s, insolent henchman of Amycus, wounded Talaus son of Bias in the
side, but did not slay him, but only grazing the skin the bronze sped
under his belt and touched not the flesh. Likewise Aretus with
well-seasoned club smote Iphitus, the steadfast son of Eurytus, not yet
destined to an evil death; assuredly soon was he himself to be slain by
the sword of Clytius. Then Ancaeus, the dauntless son of Lycurgus,
quickly seized his huge axe, and in his left hand holding a bear's dark
hide, plunged into the midst of the Bebrycians with furious onset; and
with him charged the sons of Aeacus, and with them started warlike
Jason. And as when amid the folds grey wolves rush down on a winter's
day and scare countless sheep, unmarked by the keen-scented dogs and the
shepherds too, and they seek what first to attack and carry off, often
glaring around, but the sheep are just huddled together and trample on
one another; so the heroes grievously scared the arrogant Bebrycians.
And as shepherds or beekeepers smoke out a huge swarm of bees in a rock,
and they meanwhile, pent up in their hive, murmur with droning hum,
till, stupefied by the murky smoke, they fly forth far from the rock; so
they stayed steadfast no longer, but scattered themselves inland through
Bebrycia, proclaiming the death of Amycus; fools, not to perceive that
another woe all unforeseen was hard upon them. For at that hour their
vineyards and villages were being ravaged by the hostile spear of Lycus
and the Mariandyni, now that their king was gone. For they were ever at
strife about the ironbearing land. And now the foe was destroying their
steadings and farms, and now the heroes from all sides were driving off
their countless sheep, and one spake among his fellows thus:

"Bethink ye what they would have done in their cowardice if haply some
god had brought Heracles hither. Assuredly, if he had been here, no
trial would there have been of fists, I ween, but when the king drew
near to proclaim his rules, the club would have made him forget his
pride and the rules to boot. Yea, we left him uncared for on the strand
and we sailed oversea; and full well each one of us shall know our
baneful folly, now that he is far away."

Thus he spake, but all these things had been wrought by the counsels of
Zeus. Then they remained there through the night and tended the hurts of
the wounded men, and offered sacrifice to the immortals, and made ready
a mighty meal; and sleep fell upon n