and the other physicians. Philip +maintained that a strong remedy should be given, but when he named the +potion that he proposed to administer, his colleagues declared that +they would have no part in it, holding the opinion that the drugs would +surely kill the patient. + +Hearing the voices raised in controversy, Alexander demanded the +reason. He called the doctors before him and listened to all they had +to say. + +"Will this draught of which you speak enable me to ride Bucephalus in +three days?" he asked of Philip. + +"I will answer for it," the Acarnanian replied. + +"Compound it, then, for me," the young king said. "When it is ready, I +will take it." + +He turned his face away and the physicians left him. During the +interval of waiting he talked with Clitus, Philotas, Leonidas, and +others of his Companions concerning the Trojan war, but, noting their +evident anxiety, he broke off to rally them upon it. + +"Do not think," he said, laughing, "that we have come so far and +endured so much to stop here. There is many a campaign yet before us." + +When Philip came, bringing an earthen bowl containing a liquid which +steamed with an odor of spices, he raised himself on his couch and drew +Parmenio's letter from under his pillow. As he took the bowl from the +physician, he handed him the letter. + +"Read it!" he said quietly, setting the potion to his lips. + +With his eyes on Philip he slowly drank the medicine. The physician +glanced at the letter and grew pale, but he returned Alexander's gaze +without flinching. + +"Drink and be of good cheer," he said. "I tell thee this after having +read this charge against me." + +He returned the letter as he spoke. + +"I have drunk already," Alexander replied; and then, turning to Clitus, +he bade him read what Parmenio had written. + +"Beware of Philip, your physician," the letter ran. "I am informed +that he hath been bribed by the Great King with the promise of a +thousand talents and the hand of his daughter to poison thee. I beg of +thee to take nothing that he may offer." + +Scowling brows were turned toward the physician, who was busying +himself unconcernedly in heaping fresh coverings upon his patient. + +"Let no man interfere," Alexander said sternly. "Where I have placed +my trust, no other shall doubt." + +This warning was sufficient to restrain the Companions, even when they +saw their leader lying like a dead man beneath the blankets, with +closed lids and a pulse that was scarcely perceptible. But Philip +never moved his watchful eyes from the pale face, and when he saw drops +of perspiration rolling down the forehead a slight smile of +satisfaction appeared upon his lips. His confidence and the faith that +the young king had placed in him had been justified; for an hour later +Alexander came out of his faintness, and, although weak, the fever had +left him. He was able next day to show himself to the soldiers, and a +few days later to lead them against the bandits who infested the +southern part of the province, routing them from their fastnesses and +scattering to the four corners of the earth those who escaped the +sword. On his return he received news that Ptolemy and Astander had +defeated Orontobates and captured the Salmacis and the Royal Citadel of +Halicarnassus. He celebrated this victory and his recovery with +sacrifice and games after the ancient manner. + +Suddenly across the country like wildfire spread the news that Darius +was approaching with an army so great that none might count its +numbers. When inquiry was made, no man could tell whence the story had +come. Alexander questioned many who were brought before him, but all +gave him the same answer. + +"The Great King is coming," they said. "Where he is we know not, nor +when he will be here. All that we can say is that he is on the way, +for the Syrians told us, and they learned it from the travellers and +traders of the South." + +Then came a shape of man who had once been a Corinthian. His tongue +had been cut out and his ears and nose shaved away. He could only nod +his head and weep when they asked him of the approach of the Persian +monarch. + +Alexander sent for Leonidas. The Spartan came with an impassive face, +and stood awaiting his orders. + +"They say Darius is on the march," he said. "Where he is and of what +his army consists, no one can tell me. Choose what men you like and go +to Parmenio at the Syrian Gates, where I purpose to join him with the +army as soon as the march can be made. Find the Persian and bring me +word there of the things that I should know." + +"It shall be done," Leonidas replied. + +On the evening of the fourth day after the order had been given, +Leonidas, with fifteen men of his troop, whose courage had been tested +in the campaign against the Pisidians, took leave of Parmenio and rode +out upon the rolling plains beyond the Syrian Gates. He had learned +that Darius was at Sochi, two days' march away, but when he arrived +there, he found only hills and fields from which the harvests had been +stripped as if by locusts, and a city where starvation reigned. + +Here he learned much of the numbers and character of the host that had +left such a track of desolation. From Sochi he bore away toward the +left and the mountains, and on the third day overtook the Persian +horde, whose camp-fires stretched for miles across the plain. + +Although thousands of camp followers and women had been left behind in +Damascus in charge of Cophenes, together with the greater part of the +luxurious equipage of the courtiers, and of the treasure in gold and +silver, which six hundred mules and three hundred camels could scarcely +carry, there still remained an enormous train in the rear of the army. + +Leonidas soon ascertained everything concerning the army of Darius and +its composition that it was necessary for him to know; but he was +astonished to find that the Great King had passed beyond the Syrian +Gates, near which Alexander had expected to find him, and that he was +still marching northward. This march puzzled the Spartan. It carried +the Persian army each day farther from its base of supplies at +Damascus, and apparently did not give the Great King a better battle +ground than the one he had left behind at Sochi. He determined to keep +the army in sight, at least until he had reached the Amanic Gates. +There was the only other entrance from Syria into Cilicia, and through +them Leonidas planned to carry the information that he had gathered to +Alexander, who would be awaiting him in the southern pass. As the +Persian horde advanced, he found that he was being pressed toward the +wooded slopes of the mountain range. At last, as the enemy showed no +intention of halting, he resolved to strike for the Amanic Gates, not +daring to delay his report longer. + +He soon became entangled among the rocky spurs and ravines. At last he +believed that he had reached the pass, and advanced far into the +mountains before some shepherds told him of his mistake. Following +their directions, he crossed a lofty ridge and descended into the true +pass on the evening of the second day after his departure from the +Persian army. Darkness overtook him, and he was forced to encamp +halfway up the precipitous slope of the valley. Before sunrise next +day he roused his men and led them down toward the broad road below, +which followed a watercourse. + +In their descent, Leonidas and his men entered a belt of timber that +for a short time hid the road from their view. They burst their way +through the undergrowth, to find themselves face to face with a troop +of horsemen whom Leonidas recognized at once as belonging to the army +of Darius. + +"The Persians have entered the pass," was the thought that flashed +through his mind before he considered his own danger. That Darius +would seek to enter Cilicia instead of accepting battle upon the Syrian +plains was a possibility that had never even been discussed in the +Macedonian councils. Leonidas realized that if Alexander had carried +out his plan of marching to the Syrian Gates, far to the southward, the +Persian army was about to place itself between him and the territory +that he had conquered, cutting off his line of retreat. The safety of +the Macedonians might depend upon his reaching Alexander in time to +give him warning. + +He gave a rapid glance at the Persians who confronted him. There were +thirty or forty of them. Far below he caught a glimpse of the plain, +where miles of troops, horse and foot, were crawling like ants toward +the pass. The enemy gave him no time to see more. They raised an +exultant shout and dashed upon him with lowered lances. Although +Leonidas and his men fought with desperation, the Spartan realized that +they were not strong enough to hold their ground. The mere weight of +their opponents forced them back, inch by inch, until their horses were +struggling on the brink of the slope to the bed of the stream. + +"Let us die where we stand!" Leonidas shouted. "Remember that we are +Greeks! Forward, forward!" + +He plunged in among the Persians, thrusting at their faces, and his men +were enabled to gain a few feet in the space that he had cleared. The +relief was only momentary, for the Persians surrounded them on three +sides and the chasm was in their rear. + +The captain of the Persian troop had not mingled in the contest. +Hovering in the background, he urged on his men, taking care to keep +out of danger. Leonidas saw him as he wheeled, raising his arm to give +a command. The sun flashed upon the glittering links of his gilded +corselet. The Spartan hurled his lance at the mark with all the +strength in his body. Straight flew the point of steel and split the +brazen links, like a bolt from a catapult. The captain toppled from +his horse and lay with his face in the dust. It was a final effort. A +few moments more and all would be over. + +Suddenly from the glen out of which Leonidas and his men had emerged +rode a man upon a powerful black charger. In his hand he carried a +lance of unusual length. His yellow hair tossed about his shoulders, +and his blue eyes turned eagerly toward the righting. + +"Leonidas!" he shouted. "Strike home! We are here!" + +Behind him rode two companions. At sight of them the Spartan's brow +cleared. + +"Chares! Clearchus!" he cried. + +Their coming turned the tide of the conflict. The Persians, ignorant +of how many more might be following them, turned and fled down the pass +before the new arrivals could strike a blow. + +Leonidas embraced his friends. Of the Greeks who had fallen, only one, +a young man of Caria, who had been stunned by a blow from a mace, was +still alive. Clearchus caught his horse, and they lifted him upon its +back. + +"What brings you here?" Chares asked of Leonidas. "Where is Alexander?" + +"That I will tell you later," the Spartan replied. "Look yonder!" + +He pointed over the tree-tops on the lower slopes at the innumerable +host that was creeping toward the mountain side. + +"The Persians are about to cross the pass," he said. "Alexander and +the army are in danger of being cut off, and we alone can save them." + +"If Darius crosses the pass, it will be in our footsteps," Chares said. +"Let us be off." + +Of the men who had followed Leonidas down the mountain at daybreak, +only four remained. + +"Lead on, Leonidas," Clearchus said. "You are in command again." + +The Spartan turned his horse's head up the pass and the others fell in +behind him. They rode unchallenged, for the defile had not yet been +occupied by the Persian force. From every new elevation they could see +the endless lines of infantry and cavalry slowly drawing together far +below them, until they passed at noon through a narrow way between +lofty and beetling cliffs, and saw Cilicia lying before them, with the +blue horizon of the sea in the distant southwest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +ALEXANDER IS SURPRISED + +In the second watch of the night, the Macedonian outposts challenged +four men whose horses were flecked with foam. The strangers came from +the direction of Issus, along the narrow and rugged road that led +southward through the Syrian Gates, between the mountains and the sea. +Alexander had led his army that day through the pass, and it was +encamped at Myriandrus. In the moonlight the sentinels saw that the +strangers were grimy with dust and that their faces were grim and gray +with fatigue. + +"I am Leonidas, of the Companions," said one of the riders who seemed +to be the leader. "Lead me to the general in charge." + +They were conducted to Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who immediately +recognized Leonidas. He greeted Chares and Clearchus with surprise. +The Spartan led him aside. + +"Darius is at Issus," he said. + +Ptolemy stared at him incredulously. + +"The Persians behind us!" he exclaimed. "You must be dreaming!" + +"No," Leonidas replied. "All day we have fled before them." + +"The king must know at once," Ptolemy said. "Follow me." + +He led the way through the sleeping camp to Alexander's tent, in which +a lamp was burning. A sentinel stood before it in full armor. + +"What is your business?" he demanded. + +"I must speak with the king," Ptolemy replied. + +"The king left orders that he must not be disturbed. Wait until the +morning," the man said calmly. + +"I will take the responsibility," Ptolemy retorted angrily. "Stand +aside!" + +"You cannot pass," the soldier answered, without moving. + +"What is this?" Alexander inquired, raising the curtain of the tent. +He held in his hand a copy of the Iliad, in which he had been reading. +"Is it you, Ptolemy--and Leonidas? Enter." + +They followed him into the tent, which contained nothing save his +weapons and a couch spread upon the ground. + +"Clearchus and Chares back again!" the young king cried in a tone of +satisfaction. "You have much to tell me; but first I must hear what +Leonidas brings." + +"Darius and his army have passed the Amanic Gates and are now at +Issus," Leonidas said briefly. + +The smile left Alexander's lips. + +"How many men has he?" he asked. + +"Five hundred thousand, of whom thirty thousand are mercenaries of +Greek blood," Leonidas answered. + +"They are in our rear," Alexander said, half to himself. He began to +pace backward and forward, with his hands behind his back and his head +inclined slightly toward his left shoulder. Although the startling +news brought to him by the Spartan had taken him wholly by surprise, +his decision was swift. Before he had made three turnings, his entire +plan of campaign had been changed. + +"The Gods have delivered them into our hands!" he said in a tone of +conviction. "I dared not expect such good fortune. In the narrow +plain of Issus, their army will defeat itself. The victory is ours." + +His face was radiant and he spoke joyously, like a man whose mind has +been relieved of a great anxiety; but his eyes were fastened upon the +face of Ptolemy. Alexander had not failed to note the expression of +apprehension that his lieutenant wore. He saw it vanish before the +warmth of his own confidence. He felt that he would be able to avert +any feeling of panic that might arise in the army at the unexpected +turn of events. + +"This is good news you bring," he said to Leonidas, "and I am repaid +for waiting." + +He glanced sharply at the sunken eyes and bloodless lips of the Spartan +and spoke to the sentinel. + +"Tell them to bring food and wine at once," he commanded. + +The young king's eyes fell upon Nathan, apparently for the first time. + +"Who is this?" he asked. "Come forward." + +The Israelite had been standing in the background, watching Alexander's +face with a gaze of peculiar intensity. + +"This is Nathan, who led us captive from Halicarnassus," Clearchus +replied. "He saved us when we were condemned to death in Babylon, and +his aid enabled us to assist Leonidas in escaping from the Persians so +as to bring you his news. He wishes to take service under you, and at +your leisure to tell you of certain prophecies concerning you that were +inspired by the God of Israel." + +"It is well," Alexander said. "He will serve with you and Chares in +the squadron that Leonidas commands. Ptolemy, send a thousand of your +men to hold the pass behind us, until we come." + +Alexander insisted that the young men should eat the food that was +brought into the tent in obedience to his order. While they were +satisfying their hunger, he plied them with questions concerning Darius +and his army, the character of his men and their commanders, and the +formation and resources of the country about Babylon. It was late when +he finally permitted them to retire. + +In the morning Alexander called a general council of his leaders to +impart to them the information that Leonidas had brought. He gave it +without comment, foreseeing that its first effect would be to arouse +uncertainty and dismay that must be overcome before the men would be +fit for battle. + +The council was held in the open air in front of Alexander's tent. +There came the captains of the Companions and of the phalanx and the +generals of the allies. About them pressed the rank and file of the +army, curious to learn the cause of the summons. Parmenio stood beside +Alexander, his furrowed face grave with thought. + +All eyes were turned upon the countenance of the young king, glowing +with confidence and enthusiasm. + +"Darius and his army are behind you, at Issus," he announced. "I have +called you together to learn your opinions as to what we should do. +Let each speak freely." + +For a moment the soldiers stood in silence, looking doubtfully at each +other. Then a murmur of uneasiness rose among them. They had expected +to find the enemy on the Syrian plains, and behold, he was in their +rear. + +"Parmenio," Alexander said, "what is your mind?" + +"We must fight," the old general replied, carefully and slowly. "The +Persians are between us and our homes. They can enslave the Greek +cities of the coast that we have set free. But they are so many that +they cannot wait. Hunger will force them to attack us on our own +ground. Let us wait until that time comes and then give them battle." + +His words caused a brief stir of approval, but the great mass of men +remained silent. + +"What is your advice, Ptolemy, son of Lagus?" Alexander demanded. + +"It is true that Darius is in our rear," Ptolemy responded, "but it is +also true that we are between him and his empire, that we have come to +conquer. Let us march upon Babylon and take the city. The road lies +open before us." + +A shout arose and a clashing of swords upon shields. It was evident +that Ptolemy's rashness found more favor than Parmenio's caution. + +One after another the generals and captains gave their opinions, some +agreeing with the older leader and some with the younger. When all had +spoken Alexander seemed to meditate for a moment. + +"O men of Hellas!" he cried, raising his head and looking into their +eyes, "we came to avenge the ancient wrongs that these barbarians +inflicted upon our fathers. Remember Darius, son of Hystaspes; how he +brought his ships to your coasts and was defeated at Marathon. +Remember Xerxes and the victory of Salamis. Never in the memory of man +have we been free from Persian attack; and when they no longer dared to +face us, they have sent their gold to corrupt our leaders and turn us +one against the other. For these insults and injuries, their empire is +forfeit; for the Gods have grown weary of their treachery. + +"What has happened when we met them, sword in hand? In the long list +of their attacks upon us, they have had nothing but defeat. Did not +the Ten Thousand march to the very gates of Babylon? + +"I say to you that the Gods have wearied of the barbarian. We were +marching to meet Darius upon the plain, where the vast number of his +army might have encompassed us. We were willing to allow him to choose +his own ground, but the Gods would not have it so. They have blinded +his eyes and led him to us almost as a sacrifice. Nothing remains but +to strike the blow. + +"O men of Macedon, my friends and companions, liberators of Greece, the +hour of our triumph is near. At the Granicus we overthrew the army of +a viceroy; now we are to meet the army of the Great King himself. + +"It is Persia that awaits our onset at Issus. There have the Gods +assembled the might and power of the empire and it stands like corn +ripe for the reaper. The sheaves of this harvest shall be of gold that +the barbarians have gathered for us as bees gather honey. + +"Heroes of Hellas! from your iron hands none can wrest victory unless +you will it! For yourselves and your children you are about to win +fame that shall endure through the ages. I have never led you to +defeat, and now I promise you the victory!" + +Dead silence reigned while Alexander artfully made his appeal to the +immemorial hatred of Persia, pointed out the advantage that Darius had +given them, and raised the hope of fame and spoil. As he finished, a +cry rent the air that showed he knew his men. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" they shouted. "Lead us!" + +With swelling hearts, the generals and captains pressed forward to +grasp his hand and swear to lay down their lives for him. He greeted +them each by name, reminding them of their bravest deeds and making +each man feel that the result of the battle might depend upon him +alone. The council broke up, spreading its enthusiasm through the +camp. On all sides the soldiers fell to polishing their weapons and +boasting of what they would do when they faced the army of Darius. + +That day was devoted to preparation. Alexander had sent a scouting +party of picked men to sail up the coast and learn the disposition of +the enemy's force. This expedition returned at nightfall and reported +that the wounded and invalid soldiers who had been left in Issus had +been cruelly slain by order of Darius and their bodies impaled along +the shore. Rage filled the army at this news and hardened the resolve +of the men to die rather than forego their victory and revenge. + +The trumpets sounded at the first flush of dawn, and by sunrise the +army was flowing back through the Syrian Gates to the field where the +fate of the world was to be decided. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +THE WORLD AT STAKE + +With the sea on their left and the mountain cliffs on their right, +Clearchus and Nathan rode on either side of Chares in the front rank of +the squadron of Companion cavalry commanded by Leonidas. The crisp +November air and the excitement of the coming battle made their blood +tingle and raised their spirits to a pitch of reckless gayety. The +Spartan rode in advance, without turning his head or moving a muscle +under the fire of jokes that Chares directed at him. + +Presently the cliffs ended and the mountain barrier curved away inland, +leaving a plain of greensward and shingle, flooded with sunlight. + +"There they are!" Clearchus cried eagerly. + +Straight before them, perhaps three miles away, they saw a confused +mass of gleaming banners and the glint of countless spears. The +shallow Pinarus, flowing down from the mountains, rippled across the +level, and on its further bank, where the ground was high, the Great +King had taken his stand. For a mile and a half, from the hills to the +sea, the plain was blocked by a living rampart, gay with the pomp of +Oriental splendor. + +As the squadrons of Macedonian cavalry emerged from the pass, they +wheeled to the right and formed their line close to the lower slopes of +the mountain. + +"Here come the men of Thessaly," Chares cried. + +Their plumes fluttering in the breeze, the Thessalian horse poured out +of the pass and ranged themselves behind the Companions. + +Then the phalanx appeared, marching rank after rank, with the precision +of a machine. The lancers under Protomachus and Aristo's Paeonians, who +had been thrown forward in advance of the cavalry, raised a shout as +the scarred veterans, each holding his long sarissa erect and bearing +his heavy shield across his shoulder, followed the proud Agema. + +While the phalanx was forming on the left of the cavalry there was a +movement among the Persians. + +"They are coming!" Chares shouted. + +Clearchus and Nathan saw a large body of horse and foot advance across +the river. Although in numbers they exceeded the entire Macedonian +army, their departure from the main body of the Persians seemed to make +no diminution in its size. They halted as soon as they had crossed the +stream and from the host beyond came the bray of trumpets and the +hoarse murmur of many voices. + +"They are taking their positions," Nathan said. "They will not attack." + +His conjecture proved correct, for in half an hour the troops that had +advanced fell back again across the river through openings that had +been left for them in the wings of the main force, and the glittering +front of the Persian army was revealed, drawn up in battle array. + +The Macedonians had continued to advance slowly across the plain, +forming as they went, so that only half a mile now separated them from +the Persians. Nathan's eyes sought the centre of the enemy's line. + +"There he is!" he exclaimed, pointing with his finger. + +Clearchus followed the direction he indicated and saw a blotch of +variegated color, above which fluttered many standards. + +"Who is it?" he asked. + +"Darius," Nathan replied. "You can see his Medean robe of +purple--there, just beneath that golden banner." + +"What troop is that about him?" inquired Chares. + +"They are the princes and the nobles of the court," the Israelite +answered. "Oxathres, the Great King's brother commands them." + +"I wonder whether Phradates is there!" Clearchus said. + +"I hope so!" Chares exclaimed, in a voice that came from his heart. + +"There, in front of Darius, are his Greek mercenaries," Nathan +continued. "Leonidas told the truth when he said there were thirty +thousand of them. Those heavy-armed troops on each side of the centre +are the Cardaces. And, look, there is the cavalry, there on the beach. +That is the flower of the Persian army. Nabazarnes leads it." + +"We met some of those blossoms at the Granicus," Chares remarked. "It +did not take them long to wither; but there is a whole garden of them +yonder, and our line seems rather slender compared with theirs." + +The Persian horse was massed on the smooth, hard beach in an enormous +wedge which looked as though it might be able, by weight alone, to +scatter the squadrons of Greek cavalry under Parmenio which were +opposing it on the left wing of the Macedonian army. Evidently this +discrepancy had struck the attention of Alexander, for, while Chares +spoke, the Thessalians quietly left their places in the line and +trotted around behind the phalanx to reenforce the allies. + +"There goes the sickle that will reap the roses of Darius," Chares +said, gazing after them longingly. "Ph[oe]bus! I wish I were with +them!" + +"You will find plenty to do here," Clearchus said. "There are a few +men over there on the hill who will have to be cared for." + +He pointed to the slope on the right, where some twenty thousand of the +Cardaces were drawn up, far in advance of the Persian line, near the +foot of the mountain. + +"They intend to try our flank when we advance," the Theban observed. +"I didn't know the Persians had so much sense." + +"They are going to get a little exercise first," Clearchus said as the +flare of trumpets sounded down the line. + +Immediately a body of light-armed foot-soldiers and cavalry detached +itself from the right wing and advanced up the hill toward the +Cardaces. The eyes of both armies were upon them and a cheer ran along +the Macedonian ranks, from the hillside to the sea. + +The Cardaces wavered slightly. They had evidently not expected so +prompt an attack. The leaders of the Macedonian force could be seen +riding or running in advance of the various divisions, and the men +followed as steadily as though the charge were merely an exercise +drill. They paused to send a flight of arrows and stones among the +Cardaces, who, being armed only with lances and swords, had no means of +replying. To charge down the hill meant that they would be annihilated +by the Macedonian army. To remain where they were was to be slain +piecemeal by the darts and arrows. They began to retire slowly upward +out of the zone of fire. + +Their retreat was greeted from the Macedonian lines by a roar that +sounded like the booming of the surf upon the rocks. The peltasts and +archers continued to press them until they had been forced into a +position where they were no longer a menace to the rear of the army. +The light-armed troops were then recalled, leaving two squadrons of +Companions, containing about three hundred men, to hold the twenty +thousand in check if they should attempt a charge. They performed the +task imposed upon them. Nothing more was heard of the isolated +Cardaces that day. + +As the detachment returned down the hill and resumed its place in the +ranks, the commotion in the long, thin line that stretched away to the +sea gradually ceased. The soldiers stood motionless behind their +captains. + +Alexander, riding Bucephalus, gave his final commands to Parmenio on +the beach where the Thessalians waited with the allied cavalry to meet +the attack of the Persian horse. Then he turned and came slowly up +along the line, drawing rein here and there to speak a word of +confidence and encouragement. His double white plume floated over his +shoulders, and the sunlight flashed upon his coat of mail. + +When he reached the right wing he addressed the Companions with his +familiar smile. + +"Do not forget," he said, "that a part of your accustomed duty is to +set an example to the rest. I shall lead the Agema. Keep near me, for +I may need you. Whether we win or lose, let it be with glory." + +He turned his face toward the Persians and scanned with care the dense +masses of troops who stood waiting beyond the Pinarus, in lines so deep +that he could not see their rear. His eyes lingered upon the centre, +where Darius, his rival for the mastery of the world, was standing. On +the left of the Great King, the course of the stream bent backward, and +the formation of the Persian army followed its course. The left of the +Greek mercenaries, upon whom Darius relied to win the battle, rested in +this elbow of the river. + +"There is the vital spot," Alexander said. "If we can gain a foothold +on that bank, have no fear of what may happen elsewhere. It will be +easier than it was at the Granicus." + +"The cavalry is coming," said Clitus, pointing toward the beach. + +Alexander turned and saw the gayly caparisoned squadrons of the Persian +right dashing into the river. The foam splashed about the knees of the +horses and a forest of lances waved and tossed in the air. + +"There is work for Parmenio," the young king remarked as the head of +the column gained the shore. + +He glanced once more along the Persian front, but the movement on the +beach did not extend to the main force. It was clear that Darius +intended to compel him to begin the infantry battle. + +Alexander cantered down to the right of the phalanx, where he +dismounted and placed himself at the head of the Agema. On the beach +the Thessalians met the shock of the tremendous body of cavalry that +had been launched against them. The impact bore them back, but even +that rushing avalanche of horses and men could not break them. It +dashed against their wall of steel, recoiled, and rolled on again, in +successive waves, continually strengthened from the rear as fresh +squadrons crossed the stream. + +The Macedonian line quivered with eagerness. A page darted from +Alexander's side along the front of the phalanx and spoke a word to +Ptolemy, son of Lagus. Another sped to the Companions. + +"Advance," he cried, "and charge when the king leads! This is the +order!" + +"Here we go!" cried Chares, clapping Nathan on the back with a blow +that nearly hurled him from his horse. "Stick to Leonidas! He will +find the best of the fighting for us, or we will drown him in the +river!" + +"The phalanx is moving!" Clearchus cried with shining eyes. + +A dull throbbing beat through the air and the heavy centre started +slowly forward, each man touching the arm of his neighbor and keeping +step in parade order. The cadence of voices began to mingle with the +drum beat and the wild music of the trumpets. + +As they advanced, Clearchus gazed eagerly at the Persian line, every +nerve stretched to the point of physical pain. He saw in the centre +the ranks of the Greek mercenaries, ten times as deep as those of the +phalanx, standing grim and motionless, in strange contrast with the +restless flutter of the heterogeneous masses that surrounded them on +three sides. He blushed to think that, when Persia stood at bay, +Greeks could be found to range themselves with her against their own +country. The thought passed through his mind that Alexander was right +after all, and that Demosthenes and those who aided him to fan the +flame of hostility to Macedon at home were really acting the part of +traitors, not only to Athens, but to all Greece. + +He turned his eyes to Alexander, whose plumes shone in the front rank +of the Agema. This had now almost reached the Pinarus. Suddenly from +the phalanx rose the deep-toned paean, summoning the Gods of Hellas to +protect their own. The mighty chant drowned the throbbing of the drums +and the uproar of the battle on the beach. As it rose and swelled, it +filled the plain and rolled back in echoes from the mountain sides. +There was something in it stern and inflexible, that thrilled +Clearchus' heart and lifted him to the plane of self-forgetfulness. + +The Agema reached the river. The paean gave way to a wild shout as the +slow advance of the phalanx changed to a rush, and the Macedonian line +dashed into the rain of javelins, darts, and arrows that was poured +upon it from the Persian side of the stream. