Throughout this speech he seemed to Clearchus to be speaking the truth, and he rejoined:  “Then are not those worthy of the worst 24 penalties who, in spite of all that exists to cement our friendship, endeavour by slander to make us enemies?” “Even so,” replied Tissaphernes, “and if your generals and captains care to come in some open and public way, I will name to you those who tell me that you are plotting against me and the army under me.”  “Good,” replied Clearchus.  “I will bring all, and I will show you, on my side, the source from which I derive my information concerning you.”

After this conversation Tissaphernes, with kindliest expression, invited Clearchus to remain with him at the time, and entertained him at dinner.  Next day Clearchus returned to the camp, and made no secret of his persuasion that he at any rate stood high in the affections of Tissaphernes, and he reported what he had said, insisting that those invited ought to go to Tissaphernes, and that any Hellene convicted of calumnious language ought to be punished, not only as traitors themselves, but as disaffected to their fellow-countrymen.  The slanderer and traducer was Menon; so, at any rate, he suspected, because he knew that he had had meetings with Tissaphernes whilst he was with Ariaeus, and was factiously opposed to himself, plotting how to win over the whole army to him, as a means of winning the good graces of Tissaphernes.  But Clearchus wanted the entire army to give its mind to no one else, and that refractory people should be put out of the way.  Some of the soldiers protested:  the captains and generals had better not all go; it was better not to put too much confidence in Tissaphernes.  But Clearchus insisted so strongly that finally it was arranged for five generals to go and twenty captains.  These were accompanied by about two hundred of the other soldiers, who took the opportunity of marketing.

On arrival at the doors of Tissaphernes’s quarters the generals were summoned inside.  They were Proxenus the Boeotian, Menon the Thessalian, Agias the Arcadian, Clearchus the Laconian, and Socrates the Achaean; while the captains remained at the doors.  Not long after that, at one and the same signal, those within were seized and those without cut down; after which some of the barbarian horsemen galloped over the plain, killing every Hellene they encountered, bond or free. 32 The Hellenes, as they looked from the camp, viewed that strange horsemanship with surprise, and could not explain to themselves what it all meant, until Nicarchus the Arcadian came tearing along for bare life with a wound in the belly, and clutching his protruding entrails in his hands.  He told them all that had happened.  Instantly the Hellenes ran to their arms, one and all, in utter consternation, and fully expecting that the enemy would instantly be down upon the camp.  However, they did not all come; only Ariaeus came, and Artaozus and Mithridates,