s. Over and over again Xenophon
would send an order to the front to slacken pace, when the enemy were
pressing their attack severely. As a rule, when the word was so passed
up, Cheirisophus slackened; but sometimes instead of slackening,
Cheirisophus quickened, sending down a counter-order to the rear to
follow on quickly. It was clear that there was something or other
happening, but there was no time to go to the front and discover the
cause of the hurry. Under the circumstances the march, at any rate in
the rear, became very like a rout, and here a brave man lost his life,
Cleonymus the Laconian, shot with an arrow in the ribs right through
shield and corselet, as also Basias, an Arcadian, shot clean through
the head.

As soon as they reached a halting-place, Xenophon, without more ado,
came up to Cheirisophus, and took him to task for not having waited,
"whereby," he said, "we were forced to fight and flee at the same 19
moment; and now it has cost us the lives of two fine fellows; they are
dead, and we were not able to pick up their bodies or bury them."
Cheirisophus answered: "Look up there," pointing as he spoke to the
mountain, "do you see how inaccessible it all is? only this one road,
which you see, going straight up, and on it all that crowd of men who
have seized and are guarding the single exit. That is why I hastened
on, and why I could not wait for you, hoping to be beforehand with
them yonder in seizing the pass: the guides we have got say there is
no other way." And Xenophon replied: "But I have got two prisoners
also; the enemy annoyed us so much that we laid an ambuscade for them,
which also gave us time to recover our breaths; we killed some of
them, and did our best to catch one or two alive--for this very
reason--that we might have guides who knew the country, to depend
upon."

The two were brought up at once and questioned separately: "Did they
know of any other road than the one visible?" The first said no; and
in spite of all sorts of terrors applied to extract a better
answer--"no," he persisted. When nothing could be got out of him, he
was killed before the eyes of his fellow. This latter then explained:
"Yonder man said, he did not know, because he has got a daughter
married to a husband in those parts. I can take you," he added, "by a
good road, practicable even for beasts." And when asked whether there
was any point on it difficult to pass, he replied that there was a col
which it w