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +THE CHESTNUT MARE + +The phalanx swept into the shallow bed of the river. The Greek +mercenaries who confronted it on the western bank, nerved by the hope +of gaining the immense reward promised by the Great King, and knowing +that his eyes were upon them, met its shock with courage. Clearchus +heard the fierce shouts with which they closed and saw the line of the +phalanx bend and sway as it pressed upward to gain a foothold. + +"Hot work," cried Chares, who was galloping beside him. "By Zeus, the +king leads!" + +Alexander, surrounded by young men whose hearts were as high as his +own, struck the left of the stubborn mercenary line where the curve in +the river half exposed its flank. The Agema split its way in between +the files, tearing asunder everything before it. + +"Follow the Whirlwind!" shouted Clearchus; but his voice was lost in +the wild cry of the charge. + +Clearchus was conscious of being carried swiftly forward without +guidance or volition of his own. The water of the Pinarus splashed in +his face. A blaze of color spread confusedly before his eyes where the +Persians stood awaiting the charge on the terrace above. An arrow +struck his breast and rebounded from his armor. Javelins fell all +around him. + +"Now!" he heard the voice of Chares shouting. "Now for it!" and his +horse began scrambling up the bank with the others. + +On his right and left the Companions rushed upward like a torrent. He +grasped his lance more firmly, but he had no occasion to use it. The +Persians gave way, crumpling back upon each other in a disordered mob. +Behind them in vain their captains plied the terrible knotted whips +with which they sought to hold the men to their work. + +Showers of darts and arrows continued to fall from the rear, striking +friend and foe without distinction, but the Persian troops who were +directly exposed to the Macedonian attack huddled together like sheep. +They were prevented from fleeing only by the fact that they were hemmed +in by the dense ranks of their own host. Through them the Companions +raged at will, clearing a space into which the archers and slingers +pressed with shouts of triumph. + +Above the turmoil the Macedonian trumpets rang out high and clear, and, +in obedience to their command, the Companions swerved to the left, +leaving the light-armed troops to hold what they had gained. Clearchus +saw that their charge had torn away the support from the left of the +Greek mercenary cohorts, leaving them wholly unprotected. He caught +sight of the Agema and the other hypaspists, struggling hand to hand +with the mercenaries, and beyond them the phalanx, which he was +surprised to find had not yet succeeded in gaining a lodgement on the +west bank of the river. + +"There's something worth fighting," Chares cried to Nathan, waving his +lance at the mercenaries. "They are Greeks," he added proudly. "Come +on, and we will show you what a real battle is like." + +The Companions had partially regained the order which they had lost in +the charge. They now faced the mercenary flank at right angles to the +front of both armies. Again the trumpet notes launched them forward. +Again the wild cheer arose, ending in a grinding shock. The momentum +of the charge carried the Companions far into the exposed flank of the +mercenaries; but this time no panic and no yielding followed. Although +hard pressed in front by the furious and unremitting onslaught of the +Agema and the hypaspists, where Clearchus again caught the gleam of +Alexander's floating plumes, the hirelings stood their ground until +death overcame them. Facing half about, they met as well as they could +the attack of the Companions to which the cowardice of their allies had +laid them open. But not even their courage could save them, +unsupported and without generalship as they were, from the impetuous +determination of Alexander. + +Into the living wall the Macedonians hewed their way, foot by foot. +Alexander raged like a tiger, knowing that here the battle was to be +lost or won. The phalanx was all but broken. Away on the beach the +Thessalians had been borne back by the impenetrable masses of the +Persian cavalry and were holding the enemy in check only by a series of +desperate and reckless charges. At that moment Darius was triumphant +everywhere excepting at the bloody curve in the river where Alexander +led in person. + +It seemed to Clearchus that for hours they were locked in that +desperate struggle without being able to advance. His lance was broken +and the hand in which he held his sword was numb. Beside him he saw +the broad shoulders of Chares heave and fall as he delivered his blows. +The lust of battle seemed to flame in the Theban's veins like a fever. +Again and again the mercenaries leaped upon him to pull him down. His +sword was everywhere. + +"He is mad!" thought Clearchus, and so indeed he seemed. + +Nathan fought beside him, cool and wary, parrying and thrusting with +sinews of steel. His eyes glowed with excitement held in check, and a +flush tinged the sunburned olive of his cheek. + +Little by little, the Companions worked their way toward the +hypaspists, until at last the cavalry and the foot fought side by side, +with Alexander at their head. So fierce was the conflict that flesh +and blood could not long sustain it. The flank attack finally threw +the left of the mercenaries into confusion, which gradually extended +until the ranks that opposed the phalanx began to waver. A mighty +quiver ran through the hireling force. Its resistance weakened and it +gave ground. + +With a wild shout the phalanx rushed up the river bank. The mercenary +lines were hurled backward. The wall was broken. + +Among the swirling eddies of men and plunging horses, Clearchus found +himself close to Alexander. He saw the young king, sword in hand, his +armor dimmed with dust and blood, pause for a moment with heaving +breast to note the final charge of the phalanx. As soon as he saw the +straightened lines and caught sight of the sarissas rising above the +river bank, followed by the grim faces of his veterans, he turned and +directed his gaze in the opposite direction, toward Darius. + +The Great King had not shifted his ground since the beginning of the +battle. He still stood, erect and proud, in the golden chariot with +its four white steeds, whose jewelled bridles were held by slaves. His +long robe, in folds of lustrous purple, floated from his shoulders. In +his hand he held an idle bow, inlaid with pearl. He looked unmoved +upon the slaughter that was going on before his eyes, but when the +mercenary line gave way, he turned to his brother Oxathres. + +"Is that the courage of which these Greeks boast so much?" he asked. + +Oxathres shrugged his shoulders. + +"They are dogs," he replied. "Wait until the Macedonian has spent his +strength upon them, and we will show him what it is to meet Persian +steel. Look yonder, O king!" + +He waved his hand toward the sea beach, where the Persian cavalry had +pushed Parmenio and the Thessalians back from the river's mouth. + +"So will we do to them here," he said contemptuously. + +A cupbearer brought Darius a goblet, gleaming with precious stones and +filled with the wine that only the royal lips might taste. The Great +King drank it deliberately and turned again to the battle. + +"What is that handful of horsemen there on the left?" he asked. + +"They are called the Companion cavalry," Oxathres answered. "They are +said to be brave men." + +"Who is leading them?" Darius asked again. + +"Alexander, who wears the white plumes," his brother replied. "He is +mounting. They are about to charge." + +"Will he dare to attack us here?" Darius queried anxiously. + +"Grant, O Beltis, that he may!" Oxathres said fervently. "Then we +shall have him at our mercy." + +"What shall I do with him when he has been captured?" Darius asked. + +"O king, may you live forever!" Oxathres exclaimed. "Many have fallen +this day. Crucify him beside his fellow-robbers on the shore as a +warning to all the world." + +"Could I so treat a king?" Darius asked doubtfully. + +"Thou couldst treat him so, for he is no true king," Oxathres urged. +"Thou knowest the stories of his birth." + +"So then shall it be," Darius said. "Give the necessary orders." + +At that moment the steward of the king's household forced his way +through the nobles and prostrated himself, kissing the dust before the +chariot. + +"Speak," Darius commanded. + +"O king of kings!" the man said, "Sisygambis, thy mother, and the Queen +Statira sent me to know if thou wert safe, and to ask when thou wilt +return to them." + +"Tell them to have no fear," Darius said confidently. "Let them make +ready to attend the banquet in my pavilion at the going down of the +sun." + +Darius glanced again at the Companions, who were forming for the charge +under cover of the advancing phalanx, and let his eyes sweep slowly +over his own forces. Around him stood princes and governors of +provinces, satraps, viceroys, and generals. His personal guard of ten +thousand horse was drawn up on either side, while in front of him, so +disposed as not to obstruct his view of the battle, were ranged the +Immortals, ten thousand of the bravest soldiers of his empire. + +In an open space behind his chariot stood a group of white-robed +priests around a massive altar of silver from which rose the pale blue +perfumed smoke of the eternal fire. Mithra, Darius believed, would +never forsake his votaries or permit his fire to be extinguished. + +"They are coming," the Great King said tranquilly, having completed his +inspection. "Look, Oxathres, Baal has stricken them with madness!" + +He leaned forward in his chariot, fixing his eyes upon the white plumes +that his brother had said distinguished his rival. Between him and the +Macedonians stood a solid barrier of men, every one of whom was ready +to die if by so doing he could save his master so much as a scratch. + +"If they will persist in their folly," Oxathres said, "let them come." + +The Companions tore their way through the remnant of the mercenary +line. Onward they came, trampling and scattering a squadron of Scyths +as if their weapons had been the toys of children. They reached the +Immortals. Darius drew a breath of relief. There they must stop at +last. + +But no! The white plumes still advanced, and behind them came a +widening stream of horses and men. It seemed as though nothing could +stand against them. The Immortals were scattered like chaff from a +threshing-floor. + +Oxathres changed color. He turned and spoke to his trumpeter. The +brazen note that followed warned the nobles to make ready for a charge. +The heart of many a silk-robed courtier who had been boasting all day +of the deeds he would do when his chance came grew sick at the sound. +The time had come. + +Darius hastily dismounted from his heavy chariot, leaving his mantle +behind him, and took his place in another chariot, drawn by two horses +only and more easily manageable. At a sign from Oxathres, a groom +advanced, leading a beautiful chestnut mare, who tossed her head with +distended nostrils, neighing for her foal, which had purposely been +left behind beyond the Amanic Gates in Syria. The groom took his place +in silence beside the chariot. + +"Shall I lead the charge?" Darius asked. + +"Thy servants beg of thee not to deprive them of the glory that awaits +them," Oxathres replied. + +Darius waved his hand in assent. Already the nobles in the outer +circle of the royal guard were struggling for their lives with the +Companions. The charge had been delayed too long and there was no time +now to make it. Nothing was left but defence. + +Darius saw the white plume tossing like a fleck of foam on the crest of +an advancing wave. He fitted an arrow to his bow and drew it to the +head. The loosened shaft struck the satrap Arsames and passed through +his body. + +Princes and nobles fought breast to breast with the sons of Macedonian +herdsmen. There was no longer question of rank or power, of birth or +riches, but only of who had the braver heart and the stronger arm. The +eminence on which the Great King had posted himself to witness the +punishment of the invaders at his leisure was clothed in slaughter. +His favorites were rolling in the dust under the feet of their maddened +horses. For the first time in his life, the monarch looked in the face +of peril, and his spirit quailed before the test. + +Out of the struggle Oxathres came galloping, breathless and with blood +upon his armor. + +"Save thyself, brother!" he cried, forgetting the royal titles in his +haste. "The battle is lost! Mount and fly while there is yet time!" + +Darius sprang from his chariot and threw himself upon the back of the +chestnut mare, whose silken flanks trembled with excitement. A bound +and she was beside the smoking altar, from which the priests had +already fled. In her ears rang the anxious call of her foal, and the +brute instinct of her mother-love saved that day the King of Kings, who +was leaving his own wife and children and the queen his mother to the +mercy of his enemies. + +Straight as an arrow, leaping every obstacle that came in her way, the +mare darted through the confused squadrons of the reserves toward the +Amanic Gates. Behind her thundered prince and satrap, each intent upon +saving himself at whatever cost. + +"The king flees! The king flees!" The cry rose in a hundred tongues +throughout the Persian host. The tens of thousands of troops who had +not been called upon to strike a blow because there had been no room +for them in the fighting line melted away as if by magic. The plain +was filled with men streaming toward the mountains or the sea, seeking +some place of refuge. Here a body of Scyths, clad in shuggy skins, +retreated sullenly; there a band of dark-skinned Libyans ran like a +herd of frightened cattle, casting away their clubs and stone-tipped +spears; Arabs, Egyptians, Indians, Assyrians, fled in panic, each man +seeking to place his neighbor behind him. Collisions were frequent, +and more than one unfortunate was hacked down because he stood in the +way of some savage comrade in arms. + +The men who were actually engaged in fighting did not at first perceive +that they were being left to their fate. As soon as they discovered +the desertion of the reserves, many of them threw down their weapons +and sued for mercy. A portion of the Greek mercenaries alone +maintained a semblance of discipline, though broken into several +bodies. They fell back, still facing their enemies, toward the +seashore, in search of ships to carry them away. + +To the Persian cavalry, that had borne back Parmenio, the news of +defeat came last of all. They alone still held an advantage, and it +was bitter for them to be forced to abandon it. But without support +they were powerless. The phalanx wheeled in upon them, threatening to +drive them into the sea. Finally they too relinquished hope and joined +the rout. + +Then through all the plain and up the mountain slopes rode squadrons of +Macedonian horse, cutting down the fugitives. The Thessalians there +took merciless revenge for their losses. The earth was encumbered with +corpses. + +When the trumpets at nightfall recalled the scattered and weary bands +of executioners, nothing of the vast army of Darius remained on the +plain excepting the spoil and the dead, over whom the jackals snarled +and howled. And down the Syrian slope of the pass, bathed in sweat, +galloped the fleet-limbed chestnut mare, with Darius upon her back. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +IN THE PAVILION OF THE QUEENS + +On the night after the battle, rough soldiers of the phalanx slept in +garments of fine wool wrought with gold, clasping in their hands +necklaces of jewels in which the glow of the camp-fires danced and +flashed. Chares had decked himself in a long cloak of scarlet, upon +which strange patterns were worked in silver. A collar of emeralds +encircled his arm, and bracelets of gold gleamed upon his wrists. + +"These are for Thais," he said proudly, opening a strip of linen and +displaying to Clearchus a collection of gems that sparkled with varying +hues. + +"You are a barbarian at heart," the Athenian said. "Come, let us join +the king. Leonidas waits for us." + +Alexander sat upon his foam-streaked horse in the golden glow of the +sunset. He had removed his white-plumed helmet, and the cool air +bathed his temples. There was a new flash of pride in his eyes as he +gazed upon the field of his triumph. The last orders had been given, +the wounded had been cared for, and Parmenio had been despatched to +Damascus, with a swift body of horse, to take possession of the Persian +stores and treasure before they could be removed. + +"Now let Demosthenes put on mourning!" Alexander exclaimed. "Come, let +us see what provision Darius has made for us." + +Followed by his Table Companions, he led the way toward the great +pavilion, which none had dared to enter before him. At the entrance +stood the chariot from which the Great King had looked upon the wreck +of his hopes. + +"Here is the royal mantle," Alexander remarked, spreading out the +purple robe, stiff with gold. He tossed it back into the chariot, +which he ordered to be removed. + +Like a troop of boys, the Macedonians entered the great pavilion. +Light from a hundred lamps filled the tent. Rich carpets had been +spread upon the ground, and embroidered hangings divided the interior +into a succession of rooms destined for the use of the Great King. +From one to another Alexander led the way, making no attempt to conceal +his wonder at the evidences of luxury that he there encountered for the +first time. + +In the first apartment, they found a wardrobe consisting of suits of +armor inlaid with gold and silver; garments of silk and linen; helmets, +shoes, parasols, mirrors, and a litter of utensils the uses of which +were unknown to the Companions. + +"I wonder what my old governor, Leonidas, would say to this?" Alexander +cried. "He would never allow me clothing enough to keep me warm in +winter." + +Next they entered the treasure-chamber, filled with chests of cedar, +bound with iron and brass. Several of these chests had been forced +open, apparently by faithless slaves; but the rapidity of the +Macedonian victory had not allowed them to carry away more than a very +small part of the treasure. The boxes contained golden coins bearing +the stamp of Darius, and evidently fresh from the mint. + +"Here is balm for the wounded," Alexander said, lifting a handful of +the coins and permitting them to fall back in a glittering stream. + +Beyond this, they found the bed upon which Darius was to have reposed +from the fatigues of the day. It was a mass of down, covered with silk +and linen of the finest texture, and hung with silken curtains, fringed +with gold. Adjoining the bedchamber was the scented bath in an +enormous vessel of solid gold. Near it stood rows of crystal vases and +jars of Ph[oe]nician glass, containing unguents and rare perfumes, +compounded of priceless ingredients after formulae known only to the +body-servants of the Persian kings. + +"This is what gave us the battle," Alexander said, pointing to the +enervating array. + +He pushed aside the last curtain and stood in the banquet room. Along +its sides tables had been spread, flanked by rich couches and covered +with dishes of massive gold and silver. At one side of the room was a +canopied couch, higher and more magnificent than the others. The +tables had been prepared before the flight of the attendants. Royal +wine sparkled in goblets of crystal and beakers of gold. Hephaestion +found the kitchen and reported that all the materials for the feast +were in readiness. + +"Let our cooks take charge of them," Alexander said. "I bid you all to +sup with me here to-night." + +This idea was received with eager applause and in an hour the +preparations had been made. The Macedonians, wearing garlands of oak +leaves, stretched themselves upon the gorgeous couches and partook of +the strange dishes that were set before them by the pages. Goblets +were filled and emptied and beakers were drained. Each man began to +relate the deeds of valor he had performed on the battle-field, +explaining in great detail how, but for him, the day would have been +lost. Alexander alone, who had led them to victory, had nothing to say +of himself, though he talked with Ptolemy, son of Lagus, Perdiccas, and +Philotas of the mistakes that Darius had made. + +Aching muscles and smarting wounds were forgotten under the influence +of the wine and in the vainglorious rehearsal of the battle. The +Macedonians began to feel that the world lay at their feet, and their +minds were uplifted by dreams of endless conquest. The pavilion rang +with laughter and was filled with the babel of tongues. + +Suddenly, amid the jesting, the voices of women raised in lamentation +penetrated the tent. The merriment was hushed, and every head was +turned toward the sounds. Alexander despatched a page to learn the +cause and the lad breathlessly brought word that Sisygambis, the Great +King's mother, and Statira, his wife, were bewailing his death. + +"Come, Hephaestion," Alexander said gravely, rising from the royal +couch. "Let us reassure them." + +Looks of intelligence and furtive smiles were exchanged as the two +young men left the pavilion; but none dared venture upon open comment. +From the beginning of war, the women of the vanquished had been counted +as part of the victor's spoil. + +Following the direction of the sorrowful sounds, Alexander discovered a +smaller pavilion in the rear of the first. At its doorway stood a dark +and stalwart figure, erect and motionless as a statue. + +Upon the approach of the young king, the silent guardian fell with his +face to the earth and remained motionless. + +"Who art thou?" Alexander asked, looking down upon him. + +"I am Tireus," the man replied. "I guard the women." + +"Why didst thou not save thyself when thy master fled?" the young king +inquired. + +"Because the women could not flee," Tireus replied simply. + +Alexander reflected for a moment. "Rise!" he said at last. "Had thy +master possessed more servants like thee, he would not have lost his +empire. Thou art chief eunuch. Keep thy charge, and if any molest +thee, make thy complaint to me. Go now and ask if Alexander may be +admitted." + +Tireus had risen, but instead of obeying, he fell again upon his knees, +stretching his hands toward Alexander in supplication that he dared not +put into words. + +"Go," Alexander said, understanding his meaning. "They have nothing to +fear." + +Tireus went, returning in a moment to draw aside the curtain so that +the young king might enter. The wailing had ceased. + +Alexander and Hephaestion found themselves under a silken canopy of +crimson. The floor of the pavilion was covered with thick carpets, +woven in bright colors and laid one upon another. Silver lamps +suspended from above diffused a soft light. + +Huddled together in the middle of the tent upon heaps of cushions lay a +crowd of women in attitudes of despair. Their white arms and shoulders +gleamed through their dishevelled hair. Their eyes were heavy with +weeping. They seemed like a flock of doves that had been caught in a +snare and were awaiting with palpitating breasts the coming of the +fowler. + +A woman of mature years rose from the group and threw herself at the +feet of Hephaestion, mistaking him for the king, because he was taller +than Alexander and still wore his armor. She was Sisygambis, the queen +mother. + +"Mercy!" she cried, with streaming eyes. "Thou hast slain my son. +Have pity upon his mother and his innocent wife." + +"I am not the king!" Hephaestion exclaimed, hastily stepping back. + +"I am blinded by my sorrow!" Sisygambis replied, turning to Alexander +in confusion. "Pardon me, I pray thee, in the name of thy own mother, +Olympias!" + +Alexander stooped and raised her gently by the hand. + +"Thy son lives," he said. "Be not alarmed that you mistook my friend +for me, for Hephaestion is also an Alexander." + +Sisygambis looked earnestly into the boyish face before her. + +"Is Darius still alive?" she asked beseechingly. "Is it true? I am +his mother. Do not deceive me!" + +"He is alive and he is free," the young king replied. "He escaped into +Syria." + +With a cry of joy, Statira rose from among her women, clasping in her +hand the chubby fist of her child. The heavy masses of her dark hair +framed a face of pure oval. The color flooded her cheeks, and her eyes +shone in fathomless depths of mystery and life. As his glance met +hers, Alexander was conscious of a thrill such as he had never felt +before. His pulses were disturbed, and he felt his face flush. With +an effort he mastered the unaccustomed emotion. + +"Alexander does not make war upon women," he said quietly. "For your +own sakes, I must carry you with me; but you are as safe as though you +were still in your palace in Babylon. Your household shall remain with +you. Command as freely as you did yesterday, and fear nothing." + +"How shall we repay you?" Statira exclaimed, attempting to kneel at his +feet. + +"By ceasing to grieve," he replied. "Remember that you are still a +queen." + +The infant son of Darius looked at him with round eyes of wonder. +Alexander took the child in his arms and kissed him. + +"Come, Hephaestion," he said, turning to go. The Macedonian, whose gaze +had been fixed upon Statira with an intensity that rendered him +oblivious to everything else, roused himself and followed. As they +passed from the pavilion, they heard a murmur of women's voices in +silvery notes of astonishment and admiration. + +Alexander was silent and thoughtful when he resumed his place at the +head of the banquet table. The Companions were impatient to learn the +details of his visit. + +"Is the queen as beautiful as they say?" Perdiccas ventured at last. + +The young king frowned slightly, and the hand in which he held his +goblet trembled. + +"Whoever in future speaks to me of the beauty of Statira, wife of +Darius," he said, "that man is no longer my friend. Let it be known to +the army that she is to be treated with all the respect due to a queen. +He who forgets shall be punished." + +He glanced at Hephaestion, who flushed and looked another way. For a +moment there was silence in the tent, and then the laughter and talk +flowed on as though nothing had occurred to interrupt them. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +PHRADATES MAKES A WAGER + +Phradates stood on the broad stone wharf in the Sidonian Harbor of +Tyre, amid a group of young men whose costly garments and jewelled +fingers showed them to belong to the rich families of the richest city +in the world. Upon the edge of the wharf were gathered a score of +older men, clad in sombre robes, over which spread their silvery +beards. They wore close-fitting caps and heavy golden chains. Each +carried a short rod of ebony and ivory as a token of authority. They +were the elders, members of the council of King Azemilcus, who was +absent with the fleet of Autophradates, the Persian admiral. + +The basin of the harbor formed a deep bay, shut in on the seaward side +by lofty walls, built of huge blocks of squared stone laid in gypsum. +On the right, facing north, was a narrow opening in the barrier, +forming a passage flanked by long breakwaters. The circumference of +the harbor was ringed by a succession of stone wharves, where hundreds +of merchant vessels were moored, their sails furled against their +masts. They were discharging their cargoes or taking on lading for new +voyages. Lines of men, half naked, ran backward and forward between +the ships and the great warehouses, carrying bales upon their heads. +The sailors, chanting monotonous songs, were emptying the holds of the +ships or storing away the fresh cargoes. + +"There's an old tub that looks as though she had seen service," cried +one of the young men. "Let us see where she has been." + +They strolled across to a vessel whose weather-beaten sides and patched +sails told of rough usage. + +"Whence came you?" demanded the youth, addressing the brown-faced +master, who stood at the gangway, superintending the discharge of his +cargo. + +"From the Cassiterides," the man replied. + +"Where are they?" the youth asked, gazing at the bright ingots of tin +that the sailors were dragging to the deck. + +"They are in the western seas," the master answered, "so far that +Carthage seems but a stone's throw away. Three months we were beaten +northward by storms, and the waves of the great ocean ran higher than +the walls of the city. At last we came to the land of long days, where +the men have yellow hair and blue eyes and the women are more beautiful +than light. By the favor of Baal, we were enabled to obtain a store of +amber that is created there by the sun, in exchange for beads of glass. +This we dedicated to the God, and after we had got our tin on board, he +brought us back under his protection." + +The young men listened, open-mouthed. From their boyhood, they had +been accustomed to drink in such tales of mystery and wonder along the +wharves of the city, nursing the bold spirit of adventure that was born +in every Ph[oe]nician. They plied the master with questions. What +monsters of the sea had he seen? What were the customs of the men of +the North? Was it true that they devoured strangers who fell into +their hands? The mariner told them of enormous water snakes and +dragons, but his marvellous tales were interrupted by a cry from the +walls, where lookouts were always posted to scan the sea. The state +trireme had been sighted. She was returning from Sidon, bringing +Prince Hur and the ambassadors whom the council had despatched to +Alexander. The council was now awaiting their return. + +At the signal from the walls, work was suspended throughout the city +and the population crowded to the harbor. Merchants with their tablets +clasped in their hands, dyers with their arms stained to the elbow, +metal workers, artisans, laborers, and soldiers of the garrison, +thronged to the water front by thousands to learn the answer of the +Macedonian. A vast murmur of expectation and speculation rose from the +people. + +Presently, through the entrance of the harbor, the trireme could be +seen, making for the opening between the sea-walls, over which the +waves were dashing in spurts of white spray. Urged by its three banks +of oars, rising and falling in unison, the vessel ran swiftly into the +harbor. + +Headed by Prince Hur, the son of Azemilcus, the ambassadors were +standing grave and silent upon the deck. At sight of their anxious +faces a hush fell upon the crowd. The pilot gave a sharp command, the +oars churned backward in the water, and the long trireme swung into her +mooring. The ambassadors descended to the wharf and spoke in low tones +to the elders of the council. + +Was it peace or war? War! The news ran through the crowd and into the +city as ripples spread across the face of a pool when a stone falls. +Turmoil and confusion followed. What had Alexander said? Would the +other Ph[oe]nician cities join with Tyre to repel him? + +They had deserted her. Tyre must stand alone. Strato, son of +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, had surrendered. Byblos had capitulated. +Sidon had opened her gates to the Macedonians. + +"We offered submission according to our instructions," said the chief +of the ambassadors, to the council. "Alexander accepted it and bade us +tell you it was his purpose to offer sacrifice in the temple of +Melkarth, who, he says, is really Heracles, and his ancestor. We +replied that Tyre could not admit strangers within her walls, but that +Melkarth had an older temple on the mainland, where he might offer +sacrifice. 'Tell your council,' he said, 'that I and my army will +offer sacrifice to Melkarth upon his altar within the walls of New +Tyre. Bid them make ready the temple. It is for them to say what the +victims shall be.' That was all." + +"You did well; let us consider," said Mochus, the eldest of the council. + +They walked in slow and silent procession to the palace of the king in +the southern quarter of the town and disappeared within its gates. + +The city continued to seethe like a huge caldron. Its unwonted stir +attracted the attention of Thais and Artemisia, on the housetop, where +they had gone as usual to take the air after midday. The two young +women stood side by side, close to the parapet of the roof, looking +down into the narrow streets, where men came and went like ants whose +nest has been disturbed. The strong sea-breeze blew out Thais' crimson +robe into gleaming folds, and the sun glistened upon the burnished +copper of her hair. Rich color glowed in her cheeks and in her scarlet +lips. The immortal vitality of the salt breeze and of the crisply +curling waves seemed in her. She laughed aloud. + +"I wonder what is the matter?" she said. "These Ph[oe]nicians are +afraid of their own shadows." + +Artemisia smiled. Her chiton of fine white wool, edged with purple, +outlining her figure, indicated that it had lost some of its roundness. +Her face was pale; blue veins showed through the transparent skin of +her temples. + +"I hope it means something good for us," she said, slipping her arm +around her sister's waist. "When shall we get away from this hateful +city?" + +"The time will come, child," Thais said soothingly. "You shall see him +again; I know it." + +It was a conversation that had been repeated many times. Artemisia +drew a sigh that caught in her throat in a little sob. + +"Oh, Thais, if I could feel his strong arms around me only once," she +said, "I think I could die in thankfulness." + +"Do not talk of dying," Thais replied reprovingly. "See, the world is +beautiful!" + +They stood in silence for a moment, gazing at the scene, which was +indeed beautiful, as Thais had said. On three sides the sea flashed +and sparkled with white-capped waves before the southwest wind. On the +east a channel, half a mile in width, divided the mainland from the +island upon which the new city was built. Beyond the strait lay the +city of Old Tyre, with its wide circle of walls. There, as in the new +town, thousands of pieces of cloth--linen, woollen, cotton, and +silk--fresh from the vats of the dyers, were hung to dry in the sun. +The juice of the shell-fish had lent them rich hues of blue, violet, +crimson, scarlet, and the peculiar shade of purple known as "royal" +that for ages had made the city famous. Hundreds of fishing and +trading vessels were drawn up along the wharves or upon the beach. + +Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, +clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, +and sumach. Its mighty barrier stretched north and south into the +misty distance, leaving always between its base and the shore a narrow +strip of level land that was given up to tillage. + +From the elevation where they stood, the young women looked upon other +roofs, filling the space inside the walls, which rose from the sea for +one hundred and fifty feet, with towers at every curve and angle. They +could see the Sidonian Harbor on their right and the Egyptian Harbor +opposite to it on their left, both crowded with masts and connected by +a canal spanned by movable bridges. + +Before them rose the towers and cupolas of the Temple of Melkarth, and +near it the wide Eurychorus, or market-place. Farther south was the +huge dome of the Temple of Baal, and there, too, was the royal palace, +with its many terraces crowned by a lofty citadel. Agenor's Temple was +on the north, overlooking the Sidonian Harbor. Near the western wall +was an oasis of verdure which marked the gardens attached to the +voluptuous Temple of Astarte, where, through the foliage of palm and +rhododendron, shone the marble columns of her habitation. + +Phradates had caused a striped awning to be erected upon the roof. +Beneath this was spread a gay Babylonian carpet, with couches and +silken cushions. Shrubs and flowering plants stood in great vases of +stone, screening the enclosure from the eyes of the curious. All the +other housetops of the quarter were occupied in a similar manner, thus +enabling the population to escape the heat of the lower levels, from +which the breeze was excluded by the height of the walls. The space +inside the city was so crowded that the houses rose many stories, and, +excepting those belonging to wealthy persons, each sheltered scores of +families. + +"It is a proud city," Thais said musingly. + +"Yes," Artemisia replied. "Proud, and cruel, and heartless!" + +She shivered as she spoke. Thais beckoned to one of the women, who +stood at a respectful distance, talking in low tones with a slender, +dark-skinned man, whose cunning eyes gleamed like those of a rat. He +was Mena the Egyptian. + +"Fetch a wrap," Thais said to the slave girl who answered her summons. + +The girl brought a shawl of cashmere and laid it around Artemisia's +shoulders. + +"Something tells me that our captivity will soon be over," Thais said. +"Things cannot last much longer as they are." + +There was a meaning in her words that Artemisia did not grasp. Since +the flight from Halicarnassus, they had been confined in the house of +Phradates, whose passion for Thais had increased until it burned like +fever in his veins. The end must have come long ago had it not been +for the frequent absences that had been forced upon the young man by +the needs of the city and the commands of the Great King. As matters +stood, even Thais' resources had been taxed to hold him in check. +Hitherto she had fed him with hopes, playing upon his weaknesses and +keeping him in a state of subjection from which she knew surrender +would set him free. She made a gesture of impatience and began walking +up and down between rows of young orange trees. + +"I don't know what has come over me," she said. "I am as restless as +one of the sea-gulls yonder." + +She listened a moment to the cries and commotion in the streets. + +"Mena!" she cried. "Come here!" + +The Egyptian advanced slowly, with an indefinable insolence in his +bearing. + +"Find out what is causing all this excitement in the city and bring me +word," Thais said. + +"Why should my lady be interested?" Mena replied coolly, with a smile +that showed his white teeth. + +Thais wheeled as though she had been stung. She looked at the Egyptian +with head erect, and there was something in her eyes that caused his to +fall before them. + +"Mena," she said softly, "do not think that, because you are set to +watch me, you are my master. Go, or I swear by Astoreth that you shall +be flayed alive from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet." + +Mena gasped, and moistened his dry lips with his tongue. + +"Pardon," he stammered. "I did not mean--" + +"I know well what you meant," Thais returned. "Go!" + +He turned and went. Thais grasped a branch of the shrubbery and tore +it away, crumpling the leaves in her hands and scattering them in a +bruised shower at her feet. + +"How long must I put up with the insolence of this slave and his +master?" she exclaimed. The opalescent animal light gleamed in her +eyes as she turned them northward, and she paced backward and forward +with impatient strides like a captive lioness. "I hate them!" she +cried. "How many times have I been tempted to end it!" + +She thrust her hand into her bosom and drew out her tiny dagger, whose +hilt was studded with rubies that sparkled like drops of blood. + +"Hush, Thais, some one is coming!" Artemisia said. + +Thais quickly hid the dagger and turned to greet Phradates. He came +forward with a smile, and the smile with which she met him had no trace +in it of the anger that had so shaken her but a moment before. + +"Great news!" the young man cried. "Alexander is coming!" + +Artemisia caught her breath, and for an instant her head swam. + +"Tell us," Thais said. "We are dying to hear all about it. You know +we have had no news since the battle of Issus, where the Great King, as +you call him, was beaten by one who seems to be greater." + +There was a spice of malice in her voice that evidently annoyed the +Ph[oe]nician. + +"Yes, through the treachery of the Greeks," he replied, frowning. +"Darius will depend upon his own people next time, and you will see +then what will happen." + +"But what has Alexander been doing since the battle?" Thais asked. + +"He might have advanced upon Babylon with nobody to oppose him," +Phradates said. "Of course, he would not have been able to capture the +city, but at least he will never have a better chance to try it. He +was afraid to make the attempt. He has been marching down the coast +instead, and there has been no more fighting, because all the northern +cities have surrendered to him." + +"Well?" Thais said, listening with parted lips. + +"In the absence of King Azemilcus," the Ph[oe]nician continued, "the +council deemed it best to offer terms for the present. They sent an +embassy, accompanied by the prince, to tell Alexander that he had +nothing to fear from Tyre so long as he did not interfere with us." + +"What was his reply?" Thais demanded quickly. + +"What do you suppose?" Phradates said. "He had the impudence to +announce that Melkarth was the same as your Heracles, and that as +Heracles was of his family, he proposed to offer sacrifice in the +temple here. The embassy told him flatly that Tyre had never admitted +the Persians, and that we should not admit him. Everybody knows that +if we should let him in here, he would do what he did in Ephesus when +he took possession of the city under pretence of offering sacrifice to +Artemis." + +"But where is Darius?" Thais asked. + +"He is in Babylon," said Phradates. "He sent a letter to Alexander +after the battle of Issus, asking freedom for his wife and family. He +wrote as one king to another, proposing peace and alliance; but your +Alexander, to his sorrow, refused the terms. He pretends that he has +already conquered all Asia, and he had the boldness to tell the Great +King that he would liberate Statira and her children if Darius would +come as a suppliant to ask it." + +"The Gods fight with him," Thais said, after a pause. "It would be +better for Tyre to open her gates." + +The young Ph[oe]nician laughed scornfully. + +"The walls of Tyre will crumble and fall into the sea before he offers +his sacrifice," he exclaimed. "I will wager anything I possess against +your looking-glass that he will weary of his task before a stone has +been loosened." + +"You do not know Alexander," Thais replied. + +"Thais," the young man said earnestly, "I will wager what is more +precious to me than gold. Thou knowest that I love thee." + +"You have told me so," she replied demurely. + +"You have been for months in my power," he went on, "and I have not +sought to force your inclination. Let us now abide by the result of +the siege that Alexander is threatening. On the day that he gives over +his attempt to enter Tyre, thou shalt be mine. Until that day comes I +shall ask nothing of thee. Is it a bargain?" + +"You will not keep your promise," Thais said doubtfully. Her +reluctance made the young man more eager. + +"Mena!" he called, "bring wine and two doves at once." + +When the Egyptian returned, Phradates said to Thais, "See, I am ready +to bind myself by oath if thou wilt do likewise." + +"I am ready," Thais replied. + +The sacrifice was made and the mutual bond was completed. As the blood +of the doves trickled upon the stones, Phradates called Astarte to +witness his covenant. Thais drew a breath of relief, for she knew that +no Ph[oe]nician, even the most depraved, would dare to disregard such +an oath. + +The sun went down in crimson splendor, and lamps began to twinkle in +the city. Still the council prolonged its deliberations, and still the +anxious merchants waited outside the doors of the palace to learn its +decision. