solence, once when a
bearer of messages had come to him from Dareios, not being pleased with
the message which he brought he slew him as he was returning, having set
men to lie in wait for him by the way; and having slain him he made away
with the bodies both of the man and of his horse.

127. Dareios accordingly, when he had come to the throne, was desirous
of taking vengeance upon Oroites for all his wrongdoings and especially
for the murder of Mitrobates and his son. However he did not think
it good to act openly and to send an army against him, since his own
affairs were still in a disturbed state 112 and he had only lately come
to the throne, while he heard that the strength of Oroites was great,
seeing that he had a bodyguard of a thousand Persian spearmen and was
in possession of the divisions 113 of Phrygia and Lydia and Ionia.
Therefore Dareios contrived as follows:--having called together those of
the Persians who were of most repute, he said to them: "Persians, which
of you all will undertake to perform this matter for me with wisdom,
and not by force or with tumult? for where wisdom is wanted, there is no
need of force. Which of you, I say, will either bring Oroites alive to
me or slay him? for he never yet did any service to the Persians, and on
the other hand he has done to them great evil. First he destroyed two of
us, Mitrobates and his son; then he slays the men who go to summon him,
sent by me, displaying insolence not to be endured. Before therefore he
shall accomplish any other evil against the Persians, we must check his
course by death."

128. Thus Dareios asked, and thirty men undertook the matter, each
one separately desiring to do it himself; and Dareios stopped their
contention and bade them cast lots: so when they cast lots, Bagaios
the son of Artontes obtained the lot from among them all. Bagaios
accordingly, having obtained the lot, did thus:--he wrote many papers
dealing with various matters and on them set the seal of Dareios, and
with them he went to Sardis. When he arrived there and came into the
presence of Oroites, he took the covers off the papers one after another
and gave them to the Royal Secretary to read; for all the governors of
provinces have Royal Secretaries. Now Bagaios thus gave the papers in
order to make trial of the spearmen of the guard, whether they would
accept the motion to revolt from Oroites; and seeing that they paid
great reverence to the papers and still more t