of rage which robbed him of
all the prudence and judgment he had so far shown. "I see the man!" he
cried in tones of fury, and rushed hotly forward, followed only by the
few companions who remained with him, against Artaxerxes and the strong
force still with him. As Cyrus came near the king he cast his javelin so
truly, and with such force, that it pierced the cuirass of Artaxerxes,
and wounded him in the breast. Yet the assault of Cyrus was a mad one,
and it met the end of madness. He was struck below the eye by a javelin,
hurled from his horse and instantly slain; his few followers quickly
sharing his fate.

The head and right hand of the slain prince were immediately cut off and
held up to the view of all within sight, and the contest was proclaimed
at an end. The Asiatic army of Cyrus, on learning of the fatal disaster,
turned and fled. The Greeks held their own and repulsed all that came
against them, in ignorance of the death of Cyrus, of which they did not
hear till the next morning. The news then filled them with sorrow and
dismay.

What followed must be briefly told. The position of the Greeks, much
more than a thousand miles from their country, in the heart of an empire
filled with foes, and in the presence of a vast hostile army, seemed
hopeless. Yet they refused to surrender at the demand of the king. They
were victors, not defeated men; why should they surrender? "If the king
wants our arms, let him come and try to take them," they said. "Our arms
are all the treasure we have left; we shall not be fools enough to hand
them over to you, but shall use them to fight for your treasure."

This challenge King Artaxerxes showed no inclination to accept. Both he
and his army feared the Greeks. As for the latter, they immediately
began their retreat. They could not go back over the desert by which
they had come, that was impossible; they therefore chose a longer road,
but with more chance of food, leading up the left bank of the Tigris
River and proceeding to the Euxine, or Black Sea. It was in dread and
hopelessness that the solitary band began this long and perilous march,
through a country of which they knew nothing, amid hosts of foes, and
with the winter at hand. But they were soon to experience a new
misfortune and be left in a still more hopeless state.

Their boldness had so intimidated King Artaxerxes that he sent heralds
to them to treat for a truce. "Go tell the king," their general replied,
"that our