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +TYRE ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE + +The entire population of Tyre was at work before dawn on the day +following the return of the ambassadors. The council had decided to +accept Alexander's challenge. As the first measure of preparation, it +ordered the abandonment of the Old City on the mainland and the removal +of its residents to the New City. In order to make room for them, a +fleet was to be sent to Carthage, carrying women and children. This +fleet was to return with such aid as the strong colony of the West +might be willing to give. + +Huge flatboats and a multitude of smaller craft plied backward and +forward between the harbors and the mainland. The brilliant stuffs +that had been hanging in the sun were gathered into bales. Here was a +boat laden with the contents of a glass factory: huge amphorae, delicate +vases, cylinders, scarabs, beads, and amulets of a hundred iridescent +hues. Beside it came another vessel, carrying a freight of iron, +bronze, and copper, wrought into armor and household furnishings. +Other ships brought Syrian cotton and embroideries; white wool and wine +of Helbon; corn, honey, balm, and oil from Israel; ivory, ebony, +spices, and perfumes from Arabia; lead and tin from the mines of Spain; +cedar chests filled with Babylonian embroideries; elephant, lion, +leopard, and deer skins from Africa. These precious commodities were +stored in the warehouses. + +All the public granaries were filled to overflowing, and what grain +could not be brought away was destroyed. At the close of the second +day, the ancient parent city, from which had sprung such a brood of +flourishing daughters, and which more than once had defied the might of +the great empire beyond the mountain, lay deserted. Silence and +foreboding pervaded the New City as the Tyrians looked across the +strait at the empty houses in which many of them had been cradled. + +There was little time for despondency. The labor of preparation had +been only begun, and the task of making ready the vessels destined for +Carthage went forward briskly. + +A swift galley was sent to King Azemilcus, who immediately deserted the +Persian fleet with all his ships and returned to take charge of the +defence of the city. His arrival was the signal for great rejoicing, +for his warships would insure command of the sea to Tyre, since +Alexander had none with which to oppose them. + +At last the departure of the fleet destined for Carthage could be +delayed no longer. The scouting ships brought word that the Macedonian +army had left Sidon and taken up its march southward. Thousands of +women and children, accompanied by the aged and infirm, crowded aboard +the merchant vessels that had been pressed into service. Husbands said +farewell to their wives, and fathers took their children in their arms +for perhaps the last time. One by one the ships were towed out of the +harbor and spread their sails for their long flight to the West. The +streets were filled with weeping. + +Not all the women and children were sent away, even of the better +class; for, in spite of the precautions taken by the council, no Tyrian +believed that the city was really in danger. Its possession of the sea +would prevent famine, and even if Alexander should succeed in reaching +its walls, he would never be able to break through them. + +While the slanting sails of the departing fleet still glimmered on the +horizon, the watchers on the walls of Tyre saw the sun glinting from +the armor of the Macedonian array. Presently bands of horsemen dashed +up to the walls of the Old City, circled around them, and rode boldly +through the open gates. They seemed astonished to find the place +deserted. The Ph[oe]nicians hurled shouts of derision at them from the +walls across the water, scornfully inviting them to try the strait. + +Thais' lip curled as she watched this demonstration. She stood +motionless among the whispering leaves which hedged the roof of +Phradates' house, gazing intently at the advancing army. + +"Will they ever be able to cross to us?" Artemisia said. + +"There come the Companion cavalry!" Thais exclaimed, shading her eyes. + +The troop made a brave showing as it advanced toward the Old City with +flying pennants, the manes of the horses tossing free. + +"And there is the phalanx!" Artemisia cried, clasping her hands. + +The lines emerged, rank after rank, from the dust-clouds. Behind them +came more cavalry and then the light-armed troops, followed by wagons +and a long train of pack animals. The streets of the Old City became +animated again, though not with Ph[oe]nicians. The soldiers swarmed +through the houses, choosing their quarters and freeing themselves from +their burdens. Smoke began to curl up from the chimneys. + +A group of men came down to the water front and made a long survey of +the walls of the New City. Thais fixed her eyes upon them, leaning +over the parapet. Suddenly she caught Artemisia's arm. + +"I see him!" she cried. "There he is." + +"Who is it? Where?" Artemisia asked, bewildered. + +"Chares!" Thais replied. "Do you see that crimson cloak and his yellow +hair? O my hero!" + +Artemisia trembled and her cheek grew pale. + +"If that is Chares, then Clearchus must be there too," she faltered. +"Oh, Thais, are you sure?" + +She strove to look, but the tears that dimmed her eyes prevented her +from seeing anything clearly. + +"I am certain," Thais replied. "Who else could it be? There is no +other in the army so strong and handsome as he. Look! he is signalling +to us." + +The figure in crimson stood forward from the rest, his cloak, inflated +by the wind, swelling back from his shoulders. He waved his hand +toward the city. Thais tore off her saffron shawl and waved it in +return, forgetting that, while he stood alone, to him she was one of +thousands who were moving on the walls and the house-tops. + +"I suppose you would bring them over if you could!" sneered a voice +behind her. It was Phradates, who had approached unnoticed. + +"Can you blame me if I want to win my wager?" Thais replied, smiling. + +"I am half sorry I made it," the Ph[oe]nician said sullenly. + +Thais saw that he was angry and she leaned toward him until he felt her +warm breath upon his cheek. + +"If I lose, I will pay!" she whispered, in a tone that only he could +hear. + +A dark flush mounted to his cheek. + +"It will not be long," he returned confidently. + +"I would not be too sure of that," she replied, with a blush, giving +him a sidelong glance under her lashes. + +Phradates could not understand why he had not long ago given free rein +to his passion. More than once he had called himself a fool for his +forbearance and resolved in his own mind to end it; but when the time +came for putting his plans into execution, he found them halted by an +indefinable barrier that he could not break. It surprised him that +this could have happened. All his life it had never occurred to him to +restrain himself. He was master of one of the greatest fortunes in +Tyre, and with him to wish was to have. Moreover, he had learned +Thais' history, so far as it was generally known, and it seemed to him +ridiculous that an Athenian dancing girl should succeed so long in +holding him at arm's length. But now he must keep his oath. + +Next day, and for many days thereafter, Tyre sat and watched the slow +development of the scheme that had been laid for her destruction. She +saw the Macedonian army tear down the walls of the Old City and convey +them, block by block, to the water front, where they were cast into the +sea. Soon the beginning of a broad causeway began to jut out from the +shore, pointing like a huge finger at the angle of the city wall, +midway between the two harbors, which was nearest to the mainland. +Detachments of soldiers brought in squads of men from the surrounding +country, who were set at work with the army upon the mole. Piles of +cedar were driven into the sand. Earth was brought in baskets and +poured over the stones. When the waves washed it away, trees were +dragged from the mountain side and thrown in with their leaves and +branches to hold it in place. Acres of rushes were cut and laid upon +the soil to bind it. Foot by foot the causeway lengthened. On the +shore could be seen men building towers and battering rams, catapults, +and ballistae. + +Alexander's figure became so familiar to the Tyrians that even the +children could point him out. He was seen everywhere, overlooking and +superintending the work in all its details. One day he was missed, and +the next, smoke was observed drifting up from the rocky fastnesses of +Lebanon, which the Tyrians knew had been held for centuries by untamed +robber bands, who had exacted toll from their caravans and even from +the convoys of the Great King. Their spies on shore brought them word +that the robbers had attacked Alexander's scouting parties and he had +gone to punish them. Tyre laughed at the idea that he could take the +impregnable strongholds among the crags, but the columns of smoke +continued to rise farther and farther back among the mountains; and +when Alexander reappeared on the mole, at the end of a week, the news +came that the robbers had been harried and hunted out of their caves +until not a vestige of them remained. Tyre wondered, and a vague +uneasiness crept into the city. + +The mole had advanced almost within bow-shot of the wall when the city +woke from its lethargy of contempt and began to bestir itself. Towers +were erected on the wall opposite the causeway, and the wall itself was +raised. The engineers and their workmen, whose skill was famed +throughout the world, fashioned new machines for repelling the expected +attack. + +When the Macedonians had covered more than half the distance between +the shore and the wall, the Ph[oe]nicians began to resist their +advance. The catapults were brought into play. These were great bows +of tough wood, set in a solid framework. The strings of twisted gut +were drawn back by a windlass, and huge arrows, made of iron and +weighing two or three hundred pounds, were fitted to the groove +prepared for them. The string was released by drawing a trigger as in +a cross-bow, and the missile sped to the mark. + +The catapults were reenforced by the ballistae. In a frame of heavy +beams an arm was set, with a great spoon at one end, while the other +was held firmly in twisted cords. By means of a rope wound about a +roller the arm was drawn back, and a stone or a ball of metal was +placed in the spoon. Suddenly freed, the arm flew up until it was +halted by a cross-beam of the framework, when the missile left it and +hurtled through the air toward the mole. + +While darts and stones were showered upon the causeway from the walls, +vessels attacked it from both harbors, filled with archers and +slingers, who drove the workmen back. Tyre was jubilant. Alexander, +she thought, must now surely abandon his foolish enterprise. + +Work on the causeway was indeed halted for a time, but only long enough +to permit the Macedonians to contrive means of defence. Two great +towers were built and pushed out to the end of the mole. These were +tall enough to dominate the wall. They were provided with catapults +and ballistae, with which to answer and silence those of the Tyrians, +and were manned by soldiers, who from their height were able to reach +the decks of the triremes that were sent to annoy them. For further +protection, palisades of timber and movable breastworks were +constructed on the mole, and pushed forward as it advanced. + +Work was resumed, and the long causeway crept nearer and nearer to the +city. By order of the council, under cover of night, sponge and pearl +divers were sent to the mole in small vessels. With cords in their +hands they plunged into the water and fastened them to the foundation +stones of the mole, which the crews on board the boats pulled away. + +But in spite of all these devices, the mole continued to lengthen. + +Still the Tyrians remained confident. The council hit upon a plan to +destroy the towers, and when all was ready the people flocked to the +walls to witness its execution. Artemisia and Thais watched from the +roof, where, day after day, for weeks, they had counted the inches of +progress made on the mole and calculated how long it would be before +the structure could reach the wall. + +"See!" cried Artemisia. "They are going to try to burn the towers." + +An old transport, that had been used for carrying horses, emerged +clumsily from the Sidonian Harbor, towed between two triremes. The +wide deck was heaped with dry wood, which had been saturated with +bitumen and intermixed with straw. From the yards of the masts +caldrons filled with sulphur, naphtha, and oil were suspended by +chains. Upon the deck stood rows of naked men, each holding in his +hand a blazing torch. + +Slowly and laboriously the ship was guided through the choppy sea to a +point directly to windward of the end of the mole. A strong northwest +breeze sang through her rigging, and her stern had been filled with +ballast until her bow stood almost out of the water. Sailors went +aloft and set two small sails to give her headway. The triremes cast +off, and she swam straight for the northern tower. + +The two women had watched the preparations with the most intense +excitement. As the fire-ship neared the mole, gathering speed as she +went, they saw a volley of huge stones shoot from the towers in her +direction. + +"They are trying to sink her," Thais said breathlessly. + +"Zeus grant that they may succeed!" cried Artemisia. + +Some of the stones struck the ship, scattering her load of +combustibles; but they failed to check her approach. The best marksmen +in the army strove to pick off her crew. The divers raised shields, +from which the arrows harmlessly rebounded. + +When the ship had come within a few fathoms of the mole, the men on +board of her scattered blazing oil into the caldrons swinging from her +yards and thrust their torches into the heaps of material that lay upon +her deck. Then they plunged into the sea and swam back to the city. +The steersman followed, and the next instant the transport, sending +before her a roaring banner of flame, ran high upon the mole at the +foot of the northern tower. + +A mighty shout arose from the walls of Tyre as the spectators saw the +flames wrap themselves around the tower, shrivelling up the green skins +of cattle that had been hung to protect it. The soldiers swarmed down +through the smoke and fire like rats, leaping from the lower stories in +their haste. In a moment the lofty structure was sending out red +tongues from every loophole and window. A great cloud of black smoke +rolled from the end of the mole toward the shore. + +Thais and Artemisia saw the Greeks driven back from the towers and from +the defences which had protected the work. Presently the fire attacked +these and ran across to the second tower. The transport still lay with +her nose in the rocks, belching flames that were streaked with green +and blue and white as they fed upon the various substances which had +been stored in her hull. + +Dashing down from the windward side, the Tyrian vessels tore away such +of the work as had escaped the conflagration, while the bowmen on their +decks sent flights of arrows upon the huddled workmen who had been +forced back by the heat and smoke. The towers fell one after the other +with a crash into the sea, which hissed into steam as the glowing +timbers sank. In an hour nothing was left at the end of the causeway +but the blackened ruin and part of the transport, through whose ribs +the waves washed. + +"The time is at hand," Phradates said to Thais, with a smile full of +meaning. + +"Not yet," she exclaimed, smiling. "The siege has only begun. I told +you you did not know Alexander." + +Nevertheless, secretly her heart was full of misgivings, and the slave +women who waited upon her that night found her hard to please. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +THE JEST OF KING AZEMILCUS + +Tyre was delirious with joy over the success of the attack on the +towers, for the city was convinced that now, at last, the Macedonians +would depart. Feasts were given in the great houses, processions wound +through the streets, and sacrifices of thanksgiving were offered in all +the temples. In order to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy, +twenty Macedonian prisoners were put to death upon the walls with +lingering tortures, and their mangled bodies were cast into the sea. +Hourly the Tyrians expected to see the besieging army evacuate Old Tyre +and march away. + +Their rage knew no bounds when a boat bearing two heralds put out from +the shore and entered the Sidonian Harbor. The young men whom it +contained, Galas and Cleanor, pages of Alexander and members of +distinguished Macedonian families, were greeted with jeers by the +people. They were escorted by a strong guard to the royal palace, +where King Azemilcus and the council awaited them. + +They bore themselves calmly and proudly under the insults of the mob +and the hostile scrutiny of the council. They met without fear the +gaze of the Tyrian king, who sat upon his throne in the chamber of +state. The light fell upon the old man's cunning and wrinkled face and +touched the heads of the councillors, some silvery white and others +showing hardly a trace of gray. Their eyes, in which cruelty lurked +like a coiled snake, were fixed upon the heralds. The king opened his +thin lips. + +"Speak!" he said softly. + +"Alexander, lord of Asia, sends his greeting to King Azemilcus and the +people of Tyre," Galas began in a clear voice. "He calls upon you to +surrender your city into his hands." + +A murmur rose like a growl from the council. King Azemilcus stroked +his chin gently with his jewelled fingers, as if to hide the smile that +played about his mouth. + +"If ye do not this," Galas continued, raising his head, "Alexander, +lord of Asia, bids me say that for thy walls, they shall become as the +walls of Thebes, thy city shall be given to plunder, and the sea-gull +shall build his nest in thy harbors. If ye would find mercy for your +wives and your children, for yourselves and your possessions, ye must +seek it now." + +He ceased and stood awaiting their answer. There was dead silence in +the chamber. Azemilcus continued to stroke his chin, glancing at the +youths and then at his advisers with an amused expression in his eyes. + +"You may retire," he said at last, "while we consider what reply we +shall send." + +The youths were conducted to an anteroom, while the lean king laid +before the council the jest that he had been revolving in his mind. It +was received with approbation, and the reply to Alexander was written +upon parchment in two copies, one for each of the heralds. When all +was in readiness the council rose. + +"Come with us," Azemilcus said to the heralds. "We desire to show you +our city before we send you back to Alexander." + +Talking pleasantly, he led the way through the citadel to the top of +the wall, pointing out the temples and the various objects of interest +as they went. The boys looked down with wonder from the dizzy height +upon the sea, crawling and lapping far below them. They examined the +engines of war and the piles of ammunition that had been assembled upon +the landward side of the defences. Upon the mainland they could see +their comrades and the gangs of laborers at work upon the mole. + +They scarcely noticed that soldiers and citizens were gathering about +them, occupying every point of vantage and pressing forward with nods +and winks as if to a spectacle where a humorous surprise was in store. + +"And now," Azemilcus said, smiling pleasantly upon the two heralds, +"you shall hear our answer to the king." + +He beckoned to a scribe, who stepped forward and read from a parchment +so that all might hear. + +"King Azemilcus and the people of Tyre greet Alexander the Pretender," +read the scribe. "If he be lord of Asia, Tyre is his. Let him come +and take it." + +The two boys looked blankly at the king, and a great shout of laughter +went up from the multitude upon the wall. At another sign from +Azemilcus, two soldiers roughly seized each of the heralds. + +"What does this mean?" Galas demanded indignantly. + +"Be not angry," Azemilcus replied, still with his soft smile. "We have +wasted so much time in sight-seeing that no doubt Alexander is growing +impatient. We will send you back to him more quickly than you came, so +that his anger may be turned from us." + +Amid shouts of delight from the crowd, the heralds were bound hand and +foot with cords. Their knees were drawn up to their chests and lashed +there so as to make their bodies as compact as possible. Finally a +copy of the reply to Alexander was attached to their right hands. + +"King of Tyre!" Galas said, when the soldiers had done their work, "you +have broken the faith of nations. For our death, if for nothing else, +shall your city fall and become an evil memory among men. Even your +Gods shall withdraw from you. Farewell!" + +Neither of the lads had uttered a cry as the rawhide thongs, drawn too +tightly, cut into their flesh. Galas turned his head as well as he +could and spoke to his younger companion. + +"Cleanor, we have been friends," he said. "Now we are about to die. +Be brave for the honor of Macedon! I go with you." + +"Do not fear, Galas; I promise," the other replied, and no more words +passed between them. + +The soldiers were busily preparing two of the immense ballistae. +Inserting levers in holes in the ends of the rollers, they turned the +wooden cylinders backward, slowly winding up the rope that was attached +to the casting arm and drawing it back into a horizontal position. The +tough rope strained and the framework of beams creaked as the great +arms were forced into place. + +When the wide spoons of wrought iron were ready, the boys were lifted +and placed in them. The spectators, irritated because the victims did +not beg for mercy, howled threats and insults at them. This abuse +brought no response, and fearful lest the courage of the lads might +create a bad impression, Azemilcus ended the sport by ordering the +ballistae to be discharged. + +Throwing their weight suddenly upon the cords that drew the triggers, +the soldiers released the arms of the machines, which sprang upward and +crashed against the cross-beams. The bodies of the heralds, hurled +with frightful velocity into the air, shot outward and upward. Galas +fell upon the end of the mole. Cleanor was dashed to pieces on the +jagged rocks beside him. + +A savage outcry rang from the wall across to the Macedonian camp. +Soldiers ran forward and took up the two bodies, bearing them tenderly +to the shore. + +"Alexander has his answer!" Azemilcus said, with a chuckle. "Let us go +to dinner." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +MENA REVEALS A SECRET + +On the night after the slaughter of the heralds, the galleys sent to +Carthage returned with a courteous message that it would be impossible +for the colony to send assistance. Ambassadors who had been despatched +to other Ph[oe]nician towns, demanding aid, were equally unsuccessful. +Tyre must stand or fall alone. Her brood turned its back upon her. + +This indifference created a disagreeable feeling in the city. The joy +over the destruction of the Macedonian works was transformed into +uneasiness. Instead of abandoning the siege, the army of Alexander had +begun a new mole, twice as wide as the first, and so directed that the +wash of the waves, which before had been a serious obstacle, was +rendered harmless. It was apparent that the young king intended to +keep his word. + +Several of the inhabitants of the city reported that in dreams they had +seen the great bronze image of Melkarth rise from its seat in his +temple and stretch its hands over the walls toward the Macedonian camp, +calling upon Alexander to enter. There was a consultation of the +priests. The enormous statue was bound with chains to the pillars of +the temple and huge spikes were driven through its feet into the floor. +Nevertheless, the Tyrians were apprehensive and spoke of Melkarth as +"the Alexandrine." The ominous words of the herald, Galas, when he +declared that the Gods of Tyre would desert her, were remembered and +repeated. The people began to think that perhaps they had gone too far. + +Time failed to remove this impression. The new mole continued to +advance, and one hazy afternoon the watchmen on the walls caught sight +of a fleet of warships approaching from the north. The flag of Sidon +fluttered from their masts and the beleaguered city concluded that at +last reinforcements had been sent. But instead of entering the +Sidonian Harbor, the vessels sheered off and came to anchor in front of +the Macedonian camp. + +The gloom of the city deepened when Enylus, king of Byblos, and +Gerostratus, king of Adradus, added their fleets to that of Sidon. All +three were Ph[oe]nician cities. Rhodes sent ten ships and Cyprus later +added one hundred and twenty, under command of Prytagoras. + +For every Tyrian ship, Alexander now had three; and among them were +vessels of the largest size, some with four banks of oars and some even +with five. They were manned by sailors of Ph[oe]nician stock, whose +skill upon the water equalled that of the Tyrians themselves. As soon +as the fleet had gathered, it sailed in battle order toward the mouth +of the Sidonian Harbor, from which the Tyrian navy came out to meet it. +But when Azemilcus saw the overwhelming force opposed to him, his heart +failed, and he gave the order to retreat into the harbor, the entrance +of which he caused to be blocked with huge chains behind which were +moored as many Tyrian vessels as would lie in the passage side by side. + +Tyre was no longer mistress of the sea. She stood forsaken amid the +waters, gray and deserted, like a lioness in her last refuge, +encompassed by the hunters. The mole crept ever nearer to the wall, +and Macedonian captains, cruising around the city, gazed hungrily at +the battlements. + +The inhabitants understood that nothing but a miracle could save the +city. They turned to their Gods. In ancient times they had never +failed in the observance of their worship, but as they waxed strong and +gained knowledge of the world, scepticism had found a lodgement in +their hearts. The ceremonials had been neglected by many who either +did not believe or had grown careless. The offerings diminished. More +than once the sacrifice of the first-born to Baal-Moloch had been +omitted. The worship of Astoreth, it is true, had been maintained; but +it was clear that the Goddess was not powerful enough to rescue them. +Baal was angry and must be propitiated. + +Phradates became more and more downcast and sullen as misfortune +gathered about the city. The cruelty that was a part of his +Ph[oe]nician heritage rose to the surface. His slaves were lashed for +the slightest fault, or even for no fault at all. Some of them he +ordered put to death. Terror filled the great house, with its spacious +rooms hung with embroideries, beautiful with paintings and statues, its +rare glass, and its treasures of gold and of amber. + +One evening, when a languid southern breeze stirred the silken +curtains, the young Ph[oe]nician entered the apartments occupied by +Artemisia and Thais. Artemisia sat by the window, gazing at the +brilliant stars that seemed so near and yet so immeasurably far away. +The two young women had been talking of Chares and Clearchus; but a +silence had fallen between them. Thais lay on a couch of cedar, +burying her fingers in the thick fur of a Persian cat, which purred +with half-shut eyes under her caress. + +Phradates threw himself into a chair in an attitude of weariness and +dejection. Thais shot a glance at him and went on stroking the cat. + +"Do you believe in the Gods?" the young man asked. + +"Artemisia does," Thais replied lazily, with a tantalizing smile. + +"Why?" Phradates demanded, turning to the younger sister. + +Artemisia turned her eyes wonderingly upon his troubled face. + +"I cannot tell you," she replied slowly, as though searching for a +reason. "I have always believed in them and I have passed through many +dangers unharmed. I think Artemis has protected me, for I love her. I +have no fear, since I am in her hands." + +"We do not worship her," Phradates said. "With us, the moon belongs to +Astoreth, who is the same as your Aphrodite, and she has lost her +power." + +"Are you sure of that?" Thais asked. + +The young man looked at her and his expression changed. + +"I am sure of nothing," he said thickly. + +"Except?" Thais suggested, looking into his eyes and leaning forward on +her arm so that the necklace of pearls slid across her bosom, half +revealed under the folds of her robe. + +"Except that I love you!" he responded. + +Thais fell back upon her cushions and began again to stroke the cat. + +"You should not insult the Goddess," she said. + +"By Melkarth, I think you are she!" Phradates cried. + +"Perhaps," she admitted, smiling and nodding her head. + +Phradates stared at her for a moment as though he half believed it, and +then, rising abruptly, left the room. His brain seemed obscured. He +could think of nothing but his love for her. The emotion that +possessed him mastered every faculty, and even the approaching ruin of +the city seemed trivial in comparison with it. Yet there was his oath! + +At the door of his chamber he encountered Mena. + +"Master, the council is sitting," the Egyptian said. + +"What is that to me?" Phradates replied harshly. + +"They have decided to offer sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," Mena continued, +following him into the apartment. + +"They should have thought of that before," said Phradates. "Where will +they find children now fit for an offering? They have all been sent to +Carthage. No wonder Moloch is angry." + +"This has been considered by the council," Mena continued. "Esmun, the +chief priest, has told them that there are still enough of the +first-born left among the Jews, who, as you know, refused to send their +families away." + +"But the Jews will not give them as a willing sacrifice, and without +that it will be of no avail," Phradates replied impatiently. "Why do +you tell me all this?" + +"The council intends to find means of forcing them to make the +sacrifice willingly," Mena persisted; "but Esmun declares that this +will not be enough to calm the God. Baal demands a virgin of noble +birth to be given to him before he will aid the city." + +Phradates laughed. "Where do they expect to find her?" he asked +scornfully. + +"She must be pure and beautiful," Mena continued. "It is announced +that he who will bring such an offering will do the city a great +service." + +"What do you mean? Speak out, dog!" Phradates exclaimed, catching an +undertone of significance in the Egyptian's voice. + +"Thou hast such a maiden," the slave said hesitatingly. + +"Thais!" the young man cried. "Never. The city may perish first! +Have you dared to suggest this?" + +He drew his dagger and made a step toward Mena, who cowered before him +with hand uplifted. + +"No, no; not Thais," he hastened to say. "Think, master, how could she +meet the conditions? Not Thais!" + +Phradates paused with the dagger still in his hand. + +"Wait until you have heard me?" the slave continued, in a whining +voice. "It was not Thais, but the Athenian maiden, who was in my +thoughts." + +"No!" Phradates thundered; "does not Thais love her as her own sister?" + +"Consider for a moment," Mena urged insinuatingly, watching the young +man's face with cunning eyes. "Hast thou not been generous toward +these captives?" + +"What of that?" the Tyrian asked. + +"And they have betrayed thee by entrapping thee into an oath," Mena +said. "I would not have thee break it; but what will not the Lady +Astoreth grant to him who saves her shrine from pollution and +destruction? She will release thee from thy vow." + +He paused to note the effect of his words. Phradates remained silent +and thoughtful. + +"It is not for me, a slave, to tell thee what thou shouldst do," Mena +went on, "but it has seemed to me that there has lately been a spell +upon thy mind. Thou art not now what thou wast a month ago. What the +cause is and what must be the cure, thou knowest; but thou art bound by +thy oath." + +Again he paused, but as Phradates showed no sign of resentment, he +continued. + +"Master, thou canst not win thy wager," he said. "Tyre is lost. It +may be next week, and it may not be until next year; but the Macedonian +is too deeply engaged here to withdraw. There is no hope excepting +through the Gods alone, who might send a pestilence upon our enemies if +they so willed it. Thou knowest that the battering rams are pounding +upon the wall, and that they have already weakened it. On the southern +side it cannot stand much longer unless something happens to put an end +to the attack. Obtain release from thy vow before it is too late. Our +time may be short." + +Phradates shuddered and covered his face with his hands. + +"I think Thais really loves thee," the Egyptian continued artfully. +"It is the presence of the other that restrains her, because she is +ashamed to show her love before her. If Artemisia were away, she would +grieve, it is true, but she would recover. It is not needful that thou +shouldst give her up. The priests take whom they will for sacrifice. +Thou mightest even defend her, which would commend thee to Thais and +earn her gratitude." + +"Get thee gone!" Phradates shouted, suddenly springing to his feet. + +Mena fled noiselessly down the stairs and out of the house. Once in +the street, he clapped his hands together and laughed. + +"I will show them what it is to insult Mena!" he cried. + +He made his way through the narrow streets and across the canal to the +southern part of the city, beyond the Temple of Baal. The slow and +regular beat of the great rams, at work upon the massive wall, throbbed +in the air. Mena plunged into a network of lanes, in which the houses +had a meaner look than in the quarter he had left behind. He proceeded +cautiously, halting from time to time as though he feared that he might +be followed. Finally, under the shadow of the wall, he reached a low +house within which lights were burning. He pushed open the door and +entered. The room in which he found himself was filled with men, young +and old, who sat at tables upon which stood flagons of red wine. Some +of the company were engaged in earnest discussion across the tables. +In one corner a sea captain was relating the strange adventures of a +distant voyage. Elsewhere men exchanged jests and laughter over their +wine. While the occupants of the room bore a general resemblance in +feature to the Ph[oe]nicians, a glance was sufficient to show that they +were not of Ph[oe]nician blood, and the language they spoke was Hebrew. + +There was a momentary hush when Mena appeared, but apparently he was +known, for the interrupted talk immediately flowed on again. A man of +middle age, whose black, crisp beard was streaked with gray, came +forward to welcome the Egyptian. + +"Which wine will you have to-night?" he asked, conducting him to a +table where already a younger man was sitting. + +"The wine of Cyprus," Mena cried. "You are as gay here to-night, +Simon, as though there were no such place in the world as Macedon." + +Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Would our tears mend the walls?" he +asked. "What is to be, will be." + +He went to fetch the wine, and Mena turned to his companion at the +table. + +"Where have you been, Joel?" he asked. "I have not seen you for a +week. One would say that you had been on shore, if it were possible to +get there." + +He directed his shrewd glance at the young man. Joel laughed, and his +dark eyes rested upon those of the Egyptian. He had an easy +distinction of manner, acquired at the court of Darius. After the +escape of Nathan, Chares, and Clearchus, his company had marched with +the Great King; but it had been detailed to help guard the women and +the treasure left behind at Damascus while the army went on to +destruction at Issus. After the defeat, he visited Jerusalem and then +came to Tyre, where he had relatives. + +"What would you give to know where I have been?" he demanded mockingly. + +"Perhaps I know already," the cunning Egyptian replied. "Why is it +that the Jews are so indifferent to the siege? Why do they expect to +escape the sword or the slave-market when the walls fall? Tell me +that." + +Simon returned with the wine, which he set before Mena. While the Jews +knew him to be a slave, they did not disdain to associate with him, +because his influence over Phradates was so great that he was a bondman +only in name. Besides, he had more than once given them information of +value, and they were not accustomed to neglect any means of defence. + +Joel paused and seemed to reflect before he answered. + +"Perhaps it is because we are under the protection of Jehovah," he +replied at last. "If He does not save us, nothing can." + +"Bah!" Mena exclaimed. "Perhaps He can save your first-born from +Baal-Moloch!" + +"What do you mean?" Joel returned quickly. + +"I thought you Jews knew everything," the Egyptian said. "Have you not +heard what Esmun told the council? He has warned them that nothing but +a sacrifice can save the city, and the council has authorized it. +Where can they find children excepting here?" + +"Is this true?" Joel demanded. + +"It is true!" Mena declared. + +Joel rose from the table and whispered to Simon, who ran to the chief +priest. Messengers were sent to verify the news. They brought +confirmation and the additional intelligence that the sacrifice would +take place on the second day. Meantime Joel had returned to his place, +where Mena, as usual, had begun to grow garrulous with his wine. + +"You know those two Greek girls my fool of a master holds in his +house?" he asked. + +"What are they called--Thais and Artemisia? You told me of them," Joel +responded. "What of them?" + +"Thais promised to have me flayed alive," Mena remarked. + +"Well?" the young Hebrew said. + +"So I am going to have Artemisia included in the sacrifice to Moloch," +the slave said coolly. + +Joel started but instantly restrained himself. + +"What has that to do with Thais' promise?" he asked. + +"Thais loves her," Mena explained. "No doubt she will be glad to see +her in Moloch's arms!" + +"How did you manage it?" Joel inquired carelessly. + +"Why, I told you of the oath that Thais got from Phradates," Mena said. +"Well, I have convinced him that the only way in which he can win Thais +and at the same time obtain release from his oath is by having +Artemisia burned." + +The Egyptian laughed at his own cleverness. Joel sat making rings on +the table with the foot of his wine-glass. + +"And what do you think?" Mena continued, recovering himself. "The fool +threatened to stab me for it. But he'll do it, never fear. There is a +long score between him and me. Unless I am mistaken, the time is at +hand when we shall have the reckoning. There is one house in Tyre +where the Macedonians, when they come, will get little plunder. Come +then to Memphis, and you will find Mena, with slaves of his own--and I +would not be surprised if Thais was among them. Flayed alive, indeed!" + +"Let us have wine!" Joel cried, making an almost imperceptible sign to +Simon that meant the substitution of a stronger vintage. The wine was +brought, glowing like liquid amber in the flagon. In half an hour Mena +was incoherently trying to explain that he knew the Jews were in +correspondence with Alexander's camp, although he could not tell how, +and begging Joel not to forget him when the city fell. A little +longer, and two servants carried him to the house of Phradates. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX + +JOEL BRINGS BAD NEWS + +As soon as he was rid of the Egyptian, Joel beckoned to Simon. + +"I must go ashore to-night," he said. "The women are in danger, and if +anything is to be done to save them, it must be done now." + +"The moon is shining; it will be dangerous," Simon said doubtfully. + +"That cannot be helped; I must go," the young man declared. + +Simon made no further remonstrance. He took up a lamp and led the way +down a flight of stone stairs to the cellar, where great amphorae of +wine, covered with dust and cobwebs, stood in the darkness. Picking +his way between them, he advanced to the end of the cellar, where he +gave the lamp to Joel while he rolled aside one of the jars. Then, +with some difficulty, he raised the slab upon which it had stood, +revealing a narrow opening in the floor and another flight of steps. +Down these they passed to a small chamber hewn in the rock. Around its +sides ran a stone platform not more than three feet in width, and the +remainder of the floor space was occupied by a pool of water. + +When the wall of the city was built, its base had been laid in such a +manner as to bridge a natural fissure in the rock below the water line. +Why this opening had been left, Simon did not know. Possibly it had +been the intention of the architects to make it the outlet of a sewer. +If so, the plan had been abandoned, but the opening had been allowed to +remain. + +Standing on the ledge of stone, Joel stripped off his clothing and +removed his sandals. Simon took from a niche a small jar of oil and +rubbed him with the contents from head to foot, at the same time +instructing him how to proceed. + +"When shall you return?" he asked. + +"To-night, if I can," Joel replied. "If not, then to-morrow night in +the third watch. Farewell!" + +"Farewell!" Simon replied, stepping back and raising his lamp so that +its light fell upon the pool. + +Joel drew in a long breath, clasped his hands, and plunged +head-foremost into the water. Simon placed the young man's clothing in +the niche, put away the oil jar, and ascended to the first cellar. He +did not close the opening in the floor, but arranged the amphorae so as +to conceal it, and returned to the room above. + +The impetus of Joel's plunge carried him the length of the pool and +into the fissure under the wall. He struck out vigorously, mindful of +Simon's instructions, and knowing that if his breath should fail while +he was below the masonry, nothing could save him. With the tips of his +fingers he could feel the sides of the passage, and presently he became +aware of a motion in the water caused by the underwash of the waves +outside. His head seemed bursting, and there was a ringing in his +ears. He felt that he must suffocate unless he could get air. He +began to swim upward through the water, dreading each moment to feel +his head strike the stones. What if the passage had been closed? None +had passed through it for years, and the defenders of the city were +constantly throwing down blocks of stone outside the walls. Something +grazed his back. He threw his arms upward, but his hands found no +obstruction. He had cleared the entrance. + +He lay on the surface of the water filling his lungs again and again, +and gazing up at the stars above the gray height of the wall against +whose grim base the swell lazily washed. Half an hour later one of the +watch on a quinquereme that lay off the mouth of the Egyptian Harbor to +prevent the escape of any of the Tyrian vessels heard a voice under the +stern and saw the white gleam of Joel's shoulders in the water. + +There was no sound in the Macedonian camp save the monotonous cries of +the sentinels when the young Israelite stepped from a small boat and +climbed the southern slope of the mole. He looked back and saw Tyre, +standing in the sea like an island raised upon cliffs of stone and +crowned with a circle of light. + +He made his way into the Old City, now hardly more than a bare ruin +since houses and temples had been tumbled into the strait to lengthen +the causeway. He had been provided with the pass-word, and with the +assistance of the sentries he had little difficulty in finding the tent +that he sought. He lifted the flap and entered. Inside he could hear +the breathing of sleeping men, dominated by a tremendous snore that +sounded as though it must come from the throat of a giant. + +"Peace be unto thee!" Joel cried, stumbling over the legs of one of the +sleepers. + +"Thieves!" cried a stentorian voice, and the snoring suddenly ceased. + +"It is I--Joel," the young man hastily announced. + +"Joel!" exclaimed the voice of Nathan in the darkness. "How came you +here?" + +He slipped out of the tent and returned in a moment, blowing upon a +brand from a smouldering camp-fire. With this he lighted an oil lamp +that swung from the central pole of the tent. Then he threw his arms +around the young man and embraced him heartily. + +Joel saw Clearchus and the lazy bulk of Chares, who looked at him +sleepily with his head propped on his elbow. There was another man in +the tent whom he did not know--a man with firm shoulders and a square +jaw, who stood glowering at him with a sword in his hand. + +"Put it away, Leonidas," Clearchus said, laughing. "This is no Tyrian, +but our little jailer in Babylon. How came you here?" + +"I came from Tyre," Joel answered. + +"From Tyre!" echoed Nathan and Clearchus. "How did you escape?" + +"I swam under the wall," Joel said, "and I bring you bad news." + +"Artemisia!" Clearchus cried. "Is she dead?" + +"As yet she is unharmed," Joel replied. + +"What is it, then? Speak!" Clearchus cried. + +Joel repeated what Mena had told him. + +"Is it possible to return by the way you came?" Clearchus demanded. + +"It is possible for a good swimmer, but it is dangerous," Joel replied. + +"I shall return with you at once," Clearchus announced, and began to +belt on his sword. + +"You are mad, Clearchus," Leonidas said, raising the flap of the tent. +"Dawn is breaking. It would be broad daylight before you could reach +the walls." + +"I am going, nevertheless," Clearchus answered calmly, continuing his +preparations. + +"Do you think we are going to let you go alone?" Chares roared. "No, +by Zeus; I am going, too! I have something I wish to say to Thais." + +He proceeded to arm himself, adjusting with care a breastplate inlaid +with gold. + +"Wait!" cried Nathan. "I have a better plan. When does this sacrifice +take place?" + +"It was to be on the second day," Joel replied. "That will be +to-morrow." + +"Then we have another night before us," Nathan said. "Do you think my +people in Tyre will surrender their first-born to Moloch? Not while +Jehovah reigns will they do that, nor will Jehovah permit the +sacrifice. It would be folly to think of entering the city now. We +should be discovered, and all would be ruined. We can enter at +nightfall, if need be, and my people will join us to save their own. +Let us consult Alexander. It may be that he will order the attack and +that Jehovah will give Tyre into his hands to-day. At any rate, if it +is a question of dying, we can die to-morrow as well as now." + +Leonidas nodded. "You are right," he said. + +"Are you satisfied, Clearchus?" Chares asked. + +"Let it be as you will," the Athenian responded. + + + + +CHAPTER XL + +THE GAP OF DEATH + +Alexander listened to Joel's story and questioned him closely regarding +the disposition of affairs in the city. He learned that supplies were +running low and that already the garrison was on half rations. Joel +assured him that the feeling of discouragement and despair was +universal in the city. + +"We will attack to-day," Alexander said to Clearchus, who stood waiting +in a fever of anxiety. "If we can break the walls, Baal-Moloch will be +cheated of his sacrifice, but Melkarth will have his fill." + +The fleet put forth from both sides of the mole, the oars of the rowers +flashing in the sun. The great towers on the end of the mole, which +now extended to the wall of the city, were filled with men who showered +arrows and javelins upon the garrison so as to protect the huge +battering rams at work below. These engines consisted of heavy beams, +one hundred feet long, ending in great rams' heads of bronze. They +were suspended by chains from a framework that permitted them to swing +freely. As many men as could grasp the short cords attached to the +sides of a beam labored to keep it oscillating with a regular motion. +With each downward swing, the bronze head, with its twisted horns, +dashed against the wall. The impact ground the stones to powder, but +the wall was so thick and so strongly built that its joints remained +firm. + +Alexander was reluctant to admit that the mole which he had constructed +with so much expenditure of time and labor was useless, and he +therefore kept the towers in action and the rams at work; but his real +hope of taking the city now lay elsewhere. The wall on the seaward +side, where no attack had been deemed possible, was less solid than +toward the land. Tests made by floating rams had shown that a breach +was practicable on the southwest and it was to this spot that the +attack was directed. + +The Cyprian ships hovered about the northern side of the city. Some +threatened the mouth of the Sidonian Harbor, while others sent flights +of arrows over the walls. The fortress was encircled by a menacing +ring of vessels, which kept the attention of the garrison occupied, +while Alexander prepared for the assault, which was to be made at a +point where the masonry already showed cracks, and some of the stones +had been pushed out of place. + +Towed by quinqueremes, the floating forts that the Macedonians had +built were brought slowly around to the southern wall. Some carried +ballistae and catapults and stores of darts and stones. Others had +rams, scaling ladders, iron hooks, and siege implements of all kinds. +All were provided with shields to protect the men from missiles from +the walls. + +One by one they swung into position and came to anchor. The catapults +and ballistae were placed two hundred yards from the wall, so as to +afford space for the flight of their projectiles. The ships of war +moved backward and forward, while the archers and slingers swept the +towers and ramparts with a hissing hail of lead and steel. + +Under cover of this protection, the rams and siege vessels pushed +forward. Their crews made them fast to projections in the wall, and +soon the regular throbbing crash of the rams was heard, pounding on the +masonry. The vessels with the ladders and scaling implements lay +waiting, with the bravest men in the army ready to spring to the +assault as soon as a breach should be opened. + +The July sun lay warm on the heaving sea, and the heat rose in +shimmering waves from the wall. Around and within the city the +shouting of men, the thudding of the rams, the creaking of the +machines, and the crash of stones cast by the ballistae filled the air. + +The garrison brought its engines along the broad parapet within range +of the ships, and hurled great blocks of stone at the besieging fleet. +Several of the smaller vessels were sunk. Sometimes the stones met in +the air and burst into fragments. The attack upon the wall was not +relaxed. Finally a block was sufficiently exposed to permit the +grappling-irons to be fastened to its inner angles. Strong ropes were +attached to it and carried out to a quinquereme. The rowers bent to +their work, and the ropes lifted, dripping, from the water. The block +held fast for a moment, and then came out of its bed like a cork out of +a bottle, rolling with a splash into the sea. + +Amid the triumphant shouts of the Macedonians, a flatboat was pushed +forward and a hundred men attacked the weakened wall with levers and +bars of irons. Some of them were crushed by the rocks toppled down +upon them from above, others were pierced by arrows; but when they +withdrew, a wide cavity yawned where they had been, exposing the inner +courses of masonry. + +After them came the largest and heaviest of the rams. Under its +tremendous blows the cavity deepened and widened until the wall above +it began to tremble. It swayed, crumbled, and at last with a mighty +roar it fell, burying the ram and half the men who had been working it +under tons of broken stone. The Macedonians, gazing through the gap +that was opened, saw the Temple of Baal-Moloch, with its dome and +towers, rising gloomily among the cypress trees that surrounded it. + +With one impulse, the vessels carrying the shield-bearing guards and +the veterans of the Agema rushed in toward the breach. The soldiers +leaped ashore. Order was impossible upon such an insecure footing as +the tumbled blocks afforded. Every man clung where he could, advancing +step by step, and protecting himself by holding his shield above his +head. + +The Tyrians from the ends of the broken wall and from the top of the +slope where the gap had been made sent down flights of darts and +arrows. In order to repel the storming party, they even loosened +portions of the wall that still held firm and hurled them down upon the +enemy. + +Still the Macedonians pressed upward in the hope of winning the breach, +and holding it until reinforcements could arrive. Ptolemy, son of +Lagus, and Black Clitus fought in the foremost ranks. Beside them +Leonidas plied his sword, and with him were Clearchus and Chares. + +"Ho, comrades! Beware the stone!" the Theban shouted, as a loosened +block rushed toward them down the slope. + +Leonidas started aside, but his foot slipped and he fell to his knees. +Chares caught his arm and dragged him away. The fragment grazed him as +it hurtled past. + +"Forward, men of Macedon!" Ptolemy cried. "Alexander is watching you." + +A breathless cheer from the struggling ranks behind him told him that +the soldiers were doing their best. The stones of the fallen wall, +slippery with blood, rocked beneath their feet. Some of the men were +caught in crevices between the blocks and their lives were crushed out, +or they were held there until a javelin put an end to their misery. +But those who escaped this peril pressed upward like wolves when the +quarry is in sight. The exasperation of all the long months of the +siege, the accumulation of countless insults, and the joy of the battle +filled their hearts. + +Leaping upon a swaying stone that raised him above the heads of his +companions, Chares held his shield aloft to deflect the darts and +arrows that fell upon it as thickly as the drops of a shower. + +"Ohe!" he cried down the slope. "Come on! The victory is ours!" + +Clearchus bounded up beside him, his face pale with eagerness, and +stared into the city. + +"Where is she? Where is she?" he cried, panting. + +Chares laughed. "Did you expect she would be waiting for you at the +top?" he asked. "You will have to wait until we get inside." + +The Athenian gazed at the lofty buildings, whose walls were pierced by +hundreds of windows. If he only knew where to look! From the +housetops fluttered countless scarfs of yellow, blue, and red. Any one +of them might be hers. He was bewildered. + +The wall had fallen outward, leaving about twenty feet of its base +standing on the side toward the city. Companies of Tyrian soldiers ran +toward the breach. They placed ladders against the foot of the broken +wall and scrambled up into the gap like a swarm of ants to meet the +Macedonians. Ptolemy saw them coming and uttered a joyful cry. + +"Here they are," he shouted. "Melkarth, take thy sacrifice of dogs!" + +A conflict without quarter began on the crest of the gap. The Tyrians +fought with desperation, knowing that if the enemy once gained a +lodgement in the city they were lost. But in vain they hurled +themselves upon the head of the column, where Ptolemy and Clitus, +Chares and Clearchus, and a hundred more received them with the deadly +upward thrust of their swords, against which no armor was proof. There +was no longer room for the Tyrians in the breach. Those who had +ascended last were forced back, leaping or falling in their armor, the +weight of which broke their bones. Mingled with the living, the dead +began to drop back through the breach. The shouts of the victors +carried panic into the streets. + +Tyre lay at the mercy of Macedon. Looking down into the city, Ptolemy +saw the Tyrians hastily constructing barricades of furniture, casks, +litters, and such material as they were able to drag quickly together. + +"Do they think that will save them, now that we hold this?" he said to +Clitus. + +Clearchus leaned against a stone with great joy in his heart. Tyre had +been won and Artemisia was saved. The sight of Moloch's dark temple no +longer chilled his blood. Baal must look elsewhere for victims. The +weary months of longing were at an end. + +So desperate had been the struggle in the breach that the Macedonians +had forgotten all else. It was not until the pause before the final +charge into the city that they began to notice the rolling clouds of +black smoke that were drawing together toward the gap along those +portions of the wall that remained standing. It rose in dark masses +against the sky, blotting out the sun as it spread seaward from the +parapet. Under its gloomy canopy men were swarming in long processions +upon the top of the wall toward the gap, bearing caldrons of iron and +copper suspended from yokes across their shoulders. + +"See! They are going to provide us with shade," Clitus said. + +Ptolemy looked, and his expression changed to one of alarm. + +"Pitch and bitumen!" he exclaimed. "The men will never be able to +stand it!" + +A caldron rolled down into the gap, followed by another and another, +scattering their blazing contents as they came. Wherever the bitumen +fell it continued to burn, giving out smoke in stifling volumes. In a +few minutes the gap was obscured by suffocating clouds in which the +Macedonians groped blindly. Every stone was covered with a coating of +the blazing substances. Showers of molten lead and burning oil +descended from the walls. The bitumen ate into the flesh of the +soldiers. The lead and oil burned out their eyes. Many of them fled +like living torches down the slope and plunged into the sea. The gap +had become untenable. + +Ptolemy saw that it would be impossible for reenforcements to reach +him. He shook his sword at the city through the drifting smoke. +"Another day!" he shouted, and, turning, plunged down the blazing path. + +Clearchus stood dazed as he saw his comrades turn back. + +"Come!" Chares shouted. "Do you want to be burned to death?" + +"Cowards!" Clearchus cried, "why do you fly? Do you not see that Tyre +is yours?" + +He made a step toward the edge of the wall and would have leaped down +into the city had not Chares caught him with an iron grasp. + +"Leonidas!" cried the Theban. + +"Here!" the voice of Leonidas replied, and he appeared through the +smoke, smothering a patch of blazing pitch that had fallen upon his +bare shoulder. + +"Clearchus has gone crazy," Chares said. "Help me to carry him down." + +"You shall not!" the Athenian cried. "Traitors! Set me free!" + +Leonidas calmly twisted the sword out of his hand and threw it aside. +They lifted him between them, despite his struggles. Suddenly his +muscles relaxed and his head fell backward. + +"That's right," Chares said. "He has fainted. We can carry him better +so." + +He threw the limp form over his shoulder and strode after Leonidas into +the black curtain, which had become so dense that it was impossible for +sight to penetrate it in any direction. Sulphur and pepper had been +mixed in the caldrons, giving the smoke a pungent, choking quality. +Stumbling over jagged blocks of stone, and tripping upon the bodies of +the dead, Chares, with Clearchus in his arms, followed Leonidas through +that vale of death. Blinded and gasping, they staggered to the edge of +the water. They were the last to come alive out of the smoke. They +were drawn upon one of the siege boats, and lay there until the +unwieldy vessel was towed out into the clear sunshine and safety. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI + +PRINCE HUR'S COUNTERPLOT + +Prince Hur, son of Azemilcus, sat in his house, which opened from the +courtyard of the palace. In figure he was undersized, like his father, +with a delicate face and thin white hands, on one of which glittered a +great ruby. Instead of the mocking smile that the king was accustomed +to wear, his expression was grave and serious. + +With him were Esmun, chief priest of Baal-Moloch, on whose fat +countenance, with its pendulous jowls, sloth struggled with greed, and +Ariston, the Athenian. Ariston's thin form was thinner and his face +more worn than on the day when he watched his nephew, Clearchus, ride +out of Athens, leaving him guardian of his fortune. He had made free +use of this wealth, as he had planned, to save the remnants of his own; +but mischance had continued to follow him in everything he attempted. +So heavy were his losses that he rejoiced when he learned that +Clearchus had been sent to Babylon a prisoner. The young man's return +to the army filled him with despair. Involved as he was, only one hope +remained. He would dispose of his great dye-works in Tyre, and the +proceeds of the sale would enable him to make a last attempt to save +himself. While he was in Tyre, he also would collect the loan that he +had been forced to make to Phradates, and that the Ph[oe]nician had +never repaid. If this plan failed, he would have to choose between +death and the punishment that would be visited upon the betrayal of his +trust. Therefore he had come to Tyre, and there, by a final stroke of +misfortune, he had been imprisoned by the siege. + +"I fear there is not much hope for us," Prince Hur said. "Even though +we succeed in beating off these attacks, as we did to-day, sooner or +later we shall starve." + +"Hast thou, too, lost faith in the power of Baal?" Esmun asked, in a +tone of reproof. + +"I believe in him as much as you do yourself," the prince said. + +"I may have deserved that reproach," the priest replied sadly. "To my +shame, I confess it; but if I have allowed the name of Baal to be +lightly spoken in my presence, it was not because I did not believe. I +thought that he was able to defend himself, as indeed he is. I say to +you now that I know his power. It has been shown over and over again. +If it should please him to save Tyre in her extremity, he will do it. +We shall know after the sacrifice." + +"There will be no sacrifice," the prince said quietly. + +Esmun stared at him open-mouthed, and Ariston started sharply. The +Athenian was the first to recover himself. + +"What does your Highness mean?" he asked. "Doubtless you speak in +jest." + +"I sent for you because I am in need of your advice," the prince +continued gravely. "You are both men of the world and fitted to aid me +with your counsel; but what I am about to tell you must not be +repeated, even to yourselves. Do you swear to keep the secret, no +matter what my decision may be?" + +"We swear it," Ariston replied. + +"And you?" the prince said to Esmun. + +"By the head of Baal!" the priest declared. + +"Azemilcus has resolved to deliver the city," the prince said, bending +forward and speaking in a tone scarcely above a whisper. + +For an instant both his hearers were silent. Ariston comprehended in a +flash that surrender would mean his ruin, since it would involve the +loss of his property. Esmun was too astonished to think. + +"What will the king receive in return?" the Athenian inquired. + +"His life," Hur replied. "He knows well that the city must be +destroyed, and that his people will be sold into slavery." + +Esmun groaned. He saw himself torn from his life of ease, +Baal-Moloch's temple in ruins, and nothing left for him but years of +servitude. + +"How will the surrender be made?" Ariston asked. + +"The king will order the fleets out of both harbors," the prince +explained. "They will be destroyed, and care will be taken to leave +the harbor entrances unguarded." + +"Does Alexander know this?" Esmun demanded. + +"Not yet," said the prince. "I am to go to him to-night with the +chancellor to make him the offer." + +"Then you have consented to it?" the priest said. + +"I was not asked to consent," the prince replied bitterly. "You know +that the king is not in the habit of consulting me." + +"Yet he proposes to take your inheritance from you!" Esmun exclaimed. +"If Baal intervenes, the city will be saved and you will be its king." + +"Does the council know?" Ariston asked. + +"It does not," Hur replied. + +"There is only one course open to you," Esmun declared, roused as he +had not been since the long struggle that ended in raising him above +his rivals and placing him in a position that gave him almost as much +power as the king himself. "Go with the chancellor, since to refuse +now would arouse suspicion. Get proof of the king's treachery and lay +it at once before the council and the generals. Azemilcus will be +dealt with according to their will, and you will be made king in his +stead. That you may leave to me if you can obtain the proof; but it +must be strong." + +"There would be no difficulty concerning the proof," the prince said +doubtfully. "We are to bring Macedonians back with us to act as a +guard for the king. They will be concealed in the palace so that they +will be able to insure his safety when the city falls. Their presence +will be proof enough." + +"Would it not be better to lay the whole affair before the council +now?" Ariston suggested. + +"No," said Esmun decisively. "The king would deny everything. He +would accuse Hur of seeking his throne, and he would be believed. We +must have the proof." + +"I do not like to raise my hand against my father," Hur said +hesitatingly. + +"Tyre is in danger," Esmun said solemnly. "It is your duty to save her +if you can, and this duty comes before any tie of blood. It is I, +chief servant of Baal, who tell you this." + +"I shall not shrink," the prince responded, with sudden decision. + +The sun was setting before the three completed the details of their +plan. When Ariston left the prince, he was so wrapped in thought that +he did not recognize the brutal face of Syphax, who passed him with +three or four others of his own kind. + +"Do you see that man?" the broken freebooter exclaimed, directing the +attention of his companions to the retreating form. "I have a +settlement to make with him. It was he who scattered my crew and +brought me to what I am. I have sought him far, and now the Fates have +given him to me. He shall pay the reckoning!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + +A TRAITOR IN PURPLE + +Although they had been repulsed, the Macedonians returned to their +camp, confident that Tyre could not much longer stand against them. +Alexander ordered the sacrifice of a black bull to Ph[oe]bus. After a +careful examination of the entrails, Aristander, the soothsayer, sought +the king and spoke to him in private. + +"Tyre will fall before the month ends," he said. "Ph[oe]bus has +promised it." + +"But the month will end to-morrow," Alexander replied, in astonishment. + +"Nevertheless, there can be no doubt," Aristander declared. "To-morrow +thou wilt be in possession of the city." + +"Let us see what the army thinks," the king returned. + +The news soon spread through the camp. Some of the soldiers rejoiced +as though the promise had already been fulfilled, while others refused +to believe, declaring that the thing was impossible. In order to save +the God from discredit, Alexander issued a proclamation extending the +month three days beyond its accustomed term. With this the army was +satisfied. + +Clearchus gave way to an agony of disappointment when he regained +consciousness to find himself on the siege boat with the walls of Tyre +receding from him. Chares and Leonidas were obliged at first to +prevent him by force from throwing himself into the sea. It was only +when the Theban reminded him that it was still possible for them to +enter the city that he became calmer. He was for seeking the passage +through which Joel had emerged as soon as day ended, but the young +Israelite convinced him that such an attempt would surely be +frustrated. The breach in the wall was only a short distance from the +passage and workmen would be engaged there, to say nothing of the guard +that would certainly be established. He consented finally to yield to +his friends and await the third watch of the night. This delay would +permit them to get a few hours of rest. + +The sun went down in flaming glory, casting the long shadow of the +Tyrian walls across the Macedonian camp. The thin smoke of a thousand +fires rose lazily in the quiet The soldiers ceased to recount their +escapes in the dreadful breach and stretched themselves on the ground. +Only in Alexander's tent a light continued to glow. + +In the middle of the second watch, a small boat crept in from the +purple shadows of the sea and grated on the sand. Two men stepped out +and turned their faces toward the camp. By their features and dress +they were Ph[oe]nicians. Of the first sentinel they met, they demanded +to be led to Alexander, and the reasons they gave caused the captain of +the guard to grant their request. + +The captain emerged from the king's tent at the end of half an hour and +hurried away in the darkness. He brought back with him Clearchus, +Chares, Leonidas, Nathan, and Joel. The Theban was rubbing his eyes +and yawning over his interrupted slumbers. + +"What is all this about?" he grumbled. "Have we not done enough for +one day? I wish this cursed city was in the bottom of the sea!" + +"It is by the king's order," the captain reminded him. + +They found Alexander stretched upon his couch and the two Ph[oe]nicians +seated before him. From the expression of the king's eyes as they +sought his, Clearchus knew that something of moment was in his mind, +and his pale face brightened. + +One of the strangers was Prince Hur, son of King Azemilcus. The young +man seemed ill at ease, and his fingers played constantly with the +golden chain that he wore as a member of the council. His companion +was older and more composed. His lips were thin and his eyes were keen +and penetrating. + +"Comrades," Alexander said, using the term that endeared him to every +soldier in his army, "I have a dangerous service to ask of you. King +Azemilcus has dreamed that his city is about to fall, and we know that +his dream is true. He has sent his son and his chancellor to us to ask +his life, and it has been granted to him. But many things may happen +when the blood is hot with fighting, and it is necessary that +Macedonians be with him when we enter. Therefore I wish you to go to +him and guard him when the time arrives. You may conduct him to the +Temple of Melkarth, which will be set aside as a sanctuary. + +"It has been promised that you shall pass unharmed into the city and +remain there in the palace until I come. If this promise is not kept, +Azemilcus and all his family are to be crucified upon the walls as a +warning to those who may wish to break faith with Alexander." + +The young king looked keenly at the Ph[oe]nicians. The prince lowered +his eyes and moved uneasily. + +"There is one thing more," Alexander continued. "If any of you have +friends in the city whom you desire to protect, it is made a condition +of the safety of Azemilcus that he shall aid you by every means in his +power." + +He glanced meaningly at Clearchus as he uttered these words, and the +young man's heart bounded with renewed hope. + +They left the tent in silence. The captain of the guard accompanied +them to the boat. + +"Azemilcus is betraying his city," Chares whispered. + +"We shall save Artemisia and rescue Thais," Clearchus replied, gripping +the arm of his friend. + +They entered the boat and rowed silently to the Egyptian Harbor. The +towering height of the wall swallowed the little craft in its shadow +and no sentinel challenged them. They bent their heads as they glided +under the great guard-chains that stretched across the entrance of the +harbor, and threading their way among the shipping, they reached the +landing and disembarked. + +Keeping to the left, the chancellor led them toward the palace. More +than once they were forced to step aside to avoid the heaps of ruins +that told of the work done by the ballistae. As they advanced, the +great bulk of the palace rose before them above the wall, to which it +was joined and of which it formed a part. As they advanced, the +chancellor was careful to keep in the deepest shadow, and his hand +shook as he fitted the key into a small door in the palace wall. + +"We are safe!" he said to the prince as the door closed behind them. + +"Very well," the young man replied, yawning; "I am going to bed." + +He turned abruptly into a lateral passage and disappeared. The +chancellor seemed in doubt for a moment whether to call him back, but +he decided to let him go. + +"Follow me," he said to the Macedonians. + +They groped their way upward after him along a winding stair that +seemed to be built into the city wall. This slow progress continued +for many minutes without a glimmer of light until they reached what +appeared to be a windowless chamber. There the chancellor left them, +bidding them wait until he had notified the king of their arrival. + +He was absent so long that Leonidas began to grow uneasy. He found the +chamber destitute of furniture and without doors save that by which +they had entered and that by which the chancellor had left them. Both +were now secured. This had been accomplished without attracting their +attention and it added to their uneasiness. + +"We are like owls in a cage," Nathan said. "We can do nothing but +wait." + +"I do not like it," Leonidas replied. + +"Nonsense," Chares remarked. "They brought us here for a purpose and +we are of more use to them alive than dead. Do you suppose that +Azemilcus is anxious to be crucified?" + +"Perhaps not," the Spartan replied, "but it maybe that he has changed +his mind. If he does not send for us soon, I think we had better try +the door." + +Clearchus said nothing, but he paced impatiently back and forth across +the narrow room, pausing at every sound. The night was passing and the +hour for the sacrifice to Moloch was drawing nearer. Shut up in the +palace, they would be powerless to save Artemisia. The moments seemed +hours to him. At last he could bear the suspense no longer. + +"We should never have permitted the chancellor to leave us!" he said, +and, striding to the door, he began to beat upon it with the hilt of +his sword until the metal of which it was composed rang like a bell. + +There was no response. The others joined him, raising a tumult loud +enough to be heard throughout the palace, but even then some time +elapsed before the bars were removed and the door swung open. The +chancellor had returned alone, his face white and scared in the +flickering light of the lamp that he had set upon the stone floor while +he worked at the bars. + +"Silence, or we are all lost!" he whispered imploringly, taking up the +lamp with a hand that trembled so that the oil spilled upon the floor. +"Do you want to invite death?" + +"Don't talk to us of silence!" bellowed Chares, threatening the old man +with his sword. "What do you mean by shutting us up here? You have +yet to learn that it is not wise to keep the soldiers of Alexander +waiting. Take us to your king." + +"Yes, yes!" muttered the chancellor with chattering teeth. "Follow me; +but in the name of Baal keep silence! I fear they have heard you +already." + +"Little I care if they have, whoever they are," the Theban exclaimed, +stalking after the chancellor, sword in hand. "If you try any more of +your tricks, your head goes off like a chicken's." + +They made several turns in the passage, ascended a last short flight of +steps, and came to a second door, which their guide pushed open. They +followed him into a large room, hung with woven tapestries, carpeted +with silken rugs, and strewn with luxurious divans. It was on the +southern side of the palace, with windows that looked out across the +wall toward the sea. The light of the lamps was already yielding to +the gray dawn which silvered the surface of the water. + +With his back to the window stood Azemilcus, king of the doomed city. +His thin white hair straggled from under a close-fitting cap to the +diamond collar which encircled his wrinkled throat. A gorgeous robe of +crimson hid his shrunken figure. He looked old and feeble, but his +eyes were as bright as jewels set in the head of a mummy. + +"Welcome, gentlemen!" he said quietly, stretching forth a wasted hand +toward Chares, who was striding toward him with anger in his face. "I +must ask your pardon for your detention; but we are prisoners here, +like yourselves." + +Astonishment halted the Theban, who stood staring at the king as though +he had not heard aright. Clearchus stepped forward. + +"What do you mean? Who has made you a prisoner?" he asked sharply. + +The small king smiled with irony on his lips. + +"I fear it can be only the prince, my son," he replied. + +"The same one who helped to bring us here and who left us as soon as we +entered the palace?" Clearchus demanded. + +"Yes," Azemilcus answered, crossing his hands and hiding them in the +wide sleeves of his robe. "He is not sharp-witted, my son; and it +turns out that he still has hopes of saving Tyre so that he may reign +here in my place. You see what they have been doing." + +He stepped back and waved his hand toward the window. Beneath them was +the breach that had been so desperately attacked and defended. The +Tyrians had raised a new wall, nearly as thick and as high as the city +wall itself. It formed a half-circle inside the gap, joining the main +wall at either end, so that an attacking force, seeking to storm the +breach, would be caught as in the bend of a bow. Swarms of men were +still at work there by the light of torches. + +The Athenian's heart sank. It seemed to him impossible that after the +defeat of the preceding day, a second attack could succeed when the +breach had been repaired. They were inside the city, it was true, but +they were only five against forty thousand. + +For a moment there was silence in the room. The bitter smile still +rested on the thin lips of the old king. The chancellor stood +nervously rubbing his knuckles, first with one hand and then with the +other. Leonidas examined the wall and the new work with an eye that +took in every detail. He turned to the king. + +"You know that if you try to deceive us, we will kill you," he said +quietly. + +"Well?" the king replied, still with his thin smile. + +"You say that it is your son who has shut you up," Leonidas continued. +"Why do you think so?" + +"Because he alone, besides this man, knew that I had summoned you," the +king said. + +Leonidas looked at the chancellor, whose ashen face grew a shade paler +under his scrutiny. + +"You were about to betray your city and your son has betrayed you," the +Spartan said. + +"That is a harsh way to put it," Azemilcus answered. "The city was +lost already." + +"Is it lost now?" Leonidas demanded, pointing to the new wall. + +"Yes," said the old king. "To-day, to-morrow, next month, it will +fall. The Gods have deserted us. The boy told me they would." + +"It is not surprising that the Gods have deserted you," the Spartan +observed. "But your son, who has conspired against you, knows that we +are here." + +"Yes," the king admitted. + +"And you kept us shut up while you were considering whether there was +not some way of getting rid of us so that we might not be found and +used as proof of your treachery," Leonidas continued. "You were ready +to sacrifice us, who had come to save you, so that you might prove your +son a liar and defeat his attempt." + +Azemilcus made no reply, but the smile left his lips and he glanced +furtively from side to side. Chares muttered some words in his throat +that sounded like a curse. + +"You are speaking to a king," Azemilcus said at last, drawing himself +up with an assumption of dignity and trying to meet the eyes of his +questioner. + +"I am speaking to a fool!" Leonidas replied contemptuously. "In order +to profit by his double perfidy, your son must have proof against you. +Who will believe him unless we are found? It will be his first care to +produce us, and if he can do this, there will be no hope left for you. +Every moment that you kept us behind that door brought you nearer to +death." + +He paused, and Azemilcus made no reply; but his smile came back and his +eyes wandered toward a table where a great flagon of wine had been set. + +"There may yet be time to save ourselves and you," Leonidas continued. +"If you can get rid of us for the present, you will have nothing to +fear. You can deny your son's story and it will be attributed to a +clumsy plot to overthrow you. Is there no way out of the palace that +is not guarded?" + +"None that I know," the king replied. + +The chancellor uttered a clucking sound in his throat that seemed +involuntary. Leonidas gripped him by the shoulder. + +"Do you know a way?" he cried. "Speak quickly." + +The chancellor went down on his knees and raised his hands in +supplication. + +"Mercy!" he wailed. "Mercy! I know--I have heard of a way!" + +"Where does it lead?" Leonidas demanded fiercely. + +"To the Temple of our Lord, Baal-Moloch," the old man whimpered. + +King Azemilcus looked at his chancellor with his keen eyes and +sarcastic smile. + +"Now I understand many things," he remarked dryly. + +"Oh, my master, I took them!" the chancellor cried, with tears rolling +down his cheeks. "Esmun made me do it. He said Moloch demanded them." + +"My rubies," the king said musingly. "Well, never mind. We will talk +of them hereafter." + +"What is one piece of treachery, more or less, to you?" Leonidas said +roughly. "Remain here. Should you escape your son, we will seek you, +if we can, when those come whom you cannot escape. If we do not +return, fly to the Temple of Melkarth and embrace his knees that you +may be spared. Farewell!" + +He dragged the chancellor to his feet. The man was shaking so that he +could hardly stand. Below them in the palace they could hear the tramp +of ascending footsteps and the sound of voices. + +"They are coming; we cannot remain here," Nathan cried. + +Leonidas snatched up the flagon of wine and hastily filled a golden cup +that he offered to the chancellor. + +"Drink this," he said. "It will give you strength." + +Instead of taking the cup, the chancellor uttered a choking cry and +pushed it from him. + +"Not that!" he gasped. "See, I am strong! I will lead you!" + +He seemed indeed to have recovered from his weakness, for he stepped +briskly toward the door by which they had entered. Leonidas looked at +him and then at the wine spilled upon the floor. + +"Poisoned!" he exclaimed, and such a blaze of wrath gleamed in his eye +that the old king shrank back. + +"So this was your plan for getting rid of us!" the Spartan said. + +His grasp tightened about the hilt of his sword, and for an instant he +hesitated; but the tramp of the soldiers was close at hand and he +reflected that a dead king could not betray Tyre. He sheathed his +sword and darted into the passage after his companions. Azemilcus made +fast the door behind them and let the draperies fall over it. Then he +turned with his mocking smile to face his accusers. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII + +THE KING TAKES HIS REVENGE + +Azemilcus walked to the window and stood there leaning against the +frame. Day was breaking, sullen and gray, in a wrack of flying clouds, +and the uneasy moaning of the sea sounded in his ears. + +There Hur and Esmun, panting from their long climb, found him standing. +The prince carried a drawn sword in his hand and he glanced quickly +from side to side as he burst into the room. Behind him came Ariston +and a guard of twenty or thirty soldiers, headed by one of the generals +of the garrison. Hur had expected to find the Greeks. He saw only his +father, leaning wearily in the window. He stood abashed, looking at +Esmun as if for advice. + +The old king remained motionless until all had entered, and then he +turned slowly and faced them. The lines of his countenance, deepened +by months of anxiety, told of the strain he had passed through, and his +shrunken frame seemed aged and feeble in its magnificent robe of state. +His eyes met theirs steadily and frankly, yet with a look of sadness as +he gave them his greeting. + +"Welcome, my son and gentlemen," he said. "You come early to seek your +king; but in these times I know that ceremony must be disregarded. +What news do you bring?" + +The authority in his tone and the dignity of his bearing, which most of +the men who stood before him had been accustomed from boyhood to +respect, had their effect. The soldiers, who knew nothing of the plot, +stared wonderingly about them. Ariston had prudently halted near the +door, and he now edged still farther into the background. + +"Come, gentlemen!" the king said, finding that none replied to his +question. "What is the news that brings you hither at this hour? Do +not fear to tell me, since it is the lot of kings to share the dangers +and sorrows of their people. Have I not done it for nearly fifty +years?" + +He smiled somewhat sadly and waved his thin hand with a gesture that +seemed to dismiss all that he had done for the city as something for +which he required no return of gratitude. + +"Do not hesitate," he continued, "because you would spare me. It is +true that in all that now threatens us I have more to lose than you. I +am ready, as you know, to sacrifice even life itself if that would save +the city. Is it concerning the offering to Baal-Moloch that you desire +to consult me?" + +He addressed himself to Esmun, recognizing in the priest the man from +whom he had most to fear. He had scarcely glanced at his son, who +stood helpless, raging inwardly to find himself presenting the +appearance of a culprit caught in some fault, instead of the avenger +that he had expected to be. Esmun looked at the prince and saw that +nothing was to be expected from him. He took up the situation boldly, +relying upon his sacred office to protect him. + +"It is true that I wished to consult you concerning the sacrifice to +Baal-Moloch, whom I serve," he said, "but we had still another reason +for coming. We have been informed that a plot against your life has +been conceived. It was told to us that certain Greeks had been brought +into the city by the treachery of your enemies, and we made all haste +to summon this guard to protect you in case of need. It is said that +the assassins are even now in the palace. If anything should happen to +your Highness, then, indeed, the city might despair. In guarding thy +safety, we guard the safety of all." + +The two men looked into each other's eyes. The king read the threat +that lay behind Esmun's words and he took up the challenge. + +"Why should they seek to destroy a man whose days are fast nearing +their close?" he asked. "The death of one of these soldiers would +profit them more, since it would leave one less dauntless heart for +them to conquer. It seems to me that the alarm is needless, although I +thank you for your care; and yet, I will not conceal from you that +there may after all be some basis for the story you have heard. Within +the week, the crown rubies have been stolen, and it is clear that I +have some unfaithful servants. Perhaps they have brought in the Greeks +to prevent detection and the punishment they deserve. Search the +palace, and if the assassins are found, we will make an example of +them." + +Esmun's heavy face quivered when the king spoke of the rubies, for his +words were accompanied by a look full of significance. He knew that +the Greeks were in the city, but the willingness of the king to have +the search made indicated that they were no longer in the palace. He +racked his brains to think what had become of them. + +Ariston slipped out of the door and stole softly down the stairs. The +astute Athenian saw that the counterplot had collapsed. + +"You, my son, and you, Esmun, will remain with me while the guard makes +the search," the king said coolly, "and let us eat, for there is much +to be done to-day." + +He engaged the priest in talk regarding the details of the sacrifice to +Baal while the soldiers dispersed through the palace and slaves brought +food. To Hur he did not speak. The general in charge of the guard at +last returned, saying that no trace of the presence of strangers in the +palace could be discovered. He knew nothing of the secret passages, +and the prince did not venture, in his father's presence, to reveal +them. Esmun, with the theft of the rubies in his mind, dared not +betray his knowledge of their existence. + +"It is as I thought," the king said, dismissing the guard. "I thank +you for your zeal." + +The slaves had already withdrawn, since it was unlawful for any who had +not been initiated to be present while the mysteries of the worship of +Baal were being discussed. + +"You seem downcast, my son!" the king said when he was left alone with +Hur and the priest. He took his seat at the table, upon which the food +had been placed, and motioned them to a seat opposite to him. "You +will never be a king," he continued, "until you learn how to conquer +failure. I have noted a certain nervousness in you of late. You +should overcome it. Misfortune is half disarmed when you meet her in a +cheerful spirit." + +Hur let his eyes fall, but he made no reply. Esmun kept his gaze on +the king's face. + +"Come!" Azemilcus said in the same bantering tone, "you do not eat. +You should leave the welfare of the city to me. You thought you knew, +when you did not. You should remember that kings do not always reveal +their purposes." + +He filled his cup from the great flagon and pushed it toward them. + +"Let us drink to the safety of Tyre," he said. + +"To that I say amen," Esmun exclaimed, "and may the curse of Baal rest +upon all who seek to betray her!" + +"So say I--be they high or low!" Hur echoed boldly. + +The old king's eyes sparkled and he looked at them with the mocking +smile that they knew so well. + +"Drink, then!" he said, spilling a few drops from his cup upon the +floor as a libation. + +The others followed his example, Esmun with a muttered word of +invocation, and both drank off what remained. The king was seized by a +violent fit of coughing that shook his withered frame and forced him to +set his cup down untasted. As he did so Esmun rose to his feet. + +The face of the priest was convulsed and purple and his eyes seemed +starting from his head. He raised his clenched hands and made a +tottering step toward the king as though he would strike him with his +fists. He struggled to speak, but no words issued from his throat. He +reeled blindly and crashed down across the table like a slain bullock, +overturning it in his fall. His eyes rolled up in his head and he lay +motionless. + +The prince did not rise from his chair, but his fingers gripped +convulsively the carved arms of ebony and he writhed in agony. + +"Father!" he gasped. + +His form stiffened, his head fell back, and a slight foam appeared on +his lips. + +Azemilcus drew the skirts of his robe around him and stepped carefully +across the litter caused by the wreck of the table, with its linen +cloth stained in the spilled wine that flowed from the shattered +flagon. He walked quietly to the door and vanished between the crimson +curtains, leaving the two dead men alone in the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV + +THE REVOLT OF THE ISRAELITES + +While Azemilcus was dealing with his enemies in his own way, the +wretched chancellor, shaking in every limb, conducted the Macedonians +back through the secret passage by which he had brought them to the +presence of the king. Descending the winding stairs, they reached the +street level, where the old man opened a hidden door that led into a +narrow subterranean gallery. They followed this for what seemed to +them a long distance in a stagnant atmosphere, heavy with dampness. It +brought them at last to a slab of stone, from which hung a ring of iron. + +Chares was forced to exert all his strength to turn this stone upon its +pivot. They emerged from the passage into a small room with walls of +rough masonry and a door that was closed by a black curtain. At the +request of the chancellor, the lamp was extinguished. + +"Where are we?" Leonidas demanded. + +"In the Temple of Baal," the old man whispered. "This room is little +used by the priests. They live on the other side." + +The Spartan raised the curtain and looked into the gloomy interior of +the temple. It was deserted and silent. + +"What shall we do with this man?" he asked, turning to his companions, +and indicating the chancellor. + +"We have no further use for him," Chares replied, placing his hand +suggestively upon his sword-hilt. + +"Spare me!" the chancellor cried, falling upon his knees. "I will tell +where the rubies are, and a great store of jewels besides. They are +under the image of Baal. Do not take my life!" + +"He might betray us if we let him go," Leonidas said, paying no +attention to his supplications. + +"I swear to you on the head of Baal that I will not," the old man cried +piteously. + +"If he should betray us," Clearchus observed, "his own life would be +forfeit, because we should reveal the part he had in bringing us into +the city." + +"Very well; you have most at stake," the Spartan said. "Let him go." + +The chancellor did not wait for further permission. He disappeared +into the passage like an old gray rat escaped from a trap. + +"I am half sorry we spared him after all," Leonidas said regretfully. +"Let us see where we are." + +They passed through the curtained door and into the temple. Twilight +reigned beneath the lofty dome where the bats were still flitting. +This semi-darkness was artfully preserved so that the fire, which was +the essential feature of the worship of Baal-Moloch, might be visible +and effective during the sacrifices. + +The Greeks found themselves in a vast hall of oblong shape. They were +standing upon a platform of stone, raised for the height of a man above +the main floor, to which a flight of broad and shallow steps descended. +A huge dark mass stood before them exactly under the dome, the sides of +which were pierced by narrow slits that admitted the light of day. +This mass was the misshapen idol of Baal. The God was represented by a +hollow statue of iron and bronze, sitting upon a throne. Its long arms +terminated in hands that rested with palms upturned beside its knees. +Its enormous head was inclined slightly forward, and the expression +upon its face was so cruel and malignant that Clearchus felt his blood +chilled as he gazed upon it and thought of the hecatombs of innocent +victims whose lives had been sacrificed to its ferocity. + +There were larger and more splendid images of Baal in other +Ph[oe]nician cities, but none that was so venerated. It had been +brought from the Temple of Baal-Moloch in the Old City on the mainland, +where for centuries it had been the guardian of the place, receiving +its sacrifices each year. In the old days even the first-born of the +royal blood had been lifted in those blackened arms and rolled upon the +iron knees to be roasted alive. The terrible face leaned above with +distended nostrils, as though to inhale the odor of burning flesh, and +thousands of mothers had watched its dreadful smile through the smoke +with songs of praise on their lips and death in their hearts, while +their babies writhed in agony in the pitiless embrace. Baal would +accept no unwilling sacrifice, and the mother whose child was torn from +her breast to be given to the God, not only lost her infant but was +disgraced forever if she showed emotion while the rite was being +performed. + +In spite of themselves, the Macedonians were oppressed by a kind of +superstitious dread as they looked at the grim visage that seemed to +sneer down upon them. + +The great portals of the temple, at the other end of the hall, were +closed. On either side were rows of dark columns upholding the roof, +which was painted to represent the heavens. Dim shapes of monsters, +half beast and half human, appeared upon the walls. + +The Greeks made a circuit of the temple but found no means of egress. +There were several anterooms similar to the one to which the +subterranean passage had led them. These contained vestments, the +implements used in the ceremonials, and a store of scented wood, dry as +tinder, that furnished fuel for the sacrifices. In one of the rooms +was a door which Joel believed connected with the building in which the +priests were housed. The walls around the platform were draped with +heavy hangings of black that formed a background for the image. + +"Let us take counsel," Nathan said, casting a look of hatred at the +idol. "Jehovah will not permit this monster to triumph over Him." + +They withdrew into their recess to consider a plan of action. + +"One thing is certain," Leonidas said. "Alone we can never prevent the +sacrifice." + +"My people will help us," Nathan said. "They will not give up their +first-born without fighting." + +"How many are they?" Clearchus asked. + +"There are ten thousand of them in the city," Joel replied; "but they +are not armed, excepting those who have been drafted to the defence of +the walls." + +"I have more faith in Alexander than I have in your people," Chares +said bluntly. "He will be in the city before this day ends, unless the +Gods have misled old Aristander." + +"But will he come in time?" Leonidas asked. "Let Nathan and Joel go to +the Israelites and rouse them to resist. Tell them that Alexander is +coming and that he will protect them. We three will stay here and +await the result." + +To this the others gave their assent. It seemed a desperate chance, +but it was all they had. There was a small window in the antechamber, +high up in the wall. Nathan climbed up to it on the shoulders of the +Greeks and looked through. + +"There is nothing on this side but the cypress garden," he said. +"Farewell; you may be sure that we shall return, though we come alone." + +He slipped through the window and dropped upon the turf outside. Joel +followed him. The three Greeks, left alone in the temple, looked into +each other's faces and Clearchus grasped his companions by the hand. + +"You have placed your lives in peril for me," he said with emotion. +"Zeus grant that they be not demanded of you!" + +"Pshaw!" Chares exclaimed, "are not our lives always in peril? If we +must die, we shall die; and we are not permitted to choose where or +how. When the Ferryman calls, we must go. For my part, if thou +wouldst repay me, let me sleep, for my head is nodding." + +Clearchus smiled, understanding his friend's aversion to any display of +feeling. He embraced the Theban, who calmly lay down upon the stone +floor; his eyes closed, and he began to snore gently. + +Leonidas, whose tough frame defied fatigue, and Clearchus, whose mind +was in a torment of doubt and suspense, stationed themselves behind the +curtain that hid the door and waited, talking in whispers. They could +hear the patter of raindrops and by the rising wind outside they knew +that a storm was breaking over the city. Its breath entered through +the slits in the dome, causing the dark hangings to sway against the +wall. The gloomy temple seemed to be filled with mysterious +murmurings. Some drops fell upon the image of Baal and ran glistening +down the bronze head and broad, sleek shoulders. + +Nathan and Joel made their way through the cypress thickets and scaled +the wall of the temple garden. They found themselves in a narrow +street which led them to a broader thoroughfare, where men were +hurrying to and fro in the rain. Soldiers of the garrison, weary and +hollow-eyed, were going to the defences. Citizens whose uneasy rest +had been cut short by the tension of dread were early abroad in search +of news. + +"What of the enemy?" one of them asked of a soldier who was returning +from the walls. + +"They are coming out to attack," the soldier replied. "Their ships +have already left the shore, and the stones will soon be falling about +your ears." + +"How much longer?" the citizen asked, with a groan. + +"Ask that of the Gods," the soldier replied indifferently; "but I think +the end will be soon, unless Moloch relents." + +Joel and Nathan passed on, their appearance attracting no attention in +a city where there were so many of their race. + +"Hasten!" Nathan said. "Alexander is coming!" + +As they advanced toward the quarter occupied by the Israelites, the +streets became filled with people, nearly all of whom seemed to be +drawn in the same direction that they themselves were taking. They +fell in with a man who strode on with knitted brows and lips +compressed. By his appearance he was a Hebrew, and Nathan addressed +him in the Hebrew tongue. + +"Whither goest thou?" he asked. + +"To save the innocent from slaughter," the man replied fiercely. "Come +with me if ye are men!" + +"We will come with thee," Nathan said. + +"There are the priests!" Joel exclaimed. + +Half a dozen of the ministers of Baal, surrounded by a guard of +soldiers, came down a cross street. They carried in their hands small +bundles of short cords with which to bind the limbs of their victims. +The crowd gave way before them, gazing at their black robes and stern, +fanatical faces with curiosity mingled with dread. + +"May the curse of the Most High rest upon them!" the stranger cried, +shaking his fist. + +He began to run in the direction of the open square used by the +Israelites as a market-place. Nathan and Joel raced after him. The +clamor of voices raised in bitter lamentation reached them. They found +the square choked with a surging mass of men and women who clasped +little children to their breasts, seeking to protect them. The rain +beat in their faces and the gusty wind tossed their garments. Some +called upon their God, raising their hands toward heaven. Others +shrieked the names of their offspring who had already been torn from +them. Every house in the quarter was filled with weeping and cries of +despair. The priests of Baal went hither and thither, seizing their +prey in the name of the law wherever they found it. + +Nathan and Joel halted at the edge of the square. The priests were +searching through the crowd, many of them concealing a tiny burden +beneath their robes of office. Feeble wailings betrayed the nature of +these bundles. They were the children of the Israelites, bound hand +and foot for the sacrifice. + +While the young men stood looking, one of the priests discovered a +woman who crouched upon the ground with her face hidden in her +dishevelled hair. He grasped her roughly by the shoulder and drew her +back, disclosing the fact that she had been shielding her baby beneath +her bosom. The child raised its dimpled hands and tried to touch its +mother's wet cheeks. The priest seized them and tore the infant from +her. She clutched the skirt of his robe and followed him on her knees +through the mire, begging piteously for the child. + +"You have so many already," she said, "and he is all I have! Surely +Baal does not require my little one. He will be appeased. Give him +back to me!" + +The priest turned and struck her upturned face with his clenched hand. +She uttered a cry of anguish and released his robe, falling back +senseless to the earth. + +An inarticulate sound burst from the lips of the man who had guided +Nathan and Joel to the market-place. + +"O Lord, my God!" he shouted, raising his hands to the leaden sky. "I +had two children to be the staff and prop of my old age. Wilt Thou +suffer them to be taken from me? We have remained faithful to Thee; is +this to be our reward?" + +Nathan was about to spring upon the guard that surrounded the priests +before him when the tall figure of an old man strode into the square. +His gaunt frame was clad in sackcloth, and his long white hair and +beard were blown in the wind. He walked erect, without the aid of the +staff which he carried in his hand. There was an air of authority and +even of majesty in his bearing. The men and women nearest to him fell +upon their knees and stretched their hands toward him in supplication. +He did not glance at them and he seemed not to hear their prayers. His +stern eyes swept the market-place and he spoke in a resonant voice that +rose above the tumult and caused it to die away. + +"Why do ye lament, men of Israel?" he cried. "Cease now your weeping +and rejoice. For Tyre is fallen! Her hour is come!" + +"It is Pethuel, chief priest of the synagogue," Joel whispered to +Nathan, who was watching the old man with glowing eyes. + +"Hearken unto me, O ye of little faith!" Pethuel continued, and the +silence spread until his words could be heard throughout the square. +"The worshipper of idols is cast down. The day of clouds and thick +darkness is at hand. Lo! they waxed a strong and a mighty people. The +cities of the world feared them, and their ships followed the trackless +wastes of the sea. There was none like to them in their greatness. + +"Unto some they said, 'Go!' and unto others they said, 'Come!' Verily, +their strength was like that of the lion, and they rejoiced in their +vessels of gold and silver. It seemed to them that there would be no +ending. + +"And lo! the end is upon them. They are cast down; their walls are +overthrown, and their city is become a place of desolation. Thus saith +the Lord God unto me, His servant, that I may tell it to my people and +bid them rejoice! + +"He has delivered them out of the hands of their enemies as a bird from +the net of the fowler. I said unto the Lord, 'Behold, the city of +abominations hath laid her hand upon Thy servants! In the olden time, +did she spoil Israel and Juda and the pleasant valleys, wasting them +with fire and sword. Then did Thy vengeance fall upon her, until of +her strong walls not one stone remained upon another. But now she +presseth sore upon Thy people; wherefore help us, O Lord!' + +"Hear ye, men of Israel! Out of the darkness came a Voice like the +rushing of a mighty wind and the sound of many waters, and it filled +mine ears, saying: 'I am the Lord God of Hosts. Inasmuch as ye have +been faithful unto Me and have bowed not before the work of man's +hands, therefore will I hearken unto you. She has sown the wind, and +she shall reap the whirlwind. Her fortresses and her strong places +shall be spoiled. The weak shall perish with the strong, and the +mighty shall not deliver himself. I will give her daughters to ruin +and her children shall be wanderers among the nations. This will I do +for My people, that they be not put to scorn. Say to them: "Take each +man his sword and let him slay; for who shall withstand the wrath of +the Most High?"'" + +To Nathan it seemed that the veil that separates the seen from the +unseen had been rent away. The voice that rang in his ears was no +longer the voice of Pethuel, but that of his Maker. He felt himself +lifted up beyond the region of doubt, and a great gladness filled his +heart. + +Pethuel paused before him and looked at him with a gaze that pierced +him through like fire. The old man raised his staff and touched him on +the shoulder. It seemed to Nathan an act of consecration. + +"Lead thou them!" Pethuel cried in a loud voice. "It is the command of +the Lord, thy God." + +A compelling Power, greater than himself, seized upon the young +Israelite. He no longer had any volition of his own. He became an +instrument. + +"Follow me, men of Israel!" he shouted, drawing his sword. "Jehovah +gives the heathen into our hands!" + +The hush was broken, and a great cry went up from the densely packed +market-place. With one impulse, the crowd fell upon the soldiers and +priests who still remained in the square, the greater part having +already retreated toward the Temple of Baal-Moloch. The Ph[oe]nicians, +greatly outnumbered, were able to make but a brief resistance. Nathan +sprang forward and cut down the nearest soldier. In the rush that +followed him, the guard was swept away, scattered, and destroyed +singly. A score of children were rescued. The priests were trampled +to the earth and torn limb from limb. The square resounded with savage +cries. The Israelites had been roused to frenzy. The word of God was +upon them. + +"To the temple!" Nathan shouted. The cry ran through the mob which +surged into the narrow streets leading to the shrine of Baal-Moloch, +bearing down all before it. The frightened priests heard it coming and +sent messengers to the walls, demanding succor. Azemilcus ordered +soldiers to be detached to quell the disturbance, and the defence of +the city was still further weakened. + +The fighting in the streets became desperate. The Israelites scattered +and, by circuitous routes, pressed toward the temple. They mounted to +the roofs, hurling all kinds of missiles from a great height upon the +heads of the guards. The rain fell in blinding sheets. It seemed to +the Tyrians that the entire Hebrew population of the city had suddenly +gone mad. Ties of association were forgotten, and men who had been +friends for years struggled for each other's lives. + +The tumult spread in every direction. The soldiers were forced to fall +back and form a ring of defence around the temple. Even then, they had +much ado to hold the crowd at bay, for the Israelites charged against +them without ceasing, recklessly throwing away their lives upon the +hedge of steel. + +Great stones dropped from the sky continually. Friend and foe were +crushed beneath them. When they struck the walls of the houses, they +left gaping fissures through which the interior could be seen. They +came from the engines upon the Macedonian ships that were renewing the +attack upon the city. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV + +MOLOCH CLAIMS HIS SACRIFICE + +Artemisia and Thais looked from their window at the scud of flying +clouds and beneath them the Macedonian fleet assembling south of the +city. Thais' eyes danced with excitement, and Artemisia's cheeks were +flushed. + +"This time we shall win!" Thais exclaimed, throwing her arms about her +companion. "You are beautiful this morning, Artemisia; Clearchus will +be pleased with you." + +The color in Artemisia's cheeks deepened and a happy smile parted her +lips. + +"I shall make him leave the army," she said. "Of course I am proud of +his bravery; but, after all, there are better things than to be always +killing other men." + +She raised her chin with a charming affectation of pride. "He is an +Athenian, you know," she added. + +Thais frowned. She found in Artemisia's words an implied reflection +upon Chares. + +"Don't be silly," she replied. "Do you want to make him one of those +curled idiots who spend their time in company with philosophers, +chasing shadows or trying to find out why crabs walk sidewise? You +would wake up some day and find that one of them had proved to him that +there is no such thing as love. Or perhaps you would rather have him a +dandy, with race-horses and a score of dancing girls to amuse himself +with! Let him be a man, Artemisia; let him love you and fight his +enemies with all his heart. For my part, if Chares talks of deserting +Alexander, he may look elsewhere for some one to love him; for I shall +not." + +Artemisia listened to this outburst; but she shook her head, and a soft +light shone in her eyes. + +"You want power and splendor," she said "but I would rather be alone +with Clearchus in a desert than sit beside him upon the throne of +Darius. I will have no rival in his heart." + +"And with half a dozen children around you," Thais said scornfully. +"You might as well complete the picture." + +"Yes," Artemisia answered bravely, though she blushed as she said it, +"if the Gods permit it; and if the first is a boy, he shall be named +Chares." + +Thais turned swiftly and kissed her, all her anger gone in a moment. + +"There, sister, I did not mean it," she said. "May the Gods give us +both our hearts' desire!" + +She clapped her hands, and the tiring women who had been awaiting the +summons entered. + +"Give me my saffron chiton," she cried, "and my topaz necklace. We +shall have visitors to-day, girls." + +She seated herself before a large mirror while the women dressed her +hair and robed her as she had directed. They could not hide their +admiration when their task was finished and she stood before them like +a living image of gold. + +But Artemisia chose a linen robe of pure white, unrelieved by color. +The spotless purity of her dress set off the delicate flush upon her +cheeks and the soft brown of her hair. + +So eager were the young women that they were scarcely able to taste the +fruit and cakes that the servants set before them. They kept jumping +up and running to the window to see what progress the Macedonian fleet +was making, and whether the attack had begun. + +"What a storm!" Artemisia exclaimed. "I wish it would stop; it hides +the ships." + +"Zeus is fighting on our side to-day," Thais replied gayly, as a long +growl of thunder shook the walls of the house. "Tell me, what is going +on in the city?" she added, turning to a Cretan maiden among the women. +The girl was beautiful in face and figure, although her expression was +one of sadness. She had once ruled as favorite of Phradates, and it +was whispered in the household that she still loved him, in spite of +the fact that she had had a score of successors since her brief day of +ascendency. + +"They are preparing a sacrifice to Baal-Moloch," she replied, "in the +hope of persuading him to aid them." + +"What is this sacrifice? I have never seen one," Thais asked. + +"I do not know," the girl said. "There has been none since I came to +Tyre." + +"I know, mistress," another of the women volunteered. She was a +Syrian, with a supple figure and bright black eyes, who had been a +slave from her infancy. + +"Describe it, then," Thais said. + +"Baal-Moloch is the most powerful God in the world," the woman said +volubly. "His image is made of iron, and is terrible to look upon." +She shivered as she spoke. "I never saw it but once, and that was when +the Babylonian king threatened to make war upon us. We offered +sacrifice to prevent it, and Moloch would not permit him to come. The +priests went about the city and took the children--even the little +babies--and carried them away to the temple. When the doors were +opened, we could see Baal sitting there in the darkness. There was a +fire inside of him, and his eyes glowed at us. He reached his hands +down, and the priests gave him the children, one by one, and he lifted +them up and devoured them. It was awful to think of those little +children!" + +Artemisia listened with an expression of horror on her face. + +"I do not see where they are going to get the children now," Thais +remarked. "They have all been sent away." + +"They are taking the children of the Israelites who remained here," the +Syrian explained, "and they say--at least, Mena says--they are going to +sacrifice a virgin, too. Ugh! I don't want to see it." + +"Little good will it do them!" Thais exclaimed. "Not even Baal can +save their city now." + +"Hush!" the Syrian said, affrighted. "He is a great God." + +Sounds of commotion and of hurried footsteps in the lower halls of the +house interrupted them. Thais listened. + +"Go and see what it is," she commanded. + +The Syrian went, and in a moment came flying back into the room with +terror on her face. + +"Oh, my mistress!" she cried. "Why did you speak so of Moloch? His +priests are in the house! Save us!" + +"Silence!" Thais exclaimed, rising to her feet. "You shall not be +harmed." + +She raised her head proudly and faced the doorway, while the slave +women huddled behind her with frightened eyes. Artemisia stood beside +her, trying to emulate her courage; but a strange sinking laid hold +upon her heart, and a mist swam before her eyes. + +There was a rush of feet outside, and four black-robed men, followed by +a guard of soldiers, entered. Their leader was a man of stern and +grave expression, whose eyes seemed to glow in his pale face with the +power of his compelling will. He was Hiram, who had been chosen +hastily to act as chief priest when Esmun failed to return from the +royal palace. His ascetic countenance contrasted strongly with the +gross faces of his followers, brutalized by self-indulgence. The other +priests both feared and hated him, for it was said that Baal had +endowed him with powers that were beyond the understanding of man. + +"What seek ye here?" Thais demanded, flashing a haughty glance at the +zealot. + +He paid no heed to her and made no answer. His dark eyes caught those +of her companion and held them. + +"Artemisia!" he said, in a solemn voice that sounded like a summons, +"our Lord, Baal-Moloch, the Saviour, awaits thee! Come with us to his +temple." + +To Artemisia the words sounded far away; yet she heard them distinctly, +and they seemed to leave her no choice but to obey. A deep sense of +peace crept over her as she looked into the fathomless eyes of the +priest, that were fixed steadfastly upon hers, and from which she could +not withdraw her own. Dimly she felt that never again should she see +Clearchus or behold the land of Attica. Never should she hear his +beloved voice or feel his arms around her, clasping her close to his +breast. It was the will of the Gods. Everything earthly seemed to +recede and fall away from her as in a dream, leaving her alone with the +grim priest, her master. They two were floating upon a mighty current +that was bearing them, she knew not whither. She was at peace, and all +was ended. The terror she had felt a few moments before had left her. +It seemed remote and long ago, and she smiled to think of it and of how +foolish it had been. + +Hiram saw her form droop and her muscles relax, and these signs of his +victory did not escape him. The expression of his face did not change, +however, and he still kept his eyes fastened upon hers. The sombre +figures of his subordinates stood motionless beside him, and the +soldiers of his guard, lean and weather-worn, blocked the doorway, +glancing now at the two young women and now at the slave girls cowering +in the background. + +"Come with me!" Hiram said quietly, stretching his strong hand toward +Artemisia. + +She made an uncertain step toward him, but Thais caught her by the arm +and drew her back. + +"What do you mean by this mummery?" she cried, with blazing eyes. "Get +thee gone and tell thy God that Artemisia is not for him!" + +"Chafe not, daughter," Hiram replied calmly. "The will of Baal must be +obeyed. There can be no escape." + +"You shall not have her!" Thais cried. "Your creed demands a willing +sacrifice!" + +"And she is willing," the priest said, in the same even tone. + +"She is not!" Thais said. + +"Follow me!" Hiram exclaimed, slightly raising his voice. + +Artemisia made a feeble effort to obey, and Thais felt the arm that she +held draw away from her grasp. + +"Sorcerer!" she cried desperately, retaining her hold, "she is not +willing of her own will. Release her from thy spell!" + +"She is willing," Hiram repeated, "and thou shalt see her place herself +voluntarily in the hands of the Giver of Life." + +He made a slight sign, and the three priests who followed him stepped +forward. One of them twisted Thais' hand from Artemisia's arm, +retaining her wrist in his clutch, while another seized her on the +opposite side, rendering her helpless. The third took Artemisia gently +by the hand. She offered no resistance, but suffered herself to be led +down the marble stairs with wide-open eyes that seemed to see nothing. +Thais followed between her captors. Her face was pale to the lips, and +yellow flames danced in her eyes. + +"Priest of Baal!" she said, "thou hast shown no mercy and none shalt +thou receive--neither thou nor thy God!" + +"Blaspheme not," Hiram said; "the vengeance of our Lord is bitter." + +"More bitter still shall be the vengeance of men," Thais exclaimed in +her despair, "and they are now beating at the walls who shall make thee +feel it!" + +Hiram made no reply. If he felt a misgiving, his face did not betray +it. He led the way with measured tread down the staircase, followed by +his two captives and by the guard. + +"Artemisia!" Thais cried in anguish, "speak to me!" + +Artemisia made no response, nor did she turn her head. It was evident +that she had not heard. Laying aside her pride, Thais determined to +make a final effort. When they reached the deserted entrance hall, she +raised her voice. + +"Phradates! Phradates!" she cried. "Save us from these men!" + +Her cry echoed through the recesses of the hall, but it brought no +response. + +"Phradates!" Thais called again as the outer doors swung back, +revealing the wind-swept street. + +This time a figure emerged from the marble columns. It was that of +Mena the Egyptian, who advanced with a malicious smile upon his sharp +face. + +"My master is upon the walls," he said impudently, though he bowed low. +"He is fighting to save the city from your friends." + +Something of the suppressed triumph in his bearing struck the attention +of Thais, agitated as she was. + +"Is this thy work?" she demanded, looking at him between narrowing +eyelids. "Thou shalt pay for it, slave, upon the cross, to the last +drop of thy blood!" + +"Thou dost me too much honor," Mena replied, bowing again in mock +humility. + +"Come," said one of Thais' captors, roughly. "Baal must not be kept +waiting." + +The slanting rain smote their faces as they emerged into the street, +where throngs of men and women were crowding toward the Temple of +Moloch. On this side, as yet, nothing could be seen of the fierce +conflict that was raging for the possession of the children in the +Hebrew quarter. The sounds of it were lost in the rushing of the wind +and the crashing of the thunder. + +The people of Tyre hastened forward in silence and with bowed heads. A +nameless dread possessed them. Amid the confusion wrought by man and +the elements, friends and neighbors touched shoulders without a glance +of recognition. A weight of oppression seemed to dull their minds and +restrict their lungs. They were like creatures that listen furtively +in hidden terror to catch the forewarning of some catastrophe, the +nature of which they know not. All bonds were dissolved. Husbands +became separated from their wives in the press and made no attempt to +rejoin them. + +Even the priests of Moloch who followed Hiram were affected by the +universal uneasiness, and Thais felt the hands that clasped her wrists +tremble. Hiram himself walked gravely and slowly, apparently oblivious +of what was going on about him. He seemed indifferent alike to the +pelting of the storm and the danger from falling stones. A mass of +rock plunged into the crowd close before him, crushing a man beneath +its ponderous weight. The step of the pontiff did not waver, and he +passed the spot without so much as a glance at the mangled body pinned +down by the missile. His consciousness of the protection of Moloch +freed him from all sense of personal danger. + +The people made way for him in silence, huddling to the sides of the +street and closing in after the soldiers had passed. Artemisia walked +with her eyes upon the sombre figure that strode before her. Her face +was as colorless as the linen chiton that clung to her figure in the +rain, disclosing the maidenly outline of her bosom. Her breathing was +even and regular, as though she were sleeping with open eyes. + +Anger raged in Thais' breast as in that of a lioness, bound with +chains, which sees her cubs taken from her. She knew the hopelessness +of struggling with her captors, for even if she could free herself, she +would still be powerless to rescue Artemisia. + +Around the gloomy temple stood thousands of men and women, mournfully +and silently waiting in the rain for the procession to enter. The +great bronze doors stood open, revealing the dark interior of the +building, where a few torches cast a flickering light upon the face of +the monstrous idol, whose cruel features seemed to be twisting +themselves with hideous grimaces. + +Streamers of pale blue smoke were drawn through the apertures over the +head of the image by the wind, and the inside of the temple was filled +with a smoky haze that increased the obscurity. This came from the +fire of scented wood that the priests had kindled in the body of the +idol. They fed it continually from behind; and the faint smoke, rising +from carefully disposed openings in the breast and shoulders of the +figure, partially veiling its face, added to the mystery and solemnity +of the ceremony. + +As Hiram approached the entrance, two lines of black-robed priests +issued silently to right and left, pushing back the crowd and forming a +lane which led up the two flights of shallow stone steps to the +doorway. The spectators reverently bowed their heads. Their faith in +the power of Baal, bred in them from infancy, was strong upon them, and +deep was their fear of his wrath. Many times had he listened to their +prayers, and more than once had he refused to listen, permitting the +calamity that they besought him to avert. But never since he had +become their God, at a time beyond the limit of tradition, had they +gone to him in such dreadful extremity. Would he intervene, or would +he leave them to their fate? + +All eyes were turned to the impassive face of Hiram, searching there +for an answer to the question that was in every mind. The chief priest +gave no sign. He paced slowly into the open space between the ranks of +the priests, his black vestments fluttering about him in voluminous +folds. His eyes looked straight forward into the temple, seeking the +face of Baal. In his footsteps walked Artemisia, her head now drooping +slightly, like a flower cut from its stem. The priests began a slow +chant, so low that its words of praise could hardly be understood. + +Halfway up the second flight of steps, behind the row of priests, +Pethuel appeared in the crowd. He had managed somehow to reach the +temple in advance of his flock. The rain glistened upon his white hair +and snowy beard. Pressing forward as Hiram advanced, he raised his +voice above the mystic words of the chant. + +"Priest of Baal!" he cried to his rival, "thy God is fled! Behold, his +image shall be broken in thy temple. The wrath of the Lord God of +Hosts is upon you; for the cup of Tyre's iniquities runneth over!" + +He ceased and a murmur ran through the crowd; but no hand was raised +against the old man. The priests looked at Hiram, who passed on +without so much as turning his eyes, and they continued their chant. +Not even when the brother who walked beside Artemisia was struck down +by an arrow on the threshold of the temple did Hiram pause. The shaft, +falling obliquely, buried itself between its victim's shoulders, and he +fell upon his face in his death agony. His comrades lifted him quickly +and bore him out of sight; but the people continued to gaze at the +stain of blood upon the stones where he had fallen. + +As Artemisia and Thais vanished in the doorway, the sounds of conflict +caused by the rising of the Hebrews reached the temple. + +"It is Alexander!" said one to another in the crowd, and because of the +words of Pethuel, the cry was more easily believed. Panic seized upon +the multitude. Thousands of those who had assembled fled back to their +homes. Others ran toward the royal palace, and still others sought the +harbors. Scores found refuge in the temple, fighting with each other +to enter first through the wide doorway. The dread that had weighed +them down had taken shape. The evil was upon them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI + +THE PASSING OF A GOD + +Inside the Temple of Baal-Moloch the chant of the priests swelled to a +triumphant hymn of praise. The throbbing of drums and the droning of +strange musical instruments increased the volume of sound. It drowned +the uproar of the conflict between the guards and the Israelites, who +had reached the gardens of the temple, and it rose above the wailing of +the infants destined for the sacrifice. The children were held by the +priests, who formed in a deep semicircle before the idol. The throng +of devotees filled the body of the temple beyond their line and the dim +reaches of the arcades behind the rows of columns. + +The pungent smell of smoke from the sacrificial fire was mingled with +the odor of incense that floated from censors swung by neophytes clad +in robes of scarlet. + +Amid the crowd that burst into the temple in such numbers as to forbid +all semblance of the usual ceremonial order, rose the image of the +Giver of Life and its Destroyer, gigantic and terrible. Its broad +breast glowed dull red, and a spurt of flame issued from its sneering +lips like a fiery tongue. The terror that had driven the people into +the temple gave way to awe when they found themselves in the presence +of the God. Many of the votaries fell upon their faces before the +colossal figure; others stretched their hands toward it in an agony of +supplication. Sharp cries pierced the maddening pulsations of the +music. The gusts of the storm, entering through the opening in the +temple roof, drove the smoke in eddies through the obscurity. + +Hiram walked straight to the idol and prostrated himself upon the +lowest of the steps that rose to the platform on which it stood. He +remained for a moment in silent prayer, and then, rising, he stretched +forth his arms and repeated the ancient formula that always preceded +the sacrifice, calling upon the God by the numerous titles that +signified his manifold attributes. + +Artemisia stood behind him, within the half-circle of priests who held +back the eager crowd. Her white garments gleamed pure and spotless +against the background of their sombre official robes. Her head was +slightly bowed, and her hands were clasped lightly before her. She +seemed utterly oblivious of her surroundings and the terrible fate that +awaited her. Thais, firmly held by the priests who had brought her to +the temple, was stationed by her captors on the left hand of Baal, in a +position that prevented her eyes from meeting Artemisia's gaze. The +angry color had faded from her cheeks. She realized at last that +Artemisia was lost and that she herself must endure the agony of seeing +her perish. Her face had grown haggard and drawn. + +"Spare her, priest of Moloch!" she cried desperately, as Hiram ended +his invocation. "Her death cannot save thy city. Give her back to me, +and I promise thee thy safety and the safety of thy order. If thou +needs must sacrifice a woman, let me be the victim. I am fairer than +she, and I will be more acceptable to thy God. See, I beg her life at +thy hands!" + +She would have thrown herself upon her knees, but the priests +restrained her. Hiram made no reply and paid no heed to her appeal. +Ascending the steps with a firm tread, he stood between the feet of the +idol and turned to the multitude, extending his hands over Artemisia's +head with the palms downward. The chant ceased and the music died +away. Only the frightened sobbing of the infants, whom the assistants +sought in vain to quiet, broke the silence within the temple. Hiram +began to speak in a solemn and impressive voice. + +"We bring thee, O Lord, a maiden, pure in heart," he said. "We have +sinned against thee in our pride; upon her head we place our sins; take +thou her and forgive!" + +He paused, and a wailing cry of supplication rose throughout the temple. + +"We have neglected thy worship," Hiram went on. "Upon her head be our +neglect; take her and forgive! We have done those things that are +forbidden; upon her head be our disobedience to thy law; take her and +accept our atonement! We have disregarded our oaths; upon her head be +our perfidy; receive her in quittance of our debt to thee. Pardon us, +O Lord, in this our sacrifice to thee, all our many sins against thee, +and protect us out of thy mercy in this hour of our great peril!" + +At the conclusion of the recital, he turned again to the God. The arms +of the idol slowly sank and extended themselves until the outstretched +palms were brought together before the iron knees a few feet from the +floor. + +"Artemisia!" the chief priest called imperatively. + +With faltering steps she obeyed his command, advancing slowly until she +stood before the broad palms that seemed to tremble with impatience to +clasp her form. In the deadly hush of expectancy, the fierce cries of +the Israelites, struggling with the soldiers outside the temple, could +be distinctly heard. Hiram saw that haste was necessary if the +sacrifice was to be accomplished. + +"Dost thou give thyself willingly for the sins of Tyre?" he demanded, +confident of his power. + +Before she could answer a shriek rang through the temple. + +"Deny him, Artemisia, my sister!" Thais cried. "He is a sorcerer. Do +not--" + +Her voice was roughly stifled by the priests, her captors, but a +questioning murmur rose from the crowd. + +"Answer!" Hiram said sternly, bending all the strength of his merciless +will upon her. + +"Artemisia! Do not answer!" cried another voice. It was the voice of +a man, and it rang strong and clear, though it vibrated with anxiety. +It seemed to issue from the dark recesses behind the idol. A stir of +astonishment broke the spell that had imposed silence upon the +worshippers. Every eye strove to pierce the gloom of the sanctuary. +Hiram started, and his pallid face grew a shade paler. + +"Artemisia!" came the clear voice again. "Dost thou not hear me?" + +Artemisia's eyes left those of the chief priest and looked beyond him +eagerly into the darkness. The mask of impassiveness faded from her +face. Her lips parted. + +"Clearchus!" she cried. "Where art thou? Save me! Save me!" + +She threw up her arms with a despairing gesture, and sank upon the +platform beneath the terrible hands that were stretched to seize her. + +"Alexander! Alexander!" shouted Chares out of the darkness. "Down +with the dogs!" + +The words were followed by a cry of mortal agony from one of the +priests whose duty it was to feed the fire that roared inside the idol. +The Tyrians heard the sound of a brief commotion in the rear of the +temple, they saw the gleam of armor and of weapons, and the dark +hangings that veiled the innermost shrine were rent from the walls. +Armed men rushed across the platform and leaped down among the priests, +hewing at the holy ministers with flashing swords. + +In the obscurity, the Tyrians fancied that an entire company of +Macedonians was upon them. Those who had sought refuge there from the +Hebrew mob forgot the dangers that awaited them outside and surged +toward the entrance. But the Israelites had scattered the soldiers in +the gardens, and they charged the doors just as the assemblage +attempted to force its way out. The fugitives from the terrors of the +temple were struck down in heaps upon the threshold. + +Hiram alone retained his presence of mind. He had implicit faith in +the power of the terrible deity, in whose service he had spent the +greater part of his life, and absolute confidence in the efficacy of +sacrifice. When he saw Artemisia fall and heard Chares' battle-cry, he +knew that all was lost unless the offering could be consummated. + +Unmindful of his own danger, he bounded forward and raised the slim, +unconscious form in his arms. Quickly he laid it upon the iron palms, +with a muttered prayer. There was a sound of creaking chains, and the +hands ascended slowly, bearing upward the slender figure. One bare, +white arm hung inertly between the iron fingers, and the snowy chiton +shone through the smoke against the dark bulk of the monstrous image. + +Clearchus sprang out of the darkness and saw Artemisia raised aloft in +that pitiless grasp. She was already beyond his reach. A cold sweat +broke out upon his body. He stood for an instant transfixed with +dread, unable even to cry out. Every heart-beat brought her nearer to +that glowing metal surface, whose terrible heat he could feel upon his +face where he stood. + +Hiram stepped forward to the edge of the platform and stretched out his +arms. The glare of religious madness shone in his eyes. + +"Peace, peace!" he cried to the struggling and shrieking mob, frantic +with fear. "Baal-Moloch accepts the sacrifice. Peace! Profane not +his temple!" + +His voice was drowned in a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the sky +across from mountain to sea. Before it died, a huge mass of rock, +hurled from an engine of the Macedonian fleet, crashed through one of +the openings in the dome of the temple. The ponderous missile struck +the masonry and bounded backward and downward in a shower of dislodged +stones upon the inclined head of the idol. + +Moloch seemed to rise from his throne, as though about to stride from +the platform. His iron arms flew apart, and the grim colossus lurched +forward down the steps, and fell with a clang of metal upon the marble +floor. + +A sharp cry rose from the struggling crowd. Those who witnessed the +downfall of the sacred image stood in doubt, unable to believe their +eyes. The Israelites, unaware of what had happened, took advantage of +the moment to overcome the slight opposition of the Tyrians who still +faced them. They rushed into the temple, crying aloud for the +restoration of their children. + +In the wild confusion of their onslaught, many of the infants were +trampled to death. Others were killed by the priests, who seemed +crazed by the fall of their idol. At first they stood stupefied. +Hiram's voice was no longer heard. They called upon him in vain. +Finally one of them ran to the fragments of the prostrate image. +Bending above it, he saw the distorted face of the chief priest gazing +up into his own. The unfortunate man had been caught beneath the +breast of the God to whom he had offered so many innocents, and his +crushed body was being slowly roasted under the red-hot metal. + +"Moloch has taken him!" the priest shouted, tossing his arms in the air. + +He ran into the crowd, and, seizing one of the infants by the heels, +dashed out its brains against a pillar. His example was followed by +others no less frantic than himself. + +"Strike, brothers!" he cried. "Baal has fallen! The end is at--" + +Before he could finish the sentence, Leonidas' sword pierced his +throat, and he fell upon the body of the child that he had slain. + +Down the dim arcade, behind the pillars, strode the Spartan and Chares, +hacking and thrusting at the black-robed minions of Moloch. They +showed no mercy. Neither prayer nor entreaty availed. They sought the +priests through the terrified crowd, and dragged them from every place +of concealment, until of all who had been in the temple not one +remained alive. + +With the crash of the stone as it smote the idol, Clearchus realized +what had happened. He saw the iron arms drop, and he leaped forward in +time to snatch Artemisia from their embrace. The hot iron grazed his +body as the image fell. Artemisia's pale, sweet face lay upon his +shoulder, and he clasped her close to his breast. In the revulsion +from his despair he felt his muscles endowed with strength. + +He smiled to see his friends dash past him, and he looked smilingly +upon the clamorous crowd in which every man fought for his life. One +of the priests, whose face had been gashed to the bone, rushed upon +him, with hands extended, and tried to tear Artemisia from his arms. +The man was unarmed, and Clearchus thrust him through the breast. He +sank and died without a moan. + +Amid the fragments of Moloch's image, the fire that had been kindled in +the iron bosom flickered with blue and crimson tongues of flame. + +Suddenly the crowd was split by a rush from the great doorway, and +Clearchus saw Nathan leading the Israelites into the temple. With the +name of Jehovah upon their lips, the swarthy, black-eyed Hebrews poured +in, smiting the Tyrians and beating them down with merciless strokes in +the delirium of their exaltation. They swept through the temple like +wolves through a sheepfold. The floor was heaped with the dead, and +the stones were slippery with blood. Nathan recognized the Athenian +and sprang to his side, shouting to his followers to strike and spare +not. + +Into the midst of the confusion rushed the Hebrew women, seeking the +children who had been taken from them. The uproar of conflict gave way +to the lamentations of mothers whose infants had been slaughtered. +Others, more fortunate, sat with their babes in their arms, kissing +them and feeling them over to discover whether they had been hurt. One +young wife sat upon the steps at Clearchus' feet with her first-born +and only child. Nathan recognized her as the woman who had been struck +down by the priest in the market-place. The baby had been strangled +and was dead. + +"Hush!" she said, in a crooning voice, and, covering the child's head +with her garment, she pressed its lips to her breast. For an instant +she sat there, but the chill of the waxen mouth struck through her +heart. She gave a startled glance at the baby's face, and then sprang +up with a scream of despair and rushed out of the temple into the +tempest, with the poor little body clasped in her arms. + +Nathan called to Chares and Leonidas. "Alexander is on the wall," he +said. "The streets are filled with the Tyrians. We must escape as we +came. Listen!" + +He held up his hand, and the Greeks became aware of a dull roaring that +filled the city like the humming of a gigantic hive of bees. + +"Even here we shall not be safe," Nathan continued. "Let us seek the +secret passage." + +"Chares!" cried one from among the women, and Thais ran forward, with +her saffron robe torn so that half her perfect breast was exposed. She +carried a dagger in her hand, and its blade was red; but her face shone +with joy. The weapon fell from her grasp as she sprang to the Theban, +who lifted her like a child in his arms and kissed her. + +"Come," he said, as he set her down, "let us go." + +Turning their backs upon the throng of the living and the dead, they +descended into the secret passage and closed the entrance behind them. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII + +SYPHAX SQUARES HIS ACCOUNT + +King Azemilcus stood at a window of his chamber, with the aged +chancellor at his side, looking out across the parapet of the wall. +They were alone in the room, for the king had ordered his guard to +await his commands in an outer apartment. The window opened directly +upon the top of the wall, to which the royal palace was joined. Often +during his long reign had the old king stood there, revolving his +schemes in his cunning brain, while the salt breeze cooled his temples. + +Beneath his feet the stones trembled with the shock of the great +battering rams that were enlarging the breach in the wall west of the +palace. In his ears sounded the tumult of the attack upon the two +harbors, where the Macedonian triremes were seeking to break the +barriers of chains. He saw the Tyrian soldiers upon the battlements, +fighting against hope, with the valor of desperation. + +The roar of falling masonry told him that the rams had done their work. +The breach had become a wide gap, extending beyond the ends of the +inner wall that had been built to block the assault. The vessels lying +in wait drew nearer. Flights of arrows and volleys of stones, great +and small, swept the defences. Troop-ships, provided with drawbridges +at their prows, closed in at the breach. The bridges fell, and streams +of men in armor began to flow across them. They gained the breach and +held it. They scaled the slope of fallen blocks and reached the top of +the wall. The Tyrians were forced backward or hurled into the sea. + +"That must be Alexander," the king remarked, noting the irresistible +vigor of the assault. + +"Yes," the chancellor replied, "those are his plumes." + +Alexander indeed was leading the charge along the wall toward the +palace, fighting in the forefront as his custom was, while the +shield-bearing guards pressed forward where he led. Their triumphant +voices shouted his name. At one of the towers upon the wall, between +the breach and the palace, the Tyrians made a stand, seeking to check +the advance of their foes. The Macedonians hunted them out and drove +them to the next tower. The battle raged in mid-air, and the bodies of +the slain fell either into the sea on one side or into the streets of +the city on the other. + +"They will enter here," Azemilcus said. "I think it is time to go." + +"It is time!" the chancellor echoed, gazing upon the slaughter like a +man under the spell of a horrible fascination. + +The king led the way into the large hall where the guard was stationed. +It consisted of a company of a hundred men under the command of a young +captain whose bronzed face and steady gaze showed that he was a veteran +in service despite his youth. He had been pacing backward and forward +before his men, who stood at attention along the wall. At sight of +Azemilcus he paused and saluted. The old king placed a thin hand upon +his shoulder. + +"I am going to the Temple of Melkarth," he said. "Escort me thither." + +The young man shook off the royal hand as though he felt contaminated +by its touch. + +"Does your Majesty really mean to seek refuge with the Alexandrine?" he +asked indignantly. + +"Yes," the king replied, "and I command you to come with me." + +"Then I refuse!" the soldier exclaimed. "I have two brothers yonder on +the wall, if they be still alive. The Macedonians will try to enter +the palace, and if they succeed, the city is lost. Go you to +Melkarth's temple if you will; but you go alone. We remain here." + +Azemilcus looked at the handsome face, flushed with anger, and his +inscrutable smile played about his lips. + +"Thy father was my friend, and I have loved thee," he said. "I would +save thee if I could, but youth is hot and hasty; have thy will if thou +must." + +He began to descend the broad staircase, followed by the trembling +chancellor. + +"There goes Tyre!" the young captain cried bitterly, "selfish and +treacherous to the last. To the windows! We may yet save him +honorably, though he does not deserve it." + +They reached the seaward side of the palace in time to receive the +remnants of the Tyrian companies that had vainly striven to defend the +wall. The captain's brothers were not among the fugitives. + +It had seemed to the young officer that the entrances to the palace +from the wall might be held by a few men against any force that could +be brought up; but it was not within human power to resist the onrush +of the Macedonians. The captain was slain by Ptolemy; half his men +fell with him, and the others fled down through the palace to the +streets with the Macedonians at their heels. + +The noise of the battle spread from the palace through the city. There +was the clash of steel and the hoarse shouting of men at barricades; +screams of women in fear and sharp cries of command mingled with the +trampling of many feet. Save for the obstinate guard, the palace had +been left unprotected by the crafty old king, who was awaiting his +conqueror in the sanctuary of Melkarth's temple. Alexander led the way +into the city with Hephaestion and Philotas. Ptolemy, Perdiccas, +Clitus, Peithon, Glaucias, Meleager, Polysperchon, and a score more of +his Companions and captains swept after him, heading the scarred +veterans of Philip's wars,--phalangites, archers and javelin throwers, +Thessalian cavalry riders, and heavy-armed mercenaries. + +Then in the city of Tyre, whose name for centuries had been a synonym +for power and pride, began a slaughter which lasted until nightfall. +Alexander ordered that the Israelites should not be molested and that +none should enter with violence the Temple of Melkarth; but he did not +seek to forbid his followers from taking revenge for the rigors and +hardships of the long siege. + +At first the Tyrians fought desperately from street to street and from +square to square, falling back from one barrier to another; but this +resistance served only to whet the rage that drove the Macedonians on. +Fresh troops constantly landed from the fleet and poured in through the +palace. The breach in the wall became a gateway. The pitiless +squadrons hunted the defenders from lane and housetop, cutting them to +pieces. + +In the Sidonian Harbor, seven ships were hastily manned, the chains +were let down, and the crews made a dash for the open sea. They were +snapped up by the Cretan vessels which lay in wait beyond the +breakwater. Three of them were sunk, and the rest were forced to +surrender. + +In the house of Phradates the terrified slaves locked and barred the +doors by direction of Mena. The master was fighting on the walls. +More than once parties of Macedonian soldiers demanded that the gates +be opened, but when no response was given, thinking perhaps that the +house was deserted and tempted by easier spoil, they passed on. At +last came a Tyrian cry for admittance. Mena looked from the wicket and +saw Phradates, supported by two soldiers. His face was pale and his +helmet had been shattered. + +"Open!" cried the soldiers. "Your master has been wounded." + +Several of the slaves started forward and laid their hands upon the +bars, but the Egyptian pushed them back. + +"There is no longer master or slave in Tyre," he said. "Each man must +think first of himself." + +At the suggestion of Phradates the soldiers bore him to the rear of the +house, where there was a small door leading to the kitchens. It was +opened by a white-haired crone, whose eyes were blinded with tears. + +"Bring him in," she cried. "I am his nurse." + +"Take him, then," the soldiers said roughly, irritated by the delay. +"He owes us fifty darics for bringing him off, and we have our own to +save." + +Upheld by the trembling arms of the old woman, Phradates staggered +across the threshold. He could no longer feel the earth beneath his +feet. If he could only rest a little! + +"Is it you, mother?" he asked faintly. "I must sleep." + +"Yes, yes, master," the old woman replied through her sobs, "but not +here. Come to your own chamber." + +She tried to urge him toward the banqueting hall, but his steps grew +more uncertain and his weight became too great for her feeble strength. + +"Mena!" she called. "Mena, here is your master. Come and help him!" + +The Egyptian ran in furiously and closed the door that she had left +open in her anxiety. + +"Do you want to have us all killed?" he demanded, turning upon the old +woman. "Take that, my master, for the beatings you have given me!" + +He plunged his dagger into the young man's defenceless side, and +Phradates sank to the floor. + +"Thais!" he muttered, "where art thou?" + +The old woman uttered a quivering cry and fell upon her knees beside +him, trying with her robe to stop the flow of blood. Mena ran back to +the front of the house, leaving her alone with the body. + +"Speak to me! Speak to me!" she wailed, not knowing what she said; but +Phradates made no reply. + +Tyre was in a turmoil of riot and license. The real fighting was at an +end, but the soldiers were everywhere pillaging and drinking. Costly +fabrics were trampled in the mud of the gutters. Rare vases and +priceless statuary were shattered upon the pavements. Rough +Thessalians ransacked the houses of rich merchants for gold and gems, +destroying with laughter and jests what they did not want. The stifled +screams of women mingled with their voices. Here a soldier emerged +from a great house with his arms full of rich silks. Another shouted +to him that a hoard of gold had been discovered close at hand, and he +straightway dropped his burden that he might get his share of the more +convenient plunder. There a man who had found a huge tusk of ivory +tried to carry it away on his shoulder, while his comrades wrestled +with him for it, uttering shouts of laughter as their fingers slipped +upon its polished surface. Sometimes swords were drawn and blood +flowed over a bag of gold or a necklace of pearls. Bands of +mercenaries paraded with wine-skins on their backs, singing the hymns +of Dionysus and squirting the precious vintage into each other's faces. +Gorged with blood, the army glutted itself in a delirium of indulgence. + +In the universal license the baser elements of the city's population +joined in the pillage with none to hinder, for the Macedonians were too +intent upon their revenge to heed them. Like Mena, slaves rose against +their masters, and entire families were slain for the sake of plunder +or to requite harsh treatment. The prisons were broken open and their +inmates set at liberty. The sailors about the harbors, who had been +kept inactive by the blockade of the fleet, desperate men from all +quarters of the sea, satisfied their ferocious appetites at will. In +the frenzied carnival of lust and slaughter, neither age nor innocence +was spared. + +The swirl of the battle drew Syphax and his companions from their +haunts among the great warehouses near the waterside, where they had +been drinking. The bloated face of the freebooter grew purple with +eagerness as he heard the sounds of conflict and of panic spread +through the city. + +"Ho, comrades!" he shouted, "to-day we pay ourselves for all we have +had to endure from Fortune! The spoil lies ready for us." + +"Break open the warehouses and load a ship with ivory and silk," cried +one of his followers. + +"You are a fool," Syphax replied contemptuously. "We should be sunk +before we could get out of the harbor. Take nothing but gold and +jewels. We can hide them until the time comes to escape. Look there!" + +An old man, a member of the council, came running toward them, glancing +back over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued. Syphax grasped +him by the arm and tore the heavy golden chain of office from his neck. +The man made no resistance, but fled away without a word as soon as he +was released. + +"This is what we want," Syphax cried, holding up the shining links. +"Be bold and follow me." + +He set off toward a part of the city that the Macedonians seemed not +yet to have penetrated. It was a quarter where many wealthy houses +stood, and the sailors were fortunate enough to arrive among the first +of the marauders. In half an hour, each of them had collected a +fortune in gold and precious stones. There was blood upon the hands of +Syphax and one of his men had a cut across his forehead when they came +out of the last house, carrying their spoil in small, heavy bundles. +The city was in its death-throes. From harbor to harbor it had become +a vast shambles. + +"Let us get back to the warehouses and bury what we have," one of the +seamen said. + +Syphax looked about him, and his glance fell upon the house where he +had seen Ariston enter. In their immediate vicinity there was yet no +sign of the enemy. A cruel gleam entered the pirate's bloodshot eyes. + +"Now that we are rich," he cried, "it is no more than fair that we +should pay our debts. I have one yonder that must be discharged, and +to you I resign my share of whatever of value we may find inside." + +"Lead on, then, but hasten," the sailors answered. + +Syphax found the door bolted, as he had expected. His men battered it +in with stones and rushed into the entrance hall. The place seemed +deserted. The sailors scattered through the house in search of booty, +but Syphax sought only his enemy. + +The terrified family had taken refuge in an alcove on the third floor +of the house. There one of the sailors found them and summoned his +chief with a joyful shout. Ariston and his host stood at the entrance +of the recess, with swords in their hands to defend the women, a mother +and three daughters, who cowered behind them in the shadow with two +slave girls only, the rest of the household having fled. The sailors +laughed at the two feeble old men who dared to oppose them. + +"Spare our lives and you shall each receive five thousand talents of +gold," Ariston cried. "I am Ariston of Athens, and I pledge myself to +the payment." + +"We know what the pledges of Ariston are worth!" Syphax replied, his +face convulsed with hate and rage. + +"We are lost, my friend," Ariston said, in a low voice, to his host, +recognizing the pirate. + +"You bade me once to remember Medon," Syphax bellowed. "I bid thee now +to remember him and the silver talent thou wert to give me for what was +done in Athens. I have had no luck since; and now thou shalt pay for +all!" He rushed upon Ariston, who tried to defend himself; but the +pirate easily disarmed him and dragged him out into the room. The +master of the house fell beneath a shower of blows. + +"Now for the harbor! Our time is short," Syphax shouted, hurrying +Ariston with him down the stairs. + +The screaming and prayers of the women mingled with sounds of brutal +merriment told him that his order was unheeded. + +"Do you hear?" he roared. "Come, I tell you, before it is too late!" + +This time two of the wretches obeyed him, bursting from the room with +loud guffaws. The others straggled after them, but several minutes +elapsed before they were all assembled for the sally. + +"Why not do it here?" one of the sailors asked, indicating Ariston, +whose arm Syphax held in a firm grasp. + +"Because I intend to make him remember Medon," the freebooter answered +savagely. "You shall see sport when we reach the harbor." + +A cold sweat covered Ariston's forehead, but he made no sound. His ear +had caught the trampling of feet, and he hoped yet for rescue. + +The sailors emerged into the street and turned toward the harbor. Just +as they reached the first corner, a company of Thessalians, in pursuit +of a few Tyrian fugitives, ran into them. No questions were asked. +The swords of the cavalrymen were already out, and they drove them into +the bodies of the men who were unfortunate enough to block their way. + +Syphax alone had time to drop his booty and draw his sword. He saw +that there was no escape. + +"Thou hast been my evil genius," he cried to Ariston, "but at any rate +thou shalt go with me to the Styx." + +He plunged his sword into the old man's side. Before he could withdraw +it, a Thessalian blade cleft his skull. Murderer and victim fell +together. + +The storm had blown over. The sinking sun shone crimson upon the +twisted clouds far across the sky. In the quarter where the Israelites +dwelt, amid the mourning and rejoicing, Pethuel, the high priest, +raised his hands to heaven. + +"Give thanks to Jehovah!" he cried. "Our enemies have fallen and they +that mocked Him are no more! Blessed be the name of the Lord!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII + +THAIS GIVES A FEAST + +Down in the secret passage the fugitives from the Temple of Moloch +could hear no sound of the battle. Leonidas had snatched one of the +perfumed censers from the hand of a quaking neophyte, and this shed a +glimmer of light as he led the way. + +Artemisia came to her senses to find herself clasped in her lover's +arms. + +"Clearchus!" she murmured, "may the Gods grant that this be not a +dream." + +"It is no dream, my beloved!" the young man answered. "I have found +thee at last." + +"Dear heart, I have longed for thee so!" she said, with a little sigh +of content, as her arms stole around his neck. + +Clearchus bent his head, and their lips met in the darkness. Thais +heard the murmur of their voices. + +"Oh, I have lost my sandal--and I am cold!" she exclaimed, in a tone of +distress. "Chares, I am afraid you will have to carry me." + +"You are so heavy," the Theban said, taking her in his arms. + +"There, be careful, sir, or I shall make you set me down again," she +cried. + +Leonidas uttered a sound that was something between a snort and a grunt +and signified disdain, whereupon Chares laughed until the narrow +passage rang. + +Before they reached the palace it was in full possession of the +Macedonians. They entered the room where the young men had left +Azemilcus the night before, and found a portion of the squadron +belonging to Leonidas busily searching there for plunder. The men +stood open-mouthed when their captain appeared from behind the +hangings. They looked like schoolboys caught in a forbidden frolic. + +"Where is the king?" the Spartan demanded sternly. + +"He is fighting down there," one of the soldiers replied, pointing from +the window. + +Leonidas glanced down upon the city and saw the conflict raging in the +streets. + +"Then what are you doing here?" he asked harshly. "Fall in!" + +"I will go with you," Nathan said. "I must seek my people." + +"You will find us here when you come back," Chares cried after them. +"We will fight no more to-day." + +Leonidas overtook Alexander stamping out the last sparks of resistance +in the northern part of the city. The young king, still glowing with +the ardor of battle, greeted him with a smile. + +"Are Clearchus and Chares safe?" he asked. + +"They await you in the royal palace with Artemisia and Thais," the +Spartan replied. + +"Good!" Alexander cried. "This will have to be celebrated. Let us see +what has become of Azemilcus." + +He led the way to the Temple of Melkarth, which was filled with +fugitives and suppliants. The general feeling in the city that the God +was on the side of the Macedonians had led many to seek his protection +when no other remained. Some of them were even striving to remove the +chains with which the image had been bound to the pillars. + +Azemilcus and the chancellor came forward, surrounded by the priests of +the temple. The two kings, one withered and shrunken and old, his +brain cankered by the cynical knowledge of experience, and the other, +in the fulness of his vigorous youth and generous enthusiasms, looked +into each other's eyes. Alexander's face was grave and stern, but the +mocking smile still hovered about the lips of the older man. + +"What have you to say?" Alexander said at last. + +"I have been a king," Azemilcus replied, "but I am a king no longer. +What is your will?" + +"You may live," Alexander replied coldly, "but you have never been a +king. Where is your son?" + +"He is dead," the old king answered, and his eyes wavered. + +"I would rather be in his place than in thine," Alexander said shortly. +"Follow me." + +Azemilcus shrugged his shoulders and gathered his robe more closely +around him. To all who had sought refuge in the temple Alexander +granted safety, and then, having issued the necessary orders regarding +the city, he turned back to the palace. + +The streets were encumbered with the dead. The bodies lay in heaps +behind the broken barricades or scattered between them, where the +fugitives had been stricken as they fled before the fury of the +Macedonian charge. A wounded Tyrian raised himself on his elbow while +the two kings passed, cursed Azemilcus, and died. + +In the council room of the palace Alexander demanded from the +chancellor an accounting of the public treasure of Tyre, an enormous +sum in gold and silver, and gave it into the custody of his own +treasurer. There, too, he received the reports of his captains, and +with marvellous quickness despatched the business that they brought +before him. The greater part of the army he ordered back to the camp +on the mainland. + +When nothing more remained to be done, he turned to Leonidas. + +"Where are thy friends?" he asked. "They seem to have forgotten me." + +"I will fetch them," the Spartan replied. + +He ran to the apartment where he had left the lovers, and burst in, to +find them nestled among the cushions, telling each other of all they +had endured. + +"Come," he cried. "The king has asked for you." + +"Tell him that we will come presently," Chares said, but Thais promptly +boxed his ears and slipped out of the arm that encircled her waist. + +"I don't suppose there is a woman in the palace to smooth my hair," she +exclaimed. + +"Do you think Alexander will look at you?" Chares asked. "He has more +important things to think about, indeed." + +Nevertheless, Artemisia and Thais made Leonidas wait five minutes while +they aided each other to make the best appearance possible under the +circumstances, before they followed him to the great council chamber. +Artemisia entered shyly, casting down her eyes before the bold glances +of so many men; but Thais walked beside Chares with head erect, her red +lips parted in a smile, and a gleam of excitement dancing in her eyes. + +With the license that Alexander permitted, the captains raised a shout +of welcome when Chares and Clearchus appeared. Before Artemisia could +catch her breath, she was standing in front of Alexander, and Clearchus +was presenting her to him. + +"She looks like a rosebud when the dew is on it," Clitus whispered to +Hephaestion. + +"Don't be sentimental," the favorite answered. "When did you become a +poet?" + +"Not until this minute," Clitus replied. + +Alexander himself was not free from embarrassment when he greeted +Artemisia, for he knew nothing of women, not yet having met Roxana; but +he took her hand and praised the bravery of Clearchus, at which she +blushed and smiled. + +Thais looked the young king frankly in the face. "We bid you welcome +to Tyre," she said. + +There was something in the unconquerable vitality of her gaze that +reminded him of his mother, although Olympias' eyes were dark and the +eyes of this girl were yellow, if any color could be assigned to them +that seemed a blend of all. + +"It was worth fighting for," he said, returning her look with +unconcealed admiration. "But sometimes I wish I were not Alexander," +he added, turning to Chares with a smile. + +"And I thank the Gods that thou art indeed Alexander," the Theban +replied, drawing Thais closer to him. + +The young king seemed to fall into a momentary revery, but it passed +quickly. + +"You four shall be my guests to-night," he exclaimed. "Azemilcus will +provide the feast." + +"Do not trust him," Chares said, in a low voice. "He tried to poison +us." + +"If that be so, we will eat elsewhere," Alexander answered, frowning +and looking askance at the Tyrian. + +"If you will permit me to manage it," Thais said, "Phradates shall +furnish the feast." + +"Who is he?" Alexander asked. + +"He was our captor here," Thais replied, "and he is a man of some good +qualities, though he has others also." + +"He is the messenger whom you sent from Thebes to carry word to King +Azemilcus of your coming," Clearchus explained. + +"I remember," Alexander said. "I would like to see him again and ask +him whether he delivered the message. So be it, then." + +Bidding the Companions follow, Alexander suffered Thais to lead him to +the house of Phradates. It was still closed and silent, but Chares and +Clearchus beat upon the door with their sword-hilts and demanded +admittance in the name of Alexander. Mena, recognizing the king +through the wicket, thought it best to open, since he knew that +resistance would be in vain. The door swung back, and he prostrated +himself at Alexander's feet. + +"Welcome, O son of Philip," he said. "The house of my master and all +that was his belong to the Conqueror of the Earth." + +"Where is he that he does not himself receive me?" Alexander demanded. + +"Alas, he is dead!" the Egyptian answered. "He received a fatal wound +while fighting on the walls, and they brought him home. He died in my +arms." + +Mena affected to wipe tears from his eyes as he told of his master's +end. + +"It is a lie!" the old nurse screamed, from among the slaves clustered +in the back of the hall. They tried to stifle her voice, but Alexander +commanded her to come forward. + +"What happened?" he asked briefly. + +The old woman sank upon her knees and raised her hands in supplication. + +"I was his nurse," she said, in her cracked and broken voice. "They +brought him wounded to this door, and Mena--this man here--would not +permit him to enter. He was not always kind to me, but I loved him; +for how often when he was little have I held him in my arms! So I +stole away and brought him in by another door, thinking to save him, +for he was so weak from his wound. And then Mena stabbed him, and he +died. Vengeance, O king; thou art strong!" + +"Thou shalt have it," Alexander said sternly. "Is this true, dog?" + +Mena tried to deny, but he could not speak. His face turned ashen. + +"I promised this man that he should be crucified," Thais said softly. + +"Then let it be done now," Alexander said. + +He motioned to his guard, who seized the Egyptian and held him fast. +"Were others concerned in this?" he demanded of the nurse. + +"No others, my lord," the woman replied. + +"Then let them have no fear," he said. "They shall be unharmed. I +give them and this house to Thais." + +"Mercy! Mercy!" cried Mena, finding his voice at last. "It is all a +lie!" + +"Take him away," Alexander said. "I see you know how to punish," he +added, turning to Thais. + +"I thank the king, both for that and for his gift to me," she replied +demurely. "I was sold at Thebes." + +By her order the slaves conducted Alexander to the bath and waited upon +the Companions who began to arrive. She caused the body of Phradates +to be carried to his own chamber, where it was left in the care of the +old nurse. With the aid of Artemisia, she superintended the +preparations for the feast, giving especial care to the selection of +the wines and to the decoration of the hall in which the tables were +spread. + +Masses of oak leaves from the gardens of Melkarth's temple hid the +columns, and from among them shone hundreds of lamps and torches, +shedding their light upon the platters of gold and trenchers of silver, +interspersed with flagons of colored glass of the finest workmanship, +that weighed down the tables. The couches were covered with silks of +many hues and piled with yielding cushions. + +Pyramids of flowers from the roofs of the houses were disposed upon the +tables, and for each guest a wreath was prepared. The warm, +perfume-laden air throbbed with the music of flutes breathed upon by +invisible musicians. + +Thais had caused soldiers to be sent to the Temple of Astoreth, where +the priestesses, with many lamentations, supplied them with pheasants +from the sacred flock, and these, with abundance of fish from the +harbors, pastries, and sweetmeats, disguised the poverty of the larder. +Alexander was accustomed afterward to drive his cooks and stewards to +despair by commanding them to provide a banquet like the one that Thais +had given; for, try as hard as they might, he never could be brought to +give his approval, but persisted in declaring that the feast of Thais +remained unequalled. + +The secret was that there never after came a time when the young king +was so well satisfied with himself and his fortune, when his friends +were so inspired, and when the future held so much promise. The battle +of Issus had been won, and the strongest fortress in the world had been +taken. The shores of the sea, from the Hellespont to the Nile, had +been conquered and held. Alexander knew then that no power on earth +could stand against him. He foresaw the overthrow of Darius and the +spread of his own dominion to the confines of the world. Great +thoughts and limitless projects were stirring in his mind. He felt +himself half a God, and he wondered at his own power. There was yet no +bitterness of anxiety to contaminate the pleasure of anticipation, +which always in ambitious hearts so much exceeds that of realization. + +The feelings that animated the young leader were shared in greater or +less degree by his followers. Even Hephaestion forgot to sulk because +his place on the right of the king had been given to Artemisia. Thais +sat on his left, and beyond her reclined the lazy bulk of Chares. Each +man looked his neighbor frankly in the face, sure of his sympathy, and +all felt toward Alexander an affection and generous admiration in which +there was no selfish thought. + +What wonder that, in after years, when suspicion and insidious pride +had poisoned the mind of the young king, and when the free-hearted +soldiers there gathered together had fallen away from each other, each +hoping evil to his comrade that he himself might profit thereby,--what +wonder that Alexander remembered the feast of Thais as the happiest of +his life? But of the sorrows that were to come none then knew or even +guessed, unless it was old Aristander, to whom all paid honor because +his prophecy of the fall of Tyre, that the king himself had deemed +impossible, had been fulfilled. And even Aristander was cheerful that +night beyond his custom, forgetting the future in the present. + +So the young men rejoiced in their strength, in their hopes, and in the +honest affection that warmed their hearts toward each other. The hall +was filled with laughter, and their jesting left no scars. The wine +expanded and stimulated their minds instead of their passions, and when +Callisthenes, at Alexander's request, recited the immortal description +of the fall of Troy, the majestic periods of the epic drew tears of +emotion to their eyes, and every man of them became a hero. + +"If I were to bid thee crave a gift at my hands, what would it be?" +Alexander asked of Artemisia. + +She blushed, and her glance sought Clearchus. + +"It would be one of thy soldiers, O king," she replied softly. + +"That is much to ask of a general," Alexander said, affecting +hesitation. "I would rather you had demanded his weight in gold; but +which one?" + +"Here he is," said Artemisia, blushing still more deeply and laying her +hand in that of the Athenian. + +"I suppose I must give him to thee," the young king said. "Let the +chief priest of Melkarth be summoned." + +"I will fetch him myself," Clearchus cried, leaping from his couch, and +he hurriedly left the hall amid the approving laughter of the company. + +The priest was found, the marriage contract drawn and signed, and while +Alexander joined their hands, the words were spoken that made Clearchus +and Artemisia one. The captains rose to their feet, each with a +brimming goblet, and they drank the health of the bride with a cheer +such as they had not given since they charged the squadrons of Darius. +With heart-felt freedom they showered good wishes upon their comrade, +and loud were their protests when Alexander broke up the feast to +return to the royal palace. + +Leonidas remained, with a few men of his troop, to guard the house, and +he and Chares sat for hours with a flagon of wine between them, talking +of all that had passed since the day when they rode at dawn into Athens +in search of Clearchus. + +In the lofty chamber where Artemisia and Thais had spent so many weary +days waiting for the coming of deliverance, Artemisia stood with +Clearchus at the window that looked toward the Macedonian camp. The +cloud-wrack had vanished, and the sky was thickly sown with great stars +that seemed to look down upon them with friendly gaze. The young man's +arm clasped his bride warm and close, and her dear head rested against +his breast. He kissed the soft coils of her hair; but she lifted her +lips to his, and he saw that her blue eyes were swimming with tears of +happiness. + + +Leonidas, who had gone about his duties long before his friends were +stirring next morning, returned at midday and placed in Artemisia's +hands a mysterious package. + +"This is Moloch's gift," he said. + +When Artemisia opened it, out poured a magnificent double necklace of +rubies, so large and pure that she could not help kissing him, at which +the Spartan blushed like a boy. + +"I found them under the idol," he said. "For once, the chancellor told +the truth." + + + + +CHAPTER LXIX + +CHARES FINDS REST + +Again Alexander and Darius stood face to face, this time upon the plain +of Nineveh at Gaugamela, the Camel's House, beyond the swift Tigris. +Chares and Leonidas felt the chill of autumn in the air as they +strolled out upon the earthen ramparts that sheltered the Macedonian +camp. The wide plain below them, where they knew the Persian host was +assembled, was shrouded in mist. + +Both were silent, and both were thinking of Clearchus, whom they had +left behind in Egypt, in the new city that Alexander had founded at the +mouth of the Nile, giving it his own name. There he was building the +house that was to shelter him and Artemisia amid its gardens, within +sight and sound of the sea; for when he learned of the wreck of his +fortune, he had no desire to return to Athens. + +"We shall soon know who is master," the Spartan said, gazing toward the +mist-wrapped plain. + +Chares followed his look indifferently, yawned, and stretched his arms. + +"I believe I would rather go back to sleep than fight," he said. "I +don't know what has come over me." + +Leonidas shot him a quick glance, and it seemed to him that the +Theban's face had aged and grown grave over night. + +"I wonder what Clearchus and Artemisia and little Chares are doing," +Chares went on. "I would like to see them again. May the Gods give +them happiness!" + +"Yes, and I shall be happy too when you have built your palace beside +them," Leonidas replied. "It will have to be a palace, for Thais will +be satisfied with nothing less." + +Chares smiled a little sadly and shook his head. + +"That is not for me," he said. "I shall never have a home and children +of my own." + +"Nonsense!" the Spartan replied decisively. "What is to become of +Thais, then?" + +"I know not," Chares said reflectively. "Watch over her, Leonidas, if +I am not there to do it. She loves me." + +"You talk like a sick man," Leonidas exclaimed, "yet you were never +better. What is the matter with you?" + +"Who can speak of to-morrow?" Chares replied. "You know, Leonidas, +that I am not afraid, and yet somehow I care not. You and Clearchus I +must leave sometime, and whenever that time comes, it will be a regret +to me; and Thais, of course, will grieve; but she will recover. She is +not like Artemisia. I think something is lacking in me. I have taken +pleasure in life, but I am tired of everything. My city exists no +more. Perhaps I am being punished for taking service under the man who +destroyed it. I do not know--or care. Let be what will be." + +"When you hear the trumpet, you will forget all this folly," Leonidas +said impatiently. "You are young and you have everything to live for. +That palace will be built yet; and when our heads are gray, we shall be +sitting there, telling each other of this battle. See, they are +waiting for us. They have been there all night." + +The mist was lifting in undulating billows and twisted scarfs of vapor, +floating away into the upper air. Before them was mustered the might +of the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Away to the left and +right spread the army of the Great King, a wilderness of bright plumes +and glittering helmets. The spear-points, emerging from the mist, +caught the rays of the sun like diamonds. Rank on rank they stood, so +deep that the young men could not distinguish where the files ceased. +Far on their right was the Bactrian cavalry and the Persian horse under +the cruel viceroy Bessus, who had unwittingly saved Chares and +Clearchus from the Babylonian mob. They could make out the banners of +the Susians, the Albanians, the Hyrcanians, the fierce Parthians, the +Syrians, the Arachotians, the Cadusians, the Babylonian levies, the +haughty Medes, the dusky squadrons from beyond the Indus, the warriors +from the shores of the Red Sea, the Mesopotamians, the Armenians, the +Cappadocians, and the mongrel tribes of mixed blood. From the +flaunting banners they could read the muster-roll of the nations that +bowed to the will of Darius. + +In advance of the first rank stood a line of huge, swaying brown bulks. +They were the royal elephants, stationed there to drive a pathway +through the Macedonian army for the Great King. Leonidas wondered at +their number and size. On both sides of them stretched rows of +chariots, with axles and neaps that terminated in long, curved +scythe-blades. Behind the elephants was the royal squadron of ten +thousand picked riders, and in its rear Darius had stationed himself, +surrounded by his kinsmen, and protected on either side by bodies of +Greek mercenaries. All the plain in front of the vast array had been +made as level as a floor, so that the chariots might find no obstacle +in their advance. + +"This will be the last battle," Chares said indifferently. "If we win +here, the empire is ours." + +"We shall win!" Leonidas exclaimed. + +"I'm not so sure of that," Chares said, measuring the host of the enemy +with his eye. "There are more of them than there were at Issus, and +here they have room to move." + +A trumpet sent its bold notes from the Macedonian camp. The call was +taken up by others, rose, and died away. Presently the first squadron +of the phalanx wheeled out upon the plain, and began marching slowly +and in silence down the gentle slope toward the Persian van. + +"We must get into our armor," Chares said, and the two friends hastened +down from the rampart. + +The camp was swarming like a great beehive. Rough shouts of greeting, +jests, and salutations were heard on every side as the soldiers hurried +to join their commands. The army was in high spirits at the prospect +of a decisive grapple, but the heaviness that oppressed Chares' mind +refused to yield to the general enthusiasm. He made his way through +the crowds to the purple pavilion set apart for Sisygambis, the mother +of Darius, and his children. The beautiful Statira was no longer +there. She had died in her captivity. + +"I wish to speak with Thais," Chares said to the eunuch who guarded the +door. + +He was admitted to an anteroom of the tent while a slave carried his +message. Thais answered the summons quickly. A proud smile parted her +lips when she saw the powerful form of the Theban, clad in resplendent +armor; but it vanished when she looked into his face. + +He took her hands and bent down to kiss her, while the plumes of his +helmet fell about their heads. + +"I have but a moment," he said. "Farewell, Thais; you have loved me +better than I deserved." + +"Chares!" she exclaimed, with a sinking of the heart that caused her +voice to flutter. "Why do you speak to me like this? I have loved you +and I do love you with all my heart--with all my heart! Never have I +loved another, and I never shall. Without you I should die!" + +She stood on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck. "You are all I +have!" she cried, with a sob. + +"Thais," he said, holding her close, "if I come not back to you, +promise me that you will accept what the Gods send. They are wiser +than we." + +To Thais it seemed as though the world was slipping away from her. He +had gone to battle before, and she well knew its chances; but he was so +brave and strong that she had never really feared for him and for +herself. What would become of her without him? She remembered what +she had been before she knew him. The future would be worse than a +void. The thought of it stabbed her heart like a knife. + +"If you come not back!" she cried, clinging to him with all her +strength. "But you will come back, Chares--tell me that you will! +Tell me that you will come back for my sake. I cannot let you go!" + +"I will come back if the Gods permit it," he said, kissing her once +more, "but promise me, my love, for the time is short." + +A trumpet sounded, and Thais understood that he must leave her. + +"I promise," she said hastily, "but, O my heart, guard thyself in the +battle; for it is thy life and mine thou bearest!" + +She felt his arms press her closely and tenderly, and then he was gone. +She turned slowly back to the inner rooms of the pavilion, where the +queen mother sat with her little grandson in her lap. Sisygambis had +taken a fancy to her, especially since the death of her +daughter-in-law, whom Thais had tended in her illness. She turned her +face toward her, stamped with traces of sorrow. + +"What is happening?" she asked. + +"They are marching out to battle," Thais replied. + +"My son is there!" the queen said. "May Astoreth have him in her care. +But whichever way the battle goes, either I or thou must weep. Our +hearts are their playthings!" + +As the Companions emerged from the camp, they passed through the ranks +of the Thracian infantry, left behind to protect it, and saw the +phalanx forming on the plain. They swung into the battle line on its +right, behind the archers and the javelin men. The Persians overlapped +them on both flanks by half a mile. + +Never had Chares seen Alexander so confidently at ease as when he rode +along the line in his bright armor, his white plumes nodding as he +looked to see that all was in readiness. His eye was clear and his +brow was untroubled in the face of those tremendous odds, although he +knew that his fate depended upon the issue of that day. He took his +place beside Clitus on the extreme right wing of the army, with the +squadrons of Glaucias behind him. + +There was a stir in the Persian host, and the terrible scythed +chariots, drawn by horses that were lashed to madness, bounded forward +across the interval that separated the two armies. At the same time +the elephants began to move, and the Persian centre advanced to the +attack. + +Chares had hardly time to note this movement before the Bactrian and +Scythian cavalry under Bessus swept down upon the Companions. +Alexander ordered M[oe]nidas and the Greek mercenary cavalry to meet +the charge. The Greeks galloped bravely to oppose the onset, but the +rush of the Bactrians scattered them like chaff. The P[oe]onian +cavalry under Aristo was then sent forward with better success. The +wild troops of Bessus were curbed and forced back for a space, and +Chares could see the bull-necked viceroy raging among them in a frantic +endeavor to make them stand. Finding all his efforts in vain, he +ordered the main body of the Bactrian cavalry, fourteen thousand in +all, to charge. They left their place in the left of the Persian line +and thundered down upon the P[oe]onians like an avalanche. + +Not until then did Alexander turn his face to the impatient Companions. +He raised his hand as a signal to make ready. Each man gathered his +bridle reins more firmly, and tightened his grasp on his spear. A page +scurried back to Aretes, who had been posted in the rear of the main +line as a protection to the flank, telling him to charge with his +splendid lancers. Then the Companions rushed forward, with Alexander +at their head, and with their plumes fluttering like foam on the crest +of a wave. + +Squadron by squadron, they tore into the enemy's lines, while Scyth and +Bactrian went down before them. Swift and deadly as a falcon, Aretes +swooped upon Bessus' flank, throwing it into confusion. But the +viceroy refused to yield, and the stubborn righting continued. + +Meantime the dreaded scythe-bearing chariots had neared the phalanx, +which it was their task to break. The soldiers clashed their spear +butts against their shields with a clangor that frightened many of the +horses beyond control. The light-footed skirmishers in advance of the +line shot their arrows into the sides of the animals, or risked their +lives to sever the traces of their harness. Some of the horses wheeled +and galloped back into the Persian horde. Others were killed upon the +sarissas that pierced their necks. A few of the chariots reached the +line, that opened hastily to let them through, and both horses and +charioteers were slain at leisure in the rear. + +The elephants, from which the Great King had hoped so much, proved as +useless as the chariots. Bewildered in the clamor raised by the +phalanx, and maddened by the wounds inflicted upon them by the archers, +they rushed about the field, trumpeting wildly, and trampling the +Persians in their search for escape. Darius saw them, and his brow +clouded. + +With the first stride of his horse when the Companions charged, Chares +felt his heart leap and the glow of joy in battle warm his veins. +Misgiving and foreboding fell from him. He struck with mighty blows, +spurring his horse forward into the Bactrian ranks until he could go no +further. When his squadron fell back to give place to another, he +refused to follow it, but remained there, fighting until the fresh +troop in its charge surrounded him and bore him forward. Even when the +Bactrians began to give way, and Alexander, leaving them to Aretes, +directed the trumpeters to draw off the Companions, the Theban would +not go. The young king, who happened to be near, spoke to him sharply. + +"Obey orders!" he said. "You shall have your fill of fighting." + +Chares reluctantly complied. His eyes were bloodshot and his face +flushed like that of a drunken man. To ease the throbbing of his +temples, he loosed his helmet and threw it upon the ground. + +Alexander's eye, keen as a hawk's, glanced along the front of the +Persian line, and his heart leaped as he saw a wide break in the ranks +just at the left of the centre, where Darius stood in his chariot. The +Susians had shifted slightly toward Bessus, in order to give him their +support, and a gap had opened between them and the Greek mercenaries +who guarded the Great King on that side. The Macedonians had been +ordered to fight in silence, so that the trumpets might be heard, and +now their varied notes rang across the field. At the first signal, the +hypaspists under Nicanor detached themselves from the line and came +forward at a run. Another call, another, and another, brought the +veterans of the phalanx swinging in behind them. Rank on rank, the +tough fighting men of C[oe]nas, Perdiccas, Meleager, and Polyspherchon +fell in with the rapid precision of cool discipline, forming a solid +column that fronted toward the gap. + +Alexander gave the word to the Companions to place themselves at the +head of this enormous wedge, and then, with a shout that rolled far +across the plain, it hurled itself against the Persian line. Into the +gap rode the Companions, and after them pressed the heavy infantry. +The matchless horsemen struck at the heart of the Persian host; the +resistless charge of the men who followed them tore wide the wound. + +Close to the snowy plumes that floated from Alexander's helmet in the +front rank of the Companions streamed the yellow hair of Chares. The +Theban fought with the strength of fury. His sword rose and fell, and +every blow carried a death wound. A strange sense of unreality +possessed him. He seemed to be fighting in a dream. Suddenly, through +the dust and confusion of the trampled field, he caught sight of the +figure of Darius, and every sense became acute. The Great King, +wearing the royal robe of purple over his armor, stood erect in his +chariot, shooting arrows into the Macedonian column. Between him and +the Companions stood ten thousand Greek mercenaries. + +Chares was seized by an overmastering and unreasoning rage against the +tall, handsome man who had brought the vast horde together to oppose +them. + +"Darius! Darius!" he shouted, and spurred his horse so fiercely that +the animal leaped forward, carrying his rider far into the mercenary +cohorts. Alexander and the foremost of the Companions, among them +Leonidas, pressed in after him. The Spartan shouted to him to be +cautious, but he might as well have warned the wind. To right and left +swung the terrible sword, and every bound of the frantic horse carried +him farther forward. The ranks of the mercenaries were cleft apart. +From every side blows were aimed at him, but the hireling troops were +prevented by those who came after from closing around him. + +Chares saw nothing but the pale face of the Great King. A sword gashed +his thigh, but he did not feel the wound. An arrow pierced his +shoulder. He snapped off the shaft so that it might not interfere with +the sweep of his arm. + +Darius looked toward the left, and his eyes met those of the Theban. +He saw the strokes that were rained upon his armor; he saw the darts +that were aimed at him. At every breath it seemed that he must go +down, and yet onward he came, and his gaze never left the royal +chariot. The Great King noticed that his lips were stained with bloody +froth and that his hair was roped and matted with sweat. A chill +settled about the monarch's heart. It seemed to him that the +yellow-headed giant, whom nothing could stay, would surely reach him; +and yet he was incapable of movement. Like a man bound hand and foot +by a nightmare, he stood awaiting his end. The man was now so near +that he fancied he could hear the panting of his breath. The warning +cries of his kinsmen sounded in his ears, and he knew that they were +trying to throw themselves before him. Of all the Macedonian army he +feared only this one enemy. Would he succeed in reaching the chariot? +No! His horse had swerved aside. Darius saw him grasp a javelin that +was being thrust at his breast, and wrest it from the hands of the man +who held it. He was about to cast. The Great King could see the +glitter of the point of steel. Something grazed his arm, and the haft +of the weapon quivered across his heart, its blade buried in the side +of his charioteer. + +Darius drew a shuddering breath of relief, and opened his eyes. He saw +the great roan steed that bore his foe rear high above the heads of his +guard. Its fore legs struck aimlessly at the air, and the face of its +rider was hidden in its tossing mane. Then, with a scream of agony, +the horse fell backward, and a hundred mercenaries swarmed upon him, +thrusting and thrusting with their short swords. + +The Great King was saved; but he knew that the battle, upon which he +had staked all, was lost. He saw the eager faces of the Companions, +and beyond them the solid wall of the phalanx, sweeping nearer, like a +resistless tide. He stepped across the body of his charioteer and +mounted a horse. Before his feet were in the stirrups he heard the +ominous cry, "The king flees!" that had run before the rout at Issus, +and by the time he reached the spot where the rear guard of his army +should have been, the dust-cloud raised by hurrying hoofs and flying +feet obscured the sun. + +Slowly, from among the dead, Chares raised himself, and gazed with +dimming eyes toward the place where the Great King had stood. Only the +broken chariot and the dead were there, but far away he saw the ebbing +tide of the battle. A smile flickered upon his lips, his head sank +upon the side of his brave horse, and his blue eyes closed. "Sleep and +rest!" he thought, and the darkness swept over him. + + + + +CHAPTER L + +PROMISES FULFILLED + +In the great Hall of Xerxes, in Persepolis, the city whose streets had +never been trodden by the feet of an enemy since the first Cyrus +overthrew the Medes and founded the Achaemenian line, Alexander feasted +with his friends. Two months had passed since the empire that Cyrus +won had been wrested from Darius at Gaugamela. Susa had fallen, and +the might of Persia was shattered forever. + +Terrace above terrace, from the limpid waters of the Araxes, fed +eternally by mountain snows, rose the wonderful palaces upon which the +revenues of generations had been lavished. There the grandeur and +majesty of the masters of more than half the world had bloomed into +visible form. There Cyrus and his successors had been accustomed to +seek refuge from the summer heat, and to lay aside the cares of empire +for luxurious days amid the myriad blossoms of their gardens and the +fairer flowers of their effeminate courts. + +The huge monoliths of the Hall of the Hundred Columns reared themselves +from their hewn platform of stone. Around them were grouped the +palaces of Cyrus and of Xerxes, of Artaxerxes and Darius, built of rare +woods and polished marble, brought from distant quarries with infinite +labor, that the eyes of the Great Kings might take delight therein. +Each monarch had striven to outdo his predecessor in beauty and +magnificence. + +Broad staircases, guarded by colossal figures of soldiers, connected +terraces, upheld by retaining walls upon which were sculptured enormous +lions and bulls. + +The palaces themselves were large enough to give an army lodgement. +Their walls and ceilings were adorned with paintings commemorating the +triumphs of the kings in war and in the chase. Upon the sides of the +Hall of Xerxes, where the Macedonian captains were gathered at tables +laden with vessels of solid gold, the petulant monarch, who had +chastised the Hellespont with rods and who had given the temples of +Athens to the flames, was represented in his hunting chariot, receiving +the charge of a wounded lion. In the light of countless torches, the +great paintings, the hangings, and the carpets spread upon the floor +formed a background of rich color for the snowy garments of the +banqueters. + +Statues of ebony, lapis-lazuli, marble, and jade, brought from many a +captured city, gleamed against the lofty wainscoting of golden plates, +wrought into strange reliefs. + +Alexander reclined upon a raised couch, covered with priceless +Babylonian embroidery. In front of him the tables were arranged in the +form of an oblong, stretching the length of the hall, and beside them +lolled the veterans, crowned with wreaths of flowers whose perfume +mingled with the heavy scent of unguents and incense. There were many +women at the feast, each sitting beside her chosen lord. Some of them +had been taken as captives. Others, released from the bondage of the +harem, had formed willing alliances with the conquerors. They were +admitted to the banquet on terms of equality with the men, according to +the Macedonian fashion, and their light laughter, the brilliancy of +their eyes, and the flashing of the jewels with which they were +plentifully adorned lent a finishing touch of brightness to the scene. + +But the beauty of the fairest representatives of a race famed for its +beauty paled before that of Thais, whose gilded chair was set next to +the couch of Ptolemy on Alexander's left. It was not so much the +perfect grace of her form or the proud poise or her head, with its +masses of tawny hair, that gave her distinction, as the spirit that +shone in her eyes. Beautiful as she was, she had changed since the +death of Chares. There was a suggestion of imperious hardness in her +glance; she was less womanly, but more fascinating. The hearts of men +turned to wax as they gazed upon her, even though something indefinable +warned them that their longing would find no response in her heart. +Yet warm vitality seemed to radiate from her, and the quick blood came +and went under her clear skin with each changing emotion. + +Habituated to the stiff formalities of the Persian court, the deft +slaves who attended the Macedonians were astonished at the freedom of +their manners. All the skill of the royal cooks was expended to +prepare the feast. Scores of delicate dishes were brought in and set +before the Greeks, but the master of the kitchens was in despair at +their lack of appreciation. They devoured what was offered to them, it +was true, but without a sign of the gastronomical discussion in which +the Persian nobles were wont to indulge. The wine, however, was not +spared, and the keeper of the royal cellars groaned over the havoc +wrought among his precious amphorae. The provision for a twelvemonth +was exhausted, and still the thirst of the strangers seemed unabated. +In the last and most ancient of the Persian capitals they were +celebrating their triumph in their own way, and it was the way of men +whose vices were as strong as their virtues. + +The conversation, animated from the first, became livelier as the +banquet progressed. The soldiers called to each other from table to +table, pledging each other in goblets of amber and ruby wine as costly +as amber and rubies. Faces were flushed and eyes grew bright. The +stately hall echoed with laughter, in which the musical voices of the +women joined. Old stories were told again, and time-worn jokes took on +the attraction of novelty. The women provoked their guerdon of homage, +and it was paid to them on hand and lip with frank generosity. The +brains of even the stoutest members of the company were whirling, and +some of the more susceptible to the influence of the wine began to slip +unsteadily away, amid the jeers of their comrades, in the hope that the +cool outer air would drive off their giddiness and enable them to see +the end. Those who remained were all talking at once, boasting of +their deeds, with none to listen. + +Alexander, weary of the din, called suddenly upon Callisthenes to speak +in praise of the Greeks. The orator rose slowly from his place and +strode out into the open space between the tables. + +"To whom shall I speak?" he demanded, gazing about him with an +expression of disgust upon the babbling captains. "They are all mad +with vanity and wine." + +"Speak then to Xerxes," Alexander replied, pointing to the wall, from +which the royal portrait seemed to look down upon them with a sneer. + +Callisthenes obeyed. At first his voice was unheeded; but as his +apostrophe gathered force, the chatter of talk died away around him, +and all eyes were turned upon him. + +Calling upon the dead king by name, he magnified his power and told how +he had gathered the nations to the invasion of Hellas. The failure of +his attempt he attributed to the jealousy of the Gods, who would not +permit destruction to fall upon the country that was to produce +Alexander. He described the heroic stand of the Spartans at +Thermopylae, and the victory of Salamis; and as he dwelt upon the +bravery of the Greeks in the face of those overwhelming odds, the hall +rang with the cheers of men who themselves knew what it was to fight +and to conquer. + +"By thy command, O Xerxes!" the orator cried, extending his open palm +toward the portrait, "Hellas was made to blush in the flames that +devoured the temples of her Gods upon the Athenian Acropolis; but the +life of man is brief, while the Gods die not nor do they forget. Look +down from thy chariot! Alexander, the defender and avenger of Hellas, +holds thy dominions, and the nations that owned thy sway are bowed at +his feet. Turn not thy face away; for the fire with which thou didst +insult and offend the Gods of Hellas hath flamed across all Persia, +until it hath reached thee at last!" + +The rage that had been gathering in the breasts of the Macedonians at +the recital of the wrongs that Greece had suffered could be repressed +no longer. Clitus leaped to his feet and hurled his golden beaker at +the painted face of Xerxes. In an instant the hall was in an uproar. +The company rose with one accord and turned to Alexander, shouting for +revenge. To their inflamed minds it seemed as though the injuries +inflicted by Xerxes were of yesterday. The contagion caught the young +king, who sprang from his couch and stood gazing around him, seeking +some means of satisfying the desire for vengeance that swelled his +heart. + +Thais had been watching his face with lips slightly parted and a +strangely intent look in her eyes, as though waiting for the moment to +carry into execution some project that she had formed in her mind. +While Alexander stood hesitating, she seized a blazing torch from its +socket in one of the columns. + +"He burned our temples--let fire be his punishment!" she whispered, +thrusting the torch into Alexander's grasp. + +"The Gods shall be avenged!" he cried, accepting her plan without +hesitation; for the wine he had drunk and the maddening clamor of his +followers had gone to his head. + +He thrust the lighted torch against the draperies that hung behind him. +A cry of horror burst from the slaves and attendants as the flame +caught the heavy folds and ran upward in leaping spirals; but the cry +was lost in the fierce triumphant shout of the captains. Every man +grasped a torch and ran to spread the conflagration. The great Hall of +Xerxes was enveloped in flame and smoke so quickly that the +incendiaries themselves had barely time to escape. + +Rushing from the doorways with the torches in their hands, the +Macedonians hastened from palace to palace, scattering destruction. +Clouds of smoke, glowing red above the leaping flames, rose over the +marvellous structures that had been reared with so much toil. Tower +and terrace, porch and portico, were transformed into roaring furnaces +in whose heat the great columns cracked and fell with a noise like the +rumbling of thunder. The lofty ceilings crashed down upon wonders of +art and precious fabrics. The plates of beaten gold that lined the +walls melted and ran into crevices which opened in the marble floor. +Of the slaves, some perished in the flames; others fled with booty +snatched from the ruin; still others ran wildly into the darkness, +crying that the Macedonians were preparing to put to the sword all who +dwelt in the pleasant valley. + +The banqueters, driven back by the heat, watched the conflagration with +shouts of joy while it slowly burned itself out, leaving only the gaunt +and blackened skeletons of the group of palaces that had been the +delight of the Great Kings. + +Thais stood beside Ptolemy, beneath the wide branches of an oak where +the glare of the flames she had kindled threw her figure into strong +relief against the blackness. She held herself proudly erect, and a +slight smile curved her lips as she saw the banners of flame leap +upward toward the stars. + +"Why did you do it?" the Macedonian asked, with an accent of respect +that seemed out of place in a camp where women were held so cheap. + +"I did it because of a promise that I gave to Orontobates when I was a +captive in Halicarnassus," Thais replied. "I like to keep my word." + +Something in her tone prevented the soldier, bold as he was, from +asking her what the promise had been. She had already taught him when +to remain silent, and he had learned that he must either submit or +abandon hope of winning her. As he stood, drinking in her beauty, +revealed in a new aspect by the firelight, he was puzzled to see her +head droop, while two tears slowly gathered upon her lashes. + +"Farewell, Chares, my lover!" she was saying to herself. "Upon thy +funeral pyre my heart, too, is turning to ashes!" + +"Thais," Ptolemy whispered, moved by her emotion without knowing its +cause, "do not forget that I love thee!" + +"I do not forget," she replied, "nor have I forgotten another promise +that I made; for I think the Gods have sent thee to me. To-morrow I +will be thy wife; and when this war has reached its end, thou shalt +reign in Alexandria over Egypt with me at thy side." + +"Thais!" Ptolemy exclaimed, clasping her at last in his arms. + +So Thais, the Athenian dancing girl, kept her pledge; but through the +length and breadth of the land ran the news that the home of the Great +Kings had been laid in ashes, and men knew that, though Darius still +lived, his power indeed was gone forever. + + + + +CHAPTER LI + +AMID FRAGMENTS OF EMPIRE + +Clearchus and Artemisia were walking in the garden of their home in +Alexandria. Between the trunks of the trees, at a distance, they could +see the roofs and towers of the populous city, and across the blue +water, which began where the slopes of verdure ended, they could watch +the white sails of ships bringing trade from all parts of the world. +Ten years had passed since the palaces of Persepolis had crumbled into +ashes. Alexander had been dead three years, and his body lay in the +royal tomb at the mouth of the Nile, whither Ptolemy had brought it +from Babylon, when the empire was divided among the Macedonian generals +and he came to rule over Egypt in place of the rapacious Cleomenes. + +Artemisia's figure had lost some of its girlish grace, but her blue +eyes retained their clearness and her cheeks the delicate flush of her +youth. Clearchus, too, was heavier than he had been when he fought +among the Companions under Alexander, whom men were beginning to call +"the Great." + +At a turn in the path Artemisia placed her hand upon his arm and +checked him. The silvery voices of children came from a sunlit glade +among the shrubbery. They saw a boy of eleven years, clad in a short +white tunic that left his arms and legs free, shooting with blunt +arrows at a target that hung against a tree. Two little girls stood +watching him, and after each shot they ran with eager laughter to find +the arrow and fetch it back to him. Their fair hair gleamed in the +sun. Artemisia's eyes sought those of her husband, and a smile of +mother love transfigured her face. + +"I am almost afraid to be so happy," she murmured. + +Clearchus laughed. "You need not fear, my heart," he replied. "Do not +the Gods owe us something? They are generous." + +They heard a step on the gravel behind them, and Leonidas advanced with +a smile and hands outstretched. He had changed little, excepting that +a few gray hairs appeared at his temples and the lines of his face had +deepened. + +"Welcome, comrade!" Clearchus cried, running forward to meet him. +"Whence come you? What news?" + +"I come from the council in Syria," Leonidas answered, "and as for +news, there has been another division of the world." + +"And Ptolemy?" Clearchus asked anxiously. + +"He retains Egypt," the Spartan said. "Antipater is regent, with +Macedonia and all Greece; Seleucus gets the satrapy of Babylon; and +Antigonus, Susiana, besides what he had." + +"I hope we shall have peace at last," Artemisia said, glancing toward +the children. + +"We shall have peace here, at all events," Leonidas said grimly. "None +of the generals is desirous of sharing the fate of Perdiccas." + +They sat down beneath a vine-grown trellis while Leonidas told them of +the events that had led to the new distribution of the empire, +describing the jealousies of the leaders and the ferment of revolt that +was working in Greece. + +"When will they stop killing each other?" Artemisia said sadly. "Has +not each of them more than enough without trying to rob the others? +Leave them to their quarrels, Leonidas; there is room enough for +another house here beside us, and we will find you a mistress for it." + +Leonidas shook his head and sipped the wine that a slave had brought +for his refreshment. He knew that she referred to the site that they +had reserved for Chares and Thais. + +"It is too late," he replied, half regretfully. "As we have lived, so +we must die." + +Artemisia slipped her hand within that of Clearchus, while the Spartan +followed with his eyes the glancing sails of a vessel whose prow was +turned toward the north and the rugged hillsides of his native land. +Their reflections were interrupted by the children, who had tired of +their play and were seeking new diversion. + +"Ho! Uncle Leonidas," shouted the boy, swooping down upon the Spartan. +"Where did you come from? Tell me about the death of King Darius!" + +He sat down beside Leonidas and composed himself to listen. The little +girls took Artemisia prisoner and led her away to see a nest they had +found, in which, they assured her, were funny little birds with no +feathers on their wings. Leonidas, his eyes still on the receding +ship, began the story that he had often told before. He related how +the army came to Ecbatana, the gem of cities, with its seven walls each +of a different color from the others, and each rising higher than the +one outside it, and how they found that the Great King had fled up into +the snow-capped mountains that overlook the Caspian Sea. He had with +him Bessus, the treacherous; Oxathres, his own brother; Artabazus, the +first nobleman of Persia, who commanded the Greek mercenaries; and a +score more of the generals and viceroys who still remained constant to +his fortune. He told how Darius wished to stand and fight among the +rugged passes, but the others would not allow it; how Artabazus, +suspecting their perfidy, besought him to trust himself to his Greeks, +to which the Great King consented for the morrow; and how that night +Bessus fettered him with golden chains and made him a prisoner in his +litter. + +The boy listened with sparkling eyes intent upon the Spartan's face, +while Leonidas described how Alexander, finding the Persians ever +fleeing before him, had left the foot-soldiers behind and struck out +with the Companions across the desert to intercept them. The lad held +his breath as he followed the desperate ride over the burning sands, +where one by one the horses stumbled and fell, gasping, until only +seventy riders remained. His cheeks flushed when he heard how a +soldier had brought water to Alexander in his helmet, and how the young +king, thirsty as he was, refused to moisten his lips because there was +not enough for all. + +Then came the charge of the seventy weary Macedonians in the gray of +the morning upon the camp of the sleeping Persians and the +panic-stricken flight of the cowardly army before them, too frightened +even to look back. And there they found the Great King lying in his +litter, stabbed through and through by the order of Bessus, who had +hoped thus to win the favor of Alexander. + +"And that was the end of Darius," the Spartan concluded. "Alexander +was sorry for his death, and he spread his own cloak over him as he lay +there; but I think it was better for him to die then than to live +subject to another, remembering his former power. He was unfortunate +in this, that he was not killed in battle, as all brave men should wish +to be. He had an opportunity for that at Gaugamela, but he threw it +away." + +A picture rose before the Spartan's memory of Chares, lying with his +broad shoulders against the side of his horse amid the dead, with a +smile upon his lips, and he sighed. + +"You have never yet told me what became of Bessus," the boy said +coaxingly. "Is he still alive?" + +"No," Leonidas replied, his face darkening. "He was betrayed in his +turn, and Alexander ordered him to be killed in the manner of the +Scyths when they punish traitors." + +"What is that?" the boy asked. + +"I shall not tell you," Leonidas said grimly, "but it was too good for +him!" + +"There is Thais," Clearchus exclaimed. "Run and fetch your mother," he +added to his son. + +They rose and went to meet Thais, who was advancing slowly down an +avenue of trees. Two enormous black eunuchs held a broad parasol above +her head, and other slaves followed her, both men and maids, forming a +train of escort. When she saw Clearchus and Leonidas, she spoke a word +to her attendants, who halted, and she came forward alone. The +sunlight, sifting through the branches that formed a green arch over +her head, touched the burnished coils of her hair, flashing from hidden +jewels and glancing upon the shimmering silk of her robes. + +"She is more beautiful than ever," Leonidas said, gazing at her with +admiration. + +"Yes, and she rules Ptolemy in everything," Clearchus replied. + +"My friends!" Thais exclaimed, giving them her hands. "It makes my +heart glad to see you; but where is Artemisia?" + +"I have sent for her," Clearchus replied. + +"Before she comes," Thais said, seating herself beneath the trellis and +lowering her voice, "I must tell you something. The proofs for which I +sent to Athens have arrived, and there can no longer be any doubt that +we are sisters." + +"She will be overjoyed," Clearchus said. + +"I shall not tell her," Thais replied. + +"Why not?" Leonidas asked bluntly. "You are a queen now, or will be +one soon, and nobody thinks of--of the past." + +"It is precisely because I intend to be a queen that I shall not tell +her," Thais continued. "She could not love me more if she knew, and I +will not be the means of bringing danger upon her or her children. We +know the fate that awaits the kinsmen of princes. Did not Olympias +cause Cleopatra to be slain with her babe in her arms? Has not Roxana +murdered Statira, and is not Roxana herself, with the young Alexander, +held in captivity? Nevertheless, I will tell her if you desire, and it +shall be proclaimed throughout Egypt." + +"May the Gods forbid!" Clearchus exclaimed. "You are right, Thais. It +must not be told." + +"Then I will destroy the proofs," she said, "and remain, as I have +been, the first of my race." + +All three were silent, thinking of the future, and Thais smiled +faintly, as though at that moment she were conscious of the wonderful +power that was to descend through her daughters, until it attained its +perfection in the irresistible charm of that Cleopatra who was to see +the conquerors of the world at her feet. Yet she sighed as her eyes +met those of Clearchus. + +"If only Chares were here!" she murmured. + +"We know," the Athenian answered gravely, "and we do not blame you, +since all of us must bow to the will of the Gods." + +"I thank you," she said simply. "You have both been kind to me." + +Artemisia joined them, holding one of her girls by either hand, while +young Chares followed with his bow, concerning which he wished to +consult Leonidas. There, in the vine-grown arbor, they sat talking +until the shadows began to lengthen, and the afternoon drew to its +close. Thais rose, lithe and graceful as an animal of the desert, and +the slaves, who had been watching her, in a bright-colored group, from +beneath the trees, scrambled to their feet. + +"Come, Leonidas, the cares of state await us," she said. "Remember +that you are a general now, and I am almost a queen, while these two +have nothing to do but waste their time in being happy." + +"You will come again to-morrow?" Artemisia said, embracing her. + +"Perhaps," replied Thais, and she moved away down the avenue with the +Spartan, toward the retinue of slaves who stood waiting to surround her. + +Clearchus and Artemisia watched them until the foliage hid them from +sight, and then turned toward the house. Artemisia noticed that a rose +bush, weighted with flowers, had swayed across the path, and she +stooped to put it back into place. Clearchus slipped his arm about her +waist and kissed her. + +"Silly!" she said, blushing, "everybody will see you." + +"That cannot be helped," he retorted. "You looked then just as you +looked in the garden in Academe that morning when I found you among +your roses--and I think I love you more now than I did then." + +"We love each other more," Artemisia said softly, "because we did not +know then what it would be to lose each other." + + + + + THE GROSSET & DUNLAP + ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS + OF FAMOUS BOOKS + +The following books are large 12mo volumes 5-3/4x8-1/4 inches in size, are +printed on laid paper of the highest grade, and bound in cloth, with +elaborate decorative covers. 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